She is Louise - страница 3

– Nothing. I'm tired of being alone," she threw back.

– Go to the butterflies. Talk to them.

– I don't want to. I don't want anything. I'll go to the Glade. Alone.

– Mom, come on, stop it!" asked Niels, a sixteen-year-old boy. His family lived near the city's border with the Forests and Steppes, in a two-story cottage overlooking a small pasture where three cows and one lone sheep grazed every day. No one really knew who bred them – they probably lived on their own.

– That uniform looks good on you, though. Let me see.

– Come on, mother, I'm not a child anymore. I don't want to fight anyone. There's hardly anyone living in the Steppes, what's the point?

– You were born into a Mountain family, so don't try to run away from your destiny.

– All right, all right," Niels replied. His red and straight hair almost reached his shoulders, so the helmet was pressing a little on his head. In general, Niels was not very attractive (and he almost never socialized with girls, though he was influenced by his father, Henry Mountain, who did not recognize any modern realities), but he was smart enough to study for high grades. Now all schoolchildren are on vacation, but Niels and his companions had to take an exam at the end of summer. In half an hour classes would start, and he still hadn't gotten on the bus…

He threw off his armor and hastily put on jeans and a white shirt, threw his smartphone into his bag and slung it on his shoulder.

– See you this evening, Mom.

– Have a good day. Don't forget, you have Latin class at five today.

– I remember.

Niels knew that after school he would have to go to the knights of the village, but he still hadn't given up hope of getting a good degree.

Louise walked along the Glade, though she didn't expect to reach the border of the Forests and Steppes today and see the City. Sure, there were a few streets of private houses in that neighborhood, but the girl wasn't afraid of anything. Her wings hadn't appeared yet, so no one would be able to pick on her. Louise had long known that she lived in two worlds at once: the ordinary world of humans and the Forest School, and the magical world of Butterflies and those she would soon be able to meet there.

Louise sat down to rest on a rock in the middle of the golden ears – where she lived, the fields and meadows changed endlessly. It looked like a chessboard. Like it wasn't on this planet.