Part 3 (1/2)
”I have hurt my wing!” sobbed Psyche.
And she showed the nurse the wrinkle in her wing, which was not yet quite gone.
Then, with soothing voice and wrinkled hand, the old nurse slowly stroked the painful wing till it became smooth.
CHAPTER VI
The old king, a.s.sisted by pages, sat down slowly on his throne; his ministers and courtiers gathered round him. Then there was a great rustling of satin and gold, and in came Emeralda, the Princess Royal, the Princess of the Jewel, as her t.i.tle ran: first pages, life-guards, and then she herself, glittering with splendour, in her dress of silver-coloured silk; her bosom blazed with emeralds, a tiara of emeralds adorned her temples; her red-golden tresses, intertwined with emeralds, fell in three-fold plaits down each side of her face, from which the eyes of emerald looked proud, soulless, ice-cold, and arrogant. Court-ladies bore her train. A great retinue of halberdiers surrounded her jewelled majesty, and as she pa.s.sed along, the trembling courtiers bowed lower to her than they did to the king, because they were in deadly fear of her.
Astra, with dragging step, followed her. She wore a dress of azure covered with stars, a white mantle full of stars, and her living star sparkled in her coal-black hair.
The sages of the country surrounded her: grey-haired men in velvet tabards, with very long silver beards, dim eyes, and wise, close-pressed lips.
The two princesses sat down on either side of the throne.
And for a moment the middle s.p.a.ce of the hall between the waiting crowd remained empty. But then appeared Psyche, the third daughter, the Princess of Nakedness with the wings! Shyly she approached, looking right and left, with the laugh of a child. She was naked: only a golden veil was tied in a fold round her hips. Her wings were spread out like a b.u.t.terfly's. She had no retinue: only her old nurse followed her; and she was so pretty and charming that people forgot to bow as she pa.s.sed along, that the courtiers smiled and whispered, full of admiration, because she was so beautiful in her pure chast.i.ty. Slowly she walked along, shy and laughing a little; then close to the throne, where her father saw her approaching hesitatingly, her bare foot got entangled in her trailing golden veil, and to ascend the steps she lifted it up, knelt down, and kissed the king's hand.
Then calmly she sat down on a cus.h.i.+on at his feet, and was no longer shy. She looked round inquisitively and nodded a greeting here and there, child as she was, till all at once, to the right of the throne, she met the emerald look of Emeralda, and started and s.h.i.+vered; a cold thrill shot through her limbs, and she hid herself in the ermine of her father's mantle to be safe and warm.
Then there was a flourish of trumpets, and at the door of the Hall heralds announced Prince Eros, the youthful monarch of the Present. He came in all alone. He was as beautiful as a G.o.d, with light-brown hair and light-brown eyes. He wore a white suit of armour over a silver s.h.i.+rt of mail, and his whole presence portrayed simplicity and intelligence.
The courtiers were astonished at his coming without a suite; Emeralda laughed scornfully aside with one of her court-ladies. She did not find him a king, that plain youth in his plain dress. But Eros had now approached and bowed low before the mighty monarch, and the latter bade him welcome with fatherly condescension.
Then spoke the prince:
”Mighty Majesty of the Past, accept my respectful thanks for your welcome. Diffident I come to your throne, for I am young in years, have little wisdom, little power. You reign over an extensive kingdom, the horizon of which is lost in illimitableness. I reign over a country that is not larger than a garden. From my humble palace, that is like a country-house, I can survey all my territory. Your Majesty possesses lands and deserts, which you do not know. I know every flower in my beds. And that your Majesty, in spite of my poverty and insignificance, receives me with much honour and acknowledges me as sovereign in my kingdom, fills my heart with joy. Will your Majesty permit me to kneel and pay my homage to you as an obedient va.s.sal?”
Then the old king nodded to Psyche, and the princess rose, because Eros was about to kneel.
Then said the king: ”Amiable Eros, I love you as a son. Tell me, have you any wish that I can satisfy? If so, then it is granted you.”
Then said Eros: ”Your Majesty makes my heart rejoice by saying that you love me as a son. Well, then, my greatest joy would be to marry one of the n.o.ble princesses, who are your Majesty's daughters. But I am a poor prince, and whilst confessing to your Majesty my bold desire, I fear that you may think me too arrogant in presuming to cherish a wish that aims so high....”
”n.o.ble prince,” said the king, ”you are poor, but of high birth and divine origin, higher and more divine than we. You are descended from the G.o.d Eros; we from his beloved Psyche. The history of the G.o.ds is to be read in the historical rolls of our kingdom. It would make my heart rejoice if you found a spouse in one of my princesses. But they are free in their choice, and you will have to win their love. Permit me, therefore, first of all to present to you my eldest daughter, the Princess Royal, Princess of the Jewel: Emeralda....”
Emeralda rose, and bowed with a scornful sneer.
”And,” continued the monarch, ”in the second place, to my wise Astra, Princess of the Star....”
Astra rose and bowed, her look far away, as if lost in contemplation.
”And would Emeralda permit me to sue for her love and her hand?” asked the prince.
”Majesty of the Present,” replied Emeralda, ”my father says that you are of more divine origin than we. I, your humble slave, consider it therefore too great an honour that you should be willing to raise me to your side upon your throne. And I accept your homage, but on one condition. That condition is: That you seek for me the All-Sacred Jewel, Jewel of Mystery, the name of which may not be uttered, the n.o.ble stone of Supremacy. The legends respecting this jewel are innumerable, inexplicable and contradictory. But the Jewel exists. Tell me, ye wise men of the land--tell me, Astra, my sister, does the Jewel exist?”
”It exists!” said Astra.