Chapter 21
Riven woke up feeling quite weak. He now had but a small moat remaining around his floating castle, so small that even the gentlest of breezes sent his wagon-wheel base bumping along the circular shore.
Due to the delicate nature of his size, and the whispers of his mother’s reward still lingering, Riven had hired three trustworthy guards to keep watch overnight.
Now that daylight was here, they had dispersed somewhat, giving Riven a moment to acclimate to the day. Some part of him feared that the shrinking pond affected his magic, but then he reasoned that he had been exceptionally busy with human-sized manual labor all week.
Frogs were simply not designed for such things.
Bella was one of the first to appear, as usual.
She and Henriette had their elbows locked, and a basket swung from Bella’s free hand, likely their lunches.
They both slowed at the old edge of the pond, then Bella carefully crossed the fresh dirt, testing each step, as Henriette stayed back to eye the guards.
“I declare, it does smell mighty fine here these days,” Bella said with a grin.
“I have noticed as well. And I did venture down the channel last night—just a bit—to enjoy the fresh water on my skin. This salty water itches fiercely.”
“I bet it does. Any issue overnight? With ruffians or wandering miscreants?”
He loved the sparkle in her teasing eyes. “None. I had three loyal men watching over me.” He indicated them with a turn of his head.
Bella followed his gaze, then her eyes drifted to her friend. “Don’t look now, but Henriette has noticed one of your men. Tell me, is he fine and good?”
Riven looked to see who she meant. “Leon? He most certainly is. He squired for me, so I can personally vouch for his upstanding character.”
“Perhaps an introduction is in order?”
Riven warmed inside. “Are you matchmaking, darling?”
Her cheeks pinkened a delightful shade. “Henriette deserves the best in life. She is smart and kind and loyal. I wish all the world to see her as I do.”
“Then I shall see to an introduction when this is done.”
Bella beamed, then surveyed their progress with a nod of approval. “You have accomplished even more after I left. At this rate, you shall be human again by tomorrow.” Her confidence in him made him proud.
“I have done it, haven’t I?”
“You have.” He could see the pride in her eyes. “I am so proud and happy for you.”
“I could not have done any of this without you,” he said, leaping up for a cuddle. “Bella, darling, may I kiss you?”
Her eyes twinkled. “I never thought my first kiss would have been to a frog.”
“Or your second.”
“Definitely not,” she agreed.
He stretched up and placed his green hands on her chin, then pressed his mouth to hers. He was incapable of kissing her the way he wanted, by cradling her head and rocking his lips along hers, but the love he felt for Bella could not be understated.
He pulled back and waited for her to open her eyes.
“I kiss much better in human form,” he promised. “This form limits me severely.”
She grinned and blushed furiously. “Then I hold you to that.”
He lit up inside at her invitation. “I cannot wait.” He loved the expectation in her gaze, the warmth she shared for him. Riven felt like the luckiest male alive to have earned Bella’s attention and love.
And then Luc arrived.
Why was he here? Shouldn’t he be out terrorizing his other estates until summer’s end?
Riven wanted to warn Bella to stay away from him, but ‘twas quite unnecessary. Luc took one look at the commotion and shoved his way through.
“Brother? Is that really you?”
Riven had leapt into the water and ascended his wee throne and donned his wee crown and assumed his most royal wee air. He nodded once. “What brings you here?”
“Well, I could hardly believe the tales circulating about my little brother turned into a frog. But it appears to be true. Tell me, what did you do to earn this fate?”
“What did I do? I did nothing, as well you know. This fate was meant to be yours.”
Luc grinned and picked up a piece of trash that had been removed from the pond and threw it toward Riven’s castle, close enough to make his wagon-wheel base rock a bit. “Nah, I do not deserve this. What a mess you’ve made! Do you consider that your castle?”
“It serves as my home in this form, yes.”
“I thought you had better taste than that.” He scoffed and threw another bit of trash at the castle.
“Will you stop doing that? We’re trying to remove the garbage, not add more.”
Luc scoffed. “So, what happens after this? You return to your human self, and all is forgiven?”
“That is the hope, yes.”
He laughed. “You cannot expect the villagers to change their ways. They are lazy creatures of habit.”
“Like you?” Riven said. “You have been in charge of Grievance Day for the past year. The reason the pond has become this befouled is directly because of you.”
