AN: Yeah, I know, you don't care about my opinion, you're just going to skip through this, blah, blah, blah, but for those of you who were wondering, I'm going to explain why I'm revamping the sequel to The Swan Princess.

First, I love The Swan Princess, obviously. Second, I was dreadfully disappointed with the sequel. Honestly, it could have been MUCH better if I had written it, but alas, no one asked my opinion. So, I'm writing my own sequel. The general story line will remain the same, and you my notice that I'll be alluding to the actual movie quite a few times. My main problems were

1) How absolutely retarded everyone in the movie became. Seriously, one year, and everyone's brain goes to mush? Come on.

2) How much of a whiny little idiot Odette was. Really! OMG, I would have left her too if she'd been like that! "You'll have to kill me" verses *sad face as Derek walks away* really wore on my nerves

And 3) How much of a complete jerk Derek was. Honestly, any normal person would be scared to death of losing their significant other after everything that happened in the first movie! Derek did not do a complete 180 in the course of one year, people! No chance!

I'm basically trimming the fat and adding some muscle, if you'll forgive the stupid metaphor. I'll probably be redoing the third movie too, but we'll see.

Also, this is not going to be as silly – although I can't say the humor in the second movie was the result of comedic talent on the part of the actors (considering all but two of them ditched the trilogy [ Way to go Liz!] after the first movie) or writers. So, it's not going to be M rated swearing, violence, etc, but it's not going to be for little kids, either. Anyway, I'm shutting up now (in case you were wondering). Enjoy the story Read and Review, yadda, yadda, yadda, all that jazz.

~The Phantom

"Trust me, Odette," Derek cooed as he guided her down the hall, holding his hands over her eyes. He was quite enjoying himself. He felt a little smug, feeling like this was the best idea he'd ever had. And it was. He was about to make the love of his life extremely happy. What wasn't good about that? He continued to guide her by the shoulders toward the end of the corridor, where a door was waiting for them.

"I would if I knew where we were going," she replied, trying to feign irritation. However, Derek could hear the smile in her voice and he knew she was more curious than anything. He knew she was interested to find out what was going on, and nothing could convince him otherwise. He knew his plan was going to work, now that he piqued her interest. He continued to lead her in the right direction until he had to step in front of her to open the door. Thinking ahead, he had packed a handkerchief in his vest, and he took it out.

"What are you doing?" Odette demanded, not totally un-amused, as he tied the cloth gently around her head, careful not to get it tangled up in her long blonde hair. He tugged on the ends until the cloth was fitted over her eyes. He moved around in front of her and waved his hand in her face to see if she would respond, making sure she could not see through the blindfold.

"Nothing," he replied innocently. "Don't peek," he added as he turned to open the door. Odette could see the light increase through her blindfold, and she could feel the warm late afternoon sun on her face. But where was he taking her? Outside, that was a given. But what was out there that she had not seen before? Why would she have to be blindfolded to a place where she had spent more of her time in the last year. Subconsciously, her mind backed away from the subject, and it switched tracks back to the surprise. What was Derek up to?

Of course, she had expected Derek to surprise her with something, as it was their first anniversary, and he looked for any reason to be extra romantic, but she didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. She tried to piece together the few, vague clues she had, but could think of nothing that would make since on their first anniversary. She heard him sigh, as if he had been in deep thought and could only come up with only one solution. She hoped it would get her to the surprise faster, or at least give her a hint.

He turned around, trying to suppress the chuckling that was building up in his throat. "Well, I can't make you walk blindly anymore, so I think I'm just going to have to carry you the rest of the way." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, she was in his arms, protesting ineffectively, though she wasn't really serious about it. He was grinning widely, glad she couldn't see it, else she would be more reluctant to go with him, though his intentions were purely celebratory.

As he walked, Odette comfortably in his arms, his mind kept wandering back to everything that had passed between him and Odette within the last year. It was funny how the summer before was a living hell, and now the two were so blissful, so content, that everything that happened seemed like a bad dream from a far away place, just some fairy tale made up to entertain children, but they knew those ideas weren't true. It had indeed happened, and sometimes it still amazed them that they survived it all.

