Frog Meets Girl

Chapter 15-- The First Day of the Rest of Her Life

Hi all! It has taken quite a while to write this chapter. Between not having time to write and ideas not coming together very smoothly, it felt like trying to get molasses droplets to fill a jar. Whew! 

            When Gabby awoke the next morning, she could feel chilly air seeping through the gap in her canopy drapes with weak light. She guessed that it must be an overcast day—probably the first of many as the winter months neared.

            As she lay there, enjoying her thick down comforter and blankets, she tried to push away the dark memories of her dreams with her plans for the day. She would ask Isabella for her book of fairy tales, preferably when Acantha was not around. Gabby refused to be intimidated by her any longer, but was not yet ready to face her father’s wrath if—well, probably when—Acantha reported her sudden interest in fairy stories.

            She rolled to face Will, unexpectedly surprised that he was still a frog. In her dreams last night, he had been very human. A very handsome human.

            Nudged by the movement on the pillow, Will’s eyes slowly opened. He blinked and yawned, stretching his long, skinny legs out. There wasn’t much meat on them. She never could understand why the French ate frog legs. Then Will’s eyes began drooping again.

            How could he sleep in on a day like this? Gabby felt a ball of nervous energy fluttering in her stomach. Today was the day after the battle. She would find out about Claudio. She would either step further from her cocoon or try to squeeze back in—and today was the first day she realized that she had a choice about that.

            No matter what, she knew that today would change the course of her life.

            Instead of waiting for Acantha and Isabella to come get her, as she always had, she pulled the covers back herself and opened the thick drapes holding the warm air around her bed. A blast of cold air hit her and she shivered as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and put on her satin slippers. Although Will was trying not to wake up, he did catch a glimpse of her lower legs before she pulled her nightgown down around her.

            He looked away quickly. His father had taught him better manners than to peek at girl parts they weren’t showing off on purpose.

            Pulling her dressing gown around her, its silkiness a shield between her and the chilly air, she clumsily tied the sash around her waist. She’d watched her ladies in waiting do it hundreds of times, but she’d never done it herself. Looking down at the ramshackle knot, she was pretty sure it was supposed to look a little different than what she’d been able to do.

            Fully awake now, Will hopped off the pillow and followed her into her dressing room. “Good morning, Princess!”

            Gabby grabbed at her chest. “Oh! You scared me! I thought you went back to sleep.”

            He snickered. “I didn’t even have to plan that.” Then he hopped past her toward the door to her sitting room, struggling against the stiffness in his cold, amphibious joints. Frogs were meant for warmer weather. “If you wouldn’t mind—“

            She opened the door to let him out. The sitting room was just as chilly as the rest of the rooms. He thought it strange that a fire hadn’t yet been built in the fireplace. It looked like it was raining outside. He looked around for the warmest spot he could find until someone came to build up the flames, while Gabriella returned to her dressing room.