Bella hovered nearby, and Luc sensed her, for then he marched over to her and claimed her hand. “Is this your amoureuse? She is quite the beauty... for a peasant.” And he kissed Bella’s hand.
She yanked away and glared at him, making Luc laugh and Riven want to tear his head off. “What are you going to do, brother? You are, as always, too small to fight me.”
He snatched Bella around the waist, and Riven watched helplessly as she struggled. She managed one good strike to Luc’s foot, then a sharp kick to his thigh before Riven’s mother arrived and separated them. Henriette raced over for support, and Luc sneered at her.
“How is business these days after turning me down?”
Henriette’s face purpled with anger. “What you offered would have disgraced me.”
Riven now knew who had started the horrible rumor, but he had no outlet to fix it, making him feel more impotent in his brother’s presence.
His mother intervened, sending Bella and Henriette with Leon, the guard, to the castle on an errand to escape Luc’s lustful advances.
“I can have you hanged for assaulting a royal!” he called after them, making the queen face him and order him away from the retreating carriage.
Riven watched Bella escape, hating that he felt so helpless. Once he resumed his human form, he was going to punch his half-brother in his perfect, royal nose for the transgression.
As the townsfolk trickled in an hour later, Bella, Henriette, and Leon greeted them all with payment from the royal treasury, then directed them for their final day of work.
For this step, water plants were to be settled around the new shore, as well as importing algae from creek beds and other nearby ponds.
Once those were established, they would bring in water insects and tadpoles.
Fish would be introduced by fall. All in all, it was coming together perfectly.
He and Bella were working together perfectly.
He was confident he would break this curse by nightfall.
He could not wait until he resumed his true form.
And then Brumenhildr arrived.
Green and brown vapors swirled around her as she appeared suddenly at the edge of the old pond and demanded, “What manner of insult is this?”
Riven and Bella exchanged concerned looks, then they both took a stride closer to her.
“Enchantress, allow me to explain,” Riven started, but his voice caught. He reached his hands to his throat to find it wasn’t working. Brumenhildr prevented him from speaking.
“I charged you to clean this pond.”
“It was beyond redemption, Great One,” Bella said, falling to her knees in supplication. “It was too polluted to clean. We thought it best to start anew, and look,” Bella said, pointing. “Already the deer have found it, as well as birds. A duck even splashed in it yesterday.”
“Silence!” Brumenhildr roared, and birds in the nearby trees erupted in fear, fleeing the site with panicked cries.
Riven watched Bella’s hands crawl to her throat. She, too, had been magically shushed. Riven pushed through, making himself croak until he found his voice.
“Do not punish her for my doing. The new lake was my idea.”
Bella shook her head at him for the lie, but if anyone were to be punished, it would be him, not her.
Riven stated, “I was the one who ordered it dug. I was the one who hired men to assist. I am the one to earn your scorn, not Bella. Please release her.”
Brumenhildr glared at Riven, her eyes filled with retribution. Finally, Bella gasped and caught the ground with her hands, sucking in fresh air.
“You mock me with this.”
“I do not mock you, Enchantress. The deceased animals in this pond have been blessed by both a pastor and a priestess. The new pond has likewise been blessed to be clean and fruitful for all its days.”
“This was neither your task nor your punishment.”
“It was the only way to fix it. The pond could not be cleaned.”
“It was supposed to be cleaned. That was what I charged you to do.”
“An impossible task. So we made a new pond for you. A better one. And everyone in town knows to keep it clean. Indeed, we look forward to the day we can fish here.”
Brumenhildr said nothing, just lifted Riven in her hand. Once he was eye level with her, she began to squeeze.
He struggled, and struggled, but her grip only tightened.
His sense of self waned. His memories evaporated like steam from his tea.
He knew what was happening; Brumenhildr was turning him into a regular frog, just like she threatened.
Riven looked to Bella, then his mother, wanting his last memory to be filled with people who meant the most to him.
“Please do not harm my mother or Bella. I accept my punishment. Do not harm them, please.” With his last breath he uttered, “I love you, Bella.”
The enchantress threw him to the ground, and all he could do was croak from the terrible impact. His body hurt. His lungs wouldn’t work. He didn’t know how to escape or how to get to water. He only knew he needed to flee from a dangerous predator.
Something was after him, and he needed to try to survive.
He looked up just as a giant foot came slamming down on him.