Read Online The Chosen Prince by Diane Stanley - Free Book Online Page A

corridor.
    This has been going on for quite some time and Teo is getting very good at it. He can tell by the sound of her snores when it’s safe to leave and has a good sense of how much time he has before he needs to run back.
    The sickroom door opens again and this time Carissa comes out, carrying a chamber pot. She stops for no discernible reason, facing in Teo’s direction. He scrunches farther into the crack between the wall and the chest. But he can still see her, so it follows that shecan also see him—or she could if she weren’t scanning the walls instead of looking down at the floor where Teo is hiding.
    â€œWhat was that?” Carissa says, as if talking to herself. “I thought I heard a little mouse. I guess I’d better call the rat catcher.”
    â€œNo!” Teo whispers.
    â€œOr maybe not. The mouse is probably just visiting, hoping to hear how Prince Alexos is doing. The palace mice would be eager to know that, I suppose. It’s perfectly reasonable.”
    She ignores the stifled giggle from behind the chest.
    â€œWell, I assure you—wherever you are, little mouse—that the prince is growing stronger every day. His fever is gone and he’s eating again. But he does miss his little brother most terribly. He asks about him every single day.”
    There is a joyful little gasp, which Carissa also pretends not to hear.
    â€œ And ,” she goes on (still talking to the wall—which is really very strange, since mice are usually to be found on the floor), “King Ektor is coming all the way back from the war to visit Alexos. Isn’t that exciting? He should be here very soon.”
    She turns to go (she has to empty the chamber potand wash it clean) but pauses again just for a moment. “I should also remind the little mouse that the cat is likely to wake fairly soon, so he might want to scurry back into his hole.”
    As soon as Carissa has gone, Teo dashes down the hall, turns the corner, and runs up the stairs to his nursery.
    The cat is still asleep.

9
    â€œ THE BRACE WILL KEEP his leg in its normal position,” Suliman explains to the king. “It will allow him to rest his weight upon it without creating deformity at the ankle or the knee.”
    â€œAnd the other leg?”
    â€œIt has regained some of its function, though it’s still very weak. We’ve been working to strengthen the unaffected muscles, to compensate for those which have been lost.”
    â€œI see. He’ll walk with a cane, then—always?”
    â€œI’m afraid so, Your Majesty.”
    Alexos sits in silence on the edge of his bed, taking no part in this conversation. His legs are bare and on display, the right one imprisoned in a metal cage that reaches from his thigh to below the ankle, a leatherstrap running under the instep of his foot. The humiliation is unbearable and Suliman seems to sense this. He reaches over and rests a consoling hand on Alexos’ shoulder.
    â€œThe prince has shown remarkable courage throughout this whole ordeal.”
    â€œI would expect nothing less,” says the king.
    Alexos stays in his rooms for weeks, allowing no one to visit. He isn’t ready to show himself in public yet. He has tried telling himself that the awkwardness, the pitying looks, the embarrassment of the brace and the cane, are all marks of his noble suffering. But he’s a boy of twelve who has been damaged for life and even Alexos finds this daunting. He just needs a little more time. Also there is the question of how he will get around.
    â€œIt will be easier if you walk with crutches,” Suliman says. “Your right leg can bear your weight, reinforced as it is with the brace. You will have stability and can move fairly quickly, though stairs will be a problem.”
    â€œNo, Suliman. I’d rather use a cane.”
    â€œCertainly that is your choice, my prince. But it will be harder; and first you will have to