Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale (24 page)

A
delaide
caressed her sister’s tangled hair in her lap as Liesel slept, curled on the
seat beside her. The worried lines on Liesel’s face were quickly fading, and
Adelaide was glad when she finally heard the deep, rhythmic breathing that
indicated Liesel had fully surrendered to sleep.

She felt like weeping when she
contemplated her sister’s heartbreaking situation. Dearest Liesel. The girl who
had vowed to never marry. Who had always kept her heart so carefully guarded.
Why did she of all people have to be hurt so deeply?

Adelaide brushed a few stray hairs from
her sister’s face and looked down at her with concern. She dearly hoped Liesel
would be able to heal. It would be utterly tragic if she now locked away her
heart forever.

She watched her sister sleep, still
struggling to process the surprise that Liesel had actually been willing to
marry a peasant. That alone was proof of just how much Liesel must have fallen
in love with the man. Adelaide shook her head. Surely the prince must have
recognized her feelings. Why hadn’t he shown more compassion?

There were so many questions Adelaide
still yearned to ask, but she couldn’t justify forcing Liesel to stay awake just
to satisfy her curiosity. Liesel looked as wretched as her poor, tattered
shoes.

She wondered how Liesel had discovered
the truth. If the prince had told her, had he at least done it delicately? And
if he possessed any sense of chivalry, why had he let her return to her home
without a horse, or in the least, an escort for protection?

Adelaide clenched her teeth together.
The prince was certainly lucky that she was not the crowned regent. In her
opinion, his behavior constituted an offense worthy of war. Even if the plans
had been devised in concert with Liesel’s own father, the prince had allowed
things to go too far.

Adelaide shook her head. Poor Liesel.
She had never done anything so terrible as to deserve such a bitter punishment.

She sighed and turned her gaze to the
passing trees. She watched for quite a long time, not really paying much
attention to the scenery. She was too absorbed in her thoughts. 

Eventually, her legs fell numb from
siting in the same position too long and she shifted in her seat to sit more
comfortably. Her leg accidentally knocked over Liesel’s satchel and she bent to
gather the spilled contents.

She retrieved a faded shawl, a comb and
something a little larger that felt like a canvas. Overcome with curiosity,
wondering what picture could be so important that her sister would haul it around,
she picked it up and turned the canvas over.

She gasped. The minstrel!

She touched the picture with reverence
as she studied her sister’s heart so blatantly revealed in the small painting.
How she must have loved him to paint him with so much care! It was perfect!
Just as she had remembered seeing him that day he had sang for her family.

But there was one distinct difference.

His face.

It was still just as handsome, but
instead of the unmistakable disdain he had shown when he had been ordered to
marry Liesel, he wore an expression of pure adoration. Adelaide looked between
the picture and her slumbering sister with more than a little confusion. No one
could ever fake such a look. Surely he loved her as well. What had happened?

She bit her lip. She wanted to let her
sister sleep, but she was bursting with questions now. And something inside her
was sure the questions were better asked sooner than later.

She moved to sit across from her sister
before she reached over and shook Liesel’s shoulder.

“Liesel? Liesel?” she called softly.

Liesel’s eyes fluttered open. She
squinted as she looked around the carriage and back at Adelaide, reluctantly
trying to shake off her slumber. “What’s wrong?” Liesel asked.

“Liesel, did the prince tell you that he
didn’t love you?”

“What?” Liesel questioned groggily. “Why
do you-” Her eyes fell to the canvas Adelaide clutched at her stomach, and
suddenly looking very much awake, she quickly sat up and snatched it back.

Adelaide watched her sister hastily
stuff it back into her satchel, wishing she didn’t have to be the one to cause
her sister more distress. But she couldn’t see any possible way to avoid it.

“I didn’t want anyone to see that,”
Liesel scolded.

“I didn’t mean to pry, but it fell out
of your bag …” Adelaide replied with only a hint of remorse. “Liesel, I don’t
understand. You love him, and I can’t help but feel when I look at his face
that he loves you too.”

“I must have painted what I wanted to
believe,” Liesel replied, looking out the window.

“What did he say when you told him you
were leaving?”

“I didn’t give him any chance to say
anything. I left without telling him.”

Adelaide reached over and clasped her
sister’s hands in her own. “Who told you that he didn’t love you?” she asked.

Liesel sighed. “His sister.”

