The arrow hit the rear window. And the chase was not as easy as she had first thought. Rosamunda clenched her fists. Anger arose. If the arrow had broken the back window, it might have hit her in the face. Anger boiled up inside, and something began to happen to the soil beneath the carriage wheels. The ground they were traveling over shook. It was a blessing that Dandy knew how to push his horses to extreme speed. The road that had been left behind had split into a gully-sized crack, from which something monstrous and swamp-colored was bursting forth. Had the guardsmen who had caught up with the carriage fallen through the holes, or had the mire inside sucked them in? The swamp looked like a living beast.
«What kind of vermin live in the bowels of the earth,» came Dandy’s careless shout. He began to whistle some song about the underground kingdom and its creepy inhabitants.
The ride into the mountains proved unpleasant. Dandy dropped her off, mumbled something unintelligible, and pulled the carriage aside. Rosamunda was not embarrassed. She remembered the stories about the Zwergs and Leprehuns who lived in the mountains and kept fabulous treasures. There was a cave just then. And from it was singing.
Rosamunda followed the sounds, sneaked into the cave and saw a tiny people at the spinning wheel. The cave dwellers didn’t look like zwergs or leprechauns. Rather, they were pixies – tiny fairies the size of moths. They were entirely golden in color, as if tiny statuettes made of gold had come to life and fluttered about. And these cuties were doing magic here! Wow! Everything that was happening was like a charming dream. Mirrors were placed around the spinning wheel. They reflected what was not happening. Inside the mirrors, the pixies were doing round dances, while in the cave they were doing something else. The figures, surrounded by a golden halo, were flying toward the spinning wheel, or bouncing off it, pulling a thread of pure gold.
Barely noticing Rosamunda, the glittering creatures fluttered toward her face.
«Do you want to tell the future?» The magicians offered.
«I’d rather know the past. I don’t remember it.»
«You don’t remember your past!» The chorus of surprised voices sounded like bells ringing.
«I know it sounds strange, but it’s true.»
«Aren’t you just pretending to test us?» The one from them asked. «We usually have beggars from the village come to us to have us predict their future. And once even a noble lady came and brought us gifts. She called us oracles.»
«I brought no gifts,» Rosamunda said, embarrassed.
«We can’t charge a pretty girl like you. It’s nice to look at you,» one little thing fluttered onto her shoulder. «I’d like to keep your lock of hair as a memento. It’s like black gold! It’s easy to cast a spell with such a curl.»
«First tell her fate,» insisted the envious people, who had not had time to set the fee.
«Tell me what I don’t remember. What happened to me in the past? And why have I forgotten everything except the recent past?»
The pixie stared in amazement with tiny eyes.
«My childhood, my adolescence, my youth,» Rosamunda began to recount. «My parents. My friends, if I had any. And I also want to know if I have forgotten some lover who now wants to take revenge on me for something.»
«Girls usually remember their lovers. Even the ones they’ve fallen out of love with.»
«But I don’t.»
«Wouldn’t it be better to find out who will be your companion in the future?» The pixie squinted slyly.
«I’m more interested in the past,» Rosamunda insisted. «And the man I supposedly seduced and abandoned in the past. I don’t remember him now for some reason.»
The crumbs could have lied to her, but because of the magical light that came from their flock, any woman would have believed them. Magical creatures are supposed to see things.
«Who you’ve had in the past, you’ll have in the future. You can’t get rid of him,» said the brightest fairy who sat on Rosamunda’s ring. «Only besides the pleasures of love, he will bring with him a long-standing curse. And you won’t be happy anymore.»
«She is inexperienced. We can see better,» the others chorused. Though the tiny fairy gave the impression of being more judicious, they were more combative.
The pixies all clung to Rosamunda’s palm, drew shining strings of yarn along the lines of fate, and were suddenly so frightened that they all ran away at once, throwing away both the mirrors and the spinning wheel. It continued spinning on her own.
Is there something so terrible in her fate that even a pixie is frightened? And it must concern both the past and the future. Rosamunda felt fear. She wished they’d explain what this was all about. What did they see?
There was a deafening roar over the mountains that seemed to make the mountains themselves shake. So that’s why the Pixies might have been frightened! Not because of her fate, but because of the awakened monster.
Rosamunda was relieved at first, until she looked up at the heavens.
«It’s time to run!» She called out to Dandy as she saw the huge, glittering reptile rushing out of its hiding place, smashing the mountain tops in the process. So that’s what dragons are like! That’s why so many frightening and enticing legends are written about them! On the one hand is splendor, on the other is destructive evil.
The golden dragon zigzagged in the gloomy sky above the mountains. Its breath sent a wave of fire through the surrounding forests.
