Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale (23 page)

“But what about Father? Won’t we pass
him on our way back?”

“I will deal with Father when we see
him. Besides,” Adelaide added with a smile. “Father has never been one for
balls. He’ll be relieved his daughters will finally allow him to miss one.”

W
hen
Roderick crested the last hill on his journey home and his sister’s hut came
into view, he gave one last hearty kick to his horse’s flanks, urging him to
hasten his gallop. With his destination finally in sight, he was overcome with
impatience to see Liesel again.

Today was the day of the ball. The day
he had promised to ask Liesel to marry him. But before he swept her away to the
ball, there was much he needed to explain to her.

Smoke curled from the chimney, and
Roderick was relieved not only to find that he had arrived early enough to see
Liesel before she had departed to go to the castle for the day, but he was also
glad that it appeared that Liesel had moved into the hut. By this time, Maria
should have returned to the castle and there was no reason for Liesel to have to
brave the barn any longer when she could have all of the warmth and comforts of
the hut.

After he had jumped from his horse and
secured the reins to the front gate, he dashed into the hut with a ready smile
on his face, but it quickly transformed into a frown.

“Maria, what are you doing here?” he
exclaimed as he skidded to a halt, his eyes falling on his sister, sitting
alone in the room in her rocking chair. “Shouldn’t you be at the castle?”

Her eyes were full of sadness, and a
foreboding feeling settled upon him.

“What is wrong, Maria. Out with it,” he
ordered impatiently.

“I came late last night to collect a few
things I had forgotten, but then I couldn’t return to the castle. Not after I
made the discovery … not until I could tell you …”

“What has happened?” he demanded to
know. He prayed it had nothing to do with Liesel.

“She is gone,” Maria replied quietly,
allowing the revelation to sink in before she explained, “Liesel stole your jar
full of coins and has fled.”

“I don’t believe it,” he replied, angry
Maria would even suggest such a notion.

“It is true,” Maria insisted, rising to
her feet. “There can be no mistake. I searched the barn as well. There is no
trace of her.”

Maria ran forward to stop him as
Roderick turned toward the door.

“Where are you going?” she cried,
grabbing his arm.

“To the castle. Perhaps she just slept
in the kitchen.”

“With her coins? Why would she do that?
Roderick, she is gone. She has probably run away with that Prince Cornelius who
wanted to take her. I am very, very sorry, but it is true. She has left you.”

“Then I must find her,” he answered,
pulling his arm from his sister’s grasp.

“You can’t just steal her away from
another prince!” Maria exclaimed, growing frantic as Roderick continued forward
and opened the door. “That could start a war, and Father would never forgive
you for that!”

Roderick paused with his hand on the
door handle and turned back, saying in a low voice, “Even Father knows there
are some battles worth fighting. And I won’t let Liesel slip away so easily.”

“Father will object to this,” Maria
insisted, rushing forward. “He does not like her. He has never liked her.”

Roderick chose to ignore her, opening
the door instead.

“Why do you think he sent you away to
take care of that dam?” she screeched.

“What are you implying?” Roderick
inquired, closing the door and turning back to face her, his look turning dark.

Maria took an involuntary step back.

“What do you know of his motives?” he
pressed, his voice rising. “Answer me, Maria!”

“I wrote to him. You were losing your
heart. You promised you wouldn’t. I wrote Father and told him …”

Roderick growled and spun away from her.
“Why would you do that, Maria? You have wronged Liesel and betrayed me by
presenting such a story. What possessed you to do such a thing?”

“I did it for your own good, Brother.
You have been so blinded by her beauty and charm, you have lost all sense of
your duty. You are our people’s future king. They deserve better!”

“You are right,” he responded, exerting
himself with all the control he possessed to maintain some semblance of
composure. “I
am
the future king of Brenhausen. And you would do well to
remember that. Never meddle in my affairs again,” he warned, his voice
conveying an unmistakable threat.

“Roderick, please don’t do this. When
you can choose from dozens of other princesses tonight at the ball, why must
you insist on her?”

Maria didn’t deserve an explanation, but
he still felt obligated to defend himself. At least for Liesel’s sake.

“I don’t want any of the other princesses,
Maria. How can you think I could be so unfeeling? I love Liesel and she is the
only princess that I want. And because of that, I will go to any length to find
her.”

“Roderick-”

“Unless you can tell me where she has
fled, our conversation is finished. Do you know where she has gone?”

“I really think she has run away with
the other prince,” Maria answered, her petulant face staring at the ground.

Roderick briefly closed his eyes as
anger and jealousy swept through him. He then opened the door again and paused
to say, “You have committed a terrible trespass, Maria. For your sake, you
better pray that I find her.”

Roderick pushed his horse to his limits
as he charged up the hill toward the castle. When he arrived at the royal
stables, a servant grasped for the reins, and Roderick didn’t waste time giving
any orders as he leapt from his horse and charged into the castle, leaving the
servant speechless and stunned behind him.

After sprinting through the halls, he
took the stairs two at a time until he had wound his way up to reach his
father’s private quarters.

