Hey guys. I've decided to go a different way with this story. Hope you enjoy it!
Odette's heart raced as she flew high above the trees, trying to listen to her eccentric bird friend Puffin, who soared along beside her.
However she found herself distracted as he rambled on about their plan and how genius it was.
As far above the treetops as they were, the air was thinner and Odette was finding it rather hard to breathe. Relying less on beating her wings, she turned to soaring to try and keep up her momentum. Puffin barely noticed the swan's gentle rising and falling and continued to chatter beside her. 'Flying is a bit more exhausting than I thought.' Odette whispered to herself.
Peering into the clearings of the woods, something clicked.
"We'd better keep an eye out for hunters." She interjected into Puffin's rambling.
The smaller bird glanced down and threw his head back with a slight chuckle. "At ease, Odette," he quipped. "I can smell a human a mile away!"
In a blur, an arrow came spiraling out of the trees and grazed Puffin's freshly healed wing, startling him. Odette gasped, but before she could ask him if he was alright, she heard someone yelling from the woods.
"Where did that come from?" Puffin asked, frantically searching the trees below.
Odette barely heard Puffin as her ears strained to pick up any voices coming from the trees. Then, faintly, she heard Bromley's familiar voice in a panicked cry shout "Derek!"
If her heart wasn't already racing, it would have burst through her chest. "Derek…he's here!" she gasped, elated.
Without hesitation, Odette made the motion to dive headlong into the trees, however found herself held back and face to face by one stern-looking Puffin.
"You will not lose control," he said, steadying her face and staring her down. For the first time, Puffin noticed that Odette was looking a little abnormal; she was flush and her eyes were slightly glazed over. "You will follow the plan as outlined." He tried to remind her.
However, Odette was too far gone into her hopeful stupor as she tried to peer around her shouting friend, hoping to catch a glimpse of her beloved prince.
"Acknowledge!" he said, pulling her head back to him.
She pulled away again to peer around him frantically. She had to see Derek. To show him what had been done to her before she lost her chance.
Puffin reached back for her head and a bit louder this time, attempted to regain the swan's attention. "Acknowledge….!" But before he knew it, she had spun past him and dove down into the trees. "Odette!"
Odette went soaring down into the trees with nary a second thought. As puffin regained his composure, he immediately pursued the slightly delusional swan into the forest where she would put her life in danger.
"That prince of hers won't think her any different from an everyday, normal swan. She's going to get herself killed." He mumbled to himself, hot on Odette's trail. But before he knew it, she had disappeared from his sight, lost among the thick trees.
Derek was already beginning to lose his patience, an unusual thing to happen while he was hunting. But this time was different. He wasn't hunting ordinary game, he was hunting for the Great Animal; an animal that could change its shape in the blink of an eye.
Because of this, he had to be on constant alert, not for fear of losing prey, but becoming prey, a notion that was weighted very heavily on his mind as he travelled further into the forest. His instincts were screaming at him to go back and that there was danger within the forests, but his heart was urging him onward. "Keep going…for Odette." He kept telling himself as he dodged any sound or shadow near him.
Just as he came upon a wide trench, he spotted something; a shimmering light just up ahead. Instinctively, he ducked behind a large tree trunk, taking cover. A bright light in the forest could only mean one of two things; a fire or magic and both could mean certain doom.
He peered around the trunk to try and once again catch a glimpse of what emitted the strange light. It was then that he noticed a beautiful white swan flying frantically through the trees, the sunbeams reflecting off of the bird's gossamer wings.
"A swan?" Derek whispered. It was rare to see a swan on a hunting trip, especially in the thickest parts of the forest. As he studied the creature, he noticed the uncharacteristic way in which it flew. It flew with an almost manic speed and gait, uncharacteristic of a normally graceful animal. Almost as if it was running away from something… or toward something. Then it struck him.
