Amaranta – Captive of Elf’s King

Choice of Quentin

In the stables of the kingdom of elves instead of the smells of manure and hay stood a resistant smell of flowers. There are no grooms and stall boys here. All horses walked freely. All necks were decorated with floral garlands.And the horses themselves are not simple, but magical. Amaranta stroked the horn of the unicorn. Pearls, and diamonds are on it. That is why among the hunters there is a belief that the one who will be able to catch the unicorn will be rich!

Amarantita does’t need money. Everything for her is free. But the menu of the elves was monotonous. All dishes consisted of a mixture of fruits and flower petals. No matter how strikingly, but the petals of these flowers were tasty. The wine made of them also tastes nicerly vintage.

Amaranta managed to be addicted to eating floral dishes, flying dance with winged creations and travel on magic horses.

Whom does she today choose to travel along the hills; Pegasus or unicorn? Pegasus is more useful. Because of the wings. She has only studied for her wings yet.

Red thread harmed along the paths. These are the traces! They make up then in the fingerprints of the stop, then in the puddle of the blood, then in the puddling faces, then in writing. Pegasus suddenly rushed forward on them and easily jumped out from under the hill dome.

And what now? Hilly area disappeared. Ahead is a forest road. It even benefits. It is worth finding a dragon tree and pick its apples. And the path back then someone will tell. Should she meet in the forest at least one elf. One met. But not exactly the one who should have expected to help. Stumble on it is almost the same as on the fairy from suite of the queen of Korund. How useful can there be an elf-defector?

Quentin was sitting in the thickets on the stump and guided the melody at mandolin. Strings under his fingers sang themselves. They also remained red trail. Words of a laudatory song about the queen of elves mandolin published with the notes itself.

Redhead of Quentin was visible from afar, like red traces.

“Why are your traces red?” from afar asked Amaranta.

“Remember, blood?” He pulled away from the game and pointed to the scar, the scarlet thread whining the neck. "If you noticed, in the footsteps I am now easy to find so that I do not escape from the kingdom of fairies. But I came up with one focus.”

He made some passages with his hands, and the chain of scarlet traces changed the position, stretching instead of stump, on which he was sitting to the swamp.

“So easy to punish enemies. Thiery, who chased after me, thanks to it, pleased in the pool. Well, he swore later!”

“These traces are red and cunning, like you!” It was a strange praise, but a praise. Quentin all flourished from it.

“But my song is true. I composed it about your beauty and kindness.”

A dragon tree grew next to the stump. Only this time in red scales, and not in blue. That's how good luck!

“Caution, it burns!” warned Quentin, but the fruits from it suddenly fell out of the branches and rolled on the road. It seemed that an earthquake began.

“Hold the tree! Just do not burn yourself!” Commanded Quentin. The border of the kingdoms falls behind the tree, for which the fairies will not have rights to call. The dragon tree is a kind of vest pillar. It will stop them if they fly for you.”

“It is clear where you are, there are fairies, since you went to them. I have forever in the way of the rival. It was stupid to hope that at least one here is alone. But why the earth does shake?”

“This is a retinue of Medea Shai looking for me. They decided, probably, I want to flush from them.

“And you do not want?”

Quentin smiled and made a sign to be silent, but his mandolin continued to make sounds.

Footprints of Quentin stretched the scarlet chain, pointing to his location. And the queen with a retinue was already here. Amaranta shuddered. Quentin did not want, but he pointed at her.  She is alone here. Pegasus, hitting the hooves by the road, is not a defender.

Quentin did not deceive. Medea Shai rushed here at the head of a whole suite of terrible creatures. Only a few of them were radiant and beautiful, but to the teeth armed. The black dragon, on which the queen of Fairies squeezed, was not flying, and he steps on the ground. Hence is the roar.

Claws of the dragon skipped the skull of a peddler, raised during the transition from one settlement to another. His box remained lying on the road. All things intended for sale have crumbled, mixed with fallen dragon apples, and suddenly climbed. Probably, from proximity to scaly fruits, they have gained magical power. The needles began to sew themselves, the ribbons themselves were tied in bows. The queen of fairies was very angry.

“I wasted my magic in vain! And all because of the search for a rowdy, who praises another queen. Would execute his second time! But then and the third will have to! And so indefinitely.”

