that rain that has passed, could leave behind the bodies of drowned men. But eyewitnesses who have watched from their windows assure us that the ghosts of rain cause everyone who happens to be outside to drown in the downpour.
Somehow that sounds too fantastic! To be on the safe side, Graymore fumbled for her dagger on her belt.
«Do you believe in rain ghosts, Maverin?»
The horse roared longingly, as if sensing trouble.
Graymore was more self-assured. She’s the kind of heroine who can ride around without an entourage, being the princess of the richest kingdom. Everyone knows it is impossible to kidnap or kill her. After all, her self-igniting blood will ignite if cut and burn her attackers. So no conspirators wishing to deprive her of her throne would surely send a regiment of assassins after her. They know that such tactics will not work. If Graymore smells danger and cuts herself with a dagger, a drop of her blood will set the whole squad ablaze. After all, her blood is enchanted.
Perhaps it is no surprise that a girl whose destiny is to hunt dragons has blood of fire. Flaming blood can serve as a weapon of self-defense. Now, if the rain ghosts appear, Graymore will cut her finger with a dagger, and a drop of her blood will cause a flame to burst into flames. The rain ghosts will dry up.
«That is my tactic!» Graymore brings the blade of her dagger over her little finger with a triumphant look. «Come out of the rain!»
No one responded. For a while all that could be heard was the rustling of the rain’s trickles. It resembled the murmuring of water in a fountain. There did seem to be a fountain in the stone city. Where had it come from? When she had entered the city of arches, there had been no fountain. What a miracle!
Graymore gazed out at the distant arches, and didn’t notice the transparent hand running through her hair.
«Graymore! Your name means – the test of love!» A voice whispered excitedly through the rain.
A translucent face appeared in the streams of water, then several more faces. They laughed. Their laughter sounded like the rustling of water in a fountain.
«Come to us, princess!» The translucent figures surrounded Graymore. Their hands reached for her. They touched her clothes and stroked her hair.
«What a beautiful princess!» They whispered. «Let us take her to our king.»
«Get back!» Graymore pointed her dagger defiantly at her left hand. «Or you will all burn! My blood is fiery!»
The rain spirits laughed in unison. Their laughter resembled the sound of a torrent of water running over rocks.
«The water doesn’t burn!» They chanted together.
«Water is stronger than fire,» one particularly attractive spirit explained. He was translucent but seductive. «Fire goes out in water. Any dragon that doesn’t swim in the sea will drown.»
«Well, I’m no dragon!» Graymore swung her dagger.
«You are a dragon princess!» The rain spirits have determined.
«You are a slander!» Grahamore blushed at the suggestion. «I have nothing to do with these arsonists. On the contrary, I protect the whole realm from dragons. And you slander me for being in league with them!»
The Rain Spirits whispered for a long moment, and then one of them spoke up smartly:
«Being a dragon princess is not equal to being one with the dragons.»
«What does it mean?» Graymore was alarmed.
«It means having power over them.»
«To capture and destroy is my influence!» With aplomb Graymore declared, but she thought to herself that it was more likely that the dragons had leverage over her. She thought to herself that dragons had more of an influence on her than anything else, because if they ever got near her, her blood would burst into flames. The torment the princess endured was unbearable. The inner fire could only be compared to burning a witch at the stake. Perhaps she should ask the rain spirits why she burns inwardly as if she were a witch, barely smelling the dragons near her. The rain spirits seem all-knowing. They must know the answer. But what if for that she must first go to their king? Graymore weighed whether to ask them for interpretation, and the rain spirits kept whispering.
«Is it to hunt dragons or to love dragons? Which do you want more, fair princess?»
«Are you mocking me?» Graymore looked helplessly around at the translucent figures that surrounded her. More and more of them protruded from the rain. There seemed to be a legion of them.
«You could make a dragon army of your own, instead of exterminating them,» the spirits advised.
«There’s no way dragons would obey me,» Graymore could prove by advising the rain spirits to look into the dungeons of Livellin’s castle. Along with the drip, they could probably get there. The dragons she has trapped there are uncontrollable. She’s already checked that, but how do you explain to the rain ghosts that dragons are not chain bears.
«Don’t be a damsel in distress! What if the hunt turns into friendship?» One of the rain ghosts laughed.
«It is not a chance!» Graymore struck a pose.
«Let’s make a bet! If that happens, you’ll be our king’s bride. He’s looking for a bride, but all the girls who want to be his are drowning in the rain. And you have fiery blood, in the midst of magical rain you will not get wet to death.»
Graymore found such a suggestion dubious, but the spirit had already advised others:
«Get our suzerain here! I think we’ve found what we need! It’s a special maiden! A noble one, too! Not some milkmaid or reaper! She is a real princess. It is a perfect match!»
Graymore was frightened. She didn’t want to get married at all. She didn’t like the rain king. He must be made up of water.
«I’m going to rule my country alone,» she warned the pesky spirits. «If I am ever to have a husband, it will only be as a consort prince. As a heroine who has slain many dragons, I have the right to rule Livellin as a matriarch.»
«That’s good! The Rain King will flood Livellin and become your consort,» the spirits laughed.
Graymore imagined her native kingdom flooded with rain. Such a thing must not be allowed to happen. The spirits must be chased away somehow. The rain would probably stop soon. For now, the sky above the forest did not lighten, and the spirits surrounded Graymore and bellowed with myriad voices.
«The Rain King is coming!» One of the spirits proclaimed.
There was indeed a glimpse of something like a waterway in the thick rain, and a translucent figure wearing a crown was floating along it. The empty watery eyes peered at the princess.
It was time to get out of here. Graymore began to make her way through the ring of spirits. She must get back to Maverin. If the spirits try to stop her, she’ll cut herself, and her fiery blood will do them all no good.
The Rain King was already reaching out his hands to her.
