 
Madina Del Terra Solicino

Incredible

adventures along

THE SEVEN WONDERS

Chapter eight

Pegasus the Winged Horse

The voyage along the Mediterranean Sea came to an end earlier than our travellers expected to. Everyone was delighted to see the shore.

For a long time they wandered through the clamorous hustle, wondering what city was this noisy port. Then, remembering of their magic map that could answer any questions, the girls opened it. It shone so brightly as if the sun itself was hidden in the map. The girls had to cover their eyes with hands. What's more, they caught an awful headache. The girls stopped, clutching their heads. The headache was gone after some time. But something changed, something was different. Indistinct chatters of the Greeks became meaningful words – the words were heard and understood by the three girls.

"Girls, it seems like..." had scarcely Amira begun, when she realized her using words and phrases in a completely unusual way.

"Yes, we started to speak and understand in Greek," confirmed Sanam her friends' supposing. They looked at the map again. The inscription in it was in Ancient Greek, the language, which was completely understandable for them:

"A wonderful journey along the four pearl-cities of Greece – Ephesus, Rhodes, Olympus and Halicarnassus is awaiting you. This time, your errand is the most special one. You have to visit all the four cities to find out what errand it is. But with simple cabriolets you'll never succeed. It is required you to find the winged horses – Pegasus.

At first sight, they are not different from ordinary horses, because they have their wings hidden. But when you mount on it and whisper in its ear: "Fly, Pegasus," it'll draw its wings and fly up. And when its hooves touch the land, it'll hide its wings and have the disguise of a simple horse again".

Without thinking twice, the travellers started searching. Proud champions of races, top beauties of the city and many other snow-white steeds were examined in vain. Some racers stood against, neighed, pranced. Nonetheless, any of them did not draw their wings.

It grew dark. The exhausted girls were about to enter the coaching inn when they noticed a fellow, leading a pair of grey horses. In fact, it was difficult to call them horses, judging by shabby appearance of the animals: it wasn't clear if they were grey indeed or it was street dust; poor horses reduced to such extent that their bones could be counted; the eyes were sunk into eye-sockets. They were walking very slowly, with stooped heads, barely dragging their thin feet. The boy did not either look better; with his shabby clothes on he was meagre, too. But his blazing eyes and shining smile revealed his endless love for life.

"I heard that you were looking for horses," said the boy leading his horses towards the girls.

"Yes, but not like those," replied Amira sharply.

"Then what horses do you want? Not golden ones with silver shoes, I hope," the fellow, once more glancing at his horses, went on with praising them, "You don't judge them by their poor outfit. If your look after them properly – feed, water and clean, they'll grow to real swift-footed racers: their hooves will blaze like a lightning and they'll fly like a..."

"Stop, listen to me!" interrupted Amira, who got very angry,"I guess you didn't understand us. We need white horses, snow-white horses, just as Pegasus!"

"And who said that these aren't Pegasus? Aren't they the true Pegasus?" the lad kept on repeating.

"Oh yes, of course, I've recognized at first sight these true Pegasus. And no doubt that you're Hercules yourself, aren't you?" needled Amira.

"Well then," the fellow muttered gloomily, "Could have said wouldn't buy my horses. No need to humiliate," the lad turned away and drove his horses off.

"Hey, hold on!" Hasine cried after, "Take this money, you'll buy some food for your horses".

"Save your charity for yourself" replied the lad, who didn't even glance back at her.

"Hey, you didn't get it. Rather than tormenting them in hungriness, sell them to us, we'll look after them properly," said Sanam.

The fellow stopped immediately.

"You should've said so!" he led his horses back. "Here you are! Will you buy both?"

"Yes, how much do they cost?" asked Sanam.

"Two thousand coins per, I think, would be enough".

"What?! Are you mad?!" protested the girls in unison, "For such dead horses no one pays even twenty coins and you... What else, we don't have so much".

"No offence meant, ladies, but I don't have the right to sell real Pegasus cheaper than I priced".

"Gosh, again this bluff!!" blurted Hasine, "Yes, I can see, you have an awesome imagination. But these are not Pegasus! What else, we're in a hurry and indeed, we need real Pegasus! We should find them as quickly as possible and get to Ephesus!"

"Hum, real Pegasus, eh..." the lad got serious, "But I advise you not to tell this to horse-traders, otherwise they may think you're crazy," he said coolly.

"No need to be taught, we know this," replied Amira. "We didn't mean to tell it to anyone".

"But you'll never find your Pegasus, then," the lad gave a searching look.

"So, what do you advise to do then?" asked Sanam.

"Well, you know, I heard your whispering "Fly, Pegasus" ..."

"Have you been tracing us?" Amira's brows were knitted angrily.

"Not at all. Just by accident. I just want to understand... It was like as if you had the answer to the question, that has been embarrassing me for ages... You know, I didn't believe that these were Pegasus till the incident, but then... In fact..." the lad stammered.

"So?"

"Well, tell me first, do ever incredible, miraculous things happen with you?"

"Kinda," replied Hasine.

"So it's with me! That's why I thought you could understand me. I just want to check it. But I'm not sure of it... Well then, there are the horses, look after them well till morning. Feed them and don't leave hungry. I'll come round," saying so, the lad handed the bridle to the girls and disappeared.

"Hah! Did you ever?" said the girls, taken aback.

"What did he think about?" said Amira. "Haggled, haggled and now, not taking a penny, was gone? What does it mean? Did he leave his horses for a while or once and for all?"

The girls went to sleep after they made the servants of the inn bring fresh hay and grass for the horses.

The other day the boy came and rebuked the girls, saying: "You didn't look after the horses. Is that good to leave them hungry all night long?"

When the girls went down to the stable, they saw that the hay, lying before the horses was untouched. The stomachs of the animals seemed more sunken. That was strange. Why being so hungry, they did not even taste a bit?

It turned out that the horses ate only seaweed.

"So you knew that, why didn't you tell us earlier?" now the girls picked on Perseus, the lad was called so. They went to the seaside, where the horses were usually pastured.

"In some sense, it's not so surprising that your horses prefer water-plants" said Sanam. "Seaweeds such as sea lettuce, nemalion are very rich with nutritious moieties. The cattle are often fed with such seaweed. In Japan, for instance, food is made from laminaria – a tasty soup for Japanese men".

"There's a little fat in seaweeds and plenty of vitamins," noted Hasine.

"They build up organism. Maybe, fed with seaweeds, these horses will grow strong, too".

"Unbelievable!" exclaimed Perseus, who was staring up at his horses in astonishment.

"What's up?" asked Amira.

"For the first time my horses are running. Before, hardly they walked dragging their feet on..."

"Oh yes, first walking, then running, perhaps, soon there will be turn for flying, too..."

Perseus realized a pinch of irony in Amira's tone.

"If you don't believe in Pegasus' existence, then why are you searching for it?" asked he.

"We do believe in its existence," replied the girls.

"Then believe me, too. I can help you. But, first, I must check something".

"Check what?"

"She said when my Pegasus start flying, she would find me and explain everything".

"Who's "she"?"

"I don't know," sighed Perseus, "But only she can explain everything, only she has the answer for the question, that teasing me".

"Eh, if you knew, your speaking is the whole mystery itself!" said Sanam.

For ninety-nine percents the girls were sure that these horses could not have wings. And yet, the last percent convinced them to check, only to prove their rightness.

Hasine mounted the horse, intending to whisper "Fly, Pegasus". But the poor creature was hardly standing on feet, so it fell.

"Wow," Amira grinned meaningfully.

"Girls, look, because of the effect from your side Pegasus are growing strong within hours!" Perseus tried to convince. It could, indeed, be clearly seen that the horses had become much stronger than yesterday and were getting swifter. And their colour too, was changing from grey to white.

"We see, but why do you think that's us who is doing this? We are not wizards, nor we can influence on the horses," said Hasine.

"I think I can explain it," said Sanam unexpectedly, "Since these horses are Pegasus, they weren't intended to live among ordinary men. Maybe, that's why, because of the lack of that needed magic energy, they grew so weak and shabby".

"By saying so, you don't mean that we're shedding magic energy, I hope," Amira lifted her brows.

"No, not we," Sanam shook her head. "It's our map. The magic map is shedding the magic energy and effecting on Pegasus".

"Anyway, we lose nothing by checking," said Sanam.

"Let's try it then," suggested Hasina. "Everyday Amira and Perseus will bring the horses here, pasture and water. Of course, in the presence of the magic map. And, I with Sanam will check up all the horses in the city. Either among these or among the city racers we shall find our Pegasus," said Hasine.

"Why me? Why should I look after nags only?" Amira protested. "Turn by turn".

In such way, the two groups got down to business.

During a week they did checking job and pasturing job. It was eighth day when Hasine and Sanam, tired of searching, were hardly walking over the deserted grassland.

"Hey, there's no way of finding those godforsaken Pegasus. Yes, it takes much time, but let's go to Ephesus in an ordinary cab," suggested Sanam.

"Na-ay," said Hasine. "It's too much trouble. We'll take a cart, then we'll have to take a vessel, then, again, a cart and then, again, a vessel to reach another city – Rhodes for instance, and again a cart..."

"Do we have a choice?" asked Sanam. "Or should we wait for a miracle to happen, here, for years?"

Just then they took a sight of an equestrian, rather equestrienne, riding a snow-white steed. It was...

"Girls!" on the steed there was delighting Amira, "This charger... We found them! We fattened the Pegasus," at this time, a rash move nearly made her fall. Thank to her friends, Amira didn't fall. They caught her.

Suddenly the girls noticed snow-white chargers, flying in the sky. The middle Pegasus had an equestrian.

The girls recognized Perseus only when the Pegasus landed. He was dressed in a long red piece of cloth, ornamented with golden patterns and was wearing some golden accessories.

"Wow, it's great! These are... the real Pegasus, I can see it now. It eases our heavy task," delighted Hasine.

"It's unbelievable, but since unbelievable things are happening all around regularly, you'll get accustomed to," said Sanam. Everyone laughed.

"Hum, Perseus, you know what, you look pretty enough better on this snow-white steed. Especially, with your luxury red cloth on. But, where did you get them from? I mean both the gold and the legendary creatures – Pegasus?" questioned Amira.

"Well, they were both given to me by her," replied Perseus.

"Yeah, they were given him by her. Again that mysterious Lady. Who's she?" asked Hasine. "And why did she give them to you?"

Perseus grinned sadly.

"That's the most unsolvable mystery of my life. All she said was that when the time comes, I will need them... need them to go there, where I will be accepted or at least, where I have the right to be accepted".

"And what place was that?"

"I don't know," Perseus shrugged. "I didn't really understand. I think, umm, she named some village near Olympus. But... umm, I don't know..."

They stood in silence for some minutes. Then, Perseus smiled and became cheerful at once.

"Now, welcome to the sky journey".

After his invitation the three ladies get on the three Pegasus, one for each. Then, the four cried in unison: "Fly, Pegasus!" Immediately, the Pegasus spread their wings and swiftly flied up the sky.

What words could explain the flight passion? Is that a pleasant cool breeze or a swift cold wind? Blue sky, fluffy clouds over and under... So high above the earth, being in freedom in an infinite altitude, a bit dangerous, a bit exciting, a bit pleasant and extremely amusing. Amira, Hasine, Sanam, Perseus, everyone, all the four were screaming with delight.

"So, what is the destination?" Perseus had to shout so that his voice could be heard in a strong wind.

"Ephesus, Rhodes, Halicarnassus or Olympus," replied the girls.

"Oho, haven't you any more exact destination? It's impossible to go to so many places at one time".

"We don't need to go to all the places at one time. Even the sequence doesn't matter. Just, we should pay visits to all these four above mentioned cities".

"Yeah, that's much easier," approved Pegasus. "Since sequence doesn't matter, I suggest going to Halicarnassus first".

"Ok," agreed the girls.

Perseus suddenly had an inspiration and narrated about the Greek cities with great enthusiasm.

"... And it's worth paying attention that every Greek city has its own status. Like, Athens is the city of art and science, Sparta is the city of warriors and the Olympus is the city of Gods".

"Do Halicarnassus have its status, too?" asked Hasine.

"Naturally. Halicarnassus is famous for its endless riches, treasure and pearls. That's why it's often called the City of Pearls and the Pearl of Cities".

Boiling life in the city was so harmonious with silent and fine picturesque view of the nature.

Halicarnassus was indeed, very, very beautiful, incomparably beautiful and charming city. Boiling life in the city was so harmonious with silent and fine picturesque view of the nature. The city was bordered with thick green grassland. Both the shepherds, pasturing their herd and the merchants, selling their rare goods, were alike fairy-tale characters... Yes, the Pearl of the Cities was marvellous. Watching its riches, adornments, caravans, bringing gems and diamonds that were infilling the city markets caused greatest excitement and amusement of the travellers.

Fortunately for them, they got directly before the Temple-Mausoleum of Halicarnassus by chance, otherwise, who knows, how long would continue their sightseeing in this city.

There, the girls expected someone, a Mausoleum Keeper or what was that – a priest, an architect, as in Egypt, to receive them and acquaint them with the Temple, explain the condition and the problem, waiting for its solution. But neither anyone recognized them, nor anybody asked "who are you?" Despite our travellers walking about the Mausoleum for a long time, no one cared. They wandered, not knowing what to do.

Sometime later, they noticed some noisy troops were coming in. Soon, the travellers found out that they were Halicarnassian troops, come back from the war, in which they won victory. The troops gathered in front of the Temple to celebrate the victory and perform the rite. Unexpectedly, a conflict burst out and the troops began fighting. The priest asked to stop fighting and not to quarrel beside the Temple, but no one would listen to him.

Instinctively, the travellers stepped aside, and hid under the shade of the nearest tree – the olive tree. The Pegasus stretched out its neck and ate the olive leaves. The travellers saw a dove sitting on the olive branches. Because of its keen gaze cast on the travellers, the dove wasn't like an ordinary bird. After the travellers had noticed the bird, it started twirling around Perseus and the girls' heads', as if asking to follow it, and it flew very low.

"It seems the dove is going to guide us," supposed Hasine.

"How, now the bird guides us?" muttered Amira discontentedly.

Quickly they left the noisy city of Halicarnassus behind.

Silently, the travellers followed the dove. As the bird picked up speed, the travellers had to get on the Pegasus and drive them. The dove accelerated even more and rose. They couldn't help themselves from ordering and crying "Fly, Pegasus". The Pegasus spread their wings and flew. Taking alarm that people could have seen the miracle scene, they looked down in horror. No, the people were absolutely indifferent. Absorbed in their everyday work, listless crowd did not notice the real miracle, happening just beside them.

The dove flew on and the Pegasus with the travellers flew, too. Quickly they left the noisy city of Halicarnassus behind. And still they kept on flying. Now, they were flying over the Mediterranean Sea. They saw land only when it grew dark.

"We've come to the island of Rhodes, I reckon," said Perseus.

Lightning stroke in the dark sky and the rain was coming down in torrents. In such weather, a flight was dangerous, so the travellers landed. They drove the horses and soon reached the front gate of the fort. The dove flew to the city. But the guards did not let them in.

"There's the regime of strict military discipline. You may come in, in case only you can prove you're the citizens of Rhodes," said the watch. Desperately, the travellers stepped back.

"No, stop!" suddenly cried another. "You, fool, they must be foreign spies, now they'll crawl in through another hidden way! Catch them! Now!"

So the Rhodesian guards chased after the travellers. And the latter drove the Pegasus in death agony.

"Hey! What will we do?!" screamed the girls in terror.

"Since they don't let walking men to the city, no matter how it's dangerous, we'll fly into," said Perseus.

"What? Are you mad? Don't you see the watches..."

"I see. But we have no choice. In such a stormy night there's no other shelter but to the fort of Rhodes," saying so, Perseus ordered its Pegasus to rise and other three followed it. Leaving the Rhodesian guards behind, they entered to the city over the rear walls, high above, where there was nobody to ask permissions and nobody to chase after them.

So unexpectedly lightning stroke Hasina's Pegasus and they fell down to earth. Horrified friends rushed at her. Fortunately for Hasina, she was unharmed. And interesting of all, The Pegasus which was struck by the lightning wasn't damaged a bit. It was standing calm as if nothing had happened.

"Great, even the lightning can't damage the Pegasus!"

Then, with much trouble and with much more difficulty, they found an inn to pass the night.

The morning came. The travellers had the breakfast while having a nice conversation with other guests of the inn. The guests were mainly merchants.

"We heard that Rhodes is preparing for defence. What enemy, I wonder..."

"Nay, not defence," a fellow cut in impatiently, "Ours are going to fight against another Greek city and will have honourable victory... But it's great secrecy exactly what state that is".

"The war in Rhodes; the battle in Halicarnassus; another war in Sparta. Everywhere is war, war, war..." joined another guy.

"States, not knowing how to show off their strength are unceasingly making wars," said the woman who brought juice.

"And it seems the wars are being made too often, aren't they?"

"All is well that ends well," remarked an old man.

In Halicarnassus, The Mausoleum was one of the seven wonders and in Rhodes – it was the statue of Helios. The statue was made of bronze and was alike as if the sun was touching Helios's head.

Unfortunately, there either, no one met the travellers. But that familiar bird – the leader dove was waiting for them, sitting on Helios's shoulder.

When the travellers saw the dove, it flew away, as if commanding "Come on, guys!" The travellers followed the dove on their flying Pegasus and soon, left Rhodes.

The flight continued longer than the latter. Only when the sublime mountains were visible, they understood where the dove had led them.

"It is Mount Olympus. The City of Gods," commented Perseus proudly.
Chapter nine

It occurred in Olympus

Flapping their wings, the Pegasus carried on conquering Olympus. But when the leader dove disappeared unexpectedly, the travellers stopped puzzled, wondering where to go. Then, remembering that the magnificent Temple of Zeus was around, they landed near the Temple.

The place was absolutely deserted. While the travellers were looking around, two men and a woman appeared just in front of them, out of light. The woman was dressed in a white piece of cloth, and was holding a blazing shield. One of the men was also dressed in white, like an aristocrat and had an arrogant look and was carrying a bow with arrows on his shoulders; the another man looked like a pilgrim, and he had winged shoes on his feet and was wearing a broad-brimmed hat. Their mythic appearance, those men's, holding swords and bows with arrows made beat girls' hearts fast.

"Who're they?" asked Amira with uneasiness.

Even Perseus of Greece was staring and keeping silent, blinking eyes, desperate to answer. However, after a minute of staring, Sanam found herself capable of giving answers:

"I think I know who they are," said Sanam, not tearing eyes off from them. "They are the Olympic gods – Apollo, the son of Zeus and Leto and the brother of Artemis. He is associated with music, poetic inspiration, archery, prophecy, medicine, pastoral life, and in later poetry with the sun; and Hermes, the son of Zeus and Maia, the messenger of the gods, and the god of merchants, thieves, and oratory. And Athena, the daughter of Zeus, the patron goddess of Athens, worshipped as the goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, and warfare".

"Athena?!" ejaculated Perseus in astonishment, who was frozen dumb till then. "Then, Athena is, the goddess of wisdom Athena is the one, who had left me the Pegasus! Then, Athena is the only person, who can tell me the whole truth about my real parents!"

"Hello, Perseus. Nice to see you again," spoke Athena. Her voice was strange like a mythic melody, as well as her body, which wasn't complete flesh, but half beaming light.

"Athena, Athena, please answer! You don't imagine how I've been waiting for this day! I must learn about everything..."