"A swan…of course! It's not what it seems." What a perfect disguise for a shapeshifting monster of lore. No one would suspect an innocent little swan of practicing sorcery or harboring ill will.
Derek nocked his arrow and lightly drew back, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. "Just a little closer…" he whispered, drawing his bowstring taught. "Come on…come on!" he urged the bird quietly.
As the swan came within range, it locked eyes with him and lurched with urgency toward him. Taking no chances, he jumped from his hiding place and aimed directly for the bird's heart. "This one's for Odette!" he proclaimed as he released the arrow, sending it spiraling toward the bird's shocked and frozen form.
Puffin searched frantically through the trees for any sign of his lost companion. "Odette!"
No response. "I hope I'm not too late…" he whispered in despair. Just then, he caught sight of her, flying through a trench, the sunlight refracting off her wings. "Odette!" he shouted again, but she did not hear him.
That's when Puffin spotted him. It must have been him; Prince Derek was hiding behind a large tree in a position to strike. Puffin doubled his efforts and flew as fast as his small wings could carry him.
Derek lunged out from behind the tree and with a proclamation of revenge, arrow aimed straight for the Odette's heart. Odette stopped abruptly and hovered for a second in disbelief.
Puffin screamed. "Odette!" and leapt into action, diving straight into her side and knocking her out of the arrow's way…hoping he was in time as they plowed into the underbrush.
The sound that permeated the air of the forest was chilling.
As the arrowhead pierced the swan's right wing, it was barreled into by a flash of black and white, sending it falling out of the air into a large patch of bushes.
Derek stood dumbfounded for a few moments as several questions flooded his mind. 'How the hell did I miss? It was right in front of me.', 'What flew into the swan? It happened so fast…', 'Why did that swan's cry sound so incredibly…human?'.
Shaking his confusion off and assuming he would soon feel repercussions for wounding the animal, Derek sprang into action and followed the path over the patch of bushes. Catching the predator while it was still tending its wound would be the most opportune situation for delivering the final blow.
Sensing no immediate signs of danger, Derek approached the bushes hesitantly. Reaching into his quiver, he pulled another arrow free and knocked it as he inched closer. Peering into the bushes, the first thing he noticed was a small black and white Puffin lying next to the wounded swan.
'How unusual. Puffins aren't from anywhere around here…' Derek thought absently.
Derek, suspicious that the Puffin was some sort of changeling accomplice, took aim at the swan at an almost point-blank range. He hesitated when the swan opened its eyes and stared him down, not daring to move. He felt a tinge of unusual remorse when he thought he saw tears pooling in the violet eyes of the swan… those eyes that looked so much like…
He then took to note the uncharacteristic golden mark that the swan bore on its head…almost like "Odette…" Derek whispered to himself.
An explosion of fantastic light erupted from the bird's body. Derek stumbled backwards, having been stunned by the burst of energetic magic.
He blinked several times, trying to regain his sight. Panicked, he reached around for his bow that he had dropped, but could not find it. "Damn it!" he shouted in frustration at his lack of sight.
A rustling in the bushes where the swan had been caught his attention. As the dust settled, he found his sight returning to him. He heard a hiss of pain and quick, ragged breathing. Human breathing.
'So it was a changeling.' Derek thought. 'This could be my last chance. I'll never forgive myself for not bringing a sword as backup…'
He pulled an arrow from his quiver and held it like a dagger in a last-resort attempt to finish off the creature. As he approached the bushes, his heart almost jumped from his chest. And then it sank.
"…Odette?"
Odette had never felt pain like this before. The arrow had pierced directly into her left wing right into the muscle. On top of being delirious from the lack of oxygen, she was now losing blood. 'That was so stupid of me…' she thought. 'I should have been more careful. Of course he didn't know it was me. This is not good. There's no way I can fly away like this.' She thought as she squinted to examine the damage. She saw Puffin lying face-down next to her, unconscious. 'Puh...Puff…' she struggled to call to her friend as the pain was so intense. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to maintain consciousness. If she couldn't do that, then she was as good as dead.
