CANONETW1V021 CAQ0001 TLCS-90 GjVS160 Book1f TXT 119-137 QjˆžiŠ LST ŃŅÓŌ**ÕÖ LBL ×ŲwŁŚŪ€ą=ō   šĄ‚š šN¶†īV ƒ !0 123@ABCDEFGHIJKfeeling quite cute, but nevertheless coming straight to the point.‚š šN¶†īV ƒ€"I apologize for the delay in getting back with you after the trip you so graciously supported. Really, it was quite horrible," Tessy paused, as a servant filled her soup bowl.€"I spoke with the guards, of course, and they informed me that you were unable to get any information from the prisoner, and that apparently he had gone quite mad, from being in the dungeon. Is this correct?" the king implored.€Tessy felt relief that the guards had given the king such a story, and this would save her from further agony, for she loathed lies and deceit. "I am certain that something terrible was wrong with the man, and I can truly say, I have never seen anyone so pathetic. Nevertheless, I wanted to bring him to you, to see if you or anyone else could interpret his riddles and nonsense," Tessy answered.€"Ah yes, that does bring me to my next area of concern, and perhaps the primary reason for my asking you to come this evening. Where is this mad man now?" the king asked, without giving Tessy a clue about what he had heard. €"Well, I have no idea, your majesty," Tessy answered giving the least amount of information, before the king indicated more of what he already knew.€"You have no idea? My concern is great here! This criminal, who tried to take my daughter's life, is loose from my prison, and you have no idea where he might be? This is deplorable and shows total disregard for the mission I sent you to accomplish," the king sounded in utter dismay.€"Well, didn't the guards tell you?" Tessy questioned, hoping some way that she would get an idea of what the king already knew.€"Of course, they told me; they told me that the prisoner escaped," the king answered. "This is just not acceptable, and I do not feel this negligence should go unpunished!"€Tessy looked at the king, hoping that she would have words to calm his anger, but she saw him in his true light, a man of dishonor and a man of fear, because of what he was and what all he had done. No wonder, he always jumped when the mention of harm to himself or the princess had been suggested. On the inside, he was a mere coward, dressed in robes and disguised as royalty. € Tessy was able to speak with authority and courage, without any emotion, "Then punish me, if need be. The prisoner was a dying man, with perhaps only a day, possibly two to live, and riding north, without proper clothing, or money, I am quite sure he has already frozen, somewhere in the snow." Tessy held her breath, waiting for the king's response.€He sat in silence and swallowed several sips of soup, before he continued. The king wiped the droplets of soup from his beard, and stroked it several times, trying to appear very wise, while saying, "I can not hold you responsible for this blunder, I suppose. You are practically a child, and I have always been certain that you loved my daughter and that your intentions were good."€Tessy, who was nearly seventeen, didn't like being referred to as a child, but didn't dare squirm or show her disapproval. She tried to sip down a little soup, acting as though she was completely at ease, but never taking her eyes off of the king for even a second. The king continued, "I gave my guard strict orders to escort you, so, I actually can not hold him responsible either. I will, then, hold the warden in charge of the prison responsible. Yes, he had no business releasing one of my prisoners, to anyone, without my consent. Very good, very good, this decision sets well with me."€The king seemed unduly proud of himself, Tessy thought. He then spoke softly for a few moments with his ministers. They chuckled together and the king smiled, saying, "Let us now enjoy the rest of our meal, since this small matter has been settled. I can now leave on my holiday abroad in peace. Tessy, has my daughter told you about our trip yet?"€Tessy had no idea what he was talking about, so she just shook her head and answered, "We have not really had much chance lately to talk, since I have been ill. Where are you going?" €"We will be leaving in two days to travel to several countries that I want my daughter to have the opportunity to visit. I think we will see as much of the world as possible, because she will need this knowledge and experience one day when she is queen," the king answered, obviously thrilled with the whole idea. €Tessy agreed that traveling is an education, unmatched by even books or the best tutors. She tried to be enthusiastic about the places they would be visiting, but mostly felt excited that the king would be away for awhile. She wondered how long they would be gone and asked, "I will surely miss the princess. How long will you be away?"€The king, not hesitating even a second, answered, "We plan on being absent from the palace no more than two months. We realize that this is a long time of separation for you two friends, but we were contemplating asking you to join us. Would you like that?"€Horrified by the thought, Tessy tried to seem grateful and answered as kindly as she possibly could, "I think some times a separation can be healthy, and though I will miss Carmalyn, I do have my studies and a new tutor. Also, I think the trip would be more special, if just you and Carmalyn were together, don't you?"