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Chapter Text

When Anne was younger, her mom used to read a story to her and her friend.

The same moral, usually, the princess getting lucky with a prince and living happily ever after.

Like the story her mom read that night.

"The ugly little froggy looked at the princess and pleaded for a kiss. 'A kiss from you will break this horrible curse upon me!' And so the princess brought the creature up to her face and leaned in for a big kiss."

Anne gagged. "Gross!"

Her mom smiled fondly at her. "And as she kissed him, he transformed into a handsome prince. They were married and lived happily ever after!"

Anne shook her head. "I will never kiss a frog, no matter who they claim to be!"

"Come on, Anne!" Marcy sighed dreamily. "You don't want to swoon over a prince-"

"Or princess," her mom added helpfully.

"-or a princess?" Marcy continued. "The instant love! The romance!"

"Ugh!" Anne stuck her tongue out. "Never!"

"Come on, Anne, kiss your prince!" Marcy laughed, holding up her cat Domino.

Anne squealed, hiding behind her mom's chair. "No! That's gross! Never, never, never!"

"Can you read the story again, please?" Marcy pleaded Anne's mom.

She laughed. "Sorry, Marcy, I think we're gonna head home."

"Aw!" Marcy whined. "Okay. See ya, Anne!"

"Bye, Marce!"

The night was quiet when Anne left with her mom. They walked down the dimly lit street to their house, where the torchlight illuminated Mr. Boonchuy and their neighbors.

"Oum, welcome home, honey!" Mr. Boonchuy greeted them. He kissed his wife and scooped up Anne. "Hi, Anne, how's Marcy?"

"Good!" Anne replied. "Is that Khao niew bing?"

Her dad smiled. "Freshly made!" he said proudly, handing her one of the rice snacks. "Now, what's missing?"

Anne took a bite. "Hm. Could use some more coconut milk."

"One day you gotta sell these," their neighbor Perry said thoughtfully.

Anne's dad laughed. "No thanks, I enjoy doing it for you all. Besides, I don't think they'd be such a hit as you all think they are."

Their friends exclaimed in protest. Anne was confused; wasn't it her dad's dream to have a restaurant?

Later that night, Anne sat in her bed with her father on the edge of it.

"Dad, why did you say you didn't want a restaurant earlier?" she asked.

He smiled at her. "Sweetie, it's harder than that. Around here, the successful ones are the rich ones, and well..."

"We don't need to be rich!" Anne exclaimed, unfolding the newspaper clipping she kept, and shoving it into her father's hands. "Just you wait, dad, I'll make you all the money you need to start it, we'll be famous!"

"Okay, honey," her mom said from the doorway. "Give your poor father a break."

Anne grabbed her dad's hand. "I promise, one day, people will come from all over for our food. I'll give you everything I can."

He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "Good night, kid."

"Wait!" Anne exclaimed, wiggling off her bed. "Look, a shooting star! Marcy said if you wish on it, your wish is gonna come true!"

"Make a wish, then," her dad laughed, bringing her back to her bed. "But remember Anne, your wish can only do so much, you gotta be your own wish-granter. Work for what you want."

Anne squeezed her eyes shut. I wish to be successful, so my mom and dad don't have to work so hard.

"Goodnight, sweetie," her mom called, and her dad followed as they left the room.

The door closed and soon Anne felt her eyes start to close.

It was a good night, indeed.

Chapter Text

It had been a terrible night. Anne had worked at the Pickle Jar , a (frankly overrated) late night deli. The customers were always so rude; they didn’t appreciate the service. Disrespecting the staff was one thing, but basically shaming the cooking? Cuisine was an art, one of the most complex in Anne’s opinion. It takes so much work and precision, and some people didn’t get that.

Tossing her waitress outfit into the closet, Anne opened her dresser drawer and folded up her night’s payment. She glanced at the old newspaper clipping from when she was younger. She felt a melancholy smile form on her lips.

She was twenty-one now, having picked up double shifts as soon as she could, to start working towards her goal.  Anne got exhausted, sure, but that was the way of the world. At least for her.

Anne’s dad died a few months after she turned seven, four months after she wished on that shooting star. Maybe if she had known he was struggling she would’ve  wished for his health to get better. Not that the damn star would’ve helped.

For a good fifteen minutes, Anne was able to drift off to sleep before her alarm clock blared. She freshened up and put in her other waitress uniform, taking one last look at the old newspaper clipping. She kissed her finger and touched it to the paper.

“Miss you everyday, dad,” she whispered, and walked out the door.

“Mornin’, Anne! Have a good night?” Her fellow waitress greeted her.

“As good as it gets,” she replied. To her coworker, it meant she had a good night, but to Anne it meant working a lot. She took the apron from her coworker and they switched shifts.

Stumpy’s diner was very popular, so Anne tended to get paid a bit better than the other place. Plus, she got more tips. Her chef was a bit of a jerk, but he made good food and that’s what mattered to people. There were almost never any complaints, and the only one she’d ever heard was to her; Stumpy himself told Anne she wasn’t busing tables fast enough.

Hours into her shift, Anne was flagged down by two daily customers, Ivy and Maddie. They looked about Anne’s age but looked very well-kept. Trust fund babies, she always assumed. She didn’t dare ask, that would probably be rude. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself.

“Anne! Hey, Anne,” Ivy chirped. “Wanna hang out with me and the girls tonight?”

Anne smiled but shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m working a booth at that party downtown tonight,” she replied. “Saving my money for-“

“The restaurant you’ve always dreamed of,” Maddie interrupted, chewing on the straw in her lemonade. “Loosen up, Anne, you work too hard. We’re young, there’s no rush for anything.“

Anne huffed, slightly annoyed. Nevertheless, she smiled again but turned away. “Again, thanks for the offer, I appreciate it. Enjoy your drinks.”

Those two girls were lucky. Anne knew they when they were young; they played together sometimes, when Marcy was sick. Born to prestigious families, they loved a comfortable life. Anne thought they probably hadn’t paid for anything with their own money. Not yet, anyway. They didn’t have to worry about their future, and probably had family businesses to inherit. Sometimes Anne envied them.

