and death did not matter anymore. Now only one vision of a blonde beauty existed for him all over the world.
He did not move, but he could not close his amazed eyes, and only his numb lips, barely obeying him, could whisper:
“Emily.”
She sighed heavily, as if bitter sobs were about to burst from her pain-pierced chest, but she did not raise her eyes to look at him, she knew that he was there.
“Roderick,” she said, and although it was her beautiful, sonorous voice, it seemed now that it didn’t come from her at all, and it didn’t have the same life at all.
“Roderick,” she repeated with a start, and her pale lips moved strangely in a faint semblance of supplication, but her beautiful face remained the face of a marble statue.
She shook her head as if in a dream. Her eyes flashed for a moment with a bright dazzling light from under lowered black eyelashes.
“There is a kingdom of darkness, and a humans’ love cannot disturb it,’ Emily said quietly. ‘How could you leave me there, how could you get out of there at the first onslaught of witchcraft, from which you swore to protect Maerlin, but the dream does not need anyone’s help.
Perhaps, to the surprised Roderick, it only seemed that in the last words of Emily there slipped some kind of malevolent note that he had heard somewhere before, but could not remember where.
“I don’t understand,” the prince whispered, but Emily cut him off with a slight movement.
“Come to me,” she whispered, “forget about everything, don’t leave me. Roderick, not knowing how, but against his will and common sense, involuntarily approached her.
“Come,” it sounded again in the silence, “don’t leave me”.
A snow-white hand, still lying motionless on the stone, reached out to him. Roderick almost took the hand outstretched to him, almost touched her shoulder, wanting to calm her.
“Emily,” he said, already reaching out his hand to her.
As soon as he touched her shoulder, a shining lightning ran down her and with a sharp blade of a knife struck his palm, forcing him to withdraw his hand, along which blood flowed from a huge wound.
Roderick stared at Emily in dismay, but it was no longer her, but a monster created by a bloody demon.
Roderick lifted the fallen sword from the ground with lightning speed and dashed away from the monster. He ran into the house and found himself in a completely different world that kept the memory of Emily. The prince found himself in a long corridor with many doors. Roderick thought Emily was calling him to one of them. Roderick barely touched the handle of this door, and it immediately opened slowly, as if from a gust of witchcraft wind. Roderick froze in amazement on the threshold of the great dark hall. The first thing the prince saw in the hall was a beautiful portrait over an old fireplace. Roderick would recognize him anywhere. Emily’s beautiful face looked at him as if alive from the depths of the picture. If Roderick didn’t know that she was dead, he probably would have thought that she herself was now standing in front of him.
Roderick involuntarily came very close to the portrait and peered into her face. It hid some kind of secret that no longer remained with the real Emily in the cemetery. This mystery, as if by magic, is now completely transferred to the portrait, giving the beauty’s face a half mysterious, half ominous expression.
The shadows of evil that had left the repentant soul still continued to live in the portrait and cast their ominous reflection on her beautiful face. Suddenly, Emily’s lips slowly parted into an ominous, secret smile. A tremor ran through Roderick’s entire body in a quivering wave, and perhaps it was fright at the thought that the devil might again take possession of Emily’s soul. A sudden call came from behind him.
– Roderick.
He turned quickly. Once again, the beautiful Emily stood in front of him and smiled mysteriously. Roderick turned his eyes to the portrait, and a smile filled with hellish evil burned his gaze. Suddenly, from the depths of the gloomy hall, Roderick heard the quiet cry of a child, which brought him back to real life. Emily’s vision, a devilish smile – everything disappeared, and there was only this salutary cry calling him to her.
Roderick involuntarily flinched from crying, now that the devilish vision had disappeared, he could remember who he was and why he had come here.
Roderick walked swiftly to where the body of a crying child shone like a bright star in the darkness of the great hall. Roderick took the baby in his arms. The child was as beautiful as the dream itself.
Suddenly a wave of terror swept through Roderick’s body and made him turn around. Shrouded in a mist of darkness, a bloody demon stood before him, emerging from the very darkness, and his fiery eyes shone with a fierce triumphant fire.
“Give her to me,” he ordered, “give me Maerlin.
“No,” Roderick said firmly, boldly looking the bloody demon in the eye. “No way in the world,” he repeated boldly, squeezing the child tightly in his arms.
Courage and fearlessness gave him his vow Emily.
The demon chuckled.
“You think you defeated me,” he said, “but you are wrong, I needed you, so you are still alive. It was you who brought me here, to Maerlin, you let me in here, you opened the way for me to her. Now I can kill both of you, but you can still be saved. I will let you go, just give me Maerlin.
He held out his clawed hands, covered in the blood of many people, towards him, but Roderick did not hesitate for a moment.
“Give it to me,” the demon repeated.
“And forget your love,” Roderick looked straight into the monster’s eyes.
“I’m not afraid of you,” he whispered, “no matter what, I will keep my oath, and in the end your fate will find you.
– Your love was also just a dream teasing you, and in gratitude for the torment you are faithful to it,” the tempting voice of the devil sounded in the darkness.
– Now take revenge on this dream that gave you not love, but eternal suffering and sorrow, help me kill her, give us both liberation.”
He persuaded, but his speech could not suppress Roderick’s will. The prince gripped Emily’s child tightly in his arms, like the last spark of life.
“No,” he said firmly, “I’m not afraid of you, demon. Let the whole world shudder at the mere sound of your name, but it will not inspire fear in me, I loved Emily and I still love, so may my hatred for you help fate kill you.
“Give her to me,” the devil almost cried out, slowly approaching Roderick.
“No,” the prince said even more firmly.
“Well, then try to save her,” the bloody demon said with the same cruel mockery, “prove your immortal love.
Roderick no longer looked into inhuman eyes, clouded with bloodlust, but tightly squeezed the child in his arms and quickly
