Gilbert wandered the halls, not certain how to make heads or tails of the situation at hand. The wedding was tomorrow, and he still had no idea what was going on.
When he had arrived in Tark the other day, he was surprised to see just how drastically Ludwig's temperament had changed. He had acknowledged Gilbert's arrival, of course, but it seemed that Ludwig had otherwise lost his mind in his infatuation with Queen Erzsébet. Kiku could not explain it either, as the strange behaviour had started when Ludwig unpredictably agreed to marry her as soon as possible. The worst part was that they had no way to prove that something had happened to Ludwig, and that therefore his consent to marrying the Queen had been compromised.
As Gilbert turned the corner in the hallway, he saw the head servant there, sending a maid away to do something.
"Your Majesty," Yao greeted, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually, there is?" Gilbert said, "I wish to have a word with the Queen, do you know where she is?"
"She is on the veranda," Yao answered, "I will guide you there, your Majesty."
"No, thank you," Gilbert declined, "I can find my own way there, you can carry on with your duties."
"As you wish, your Majesty."
Gilbert ignored the head servant as he ran off, focusing instead on finding his way to the veranda. It was easy enough to find his way there, as he had done after-dinner drinks with Ludwig and Erzsébet the last couple nights out there. Those evenings had been filled with Ludwig trying to cuddle up to her as close as he could, while Gilbert could only watch in absolute befuddlement.
As Gilbert turned into the second-last hallway, he saw an unfamiliar man rushing ahead of him. From behind, Gilbert could only see his decently-tailored blue outfit and the wavy blond hair that came down to his shoulders. The man turned into the short hallway out to the veranda, making Gilbert realize that the man was likely a frazzled servant or courtier who will visit the Queen before him.
Once Gilbert turned the corner, he saw that the man had made it to the veranda, and was turning to address the right side of the terrace. Figuring they might only be a few minutes at most, Gilbert quietly moved forward in the hallway with the intention of waiting his turn near the door.
"What's wrong with you?" Gilbert heard the Queen say, "The mirror was frozen all of yesterday, I could not get to Virside."
Gilbert froze in his steps when she mentioned Virside. She couldn't be referring to the lake in Krizoris, could she?
"Princess Madeline showed up and froze the place over," the man explained, "Her spell lifted just minutes ago, I have been frozen like ice since yesterday morning. And to make things worse, she took the girls."
As the man described his interaction with the Ice Princess of Prathage, Gilbert realized that he was listening in on things he shouldn't be hearing. He quickly moved against the wall, and began slowly inching closer to the door.
"Lilli and Lenka?" Erzsébet checked, "How could she have possibly known to take them away?"
"I have no idea, but it's not our biggest problem," the man dismissed, "All I know is that, if their group was wise enough to do so, they should be on their way here to Tark. They might even arrive in time for the wedding."
"Are you kidding me, Francis?" Erzsébet scolded, "I already have enough troubles with King Gilbert trying to figure out what I did to Ludwig, the last thing I need is a surprise visit from the uncontrollable Ice Princess! Do you even know where she is now?"
Gilbert's eyes bulged in shock as Erzsébet spoke the man's name. This was none other than Francis Bonnefoy, the malevolent sorcerer who tried to get revenge on the Royal Family of Prathage. Not only that, but Erzsébet was working with him, and did something to make Ludwig the way he was now.
"I have no clue, but I'll work on it," Francis answered, "Madeline will be a moving target through Bueswood, and it took me long enough to find Natalya's hideout."
"We don't have enough time, Francis," Erzsébet rejected, "This wedding isn't the only thing that needs to go off without any interruptions. I'm also going to need your help disposing of Gilbert once my marriage validates my immediate claim to the Ixaidellian throne. I can't have either Madeline or Natalya swooping in and destroying all my hard work!"
Gilbert immediately gasped as the discussion of his own death, before bringing his hand up to cover his mouth after the audible sound might have revealed his hiding spot. He kept himself absolutely still, noticing in dread that Erzsébet and Francis had stopped talking after he gasped.
