style="font-size:15px;"> «I’m not wrong.»
«But tonight is not hunting night. The gates are closed to humans.»
«Maybe someone slipped in by accident, or maybe the Dark Lord sent us a gift.»
The rumors spread throughout the hall, and soon the gathering of fairies was buzzing like a beehive.
One fairy, flying by in search of a mortal guest, hit Flora with her wing.
Somehow the fairies had failed to denounce her. Could they really have mistaken her for a fairy? How could that be? Out of caution, Flora put the mask to her face. The mask became hot. Flora felt that the mask wanted to hide her from the predatory fairies.
It’s not nice to wear a mask that makes faces over your face and gives off frivolous smiles, but there’s nothing to be done.
«Why did I have to come here?» Flora berated herself.
It was as if the fairies had gone blind. They couldn’t find one ordinary girl among the whole magical gathering. Serves them right! While they were looking for her, they should get away from here. The elf might well carry her back on his wings. Was the elf was on her side? Flora was beginning to doubt him. He seemed to value the dream of his own elevation more than her safety.
A witty thought occurred to one fairy, and she began to whisper it to everyone.
«Let’s take off! All are at once!»
Why would they do that? Flora didn’t realize right away. It was only when the swarm of fairies took to the air that she stood alone on the floor. You can’t fly without wings!
«She’s mortal!» As the fairies unmasked her, the mask gasped. She was good for nothing. And it was vouched for by Donatello himself, the great master of magic masks.
«Perhaps the mask is not his work, or perhaps I didn’t pay him enough,» said the worried elf.
The fairies pounced on Flora as a pack.
«Stop it! She’s my companion,» the elf tried to protect her.
Flora was relieved. Well, at least she had an elf on her side! Too bad the elf’s defense was nothing, against a whole pack of clawed and winged beauties. They showed great aggression.
«Mortal! Come to steal our suzerain!»
«Let’s eat her alive!»
«All Earth girls are so clever!»
«She came here on a day like this! And you led her through the guards!» One fairy clutched at the elf’s hair. She called a kraken sleeping in the water under the palace windows, which woke up from the fairies’ cries and swarmed with its tentacles in the water. If it wrapped its tentacles around the palace, it would be the end of everyone. Or rather, she’s the only one who’s dead! The fairies will fly away, but she’ll stay buried under the ruins.
«She could take away our last chance!» The fairies screamed. «Let’s kill her! Let’s use her blood for elixirs!»
Flora prepared for the worst, but then one of the locked doors burst open. All the fairies panicked. They immediately fell behind Flora and began to fancy themselves. Could it be that magical emperor they were all waiting for?
Flora was curious to see him too, but the wings of the fairies blocked her view. And from the direction of the open door came the sound of rumbling footsteps.
In the dragon’s arms
«It sounds like the emperor has claws on his feet,» Flora said by ear.
«Just be glad you weren’t mauled before he got here,» the mask in her hands snickered. She loved to sneer.
«I should throw you out!»
«Just try it!» The mask’s twisted holder instantly stuck to her hands.
«You’re so clingy!»
«I want to be the mask of the Empress herself.»
«You’ll be disappointed! I’m definitely not going to be an empress.»
«I still have the right to fight for my place in the sun,» said the mask insolently. «Maybe one day my luck will shine.»
Instead of luck, something like dawn shone through the door. Had the sun really fallen into the fairies’ residence? The glow was so bright that Flora squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, she noticed that the hodgepodge of fairy wings that had obscured her view of the hall had disappeared. The fairies had scattered in different directions.
That’s good! Otherwise we had to stare at winged backs instead of a fascinating sight. Flora expected to see a fairy handsome man and was disappointed. Instead, a glittering beast strode into the hall.
It was a dragon!
But what kind of dragon was it? Its skin shines like the sun! Is it golden? Where is the emperor? Is it behind the dragon’s back? Or is he not here yet and the dragon came here by mistake? Either way, he saved Flora. A mob of angry fairies could have torn her apart, and an elf wouldn’t have helped.
The dragon roared, and the fairies suddenly became frightened. They all scattered hastily to the wall niches and corners. A few fairies even flew into the chandelier.
The dragon stepped on the marble floor, leaving scratches on the tiles. The scratches were immediately smoothed out, but the fairies’ fear of the dragon did not go away. They had done something that he could not forgive.
Flora belatedly realized she was alone in the center of the hall. Again her inability to fly had failed her. Too bad fairies had wings and she didn’t. Otherwise she would have flown away frightened now too.
Apparently, the dragon had mistaken her for prey, because it reached out a paw toward her. For a moment, Flora felt like a toy. The elf thoughtfully fluttered away.
The dragon’s touch was like some kind of ritual before a sacrifice. The huge paw could have crushed Flora, but hesitated. It was as if the dragon recognized her.
What eyes it had! Real aquamarines! No, they’re sapphires! How quickly they change color! Flora stared into them like a kaleidoscope.
«You’re the first dragon I’ve ever seen in my life,» she whispered.
It was naive to think that a dragon could understand her. It could hardly speak human language, but fairies, judging by their behavior, understood dragon language perfectly.
The dragon picked Flora up, spun her around a bit, and then set her back down. It resembled a strange dance. It made her dizzy, but Flora liked the sensation of flying.
The fairies were jealous at the height, but did not dare to approach. It would only take a dragon protector to scare off a whole pack of fairies. Flora was content to meet a dragon, if he didn’t eat her at the end, of course. You could expect anything from dragons, after all. Flora had heard somewhere that innocent girls were sacrificed to them. Dragons are notorious lovers of earthly beauties. But what was a dragon doing
