Chapter 10 Aulani #2
I slumped to my knees as water pooled in my eyes. Where are you Ezra? What happened to him? Was I too late?
A coqui frog chirped nearby and I swallowed hard. Ezra, I’m so sorry…
“Don’t be.” I jumped, aware that he spoke to me, but his mind seemed so far, so empty, so… small? Even his voice was quiet.
Ezra, where are you? I looked around in the darkness, hoping to see his form approach. Instead, he said, “I need you to kiss me again.”
This isn’t a time to joke. Where are you?
“I’ve been trying to get your attention.”
I frowned and continued to search the area. If I had a sand dollar for each time you tell me information without telling me anything, I could buy your whole kingdom, I said rather angrily.
Aulani, look down. He spoke to my mind.
I did, but then I had to kneel because, well…
You’re a frog again? I wanted to scream. Who did this to you?
Can you kiss me so I can transform into a human first? The little thing coqui-ed and it echoed around us.
Ho‘ohuli arrived at that moment, bending over, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. I waved to him, trying to explain that the little coqui in my hand was Ezra, but his face was red and his eyes were wide. He understood nothing I tried to explain with my hands.
Just kiss me already, Ezra said, adding, Please.
I wished he would say that to me when he wasn’t a frog in need of turning back into a king.
I could if you wanted me to. Ezra heard me, his tone both humorous and bitter. Kissing humans is much better than kissing frogs, I’m sure.
I rolled my eyes and kissed him. This time, I watched. The air around us grew electric, tense even, like a coiled tide ready to break. Golden magic swirled around the frog and it grew until a young man crouched in front of me, his green eyes warm as our faces were close to each other.
He looked at my lips. I looked at his.
“Ezra!” Ho‘ohuli exclaimed, shocked as he made his way up the terraces. “Whatever happened? You were a frog again?”
“I came here to get a flower–” He paused as the tips of his ears turned red. A flower? Then I realized… he got a flower for me.
A million feelings erupted inside of me, like a sea volcano ready to burst and touch the surface. “Anyway, all I remember is on my way here, things started getting blurry and by the time I reached the garden, I was a frog again.”
“What? How?” Ho‘ohuli was speechless. “Who? Was there anyone around you?”
“Not that I recall.”
What were you doing before you came to the garden?
“I was seeing Princess Cressida off.”
Ho‘ohuli and I exchanged looks and he folded his arms. “You don’t think it was her, do you?”
Ezra shrugged. “Now that I think of it, she was the last person I saw before I turned into a frog both times.”
“Where are your guards?” Ho‘ohuli said.
“I asked them to wait inside the palace, like they normally do when I come to the terrace garden.”
But my mind was on Cressida. The ball, I said. Did she have that golden ball? I recalled him telling me about the ball.
“Her hands were concealed in the jacket she held over her arms…” Ezra frowned. “Maybe she could’ve been holding it?”
It has to have magic! I shook my head. You can’t let her leave! She should be under arrest for questioning.
“You’re right.” Ezra looked at Ho‘ohuli. “Stop Cressida from leaving. She is summoned for questioning about the frog curse, and a fair trial must take place for her crimes against Kaiora. We’ll have the trial sooner than I planned.”
“Right away.” Ho‘ohuli bowed, took a breath, then ran off.
Which left Ezra and I alone, something that filled me with anticipation and excitement. He let his legs dangle off the edge of the terrace and I joined him, scooting closer so our arms touched.
We should get going, he said, but he didn’t move. He played with a blade of grass in his hand, his eyebrows furrowed, like he was distracted by the frog situation. I couldn’t blame him, and, suddenly, I wanted to figure it all out before reaching the sea and getting back to my world…
What was the flower for? I asked, even though I knew very well what it was for.
The corner of Ezra’s lip turned up. Instead of answering, he said, I spoke to Ho‘ohuli in the village the other day. He said he’s seen someone like you before, years ago. She couldn’t speak, but her hair was tinted like yours, and just her presence seemed to bring life to the birds and the trees.
I tipped my head. Someone, like me, was here? In this world? Were there mermaids in Ezra’s sea after all? I supposed we’d find out soon enough…
Ho‘ohuli knows an old man familiar with magic, and when I asked if he could alter spells and curses, he said he could try. But a sea witch’s magic is more powerful than anything else…
Why was Ezra saying this?
His magic encompasses transformations, even… Ezra swallowed, as if he was unsure what to say next. He might be able to… alter your spell. Not reverse it. But change it… so you can stay.
My breath caught. Stay? My voice barely carried, like a tired wind over the sea’s surface.
With me. Ezra’s eyes locked on mine, his cheeks rosy even in the glimmering moonlight. If you wanted.
My entire world lit up, like watching coral flowers bloom and blossom on a warm, sunny day.
Ezra… I was speechless, which was something for a mute girl who could only communicate with her mind.
I’m not just asking if you’ll stay, the king continued, his voice deep and certain, like he was rooted in his decision.
He reached for my hand and clasped it. I’m asking if you’ll marry me.
If we can make this work, and if the spell can be shaped to fit the future instead of erasing the past, will you be mine?
I smiled so wide, it hurt. Yes. I barely breathed as tears blurred my vision. Yes! I want that. I want you!
I threw my arms around him, nearly causing him to fall back. He caught himself though and wrapped his arms around me. Our eyes locked, every breath pulsing with energy and life.
But before our lips met, Ezra pulled back. We should probably wait… We don’t know if he can do the magic or not. I just… I want you to stay, but if not… Then kissing would make it harder.
I nodded and squeezed his hand.
Footsteps thundered from the path as a voice cut through the night. “Ezra!”
Ho‘ohuli interrupts everything, I thought, rather annoyed. He was like a nurse shark lingering at the bottom of the water, choosing to move at the most inconvenient times.
We broke apart before the man appeared. Guards and Kalei came pounding behind him.
“What’s going on?” Ezra stood, then helped me up, taking my hand in his.
“He’s back,” Kalei exclaimed as Ho‘ohuli tried to catch his breath. He’d been running quite a bit. I looked from the old man’s red face to Kalei, who was pale as a white pearl.
“Ezra,” she said. Her eyes pooled with tears. “He’s alive, Ezra. Tavo. He’s alive, and he’s brought an army.”
But something shattered the moment, and Ezra’s hand never left mine. Just when it seemed like everything was going to be alright, it unraveled, like a kelp strand caught in a shifting current, pulled loose and drifting, unable to anchor itself.