Finally, Derek came to the spot he had been headed to. There was a table set for two, right near the lake, the very spot where they had reunited during the time she had been stuck with Rothbart. He could mark in perfect detail where she had transformed, and he could hear in his mind the distant sound of his bow dropping accompanied by those two words that made his heart leap.

"Hello, Derek."

He hoped she would find it as wonderful a spot as he did. He found peace here, as it reminded him of the relief and joy he felt when he turned around and saw Odette standing there, waiting for him, smiling, arms outreached, waiting for him to be in them, to never let go. Presently, he gently set her down, careful to find a spot where the ground wasn't to uneven so she would not trip over something.

"Okay," he said, "now look."

She untied the handkerchief just as he was stepping out of her line of sight. He watched her face go from confused and brighten up into pure joy. He smiled as she turned to meet his eyes. Without a moment's thought, she kissed him, and he agreed. They blocked out the world, the chirping birds over head, the leaves rustling ever so slightly in the wind, the water from the lake washing in and out over the small pond rocks; it all meant nothing at the moment. They broke the kiss and stared long into each other's eyes.

"I thought you might like it," Derek commented offhandedly, breaking the silence.

"I love it," she replied, half whispering in total awe. She knew Derek would plan something special, but this, she would have never imagined. She was impressed, to say the least. She smiled at him, seeing how he was enjoying the look on her face. She thought for a moment that it was even more romantic than the actual wedding, being alone at sunset by the lake. She could not have planned it better herself, she had to admit.

He pulled her into a tight embrace again and kissed the top of her head. "Happy anniversary," he whispered. They stayed like that, not moving, their breathing in sync. Odette could think of no other place where she wanted to be. She was safely in his arms, just like the day she led him to the lake. There was that feeling of invulnerability, like nothing mattered anymore. So long as he held her like this, nothing could touch her.

He unwrapped his arms from around her and smoothly walked past her and pulled out a chair, motioning her with grandeur to have a seat. She complied, again impressed by his romanticism. She knew he'd do anything for her, but this was, again, something she would have never expected. Derek pulled a match and flint from his vest and lit the three candles that were sitting in the middle of the table, next to the vase of roses. These were the only things blocking a perfect view of one another, but this was just another thing that didn't matter to them.

As they ate, 'ate' being a relative term, as they were more interested in one another than the food set out on the table, they talked of little things, news of the day, the height of the shrubs by the lake, the color of paint in the castle and whether or not it should be darker, offhanded subjects like that. Neither one really minded how carefree their topics of conversation were; they were just contented enough to be together. However, there was one thing they avoided; alluding in any way to Rothbart.

The last year had been hard on them, there was no denying that. Those were dark days, and neither one could bear to even think about them, let alone imagine reliving them. For a while, Odette had been plagued with nightmares about Rothbart. Sometime she would not sleep because she so desperately wanted to avoid that face, the man that murdered her father and nearly killed her love. No, she did not want to see that face, not even in the fantasy world of her dreams.

But those dreams passed, and memories dulled, not forgotten, but faded away. Like a sword after many uses, the memories were lass sharp, and no one feared being cut by their constant appearances. This year, they both subconsciously decided, would be perfect – or at least, they wouldn't have to battle evil wizards for their lives and love.

But their decisions meant nothing, their resolutions were as solid as a pillar of sand, for standing in the woods, watching them from a safe distance, but close enough to hear what they were saying, was a dark figure, his back pressed against the tree he was hiding behind, his eyes prying around it. He listened intently to the couple, who were engrossed with each other. He watched and listened to the way Derek spoke softly to Odette, and the way she answered sweetly to his words. The love in their voices was audible, the romance in the air. He sneered.

"All this romance," he muttered to himself, "how utterly pathetic. How absolutely sad. The man who defeated Rothbart is sitting in the middle of the woods trying to please this woman, his wife, and not paying attention to what's going on in his castle. The fool. He doesn't know what lurks just below his comfy little palace. He walks on danger every day and has no idea." The man turned to walk away, black cape fluttering behind him. He walked deeper into the woods, each one of his steps more determined and annoyed than the last. He was a dark man on a dark mission. "I'll soon fix that, Prince Derek. Don't forget about the Forbidden Arts, fool. They're still around.

As am I."