In The East

No, his son did not have the makings of a vile courtier: he was indeed a prince.

What a shame not to have realized it before!

Full of dreams and a poet, he vulgarly teased him that day and he had defended his right, and his freedom to be true to himself.

When, at the end of the hunting week, they had returned to the castle, the king had praised him in front of his mother with words that no one had ever heard coming from him, and that had made the queen smile with sweetness.

He had declared that he would stay longer than usual at the castle that year because the hunt had been excellent, and he intended to hunt again in the coming weeks. He also wanted to reopen and rearrange the library (why had the queen smiled mysteriously when she heard those words?) as well as to take care of many other needed improvements, which for years had been postponed and could not be avoided any longer.

He had not said that above all he wanted to be with his son and spend long enjoyable weeks with him. But many had guessed it and soon everyone understood it.

Meanwhile, there was the issue of the park.

The king used to get up early in the morning and go out for a walk in the castle gardens with his dogs sometimes, more often alone, or go on horseback along the banks of the river, on the solitary country paths, and did not want anyone to follow him, despite the protests of his advisers.

" I always have many people around me " he said, puffing impatiently when someone came back on the subject " especially when I'm in the city, that I don't want anyone here, I mean nobody, to follow me. I need a couple of hours of solitude to deal with everything else.”

In reality, he had given orders that not even a gardener or any of the other servants should be at the time in the park. Obviously, no one dared to disobey him and, after so many years, everyone was familiar with his odd behavior, so even those who found themselves having to be at work at that hour in the stables or in the garden, would be careful not to be seen. It was not easy to be forgiven by the king and escape his punishments.

Was the prince also aware of his father's wish?

Most likely yes, but he was sure the orders of the sovereign did not apply to the queen and to him. On the other hand, the castle belonged more to him than to others, because for many months a year it was his undisputed kingdom, where he dominated and ran about as he pleased, of which he knew every corner and every blade of grass. No one thought to limit his movements inside the property, and, except for the library and the apartment of the king, all other doors were open to him.

He had even visited the basements and the two towers that guarded the two opposite sides of the castle's facade.

The prince therefore considered himself free to contradict his father's orders and to continue his old habit of going down to the garden at dawn to feed the squirrels and the fallow deer, which populated the grove of silvered cypresses and holm oaks at the edge of the park. Since many years, the fence that divided it from the woods behind it had fallen in that spot and the timid little animals had begun to come at daybreak to drink at the fountain which was perennially filled with water and to eat what the little prince regularly found for them: apples and walnuts, stolen from the pantry, and oats and hay, which was given to him by one of the workers in the stable.

He knew that they were afraid of human presence and he stood quietly and motionless behind the trees watching them while they drank and ate gracefully, never completely calm, always alert, their muzzle and ears quivering, their big liquid eyes ready to catch the slightest change in shadows and lights.

Perhaps they had felt his presence, but they must have realized that he loved them and fed them and tolerated him without difficulty, also because he was almost impossible to notice.

When they returned to the woods where they came from, the prince stretched his legs running towards the pools in the park, making the doves that had come to quench their thirst fly away, watching for a while the large red and black fishes that moved slowly under the rays of the sun that was beginning to illuminate the clear leaping waters, creating a thousand rainbows from the jets gushing from strange animal heads or groups of pretty sea nymphs.

And so he continued his rounds through the garden, from one edge to the other, tripping on the gravel paths and skipping the low box hedges with great desperation of the gardener who often had to remedy the damage he caused, and spying, with his nose close to the bars of the top gate that led to the road t to the city, the movements of the peasants who passed by with carts and animals to go to work or to the markets.

Then Antonia or some old servant would come to call him because it was time to go back to lock himself in the castle to attend his morning lessons.

It was the freest moment of his day and his mother, who was aware of it, had never stopped him from going out any time and in any season. The prince knew when the first roses were born or the leaves turned red, when the crocus and the violets in the ditches sprouted or when the ice formed its shining mirrors on the water of the fountains and adorned the mouths of lions and dragons spitting water with pointed icicles.

He watched the rain drumming on the bushes and rooftops of the stables or the sun rising slowly from the east, announcing another splendid and warm day.

So, one morning, the king happened to catch a glimpse of a small shadow lurking in the grove and then, immediately afterwards, hopping and whistling away along the path that led to the end of the garden, towards the orchard.

He was dumbfounded, unable to understand who that might be, and annoyed at having been so clearly disobeyed. He decided to wait for him next to the staircase that led to the terrace on the first floor. He would have had to go through there anyway. Whether he was a young servant of the castle or a stable boy, he would have been clearly visible from that position.

