Molka Lazareva

FRIEND OF IMMEDIATE RESPONSE

It would be interesting to find out whether those who accuse you of secrecy are ready to turn themselves inside out.

Douglas Copeland "Planet Shampoo"

Alive... - someone gasped in amazement.

Eridan turned with lightning speed in the direction where a couple of moments ago his colleague’s dead body lay. The Duke could swear: the teacher was one hundred percent dead, she was not breathing, and the wound on her chest and the amount of blood lost were clearly incompatible with life. But now everyone saw: Troy was fighting death. Weak, intermittent, convulsive... And, although there was no talk of any consciousness, her body was clearly not going to die.

Doctor! - Savoykina screamed hysterically.

A surprisingly strange and unrealistic picture. While the crowd of people was in complete shock and trying to understand the situation, the drunk, half-dressed young lady who two minutes ago publicly admitted to those gathered in an intimate relationship with a teacher accused of murder, reacted most adequately and correctly.

Gleb himself, as soon as he realized that his colleague was alive, began to break free from the hands of the guards, who were already ready to shackle him in a magical analogue of handcuffs. The strange bracelets sparkled with a poisonous green light, hinting that they were bringing nothing good to the potions teacher.

Don't let him out! - the queen squealed. - He wants to finish her off!

The crowd recoiled in fear from the master of poison science who seemed so dangerous.

I didn't touch Troy. Let me in, I can help her! - Gleb continued to struggle.

It is unknown how all this would have ended if not for Eridan’s steely voice, which sounded in the ongoing turmoil like a bolt from the blue:

King Victorian, you are now on the territory of the Neutral Lands and, in particular, in the High Military Academy of Magic, which does not belong to any of the kingdoms. Therefore, you have no right to give orders for the arrest of one of the teachers here!

It was as if Victorian's head had been lowered into a snowdrift. Despite the complete absence of emotion on his face, his pupils narrowed for a moment, giving rise to associations with a predatory and very poisonous snake.

“Let him go,” the ruler of Kerenia allowed, nodding briefly to the guards.

As soon as the master was free, without wasting a moment, he rushed to the woman lying on the floor. Above Troy were already standing a groaning Tertia, who was only getting in the way with her whining, Arvenarius, who was trying to cast a healing spell on the victim, and Elya, who, on the orders of the dean of the ladies-in-waiting, was pressing the wound with her hands. It seemed that all the blood had long since drained from the heart, but as soon as the gymnast began to breathe, it began to beat again in an attempt to resume the circulation of vital moisture throughout the body. This only made things worse.

Er, she urgently needs to be teleported to the medical unit,” Gleb, who fell to his knees in front of his friend’s body, almost begged. - We can’t help her here!

The Duke himself understood this very well; he was faced with a volitional decision - to allow teleportation throughout the Academy and with a hundred percent probability of missing the one who attempted to kill the athlete, or to act according to human moral standards.

Gleb, raise Troy and teleport to the hospital!

The master did not need to be told twice; a moment later he disappeared along with his friend’s body in a flash of the portal.

Eridan, why did you let him go?! - the king did not appreciate this decision. - You understand perfectly well, like everyone present, that Gleb’s accusation is based not only on a stupid guess. There are traces of strong telekinesis everywhere here!

And the Duke saw it. He noticed traces of magic as soon as he appeared in the corridor. Multi-colored flashes of residual energy danced along the stone walls, the cold floor, and there were especially many of them near Troy’s body. It was as if someone wasn’t just killing her, but was breaking the bones inside her body and using superhuman force to try to stop her resistance, knocking off the teacher’s protective spell. And there weren’t that many such strong telekineticists at the Academy. One of them is Gleb. But Eridan knew the master almost from the moment he entered the Academy, and knew about the warm relationship between the gymnast and the potions master. A peace-loving poet would not kill the one who always supported him...

© Lazareva M., 2016

© Design. LLC Publishing House E, 2016

Prologue

It would be interesting to find out whether those who accuse you of secrecy are ready to turn themselves inside out.

Douglas Copeland "Planet Shampoo"

“Alive...” someone breathed out in amazement.

Eridan turned with lightning speed in the direction where a couple of moments ago his colleague’s dead body lay. The Duke could swear: the teacher was one hundred percent dead, she was not breathing, and the wound on her chest and the amount of blood lost were clearly incompatible with life. But now everyone saw: Troy was fighting death. Weak, intermittent, convulsive... And, although there was no talk of any consciousness, her body was clearly not going to die.

- Doctor! – Savoykina screamed hysterically.

A surprisingly strange and unrealistic picture. While the crowd of people was in complete shock and trying to understand the situation, the drunk, half-dressed young lady who two minutes ago publicly admitted to those gathered in an intimate relationship with a teacher accused of murder, reacted most adequately and correctly.

Gleb himself, as soon as he realized that his colleague was alive, began to break free from the hands of the guards, who were already ready to shackle him in a magical analogue of handcuffs. The strange bracelets sparkled with a poisonous green light, hinting that they were bringing nothing good to the potions teacher.

- Don't let him out! - the queen squealed. - He wants to finish her off!

The crowd recoiled in fear from the master of poison science who seemed so dangerous.

“I didn’t touch Troy.” Let me in, I can help her! – Gleb continued to struggle.

It is unknown how all this would have ended if not for Eridan’s steely voice, which sounded in the ongoing turmoil like a bolt from the blue:

– King Victorian, you are now on the territory of the Neutral Lands and, in particular, in the High Military Academy of Magic, which does not belong to any of the kingdoms. Therefore, you have no right to give orders for the arrest of one of the teachers here!

It was as if Victorian's head had been lowered into a snowdrift. Despite the complete lack of emotion on his face, his pupils narrowed for a moment, giving rise to associations with a predatory and very poisonous snake.

“Let him go,” the ruler of Kerenia allowed, nodding briefly to the guards.

As soon as the master was free, without wasting a moment, he rushed to the woman lying on the floor. Above Troy were already standing a groaning Tertia, who was only getting in the way with her whining, Arvenarius, who was trying to cast a healing spell on the victim, and Elya, who, on the orders of the dean of the ladies-in-waiting, was pressing the wound with her hands. It seemed that all the blood had long since drained from the heart, but as soon as the gymnast began to breathe, it began to beat again in an attempt to resume the circulation of vital moisture throughout the body. This only made things worse.

“Er, she urgently needs to be teleported to the medical unit,” Gleb, who fell to his knees in front of his friend’s body, almost begged. “We can’t help her here!”

The Duke himself understood this perfectly well; he was faced with a volitional decision - to allow teleportation throughout the Academy and with a hundred percent probability of missing the one who attempted to kill the athlete, or to act according to human moral standards.

- Gleb, pick up Troy and teleport to the hospital!

The master did not need to be told twice; a moment later he disappeared along with his friend’s body in a flash of the portal.

– Eridan, why did you let him go?! – the king did not appreciate this decision. – You understand perfectly well, like everyone present, that Gleb’s accusation is based not only on a stupid guess. There are traces of strong telekinesis everywhere here!

And the Duke saw it. He noticed traces of magic as soon as he appeared in the corridor. Multi-colored flashes of residual energy danced along the stone walls, the cold floor, and there were especially many of them near Troy’s body. It was as if someone wasn’t just killing her, but was breaking the bones inside her body and using superhuman force to try to stop her resistance, knocking off the teacher’s protective spell. And there weren’t that many such strong telekineticists at the Academy. One of them is Gleb. But Eridan knew the master almost from the moment he entered the Academy, and knew about the warm relationship between the gymnast and the potions master. A peace-loving poet would not kill the one who always supported him...

“Don’t tell me, Eridan, that you believed in the innocence of your crazy potion master after the words of this girl!” – Victorian pointed his finger towards Ella standing nearby.

The cadet, realizing that we're talking about about her, abruptly raised her head and clearly prepared to say something angry to the ruler. She carefully put on a brave face, and Tarfold understood: the redhead was really scared, but she decided to continue to defend Gleb’s innocence and in this state she could say a lot of unnecessary things to the royal couple. Too much unnecessary stuff.

It was the Duke who had to stop Savoykina’s speech, which had not yet begun. He simply stood between the king and the girl.

“Are you questioning the honesty of not only the cadets’ words,” Eridan said, looking into Victorian’s eyes, “but also mine, since I confirmed her words?”

The royal retinue froze, sensing the tension in the situation. Still would! They witnessed direct confrontation between the Duke of the Neutral Lands and the ruler of Kerenia. And now further development the situation depended on the latter's answer.

- What are you talking about, Eridan! – Victorian answered measuredly and calmly. - I completely believe you. Who else can we trust if not you! To the one whose family has been caring for the peace of the Twenty Kingdoms for six thousand years. I just wanted to provide all possible assistance in the capture and detention of the criminal.

- Thank you! But the Academy prefers to sort out its own problems! And I personally, as the head of the security service, will lead the investigation of this incident!

An indignant murmur went through the crowd. Such words actually meant a direct announcement that no one would leave or enter the Academy until the end of the investigation.

“I’m not going to stay in this bunker while you play detective!” – Rizella lamented capriciously. “I have a lot to do in the palace!”

Eridan grimaced - the queen was right, he could not forcefully keep the guests from Kerenia. This would be a fatal political mistake. But the option of a killer among the retinue did not leave the thoughts of the head of the Security Service.

It's a double-edged sword.

– Eridan, I have a counter-offer to you! – Victorian looked at the Duke knowingly. Surely the king was aware of the position the head of the security service was in. “I offer my assistance in the investigation.” You yourself understand that we cannot remain on the Academy grounds until the killer is caught. Therefore, I promise: as soon as I arrive with my retinue in Kerenia, I will interrogate everyone on the Truth Ball and provide you with a full and detailed report regarding the progress of the investigation on our part.

