All the Glimmers // Princess! Reader x Prince Mogogol.
“What ails thee, king’s daughter?”
Once upon a time…
There were two princesses.
One was golden and fair, with rosy cheeks and a sweet smile. When she laughed, the sun shined brighter and when she wept, the clouds shared her sorrow.
The second was currently mucking through a forest, cursing to herself.
Princess Y/N had always been the shadow to her sister’s sunlight. The sun did not shine for her, the clouds did not weep for her, and she rather liked it that way. Unlike her sunny twin sister, Princess Y/N was serious over silly and clever over pretty.
And she did appreciate it...until times like this rolled along.
Y/N had not been surprised when her sister had ran into their bedroom, golden curls streaming behind her as she threw herself down into a sobbing heap on Y/N’s lap. Inwardly, Y/N had sighed in annoyance, wondering what on earth had happened now. But she knew better then to show her annoyance and instead smiled as sweetly as she could (which wasn’t at all sweet really) and asked the weeping girl what was wrong.
“My ball!” Princess Primrose cried. “I’ve lost my little golden ball!! I was playing and it fell into the old well...Y/N, you have to get it back!”
So here she was.
Stumbling through the overgrown trees as rain fell and fell. Sharp twigs snapped at her and thorns cut her, as though the forest itself was offended by her presence. Well, the woods were just going to have to put up with her!
“Blast it!” She snapped, ribbing yet another spider’s web from her hair as she stormed through it.
For such a dainty little princess, Primrose sure did enjoy playing in some of the strangest places. Wet woods and old parts of the castle, places that were too dark and too dangerous for a princess to be. When Y/N was her age, she would have never been allowed to play at the old well...but then again, she wasn’t spoiled like this.
Y/N trudged on until she came upon a little grove of willow trees. The green leaves were rain soaked and soft as could be, trailing wetly across her skin and clinging to her hair as she pushed through them. There, surrounded by wild flowers, was the old well.
Overgrown ivy covered cracked stones and an old bucket lay rotting on its side. Y/N sighed and stomped forward, looking down into the darkness.
The well was deeper then it would seem.
It went down, down, down into the darkness, a puddle of water glimmering darkly deep at the bottom. Y/N grasped the cord of her lantern and lowered it in as far as she could, which wasn’t far enough. Still though, the light shone warmly and a glimmer of gold flashed through the murky water. The golden ball was down there...but how was she to get it out?
“Hello.”
Y/N screamed, shooting away in fright. As she did, the rope slipped out from her hands and began falling, falling, falling down into the well.
Blast it.
Hand on her knife, Y/N crept back to the well and peered down. Though the lantern had fallen, she hadn’t heard and splash or a shattering...looking down into the darkness, she was surprised to see something looking back at her.
It was a frog.
A giant frog.
Holding the lantern in his three fingered hand, the light revealed his murky green skin, streaked with black markings. Their black eyes glimmered in the glow of the lantern, wide and warm, and it seemed as though they were smiling at her.
“Hello.” The frog said again. “You dropped this.”
“Yes...uh, who are you?”
“Mogogol! Who are you?”
“...Y/N.”
A thought suddenly crossed her mind and Y/N looked at the frog once more, searching the murky water below their feet.
“Hey, do you see a golden ball down there?” She asked. “My sister has lost it and she’s so upset!”
At the very question, the frog dove into the water once more. The arm holding the lantern hovered above the water as they swam about and searched for but a moment, before popping up once more. The golden ball glimmered in their hand, a big smile on their face.
“Here!”
“Oh, perfect!” Y/N cheered. “Throw it up to me!!”
Mogogol tossed the ball into the air, sending it spinning and spinning through the darkness. It popped up from the well and Y/N caught it, thanking the gods as she stashed the ball into her bag.
“Thank you, Mogogol!”
And with that, she was gone. The rain was falling harder and harder now, lightning flashing and thunder booming. Beneath the thunder and the wild winds, Y/N did not hear a croaking voice calling for her…
Primrose was delighted to have her precious toy back, which Y/N only returned after a scolding to be more careful with her things. The cold rain fell still and her time in the storm had sunk into Y/N’s bones, making her shiver and sneeze. Sent to bed with her dinner, she cuddled into her warm quilts and rested…
Until she heard it.
