The Mysterious, Mournful Maiden
Page 4
“But I’m his daughter. I must see him!” Elena insisted.
The doctor blinked. “Oh, excuse me, Your Highness. But I would still advise you to wait awhile. Your father has been working much too hard. He must have peace and quiet if he is to fully recover.”
“Elena?” King Philip called through the door. “Is that you?”
“Yes, Father,” Elena called back.
“Come in. I want to see you.”
Elena looked at the doctor. He rolled his eyes. “All right,” he said, “but try not to overexcite him. And only stay for a few minutes. He really needs to sleep.”
“Don’t worry,” said Elena. “I’ll do just as you say.”
King Philip was lying in bed, a blanket drawn up to his chin. Elena hurried over to him. She bent down and kissed the top of his bald head. “I’m sorry you’re ill,” she said.
“Doctors!” her father grunted in disgust. “They don’t know everything.”
“Yes, but they do know some things,” Elena said gently. “I’ve always thought you worked too hard.”
“Really?” For a moment her father looked surprised. Then he sighed. “Well, I suppose you’re right. I know it’s kept me from spending as much time with you as I’d like.” He laid a hand on her arm. “Have I been a bad father?”
“No!” Elena exclaimed. “But why don’t you let me help with the running of the kingdom? Then you wouldn’t have to work so hard.”
King Philip stared at the ceiling. “But you shouldn’t have to worry about the kingdom’s affairs. You should just read, and go for long walks on the beach, and do whatever else young girls like to do.”
“But I have too much time to do those things,” Elena protested. “I like working. Last week I made the arrangements for my friends’ visit, and it was fun. I even chose the menus all by myself.”
Her father nodded. “So you did. And you made good choices, too. The meals this week have been excellent.”
Elena beamed. “I could do other things if you’d let me.”
“I do believe you could.” He raised his head from his pillow. “So tell me what you and your friends have been up to today. You were gone a long time.”
Elena couldn’t help noticing the circles under her father’s eyes, and that he was stifling a yawn.
“May I tell you about our adventure later?” she asked. “It’s not a short story, and I promised the doctor I wouldn’t stay long. He says you need to rest.”
Her father sank back into his pillow. “I suppose he’s right,” King Philip said tiredly. “But I want to hear all about it later.”
Elena kissed her father on the cheek and then tiptoed out of his room, closing the door quietly behind her. As she entered the Great Hall, she heard voices raised in argument. Two fishermen were hurling insults at each other and landing the occasional punch.
“STOP!” Elena commanded.
11
The Feuding Fishermen
THE FISHERMEN BLINKED. ONE WAS TALL AND thin, and the other was short and squat. “Who are you?” they asked at the same time.
Elena sighed. “I’m King Philip’s daughter, Princess Elena.”
The men bowed awkwardly. “Sorry, Princess, we didn’t recognize you,” the tall fisherman mumbled.
Holding her chin high, Elena sat down in her father’s chair. “My father is ill and needs to rest,” she said, “but perhaps I can help if you’ll just tell me what you were fighting about.”
Both fishermen started to talk at once.
“One at a time, please,” said Elena. She pointed to the tall fisherman. “You first.”
The tall fisherman stepped foward. “He cut up my nets again, Your Highness. How am I supposed to make a living when all my fish escape?”
“He’s lying!” shouted the short fisherman. “But it serves him right—especially after what he did to my nets.”
“I keep telling you, I didn’t touch your nets,” growled the tall fisherman.
“Wait a minute,” said Elena. “Are you the same two fishermen who spoke with my father this morning—just before he collapsed?”
The two fishermen scowled at each other, then nodded.
“Well, what did my father tell you to do?” asked Elena.
They stared at the floor. “He told us to leave each other’s nets alone,” mumbled the short fisherman.
“And did you?” Elena asked gently.
“I did,” declared the tall fisherman, glaring at the short fisherman. “But he didn’t. When I hauled in my nets this afternoon, they were all cut up again.”
The short fisherman glared back. “So were mine!”
“I see,” said the tall fisherman. “So you think I just swam underwater and slashed your nets with a knife when you weren’t looking?”
The short fisherman crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe,” he said.
An idea was starting to form in Elena’s mind. “When did this net-cutting business first start?” she asked.
The short fisherman frowned. “Four days ago,” he said, counting on his fingers. “No, five.”
Aha! thought Elena. It was five days ago that she’d found Sophie’s comb! And hadn’t Sophie said that her family would have emptied the nets of every passing boat to look for her? Now Elena remembered that Sophie had used a broken clam shell to free herself. It must’ve been Sophie’s family who had cut through the fishermen’s nets!
She thought about telling the fishermen, but they probably wouldn’t believe her. And it would be worse if they did. Who knew what they might do then? Sophie’s kingdom was hidden, but the merpeople did occasionally leave its borders. Elena had to protect Sophie and her family.
“I don’t believe either of you cut the other’s nets,” Elena said finally. “Maybe your nets tore on some sharp rocks.”
“But we’ve always fished in the same spot and never had any trouble with torn nets before,” protested the tall fisherman.
“Perhaps,” said Elena, “but things change.” She hoped they wouldn’t question her about this. After all, it wasn’t likely that big, heavy rocks would move around on the ocean floor. “If you move your boats to another spot, I don’t believe you’ll have any more trouble.”
The fishermen just looked at her.
“And…and that’s an order!” Elena finished.
“Yes, Princess,” the fishermen said in unison. Bowing, they left the Great Hall.
Even if they didn’t follow her advice, Elena thought, their nets would be safe now that Sophie was home. And King Philip would have one less argument to settle. She couldn’t wait to tell him. He would be so surprised to learn about the mermaid, too!
Elena hopped down from her father’s chair. As she passed by the fireplace, she glanced up at the portrait of her mother. The look in Queen Helen’s eyes and the smile on her face seemed to say, “Well done, my daughter.” Filled with joy, Elena raced down the hall to join her friends.
About the Author and Illustrator
Suzanne Williams often dreamed of being a princess, but she relinquished all hopes of glitz and glory to pursue the adventure of a lifetime—writing children’s books. Besides the Princess Power series, she is the author of two chapter-book series and several picture books. Her fans know that while Suzanne might not wear a tiara, she definitely rules. Suzanne currently resides in regal Renton, Washington, where she and her husband share their reign with a toy fox terrier. When she’s not penning princess stories, she enjoys puttering around her palace, going for walks in the countryside, and losing herself in good books. You can visit her online at www.suzanne-williams.com.
Chuck Gonzales doesn’t know any princesses personally (other than his sister), but he thinks wearing a crown and not having to spend his own money can’t be all that bad. His noble artwork has appeared in such diverse publications as The New York Times, Weekly Reader, Tiger Beat, and Cosmopolitan. Chuck Gonzales dwells in the majestic kingdom of New York, New York. You can visit him online at www.chuckgonzales.com.
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Credits
Cover art © 2007 by Chuck Gonzales
Cover design by Jennifer Heuer
Copyright
PRINCESS POWER #4: THE MYSTERIOUS, MOURNFUL MAIDEN. Text copyright © 2007 by Suzanne Williams. Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Chuck Gonzales. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061975967
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