YA Fantasy about a princess that has to go learn to be a witch to protect the kingdom. Read end of 90'

[Gaelle]

I've read this a long time ago and as I cannot remember the end, it has been haunting me. I really hope someone can help. All I remember is:
The heroine has to leave her home/castle to go live with a witch in a secluded place (tower?). She has to learn to become a witch to control the weather, I think. She has to learn otherwise it could be dangerous for the kingdom. She's not really good at it and is very lonely. She has a childhood friend (male) whom while she is gone becomes the apprentice of a mage of another region (a sandy/desert one?). She finds an artefacts (two metal balls like Baoding balls?) that allows her to communicate with her friend. There might also be dragons involved.
It must have been the first book in a series because I cannot remember an ending.
I read it at the end of the 90', it was a library book so it might have been older.
I think the cover was rather dark with a lone tower in a rocky environment.

Thank you for your help!

[Gaelle]

Looking through old posts in the group with similar keywords, I found my own post from 13 years ago that I had forgotten that I wrote:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I wrote nearly the same text then! This book really made an impression!

I also remembered that I read it in french, but I am very certain it was translated.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Do you still have access to the older account? We would prefer to revive the much older thread than have you post a new one.

[Pinkynz]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Do you still have access to the older account? We would prefer to revive the much older thread than have you post a new one."

After a bit of password renewing, I got access to my old account!

[Gabriella]

The timing is slightly off since it was published in 2002, but could it be “The Frog Princess” by E.D. baker? Spoilers ahead obviously.

Some of these details are from later books, but a big focus is the princess, Emma, learning to become a witch under her aunt so she can be the next “Green witch” who protects the kingdom from storms, magic, attacks, etc.. She also later gains the ability to turn into a dragon.

Side note, my confidence on this guess is not high since Emma spends a lot of time in the book as a frog, and that seems like a detail that would not have been forgotten.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Closing thread - original thread is here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Please post new comments in the original thread.