A Faerie Tale

When the frog told me he wanted to be my companion, I didn’t know he meant all the time. He followed me to the stables, to suppertime, even to the Royal Palace, though I warned him the sewing ladies would kill him on sight. Perhaps not kill him, but I wanted to frighten him into giving me a bit of time to myself but I had no such luck. I drew the line at following me to the chamberpot, however, something that he learned rather painfully one morn.

He told me his name was Oliver and he’d been in this form for nearly 80 years.

“’Twas a witch, deep in a wood far from here,” he told me one day while I was sewing a sleeve on a new dress. I now wore my thick hair loose so he could sit just behind my ear without being seen. “A nasty one, aye.”

“Well, what did you do to invoke her wrath?” I whispered from the corner of my mouth. I’d grown quite talented at talking with minimal lip movement by now. Otherwise, the other sewing ladies gave me odd looks every then and now.

“Me?” he sounded hurt. “Why do you think I was to blame?”

“Because you are a tricksy little toad, that’s why,” I answered matter-of-factly. And indeed he was; he was fond of hiding my slippers in the morning or “accidentally” slipping the bedwarmer out from between the sheets or spilling the food I smuggled him to the floor so that the Palace dogs circled me constantly. “You were probably doing some mischief to the woman and this was the result.”

“I did no such thing!” he said, but his tone was playful now. I felt his little webbed feet tug on a strand of my hair. “The woman was ill in the mind to have built a house of sweets and edibles and expect wandering woodfolk to not stop and take a nibble.”

A house of sweets and edibles? I thought it was the frog who was ill in the mind. Perhaps, in his many years, his memory was a bit vague. Or his imagination unrestrained.

“I was a headstrong fellow, sure, and one day I was out in the woods looking for a bit of firewood for a camp. I’d left my town, you see, looking for an adventure in the world. Stumbled upon this queer little cottage that smelled like a pastry fresh out of the oven and…well, I found my adventure.”

I was intrigued by his story but at that moment, Queen Cerella walked into the sewing room.

“Hush, now,” I whispered. “Not a sound is to be made from you.”

We all rose from our stools and bowed to her Majesty. Mine was a bit stiff—wouldn’t want Oliver to fall right off my shoulder. She smiled, beautiful as always.

“There’s a Royal Announcement to be made very soon, ladies. Perhaps you’d like to come now so you’ll have the more advantageous places in the courtyard?” She made it a question, as if we would actually consider staying here instead.

We all made little murmurs of delight and held our composure until the last of her skirts slithered down the hall before bolting for the door. There was a brief moment when the door was blocked from the mass of bodies desperately trying to fit through at one time but we at last regained a bit of our dignity and proceeded in a more orderly fashion.

When we entered the enormous courtyard, there was already a trickle of townspeople entering through the arched doorway that faced the village. The courtyard was basically a large, open space at the front of the Palace, with high stonewalls and an arched wooden door that swung open inwardly. In the center of the courtyard was a grand fountain, a beautifully crafted depiction of mermaids and faeries with water spouting in high arcs from their hands or vases in their arms. Unsurprisingly, it had been commissioned by the Queen herself. There were even little fish flashing silver and orange in the water below.

As the crowd steadily grew, I took a seat at the edge of the fountain, surreptitiously setting Oliver on a lily pad that floated lazily at the side. He dove into the sparkling water and amused himself by chasing the fish around. I smothered a giggle and my mother gave me a stern look. I folded my hands in my lap and tried to look demure but most likely failed.

A horn sounded above us and conversation died down as we all swiveled our eyes to the balcony that hung high over the wide flight of steps that led to the front entrance to the Royal Palace. The Announcement had begun.

The Queen approached the banister, shining like a diamond in her splendid sequined gown. She smiled down at her people and the crowd gave a collective sigh, everyone leaning forward to catch every word that fell from her perfect lips.

“I have a wonderful announcement to make,” she told us, even though we were all aware of this. Even so, we held our breath in anticipation.

“My son, your Prince Alexander, is of marrying age. In order to find the perfect bride, we shall hold a special contest here in the Palace. Every maiden of right age in the Kingdom is eligible to compete and win the Prince’s affections.”

