"The sun prince and the frog"... I could say the title came to me in a dream, but that'd not be completely true, I guess. But I was lying in my bed half-asleep, as it is, and I have no idea why I thought of that phrase. And as I was trying to come up with some fic idea for my unofficial version of Blind Go challenge, I decided that this would work well enough. I think the skateboard also has something to do with me not being completely awake when I thought about the beginning of this fic. Can't remember, though...
But anyway, here's a small fairytale for you all.
The Sun Prince and the Frog
One fine morning in the early spring the Sun Prince was bored. His parents were quite busy, his father working hard trying to chase away Old Man Winter, his mother being in the grips of a serious urge to spring clean. He decided to get out of the way and so, without asking for permission (not to bother his parents – or risk being put to work), he jumped on his skateboard and flew down to Earth on Sun's rays.
He landed at the edge of a meadow, by a small lake. A moment he admired the way sunlight reflected on the water and raised then his face up, looking straight at his home. Yes, father was doing a great job. The air was still a little chilly, but he could feel the warmth of the Sun on his face.
Well then. Now he was down on Earth for the first time ever. What to do?
He watched with mild interest the muddy ground, the dead leaves and grasses, and the first little buds that were gradually gathering enough courage to take peek out, tempted by the Sun's warm rays. There were trees too, and a little bird jumping from a leafless branch to another and twittering a curious song at him. Curious himself, the Sun Prince tilted his head and walked to the tree to get a better look at the bird, but it took wing and flew away.
He was about to turn away as well, to explore the water, but a quiet "oh!"made him blink and look back again.
"Oh!" he heard again, now louder, and his eyes fell onto the thin young plant that twisted up under the tree he had been watching. "You… you are so wonderfully warm!" the voice exclaimed.
He blinked again. "I guess. And you are?"
The plant waved a little, as if curtseying. "Around here I'm called the Wisteria Maiden," it said, sounding almost shy. "Pleased to meet you."
"Well, yeah." He eyed the wisteria thoughtfully, and didn't seem impressed.
"Oh, I…" the wisteria said, as if sensing his feelings. "I'm sorry, I'm not at my best this time of the year. But you should see when I'm blooming. It's quite a sight!"
"Is it?" He still didn't sound overly interested. "Hey, do you know, is there anything fun to do here?"
"Fun? Well…" the wisteria waved a bit back and forth, "I guess… it's nice to watch the lake from here?"
The Sun Prince glanced at the lake again. "Lake? Yes, of course, I remember. Mom has talked about those things. So that's a lake." He turned to look at it, and nodded. "It looks fun. I wonder if I could fly on it on my skateboard…"
He grasped the board and took a step toward the lake.
"Are you going?" The wisteria maiden sounded suddenly anxious. "Wouldn't you stay a while? Please, sit with me and watch the lake! It's so warm to be with you, I'm sure I would bloom soon…"
"Nah, not right now," he said without so much as a glance behind. "I wanna…" Something else caught his eye, and he hurried to the shore, bending down. "What's that?"
The wisteria stretched its branches, trying to get a look. "Oh, looks like a frog."
"A frog?" The Sun Prince took a stick from the ground and poked the unmoving thing that was perched by the shore with it.
"Ah!" the frog jumped into air. "What are you doing?!" it exclaimed with an indignant air, turning to glare at the Sun Prince – and doing a good job about it for a frog too.
"Oh, sorry… I just hadn't seen a frog before."
"Well, now you have," the frog stated giving him yet another dark look before turning back to stare desolately at the lake.
"Is something wrong?" the Wisteria Maiden asked gently from behind the Sun Prince's back.
The frog shot a glare behind, but the gentle tone seemed to soothe its annoyance. It gave a heartfelt sigh. "What would you think? Just look at me!" It turned and jumped to the wisteria.
"Yes? You are a very handsome frog."
"That's just it! A frog! A frog! Of all things!"
"But what is so wrong with being a frog?" the wisteria wondered, sounding confused.
"What's so…" The frog heaved out yet another sigh. "I am not a frog, I'm a human! I'm under a spell."
"Oh?" Now the Sun Prince grew interested too. "Really? How did that happen?"
"It's all because of my rival," the frog said miserably. "I'm sure about it! The emperor was beginning to prefer me, after all! And then, three days ago… I think someone put something into my drink. I took one sip, and lo! See what happened!"
"That's horrible!" the wisteria exclaimed. "Can't you go to the emperor and tell him what happened?"