"Be patient," Athena's melody went on.

"Perseus, don't worry, we'll help you – it's promised," new aria began – it was Hermes speaking. "And help you, too," he said to the girls.

"No, we must try them first," protested Apollo discordantly. They could see he wasn't trusting the girls.

"It's all right, Apollo," said Hermes, "Athena will try them".

Athena, staring at the girls, as if scanning their mind and hearts, approache the Pegasus. The girls stepped back mechanically. Athena directly came up to Hasina's Pegasus; She caressed its mane and when her palm reached the point that had been struck by lightning, she stopped. With a quick motion she picked up the green plant out of Pegasus' mane. All the four travellers were surprised; they wondered if they did not notice the plant in Pegasus' mane or Athena made it herself...

"Do you know what plant is that?" she asked unexpectedly.

"Umm... No..." neither Hasine, nor Sanam, not any other of them could answer to the question.

"It's the most rare antidote plant. And it can counteract any poison that exists in the world, no matter how strong a poison is. Any poison – " Athena stressed the word – " a serpent poison, an insect poison, a poisonous plant, poisonous arrows, swords, axes, blades, poisonous drinks and even poisonous air – it doesn't matter at all. This antidote can stand against any kind.

I'll put aside for now".

Then Athena took a shield, blazing in the sunshine like a mirror.

The states are being absorbed in discords and conflicts too deeply. These conflicts have risen to that extent that made sick even the Olympic gods. Zeus, who wished to put an end to the discords and make peace among the people, had sent them an Edict. But before the Edict reached the address it was stolen.

"And this, I'll put on the other side," saying this, Athena glanced at Hermes meaningfully. Hermes nodded and naked his sword, which was hidden underneath his clothes. Before the agitated travellers' eyes, he walked and put the sword beside the shield.

"No doubt that the ordeals that awaiting you will be severe. In order to help you to vanquish the possible difficulties, I offer you to choose a gun," said Athena. "A plant-antidote on one side and a shield with a sword on the other. Which will you choose? A shield and a sword or a plant-antidote?"

"The art of swordplay is absolutely unfamiliar to us and the sword with shield is strange things to us. Take for an instance, the art of healing, medicine is familiar enough for me. So that, it's better for us to choose the plant-antidote, I reckon," said Hasina.

Athena glanced at Apollo and "You see?" that glance was saying with delight.

"Are you sure? Are you speaking for yourself or for all three of you?"

"We're sure of it. And we all agree to choose the antidote," replied the girls in unison.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that," said Apollo. "The shield and the sword are much more useful for you than the plant. Only imagine what obstacles you may meet in your way. How are you going to defend yourselves?"

"Never in our life we did use, did hold a sword, how will we use it now?" objected Amira.

"The sword and shield are magical, so you don't need any special skills to use them. The instance your hands touches them, you'll become more skillful than the most skillful man of the art of swordplay. Make the right choice," Apollo kept on remonstrating.

"Rather than wounding others with a gun, we'd rather heal and help people as much as possible," said Sanam resolutely. "The curative plant is our final decision".

"What can I say, alack," said Apollo. Athena and Hermes smiled contentedly.

"Apollo, did not I say I was right to choose them?!" said Athena.

"The time is the best judge, we'll see," replied Apollo.

"You've passed the test, now I can tell you," Athena addressed to the girls. "You've proved that you prefer peace and not war. Now, listen. You have realized, I guess, the states are being absorbed in discords and conflicts too deeply. These conflicts have risen to that extent that made sick even the Olympic gods. Zeus, who wished to put an end to the discords and make peace among the people, had sent them an Edict. But before the Edict reached the address it was stolen.

"Oh? Who dared to do so?" exclaimed the travellers.

"Ares, the patron of wars and discords did. He had nearly demolished it. And it could be annihilated but to Natural Forces, which saved it and hid to a place that hands of Ares will never reach. Your errand is to find the Edict and bring back peace and harmony to the Greek cities".

"But how could Ares do this?"

"He has rebelled against Zeus, his own father. And what is more, Hera is supporting him. Zeus had asked us to fix the matter up as fast as possible. And we've chosen you to find the Edict, because we can't deal in, otherwise Ares feels it immediately and interferes," Hermes continued. "He cannot notice you, he doesn't feel you, because you belong to another world. And that's why Athena has chosen you".

"Go to Ephesus and enter the Temple of Artemis. From there, you may overcross to the forest of Peloponnese, the dwelling of the Natural Forces. The Edict of Zeus must been kept there," said Apollo. With these words, first Apollo, then Athena and then Hermes vanished, gradually turning to transparent beams.

"No, come back!" Perseus rushed himself to the ground where they stood. "Athena, don't go away! Hermes! You've promised to explain everything! Come back!! Come back!!!"

"You'll know when the time comes," said Athena's voice. "And believe me, it has left very little".

"Take the sword and the shield, Perseus!" ordered Hermes' voice.

"No!" exclaimed Perseus burning in a bitter anger. "I won't use them anyway".

"You do not use them," said Hermes' voice, "till the day when you have to fight for justice and good deed. That day, you'll get all the answers to your questions..."

"No, no... That's unfair,not fairly, they left, explaining nothing. I've been expecting this ages – to learn the truth about my family! And now, who could tell me the truth?" said Perseus, terribly embarrassed.

"I can tell," Sanam pronounced it in a quiet and calm tone.

"You?!" not only Perseus, but both Hasine and Amira were baffled.

"Listen," Sanam began, "Perseus, you must receive the sword and the shield that Hermes gave..."

"I won't! I don't know how to use 'em. And don't want to know either!"

"Perseus, don't be so stubborn. After you return to your city, the time will come, when everything will depend on you – the destiny of your city and your people".

"My people?"

"Yes, listen. There, with this sword and shield, you'll have to protect your city from horrible Medusa Gorgon".

"Sanam, stop, what are you talking about?" impatiently, her friends interrupted her. "We know the legend of Perseus. But how this ordinary, real Perseus could be that legendary Perseus? That's impossible!"

"It seems, we, not aware of it ourselves, turned to be the heroines of unwritten pages of the legend".

"But I am just a son of ..."

"... a poor fisherman? No, you aren't," Sanam ignored it before Perseus could finish the sentence. "Athena is your sister, Apollo is your brother and you are the son of Zeus".

"What?" Perseus stood baffled, having no power to say more.

"And your mother's name is Danae. Sometimes ago, she was the princess of Argos, but now it's different... When the time comes, you'll find her, too..."

"No, no, no... That's impossible! Tell me that you were just kidding!"

"I'm afraid I can't".

"No, I'm Perseus, not a legendary hero," he mounted on his Pegasus. "Let's go to Ephesus, to the last Greek city in our destination and forget these all!"

*

"I was longing for hearing the truth about me. But now, I can see, I was not ready for it. Yet, I accepted it, yes, I do own real Pegasus. But, Sanam... what you are talking about... it is the exaggeration! Now, I must return back to my city and try to forget all the things you spoke me about".

"And ignore the truth?"

"That is not the truth!"

"Think as you wish".

"I pity that Perseus did not take the sword and the shield," said Amira.

"Never mind, the Pegasus are always with him, any time he may straightly go to the Olympus and take the both of them".

"And what if I will not?" objected Perseus.

"You will," said Sanam. "Yes, you'll persist at first, even when Medusa Gorgon attacks the city, Perseus will keep on waiting indifferently, saying "it's not concerning to me". Medusa's eyes will victimize his townsmen; his friends will be turned into stone. Only then, Perseus will realize that it is not time for obstinacy. And he'll go to Olympus. And he will fight against Medusa. Not looking at her eyes, but looking at her reflection in the shield and with Hermes' magical sword, he will defeat Medusa. And this victory will be the first chapter of his legendary heroism..."

"Perseus, don't be so stubborn. After you return to your city, the time will come, when everything will depend on you – the destiny of your city and your people".

"My people?"

"Girls, I have to leave you now," said Perseus when they were at the threshold of the Temple. They thanked for all the help he did and he thanked them and wished good luck in their long journey.

"Do forget everything Sanam told, but do act as it is written in the legend," said Amira.

The temple was always open both in daytime and at nights, so the travellers came in through its open gates. The moon in the sky was beaming lighter than ever and numerous candles' light were illuminating the Temple. The girls were walking along the road, watching the delicate ornaments of the Temple.

"Artemis is the goddess of forests and hunt. It's not surprising that the portal to the mysterious forest lies through her Temple," noted Sanam.

Soon, the girls came to a large hall. The room was outstanding comparing to other rooms of the Temple. The walls were full of pictures. The picture, describing the infinite forest attracted the girls' attention. If the girls approached the picture, it would move away. The more they approached, the more it moved off. No matter how much the girls walked, they wouldn't reach to the picture.

Suddenly, the girls realized that they weren't approaching the picture, but they were already walking inside of the picture. As they walked on, it grew lighter. Walking towards dazzling light, they disappeared.

The girls were walking along the road, watching the delicate ornaments of the Temple.

Chapter ten

A nymph and a satyr

Going through the dazzling light, the girls entered to the mysterious forest that Apollo had mentioned. It was a daytime in that forest. Immediately, they opened the map-parchment:

"The most beautiful deer in the forest will be your guide. It can lead you to the place that Zeus' edict is hidden. The next errand is to find that deer".

The travellers started searching earnestly. They walked for a long time, wishing the deer would have come across. They walked so for two hours, for three more hours, but in vain. The girls got awfully fatigued. They had already agreed that all their searches were unsuccessful. How on earth one could find something in such a thick and endless forest, without any of those smart modern technologies and even without approximate reference point? Isn't that equal to find a needle out of a haystack? Nay, finding a needle is easier or at least possible, but their task was impossible at all! Exhausted girls' conclusion was so. What's more, they got terribly hungry. First, the girls had an idea of picking mushrooms that were growing under the walnut-tree and fry them in nut-oil. However, they didn't want to take a risk of being poisoned, so they had to give up the idea of fried mushrooms.

Suddenly, they heard strange voices – crinkles, murmurs and a girlish cackle. That alerted the travellers. "Who's that?" they wondered.

Just then, an awesomely strange lassie emerged behind the trees. Her enchanting green eyes and her curled emerald hairs, blazing like jade in the sunshine drew the girls' attention, for her awesome appearance could attract anyone whosoever he or she was.

"Come with me," the Emerald Hair said to the girls. So they followed her.

The Emerald Hair led the three friends to a strange, but also marvellous place, after they'd gone round eight trees. Leaves were lying on the ground in a shape of a circle, young trees growing around the circle enclosed it like a fence, and in the centre of the circle there was one more circle built of flowers, and it was full of food and dainties.

"Sit down," the Emerald Hair invited the friends. The four girls sat on the four parts of the circle. There were mushrooms, fried in walnut oil, plums, steamed in almond oil, juices of savoury and delicious forest berries and so like many other meals.

The girls partook with appetite. But the Emerald Hair did not even touch the dishes. She sat, staring at the girls and watching them eating. The girls felt a bit uneasy.

"Maybe, you'll have your lunch, too?" asked Hasine.

"No necessity for me to have lunch," replied the Emerald Hair. "These are all for you only".

"Ha! How peculiar!" Hasine grinned.

"And so mysterious," added Amira.

"What's mysterious?" asked the Emerald Hair.

"Everything. The place, the dainties and your having no need to eat and you, you're the most peculiar of all".

"Maybe, you will tell us about yourself?" said Sanam, who could not tear her eyes off from her emerald hairs.

"Well, what can I say? I'm a nymph, a nymph-meliadae. And... that's all," said the Emerald Hair. "And... yes, my name is Parnissyd. I was born in this forest and was grown up here. Unlike you, the human beings, we do always know why we were born. You can't always answer to the question: "Why was I born? For what do I live?" But we don't forget the answer to that question, in our every breath we know for what we are".

"So, what for the nymphs-meliadaes?" asked the girls.

"Our appointment is to keep the natural-balance and rectify disorderliness that caused by maenads or the human beings and reenact the Balance of Nature".

"Then, you're a kind of angels of nature, who keeps its balance?" asked Sanam.

"Kind of," replied the nymph. "And nymph types differ depending on their appointment and habitation, like: the nereids are the river nymphs, the naiads are the nymphs of springs, the oceanids are the ocean nymphs; some people mistake these three types of water-nymphs for the mermaids. The lymnads are the nymphs of swamps, while the orestiads are mountain's; the alceades are grove's, the dryads and the hamadryads are the wood nymphs. Meliadae nymphs are responsible not for a certain part of the nature, but for the nature on whole".

"So then, this forest can be full of nymphs!" exclaimed the girls.

"Not only nymphs, besides, sirens, maenads, satyrs and silenuses dwell there".

"Wow!"

"And how is your lifestyle?" asked Hasine.

"And how do they spend days – that satyrs, sirens and maenads?" asked Sanam.

"Well, satyrs and silenuses, actually have nothing serious to do. All day long they make merry, idle about, eat, drink, dance and scream. They are real loafers of the forest," the nymph pronounced it with a pinch of anger. "And maenads too, like making merry, but they make merry by hindering nymphs' affairs and by destroying natural balance. And... nay, they don't deny grape juice either. Hum, sirens. It's awfully difficult to understand them. And it's almost impossible to guess their presence. Nevertheless, when they feel the presence of a human, they beguile him with their sweet, mellifluous syrenic singing. So enchantingly, that a human loses his mind and doesn't realize how he had straightly gone to face his death..."

The nymph's voice, not less enchanting than sirens' she was talking about and the words she was saying gave the girls creeps.

"Clear..." sighed Hasine.

"As for me, nothing is clear," said Amira nipping a bite of a berry.

"Where did you find so much food and berries?"

"You want to know? I'll show you," Parnissyd raised her hands; airily waving them, lied her fingers to the tree's body. A nut fell down from the highest branches of the tree.

"How did you do that?" asked Amira now looking at the tree, then staring at the nymph.

"Simply, asked the tree to give me a couple of its fruits".

"Ha, it's weirdo. Do you speak to trees?" Amira turned the nut in her hand. "These apples, fruits, berries, nuts, all of that you had asked from the tree, like, you talked to it and he answered to you with fruits, is that it?"

"Yeah, that is so".

"Is everything clear to you now?" asked Hasine, smiling.

"Surely, one thing is clear," said Amira cracking the nut. "We'll have problems with breakfast no more".

*

The friends told Parnissyd of the adventures they had got: how they had entered the mysterious cave, what happened after they had fallen into sandclock, their visits to the cities of Egypt and Greece, the event happened in Mount Olympus; they told about Zeus' Edict and in the end, they said they had been looking for the deer, but did not succeed.

"Could you help us somehow? Or give advice, at least?" asked the girls.

"That ain't so difficult. We'll try," replied the nymph.

Then the three lassies and the nymph set off for seeking. Now the nymph ran fast, now she stood frozen and straining ears. The girls were scarcely catching her on.

"Is that possible for us to know where we are going?" cried Hasine.

"To the deer," replied the nymph and kept running.

"You think it is running away from us?" asked Sanam.

"Nay, my feelings are running away, not the deer," saying this, the nymph stopped to catch her breath. "If it were around here, I would feel it. It is somewhere far away," the nymph indicated to an unknown direction. "Or there, just a little bit sinister".

"Where?" Amira bowed to look to that direction. "Parnissyd, if honestly, I can't see any deer there".

"I'm not saying I see the deer there, I'm saying I feel them," replied the nymph. "But... I don't know whether I'm too tired or the deer is too far away – I cannot feel anything clearly".

Then, the nymph stood up and the three girls with and nymph walked slowly, making a conversation. Parnissyd told them about the nymph feelings, how the nymphs feel animals and plants, how to give questions to animals and to talk with trees.

"So, while you're seeking for something, your feet warm when they touch its trace and your hands freeze?"

"And if a sought animal is somewhere nearby, your body shivers and the heart beats fast?"

"And what if you aren't looking for an animal, but for some particular place, a tree or a plant? They don't have traces. How do you find them?"

"Then I smell that plant's aroma and even if it is grown somewhere distantly afar, I will find it all the same".

"How's that interesting!"

Now the nymph ran fast, now she stood frozen and straining ears.

They went for a long while, and yet there weren't a sign of the deer. So long, that it seemed to the girls that they had sought out the whole forest over and over.

Suddenly, the nymph sat, seizing her head with both her hands.

"Is everything all right?" asked the girls anxiously.

"I have a terrible headache," said Parnissyd. "Someone is trying to hinder us".

"Maenads?" asked Sanam hesitatingly.

Parnissyd nodded.

"Is there anything that can stop 'em?" asked Hasine.

"There isn't anything, but there is somebody – satyrs can".

"Then let's go to that satyr and ask for help" said Amira without thinking twice.

"I don't want to," the nymph sighed. The girls looked at her as if asking "why?" But they did not say a word.

"Anyhow, I've promised to help you," said the nymph unexpectedly, "and I must keep my word anyway. Come on with me".

"Where?"

"I said let's go," Parnissyd stood up and led them.

Almost every tree was entwined with grapes in the place they came. The three friends remembered the nymph's words: "Satyrs like grape juice".

"Hey, Marsius, come here!" the nymph called.

The satyr turned up, clothes made of animals' skin; with a grape chaplet on the head and a jugful of wine in the hand.

"Oho, look who's here, the beauty heyday of the forest, Parnissyd the nymph called upon me! It's unbelievable! Now, it must be celebrated, this visit..."

"Please, stop playing fool," said Parnissyd coolly. "We've come here, because we need your help. We're looking for the guide-deer. And some maenads, plenty of them, I feel, are impeding me. I want you to stop them!"

"Why me? I don't care upon this matter. Absolutely not. That doesn't bring any benefit to me".

"Why do you think only about your own benefit all the time? What an egoist you are!"

"And you? Whose benefit do you think about? Not mine, without doubt," said the satyr.

"I want to help to the girls!"

"And who does help to me?! If you have nothing else to say, I'll come off," the satyr turned back and was about to go away. But the nymph stopped him.

"Come back. Tell me what you want".

Marsius laughed victoriously.

"You know what I want," he said and handed the nymph the grape leaves.

Nymph got outrageous, although she scattered the leaves and shouted:

"Grow, grow, grow faster!" before the eyes of the girls, staring in astonishment and the satyr who was watching indifferently, sprouts grew out of the leaves nymph scattered.

"Rise, rise, take root in the ground

Thicken your stem and branch out

Come into leaf, then blossom out

Then with your willow branch

Kick that insolent satyr down!!!"

"Ouch! It hurts!" startled the satyr.

"Let's go now. As you have pledged, you should stop maenads," saying this, the nymph walked away with quick steps.

The girls walked through the grape-garden, wondering why one satyr needed so many grape-trees.

"Parnissyd said that the only thing satyrs can do is idleness. Is it true?" asked the girls.

"Who knows, hum... Anyway, it's curious why she has come asking for help, then?" asked the satyr throwing glances at the nymph. Parnissyd pretended not to notice him.

"Nay, that doesn't count," protested Hasine. "Take for an instance, Parnissyd grew the whole tree out of a leaf. She feels plants and animals and can find anything she searches".

Marsius apathetically came up to the grape tree; seized by its stem and broke it at one fling.

"Oh... poor grape..." moaned the girls.

