MIRRORS (The Fragrance of Fantasies Part III/III)(Charles E.J. Moulton) Friday, October 16th, 1422 A.D


The coachmen whipped the horses into motion and two hands appeared out from the carriage. Alexander, Sieglinde, Morgana, Patrick, Rolf, Bantrard, Geena and a range of courtiers waved back. One by one, they walked in through the main entrance of the castle, leaving Sieglinde and Alex standing there alone and watching the two coaches leave.
Crown Princess Belinda Winsletenna and Prince Regent Steven of Gargetania waved one last good bye to the family before withdrawing their hands and snuggling up into the carriage to enjoy their first day alone as a married couple after three weeks of nuptial celebration of company.
The siblings and family left by foot, some in pairs and some alone, leaving the king and the queen alone in front of the door of the marble arched entrance with its white statues of Gods, birch trees and Dorian columns. The two planted areas of grass lawn with floral arrangements ended in a sandstone fountain that had Poseidon holding a shell. Water was pouring out of it.
Alexander was looking at it, whilst Sieglinde gazed the other way toward the exit her daughter was now using to leave the grounds. It was an open space. Gravel under the hooves of the horses, her child was now riding into unknown territory.
Then she saw her husband looking at the statue of Poseidon in the garden.
She looked at him, curiously.
“Sweetheart,” she finally said. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m looking at the sea-king.” He looked at her with an open expression. “I just told Belinda that Lucinda is full of hot air, that her own power only is strong because of our fear of her.”
Sieglinde smiled. She looked at the fountain.
“What does that have to do with the statue of Neptune?”
Alexander waved toward the disappearing carriage. “We might have our Perseus right there in that coach,” he said slowly.
“You are comparing Steven to a Greek hero?”
“According to Greek mythology, Poseidon sent the Ketos Aithiopios, a ferocious sea monster, to Aithiopia because Kassiopeia had the hubris to claim she was more beautiful than Andromeda. So, accordingly, they chained Andromeda to a rock as an offering. Perseus came just in time, however, on his winged horse Pegasus to save Andromeda and slew the monster.”
“Are you saying that Lucinda is as jealous of Belinda’s beauty as Kassiopeia was of Andromeda?” Sieglinde asked Alexander a bit bemused.
“Yes,” he answered. “And no.” He looked over at the wagon, which was just disappearing out of sight. The water from the fountain was splashing down into the water in the distance. “I am saying that our son-in-law might be her saviour if something happens to her.”
She chuckled softly and sighed. “On the other hand, you might also be her saviour if something happens. Have you thought of that?”
Alexander nodded and kept on looking at the fountain for a bit. Minutes turned into hours that day and the couple had their quiet dinner on the terrace just looking at the fountain.