Rosamunda rushed back to the carriage. It was still possible to leave. The road had not yet gone up in flames. But both the carriage and Dandy were gone.
You had to believe a frivolous person who’d abandoned his queen in danger. He took all six horses with him. Should she walk home or call for help?
There was an armed troop coming down the road. It was a pity that it was approaching not from the side that led back to the castle, but from the opposite side, where the border with the enemy kingdom was.
Someone in the cavalcade pointed at her with a hand. Rosamunda didn’t know where to go. But suddenly a dragon intervened. Its claws caught the head of the troop. It was a moment, and the fragile little man in the dragon’s claws was left without a bone. Rosamunda watched in horror as the dragon devoured several more guards. The arrows and spears flying at it didn’t even scratch its scales, but boomeranged back at those who threw them.
Apparently, having had enough, the dragon decided to play a bad joke on the invading party. It opened its mouth and exhaled such a powerful jet of fire onto the road that it resembled volcanic lava. The rest of the squad was burned alive.
The road was on fire. The dragon spread its wings and flew over the conflagration. How graceful it is in flight! It looked like a monster, but it was as beautiful as a jewel that had come to life. He was gold and glittering. But with one paw it can crush an entire army.
«Look, there’s the queen!» Someone shouted from behind. «Get her! Get her now!»
Why didn’t she take off the crown? And why did she believe Dandy? How naive she was! And how despicable those who said they wanted to help could be! Rosamunda felt so furious at the sight of the guards running towards her from behind that she could no longer control herself. If she had had a sword or a dagger with her, she would not have hesitated to attack them, even though the forces were unequal.
Her anger made the ground beneath her feet shake again. Or was it the dragon’s fire that was to blame? Its roar could bring down mountains, let alone a mild earthquake. Only it was gaining strength. The ground beneath her feet cracked and vibrated. Rosamunda fell. She should have run, but getting to her feet proved too difficult. The guards behind her were stumbling and falling and cursing too. Their curses rang in her ears, diluted by the dragon’s roar. Cracks spread across the ground like the claw marks of a giant. The pursuers were falling through them! There was a whole regiment of them. The cracked earth greedily swallowed them all. These are not enemy soldiers. They’re wearing her insignia. Someone sent her own soldiers to kill her. It’s a plot against the queen! And there’s only the dragon. He is neither friend nor foe.
Rosamunda herself was lucky not to fall through any of the deep cracks.
«Magic will keep you safe, but it may not be for long,» Dandy’s voice whispered above her head. But where was he? Did Rosamunda look around for her counselor and coachman? Perhaps he had been swallowed by a dragon. She hated to believe that Dandy had left her to the mercy of her enemies.
The foes themselves, however, were gone. Some were burned by the dragon. Some had fallen underground. There were no screams from the crevices. So the guards didn’t survive.
The dragon’s gone too. Poisonous smoke swirled over the flaming road, making her skin red and her eyes watery. It was urgent to take cover. It was worth going back to the cave. Rosamunda crawled there. She tore her dress. She hurt her shoulders and arms.
Inside, it was cozy and warm. Instead of a glowing spinning wheel, the whole interior of the caves now glowed. Someone had brought a whole pile of gold in here. What a surprise!
Rosamunda approached the gold pile and almost jumped with fear. The pile of gold was alive. It had a tail and wings that she hadn’t noticed at first. It was a dragon! It was satiated, exhausted, and sleeping. It was a good thing its spike-topped head was turned to the other side of the cave. The queen in her sumptuous dress with train was only a tiny biped to him, impossible to see under a magnifying glass. So there’s probably nothing to fear. He won’t even notice her, but Rosamunda felt a shiver in her knees.
It’s a dragon! It’s alive! It’s real! He’s burned an entire troop, and he hasn’t touched her. Why? Probably just didn’t pay attention to her.
Outside, everything’s burning and collapsing. Still, we’d better get out of here. Just because a dragon is asleep doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. It could wake up at any moment and crush her with a single claw.
When Rosamunda got out of the cave and managed to get past the cracks to the narrow mountain path, she noticed that her carriage was hanging there over the cliff. Another moment and it would fall. But Dandy, drinking something from a flask, didn’t even think of panicking. He was perched on the rump, clearly waiting for her.
«Hurry up, or we’ll burn,» he nodded at the blazing road below, when he saw Rosamunda.
«You don’t think we have a flying crew, do you? How are we going to turn around and get away?»
The clawed coachman laughed wildly again. He laughed so often that he resembled a madman. Rosamunda’s heart trembled. Who is more dangerous: him or the dragon?
