The witch, who called herself Yuuko, told her that she could give her a baby, but that the price in return would be that she could not choose whether it would be a girl or a boy. And she warned her of a story that must be adhered to or great misfortune would forever haunt her family and precious child. There would be a frog, a prince transformed into such a creature, and that the child must kiss him to make him return to his original form. And that they must marry once that happens. There could be no other mate for her child.
Considering all this, the queen agreed and within a fortnight, she was pregnant. Even though the witch told her that she could not choose what child she would have, she was certain it would be a girl. She decorated the room with pale pastel pinks and whites, with as many frills around the crib as she could.
When the baby was born, all those who were certain that it would be a girl and rejoiced in their queen's pregnancy were shocked to find that the child was none other than a boy with the most brilliant blue eyes they had ever seen. Everyone wondered where he had gotten them, since neither the King or Queen had blue eyes. The queen suspected it was something to do with the magic that the witch had used on her.
Many, many years passed and the prince grew up. He turned out to be thin and lithe, almost looking feminine. The king, oblivious to the instructions detailed out to the queen, provided princess after princess to his young son, hoping to find a match and strengthen alliances. When her son spurned all the advances of the princesses, the queen relaxed and could go about her plan, whenever it would happen, of the frog prince.
Then the most tragic of tragedies happened. A princess caught young Prince Kimihiro's eye. Princess Himawari was as beautiful as they came and the queen's heart was crushed. She did not want the misfortune the witch spoke of to befall herself, her husband, or her beloved child. Frantically, she sought out guidance.
The witch named Yuuko thought long and hard in silence about it. Finally she nodded. "Here is what we will do," she said. "The prince will catch the princess' eye and they be married if things are left as they are. Take this." She held out a packet of herbs. "Grind them and put it into the princess' tea when she visits tomorrow."
In the end, the price of the herbs was the ring that had been passed down to her from her mother that had been in their line for generations. The queen didn't know what the herbs would do, but she dared not question such a powerful creature like the witch.
Princess Himawari never seemed to notice the tea was different or that her son fawned over her so energetically. It broke her heart to see her unintentionally ignore all his advances and Kimihiro go to bed at night, crushed by it.
But there was little she could do. This had to be done as the witch commanded.
It was two months after Princess Himawari would visit the castle and it became obvious to everyone there just how much Prince Kimihiro favored her. Many didn't find it odd, since she was a most beautiful girl, but they were surprised that whenever someone mentioned the odd behavior, Himawari hime looked confused and laughed it off. For someone so pretty, perhaps she was a bit light-headed, they murmured behind their hands.
-
"Himawari hime won't even notice me," Prince Kimihiro despaired, playing with a brilliant red marble that his secret beloved had given to him for his birthday. She had said where she had come from, it would lead you to your true love. There was a crashing sound behind him, causing him to jump and drop the marble. He glanced behind him, seeing in the kitchen window the cook berating another worker for dropping something, and found that when he turned back, his gift was gone.
"Oh no!"
He frantically set about searching for it, going farther and farther from the castle until he came to a stream. He peered down, and sure enough, there was a glint of red on the bed down below. "Damn! That was Himawari hime's present to me!"
"Oi."
Prince Kimihiro blinked and looked around, but could only spot a frog. He was about to dismiss it when the frog spoke to him again, startling him so badly he fell onto his behind and dirtied his white pants.
"I can get that marble for you."
"Why would you do that?" he asked suspiciously. Just something about this frog, regardless of its talking, made the young prince wary and upset. "What do you want?"
"I want to go with you back to the palace. To go where you go and do what you do."
Prince Kimihiro fluffed up with indignation, but calmed when a thought came to him. He could say yes, the frog would get the marble, and that would be the end of it. He didn't need to take him back with him at all. "Fine," he snapped. "Get me the marble and you can come."
It didn't take long for the frog to bring the marble back, but Prince Kimihiro walked too fast for him to catch up as he left for the palace. The incident was lost in his mind as the prince sat down for dinner that evening. Until there was a wet squishing sound and something banging on the door he was happily in bliss with his Princess Himawari and family. A servant standing by opened in and in hopped the frog that the prince had forgot.