The satyr replaced the stem and held his hand over it for a minute. In result, the stem glowed back to its former place. The grape tree revived and looked like as if no one did ever touch it. Then, satyr came up to its young germ and shrewdly twinkled his forefinger around it. Even Parnissyd stopped to watch the scene. In that nuance, the constant features of indifference and selfishness in his face were gone away somewhere, care, attention, kindness replaced them instead. After few seconds, the germ, growing slowly, turned to a ripe truss of grape.

"Great!" applauded the girls.

Former features of indifference came back to the satyr's face, and at one fling he tore off the ripe grapes.

"Anyway, there's a tendency to atrocity in your blood," said Sanam.

"And who are you calling kind-hearted here?" asked satyr. "Have you ever seen how nymphs in charge of Artemis make hunting parties? Groans and howls of injured animals make the forest quake and the heaven tremble.

"I've never participated in hunting parties with Artemis," said meliadae. "I have never hunted. Besides, nymphs, even if they do hunt, they keep up the rules of Merciful Hunting and not ravage the whole forest, unlike maenads.

"Ha, the rules of Merciful Hunting," mocked satyr. "Could hunting be merciful?"

"Why not? You know..."

"Yes, of course I know," Marsius cut in impatiently. "Parnissyd, you'd better tell why do you need a deer?"

"It's a long story" replied the meliadae. "Briefly told, these three girls had come to our forest from the dwelling of orestiads – the cave. And in affection of magic sand they had appeared there. They must find the special deer, so that they can return home. And I am guiding them, so that they don't go astray". Hearing this, satyr burst into laughter.

"Who? You? You is the guide? Look at who guides! You need a guide yourself..."

The satyr's laughter irritated the nymph.

"If you are so smart, then show us the way! Guide us!"

"I would, but I won't! Why should I waste my time doing job, that's absolutely useless to me?"

"Wow, how's that reasonable!" exclaimed the nymph mockingly. "All your skills are consisted of laughing at me, because you envy me".

"What! Me? I envy you?" Marsius burst into laughter again.

"Surely. Even know, you're trying to hide your envy by laughing," Parnissyd turned around and walked on, leaving no chance for the satyr to reply.

"Hah!" shrugged the satyr.

"I think Parnissyd is right," said Hasine to the satyr. "If you could really do anything, you would've helped us".

The friends followed the nymph, leaving the satyr behind. Marsius caught them up and said:

"Well, if you think so, I will show you the way. And then, denying your wrong opinions, you'll see with your own eyes what is able to do the satyr's mighty talent".

"Hush!" the nymph interrupted him, who got agitated.

Marsius and Parnissyd stopped from walking. The girls stopped too, and looked at them, asking what had happened.

"The maenads," whispered the nymph. "Not far from there".

"Clear, but why did we stop? Haven't we been going after them?" asked Hasine.

"Exactly, but no need for the maenads to know this," replied Parnissyd.

"Why?" Sanam bothered.

"Because that's very dangerous," said the nymph.

"Much more dangerous than you could imagine," agreed the satyr.

Hasine looked through the trees, very cautiously. There were several maidens, in a small glade, in ragged clothes and with disheveled hair. Some of them screwed around deers, tied to the tree and were discussing something; the rest were sitting beside a heap of dry twigs and were about to lay a fire.

The satyr slid away voicelessly and ordered the nymph and the girls to hide carefully; he took his jug with wine and straightly went towards the maenads. He requested: "Wait there till I give you a sign".

"Someone is coming to visit us," said one of the maenads in a malicious tone.

"It's time to give lesson for someone, I guess," added the second.

"And I was looking for who to vent my malice," said the third.

"Hey, hey, don't you recognize me?" asked satyr.

Then he glanced at the deers and as though discovered them for the first time, added:

"What are these? Deers? I can see a big feast is awaiting us today! But any feast couldn't pass without tasty grape juice! Here it is, your favourite drink!" satyr held up the jug.

This made the maenads smile.

"Grapes? Very well. But why did you bring only a jug of juice?"

"Who said there's only a jugful of drink?" he dragged waterskins underneath his clothes. "Come on, give me your jugs, I'll provide everyone with juice".

The maenads brought their jugs, chattering.

"You're right! A real feast is awaiting us".

"Pour it more, in the feast I'll personally care about treating you with steak".

"Bring your wine to us more often".

While the maenads were chattering, putting their jugs, Marsius added juice of slumber to the wine.

"Cheers!" the satyr raised his jug. "For merry-making! May Dionysus be with us!"

Next, it all went easily. One by one, the maenads fell asleep. Some of the maenads realized how they were deceived by the satyr and furiously rushed to look for him. Nevertheless, the prudent satyr had already hidden behind the brushwood by this time.

In the end, all the maenads fell asleep and the satyr called the nymph and the girls. Before setting the animals free, they tried to find out the special deer among them. They could not decide which one was the most beautiful, which one was the special deer. They had to hurry up. The juice of slumber doesn'tt effect for a long time and they must leave the place before the maenads were awoken.

"Parnissyd, you can talk with animals. Can't you ask the deer which of them is the special deer?"

"I did, but the special deer didn't wish to be revealed," said the nymph.

"Talk with them once more. Tell them, we'll rescue them all from the maenads, in condition the deer would help us to find Zeus' Edict. And that's all – we'll let it go then".

After several minutes of "negotiations", the nymph turned towards the girls with a wide smile on her face.

"The deer is asking you to promise that it will lead you ahead in liberty".

"We promise," replied the girls, rejoicing.

They unbound all the deer. Not losing a second, they took to their heels and left these angry maenads.

Five minutes later, the special deer and the three friends in a company of the satyr and the nymph were walking along the road, watching picturesque landscape and chatting.

"Parnissyd, what does mean your name?" asked Hasine.

"And what is "Marsius"?" asked Amira in her turn.

"My name comes from the word Parnassus," said nymph. "Parnassus is the orchard where Apollo and muses, the angels of inspiration, live. Apollo is the son of Zeus and a brother-twine of Artemis, the princess of forests and nymphs. Meaning of the name of Marsius I don't know. But I know a history that happened with other satyr with the same name. Though among satyrs there are few musically gifted ones, that Marsius was talented in playing flute. Self-assured of his talent, he challenged Apollo personally to compete with him in a musical contest. Perhaps, such an insolent suggestion made Apollo cross, because being the God of music and being the patron of Muses, the angels of inspiration, no one could ever come near to him by excellency in musical arts. So it happened with Marsius, too – he came off a loser and Apollo punished him very severely. That loss cost Marsius too expensive".

"Besides that Marsius, there were plenty of other satyrs, who competed with the sons of Zeus. For example, the story of a satyr, who wrestled against Hercules," said Marsius.

"And who was the winner?" Sanam wanted to know.

"Hercules defeated the satyr," said Marsius in a barely hearable voice.

"So then satyrs' destiny is that – always losing," said the nymph, cackling.

Marsius paid no attention.

Suddenly, something alerted Parnissyd strongly. She stepped backwards imprudently.

The girls, not realizing what had happened, looked about. As soon as they saw the maenad coming up through the depths of the forest, they did also step back.

"What happened? What are you so afraid of?" asked the maenad, throwing penetrating glances at Parnissyd.

"I'm not afraid of. I just can't understand how I didn't felt your coming," said the nymph and remembered that if a nymph doesn't feel a maenad nearby, it's the evidence of a nymph's belosing her strength.

"What do you want?" asked Parnissyd sharply.

"You know, we, the maenads never forgive thieves. And... betrayers, too," added the maenad, glancing at the satyr meaningfully. "The deer had disappeared somewhere, I saw".

"We've just set free innocent animals, that's all," said the meliadae sedately. "Now, keep off, you know that never an alone maenad can stand against a nymph".

"Who said that I'm alone? My sisters have come with me," said she pointing at the maenads coming up behind the trees.

"Now, flee girls, we flee all!" shouted the nymph. The three friends, the satyr, the nymph and even the deer took flight. However, the maenads were crafty. As well as chasing after them, they made obstacles on their way – various spiked thorns.

They saw the maenad coming up through the depths of the forest.

"What happened? What are you so afraid of?" asked the maenad, throwing penetrating glances at Parnissyd.

The girls remembered their asking from the nymph:

"Can maenads make plants grow?" and the reply was: "No, they can grow only thorns and prickles with their Energy of Demolition. They do this, especially, in the time they're fighting against nymphs. Because a nymph loses her energy deleting those obstacles and it's easy to defeat a nymph with low energy".

And now, the girls were being the witness of that "Energy of Demolition". But for the nymph they could have already been trapped among these impassable barbs. Unfortunately, the nymph's energy was ending. The maenads were too many.

The quinary ran desperately for long. The girls got totally exhausted.

"Parnissyd, we can step no farther. Leave us," said Hasine, gasping. The girls stopped. So did the satyr and the nymph. And to their greatest surprise, the maenads retreated all of a sudden.

"They are chasing us no more!" ejaculated Amira.

"Smart animal," Parnissyd caressed the deer, "has led us to the dwelling of the dryads – the wood nymphs. The maenads, realizing they can't stand against a whole group of dryads, retreated".

"Thank God," Amira sighed in relief.

"Hasine, is everything all right?" asked Sanam looking at her pale face and shrieked in fright, when she saw Hasine's bloody wrist.

"What happened to you?"

"It's... when we were running away from the maenads... it was stricken to the barbs..."

Chapter eleven

The school of wizardry

"It's hurting? Badly?" asked Amira pitying.

"Aye, a bit," replied Hasine with difficulty.

The maenads had harmed the travellers much. Of course that wasn't concerning to the nymph and satyr, for they were the children of the forest and seemed to know by heart its every inch. Anyway, the three girls were damaged badly, especially, Hasine with her wounded wrist. What else, the map had hit to thorns and was torn into pieces. But they travellers were paying no attention to it, because Hasine's wound was serious.

The nymph detected the wound was poisonous. The worst of all, the herb-antidote Athena gave was also lost, in the time that it could've been most needful. How would they treat Hasine without it?

"We have to leave now, me and satyr," said Parnissyd. "We'll go to the nearest spring to bring a naiad. The naiads, as I had said before, are nonpareil healers; water in their hands is able to cure any sort of a wound".

"Okay," said Hasine, "we'll wait for you there, under the oak-tree".

"Won't the maenads appear again?" asked Amira with anxiety.

"Don't worry, they daren't," the nymph calmed her. Then satyr and nymph left. Tired girls leant against the oak and fell asleep.

When they woke, they felt themselves absolutely vigorous, fresh and erect. The surprising thing was that they were in absolutely another place. They found themselves lying under the open sky, in anendless flatland with knee-high grasses.

A cool breeze was blowing. The weather was so fine and the nature was so charming, that could excite anyone. Maybe, that wasn't the weather, neither nature, but the atmosphere of the place was particular, as it influenced on the girls unusually; the excitement and the spirit of the girls was unusual.

After an hour of walking, they saw several lower cabins. After some time they reached the first threshold. The cabin was small and very plain, and yet there was something pleasant in it, something beguiling, something attracting...

Sanam knocked at the door. Silence. She was about knock once more, when the door opened and a maiden of twenty, presumably, came out.

"We..." had scarcely Amira opened her mouth, the maiden nodded and said "Come in".

Inside of the cabin there was no luxury either. But it had exceptionally nice pleasance in it or rather there was something that persuaded to accept the interior as pleasant.

"I've been waiting for you for pretty long," said the maiden.

"What? You have been waiting for us?" echoed the surprised girls.

"Aye," the maiden preferred to reply shortly. Then looking at the questioning eyes of the three girls, she added: "My name's Angeles".

"My name's..."

"I know," Angeles cut in impatiently.

"What?"

"I know your name, Sanam. And yours, too, Amira".

Seeing confused face expressions of the girls, she laughed heartily.

"Oh, excuse me for my impoliteness. Must have allowed you to introduce yourselves at least. Haven't I scared your, girls? Hasine?"

"Not at all," Hasine shook head. And that was so, indeed. That was that peculiar sense of pleasance, not letting them to feel scared, persuading them to like the cabin, to like Angeles and to like the words she saying.

"Well, who are you? And... where's there, this place?" the girls shot questions at her. Angeles smiled mysteriously.

"You say where there is. Well, I'll say. In fact we must keep the secrets of the city, but for you, Ok, I will reveal them for several days".

"These places are rather like a small village than a city," whispered Hasine to her friends.

"I am a magician. And that is the city of Wizards!" declared Angeles solemnly.

"What? Those few lower cabins?!" the girls ran at the windows to look over. Looked they out and could not believe their eyes. The tiny path, lying beside umpteen huts was turned into an incomparable city, that neither Athens, nor Alexandria and not even legendary Arcadia could not privilege it by its luxury, beauty and glory. The buildings, the more splendid one than another, built up from glittering stones, marble, ivory and porcelain were flashing in magnificence. When the girls at last managed to tear their baffled eyes from the view outside and turned around, they were totally frozen in astonishment. The frugal cheap room had turned to a real royal chamber. Silver chandeliers, aromatic candles, sandal doors... Even without mentioning that the size of the ex-cabin had increased by twenty times, if not twenty-five, a whole book would not be enough to describe all its glory...

In any other situation with any other lassies or lads, those transformations could have caused anxiety or suspicion, at least. Nevertheless, our girls were too optimistic, what else, again, that persuasive impression of "pleasance" wouldn't let them to dislike the magic Angeles performed, after all.

"It's unbelievable! How can you do such things?" asked the girls, after they had found their tongue.

"Simply by taking off the veil of lowliness that was covering the real view of our magic city from evil eyes," replied Angeles dispassionately.

"But if the city is so glorious and you're so strong, why on earth do you hide it? On contrary, let the whole world learn about you!" said Hasine.

"The Wizardry City wasn't created in showing-off aims. We have our particular goals. We must save our city and so-like other magic cities, that are dispersed all around the world. Those cities keep in them the magic power and the magic knowledge. If wicked men come and take possession of magic knowledge, that will cause the Great Mischief of the humanity. That's why, people, going along the streets of the city, don't see the city, but a view of a deserted village comes upon their sight".

"Do so-like cities exist everywhere... and in every era?" asked Hasine. "After twenty one centuries, for instance".

"Everywhere and in every era," replied Angeles. "How do you know, maybe undeveloped rural cities that you disdain are in fact yield neither to New York, nor to Sydney and not any other megalopolis".

The friends looked confused again. It made Angeles laugh.

"You thought that predictors foresee only a couple days ahead? The world of magic is able to more than that".

"All in all, I can't understand anything," said Amira thoughtfully. "What magic world are you talking about? It's all so weird!"

"You wish I'd explain it all over again? Or, perhaps, you would like to see everything with your own eyes? Well, as the folks say: "It's better to see once, rather than hear hundred times", isn't it?"

"Is that possible?" asked Hasine in disbelief.

"In condition if you close your eyes," replied Angeles. "Otherwise, it could scare you, what you may see on the way. Give me your hands, we should hold each other's hands tightly and form a circle. In such way, I can influence on all three of you. Close your eyes and concentrate on your mind".

"Now you may open your eyes," said Angeles after some time.

They turned up in a remarkably nice place. There were plenty of various flowers. The girl would've called it a flower-garden, but it wasn't alike to any other flower gardens in the earth. It was situated among white fluffy clouds, high in the sky.

"So that, this wonderful magic world is situated among the clouds!" exclaimed Sanam.

"No, your world is situated among the clouds. Because, your dreams walk upon air in your age. You think we all four are in the same place, however, in fact, we are in the four different worlds. Each one is in her own. These worlds are also called the worlds of a human soul, as all the magical power of human is collected in their soul. That's why every magician comes to the world of soul to recollect magical powers. Every person possesses its own world of soul".

"So then, we may come to our world of soul, recollect the necessary amount of magic energy and build up a castle like yours, even in the midst desert?" Amira's question was the very thing Sanam and Hasine were thinking about; all three of them were burning with curiosity.

"Not exactly. That's not so simple as you suppose," Angeles leant herself comfortably on the cloud-armchair (but only before the girls'eyes it was so. For Angeles, she was sitting on a plant-swing, in the middle of an endless green forest.

"First of all, not every man can get across to his own world of magic. It requires a very good imagination. Young people, children, to be more precise, do this better than grown-ups".

"Do what?"

"Fancy, fantasy! Thinking not with words, but by feeling it, seeing, hearing! To get across to the mental world – the world of soul, a very, very clear imagination is required. You must imagine every detail extremely clearly, more clearer than the reality itself. And only then, you have your chance to overcross to the mental world. As people grow up, the ability of imagining changes to thinking – thinking with words. And this closes your way to the mental world. Because, the imagination is the only way of crossing from your world to mental worlds.

"Well, is that all needed – a good imagination?" asked Amira, not considering.

"Not yet. Supposing, you have a perfect imagination. That's enough to visit mental worlds in meditations, only, which is equal to your visiting them in your dreams. There's no big difference between your "visiting" and ordinary fancying. To make a real magic, you should have the ability of bringing things, objects, anything from the Magic World to the physical world, as you call it. What do you think, is it easy to bring things from the mental world? You need to be the master of the Art of Materialization to do this. Well, it takes the whole seventy-seven years to learn the art completely".

"Wow, how old are you, then?" asked Sanam.

"Guess yourself," Angeles smiled mysteriously. "Not only I had learned the Art of Materialization completely, but I had taught it to a number of generations".

"Then you must be..."

"Not so old, three hundred and just a little more," said Angeles still keeping her smile.

"Hey, you look like as if you're twenty years old!" exclaimed Hasine.

"The spell of youth?" supposed Amira.

"Yeah, you're quite a quick-witted, lassie," said Angeles. "Well, it's the time to go back to the physical world. Close your eyes and... here we are".

The girls opened their eyes and found themselves in Angeles' castle again. For a long time they sat emotional. So unexpectedly had they appeared in the city of wizards.

"If you're a wizard, so then you can mend our map?" asked Hasine after a long pause of silence.

With the help of her magical abilities, Angeles had already been aware of the map case.

"Oh, let's have a look".

Amira looked around, looking for the map. when the torn map moved up, rose and was put on Angeles' knee.

"It's you again?" ejaculated the surprised girls.

"It's pretty difficult... to mend this map," said Angeles twirling her hand around the map. "Because it's not just a torn piece of papyrus. Its spells were spread around when it was torn. It means, even if we stick it together, its previous magical abilities will be lost. I guess, there was something, not rightly magic, but something kind of a magic and a very destructive one had damaged the map. What was it?" Angeles caressed the map, as if reading its story and all the events with her palm.

"Yes, the maenads were chasing after us," said Hasine with a sigh.

"Exactly," confirmed Angeles, not tearing her eyes off the map and continued caressing. "They are too dangerous. Who had helped you?" At this time, Angeles saw everything that happened in the forest, as if she had been there with the girls.

"A nymph and a satyr? Were they your helpers? Huh, it's unbelievable!"

"You can help it, can't you?" asked the girls worriedly.

"Girls, to be honest, first, I should determine exactly what spell had your map. But it may take months. Aren't you in a hurry?"

"We have no choice," sighed Sanam. "Without the map, we know neither where to go, nor what to do".

"Then let's go!" Angeles led the girls out.

The place they came was a very strange house without a roof. After they had entered, they were convinced it wasn't a house at all. It was a grand room, with its bookcases instead of walls, which were so high, that touched the clouds. There were lots of students in the room. They were all either reading or looking for a book. And if the book they were looking for happened to be on too high shelves, they stretched their hands up and drew the book like a magnet.

"So that's the place we should come," said Hasine gazing around.

"The library," added Sanam.

"The library of the Wizardry City. I'll give you all the necessary books and you should mark and rewrite texts, concerning to a map spell".

