Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale (3 page)

Liesel shook her head. “I thank you, but
I actually prefer to ride alone. Perhaps Adelaide can keep you company until
your treaty council convenes.”

A glance at her sister filled Liesel
with shame as she read the disappointment etched across her sister’s face. She
inwardly cringed. Hopefully Adelaide would one day understand.

Having made everyone in the company
sufficiently uncomfortable with her presence, Liesel knew it was past time to
offer them some respite with her departure. “And now if you will excuse me, I
must find where the stable hands have moved my favorite horse.”

She then spun away from the pair without
waiting to see how her last comment had affected the young prince.

Perhaps it had been unnecessary to
slight his gift even more, but she reasoned that the sooner he adjusted his
expectations where she was concerned, the better.

But considering he was hailed far and
wide as “Cornelius the Young Conqueror,” such a task would not be easy. He was
just such an exasperatingly determined person.

She hoped she would find the other
prince, if he proved to have similar intentions, more amenable to rejection.

T
hat
afternoon when Liesel returned to her bedroom, she found Gretchen laying
several dresses out around the room.

“What do you think you are doing?” the
princess inquired.

“Time is short since you have dallied
the day away. We must now get you ready for the feast.”

“But what are you doing with my
dresses?”

“I’m trying to decide which one would be
best for you to wear tonight. There are so many to choose from, I’m having
trouble making up my mind … But I’m thinking I’m favoring this bluish-gray one.
It matches your eyes so perfectly.”

“Thank you, but I think I’d prefer to
select my own gown.”

Gretchen shrugged her plump shoulders.
“If you insist. But if I may say it, I must remind you that I have flawless
tastes in these matters.”

“I think I can manage such a task on my
own,” Liesel murmured as she rifled through one of the piles of dresses on her
bed.

“Just be sure you choose one of your
finest. Your father has ordered that I make sure you do.”

The dresses in Liesel’s hands fell back
to the bed with a soft thump. “He has what?”

“He wants you to look your best for the
visitors,” Gretchen answered matter-of-factly.

Liesel narrowed her eyes for a moment
before she spun around toward the pine chest in the corner.

Gretchen scuttled across the room to
beat her to it.  Holding her hands straight out from her sides to guard the
chest from the princess she declared, “No, Princess. I’ll not have your brash
temper ruin everyone’s evening tonight. If you don’t want to wear your best
dress, then that is fine with me. But I refuse to let you provoke your father’s
wrath in such a flagrant manner.”

Liesel folded her arms and stared her
maid down. “I will call the guards to make you move.”

Gretchen plopped down to sit on the
chest and folded her own arms across her chest. “And I will call your father.”

“I believe he is meeting with his treaty
council as we speak. He would never let anyone disturb him there, and you know
it.”

Liesel knew victory was almost within
her grasp by the look of despair that crossed Gretchen’s face. “Please,
Princess. May I at least beg you to reconsider?”

“My mind is quite made up. Now please
stand aside.”

Gretchen reluctantly rose to her feet,
but hesitated where she stood. Liesel waved her off and then knelt before the
small wooden chest.

The stubborn lid seemed to be in league
with her maid, as it took a fair bit of strength to pull it open. And even
then, it continued to creak and groan in protest until it stood upright.

Liesel then pulled out the dress that
had been stored within. After rising to her feet, she held it against her chest
and studied her reflection in a nearby full-length mirror.

“Yes, Gretchen. I do believe this dress
will be perfect.”

“Liesel! What are you wearing?” Adelaide
shrieked as Liesel walked past her door.

Liesel stepped back to stand in her
sister’s doorway. Holding her skirts out for inspection, she asked, “Don’t you
remember it?”

Adelaide’s face completely drained of
color. “Father is not going to be pleased if you arrive at his feast dressed as
a peasant.”

“He didn’t object at his last feast.”

“Because it was our kingdom’s annual
commoner celebration! Everyone was dressed that way!” Adelaide’s eyes scanned
over her sister’s coarse, brown skirts and graying blouse. “Have you gone mad?”

Liesel waved her sister’s concern away.
“Of course not.”

“Please change, Liesel,” her sister
implored. “You can even wear any of my dresses if you’d like. Any of them.”

“I like the dress I’m wearing.”

Adelaide brought a delicate hand to her
face and turned away. “This is not going to end well …” she warned.

“Don’t be ridiculous. The worst that can
happen is father will banish me from the feast. And I would hardly be
distraught about that.”

Adelaide turned again toward her sister
and pleaded, “Must you do this?”

Liesel shook her head, amused. “It’s
just a dress.”

“And father will ‘just’ have his heart
come to a halt when he sees you.”

“Nonsense. He hasn’t fought a hundred
wars to be unsettled so easily.”

“I suppose we shall soon see,” Adelaide
nervously noted.

“Come,” Liesel invited. “If you are
finished getting ready, you should walk with me.”

Adelaide hesitated.

“Unless you are worried what people will
think of you for being with such a sister …”

“I’ve never been ashamed of you. I’m
just trying to understand you.”

“What is there to understand?”

Adelaide walked to her and took one of
her hands. “Liesel,” she began in a soft voice. “Is this about the suitors?”