But even this option seemed unacceptable to the Duke, although it was better than no decisions at all.

“I’ll be happy to look at the results,” Tarfold agreed.

And the king continued:

– I am also ready to help your Academy and, instead of the retired Troy, send a temporary replacement teacher who teaches Darria military training. And I would like Gleb to be suspended from teaching classes until the suspicions against him are finally cleared! Learning from a hypothetical killer is not the best option for future maids of honor and bodyguards!

“You don’t have to worry about this,” the Duke assured the king, his voice sounding colder than absolute zero. – During the investigation, I declare the Academy a temporarily closed territory and completely stop classes for an indefinite period!

As soon as she heard these words, Savoykin, who was standing behind the Duke, choked and coughed.

Chapter 1

If I do exactly the things that people expect from me, I will fall into their slavery.

Paulo Coelho

(an hour earlier)

“I didn’t understand,” Chris said indignantly. – What kind of open day is this?

Unlike the rooms of other classmates, the door of “number thirteen” was wide open. And while the other three were unlocking their rightful apartments, Christina and Anfisa thoughtfully examined the keyhole, where the key stuck out, which, apparently, was used to open the abode of the alien women.

– Maybe it was Elka who came? – Fisa suggested.

- Well, where is she now then?

Christina finally entered the room and mentally prepared herself to see traces of a robbery or other dirty trick.

No pogrom was discovered; on the contrary, everything was the same as in the morning before leaving for the oath. There was only more red fur on the floor, apparently Murz was going crazy in the absence of his mistress.

Anfisa quietly closed the door behind her and, like a friend, meticulously examined the room.

- So, we have a disrupted ball, an opened room, the absence of Elka and her cat Murza. Our guess about what happened?

– What can we assume? Elka came here before us, opened the room, the cat jumped out and ran away, and she chased after him! – Christina’s logic was clear, transparent and at the same time explained what was happening very well.

– And left the door wide open? Come in, whoever wants, take away what you can?

- Why not. – Chris shrugged. – If Murz wanders around the Academy, then this could end badly for the impudent red mug.

Fisa nodded silently, agreeing with the almost truism. But something was still bothering her, giving her no rest.

– I don’t know, I don’t like all this. For example, there is an inconsistency - how could we miss Elya at the ball?

Christina did not have an answer to the question, but there was something that prevented her shoes from standing level on the surface. Retreating, the girl squatted down and saw a small gray pebble.

- Where is this from? I don’t remember us carrying bags of gravel into the room?

Anfisa sat down next to her and, picking up a pebble, brought it to her eyes.

– This is not crushed stone, this is a piece of something... You see what the texture is. – Belova pointed to small notches on one of the sides of the stone. - It looks like scales...

The next thought came to the girls at the same time, because both simultaneously exhaled the name of the one who left such a gift.

- Gargoyles!

- He came here and released the cat!

- Old alcoholic!

- Well, what should we do now?

- How do I know! – a difficult thought process was reflected on the face of the former goth.

An amazing fact: as soon as Belova’s hair was dyed, she either began to take on the image of a stupid fool, or blonde is really not a hair color, but a vocation that was simply allowed to wake up.

- That’s it, I came up with an idea - we’ll go look for Murza to the Gargoyle!

Chris arched a skeptical eyebrow.

- Lost her mind? You saw what a smart guy was just in the hall! It’s not like they just sent us to our rooms; if they spot us walking along the corridors somewhere, they’ll skin us!

But Anfisa could no longer be stopped.

– Chris, judge for yourself. If we don’t find Murza now, he will absolutely go after the royal cat, and you know the consequences of this connection! Risella is unlikely to like white and red kittens; at best, she will simply drown them, and at worst, they will turn Elka’s animal into a fur muff.

“And you’re suggesting we become a cat rescue squad?” What if Elka had already run after him? – Prudent Chris tried to weigh the pros and cons of the proposed adventure.

- And if she didn’t run, what then? Who, if not us, will save this impudent red face? Moreover, now the risk is minimal - the queen and her family were taken to the bunker, all the cadets are sitting in their rooms, nothing threatens us. We quietly run to the Gargoyle, pick up the cat and back. – Here Belova made a tactical pause and insinuatingly looked into her friend’s eyes. “And even if Elya ran after the cat, we simply have to help her cope with this mustachioed beast.” She's all alone there in the empty cold corridors...

Volkovskaya crossed her arms over her chest and silently glared at her friend with a stern look.

- Chris, well, ok, yay, yay! - Little Fisa whined and even folded her hands in prayer.

“To hell with you,” the girl gave in, “persuaded!” But just keep in mind, I have a full feeling that we'll get into something along the way. Mark my words.

“Boo-boo-boo,” Anfisa mimicked her friend’s displeased muttering. – We are future maids of honor! Elite unit of magical special forces! Group immediate response in emergency situations - imagine that we have a combat mission to rescue private Murza from the clutches of the alcoholic kidnapper Arseny!

After this remark, Christina rolled her eyes and demonstratively made a “hand-face” gesture.

“Your exorbitant imagination will someday finish me off.”

In response, the girl just laughed.

- Quiet, women, we'll all go. Let's just start the tractor!

– What are you up to now?

- To the point that we’ll get to the bottom of it together! - And in confirmation of her words, Fisa masterfully performed the song she had just composed: - We will go, we will all rush to Gorgul early in the morning and desperately run into some kind of bullshit! E-gay!

– I would still abstain. “My psyche is as dear to me as a memory,” Chris said in a whisper, looking into the corridor and making sure that there was no one there. - Let's go, everything is clear!

Two silent shadows of the alien woman slipped out of the room and moved towards the central corridors. To be sure of the disguise, both wore magic masks and so as not to knock your heels on stone floor, took off their shoes.

– Chris, where are your woolen socks that you wore to the Academy? – my friend asked thoughtfully.

– They’re lying around in the closet somewhere, but what?

– What I mean is that we need to multiply them with a copying spell for the future!

– Do you want to open a hosiery shop? Become a businesswoman?

- Oh yeah! “I’ll make a fortune, buy a villa or a house by the sea,” Anfisa said with a dreamy look. – But seriously... Running barefoot on a cold floor, sooner or later we will get, if not pneumonia, then a cold, and thick woolen socks – perfect solution for such outings. Soft, warm and silent. We'll be like ninjas!

Chris stopped abruptly and, turning to her friend walking behind her, took off her mask and felt her forehead with her palm.

“It’s strange, there doesn’t seem to be any temperature,” the girl muttered. - And you couldn’t get drunk anywhere...

– Chris, you are sometimes a terrible bore! – the blonde snapped, frowning. – I’m just in a jittery mood, I’m really scared, and this is how I cheer myself up! And you immediately – “fever”, “delirium”, “got drunk”! By God, friend, it’s even insulting!

Christina took a deep breath.

- Well, forgive me, I’m scared too! I’m afraid of every sound, and here you are with socks and a fantasy about ninjas!

The girls walked the next three hundred meters in silence, listening to every step.

The academy seemed to have died out. The only sign of habitation in the corridors were the magic lanterns, which, like fireflies, winked at each other.

We managed to get to Gargoyle’s office without incident; there were no casual witnesses to the night hike; on the contrary, everything resembled the calm before the storm that was about to break out.

“I suggest you enter without knocking,” Fisa whispered, “if we start making noise, half the Academy will hear it in such silence.”

“I support,” Christina confirmed and began to slowly press the doorknob.

The locking mechanism made an unpleasantly loud click, as if it wanted to echo throughout the hallway that someone had opened the door to the classroom.

- Crap! – Chris cursed. - So much for an attempt at quiet penetration!

Deciding that it would still be impossible to get to the Gargoyle unnoticed, the girls, without wasting time, brazenly opened the doors wide open and burst into the huge hall of history. The picture they saw made them drop their jaws in surprise and cover their eyes from the unexpectedly bright light.

All the same crushed and destroyed columns in the middle of the hall, a majestic chandelier brightly illuminating the room with hundreds of thousands of lights, and a stone Gargoyle flying in the midst of this splendor on huge wings, performing aerobatic maneuvers in the air.

- And now - a barrel! – he announced loudly, entering the next low-level flight.

In the corner of the hall, someone joyfully encouraged Gargoyle with a strange ringing and loud “Meow!” Meow! Meow!" in two cat voices.

Looking at this crazy scene, Chris and Fisa looked at each other:

– It feels like we’re in an American film about students and we’ve crashed into their super cool party! Only instead of sex, drugs and rock and roll they have a gargoyle, a valerian and two cats.

After another loop in the air, Arseny finally noticed that he had two more spectators. In the blink of an eye, the historian lost the passion and excitement with which he had radiated just three seconds ago. Kamenyuka turned serious and landed heavily on the floor next to his students.

- Well, what did you forget here? – he asked rather rudely.

He stood unevenly on his paws, and the valerian intoxication was taking its toll. Every now and then the Gargoyle tried to fall onto his left side, as if an unknown force was pulling him to the ground. It was surprising how he could fly at all. But the teacher tried very hard to appear angry and dissatisfied at that moment.

“Hmm, Mr. Arseny,” Anfisa cleared her throat. - We came to pick up Murza. We know he's here!

The gargoyle pretended not to hear.

- What do you have? new fashion come over to me and look for the cat? There is no one here - neither Murza nor Businka!

Chris and Anfisa looked at each other in bewilderment, because they had heard the cat’s meow literally a few minutes ago. This means that Gargoyles either deliberately or accidentally let it slip.

