The little Prince that turned into a Beggar

Once upon a time, in the very dark years and long before mankind had to worry about climate change and gas shortages, there lived an unhappy king, who ruled over a small realm in the mountains of the Hindu Kush.

Yes, he was unhappy because he only possessed a small kingdom, more a pinprick in the large world, and had no real power. But what made him even more sad was, that he was a king without a queen, simply because he was an unsuitable marriage candidate, exactly due to his small possessions. But purely by chance and because luck would have it that way, he met a beautiful Russian princess and to his joy she married him, so he finally had his queen. But he thought, that something was still wanting to his happiness.  

The queen gave him a precious gift pretty soon after the wedding festivities were over, when she gave birth to a little princess, who was as beautiful as her mother. Of course, the king was elated, but it was not exactly what he had hoped for.

He didn’t have to wait long: about a year later an even more precious present came, when a little boy saw the light of the world and his birth was heralded to all the kingdom’s populace with a royal salute of seventeen cannon shots. Having his heir apparent to the throne, the king was so overwhelmed with happiness, that he allowed all his subjects to participate in the festivities. Because now his dreams and hopes could be fulfilled: he had an heir, who would become a great warrior and who was able to expand his little kingdom far over its borders. And so little prince Aset felt very, very welcome.

His parents made sure they made it clear he was more than welcome. Each night little Aset slept between satin sheets, which were exchanged for fresh ones in the morning by one of the many, many lackeys who were in his father’s service, while dinner was served on golden platters. To make sure that the little prince would be recognizable as such his father hired a real couturier from far-away Moscow so that his little heir would always have the most exclusive, tailor-made clothes available. For Aset it was only the best of the best: doublets and trousers of the finest wools, blouses made of Chinese silk and shoes out of high-quality leather, decorated with golden buckles.

Noblemen addressed him in reverence as ‘Your Royal Highness’ and lower representatives of the human race bowed deep for him, their noses almost touching the floor, even if he only passed them in playing.

He grew into a beautiful boy with a gorgeous face, including high cheekbones and a lightly tanned skin, eyes sparkling brown as the darkest chocolates, that seemed to gleam in happiness full time, and raven-black long hair. And he was a happy child. What else could he be with so much attention?

He was always together with his sister, playing in the palace gardens and making mischief, like frightening the servants or making a bonfire, which accidentally went out of control and nearly burned down the king’s private mosque.

Exactly the fact, that he spent so much time with her, caused something peculiar. Every time he looked at his sister, he found her more beautiful and intriguing than he himself was. Her clothes were of an even higher quality and finesse than his own velvet-blue tunics, especially when she wore one of the crinolines, that were tailormade for her slim delicate figure. Her way of walking and moving was of a splendid grace and delicacy and he started to adore his sister, not only for who she was, but as well for how she looked and behaved.

After a long sleepless night of thinking he decided: he wanted to be exactly like his sister. And bold as always, he started preparations for this change-over right away: he stole clothing from her closets and fought his way into one of her dresses, appropriated some make up and started to experiment and exercise with it, he let his hair grow and he studied her way of walking and moving into great detail, rehearsing it during the evenings in front of the mirror. 

Only when he was satisfied with the results he dared to dress up like a princess and with jelly knees he knocked at his sister’s door. He didn’t need to fear: she was delighted with the result and even started to complement his education as a true princess, teaching him how to embroider handkerchiefs and napkins, to spin yarns from raw wool. She introduced him to the sweetest poetry, the world of calligraphy and painting and to music that was so beautiful, that he couldn’t really imagine that such wonderful sounds existed.

It took a lot of time of extremely secret preparations but once both were happy with the results they started to parade through the palace’s corridors and outside in the gardens and they did it together, Aset not as the prince but as the second princess, enjoying every second of it.

When they saw the unlikely duo, most servants forgot all respect and protocol and roared with laughter. Some older and wiser members of the household just smiled and shook their heads, saying:

“It is just a child’s whim. He’ll grow over it!”

But he didn’t grow over it; to the contrary: he expanded his investigations in the world of the female. Over time everybody got used to it…but there was one important and very decisive exception.

Because when the king heard about his son’s exploits in the palace, he was dismayed at first, seeing all his plans for the future disappear. But then he was kindled in fierce wrath and he ordered his Guard soldiers to fetch the boy and bring him before his throne.

