Page 24 of Enchanted in Time
“Why do you wear this veil?” he asked, broaching the subject again. “And when may I finally see your pretty face, dear Mirabelle von Taustein?”
Never!Mirabelle wanted to scream. What could she tell the prince to make him leave her alone? Why hadn’t she discussed with her mother what reason to give for hiding her face? Should she try telling the truth? No, that was unthinkable!
“Please excuse me, Prince von Lichtenberg. I never meant to offend you, but I simply cannot tell you. Please—let me go.”
But the prince’s dark eyes were already burning with the fever of the hunt—he, who had never had to fight for a woman before. He took a step closer. “What must I do so that I may see your face, dear Mirabelle?”
“Nothing, nothing at all! I cannot! Please...”
He took another step closer. With one hand, he gripped her wrist while raising the other to pull her veil aside.
Mirabelle recoiled in horror. “Please, I don’t feel well. Let me go.”
“And if I vow to marry you? May I then have a glimpse of your countenance?”
“You’re mad!” Mirabelle held her hand to her mouth in alarm. “Forgive me, Prince Gustav von Lichtenberg, I did not mean to say that.”
Prince Gustav laughed loudly. Then he went down on one knee and grasped Mirabelle’s right hand with both of his. Raising his voice for all to hear, he proclaimed: “I vow to marry you, Mirabelle Madeleine Alice von Taustein. And now I command you: show me your face!”
Mirabelle suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning halfway around, she found herself looking into her mother’s horrified face. “I never meant for this to happen, my child.”
With an imperious gesture, the prince immediately bid her mother stand back, and with bowed head, she took a respectful step backwards.
“I cannot!” Mirabelle whispered to her mother, hoping that she would support her.
“You have no choice, my love.”
The moon was casting its silvery white glow upon the balcony as the prince knelt down before her and the guests stood all around. Mirabelle swallowed and took a deep breath.Now shall you all bear witness to my unparalleled humiliation. Slowly, she pulled the veil aside.
No one spoke a word. The wide grin on the prince’s face froze. Not one of the guests moved, and for a moment, even the servants paused. A murmur followed, then whispers from the guests, and the servants returned to their work. Only then did the prince rise to his full height and look down upon her. “That was a base deception!”
“I never meant?—”
“You bewitched me! You seduced me! You made me believe that I wanted only you. But now you’ve cast off your magic veil, and I see the truth.”
“No, I’m not?—”
“Admit it, you tried to steal into my bed through an underhanded ruse! You deliberately tried to seduce me into marriage so that I could no longer break the sacred bond and would have to endure you by my side forever—so that you might become the queen of this land, the ruler of this innocent people!”
Mirabelle was so overcome with shock that she gasped for air. She forgot who she was and who the prince was. “It was you who would not let go of me!”
“Look at her, honored guests!” the prince said as he turned Mirabelle’s face toward the crowd so that everyone there could see. “Do you think I could fall in love with such a maiden? That I should desire to marry such a woman? Look at her!”
And so, the people did. And now they knew no bounds. They pointed and laughed and grimaced in disgust. Mirabelle wanted to sink down into the ground with shame. She attempted to pull the veil back over her face, but with one jerk, the prince ripped it from her headband and threw it down onto the floor.
“No longer can you deceive us now, wretched liar! Hideous witch!”
Mirabelle held her hands to her face as she tried to hide it from the looks of all who were there, but they had long since seen how life had disfigured her.
Red with shame, she turned around and peered through her fingers. She glanced down over the balustrade. It was not very high. She wanted only one thing: to flee! She grabbed the balustrade with both her hands and jumped across. One of her heels caught on the railing, and the shiny red dress shoe fell with a thud upon the tiles.
Mirabelle practically flew across the railing and landed in the royal gardens. Now, with her hands in the grass, she could feel the soothing sensation of live vegetation and nature. She slipped the other shoe off her foot, and it fell silently onto the grass. Barefoot, she raced through the rosebushes and hydrangea shrubs. But she could not hear, through the prince’s piercing jeers and the jangling laughter of the guests at the ball, the familiar voice of her mother desperately calling after her.
11
My God. And all this happened a long, long time ago at Lichtenberg Castle?” Hannah looked over at the castle, with its spires towering high above the rose bushes. “It almost sounds like a fairy tale... except that it’s been forgotten.” She shook her head in disbelief.
Frieda nodded. “It would have fit nicely with the Brothers Grimm collection. But whether it’s lost for all time remains to be seen.”
