Once upon a time, there were twin prince and princess. At ten years of age, they looked almost completely identical and everybody was certain that they had to be two halves of the same soul. Surely, they were as close as siblings possibly could be.

That was not the case.

~*~*~

Lennard looked up from his toy soldiers as Lucy stomped past him. Just a moment ago, she had been trying to collect some of the water lilies in the garden pond – something he had warned her against. Father and Mother would be mad if she fell in and got her dress wet.

"Princess! Please don't forget your promise!" someone croaked.

She didn't stop. "I'm not taking an ugly, slimy frog into my room! Ask someone else!"

"But Princess..."

It really was a frog, hopping after her with all his might. A really big one too. Lennard stood up, abandoning his toys, and went closer to investigate.

Lucy saw him and came to an abrupt halt. She grabbed the amphibian in one hand and held him out to Lennard. "You take care of it, Lenny! Boys like all these icky things anyway."

As soon as he took the frog in both hands, she fled.

The frog sighed and brought his...hand? to his brow. "I didn't ask for that much for finding her tiara, did I...?"

"Don't worry about her," Lennard beamed. He had heard stories of talking frogs, but he had never actually seen one before. "She only likes jewels and lace and all kinds of boring, girly things. You can stay in my room as long as you want."

The frog looked at him in surprise. Then he spoke with dignity, "I would be honored. I am Prince Robert."

"A frog prince? Cool!"

~*~*~

When dinnertime came, Lennard had made Robert a tiny red cloak and broken a little golden crown off from one of his toys. The crown suited the frog much better than the king of his army of toy soldiers.

The queen gasped in surprise as she and the king joined their children at the table and saw Robert held protectively between Lennard's hands on the otherwise spotless tablecloth. "Lennard, why is that creature here?" she asked, her voice cold and stern.

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Prince Robert, from the Kingdom of Rhoeda."

The king and the queen just stared at him. Lennard guessed that they had never seen a talking frog either.

"Lucy dropped her hairpin in the garden pond. Robert found it for her," the boy repeated what Robert had told him earlier. "In return, she promised to give him anything he wanted. But she didn't keep her promise."

Lucy visibly flinched.

"Lucy? Is this true?" the king asked.

"Yes, Father...He wanted to live with me. But Lenny wanted to take him! So it's alright, isn't it?"

"That doesn't matter," the king spoke. "Since you didn't honor your promise, it is up to me as your father to make amends. You will be marrying Prince Robert once you are of age."

"That's not fair!" Lucy protested. "I don't want to marry a frog!"

"Silence, child!" the queen hushed her. "Do not insult our royal guest. You should be happy."

"Why always me? You never treat Lenny like this!"

"Either be quiet or go to your room, young lady!" the king commanded.

Lucy cast her eyes down, trying to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Lennard waited in silence while servants brought the first dishes to the table, and he also ate in silence. His sister was acting spoiled again. As long as they behaved like a prince and a princess should, everything was fine. But Lucy just wouldn't stop upsetting their parents.

~*~*~

Years passed. Robert became Lennard's best friend and the only one he could really talk to. He'd spend every day at the boy's side and even slept on his pillow – although every now and then with hazardous results when Lennard would toss and turn in his sleep.

He understood that the constant fears both twins kept buried deep inside would inevitably surface during night. The king and the queen were not raising children – they were raising puppets to fulfill their own goals. And for that, the puppets were not allowed to have wills of their own.

Then the promised time came. The very same day that Lucy turned fourteen was to also be her wedding day. However, Robert had different plans.

He slowly surveyed the girly room from his vantage point on top of Lennard's head. The boy had performed a remarkable feat in dodging all the guards and servants in the hallways to make it this far.

Lucy looked up from where she was lying face-down on her bed, her eyes puffed and reddened. Other than the horrid mess that her face was, she looked quite beautiful in the pale pink wedding dress that perfectly matched the wreath of freshly picked flowers resting on the top of the drawer opposite from her.

"What do you want?!" she snapped at Lennard. "If you came to laugh at my misery, go away!"

"I came because Robert doesn't want to marry you either," the boy replied coldly.

"Then he can just call off the wedding!" she all but screamed. "He's a man! He's allowed to do whatever he likes!"

"That is not quite accurate, Lucy," Robert hopped to the bed next to her and corrected her gently. "It is important that I go through this wedding. But first, I want you to switch places with Lennard."

Lucy clearly didn't understand. "Why?"

"If I exchange vows with him, your parents can no longer force you to marry me."

"Look, we'll help you out," Lennard pointed out rather arrogantly. "Even though you're a real pain most of the time, you're still my twin sister."

That was something. Robert would have liked to strengthen their ties a bit more before this day came, but it had been hard to undo a decade of hateful competition for the scraps of their parents' love.

"Please exchange clothes with Lennard before it's too late," he urged the girl. Everything depended on her now.

Lucy smiled a little. "You're actually nice...for a frog. Would you turn into a real prince if I kissed you?"

Robert shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Now, will you work with us?"