Aset was wise enough to change hurriedly in his prince’s clothes before he appeared in front of his father, who stared at him with stern and penetrating gaze, that stern that Aset dropped his eyes to avoid the terrible glance. After a long time of tense silence, the king started to speak in a voice, roaring in fury:

“You shall not waste your time in embroidering handkerchiefs, nor with poetry and the art of music. You are destined to become a great warrior, to fight bloody battles and to reap great glory, so you can let my tiny kingdom grow many, many times. And when my dying day has passed, you are pre-ordained to become the next mighty ruler of this new realm. Is that clear to you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty”, Aset answered timidly, his eyes fixated on the tiles of the stone floor, that covered the throne room.

“Then you leave this folly and behave like you should behave or I might lose my temper. And may Allah be the witness of it!”

“Oh my, oh my”, Aset thought, “I could have sworn he already lost his temper!”

But he muttered a very careful “Yes, Your Majesty” in such a way that the uttered word could have many, many more meanings, apart from the one normally expressed in the word “Yes”.

Indeed, with the stubbornness in-born in any mountain dweller, predetermined by genetics to survive the merciless weather- and living conditions in his world, Aset persevered in what his father had mentioned a folly.

But the king didn’t accept it and he became as ruthless towards his own son as he always had been towards his subjects and enemies. Aset was dragged before the throne again, unfortunately in princess clothing this time and his father stared at him in disgust.

“You haven’t learned a bit, haven’t you, you stubborn boy”, he roared another time, “You’re as hardheaded as your Russian mother. But I’ve got means to make you change your mind!”

The imminent threat in these last words was immediately turned into a harsh reality. The king ordered, that his son was to be locked into his room and nobody was allowed to see this terrible disgrace to the dynasty, apart from a lackey, who was personally assigned to him to cater for his needs and his personal teacher, both of them being sworn to silence and secrecy. All other people, even his mother and sister, were banned from the room, which had to be placed under armed guard.

For Aset a long period of extreme loneliness began, in which he missed the companionship of his sister enormously. But it was exactly the vivid memories he had of her that made him going on most doggedly in realizing what he wanted, to be a real princess.

But they didn’t make it easy on him. On personal orders of the king both Aset’s personal lackey and teacher had to report to the king each and every evening about everything, that had transpired in Aset’s room and if there were any signs, that the prince gave up his determination.

Each evening both men shook their head in a droopy way, afraid that it might have not too happy consequences for themselves as well, but nevertheless they reported faithfully:

“I’m sorry, Sire, but he seems to persist in his wish to be a princess, no matter what we try to do about it”.

So the king had to resort to very drastic measures. Without any further warnings or discussions with his son, he ordered the prince to be stripped of all his rights, possessions and expensive clothing and shoes. He had to be dressed in the worst clothing available, lumps that even the lowliest peasant wouldn’t deem worthy of wearing and then he was banned from the Royal Family, the palace and, the worst part of it, of the whole kingdom. In one word: the king erased him from the memories of his family and the whole people of his country, in an effort to save his own face from being ridiculed as the father of such a misfit of an heir to the throne.

On a dreadful day soldiers took Aset to the border. Once they arrived, they undid the shackles that were around his wrists and ankles, pointed in some vague direction ahead of him and pushed him past the border stone. And then they stood there, keeping an eye on him, so that he wouldn’t slip back in his father’s kingdom.

Aset started walking, barefooted and hardly dressed. He disappeared in some country, where he had never been before and had no clou whatsoever in which direction he was marching.

The prince had become a beggar.

Over the years Aset had grown into a young man, but he remained a beggar nevertheless. But in these years, he developed techniques and strategies, that ensured his survival. He learned to beg for alms or a piece of bread when he passed through villages. He stole some apples or apricots from the trees or some eggs from an unguarded hen house and if the situation became desperate, he searched for remnants of food on the dung heaps. In really dire situations he saw no qualms to stick his head between the pig heads and savor the tiny bits of food in their feeding troughs.

