NightIntent: This fairy tale was really fun to write. Much better than the other one, in my opinion. I hope you like it, too.
Disclaimer: I don't own the fairy tale. However, Damsels, Inc. is mine.
Just hours after Keira got back from her mission, another urgent message arrived at Damsels, Inc. Beryl read it. "So," she said, "a talking frog. An enchanted prince, perhaps." She thought for a moment, then pressed the button on her desk. A bell rang in the other room.
A head peeked in through the door. "Yes, boss?" the person asked.
"Get me Guinivere. As the only princess volunteer, she'll be going to rescue a frog," Beryl said.
The underling's face was clearly puzzled, but she left to get Princess Guinivere. Beryl grinned. Less than two minutes later, Guinivere burst into the room. "You have an assignment for me?" she asked happily. It was her first assignment, and she was excited. Her pale cheeks were flushed red from running, and her pale blonde hair had been whipped around. Guinivere's blue eyes shone.
"Yes, I do," Beryl said. "There's an enchanted frog in this kingdom." She pointed to a country on the map. "We're sending you there to help him. I sent a runner to arrange for a horse for you. It'll be ready to go by the time I've finished with you. So, here's what you do…."
Minutes later, Guinivere sprinted out the door, ready for her first adventure. Beryl smiled reminiscently. "Ah, the energy of youth."
About a week after Guinivere had left Damsels, Inc., she arrived at the other kingdom's palace, where it was rumored that the enchanted frog was. She rode straight up to the castle gates and announced herself. "Hello! I'm Princess Guinivere, from Legenda! I came here on behalf of Damsels, Inc. Will you let me through, please?"
The guard at the gate sat stunned for a minute before opening the gate. Guinivere rode through. She hardly paused to thank him, calling it over her shoulder as she sped past. Minutes later, Guinivere arrived at the palace. She dismounted and handed her horse to a stable hand, who was waiting by the entrance. After making sure he would take good care of her horse, Guinivere walked straight to the throne room.
"Hi!" she called as soon as she entered the door. "I'm from Damsels, Inc. I heard there was an enchanted frog around here?"
"Wh-what is this?" one of the nobles asked, startled by the sudden intrusion.
Guinivere smiled cheekily at him. " 'What is this'? 'This' is a princess who came to get rid of your little amphibian problem," Guinivere said, gesturing to herself. She looked at the king. "Now, would you be so kind as to tell me where this frog is?"
The king gestured and a servant came up to the dais. "He will lead you to the pond where the frog is. Do you need anything?" the king inquired nervously. None of the people in that room were used to being talked to as this seemingly ditzy girl had.
Guinivere grinned and shook her head. "No, thank you. I have everything I need right here." She pulled her pack, which had been hidden behind her long, thick hair. "Now, please take me to where this poor little froggy is."
The servant, his face like a mask, led her silently out of the room into the gardens. As soon as she spotted the pond that was in the direction she was going, Guinivere stopped him. "That's it, isn't it? Where the frog is?" she asked. When the servant nodded, she said, "Please leave. And make sure no one comes over here, please. I like to work in private, with no one watching." That last was a bluff. She didn't know either way.
The servant nodded and walked away. Guinivere sighed. "Now that that's over with…. Let's get to work!" She walked the rest of the way to the pond. When she got there, she pulled the nearby bench even closer to the pond. She sat down and pulled out a golden ball. She tossed it back and forth between her hands, throwing it higher and higher. It "accidentally" dropped into the pond.
"Oh, no!" the princess cried despairingly. "What am I supposed to do now? I can't ruin my nice clothes by taking a swim in the pond! And I do so want my ball back!" Guinivere buried her face in her hands, actually crying.
A small splash in the lake caused her crying to hitch for a second, but she didn't stop. However, Guinivere did stop when she felt something wet against her leg. She gasped and looked up. Or down. Sitting by her foot was a small green frog. She squealed. "Eeeewww! Slimy!" she yelled, pulling her legs onto the bench.
The frog glared at the still-sobbing princess. "I assure you, I don't plan on getting you slimy as well," he said in a dignified manner. "Just one of us being slimy is enough."
Guinivere went into hysterics. "The frog talked! The frog can't talk! I'm going insane!" she shrieked, sobbing even harder.
"You're not going insane," the frog said patiently. "I'm a prince, put under a spell by a witch. Now, would you like me to get your gold ball for you?"
Guinivere stared at it, sniffing. "Would you really?" she asked, incredulous. "That would be perfect! I wouldn't have to ruin my dress!"
"Yes, I will. But you have to do one thing for me."
"Of course, anything. Just get me my ball back, please," Guinivere begged.
"Very well. I'll be back in a minute," the frog said. With that, he dived into the pond. Guinivere allowed herself a quick triumphant grin before going back to sniffing and sobbing. When the frog surfaced again, trailing her little gold ball, she looked almost exactly as she had before he'd gone under.
"Here's you ball," the frog said. "I don't get why princesses must have everything gold. Do you have any idea how hard it was to pull that thing up from the bottom of the lake?"
Guinivere squealed in delight. "Ooooh, you got my ball back!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!" She started to leave.
"Wait!" the frog called. She stopped and he hopped over to her. "You promised you'd do something for me."
"Yes, I did, didn't I? Very well, what is it you wanted?" Guinivere asked.
"I need you to kiss me," the frog said.
"What!" Guinivere cried. "Are you insane?" When the frog just glared, she said, "Well, I did promise anything, didn't I? Oh, all right." She picked the frog up and kissed him.
Instantly, the two of them were surrounded by a thick smoke. When it cleared, there was a young man lying in front of Guinivere. A naked young man. She was lying on top of him. "Would you… get off my hand, please?" she asked.
"Oh, right, of course," the young man said. Guinivere pulled out a small pile of clothes from her pack. She handed them to the young man and turned around.
"Put those on. If they're too big, tough luck," she said, still facing away from him.
"You can look now," the young man said. "Thank you for saving me. Now, we should go back to my kingdom to be married."
"You're kidding, right? We just met," Guinivere said. "On top of that, I didn't do this for you. It was my assignment. Now, I have to be getting back to Damsels, Inc. See you when I see you!" She turned away again, and sprinted toward the stable. She ordered one of the stable hands to saddle her horse up again.
By the time her horse was ready to go, the prince had recovered from his shock and gotten to the stable. "But… who are you? Aren't you a princess?" he asked.
"Of course I am," Guinivere said. "I just happen to work for Damsels, Inc., helping people. Actually, you were my first case. But, since it went so well, maybe I'll get more assignments! Well, thank you for being so cooperative. But I really must go tell Beryl what happened. 'Bye!"
Guinivere rode straight out of the palace gates, not even stopping. She wanted to get back home. Where she would not have the complications of having an idiot prince chasing her around.
NightIntent: So. That was my version of the Frog Prince. Just to make sure there are no mistakes about this, the whole crying and freaking out act by Guinivere was all an act. How'd you like the story? I'd like suggestions for what to do next. If I don't get any, I'm just doing Cinderella. There'll be two new characters in that one. Please tell me what you thought about this so far, though. Again, the more people review the faster I'll update.