Without saying a word and without waiting for other phrases from Kamenyuki, the girls abruptly rushed to run to the place from where the meow was heard. There, on an improvised bed of student pillows, lounging with the most insolent muzzles were two representatives of felines - the red yard Murz and the lovely snow-white Persian kitty. Judging by the golden collar, it is the same notorious Bead.

- Disaster! – Chris howled. “Now the skin will be torn off not only from Murza, but also from us, and from everyone who falls under hot hand! - And, immediately turning to the history teacher, she expressed everything she thought about the situation: - Gargoyles, you are an adult statue! You are three thousand years old! How did you even allow this arbitrariness to happen? This is an international scandal!

While Volkovskaya was scolding the thousand-year-old drunken teacher, Anfisa, without wasting any time, grabbed the relaxed Businka in her arms and held her tightly in a tenacious grip.

- Kri-i-is! – she drawled, attracting her friend’s attention. – We must return the cat back to the royal bedroom! And this needs to be done as soon as possible, while the queen is sitting in the bunker!

As if understanding the girl’s words, Lord von Murz, spinning under his feet, indignantly started a battle cat song mixed with a terrifying hiss.

– Don’t be indignant with me here. He stole the cat, and now we have to clean up the mess! – she pushed Fisk away with her bare foot from the angry Murza, for which she immediately paid for it, receiving a couple of deep scratches.

Businka herself did not look unhappy, but quite the contrary, she smelled of valerian and she looked most contented.

“There was nothing between them,” Gargoyles justified himself. “They just drank a couple of bowls of strong drinks together!”

Chris rolled her eyes and continued to be indignant:

– Did you try to get him drunk?!

Arseny remained silent on this question, but Murz, having heard such unfair accusations, was distracted from scratching Anfiska’s leg and turned his angry gaze to Christina, showing with all his appearance that he would fight for his honor, love and dignity to the end.

“Talk to me again here,” Christina threatened the cat. – I understand that you have base animal instincts, but, judging by a bunch of factors, you are an almost intelligent creature, you could even think with your head!

- Well, “meow”?! Understand, you koshara, Bead did not grow to your liking! And we love you alive, and not as a red rug that will be made of you if you want kittens from this woman!

- Me-me-me-me-meow! – the cat continued to be indignant, tearing the hem of Christina’s dress with razor-sharp claws.

Anfisa intervened in this heartbreaking dialogue.

“Chris, of course, I understand everything, but you’re talking to a cat right now.” And after this you will claim that I am the crazy one here?

She just waved it off.

“Show me at least one normal person in this Academy, and I will personally erect a monument to you from bread!”

- Troy is normal! – Fisa answered without hesitation, already anticipating what this wheat-bakery masterpiece of architectural thought would look like.

– A teacher in a sex shop outfit? Oh yeah! Are there other options for normal personalities?

“Well, I don’t know,” the girl drawled. - Arvenarius?

- Doubtful! “Chris was already preparing to tell the truth about the dean, but she stopped abruptly, remembering that there was a teaching staff here, albeit a stony one. - Oh!

- Here's an "oops" for you! – Arseny imitated creakingly. – I have an offer for you that you cannot refuse!

The girls looked questioningly towards the historian, even Murz was distracted from winning back his beautiful princess, who had already fallen asleep under the influence of valerian in Anfisa’s arms.

“You take the Bead back to the queen’s bedroom, and no one will know that she was here!” - Kamenyuka began. – And I don’t tell the other teachers about how you washed their bones!

- Sounds like blackmail.

– Why immediately “how”, it’s even insulting!

– But you are also to blame for what happened, so why should we clean up this mess with Murz and Businka? – now Anfisa was righteously indignant.

The gargoyle smiled maliciously with its stone mouth, revealing fangs worn down over millennia.

– Well, if you came here for a cat, it means that you were subconsciously prepared for possible problems!

“We were going to pick up the cat, not run around with this cat!” – Chris snapped, but was stopped by Anfisa.

“He’s right, if we don’t return the cat, all this fuss will happen.” No one will find it enough!

- Let him go and return it himself! And this cheap blackmail costs nothing! If he says anything to Arvenarius, then we will tell everyone, like swallows on their tail, how he was circling around the room. Why should I risk my own skin for the mistakes of one alcoholic?

After these words, Kamenyuk sharply wilted, the cadet’s words painfully wounded the gargoyle’s soul.

- Yes, it's my fault! “I told him,” Arseny nodded at the cat, “that you shouldn’t kidnap Bead from the royal bedroom, but did he listen!

Chris just waved her hand tiredly.

- How in kindergarten! - A heavy sigh and making a strong-willed decision: - Okay, Anfiska! Hold the cat tightly, and let's go take her back. I hope some guards don't kill us along the way.

- That's why you're such a pessimist?

– I am a realist and I assess the situation sensibly.

Only Murz was against Businka’s return to his place; he got underfoot, screamed heart-rendingly and scratched. As a result, Chris could not stand the cat’s tyranny, contrived, caught the impudent redhead by the scruff of the neck and, holding the Lord at arm’s length, escorted the struggling carcass to the Gargoyle. There, thrusting the cat into the arms of the teacher’s stone wings, she actually ordered:

- Take him to our room and lock him up! I hope you can help us in at least some way!

The historian nodded silently, agreeing with such a legal demand - he himself released the cat, and he himself also prohibited it.

Quietly closing the door behind them, the girls slipped out into the corridor like shadows. The path to the royal chambers was not short - the crowned persons were allocated the most comfortable premises throughout the Academy, central, not far from the rector’s office. Therefore, to get there from the Gargoyle Hall, hidden in the middle of nowhere, you had to walk a good couple of kilometers along dark corridors, stairs and alleys.

“Well, we’ll get there to her bedroom.” What will we do next? – Christina muttered under her breath. – Let’s just go in, put the cat in and leave, closing the door behind us?!

- Like that.

- What if the guards? What then?

Fisa straightened the magic mask with one hand, and continued to hold the sleeping Bead with the other.

– Pure improvisation! If anything happens, I take out the poisoned hairpin rose from my hair, and you take out your feathers. And we fight back!

- Great plan! Masterly!

- There is no other! - Here Belova giggled stupidly. - Just imagine! Night, silence, the queen's chambers! And here we are! Two stunning and unique Valkyrie ladies-in-waiting! Who, like supermen, return a lost cat to its owner! We even have masks!

- Yeah! To complete the look, you need to wear multi-colored panties over the dress and a flowing raincoat!

The girls covered the bursting laughter with their palms.

- Yeah! Our secrecy is top notch! – Chris whispered, having calmed down. “The only thing missing is an accompanying orchestra so that everyone knows where we are going and why!”

– By the way, we have a good cause!

The door to the queen's bedroom was already within line of sight when Volkovskaya decided to check the presence of security in the corridor from around the corner.

“Everything is amazingly smooth and beautiful,” she muttered dissatisfied.

- You're boring. – Fisa impatiently shifted from foot to foot. - That's why we can't get lucky?

- Intuition!

The Gottessa looked at her friend.

- Fuck your intuition. I'm off! – and with a bold step she walked out into the corridor towards the finish line to the queen’s bedroom. – If you are afraid of wolves, don’t go into the forest, but you need to return the cat!

In a quick dash, clutching Bead to her, Anfisa reached the coveted door and barely grabbed the handle when an eerie howling siren was heard throughout the Academy. Out of surprise, the girl dropped the cat, which, although five minutes ago had been a sleepy carcass, managed to land on its paws. Having rushed along the corridor in a fit of panic, the first thing the former gothess began to frantically look for a way to escape, the second thing she remembered was that she couldn’t throw the fallen Bead in the corridor, and the third thing was that with a sharp jerk she managed to open the ill-fated door. Christina ran up with crazy eyes and in the same panic, without thinking twice, she picked up the confused animal and with a well-aimed movement threw it into the royal bedroom over the threshold. The bead in flight let out a heart-rending “meow”, widened its already huge eyes, but landed aimlessly on the luxurious royal carpet.

- Close it! – shouting over the siren, Chris ordered her friend and, as soon as she slammed the door, she dragged her by the hand away from the royal chambers.

They ran without looking back where their feet led. Surprisingly, crowds of guards did not rush towards them; clearly no one was going to catch the lawbreakers.

- I told you! That's what I said! – Chris muttered, out of breath from running, like a mantra. - That's how I felt!

Anfisa, who was running next to her, glanced at her friend either with respect or with distrust.

“Chris, you either scribbled, or you need to work as a fortuneteller.” Do you think that if we are caught, they will charge us with cruel treatment with animals?

- What kind of fright is this? – Chris stopped and tried to catch her breath.

The siren finally stopped howling.

“We sent Businka on such an impressive flight, but what if she broke something?”

- It's a cat! Apart from drug addiction to valerian, she shouldn’t develop any other ailments this evening!

“I hope...” Fisa said thoughtfully. – And yet it’s strange. If no one catches us, it means that the siren did not go off according to our will. Then a reasonable question: why?

“I don’t have the slightest desire to understand this.” I prefer to quickly get back to the thirteenth room and put my feet in hot water! Running on the cold floor will soon make my snot wrap around my fist!

Then they walked more slowly, looking around every corner and checking if there was an ambush ahead. And everything was fine, exactly until entering the one hundred and fortieth passage. The path to the common block was tightly blocked by two tall guards, judging by their uniforms, from the king’s personal guard.

- Here we are! – Chris concluded sadly. - This is to our liking! So what are we going to do?

Anfisa carefully looked over her friend’s shoulder, looked closely at the guards and for some reason exhaled joyfully.

