The Secret Crown

As little as Payne knew about swans, he knew even less about ballets and classical music. ‘I don’t know. Is it?’

Ulster answered. ‘That’s an interesting question. Geographically speaking, there isn’t a modern lake in Germany that goes by that name. However, the story of Swan Lake is based on an ancient German legend. Who knows? Perhaps there used to be a Swan Lake in Bavaria that is now called something else.’

‘I’ll tell you who would know: a man obsessed with swans,’ Jones said.

Payne nodded. ‘Good point.’

Ulster continued. ‘Speaking of Swan Lake, did you know the main character in the ballet was actually modelled after Ludwig? Tchaikovsky, the Russian composer who created this classic in 1875, was fascinated with Ludwig’s life and followed it from afar. In many ways, the two of them were quite similar. Both were sexually confused dreamers who escaped reality by venturing into a dream world. Tchaikovsky had his music, and Ludwig had his castles.’

Jones asked, ‘Did they ever meet?’

Ulster shook his head. ‘Not that I’m aware of.’

‘But the ballet was written before Ludwig’s death?’

Ulster nodded. ‘Roughly ten years prior.’

Jones pondered the timeline. ‘I know Russia and Germany weren’t exactly allies, but I would think a music lover like Ludwig would have been familiar with the production.’

‘Undoubtedly.’

‘Perhaps he even recognized bits of himself in the main character?’

‘Probably.’

Jones gave it some thought. ‘If that’s the case, do you think the riddle could have something to do with the ballet? Could there be a clue in there?’

Ulster shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

‘Just to be safe,’ Jones said, ‘can you explain the basic plot? I honestly can’t remember what Swan Lake is about.’

Payne groaned. He felt a lecture coming on. ‘But please keep it short.’

Ulster promised to be concise. ‘The story of Swan Lake is centred on Prince Siegfried, who is notified before his twenty-first birthday that his marriage will soon be arranged. Dreading his future responsibilities, he heads to the woods where he stumbles across an enchanted lake filled with many swans. Much to his surprise, one of the swans has a crown on its head. As the sun sets, the swan turns into the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her name is Odette, and she’s the Swan Queen. She tells the prince that over the years an evil sorcerer has turned many girls into swans. The lake itself was formed from the tears of crying parents. She also informs him that the spell can only be broken if a man pledges his heart to her. Head over heels in love, the prince is about to confess his true feelings when the sorcerer takes Odette from the prince’s arms and whisks her away.’

‘Is that it?’ Payne asked, hopefully.

‘For the first two acts. I still have two more to go.’

‘I thought you said you were going to be concise.’

Ulster smiled. ‘For me, that was concise. Keep in mind, this is typically a three-hour production. I just covered half of it in thirty seconds.’

Payne nodded his appreciation. ‘Go on.’

‘The very next day, the prince is shown several prospective brides at his birthday gala. One of them is Odile, the daughter of the sorcerer, who has been made to look like Odette through a magic spell. Captivated by her beauty, the prince confesses his love to the impostor, an act witnessed by Odette from a nearby window. Broken- hearted, she runs towards the woods crying. As she does, the prince catches a glimpse of her and realizes his error. Eventually, he catches up to Odette at Swan Lake and explains his mistake. As she accepts the prince’s apology, the sorcerer arrives and tells him he must keep his promise to marry his daughter. The prince says he would rather die with Odette than marry Odile. To prove his point, he grabs Odette’s hand and they jump into the lake together, where they promptly drown. But, thanks to his actions, the magic spell is broken and all the other swans turn back into girls.’

Jones interrupted him. ‘Wait a second! You’re telling me the character based on Ludwig drowns in a lake, and ten years later, Ludwig dies in a lake, too. That’s some freaky shit!’

‘Actually,’ Ulster said, ‘I’m not quite finished yet. There’s more drowning still to come.’

‘Really?’

Ulster smiled. ‘Angered by the two deaths, the girls force the sorcerer and his daughter into the lake and watch them drown. The ballet ends as the spirits of the prince and Odette ascend into the heavens above Swan Lake.’

Jones waited for a few seconds, unsure. ‘Are you done now?’

Ulster nodded. ‘I am.’

‘That’s some freaky shit, too!’ Jones blurted.

‘How so?’ Payne asked.

‘Weren’t you listening?’

‘Barely.’

Normally Payne was the serious one, and Jones was the jester. All it took was one story about a ballet for their roles to be reversed.

Jones smiled at the irony. ‘Don’t you get it? The sorcerer behind the deception drowned in the same lake as the prince – just like the doctor behind the deception drowned in the same lake as Ludwig. That can’t be a coincidence.’

Payne grunted. ‘You’re right; it does seem suspicious.’

Ulster shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘Honestly, I don’t know if Ludwig’s murder was staged to mimic the ballet or not, but the story of Siegfried and Odette helped establish Ludwig’s nickname as the Swan King.’

‘How so?’ Payne asked.

‘If they hadn’t been killed, Siegfried and the Swan Queen would have been married, which would have made him the Swan King. And as I mentioned, the character of Siegfried was based on Ludwig, so …’

Payne nodded in understanding. ‘Throw in Ludwig’s obsessions with swans and that Swan Knight character you told us about earlier, and the nickname stuck.’

‘He was also called the Dream King, the Fairytale King and Mad King Ludwig, but the Swan King is used most often.’

Payne paused for a moment to consider everything he had learned. Swan Lake, one of the most famous ballets in history, was connected to Ludwig. The black swan logo had been designed by Ludwig. And the riddle about the swan had been written by Ludwig. Yet as far as Payne could tell, they still had no idea where a swan would go on his journey home.

Or what they would find if they figured it out.

25

From a distance, the King’s House on Schachen resembled a hunting lodge on top of a scenic crest. Painted beige and dark brown, the wooden post-and-infill structure was two storeys in the centre but only half as tall on the left and right, as if additional rooms had been added at the last minute. To Payne, the house looked like two capital ‘L’s, stapled back to back. It certainly wasn’t the worst design he had ever seen, yet it seemed out of place in the dream world that Ludwig had created for himself. Why build a house instead of a castle?

‘Remember,’ Ulster said as if reading Payne’s mind, ‘the interior is far more luxurious than the exterior. Don’t be fooled by the outside.’

‘Your friend is correct,’ said a feminine voice from the top of the hill. ‘The rough outer shell protects the pearl within.’

‘Petr,’ said Jones as he searched for the source, ‘the house is talking.’

‘And listening,’ she replied, her voice slightly tinged with a German accent.

Jones grabbed Ulster’s arm. ‘Petr, I’m scared … Hold me.’

Payne laughed and pointed out the speaker’s location. A series of decorative wooden beams ran from the top