THE FROG AND THE GROG
by
Christopher Stasheff
Copyright 2011
"Nadia, you mustn't!" Lydia cried. "They might kill you!"
Nadia paled, and her hand trembled as she stroked Jojo's head—but she set her chin and said, "A princess has to be loyal to her people—and he's one of my people."
"He certainly has faith in you, that's certain," Alberta said, eyeing the wolf-boy askance, "and I don't think he's old enough to realize it might be something more than devotion."
Nadia's face reddened. "Whatever it is, I have to defend him."
"Well, then, I have to defend you, too," Lydia said with a sigh.
The other princesses cried out in alarm. "Lydia, no!" Alberta protested. "You weren't joking when you warned her she could be killed!"
"Well, yes, but I'm only King Rollo's aunt," Lydia said. "I'm not in line for the throne."
"Nadia is, though! She might very well spend the rest of her life in prison!"
"Jojo won't let that happen." Nadia stroked his head. "Will you, Jojo?"
The boy gave an angry bark.
"He may not have any choice," Lydia said, "but with two of us to protect you, there's less chance of disaster." She turned to the reeve. "You'll help protect her too, won't you?" Her gaze took in Aelwyn and Musa. "And you?"
"I shall defend royal blood!" Galben said.
Aelwyn nodded. "We're all together in this."
"I shall try to teach the usurper that he's doing wrong." Musa sighed and shook her head. "But I don't think he'll prove an apt pupil."
"Together, then!" Lydia squared her shoulders and raised her chin.
Aelwyn gasped.
Nadia frowned. "What's the matter with you?"
"Just a poet's reflex," Aelwyn assured her.
Musa gave him a jaundiced eye.
"Together, then," Galben said, but didn't sound happy about it. He looked up at the other five princesses. "Any of you want to join us?"
An instant chorus of "No!" answered him, along with shaking of heads.
"The six of us, then," Galben said, and turned resolutely toward the road. "Together!"
"Me too," Cadavan hopped up to Aelwyn. "Me too!" Then he turned away and started hopping toward the road.
"Follow that frog!" the reeve said.
So they came to Kingston, a reeve, a minstrel, a genius, a boy-wolf, two princesses...
And a frog.
"Halt!" The guard at gate slanted his pike to bar their way. "It is almost sunset. We should be closing the gate."
"Not until the sun is down," Lydia corrected.
The guard scowled at her, as though to demand who she was to tell him his business. She glared back at him.
"I am Galben of Drelben," said the knight, "Reeve of the shire of Eastmarch. Step aside, soldier!"
The soldier's eyes widened, but Galben insisted, "Proof!" The reeve raised a fist, and the guard stared at the signet ring—the royal crest over the rooster of Eastmarch.
The sentry swallowed. "And these with you?"
"The young woman is my ward," said Galben, "and the minstrel amuses us. The boy grew up with wolves, and might amuse His Majesty." His tone hardened. "Do you object?"
The guard swallowed. "No. Pass."
"Thank you." Galben marched in, Nadia and Aelwyn behind him.
Aelwyn looked about him, awed by the bustle and the crowding of the city. Nadia was used to it, though. She asked the reeve, "Where is the genius? I looked up and she had disappeared."
"She does that," Aelwyn told her. "She's a spirit, after all. Don't worry—if anybody needs to be taught, she'll appear."
Nadia looked about her and shivered. "The town seems so much darker than when I fled! I could almost swear I see some sort of dark mist rising from the foundations of the buildings."
"Don't worry," Aelwyn said, "if it grows thick enough, it will attract the genius."
Jojo shivered and whined, pressing close to Nadia's leg. She stroked his head and murmured, "They're only people, like all of us, Jojo. Nothing more to fear than if you found them in the forest."
The wolf-boy did not seem much reassured.
"Where is the frog?" she asked.
Something inside Aelwyn's pack croaked, "Stowaway. Stowaway."
"We're all together," Galben assured her, and led them toward the castle.
