The Beautiful Princess and the Little Frog Prince	 by  G T
Steptoe  2004					       


(Note: Parental Guidance! This is NOT a story for children! If you
have accessed this story via a websearch for an innocent fairy tale,
please be warned that it contains scenes of extreme and graphic
violence and material of a sexual nature and is suitable for mature,
enlightened readers ONLY. If you feel it may be offensive to you,
please EXIT now!)

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young princess. She was just
old enough to marry, but no prince had yet been found who was
suitable for her. While the search went on day by day, Princess
Joanna lived a quiet and fairly lonely life, studying every morning
with her tutors and (when the weather was fair) going for walks in
the royal forests in the afternoons. She loved her walks because it
was the only time that she could be truly alone. As the borders of
the forest were well guarded by her father’s soldiers she didn’t even
need a personal escort, and could just enjoy herself as she wished,
strolling along and breathing the fresh air.

This particular early summer day Joanna was feeling quite downcast as
she slowly walked along one of the forest paths. Only a few hours
earlier, messengers had brought word that a prince from a far-off
kingdom had gone missing just after he had begun his journey to visit
her own lands. It was a great blow to the princess, because by all
accounts Prince Pavel was handsome, intelligent, and kind, and she
had been looking forward to meeting him and seeing if they at least
liked eachother – which for a royal marriage was about the best a
princess could hope for. She sighed and made her way along the path,
scuffing a few leaves aside with her golden sandals and brushing the
occasional small flying insect from her skirt. Then, a glimmer caught
her eye, and the princess paused, her eyes widening as she beheld a
small brown frog sitting on a flat stone by the edge of the path. It
looked like any of the hundreds of little frogs she saw in the
forest, but what caught her eye was the t!
iny golden crown this frog wore on its head.

Joanna stopped in her tracks and stood for several seconds, staring
down at the little animal with a mixture of fascination and
amusement. Why on earth would a little frog have a crown? The frog
seemed to return her stare in the way that frogs do, turning its
whole body to watch her as she came closer then knelt down to get a
better look.

“You funny little thing,” she breathed.

“Not so funny from my perspective,” the frog replied in a
high-pitched croaky voice.

The princess let out a gasp of surprise. “You – you can talk?”

“Yes, but then I’m not just a normal frog,” the tiny amphibian
answered. “I’m actually a prince, and I was on my way to visit the
princess who lives in the great castle near this place, when a wicked
witch waylaid me and – and changed me into this froggy form!”

“You – you were coming to visit me?” Joanna’s eyes opened even wider.
“Then – then you must be Prince Pavel!”

The frog looked as surprised as a frog can look. “You – you are
Princess Joanna?”

“I am indeed,” she smiled. She held out her hand and he saw her royal
ring. “Come,” she smiled. “Climb onto my hand and tell me your story,
and we will see if I can help you.”

The prince did as she bade him, and he began to explain how he had
started on his journey over two months before, but on the first night
on the road a very beautiful and young-looking witch had approached
and demanded payment to allow him and his retinue to pass. He knew of
this witch (who was named Hedvelga) and had heard she had amazing
powers, but because he was the son of the king he saw no reason why
he should pay anyone to use the road, magic powers or not. So, he
refused and demanded that he be allowed by, and without any further
argument Hedvelga had put a spell on all his guards and shrunk them.

“Shrunk them?” Joanna interrupted.

“Yes, Hedvelga shrunk them. It was – it was almost beyond belief. I
had forty guards and their Captain – my best men; the strongest and
bravest of all my soldiers – and in one moment she transformed them
all, so that they were less than two inches tall…Not longer than her
own little finger!”

Joanna tried to imagine it. Forty-one tiny men…Hmmm… “How – how
terrible!” she managed to say, even though to her it didn’t sound
like such a terrible thing, really. She secretly thought it could be
quite useful to be able to make men that small on occasion. However,
maintaining her demeanour, she asked, “Then what happened to – to
your forty-one – miniaturized men?”

“Hedvelga walked out onto the path and looked down at my men as they
frantically ran around on the ground at her feet, then she just
smiled and – and began stepping on them!”

 The princess gasped, “Stepping on them? You – you mean…She crushed
them?”

“Yes,” the frog sobbed. “She just stood looking down at my poor,
crawling and running men as she calmly dabbed them beneath the toe of
her sandal and – and squashed them one by one – effortlessly – just
like a girl stepping on insects!”

“Wow…” The princess suppressed a smile and amended quickly, “I
mean…How – how awful…” She thought a moment, then asked, “Did you not
try to stop her?”

“What – what could I do? Just her look froze me where I stood. I
could no more stop her than I could move a mountain!”

Joanna nodded. “She bewitched you.”

“Yes, she had me under her power – and I tell you truly, Princess…I
never felt so helpless.”

“A terrible feeling, I should think.”

The frog blinked miserably. “Yes…It was. I ordered the witch to stop
at once, but Hedvelga just laughed and trapped another of my guards
beneath her foot as she said: ‘Stop? Why should I? These are just
little crawling things – and there is no law against a girl stepping
on little things.’ Then she just giggled and crushed the man in one
movement and I – I was too stunned to think of a suitable reply.”

“That’s…that’s not surprising,” the princess nodded, apparently lost
deep in thought. She had only considered such images as part of her
deepest, most secret fantasies and never truly imagined such a thing
could be possible, but if what this frog-prince said was true…	

The frog said nothing so after a few moments Joanna prompted, “Did
she – did she crush all of them? All your men?”

“Yes – except for one that she held beneath her foot for a moment
then released again. She let him crawl away and he escaped into the
grass by the pathway. I don’t know why she spared him, but she did…”
The frog blinked as frogs do, then seemed to shake himself. “But as
for the others, yes. She crushed all of them, one at a time, as I
related – until there were only seven left. She paused for a moment
and I thought she meant to spare them, but then Hedvelga herded these
last seven of my men together, nudging them close with the toe of her
sandal as she stood with her arms folded, her face showing faint
amusement as she forced them atop eachother into an untidy pile. As I
looked on, this terrible girl covered them with her foot, then as she
held them pinned, screaming and struggling beneath her sandal’s sole,
she regarded me with a look that chilled me to the very core. I – I
felt that it was me beneath her foot, waiting to be crushed…”

Joanna felt the frog trembling and listened intently as he continued,
“She said that because I had refused to pay to use her path, I would
have to pay in another way, and then – then –” The frog prince paused
for breath and went on in a breaking voice, “Then I heard the sounds
as she crushed my loyal guards with a single press of her
foot…Crushed them while she smiled at me! Imagine it!” the frog
moaned. “All those men…trapped and crushed together like beetles
beneath this witch-girl’s sandal!” 

