Swan Lake. Dragon Empire. Natalie Yacobson

the trees, a wave of someone’s hair, red as fire, flashed. Hallucination or not. He approached the blue lake, not knowing why, perhaps, in order to recover at least a little before his own wedding, it is good that his mother, the queen, did not see the young prince in such a state.

      He looked into the water, it was transparent and clean, and water lilies with lilies quietly slept in it. Who had the idea of having a wedding and coronation at midnight?

      Strange, no one was guarding the palace tonight, no one was on duty, and not a single guard was to be seen.

      Etienne entered the folding doors and found himself in a dark, huge room, where, as well as outside, there was no one. The heavy door slammed shut behind him, as if leaving him a prisoner of the palace. Suddenly all the candles around flared up, Etienne stood illuminated by their glow and could not understand what was happening. A minute ago, complete darkness reigned in the hall, and now a bright light flooded the walls and furniture around it, but it was some kind of strange light, it seemed bright, and at the same time, the whole hall remained in some strange and even creepy for human eyes in the semi-darkness.

      Etienne stood in one place and did not dare to step forward, some incomprehensible fear kept him on the threshold, as if some magic circle was inscribed here, protecting him from witchcraft and death..

      Even from his place, Etienne could see all the wonderful decoration of the room, even more beautiful than that in his palace. Each piece was selected with such taste and combined with the entire environment around it, giving the hall a mysterious mystical shine.

      It was the most beautiful and mysterious place that Etienne had ever seen during his short and, as his friends would say, dissolute life, but full of duels and fights. Everything here was so beautiful in the gloomy semi-darkness, even candles burning with a bright, hot flame could not dispel it, and there were many of them here, in exquisite candelabra with figures of fairies and goddesses, in golden candlesticks and even on the walls.

      Suddenly, an invisible hand took a goblet of wine from a small table, it flew up right in front of Etienne’s eyes and toppled down in the air so that all the wine in a thin stream, slowly, like blood, flowed onto the floor.

      The same invisible hand raised a sword in the air, which it easily tore from the wall, and directed it straight into the heart of the young prince, but Etienne managed to draw his sword from its sheath and repel the first deadly blow. One blow fell on him after another. But Etienne seized the moment and thrust his sword into the body of the enemy. He did not know where his blade had hit, but at the same moment blood flowed from the void, the bright crimson blood of the magic knight who fought with Etienne, God knows why.

      A strong hand clung to Etienne’s shoulder, blood flowed down it, and the features of a man began to appear in the darkness. Finally, before Etienne stood a knight in dark armor.

      «Odette will never love you, only I am her real fiancé,» he hissed through his teeth..

      Then his hand began to weaken, and finally released Etienne’s shoulder from its steel grip, and the knight himself began to slowly dissolve into the darkness.

      For some reason, Etienne was in pain. It seemed to him that he fell in love with his own bride, which was in fact the love of a completely different person, or even not a person, but the devil.

      A sharp gust of wind, and another door opened in front of Etienne. He entered the open doors and froze in place. In front of the throne, on the marble floor, lay a young girl of amazing beauty.

      She was wearing a white ball gown, blonde hair scattered on the floor, and a crown shone on her head – the symbol of the queen of this country, but her face was pale as chalk, was 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