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JOINT WINNER OF THE FRENCH MOVIE TRANSLATION POLL @ C.G. OCTOBER 2011

In the year 809 AD, Charles 1st the Great, also called Charlemagne,

King of the Franks and Emperor of the West,

decided to send a special ambassador to Harun Al Rashid, the Caliph of Baghdad...

After a several weeks crossing, they landed in Iskander,

North of Antioch, then rode into the desert...

- Is she dead? - Barely alive. Fetch Master Guillaume.

I think she needs God far more than she needs a doctor.

- Who are you? - I am Renaud de Villecroix,

a Frank knight bound for Baghdad.

- Who are you? - Layla. I...

Don�t try to speak. We�re going to heal you.

It�s useless. I�m doomed. But you must save her.

- Sh�h�razade. - Who?

The Princess of Iskander. Sh�h�razade.

She was going to Baghdad, to the Caliph.

- Harun Al Rashid? - Yes.

Raiders came and attacked our camp. They took Sh�h�razade with them.

You have to save her. You have to.

- How could I? - You have to.

They headed for the mountain. There: toward the West.

Catch up with them!

Swear. Swear that you will save her.

Swear, I�m dying. Swear. Swear!

I swear.

- What will you do? - What I swore to do.

We�re here to obtain from Harun al Rashid

free access to the Holy Sepulcher for Christian caravans.

Tell me how is that related to the Bedouin hunt you�re planning.

I�m not planning anything, Didier.

I�ll do what I promised to do. Even if I have to do it alone.

Only those who want to will follow me.

- Tally-ho! - Tally-ho!

We�re being attacked! Someone betrayed us.

Ahmed! Take Sh�h�razade to the lair! Hurry!

Didier! They�re taking her away!

You must give up, Renaud. Look.

They took refuge in those ruins. Attacking would cost us half our men.

We must now resume our way to Baghdad, Renaud.

I think that, for ambassadors, we already did a lot of fighting.

What if I asked only a few hours of patience from you?

- To do what? - That need not concern you.

- Are they attacking? - No, but their chief just arrived.

- He wants to speak to you. - And the others?

They stayed down the path, lined up for battle.

- Tell the man to come. - Aye.

- Who are you and what do you want? - I am Renaud of Villecroix,

a Frank knight in the service of Emperor Charles,

and I want Sh�h�razade.

In order to crack a whip, you must hold its handle.

I have Sh�h�razade. You have nothing.

I�ve got your cattle, your beasts of burden and your water supply.

I won�t attack. I�ll camp at the foot of the ruins and I�ll wait.

What will be left of you in ten days?

What will be left of Sh�h�razade. How will her death profit you?

How will you profit by yours?

You�re as wise as you are brave and your tongue is as nimble as your sword.

Let�s talk as friends: if I give you Sh�h�razade, what will you give me?

- What I took from you. - May Allah forgive your blasphemy.

50 dirty sheep and a few waterskins for the most marvelous pearl of the East?

Did you never hear about Sh�h�razade?

Don�t you know that she enchanted 1001 nights for King Sharria

merely with the sight of her beauty and the charm of her voice.

- You must have lost your head. - You�ll have nothing more.

By the Heavens that judge us, listen to me.

I�m the most honest raider in the whole desert.

Would you make a beggar out of me? Give me something more.

- A small fistful of gold coins. - No! Your life and nothing more.

Your heart is dryer than the desert sand.

But, first, come and see. Come.

Look at her, and tell me who�s the real thief, you or me.

You never saw her before? It does explain everything.

Do you see this young lord? He wants to buy you back,

but if I told you how much he thinks you�re worth, you�d spit in his face.

But you probably want to see her better still. Wait.

50 sheep... Surely you wouldn�t dare.

- Is that all? - I don�t have anything else.

You forget about your ring.

Less than nothing.

- Of course, you haven�t seen her face yet. - No!

You�d rather do it yourself. As you wish.

You really haven�t got anything more?

- I just have this. Do you want it too? - As God is my witness, I was joking.

Take her. She�s yours.

I�d rather be the benefactor of your nights than the remorse of your days.

