A/N I had this idea about a sequel to "The Princess and the Goblin. Also, I support FroglipxIrene; I don't know why, I'm weird that way. This story was based on a video I saw on YouTube, The Princess and the Goblin in the Princess and the Frog. Parts were inspired by LunaTicWTF's FroglipxIrene videos. I own nothing except my OCs. Enjoy.

Chapter 26

The Truth Heals Part 1

Irene and Curdie ran towards the cabin; Irene was slightly slower because of her twisted ankle. Finally, she threw open the door. "Froglip!" She cried; she accidentally tripped over Turnip, who was in the doorway.

Hearing and reacting to her voice, Froglip stood up and caught her in his arms as she fell. "Irene! What happened? What's wrong?" He looked over her shoulder to see Curdie, who crossed his arms and scowled. "And what's he doing here?" Froglip glared.

"There's no time for that!" Irene exclaimed. "We must escape! There's a mob coming, intent on killing you!"

"And Dirtclaw's leading them!" Curdie added.

"What! Dirtclaw?" Froglip growled, gripping Irene's arms tightly and protectively. "That murderer! I should have known. Irene, you have to get out of here!"

"No!"

"It's me they want! They won't hurt you!"

"No, I'm not going without you!"

Froglip sighed; he was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he could give himself up and save Irene. On the other hand, she wouldn't leave without him. Finally, he decided, "Alright, come on."

"I'll hold them off." Curdie said.

Irene smiled appreciatively at her friend. "Thank you."

"I'm still upset about you choosing Froglip over me."

Froglip's ear and eyebrow cocked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Never mind! We need to get out of here!" Irene snatched up Turnip and ran out of the cabin; Froglip sharply shook his head and followed. Once he was out, he gave a sharp whistle.

Grazzlegritch heard a sharp whistle. Then he saw Froglip. "Keep it up!" He yelled at the Goblin Pets; he ran up and leapt onto his master's shoulders. Froglip ran after and past Irene. "Follow me! I know a place where Dirtclaw can't find us!"

Unknown to them, Dirtclaw burst into the cabin. "They've escaped!" He growled. He planted his nose to the ground and sniffed furiously for their scent. Soon, he caught it. "You won't escape me!" He chuckled evilly, following the scent.

Froglip led Irene through a dark tunnel and into a cave lit with candles. "Where are we?" She asked.

"A secret cave. No one but Grazzlegritch and I know of it." Froglip explained.

Irene sighed sadly. "This is my fault. This is all my fault."

Froglip turned to her, raising one eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I told everyone of your existence. Curdie told everyone, and I proved it."

"How?"

"With this." She held up the mirror. "It's a magic mirror. I said, 'Show me the Goblin Prince', and it showed you. Then Dirtclaw came and told everyone that you…" She laid the mirror on a rock and sighed shakily. "That you were a monster."

Froglip didn't blame the townspeople for believing Dirtclaw's lies, Curdie trying to tell everyone about him, or Irene for telling. She didn't know Dirtclaw would spread lies. But there was one thing that got him confused. "Why did you leave this morning?"

Irene turned away. "I…I just wanted to be by myself for a while. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"I was worried; worried that it was something I said that caused you to leave." He cupped Irene's chin in his hand and turned her so she was facing him. "Did I say or do something that offended you?"

Her eyes moved away from Froglip's golden-yellow ones. "Irene, please look at me." Her eyes relocked with his. "If it was something I said or did, just tell me, and I'll apologize."

"It wasn't something bad." She finally said quietly. "When I woke up this morning, you just…startled me."

"What was it that startled you?" Froglip asked gently.

"When I woke up…you had your arms around my waist. You pulled me back into your chest, put your chin on my shoulder, and hooked your leg around mine. I was startled, but didn't want you to wake up in case you weren't aware of what you were doing. When I rubbed your forearms, you let me go."

Froglip's eyes were slightly widened, and his mouth was partly open. He did that in his sleep? He didn't even realize it. "I…I did that?"

Irene nodded. "I just needed to be alone to clear my mind."