“They botherin’ you again, Boonchuy?” Stumpy asked when Anne returned to the counter.

“They were pleasant. Said I should take a break tonight but I told them-“

“That damn restaurant,” Stumpy finished. “You talk about that thing a lot, may as well give up. You ain’t gonna make it, girl, people don’t make it outta that business alive. Especially girls like yourself. The day you get enough money for that silly dream is the day I rob a bank. It’ll be the end of the goddamn world.”

Anne scowled. He always said things like that. It always bothered her, but she didn’t want to show it. The display would let the chef know he got to her.

“Anne!”

With two trays in her hands, and swung around to see Marcy, who had her shy mother Olivia behind her.

Anne served the customers who’s food she had and wiped her hands on her apron.

“Morning, Marcy.” Anne replied.

“Morning!” She replied excitedly. “You’ll never guess what  mom planned for tonight! Tell her, mom!”

“Well, I’ve-“

“She invited the prince and his assistant to our party tonight!” Marcy interjected, tapping her fingers on the table impatiently. “And guess what else? Tell her, mom!”

Anne smiled. Her childhood friend was always chatty, and it seemed that time had done nothing to change that.

“The prince has-“

“She invited him to stay at our place! And-and tell her mom, tell her what you told me!”

Olivia, this time, put her hand over Marcy’s mouth. “We’re hoping he offers to marry Marcy.”

Her friend giggled, and Anne glanced back at the kitchen. There weren’t any new customers and no orders for delivery, but he still watched her.

Always so nosy.

“My dad always told me the quickest way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach,” Anne offered.

Marcy’s mouth hung open, before she shook Anne furiously.

“Anne, you’re a genius! I’ll need a few dozen of those sweet coconut dumplings you make, and I’m gonna get me a prince!” Marcy turned to her mom, who patiently sipped tea (Anne noticed that she always had tea. It was a bit odd.) and had an amused look on her face. “Mom, can we please get some of those man-catching dumplings for tonight?”

Olivia smiled at Anne. “I’ll pay you,” she stated, and pulled out her wallet. (She was always so nice to Anne and her mom, especially when Anne’s dad first passed.)

Marcy bounced up and down as Olivia pulled out a wad of cash and held it out to Anne.

“Oh no, Mrs. Wu, this is too much, I-“

“Nonsense, Anne, you do so much for us and are such a wonderful chef, I’m paying you whether you like it or not.”

She pushed it into Anne’s hands and Anne blinked.

“This…this covers the rest of the money I need for my restaurant!” She exclaimed in awe.

Marcy threw her arm around Anne’s shoulder. “Look at us, Anne and Marcy, getting our dreams!”

Chapter Text

Sasha Waybright was the second in line to the Norway throne. Her older brother Vince was first, of course, but he never wanted to do anything fun. Always royalty things.

But since she was royalty as well, Sasha was labeled a princess and got treated as such. She was given things and got special treatment, the whole ‘royal life’ thing.

But she wanted to live carefree, no royal duties and no parents telling her what to do. She wanted to have a lover that didn’t have to be approved by her parents, and live luxuriously (but still carefree, you know?)

So there she was, in a small town called Arcata in California. Wow, America was so different, Sasha thought as she stepped off the boat.

“Maggie, you seeing this?” She asked.

Her assistant hauled their luggage down the ramp connecting the boat to the road, and huffed.

“Yes, Sasha. I have eyes.” She replied sourly.

“Why isn’t anyone paying attention? I thought they were expecting me!” Sasha exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

“Remember, they were expecting your brother?” Maggie stated.

Oh. Yeah. Her parents had decided that enough was enough. They sent Sasha to America instead of Vince, because Sasha needed to work things out for herself and learn how to live life on her own.

But wow, America! What a crazy place! Sasha was excited, nothing was cooler to her than meeting new people.

The sound of a band playing nearby made her perk up, and she twisted her guitar around from her back and strummed it, running to the group. Maggie protested from behind her, but Sasha figured she’d find her way. Maggie was resourceful.

The music was so alluring, and Sasha couldn’t help but join in. She didn’t know what song they were playing but it was easy to catch on, and soon, the group was drawing more attention to it.

Sasha beamed as she strummed her guitar. Music always made her happy, even when she was little. She had learned to play guitar herself, and had been doing it since she was eight. That’s a thing she liked to tell people, others found it impressive. Especially girls, the girls loved musicians.

“Sasha!” Maggie shouted, pulling Sasha out of her newly found band. “We need to go! You’re expected, and you won’t find a wife playing music out here. It’s distasteful.”

Sasha clicked her tongue, offended. She hadn’t know these people for long, but they were pretty damn good musicians, and she could visit them in the future. Maybe help then jumpstart their career.

“Sorry guys. Really enjoyed jamming with you!” She said to the crowd apologetically. After all, they didn’t understand Norwegian, and that’s one of the only languages Maggie spoke to her in. Well, she was very fluent in English but preferred to stick with her native language.

The two women walked down the street and Sasha looked around. She loved the energy in this place. So much creativity, and music. Tons of music as well.

“Nice day out, huh?”

Sasha jolted; it was the first person to talk to her besides Maggie. He had an accent but Sasha couldn’t quite place it. Then again, she had been told that she herself had an accent, so she really wasn’t one to judge.

“It’s fairly nice out,” she replied.

“Andrias, pleasure to meet you,” the man- Andrias introduced himself. “Visitors? Don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

“Yes! We’re visiting from Norway, on holiday.” Maggie interjected.

Sasha rolled her eyes. To Maggie this might’ve been a vacation, but for Sasha it was more than that. Hardly a vacation, actually. After telling her parents that she didn’t plan on doing royal things with her life, they decided that she couldn’t waste their family money leisurely.

So in simple terms, Sasha was broke.

“Ah, I get the sense that you’re royalty, yes?” Andrias asked.

Sasha blinked. “How’d you know?”

“Intuition,” Andrias replied.

“He has the day’s paper,” Maggie pointed out, bored.

Sasha scoffed at her redhead assistant. “It doesn’t matter, he seems legit,” Sasha defended.

