"The Six Swans"
Costanza didn't know how long she ran and she didn't think about it. She just charged right for the forest edge and kept running. Where before she had grown a little injured, now she smacked her feet and ankles on every rock, stump, and branch that got in her way. The twigs in the trees kept whipping at her and tearing her clothes, but she didn't care as she kept going.
It wasn't long before it gave way to clear country, but she didn't stop there. She only ran all the harder and for the next stretch of woods. And as soon as she finished tearing through those she ran through the next open fields to the following ones. She didn't take stock of her surroundings, and she ignored it when one trip opened a gash on her knee and the branches whipped her arms and legs hard enough to make her bleed. She ignored all of her pain and kept running.
As her initial fear settled from the ghastly sight she had witnessed, growing fear of everything else came upon her. Her brothers were gone. She didn't know what horrific thing had happened to them, and if she tried to think about it the terror would cripple her so she only plowed onward. Whatever had happened, they were gone and she was now alone. Alone and abandoned miles from anyone, with no way home, no one to turn to, and in an open and unsettled country. And, for all she knew, being pursued by whatever horrific things had done that to their servant. Now she was lost, confused, and frightened. It wasn't long before tears began to stream along her cheeks.
The country kept going by, the sights and noises around her grew less familiar, and the sun slowly moved to its zenith and began to descend again. By then, exhaustion and growing grief finally forced her to drop out of her run, and it wasn't long after that she grew so tired that she was forced to walk. She was in another grassy field by then, walking along the uneven ground. Yet as she looked around and the sharp wind blew about her, she felt open and exposed, like strange and malevolent eyes were on her. She soon encountered another line of trees growing along the banks of a river and she ran back into that cover again.
The noises of the woods around her were little better in terms of calming her fears, but she felt less exposed at least. Having spent her life in a castle or surrounded by her brothers, she wasn't used to being in the open alone, and she didn't like it. She took a few more steps inside until she was well in the tree line before she finally halted and leaned against a trunk.
She caught her breath for a few short moments. Her legs and arms were stained with blood, and her dress was quite torn and dirtied. Her cheeks were still wet with tears and her heart was pounding. She wiped for her eyes; trying to get her bearings, trying to calm.
A loud yet distant rustle echoed from overhead.
She looked skyward, almost cringing for cover. Her eyes quickly spotted what it was. An enormous white bird was flapping over the woods, right over the very spot she had stopped to rest.
For a brief instant, she forgot her fear and stared. She had never seen such a large bird. It reminded her of a goose, but it was far too big. The legs were black and the face and bill were orange and black, but the rest of it was white. Almost dazzling white. The day had grown cloudy, but even in the dim sunlight she could almost swear she saw the white shimmer.
Her mind vaguely recalled one of Uberto's picture books of birds, and she remembered one from years earlier. A large bird called a swan. She remembered once saying she wished to see one, but he told her that they only lived further north and none ever came that far south. And yet here one was.
The bird flew away quickly enough, but seeing it had reminded Costanza of Uberto and, as a result, the rest of her brothers. As soon as that happened, the swan was forgotten and her grief returned. The cold feeling in her heart grew more bitter and hollow, almost enough to make her want to cringe. Tears started to well up again. It would have been enough to find herself alone in the world and far from anything she knew, now hungry, thirsty, tired, and sore as well, but her mind thought only of who she had lost.
Something terrible happened to them…but what? Are they all dead? I don't know… I didn't see any blood or anything of theirs other than their clothes. The only man there was that driver…
She winced and shuddered at the horrible memory.
But if they aren't dead, where are they? What happened to them? They wouldn't have left without me, would they have…? No…no, something drove them away. But what? And what was that horrible scream? Did that come from them? Why?
The driver… The horses… Something evil came there. Something evil was in that chest…
She quickly closed her eyes and breathed another prayer. It made her feel safer from whatever had come in the wagon, but it didn't help her beyond that. She had been in such a hurry to get away she was now lost, with no idea where to find her brothers or where to look. The sun was already on its way down, and she didn't know where to go or what to do next.
A pained rumbling came from her stomach, and her knees felt weak. Wincing, she slumped against the tree and sank to the ground. She had been running for hours and was growing quite hungry and drained. She could probably push herself up further, but she had never run so far for so long. It wouldn't be long before she would collapse, and right here in these woods. She opened her eyes and began to look fearfully around, realizing she was still out in the wilderness with wild animals and who knew what else and no way to defend herself…
Something landed in her lap so abruptly she nearly jumped up and flung it aside. As she gave a jolt, she wheeled to it in panic, almost expecting a snake, but froze the moment she saw it.
A cluster of grapes had landed in her dress.
