"The Brothers Grimm, Your Majesty." "Good day, gentlemen." "Thank you so much for coming." "I suppose you're wondering why anyone my age would request an audience with the authors of children's stories." "Your letter was most intriguing, madam." "I find your collection of folk tales quite brilliant actually." " Thank you." " But I must say I was terribly disturbed when I read your version of The Little Cinder Girl." "There are those who swear Perrault's telling with its fairy godmother and magic pumpkins would be closer to the truth." "Some claim the shoe was made of fur." "Others insist it was glass." "Well, I guess we'll never know." "Forgive me, Your Majesty." "Might I enquire about the painting?" "She's really quite eh extraordinary." "Her name was Danielle de Barbarac." "And this was her glass slipper." "Perhaps you will allow me to set the record straight?" "Then it's true... the story?" "Yes." "Quite." "Now, then." "What is that phrase you use?" "Oh, yes." "Once upon a time there lived a young girl who loved her father very much." "Ever After" "Oh, Paulette, it feels just like Christmas!" "I get a mother and sisters all in one day!" "Yes, it's going to be very exciting here, what with the Baroness and all..." "Oh, hold still!" "The master deserves some happiness after all this time bringing up the child on his own." "She must be lovely." "I hope she likes me." "She'll love you." "Just be the little angel I know is in there somewhere." "And don't chew on the bones at dinner and give yourself away." "Child, your father arrives any moment!" "Gustave, I told you!" "Not today!" "You look like a girl!" "That's what I am, halfwit!" "Yeah, but today you look it!" "Boy or girl, I can still whip you." "Hah!" "Look lively, it's the master." "Welcome home, Monsieur le seigneur." "I see you have brought us a baroness." "I have brought you an entire household, Maurice." "But I seem to be missing a daughter." "Oh..." "Auguste." "It's absolutely charming, really." "Papa!" "Oh ho ho!" "Oh, look at you, just as I left." "I'll wager your friend Gustave is around here." "No, sir!" "I slaughtered him." "He's..." "Well, so you did." "I had hoped to present a little lady." "I suppose you'll have to do." "Danielle may I present the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent and her daughters, Marguerite and Jacqueline." "Hello, Danielle." "At last we meet." "Your father speaks of nothing else." "Ladies, say hello to your new stepsister." "Mademoiselle." "Utopia." "It means paradise." "This may be a bit thick for an eight-year-old." "But we could add it to our library." "Will you read some?" "It's been a very long day." "And you're a husband now." "Yes, I'm a husband." "But a father first and for ever." "We've been two peas in a pod, you and I, for a long time." "I suppose this will take some getting used to." "Did you see the way they ate their supper?" "It was perfect!" "Like a dance!" " Do you like them?" " Very much." "Good, good." "Because I have to go to Avignon in a fortnight." " But you just got back!" " I know." " For how long?" " Only... three weeks." " One." " Two." " One!" " T... two." "All right, one." "Come on, go to sleep." "Kiss." "Sleep tight." "I've never seen so many gloomy faces around here." "I shall be back in a week." "Then go." "The sooner you leave, the sooner we can celebrate your return." "Perhaps by then, the three of you will know each other better." "Huh?" "I'm counting on you to teach them the ropes around here." "The Baroness isn't used to getting her hands dirty." "Thank you, Maurice." "Safe journey, master." "Come along, ladies." "Back to your lessons." "Wait!" "It's tradition." "He always waves at the gate." "Agh!" "Papa!" "Papa!" "Papa!" "Auguste!" "I..." "I love you." "I love you." "No." "Papa!" "Auguste." "You cannot leave me here." "You cannot leave me here!" "Leave me, leave me!" "Papa, please come back!" "It would be ten years before another man would enter her life." "A man who was still a boy in many, many ways." "I signed a marriage treaty with the King of Spain and that boy will obey me, or there will be hell to pay!" "But he does not love her, my lord." " It's not about love!" " Perhaps it should be." "If he is to become King, he must accept his responsibilities." "A sapling cannot grow in the shadow of a mighty oak, Francis." " He needs sunlight." " He needs a good whipping." "Really, Francis!" "Can't this wait till morning?" "If I can't sleep, neither shall he." "Henry, wake up!" "Oh, no." "Not again." "Call out the guard!" "Bring him back!" "Yah!" "Come on, you stupid beast!" "Come on!" "Yah!" "Oh, no, you don't." "Thief!" "This will teach you to steal my father's horse!" "Mine slipped his shoe." "I have no choice." " And our choice is what?" "To let you?" " I was borrowing it." "Get out, or I'll wake the house." "Ow!" "Forgive me, Your Highness." "I did not see you." "Your aim would suggest otherwise." "And for that I know I must die." "Then eh speak of this to no-one and eh I shall be lenient." "We have other horses, Highness." "Younger, if that is your wish." "I wish for nothing more than to be free of my gilded cage." "For your silence." "I asked for four-minute eggs, not four one-minute eggs." "And where in God's name is our bread?" "!" "It's just coming out of the oven, my lady." "Marguerite, precious what do I always say about tone?" "A lady of breeding ought never to raise her voice above the gentle hum of a whispering wind." "Jacqueline, dear." "Do not speak unless you can improve the silence." "I was not shrill, I was resonant." "A courtier knows the difference." "I doubt your style of resonance would be permitted in the Royal Court." "I'm not going to the Royal Court, am I, Mother?" "No-one is." "Except some Spanish pig they have the nerve to call a princess." "Darling, nothing is final until you're dead." "And even then I'm sure God negotiates." "Why is there no salt on this table?" "Danielle!" "Coming!" "She's in one of her moods!" "Did the sun rise in the east?" "Yes, Louise, it did." "And it is going to be a beautiful day!" "Look at all those feathers!" "Child, where did you get this?" "From an angel of mercy." "I know what to do with them." "Maurice?" "If the Baroness can sell your husband to pay her taxes then these can bring him home." "The Court will have to let him go." "But the King has sold him to Cartier." "He's bound for the Americas." "This is our