I was sitting in a deep armchair, wrapped up to my chin in a warm blanket. I woke up to a quiet conversation.
Grimuar was talking to Alastia, tossing firewood into the fireplace along the way.
"Their king will arrive tomorrow," the ambassador was saying, looking at the flas. "Most likely, the conversation will imdiately turn to Zenhald. I've heard that the new ruler of these lands is still quite young, but calm and intelligent by nature. We need to conduct the dialogue carefully. It's desirable that they agree to a trade alliance. Neither our country nor yours wishes to fight right now. Especially since, on the water, they currently have no equals."
"And what exactly did Zenhald do in the past?" Alastia inquired in a bored voice.
"He killed their king, who had ruled for over thirty years. The common folk still whisper that the monarch was torn apart by the devil in the guise of a jester."
"I see," Alastia said evenly and raised an absolutely indifferent gaze to . She knew I was no longer sleeping.
"And why should we be afraid of them?" I chid in, throwing off the edge of the blanket. "We have the power. If anything goes wrong, I'll just slaughter them all, and that'll be the end of it."
Grimuar chuckled, not taking his eyes off the fireplace. "All brawn and no brains?" Alastia also smiled faintly at his words.
"What?" I was indignant. "I just suggested that as one of the options! It's a working option."
"So here is how it's going to be," Grimuar sumd up in an indisputable tone. "Tomorrow, Zenhald, try not to speak at all."
"Booooring..." I drawled, crossing my arms over my chest.
Alastia stood up silently, took a small mirror off the wall, walked over, and shoved it right under my nose. "Now say 'booooring' again," she asked.
"Booooring... So what?" I stared at my reflection.
"Can't you see? You're sitting there like a capricious child, and you even puffed out your cheeks." Alastia put the mirror away and looked down at . "Can you please act like an adult tomorrow?"
"Fine," I answered quickly, hastily looking away from her. I suddenly felt ashad that I even had to be asked such things.
Alastia smiled warmly. She unhurriedly stepped behind the back of my chair, gently wrapped her arms around my neck, and rested her chin right on my shoulder. "Thank you," she said quietly.
I felt like I'd been struck by real lightning. An electric jolt rushed through my body, and I froze, unable to move a hand or a foot. I even stopped breathing, afraid to scare away this mont. The scent of her hair and the warmth of her cheek completely paralyzed any thoughts.
She held
in her embrace for a few more monts, then let go and, with a pleased, bright smile, returned to her seat. "I never thought this could be so pleasant," she admitted.
The next day we were led into a spacious reception hall. We sat down at a long table, and the great standoff began. I kept rocking back and forth on the back legs of my chair with a creak. Opposite us sat important people with extrely gloomy faces, drilling holes in
with their gazes. Alastia and Grimuar, flanking , maintained their composure.
We probably played a staring contest for a whole half hour. I was the first to lose patience.
I clapped my hands loudly.
"Why are we so sad?" I drawled.
Right out of thin air, a mask began to form in my palms. With an unnaturally wide, frozen smile and narrow slits. I slowly put it on my face. Through the thin eye slits, a red light pierced outward.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" my laugh distorted under the mask, sounding like the screech of tal. "Why are you all so tense? Maybe I should make masks for you too? So you can smile?"
I leaned forward with my whole body, looming over the table. My hearing caught how one of them began to quickly and fervently whisper under his breath: "God, save us from the devil of the underworld... Oh God, save us from the devil..."
"Who are you calling a devil right now?" I straightened up sharply and poked a purple-gloved finger at him. The man swallowed hard and pressed himself into the back of his chair.
Grimuar imdiately placed a heavy palm on my shoulder. "Calm down."
"Sigh, it's just so boring here!" I leaned back in disappointnt and reached into my pocket. "Let's at least play sothing while we wait for your king?"
I pulled a twenty-sided die out of my pocket. In the next mont, it changed shape, turning into an even six-sided cube. I ran my palm over it: two parallel sides turned black, and the remaining four turned bright green.
"Here is the ga," I announced. "Whose turn it is throws the die. If a green side rolls, any participant at the table can ask you one question. The one who rolled must answer honestly. And if black rolls, you skip a turn. Agree?"
There were five of them. They all looked at the grayest one, sitting in the center, and started whispering to each other. Finally, the old man responded: "We will not play gas with the devil. You won't fool us so easily."
