“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?” Ki
ng 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.”
Her father considered her carefully. “If you’re certain …”
Liesel hesitated only a moment before she nodded. Her stomach was in knots, but she tried to push her anxiety away. She might not have felt very brave at the moment, but she was resigned to try to at least play the part.
Adelaide was right. She didn’t ever want to look back on this day and feel like she had run away. Maria might have scorned her for being so easily deceived, but she wanted to show her and her brother that she had emerged from the experience unscathed.
Or at least make it appear that way.
She tried to force her best look of confidence and then wrapped her hand around her father’s elbow. After Adelaide stepped up to his other side, the trio commenced toward the door.
Liesel inhaled a shaky breath, and then raised her chin up just a notch.
It was time for her to conquer the ball.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Roderick had to question five farmers on the outskirts of the city before he found anyone who could supply any answers to his questions.
Yes, the young man was positive that he had seen Prince Cornelius that morning with a company of soldiers. But he was sure that the prince had been heading toward the castle, not away from it. And no, he had not seen any young lady, alone or otherwise, traveling along the road during the last two days.
With such disheartening news, Roderick questioned whether it would be best to continue along the road to Levenstein or turn his search elsewhere. But just because the farmer hadn’t seen Liesel, didn’t necessarily mean that she hadn’t passed that way when he wasn’t looking. But then again, perhaps he didn’t see her, because she was indeed somewhere else.
Roderick growled in frustration. There were far too many possibilities and he couldn’t afford to waste time debating them all. He scanned the scenery around him and wished Liesel had at least left him some kind of clue. He needed something to give him direction if he was going to have any chance at finding her.
His horse panted heavily, and Roderick leaned down to pat his side. His horse had run swift and strong all day, but now his energy was obviously fading.
Roderick pulled on the reins to steer his horse back to the castle. If he was to continue his search in haste, he needed a fresh horse. He regretted the temporary delay the exchange would cause, but at least the short excursion to the castle and back would give him some time to decide the best course of action for the next part of his search.
He had just reached the outer perimeter of small homes along the city’s farmland, when eight loud peals rang out from the castles’ high bell tower.
Roderick let out a growl. The ball was beginning and Liesel was still lost. And he had given his word he would select one of the princesses at the ball to be his wife.
He regretted ever making such an impulsive promise to his father. But he wasn’t ready to lose all hope. No announcement needed to be made until the end of the ball, which meant he still had a few more hours to find her.
He leaned over and begged his horse to muster all the energy he had within him. His horse puffed, but obediently lengthened his strides. The horse sprinted all the way up the hill until they entered the stables, when Roderick pulled the reins back hard, bringing his horse to a halt.
“Fetch me a new horse!” Roderick ordered to the servants shoveling hay nearby. A young servant stumbled as he dropped his shovel and ran away to obey his command.
Roderick slid off his horse and patted the horse’s neck. “Well done, old boy,” he approved quietly. “Now get some rest. You’re the fastest horse in the kingdom and I may need you yet again.”
Seconds later, the young stable hand appeared again, pulling a fresh, white horse behind him.
“Thank y
ou,” Roderick mumbled as he mounted the steed and turned toward the door. Praying he would have no need to return again until he had found Liesel, he started for the exit, but Hilda’s frantic voice stopped him.
Yanking the reins hard to the right, he turned the horse around to see Hilda running toward him, waving her arms high above her head.
“Wait, Prince Roderick, wait!” she shouted breathlessly.
He slid from the horse and ran forward to meet her. Grasping her shoulders, he demanded, “Hilda, what is the matter?”
“I’m so glad I happened to find you here,” she huffed between labored breaths.
“What is it?” he impatiently prodded as he waited for her to speak again.
“The King of Pozlow was just announced,” she answered, clutching her heaving bosom. “King Richmond and his two daughters.”
Roderick’s eyes grew wide and Hilda’s smile spread, filling her face.
“Liesel is inside, Your Highness,” she breathed with relief.
“Are you sure?”
“I didn’t pause to confirm the announcement after I heard it, Sire. I didn’t even linger to hear the rest of the introduction, because I wanted to tell you the news as quickly as possible. But King Richmond only has two daughters. There can be no mistake. Liesel must be with him.”
Roderick yelled for a servant to attend to his horse as he dashed from the stables to sprint up the hill toward the kitchen. It was the fastest way to get to the ballroom.
He navigated his way through the busy kitchen and was almost to the door that led into the dining hall, when Hilda shouted from behind him, “Prince Roderick, stop where you are!”
“I don’t have time, Hilda,” he answered over his shoulder.
“You will wait!”
The forcefulness of her tone made him pause, and he looked back to see her standing just inside the kitchen with a finger sternly pointed his way. “I will not let you enter that ballroom covered in dust, and undoubtedly smelling like a horse or worse.”
Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale Page 20