Chapter 5: The Great Escape
~A/N - Another chapter complete! Yes! I am going to finish this! ... anyway - Now we find out where Lillian and Harold have gone on their adventure. Here is where they meet four people at the hotel they stay at. And Lillian's kingdom finally has a name! They are having a great time, but will something stop all the fun? You will see :)
Chapter 5: The Great Escape
It has been a few days, but Lillian finally found a town that she wanted to stop at... and this town was friendly to frogs. Xander walked proudly into the town, gracefully looking for a place to stop and rest. Lillian smiled at the small town. Everyone was busy talking to each other or working that they didn't even notice the Princess and frog come in. She was glad that no one was starring, she was use to it as a Princess, but she didn't have her crown on... she didn't know where it even was. There were a lot of small buildings with people trying to get you to buy something by shouting at you. She has never been to a place like this, she was glad. It was definately different.
The Prince was in awe at the town. It felt like they were finally at peace, because the town was peaceful. It reminded him a little of his kingdom... the peaceful part anyway. He finally smiled, he was going to enjoy this place.
Xander was told to stop at a cottage looking house, which was the town's hotel. Lillian sighed as she got off of Xander and helped Harold out of the pouch. She decided to hold him, just until they get to know the town a little better. "Well Harold, here we are." Looking around them, everyone seemed to be, finally, noticing that there were new arrivals to the town.
"Yes... shall we go inside?" Lillian nodded as she made her way up the stairs and into the lobby of the hotel. The inside was smaller than it appeared outside, but it was still very nice. Red carpet was leading them to the front desk where a teenage girl was sitting. Her long dark brown hair was up in a pony tail, freckles on her face complimenting her hazel green eyes. She was reading a teen magazine, not even paying attention to the pair walking towards her. She was chewing pink gum and blowing it, making it pop loudly. Harold rolled his eyes at the young girl, he didn't enjoy teenagers at all.
He whispered to Lillian, "This will take longer than we expected." They reached the desk and Lillian set Harold down on the desk. The girl still made no notice to them.
Lillian cleared her throat, "Umm... excuse me?" The girl was about to look up at Lillian, but she saw Harold on the desk first. She looked at him in disbelief at first. Harold glared at her.
She looked at Lillian, "No pets." Harold almost exploded with anger at her remark.
"I am no pet! You better watch what you say to me!" Lillian giggled, she hadn't expected her to say that, and... it was funny! Harold looked at her, blushing angerily, "Why are you giggling? That was not funny!" She tried to stop, seeing his anger. She cleared her throat.
"So sorry Harold," She turned to the teenager, who didn't see any humor in the two people in front of her. She popped her gum again. "He is not my pet, this is Harold and I am Lillian. We are looking for a room here."
She didn't care, "Yeah, that's obvious," Harold and Lillian looked at each other then back at the clerk. The girl stood up and walked into the next room, talking to someone. "Do we have any rooms Clifton?"
They heard someone sigh, "Really Alys? How do you not know if we have rooms or not? You are the clerk!"
She rolled her eyes, "You're also a clerk. Would you just come out and, like, help these guys? I'm going on my break." With that she walked away, not even turning around to look back at them.
Harold looked at Lillian and said, "This is why I hate teenagers." Lillian smiled.
"Hate is a strong word Harold."
"I fail to see your point."
She looked at him again, "Harold... just... the clerk is coming." She looked away from him and smiled as a very handsome young man, maybe in his twenties, smiling at them. Harold rolled his eyes. He had tan skin with very large arm muscles. His teeth were very bright as he smiled at them. His dark hair was longer and reached his shoulders. His blue eyes locked with Lillian's.
He said, "Hello, I'm Clifton, I will be your clerk for today. I understand the two of you are looking for a room?" Lillian blushed, she thought he was very cute. And... Harold was jealous.
"Yes!" Clifton and Lillian both looked down at Harold, who was smiling, through clenched teeth, at the clerk. "We are looking for a room. Do you have any available?" The clerk cleared his throat.
"I just checked and you guys are in luck! We have one room available," He looked at them, they were smiling, but he said. "I hope you don't mind... that it only has one bed." Lillian and Harold both gasped.
"What?" They looked at each other then back at the clerk. The Princess looked down. She couldn't share a bed with Harold! That would be... too awkward! She has never shared her bed with a man before. Although Harold wasn't a man, at the moment.
Harold looked to his left, sharing a bed with his best friend would be... would be... all wrong. Very wrong in Harold's book. He couldn't do that. He was too much of a gentleman. He cleared his throat.
"I do not need a bed," Lillian looked at him, he was also looking at her. "You can have the bed and... I'll have the sink, or a drawer." He smiled at her, but she had a confused look on her face.
"Are you sure? I mean... I don't see a problem with us... sharing the bed," Lillian blushed at her own words. "But... whatever you'd like to do it fine." Harold nodded and looked at the clerk.
"We shall take the room."