"Wow, do you think I'm that terrible of a person?" I theatrically pressed my hands to my chest. "Co on, I'm not making a blood or soul contract with you! It's just a ga. If you answer untruthfully, nothing will happen to you. Honest to goodness. But I will answer honestly so the ga is interesting. Otherwise, what's the point of playing if everyone is going to lie?"
They exchanged glances again and started whispering, as if we had suddenly stopped hearing them.
"Alright, we agree," the old man nodded, but still clarified, "Nothing will happen to us if we answer the wrong way?"
"Absolutely nothing!"
I took the cube and was the first to throw it on the table. A green face stared at the ceiling.
"Woo-hoo! Green! Ask your question," I smugly put my hands behind my head and continued to rock on the chair.
The officials started exchanging glances again.
"How long can you stare at each other, this isn't fun!" I hurried them.
The question was asked by the sa man who had been praying in a whisper earlier: "Are you a demon?"
"Nope," I answered easily.
"Then who are you?"
"One question, one answer!" I pointed a finger at the table. "Roll the die."
The man who had been praying took the die with a trembling hand and rolled it. It ca up green.
"Wow, green!" I put an index finger to my chin, pretending to think hard. "Oh, I know! How did you end up here? Or rather... did you get this position through family connections?"
The man swallowed nervously and looked at his seniors. The one sitting to his right gave an encouraging nod. "Nothing to hide here."
"Yes..." the man admitted quietly. At that mont, the cube on the table softly glowed green, confirming the truth of his words.
The next to take the die was the man on the right. A roll, and green again.
"Oh, you're an uninteresting guy," I drawled. "Well co on, ask your question."
He took a deep breath and asked: "Are you a god?"
"OH CO ON, WHAT ARE THESE STUPID QUESTIONS! NO! It's completely uninteresting playing with you!"
I swept the cube off the table and irritably shoved it back into my pocket. But imdiately caught Alastia's intense gaze. A clear reminder of my promise from yesterday could be read in her eyes.
I felt sowhat awkward inside. I instantly cald down, stopped rocking, and, folding my arms on the table, simply rested my head on them.
"Looks like we're going to be waiting a long ti..." I said into the tabletop.
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No, I an, I understand everything. A king is a big shot, all that stuff... But, damn it, they could have at least fed us during this ti, right? I sat with my head on the table and ntally fud. For so reason, I couldn't fall asleep at all, which was very strange for .
Finally, soone broke the silence. It was that sa gray-haired official in the center.
"To hell with whoever said the king would arrive at dawn," he said tiredly. "They were wrong. The king will most likely arrive only by evening."
He got up heavily, left the hall, and returned about five minutes later.
"Excuse us, guests. You must be hungry. Food will be brought shortly."
And the mont the servants carried in the trays, the doors swung open.
"O-o-oh, FOOD!" I almost jumped out of my chair, but caught Alastia's strict look in ti and held myself back, sitting back down.
The king entered the hall. That sa "young man." He looked about twenty, twenty-five at most, but he seed as if he had aged a decade in a couple of days. He had erald-green eyes and golden hair. From his slender fingers, it was imdiately clear that this person had never held anything heavier than a quill in his hands before.
He walked up to the table, lazily threw back his heavy cloak, sank into the armchair opposite us, and placed his crown right on the tabletop with a clatter.
I, anwhile, reached for the bowl of candies. Taking off my creepy mask, I popped a sweet into my mouth. The king did not take his intent, studying gaze off .
"I've always been curious..." he began slowly, "to look into the face of the one who killed my predecessor."
He chuckled, propping his chin on his fingers, and continued to examine
with undisguised curiosity.
"I was often told that it was the devil himself who punished my uncle for his sins. And yesterday I was inford that this very devil had paid a visit in person. They tried to talk
out of coming here. But I was curious to get a look at you."
I shrugged and started thodically stuffing candies into the pockets of my jester's costu. Well, why not? Good candies are hard to co by these days, gotta stock up!
"But you know," the king's voice beca quieter and more serious. "My uncle kept these lands in peace and harmony for thirty years. All the peoples... humans, beastn, dwarves, elves... They all lived in peace and knew no wars for all those thirty years. So even called those tis Golden."
He paused, watching
unwrap another candy.