He was most likely a young boy who had just been hired or the son of some old servant, and, for this reason, he certainly wasn't aware of his orders. He could not even imagine that anyone could deliberately challenge them, but he had to bring this to the butler to stop it from happening. He took note of it as he waited a little impatiently for the mysterious character to pass by.

After waiting fifteen minutes, he definitely began to get nervous and started striding back and forth on the broad pinkish stones of the courtyard, which formed precise and pleasing geometric patterns converging towards the low stairway that led to the rich garden. Italian. He still remembered when his father had restored that building to spend the long hunting season and when he had taken the queen there for the first time and she had been captivated by that harmonious, simple and elegant structure and had willingly consented to spend her days there, rather than at the city palace.

Ah, finally! The shadow emerged from behind the tropical flower greenhouses. The king frowned, preparing to abruptly stop the boy and teach him a lesson.

But as he got close, he was petrified by astonishment and indignation: it was his son disobeying him without the possibility of mistake!

But the prince's little face was smiling and happy, not at all intimidated, perfectly innocent.

" Good morning, father. Today will be a wonderful day " he said with a cheerful smile " I was in the orchard and saw the apples are already ripe, red, and yellow as ever.”

" Yes, that is true. But leave the fruit alone: are you not aware of my orders?”

" What orders, father?”

" I don't want to meet anyone when I go out in the park in the morning. Nobody, is it clear?”

Why was he making such a big deal? The king felt a little ridiculous; thinking about it, he was being as capricious as a child and this made him even more angry.

" Yes, I know them, but I thought ... " the prince lowered his head mortified.

" What? That you could disobey as you please, that you are above others, even more important than you, who obey without questioning my decision?”

His father stared at him sternly, he addressed him with a changed cutting voice, and he felt ever smaller and more distressed. The sun that had just warmed his heart was disappearing behind heavy black clouds.

" How come you are not answering? Come on tell me what you think. " and he shook him, grabbing the small arm left inert in his hands.

"I thought your orders did not apply to me or my mother," the child whispered.

" Your mother is exempt, but do you really think you are dispensed from obedience? It's unbelievable: a little brat who thinks he's superior to anyone!”

" No, Father, I don't believe it.”

" Thank God. What now?”

" I'm used to getting out of the castle at this time, my mother always allows me and I thought you weren't against it and besides… ." here it stuttered and couldn't continue; although he tried to control the tremor of his voice, he understood that he was too agitated to do it and was afraid his father would realize that.

" Go on " the king urged him, with a nervous tone that certainly did not help him calm down.

" Nothing, father.”

" No, it's not true that it's all and I want to know what "besides" means. Tell me, or I won't let you go.”

The prince then raised his eyes to his father's face, and he could not read any fear as he sought. Was his son so contemptuous that he didn't fear him even a little bit?

But in his eyes, there was not even a shadow of fear.

" I'm tired of playing riddles with a child. Come on, hurry up.”

" I was hoping you wouldn't mind meeting me. I am not just anybody, that is ... " he corrected himself afraid to be misunderstood " that is, I wanted to say, not for you. Will you let me go now, please?”

The king gave up his grip, but neither moved.

They remained silent for a moment, then the prince asked:

" Father, what is the punishment?”

The king set aside the troublesome thoughts that had been bothering him since he had heard those last sentences of the young prince " What? "

"What punishment awaits me?" The son repeated.

" He doesn't joke " the king thought, almost frightened by that firmness " he is not bluffing, he really wants to be punished “ And in a loud voice he said: " There is no punishment for you. Go inside to your mother.”

"Why not? If I were the gardener's son, you would have punished me; I want the same treatment.”

And he didn't move.

" Go away, I said. I don't want you around anymore. You're exasperating me.”

" Father, what is the punishment? " the prince insisted for the third time.

Then the king did what he never wanted to do, especially not now that he had begun to discover the true value of his son: he struck him twice hard against his face and shouted: " Later I will deal with you and I swear that you will never want to be arrogant with me.”

He sent him away badly and immediately regretted it. The knowledge that he was mostly in the wrong, in his whims without reason, in his inability to really speak with the child and with all those around him, angered him immensely; but he could not simply go to his son and tell him: " You are right, you are not like everyone else for me and there will be no more absurd bans for anyone.”

He went back to the castle enraged and went up to his wife's rooms.

" Your son " he said to her without many preambles " will make me crazy and in the end, he will be punished severely.”

"What did he do?" She asked quietly.

" He didn't respect my orders.”

" He was in the park, right? He always does that and probably thought that there was nothing wrong with it.”

" He knew it was forbidden to everyone.”

" He thinks he is not equal to the others in my heart and maybe he felt it was the same for this father ...”

