NIGHT, I Rin [classic book list txt] 📗

Night

 

Part 1

A strange night guest

 

It was just after midnight. The room was illuminated by dim night-light. Lica was sitting on the window-sill and looking up at the starry sky. Suddenly the door of her room opened and her mother came in.

“Liсa, why are not you asleep?” she asked. “It’s late!”

“Mom, you know, how I love night! Night is wonderful and quiet ... and it is so cool to dream at night! And it is so romantic to walk under the Moon!”

“And bump into the bandits under the Moon. Romantic, isn’t it?” her mother remarked.

“You're always spoiling everything!” the girl said petulantly. “You can possibly cross with the bandits during the day. But at night it is easier to hide from them - all cats are grey at night!”

“Ok, a dreamer!” mom said amicably. “Let's get down sleeping! Sixteen-year-old girls must sleep at least nine hours a day.”

She kissed her daughter on forehead and left the room. Liсa sat for another ten minutes looking at the stars. Then she jumped down from the window-sill and went to bed.

Suddenly, she noticed an envelope on the desk. Angelica could swear that ten minutes ago that envelope had not been there!

"My Mom must have laid it,” she thought. “What a restless inventor!”

Young girl went to the desk and picked up the envelope. It was sealed. There were no inscriptions or names on it. Liсa opened the envelope and pulled out a folded sheet of thick paper. She opened it and read:

 

You are a true admirer of Night!

So Prince Night invites you to his

annual ball, which will be held today...

Get ready by three o'clock in the morning –

You will be picked up!

 

And she saw a luxury signature below. Angelica read the letter once more and said aloud:

“What nonsense! Mom surpassed herself! Well, when she comes by three o'clock in the morning, I'll be waiting for her ready. Furthermore, I have not much time left to three.”

The girl opened the wardrobe and pulled out her only ball dress, which her parents had bought when she participated in the school beauty contest. The beautiful golden dress was perfectly matching Liсa’s auburn hair. Angelica put on the dress and high heels, let her hair and slightly tinted her lips. Then she looked in the mirror and satisfied with herself went to bed.

"Let a little scared,” she thought sarcastically. “When she comes at night here, I’ll be fully ready!”

She smiled her own joke, and did not notice that fell asleep.

No sooner had she fell asleep, when something touched her face. Liсa opened her eyes and at first could not understand anything. Moonlight filled the room and she saw a huge eagle-owl sitting on the chair back just in front of her.

“Oh!” Angelica screamed. “Shoo, shoo!”

“It may have flown through the window,” flashed in her mind.

She was waving her hands but the owl just narrowed its eyes.

“Oh, you're so!” the girl got her rag out. “Well, hold on!”

She got up and began to creep to the owl slowly to grab it. But it suddenly fluttered and whirled around the room.

“I wish it wouldn’t break down anything!” Liсa had just thought.

At that time an owl’s feather dropped from the wing and stacked into her hair. The girl did not understand what was happening to her but suddenly she became to shrink. A minute later she was sitting on the floor scrutinizing her arms with surprise, which had turned into wings. Owl hooted and it is oddly enough but now Liсa could understand it!

“We're already late!” the owl said.

“Where to?” the girl wanted to ask but just heard bird squawking from her throat.

“To the ball, where else?!” the night guest hooted. “Fly!”

“So is it all true?!” Angelica was marveled. “And what if I refuse?”

“In this case you will stay as an owl forever!” the eagle owl replied.

It did not explain anything more and making a circle around the room flew out of the window. Lica had no choice and followed him.

They were flying over the night city and she could not help admiring the beautiful neon advertising lights. Then the owl turned to the side and they flew over woods and fields. They were soaring for a long time Angelica even stopped counting the time. Finally they saw the walls of a castle in front of them. Lica couldn’t see it properly but it seemed to her that the castle was pretty dark in the moonlight. The eagle owl circled and flew into the window of a high tower. The girl followed him. They passed through the long corridors and got into a small brightly lit room. Here the eagle owl hit the ground and turned into a quite old man, dressed in dark clothes. Angelica sat down on the chair back and was watching for a while.

“A little more and we would have been late!” the old man said peevishly.

He approached the girl and took out a feather from her plumage. And immediately, Liсa became the young girl again.

“No good!” the fellow traveler said looking around Angelica. “You are so disheveled and your dress is tattered. As if we had made the way through the thorns! Who is flying like this? Ok, wait!”

Just he said that the man came out of the room. He was absent a few minutes then he came back with a luxurious white dress.

“Put it on, hurry up!” he said throwing the dress to Liсa’s hands. “Ball is in full swing! I'm waiting outside!”

The old man came out and closed the door. The girl immediately changed her clothes perplexedly. The dress fitted her like a glove. Angelica went to the mirror hanging on the wall and looked at herself. She saw a very pretty girl in the mirror’s reflection; however, she was slightly disheveled. Liсa put her hair straight and said aloud:

“Well, those fools who had not given me the first place in the beauty contest! If only they would see me now!”