Angeles closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" asked Hasine.

"Concentrating. There is too much information. I'm looking for what I need". For a long time Angeles stood with closed eyes. Suddenly, several books uprose in the air and gathered as a stack before Hasine. The stack could occupy the whole bookcase. Angeles opened her eyes.

"Look up these books carefully".

"Oho! There are too many!"

"Never mind. If you manage to make friends with students, they'll help you. Call me when you finish".

"Hey, Angeles, stop," cried Amira. "You think we're able to make it? You're a wizard and it may seem to you easy. For us, that's not difficult, nay, that's impossible".

"Listen, my lassies. You look up the books or not, I need you to be here more than a month. I need you," Angeles paused. "It's about my future memory. Predictions, as you call it. I see, I see, I see and suddenly bum, there's period that I can't see at all – there's cut in my future memory. It must be the period of my losing wizardry skills. I can't see the events, happening in the period I am without magic power. There, you should help me. It is somehow connected to you, somehow, though, I can't see exactly how. But I know I need your help. That's why I was waiting for you. I knew you would come".

"You need our help? You, a wizard, need our, ordinary girls' help?"

"Sometimes, a pure heart can turn out to be stronger than any wizardry," Angeles held out her hand. She gripped the empty hand and unclasped it, holding a light blue stone.

"I see that you feel unconfident in the wizardry city without magical means. So, I offer you this. That belonged to my Grandmother. It's called the Key of Heart. A person can use it only twice. Whenever you want to use it, you should press the stone to a person's palm, hard. And then, their heart will be opened to you. In fact, the stone's abilities are unpredictable; at least, people will tell you their sincere story, even if he's the most taciturn man in the world".

"Key, choose your owner yourself!" Angeles blew the blue stone. The stone flew and went into Sanam's pocket.

"I wish you good luck," saying this, Angeles vanished into thin air.

*

The girls were absorbed in work; they didn't even notice how they had departed and were working alone in the three different parts of the library.

Sanam, engrossed in reading, paid no attention to the girl coming towards her at first. She was in an orange dress with golden hair.

"Hello," said the girl.

"Hi," Sanam turned around curiously.

"You're a newcomer to our school, I suppose?" asked the girl.

"What school?" asked Sanam in a confused way, but she remembered quickly. "Aye, you are from the Wizardry School?"

The girl nodded and smiled.

"Let's be friends. My name's Sanam".

"My name's Rimosa".

Sanam told Rimosa about her friends and her long journey along the seven wonders.

"That was so. Now, we have to find the map spell among hundreds of wizardry books. Will you help me?"

"With pleasure! I have a great experience in doing such things".

"Very well. And what other experiences do you have? Maybe you'll tell me about yourself?"

"What can I say? I'm just Rimosa and I study in the Wizardry school and I live in this city. What else can I say?"

Sanam remembered of the blue stone Angeles gave – the Key of Heart. She had an idea of using it on Rimosa. And so she did.

"Yeah, I can tell about the school of wizardry a bit more," said Rimosa suddenly. "Angeles and many other talented wizards are teachers in our school. However, for the time being all the chief wizards except Angeles had gone to the World Meeting of wizards that is held once in every hundred years," listening to Rimosa, who went on speaking in the same fashion, "So the stone did not work" Sanam thought.

"We learn different skills at school – translating and interpreting ancient spells, making magic potion or magical objects and the most complex study – the Art of Materialization, the science of decipherment – discovering spell words from ordinary stories and poems; we learn how to pronounce spell words and so on. At the end of every month Angeles hands out examining boards consisting of seven quests. He who can't complete any of the quests or completes all the seven wrong, has to leave the School of Wizardry and the City, and live among ordinary people. I always accomplish all quests easily and even have time to help the others. I am considered as one of the most talented students in my group. I have the status of "the Mistress of young wizards". Angeles always says "You'll make a perfect Mistress". That means Mistress of white magic, not black. A wizard deals only with white magic, on contrary, witches do black magic. I can tell them apart, I really do. And all the time I try to collect a big amount of light energy by being always polite, sincere, kind and not hurting anyone and not saying offensive words. By doing so, I avoid degrading the quality of my light energy. Light energy is used to make white magic. Maybe you won't believe me, but I accomplish all this things perfectly, maybe because that's my natural feature.

But... that's the very thing that is hurting me. Sometimes, I even think that it would be better if it were all absolutely the opposite. It would be better, if I were harsh and combative. I wouldn't find myself weak, then. Why do people behave so? Why do they hurt you when you didn't hurt them? Why do they humiliate you when you treat them politely? Or am I too much polite? No, rather, I am weak too much. If only I weren't polite, could I be an acrimonious?"

"What if you could? Saying bitter words, you would receive the same words in reply. Oh yes, you would also be regarded with the status of "acrimonious".

"But then things wouldn't vex me so. There is a big difference between when you act out of line and be answered back and when you're hectored motiveless. And what else, that's not called acrimony, but the ability of protecting yourself, cutesy. That's considered merit. It seems to me that not everyone dares to exasperate nimble girls, as everyone knows they'll give them a good scolding. But to me, they think they may say anything they want, because I am weak! How could answer back a little polite girl to your rudeness? What unfairness is that that you're used when you're needed and cast aside, laughed at when you aren't? The only thing I console myself is that I am learning the secrets of wizardry thoroughly. Indeed, I can perform even the most difficult spells and I have already had the recognition that I'm the best student in the Art of Materialization".

"If I were you, I would give a good lesson to those, who are vexing me, using my magic skills," said Sanam half jokingly. Rimosa emitted such a weird laughter, mixed with a sigh that Sanam stared at her in surprise, wondering what she had said so strange.

"Don't stare at me like that. What you're saying is impossible," said Rimosa at last. "Angeles says that black magic is very dangerous".

"Black magic?" surprised Sanam.

"Yeah, any type of spell that is used in intentions of doing harm to anyone is defined as black magic," Rimosa sighed for some reason.

"Why do you sigh? To be honest, your story is making me jealous! It could make jealous anyone! Not every girl can achieve the status of 'the Mistress of wizards'," said Sanam.

"Yes, I've always wanted to be admitted as the strongest, best girl. I was sure I deserved that. But all the time all my talents and abilities were unseen under the labels of weakness and clumsiness. Who would accept a weak mistress?" Rimosa sighed again. "No, enough. Now, I will change," Rimosa spoke crisply. "From this time on, I'm going to be a different girl. I will act so, that who called me weak strikes dumb. I will be so cunning, that those who called me goose loses their tongues. And I'll be so strong, that everyone stands agape. Will you help me, Sanam?"

*

The next day Sanam, Hasine and Amira woke up early. Lots of work was awaiting them in the Wizardry School. After they had got prepared and stepped over the threshold, they found out that their friends were waiting for them. Strange coincidence was that that the other day Rimosa's best friend Aurora and Hasine made up friends. The four friends were ready to leave when a train of chattering lassies came asking for Amira.

"You're Amira's friends, we reckon?" asked they Hasine and Sanam. "Ah, your friend impressed us so much! We're all dreaming of going to her Marvellous Land of Splendid Spells! But, she says the Land is in great danger now. When everyone expected Amira to show courage and bravery, without a slightest hesitation, she jumped into the sandclock and started her risky journey along the seven wonders to save her Land. She told us how she had rescued your lives several times: from dreadful serpent called Apop, from the Sanam thoughtirgin of Nile, from horrible crocs and poisonous serpents. She didn't enumerate all, but she impressed us all the same. She's cool!"

"What?! She rescued us?!" Sanam and Hasine got really angry. "Actually, it was we who had rescued her".

Amira turned up at this time.

"What's going on? Are you talking about me? Maybe, you are telling them that I dislike both liars and lies. In my opinion, the worst lie is to blame an honest man in telling lies. I hope there aren't any liars like that".

Then, ignoring Hasine's rebuke "How dare you to make up a false story about us?" she whispered in their ears, "Even if you're getting crazy because of your jealousy, don't you dare to reveal my secret. Otherwise, I will call you my friends no more". And she toddled away to her new friends.

The next day the weather was nasty. It was raining heavily. Sanam couldn't stand such weather. When the sun shines brightly, it seemed to Sanam that it was shining in her heart and her spirit would be high. On contrary, when the sun hides behind the clouds, her heart would sink. That day, she was at Angeles' house with Rimosa; they were chatting, laughing and the weather did not affect on Sanam much.

The friends heard someone knocking at the door. Angeles had left the house with affairs; the friends hesitated whether to open or not. They came up to the door.

"Who're you?" the girls asked.

"I'm a daughter of Daphne the Chanter who lives beyond the forest," a little girl's voice was heard. "I was returning home and caught in the rain. Ah, I am sodden till my very bones and it's cold here. Please, let me in. Let me have a warm".

"With pleasure would we let you in, unless we weren't locked away," said Sanam.

They heard the girl's sniveling.

"But the door is unlocked!" said the little girl sobbing.

The friends pushed the door and it swept open. They saw a little girl wrapped in a long blue shawl.

"Maybe Angeles had forgotten to lock the door," the friends whispered to one another. "Come in, dear, have a warm," they invited the little girl who was still waiting in front of the door.

The little one sat beside the fireplace, unceasingly rubbing hands. Sanam deducted her attentively. Judging by her timid walking and shy behaviour, she was a simple innocent lassie. But the cold glance in her blue eyes made Sanam shiver. The kid sat silent, embosoming her knees and staring at the fire. The girls tried to get her talking, but to no avail. All her answers were brief and vague. She replied "yes" or "no" and immediately fell silent, staring at the flickering tongues of the fire.

The girls had almost forgotten about her, when the kid herself drew their attention: "I am so tired; I want to sleep. But I'm afraid of sleeping alone, because I might see horrible dreams. Please, come with me and sleep with me".

Sanam looked at Rimosa questioningly. Rimosa shrugged.

"We won't sleep, but just lie beside her. After she falls asleep, we'll stay up again," suggested Sanam. Rimosa agreed.

The little one, lying between Sanam and Rimosa, started whispering in a very low voice: "sleep, sleep, sleep". Five minutes later, both Rimosa and Sanam had fallen asleep, but not the little girl. Having been convinced the two friends had fallen asleep completely, the little girl stood up cautiously. She left the room on tiptoes. Slowly, she walked towards the room the Unity Stone was kept. The room was locked with magic. The girl touched the door with her palm and whispered something. The door opened. The girl walked in. Paying no attention to the other things, she directly went towards the Unity Stone. And this time, too, she held her palm over the stone and stood for a long time whispering indistinct words. Eventually, the stone was in the air and was dropped into the little girl's bag. The girl moved out very carefully, not making a slightest noise. As she went on, the doors closed previously, were shut down and the previously locked doors were locked again.

Finally, the girl got out of the house and cast away her blue shawl. Her jet black hair tousled over shoulders. The girl drew herself up. Her figure was changed and she was turned into a young, attractive woman. Glancing at the Unity Stone once more, she went off.

When Sanam and Rimosa woke up, the little girl wasn't there and Angeles had already come.

"How deep we slept..." said Sanam yawning. "We thought we were laying the child, but in fact, we had fallen asleep ourselves".

"By the way, where's the lassie?" asked Rimosa, looking round.

"She's gone, I guess. The rain had already stopped," replied Sanam.

"Hey, have you woken up, sleepers?" Angeles came in while the girls were tidying up the kip.

"Oh, you arrived when?" asked Sanam.

"Long before. You slept so much and I detected some illness symptoms in your weird slumber..."

"No Angeles, we're absolutely healthy," replied Rimosa, folding the blanket with magic. "Yes, I agree it's weird; I've never slept indaytime before, but this time, as soon as my head touched the pillow, I slumbered like a bear. We had plans for today and now, the half of the day had passed".

"You planned to go somewhere?" asked Angeles waving her hand and making the blankets vanish. Rimosa, supposing she dropped the blankets, looked around. Then she realized it was Angeles' trick and smiled.

"Yes, we should've gone to the library with Sanam. Still we haven't found the proper spell".

"We two are searching the proper spell in the library, while Hasine and Aurora are trying out spells we find useful".

"And Amira, what's she doing?"

"Oh, Amira you say... The only thing she's doing is walking along the spell-markets with her new friends and having fun," said Sanam. "Well, we have to go to the library. Bye for now!"

Actually, Amira was also after the problem of mending the map; she had come to the spell store in this purpose. But after her new friend Cindrenne had showed her various spells of different uses, Amira quite forgot why she came there.

"You can't find such a city anywhere else, not at any point of the world," claimed Cindrenne. "Don't know about you, the citizen of the Land of Splendid Spells, but for other foreigners it's difficult to understand the life style of the livers of the Wizardry City. They think that we do nothing, and spend our days in idleness and merry-making. They think that we rightly get anything we need, anything we want with magic. Is that so in fact? No, in fact you can't get anything by magic, because magic costs money. And the spell will not bring you more than you pay for it. Guess, what's this, for instance?" Cindrenne took a piece of wrapped paper that was lying on the stall.

"A piece of paper?" asked Amira uncertainly. "Well, a script?"

"Precisely. A script of single-use spell that could be used only once. Its power is enough to perform only the simplest spells. That's why it costs very cheap".

"Yes, just one golden crown," confirmed the salesman.

"In fact," saying this, Cindrenne handed a crown to the salesman, "it is needed a half or three forth of golden coin to make such script-spells. And it's easy to use, you just read the spell, tell your desire and here it is," Cindrenne ran through the spell, aloud and emotionlessly, as if it was a meaningless text. Then she ordered: "I want a lug of fresh, ripe apples". The script vanished straight away and a lug of apples turned up instead. The apples looked very yummy.

"Taste it, look how it's savoury," offered Cindrenne. Amira took one of the apples fishily and picked at it carefully detecting.

"I didn't get where had gone the script? The apple must have the savour of paper".

"Hey Amira, it's called "magic", Cindrenne nipped the apple with relish. "No savour of paper – a very real apple".

Amira nipped the apple cautiously, then – suddenly "umm, yummy" – continued eating heartily. When she had eaten up the apple, she stopped silent staring at Cindrenne.

"Nothing happened," spoke Amira at last.

"Should anything happen?" surprised Cindrenne.

"Of course. In our Land of Splendid Spells, after you eat up such apples, wings grow on you or you may, probably, turn to a mermaid".

"Yes, sometimes such things happen, too. But your script is pretty cheap to perform such miracle".

Cindrenne stopped in front of the next stall. "These bottles of magic potion are more expensive than simple spell-scripts, and consequently, they are able to more. Like this blue one. A drop of it you should splash to someone and drink the rest yourself. An hour later you begin to act like her, think like her, feel like her and look like her or maybe him. It means, drinking the potion, you'll wear that person's appearance, character and manners for a day or so. Unfortunately, these days the potion is being made pretty defectively; its effect lasts only for a few hours, for three, sometimes.

"And this golden potion," Cindrenne took the flask tenderly, "gives you an excellent mood. If you start doing some job under influence of the potion, you keep on doing and doing and doing it, and never get tired. And if you compete with someone, using the potion, you always win, win, win, and never lose".

"Wow, that's the very potion I need. I'll buy it. There were plenty of such potions in our country, but mine has just run out," added Amira in order not to reveal the secret.

Chapter twelve

White magic and black magic

Meantime, Sanam and Rimosa were trying to find the way of mending the map.

"Look, the answer must be found among these books: "The ancient spells and legends", "Wizardry and witchcraft", "Black magic and white magic", "The history of wizardry". Unfortunately, we can't open any of them now, as we need spell-scripts to unlock them. And we have to go to a marketplace to buy spell-scripts," said Rimosa.

"No problem, we'll make a promenade by the way," replied Sanam.

They caught merry-making Amira in the marketplace.

"What does it mean, Amira? Here, me and Hasine are worrying about the solution of our problems, trying to make out how to mend the map and working for long hours, while you, there, relaxing and idling?"

"I am not idling at all, I'm just rambling around. Life doesn't consist of worrying and problems only, does it?"

"Of course, you enjoy yourself, because we take on us your problems, too".

Sanam moved away angrily.

Rimosa and her friend were about to leave the market when an old woman in black dress came up to them, with heavy load on her shoulders. She asked for help to carry the heavy load.

"I hope your home is not too far away," remarked Sanam.

"No, just a couple of paces from there," replied the old woman staring at them with a speculative look.

It seemed that the girls walked afar, but the time flew on very quickly. They had gone far away from the city, where a hut was standing in an abandoned place.

As soon as they got in the hut, the old woman threw her shawl and turned to a young, beautiful woman. The girls were terrified at such a sudden turnaround of the events. The woman, a witch (it was obvious from her appearance and the objects in the house) was black-haired and black-eyed; she looked very young, and had penetrating eyes. And she had curly hair; she was dressed all in black and was wearing lots of different amulets, symbolizing the Black Power. She waved her hand in the air and the door swiped shut and was locked. The witch raised both her hands and started conjuring.

That gave the girls creeps.

"Why did you close the door?" Sanam pushed the door, but it wouldn't open.

"Let us go! What do you want from us? Who are you?"

"The witch Androcles, to-be the Lordess of the world is standing before you," she replied arrogantly. Putting herself comfortably in an old, creaky chair, the witch turned the hut into a luxurious castle with a wave of hand. The creaky chair was turned into a resplendent gold throne. Sanam got excited of these changes, when Rimosa, who was quite accustomed to such things, paid no attention.

"Now, we can sit calmly and have a talk. I hope you'll behave well and there would be no need to throw up flame-walls or stuff like that to prevent you from attempting to make a mess?" asked Androcles, throwing penetrating glances.

"I'm afraid we can't promise this," replied Sanam without blinking. "Such method of moral pressure doesn't work on us".

"Indeed?" asked Androcles mockingly, "What brave words! But you'd better save them for yourself or for my dear sissy Angeles".

"What will you do if we don't?" Sanam straightly looked at Androcles' eyes. But it made no effect on Androcles.

"You know what, wench, just now I remembered of a spell that perfectly shortens tongues. Thank today I'm in a good mood, otherwise..." the witch glared at Sanam with such a look, that it gave her shivers.

"I suppose, it isn't necessary to say what happens otherwise," added Androcles.

"Do as you wish, it makes me no difference," replied Sanam quickly. Saying this, Sanam did not even glance at the witch. She feared that she could play off wrongly and show her fright. She had read in a book in the Wizardry Library, "Never let a witch see your fright. The more you aren't afraid of a witch, the more difficult it would be to enchant you for her".

"It's absolutely of no interest to me whether you are afraid or not afraid of," the witch glared at her eyes as if saying "all your thoughts are audible to me". "I'm concerned about much more important things. Although..." the witch broke off abruptly and turned back. She smiled mockingly, seeing Rimosa whisper incantations. Rimosa's heart shrank in fear. She had failed making the incantation, nay, had betrayed herself.

"When you're bewitching..." the witch saw Rimosa frown and corrected the word in disregarding tone, "Oh, sorry, I mean, while doing your little, slow white magic, use your mind a bit, all right? How on earth you suppose that you, a weak, helpless student girl is able to stop me! There, your childish conjurations are useless. You know, Rimosa, if I were you, I would bother about something else".

Androcles turned towards Rimosa's bag and with a gesture, opened it within distance. The white Stone of Unity flew out; it flew across the room and landed on the witch's hand. Sanam sighed, Rimosa cried: "How's that?! How dare you to steal it???"

