She was lucky. Or maybe it was the higher power to which the girl hurried for help that helped. Having rushed unnoticed through the lands of del Bornio, leaving aside a large village near the highway and a mill near the river, Virita stopped her horse at the edge of the Deer Log. She sobbed and whispered in a broken voice:
– Here, Kashtan… I don’t know where to go next. Maybe you know?
The faithful horse turned around and snorted, as if wanting to say: “Mistress, who have you confused me with? With a professor of geosciences from the capital's university? Or maybe with an elf mercenary?
– Oh, yes, what’s there! – Virita shook her head, closed her eyes for a moment, deciding to do the unheard of. She took a pouch with wild wheat grains from her purse, shook half of it into her palm and, swinging it wide, threw it to the side of the path. – Accept the gift, Oleniy Log!
Following this, half a flask of wine was donated to the forest. And finally, the most difficult thing – closing her eyes again, the girl slashed her palm with a dagger. Large drops stained the grass.
– Accept the gift, Deer Log, show the way to the Altar! – Wrapping her hand in a handkerchief, Virita touched the horse.
Without a path, at random, but the forest really led me where I asked. The sunset glow gave way to deep twilight, and the light birch and thick hazel trees gave way to gloomy centuries-old spruce trees, when Chestnut, snoring and spinning his ears, stepped into a perfectly round clearing, in the center of which stood a white stone… pedestal untouched by time? Table? Or just a stove? For some reason, the longer Virita looked, the less she understood what exactly she was seeing. A white stone in the purple twilight of the night – there is nothing more to say.
But, since she has already come, since she has been shown the way, it is stupid to hesitate and hesitate. Jumping off the saddle, Virita shook out the remaining wheat at her feet:
– Thank you for the journey, Oleniy Log! – and went forward. A step, two, three… a dozen… My heart was fluttering in my chest, about to burst from horror, my fingers were frozen, and my cheeks and ears were glowing with heat. Approaching the stone almost closely, she splashed the rest of the wine onto the ground: “Accept the offering, Ancient One!”
The earth did not open up under our feet, thunder did not burst from the heavens. Either they didn’t hear her, or they accepted the offering—go figure! But don't retreat? Virita, with a convulsive sigh, took the last step, tore the bandage from her palm and pressed her blood-smeared palm to the white stone.
– Hear, Ancient One! Fulfill the request, set the price, accept the promise!
The noise of the forest became distant, the silence rang in my ears, for a moment it seemed that the Ancient One had not come, as the old books promised, but that she herself had fallen into another world, where forgotten gods and demons live. But suddenly the silence was broken by a laugh. Completely human, so ordinary that Virita decided it was her imagination. Or did someone sneak in here after her?
Startled by this terrifying thought, the girl turned around. Although would you really see who might be hiding among the trees in the thick twilight? For some reason, the fact that they could follow her, spy on her, was more frightening than the meeting with the Ancient One. But then a human silhouette appeared on the white slab. First – a ghostly figure, as if molded from the gray pre-dawn fog, then the fog acquired colors and a face. The green hunting suit, broad shoulders and a powerful torso, a reddish-blond beard and shoulder-length hair, desperately blue eyes became denser and became real… Virita looked at the man – there are no words, very attractive, but a very ordinary person, not some kind of demon. If you meet someone like this at a fair, on the streets of the capital, or even in a royal palace, you can look at him, but you won’t suspect anything is wrong.
He also looked at her, carefully, appraisingly, but his gaze did not frighten her. Other suitors looked at it much worse – as if they were prey, some kind of game: either shoot it, or let it fly for now, fatten up the meat for next time…
In the old books they wrote – offer a gift, and when the Ancient One comes, name your wish and ask how you will have to pay. It was time to speak, but Virita seemed to lose her tongue under the intense blue gaze. Only her hands froze, her cheeks burned, and the shame rolled in more and more painfully – as if she was doing something wrong, but she didn’t know what it was. And at that moment, when the silence became completely unbearable, the Ancient One suddenly appeared next to him, took him by the chin, raised his head, and looked into his eyes. His fingers were hard and hot, his touch was careful, and his gaze was heavy and dark, like basement vaults.
“They came to me for power.” For wealth. For luck. Even for women, although this is stupid. But I don't see what you're asking. What do you want from me, mortal child?
“Help,” Virita squeaked.
– It is clear. Which one? What do you want?
– I do not want to get married! – the girl sobbed. – For the one whom the father chose! He's scary!
– Scarier than me? – The Ancient One laughed, and the forest responded with a booming echo, the hooting of owls and, it seemed, a distant rockfall. “What mortal man are you more afraid of than me?”
Here, probably, it was necessary to either get completely scared and go into a life-saving faint, or start humiliatingly apologizing. But Virita seemed to have a rope under her tail!
– Marriage is, you know, for life! – she blurted out. – With you, they write books, we can come to an agreement, and even if not, it won’t be any worse.
– What kind of books are these?
– Diaries… Notes from my great-grandfather, the noble Reyas del Bornio.
“Oh, this…” The Ancient One laughed again, but now his laughter seemed to ring with the sound of a stream over the stones and the clatter of horses’ hooves. – OK. So you want to change your betrothed – right?
“Y-yes…” Virita wanted to say “probably”, she herself didn’t know whether she wanted another betrothed or even freedom from a frightening marriage, or maybe something else, vague, not completely clear to her. But in some unknown way it turned out that the answer could only be “yes” or “no.”
– How will you pay?
And again I wanted to answer “I don’t know”, to ask what kind of payment would suit the Ancient One, but it came out against my will:
– Anything!
Blue eyes flashed with triumph.
“Leave,” the Ancient One ordered. – All will be.
She herself didn’t understand how Virita woke up in the saddle – and barely had time to be surprised, as soon as an overwhelming thought flashed in her empty head: “What have I done!” – as Kashtan neighed wildly and took off at a gallop, perhaps by the grace of the Great, not bumping into the brothers-in-law. Rushing along, not making out the road, the frightened horsewoman could only hold on with her last strength. Suddenly, in the impenetrable darkness of the night forest, a light flashed, not even light – a barely noticeable reflection. And Virita, afraid that Kashtan would carry her past and in the end would simply break his neck in the windfall, screamed desperately:
– Save-ee-ee!!!
Stupid. Of course, no one saved her, but Kashtan seemed even more enraged, although much more so! And why was she brought to this Ancient One?! What kind of nonsense has hit my head! Virita was sure that she was living her last moments when the lathered horse carried her out… somewhere. The bulk of a dark tower flashed from the side, moonlight reflections shone ahead, like ripples on a pond, although there was definitely no water there, and Chestnut fell, wheezing, into these reflections, throwing off the rider.