home, and I will not see it fall apart." "We are waiting!" "Take heed, mistress or these coins are as good as hers." "Morning, madame Marguerite, Jacqueline." "I trust you slept well." "What kept you?" "I fell off the ladder in the orchard, but I am better now." "Someone's been reading in the fireplace again." "Look at you." "Ash and soot everywhere." "Some people read because they cannot think for themselves." "Why don't you sleep with the pigs, Cinder-Soot if you insist on smelling like one?" "That was harsh, Marguerite." "Danielle, come here, child." "Your appearance does reflect a certain... crudeness, my dear." "What can I do to make you try?" "I do try, Stepmother." "I do wish to please you." "Sometimes, I sit on my own and try to think of what else I could do, how to act..." "Oh, calm down, child." "Relax." "Perhaps if we brought back Maurice, I would not offend you so." "It is your manner that offends, Danielle." "Throughout these hard times, I have sheltered you and cared for you." "All that I ask in return is that you help me here without complaint." "Is that such an extraordinary request?" " No, my lady." " Very well." "We shall have no more talk of servants coming back." "Understood?" "Yes, my lady." "After all that I do!" "After all I have done!" "It's never enough." "Eggs are cold." "Oh, no, there's nothing there!" "There's nothing!" "I beg you, please leave us alone." "Please!" " No, no, not that." " Out of the way, old man!" " Get on the horses!" " It's the Royal Guard!" "Run!" "God, I don't believe this!" "The painting..." "Please, for the love of God, the painting." " That man, he's getting away." " The Guard will assist you." "I cannot." "Please, sir!" "It is... my life." "Aaagh!" "Ugly bastard!" "Fast!" "Yah!" "Give it to me!" "Give it to me!" "Got you!" "Give me that!" "Aaargh!" "No." "Too small." "It needs to draw some attention." "I fear, Baroness, anything larger might make her fall over." "Perhaps you are right." "I shall have to look elsewhere." "I have just the thing!" "Have you lost your marbles?" "Do you know what the punishment is for servants who dress above their station?" "Five days in the stocks." "You'd do the same for me, admit it." "Me?" "Pretend to be a courtier?" "Prancing round like some nobleman when I've never been to court." "And neither have you!" "Then I won't be recognised." "Hand me that gown so I can be on my way." "They'll never buy it." "You are too sweet." "They'll never buy a servant with 20 gold francs either." "I am Maurice's only hope." "And the Baroness, what did you tell her?" "I am picking wild flowers." "Gustave, can you still see her?" " They're buying a brooch." " Unbelievable." "She ignores the manor, blames us for her debt and still pretends to have money to burn." "Don't you dare laugh." "I'm coming out." "The shoes are too big." "Nobody will be looking at your feet." "Yards of fabric and I still feel naked." "If you're going to be a noblewoman you must play the part." "You look down to no-one." "I am just a servant in a nice dress." "Come." "We have to do something with that hair." "Oh!" "Thank you." " Henry, you promised." " I know." "I lied." "I thought I'd see the world before I gave up my life to God and country." "Why on earth did you stop?" "I suppose I lack conviction." "You seem to have it in spades." "Besides, you claimed it was a matter of life and death." "A woman always is, Sire." "She laughs at me, sir, as if she knows something I do not." "The lady had many secrets." "I merely painted one of them." "Signor da Vinci has been invited to the palace as the artist in residence." "Leonardo da Vinci?" "Michelangelo was trapped under a ceiling in Rome." "I'm just a second choice." "I am on my way to Genoa and I find my salvation on the highway!" "Sir, you are the founder of forward thinking and my father is the king of backward." "Could you talk him into the 16th century?" "Captain Laurent, do translate." "Prince Henry suffers from an arranged marriage, signore among other things." "Oh!" "Your Highness." "What a lovely surprise." "To what do we owe this great honour?" "I'm returning your horse, Baroness." " Oh." "Was it missing?" " Yes." "I took the liberty of borrowing it earlier." "I'm afraid I scared your servant..." "A young lady with a..." "quite a good arm, actually." " She is mute, my lord." " Really?" "She spoke quite forcefully." "Well, it comes and goes." "But as always Your Highness is welcome to anything he wishes." "Anything at all." "Wait for me!" "Oh, ladies." "Here you are." "Your Highness." "Your Highness, may I present Marguerite Francoise Louise of the House of Ghent?" "And Jacqueline." "You may indeed." "Ladies, forgive me, but you seem to have blossomed overnight." "We're so looking forward to celebrating the engagement to your own Spanish rose." "Yes, well, there have been several new developments with regards to Spain." "I must say, Marguerite, that brooch is stunning." "This old thing?" "You're too kind." "These developments I trust are for the best?" "Let us hope so." "Good day, ladies." "Make way for the lady." "Come on, move it!" "Lord, give me strength." "Come on, come on!" "I wish to address the issue of this gentleman." "He is my servant and I am here to pay the debt against him." "You're too late, he's paid for." "I can pay you 20 gold francs." "You can have me for 20 gold francs." "Drive on!" "I demand you release him at once or I shall take this matter to the King." "The King is the one that sold him." "He's now the property of Cartier." "He is not property at all, you ill-mannered tub of guts." "Do you think it right to chain people like chattel?" "I demand you release him at once!" "Get out of my way!" " You dare raise your voice to a lady, sir?" " Your Highness..." "F..." "Forgive me, Sire." "I meant no disrespect." "It's just eh..." "I'm following orders." "It's my job to take these thieves to the coast." "A servant is not a thief, Your Highness and those who are cannot help themselves." "Really?" "Well, then." "By all means enlighten us." "If you suffer your people to be ill-educated and their manners corrupted from infancy then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them what else is to be concluded, Sire but that you first make thieves and then punish them?" "Well, there you have it." "Release him." " But, Sire..." " I said release him!" "Yes, Sire." "I thought I was looking at your mother." "Meet