The Frog and The Beast

The Frog Chapter 13

Later that night, I awoke to a persistent itch on my back, and instinctively began to scratch. Damn it! It was frustrating not to have fingernails; my webbed stubs could barely penetrate my skin. But then, I felt a tear. I glanced to my side and noticed my skin was peeling. Was I shedding? Do frogs even shed?

I hopped out of my terrarium and made my way to the window for a better look. As I tugged at the green, slimy skin, I was astonished to find that beneath it, there was not more frog skin, but human skin—my old human skin. I pulled harder, and to my amazement, it all began to come off. I could feel myself expanding, growing larger and larger. My hand—my old hand—emerged from beneath the frog skin, followed by my old arm, my old legs, and finally my old feet. Once I had completely shed the frog skin, I caught a glimpse of my old face reflected in the glass of the window.

I was back. I was human again. I could hardly believe it.

"Mom!" I shouted. "Dad! I—Mmmph!"

Suddenly, a hand clamped over my mouth, and I heard a sharp whisper in my ear.

"Shh! Don't you dare make another sound! Unless you want to spend the rest of your life as Minerva's pet!"

It was Erza. How did she get in here? I quickly removed her hand from my mouth and turned to face her.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice far from the whisper she had used.

"Trying to save your life," she replied, glancing down. "Uh... By the way, you might want to cover up."

"Huh?"

I looked down and realized, to my horror, that I was completely naked.

"Ahh!"

I screamed and quickly jerked the blankets off my bed, clothing my body with them.

"Just what the hell is going on?" I asked.

"Didn't Minerva mention to you that at night you could return to your human form?"

"I can do that?"

I thought back to the very last time I Minerva had spoken to me. When she was telling me about the spell, how to break it, the limitations, ect. I quickly recalled that she had mentioned something like that, but I had forgotten.

"So I can really change back at night?"

"Yes. After sun down, you can shed your skin and be temporarily restored to your natural form." Erza explained. "But once the sun rises again, you'll change back into a frog."

"Well that makes things a little easier. At least now I can tell my parents what happened to me."

"No you can't. If you let any human eyes fall on you while you're in this form, Minerva will take you prisoner and God only knows what she'll do to you."

I felt a wave of panic wash over me. The thought of being trapped again, of being Minerva's pet for eternity, sent chills down my spine. I had just regained my humanity, and now I was faced with the possibility of losing it again.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" I asked, my voice trembling with uncertainty. "And why would she even allow me to change back at night, as long as no human sees me like this?"

"For starters, witches are technically not human. We're an entirely different species, which means she can look upon you in this form without any issue. Besides, she seems to have taken quite a liking to you. And... well... what do you think two people who like each other do at night?"

In that moment, a wave of nausea washed over me, more intense than anything I had ever experienced in my life.

"Gross!" I gagged. "Never thought a chick could be such a pervert."