The princess licked her lips and felt her heart pounding as her
excitement grew. Her voice shook slightly as she responded, “Yes…I
can just imagine how – how it must have been…” Her hands trembled and
she concentrated on them and willed them to be still. “Sev…Seven men
together, did you say?”

“Yes, seven. My very strongest men, and she crushed them all...This
witch-girl just slowly pressed her sandalled foot down on their
bodies until it was resting flat on the ground…”

Joanna licked her lips again and whispered, “That must have
been…awesome.”

“Oh, it truly was. But what made it worse…While she continued looking
at me – smiling all the while – she raised her heel and slowly ground
my men to a smear, as many a girl is wont to do when she crushes a
noisesome insect beneath her foot.”  

“Yes,” the princess nodded slightly and stared into the distance as
she breathed, “I usually do…”

The frog continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “Then, without any
warning, she shrunk me as well. One moment I was standing there,
taller than she, the next I was cowering at her feet, looking up at
her as she towered over me. I was…I was sorely afraid that she would
do to me what she had just done to my men. Hedvelga looked down at me
for long moments, just smiling her soft, knowing smile, for she knew
her power, and I – I truly felt like an insect before her. I knew
that she could crush me with a single, effortless step if the whim
took her – and no-one would even know what had happened to me!”

The princess tilted her head inquiringly. “So – at first she just
shrunk you?”

“Yes,” the frog returned, and Joanna realized he was actually
weeping. “If ‘just’ is the right word. I thought that was bad enough,
and I steeled myself for the horrible moment when she would trap me
under her foot and press it down on me, and reduce me to just another
stain on her sandal’s sole…”

“But clearly she didn’t,” the princess interrupted gently. 

“No, although during the lonely, terrifying days since then I often
wished she had.” He paused as if for breath, then resumed, “Then she
changed me into the form you see now, and ordered me to hop around.
It was – It was terrifying…I had to hop one way then the other as she
laughed and pretended to step on me, time after time after time. As
soon as I stopped jumping, the girl raised her foot and began to
bring it down over me as she taunted, ‘Hop, little frog-prince! Hop,
or I’ll squash you!’ But – but after what seemed a lifetime, she told
me that she had decided to let me live, because it was her whim. Her
whim! It was a horrible feeling, Princess, to know that I would live
or die according to the whim of this witch-girl.” The frog struggled
to compose himself, and after a few moments he managed to continue,
“So, as I said, it was her whim to let me live. She – she then gave
me some words of instruction, and ordered me to go on my way to – to
seek you.”

“Well,” the princess smiled encouragement. “At least you have found
me.”

“Yes, and I am so thankful. It has been a terrible journey these
sixty-six days. The witch told me that any trials and tribulations
that befell me on the way were no concern of hers, and that if I were
killed, I would not return to my own form even in death…I would stay
this size forever.” He paused, then looked up at her and finished,
“Only you can save me, princess. You can restore me with a single
kiss…”

The young woman blinked. “Just – just a kiss?”

“Thus Hedvelga said. She instructed me that my fate lies in your
hands, and only yours. Whatever happens to me is entirely for you to
decide – according to your whim.” He blinked sadly and then said in a
weak, pleading voice, “Princess…Please help me. Only you have the
power to release me from this misery. If – If you kiss me…just once,
I shall be a man again.”

Joanna smiled her gentlest, most feminine smile. “It is the least I
can do for. And I shall be glad to behold you in your real, masculine
form.” 

Placing the little frog on the flat stone once more, the Princess
leant down low and kissed him very lightly, then moved back and got
to her feet to await his transformation. After a few seconds’ delay
the little frog was surrounded by a strange glow, and then – the frog
was gone, and the prince stood in his place.

The princess looked down at the tiny man in his fine clothes and
blinked her eyes a few times as he stood there, looking up at her and
smiling his gratitude. “I – I expected you’d be somewhat bigger,” she
said. She paused, and raising her foot a little, she carefully set it
down on the stone next to the miniature prince, comparing him for
size. “I mean, you’re not even two inches tall.”

“I will be normal soon, thanks to you,” he called back, his joyful
voice just loud enough for the girl to hear. “It will take some time,
but already the process is begun.”

The princess nodded her relief. “Oh, that’s good to hear. I was
afraid you might remain tiny forever…“	

The prince rushed to her foot and began kissing her toes in
gratitude. “Not now. You have saved me! Oh, thankyou, Princess,
thankyou!”
 
Joanna suppressed a giggle as she watched the tiny man hugging and
kissing her toes. She had the sudden urge to flick him off like an
annoying little insect, but somehow kept her composure as she
answered simply, “I’m glad to help.”

“Oh, I am so grateful to you!” He looked up at her as Joanna leant
forward a little so that her face was visible to him. “To spend the
rest of my days as a frog…It was such a horrible time – mosquitoes
taste foul, believe me…”

The girl giggled this time. “I can believe that,” she smiled. Then
she asked, “How quickly will you grow? Have you started yet?”

Prince Pavel climbed down off her foot and stood by it, one hand
resting on her little toenail to steady himself as he leant back to
look up at her face. Although she was quite a petite girl, Joanna was
still over thirty times his own size, and to the prince she looked at
least two hundred feet tall. “As I said, the process is begun!” he
called. “I only have to wait six times six the number of days that I
was a frog and I shall then return to normal size.” 

“Six times six…and then…But wait,” the princess shook her head, “You
– you mean…You won’t just grow gradually?”

He shouted happily, “No, it will happen in an instant, just as I was
shrunk in the twinkling of an eye! So the witch-girl told me, at
least – and as I am still this size, she no doubt told me true.
Look!” he turned around full circle, delightedly showing himself from
every angle, his purple cape whirling. “I am in my manly form again,
so surely my true size will soon follow!”

