Okay, so, first and foremost, this isn't entirely my story. It belongs to a very talented someone -who does not wish to be named - who has said I may take the story and continue it. So, thank you and I hope I do you proud!

I first read this years ago and saw that it was no longer being added to. I felt it was such a shame because anonymous had something so good going and it would never be seen. So, I emailed the author and now I have full permission to continue writing it (by the way, I saw it on this website: .). You may have already seen this a while back when I first decided to continue it, but I never finished it. This time around, I am going to change it a lot and add in some new things. This is mostly because I feel strange taking the entire story from someone else and I don't want the story to have a disjointed quality about it.

This story, I guess, takes place after the third movie and it has all the characters you know and love! And... yeah... that's all you really need to know!

Enjoy and, of course, let me know what you think!

...

"A whole month?" Odette shook her head in disbelief, eyeing her husband off for the fourth time that day. She took in another breath, "You are going to Lienshire for hunting, for two whole months?"

Derek resisted the urge to roll his eyes, remembering that he was not talking to Rogers, and folded his arms instead. Just perfect, he thought to himself. First Uberta had kicked up a storm at the invitation to hunt – she had never liked the King of Lienshire - and suddenly Odette wasn't thrilled either. The unanimous reaction should not have been surprising, though it did make Derek wonder where he had gone wrong in explaining the situation to the women. It was either that, or the fact that he had never been away for more than three weeks without Odette and so the thought worried them.

"Lienshire is not far away…" he said, hoping to take the argument down another route. "I could be back within hours if I needed to be..."

Odette retorted curtly. "It's a two day carriage ride!"

"And only half of one on horseback!" he retorted impulsively, barely stopping himself from shouting at her. He almost - almost! – wished that someone would intervene at that moment and drag him away to do something of little importance. He would have almost given anything to see Rogers appear with another tedious task. But, everybody apparently knew better than to meddle in the young royals' affairs when they were in a heated argument.

"Odette, why don't you want me to go?" Derek knew that the news of his hunting trip would not have sparked such a drastic reaction normally. He therefore concluded –internally, of course- that there was something else bothering her. His visits to other kingdoms had never been a problem before.

Odette took in a breath, ready with the same answer she had given an hour ago. "You know I don't like you hunting and…" she trailed off, scouring her mind to find another legitimate reason. "I just… well…" She went blank. That left no other choice but to argue. "And just what are you hunting exactly?"

"Nothing in particular… Odette, very rarely do we actually hunt anything specific. You know that."

"Then why are you leaving?" she asked.

"Leaving?" he scoffed. "You make it sound like I am trying to get away!"

"It wouldn't surprise me with how many days you've actually been in the castle..."

Derek's eyes softened slightly after catching that hint of vulnerability in her tone. "I could never leave..." and he gently brushed his hand across her cheek. She broke the gaze, clearly not engaged in his touch.

Apparently it wasn't a weakness in her voice.

"Shall I ask again?" she snapped. "Why are you going to Lienshire to hunt, if it serves no purpose?"

His eyes, too, turned sharp, ready to bite back. "Because I was invited and it would be disrespectful not to go!"

The two just looked at each other, weary from the day of bickering now that they had said their arguments a dozen times over. They didn't need to say it, but they needed to avoid each other for a while. The break would do everyone good. Odette and Derek nodded ever so slightly in agreement at one another, signalling a pause in the argument, and turned away from one another in unison.

Derek wasted no time in getting away, speeding down one of the many halls. His haste even made one of the maids press up against the wall to accommodate him. But, it didn't seem to matter how fast or far away he physically got from Odette because her voice just followed. With her voice swirling in his head, he could not help but think about her arguments in detail. Odette had never been quite the same since her kidnapping and he was starting to see the queerness of it again in her points. Anytime hunting came into the picture, she squirmed. It was no secret why, but it did irritate Derek at the worst of times.

He shook his head again at the childishness of it all and headed for the library where he would immerse himself in a book for a few hours.

...

This argument was different. Even though they fought annually about something major, Derek and Odette had never really had a screaming match like this before. Derek wondered idly if this was going to be a common occurrence.