Adelaide felt hope begin to bubble
within her. “But did you confirm her assertion with him?”

Liesel shook her head. “I couldn’t. He
was away, helping with a ruptured dam.”

“Then it might not be true!” Adelaide
cried, giving a shake to Liesel’s hands.

“Adelaide, please,” Liesel replied,
tugging her hands away.

“Could his sister have had any reason to
lie?”

Liesel didn’t say anything so Adelaide
pressed, “Did she like you?”

“No … she hated me,” Liesel reluctantly admitted.

“Then she probably was just trying to
separate you from her brother! Liesel, don’t you see?”

Liesel shook her head and argued, “But
it’s more than just whether he loved me or not. He tricked me! He deceived me into
thinking the betrothal was real. And now I can never know just how much of what
I remember is him only playing a part.”

“You could ask him,” Adelaide replied
with a nod.

“You don’t understand,” Liesel argued.
“My heart couldn’t bear it.”

“Can your heart bear running away
without ever learning the truth?” Adelaide remained silent for several seconds
and then asked, “In the least, don’t you want to show his hateful sister that
you can’t be bested?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s go to her ball! Wouldn’t the best
revenge be to outshine her at her own celebration?” Adelaide asked, finally
earning a hint of a smile from her sister. She could see her sister softening
so she continued, “And if the prince was only being a deceitful imposter the
entire time, then you can show him and his family that you are not so easily
injured.”

“But that’s not true …”

“But they don’t need to know that,”
Adelaide answered with a smile.

“It would be easier to just return
home,” Liesel contended.

“True, but that’s not our family’s way,
is it?” she replied with a knowing look.

Liesel folded her arms. “I think you
have learned to enjoy battles just as much as Father.”

Adelaide winked. “I think we both do.
Which is why I think we should finish this and win.”

Liesel looked out the window and
remained silent so long, Adelaide was worried she would drift back to sleep
before she finally answered. But eventually, she turned back toward her and
noted with a wry smile, “I don’t think Maria will feel threatened if I show up
wearing such a dress.”

Adelaide waved a hand in the air. “You
should know me better than that. I never go anywhere without at least a dozen
dresses to choose from.” She leaned forward, a smile spreading on her face and
offered temptingly, “If you agree, I’ll even let you choose first.”

Liesel frowned. “I remember the last
time you made me such an offer. It’s ironic that if I had only accepted you
then instead of wearing that horrendous peasant dress, I could have avoided all
of this mess.”

“So hopefully you have sufficiently
learned your lesson to trust my judgment and accept my offers,” Adelaide professed
with confidence.

“You’re not planning on relenting, are
you?” Liesel questioned with a bit of a grimace.

“I think you should at least hold the
prince and his family accountable for what they’ve done. Even if it is hard.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

“Which is why I will stay by your side
the entire time.”

Liesel folded her arms, and seemed to
fight a battle within until she finally replied with a sigh, “Alright. I
concede.”

Adelaide smiled and waved an arm out the
window to beckon one of the soldiers to draw near.

“Please tell the driver there’s been a
change of plans,” she ordered in an imperial voice. “We wish to return to Brenhausen
at once.”

She then turned back toward Liesel with
a smug expression and finished, “We will
both
be attending the ball.”

C
linging
to the hope that Albert was right that Liesel wouldn’t have had plans to travel
far with so many coins, Roderick and Albert focused their search to the city
during the morning. They traversed each road, searching every inn and path,
leaving no area untouched. Roderick called her name through the marketplace in
case she happened to be inside one of the many merchant tents lining the roads.
He hoped that she had only discovered an acquaintance from her old kingdom that
she wished to now visit, but after searching the marketplace twice over,
Roderick was confident she wasn’t in the city.

“I don’t understand it, Sire,” Albert
lamented to him when they had reunited again near the castle. “Where could she
have gone? And why would she have left? I truly thought she had asked for the
coins so that she could give them to you. And I still don’t think I’m mistaken
about that.”

“Something must have happened,” Roderick
mumbled, looking up at the castle. He had hoped it wouldn’t be the case, but he
had an unsettling feeling that either Maria or his father had been untruthful
with him. One of them must have done or said something to send Liesel running.
And if he had to choose, after the way Liesel had obviously been afraid of his
sister during the last few weeks, he suspected it was Maria.