"How could I!" the frog all but screamed. "Look at me! I'm hideous! I can't appear in front of His Imperial Majesty looking like this!"
"I still think you're a very handsome frog…" the Wisteria Maiden tried to say, but the frog wasn't listening, just went on sobbing loudly.
"Okay. So." The Sun Prince was thinking hard. "Let's see. So we've got an enchantment here, right? Enchantments can be broken." And if he were the one to break it… perhaps this frog would turn into a beautiful princess. A beautiful princess that would be thankful to him. "Yeah," he said again. "Enchantments can definitely be broken."
The frog gave him a hopeful look. "Do you know how?"
"Well…" He blinked, scratched his head. "I…"
"You don't," the frog concluded flatly.
"I know one thing!" the Wisteria Maiden said. "Before she fell in a storm, Grandmother Willow used to tell this tale about an enchanted fountain at the Moon Palace. Its water would cure just about anything, even magical ailments."
"Really?" The frog gave an excited bounce. Then it quieted. "But how would I get there? I can't jump all the way to the moon." It raised its head sadly and looked at the pale half-moon that floated on the sky above them.
"But I can get there!" the Sun Prince said quickly. "Easily!"
"You can?" The frog didn't sound completely convinced, but when the Sun Prince jumped on his skateboard, kicked the ground and took off its eyes widened. "You can! Oh, please, please, take me there!"
"Of course I will," the Sun Prince said with a grin. He came back down and picked up the frog.
"Oh how I wish I could follow you too," the wisteria sighed. "But I have roots. But, wait just a little!" Concentrating hard the wisteria sucked in all the warmth it could of the presence of the Sun Prince, and slowly in one branch a floral stalk grew and buds appeared in it. Soon it was in full bloom. "There!" The wisteria sounded a little out of breath. "Please, take this with you so you won't forget me!"
"Fine…" The Sun Prince cut of the flower and, with it in one hand and the frog in the other, jumped again on his skateboard, and so the two started their journey up to the Moon.
.
If the Sun Prince had paused to think about it, he might have remembered that his folk and the Moon's weren't on the best terms. He might have recalled some mentions of a feud, and of his father calling the Moon people thieves and upstarts who couldn't produce their own light and so stole the Sun's. As it was, if he was thinking about anything at all on the way to the Moon, it had nothing to do with such things.
They sped across the Moon's white surface on the part that was bathing in sunlight.
"I hope the castle's not in the dark side," the Sun Prince said aloud, the first seeds of doubt suddenly appearing in his mind, but right at that moment the palace came into view, an imposing pure white structure of towers and bridges and columns that rose up from the white sand of the Moon. "Oh, there it is!" he exclaimed happily, and promptly flew over the outer walls.
"Uh, do you think," the frog said. "That is… shouldn't we announce our visit?"
"What? Oh… no." Some vague memories of his father's rants surfaced in his mind. "Nope, the Moon folks are difficult people. Let's just find the fountain and be done with this, ok? They won't even realize we've been here."
"If you say so…" The frog sounded nervous. "But they might be angry, the way we are intruding…"
The Sun Prince laughed. "Who's afraid of – hey, look, is that it?"
They had flown through a beautiful, if a somewhat pale-colored garden, where all the flowers bloomed in soft pastel colors. A little ahead there was indeed a fountain, sparkling with crystal clear water. In the middle of the fountain there stood a strange statue of a woman holding in one hand a seashell from which water poured down, in the other a weird spear with three spikes. She had no feet – or if she did, they were covered in some very peculiar costume.
"What is that?" the Sun Prince wondered aloud.
"The statue? Oh, it's a pretty one! A mermaid. Though according to the tales, they are quite nasty creatures."
"Really?" The Sun Prince jumped down from his skateboard and walked closer, watching the statue curiously. "It looks weird. Why doesn't it have fee—gah!"
The statue turned suddenly its head and looked straight at him. Its blank eyes widened, and, opening its mouth to a bloodcurdling scream, it thrust with the spear at him. Thankfully the Sun Prince had quite quick reflexes, and he jumped out of the reach just in time.
"What the hell!"
"INTRUDERS! " the statue was wailing. "INTRUDERS from the SUUNNN!" The last word was such a loud screech it made the Sun Prince cringe, and even the frog gave a startled yelp.