Quentin was not frightened, only with a despondency looked at the crushed corpse of the peddler and a bunch of goods from the box, which under the hooves of the black chaff procession began to behave like witchcraft artifacts.

"As I envy him," he confessed in a low voice. “I would have such a lightweight death, instead of immortality. And such a free share - walk around the cities and trade, without lingering anywhere, instead of being under the heel of the magic rulers.”

Such simple dreams at a magical creature! Amaranta hesitated. It turns out Quentin tired of the fate of an eternal servant, whom even death from service will never save. But the queen of fairies, her immortality quite satisfied, probably because, together with the authority, it did not cause any discomfort. Did she appear here at the head of a terrible squad to find and force to return back to the kingdom of fairies poor Quentin.

Medea Shai honoured Amaranta with such a scornful glance, as if she was a bug with wings in front of her, and not a new queen of elves. The crown of gold laurel leaves on the head of Amaranta insulted her feelings either a little less than the tunes of Quentin’s mandolin.

Are you on whose side? She was indignant. “You are a rowdy, drunkard and nowyou still praise my rival? The king in the looking glass is already seduced by her, the monsters are from her crazy. And now my faithful servant sings her diffilams.”

“After I have seen her, I already doubt that you are the most beautiful. And I, the free elf, became your servant only because I found you  an ideal of beauty.”

Quentin was too audacious. Amaranta was frightened for him. What Medea Shai will do with him now?

"So you don't love me anymore and don't worship me?"

“Much is completely true, your gloomy majesty,” Quentin answered with sarcasm. He was noted that the dragon would go on fire on him. After the fire on the ground, only the covered remains of the former Quentin will be wandered.

“Well, then get out!” Instead of inventing the punishment  Medea Shai rushed to hysteria. “Go out of here, a traitor!”

“With joy!” Quentin even jumped on the spot as a schoolboy who was released from lessons.

"Do not return to the Corundum, otherwise the dragons will come to you," Medea Shai was angry. “Wrap on the roads, until some mortals catch you and do not surrender to the circus or on the bonfire of the Inquisition. You will be hungry and deprive the magical forces, you still have plenty to ask for forgiveness.”

“I will show focuses or trade wonders,” Quentin picked up the box of peddler and began to put all the wonderful fruits and things in it.

Medea Shai bit the tonguer, realizing her oversight. She herself let him go. Quentin was free, so he was so happy, even a song sang, picking up the dragon apples from theroad dust. With such a weapon, he definitely protects everything. Previously, he was tied by the oath, and now he is free.

“Do you want to betray me for her beauty?” questioned the queen fairies a graceful elf, who accompanied her. It must be Thiery. Outward he looked like the kingof elves, only the hair is not gold, but white. Probably, his hair became white from the life with such a scandalist.

But on Amaranta, he looked indifferently, even removed from the quiver a snake-shaped arrow. Really he wanted to shoot in his queens rival. Quentin also did not sleep. He cleverly threw one dragon apple in Medea Shai. Her elf had to crush the arrow with his hand and pull off behind the shield. Do not substit it the scaly shield on time, and the Queen of fairies would burn like a mud.

“Failure! "Quentin realized that other dragon apples were useless, while Thiery protects the queen. "But now you all know how I am grateful to you for shaking me in the kingdom of fairies."

‘Let wood goblins eat you!” Medea Shai was angry, but could not do anything. For the line of the road she can not go, and snake arrows against dragon apples are not a weapon.”

“Let you fell in love with the first oncoming bench and became her slave,” Medea Shai was ready to switch to insults, how only market shops or abandoned wives were. And why was she so angry? After all, she has driven him. Well, not counting his tricks. He provoked it.

“Let human magicians put you in a cage and mocked you!”

“Mock sophisticated than you, your gloomy majesty, no one can. In this you surpassed all the terrestrial and magical executioners.”

“Let everyone betray you as you betrayed me!”- I cured him finally be Medea Shai.

However, as far as such a curse could be effective and who betrayed here, was very foggy.

"In general, she is right," Quentin put the last magical thing into the box and watched the black fog left by the queen of fairies. “Suddenly you will betray me with Dagda.”

