Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale (27 page)

Roderick nodded and squeezed Liesel’s
hand reassuringly. She tried to mask her anxiety with a smile, but it
evaporated when she glanced past him to see Maria standing in the center of a nearby
group of people watching them with interest. Maria’s eyes were like two
smoldering coals, and Liesel instinctively gripped Roderick’s hand even tighter,
worried she might shrivel under the heat of Maria’s stare.

How grateful she was that her future
with Roderick wasn’t completely dependent upon Maria’s approval. She wouldn’t
stand a chance.

Liesel turned back to look at Maria one
more time before they exited the room, and she was filled with a surprising
amount of pity for the young woman. Poor Maria. This ball was being held in her
honor, but instead of enjoying the festivities, the princess was going to be
nothing but miserable tonight if she couldn’t overcome her obsession with
tormenting Liesel.

The soldiers led Roderick and Liesel
through several winding hallways and up a long flight of stairs before they
finally reached the king’s chamber.

However, when they entered the room they
found not only King Carl and his wife waiting for them, but Liesel’s father was
also there, standing against a far wall with his arms casually folded across
his chest. Liesel exchanged a nervous look with him, but she noted that his face
was laced with a bit of amusement as well.

She released a small sigh of relief,
grateful to see he was not angry.

King Carl waved the soldiers away, but
before they slipped from the room, Roderick stopped them and quietly ordered,
“I need you to send some soldiers to travel the road to Pozlow to retrieve
Albert. He’s probably more than half way there by now.”

The soldiers nodded and left to do his
bidding and Liesel whispered to him, “What is Albert doing on the road to
Pozlow?”

“We were searching for you. But we will
talk about that later,” Roderick quietly explained before he turned back to
face his father.

King Carl’s gaze dropped from his son’s
face to the couple’s clasped hands and he sighed. Shaking his head, he finally
addressed his son, “Can’t I implore you to reconsider this decision?”

Roderick shook his head. “My mind is
made up, Father.”

King Carl growled and slammed his fist
down on the table at his side. His wife placed a calming hand on his arm, but
he ignored her.

“She rejected you!” King Carl reminded
his son, his voice quickly turning into a bellow. “She insulted our monarchy
and our kingdom! And now you want to marry her and give her it all?”

“You
must
let me apologize for
that,” Liesel entreated, stepping forward. “My behavior was inexcusable that
night. I never should have said such things, especially since I was so grievously
ill-informed.” She gulped, and even though she was terrified to confront the
mighty king, she continued, “I have since learned my hasty judgments couldn’t
be any farther from the truth.”

Instead of calming the king, her apology
only infuriated him further and he shook with barely restrained anger as he
answered, “And now that you’ve seen our kingdom, you’ve conspired to claim it!”

Liesel felt tears burning at the back of
her eyes, but she forced them away. Mustering all of her courage to answer the
livid king, she argued, “Forgive me, King Carl, but that is simply not true. I
was completely unaware of Roderick’s true identity when I fell in love with
him, and in fact, I was willing to give up any hope of returning to my family
or home ever again so that I could marry him. I was willing to be a beggar if
it meant I could spend the rest of my life with Roderick.”

She briefly looked at Roderick for
reassurance. The love and support she saw in his eyes was just what she needed
to turn back to his father and finish, “Your kingdom is indeed magnificent,
King Carl. Again, I cannot even describe the piercing regret I feel every time
I recall that I ever insinuated otherwise, but it is not your kingdom that I
seek. It is your son that I love.”

Liesel felt a wave of relief when
Roderick’s mother offered her a small, encouraging smile, but King Carl
remained silent and contemplative at her side.

Liesel held her breath while she waited
for King Carl to finally respond, but the doors burst open and Maria barged
into the room, effectively cutting him off.

“You cannot let him marry her, Father!”
Maria shouted, pointing a shaking finger at Liesel.

Liesel’s father straightened, and looked
like he was about to speak, but King Carl spoke first.

