Princess cat. Natalie Yacobson

court etiquette.

      «I was only passing through.»

      «Are you passing?» The serpent squinted. His tail, which had already half strangled Brendan, suddenly loosened its grip.

      «No one passes my well without guessing the riddle.»

      In the snake’s hiss, human speech was barely audible.

      Brendan could barely catch his breath when the serpent let him go. A necklace of bruises was left on his neck. But the poisonous saliva of the serpent, which dripped on his skin, gave him burns.

      – If I don’t guess the riddle, will you eat me or burn me? – Brendan grimaced. He was no good at guessing riddles.

      «If you guess it, I’ll let you go ahead,» he hissed with a sly tone. «But it will be better for you if you don’t. Then I have the right to keep you out of the castle.»

      «There isn’t a castle,» Brendan said indignantly. «It’s an empty horizon.»

      Even if the serpent didn’t eat him, going back to the enchanted fields was worse than going to hell. The mystery of the serpent would have to be solved.

      «Well, let’s get to it! Or will you buy me a nice glass of Aluar wine before the riddle? Do you have any clean water left in your well?»

      The serpent was clearly offended. He’d obviously thought the well, overgrown with slime, was very clean. Now it was clear that the green traces on the well, is poisonous saliva of the snake. It turned the whole well green. The snake’s skin was the same color, bright emerald. You’d think he himself had crawled out of some fabulous treasure trove, not a rotten well.

      «Listen carefully, boy! I will not say it again!» The serpent’s bright yellow eyes flashed slyly. Their gaze was slightly hypnotizing. A powerful emerald tail tightly enveloped the log of the well.

      «She is beautiful and delicate, like the rose of May, and she is the same, prickly as the thorns of a rose. When you see her, you almost fall in love. It is almost, but not quite. It is because there is one small obstacle to falling in love completely. If you touch her, you’ll immediately hurt yourself, like you hurt yourself on the rose thorns. Who is she? Tell me her name!»

      «Is it her name? I am not acquainted with such a lady.»

      «You may not call her by name, but by her title.»

      Brendan scratched at the back of his head. A dead end! It was just as he supposed. He was no good at riddles.

      «Do I have an hour to think about it?»

      «You’re such a slowcoach!» The serpent was almost triumphant, feeling his victory.

      «I’m not a magical creature like you. I can’t think instantly,» Brendan snapped at him.

      «You people are all so weak and feeble and stupid,» the serpent chided him triumphantly. «Well, at least you’re not rude, unlike the rest of the strangers. So I’ll give you five minutes.»

      «That’s not enough!»

      At least give me 24 hours. Then you could have hoped for help from a good fairy, or at least evil, if such flies over the fields, and in exchange for the soul will help with the decision. But there were no helpers around. He was alone with the serpent.

      «Do you have a watch?» Brendan tried to confuse the snake. «You can’t tell the time without a watch. I could run to the nearest town and get it. You said there was a castle near here.»

      «Don’t bother!» The serpent pulled a sandglass, overgrown with mud, from the well, with the tip of his tail. What a bastard! He’s got everything! He’s probably got a torture machine ready for anyone who can’t solve the riddle.

      He could try to escape from him, but Brendan already knew that a snake’s tail catches faster than a lasso.

      The hourglass was green from the mud, but it worked fine. The serpent flipped it over with the tip of its tail, and the sand spilled down.

      Along with the sand, his life was running out. Something had to be done. It is useless to puzzle over a riddle.

      «Let me play for you!» Brendan took out his lute. He has exactly five minutes. He can spend it on whatever he likes. He has little choice: he can either beg for mercy, which would be of no use, or he can utter a curse, which would only have a bad result, causing the serpent to attack him. Choose music, the most harmless solution.

      Once drowning, so with a pleasant melody!

      «Just don’t sing any slow ballads. I do not stand them,» almost resentfully hissed snake. He wanted to bury his ears in his tail, but the problem was that he only had one tail, and two winged ears. One was left free to hear Brendan play.

      The music made the snake relax. Could it have a hypnotic effect on him? Then it was not for nothing that he did not want to listen to it. Five minutes passed, and Brendan kept striking the strings of the lute, playing melodious sounds. The serpent did not think of interrupting him. On the contrary, he wagged his tail awkwardly and broke the clock, which he himself had set on the edge of the well. The sand in it was green. It hissed as the glass shattered, but the serpent paid no attention. He began mumbling something sleepily to the music.

      «Living vines! Dry vines! The whispering of fairies! A spell! She should never have turned him down. The groom was good. And now there’s magic everywhere. Grapes and roses are about to drive me out. They are as aggressive as the magically gifted matchmaker.»

      It must be another mystery. Maybe the serpent forgot that he hadn’t guessed the first one either. It’s a clear overdose. Brendan’s riddles and problems immediately gave him a headache. As his uncle the king had often told him, he was stupid. He hadn’t even mastered swordsmanship. But he did learn music. It was more useful with the serpent. With one sword he would have been strangled here long ago.

      «What a wonderful sound!» The serpent stretched and yawned sleepily. «It’s a long time since my mistress played for me like that.»

      «And you even have a mistress! May I see her?»

      Maybe, at least, she’ll tell him do not to terrorize travelers.

      «It is all right! Come on in!» grumbled the serpent. «I only let you in because I have a weakness for musicians.»

      Brendan rejoiced. He had told his uncle he had talent! And the old king didn’t believe him. And he shouldn’t have. Music doesn’t need an army to put a dragon to sleep. Still, Brendan had a guilty conscience after all.

      «I will try to solve your riddle on the way back,» he promised.

      «Is it on the way back?» The serpent grinned sarcastically, letting out a puff of green smoke as he fell asleep. «He is an optimist! He hopes there will be a way back from here.»

      Another man would have been alarmed, but Brendan decided to let the well-dweller mutter all he wanted. In his half-asleep state, the serpent resembled a drunk. And drunks, as everyone knows, don’t know what they’re saying. The music probably had the same effect on him as alcohol does on people. Even the green vapor he exhaled folded into hearts and notes. Who would have thought the well dragon would turn out to be such a music lover. Brendon rejoiced in his good fortune and moved on. Strangely enough, as soon as he passed the well, the silhouette of a beautiful white-stone castle twined with vines loomed up in the distance. He had not seen it a moment before.

      Cat’s Castle

      The green creature on the well was sleeping peacefully. Brendan kept turning around, fearing that the serpent might blow green fire at him. He said «pass,» as if his mistress were hiding just ahead. But there was no one around.

      Brendan tripped over something and swore. It felt as if his boot had been bitten right through. Was there another snake hiding in the grass? No, it was just a skull underfoot. It was an unusual one. He was neither animal nor human. It looks like the skull of a supernatural