Excited murmurs swelled all around me but I remained silent. So, I thought. This is my mother’s secret and the reason for all the ‘training’ these past months. No matter what protests I may have, there would be no chance of my mother allowing me to decline this chance. Even the possibility of riches and royalty could not lift the heavy feeling that I was being sold from my heart.

Queen Cerella raised an elegant hand and a hush settled over the crowd again.

“The Palace doors will open for all one week from today. Although…” She trailed off with a playful lilt in her voice. “I suppose I could introduce my son now.”

This was met with a frenzy of energy in the crowd, with gasps and frantic re-arrangements of hair, as if the Prince would notice a few wisps that had escaped a braid from all the way up on the balcony. Though I made no move to minutely improve myself, I was rather curious. Though I’d spent most of my life in the Palace (albeit, only in the lower levels) I’d never once glimpsed the Prince, nor even a portrait of him in the halls.

The Queen stepped aside and made a grand, sweeping gesture with her arm, her sleeves falling past her waist. There was a moment’s hesitation before first a head, and then a torso appeared, hands gripping the banister as Prince Alexander showed his face to the town for the first time since his birth.

All the women and girls around me started giggling and gushing over how handsome the Prince was but I honestly saw nothing that set him apart from any other teenage boy in the Kingdom. He had dark brown hair that curled at the tips, framing a thin face and pointed chin. Though it was hard to see from my vantage point, it appeared that he had the pale blue eyes of his mother. As expected, his skin was pale and unblemished from living his life inside the Palace. He was rather attractive but, despite his royal lineage from one of the most beautiful mothers and handsomest fathers, he was…almost normal.

He gazed down at the crowd and I thought he looked a bit like a rabbit thrown to the dogs. He gave a small smile but it lacked any real warmth. The Prince’s eyes roamed over my own and I felt a jolt run through my skin. He paused a moment, staring at me before continuing on with his once-over with the crowd.

I dropped my eyes to my hands where they knotted together in my lap. The Queen spoke for a few moments more but I didn’t hear her words. Oliver climbed up on the bench beside me, keeping to the folds of my sleeve, and I didn’t even mind the cold wetness of his skin.

When the Announcement ended and everyone began filing back through the courtyard entrance, I remained seated, struggling to understand why Prince Alexander was cursed.

❦❦❦❦

“I thought the boy was a bit odd,” Oliver said later as we walked through the Palace gardens. “Though its hard for me to tell from a distance.”

“Well, I’m quite sure he’s been cursed, though what for or by what is uncertain,” I replied, kicking a few pebbles off the cobblestone path. It was late afternoon and everyone was busy inside their cottages or shopping in the town square for next week. Thanks to my mother’s foreknowledge, I already had a complete new wardrobe of gowns, slippers, and cloaks. While everyone else scrambled to prepare themselves, I savored my waning freedom.

“Don’t worry yourself, we’ll soon have plenty of time to be close to the Prince,” Oliver said.

I hesitated for a moment. I’d been considering my frog situation ever since the Announcement. So far it had been easy to conceal Oliver but once I was inside the Royal Palace, I’d be amongst so many others that I didn’t know if I’d be able to conceal his presence for long. Then again, perhaps I could deliberately harm my own chances at marriage. That was certainly a possibility worth considering.

Before I could reply, I spotted a familiar blonde head in the lower levels of the Gardens.

“Wilhelm!” I called, and he whirled around in surprise before waving in return.

I hadn’t seen my friend in weeks and I was excited to catch up with him before being imprisoned in the Palace for who-knows-how-long. Oliver had to grab hold of my hair from where he sat on my neck as I picked up my skirts to quickly descend the steps into the lower level.

“How fare you, Ariana? I haven’t seen you in so long!” he said. “I gather you’ve heard the exciting news from the Palace.”

“Of course. Though my mother has apparently known all Summer,” I added a bit bitterly.

He laughed. “I’d have thought you would find this exciting, milady. The chance of a Royal marriage, becoming a Princess to live your life in splendor and comfort. I can’t even imagine the hordes of girls that will be flocking to the Palace this time next week.”

