Arthur's tongue slipped in and out of his mouth for a few seconds before he got a hold of himself by shaking his head a bit. "What in the world happened?" He saw Gwen beside him. "Gwen, how did you get here?"

"It's a long story," Merlin explained. "We can save it for the ride home, but the condensed version is you didn't listen and got yourself turned into a frog."

"Where is she?" Arthur asked, drawing his sword.

"I searched the area both times we were here," Merlin said, "I never even found a woman. Did you two see anybody when you turned into frogs?"

"No," Arthur said slowly.

Gwen shook her head. "I didn't see anyone either. I just remember falling from the horse as I made the switch."

"I think this area is enchanted. If you hit a certain barrier, you turn into an animal. If you hit the barrier again, you're back to your normal self. It must be some kind of security measure. For all we know, the witch is long gone and it's just lingering magic."

Arthur sighed and put away his sword, somewhat disappointed that there would be no fight today. "I'm sure you're right, Merlin. One of us would have seen something by now. I guess we'd better ride back to Camelot." He looked at the horses. "Where's my horse?"

"I saw that he was taken care of by one of the farmers outside of Camelot. I didn't want to raise any panic when your horse returned and you didn't, at least your human self didn't."

"I'll share Gwen's horse then," he said, mounting and pulling Gwen up behind him.

"Why thank you, Merlin, for preventing an uprising, taking care of an unruly frog, not to mention a horse, and finding a way to turn two royal personages back into people. Why you're welcome, Merlin. I'm glad someone around here has good manners."

"Merlin, I think what you need is a vacation. It's never a good sign when you start referring to yourself in the third person. Take a week off."

Merlin pursed his lips together as he thought it over. That was as good as a thank you, coming from Arthur and he could definitely use some time off.

"Thank you, Merlin," Gwen said with a smile as they passed him.

Merlin smiled back and mounted his own horse.

"Sorcerers can't be all bad," Merlin commented as he caught up.

Arthur turned a critical eye on Merlin and for a moment he wondered if he had gone too far. "What do you mean?"

"The spell could have been set to kill someone. You could have stayed trapped as animals for the rest of your lives."

"That's true," Gwen remarked.

Arthur didn't comment one way or the other, but Merlin hoped that was another step toward Arthur treating magical persons favorably.

sss

That very evening, Arthur wanted to make a new law. The court assembled in the throne room to hear the new decree.

Arthur stood up to speak. Merlin closed his eyes, trying to brace himself for the news. He was sure it had something to do with the crime recently done against Arthur. "I am outlawing the consumption of frogs."

Merlin exhaled the breath he had been holding. He had been afraid it had something to do with magic and that it wouldn't be a gracious law. The time spent as a frog had not caused Arthur to embrace magic with open arms, but it was a day of rejoicing for frogs throughout the kingdom. It was a practical law too if Arthur should ever happen to find himself in the same situation, which considering it wasn't the first time Arthur had gained animal-like qualities was perfectly possible.

Arthur reached out and caught a fly in his fist with a vengeance. When he opened his palm, he revealed a squashed fly. He gazed at it almost hungrily. He became aware of the deafening silence as he looked around and dropped the fly to the floor. "We must be vigilant to remove all pests from our kingdom."

There was a cheer throughout the court. After all, who didn't hate flies, especially in the middle of summer? There was also relief to know their king wasn't as barmy as they had almost thought.

Merlin couldn't help but chuckle. Arthur had spent a long enough time as a frog that the habits wouldn't be dropped as easily as his frog form. Merlin had a feeling that the next couple of days were bound to be entertaining.

"Would you would like me to draw you a bath before I start my vacation?" Merlin asked in the humble tones of a servant as he followed Arthur down the corridor. "Maybe I could add some lily pads. I could also find a few pests for you to vanquish if you want."

Arthur whipped around. "The only pest that I will be vanquishing is you if you ever speak of this incident again. You'll find your vacation will be spent mucking the stables quicker than you can utter a smart comeback."

Merlin knew it was no idle threat and hurried to start his well deserved vacation.

The End