The fist grew tighter and tighter inside her chest, it had been days, nay weeks, that she had been living with this suffocating feeling inside her ribcage, sometimes making her feel dizzy to the point of making her want to sit down again, and sometimes making her feel like her insides wanted to come out of her body.
(Read the previous story of the Princess is the Frog here)
Let us go back in time and re-assess this heart-clenching, gut-punching feeling.
Our very own Frog Princess had first felt something close to this feeling when the time came for her to meet with the King again.
She was on her way to celebrate a most amazing and long awaited event: the marriage of her Father to her Fairy step-mother. Not only was this the most exciting thing she could fathom, but also adding to the excitement, the path made it easy, almost mandatory, for her to go through the younger King’s Kingdom.
Now at that time, the excitement in her stomach could be described as a bit of fear yes, but highly overthrown by a swarm of Butterflies.
The King had asked to see the Princess and she had readily agreed after making him ask two or three times.
But when the time came and she was all pampered and ready to be met with, she received a note. Saying he was late.
That is when she first felt that semblance of annoyance in her stomach. She was unimpressed and was determined to remain as such throughout the whole evening. He, on the other hand, had to be impressed by her, by how carefree she was, by how grudge-less against his tardiness, by his late responses, that she was only charm and joy and lightness of being.
To be sure she was all that. And although not even his hand dared to brush against hers, the King’s glistening eyes proved enchanted in more ways than one.
Maybe this was the way to fend off her frogish nature, she thought. Maybe all she needed to do was to bury her negative feelings deep down and never speak of them. Ever.
And so the evening went on, charming, charmed, buttefly-like in every way. She did take the time however to inspect how she felt about him, tardiness and late responses aside, and she was indeed feeling everything she had hoped to feel and more. An attraction, a chemistry that she had tried quite hard to fend off on their first meetings those months ago. But the letters had undoubtedly softened her heart, and now the sight of him allowed her to acknowledge these feelings as true.
The look in his eyes could not be mistaken. But the King had still not expressed his intentions. And so as the hours went by, she grew slightly weary, fearing the opportunity of them meeting again would not be for a very long time, and who knows what those feelings would become then?
Well if those feelings were to go away then, she thought, it would probably be for a good reason, and things should not be rushed, said her reasonable heart. But then again, if he doesn’t take this opportunity, what sort of a gentleman is that? Wouldn’t that prove him to be a man who doesn’t stand for himself? Debated her impatient mind.
The hours went on, and it seemed fate did not want these hours to end. Many a times was her departure delayed for this or that reason, but still, the King had kept his intentions for himself.
Oh well, the Princess sighted, what is not meant to be, is just not meant to be, even Cosmic Assistance can only do so much.
And while she was thinking just that, that is when the King’s hand brushed against the Princess’ sleave, and, ever so gently, his fingers closed in on her arm.
Her body went numb. “Uho. This is it.” She thought. And she slowly (read awkwardly) lifted her face up to his, and before his hand had even reached for her neck, their lips had touched.