“Maria! How dare you barge in here! I
know you are concerned, but your behavior is unacceptable. Please leave at
once.”

Maria folded her arms and answered, “I
refuse to leave, Father. I can’t just walk away from this room and let Roderick
convince you to let him marry this … this deceiver!”

Roderick angrily stepped forward to
confront his sister, but he froze when a small chuckle drifted from the side of
the room. Everyone turned to see King Richmond smiling in the corner. Liesel
felt her temper flare. How could her father think Maria’s attacks were amusing?

“And what do you suddenly find so
amusing, Richmond?” King Carl spat.

King Richmond shrugged his shoulders and
smirked. “I’m just relieved to see that you and I have more in common than we previously
thought.”

King Carl’s face darkened, and his wife
hurried to speak first. “Maria, if you have something important to say, then
you better say it quickly.”

Maria’s chin shook, but she declared to
the room with her chin held high in the air, “I lived with Liesel for a month.
And for four weeks I had to helplessly watch this spoiled pretender trick my
brother into falling in love with her, and I can’t remain silent now and watch
her play out the rest of her scheme.”

“Maria,” Liesel answered, barely keeping
her anger in check. “We both know that you did not stand idly by during these
last few weeks,” she noted, the corner of her mouth twisting wryly. “I’m more
aware of how you passed the time than you know so
if
you want to start a
conversation about spoiled pretenders, I’m more than happy to oblige, but I
think we both know that that wouldn’t end well for you.”

“What do you mean by that?” King Carl
demanded to know, his eyes narrowed.

Liesel watched the panic spread across
Maria’s face, but then Liesel turned back to face King Carl and shook her head.
“It’s beside the point of our current conversation, so I’ll let Maria elaborate
later if she so desires,” she said with one last look toward Maria.

Liesel cleared her throat and then continued,
“King Carl, I can see that you have already received an opinion about my
character, but in your wisdom, I trust you will consider all possible sources
before you make your final decision. If you want to know my heart, I petition
you to ask my family, the people who have known me my entire life. Or you can
ask Albert and Hilda—the ones that worked at my side every day for the past
month.”

Liesel smiled at Roderick and was again fortified
by the love she saw in his eyes, and she added, “Or ask your son—the man you
raised to be a king.”

Straightening her shoulders, she turned
back to the king, boldly meeting his stare and finished, “Or ask me. I might
have a bit of a temper, and I am plagued by an infinite amount of stubbornness,
but if I am one thing, I am always honest. I would not lie to you.”

“Father,” Roderick finally spoke,
stepping forward to stand at Liesel’s side again. “I am sorry that I did not
have more time to properly prepare you for this. My expedition to the north
unfortunately came at a most inopportune time,” he said, glancing quickly at
Maria. “But I hope you will approve of my choice. I’m confident I could never
find a better match.”

“Well,” the queen said after a brief
pause, looking around to address the room. “Perhaps we have all been a little
too hasty in our judgments of one another.”

“Gah,” King Carl exclaimed, turning away
in frustration. He turned back to point a finger at King Richmond, and accused,
“You are to blame in all of this! I should have known you would do anything to
procure the alliance you wanted.”

King Richmond shook his head. “You can’t
blame me, Carl. The betrothal was your son’s idea. And now it appears our
children have struck their own alliance, and I’m willing to give them my
blessing.”

“I bet you are,” King Carl muttered
under his breath.

The room stood in silence as everyone
watched as King Carl paced back and forth, deliberating.

It seemed like an eternity to Liesel
until he finally stopped and looked between her and Roderick again. His
expression was grim, but he asked his son, “Are you certain you are ready to
live with the consequences of your choice?”

“I am, Father.”

The king shook his head. “Your marriage
will affect not only you, but your future children and the kingdom as well. Are
you certain you have given that enough consideration?”

“I am. And I am ready to stand by my
choice.”

“Father,” Maria entreated, walking
forward. “Don’t-”

But the king held up a hand to silence
her. “Enough, Maria.”

“Father,” she pleaded again.

