Chapter 14

In exile, Rosana recalled with pleasure the face of the magician, to whom she so gracefully pointed out his place - a rootless upstart. On the inappropriateness of his stay among the noble masters. She remembered how, thanks to overheard gossip, she managed to find his most vulnerable spot and put pressure on him, how Tongil turned to stone, and then broke loose and made a vulgar scandal.

Yes, at first it was pleasant to think about it, but as time went on, and soon a trusted maid began to bring her strange news. Such as the news of an unprecedentedly heavy rain, which stubbornly did not go beyond the boundaries of the count al-Korm's majorate, did not stop day or night, washed away the fortified banks of the rivers and the supports of the bridges, turned the always dry valleys into water meadows, and then completely into swamps.

Then there was a rumor about attacks on people and cattle by previously unseen aquatic predators in gray ribbed shells, two human heights long, with a palisade of teeth in a huge mouth. Then - about a new disease, when a fever suddenly began to mow down from the bite of ordinary mosquitoes. And, finally, about the day when everything suddenly ended: the gluttonous creatures disappeared, people recovered, the un-spring hot sun began to evaporate water, and the strong wind carried the formed clouds further to the west, preventing them from raining again.

It turned out that the count bought off the sorcerer, sacrificing his only surviving son - he sent the fifteen-year-old Rien to Tongila Castle as a hostage.

Upon learning of the consequences of her "victory", Rosana smashed everything that came to hand, and then wept for the whole night. The last time she cried like this was when she heard about Keran's death. But if the girl was innocent of the death of her older brother, then Rien suffered because of her.

None of her parents ever came to her, said nothing, only Delia sent a long letter, in some places covered in smudges of leaking ink. The younger sister told how they sent Rien and how well the little brother behaved, although he understood that he had little chance of returning alive. How the countess after that fell ill and did not get up for a week, and the count, suddenly blackened, almost never left the office, and if he did appear, he often froze and looked at one point, as if at something invisible to the rest. And how Delia herself couldn't hold back her tears every time she thought about what had happened...

In the letter, the sister never once reproached Rosana for anything, but this only made it more painful.

A month and a half has passed since the ball at which Rosana broke her brother's life. Almost all this time, forced to spend in the Kiret wilderness under house arrest in the company of only a maid, the girl was tormented and worried. She learned about what was happening at home only from her sister's letters - none of her parents answered her messages. Sometimes it seemed to Rosana that the father and mother, oppressed by the loss of their son, crossed out the unlucky daughter from their lives. It is difficult to say what the upset girl would have done next, but an accidentally overheard conversation gave her a hint, giving life meaning and purpose.

Rosana was sitting in a shady pavilion in a tiny park—the only place she was allowed to go—when two people walked down the gravel path without noticing her through the tangle of branches. One is a thick-set, half-gray head of the guard, the second is a young warrior unknown to Rosana.

“You will remain in charge until I return,” the gray-haired man said. “Watch the girl carefully: the count is afraid that this crazy woman will try to escape.”

Why is she kept here at all? There was no enthusiasm in the young voice. “Why didn’t they give Tongila instead of an heir, since she started all this?”

“The sorcerer set the price himself. The chief of the guard shook his head. - He refused the girl ... Well, okay, back to business. Guards must stand not only at the rooms of the maiden herself, but also at the main doors and the back door. And don't forget…” The people had already moved too far away, and Rosana, who pricked up her ears, could no longer catch a word of their conversation.

But the escape ... Therefore, the precious parent, who disdained to write a couple of lines to his guilty daughter, was seriously concerned about turning this house into a prison for her.

Now what? In six months or a year, when everything calms down, will she be sold like a breeding mare to some high-born undergrowth, and Rien will rot in the gloomy forests of the north? Maybe the father loved his children, but the position in society always stood for him in the first place.

Rosana rose slowly to her feet, tugging at the hem of her dress. A plan was already forming in her head, and the details of it would have horrified the count. The sadness and feelings of the girl took on a tangible form, Rosana was not going to calm down until she corrected what she had done, and there was more stubbornness in her than in all the other al-Korms combined.

After searching the rooms allotted to her for at least something suitable for escaping and not finding anything, the girl thought deeply...

