the beat down, you’ll do great. And if it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t far behind you in slaps for stepping on toes; my mannequin slapped me eleven times.” He didn’t tell them that one of the times he’d been slapped was for randomly sticking his tongue out. He couldn’t explain to anyone, including himself, why he had done it. It had just sort of happened, like an odd tic some people got. In fact, weird things had been happening more and more often to him. Swimming was almost painful because his eyes seemed bugged out at the end of the class. He constantly heard buzzing in his ears, like there was a fly nearby that he couldn’t see and couldn’t get rid of. The weird part was that hearing the buzzing made him feel hungry. Then there was the fact that Lucian was the same height he was and yet, he didn’t seem to be growing. Adrian knew that when he’d left home he had been six foot one, nearly six two. Why was he suddenly three inches shorter?
Year 4 Chapter 3
Back to Table of Contents
After a disappointing day in healing, Adrian ran into Lucian on his way to his room.“Aren’t you coming to dinner?”
“Yeah, let me drop my stuff off at my room first,” he sighed.
“Class that bad?” Adrian asked.
“I really hope that my quest doesn’t involve saving Moira from some weird disease. I think she might die if it does.”
Laughing, Adrian said, “I suppose it could be worse.”
Lucian shrugged. “How was swimming?”
“I swear one of these days Achilles is just going to zap me into oblivion,” Adrian replied with a frown. “I’m trying my hardest. What more does he want?”
As they walked past the infirmary, a raised voice spoke Adrian’s name. The boys stopped to listen. “I can’t get him where he needs to be because the change is happening too rapidly,” they heard Achilles say, frustration clear in his voice. “Isn’t there something you can do?”
Tallia’s voice replied, “Achilles, you know very well that I can’t do anything about the Sister’s magic. Even the students know that. You’re just going to have to make the best of it.”
He growled, “I still think we should have told him from the beginning.”
“Your own mother knew it was best not to say anything,” she retorted, obviously irritated. “How would you react if you were told that you were turning into a frog?”
Suddenly Adrian gulped, no longer listening to the conversation going on in Tallia’s office. “They’re not serious are they?” he whispered to Lucian.
Lucian shrugged. “I don’t think so. Maybe they’re talking about someone else. I mean, you’d know right?”
Adrian eyed him suspiciously. “Did you know about this?”
“No,” Lucian squeaked.
“I’m going to talk to Calista,” Adrian said, determination in his voice.
“Talk to me about what?” she asked. Both boys jumped and whirled around, unaware that she had been standing behind them.
“Tallia said I’m being turned into a frog,” Adrian blurted out.
“Why would Tallia tell you that you were being turned into a frog?” she asked.
He blushed. “She didn’t exactly tell me, I overheard her say it.”
“You were eavesdropping?”
“No, not exactly, well maybe, yes. I wasn’t doing it on purpose,” Adrian said. “I heard my name and started listening. But they said I’m turning into a frog. I can’t be turning into a frog, can I? I’ve never been in trouble.”
Calista sighed, “I didn’t want to do it this way.”
“You mean I am turning into a frog?” Adrian panicked. “I can’t save my princess if I’m a frog!” He suddenly gasped, “Allegra. You have to stop this, you have to! I can’t go through what Kaelen did. I can’t watch Allegra leave me! I love her.”
“Allegra won’t abandon you,” Lucian said.
“Of course she won’t,” Calista agreed, “because Allegra will not know. Come to my office after supper and we’ll discuss this.”
“Why not now?” Adrian asked, trying to ignore the buzzing in his ear.
“Because we’re already late and I’m sure you’re both very hungry,” Calista replied. Adrian’s tongue shot out of his mouth and he slapped a hand over it. “And, Lucian, since you are aware of the situation, I’ll have both of you come to my office. But for now, we’re going to eat and I would advise both of you to not say anything about this to your peers.”
Calista walked away and Adrian turned to Lucian. “You’ve known all along, haven’t you?”
“No, I haven’t,” Lucian replied. “I found out a little while ago that someone was under a spell, but I didn’t know who.”
