Сергей Стрельцов - Yester-times

Delio, and held hands lifted to the Heavens till appearance of blue smoke above the altar, which was always sign of the God’s acceptance of sacrifice. His heart was about to stop.

‘Oh, Savior, bless my little Lavinia. From now on she is in your hands.’

It was his last words. He fell breathless before the altar.

1.4

The funeral service was to have place the next day. King was lying in his coffin with soft countenance with which he died. Lavinia on that night was tired of her tears. From time to time she fell asleep and again woke up and sank in melancholy. Nadine was always near, she had not slept. When Lavinia woke up last time and felt that she cannot sleep more, she told to Nadine.

‘Now my life is useless. No one will help me. And the main shortcoming of my new situation that no one will help me to get married in proper way.’

‘Why you’re so sure?’

‘Father had sense of people. He could spot the man in a jiffy. I am too naïve to be able for any of this spot-the-man practices. I’ll be cheated out of my kingdom in one day.’

‘But you have your knights, and people who love you.’

‘They love power but not me. Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘I don’t agree. But you can make them to revere and venerate you, if you try.’

‘I’m not so rich.’

‘Your Highness, in ways of love the gold is nothing.’

‘In ways of gold the love is nothing. That’s right, I think, dear.’

‘But what the gold is menace to your throne.’

‘Not precisely gold, but I think someone with comparatively strong army can approach my people with more convenient taxes.’

‘But your father’s taxes were low.’

‘They are no more low, dear, since I’m in power.’

‘You have good deal of treasure.’

‘Not so good for new dresses, horses, and friends.’

‘You need gold for friends? It sounds strange.’

‘Clever, beautiful, educated, well-disposed to My Majesty friends. Dozens of them. I’m exhausted by these Delio-and-Ririo kind of men. And if to say more they never were my friends. Father’s would be. But mine— no.’

‘And what you’ll do with your new friends, Your Highness?’

‘No more Highness— Majesty is correct.’

‘Excuse me, Your Majesty.’

‘With my new friends we’ll relax.’

‘From what?’

‘Relaxation is only thing I need after being constrained in hands of my late father.’

‘I think he wanted for you something different life.’

‘Let’s forget it.’

1.5

Till the midday funeral service was finished. And according to ancient tradition the sword of dead king was laid on his tomb stone to make all knights to swear loyalty to new monarch.

‘Lavinia, look it’s beginning of your glory,’ said Delio.

‘What glory? You’re laughing at my little kingdom, little treasury, and fame as quick as a wind in pursuit of the day.’

‘You must be ashamed— from Heavens your father sees you. And your words are of capricious girl, not of queen of great descent.’

‘Father doesn’t see me and never will.’

‘We’ll all see each other at Judgment Day, when God will give to everybody his due.’

‘Delio, you know I never really believed in this stuff. I prayed and attended sacrifices as my father wished me to, but since now I hope to see nothing of this stuff. We’re modern people. We must be cute and reasonable. So don’t ask me any more to observe that that I don’t want to.’

‘I already heard these words. Do you know from whom? From myself. But wisdom comes with years. I was young and arrogant, and became old and wise. Don’t hurry and years will do their job. You’ll see the life, and the life will show you what’s right and clever and what’s wrong and unsuitable.’

The trumpets blew three times. And knights approached Talantus tomb stone in vivid and colorful procession. In the head of them came Sidon the knight general of this kingdom. He was grey-haired giant with childish blue eyes. Scars of old wounds adorned him in great more number then arrows in his quiver. He was sagacious old warrior, and remembered youth of the late king. The death of the latter grieved him a lot, he thought it was his fault to give Talantus to make his last sacrifice; he should be more attentive to old Sovereign. But his sorrow was mostly not with king who was dead, but with king’s daughter who was alive. He knew Lavinia and his intuition was telling him: there’s no more of quiet reign. The intriguers and rogues of all kinds and of all parts of world to sweep on the Sainted Lakes in a short time. Lavinia is too blind to see hearts of men and too proud to friendly counsel. She will rule like a vortex. Her soul is a toy to her pride and to her folly.

‘Lavinia… Sorry. Your Majesty, you’re father was father to all of us. So and you will be our mother in joys and sorrows and so judge us not without mercy. Your army is yours till the end of your life, or life of your soldiers. We’ll be your friends and servants in peace and war, like we were so far. Receive our oaths of loyalty. And, God bless your heart to be clever not to begin the war.’ Sidon said, and kneeled before Lavinia to kiss her hand.

‘Queens with such a tiny army never begin the wars, Sidon.’ Lavinia said.

‘You’ll make me an honor if you’re one of them, Your Majesty.’

‘Your men can approach me to show they’re loyal.’

One by one knights were kneeling before the new queen, kissing her hand with oath to serve faithfully. Lavinia was nonetheless frustrated by something.

‘What the use, Delio dear, of these customs. If someone will want to betray me, to rob me or even to kill me— all this huge amount of the kneeling and the swearing won’t do any help.’

‘You’re may be right. But they swear not by their name, not by yours, but by God’s one. There’s all the difference. You see?’

‘I see that it’s foolish. What good can make me the name of what’s barely exist?’

‘For the first I can point out the huge privilege that your traitors will be judged not only by your judgment but by God’s also. But I’m afraid you will laugh at it.’

‘Laugh? No! These well armed and well trained men are menace. Don’t you understand? And you propose to entrust to Godly-something all these rot of troubles to come.’

‘What do you want?’

‘To buy them.’

‘But how?’

‘Time will show.’

All twenty four knights of Sainted Lakes had gone through the ritual of oaths and it was turn of mercenaries to swear their allegiance to new queen. Tirido, their chief approached Lavinia and Delio who stood with Sidon by their side, but he didn’t kneeled.

‘Sidon, you’re not too stupid to believe that I and my men will serve to this doll without brains. We’re may be illiterate but not to that extent. Now history of the kingdom is closed point. We won’t serve to her.’

‘What do you want?’

‘Our part of treasury we helped to build.’ Tirido winked to Sidon.

‘How much?

‘The half will do.’

‘Tirido, you can have a great honor just to walk away with your dumb mob, and I awfully strongly opinionated that the sooner you’ll leave the better.’

‘Sidon, is it you’re last word?’

‘No doubt it is.’

‘Then we’ll fight for our right to have what we want to.’

In this moment Ririo flew out from crowd of the castle square, grasped Lavinia and with one word ‘Run!’ dashed dragging her by the hand into the castle. As they closed the door of state council chamber behind them, through another door Nadine ran in.

‘Are you safe, Your Majesty?’ She asked.

‘Quite.’

‘This Tirido man is loony. I’ve heard about the half of your treasury! How nice of him!’

‘Yes, move is clever.’ Lavinia whispered coldly.

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