The Frog Collector

“Father… Father”, said the princess tearfully.

The king, who still with the sword stuck in him, could barely express himself:

“My little…”.

James couldn’t take his eyes off his sword, wanting to pull it out, but he knew that would make it worse. Emily was kneeling next to the princess consoling her.

“Forgive me for getting angry with you, father”, the princess told him. “After you told me the whole story about Mom, I was very angry with you”.

“Today is… a day of many forgiveness…”, said the king. “But… it’s never too much to forgive! Don’t worry… about that”.

James knelt down as well and embraced the princess. They both knew it was the king’s last moments.

The king continued with the listeners’ full attention:

“I have one… last wish: Be a… wise queen… like your mother was!”

Agatha cried even more and replied:

“I will be, because I learned from a wise king”.

And then the king was gone.

***

“Mom, why did things have to end this way?”, said Lilian with a sad face looking at the body on the floor and continued: ”The king’s agreement was the best thing that ever happened to us. He could have killed us back then if he had wanted to, but he decided to give us a chance”.

“No…”, replied the witch faintly to Lilian’s surprise and continued: ”Isra… was the best thing that ever happened to me”. Then Mirian sighed for the last time.

Lilian lamented her mother’s demise, got up and went to the group that was gathered around the king.

The king was dead. Agatha stayed a long time crying in James’ arms.

“So he ate a flower and thus lost his powers”, said Emily. ”He was the one who tore this house apart by magic after all. Mirian realized this and used magic against him”.

“I don’t understand why”, questioned the prince.

“We have fallen into many traps since we entered here. Surely he believed that Mirian had prepared something to deal with his and the princess’s power, and since she could get us out of here if he lost his power, he decided to sacrifice it by destroying the house and putting an end to the possible traps. Since the soldiers and I fainted, we were running out of time”, answered Lilian.

The rest of the soldiers who were carrying the bodies of the five arrived and Michael, who was among them, wept at the sight of the king.

“Where is that woman?”, asked Agatha angrily.

“She’s dead”, answered Lilian, showing her the witch’s body in the distance. “It’s over! This time it’s true!”

The princess stopped for a moment.

“Let’s get out of here”, she said, wiping his tears.

***

The princess led everyone out of the invisible dome and they headed toward the palace. Michael carried the king’s body and the rest of the army carried the five soldiers’ bodies. Inside the invisible dome only Mirian’s body remained.

***

The following weeks were sad. The king was buried with great honors. People from other kingdoms came to pay their respects. The neighboring king that was James’ father told Agatha:

“Your parents did what other kings could not: Stopped the damage of the magic flowers. If it weren’t for them neither your kingdom nor ours would exist. I hope you will be as wise as he was and rule well by my son’s side”.

The princess nodded and, looking at James who was talking to someone else, thought: “I also hope”.

All the people in the kingdom were there thrilled, including Lilian, Emily. At one point, Agatha saw James in a corner of the palace looking sadly at his sword and went to him.

“This sword… my sword… killed the king. I don’t want to use it anymore”, he said.

“Your sword is not you…”, said the girl consoling him.

They hugged each other and spent a long time in silence watching the sun go down. Then James said goodbye and went to his parents’ kingdom.

***

A month later Agatha’s coronation took place, and in the same week the wedding took place. They were the biggest parties ever seen in the kingdom until then, and joy returned to the kingdom after the death of the king. At Queen Agatha’s request, the guard Michael was the one who led her to the altar. The Queen and James sealed their love and the celebration continued for many days. During the party Queen Agatha invited Lilian and Emily to live with her in the palace. They were thoughtful, but accepted.

***

One day, while the queen, Lilian and Emily were chatting a lot, the queen remembered:

“I have an idea and I would like you to help me”, she said to the two and asked: “What became of the black flowers that were in your invisible home Lilian?”

“I was hoping to speak with Your Majesty first before making any decision. Now that Mirian is gone, I don’t think there is any point in having them”, replied the woman.

“I still have the root I took from the prison and also the book of spells if you want to destroy them”, said Emily.

The queen replied:

“I have a better idea: I asked Michael about people who were turned into animals in the past and he said that transformations were common back then, but that all the people were brought back after the deal my father made. The transformed people were found through relatives or friends who knew them and knew that they were transformed. So those who agreed to the deal brought those who were transformed back. But I wonder: What if there is someone who is still transformed who cannot go back to normal because nobody remembers him? Is it possible to know, by the flower’s magic, if there is someone who is still transformed into an animal?”.

“Unfortunately, my queen, I was not the best of magic users and I don’t know if there is a way to know that. Emily maybe can, because she’s the most interested in black flowers and magic”, replied Lilian.

“There is no magic of this kind in the book of Isra. For that we would have to create a new one. But as far as we know only Queen Ellen was able to create magic”, said Emily.

“Here’s my idea then: Since frogs are the most common forms of transformation, I will create a place near here for people to bring all the frogs they find and test the magic on them. Those who are not human will be marked and released so there is no confusion. Meanwhile, I authorize you both to study plants to create magic that allows us to know how many people are still transformed and where they are. Only you will be allowed to use the black flower and only for these cases. Do you accept?”, asked the queen.

Lilian and Emily were awestruck by the proposal. And they said smiling:

“Of course, Your Majesty”.

***

It didn’t take long for all that to be done. The queen brought the roots and the black flowers from the invisible home to the palace and they were planted in an appropriate place that only Agatha, James, Lilian and Emily knew about. The queen ordered a ban on killing animals in the kingdom because of the risk of killing a human who was turned into an animal. James found a large swamp perfect for the queen’s idea, the place was fenced and prepared to receive the frogs. Lilian was in charge of testing the magic on the animals and marking the ones that were not human. Emily studied everything about magic and after a while, she was the person who knew most about the power of flowers in that kingdom. The queen decreed to everyone in the kingdom to bring there any frogs and toads they could find and so it was done. Before long the place was full of amphibians.

Everyone was very happy. Peace and harmony reigned after such turbulent days they had experienced.

Almost every day Agatha and James watched the sunset together from the highest tower of the palace from where they could see the whole kingdom including the lake near the forest they always frequented.