“I’m not sure they’re behind us.” Take a closer look at them - they are standing waddled, relaxed, talking about something. Most likely, this is an ordinary guard posted here!

However, after making sure that her friend was right, Christina was in no hurry to rejoice.

- So what? This doesn't make it any easier! How do we get into the room?!

Fisa thought for a second and said:

- Do as I do! Let's break through! – And, straightening her skirt and her already open neckline, she boldly walked out into the central corridor.

Horrified by such a turn of events that was not agreed upon with her, Chris wanted to stop her friend, but then, waving her hand and crossing herself, with the phrase: “We’ll die like this together,” she stepped after her.

Anfisa walked proudly towards the guards, swaying her steep hips, straightening her curls every now and then. Christina, who followed her, did not allow herself such tricks, but moved smoothly, clearly and confidently, just in case, preparing for any development of events.

The guards standing at the aisle tensed noticeably.

– Good evening, dear! – Fisa said with unexpected arrogance. And then, head-on, in a voice full of confidence, she demanded: “Come on, let’s make way!”

The guards looked at each other at such impudence, but were in no hurry to carry out the order. In general, as Anfisa noted to herself, the men were handsome - stately, tall, and most importantly, they were, in any case, former graduates of the same Academy. This is what the cadet focused on in her secret operation.

- Well?! Will you just stand there or let us into the block? – she said even more brazenly and defiantly, hysterical squealing notes appeared in her voice.

Christina looked at this chaos with her eyes wide open in fear, and if it weren’t for the mask covering half her face, the guards would probably have been alerted by such a surprised look from one of the girls.

- Who are you? – Having come to his senses, the taller man ingratiatingly asked and, as if by chance, put his hand on the hilt of the blade.

This movement did not escape Anfisa, but the girl went all-in.

- How dare you talk to me in such a tone! I am the future lady-in-waiting of Her Majesty Queen Rizella! My name is Countess Vanessa! – After such an epic phrase, Fisa pulled off her mask with a sharp movement and pierced the guards with an arrogant and victorious gaze. – I study at the Academy and am going to go to my block now!

Looking at this performance, Christina realized that the one-man show needed to be diluted with the appearance of a new character, namely, to play along with her friend!

- I am the Marquise of Clarentina! And I’ll tell my father everything, if you don’t let me into my chambers immediately!

But the guards were also not foolish, and now the second one launched a counterattack. He was in no hurry to entice two strange girls, but he began asking strange questions.

– And by what right do two such venerable ladies walk alone at night around the Academy?

Anfisa had just prepared an answer, for which she had great hopes. Even at the ball, she saw how the real countess and marquise were dragged away by Troy. Logic dictated that these beauties would not be released so easily without fully understanding the whole situation. Moreover, Eridan will also be called to the showdown.

It would be interesting to find out whether those who accuse you of secrecy are ready to turn themselves inside out.

Douglas Copeland "Planet Shampoo"

“Alive...” someone gasped in amazement.
Eridan turned with lightning speed in the direction where a couple of moments ago his colleague’s dead body lay. The Duke could swear: the teacher was one hundred percent dead, she was not breathing, and the wound on her chest and the amount of blood lost were clearly incompatible with life. But now everyone saw: Troy was fighting death. Weak, intermittent, convulsive... And, although there was no talk of any consciousness, her body was clearly not going to die.
- Doctor! - Savoykina screamed hysterically.
A surprisingly strange and unrealistic picture. While the crowd of people was in complete shock and trying to understand the situation, the drunk, half-dressed young lady who two minutes ago publicly admitted to those gathered in an intimate relationship with a teacher accused of murder, reacted most adequately and correctly.
Gleb himself, as soon as he realized that his colleague was alive, began to break free from the hands of the guards, who were already ready to shackle him in a magical analogue of handcuffs. The strange bracelets sparkled with a poisonous green light, hinting that they were bringing nothing good to the potions teacher.
- Don't let him out! - the queen squealed in fear. - He wants to finish her off!
The crowd recoiled in fear from the master of poison science who seemed so dangerous.
“I didn’t touch Troy.” Let me in, I can help her! - Gleb continued to struggle.
It is unknown how all this would have ended if not for Eridan’s steely voice, which sounded in the ongoing turmoil like a bolt from the blue:
“King Victorian, you are now on the territory of the Neutral Lands and, in particular, in the High Military Academy of Magic, which does not belong to any of the kingdoms. Therefore, you have no right to give orders for the arrest of one of the teachers here!
It was as if Victorian's head had been lowered into a snowdrift. Despite the complete lack of emotion on his face, his pupils narrowed for a moment, giving rise to associations with a predatory and very poisonous snake.
“Let him go,” the ruler of Kerenia allowed, nodding briefly to the guards.
As soon as the master was free, without wasting a moment, he rushed to the woman lying on the floor. Above Troy were already standing a groaning Tertia, who was only getting in the way with her whining, Arvenarius, who was trying to cast a healing spell on the victim, and Elya, who, on the orders of the dean of the ladies-in-waiting, was pressing the wound with her hands. It seemed that all the blood had long since drained from the heart, but as soon as the gymnast began to breathe, it began to beat again in an attempt to resume the circulation of vital moisture throughout the body. This only made things worse.
“Er, she urgently needs to be teleported to the medical unit,” Gleb almost begged, falling to his knees in front of his friend’s body. “We can’t help her here!”
The Duke himself understood this very well; he was faced with a volitional decision - to allow teleportation throughout the Academy and with a hundred percent probability of missing the one who attempted to kill the athlete, or to act according to human moral standards.
- Gleb, pick up Troy and teleport to the hospital!
The master did not need to be told twice; a moment later he disappeared along with his friend’s body in a flash of the portal.
- Eridan, why did you let him go?! - The king did not appreciate this decision. “You understand perfectly well, like everyone present, that Gleb’s accusation is based not only on a stupid guess. There are traces of strong telekinesis everywhere here!
And the Duke saw it. He noticed traces of magic as soon as he appeared in the corridor. Multi-colored flashes of residual energy danced along the stone walls, the cold floor, and there were especially many of them near Troy’s body. It was as if someone wasn’t just killing her, but was breaking the bones inside her body and using superhuman force to try to stop her resistance, knocking off the teacher’s protective spell. And there weren’t that many such strong telekineticists at the Academy. One of them is Gleb. But Eridan knew the master almost from the moment he entered the Academy, and knew about the warm relationship between the gymnast and the potions master. A peace-loving poet would not kill the one who always supported him...
“Don’t tell me, Eridan, that you believed in the innocence of your crazy potion master after the words of this girl!” — Victorian pointed his finger towards Ella standing nearby.
The cadet, realizing that they were talking about her, sharply raised her head and clearly prepared to say something angry to the ruler. She carefully put on a brave face, and Tarfold understood: the redhead was really scared, but she decided to continue to defend Gleb’s innocence and in this state she could say a lot of unnecessary things to the royal couple. Too much unnecessary stuff.
It was the Duke who had to stop Savoykina’s speech, which had not yet begun. He simply stood between the king and the girl.
“Are you questioning the honesty of not only the cadets’ words,” Eridan said, looking into Victorian’s eyes, “but also mine, since I confirmed her words?”
The royal retinue froze, sensing the tension in the situation. Still would! They witnessed direct confrontation between the Duke of the Neutral Lands and the ruler of Kerenia. And now the further development of the situation depended on the latter’s answer:
- What are you talking about, Eridan! — Victorian answered measuredly and calmly. - I completely believe you. Who else can we trust if not you! To the one whose family has been caring for the peace of the Twenty Kingdoms for six thousand years. I just wanted to provide all possible assistance in the capture and detention of the criminal.
- Thank you! But the Academy prefers to sort out its own problems! And I personally, as the head of the security service, will lead the investigation of this incident!
An indignant murmur went through the crowd. Such words meant, in fact, a direct announcement that no one would leave or enter the Academy until the end of the investigation.
“I’m not going to stay in this bunker while you play detective!” - Rizella whined capriciously. “I have a lot to do in the palace!”
Eridan grimaced - the queen was right, he could not forcefully keep the guests from Kerenia. This would be a fatal political mistake. But the option of a killer among the retinue did not leave the thoughts of the head of the Security Service.
It's a double-edged sword.
— Eridan, I have a counter-offer to you! — Victorian looked at the Duke knowingly. Surely the king was aware of the position the head of the security service was in. “I offer my assistance in the investigation.” You yourself understand that we cannot remain on the Academy grounds until the killer is caught. Therefore, I promise: as soon as I arrive with my retinue in Kerenia, I will interrogate everyone on the Truth Ball and provide you with a full and detailed report regarding the progress of the investigation on our part.
But even this option seemed unacceptable to the Duke, although it was better than no decisions at all.
“I’ll be happy to look at the results,” Tarfold agreed.
And the king continued:
“I am also ready to help your Academy and, instead of the retired Troy, send a temporary replacement teacher who teaches Darria military training. And I would like Gleb to be suspended from teaching classes until the suspicions against him are finally cleared! Training under a hypothetical killer is not the best option for future maids of honor and bodyguards!
“You don’t have to worry about this,” the Duke assured the king, his voice sounding colder than absolute zero. “During the investigation, I declare the Academy a temporarily closed territory and completely stop classes for an indefinite period!”
As soon as she heard these words, Savoykin, who was standing behind the Duke, choked and coughed.

