Flying on a broomstick
She and Drusilla stood on the path like two bipeds. And the magnificent dragon in human form was coming towards them. He didn’t like the witch next to Flora. He almost hissed at her, and suddenly began to turn into a dragon.
«We have only one way out, Mistress!» Drusilla grabbed a broom that was flying lazily over the crossroads.
«You can’t fly away from a dragon on a broom!»
«Do we have a choice? Get on!» Drusilla jumped on the broom herself and held out her hand to Flora.
Blackie, nestled on the witch’s shoulder, was afraid that the broom wouldn’t hold two passengers at once. It was obvious from her worried face.
Flora was doubtful about the witch’s help. The broom looked flimsy. It looked as if it would sag under the weight of Drusilla alone.
Which was better: flying with the witch or flying in the dragon’s claws? Drusilla is clearly a disaster waiting for them, but Edwin looks very angry now. He’s not likely to trust Flora a second time and shower her with gifts. After all, she ran away from him the first time.
Flora sat down on the broom behind Drusilla and clung to the witch’s thin waist as the broom suddenly snapped.
Flora’s ears popped from the wind. The broom was hurtling through the air at wild speeds. It had every chance of overtaking the dragon that was following it. And Flora didn’t believe it yet! Sometimes you have to believe in miracles!
«We’re flying!» Flora looked around the heavens in amazement. It seemed like the stars were just a stone’s throw away.
«No, we’re crawling slowly!» Drusilla gingerly looked back at the dragon that was almost catching up with them.
If it caught up with them, it would swallow the broom with the two fugitives. Three, if you counted the cat.
«Ah, hurry up!» The witch urged the broom, but it didn’t obey. Then Drusilla whispered a short spell. After that, the broom flew forward at the speed of a comet.
«That’s better!» The witch looked back at the lagging dragon with triumph. He was losing the race with the broom. Soon the golden glow of his hide faded into the distance.
«Had it really broken away?» Flora could hardly believe it.
«Trust me, mistress.» Drusilla felt victorious. «I’ve fooled dragons many times. That’s the only reason I haven’t turned to ashes.»
«Aren’t witches burned by dragons, not inquisitors?»
«The Inquisitors could easily be on the trail of a village healer if they got their hands on one. Let them burn healers, not witches. It’s easy for the Inquisition to cover their tracks, but dragons are much trickier. They can be incredibly difficult to deal with, and they don’t like witches.»
«That’s strange. I thought dragons liked all pretty girls. At least you’re very pretty and elegant right now.»
«Dragons can see the soul,» Drusilla sighed.
Her soul must have been old and ugly and black as coal.
«Dragons are sensitive, aren’t they?» Flora snorted sarcastically. «As soon as they burn down the castle of some naive young lady, they are right there. And if a girl has a black soul, they shun her.»
«It is Dragon romanticism,» said Drusilla. «How can you understand it?»
The broom was traveling at breakneck speed. The wind whistled in her ears. Flora looked behind her and saw no dragon. Then he had indeed fallen behind. The fear of being caught in the dragon’s claws was great. Flora imagined how a large dragon’s paw would clutch the broom along with the riders and crush them. Even if they were ground with millstones it wasn’t as gruesome as being ground by dragon claws. Flora thought she saw the glow of a golden hide in the distance. Could it be just the sparkle of the stars? The scales of the golden dragon resembled stars in color.
Curious, why is the dragon golden? Flora has heard some things about dragons, but never heard that they come in gold. Gold is the color of coins, jewels, royal crowns, stars, and the sun. Why would a predator be gold? Is this predator himself the king of all predators? Do dragons have a king? If there is, it must be Edwin. He acts so cocky as if he is no less than a dragon prince.