When he reached the sexually mature age and had made his first acquaintance with his hormones and the resulting physical desires, he found a new modest source of income with the many camel trains, that crisscrossed the country on their way to and from far lands, loaded with precious cargoes, by renting out his body to their drivers. They were hardy, rough and really masculine men, who had grown incredibly randy after months of abstinence during their long travels through the inhospitable landscapes. Masculine and macho or not…none of them forfeited the pleasures and promises of a young and beautiful boy and Aset always got away with it, a good meal in his stomach and some silver pieces in his pockets as reward for the services he had rendered.

And when some widow or single woman in a village had a strong desire to taste the delicious fruits of love again, he was available as well. He even liked it more, because apart from a good meal and some coins, he could count on a night in a warm and soft bed as well and that was a whole lot better than sleeping on the hard, cold ground. It gave him a way to extend his chances for further survival for the next few weeks, if he was careful in spending the money.

His weight dropped and he turned really skinny by now. His skin, already lightly tanned from birth on, became a bronze brown from all exposure to the sun and other inclement elements.  But despite all suffering and humiliations he kept two things intact and that were his dignity and his will to survive and fight. No matter that he was a beggar now, he was of royal birth. The only reason that led to his present misfortunes was, that he wanted to be a princess, although the rest of the world expected him to be a prince. But he always kept his back ramrod straight, his shoulders square and his head up while his eyes burned with determination to achieve his goal: to be a princess once again! It didn’t matter much. Both princess and prince were a part of royalty so he behaved like a member of this elite.

But in the end Aset was only human as well and many nights, when he crawled away in a clump of bushes to find some solace against the howling mountain winds, he cried bitterly when he considered his fate. Or he cursed his father, who had done this to him, all the hunger, suffering and humiliations he endured over the years.

Then he remembered the words the king had once spoken:

“And may Allah be the witness of it!”

He sure hoped, that Allah had witnessed all his wanderings and hardships and would make his father accountable for them once he tried to cross the bridge to the Al-Akhirah, the afterlife, to claim his five hundred virgins. But Aset prayed that the Qadi, the Highest Judge, would refuse this claim and would send his father to the Djahannam, the Fires of Hell.  

This night he only cried, feeling desolate to the extreme and wondering how he had to survive the next day. His tears were bitter and his grieve extremely hurting.

Out of nowhere a woman’s voice said softly to him:

“Why are you weeping, my sweet boy?”

He looked around in shock and perceived a beautiful figure, in the form of a young woman, enshrouded in a bright white light. He stared at her in panic, his eyes wide open, his facial features cramped in fear.

“Are you a wicked witch?” he cried out in agony.

“No, no, no…don’t be afraid, sweet boy”, the apparition spoke soothingly, “I am not here to do you any harm. To the contrary: I am here to do you good. That is what I am supposed to do as a good fairy!”

It put him at ease somewhat but he kept looking at her in suspicion. Good fairy? He heard of them but had never believed in their existence, maybe as a child but most certainly not in the past years. And now this spectre wanted to make him believe they really existed? Or was he only hallucinating from hunger and exhaustion? Had he by any chance turned insane?

“But now tell me…”, she continued, “Why are you crying so heartrending?”

Hesitantly Aset started to tell why he cried, what had happened to him years ago and how his life had been ever since…one continuous series of misery. While progressing through the sad story, his talking became faster and more intense and in the end he almost screamed out his pain.

When he finished, the fairy nodded her head in understanding and said:

“I already noticed the nobility in you. It was perfectly clear to me that you aren’t a beggar at all”.

She seemed to ponder over his situation for a short moment and then continued:

“Then we have to do something about that, don’t you think so?”

“But what, madame?” he cried out dumbfounded, “I thought about it for years but was unable to find an answer”.

“Hush, my sweet prince”, she whispered with an enchanting smile, “That is what I am here for. Now tell me…what is your greatest wish?”

Aset considered the question. On one hand he could mention a good meal tomorrow, since he was almost certain he was only dreaming and no matter what he said, it would never come true. But on the other hand: there was doubt as well. Maybe the figure in light was really a good fairy and maybe she had the power to make his greatest dream come true. So, he answered:

“A beautiful, sweet princess would be fine, madame…but…now I think of it…”.

Embarrassed he stop talking. But the fairy invited him with soft pressure to continue his thought. Shyly he muttered:

“I wouldn’t mind a beautiful, sweet prince as well, madame. That is no problem for me. In any case a sweet person, who understands me and respects and loves me for what I am. But…”

Discouraged he shrugged and spoke:

“I guess I’m overdoing it now. I guess I’m asking too much now!”