Joanna’s face showed her concern. “But…Six times six the number of
days you were –”

“That’s right,” the tiny prince shouted. “I never studied arithmetic
as I spent all my time learning the manly arts of fighting and
swordsmanship, but it does not sound very long, does it?” Prince
Pavel had a fabulous view of the princess, and he grinned up at the
beautiful girl, looking straight up her skirt. Oh, to be normal sized
again and to have such a girl as his wife! He assumed that the
princess knew little or nothing of arithmetic or the sciences, so
surely she would believe him and care for him until he could marry
her. But until then…The Prince’s smile widened as he gazed up at her,
drinking in the sight of her smooth, tanned thighs and richly
embroidered silky white panties. Until then, what fun they could
have!

The princess was not even thinking about what the tiny man could see,
let alone any future matrimonial possibilities. His view of her never
entered her mind as more than a mildly amusing thought. It was
something like being watched by a bug, and no girl ever worries about
that. Instead, even as she watched the tiny prince while he gazed up
at her, Joanna was calculating silently, her brilliant mind handling
the simple figures with ease: Six times six is thirty-six, and
thirty-six times sixty-six days is…Two thousand, three hundred and
seventy-six days! Her jaw dropped as she worked out the answer, and
just to be sure she did it another way, murmuring “Six times
sixty-six is three hundred and ninety-six…That’s one year and
thirty-one days…And that much times six is six years and one hundred
and eighty-six days…” 

Joanna shook her head in disbelief and felt anger rising within her.
“Six and a half years!” she said out loud, looking down at the
prince. “My God…I can’t keep a tiny, two-inch-tall man safe and feed
and clothe him while I wait six and a half years until he’s big
enough to hold me in his arms!” 

The prince backed away a little and turned his head to look up at her
lovely face. “But – that’s not so long…Is it?”

“It is when you’re a princess and life and would-be suitors are
passing you by! Six years? I’ll be the laughing stock of the whole
kingdom!” Her eyes flashed. “You deceitful little thing! Why didn’t
you tell me there was a waiting period – before I kissed you?”

The tiny man backed away another step. He had thought that this
sweet, gentle girl wouldn’t hurt a fly, but now he wasn’t so sure. “I
– I didn’t think it would matter…”

Joanna nodded very deliberately. “Oh, it matters alright. It matters
very much. You expect a girl like me to wait that long for one
minuscule, insignificant little man to grow up? No, thanks…” The girl
looked down at the tiny man, her face set in grim determination as
she began to lift her right foot. “I am the only one who has the
power to release you from your misery, you said. Very well, you
sneaking little cowardly man…I shall release you…Right now!”

The tiny prince let out a gasp of horror as he watched the girl’s
foot rising up into the air above him, the patterned sole of her
sandal dark and massive and threatening. He staggered back and cried
out, “No…You can’t just step on me! You – you can’t…”

The princess didn’t even bother to respond to his protests. After
all, she was a giantess to this foolish little man, and she didn’t
need to justify her actions to him. The fact was that she could step
on him if she wanted to, and she had decided to step on him, so that
was that. As he screamed more protests, Joanna simply smiled grimly
and slowly lowered her foot over him, and ignoring his pleas as if
they were the buzzings of an insect, she knocked the miniature man
down and pinned him under the sole of her sandal, muffling his
screams so they were just barely audible. After a moment’s pause to
see if any objection rose in her mind – none did – the girl focused
all her senses on her foot and what lay beneath it as she raised her
heel a fraction, and unsure of how much it would take (but totally
confident in the outcome), she very gently pressed her toes down on
the tiny man, her smile flickering as she heard his funny little
insect-like sounds rise in pitch, then they sudd!
enly cut off and – 

Crrittch!

Joanna paused and wrinkled her nose in feminine amusement, a very
natural reaction for a girl. It always amused her, the way little
crawling things produced their funny crunchy sounds when she stepped
on them. Those sounds were the essence of the crush, and because
(just like any girl) she stepped on little things to crush them, the
sounds their tiny bodies made as they collapsed and flattened beneath
her gently pressing foot always gave her a feeling of quiet and
pleasurable triumph. Then, as she stood poised, the princess realized
that she had never felt such a surge of awareness as she had just
experienced, and she it came to her in a flash that this was true
power. 

“I crushed him…I crushed a little man,” she breathed, looking down at
her foot in quiet wonder. The girl licked her lips and pressed down a
bit more (still nothing to her), then grinned as she heard the tiny
body produce a very soft but distinctive squitsh – that other sound
that a girl listens for and which tells her that the little thing
under her foot is not only crushed, it is now most definitely
squashed and will never trouble her again. Joanna giggled, “It really
is just like stepping on an insect…Only better…” 

She carefully moved her foot aside and was gratified with what she
saw. The tiny Prince Pavel lay spreadeagled, now very flat and a bit
messy, but not over much. Most bugs his size squished out a lot more
when she stepped on them. I did that to him, the girl thought, still
lost in the wonder of it all. Just moments ago he was alive and
looking up at me – and no doubt enjoying the view, the little sneak –
then… Not even realizing she was speaking out loud, Joanna murmured,
“…I stepped on him…I felt him crush…I just crushed him like a bug…”
She became aware of her own voice and smiled as she added, “And then
I actually squashed him… How wonderful…”

The princess giggled and stepped on her tiny victim again.
“Crrusshh,” she breathed. “I’m crushing you like a bug, little man…”
The young woman felt a pleasant and uniquely feminine tingling as she
pressed down firmly and heard him squish quite juicily beneath her
toes. “Like a squishy little bug…”

Feeling much better than she had at the start of her walk, Joanna
absently smoothed her short skirt as she ground tiny little Prince
Pavel under her pretty sandal’s sole, listening to every nuance of
the sounds as she literally squished him up into the grooves. “Mmmm…
I shall have to find this Hedvelga…I think we could have a very long
and rewarding friendship…”

Joanna slipped off her sandal and stood for long moments, tracing her
fingers over the sole and studying what little remained of the late
and unlamented prince. “Amazing,” she whispered. “I totally destroyed
him, with no effort at all, just because I wanted to. And now…No-one
would even know it was a man…” Deciding she wanted to keep these
sandals just as they were, she removed her other one, then holding
them idly by the straps she turned and walked away, leaving just a
dull stain on the rock to show where the tiny prince had been and
what had happened to him. As the barefooted princess strolled lightly
along the path back towards her castle home, she said to herself:
“Yes…Very rewarding…There are so many men who deserve the same
treatment…”

                                          

CHAPTER TWO 

Hedvelga Comes to Visit

The same day that she met with the rather foolish little Prince Pavel
(and he met his fate beneath her foot), Princess Joanna sent her best
messenger to find Hedvelga and deliver a letter to her. The letter
did not command the witch in any way, for Joanna felt this was not a
wise approach. Instead, she informed the myterious woman that the
Princess Joanna would be most appreciative if she could come and
visit for a time as an honoured guest of the Royal House.

