The Frog Princess (13 page)

"What made you think of a swamp fairy, anyway?" Eadric asked.

"The otter isn't going to hand anything over to a frog, is he?" I said. "But I bet he would to a fairy. Everyone knows that fairies can be nasty if they're crossed."

Eadric snorted. "And what are you going to do if the otter doesn't laugh himself to death?"

"Use a little magic to convince him that I'm serious. I already have a few spells in mind."

"This may not be the best time to bring it up," said Grassina, "but you haven't had such wonderful results with some of your magic "

"This won't be the same at all. I remember some of the spells from Mudine's books. I'll use one of those, more than one if I have to."

"That's your plan?" said Eadric. "It'll never work! It's too simple."

Grassina shook her head. "I don't agree with you, Eadric. Sometimes the simplest plans are the best. Things get too complicated and there are too many things that could go wrong. But Emma, I can't agree with this idea of yours, either. It's just too dangerous! You're too inexperienced. Why, you haven't even been practicing magic the way you should have."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm sure I can do this."

"Maybe so," said Grassina, "but this isn't the time to try out your magic. Even if you were proficient, the otter could be too fast for you. No, I'll have to handle this."

My aunt isn't the easiest person to argue with. Once she makes up her mind, she refuses to listen to other people's opinions. I was going to try anyway until I noticed a faraway look in her eyes and I knew that she was already thinking about what she was going to do.

Seventeen

B
y midafternoon we had reached the river, and it became obvious that we were getting close when we saw that the scale was filled with brilliant red lights exploding in a flurry of blazing sparks. Following the river, we came to an old willow growing halfway down the bank, its roots anchoring it to the crumbling mud that the river threatened to wash away. With the scale glowing a fiery, solid red, we knew that we'd found the otter's den.

Eadric and I peered over the side of the basket as Grassina took a step closer, and there, growing along the water's edge and completely surrounding the den, was a great swath of knee-high plants topped by clusters of clear blue blossoms. Grassina gasped, then turned and scrambled back upriver, away from the threat of the flowers.

"Oh, dear," she said, wiping a sheen of perspiration from her upper lip once she had gotten far enough away. "That won't do at all."

"Are you all right?" I asked, not liking the way she had suddenly gone pale.

"Yes, yes, I am," she said, patting her face as if to make sure. "But I can't possibly go near the otter's den now. You saw that larkspur. If I were to touch it . . ."

"I don't understand," said Eadric. "Why would you be afraid of some plants?"

"Aunt Grassina is allergic to flowers."

"I'm afraid it's not an allergy, Emma. It's a curse, placed on our family generations ago. It began with Hazel, the first Green Witch."

"But I was told that you and Mother were allergic."

"We didn't want to frighten you, but this curse affects all the women in our family, starting on their sixteenth birthday. We thought we had a few years before we had to tell you."

"What does this curse do?" asked Eadric.

Grassina shuddered and a look of horror crossed her face. "It changes a witch, and she becomes hideous. Her hair becomes coarse; her nose lengthens, growing hooked and lumpy, nearly meeting her chin. Her face and body are covered with warts, her voice turns into an ugly cackle, and her personality—"

"That sounds just like Grandmother! Do you mean it was the curse that made her look that way?"

Grassina nodded. "She didn't believe in the curse until it was too late."

Eadric scratched his head with his toe, the jerking of his leg making the basket shake. "Isn't there any way to break the curse? Surely a family of witches ..."

"The curse is very old. According to the story I heard, Hazel was a lovely young woman and an already accomplished witch who threw a party to celebrate her sixteenth birthday, inviting all the local princes and princesses, witches, and fairies. Hazel had a green thumb and was known for growing the most beautiful flowers in the region. As the guests left at the end of the evening, she gave each one a bouquet that had been charmed to last a lifetime. However, some unexpected guests had arrived, so she ran short of bouquets. When the last fairy stood at the castle door having received nothing more than an apology, she cursed the witch Hazel and all her female descendents. Unfortunately, part of the curse involves an unpleasant disposition and Hazel became too surly to do anything about it. When she died, she took the solution to the curse with her. Fairies, however, live for a very long time, so the curse lives on in us. After our sixteenth birthday, we don't dare touch a flower for fear of falling victim to Hazel's fate."

