Finally, we are about to reach the magical characters of this story! Thanks for reviewing, Silver Writer 0927, Bloodylilcorpse, PhoenixWillowsRox88 (interesting question – I have my own views and I promise to explain what happened to Mike when Mal took over at some point) and the guest reviewer (I've started writing on that – you had great ideas and I will certainly try to get it done – either that or Frozen will be the next after this).
The next morning after the dance, Heather and Alejandro didn't act differently around each other, but both felt that something had changed. Heather continued denying it to herself. She did not like him – well, maybe she did, but she didn't want to date him, right?
Alejandro accepted it, deep down. He figured that he could still drop Heather if things didn't work out, but for now, they were, and he was determined to make Heather admit it soon enough. Before he introduced himself to Lindsay.
It was just before noon when it happened. Neither frog noticed the shadow that crept up to them, so slowly that Harold and Cody didn't notice it, either.
Then - "Agh! What the-" Alejandro was suddenly being dragged away by a shadow.
"No!" Heather was barely aware of her cry of protest, but she, Harold and Cody followed the shadow, until-
A sudden glint of gold penetrated the shadow. It instantly dropped Alejandro, and after a few more golden sparkles appeared, it disappeared entirely.
Two people appeared on the scene. One was large, dark and loud. The other was petite, pale and silent. Both were female.
"That's how we roll!" yelled the first girl, holding up her hand to high five the other.
"Shhh." whispered the other. "I'm sensing something. The shadow was here for someone." Her blue eyes fell on the four. "I see! So who was it?"
Harold was too busy staring at the first girl, so Heather spoke up, pointing to Alejandro. "Try him."
The first girl's eyes bugged out. "How the heck...I understood-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Heather said carelessly. "We used to be human, so you understand us. You probably don't understand our company, though." She introduced everyone.
The louder girl shrugged. "Dawn's the one who can understand them. I just help explain things."
"Moonchild Dawn?" Alejandro spoke up. "Then you must be Leshawna, am I correct?" The two women nodded. "A pleasure to meet you. We have been trying to find you."
They all went up to the treehouse together. "So, to cut to the chase-" Heather began.
"Hold up, girl!" Leshawna snapped. "We're not just here for business, you know! We already saved your butts once, so give us a chance. Besides, you probably won't have to tell us. Dawn probably already knows what you're looking for."
Dawn was still standing by, staring intensely at the company, as if she was reading their souls. Finally, she smiled and said in her soft voice "Cody! You haven't visited us for a while. So how is your family?"
"Fine." Cody shrugged. "If it wasn't for Sierra chasing me, things would be pretty much perfect. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen. Whenever I try to tell her that I only like her as a friend, she puts her antennae over her ears and pretends she's gone deaf."
Dawn nodded. Her eyes focused on Harold next, who looked very uncomfortable. But Dawn smiled at him too, and said "Oh! I see what's in your aura. It seems you want the same thing as your two friends here, but for entirely different reasons." She turned to her partner. "They all want to be turned human, but I think we need to explain a few things to them."
"Oh?" Leshawna gave the aura-reader a 'tell me' look, and Dawn whispered something to her.
The dark girl turned to the three. "All right. You two first – I can explain it to you without needing a translator." She pointed at the two frogs. "So, can you say what you need?"
"It's just as Dawn explained." Alejandro said. "We've been travelling here to ask you to help us, because we need to become human again."
"Not what I was asking!" Leshawna said firmly. "You told me what you're here for and what you want. That's the problem with everyone. They think what they want is what they need. You have no idea what you need!"
"Isn't that...kind of the same thing at the moment?" Heather asked, giving Leshawna a look of disbelief. She was shocked that they'd come all this way and all they were getting was a lecture.
"No!" Leshawna said. "We'll talk about what ya want once you know what ya need. Listen."
According to Leshawna, it didn't matter what they were. She and Dawn didn't just give people what they wanted. They were trying to do good for the world, and what was good was giving people what they needed, and making them see what they wanted wasn't always what was best.