“By no means, my boy”, the fairy replied, “Your wish is fully understandable and legitimate. Now…let me see how I can solve this tiny problem!”

After some thinking she said:

“Yes…I can get it done!”

“But…how?” Aset cried out in astonishment, “I’m asking for two contrary things, both of them even ridiculed and abhorred”.

With a mysterious smile on her face, she said:

“Don’t you worry! We fairies have very funny ways of getting things done. But…”

She stuck up her hand as in a warning.

“What?” Aset asked, his elation ebbing away.

“On one condition”, she said with friendly sternness.

Aset blinked his eyes a few times, suddenly feeling afraid. Was he selling his soul to the Devil now? But she seemed to read his thought, because she said:

“No, you’re not. The only condition is, that you may never tell anyone you met or even saw me. If you do, the wished reality in front of your eyes will become a dream again and vanish in a few seconds, leaving you emptyhanded. But…if you keep silent about our meeting your dream will become true and you will be feeling the happiness you deserve. And mind you…”

“What is next?” Aset wondered in distrust.

“I only appear to a mortal one time during his lifetime, so this is your only chance to make your dream come true. And that is all. Agreed?”

“Yes”, Aset spoke solemnly with great determination, “I swear I will keep silent about our meeting”.

“Fine”, she spoke with a satisfied smile, “Nothing better than the oath of a true prince. Then…I better start working on it. I wish you all the happiness in the world, my little sweet prince…or princess…doesn’t matter!”

That said, she miraculously receded from her corona of white light, that lingered on for a few seconds more before it extinguished as well and the night turned as dark as it had been before.

Aset kept staring at the spot where she had been, wondering if he had been dreaming it all. Finally, he laid down but realized with a mild fear that something didn’t fit. If he had dreamt it, he couldn’t see the thousands of lighted pinpricks of the stars in the dark heaven above him at the same time.

“What has happened here?” he muttered in extreme wonder.

The question was too difficult to solve and gradually he slid into a deep, refreshing sleep, dreaming of a sweet and beautiful princess…or prince. He really didn’t care about that!

As soon as the sun rose in the east, Aset opened his eyes and rose. He had completely forgotten what had happened during the night, so maybe it was just another dream. Nobody remembers all his dreams, most of them sink in oblivion in the deep crevasses of the soul.

He collected his precious few possessions, stuck them in his bag and started walking again.

It became a murderous day. Nowhere he encountered a village where he could beg, not a tree with fruit was seen and even the caravans, where he could offer his ‘special services’, were failing. He moved on…on and on, switched off his mind, only to be able to walk on without feeling his sore feet and his cramped legs, without noticing the nagging feeling of hunger and his almost leathery tongue from thirst. He just wanted the day to end and find a new shelter, only to sleep and, if he was lucky, never wake up again.

He was about to stop his journey for this day when the sun set down in the skies over the Evening Lands. His eyes scanned the horizon, looking for a clump of trees or bush to make his lager there. But nothing was in sight.

But his eyes saw something else: there was a dark silhouette of a man riding a horse, its shape clearly visible against the orange-colored sky.

“Impossible”, he laughed wryly, “I see someone for the very first time this day”.

His eyes continued their search for a suitable place to sleep, but when they returned into the previous direction, he noted that the rider had approached and was actually moving directly towards him. That made him curious!

After a short span of time the rider stopped his horse immediately in front of him. With the man sitting higher, Aset had to look up but was awed by what he saw.

It was a young man, about his own age and his attitude betrayed he was of great dignity as well. He sat proud and straight in an expensive, handcrafted saddle on a white stallion, that was obviously equally noble as his rider. But the most remarkable was the young man’s face.

Aset studied it that long, that it felt almost insolent to him, but he was unable to tear his eyes away from it. The rider had a beautiful, fair face with a kind smile from both his sensual lips and his eyes, that shone like diamonds. The perfectly oval shape was surrounded by long, blond curly locks of hair.

The next thing Aset noticed was, that the young man wore the same kind of exclusive clothing that was only a memory from better days to him. He was certain: this rider was a true prince! The only difference was the red baret the young man wore, that was decorated with peacock feathers. That was something that Aset never had, much to his regret.