"That's terrible!" said Eadric. "Don't worry, Emma. After you turn sixteen, I'll never bring you flowers."

"Gee, thanks," I said, certain he wouldn't have anyway.

Grassina wrung her hands in despair. "I'm sorry, Emma. I don't dare go near those flowers!"

"Can't you get rid of them with a spell?" asked Eadric.

"No. Even touching them with my magic would bring on the transformation!"

"It's all right," I said. "I wanted to do it myself anyway. But if you could help me get ready ..."

"Of course!" she said, but she still looked worried. "I feel very bad about this, you know. It's terribly dangerous. We'll just have to take every precaution." Grassina nodded, as if she'd come to a decision. "AU right. What can I do to help?"

"First, we need to find a few things."

I would have preferred to use flower petals to make my skirt, but the curse made that impossible if Grassina was going to help. After finding velvety, heart-shaped leaves, we set about collecting the rest of my supplies. Aunt Grassina picked some broad leaves that I folded to make pouches, filling one with pine sap and another with bits of mica we chipped from a large rock. Pine needles and spiderwebs went into other pouches, and I found a straight twig that wasn't too long or too thick, one that felt just right in my hand.

I directed Grassina to a spot by the river where I had seen dragonflies zigzagging above the water on their own mysterious errands. We waited on the riverbank while Eadric caught a snack, bringing me an assortment of dragonfly wings on his return. I was just too excited to be hungry.

Once we were together again, we made our way to a sunny spot at the edge of a meadow with sun-warmed boulders to sit on and enough insects to keep Eadric happy. I tried to use the spiderweb thread to sew myself a leafy skirt, but frog fingers aren't made for holding needles, so Grassina had to do it. While she sewed, I made my magic wand, spreading pine sap on the end of the twig before dipping it into the pouch filled with bits of sparkling mica.

When I'd finished the wand, I sorted through the dragonfly wings Eadric had brought me, looking for the prettiest. After eliminating a few because they were either too big or too small, I chose a buttercup-yellow pair with pale green veining. Not only were they the right size, but they looked nice with my velvety emerald-green skirt.

Once I had the skirt on, I asked Grassina to glue the wings to my back with another dab of pine sap. They drooped a bit and we were trying to fix them when Eadric returned, his stomach bulging with all the insects he'd eaten.

"I'm ready!" I announced, although my wings still weren't quite right.

"Just a minute," said Grassina. Taking a chain from around her neck, she showed me her farseeing ball, encased in golden filigree. She blew on it and the ball frosted over with her breath, turning milky and opaque. "Now tap it," she said, holding the sphere out to me.

I did as she ordered and my face appeared in the ball. "There," she said, making herself comfortable on the boulder. "It's focused on you now and will show me everything that goes on around you. I can watch from here. I'll know right away if you need me and I'll be there in an instant, curse or no curse."

"Grassina ... ," I began.

"It's the only way I'll let you go without me."

"That's fine for you," said Eadric, "but I'm going with her."

'You can't!" I exclaimed. "It won't work if anyone else is there."

Eadric held up his hand as if that could stop any protest. "I won't go the whole way. The otter will never see me. I just want to make sure you're all right."

I was touched by his concern. He could be so obnoxious at times, so sweet at others. Sometimes I just didn't know what to make of Eadric.

After saying good-bye to Grassina and promising her that I'd be careful, I started back to the otter's den with Eadric at my side. He seemed cheerful enough at first, but as we neared the river, his expression became grim.

"I've been thinking," he said. "Why don't we just go in the otter's den while he's out and find the bracelet ourselves?"

"And risk having him come back and find us there? We'd be trapped in his den just waiting for him to eat us!"

"That's true," he said. "But if one of us kept him away..."

"Eadric, we talked about this!"

"I know, but I don't think you should do it. You're not invincible, you know, and you're not as experienced as I am. You've never had to face the wrath of a charging dragon or a goblin gone berserk. I can't help it. I'm worried. If something happens to you, I'll end up a lonely old frog. Give me the swamp fairy stuff and I'll go instead."

I tried not to smile, but it wasn't easy. The thought of Eadric in the swamp fairy skirt was too funny for words, but the fact that he had offered to take my place meant a lot to me.

