Page 82 of The Frog Prince
He let go of one of Alwin’s hands and sifted his fingers through it, the grass tickling his skin. The action sent a few fish and frogs darting away, and he smiled in wonder, having to remember to keep his mouth closed.
So many beautiful colorations passed by his eyes, sleek bodies cutting through the water and nudging affectionately against their prince. They gathered around him at once, climbing on every inch of him and haloing his head like a crown.
Alwin greeted all of them, listening to whatever grievances they had, holding court under the water.
Otto was so fascinated that it was a while before he realized his lungs were burning with lack of air. He looked up in panic, unable to tell the distance to the surface, but his arms were guided around Alwin’s shoulders to hold on.
Alwin pushed them up to the surface with a strong kick so Otto could gasp a breath before they dove back under again.
The frogs followed in an entourage as Alwin picked up the pace, slicing through the channels that had been made under the water.
It was beautiful. Like nothing Otto had ever imagined before.
They traveled this way for a while, Alwin taking him through his kingdom and checking on things, briefly surfacing for Otto to take in much-needed air. It was exhilarating, sending a sense of adventure that had been drowned in responsibility suddenly racing through him, the burden lifted by the water.
They came to a stop in a shallower part of the watery network, breaking the surface with Otto able to place his feet on the floor. His legs felt weak and unsteady in the soft silt, but he quickly got his bearings.
When he glanced at Alwin, he was scanning the area diligently, moving carefully toward what looked like dozens of makeshift basins that had been dug into the mud around the edges of the pool. When he looked closer he saw that they were full of tiny tadpoles in varying stages of developing into full frogs.
This was clearly the frogs’ breeding ground, and Alwin was checking on the spawn that would have no doubt been eaten by predators in any other case.
A few tiny frogs swam past Otto, one hopping onto Alwin’s shoulder as they gathered around him like he was a doting parent they’d missed. He watched Alwin smile at them, handling each and every one of them with the utmost care and respect, making sure they all received equal attention.
“You’re a good ruler,” Otto said, watching Alwin be swarmed with a soft expression on his face.
“Hardly,” Alwin murmured, taking the frog from his shoulder and gently placing it back in the water. “But I do what I can for them.”
Otto frowned. “You’ve created a safe space for them to thrive here.”
“There’s balance in everything. What I do here for my frogs has affected the natural order of things, I know this. I did my best not to intervene at first…but they came to me looking for protection. I hear their worries and I hear their hurt, just like you do for your patients,” Alwin said. “I found it wasn’t something I could ignore, wise or not.”
Otto stilled, taking the words in silently, feeling them reverberate through his own mind as if they were his own thoughts. He knew all too well what it felt like to want to do better and be forced to swim upstream to do so. There was so much malice in the world. He’d experienced some, observed other instances. He was used to Henne, who saw money and fame instead of people, and his father, who had lived beyond his means no matter the consequences to his children.
It was rare to find true kindness. To find compassion.
It was why he and Gisela had clung so hard to Liesel, who’d experienced tragedy and sadness she hadn’t deserved but still stayed so goodhearted.
Otto often felt he had to compensate for the bad in the world by offering as much good as he could, and yet…the way he had treated Alwin at first was the opposite of that.
He’d judged him. Vilified him. Betrayed him.
He supposed he wasn’t much better than those selfish people, driven and blinded by their own desires with no care for those they felt were beneath them, stepping on and using them to reach their end goal.
No matter the justification, Gisela wouldn’t have wanted that. It was shameful, coming to this realization. It made his cheeks flush dark red and his ears burn.
He wanted to reach out to Alwin and make things right. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he took a step toward him. He was reaching out when his foot caught on a slippery stone beneath the surface of the water. He flailed for a moment before careening down.
He remembered a half second later as his bulk was slipping back under the water that he still couldn’t swim, and panic swelled in his chest.
A slippery arm caught him around the back, able to carry his weight easily with the buoyancy of the water. Their chests slid together, shirts dislodged by cheeky watery hands to allow their bare lower stomachs to touch, legs intertwining.
They were a perfect fit.
Where Alwin’s stomach recessed, Otto’s muscles pressed out to fill the space, their breathing moving in time so that nothing could slip between.
Oddly, Alwin seemed to be more surprised by this turn of events than Otto, his bulging eyes blown wider than ever, his slitted nostrils flared.
It was…sweet. And humorous.