Joanna charged the messenger with all speed, but the journey was long
and arduous and she knew that it would be several weeks before he
reached that distant land, and possibly weeks more before she
received a reply. The time passed slowly, and the first chill of
autumn was in the air before her faithful messenger returned, bearing
a sealed letter from the witch. Joanna received the man in her
chambers and rewarded him handsomely, for he had made great speed on
his journey. After dismissing him, she sat in her favourite chair and
tore open the seals. Unfolding the parchment, she began to read, and
as she read a smile crossed her face. 

    “I am honoured that Your Highness wishes me to visit,” Joanna
read. “Seeing that Your Highness appears to desire my presence as
soon as possible, I am even now making my preparations and shall
commence my journey in a few days. I expect to be at the home of Your
Highness in just a few days after Your messenger has delivered this
missive into Your hands, and as I have charged him to travel with all
speed and have given him a charm to protect him on the way, Your
Highness may expect my arrival on or about the fifteenth of this
month…” 

Joanna folded the letter and gazed ahead of her. “And today is the
tenth…So in only five days she should be here…” The princess thought
for a few moments then rang a small bell, and when her handmaidens
appeared from their waiting room she instructed them to be sure that
the best guest chamber was made ready – and also to inform the guards
that Hedvelga was an honoured visitor and must be allowed to pass
with all respect and without delay. The girls curtsied and left at
once to do as she bade them, and Joanna relaxed back into her chair,
wondering at the fact that this strange Hedvelga – who had treated a
crown prince with such contempt (and actually stepped on his men like
insects, no less) – would so readily agree to travel for many days to
visit a princess of a somewhat smaller kingdom than where she lived.
“Not to worry,” she said to herself. “I am sure she will have her own
good reasons.”

The princess got to her feet and stretched, and because the weather
wasn’t too bad, she put on a wrap, and with a dozen guards and two
handmaidens trailing in her wake, she went for a stroll around the
castle’s extensive gardens, stopping here and there to chat to the
gardeners and other workers and learn more about their work. 

She knew that even her guards found it amazing that she occasionally
spent her time talking to such low-born men and women as gardeners,
carpenters, and the like, but Joanna didn’t care. After all, it
helped to pass the time, and they worked better for knowing that
their labours were appreciated. And anyway, she found them
interesting, forthright, honest, and highly knowledgeable in their
own trades – and therefore much better company than many of the
ruffians in rich clothes who fawned on her at Court and never did a
stroke of work in their entire lives. Worse, most of the courtiers
were so ignorant and disdainful of ‘the commoners’ that it was almost
frightening.

Joanna spent a lot of time with the workers in the castle grounds
during the next four days, and the more she learned of these good,
solid people, the more convinced she became that her father’s Court
would not suffer too much from the ‘loss’ of a few of the more
snobbish, bigoted and ignorant courtiers. Passing a sobbing stableboy
who was being whipped by his aristocratic master for not polishing
his riding boots well enough, the princess wished that she could
intervene and stop the lad’s suffering, but etiquette did not allow
it. Except in extreme cases such as rape and murder (and even then
there had to be witnesses), matters between masters and servants were
not to concern a princess of the Realm. Sighing, Joanna walked on,
hoping that before too long, she might be able to do something to
even up the balance more in favour of unfortunates like the poor boy
and his brothers and sisters in servitude. After all, most of their
masters were courtiers…

                                                                   *

Hedvelga arrived early in the afternoon on the fifteenth and was
brought under honour guard directly to Joanna’s chambers. Although
some of her wizened advisors had warned her to be extremely cautious
with the witch – and never to be alone with her – Joanna decided at
first glance that she had nothing to fear from this woman. She
dismissed the guards and all her handmaidens, and bade her visitor be
seated. Hedvelga accepted with alacrity and settled herself into one
of the chairs across from the young princess.

“Thankyou, your Highness. It is very gracious of your Highness to
condescend to accepting me at once.”

“I have waited for you and counted the days, for I am anxious to talk
with you,” Joanna replied.

The woman smiled softly and inclined her head, her long black hair
gleaming in the autumnal sunlight that streamed through the windows.
“May I be so bold to hazard a guess as to the nature of your
Highness’ concerns?”

“Certainly,” Joanna nodded. “I admire boldness. It is a quality I
find sadly lacking in most.”

“Especially in the Court, your Highness?”

“Yes,” the princess agreed with a smile. “Especially there.”

Hedvelga’s eyes sparkled as she flashed her smile, and absently
smoothing her black velvet skirt, she ventured, “Speaking of royal
courts, then, may I then hazard that your Highness wishes to talk of
the mysterious disappearance of a certain Prince Pavel and his
retinue?”

Joanna maintained a straight face with some effort. “It could be,”
she allowed. “After all, it is strange that not only he, but his
entire personal guard of forty men – his strongest and bravest men –
should simply go missing without trace.”

“Yes…It is strange…” The woman crossed her legs. “May I ask how your
Highness is aware of the number of men in his retinue?”

“I was…informed,” Joanna answered, suddenly feeling a slight unease.
“By – by a –” She broke off, not yet sure just how much to reveal.

“By a little bird, your Highness?” Hedvelga smiled, then said softly,
“Or, should I say – a little…frog?” 

Joanna’s expression made her giggle, a light, infectious laugh that
broke the tension. “Oh, I know your Highness met him!” the witch
chuckled. “Otherwise, why would your Highness send for me with such
urgency?”

“Yes…Yes, it’s true,” the princess admitted, barely able to suppress
her own smile. “I did meet him.”

Hedvelga smirked knowingly. “And did your Highness kiss our little
frog prince?”

Joanna nodded and her voice was the barest whisper. “Yes…Yes, I did.
I kissed him.”

