"THE DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE" "The Double-Headed Eagle isn't about a historic event." "It's a fictional story." "A story invented entirely by its author." "The characters and locations exist only in his imagination." "It's therefore important not to confound them with anything the public might actually remember." "Jean Cocteau" "Edith de Berg" "The King's echo." "As loyal as ever." "I visit him often." "It's your turn, Felix!" "Willenstein!" "Now it's Your Majesty's turn." "I don't like to shout my name into the echo." "I'm always afraid somebody might answer." "The mountains are moving..." "Really?" "They do, Felix, but it takes a century and one doesn't notice." "Do you like the snow, Edith?" "From far away." "The King used to tell me:" ""Your eyes are like snowdrops."" "I have something to tell to you both... which I haven't told you before because everything I say is being reported immediately to the my mother-in-law, the Archduchess." " I?" " I'm accusing no one, my little Edith." "Here it is, I'm giving a ball at Krantz." "A ball?" "Do you think it unsuitable that I'm giving a ball, Felix?" "The King has been murdered ten years ago, we were on the road to Krantz, after our wedding ceremony." "The King used to love Krantz." "And to dance the waltz there." "I'll give a ball to commemorate the anniversary of his death." "What's the matter, Felix?" "I can't see anything through my veil." "The police, with dogs." "Does Your Majesty want me to inquire?" "Don't bother." "I love dogs, but I loathe the police." "Here are our men, at last." "Hello, Adams." "Is everything ready?" "Your Majesty's orders have been punctually executed." " There's a thunderstorm coming." " I'm afraid so." "I'm not, Adams." "Edith." "Let me introduce Adams, my majordomo." "Adams." "Mademoiselle de Berg." "The new lectrice the Archduchess had the kindness to provide for me." "You'll make the acquaintance of Krantz and its thunderstorms." "You don't like thunderstorms?" "I have no reason to conceal from Your Majesty that I'm afraid." "What are you afraid of?" "Death?" "I'm just afraid." "That's strange." "The only thing I've ever been afraid of is silence." "What's the meaning of this, Adams?" "They want to welcome the Queen." "But it isn't me , it isn't me." "Adams, I told you I want no flattery and no curtsies, I dislike it so much." "Tell them to go on with their work." "Perfect." "It's perfect." "I'm retiring to my rooms." "Get dressed." "Ah, Edith." "At the second waltz you'll come up and wait for me in the room behind that the oeil-de-boeuf window." "At the second waltz!" "Good evening, Felix." "And ask all the ugly young girls to dance." " What's the matter with you?" " Nothing, I'm just watching you." "What must I do to avoid your sarcasm?" " Just do your duty." " How do you ..." "Oh..." "I think it'd be better if I looked after the preparations myself." "Nonetheless I'll tell you the truth, my poor Felix." " You're in love with the Queen." " Are you mad?" "I'm no longer." "I used to be." "I was silly enough to love you." "But the Archduchess found out your scheming very quickly." "I had been a friend of the King." "The Queen doesn't like you, Felix." "For her you're just a piece of furniture, an object." "Resign yourself to this rôle." "That's all I want." "You don't even know her face." "The Queen takes off her veil only before her lectrice." "Careful!" "Is Mademoiselle satisfied?" "Will there be two orchestras?" "Gypsies and Waltz." "The King used to like them." "Let me show Mademoiselle to her room." "If Mademoiselle would follow me." "Will the guests have to enter across this mud?" "They'll need courage." "They can't possibly refuse the invitation, M. le Duc." "The Queen has invited them." "True." "Too bad." "M. le Duc." "Her Majesty doesn't want anybody to use these stairs tonight." "I beg your pardon, M. le Duc, it's the Queen's order." " Hurry up, the carriages are beginning to arrive." " So what?" " Felix..." " What is it now?" "I won't sleep in an attic full of bats, and with a broken window!" "I see, you don't know Krantz." "The Queen loves attics, bats and broken windowpanes." " Get dressed." " You're horrible!" " What's going on?" " I've no idea." "He got out through the back door, he can't be far away." "Is he your son?" "No, my step-son." "I haven't seen him in four years." "What business did he have with you?" "He burned some documents." "Gendarme, have your men deployed in fan-shape around the castle." "Don't unleash the dogs, just let them bark!" "Don't take aim, but fire lots of shots." "These are Count Foehn's orders." "You've helped him escape, but I'll catch him!" "I didn't help him escape!" "Catch him, imprison him!" "May he go to the devil!" " Madame la Présidente, careful about those the puddles!" " What did you say?" "Oh, how disgusting!" "I got it right to my thighs!" "How disgusting!" "They say there is a Mamelouk." "Adams!" "I'm not 100 years old yet!" "Enough of that!" "Rudy, you've dropped a letter." "Oh, pardon, Edith, thank you." "What's so funny?" "We're not laughing about you, Rudy." "Look!" "Madame la Présidente." "We'll immediately have dry stockings and shoes brought to Madame." "If Madame la Présidente would be just a little patient." "I couldn't possibly appear in this state before Her Majesty!" "Her Majesty won't attend the ball." "Won't attend?" "If Madame la Présidente will excuse me now?" " They have installed gas at Krantz?" " And it's pretty expensive too." "Gustava, what's happened to you?" "They didn't even spread any carpets!" "I jumped into a puddle!" " Her Majesty won't attend the ball." " A strange soirée indeed." "What?" "Won't attend..." "Won't attend..." "Won't attend..." " Where is Felix?" " He's dressing." "Incredible!" "He leaves me alone among those people." " Did you see those gowns?" " And you haven't even seen the horses!" "Tell Felix to come down at once, I don't know anybody in here." "Go on rubbing, I've jumped into a puddle." "They say the Queen has gone totally