Froggy Tale
A frog prince that needs a kiss and a Cinderella seeing things differently in the harsh light of day, brought together by an enchantress who really isn't all that bad, just... misunderstood. Rated: PG

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9  ~  Complete

Chapter One: Frog Prince
        Ribbet. That is all I can say. However, if it was all I had to say, this little story would be rather short. Consisting of repetitions of that sound mostly. So it is good that, though I am a frog, I still retain my mind and can document my story, if only within memory.

        Now, how is it that all I can say is ribbet? Is that not the sound a frog makes? Why, yes it is. And yes, sad to say, I am currently a frog. (A big green slimy one with a long pink tongue that wraps around flies quite well. Disgusting, I know, but all this amphibious body of mine seems to be willing to digest is bugs.) But that little matter will soon be corrected, right after I find myself a maiden mad enough to kiss me. So far, I have not had much luck.

        It is a fair way to start by telling you just why I am living in a slimy green skin and spending far to much time in the water. I bet that’s the question on everyone’s lips. Why would anyone ever turn someone, namely me, into a frog? Who would do such a thing?

        Artava, for one. And, from what I understand, she is not the first. Nor will she be the last. But who is Artava? Artava is beautiful, with long pale hair that hangs to her ankles. She is tall, taller than me (well… taller than I was…) and she is quiet. I was in love with her once, before she did this to me.

        So why would the woman I loved turn me into such a heinous creature?

        Because she didn’t believe me.

        Alright… that is not entirely true. She believed that she meant more than the sun and the moon to me. What she did not believe was that she should be a princess. Oh, did I forget to mention? I’m a prince. I suppose that my froggy form does not change that fact. Somewhere, my regal parents still long for my return. I hope.

        Artava herself never wanted to be a princess. She would, as I think back now, have hated the role. But marriage was on my mind, and there was nothing she could do to dissuade me.

        “Must you goad me?” she demanded, that fateful day, so long ago for a frog.

        “Yes,” I had snapped back. “Why won’t you be willing to be a princess? Don’t you love me as much as I love you?”

        Her angry eyes fell quickly with those words, turned away from me to stare at the floor. She was hiding something, I knew it. Her words confirmed my worst fears. “I do. But… there are things, about me, that you don’t know. You would react badly if I told you.”

        My own eyes narrowed. “It’s that carpenter isn’t it. Thal. The one constructing your new shelves. You’ve been leading me on, but you truly wish to marry him.”

        Her eyes flew up then and fear widened their edges. “No! That is not at all it. My heart is only yours.”

        “Perhaps. But your body?”

        “Nedward,” that was my name, “please believe me. There is no other man, but I cannot tell you.” She was pleading, but I would not hear it.

        “You won’t tell me. Because it is someone else. If not Thal, then Isan. Or Kyn. Many men are taken with you.”

        “No, Nedward. Why won’t you listen? I cannot tell you.”

        “I’m your prince. Shall I make it a royal order?” This was when her face changed. The fear fell away and only cold determination was left. I believe this was the moment she fell out of love. Or forced herself out. With Artava, one could never be sure. She had a strong will.

        Why would these words effect her so? Because, alone, we had forever been equals. Only a boy in love with a girl, and vice versa. Never before had I invoked my position to learn her secrets. And it seemed, she would never allow me to again.

        “You stretch a thread thin, Nedward. One more word and you will break it. Do you wish to break it?” There was a hidden warning in her tone. One I ignored. One I should never have disregarded.

        “There shall be no secrets between us, Artava,” I told her in a steady voice.

        “Fine. The thread is broken, by your hand. I cannot tell you, but I can show you. And show you I will.”

        I smiled, sure that she had come around at last. I opened my mouth to answer in the positive, but all that came out was a loud “Ribbet!” My first utterance of the annoying sound.

        Artava suddenly seemed so large. So much larger than she had ever been before. I was used to leaning my head up, but never craning my neck up to look at her… knees?

        She bent and picked me up with gentle hands that felt so warm against my cold skin. My blood seemed to warm to her touch. “My little Nedward, why did you never listen?” She sighed and walked out the door. Everything was so much larger, not just Artava. “You’ve forced me to turn you into a frog.”

        I gasped in shock, but again, the noise came out as a strangled croak. Only frog noises would escape my mouth.

        “I’m sorry, my once love, but it had to be done. Just like you must find a maiden to kiss you. Only then will you become a man. But not the man you were. No, you must make this woman love you before you have any hopes of returning to your own body and your crown. Ten days hence that time, she must whispered the words, unknowingly, to you, or you will return to being a frog.” Again she sighed. “It is time for you to find someone else to love you. Someone who is deserving of your crown.”

        She set me down next to a pond, right beside a big lily pad that looked as comfortable to me then as any cushion I had ever sat upon. As soon as her hands and her warmth were removed from my body, she was gone. The cold of the ground slowly suffused me. I hate being cold blooded.

        Now, I suppose your wondering. Do I still love my beautiful Artava? In a way. But she was never meant for the life I lived. Do I blame her? Not entirely. I did push her into answering me. Will she ever return to my little frog pond? No. That much is certain. But I do wonder how much she shall do for me to change my state. There is a chance that one of the maidens that passes me by is one sent by her to break my curse.

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