A Garden of Flowers and Bones [Lloyd Garmadon x Reader]

Chapter 20: The words I'm singing now mean nothing more than meow to an animal

"... Even as she did what the king asked, everyone could see that the youngest princess did not want to. The frog ate as much as it could and enjoyed the meal from the princess's golden plate, but every bite the princess took seemed like poison to her."

"It probably was... frogs are very dirty..." Dwyn's voice was tired, her eyes drifting shut only to snap back open as she tried her best to stay awake, "Um, umm... how could they ask her to eat off the same plate as an animal that lives in... ummm... like a bog?"

"Well, she made a promise."

"That's just disgusting, though. Give it another plate or something..."

Y/N could hardly argue with that. They had had this conversation multiple times already whenever they opened the fairytale. With a soft, drowsy smile, she carded her fingers through the younger girl's hair.

In the candlelight, she sat at Dwyn's bedside with a storybook open. This was how they ended many nights. The Frog Prince was a story they were both familiar with. Y/N had grown up with it, herself. Her father and brother used to read it to her, but by the time she turned twelve she was 'too old for it', by her own admission.

These days, there was nothing she wouldn't give to go back to that time and keep hearing her father whisper to her in the yellow glow of a flame, or her brother brusquely changing voices to make the story more entertaining for her. She wasn't too old for it. She should've taken the chance to hear more while she still had the time.

Unfortunately, going back in time was impossible. They could only move forward. So she became the one reading stories to her younger sister instead.

The Frog Prince had been one of her least favourites. That's why it wasn't as worn down as the other books in the house. Though the spine had been bent many times, it hadn't yet torn or split like the others.

"When it had finished, it said, 'now I am tired, so carry me to your room so that I may sleep beside you upon your golden pillow.'

The princess did not want to touch the cold and nasty frog and began to weep. She did not want to dare sleep beside it in her clean and beautiful bed.

Angry, the king said 'you should not despise someone who has helped you in your time of need!'"

"He just picked up a ball, though... she might've promised all this over a ball, but..." Her younger sister yawned, snuggling into her quilt, "Uuumm... doesn't seem like a fair trade."

It wasn't. Not in Y/N's opinion, anyway. Even as a child, she'd thought the same and had detested the idea of being in youngest princesses shoes. After all, frogs were slimy, gross and jumpy, and she hated them. Not to mention, the entitlement of the frog in the story had disturbed her even back then.

"Well, it's just a fairytale. Things might not apply to real people, but in the story he saved her 'most precious playthin'."

"So? 'S still not fair..."

"Yeah," Y/N chuckled lightly, endeared by her sister's drowsiness, "It's not."

She felt that the treatment that the princess got in the story was unfair. Although the princess lied and was shallow, forcing her to sleep in the same bed as a frog that had been living in a lake, as well as eat from the same plate and drink from the same cup- that was completely wrong.

Maybe that was short-sighted of her, but she still agreed to this day. After all, it was just unsanitary.

"Though she was very unwillin, the princess took it up onto her hand and left it in the corner of her room. As she was lyin in bed, it came creepin up to her and said, 'I want to sleep as well as you do. Pick me up or I will tell your father.'