crazy." "...that she is being locked in her room that this ball is just a cover-up." "Where do they keep her locked up?" " Here, at Krantz!" " How terrible!" "So, where is this Mamelouk?" "He never leaves Her Majesty's side." "A negro?" "Incredible!" "Felix." "Caroline, would you give a ball on the day I die?" "Certainly, my friend." "And I'd be dancing too!" "I'd be dancing on your grave." " Felix, what's the matter?" " Nothing." "You look as if you've seen a ghost." "I've seen the Queen, Edith." "Where?" "And how?" "I've seen the Queen, Edith." "It's as if she's already dead." "If they ever find out, I'd kill myself." "She would kill YOU!" "She's a crack shot!" "Edith, this is the second waltz." "My God, Rudy, excuse me, my duties..." "You look awful." "I'll invite the ugliest girl for a dance now." "Are you alone?" " Yes, Madame." " Perfect." "Did you close this window?" "Yes Madame, I was afraid of insects." "You're always afraid." "I like fire, insects and open windows." " Open up!" " Your Majesty will catch cold." "I never catch cold." "This is my kind of weather, Edith." "It belongs to no one else... to no one else." "I can sense it..." "I'd like to gallop through the mountains..." "And I'd laugh about my horse's fear!" "You're curious about the table being set for two?" "It's quite obvious." "I'm having supper with the King tonight." "With the King's shadow." "Listen to me, my dear Edith, you're entitled by etiquette to enter my room any time at day or night." "But my own etiquette..." "But my own etiquette... demands that no one shall enter this room tonight, even if the castle were struck by lightning." "Is it understood?" "You may leave." "Frederick..." "Come to me, my beloved." "We've earned the right to be left alone( once in a while.)" "Drink, my angel." "Let's drink!" "This is a true mountaineer's wine." "What a change from that annoying ceremony." "And the Archduchess telling me every five minutes:" ""Hold yourself upright."" "In the evening we left by coach... and now we're here." "And now, Frederick, since your mother is no longer here to forbid it to me..." "I'll tell your fortune." "Cut." "When we were out hunting, we secretly had our fortunes told by the gypsies." "Do you remember?" "And I became their pupil." "And you dragged me to the palace's attics to have your fortune told, so that no one would discover us." "The great game." "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." "The queen..." "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." "The king..." "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." "Somebody's shooting, Frederick." "Are the Huns coming" "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." "Worries about money." "Your theatre, my palaces... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." "Death... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 here he is, the blond young man who writes to us from time to time." "Who is he, Frederick?" "Frederick!" "?" "Get up, quickly!" "I'll force you..." "You must hide!" "Somebody's coming." "Over there!" "If you move or faint, you're dead!" "There's blood all over." "Is it you, Edith?" "Come in." "I gave you orders and you don't obey." "What's the matter?" "Are you ill?" "My Queen, did you hear the shots?" "So, Mlle de Berg, you heard some shooting in the park" "And you decide not to obey*" "The police..." "The police..." "Which police?" "Your Majesty's police, they fired the shots!" "The men are downstairs." "Do try to make yourself understood." "Is M. de Foehn downstairs?" "No Madame, the Count Foehn doesn't attend his brigade's operations in person, but the commander-in-chief, attached to Your Majesty, is." "What does he want?" "The permission to search the park and the service quarters.*" "A criminal hides in the park." "A criminal?" "Did he kill a man?" "No, Madame." "But has the intention to kill." "Whom?" " You yourself, my Queen." "This is beginning to get tiresome." "The police is well informed." "And Count Foehn didn't take the trouble to come here himself?" "This is what the commanding officer told me a dangerous group has been conspiring against Your Majesty." "A young man was chosen to carry it out." " Your Majesty knows him." " I do?" "The criminal is the author of that poem which had been published in secret and which Your Majesty..." "Don't cry!" "Am I crying?" "Am I dead already?" "You're impossible!" "Don't come in here again to bother me with such silly nonsense." "It might make me mad." "And give orders that the music and the dancing is to continue." "Let me at least close the window, Your Majesty." "Someone might climb in." "Close the window, Edith, close the window." "It doesn't matter now." "Come out." "Well sir, did you hear?" "I suppose there isn't much we don't know about each other." "What's your name?" "Since you refuse to tell me your name, I'll tell you myself." "Monarchs have a tremendous memory." "Your name is Stanislaus." "I don't know your surname, and I don't care to." "Under the pseudonym of Azrael, a name which is a curious mixture of death and beauty, you've published a scandalous poem." "I know it by heart." "I was told he was very plain which was a reason for me to like him." "For me, sir, Stanislaus doesn't exist." "You're Azrael, the angel of death." "This is the name I'm giving you." "That's the King's portrait over there..." "I suppose you're not ignorant of the extraordinary resemblance - don't deny it!" "Your accomplices have certainly assumed this resemblance would surprise me, immobilize me, helping you succeed with your assignment." "But sir, things never turn out as one imagines them." "Am I wrong?" "This is the third time the Queen has asked you a question." "So be it." "Circumstances force us to abolish etiquette and invent other codes of behaviour." "Did you know I was at Krantz castle?" "I see." "They've sealed your lips." "However, they do a lot of talking in your groups." "You just talk, talk and hear a lot." "Well, sir, it so happens that I've kept silent for ten