Roderick yanked on his horse to turn
toward the road that led to Levenstein. If Maria had lied to him before, he
couldn’t exactly trust her assertion that Liesel had run off with Prince
Cornelius now. But the prince was the person that Liesel had petitioned to help
her leave before, so it was not unthinkable that she might have done such a
thing again.

And although it made his blood boil hot
under his skin to consider that particular possibility, he had to admit it was
preferable to the alternative of her running off into the woods alone and
without protection.

However, considering her stubborn
determination, that was quite a likely possibility too and it needed to be speedily
addressed for the sake of her safety.

He pointed toward the other direction
and shouted to Albert, “I think we had better separate again. I’ll ride toward
Levenstein, and you can take the road to Pozlow in case she has decided to
return home.”

“Are you sure that’s wise, Sire?”

“What do you mean?”

“What will you do if you do find the
prince and discover he has taken Liesel?”

“I won’t do anything to start a war, if that
is what you are worried about,” Roderick replied tersely. “But if the prince
has her, then you can be certain that I want to be the one to find her.”

“As you wish, Sire,” Albert replied with
a nod. He then obediently turned his horse and charged off the other way.

Roderick kept his gaze fixed on the road
ahead as he leaned forward and pressed his horse to travel faster. He tried to
keep his temper in check as he imagined what he
would
do if he did end
up discovering that Prince Cornelius had been the one to take Liesel from him.

He clenched his teeth together and
pushed that unsavory thought from his mind. Perhaps it really would have been
more prudent to allow Albert to be the one to travel the Levenstein road.

But he didn’t really care about being prudent
now.

He couldn’t afford to leave anything to
chance. Especially given the likelihood that the prince would be accompanied by
armed soldiers, he couldn’t entrust Liesel’s retrieval to an old man when his
strength might be needed.

And he was ready to use it.

He was willing to do anything to find
and bring Liesel back to the ball.

A
fter
their carriage arrived at the castle in Brenhausen, Liesel and Adelaide were
immediately ushered upstairs to one of the palace’s many guest rooms so they
could change and prepare for the ball.

Adelaide shooed away the young maids who
offered them their assistance, and then bolted the door tightly closed.

Only then, when they were finally alone
again, did Liesel remove the cloak Adelaide had loaned her and passed it back
with a sigh. “Thank you for allowing me to borrow this.”

“It was for my own sake,” Adelaide
replied, casually shrugging her shoulders. “Rumors would have spread like
wildfire if it appeared I had such a wretched looking servant. People would
have assumed I was a cruel and overbearing mistress. I was more than happy to
conceal your shabby appearance, if only for my own reputation.”

Liesel didn’t bother offering her sister
a reply. Her attention was too arrested by the sight of a large tub brimming
with fresh water next to the wall across the room.

“A bath.” Liesel whispered the words
with reverence.

“And I doubt anyone has ever needed one
more than you,” Adelaide teasingly replied. She then hooked her arm around
Liesel’s and pulled her toward the warm water. “And to demonstrate just how
much I love you, I will even let you bathe first.”

Liesel shook her head. She hadn’t had a
decent bath in a month. Her conscience would not permit her to bathe first.

“Please, Liesel,” Adelaide entreated.
“The room will smell so much better if you do.”

“The water will not be suitable for
anything else after I bathe,” Liesel protested.

Adelaide smiled and waved a hand in the
air. “Which is why I will have one of the royal family’s countless servants
bring me fresh water when you are done! There’s plenty of time. Go on. The
water will only grow cold if you delay.”

With her concerns allayed, Liesel
hastened to slip into the bath. She breathed deeply as the water enveloped her,
grateful for the relief it brought to her aching limbs. Closing her eyes, she
rested her head against the back of the tub. It was just as wonderful as she
had dreamed it would be.

When her hair was washed and her skin
was scrubbed clean, Adelaide handed her one of her casual dresses, which she
quickly slipped over her head. Adelaide then suggested she take a nap, and
Liesel more than willingly obliged. Burying her face into the soft blankets of
the bed, she listened as Adelaide left to order fresh water, but she fell
asleep too quickly to hear her return.

She slept until Adelaide finally shook
her shoulder. “I wish I could let you sleep a little longer, but I think it’s
time to start dressing if we are going to be ready in time.”