"But one day everything changed. The earth itself scread in pain. Animals from all over the north fled in terror. And she appeared. A massive mountain where there had never been one. And after my uncle's death... you can't even imagine how much blood was spilled. In one month, many aristocrats lost everything. Centuries-old dynasties lost their power and were destroyed."
The king spread his hands, sweeping his gaze across the hall, and then looked at
again.
"And right now you are sitting in front of . I look at you and I just can't understand... You don't even look fifteen."
I popped another candy into my mouth.
"Looks can be deceiving. And your candies are top-notch. I'd appreciate it if you could wrap up a couple of kilograms to go."
The king laughed quietly, almost joylessly. He leaned back in his chair, looking at
with so strange relief. "My advisors begged
to gather an army. They said the Devil had co for my head. But I look at you and I understand one simple thing..."
"May I know your na?" the young ruler continued calmly, not taking his eyes off . "My na is Igras. And yours?"
Chewing the candy loudly and with pleasure, I answered: "Zenhald."
"Alright, Zenhald, then," Igras nodded slowly, as if tasting the na. "I look at you and I dare to propose... burying the hatchet. Groutar has no objections to you trading with Lant. Even more so—let's conclude a full-fledged trade alliance. I will send my ambassadors to you to further discuss all the details. Do you agree?"
I stopped chewing. I froze with a half-unwrapped chocolate in my hand. I don't get it. Is he asking
right now? I thought smart adult people sat here for such serious topics. I turned around. Grimuar and Alastia sat completely silent, unmoving, and simply waited for my answer.
"I don't know," I answered, sending the chocolate into my mouth.
The hand the young king had resting on the armrest twitched nervously.
"You don't know?" controlled anxiety slipped into his voice. "Do you not like the conditions I'm putting forward?"
"I don't know why you're even asking
this," I leaned on the table, casually brushing sweet crumbs off my sleeve. "I personally don't decide such matters. Mount Slick has its own official king, Zorgh. Discuss these affairs with him. I was just... passing by."
King Igras sighed heavily, slowly leaned back against the chair, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was obvious what incredible effort it cost him to maintain his composure while trying to understand the logic.
"Very well," he finally said, accepting my rules of the ga. "So be it. With your king."
He turned sharply to his gloomy people, who had been sitting half-dead all this ti, and gave a curt nod. They instantly ca alive, as if by the snap of fingers. Thick scrolls of parchnt imdiately flew onto the table, inkwells clinked. Quills scratched. They began to quickly and cohesively write up preliminary agreents.
Twenty minutes later they finally finished, and during that ti I successfully emptied all the sweet supplies on the table. King Igras handed
the written parchnt with a slight bow.
"Please read this. Do you find the terms acceptable?"
I took the paper in my hands, lowered my gaze to the fresh ink... And, damn it all.
I couldn't read it. I definitely know this language, I know how to read, but right now... The text on the paper began to behave absolutely erratically. The lines layered on top of each other. The letters doubled, then tripled, stretching into aningless, long black patterns. I desperately tried to force myself to focus, but my eyes refused to read. If I tried to read this now, it would take
an eternity just for the first sentence.
I sat like that for a long five minutes. Just silently staring at the paper, trying to stop this visual chaos by sheer willpower. An expectant silence hung in the hall. The Groutar officials probably thought the Devil-Jester was looking for a hidden catch in every clause of the treaty.
I looked up sharply at the king, then shifted my gaze to the people next to him—I needed to check my vision. But everything was perfectly fine: I clearly saw Igras's golden hair, saw every drop of sweat on the gray-haired man's forehead. But the mont I lowered my eyes back to the contract... it was the sa blurry, spreading mush of ink.
Well, this is crap, I thought with longing and rising panic.
I yawned exaggeratedly loud, covering my mouth with a purple-gloved hand.
"Grimuar, Alastia," I casually shoved the papers right into the hands of the dumbfounded ambassador. "Read this for , please. I'm incredibly lazy. I want to sleep."
Not waiting for an answer, I turned around and strode toward the doors of the hall.
Again.
I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when the door creaked quietly. Alastia entered. She walked over soundlessly, sat on the edge of the mattress, and gently ran her cool palm over my cheek.
I opened my eyes. Pretending to be asleep no longer made sense.
