Frog Meets Girl

Chapter 4--The Golden Ball

            The cacophony of striking blades, clanking armor, and horse hooves followed Gabriella wherever she went that week. It seeped in through the windows, hovered like a fog over the gardens, and resonated through the corridors. Much to the chagrin of her tutors, it was a major distraction. 

            She continually stepped the wrong way with the dance instructor, incorrectly translated passages of French, and stitched only two stitches in the hours and hours spent languishing under tents on the lawn with her ladies-in-waiting. The Viper presented her elaborate hunting scene for appraisal after a few days and smugly raised a brow at Gabriella’s lonely stitches. The Minion remained quiet, her own stitching having gone slowly.

            Finally, the evening before their departure, Claudio knocked at her door. “Care for a walk in the gardens before dinner?”

            They were among the rose bushes again before Gabriella realized that he had been holding something behind his back. “What do you have in your hand?”

            He pulled out a golden ball and presented it to her. “I’ve been thinking all week about how to help you feel a little better about me leaving and this is what I’ve come up with.”

            “A ball?”   

            “It’s not just any ball, it’s a gold ball. It’s gold because we’re part of a privileged family and you deserve the best of everything. It’s a ball with no corners, no edges, no beginning, and no end, just like our relationship. No matter how far away I am, there’s still no end. There’s also a surprise inside that says everything I wish I could say about our friendship. I won’t tell you how to get into it because it will keep you busy and because I know you’re smart enough to do it.” He placed it in her hand.

            It was cool and much heavier than it looked. There were delicate carvings on the surface, scenes from their childhood, her favorite flowers, the sun, moon, and stars. “It’s beautiful! Thank you.”

            “You’re very welcome, Princess Gabriella.” He held out his arm, “Now, let’s go to dinner. I’m starving.”

            “That’s never a surprise. I can’t remember the last time you weren’t hungry.” She took his arm and they began walking toward the castle.

            “I can. It was last June at cousin Fausta’s wedding when I managed to get a whole stuffed pig for myself.”

            Gabriella laughed for the first time in what felt like months, relishing the warmth of the setting sun on her back and the last few moments she would have with her brother for quite some time.

            The frog watched their retreating forms, regretting that they were leaving so soon and that she had not been alone.

            Even after a sleepless night, dawn arrived with astonishing rapidity. The whirring of her thoughts seemed to have marched the half-moon across the sky with the same speed. Before she was ready, she began to see the rosy light of dawn seeping through the thick folds of her canopied bed and the sleepy world uncurled itself from slumber.

            The golden ball was still clutched in her hand, as it had been when she had laid down what seemed mere minutes before. The swirling designs had muddied her thoughts and propelled them even faster. Curiosity over the surprise within, aching worries for her brother, and memories of their many sunny afternoons tumbled over each other, working them into a fine froth.

            Sleepily, she extricated herself from bed upon the arrival of The Viper and The Minion. Though smiling as usual, they could hardly mask their lethargy at the early hour. The Minion seemed especially sluggish.