The king made a vague gesture with his hand, as if he wanted to drive away a boring fly that buzzed in front of his face.

" Yes, that's what he said, more or less.”

" And you?”

" I didn't know what to say to him. Then he told me he wanted to be punished anyway and I hit him. I don't understand his reasoning. It overwhelms me.”

" If in his father's heart there was no special place for him, he might as well be treated like everyone else.”

"Do you understand him?" The king marveled.

" I think so. There are not many secrets between us, and we have always been so close ...”

" Yes, I'm sorry I wasn't a good father or ... "

" No " the queen interrupted " what you think just is not true. Not all of it at least.”

" Okay, we can talk about this later, but I swore that I will punish him in such a way that he will never forget it. Now I regret it, but I'm not going to go back on my word and show weakness. It is my dignity we are talking about.”

" I see " the queen smiled ironically.

" What do you mean?

" Nothing. Talk to him again. He will understand. If you want to punish him, if you really think this is right, do it. He will not love you less for this reason. Don't humiliate him however, please.”

" I'll think about it. I would like to skin it for the way he has upset me with all his absurdities.”

" Even a great gentleman can sometimes learn from a child; don't take it out on him if you're not happy with yourself.”

The king looked at her questioningly, then kissed her and left even more uncertain and nervous than before. Is it possible that she also blamed him? It had never happened before.

The prince entered his father's rooms on tiptoes because he had never been allowed to enter the room before.

He looked around curiously and recorded many details that excited him and made him ponder on the fact that his father had to be very different from what everyone thought.

For example all those paintings so different from those that were in the art-filled quarters (dark and imposing family portraits or austere bishops and epic scenes) or the colors that dominated the room, alive and warm, almost cheerful, bloody and energetic, or the golden cage near the window overlooking the park, full of colorful little birds that he had never seen anywhere else.

Despite the fear that the punishment was going to be really terrible, he could not help thinking that he would have liked his father to invite him more often to those rooms and show him his treasures and the thousand mysterious things that he was looking at in astonishment.

The king heard him walk slowly, but did not turn to him, continuing undauntedly to look out the window.

“ Father " the prince called him in a whisper " I am here.

" Come closer.”

He took a few more steps but did not have the courage to stand beside his father.

" So? " asked the king briskly.

" The master told me that I would deserve to be locked up in the tower prison alone for a week, on bread and water, and to receive ten lashes.”

" Ah! Really?”

" Yes, father.”

" Do you think that would be right?”

" As you like.”

" Yes, of course, but what would you think if someone else was to take your place?”

" I would ask you not to do it.”

" Are you scared?”

" No " but his voice was weak and uncertain.

The king urged him: " Tell the truth.”

" Yes, father. I am very afraid of being alone in the tower especially at night.”

" And the lashes? Don't those scare you?”

" Even those, but I can deal with pain better. Loneliness in the dark makes me shudder.”

The king smiled sweetly.

" Do you sleep with your mother at night?”

" No, but Antonia is in the room next to mine and I know she will come right away if I call her.”

" Then no tower " the king decided "You will stay in your room; then I will instruct the teacher to whip you and the matter is closed.”

" Yes, father. But I would like to ask you a favor, if it's allowed, since I'm still indebted to you.”

" Let’s hear it.”

" Here it is: in the cypress grove in the morning the deer and the squirrels come, and I bring them food. If I can't get out anymore, how will they get by? Could you do it for me?”

" Do you think a king should do that? " asked his father, barely restraining himself from laughing.

" I don't know, now I am not sure of anything anymore. I'm sorry. But how will they get by?”

The little voice was very anxious, almost cracked by pain. Then the king decided to give in: " I will. But only if you come with me every morning and show me how it's done.”

"Father," cried the prince, almost weeping with joy.

" Do we agree?”

" Yes.”

" And I'll tell your teacher that he deserves me to punish him for all the nonsense he has been saying.”

" No, father. I want those lashes.”

" Do not insist again.”

" Only if you promise the ban is not abolished solely for me.”

" I promise, but get out of here quickly, before I get a chance to think it over and whip you myself.”

The prince quickly moved away and, shortly after, the king saw him scampering through the garden and playing with his hunting dogs, which he had freed and now jumped around him mad with joy, affected by his unbridled joy. They did somersaults and jumps and ran over the meadows and then, suddenly, they all ended headfirst in the tank of the sea nymphs.

The king laughed heartily, while his son and his favorite animals came dripping out and the prince, harshly rebuked by one of his advisers who happened to be passing by, replied with a burlesque grimace.

" Extraordinary " he thought " priceless, I've never seen anything like it in my whole life.”