Liesel rubbed her eyes and then groggily
allowed her sister to pull her to sit on the floor in front of her chair.
Retrieving a brush on a nearby table,
Adelaide then commenced
the great task of trying to untangle the unruly mess hanging
from Liesel’s head. Normally, Liesel loved having her hair brushed, but as
Adelaide tugged and pulled her wet hair in every direction, she counted away
the moments, wondering if she would even have any hair left by the time
Adelaide was through.

When Liesel complained, Adelaide
protested, “There isn’t time to go about this delicately! Did you forget to
ever use that brush that’s in your bag?”

Liesel scowled. Of course she had
brushed her hair … It just hadn’t been a priority since she had started out on
her journey home the day before.

When the torturous hair-brushing was
complete, Liesel was able to finally relax as her sister wound her hair into
long braids. She closed her eyes and reveled in the calming sensations until
Adelaide finally declared her hair complete.

Liesel walked over to the mirror and
inspected her reflection. Adelaide had braided a crown around her head and then
had pinned several other long braids into a loose knot at the base of her
neck.  Her reflection certainly looked like a princess. She hardly recognized
herself.

“I would have loved to keep your hair
down since it always looks so pretty that way, but … well, it’s not exactly in
its most flattering of conditions right now …” Adelaide explained.

“It’s perfect,” Liesel complimented,
adding truthfully, “Even better than I had hoped.”

“And braiding your hair back does make
your eyes look exceedingly large and lovely. Now, all we need to do is find the
right dress and you will be utterly irresistible!”

“I’d rather just look confident, thank
you,” Liesel countered.

“It never hurts to be both,” Adelaide
replied with a wink as she opened her trunk of clothes. She rifled through a
few choices and then gasped in excitement.

“This!” Adelaide cried, pulling out a
light silvery-blue dress. It had long sleeves, a fitted bodice, and the silky
material had a subtle sheen that made it look like it sparkled in the light.
Adelaide ran back to Liesel and held it right below her face. “And it’s almost
the same color as your eyes, just a little lighter. You
have
to wear
this one.”

Liesel trusted her sister’s judgment and
donned the dress while Adelaide tried to choose her own dress. Eventually,
Adelaide settled on a pastel pink gown and emerged from behind the changing
curtain looking quite lovely herself.

Liesel was just finishing up tidying her
sister’s hair, when a knock sounded at the door. Liesel stiffened, and then
reached out to grasp Adelaide’s arm, halting her as she moved toward the door.

“Please don’t,” Liesel whispered, her
grip tightening.

“The door is locked. Whoever it is will
know someone is in here,” Adelaide whispered back and then ordered, “Go stand
over there, and I’ll see who it is. I promise I won’t let any of the royal
family inside.”  

Liesel held her breath as Adelaide
leaned against the door and questioned, “Who is it?”

“Adelaide, open this door. It’s your
father.”

“No,” Liesel mouthed, shaking her head.
She was indeed relieved it wasn’t Roderick or Maria, but she didn’t feel ready
to confront her father just yet. She needed a little more time to prepare for
it.

Adelaide looked at her helplessly and
held out her hands, conveying to Liesel that they didn’t really have any good
reason to keep him away.

“Adelaide!” her father pounded the door
again when Adelaide hadn’t opened it. “Aren’t you done changing yet?”

“Yes, Father, just one moment,” Adelaide
replied.

Adelaide gave Liesel an apologetic look
as she unbolted the door, but Liesel knew it wasn’t her sister’s fault. The
confrontation with their father was inevitable. She might as well practice
being courageous and face him now before she had to bravely face everyone else
at the ball.

“Adelaide, you look splendid,” King
Richmond boomed as he walked through the door and took Adelaide’s hands in his
own. “And I’m glad to see your cheeks looking so rosy and your eyes so
cheerful. Your mother and I were worried you had lost that smile of yours this
past month.” His smile broadened and he pinched her cheek affectionately. “I’m
sure you cannot wait to see your dear sister again.”

“Actually, Father, I have already found
her,” Adelaide answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She then pointed to the
corner and announced, “She’s right over there.”

Liesel felt like her heart might stop as
her father’s eyes locked with hers. She swallowed a nervous lump in her throat,
and tried to finish processing the exchange she had just heard. Adelaide had
been miserable without her and she could have sworn her father’s voice sounded
like he was excited to see her again.

“Liesel!” he greeted her. The tenderness
in his voice touched the deep places of her heart.