A tap, tap, tapping at her window.
Y/N froze at the sound, her heart beating in her chest. At first, she told herself it was only a three branch, swinging in the storm.
Tap, tap, tap.
Perhaps it was a bird. Just a little bird that had been lost in the storm, swept away from its nest by the cold winds.
Tap, tap, tap.
Y/N could lie to herself no longer, storming (or rather, angrily stumbling) out of bed. She crept towards the window, grabbing her knife along the way, and remained careful...quiet...whatever was out there tap, tap, tapped again and, without a word, Y/N ripped open the window and grabbed the thing. Wet skin and rough cloth was all she felt as she dragged the offender in and threw them against the wall.
“Who are you?” She spat.
“Mogogol! I am Mogogol, from the well!!”
So it was! That same lantern burst to life, warm light revealing murky skin and black eyes. Y/N swallowed her ready-to-kill-or-be-killed rage and removed her blade from this throat, stepping back a few paces.
“Sorry about that.” She muttered. “But what were you expecting, showing up at a lady’s window in the dead of night! You’re lucky I didn’t gut you...why are you here, anyway?”
“Oh!” They said. “You left your lantern so I brought it back! Did Primrose get her ball back? Was she happy?”
“Overjoyed.”
She was about to put her knife away...but then she stopped, a sudden thought rushing through her mind as she glared down at Mogogol suspiciously.
“I never told you my sister’s name.”
“You didn’t have to.” They replied. “Primrose visits me al of the time, that’s why I was in the well. It’s connected to a little river. She comes and we talk and play games and tell stories. She told me all about you!”
“She did?”
“Yes!” Mogogol replied. “How brave you are, how smart and clever. She never mentioned how pretty you are...”
No one ever called Y/N pretty.
Primrose was pretty. Y/N was just Y/N, the capable and dependable princess. For the first time, Y/N was seen as being a pretty person and it was through a frog’s eyes. But it was her sister’s praise that amazed her even more.
“Will you come back to the well one day? Mogogol asked.
“...Perhaps.” Y/N replied. “But not for a while. I caught a cold thanks to the storm and father won’t let me leave until I’m well again.”
“Oh! Here!” They rummaged through their bag, pulling out a scarp of herbs tied with a leather string. “This will cure any cold. Brew it into tea or soup and drink it every night!”
And with that, Mogogol was gone.
They hopped out the window, vanishing into the rain and the dark once more. Y/N closed the window and crept back to bed...but she didn’t sleep. All night, she lay in bed and gazed at the window, her thoughts wandering back to the curious creature that was Mogogol.
They came back after that.
Every few nights, when the world was wet with rain, Mogogol would come and visit Y/N. She slowly got over her cold.
Once her father was convinced that she was well enough, Y/N was finally allowed out of the castle. And once she was out and about, she could only think of one place to go: the old well. Y/N trudged through the forest once more, reaching the well and lowering her lantern down once again. There in the darkness, a figure was slowly revealed.
Mogogol.
They smiled at her, leaping up, up, up the walls of the well before popping out into the rainy day.
“You came!” Mogogol cheered. “I knew you would come!! Mogogol with red stripes said you wouldn't but what does he know? I ought to call him Mogogol with the bad attitude!”
“Does he tease you often?”
“Yes.” Mogogol admitted. “He talks about my silly princess and makes fun of me all of the time, calling me your pet.”
“Your are not a pet!” Y/N snapped. “I’d like to slap that fellow, then ask him who’s the silly thing. Besides, if I’m your princess then that makes you a prince. Prince Mogogol.”
Y/N had never seen the creature smile so brightly.
They talked on for a while, telling stories to one another and sharing little gifts. Y/N brought Mogogol, before she left, promising to return as soon as she could.
“Goodbye, Prince Mogogol.”
“Goodbye, Princess Y/N.”
She would return day after day, the prince and the princess spending hours together as another friendship grew. Sometimes Primrose came too, Prince Mogogol and her throwing the little ball back and forth.
It was perfect.
Simple and quiet, a sweet friendship. And as Y/N looked at Prince Mogogol, she felt in her heart that...perhaps it could be more.
“Thou weepest so that even a stone would show pity.”