CANONETW1V021 CAQ0001 TLCS-90 ūjVS160 Book1e TXT93 100-117 Q»jˆRjŠ LST ŃŅÓŌ**ÕÖ LBL ×ŲdŁŚŪ€ą=ō   šĄ‚š šN¶†īV ƒ !0 123@ABCDEFGHIJK‚š šN¶†īV ƒher though, and just kept riding. She kept calling and running behind him, with the distance between them becoming wider and wider. Finally, realizing that she could neither get his attention or catch up with him, she slowed down, but still trudged up the hill, the familiar road, that brought such sad memories to her heart. She hoped desperately that the guards at the gate would allow her to enter and deliver the flowers, herself. € Upon arriving at the gate, the doctor was still waiting, and fortunately, she was able to finally get his attention. "I have flowers to give Tessy, the princess's friend," she called out to him.€The doctor answered gruffly, being very tired from being up all night, "I am sure she would appreciate them, but I will not be allowing any visitors." €"Then will you take them to her? She will know who sent them, no need to send a thank you, and I will be leaving," she said, handing the big basket to the doctor. He answered politely that he would be happy to take them, but the woman-in- the-shawl was gone. € The guards opened the gate for the doctor, and he was directed toward Tessy's room. His expression was grim, as he looked at Tessy. The nurse explained what she had been doing for her, and the doctor agreed that all had been done for her that possibly could be done. €"Unfortunately, with an illnessof this nature, we have little that we can do medically. Recovery will be up to this young lady and the good Lord,perhaps, not us," he spoke solemnly.€"Well, you are not saying that she will not get well, are you? You seem to offer little hope or advice," the nurse questioned.€"In cases such as these, the patient must want to live far, far more than not to live. I offer hope, if the young lady truly wants to go on living, and I will offer advice. Keep her room cool, not so warm. Wipe her perspiration from her brow frequently. Have her bed linens changed daily, after giving her a cool, sponge bath. Send for herb tea, and give her a spoonful every few minutes, to decrease chances of dehydration. Perhaps, you or someone can read aloud to her, from the Good Book of hope and healing. Now, this is all I have to suggest, and I am leaving, for I am extremely tired," the doctor turned towards the door, and added, "I almost forgot, there are some roses from some lady from the village. Now, I am on my way."€The nurse did not feel as though she needed to thank the doctor, or say good-bye. She leaned over Tessy and spoke softly, "My dear, can you hear me?"€Tessy lay stone still, motionless, without even a twitch or blink of the eye.€The nurse kept speaking to her, "You BCwillBC get well, do you understand me? You are loved so much, and you have everything to live for, but now you rest. I will take care of you, until you are bouncing around the palace again, and talking our ears off!" The nurse sang a sweet tune and tenderly wiped her face.€Faithfully, Carmalyn came by to check on Tessy, and to relieve the nurse, in order that she could rest. The princess never cared anything about reading, but did her best to do some reading aloud to Tessy every day from the Good Book, as the old doctor had suggested. €News traveled to the village, that Tessy was not getting any better, and still remained unconscious. The doctor came by every other day, but never said much to console those who were so concerned. News finally reached the lady-in-the-shawl, who made plans to go to Tessy, somehow, someway.€The lady-in-the-shawl had a idea that she believed would allow her to see Tessy. She gathered ingredients for making a pot of chicken soup, and then stirred it constantly for several hours, being extremely careful not to let it boil. She sent a message to the palace nurse, asking permission to bring the soup, but didn't wait for the answer. "I will just take my chances," she thought, "I will just pray that the nurse is desperate enough to allow my visitation."€Approaching the palace gate, carrying the warm, pot of soup, she graciously greeted the guard, "I have brought some soup for Tessy, that I believe will help her gain strength." The guard rode through the gate and brought back the guard, who was Tessy's favorite. The guard, of course, recognized the lady-in-the-shawl, but he cautiously gave no clue to the others.€"Let her in," the guard ordered. "I will escort her to Tessy's room myself." The guard desperately wanted to tell the lady all that Tessy had suffered, finding out the truth, and how that he thought, it was just too much for her to endure, but he couldn't let on that he knew. He would risk too much to converse with the woman, and so, he silently led her to Tessy's room. He gave her a look outside the door, that was unusual from the very business-like way a guard would act. The-lady-in-the-shawl reached out her hand to his, and thanked him softly. "Bless you," was all she had time to say.