She rushed over to her throne and, pointing to it, bowed respectfully, but he chose a comfortable couch and sat down upon it. “Come here, Rhadopis. Sit next to me,” he said.
The courtesan approached until she stood in front of him, struggling to overcome her perturbation and surprise. He took her wrist in his hand, it was the first time he had touched her, and sat her down next to him. Her heart beat wildly. She put the sandal to one side and lowered her eyes. She forgot that she was Rhadopis, the one they all worshipped, who dallied with the hearts of men as she pleased. The shock had taken her completely unawares — the divine incarnation had shaken her to the core, as if a blazing light had suddenly been shone into her eyes, and she cowered like a virgin resisting her man for the first time. But then her awesome beauty entered the fray, unbeknownst to her, stronghearted and supremely confident, and shed its enchanting radiance on the astonished eyes of the king, as the sun shines its silver rays on a sleeping plant, arousing it from its slumber to glisten enchantingly. Rhadopis's beauty was overpowering and irresistible, it burned whomever came near it, sowing madness in his mind and filling his breast with a desire that could never be quenched or satisfied.
There could not have been two people on that immortal night — Rhadopis stumbling in her confusion, and the king lost in her beauty — more in need of the mercy of the gods in all the world.
The king, desperate to hear her voice, asked her, “Why do you not ask how the sandal came into my hands?”
“Your presence has made me forget all matters, my lord,” she said anxiously.
He smiled. “How did you lose it?”
The tenderness in his voice soothed her fears. “A falcon flew off with it — while I — was bathing.”
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.
She was right to be happy, for she had reached the height of glory, ascended to the peak of sublimity, and savored wonders of greatness that no woman on earth had ever dreamed of. Pharaoh in his sacred person had visited her and she had enchanted him with her fragrant breath and he had exclaimed, before her very eyes, that a scourge of flame consumed his young heart. His passion had crowned her queen on the thrones of glory and beauty. Yes, she was right to be happy, though she had known the happiness of glory before. She inclined her head slightly and her eyes fell upon the sandal. Her heart fluttered and she moved her head closer until her lips touched the warrior engraved upon it.
She did not remain alone with her dreams for long, for Shayth came in. “My lady, do you wish to sleep here?” she inquired. Rhadopis did not reply, but picking up the sandal, rose sluggishly to her feet, and drifted slowly back to her bedchamber. Encouraged by her mistress's seeming inebriation, Shayth said sadly, “What a shame, my lady, this beautiful hall that has known such entertainment and pleasure will be empty of revelers and lovers for the first time tonight. It is probably confused like me and asks, ‘Where is the singing, where the dancing, where the love?’ Such is your will, my lady.”