As if he heard her thoughts, the helpless swan found herself cast in Prince Derek's shadow. She heard him knock another arrow. Odette dragged her eyes open, looked up at him and instantly felt a stab of sorrow. With another arrow aimed directly at her, Derek stared her down with intense scrutiny, sizing her up. She stared right back.
'No…not like this. Not you, Derek.' She tried to will him telepathically to stand down, knowing that once he finished her off, she would transform back into a human, and that he would never forgive himself once he realized what he had done.
Her tears of pain replaced with tears of sorrow realizing that there was no way he could recognize her in this form. Then, she felt a glimmer of hope as he hesitated, his bowstring going slack. He whispered her name faintly.
It all went black from there.
"Odette!" Derek shouted her name as he threw the arrow to the side and gathered her broken body in his arms. "Oh, God, what have I done to you?" he whispered in anguish. Pulling back from her he noted that she was unconscious but breathing deeply. Realizing that he needed to act fast, He shifted her so that her entirety rested against his shoulder.
He needed to remove her sleeve to get better access to the wound. Ripping the fabric off he realized that the arrow had run her through and would have to be broken to be removed. Grabbing the arrow with both hands, he snapped it and removed any lose pieces, sure that they would not become caught in the wound and infect it. Slowly, he slipped the two halves out of each side, trying not to retch as he did so. Odette was mercifully still and immune to the pain while she lie unconscious.
Once the arrow had been removed, he tore a few scraps of fabric off of the skirt of her dress, wrapping some tightly around the wound to form a makeshift tourniquet and using the rest to sling the arm so it would not move while he transported her. He whistled for his horse, hoping that the stallion would hear him.
After a few moments, Derek realized that he must have left his horse behind quite a ways and would have to meet him halfway. Scooping his beloved princess's body into his arms, he made way back to the clearing where he and Bromley had left their steeds to graze.
As he made his way, he continued to call for both his horse and Bromley. Neither answered as he tried to find a path that was the least disruptive to his venture.
"Derek!" he heard his best friend shouting.
"Brom!" Derek shouted as a wave of relief crashed down on him. "Hurry I need your help! This way!" he shouted continuing on toward the clearing.
"Oh thank goodness I found you! I thought I was a goner! Are you hurt?" Brom shouted, following a parallel track through the trees that led toward their horses.
"No, I'll explain later." Derek retorted as they continued onward.
Derek reached the clearing before Bromley did and whistled for his horse, the steed dutifully trotting over to his master.
"Brom, where are you?" Derek shouted for his friend.
"Over here!" Bromley said, crashing through the trees, tripping over a root and falling face-first into the clearing. When he regained his composure, he froze at the sight his eyes beheld. "O-o-o… is that really her, Derek?" he stammered as he recognized his childhood companion covered in a disturbing amount of blood and looking to be in quite a dire state.
"Yes, it is." Derek asserted. "Now get over here and help me. We need to get her back to the castle immediately."
Bromley obliged, running over to his friend and assisting him in mounting his horse with Odette limply astride in front of him. "Are you sure it's not some sort of trick, Derek?"
"Of course I'm sure!" Derek snapped. "Don't you think I'd recognize my own fiancé when I saw her?" he immediately regretted it as Bromley flinched at his response. "Look, I'm sorry I shouted, but we have to get her back soon or she might…" he dared not finish the thought.
Bromley nodded, absolved of his suspicion, joining his friend as they raced back to Chamburg.
The friends were silent as they rode, careful to keep it at a speed that was fast but gentle so as to not injure Odette further. The closer they got, the more Derek realized that what he had said to Bromley was so wrong – he had in fact not recognized Odette when it might have mattered most, and now her life hung in the balance because of his mistake.