"Oh no, calm down, lassie. Don't worry so much about just a stone! Well, you may take it! You'll put it back to its place before Angeles gets aware of it. Here it is," Androcles put the stone in Rimosa's hands. Rimosa was confused.

"Don't believe her! It's fake!" Sanam burst out. "You have enchanted the stone with black magic, haven't you?"

Androcles avoided the question.

"Gosh, wench, you're distracting us. I'm talking to Rimosa, could you please, get out to another room!" Androcles ordered so and not waiting for Sanam to reply, made her exist in another room by setting up wall with magic between them and Sanam.

There was a large round mirror in the left side of the room. Various things, places, events and people were shown in different parts of the mirror. It showed the whole world. For Rimosa, that was just another type of furniture, as TV set for us. Androcles walked towards the mirror.

"Come on, girl," she called Rimosa. "What do you think what I am going to offer you?"

"I will never practise the black magic," guessed Rimosa.

"I didn't expect such a foolish reply from you, Rimosa, from such a high-talented girl. You're offending me. Girl, never hurry to say never".

"A few minutes earlier you were calling me weak, helpless, and now, you say, I'm talented. How to understand you?"

"You're weak, because you don't accept the black magic!" declared Androcles in a resolute tone. Then she went on with a soft, spellbinding voice:

"I know, Rimosa, how difficult it all comes to you. All the time I've been watching you from the magic mirror. Seeing how you are suffering when you fall into desperate situations, seeing your tears, I've always wanted to help you. Now the time has come! I don't need this stone of Unity. I need you, Rimosa, you!" the witch gently took a hold of Rimosa's hand. "You know what, we are alike – you and me. To those, who are calling you weak, to those, who don't want to recognize you, you must prove that you are hundred, thousand times better and stronger than they are. The white wizards are helpless; they are needless for you. You are very gifted, Rimosa, and all you need is... It's the black magic! With its help, you will show everyone what you are able to. And those, who used to laugh at you, will tremble from fear, only hearing your name. You can bring anyone to heel, the whole world!"

"And what if I don't want it? None of them has ever treated me cruelly, neither I wish them any cruelty. They recognize me already and I don't want to prove anything by force".

"Have you never thought of trying the black magic?"

"Never!"

"Sure you did... Have you never dreamt of this powerful stream of black power?"

"No, I didn't..."

"Yes, you dreamt, then. You say they've never abused you?"

"..."

"Hum. You think, they already respect you? It's true that you're much better than they are, but they do not wish to confess it! They dish up your little faults as horrible mistakes and feebleness. They always try to scare you off. They behave so insolently! Because they know you're too mild and excuse them easily... The more you excuse, the more they become impudent, thinking you're feeble and can't protect yourself. How long are you going to tolerate this?"

Rimosa could resist no longer. She told everything she's been keeping in her heart. Not because of fear. Just, because Androcles' words were almost the same with those in her heart. And because, Androcles could see the everlasting infighting in her heart. Maybe that's why she wanted to open her heart to the witch. Rimosa did it, because she really wanted to do.

"The day has come when everyone has to reply for their own deeds. Just accept the black magic and by anything else, I will help myself. Together, we can do anything we want!"

Androcles paused a bit and added:

"I don't hasten you, Rimosa, think of. Right of choice is after you," she turned around, came up to the wall, crossed through and appeared in the room, where Sanam was sitting, thoughtfully.

"Sanam, think yourself, there's no point of holding you here," Androcles began with. "It's so simple. You two, Rimosa and you put back the stone to its previous place and touch with your hands its special hollow; read up the spell I tell you. After reading this, everything will be all right. I'll repair your map. Then, we all will go on our own way. You see, I do not wish anything wrong to you".

"But you made up something horrible against the citizens of the Wizardry City!"

"Does it concern to you? They are absolutely strange to you. Are you going to refuse what you need for their sake? Think yourself, trying to help to strangers, you'll stay there forever, not finding way back home. Or closing your eyes to everything, you'll take your friends with you and you'll continue your journey. You'll return home!"

"But I can't, I can't act like that, knowing the whole city would disappear because of me! Wouldn't the horrible memories and nightmares tease me all my life, then?"

"Hey, don't be such a fool, Sanam. The city won't disappear at all. On contrary, I will set everything to rights. Everything will be that what it should be".

Sanam sighed.

"You're so kind. Or rather, you seem to be kind? I want to believe you, but I don't. Because I know, all your kindness is deception; you're doing wrong things and yet considering them right..."

"Obstinate lassie," thought Androcles.

"Look..." in that very moment, Androcles stopped, as one of her amulets in her wrist began trembling and jingling.

"Wait for me here... He's calling me – I have to leave now," said Androcles, turning her steps to the door. "I'll be back soon and then, we'll continue our conversation".

*

"Sanam! Rimosa!" called Angeles scarcely stepping in the Library. There were Hasine with Aurora and Amira with Cindrenne, who were arguing about something. But there were neither Sanam nor Rimosa.

"Haven't seen them since early morning," replied Aurora.

"We've seen 'em in the marketplace last time," said Amira. "Hardly had Sanam saw me, she began her notations, as usual".

"Right thing she does!" said Hasine. "Instead of helping us, you're amusing yourself with who knows what. I heard you had enchanted eight of the pets during this week. It's no good to use magic in such hoaxes!"

"I've just joked to a couple of fellows. It was a little entertainment. Why to make so much noise of it!"

"OK entertainment, don't forget we must mend the map. Who knows how long you would entertain yourself with Cindrenne, if I didn't bring you to the Library".

"Hum, are you jealous of me?" asked Amira with a winsome smile.

Angeles lent against armchair, exhaustedly and spoke anxiously:

"I'm worrying about Sanam and Rimosa. I don't think it's all right with them. Something awful has happened. I feel it..."

"But you can predict..."

"No, not anymore," Angeles shook head, "I've tried it, but everything is coming uncertain".

"Try searching from the magic mirror, then," suggested Cindrenne.

"Yes... that's a good idea... Come with me," said Angeles and they all went to her house.

They directly went to the magic mirror. And they all stood around the mirror, waiting. But no matter how Angeles tried, the mirror did not show anything. It meant that her magical power wasn't working...

"How's that possible?" everyone surprised.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Philines, the young wizard came in.

"Angeles, I'm sorry, but I've brought bad news. Sanam and Rimosa were stolen by the witch Androcles. More than half of the children have disappeared. Perhaps that was done by Androcles, too".

"Who said that?" asked Angeles.

"Androcles has herself told that; she appeared in her smoke image in the far end of the city, beside the old ruins. She mentioned Sanam and Rimosa namely".

They started panicking, when Bellone, another wizard ran into the room.

"Angeles, awful news! All citizens in the city have lost their magical powers! Totally. It's deadly horrible! The rumours spread saying it's done by Androcles and she's preparing to attack us now".

"Maybe this..." Angeles looked at her hands first, then at the magic mirror. And she suddenly screamed: "The Stone of Unity!" She rushed to the next room. Not finding the magic stone in its place, Angeles cried: "Our city is finished!"

"It's all because of somewhat witch, called Androcles? Is that impossible to stop her? Who is she, this Androcles?" Amira became agitated.

"Androcles? Hah," sighed Angeles, falling dead on the armchair. "She's... she's my sister".

"What?!!!"

Nobody knew that.

"Yes, that's so, she's my little sister. Our destiny is that – I am the wizard of white magic, and she is the witch of black magic. And I'm the bitterest enemy for her..."

"And the Stone of Unity? Why is that so important?"

"Without the Stone of Unity, I can't perform even the simplest spells. Can't you see I've become weak!" Angeles cried out in despair.

"Angeles, please, tell us. We'll try to help; I'm sure we'll make up something. What does it do, the Stone of Unity?" asked Hasina.

"Well, the Stone of Unity... Two hundred years ago, it was decided to unite the magical powers of all the wizards of the city. For this, we needed an object and we chose the gem-stone. By uniting, every wizard would have all the powers of every wizard and all the wizards would have the power of every wizard. It was called the unity. It was a good idea; it made us strong wizards, stronger than ever. But we never thought what if the stone was stolen. Because we were sure it was impossible. How did she do it, still I can't imagine. How did she broke all these locks and spells and traps... Unbelievable! She cut the current of magic in the stone and oops, no one in the city can do magic. And now, she's going to attack..."

"We must stop her at any rate," said the wizards.

"Yes, and we must rescue Sanam and Rimosa. I don't know what had Androcles made up, but it must be a dreadful plan".

"I want to help you," said Amira.

"Me too. I'll go with you," said Hasina.

"No, you won't. You'd rather help others. You should find the lost children. I feel it, except Sanam and Rimosa, all of them are there, somewhere around. Find them".

"But Angeles, what are you going to do?" asked Philines. "Without your magical powers how are you going to stop Androcles, I wonder?"

"Well, I'll try to absorb her magical power, while Angeles is performing her spells and use the same power against herself. I know it's pretty difficult, but I have no choice. I'm experienced, after all," saying this, Angeles snatchingly appealed the raincloak with magic. But it did not move. Angeles sighed deeply, came up to the cloak; took it and left the house hurriedly.

*

After Androcles had left the house, she walked a bit and met the witch, Wyncent. He was waiting there, in the Misty Field. He was a middle-aged guy (of course, only by his appearance) and was dressed as all the other witches – all in black. He was a strong witch, but not as strong as Androcles. Wyncent was the most reliable and trusty aider of Androcles.

"What message have you got?" asked Angeles.

"Everything was made much better than we expected. While you were beguiling Sanam and Rimosa, I assumed the similitude of one of them, Philines, was his name, if I am not wrong, and trapped all the children beside the ruins of the city. Such a huge amount of loss and deprivation of wizzing ability had caused panic among people. And now, the whole city, trembling in fear, is waiting for you to attack".

"It was a bit earlier. I haven't prepared the things yet," said Angeles, a bit distressing. "But... all right, it doesn't matter. I'll lengthen the road between the city and there by eight times. In result, Angeles arrives there not after a half an hour, but after four hours. So, I will have enough time to convince Sanam and Rimosa to realize my plan. As the city is without the Stone of Unity, it cannot resist my spells. After I overcome Angeles, there isn't any obstacle will be left".

"Excellent plan," agreed Wyncent, "But I don't understand one thing. Why convincing these two girls is so important?"

"It's necessary," replied Androcles. "As you know, the three strongest wizards had gone to the Meeting of Wizards. When they come back, they'll overcome us anyway, together, they're strong even without the Stone of Unity. They'll kick us off from the city. Then, all our attempts would be gone in vain. However, there's one way. For that, for totally clearing up the city from white magic, two innocent children should put their palms on the hollow – the Unity Hollow that keeps the balance of the life in the city. Then, these children should pronounce the conjuration of black magic, a very rare one. Only then, no any white wizard could on Earth came near to the city. But the most difficult point is that that the children must have pure hearts and the black magic has to be accepted by them willingly in that very day of the ritual. Rimosa has almost accepted the black magic, but Sanam, I'm afraid, is too obstinate. She could have nearly spoiled Rimosa, too. I prevented it, fortunately. And yet, there's a solution. I think Rimosa is, actually, going to accept black magic. It means she lets it into her heart. A one person who lets the magic into the heart is equal to two who accepted it in an unperceived way".

Androcles glanced at one of her amulets and knew that Angeles was approaching. The witch hurried to the house.

She had a little time. She did not wish to waste time with Sanam. She directly went to Rimosa.

"Rimosa!" exclaimed Androcles hardly coming in the room. "Great responsibility is standing before us. You'll go where the Stone of Unity used to stand; put it back to its place and put your palms on magic hollows. You'll pronounce the conjuration of black magic. The most important thing – you believe me that the black magic is not the evil; Angeles told you false things. In fact, sometimes the black magic may bring more profit than the white. Nevertheless..." Androcles came up to Rimosa, took hold of her hand and looked up to her eyes, "Nevertheless, do they love you indeed? Think of. They only pretend to love you, but in fact, they aren't your friends. For example, when you told Sanam about your problems, could she give you any useful advice? She did not even think of it. Why? Because your problems are not interesting to her. She needs to solve her own problems and only her own. She made up friends with you only on this purpose. And Angeles, too. She wants to use your talent in her own profit – she wants to take control of you. You try doing something against their will, and they will immediately begin sermonizing about what you should do and what you shouldn't. That's so, because by doing otherwise, you'll make things unprofitable for them.

It's you who'll decide, Rimosa, only you. I'm not forcing you, you know. The right of choice is yours".

"Yes," said Rimosa resolutely, "I've made up my decision. If Sanam and Angeles do, indeed, care about me, they will respect my decision. And..." Rimosa smiled slyly, in the way that was very alike to that of Androcles', "I have some people to get even with".

"Surely," Androcles smiled with gladness. "Come on quickly, then! Our victory in this game is inevitable!"

Androcles transferred her and Rimosa to the lonesome end of the city with magical spell. Sanam was left at the witch's home, unaware of everything.

"Now, hurry up and do not waste a second. Go to Andocles's house. Do your job and the city will be ours".

Rimosa and Androcles parted.

Chapter thirteen

"I regret"

Meantime, Sanam, very bored, was pacing up and down the room. Suddenly, Rimosa appeared from nowhere in the middle of the room. Rimosa had returned in the midway and had entered the room by magic.

"Sanam, I've come to tell you about one important thing. I have chosen the black magic".

"But..."

"Don't, Sanam, don't try to change my mind. I have made up my decision already. As my friend, I ask you to respect my decision. Do you remember, the day we met for the first time I told you about my decision of becoming a different girl. You'd promised to help me then. Do you remember? Now, the time has come. Will you keep your promise?"

"The promise of helping..." murmured Sanam, wondering what request Rimosa were going to ask.

"Don't worry, Sanam. I'll just say: if you can't help, don't hinder. That's all I ask and please... my dear friend..." Rimosa pronounced it with difficulty, "Keep your promise. I'm leaving now. I'll leave the door open. You may abandon this house any time you want".

Sanam did not say a word – she didn't even say goodbye. She was aggrieved too strongly.

"So, Rimosa's choice, her strong decision was that... Hah, the black magic! Such well-natured, amiable girl will continue her life through the dark misery of black magic... Ah, I should not have cared about it. Is that my affair?!"

Lost in deep thoughts, Sanam didn't realize her coming to the central room. There, in the most secret room of the house, Androcles kept her dearest objects of old. Slowly, year by year, Androcles had been coming and burning these objects one by one. That's why the room was full of cinder. Sanam took a little white doll from a pile of cinder. The doll reminded of the childhood of Androcles and it was alike child-Androcles' appearance. It was holding a bunch of white roses.

"Androcles was alike Rimosa, sometime ago," Sanam heard a voice. She turned back and saw a sad angel, flapping its snow-white wings.

"You're..." Sanam's tongue dried up.

"I'm the guardian angel of Rimosa," the angel landed gracefully. "I used to be the guardian angel of Androcles, sometime ago. Until she had chosen the black magic. We, the angels, can't come near to the black witches. If only you knew, once, Androcles, too, used to be as kind-hearted and as innocent as Rimosa is. But a drop of evil blossomed out in her heart. As Rimosa wants to do better than Nora, Androcles used to dream about outrivaling her own sister, Angeles. It always seemed to her that Angeles was better than she is. These thoughts tormented her, made her suffer. The years passed by and her hatred against Angeles and against all people in the world, which was harboured in her heart turned her to a witch. To such a witch, whom you've seen today".

"But she wasn't always like that..." said Sanam thoughtfully.

"Yes, both Androcles and Rimosa should be brought back to their previous condition, in which they were pure souls".

"But who is able to do such a difficult thing?" asked Sanam.

"You," said angel in a soft and at the same time, resolute tone. "You're able to do this. Because, you want to help Rimosa, candidly, and to help Androcles, even. Because you do really want it".

"But how? How can I do this?"

"Listen to your heart! Believe me, you can! Because, you, indeed, want!"

Sanam ran to the city, and the angel's words unceasingly repeated in her ears:

"Because you want it candidly!"

When she got to the half-ruined city, Sanam stopped to decide where to go first – whether to find Rimosa or to stop Androcles. Suddenly she saw Rackleon, an old friend of Rimosa, running hurriedly:

"Rackleon!" she called. He was surprised to see Sanam and was even more surprised to discover she was alone, without Rimosa.

"Have you escaped from Androcles... And Rimosa... Did Androcles... her?" Rackleon could not express what he had imagined. Though, Sanam understood him.

"No, even worse! She's with Androcles – they're together!"

"I don't understand; What does it mean – together?" not that Rackleon didn't understand the words, but he did not wish to understand. Even imagining of the idea was horrid. How Rimosa and Androcles...

"You're joking, I suppose?"

"Rackleon, how can you imagine it's time to joke?!" Sanam cried, peeving. "Rackleon, please, try to stop her. Do everything within your power. She must be in the palace of Unity," saying this, Sanam turned quickly and ran off.

Angeles... Angeles hadn't power to stop Androcles anymore. When Sanam came, Angeles was lying on the ground unconsciously.

"Stop!!!" shouted Sanam to Androcles. The witch turned towards her. Sanam expected to see in her eyes if not anxiety, maybe fear, alarm, or at least, anger. But it was none of these. Her eyes had another expression – an open disregard, mixed with aversion.

"Aye, Sanam, you must admit you have a nasty habit of swarming in affairs where you are not wanted. Indeed are you such a fool? You were given an opportunity to escape and you should have gone already! But now, blame only yourself. I have no time left to play games with you!" Androcles decided to finish Sanam completely with just one spell. But before she had time to enchant, Sanam had quickly pulled out the stone, the Key of Heart and pressed it on to Androcles' palm.

Everything that Androcles had had in her life – memories, grief and sorrow, tears and pain – all of these stuck in her throat.

"Androcles, I can't understand what you're doing," said Sanam. "Angeles is your full blood sister and the City of Wizards is your home town. And what you're doing with them is beyond my understanding..."

"It's not for you to judge me and my life, wench!" replied Androcles sharply. No matter how hard Androcles tried to remain cool, Sanam felt how she was hardly stopping herself from crying.

"So you decided to deliver me sermons?" asked Androcles caustically.

"Everyone has their own pain and grief, but it doesn't mean..."

"But it doesn't mean one should live and put up with it all! It's the fate of the weak!" as Androcles spoke, everything before their eyes began spinning and twirling – scenes from the memories of the past. Androcles looked over and saw that she and Sanam were in absolutely another place. The more correctly, not only the place, but the time was another, too.

That was a green field. Two little girls, who had forgotten anything else in the world, were playing together in their own wonderland, which was full of joy and laughter.

"Angeles, hold on, I'll catch you up".

"You won't, I run so fast!"

"Androcles?" Sanam looked at her in surprise, "It's you?"

Androcles did not say a word.

The wind blew and they turned up in other place. There were several teenager girls. Among these girls, there was a one, alike Androcles. But there, she was only eleven years old.

"It seems Androcles is the meekest among us," said one of the girls.

"I'm not meek".

"Meekest and weakest! Prove?"

Adult Androcles felt sick and moved away. Again, the wind blew and they turned up in a new place.

"Do you know how do look like victims? There's one among us!" one of the girls was speaking perkily and obviously, was considered the chief-girl among the lassies, standing under the willow-tree.

"Androcles! Come here!" she said.

Androcles silently remained in the same place she stood.

"Androcles, don't you hear what I told ya?"

"I hear. If you need me, come yourself," replied Androcles without sharpness in her voice.

"What did ye say?" flamed up the "chief" girl.

