The Inner Frog
This story was written for Trifecta’s weekly prompt, and continues the saga of the Third Little Pig. For those new to the story, basically the Third Little Pig was investigating the murder of Snow White. With the debatable assistance of Prince Evinrude of House Charming, the pig’s investigation led to the discovery that Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty, was responsible for the murder, as she had figured out how to manifest herself in the physical world as opposed to the dream world. Worse, by murdering Snow White, she had gained the power to transform herself into a giant snake. She then chased after Evinrude, the pig, and the Lady Eulalie who had wandered in by mistake. And now, back to our story….
Prince Evinrude didn’t have any more time to reflect on his situation, ponder his backstory, or bemoan the lifestyle choices that had brought him to this point. He had about two seconds before the giant snake was upon him. That, of course, led to a dilemma, Should he whack at the thing straight on, or leap heroically and try to cut its head off as it passed him? Evinrude would have liked to give both of these options thorough consideration, but he was clean out of time. The snake lurched towards him, and-
He didn’t go to the side, or even stand in his place and flail about wildly with the sword. He went straight up. Then he did a neat backflip and found himself standing on the musty ceiling, looking down at the startled snake as it rolled past. Aurora checked herself, couldn’t stop in time, and wound up in a sudden awkward pile of snakey coils. She tried to untangle and come at Evinrude again, but he leapt to a side wall, balanced on it for one incredible second, then flipped away as Aurora shot at him again. She hissed something that was probably snakish for “Stand still, will you?”
Evinrude wasn’t about to stand still. He didn’t know what inner animal he had unleashed, but he loved it. He did a final backflip, perched on the ceiling again, and then struck dramatically with the sword. The shining blade slashed through Aurora’s snake-form like paper. Light flashed, the snake howled, and suddenly it wasn’t there anymore. In its place was a young woman wearing a pink ball gown, who appeared to be napping. She stirred, sat up, blinked a moment, and then yawned prodigiously. “Goodness,” she said. “I feel like I’ve slept for a hundred years!”
“Yeah, you kinda have,” the Third Little Pig said, from his position in the corridor shadows. “Way to go, Evinrude. Guess being descended from a frog came in handy after all.”
“What?” said Evinrude.
