The king sighed and looked up, as if he was reading the inscriptions on the ceiling, and closed his eyes to imagine the enchanting scene; Rhadopis, the water lapping against her naked body, and the falcon swooping down from the sky to carry off her sandal. She heard his breath, and felt it caress her cheek, and he looked once more at her face. “The falcon flew away — with it and carried it to me,” he said passionately. “What a wonderful story it is! But I — wonder incredulously, I might never have set eyes on you if the gods had not sent to me this noble and generous falcon. What a tragic thought! I think deep inside that it must have been too much for the falcon that I did not know you when you were only an arm's length away from me, so he threw the sandal at me to rouse me from my indifference.”
She was amazed. “Did the falcon throw the sandal into your hands, my lord?”
“Yes, Rhadopis. That is the beauty of the story.”
“What a coincidence. It is like magic.”
“Are you saying that it is a coincidence, Rhadopis? Then what is coincidence if not our determined fate?”
She sighed and said, “You speak truly, my lord. It is like one who knows but seems not to.”
“I will announce my desire to all and sundry, that not one person of my people shall ever do harm to a falcon.”
Rhadopis smiled a happy, enchanting smile that flashed in her mouth like a magic spell. The king felt a burning desire consume his heart. It was not his habit to resist an emotion and he succumbed with obvious enthusiasm, saying, “He is the only creature to whom I will be indebted for the most precious thing in my life, Rhadopis. How beautiful you are. Your loveliness renders all my dreams worthless.”
She was delighted, as if she was hearing these words for the first time. She gazed at him with clear, sweet eyes, inflaming his passion, and in an almost plaintive voice he said, “It is as though a red hot — whip — were scourging my heart.” He moved his face closer to hers and whispered, “Rhadopis, I want to be immersed in your breath.”
She moved her face closer to his, lowering her eyelids, and he leaned forward until his nose touched hers. His fingertips caressed her long lashes and he stared enraptured into her dark eyes as the world receded, and stunned by love's power, a magic stupor engulfed him, until at length he became aware of her deep sighs. He sat upright and whispered into her ear, saying, “Rhadopis, sometimes I see my destiny; I fear that madness will be my watchword from this hour on.”
Breathless, she rested her head in her palm, her heart thumping in her breast. They sat together an hour in silence, each happy with their own musings, while in reality, though they knew it not, each communed with their newfound soul mate. Then all of a sudden Rhadopis stood up and said, “Come, follow me, my lord, take a look at my palace.”
It was a happy invitation, but it reminded him of matters he had almost forgotten, and he found himself obliged to apologize. What harm would it do to postpone the encounter awhile? The palace and its contents were his property.
“Not tonight, Rhadopis,” he said regretfully.
“Why not, my lord?” she asked disappointedly.
“There are people who have been waiting for me for hours in the palace.”
“Which people, my lord?”
The king laughed and said disdainfully, “I should have been meeting the prime minister now. Truly, Rhadopis, since the incident of the falcon I have been prey to hard work. I had harbored every intention of visiting your palace but found no opportunity. When I realized that this evening was about to go the same way as those that had preceded it, I canceled an important meeting, so that I might see the owner of the golden sandal.”
Rhadopis was astonished. “My lord,” she mumbled. She was impressed by the recklessness that had led him to postpone one of those important meetings in which he presided over the fate of his kingdom so that he could see a woman who had only been in his thoughts for a matter of hours. She thought it a beautiful touch, most endearing and without equal among the deeds of lovers or the poetry of poets.
The king rose to his feet saying, “I am going now, Rhadopis. Alas, the royal palace stifles me. It is a prison enclosed in walls of tradition, but I pass through them like an arrow. Now I shall leave a beloved face to meet a loathsome one. Have you ever seen anything stranger than that? Until tomorrow, Rhadopis, my darling. Indeed, until forever.”
Having uttered these words he departed in all his magnificent youthful madness.
Love
She looked back from the door through which he had disappeared and sighed, “He has gone.” But in reality he had not gone. If truly he had gone she would not have been overcome by that strange drowsiness that put her between sleep and wake-fulness, half remembering and half dreaming, while crowded images raced wildly across her imagination.