How long did it take Moran to swim to her? Was it a minute? How long had it been since the ring had given voice?
Something like a huge kraken was pulling her to the bottom, but as soon as Moran tugged her toward him, the something receded.
Theres a wooden queen floating in the water, Desdemona whispered, eagerly snuggling into Morans cold chest. Do you think she called me here?
It is surely not her! Moran turned to the wreck of the ship, which the waves had already carried far away. Its a wonder it hasnt sunk yet.
I just turned into a mermaid! Do you believe me?
Obviously, no one could believe such a thing, because there was no answer.
As it turned out, Moran didnt need his hands to swim. He held Desdemona tightly. Only his octopus-like limbs were shoveling water. In a fraction of a minute he reached the shore, but he did not enter the usual way through doors or loggias, but climbed straight up the wall to the window of the kings bedroom. It seemed to Desdemona that they both flew.
Livia and Bersaba instantly realized they needed to light the fireplace and heat the wine. Moran laid a shivering Desdemona on the bed. She felt light kisses on her neck and lips. They were sweet, but they sent a chill through her.
Arianas warming elixirs have run out today, Moran whispered, pulling away, but tomorrow she will fly in and bring new ones. In the meantime, sleep!
The pearl on the ring mumbled something unhappily, but Desdemona did not listen to it. Her consciousness sank into sleep as into a dark swamp.
Troubadour
Desdemona dreamed that she was lying on her mothers grave in a quiet, marshy garden near the family crypt. The honeysuckle-covered coffin slab is cracked, and something is swarming underneath it, as if some monster were tearing its way out of the earth and mire. Something is pounding with a clawed claw on the other side of the slab, and she lies on her back and cannot move. Shes wearing a wedding dress. But for some reason its purple instead of white. Are there any wedding gowns that are red in color? Or has the dress turned purple from the blood? Her head hurts like hell. Thats because there are many red roses in her hair. These roses are supposed to be jewelry because they blend so well with her blue-black curls, but the flowers have such sharp thorns! These roses were definitely brought by Dodger. Somehow she knows that. If only she could pluck them out of her hair and feel the reassurance that the thorns are gone, but she cant move an arm or a leg. Its as if shes paralyzed by some magical force. And someone standing over the grave had already swung a sickle at her. The smell of roses became suffocating. Desdemona had time to think only that the gilded sickle looked like a month glittering in the sky. And then the sickle sliced her neck. The head, adorned with roses, flew away and rolled across her mothers grave.
Desdemona awoke in horror and touched her neck. The head seemed to be in place. In the dream, the sensation of being beheaded was painfully real.
Moran wasnt in her bedroom. Apparently he had left during the night. Desdemona vaguely heard, as she fell asleep, some voices calling for him from the water. It was a whole chorus. Or had she just dreamed it?
Life had turned in such a fantastic way that soon she wouldnt be able to distinguish dreams from reality, or fairy tales from reality. Moran promised hed get a visit from a real sea fairy. She wondered what she looks like and what she can do? Desdemona had only read about fairies in fairy tales, but she could guess that seeing a fairy would definitely be much more pleasant than running into a Copycat in the corridors pretending to be someone from her late family.
In the old days the bonfires were blazing even during the day. But this precaution was a thing of the past. Now the king himself was half morgen.
How easily the feud between humans and Morgens was resolved! All it took was to marry a sea king to an Earth princess. Or was it not that simple at all?
The combined offspring of Lilophea and the waterman were more sea than earth. With Morans arrival, Aquilania might become merely a colony of his fathers maritime domain.
Desdemona looked out to sea through the opened door of the balcony and shuddered. Was there another bonfire by the shore? She squinted. No, it was a flap of bright red cloth fluttering in the wind, resembling a dancing flame. And the cloth is a shapeless cape over the narrow shoulders of some troubadour composing songs right on the shore. There was something familiar about him. Desdemona listened to his voice and recognized Dodger.
He sat on a boulder at the edge of the surf and sang in all sorts of songs:
The rhyme was lacking, but the meaning was clear. Desdemona sharply slammed the glass doors leading to the balcony. She was queen now and would not let anyone tease her. The crown, by the way, was pressing hard on her forehead, even though it was elegant. She wanted to take it off, but she couldnt. The crown is a symbol of her power, however flimsy. All major power is in Morans hands, or rather in his tentacles. All the lives of the people of Aquilania are now in his hands.
It took a king to crawl out of the sea to strike fear into the hearts of the people of his state, didnt it? Dodger was already here. He easily climbed to the balcony, swung over the railing and silently opened the shutters. A lute dangled from his belt at his shoulder. On one broken string was a live rose.
This is for you! The guest caught up, pulled out a flower, and held it out to Desdemona. She did not dare to take it.
That for the queen just one rose is too modest a gift? He said sarcastically. I hear you adore roses.
Were you spying on me with Moran?
It was the kind of conversation he could only overhear under their bedroom. When playing sea chess with Moran, she confessed to him that roses were her favorite flowers.
Dodger didnt clarify where or what he heard. Maybe his hearing is so sharp that he can pick up all the whispers of the people in the palace from the sea.
Strange, isnt it? The king came to take care of his country only to have it flooded. All the souls of those who waited for him here are in danger. Theyre about to migrate to the sea.
And what if he is not so cruel? Desdemona did accept the rose and immediately pricked herself on the thorns until she bled. You should be careful, but when youre with someone whose face you cant see, you get nervous.
Nobility is not in the taste of the morgen, the Dodger gritted his teeth angrily. I remember being drowned.
You must be from the society of those who survived and didnt drown. They call you the Chosen Ones.
Is it the Chosen? He chuckled softly.
Are you amused? Desdemona took offense. He probably considered himself cursed rather than chosen, given his grim appearance. Hes not handsome and hes definitely not human. The red cloak most likely hides a body disfigured by sea contagion. Dodger might be a leper.
Youd better go, Moran could return at any moment. Desdemona decided to get the annoying admirer out of the bedroom as quickly as possible. How come only monsters were attracted to her?
Only fragments of his face could be seen under the Dodgers hood, but even that was enough to realize that he was ugly.
You dont like the way I look. Yes? He guessed it.
What can she say to that? Desdemona frowned.
Look! Dodger handed her a small oval locket with a mans portrait on it. Do you like it?
The portrait was of a green-eyed brown-haired man with sculpted features.
He is quite handsome, Desdemona said. Did you kill him and keep his portrait as a trophy?