Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale

by Kristen Niedfeldt

  Liesel felt strengthened by the realization that she wasn’t solely on her own. Roderick and Maria would surely keep her alive until she could finally leave and find a new life of her own.

  When she arrived at the corner at the end of her usual lane, she paused when she noticed the space there was empty. Until now, she had been more than pleased to hide along her usual, obscure street. Although she was still a little mortified by the possibility of being recognized, she wondered if she should risk that faint possibility in exchange for the opportunity to perhaps make more money at such a prime location.

  Not that she wanted to fill the jug any faster for its current purpose. She actually had a different plan in mind.

  She didn’t dare voice such thoughts yet, but she was hoping that if she made a large enough profit, Roderick wouldn’t mind splitting some of the earnings with her. Especially if such a bestowal would free them both from their forced arrangement.

  She looked down the lane one more time and then made up her mind. She would set up her stand on the corner.

  She was arranging her pots and jugs in her customary way when old Albert stopped beside her.

  “A new place, miss?”

  She smiled. “This area was open this morning so I thought, why not take it?”

  The old man eyed the area around her. “Do you think there’s space for me as well?”

  Liesel was surprised by the question. She glanced to her side. “I think so … Are you thinking of moving too?”

  “I’ve noticed there’s been an increase in traffic along the lane since your arrival,” the old man explained with twinkling eyes. “I’ve sold more jewelry with you at my side than I did the whole month before! If you don’t mind, I think the best place for my jewelry is next to you!”

  Liesel smiled. “Of course I don’t mind!”

  As the old man set up his small table, Liesel observed to him that there seemed to be fewer people in the marketplace that day. Clouds were gathering and she surmised their threat had probably kept some people at home.

  The old man looked up at the sky with scrunched brows. “I wager the sky will clear before noon. These clouds might look ominous, but they’re not the type to linger. We might get wet, but I don’t think we’ll see more than a brief downpour.”

  Liesel anxiously waited for the rain to begin to descend all morning, but it never did. She did, however, sell four jugs, three pots, and eight cups. And no one had recognized her. With such results, she had nothing to regret about leaving her obscure lane behind. The new location was indeed turning out to be worth it.

  “Maria!” Liesel suddenly exclaimed as she looked up from counting the mound of coins before her. “What are you doing here?”

  Maria was walking several feet ahead down the lane, but stopped to turn back after Liesel called out to her.

  “Oh, hello, Liesel. I didn’t see you there,” Maria greeted. “I need to buy a few things. My supplies are dwindling, and I don’t want to run out.”

  “You should have told me,” Liesel impulsively offered. “I could have saved you a trip. I’m here every day, after all.”

  Liesel forced a smile to let Maria know she sincerely meant it, but it didn’t seem to matter.

  “I wouldn’t think of it. You obviously have your hands full here,” Maria returned with a nod toward the pile of coins resting on Liesel’s palm.

  “It’s been a very profitable morning …” Liesel admitted meekly as she tucked the coins away.

  “I can see that. I’ll be on my way. I wouldn’t want to claim any more of your precious time.”

  And as quick as she had arrived, Maria was gone.

  Liesel was unsettled by the exchange. Why wouldn’t Maria let her help? She knew she was a burden, but she didn’t want to be one forever.

  She couldn’t help wonder how a brother and a sister could be so different. Roderick was so warm and kind. Maria was … well, to put it nicely, Maria.

  She forced Maria from her mind. She wouldn’t waste energy agonizing over something she couldn’t control. She had a feeling there was little she could do to change Maria’s opinion of her.

  She would save that battle for another day.

  A few raindrops plopped across her pottery, and Liesel turned her gaze up toward the sky. She hoped the clouds could contain their moisture for a few hours more. She really didn’t want to be soaked for the rest of the day.

  Still, even though the rain seemed to obey her silent pleas, the roads cleared as people returned home to avoid being caught in a possible downpour.

  Without any customers to attend to, Liesel’s attention eventually drifted to the jewelry spread out before her neighbor.

  “You have such pretty necklaces,” she confessed when Albert caught her staring.

  “Thank you. After all the time I’ve spent in royal courts, I admit I pride myself on my tastes.”

  Liesel was surprised. “Really?” she asked. She tried to look past his humble apparel to envision him in a court, but couldn’t. “What did you do there?”

  “I was once a soldier in King Carl’s mighty army.”

  “Oh,” Liesel answered. She turned her attention to straightening the pottery before her as she further questioned, “Did you know the king?”

  “Of course. I served in his castle for over thirty years.”

  Liesel hesitated for a moment before she dared to ask, “Did you know his son?”

  “Which one?” Albert answered with a laugh. “He has six of them.”

  “I’m not sure …” Liesel admitted. “The oldest, I think?”

  “Why do you ask?” the old man asked, leaning back against the wall.

  Liesel blushed. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter any to me.”

  “No need to be embarrassed,” he reassured her. “I haven’t met a maiden in all the land that didn’t secretly wish to marry one of the princes.”

  “Oh no, you misunderstand. I am not one of those maidens.”

  Albert didn’t look convinced.

