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Her arms across her breast she laid;
She was more fair than words can say:
Bare-footed came the beggar maid
Before the king Cophetua.
In robe and crown the king stept down,
To meet and greet her on her way;
'It is no wonder,' said the lords,
'She is more beautiful than day.'
As shines the moon in clouded skies,
She in her poor attire was seen:
One praised her ankles, one her eyes,
One her dark hair and lovesome mien.
So sweet a face, such angel grace,
In all that land had never been:
Cophetua sware a royal oath:
'This beggar maid shall be my queen!'
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The Beggar Maid, by Lord Alfred Tennyson
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He was walking in the streets, looking bored and not even noticing the gazes and sighs that followed his path. His friend Philip was striding by his side, not saying a word either. Suddenly he saw her, her bare feet on the cobblestones, a rag dress coming only to her knees and a heavy basket in her hands. He stopped his horse in the middle of the street and seized Philip's arm.
"An angel!" he whispered.
Philip noticed his shining eyes and he sighed for he knew his royal friend well.
"Oh, Philip, if this land had ever had any beauty, it's all contained in the sweet face of this maid!"
"A beggar or a servant, Maxian, most probably."
"What do I care! She shall be my princess!"
He jumped down his horse before Philip could prevent him and knelt in the dirt in front of the girl. Frightened by his sudden movement, she stepped back, holding her basket close to her.
"O goddess come down upon earth, who chose my land to honour it with your grace, will you be my wife and princess?"
The girl looked around her, desperate. Philip came by his friend's side.
"Maxian, she doesn't understand. Explain to her without lyricism."
"O goddess, your sight captured my heart. At the very moment I saw you, my soul deserted me and fell to your feet. Oh, if you want your prince to live, say you accept this poor gift and give me your heart to replace the one you've stolen..."
"No lyricism, I said," Philip hissed between his teeth.
His explanation didn't seem to have enlightened the girl. She licked nervously her lips, looked around and stepped back again.
"Sir... I..."
"So we're agreed!" Maxian exclaimed, jumping on his feet and taking her hand.
The girl looked at him in wild disbelief and, before she could say a word, he lifted her in his arms and sat her on his horse. She was so surprised that her basket escaped her hands and its content spilled on the ground. Seeing this, she struggled and tried to slide down the horse.
"The basket... I'll be punished!"
"Maxian, you didn't explain anything at all!"
"Yes, I did! I told her she would be my princess! Isn't that enough?"
"She doesn't even know who you are!"
"Oh, is it the problem? My dear, I am Prince Maximilian John Edward James, Maximilian for short."
Philip sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, and this is my friend Philip Henry Roch Montague. He will be a perfect chaperone."
"But Sir... I mean, Your Highness..."
She tried to curtsey but he protested:
"No, no, angel, do not bow to me, it is I who should kneel to your feet. Isn't she an angel, Philip? A true angel, so modest, so charming!"
"So respectful, like all the others..." murmured Philip.
"Ali! What are you doing? How dare you bother such a fine gentleman?" exclaimed a new voice, rather angry.
Hearing it, the girl struggled more fiercely, trying to escape Maximilian's embrace.
"Let me go, oh, let me go..."
"Ali!" said Maximilian, enchanted. "What a beautiful name! So original, so sweet!"
"It's about time you inquire about her name," muttered Philip.
"You're such a killjoy, Philip!"
"She's not a toy, Maxian. She's a person and you can't toy with her like you do with the courtiers, who know at least what to expect of you!"
The girl was still struggling, but Maximilian was much stronger than she was. During this time, a woman and two girls were coming toward them.
"Ali, come here immediately! Don't you see you are annoying this gentleman?"
"To the contrary, mistress!" exclaimed Maximilian. "Are you the mother of my delightful angel?"
"Delightful angel? Surely, Sir, you mean..."
"Oh, yes, I mean more, but I lack words to express it. Anyway, do I have your consent?"
"My consent?" repeated the woman weakly. "I'm afraid I don't understand..."
"Maxian, if you don't mind..." intervened Philip. "Mistress, His Highness the Prince Maximilian John Edward James would like to marry your... hmm... ward Ali."
"Ali? But..."
Suddenly she managed a deep curtsey, a smile on her lips.
"But certainly, Your Highness!"
Philip raised the eyebrows, for the look in her eyes as she was looking at Ali wasn't well accorded with her smile.
"But I'm..." protested the girl.
"Be grateful to His Highness, you little hussy!" hissed the woman.
Maximilian, forgetful of everything around him, put Ali back on the saddle of his horse and had a slight nod toward the woman and the two girls.
"Charming daughters you have here, mistress, though they hardly compare to my beautiful angel..." he said politely.
And he took the way to the palace, leaving the discarded basket in the middle of the street.
Ali found herself in a magnificent room, her hand tightly hold in Maximilian's, and people were looking at her with curiosity.
"Mother, father," exclaimed Maximilian, his voice ringing out loud, "I have found her! Isn't she simply ravishing?"
The king and queen looked at the poorly dressed girl next to their son then looked sceptically at Philip who shrugged.
"Indeed, Maxian, she is ravishing," began prudently his father. "Where did you find her?"
"If you will pardon me for interrupting, I think I'll take this young lady away so that she may be dressed properly for her new rank," intervened Philip.
He held out his hand toward Ali, who shyly put her hand on his wrist and followed him out of the room.
Once the heavy doors were closed behind them, Philip looked at her and asked gently:
"What is your name, my lady?"
"You heard it, my lord: Ali," she said bitterly.
"Is it your real name?" he insisted.
"No, my lord. I am called Alienor."
"It's a beautiful name and Ali is a gentle nickname."
"It is, if given in kindness, my lord."
"Who was the woman?"
"My stepmother, my lord, and my two stepsisters.
"Most horrid woman for all I could see," Philip commented.
A fugitive smile appeared on Ali's lips.
"You are the prince's confidant, are you not?" she asked suddenly.
"In a certain way, yes..."
"Is he really serious?"
"About?"
"About marrying me. I have nothing to be a princess."
Philip had a bitter smile.
"Ah! I feared that question... He is serious... for the moment."
"And how long will the moment last?" murmured Ali, looking down, as if she wasn't expecting any answer.
Philip didn't say anything. He led her to the door of a room that she supposed would be hers and slightly bowed to her.
"I hope to see you soon, my lady."
"Thank you, my lord."
She turned her back to him, ready to enter the room. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"Please remember that I am your friend here, my lady Alienor."
She looked at him with that little serious look of hers.
"I shall remember this, my lord."
She entered the room and immediately, a crowd of maids coming from nowhere surrounded her and Philip sighed. No doubt they had been alerted by the gossips, already!
Maximilian was already pacing nervously the room where he was waiting for Ali. Dressed in grey velvet as usual - except for the occasions, when he was in black velvet - he had his ash blond hair totally undone, as always when he was nervous.
"Is she coming?" he asked immediately as Philip entered the room.
His friend raised the eyebrows.
"Give her some time," he said. "She needs to recover from the shock you just gave her."
"Oh! Is it only comparable to the one she gave me? Her sight was like a sword straight in my heart!"
"I really hate when you are elated like this," murmured Philip.
"But tell me, don't you agree she's a true angel, with a perfection not for earth but for heaven?"
Philip frowned.
"I fear the worse when hearing this. She is a earthy creature, Maxian, no matter what."
"Oh no, she can't be! Her graciousness, her perfect beauty, her ingenuity, how could it come from a human mother? She can only be born from a goddess and an angel! And someday, without any doubt, she will go back to her higher skies and leave me tormented and despaired behind her!"
He was already almost mourning her loss and Philip said dryly:
"She's still here for the moment. Take advantage of it."
"But look at her! Don't you see she's an ethereal creature? She doesn't belong to this world! Don't you see it? Are you thus blind?"
Philip shook the head.
"I don't see her the same way you do."
"How do you see her?"
"A child with worried eyes opened on her soul, the soul of someone whose childhood was stolen."
