Page 44 of The Frog Prince
“I am certain there will be more buzzing around. Help yourself.”
“Hilarious,” the prince said, and as huffy as he seemed to be, Otto felt like the action helped them restore some semblance of normalcy between them. Whatever ‘normal’ was set to be between a man and a Frog Prince.
“We should get ready for the day,” Otto said, figuring that was as good a place to start as any.
The prince unfolded smoothly from his crouch, brushing himself off like the tattered finery he was wearing was still pristine, straightening his threadbare waistcoat over his thin chest. “Very well. I shall wait for you downstairs.”
That made Otto pause.
“Would you like to borrow some clothes?”
It burst from his lips in an instant, impossible to stuff back in. The confused and surprised look the prince gave him as he glanced back over his shoulder made him not want to.
“For me?”
The way he questioned a simple kindness made Otto feel ashamed.
“Yes. I don’t have much, but you’re welcome to it,” he said quietly.
The Frog Prince didn’t move for a long, suspended moment. Eventually he looked down, humble and affected. “Some clothing would be appreciated.”
Otto didn’t know why his heart hurt.
He decided to escape instead, leading the way to his room and barely avoiding clipping the door in his haste. He tried not to look back over his shoulder to make sure the prince was following, not knowing why he wanted to keep him in sight.
He didn’t feel scared, so why did it matter?
Clearing the doorway to his room, he pushed those thoughts aside as he glanced around for any signs of change. Not even the bedsheets were disturbed.
He frowned. “Did you not sleep?”
“You found me on the floor with my eyes closed.”
Otto flushed and looked at him. “I meant before you… Before my nightmare woke you.”
“I’m unused to beds,” the prince said, leaving it at that.
Wanting to push but not knowing how, Otto walked to his dresser and opened it, removing some clothes for himself before gesturing. “Take anything.”
The prince stepped up alongside him, their arms brushing and making Otto inhale sharply.
Long fingers sifted through the fabrics, searching and considering, and Otto was entranced watching everything he had imagined last night play out right in front of his eyes.
The prince eventually decided on a simple dark-blue shirt and some dark knee-length breeches, clutching them in his hands and looking at Otto.
Otto, who stood glued to the spot, staring at him as if waiting for his clothes to come off while he was still in the room with him.
“I’ll…I’ll leave you to change,” Otto muttered, practically running from the room and into his sister’s, leaning back against the door. “What is happening to me?”
No one answered him.
Rushing to change into his own clothes, he was barely down the stairs, still slipping his braces over his shoulders when there was a knock on the door.
Worried, Otto threw a look up the stairs before creeping over and opening it a sliver. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Gisela’s familiar face.
“Otto!” Gisela cried in relief. “Are you all right?”
She tried to push the door open and enter, but Otto stepped out instead, shutting it behind him.
