– Sorry!
I straightened up, turned my shoulders and hastily trotted off, as decency required. I broke into a run again when my inappropriate behavior was hidden by the door. I still looked into the toilet. It was true that the matter was necessary, but the main purpose of the absence and the choice of place lay elsewhere. Climbing onto the wide windowsill, I opened the sash of the window overlooking the park and, looking outside, called quietly:
– Simka!
Simka is my familiar Simuran. Actually, elementals don’t have such familiars, but I’m not a completely normal elementalist. I was born an empty nester, and received the gift just two years ago. At sixteen years old, and not at twelve or thirteen, as expected. And even then I received it in an unusual way, but that’s a completely different story*.
My older sister Talaria gave me the SIM card. She saved a little simuran with a broken wing. While he was being treated, the baby’s mother disappeared somewhere, and he had to be left behind. But Simka grew up to be such a hooligan that they willingly gave him away to me, which made me incredibly happy, because I had a pet and a true friend that I had always dreamed of.
Simka and I had love at first sight, but my mother barely survived his stay at the Blackrock estate. Not only did the wolf cub spoil things, but he also scared her on purpose, which is why we all experienced many unpleasant moments. But I was able to insist on my own and pacified both of them – the simuran and my mother too. Surprisingly, my father only chuckled as he watched our battles and flatly refused to take anyone’s side.
– Simka? – I called again, hearing some rustling in the lush thickets of the garden euonymus.
This time we didn’t have to wait long, and from the largest bush, a smiling wolf’s face, white with green spots and stripes, looked out.
– Are you here! “I exhaled with relief and, easily jumping over the window sill, hugged the simuran, who did not stick out of the bushes completely, but only up to his neck. “Is it just me, or have you grown up again?”
Simka licked my nose, making me wince and wipe myself off. I couldn’t talk to him mentally, but the simuran understood me perfectly, and I understood him too.
When I was sent to a boarding school, Simka followed me and lived secretly here in the vast park. How he managed to get food, I never found out. He probably hunted chickens at night in the surrounding villages. Or on rabbits and birds in the mountains, fortunately his wing had grown together long ago, and he flew perfectly. But I would rather believe that Simka steals food from the local kitchen. I heard the housekeeper swear at the cook, and the cook at the unknown thief.
To prevent Simka from being caught, because he is so clean and all white, I regularly tinted his fur with green pigment, which my sister taught me to prepare. Fortunately, the ingredients there were trivial. Now the dye had almost peeled off from the simuran’s fur, and he amused me with his spotted colors, which hid him so well among the white-green leaves and gave my winged wolf a particularly hooligan look of a warrior on a mission. Sometimes they also paint their faces like this in order to be more invisible. As Talaria says: “Rely on magic, but don’t make a mistake yourself!”
– Simka, do you have a letter? – I asked.
The head dived into the bushes, and then looked back, and the simuran put on the ground the leaf crumpled into a ball that I had thrown out the window earlier. I smoothed it out, folded it into a neat rectangle and put it in a special pocket on the magic collar, which was visible only to me and Tali, and also did not interfere with Simka at all.
– Give the letter to Talaria and come back. Yes! I'm leaving right now, not in the morning. First to the Travel Bureau station, remember? My father and I arrived there, and you found me.
Simuran growled affirmatively.
– Here. From there a stagecoach from the academy will pick me up. I’m sure you’ll quickly catch up with us, especially since the road is already familiar to you. All. Fly, don't delay. I want to please my sister with the news as soon as possible.
I kissed my pet right on his wet nose and climbed back out the restroom window. The window was too high. I didn’t calculate something when I jumped out, so I hung on my elbows, vainly groping along the wall with my feet, trying to find at least some kind of support. She found herself. The forehead of a wolf placed itself at my feet and easily lifted me up. Climbing onto the windowsill, I smiled at caring Simka and thanked:
– Thank you!
Simuran wagged his fluffy tail goodbye and took off from the ground with a jump. He opened his mighty wings, the snow-whiteness of which alternated with green, and… He disappeared right into the air, turning into a milky haze, which immediately dissipated. I will never get tired of watching this magic! Not all simurans are capable of this. Probably the only one of mine in all of Balaria.
