NIGHT by I Rin (best books to read .TXT) 📕

I will put it right!”

He stroked Lica’s hair, smiled and said:

“In any case, no matter what happens, remember - I love you!”

Saying that, Isa ran after Leila. Angelica calmed down a bit and came to the cave. Edward and Huron were at the table.

“Where have you all gone?” asked the sorcerer. “First Isa, then you went to look for him and disappeared too and then Leila followed you and never returned! Magic!”

Huron burst of laughing.

“Sit down, Angelica!” Prince Edward smiled. “Today, Leila did her best. Dinner is just superb!”

She sat at the table, but her appetite had completely gone.

“While you were looking for Isa,” proceeded to tell Prince Night. “Huron told me about your adventures and we began to discuss further details of our campaign. So, you have arrived just on time!”

“And what did you decide?” asked Lica quite indifferently.

“We go to the Kingdom of Night immediately! Just give you a little time to have rest!”

“I'm not tired,” she shook her head. “We can go right now!”

“Tell me, have you talked to your friend Isa about what I had asked you?” Huron said.

“Yes!” Lica nodded.

“And what was his answer?”

“I do not know yet,” truly said Angelica. “But I'm afraid that...”

Lica did not finish when Isa entered the cave with Leila. More accurately, the man first entered and then Leila, who was dragged by Isa. She resisted, trying to break free and run away.

“At last!” exclaimed the sorcerer. “We have been waiting for you!”

“Just a second!” Isa raised his hand. “I came here to ask for your daughter's hand!”

“Goodness me!” surprised Huron.

“Father, do not believe him!” cried the girl. “He does it on purpose!”

She wanted something more to say but Isa interrupted her and continued:

“Since your left, we have lived with your daughter, as husband and wife. Now, when you returned, I would like to ask for her hand in order to avoid the shame that can affect your family and your name.”

“Leila, my daughter!” said the sorcerer. “Is it true?”

The girl burst into tears and buried her face in her hands.

“What a shame!” Huron gasped. “How could you do that?”

Leila sobbed much louder. Through sobs she said quietly:

“I love him, father!”

“Shame on my gray head!” exclaimed the sorcerer.

“Wait,” suddenly chimed in Edward. “Well, it’s not shame! Everything is fairly! He doesn’t refuse to marry your daughter!”

Huron rose, walked slowly to Isa, staring into his eyes and said:

“Well, you are the honest man! Wherefore I’ll give you my daughter and now you'll take care of her.”

Then the sorcerer looked at Leila and said:

“Wipe your tears, shameless! Luckily, this man didn’t abandon or got rid of you as a needless thing! And let’s count today's dinner as a wedding one, because we have very little. Sit down at the table, Isa! Welcome to our family!”

Huron hugged the young man and took him to the table. Leila glared at Angelica but said nothing. She began to take care of men, giving them the one dish and then another.

“Wow!” Edward said in surprise. “Who would have thought that I am at the wedding party today?”

He raised a wooden cup of wine and said:

“I want to make a toast for the happiness and love of these two young and nice people. Let them always be lucky!”

The Prince drank wine and Lica looked at Isa and saw him sitting blacker-than-black. She realized that the man did it only to help her to complete the mission. Angelica wished to talk to Isa right now but Leila had her eyes on him.

“Well, if everything turned out so,” said the sorcerer, “then I can go with an easy mind. Now I do not have to worry about my daughter, because her husband will take care of her. And tomorrow with the first rays of the sun we are going to the Kingdom of Night.”

They were dining for some time but soon Huron said to Angelica and Edward need some rest to gain strength before tomorrow's trip. He asked Leila to prepare their beds and went to his room.

The sorcerer’s daughter prepared a bed for Lica. The girl tried to speak to Leila, but she silently left the room. Angelica decided that the best way out of this situation is just go to bed. However, a vague sense of anxiety did not leave her. The girl did take off her dress and went to bed in clothes, putting, just in case, a sword by her side. Fatigue took its toll, and soon Lica fell asleep...

She dreamed of going in a very high grass, which clotting in her legs. Angelica tried to free herself, but suddenly felt that someone was following her. The girl looked closer and saw two bright yellow eyes burning among green grass. Lica bent lower and noticed a large wild cat, who was preparing to pounce on her. Angelica screamed and woke up. The candle almost burnt, but even in the dim light she saw Leila with a dagger in her hand ready to attack.

“Damn!” only managed to say Lica.

As soon as she rolled off the bed down, Leila daggered the pillow. Angelica grabbed the sword and knocked the dagger out of her hands. But she with a vicious hiss again got at her. Lica ducked as she had been taught in aikido, and struck Leila with her sword hilt. When she fell down, she sat down on top of her and put the sword blade to her throat.

“If you move, I'll kill you!” Angelica said quietly.

“Kill!” Leila said through her teeth. “You won’t get my Isa!”

“Silly woman!” said Lica. “He did marry you!”

“He did it to make my father go with you, I know. He loves you!”

“So, listen! Now I'll take the sword, and you will not make any sudden movements, okay? Then we will sit down and talk. Agreed?”

Leila nodded. Angelica stood up slowly, just in case holding the sword at the ready. Then she took and hid the dagger that was lying nearby.