“I’m as real as it gets, ladies,” Andrias explained, opening his arms wide. “Come to my shop, I’ll give you a discount on some magic. You’re royalty, after all. You know, I’m royalty myself, on my mother’s side.”

Sasha didn’t hesitate to follow him, and she beckoned Maggie, who struggled to follow with their luggage.

“Princess Sasha, we really should get to the Wu residence,” she suggested.

“Relax, we’ll get there when we do. And I told you not to call me Princess, it’s weird.” Sasha sighed.

Maggie mumbled as they stepped into Andrias’ shop.

“Welcome,” he said, opening his arms. “To my shop. I’ve got voodoo and I’ve got hoodoo and things I’ve never even tried,” Andrias lowered his voice. “And I’ve got dark friends on the other side.”

Sasha laughed nervously. She didn’t know anything about this stuff.

“Have a seat,” Andrias motioned, and chairs pulled up behind the two foreigners. “Now. I can read your cards, if you let me. Of course, you can go through your trip without knowing what to expect…”

Sasha clicked her tongue. “I want to see this.”

Andrias did some impressive card shuffling and laid out three cards before the two.

“Princess. You come from a prestigious family, but you want more than the life inside your kingdom. Living freely is your dream, but that requires money that you’ve been cut off from. But I see some of that greenery in your future.” Andrias read, and turned to Maggie. “Now you, young lady, you’ve been at people’s beck and call all your life. If you marry, your future will be the same. However, reading it a different way, you can live the life you’ve always dreamed of, if you look past those holding you back.”

Sasha sat back in her chair, shocked. She’d be rich with whoever she married.

“Shake my hands, ladies,” Andrias asked. “Won’t you shake this poor soul’s hand?”

Both girls reached for one of his hands and a light exploded in front of them.

“What the hell?” Sasha exclaimed, as a talisman bit her. She hissed as it took some of her blood.

Maggie laughed maniacally. “Finally,” she said (or at least Sasha thought she said.)

Everything went dark.

Chapter Text

The evening started out well. Everyone was chatting and getting along, and the music was catchy. Some sort of jazzy swing music, Anne wasn’t really paying attention.

“Anne!”

Anne turned to the winding stairs beside her and she smiled.

Marcy stood at the top nearly glowing. She was smiling wide and had on the most amazing flowing dress that complimented her skintone.

“Marce, you look beautiful.“ Anne said as Marcy hurried down the stairs.

“Thanks, Anne, have you seen the prince around?” She replied.

“No, never seen him. I don’t even know what he looks like, to be honest,” Anne shrugged. “Here’s your dumpling, have a good night.”

“So, did you buy your dream building with all that dough?”

“Sure did, put in a high bid for it too!”

“Ah! Anne, I’m so happy for you! Just think, when I have my fancy wedding, I’ll make sure we have dinner at your restaurant!”

With that Marcy bounced away, going from cluster to cluster of people to converse. Anne wasn’t sure if she knew half of them, but if they were strangers, within two minutes they became friends. Marcy had that kind of effect.

“Evening, Ms Boonchuy,” Mr. Brenner greeted her.

Brenner and Brenner was the realtor that Anne had bought her building from. She thought it was weird that brothers ran a company together; if she had a brother she’d never want to work with him. Siblings seemed like the worst.

“Good evening, Mr. Brenner,” she replied.   “And Mr. Brenner. How’s your night been so far?”

“Preposterous, absolutely preposterous,” Mr Brenner said with distaste.

His brother grumbled. “Here we go again,” he said under his breath.

The taller brother shoved a dumpling in his brother’s mouth to stop him from complaining.

“It’s been a pleasant evening. How about yours?” He replied, talking over his brothers protests.

“As good as it’s gonna get,” Anne sighed, wiping her sweaty palms on her apron. These men kind of freaked her out, if she was being honest. So serious.

“Well glad to hear that, because now I won’t feel bad for this.”

“For what?”

The taller brother pulled a folded up paper from his jacket pocket.

Anne frowned. A lease? She didn’t know what this meant. Maybe this was their sad attempt at humor.

“Someone put in a higher bid than you, Ms. Boonchuy. Afraid you can’t get that building.”

Her heart sank. “What? No, I’ve spent my whole life earning this money, isn’t there something I can do?”

Both brothers shook their heads in sync and walked away without an apology. Or something to make it feel better.

Damn, it felt like she was going to pass out.

And she nearly does. She registers that she’s falling and grabs the nearest object in attempt to stable herself.

The nearest object just so happened to be the tablecloth, on which Anne’s whole display was on.

Everything went tumbling down and Anne blinked rapidly. Was she crying? She was crying. How could she not? That restaurant had been her dream for as long as she could remember and it meant so much, even more so when her dad passed.

“Anne! Anne, there’s this-“ Marcy pranced over, but slowed and her face fell. “Anne, what happened here?”

“It doesn’t matter. Not anymore,” Anne said softly.

“Look at you, you’re a proper mess. Come on,” Marcy ushered Anne up the stairs. “Let’s get you all fixed up. You don’t have to tell me what happened but I’m here for you. I got your back, you know?”

Anne hummed. Even when things got bad, when Anne was in a depression episode, Marcy was always the ray of sunshine that she needed. Even now.

There had been coconut milk and all kinds of dumpling ingredients that had fell on top of Anne during that fiasco, and her soiled clothes were proof. A good cry session and glasses of water helped Anne relax (at least a little).

“Those men don’t even know how to do their jobs!” Marcy exclaimed angrily, brushing Anne’s hair. “They’re giving the building to some ignorant mouth-breathing client who just walked in? It’s such….it’s so rude!”

“It is what it is,” Anne sighed, looking down at her hands. “Life’s not fair. I probably wouldn’t have gotten it anyways.”

Marcy grabbed Anne’s face with both hands on either cheek. “Listen to me, Anne Boonchuy. You’re an amazing and talented person, and whoever wants to argue with me can go pound sand. You deserve whatever your heart sets it’s mind to.” She stated. “Close your eyes,” she added, grabbing the eyeshadow. “There. You look like the princess you deserve to be.”