She looked to the sky. There were no wild grapevines above her, but even if there had been the grapes that had landed in her dress were not of a wild vine but something that had been cultivated. However, she did see one thing. Just the tip of a white wing before it vanished over the canopy.
She turned her head. Was that another swan?
She looked back down to her lap. The grapes were thick and ripe, and the thought of having some fruit sounded too good to her at the moment to resist. Although she had some slight reservations, her stomach would have none of it. She reached out, plucked off the first one, and put it in her mouth. It was indeed sweet and ripe, and after her horrible flight it was the nicest, most refreshing thing she had in ages. She soon ate it and had another. For her third bite she ate two. In no time at all, she had eaten the entire cluster. In spite of her grief and soreness, she felt immeasurably better afterward.
She looked skyward again, but still saw no grapevine. She puzzled a moment as to where it could have come from, but the only thing she could think of was the swan's wing.
Did that swan…?
She shook her head. Now that she was refreshed, she had to keep moving. She didn't know where to go or how to start looking for her brothers or her way home, but she had to try and find one or the other. Going back the way she came was out of the question. Even if she could find her way back, the thought of returning to the villa where those snakes were now swarming terrified her. She needed to find a house or town first.
Rising up, she set off on her way again.
As afternoon waned and the sun began to lower, turning the day from blue to yellow to orange, Costanza kept walking along the river. Following it was as good a road to take as any, and while the periodic sounds of a deer or other animals scared her, she still preferred the wooded area to the open grassy areas. Each time the woods thinned out enough due to rocky ground and soil to be forced to walk away from the river, she tried to avoid stands of grass. She was afraid a snake would be lurking in them.
She tried calling out a few times for her brothers, but she knew that was hopeless. Even if they had run off into the wilderness themselves, there was no reason they would have gone the same way as her. And they wouldn't have left their clothing behind either.
That thought scared her further as she was forced to walk away from the river and through a grassy spot to get to the next stand of trees. It already reached up past her waist and she had to push through, but her head remained down as she thought of one fearful possibility after another. If their clothing had been in bits, then what if some beast had come along and torn them to pieces? Yet she hadn't seen any blood… That raised a more horrifying thought though. What if the same fate that befell the driver had befallen them? A mass of horrible, twisted, writhing snakes had burst out from within them and drunk their blood dry…
A shadow fell in front of her. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked forward, and gasped as she saw a swan had landed right in her path. Immediately, it spread its wings wide and began to honk at her, almost furiously.
Costanza had stumbled across a goose's clutch when she was eight years old. She remembered how the parents had hissed and bit at her, chasing her until Tito had wrestled with them and Ruggero had taken her up and run with her. The goose didn't break off, however, and as strong as Tito was its wings had lashed out and nearly broken his wrist. This swan, far larger and more fearsome looking, with wings stretching out farther than a man was tall, filled her with far greater fear. She quickly recoiled, stumbling back and landing on her rear, and shielding herself with her arms in vain to protect herself.
Fortunately, the swan seemed satisfied with this. It folded its wings, straightened its neck, and a moment later turned and flew away.
Costanza was left on the ground a moment, her heart racing and wondering what had just happened. Slowly she pulled herself up, and for a moment she wondered what that had been about. Had she nearly stumbled upon the bird's own clutch? If so, she was surprised at how it so easily flew away.
Yet on standing again, she noticed something. The grass ahead of her abruptly broke into a clearing. It wasn't obvious from the way she was walking, but she could see where the tufts of blades stopped arising just a bit further, right where the swan had planted itself. Seeing a way free from the grass, she moved forward and looked beyond, hoping to see a smooth path back to the woodland.
She got another surprise instead. Just up ahead, the ground went from soil to bare rock, sharp and jagged, and a quick drop off from there went down a hill about twenty feet. She had nearly walked right to it and over it. If she had, the fall could have easily broken several bones. Maybe worse than that.
She held her chest at the danger she had barely escaped, realizing she had been brooding so much she nearly walked right into it. And she would have if not for…
Costanza looked up again, realizing that the swan had just saved her. She looked up and to the sky, but saw nothing. The bird was already gone.
Thinking of this as well as the grapes from earlier, Costanza, more carefully now, began to make her way around the craggy path for easier ground.
When night began to fall, the previous safety of the wooded areas quickly turned fearsome. The shadows lengthened and grew, and the buzzing of the night insects around her head as well as the early cries of wolves and other nocturnal creatures began to make Costanza very afraid. Her thoughts began to turn from her family and more toward what she was going to do that evening. As she walked along, the ground grew rough and uneven again, but she stumbled all the more for trying to watch her step due to the growing darkness. The sounds of each of her own footsteps and heavy breathing filled her with greater anxiety.