years." "It's been ten years since I've made a vow to remain silent and not to show my face to anybody." "Tonight I'm showing my face and I'm talking, this is superb!" "Tell me about your adventure." "Take this." "Bind your knee." "It seems I'll have to do it myself." "Stretch out your leg." "But you're impossible!" "Either bind yourself or let me help you!" "I can stand silence very well, but I cannot bear to see blood." "Now tell me about your adventure." "I forgot." "It is I who will have to tell you." "When leaving town you had no doubt about the outcome of your enterprise, being my own death and yours." "You're being hunted, injured, your forces dwindle... you see an open window... you climb up, you appear before me." "For I moment I thought I saw the King's ghost..." "But ghosts do not faint in that manner." "They only faint at the cock's crow." "Warm yourself at the fire." "Your clothes must be soaked." "The King had been assassinated at the post relay station, the evening of our wedding." "We were on the road to Krantz." "The blood squirted across his knees." "Drink something, eat, you must be hungry and thirsty." "Sit down in this chair." "This is the King's chair." "If I invite you to sit down there, it's because I've decided, decided... to treat you as an equal." "I don't look upon you as a man." "What was that?" "You're asking yourself who you are to me, sir?" "You're my death." "I'm hiding my own death in here." "I'm treating the wounds of my own death." "I'm saving the life of my own death." "Don't you misunderstand me!" "Perfect." "You've understood." "They've killed the King because he wanted to build a theatre." "They want to kill me because I'm building palaces." "What can we do, our families are incapable of doing great works, so we chose to create something for pleasure." "As for myself, I'm dreaming of becoming a tragedy." "My chemists gave me a marvelous poison." "The capsule takes a long time to dissolve." "You swallow it, you're slowly absorbing death, but nobody notices anything." "You go horse-riding, you gallop, you fall off your horse." "The game's up." "I won't use it." "Fate has acted otherwise." "After ten years of lingering, of waiting for the decisive moment" "Ten years of waiting, ten years of horror." "Lightning has thrown you into my room." "And you're my destiny." "And this destiny pleases me." "But defend yourself, you stubborn jackass." "But you're exploding, your neck's bursting, bursting" "Snap out of it, this silence will kill you!" "Who else beside myself can hear you!" "Shout, insult me, stubborn jackass!" "Instead you play the weakling because of your injury." "If you had killed me, what would have become of you, tell me?" "Tell me!" "A murderer!" "Is it my fault that you've fainted?" "I've helped you, hidden you, saved you, made you sit down at my table." "I've broken all the rules and protocols regulating a sovereign's behaviour." "Killing me now would be more difficult, I agree." "This is another matter, you'd have to become a hero." "And as much as I dislike being the victim of a murder..." "I like the idea of being killed by a hero." "That's better." "Break everything, tear everything apart, like a thunderstorm!" "And now let's get down to business." "You're my prisoner." "A prisoner who is free to go." "Do you have a knife?" "You may keep it." "You'll have three days for the task I'm expecting of you." "If you spare me, I won't spare you, I hate weaklings." "Mademoiselle de Berg is my lectrice." "Nobody is less suitable." "I'll tell them that you're my new lecteur and in order to introduce you at Krantz I've invented this fantastic tale." "The day after tomorrow, Mademoiselle de Berg will inform the Archduchess about the scandal." "You see, we don't have a day to lose." "If you don't slay me, I'll slay you!" "Those thunderstorms last such a short time." "Violence lasts such a short time." "Sir!" "Sir!" "Tony!" "May God forgive me." "This young man has fainted because he's starved." "Sir!" "What's happening?" "What's happening?" "Look here, little man, what's the matter with you?" "Did Tony frighten you?" "Don't worry, he's the only person I can trust." "He's a mute." "Yes, he's a really a mute." "But you look terrible!" "I know what you're thinking, stubborn jackass." "Tony!" "Since he refuses to take food at this table you'll take him to one of my rooms." "You'll treat his wounds, you'll guard him and when he wakes up, you'll dress him in some clothes." "Try to get back your force." "Good night!" "We have a hard day before us." "Till tomorrow." "Here he is." "Stay up there." " Did you have a pleasant trip?" " The roads are terrible." "The Queen wants to have them repaired by public funds." "Our ministers think she ought to pay for them out of her own purse." "Until they come to an agreement the roads stay as they are." "Here you are." "Mademoiselle de Berg has done her duty." "I knew about this ball." "A provincial affair to which however certain court dignitaries had been invited." "Did Her Majesty attend the ball?" "No, M. Gentz, we were asked to act in her place to receive the guests." "Good day, gentlemen." "So this is the farmhouse." " Did you follow my instructions?" " Yes, Minister." "We've let him escape." "Very well." "And?" "We've pretended to hunt the man." "The men and the dogs drove him up to the castle." "Very well." " When did you leave the castle?" " An hour ago." " Anything dramatic?" " No." "We had been afraid that a fatal accident might have happened to Her Majesty." "May the Lord me thanked." "Gentlemen." "You haven't seen me." "The Archduchess will remember your loyalty to the régime." "Let's go." "I'm surprised that this young officer betrays his Queen." "She is no longer the Queen, my dear Gentz." "One tends to forget it: the King is dead." "But she still reigns, by her prestige." "I have to agree." "She has a most inconvenient invisibility." "Another reason for us to proceed cunningly." "If that young anarchist did not succeed, it will be a problem for us." "We