“Nice of you to say that,” Anne replied.

“It’s true, don’t let anyone tell you different,” Marcy replied. “I’m gonna head back down to my fairytale lover, are you gonna come back down? You don’t have to, I’ll tell people you just didn’t feel well.”

“I’ll be back down,” Anne reassured her. “Don’t worry. Thanks for cleaning me up.”

Marcy threw one last sympathetic smile at her friend before disappearing downstairs.

Anne walked onto the balcony and looked at the sky. It was a clear night, and the stars were visible above her.

So stupid , Anne mentally kicked herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face to the sky.

Please, please please please , she repeated. Someone help me out here. Give me some guidance, or something.

“Because I’m so lost,” Anne finished out loud.

“I can relate.”

Anne jumped, and frantically looked for the source of the voice.

“Ah. Down here.”

She shifted her focus to the balcony railing and shrieked. A frog! A god damn frog! She backed away.

“Where are you going?” The frog asked, almost as if human speech coming from an amphibian was normal.

“Why do you talk?” Anne yelled.

“Why does anyone talk?!” The frog replied, hopping into Marcy’s room.

Anne shrieked. A frog. A talking frog! No, nope, this was a nightmare. Some twisted, upsetting, realistic nightmare with a very real looking frog.

“What do you want?” Anne asked, grabbing Marcy’s pocket encyclopedia.

The frog took a deep breath (or tried; it’s chest bloated and involuntarily the frog croaked). “Let me introduce myself. I am Princess Sasha of Norway.”

Anne was perplexed but alarmed nonetheless. She slammed the book down on the table, narrowly missing the amphibian.

“Powerful swing,” the frog commented.

“There’s no way you’re royalty from Norway,” Anne said, out of breath. “Vince is supposed to be-“

“Yeah, yeah, spare me the details about my brother, will you?” The frog snapped.

“Don’t snap at me, ma’am.”

“I can if I want to!”

“No you can’t!”

“Oh yeah? And why’s that?”

“Because,” Anne started, raising the book threateningly. “I’m the one with the book.”

The frog hesitated. “Fair enough.”

“If- if you’re a Waybright, why are you a frog? Is it some puberty thing?” Anne asked.

“Puberty?!” The frog squeaked. “No! There was a thing that became a thing and suddenly I’m this weird frog and dogs are trying to eat me and people are trying to trap me!”

Anne cocked her head to the side, crossing her arms. “So, what I’m hearing is that you’ve been cursed and turned into a frog.”

The frog clapped. “Yes! A princess such as yourself would be wise enough to figure that out.”

Anne watched the amphibian struggle to walk across Marcy’s desk and toppled onto her fantasy book, sprawling onto a page.

“Wait! I know this one!” The frog said excitedly. “The prince is a frog! And just be kissed to be saved! Yes! One of my favorites when I was little.”

Anne was only half listening to the frog’s backstory. She was trying to compute all of this nonsense in her head. Princess Sasha Waybright somehow got turned into a slimy frog and just so happened to find her way to Anne? What was this, rotten luck? Karma for not feeding that one rat in the street she called Soos?

“…and that breaks the curse! Are you willing to help?”

“Yeah, yeah, uh-huh,” Anne replied distractedly.

“Hey! Princess!” The frog called out, snapping. “Are you going to help or not?”

“With what?”

“Helping me undo this spell or curse or whatever!”

“No way, I’m not getting involved in some dark magic stuff. Unknown magic can get you stuck in weird places or something.”

“Not even one tiny kiss?”

“ A kiss?!?” Anne exclaimed. “I’m never kissing a frog with slime and all kinds of weird germs?”

“Please?” The amphibian pleaded. “I need to be back to normal. What can I offer you in exchange for a kiss? Money? Fame? Your own mainstream television show?”

“Nothing you can offer me will get me to place my lips on your slimy little frog ones!”

“It’s not slime! It’s mucus!”

“Even worse!”

The frog looked around. “This paper behind you, is quite old, yeah?”

Anne turned to see her old clipping on Marcy’s bed. She folded it up quickly and put it in her dress.

“What’s it to you?” Anne replied.

“Is that a dream of yours? To own a restaurant?”

Anne held her breath. Why lie? It wouldn’t be happening anyway.

“Been my dream since I was a kid. People would come from all over the world for a taste of my food.”

“Would?”

“Yeah, they would. Too bad it won’t be happening.”

“Why not?”

“Someone invested more money in the property than I have.”

The frog hummed. “Well, I’ll double their offer! Pay for your restaurant in full! Give me one kiss and we will fix this together!”

“One kiss?” Anne asked again.

“Yes, only one.”

She couldn’t believe she was considering it. Did she even have any proofs of this frog was actually the princess? Or is it just some weird person pretending for fun? And wasn’t sure, but the situation seemed dire nonetheless, so she decided that she had to help in someway, even if that way it was kissing in amphibian. Her father always taught her to do unto others would you would like done for yourself, and not that she was being selfish, and could really use some of that help. So why not help a frog?

She puckered her lips slightly, and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Kissing Sasha Waybright is one of the highest honors, princess, so don’t pretend that it’s repulsive.” The frog bragged.

“Yeah? Well I consider it a low form of just about anything to kiss a frog. But here we are,” Anne replied.

“That’s annoying.”

“What is?”

“You are! Do you ever stop rambling?”

“I don’t ramble!” Anne protested. She was sure, though that she did ramble. She wouldn’t admit defeat. “Besides, you’re annoying.”

“Just shut up and kiss me already so we can get this over with!”

Anne took a deep breath. This is really happening , she thought regretfully. She scooped the frog up and placed their lips together.

Green and yellow light surrounded the room and circled the two beings. Anne’s vision started to blur.

“What’s happening?” She asked loudly.

“I don’t know, it’s not like this happens to me often!”

And then, it all went still.

Chapter Text

The first thing Anne registers is that almost no time has passed since she blacked out. The jazz music outside is still in full swing only a few seconds after she first heard it and the room surrounding her didn’t seem to have changed. But…

“Why is everything so big ?” Anne said to herself. Her dress was pooled at her legs.