If I do exactly the things that people expect from me, I will fall into their slavery.
Paulo Coelho

(an hour earlier)

“I didn’t understand,” Chris said indignantly. - What kind of open day is this?
Unlike the rooms of other classmates, the door of “number thirteen” was wide open. And while the other three were unlocking their rightful apartments, Christina and Anfisa thoughtfully examined the keyhole, where the key stuck out, which, apparently, was used to open the abode of the alien women.
- Maybe it was Elka who came? - Fisa suggested.
- Well, where is she now then?
Christina finally entered the room and mentally prepared herself to see traces of a robbery or other dirty trick.
No pogrom was discovered; on the contrary, everything was the same as in the morning before leaving for the oath. There was only more red fur on the floor, apparently Murz was going crazy in the absence of his mistress.
Anfisa quietly closed the door behind her and, like a friend, meticulously examined the room.
- So, we have a disrupted ball, an opened room, the absence of Elka and her cat Murza. Our guess about what happened?
- What can we assume? Elka came here before us, opened the room, the cat jumped out and ran away, and she chased after him! — Christina’s logic was clear, transparent, and at the same time explained what was happening very well.
— And left the door wide open? Come in, whoever wants, take away what you can?
- Why not. - Chris shrugged. - If Murz wanders around the Academy, then this could end badly for the impudent red mug.
Fisa nodded silently, agreeing with the almost truism. But something was still bothering her, giving her no rest.
- I don’t know, I don’t like all this. For example, there is an inconsistency - how could we miss Elya at the ball?
Christina did not have an answer to the question, but there was something that prevented her shoes from standing level on the surface. Retreating, the girl squatted down and saw a small gray pebble.
- Where is this from? I don’t remember us carrying bags of gravel into the room?
Anfisa sat down next to her and, picking up a pebble, brought it to her eyes.
- This is not crushed stone, this is a piece of something... You see what the texture is. — Belova pointed to small jagged marks on one of the sides of the stone. - It looks like scales...
The next thought came to the girls at the same time, because both simultaneously exhaled the name of the one who left such a gift.
- Gargoyles!
- He came here and released the cat!
- Old alcoholic!
- Well, what should we do now?
- How do I know! — a difficult thought process was reflected on the face of the former goth.
An amazing fact: as soon as Belova’s hair was dyed, she either began to take on the image of a stupid fool, or blonde is really not a hair color, but a vocation that was simply allowed to wake up.
- That’s it, I came up with an idea - we’ll go look for Murza to the Gargoyle!
Chris arched a skeptical eyebrow.
- Lost her mind? You saw what a smart guy was just in the hall! It’s not like they just sent us to our rooms; if they spot us walking along the corridors somewhere, they’ll skin us!
But Anfisa could no longer be stopped.
- Chris, judge for yourself. If we don’t find Murza now, he will absolutely go after the royal cat, and you know the consequences of this connection! Risella is unlikely to like white and red kittens; at best, she will simply drown them, and at worst, they will turn Elka’s animal into a fur muff.
“And you’re suggesting we become a cat rescue squad?” What if Elka had already run after him? — prudent Chris tried to weigh the pros and cons of the proposed adventure.
- And if she didn’t run, what then? Who, if not us, will save this impudent red face? Moreover, now the risk is minimal - the queen and her family were taken to the bunker, all the cadets are sitting in their rooms, nothing threatens us. We quietly run to the Gargoyle, pick up the cat and back. - Here Belova made a tactical pause and ingratiatingly looked into her friend’s eyes. “And even if Elya ran after the cat, we simply have to help her cope with this mustachioed beast.” She's all alone there in the empty cold corridors...
Volkovskaya crossed her arms over her chest and silently glared at her friend with a stern look.
- Chris, well, ok, yay, yay! - Little Fisa whined and even folded her hands in prayer.
“To hell with you,” the girl gave in, “persuaded!” But just keep in mind, I have a full feeling that we'll get into something along the way. Mark my words.
“Boo-boo-boo,” Anfisa mimicked her friend’s displeased muttering. - We are future maids of honor! Elite unit of magical special forces! Immediate response team in emergency situations - imagine that we are on a combat mission to rescue Private Murza from the clutches of the alcoholic kidnapper Arseny!
After this remark, Christina rolled her eyes and demonstratively made a “hand-face” gesture.
“Your exorbitant imagination will someday finish me off.”
In response, the girl just laughed.
“Quiet, women, we’ll all go.” Let's just start the tractor!
- What are you up to now?
- To the point that we’ll get to the bottom of it together! - and in confirmation of her words, Fisa masterfully performed the song she had just composed: - We will go, we will all rush to Gorgul early in the morning and desperately run into some kind of bullshit! E-gay!
- I would still abstain. My psyche is as dear to me as a memory,” Chris said in a whisper, looking into the corridor and making sure that there was no one there. - Let's go, everything is clear!
Two silent shadows of the alien woman slipped out of the room and moved towards the central corridors. To be sure of their disguise, both put on magic masks, and to avoid knocking their heels on the stone floor, they took off their shoes.
— Chris, where are your woolen socks that you wore to the Academy? — my friend asked thoughtfully.
— They’re lying around in the closet somewhere, but what?
- What I mean is that we need to multiply them with a copying spell for the future!
— Do you want to open a hosiery shop? Become a businesswoman?
- Oh yeah! “I’ll make a fortune, buy a villa or a house by the sea,” Anfisa said with a dreamy look. - But seriously... Running barefoot on a cold floor, sooner or later we will develop, if not pneumonia, then a cold, and thick woolen socks are the ideal solution for such outings. Soft, warm and silent. We'll be like ninjas!
Chris stopped abruptly and, turning to her friend walking behind her, took off her mask and felt her forehead with her palm.
“It’s strange, there doesn’t seem to be any temperature,” the girl muttered. - And you couldn’t get drunk anywhere...
- Chris, you are sometimes a terrible bore! — the blonde snapped, frowning. “I’m just in a jittery mood, I’m really scared, and that’s how I cheer myself up!” And you immediately - “fever”, “delirium”, “got drunk”! By God, friend, it’s even insulting!
Christina took a deep breath.
- Well, I'm sorry, I'm scared too! I'm afraid of every sound, and here you are - with socks and a fantasy about ninjas!
The girls walked the next three hundred meters in silence, listening to every step.
The academy seemed to have died out. The only sign of habitation in the corridors were the magic lanterns, which, like fireflies, winked at each other.
We managed to get to Gargoyle’s office without incident; there were no casual witnesses to the night hike; on the contrary, everything resembled the calm before the storm that was about to break out.
“I suggest you enter without knocking,” Fisa whispered, “if we start making noise, half the Academy will hear it in such silence.”
“I support,” Christina confirmed and began to slowly press the doorknob.
The locking mechanism made an unpleasantly loud click, as if it wanted to echo throughout the hallway that someone had opened the door to the classroom.
- Crap! - Chris cursed. - So much for an attempt at quiet penetration!
Deciding that it would still be impossible to get to the Gargoyle unnoticed, the girls, without wasting time, brazenly opened the doors wide open and burst into the huge hall of history. The picture they saw made them drop their jaws in surprise and cover their eyes from the unexpectedly bright light.
All the same crushed and destroyed columns in the middle of the hall, a majestic chandelier brightly illuminating the room with hundreds of thousands of lights, and a stone Gargoyle flying in the midst of this splendor on huge wings, performing aerobatic maneuvers in the air.
- And now - a barrel! - he announced loudly, entering the next low-level flight.
In the corner of the hall, someone joyfully encouraged Gargoyle with a strange ringing and loud “Meow!” Meow! Meow!" in two cat voices.
Looking at this crazy scene, Chris and Fisa looked at each other:
“It feels like we’re in an American film about students and we’ve dropped into their super cool party!” Only instead of sex, drugs and rock and roll they have a gargoyle, a valerian and two cats.
After another loop in the air, Arseny finally noticed that he had two more spectators. In the blink of an eye, the historian lost the passion and excitement with which he had radiated just three seconds ago. Kamenyuka turned serious and landed heavily on the floor next to his students.
- Well, what did you forget here? - he asked rather rudely.
He stood unevenly on his paws, and the valerian intoxication was taking its toll. Every now and then the Gargoyle tried to fall onto his left side, as if an unknown force was pulling him to the ground. It was surprising how he could fly at all. But the teacher tried very hard to appear angry and dissatisfied at that moment.
“Hmm, Mr. Arseny,” Anfisa cleared her throat. — We came to pick up Murza. We know he's here!
The gargoyle pretended not to hear.
- Is it a new fashion for you to drop in and look for a cat? There is no one here - neither Murza nor Businka!
Chris and Anfisa looked at each other in bewilderment, because they had heard the cat’s meow literally a few minutes ago. This means that Gargoyles either deliberately or accidentally let it slip.
Without saying a word and without waiting for other phrases from Kamenyuki, the girls abruptly rushed to run to the place from where the meow was heard. There, on an improvised bed of student pillows, lounging with the most impudent muzzles were two representatives of felines - the red yard Murz and the lovely snow-white Persian kitty. Judging by the golden collar, it is the same notorious Bead.
- Disaster! - Chris howled. “Now the skin will be torn off not only from Murza, but also from us, and from everyone who falls under the hot hand!” - And, immediately turning to the history teacher, she expressed everything she thought about the situation: - Gargoyles, you are an adult statue! You are three thousand years old! How did you even allow this arbitrariness to happen? This is an international scandal!
While Volkovskaya was scolding the thousand-year-old drunken teacher, Anfisa, without wasting any time, grabbed the relaxed Businka in her arms and held her tightly in a tenacious grip.
- Kri-i-is! - she drawled, attracting her friend’s attention. - We must return the cat back to the royal bedroom! And this needs to be done as soon as possible, while the queen is sitting in the bunker!
As if understanding the girl’s words, Lord von Murz, spinning under his feet, indignantly started a battle cat song mixed with a terrifying hiss.
- Don’t be indignant with me here. He stole the cat, and now we have to clean up the mess! — she pushed Fisk away with her bare foot from the angry Murza, for which she immediately paid for it, receiving a couple of deep scratches.
Businka herself did not look unhappy, but quite the contrary, she smelled of valerian and she looked most contented.
“There was nothing between them,” Gargoyles justified himself. “They just drank a couple of bowls of strong drinks together!”
Chris rolled her eyes and continued to be indignant:
— Did you try to get him drunk?!
Arseny remained silent on this question, but Murz, having heard such unfair accusations, was distracted from scratching Anfiska’s leg and turned his angry gaze to Christina, showing with all his appearance that he would fight for his honor, love and dignity to the end.
- Meow!
“Talk to me again here,” Christina threatened the cat. “I understand that you have base animal instincts, but, judging by a bunch of factors, you are an almost intelligent creature, you could even think with your head!”
- Meow!
- Well, “meow”?! Understand, you koshara, Bead did not grow to your liking! And we love you alive, and not as a red rug that will be made of you if you want kittens from this woman!
- Me-me-me-me-meow! — the cat continued to be indignant, tearing the hem of Christina’s dress with razor-sharp claws.
Anfisa intervened in this heartbreaking dialogue.
“Chris, of course, I understand everything, but you’re talking to a cat now.” And after this you will claim that I am the crazy one here?
She just waved it off.
“Show me at least one normal person in this Academy, and I will personally erect a monument to you from bread!”
- Troy is normal! — Fisa answered without hesitation, already anticipating what this wheat-bakery masterpiece of architectural thought would look like.
— A teacher in a costume from a sex shop? Oh yeah! Are there other options for normal personalities?
“Well, I don’t know,” the girl drawled. - Arvenarius?
- Doubtful! “Chris was already preparing to tell the truth about the dean, but she stopped abruptly, remembering that there was a teaching staff here, albeit a stony one. - Oh!
- Here's an "oops" for you! - Arseny imitated creakingly. - I have an offer for you that you cannot refuse!
The girls looked questioningly towards the historian, even Murz was distracted from winning back his beautiful princess, who had already fallen asleep under the influence of valerian in Anfisa’s arms.