me at the bridge." "Prepare the horses!" "We will leave at once!" "I thank you, Your Highness." "Have we met?" "I do not believe so, Your Highness." "I could have sworn I knew every courtier in the province." "Well..." "I'm visiting a cousin." " Who?" " My cousin." "Yes, you said that." "Which one?" "The only one I have, Sire." "Are you coy on purpose or do you honestly refuse to tell me your name?" "No!" "And yes." "Then, pray, tell me your cousin's name so I might call upon her to learn who you are." "Anyone who can quote Thomas More is well worth the effort." "The Prince has read Utopia?" "I found it sentimental and dull." "I confess, the plight of the everyday rustic bores me." "I gather you do not converse with many peasants." "Certainly not, no!" "Naturally." "Excuse me, Sire, but there is nothing natural about it." "A country's character is defined by its everyday rustics, as you call them." "They are the legs you stand on." "That position demands respect, not..." "Am I to understand that you find me arrogant?" "Well, you gave one man back his life but did you even glance at the others?" "Please, I beg of you a name." "Any name." "I fear that the only name to leave you with is Comtesse Nicole de Lancret." "There now." "That wasn't so hard." "Oh, Henry!" "You're back." "Hello, Mother." "The King would like a word with you." "Several, in fact." "He usually does." "I shall be right in." "Ooh!" "Oooh-ho-ho!" "You, sir, are restricted to the grounds." "Am I under house arrest?" "Do not mock me, boy, for I am in a foul disposition." " And I will have my way." " Or what?" "You'll send me to the Americas like some criminal?" "All for the sake of your stupid contract." "You are the Crown Prince of France." "And it is my life." "Francis, sit down before you have a stroke." "Really, the two of you." "Sweetheart you were born to privilege, and with that comes specific obligations." "Forgive me, Mother, but marriage to a complete stranger never made anyone in this room very happy." "Marry Gabriela by the next full moon or I will strike at you in any way I can." "What's it to be, Father?" "Hot oil or the rack?" "I will simply deny you the crown and live for ever!" "Good." "Agreed." "I don't want it." "He's your son!" "# Somebody's in trouble!" "#" "What do you mean?" "You stupid, stupid girl!" "How dare you do this to me?" "To Marguerite?" "It all makes me sick!" "It's deceitfulness and I will not have it in this house!" "What did I do?" "Think, Danielle." "Think really hard." "Prince Henry stole our horse this morning?" "Yes!" "And that would explain why he returned it this afternoon." "How dare you let him surprise us like that?" "I'm sorry." "Luckily for you, Marguerite turned in a beautiful performance." "She and the Prince had quite an interlude." "I shouldn't be surprised if he drops by again." "Come, come!" "I must know exactly what was said." "The simplest phrase can have a thousand meanings." "He said you were forceful." "What did you say?" "I..." "I called him a thief, madam." "I did not recognise him." "Oh, Danielle." "You poor, little country girl." "Well, we must work extra hard to make sure the manor is spotless." "We cannot have a royal bottom sitting on a dirty chaise, can we?" "No." "What is he doing here?" "I..." "I have worked off your..." "My debt, madame." "They told me I could go home." "Fine." "Go... catch a chicken!" "Who, dear?" "Comtesse Nicole de Lancret." "She's a cousin of..." "Actually, I don't know who her cousin is." "Surely you have heard of her?" "Oh, darling there are simply too many courtiers to remember them all by name." "Why do you ask?" "Mm?" "Oh, never mind." "In honour of Signor da Vinci I have decided to throw a ball." "A masked ball." "At which point, you and I will strike a compromise." "Compromise?" "You?" "If love is what you seek I suggest you find it before then." "Five days hence, at the stroke of midnight you will announce your engagement to the girl of your choice or..." "I will announce it for you." "Are we agreed?" "What of your treaty?" "Let me worry about Spain." "You've got bigger problems." "Choose wisely, Henry." "Divorce is only something they do in England." "What news of the engagement?" "Cancelled." "Rumour has it he must find himself a bride before that very night." "Well, that doesn't give us very much time." "I shall need to know who the competition is, every move he makes... his agenda and any other titbits you might pick up." "He's playing tennis with the Marquis de Limoges tomorrow at noon." "A skin of such... elegance concealing such... ruthlessness." "I've grown rather fond of our intrigues together." "Surely you must know that." "I'm having an inkling, my lady." "When my daughter is Queen perhaps we might come to a new arrangement." "I'd have given anything to see you all dressed up like a courtier." "Speaking to the Prince like a lady." "Scolding him is more like it." "I cannot believe I gave him my mother's name." "The man is insufferable." "Yes." "You've been saying that all day." "Well, it's as true now as it was this morning." "Oh!" "Darling, he's royalty." "They're born like that." "Then I suppose the penalty for being wealthy is having to live with the rich." "I'll bet he's quite charming once you get to know him." "I think he and Marguerite deserve each other." "Oh!" "Bite your tongue!" "The only throne I want her sitting on is the one I have to clean every day." "What's wrong with this one?" " It's blue." " Henry loves blue!" "And 50 other girls will be wearing the same colour." "Very good, Marguerite." "This one is too small." "We shall just have to get you a tighter cinch." "I cannot breathe as it is." "If one cannot breathe, one cannot eat." "Mother, focus, please!" "Perhaps if I knew what you were looking for!" "Something fit for a queen!" "Come, ladies." "I have just the thing." "But we must speak of this to no-one." "Oh, I do love a good intrigue!" "Waste not want not." "Oh, perfect!" "Oh, look at these shoes." "Where did you get these?" "They're Danielle's dowry, for her wedding." "Cinderella?" "Married?" "To who, the chimney sweep?" "If that dress is hers, perhaps she'll want to wear it to the ball." "Since when does a royal function include commoners?" "Well, never." "But she is our stepsister and the invitation did say, "To the ladies of the house"." " She's not of noble blood." " And who would notice?" "Honestly, Jacqueline, whose