"A child, indeed! Oh no, Philip, you are wrong! She will be a delightful princess!"
"If she lasts till the wedding day..."
Maximilian frowned but didn't reply.
The doors opened and a girl entered. Philip knew immediately the maids had made a mistake: they had dressed her in white, when Maximilian liked only dark colours; the dress they had chosen was heavy and Ali looked small in it. Maximilian looked at her with dismay.
"Where is my beautiful Ali?" he asked, frowning.
"It's her, Maxian," said Philip. "Don't you recognise her?"
"No, certainly, it is not she! How could this be? This girl is a fraud! She is awkward and clumsy whereas my Ali is only grace and elegance, walking as if on a cloud. What did they do of my angel?"
Ali fled on those words but, hindered by the heavy dress she was not used to, she stumbled on her way out, caught her balance only at the last moment and lost her shoe on the threshold.
"Look at her! My Ali would never have stumbled like this!"
"You fool!" snarled Philip. "You frightened the child! You took a beggar from the streets, transformed her into a princess and expected an angel! Can't you be consistent?"
"I saw an angel outside the walls of this castle, I brought her here and once again, they took my joy from me, transforming my swan into an ugly duckling! Am I supposed to give the duckling the same adoration as to the swan?"
"Yes, you are! Because, with time, the duckling would have reverted into the swan!"
"No, I am disappointed."
When Maximilian was disappointed, nothing was to be done. Ali was carefully kept away from him, appearing only briefly for dinner, before disappearing swiftly, always silent, her eyes haunted by an untold pain. She wanted to wear simple dresses, but even the simplest in the wardrobes was heavy and complicate.
From time to time, Philip came to walk with her when she escaped in the garden by nightfall, breathing fresh air and shedding discreet tears. They would walk side by side, the small hand of the girl on the wrist of the tall young man, and she wouldn't look at him but even so, he could guess the longing in her eyes. Once, only once, he heard her murmuring:
"The moment didn't last very long..."
But the prince had claimed in front of the whole court that she would be his princess and nobody dared to give back to the abandoned girl her freedom. She couldn't even flee for there was always someone with her - one of her ladies-in-waiting or Philip - as if they feared she would take advantage from one single moment of inattention to fade away from sight.
Regularly Philip would talk to Maximilian, trying to make him realise what he had done to Ali, but the prince always refused his own guilt, accusing others in place of himself. The fault was the maids', for having transformed her so badly, the fault was the courtiers', for praising her modesty and shyness - and beauty. He claimed nobody could understand his grief for having lost his angel, his only love.
Evening after evening, Philip would plead Ali's cause; he could see she was trying to be a good princess, learning how to behave, how to speak properly - though her shyness prevented her to speak most of the time - and even how to dance. But Maximilian didn't see anything of all this. He was ignoring publicly Ali but even though they were braving the prince's anger, some courtiers had been conquered by Ali's shyness and gentleness.
"Maxian, this is enough!"
"Oh, Philip, please! Just the sight of this girl bores me, frankly! Each time I see her I can't help but think of the angel she drove away."
"Without your interest for her, she is out of place here."
"Oh, is it what it's all about? But you can send her back if you want, Philip! I thought you were concerned for something else."
"Your lack of heart sickens me, Maxian," said Philip disgusted.
"Lack of heart, indeed! May I remind you that my heart was stolen by some heavenly creature who never bothered to give it back to me? What else shall I feel but indifference or sorrow now that she has gone?"
"Well, be prepared now, because she is going for good!" warned Philip, leaving the room in quite a furious state.
He went immediately to see Ali who looked at him without any hope in his eyes. Before he could say a word, she whispered:
"He wants me to go away, doesn't he?"
He took her hands in his.
"Oh my lady Alienor, I am so sorry... I should have known better, but..."
She had a little sad smile.
"Do not worry, my lord. I shall go out his life without any complaints and he will hardly notice my absence. What else could I do anyway?"
"You could... oh, you could make him regret thousand times to have let you go!"
"I am but a little girl, my lord, banal and without interest. I should be honoured to have interested my prince, if only for a short moment. But life goes on and one always needs a servant."
"But this woman is your stepmother! She can't enslave you the way she did!"
"She can't, but she does, my lord. My father is dead, who is there to prevent her? I have nowhere to go."
"And now that she had seen you with the prince, your life is going to be even more miserable than it was before!" Philip realised suddenly.
Ali didn't answer; she didn't need to.
"Maybe we could help..."
"Ah! No, my lord! I shall not accept charity. Don't you think I have already lived enough on your charity? I am not blind, my lord, and numerous girls would have taken advantage of the situation. I flatter myself that I didn't. I would say we are even; I gave him a dream for a short time, he gave me a dream for a short time, but we discovered the dream wasn't exactly what we wanted."
"He gave you nightmares also, my lady Alienor," murmured Philip.
"Wasn't I a walking nightmare for him? The ugly duckling spoiling the perfection of his vision!"
"So you heard..."
"Oh, I heard this and hundreds of others! One advantage when the prince scorns you is that everybody is very careful to ignore you..."
"Oh!" mourned Philip softly. "How many dreams did he shatter in you?"
She didn't answer; she merely looked at him and asked:
"Am I then free to go, my lord?"
"Yes, my lady Alienor. I will accompany you wherever you wish to be led."
"One moment then, please, my lord."
She disappeared in another room and came back very shortly after, dressed again with the rags she was wearing the first time the prince had seen her.
"Let's not be seen; the prince would dream again and it would be a never ending nightmare..."
Prudently, cautiously, they went out the castle and Philip took Ali in front of him on his horse.
"My lady Alienor..." he began.
"Do not bother," she said bitterly. "Isn't 'Ali' far enough for me?"
"Without your permission, I would rather not. A true lady knows when it is time for her to retreat in silence; nobody else knows. May I inquire what are your feelings for Maximilian?"
She averted her eyes.
"Ah!" he said softly. "You love him..."
"Isn't it strange that one should love he who shows only disdain and scorn? But something in his dream of perfection, in his vision of angel has touched me; not by the compliments he was bestowing to me, but by the strength of his vision!"
"I understand, my lady Alienor... I assume then that you would gladly conquer him again if you could?"
"What cruel joke it would be, to bind him to the fate of a beggar! No, my lord, I simply hope he will find his dreams of heavenly creature elsewhere..."
"If you would allow me, my lady... Though I have often seen him elated and enthusiast, never had his elation reached so high a sky. I don't think he will ever feel as fully happy as the day he saw you first."
"Woe is me, then, for having been on his path at the wrong moment, giving him hope for only crushing it later!"
"No, no! You gave him hope, it is true, but it is not crushed entirely yet as it would if you were to renounce! I think I know the way for you to make him happy again and, with your respect, I would teach him this lesson. He needs to learn to dig a little to find the hidden diamond."
"You mean that he needs to learn how to love the ugly duckling so that the beautiful swan will appear?"
"The swan has always been there, my lady, but his eyes saw it misshapen. With your permission I would make of you the black swan whose song will hopefully mean the end of my prince's foolishness."
"The black swan, my lord?"
"Yes, my lady Alienor, the black swan, for it is rare and elusive, for its last song is the most beautiful and for its grace is beyond compare!"
They were arrived at the door of Ali's house.
"So will you allow me to come see you from time to time?"
"If you really wish so, my lord. Who am I to stand against your will?" she said as he was helping her down the horse.
"If you would, you would be my friend and call me Philip."
"Only if I am to be plain Alienor to you, or even Ali."
"I shall let 'Ali' for Maximilian; he will pronounce it with more exaltation than I and he will make it sound like an angel's name."
They smiled at each other, but Philip had hardly the time to go away for a few steps that he heard a voice:
"Ah, the little angel is back! Of course the prince would refuse you! I knew he should rather have chosen among my true daughters!"
"Poor child," murmured Philip.