The road led upward, of course—the castle sat atop a hill, and the whole town rose along its sides. As they climbed, the sun lowered—but the street wound around the hill to makes its angle less, and by the time they came to the castle drawbridge, dusk had fallen and torches illuminated the guards who stood there, one to either side of the gateway that guarded the near end.
Galben turned to his travelling companions. "How shall we get in?"
"Oh, that's easy enough," Nadia said.
"You mean you know a secret way in?"
"No, I..." Nadia broke off in surprise, then turned thoughtful and nodded. "Well, there is such a way from the courtyard—a tunnel only three feet high, and it carries the dirty water from the kitchens to the moat. We have to be across the drawbridge and inside the moat first, though."
Galben nodded slowly. "Might be just as well to go in two separate teams, so one can bail the other out if they get into trouble. I think I might be noticed swimming a moat, though."
"You might, but a frog won't be." Aelwyn took off his pack and set it on the ground. "How badly did you want to go inside this castle, old fellow?"
"Pretty bad. Pretty bad." Cadavan hopped out and started along the verge beside the moat. Then he stopped, staring.
The others followed his glance and saw the keg.
"The sun must have set," Galben said.
"Just the thing to make us welcome!" Aelwyn strode down to Cadavan and picked up the keg, tucking it under one arm.
"Stay with 'im," Cadavan ordered the keg. "Stay with 'im."
Galben eyed the moat with distaste. It was green with slime. "What manner of things live in there?"
Nadia shrugged. "The usual things that live in a pond."
"That would worry me," the reeve said. "At least, if I were a frog."
"You're right—he needs a guard." Nadia crouched, staring into Jojo's eyes. "You must go with the frog."
Jojo whined, staring at her.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be safe enough," Nadia said. "The frog might not be, though. There could be huge fish swimming in that moat who would think a frog a most tasty tidbit."
The wolf-boy glanced at the frog, then turned back to the princess in silent pleading.
"That is where I need you," she said in a tone that allowed no argument. "See the frog safely across the moat, and the two of you can find the kitchen drain. It will take you into the courtyard, where you'll find little windows set near the ground, to let some light and air into the better dungeon cells."
Aelwyn raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Children poke into everything," Galben muttered.
Aelwyn decided that Nadia must have been something of a tomboy.
"The bars on those windows are too close for a man to squeeze through." Nadia looked directly into Jojo's eyes. "A boy should be able to manage it, though, and certainly a frog."
Jojo whined and pressed his head against her shoulder. Nadia smiled with pleased surprise, and stroked his hair as she said, "Are you so loyal to me, then? Wonderful—but the service I need from you now is to protect the frog. If he knows my cousin's tutor, perhaps the two of them can protect the rest of us." She glanced at Aelwyn and said, "We may need it. Go now, and take care of the bullfrog."
Jojo whined, but slunk away in obedience.
Nadia stood. "Why does the frog want to find the king's tutor?"
"He didn't say," Aelwyn said, "but it seems to matter greatly."
"The minstrel wants to go there, too, though." Galben jerked his head at Aelwyn. "Wants to tell His Majesty what he thinks of him, to his face."
Nadia looked up with a gasp and turned to Aelwyn in alarm. "If you wish to die, minstrel, there are quicker ways."
"Well, I'm not going to tell him, exactly," Aelwyn hedged. "I'm a minstrel, after all."
Galben stared. "You're going to sing a string of insults at the king?"
"My honest opinion of his reign and his war," Aelwyn stated.
Nadia paled. "I don't think I want to help you do that."
Musa's voice spoke in her ear. "If he does it well, dear, he might actually make Viburnum regret what he is doing."
Nadia spun, but there was no one there. "The genius spoke to me!"
"That's reassuring," Aelwyn said. "She's a spirit, you see, so she can disappear whenever she wants to, and I don't think she needs to be seeable to be hearable."
"I suppose not," Nadia said, then shrugged. "It's good to know she's still with us, though."
"Somehow I don't think teaching will hold back the king's guards," Galben said.
"Don't be so sure," Aelwyn said. "A good teacher can work miracles."
