Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale Read Online Free PDF Page B

she asked softly. “I fear your sister has been making a fool of
herself tonight.”
    Prince Frederick exhaled a deep breath
against her shoulder and Liesel replied, “I’m afraid it’s true. But if all
turns out well, you may be stuck taking care of me in this castle forever. You
wouldn’t mind that, would you, my little prince? Adelaide seems to think
otherwise.” 
    The prince made no reply, but continued
sleeping soundly against her.
    “I thought not,” Liesel murmured,
hugging him a little tighter.
    She closed her eyes and swayed with him
back and forth, back and forth, until she felt peace reach into the deepest
parts of her soul.
    She held him like that for countless
moments until fatigue at last overcame her and her legs no longer felt steady.
    Parting with the little prince, she laid
him on his bed to rest. She tucked his soft blankets around him, and then
leaned down to kiss one of his plump, round cheeks.
    “I love you, little Frederick,” she
whispered.
    She loved him terribly. And despite the
evening’s events she knew she loved each of her other family members just as
well.
    She never wanted to part with any of
them.
     

Chapter Five
     
    T he
next few days were quiet and awkward in the castle. It was difficult for Liesel
to balance giving her father enough space to allow his anger to cool while
participating in just enough of the courtly activities to avoid angering him
further.
    And while the king and princess
constantly skirted around each other in a stiff and stifled manner, the queen
seemed to always be everywhere at once, working to try to mend and pull the
damaged threads of the family fabric back together.
    After four such days had passed, the
queen called the family into the great hall for an afternoon of fine dining and
soft music.
    The king ate great quantities of the
succulent meats in silence. Liesel merely pushed the food back and forth across
her plate. Occasionally she would poke at something for good measure. The queen
exerted all of her energies trying in vain to engage anyone other than just
Adelaide into her conversation.
    Right when the queen looked ready to
abandon her hopes of gaining any traction in forging a reconciliation between
her husband and daughter, a servant appeared in the doorway.
    “There’s a traveling minstrel at the
gate requesting admittance. Should I let him in?”
    “Good heavens, yes,” the queen replied
strongly. Regaining her usual composure, she then added in a more gentle tone,
“That would be lovely. Please escort him in.”
    A moment later, the servant returned
with the minstrel. The man paused at the threshold with his hat and instrument
clutched in his hands with his head humbly bowed.
    “Well, are you or aren’t you going to
come in?” the king questioned irritably.
    The servant nudged the man forward and
the minstrel hustled across the hall to stand before the king.
    When he raised his eyes to greet the
king, Liesel’s curiosity was piqued. He certainly didn’t have the usual looks
of a timid man.
    “What would Your Majesties desire that I
should play for you today?”
    “It makes no difference to me,” the king
muttered.
    The queen gave her husband a reproachful
look and then corrected, “The king is kind to let me choose. What varieties of
songs do you sing?”
    “Anything that would please your court.
I have hundreds I can sing at your request. Histories, fables, tragedies, tales
of bravery, tales of love …” he listed.
    “Oh please do sing a song of love,”
Adelaide pleaded to Liesel’s chagrin. “If that is fine with you, of course,
Mother.”
    “That suits me just fine,” the queen
replied. “Please proceed.”
    The man returned his hat to his head and
brought his instrument up to cradle it against his torso. He then strummed a
quick prelude and began:
     
    There once lived a princess
    In a faraway place
    Blessed with humor and kindness
    And an ever-smiling face.
    Her grace was unmatched,
    Her beauty surreal,
    Dozens