Unconquered Sun

by Philipp Bogachev

  And here Prinze was reached, at last, by sense of her words. And it brought him out of a state of shock at once. He jumped and the eyes opened from a terrible guess took a broad view of Lily, took it for brittle thin shoulders and slightly shook it:

  - You … you …. You … were going to die perhaps, Poured? You what, went crazy, expensive?

  But this time roles them exchanged. The determination abandoned Lily again and the eyes which suddenly lit up was combative predatory fire, dragged on pavoloky. She drearily sighed, hung hands and the head and turned away from Prinze in a vain attempt to hide the tears.

  - I die, my dear, my darling, Prinze, I die … Day in a month, day in a month, day in a month …

  - What do you tell it, Poured?! You what - ached with something?!

  But Lily turned to Prinze again, embraced him and having sat down on a bench under a sprawling gold oak, slapped a palm nearby, inviting to sit down also it. The prince sat down. It quietly took his palm in the and quietly ironed it, and tears slid on her cheeks large peas.

  - Lily, answer me what is with you? What does all this mean?

  - Just I am pregnant, and you know that at pregnant women everyone happens - in tears, in laughter, they feel sick, pulls on different delicacies... It usually … - and she bitterly smiled to the ridiculous attempt by a joke to delay inevitable recognition.

  - Lily, I wait! - and Prinze with the eyes full of pain and alarm, looked in Lily's eyes, and she for the first time did not sustain a look.

  - You know, Prinze, we, fairies, are young and beautiful not just like that … We are such while we drink juice and we eat cotton candy from pink clouds - a source of our force. I do not have it … and will not be, and therefore I promptly begin to grow old - day in a month, day in a month, day in a month …

  - But …

  - Earlier I was merged with the Stream and received force from there, besides I had no body …

  - But why you needed this body why???

  - And you still did not guess, silly? - Lily looked it fool in the face.

  The long pause hung in mid-air.

  - You made it for the sake of me?! - with horror Prinze as from infected with pestilence started back from it.

  - For the sake of you … and for the sake of the child … - said Lily in low tones. And then, suddenly having stridently and rapaciously looked in eyes to Prinze, almost hissed as a snake: - Yes, for the sake of you and for the sake of the child I killed two fairies, and turned one into a bat!

  The prince hid the face in hands and moaned, having kneeled.

  - However, - again quietly and peaceful said Lily, - they are already revenged because I die … and cannot avert my death any more anything. I knew about it and went to it … for the sake of you … for the sake of the son … Here therefore I so quickly get fat and I will so quickly give birth to the child - day in a month … Isn't that so, very conveniently? How many it is possible to give birth to kids in a year at such speed, and? - And Lily through force laughed. - Though something useful in it is …

  And then she got up near Prinze and lowered handles to him on the head and began to stroke softly his hair, mentally saying the calming spells:

  - More quietly, more quietly, darling, you here at anything … do not blame yourself … And nobody learns about the child, even your Fairy … - Poured bitterly smiled. - It will be mine, and only mine! Eventually, for these tens of thousands of years of loneliness I deserved to myself the right for the child, isn't it?

  The thought of the child gave Lily's forces. She turned away from Prinze and approached the region of the avenue which was coming to an end with break - where below was seen the Gorge covered with white fog. Cold mountain wind stirred up her head hair. She opened hands towards to wind as if intending to fly up and greedy inhaled this incomparable invigorating aroma of mountains in the lungs - aroma of wild force and freedom which is conducted only to mountain eagles, and her eyes, without squinting at all, openly looked at the scorching midday sun as then … many thousands years ago … But now the sun did not cause hatred in Lily. No, Poured now was what to be proud before the sun. Let it be more beautiful and more powerful than Lily, but now Lily has it, there is her own little son who already began to live in her belly and very soon will be born and which the sun does not have - and will never be!