“Good evening, breathtaking boy”, the rider said, “Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Maximilian, Prince of Sadalinsk. Will you be so kind to tell me what your name is, my beautiful savior?”

“Yes…your…your...highness”, Aset stuttered, “My…my name is Aset”.

“Pleased to meet you, Aset”, Maximilian said with a warm smile, “May I ask where you are going to?”

“Don’t really know, your highness”, Aset replied, feeling more and more insecure from some sudden feeling he couldn’t describe, “Somewhere that way!”

He waved vaguely in the direction of the setting sun.

“Oh, that suits me just fine”, Maximilian laughed, although Aset couldn’t help thinking it was more some kind of a giggle, “I have to go there as well. Why don’t you join me and come with me to my palace?”

“But your highness”, Aset protested weakly, “You said you are a prince. I am just the most trifling, humble beggar imaginable in your whole kingdom”.

“No, you aren’t”, Maximilian said, “I can see you are a prince as well…maybe even a princess”.

“How can you know that, your highness?” Aset informed quite confused.

“It is not the clothes you wear, that make you what you are”, Maximilian answered, “It is your attitude that makes you what you are! Despite your poor clothes you behave like a proud young man. And that tells me, that you are high nobility by birth as well! But it also tells me, that your luck turned against you for some reason, bringing you in your present troubles. So, how about it? Will you join me?”

In all honesty: Maximilian gave Aset no real chance to make up his mind. He stuck out his hand downward towards the boy. Aset grabbed it and in one swift move he was lifted from the ground and ended in the saddle, right in front of Maximilian.

“But…your highness…?” he wanted to ask in wonder.

Maximilian stuck up his hand in a conjuring gesture and with a broad and re-assuring smile he said:

“Don’t call me your highness, my sweetest. Call me Maximilian. Or even better…do as my intimate friends do: call me Maxi! But you haven’t answered my question, dear. Will you come with me?”

“To do what…” Aset asked, adding hesitantly, “…Maxi?”

“To become my prince consort”, Maximilian answered without reservations, “Or…if you like that more, to become my queen!”

Aset’s mouth sagged open in surprise, but there was still one thing that troubled him from his own past experiences.

“Won’t you have trouble with your father?” he asked.

“No”, Maximilian answered decidedly while he shook his head, making the blond curls wave around it, “My father is an old and sick man. Actually, I already rule the kingdom on his behalf. He won’t notice a thing. So, can I take you with me?”

“Yes!” Aset almost yelled. His eyes spitted out a fire of deep-felt love, the first time they did so in his troublesome life, “But there is one thing left, that I want to know”.

“And that is, my dear?” Maximilian inquired, his head slightly tilted by now, but embracing Aset firmly at the same time.

“How did you find me? How did you know I would be exactly in this place?” Aset asked excited.

Maximilian rolled his eyes shortly and replied apologetically:

“That, my love, I am not allowed to disclose. If I do, I would lose the reality I have in my arms right now, because it turns into a vanishing dream. And that is a price I’m not willing to pay, because it would leave my arms empty again”.

Only then Aset remembered his meeting with the fairy and her demand for secrecy, which he vowed to maintain. He felt no inclination to break his oath, of course because he felt honor bound to keep it, but mostly because he knew now that the consequences would be terrible indeed. But he also remembered her mysterious words:

“We fairies have very funny ways of getting things done”.

“So”, Maximilian pressed the matter, somewhat impatient, “Do we agree that you are coming with me?”

“Yes!!!” Aset cried out with all of his heart.

Without another word Maximilian turned the horse around and in a slow trot they rode back towards the setting sun, that hung lazily in a sky that gradually started to show traces of purple as well.

Their first tender and intense kiss was exchanged before they had crossed yonder hill. But once they were over this hill, they disappeared from sight for any casual onlooker, if one had been there.

However, they stayed together for the rest of their lives. Maximilian developed into a wise king, who ruled his kingdom to the benefit of his people with Aset always being his trusted right hand, so every now and then as his prince-consort, but mostly as his queen!

And so they lived long and very happy for ever thereafter, growing old together. They were only forced to part, when for the first one of them the dying day had come.