side are you on?" "What are you doing?" "Airing out your dress... for the masque." "Her dress?" "But you just said..." "I suppose for a commoner, it'll have to do." "I mean, look at it." "It's practically an antique." "You wish me... to go to a masque?" " Mm." " Of course." "I don't know what to say." "Say?" "Honestly, Danielle." "It hurts me you don't feel like one of my daughters." "I only meant..." "I thought we could all go as one big happy family." "That is, if you complete your chores in time, mind your manners till then." "What's the matter with her?" "Oh..." "She doesn't want you to go." "Do you really think there is only one perfect mate?" "As a matter of fact, I do." "How can you be certain to find them?" "And if you find them, are they really the one for you or do you only think they are?" "What if the person you're meant to be with never appears?" "Or she does, but..." "but you're too distracted to notice?" "You learn to pay attention." "Then, let's say God puts two people on earth and they are lucky enough to find one another." "But... one of them gets hit by lightning." "Well, then what?" "Is that it?" "Or perchance you meet someone new and marry again." "Is that the lady you should be with?" "Or was it the first?" "When the two of them are side by side, were they both the one for you and you just met the first one first?" "or is the second one supposed to be first?" "And is everything just chance or are some things meant to be?" "You cannot leave everything to fate, boy." "She's got a lot to do." "Sometimes you must give her a hand." "What's this project?" "Would you care to see if they work?" "It looks like rain." "Signor da Vinci!" "Are you all right?" "I should leave walking on water to the Son of God." "Fortunately, I tripped over an angel." "Comtesse!" "Your Highness!" "Oh!" "Oh, careful, it's very slippery right there." "Here, please." "Allow me." "Oh!" "Thank you." "Where are your attendants?" "I decided to give them the day off." "Day off?" "From what?" "Life?" "Don't you tire of people waiting on you all the time?" "Yes, but... they're servants." "It's what they do." "I wish I could dismiss mine as easily as you do yours." "I must be going." " You're angry with me." " No." "Admit it." " Well, yes, if you must know." " Why?" "Because you are trying to bait me with your snobbery." "I'm afraid, mademoiselle, you are a walking contradiction and I find that rather fascinating." " Me?" " Yes, you." "You spout the ideals of a Utopian society, yet you live the life of a courtier." "You own all the land there is, yet you take no pride in working it." "Is that not also a contradiction?" "First I'm arrogant, and now I have no pride." "However do I manage that?" "You have everything and still the world holds no joy." "Yet you make fun of those who would see it for its possibilities." "How do you do it?" "What?" "Live each day with this kind of passion?" "Don't you find it exhausting?" "Only when I'm around you." "Why do you like to irritate me so?" "Why do you rise to the occasion?" "Danielle!" "Eh..." "Forgive me, Your Highness, I've lost track of the hour." "But the wind..." " It's perfect!" " I am sorry." "I'm playing tennis tomorrow." " Will you come?" " I must go." "Why does she keep doing that?" "Paulette." "Where are the candlesticks?" "We can hardly see our plates." "They're missing, my lady." "I've searched high and low." "The painting in the hall is gone too." "It seems we have a thief in our midst." "Hmm." "So this is how I'm treated after all our years together." "My husband's prize possessions!" "Well, I shall just garnish your wages until the pilfered items are returned." " Is that quite understood?" " Yes, ma'am." "Perhaps I shall ship you to the Americas with all the other thieves." "Oh." "Didn't you hear?" "The Prince asked the King to release all those men." " He didn't!" " Mmm." "Now, by..." "By royal decree, any man who sails must be compensated." "Compensated!" "Honestly!" "What is the world coming to?" "I want to know who this Comtesse is everyone keeps talking about." "Ten courtiers were speaking of her today and how the Prince fell all over himself." "We should find out who she is and bury her." "You're looking well, Marguerite." "You're welcome to look, Your Highness." "Danielle de Barbarac." "You get prettier every week." "And you, Monsieur le Pieu, are wasting your flattery." "It's a pity your soil's the best in the province and yet so poorly tended." "We have limited resources, sir." " We do the best we can." " Anything I can do?" "You should bring it up with the Baroness and stick to shopping." "I'd rather discuss it with Danielle, if you don't mind." "I may be twice your age, child, but I'm well-endowed." "As evidenced by my estate." "I've always had a soft spot for the less fortunate." "You need a wealthy benefactor." "And I need a young lady with spirit." "Prunes?" "No." "I'll buy nothing this week." "And you'd do well to remember that without my generosity your pathetic little farm would cease to exist." "So I'd be very, very careful if I were you." "Ooh!" "Horrible man!" "If he didn't buy a bushel of vegetables every week I'd spit on him." "Here." "Never have you tasted anything so delicious." "Mmm." "Don't even think about it." "Like it?" "Like it?" "Why, it's positively sinful." "What's it called?" "Eh... chocolate." "The Spanish monks keep sending bricks of it." "These are our servants, Your Highness." "Really?" "Oh, I'd love to meet them." "Good day, ladies." "What are you doing?" "Trying to scare the Prince to death?" "We were startled, that's all." "Were there just the two of you?" "And the chicken, Your Highness." "We must press for a quick engagement." "Paris at Christmas." "Can you imagine?" "No." "I don't suppose you can." "My mother was hard on me too, you know." "She taught me that cleanliness was next to godliness." "She forced me to wash my face at least 20 times a day convinced it was never clean enough." "I was very grateful to her." "She wanted me to be all that I could be." "And here I am a baroness." "And Marguerite shall be Queen." "It's a pity you never knew your mother." "There must be a little bit of her in you somewhere." "I wish I knew what she looked like." "Yes." "Well, we must never feel sorry for ourselves, must we?" "No matter how bad things get, they can always get worse." "Yes, madam." "You have so much of your father in you." "Sometimes I