«Gold is also the imperial color,» someone whispered next to her ear. A fluffy cat’s tail rubbed against Flora’s neck. Did Blackie say that? But do cats know how to talk? Flora had only heard Blackie meow before. Tonight Blackie jumped unceremoniously on her shoulder, as if she thought she was her second personal witch. No wonder, since Flora sits on her mistress’s broomstick. And it had been such a busy night tonight that the cat’s cavalier attitude was forgivable. After all, the three of them are on a broom to escape from a huge evil dragon.
Barely a dragon behind, the broomstick flight began to resemble an interesting journey. Drusilla decided to descend, and from the starry heights, the broom dropped down to the moat of a fortress. The sentries on the bastions were asleep. It was easy to fly the broom over the fortress wall. No one raised an alarm.
«It wouldn’t have been so easy in daylight,» Drusilla sighed. «I would have had to cast a cloak of invisibility so the townspeople wouldn’t notice me. It was easier for you. If you put on your mask, people wouldn’t see you anymore.»
Flora didn’t know that. So the mask is valuable. That was hard to believe. Until now, Flora had thought she was just a whimsical girl.
«But the fairies had seen me in it,» she remembered.
«That’s fairies! They’re good at everything. Every fairy pretends to be a gentle creature, but she can do more magic tricks than the strongest of witches. What can you do? Witches have to develop their talent, but fairies have magic in their blood.»
«Why do fairies wear masks? So people don’t see them flying into their towns?»
«Fairies love to wander among humans and even pretend to be humans, but if you’re talking about a masquerade, there fairies wear masks more for fun than for cover. There’s also the importance of play. Every fairy remembers that the empress keeps incognito. Therefore, if one skillfully conceals her identity under a magical mask, one can pretend to be her for at least one night and fall into the arms of the magical Emperor.»
Drusilla faltered, realizing that she had said too much.
«Tell me more!» Flora urged her on. «I’m very curious.»
«I didn’t really want to broach the subject,» the witch whimpered, as if she had something to hide from her companion. What had she just blabbed about that Flora shouldn’t know about?
Blackie meowed unhappily and curled her long black tail into monograms. How could she do that? Flora was surprised that Blackie’s tail was so long. It seemed as if it would become a rope that could be used to climb down to the ground.
The broom circled over the city. Flora could see sleeping houses, empty cobblestone streets, tiled roofs, and a large square with a monument in the center.
It is the local burgomaster’s house,» Drusilla hurriedly flew past an abandoned house with a weathervane hanging from the roof.
«What happened to the burgomaster and his family?» Flora noticed that the big house was empty.
«They’re missing,» Drusilla winked, making Flora thought of the hunters at the coven. «But they had time to spread bad rumors about me.»
«Did you glamorize their carriage horses or coachman to take the whole family to the night coven?» Flora guessed.
«No, that’s an old method, I have a more modern approach to problem solving now. I brought all the witches to dinner at the burgomaster’s house, as soon as he began to suspect me of witchcraft. It is just like you brought a dragon to the old Marquis’ house for dinner.»
«I didn’t do it on purpose! I didn’t know he’d burn down my house.»
«Oh, come on! The castle wasn’t your inheritance anyway, it was Raphael’s. You didn’t want to kill a young man for his inheritance, and his sister status wouldn’t allow you to marry him. You could changed your identity. Or cast a spell of loneliness on your brother so that he would remain unmarried for the rest of his life. Then when he died, the castle would pass to you.»
«But we’re almost the same age. What if I had died before my brother?»
«Are you joking? How could you die?»
Drusilla was surprising Flora more and more. The witch thinks she’s all-powerful and immortal. Just now they were both afraid of dying in the dragon’s jaws. That’s nonsense! How can immortal beings die? If Drusilla was running away from the dragon, she didn’t consider herself immortal.
«You would rebuild the castle with magic.» The witch shrugged. «All the stones will form the walls to your liking. The road to the castle will be overgrown with turf, so no heirs will be able to get in. But if you want to have a feast, a path among the thorns will be formed for one night.»