May Allah go with you.

- Are you looking for your star? - Yes. While I wait for you.

- You knew that I�d come? - I always knew that you would come.

And now complain: tell me how ungrateful and unfair I am.

- You�re dying to. - Not anymore.

Now I just want to look at you and shut my mouth.

Night becomes you so.

- Why do you flee from me, Sh�h�razade? - I�m scared.

- Of me? - Of us.

Of what passed between us in the raider�s lair.

I never saw you before and, suddenly, I saw nothing but you.

- Everything had vanished. - I too saw only you.

Is that what scares you?

We told each other in a single glance what most men and women

admit only after several days, that�s all.

- And it doesn�t scare you? - What�s scary about love?

- Especially when it�s got your smile. - And after, Renaud?

There�s no such thing as "after" in love, Sh�h�razade.

There�s only the current moment.

Once the moment is passed, there will still be Baghdad and Harun al Raschid.

All of that is for tomorrow. And tomorrow means never.

There�s another form of courage, then. Maybe an easier one.

Let me go. Give me a ten men escort and I�ll go to Baghdad alone.

Certainly not.

Are you forgetting that, by right, you belong to me?

I paid for you with a battle, not to mention my ring and 50 sheep.

I belonged to you before that.

For far more serious reasons, that you are wrong to mock.

Whether you want it or not, we are both in the hand of God.

- Don�t you believe in anything? - I believe in what is.

In you, in your beauty, in the wonderful chance of our meeting.

So you think it was chance that threw us toward each other?

Of course.

How long have you been wearing this scarf?

Since you landed in Iskander, isn�t it?

- How can you know that? - It�s mine.

The wind tore it from me while I watched you riding by.

I had to come in the heart of the desert to find it again.

And to find you. Who wanted that, Renaud? Chance?

All is chance. Life and death. Bliss and misery.

Why not your scarf and my shoulder?

No, leave me.

Come. The storm is brewing and my supper is waiting for us.

Oh, you, my tender love,

Whom in the Loire country I left,

Who knows whether I�ll ever see you again?

I just came back from the banks of the Tigris River.

I saw rowboats sailing upriver toward us.

I�m scared, Renaud. What did you decide?

If you want to keep me, we must flee now.

I�ve been thinking of it for days and nights.

The mere idea of losing you is breaking my heart but...

But it�s what you�re choosing.

I don�t have to choose, Sh�h�razade. Everything else is impossible.

No, Renaud. It would have been merely difficult.

You�ll know the impossible soon.

It�s you without me and me without you. Goodbye.

Listen to me. We�re but one man and one woman.

I don�t believe in love challenging misery and time.

It�s been invented by poets and guitar players.

Even if we fled together, we would soon open our eyes on our folly,

no more lovers but accomplices,

and we wouldn�t have enough words to curse each other.

But I love you. And you love me.

But how long shall we love each other, Sh�h�razade?

We�ll have mortally offended the two masters of the world,

Charlemagne and Harun al Raschid.

Even should our love withstand time,

do you think it could withstand their anger?

We�ll forget. Time rubs everything out.

No! Keep me, Renaud. Don�t let me reach Baghdad.

May peace be with you, my lord.

I bring the greetings of my master, Harun al Raschid,

the Caliph of Baghdad. I�m Barmak, his Great Vizier.

May peace be with you.

Greetings to you too, Sh�h�razade.

Forgive me for tearing you so soon from your new friends,

but my orders are to bring you this very evening to the palace.

Are you ready?

You have maybe some farewells to say?

- No. - The boats are waiting for us.

So the moment has come. There's still time, Renaud.

Don�t make this instant harder than it already is.

You�ll understand someday that I was right.

Don�t.

Only this rope binds me to you now. Sever it yourself.

Since you weren�t brave enough for our bliss,

at least be brave enough for our misery.

Sir Renaud of Villecroix, ambassador of Emperor Charlemagne

begs for the favour of being admitted in your presence.

Let him come.

No: rise, Renaud of Villecroix, my friends do not kneel before me.

Welcome to this palace.