Clifton smiled, "Very well! And no need to pay right now, we always allow our guests to pay after their visit," He rang a bell. Someone came down the stairs and stood at the counter. "Cedric, please show them to room 217. Here is the key to your room, if you need anything at all, please do not be afraid to ask." Lillian took the keys, and gave them to Harold, who was still glaring at the clerk.
"Well, thank you Clifton." He nodded and walked back into the back room. Lillian again, picked up Harold and set him in the palms of her hands. Cedric, a very young boy was smiling as he lead them up the stairs. He, too, had long hair that was brown, he had dark brown eyes.
He said, "Just up the stairs here and we will be there!" They were walking up the stairs, in silence. No one really knew what to say. Harold was busy admiring the walls and works of art on them, while Lillian was trying to memorize where they would be staying for the next few days. Until Cedric smiled and said, "Sooo where are you two from?"
Lillian came out of her daze and said, "Jarithen." Cedric frowned.
"That's sorta far away. Are you here for any reason? Or did you need to just get away?"
Harold sighed, "Well... we just decided to go on a little vacation." Lillian smiled at Harold. He was actually staying calm... that was unlike him. The whole ride to this town, Harold had been worried about what Lillian's father would say once she got back to the castle. He wasn't one bit calm, but at least now he was trying.
"This is a great place for vacation!" Cedric opened up the door with his extra key, to find that it was already open. "Well... that's odd... I wonder..." He opened to door. He sighed, Lillian and Harold gathered behind him. A young women, around the same age as Clifton, was sitting on the bed with a book in her hand. "Mary?" Harold sighed, of course something like this would happen. Something would ruin this for them, but then he thought it wasn't such a big deal.
At the sound of her name, she looked at the group and blushed. Shutting the book and standing up, she said, "Oh! Hi... ummm... I'm going downstairs now. Dinner will be at five!" She walked toward the door and went out.
Cedric rolled his eyes, "People these days..." He turned back to Harold and Lillian, who were a little confused by the episode. He smiled at them. "That was Mary, she's the cook around here. Anyway, here you are!" He stepped aside and allowed Lillian to step completely in the room. It was beautiful. That is all you need to know.
The Princess said, "Thank you Cedric." She set Harold on the floor, and he began to inspect the room.
"You're welcome. If you guys need anything, either find me or Clifton," He was about to shut the door, but he popped his head in one more time. "Oh yeah, welcome to Sethen!"
Sethen, although small, was ideal for one who wanted to get away for a while. The hotel was convenient, right in the middle of Sethen and close to the local market place. Though Lillian and Harold would have no use for the market place, since they both would just eat dinner with the rest of the clientel, but they still thought it would have been convenient.
A little while later, once they got settled and looked at the view they had, which was wonderful. Lillian sat on the bed and sighed with relief. For the next few days she would be free!
Harold looked up at her from the floor and smiled, he really has not seen Lillian this happy before. She seemed at peace, which made him happy.
"So... are you happy Lillian?" She smiled down at him.
"I am... very happy actually. It'll be good for the both of us to be away from the king, won't it?"
He chuckled, "I, honestly, don't think I would have been able to stand it for one more day." They laughted together, because they could laugh now. Normally their conversations would have something to do with the other's bad day, but today they were finally laughing. Laughing like friends do.
_
One Week Later
Lillian looked out the window from the hotel that they came to only one week ago. They had been having a wonderful time getting to know each other more, and spending time getting to know the townsfolk. The time went by so fast for the both of them. That's what they get for having so much worry-free fun! It was near the end of the day; the peaceful town was becomeing quiet as the sun was begining to set. The sun was going down behind the mountains, one of the perfect times of the day... it was the time of day where everyone would go inside for the night and be with the ones they loved. You could really see the stars from way out where Lillian and Harold were. It truly was beautiful...
She looked at Harold, who was sitting on the bed next to her, "Tell me Harold, what do you think of this place?" He looked around the room.
"It's alright..." He hopped a little closer to her, smiling. "Actually, I think it's soothing. The townsfolk are nice and are very welcoming!"
She nodded with a smile, "I agree. This hotel is very charming, and it has been so nice to be away from Jarithen! I couldn't ask for anything better." Harold raised an eyebrow at her.
"Really?" Lillian laid back, laying on her back. She sighed lightly.
"Really. I mean... I can't believe we have been away from... my father and his kingdom for so long," She smiled, looking at Harold. "And... I couldn't ask for anyone better to be with." For the fourth time that day, Harold blushed. He looked away from her and cleared his throat.
"Yes... well... umm... good."
Lillian giggled, "It's true Harold! I would never want to spend so much time with any one of the people I once thought of as friends. You made me see what a true friend is like," She sat up, still looking at Harold, who again looked back at her. "I can't thank you enough Harold."
He shook his head, "Lillian... I should be thanking you," She was about to protest, but he continued. "Look... before we were friends I had no one. No one who believed that I was really a human Prince at one point in my life. No one would have ever dared to come over and talk to me because I was a weird frog that had some... issues. But you didn't care, you believed in me and became my friend. That is all I ever needed... and you are all the friend that I ever need." Those words came from his heart.
