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the motion of his shoulders and flanks seemed like the heaving of a ship in storm.
The castle rose up before us like sunrise, its towers and battlements reaching hundreds of feet into the
sky. It was of grey stone, huge block set on block; but it caught the sunlight like a dolphin s back at
dawn. It was as big as a city, I thought; not one building, but many, tied together by corridors and
courtyards; I stared around at what I could see of the wings and walls of it stretching in many directions. I
could not begin to imagine the number of rooms it must contain. But it stood silent, the windows dark,
apparently deserted. But not quite deserted, I told myself unhappily. Oh dear.
Greatheart came to a halt before the stable, whose door had slid back at our approach. Inside,
afternoon sunlight slanted through tall narrow windows with half-moons of stained glass set in their arched
tops. The coloured glass held pictures of horses, standing, galloping, richly caparisoned or free of
harness, with long waving manes and bright dark eyes. The bits of colour sprinkled the marble walls of
the stalls and the smooth golden sand of the floor. The door to the first stall slid back, just as it had for
Father, as we approached, and straw finished scattering itself into the corners as we looked in.
Great-heart pricked his ears at self-propelled bedding; but when I pulled his bridle off he quickly
transferred his attention to the mixed grain in the manger. He did not eat so well at home.
There was a selection of bone-handled brushes, combs, and soft cloths on a shelf on the stall s outer
wall, I groomed the horse carefully, but still I lingered; I did not want to be finished, to leave him in the
stable and go by myself into the castle, where the Beast was doubtless waiting for me. The Beast had
said that no harm would come to me, but how did I know? I thought of how ready I had been to believe
those promises of safety when I had first heard Father s tale, beside our own hearth. He was only a
Beast, What could he possibly want with me anyway? I banished that thought as I had many times before
in the past month. I recalled unhappily the tales of the insatiable monster that lived in the forest and ate all
the game. Perhaps the Beast found young maiden a difficult dish to procure, and had to resort to trickery,
I had cut and carried too much wood in the last two and a half years to make a very delicate morsel; but
this was no comfort, since it would undoubtedly be discovered too late.
I remembered that Father s tack had been mysteriously cleaned while it hung on a rack overnight.
The rack I found, it having conjured itself outside the stall while I was in it. Won t you let me wash it
myself? I said to the air, looking up as if expecting to see something looking down; I lowered my gaze
hastily and was unnerved by the appearance of a bucket of warm water, soap, sponges, cloths, and oil.
Well, that is what you asked for, I told myself aloud; and then Thank you, louder, and was rewarded
by the same feeling that Father had had: that the air was listening. I didn t like it.
By the time I had done everything I could do twice over, the sun was nearly gone; lanterns set in the
doorposts of the stalls were lighting themselves. It then occurred to me that I liked the idea of going into
the castle for the first time after dark even less than I had liked it a few hours ago while daylight was with
me, keeping trolls and witches under cover. Greatheart had finished the grain, and was happily working
on the hay hanging in a net; he was not inclined to be sympathetic to my fidgets. I patted him for the last
time and went reluctantly out. The horse was calm and relaxed again, as he had always been at home
until the last few days. I tried to tell myself that this was a good omen, but I felt more as if I were being
betrayed in my last extremity. I closed the stable door or anyway my hand was on it when it closed
itself on the sound of quiet chewing. I found myself twisting the griffin ring on my finger as I stepped
down from the threshold.
As I stepped outside, the lanterns in the garden were lighting up; there was a warm sweet smell of
perfumed lamp oil. The silence was unbroken but for the clear tinkling of the little streams, and the slow
scuff of my booted feet; there was still no sign of any living thing. I felt very small and shabby amid all this
magnificence; riding Greatheart lent its own dignity, for he shone through his battered harness. The size
and grandness of his new environment suited him; he might have been coming home after exile among the
savages. But there was nothing grand about a small plain girl, poorly dressed, self-conscious, and jittery.
I looked around me, blinking, and then turned back towards the castle. The courtyard was dark as I
turned; but it leaped into a blaze of light as I looked towards it. The silver arch around the enormous front [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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