  - Yes, I deserved this right. And I will give birth to him, and he will be a great wizard and the soldier, and will make a set of great feats and will top himself with undying glory! Yes! I will devote it to this hot Sun that looks at me! I and will call it - Svetonosets, Lucifer, our way, - and he will bring to this world light and will take vengeance on for me my enemies! - Lily's voice amplified, became louder and louder, and she cried out the last words in all power of the lungs and made the menacing gesture to the sky with which she continued to argue internally.

  - Yes! - Lily continued to shout. - It will overthrow damned mad "Knowledge" from a throne, he will begin to govern the Universe and all will live forever and happily and freely! He will be the eternal king of the Sunflower Universe, and the changed Azail will be his wise mentor! Yes, - the last word Lily told, having already calmed down, a low voice.

  From its shout Prinze recovered and with horror listened to these mad words. He ran up to Lily and seized her by shoulders and several times shook:

  - Think again, mad! Do tell? You unless do not know that maternal blessing, especially at fairies, can come true? Mad! What you doom my son to! Become silent, immediately!

  - Also I will not think! - having pushed away from itself Prinze, Lily cried. - Also I will not think! This is my son, mine and only mine! And if it does not arrive as I speak, I will damn it, let his life then will be more bitter than death!

  - Become silent! Become silent! - Prinze to Lily rushed and, having seized her, clamped her a mouth. But Lily did not oppose. - Went crazy, silly!? Well? Let's go from here, here it is cold, - Prinze already almost tenderly told, as if spoke with the small child. - You should take care, the child can suffer …

  The prince suddenly took Lily on hands as child, and incurred her back, deep into avenues and again put her on a bench. He took her hands in the and several times kissed them, and then, keeping her palms in the and looking it directly in eyes, so gently and so humbly, said in low tones:

  - Poor, poor Lily, oh, the Creator as I love you! As I do not want to lose you, and my little son too! Though you also do not want to give me the child, but I am his father, and I can give him the blessing too …

  - And what blessing you will give it? - with curiosity Lily looked at it.

  - I want that my son did not stain the hands with others blood that he was a kind wizard and directed all the art to the help of persons in need, suffering and obidimy, those who are weaker than it … - with these words he carefully put palms on Lily's stomach. - You hear me, the peanut?

  Suddenly the child moved in mother's belly.

  - You hear?! You hear?! He answers me! - delighted Prinze cried and triumphantly looked at Lily. Their views met.

  This instant of Prinze remembered then well. Never, nevermore he saw Lily such, up to her death …

  The look of her big blue eyes was such human, such female, such maternal … Her pacified person exhaled waves of love and tenderness from which at Prinze the head began to spin. He gave in to a rush of feelings and kissed Lily.

  And then they together came back to the Gold Hall. He held it by a hand and continually gently glanced at her stomach in which already there lived a being who will call him then the father.

  - How many at us remained still to time, Poured?

  - Count, it is simple, - shrugged Lily's shoulders. - Within a year I will grow old for 12 years. In a year to me will be for 30 - on the human account. Generally, in general I can stretch 5-6 years, it is no more …

  - Lily, and that if you, having given birth to the kid, enter the Stream again? Think itself, you will stop process of aging and will be in safety - fairies will not be put here,
and? - The prince stopped and strong squeezed Lily's hands, looking her directly in eyes. - Go to the Stream, I beg you, become …

  - … Former? You wanted to tell it, darling? To become the ruthless, cruel, imperious Invincible Sun which fries and everything scorches around and everything turns into the heartless dead desert, the desert covered with GOLD dust … Whether so, darling? You want it?

  - And you? What is wanted by you, Poured?

  - Remember, darling, on the future - never ask the woman of what she wants, - Lily crafty smiled, having cunning looked at Prinze, - it is dangerous, may be, this desire to execute is necessary to you then …

  - Not time for jokes, was Poured! It is necessary to solve something! What is wanted by you?

  - I want what you can only give me if I become the Invincible Sun again, and I it do not want to be any more. I want to die the woman, the real woman and mother, but not a gold heartless monster!

  - Lily, you want, I will go to Skies and I will demand that you were allowed in Community of fairies, fed you with this damned cotton wool that you became the former fairy!