The guards were fast. The Sun Prince had barely time to recover from his shock when they were already surrounded. The frog made one desperate attempt to the fountain, but although the guards might not have noticed it, the mermaid did, and shook the spear at the poor frog who quickly fled to the Sun Prince's side.
"Wait, listen, I, I am, the frog… hey, hands off me! Off I said, how dare you, damn, I, let me go! You jerks, don't you—"
The only thing the Sun Prince's loud protestations accomplished was a gag in his mouth as the guards started leading him away from the fountain. One of them had picked up also the frog who lay very, very quietly in the man's grasp.
They were led into the palace, and after a short wait in a corridor, during which people were running frantically here and there and whispering things to each other that neither the Sun Prince nor the frog could hear, the guards took them up a stairway into a room at the top of one of the many towers.
A blond man dressed all in white was standing there, watching them grimly as they entered. "So," he said. "It is true. Someone from the Sun has really intruded to the very Palace area. How very foolish." He waved with his hand. "Let him speak."
The guards removed the gag, and the Sun Prince took a deep breath. "What do you think you people are doing!" he exclaimed right away. "You'll release me right away, you hear me! How can you drag people around like this like we were some common thugs or whatever!
"Umm," the frog said softly, when it seemed like the man in white was about to tell the men to put the gag back, "please, kind sir, do not be angry with this youth. He was merely trying to help me." The frog squirmed a little, and jumped down from the guard's hands. It stood up on its hind legs and gave a clumsy bow. "I am very sorry about the disturbance," it went on. "I… was a member of the court of His Imperial Majesty down there on Earth, but, well, as you see, a vile rival has brought a great misfortune on me. We heard that there is a magical fountain here, the water of which might end my blight, and so we arrived here. We shouldn't have, of course, approached you so impudently. But we wish no harm! And this young man, he might have lacking manners but he has still been very kind to me, a complete stranger, and I wish you would not treat him harshly for this."
"Hmm." The man in white didn't still seem too happy. He watched the two, the boy and the frog, with a frown. Then he nodded at the guards. "We will wait until the master returns. Take them away."
"But!" the Sun Prince protested loudly, starting again a long tirade that made the guards finger the gag thoughtfully.
"Please, kind sir!" the frog wailed, bouncing around in the room, dodging the guards who tried to catch it. "Have mercy on me! I just want to play more go, but how can I do that as a frog! Please, just a little sip of that miraculous water, please, I'll pay whatever you want, I'll …"
One guard managed to throw a cloak upon the frog, tying it swiftly into a sack. The man in white waved his hand, looking like he had a headache, and the guards took the Sun Prince and the frog struggling in the sack away.
.
They were taken into a large room in the middle of which stood a big glass cube. The guards pushed the Sun Prince into it and threw in the frog as well. They closed the glass door, and it melted seamlessly into the glass of the wall. The Sun Prince watched it grimly. He ran a finger over the smooth glass and, finding no trace of an opening on it, turned to take a look at the cube he was now locked in. In addition to some bedding in on corner there was nothing there.
"This is just awful," he muttered. "So rude."
"You're one to talk! I said we shouldn't intrude like that! Now what are we to do…" The frog sounded completely heartbroken.
"How would I know?" the Sun Prince said glumly and sat down, leaning against the glass. He still had the wisteria flower in his hand, but he had been squeezing it so it was all but dead. He gave it an annoyed look and dropped it on to the floor. "This sucks!"
"Sucks?!" the frog exclaimed." Now that if anything is an understatement! This is a catastrophe! How will I ever get to play more go if I'm a frog held as a captive on the Moon!"
"What is that go thing you keep on babbling about anyway?" the Sun Prince muttered, annoyed.
The frog paused, seemingly horrified of his ignorance, but before it could say anything the door into the room opened and someone slipped in. A dark-haired boy, about the Sun Prince's age, walked to the glass cage. He gave the Sun Prince a passing look. Then his eyes stopped on the frog.
"Did I get it right? You are someone under an enchantment, and you play… go?"
"Yes!" The frog bounced to the glass wall so frantically it almost smashed into it. "Please, whoever you are, can't you help me?"
"Well…" The boy seemed a little taken aback by the frog's overflowing desperation, but he hid it soon. "I don't think you have much to worry about, really. Ogata-san is merely a little disgruntled about you waking him up so early." He dropped his voice a little lower. "He went to a party yesterday, and he always sleeps long after parties. But father should return in a few days, and I'm sure he'll listen to you, if you're telling the truth. He loves go too," he added, almost as an afterthought.