Adrian sighed, “I’m going to be the worst Prince Charming ever. I won’t even get to rescue my princess.”
“Cheer up, you don’t want the others to see you like this,” Lucian said.
“You don’t honestly think I’m going to keep them in the dark do you? I won’t tell them right now,” he added when Lucian looked about to argue, “but as soon as we finish talking to Calista, I’m going to let the others know too. I can’t keep this a secret by myself. Besides, you guys will probably have to help me. Be honest with me Lucian, do you think I even have a chance at this?”
Lucian smiled. “If anyone in the world can get Allegra to fall in love with a frog, it’s you.”
“I’m not sure if I should be offended or take that as a compliment.”
“Well, I meant it as a compliment.”
They stopped talking about it as they joined their friends. After supper, Adrian and Lucian excused themselves and went to Calista’s office. She was waiting behind her desk with Lucretia sitting at her side. She invited them to have a seat. “Now, we’ll discuss what is going on. In your second year, Adrian, Lucretia saw fit to cast a spell on you. I’m fairly sure that she had intended for you to instantly become a frog, so you should consider yourself grateful it has taken two years for you to notice.”
“Grateful?” he said in disbelief. “I’m turning into a frog!”
Calista raised an eyebrow which instantly silenced the room. “Nevertheless,” she said when Adrian was quiet again, “it is going a little faster than what some of the fairies anticipated. We were under the impression that it would take a full three years. However, things seem to be speeding up, perhaps because you are a growing boy.”
“Why did this happen?” he asked. “I’ve never once been in trouble.”
“That is true, Adrian,” she replied. “Lucretia did this of her own choosing and will now explain to you her reasons and why we have done nothing to change it.”
Lucretia looked at Adrian almost apologetically. “This may take some time, so bear with me,” she began. “You will of course remember that I was the youngest witch during your second year. Much like Maeve who had difficulty controlling her magic because she was the oldest and the Change was already altering her, I too was at a vulnerable stage. One of the traits of being the youngest is impulsiveness. I was asked that year to bless the flowers you were growing for the fairy wedding, because my gift is with plants. I was walking towards the greenhouse as you were walking back to the castle. I caught you sticking your tongue out. While that is certainly typical boy behavior, it is not the behavior of a gentleman. So, being in a wicked frame of mind anyway, I cast a silent spell on you to turn you into a frog. Calista is quite correct in believing that it should have been an immediate transformation. However, the Change alters the magic of all the Sisters and it changed the nature of the spell. It was frustrating because an immediate change is easier to fix than one that lasts for several years.”
“Why didn’t you try anyway?” he asked.
“I knew eventually the fairies would see the glow of magic and tell me to take it back, so for the time I did nothing. As I said, the youngest witch is impulsive. When Calista was told and the Sisters were brought to her office, I honestly had every intention of removing the spell. But Maeve told us that it would be impossible. Adrian, you never were going
to be the one to go on a quest. It was written in the stars that your princess would be the one to find and rescue you. As much as I would like to say that I can return you to normal, I cannot. It is forbidden by the stars and that is a rule that I cannot go against. I am truly sorry, Adrian. But this is what is meant to be. And you should know that I paid a terrible price for my indiscretion.”
“Thank you, Lucretia. You may go if you need to,” Calista said.
Lucretia smiled and rose from her seat. “I am sorry.”
“Over the past couple of years,” Calista continued, “we have tried to add things into your schedule that will make this transition easier.”
“Like amphibian studies and swimming,” Adrian said.
“Precisely. You see,” she explained, “the reason I chose not to tell you is I wanted you to still have confidence in yourself and your ability to have a successful quest. I hoped to give you the longest time possible to come to terms with what is happening. However, we do need to discuss how to deal with this matter in regards to your princess. In light of what happened to Prince Kaelen, I do not feel it would be prudent to tell her about this little hiccup in your plans. Instead, you will continue to go about as though everything is perfectly normal.”
“How? Eventually it’ll be obvious, won’t it?”
“When we can no longer hide the fact that you are changing, we will set up a meeting between myself, Melantha, Allegra and you. We may even invite Lucretia so that she can best explain to