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Shi-chan: This one just...happened.
Edit, Oct 17/04. Have taken some advice from reviews and modified this story to reflect some information I missed in the game; also at a reader's suggestion I have made the pendant into Leene's coral brooch. Thanks so much for you help, guys. :)
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The Frog Prince
By Shimegami-chan
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Once upon a time in the beautiful kingdom of Guardia, there lived a just King and his wife, the fair Queen Leene. The newlywed couple had come to the throne in the midst of a terrible time, when a war against an evil mage was ensuing. The Queen was confined to the castle and its inner gardens under her husband's anxious rule.
One afternoon when the sun had just brightened a misty morning, Queen Leene was observing the landscape from her bedroom window. King Guardia had risen early to tend to pressing matters his page had brought news of, leaving Leene alone in the enourmous, ornate room. Being only recently coronated, she was unused to the simplicity of life as the wife of the King. Before marrying, Leene had been carrying on her deceased parents' roles as monarch in the neighbouring Truce--right down to the signing of decrees. But since courting and marrying the young prince of Guardia , Leene had been reduced to sitting back and watching while all the duties she was accustomed to were performed by the new King. A hint of anger surfaced in her at the confinement; as a princess she had always been free to do as she wished, but now that she was Queen that freedom had been constrained by none other than the man she married. She could not help but feel that perhaps she had made a mistake in choosing him, but the choice had been for the sake of her kingdom, not for her. It was her duty to marry a man who could bring Truce under Guardia's rule peacefully, to ensure its survival, and someone who would rule successfully and rally support, especially in the dark times they had been thrown into. Though her female ancestors had married peasants and knights without difficulty in the past, none of them were orphaned and ruling alone at the age of sixteen through a brutal war. Guardia was fighting the Mystics for all their sakes, and the population of Truce had so dwindled by the attacks that if it was not absorbed by the neighbouring town of Guardia and protected by their armies, it would not survive. The royal family of Truce needed someone who could take over protecting the village without causing an uprising, and empower all of the kingdom with his words and actions.
It was that young boy she knew from her visits to Guardia Palace who had told her this, just before Leene had begun inviting male courtesans to Truce...she had come to him as soon as she was of age, but he gently turned her away from the question she really wanted to ask before she ever could. He already knew what she wanted, and that it could never be. Truce must be united under Guardia, and Guardia required a queen.
The next day, she had gone to a ball at Guardia Palace, and within a month had made her decision and married into the royal family. That boy had left with young Cyrus in search of the Mystic mage terrorizing the countryside, and had not contacted her since.
But she no longer let herself think of him. Her duty was to family and her King--her husband. Still, it was on lonely mornings like this that she most strongly felt the loss of her parents and the people of the village that she had come to know.
Leene gazed out the window, her chin on her palm. She could barely see, from here, the nation over which she ruled--the enourmous forest blocked it from view. I wonder if anyone would notice if I went out for a walk...just to the market.
Suddenly spirited once again, Leene strode to the closet and removed a white tunic and a pair of pants. She pushed her wavy auburn hair behind her shoulders and draped a brown cloak over them, checking in the mirror to ensure that stray curls were not peeking out of the hood. She pinned her coral brooch to her tunic, allowing the folds of the cloak to fall over it, hiding it from view. Then, taking only a few coins from the ornate dish on the dresser, Leene slipped down the stairs and out to the castle doors, bypassing the two guards standing outside. They did not halt her progress; they had been instructed only to keep outsiders away, as the maids were constantly leaving the palace for the market in a similar style of dress.
Leene proceeded unheeded into the forest, pleased to be out on her own again. Here was familiar territory; the trees she had played among as a child, the hiding places she had explored. She walked to the edge of the forest, jingling the coins in her pocket, until she came to a small reflecting pool. The surface of the water was completely unmarred, a silver mirror framed by a circle of stone. Leene peered into it eagerly, pulling back her hood. As her hair shifted, she felt her tunic become lighter, and a moment later the heavy brooch fell with a splash into the pool. Leene muttered a curse and thrust her hand into the water, making a grab for it, but her fingers barely closed over the pin as it slipped from her hand. "Oh no..."
The waters stilled as quickly as they had been disturbed. The young queen peered into them, trying to catch a glimpse of the brooch, but not even a glint of the coral could be seen in the silver waters. She threw off her cloak and rolled up her sleeve, plunging one arm down as far into the pool as it would go--to no avail. The bottom was far out of reach.
Leene held back tears of frustration and took off her shoes, praparing herself for the cold water. It would hardly be worth the price she'd pay if she sent for a guard to retrieve the bauble--what would the King say? Better to fetch it herself and dry off later; the afternoon was warming and her husband would surely not return until later. She knelt once again at the edge of the stone circle, looking apprehensively into the water.