"That's an awfully nice offer, Eadric, but I'm afraid it wouldn't work. I don't think you'd make a very believable swamp fairy."

"I don't know..."

"This is going to work, Eadric. I know what I'm doing."
I hope,
I thought, trying to look optimistic. What if the otter didn't believe me? What if Grassina couldn't get there in time? The consequences of failure would be far worse than my usual humiliation, for if I didn't do this just right, the otter would eat me. If I succeeded, however, Eadric and I would be humans again before the end of the day. Either way, what happened next would determine my future, or even whether I was going to have one.

The shadows were growing longer when Eadric and I approached the otter's den. With both of us caught up in what I was about to do, we forgot to pay attention to our surroundings. When we heard the thud of running paws, we barely had time to hop for cover before the huge white dog came into sight. It was the same beast that had tried to eat me, the same one the old toad had chased away. Although we hid in the tall grass, it was obvious from the way he was sniffing the air that the dog had caught our scent and would soon find us.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered to Eadric. "If I go in the water now, my costume will be ruined and I'll have to start all over again!"

"Don't worry." said Eadric. "I'll handle this. Look for the otter's den under the willow's roots. I'll meet you back here as soon as I get rid of the dog. Just make sure you get that bracelet back!"

Without telling me what he was going to do, Eadric crawled out of our hiding place and hopped directly into the dog's path. "Hey, doggie!" shouted Eadric. "I'm over here!"

The dog had been snuffling the ground, but at the sound of Eadric's voice, its head jerked up. Eadric began to hop about erratically to get the dog's attention. I watched in horror as the beast spotted Eadric and bounded after him, its tail wagging so hard that it was just a blur.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" said the dog.

Eadric took off, hopping faster than I would have thought possible.

"Hey!" yelped the dog. "Wait for me!"

They were well down the path before I knew what had happened, and although I wanted to go after them to stop Eadric from sacrificing himself, I realized that not only would it be useless, but it was already too late. Eadric was a much better hopper than I was and I could never catch up with them. The only thing I could do was follow my plan and get the bracelet back. With any luck, Eadric and I would both be successful and we really would meet back in the tall grass.

Worrying about Eadric made it harder to concentrate. I'd thought I'd gotten to know him during our travels, but I would never have expected him to be so brave. Eadric, of all people! For the first time I began to believe that his boasts might not have been unfounded after all.

Watching for some sign of either Eadric or the dog, I left my hiding place and hopped to the old willow tree, sitting down beside the half-concealed entrance to the otter's den. I hadn't been waiting long when the otter appeared, a fat fish flopping between his jaws. When the otter saw me, his eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. The fish he had been carrying fell to the ground, thrashing and gasping for air.

"Who in the name of all that's edible are you?" asked the otter.

"I am the swamp fairy!" I announced in what I hoped was a confident and convincing voice.

"You are, huh? You look like a frog, and to me that means supper. I do believe in big meals. There's always room for more."

"Don't be impertinent," I said, holding my head high. "It's never a good idea to insult a fairy. I'm here because you have something that belongs to me."

"Really?" said the otter. "And what's that?"

"My bracelet. You took it from the pond and I want it back!"

The otter laughed, a high, twittering chirp that ordinarily would have made me smile. "Sorry, you're not getting anything from me that way. Give me a reason I should think you're the swamp fairy and not the second course of supper."

"You asked for it," I said, flinging a handful of the sparkling mica dust into the air for an impressive effect. The otter drew back and winced, using his paw to wipe the dust from his eyes. I coughed and wiped my own eyes as well, for I'd neglected to take the breeze into account and half the dust had blown in my direction.

My eyes were watering as I pointed my magic wand at the otter. Thankful that I didn't have to read just then, I recited one of the spells I had read in Vannabe's cottage:

Be gone ye old and dingy hue,

Erase the old, bring on the new!

Bright and shiny, lustrous Locks,

Make it look real, not from a box.

The spell, Hair So Nu, hadn't been intended for otters, so I decided to customize it.

Redo yon fur to shades of blue!

And make the color ever true!

With the sound of tiny cymbals and a flash of blue light, the otter's fur turned a nice shade of turquoise.