She screamed. “Why am I green ?” She wailed.

“Why didn’t the kiss work? Are you sure you kissed me right, Princess?”

Anne grumbled. “For the last time, I’m not a princess!”

“Why didn’t you tell me before you kissed me?”

“I did! Many times! Your brain is just too thick to remember!”

“Watch it, you’re talking to royalty,” Sasha spat. “And if you aren’t a princess, then what are you? Who are you?”

Anne crossed her (newly slimy) arms. “You should’ve asked that before you kissed me.”

“Should’ve, but didn’t. Sorry, it might happen again,” Sasha replied insincerely.

“I’m Anne Boonchuy,” Anne stated. “And what the hell are we supposed to do now?”

“We? Sorry, Boonchuy, I only take care of one person and that’s myself. Find your own way.”

“Suit yourself,” Anne sighed. “I’m not the one struggling on my feet after, what, days of being a frog?”

“I’ll have you know this only happened this afternoon!”

“Well that totally helps,” Anne grumbled. “Look, I don’t care what kind of washed up royal you are, I’m getting this stupid spell reversed and you will keep your word about helping my restaurant.”

“Anne Boonchuy, are you asking me to-“

“Not asking. Just stating. Take it or leave it. I know more about this city than tour guides will ever know, I can get us around.” She extended her hand. “You in?”

”I don’t have much of a choice.”

The two girls weave through the chaos of the late-night party and all seems to be going well.

A woman shrieked. "Frogs!" she wailed.

The entire crowd was sent into chaos, suddenly people were tripping over their long coats or dresses and trying to leave. At some point, the food table was completely overturned.

Anne sped up and yanked on Sasha's arm. "We're frogs, not slugs, pick up the pace!" she exclaimed, jumping over a hard-boiled egg platter.

"I don't know why you think we need to run fast!" Sasha replied. "I've never had to run this frantically in my entire life!"

"Yeah? Sorry to break it to you, but we could easily become delicious food for those people," Anne snapped, and Sasha finally picked up the pace.

"There! The lantern!" Sasha pointed out, turning sharply (and promptly slamming into Anne, not that she was really in a place to complain right now, though).

"Untie it!" Anne said nervously, as a large dog bounded over to them.

"I'm trying, damn it!" Sasha replied sourly. "There we go."

The knotted twine holding the paper later down was now hanging limp, and the two frogs floated into the night sky.

It was a solid half hour of silence before Anne spoke up. And it wasn't because she wanted to talk to Sasha.

"Did you feel that?" she asked.

"Feel what?" Sasha replied.

"That drop of water," Anne sighed.

"Oh. Nope, I think you're just a teensy bit crazy."

"I am not crazy!" Anne grumbled.

They fell into tense silence and Anne fought the urge to tell Sasha she told her so as more water droplets fell.

"It's-it's raining!" Sasha whined.

"Yeah, I told you!"

"Well, I didn't know if you were being a jerk or not and just messing around!"

"We're damn frogs, do you think I'd waste time messing around?"

"Well-"

"Shut up and listen," Anne snapped. "It's raining. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that our lantern will become damp and weak and the candle will go out."

"So what are we gonna do?" Sasha asked.

Anne was stunned for a moment at Sasha's cooperation but quickly passed it off as a fluke, only something that would happen during a disaster.

"When we start to fall, we jump. Together," Anne suggested. "But when we're slightly lower to the ground, otherwise we'll end up getting hurt."

Sasha nodded and squinted up at the night sky.

"Well, we might wanna do it soon," Sasha said. "The top of our lantern is starting to get soaked."

Anne closed her eyes and took a deep breath, standing up. She outstretched her hand to Sasha, who looked bewildered.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Take my hand," Anne sighed. "I'm not about to lose you, we have to fix this mess together."

And at that moment, Anne could swear she saw a blush form on Sasha's face. Or maybe it was something else. She was quickly dismissing it.

Sasha put her hand in Anne's and they jumped together as the candle fizzled out. The ground was muddy and gross but they didn't have much of a choice, did they? The only way out was forward.

Sasha was out of breath. No, don't think of that too much. Everything happened so fast; one moment she and Anne were fighting on a balcony and the next they were in tall grass and mud.

She was very aware that Anne still held her hand tightly and for some reason, she couldn't fathom, Sasha didn't want to say anything. It felt...comforting. One comfort in the last several hours of chaos. She was...grateful.

Chapter Text

Sasha woke up with a startle but couldn't seem to clear her mind. What had happened last night? Why was she in hollowed tree? And the weird part of being in this tree was that somehow Sasha felt comfortable.

She jumped up as she registered that she was leaning on Anne. How did that happen? Maybe it made sense, logically, so if a bird were to take them, it would take them both. Probably.

She sat with her head in her hands, waiting for Anne to wake up. What were they going to do, now that they had ended up in this...swamp? It looked like a swamp, when she peered out of the opening in the tree.

She sure as hell didn't want to eat bugs. She was a frog, yes, but there was no way she'd eat an insect. She wouldn't stoop to that level.

But Sasha, ever the busy royal woman, didn't have the patience to wait for Anne to wake up. She tossed an acorn into her lap.

"Wake up, Boonchuy," she said, and turned away as Anne's eyes blinked open.

Damn, Sasha had thought this girl was stunning before, but she even looked beautiful when she woke up. And this thought made Sasha click her tongue at herself. What had gotten into her? She wasn't...well, she very much was, she liked both men and women, she knew that for a fact. But she never thought someone could be both annoying and beautiful simultaneously.

"What?" Anne asked, standing up. She stumbled slightly, most likely still getting her balance for the day.

"Look who's clumsy on her feet now," Sasha teased.

"I have the urge to push you out of this tree."

Sasha only grinned. She liked teasing Anne, even if they weren't friends. Just two people who were turned into frogs.

"I'm hungry," Anne grumbled, and hopped out of the tree.

"Boonchuy!" Sasha exclaimed, jumping after her. "That was stupid, you don't know what's living out here!"

Anne shrugged. "I'll make breakfast if you go find ingredients."

Sasha grumbled but obliged. She was also hungry, but was afraid Anne would reply with 'there are tons of bugs around here'.