She decided to move out again of the forest and into the clearer landscape, but it picked the most horrible time to grow thicker and impenetrable. She now found herself trapped in the woods and as the night grew on she realized trying to find her way through it would only lead her wandering into more danger. The only clear path was alongside the river, but even that was growing miserable. The ground she was passing through now was full of stinging nettles, and with her legs already bare and exposed it made her journey even more painful and uncomfortable. The only solace was the occasional ray of moonlight through the clouds.
As night fell completely and owls began to hoot, Costanza realized she couldn't go for much longer. The one cluster of grapes wasn't enough to give her sore muscles and feet any relief, and she was growing more tired and aching by the moment. She realized she might collapse if she didn't find a place to stay in fairly soon, but she knew that was impossible. Even if she did find a cave or a tree hollow, she didn't dare stay in them now this far into the wilderness. Any number of creatures could be sleeping inside one. Neither did she want to risk staying on the open ground. Aside from the buzzing insects and stinging nettles, snakes dwelt near rivers. In fact, as time went on she found herself risking stumbling over more stones and roots to move away from it.
Finally, about an hour after the stars had come out, she came to something. The river ahead suddenly swelled out considerably, spilling over a much larger area. The tree line opened enough to see the sky far further than before, and to let in far more sparse moonlight. As Costanza came up to this, she saw it had spread so far and the water grown so calm it was practically a lake, and on all sides around it the trees grew tall and thick.
She came up to the shore, using the moment and the extra moonlight to bend near the bank and refresh herself before washing some of the fresh bumps from the stinging nettles. As she did, her eyes caught something else.
A small, one-chamber house made out of clay bricks was nestled in between two of the larger and thicker trees just a bit further down the bank. It was set in such a way to normally be all but invisible, but she had looked to it just as the moonlight hit it just right.
It was dark but it was the only shelter Costanza had seen since the villa. Although she was a bit fearful of what sort of people might be there, she had little other recourse. Pulling herself away from the bank she began to approach it.
As she drew near she made out that the ground flattened into a path that progressively grew flatter toward the entrance, indicating someone had to have been using it. However, she didn't see the slightest speck of light as she neared, and the building itself looked rather weather-beaten and old. Definitely not repaired lately. She heard no sounds but she crept more slowly as she reached the path and went toward the entrance. There was no door, so as soon as she got to the entrance she peered inside.
There was no light inside and not even a candle with which to make light. However, her eyes had been adjusting for some time, and even in the small aperture of the door she was able to see that it was clean at least. There were no beds but several thin mattresses had been lain out. Aside from that, there was nothing but some old empty sacks in a corner and some sealed containers.
The grapes had long since worn off and Costanza was eager for more food, but she forced herself to look away from the containers for now. They were new enough to have been tended recently, and in as bad shape as she was in she wasn't so desperate to steal food from other people yet. The mattresses on the other hand, as thin as they were, looked terribly welcoming. She looked around in the house a bit, but there was no one there.
Leaning her head back out, she looked around and called.
"Hello? Is anyone out there?"
A few crickets stopped chirping and frogs stopped croaking, but other than that silence.
She looked back to the house. The mattresses were made, so it was possible whoever lived there would be back shortly. Yet now that she had stopped, she was quickly growing tired. Her legs were starting to ache and she felt the growing need to sit. She held in the doorway a little longer, but finally decided there was no harm in just stopping in momentarily. Finally she stepped into the house.
She felt a little nervous once inside, not knowing who lived here, but she was really too tired to care at the moment. Since she wouldn't help herself to whatever food they had, she instead moved in a ways and looked around. The floor was bare aside from the mattresses. At first she thought of sitting on the floor, but everywhere she had gone today had been rough and hard. And some of the mattresses were so thin they were practically rugs. As she looked longer at one…she felt whoever lived there, or, from the looks of it, was simply staying there, wouldn't mind her sitting on one.
She turned and lowered herself onto the nearest, facing the door frame for a clear view of both the path and of the lake itself. It was nothing more than a bit of padded cloth, but simply sitting on it was a tremendous relief. Her knees and ankles screamed for joy on finally taking weight off, and even sitting on something reasonably soft was wonderful.
She had hardly sat down and let her legs lay flat when her eyes glanced behind her. There was another bit of rolled-up cloth for a pillow just a short distance away. Whoever was dwelling there could be back at any moment, and lost girl or not they might not be pleased to see her. She should have at least made herself known without inviting herself in…
But she was so tired… And growing more tired than ever now that she was at rest…
Even the roll of cloth looked better than any pillow from the palace. If she could only lay on it for just a little while, just to rest for a few minutes. She wouldn't even close her eyes. Just relax for a short time…
The temptation was too great. Leaning over, she finally lay back and let her head rest on it. Before she could even think to hold her eyes open, she was already asleep.
