Page 22 of The Frog Prince

“It must be so, she already has color back in her cheeks!” she exclaimed, coming to the other side of the bed and cupping one. “Oh, Gisela.”

Gisela seemed surprised, blinking at them. “What happened?”

Then she paused, surprised by her own voice. She pressed a hand to her throat, then lower on her chest, taking deep breaths in and out. And then her eyes met Otto’s.

“It worked?”

Otto nodded, disbelief and relief warring inside him.

Now what?

He had to return to the forest to fulfill his end of the bargain. His sister’s life for his, served up to a monster.

Cowardice was running like ice through his veins.

His sister was cured now…so what if he never returned?

There had never been a single story of anyone seeing the Frog Prince outside of the forest. He could avoid it for the rest of his life if he had to. It would be a small thing compared to the alternative.

Thoughts running amok, he barely heard the conversation between Liesel and Gisela. It wasn’t until Gisela cast the blankets aside to get out of bed that he came back to himself.

“Wait—”

“I have been bedbound for so long, Brother. Even if you have to hold an arm on either side of me, I long to place my feet on the ground.” Her innocent eyes were full of hope and vigor.

“Let her up, Otto,” Liesel begged for her, tears in her eyes. “To see her out of bed is a blessing I never thought I’d witness. Oh, sweet girl, I…”

She seemed completely overcome for a moment, visibly trying to hold herself together. Otto was reminded sharply that she had watched her own daughter lie in bed and never get up again. An ache of sympathy shot through his heart, and he reached for her calloused hand, aged and weary beyond her years.

Liesel gave him a shaky smile, eyes clouded with a grief she would never fully heal from. “I’ll leave you two for a moment and finish preparing the food.”

She left the room quickly, and Otto knew she needed a moment to compose herself. He could never thank her enough for everything she had done for them.

He turned to Gisela, who was already halfway up without him holding her.

“Careful,” he said, and she laughed that snickering laugh he used to find annoying but now considered the most wonderful sound in the world.

“I am moving slower than a snail, Otto.” She stood upright, swaying slightly, but he could tell it wasn’t from the sickness, just from a long time spent immobile.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

She smiled widely in disbelief. “Never better. What did you give me?”

“A cure.” He struggled to hold her gaze. She didn’t need to know what he had done. It wasn’t for her to concern herself with. He would find a way around it; he always did.

“One you didn’t have mere days ago?” she asked, her mind as sharp as ever, despite her body’s failings.

“One should always learn and grow, Gisela. I simply acquired new information and was lucky enough that it was proven correct.”

She stared for a moment, clearly not believing his lies but not enquiring further. For now.

“Thank you, Brother,” she said, wrapping her arm around his and walking with him to the tiny kitchen, her steps wobbly as a newborn foal’s. “I do feel hungry, and I need to thank Liesel for taking care of me.”

The words nearly brought tears to his eyes. She hadn’t felt hungry in weeks. She’d barely been able to hold anything down. Barely been eating enough to sustain her.

“I’m happy to hear that,” he said as they entered the kitchen. Liesel looked at them with wounded, reddened eyes, but her smile was genuine as she gestured them to her rickety table.

Gisela broke from his hold and practically threw herself at Liesel, wrapping her arms around her neck and squeezing tightly as she whispered something Otto couldn’t quite make out. Liesel seemed soothed by it though, as she pressed her fingers into Gisela’s hair and closed her eyes.