The Perfectly Proper Prince by Suzanne Williams Page A

King Sheldon II, the purse refilled with gold coins whenever it was empty. Though Lysandra was careful to keep the purse safe, anybody stealing it would get a nasty surprise. When it was opened by anyone except Lysandra, swarms of bees flew out and pursued the thief.
    Truthfully, however, Lysandra never had much use for her purse. Most of the things shewas allowed to spend money on—gowns and sweets, for example—weren’t things she cared all that much about. Well, she enjoyed sweets, but she could only eat so many of them before she made herself sick…or got a toothache.
    But there was one thing she enjoyed spending her coins on. Lysandra glanced across the room toward Gabriella. Her soft snores signaled that she was asleep. Good .
    Reaching under her pillow, Lysandra pulled out a book. It had been worth all the gold coins she’d spent on it. An adventure story, the book was about a prince who was on a quest to find a magical herb to cure his sick father. Along the way the prince battled an ogre with eight heads, slew three dragons, and outwitted an evil sorcerer.
    Lysandra wished she could have adventures like that. It was frustrating to only be able to read about them. And even that had to bedone in secret. Princesses weren’t supposed to read adventure stories—just poetry and romances, and the etiquette books that Gabriella favored.
    After she finished her chapter, Lysandra closed her book and hid it under her pillowagain. She threw off her sheets and slipped out of bed. Then she wrapped herself in a brown woolen cloak, pulling up the hood to hide her wavy blond hair. Then, tiptoeing so as not to wake Gabriella, Lysandra escaped their room.

2
The Sword Fight
    L YSANDRA CREPT TO THE END OF THE CORRIDOR, then ran downstairs to a small room that overlooked the castle courtyard. The thud of wooden swords on wooden shields met her ears. Below, Lysandra’s cousin Owen and his friends, George and Henry, practiced fighting. Unlike princesses, boys didn’t have to take naps. It was unfair. But Gabriella always said, “Princesses need their beauty sleep.”
    â€œOw!” yelled Owen.
    â€œI got you!” George pointed the tip of his wooden sword under Owen’s large chin. “Now I’m the knight and you have to be my horse.”
    â€œNo fair!” cried Owen. “My shield’s too small. With a bigger one, you couldn’t have gotten me.”
    Lysandra grinned. Owen always had some excuse for his poor fighting skills. In truth, his shield was slightly larger than the other boys’ shields.
    â€œFace it, Owen,” said Henry. “George got you fair and square.” Lysandra rather liked Henry. He was kind, and besides, he could squirt a fine stream of water between his two front teeth.
    Owen’s face went red. “That’s it! I’m through playing with the two of you!” Tossing his sword and shield, he ran off.
    George and Henry looked at each otherand shrugged. Then they raised their swords and shields and went on with their game, charging each other and slashing the air between them.
    Pretending she held a sword and shield too, Lysandra copied their moves, adding some fancy footwork. Take that, Troll! she thought as she swung her imaginary sword. Not that she’d ever seen a troll, of course. The rare times she was allowed outside the castle, she had only caught a glimpse of thecountryside as it passed in front of her carriage.
    Lysandra rested her imaginary sword in the middle of the imaginary troll’s massive chest. “I will let you go,” she said, “if you leave the kingdom and never come back.”
    â€œR-R-R-R-ROAR!” came a growl from behind her.
    Startled, Lysandra spun around so fast, her hood flew off.
    â€œGot you!” Owen laughed. “I don’t knowwhat you think you’re playing at,” he said. “Fighting is man’s work. Why, even the smallest troll could swallow you in a