In you, I salute not only the envoy of the master of the West

but also and mainly

the warrior who took Princess Sh�h�razade from the desert raiders.

I did only my duty and I was not alone.

I thank you to give such importance to so mundane an event,

you whose courage and generosity

are held up as an example in every corner of the world.

The Princess was traveling under my protection.

By saving her, you saved the very glory of my name. I won�t forget it.

Here is a message of friendship from Emperor Charlemagne.

You�ll find in it a pressing request in the name of the whole of Christendom.

Be assured that I�ll examine it very soon,

and with all the benevolence that you might wish for.

But right now, other obligations claim me.

The three most beautiful Princesses in the East

are waiting for me to choose the one who, governing me,

will govern the Empire a little.

Allow me to favour them over you tonight.

I hope that you and your friends

will accept to honour this ceremony with your presence.

Shirin, Princess of Bassorah.

Djemilah, Princess of Great Cairo.

Sh�h�razade, Princess of Iskander.

You are beautiful as the night, Shirin,

and you shine just like the pearl in the middle of the necklace.

Master, a woman�s beauty is never anything but skin deep.

Only her soul can make her worthy of love.

I thank you, Djemilah, for coming from so far away.

It took an Egyptian Goddess to dare measure up to the Princesses of my Empire.

Master, I dare measure up to nobody.

And I�m only beautiful when adorned with your indulgence.

As for you, Sh�h�razade,I was smiling at the praise that poets

heap upon you from one end of the Empire to the other.

I was wrong.

Why did you hide so long from my eyes?

Aren�t you proud to be so beautiful?

No, master. A woman has too short a time to be so,

and too long a time not to be so anymore.

Beauty without love is a blank mirror.

May Allah forgive me,

but I�m before you like a gardener in front of three equally beautiful flowers,

with a right to pick up only one. Help me, Al Faqi.

Master, I�m not young enough to tell which one is the most desirable,

but I�m far old enough to tell which one is the wisest.

- A mere question will suffice. - Very well.

Djemilah, a water snake with two tails saved a whole people

by carrying a child on its back. Who is he?

Your questions are somewhat too easy for an Egyptian.

He�s the Nile.

His mouth is double

and he saved the Jewish people by carrying Moses� cradle.

Well answered.

Shirin: what tree is constantly growing of its own accord,

with alternately white and black leaves?

The year. Days are white, nights are black.

Well answered too.

Your turn, now, Sh�h�razade.

If you prick your finger when you pluck a rose,

do you complain that Allah gave it thorns?

No, I thank Him for allowing a thorny bush to grow roses.

Master, I spoke too hastily.

The three of them are equally wise. I can do no more for you.

Maybe the second test will decide between them.

Praise to Allah who made all of you equally beautiful.

But appearances are often deceitful.

This thing, on the other hand, can�t be deceived.

It�s the exact template of your own perfect beauty.

You will pass through it one after the other.

Anyone who rings just one bell while passing through

will be proclaimed a loser. You first, Shirin.

Your turn, Djemilah.

Your turn, Sh�h�razade.

So we must proceed with the third test.

You�re equals in wit and beauty.

Now I�ll learn if you are in courage too.

Fill the cups.

It�s Babel wine. Each of you will chose a cup

then you�ll drink together.

But know that one of the three ewers contains poison.

Master! This is no more a game but a torture.

- I beseech you... - Be silent, Al Faqi.

Since neither you nor me have been able to choose,

Allah will choose for us. I have spoken.

If you consider that Harun al Raschid�s love is not worth risking your life,

you are free to refuse the test.

Even should the three of you refuse,

I won�t have enough words or present

to thank you for going so far already in your willingness to please me.

These men have been sentenced to die.

The two who survive will be pardoned.

Drink.

Now you�re going to tell me whether you refuse or accept.

I refuse.

Think. Maybe, one day, you�ll regret that your courage didn�t match your ambition.

Maybe Allah would have chosen you.

At such a price, I�d rather suppose it than know it.

May peace be with you, Harun al Raschid.

What about you? What do you decide?

I accept.

I accept too.

Choose, Shirin.

Let Sh�h�razade choose first.