Few people noticed the absence of Ali, for she had been so retiring that nobody had really given her any attention. Maximilian did though and played the despaired man with outrage, reminding everyone of the girl he had presented with such pomp before ignoring her completely. Philip had to restrain himself from slapping him sometimes and, each time he was itching to do so, he found an excuse to go out to see Ali. Intrigued in spite of his despair, Maximilian had inquired why his friend was so often leaving the castle for going to town. Philip retorted he was visiting a lovely maiden in town. Though glad for his friend's romance, Maximilian was reminded of his unhappy fate and gloomily congratulated Philip for his luck. Philip laughed up his sleeve.
Each time he went at Ali's house, he was sick at heart. The fate of the girl was pitiful for her stepmother never missed an occasion for teasing her - like saying the prince wouldn't rescue her a second time - but she was somehow mollified by Philip's regular visits. He knew how to handle women like her and his gold was enough to make her quiet. While she was letting them alone, Philip would teach Ali to read, to sing - he himself had a nice tenor voice - and to dance and he would tell her of the world. Sometimes he would take her to a friend of his in town, dressed in rags as she was, to teach her to play the lute.
He discovered with pleasure that she had a very sweet voice, yet powerful enough to sing the prince's favourite high-pitched ballads. She had taken advantage of the dance lessons dispensed to her at the castle and could follow easily on the basic dances but she had more difficulties with the more spirited dances. But she was a quick learner and her agility helped her to catch the required moves. She loved to play the lute and always had a sigh of regret when leaving the friend's house to go back to the misery of her usual life.
Philip always wondered in front of her grace: how could she have preserved it when she was scrubbing floors or cooking or cleaning in permanence? Of course he had had a groan of despair when seeing the state of her hands and knees but helped by the same friend - who was a delightful elderly woman he affectionately called Nanny - he gave her some balm so they would heal faster and be smooth again.
While Philip was spending more and more time with Ali - to the great disappointment of her stepmother, who would rather have seen him spend time with her daughters - Maximilian was carrying his misery everywhere in the castle, teasing cruelly the ladies present at the court. Some old courtiers, who had been enthralled with Ali's respectfulness and behaviour in general, murmured that the common girl who had been here earlier wasn't maybe so common. Since she had disappeared the prince had behaved even more strangely than usually. Slowly, but surely, Maximilian was turning into a disillusioned man, as if Ali had taken his dreams with her. But Philip, seeing only Ali, didn't notice the change in his friend.
At last, his parents, weary of hearing his complaints at every hour of the day and the night, decided to organise a splendid reception, inviting any respectable maiden of rank in the kingdom. Maximilian didn't care; those occasions had become more and more often since he had reached the age of marrying, since his parents hoped he would find his bride among the noble maidens. The queen suggested to his husband that since a common girl had captivated their son, maybe they shouldn't restrict the invitations only to the blueblood maidens. The king rejected the idea with utter horror.
Unfortunately for Ali, her stepmother was the daughter of an earl, ruined but still an earl; she had married Ali's father only because he was rich, hoping to restore her image and her father's, but her plans had been ruined when her father died, along with Ali's and after her husband's death, the money in the house had become less affluent. Anyway, as her daughters, Katherine and Margaret, were from a blueblood line, they received the invitation, which hadn't been extended to Ali, though she was mentioned as member of the household in the official records.
Katherine and Margaret, though maybe less ambitious than their mother, had nevertheless the dream of becoming princess and thought that there was no reason why one of them couldn't be chosen. They wanted to be beautiful for the reception and Ali was in charge of doing their hair, bring them jewels, help them to get ready in time, polishing their shoes and thousands of other tasks.
Among her accomplishments Ali had learnt to be a very good hairdresser and the hair of her stepsisters was done wonderfully. Katherine, the nicest of both, had allowed her to practice on her hair and they had spent more than one afternoon trying different hairstyles, till both of them were laughing so hard that Ali couldn't hold the brush and comb anymore. As to thank her stepsister, Ali had done Katherine's hair even more beautifully than Margaret's and so Katherine's slightly round face was put at advantage, showing even more her beauty.
When at last they left for the reception, Ali sighed heavily and thought briefly of Maximilian, wondering if he would find another angel tonight for him to replace her. She sat down in the stair, too tired to even go back to her little room upstairs. A knock at the door startled her: who could it be, at that hour? Prudently she peered through the window and then opened the door, having recognised Philip.
"Philip! What are you doing here? Aren't you going to be late for the reception?"
"Well, I will be if you need time to get ready," he answered, smiling. "Good evening, Alienor."
"Get ready? For what?"
"Ah, come! I shall explain to you on the way."
"Where are we going? Please, Philip, tell me, you know I hate surprises."
"First, we're going to Nanny's."
"And then?"
"Ah, you're too perceptive for me, Alienor! Or I am getting too old! Come on now, Alienor, where could we be going?"
The face she turned toward him was both hopeful and frightened.
"Maximilian?" she whispered.
"Naturally! Did you think I would let your sisters steal your rightful place? I noticed though that the hair of one of them was beautifully done. Come, we must hurry."
So Ali was dressed from the hands of Nanny, who enjoyed her task, and the girl found herself in a gown of dark blue velvet, her dark hair up on her head; she was wearing only one jewel, belonging to Nanny, and it was a simple chain of gold circling her brow and supporting a sapphire right between her eyebrows. The gown was quite simple, yet elegant in its simplicity, and it didn't hinder any of Ali's movements.
"Ah!" said simply Philip when seeing her coming back. "The black swan begins to show its head..."
Ali blushed and accepted his arm to go in the carriage where he sat in front of her.
"Shall we go?" he asked, smiling knowingly.
She only nodded, her heart beating frantically at the idea of seeing again Maximilian.
At the same moment, Maximilian was smiling politely to Margaret before complimenting politely Katherine about her hair - which he was truly admiring. In short he was already bored. All the girls were trying to find something witty to say and most of them were banal. He thought with misery that he would rather be in the streets of the town, looking for an angel fallen in the gutter.
Then she entered and he thought his heart had stopped to beat. She smiled to a man near the door and listened attentively to what he was saying, her head slightly cocked on the side. He instantly liked her attention. He noticed also that she was the only one to be dressed in dark; all the others were in pastel, except him, in black, and Philip, who usually was in dark green. Where was Philip?
His friend popped up at his side at the very moment Maximilian was frowning, wondering about his absence.
"Have you seen this maiden?" he said, discreetly showing the newcomer.
"Oh, please, Maxian!" groaned Philip. "Not another angel!"
"There is no angel for me but my beautiful Ali," said Maximilian, convinced.
"Oh! You still think of her? I thought you had completely forgotten her," replied Philip casually.
"What kind of cruel joke is this? I think of her more often than I breathe and I dream of her every night, the whole night long!"
"Yet your parents expect you to pick a bride among these blueblood maidens."
"Who could I choose except my graceful Ali? I wish she would come back! Who could come even close to her mien, her grace, her charm?"
"Her ghost, maybe," said dryly Philip.
"Ghost! Ah, do not talk of ghosts!"
"Well, I have to, for she is most probably dead by now, scorned by you. I was told angelic hearts are very easily broken, once given to someone else."
"Ah! Horror! I would have killed my beloved Ali?"
"Think of it, you didn't even pass the first test."
"Test? Which test?"
"She attracted your attention with her heavenly beauty and then tried you, willing to see if you could be happy with only her, even without her ethereal splendour. But you miserably failed. What else could she do but leave?"
"I failed my Ali?" repeated Maximilian blankly.
"Oh, utterly! I would say it wasn't possible to fail more."
Maximilian seemed ready to die on the spot and Philip thought wiser to stop here.
Trying to find a diversion, Maximilian focused again his attention on the unknown girl, who was now part of a big group, still silent, smiling, but always giving her full attention to the speaker.
"The cheek of this girl!" he said, half infuriated. "She didn't even come to see me!"
"You don't care for your guests anyway, why would she waste her time?" yawned Philip.
"This is a reception organised in my honour and I am the prince!"
"And you are profoundly bored and everybody knows it."
"You are insulting me, Philip."
