Beautiful to Me

by E. L. Tenenbaum

  Before all that, however, came that first morning there. We had all been up late the night before due to the long hours of travel, and the servants had stayed up even later to unpack. Everyone slept in that morning, and because the rooms up here were smaller than at the palace, I had the choice of sharing a room with three other servants or having the floor outside the princess’s bedchamber to myself. Preferring to have more open space and quiet, I opted out of the room. So, much like the foundling I had been sent here to rescue, I slept outside my patron’s door, which is how I came to be awoken early that morning by a fierce shriek and heavy thump.

  Caring little for decorum and suddenly reminded of the jellyfish, I dashed unannounced into the princess’s room to find her uncharacteristically standing on her bed, a quivering finger pointed at a bundle in the corner covered with her blanket.

  I immediately assumed the frogling had snuck into her room again and went to retrieve it from under the blanket, when I was stopped short by the princess’s shriek.

  “What is it, Highness?” I asked, unsure if I should follow her onto the bed or continue to the heap on the floor.

  The princess continued to point an accusing finger at the crumpled blanket. Without her help to make a decision, I started for it, but jumped back when it suddenly stirred. I only then realized that whatever was under the blanket was much too big to be a frog.

  “What is it?” I whispered, fear and curiosity warring for the upper hand.

  Curiosity won; I was a mermaid who swam in the ocean alongside sharks and box jellyfish after all, so I stepped carefully to the corner. I grabbed the end of the blanket and gently tugged it downward, unwilling to unleash whatever lay beneath all at once.

  The first thing I saw was a head. A human head.

  My hands froze, unable to move any more. I turned my head toward the princess.

  “Um… Highness?” I very politely asked.

  I knew her well enough to trust she hadn’t been sneaking men into her room, especially not with me sleeping right outside her door. I didn’t know every face at the palace, but I was quite certain I’d never seen this one before. I studied his blond hair and light complexion, his coloring so unlike the other humans I’d met so far in this kingdom.

  “As you can imagine, I awoke this morning to the croaking of that disgusting frog, which had somehow made its way into my rooms again,” the princess began, accompanying her shaky words with an accusing glare.

  I kept silent. I had no idea how the frogling made it past me so I was rightfully ashamed of my neglect. Being too tired to see straight was hardly excuse enough for the princess.

  “Seeing it, I was so enraged, I threw it, hard. Then it hit the wall,” the princess continued.

  “Her Highness threw it against the wall?” I repeated.

  “Well I’m not proud of it!” the princess cried, her voice growing stronger with her indignation. “Anyway, the next thing I knew an unclothed man was there, so I screamed and threw my blanket over him,” she concluded with a hint of defiance.

  A shuffling and dull clanking from the corner caused us to whip our heads around in time to see the man stand up, still wrapped in the princess’s blanket, holding three broken iron bands in his hand.

  He looked from one of us to the other. “I really should be thanking each of you ladies,” he said gravely, his accent as foreign to Maridonia as his looks.

  We stared at him, and his attempts at formality given the present conditions. It wasn’t lost on me that here was the princess’s foundling, a man who’d been trapped in the body of a frog, while just a few rooms over slept a prince’s foundling, a mermaid princess in the body of a human. The message couldn’t have been clearer than if Tatiana herself had turned the frog loose upon us: no one can be their true selves in someone else’s skin.

  “Who are you?” the princess demanded from her perch on the bed.

  It was at that moment that the prince finally decided to appear, bursting through a side door of the princess’s room, brandishing a sword to rescue his sister from a foe he would have anyway been too late to fell.

  “It’s about time,” she told him irritably. “What’s the use in sharing a wall if you can’t get here in time?”

  “And I would like to know what all the ruckus is about,” he declared, unfazed that he was being too noble, too late.

  “I threw the frogling and it hit the wall,” she said simply.

  “You threw the frogling against the wall?” he repeated.

  “Yes,” the princess confirmed impatiently. “And when it fell, he was in its place.”

  The prince finally turned to the man standing in the corner of the room. The two of them sized each other up a moment, before the one’s lips began to curl into a delighted smile.

  “Prince Arlando?” he asked, though it seemed he already knew the answer.

  The prince did a double take then his face also broke into a happy grin. “King Heinrich! I’m very pleased you’ve joined us at last.”

  “Well,” King Heinrich replied, holding up the iron bonds, “I was delayed by extenuating circumstances.”

  “Indeed,” the prince agreed, then gestured toward Princess Cordelia. “You finally met my younger sister, Her Royal Highness, the Princess Cordelia.”

  “An honor,” King Heinrich said, executing a masterful bow while still keeping the blanket pinched around his very bare self.

  “Cordelia,” the prince turned toward his sister. “This is King Heinrich, a very special friend of mine,” he emphasized with a quirk of an eyebrow.

  Beneath her indignation, Princess Cordelia blushed becomingly.

  The king purposefully cleared his throat, regaining the prince’s attention.

  “If you could spare a change of clothes?” he asked, with a significant glance at himself.

  “Of course,” the prince agreed. He bowed toward the open door he’d come through. “Back this way.”