“You take the Bead back to the queen’s bedroom, and no one will know that she was here!” - Kamenyuka began. - And I don’t tell the other teachers about how you washed their bones!
- Sounds like blackmail.
- Why immediately “how”, it’s even insulting!
- But you are also to blame for what happened, so why should we clear up this mess with Murz and Businka? - Now Anfisa was righteously indignant.
The gargoyle smiled maliciously with its stone mouth, revealing fangs worn down over millennia.
- Well, if you came here for a cat, it means that you were subconsciously prepared for possible problems!
“We were going to pick up the cat, not run around with this cat!” - Chris snapped, but was stopped by Anfisa.
“He’s right, if we don’t return the cat, all this fuss will happen.” No one will find it enough!
- Let him go and return it himself! And this cheap blackmail costs nothing! If he says anything to Arvenarius, then we will tell everyone, like swallows on their tail, how he was circling around the room. Why should I risk my own skin for the mistakes of one alcoholic?
After these words, Kamenyuk sharply wilted, the cadet’s words painfully wounded the gargoyle’s soul.
- Yes, it's my fault! “I told him,” Arseny nodded at the cat, “that you shouldn’t kidnap Bead from the royal bedroom, but did he listen!
Chris just waved her hand tiredly.
- Like in kindergarten! - A heavy sigh and making a strong-willed decision: - Okay, Anfiska! Hold the cat tightly, and let's go take her back. I hope some guards don't kill us along the way.
- That's why you're such a pessimist?
“I’m a realist and I assess the situation sensibly.
Only Murz was against Businka’s return to his place; he got underfoot, screamed heart-rendingly and scratched. As a result, Chris could not stand the cat’s tyranny, contrived, caught the impudent redhead by the scruff of the neck and, holding the Lord at arm’s length, escorted the struggling carcass to the Gargoyle. There, thrusting the cat into the arms of the teacher’s stone wings, she actually ordered:
- Take him to our room and lock him up! I hope you can help us in at least some way!
The historian nodded silently, agreeing with such a legal demand - he himself released the cat, and he himself also prohibited it.
Quietly closing the door behind them, the girls slipped out into the corridor like shadows. The path to the royal chambers was not short - the crowned persons were given the most comfortable rooms in the entire Academy, central, not far from the rector's office. Therefore, to get there from the Gargoyle Hall, hidden in the middle of nowhere, you had to walk a good couple of kilometers along dark corridors, stairs and alleys.
“Well, we’ll get there to her bedroom.” What will we do next? - Christina muttered under her breath. - Let’s just go in, put the cat in and leave, closing the door behind us?!
- Like that.
- What if the guards? What then?
Fisa straightened the magic mask with one hand, and continued to hold the sleeping Bead with the other.
- Pure improvisation! If anything happens, I take out the poisoned hairpin rose from my hair, and you take out your feathers. And we fight back!
- Great plan! Masterly!
- There is no other! - Here Belova giggled stupidly. - Just imagine! Night, silence, the queen's chambers! And here we are! Two stunning and unique Valkyrie ladies-in-waiting! Who, like supermen, return a lost cat to its owner! We even have masks!
- Yeah! To complete the look, you need to wear multi-colored panties over the dress and a flowing raincoat!
The girls covered the bursting laughter with their palms.
- Yeah! Our secrecy is top notch! — Chris whispered, having calmed down. “The only thing missing is an accompanying orchestra so that everyone knows where we are going and why!”
- By the way, we have a good cause!
The door to the queen's bedroom was already within line of sight when Volkovskaya decided to check the presence of security in the corridor from around the corner.
“Everything is amazingly smooth and beautiful,” she muttered dissatisfied.
- You're boring. — Fisa impatiently shifted from foot to foot. - That's why we can't get lucky?
- Intuition!
The Gottessa looked at her friend.
- Fuck your intuition. I'm off! - and with a bold step she walked out into the corridor towards the finish line to the queen’s bedroom. - If you're afraid of wolves, don't go into the forest, but you need to return the cat!
In a quick dash, clutching Bead to her, Anfisa reached the coveted door and barely grabbed the handle when an eerie howling siren was heard throughout the Academy. Out of surprise, the girl dropped the cat, which, although five minutes ago had been a sleepy carcass, managed to land on its paws. Having rushed along the corridor in a fit of panic, the first thing the former gothess began to frantically look for a way to escape, the second she remembered that the fallen Bead should not be thrown in the corridor, and the third thing - with a sharp jerk - she managed to open the ill-fated door. Christina ran up with crazy eyes and in the same panic, without thinking twice, she picked up the confused animal and with a well-aimed movement threw it into the royal bedroom over the threshold. The bead in flight let out a heart-rending “meow”, widened its already huge eyes, but landed aimlessly on the luxurious royal carpet.
- Close it! — shouting over the siren, Chris ordered her friend and, as soon as she slammed the door, she dragged her by the hand away from the royal chambers.
They ran without looking back where their feet led. Surprisingly, crowds of guards did not rush towards them; clearly no one was going to catch the lawbreakers.
- I told you! That's what I said! — Chris muttered, out of breath from running, like a mantra. - That's how I felt!
Anfisa, who was running next to her, glanced at her friend either with respect or with distrust.
- Chris, you either scribbled, or you need to work as a fortuneteller. Do you think if we get caught we'll be charged with animal cruelty?
- What kind of fright is this? — Chris stopped and tried to catch her breath.
The siren finally stopped howling.
“We sent Businka on such an impressive flight, what if she broke something?”
- It's a cat! Apart from drug addiction to valerian, she shouldn’t develop any other ailments this evening!
“I hope...” Fisa said thoughtfully. - And yet it’s strange. If no one catches us, it means that the siren did not go off according to our will. Then a reasonable question: why?
“I don’t have the slightest desire to understand this.” I prefer to quickly get back to the thirteenth room and put my feet in the hot water! Running on the cold floor will soon make my snot wrap around my fist!
- Went!
Then they walked more slowly, looking around every corner and checking if there was an ambush ahead. And everything was fine, exactly until entering the one hundred and fortieth passage. The path to the common block was tightly blocked by two tall guards, judging by their uniforms, from the king’s personal guard.
- Here we are! - Chris concluded sadly. - This is to our liking! So what are we going to do?
Anfisa carefully looked over her friend’s shoulder, looked closely at the guards and for some reason exhaled joyfully.
“I’m not sure they’re behind us.” Take a closer look at them - they are standing waddled, relaxed, talking about something. Most likely, this is an ordinary guard posted here!
However, after making sure that her friend was right, Christina was in no hurry to rejoice.
- So what? This doesn't make it any easier! How do we get into the room?!
Fisa thought for a second and said:
- Do as I do! Let's break through! - and, straightening her skirt and her already open neckline, she boldly walked out into the central corridor.
Horrified by such a turn of events that was not agreed upon with her, Chris wanted to stop her friend, but then, waving her hand and crossing herself, with the phrase: “We’ll die like this together,” she stepped after her.
Anfisa walked proudly towards the guards, swaying her steep hips, straightening her curls every now and then. Christina, who followed her, did not allow herself such tricks, but moved smoothly, clearly and confidently, just in case, preparing for any development of events.
The guards standing at the aisle tensed noticeably
- Good evening, dear ones! - Fisa said with unexpected arrogance. And then, head-on, in a voice full of confidence, she demanded: “Come on, let’s make way!”
The guards looked at each other at such impudence, but were in no hurry to carry out the order. In general, as Anfisa noted to herself, the men were handsome - stately, tall, and most importantly, they were, in any case, former graduates of the same Academy. This is what the cadet focused on in her secret operation.
- Well?! Will you just stand there or let us into the block? - she said even more brazenly and defiantly, hysterical squealing notes appeared in her voice.
Christina looked at this chaos with her eyes wide open in fear, and if it weren’t for the mask covering half her face, the guards would probably have been alerted by such a surprised look from one of the girls.
- Who are you? - Having come to his senses, the taller man ingratiatingly asked and, as if by chance, put his hand on the hilt of the blade.
This movement did not escape Anfisa, but the girl went all-in.
- How dare you talk to me in such a tone! I am the future lady-in-waiting of Her Majesty Queen Rizella! My name is Countess Vanessa! — after such an epic phrase, Fisa pulled off her mask with a sharp movement and glared at the guards with an arrogant and victorious gaze. “I study at the Academy and I’m going to go to my block now!”
Looking at this performance, Christina realized that the one-man show needed to be diluted with the appearance of a new character, namely, to play along with her friend!
- I am the Marquise of Clarentina! And I’ll tell my father everything, if you don’t let me into my chambers immediately!
But the guards were also not foolish, and now the second one launched a counterattack. He was in no hurry to entice two strange girls, but he began asking strange questions.
“And by what right do two such venerable ladies walk alone at night around the Academy?”
Anfisa had just prepared an answer, for which she had great hopes. Even at the ball, she saw how the real countess and marquise were dragged away by Troy. Logic dictated that these beauties would not be released so easily without fully understanding the whole situation. Moreover, Eridan will also be called to the showdown.
— After the incident at the ball, the teachers took us away to clarify the circumstances! And just now they released me! Duke Tarfold personally ordered us to return to our chambers!
Here Anfisa was counting on the reaction that happened. Everyone was afraid of the Duke, and even more so those who studied here, and especially those who studied with him.
- Okay, but we are obliged to inform the authorities about your appearance!
- Yes please! — Anfisa shrugged her shoulders indifferently. - Even to the king himself! And then we will tell Mr. Eridan who exactly did not let us into their rooms. Really, Clarentina?
The false marquise glared at her friend and then at the guards and decided who she wanted to kill more: Anfisa, who seemed to have finally gotten into the head with adrenaline, or herself, a natural suicide.
However, an unexpected suspicion crept into Volkovskaya’s head:
— By the way, can you tell me why the king’s personal guard rules arbitrarily in the Academy, as if at home? By what right are you even here?
Christina’s head was now thinking faster than any computer, the logical inconsistency was beginning to hurt her eyes. There are no guards guarding the queen's chambers, but two guards stand outside the freshmen's block. The question is - why?
The situation now not only made Christina tense, it alarmed and frightened her. The hand involuntarily reached out to the peacock feathers...
- Come on, Bron! — the shorter guard said unexpectedly softly. - Let's let them through. These are just cadets! We ourselves often ran away when we were studying!
“But the order...” the second tried to be indignant.
- The girls are noble ladies, they wouldn’t lie to us! Isn't it true? — the “kind” guard looked questioningly into Anfisa’s eyes.
Belova's first reaction was to start nodding with relief, but this would mean the immediate failure of such a magnificent performance.
- Here's another! Lying to some rootless guards is beneath my dignity! - and as a sign of her majestic superiority, she proudly raised her chin up.
The guards clearly didn’t like this kind of communication, but they weren’t going to show it.
- Go! - the men parted.
The girls did not have to persuade themselves twice; the false marquise and the false countess proudly paraded among the guards, Chris even deliberately touched one with his shoulder.
As soon as they found themselves in their room and closed the door, the girls tiredly slid down the wall on weak legs. A dissatisfied and shabby Murz crawled out from under Elka’s bed, which meant that Gargoyles had fulfilled his promise and brought the cat into the room. Elka herself has not yet been seen.
“Am I the only one who thought that these guards standing here were not very legal?” — Chris looked questioningly at Fisa lying on the floor.
- To the point, friend, to the point! Their faces became distorted when you started asking them questions!
- After that, they immediately decided to let us through... Strange.
- So it turns out they haven’t been here that long? The gargoyle passed and left.
“We’ll have to tell Troy about this later!” And then you never know...
- I support...
In the silence that followed, one could clearly hear Murz combing out fleas behind his ear with his hind paw.
“Hmm, yes, I’m afraid that in addition to valerian addiction, Businka may also develop fleas...” Fisa said, looking at the ceiling.
- What a mess you have in your head! - Christina sighed sadly. - Still, blonde is not the color of your hair, it’s a calling!