They entered the dining hall behind one another, still shooting their arguments back and forth as faithfully as they needed air. He followed her in, finding her hips weren't as alluring as they should have been at this time of the evening, and made his way to his seat. The extensive length of the table was almost comforting; he probably wouldn't be able to hear her from the other end. Were royal dining tables designed as such for that reason?

They sat at opposite ends, as per usual, and let the large space between them highlight the tension. The table, to make it worse, was empty, save the ornate candelabra which broke a perfect view of one another. You could almost swear the little flames flickered in fear of the glowers the two so immaturely conveyed.

Derek knew he wasn't losing the argument, by much. In fact, he had conjured a perfect, new reason that was sure to make him victorious. But, then, Frederick brought out the soup entree and so Derek held his remark in for a little bit longer for courtesy's sake.

The two ate in silence.

The main meal, a golden roast chicken with vegetables fit for a king, then followed suite and was placed in front of the royals before the plates from the first course had been taken. Frederick knew as well as anyone else that the prince and princess didn't need an opportunity to say anything.

Odette and Derek complied with societal rules – if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all - and kept silent while they ate. Every moment or two a little ding of metal to china would resonate over the flickers of the candle flames, and neither of them looked up at the sound. The room was a little too silent when compared to the norm.

Finally, Odette broke the trend. She placed her knife and fork down ever-so-gracefully against her plate and wiped her mouth with the serviette. With her shoulders squared, she silently demanded her husband's attention, and was only satisfied when he too placed his utensils down.

"I'm returning to Lyleshire."

Derek's mouth dropped open, barely missing the floor below. He didn't know the whole story, but he could tell from her proud delivery that he wouldn't want to know.

Odette looked down at her folded knife and fork. "And I don't know when I'll be back."

If there was a time to say something, it was now. Derek knew that, but he could scarcely find the words to say what he was feeling. He certainly was not going to Odette's home town in the near future. That he was aware of, at least. And he was sure that he had another King coming to stay in three months' time... That meant that he wasn't scheduled to go with her...

Already in an internal panic, he blurted the first thing that came to mind "You're leaving?"

She, in turn, had to hide the hurt from his accusation. To say she was mortified was an understatement. "You may be Prince of Chamberg, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm their queen. My people need me. You would do the same if the situation were reversed."

"But..." Derek stood up confusedly, unsure of what he should do. Odette leaving on her own was out of the question. "That's improper..."

Odette also stood up, only with more purpose in her movements. "Do you see my perspective now?" she asked, folding her arms. Rhetoric had always been a strong point of hers. "And how is visiting my kingdom improper? How is tending to my people improper?"

He didn't respond. The only thing he could do was shake his head to indicate his dislike for her news.

"You are welcome to join me, but it seems you already have other plans..." Odette began, creeping up to the final blow in the fight. She looked at Derek to gauge what he thought of her news, and liked that she was finally having some sort of effect on him. "Think of it this way, now you have more time for your month-long hunting trips without me."

Like a punch to the face, Derek lost sight of what was happening. Words were sent swirling in his head, creating a chaos that he could not tolerate. Something told him that this was going to change their lives forever. "So you won't be here anymore..." he barely rasped, having control enough to begin exiting the dining hall.

Odette followed on behind. "What difference does it make?" she quipped. "Derek, you don't always come home. Sometimes I don't see you for a week. "

He stopped dead in his tracks. Nobody was as forward with him as Odette was. And she was right.

Noting the extra tension in his shoulders, Odette realised that she may have taken tonight a bit too far and heaped too much news onto him at once. She moved a step closer to his back and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It will all work out…" she soothed. "I can come back for a few days every now and again until the villagers get back on their feet... The fires have wiped out most of the crops and destroyed some farms. They need support, Derek. I can't abandon them just because I don't live there anymore..."

Already, Derek knew that he would not be satisfied with the few days he would be allowed to see his wife. Not a chance. He turned around to look at her. "You get seasick, Odette. By the time you're well again, you'll have to go back."

She shrugged, not denying his logic. "There's nothing stopping you from coming to me."