"If you really think so, go talk to this girl yourself, Maxian. You can give her this honour at the very least, since she's the only one to have attracted your attention for more than a minute."
Outraged Maximilian was on the point of refusing haughtily, but then, on the injunction of one of the men around her, the unknown maiden picked up a lute, sat gracefully in an armchair and played a soft melody, being careful not to disturb everybody. Even so several heads turned toward her and, slowly, everybody became silent to listen to the music.
Maximilian couldn't tell which melody it was, he only knew it was haunting. The girl played as if her soul was torn and it appealed to Maximilian's misery.
As she hit the last notes, she looked up and smiled hesitantly to Maximilian, now standing by her seat without him having the faintest idea on how he had come here.
"My lady," he said, bowing politely, and offering her his hand.
She gave the lute to a servant and took Maximilian's hand.
"Your Highness," she replied, her voice low.
"I saw you listening attentively to everybody else. Would you listen to me also?" he asked, unable to restrain herself.
She looked at him with slight wonder and inclined the head.
"Your Highness, I am but your humble servant," she replied, curtseying deeply.
"Oh, I am sure you will find me quite forward, but you see, you remind me of someone, someone who was very special to me."
She raised the eyebrows in polite interest.
"Really?" she murmured.
"My lady, women will tell you that I am cruel and heartless, if they haven't told you yet. But, honestly, I do protest! I didn't become what I am now just in a heartbeat!"
He glanced at the girl; her attention was unflinching.
"You play the lute in a very impressing manner, my lady," he said suddenly, as if remembering his duty.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
For a moment, Maximilian tried to converse politely, using all the tricks he knew to make people talk, but the girl was very reserved and she hardly said more than one or two words, though they always showed a knowledge of the subject he was tackling. Plus, there was something about her that just provoked confessions and Maximilian just wanted to tell her about his heavy heart. He somehow knew her attention would be fully on him and his story; naturally, she would be compassionate - they were all compassionate at the beginning, until the tenth retelling - but then, she would honest. Her attention was genuine and there was something in her eyes that reminded him so painfully of his sweet Ali...
"I loved her with all my soul, you see," he blurted. "I would have done anything for her, anything! But she wouldn't ask, she would simply be there, looking at me, smiling her secret smile. It was as if she was enjoying the blissful torture she was inflicting me, knowing I was totally in her power. Oh, her game was cruel, but I didn't care!"
He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was truly moved.
"She was perfection. Nothing, no one could come close to her. Even the most perfect dream I could have come up with would have been far behind what she really was. I knew, but I didn't want to believe! She wasn't from this world, she had come only for a short moment and she had to go back where she came from! So she left, she left me, my angel, and took my heart with her!"
The grey eyes looking at him turned cold.
"She was from this world," the girl asserted.
"No, no, I assure you!" replied Maximilian, taking it for a question. "I don't know what she was, an elf, an angel, a goddess! Who knows? But she was from an ethereal world, from different skies. She broke my heart when leaving and left me only the cruelty she had treated me with!"
"Liar!" exclaimed the girl, loud enough for the nearest persons to hear her.
Every head turned in her direction; Maximilian looked at her bewildered.
"I beg your pardon? I am telling you the truth and, what's more, I am your prince, you can't treat me like..."
"Liar! Oh, yes, you're a liar, prince or not! Ethereal world, indeed! Cruelty, indeed! Oh, if someone has to complaint about cruelty, it is your 'angel', for she suffered from your cruelty! I called you liar and I maintain the accusation! For the 'cruel' girl who abandoned you, it was me, yes, me, the one you called your angel, your Ali! And I didn't abandon you, you were bored to death and only too happy to see me leave!"
Ali had forgotten her shyness and stood proudly in front of Maximilian, hey eyes glowing with righteous anger, her little fists clenched by her side.
"So I was cruel! So I broke your heart and made your life miserable! That's what you say everywhere you go and they all believe you, because you are their prince! Nobody cares how miserable you made my life! Nobody cares that you broke my heart! Why caring, I'm just a little nothing!"
She breathed deeply, slowly unclenching her fists.
"I hope," she said then, "I just hope that someday you will regret what you did, regret it for real, not in one of your make-believes. Then maybe instead of thinking of what you think you feel, you'll think of what the others around you may feel!"
Maximilian's face couldn't have been paler if she had hit him. She took a last look at him and left swiftly without adding another world. But no matter how fast she left the room, she couldn't help but hear his heart-rending cry:
"Ali!"
She closed her eyes a brief instant, praying she could close her ears, and resumed her flight.
Maximilian turned to Philip.
"A carriage, quickly! A horse! Anything!"
"Where do you intend to go?" replied calmly Philip without moving.
"To find her! Didn't you hear? It was my Ali! My true Ali! Oh, how beautiful she was in her anger!"
He stopped dead.
"But I don't know where she lives! How will I find her?"
"At last! I was wondering if you would ever think of it. Indeed you never inquired where she lived - and maybe still lives - you never inquired where she would go once you cast her out of this castle where you had brought her."
"Is it important now?" Maximilian cried out as the servants were escorting the guests out. "The only thing that matters now is to find her! How can I have been so blind? She was in front of me, there, and I didn't recognise her!"
"Do you begin to understand what I told you about the test?" asked Philip coldly. "You see only a beautiful maiden, you don't care for what she is really, for what she thinks, for what she feels!"
Maximilian grabbed his friend's arm.
"Later for the speech!" he gasped. "Let's find her, I beg of you! Don't you understand I need her? I want her to forgive me!"
Philip crossed his arms on his chest.
"No," he said flatly. "I don't believe you. It is a too sudden turnaround for me to trust you. I don't want you to hurt her again like you already hurt her. I shall wait before helping you. Naturally..."
"I shall find her without you!" exclaimed Maximilian fiercely.
"Naturally, you are free to go in search for her in the gutter, but don't complaint to me if you come back empty-handed, sad and muddy. Reflection will do you good, so you will know what to tell her next time you'll see her - if you see her."
"What, falling at her feet imploring forgiveness wouldn't be enough?" inquired Maximilian, vaguely worried.
Philip sighed.
"Not at all. What would you reply when she would ask you, with that serious little air of hers - which you would know if you had cared about her - why you think you were blind? That you didn't recognise her at the reception tonight? It would be far from being enough, believe me!"
"But I need her!"
"The question is: do you love her? Normally saying you need someone can be a declaration of love, but I don't think it is in your case. You need her to feel better about yourself, that's what I believe!"
"But my heart was broken when I lost her..." protested Maximilian.
"Oh, and spare me the lyricism! I do not care for it. For once in your life, Maxian, try to be honest. I know you're the prince, I know every of your subjects should bow to you and such, but I frankly don't care. If you really need and love Ali as you pretend, you would forget you're a prince, you would forget everything that's not her! Are you ready to sacrifice your life and love for her to be happy? She would do so for you! Now, think of it and have a good night; I shall see you tomorrow evening."
"Where will you be tomorrow during the day?"
"In town. A young maiden is waiting for me."
"Ah! Your romance in town! Help me, Philip, I'm so unhappy. Surely your love will forgive you if you help me."
"She would if you truly needed my help by tomorrow, which is hardly the case. So, I'm sorry, Maxian, but I shall go to see her tomorrow. Good night to you."
He left the room and Maximilian sat dejectedly on the seat previously occupied by Ali.
Philip didn't go to bed; he ran out in the night, to Nanny's, where Ali was pacing up and down.
"Alienor," he called softly.
She turned toward him and he could see she was still infuriated.
"Philip! Oh, I'm sorry for my behaviour, but it was more than I could bear! He accused me of all crimes, when he had committed them! What cruelty did I have for him when he scorned me had I hardly set foot in his castle? I left him with a broken heart, indeed! In which chest is trying to beat the broken heart, I wonder?"
"I know, Alienor..."
She looked at him, reverting to her shy self.
"Does he repeat the same to everybody? Does he accuse me in front of everybody like he did in front of me tonight?"
