Her Frog Prince

She ran through the trees, crying so hard her make-up ran down her face. Her streaked eye liner left dark circles under her brown eyes, her long brown hair had fallen out of its sleek, elegant bun and was streaming behind her as she ran deeper and deeper in to the forest. Branches caught her billowy soft pink dress, but she didn’t stop running. In no time, the skirt of her dress was tattered and muddy from the soft ground beneath her. She wound her way through the trees, so she was enveloped in a world of greens and browns. When she felt she had run far enough, she slowed down and walked farther into the woods. She didn’t care where she was going; she needed to get as far away from where she came as she could.
After running for what felt like hours, she sat on a fallen log by a small stream. The silence of the wood was interrupted by the quiet gurgling of the stream. She sat down on the damp log and pulled off her shoes, which had been killing her for a while now. She slipped them off and dipped her aching feet into the cool water. Along with the water’s murmuring, she could hear the quiet croaking of frogs down the stream. As she listened to the river, the frogs, and the sound of absolute silence she began to think about the past few days.
Not four days ago, she was told she was to be married to a man both she and her father would choose. But not just anyone, these suitors were sons of men her father worked for, were friends with and had done business with. She didn’t know any of these men, and certainly wasn’t going to marry any of them.
The next day five potential matches came to her house. They were going to stay with her and her father for a week and while they stayed at the house, she was expected to spend some time with each of them and decide who she liked best. She hated all of them.
Simon was horrible. He was rude and said things most people would keep to themselves. When they first met he said “Ella, I expected you to look like a goddess. You’re so…so…plain.” He spat out the part like it was a dirty word, and couldn’t bear to taint his mouth.
Oliver obviously was a joke her father was playing on her. They were out on the terrace for their second meeting (Ella refused to call it a date) when he broke down crying. He grabbed her wrists and told her he had never loved anyone like he loved her before. He begged her to consider him as her potential husband. When he finally detached his hands from her wrists, she excused herself to use the restroom, and ran.
Cedric was so wrapped up in himself; she doubted he even knew where he was. His hand was permanently attached to a hand mirror and a comb. They had been at dinner when he asked her if his hair looked okay, and dipped his comb into her water glass to run it through his hair! She couldn’t believe him!
Colin was sweet; he knew exactly how to treat a lady. He was always ready to get her whatever she wanted or needed. That’s didn’t bother her, him waking in as she was bathing and asking if she needed a loofah, however, did. She wasn’t a china figure, and his constant breathing down her neck was getting ridiculous.
Brody was the most interesting. He was shy; he might have said two words to her during their meeting the one night. Mostly he was quiet, and deep in thought, constantly writing things down in a notebook he kept in his back pocket. Her father said he was too sensitive to be his son-in-law, but Brody’s father was a friend and had done business with her father for years. Ella had to admit, his daydreaming was a bit off putting.
None of these men where what she wanted, maybe if all of their singular good points were put together she’d have her perfect man. He, she thought, would have to be charming, thoughtful and loving. But he would also have to be strong and able to protect her when she needed it. She also hoped she wasn’t just dreaming up her perfect man and he truly existed somewhere. She had dreamt for so long of being whisked away by this perfect man, but every frog she kissed was a dud.
Finally, today, she was to tell her father who she wanted to marry. She couldn’t choose anyone of them; she wasn’t attracted to them. But she had to choose, and as she was getting dressed she kept going over and over whom least annoyed her. Simon, Oliver and Colin were no’s. She could deal with a narcissist and a daydreamer, for a while at least. But she couldn’t do it. None of them where her prince.
There was to be a big party for her and her father to announce who they had picked. When the time came she told him she couldn’t do it. He told her she had a choice from the five, and if she didn’t choose, he would. She asked him to give her more time, or at least more options. He told her she had five minutes and if she hadn’t made a choice, he was going to choose for her. It wasn’t that her father was mean; he just wanted to see her married to a family that was going to take care of her.
Her five minutes had flown by and she still hadn’t made a choice. In a final act of desperation, she ran down the flight of stairs, slipped past her party guests and out the back door into the woods that surrounded her house. Her heart raced as she ran to the cover of the trees. There were huge windows in her house and she hoped no one had seen her. Maybe a walk in the woods would help her think, or buy her a few precious hours.
