In the meantime, the little mermaid unraveled and pulled off the stinking, all smelling of mud, net and began to slowly, leisurely examine the dark room with a faint reflection of rare flickering torches. Black reflections of fish skeletons played in the window, gloomy eels flickered back and forth, and other trophies obtained by this terrible witch hung on the walls. And Silena thought to herself:
How sloppy this witch is, and there is no one to clean up here. I looked around again: it would be necessary to clean up here. In the corner stood a witchs kelp broom. And in the hands of the little mermaid the broom danced.
After removing a bunch of excess debris, the girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled contentedly: its better that way.
All night the witch sat without a wink of eyes and puzzled over what was happening, but did not decide what to do with the mermaid. She flung open the door feverishly, and, floating into the room, was struck by the unusual order of her room. The cobwebs in the corners disappeared and nothing superfluous interfered with its swimming.
The witch was pleasantly surprised: it even became more convenient. And when she glanced at the mermaid, she said:
I dont know what will happen next, but for now I leave you and do not allow you to swim outside of my kingdom. And now its time to go around my domain. Every morning I make a tour of my kingdom.
Follow me and listen carefully to everything I say.
And the witch swam forward, showing the girl huge black coral gardens, between which floats the same gloomy black octopuses, which, looking at the stranger, bared their mouths, bristled their tentacles, wanting to suck and burn her. The little mermaid deftly glided between the witch and the octopuses and dodged these enemies. After her, they let out their blue-black bile. And the sea serpents also hissed and grinned, and the witch hissed back at them:
This is my ward, do not dare to touch her without my knowledge and permission.
And, grabbing the girl by the hand, she dragged her into her black, terrible palace, and many offended fish remained behind, snapping their teeth and straightening to bite off the little mermaids tail for this. But the witch threatened her finger and they retreated. Black octopuses moved their tentacles and created a terrible sight, but the mermaid was not afraid of them. The witch dragged her along and said:
And now Ill show you my most hidden magical place. Im also a witch, for your information.
And the little mermaid only had time to think to herself:
And I already guessed about it. This is something I know well.
And so, sailing to the huge black, half-blown glossy
the lotus, on the sides of which stood huge, heavily growling moray eels with wide-open mouths, with a grin of sharp teeth in three rows, the witch revived.
Now is the time when my lotus blossoms and we can go inside.
Once inside, swimming after the witch, the little mermaid was amazed. By the edges of the round bottomless room, lined with black iridescent pearls, shimmered with a spinning, huge diamond.
This is the focus of my power. I liked you and I will not eat you, I will teach you witchcraft. You can turn into anyone you want, even into a person, and stay with me. You will become my successor, because I feel in you some kind of native force, a powerful attraction. I cant let you go. I will send a seahorse with the news to your father that in a month I will let you go.
Well, let it be your way, said the little mermaid. Only I want to see the king-father at least occasionally.
But the witch shook her head:
I have a secret that I will reveal to you. I cannot leave my domain. There is another unknown force that does not allow me to leave my kingdom. And then you will be my guide. Now I cant let you go. Ill let you go later, but I wont promise anything now. Not right now. Every day I will teach you my various magical wisdom and at the end of the path I will give you a magical scepter, and all your desires will come true while it is in your hands. I will teach you to read witch books.
And the witch continued, pointing to a huge translucent stone:
This diamond can show the past and the future.
What about the real one?
What do you really need? she yelled.
Daddy is probably worried about me, isnt he? I didnt come home yesterday.
I told you I cant let you go now. I will send the seahorse as a messenger. Your time will come.
Im very worried about my dad, Silena almost whimpered.
The witch grunted and dragged her by the hand to the diamond, waved her tail and the diamond sparkled with a grayish light. And the little mermaid saw her father. He worried about her, gathered his retinue in search of her. Everyone in the kingdom was alarmed.
Oh, what calf tenderness, the witch barked. You looked, your father is alive and well, and thats enough for you!
The diamond is off. The little mermaid calmed down and thought:
Oh, well, she thought, seeing her father, hes all right.
And so it all went: the other side of the mermaids studies: magic, sorcery. She was very interested in it. The further, the deeper, the more interesting it became. It was even possible to create something extraordinary out of nothing. Even the witch slowly began to soften, without noticing it herself. As she lacked, it turns out before normal communication. And it was all Silenas fault.
Nobody let her out, as if the gloomy space itself did not allow her to leave. A black haze reigned in this enchanted kingdom that it was not known when the day came and when the night came.
And the courtiers and the whole kingdom already guessed that the princess was imprisoned by a witch, because they searched all the nooks and crannies of the underwater kingdom and other neighboring settlements, and no one saw her. And even her classmates stopped being angry with her and regretted that they had treated her badly. The seahorse forgot himself with a message from the witch and sat drunk in a tavern, where the palace guards found him. He lost the message, but conveyed it in words, and the king announced in the district that he was going to attack the witch kingdom with an army.
And the rumors reached the witch and the little mermaid. Silena asked her gloomy teacher to send a messenger to the king that she was not in danger and in two months she would return home.
The witch, as the first time, kept her word and sent a swimming beetle there to announce her decision. The king decided not to resist. He knew the witch: she would keep her word, she was true to her promises, and it was not worth risking her daughter.
Two months have passed and a capable student has mastered all the lessons and admonitions from the sorceress. The kings father did not go to war to free his daughter, he believed the promise and eagerly leafed through the calendar. Yes, and he could not have defeated the witch, because no one had yet been able to defeat her. And if she wins, then the defeated kingdom, so prosperous, will also turn into a black haze he did not dare to allow this.
Its time to release the little mermaid, and the witch got used to her so much that she already considered her successor. Silena began to love the witch, because she so lacked female attention from her mother.
The witch looked after the sailing Silena and suddenly, against her will, shed a tear, and the little mermaid, quietly floating out into the bright light, closed her eyes out of habit and slowly, slowly swam towards her kingdom without looking back. Gentle waves caressed her hair, diffused light penetrated through the water and, out of habit, her head was spinning a little.