"Well, yes, but nobody really believes him. Some courtiers are firmly on your side and the others know Maxian enough to be able to see through his words."
"Why," she said, her voice full of tears, "why does he do that to me? I never did no wrong, why would he sully my memory if he loves me as he pretends he does?"
A sob escaped her lips and Philip closed his arms around her as she burst into tears. He had never held her so close, not even when he was teaching her to dance. But then there had always been Maximilian's ghost between them; not anymore. There were only Philip and Alienor as she was crying against his chest. It was so strange for him! He had always been clear-sighted and suddenly, just holding her against him as she had been hurt made him willing to revenge her, to punish Maximilian for the wrong he did to her. He closed his eyes briefly and gently kissed the top of her head, cradling her in his arms.
"You did the worse wrong possible to him..." he whispered. "You were the answer to a dream, to a prayer and he didn't know what to do and he destroyed his own dream. But he can't accept his own fault and so he rejected it on you."
She shook the head futilely against his doublet.
"I will make him ask you for forgiveness, I promise you," he said fiercely. "Maximilian is sometimes a fool, but he knows how to recognise his wrongs."
"What's the use? How could I face him now?"
"Alienor, nothing's lost now. He was both overjoyed and sad to see you and he treated himself of fool for not recognising you. You were his angel again. He claims he needs you and I believe him."
She shook the head again and looked up at him, her tears answering the gleam of the sapphire dancing between her eyebrows.
"Tell me what for, Philip! For I don't know anymore! Why did I fall in love with such a man? He's not even the dreamer I thought I loved, he's become cold and deceitful. Why couldn't I love someone nice, living in reality, someone like you? You deserve to be loved more than he does!"
Philip bit his lower lip and prayed she wouldn't notice the shiver running through his body.
"Don't say things like that, Alienor," he scolded her gently. "You know it's not true. If it were, you would only laugh at his accusations and go on with your life. But you still care."
He wiped her tears away and smiled down at her.
"Be brave, little soldier."
Her eyes still too bright she raised her chin defiantly and slightly tightened her jaws.
Philip told her to stay at Nanny's for the night for he would be here by morning, for finishing the preparations of the last act. She accepted wearily and went to bed without protesting. He stood on the threshold of Nanny's house a moment, thinking it had been the first time he had seen her cry, that she had always been strong until now. Nanny and he had showed her some kindness and she wasn't used to be hurt all the time now; they had made her vulnerable, which she had learnt not to be.
"I'm a fool," he murmured to himself. "Those are just the emotions of the night, they will be gone by morning."
But they weren't. He spent an awful night, turning over and over in his bed, unable to forget Ali's bright eyes and how radiant she had looked at the reception, how her inner charm had truly made her look like an angel. He called himself a fool more than a thousand times but nothing could be done; his thoughts were full of Ali and even his guilt of falling in love with his friend's beloved couldn't stop his mind from racing. He almost had the impression of hearing Ali's sweet voice saying, with a slight shrug, that he would deserve her more than Maximilian would. That was the final blow and he moaned in anguish.
He got out of bed, dressed quickly and went down to the stables to saddle his horse. The horse looked at him in wonder, since it was still dark outside but was more than happy to go out. Philip didn't come back to the castle before dawn and his horse was covered with foam. Philip's eyes were blazing, his jaws were clenched tight and his whole body was tense, so everybody prudently stayed away when he went to his rooms. Maximilian was still not up that Philip was already on his way to Nanny's - with another horse.
Nanny had only to take one look at him to know there was something wrong.
"There, child," she said, "have some tea and biscuits. You will feel better."
He looked at her as she was pouring the tea in a cup.
"I am a fool, am I not?" he sighed, sitting down by her side.
"You're a caring young man, more used to think of the others before of himself. Now that for once you are caring for yourself, you are lost."
"But how can I do such a thing! I mean, she belongs to Maximilian!"
"Oh no, dear child. She belongs to herself and she could do worse than choose you rather than him."
"She mustn't know."
"She already does. She knew it before you realised it, Philip, but she will go where you lead her, because she doesn't know where she is anymore."
Philip closed his eyes.
"She mustn't know," he repeated weakly.
"Mustn't know what?" asked the tired voice of Ali.
He started violently and looked at her standing on the threshold as if she was a ghost.
"Alienor! Why are you already awake? Did we wake you up? I'm sorry, I forgot you were probably tired."
"It's not your fault, I was awake when I heard your voices. So I decided to come to see what you had in store for me today."
He feared a moment she had heard their conversation but she said nothing indicating she had.
During two weeks, Maximilian was in a turmoil accepted with difficulty by the castle's inhabitants. The king looked like he was going to explode and the queen pleaded more and more often for terrible headaches, which allowed her to keep her room. During this time, Philip reverted to his usual calm self, his face showing nothing and so great was his control over himself that he could sleep well again and saw Ali only as the future bride of his prince.
The king and queen concerted again behind Maximilian's back and they wondered over and over what to do for having their son happy. The queen remarked that the girl who, by twice, had attracted Maximilian's attention was far from being from blueblood and the king frowned.
"It's it highly condemnable," he said.
"But we want our son to be happy," objected the queen.
The king sighed.
"True, my dear, very true," he conceded gloomily. "Maybe we could just turn the invitation so that only his... Ali would be invited."
"It would be very clumsy, dear. And you know that Maxian hates to feel manipulated."
"Maxian hates everything we do for him," muttered the king.
And so they decided for a great ball to be held for three days but the king had finally changed his mind and the invitations were only for the finest maidens of the kingdom. But Maximilian, who wasn't half the fool he tried to look like, took all the invitations and wrote on each of them: 'Invitation extended to Ali, if she belongs to the household. Ali, forgive me, please come.' It took him a full night to add the line on every invitation but he didn't mind. He gave back the invitations to the servants and none of them made any comment.
When Ali's stepmother received the invitation, she called Ali by her side and showed the card to her.
"What do you think I shall do?" she asked briskly.
Ali looked at the invitation, read the line written by the prince's hand and looked up at her stepmother.
"I do not know, stepmother, but I suppose you will leave me behind."
"Indeed I will! The prince was enchanted by Katherine and I will certainly not see a little nothing like you take her rightful place!"
The words sounded so much like Philip's that Ali was deeply hurt.
"And to be sure you shall not be taken along by your friend, you will be locked in the cellar for the three days! That will teach you where your place is!"
"I think I already learnt the lesson, thank you," murmured Ali.
But she didn't breathe a word of all this to Philip who himself didn't know about the line Maximilian had added on the invitations. The prince had decided it would be his last try before renouncing definitely to Ali and he didn't want Philip to know about it, in case it would fail. Since the reception he thought of her even more, remembering each word she had said to him, remembering she had never tried to interest him in her, contrary to all the other maidens.
The first evening arrived and, once again, Ali helped her sisters to get ready. She did Katherine's hair, though her stepsister was looking ill at ease on her seat.
"Hush," Ali murmured, "be still."
"Ali, I'm sorry, I don't feel this is right. Everybody knows the prince wants you and nobody else. Why..."
"Katherine, marry him if you can, I'll be happy for you," affirmed Ali with candour.
"But..."
"But I am just a beggar, Katherine," she said softly.
"It's not fair, Ali!" protested Katherine.
"Ah! Who said life was fair?" replied Ali, a bit bitterly.
And indeed life was unfair for before leaving the house, her stepmother locked her in the cellar like she had promised.
Philip came, as Ali knew he would, and he knocked at the door, then banged at it when nobody answered.
"That's of no use!" shouted a neighbour, passing her head by her window. "They're gone for the ball!"
"And where is Ali?"
"Locked in the house. I heard her stepmother say so," offered a child, looking up at Philip.
"James! Excuse him, Sir, he..."
"Can you enter the house, James?" asked Philip, squatting near the child.
"Of course! There's the door behind, nobody ever locks it. But the cellar door will be locked."
"Ali's stepmother won't have taken the key with her, will she?" winked Philip. "Can you show me the backdoor?"