won't be disturbed here." " But this is an attic!" " Didn't I tell you." "Her Majesty had this amusing surprise in store for me." "Sit down." "Be prepared for the worst." "That man is locked up in the castle and it's the Queen who's hiding him." "All of this drama has been staged by Her Majesty who wants to have a new lecteur, and she knew which one precisely." " But who is it?" " You shall laugh:" "An anarchist!" "The Queen is hiding an anarchist at Krantz?" "That anarchist is the poet who has been insulting the Queen in those clandestine publications." " And the Queen intends to introduce that person into my presence?" " Most certainly she does." "And there's an even better surprise:" " What is it?" " Felix, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise any longer." "An anarchist!" " Anything may happen now!" " I agree." "And now get lost." "I don't want anybody to know that you've come up to my room, if I may use this word..." " You'll remain in office?" " Most certainly I will!" "The Queen once tried to nominate Tony Governor of Papao." "But she didn't succeed." "So, get lost!" "I am not in the habit to pass judgment on the Queen, but this..." "Keep silent about this!" "Tony had just been dressing Stanislaus out of the wardrobe from the King's museum." "Willenstein couldn't forget the mysterious door the Queen had opened on the night of the ball." "He secretly returned to the place." "Suddenly he saw the King." "Excuse me..." "Is my resemblance to the King that strong?" "It is frightening, sir." "That's what it is." "A good day, sir." "I've lost the passion for hunting, but I still like to shoot." " Are you a good shot?" " I'm not bad at it, I think." "Have a go." "Fire!" "Into the black!" "My congratulations." "Mine went too far left, and too high up." "My turn." "After all, I couldn't surpass this." "You're a good shot." "Is your reading as good?" "I can read alright." "Mlle de Berg can hardly read in her own language." "It's time for a change." "I'd like to hear you read something, since you've become my lecteur." " I'm awaiting your orders." " Sit down." "Open it." "Read." "By Shakespeare one may read anything." "Careful, it's loaded." "And my guns go off on their own sometimes." "Hamlet:" "Come, come and sit you down;" "You shall not budge." "You go not till I set you up a glass..." "Where you may see the inmost part of you." "Queen:" "What wilt thou do?" "Thou wilt not murder me?" "Help, ho!" "[Polonius, hidden:" "Help]" "Hamlet:" "How now?" "A rat?" "[He makes a pass through the tapestry] Dead for a ducat, dead!" "I don't like blood!" "And Hamlet resembles too much a prince of my family." "Read something else." "You wouldn't refuse to read your own poem." "I'd like to hear it read by your voice." "Read it." "I'm listening." "I've had enough!" " Might you be a coward?" " A coward?" "You treat me like a coward, because I don't pick up this gun from the table and shoot you in the back!" " We've made a pact!" " Which pact?" "!" "You've made the decision, the way you always make the decision." "That I were your destiny, that it were my assignment to send you to Heaven!" "In this legendary, historical heaven of yours." "You came here to kill me!" "Did you ever ask yourself just for a minute where I came from, and why I came!" "Can't you understand that there are other persons, that other persons exist, thinking, suffering, living." "You only think about yourself!" " I forbid..." " And I forbid you to interrupt me!" "Did I interrupt you last night?" "I came from the shadows, from shadows you know nothing about, you couldn't even imagine!" "You probably think that my life began on that window-sill of Krantz castle!" "That I didn't exist before!" "Where do you think I came from?" "From a darkness which has nothing to do with you." "And who looked for me* in this darkness?" "Who tempted me ?" "Who pulled me with a rope to that cursed window where I fainted?" "You did!" "You're not the only one visited by chance." "You issue decrees, you order people about." "You scheme, arrange things, provoke what's happening." "Even if you think you're not doing it, you're still doing it." "It had been you, who without knowing dictated your orders to my comrades!" "You've lured me into this trap." "But the truth is... no court of justice could admit any of those things... but the poets know about them, and I'm telling you." "So they killed the King?" "Is it my fault?" "Those are the risks men of his profession must take." "By killing the King, they've killed me." "They've haven't killed you at all, that's why you've waited for destiny to kill you." "You adored the King." "This is the custom." "What kind of a love was that?" "Since your childhood you were destined for the throne." "They've turned you into a monster of pride." "As for me, since my childhood I have been suffocated with love." "I've expected it from nobody." "When I entered your room, I had been... an idea, a crazy idea, the idea of a madman." "An idea, standing opposite another idea." "I made the mistake to have fainted." "When I came to myself, I was just a man, visiting a woman in her room." "And that woman used all her charms to seduce me and gain time." "You've very clever." "I command you to keep silent." "Go on, shout, ring the bell, call the police!" "It's you who's shouting for all the palace to hear you!" "Don't you see that I'm going crazy!" "Shoot!" " Don't tempt me!" " In a few seconds it'll be too late..." "Alright, kill me!" "Be done with it!" "Sit down!" "Read something!" "Read." "And put into your lecture the same violence you put into your insults." "read if necessary ?" "Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!" "Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger." "Leave wringing of your hands, Madame." "Peace, sit you down, and let me wring your heart, for so I shall..." "What's this?" "What's this?" "Leave that book." " Your Majesty must excuse me, I thought I heard..." " Heard what?" "I've been practicing shooting." "And if you had