She nodded. "I will." Then she stood up and turned her back to Lennard. "Give me a hand, Lenny. I can't get this dress off by myself."

~*~*~

Lennard felt ridiculous, donning the wedding dress, the bridal wreath and enough makeup to make him look exactly like Lucy. It was good that Robert had encouraged him not to cut his hair short over the years – although Lucy's was a little longer, nobody would notice the difference. Hopefully.

The magistrate was droning on and on, his monotonous voice reciting the words of the wedding ceremony. Robert was calmly sitting on a large, deep red pillow on top of a pedestal brought in just for this occasion.

He tried to focus on each bump on the frog's skin to keep his attention anywhere else than the terrible feeling that the paddings slipped inside the dress might fall any moment. Lucy was about as shapely as a board. They wouldn't have needed any. After all, she was watching them even at this moment, perfectly passing for him in his clothes.

He was jerked back to the moment when his father took his hand and slipped the marriage band around his wrist. He quickly took the miniature version he had been given earlier and put it on Robert.

"You are now man and wife. You may kiss the bride," the magistrate announced.

Really? How was Robert supposed to do that?

The frog hurriedly gestured for him to do it.

Lennard smiled faintly. Why not? He didn't think Robert icky at all. He liked him a lot.

But the moment he kissed the frog, they were both covered in a dark shroud. When it faded, a man with long, deep purple hair and even darker eyes stood in front of him. The garb he wore Lennard had only seen in old storybooks. A warlock.

"Your Highness!" the queen hurried to address him. "We are so glad that your curse has been broken. And we welcome you to the family wholeheartedly."

Robert's eyes narrowed. "Like you welcomed her all those years ago? Only to betray and kill her later?"

The king stepped forward. "We're very sorry for that unfortunate incident. But see, we kept our promise this time, didn't we? Unfortunately our son is the true heir to the throne, but we will arrange for a life of luxury for our daughter and son-in-law."

Robert beckoned to Lucy, who everyone else thought to be Lennard, and she hurried to his side. "This is your daughter."

Deadly silence fell. He didn't need to say anything else. They had not kept their promise...and could not keep it any longer.

"Don't misunderstand. I am grateful that you got rid of my cousin. After all, she was the one who cursed me. But the power you stole from her is not yours to keep." He held out his hand. "Your house has broken their pledges to mine three times. What is rightfully mine will be returned."

Dark power was drawn out of the king and the queen, and in front of their children's eyes, their bodies turned into ashes.

Lennard felt nothing as he watched his parents disappear from his life. Except perhaps a little relief. Then he noticed his sister stare at Robert with complete adoration.

"I...I'd love to marry you," she whispered, trembling. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. You said that kissing you would not break the spell. If I'd known you were the angel I saw in my dreams, I..."

Robert gave him a gentle smile. "Lucy, I lied about many things, but not that. Your kiss would have been ineffective. I don't love you and can't marry you. Nonetheless, I apologize for making you my pawn."

Then he snapped his fingers and at least a dozen boys and girls about their age – all different in appearance and complexion, yet each with horns adorning their head and possessing a tail of some kind – appeared around them. "Perhaps one of these fine young ones as your new companion would suffice as a compensation?"

"I can't just take a -person- as a payment!" she protested.

"On the contrary, every one of them would love to become your lifelong partner." He turned to address the small crowd. "Remember, be nice to her. She's not used to the concept of choosing a demon familiar. Otherwise, anything is fair."

Lennard frowned as the demons crowded Lucy, all talking at once how they'd be absolutely the best candidate she could pick. "Aren't I getting one too?"

Robert smiled and took his hand. "Are you so quick to forget our marriage vows that you already have your eyes on someone else?" he asked teasingly.

Lennard's cheeks turned pink, and he averted his gaze. "It was just to trick my parents..."

Robert took a firm, yet gentle, hold of his chin and made him look him in the eyes. "I was always by your side, just waiting for you to grow up. In my heart, there was no deception. I want to be your husband, if you will have me."

"Uh...sure," Lennard muttered, still trying to look away. Right now he would have preferred that Robert were still a frog. Those dark eyes felt like they were sucking in his very soul.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

He blushed bright red. "Yes, I will marry you! I already did! What else do you want? To carry me to the wedding bed in this ridiculous dress?"

Robert laughed softly. "All in due time." He snapped his fingers again, and Lennard's clothes changed to ones that would make any royalty envious. Then he picked up the king's crown from where it lay abandoned among the ashes. "First, I believe that your throne is waiting for you."

Lennard bowed his head, his heart racing in his chest. He had been dreaming of this day since he had been a little kid, the day when he'd finally be good enough to take his father's place. Although this was not how he had imagined it would be.

Robert placed the crown on his head. "I bestow this kingdom upon you," he spoke. "And with it, the gift of immortality."

Lennard looked up in surprise.

Robert just smiled. "Did you seriously think I would allow the flow of time take you from me? In joy and sadness, we will be together from this day to eternity."