- Well, why did you miss them?
- So, you think it would have been better to kill them? In the central corridor? When is the whole Academy on its toes now?
- I agree, but you can’t let go either! What if they tell someone?
- Are you laughing?! Are these stupid noble cattle? We know their names, this is enough to remove them later and more carefully!
“Marquise Clarentina and Countess Vanessa...” the guard muttered thoughtfully. “It won’t be easy to remove such prominent figures...

It is interesting to marry only for love; marrying a girl just because she’s pretty is like buying something for yourself at the market unnecessary thing just because she's good.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Are you serious? - The King of the Fifth Rainbow carefully read the lines of the invitation that had just been brought to him. - Lil, this is complete nonsense! What kind of dynastic mating?

Actually, the metamorph himself was of the same opinion. He had heard about dynastic marriages, about arranged weddings too, but bringing cats together for the good of the Kingdom was the first time.

Maybe we read the invitation wrong? - the magician suggested as a hypothesis. - What if this is just the premiere of a new comedy at the Kereniya Royal Theater? Is there no corresponding postscript there?

Velidor re-read the text twice more, and then, unable to bear it, he recited the message out loud.

"Invitation!

On the twenty-fourth day of the Sixth Moon, we invite you, beloved and respected Velidor the First, with your retinue, to the greatest event of All Twenty Kingdoms - the Dynastic mating of Businda Croconialda of Stratford, the fourth of the line of Royal Persians and Fluffy Leonid of Ferdinand, the fifth of the line of Snow-White Burmas!

In honor of this incredible event, a solemn signing of an agreement on the future unification of the Kingdoms of Kerenia and Ferdinaria will take place, as well as a Grand Ball!

We hope you will share with us the joy of this significant event and illuminate this historic event with your presence!

With wishes of health and long reign, Your Rizella!”

Having finished reading, Velidor glanced at his friend and coughed unambiguously:

Written by hand, secured with the personal seal and signature of the Queen of Kerenia!

Well, it’s immediately obvious that the woman wrote,” Lil waved it off lightly. - Nothing is clear from the invitation, it’s written haphazardly, there’s no official language... And yes, this lady could well have thought of introducing cats for the good of the Motherland!

I wouldn't be so categorical. - Velidor didn’t like the invitation. This crazy cat wedding smelled like a setup. - Rizella is such a snake! She doesn't do anything in vain! I find it hard to believe that she just wanted to tinker with cute little kittens out of the kindness of her heart!

The Metamorph listened to his best friend's arguments with demonstrative carelessness. Outwardly, Lil looked relaxed and frivolous, like a monkey in mating season. Disheveled hair, an unbuttoned shirt, trousers sloppily tucked into boots, even an unusual belt with a scabbard as an accessory looked as if it had been taken from the most distant and dusty warehouses of the Fifth Rainbow. Inside, Lil felt the movements of a treacherous worm, which was annoyingly trying to drill a hole in the restless feeling called “intuition.”

Vel, will you accept the invitation?

Need to think. You understand that in events of this level, a polite refusal will be regarded as a serious insult. - The king irritably threw the ill-fated paper into the corner of the table. - Therefore, my friend, you and I have time to brainstorm and analyze the current situation.

Lilard rolled his eyes. He hated what the king called " brainstorming" In the mouth of the ruler of the Fifth Rainbow, this meant locking himself in his office for a couple of days and spending them studying reports and reports from neighboring kingdoms.

Or maybe the mating of cats is just mating? Is the signing of a peace treaty between Kerenia and Ferdinaria just a signing? - the metamorph asked with stupid hope, his eyes, under the influence of magic, became puppy-like pleading. - There has never been enmity between these Kingdoms. Plus, King Ferdinand has no children, everyone is well aware that his wife is barren. So who else should he give into a dynastic marriage, if not his beloved cat Fluffy?

The king only snorted in response to these only cheerful-sounding words.

Will he also give the kingdom to Fluffy by inheritance? - an ironic question sounded.

He'll do it! It's no secret that after the untimely death of his sister Ridrega, Ferdinand's mind became a little clouded! And the country is actually run by his wife, who does it very badly! It is not surprising that an alliance with Kerenia could save Ferdinaria’s position on the world stage!

Another skeptical “snort” was heard at the table.

Lil, don't make my mustache laugh...

You don't have a mustache!

This expression is like this,” Velidor tried to justify himself, stroking his three-day stubble, but the thought continued: “How will this agreement help Ferdinaria?” Because they will finally cave in to a stronger Kereniya? Heresy. But even if we assume that our assumption is correct. What's next? In a hundred years, the idiot Darry will seize power and destroy two kingdoms already?!

The young king’s speech was too passionate and emotional, something in this situation caught him. Internal restlessness fidgeted and panicked, and such emotions do not decorate a ruler.

I agree, there are inconsistencies in the theory.

The next ten minutes passed in thoughtful silence - Velidor was sorting through a pile of reports in the hope of catching grains of information, while Lil decided to indulge in a more useful activity, in his opinion, namely, drinking libations in honor of the god of winemaking home world Bacchus.

Another bottle of expensive wine came off its cork with a farewell utterance of a promising “CHPOK.”