"Now, you, rich boy," Leshawna said to Alejandro, "You just wanna continue living the high life. We know what you do all the time, and you know what you're actually looking for? A little self-control. You could do it at the royal court, even though you didn't choose to do it when you didn't have to. But you were raised as a gentleman. So why can't you act like one?"
Heather was smirking as she listened to this. Alejandro's usual confident smile was falling off his face as he was told a few home truths.
But that didn't last long as Leshawna turned to her. "Now you, girl. You may not be rich, but you're a hard worker. You still got a problem though. Your heart is harder than your diligence. You just want money and power – you don't remember what's really important in life. Wake up! What do you think makes life good? It's not power!"
Dawn spoke up. "That's enough. What we're asking you both to do is dig deeper. You know what you both want. You can get it...as long as you figure out what you need first."
There was a pause, as both frogs thought.
"Well?" Leshawna said. "You two got any idea what you need?"
"I know what I need!" Heather said forcefully. "It's not all this New Age crap – I just need to work even harder." Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I know! You're telling me setting my goals high is not right! I need to concentrate on what I'm good at. My bakery! I need to get that successful and running before anything else!"
Leshawna groaned. "No, no, did you not hear a word I just said?"
Alejandro looked at Heather for a moment. She didn't look back, though. Finally, he looked at Leshawna. "I understand." he said softly. And this time, he was sincere. He understood what Heather hadn't. And for the rest of his time as a frog, he was determined to make her understand it too.
Dawn smiled. "I think it's time we showed you how to become human, then. There's one cure – the kiss of a princess. Just one of you – but it will turn both of you back."
"Um, in case you didn't notice, we don't know any princesses!" Heather snapped. "That's how I got here!"
Leshawna smirked. "Oh, you know a princess. Your friend Lindsay is turning eighteen today, isn't she?"
"Yes...but..." A memory floated into Heather's mind. Lindsay was gushing about her birthday. Her present... "She's princess for a day!"
"That's right!" Leshawna said. "Your man here needs to get her kiss before midnight. She'll be a princess until then."
"Mierda!" Alejandro swore in Spanish, before regaining his composure. "Thank you both. I guess we should be going, then. We need to get back to town quick."
"Wait!" Harold exclaimed. "I know Leshawna can't understand me, but Dawn, you know why I want to become human, don't you? Can't you help me?"
Dawn gave Harold another intense look, and then whispered something to Leshawna that made her blush. "Well..." she began. "It's simple. But...I think we better keep that until after you help our two friends get sorted. You know what you need, and the route towards it is what you want. Later, yeah?"
It's true that in alligator form, Harold was a big help. Long before sunset, he managed to get Heather and Alejandro on a boat that would reach town at around nine. They would have three hours to find Lindsay and find a way to not have her freak out by two frogs talking to her.
While Heather decided to explore a little bit, and Cody followed her, Alejandro hung back, thinking about what Leshawna had said. "You were raised as a gentleman. So why can't you act like one?"
Alejandro didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, but his usual character was more womanizer than gentleman. He could act like any woman's dream guy, but it was all an act, and he dropped them whenever he got bored. A real gentleman would only flirt with one girl and that girl would be the one he spent his life with.
And then there was what Leshawna had said to Heather, about her heart being harder than her dilligence. Alejandro knew what Leshawna was telling her – it was that she was isolating herself too much by doing nothing but work, work, work. In a way, they balanced each other out.
Well, if Heather couldn't understand that...
I don't know if I love her. Yet. Alejandro admitted to himself. But there's something different about her, something good. If I had to commit myself to one woman right now, it would be her. I want to conquer her...but I don't think I would let her go after I had.
If you caught the implications of why Harold wants to be human, congratulations. If you caught what Leshawna and Dawn were trying to tell Heather, you obviously know this movie well. Let's not forget here that Al's love towards Heather is his number one redeeming quality – and that means his personal journey is almost complete. Heather still has a way to go.
