The Owl and the Frog

Chapter 51: Curing the Curse

So my big announcement for this chapter is that this fic is now on Wattpad! I had been thinking of bringing it to that site for a while now, and as of now, the first ten chapters have already been uploaded. I made sure to go through them and fix a few things (mostly spelling/grammar errors), though I did also add a small new scene to "The Sleepover." In fact, I'm thinking that during the next hiatus, I'll take time to reupload all the chapters I've currently done after going through them and fixing a lot of old mistakes. I only just started using Grammarly in my current arc, so I'm sure many of those old chapters could benefit from this editing.

So far, I like Wattpad, and I'm glad to finally find a writing website that understands the concept of a prologue and lets you put one in the fic without it affecting the chapter numbers of your story. I also like how it allows you to publish not just fanfiction but other writing works too. I've also uploaded my first ten sonnets there, as well as some of my poems. And who knows? Maybe I'll upload more original work there in the future. The award/ranking system is neat too (though I'm not exactly sure how it works; somehow my fic's most impressive rank is #579 in OCs, even though it's also #6 in crossover ships...???)

But anyway, here we go! I'm glad I was able to get this chapter out this week. I spent all day working on it, and my Beta Reader managed to go over it in only a few hours so I was able to have it ready to publish now. Oh, one more thing...

This chapter has some intense scenes. It may be scary for younger readers.

Sasha charged forward at the figure in white again, slashing at it, but it melted into the floor, avoiding her attack. Sasha quickly turned around, expecting to be attacked from behind, but the figure didn't appear behind her. She frantically looked around, trying to find out from which direction the figure would appear. Once again, a red glow enveloped her body, picking her up off the ground and throwing her a long distance. Sasha hit the ground hard, hearing a loud, evil laugh as she did.

"You keep falling for that, Sasha," said the figure, finally appearing a few feet away. "You're starting to disappoint me."

Sasha said nothing as she got up, picked up her swords, and charged at the figure again. Though he dodged her attack and summoned up some vines to restrain her, Sasha quickly cut through them and continued toward the figure before finally having him in her sights. As Sasha got closer, though, the figure lifted its hand and closed it into a fist, a red glow forming around it as he did. Sasha immediately tripped and fell down, her feet feeling unnaturally heavy. Sasha turned around and looked down at her feet, letting out a gasp of horror as she did. Her feet had turned to stone, and she couldn't feel or move them at all. As if that weren't bad enough, the stone was spreading, slowly crawling up her legs, and turning everything it touched into stone.

"Wha—what's going on?!" asked Sasha desperately. "What are you doing to me?"

"Oh, are you unfamiliar with petrification?" asked the figure slyly. "I guess they don't have it in Amphibia."

Sasha looked down again and saw the stone had advanced all the way up to her waist. She couldn't feel or move her legs at all, and the sensation of being helpless was starting to scare her. Sasha tried desperately to move her feet or legs, but with each failed attempt, she became more and more nervous.

"It's a slow process," began the figure. "But once completed, it is permanent. You'll be frozen as a statue for the rest of time."

Sasha struggled in vain as the petrification moved to her chest.

"No... Why? Why are you doing this?" asked Sasha.

"To teach you a lesson, Sasha," said the figure, "though it's not too late. Help me get what I want, and I'll let you live."