"John Morressy - Reflection" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morressy John)

loved her, was following the same course, except that she was consulting with
wise women. But they were no more help than the wise men. A venerable nun told
her that men at any age were still small boys in many ways -- a fact she well
knew. One learned woman suggested aloofness, another submission, a third poison.
No one offered advice that she found acceptable.

A year passed, and then another, and the domestic tension remained unresolved.
One winter morning, after particularly sharp words over breakfast, Sigert
wandered through the palace deep in gloomy thought. Muttering under his breath,
he trudged aimlessly up flights of stairs and paced down corridors long
unvisited. Eventually he found himself standing before a familiar door. Lost in
his brooding, he had come to his old nursery. Memory bade him enter. The chamber
faced the east, and the early sunlight gave it a cheerful air. The bright
pictures on the walls, the toys that lay scattered at random, and the old story
books aroused a pleasant nostalgia.

He picked up a dusty book of tales that lay nearby and settled in the window
seat where he had spent so many happy childhood hours. Leafing through the book,
he came upon the story of the magic mirror. It had been one of his favorites,
and he read it once again, hoping to recapture some of the innocent wonder of
those days. He paused after completing it, cried out in gratitude, and
immediately reread it. After the second reading, he hugged the book to his
breast and laughed aloud. Here was the solution. He would give Brissault a
mirror as a birthday present, a magic mirror that would make her appear forever
young and beautiful. Such a rare and encouraging gift would demonstrate the
feelings he could not seem to express otherwise. She would be happy again. Their
quarreling would end and they would be reconciled forever.

Having no knowledge of magic himself, he summoned Kedrigern, who had worked
effective and timely spells for his father, and for himself in his youth, and
entrusted the work of finding and acquiring the mirror to him. While at the
castle, Kedrigern had picked up another assignment. He was pleased to be
wrapping both up with a single journey.

As time ran on, Sigert grew uneasy. When Kedrigern presented himself at the
castle on the very morning of Brissault's birthday to announce that the mirror
awaited their majesties' pleasure, the king was elated.

"Where is it?" he asked.

"I've had it placed in the queen's bedchamber, Your Majesty," said the wizard.

"Her Majesty is in the great hall right now, accepting a present from the
Goldsmiths' guild. The Saddlers are arriving after them, and then the
Fishmongers. Her Majesty always bathes and changes her clothes after a meeting
with the Fishmongers." Sigert paused to do some mental calculation. "We've got
about an hour. Let's go and inspect this mirror," he said, rising.
The mirror stood in the center of the queen's bedchamber. It was very tall,
rising from a massive silver base inlaid with precious stones. It was covered
with a richly embroidered cloth.