  He waited for the king to shuffle over before leading the way back to his rooms. However, before the king followed, he turned back and gave Princess Cordelia a last, significant look. I noticed then his eyes weren’t purple at all, but rather a reassuring mix of blue and green placed in the becoming face of a man in his early twenties, about the same age as the prince, I figured.

  “I apologize for frightening you,” he said sincerely to her. “I got lost in the connecting passage when I went looking for water and must have gotten turned around.” He paused before adding, “I had thought being turned into a frog was the worst thing that could happen to me. Now, well, now it doesn’t seem so bad.”

  He bowed again before exiting the room, shutting the door firmly behind him. The princess and I shared a look, our stunned expressions mirroring each other’s.

  “Well,” the princess finally declared, her wits gathered back around her. “I certainly didn’t anticipate that!”

  Spending a few weeks in a snowy mountain lodge meant the winter days ended early and left us with many long nights indoors. As such, the king and queen, the prince and princess, and their unexpected guest more often than not found themselves before the fire in the cozy parlor, trading stories of their homes, their kingdoms, and their respective youths.

  Sienna usually lounged on the carpet close to the fireplace, positioning herself within sight of and near to the prince. I preferred to tuck myself into a quiet corner of the room on a bay window framed by thick green and gold curtains, which allowed me to fixate on the snowflakes gently blanketing the ground outside without missing a word they said. I learned so much from those relaxed, amiable nights, and I came to value them for the information, the heritage, the tradition that was shared. When I had children of my own, I made sure that we always spent a few weeks in the mountains, not just to play in the snow, but for those warm, quiet nights before the fire.

  It was on one such night, after King Earwyn and Queen Edlyn excused themselves, that Prince Arlando turned to King Heinrich. “The hour is ripe for a fantastical story,�
�� he said. “Would His Majesty indulge us?”

  The king nodded, knowing he would have to explain himself eventually. “I’m not very proud of the things I’m about to say,” he finally began, “but I’m proud to say that these are things I’ve left behind me.”

  We all leaned forward, his opening words instantly sparking our attention.

  “As this is my first time meeting most of you,” he added, with a measured glance at Princess Cordelia, “you may not believe that the charming man before you wasn’t very long ago a most vain and ungrateful boy. Though, I’ll admit to having ample reason for the first fault,” he added with a demeaning chuckle.

  We smiled along with him. Having spent the past two weeks with a most agreeable and amiable guest, we were quite ready to side with him against his former self, whomsoever that may be. Besides, we’d forgive anything for someone who’d just a short while ago had endured life as a rather slimly and very ugly frog.

  “My father brought me up to be an honorable and respectful man, but I foolishly insisted on being ungracious and full of self-admiration,” the king continued. I nodded to myself, familiar with the clash of these traits from watching Bestaymor with her granddaughters.

  “This is the friend you wanted to introduce me to?” Princess Cordelia turned with mock indignation on her brother.

  The prince smiled sheepishly. “He wasn’t so bad,” he defended himself. “And I believed you would temper him.”

  Princess Cordelia seemed about to display her own temper, but the king resumed his story before she could.

  “Father tried his best to teach me humility, but he unfortunately passed away before I could be brought to my senses. So I was given the crown of Vidallia, my new status a potent fuel for the fire of my self-destructive behaviors.

  “I spent too long in front of the mirror, taking care of myself instead of my people and kingdom. I was never grateful for the blessings and riches I had, always seeking to have more or what wasn’t mine.

  “After the cooks spent hours preparing the tastiest meats for dinner, I would push aside the trays in disgust. ‘No chicken tonight?’ I’d sneer. Ten of the finest horses in the kingdom would be brought before me, and I would look each one over and dismiss them all in turn. ‘Is this it?’ I’d demand, refusing to be satisfied.

  “All things considered, I wasn’t always intolerable. I was known for impulsive acts of kindness and an enjoyable sense of humor but add in enough bad flavoring and even the sweetest dish turns sour. Besides, a king cannot get away with behaving like this forever, for the people or his ministers will revolt, and he’ll be lucky to escape with his head. Fortunate for me, I had my own special friend who stepped in and saved me before such could happen.”

  He paused and offered each of us who’d had to suffer with his slimy state an apologetic grin. “I’m not entirely certain I agree with her methods however.”

  “Perhaps she can knock some sense into Arlando,” the princess muttered, loud enough for us to hear and laugh appreciatively.

  “This friend,” the king once more picked up his tale, “was actually a friend of my father’s, a faery with glittering lavender eyes and a motherly air which was most at odds with her absolute impatience for nonsense and stupidity. Before he died, my father had the foresight to make her promise she would keep an eye on his wayward son and she did from afar, at least as long as she could.

  “When word of my unpleasant behaviors reached her, she immediately appeared at the palace. I’m sorry to admit she was welcomed in by an advisor who rushed to greet her in a befitting manner, for he correctly suspected I wouldn’t give her the respect she deserved. She was scarcely in the palace a full afternoon before she’d seen enough and decided immediate change was in order.”

