bit her tongue? And from the waves in the distance, quiet singing voices sounded as if they were coming:
“Do not divulge our secrets!”
Lilophea looked back at the waves lapping on the shore.
In the presence of the privateer, Seneschal was busily silent. He was probably afraid that Morrin might want to kidnap the talking bird and sell it at a profit.
“His name is Seneschal and he is my best friend,” the princess announced, but the peacock did not make a sound. As if he was full of water in his mouth. How cleverly he suddenly turned from a chatterbox to a reticent!
“It is a magnificent bird,” praised Morrin. “It is blue! They’re rare here.”
He’d acquired an amusing hat with many colorful feathers. He wondered what bird’s tail they’d been plucked from. Of course, Seneschal hesitated at the sight of the feathers, and wondered if he should ever speak to their owner.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
“I am at your service.”
And she was afraid to even breathe a word of what she wanted to ask. The sea reeked of cold. It suddenly seemed dangerous. She wondered if she should ask about the creatures that supposedly lived in its depths. Lilophea bit her lip for a moment and then said something different from what she wanted to say.
“You don’t know who Father is afraid of. I heard him talking to his advisers about those who come from the sea. It is strange, really.”
“Well, if you mean the island savages. But it’s hard for them to get here, even in junks.”
“Ask somebody, though. You know a lot of people in the port. I don’t know anyone. And you sail the seas, you talk to other captains. Yes, and in the sea itself you might notice something.”
Lilophea stammered. You have to give him a few compliments to flatter him. Then he would do her errands more willingly. A little flattery never hurt. Morrin must understand that he was the best privateer that came to court and that was why she was turning to him. The real reason was that he happened to be the youngest, and he was the easiest person for her to get along with. Well, he’s better off not knowing that. The main thing was to praise him as a navigator.
Her compliments flattered the young man. He even began to tell the princess about his activities and plans for the future.
“I want to be not just a sailor, but a discoverer. I want to find a luxurious deserted island with tropical forests, waterfalls, mountains, in which the ancient gods are carved, and make a new state out of it.”
“And…”
“If I found such an island, would you be my queen?”
Did she hear him right? The rascal is proposing to her. But you have to admit he’s a charming rascal.
“Have you found it?”
“I have one in mind, but the magic that dwells there interferes.”
“Is it magic?”
He nodded.
“Is it real?”
He nodded again.
“Well, there are also all kinds of crooks, swindlers who pretend to be fortune-tellers, soothsayers, and fortune-tellers.”
“Or they are royal wizards.” He nodded slyly at the passing barnacle, so busy calculating that he hadn’t even noticed the strange pair, the princess and the privateer.
“Well, yes,” Lilophea looked behind the old man in the blue, silver star-embroidered robes and pointy toed cap. There were several in the court. They all scattered strange chips, looked through spyglasses at the night sky, drew whole maps of different symbols and numbers, but no one could truly predict the future.
“Will there be a harem on your island state?” She asked Morrin, as if in passing.
“That depends on you.”
“What do you mean?”
“It will be my kingdom, so I will make the rules. I confess I have a liking for Oriental customs, and would have had a harem, but that was before I had a woman in mind who I thought would be worth more to me than a harem on her own.”
“Does my father know of your ambitious plans yet?”
“Not yet,” Morrin looked cautiously around. “Better not to tell him just yet.”
“It seems you plan to keep your little island nation independent of ours and free of taxation.”
“Well,” he grinned charmingly. “But I’ll call it by your name when I conquer it, of course. I wanted to call the new lands after myself first, to honor my own kind, but your name sounds better. Lilophea. Sounds like a tune. May I call you by your name when no one is around, of course?
“Father won’t approve, nor will the courtiers.”
“But they won’t hear.”
“I wouldn’t vouch for it. There are too many idle and curious people in the palace.”
“What are they all doing here?”
“Like you; serving someone, paying tribute to someone, asking for something. By the way, you said the island must be conquered. But there are no inhabitants there. So from whom should it be conquered?”
“I didn’t say there were no inhabitants. I only said there are no people there. But in the waters around it… um, how shall I explain it?”
“Are they in the waters?” That’s what intrigued her. “Who could live in the waters?”
“It is not who, but what.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. That’s the essence of magic. We mortals don’t understand it, and therefore we don’t know how to fight it.”
“What is magic? And where does it come from?”
“Most often it comes from the waters.”
“But the island itself is a piece of land, albeit small.”
“It is not small!” Morrin objected seriously. “It has springs. And by the springs…” He glanced cautiously at the fountain in the form of a mermaid with a pitcher. “I will not fill your pretty head with nonsense, Princess Lilophea. I’ve wrested the island from those freaks. They come out of the water at night. I’ll at least kidnap you and make you an island’s queen.”
“You don’t have to kidnap me. I might agree to it anyway.”
She felt as if someone’s wet fingers closed around her throat and began to choke her. It was hands of water. Water rushed into her mouth and eyes.
“What’s the matter
