The Secret Crown

Payne moved forward until she was satisfied.

‘Okay, that’s perfect! Prepare to be shocked.’

He glanced round the grotto, wondering what was going to happen next. All of a sudden, he heard a soft rumble coming from the walls themselves. He glanced up and spotted a large opening in the rock face above him. The outer surface of the hole was glowing red while the interior was light blue. Over the years, Payne had been involved in enough practical jokes to sense when one was being pulled on him. Luckily, he stepped aside a split- second before water came roaring out of the spout, or else he would have been drenched by Ludwig’s waterfall.

‘Shoot!’ she yelled from her position behind the boulder. ‘I almost got you!’

He stuck his hand into the water, imagining how cold it would have felt on his back. ‘You’re lucky you didn’t. Otherwise, you would have gone for a little swim.’

She laughed as she headed his way. ‘That’s not nice.’

‘Neither is luring someone under Niagara Falls.’

She playfully punched his arm. ‘Oh, please! You can hear the water coming from a mile away. I didn’t think it would actually get you.’

He stared at her. ‘But you were hoping it did.’

She giggled softly. ‘Maybe.’

Jones listened to their banter and rolled his eyes. He didn’t have the tolerance to listen to their flirting. ‘Sorry to bust up your honeymoon, but didn’t you say something about swans?’

‘Swans?’ she asked.

‘You know, the riddle. The reason we’re here.’

‘The riddle!’ she exclaimed. ‘Yes, of course, how silly of me! It’s been a while since I’ve given a tour through the grotto. I guess I got caught up in the excitement.’

Payne reassured her with a smile. ‘Don’t worry about it.’

Heidi took a moment to gather her thoughts, then pointed at a golden cockleshell boat that was near a colourful mural which had been painted in a large alcove at the far end of the lake. The mural depicted a scene from Richard Wagner’s opera Tannhauser, one of Ludwig’s favourites, and looked as though it belonged in a museum, not an artificial cave. As the group walked closer to the painting, Heidi hustled over to the control panel and turned off the wave machine. Although it was an impressive special effect, it was rarely used during regular tours because the ‘fake’ waves eroded the artificial environment like ‘real’ waves on a beach. Then she turned off the waterfall, so they wouldn’t have to shout above the roaring water.

‘How much do you know about Lohengrin?’ she asked.

Ulster answered for the group. ‘I know enough to fill a notebook, whereas they know the basics. I filled them in only yesterday.’

Payne glanced at him. ‘You did? You better refresh my memory.’

Ulster nodded. ‘Lohengrin was the son of Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table. He was sent to rescue a maiden in a far off land. Wagner wrote an opera about him.’

Payne had a blank look on his face. ‘Go on.’

‘He made the journey in a cockleshell boat pulled by a magical swan.’

Jones laughed at the description. ‘I remember that! Ludwig used to dress up in his costume and prance around the halls of his castle.’

Payne finally remembered. ‘The Swan Knight.’

‘Yes!’ Ulster exclaimed. ‘Ludwig was obsessed with him, which is why Ludwig is often called the Swan King. If you remember, Ludwig even sealed his mysterious correspondence with a black swan. Hence, the black swan letters.’

Jones grinned. ‘Ludwig going rogue.’

‘Actually,’ Heidi said, ‘if you believe the rumours, that’s exactly what Ludwig did. He went rogue. Having bankrupted his personal fortune building places like this, he was forced to turn to outside sources to maintain his standard of living. The money he collected would have been the source of his mythical treasure.’

Payne nodded. ‘Which leads us to the riddle.’

Heidi pointed at the elaborate boat. It was elevated just above the waterline by a discreet metal stand to keep it in good shape. Painted gold and shaped like a giant cockleshell, the boat featured carved fish near its base, wooden doves attached to the back of the shell and several strings of dried flowers draped from its edges. Inside was a small padded bench and a single back pillow covered in red velvet. Two wooden oars were affixed to their stands.

She asked, ‘What’s wrong with this boat?’

‘Too many things to name,’ Jones cracked.

‘I meant in terms of Ludwig.’

Jones smiled. ‘In that case, not much. It fits him perfectly.’

‘I would agree with you, except for one tiny detail. Do you see it?’

Payne, Jones, and Ulster stared at the antique boat, trying to figure out what she was alluding to. At first glance, the boat seemed to fit Ludwig’s lifestyle. It was ornate, whimsical and somehow innocent – like something out of a child’s dream. Even the carved figurehead, a naked cupid shooting his bow, seemed appropriate for a man of his ilk.

Sensing their confusion, Heidi gave them a hint to speed up their search. ‘Think about the boat in terms of the riddle. Where would a swan go on his journey home?’

A few seconds later, Payne figured it out.

56

Payne grinned with pride when he solved the riddle. ‘That’s really clever.’

‘What’s really clever?’ Jones asked.

‘The riddle. We were thinking about it all wrong.’

‘Wait! You figured it out?’

Payne nodded. ‘Yep, I figured it out.’

Jones turned towards him. ‘Well?’

‘Well, what? Figure it out for yourself.’

Jones shook his head. ‘You’re so full of shit! You don’t know the answer.’

Payne raised his right hand. ‘I swear to Ludwig, I figured it out. Like I said, we were thinking about it all wrong.’

‘In what sense?’ Ulster asked.

‘The swan isn’t the one going home. So stop thinking about nests and lakes. Think about it from a different perspective.’

Heidi nodded her approval. Until that moment, she wasn’t sure if Payne had actually worked it out. ‘Jon’s right. The “his” in the riddle does not refer to the swan. Someone else is making the journey. Focus on the words. Where would a swan go on his journey home?’

Jones was getting more and more confused by their clues. ‘Wait! What are you talking about? Who’s making the damn journey?’

Ulster broke into a wide grin. Thanks to Heidi’s hint, he had solved the riddle. ‘Lohengrin! Lohengrin is making the journey!’

Jones grimaced at the clue. ‘You mean the Swan Knight? How in the hell am I supposed to know where he’s going? I’m not a travel agent!’

Payne laughed at Jones’s frustration since he was always bragging about how much smarter he was than Payne. ‘You don’t have to know where the knight is going. That doesn’t matter. The question is, where would the swan go on the knight’s journey?’

‘Don’t ask me. I’d never take a bird on a fucking trip.’

Payne and Ulster laughed so loudly tears formed in their eyes.

Meanwhile, Heidi managed to bite her tongue and stifle her laughter. Feeling bad for Jones, she put her hands on his shoulders and gently turned him towards the boat. While standing next to him, she simplified the riddle so he could solve it. ‘Lohengrin used to travel in a cockleshell boat pulled by a swan. In that scenario, where would