What kind of tales is Drusilla telling her? Flora was used to treating the witch’s chatter as insignificant. But the troll and the fairy down in the square were indeed there. They were either dancing or performing some kind of magical ritual. The two figures circled around the monument. The fairy resembled a colombina. She threw off her dominoes, revealing two shining wings. Her blond curls contrasted sharply with her black velvet triangle.
Drusilla shuddered at the sight of the blond fairy and tried to urgently turn her broom.
The broom awkwardly circled over the spire of the town hall and returned back to the square. Drusilla seemed to have lost control. Even Blackie meowed excitedly.
The blond fairy had noticed them. Naturally, she was not frightened at the sight of the witches. She said something to her creepy companion and pointed upwards. The broom immediately lowered in flight and was now hovering just below the lampposts above the square. The impression was that the fairy was pulling it down on some invisible magical thread.
«I swear I didn’t bring you to her on purpose,» Drusilla sobbed. «I didn’t even know she wasn’t at the fairies’ residence tonight.»
Flora could hardly recognize the strange magical lady she had met at dinner. Yes, it was the same Babette. And the creepy troll cavalier was still around her.
Babette looked angry today. Her eyes glittered vengefully and resembled two living rubies. Flora had never seen scarlet-colored eyes on anyone before.
An invisible magical thread was definitely attached to the tip of the broom. It was coming from Babette’s fingers. The fierce fairy seemed intent on causing an accident. If she pulled a little harder, the broom would fall onto the cobblestone square and crash with the passengers.
«Why did we make her so angry?» Flora wondered.
«Don’t you remember?»
«We flew into her city? Is this a fairy town? Witches aren’t allowed here?»
Drusilla jumped off her broom to avoid crashing. Flora had to do the same. Only then did the witch let go of her broom, leaving only Blackie sitting on it.
«I warn you, madam, your usual trick won’t work with this fairy. Babette will never believe you’ve lost your memory.»
«I don’t need that from her. I’m not going to fool her. I’m going fight with her because she’s deprived us of a nice walk.»
The night tour over the sleeping city was an unforgettable treat. It was one thing to fly away on a broomstick from an angry dragon and quite another to soar freely over the night city. The panorama from above was magnificent. Babette unceremoniously interrupted everything.
Flora panted with the intention of scandalizing the blond fairy. If Babette’s troll interfered, she already knew how to deal with trolls. One fairy could also be handled. Fairies can’t be defeated only when they swoop in droves, like at the memorable masquerade. Babette was definitely alone in the square. There were no other fairies hiding in the houses and alleys. Only a flock of glittering pixies circled behind the monument, but they were no threat. Flora looked around to make sure there were no winged creatures in the dark windows of the houses surrounding the square. There were no fairies hiding behind the windows. Flora felt like a hero. It was okay to have an argument.
«Be careful, ma’am. It’s best not to mess with her,» Drusilla warned.
«Why is it? Does she bite?»
«No, she’s not a vampire, but she has a tiny silver whistle that can be used to summon a dragon,» the witch pointed to the amulet around Babette’s neck. If she hadn’t warned her, it would have been impossible to recognize the silver shell as a whistle.
«And where had she gotten such a whistle?» Flora hesitated.
«The dragon himself had given it to her in case she found you. She had already found you once.»
«Was it at dinner?»
«No, it was much earlier.»
«What do you mean before?»
Flora didn’t remember any before. She first saw Babette and her troll in the garden before dinner. And then the dragon had appeared, and an event as insignificant as Babette’s arrival had been erased from her memory. Tonight, that same Babette clenched her fists furiously and glared angrily at Flora.
«It is you!» Babette was ready to eat the witches alive. «It is you again! Good thing you’re here!»
The fairy’s troll was nearby, but did not interfere. Babette herself had removed her lace half-mask. The fairy’s pale skin was gray with tiny spots. They resembled freckles in size, but for some reason the sight of them felt like seeing the rotting of a corpse. Why don’t the fairies tarnish them or erase them with magic.
«You know why,» the fairy suddenly answered Flora’s unspoken question.
