forgot about it, and the maids were whipped for the offense.»
«You’re so vindictive! I don’t even remember that!»
Flora nervously fixed her hair, which was tangled in the leaves and flowers of a nearby acacia tree. Flora’s reflection in the garden pond looked like a disheveled witch. Rafael himself was not looking his best. His shirt was torn, his camisole had been lost or lost at cards, his boots had burned holes in them, and his hands had burns. He must have been drinking and partying all night, maybe even had a fight with someone.
«I hope you didn’t lose everything.» Flora asked in a venomous tone.
«On the contrary, I won a lot.»
«Then where is your camisole and your winnings?»
«You see, the thing is, I was counting coins on the way, and I was attacked by creatures attracted by the glitter of gold.»
«Were they fairies?» Before, Flora would have thought her brother was making things up, but after her encounter with fairies yesterday, she wouldn’t have been surprised if those winged wretches had attacked Raphael as well. Her brother is so cowardly! Even if he had a sword and had perfectly mastered the art of swordsmanship, he would not have defended himself against the fairies. After all, fairies are ladies, and ladies Raphael respected.
«What fairies are there,» he dismissed it. «A rabble of evil spirits: ugly trolls, gray elves, dwarves – all surrounded me at the crossroads and I had to play with them until morning.»
«So?»
«You can’t win to wizards!»
«You didn’t make all that up?»
«Look!» Raphael lifted his cuffs and showed the burns in the shape of clawed paws. «Our land is full of evil! We have to get out of here, and fast.»
«Father won’t allow it.»
Flora thought it was better not to tell Raphael about the fairies, otherwise he would lose the whole castle to them, or maybe he would just give them away for a kiss.
«By the way, did you catch leprosy from the gray elves? I’ve heard they carry magical contagion.»
«Who did you hear that from?»
«I don’t remember!»
Flora really didn’t remember.
Raphael looked around warily.
«I don’t seem to feel sick.»
«All infected people feel healthy at first. The disease doesn’t kick in right away.»
«You’re a healer?» Rafael had a frightened look on his face.
«Your friend gave me a lecture yesterday about what a bad castle we have.»
«What friend is it?»
«It is an aristocrat named Edwin.»
«I don’t know any Edwin.»
«But he was here yesterday.»
«It was an aristocrat in the middle of nowhere! He was a messenger from the King, perhaps.»
«He is more like a traveler. I invited him to dinner.»
«It’s good to have someone to talk to other than the prim astrologers my father invites. The frequent visits of alchemists and astrologers probably made our castle a bad place. When Father dies, I’ll drive them all away. I can’t stand minions and crooks.»
«How can you talk about Father’s death when Father is alive and unhurt?»
«My mother was alive and unhurt, and then suddenly…» The words froze on Raphael’s lips. «If mom were alive, she would have dispersed those alchemists.»
«I’ll find out what happened to Mom,» Flora promised herself. A chain of tiny footprints could be seen on the path. If only Raphael hadn’t noticed them. Only fairies could have such graceful feet.
«Floretta!» The brother had gotten into the habit of calling her by her pet name, so something was wrong. She was usually called Floretta by her mother or nanny. Flora was immediately alert.
«What do you mean?»
«Don’t go to crossroads in the evening, even garden crossroads,» Rafael advised. «The evil spirits love to catch travelers at crossroads.»
And at masquerades, Flora wanted to say, but she had the good sense to keep silent. Raphael wouldn’t have understood. He himself was now terrified of crossroads and gambling trolls.
Advice from the fairies
As soon as Raphael had left the garden, Flora breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had time to cover the dragon’s trail. Her absent-minded brother hadn’t noticed it, or he would have panicked by now.
She had to hurry before the gardener and his helpers got here. There’s no way to trample the dragon’s trail. It’s too big. Maybe we should try to cover it with a rake or a broom. She wished she had Drusilla’s broom right now. She was sure the witch’s broom could do a fine job even with a dragon’s mark.
Laughter sounded from behind the briar bushes. It resembled the chiming of bells. It was the way fairies laughed at a masquerade. At the memory of fairies Flora was terrified. She was more afraid of fairies than she was of the dragon.
If fairies got into the garden, they would definitely try to strangle her or tear her apart.
The rosehips at this time of year were blooming with tiny roses. They were supposed to be white, but for some reason they were blue. Are there blue roses? Flora looked around the bush in surprise. It looked like magic. It was as if the fairies had enchanted this bush.
Someone was still laughing in the thicket. There was a gravel path around the bushes. No one was walking on it, but the imprints of graceful feet were suddenly imprinted on it. Where had they come from? Unless an invisible man had walked here.
Flora stared at the footprints in puzzlement. They looked as if they had been left by feet in winged sandals. Probably some fairy flying over the path had decided to play a prank. Flora stared up at the sky, but the fairy suddenly appeared beside her and laughed. She was translucent for a moment. Then she turned blue.
«How lucky I was to play a trick on you!» The unfamiliar fairy hovered in the air above the path and clapped her hands joyfully. Her nails, eyebrows, and eyelashes were silver, and her dress, hair, and wings were blue. Such beauty! Flora glared at the fairy, forgetting the danger. Somehow the fairy looked suspiciously like a blue rose from a bush.
«Are you a garden fairy?» Flora guessed.
«Uh-huh! I’ve been living in the hollow of an old elm tree for a couple of decades and I know all the secrets of the garden.»
«Are there any secrets in this garden?»
The fairy obviously did not want to answer. She flew forward along the avenue of poplars. Flora followed the fairy. It was strange that at this time of year the down was flying off the poplars. The fairy caught it and laughed. The poplar fluff turned blue in her hands.
When she reached the beech, the fairy tapped the trunk with her hand for some reason.
«What are you doing?»
«I want to call my friends. They live in the yew, ash and cypress trees.»
«Are they fairies like you?»
«Yes, they are.»
«No, you don’t need to call them.»
«Why is it not?» The fairy fluttered her silvery eyelashes in amazement.
«I don’t like noisy company.»
«I heard you and an elf agreeing to go to the fairy masquerade.»
«I didn’t like it.» Flora didn’t specify