€Upon entering Tessy's room, the lady held back tears, both of relief to be inside and of her deep compassion and love for Tessy. "I have brought the young lady the best homemade remedy for any ailment, and I believe this special soup will truly put her on the road to recovery," she spoke quickly and with enough optimism, that the weary, discouraged nurse could not disagree, but instead, welcomed her warmly. €"I believe we need a miracle, do you have that in your soup?" the nurse asked, somewhat cynically. €"Perhaps," the lady-in-the-shawl answered, "please trust me." She reached out to the nurse, touching her on the hand, "I know you have not had proper rest, yourself, but I care deeply for this child. She and I have become quite well acquainted, and I would beg you to leave me with her for awhile."€The nurse was not sure what to do, but feeling quite overcome with the gracious manner of the strange woman, she refused martyrdom and accepted the woman's benevolence. "I will tell the princess that I have gone to rest, and let her know you are here watching Tessy."€"Very well, but be sure not to alarm her, I fear she might not trust anyone with Tessy except you and might try to interfere," the lady-in-the-shawl cautioned. €"No, the princess is as desperate as myself, and she will only come to look in on Tessy," the nurse assured her, not totally trusting her good intentions.€The lady-in-the-shawl began propping Tessy to a half-sitting position and wiped her face with a cool, damp cloth. "I know you can hear me, Tessy," she whispered in Tessy's ear. Though Tessy did not answer, she continued speaking to her as if she were completely coherent. "I have brought you some very delicious soup, and I am going to feed it to you. I want you to try to swallow it." The lady-in-the-shawl fed Tessy a spoonful of the soup, and much to her relief, Tessy seemed consciously to swallow it, even opening her mouth somewhat, as if asking for more. The lady kept giving her a spoonful at a time and continued talking to her. "You must try to open your eyes, Tessy, and you will feel better. No secret is too great to bare. I realize that knowing the truth, and living sometimes requires great bravery. You have the courage, Tessy, and I will help you. Now open your eyes, now..." the lady had to pause, because Tessy's eyes were blinking, as if she was making real effort to open them. The lady coaxed her strongly, "It's up to you now, you can do what you want to do. Look at me, dear," she commanded softly but powerfully. €Tessy opened her eyes, to the brightness of her room, looking at the lady's face and then around the room, as if she did not know where she was. However, she knew the woman clearly, and uttered, "You are my mother, I know all about it now."€"Yes, my dear and most precious one," the lady answered. "But we must very quiet. Please listen. I know you must doubt my love for you to leave you as an infant, but I knew you could never be raised away from people, in hiding. I believed that it would be more tragic for you, than my not getting to be the one who took care of you all these years. I missed out, Tessy, more than you can imagine. I am not complaining, my dear daughter, but my life has been extremely hard, and I would never have wanted you to go through what I have. You deserved the life here at the palace, and I prayed for you hundreds of times a day, that all would be well, and..."€Tessy interupted her, "I don't know what to do for you; now, that I know what I know. I can not endure your living the life you have been forced to live. I refuse to live spoiled with luxury, while you must hide in such poverty. I also do not know what to do about the princess. We have always shared everything. Yet, I can not hurt her, by telling her the truth. I have too many secrets now."€"Quiet, be still, young one, and listen. You must resist fear, and in time, wisdom and guidance will come your way. For now, you must just get this soup down, and stop worrying about everyone else. We are all just fine. Your getting well would mean more to myself and the princess, than anything else in the world, I promise. Now, all else will take care of itself with time, so just be calm," the lady-in-the-shawl said, as she continued offering her spoonfuls of the soup. "Save your strength for important things, never worry, that's just a total waste of energy. Get a little more soup down, so that I can read to you for awhile."€After a few more moments of eating, Tessy's mother began reading from one of her old, but highly treasured books. Tessy listened to her reading, relishing every word that she so eloquently spoke, not wanting to fall asleep, because she was afraid that when she awoke again, that her mother would be gone. "Please don't ever leave me, again, promise me." However, before her mother could answer, Tessy had drifted into a peaceful sleep. € So, Tessy's mother just kept reading, as if Tessy were still listening, not noticing the door had been cracked and eyes were fixed on her, and ears BCwereBC listening - but not Tessy's. The princess was watching her and became captivated by the woman in such tattered, ragged clothes, who could read so beautifully. She hesitated interupting her, but accidentally leaned on the door too far, and the lady-in-the-shawl caught her peeping in on her reading. €"I, I am Princess Carmylyn, and who might you be, so obviously poor, but seemingly quite well educated, to be reading in such a manner?" €The lady smiled and humbly anwered, "I am just the flower lady from the village. Thank you, if you were complimenting me, but I have learned to read, by simply reading. Education comes from desire, and learning to read, comes by reading. Now, enough about me, I have wonderful news that you must know about your friend here! A few minutes ago, she opened her eyes and talked a little to me. Look, see how much of my special soup she has eaten. I would like very much to stay on through the night, if you would be so kind as to allow me."