dared come any closer, you would have heard how reading is done properly." "Edith, I dislike your listening at doors and windows." "I must place you under house-arrest." "Tony will bring you all you need." "Come here, sir." "Do you see this mirror?" "It is a Venetian mirror." "Next room is a dark chamber, from there you can see everything that's happening in this library." "The King used to adore these kinds of gadgets." "You're insolent, but not stupid." "Take the King as your example." "You can see me, but I cannot see you, I'm only seeing myself." " Do you hear me?" " I hear you." "Then I'll advise you to stay there quietly." "I'm going to receive Count Foehn, the Minister of Police." "And I want you to know the man who is hunting for you." "This way." "Come in, I'm just doing my exercises." "The Queen will never cease to amaze us." " Am I being scolded?" " You Majesty must be joking." " You've probably come because of my ball." " The Queen may do as she pleases." "Your Excellency must be joking." "The Archduchess would have preferred to see the Queen take part at the ceremonies for the anniversary." "That's what had been planned." ""The ball left..." to quote the newspapers" ""... a very bad impression."" "If the Queen would only show herself, the unfortunate misunderstanding between the people and their Queen would end." "What does the Archduchess demand?" "She doesn't demand, she only advises..." "Your Majesty to end this life of reclusion which risks in the eyes of those fools... and the fools are numerous, to look like contempt." "I don't care what they might think." "I'm used to the stories they invent about me... and which excite their minds." "This is disadvantage of being a legend." "A legend!" "It used to take a century to be minted onto coins or cast in bronze." "Today a legend is being minted daily, in the most common manner, and for the dirty-minded public!" " Madame, the press would never dare..." " Wouldn't they?" ""I whip my stable hands, I smoke the pipe with my servants..."" ""I'm hanging trapezes in the throne hall."" "I'm being sent clandestine publications which cover me with dirt... and which are being tolerated by the police." "You're the chief of police, M. de Foehn." "The Archduchess is the first to deplore these incidents." "Your Majesty has arrived from Wolmar yesterday." "I'm afraid my man-hunt might have caused a lot of disorder and disturbed the ball." "Not in the least." "Is your criminal still running about free?" "My men don't deserve Your Majesty's admonishments." "They caught the man." "How exciting!" "He tried to escape, but he had to give himself up." " What kind of a man is he?" " A poet." " What did you say?" " I've interrogated him personally." "Within five minutes he "sat down at the table" (revealed everything) as my agents used to say." "He signs with "Azrael" the clandestine publications in which he attacks Your Majesty." "Foehn, you're not saying that a poet wanted to kill me?" "He gave me the names of his accomplices, a nice catch for me." "M. de Foehn, I can only congratulate you... and thank you for this arrest." "I was surprised about your absence yesterday, and I wonder if you only came today... to ascertain my death." "Your Majesty is terrifying." "I may be on occasion - especially towards myself." "My dear Count..." "Convey my thanks to the Archduchess for the trouble she takes to protect my reputation." "Do you understand now?" "This is monstrous!" "That's what the court is like." "I'm annoying the Archduchess, Foehn facilitates a murder." "You fail, Foehn will drop you." "He counts on your accomplices to get rid of you for him." "I'm going to give myself up to the police." "Don't be absurd!" "You're the victim of a police plot acting under the orders of a group of the opposition who are intent on my ruin." "But the situation we're in now wouldn't be understood by all the polices in the world." "I'm an object of shame." "You're loneliness standing opposite another loneliness, that's all." "What were we last night, let me quote:" "An idea standing opposite another idea." "And now, what are we?" "A woman and a man, both being hunted down." "Equals." " Does your mother live in the village?" " She isn't my mother." "I had to burn some papers." "Poems?" "Yes, Madame." "What a pity." "And after having burned them, what were your orders?" "Madame!" "It seemed to me that consideration and politeness didn't exist between us anymore." "I had orders to assassinate the Queen at Wolmar." "One must assassinate quickly, and out in the open." "One must assassinate quickly and then be swallowed by the crowd, otherwise the drama fails." "And everything which fails is horrible." "How silent everything is." "Here you don't even hear the herds' bells." "Let's be silent." "I used to dislike this silence." "Now I find it pleasant." "So you were supposed to kill the Queen at Wolmar." "Well, you've accomplished your assignment at Krantz." "You were ordered to kill the Queen, Stanislaus." "You've killed her." "I, Madame?" "Would a Queen allow herself to be interrogated, to be insulted?" "If she did, she would no longer be a Queen." "I repeat, Stanislaus:" "There is no longer a Queen at Krantz." "You've killed her." "A woman is speaking to you now." "Do you understand?" "My God!" "Help me understand!" "My God, give me the force to confront my own lies ?" "Make me say what I don't want to say." "Stanislaus..." "I should kill you now... so that I'd never lose you." "You little man, come near, come." "Lay your head on my knees." "I loved you the moment you appeared in my room." "And I accuse myself of having felt shame." "I loved you when you fainted from weakness, I'm accusing myself to have been ashamed of it." "I loved you when you insulted me.." "And I accuse myself of having been ashamed of it." "They were only the dreams of a sleeping person, sleeping so profoundly, that he doesn't even realize that he's dreaming them." "It's only Tony." "Foehn knows everything." "Tonight, you have nothing to fear." "Until I