So Sasha ventured into the tall grass for ingredients.

Part of being a chef was knowing your environment, even if you were relatively new to it. Anne was taught that at a very young age. And she considered herself relatively good at adapting.

However, this was a bit difficult. She was, well, in the wilderness, with no real utensils. Somehow she managed to start a small fire (a controlled one, of course) and found a flat (somewhat) rock to cook on. Whatever Sasha would find would most likely need to be cooked, so Anne had to be prepared.

The grass rustled and out came Sasha, with two small eggs.

"Breakfast," she announced.

"Really? I thought those were acorns," Anne deadpanned.

Sasha let out a laugh, and surprised Anne. She had thought the blonde was a massive jerk who probably didn't laugh. But she was proven wrong.

"Oh, a fire? Props to you, Boonchuy," Sasha commented, sitting on the mossy log nearby. "I hope you're a decent cook."

Anne cracked the eggs (thank god they weren't further developed-that would be messy) and shot a glare at Sasha.

"Would I start a restaurant and be bad at cooking?" She asked rhetorically.

"Maybe," Sasha replied.

Sasha, Anne observed, was watching Anne cook with interest. The food didn't take long to make and while it lacked seasoning and tasted different from the town's normal pasturized eggs, it was decent.

Anne put out the fire and wiped off her hands on a leaf. Sasha stood, and stretched.

"Well, what-" she began, but was cut off by a screech.

"Uh, what was that?" Anne asked.

Sasha smiled nervously. "It could possibly be the bird who's eggs I stole," she said quietly.

"Damn it, Sasha!" Anne exclaimed, as the sound of wingbeats got closer. "Run!"

This was the second time in the last twenty-four hours that Sasha found herself running for her life. This time it happened to be an animal, though she supposed the people had been somewhat like animals the previous night.

"We aren't fast enough!" Anne said, and Sasha frantically looked at their surroundings.

Ahead of the two frogs was a low  hanging tree, with vines.

Sasha turned her head to Anne. "We don't turn here."

"What? We'll get tangled!"

"I think we're nimble enough to go through that lower vine, but not the bird."

This was no time to argue, it seemed they silently agreed. The two leaped through the space in the vines and slid down a small hill of mud. The angry noises of a bird in distress echoed from above and Sasha sighed.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Anne exclaimed, flinging mud off of herself.

"A thank you would be appropriate, Anne," Sasha replied.

"You took the eggs from a mother's nest, did you not think she'd notice?"

"Not as fast as she did, no," Sasha retorted, wiping mud from her face (yes, she had lost her balance and fell face-first in the mud. She lost her dignity). "And anyway, we got away, didn't we?"

Anne didn't have an argument for that, and Sasha would've bragged but a bright pink frog eating grass was crouched under a tall mushroom.

"Who the hell is that?" Sasha asked, and the frog met her eyes. Anne turned around, looking ready to run.

"Hi, I'm Sprig," he said, standing up. "I'm not here to hurt you, I swear! You just don't know your way around, or know anything, so I figured you're not from around here."

"Right in one," Anne sighed.

"Anne! Don't talk to strange frogs! They could kidnap you!" Sasha hissed.

Sprig looked uninterested. "Okay firstly, bossypants, I'm nineteen and I have zero interest in kidnapping anyone, much less two frogs who're unbelievably clumsy."

"I'm usually more coordinated,"" Sasha stated. "We're humans, you see."
Sprig crossed his arms. "...right. And I'm a golden retriever."

"Listen, Sprig," Anne said, ignoring Sasha (she was being a royal pain). "Have you ever wanted to pursue a dream?"

The frog nodded. "Yah-huh, I've always wanted to be an entertainer. See, I got tons of stories to tell!"

"I also have a dream," Anne replied, and put her arm around Sprig's neck, using her hand to paint an imaginary picture.

"Picture a restaurant, one that has a line down the street. People come from everywhere. That's been my dream since I was little."

"So Bossy-Pants over there isn't lying? You're humans?"

Anne nodded.

"See, it's Anne's fault-"

" My fault ? Don't blame me, I didn't ask  to get dragged into your voodoo drama!"
Sprig stared at them. "Voodoo? Damn, you guys are in deep trouble."

Anne sighed. She knew that, obviously, but hearing it from someone other than herself and Sasha was real. What if there wasn't a way-

"Luckily, I know someone who can help."

"Hopediah, or as he lets me call him, Hop Pop, is one of the most known witch doctors around these parts," Sprig said.

Sasha was barely listening. Sprig had let Anne and herself tag along on his (half-decent) raft, but Sasha was feeling jealous. She didn't know why; she had more than Sprig would ever have the chance to imagine, but somehow she was still jealous of the one thing Sasha was unable to attain: Anne Boonchuy's interest.

Sasha considered herself a good-looking woman and had been told before that she was an expert fighter, so why didn't she seem interesting to Anne?
So for the first time, Sasha Waybright sat unacknowledged in the company of a lady. And Sprig, she'd never been in a frog's company, though she supposed she had to get used to it (as she, too was currently a frog).

"So is he friendly?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, mostly," Sprig answered. "But he's a little...crazy. Talks to non-living things."

"Does he have full conversations?"

"Sort of. I haven't seen him in a month or two, but I doubt he's changed."

Sasha leaned over the side of the raft, running her fingers over the water. The current was carrying them downstream, where (supposedly) they'd find this so-called witch doctor.

"I do wanna warn you, though, not all creatures in this swamp are...kind. It's an every-creature-for-themselves kind of thing that goes on here, and the dangerous ones stay in groups. You could easily be swallowed by a crocodile," Sprig added.

Sasha couldn't help but snort. Seriously? Did he think they couldn't handle themselves?

"Of course you would be scared of this swamp, you're a tiny little guy," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm surprised you haven't been eaten yet."

"Sasha!" Anne exclaimed angrily. "That was horrible to say!"

Sprig sat facing the front, with his fists clenched. "It's fine," he said flatly. "If you're so brave and self-sufficient, I'll let you off right here."

"Sprig-" Anne started, worry written on her face.

