Amaranta – Captive of Elf’s King

Mirrors’ Maze

She could not even believe that the whole year has already passed since she met the Ice Prophet on the bridge. And the prediction turned out, and the term has expired! But everything seemed to be so careless. Golden roses ring. Mirrors in bizarre frames show all wonders. Green hills called Sides. And the winter does not happen here. Even autumn does not paint the foliage in yellow, orange and red, as it should be. Trees and hills are forever green. That is why it is so easy to lose the sense of time. Around the year round reigns summer. No wonder local elves are called summer. Amaranta did not immediately cut down, what's the matter. She did not like the winter, so it was not disappointed as the others that snow over the hills falls out, and the lakes are not covered with ice.

This is another plus kingdom of elves. Eternal summer is her cherished dream. So, she will not leave here. Let the ice elf be waiting for at least a hundred years. Only now he threatened with the war, and Dagda does not want wars. So how to be?

Black butterflies gathered with a pack at the keyhole. But now is a day. Amaranta looked at them. These are black pixies. Realizing that she noticed them, they were disappeared into the hole for the key.

“Spies of Medea Shai!” said the mirror on the wall.

How can drive them away?: It was strange to ask an advice from the speaking mirror. In addition, it has already fallen asleep and did not utter a word anymore. Amaranta still came to it. A whole labyrinth immediately opened before her. A hand in red scales and with coral claws waved on one of the mirror paths. This is the same Dragon Fairy, which she has already seen on a feast. Her scaly body was like a flame.

“My king liked you! Come here! I'll take you to him!” She called.

Amaranta shook her head negatively.

The reflection in the mirror immediately changed. The mirror itself began to resemble the window into other worlds. Here is someone's black castle. The tournament between the magicians and fairies goes on the ristar. Lightning and sparks fly each other. Here is a bedroom, full of luxurious black flowers, and in the bed are the fairy with black wings and dragons.

Pictures changed one after another. There were many dragons in the arms of this fairy. Especially often she slept with a black dragon. He is her favorite. And she herself, judging by the crown in her hair, was no less than the queen. Amaranta could not see her face. The fairy suddenly raised on her elbows on her bed and stared in front of her, as if she saw her too.

“Come to me, an observer in the keyhole. Those who spied after me are usually kicked as Lessey,” the fairy pointed to the oblique maid in the corner, which was also some kind of supernatural being. ?And you are not. So, Dagda loves you, since you are protected by his charms.”

Fairy's voice was sweet like a black honey. It enveloped consciousness. Amaranta almost took a step behind the mirror frame, but it was kept on time.

The fairy in the mirror disappeared as its dragons. But the labyrinth of doors found in bizarre forms appeared. There were doors in the shape of the sun and the moon, a flower, a tree, a cube horn and even the head of the dragon.

“From each I have a key. But Dagda has a whole bunch of keys, and the f*******n door is only one. You will be lucky if you find it. I still did not find, but I'm looking for.

Amaranta shuddered. The crowned fairy was already behind her back.

“How did you enter?”

“Through another mirror. There are many of them in the castle. And to the rich feudal you can easily enter, because all mirrors are connected by the labyrinth, as you have already found.”

“Who are you?”

“Have you ever not guessed?”

“You are the same fairy that I saw in Rodolit.”

"Forget about it," the black beauty dismissively waved her hand. “The experiment with dolls failed.”

“Did you collect the army of dolls?”

“You are clever.”

“What are the dolls, if there are monsters? Did you lead them to county of Angus?”

“The count invited us himself.”

“Not true!”

“Otherwise I could not come to him.”

“Even on a mirrors’ maze?”

“It was closed by the union with Dagda.”

“It’s interesting,” Amaranta looked at the rival. “So you're the queen of fairies. Or just of black fairies?”

“All fairies in my kingdom either become black with soul, and wings, or I get rid of them.”

 The procession of fairies, which Amaranta saw in the forest, was all bright, except  the monsters. And one of these radiant fairies attacked Amaranta at the siege of the castle.

The queen of fairies read her thoughts. It became dark or so only it seemed?