"Oh, certainly! Come with me, Sir!"
Ali had heard Philip banging at the door and when silence followed, she thought he had left. She wondered what he would think of her and didn't really believe her eyes when the cellar door opened on Philip's tall silhouette.
"Philip? How is it possible?"
Then she saw James, standing proudly by Philip's side and she took the little boy in her arms.
"Thank you, James!"
"Are you ready to leave?" asked Philip, smiling.
"Only if you promise me I'll be back in this cellar, the door locked, before my stepmother comes back."
"You will be back. Thank you, James."
He gave the little boy several gold coins.
"You never showed me this backdoor, huh?" he added with a wink.
"Is this gold for my silence?" asked James, frowning.
"Oh no! It's for the service. I would never insult you by thinking I need to buy your silence."
James nodded and ran out the house. Ali and Philip stood face to face.
"I thought you would hate me for not answering the door," she said softly.
"You know I would never," replied Philip. "Shall we go?"
Ali hesitated a moment before putting her hand on his wrist.
"Should I really? He hopes I will come, he may look for me..."
"What are you saying?" Philip frowned.
"Didn't you see the invitation?"
As Philip shook the head negatively she began to be afraid. Softly she repeated the words she had read, the words that had sung a song of joy and of guilt in her heart since she had read them. Philip frowned even more.
"I didn't know," he mumbled. "This will change the plans... Come with me, he won't recognise you."
She obeyed, because she trusted him more she trusted herself.
Maximilian was restless. He wanted to look everywhere in case his Ali was here or not but one of the harbingers kept presenting him with maidens to dance with. He managed to have a quick look around and saw nobody dressed in dark. He felt misery invade his heart: she hadn't forgiven him, she wouldn't come! He closed his eyes and wished he could die.
Philip entered with a young lady by his arm and Maximilian thought that she was probably his romance in town. He refused the next girl the harbinger was presenting him and went to Philip.
"Philip, would you introduce me to your delightful friend?" he asked, bowing to the unknown maiden.
She curtseyed to him and he thought she was graceful. He wondered why Philip would have her coming masked, though some maidens had indeed come with a mask.
"Maxian, I present you Lady Alienor. Alienor, this is His Highness the Prince Maximilian John Edward James."
"The honour is mine, Your Highness," she said with a voice rich and warm.
"She seems charming, Philip, I'm delighted for you," replied politely Maximilian, though there was something in the girl that disturbed him.
She was dressed in green, quite dark, but not dark enough to stand out of the crowd, her dark hair was gathered on her head, like Ali's had been at the reception, but, strangely enough, she wasn't wearing any jewel.
"You could have offered her jewels, Philip. A gold chain would have most beautifully adorned her swan neck."
"No, thank you, Your Highness," she replied, "but I refuse to be chained to anybody, even with a gold bond."
Maximilian started. Her voice, at those very words, sounded like Ali's when she had treated him of liar. Troubled he thought he so much wanted to see Ali that he was imagining hearing and seeing her everywhere.
"If you will excuse me," he said, bowing, "I have to go back to my guests. Lady Alienor, naturally, you are most welcome here to do as you wish."
She looked at him with surprise as he left them quite abruptly.
"What is wrong with him?" she asked softly.
"He's in love," shrugged Philip, his eyes suddenly pained, "and I think he's not far from accusing me of stealing his love."
His refusal to look at Ali was more than enough for her to know what he meant and she turned the head away.
"Would you honour me with this dance, Alienor?" asked Philip, half bowing in front of her.
She blushed under her mask and accepted with a slight nod.
Maximilian saw them from the other side of the room and he stared at them, fascinated. Philip had always been an excellent dancer and he knew how to lead his partner so that she would always feel comfortable. But somehow, Maximilian was sure that, even without Philip's guidance, she would have been a wonder of grace. It seemed as if she had danced all her life, as if it was more natural for her to dance than to walk! She was stepping lightly, her feet barely touching the floor, as if she was dancing on a cloud and, once again, Maximilian was painfully reminded of Ali. His Ali would have danced like this.
"He's looking at us," whispered Philip to Ali. "Or, rather, he's looking at you. With longing in his eyes."
Ali nodded.
"So everything is going following your plans?"
He looked strangely at her.
"I thought they were your plans also."
She nodded again.
"I'm sorry, I feel still out of place. After all, even if you transformed me into a 'black swan', at heart, I'm still an ugly duckling."
He tightened his hold on her.
"No," he said. "No, you know it's not true and I know it also."
Ali looked at Katherine who was dancing with Maximilian.
"Look at my sister. She deserves a prince; she is a true blueblood maiden, nothing of what she knows is borrowed or usurped."
"She lacks lots of things that you have naturally."
"Like what? My poverty? My uneasiness at court?"
"Your grace," breathed Philip. "Do not protest, you have an inner grace that's due for nothing to all I taught you."
"She could have it also, if I taught her. And she would probably be able to master those spirited dances that I can't."
"We will see shortly as for this one," smiled Philip, "for they are changing rhythm!"
Before she could protest, he swirled her as Maximilian was swirling Katherine a bit further.
"No, Philip, please!" she implored, half-clutching to him.
"Just follow my lead," he breathed in her ear, holding her closer for a brief instant. "You can do this, I know you can!"
And because of his faith in her, she couldn't do less so she followed his lead, thinking of nothing else but this dance. She knew Philip was doing the same, leading as he had never led, just because he wanted her to impress Maximilian.
So it happened because, after leading Katherine back to her mother's side, Maximilian bowed to Ali.
"Philip, will you allow me to invite your lady to dance?"
"Maxian, who am I to stand against your will? My lady is yours for this dance."
Ali accepted the hand Maximilian was offering her and followed him without a word. Despaired, Philip thought, looking at the couple dancing on the floor:
"Oh, Maximilian, you would punish me if I were stealing your love from you, yet you are trying to steal from me whom you think is my love! What should I do?"
He couldn't take his eyes from Ali; her grace was stealing every gaze in the room and he thought quite bitterly that nothing in her showed his lessons. She had integrated everything he had taught her and made it fully hers. The movements had nothing stiff or mechanical, they looked natural and each of them had her unmistakable touch.
Her eyes remained fixed on Maximilian's shoulder, as if she didn't dare to look at him. No smile was brightening her face. Even with her mask, she was radiant and Philip thought that if she would take her mask off suddenly, everybody would fall at her feet, stunned by her beauty. He forced himself to look away and invited Margaret, Ali's stepsister, for a dance.
As the dance ended, Maximilian couldn't bear the idea of letting Ali go and he whispered to her:
"Again?"
She nodded without a word, though managing a curtsey without him letting her go. Maximilian didn't look at Philip, for guilt was assailing him. He knew exactly what he was doing and he knew also that to Philip's eyes, it would most undoubtedly look like him stealing his ladylove. He tried to find a way to make it look legal but there wasn't. He knew he could command Philip to, but he also knew he wouldn't. He looked at her again and thought painfully she looked so much like his Ali.
"Are you the ghost of my Ali?" he murmured.
She started.
"Your Highness?"
"My ladylove, my lady Alienor. Her name is Ali and I lost her twice, because of my own foolishness. I didn't want to acknowledge it but it is true. You remind me of her. Oh, I can hardly believe that I was blind enough to let her go without saying a word! I had hoped she would come here tonight but if she hasn't, then she hasn't forgiven me!"
He had a twisted smile.
"Would you believe it, but I hardly know her! Yet I feel that if she cannot forgive me then I cannot go on with life."
"You would die if you don't have your Ali?" she asked, her voice giving no hint of her thoughts.
"It sounds ridiculous and quite exaggerated, doesn't it? Yet, I swear it to you, if Ali doesn't come, even once, at this ball, I shall kill myself. A just punishment for having been such a fool."
"Isn't the punishment too great for the fault? After all, you are the prince."
"Ah, but you see, I am the prince but she was only a beggar though she had the grace of an angel. But lout as I am, I stood in front of her, almost telling her that she should be grateful that I had looked down at her from my glory. I should have known better but I didn't!"