King Carl looked at her sternly and then
suggested, “Perhaps one year as a peasant was not enough time for you to learn
all of the lessons I expected you to learn.”

Maria’s jaw dropped in a dramatic gasp,
but her mother rushed forward to her aid. “We can discuss that later, Carl.”

“Of course, Emma,” King Carl answered,
nodding to his wife. He then looked back at Roderick. “I raised you to be a
king, Roderick. Despite my great reservations to this match, I still trust you
and I will reluctantly allow you to make your own choice in this matter.”

Roderick’s chest heaved with relief and
he clutched Liesel’s hand again. “I’m still certain of my choice.”

“Then you have my blessing,” King Carl
answered in a monotone voice, dismissing them with a wave. “We will make the
announcement at midnight.”

“Thank you, Father,” Roderick replied.
King Carl only patted him on the shoulder as he passed by him, but his mother
stopped to envelop him in a hug.

After the queen pulled back, she turned
to Liesel and hugged her as well. Giving her a gentle squeeze, Queen Emma
whispered, “Don’t worry about Carl. I know my Roderick. He wouldn’t go to such
great lengths to secure your affections if you were not worth it.”

The queen then pulled away and patted
her cheek and Liesel smiled at her in relief. She was profoundly grateful to
have at least one other person in Roderick’s family believe in her.

The queen then looked to her daughter,
who was sulking in a nearby chair. “And you, Maria, come with me. We need to
have a talk.”

Maria’s brows knit together in a most
unattractive way, but she obediently followed her mother from the room.

Liesel’s father then approached the pair
and noted, “I see that more transpired during this last month than I realized.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” Roderick
spoke, his words coming out a little more quickly than usual. “I meant to speak
with you beforehand, but I was out searching the countryside for Liesel all
day. I hope you will forgive me for the surprise and allow me to marry your daughter.”

King Richmond smiled and clasped
Roderick’s shoulder. “Like I said before, you have my blessing.”

He then paused to look at Liesel and
then added to Roderick with a wink, “And my prayers.”

Roderick laughed, and Liesel shook her
head at her father. The man was incorrigible. She tried to reprove her father
with a stern look, but she couldn’t control her face and a smile ended up
slipping out.

Her father laughed heartily at her
failed attempt.  

Roderick chuckled as well, and raised
their clasped hands so he could quickly kiss the back of her hand. Liesel
leaned into him with a sigh and smiled again at the two men at her side.

She feared her heart might burst with
happiness.

It felt so wonderful to finally feel at
home again.

A
delaide
was sure she was the first person in the ballroom to notice when Roderick and
Liesel finally returned. She had kept a watchful eye, tirelessly scanning the
room, ever since she had stood frozen in shock as Roderick had charged from the
dancefloor with Liesel held close to his side.

Even though her careful watch had been
slightly impeded by the few dances she had been compelled to dance with various
partners (of whom she now remembered very little), she had persisted in her
search. She regretted the rudeness of her distracted state, but she couldn’t help
worrying over the couple, praying they would be able to overcome their
misunderstandings and finally achieve an accord.

Now, as the couple emerged through an
obscure pair of doors on the side of the room, Adelaide’s searching eyes easily
spotted them and swiftly settled on her sister’s face.

She only had to search for a second
before she released a deep sigh of relief.

Liesel was the picture of contentment,
and her face was filled with a serenity that Adelaide had not seen in her
sister for a very long time. In Liesel’s typical, guarded way, her mouth held
just a hint of a smile, but her eyes were overflowing with love and adoration
as she looked up at the handsome prince at her side.

There was no need to bother her sister
with any questions. It was clearly obvious that the couple had resolved
whatever had temporarily come between them.

And she was thrilled for them. Liesel
and Roderick looked perfect together.

She watched as Roderick pulled Liesel
farther into the room and then turned to make eye contact with the conductor in
the gallery up above. It took a few moments before Roderick was able to catch
his eye, but after he did, he gave the old man a subtle nod, and the conductor
obediently signaled for the song that they were currently performing to
transition to its conclusion.

