This was begun so so so long ago. People kept writing stories like "This is ToA characters in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" or "This is OP characters in CINDERELLA" or "This is ToS chars in THE LITTLE MERMAID" in and I was like "Where's the love for *cool* other stories like The Wild Swans?"

So I made it.

Not much else to say.

When I say "old" though, I mean like, "back when the game first came out" old. I don't know why I never uploaded it here, but eh, whatever. The anime and the 3DS game and lots of other things are making me look into the game again, so I might as well upload here.

I don't own ToA, but Hans Christian Andersen's stories are Public Domain, so there's one bullet dodged.

Also Warnings: Hans Christian Andersen's stories are not your kawaii desu Disney stories. There is pain and sorrow and anger and death. Bad things happen that never get resolved, and enemies sometimes never even get their comeuppance. If that somehow makes you sad for whatever reason, then you don't have to read this. Also it might be a good idea to read it yourself if you're planning on tossing this your little sibling's way.

That being said, I hope you enjoy what I have here so far!

READ ON!


Once upon a time, in a land known as Kimlasca, there was a handsome king named Ingobert. He was a kind and benevolent ruler, who loved his wife and children dearly. He had seven children in all: six boys and one girl.

Jade, the eldest, was the coolest, coldest, and most collected of his siblings. He was the heir to the throne, and took his responsibility seriously. There were none in the Kimlascan military that did not treat Jade with the utmost respect.

Peony, the second, was the most jovial of his siblings, and hardly a day passed where he did not smile. Peony and Jade were close in birth, and the two stuck together like glue.

Dist, the third, was the darkest, most reclusive of his siblings. He enjoyed fiddling with whatever he could to invent things no one really wanted. He would show his findings to Jade in hopes that the heir would recognize him as his favorite sibling. Jade, on the other hand, simply did not have the time for such childish games.

Natalia, the middle child, was the only female, surrounded by boys. She was graceful, beautiful, pure, and sweet. There was no person in Kimlasca that did not love her kindness. Of all the people who loved her, it was her brothers who enjoyed her company the most.

Asch and Luke, the fifth and sixth, were twins. Asch was the angriest and Luke was the most pessimistic. Because they shared their mother's womb, the two were always fighting. The only one who could halt their quarrels was Natalia, as they wanted to please her whenever she asked them to stop.

Ion, the last, was the most quiet of his siblings, was very thoughtful of the feelings of others. Because of this, he was also the most naive. His siblings always had to take care of him.

The children, despite their differences in age, personality, and dreams, all enjoyed each others' company, and not one was seen without another near to him or her. Their love bound them together, and they assumed that life would never change.

That was, however, until their mother died. To quell the unrest of a missing queen, their father immediately married another woman, a noblewoman by the name of Nebilim.

The moment she was brought into the household, Jade glared at the woman. He shielded his siblings and stared the woman down. It was obvious who she was. Nebilim was a witch, an evil woman who practiced the dark arts.

"Father may have chosen you to be his wife," Jade said snidely, "But that does not make you our mother!"

"You filthy wretches!" Nebilim shouted at the children, making Natalia hug Ion to keep the boy from crying, "Once I am queen, you will all be my children! If you do not respect me, you shall regret being born!" Dist threatened her bodily harm and the witch spat at the children's feet, swishing from the room with a hiss. Luke had to hold Asch back from spilling her blood.

"Don't you understand?" Luke asked, his eyes wide, "If we kill her, Father will switch us! There is nothing worse than an angry father!"

"Then what are we to do?" Peony said, putting his hands on his hips, "Who knows what she will do to us if we let her have her way!"

"I don't like her, Natalia! What will we do?" Ion asked, looking up at his sister, "Do you think she'll separate us? I don't like this one bit!"

"It's okay, Ion," Natalia replied. If there was one thing that could calm the boys down from a discussion as heated as this, it was their sister. "I'm sure Father is smarter than that. He will not allow us to be hurt."

Peony turned to his older brother, who held his chin in deep thought. "Jade… is something the matter?"

The heir continued to glare at the doorway Nebilim had left from as if she were still standing before him. "I don't trust her… I can't help but feel… something is going to happen…" Jade looked at his siblings. "Whatever you do, don't speak with her, don't converse with her, and avoid her at all costs. We're going to show that she is not welcome in our family…"


Nebilim showed her contempt for the children even during the wedding. As the entire palace practiced for the ceremony, the queen forced the children to sit away from their father, giving them none of the sweets promised for the guests. Peony happily let the two rocks Ion was told to play with converse with each other, aided by his own voice. It seemed to cheer the youngest up just a bit. Asch and Luke whispered darkly to one another, and Natalia twiddled her fingers, looking quite nervous.

Sensing the princess' discomfort, Jade reached out and placed his hand on hers and smiled at his sister. "Natalia, as long as we stay together under this roof, I swear that nothing will happen to you. Nebilim will die before she lays a hand on you."

Natalia looked up at her older brother, and she took his hand, crying deeply into it. "I'm not worried about me, Brother… I worry for your safety, and the safety of our other brothers. If any of you were to be hurt…"

Jade shook his head good-naturedly at her sudden emotion, handing her a handkerchief. "Natalia… nothing like that will ever happen, do you understand me?" The princess took the kerchief and began to wipe her tears. Whenever Jade promised something… he never broke it…

…why should now be any different?