  “No really, I can assure you. I have no desire to marry a prince.”

  “Then aren’t you glad you’re not a princess?” he returned with a wink.

  The question caught her by surprise.

  “Indeed,” she barely choked out. It pierced her heart to say it, but the old man didn’t seem to notice.

  “I suppose you have no need to dream about princes when you’re already in love with someone else,” Albert mused.

  “With who?”

  The old man looked surprised. He then prompted, “With your betrothed? The man you introduced to me yesterday?”

  “Oh, of course … him,” she answered flatly.

  “Aren’t you in love with him?” the old man asked, surprised by her tone.

  “Well, I … You see …” she stammered. She felt a warmth burn her cheeks and she wished she could hide. She knew Albert must surely be misinterpreting her blush, but she couldn’t offer any other explanation. She was at a complete loss what she should say.

  “It’s alright. I won’t make you say it,” he said, patting her hand. “I saw the answer for myself when he surprised you with a visit yesterday.”

  Liesel’s heart thudded against the confines of her chest. What a thing for him to say! Surely she couldn’t have given such an impression!

  She was wondering how to change the subject when a piercing scream down the street jolted her from her seat.

  Her head whipped around toward the startled sounds of people yelling down the lane. A black horse was charging down the cobblestone path with a wagon and rider in tow. The driver showed no mercy as people scrambled and dove to escape from his path.

  Liesel jumped back against the wall, shielded her face, and braced herself as the thundering hooves approached.

  But right before the cart passed, she felt herself yanked around the corner to the safety of the other lane.

  Her large eyes looked up at Albert in surprise just as she heard the crash of her pottery as it
shattered into thousands of pieces against the wall where she had just been standing. She shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn’t pulled her away.

  “Drunken idiot,” Albert muttered as he released her. His slender form was shaking with rage.

  Liesel’s eyes filled with tears and she dashed back around the corner to survey what was left of her merchandise. Her heart plummeted deep within her. Only a few pieces that had been tucked back inside her handcart had survived.

  She dragged her eyes back up to follow the wagon as it continued terrorizing the market with its rampage down the lane. The hooded figure was relentless in his chase, whipping the horse forward all the way up the hill.

  Before the wagon disappeared from view, the driver turned to briefly glance back. His face was only visible for a second, but in that moment, Liesel felt the air sucked right out of her.

  She recognized the profile.

  And it wasn’t a man.

  It was impossible, she argued to herself as she clutched her stomach and tried to regain her breath.

  But surely her eyes could not be so mistaken.

  She looked back down at the crumbled pieces of pottery at her feet and finally allowed her tears to roll forth.

  “How could it be?” she whispered, shaking.

  A clap of thunder shook the ground, and the rain that had hung threateningly overhead all morning finally began its descent.

  Liesel fell to her knees and sat shivering in the cold rain as she tried to sweep up the shards of pottery scattered around her. She knew most people would have just left the hopeless mess, but she didn’t want the rider to be able to return again and glory in the ruined remains.

  The street was completely empty by the time Liesel finished packing up her handcart. As she stared at the desolate lane stretching out both ways before her, she wondered how she was ever going to muster the courage to return to the hut again.

  After all, if Maria had done this, what else might she do?

  Chapter Ten

  Maria was crazy. That was all there was to it, Liesel decided as she shook and shivered her way back to the hut.

  There was no other way to explain such a strange outburst of behavior.

  Unfortunately, she knew Roderick would probably think she was the crazy one if she tried to accuse Maria of being the hooded rider. Maria would never admit to such a thing and why would her brother ever believe the word of someone he had just met over that of his sister’s?

  There was no use trying to argue it. She knew there was no way she would ever win.

  But she wasn’t about to forget about it either, Liesel silently vowed. Maria couldn’t be trusted. That had never been clearer. She was still unsure whether she would confront Maria privately about the matter, but in the meantime, she was determined to guard herself better. She wasn’t about to be defeated so easily again.

  She hit a deep groove in the road and grunted as the handcart smacked against her wet frame.

  She really needed to find an escape from this life of peasantry.

  When she finally arrived at the hut, she returned the handcart to the barn and then approached the front door. Her hand froze on the door handle and she closed her eyes. She wished there was someplace else she could go. Anywhere else.

  But there wasn’t. Straightening her shoulders, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

  Maria and Roderick looked up from where they were standing near the fireplace, but Liesel avoided meeting Maria’s gaze. The repulsion she felt toward the woman was overwhelming now that she was in her presence again.

  Unfortunately, Maria wasn’t about to ignore her.

  “Liesel!” Maria exclaimed. “You look nearly drowned.”

  Liesel clenched her jaw while her chilled limbs remained frozen where she stood. She hadn’t planned beyond this moment and felt wholly unsettled at the thought of entering. It seemed like it would be an act of surrender to pass over the threshold.

  Roderick came forward to draw her into the room, and she debated what she should do. Instinctively, she wanted to resist, but she realized there was nothing to be gained from perishing in the cold.

  “You must be freezing. I assumed you had found somewhere to shelter from the storm in town, or I would have come for you,” Roderick commented as he offered her a chair near the crackling fire.

