Crackerbox Palace

Chapter Three: The Frog Prince & The Goose-Girl

"And where's here?" I asked as Gerge and I walked toward a big, old-fashioned building.

 "This is the Library," he said, still being very shy around me. We walked inside and George put a finger to his lips. I nodded and gaped at the huge interier of the building. The book shelves were floor to ceiling and covered in books. I let out an involuntary gasp and George looked over at me.

 "Do you read alot?" he whispered. I looked over at him and nodded. He grinned and took my hand before pulling me through the big library. I giggled as we stopped near a bookcase of old hard back books.

 I ran my hand along the spines of the beautiful books. They were all Fiarytales like "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves", and George bit his lip as he pulled out a big heavy book and handed it to me.

 "That one's my favorite," he said moving closer as I opened the book to the title page. "Grimm Fairytales" is what it said. I grinned and looked over at him.

 "Mine too," I said in a whisper. It wasn't until then that I realized how close he was standing. He turned a slight shade of pink, but neither of us moved. I moved my gaze between his eyes and his mouth. He swallowed hard and looked down at the book in my hands.

 "Which story do you like best?" he asked turning to the first story titled, "The Frog Prince". I shrugged and watched as he took the book out of my hands and sat down at one of the big oak tables.  I sat down next to him and he pointed to the title.

 "I like this one the best," he said. We both read the story in silence for a few minutes and when we finished I frowned.

 "How come the frog turned into the prince after the princess threw him against the wall?" I asked making a face, "I never understood that." I took the book from him and looked for one of my favorites.

 George shrugged, "I dunno, but it's my favorite because the frog can be happy too, even if he is a really a prince." he said, becoming shy again.

 I nodded in agreement and found my favorite before sliding the book back in front of him.

 "The Goose-Girl"." he said the title, "You like this one?" he looked over at me and I nodded.

 "Yeha, My mum used to read it to me when I was little." I said watching him carefully. He read the stoory quickly and when he finished he looked up at me and nodded.

 "That's a good one, I can see why you like it" he whispered. He looked at his watch, "hey do you wanna go get some lunch?"

 I hadn't even thought about how hungry I was until he mention it. George took my hand and I grabbed the book we'd been reading. He checked ot out for me and we went to the Dining Room for lunch.

 We got our sandwiches, some chips, and a fruit cup before going to sit outside at the picnic tables.

 "So," I said biting into my sandwich, "Tell me about these voices you hear."

 George froze in his place and looked at me blankly.

 "Y-You don't have to if you don't want to," I said reassuringly, "I'm just curious is all."

 George swallowed hard and nodded, "Well there's two of them." he said, "And sometimes they're really mean and scary."

 "Do you hear them all the time?" I asked trying to sound confident and not frightened for him.

 "Not all the time, but alot of it." George said looking a thim plate of food, "I don't now, and I haven't since breakfast."

 I nodded, "What do they say?" I asked chewing my cheek curiously.