€The princess looked on, feeling stunned and a little embarassed for what she had said to the woman. She examined the almost empty bowl of soup, and began questioning her some more, "What did she say? Did she ask about me?"€"No, I think she was quite confused when she opened her eyes, and she seemed still too weak to ask questions, but I, oh yes, come to think of it, she did say something about you, but I can not remember her exact words. I do remember she spoke though about how much your friendship meant to her."€"Oh, dear, I don't suppose you would understand," the princess continued.€"Try me," the lady suggested.€"Well, see, Tessy was supposed to find out some important information about me, and I just wondered what it was; are you sure that she didn't say anything about any danger that I might be in or anything like that?" the princess asked rather selfishly. €"Oh no, she spoke of no danger. In fact, I think she said all would be well with you, but she did make a strange request before she went to sleep. She asked that I not leave her. Can you imagine how silly it would be, for one like myself to stay here among such fine people?" she said hoping the princess would not agree with her last statement, but even suggest, herself, that she could stay. €The princess fell right into the trap and suggested, "I think it would be just fine if you stayed here with us for awhile. For you seem to have accomplished more in a few hours, than all of us have been able to do in days. I think your reading would impress my father, and maybe...well, maybe, you could even stay on as Tessy's tutor. Her last tutor resigned, due to an injury on their trip, and well, I think you might be just the perfect one. But I need to find some suitable clothes for you, and first I must discuss this with my father. I'll be back as soon as I can," the princess spoke enthusiastically, and the woman-in-the-shawl, felt both relieved and bewildered by such a generous offer. This would be a key to getting to be with Tessy more, though, and Tessy would need her. So she graciously agreed, hoping the king would respond as confidently as his daughter.€What seemed only moments later, the princess returned with the good news, and the lady-in-the-shawl, now became Tessy's new tutor, with palace privileges, to come and go as she pleased, and the best of all, to get to be with her daughter without always having to run and hide. The princess interrupted her deep concentration, by asking, "What is your name? I know you are the flower lady, but do tell me your real name."€"Please call me Anna, and what should I call you, Carmalyn, did you say?" €"It would be just fine if you called me Carma, just like Tessy does. I want to bring my dressmaker to see you tomorrow. We must find some material and have her design you some suitable attire. We can also have some servants accompany you to get any belongings that you might like to bring here," the princess suggested in an amiable manner, and walked closer to her to look at her. "I would like to look at your hair, please."€The new tutor, Anna, now felt somewhat annoyed, but in order to appease her young friend, she complied with her wishes, lifting her timeworn shawl from her head. Frankness about fashion, was the princess's strong suit, and she shook her head, and walked in a circle around the new tutor, Anna. Anna felt extremely uncomfortable and dreaded her next remark, which was, "Ah yes, dreadful! I do not mean to be rude, but your hair is frightful, and we must have it cut tomorrow, and taken off your shoulders, or...Well, we could just have it cut a little, and you could wear it up, perhaps, in a twist. Well, I do not know. That is why I have a hairdresser." Then the princess giggled. "I'll have him look at you tomorrow."€Anna felt annoyed with the princess, but felt it best to just comply with the princess' wishes at this point, so she graciously thanked her, and the princess left, feeling very happy with herself. Anna took the cloth and wiped Tessy's forehead, and began talking to her, "Tessy, I am going to live here with you now. I won't be leaving you, so get well, my sweet child, for I have so very much to teach you." Of course, Tessy was too deeply asleep to answer, but she had the expression of an angel, looking very much at peace. The new tutor, Anna, blew out the candles, and kissed Tessy's forehead goodnight. Her forehead felt a great deal cooler, and Anna was certain her fever had broken. With too much on her mind to possibly think of sleep, Anna made a list of her personal belongings that she would want to bring to the palace. The list contained names of the books that she would especially want Tessy to read and study. She would leave a great deal behind in the old shack but could possibly, have the shack boarded up to guard against any intruders. She knew that there were a few things that she definitely could not have at the palace, but then she suddenly thought about all her rose bushes. How could she take care of them? Could she possibly transplant them all to the palace garden? She would ask tomorrow. Realizing how very busy her next day would be, she tried to go to sleep.