#44.
The time when Prince Reiner would rest his head on Princess Edwina’s lap and listen to her stories became not only precious to the two of them but also to me and the other servants from Windsor.
When we were lost in those stories, we could even forget that we were far from home, separated from our families, and unsure when we would return, often going hungry in a foreign land.
Because we lived in such a harsh reality, we longed to hear stories with happy endings rather than sad ones. It seemed that Princess Edwina felt the same way as us.
The princess always added a few lines to the grand and tragic tales from the books, turning them into flawless happy endings. I was likely the only one who knew about her skill in rewriting stories since we shared a room and read books together.
One of the stories that still remains in my memory is about the one-legged knight and the paper dancer girl.
“Once upon a time, a prince of a kingdom received a gift of fifty wooden knight figurines. However, one of them was missing a leg because there wasn’t enough wood. Reiner, are you listening?”
“Yes, I’m listening, Edwina. Your voice is lovely.”
“Why are your eyes closed? I thought you were asleep.”
“If I kept my eyes open, your beauty might dazzle me, and something terrible could happen to you, Edwina. How beautiful are my blue eyes, don’t you think?”
I liked Prince Reiner’s playful teasing during those moments. But then, just like that, he’d quickly follow up with,
“Yes, you are indeed beautiful.”
When our princess would tug at his soft cheek in agreement, he’d blush instantly, not knowing what to do.
“Edwina, uh, yes, um, so what happened to the knight again?”
“Why are you sitting up? You startled me.”
“Sorry, please continue the story.”
“Alright. The one-legged knight would rise every night and limp around, balancing on his single leg. One day, he fell in love with a paper dancer girl who was standing on one leg, just like him. He mistook her for having only one leg, just like him.”
“Oh, I see.”
“The paper doll girl didn’t tell him she was only standing on one leg to dance. She didn’t want the knight to feel disappointed. She didn’t want him to feel lonely, thinking he was the only one with a missing leg. So every night, she lifted one leg higher and higher, spinning beautifully as she danced.”
“What a kind girl.”
“Yes, and so the two of them, each with only one leg, held hands and danced every night. Then one day, the one-legged knight confessed his love. ‘I love you. And I wish you’d stop lying. Stop hiding your leg for me. I love both your legs.’ The dancer girl blushed deeply. Now, standing on both legs, she kissed the knight on the lips.”
“What a sweet story. Did they live happily ever after?”
“It would be nice if it ended that way. But this story is a bit sad. The prince, who owned the toys, came and tore the paper dancer girl apart. The small jewel that had been hanging on the dancer’s body was now in tatters, and the girl really did lose one of her legs. The girl despaired, fearing that the knight who loved her with both legs would no longer love her.”
“How could that be?”
“Indeed, the knight’s love didn’t change. He wept as he tried to gather the torn pieces of the paper doll girl, trying to fix her torn leg. He held onto the tattered jewel and tried to patch her up in any way he could. But then, a clown doll, who had always looked down on the two, pushed them both into the fireplace.”
“How could someone be so cruel! Edwina, quickly tell me what happened to them.”
“The two of them burned in the fireplace, turning to ashes. The wooden knight and the paper dancer girl were reduced to nothing but ashes.”
With that, Princess Edwina closed the storybook. Now, Prince Reiner, who had been listening with bright, twinkling eyes, suddenly sobbed as if he were a child.
“Edwina, why did you tell me such a sad story?”
“If I told you another happy story, you might turn back time to listen again, so now I’m only going to tell you sad stories.”
“What…! You’re cruel, you’re really a mean child!”
As Prince Reiner poured out transparent tears once more, I couldn’t help but find him pitiful and endearing at the same time, so I hurried to add to the conversation.
“But Princess, there’s more to the story, right? The two of them came back to life, didn’t they? Every storybook ends happily, doesn’t it?”
When I poked at the princess’s side, she glared at me but eventually nodded reluctantly.
“Yes, Reiner. The story isn’t over yet. So stop crying, you crybaby.”
“A next part? So they come back to life! Tell me more.”
In truth, there was no next part. The story was nothing more than a tragedy where the two dolls turned into black ashes.
However, as always, Princess Edwina skillfully continued the story.
“Reiner, did I mention that there was a small jewel attached to the paper doll’s chest?”
“Yes, yes, you did.”
“Well, the wooden knight’s sword was actually made of tin. Though the two of them burned up in the fire, the golden jewel and the knight’s tin sword remained. And they melted together into the shape of a tiny heart. Look here, this is the heart left behind by the one-legged knight and the paper dancer girl.”
What Princess Edwina held out was a cheap, heart-shaped tin necklace, the same kind the Windsor maids wore on their chests.
“This is it? How do you have this?”
“Well… because the prince in this story was from Windsor…? Someone found the tin piece in the fireplace and returned it to the prince. And… um… it was passed down as a treasure in Windsor for generations… so it makes sense that I, as the princess of Windsor, have it. Right, Josephine?”
Though clever, our princess was always clumsy when it came to lying, stammering as she spoke. Prince Reiner glanced around at us, his sharp eyes, the same ones that sparkled when he spoke of time and space, now focused on the maids.