€"Well, I had some of those thoughts myself. Tessy, I think you and I must think alike; that is why you are one of my favorite people," the king babbled, and talked with food in his mouth.€Tessy felt amused that the king said that she and he thought alike, for little did he suspect that she was trying to arrange her words, according to the way he seemed to think. Well, anyway, it worked, Tessy thought, relieved and simply smiled at him. € The rest of the dinner was spent with little conversation, until everyone excused themselves, and Tessy scurried to Anna's room, to tell her everything that happened. Anna came to her door and Tessy quickly entered. "Oh, Anna, I could not wait until tomorrow to tell you how everything went so well," and Tessy went into the details of the evening, while Anna patiently listened.€"So, he will be away for a couple of months, you say? Well, that will be fortunate for us," Anna responded and then encouraged Tessy to remember the evening deeply in her heart, as assurance that she was not alone. She gently encouraged Tessy to spend some quiet time, alone, and go to bed to get the rest she needed after having such an emotional evening. Tessy and Anna hugged for the first time. "I love you," Tessy said softly, and Anna answered, "and indeed, I have always and will always love you." €Tessy had no trouble sleeping throughout the night. In fact, she could hardly believe her ears, when knocking at her door awoke her the next morning well after dawn. She sensed that is was much later than her normal, morning wake-up call. Carmalyn came rushing in, dressed and too excited to even wait for her to answer the door, "Well, look at my lazy friend!" Carmalyn said teasingly. "You're going to sleep right through breakfast, and that can't be today! We've got to catch up on everything. Father told me that you already know about our long holiday, and I begged him to let you come with us. I already miss you, Tess, and this will be an eternity without seeing you. I don't think I will be able to stand it."€Still not totally awake, Tessy felt baffled by what her best friend was talking about, but managed to answer, "I will miss you too, Carma, and I wouldn't want you to go, except that I have learned that traveling is truly a broadening of one's horizons. Think of the shopping you will be able to do. I imagine your father will have to purchase another coach, just to take everything you purchase along the way back home!" Tessy teased, but was also being quite sincere.€"You know what? I hadn't even thought about the shopping, Tess! I will love that, won't I?" Carmalyn answered gleefully, giggling and talking at the same time. "I will write you every day. I promise. Of course, you will not be able to write me back, so maybe you can just keep a journal, for me to read. Anyway, I don't want us to drift apart too much. You're not just my friend, you know."€Tessy wasn't sure what Carmalyn was referring to, but thought to herself, no, she wasn't just a friend, they were first cousins, but what on earth did BCsheBC mean? €The princess continued, "You are just like my sister, and even though you are my same age, you have been like my big sister. I have treasured our friendship and now, I will fuss at you. What in the world got you so upset that you became so ill, Tessy? You gave us all a terrible fright! I almost became ill, myself, looking at you, so pitiful. I even felt guilty, because I knew you had left, hoping to help me. Now, tell me everything about the trip, Tessy. I mean it...everything!" The princess changed to a very serious expression of concern. €Tessy felt startled by the sudden change, and was completely speechless for several minutes, knowing that she could never hurt the princess. She felt deeply compassionate towards her at this moment, realizing how deceived she was, and that if she were to discover that she was not actually the true princess, she would probably go off the deep end. For Tessy realized that Carmalyn's life had been built upon the idea of her false heritage, understandably developing a life-style totally devoted to fame, fortune, and power, very much like her father. Tessy also realized how deeply it would hurt the princess to be told that her father was a bogus king, whose life was built around delusion and fraud.„Chapter 12€ Nevertheless, Tessy had no dreams of her own inheritance at the expense of hurting her dearest friend, and after thinking quite awhile answered Carmalyn, "You know you are my best friend also. We have shared many things during our lives. We have so much in common and yet, we are very different, thus lending to our great compatibility. I want to tell you everything, as I always have, but this is the only time, that I, well...I just don't think I can."€The princess didn't want to accept Tessy's restraint and kept trying to coerce her into telling about the prisoner.€Tessy sunk into her covers, groping for a reasonable solution to meeting her friend's demands without hurting her by telling her the truth. Finally, she spoke, "I will never know why I thought I could have any faith in a criminal's credibility. Do you know what I am saying? He was a mad man, Carma, that is all! Why would you even want to know anything about such a man?"