Intro:If this is well received, it'll be the first in a series of Heroes-themed fairy tales. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer:I don't own Noah, Lauren, Mr. Muggles, or Rene(the Haitian), they belong to Tim Kring. The story of the Frog King was originally published by the Grimm Brothers, but may or may not have been created by them.
There once was a lovely princess, named Lauren, who loved to walk through the gardens of her father's palace grounds. One morning, she was playing with a golden ball, a gift from her mother, throwing it into the air, and catching it. She tossed and caught it all the way to the wishing well, in the center of the garden. There, she sat on the ledge of the well, carelessly tossing and catching her lovely golden ball, and all at once, she missed, and it fell into the well with a melodic 'Plop!' Lauren covered her face with her hands, and sobbed. "Oh, no, my father will be so angry! I'm always losing things, and mother gave me that, so it was special! What will I do?" With her face covered, and her weeping blocking out other sounds, she didn't notice a large frog climbing up the side of the well, and croaking deeply. To get her attention, the frog spoke. "Miss, Miss!" The princess gasped and ceased her crying, lifted her head, and looked around for the man who had spoken to her. "Sir? Where are you? I can't see you?" The frog croaked again, then said, "I'm right here, sitting on the well. I can help—" When Lauren looked down and saw a huge frog sitting next to her hand, she shrieked and jumped back in disgust. "Oh, what a nasty toad!! How dare you sit next to my hand? Do you not know royalty when you see it?" The frog sat bulging his throat in and out for a while, waiting for the silly woman to calm down. After she became quiet, he opened his greenish-brown mouth and said, "I am royal, as well, my lady. I am a king. A warlock called Muggles put a spell on me, turning me into the frog you see now. I've been trying to tell you, I can get your ball for you, if you'd like." If a frog can have an exasperated expression, this frog certainly was projecting one. The princess was torn between behaving like a silly brainless lady, and being rational, and taking the frog's offer. If he can speak, perhaps he really is a man turned beast by magic. What other explanation is there? Stranger things have happened.
She decided to put away the flouncy act, and believe the frog. He could, after all, retrieve her golden ball from the well, as she knew she couldn't herself. "Alright. Go ahead," she said with a wave of her hand. "Get my ball, then." The frog's eyes widened, and he sighed. "Aren't you bossy? Well, then, I think we can come to some sort of agreement. I can't just jump in there and get your ball for you for nothing. You wouldn't, if our roles were reversed." The princess crossed her silk-wrapped arms, and pursed her lips, but said nothing. The frog continued, "You need something, and I need something. If I retrieve your ball, you must promise to do something for me, in return." The princess gasped, and her pale blue eyes widened in a fake innocent look. "What could you possibly want from ME?" The frog sat croaking softly for a moment. "A kiss," he said quietly. Lauren shrieked again. "What? I couldn't! I shall not! Who knows what sort of disease I might catch from you?" Again, the frog waited quietly for her to calm down and become quiet. Once, he even rolled his eyes. "My lady, weren't you listening? I am a king. A warlock turned me into a frog, to keep me from banishing him. To break the spell, you must kiss me. I won't be a frog any longer, if you do this. The spell specifically cites my true love as being the only one whose kiss will turn me back into a man. You, Lauren of Gilmore, are my true love." The frog licked his eyeball impatiently. The princess was speechless. She stood blinking dumbly for a few minutes. The frog thought that was better than the shrieking. "But how could I be your true love? I don't even know you. And how do you know my name?" Disregarding properness, she sat down on a stump and scratched her head. To keep from overloading her brain, the frog spoke more slowly this time. "We knew each other, once. We were in love. You saw Muggles cast a spell on me, and though I then shrank and was lost inside my robes, you thought I had been killed. Muggles fled, and you were so heartbroken over losing me, you begged my vizier, Rene, to hypnotize you, and remove me from your memory." Lauren ran her hand through her long blond hair. "Um, I…I don't know if I'm ready for all this," she said softly. "For now, would it be enough to bring you to my castle, and let you stay in my room for the night?" The frog sighed, nodded, and jumped down into the well. A moment later, he returned to the ledge and dropped the golden ball from his mouth, to the ground. The princess picked it up with her trailing sleeve, slipped it into a pocket in her skirts, and gently picked up the large frog.
That evening, she gave him a bowl of soup for dinner, but was disgusted when he leaped into the bowl. Afterwards, they retired to her chambers, and once she'd freshened up, she let the frog bathe himself in the bowl of water on her bureau. He jumped out onto a piece of toweling, rubbing himself on it to get dry. As Lauren was turned away, climbing into her bed, she didn't notice the frog hopping from the bureau to her bedside table, and then onto her pillow. When she lay down and looked over, there he was, inches from her face. She shrieked. "What are you doing in my bed?" The frog sighed, "Can't I sleep on one of your pillows? Your bed is so vast, and you have many pillows. It's been so long since I've slept in a real bed." Still wrinkling her nose, Lauren matched his sigh, and nodded. For a while, they just lay there, among the fluffy pillows and duvet.
"My name is Bennet, by the by," said the frog, after a time. Lauren nodded. Bennet paused, and appeared to weigh his next few words carefully. "Would it be alright if, tomorrow, you summoned my vizier, Rene? He can give you back the lost memories." Then he noticed a spider, dangling lazily from its thread, above their heads, and his tongue shot out to catch it. Lauren covered her mouth and squeezed shut her eyes. Then she chuckled, "If it will help, yes, I will summon Rene tomorrow. Then we can sort this mess out." She smiled and brushed the top of his greenish-brown head with the tip of her index finger. "I really hope it's all true, it's very romantic."
The next afternoon, Rene appeared before Lauren in her father's throne room. She told him of her discovery the day before, and produced Bennet, the frog. The handsome vizier smiled. "Yes, I can help you. I hope this goes well, I have missed my King very much. He is a wise and fair king, and he loves his people." He then moved to place his hands on either of her temples. A gasp escaped her lips as all came crashing back into place. She remembered loving Noah Bennet, spending time with him. She remembered his proposal for marriage, and her acceptance. Then she remembered Muggles fighting with Noah, after bribery to achieve his nefarious goals didn't work. The frightening spell he cast, and Noah seeming to disappear, leaving only his clothing behind. As Rene removed his hands from her head, a tear trickled down her cheek. A new look overtook Lauren, and she turned back to the arm of the throne, picked the fat frog up from his perch, and planted a big kiss on his rubbery face. Before their very eyes, the frog leapt from her hands as a cloud of smoke surrounded him. He started growing, and paling in color, and after a noisy, breathless moment, there stood a man, handsome, fair, and stark naked. The vizier rushed to give Noah the robes he'd brought with him. After covering his nudity, King Noah Bennet crossed the room, took his princess in his arms, and kissed her. After a moment, he broke off the kiss, smiled down into her light blue eyes, and said, "Told you so."
The End.