Remi, who lacked any sense of timing, was standing dumbfounded, hurriedly trying to hide the heart-shaped necklace hanging around her neck.
Her awkward movement only drew more attention. Prince Reiner surely noticed it, but instead of commenting, he simply smiled and turned his gaze back to the princess.
“So, Edwina, give that to me.”
“This?”
“Yes. The heart of the knight and the girl. Will you give it to me?”
Princess Edwina glanced at me, the one who had been selected as the “princess” of the day. I quickly nodded. If my necklace were to go to him, a part of my shy admiration, or whatever feelings I held, would come true in some small way.
With my approval, the princess finally took off the necklace and handed it to the prince.
“There, now you have the knight and the girl. So stop crying. Honestly, Reiner Reutlingen, how can a prince of a nation be such a crybaby?”
“I cried because the story reminded me of you and me. That’s why…”
“Why? Because you think I’m like the paper doll with the torn leg? If you pity me, bring more potatoes.”
When our princess pretended to kick him and scolded him harshly, Prince Reiner flashed that mature smile he occasionally showed.
“How could that be, Edwina? You’re the wooden knight! You kick so well, I bet you wield a sword just as skillfully. Out of the fifty wooden knights, you’re the one-legged knight.”
“But we’re fifty-one.”
“Are we? Oh, Josephine, we’ll take you out. You can be the clown.”
“Me? No, Your Highness! Why do I have to be the villain?”
Feeling a bit hurt, I dared to protest, and the prince chuckled, saying,
“Exactly, Josephine. Even if you were cast as the villain, you’d still be gentle. So take the role comfortably. Just don’t push us into the fire, alright?”
I quickly pretended to push both the princess and the prince at once. Princess Edwina, as if playing the part of the one-legged knight, heroically caught the prince in her arms. And somehow, that made Prince Reiner’s face blush again. With one hand, he still clung to the rusty tin heart he had so stubbornly claimed.
From that day on, for a long time, Prince Reiner would always wear that necklace, holding onto it with one hand as if afraid it might disappear if he let go.
One day, Remi asked the prince,
“Weren’t you upset, Your Highness? That necklace, I mean, it’s just that…”
“Are you saying that you have one, and so does Renée, Maria, and Sophie? So what of it?”
“I mean, the princess… she lied. It’s not something that’s been passed down exclusively to the princess of Windsor.”
“How wonderful is that, Remi? Edwina made up a story for me. She even lied just to give me a heart. So now, this story has become real for me.”
Prince Reiner said that, smiling as if he were genuinely content.
Yes, Cordelia Flora Gray.
Your father was such a person.
A man who wept over sad stories with childlike innocence,
A man who, in those stories, saw reflections of us and grieved in an adult manner,
A man who was simply overjoyed that the princess had lied for his sake,
And a man who would sit with us maids, peeling potatoes, and calling each of us by name without any pretense.
Oh, do you know? My heart aches endlessly when I think of the time spent with him, because it was a time soaked in happiness that can never return.
* * *
Prince Archie,
Are you there?
If there is one, hurry and answer.
Your comb, Cordelia.
* * *
My friend, Cordelia,
Perhaps, you were lazily lying in bed, greedy to read through all of Lady Josephine’s thick letters at once, weren’t you?
And then, by the third page, you hurriedly ran to your desk.
You were in such a rush that instead of being ‘my friend,’ you became ‘my comb.’
On the night of the fifth day of Fruit month,
-Your loyal ‘friend’…
…or maybe, ‘comb’ is fine too, Archie Albert William.
P.S.: I knew you would call, so I’ve been sitting by my desk waiting.
* * *
Shut up, Archie.
This is no time to be talking about Fruit month or whatever.
Since you said you knew I’d stop at the ‘third page,’ were you surprised by that part too?
Lady Josephine called my name!
She said ‘Cordelia Flora Grey’!
As if I were the daughter of Princess Edwina, as if this letter was written not for you or Flynn from the start, but for me!
Archie, please explain.
What is going on here?
-Cordelia, who had no time to even write a date.
* * *
My friend, Coco, who stamped such big exclamation marks today!
Yes, I saw it too.
I’m sitting here at my desk right now, ready to calm you down after reading that.
But Coco, if you still have Lady Josephine’s letter, you must know there’s much more to the story, right?
Go ahead, read it. Read all the remaining letters and come talk to me. I also have a lot to ask you.
-Archie Albert, who believes in your speed-reading skills!
* * *
Sometimes, the annoying Archie Albert William who disappears without a sound.
Fine.
I don’t know what you’re up to, but this time, I’ll trust you.
So you better wait at your desk.
If you’re not there when I finish reading, your Coco will be very lonely.
-Your impatient friend, Cordelia Grey.
P.S.: I’m attaching thousands of exclamation marks I couldn’t include earlier.
———= Author’s Note ———=
Dear readers!
I don’t expect exclamation marks. Please just stamp a single period and move on to the next chapter. I’ll be waiting quietly between the periods.
P.S.: The story of the one-legged knight and the paper doll dancer girl has been slightly adapted from a Danish folktale collected by Andersen. You can look up the original story by searching for ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’!
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