The adult Androcles could no longer tolerate watching the scene. She averted her eyes. As for Sanam, she didn't tear her eyes from the girls, standing under the willow-tree. The girls did not notice the two or maybe that, they'd just become invisible.

"So our lassie has become disobedient, eh?" said the "chief" girl caustically.

"I've never been obedient," replied Androcles evenly.

The witch grew furious. She tried using her witchery powers, but she was too agitated; she could neither control her emotions, nor manage the spell and not even concentrate. And that was the very thing that Angeles had planned and didn't succeed – absorbing the power of bewitchery. The magic object – the Key of Heart had absorbed successfully all the bewitchery power that Androcles had; it broke off all memory and emotions of past in Androcles' heart and turned them into scenes and was showing the scenes to both of them.

"You've brought me here to humiliate? Or to laugh at me?" Androcles stopped trying spells and shouted at Sanam. "If you have laughed enough and watched enough, let me return! Now!"

For the first time Sanam saw Androcles absolutely helpless. Especially, the thing that made Androcles ashamed of herself was that that Sanam, the weakest among all her opponents, had become the witness of all of her past insults. That's why the witch felt herself more feckless and weak; and not only before Sanam, but before the whole world. At the same time, she was perishing very strongly because of her weakness. Yes, the weakness. All things that's happening before their eyes were the evidence of her weakness for Androcles.

"Androcles, stop!" ordered the "chief" girl loftily. Androcles pretended not to be hearing her and went on towards her home. The "chief" girl seized her by wrist.

"I said stop! Are you deaf?" she asked menacingly.

"What if even I heard? What next?" Androcles jerked and freed her hand.

"Listen to me, lassie," the chief girl forced to drag Androcles' hand. "Don't you pretend to be brave, you can't make it anyway. You can't even speak plainly, not mentioning about standing against me. All you can is to say "What then?" or "Indeed?" To say more, you have no courage..."

"It's not about courage, I just..."

"Yes-yes, you just," Adore, the chief girl did not let Androcles open her mouth. "You just said just, and nothing more. Nothing more you can say. As always, the victim is victim. Victims can't defend themselves. What and whom do you want to prove? Don't even dream about competing with me, all the same, you're weak. Weak and meek!"

"I don't care at all about your opinions!" saying this, Androcles ran away, quickly, and tears ran down her cheeks. This time, the "chief" girl didn't attempt to stop her. She had achieved the end – she had "won".

Androcles didn't go home. She ran, faltering, through thorny tousles and came to a field, where a hovel stood. She entered the hovel. A woman was sitting in. That was the witch, Indiezelly.

"I didn't know where to go," Androcles began speaking from the very threshold. "What should I do? How should I be? I have totally lost myself, totally... What's right and what's wrong, I cannot differ. I've tired of pondering about this all the time. My granny always says: "No matter what happens, always remain kind and gentle". Before, the meaning of these words was understandable to me and I always tried to follow them. To be kind is that to be in good relationships with everyone and not doing harm to anyone and not saying offensive words. But the others call me meek and weak, instead of kind and gentle. I cannot tolerate this. Because, in my life, the most of all I'm afraid of being weak. If gentleness and kindness makes you silent and meek and if it causes weakness, then gentleness is weakness! And weakness is, feebleness is bad. It's very bad!"

"And you? Do you believe in it yourself?"

"Yes, but I can't accept it. And yet the life is making me to believe it. I can't understand why people try to injure you when you do no harm to them? Why all the people insult you, while you're trying not to offend anyone. And the most important: how to behave after these all? If to answer back in their tone, then you're not different from them. Then you're as cruel as they are. If not to answer back and remain silent and go on with speaking gently and mildly? No, they do not deserve it. They'll blame you in weakness! They'll treat you as a victim! So that gentleness and softness is weakness! Then, I must refuse those traits. In order to be strong, I should become cruel and crafty, that's all".

"So that you wanna change, be different?"

"Yes! I want to change! Enough of hesitations. But Angeles and Granny definitely wouldn't be glad about my decision. They always say that every man is born a pure soul. And sinful he becomes during his life. They think so. Once, when I told that I'd decided to change my character, they protested straight away, saying "you're so fine, don't be different". But they don't know about how I am actually! I want to be the best, the strongest. But instead, I'm the weakest! What a shame! For a long time I've been trying to be gentle and strong at the same time. But it all went useless. Nothing works and everything comes on the contrary".

"But that could be corrected, if you want to," said Indiezelly. "I you had made up your decision, be firm till the end. I will help you myself".

"But Granny and Angeles..."

"If they respect you, then they will respect your decision, too. As you've just said: Enough of hesitations!"

"Yes, I've made up my choice. I am ready. I want to be different. I must prove to everyone that I am better and stronger than them all. I want to destroy those, who insulted me".

"So, what do you want from me?" asked Indiezelly, though she knew the answer.

"I want to possess the black magic – the most powerful magic in the world!"

"Now I understand that there I did the worst fault in my life," spoke Androcles suddenly. "Because of this decision I and my sister Angeles became the bitterest rivals".

"Why? Did Angeles averted from you after you'd chosen the black magic?"

"No, she didn't. When I was ready, I went to the City of Wizards. With Indizelly. My aim was to prove to everyone that I wasn't as weak as they thought. Especially, I wanted to take avenge from Adore – that chief girl. I would have succeeded with just one spell. I would have destroyed Adore. Nevertheless... Nevertheless, it turned out that on this very day Angeles was declared the Governess and the Mistress of the City. In fact, we both had equal rights to that post, but the Granny – the Ex-Governess always preferred Angeles and always supported her; she taught her lessons of leadership and didn't teach me. I was deeply hurt.

So... I would have destroyed Adore, unless Angeles blocked the way and said:

"There will be no wickedness; I won't let you harm the citizens of my city!" And how did she pronounce it proudly!

"Since when did the city become yours? A citizen of the city is dearer to you than your own sister? You'd rather get off my way, unless you wish I do harm to you, too," said I.

"Androcles, I know how much is your power, please, stop," she said. Everything I would've tolerated, but not this. This time, my own sister was hinting at my weakness. However, I did not remain silent.

"No Angeles, you don't know how much my power is. But you will know!" said I and used my new, powerful black magic. You hear – the black magic! Who uses the black magic against her own sister?! I did this. She was healed a whole month. As though as she was injured badly, she recovered. She was strong. Afterwards, we became lifelong rivals. I regret my doing this... Oh yes, I regret. If only I could turn the time back..."

They turned up in the previous square. Androcles was weeping above Angeles and repeating over and over "I regret..."

Then, fumes rose from the left shoulder of Androcles and cleared away in the air. It was the sign that the black magic had left Androcles' heart.

Angeles came to herself.

"Androcles?! Where have you been so long? You didn't come when I was declared the Governess of the city..."

"What? You don't remember anything?" asked Androcles in surprise.

"What happened?"

Rimosa and Rackleon came at that time.

"I regret... I awfully regret," said Rimosa.

"Never mind, you've returned from the wrong way in time. That's the most important," Sanam embraced Rimosa tightly.

Everything in the city came to balance. Angeles and Androcles, who had forgotten all the grievances of the past, rebuilt the city, which became even more stunning and luxurious afterwards. Together, they managed to retrieve the magic power of the map. Sanam, Hasine and Amira thanked Angeles and Androcles. They said goodbye to them and to their new friends Rimosa, Aurora, Cindrenne and to other citizens of the city. And they, in their turn, heartily wished them a good journey. And then, the three girls forsook the City of Wizards.

By the way, a new inscription had appeared on the map:

"The thing you're looking for is kept in the very top of the Forest Tower".

Chapter fourteen

In despair

Parnissyd had brought the naiad – the nymph of springs. Parnissyd returned in the company of the satyr, who was coming with a couple of fat ducks in his hand and the naiad, carrying a jug full of water. Finding the girls asleep, meliadae was a bit surprised:

"Have they fallen asleep, tired of waiting?" she supposed.

"Not exactly. I think it isn't an ordinary slumber," said the naiad after touching the girl's foreheads. "Obviously, the poison of maenads had had a bad affection on them; they had flaked out. The poison does not affect on nymphs, but human beings are too weak. It could be really hazardous for them".

"You sure?" Parnissyd stared at the naiad anxiously.

"Don't worry, the water from a naiad well, especially, thus, a naiad brought with her own hands is able to cure any affection of a maenad poison," the naiad wetted her hand with the water from the jug and poured water on the foreheads of the three girls. The meliadae felt their fever was gone immediately. Then, naiad wetted her hands again and thoroughly smeared Hasine's wrist with water. At the same instant the injure was healed; not a scar of it was left.

"Now there's no problem except bringing them round," said the naiad, and for the last time, took water from the jug and poured it to the girls' mouth one by one. Coughing, the girls woke up one after another.

"Oh, where are we?" Amira looked up right after she opened her eyes.

"Thanks for everything, Angeles".

"Goodbye, Rimosa".

Still they couldn't tear their mind from the City of Wizards. Nonetheless, they would soon forget everything that happened with them there, as one forgets his dream after waking.

At last, they opened their eyes to see they were in Peloponnese Forest.

It grew dark. I was suppertime. The satyr gathered some brushwood and prepared to lay a fire. And meliadae prepared the duck to be fried.

"Eh, if I hadn't helped you, if I were with the maenads, I would be eating yummy fat deer instead of these old ducks," said the satyr.

"If you're regretting, you may go all right to your maenads still; still it's not too late," said the meliadae indifferently.

"You say it's not too late?" laughed the satyr, "Ha-ha-ha, if I go back to them, they will certainly tear me into pieces. Don't you know how they are angry and wicked?" the satyr spoke, while roasting the ducks, using a bevel as a roaster.

"Have you ever heard of a place, called 'the Tower of Forest'?" asked Hasine.

"The tower of forest? Hum, it's strange," shrugged the nymph. "I've never heard about that, indeed".

"Has the dried rind told you about that?" asked the satyr. He called the parchment a "dried rind".

"No, it didn't. The parchment can't speak; we read it," said Amira.

"Eh, I never understand you, the human beings. You speak very all right and understand each other perfectly right. And yet, when there's needed just to listen attentively, you sit, dropping strange liquids on rinds or skins of animals or carve a piece of wood and clay. Then, another of you sits, staring at those strange things, absolutely not understanding any of them".

Although Hasine had tried to explain him the meaning of the words "writing" and "reading", the satyr would never accept the idea.

"We should go to the Tower of Forest," Sanam tried to turn the talk to the previous subject. "We were informed that the thing we're looking for is being kept in the Tower. The question is, can we get to the Tower itself?"

"Why not?" Parnissyd smiled widely. "As long as our pathfinder the deer is with us, we'll have no problems by such things, will we?"

The meliadae, who knew animal language, called the deer. It walked towards the nymph. She embraced it and caressed gently; she bent down and whispered something in its ear. Then, caressed again and let it go.

"What did it say?" asked Hasine.

"Can it lead us to the Forest Tower?" asked Sanam.

"It says it's not difficult," replied the nymph.

"Really?" exclaimed Amira with delight.

"Nevertheless," the nymph interrupted her, "there's one condition. As soon as we get to the tower, we must set it free".

"Sure. We'll start at dawn, then," said Amira impatiently.

The deer turned out to be much smarter than they expected. They had started the journey at dawn and it led them through such paths, that within a dozen of minutes they were in the place. Only, note that all these minutes they didn't walk, but ran with all the strength they had.

When they observed what tower it was, they were, especially, the girls were quite disappointed. A high, vast, enormous tree, with a massive stem and thick branches was the one, that was called the Tower of Forest. It was so high, that its upper part was touching the clouds and one cannot see its highest branches. It was so huge, that a look on it would give dizziness. It was so thick, that hundreds of men, standing around it and clasping each others' hands, could not enclasp it.

"Yes, a very real "tower", indeed," said Amira with sarcasm. She paced up and down nervously.

"And our deer has gone already, without telling the secret of climbing up to it. How on earth do we go up this gigantic tree?"

"You've imagined a real tower with real steps, as I did. I hoped it would all go easy when we get to the Tower, but now I can see the previous difficulties were nothing comparing to that what's awaiting us. I wonder if we can ever reach the top of it..." murmured Hasine sadly.

One of the bushes, growing beside the tower, lurched and turned to a girl in a brown-green dress.

"Ah! Too much have we wandered in this forest. I've begun to see phantoms!" startled Amira. "What nonsense – had a tree turned to a girl?"

"Then, we've all gone crazy, because, I can also see the girl," said Sanam staring at the girl, who had a peculiar appearance. She was dressed in, very strange, yes, wooden clothes. She had a thick stem-belt on her waist; leaves, as smooth as silk were covering her body; little flowers, hanging from thin twigs were her skirt. All her appearance made an impression that the girl had been hiding in the tree-cloth and her face wasn't visible because of dense leaves. And when she moved and raised her head, it was seen that she was a real girl in wood-cloth. The tree-girl noticed Parnissyd first.

"Oh, Viva to the beauty of the nymphs!" she said. "What made a nymph, a satyr and three human beings visit our place?"

"We were searching for the Tower of Forest," said Hasine, a bit perplexedly. "And you..."

"Who are you?" asked Amira. "But, please, don't say that you're a semi-woman and a semi-tree".

"No, no, I'm not going to say so," the girl shook head. "I'm a hamadryad – a nymph of a tree".

"Hamadryads are far relatives of me and are of one of the eight types of nymphs," explained Parnissyd. "Do you remember, I've told you about that. They are the nymphs, whose life is tightly connected with their trees. They come to the world with their trees and die together with their trees".

Meantime, the other trees, too, had begun shaking – the other hamadryads were waking up.

"Ah, so long I've slumbered, that my arms are parched. I feel so tired".

"You said it! My neck is awfully hurting. That scabby flicker has wounded me badly," replied the second.

"And I had a very boring day yesterday," said the third.

"Last night the weather was windy and it blew so violently! My fragile branches have nearly broken down. We're finished, if it goes wrong with our trees, you know. I was so flustered".

A minute later, all the hamadryads had woken up and the silent forest became full of noise. The travellers watched the scene curiously. At first, they stood, perplexedly, wondering who to address and then, continued asking questioning the one, who had woken up first.

"We should climb up the tree – the Tower of Forest and get to the top of it. But the tree is too high. How can we do it?" asked Amira. Hearing this, the hamadryads burst out laughing in concert.

"Eh, eh, no. Not a human being, but even spirits of nature – satyrs and nymphs are not able to climb it up. And you want to reach the top of it!" it was so ridiculous for the hamadryads, that they couldn't help themselves laughing. They were laughing at them and not hiding that they were laughing at them. The way they're doing it irritated the girls.

Parnissyd, with friends by one side and relatives by another, rushed to reconcile them.

"Is that so difficult? Sirens do go up on this tower; Why can't we do it?"

"You can't because sirens can fly and you cannot. That's why they've chosen the tower as their habitation. So that no one could bother them. They can, naturally, lift you to the top, if they want. But they won't do that, certainly. And I advise you not to disturb them. It'll make no good. My best advice to you: give up the thought – all the same you can't climb up the tower; you'll just waste your energy".

"But there must be a way of doing it! And you must know it!" declared Amira obstinately.

"No girl, the only thing I know is that hamadryads must be asleep in daytime. So, go to sleep you everyone, right now! Hamadryads are allowed to be awake only at nights!"

"But..."

"Hush, be silent!" on the word, all the hamadryads hided in their trees and were fallen asleep. The forest was in dead silence again. The travellers looked around mutely.

"What a strange girl! We asked her advice, and with all her loftiness, wearing a pompous fashion, all she said was to do nothing," said Amira, "What next?"

"I do not agree with the hamadryads. We will conquer the tower," said Hasine with confidence. Seeing her friends shake heads, she added: "We must try it, at least! Don't we have a chance even to try it?"

"If we'd only," sighed Sanam.

"We can try, if I use my powers," said Parnissyd. "But... it will be a useless effort. Even if I put in it all my powers, it won't be enough to overcome the whole tree, even a half, even a quarter, and even less of it... The tower is too high! Anyway... All right, let's try it, anyway. Let 'em all come".

Parnissyd stood right at the root of the Tower. She raised her hands and directed her powers to the tree. A few minutes later, long, thick stems of lianas fell from the upper branches and were hanged on the last branch.

"Come on! We'll climb up these lianas," said Parnissyd. Everyone but Marsius came up to lianas. The satyr was stood, stuck still and staring at the tree-hamadryads.

"Hey satyr, what's up?" asked the meliadae.

"Jus' looking at these hamadryads, I thought of one thing – all the nymphs in this forest, like these, are haughty talkers and nought doers".

"Ha, don't forget that I'm a nymph, too," objected Parnissyd.

"That's what I say. I think the nymphs are the whimsy of nature".

"What?!" Parnissyd got really angry and glared at Marsius furiously, then waved hand and spoke: "Hum... You're incorrigible, Marsius... And... you know what, you, the satyrs are the fault of the nature. Yes, and all satyrs are idlers, like you," saying this, the nymph went on climbing the tree, with her nose in the air.

The satyr nickered loudly and said:

"You say? The fault of the nature? Prove it's not? What'll you say if I surpass you in a wink?"

So he did. Some time passed and all the five were climbing the lianas; the satyr had already gone high up and meliadae was going a bit lower. And the three girls were hardly climbing far aback.

"Don't drop behind!" the nymph called.

"We've never been climbing up lianas, it's really hard, believe us. We can't do faster," replied the girls.

"Oh, sorry, I did not think of it. I'll make up something!"

She sent her powers to the upper branches again. This time, too, young stems of lianas were thrown down. She continued directing her nymph powers to the liana. Gradually, the young stems of the plant were turned into old, thick and woody branches and were twined round the tree like steps of a staircase. It became very easy to climb the tree for the girls. It was as comfy as going up a staircase of a real tower.

"Take a hold of these young lianas, and walk on these wooden branches. And hurry up!" Parnissyd gave instructions.

After two hours of ascent, the five overran the benched part of the tree and reached the leafage. They walked a half an hour more on the leafage. It was very difficult to wade through those thick green and dry leaves. When they came to a place, where whole heaps of fallen dry leaves were lying, the nymph stopped and said:

"The three sirens-sisters live there. I'll try to have a talk with them. Maybe they will agree to lift us to the top of the leafage. They do have wings, after all. But you three – stay and wait there and do not think of coming near them".

"Otherwise, the doleful song of sirens may turn to a tune of death for you," added the satyr.

"Really?" the girls surprised.

"Do not be interested and don't forget: sirens are not friends of a human," said Parnissyd strictly.

Had made beat their hearts fast, the nymph and the satyr went to the dwelling of the sirens.

"Sirens! Where are you?" the nymph called out. The satyr felt uneasy among sad piles of dead leaf-fall.

"Since when are forest spirits visiting us?" a voice was heard somewhere from upside. The meliadae and satyr held up heads and saw sirens, sitting in the upper branches. Feathers of their wings were the colour of fire, and they weren't easily noticeable in the piles of fire-coloured leaves.

Serenely they flew down to uninvited guests.

"Lucky you are, beguiled humans, hum..." the sirens took an interest straight away. "Where are they?"

"What do you want?" asked the siren in a bit irritated voice.

"Help. We need to reach the very top of the tower, and get the Edict of Zeus," said Parnissyd. "You have wings and I thought you can pick us up to the top".

"Help?" surprised the sirens. "Why? Have you ever heard that sirens helped anyone?"