Your turn, now, Shirin.

I can�t. I can�t.

Could you?

No!

How did you guess that none of the three ewers contained poison?

They call you Harun the Fair.

How could you be an example for half of the world

if you could make an innocent woman die for your pleasure?

You can now tell your servant to rise. He played his part very well.

Rise, Ahmed.

I choose you, Sh�h�razade.

May Allah be praised to the end of time for putting you on my way.

Praise Allah! Praise Harun al Raschid!

Praise the Caliph!

He�s probably gone to drink in one of the brothels around. Let�s look again.

For three days, he�s been acting as if he�d lost his head. He�s scaring me.

He who plays with hellfire always burns himself in the end.

Yakouma! Yakouma!

Here I am, my white lambs! Patience, patience!

Now, men of Baghdad, open your eyes.

Yacouma is going to show you what only Allah may see.

The wedding night of our beloved Caliph

and the very beautiful Sh�h�razade, the Princess of Iskander.

Look. Look. Here they are, face to face,

in the bedroom with the gold pillars.

They are alone and burning of the same fire.

The Caliph approaches her and the Princess� lips

obediently open under his.

Look, look! But a pretty girl is like the fruit of the orange tree

you have to carefully peel her before you bite.

Look: here she is, now clad in her sole beauty,

like the rosebush in its roses.

And her breasts are two white doves ready to take flight.

Now admire the ability of our Caliph...

No... My lord... what are you doing? My lord, stop!

Won�t you stop?

Are you crazy? What did you do?

All I can see is that time passes and you�re doing nothing.

The situation is not as it was. We must think.

The Greeks in Byzantium are not patient

and they pay you well enough for you to think quickly.

Don�t talk so loud. They pay you as well as they do me

and the Caliph�s executioner will make no difference between your head and mine.

You swore that Sh�h�razade would never reach Baghdad.

Without her, I would have made short work of Djemilah.

And it would be me in the Caliph�s bed.

The rest would have been easy.

Everything is jeopardized now. And it�s your fault.

Is it my fault too if you were stupid enough

to fall in the trap of the poisoned ewer?

- How could I guess? - Sh�h�razade did, didn�t she?

Sh�h�razade... Patience: I�ll find a way to undo her.

Would you like me to show you one?

Speak.

First, you�ll ask the Caliph for an audience. When you see him...

Peace be with you, Shirin.

You wanted to see me? What do you want?

To thank you for all the favours you bestowed on me, Master,

and take my leave. It�s time for me to go back to Bassorah.

Why such a sudden departure? Aren�t you happy here?

No, master, I couldn�t be,

because... I�m at once too close to you and too far from you.

Forgive me: I don�t know how to lie.

At your age, such wounds close quickly.

Be patient. Another man will come.

No. I know of only another man who,

with time, could have found after you the way to my heart.

He�s no more free to love me than yourself.

- So, you see, I must go. - Who is this man, Shirin?

I�ve spoken far too much already. Let me go.

No: explain yourself. The man you love loves another woman, is that it?

And you�re afraid to tell me? Why?

Tell me the name of the man. And of the woman! I want to know.

Please, my Lord.

Don�t force me to add the weight of your anger to their misery and their anguish.

My anger, you say?

Only one love in the world can offend me and you know which one.

Speak! Who dared raise his eyes to Sh�h�razade?

What happened between them?

I was waiting for you.

My rather sudden invitation must have surprised you

but I wanted your presence more than anything else.

This is indeed your evening. You�re going to leave us.

And I�d like you to keep a happy memory of Baghdad.

Forgive me, my Lord,

how could I go away when the mission

I must perform in your court isn�t accomplished yet?

Rest assured. It is.

Here is my answer to your Emperor�s request.

It�s wholly in keeping with his desires.

The sepulchre of your God is now placed under my protection.

All the Christians in the world may visit it freely.

You�ll be able to leave tomorrow with peace in your heart.

- Tomorrow? But... - Don�t worry.

I understand only too well your eagerness to go back to your land:

I won�t blame you for this hastened departure.

I thank you. Please allow me to go now.

