"This little trinket is for you." Li Xiang returned to Erin’s ancestral home and handed her a scepter, its top inlaid with a massive diamond.
"It’s beautiful." Erin clearly had a discerning eye. After a quick glance, she exclaimed, "Is this the scepter of Elizabeth II?"
She couldn’t be mistaken, because this scepter was a legend throughout all of Europe. The diamond set in it alone was a full 530 carats.
On June 2, 1953, Elizabeth II held her coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, officially becoming the Queen of England.
She held this very scepter, which not only symbolized the glory of the royal family but also carried with it a legend of history and jewels.
The King of England’s Scepter was first created in 1661, custom-made for the coronation of King Charles II of England. At that time, however, the scepter was not set with such a large diamond.
This diamond is the largest in the world, known as the "Star of Africa I," weighing 530.2 carats—larger than an egg.
The British royal family didn’t acquire the rough diamond until 1907.
In 1905, a rough diamond weighing 3,106 carats—the Cullinan—was discovered in South Africa. The value of this rough diamond was estimated at 7.5 billion US Dollars. As South Africa was a British colony at the time, it was unanimously decided that the massive diamond should be sent to London and presented to King Edward VII.
However, such a colossal diamond naturally attracted the attention of major jewel thieves around the world. In the end, the London police decided to mail the rough diamond, which was as large as an eggplant, in an unmarked package. A month later, the diamond appeared in a royal mailbag at Buckingham Palace.
In February 1908, the massive diamond was cleaved into nine large pieces. The total weight of the finished, cut diamonds was 1,063.65 carats, all of which belonged to the British royal family. The largest of these was named the "Star of Africa I," which is the diamond set in the King of England’s Scepter.
Erin: "My dear Li, this gift is too precious. I, I..."
"It’s fine. It was a zero-dollar purchase." Li Xiang waved his hand and said, "Have you forgotten I’m the world’s greatest thief?"
Erin smiled, pressing her lips together. Her slender fingers traced the cross-shaped indentation at the top of the scepter—where the Saint Edward’s Sapphire was once set. Now, only a natural fissure shaped like an iris remained.
"This is the grip’s curve, adjusted for Queen Victoria’s coronation..." She suddenly twisted a hidden clasp at the base, revealing a gilded inner wall strikingly engraved with a crest of intertwined Tudor Roses and Irises.
Erin suddenly leaped onto the Bronze Astrolabe on her tiptoes. The grinding of gears sped up and slowed down with the twirl of her skirt. She held the Queen’s Scepter, and under the lights, the massive "Star of Africa I" diamond refracted brilliant rays of light. Erin’s clear, crisp voice rippled under the dome, as if she were singing:
"The dark night steals the Queen’s halo,
Iris and Rose intertwine at the scepter’s crown.
When twelve streams of Mithril sink to the Seine’s floor,
A lonely Alchemy Heart grows roots of rose.
You stole more than Buckingham Palace’s morning star;
A five-hundred-carat cone of light pierces the Tudor Rose’s seal.
The Merovingian name, uncarved at the coronation,
Is now sprouting into form between my collarbone and my third rib.
...
Now I shed my metal plumage, unfurling as a butterfly,
And in the inverted galaxy of your eyes, reclaim my world."
After reciting the magnificent poem of several hundred French words, Erin’s eyes filled with deep affection. She leaped down from the tall astrolabe, her long skirt fluttering. Li Xiang raised his arms and caught her in a princess carry. Erin wrapped one arm around Li Xiang’s neck while her other hand, impossibly soft, gently roamed across his chest.
Li Xiang couldn’t help but say, "Do you French people also like to break into poetry at the drop of a hat? And climb up so high?" It reminded him of Tang Bohu.
Erin: "This is my way of thanking you. Not just with poetry, but also with..."
"With what else?"
"Close your eyes."
When Li Xiang closed his eyes, a pair of delicate, soft lips pressed against his.