“Why did you so much hurt Igrid?” Medea Shai was offended. “The poor thing now suffers from strong pain.”

“Is she alive?”

“She is alive, but burned. A fairy, as you know, does not die, but you can hurt her. If you apply a dragon fruit, and not the usual fire.”

Here's great! So, you can tear more dragon apples and with the help of them to protect against rivals. Will she be able to find the road to the dragon tree? Or the case when she came across it, was a one-time success?

"I'm not offended," Medea Shai suddenly changed the tactics. “My maide-in-honour is too arrogant. You did the right thing that deprived her attractiveness. Now she sits locked, and whines at the mirror. No potions and spells help. But its delicate skin and wings turned into a solid burn, and a black dragon tail grows from her back. Like the second train! Recently she believed that she was almost equal to me, her queen, for attractiveness and grace. Our maides-in-honours are so arrogant! Probably from the fact that we have only one thing. We chose her for all the time on the board, as if the bride, and she starts immediately to poke her nose in our busness. Are you already aware of how many privileges will have your maide-in-honour? She will all start doing for you: to intrigue, conduct business, trying to negotiate, negotiate with allies, driving the court, to instruct bodyguards. One day you will return to the royal bedroom and find her in your place next to the king, she is already sleeping.

"Have you already got into such a situation?"

“I like you. I think we should become girlfriends,” she suddenly suggested.

Make friends with the rival! Yes,  she is the queen of monsters. Suppose by the title she is the queen of fairies, but actually she rules over the hellish creatures. To be friends with her is the same thing that voluntarily stick her head into a hot furnace. Although not about this asked her Quentin? The decapitated elf should have completely absent brains, at least he retained the head itself. How to make friends with the evil? Even for the sake of good goals it is dangerous. You can pretend to be her girlfriend for a while to ask her Quentin as a gift or at least win him in some dispute. The dispute, of course, will not be winning, but the gift from the queen fairies will be lured even more difficult. Such narcissists like her, never and nothing will disagree.

“Is it true that you plan is to become a queen here?” Amaranta asked. It's time to change the strategy and attack the first. She will definitely not be friends with this witch. From such a friendship, the troubles will not be worn.

"There were plans," the winged witch nodded. “But now I have two new king on the sight: one mortal, one ice. The ruler of the elves has no place in my ball card. Do you understand, what am I talking about?

“Do you want to get married for two.”

“At all like you. I will become one of your copies.”

Amaranta looked enviously on her wings. That would be copied to! It is a pity, she does not know how to take other shapes, like a gold copy, otherwise would have become a winged fairy right now.

"You want, I'll show you where my magic comes from," Medea Shai turned her back to the mirror. “Look at it! What do you see?”

Is she trying to enchant her? And in the mirror they were branched at once many ways reflecting each other. They led in the forest, on the meadow, in a variety of palaces, on decks of ships, in the dark fortresses.

“Look, how it is easy to do without a dragon and even without a carriage,” she reached the mirror, opening even more roads of a mirrors’ labyrinth. The biggest led to the kingdom of fairies.

“I love to travel in this way. It is very convenient. Like a slippery ice. Do you want to try.”

Amaranta stopped at the frame. It was cold in the mirrors’ labyrinth.

“Another time somewhere in the future.”

“Do not be a coward.”

Amaranta seemed that she was going forward along the reflective road. Circle of mirrors. Its reflection has multiplied and unpainted her with tens of votes on different tonality. All she ever uttered was reproduced. And then reflections spoke by themselves.

“Do not go!”

‘Do not look!”

But it was already late. In the big hall there was a feast, from there came laughter. Dagda was entertained with fairies. All of them were from the retinue of Medea Shai.

"We led to you eastern peri," the fairies whispered, caressing the king of elves. “Do you want more besides us? All gifts from our queen. She studied all your preferences and wants to satisfy them.”

This is the scene of debauchery! Medea Shai did not give Amaranta to turn away from the mirror.

The ashes of her lips penetrated the ear. In the brain, all rowed a dark crust. Tears appreciated on the cheeks, turning to crystals. All the magic gifts of Dagda pleased no longer.

