but in a state in which the queen was better off not seeing him.
While the knights were figuring out what to do, their leader was barely able to wake the prince.
«Congratulations, your highness,» he said as politely as possible.
But Etienne could hardly understand his words, he slightly raised himself, quickly glancing around everything around him and vaguely realizing where he was.
«With what?» he could barely say.
«With the fact that the date of the royal wedding has already been appointed. A worthy bride has been found for you.»
Well, he no longer had salvation, he was waiting for a marriage to an unloved girl and eternal torment, he could never find that beautiful princess he dreamed of. She did not exist in this world, and he will forever remain alone, and now, God knows what fate is preparing for him, probably someone even more ugly than those he has already seen. It was early for him to marry, he understood this, and Fritz, who had also already been taken, as politely as possible under escort, looked at him with regret. He sympathized with his best friend, with whom he spent so many anxious nights in different taverns. Etienne could barely recover from grief, but there was nothing to do, and he involuntarily got out of bed, it was time to go to his unchanging and bitter fate.
And in the chambers of the palace everyone waited for midnight, the very time when Odette would become their queen. Why the coronation was scheduled for midnight, no one knew, it remained a mystery even to Richard. He looked at Odette with despondency, and his gaze became more and more sad every minute, the time was approaching when he would lose her forever, but he decided on madness.
«Why,» Odette quietly whispered to her friend so that others would not hear, «why should I ruin my life, Richard.»
And at that moment he made up his mind.
«Odette,» he said quietly, «listen to me, Odette, you want to stay with me.»
«With you,» she looked at him full of sorrow. Of course, she wanted to stay with her friend. Better he than some prince she had never seen.
«Then run with me,» burst out from him, «we will run away together, and no one can find us, everyone knows that there is a curse on the throne of this country, and it will not let you go, and if you leave with me, then I will save you from it.»
«Yes,» Odette whispered into Richard’s pleading face, «yes, I will run away with you.»
Odette squeezed Richard’s hand in a friendly shake, or maybe it was a shake of love that suddenly flared up with a bright fire in the darkness of the witchcraft and cold night over the beautiful, but damned royal palace.
The time had come, only a few minutes remained before the fatal midnight, at midnight the young princess was supposed to become the queen of a huge country, although her heart did not want this, she felt a threat to her life in the future, and it was a strange disturbing feeling.
«You won’t forget your words, Odette,» Richard asked her anxiously and excitedly.
«No,» she whispered softly to him and involuntarily looked away.
The crown was already shining on her head, and she was about to sit on the throne, but suddenly a scarlet arrow pierced directly into the royal arms in front of her. The knights grabbed their swords, but they were powerless against witchcraft, blood dripping from the poisonous tip of the deadly weapon. Diana would have recognized this arrow if she were alive, she saw her in a golden goblet with poisoned blood, but Odette has not yet faced the power of black magic.
A strong gust of wind burst into the hall, it swept away and blew away everything in its path and tore in different directions the clothes and hair of those present. The throne room was filled with a dull howl of the wind and whispering voices, but no one could catch a single word in their dull, monotonous whispering. They called some kind of curse on the palace. They whispered and screamed, but it was not clear where they were coming from or what they were looking for in the royal chambers. They were strange cutting sounds, piercing right through the ears. Those who stood in the hall seemed to find themselves in a dark hell blazing with blue fire and ash.
But then the smoke cleared, and everyone saw the grim figure of the woman, she was dressed in a long blue cloak with a hood that almost completely covered her face from prying eyes. She stood calmly, as if waiting for the moment when horror paralyzed everyone who saw her, completely, but then long hands with black claws lowered the black hood, and Odette saw the ugly face of the red-haired witch.
«The hour of reckoning has come, princess,» the witch hissed angrily, «I have come for you.»
Odette looked anxiously at Richard, but everything was useless, all the knights were paralyzed with horror, although they were brave in battles, but the gaze of the red-haired witch brought them all to death.
Meanwhile, the red-haired witch slowly moved towards the throne and towards the frightened princess.
«Your mother has betrayed both us and her love,» his burned lips pursed, «now the hour of your death has struck, there will be no mercy, Princess Odette.»
The witch walked slowly, but without pausing for a moment. Her eyes threw lightning, they killed at first sight into their bloody depths. They made the heart of a common man tremble with horror, and Odette did not know how to escape from them, from whom to ask for help, and who could help her now, she was trapped, from which there was no way out.
When the witch’s hand almost touched her, Richard, as if waking up from some numbness that suddenly seized him, he could not understand what was wrong with him, he seemed to be mesmerized, but now he has become the same again. He stepped forward, blocking Odette from the witch, not letting the terrible creature come to the princess.
The witch did not expect such an act. A vicious hiss escaped from her black chest. She raged, but this could no longer help her, Richard was going to either win or die.
«Move away,» she hissed, «the princess belongs to me, and there’s nothing you can do.»
«No,» he answered firmly and clearly, looking into her bloody eyes with unshakable dignity, and the witch realized that he would rather die than give in to her.
«Brave knight,» she burst out, «dark battle prince, you’re really just an unfortunate lover, right?» she asked so that everyone could hear her words, but Richard was silent. He had nothing to say or answer to this, the witch was speaking the truth, and how bitter this truth was.
Odette stood behind him, but even at such a distance, she was terribly frightened by the eyes of the creature who came from the world of darkness to take her soul and life, was it really all true, and not a dream. Why was Richard silent, why he could not answer her a word, were her words really bitter and undeniable truth.
The witch with an insidious grin looked into Richard’s bold eyes, she laughed, she rejoiced, she felt her victory over human love and triumphed. She knew what lie or truth she had to tell in order to destroy and frighten to death a common man.
«Do not you understand?» she chuckled. «The princess is dressed, she is not available to an ordinary person, one look at her, and your heart is already broken, and I want to make sure that no one else suffers because of her beauty, I want to take her with me to the world of death.»
«Never,»
