pocket. Well, now she’s armed for war. Let’s go!
The horses, as it happens, would not budge.
«I am your lawful mistress, your master’s only daughter. You must obey me!» Samantha exhorted them. The horses didn’t care! There were four of them in the carriage. Their names were Naughty, Ardent, Sleepyhead and Pegasus. Rascal was trying to prove that his nickname was a waste of time. It completely contradicted his sedate manners and slow walk. Rusty also loved to be lazy and to nibble on roadside grass. Sonja dozed on the move. Pegasus was named Pegasus as if in jest. He had no horn and no wings on his sides. A regular horse! The stable boy must have heard a lot of fairy tales and decided to name him that. If Pegasus had been magic, she would have left the three lazy horses and ridden him to Ivilor in a heartbeat.
The horses were stubbornly unwilling to obey her.
«Horses, sweethearts, let’s make a deal. Here’s a carrot!» Samantha shoved the only carrot she had in her picnic basket under Pegasus’ nose. The horse ate the carrot, but didn’t obey.
«You are scoundrel!» She scolded the horse, even though he wasn’t a gelding. «If you don’t go, I’ll call you a donkey or even a monkey!»
The horse didn’t care, but a voice from under the wheels answered:
«Better a pony!»
Is there really someone underground? Is it another demon? Samantha looked for something to defend herself with. A funny looking gnome in a bright green outfit and wearing a crown came out from under the wheels.
«I love ponies, they’re just the right size for me,» he waved a chubby hand in greeting.
«You are a pygmy!» Samantha shrieked and backed away.
«Don’t insult me!»
«And what are you?»
«I’m a dwarf. Or rather, the king of the dwarves,» he fixed his crown, which had slipped to his side, and winked at the girl. «I agree that there is nothing worse than a small stature, but I do not like lanky fellows either.»
«Now you’re insulting me,» Samantha said, rightly deciding that at her height she seemed no more graceful than a milepost.
«I used to think of tall girls like you as tall,» he admitted, «but now I’m married to a princess as tall as you.»
What a surprise! A dwarf married to a real princess!
«You kidnapped her?»
«At first, yes,» the dwarf confessed embarrassed. «I had to lure her into my dwarf kingdom. Viola didn’t like it, but she liked my library. And then the girl appreciated my wisdom. She said that I was the wisest dwarf in the world and even wanted to marry me, but between us was her old acquaintance – a tall blond elf.»
«And then what happened?» Involuntarily Samantha became interested.
«Viola had met the elf much earlier than she had met me. They shared a common passion – music. Viola plays the elves’ whistle very well. Anyway, the elf came to rescue her, and with him his entire magical army.»
«It was the horror! If the elves turned against the dwarves, then the dwarves’ kingdom is over?
«Not quite! Although the elves are strong, they’re short-sighted. And the dwarves are small but wise. Our powers were equal.»
«And when the elf decided he couldn’t beat you, you married Viola?» Samantha guessed.
«Alas, it was more complicated than that. Since neither rival could defeat the other, Viola had to decide the dispute between us. She had to choose who she wanted to stay with: the dwarf or the elf.»
«She probably chose the elf. I’ve heard that elves are very beautiful.»
«But empty-headed! Clever Viola took that into account. She liked the way Urel looked, but she didn’t like everything he did or said. She talked to me for hours, but my looks disappointed her.»
«You couldn’t cross an elf’s body with a dwarf’s brain to suit a princess’s tastes, could you?»
«But it was possible to give her a privilege: two husbands at once, which the generous dragon emperor Edwin did. Since he rules over all the magical creatures in the universe, he held a trial where he gave his verdict. And now Viola spends one month in the elf realm, and the next month she returns to me in the dwarves’ realm.»
«So one month she’s the wife of an elf, and the next month she’s the wife of a dwarf king! That’s an interesting alternation! I wouldn’t have dreamed it in a wild dream.»
«You’re not in the same situation as Viola,» the dwarf chuckled.
«That’s right. I’ve never fallen in love once, let alone twice! But Princess Viola is lucky. If she has two husbands at once, when one goes bankrupt, she can always come to live with the other. When my father went bankrupt, my mother had no one to go to, so she took it out on me.»
Samantha didn’t notice how she began to trust the gnome. She was not even embarrassed by the fact that she was standing in the middle of the roadway talking to a stranger.
«Viola is by the elves now. They muse and dance on the cliffs by the sea, with azure dragons flying nearby. They love Viola’s whistle.»
«Is it far from here?» Samantha wanted to see elf society.
«If you don’t have wings, it’s a month from here to the cliffs of the Coast Elves.»
«Then I won’t get there in time. I’m running out of time. Say hello to Viola when she gets back.»
«I have nothing to do while she’s with the elf,» the dwarf muttered, «but when she gets back, I’ll be happy for a month, and I’m already collecting gifts for her,» the dwarf turned a leaf that had fallen from the tree into an emerald. «She also likes it when I read interesting stories aloud to her, so I became a regular at the royal library, borrowing books there for Viola, but the king’s current advisor won’t let me in anymore. He’s so clawed!»
She guessed the dwarf was referring to the character of the counselor. The king’s counselor can’t really be clawed!
«I have a book from my father’s library with me. Here, take it for Viola,» Samantha rummaged under the carriage seat and pulled out an adventure novel.
«Your father has good taste. We should visit him,» the dwarf was glad of the gift and eagerly began to leaf through the book with a small number of pictures.
«You can do that. Father is in the library day and night, and you can catch him there anytime. And if my prim mother doesn’t catch the two of you there together, my father will be sure to treat you to tea or even port.»
«It is good!» The gnome king’s tiny eyes lit up with lively interest. «It’s so good that I met you. Usually girls are frightened of me and even try to trample me with their feet.»
«I’m not scared. Besides, you’re better than the creepiness I met on the road before you.»
The dwarf thought she was talking about wild animals and looked toward the forest.
«By the way, do you know how to make my horses move?»
«It is simple!» The dwarf scratched the hoof of one horse, and suddenly the whole four moved. Samantha barely had time to scoot back into the carriage.
«Goodbye! I’m going to Ivilor,» she shouted to the dwarf. «You can visit me at the local royal palace.»
«Is it to lvilor!» The dwarf’s face suddenly grew concerned. «You shouldn’t go there! You’d better come back!»
«I have no choice!»
Samantha looked out of the window, but instead of the dwarf, she saw the glassy eyes of the dead Evangelina. They were staring straight at her, as if the