But in the following days, even the teacher and the servants as well as the queen were amazed more than once and told themselves that they had never seen anything like it in their lives.

And it was not only about the food the king and his son brought together to the wild animals to amaze them; that was only the first of many novelties, one more unexpected than the other.

The king no longer claimed that the park and the garden be completely deserted when he went down in the morning. When he walked around with the prince at his side, radiant and talkative, who showed him his secrets and his discoveries, he often stopped to talk even with the gardener and the staff at work and they were astonished that he asked his son for his opinion and let him say whatever came to his mind.

Everyone in the castle loved that child and they were happy the king showed him so much affection and that, through him, he showed so much more humanity even towards others.

Sometimes the queen watched them from the window and had a mysterious smile that was full of meaning and, above all, of the hope that her son would one day be a good and just gentleman, as great as his father, although of a different kind of greatness. The prince knew by instinct when his mother was watching him. He would look up and when he caught her glancing, he secretly sent her an accomplice greeting.

One morning, when his father noticed him and asked him what he was doing, the child replied: “My mother was at the window and she smiled at me wondering if I was happy. I signaled her I was. “

“ How do you know what your mother meant?”

" Words are not needed for me to understand her. Is it not the same for you? " he then asked naively.

" Oh yes. Certainly.” The king cut him short; however he knew it was not true, that he couldn't be, because in reality he had never bothered to understand others even when they had tried to explain their feelings and their ideas to him; let alone if they did not speak!

On the other hand, there seemed to be no secret between his wife and his son and so he remained rather dumbfounded when he realized that not even the prince knew that the queen had a secret of her own, unknown to all.

When the king, who now took the prince with him everywhere, hunting and horseback riding, visiting the farms as in the council chamber when he gathered his collaborators (and often it happened that the child fell asleep in his place and he had to carry him in his room and never wanted others to do it for him), he decided to start arranging the library at the castle, as he had promised. The prince's tutor was taken by surprise. The king first made him understand that his son would then have free access to that room in the palace. The master didn't agree, but only his eyes of course betrayed his lack of consent: did the king pretend not to remember that he had given those orders himself years ago? He had obeyed then and would have done it now, but it did not seem natural and right that his lord put him in a difficult situation and belittled him in the eyes of his pupil.

" Life is not easy for a poor tutor " he sighed to himself, desolate, but determined to take back the reins of the situation as soon as the king returned to the city and everything reverted to its usual quiet.

The queen had asked the sovereign to be able to be with them when they reopened that room that had been closed for so long and he had naturally agreed, also because the prince had begun to hop around him all happy about that idea and would not leave him alone otherwise.

The key turned easily in the lock and anyone would have found that odd, but not the king, who never paid much attention to details.

But what appeared before his eyes where not details. The large windows were opened wide and the light of the late morning poured in, hot and overpowering to breathe life to that severe room.

There was no musty smell in there nor dust on the books or on the huge table almost totally covered with a large number of fascicles tied with blue and yellow bows, there were no cobwebs on the walls and on the oil lamps. Everything was in perfect order as if every day someone had taken care of cleaning and ventilating a room that, as far as he could remember, he hadn't attended for at least three or four years.

He looked questioningly at the teacher, but it was clear from his face that he knew nothing about it; and the little boy's face betrayed emotion and curiosity, nothing else. Moreover, it was unthinkable that a child could do this. How could this be explained?

He looked inquisitively at the queen who was beside him and she smiled at him with her usual somewhat cryptic expression.

"Was it you?" He asked her in a whisper, so she alone could hear him.

" Maybe " she nodded.

"So, no one respects my orders here?" He asked again in the same subdued tone and felt that he did not know whether to be angry or laugh.

" Everyone obeys you, but I believe I am dispensed from respecting them completely.”

" Ah!?”

" Your bans are not always very rational, and I could not bear to have everything ruined in here.”

"I should get angry," he said, his voice quite calm.

" Perhaps, but, as far as you are concerned, I am not just anyone to you, exactly like your son.”

" I got it, I got it. You are two allies and plotted behind me.”

Now he laughed openly and the astonished faces of those present improved his good spirits.

He called the prince and suggested: "Your mother knows this library better than anyone else, I think. Tell her to find you those books.”

" Father, I would like you to read them to me, though.”

" Okay, we agree. You will bring them up to your room and in the evening, I will come and read them to you. Or would you rather go to my apartment and read them with me until you close your eyes and you fall asleep next to your father not afraid of the dark? By now we are completely crazy here ... " concluded ironically, but with a certain sweetness.

" It would be wonderful, Father. Your rooms are so extraordinary. Can I really sleep with you until you stay here?”