“Ah, honey,” the gloomy queen of fairies stroked her hair. “All men are such traitors. What the magical rulers that ordinary. Before the ladies' charm is all equal. And I will tell you a secret,” she whispered into her ear, having lowered a little ashes from the tongue. “Immortal beloved forget us much faster than mortals. And from boredom begins treason. That's on the hunt, then on the ball, and sometimes in a military tent, since the beauty herself came to them to negotiate or sold the berries nearby, or flew straight into the bedroom window. Everywhere there is either a fairy or a mortal seducer. And we only cry from it. I will give you advice, take more cavaliers herself, then you won't feel so offended. And even better come back to her husband, his vassals, by the way, loved you very much. Each rose should bloom in its flower bed. Mortal in the garden of mortals, magic in magical areas. Dagda’s policy about reconciliation is not correct. We, people and fairies, can not be friends. And you should immediately imagine that the king of the elves was already seduced by no one wife, the bride or daughter of mortal friends. This is his concept of friendship, and with people, and with representatives of ourr own race. The king is the king,” Medea Shai theatrically sighed at the end of the tirady. “He will always have many favourites”.

Amaranta cried and listened, although the words wounded more than knives. Medea Shai, obviously, believed that she comforts her.

"Well, I have time," she noticed Dagda’s griffins in the sky outside the window. Oddly enough, Dagda himself now communicated with griffins, and not with fairies. Amaranta looked at the mirror with suspicion, it still demonstrated Dagda and fairies. The reflection laughed as a bad actor, and transformed into the face of the sameery king, whom Amaranta once had already seen in the mirror. Obviously, in it he rules.

So treason is cheating! Illusion!

"You deceived me," Amaranta squeezed his fists. " A liar!”

“Let's not be charged with charges like bazaar vendors. It is not to face to us. You are the Queen, I am the Queen. It is necessary to behave civilized. Although wait. You are still the mortal countess. Maybe you should call your husband here so that he will teach you the proprt behaviour.”

“Dragon s**t,” pixies joined from behind the curtains.

“What?” Medea Shai released claws. “Well, fly here, rude persons.”

“Do not dare touch them.”

“I'll get squeezing from them.”

“It is better to get out of your dragons.”

“Descending and regularly. Do you think I am gentle with them?”

“Are you serious.”

“All animals need to beat even before they have a molting. And lovers should be punished the strongest so as not to betray.”

“So Dagda chose not you.”

Amaranta said as hit. Medea Shai melted, as from slap.

“Such a soft, like you, will eat alive for the first year of marriage. By the way, it is likely that before marriage you will not live. You know about the law - one century before the wedding.”

“Something I heard this.”

“Whole century is an engagement.”

“Let's hope, this applies only to fairies.”

“No, it just touches mortals. Rather Mesallians between mortals and fairy or mortals and elves. In my opinion, the amount of change of the terms does not change. In any case, the ridiculous union comes out.”

“Maybe therefore it is necessary to check the feelings of the whole century to avoid mistakes.”

“Not therefore.”

“Then why?”

“Guess herself, clever!”

The queen of fairies disappeared.

Amaranta thought.

“So, one century before the wedding is an immutable law for all the magical kingdoms. A whole age to wait!”

"And you say this with a living husband," reminded the slim voice of conscience. No, no conscience, it suggested a mirror.

“Immediately you can see, you have never fallen in love,” Amaranta reproached a pale inhuman person in the mirrorfrozen on Amalgam and winning it. It must be the face of the spirit of the mirror.

“In other people's husbands never,” it was poisoned.

“But Dagda is not someone else's husband.”

“But you are someone else's wife.”

“How unfair!” And how stupid to lead a debate with a living mirror.

“By the way, no one forced you to marry the count.

"I know how embarrassing came out that I met a true love, only after a marriage with another."

“Mean tricks of fate,” summed up the mirror.

“It sickering me! Amaranta sighed.

- This is the favourite expression of Medea Shai. Do not become like her.

“Never!”

And the stars in the mirror seemed to be winking. Obviously, the evil beauty on the dragon, rushing in the sky managed to quarrel because of a trifling and with them.