“And then, when he became a man in form once again – but still as
tiny as the little frog he had been – only then did your Highness
learn that he had held back much of the truth, and that it would be
years before he would be restored to normal. Am I right?”

“Yes. He did not mention it until after I kissed him, leading me to
believe that he would be fully restored at once.” The princess
thought a moment, then commented, “But perhaps I judged him too
harshly – and – and maybe acted unjustly. He said that he did not
know arithmetic, and that surely the time to wait was not too long.”

The beautiful young witch laughed in delighted astonishment. “Did not
know arimethetic, your Highness? But he had the best tutors in the
land and often won arithmetical games at Court! He lied; in the most
cunning and cowardly way, he lied! Just as I thought he would!”

“Ah…I thought it strange that a crown prince could not do such simple
sums.”

Hedvelga watched the princess nod again, and asked, “And may I ask
your Highness where this deceiving little prince is now? Or, to be
more precise, what your Highness…did with him?”

Joanna paused a moment before replying, then she shrugged her
shoulders as if she had reached a vital decision. “I shall show you.
Please – remain seated.” Rising from her chair, the princess went
over to a corner of her room and picked up a golden strappy sandal.
Returning, she handed it to Hedvelga, sole upwards, and said simply,
“To answer your very reasonable question, I stepped on him.” 

Hedvelga took the proffered shoe and peered at it. “Yes,” she nodded.
“Your Highness most certainly did.” Then she looked up. “Good,” the
witch said, beaming her smile as she handed the sandal back to
Joanna. “It was no more or less than he deserved. ”

“You – you don’t seem too surprised,” Joanna said.

“Oh, not at all – your Highness. He was a very devious and greedy man
and would have made a bad king. And after all, it was a natural
enough thing to do – to step on him…”

“Yes…I – I didn’t really think about it. I was angry with him, so I
just – just stepped on him and…And when I heard him crush beneath my
foot…” She looked the other woman in the eyes. “It felt – right.”

Hedvelga nodded measuredly. “I understand exactly, your Highness.”
She uncrossed her legs, and setting both sandalled feet on the floor,
she looked down at them and flexed her toes. “It always feels right,”
the witch murmured.

“You speak as if from long experience.”

“Very long, your Highness. Your Highness would be surprised at just
how long.”

“Perhaps I would not,” the young princess responded. 

Hedvelga merely smiled, a very self-assured and knowing smile, the
smile of one who knows her own powers and uses them as she sees fit.
It was also a smile of one who is much older in life experience than
she appears to be.

Joanna was perceptive enough to know that this was not the time to
enquire into Hedvelga’s real age. Instead, her voice a bare, low
whisper, she asked, “Is it true that you – you stepped on his men?” 

“Yes, it is true. With these very sandals…” She glanced up and raised
the toe of her right foot a little off the floor, then set it down
with her heel raised. “Forty of them beneath this one sandal, in
fact.”

The princess couldn’t help but grin. “Yes…I usually use my right one.”

“So I noticed, your Highness,” Hedvelga gave back, glancing at the
sandal the princess still held in her hands.

 Joanna chuckled and placed it carefully on the floor by her chair.
“And – did you truly crush the last seven men together?”

“Ah, he told your Highness that? Yes, I did.” The woman thought a
moment, wrinkling her brow as she absently ran her fingers through
her hair. “At least, I think it was seven. Or was it eight?” She
smiled a shrug. “They were the last ones, anyway.”

“Then he told the truth in that, at least.”

“Oh, he was always one for being truthful in unimportant matters,
your Highness,” Hedvelga smiled. “Well known for it, in fact.”

The princess nodded, deeply pensive. “He told me that you allowed one
to escape.”

“That is true,” Hedvelga answered. “He was the youngest, new to the
prince’s retinue, and the only one whose aura showed that he had as
yet done no evil deeds. So I spared him and let him go, your
Highness, blocking the whole incident from his mind. He would have
returned to normal just at dawn, with no recollection of what had
befallen him or the others.” 

“And the others?”

The witch spoke matter-of-factly. “All the others had robbed and
raped and murdered for their master or for their own pleasure, for
they were his favourites and under his royal protection. Evil men,
they were.”

“Ahh…I see. Is that why you stepped on them, Hedvelga?”

“No,” she laughed, “I stepped on them because I wanted to.” Her tones
were light and her eyes glimmered. “ I could have simply struck them
dead where they stood or made them turn upon eachother with their
swords, for they all deserved to die, but it amused me, to look down
at these tiny, evil men as they crawled around at my feet. It amused
me to crush them like so many insects. His biggest, bravest,
strongest men, your Highness, crunching under my sandal and spurting
out little sprays of wetness as I stepped on them one by one and
squashed them flat like juicy beetles – purely because it was my
whim. Oh, yes, it amused me very much to step on such evil men, your
Highness. It always does,” she added.

Joanna leaned forward in her chair, elbows on her knees and her hands
clasped beneath her chin as she whispered, “I – I can imagine it
would, when you have such power…”

Hedvelga mirrored her pose, and as they regarded eachother, she
murmured, “And your Highness would like to possess that power?” 

“Yes…To be truthful, I would. There are many men who I feel deserve
that same punishment.”

“There certainly are…But as a princess, does your Highness not have
the right to sit in judgement and order men to be put to death?” 

“Now that I am of age, yes, when my father is away or too busy to try
them. And I have had men put to death from time to time, when their
crimes deserved it, and it has never troubled me, for I am always
just and fair in trying them. But that is different. It is my duty,
and I take no pleasure from condemning men to prison or the chopping
block. In fact, it gladdens my heart when I can free a prisoner who
has been unjustly accused.” The princess paused, then explained, “I
am not speaking of those men who have committed capital crimes as
such and deserve to lose their heads for it. I am speaking simply of
those who – those evil men who deserve to be gotten rid of…Who
deserve to be made as small as insects…and stepped on…and
crushed…like insects…”

“Beneath your Highness’ feet…”

Joanna moved her head in a barely perceptible nod. “Yes…Beneath my
feet…Or destroyed in any other way I choose, as the whim takes me…”
The woman seemed far away as she whispered, “It seems such perfect
justice…”

“Your Highness –”

The princess blinked as if coming out of some deep reverie and
interrupted her guest. “Hedvelga, I would be – I would be pleased if
you would address me informally. I feel as if we have a certain…” She
struggled to find the right words then continued, “…A certain level
of understanding that goes far beyond the formality of royal
standards of address.”

