by an ominous smile.
Roderick quickly ran down the narrow steps of the stairs, but suddenly at the very end, at the behest of something incomprehensible, he looked up and again saw her, Emily.
“Emily,” Roderick blurted out. He was ready to forget that it was the spirit of darkness, the ghost of a bloody demon. The only thing he wanted now was to stay with her with Emily forever.
“Give it to me,” in a voice similar to a mournful moan, whispered Emily, holding out her hands to him, “give me my daughter.”
Only a few steps separated him from her, and at that moment Roderick noticed that Emily’s hands were covered with streams of blood.
“No,” Roderick said.
The silhouette of a bloody demon flashed in Emily’s beautiful eyes, but Roderick managed to run past her and rushed out of the house.
Roderick leaned against the wall and hugged the small child tightly to him. Already, he loved her as much as he loved anyone else, a beautiful dream with Emily’s face and soul.
“Roderick,” suddenly it was heard not far from him. Again the silhouette of the beautiful Emily appeared in front of him.
“Come to me.”
Then another hateful voice sounded:
“You belong to her forever, and she will destroy you, because now her beauty is born of darkness.”
“No,” Roderick could only whisper back, although Emily’s beautiful image was already obscuring all his thoughts with a veil of unrestrained fog. He no longer controlled himself, all his feelings, all his actions, prayers, all his dreams were already subordinated to the darkness in this beautiful image. He was ready to rush to her, forgetting about everything, to surrender himself into the arms of death itself, if only the bloody death had her face.
“Emily,” he whispered.
He was already ready to completely and completely surrender to the forces of evil, but suddenly it was heard behind him:
“Roderick.”
The sound of this voice suddenly brought him back from the world of dark dreams to ordinary human life.
The prince turned involuntarily quickly.
Before him stood a beautiful girl, as beautiful as the ghosts of the rocks of sorcery, but, unlike them, kind, sympathetic and open.
“Clara,” Roderick said, hiding his weariness.
He was looking at a cute face, similar to Emily’s, but so implacably different from it. One was the embodiment of purity, the second was a seductive sorceress, a siren who stole his soul forever. The black-haired Clara was a kindness, Emily was an eternal darkness. One was innocence, the other evil. One was a beauty with golden blond hair, a symbol of a clean day, although her soul was covered with an eternal darkness of mystery. The flame of the night itself burned in the black hair of the other, but in her heart there was not even a drop of mysterious evil that overwhelmed Emily’s soul, which had been completely sold to darkness. Nevertheless, they have always been real sisters, although the soul of one of them was open and pure, and the other was hidden by the eternal darkness.
Roderick, in the throes of despair and unwillingness to believe that Emily is no longer alive, closed his eyes for a moment, and only Clara’s soft voice woke him up again, forcing him to wake up from his dreams.
“I don’t know why I came here,” Clara said quietly, “but I feel like Emily needs help.
“That’s right,” Roderick whispered.
He knew that this was his only hope to save Maerlin, until a vision of Emily made him give his soul to the darkness, and he was already close to it. The bloody demon knew he could hurt him, and he was about to deliver his final crushing blow, which Roderick could no longer resist.
He approached Clara, and now they stood together against the background of the old house, the tomb of ghosts.
“Take Emily’s baby,” Roderick said, “get her out of here as far as you can. Evil and death reign here, which will lie in wait for you if you appear here at least once. You can handle it, can you save her?
He looked hopefully into Clara’s clear and open eyes.
“Yes,” she replied, “I’ll take her as far away from the damned rocks of sorgery as possible. This is what Emily wanted, and that means I must do it, I must give her the name of the dream itself.
She looked at Roderick with pain in her eyes.
“I know that Emily died,” said Clara, “after all, not only your heart died with her, but part of my soul as well. I know you loved Emily and never loved me, but I don’t blame you for that. I loved her myself, even though she ruined my own life. It was impossible not to love such a beauty as her.
“You look so much like her,” said Roderick, already peering into the beautiful face covered with the shadow of sadness, “but you are not her.
“I know,” Clara whispered with the same sadness, “I know everything.
“Will you save Emily’s daughter?” Promise me.
“I promise,” she said slowly, “I will love her as much as I can. I’ll call it Maerlin, a dream.
“But will there be happiness in your life?” Roderick looked at Clara for the last time, some distant pain flashed in his eyes.
“Go away,” he asked, “the sooner the better, and no matter where, it’s important that you leave here as soon as possible.
He slowly held out the child to her, and she took it.
“Go away,” Roderick repeated, and shouted again, “go, go, Clara, save Maerlin. Just thinking that you will take her away from here will allow me to find peace. I must die, Clara, I cannot live without Emily, and you still have a whole life ahead of you, like the life of the one who will give you light in this fog of time, and now leave.
Clara knew that she needed to leave now, once and for all. She loved, but her love was unrequited. Beautiful Emily forever killed her happiness with her beauty, but she loved her and her child with all her heart. She had to save Maerlin, had to get her out of here. However, in the depths of her heart, not wanting to admit even to herself, she knew that the memory of the past would forever remain in her soul.
Now Roderick was left alone, he tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, but could this time ordinary human steel defeat the merciless power of witchcraft.
Roderick became alert, a black bird flew past with a wild, soul-tearing cry in the dark sky. Suddenly there was a rustle behind Roderick’s back that made him instantly turn around. Again, Emily was standing in front of him not far away.
Life and death have now lost their meaning for him, and only it, alluring and beautiful, the image of Emily remains.
“Roderick,” she whispered, “may death unite us forever, may she not deny us what life has denied. It is a wonderful world,