"Neither would you help a human?" asked the meliadae.

"That's your little game! Lucky you are, beguiled humans, hum..." the sirens took an interest straight away. "Where are they?"

One of them blast off higher and saw the three girls through the branches.

"Hey, have a look on it, sisters. There've never been such things like that," said the siren, smiling meaningfully. "Sisters, let's call them!"

"Why not?!" the sirens liked the suggestion. They were already in the air, flapping wings and ready to fly towards the girls; but meliadae stopped them with a shrewd move of hand:

"No, you won't! Don't you even dream of harming them! They're under my protection!"

Though the sirens flared, they did not dare to rebel against a meliadae. So they retreated.

"All right, we won't touch your girls. But if you don't leave our home right now, we'll call our two hundred and fifty sisters-sirens, all living in the tree – to get a rid of you" said the siren.

"Right! How dare you to disturb us at all?" supported the other siren.

"Pardon me, then," the nymph turned away, not wishing to say anymore.

However, walking a couple of steps, she stopped and looked back at the sirens.

"We're leaving now. But answer to one question: Why do you hate humans so much?"

"Because they cause danger to nature," replied one of the sirens. "The nature it's you, the nature it's me, the nature it's us. It's better to stop them before they kill us. My kind advice to you is, meliadae, be very cautious. Never trust a human".

"No, you're wrong".

Anyhow, the words they'd said made Parnissyd the nymph thoughtful. When she came back to the girls, all she said was "nothing" in reply to their question about what had happened.

Further they walked in dead silence, but quickly. Suddenly, all five of them slipped down a bulky leaf and tumbled. If the satyr and the nymph hadn't used their powers, who knew, how would've ended the adventure. Thank to the nymph and the satyr, they landed safely and smoothly, rolling down the long, huge leaves that was grown by the children of nature.

"Why no one wishes to help us in this forest?" asked Sanam, deeply sighing. "Neither hamadryads, nor sirens... Perhaps, our falling down was made by those sirens, too..."

"Because everyone in this forest ism like meliadaes, lofty and doesn't concede anyone else," said Marsius.

Parnissyd did not wish to argue with him. She was sitting, so sad and totally aggrieved. Seeing her in such mood, Marsius regretted his words.

Anyhow, the words they'd said made Parnissyd the nymph thoughtful.

"Hey, cheer up! Stop aggrieving," he said. "Even if the hamadryads averted from us and the sirens drove us off, it doesn't mean everything is finished! There are so many satyrs, silenuses in the forest. We'll certainly find someone who can really help us!"

Saying this, the satyr stood up and walked towards an indefinite direction.

"Where are you going?" asked Parnissyd.

"To consult my friends – other satyrs and silenuses. And to bring forces of nature," replied Marsius. "You'd better stay here and relax".

Parnissyd, doubting her own ears, stood staring after him for a long time. The girls rejoiced and cried happily.

Chapter fifteen

A tree with refulgent leaves

"I feel I've spent all my energy for the Tower. I'm so exhausted," the meliadae yawned, "I must have rest to regain my powers," the nymph lied down on the soft grass and soon, fell asleep. The girls leant against a tree, and talked.

"Do you know why that's all going wrong with us?" said Amira, "Because both sirens and hamadryads, and the others, all the folks of the forest are ignoring us. They think we have no power, neither any abilitie nor any strength. Because, the nymph and the satyr are helping us on every matter. We should certainly feel gratitude for this. But there's one thing: if we really want to succeed, we must prove folks of the forest that we are able to many things even without help of the nymph and satyr".

Sanam looked at Hasine. And she, unexpectedly, approved Amira.

"Yes, I agree with that. I agree with Amira. Remember of our adventures in Egypt. Did not we vanquish all the difficulties ourselves? And there, we're moving only with the help of the others. That's why everybody is ignoring us. Do you remember how scornfully did hamadryads look at us? And the way of their saying it? "You? The human beings?" Now, we should do such things that everybody will be astonished at out powers!"

"But..." hadn't Sanam opened her mouth to object, two of her friends, chattering, did not give her any chance. In the end, Sanam had no choice left but to agree.

"Ok. How are you going to prove it, then?" asked Sanam.

"Did you forget about your Book of Wisdom? You haven't really used it yet. Now the time has come".

Sanam opened the Book of Wisdom – a thick wind of a parchment. Still hesitating, Sanam looked at her friends questioningly.

"We'll write our question in it," said Hasine.

So said, so done. The words below were in Greek:

"Reveal us such a secret, that neither nymphs, nor any of these forest folks would have a clue of it. And that, with the help of the secret, we could influence on the balance of nature".

A few seconds later, a new inscription appeared below written one.

"There's a tree in the forest, whose leaves have special qualities. Its leaves are refulgent. With the help of those leaves you can find the grey-dove. The grey-dove will lead you to the golden butterfly. And the golden butterfly will show you where the fluffy rabbit is. The fluffy rabbit will take you to the falcon. And in the place, where the falcon brings you, you will get, what you wanted to get.

Whal else: water of a lake near the refulgent tree is able to cut effect of the refulgent leaves.

Be very prudent and feel the whole responsibility of immense power you're given – the chance of controlling balance of nature. Don't forget to bring back every single item you change to its previous form".

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Will we leave Parnissyd alone?"

"Hey, don't worry. The forest is as her own home for her. What else, judging by her deep slumber, she won't wake up in less than an hour.

For the second time the girls started searching in this thick forest without the satyr and nymph. Who knows, were they lucky or did they get down to work very zealously, soon, the tree with refulgent leaves was found. The girls picked some leaves and moved on. They could not stop themselves from staring at the leaves, pondering about what its aptitude could be.

They also found the lake, which was very near.

The girls outpoured the water from one of their jugs and filled it with the lake water.

"I wonder how a leaf can help us to find a dove. And I wonder if there is any grey dove in the forest".

"Who knows, maybe there is, indeed," Amira shrugged, "Anyway, I believe your "wise" parchment".

The travellers walked on, on and on... They walked so far. On the way, a flock of doves flew past, but the girls did not manage to catch any of them.

The girls got too tired and stopped to have a rest.

They were sitting under shade of a large pine-tree. There, a very lovely and pretty little fawn walked beside them. It did not run away from the girls. The girls caressed it one by one and said endearing words. The fawn got very relaxed by such warm acceptation; it nipped a bit of the refulgent leave in Amira's hand and was turned into a gray dove at once. Flapping its wings, it flew to the west. The girls followed it.

When the dove went down and landed, a fox, appeared from who knows where, attacked it. The girls rushed to give the dove water. In the second the dove drank the lake water, it turned to a fawn again.

The fawn went away into the bush.

The girls were disappointed. The dove had gone and the golden butterfly wasn't found. They feared if they didn't break the sequence of the chain reaction.

However, the fox was walking beside. Amira caught it neatly and said to her friends:

"The dove we looked for was turned out to be a fawn. Maybe, that fox is the golden butterfl? Let's give it a try. I'll give it a bit of leave".

It was done so. The fox turned to a butterfly and flew away. And the travellers chased after it. As any other ordinary butterfly, it was flying low. Suddenly, a wild cat appeared and attacked it. The girls rushed to protect their butterfly. But the cat would not go away...

A few drops of water were poured on the butterfly, transforming it into a fox. In the end, it turned that the cat was a very real rabbit. The fluffy rabbit, rather. The girls knew it after the cat was forced to eat the leaf.

Fluffy rabbit was swift-footed, so the girls nearly failed to follow it. It brought the girls to the blackberry field and there it stopped, as if saying: "I won't take a step further". The girls set it free, too, by giving the water from the lake.

The travellers were hungry. They picked yummy blackberries.

"Enough of berries. But where's the falcon?" wondered Sanam.

"Maybe some lamb will come here and turn to a falcon, who knows," proposed Hasina.

"A-ah!! Girls! Rescue me from this nasty mite that's on my nose. I do abhor that ugly insect," Amira screamed.

"Ha-ha, give it a refulgent leaf to eat. It'll know how it goes wrong with whom hurts Amira," advised her friends. Then, Hasine kicked the mite off her nose and forced it to nip the leaf. Of course, nothing was changed. The girls turned around and walked on. But it was a bit early then. In the very moment they turned, the mite was transformed to a falcon. No one saw it.

The falcon flew up high and the travellers saw it. They guessed it was the bird they were looking for. They did not think about the poor insect that ate the leaf. They decided it was a real falcon from the beginning. They were too tired of running after animals and now, they cared a little about anything else but succeeding.

The falcon did fly long. It brought the travellers to the same place again – under the tree of Forest Tower.

"We've come back to the place, where we had started. It means the only right destination for us is to conquer the tower," said Hasine.

"But how do we conquer the tree ourselves, which we can't conquer even with the help of satyrs and nymphs?"

"Don't you remember what our aim was?" asked Hasine. "I'm not saying we must reach the top. It would be enough if we reach the previous place – the place of dwelling of the sirens. They'll agree to carry us to the top of it when they see how aspirative we are".

But the girls didn't know they'd committed a gross error that might cause further difficulties. Their error was their carelessness and their forgetting the caution "don't forget to bring back every single item you change to its previous form".

Chapter sixteen

The torrent

So the girls shinned up lianas. But they got tired very soon, especially, Amira.

"How good it would be, if we ate the refulgent leaves and turned to birds. We would reach the top quickly and easily," said Amira.

It was a joke, of course. However, in practice, the girls wouldn't have dared to experiment on themselves. That's why they went on relying only and only on their physical strength.

Amira complained, rubbing hands:

"Oh, look at my hands! Look at my arms! They're all burning and hurting! It's intolerable!"

"Yeah, awful," agreed Hasine. "And one more thing is, Amira, I think, I don't mean to offend you, but now, our mission seems me to be a very foolish idea. It was pointless, indeed: to climb up a tree, in order to prove everyone that we're such powerful. How ridiculous!"

"Yes, it is, indeed," supported Amira. "It was a very silly thing to do. Let's just go down and walk on the ground – slightly and easily. But why do you think I should be offended? It was your idea, wasn't it?"

"No, surely it was yours".

"That foolish thing? No, it wasn't. You've proposed to do it".

"No".

"Yes".....

"Girls, stop arguing!" Sanam shouted with impatience. "You know what... it's natural. When you have some new, extraordinary idea, it seems perfectly excellent at first. But, gradually, it begins to seem silly. But it's natural... And the really strange thing there is, that is making me ponder about it over and over is about the falcon".

"Falcon?!" surprised her friends.

"Yes, falcon. There's a peculiar thing in it. All the animals – the fox, the fawn, and the cat – all of them went away after they'd done their own duties. But the falcon isn't leaving, it's still sitting on the branch, as if waiting for something. Don't you see what does it mean?"

"What does it mean, then?"

"You know, we didn't give it the lake water".

"Of course we didn't. Because it doesn't need it," said Hasine, "Because it wasn't transformed. It was a falcon from the beginning".

"And what if it wasn't? What if it wasn't a falcon from the beginning?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look. There's a logical connection between the animals. A logical chain, let us say.

The animals-pathfinders helped us to find each other; one animal led us to another; like, the fawn-dove led us to the fox, and the fox-butterfly led us to the cat. And the cat-rabbit? Whom did it lead us to? The falcon? There the chain is rived off.

Secondly, the animals were each others' antagonists. Yeah, listen: the fawn was afraid of the fox, being a dove, and the fox was afraid of the cat, being a butterfly. And the rabbit? Whom was it afraid of? Illogical, yeah? Again, the chain is rived off.

And the third. Every animal was transformed and retransformed with the help of the leaves and the water. And the falcon wasn't. Illogical. I'm sure we did something wrong with it".

"Ah, Sanam, I do respect wisdom. But sometimes, you get boring with your too much logic," said Amira, "In fact, there the subject is magic, not logic. About the transformation of the animals, I mean".

"But every magic has its own logic. Even when we fail to see it," said Sanam.

"Aye, stop arguments," Hasine interfered, "We'd better carry on climbing. Whether logic or magic, the time will show itself".

So the girls continued shinning.

The falcon was still sitting on the branch. From time to time it jumped in a mite fashion and flew down. Its feathers became thin and colourless like an insect's. It did not land, but flapping its wings, flew around the tree.

A heavy rainfall set in.

"I can see the rain is started in the forest," said Sanam, looking down.

"I don't think so," said Hasine, "We would know if it rained. The rain pours from the sky to the earth, and not from the earth to the sky, doesn't it?" she said jokingly.

However, it wasn't ordinary rain which pours from the sky down to earth. The rain was as strange as the semi-falcon semi-mite; the spoiled creature was the sign of imbalance of the nature.

The rain was becoming more and more heavy. Not a rain, but to a real torrent it had already turned. Raindrops properly washed the body of the tree: the wood became squeaky wet and climbing it was deadly difficult. The clothes of the girls were soppy and the whole tree was soggy and very glide. The further shinning was totally impossible.

"It's not good for us to stay in this dangerous place anymore," said Amira, watching how some twigs shuttered down just beside them.

"What d'you propose? Going down?" asked Sanam.

"What's the creature that has flown past us chirring?" Hasine pointed at a strange creature. It was that falcon; the falcon, which wasn't retransformed back to a mite. It had changed much: its wings became thinner and it has lost its falcon appearance a lot.

"Yes, indeed! It is our falcon! It's true that it wasn't a falcon from the beginning! It was a mite!" Sanam shouted in agitation.

"So then it's under the influence of radiant leaves," concluded Hasine.

"Do you remember the warning in the Wisdom Book?" asked Amira, "There is written that really unpleasant things might happen if we don't transform back the creatures we changed".

"And the torrent is only the beginning".

"It's the beginning of punishment..."

"Maybe... Maybe we still can correct our faults. Let's give the water to the falcon and rescue it from dilemma!"

"How do we catch it?"

"What about using liana-ropes?"

Unfortunately, the method of a liana-trap ended with complete failure.

The falcon had gone up high and climbing further was impossible. The girls were left in despair.

Suddenly, Amira declared she had a brainstorm.

"Girls! We can!" she blurted, "We can go down easily with the help of the liana ropes!"

"Hah, is that your brainstorm? Sure it was clear already!" said Hasine disappointedly.

"No, no, Hasine. She's right. There's no point in useless obstinacy," said Sanam, "We'd better go down before it's too late and consult Parnissyd. We must bring back the falcon to its previous form".

They went down and went away looking for Parnissyd. The weather was getting worse by every minute. It was as if the whole forest was under an enormous waterfall. All the roads got slough and the travellers mired down till their waists. It was dreadful. The situation gave them creeps. The matters were much more serious than they supposed. The torrent had turned to a real natural disaster. If it'd continued so, it could wash away the forest soon, with all the living creatures in it, beside the three human beings.

At that time, the nymph was still sleeping sweet dreams. Alarming cries of the girls waked her:

"What's up?"

"Parnissyd! Disaster! We've done a foolish thing. No we don't know what to do. Give us advice!"

The girls told her the whole story. The nymph listened up attentively.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea about the thing you're talking about. I can't give you any advice," the meliadae shook head desperately.

"Exactly. Haven't we asked for a subject, mystery of which would be open for us, only," sighed Hasine.

By girls' petition, the nymph tried to call the mite-falcon there, using her nymph powers. It was strange – she couldn't manage to do it.

"I can't feel it. Probably, your radiant leaves are impeding my powers".

They decided to go to the Lake.

It was surprising. Unlike the forest, drowning in torrent, the lake's water had only increased. The lake was steaming! The stems, forming dark clouds over the forest, momentarily poured down to rainfall. Water in the lake was increasing by every minute and the fish in it was choked because of lack of water. The scene was very pitiable.

"The lake is the centre of the forest balance," commented the meliadae, "When the balance of nature is broken, the lake opposes the catastasis in the forest. Like this – the forest is drowning and the lake is, exactly, boiling".

"It's all because just a somewhat mite?" asked the girls nervously. "The whole disaster is because of just a mite?"

"It's not about the mite; it's all about the violation of natural balance," said Parnissyd, who understood matters of nature very well. "Because, a mite mustn't have been turned into a falcon. By your fault it'll stay a half-done creature forever".

The girls sighed.

Sanam looked at panting nereids.

"Perhaps, the nymphs of water can tell us what to do?"

She asked them when the rain would stop and what to do to make it stop.

The nereids, too, confirmed that it was related to the violation of the natural balance.

"The rain is coming from the lake. Maybe it'll stop when the water in the lake is ended?" asked Amira.

"No, it will not," replied the nereids. "It could be so if the natural balance wasn't broken. But now, the torrents won't stop. Even if the water in the lake ends, it'll continue with steaming. It'll steam and steam and steam... It'll boil to such extent, that in the end, not a lake of water, but a lake of fire it will turn to. The ground will burn and we all will be burnt... The whole forest will be burnt... At first, the water disasters – torrents, flood, then fire hazard; in such way, the disasters will continue till the forest is totally demolished and all living creatures in it are dead..."

These words made the blood of the girls freeze in veins...

"Isn't there any way of preventing it?"

"Yes, there is," replied one of the nereids. "The one who had caused the disasters, only that one can stop them. No one else".

The nereids were, of course, unaware of that the ones, who had caused the disaster were standing before them at that moment. The nereids looked so desolate...

The girls dart off to the Forest Tower – to correct the error.

Soon, they were there. Amira, with a jug of magic water in one hand and with radiant leaves in another, said these words:

"It was all by our fault. The balance of nature was violated by our mistake. We did want to prove folks of the forest that we were able to manage natural balance; to effect on it. But in fact, it turned out that all we can is to violate only. Now, we must pay compensation for what we have done," saying this, she momentarily put the radiant leaf in her mouth and chewed. The friends rushed at her, terrified and crying "Amira!" But it was too late then.

Amira turned to a stork and holding the hand of the jug with its long beak, soared.

For a long time her friends waited for Amira in terrible anxiety.

At last, when they caught a sight of a stork, with a jug hanged on its beak and a full, real mite sitting on its beak, they calmed down. Amira-the-stork had watered the mite-falcon. Anyway, it was still raining.

The stork looked really tired. Hasine gave it the magic water. Amira turned to Amira again. And the expected wonder happened only then – the rainfall stopped. The water, that had nearly made forest drown, was steamed and condensed to clouds and poured down to the lake. Both the forest and the lake became the same as they were before the accident. Delight of the forest folk, especially, of the nereids, was immense.

Chapter seventeen

The acid

How did it happen, Hasine could not imagine. She remembered only that she had gone behind some bush... What happened next, she couldn't bear in mind. Then she found herself there – among maenads, in an absolutely different place. Far away from her friends and the nymph, probably.

"Where am I?!" the startled girl could not think of anything else but to escape.

"Don't be so scared, lassie. We'll do no harm to you," one of the maenads winked a sly gesture.

"I'm not scared," said Hasine with scorn. "Just, I can't understand how I did turn up here," even there, she wouldn't stop being obstinate.

"How did you turn up there? Well, the fact is the smart plant with remarkable qualities is known not only to satyrs and nymphs. You drank juice of slumber, made by the Cunning Maenads!"

"The hamadryads are on our side, as you have realized. They did, partly help us to bring you here," the maenad smiled with satisfaction.

"What treachery!" Hasine couldn't hold herself in. "I must work out a way of escaping. Otherwise, I'm finished," she thought.

Suddenly, she heard a voice, saying:

"Don't worry, Hasine, we'll rescue you". Hasine looked around, fearing if she hadn't gone mad.