make a decision Mlle de Berg will remain under arrest." "No one except her may enter my rooms." "I'll see to that." "Tomorrow morning Tony will take you into the mountains, to my old hunting lodge..." " then..." " There won't be a "then"." "Listen to me!" "You've saved me." "I'll save you." "Change your whole way of life." "Take off your veil." "Return to the capital." "Crush Foehn!" "Make the Duke of Willenstein commander-in-chief, assemble your troops, pass the review on horseback, surprise them!" "The people love you." "And I..." "I shall live in your mountains." "I cannot offer you happiness, this is a word which has lost its honour." "But I can offer you this:" "You and me, we could be a double-headed eagle, like the one on your coat-of-arms." "And now, repeat after me:" ""Oh Lord, receive us in Your kingdom of enigmas, unite us in Heaven."" "" Oh Lord receive us in Your kingdom of enigmas, unite us in Heaven."" "But this is a real garrison." " How many units are stationed there?" " 100 light cavalry and 50 guards." "Damnit!" "Does the Queen fear anything?" "She's very clever." "She carried it off very well." "The poet had been hidden there all the time." "I tried to lure him out, but he stayed in his hole." "What are your plans?" "I'll spend the night at the inn and return to Krantz in the morning." "God's hand is looking for somebody at Krantz." "He must be found." "There's no hurry." "But our anarchist resembles a king whom the Queen makes to look like an anarchist." "I don't think our mixture is explosive enough." "Are you ("tu") asleep?" " No, I'm not sleeping." " Yes you are." "And you're right to sleep." "Sleep, my angel." "Frederick..." "Pollux, you were afraid!" "But you're not in love!" "One of Her Majesty's fancies?" "No, this Indian hut has been built for the King when he was ten years old." " An ideal hiding-place if one doesn't want to be disturbed." " Shall I get up?" "You'll only feel giddy, and it's rather dirty." "I'll get up alone." " Edith, are you sure that the Queen will return to the capital?" " I am." "And are you also sure the Queen won't surprise me here?" "The Queen gallops, and when she gallops she rides out far." "Good day, sir." "Am I disturbing?" "I'm sorting out the books the Queen will take with her." "You have a strange way to do it." "Did the Queen go out riding?" "Her Majesty had Pollux saddled." "You even know the horses' names." "This is superb." "Haven't you seen Her Majesty?" "I had been imprisoned, sir." "I knew nothing about this extraordinary voyage which is being prepared." "Speaking of prisons, do you know Count Foehn?" " No, Mademoiselle." " He's an extraordinary man." "I gathered as much." " I thought he had left Krantz." " He was ordered to leave Krantz." "I've been accused of being curious, but the Count's curiosity knows no bounds." " He's been looking for you." " For me?" "He asked me to tell you that the meeting would only serve the interests of Her Majesty." "Is this the way the chief of police phrases his commands?" "More or less." " Then, Mademoiselle, I can only obey." " Follow me." "We've arrived." " In a tree?" " Our Count is a night bird." "Don't worry, it's still daytime." "I'll leave you now." "I apologize for this climb." "My profession, as strange as it may seem, is not devoid of a certain poetry sometimes." "You're a poet, if I'm not mistaken?" " I happen to write poems in occasion." " One of those poems..." "But do sit down." "Among those singing birds you ought to feel at home." "One of those poems..." "Please sit down." "...has been published in some small leftist journal." "The Queen who can be capricious at times, found it amusing." "She had copies printed and had them distributed at court." " But I didn't know..." " Don't interrupt me!" "At the moment, I don't care about the contractual dealings Her Majesty might have entered with you." "What I care about is to learn from you by which ruse... you've obtained from her this totally unexpected reversal." "I'm listening..." "The Queen has had the fancy to take as her lecteur a poor poet from her village." "My part ends there." "So you refuse to explain to me by which miracle a young writer belonging to the opposition accepts, just like that, to serve the régime?" "Or rather, jumping up the whole social ladder and falling from a mountain top, landing on both feet in the Queen's library." "Such an exercise demands unusual force and flexibility, you'll have to admit that." "It occasionally happens ... that by accident a youth is pushed towards a milieu to which he isn't suited." "Youth gets enthusiastic very easily, and... gets tired just as easily of that which had excited him earlier." "There is nothing sadder in this world, M. le Comte." "The real tragedy is the distance, and... the fact that the human beings don't know each other." "As you've wished for yourself, M. le Comte, if the Queen showed herself to the people... all misunderstandings between her and her people would end." "Where in the devil's name did I say that?" "I beg your pardon, M. le Comte, it seemed to me..." " It seemed to you?" "..." "What is it?" "Well, I... it seemed to me that Her Majesty, talking about you, M. le Comte, had told me about your words." "She's been talking to you about me!" "I had been sorting the books, Her Majesty probably had been talking to herself, I..." "I've been so indiscreet as to listen and to repeat to you what I've heard." "This is very strange." "Come here." "Stop!" "An extraordinary resemblance!" "What does the Queen think about it?" "I think this resemblance has acted more in my favour with Her Majesty that my personal merits." "You seem tired." "Sit down." "Next to me." "This resemblance might be useful to us." "If we disapproved of it, it might create a scandal." "If I approved of it, it would charm the court." "The power of a Queen is limited, dear sir." "That of a Minister of Police isn't." "What do you want of me?" "What would you get out of the Queen's sensational voyage if it were only just a firework?" "She'd