Liesel’s eyes immediately moistened with
tears, but she quickly blinked them back.

“Liesel?” he repeated, but this time
there was a question in his voice. Liesel was surprised that her proud father
could suddenly look so uncertain. After a long pause, he opened his arms to
her, and even though it wasn’t what she had imagined doing so many times during
the last month when she had tried to picture seeing her father again, she
immediately ran forward and collapsed into his embrace.

He stroked her hair gently, and then
pulled back to look down at her with a smile.

She was almost certain she could see
excess moisture in his eyes too.

“When did you find your sister? I wasn’t
expecting to see you until the ball.”

Adelaide saved Liesel from having to
force the lump from her throat and supplied, “I found her in the forest earlier
today.”

“What were you doing in the forest?”
King Richmond questioned.

“I was walking home,” Liesel answered,
finally finding her voice.

“Alone?” the king demanded to know, his
voice rising. “What happened? Where was Prince Roderick?”

Liesel turned away and folded her arms.
“Away. He was called to help with a ruptured dam. His sister, ever so helpful,
informed me after he left that my time here was complete. So I departed for
home.”

“They should have never let you leave on
your own!” King Richmond replied, his face flushing with anger. “Prince
Roderick gave his word he would look after you.”

“And he did,” Liesel admitted. “But
after he left, his sister told me that the betrothal was only an elaborate
scheme, and I didn’t really feel compelled to stay any longer.”

“I’m not happy about this at all,” the
king responded, still simmering over the fact that Liesel had been in the woods
alone.

She was touched by his protective
instincts, but Liesel couldn’t let the matter pass without confronting him
further about his part in the scheme.

“And I’m not really happy that I was not
only banished, but lied to as well. Why did you fabricate the betrothal,
father? Didn’t you care that I would feel betrayed by the lies? That I would be
the fool in it all?”

The king looked stunned by her words.
His eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head. “I never wanted to hurt you,
Liesel. You’re my eldest child, and you’re dearer to me than you’ll ever know.
I know it wasn’t a conventional punishment, and I’ve spent many a sleepless
night questioning that decision, but I had to do something to help you. As your
father, I couldn’t let you keep behaving in a way that was not in your best
interest. Not if I truly cared for you.”

Liesel hugged herself tightly and
glanced out the window. She understood now that her behavior had been wrong.
After all, how many times had she also lied awake at night feeling the sharp
regrets of her foolish moments that day of her father’s banquet?

But she still hated to find out that the
trust she only ever carefully bestowed had been betrayed. And she definitely
hated feeling like a fool.

Everyone stood silent for several long
moments before Liesel turned back and searched her father’s face. The
banishment had left her heart with deep wounds, but she hadn’t suspected before
now that the situation had been difficult for her father as well. His eyes were
now entreating her to try to understand him, silently begging her for
forgiveness.  

Searching further, she also saw the
unmistakable truth that he loved her. That he had always loved her.

And she suddenly felt very sorry that
she had been the cause of so much worry and pain.

Tears spilled down her cheeks and she
choked out, “I’m so sorry I wore that dress, Father.”

There was no hesitation on either of
their parts this time when he opened his arms again. She rushed forward and
immediately buried herself against him. He held her shaking frame as she let
out the tears she had bravely held within for so long.

“I love you, Liesel,” he whispered,
quickly kissing the top of her head. She tightened her arms in return.

Shortly after her tears subsided, eight
long peals rang from the castle’s high bells signaling the beginning of the
ball.

Her father pulled back and stated,
“Adelaide and I only came to collect you. If you want to go home, we can leave
now.”

Liesel opened her mouth to respond, but
Adelaide cut in, “No, no, I think we should stay, Liesel can’t miss the
princess’s ball.”

“Why is that?” the king questioned. “After
she let you walk through the forest all on your own, I think we should leave!”

Adelaide smiled, and walked over to wrap
an arm around Liesel’s shoulder. “And that is precisely why we must stay.”

The king’s eyes darted back and forth
between his daughters before his eyes finally settled on Liesel. “As much as I
wouldn’t mind saying a few choice words to King Carl and his children, I think
you’ve been through enough.”

Liesel squared her shoulders and
smoothed her dress. After wiping the tears from her face, she forced a smile,
and then asserted, “There’s no need for you to say anything to them. Our
dealings with them are finished. But we
are
all dressed and here, after
all. I am ready to go down.”