In all the ways time changed people, places, and relationships, the best examples could be found in Swan Lake.
And in all the ways it could shape a single couple, the best example could be found in Odette and Derek, a loving married couple, a courageous pair, and, least importantly (to them, anyway), the Prince and Princess of Chamburg.
For a duo that started out being unable to deal with each other, the years and events had certainly had an immeasurable effect, and they became codependent on each other; two halves of a loving whole.
And they knew this.
Somehow, Derek and Odette managed to lead a happy life together when all the trouble with the Forbidden Arts had ended. It was hard for them to believe the way they were living. They had all they could ever want from both the world around them and from each other.
Perfection had come at a price. They paid heavily for the life they'd been blessed with.
And they wouldn't change it for anything. The trials they faced brought them closer together, making their relationship stronger than most.
These were the thoughts Odette had in mind one morning, a few weeks after their second wedding anniversary.
She thought about how they had started off as two children meeting for the first time, immediately disliking each other but not sure why, how they progressed through the years, their relationship turning from a prank-filled, friendship that neither would admit, to the awkward teenage years, when Odette found that with just the right batting of her eyelashes, she could get Derek to do whatever she wanted, to an eventful first meeting as adults, that started wonderfully, turned sour, and then became a miserable separation.
And now, wedded bliss… or so they thought. Derek's maturity had come with responsibilities that he took very seriously, too seriously. But then, like he always did, he came around, and returned to her side as the loving husband he was meant to be, though he had made a nearly fatal mistake.
And when that particular trouble had ended, all was right with the world.
"Too right, I think," Odette said to herself, thinking that things were too quiet. Or maybe that was her sense of adventure tingling, she thought, smiling.
"What's that, Odette?" Derek asked as he was walking up behind her.
She'd been sitting outside in the courtyard, enjoying the waning summer warmth. Soon, it would be autumn, then winter again.
Funny how time went by, changed people, places, everything down to the weather.
"Nothing," Odette said, looking up at him and again thinking of how time changed people.
Derek's face had changed in the time since they were first married. The angles were more defined, his eyes were somehow brighter, and his eyebrows were almost always furrowed with interest. Even his smile had changed. Rather than the broad, almost comical grin he once had, a pleasant, quiet smile graced his lips.
When he looked at her, he saw the same Odette, and he wouldn't change that for anything. She was his rock, the most solid person in his life. He didn't need her to change. He didn't want her to change.
But in a few ways, she had. She matured in the past two years, she'd become more patient, and more wary of the things going on around her. Nothing got past her, nothing happened without her knowing.
"You've been awfully quiet today," Derek said, sitting down beside her. "Is there anything wrong?"
"No, not at all. I've just been thinking about how we've changed over the years. It's not something that I noticed when they were happening, but as I look at us now, I just find it hard to believe how far we've come."
"It is pretty amazing," he agreed. "They're good changes. I'm glad for them."
"So am I. Do you ever worry that we might change too much, though?"
"What do you mean?"
"If everything changes… doesn't it scare you that we might as well? And our relationship? What if that changes? I don't mean to sound needy or dependent, but right now, I cannot imagine my life without you. It wouldn't be worth it after everything, everything that we've seen and heard and touched and experienced for ourselves. I don't want to lose what I have with you, and it scares me to death to think that we might grow tired of each other. I love you now, but what about twenty years from now? How will I feel then? And what about you? Will you look at me in the very same way that you do now even when I'm old and wrinkly and my hair's lost its color? What then?"
It was, to be sure, a more serious and lengthy reply than what Derek had thought she might say. All the same, he answered her honestly, matching her earnestness.
"I'll always see you as I see you now. I see you now as the woman I love, the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I'm not afraid of time changing. After everything that I've been afraid of; the Forbidden Arts, losing you because of some stupid mistake, I can't count time among them because it's not something that I can control, no matter what I do. If something takes you away from me, in nearly all situations, I can at least try to bring you back. I can fight against the Forbidden Arts, my own foolishness. Odette, I can fight against these things, but it's not worth it to fear time. It's out of our hands."
"And you're alright with that?"
"Yes. Because at the end of the day, the end of the week, month, year, whatever, I still have you. I still have the woman I love and have loved for a very long time. I don't care how much you change on the outside; your hair might become grey, your skin might wrinkle, but I'm still going to love you. I made a promise to do that, and though it is easy for me to keep, I take it very seriously. I will keep that promise not until the day you die, but until the day I die."
"That's all I needed to hear. I feel… better now."
He smiled and took her hand. "That's what I'm here for. And I'll always be here to make you feel better. Now, answer something for me."
"Anything."
"Why are you so worried about time?"
"Because I must be turning into a typical woman worried about growing old and losing her husband," she said, laughing a little. "Not really, I just wonder about the future sometimes. Don't mind me."
"But I do mind you, Odette. I mind everything you say. And what is it about the future that makes you wonder?"
"Don't you ever wonder about what will happen to us somewhere down the road?"
"Not often enough, I suppose. I tend to focus more on what's happening in front of me. Looking down the road is sometimes scary, don't you think?"
She smiled. "Yes, but sometimes the things that seem far ahead are right in front of you before you know it."
"Well, since you're the one keeping an eye on things ahead, what do you see?"
"Everything seems too far away right now. Just dots in the distance."
XxX
Nighttime at Swan Lake seemed to be a time of reflection and silence. Nothing ever happened at night, and Odette, for one, was glad for it.
Although she'd had many bad nights, there was something about the stillness of the world when the sun set that enchanted her. On clear nights, when the air was cool and comfortable, she liked to walk around the lake with Derek.
But tonight, she wanted to sleep. She was not inclined to stay up late or ponder the problems of the world. She just wanted to sleep.
And she did just so until about midnight.
Then, something woke her.
It was not a sound, nor Derek's coming to bed – he had already done so hours before.
Odette looked over to see him still asleep. She smiled. He could sleep through just about anything. Still, she was careful when she got out of bed.
Ignoring the sudden cold of the floor as she touched it with her bare feet, she walked over to the window and looked out to see that nothing was amiss. She stood for a moment, holding the curtain back with her pale hand, nightgown shimmering in the moonlight.
She looked like a goddess from a myth told thousands of years ago.
Then, a white light flashed, like a lightning bolt that had been slowed down. It lit up the entire room with an eerie white glow.
Derek woke with a start. He rushed over to Odette, his first instinct telling him to protect her.
But there was nothing to protect her from. The light faded away, and nothing had changed.
Nothing except for the temperature. It was unseasonably cold, cold enough that Odette could see her breath when she exhaled.
Derek and Odette looked at each other expectantly, waiting for something awful to happen. But the room remained silent and cold and still.
Then, a moment later, Derek could see an orange light lick the dark sky.
It was not sunrise. No, it was far too early for that and it came from the wrong direction. It came from the south, where a village that had been established not long after Derek and Odette moved into the castle at Swan Lake.
It was not sunrise. It was a fire.
A few moments later, a plume of grey smoke rose against the red sky.
"What on Earth…"
Odette didn't have time to finish the question before Derek left her side to get dressed. She followed suit.
Upon seeing this, Derek stopped. "You're not thinking of going out there, are you?"
"It depends. Are you?"
"Of course."
"Then I'm going too."
Derek frowned a little at the thought of his love walking into whatever dangers were lurking outside the castle. "I'd be more comfortable if you stayed here."
"They'll need my help out there. You know that."
"I do. But that doesn't make it any easier."
She walked over and kissed him.
"You don't have to be afraid. The danger has passed."
