Disclaimer: Totally mine. Well, not really. It's inspired by the fairy tale, "The Frog Prince," but the concept is pretty much mine. None of these characters are based on anyone dead/alive or anyone else's characters, yadda, yadda. (Although I fully intend on naming my son Cristobel, that is, if I ever have a son! =^-^=)

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Chapter I

"You pitiful little wretch!" shouted Lady Abbersmith, "How dare you try to ruin my daughter's engagement to the prince! The prince can never love you, you common filth. As a human you're beauty blinded men, but what do you have to offer without it? I curse you, pretty little Victoria. Never again will a man be deceived by your beauty and never again will a prince fall for your charms!!!...."

Waking up with a start, Tori shook her head clear of the nightmare that had plagued her for nearly two hundred years.

"Another lovely, lonely day," she thought, stretching her long legs in the sun's bright rays, and went off in search of breakfast.

Sitting on a lily pad, digesting her food, she silently contemplated her reflection in the water. Lady Abbersmith had done her curse well, changing all her lovely features into that of a squat, green amphibian, but time had given Tori the ability to see the beauty she still possessed. As far as frogs went, she was sure to be a most attractive specimen with her smooth, moist skin an even, vibrant green and her belly the softest shade of cream. Many a frog had pursued her for a mate, but all had given up after a few failed attempts.

"Oh, what a lonely, lonely day," she sing-sang, twirling a webbed hand through a mess of little tadpoles.

She was always so depressed during this season. Tadpoles began to burst from their little jelly covered eggs, eager to begin their new life, and she was stuck here, a spectator. Not quite a part of this world, nor able to join it, or any other, for that matter. It had been so long since a human, much less a prince, had visited the lake and she had attempted to capture his heart. She sighed, remembering that horrible fiasco some years back.

Prince William, as was his name, had terrible allergies to just about everything, but one day, at the prince's insistence, a picnic was held very nearby these very falls. As he sat unattended on a blanket, Tori had approached him, slowly gaining his interest. He beckoned her, calling her to come into his hands, but before she could take the one last little hop into his hands, a shriek filled the air.

"Ahhhh!!!! Prince William is being attacked by a frog!!!"

Mayhem ensued as a hundred hands went to grab her and the prince. Fortunately, she had escaped the jumble, but poor William did not and was nearly smothered by all the people trying to protect him. Tori felt absolutely terrible for putting him in such a predicament, but could do little to express an apology and slinked away into hiding until the party left. People came through the woods to the veiled lake in the center less and less, frightened by the rumors of giant monsters and grotesque swamp creatures that had once attacked the prince, and the forest grew larger, encompassing more land as the years passed. Needless to say, Tori was highly insulted; she was neither giant nor grotesque and this delightful lake was no murky swamp!

There was one young prince she had befriended years ago, though she remembered him vividly. He was the only one to have been nice to her, but the last time she had seen him was some ten years ago. Yes, Tobe (toh-bee) was a sweetheart.

He had stumbled upon the lake late one cold winter night when he was ten, no, eleven years old. It was his eleventh birthday and feeling mighty old and mature enough to make his own decisions, he snuck away from his birthday celebration to explore the woods he had been prohibited from as a child. He was eleven now, no longer a child, he reasoned, but almost a man. Someday soon, he would rule his father's great kingdom, but first, he would conquer the woods just beyond his palace.

Unfortunately, Cristobel had absolutely no sense of direction and continued to wander deeper and deeper into the forest instead of out. Eventually, he came to a clearing, but not the one he was looking for. The trees ceased to loom ominously over him and the moon shone brightly in the night sky. He had reached the lake, but all was silent except for the rush of chilling water flowing over the falls. Shivering and desperate, he sighted a little bit of light and drew nearer, hoping for some warmth and shelter, and stumbled, rather noisily, into my cave where I had a small fire going.

Unlike most frogs, I don't hibernate during the winter. It's not that I 'm not as cold-blooded as the next amphibian, I'd just learned to get around it, fashioning myself little garments and working in a little magic to keep me warm (You don't live as long as I do and not pick up a few things). I had always been a clever little thing, even as a human, and used all I knew to aide in my survival. I was taught how to take care of myself in the event I'd ever need it. I may have turned into a frog since then, losing much of my height and arm lengths and adjusting my eyesight, but I gained some powerful legs and a highly expandable mouth and my intelligence remained fully intact.

My cave had once been a dwelling place for humans; this much I could tell for many things were carved into the walls: a bed, shelves, a fire place with a little opening for smoke, and even a running water faucet over a draining basin that was supplied with water from the lake through a pipe-like construction. Whoever had lived there before was very clever and quite considerate. Flint rocks, brush and chopped wood were kept neatly a distance away from the fire crevice and the beds were even filled with soft, cotton like material covered in sueded animal skins. Blankets of supple lambskin filled with the cushy material offered much warmth on many cold nights. It also helped that my cave was partly underground and the small opening hidden behind growth.

