Cycle: Land of the Dragon. Selection: Choice or Destiny. Book One
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If it had been friends joke, it wouldn't have lasted more than a week. They are not so cruel to let me to miss the flight. So we will have to accept and live in a cave.
Chapter 8. Making plans
The morning greeted timid dawn, fighting mood, clothing home. (Dresses I had brought with me to the castle were bought for me: four of it were mind-bogglingly memorable, three were solemnly beautiful, fifteen were decently closed and securely tightened, and two were free, without a corset, in the style of peasant women).
Today I was dressed in one of the peasants. Because the heir was absent, there’s no one to seduce, so there’s no reason to suffer with a corset. I Plaited my hair, belted my dress, and put a communication bracelet on my arm, and went down to Breakfast in this modest fashion.
In the dining room there was silence again, and now the cause of it was my appearance. It turns out they without a corset does not come out, I’m a redneck against them. But I sat down at the table and said, breaking the silence
«Enjoy your appetite, excuse me if my appearance seems strange to you, but in the estate from where I arrived we wear dresses with corset rarely, I am more accustomed to a simple tailoring».
The beauties exhaled, mentally crossing me out from rivals, because the girl in the bag with the pigtails can't be the Empress of dragons.
The breakfast was delicious, the crepes with the cream cheered up the mood, my head gradually lined up the next plan of action. I'll start it with the library. It is necessary to assess the amount of information available and useful.
I looked around our friendly company at the table, and I discovered that I was the only one who didn’t talk to anyone. The beauties were actively sharing impressions, plans and news from their families.
So, after finishing the pancakes, still silently I left the table, calling an escort in advance. The chair screeching caused silence and bewilderment again, but I think I’ve already broken all the rules, so leaving will be just one point in the long list of oddities of the girl from the outskirts.
***
My preliminary action plan consists of four points
1. The library: Try to find information about the portal, to escape early by myself. And to find any information on the local world order.
2. Avoid the heir to the extent possible. It is desirable simply to avoid expulsion.
3. Avoid contenders. Without friends, I half-year somehow hold out, but how to deal with those who uzreet in me a threat to their future of the Union, I have not thought of.
4. Finally, find out who is a contractual bride. What should I do with this information and especially how to get it is not quite clear yet, but I will leave it as a goal.
Chapter 9. Knowledge is power, nescience is disaster
Library – a room with an infinite number of racks filled with books, part of the halls is closed for visiting. There’s no damp here, and there are deep, comfortable, soft chairs for visitors. The library will be my favorite room!
The caretaker of the library, wizened little man with a cane and a small bald spot smiled affably.
– What’s your name, young lady?
– Catherine.
– Catherine, I have to tell you about the rules of the hall: in the reading room at the same time you can leave with him no more than three books, reserve for no more than three days. In your room, you can take no more than one and not more than for a month. What do you want to read?
– It is possible the book, which described the events of the first selection?
– What language do you prefer to read? Slavic, imperial, foreign?
It became hot, fingers cramped little sweat trickle slid down along the spine.
– Let's, one in each language?
The caretaker probably thought I was a very educated girl, but no, I just didn’t think the alphabet of our worlds could be different.
After receiving three books bound in leather, I moved it on the table next to a soft comfortable chair.
The text of the first book was written in signs similar to our hieroglyphics, the text of the second was reminiscent of the cuneiform of Egypt, the third book is clearly ancient, written by hand ink in Old Slavic.
None of the lyrics are available to me, so I started going through all the books to see if they had pictures, sketching out But here, too, I was unlucky, all three books contained only text.
Tormented for an hour with the text in Slavonic, trying to somehow make out the words and recall letters (because at least in passing, but is sometimes found on the internet transcription to the alphabet), having not advanced by a millimeter, I had to admit that on the first item of short plan did not go well from the beginning. I returned the books and upset trudged to my room.
Chapter 10
So, books are not available. I can try to make friends with someone of the girls, but how can I explain the fact that I cannot read. To admit that i have grown up not only in the wilderness, and illiterate to all other disadvantages?
Another option would be to ask the Emperor’s assistant to train me for six months, but he may not have the authority to, worse still, is the new one excuse to suspend me from further participation.
From the sad thoughts distracted knock on the door, it is lunchtime.
On the way to the dining hall, I asked the accompanying to find the emperor’s assistant, and I was informed that as soon as he was free, I would be contacted and escorted.
The dining room is full of girls with the luxury jewelry and dresses. My head ached slightly from the failure to find a way out of the situation.
– Katrin, I noticed that you don’t talk to anyone. My name is Rosalind. I would like to offer you a walk in the park. How do you look at it?
– I’d love to take a walk with you. I must warn the escort.