€The next morning, slightly before dawn, Anna was awakened by the sound of the nurse, who had come to thank her and check on Tessy.€"I think Tessy feels much cooler this morning," the nurse said, feeling her forehead and cheeks. Tessy's eyes opened, gazing at the nurse standing over her.€"Where is the flower lady?" Tessy asked, seeming very alarmed that the nurse was there.€"I am right here," Anna interjected, not waiting for the nurse to spoil her surprise. "I am not just the flower lady anymore, Tessy. Actually, I am your new tutor. Are you pleased?"€"Pleased? Can I believe what I hear or am I just dreaming?" Tessy answered with enthusiasm.€"The sparkle is back in your eyes, Tessy! I believe you are finally in recuperation, with our many thanks to your new tutor!" the nurse exclaimed. "At last, I will have a good report to give to the king."€Tessy caught her mother's eye, as she shuddered. Now that she was feeling better, the thought of the king, and the questions he would be asking her felt terrifying. Tessy knew she would probably need her mother's counsel, before the king could come to her. Suddenly, she felt quite weak, and her mother realized that she was concerned about seeing or hearing from the king.€Anna quickly came to her rescue, "I think we maybe should give Tessy several more days of rest, before bringing her recovey too much to the king's attention. Anyway, I certainly don't want to take all the credit for her progress. It was you, nurse, that gave her such extraordinary care, day in and day out, beyond all call of duty. Everyone here appreciates the superb care you have given Tessy. I, by no means, want to steal your applause. Thank you for your tremendous sacrifice and service. Don't you think we should probably wait a few more days before we make an anouncement about Tessy's recovery? Too many visitors, perhaps, or questions, could possibly upset her and delay her progress. Do you agree?" €The nurse, totally taken, by the praise and recognition given to her, just answered, "We shall wait a few more days. I think it would be wise to keep Tessy calm, and keep visitors to a minimum, especially any that might upset her."€Then the nurse announced that she would be checking on a suitable breakfast for Tessy and would be returning as soon as possible.€When Anna was certain that she and Tessy were alone, she whispered, "You seem so afraid to talk to the king. Why?"€"Well, what can I tell him? He's going to find out that we took the prisoner with us, and that he got away. That is going to make him furious enough, without even being told anything else. What can I possibly tell him that won't jeapardize all of our lives?" Tessy asked in desperation. €"Tessy, if you are afraid, your fear will show, and the king will truly think you have done something wrong. You must stand courageously, believing in yourself. You know what kind of man the king is; just do not act as though you have done anything to be ashamed of, and speak little, truthfully, and the rest will come to you when the time arrives," Anna advised.€"I hope I can handle it," Tessy said skeptically. "Has the guard told you all of what happened?"€"We spoke briefly, but Tessy, we must not talk anymore now," Anna answered, as the nurse and several servants brought breakfast in the room.€Tessy was able to eat a little, despite her emotions, knowing that she needed to regain her strength. Shortly after breakfast, the princess arrived to greet Tessy for the first time since the trip. "I missed you, Tessy, so much. You know you aren't allowed to be sick; what's the matter with you?" the princess said teasingly.€The two embraced and chatted lightly for a few minutes, when the nurse interupted, saying that she didn't want Tessy to become too excited yet. Then the princess answered that she wanted to borrow the tutor, Anna, to show her to her room, and that they had an appointments with her dressmaker and hairdresser after that. Anna also had to travel into the village to gather her belongings. Today would be a very busy day. Tessy felt good enough to be up for the first time in weeks, and she was able to read a little bit, but became tired enough doing so, that she was also able to sleep most of the day. Tessy hoped, that when she awakened, her mother would be back.€In the meantime, Anna was being fitted for several, sophisticated dresses and having her hair trimmed. All that fuss took much too long, Anna was thinking. A carriage was called to take her into town and down to her little shack to fetch her most necessary belongings. Anna was promised that she would be able to go back to her little home the next week, with some of the gardening staff from the palace to gather up her prized rose bushes. Anna took a deep breath of the fresh country air, and felt mixed feelings of joy and sadness. Anna had grown accustomed to her life of solitude. Her poverty had given her little to worry about, which now would be changing. Now, she would have a tremendous job to do, teaching Tessy everything she possibly could, and staying a recluse in the midst of a very busy palace life would not be easy. Nevertheless, the joyful anticipation of being with Tessy would make it all worthwhile.