She saw it, the pain each word being etched into him caused. He could not leave his kingdom either, and so he was beginning to understand the predicament Odette was in. Of course he would sail the seas to see her when he could, he just didn't know how often that would be.

Odette planned this, he decided internally, her arguments would not have been this strong otherwise. They would've been strong, but not like this. Derek didn't know how to retort; he didn't like this idea anymore than Odette had liked his.

Being the nurturing person she was, Odette acknowledged Derek's deep thought process. He truly didn't want her to leave and wanted a way to express that to her. She stepped closer to Derek and embraced him, wanting to melt his troubles away. He, in response, encased her to him, never wanting to let go.

...

Derek sat back against the pillows, finding them to be of little comfort. He left the torch beside the bed lit for a while in hopes of Odette coming to him tonight. He wasn't going to hold his breath, though, after the argument had ended the way it did.

How he was going to miss Odette because, there was no denying it, she was going back home for at least a full year. He would not be able to stay with her the entire time, but thought that he might get a week or two here and there. Unfortunately, that was the best he could hope for and he didn't like it.

He didn't know whether he would be able to tolerate multiple nights alone and days without seeing her smile. He had lost her twice before, and nearly a third, and this new plan of hers made it feel like she was going forever.

There was a soft knock on the door, then, interrupting his distressing thoughts. He got up off the bed, not wanting to dwell on such ideas, and made his way over to the door. Surely nothing was so urgent that it required him at this hour...

He pulled the door open, and Odette stood behind it looking innocently up at him. He managed to smile gently. "I'd hoped you would come..." he said, taking her by the hand.

She obliged with a similar smile, and stepped into the room.

Derek took her robe from her and moved to drape it over a chair. He caught sight of the moon in his window and remembered the night those years ago when it was needed most and failed to appear. "A year is a far too long a time without you..." he remarked, turning his back on the memory.

Odette was already sitting on the edge of the bed. "If I don't go, I might perish from boredom!"

"That's not funny," he protested, moving to extinguish the torch by Odette.

She hoisted herself onto the bed and shifted to rest her back on the pillows, just as Derek had done before she arrived. The room suddenly turned pitch black. "I wasn't trying to be…" she argued.

He sat down next to her and draped an arm over her shoulders. She snuggled into his side.

"When do you leave?" Derek whispered, trying to compensate for their loud voices in the castle earlier.

Odette took in a long, reluctant breath. "I leave on Monday..."

She felt him stiffen beside her, and had to stop herself from nodding at the predictability.

"A week?" he exclaimed as quietly as he possibly could.

"Aha..."

He sat upright, retracting his protective arm. "I won't even be here..."

Odette looked down at her knees guiltily and then accompanied him in an upright position. Even in the dark, she knew to comfort him with a hand on his shoulder and a kiss on the cheek.

"Derek?" She turned his head in her direction. "It's late. We'll discuss this in the morning," she suggested. He grunted slightly and turned his head back out to the blackness in front of them.

Odette sighed and lay back down, knowing that he would join her very quickly.

"Tell me something…" he mumbled, waiting a moment before continuing. "Why is it that you and mother always seem to have the same reaction to things like this?" He didn't expect a specific answer, but more of a generic one, and his lowered expectations finally paid off.

She sat up again, biting her bottom lip. Could she tell him that Uberta had found her yesterday and begged to persuade him to stay? No, it would just make him feel worse.

"Great minds think alike..." she replied.

He wanted to laugh, but the effort would require more happiness than he felt at that moment. After all, he and Odette were going to be separated for months on end and he only had a few days of freedom left with her. Nothing would lift his mood.

Then he felt Odette's hands running sensuously up his back. Shivering at her divine touch would have suggested that he was willing to accept her leaving without much thought. So he resisted the instinctive reaction. He didn't want to show acceptance, but he also wanted to take advantage of the time he had left with her.

Unfortunately for him, Odette knew his weaknesses well and took hold of his hand. Gingerly, she placed a lingering kiss on each of his fingertips.

"We should start making up for lost time..." she said quietly.

He looked at her in the dark. Time, he thought, that he had not agreed to lose.