"Jody Lynn Nye - Don't break the Chain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nye Jody Lynn)

Don't Break the Chain!
Jody Lynn Nye

"Messages for you, my lady," the pink-cheeked page said, falling to
one knee beside her.



Lady Doretia reached eagerly for the scrolls. Eighteen years old, with a
curious mind underneath her black silk tresses, and a burning
intelligence looking out of her bright blue eyes, she was a voracious
reader and an avid correspondent. Luckily for her, most of her friends
were of the same bent, and the muddy roads that led between their
several fathers' fiefdoms were daily filled with pages carrying pages
from one of them to another. She popped the wax seal on the first.
Lady Zoraida was holding a masked ball at the end of the month. Oh,
good. That would give Doretia a chance to wear that strange gown that
Great-Grandmama had left her in the will that was open at the sides
and showed a daring hint of undergown. Lady Promese had dyed her
hair with henna, but the color had come out more purple than red and,
"of your courtesy, sister in arms, if you have knowledge of anything that
will reduce the color to a mere glow, I would be grateful unto death."
Doretia put the letter aside with a mental note to bring it up to the family
sorceror, an ancient man who lived in the tallest tower on the castle
walls, and who could be depended upon to keep Promese's mishap a
secret. Lady Goana's father was holding a tournament in the first week
of spring, and would she like to take part? Doretia certainly would. She
scribbled a note of thanks, and sealed it hastily.



The sixth missive she unrolled made Doretia frown. More chain mail.
How annoying. She had begged her friends not to involve her in any
more! She felt so guilty when she realized she would have to pass the
scroll on to another unsuspecting friend, or worse, copy it and send it
to several friends. She always thought about throwing chain letters into
the fire, even when the instructions promised dire magical
consequences. Of an enquiring turn of mind, Doretia wondered what
would really happen if she did destroy the letter, and decided her father
and six brothers would be irked if she managed to get killed by a mere
piece of paper, when they were doing their best to train her to be a
proper shield-maiden, so she could get killed in the field of battle
beside her future husband. Whoever he would be. Doretia had no
prospects as yet, though she dreamed of being wooed by the
handsomest warrior, who would shower her with jewels. She picked
up the note to put to one side when words on the page caught her eye.



"Please, fair lady, will you not bend all of your efforts unto the freedom