How did he do that? How did he always make her feel beautiful, without saying so? It was just Harold's way. He always said something that made her feel better. No matter what the time of day and no matter if he was in a bad mood or good mood, he always said things that made Lillian feel like she was worth something.
She smiled and just looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "You're so good with your words Harold."
He smiled proudly, "You can thank the writer for that!"
"... what?"
He hopped closer to her, "I guess it's because... you inspire me to say those words."
"Harold..."
"No, I'm serious." He looked deep into her eyes, as if searching for her soul.
She smiled at him, "In that case, allow me to thank you for the kind words you always say to me." Although she may have found this odd and, just a little, repulsive (since he was a frog) she decided to do it anyway. Lillian reached her head down and kissed Harold on his forehead. As she pulled away, Harold instantly blushed and smiled as wide as he could. He felt like he was being floating in mid air.
Lillian was smiling at him sweetly... when she suddenly frowned and became a little frightened. Harold also frowned as he realized he really was floating, high into the air!
She watched in awe as Harold almost reached the ceiling, and a bright blue light surrounded his entire body. He didn't make a sound as he became infused with the light that appeared, as if by magic. Lillian watched in horror, not knowing if she should do something or wait for the light to dissipate.
"Harold! What is going on?"
He took a deep shaky breath, "I have no idea Lillian!" Their eyes met for a brief moment until he started to glow. Lillian decided to look away, really not understanding what was happening at all.
Harold tried not to panic... even though he had no idea what was going on with him! He felt very odd, as if he was going through some kind of growing pain. He had never experienced something like that before in his whole life, he looked down at Lillian to see her with her eyes closed, looking scared. That is when he knew he could not panic, for Lillian's sake. Still he was afraid.
After a few minutes, there was a thud sound that same from where Harold was, an "ouch" was later followed. Lillian was afraid he was dead, not hearing him say anything.
Harold rubbed his head as he sat up and looked at the ceiling, as if he was looking for answers. He shook his head and began to examine himself for anything that was wrong or out of place. His legs were fine, nothing broken, as well as his arms. His stomach was fine, no cuts. And his butt... well besides the pain because of the thud, it was in good working order.
That's when he realized something was wrong. He gasped as he looked at his hands, they weren't green. He actually had fingers, five on each finger! Next came his legs, they were longer and also not green. Five toes on each foot. He looked at his body, he had a flat stomach, and biceps. Next he felt his head, he had Harold, his head actually had hair! Harold's lips formed a smile, smiling so wide he smiled with his mouth open.
He looked at Lillian, who still had her eyes closed. He chuckled and stood up, very excited. It was a different look from that angle, he noted to himself.
"Lillian." At the sound of her name, Lillian jumped a little, not expecting someone to talk, let alone Harold. She noticed something different in his voice, there wasn't any croaking. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Her mouth fell open in surprise as she kept looking at him.
"H-harold! You're... you're..." She just kept looking at him. Lillian has never seen him like this, but she was glad she got to. He had a handsome smile, and he had the same old eyes... "...human."
Again, Harold looked at himself, he really was human again. He couldn't stop smiling! He was waiting for this day for over 14 years, and it finally came. He was glad that Lillian was there to share this day with him, "I am... I am actually human again," Suddenly Lillian blushed, but Harold did not notice at first. "Do you know what this means now Lillian?" He kept smiling at her, and she smiled back. She stood up, being just a little taller than him.
She crossed her arms, "You won't be treated differently anymore, you're no longer a crazy frog,and you will get more respect now?" He paused thinking for a moment.
"Well... yes... but it really means," He threw his hands in the air. "The Prince of Far, Far Away is human again!" He laughed and did a somewhat little dance, which Lillian wished he hadn't done.
She blushed redder and looked away from Harold, "Umm... you know what else you can do now that you're human?"
Harold stopped his dance and said, still smiling, "Anything?"
"... Yes, but... you can wear clothes now." He rolled his eyes, thinking Women...
"I suppose... I can wear clothes now, yes," He also crossed his arms. "You are right."
Lillian headed toward the door, only looking at his eyes, "I'm going to go and buy you some from the market." Harold blushed beat red when he finally got her point.
"That's a brilliant idea, and I'll be in the bathroom... hiding!" He ran into the bathroom without a second thought and slammed the door behind him. Lillian giggled loudly as she shut the door behind her walking down the hall, leaving the Prince in his embarrassment.
~A/N - Finally Harold is human! See, that's why I rushed the other chapters, I really wanted Harold to be human, than I can get to all the ideas that I want to happen the next few chapters :) yay! Sooo now that Lillian actually sees Harold as a human, will she treat him differently? Will they both confess something deep that neither of them would have ever expected? Well stay tuned for - "Chapter 6: Prince Harold of Far, Far Away" and you will see :D Please review! Thanks!~
How to pronouce words: Sethen (Sea Thin) Jarithen (Jar i Then) Alys (Alice) and Xander (X zander) I just thought you'd like to know =)