You would disappoint me.

Didn�t I tell you that this evening was yours?

Take a seat and watch.

Never again will you see what you�re about to see.

Sh�h�razade, you agreed to dance for us tonight,

for my deepest joy and the joy of my friends.

I hope you won�t blame me if I counted among them

Sir Renaud de Villecroix who will leave us tomorrow.

You are Harun al Raschid and I am your servant.

No, you are the wife I chose before God.

Take off your veil, Sh�h�razade.

I want everyone to observe the wonderful face of my happiness.

Dance, Sh�h�razade.

I thank you, Harun al Raschid.

But you were wrong earlier:

I�ll always see again what I�ve just seen.

May I go now?

- May I talk to you? - Who are you?

My name is Elmyra. I�m one of the Princess� ladies-in-waiting.

- Did she send you? - Don�t speak so loud.

Would you like to see her one last time before you go? Alone?

What are you saying? That�s impossible.

Follow me and you�ll see her.

Where are you going? We leave in two hours.

- I�ll be back then. - Beware, Renaud.

Oh, leave me alone.

I needed you. Where were you this time?

I was serving you, mistress, as always.

I went to see the young Frank knight.

The one who pales so much when he sees you dancing.

What do you mean? Whom do you mean?

The one whose name you whisper every night while you�re asleep.

Forgive me for finding out your secret

but you wanted me to sleep by your bed.

Now you can undo me. I�m in your hands.

He�s here, in the harem. He wants to see you.

Are you crazy? Do you want our death?

Of course not. Today, the merchants are allowed to visit the women

in order to sell them jewelry and cloth.

There�s no better day, mistress.

- Why would you do this for me? - For nothing.

For the pleasure of serving you.

And also to be lucky enough to find, from time to time,

a necklace or a ring that you�d lost.

He�ll be here in no time.

Come, and don�t forget that you are Selim son of Mammud, the caravan master.

Come: my mistress wants to see you.

- It�s done, mistress. He�s with her now. - Very well.

- Mistress. - Yes.

- You promised me... - Oh, yes, indeed.

Come here.

Take your fee.

No, leave me, Renaud. You were mad to come here.

And I was madder still to agree to see you. Go away.

Not without you.

No, Renaud, nothing is possible anymore, I warned you.

But I didn�t know that I loved you.

I didn�t know that love, such a love, could exist.

You had to lose me to know it.

Hell is wherever you�re not, Sh�h�razade.

Don�t push me back to Hell.

We�re in Hell, Renaud, and for ever. I belong to the Caliph. I swore.

What did you swear? To be the death of me?

I got you into this palace, I�ll know how to get you out of it.

Harun will prevent it. We wouldn�t even see the sun rise thrice.

I accept to see it rise only once if I�m with you.

No, Renaud, no.

So it was true.

Messour: have her thrown in a cell in the Tower of Oblivion.

She�ll get out of it only to die.

Nothing forced you to come to me.

You came freely, and it was to betray me.

What kind of mud are you made of, Sh�h�razade.

I never betrayed you. I wouldn�t betray you.

- I swear it to God. - Are you so afraid to die?

Messour! You�ve been given an order.

What about the man, Master? Do you want me to get rid of him?

Go away.

Listen to me. She�s innocent.

It was all my fault. I forced myself through her door.

- I... - You lie.

- She loves you. - Of course not.

I only had to see her standing beside you to know it.

At least have the pride to admit it.

If I were you, I wouldn�t be able to find a high enough a terrace in Baghdad

to scream it to Heaven.

Then allow me to share her fate.

Your prisons must be large enough for two innocents.

Why would I lay my hand on you?

You love her: that�s enough.

Her chains will be your chains. Her prison will be your prison.

And her death will be your death, without me even touching you.

You�re free.

Let�s go: he�s not here.

Where could a lover be when his mistress is in danger, except by her side?

Haven�t you read anything?

Sh�h�razade is detained up there,

and up there the red flag will be raised if the sentence is death.

Renaud is on this plaza. Let�s try again.

As you wish.

- Renaud. - Leave me alone.

Stop watching the accursed tower!