"Go away!" he shouted and any that did not have their attention on the frog certainly turned it there now.
"What is going on, Kimihiro?" asked the queen, suddenly feeling quite well and happy at the sight of the frog that the witch had mentioned.
"I dropped the marble Himawari hime gave to me in the river and the frog brought it back."
"In return," the frog picked up when Prince Kimihiro did not continue, "you said you'd take me with you."
"Is this true, Kimihiro?"
Prince Kimihiro looked into the green eyes of the beloved Princess Himawari beside him and nodded miserably. The queen nearly crowed in satisfaction, since the witch assured her that the mate of her son would make him happier than any other.
"Then you must complete the bargain, Kimihiro. He will sit next to you and eat dinner with us and sleep in your room and be your friend."
"Mother!" he gasped, but when the King, hitherto silent until now, agreed, it had become law and he could not argue around it.
The rest of dinner was spent in an embarrassed silence and Prince Kimihiro could not sit still. It was too early to go to bed and sleep the whole day off, pretending it never happened, and the princess had asked for another tour of the castle. He tried to leave the frog behind, but his mother made sure he had no choice but to carry it with him in his hand for the tour too.
By the time the young prince went to bed that night, he was exhausted, having tried to keep up a nice conversation with the princess, but the frog kept butting in and making him irritated. What made it so much worse was that Princess Himawari seemed to like the frog instantly and often included him in discussions.
"Oi, I can't get up."
Prince Kimihiro glared down at the frog on the floor next to the bed. He wanted to just go to sleep and forget about it, but the queen's eyes were on him from the down the corridor. He was duly sensitive to it, even through the closed door.
"Fine!" the prince hissed in irritation and picked the frog up, depositing him on the pillow farthest from him. Turning his back on the green thing, he went to sleep.
"Kimihiro" the prince dreamed. Someone was calling him. Someone special. He found himself smiling in his sleep and whoever it was, held him in their arms. His heart pounded and there were lips on his.
The young prince's eyes snapped open to find that there were indeed lips on his own. In fact, he was currently draped over a stunning figure in his bed who was appearing to relish the seconds of their kiss as they each ticked by. There was only one problem.
The stunning figure belonged to that of a very stunning boy.
Prince Kimihiro screamed and the boy that was reclining in his bed only raised an eyebrow and plugged his ears. It was then that the prince realized the boy had no clothes on and he screamed louder, bringing the queen, king, and visiting princess rushing to his room.
"What's going on, dear Kimihiro?" the queen asked with alarm before seeing the boy in bed with her son. Her lips couldn't help curling into a smile. He was a very handsome one for her child.
"I—he---I don't know!" he cried, scooting far to the end of the bed. The boy snatched at the covers to make sure it at least covered his waist. "Th-the frog was o-over there!"
"I was the frog," the other boy said in a dead-pan voice. "I was changed into a frog by a witch. My name is Shizuka."
"You must be Prince Shizuka!" the princess gushed, her eyes wide. "We heard rumors that the prince had gone missing!"
"Why were you changed into a frog?" the king asked at the same time as the princess spoke.
"It was in payment."
"For what?"
"What I wanted."
There was apparently little left to do but explain. The queen cleared her throat and with a brilliant smile, began her long tale of the witch she had gone to see. When he heard he was going to be married to the young Prince Shizuka, Kimihiro's eyes widened in horror.
"B-but we're both boys!"
To the prince's horror, the king was looking thoughtful. "I know the land where Prince Shizuka comes from. It is quite wealthy and a marriage would only strengthen ties."
"Oh, you will be so lovely in a wedding, Kimihiro ouji!" Princess Himawari exclaimed, exchanging smiles with the queen.
"NO!" cried the prince again, but his word was cut off by the gentle lips of Prince Shizuka. It was enough to melt the lighter prince and a blush touched his cheeks.
"Yes," he said instead.
-end-