Froglip let her chin go and turned away. "I…I'm sorry I scared you. If I knew, I wouldn't have done it."

She laid her hands on his shoulders. "You just startled me slightly. I'm all right. And anyway, I found out something during my trip to town."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"It's hard to explain, but something was explained to me with this." She removed her necklace and held it in front of Froglip's face.

"What's this?

"A magic necklace. I was told according to legend, when someone rubs it in their writing hand until it's warm, then pressed it to their heart, they have a vision of their true love."

Froglip raised one eyebrow, still looking at the glowing heart-shaped stone. "Trust me, it works." Irene assured.

"…Well, I do trust you." He rubbed the stone in his right hand, and pressed it to his heart.

Froglip's vision went white; a dark figure was in front of him. He raised one eyebrow. The figure turned around; his eyes widened, and his ears perked up: it was Irene!

Smiling gently, Irene approached him and laid her hands on his chest. "I love you." She whispered.

Dirtclaw continued to track down the scent; he went into a rock tunnel and found a hidden tunnel. He perked his ears up and heard Froglip and Irene inside talking.

"I have you now, young prince," He grinned evilly. "You won't escape so easily this time."

"Froglip? Froglip, did you hear me?" Irene snapped her fingers near his ears. "Froglip, answer me!"

Blinking and quickly shaking his head, Froglip turned to Irene. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I said, 'who did you see?' If you tell me, I'll tell you who I saw in my vision."

"Well…it's the strangest thing…I saw-"

"You!"

Irene and Froglip jumped at the loud outburst; the cats scrambled out of the tunnel. "I found you at last! Thought you could hide from old Dirtclaw, did you?" The Wolf-Bat growled.

"What do you want?" Froglip growled, standing and protecting Irene. "Why can't you just leave us alone?"

Dirtclaw scowled at the Goblin Prince and turned to Irene, who was gripping Froglip's cape and was shaking wide-eyed with fright. "Well," He sneered. "If it isn't beauty and the beast. With the princess being the beauty, and you, young prince, the beast. It's just sickening! I'll just have to fix that." He crouched down and leapt at them; to their surprise, he landed between Irene and Froglip, separating them. "Kill him!" He yelled; StormCloud and RiverRush came bursting through the rock wall, growling. "And do not fail this time!"

The wolves pounced at Froglip, who ran out of the cave. "Run Froglip! Run!" Irene cried.

Froglip ran as fast as he could, trying to escape the wolves that were after them. "Getting…deja vu…here…" He panted. "Why…are wolves…always…after…me?" He then noticed just before he ran out of the cave, he could have sworn he heard Dirtclaw snarl, "And do not fail this time!"

What could he mean by that? He wondered. He didn't have time to ponder though; he came to the edge of a cliff, which was very steep. Glancing down and gulping, he looked back the way he came; the wolves leapt at and onto him, causing him to stumble backwards and fall down the cliff. StormCloud leapt onto a ledge and grabbed RiverRush by the scruff, pulling him onto the ledge. They watched the Goblin Prince tumble down the cliff and into the trees. "He won't survive that fall." He sneered.

"Let's tell Dirtclaw we finished the job." RiverRush nodded.

"I think he's realized what's happened." StormCloud pointed up to the entrance of the mountain with his nose; Dirtclaw was up there, gazing down where Froglip fell, with Irene on his back.

"Froglip! No!" She screamed; she buried her face in her hands and began sobbing loudly. Dirtclaw didn't react; he was still looking down the cliff where his enemy had fallen, and most likely didn't survive. He looked over his shoulder at a sound; Jethro and the Goblin Kingdom were behind him, and staring at him in surprise. "Froglip…was alive?" Jethro muttered. "And…your mutts killed him!"

Dirtclaw was still silent; grabbing Irene's cloak in his mouth, he leapt up and spread his wings, flying over the entire Goblin Kingdom. He sailed through the air and into the cave where he found Irene and Froglip. He laid her gently on the ground and threw his shoulder heavily at the wall; rocks fell, trapping them inside. "Finally. Froglip is finally out of the way. And the throne is mine!" He threw his head back and cackled loudly.