This is what I was thinking,” the metamorph finally broke the silence, finishing his second glass. - Vel, what would you do if your kingdom is falling apart? And you're a little crazy in your head? That is, in Ferdinand's place.

The answer did not take long to arrive:

Well, I certainly wouldn’t have given power to my wife and gotten a cat. I don't know, stupid question!

“Not the least bit stupid,” the connoisseur of elite wine did not give up, pouring himself some ruby ​​liquid. - What if your son is an idiot? And do you understand that the age of your reign is not eternal? That is, in the place of the rulers of Kerenia?

“Whoa,” Lil said meaningfully and fell silent.

What is “here”? Keep the thought going!

Why doesn't Ferdinand twitch or panic? Yes, he has cockroaches in his head, but he is not a complete imbecile to watch his kingdom absorb Kerenia or it collapse on its own. Conclusion: he has heirs! Perhaps bastards...

Far-fetched.

Agree! But it’s logical, damn it! The same situation with Kerenia, these cats have not surrendered to them for a hundred years! Fiction. It’s just that, as a result of the peace treaty with Ferdinaria, Darry will now become a very attractive groom - after all, in the future he claims to be the future king of two kingdoms at once! He may be a fool three times over, but power-hungry ladies will stand in line to ring the promising heir!

By your logic, everything is organized just for the sake of Darria’s show?!

This is quite in the spirit of Rizella. Bring crowds of nobles to one place and choose a suitable bride for your unfortunate offspring!

Velidor leaned back wearily in his chair.

An interesting hypothesis... Far-fetched, but has the right to life.

With Lil's light hand, the second glass appeared on the table in front of the tired king.

I propose to drink to my brilliant mind and divine ingenuity!

And yet, why does Ferdinaria need this circus? I don't understand. - The wine left a pleasant aftertaste. - Something still doesn’t add up... And we need to find out.

A risky thought, like a partisan, crept into the head of Velidor, who was absolutely not adventurous by nature, and prepared to stay there for a while. permanent place residence. Perhaps it was the wine that had such an insidious effect, or perhaps the long sitting within four walls finally began to tire the ruler.

Lil, I know this idea sounds crazy, but I know you'll approve. - Boyish sparks lit up in the king’s eyes. “I’ve always wanted to be a traveling entertainer, and now you and I have a great opportunity to earn a couple of gold pieces at a grand event for all the Twenty Kingdoms.” We can't miss such a rare chance!

* * *

H-h-h-how was the wedding? - From this terrible prospect, Darry even began to stutter.

Of course, he thought until the last moment and was sure that the mating of Businka and Fluffy was just an excuse for signing an agreement with Ferdinaria, and then five minutes ago the truth was revealed to the blind gaze of the idiot heir. Everything that happens is just a screen. the main objective of this grandiose event - to gather rich and worthy brides in one place for the bride's viewing.

For two days now, Rizella’s mother and father had been sending out invitations to all the more or less suitable, in their opinion, candidates from rich families, as well as personally to the kings of other countries. The Kerenian monarchs did not doubt the intelligence and insight of the neighboring rulers, and if so, the chances that one of the retinues would find the richest bride increased significantly.

But I'm too young to tie the knot! - Having completely panicked, the prince almost whined.

Everything would be fine, but even such an indignant cry remained without the due amount of attention from the parents. The king and queen did not even raise an eyebrow at their son’s lamentations, but only continued to sign the envelopes with invitations.

Are you ignoring me? - My son was finally losing his already extraordinary patience.

No, we just don’t want to listen to your lamentations,” the father answered calmly, without raising his eyes and not looking up from his work. - You get married, and this is a settled issue! Candidates will come to the event, you can choose any one!

Rizella exhaled painfully and pulled a fresh stack of invitations towards her.

Son, don't worry so much! We will provide you with a huge assortment! I personally made sure that random seekers of happiness did not get to this event. Only the worthy of the worthy! Rich and famous! Outstanding and noble! Just look... - The Queen ran through the lines of one of the invitations. - Specifically, this will go to the matriarch of Sheba - the greatest woman, the owner of several artifact banks, museums, as well as two gold and diamond mines!

Mom, she’s three hundred and fifty years old!

Age doesn’t matter for Great Love,” Rizella waved it off and extended the next invitation. - Or here, the infanta of the kingdom of Nagoria - Irridia! She has a whole country in her dowry!

And two hundred and fifty kilograms of fat that she had eaten over her thirty-year life. Father, I don't want to marry a sow! - The panic in Darria’s head was becoming genuine, and the guess that there were no normal brides on the list of candidates was becoming more and more clear.

King Victorian raised his tired eyes to his son and nevertheless put his pen aside.

So, you can give the courtesan the key to the royal treasury, but you can’t get married? - Tapping his fingers on the table, he spat out sharply. - That's it, son, childhood is over! You will choose one of those who will appear at the ball and give her a wedding envelope! This decision is not discussed! If it were our mother’s and my will, you would marry the one we chose! But Artaxars the Great drew up a strict code of laws, and you must have a choice! Here, enjoy, we have provided it for you!

Well, what’s stopping me from bringing one of my favorites or even a couple of whores from a brothel to the ball? - Darry asked. His parents drove him into a corner from which there was no way out.

We have provided for this option,” Rizella grinned unkindly, fanning herself with a fan of letters. - Entrance to the castle is by invitation only! So no nonsense! Humble yourself and accept your fate with dignity! You are the future king, not a doormat! Everything won't always be the way you want!

The crown prince's hands dropped limply. The parents thought of everything. He will be married to one of the candidates beneficial to the kingdom, and it doesn’t matter if she is fat, ugly or even old...

Leaving the office, Darry loudly slammed the door and headed to his chambers. The prince was not going to surrender to the mercy of matrimonial plans. He must definitely come up with a plan that will help him, if not save himself from the bitter fate of marriage, then at least temporarily postpone it or disrupt a future engagement.

The idea of ​​filling all the toilets in the castle with foam bombs was immediately dismissed as childish and ridiculous. Organize your escape? An option, but stupid. They'll catch you and put you under lock and key. Start a fire? Flood? Eruption? Rockfall?

Each subsequent idea was a hundred times more unsuccessful than the previous one. The prince could only lie on the bed, stare at the ceiling with a hateful gaze and powerlessly clench his fists.

I was distracted from my thoughts by a quiet mewl that came from somewhere near the window. Darry always didn’t care about cats that could be running around somewhere in the castle, but now, following the meow, a quiet scratching on the glass was heard.

Curiosity overcame laziness, the prince got out of bed and went to open window frame.

As soon as the passage was open, a disheveled snow-white Bead tumbled into the room from the window sill. Somehow the cat got out of the castle and along the parapets and cornices reached the heir’s room.

Businka looked pitiful, as if she was not the royal favorite, but an ordinary courtyard Murka, running from dusk to dawn through dirty basements. The fur was disheveled, the golden collar was lost, the eyes were watering, and in the teeth of the unfortunate woman she was dragging some narrow object that was inconvenient for her mouth.

If maman finds out that you ran away, a huge scandal will break out,” Darry exhaled, picking up the animal in his arms. - How did you even get out of the cage?!

The question sounded rhetorical, well, Businka won’t tell you that she learned from Murz how to open cells with one movement of her claw. Instead, the cat persistently tried to push the brought object into the prince's throat. Here, they say, take it! I even helped myself with my paw.

What kind of garbage did you bring? - The foolish royal heir disgustedly threw away what seemed to him a piece of folded wet paper.

This time, a really smart thought came to Darria’s head, and the crumpled piece of paper was unfolded and read. Twice.

Is this an invitation to a ball?! - the prince breathed out in confusion. - Empty! Well, why the hell did you drag it to me?

If Businka had been a person, she would have now given the royal idiot a couple of slaps on the head, but instead she had to meow pitifully and jump on desk heir. There was a set of gilded feathers and an inkwell into which the snow-white paw had to be dipped, otherwise Darry would never have guessed that the empty invitation needed to be filled.

If only the king's son knew how much effort the cat had to spend to get an empty, unsigned invitation! The bead was going all-in! This was her only chance of salvation from the hated future destiny. And now the main thing is to clearly explain to this idiot whose names should be included in the document!

“Who would have thought that you are not a brainless animal,” the heir said thoughtfully. - You decided to help me, right? I’m not some kind of animal, so that I could be, like you, with some noble persons? It is so?

For such words, Businka wanted to scratch out the sleek brown-haired man’s eyes, but he had to endure it. Let him think what he wants. If only I entered the correct names!

Perhaps I’ll invite Matilda and marry her. Out of spite mom! She will not survive such a shame - her son married the owner of a brothel!

The pen was already raised over the invitation, which is why Businka had to commit another act of self-sacrifice and cover the paper own body. Another drop of ink fell from the tip of the writing implement and stained the cat's skin.

Hey, what are you doing?! - the prince was indignant. Saving a precious chance for a happy future, Croconialda almost overturned the entire inkwell.

Here's how to explain to someone who is dumber than a kitten, smart thing? The cat began to panic and scoured the prince’s room with her eyes in search of an object that would hint to this narrow-minded person the thought she needed.

Having pulled this paper with her teeth, the cat persistently poked Darria at the sweeping resolution left by the head of the Academy's Security Service.

Are you hinting that I should call the Duke of the Neutral Lands? Should I marry him too?

Ah-ah-ah, ladies-in-waiting. - Finally, the necessary thought finally reached the prince and struck him with its genius. - Foreign maids of honor! It's even cooler than Matilda! Maman will hang herself from anger!

Croconialda let out a relaxed sigh. This cat just performed a feat worthy of almost a separate medal or order - it made Darria think.

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