€"Because he upset you, and I want to know why," the princess answered, seeming utterly sincere, but still persistently insisting Tessy tell her the whole story. €Tessy was clever enough, and finally awake enough to dissolve the convervation, and yet not cause the princess any more distress. She calmly spoke, "Carma, I think I will be too upset to discuss this anymore now. Perhaps, when I am stronger again, we can talk and laugh about my disastrous endeavor to be helpful, only to end up causing a great stir all around me, by getting ill from it all," Tessy tried to laugh, hoping she could delay further conversation, at least until the princess and her father returned from abroad.€"Tessy, please forgive my thoughtlessness. I surely do not want to cause you to become upset again. You are right. When we get back, you will be much stronger, and then we will have much more time to talk. Promise me, though, that you will tell me DEeverythingDE when I come back, promise me." Carmalyn persisted, while trying to absolve herself from being so pushy.€Tessy decided to oblige the princess in order to diffuse the conversation, and vowed, "I promise, Carma, but only because you insist." So, the princess felt satisfied, and began talking about the upcoming trip, discussing every detail of what she intended to pack, not even stopping as they ate the breakfast that had been brought, while she continued her almost neverending monologue. € By the time, they had finished, and the princess was about to leave, Anna arrived to see if Tessy felt well enough to begin her lessons. Anna seemed surprised to see Tessy still wearing her night clothes, and commented on the fact. The princess then realized how she had been keeping Tessy tied up, and hadn't even given her the chance to dress. She explained that they had been talking since early morning, and excused herself, giving Tessy a tremendous hug and kiss. "I'll come by tonight, Tess," she winked and pranced out of the room, while Anna excused herself also, for Tessy to dress. Tessy hurried, so that she could talk with Anna, and tell her what had just happened.€ When Anna came back in, she discussed the princess' morning conversation, and shared how that she had pleaded with her to tell her all about the trip to the prison.€"I may have to tell her, Anna, but you know I don't want to hurt her, not for anything in all the world," Tessy explained.€"Sometimes, my dear one, the truth is very painful at first, but the honor and truthfulness found in real friendship, must endure the test. Truly, many decisions in life are difficult to make, and no one can make them for you. You were wise, though, not to discuss the trip with her today. Now, you will have time to feel good about what you tell her, when and if the time is right," Anna counseled, and then changed the subject. "Are you ready for some lessons?"€"No," Tessy giggled. "But I will do my best!" €So, the two began the first of the many days to come of taking trips with their minds to faraway places, and visiting the minds of great people and writers, all through the wonderful world of Anna's prized books. Time would fly, and with Anna, learning was almost exactly like being there, right in the world of each of the writers. Teaching was so natural with Anna, that Tessy was totally captivated and thus, their lessons and time together became the most special and cherished time of their lives. €As the weeks passed by, almost too fast, for both Anna and Tessy, the two became very close, as if they had always known each other. At night, Tessy thought about the princess and missed her greatly. The princess' letters were definite highlights, during their time of separation. Tessy was surprised at how well the princess could write, despite the fact, that she had spent very little time with her lessons. The princess seemed very happy, except that she did complain about some of the food and how she missed Tessy so very much, that she almost wanted to ask her father if they could cut their holiday a little short, and get back sooner. However, she would add that her father was traveling on a cloud, and that she didn't want to ruin the trip for him. She had never seen him happier.€Tessy also was receiving occasional letters from Madam Ramona in Lockhart, who had married the doctor. She begged Tessy to visit, but all her letters were in different languages, still trying to challenge Tessy to continue her studies in foreign languages. She asked a number of questions about Tessy's new tutor and questioned her new tutor's qualifications, Tessy thought just out of natural curiosity. Tessy always answered the letters to Madam Ramona promptly, and wrote about Anna with tremendous enthusiasm, but was thoughtful to not show too much favoritism towards Anna. That was indeed difficult to do. € Tessy wasn't able to send letters to the princess, as they were on the road too much for a letter to arrive at any of their destinations. Also,she had not been given their itinerary. However, Tessy wrote in her journal every night, as if she were talking directly to her best friend, highlighting the events of the day.