When she came out of the room the night guest had been waiting for her behind the door.

“Well now you are quite different!” he smiled and gave Angelica his hand.

Prince asks Angelica for help

While the girl and her fellow traveler were walking down the corridor they could hear nice music ahead. The man led Lica to the stairs running to a large posh room where ladies and gentlemen were spinning in a beautiful dance. Angelica tried to see their faces but alas all the guests were wearing masks.

“Why...” she was going to ask her new friend, who had brought her here, but he had already disappeared.

Lica was going down the wide stairs trying to find her night visitor, who so carelessly had left her alone. She was in a large spacious hall where hundreds of guests were dancing and enjoying themselves. The walls and the ceiling of the hall were decorated with amazing chandeliers with burning candles. Beautiful curtains with gold and silver embroidery were falling down the windows and the flame of the candles was glancing in the white marble floor. Angelica was confused by this entire splendor. She was looking around but what she could see just a lot of masks. Somebody was laughing others were saying something but she heard nothing. It seemed to her that she was spinning on the carousel. She wanted only one thing - to break out of this circle! Lica rushed back to the saving stairs to get away from here. But the laughing people, dancing just in front of her, blocked the way. Angelica thrashed about between well-dressed ladies and gentlemen and suddenly heard a mellow voice behind:

“You look great!”

The girl looked around and saw a handsome young man. He was without a mask.

“Let me invite you to dance!” the stranger said and held out his hand to Lica.

Angelica nodded. After all now this handsome man was her escape from those faceless laughing people. The girl put her hand on his shoulder. They heard beautiful music and began to waltz. Now Lica could see her savior better. He had regular features. His pale and thin skin gave the young man an aristocratic look. Black curls were hanging down to his shoulders. The fathomless black eyes looked straight into the soul. Angelica embarrassed and blushed.

“What is your name?” the man asked.

“Lica!”

The young man raised his left eyebrow amazedly.

“Oh, sorry! Angelica…” Lica corrected herself. “And you?”

“Edward! You are very beautiful, Angelica! Do you love night?”

The girl nodded. She felt how she was beginning to sympathize with this handsome stranger. They continued to whirl in the dance and Lica did not notice laughing masks any more. Soon the music was over and Edward accompanied Angelica to the room with set tables. This room was much smaller than the ball hall but also decorated beautifully. There were all sorts of dishes and drinks and guests could take anything they wanted!

“Help yourself!” Edward turned to the girl. “I'll get to you a little later. Now I have to deal with other guests.”

He bowed and left the room. While Lica was looking around in confusion, her night guest –“eagle-owl” approached to her.

“I see that our Prince liked you!” he said smiling.

“Prince?” Angelica surprised.

“Prince!” an "owl" confirmed. “But do not kid yourself too much about him!”

“What do you mean?” Lica flushed.

“I mean that he is engaged...”

“Why are you telling me this?” the girl said angrily.

“Because I saw the way you looked at him!”

Angelica blushed and decided to stop talking to that nasty old man. At this moment Edward entered the room.

“Henry!” he called the “owl”. “So you had told me about this girl, hadn’t you?”

“Yes, I had,” Henry nodded. “She loves night like no one does!”

“In that case, Angelica, can I talk to you?”

The young man gave the girl his hand and led her to a separate room, which was in another wing of the castle. Henry followed them. Prince Edward suggested Lica sitting down in an arm chair and began his story.

“Angelica, I invited you not without a reason! I have been looking for someone who is madly in love with night. For this reason, every year I arrange the ball for all fans of night. I am looking for a person who can help me!”

“Help you?” the girl amazed.

“Yes... Many years ago, when I was a young boy, I fell in love with the princess from the neighboring kingdom. She was so pretty almost as much as you are, Angelica. We were going to get married and it seemed nothing would prevent our happiness! But... the evil wizard envied us! He created a Frankenstein's monster-spider who kidnapped the Princess. That Wizard hid her somewhere in the caves and put a spell on her. He said that one who was madly in love with night would be able to disenchant the Princess.”

“That's why you called me, didn’t you?” Lica whispered.

“Yes, I did!” Prince nodded.

“But I thought you had liked me!” she said even quieter.

“I had told you do not hope for nothing,” Henry whispered in her ear.

Angelica was very disappointed. It was the first time did she really fall in love with a man and Edward so insensitively "put her down". She looked at the Prince again and realized that she was gone! His eyes just fascinated her.

“I'll help you,” suddenly Lica said. “I will save your Princess but not for her sake but for you!”

“Thank you,” Edward replied. “The road to the caves where the Princess has been hidden is through Nightmare Forest, Sleepy Lake and Ghosts Fields. We have never day time in my kingdom so you will have to get there in the dark. I cannot go with you because by the condition of the Wizard I mustn’t leave the walls of my castle as long as the Princess is released. But