“I am deeply honoured,” the witch responded. “I was about to ask
you…If I give you this knowledge, what will your High – what will you
give in return?”

Joanna’s eyes showed her delight. “You – you will share your secrets?”

“You have already shared some of your deepest ones with me,” the
woman said. “I am honoured to be in your confidence. But this
knowledge is immensely precious and takes long hours and months of
study to acquire – even years – and hence I cannot give it without
some kind of return.”

“That is fair.” Joanna furrowed her brow as she tried to imagine what
the witch could desire. “But I am sure that with your powers you want
for nothing, Hedvelga. Certainly, I have great riches, but I suspect
that you can make gold from dross if you wish.”

“I can. And precious stones from mere pebbles if the fancy takes me.”
Hedvelga said no more; she merely sat and waited to see what the
princess would offer.

The young princess touched a fingertip to her lips and smiled as the
answer came to her. “Hedvelga…I have something that I can offer you,
something that very few receive from a princess.”

“And what is that?”

Joanna’s smile broadened as she answered, “My friendship, Hedvelga.
My friendship and everything that entails.”

The witch nodded. “You have named the one thing that cannot, in fact,
be bought or bargained for or even truly gained by the casting of a
spell, and I feel that you would give it, even if I had nothing to
give you in return.” She reached out her hands and Joanna clasped
them in her own. “I accept, and will do all in my power to give you
what you desire.”



CHAPTER THREE

The learning.

The two young women spent several hours together every day. Much of
the time they seemed to just talk and laugh together, and any who
observed them began to suspect that the stories of Hedvelga were
greatly exaggerated. She was a very lovely, sweet and charming young
woman, and couldn’t possibly have done the things that were rumoured
of her. Obviously the gossips had mixed her up with the deeds of
someone else. And in any case, would their dear Princess Joanna have
anything to do with a powerful, dangerous witch who cast such
terrible hexing spells and was rumoured to shrink men and crush them
and even eat them in her stews?

Joanna and Hedvelga went to great pains to ensure that no-one had any
inkling of what they were really doing, and the few hours a day they
spent together in private were the only time that they turned their
attention to the arts of sorcery and all forms of magik. Only then
did they study the books that Hedvelga had secretly brought, only
then did the witch tutor her avid student, teaching her the chants
she needed to know and all of the philosophy and mysteries of inner
and ancient knowledge that were the true foundations of every spell.
And sometimes, when they needed some light relief from their labours,
Hedvelga would go out for a quiet walk in the streets of the town
below the castle, visiting the inns where the travellers and
merchants stayed, and there work her spells to shrink a few men and
bring them back to Joanna’s rooms. 

Such it was this night. They had studied together for several hours
and finally Joanna successfully performed a simple spell to make a
flower open. Hedvelga clapped her hands with glee and the women
hugged eachother, for it was a great step forward. “You have done
wonderfully well, Joanna!” 

“Oh, Heddy, I am so glad! It is such a slow process, with so much to
learn. I had no idea how difficult it was.”

The witch smiled, “Now you are learning how little you know,” she
agreed. “It will still be a year or so before you can perform the
high-level spells you desire, but you are making excellent progress.”

Joanna gave her another hug. “Because you are such a wonderful
teacher,” she laughed.

“And a good teacher rewards her pupil when she has done well,”
Hedvelga responded. 

The princess squeaked with delight. “You mean – you shall bring me
some?”

“At once! Just take a bath and soon I shall return.” Hedvelga made
some moves with her hands and disappeared.

“I love the way you do that,” Joanna sighed, staring where the witch
had been standing.

“In about six months you shall have the same ability,” Hedvelga’s
voice answered her from across the room by the main door. Then the
door opened as if by itself and she left, walking right past the
guards who she had already hexed (just a little) so they wouldn’t
take note of or recall the door that opened and closed when no-one
was there.

By the time Joanna had bathed and dressed in fresh clothes, Hedvelga
was back in the castle, and once inside the princess’ chambers, she
reappeared and stood there, smiling brightly and holding a small
velvet bag in her hand. The bag moved as the little things inside it
struggled in pitch-black warmth, and both women grinned as they heard
the faint squeaks of tiny voices from within it. Hedvelga handed her
the bag and Joanna asked, “How many?”

“Six merchants,” the woman smiled. “All of them renowned for
overpricing and never allowing a poor peasant a little extra time to
pay; they have them jailed by bailiffs and seize their property.
Thoroughly heartless scoundrels, every one.”

“Perfect,” the princess nodded, untying the string and emptying the
bag into her hand. Six tiny men tumbled out, and their splutterings
of protest died away as they realized how small they were. Hedvelga
had put a sleeping spell on the inn before she entered it and caught
them, so up to now, they simply thought they had been captured and
bundled up and were being held for ransom. Now, staring up into the
faces of two beautiful giantesses as they lay in the warm palm of one
girl’s hand, they were struck dumb for a few seconds.

Joanna giggled, and stooping low, she tipped the six men off her hand
so they fell in a tangled heap on the floor. The men struggled to
sort themselves out, kicking at eachother and flailing about for some
seconds before they managed to get to their feet. Then, they really
took in just how tiny they truly were. The two women towered over
them, and they began to moan in fear as they compared themselves with
the girls’ sandalled feet and realized that they were only about two
inches tall.

“Punishment time,” the princess giggled again as she looked down at
the tiny men. Then as she raised her foot, she asked out loud, “Which
one shall I step on first?”

“How about that one in the red coat?” Hedvelga answered, pointing her
toes at him. “He looks like he could use a little slimming down.”

“Alright…” Joanna smiled sweetly at the tiny man as she began to
lower her foot over him. “Bye-bye, nasty little fat man,” she said
softly. “I’m going to squash you like a bug…”

The man screamed and began to run as the others stood and gaped up at
the giantesses, still not quite able to believe their own eyes. Then,
as they watch, Joanna reached her foot out a little more, easily
tracking the fat merchant as he ran faster than he had ever run in
his life, and with no effort at all she pinned him with neat,
feminine precision right under the centre of her golden, strappy
sandal and held him there for a few seconds as he screamed and
struggled, then with another giggle, the princess slowly pressed her
foot down and squeaked with girlish delight as she literally crushed
the man flat until he squished out under her toes.