€Tessy was able to accompany Anna and several servants to help transplant Anna's rose bushes into the gardens at the palace. Anna seemed much more comfortable after the work was finished, and spent much of her free time working with them in the garden. Tessy would join her frequently to enjoy the fresh air in a pensive, yet somewhat exhilarating way. Tessy tried to imagine her mother as the queen, and at best, it was difficult, for she seemed so at home in the gardens. Nevertheless, her close observation drew her closer to her mother, for Anna never seemed bitter or hardened by her life. She rather seemed quite grateful, despite the destruction of the royal life she had once enjoyed. Tessy grieved for the hardships her mother had faced in solitude, and longed to have her honor restored. Tessy tried desperately not to sit and loathe the king, but as time passed without his presence, she became less fearful of him. € Sundays were Tessy's favorite day, as they were able to travel into the village to attend services at the simple, small village church. Tessy and Anna would sit in the balcony, where they would be less noticeable, and Anna would take notes of everything the clergyman would say. Tessy would just listen, hoping somehow to find relief from her tremendous resentment against the king. She would meditate about forgiveness, but the more she tried, the worse it would become. On the way home, she would ask Anna about this, "Why do you suppose when I am trying so hard to release these harsh thoughts, that I just seem to think more about it, and feel worse inside?"€"You are trying too hard to win a fight inside yourself. Quit trying. Feelings come and go, as the sunshine and the rain. When we can't accept something, we will of course, have some unpleasant feelings. The world is a beautiful place, Tessy, but unfortunately, some of the people in it are not as beautiful. Some have defects of character that clearly are against all you and I believe. However, we do not have to hate the person who is so far from perfect. We just try to find compassion, as you would for anything that is deficient and imperfect. As for your feelings, well, let honesty be your guide to whatever action you must take, Tessy. Whenever, we can't let go inside of things that are bothering us, we must ask for courage to do the right thing. The right thing is usually clear, if you are always true to yourself," Anna spoke with such wisdom, Tessy felt much of the despair inside broken. € Tessy thought about her words the rest of the way home. Perhaps, the message was clear, that she simply couldn't pretend any longer. Maybe Anna was just much stronger, and could somehow absolve the deceit and lies that had affected both of their lives, but Tessy could not. Tessy admired her mother's great humility, but she could not live in submission the rest of her life, to such an abominable human being as the king. She knew that even if it would mean her life that one day, she would have to stand face to face with the king in truthfulness and honesty. €Her fear left, and she realized the blessings that had occurred, to enable her life to be reunited with her mother and have such precious time with her. She knew her mother had more riches than anyone in the kingdom. Tessy could see into Anna's heart, a heart truly unaffected by any bitterness towards her oppressor. Tessy wished that she could just accept things as they were, as her mother seemed to be able to do. How Tessy admired her, yet Anna was her constant reminder of the deception and fraud in the kingdom. €Tessy felt unusually tired and after supper that evening, retired early. She closed the window and bolted her door, as usual, climbing into her covers. The room was chilled, so she snuggled deeply underneath all her comforters. She drifted deeply into a sound, peaceful slumber. All of sudden, though, she was awakened by an abnormal noise, and felt an unusual presence of someone in her room. "Who is there?" she called out, but no one answered. Oh well, she thought, no one could be in here, remembering how she had locked her windows and bolted the door. Still not feeling completely at ease, she pulled her covers over her head, and listened but heard no more strange noises. She tried to go back to sleep, but almost as she felt calm again, she heard another noise, closer to her bed. "Who is in here?" she called out from under her covers. "Tell me, or I will scream!" She pulled the covers from over her head and peered out to see a silhouette of some human in the moonlight, standing directly over her bed.„Chapter 13€"Don't scream. That's just exactly what I don't want you to do," the voice from the silhouette answered.€"Who is it? I can't see you," Tessy demanded, struggling to recognize the familiar, yet strange voice.€"It's me, Sturdivent," the voice identified himself. €"Goodness, Sturdivent?" Tessy questioned, pondering over the unfamiliar name, then thinking, oh, the ex-merchant, the ex-prisoner or who knows ex-whatever now. "What are you doing here?"