“What do you mean?” Liesel answered
irritably.

“I know you don’t seem to like Prince
Cornelius much, but you haven’t even met the other prince.”

“I don’t need to meet him. My mind is
completely made up about marriage.”

Adelaide dropped her sister’s hand in
exasperation. “Not this again …”

“What is it to you?”

“Must you really ask that question? You
know Mother and Father will never let me marry until you are married.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“It’s true! And you should know it!”
Adelaide said, placing her hands on her hips. “And little Frederick is
not
going to want to have to take care of two spinster sisters when he’s king.”

“Oh, Adelaide. Do not fret. Frederick
loves you. Even if Mother and Father won’t let you marry, he will let you when
he’s king.”

“Wonderful. I’ll get to marry an old man
when I’m forty.”

“Maybe Father will abdicate the throne
sooner …”

“
That
will never happen,”
Adelaide answered with feeling.

“True,” Liesel agreed before she
motioned back toward the door. “Are you ready to go now?”

“Are you
really
wearing that
dress?”

“Adelaide!”

The younger sister sighed. “I suppose
there’s no point in delaying the inevitable.”

“Please don’t sound so grim. We are
going to a feast, not an execution.”

“We shall see …”

Liesel rolled her eyes.

But in her heart she had to admit, she
was beginning to wonder if she was making a mistake.

Princess Liesel spotted Gretchen waiting
for her outside the banquet hall when she turned the corner at the bottom of
the stairs.

“I thought you didn’t care for large
social gatherings,” Liesel commented as her maid stood to greet her.

“Ay, but I’ll suffer the crowds if the
entertainment is promising.”

“You are wasting your time,” Liesel
answered as she flicked a crusted piece of dirt from her sleeve.

Gretchen looked pointedly at where the
dirt had been on the princess’s shirt. “I dare to disagree.”

Liesel moved to continue walking toward
the banquet hall, but Adelaide pulled on her arm. “Are you certain about this?”

Liesel pretended as though she didn’t
feel like her heart was about to pound straight out of her chest and calmly
replied, “If you don’t stop asking me that, then you will have to begin
worrying about being scolded yourself for being late. Now come, dear sister.”

Liesel stepped forward to precede her
sister into the banquet hall, but one of the guards at the door blocked her
progress with his spear.

He didn’t bother to look at the peasant,
but instead addressed the younger princess. “I’m sorry, Princess Adelaide, but
all beggars must be served outside when royal guests are present.”

“Beggar, soldier?” Liesel questioned,
feigning innocence.

Recognizing the voice, the young guard’s
eyes widened and he stammered, “Apologies, Your Highness. I didn’t expect, I
mean … I umm … I didn’t know …”

Liesel smiled sympathetically at him and
sidestepped his frozen spear to enter into the great hall.

Although she had originally envisioned
herself marching directly to her place at the head of the room immediately upon
her entrance, she instead found herself hesitating, lingering just inside the
entryway so she could survey her surroundings.

Servants swarmed around the room like
bees, placing the finishing touches on all of the long banquet tables. The
minstrels were gathered together in one corner, giving their instruments a
final tuning, and the aroma of roasted meats filled the air as the cooks began
parading the first courses into the hall.

At the head of the room, her parents
stood talking with King Waldemar, Prince Cornelius’s father. She noted that the
king apparently possessed the same charm as his son, for her parents were both
smiling delightedly at whatever story he was telling them.

Faint traces of her mother’s melodious
laugh made it through the thick noise of the room before her mother happened to
glance in her daughters’ direction.

It was obvious the queen could hardly
believe the sight before her for her neck instantly snapped back to take a
second look. The color drained from the beautiful queen’s face, turning her
already fair complexion an ashen white. One of her shaking hands had to grasp
at a nearby chair for support.

Liesel flushed under the queen’s stare.
If she hadn’t had Adelaide at her side, she would have fled the room to escape
her mother’s obvious disapproval.

She was still debating this as a
possibility when Prince Cornelius appeared before them.

“The prettiest princesses looking
beautiful as always,” the prince greeted the twosome with a deep bow. “But I
can’t help but ask you, Princess Liesel … is your attire a traditional piece,
or is this just another one of your endearing eccentricities?”

“Neither,” she coolly quipped. “This is
simply my favorite dress.”

“And you’ve never looked more charming,”
he smoothly returned with a grin.

Liesel silently cursed her dress.

The prince then extended his arm to her.
“May I escort you to your table?”

Liesel opened her mouth to offer an
excuse, but Adelaide quickly answered for the both of them, “We would love
that.”

“Thank you, Adelaide,” Liesel muttered
before she forced a smile and dutifully accepted the prince’s right arm.

At the head of the room, the two kings
were still enveloped in their conversation, but the queen was now standing to
the side, awaiting her daughters’ arrival.

Prince Cornelius greeted the queen with
a slight bow. If he noticed the queen’s clenched jaw or tightly folded arms, he
gave no sign of it, but instead turned to offer Liesel the chair to the right
of the king’s place.

But the queen stopped him. “I think she
had better sit by me. Adelaide, take her seat.”