“Listen to me, Leila,” Lica said. “If you kill me, Isa will never forgive you. I know his character! Besides, you will upset Prince Edward and your father’s apple-cart. It can also bring you harm. I propose a compromise... You hate me, well and good. Just let me get out of here to the Kingdom of Night, and Isa will stay with you!”

“But he loves you! I saw how he was looking at you! And how gently he kissed you! He never looked at me as he did at you.”

Leila sat on the floor and sobbed.

“Come on! If I'm there, and he is here with you, he will forget me and all his attention will switch to you. Of course, you should try to conquer him! Well, are we friends again?”

The sorcerer’s daughter rose slowly, wiped away tears and said:

“Well, that’s true! Have it your way! Friends!”

She held out her hand to Angelica, and the girls shook hands.

“I’ll be patient a little more,” promised Leila, “but in the future if you get in my way, I'll kill you, so no offence!”

“I'll try!” Lica smiled.

“Just give me my dagger! This is the gift from my father!”

Angelica took it out of her belt and handed to the girl.

“Well, good night!” Leila said.

She walked into the corridor but at the door, she stopped, turned and said:

“You are a brave girl! You can stand up for yourself!”

Saying that the sorcerer's daughter had gone.

Departure

Lica went back to bed, but she couldn’t sleep. Different thoughts were running in her head. The girl got up and quietly left the cave. The sky was getting light.

“A day is breaking soon!” Angelica said aloud. “So, no use to go to bed.”

“You have already got up?!” she heard the voice of the sorcerer behind. “That's good, because we have to set off as soon as possible. It’s better to leave early in the morning and try to move as far as possible because during the day it’s too hot in the desert. But I think it’s unnecessary to tell you that! Edward and Isa are preparing horses.”

“Good morning!” they heard Leila’s voice. “Father, I have put some food for you.”

“Excellent,” said Huron. “Give the basket with food to Isa and tell him to tie it to one of the saddles.”

She nodded and ran along the path. A few minutes later Lica saw Prince Edward and Isa, leading the horses. The sorcerer's daughter was walking after them.

“Horses are ready!” Isa said.

“Good morning, Angelica!” Edward smiled. “I hope you're ready for a journey?”

“I am always ready!” grinned Lica

“Well, we should say good-bye!” Huron said, referring to Leila.

He came to her daughter and hugged her tightly. Then turned to Isa and said:

“Isa, now you are the head of the family. I believe you and I hope that you will stand by my daughter! Goodbye!”

Huron came up and hugged the young man. After that, he jumped into the saddle so easy that one could hardly say that he was an old man. The Prince and Isa shook hands and Edward sat on his horse. Angelica came to Leila, hugged her and whispered in her ear:

“Good-bye, my friend! Be happy! May be you should put a spell on him.”

Lica looked down at Isa.

“Good-bye!” quietly said Leila. “Thank you for everything. I am not going to put spell on him; people say sick children are born if you put spell on a man. I hope everything will be fine without magic!”

“Then may I kiss him on the cheek at parting?” Angelica asked quietly.

Leila nodded.

Isa was holding Lica’s horse and patiently waiting the girls saying goodbye. Finally, he saw Angelica was going toward him. The girl went to the young man, kissed him on the cheek and said:

“Thanks for everything, Isa! I will never forget you!”

“I hope so! And remember what I said to you that time near the mountain was absolute truth!”

He helped Lica to climb into the saddle, and three riders went away from the cave. Leila waved them with a handkerchief and Isa sadly looked at Angelica. Lica felt unbearable pain in her heart, but she calmed herself down, thinking that Leila was a nice girl and Isa would be happy with her.

It was a long journey. First, our heroes got out of the mountains and then they were riding through the yellow sands of the desert.

“How do you think Huron,” suddenly asked Edward, “will we be able to cross the desert before nightfall?”

“I don’t think so...” grimly said the sorcerer. “But I know a peaceful nomadic tribe here. We can stay at night with them!”

“It would be nice! I don’t want to meet with sandy Snakes again,” the Prince smiled.

“We are lucky, the season of winds has already finished,” said Huron, “so we should try to ride as far as possible today!”

And the riders continued their way. The sun was slowly rising in the horizon, shining more and more dunes. Soon it became really hot.

“We’d rather swathe our heads with cloth,” said the sorcerer. “It will be easier to stand the scorching heat.”

Our heroes stopped. Huron made them something like a turban on the heads. After that, it was really easier to ride. For the half of the day our riders were going without stops, but finally, exhausted horses began to stumble.

“There is an oasis near here. We need to go there and give our horses a rest!” briefly said the sorcerer.

He turned slightly to the left, and soon a few palm trees appeared on the horizon. It was a small green island in the middle of the desert.

Reaching it, Angelica with pleasure fell down under the shadow of the trees. Prince Edward and Huron opened the well and watered the horses. It was exhausting heat.

“We’ll have a rest no more than one hour,” warned the sorcerer. “Otherwise, we risk not getting the camp of nomads until the dark time.”

Lica didn’t want to go anywhere. Moreover, she did not even want to move, but she couldn’t say no to Huron. Edward took a basket with provision Leila gave them, and gave some food to