I can�t. I�m detained with her up there.

I�ll die with her.

Sh�h�razade, Princess of Iskander,

you betrayed your vows, your master and your god.

You are sentenced to die by the hand of the executioner

after first receiving, 20 lashes of the whip.

Nevertheless, if someone in the crowd around you

chooses to spare you the torture of the whip

and endure it in your place, let him be known.

- The law allows it. - I!

- I�m ready. - I know.

I heard your voice before you screamed.

No: it�s useless.

No use. It�s over.

Stop!

Harun al Raschid, Caliph of Caliphs and commander of the true believers,

the most miserable among your creatures asks that you listen to him.

I am Mouloud, the king of beggars in Baghdad.

- I�m listening. What do you want? - I want Sh�h�razade.

You were her sun, she turned her back to the sun.

You held your arms out for her, she spat in your face.

The death you chose for her is far too sweet.

Give us the bitch, my Lord, and we, in turn, will give her the nights she deserves.

You may. The law allows it.

- I give her to you. - No! No!

Will you suffer this, Didier? I won�t, I�m warning you.

- Neither shall I. - All right. Thibaud, see to Renaud.

Stop, Mouloud!

Back!

- Let go of that woman. - Beware.

The Caliph gave her to me. No one will take her back from me.

- Not even the Caliph. - Let go of her.

He we are on the threshold of the desert, as you wished.

Did you change your mind, Renaud?

Accept to take Sh�h�razade to the Frank country and I�ll follow you.

You know it�s impossible. It would be an act of rebellion against the Caliph.

- Follow us. - No.

But you�ll be hunted. What can you hope for?

Did I say that we hoped for anything.

May God keep you safe. Farewell, Renaud.

Farewell.

Renaud, take my sword. It�s never been in better hands.

The well was filled, and it�s a two days walk to the next one.

The water in the desert also belongs to the Caliph.

We�re going to sleep here and let the horses rest.

Tomorrow we�ll start again on the North trail.

Have faith.

Renaud!

Why didn�t they take both horses away?

Why didn�t they cut our throats on the spot?

It would have been finished sooner.

Too soon, Renaud. The dead do not suffer.

We must not stay here. Let�s go.

Why should we flee?

Harun�s black riders are everywhere around us.

I don�t need to see them to know that.

We�re going to die, my love.

- A black rider arrow. - Cowards!

You�re burning with a fever. We must stop, Renaud.

You don�t even have the strength to smile at me anymore.

I�ll have the strength to walk.

We must reach the Tirkit springs.

But it�s another two or three hours walk to Tirkit.

- At least get on the horse. - He cannot carry me anymore.

Tomorrow, when we find water, I promise...

Renaud!

I can�t anymore. I can�t anymore, it�s over, Sh�h�razade.

No, Renaud. I�ll go to Tirkit, I�ll bring water back.

In what? We don�t own anything anymore.

I�ll dip my veil in the spring then press it to your lips:

you�ll be able to get up and walk some more, to the spring.

I�ll leave him to you. Stay in his shadow.

May peace be with you, Sh�h�razade.

You. So your black riders were waiting for you before they took us.

Take, then. You won�t take much.

A beautiful victory for the great Caliph of Caliphs.

How many men did you need in order to succeed?

One thousand? Two thousand? Ten thousand?

What are you waiting for? Call them!

None of them will harm either of you.

You�ll come back to Baghdad of your own accord, Sh�h�razade.

- Never! - You�ll come back.

You�ll both come back.

You�ll come back, Sh�h�razade.

Renaud. Renaud. It is I. It is I. No!

Harun al Raschid, where are you?

Where are you? Where are you? She�s mine now. She�s mine.

Renaud!

My love, my love.

A village, Renaud. You are saved.

This man is ill. Can anyone here cure him?

This man is going to die. You must cure him.

Don�t you understand? I tell you he�s going to die.

You don�t have a right. What about the law of the desert?

Is it gold that you want? Here, I�ll give it all to you. All of it.

Where must we go so that he lives?

Baghdad...

Baghdad.

I knew you�d come.