  The king paused, the first time in his story that his voice wavered causing us to exchange worried glances. Should we press him to continue or allow him to stop? He took a moment to collect himself before bravely pushing forward.

  “I won’t go into the details of what I was about when she found me or how quickly she cast the spell that would teach me the lesson I would not otherwise heed. She wrapped three enchanted iron bands around my heart, one for arrogance, one for ingratitude, one for vanity, then turned me into a frog and took my image upon herself so no one would suspect a thing.

  “The spell certainly caught my attention and she warned that I would remain a frog until someone was kind enough to take me in and break it. I had to be careful though, for if I died a frog, there was nothing magic could do to bring me back. The faery encouraged me to learn my lesson long before then, promising I could redeem my throne for the three broken iron bands.

  “I couldn’t speak, but in my mind, I belittled her actions, casting aside her warnings in the certainty that the spell wouldn’t last very long.” The king stopped and pursed his lips, his distaste for that part of his life evident. “That was over a year ago,” he confessed.

  “That certainly explains a few things,” the prince observed, “as I first invited you last summer and you said you would come in the fall to follow. I’ve been expecting you for months!”

  King Heinrich nodded. “You understand now why my visit was delayed.”

  “We’ve yet to determine if it was worth it,” the prince teased.

  The king smiled good-naturedly in return. “The first thing I did was to hop back into the palace and demand that my advisors break the spell and change me back into my former self. They, of course, had no notice of a frog and I didn’t make it very far before the shrieking from the once-admiring ladies began.”

  Princess Cordelia had the good sense to look down at her hands and blush, though the king didn’t seem to mind. His eyes roamed over his listeners, until he found me in the corner hanging onto every word. His suffering aside, I found human stories much more to my liking.

  “You were the first one to see me and not run away,” he told me, his words shaded in strong tones of gratitude and admiration.

  I nodded solemnly, though his words reminded me of when Princess Cordelia complimented me on my swimming. Having grown up among all manner of sea creatures, a purple frog really wasn’t so frightful. I’d like to say I felt some pity toward a creature most others deemed ugly because of the way I saw my own self, but it wasn’t so, for even I looked down on creatures I considered uglier than me. The list may not have been very long, but it was there. I suppose the only thing that could be said for me was what I did despite my disgust, that I always had the decency not to shriek or duck away when confronted by any one of those creatures.

  “It was barely an hour before I was chased away from my own palace and that night was the most miserable of my life. I stayed in a pond in my garden, so close to home, yet unable to return to it. That was also the spot where I learned just how ugly I had become, inside and out. I was hurt, angry, and very, very unhappy.”

  He stopped and glanced at the ladies in the room. “I’ll skip the parts about how I stayed alive, if it’s all right with you.”

  No one protested.

  “I must say, though, this makes me even less comfortable with your presence in my rooms,” Princess Cordelia said into the pause.

  The king had the decency to blush. “I beg your pardon, Princess. Believe me, that morning was an accident.”

  “You were very adamant in your pursuit of me,” she pressed, more a question than a statement.

  King Heinrich’s face grew even redder. “As this is anyway a time of truth, I believe most have heard of Princess Alaina, who was awakened from her curse with a kiss not too long ago?”

  “And?” Princess Cordelia countered.

  “And perhaps I was angling for something of similar effect.”

  Princess Cordelia shot the king a haughty look, drawing it out long enough to make him squirm. “And how did you intend to go about doing that?” she challenged good-naturedly.

  The king shrugged and offered a humble smile. “Well, first I had to get you to stop turning awa
y. I hadn’t really figured it out,” he admitted.

  “Indeed,” the princess sniffed.

  “Let the king finish his story!” Prince Arlando cut in. “You two can fight this out later.” He turned to the king, “Please, Heinrich, proceed.”

  The king nodded. “I stayed in that pond a month, a human trapped in the body of a hideous creature before I couldn’t stand being there any longer. I found a river and started to follow it away from the palace, not quite sure what I should do, where I should go, or how, but knowing that I had to get away.

  “You can imagine how quickly a man learns gratitude when he lives over a year as a frog. Each day he is not swallowed by a snake, trampled under a horse’s foot, or stoned by mischievous little boys is a good one. Each day he finds enough food to live to the next is a gift from Heaven. Each day I remained trapped in my unwanted form was a day that kept vanity away. Because I could not bear to look at my new body, I spent a lot of time looking inward, and I did not like what I saw.

  “A year as a frog and this is the man I’ve become,” the king concluded simply. He glanced over at the prince. “I didn’t realize how far I’d traveled until a bearded man with purple eyes found me by a river. He must have been sort of magical because he knew right away that I wasn’t really a frog. He even recommended I turn toward the sea and sent me to Maridonia in a puff of smoke. I finally made it to the palace and once I caught sight of your gardens, I couldn’t leave without taking in those magnificent hedges.”

  His eyes searched me out again. “I was at the fountain that day because I was watching you work,” he explained. His eyes next sought out the princess. “Then you came and threw my thick skull against the wall, breaking the spell, even as I’ve worked to break each of the bands that bound me. I forgive you only because you saved me,” he teased.