No less than a miracle

Chapter 1. A night, a street, a lamp ... a library

It was a dark and rainy night when that story began. Dwellers of the lion capital had already slept, and no one could be seen in the streets, only some shadows were running along faintly lit walls. The city was silent, anxiously waiting for the next morning. Burning streetlights were indifferently looking at the starry sky.

The bulk of the palace was reposing in front of the main square, drowsily blinking its eyes-windows. Liona and the professor were sitting at a huge oak table in the royal library. An overlooking the square window was hidden behind the pile of differing in size books which were towering up the table.

'What's the name of this knight-seer?' Liona asked, carefully turning over the old pages of a shabby volume The History of The Lion Kingdom.

'Leo, Leo Laar, I have told you a thousand times', the professor grumbled with displeasure, examining one turned yellow old map.

Ten minutes they were sitting mutely, only the light rustle of pages was breaking silence. Suddenly Liona raised her head, pointing her index finger at a necessary line, and hastened to gladden the professor with her finding, 'There is something about this Leo Laar!'

Higgabottom moved closer to Liona and began to read.

'Um, professor, you have never told me that Leo Laar was the author of the prophecy about Lion Crystals and the arrival of Darkness'.

'Why would I have told you that? Such facts are interesting for historians but not for adventurers and justice seekers. What is more, if I had told you about Leo Laar, I would have had to answer your questions'.

'Well, I would have asked, 'Who's Leo Laar? How could he see the future? Why did not teachers utter his name during our history classes?'Is it bad?'

'Why should it be bad?' the professor was surprised, 'The thing is... I was afraid. Afraid of answering questions about Leo Laar and his gift of prophecy. It was the time when no one believed that Shadow Master would be overthrown one day. If at that time I had told you all about Leo Laar... You would have never trusted old professor Higgabottom. In addition, you would have considered the prophecy as a fairy tale'.

'Really?!' Liona was looking at professor, evincing genuine curiosity.

'See, Liona, Leo Laar... He was a knight (it's true!), but not a seer. One of his biographers set forth the following story: Leo Laar was asked to divine who would win a joust: the Knight of the Empty Pot or the Tailless Knight. Leo Laar said that the Tailless Knight would be a winner. The joust began. Horsemen rode towards each other. The distance between them decreased and decreased until knights locked horns...'

Approaching the end, the professor Higgabottom little by little elevated his voice, but suddenly became quiet. For a few seconds the owl and the lioness were looking at each other in complete silence.

'A-a-and?' Liona dwelt on words 'Did the Tailless Knight win? Yes? Or no?'

'If he did 'win' something, the only award he got was arm and rib fractures.'

Liona frowned and scratched her head, 'Is it possible that Leo Laar was the one who foretold the arrival of Darkness? May it be a mistake?'

'It is exactly what I am doing now: I am trying to understand whether it was a mistake or something else', the professor answered thoughtfully, 'I would like to find out as many facts about Leo Laar and his prophecy as possible. If need be, I will read all books about knights and diviners kept in numerous libraries of the Lion Kingdom to figure out how the devoid of the divine gift could foresee the event of historic significance.'

***

It was six a.m. when Max came into the library flooded with the sunlight streaming out of windows. He had gone around the palace in search of Liona and his aged owl-teacher, but they vanished as if the earth had swallowed them. The young King was slowly passing by high bookcases, carefully circling the reading room with eyes, when a bucket rumbled somewhere. Just as Max saw the owl-librarian's figure diving out of the narrow aisle between stillages, he came closer and, touching her shoulder, asked, 'Mrs. Higgabottom, do you know where your husband is?'

Mrs. Higgabottom gave a start of surprise and turned to Max, 'And this is you, Your Majesty! My husband is here, in the library. Reach the last bookcase. The oak table is behind it. And there is professor Higgabottom.'

Max took a step but stopped, 'I've heard some metallic sounds as if a bucket's fallen. Are you mopping the floor by yourself again? I did send Twitch and Spike to you. All the same they do nothing the days away, let them be useful, let them tidy up the library, for instance.'

'Get off with you! "They do nothing". They are very industrious guys. Besides, they are the ones who have rattled with the bucket.'

'I was joking', Max smiled and set forward.

The last bookcase reached, the King stopped in disbelief. The following scene appeared in front of him: sitting in a chair, Liona was sleeping; her head was chocked with the arm bent at the elbow, and the elbow was resting against the open book. Higgabottom was snoring, nestling his face in Liona's shoulder. Max came closer to the table and began to look through the page.

'Leo Laar? The knight-seer? Such a familiar name! Where could I hear it?' Max plunged into a tough reverie.