can almost see him looking out through your eyes." "Really?" "Yes, well..." "Your features are so... masculine." "Well... to be raised by a man..." "No wonder you're built for hard labour." "Did you love my father?" "Well, I barely knew him." "Now go away." "I'm tired." "Look, Gustave!" "It's floating!" "Why are you so happy?" "You'll be swimming in manure if they get married." "I don't know why it bothers you so." "I couldn't care less." "You're lying!" "The Prince would be your brother-in-law and you, Comtesse de Lancret, would be bringing them breakfast in bed." "But they would move into the palace and I could stay with the manor and turn things around." "You like him." "Admit it." "Nope." "And I..." "I suppose if you saw him again...y- y-you'd simply..." "I'd walk right up to him and say "Your Highness, my family is your family."" ""Please, take them away."" "Good." "Because here's your big chance." "He's headed this way." "I'm looking for Signor da Vinci." "We're to go to the monastery." "Have you seen him?" "Da Vinci?" "No, Your Highness." "Well, is that not his flying contraption?" " Where did you get it?" " From eh the Comtesse de Lancret." "She is a friend of his." "You know her?" "Please, I must find her." "Where is she staying?" "Eh..." "I believe, Your Highness that she is staying with a cousin." "The em Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent." "Hmm." "That does present a problem." "But I do know that she is there alone, by herself at this very moment." "Excellent." "Nice painting." "Gustave!" "You horrible little snipe!" "Did you hear?" "He likes my work!" "And he is headed toward my house!" "Then I suggest you run." "Paulette!" "Louise!" "Quick!" "Your Highness." "What an unexpected surprise." "Why, Comtesse." "Do you not attend church?" "My faith is better served away from the rabid crowd." "Yes, I'm afraid my father's edict has created quite a um a phenomenon." "Which is why I am bound for the monastery." "The Franciscans have an astonishing library." "Since you are so fond of reading, I thought you might join me?" "It is not fair, Sire." "You have found my weakness but I have yet to learn yours." "I should think it was quite obvious." "Captain Laurent!" "I shall not need my horse or your services." "Today, I am simply Henry." "Prince Henry left early this morning, Baroness." "No-one seems to know where he went." "But..." "I've brought you something that will brighten up your day." "It's a..." "Oh, you vicious, vicious man!" "It makes me want to cry." "Pick one." "I could no sooner choose a favourite star in the heavens." "What is it that touches you so?" "I guess it's because when I was young, my father would stay up late and read to me." "He was addicted to the written word." "I would fall asleep listening to the sound of his voice." "What sort of books?" "Science, philosophy." "I suppose they remind me of him." "He died when I was eight." "Utopia was the last book he brought home." "Which explains why you quote it." "I would rather hear his voice again than any sound in the world." "Is something wrong?" "In all my years of study not one tutor ever demonstrated the passion you have shown me in the last two days." "You have more conviction in one memory than I have in my entire being." "Your Highness..." " ...if there is anything I have said..." " Please!" "Don't." "It's not you." "Make haste, Marguerite." "It's now or never." "Lovely service." "Forgive me Your Majesty." "I think you dropped this on your way out." "My goodness!" "I do not even remember putting it on." "Thank you, child." "It is a rare person indeed who would return such a valuable keepsake." "You are too magnanimous, Your Majesty." "How very kind." " Her name?" " Marguerite de Ghent." "Eh... eh..." "Marguerite." "We shall have a chat tomorrow, you and I." "Bring your mother." "As you wish." "Well, this is terribly embarrassing." "We'll head back to the monastery at once." "And we shall continue on foot." "But it's half a day's walk!" "Honestly, Your Highness." "Where is your sense of adventure?" "Well, I guess if you put it that way..." "We can't be too confident, ladies." "The Prince wasn't in church today and we need to know why." "Marguerite gets to do everything." "Don't be daft, Jacqueline." "The Queen doesn't know you exist." "What Marguerite does is for all of us." "We need you to help her get ready." "Lovely." "I shall soon be cleaning the fireplace with Danielle!" " Where is that girl?" " Probably off catching rabbits with her teeth." "Begging your pardon, my lady, but that mirror in your bedchamber..." " ...did you move it?" " Of course not." "Why?" "It's also missing." "Then it too shall come out of your pay." "Either you stop telling her when things go missing, or we'll be paying her to work." "Good thing I didn't mention the tapestries." "You would think I would know the way to my own castle!" "Why is it men never stop for directions?" "Ah!" "There it is!" "It is back that way." "And I still can't believe I'm down here while you're up there!" "And in your undergarments, no less!" "I couldn't very well climb up here in that gown, could I?" "Besides, if you broke your royal neck, where would we be?" "You swim alone, climb rocks, rescue servants." "Is there anything you don't do?" "Fly." "Now turn around so I can climb back down." "Oh, no." "It's you again." "Stay aloft, madam." "There are games afoot." "My wife thanks you for this fine garment, mademoiselle." "You will give me back my dress, sir." "Let her go!" "Your quarrel... is with me." "Release her." "I insist you return my things at once." "And since you deprive me of my escort, I demand a horse as well." "Milady, you may have anything you can carry." "May I have your word on that, sir?" "On my honour as a Gypsy, whatever you can carry." "Please, come back." "I'll give you a horse." "I want to be informed the minute she gets home." "Understood?" "Yes, ma'am." "You are reading my thoughts, milord." "And they're as fuzzy as my own." "Then France concedes?" "Never!" "My next choice will be paper." "It is your turn." "And it had better be good." "I have no desire to be King." "But think of all the wonderful things you could do for your country, for the world." "Yes, but to be so defined by your position." "To only be seen as what you are." "You don't know how insufferable that is!" "You might be surprised." "Really?" "A Gypsy, for example, is rarely painted