get bored, she'd lost interest and she'd leave." "What are we expecting from Her Majesty?" "To be an idol." "To hide beneath her pomp the sordid realities." "When the Queen is absent, the people can see them." "That's the whole problem." "We would need a courageous man, who isn't a court official." "A man who is ready to save the Queen." "A man who would prove to her that the Archduchess loves her like her own daughter and who only wants to take the bad part." "Nobody will say anything if the Queen chooses a lecteur of her fancy and attaches him to her person." "And what will you offer me in exchange?" "The greatest gift on earth: freedom." "Count, I had been hidden in the library and I heard every word." "I knew it all the time." "The Queen just wanted to hear the opinion of a man of the people." "Do tell." "You wanted to drag the Queen back to her capital, to infuriate her." "to have her declared mad, place her under tutelage and have her property confiscated by the Ministry of Finance." " Monsieur!" " Careful!" "Just one hit of the Queen's fan and your whole construction will collapse." "I wouldn't bet on your life then." "As you wish." "You're accused of having attempted to assassinate Her Majesty." "I'm placing you under arrest." "You may defend yourself before a court of justice." " Don't arrest me before one o'clock." " Granted." " The park is surrounded by my agents." " The Queen will mount into her carriage at one o'clock." "At 13.10 h I'll be at your disposition." "What a pity." "What a pity we didn't come to an understanding." " A pity for yourself!" " No need to see me to my carriage." "Come in." "Oh, it's you, Adams." "Does Mademoiselle need anything?" "Anything to take me away from here as fast as possible..." "Yes, Adams..." "Mademoiselle..." "Do I owe the honour of your visit only to your concern for me?" "Her Majesty has asked me to transmit a message to Mademoiselle." "That's what I thought." "Well, Adams?" "She asked me to tell you that Mademoiselle is to return back to her duties with the Archduchess." "What was that?" "I insist on having the details!" "Her Majesty didn't give me any details." "Mademoiselle..." "Adams!" "Adams, look." "Isn't this resemblance inadmissible?" "Yes M. le Duc, inadmissible." "My congratulations!" "Her Majesty has just let me know that I'm no longer a member of her household." "I'm returning to my duties with the Archduchess." "I suppose my dismissal means you've been appointed in my place." " Edith." " Leave me alone!" "It's true!" "Why drag a stranger into our private affairs?" "He'll find out anyway!" "What did you insinuate?" "What did you tell the Queen?" "Is this you, Mademoiselle de Berg, who is shouting so loud?" "I don't like shouting." "Will you spend all your life quarrelling with that poor Willenstein?" "Good day, Felix." "Follow me, Monsieur." "I could hear Mlle de Berg's voice from outside." "Quite unlike her reading voice." " My love.." " Say it again." "My love." "My love." "It's marvelous." "And I used to think happiness was something ugly and unclean." "I though only misfortune was worth to be lived through." "Making happiness look beautiful, this is something to strive for." "Happiness is ugly, Stanislaus, if it's not paired without misfortune." "But when happiness and misfortune are just as terrible, that's magnificent." " My love..." " Look at my neck." "This morning my medallion seemed to strangle me." "Death who imprisons me, shouted to me "So you want to live, girl?" "This is news."" "I took it off in my room..." "I left it there ?" "I'll throw it into the lake, together with my poem." "The poems you've burned at Krantz, were they addressed to me?" " To you.." " Were they that insulting?" "Yes, my love." "So you thought about me all the time?" "I had been haunted by you, you had been my obsession." "And since I couldn't come near you..." "I could only hate you." "I bought your portraits and tore them to 1.000 pieces." "Nothing of the lies they told about you seemed base enough for me." "You didn't write, you wrote to me." "I should have killed you in your room that first night and then I should have killed myself." "This must be the definitive way to make love." "Stanislaus, you're angry with me that I'm leaving Krantz." "If you stayed at Krantz, I'd have to leave." "If I stayed at Krantz for you, to live near you..." "If I gave up this daring coup for you, would you leave Krantz?" "Would you leave me?" ""Everything which falls back is horrible."" "Those are your own words." "Let's run away, my Queen." "Let's run away, you in one direction... and I in the other direction." "And let's meet in secret, like thieves." "I'll be in my capital tomorrow." "May God help me succeed." "Anoint me as Queen, Stanislaus." "Yes, my love." "I must give Felix some instructions." "Go up to my rooms, you'll find Tony." "No, I must learn to tear myself away from you." " It's hard." " What we are going to undertake will be hard." "Give me courage, my Queen." "I am perhaps less brave than you are." "A double-headed eagle." "A double-headed eagle." "And what if one head is cut off?" "The eagle will die." "I don't want anybody to be disturbed." "The dormitory of the light cavalry?" "One of the light cavalry's dormitories..." "Three rings." "Her Majesty wants me." "Excuse me." "Don't let me keep you." "I'll organize the escort myself." "You'll see her return here, with the band marching and playing in front." "Good day." "Will you be attached to the Queen when she leaves?" "No sir, we're to play at 12 o'clock." "We're going to see Her Majesty unveiled at her window, it's fantastic!" "Don't let yourselves be disturbed, gentlemen." "Don't let yourselves be disturbed." "Play." "Contra." "Pass." "Double." "4 + 4 + 7." "The king." "There's a lot of you at Krantz." "It's because the Oberwald garrison is stationed at Krantz." "At Oberwald they have torn down the dormitories, the Queen is rebuilding them." "Her Majesty adores to build." "It's Max's turn." "I won't disturb you any longer, gentlemen." "Gentz, what