During her reminiscing, the sounds of the river and the croaking frogs had faded out of her consciousness. She was jerked back to reality when a frog croaked next to her on the fallen log. It was a large frog with a fat little body with long skinny back legs and short stubby front ones. Normally, she wouldn’t have paid much attention to the little frog, but he was looking so intently at her. He was a dark jade, with dark muddy brown spots all the way down his back. His big frog eyes were a rich brown and looking at her with a mix of curiosity, sympathy and tenderness. Which was a crazy, a frog didn’t have feelings. And she wasn’t sure why she started thinking it was a “he”, she wasn’t sure of any outward sign of telling it was a boy.
The frog carefully hopped towards her and stopped by her hand. Ever so slowly the frog put its wet, slimy front leg on her hand. She had never gotten this close to a frog before, let alone any kind of wildlife. She picked it up and looked at the frog. He seemed to be smiling at her, but maybe it was just her eyes. She had stopped crying a long time ago, but her eyeliner was still streaming down her face. Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. She placed the frog back on the log and sighed. She was hallucinating. She was being forced into marriage, and she was hallucinating.
She took another glance at the frog that was still looking intently at her from its place on the log. She smiled to herself, thinking immediately of the story about the frog prince. Here she was, not quite a princess, but looking for her prince and along comes a little frog to make her smile. She picked the frog back up and said
“You know, I’m have tempted to see if it comes true.” She said smiling.
The little frog croaked happily and it made her laugh. Without thinking, she pressed her lips to the cold, slimy frog head and closed her eyes. Suddenly, the cold, wet, slimy frog skin turned to wet, warm hair. She opened her eyes and looked in her hands. Cupped in her hands was the head of a smiling brunette male. Attached to the head was the rest of his body kneeling next to her in the mud.
She dropped her hands and fell backwards off the log onto the soft grass. They both jumped up at the same time and stared at each other.
“What are you…I was…the frog…”
“That was me.” He said. His voice was deep and musical, she could feel herself calming down as he spoke. He was wearing muddy jeans, due to kneeling in the stream and a plain white shirt also damp. He slowly walked around the log as she walked backed away from him. This was too strange.
“I was holding a frog two seconds ago, where did you come from?” she asked shooting her right arm out to keep him away.
“I know this is going to sound…like a fairytale, but everything I’m going to tell you is true.” He said sitting on the log facing her. She stopped backing up and listened to this strange guy.
“I was walking through the woods by my house and I fell into a hole. I broke my leg and started calling for help. This old lady came by, and helped me out of the hole. She was a practicing witch and had some…stuff with her and patched up my leg.” He stuck out his leg and his jean leg was ripped up very badly. “She said she wanted payment for helping me but I didn’t have anything to give her. I told her if she came with me, back to my house I could pay her but she wanted something now. When I told her I had nothing she turned me into a frog and said only a true princess, my true love could turn me back.” He said smiling at her. His white teeth sparkled from under his pink lips as he smiled at her. “So, I’ve been swimming up and down this stream trying to find a princess to kiss me.”
‘And I’m it?” she asked. He smiled and nodded as he got up from the log and went to her. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. His rich, chocolate brown eyes had the same tender look she had seen earlier.
“I found my princess.” He whispered.
“I’ve been looking for my prince for a long time.” She whispered back. He leaned in and she tilted her head up and they met half way. She smiled against his soft lips.
All of the sudden she felt someone grab her shoulder and shake her violently. She pulled away from her prince and watched as his face melted before her. Her eyes jerked open and she was lying on the log by the stream. She could hear the frog croaking, but her frog prince was nowhere to be seen.
“Ella, are you alright?” the voice sounded like her prince, but when she turned it was Brody. He was kneeling next to her, his face red and he was panting slightly. She looked around; it was darker than it had been before. She was slightly confused.
“What happened?” she asked Brody.
“I saw you run out and followed you. I didn’t want you to get lost or anything.” He said quietly. “I was right behind you for awhile, but I got turned around. I saw you from across the stream and you were asleep. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m okay.” She said smiling. He smiled back and something about his eyes made her look again. They were a deep chocolate brown and looked vaguely familiar. Brody smiled and got up.
“Well, I’m…ah...I’ m going back now. Are you ‘gonna…?” he motioned back the way Ella had come. She sat there for a minute trying figure out why she was having a moment of déjà vu. When she didn’t answer Brody turned and began walking back.
“Wait!” Ella called after him. She grabbed her shoes, which were lying at the base of the log. She ran after Brody and paused when she caught up with him. He took her shoes from her, bent down and brushed off the bottom of her foot. She moved her dress out of the way and he slipped her shoes back on her feet. When he stood up he offered her his arm and said
“So princess, shall we?”
And so, the princess found her prince.