as anything else." "They're defined by their status as you are, yet it is not who they are." "You have been born to privilege, and with that come specific obligations." "I am sorry." "My mouth has run away with me again." "No, my lady." "It is your mouth that has me hypnotised." "Oh, right here, please." "I don't want to wake anybody up." "You saved my life, you know back there, in the woods." "A girl does what she can, Sire." "Henry." "Henry." "Nicole." "Do you know the ruins at Amboise?" "Yes." "I often go there to be alone." "Would you meet me there tomorrow?" "I shall try." "Then I shall wait all day." "Off... with his head." "Francis, wake up." "Our son has something to tell us." "Mother, Father." "I want to build a university with the largest library in continent, where people of any station can study." "All right." "Who are you and what have you done with our son?" "Oh." "And I want to invite the Gypsies to the ball." " Are you ill?" " No." "Uh." "Yes." "Where were you?" "I got lost." "I don't believe you." "You're hiding something from me." "I can feel it." "I demand to know what it is." "Why don't you tell me so I can get back to sleep?" "What about our breakfast?" "You have two hands." "Make it yourself." "You lazy little leech!" "Jacqueline!" "Go and boil some water." "Me?" "Boil water?" "Oh, I knew it." "I just knew it." "Mistress, you'd better get in here quick." "Oh, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence." "What do you think you are doing?" "Trying on my dress." "Do you think that after this morning I'd let you go anywhere?" "Do you honestly think these games and intrigues are going to win you a crown?" "To hunt royalty like some sport, it's disgusting!" "You're just jealous." "These are my mother's." "Yes." "And she's dead." " I am going to rip your hair out!" " Mother!" "Mother, do something!" "Get away from me or so help me, God..." "No, Marguerite, don't!" "Put it down!" " Give me the shoes." " Put it down." "Consider carefully, Danielle." "Your father's book or your mother's shoes." "Though neither will save you from a lashing." "No!" "No!" "No!" "No, no!" "No." "Oh!" "Now, you really brought this upon yourself, you know." "Hmm?" "First with breakfast then that horrid display downstairs." "I don't know what's come over me." "Of course, I shall never forget the way Marguerite's feet went up over her head like that!" "She should not have said that about your mother." "Thank you." "You really must let my doctor look at that." "To think you saved that baby from a runaway horse!" "It was a maternal instinct, Your Majesty." "I'm so sorry my son can't join us." "He seems to have disappeared again." "Again?" "Yes." "He was gone all day yesterday and did not return until dawn." "Well!" "It must be marvellous to have that kind of stamina." "Perhaps you could help solve a mystery for me." "Do you know the Comtesse de Lancret?" "Apparently she's staying with a cousin, but nobody seems to know who." "Nicole... de Lancret?" "Yes." "Oh, how wonderful!" "I was beginning to think she was a ghost." "No." "I'm afraid she's been around for years." "Yes." "And em staying with us, as a matter of fact." "Isn't that right, darling?" "Yes!" "Of course." "Our cousin." "Whom you like to call Cinderella." "Hmmpf!" "Good heavens, child." "Are you all right?" "There was a bee." "Hello." "Hello." "Are you well?" "I fear that I am not myself today." "I feel as if my skin is the only thing keeping me from going everywhere at once." "There is something I must tell you." "And I you." "Oh, here." "Your book, you left it in the carriage yesterday." " Your Highness..." " Henry." "I cannot stay long, but I had to see you." "There is much to say." "Come." "I want to show you something." "I used to play here as a boy." "It was my father's most cherished retreat before the war." "It's beautiful." "I've measured my life by these trees starting here all the way up there." "And still they grow." "So much life to live but I no longer imagine it alone." "You're not making this easy." "I have not slept for fear I would wake to find all this a dream." "Oh, last night, I had a revelation." "I used to think, if I cared at all, I would have to care about everything and I'd go stark raving mad." "But... now I've found my purpose." "It's a project actually inspired by you." "I feel the most wonderful freedom." "It wasn't me." "Nicole." "You are unlike any courtier I have ever met." "Tomorrow, at the masque I shall make it known to the world." "Why did you have to be so wonderful?" "Now, then." "What was it you wanted to tell me?" "Simply that last night was the happiest night of my life." "Ow!" "I must go." "Nicole!" "No." "Of all the insidious jokes, making your mother a comtesse." "It's almost as absurd as a prince frequenting a servant who sleeps with pigs!" "What bothers you more, Stepmother?" "That I am common, or that I am competition?" "Where is the dress, Danielle?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "The gown." "The slippers?" "They were in my room and now they're gone." "You hid them, I know it!" "Where did you put the gown, Danielle?" "Where are the candlesticks and the tapestries and the silver?" "Perhaps the dress is with them!" "You produce that gown!" "I would rather die a thousand deaths than to see my mother's dress on that spoiled, selfish cow!" "Hmm." "Perhaps we can arrange that." "Get in there." "Open this door and you'll wish you never set foot in this house." "Ladies, gather everything we can sell." "We're going to town tomorrow." "Mother... it's only a ball." "Yes, and you're only going for the food." "Engaged?" "To a Belgian?" "I'm afraid so." "Impossible." "There has to be some mistake." "She was travelling by boat this afternoon." "Baroness Rodmilla was quite reluctant to talk about it." "It's no wonder, with tidings such as these." "If she was betrothed, she should have had the decency to tell me!" "Would you have listened?" "Of course not!" "I would have..." "Oh, God." "How could I have been so blind?" "There I was, pouring my royal heart out and she was simply trying to bid me farewell." "It is a strong woman who can keep her wits about her with you trying to steal her heart." "Yes." "And what a clumsy thief I turned out to be." "Come now, Henry." "Any choice is better than Spain." "Go to the Prince, tell him what's happened." "B" " But I'm nobody." "The Prince would never see me." "You