do you think?" "It seems your office doesn't meet with much sympathy in here." "Tell our men to be on their guard." "What a strange look, Felix!" "It's true, I forgot." "I'm showing myself all naked." "After having taken off the veil, I'm ten years older." "You'll have to get used to it." "Will Your Majesty travel by coach?" "No." "I don't like that coach, it reminds me of the King's tragedy." "I'll ride on horseback, in a Colonel's uniform." "Does Your Majesty know that Count Foehn is travelling with us?" "Foehn?" "I thought he had left Krantz this morning?" "I've just seen him." "He told me he wants to organize the escort personally." "Let him organize, Felix, let him organize." "And I'll organize my part of the plan, that's all." " How many men do we have?" " 100 light infantry, 50 guards." " And how many in the police brigade?" " About 20." "Very well." "If necessary, you'll arrest M. de Foehn." "You'll place M. de Foehn and his men under arrest, this is an order!" " Can you trust your cousin Rudy?" " Absolutely." "Then you'll entrust him to Rudy." "He's to guard him as if he were the apple of my eyes." "Why do you look at me like that?" "Are you particularly fond of M. de Foehn?" "I'll execute Your Majesty's orders punctually." "You'll take him to the citadel, I'll give you a warrant, and you'll have 100 gun shots fired." "Ah, Felix, once the band has taken its position in front of the water basin and before they start the Royal hymn, you'll let them sound two trumpet fanfares." "That'll be the signal to me that my escort squadron is ready." "Felix, Mlle de Berg will travel with Count Foehn in his carriage." "They're a perfect couple." "The police." "What a fuss!" " Good day, sir." " Good day, Your Excellency." "I've come to arrange the final details." "My coach will join your train." "I'll precede the procession." "Her Majesty's carriage will follow next." "I suppose she'll travel with Mlle de Berg and the Duke of Willenstein." "I know nothing about that, Minister..." "But I do, and I advise you to follow my instructions." "A wind of upheaval is blowing this morning..." "Come on Gentz, let's get on with our job." "I've numbered everything, down to the most insignificant details of the protocol." "Side saddle for Ajax." "Her Majesty will travel on horseback." "Doesn't Her Majesty travel by coach?" "She doesn't." "She has her reasons to dislike coaches." "I am here to protect her." "I hope you are." "Your orders are to be taken heed of." "excepting those given by the Queen." "Is that quite understood, Watson?" " Yes, sir." "I also understand English, M. le Duc." "Did he interfere with our affairs?" "Yes Monsieur, but I only understand English." "Stanislaus!" "Stanislaus!" "Stanislaus!" "What have you done?" "What have you done?" "Answer me!" "Answer me at once or I'll whip you!" " I'm a dead man." " Coward!" " Perhaps..." " Coward!" " Where I shall be going I'll protect you a thousand times better." " I don't need your protection!" " My love..." " Don't touch me!" "You're a dead man and you disgust me!" "Is this you ("tu") who is talking to me that way?" "Don't call me "tu", the police is everywhere." "Talk to me..." "Talk to me like... like you talked to me yesterday like you did this morning." " You love me." " Love you?" "Are you out of your mind!" "I repeat that I'm ordering you not to address me in this tone!" " You don't love me!" " What did you think?" "Who do you think you are?" "You should realize that Count Foehn won't dare to act without* my orders." "Everything ?" "I thought you'd understood that." "You're lying!" "Sir." "You're forgetting where you are, what you are, and who I am!" "Here, in this very place, haven't you declared your love to me?" "Didn't you know that queens can also tell a lie?" "Just read your own poems:" ""The queens, since the days of Cleopatra ?" "They take a slave, they kill their lover ?" "I almost fainted." "You couldn't hide your suffering, you cried out..." "You're trying out a horrible experiment with me." "Other experiments are in store for you." "What?" "Contempt ?" "followed by a lawsuit... that your enemies would have used to harm you by provoking a scandal." "How horrible!" "It had been you who has suggested to me this suicide by degrees." "Didn't you tell me about this poison in your medallion which you left in your room?" "Answer me!" "I'm not in the habit of submitting to an interrogation." "I don't have to account for my actions with you." "How could you not have realized that your resemblance with the King had been the gravest insult?" "I'll hand you over to Count Foehn." "If he doesn't decide otherwise, you may poison yourself, good luck." "I've tried out the capsule with my dogs." "You'll be swept into the gutter, like them." " Oh Lord, end this torture!" " God too doesn't like cowards!" "You shouldn't have betrayed your comrades who trusted you." "What makes you think I'd take seriously someone who changed his waistcoat (sides) under my very eyes." "Perhaps you would never have imagined the things I've just told you." "You would have died believing to have been your fatherland's saviour." "You've escaped from my justice, you prefer your own." "As you wish." "But I didn't want to become your tribunal." "Have you nothing to say?" "You remain silent?" "You lower your head." "I was right to treat you as a coward." "I despise you, take this!" "They are calling for me." "I probably won't have the pleasure to see you die." "Thank you, little man." "And forgive me." "I had to drive you mad." "Otherwise you would never have struck me." "I love you." "Something strange is going on." "Come with me." "Stanislaus..." "Gentz, stop that cursed music, and don't let anybody in here!" "We're immersed in a legend up to our ears." "Don't touch anything!" "For the police and for history  the tragedy of Krantz remained an enigma." "But love is stronger than politics." "And everything has happened as I told it." "subtitles: serdar 202  cinéphage (using partly Eszter Kalmár's German subs)"