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Yari pierced her, cutting through the flesh like a knife through butter. The silver tip sparkled with a crimson flame as it exited, and the witch fell to her knees.
What happened?
She didn't understand. Konka had just opened the door, confidently peering into the darkness of the room, and now she was practically lying on the floor, clutching her chest, painfully gasping for air. The taste of metal slowly appeared on the tongue, long forgotten, but never inspiring in its appearance.
The attempt to turn around was cut off at the root when the aching wound ran through the body like a sharp pain, not even suggesting the possibility of moving from its place.
“Tsk-tsk-tsk...” sounded somewhere above her ear, and a long scarf was pulled from her neck, wiping the blood from the spear. “Who knew that such ill-mannered guests would show up to me?”
The voice sounded feignedly disappointed; even by ear, the contented smile of the owner of the mansion remained easily noticeable. And it was this smile that made her want to believe that it was all just a dream. Not funny, bloody, terrible dream. She wanted to believe that she would wake up now in the shack, go outside and see Minzte calmly fishing by the lake. That she will wake up and everything will be fine.
A cloudy curtain falls before her eyes, accompanied by the velvety muttering of a man behind, who seems to be moving away with every second, disappearing into the abyss of a silent roar. The eyelids dropped on their own until they plunged the young witch into darkness.
It is not known how much time has passed. Head was splitting like a glass ball, rustling in ears in small pieces, and causing pain in the chest. There was nothing before eyes except a green spot on the horizon, such a familiar, long-forgotten, warm shade... Unless, of course, the eyesight failed her.
Raising herself in her arms, Konka did not notice what happened to her. Bare legs with multiple slight bruises on the knees, childishly short fingers and thin arms. It took three seconds to realize when a switch clicked in the head. Tent. The girl gets up from her snow-white bed, wanders out of the makeshift house, and catches the warm sand with her feet. The sun pleasantly warms the top of her head, illuminating childish features, and Minzte is working at full speed by the water.
Minzte.. Minzte... Minzte.... This image of the mentor had not appeared before the eyes of the young sorceress for a long time: a green cloak covering the entire body, the same green hat with funny frog-like round eyes and golden hair falling on the shoulders of a strong woman. It was difficult to believe what was happening, but not impossible.
Noticing the movement from behind, the fisherman turned around, looking Konka from head to toe with cold sparkles of sapphire eyes - so alive, as if the whole world was in her hands and her heartbeat had never stopped. “Oh,” the voice sounded surprisingly cheerful, one could hear peace. " — Are you already awake?"
In response, the girl only blinked in surprise, uncertainly gasping for air. Was this just another dream or reality? Under the worried gaze of the mentor, Konka cracked:"— Yes, I overslept a little."
She put her arms up, stretching and yawning. A child's voice... unusually loud, unusually ordinary and just as long forgotten, returned again and cutting through ears. However, maybe it never left?
Falling awkwardly next to her, the witch looks at the float, which trembled peacefully on the surface of the water, spreading into soft ripples, hugging knees with her hands, lowering her head. Was all that she experienced just a long sleep? Not true? Mind games? But if so, then why did everything seem so real? However, it’s for the best, the girl concluded, sighing exhaustedly. Even if she got enough sleep, her whole body ached, as if she had been kicked, and chest ached anxiously. The eyebrows bent towards the bridge of the nose when Minzte jerked the fishing rod sharply and a fish jumped out of the water, stupidly getting hooked.
With a couple of confident movements, the woman removed the prey from the fishing line, quickly and deftly throwing it into a metal bucket that stood nearby, crushing the gentle green grass.
- Shall I give you a fishing rod?
- Nah. - lazy.
- Why not?
- Tired.
— You just woke up, — the eldest insisted with obvious friendly reproach. Konka mooed, holding out her hands. Having received the fishing rod, she reluctantly threw the hook into the water, not taking her eyes off the float, which lazily exposed its sides to the light waves. It seems that even the wind was different here, and the river washed the sandy banks in a completely different way.
This place reeked of eternal calm, as if it was the only corner of peace in constant travel, running around, and battles.
- Dodosh and Erlin...
- Will they come to us?
The frog-lady just grinned, nodding negatively. Konka puffed out her cheeks, immediately losing interest.
- You slept through their arrival. They brought bread and a few other things, now they went back and continued to work on extracting resources for Gribograd. Maybe when we return everything will be ready and construction can continue.
- How about...
The woman cast a curious glance at the younger girl, from which the other only pouted, choking on her own thoughts.
— What? What "but what about"?
— No, nothing,— she waves it off, shrugging shoulders.
— Are you sick? - frowns, watching as the young witch purses her lips, carefully peering into the float.
She would have liked to answer if it weren’t for the fish that got hooked at that very moment. A couple of awkward, constrained movements, and the silver body ends up in Konka’s hands. The girl thoughtfully examines her prey: curvy, shiny scales, sharp fins and empty eyes. She catches herself thinking, after which a chill runs down her spine, but throws the fish into the same bucket.
— No, I'm fine.
— Are you sure? We can go back to the city if that’s the case, — Minzte insists. Still, with children, even a cold can become a major problem that will have to be fought for a long time. The witch chuckles, throwing the float back into the water. Covers her eyes..
...
It's almost like nothing happened.