Page 19 of The Frog Prince

“Otto, take rest first. Eat. Drink.”

He ignored her pleas and logic and made his way toward the tiny back room through the narrow hallway. She sighed and let him be.

Pushing the wooden door open, Otto lingered for a moment on the threshold.

Gisela looked so small. Hardly there at all. The bed itself was small, but she was still being swallowed by it, already wasted so far away from the bright and boisterous girl he had raised. He could hear her labored breathing in the still of the room, fighting, holding on.

His heart beat in time with every one. He was sure that if they stopped, his heart would too.

He hurried to her side, where Liesel had left a short stool. A smaller handmade table was at the bedside, holding all manner of medicines and ingredients Otto had made up before leaving. Their pungent scent filled the room, tickling his nose.

He ran his gaze all over her. Her flaxen hair was spread across the pillow, freshly brushed and smooth, but her skin was sickly pale, her lips bleached of color.

He reached out to brush a golden strand from her forehead, pausing when he caught sight of his dirty hand. He curled his fingers and saw a flash of bulbous green pads.

He flinched, jostling the bed with his knee.

Gisela frowned and groaned, eyes blinking open sluggishly.

Otto chastised himself even as he was guiltily glad to see those blue eyes open once more.

She immediately began to cough, and he was quick to pocket the vial and grab the remedy he had made to soothe her while he was away. He gently lifted her head with practiced hands and pressed it to her lips, a few drops spilling past her mouth and down her chin.

Once the coughing eased off, he laid her back down, grabbing a cloth to dry her face. Finally, their eyes met.

“Otto?” Gisela murmured weakly, looking relieved despite how ill and pained her expression was. “You’re safe.”

Otto cleaned her up gently and then took her hand in his to lay a kiss on the back of it. “Yes. I would never leave you.”

“But you did. Sneaking off in the middle of the night into the forest looking for a cure that can’t be found. What would be the good of us both meeting an untimely end? You’ve heard the stories.”

I have. Which is why I had to go.

He hadn’t discussed his true intentions before leaving, instead he’d spoken of a rare herb that could only be found deep within the forest. He hadn’t wanted to worry her in her fragile condition by telling the truth, but he also hadn’t wanted to disappear without a word and leave her on her own.

He’d told the same story to Liesel and Henne, omitting any mention of the Frog Prince.

He controlled the flinch at the thought of the creature this time and gave a closed-lipped smile instead.

“Hush. I’m fine, aren’t I?” He reached behind her to prop her head up more. “Drink your medicine.”

“You already gave it to me.” She let out a sigh of resignation. “It does no good anyway.”

Otto hesitated before pulling the vial from his pocket.

Was this wise? Could he really trust such a dark creature enough to pour its concoction down his precious sister’s throat?

His instincts told him no, but what choice did they have? He had entered that forest and sought that audience because there was nothing left. He had turned every stone he knew medically. They did not have the means or fortune to look anywhere else.

A chance at life was enough.

He pulled it out and showed Gisela the small vial in his hand, the liquid inside thick and glittering.

She blinked at it in wonder before searching his eyes. “What is that?”

He did not answer. He did not want to recount the story. Instead, he unstopped the vial and pressed it to her chapped lips. “Drink.”

She did as asked, trusting him without question.