“Ick! What a squishy little man!” she exclaimed gleefully.

“He certainly was,” Hedvelga laughed. “Which one next?”

“I think that one in the yellow and black stripey coat. He looks like
a fat wasp.”

Joanna laughed delightedly as the chosen man began to scramble away
from her across the marbled floor, so terrified that he couldn’t even
stand. He crawled on all fours, oblivious to the pain as he scraped
his hands and knees raw. The princess took a single short pace
forward, and this time, she dealt with him exactly as if he were a
crawling bug: 

STEP! 

Squitsch!

“Gotcha!” she announced happily, pleased at the way she had crushed
the tiny man so neatly right beneath her sandal’s toe. Raising her
heel, she began to grind him to pulp while the others looked on, in
awe of her power.

The four surviving men were finally becoming aware of just how
serious their situation was. They began to run, each man heading off
in a different direction, but it was hopeless. Hedvelga stopped them
from getting far by the simple expedient of setting her foot down in
front of them and making them turn back. She personally felt no
urgent need to step on them because she had taken care of a few
others already while she was out and about; a dozen vagabonds and
ruffians of various kinds had met their end beneath her foot in the
past hour or so, and she doubted that any of them would be missed.
So, as she set her foot down to block another little merchant as he
tried to flee, the woman shrugged off the urge to crush him, and
flicking him back close to Joanna’s feet, suggested that he should be
slowed down a bit.

“Okay,” the princess replied. The girl deftly pinned the tiny man
from the waist down and gave him a light, quick press, just enough to
smash his feet and legs a little and stop him running away, and
flashing a smile at Hedvelga, Joanna left him to writhe on the floor
while she turned her attention to the others.

A few minutes later, the injured man was the only one left alive.
Joanna stood with feet slightly apart and her arms folded, looking
down at him and swaying her hips a little from side to side.
“Heddy…What’s it like to squash one under your bare foot? Have you
ever tried it?”

The witch came over and stood facing her, regarding the man with mild
interest as he continued to drag himself around on the floor and
stare up at the two giantesses. “Oh, I’ve done it many times. It’s
quite interesting, actually. You really feel him crunching, even more
so than through the sole of your sandal. And you feel his warmth.
It’s not at all unpleasant.”

“Very well…” Joanna slipped her sandals off. “I’ll try him.”  The
girl began to lower her bare foot over the tiny, shrieking man.
“After all,” she smirked, “It’s cruel to let him suffer.”

“Yes…It’s only right to squash him properly,” Hedvelga agreed.
 
The man sobbed in absolute horror as he watched the bare sole of the
giant girl’s foot rising up above him with terrible, deliberate
slowness. He didn’t know where he was, or why, or even who these two
women were. He only knew – from the quick closeup view he’d had of
their faces – that they were both young and beautiful, like goddesses
in drawings of ancient times. Since he was dumped unceremoniously on
the floor, he’d had no further opportunity to study their faces. Now,
he could only see these two giantesses from directly below, and even
the sight of their superbly toned, feminine legs and thighs, even the
incredible perspective he had up their skirts brought him no comfort
or pleasure. Now, as he watched this girl’s tight-fitting white
panties crease and crumple softly between her thighs as she raised
her foot, he only knew that in just a few seconds he would be under
her sole once again – but this time it would be the warm skin of her
foot that would press down on him, !
not the hard sole of her sandal.

Joanna hardly had a thought for how she looked to the little,
crawling man, and the fact that he had a view of her that few men
ever experienced concerned her not at all. Smiling to herself, the
girl pinned the tiny man crossways beneath her toes and giggled as
she felt him struggling uselessly against her massive weight. “Mmm…It
does feel nice,” she agreed, keeping him trapped with ease. “Now
let’s see…”

Moving as carefully as she could, the princess increased the pressure
just the barest fraction, but even that was too much for the
miniature man’s tortured body. He screamed weakly as the giantess
crushed him down, smashing his ribs and pelvis, and when she eased
off and swivelled her foot around on her heel to take a look at him,
he could only feebly move his arms a little, clawing at the floor and
trying to drag himself away. “Hmm…He didn’t take much. I felt him
crunch,” she commented, fascinated by him.

“Yes…But then, they never take much,” the witch replied, her voice
light.

“True…Oh, well. I’d better finish him,” Joanna said simply. The
giantess covered the man again, and this time, she pressed down more
firmly, squeaking with delighted disgust when he suddenly crushed
then squished up between her sparkling, varnished toenails like a
small, over-ripe fruit.

“Yuck!” she laughed. “He’s really squishy!”

Grinning hugely, Joanna dragged her foot back and playfully smeared
the tiny man across the floor in a wavy line. She wrinkled her nose
and girlishly poked her tongue out a little between her teeth then
laughed, “Hey, look, I can draw lines with them! I wish I’d thought
of that before…”  

Hedvelga looked very pleased for her pupil. “Yes, you can do all
sorts of things with men if they’re tiny enough.”

The princess turned to her friend and hugged her. “Oh, Heddy…I feel
so wonderful. So feminine and strong and aware…You’re so good to me…”

“As you are to me.” Hedvelga grinned and held up another small velvet
bag. “And because this is a special day, I thought you might like a
few more to celebrate your first successful level two spell…”

“Oh, Heddy…” Joanna took the bag, and opening it, she tipped the
terrified men into her hand. “Eight…No – nine of them…”

“A gang of wandering thieves,” the witch informed her with a mild
shrug. “Their auras show the evil that fills them. They’re all full
of thoughts of rape and murder.”

Joanna nodded pensively, turning the men over with her fingertip and
studying them. “And – they were at the Inn, too?”

The witch shook her head, picking a man up and turning him this way
and that and watching his frantic struggles as she replied, “No.
Thankfully not. I found them creeping around outside the city walls,
looking for a way in, so –” She gave another, eloquent shrug. “There
were twelve of them in the gang, but they tried to scatter and run
for cover. After I stepped on three the others gave up and I caught
them…Didn’t I, little man?” Hedvelga gave her prisoner a light
squeeze and smiled sweetly at him as his struggles became even more
frantic.

“You stepped on three?” The princess glanced up, holding her hand up
near her face to keep an eye on the men in case one tried to jump to
freedom. Others had tried it before. “Why did you not just place a
holding spell on them? I ask not in criticism, Heddy, but only
because I would like to know.”