"Come on, Anne, it's not worth your breath," Sasha snorted, and slid off of the raft, swimming to a bit of land.

She didn't bother to look if Anne was following. She hoped she was, but it wouldn't surprise Sasha if the other was to leave her on her own.

"What. The. Hell?!?” Anne hissed angrily, walking out of the water. Sasha merely shrugged. "Why would you say that?!?"

"It's true! He's a tiny little guy! We're better without him!"

"He was offering us a way to this Hopediah guy and you acted like a spoiled princess!"

"Oh, tell me how you really feel, Boonchuy," Sasha spat bitterly, standing to meet Anne's height (sitting while Anne stood didn't feel right). "You shouldn't be so trusting, what if he was going to take us to some cannibals?"

"I don't need you to protect me! I can do  that just fine by myself!"

"I didn't want to lose the one person who's an actual person . Come on, Anne, did you think he was genuine?"

"Yeah, actually, while you were brooding, Sprig told me about his life. He's a real dude, has his own life, knows this place inside-out," Anne said angrily.

Sasha crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "This is-"

"So I'm sorry for trusting the first living thing to take me and my aspirations seriously!"

Sasha's face softened. "Anne..." she began.

"Leave me alone," Anne said quietly, turning away.

Damn it , Sasha hadn't meant to make Anne upset. Why was she doing everything wrong? Why couldn't she just stop being a bitch?

Sasha's mind raced with angry thoughts as she yanked grass out of the ground and wove it into a blanket. What? She knew the night would be cold, and her hot-headedness wouldn't do anything.

Nature, it seemed, agreed with the negative moods at the moment, because it started pouring rain.

"God damn it!" Anne growled, standing up.

"Anne," Sasha said quietly. She had sat under elephant ear plants, protected from the rain. "Come here."

"No, I'll find another-"

"Please," Sasha said quieter. "Stay?"

The blonde was at somewhat of an emotional low. She felt guilty for pushing Anne and making her feel invalid. She did believe in Anne. She didn't know how to articulate it. Sasha avoided Anne's gaze but felt her brown eyes looking at her.

Anne sat down next to Sasha and pulled her legs to her chest. Somehow, they both seemed more human at that moment than they had been with each other before. And as Sasha cleared away angry thoughts and hostility (Anne didn't deserve it, she hadn't done anything wrong), she heard Anne's soft crying. She didn't know how to stop it.

Sasha grabbed Anne's face softly and wiped her tears.

"Don't cry, I'm sorry," Sasha said. She was being vulnerable, and she was terrified. "I-I shouldn't have just lashed out like that, or doubted you, or-or made you feel inferior." The blonde lifted the blanket to let Anne under. She accepted.

"I believe in you, and I'm taking you very seriously. I'm sorry I've been a bitch."

Anne sat quietly, not responding. She didn't want to meet Sasha's eyes, it seemed, but she had stopped crying at least.

The blonde took a deep breath and continued (quietly noting that Anne didn't pull away from her touch). "I guess I have a tough time trusting people. Everyone back home always has some ulterior motive and I've learned to be skeptical."

"We're stuck in this together whether we like it or not," Anne said. "So I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?"

And in that moment, looking at Anne, Sasha had an overwhelming surge of warmth in her chest.

"I trust you," she said, for the first time in her life.

The rain began to clear, but the two fell asleep before it had stopped.

Chapter Text

Anne was awake before Sasha and she found herself watching her sleep. Not in a creepy way, she clarified with herself, but in a purely observant way. Sasha was so combative, it was weird to see her face softened in her sleep.

Anne looked away (her face feeling flustered) and the mud puddles around them reminded her of the fight last night. It had been heated, pent up, and neither of them probably expected the outcome.

What was the outcome, exactly? Anne was still bitter about Sasha's behavior since it turned away the one frog they'd encountered willing to help. And Anne?

She was embarrassed to admit she had been vulnerable. Usually, she was good at hiding her irritation or sadness (it came with the life of a struggling woman in her town), but she had snapped. It probably happened to everyone, right? Nobody is an emotionless being, animals have feelings as well.

She decided this was too much reflecting for the morning and leaned back against Sasha.

She knew. Of course, she knew, Waybrights weren't heavy sleepers. Sasha had woken up at some point and realized how close to each other her and Anne were but didn't care to change it.

Anne had obviously gotten up, as evident by the vacant spot on Sasha's shoulder. And she supposed she should get up, too.

To make up for her bitchy behavior, Sasha decided to go find food (that wouldn't chase them) to eat, without telling Anne. A surprise, of sorts. She got the feeling Anne thought she was a helpless royal, which, okay, Sasha wasn't used to doing things herself, but she was getting better! Mainly she wanted praise and for Anne to realize that maybe being stuck with her isn't so terrible after all.

Well, putting aside their frog situation.
Sasha spotted the back of a bright pink frog and smirked. It'd be easy, to get Sprout, or whatever his name was. Anne would probably appreciate it; they could get the frog to help them, whether it was of his own volition or by force.

She swept his leg and hoisted him over her back, and he squirmed.

"Not you!" he groaned. "Why do I always run into situations like this? Why do I have to encounter Anne or beast?"

"I have a name, Sprout," Sasha snarled.

"So do I, and it's Sprig."

"Whatever," Sasha sighed. "Anne! I have a gift for you!"

"Is it breakfast? I-" Anne began, but raised an eyebrow once she saw Sasha carrying Sprig. "What the hell?"

"I caught you a frog," Sasha stated proudly.

"Put him down!" Anne exclaimed. "Apologize, Sasha."

"What?"

"I told you to apologize."

"Waybright's don't apologize-"

"Well you're not really in a position to argue, are you?"

Sasha grumbled. "I sincerely apologize, Sprout."

"Sprig," the pink frog corrected, not catching the sarcasm.

”Whatever. Sorry.”

Anne pinched the bridge of her nose. "Close enough. We'll work on that."

"On what? I'm-"

"You're a snob and need to learn how to be polite."

"Anne!" Sprig interrupted. "Look, as much as I detest your girlfriend-"

Sasha squeaked. "G-girlfriend? Anne and I-"

"Sasha isn't-" Anne sputtered, gesturing between the two girls. "We aren't a thing."