are her friend, Gustave." "She needs your help." "The Prince expects to see her." "I..." "I cannot." "Besides, my master has me working tonight." "Then go to da Vinci." "Surely a painter can see another painter?" "I am but an apprentice, and he is the greatest painter in the world." "I could no sooner talk to God." "For once in your life, man, be bold." "This way, sir." "Straight up there, madam." "Yoo-hoo!" "I wanted to be the peacock." "Jacqueline, the horse is one of God's noblest creatures." "Why don't I just pull the carriage?" "If it will get us there any faster." "I'm looking for Signor da Vinci." "Signor da Vinci!" "Yes?" "Oh!" "Oh, mistress, it's no use!" "Allow me." "Oh, brilliant!" "Why, that was pure genius." "Yes." "I shall go down in history as the man who opened a door." "Gustave!" "Maurice said the Prince was expecting you." "He is expecting someone who does not exist." "Signore, my name is Danielle de Barbarac and I am but a servant." "Yes, I am the bastard son of a peasant." "What does that matter?" "I have deceived him." "The Prince will understand." "The night is young." "We must get you ready for the ball." " I do not wish to go." " If you stay the Baroness wins." "How can I face him?" "Because he deserves to hear the truth from the one he loves." "A bird may love a fish, signore but where would they live?" "Then I shall have to make you wings." "Ooh, come on!" "No time to waste." "Louise, get the dress!" "I understand you wanted to see me." "Yes, Father." "I did." "Listen, Henry." "Perhaps it was unfair of me to put so much pressure on you as I did about the marriage contract." "I just thought it was time to make some changes in your life." "You seemed to be a bit... floundering." "And eh..." "Well, I..." "I just wanted to say that this university thing is a brilliant idea." " We don't have to announce anything tonight." " I've made my decision." "Oh." "She looks like a masterpiece." "She looks like her mother." " Come, let us see your paintings." " Now?" "When you're as old as I am, now is all you've got." "Wait!" "It's tradition." "Whoa!" "Neigh!" "This is it, my darling." "Friends honoured guests." "It gives us great pleasure on this festive occasion not only to honour Signor da Vinci, who seems to have disappeared but also to tell you of a long-awaited decision." "So, without further ado..." "Breathe, just breathe." "...it is my great privilege to announce the engagement of our son Prince Henry to..." "Well, well, well." "What have we here?" "My mother said you were getting married." "She was misinformed." "But there is something I must tell you now, before another word is spoken." "Then you're not engaged?" "No, I'm not." "I was about to make the worst mistake of my life." "Who is she?" "My guess would be the Comtesse de Lancret." "The who?" "Come." "I want you to meet someone." "Oh, I must speak with you." " Whatever it is, my answer is yes." " No, wait, please." "Oh, look." "I invited the Gypsies." " What are you doing?" " Making you a princess." " How dare you!" " Madame, contain yourself!" " She is an impostor, Sire!" " No!" "Her name is Danielle de Barbarac." "She has been my servant for ten years." "A servant, Henry?" "Is this some kind of joke?" "Baroness, you are on dangerous ground!" "Ask her yourself!" "She's a grasping, devious little pretender and it is my duty to expose her as the covetous hoax she is." "Tell these women who you are." "Tell them!" "Bow before royalty, you insolent fraud!" "My God, it can't be true." "Nicole?" "Nicole de Lancret was my mother." "I am what she says." "The apple?" "That was you?" "I can explain." "Well, someone had better!" "First, you're engaged and now you're a servant?" "I've heard enough." "Henry, please!" "Do not address me so informal, madam." "I am a Prince of France." "And you... are just like them." "Danielle?" "Danielle!" "What have you done?" "I was born to privilege and with that come specific obligations." "Horseshit." " You're out of line, old man." " No, you are out of line." "Have you any idea what that girl went through to get here tonight?" "She lied to me." "She came to tell you the truth and you fed her to the wolves." "What do you know?" "You build flying machines and walk on water." "Yet you know nothing about life." "I know that a life without love is no life at all." "And love without trust?" "What of that?" "She's your match, Henry." "I am but a servant to my crown and I have made my decision." "I will not yield!" "Then you don't deserve her." "I have it on good authority that before your rather embarrassing debut the Prince was about to choose Marguerite to be his bride." "Men are so fickle, aren't they?" "One minute, they're spouting sonnets and the next you're back to being a hired help." "I must say, I've never seen you quite this dedicated in your chores." "What makes you think I do any of this for you?" "Well, my, my, my." "Aren't we feisty this morning?" "Let me pass." " You've brought this on yourself." " I have work to do." "Let the others handle it." "Don't you understand?" "You've won!" "Go and move into your palace and leave us be!" "You are not my problem any more." "Is that what I am?" "Your problem?" "I have done everything you've ever asked me to do and still you've denied me the only thing I ever wanted." "And what was that?" "What do you think?" "You are the only mother I have ever known." "Was there a time, even in its smallest measurement that you loved me at all?" "How can anyone love a pebble in their shoe?" "Danielle!" "My lady, come and see!" "It's back, all of it!" "You, take that chair." "Ah, Monsieur le Pieu." " Right on time." " It's all here, Baroness right down to the very last candlestick." "My father's books?" "His paintings?" "You sold them to him?" "Yes." "And now they're back." "I couldn't have us looking like paupers when the King arrives." "Thank you, Monsieur." "This means the world to us." "I'm a businessman, Danielle not a philanthropist." "I don't understand." "I couldn't have you around distracting the Prince." "The Baroness and I have come to eh an arrangement." "You, for all this although I do think I'm getting the better end of the deal." "No!" "No!" " No!" " Danielle!" "Dios, perdon!" "[God, Forgiveness!" "]" ""In nomine Patris..." ["In The Name of The Father..."]" ""..." "Et Filii et Spiritus Sancti" ["...and The Son and The Holy Spirits."]" ""Amen."" "No, por favor, no, por