After a painfully long and silent moment of anticipation, Gilbert finally attempted to move alongside the door, leaning in towards the door frame to see if he could peek around it and look at the two villains. Using the plant at the corner of the door as his cover, he turned so that the left side of his body was no longer against the door, and was finally able to see that Queen Erzsébet was watching the door like a hawk.
Before Gilbert could see anything further, there was a push to his exposed left side that sent him stumbling through the door and falling to the floor of the veranda in plain view of the Queen. As Gilbert recovered from the abrupt movement, he turned to see that Francis had somehow appeared behind him to provide the push.
"Well, well, well," Francis jeered, "If it isn't His Royal Majesty, King Gilbert of Ixaidel."
"Well, well, well," Gilbert immediately mocked, "If it isn't the infamous Francis Bonnefoy. If I had known you were hiding in Krizoris, I'd have sent Arthur straight there to hunt you down, with a platoon of Ixaidellian soldiers."
"I have had no quarrel with Ixaidel," Francis claimed, "Do not start one."
"Have you not?" Gilbert countered, "Erzsébet did just say she needs your help killing me and taking my crown."
"He heard too much, Francis," Erzsébet judged, rising from her seat, "We'll have to shut him up before he can spread the word."
"Speaking of which, Your Royal Majesty," Gilbert redirected, "What exactly did you do to my brother?"
"Your brother is going to marry me," Erzsébet stated, a swirl of green magic forming around her hand, "And you will not be stopping it."
Gilbert attempted to roll out of the way as a blast of magic was launched from her hand, but he did not escape in time. A haze of magic suddenly surrounded his vision, and it felt like his body had gone numb as the spell took its effect. He focused his sight on the edge of the veranda as well as he could, although it too shifted around in the green haze.
After a few moments, the haze finally cleared, and Gilbert regained control of his senses. He didn't even have to look to confirm that his hands, legs and body felt - how could he describe it - not human. Not only that, the edge of the veranda that he had tried to focus so hard on now seemed a lot bigger than before. As he tried to push himself up off the ground, he couldn't help but notice a slimy sensation to what should be his hands.
Something suddenly circled what should be his waist, and Gilbert was lifted off the ground. As this force suspended him in the air, Gilbert finally saw what should be his arms, and was shocked to find that they were squishy, green and - well - frog-like.
A frog.
Erzsébet had turned him into a fucking frog.
He was suddenly spun in the air, and found himself facing the wicked witch as she placed his shrinked frog form in the palm of his hand.
"What's the matter, Gilbert?" Erzsébet teased, "Cat got your tongue?"
Not amused by the joke, Gilbert shot his frog-tongue out of his mouth to hit her in the eye, only to find that the stories weren't true and his tongue only extended out barely an inch. Realizing that did nothing for him, he could only glare.
"Let me give you one little piece of advice," Erzsébet cautioned as she walked to the edge of the veranda, "My gardener is out there right now, and he hates frogs. Whenever he finds any near my roses, he kills them."
Before Gilbert could figure out what she meant, Erzsébet suddenly tossed him up into the air, and he was sent flying past the edge of the veranda. He quickly fell down the side of the palace wall, and dared to glance down at the flower bushes below. There was nothing he could do but brace for impact as he crashed through the petals, leaves and branches, and finally hit the dirt at the very bottom.
Gilbert took the moment to recover before getting his bearings and looking around. He had been turned into a frog by that wicked witch, no doubt also that 'false queen' as Madeline had reported on. Even worse, he had been tossed into the gardens, where Kiku would never be able to find him among the plants or bushes.
His birth spell was happening, wasn't it? He would spend his life being loud and outspoken, but wouldn't be able to talk when he needed to the most.
Now that he looked closely at these flowers he crashed through, he realized they were roses. Gilbert quickly rolled to his feet, then fought his embarrassment as he attempted to hop forward. The hop landed cleanly, and he proceeded to hop again and again.
If he was caught by the gardener, he'd be royally screwed.