***

It was the seventh day since the old wolf, the centurion Igrem, left, and the guards had time to relax a little. The last month and a half devoted to guarding the girl al-Korm could not be called difficult, but with the departure of Igram, who nevertheless drove them sometimes with full gear through the forest, life seemed like honey at all.

Young Isan, a pupil of ar-Korm, recently became Igram's deputy and managed to get bored in the wilderness. And is it a job for a young ambitious nobleman to guard an eccentric girl, even the daughter of a count?

Isan wanted to go to the border, for exploits and glory. So he did not particularly check the guards, devoting almost all the time to the study of military affairs - the young man dreamed of becoming a great commander.

Igraham always put guards in pairs and every night, suffering from insomnia, he went around personally. The dream of the future great warrior turned out to be strong, so already on the second night the guards decided to cast lots and guard one at a time, and on the third they completely shoved this matter onto the youth.

The youth, represented by the still beardless League, grumbled at first, but after the first solitary watch ceased to object. It turned out that being bored alone under a dark balcony and joking with a pretty girl who stepped onto this balcony were two huge differences. Ar-Korm's daughter turned out to be sweet and friendly, and the nimble night breeze sometimes lifted the hem of her silk robe so temptingly...

On the third night of their animated conversation, the kind-hearted girl, in a mysterious whisper, informed the League that she had a surprise for him, and lowered a bottle of good wine on a rope. Lig immediately appreciated the quality of the drink, but after tasting, his thoughts lost their clarity for some reason, and then they were completely covered in a sleepy fog ...

***

Downstairs, a snoring young guard hugged a bottle with a blissful expression on his face. The maid, who had also taken a sip of the wonderful drink, was sniffling on the couch. The plan was carried out successfully.

Convinced that there were no witnesses, Rosana threw a makeshift hiking bag onto the grass, then got off herself, saved the guard from the cloak and camisole, but there was a hitch with the pants - the girl had never had to remove this piece of clothing from a man. I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that it was for a good cause. In addition to clothing, Rosana borrowed from the guard both daggers with wide blades and a bunch of "stings" - throwing blades.

The estate of ar-Korms was located in the southern part of the Kiret suburbs, among similar possessions of the merchants of the Golden Guild and noble nobles. Towering walls surrounded each mansion, and Rosana's father's property was no exception. Well, at least large, not really hewn stones, with convenient potholes in some places, went to the laying of the walls. Yes, and a tree that grew almost close to the fence helped to climb this very wall.

Already sliding to the opposite side and flopping down on the soft spring grass, the girl thought with indignation that in the same way any thief could get into the estate. The servants, left without the master's eye, did not think of sticking sharp stones and broken slate into the upper part of the wall, and letting out guard dogs at night. If Rosana were a full-fledged mistress, she would have explained to them ...

Kiret, several thousand miles away from the nearest border, was accustomed to security. For several centuries now, he has crawled out of the old city wall, but has not acquired a new one. Yes, and why? Even in the driest years, when famine drove them out of the Steppe, nomads did not reach here, northern barbarians did not swim deep into the continent on warships, and major civil wars in the Empire had not happened for several generations. And even the Dark Magician, who was getting closer and closer to them, did not frighten the Kiretians and did not wake them from sleepy calm. How few of them appeared, such temporary rulers? The townspeople will bow, pay off - and again everything will be fine, it will be as before.

Although Kiret lay far from the southern border, its inhabitants were not only native Imperials. Here you could meet a dark-skinned sept, a white-skinned dark-haired northerner, and a red-haired, like a sunset flame, an inhabitant of the Yugersky archipelago. And if you know which alley to enter and which door to knock out a conditional fraction, then even a real nomad - black-haired, despite his advanced age, with almond-shaped eyes that resembled elven ones.

- Grandfather! - With a joyful squeal, Rosana jumped up and hung on the neck of the old tuur. - I'm so glad to see you!

The old shaman, who, in fact, was the father of the nurse Rosana, listened to the story of the unlucky "granddaughter" with sympathy, because this is the last thing to throw your blood in trouble. So the Many-Faces commanded, and so the spirits of the ancestors spoke - there is not and cannot be anything more valuable for a person than family and clan. And if it turned out that the youngest in the family suffered from the actions of the elder, then the elder should help out.

Yes, my grandfather got it right. And helped. He helped a lot, otherwise Rosana would not have been able to stock up on all kinds of amulets and get into the caravan in a strange guise and under a false name.