«And why is that?»
Babette took Flora’s question as a challenge to a duel. She angrily flapped her wings, which suddenly revealed the same gray speckles. Why hadn’t Flora noticed them before?
«Everything happened because of you!» Babette accused as she flew across the square to Flora. «You brought tragedy to me! You pretended to be a sufferer, but you’re really a selfish person. You wanted a fairy’s body, but it’s mine again! Look at the state you gave it back to me in.»
Babette stretched out her arms, the skin of which was covered with a gray rash. Babette’s claws were as sharp as darts. Flora barely had time to dodge them.
«Hurry up!» Drusilla ripped the invisible magic thread from her broomstick and prepared to fly again. Flora hurried after her. It was hard to jump on the broom this time because it was floating too high, but Flora managed. When fleeing from a crazy fairy, fear works wonders.
«It’s okay. I’ll get you otherwise!» Babette threatened with her index finger, which was greatly elongated and resembled a needle.
«You are a crazy fairy!» Flora shouted as the broomstick flew toward the edge of the square.
Babette laughed and snatched the strange silver pendant off her neck. Seconds later there was a deafening whoosh.
«What a mess!» Drusilla bit her lip in frustration. Her broomstick barely made it around the tall spires of the massive buildings that surrounded the square.
«It’s just a whistle! It just whistles very loudly,» Flora wondered that no one in the city was awake. The dragon hadn’t flown towards them yet either. If it were in the city now, the whole city would probably collapse with a single swing of its powerful paw.
The silvery whistling sound was still coming from below and was unpleasantly ear-splitting.
«I bet even the star fairies can hear it,» Drusilla complained.
«But people don’t hear it and don’t wake up,» Flora looked at the city windows. No lights flashed in any of them.
«Of course they don’t, because the whistling isn’t meant for human ears,» the witch snapped.
As the whistling died down, Flora heard the sounds of conversation. A candle was burning in the window of a tower. Someone was conspiring about something. Flora caught the words «king,» «conspiracy,» «death.»
«Could you fly over to that window over there,» she asked Drusilla.
The witch gingerly looked up at the heavens. There was no dragon in them. The broom turned reluctantly and circled over the tall buildings. Flora managed to peer through the window of every attic and attic window.
«We flew around nicely!» Flora stroked the witch’s cat sitting next to her on the broom.
Flying wasn’t the only fun. As it turns out, sitting on a broomstick, you can overhear what is being discussed in the high towers of city mansions. As soon as the witch’s broom was close to the window of the tower, Flora could see silhouettes inside. Some aristocrats were talking to an ugly hunchback who sold poisons. They seemed to be talking about killing the king.
«I don’t think they will succeed,» Drusilla whispered. «The king is not as simple as he seems.»
«Is it the King of Argania?» Flora hesitated. Everyone said the king was simple and trusted his advisers for everything.
«No, it is the King of Aluar.»
«So we’re in Aluar?»
«We’re on the very border between the two kingdoms.»
«How convenient is to fly on a broom! You have a marvelous means of transportation.»
«Thank you, my lady.» Drusilla blushed as if she’d heard the compliment. As if Flora was an expert in witches’ broomsticks and flying dragons.
«And you know the King of Aluar? Were you his housekeeper, too?»
You’d expect anything from a witch!
«No, I was a favorite, but I was outlived by more agile witches, and they in turn were outlived by even more agile fairies. Even fairies fight for favorable positions with kings. Only you wanted to be on your own.»
«You don’t want me to become the King Aluar’s favorite, do you?»
«That’s a thought. He’s a multifaceted person. He’s a real charmer. He even dodges dragon taxes sometimes.»
«Why should kings pay taxes to the dragon? So he doesn’t burn their kingdoms to the ground?»
«Of course!»
The witch’s broom flew one by one to all the windows where the hunchback, carrying a box of poisons, was passing by. The hunchback didn’t even notice the witches spying on him. But Flora learned a lot of interesting things. How convenient it was to fly with a witch!
