It was a beautiful day. Majka and Maxík were outside the house playing their favourite game of princess and knight. Kaško had been behind the house for a long time, watching them.
"Wow, Maxík, you're quite the knight!" Kaško praised Maxík.
"And you, Majka, a true princess!" he continued to praise.
Majka blushed a little.
"True, true princess, but if only I could be a real princess for a little while," she sighed.
"And if I were real knight!" Maxík struck the wooden shield with his wooden sword.
"Would you really like that?" Kaško asked in amazement.
The children nodded.
"I know a place where there's a mansion, and maybe they could dub you knight there and declare you a princess."
"Let's go!" shouted the children joyfully.
They quickly packed up, Kaško put on an ancient linen cap and got on the bus. They got off after more than an hour in Kráľovský Chlmec.
"Come, there are friends of mine up the hill."
They all went up the hill. But there was no mansion there.
"Something must have happened here. Look, all that's left of it are the walls."
"Maybe they've moved into that mansion in town we saw on the way," Maxík mused.
"Good idea, Maxík," the sister complimented him.
They came to the manor house, but no one was living there anymore. But they had a wonderful modern museum there.
Maxík also played a bit on his little guitar - well, not a little guitar, but a ukulele, a harmonica, and a small drum, because there was an exhibition on local musicians.
Kaško paced restlessly around the mansion. In front of a picture of a local guitarist, who just coincidentally. there was rolling an incredible rock solo in the square in Chlmec, he stopped and shouted: "Got it! Let’s go!"
"But where?" Maxík and Majka asked.
"The Square. In the photo I saw that they have all the kings who ruled Haravara, but also Slovakia and Hungary in the square. I already know who will help us!"
Suddenly, they were in a nice little square with several statues of kings around them.
"Be careful," whispered Kaško and began to open his mouth softly. He took some powder from his pocket, threw it on the statue of King Stephen and muttered an old incantation.
The statue moved. Maxík and Majka were completely taken aback. Kaško bowed.
"Mr. King, we need advice," Kaško spoke respectfully.
They hadn't heard him talk like that before.
"Is that why you're waking me up? Because of the advice? You were supposed to wake up a councillor!" the old king was a little angry.
"Mr. King, I'm sorry to bother you. It will only be a moment. This young boy wants to become a knight, and this young lady wants to become a princess. Please help them!" Kaško finished and got down on his knees.
"Bring those young, brave persons before me," the king muttered.
Majka and Maxík came before King Stephen.
"Why would I do that, little ghost?" asked the king.
"May I come closer?" Kaško asked respectfully.
The king just nodded. Kaško came closer to the king and whispered something in his ear. The king just nodded his head appreciatively.
"Come closer!" exclaimed the king.
He grabbed Majka's hand and spoke.
"From now on, you're my adoptive daughter. You will be called Princess Anna Maria!" King Stephen uttered gravely.
Majka almost cried.
"And now you, daredevil. Come forward!"
Maxík came up to the king.
"Get on your knees!"
Maxík knelt down, King Stephen picked up the sword and slowly put it on Maxík's shoulder. It was so heavy that Maxík almost fell to the ground.
"I hereby dub you Knight Maximilian."
"Am I a knight yet?" Maxík whispered.
"Not yet, you still have to make a pilgrimage along the old royal road and kneel before the remains of St. George, the patron saint of knights," the king instructed Maximilian.
Maxík opened his mouth in incomprehension. King Stephen opened his mouth also. He groaned and became a statue again.
"Thank you," the children whispered.
"You understood him?" Kaško asked Maxík after a moment.
"I have to replay it in my head one more time. Walk down the royal road and kneel before... clear," beamed Kaško. "Beyond that little hill over there is the village of Leles. That's where we'll find what we're looking for!" Kaško exclaimed, and they were gone.
In Leles, Kaško led them around the main road.
"But I have to walk the royal road, Kaško."
"Trust me!"
Just as he finished, they saw a beautiful old stone bridge standing beside the road.
"This bridge has stood here for more than six hundred years. It is the bridge that used to be the old road to Kráľovský Chlmec. I mean, the royal road. Just walk along it. And then at the end you kneel. Not at the end of the bridge, but there at the end of that road. Look at the hill!"
In the distance they saw a beautiful monastery and a small church.
Maxík and Majka walked along the royal road and continued to the church. They went inside. Here, as in Jasov, there were many small Baroque angels and statues that looked like they were about to move and fly up into the sky.
On the altar behind the glass, there were strange objects in some small old boxes.
"There are the relics of the saints. I'm sure George is there, too," Kaško whispered in the ear of the future knight Maxíkmilian.
And really. On a box with a small dice, there was an inscription - St. George. – svätý Juraj.
And so, accompanied by Princess Anna Maria, Maxík strode through the beautiful old church to the altar. Before it, Maxík knelt on his right knee.
"Look, Knight Maximilian!" Majka exclaimed.
Maxík was very proud. Next to the altar, they found a small corridor and at the end of it a chapel with beautiful paintings on the wall. Among other things, there were little angels playing different instruments.
Knight Maximilian took out a knight's whistle from his knight's bag and began to whistle a beautiful song. Princess Anna Maria, in her angelic and princess-like voice, sang along.
Maxík and Majka were so happy that Kaško didn't want to leave.
But they had to, it was already evening.
So, the children returned home.
Maxík was sleeping on his back all that night, turned off like a brave knight, and Majka just smiled at the moon. So mysteriously, like princesses do.