“His Majesty requested no interruptions
this morning,” one of the soldiers guarding the door tried to explain as
Roderick reached for the door handle.

“He can make an exception,” Roderick replied
curtly. Throwing open the heavy doors, he then barged into the room.

“I see you have returned,” King Carl
noted, glancing up from a map spread on the table. “What is the status of the
dam rupture?”

Roderick took a deep breath to calm his
temper before he answered evenly, “The dam did not burst. The rumors
exaggerated the situation. The water levels were indeed rising, so we evacuated
all of the people and herds to higher ground as a precautionary measure. Only
three goats are unaccounted for.”

“Excellent.”

“Father, why did you send me?” Roderick
asked, placing a hand on his father’s map.

The king looked up with eyebrows raised.
“Because you are the crown prince! Who better to look after the people?”

“Maria told me you sent me because of
her letter.”

The king muttered something under his
breath and then straightened to his full height.

“And what else did my loose-lipped
daughter say?”

“Little worth repeating. But I do need
to know if you know anything about where Liesel has gone.”

“She has left then?”

“It appears that way.”

“Good.”

Roderick clenched his fists, but
refrained from saying what he wished he could say.

“I wasn’t aware she had left,” the king
admitted, “but I can’t deny that I am happy she did. She is a spoiled,
head-strong young lady. She wouldn’t make you a proper wife at all.”

“And I suppose you and Maria are more
capable of determining who would make me a proper wife than me?”

“Settle down, Son. Time will help you
see things more clearly. I should have never agreed to your needless and foolish
plan. I should have seen there was more to it than simply concern for the young
woman’s future,” King Carl lamented. He then folded his arms and leaned back
against the wall. “Maria lived with the young woman for a month. She would not
have written her letter if you had not been in jeopardy of placing your affections
where they were not deserved.”

“I will not listen to such slander any
longer,” Roderick replied, his jaw clenching before he asked again, barely
keeping his anger in check, “All I want to know is—do you know why she left or
where she has gone?”

The king stared him down for a few long
seconds before admitting, “No, I know nothing.”

“You did not send her away on any
unnecessary excursions?”

A muscle jumped along the king’s jaw,
and his eyes narrowed in warning. “My patience is quickly fading, son. Do not
use that tone with me.”

“I would not have asked it if it were
not a valid question,” Roderick responded. He then turned from his father, and
began taking long strides toward the door.

“Where are you going?” the king called
after him. “Do not forget your part of our bargain! I agreed to let you spend a
month to help Richmond’s daughter, because you promised you would pick a bride
at Maria’s ball!”

Roderick turned on his heels to face his
father again. “I have not forgotten any of that and I am ready to keep my
promise. But first I must retrieve my choice.”

“You are not really intent on making
Richmond’s spoiled daughter the queen of Brenhausen, are you?”

“You never qualified that you had to
agree with my choice—only that I had to make my decision today,” Roderick
reminded the king. The hard lines of his face then softened and he added, “But
I have hope you will soon see that you have been grossly misled by Maria, and
that your concerns about Liesel’s character are unfounded. She is my equal, and
I intend for Liesel to be my wife.”

Roderick didn’t wait for a reply, but
immediately exited the room and traveled down through the castle until he
reached the kitchen.

Hilda took a break from her many chores
to greet him with a smile. “Welcome home, Your Highness. I’m glad you are
safely returned from the dam.”

“Thank you,” he answered, his eyes
sweeping over the kitchen. When he didn’t find Liesel, he asked, “Have you seen
Liesel today?”

“I have not,” Hilda answered. “I
presumed she was home in bed. She looked quite ill yesterday.”

Roderick’s heartrate accelerated as his
worry increased. Liesel was not only missing, but could possibly be sick or
hurt by now too.

“Do you know what caused her ailment?” he
asked, taking the old woman’s plump shoulders in his hands. 

Hilda shook her head. “I don’t know. I
sent her to retrieve some platters from the dining hall and she returned
looking as pale as a corpse.”

“I’d rather you’d refrain from such
comparisons,” Roderick answered more brusquely than the kind woman deserved. He
then turned as the back door to the kitchen swung open and Albert walked
through.

“Have you seen Liesel?” Roderick asked
again, releasing Hilda. He hoped Albert would finally be able to offer him some
answers. His patience was wearing thin.

“Is she not at the hut?” Hilda
interjected, looking between the two men.

“She is gone,” Roderick replied. “And
all of her belongings have disappeared as well.”

Albert shook his head and rubbed the
white whiskers along his jaw. “This doesn’t make any sense. She asked me to
sell her silver buckles and get as many coins as possible …. I thought she
wanted to fill the jar so you two could be married. It wouldn’t be very smart
to ask for so many coins if she planned on hauling them a long way.”

“Perhaps she hasn’t gone too far then,”
Roderick mumbled, sighing with relief.

He then clasped Albert’s shoulder and
stated, “But I have to find her before the ball. Will you help me, Albert?”

Smiling, the old man placed his own hand
on Roderick’s shoulder, and declared, “You never have to ask.”