The elf tousled his red hair and began to resemble a stray guy. His wings hid the box, which he threw himself on his back. It's time to go! Now he is a merchant and an adventurer who offers spells along with things. But he is free as the wind.

He did not regret the expensive feed in the kingdom of Fay. But on Amaranta, Quentin looked with a light regret.

"I shouldn't get confused with you, or I suddenly become your servant. Of course, you are beautiful, but be a prisoner of the queen of elves after I went away from the queen of fairies with difficulty, it was too much.”

Amaranth understood him. When the black fog dispels, only his red traces will be able to slow down on the road, but for them the queen of the elves does not track it. Quentin traces are the same changeable as he himself. You will go on them, will lead to a swamp. And they disappear as quickly as night passes. It will be no longer visible during the day.

Finding back to the kingdom of elves was not as simple as it is from it. No green hills raised behind the forest, and the black fields on which Finodirries worked hard. They learned the queen of  elves, they left their work and bowed. It was worth only to ask, and one of them pointed her the direction in which you need to go to get back to the green hills. Under his ugly paw between black wormwood, sprouting on the field, a sparkling path was opened.

Amaranta almost say out the fatal "thank you", but in time bites the tongue, remembering the condition of communication with Finodirries.

"I promise you never to thank you, but I will not consider you as slaves," she promised. “You are equal members of the magic society. Serve me only if you yourself want.”

Of course, they wanted.

Amaranta regretted that she did not gain dragon apples. Red Dragon Tree really burned her fingers too much. It's surprising how Quentin managed to collect fallen apples, without sacrificing with their hands, which from touching them could easily burn. Now dragon apples would not be superfluous. Something threatening was in the air. Next to the field of black wormwood, which grew up and stretched up in front of the eyes, swore stoles from skulls. Some Finodirries plowed there the earth with bones.

“Does it told you Dagda?” questioned  Amaranta.

The largest of Finodirries was blocked before scratching in the back of the head and answer.

“No, this is the order of his heart’s lady’’.

"I didn't give such an order," Amaranta was indignant. In the fields plowed bones, some nasty, like living weeds. One wrapped around her arms and bitten. They wanted blood? Finodirry hurriedly snatched him and it hung like a snake.

"Another lady of his heart," he explained. His hoarse bass was difficult to disassemble. ‘The one that was his companion before you. The queen of fairies.”

“Do not listen to her more. Duga broke with her. From now I am the queen of elves. The only one. In addition to my commands, you are not obliged to obey anyone.”

Her words had an action. On the bone stones, sprouted lush white flowers. Their stems strangled predatory weeds.

Finodirries even slammed the rough palms. They themselves kneel themselves, but it was impossible to praise them.

“Do we not obey your maid-in-honour too?” asked one of them. They knew the court rules of the elves and fairies.

"My maid-in-honour’s name is Igrid, not Medea Shai. Remember it in the future!”

“What are you saying!” The queen of fairies was already here as here. She is directly omnipresent!

There are whole carpets of flowers on the field.

"Looks like a Iley," said Nedea Shai.

“What is Iley?”

“An illiterate queen of elves! Wow!”

The monstrous servants of Medea Shai, who climbed after her, tried to snatch flowers from the fields, but nothing came out. Their efforts were in vain, and the stems of flowers are durable as iron.

"I will enlighten you by using the pause," the queen of fairies hissed from anger on her useless subjects. “Iley is the flower that you will never see, because your wedding with Dagda will never be. He blooms only on the night of the wedding of elves or fairies. The most capricious flower in the world! It can be seen only once in a century and only at midnight. But it is indescribably luxurious and has the power to fulfill any desires.

I would like to see it.

The servants of Medea Shai, who tried to once again turn the surroundings to hell from bones and weeds, tried in vain.

The black fairy was angry but could not do anything. Finodirries gathered a pack near the new queen of the elves, silently giving to understand who they prefer. Amaranta has too formidable servants, which in the threat of an attack will immediately become defenders. The queen of fairies hoped for stupidity and politeness of the rival. As a gentle girlfriend does not even thank, but Amaranta tightly closed her lips. She will not say anything. It is better to be silent than to offend them. Sometimes silence is more valuable than gold. Words can spoil any relationship. You never know anyone and what you can offend. Everyone who lived and enjoyed has their own painful points that are better not to affect.