The convenience ended as soon as the golden dawn broke over the city.
«Was it really dawn already?» Flora looked up and was stunned. Babette’s whistle had done the trick. A dragon was coming this way. A dazzling light was pouring from its golden hide.
«Hurry, let’s go!» The witch got worried and fidgeted on her broom so that the broom almost tipped over.
«Why don’t we hide in one of the houses?»
Flora tried to open the shutters of the window they were flying past. Hiding in the attic was a smart move. It was as if the dragon had sensed her intentions and breathed fire into the houses. Entire neighborhoods burned in an instant. The broom snapped out of its seat and raced forward like a madman. Flora gasped. The dragon had almost burned them! If not for the broom’s activity, the three of them would have been nothing but charred bones.
«The dragon doesn’t like witches,» Drusilla excused herself.
«Didn’t he sense I was with you? He was usually gallant to me.»
«You must have pissed him off too much this time. The dragon has hated hide-and-seek ever since you started it. And you kept playing it again, so he’s been getting fiercer for ages.»
Drusilla’s conscience was clearly not clear. The witch was nervous and was not telling us the truth. Her broomstick was moving at breakneck speed, but the dragon wasn’t lagging behind this time. He remembered that he had missed his prey last time. He wasn’t going to lose this time.
Night Spring
The dragon chased the witches across the sky, hoping to exhaust them. Drusilla’s broomstick, however, never tired. Sitting on it, Flora felt like a full-fledged witch. Any person who flies on a broom can be considered a witch. All that was missing was a pointy hat to complete the look.
The dragon could not escape the night clouds, the towers of the oncoming fortresses, or even the forests. He found witches everywhere.
«What an irresistible man he is!» Flora snorted.
«He is a true admirer of yours!»
«What kind of admirer is he who is ready to burn with fire? I resent it!»
«Tell him that!»
«Are you joking?» Flora looked back. The dragon had almost caught up with them. His paw was already reaching out to grab the broom. The broom miraculously managed to twist away.
Sparks flew at the witches. They rained down, but only Drusilla was burned. She was cursing at the dragon.
«Those pines over there will save us!» The witch pointed to a ring of trees in the middle of an empty field.
«Are you kidding? They’re standing in the open. We can’t hide in them. The dragon will see us.»
«There’s an invisible zone behind them!»
The witch was right. As soon as the broom flew between the pines, the dragon behind disappeared. All that could be heard was its angry growl. Ahead of the pines was not a field, but a gurgling waterfall. Flora blinked in surprise and couldn’t understand where it had come from. Apparently, from the ring of pines one could leap to the most unexpected places. Hiding behind one of the pines was a suspicious looking gnome. His red hat glowed brightly against the darkness. The dwarf was gesticulating desperately, trying to attract the dragon’s attention.
«He’ll give us away!»
«He won’t,» Drusilla reassured her. «You can’t see him from up there. By the way, do you like to swim? I remember you used to be friends with mermaids.»
«I don’t understand you!»
«It so happens that the only way out of here is into the water, otherwise the dragon will find us again.»
Ahead indeed lay a large body of water. It seemed as big as the sea to Flora. The inky-black water was repellent in its gloomy appearance. Not even the lilies white on it softened the impression. It was as if this pool was waiting for drowned men.
Flora prepared for them to plunge into the cold water and flounder around trying to swim out, but a small miracle happened. The broom landed on the water.
«Can it swim, too? I thought witches’ brooms could only fly.»
«A broom is not a flying ship,» Drusilla said angrily, apparently not happy about the water landing. Flora thought the witch had designed it to escape the dragon’s fire. What better protection is from dragon fire than water?
«I’ve never seen a flying ship,» Flora admitted, «but we could use one right now.
Otherwise they and Drusilla and the broom will all three of them go down. The river is deep and wide, and it’s a long way to the shore. Flora couldn’t swim, by the way.