The wedding of King Ingobert and Queen Nebilim was over before the children realized it, and the princes and princess were soon seated, as usual, away from their father, but at least now they could eat some sweets. Ion happily ate the honey sweet apples as Dist dug into his slice of cake. The children tried intently to ignore their father's wife's howling laughter, and instead focused on sweets (all but Jade, who didn't like sweets that much. He seemed intent on continuing his studies, writing on a gold tablet with a diamond pencil). Every once in a while the heir would glance up, glaring at the queen as she whispered into Ingobert's ear.

Everything went normally until the queen suddenly stood, and everyone fell silent to listen to her speak. "I thank you, all of you, for attending this wedding for my husband and me. Now that everyone has fed themselves, I would like to announce something important. Natalia, would you stand?"

The princes froze, and Natalia stared at Nebilim with a peculiar look in her eye. Ion grabbed at the princess' dress. "Don't do it, Natalia!" the youngest cried, "She'll steal your soul, I know it!"

"I knew she was up to something, I say we slice her to bits, right here!" Asch hissed.

Jade looked at Natalia through his glasses, as if reminding her silently of his promise. Natalia nodded her head, faithful that no matter what happened, they would be okay. She stood up and curtsied lightly to her stepmother. "What is it you may ask of me, Your Majesty?"

"It is your whole personality," Nebilim said nastily, "You are every inch of you, a princess. I say that a princess must not only know of the life of a noble, but the life of a peasant, as well!" There were many "hear hear!"s and several people clanked their glasses together. Peony didn't like where this was going, and Luke looked down at his cake pessimistically. "Princess Natalia, until you grow to the age of eighteen, you shall forthwith be not my daughter, but the daughter of Badaq and Sylvia, the peasant farmers of Sheridan. Then, when you return to the castle, shall your father and I see if you are fit to be a true princess!"

"You can't do that!" Peony shouted, leaping up as Asch joined him, "Natalia has never left these walls! You can't separate her from us!"

"SILENCE!" The king roared, and Luke stood up to take his sister in his arms and comfort her, as she was beginning to sob, "This decision is Nebilim's and mine alone! I demand you be silent in my presence!"

Natalia let her brother comfort her, but soon the guards came forward to take her away. She released Luke and obediently followed after the guards. The princess turned slightly to look at Jade, who seemed to be deep in thought, his red eyes flashing in contempt as the guards took the princess away. Nebilim was much more conniving than the prince had thought…

It took only a week for things to get even worse…


Nebilim stood before the six princes, who had finally had enough of the wicked woman's ways. Ion hid behind the others as they drew their swords. "Bring back our sister to us," Jade said calmly, "Or I will rend your head from your shoulders."

"You fools!" Nebilim shouted, throwing her arms out. Dist gave a cry as the hallway they stood in became very dark, as if the witch were sucking the very light from around her. "You think you can tell me what to do? I know of your treachery! You desire the throne for yourself!"

"That's the pot calling the kettle black!" Peony said. A smile was on his face as he rushed forward, intent on stabbing her through. "For Natalia!"

"Rue your fate, monstrous beings!" the witch screamed, "Go out into the world and get your own living. Fly like great birds that have no voice. Begone!" A bright flash surrounded the six, and Peony spread his wings. Asch crooned loudly and Luke cried wildly. The princes had suffered the witch's curse, but their will was strong, and she was not able to turn them into ugly monsters as she had hoped; they were turned into six white, magnificent swans. Jade stared in rapture at the spell's results, and suddenly gave a cry. Nebilim began to kick Peony brutally. Being only a swan, the most he could to was nip ineffectually at her thick leather soles.

"Turn back! For now, we retreat!" Jade shouted, but all that came out was a squawk. The swans, however, all understood it, and as Jade fought to protect his brother, the six princes lifted into the air and flew from the open windows, their tears falling like rain upon the streets of Kimlasca.

"What do we do, Jade?" Ion cried, "Jade, I don't *want* to be a swan! What do we do?"

"First, we look for Natalia," Jade said sternly, making the others around him ignore their plight and listen instead to their elder brother, "She must be made known of what has been done to us."

It was early morning by the time they came to the wooded cottage of Badaq and Sylvia. Luke poked his head so he could look into the cottage through the window, and Asch angrily slammed his wings against the panes. However, it was very early, and none of the family had awoken yet.

Dist gave a loud shout when Badaq's fearsome, mean dog barked and bit at Ion, and Jade soon found that it was a lost cause. "Natalia…" the eldest brother murmured as the swans all lifted off and soared away, "I'm afraid I cannot protect you. I only ask that you forgive your evil, lying brother…"

The six swans flew away into the air, searching for a land they could hide away in, away from the wrath of the evil stepmother who had turned them into their new forms and away from their dearly beloved sister.

To Be Continued...


Quick little thing; the original story had eleven swans (twelve children overall), but I began running out of male characters to use at around six. Half is enough, right? *sigh* Maybe I should have had like all of the Ions running around, that would have been a treat and a half.

I hope you enjoy it so far! Tell me what you liked and disliked about it, please~