Sprig squinted at the two girls before shrugging. 

"As I was saying, as much as I hate this one over here, I'm willing to help you out," he said. "If you give me free meals. As payment, you know."

Sasha laughed. "How else are we gonna pay each other, money?"

Sprig sighed. "Whatever. Do we have a deal, Anne?"

Anne nodded and shook the frog's hand.

Ugh. Sasha didn't understand this easy deal. There had to be another reason why he wants to travel with them. And calling her and Anne girlfriends? What the hell was that about? He had no right to assume, not that there's anything to make assumptions about.

Sasha shook all the bad thoughts of doubt from her head and ate the food Anne had just made.

And then, they were off. They were pushing off the small shore into the muddy swamp.

Chapter Text

Anne didn't know what she had been expecting when she and Sprig made a compromise, but it wasn't this.

The (surprisingly still sturdy and comfortable) raft bobbed down the way. There was a little wind but they still had to paddle. Sasha was strangely quiet, doing her share of paddling. 
Anne shrugged it off, most likely she was just being broody (she seemed to be broody a lot).

"So," Sprig started. "You got a family?"

"Do you?" Anne questioned.

"No way, I asked you first."

"Okay, fair enough." Anne sighed. "It's just me and my mom, I think. My mom doesn't keep in contact with her relatives much since they live overseas. My dad...he died. So, yeah. Just me and my mom."

Sprig hummed, not meeting her eyes. Figures, Anne thought. Whenever she told people about her dad, they always gave her a look of pity and treated her as fragile. It was understandable at first when it was recent, but now it was just irritating. She missed her dad every day, don't get her wrong, but she didn't need other people to make her miss him more.

"Well, I don't really know what happened to my parents," Sprig said. "But me and my sister Polly were kind of raised by others in this swamp."

"It really takes a village to raise a child, huh?" Anne sighed.

"Sure, you could say that. But it's lonely now, with just me and Polly. We aren't little kids anymore, but it'd be nice to have some maternal love or something."

Now it was Anne's turn to avoid eye contact. She knew she had it tough without her dad, but hearing that Sprig grew up without parents? It was sad, to say the least.

"How about you, Sash?" Anne asked, turning her head to look at Sasha.

"Me? Oh, yeah. Family's great, future is bright," she responded flatly.

Anne frowned. She wasn't a Sasha Waybright expert, but this didn't seem like it was true. She wouldn't push it though.

Anne hoped that maybe, at some point, Sasha would learn to trust her fully. (Anne already found herself considering herself and Sasha as good friends.)

Sasha wasn't upset. Anne probably thought she was, though, with her stiff response to the family question. It's just that Sasha didn't want to spill her guts, especially in front of Sprout (yes, she was aware his name was Sprig, but she liked to bug the frog). She didn't want to ruin the intimidation factor she had over him by telling her life story.

But it wasn't sad, really. The Waybright family had ruled for centuries now, and the next generation would be Sasha and Vince. Of course, as the only male heir, Vince was her parents' priority. He'd rule one day when their father was too old and carry on the legacy.

Vince wasn't a bad guy. Or, Vin, as he let Sasha call him. No, to be honest, he was a good older brother. Sure, he acted like he was truly interested in the politics of their region, but in private he voiced how it all bothered him, how, despite the royal ruling, people still lived in poverty. 

He's a good guy, Sasha isn't afraid to admit he's the only tolerable family member. And the most accepting (once, Sasha was involved with a girl, and Vince barely batted an eye). He heard her desire to learn things and at night taught her the things women weren't supposed to know how to do. She learned to read and write and eventually, taught her how to fight- with the help of Grime. He was the defense and weapon specialist of their kingdom but was like a dad to Sasha (since her parents seemed to disapprove of everything she did).

Although once she voiced how abandoned she felt.

"As a Waybright woman, Sasha, you have the most privilege," her mother stated.

"I don't want that, I want to be on the same level as the others!" she had replied.

"I want this, I want that, honestly, child, when will you learn to be self-sufficient?" her father snapped.

"When will you learn I'm not some helpless animal?"

She startled everyone in the room (including the guards)(and herself, honestly) with her outburst.

"You're ungrateful," her father growled, the frown on his face never straying. "And you have lived all your life being pampered."

"Darling-" her mom started.

"No! Let her learn. Go, leave and make a life for yourself. The only way I'll be proud of you is if you prove me wrong."

Sasha looked to her mother, who stared at the floor beneath her shoes. She sighed and stormed out of the throne room.

Later she found herself throwing daggers at targets with Grime. It was a relief; Grime and Vince were the only two who really seemed to listen to Sasha at all.

"It's ballsy that he said that, you know? Like he can talk down to me like I'm some sort of vermin?" She vented, landing a dagger two rings away from the bullseye.

"It was...harsh that he spoke to you that way," Grime agreed. "But you must remember, to make rational decisions, one must have a clear mind. Don't let his words cloud your brain and drive you to act impulsively."

Sasha sighed. "You're right," she nodded, pulling a dagger from her hair (what? it kept her ponytail up!).

"Honestly, I'm proud of you for standing up to him like that. He's the King! You've got guts, Sasha, and I couldn't be more proud of you for that. Look how far you've come! It seems like only a week ago you were playing with wooden swords, and now you're throwing daggers without looking!" Grime exclaimed. "Although try less force, it will get the dagger lower and will hit more accurately."

Sasha smiled. At least Grime was proud of her. He was the only adult in any position of authority Sasha respected and frankly, had been there for all her achievements even when it wasn't a big deal.

Around midnight, Vince told his sister about the plan their parents had to send him to America. To find allies and a partner, they claimed. He didn't want to go but somehow knew Sasha was itching to get away from this life.
So in the dark of the night, she packed her bags and said goodbye to Grime and Vince.

And that, as they say, was that. She was off to a new place and was determined for a fresh start. And to find a nice woman who'd agree with her.
Although, Sasha was starting to think she'd prefer someone like Anne.

Actually, Sasha had just realized she'd just prefer Anne.