When Simka delivers the letter to his sister, he will return in the same way to the place where we last saw each other, or where we agreed to meet. True, for the second option it is necessary for the simuran to visit there at least once, otherwise he will have to fly in the usual way and spend more time.
Having finished sending urgent mail, I hurried back. Grymza is probably already tired of waiting and will swear.
– Blackrock, why is it taking so long? Or maybe I should have chosen someone else? “The rebuke came as soon as I appeared on the back porch.
The headmistress, squinting, examined me, as if deciding who would be best to replace me. I went cold. She will do this, and then goodbye to my long-awaited freedom…
– Ashsheri director, please forgive me. I was so excited that I felt sick to my stomach, so I had to stay late,” I began to make excuses.
Even my face became stained from excitement, so Grymza did not doubt my words for a moment.
“That’s great,” she sighed grumpily. – Still, you won’t be able to find another candidate quickly…
Meanwhile, I had already climbed into the gig and sat down on the seat, straightening my back and taking on the most innocent and beautiful appearance, so as not to give her time to come to her senses and doubt me even more.
The headmistress came closer and suddenly covered my hand with hers.
“I want to give you some advice, Blackrock.” Don't rely too much on your father once you get there. And don't boast about his name. Family ties in such matters are not always for the good. And second: the Academy of Wind and Storms is filled to capacity, albeit still young, but already men. Men can be unrestrained in their impulses, so I want to give you something. Here. “She took a pendant on a chain from her pocket and placed it in my palm.
It turned out to be an asymmetrical transparent crystal, lined with black stripes on the inside. All in all, it was about as beautiful as Grymza herself, and would have looked great as her decoration.
– What is this?
I stared at the headmistress, wondering why I needed such a trinket and how it would help at the academy.
Grymza broke into a knowing smile:
– Ugly, huh? “I remained silent so as not to lie to my face, and the headmistress condescended to explain: “This is an artifact of a distortion of appearance.”
– Forgive me, Ashsheri Director, I am sincerely grateful to you and I understand that your gift contains some deep meaning that, due to my age and stupidity, I simply cannot grasp. Could you give me a little hint? – I smiled guiltily, hoping that they wouldn’t drag me out of the gig, completely disappointed in the choice of candidate.
– Why is it unclear? If you need to hide your beauty, just put it on your neck and imagine what you need. Scars, burns, sour mine, just a faded appearance, a tired, painful appearance, warts, whatever!
– Warts?!
I finally stopped understanding what she was talking about and batted my eyelashes.
– Oh, my girl! Nothing can cool a man's ardor more than the right wart at the right time and in the right place. Understood?
– It seems… This is all for disguise, right?
“For camouflage,” Grymza repeated after me and grinned condescendingly. “You’re a smart girl, you’ll figure it out on your own when the time comes.” Do not lose. A rare thing. Most likely, the second one does not exist. The master did it.
Suddenly I realized that she was looking at me almost affectionately. And her face didn’t look so stern now.
– Eshsheri director, and you… Don’t you need it anymore? – Having blurted out the question, I fell silent and swallowed, afraid of my own courage.
It was necessary to blurt out such a thing! And to whom!
But the headmistress only broke into a surprisingly pleasant smile.
“Grymza’s mask has grown on me over the years, baby.” People here are afraid of fire, so I really don’t need the amulet anymore. It’s not like fifty years ago, when I, a girl not much older than you, was forced to take the reins of the boarding house into my own hands. Believe me, it wasn’t easy…” she shared. – All. Enough chatter. Touch it! – the headmistress commanded the elderly, silent driver. – Good luck, Blackrock! Show them all there!
Raising her fist, Grymza smiled at me and, without turning around, headed into the building. I followed her with my gaze until her straight, tall figure disappeared behind the door, and then looked forward to a bright future.
Chapter 2
There were a dozen Travel Bureau stations in Verlor, the capital of the Onyx Rocks, but I had to leave from the same one where I had once arrived with my father. The journey to it from the guesthouse took about forty minutes, and while we were driving, it began to get dark. Reacting to the deepening twilight, bright magic lanterns began to blink on the streets, flooding the area with a cozy, warm light. I admired the beautiful houses of wealthy capital city residents and the majestic building of the theater, which made an indelible impression on me – I had the opportunity to visit there once with other students.