“Oh-ho, but I can,” Oliver whispered in my ear. I reached up to “scratch” behind my ear, flicking him on the nose. He snorted, retreating to the folds of my cloak’s hood.

“It is rather exciting,” I said, though I knew I sounded less than thrilled.

“Really? It appears to me that you are withholding something, m’dear,” Wilhelm replied smoothly.

I cocked my head to the side, listening to the wind that sent the willows sweeping across the ground and trying to think to my very core, where only the truth lay. Why am I not excited to meet the Prince? What do I really want?

“Why are you still here, Wil?” I asked suddenly. “I mean, why are you still here in this Kingdom?”

Taken aback, he answered, “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“You have a freedom I will never know, Wil. You can come and go as you please and you have wondrous tales and stories of places I’ll ever only know in my dreams,” I said, the words coming in a rush as I finally realized what had been frustrating me. “I don’t want to stay here forever.”

“Ah.” He leaned on the marble banister that overlooked the forest beneath the gardens, an endless green that was slowly yellowing into Autumn. “You have an adventurous heart, then.”

I remembered when Oliver had told me of his own quest for adventure in his youth and how it had resulted in his present form of a toad. The world was full of magick and mischief and I was probably the very last person who should go looking for it but I didn’t take back my words. I let them be carried off on the wind, far from my reach.

“Well,” he said, and I could tell he chose his words carefully, “Have you ever considered that perhaps this Prince is your way to see the world? You’ll be a Princess, an heir to wealth that could supply a thousand lives’ worth of traveling and adventures.”

I thought for a moment and my hopes began rising like a cork in water.

“The good doctor has made an excellent point, you know,” Oliver whispered in my ear. “Win the Prince’s heart, win your freedom.”

“I realize it seems a bit selfish,” Wilhelm continued, “But if you really think about it, do you believe any of those other maidens are doing any different?”

“Actually, they might be. They may believe that they will fall madly in love with Prince Alexander and live long, happy lives, like the Queen. Have you heard the story of her rise to Royalty?”

“I have. It seems to me the people of this kingdom love a happy ending, don’t they?” He pursed his lips. “In all honesty, milady, I don’t believe in such a thing. But that is beside the point.”

I bent to pick up a fallen rose petal form a nearby bush, rubbing the velvety texture between my fingers.

“I don’t believe that fooling the Prince will help me much,” I said slowly. “I can’t imagine the Queen and King allowing their son’s bride to go gallivanting to the farthest corners of the world.”

Wilhelm shrugged. “It was merely a suggestion. Either way, I do believe your mother will see you through with this contest, whether it is against your wishes or not. Might as well find something to be optimistic about.”

“Well, what would you do, Sir Wilhelm, were you in my position?” I asked.

"I'd pocket as much silverware and valuable trinkets as I could, that's what I'd do," whispered Oliver. I ignored him.

He seemed to honestly consider the question before answering with an excited glint in his eye, “Why, I’d visit the Royal library in the upper levels. I’ve heard that it holds a vast collection of atlases and diaries of the entire world. I’d love to see them but it would be inappropriate for me to ask such a thing since I’ve taken my leave of the Palace for lodgings in-town.”

"Of all the things to see in the Palace, of course he'd choose the library," Oliver said sardonically.

“Perhaps I’ll be able to take a peek inside myself. I’ll see what I can do,” I said to Wil while whispering out of the corner of my mouth to Oliver, "Shut it, Toad."

“I’d be much obliged, milady. But, of course, I wish you the best of luck in wooing the Prince Alexander,” he added, waggling his eyebrows, which made me laugh.

“Doctor Wilhelm? You are needed in town, sir, the miller’s wife is in labor!” a messenger boy cried from across the gardens, catching our attention.

“Ah, duty calls. Good day, Ariana,” Wil said, tipping his hat and bowing slightly before hurrying after the messenger boy.

“Yes,” I sighed, “Duty calls.”

"Ah, I'm sure it won't be too bad, Ari. It'll be quite a different experience, at the very least," Oliver said reassuringly.

"I suppose we'll just have to see." I opened my fingers and let the fallen rose petal be carried off on the wind, wishing that I could follow.