  - Little fool … Really you so still understood nothing? - she tenderly trifled a lobe of his ear and kissed on a cheek. - It is impossible. I so long broke the Law of Balance that punishment time came. The pendulum shook in my party and it me and will bury … It is too much blood, it is a lot of evil on my clever fingers! I have to bear responsibility for all this … I only want … only I want … - her thin shoulders began to tremble from sobbings, - that … this … kickback …. Not … buried …. With me … and mine … small … the kid … - More she could not speak any more.

  And Prinze, having swallowed a bitter lump, chilly told:

  - I will take care about is mute, Poured. I swear to you - your son will not fall into hands of fairies! - and with these words he kneelt before Lily and, having embraced her for such wide to thallium now, nestled a cheek on its pot-belly, and it seemed to it that is there, in depth, he heard one more small udarchik of a tiny cam.

  Chapter 24. The pendulum shook.

  1.

  The meeting of the Supreme Privy Council of Community took place very violently. Even the Triune Knowledge did not decide to stop noise. It seemed, all Hall of Meetings turned into the boiling rough sea which roar nothing was capable to muffle. Fairies each other something shouted, proved something, fiercely gesticulated, and it was absolutely impossible to understand this chaos.

  - More quietly, sisters, silence! Stop this market! You are fairies, but not street dealers! Stop! - her Pearl-white Fidelity cried in all power of which it was only capable, Elder Sister "REAPED".

  But only after the seventh or eighth hail, noise began to abate gradually - and that only because debaters got tired.

  - I understand, sisters that all of us are surprised and dumbfounded from an event, but let's discuss it quietly, in a civilized way, as well as it befits fairies!

  Fairies really calmed down and going to listen, having taken seat on the places in the stands.

  - So, sisters, I, on blessing of their Knowledge, - with these words Pearl-white reverentially bowed Sitting on Thrones, having in reply received the blessing reciprocal bow of all Three, - I address you from their Name and it will be three times blessed in eyelids!

  - So, sisters, we witnessed awful and tremendous incident. The invincible Sun, some wonderfully having taken control of a body of one of our sisters about whose death and its allies we infinitely grieve … - here Pearl-white rolled up eyes a grief, having devoutly put hands on a breast, also all fairies sitting in the stands arrived. - And so, having artfully taken control of her body, she managed to arrange impudent escape to the lover … - at the word "lover" on all hall condemnation grumble, and the Fairy sitting in the first row flush with Primogenital swept, nearly failed from shame under a tribune, - … from the place of detention, and then ABSOLUTELY INEXPLICABLY to make mad break back in the, unfortunately, a citadel, still impregnable for us. At the same time she managed ALONE - yes, sisters, ALONE, - to reflect in some way, unknown for us, all cumulative power of Community of fairies - business, absolutely unprecedented from creation of the world!

  And again stands were shaken by the noise which absorbed a voice acting.

  - Quietly, sisters, quietly! Silence! So we in general till the night will not come to any decision, quietly! - And only when fairies calmed down again, Pearl-white continued:

  - There is a question - what to do to us? The power of this monster increased up to incredible degree so we and to attack it we cannot leave from here, having left to this power to lie under a bushel, we cannot too - at any time it will strike a crushing blow on our world, our favourite world, much and which Prosperity we during the so many millennia put so many forces, the world which was entrusted our care by the Creator and the name Its will be blessed! - And again Pearl-white devoutly raised eyes to the sky and put hands in prayful gesture.