“Because a holding spell takes power, more power than the little
energy I expend in three easy little dabs of my foot. So, I crushed
the three fastest ones, and the others simply came to a halt. It’s
often the easiest way.” The witch smirked and dropped the man back
onto Joanna’s open palm.“Murderers, thieves, and rapists. I think
it’s only fair that you should punish them.”

“Yes.” The girl picked up one of the little men between thumb and
finger and held him up to her face to peer at him. She gently rolled
the screaming man between her fingers, her smile flickering as she
watched him scrabbling at her fingers with his tiny hands. “I shall
be glad to punish them.” 

Then Joanna noticed that these men were slightly bigger than the
merchants had been – perhaps three inches tall – and remarked upon
it.

Hedvelga nodded. “Yes, they’re around three inches. I didn’t shrink
them quite so much because it made them easier to catch in such a
dark place – and also because it requires less power. But they’re
still a nice, easy size to work with, I think.”

Joanna grinned. “Mmm…Yes. A very nice size…” 

“Would you prefer them naked?”

The princess wrinkled her nose. “Oh, yes please! That would be most
amusing!”

“Fine…” Hedvelga murmured a few words and a second later all the men
were in their birthday suits. 

Joanna laughed delightedly and turned her captive upside down. “It’s
very interesting to move them around when they have no clothes, isn’t
it?” 

“Yes, it is,” her friend agreed, amused by Joanna’s expression.

“Now let’s see what I can do with him…” The princess allowed her
fingers to open and watched as the man fell to the floor at her feet.
He was so light that the fall didn’t injure him badly, but before he
could even get up, Joanna set her foot down on him and crushed him
under her bare toes. “Not so squishy as the merchants,” she remarked,
dragging her foot across the floor to make a wavy line. “But I’m not
complaining,” she added, raising her eyebrows as she grinned wickedly
and selected another man, dropped him, and stepped on him as casually
as if she were crushing a bothersome insect. “I’m going to draw a
picture with them,” she explained. 

“What a good idea,” Hedvelga smiled. “I never thought of doing that.”

Joanna looked pleased and grinned as she smeared the tiny man and
turned him into another wavy line, and during the next several
minutes, she crushed six more men and smeared them thoughtfully under
her toes. After the first two men (who she realized she’d used up
rather wantonly to make just two thickish lines) the princess crushed
and smeared the others to pieces much more carefully – in fact while
they were still alive – because she wanted to spread them rather
thinly and make finer lines. The girl trapped her third little thief
under her toes from the waist down and applied careful pressure,
dragging her foot around to crush, mash and smear him and trace the
lines she desired until that half was used up, all the while trying
not to giggle as he clawed at her toes with his hands. “That’s much
better,” she commented, pausing to admire her work as she held the
shrieking, struggling man pinned. “I get more out of them this way.” 

The beautiful princess looked down at the suffering man and smiled
sweetly, “Now I’ll use the rest of you.” She raised her foot then
covered him once more, squashing him as neatly as she could just a
bit at a time to produce the effect she wanted as she guided him
across the floor, his tiny body her paintbrush. She proceeded with
the others in exactly the same way, taking her time, and after the
eighth man had died his slow, agonizing death beneath Joanna’s pretty
toes, the two friends stood side by side for a few moments, looking
down at a picture of a simple boat on the ocean waves. 

“One left,” the princess commented, holding the last man in her
fingers. He was quite fat and going red in the face from his useless
exertions and the enormous pressure the girl was putting on his chest
and back without even noticing. “What shall I do with him to finish
my picture?”

Hedvelga stood and studied the image for a few seconds, then she
responded, “Well…The boat should have a fisherman in it, shouldn’t
it?”

Joanna grinned. “Of course! That’s perfect – and I don’t even need to
smear him, I’ll just crush him a little!” She squatted down and
positioned the little man on his back in the ‘boat’, holding him
under her fingertip as he continued to scream and struggle. “There…
Now, I only need to make him a bit flatter so he looks right in the
picture.” The princess reached for her sandals and slipped them on,
then in a deft movement she took her hand away and covered the last
tiny thief with her right foot, checking his position once or twice
before she pinned him. She stood up slowly, gave him one more quick
check, then pressed down on the little man with practised care. The
man’s tiny body crunched in stages, sounding just like a rotund
beetle being slowly pressed beneath the foot of a quietly pensive and
watchful girl as she crushes it just enough, raising her foot to
check once or twice to see how much more her victim needs to be
flattened (because she’s a gentle girl and doesn’t !
like to stamp on them), then just after Joanna moved her foot down a
teeny bit more and smashed the man’s face in, there was a soft ‘pop’
as his skull gave way under the massive strain. The moment she heard
the unique and unmistakeable sound Joanna eased off. “That should be
enough,” she said, lifting her foot off the crushed man and standing
casually to admire her work.

The princess glanced at her friend. “What do you think?” she asked.

Hedvelga nodded several times as she walked around the picture and
studied it with great interest. “You have considerable talent,” the
witch told her. “It’s quite an accomplishment.”

Joanna also walked around the picture, studying it from all sides.
“You know, the only problem is that our little fisherman is a bit too
small. About half the size he needs to be, actually.” She took up her
former position, and after a few seconds she slipped off her right
sandal again and said, “I’ll use him to draw a fisherman. That will
be best.”

“Yes…And then it will all look in the same style.”

It wasn’t easy, but by moving quite delicately, the princess managed
to squash and smear the tiny man and make him into a very simple but
clear picture of a fisherman – complete with a small fishing rod and
a tiny fish on the end. “There,” she announced, delighted with her
efforts. “I used a little man to draw a little man!”

They shared a laugh, then Joanna brought some wine and they stood for
a while, sipping at their glasses and light-heartedly discussing what
she could do for her next work of art – and how many little men she
would need. They talked long into the night, discussing other
possibilities as Hedvelga drew on her long experience and suggested
many amusing activities that Joanna might like to try, and by the
time she went to bed that night (after they had rather reluctantly
washed away the evidence on the floor) the princess’ mind was filled
with visions of herself as a giant goddess, with thousands of tiny
men at her feet…

She slept very well indeed.
 
                                                                   ***

That’s all so far. What do you think? Do you want to know what our
lovely, legal-aged princess does next? If so, let me know!