"Your Highness you do yourself too little credit... Surely this Ali saw through your mask..." she ventured.
"Well, if she did, my lady, truly she is an angel, for nobody could have seen anything but arrogance in my behaviour. But I am talking and talking, my lady, and surely you wish to go back with Philip."
But before she could answer, a bell tower rang in the distance and she started.
"Which hour is it?"
"Midnight, I think, my lady," he replied, puzzled.
"Oh no! I must go, I'm sorry!"
She escaped him and ran to the door.
"But wait!" he called her back. "Won't you wait for Philip?"
She didn't answer but as he turned around, looking for Philip so he could tell him his lady had left, Philip was nowhere to be found.
Philip wasn't to be found during the whole day. When Ali's stepmother arrived home, around four o'clock, Ali was still locked in the cellar, cold and tired. Her stepmother didn't say anything, though she had had some doubts when seeing Philip arrive at the ball with a maiden at his arm. When asked, Ali said wearily:
"He has a romance in town."
Her stepmother wasn't really convinced for Ali sounded far too submissive and she was always defiant when Ali was submissive.
"Anyway," she cooed, "the prince was in admiration with Katherine and with the lady of his friend. Some said it was shockingly improper for the prince to be so caring for his friend's ladylove! But others pretended that his friend would never refuse anything to the prince, not even to abandon his love... So, you see, Ali, he decidedly doesn't remember you! Your little outburst at the reception was for nothing."
Katherine passed near Ali and whispered to her ear:
"He told me that his friend's lady reminded him of you..."
Ali thanked her with a smile.
The very evening, the same scene was repeated, Ali helping her stepsisters to get ready then being locked in the cellar, for her stepmother wouldn't take any risk. Once again also Philip freed her from the cellar and drove her to Nanny's, where she dressed for the second evening. This time her gown was of a dark red and Philip insisted for her to wear a beautiful necklace of rubies, diamonds and gold. Her hair was done a bit more sophistically, with plaits entwined together.
"You are breathtaking, Alienor," said Philip with sincerity.
She blushed slightly; he took her hand and looked at her with concern.
"Is there something wrong? You hardly said a word since yesterday afternoon."
"No... Well, that is... There are gossips on you now, because of me. Several people noticed Maximilian's interest for me and said that you would surrender me to him without any protestation - because they think I'm your ladylove."
"They are right," Philip replied, leading her to the carriage, and thus avoiding to look at her. "I would indeed surrender my love to my prince... if he had the bad taste to ask me for. I am his friend, Alienor, which means I won't steal from him but which means also that I won't let him steal from me without reacting."
She nodded and didn't reply anything, looking by the carriage window, her cheek on her hand, her head slightly cocked on the side. She was lovely in this position and Philip looked by the other window.
Maximilian saw them as soon as they entered, as if he had been waiting for them to arrive, and he waved discreetly at them as he was dancing with a beautiful blonde girl. Like the previous evening, Philip asked the first dance to Ali and she followed him without any hesitation on the pavane.
Her dark eyes were shining through the holes of her mask of dark red velvet but Philip avoided obstinately her gaze. Finally she said quite scathingly:
"If it bothers you to be seen in my company or to dance with me, please tell me so, so that I won't remain a burden to you."
He started as if she had slapped him.
"Alienor," he protested, "surely you don't think..."
But he saw her eyes and added softly:
"Oh, you do think... I beg of you, Alienor, don't believe this but..."
"But it's because of him and it hurts you to be with me, to make believe, to force him to think he's stealing me from you," she completed.
He was on the point of protesting again but she cut him short.
"It's alright, it doesn't matter anyway."
He was unable to say what exactly didn't matter.
Maximilian came to them, bowing to Ali as she was curtseying to him.
"Philip, where have you been? I looked for you the whole day long!"
"I'm afraid I am to blame, Your Highness," Ali said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you needed him so sorely."
He looked at her again, then exclaimed:
"Philip! Your mother's necklace around her neck! Does that mean... I mean, it looks lovely on her."
His mother's necklace! Ali wanted to cry. She knew, for Philip had sometimes spoken of his mother, that he loved her very much, though she had died when he was still a boy. He kept her jewels preciously and wouldn't let anybody wear them. Except her, tonight. Why? Why had he insisted so much?
"I couldn't resist," Philip was saying calmly. "With the gown she had chosen, it almost called for this necklace."
He had chosen the gown for her. Ali closed her eyes and wished she could already leave.
"Did you propose to her? You told me once you would let only your future bride wear them."
Maximilian's voice was soft, as if he didn't want her to hear his words, but she heard them even so; she had gotten used to his tone of voice when he wasn't caring for her and she was listening to his hurting words from the shadows. Philip didn't reply and only smiled. Ali felt miserable.
She danced with Maximilian during the whole evening, until the midnight stroke and then, once again, she ran away from him, lightly, like a doe would run away from his predator. And, once again, Philip was nowhere to be found.
The following evening was the last one of the ball and though Maximilian seemed to forget the absence of his Ali by being with Philip's lady, there was a sadness growing in his eyes with each evening passing by. Philip drove Ali at Nanny's for the 'last act' as he called it. The gown was of black silk, following closely the shape of Ali's body, with a low neckline that made her neck look like the long snowy neck of a swan. She let down her hair, just holding them with two mother-of-pearl combs. She refused any jewel Philip presented her with and just circled her neck with a short necklace of pearls that was coming from her mother, a treasure she had kept hidden since her mother's death.
When Philip saw her coming out of the room, dressed up, the look on his face was almost painful to see. He couldn't take his eyes of her, yet was unable to say a word. He nodded, bit his lower lip and then murmured, the voice strained:
"The black swan... At last I see it rise."
Ali didn't even blush. She stood where she was, waiting for him to give her the signal for leaving.
Once in the carriage, his eyes set on the simple yet elegant pearl necklace around her neck, he said:
"This evening is the last one. You won't enter with me. This is your evening and yours alone. At the end, you are free to leave or to stay, for I think he will be yours completely by then."
A silence then Ali's voice broke it.
"I will leave."
Philip started.
"Why?"
"Because he was right. I am just a fraud. Everything he admires in me you instilled it in me. The one he thinks he loves is not I. It is the lovely stranger you have created, who knows to read, to talk, to dance, to be a lady. I am no lady and accepting his love would be to deceive him. He once broke his own dream; if I were to accept his love, I would break it again, but for good this time, because he would be bound to me."
"Alienor, listen... I taught you, it's true, but you made what I taught you fully yours. You would be what you are now if you had had the occasion."
But no matter how long Philip pleaded, Ali turned the head away. At the end he fell silent.
As they arrived at the castle, he helped her to get down the carriage and, as she was leaving, he murmured:
"Fly away, my beautiful swan, fly away from me..."
She never heard him.
Maximilian's attention was immediately focused on the beautiful maiden entering the room. At once he recognised her regal carriage and identified her as Philip's lady but then, seeing her dressed in dark, he recognised her also as Ali. He made a discreet sign to one of the servants and hurried toward her.
"My lady, I am but the first to present you my respects and I fear that tonight, not even the respect for their prince will keep the other gentlemen away from you."
"Your Highness, you do too little credit to yourself," she replied, and her voice was again the low voice he had come to identify with Ali.
"Lady Alienor, may I have this dance?"
She didn't reply; she just put her hand in his. He was talking to her but though her attention seemed focused on him, she wasn't listening. She was looking for Philip and finally her keen eyes found him. He was almost hiding in a dark corner, looking intensely at Maximilian and her.
"Lady Alienor... Alienor?"
She came back to reality and focused her eyes on Maximilian.
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"May I call you Ali or would you prefer Alienor?"
She looked at him fully in the eyes and she understood he knew.
"Whichever you prefer, Your Highness."
"Ali... do you forgive me?"
Somehow she was grateful to him to call her Ali. Nobody else but Philip had called her Alienor, except her father, a long time ago, when she was still a child and he wanted her full attention.