I�ve been anticipating this moment for days and nights.

The moment when you would finally appear before me,

defeated to the core. And here you are.

I know everything that you suffered together.

One near the other and one for the other.

But there were two of you and I was alone, Sh�h�razade.

And now defend yourself. Defend him.

I wasn�t the only one who waited for you. The executioner did too.

Come on: speak. Find a lie.

I gave you time enough to invent one.

Swear to me that you�re innocent.

I love you.

Every drop of my blood, every moment in my life bears your name.

What are you waiting for? Lie to me! I might believe you. Try.

But no: you are Sh�h�razade, you wouldn�t beg!

You�re not afraid. Who gave you such strength?

He did. We knew everything together and rubbed everything out, even fear.

Do you know what can be found beyond despair, Harun al Raschid?

Peace.

Whether you kill us or not is irrelevant. We died a thousand times already.

Make Renaud die and I�ll die. Make him live and I�ll live.

The choice is yours.

So that�s what you have to sell? Your life against his.

You�ll live, you say? But for whom? For him?

He�ll go, I�ll stay.

You�ll just have to close your eyes to see him again.

- I�ll be alive, and I�ll be near you. - Without love.

Do you ask your concubines if they love you?

Let God judge me. I could kill you both with one blow...

and I do not dare.

Give me once more to Mouloud and the result will be the same.

Shut up. Mouloud only claimed you because I ordered it.

He was to take you to a safe hideout

where I would have met you, unbeknownst to all,

and where I would have had a right to be a coward.

Now, I�ll have to be a coward in broad daylight.

Take this man, and care for him as if he were me.

I want him to live.

The man must die, Barmak.

First, it would be necessary to get near him.

Al Faqi and his janissaries watch over him as over a treasure.

Then we must give the order to rebel. That�s our last chance, Barmak.

You can really only rely on the mercenary troops stationed in Baghdad.

When we hold Baghdad and the Caliph, we hold the whole Empire.

How long do you need to assemble those men?

- Ten days. - That�s more than we need.

Use them to spread the word that, in forgiving the slut,

the Caliph made himself unfit to rule.

The most beautiful revolutions have been done in the name of virtue.

He�s saved, Sh�h�razade. There�s no danger anymore.

- The Caliph kept his promise. - I�ll keep mine.

- When can he go? - Tomorrow.

Then he�ll go tomorrow.

Order that his companions be advised,

and thank you for what you�ve done, Al Faqi.

- I won�t forget it. - How could you forget it?

When I cured him, I opened the gates of Hell for you.

You chose the worst, Sh�h�razade.

He will live. The price is of no importance.

My love... My love...

- Sh�h�razade. - We are saved.

Nothing threatens us anymore. We shall live.

If it were true, you wouldn�t cry.

We�re in the palace of the Caliph.

- Who brought me here? - I did.

Who cured me? Who saved me? Why? Why?

You saw Harun and you bought my life from him. That�s it, right?

At what price, Sh�h�razade?

Do you really want me to tell you?

What will become of us? What shall we do, one without the other?

Oh, shut up, shut up, I can�t take it anymore.

Farewell, Renaud.

- You�ll leave tomorrow. - No! Sh�h�razade!

You�re late, Adballah.

The longest ways are usually the safest.

- Well? - All is ready on my end.

The mercenaries are at my command:

they�ll march on the palace when you want them to.

- On what conditions? - They haven�t changed:

100 gold coins for each man, 1000 for each officer,

and the right to pillage the city.

- All right. - And on your end?

Everything is ready too.

Are you positive that the people will follow suit?

They will. They always follow when there�s something to break down.

She�ll give the signal from the palace.

- What signal? - An arrow in the sky.

Don�t worry: you�ll see it. All of Baghdad will see it.

Except for the Caliph.

May peace be with you.

Peace will never be in us nor with us, Sh�h�razade.

Don�t force yourself to smile at me.

Forgive me. You�ve already been too generous and too patient.

Too cowardly, they say in Baghdad.

Time will pass and Baghdad will forget.

What about you? Will you forget?

No. Should God give you an eternity,

there wouldn�t be one moment for me in that eternity.