«I’ll drown!» She panicked, but suddenly the broom swung forward through the water as easily as through the air.
«Hooray, victory!» Drusilla triumphed. «I really can do more than all my friends! Maybe you’ll make me lord of all the witches in the neighborhood.»
«How could I do that?»
«You can do anything!»
Flora bit her lip nervously. What would happen if it turned out that she couldn’t do anything?
Drusilla was happy that the broom was floating on its own, leaving circles and splashes on the dark water, but the frogs and toads were not happy with the witch. The nighttime coven on the water must have made them uncomfortable.
Flora picked up the pointed hat that had fallen from the witch’s head and tried it on. The water reflected a fairly decent young witch with Flora’s face.
«It looks good on me!»
«Do you want to trade it for the crown of the fairy kingdom?» Drusilla perked up.
«How could I!» You can’t trade for something you don’t possess.
«I thought so!» The witch signed. «The Fairy Crown is a valuable thing. It’s a good thing you won’t give it to me, or I’d have to become a fairy lord. And fairies are so mean! A witch couldn’t handle them.»
Flora soaked her feet in the water while the broom floated above the water. It floated and then rose slightly above the lilies.
«That’s because the spring is inhabited,» the witch explained. Mermaids and water mermaids nest there. They can intercept the broom if they see it floating in their territory. But while it’s flying, they have no right to touch it.»
«How curious is it!» Flora looked carefully at the dark water. Nothing could be seen through it. It was a pity the water wasn’t transparent. Flora wanted to see the mermaids. Too bad they might not be any kinder than fairies. Flora had often heard tales of mermaids attacking in packs and overturning fishing boats and dragging the fishermen to the bottom.
In the dark water flashed a webbed hand with a pearl growing on its middle finger like a ring. Flora shuddered. If the mermaid wanted to drown them, there would be a fight. Maybe she had imagined it, and it wasn’t really a hand, but a bizarrely shaped fish. Are there any fish that have a pearl growing in their scales? Only oysters seem to grow pearls.
The mermaid was not slow to appear. Flora was so frightened that she almost fell off her broom. Cold webbed hands reached for the bracelet on her wrist. It seemed as if the mermaid wanted to take it off along with her hand. Too bad the broom can’t hit the mermaid’s arm.
«Oops!» The mermaid looked into Flora’s eyes and quickly ducked back under the water.
«She recognized you,» Drusilla said happily. «It’s good to be in your company. Otherwise I’d have to deal with water creatures right now.»
Another head with multicolored hair and shell-like ears popped out of the water. Was it a mermaid again? Flora shuddered, but it turned out to be a cute newt swimming toward them.
«Is it you, Rose?» He squinted at the sight of Flora. «Is that really you? You remembered you promised to come visit me? I’ve been waiting for over a century.»
Flora huddled fearfully against the witch’s back, as if Drusilla could protect her. The newt will probably drown her. He looks like he wants to drag her to the bottom.
«Hurry up and get the broom up high!» Flora whispered to her witch friend. «Otherwise it will drag me into the water.»
The webbed hand of the newt was already reaching for her shoe.
«Wouldn’t you like to spend an hour with him at the bottom? He’s got all sorts of wild things down there. And he has elixirs to breathe underwater.»
Flora noticed that the newt was handsome, and his blue-green hair was adorned with a fine bone crown. Swimming with him among the lilies would be exciting, if the weather wasn’t chilly today. True, it could get hot at any moment if the dragon’s breath lit up the night again.
Flora almost accepted the newt’s outstretched hand, but remembered that he had called her Rose. Apparently he was mistaking her for another girl. Or did he call her that because he noticed the fiery rose sticking out from behind her corsage?
The newt was already out of the water up to his waist. He pulled himself up, clinging to the edge of a broomstick hovering over the pool, and Flora could see the glistening scales on his green tail.
She was taken aback when the newt tried to kiss her as if she were an old friend. The fiery rose had time to scorch her webbed hand, and the burned newt ducked back under the water.
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