"You acted rather strangely when the king handed you the papers," she began quietly, not taking her hand away. "What did you see there that we didn't notice? I saw it: your gaze was dead frozen over the exact sa sentence. But no matter how many tis I reread the contract later, I found no malicious intent. Are you alright?"
"I was just too lazy to read all that nonsense," I stretched lazily, trying to sound as careless as possible. "Everything is just peachy with ."
Alastia only smiled slyly. From the folds of her robe, she produced a thin hardcover book.
"Oh, is that so?" she replied cheerfully. "Then read these poems to ."
She lowered the book right onto my chest. I propped myself up on my elbows, took the volu, and looked at the cover.
And imdiately my eyes ached from the strain. The text began to separate again. The black letters copied and pasted over themselves, shifting slightly up and to the left. Then again. And again. The lines turned into an unreadable mush. My brain simply refused.
"Hmm, probably good stuff," I mumbled, trying to breathe evenly so as not to betray the mounting panic.
Alastia lay down nearby, resting on her elbow, and also stared at the cover.
"Well, open it."
Page one.
"Uh, you know, Alastia, I don't really like poetry," I tried to shove the book in her direction. "Maybe you should read it instead?"
She smiled softly, but indulgently. "You know, Zenhald... when you lie, your ears turn red."
Thump. My heart painfully hit my ribs. That phrase. I think it had been said to
hundreds of tis. By hundreds of different people, in different eras, millennia ago. Fleeting voices, the laughter of those who had long turned to dust, flashes of strangers' faces—all of this rushed before my eyes like an avalanche. My brain simply short-circuited for a second from the overload.
I frantically pulled the book back to myself, clinging to it like a life preserver.
"Well, then, it says here..." I squinted, and miraculously snatched one word out of the chaos. "'Readers'! Oh, here is the author's preface. Very interesting. Hmm... Smart. Written very smartly."
Alastia sighed heavily. The gas were over.
"Why are you lying to ?"
"I'm not lying."
"You are lying, right to the bitter end," there was no anger in her voice, only exhaustion and care. "I can see how hard it is for you just to focus your gaze. The cover says in large letters: 'The Tales of Arlin'. Why lie to , Zen? I won't hurt you. On the contrary, I want to help."
I tossed the book onto the blanket.
"Well... uhh, I don't know," I admitted hollowly. "This is sothing new. It just started recently. It was never this bad before."
"What exactly is happening?" she moved a little closer.
"I see the letters. But in the sa instant, they appear again, slightly above and to the left. And then again, and again... And then I can't make them out at all. When I tried to read the first letter just now, for so reason my brain tried to read it in a completely different language, even though it's written in another. It's like everything breaks from overload."
I turned away to the wall, feeling my insides tighten. "It's just... these are just my problems, Alastia. And no one else's."
Alastia silently took the book from my weakened fingers. She didn't argue, question, or pity
out loud—she simply opened the hardcover, got comfortable, and quietly began to read.
"'The Tales of Arlin,'" she pronounced. "Page one. Author's preface."
Her voice sounded even and lodic, filling the room with comfort.
"'When I first started writing this book, initially they were just scattered notes that later grew into a personal diary. But now I have decided to gather them together and tell this story to you. A story about a world painfully familiar to everyone. When I, an elf nad Arlin, ca into the world, a fragile peace reigned in our lands...'"
I turned around a bit, moved closer, and sat next to her, trying to catch a glimpse of the text on the yellowish pages out of the corner of my eye. The lines were still treacherously doubling and sliding, but leaning on her voice was much easier than trying to decipher them myself.
"'...About three hundred years had passed since the demons were defeated,' Alastia continued reading, slowly tracing her slender finger along the lines. 'Heroes from all over the world gathered in one place to vanquish this terrifying evil. Heroes whose nas have already been erased by ti for you and have no aning, erged victorious. For three hundred years the demons did not wage a major war, there were only minor raids. And those raids were suppressed by the Wizard of those tis. A long life he lived. An unthinkable age for a mortal human—a whole three hundred years...'"
Listening to this text, I suddenly felt myself falling asleep. Alastia's voice enveloped , granting so absolute tranquility.
Psychomagic? the last thought flashed weakly in my fading consciousness.
I didn't have ti to process anything else. My head dropped powerlessly onto her shoulder. Alastia didn't even flinch, only gripped the binding a little more carefully and continued to read quietly into the void of the night, guarding my peace.
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