What they didn't know was that Froglip did survive…barely. He now lay at the foot of the cliff, battered and bruised. He felt worse than he did after the stampede happened. It hurt to move, and he was sure he broke a bone or two.

As he lay on the ground, a light grew in the darkening sky. He moved his head up; he heard a familiar voice, "…Froglip…Froglip…"

"…Mother?" He muttered.

"…Froglip…" A white translucent figure formed in front of Froglip; it was his mother! "Hello, my boy." She smiled.

"Mama?" Froglip gaped, wide-eyed. "But…but you were dead! But does that mean…am I-"

"No, you are very much alive." Randes shook her head. "I am still dead, but you are still alive."

"What are you doing here?"

"I've come to remind you of who you are."

Froglip cocked one ear in confusion. "I know who I am.

"Then tell me."

"I'm Prince Froglip Madcleaver, Prince of the Goblins."

"No." Froglip's eyes widened in surprise at what Randes said. "You're Prince Froglip Madcleaver, Prince of the Goblins, the rightful king. Dirtclaw's taken over the throne since you've left. You must challenge him to battle, and set things right."

Froglip blinked in surprise; somehow, he wasn't aware Dirtclaw was king. And he had to battle him? Dirtclaw was too powerful! He had hard muscles, sharp fangs and claws, and wings for flying. "I…I can't. He'll kill me. And anyway," He turned his head shamefully away. "I don't see why you can even bear to look at me. I…" A tear ran down his cheek. "I caused your death."

Randes smiled warmly. "No you didn't, son. You weren't the one who caused the stampede. You weren't the one who pushed me to my death." She cupped Froglip's chin in her hand and turned him so he was looking her in the eye. "You weren't the one who caused my death…Dirtclaw was."

Froglip's eyes widened; his mouth fell open. "What?" He muttered.

Randes nodded. "His henchmen started the stampede, and he shoved me off of the cliff. He plotted to kill you and me in order to become king. But his plan half-failed: you survived. Only you can defeat him, and resume order to the kingdom." She took Froglip's face in her hands. "And only you can save Miss Irene."

Froglip's ears bent back in horror; how did she know about him and Irene?

"I know about you two, I've been watching you ever since I died." Randes said, answering her son's thoughts. "And I know she is your true love. That is why you must rescue her before Dirtclaw steals what is most important to her." She leaned down and gently kissed Froglip's forehead. "You will succeed, my young prince." She began to fade away. "And you will be a good king. I believe in you, Froglip." Soon, she completely faded away.

Froglip just lay where he was; his mind was filled with thoughts. Dirtclaw killed his mother the whole time; he lied to him! And he took the throne. And if he didn't hurry, Dirtclaw would hurt Irene…or worse.

Scowling, Froglip looked up at the cliff; it was steep, but had several rocks jutting out from the surface. He would be able to climb up. He pushed himself up shakily, relieved he hadn't broken any bones. He grabbed the rocks and began slowly climbing. After a few minutes, he made it to the top. As he pulled himself onto the top of the cliff, he had a determined look on his face. Look out, Dirtclaw, Froglip's coming, and he is mad.

A/N Dirtclaw never quits, does he? Then again, what villain would he be? If this was a real movie, and was Disney, he'd be a really good villain.

Anyway, I decided to add Froglip trying the necklace and discovering his feelings for Irene are genuine. Then Dirtclaw interrupts XD

Please don't kill me for almost killing Froglip! I would NEVER kill him off! He's the good guy; the second star of the show! Also, Randes (a ghost) confronting Froglip and telling him the truth is partly inspired by the conversation between Ghost Mufasa and Simba in The Lion King. At least Froglip now knows the truth, and will do something about it.

The chapter is titled "The Truth Heals Part 1" because it's a pun on "The Truth Hurts", and when Froglip finds out he didn't kill Randes, it gets the load off of his shoulders.

GDeNoFa: Yeah, I love them :D They give me lots of inspiration.