It was on one particularly unseasonably chilly night that I made a rather large fire, at least, large by my standards (it's quite difficult to gather enough long burning brush, never mind a piece of wood!), letting a small flicker of light break through the shivering shrubbery that hid the cave's entrance and beckon a young prince.

He thundered raucously, rolling around as he tumbled from the entrance, not seeing the sharp drop, and woke me from one of my few peaceful sleeps.

"Oi! What's all that racket? And just when I was having a decent rest…"

He jumped at the sound of my voice and pressed himself into a wall. Did I mention I got to keep my voice? It's a lovely voice… "Who—who's there?"

"Look to the bed, boy," I said, and squirmed my way from under the covers, "What are you doing in my home?"

His eyes wide in surprise, "You, you're a frog!"

"Yes, I'm a frog, and you're a boy. Now, why are you here?" I stretched, blinking away precious sleep from my eyes.

"You can TALK!"

"'Course I can tal—," I scrunched my nose, that is, if I had a nose that's what would be scrunched. I usually don't speak unless it's to yell at other animals. They tend to leave me alone if they hear human speech, but humans generally flip when hearing an animal speak human. I cringed, "Yes, I can talk. It helps to be able to talk, you know."

"I suppose it does, I guess. How are you able to talk?"

I shrug my shoulders, that is, as well as any frog can shrug its shoulders, "I'm a magic frog." I hop down to ground next to the kneeling boy, "Now answer my question, boy. I'm rather sleepy and you interrupted me."

"I'm no boy! I'm a prince and I'm eleven today! And… um, I lost my way in the dark."

"Ah, so that's it. Well, excuse me, your highness, but unless you give me some reason, I see no point in letting you stay in my cave! So shoo!" Ugh. I was being callous, but I really don't feel like catering to a spoiled brat of a prince who's not even a considerable candidate in my release of this damned curse!

"I'm sorry…" he sniffled. Ah, drat, I hurt the kid's feelings. He's staring at the ground, kicking at imaginary objects, "I went into the woods and I got lost. I don't know where I am and I don't know how to get back home and I'm cold and hungry—"

"Okay! Stop your complaining; I can't take anymore!" I massage my temples as best I can, trying to beat the headache before it settled in. "You can stay here tonight Prince Whoever-you-are and in the morning I'll help you get back home."

"It's Cristobel, and thank you, frog."

"Call me Tori. Now, grab that log over there," I told him.

"Why?"

"This is plenty of warmth for a frog like me, but you're going to need a bigger fire to keep warm."

"Oh. This one, here?"

"No, the one next to that. It produces a better heat and will last through the night."

He was a bit weak, but with my guidance, he finally got a strong fire roaring. Unfortunately, he was a frightful mess when I could finally see him in the light of the large fire.

"Whoo! Boy—"

"Cristobel."

"Cristobel, go over to that basin, push down that lever and clean yourself up. The water will be cold, mind you," and I hopped over to a small shelf underneath my bed as he began to wash.

As he dried himself by the fire, I hopped a little clumsily towards him, mouth and arms full. His eyes watched me curiously as I set down the things in my arms and spit out a small bundle.

"What is that?"

"Just some things for that cut you've got there," I replied. He had a rather nasty looking gash on his arm and I was quite surprised he wasn't bawling from the pain. "Stick your arm out. This will sting for a second," and I slathered the herbal salve on before he could comprehend my actions. Letting out only a soft hiss, the boy didn't cry out. Perhaps he's not such the wuss I thought him to be.

Tightly securing a makeshift dressing with dried, (webbed) hand-braided rope, I told him where to find a bit of food to calm the incessant growl of his stomach, "Over there, covered by an animal skin, is a stone container with dried fruits and nuts. Go and eat your fill."

He gobbled the food noisily as I watched, "Thif ifv good." Wiping his mouth with his uninjured arm, he walked back over to the basin for a drink of water. I marveled at the boy's manners, truly, a prince would eat more properly!

Drying his hands on his clothes, he turned to me, "Where will I sleep?"

I was already settled quite comfortably under the covers by this time and he looked around quizzically, searching. "Over here," I muttered, succumbing to sleep's magic, "Just crawl right on in." He hesitated, I knew, but I was already halfway asleep when he had crawled in beside me.

"Goodnight, Tori. Thank you."

I smiled, at least he was trying to be polite, "G'night Tobel," I slurred back.

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Wow, this was a long chapter. Don't expect chapters to be even this long. I'm not much of a writer; you'd think an avid reader could spit out a few lines every now and then, but that's SO not true. Quite frankly, I suck at writing and if you happen to like this story just as it is, well, you need to read some REAL books. Heh. Now, if you're reading this and think you could add some things to it, by all means, please tell me! I'm not the creative type, so this in itself was an incredible feat. PLEASE, feel free to offer any suggestions.