There was just a brief pause before the
musicians started up again, and Adelaide raised a hand to her heart when she
recognized the song.

“The Waltz of the Purple Roses,” she
whispered.  Her mother’s favorite song.

She couldn’t imagine a better ending to
the entire affair, but she felt a twinge of sadness that her mother was not
there to witness it all as well. She would have to do her best to remember
every detail so she could relay it all to her mother later.

Adelaide watched Liesel and Roderick
dance for several minutes, smiling at the way they seemed to be blissfully unaware
that anyone else existed in the room around them.

She then looked around, and noticed
Roderick’s sister sulking in the corner of the room. She was not exactly sure
when the young woman had reappeared, but she was glad to notice her defeated
expression. The young woman had lost her threatening look, and Adelaide was
immensely relieved for her sister’s sake. She didn’t want anything dampening
Liesel’s new happiness.

However, Adelaide wasn’t about to leave
anything to chance. She silently vowed that as soon as Roderick and Liesel were
married, she would make it her sole ambition to ensure that Roderick’s sister
found her very own prince who could take her safely away from Liesel. And
preferably, he would live in a kingdom far, far,
far
away.

Her eyes moved on from Liesel’s antagonist,
and she continued to soak in her surroundings. Her mother would surely also want
to hear about the decorations. She would tell her how navy and silver reams of
fabric had been draped around the walls and small white flowers had been sprinkled
about the room like early winter snow.

She was almost finished committing every
detail to memory when her eyes swung back to Prince Cornelius standing several
feet away with his arms hung in defeat at his side.

Poor Prince Cornelius. The poor man
looked completely stunned by the swift change of events. He had admired Liesel
for so long and his eternal optimism had undoubtedly been painfully vanquished
the moment Liesel had returned with Roderick looking so blissfully in love.

Adelaide inhaled a deep breath, and
pushed back her shoulders. Now that Liesel was finally submitting to the idea of
marriage, Adelaide was at last free to consider the possibility for herself.
She could finally do what she had wanted to do for years now.

She wove through the few guests that
separated them and stopped to stand at Prince Cornelius’s side. His eyes were
fixed on Liesel and Roderick, and she patted his arm.

“I’m sorry, Prince Cornelius. We are all
surprised about Liesel and Prince Roderick, but I’m sure it’s even more
surprising for you.”

Prince Cornelius continued to stare at
the couple and shook his head. “I underestimated Prince Roderick as a rival.
The monarchs of Brenhausen have a reputation of avoiding war at all costs, and
I misinterpreted that as a sign of weakness. I should have suspected he was
capable of unconventional methods to procure what he wants. How did this
happen? I saw your sister living here as a beggar, betrothed to a minstrel just
two weeks ago.”

“I’m not sure, Prince Cornelius,”
Adelaide answered, shrugging her shoulders. “But you are right … something must
have happened, because they currently seem very much attached to one another
now.”

Prince Cornelius continued to watch
Liesel for several long, silent moments before he finally tore his gaze away to
look down at Adelaide. She silently noted with a barely discernible sigh that
he had looked at her at exactly the right moment for she had just resolved to
slip away, but his sudden words kept her where she stood. “Forgive me, Princess
Adelaide. My manners have been remiss. Would you care to dance?”

A small ember of hope began to warm her
heart. She had admired Prince Cornelius for years, and had struggled to keep
her feelings concealed while he had pursued her sister. But now he was free.

And she hoped his heart wouldn’t take too
long to heal.

“I would love to dance with you,” she
answered, feeling her heart swell within her.

He offered her his hand, but she paused
as she tried to rally her courage to finally place her hand in his. She had
dreamed of this moment for so long and now she was nervous to cross such a
threshold into the future.

Taking a deep breath, she finally gave
him her hand, and her face instantly transformed into a radiant smile as his
fingers wrapped around hers.

There was no need to worry … Their hands
were a perfect fit.