Frog Meets Girl

Chapter 16--A Dreary Time

The ringing in her ears grew louder than the clopping of the horse’s hooves. It seemed to her that she was watching herself from someplace above her left shoulder, distantly aware of the parade’s progress through the crowded streets. The sun had come out from behind the clouds for the first time in days and it wasn’t possible to Gabriella as she floated along, observing herself from behind, that anything truly horrible could be happening on a day when the sun was warming the chilly air.

Once at the mausoleum, meant originally for her father, but hastily prepared for his son, the King gave another long speech to the quiet crowd, as did several of the ministers in his cabinet. Gabby did not move during any of them, her dust-filled limbs required too much effort to manage, especially with the throbbing that had begun behind her eyes. From her vantage point above her own left shoulder, these sensations felt foreign.

That was until the order was given and the men began to seal the mausoleum.

The crowd had mostly dispersed, leaving the royal family and a smattering of statesmen standing alone as they faced the stone tomb. As Gabby watched the doors closing, blocking her last view of Claudio, she had a flash of a memory.

Claudio was standing with her in the gardens, sun reflecting off his golden curls. He was laughing with his arm outstretched, offering her a rose he had just cut.

Then another memory: Claudio dancing with her at her first ball. She had been shaking with anxiety, but he carefully whispered the dance steps in her ear so she would not make the mistake she dreaded.

Another memory: The weight of the golden ball as he placed it in her hands.

And finally, she remembered the morning that he left for war. He had been so excited. She had watched him from behind as he disappeared in the dust of the army marching behind him. The last time she would ever hear his voice.

She would never again feel his hand in hers after King Daddy reprimanded her, never again climb to the corner tower and eat bread and cheese with him while they discussed the future. She would not see him grow old or play with his children. He would not rule the kingdom.

The heaviness behind her eyes popped and she felt a flood of warm liquid begin to flow down her cheeks, blurring her vision. It washed away the feeling of sawdust and left a raw, searing pain that robbed her of breath. She cried out, someone, perhaps Isabella, caught her around the shoulders and led her back to the carriage.

It seemed to Will that Gabby had been crying endlessly. She had not left her rooms for anything.  Although he never saw her cry, he could hear her sobs echoing from her bedchamber and any time she came to the sitting room, her eyes remained red and watery. He was eating better than he had in years, but it seemed that little passed Princess Gabby’s lips.

One thing that bothered him was the haunted expression in her eyes. Although he’d only seen brief moments where she’d come alive, any glimmering of life had been sucked away, leaving a dark vacuum. He had seen that expression in his father’s eyes and he supposed it had been in his own as well. Looking into Gabby’s hollowed eyes made him feel the skinniness of his green arms and the inadequacy of his webbed fingers.

Dark recollections of his own seeped into his consciousness from their banishment and he wasn’t sure if the hours he spent bounding through the halls were to pound them into submission or to flee. At the end of each day, he would fall into an exhausted sleep on the corner of Gabby’s pillow, still wrestling with the knowledge that there was nothing his meatless biceps could do to put the vibrancy back into her face.

Perhaps most irksome of all was the unanswered question of why it mattered. Did he need her so he could be human or did he actually care about her happiness? Guilt tugged at him, whenever the first possibility occurred to him. That wasn’t the kind of man his father had raised. Yet, why should he care already? He had known her only a few days before this tragedy and truly enjoyed only a few moments in her company. It would be very early to have any actual feelings for her—especially because he’d never really cared about any girl before.