"Really?" The frog heaved out a relieved sigh. "That's… wait, your father? Do you mean you're…"
"I'm the Moon Prince," the boy said, and the frog bowed its head to the floor.
"Honored to meet you, your highness," the frog said. The Sun Prince snorted.
"And why aren't you calling me your highness," he asked grumpily.
The frog gave him a confused look. "Why should I…?"
"Cause I'm the Sun Prince!" the Sun Prince yelled.
The frog stared at him in silence for a moment. "Well, I am sorry, your highness," it said then. "But given that you never told me who you are, how would I know how to address you?"
"I…" the Sun Prince paused, blinking.
"You are the Sun Prince?" The Moon Prince moved even closer and watched him, astonished. "Why are you here?"
"Are you slow or something! I took the frog here so he could get that stupid water of yours!"
"You intruded into the Moon Palace just like that simply to help this frog? You are either very courageous or very…" He left the sentence hanging.
"Yes?" the Sun Prince asked, raising his chin defiantly.
"Nothing," the Moon Prince muttered, looking away. He turned back to the frog. "Would you play a game with me?" he asked. "We have visitors so seldom, and I never get to play against new people."
The frog bounced up and down with excitement. "I would love to, your highness! If you just get us a board…" this time the frog paused in mid-sentence as the Moon Prince drew a go board out of the thin air.
"I never go anywhere without my go board," he explained matter-of-factly, placing it on the floor, and the frog nodded, wide eyed.
They started the game with the glass in between them, the Moon Prince playing out the moves for them both. The Sun Prince sat in bored silence watching the game, without a clue what was going on. The game took quite long, and his head was beginning to nod when the Moon Prince suddenly bowed his head to the frog. "I have lost," he muttered.
The Sun Prince sat up, giving the frog a grin. "Great going!" he exclaimed.
"Thank you for the game," the frog said seriously, ignoring him. "Would you like to discuss it?"
"Certainly!" the Moon Prince said. "And thank you for the game, it was wonderful! I think you're almost as good as my father!"
"Almost?" The frog sounded nearly ecstatic. "Do you think he would agree to play with me?"
"I'm sure he would! He loves nothing better than a good game, but there are so few who really can challenge him."
"That's…!"
"All nice and wonderful," the Sun Prince said dryly. "Do you think he'll also agree to change this frog back to a human?"
"Well, that's…" The Moon Prince's expression turned a little awkward. "It's not really his decision," he explained apologetically. "The mermaid guarding the fountain is very jealous of its water. She might not agree to give it to anyone, no matter what father says."
"Oh…" the frog shuddered. "That mermaid was a fearsome one. Isn't there any way to get past her…"
"Well." The Moon Prince thought quietly, mouth in a tight line, his hand rubbing his chin. "I don't know. She is very…" then his eyes fell on the half-dead wisteria branch. "What is that?" he asked with interest.
"It's a branch of a wisteria. Though it seems it's quite dead already," the frog said sadly.
"It has such vibrant colors." The Moon Prince stood up and stared at the wisteria a moment longer, deep in thought. Then he nodded. "It might work. But it does look almost dead… we can't let it get any worse." He placed his hand on the glass, but paused then, his eyes turning to the Sun Prince.
"You…" he hesitated a moment. "Are you truly here just because of the frog?" he asked. "Your father didn't send you?"
The Sun Prince snorted. "Send me? Why would he? Actually, I'm gonna be so grounded when I get back home." If, he added in his mind. "For the rest of my life or something…"
"I truly met him completely by chance down on the Earth," the frog said. "And we wouldn't have come here at all, unless the Wisteria Maiden, whose branch this is, wouldn't have told us about the fountain. There is no greater conspiracy here, I assure you!"
The Moon Prince nodded. "If you would get to the opposite wall from the… wisteria, was it?" he said. "I will take it and the frog to the fountain, and…"
"And leave me here?" the Sun Prince exclaimed. "Really?!"
The Moon Prince paused. "What would we need you for?" he asked.
"Ah, I…" the Sun Prince opened and closed his mouth, but couldn't say anything.
"Please," the frog put in. "Would you not let him out too? I vouch for him." It gave the Sun Prince a strict look. "You would not cause any trouble, would you?"
The Sun Prince opened and closed his mouth still a few more times. A moment it looked like he wanted to say something hot, but then he shook his head, a bit dejectedly. "No, I won't. I promise."