€"The obvious, Tessy, I have come to see you and fill you in on the details. I have been unable to write, so when I heard of the king's absence, I thought it would be better to see you in person," the so-called Sturdivent explained. Tessy, still feeling horrifed by the scare he had given her, did not respond, so he continued, "I have done as I told you. I have organized an army of barbarians and some escaped criminals in the north, who had been loyal to your father and sought refuge in the high country. We are strong and soon will be able to defeat the king's army here. Our strength will be the element of surprise. I need, however, to have at least a few of the palace guards on our side. Do you have any that you can trust, that you think would be loyal to you?"€Tessy thought about what all he said, abhorring the thought of any bloodshed, and answered, "I suppose I do have true friendships with a couple of the guards, and I believe that they would be loyal to me. But isn't there another way? I do not like this idea of overthrowing the king by slaughter and killing innocent people. This is not what I had in mind. I do not want to war with the king's army, if there is any other way."€"There is another way, but it would be much more dangerous to us, and perhaps impossible. However, we could abduct him from his chambers, but then what will we do with him?" Sturdivent inquired.€"Well, I don't know. We have to somehow prove, in fact, that he did murder my father in cold blood, and totally dishonor him, before we can pass any sentence upon him. Until we do that, the kingdom will still remain loyal to him. Is there any way that we can prove he is a liar and a traitor?" Tessy questioned.€"Yes, I do believe I have some items that we can offer as proof, that he never even went into battle. I traced his location, at the time of the murder, and was able to find his sword and shield. Neither had any scratches or any indications of ever being worn. I found the person who was in charge of the Inn where he and several of his soldiers were staying, a few miles from the battle sight. I was told that he left in the night with several men in a large coach. However, all his belongings were left that he would have normally taken, even his boots, sword and shield. His crown and medallions, however, were not left behind, so evidently, whoever he left with, took them along. His diary was also left behind, and I have it. It never says anything about going into battle or even intending to go. I believe I have enough witnesses, who can testify that these articles were left behind at the Inn, and that they were not stolen from him by thieves, after he died in battle. For one thing, the armor would be scratched; but you see, it was not ever even used. Your father was no fighter, I can assure you. He would always be close to his men, but he would never have gone into the battle."€"Oh, I don't know, Sturdivent. you have done some excellent investigating, but still it could all be debated. We must look for something else, some stronger piece of evidence, I think," Tessy said, disappointing Sturdivent, who was fired up and ready for action. "I just don't think those are convincing enough to have a whole kingdom believe us, over the king's slyness. Then, I also do not know what to do about the princess. I am greatly concerned about her and don't think she could endure such humiliation."€"Think about what is rightfully yours! Child, think about your mother and your father. Now, how can you have this pity on the daughter of your father's murderer?" Sturdivent asked coldly.€"I have to, that is all! You need not understand why. We must think of some way, to avoid hurting her needlessly, or I am totally opposed to any of this scheme," Tessy answered.€"Very well, I do have some ideas, and I will work on them, but it would have been much easier if I had poisened her when she was but ten years of age. Now, you are even more attached to her, and this is just further foolishness and complications," Sturdivent scolded.€"You are a bad man, Studivent," Tessy retorted, "You believe in killing in the name of justice, and I do not agree with you. I don't know how we ever got into this situation together. What interest do you really have in all this?"€"Let's just say, that I am not the villain as I may appear. I do admit being vindictive, not bad. Remember Tessy, I am on your side. I am just willing to do whatever is necessary to vindicate your position. Everything else is personal, and believe me, I have my reasons, but I do not wish to discuss them with you at this time. I will work on an idea to keep your friend from being harmed, and now, I must be leaving. I will stay in touch," and as he spoke, he opened the window and climbed outside somewhere into the darkness. Tessy could only feel the chill in the room going down her spine. She believed that surely something was amiss with that man, and she wasn't at all comfortable about having him on her side. She wanted to know more about him, and to understand why he truly hated the king, and seemed so devoted to her in this matter. What was his vendetta against the king? She would have to find out before she went any further with any of his so-called plans. Tessy hoped that there would be a better way to set things right, without any bloodshed, but she was without any ideas. €€ą=ō   šĄ‚š šN¶†īV ƒ !0 123@ABCDEFGHIJKc.knight…#ööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööööö