she really dead. Etienne had no doubt it was Odette, but she fell asleep forever. The prince touched her lips with a light, short kiss. He fell in love with a sleeping beauty, a white swan wearing a royal crown.
Her heart did not beat, she slept in a witch’s dream, and it was not in his power to awaken her to life. Suddenly, he accidentally knocked over a goblet with a scarlet, blood-like wine standing next to it, and as soon as it spread on the floor, the beauty opened her eyes.
«Odette,» he whispered, grabbing her cold hand, «aren’t you Odette?»
«Yes,» she answered barely audibly, «who are you?»
«I am the one who crossed the entire witchcraft world to find you,» Etienne replied, squeezing her hand, but Odette involuntarily recoiled.
«Go away,» she said, «save your life, the witch will return soon.»
«No way in the world, I will not leave you,» said the prince, but Odette involuntarily remembered the fierce eyes of the red witch.
«Promise,» she said, «if we have to part now, you will not believe the day when they tell you that I love another.»
«On such a day, my heart will be broken, because I love you,» he admitted honestly, «tell me that you love me too, tell Odette,» he begged. Suddenly, the wine that spread across the floor took on not a scarlet, but a crimson hue, and the smoke went from it. Immediately the light in the hall faded, the wind burst into the hall, and the figure of a red-haired witch appeared in the clouds of smoke.
«You want to stay together, but you are doomed to be forever apart,» she said mockingly. «If you resist my curse, then death awaits both of you.»
Etienne grabbed Odette by the hand and rushed away with her, they ran to the stairs, and then for a moment Etienne stopped.
«You heard?» Odette asked, «we cannot stay together.»
«It’s all nonsense,» he replied, trying not to show his fear, «I will never part with you.»
|If you stay here, they will kill you, not ghosts, but my knights, everyone is against you and me, but if we meet in a few years, then we can find our happiness.»
«For several years,» he blurted out, «I cannot stand such a period.»
«You have to,» she said. «I will never forget about you.»
«Me too,» Etienne vowed, «I will love you forever.»
Lightning flashed outside the palace windows, and its flash severed their hands. Etienne’s arm had a deep wound from the fiery touch, but he held back a cry of pain. The red-haired witch stood before him again.
«Where is Odette?» Etienne whispered, but she only laughed deafeningly in response.
«Where is Odette?» he repeated, but more clearly and demanding.
«You will never see Odette again,» the witch cried viciously and triumphantly.
«Although,» the witch hissed and thought for a few minutes,
«maybe someday you will see her, but she will already love another, more worthy in our kingdom of evil than you, but it would be foolish to let you out of here just like that.»
Something rushed at him right out of the dark and knocked him to the floor
Sharp claws began to rip at his clothing, blood gushing from his arms and shoulders.
Etienne managed to break free and light the fire. The fire for a moment blinded the monster that attacked him, and Etienne quickly ran out of the palace.
Fritz ran up to Etienne.
«God, what’s wrong with you?» he exclaimed.
«Oh, you probably got into a fight with the royal guards,» his friend finally realized, «but, well, I’m not surprised, you never wanted to marry.»
«I came to save you,» Fritz said proudly, «I tried to tell Her Majesty that this marriage…»
«I don’t care anymore,» Etienne interrupted him, «I will marry Odette.»
Fritz could not recover from surprise.
«What are you saying?» burst out from him.
«I love Odette,» Etienne repeated, «as soon as I reach the age of majority according to the laws of our country, I myself will ask for her hand in anyone, even the devil himself.»
If at first Fritz was surprised, now he considered his prince to be simply insane.
«Etienne, what happened in the palace,» he could only utter.
Etienne paid no attention to him. He knew what he would do: for these few years he would learn to fence like a real knight, fight in wars, travel. He will become such that Odette can love him and be proud of him as his fiancé.
«I promise you, Fritz, I will be worthy of her,» Etienne promised from the bottom of his heart, «I will give my life, if only she could love me, I swear to you.»
He threw one last long look at the palace, almost not paying attention to the surprised Fritz, who could not believe what the prince spoke so ardently and passionately.
Years will pass, they will both grow up, but Etienne will find his love again, it will be eternal, but he did not know only one thing that witchcraft would not sleep either, but would make his life unbearable until love breaks the evil spell.
Black Swan
On a hill, under an eternally stormy sky, rose a gloomy old castle, the human world was nothing in front of him, the whole land of people, their prayers, their dreams, their desires faded here, in front of his high bulk, he was the only ruler of the whole world and the most beautiful thing on earth.
How powerful were its walls, every stone here personified evil, every inch of the earth under its vaults was given to darkness and witchcraft, every moment spent here became the death of any person who found himself in this land of dark forces.
The lord of the castle was called the devil, but no one knew that it also slept in the heart of the demon – living human love, which was the secret of his black heart. No one knew that the princess of the cursed castle, the daughter of the evil King Rothbert, had a living and loving heart.
A thunderstorm that night hung over the castle, and it was terrible, the rain poured incessantly, and the thunder echoed, and the sparkling lightning now and then illuminated the gloomy and majestic castle. On this stormy night, a prince from another kingdom hurried to the castle to meet his death, for him everything had already lost its meaning, because he was in love with the princess of shadows, his black, but beautiful swan. He was not frightened by the thunderstorm or thunder over his head, he boldly rode forward to the accursed castle and did not want to turn back.
If his brother Prince Etienne preferred to spend time in taverns, then Christian became the best knight in the kingdom and the most handsome cavalier among all the men of the country. His long black hair, wet from the rain, fell on his face, his clear blue eyes were gazing