Galben shrugged. "Doesn't matter much. She has to meet them before she can teach them."
"What's to prevent her?" Nadia asked.
"Oh, I don't know." Galben looked up at the castle. "Maybe walls three feet thick and thirty feet high."
"Besides," said Aelwyn, "there's the little matter of crossing the drawbridge."
"The drawbridge? That's nothing!" Nadia turned toward the castle. "Let's go." She marched straight forward toward the king's fortress.
Galben and Aelwyn exchanged looks of surprise, then shrugged and followed her.
Nadia marched right up to one of the soldiers and said, "I am the princess Nadia, and I demand to see my brother."
Galben and Aelwyn stared in shock. They heard a gasp somewhere near them. Well, it was a comfort to know Musa was still with them.
The guards stared too; then one of them bowed. "An honor to see Your Highness again. And who are these?"
"My travelling companions." She turned to introduce them. "Galben is Reeve of Eastmarch, and Aelwyn is a wandering minstrel."
"A minstrel?" The guard asked with interest. "You are timely come; the king keeps revels tonight."
"More than usually?" Aelwyn asked, but Galben inquired, "What's the occasion?"
"He has sent an army into Azure," said the sentry, "and they've conquered a border village that will make an excellent staging point for more troops." He turned away. "Come help His Majesty celebrate the first victory of the war." He nodded toward the town. "The moon has risen, and his revels are underway."
They turned to look at the moon, full and orange as a pumpkin and barely clear of the horizon.
"I shall escort you to His Majesty." The guard turned away, but before they could follow, they heard a howl. Turning, they saw a giant frog staring up at a wolf—not an unkempt and flea-bitten boy in a loincloth, but a wolf with fur, a tail, two glowing eyes—and long sharp teeth.
The frog gave a croak of alarm and hopped into the moat. The wolf growled and leaped after him.
"So he was more than a human baby reared by wolves," Aelwyn whispered.
"If he wasn't when they found him, he is now," Galben answered. "Let's hope he doesn't have a taste for frog's legs."
Nadia said nothing, but a tear trickled down her cheek. She squared her shoulders, though, and turned to follow the guard.
Galben and Aelwyn fell in behind her, the minstrel with the keg under his arm, the reeve with one last glance at the moat.
Behind them, unnoticed, a wisp of fog arose from the moat and followed them, growing more dense as it came.
The great hall blazed with the light of a hundred torches, filled with courtiers laughing and chatting in high good spirits. The usurper king was even then sitting down to dine with all his sycophants, the counts and barons who'd aided him in deposing the rightful king.
"Make way, make way!" the sentry called. "Make way for the Princess Nadia!"
The crowd fell silent and turned to stare at Nadia, marching behind the sentry, chin high and shoulders back—and at the reeve and minstrel who followed her. As if by magic, a pathway opened between the princess and the head of the long dining table where King Viburnum sat.
The king lowered his cup and looked up in surprise.
The sentry stamped to a halt. "Your Majesty, may I present the Princess Nadia."
"What a pleasant surprise," the king said slowly. "What brings you to us, your highness?" He glanced down at her gown but managed not to mention her need for new clothing.
"I have come to see my brother, usurper!" Nadia snapped. "Show me to him without delay!"
Viburnum nodded slowly. "As you wish, your Highness. Anything for a lady of royal blood—especially for one who was next in line for the throne after her little brother. Guard, escort her to Prince Gareth..."
"He is the rightful king!" Nadia cried.
"...and leave her closeted with him," Viburnum went on. "I'm sure they'll have a lot to talk about."
The sentry bowed, then turned to Nadia. "This way, Your Highness." He set off toward the screens that hid the entrance to the hall.
King Viburnum nodded toward Earl Shakle, who gestured to a guardsmen. The trooper turned and fell in behind the princess.
"You boys want to go with her?" Viburnum asked. "Are you going to call me a usurper, too?"
The whole great chamber was silent as courtiers held their breaths, staring at the minstrel who stood before the king.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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