The Mist and the Lightning. Part 17. Ви Корс

it to hell!”

      “Then let's make the skirt more magnificent?”

      Gold smiled, as if laughing at her new and so wrong mistress.

      “Why are you laughing? Drink some wine!”

      The slave took the glass extended to her with two hands and obediently drank it to the bottom, her cheeks immediately turned red. She handed Karina a few crisp petticoats.

      “Eh, I have already put on a bunch of them!”

      “Then let's put on hoops under the skirt.”

      “Are you kidding? I won't get through the door through them!”

      “Hee-hee…”

      Karina looked in the mirror, she quite liked herself this way. The dark red dress made of precious brocade was beautiful and perfectly emphasized, as Karina believed, her ideal figure.

      The maid watched her with interest and chuckled softly.

      “Why are you giggling?”

      “Sorry, lady.”

      “Have you ever seen black women?”

      “I have seen them. But only slaves.”

      “I was a slave too,” said Karina, “but then my master fell in love with me, set me free and married me.”

      Gold widened her eyes:

      “Is it possible?” Her surprise was so strong that she even forgot to add “lady.”

      Karina brought her wrist to a brightly burning candle, a thin monogram lit up on it with fiery paths.

      “See? I was marked with fire. Long ago.”

      Gold was dumbfounded and silent, and now Karina laughed. Finally, the red girl came to her senses, and, apparently, the wine she had drunk also played a role, because she suddenly said:

      “I also love my master.”

      “Whom?” Karina was surprised. “Are you talking about Kudmer?”

      The maid nodded.

      “Yes. About sir Kudmer.”

      “But he's fat… fat and ugly! A-ha-ha!”

      Gold was embarrassed and blushed even more:

      “He was kind. Tell me, was he killed?”

      “No,” Karina answered, “as far as I know, he was sent to prison.”

      The slave sighed with relief and handed Karina the tightly packed bags:

      “Here, madam, this is for the breast.”

      “I inserted it already!”

      “Sorry, lady, but it seems that this is not enough.”

      “And if they fall out? No. I want to relax and have fun, not watch my boobs.”

      “Hee-hee…”

      The slave beautifully styled Karina’s hair, making a high hairstyle. Karina put on an openwork mask on her face:

      “Hmm…”

      The slave smiled:

      “Yes, very beautiful, lady.”

      She covered Karina’s head with a lush, dark pink translucent fabric that went down almost to the floor in the back, and in the front to the middle of the chest, and put on a high precious tiara on top.

      Karina froze:

      “Also a rag!”

      “It's a veil, lady.”

      “What for?!”

      “But you must be covered, lady.”

      “I have put on a mask!”

      “The mask is not closed enough, and the veil is always required. It’s translucent. It suits you very much, lady.”

      Karina lifted the veil from her face up, but then it covered a beautiful high tiara.

      “Damn,” thought Karina, “okay, I'll look around there and then take off this veil to hell.”

      “When I become queen,” she said so self-confidently, as if this issue had already been decided for a long time, “I will abolish these idiotic laws that humiliate women. I will cancel all these rules. No one will wear a cape, a mask, or a veil, neither free women nor slaves. Yes!”

      Gold looked at her in amazement, but tactfully remained silent.

      “And they will stop cutting and stitching women, in general, somehow changing them, cutting off their tongues, mutilating them. Whoever dares to do this will be immediately sentenced to death, but first, on the square in front of everyone, he will also be cut off, let him suffer! Why are you looking like that? Don't you believe that I will do it? My husband also thinks he respects women! And he will bring another order!”

      Lis went to them to find out if Karina was ready. Seeing him, the slave immediately hastily covered her face with a cape, and she and Karina knelt down and bowed their heads in front of the man.

      Lis gently raised Karina, hugging:

      “You're in a dress! What a beauty you are!”

      “Do you like? Can I go to the ball like that?”

      “Yes. You are the most beautiful girl in this world!” Lis said, lifting her veil, and gently kissing, “my wife is the most beautiful!”

      Tables were laid in the throne room of the Rainbow Palace. Many blacks and unclean ones have never seen such dishes, fruits and sweets.

      In a luxurious dress, a golden lace mask, covered with a translucent veil and all hung with jewels, Karina sat next to Lis-Sigmer at the head of the table and reveled in happiness. She was happy. She was having fun. She already felt like a queen and imposingly held in her hand a crystal glass filled with champagne. Lis’ father was sitting next to him, on his right hand. Igmer didn’t say anything to Karina, didn’t utter a word, but she didn’t notice any displeasure on his face when he saw her. He remained impassive, so she was dressed correctly and quite decently. Karina smiled condescendingly to those guests who approached them, congratulated them on their victory and wished all kinds of benefits. She nodded arrogantly in response and modestly kept silent. She didn’t even go up to Lila, who was sitting at the table a little further, next to Tol. Lila also covered her face with a beautiful mask of gold chains and coins hanging down with a fringe, leaving only her eyes open. Lila was born in the east and had a better understanding of the local rules for women.

      Almost all black mercenaries were here and many of the soldiers of Tol, Marmer and other red ones. There were Shrad, Seamus and Anya, and now she, unlike Karina and Lila, didn’t cover her face in any way and remained dressed like a warrior, in her leather pants and a jacket, and she still cut her hair down to her shoulders.

      At the end of the hall, unclean people settled down, and Karina saw Nija, he looked bad, thin, all haggard, nothing remained of former beautiful and bright Nija, and everyone had long forgotten his sincere and infectious smile, because Nija no longer smiled… Karina noticed how he raised his pale face and looked in her direction, she hastily turned away, pretending to talk to one of the guests.

      Zaf was sitting at the table hugging the maid of immense size, whom he found in some unknown place. The maid was in complete shock and looked at the unclean with round eyes. She neither ate nor drank, although the tables were bursting