Long time ago there lived a king. His wife passed away, leaving him with two children, two boys, twins – Areo and Keo. The king was very sad, because he loved his wife deeply, but there was nothing

One tale.

Long time ago there lived a king. His wife passed away, leaving him with two children, two boys, twins – Areo and Keo. The king was very sad, because he loved his wife deeply, but there was nothing he could do. In her honour he promised himself to raise his sons as good heirs.

Time went, and two boys eventually turned into two handsome young men. They were taught by the best teachers, given everything they could need. Their skills were equally good, and there was nothing one twin couldn’t do if the other could.

The king was quite old now, and he knew he would have to choose a heir, but how? He adored both sons, and both they seemed equal, so whoever he would pick, the result would be the same. But he couldn’t make a choice as he was afraid that the other twin would feel himself less loved.

He used to walk at evenings in his garden, because it helped him to relax and think. So, this time he went there and sat under his favourite birch. Obviously he had to make some kind of a contest, yet which one? The twins were equal in skills.

Suddenly a charming feminine voice awoke him from his state. He saw a woman, leaning onto (?) the tree he was sitting under. Her long black hair was (?) collected in a pigtail, and her dress was simple, of light grey colour. She could be a servant, he mused, before noticing almost black boots with golden threads. He was confused.

- Is something troubling you, my king? – the woman asked.

The old man didn’t know where she came from, neither he had an idea who she was.

- I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself, - the stranger apologized. – My name is Tiam, and I was just passing by when I spotted you here. People say you shouldn’t hold much into yourself, it’s bad for health. I…only wish to help someone who did so much good for his kingdom.

The king was hesitant at first, but after a few minutes he decided to enounce this woman his situation.

Tiam listened to him carefully, and he had finished, she said:

- I have a test that can help you. First, you need to fake an illness, and second, you have to send your sons to seek for a cure. They must look for a cave in Ernik forest, the one which reminds of a snake’s mouth. Whoever returns with this, - she showed him a pendant, made in a form of a golden wyvern, - is the one who shall inherit your throne.

He did as he was told.

Areo and Keo took the best horses and travelled to Ernik forest. They split in order to make the search faster; each had a horn, so, if one happened to find the cave, he would make a call.

Keo was lucky as his road was clear; he and his horse had no problems in going deeper into the forest. Neither he nor Areo were ready to solve his father’s question about the inheritance. When they arrived here, they made a bet: whoever found the cure first, he was to be the heir. Yet it was up to fortune to bless one of them, and both secretly wished it would be the other.

Unexpectedly Keo’s horse stopped, refusing to go further, and he noticed a cave which seemed to fit the given description. He was about to blow his horn when a strange thought visited his mind.

“Why would you call Areo? You had a bet, remember? Go inside first, find the cure and only then call your brother”.

Strange, he deemed, yet went to check the cave without notifying Areo.

The cave was like a tunnel, which ended with a big opening; a high tree grew there, and a large dragon curled under it. It appeared to be sleeping.

“The cure must be a leaf of this tree”, - he guessed and as silently as possible tiptoe’d to the tree. The man picked a few leaves gently and left, completely forgetting about his brother.

Areo wondered if he was the one having a bad luck. The landscape around him was dark and unwelcoming, as if it was a swamp, not a forest. Small branches of bushes cut him and his horse, but he didn’t pull back.

It felt like ages before he detected the cave his father mentioned.

He stopped and blew his horn. A deep sound emerged from it, loud enough to be heard even outside the forest. He waited, but Keo didn’t come.

Where was his brother?

A weird voice whispered something in his head:

“Why would you wait for him? You had a bet, hadn’t you? Take the cure and go. You won”.

But Areo didn’t listen to it. They promised to meet here. Keo would come any minute-…

“What if he already was here? What if he took the cure? Or, could he still be inside? Waiting to deride you?”

It was a possibility, the man noted and went inside. A long dark tunnel ended with an opening, where a big grey dragon slept, guarding a tall tree.

Could it be that the leaves were the cure?

“Take it, - a voice in his head sang again. – Take it and become the king! Bring it to your father to be chosen!”

- NO! – Areo shouted aloud.

The dragon opened its eyes and stared at him.

Golden reptilian eyes pierced his whole being, analyzing. The young man felt chills on his back just from this gaze. He was scared.

He had no chance against this beast. It could swallow him in a blink without noticing.

But he remembered his father’s request and took his sword out of his sheath, pointing it to the dragon.

- I came for a cure for my ill father. I will get it, or die, but I won’t turn back. I will not give up easily, beast.

The dragon stood on all four paws and flapped its tiny wings a couple of times. It was as tall as the tree, but its length was three or four times longer!

Areo moved, aiming for a low branch with leaves. He dodged the claws and was about to grab it, when a tail hit him hard. He fell on his back, his sword was thrown away. The tail pinned him to the ground.

- Damn you! I need to save my father! Why can’t you spare a few leaves? You eat meat! You have-…

The tail lifted and sent him flying into the cave wall. The young man landed on his sword arm, breaking it with a loud crack.

- Accept your fate, mortal, - the dragon spoke in a feminine voice. – Run, before it’s too late. Leave, and never return here again. Enjoy your life.

- No! – Areo screamed both in pain and anguish. He tried to stand up, using his other –still- working hand and sensed cold metal under his fingers. His sword.

- I told you! I will not leave without the cure!

- Fool, - the dragon snarled, strolling to him fast and knocking the sword out. – You are to die here because of a dying man’s wish, isn’t it unfortunate? You could leave and live your life, why bother to postpone his death?! You had a chance to grab a few leaves before, why didn’t you LISTEN?!

Suddenly Areo realized something.

- YOU! So it was you who was inside my head! But what is it to you? Why do you guard the tree if you say you gave me the chance before? It doesn’t make sense!

The dragon was silent for a moment, then chuckled.

- Ah, so you’ve figured it out… good.

- What? – a flash of light blinded him, enveloping the area. When he was able to see again, there were no dragon. Instead it was a woman in a dress similar to the dragon’s scales colour, her black hair flattering slightly. Her eyes were the same eyes the dragon had. She smiled, and her eyes changed to brown, human-like.

- Congratulations, mortal. You can claim your prize.

The young man stood up and was going to the tree, but was interrupted by the woman.

- The cure you seek is not a leaf. The tree, in fact, is poisonous, and would kill you if you were to take a few leaves with you. Accept this pendant, - she handed him a golden pendant which looked like a wyvern, - and go west. If you don’t hurry, your brother can die. Once you see him, make him wear the pendant until the day the pendant disappears. Hurry, unless… unless you want him dead.

The former dragon laughed, but Areo didn’t hear that. He ran as fast as he could to his horse. He went where the woman told him to found his brother Keo, who fell from his horse and couldn’t get up. The young man gave him the pendant and returned with him back to their castle.

After listening to the story about their adventures, the king made his choice and chose Areo.

Later the woman visited the royal family at Areo’s coronation. All three males didn’t know what to do, because what could a dragon forget here? Could she come for a reward of any sort for her assistance?

- Don’t worry, mortals, I just wanted to check how you were going. Thank you for providing me such an interesting entertainment, especially you, the king-to-be, Areo. Has your brother learned his lesson?

Keo stood up and replied:

- You can easily achieve something bad, but for good, you must try harder.

The woman chuckled and disappeared.

-

FIN

Дата добавления: 2015-08-28