"Who am I to hold grief against my prince, Your Highness?"
"No... no, Ali, please, don't speak like this! I have talked to you these two last days, you know now what I really think, you know I am truly sorry for the way I treated you. Tell me what you want me to do. Shall I kneel in front of you and beg for your pardon? Do you want me to give up the crown and go off in a far country with you? Tell me what you want."
She shook the head.
"I want nothing, Your Highness. I just want you to realise that I am no angel, that I am a mere girl, no better than any other."
"I have learnt this lesson, Ali, I swear! Even though you're my angel of salvation..."
"Tell me, Your Highness, what had made you look at me and decide I was the one you wanted? My grace? I can teach Katherine over there to be as graceful as me, if not more. My poverty, so that I could be your toy?"
He shook the head in turn but she insisted:
"I am just the ghost of the Ali you saw in the streets one day and brought to your castle. I am she and yet I am no more for I am become the fraud you said I was. As midnight strikes, Your Highness, the ghost will disappear forever and will never reappear to your court."
"Why, oh Ali, why?"
"Because ghosts remain on earth only until their soul is set at peace. Mine will be at peace at midnight and thus I shall vanish."
He looked down.
"Then you haven't forgiven me my foolishness."
His voice was bitter and filled with misery.
"Your Highness," she said softly, "I have forgiven you, if not I wouldn't have come, if not my soul wouldn't be at peace. But now it is time for me to return to my ethereal realm for it wouldn't be forgiveness from me that to take your dream and shatter it without hope of remission."
"Don't you love me, Ali?" he asked even more softly.
She couldn't answer; it seemed to her that her throat was blocked and no sound could pass her lips. He slightly bent down and kissed her, gently, almost hesitantly, as if he feared she would reject him. She stood motionless and only said:
"Oh..."
She stepped back. Every head was turned toward her. She dropped her mask, appearing in all her radiance, let everybody take a full look at her and left swiftly.
But Maximilian wasn't a man to be tricked three times. On one of the steps of the castle he had asked one of his servants to spill a kind of pitch and Ali's shoe remained stuck on it. She didn't even try to retrieve it; she had a brief glance behind her and murmured:
"It's time for you to open your wings and fly, black swan!"
Maximilian ran behind her, Philip suddenly appearing by his side.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm following her! Since I don't know where she lives, though I suspect you could tell me, I will follow her and thus learn it!"
His horse was waiting for him outside and Philip nodded.
"Clever," he murmured.
He motioned one of the servants, who brought him his horse also. During this time, Maximilian stooped down and retrieved the shoe from the pitch - not without difficulty.
"Were you suspecting something?" he asked, frowning, when noticing that Philip's horse was already saddled.
"It never hurts to be ready for anything," replied Philip quietly.
The horses dashed forward, galloping in the streets, their hoofs thundering against the cobblestones.
"She will hear us, you know," commented Philip.
"She has only one shoe and she's wearing a gown. How fast do you think she can go?"
But strangely she was nowhere to be found. They should have caught up with her by now and yet the streets were empty.
"She disappeared in the air!" exclaimed Maximilian, puzzled. "Is she then really the ghost she said she was?"
"Or is she rather a swan who finally took her flight?" mused Philip sotto voce.
"Lead me where she lives!" Maximilian commanded. "Please, Philip?"
His friend slowed down his horse and looked at him.
"You thought she was my ladylove yet you tried to take her from me."
It was not an accusation but it was rather a statement. Maximilian looked quite sheepish.
"I know! Oh, but Philip, I understand now why you pretended she was your ladylove! I understand everything now! You pretended to have a romance in town so you could go see her without me being angry with you. You taught her everything, I recognised your touch in her dancing. You have been the best friend a man could ever have and yet I have been hardly deserving of such a friendship. Please lead me to where she lives and I promise you I shall repay my debt!"
"What if the debt can never be repaid?" murmured Philip, but Maximilian didn't hear him.
So they went to Ali's house. Her stepmother and stepsisters were already there, as if warned by a sixth sense. Ali was nowhere to be seen but yet, Philip felt she was here. He simply knew it and he had noticed a brief light shining at the window of her neighbour. Little James had just gone to bed...
Maximilian produced the black shoe adorned with pearls and showed it to Katherine and Margaret.
"I swear that whoever fits this shoe shall be elevated above her current condition," he said solemnly.
Margaret sat eagerly and tried on the shoe. Her foot was slightly too big and she was hurting with each step. Maximilian shook the head and motioned Katherine to sit. Her foot was slightly too small and she was loosing the shoe with each step.
"Could I see the third maiden of the house, if you please, my lady?" he asked politely to the stepmother.
"The third maiden, Your Highness?" she repeated, surprised.
"Indeed, my lady. The official records state that a maiden lives here, a maiden by the name of Alienor. Where might she be?"
The stepmother remained silent and Maximilian sighed.
"Philip? Can you find her for me, please?"
It seemed that Philip was resigned to everything for he obeyed without protesting. He reached for the cellar key and unlocked the door. Behind the door was a slim girl wrapped in a large cloak, barefoot, her hair spread on her shoulders. She looked tired and even the cloak didn't seem to keep her warm.
"Alienor, please come. Maxian is here for you," said Philip softly.
She looked at Maximilian, waiting for her with the shoe in his hand. Like a robot, she sat on the chair and let Maximilian slip the shoe on her foot. It fitted. She sighed as her stepmother was grinding her teeth. She took something from a pocket of the cloak, slipped it on her other foot, stood up and pushed her cloak off. She appeared in her evening gown of black silk and even the admiring cry from Katherine couldn't make her look up.
"Would you please follow me, lady Alienor?" asked politely Maximilian. "Your stepfamily can naturally come also."
So they went out of the house and, quite strangely, the carriage was waiting there for them.
The king and queen were wondering where their son had gone off again and they started when seeing him come with four ladies.
"Mother, father, you wanted me to find a bride and finally it happened," he announced.
"We are very glad, Maxian, but I thought you were taken with the young Ali..."
"Indeed, father, and here she is," he replied, presenting Ali to the royal couple. "She has been the belle of the ball for three days in a row; isn't she simply ravishing? She stole every bachelor's heart and even the non bachelors'!"
"Maxian, she is very beautiful, now that she is dressed properly... Am I to understand that..."
"This young maiden, though from modest origin, is fit for a king and so, who else can be worthy of her, but my most trusted friend, who would have sacrificed his love for my happiness?"
Everybody was stunned by this declaration and Philip didn't react when Maximilian put Ali's hand in his.
"Well, Philip, you say nothing! Are you thus refusing Ali's hand?"
Philip looked down at Ali whose eyes were cast down.
"I don't understand, Maxian..." he confessed.
"I don't understand either, Maxian," said his father. "You told us you had found a bride..."
"Indeed I have, father! And here she is," he added, taking Katherine's hand.
Philip, unconsciously, circled Ali's waist with his arm, holding her close to him, as if he feared Maximilian would change his mind, and said:
"Please, Maxian, explain! I have the impression I'm a drowning man!"
"I had a dream, Philip, a most marvellous dream, the last one I had. And I discovered that I needed that dream not to be fulfilled to be happy. Seeing Ali everyday will let me see my dream everyday but yet it will be out of my reach and, believe me, it is better like this. As for Katherine, I understand that she has been quite kind to my Ali and so she deserves to be rewarded also. By the way, father, she is from blueblood."
"Maxian, how did you know?" wondered Philip, his free hand now caressing Ali's cheek gently.
"You stood for her against me, Philip. Though it wasn't the first time you were scolding me for my foolishness, you had never been so impassioned before. And, strangely, my despair when I thought I had lost Ali taught me to recognise despair in others' eyes. Yours were full of it and so were Ali's... I have the impression I could talk forever and you wouldn't even notice!" he added, laughing.
Philip was looking deep in Ali's eyes, where two tears were showing, but she was smiling and Philip bent down toward her so he would keep her smile on his lips.
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