The rocking of the coach made her sleepy. It was a motion she knew well. Just as the coach was one she knew well. Guilded and red. Satin pillows. Diamond studded. It felt like being inside her mother womb. Her earliest memories had been inside this coach. She remembered sitting on her mother’s lap, playing with the feather boa that hung down from her dress, fascinated by how soft it was.
Belinda looked out of the window. The grounds of Iuventus disappeared behind her. The grand gate of the grounds appeared. The statue of Simon the Great pointing his finger at the ground, saying: Here on this spot it shall lay: my palace of sacred youth. In Latin, the book in his right hand read: Hic in hoc macula erit ponere: regia sacrae iuvenis. In old Prosperanian, his palace was to be called Iuventus Sacrum.
Simon in his great plumed hat and long tunica disappeared behind them. Before them lay farmland. Soon, they would emerge into the capital. A few citizens would recognize them. Others wouldn’t. Belinda tried to keep a straight face. She tried not to cry. Holding it in had been become an art. But Belinda felt that old familiar sting in her soul telling her that she needed to cry. She needed those hot, burning tears.
“Died,” she murmured.
Steven looked up from his wife’s side. He had been looking down at the bottom of the coach and thinking, letting his mind wander.
“Darling?”
Belinda turned her head to the side. She looked at her husband with a mixture of painful neutrality and endless love.
“I was just letting my mind wander, dear.”
She looked out, grabbing a hold of Steven’s hand.
She snorted once though her nose. That was something she always did when the pain was so awful that it almost seemed funny.
“It is strangely funny.”
Steven sighed. “What could possibly be funny?”
“The party just died down. We were having such a good time. I was dancing my socks off. Then, it died. Just died. No one spoke after Lucinda left. Not even father.”
Steven blinked a few times, letting his eyes wander off toward the horizon. A farmer was working in the fields, completely intent on his work. A woman in an apron was helping him, probably his wife. He was probably happier than him right now. What he wouldn’t give to be that farmer.
“It isn’t strange,” Steven answered. “The entire court knew what was about to happen.”
Belinda looked at her husband, gave a stingy look drenched with tears.
“We stuck our heads in the sand. We didn’t even bother to fight her.”
Steven took a long look at her. “What could we possibly have done, Belinda. It was fate. We could’ve moved to the moon. She would’ve found us. We don’t know what she has in store. Whatever it is, we will win. I’ve told you that. Now bucker up. We are a married couple. This is our honeymoon.”
Belinda let the breeze from the open window caress her face.
“Steven, I love you. Why did we let her push us down?”
“What we have to fight her is our happiness. Our love. Our will kill her hate. She doesn’t have that.”
Belinda saw the coach approaching Clurafar, the capital of Prosperania. A few monuments, royal stables, the military camp that Steven always inspected.
“I used to be so merry. Teach me to be happy again, please. I can’t be so morose. I hate myself when I am this morose.”
Steven now looked out his side of the coach, grabbing his wife’s hand tight.
“I will tell you an old story that I heard.”
“Anything to ward off these waking nightmares.”
“It comes from far away, from Baghdad. A Viking brought this tale back from that part of the world and told it to Simon the Great’s grandfather. He wrote it down in the chronicles.”
“Maybe, I have heard of it.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Once upon a time,” Steven began, making Belinda laugh.
“I feel like a child again.”
Steven smiled. “Good. Nice beginning.”
“Go on.”
“Once upon a time there was a rich sultan named Simyan. He had many, many servants in his great palace. But the creatures that he trusted most were his two speaking dogs.”
“His two what’s?”
“Speaking dogs. They were both small and of the same race. On the outside, they looked exactly alike. But on the inside, in their souls, they were very different. The one, Sindbad, was very positive. He loved life. For him, anything was possible. He would face a problem and solve it.
“The second dog, Alladin, was very smart. But his greatest vice was his pessimism. He would always say ‘No’ to everything. First and foremost, everything was wrong. One always had to prove to Alladin if something was right or not.
“Now, one day Sultan Simyan came to the dogs and claimed that he needed their assistance. There was a mysterious palace named The Palace of a 1000 faces on the outskirts of town. Sultan Simyan had never dared to enter this palace, for fear that the great dragon would go in there. He had once sent his biggest and most fearsome guard there. He had been a huge man with a grim face. He had come back, shaking with fear, claiming to have seen a thousand angry monsters with swords there. Now, he wanted Alladin to go there and find out what was there. Why me, said Alladin? My anger will only bring trouble. No, Sultan Simyan said. Your anger will frighten the monsters away.
“So, the doggie went out in search of the palace. He walked and walked, cursed his master’s awful neglect and claimed that the sun was too hot, the wind too strong and the path too hard to walk on. Finally, he arrived at the palace. There, the white staircase was too steep and the big bronze door too heavy.When he opened the door, he saw one thousand angry dogs barking at him. These dogs were so horrible that Alladin swore never to return.
“Now, Sultan Simyan was not surprised to find Alladin coming back with bad news like that. However, he was still not satisfied. He now sent the friendly dog to inspect the horrible place.”
Now, Steven imitated the deep Sultan’s voice.
“’Go out, my shining canine friend, go out and find the palace. See for yourself what it is like.”
“You should have been an actor, Steven.”
“Thank you. Anyway, Sindbad thanked the Lord for giving him the caring master that had given him this exciting assignment. He could enjoy the sun, the cool breeze of the wind and he also found the path he walked upon quite pleasant. When he arrived at the palace, he admired the beautiful marble staircase and the exquisitely crafted bronze door. When he opened the door, he was in a wonderful mood and so he saw one thousand happy dogs. He ran back to Simyan and said: ‘Master, Master. This is a fantastic palace. One thousand happy dogs were smiling at me. You have to visit this place.’
“Well, now Sultan Simyan’s curiosity was awoken. He packed his bags, deliberately leaving his sword at home. Indeed, inspired by Sindbad’s happiness, he found the sun pleasant, the wind cool and path lovely. The marble staircase was beautiful and the bronze door was fabulously made. When he opened it, he saw one thousand mirrors with his own face shining back at him.”
Steven caressed his wife’s hand. As they were entering Clurafar’s inner city, wind throwing their hair around, she smiled at him. He spoke:
“So, my dear, you see that what you expect comes back to you. If Lucinda is full of hate, she will do her worst to kill us. But our love is stronger than her hate, there is no way on Earth that she can succeed. Love is stronger than hate. Hope is stronger than desperation. Always.”
With those words, Prince Regent Steven and Crown Princess Belinda of Prosperania, Archcountess of Clurafar, rode through their capital in their golden coach.
Belinda was not blissfully happy yet, but she knew that her father might be right.
If she was Andromeda, he was Perseus.
He lifted her spirits. And she would never want to leave his side again.

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