  “No, it just took a long time to pull the handcart through all the mud,” she replied, collapsing into the seat.

  “That’s obvious,” Maria cut in, shaking her head. “Just look how the mud has stained your skirt all the way to your knees! Your poor, new dress.”

  Liesel bit her tongue against the woman’s mock sympathy. Maria was infuriating. She silently swore she would eventually scrub all of the mud out, no matter how long it would take to do so.

  Roderick retrieved a blanket for her, which she quickly wrapped around her trembling shoulders. She twisted the corner of the course fabric in her hands while she pondered over what to say. Now that she was settled in the hut, Liesel knew she shouldn’t waste any more time before telling Roderick about the pottery. It would only be torture to wait. She just wished Maria would leave so she wouldn’t have to make the confession with an audience present. Unfortunately, she assumed Maria was lingering nearby for precisely that reason.

  “I had a very good morning at the marketplace,” Liesel began. She smiled inwardly at the surprise that crossed Maria’s face. This was obviously not what the woman had expected to hear.

  “That’s wonderful, Liesel,” Roderick answered. “How many pieces did you sell?”

  “Fifteen in all. Here’s my earnings,” she replied, pulling the sack of coins from her pocket.

  “Well done,” he approved.

  “That is impressive,” Maria chimed in. “And all in one morning! Pray tell, how did you fare in the afternoon?”

  “Not as well,” Liesel replied evenly as she met Maria’s eyes for the first time.

  Roderick was surprised. “What happened?”

  Liesel looked down and gulped. The moment could only be delayed so long. “In the afternoon, a horse and cart came barreling down the lane and crushed almost everything. If my friend, Albert, hadn’t pulled me around the corner, I might have even been crushed by the madman’s recklessness as well.”

  “Thank heavens, you are unhurt!” Roderick exclaimed. “And I hope the irresponsible driver is met with swift justice.”

  Liesel couldn’t help wishing for that too.

  “But the pottery is all gone?” Maria pressed, quickly guiding the subject back to Liesel’s loss. “Everything Roderick purchased for you to sell is ruined?”

  “The pottery can be replaced, Maria,” Roderick reproached. “Liesel’s safety is far more important.”

  Liesel’s soul nearly collapsed with relief by his kindness. She had feared he would only scold her.

  “You are right, brother,” Maria responded after collecting herself. “Thank goodness Liesel is returned to us safely. I was only disappointed for both of you that your jar will have to be emptied again to buy new pottery.”

  Liesel’s eyes narrowed. So that was it. Maria was just desperate to keep her from marrying her brother. She couldn’t help being amused by the irony of it all. If only Maria had known that Liesel was only working to try to earn enough money to be able to set off on her own, she would be very disappointed to learn that she had now condemned her to have to stay with them even longer.

  But maybe she didn’t need to stay … She had hoped to have more money saved by the time she set out on her own, but with this turn of events and Maria’s apparent hostility, perhaps this was her best opportunity to make her argument to be able to escape.

  “What if we don’t buy new pottery,” Liesel suddenly proposed, surprising both brother and sister.

  “What else would you want to buy?” Roderick questioned.

  Liesel paused to gather her courage and then answered, “Our freedom.”

  Roderick was clearly stu
nned by her declaration, but he quickly collected himself and then asked, “What are you talking about?”

  “Roderick,” Liesel tentatively explained. “I think we can agree that we have both been unfairly chained to this arrangement. And obviously I’m only fit for failure here. If we split the profits I’ve made so far, we can go our separate ways and you can be free of me.”

  “That’s impossible, Liesel.”

  “Why?” Liesel and Maria exclaimed simultaneously. Liesel folded her arms against her chest, annoyed by the woman’s constant interference.

  “First and foremost, you have nowhere else to go.”

  “I could find something. If you could give me a map so I could see what lands are nearby, I might remember someone else I might be able to contact to help me.”

  Roderick shook his head. “This is a pointless discussion. I made a promise to your father, and I am a man of my word. I will not break it.”

  Liesel jumped up from her seat with a growl and spun away from him. Her argument was not playing out like she had planned. Why wouldn’t he just let her go?

  Her thoughts were interrupted by his quiet voice, “Liesel, why do you want to leave so badly?”

  She turned around to face him and he questioned further, “Are you that unhappy here?”

  She looked once more at Maria before finally meeting his gaze.

  “Yes,” she replied, her voice just above a whisper. “I’ve imposed upon you both and I don’t want to be a burden to either of you anymore.”

  The room was frozen as Roderick regarded her carefully over several long moments.

  After a while, Liesel started feeling dizzy, and she had to remind herself to breathe. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath, waiting for his answer.

  At length, Roderick finally broke the silence. “I don’t think it’s wise to make any sudden decisions on such a difficult day. After your terrible ordeal in the marketplace, and then long walk home through the mud, you must surely be exhausted.”

  Liesel closed her eyes to contain her frustration. She was annoyed that he was dismissing her pleas as merely a hasty outburst. She clenched her fists at her sides and approached him, determined to make him hear her out.