"Hey, don't be so careless! You've almost leaked us!" the voice warned. "Don't be afraid, I'm the nymph Parnissyd. Nymphs have got such kind of abilities, too. You take care of yourself. We're coming to rescue you".

That was all. The voice came off.

"Pooh, what you want from me?" asked Hasine loftily, "Let me go back to my friends, I'm very busy these days".

Such an impudent behaviour made the maenads' blood boil. Only one of them, who had spoken first, remained calm and went on:

"I think it would be better if we found a common ground, wouldn't it, lassie? Yes, we can set you free and let you go. Not only that, but we can also lift you to the Forest Tower, where you're aspiring so much".

Hasine's eyes shone, though till then she stood careless and indifferent.

"Even finding the Edict of Zeus is easy for us," the maenad went on, inspirited by success. "Haven't you been dreaming of returning home for so long?"

Hasine was becoming more and more astounded. The maenad saw her for the first time, and yet she could tell so many things about her.

"Believe me, in this forest the power is maenads', and not vulnerable satyrs' or weak nymphs'," said the maenad.

"Well, what should I do then?" asked Hasine. She heard Parnissyd's rebuking voice in her ears, crying: "Hasine, don't believe them! They'll cheat!"

"It's almost nothing, you can say. All we ask from you is to prepare us liquid, called acid".

Before Hasine opened her mouth, "Don't accept it!!!!" she heard the nymph's voice in her ears, screaming in agony.

"No..." said Hasina rashly.

"What?" the maenad's voice turned so cold and menacing, that Hasine couldn't help herself from trembling.

"No, I just... I just... I don't know how to prepare it. I – I wasn't good at chemistry," said Hasine loudly and thought: "Though, I knew the reaction – salt NaCl plus water H2O products muriatic acid and alkali of natrium".

The maenad, who wasn't tearing her eyes off from Hasine, ordered the maenads:

"Bring lots of water and salt".

Hasine's heart beat fast in fear: "She's reading my thoughts".

"Sit and have your arms and legs "locked" – cross your arms and legs. Then she can't read your thoughts anymore," the reply from Parnissyd was immediate.

Hasine had her arms and legs "locked".

The maenad did not say a word, though it was seen she got nervous.

Salt and water were brought soon.

"Now, begin preparing!" ordered the maenad. Then they brought large bowl that was intended for acid-boiling.

"Hasine, please! It's dangerous, not only for us, but for you, too. Do you know what maenads are going to do with acid? They are going to burn the whole forest with the help of the liquid – animals, birds, insects, plants, trees and us, the forest spirits, too. Anyone, who doesn't obey them, they will burn. The maenads want to enslave us all.

All natural powers obey us, nymphs. And the maenads are looking for a weapon, that is not connected with natural powers and that doesn't obey nymphs. The acid is the weapon. The destiny of the Forest is in your hands, Hasine. Please, don't prepare the acid, please, please, please..." the nymph pleaded in misery.

"It's impossible anyway, because, salt and water react with each other only at a very high temperature..." was saying Hasine, when the maenad cut in sharply:  
"No problem, the fire obey maenads, we can heat it as much as you need".

"Don't you see, acid is too dangerous!" Hasine cried out.

"Don't teach me, I decide what's safe and what's unsafe!" the maenad burnt up. She cooled down after some pause.

"Don't worry, darling, the more dangerous, the more wanted for us. Now, get down to business".

"All right," Hasine agreed and began to think aloud. "Water and salt should be poured into a bowl, evenly. Next task would be heating. When we got the proper temperature, we got two solutes – acid and alkali. In other words, we got acrid and caustic liquids. Next thing is to separate them... Thus, I cannot remember. I can't remember the process at all".

"I'm thinking," saying this, Hasine sat on a stump, in a shape of a seat. She made her legs and arms "locked", and she sat there thinking, thinking, thinking...

"Hey!" shouted the maenad, losing patience, "How long are you going to sit like that? What else, sit rightly, "unlocked"!"

"You don't order me," replied Hasine, not blinking, "It's comfortable for me, sitting so. I canot concentrate, otherwise. What else, I don't like the way you're treating me. Politeness is the passport to success. And we all want to succeed and achieve the aim, don't we? And what's more, I want some peanut-sweets".

"I'll soon clear up in fact what you aim is, lassie," said the maenad in an irritated tone. "Don't you think you can play for time by doing so. I give you three inches of time. The time is on".

"What inches of time?" Hasine didn't understand.

"You see that drown sundial over there? When the shade moves three inches away the stick, your time will be up".

"It's nearly half an hour," said Parnissyd's voice, "Try to buy time as much as you can, we're coming to help you to escape".

Time passed by. Hasine had a little time left – just a half inch. Around the bowl, lots of necessary and unnecessary things had piled up – mushrooms, raspberries, nut shells, deer ham, grape branches, oak leaves, blackberry juice and so on.

"Now, it's only left to quench it. Then, we'll get delicious, yummy multi-fruit jam. Wanna taste it?"

"Of course! It's delicious, really?" one of the maenads would go up to the bowl, unless the minx maenad stopped her.

"Hey! Stay aside! There's going on much more important things than jam!" she said jerkily, "Listen, lassie, if your plan is to make a fool of us, then you had failed it. Where's the acid?"

"Hold on, it will be ready soon. Preparing jam or acid makes no difference. If I have remembered how to prepare jam, then, I will certainly remember how to make acid, too. We mix salt and water in equal quantities. And you, Miss Maenad, please, heat it for me, yes, yes, rise the temperature, rise, rise, more! Now, we have got the acid and alkali. Here you are. Now, stay back, please. God forbid, if it splashes... O-ho-ho!" Hasine talked unceasingly in order not to output her thoughts for the maenads. And she thought of only one thing:

"Why aren't they coming? There'll be either mine or theirs' kaput soon".

Chapter eighteen

The tower's conquered!

"Hasine, your time's up. Is the acid ready?" asked the maenad.

"Yes, it is! Nevertheless..."

"What next?! This time, your pretenses don't work. I'll give you a very good lesson with..."

"Hey! Don't you know it's not good to offend juniors?"

In that moment, Hasine would be glad even if all she saw was a merry satyr only. But the scene made Hasine not only glad: it made her take wings because of the joy. In charge of Parnissyd and Marsius, all satyrs, silenuses, dryads, meliadaes and naiads had come to rescue her. Seeing such a crowd, the brave maenads fulgurated. Hasine didn't let flies stick to her heels – she ran towards the crowd.

"Sorry if I've sold you short, I hope you can finish boiling the acid yourselves," she needled. Hasine expected the maenads to retreat, having so big amount of opponents. But the minx maenad called out: "Oh, sisters, come to help!!!" the situation changed completely. Hasine was surprised at that the maenads were more than all the nymphs and satyrs in the forest, taken together.

Terrible battle broke in between the maenads and the nymphs. On the other side, Sanam, Hasine and Amira were puzzled, wondering how to neutralize the solute.

"What is to be done?"

"Terrible things will happen if they found the way of separating it," said Sanam.

"What if just to pour out?" suggested Amira.

"Hey, think of little, ground may be burnt!" protested Hasine, "There must be another way of doing it".

At that point, one of the maenads was coming towards them.

"Hey, ye betrayer!" she hissed maliciously, "That's why ye were playing for time – in order not to prepare the acid. I can see it now. And these are your commensals, I guess," the maenad looked at Sanam and Amira. "I'll give ye a good lesson, all t'ri of ye!"

"You'd better be off with your whole skin or the acid will destroy you completely!" Hasine took the ladle, scoop up the liquor and pointed at the maenad threateningly. The maenad looked up and down in an indifferent manner; then glanced at the liquor apprehensively and slowly moved away.

"Fortunately for you, my sisters are calling me for help, otherwise..." and she ran off quickly, showing a clean pair of heels.

"Believed!" the girls rejoiced.

Nonetheless, things did not go on so finely. Naiads were curing satyrs and sirens with spring water. But it turned out that wellspring water is exasperating pain, instead of treating it. Dryad trees, which usually supported silenuses, were hindering them with their branches and obstructing way.

"It's all simple!" declared the leader of the maenads, "All wells and trees are poisoned with hazardous maenad venom. So, expect no support from them. Everything in this forest works for our benefit".

Parnissyd, standing among other nymphs, satyrs and sirens, had no choice, but to say: "We've lost the game, I think".

"Don't we have any chance?" asked Amira, still hoping.

Parnissyd shook head.

"I don't think so, anyway," said Sanam, paying no attention to the wave of protestation, "If this is the most hopeless situation we've ever had, then that is the best solution for us".

"What does it mean?" not only Hasine and Amira, but none of the folk caught the meaning of these words.

But when Sanam showed one thing, all her words became clear to her friends:  
"Can't believe my eyes! It's the plant-antidote that Athena had given! We had mislaid it. When did you find it, Sanam?"

"Not a long before," Sanam preferred a brief answer.

The girls told Parnissyd about extraordinary qualities of the plant. She referred meliadae powers to the plant. Lightning flew out of the plant and disappeared in the sky.

"Soothing yourselves by shooting useless lightning?" needled the maenad.

The girls remembered how Athena had found the herb exactly from there, where Pegasus had been struck by lightning. They supposed that struck and that lightning must have connection.

"Be patient," said Parnissyd, "Come on, dear sisters-nymphs, join your powers and grow the plant-antidote under ground, grow to such extent, that it covers the whole forest and grows to such length, that it could absorb the poison off every well-spring and every tree".

"Ha-ha-ha! How awful!" the arrogant maenads mocked at them when they heard about it. "But we still have enough powerful weapons, which you can't imagine. Anyhow, this time, be careful. Because you have neither lightning, nor antidotes left!"

"Perhaps. But this time, the goddess of forests and hunting Artemis herself is coming to help us!" said the nymphs with delight.

The maenads looked up and saw Artemis, who was flying towards Peloponnese in her chariot.

"Who called me, sending lightning to the heaven?" she asked in a thundering voice.

"It's the maenads who brought us to do so. They're causing terrible disorder," replied Parnissyd.

"It's not us. On contrary, it's the nymphs, who started the scandal. And they stirred the whole forest against us. Until then, we were sitting there peacefully and did not do any harm to anyone," objected the maenads.

"False! Just now you were poisoning wells with your disgusting venom! Weren't you, who prepared to destroy the whole forest and burn all the creature in it! Here's the proof – the whole cauldron of acid!"

"They forced a human being to make this solute. Fortunately, Hasine, a human, did not finish preparing it, otherwise, the forest would be destroyed completely," cries of the dwellers of the forest, accusing the maenads were heard from all quarters.

"Don't lay all the blame on us!" objected one of the maenads. "It was the human with her friends who wanted to outpour the liquor and burn everything around. I've seen it with my own eyes. If I hadn't stopped them..."

"Enough!" Artemis' patience had exhausted, "Who's right and who's not will be certainly cleared. Guilty ones will be punished".

She drew off the bow and aimed at the maenads.

"Artemis always aims precisely," the naiad whispered to Amira.

"Maybe, that was the fault of the nymphs, indeed?" Artemis changed the aim, "The justice must be regained," with these words, she shot at the sky. The arrow cocked in the sky and was fallen at the feet of the leader of the maenads. She would have made an effort of justifying herself, but Artemis didn't let her to.

"Don't! Be silent and listen! You all forsake the forest! Yes, you, the maenads! After Helios goes round Gaia once, not a shade of you is to be seen in Peloponnese".

"It's equal to one day and one night," the naiad explained to Amira.

The maenads had no choice but to obey. The dwellers of the forest celebrated the victory. Finally, things were brought to justice in Peloponnese. The nymphs, beside Parnissyd, can live tranquilly now.

"Enough!" Artemis' patience had exhausted.

"Guilty ones will be punished!"

She drew off the bow and aimed at the maenads.

"We're grateful to you for your saving our forest!" said sirens to the girls, "Before, when we had been watching you, we were distrustful of you. We were in negative opinions about you. That's why we were hindering you. But after you had saved the forest twice from serious catastrophes, (though it's true, once, in some sense, the reason of the former catastrophe were you,) we changed our mind. Anyway, we regrett our being unfair towards you".

"And we did also act so," said the hamadryads. "But, despite that all, you did not aid the maenads. That was good".

"You've helped us and now, we'll help you, too," said the siren. "We'll lift you to the top of the Tower.

The girls applauded and screamed with happiness.

"It's a bit earlier to rejoice," said the siren. "You know, the Forest Tower is the whole forest itself; a lot of different flowers, plants and herbs grow on it. They smell so awfully sweet..."

"How's that wonderful!" said Amira.

"What's wonderful?" objected the siren, "Those flowers are so sweet with their stupefying fragrance and cause such dizziness, that you totally forget where you are; you totally lose the sense of destination and stop differing where's down and where's up. You can't fly further or you fly rightly down, instead.

Artemis came up to them at this time.

"Here are the girls Parnissyd told about! She said that you'd helped them to save the forest," said Artemis, addressing to the girls, "And I heard that Athena had personally chosen you to find the Edict of Zeus?"

"Wow!" the folks of the forest ejaculated.

"It's true," replied Sanam, "After we bring Zeus' edict to the Greek cities, the way to Babylon will be open for us. We may return home from Babylon".

"I offer my help. Meliadae Parnissyd has had a good idea".

"It's about the marine-root. We all know that the plant has the quality of neutralizing the dizzy fragrance of the flowers," Parnissyd explained. "What if we use a rope? Imagine a rope, knitted of a marine root is tied to the highest branch of the Tower and is hung to the ground? Reaching the top of the Tower would be no more difficult, then".

"Exactly, but who will tie it to the top of the Tower?" took objection one of the naiads.

"I do," said Artemis and tied the end of the rope to her arrow. She shot, aiming for the highest branch.

"Artemis' both punishment and rewards are in her arrows," whispered the naiad.

In shuch way, all the problems were solved. Artemis left Peloponnese.

The travellers were moving on again. They were going up and up without a slightest effort, comfortably placed on the wings of sirens. They had thanked for help and said goodbye to the satyr, naiads and dryads. However, Parnissyd preferred to accompany and safeguard the girls till the last point of the journey. So, she was on the wings, too.

Though the lower parts of the tree were dry and boring, the higher parts were flourishing; they were green and full of miraculous flowers – large roses blossoming on one branch; mellow fruits ripening on another. Some branches had very bulky leaves, flowers and fruits. The girls were astounded at those incredulous scenes.

"Wow, look at this giant fruit!" cried Hasine.

She fell into the nut-like fruit. The fruit was as large as a huge barrel. The extraordinary fruit had a rind of a nut and juicy flesh of a peach. Hasine get out of it soggy from juice.

"Hasine, why don't you watch out?" asked her friends, unceasingly laughing.

"I do, but, barely had I put my step on it, found myself lying in the nut. It's full of sap. Pah..."

"Oh, don't worry. You know what, this fruit is called the nut of beauty and some nymphs even bath in its juice. It is said its juice makes skin silken and lips balmy," said Parnissyd.

Sanam looked in the fruit and saw bits of kernels. She put a kernel in her mouth.

"Yum-yum. Tastes delicious!"

The nymph and Amira also liked the fruit's savour. But Hasine did not dare to taste it.

They flew on. They were flying, tightly holding around sirens' neck, in a company of hundreds of other sirens. They flew along the marine root and were having rest, sitting and walking on the branches, when they got tired.

Once, they saw huge flowers, alike cornflags. They smelled so sweet, as if the air was filled with honey and sugar. Amira liked the sweet air very much. She bowed to the flower a bit and fell into the flower.

She came out all in yellow flower dust.

"Despite my becoming very sticky, I found it very nice – falling into the flower," commented Amira.

There were rosy blossom trusses on higher branches. Nectar was dropping from branches to branches and making them very slippy. The flowers were beauty, but walking there was a real danger, that's why sirens did not land there and flew on.

At last, the slippery branches were left behind and long, long leaves could be seen. These leaves were alike window curtains. Some leaves were thin and curled and the others were thick and rough, like carpets. Light breeze was blowing through the leaves, and the leaves touched one another and the sweet air turned into a sweet, enchanting melody...

At long last, the girls got to the top of the tree. Finally, finally, the tower was conquered!

They saw a large silver chest there.

"The edict of Zeus is in the chest, probably," said Amira.

"Let's open the chest, then," Hasine rushed at.

But the chest wouldn't open easily.

There was a carved picture of a little goatling on the chest. It was browsing in the field. The lock of the chest was placed so that the picture included it – the lock was like a rock in the field.

"That's a puzzle, I think," supposed Sanam, "And the picture must be a key for it".

With fruit juice and flower sap, Hasine painted a goat and a pot of milk beside the goatling. But it changed nothing.

"The answer for the puzzle is downstairs, I feel it," said Parnissyd and went down. Sanam chased after her.

There, on the lower branches, beside the giant flowers, there were growing very tiny, thin, miniature flowers.

"Yes, that's it," the nymph picked one of the flowers. "Sanam, look," she said when dew from the flower dropped on a dry plant. The dry plant revived instantly and blossomed out.

"Whoa! The flower's dew revives plants!"

"It does and not only plants," said Parnissyd.

"You think it helps us to unlock the chest?" asked Sanam.

"I don't think. I'm sure. Run on!"

The nymph was right. When a little of the vivifying dew was dropped on the chest, everything in the picture enlivened:

The goat and goatling jumped and hopped; the goatling drank the milk and the goat butted and butted against the rock or lock, rather. At the end, the chest was unlocked. Light was coming from the chest, and it was so dazzling, so dazzling, that made them all blind.

Going through the dazzling light, they had come to Peloponnese and now, going through the same light, they returned where they had come from – the Temple of Artemis. They stood in front of the same wall, on which the forest landscape was drawn. And the chest from the Forest Tower was there, with them. The three girls were there, only Parnissyd wasn't there. The girl's were taken aback with such sudden transference. They pitied they couldn't say goodbye to Parnissyd...

The Edict was going to be announced to the publicity after proper rituals were held.

Just at that precise moment, the white dove who guided them throughout the Greek cities flew in. It was early morning in Ephesus. The bird flew directly to the chest; it landed, when a couple of steps were left and was transformed to her real guise – the girls were so deeply astounded when they saw Athena, in snow white clothes, instead of the dove. Athena glanced at the chest with satisfaction.

"I can see now I was right to choose you. You've accomplished the task accurately. Now, there's nothing else to do but to distribute the Edict to Greek cities. I'll do it with my aides".

Dozens of doves flew in. Athena, too, turned to a bird. Every dove took a bind out of the chest and flew off. There were several copies of the Edict in the chest.

The girls ran after the birds and went out of the Temple. They saw one of the copies falling on the lap of the priest of the Temple.

Although the girls were in rush, they would not leave without knowing what was written in Zeus' edict, the Edict, which they found overcoming so much difficulties.

The Edict was going to be announced to the publicity after proper rituals were held.

When the edict was announced, the three girls – Amira, Hasine and Sanam were among the crowd and were listening eagerly:  
"I forbid you to increase the number of your endless and pointless wars. Learn to settle down your problems peaceably. Listen to each other and try to understand each other.

Hold competitions at the foot of Olympus. If you cannot decide who's stronger and who's powerful, not wars, but let competitions determine this. During the competitions at Olympus put stop to any wars, battles and conflicts. For him, who dares to continue wars during the sacred competitions, merciless punishment is inevitable".

"Whoa! So it comes, that in the foundation of the famous Olympic Games, we have contributed heavily!" exclaimed the girls, whose astonishment was so incomparably immense...