  Again an indignation wave, but it is this time short. Because through noise the sharp thin voice of the fairy in golden clothes of the 2nd rank broke through:

  - I, of course, do not know, sisters as this mad managed to reflect our cumulative blow, but, sisters, I know that when I sat in the Command Center and operated the avatar, striking to it aim blows …

  The fairy for a moment became silent. In the Hall of Meetings on the Flying Cloud the silence set in. Only the remote chirping of birds broke perfect silence. The fairy watched somewhere afar, and as if vspominalapodrobnost of this pursuit: here the person holding a belt of the witch, and here she flying a mantikor, here - on wind her hair here flutter, here burn from excitement of her eye, her hand here upraised in the menacing gesture, here …

  Yes, here - the blood streams whipping from ears and a nose and dripping directly on a golden tunic, leaving on it disgusting red spots …

  - Yes, sisters, I distinctly saw then that blood went at it from ears and nostrils, sweat poured from it a hail, and its all tunic was in sweat and blood, and her face was pale as chalk and cheeks shivered …

  - Yes, yes, the sister, truly, both I saw, and I, and I … - voices of other participants of fight reached from all directions.

  - You see, sisters, - triumphantly looking round the audience, the fairy continued, - the Invincible Sun is not so invincible now! Yes, the witch made a fatal flaw, having exchanged for the sake of the lover the illusive invulnerability for a vulnerable body of the fairy, and to these it, sisters, signed to herself the death sentence! We had a unique chance to physically destroy it and to put an end to this prolonged war, to eliminate the last threat to a celebration of the Sacred Principles of the Order and Prosperity in Tselestiya! - The last words the fairy already hysterical shouted, raising the clenched fist to the sky. And all hall cried out delighted - "Yes will be so!"

  - More quietly, more quietly, sisters, silence! - again took the floor Pearl-white, raising a hand up. - I thank from all Community the acted sister for valuable remarks. Really, the Yellow Witch became almost defenseless. And if not possession of a bomb which can be blown up by it at any time we, the sister, could starve her out - without pink clouds it to turn into the old woman in 5-6 years and will die. - Minute pause. Death silence. - But that's put that we do not have this time to wait, it is absent! We, responsible before the Creator for this world, cannot risk existence of the world! We have to strike a preventive strike, using as the acting sister noted, her vulnerability which became obvious to all.

  - But how we will get to it? How? Its magical mirrors will burn us in a flash as all our golems and avatars during the previous storm! - the voice of one of fairies from where from the top stands was distributed.

  - And here, - triumphantly exclaimed Pearl-white, rubbing a hand enough from the fact that asked it that question which will allow it to tell the most important, the most interesting, the most intriguing … - you, the darling, and are not right! An exit is, and the key to it is here, in this Hall!

  Stands became torn from surprise shouts, rus
tled as a stormy sea.

  Again it was required to call many times fairies for silence and even to knock with a silver hammer on a tribune.

  - And so, sisters, this key - here, and this key - ours all dear and beloved sister, the First maid of honor of their Knowledge and at the same time deceived and offended wife what all of us sisters sincerely grieve over, - the Keeper of Wreaths No. 1! I ask!

  All hall was shaken with noise of an applause - and is not casual because really all loved the Beautiful Fairy - and for her sweet and mild temper, and for her responsiveness and mercy, and for her mind and gay character, and now still hearts of all fairies unanimously expressed her the female solidarity in connection with change of the husband.

  And the Beautiful Fairy, all with the same pale and tear-stained face, the swelled-up centuries and lips, got up on department in the center of the arena which conceded it Pearl-white.

  The beautiful Fairy got up for department and, having suddenly begun to hesitate, rushed was back, but Pearl-white right there seized her under a lokotok and having attracted to herself, in a whisper asked:

  - Where you, my child?

  - I cannot, your Fidelity, I cannot, believe, I …

  - We agreed with you, isn't that so, and agreed more than once, remember? Life of your husband depends ONLY ON YOU and from anybody it is more! And the word of Triune Knowledge - the immutable law!

  From a breast of the Fairy whether the sigh, whether groan escaped, and it, hardly crossing the shivering legs, climbed up department and, having few times coughed, said by voice, shivering and hoarse from tears:

  - Yes, sisters, it is the truth. There is only one way to the Gold Hall which is not controlled by magical Mirrors, and this way - through the Ant hill!

  Explosion of surprise and delight as the noisy sea swept on stands, but the Fairy raised a hand, and it right there abated - all wanted to listen to the end up to the end.