€When Anna arrived back at the palace, the sun had set, and night had fallen. She would not have much time to be with Tessy, so she hurried the servants to help her bring her bags and her boxes of treasured books to her room. She would bathe before supper and request to eat with Tessy. Her bath was brought by several servants, but she insisted she would like no further help. So many years had passed since she had enjoyed a warm bath and fragrant soap, that she knew had been imported from the East. Not wanting to languish too long and get lost in the luxury, she tried to hurry, wondering how Tessy was feeling. While her dresses were being made, she noticed the princess had evidently found something for her to wear temporarily. The shoulders were much too large, but the rest of the dress fit perfectly, so she quickly buttoned each button and tied the small ribbons, that were on the sleeves and bodice. Anna couldn't help but feel rather elegant, but looking in the mirror, she still saw the flower lady. She hoped that others would still see her that way too. Being only a few doors down from Tessy, Anna scurried to her room, almost forgetting to knock. She was greeted by the nurse who had a cheery smile that implied Tessy must be fine.€"I hope I haven't missed eating supper with you, Tessy," Anna implored, not noticing any dishes, or traces of a meal.€"Oh no, I have been waiting to eat with you! You certainly must have had quite a day; tell me about it," Tessy answered.€Not wanting to retrace her every step, Anna described briefly what all she had been doing to get situated into her new employment. During supper, the two only talked about the frivolous, to avoid any of the nurse's suspicion during her eavesdropping. € Anna turned and spoke to the nurse, and asked her if she would like her to stay with Tessy for the night, so that she could get some rest. "Surely, you must be tired," Anna suggested.€The nurse seemed relieved at the suggestion, and left thanking Anna once more, for being so kind. €"I'm so glad that she left, " Tessy said, "because I heard that the king will want to talk to me before he leaves for his holiday in a few days. He could be calling for me tomorrow, oh Anna, what will I tell him?" „Chapter 11€"I am sure that you have already realized that it would have been much simpler to have had me tell you everything you traveled so far, to find out. However, I knew that if I told you myself, that you would expect me also to supply you with all the solutions. For every problem, there are many solutions, and many ways to handle a situation. The best, I always believe, is to write them all down, then decide which one would be the most honest. Nevertheless, in this case, when we are dealing with a shrewd, dishonest, gluttonous, greedy person, such as you know who, let wisdom guide you. You owe him no explanation for things he already knows. Give him only enough information, to satisfy his insecurity, then let him mull over it, and chances are, he will just let it go. For instance, you can just tell him, the prisoner was a mad man, and that he offended you so, that you became ill. See if that will satisfy him. Use your imagination, and you'll have the words. Believe me," Anna said, barely stopping to take a breath. €"I feel like I won't be able to do anything, but stand there, looking at him, thinking all the while what a phony he is, and what he did to my father, and you...and as for me, I do not care. I don't even want to think about being the real princess, I..." Tessy stammered around, groping for the words.€"But you must, for destiny always prevails. You must be the heir to the throne, Tessy, for you have an important job to do. Only someone, honest and kind as yourself, and truly good can handle the events that will take place in your lifetime. Never doubt yourself. Because you will not be seeking power or riches but rather, wanting to do the right thing, you will be given all the power you will need. One day, you will understand, and see everything I say clearly. Until then, take one task at a time. Trust my words, and look for others you can trust. When the time is right, you will have many who will stand beside you," Anna spoke with such strength that Tessy felt comforted and very grateful that she would finally have this precious time with her mother, to soak in her wisdom and encouragement. €Several days passed by in the most pleasant sort of way, with Tessy feeling stronger and beginning her lessons again with hew tutor. The king finally called for Tessy to eat dinner on the fourth day of her recovery. Tessy dressed in one of her finer gowns. She hoped that the king would accept her explanation, without asking alot of extra questions. "Anna, I wish you could go with me," Tessy said, brushing her hair, as she was about to leave.€"Now, you are doubting yourself again. Remember what I told you. All will go well, I am certain," Anna encouraged Tessy.€"I suppose. How do I look?"Tessy asked,trying to smile.€€ą=ō   šĄ‚š šN¶†īV ƒ !0 123@ABCDEFGHIJKc.knight…#ööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööö