Once Upon A Princess

4: An Unlikely Ally

Amelia had to stop herself from gasping. She swallowed it down, looking again at the frog. It looked normal, almost benign. She'd mistake it for any ordinary frog.

It spoke again, needing to rise out of the water slightly to get its whole mouth in the air.

"Hello, I'm sorry to have startled you."

She wanted to laugh. She was way past startled.

"Hi, um...frog? I'm sorry, I don't know —"

"It's perfectly alright," it finished. "You must be confused. Of course you are. Frogs don't talk," it said, chuckling to itself. Its voice was guttural, croaky, and deep. It sounded like it had a hard time talking; most of its words came out as if hard to pronounce.

She shook her head. It was strange how much it actually sounded like a frog, if she were to imagine what a frog would speak like. "Not normally."

The frog seemed to be preparing itself for something.

"I'm not a frog, not really. I'm a person. Or, rather, I was until a witch put a spell on me."

Amelia's eyes went wide, and she couldn't help herself from lowering down farther to inspect the creature. Perhaps it showed signs of magic being put on it.

"Wow! A witch, really?"

"I'm afraid so. Not to brag, but I've had my share of encounters with witches. This time I did not get out with the best outcome. I've been cursed to be a frog, as you can plainly see."

"Why did the witch curse you?" Amelia's curiosity was like a live wire, electrifying her limbs and starting a churn in her stomach. Her heart felt like a galloping horse. She'd heard tell of witches, but she'd never heard of someone who'd actually met one before.

"I was apparently treading on her property. She didn't take too kindly to my being there," it answered simply. "I believe I'm in Avenor, is that right?"

Amelia got the sense the frog wanted to elaborate on its adventures, but was holding back for some reason.

Instead she nodded in answer to his question. "This is the castle."

"I thought so," it said. It was still strange to watch an animal talk so eloquently. "I'm from Gell."

Gell was the neighboring kingdom. Avenor was peaceful with Gell, as they had been for many years at this point.

"You came all the way from Gell?"

The frog sighed, which only looked funny with its large mouth. Amelia had to suppress a giggle.

"I was quite a ways from home when the witch cursed me. I've been traveling for a long while, but it's so much farther when you're as small as I am."

She felt bad for the frog. "I'm sorry." Then a terrible thought suddenly occurred to her. "Are you ever going to be human again?"

The frog looked almost embarrassed. "Yes, there is a way to lift the curse," it said vaguely. It didn't not enlighten Amelia any further than that, but instead changed the subject. "Anyway, I can retrieve the ball for you, I believe."

She'd completely forgotten why the frog — no, cursed human — had talked to her in the first place.

"Oh, really? It's all the way at the bottom."

"In my current form, I'm a rather adept swimmer. Better than I was as a human. It shouldn't be much of a problem at all."

"That would be wonderful! I thought it was gone forever."

"Nothing is gone forever," the frog said. "Not when it's just within reach."

They held eye contact; and it felt strange to be looking at a frog like this. The bulbous eyes did contain something, Amelia thought. More than what a normal frog's eyes would hold. It had that spark of humanity in them.

"Alright, go ahead and get it then," she prompted, breaking their eye contact as she looked down at the ball again. It looked so far away, almost in another world as it rippled in and out of focus.

"But, I will say—" the frog began.

Amelia looked over again as she interrupted it. "You don't want to do it for free?"

The frog smiled knowingly. "That's right."

Amelia didn't even hesitate. "I'll give you whatever you want."

It seemed taken aback. "Really? Just like that?"

She gripped the edges of the grass, as if she would fall in and she needed to steady herself. "I need that ball," she said.

The frog seemed to notice the determination in her eyes. She tried to convey all of her desire and will. Never mind that Camil had just convinced her she didn't need another toy. The fact is, she wanted this one very badly.

Several seconds went by before the frog finally spoke. "You won't like what I want from you."

"How do you know? You haven't told me what you want yet." It was almost a challenge. I dare you to ask for something I can't give you.

Then the frog seemed to understand. It looked briefly down from her face to her dress, perhaps noticing the rich fabric for the first time. It gave her a knowing smile.

"It turns out that this will be easier than intended," it said ominously.

"What do you mean?"

Amelia seemed to be leaning so far over the edge any witnesses would testify she was sure to fall. Her hands were still gripping at the grassy edges, though it was quite slippery and provided only a little support. She felt like she now smelled like the pond; algae and stale water and damp green foliage. It might take a week to get the smell out.

"You see, you're just the person I'm looking for," the frog said boldly. Amelia's eyes widened.

"Really? What do you need me for?"

"You see, the witch's curse turned me into a frog. She told me to break the curse, I had to kiss a princess."

Amelia sucked in a breath, holding it in her lungs with her shock. The word rang through her head. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss!

"You are the princess of this realm, right?"

Amelia nodded then, slowly. "My name is Amelia," she whispered. It was so quiet she could swear she hadn't said it at all.

"Then forgive me for not giving the proper introductions," it said. It barely seemed fazed to be in the presence of a royal.

Amelia shook her head, out of habit more than anything else. She felt as if someone else was doing these things, and she was floating in her head and watching it all.

"There's no need," she said.

The frog cleared its throat, a strange guttural noise coming from a small animal.

"Well then, if I get your ball, would you be so kind as to free me from this curse?"

The princess sucked in another breath, letting the air go through her teeth. She was still feeling strange since he'd first told her what she'd have to do.

Before she had a chance to answer, a shout came from behind Amelia.

"What are you doing?" It was a yell from a guard, worried and loud. He must've been coming by on his rounds.

Amelia whipped her head around, forgetting that she was precariously balanced. Her hand slipped on the wet grass, and she saw the guard running towards her with horrified eyes as she fell into the cold water.