I know it. But I�m happy anyway. You are here.

You are here and I�ll keep you.

Death to the Caliph! Death!

Master! The city is in revolt!

The mercenary troops are marching on the palace.

They already passed the first enclosure.

Who commands them? Who dares?

Barmak. And all of the people from the poor districts are with him.

They scream in the streets that you disgraced yourself

and that your disgrace is called Sh�h�razade.

Give me to them since they want me.

- Never. - It would be useless.

You�re just an excuse. What Barmak wants is the Caliph�s head.

You must flee, master, you must leave Baghdad.

Quick! Horses!

- You�re going to give me back my jewelry. - No.

- Give me back my jewelry now! - Let me go or I kill you.

- Come, hurry, the Caliph has fled. - You wretch! What did you say?

We were too late. They were all gone.

- How many of them? - A dozen men, Moussour, the Caliph and the Sultana.

- They took the road to Kerbellah. - Mount! Hurry up!

There they are.

It�s a trick. The ford is on the left. Follow me.

Take him alive.

- You! - Now you won�t prevent the Caliph from arriving in Kerbellah.

This is the beginning of your end, Barmak.

I�ll make you pay for this for so long

that Baghdad will plug its ears up to stop hearing your screams.

I swear I shall.

They took her, master. It�s over.

Let�s go. I don�t want her death to be in vain.

Master. I�ve been told of a great number of riders and mercenaries

coming from Baghdad. Barmak commands them.

- How many of them? - About two thousand.

And five hundred of us.

You don�t have anything to fear.

This morning we found you sprawled on the bank, near the body of your horse.

- We carried you home and cured you. - Do you know who I am?

We do. You are Sh�h�razade, the cursed sultana.

And you saved me anyway?

We never ever hurt anyone and are too old to start now.

I know that the Frank knights encampment is around here.

I absolutely must catch up with them.

They were near this place. They left yesterday.

With Allah�s help, they�re already far from here, at the desert doors.

Can you lend me a horse?

Renaud! Renaud!

Allah, do not forsake me.

A sand storm. We must take shelter.

It�s abating. We can see the sun again.

Sh�h�razade!

- I knew I would find you. - Now I�ll keep you.

No, Renaud, I haven�t come to join you.

I come to fetch you. I come to fetch you all.

Where is the Caliph, Moussour? Did they take him?

No, he could flee. There. The mountain.

Hurry, Sh�h�razade. I did what I could.

Counter-attack!

Forward!

Tonight, we�ll sup in the Caliph�s palace. It�s over.

It was about time. Our men are exhausted.

Look!

So you appear together before me for the third time.

And nothing in the world could part you.

Not suffering nor wrath nor death.

You are linked to each other just like light is to the sun,

and shadow to night. May Allah�s will be done.

Take Sh�h�razade, Renaud of Villecroix.

I give her to you.

I do not give her to you because I stopped loving her.

I give her to you because, since the beginning of time,

she�s been yours.

All that is written must be accomplished.

Go now. Get out, all of you. I want to stay alone with her.

You�re the greatest and noblest man I ever met, Harun al Raschid.

Why do you cry? You�re going to enter the gardens of bliss

where every flower grows again as soon as you pluck it.

I want to see your smile one last time, Sh�h�razade.

You could take everything from me, and you gave me everything.

You just had to open your hand for me to roll into darkness

and you closed it to keep me safe.

I, who brought only shame to you.

Why did God give me only one heart?

I would have loved you,

and I did nothing but hurt you. Forgive me.

I forgave you in advance the first time I saw you.

Leave me now. Night is about to fall and I still have many things to do.

But what is it? Are you wounded? You must call...

It�s useless. They all know it. I�m going to die, Sh�h�razade.

I wish I could hide it from you until the end, but I can�t.

Leave me now, I want to be alone.

May peace be with you, Sh�h�razade.

May peace be with you, Harun al Raschid.

My God, everything is accomplished.

I just have to walk over the great bridge that leads to you.

It�s as thin as a strand and as cutting as a saber.

Help me.

Translation: Goupil66 November 2011