Derek acknowledged that he had gotten too caught up in his pursuit of the Great Animal that he had lost his sense of reasoning. His thoughts drifted to the swan. Why was Odette shapeshifted? He had never known her to practice any sort of magic or transfiguration – it was largely forbidden in both of their kingdoms. He reasoned that she must have been cursed or placed under some sort of enchantment. Then he remembered her composure as she flew toward him. Of course she would have pursued him, she was trying to get his attention. Perhaps even trying to lead him back to her captor.
When they reached the gates of the castle it was pitch black except for the light emitted from the windows. Derek immediately dismounted and called forth several of the guards to assist him in getting Odette to the infirmary. Bromley led the horses to the stable master and returned to Derek's side with great concern for him. He still had not explained what had happened to Odette and he was interested in finding out.
By the time they reached the infirmary, it was in a complete state of panic. The first guards to hear of Odette's return were sent to wake maids and healers and rush them to the infirmary, relaying as much information as they knew along the way. When they arrived, many of the handmaidens familiar to Odette sobbed at seeing the princess in such a state. The healers quickly began their work and barred all others from the room. Derek was finally able to take an ounce of comfort when he knew that his beloved was in a bed in the infirmary surrounded by dozens of professionals who would know best how to take care of her.
Derek then took it upon himself to wake Rogers and gave him as brief a rundown as he could. He instructed him to meet him in the infirmary in an hour and reluctantly told him to wake his mother and bring her as well. Derek then returned to the library, Bromley on his heels.
"What happened out there, Derek?" he asked, shutting the door behind him with a sound click.
It was then that Derek did something that Bromley had never seen him do – he fell to his knees and began to sob uncontrollably as the anguishing reality of what had happened began to set in.
Bromley did not know how to handle this situation. He let Derek continue for a few minutes before he hesitantly knelt down next to his friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
When his sobs calmed to whimpers, Bromley was able to clearly make out what he had been saying through his sobs. "I didn't know it was her…how could I have known?"
It was then that Bromley began to piece it all together. "You need to tell me what happened out there Derek. I can't help you if you don't tell me."
Derek considered it for a second before giving a solitary nod, starting to regain his composure. Bromley gestured for him to have a seat by the fireplace while he poured Derek a glass of something strong to calm his nerves. Derek downed the first glass of welcoming liquid in one fell swoop, holding it up for another. Bromley obliged his friend, hoping that this would get him to spill what had happened. Bromley poured himself a glass, figuring it couldn't hurt his nerves with all that had transpired that night. He took a seat across from his friend who was clearly traumatized by the events in the woods. He did not push Derek for answers, instead letting him decide when he was ready to talk. After a while he spoke slowly, quietly.
"I thought it was the Great Animal," Derek said, absentmindedly swirling the liquid in the glass as he spoke. "The swan was coming so fast…I…I panicked."
Bromley was confused. "What swan, Derek?"
Derek lifted his eyes for the first time, red and swollen, to meet his friend's. "It was a beautiful thing… too beautiful to have been any ordinary swan. And that's when I thought everything clicked – the Great Animal could have been anything right?" he took another long swig out of the glass. "Odette was the swan." He said sadly, biting back tears. "And I…" Bromley stopped him with a shake of his head.
"I get it, Derek. You don't need to continue. How could Odette have been a swan? It just doesn't make any sense." Bromley pondered it over in his head – the whole situation was unorthodox.
"I think she was cursed…some sort of enchantment." Derek decided to throw out his earlier idea.
"Who would want to do that to her?" Bromley asked.
"The same one who killed King William." A voice from behind them spoke. Derek immediately recognized the voice of his mother, Queen Uberta. Derek looked up at his mother with great sadness as she approached. Uberta, sensing her son's anguish, rushed to him. "Oh, my poor boy. I heard everything." She brushed the hair from his eyes as she spoke. "It. Is. Not. Your. Fault." she enunciated each word to try and drive it into her son's head.
"And I think I might have some idea of who could be behind this whole thing."