Princess without a Palace: A King Thrushbeard Fairy Tale by Kristen Niedfeldt

that wasn’t necessarily undesirable.
    But eventually the princess timidly
ventured, “I do have one question for you.”
    “Then ask it.”
    “I umm … I’m slightly ashamed I did not
ask it before, but … what should I call you? I mean … what is your name?” she
questioned almost meekly.
    Finally, here was some hope ,
he thought. He had wondered when it would dawn on her that she had never
condescended to ask.
    Perhaps she was not as stubborn as he
had supposed.
    “Roderick,” he answered as he turned to
look her squarely in the eye. “My name is Roderick.”
     

     
    As the day wore on, Liesel began to
wonder if her memory was beginning to fail her. The trees seemed taller, and
even the leaves looked greener than she ever remembered seeing them before.
Granted, she and Adelaide had only ever explored the outskirts of the woods
near their castle, but these trees lining the path were so beautiful, she felt
like she was traveling through an enchanted forest. Such beauty made her begin
to regret that she had not ventured farther from the castle before.
    The minstrel hadn’t pestered her to
converse with him for quite some time now, so she was left with just her quiet
thoughts and observations of the landscape around them.
    The sounds of a babbling brook could be
heard nearby, but Liesel couldn’t see any evidence of a stream through the
thick foliage around her. The sound grew steadily in strength until they
crested a hill, and she could finally see a small river below.
    When she looked to her left, her breath
caught at the sight. A towering waterfall cascaded over tiers of rocks down the
mountain’s side. She had never seen anything so spectacular.
    “I didn’t know I had a waterfall,” she
breathed.
    “You don’t,” the minstrel countered.
“We’re in Brenhausen now. We left your kingdom a couple hours ago.”
    She was taken aback by that. She had
assumed everything she had admired was hers. “This all belongs to King
Thrushbeard?”
    “King what?”
    She clamped her mouth shut. She hadn’t
meant to disclose her own name for the king.
    “Oh, nothing …” she casually tried to
deflect his question.
    “No, what did you call my king?”
    Liesel couldn’t restrain the blush that
crept to her cheeks. “Nothing …” she repeated. “It’s just a bit of silliness.”
    “Nonsense. I want to know.”
    “I’m embarrassed to say.”
    “Surely we can’t begin to have secrets
already, Princess … We haven’t even been betrothed a full day.”
    Her heart tripped over itself at his
reminder that they were betrothed, but she buried the sensation with a scowl.
    “Well, out with it,” he urged.
    She stubbornly gave him a look to inform
him that she had no intention of answering.
    “Have it your way,” he said as he
reached for his gittern yet again. “I’m sure I can think of another song to
sing …”
    “I concede,” Liesel was quick to relent
at the threat. She took a deep breath and then admitted, “I called him King
Thrushbeard … That’s all. There’s really nothing important about it.”
    “What does it mean?” he questioned
further.
    “You know …” She shrugged, but he waited
for her to explain further. “The royal family’s beards? So long and droopy?”
    One of his eyebrows raised in question
so she demonstrated the drooping arch with her hand. “They’re like the beaks of
thrush birds … but in their case … Thrushbeards …”
    He threw his head back and laughed.
    “I told you it was just a bit of
silliness.”
    “It’s fitting. I don’t think the king
would be amused since his beard is his pride, but it’s an honest comparison.”
    “You needn’t worry. I’ll never be in a
royal court again so I can’t offend him with it,” she remarked bitterly.
    “That’s true. Minstrels usually don’t
bring their wives along.”
    She sighed. That was hardly what she had
meant.
    The trail followed alongside the river
through the remainder of their time in the