"Shall I fetch it for you, my lady?" Leene turned quickly, startled by the voice and the strange croaking noise which accompanied it. Peeking out from behind a nearby bush was--a frog. Overly large, the amphibian looked at her shamefully, as though frightened to meet her eyes. She worried that perhaps it could be a Mystic, for of course frogs did not talk...but this one surely could not be the enemy; although he was not human, his appearance was not that of a Mystic either.
"My--my brooch," the Queen said quietly, casting a glance at the silver water. "I've lost it in there..."
"I saw," the frog croaked. "I was...observing...I had hidden myself when I heard someone coming, Lady. I can retrieve it for you."
Before Leene could reply the oversized frog came out from behind the bush, hopping on its--his?--hind legs. He wore a simple brown tunic (Leene was sure now that she was imagining the whole event!), and avoided her eyes again as he looked into the reflecting pool. A shudder ran visibly through him as he hesitated there, before hopping into the water. Leene, watching earnestly, could not help but be reminded of a fairy tale her father had told her as a child--The Frog Prince. If she remembered correctly, the story was about a greedy girl whose golden ball was retrieved from a well by a talking frog, who turned out to be a cursed prince. He had demanded a kiss as payment for his efforts, and it returned him to human form. Would her brooch's retriever also require a fee? Leene hoped it was something easier to provide than the hand in marriage the Frog Prince had eventually asked for!
Before she had time to consider any further, however, the frog's head broke the surface of the water and he laboriously climbed out, refusing the hand Leene offered as assistance. "No need..."
In one green hand was the coral brooch, the broken fastener dangling from the underside. "A stronger pin next time, my lady," the frog advised as he handed it to her. His eyes stayed stubbornly on the ground, and though Leene felt she should be repelled by his appearance, she wished the frog would meet her gaze.
"Thank you...what is your name, kind sir?"
His head came up sharply, as though shocked at being addressed so formally by a human. Of course, Leene thought, he could not know he was also speaking to the Queen! She smiled warmly, pleased that he was finally speaking to her face-to-face.
"My name...?"
"Yes. You do have one...?"
"I had one, lady." The croaking laugh that issued from the frog's mouth was bitter. "I am afraid 'tis no longer mine to bear. If ever we meet again, I might tell you, but until then..."
"Oh." Baffled, Leene frowned as the frog broke his gaze from her own and turned. "Wait! You're going?"
"Your company, 'tis too good for the likes of me, Lady."
"I hadn't had a chance to thank you yet, sir...I owe you for your kindness. I cannot offer much by way of gold, as I brought only a few coins for the market..."
"I am in no need of your money, sweet Princess. You owe me nothing."
Leene hesitated. "You know who I am."
"Of course, my lady." The frog made to disappear into the bushes, face still stubbornly turned again.
"Wait."
He paused.
She intercepted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened. "Will you not accept my gratitude, then? This should be a better repayment than nothing." She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "And...you remind me of someone I know...I feel I could not let you go away with nothing."
The smile she received in return was a sad one. "I am afraid, princess, that I shall not turn to a princely form, even with a kiss."
"That was not my aim, kind sir."
"Then I thank you, my lady, and bid thee farewell."
Before Leene could respond he had disappeared, leaving her standing with the coral bauble clenched in her hand. She gathered her cloak into her arms and slipped on her shoes, thinking to catch the gentlemanly frog before he got too far--but he appared to know the forest as well as she. No trace of flipperprints could be seen among the dewy forest grass, and after an hour of searching, Leene gave up and returned glumly to the castle gates.
She had not really expected the frog to become a prince--he had known that too, right? But that a frog could be intelligent enough to speak and act like a human--it was truly extraordinary, was it not?
The need for contact with another person ached within her more than ever. She felt that be someone to connect with. A confidante. A friend. Almost like...
"Why do you hide from me? Even if you are not the Frog Prince," Leene said loudly to the forest, "you are surely special. Won't you come back with me, if you know already who I am? Can we not, at least, share more conversation than a 'thank-you' by the pool?"
No answer came from among the trees.
"If you are truly watching me, kind Frog, you are listening now, and if you are as kind as you appeared, I implore you, answer! Are you there, sir? Please heed my call!"
Back at the reflecting pool, a bush rustled guiltily and the frog emerged, pausing over the mirror of water. The words that issued forth from it could not possibly have carried to the Queen's ears. "Sweet princess, if only I could..."
Standing near the great doors to her prison, Leene clutched the brooch in distress."Frog? Kind frog, where have you gone? Please...please come back. I only wanted to talk..."
I only wanted some company, kind frog...for you reminded me of him...
The sound of her tears went unnoticed in the forest's great silence.
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owari