"Your word as the Sun Prince?" the Moon Prince asked.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, my word as the freaking Sun Prince. Okay?"
The Moon Prince didn't seem to know what to think of his answer, but nodded then. "Alright. Take the wisteria and come." He placed his hand again on the glass, and now a door opened there.
The Moon Prince led them back to the garden, skillfully avoiding all the guards on the way. Not that he would have admitted it aloud, but the Sun Prince was quite impressed on his sneaking skills, and wondered if this seemingly so upright person often took off on his own, too.
They arrived to the fountain. The mermaid turned to look at them right away, raising her spear, but seeing the Moon Prince relaxed a little.
"Good day, my lady," the Moon Prince said. "I have a gift for you, from far away."
The mermaid's stony face remained expressionless, but something seemed to glint in her blank eyes. "Really? What is it?"
The Moon Prince took the wisteria branch from the Sun Prince's hands. "Flower of the Earth," he said, and now the mermaid's eyes truly glistened.
"It's dead," she still stated quite flatly.
"Not completely. I'm sure your water will still revive it. If I may…?" He looked questioningly at the mermaid, who after a short hesitation nodded, and he lowered the flower down to the water. And truly, the wilted blossoms gained deeper color and the limp stalk straightened. After a moment the Moon Prince raised the flower from the water, offering it to the mermaid, who lowered her spear to take it.
"It is amazing!" she breathed, unable to tear her eyes from the vivid lilac of the blossoms.
"Yes," the Moon Prince said calmly and turned to the frog. He bent down and offered his hands to the frog, who after short confusion understood and quickly jumped to drink the few drops of water from his palms.
The frog shimmered softly, and the two princes waited, holding their breath, but in the end nothing happened.
"It's not enough," the Moon Prince mumbled.
"Then give him more!" the Sun Prince exclaimed, grasped the frog and threw it into the fountain.
For a moment everyone froze. Then there was something much bigger than a frog floundering in the fountain, and the mermaid gave a shriek. Luckily she couldn't still grasp her spear, for apparently she couldn't lay down the seashell, and didn't want to let go of the flower.
"Out!" She shrieked. "Get out of my fountain!"
"I'm going, I'm going!" someone cried, and a bundle of white cloth and long black hair scrambled out of the fountain, helped by the two princes.
"We did it!" the Sun Prince exclaimed happily, helping the ex-frog up. "You, you're…" He paused. Blinked. "You're not a princess," he stated then, astonished.
"Whatever do you mean by that?" The thoroughly wet man was trying to get his long black hair away from his face. "Why would I be a princess?"
"Well, I…" the Sun Prince said, but didn't know how to continue.
"Thank you for your help," the man said, ignoring his confusion. "Both of you, your highnesses. I'm eternally thankful to you!"
"You said you were the emperor's favourite," the Sun Prince said slowly, trying to understand.
"Yes? His favourite go teacher! I am Fujiwara no Sai." He bowed. "In your service."
"Whose service?" the Moon Prince said, sounding a little amused. "It would be hard for you to serve us both. But in any case, I'm sure you'll be welcome to stay here as long as you will! I know I would like to play more with you, and I'm sure that will be true of father too."
"I'm honored," Sai said, bowing again. "Could we play right away? I have spent much too long as a frog, days passed that I couldn't play at all!"
"Of course!" the Moon Prince exclaimed happily. "We can play in the garden. Though…" he glanced at the mermaid who was eyeing them darkly, "let's move somewhere else."
"Yes, that might be a good idea," Sai said, giving the mermaid as well a nervous glance.
"Oh, and you," the Moon Prince said turning to the Sun Prince, "I have your… thing… here." Just like earlier with the go board, he pulled the skateboard out of thin air. "Just go, if you head straight to your home I'll make sure no one will follow you."
"Thank you again," Sai said, bowing deep to the Sun Prince. "I will be in your debt for this."
The two turned away, chatting happily about something go-related and leaving the Sun Prince stare after them. A moment he wondered if either of them even noticed that one of them was still completely drenched. He rolled his eyes and grasped his skateboard, and shrugged then and ran after the two.
"Don't you imagine you get rid of me that easily!"
The mermaid stared coldly after the three who soon disappeared from the view, though the arguing voices took long to fade away. Then she turned back to admire the wisteria in her hand, softly caressing the blossoms. They shone with brighter colors than ever on Earth, back where the young wisteria was still gazing longingly up at the bright crescent Moon.
THE END