favor." "[No, for mercy, no, for mercy]" "No te cases conmigo,... por favor." "[Don't marry me,.. for mercy]" "Madame, madame." "I know exactly how you feel." "Don Pepito!" "Don Pepito!" "Si, pero me da verguenza." "[Yes, but you gave me shame]" "And I thought I had problems." "Que verguenza!" "[Shame on Her]" " Es tu culpa!" "[It's your fault]" " Es la tuya!" "[it's yours]" "Where is she?" "The Baroness?" "Ni..." "Danielle." "But she has been sold, Sire." "Sold?" "To whom?" "Pierre le Pieu, Your Highness." "Just after the masque." "Tell no-one we have spoken." "For all shall reveal itself in due course." "Come, Laurent." "There is much to be done." "Enter!" "Oh, I do so hate to see you in irons." "I'd remove them if only you'd promise not to run away again." "I have no reason to stay." "You belong to me now." "I belong to no-one least of all you." "Oh, I do wish you'd reconsider my offer." "I would rather rot." "I had a horse like you once." "A magnificent creature." "Stubborn, just like you." "Wilful to a fault." "It, too, just needed to be broken." "You will maintain your distance, sir." "Oh, you didn't say please." "Please." "I could hang you for this." "Not if you are dead." "I do love your spirit." "Aagh!" "My father was an expert swordsman, Monsieur." "He taught me well." "Now hand me that key, or I swear on his grave I will slit you from navel to nose." "Your freedom my lady." "Hello." "Hello." "What are you doing here?" "I em..." "I came to rescue you." "Rescue me?" "A commoner?" "Actually, I came to beg your forgiveness." "I offered you the world, and at the first test of honour I betrayed you." "Please, Danielle." "Say it again." "I'm sorry." "No." "The part where you said my name." "Danielle." "Perhaps you would be so kind as to help me find the owner of this ...rather remarkable shoe?" "Where did you find that?" "She is my match in every way." "Please tell me I haven't lost her." "It belongs to a peasant, Your Highness who pretended to be a courtier to save a man's life." "Yes, I know." "And the name's Henry, if you don't mind." "I kneel before you not as a prince but as a man in love." "But I would feel like a king if you, Danielle de Barbarac would be my wife." "How was I to know he'd run out of the side door?" "He was supposed to be getting married!" "I heard the Prince talked to you." "What did he say?" "Well, I can't be sure." "It all happened so quickly." "But I think what he said was "It serves me right for choosing a foreigner over your sister."" "Well, very good." "Perhaps we should just let him fret about it for a few days." "I'll get it!" "His Supreme Majesty, King Francis requests an audience with the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent and her daughters immediately." "Oh." "Is anything wrong?" "No, milady." "The King demanded that you arrive in style." "Hmm!" "In style we shall be." "Baroness did you or did you not lie to Her Majesty the Queen of France?" "Choose your words wisely, madame for they may be your last." "A woman would do practically anything for the love of her daughter, Your Majesties." "Perhaps I did get a little carried away." "Mother, what have you done?" "Your Majesty, like you, I am just a victim here." "She has lied to us both and I am ashamed to call her family." "How dare you turn on me, you ingrate!" "You see what I have to put with!" "Silence, both of you!" "Good Lord!" "Are they always like this?" "Worse Your Majesty." "Jacqueline, darling I'd hate to think you had anything to do with this." "Of course not, Mother." "I'm only here for the food." "Baroness de Ghent." "You are forthwith stripped of your title." "You and your horrible daughter are to be shipped to the Americas on the first available boat." "Unless, by some miracle someone here will speak for you." "There seem to be quite a few people out of town." "I will speak for her." "She is, after all, my stepmother." "Your Highness." "Marguerite I don't believe you've met my wife." "I want you to know that I will forget you after this moment and never think of you again." "But you, I am quite certain will think about me every single day for the rest of your life." "How long might that be?" "All I ask, Your Majesties is that you show her the same courtesy that she has bestowed upon me." "After you've washed the tablecloths, start on the napkins and move those over there." " Marguerite." " What?" " You heard the woman." " So did you." " Yes, but I'm management." " Like hell you are!" "You're just the same as me, a big nobody!" "How dare you speak that way!" "I am of noble blood." "And you are getting on my nerves!" "Now get to work." "Leonardo." "It's wonderful." "Think of it as a belated wedding present, Your Highness." "What?" "I just can't get over it..." "Your Highness." "Yes, well, royalty or not I can still whip you." "I must say, Leonardo for a man of your talents it doesn't look a thing like her." "You, sir, are supposed to be charming." "And we, Princess, are supposed to live happily ever after." "Says who?" "Do you know I don't know." "My great-great-grandmother's portrait hung in the university up until the revolution." "By then, the truth of the romance had been reduced to a simple fairy tale." "And while Cinderella and her Prince did live happily ever after the point, gentlemen is that they lived." "# Are you ready maybe are you willing to run?" "#" "# Are you ready to let yourself drown?" "#" "# Are you holding your breath?" "#" "# Are you ready or not?" "#" "# Are you ready maybe do you long to confess?" "#" "# Do you feel that you're all ready now?" "#" "# Are you sure of yourself?" "#" "# Would you lie if you're not?" "#" "# You tire me out #" "# Don't want to let that happen #" "# A secret scream so loud #" "# Why did you let that happen?" "#" "# So put your arms around me #" "# You let me believe that you were someone else #" "# Cos only time can take you #" "# So let me believe that I am someone else #" "# Maybe I'm ready to break #" "# Do you think that I push you too far?" "#" "# Would you open yourself?" "#" "# Are you reckless or not?" "#" "# You tire me out #" "# Don't want to let that happen #" "# A secret scream so loud #" "# Why did you let that happen?" "#" "# So put your arms around me #" "# You let me believe that you were someone else #" "# Cos only time can take you #" "# So let me believe that I am someone else #" "# Let me believe #" "# That I am someone else #"