"Costanza."
The voice was gentle and quiet, practically a whisper. Nevertheless, it roused Costanza from the black oblivion she had entered into quite easily, for it was not only familiar but welcome. Her aching heart surged with joy to hear it.
Her eyes cracked open from the cloth pillow. She was still on her back in the small one-room house, but her head was elevated just enough to look outside.
The sky was completely clear, and the moon shone bright. So bright. She didn't know that it could ever shine so gloriously. The pale light it shed all over the landscape was like a white sun. It was so bright that she wondered how she could have ever slept at all. The dazzling light was almost like a beam in her eyes, spilling over her.
Yet through the light, she saw a shape.
It was almost impossible to make out in detail with how bright the light was shining, but as she winced and moved a hand to her eyes, she just discerned the shape of a great bird with wings sweeping out and flapping as it landed in front of the light. Between those and the thin neck, she recognized it as a swan. The same as the ones she had seen earlier.
The shape began to move toward her. As it did, she leaned up and blinked. It seemed to change as it grew nearer. A moment ago, she was sure it had been a swan. Yet as it drew closer she could no longer tell. The wings drew in, and the neck seemed to lower, or the shoulders raise higher. The waddles it made seemed to turn into longer strides and it grew taller. She leaned up a bit further and blinked again and was astonished. There was no way the shape could have ever been mistaken for a swan now, but it was growing closer yet, and as it reached what had to be the path to the house she finally made out it wasn't a bird at all but a man.
For some reason, the thought of it being the owner or tenant of the house never came to her, although she gazed on in puzzlement none the less. The figure continued to come closer, still swathed in the moonlight, before finally reaching the doorway.
The figure paused there then leaned in. Within the shadow of the hut, the glow was dimmed and she immediately saw his face. She gasped.
Ruggero.
She nearly called out. She nearly wept for joy on seeing him. Yet no sooner had a smile begun to form and her mouth opened than the sound drained from her throat. Something wasn't right with how he looked. For one thing, he was totally unclothed. And with nothing but his bare skin exposed, she saw that it had turned white and shimmering in the moonlight. Almost as white as bird's down. Most of all, however, was his face. It was so strange. So still and quiet, unlike any time she had ever seen Ruggero. It seemed to have an odd melancholy about it, not quite sadness…but like a man condemned.
She wasn't able to say a word as he passed into the room. He said nothing either until he was in front of her. But once there, he bent down and held out his hand to her. It was the same white shimmering pallor. She looked at it and then back up to him. She nearly gave a start at what she saw now. His eyes were rimmed by what looked like pure black. It made them stand out yet the look in them was hollow. Her momentary joy at seeing Ruggero again now started to sink, fearing that she was looking at his ghost…
"Costanza…you must go now."
When he spoke, the girl calmed ever so slightly. It was his voice, at least. Quiet, but him none the less. She had woke up when she heard him calling to him, and now he was here.
She finally found the words to speak. "Ruggero…"
"Quickly. You're not safe here."
She grew puzzled. "I…I don't…"
"This is a den for robbers. You mustn't be here when they return. You need to go. Take my hand."
Costanza hesitated. This phantom visage in front of her not only unnerved her but frightened her a little, especially since Ruggero had never acted quite like this before. However, when he spoke a bit more insistently, she heard his tone of voice briefly. It was enough to make her believe it was him and enough to enkindle her trust. Shaking a little, she reached out and took his hand.
He clasped it but he wasn't hard. Just as firm as he always was. He didn't yank her to her feet either, but only slowly pulled her up, letting her get her legs underneath her; which strangely were no longer sore or hurt. Soon she was at her feet, and Ruggero turned to pull her to his side. She looked up at him, realizing he was drawing her to him just as he always did when she was younger, but he neither smiled nor looked at her. He looked ahead and began to lead her out.
Costanza watched his sad face only for a moment before looking forward, and nearly gasped again. The moonlight had recoiled, but now the world outside, previously dark and full of shadows, was almost as bright as day. Everything was nothing but pale light and faint shadows. It was hard to imagine how she ever could have lost her way in it now.
As they crossed out and onto the path, Ruggero led her on, down it and back toward the lake. The lake was the most brilliant of all. It had turned into a perfect mirror of the moon's light, and it glowed so dazzling Costanza could hardly tell how she was able to see. Yet as she got closer her eyes remained open and saw nothing but brilliant light.
And in its midst, something else.
Shadows out on the lake-like river. She tried hard to look at them this time to make them out accurately. Figures…five of them in all. Each one again seemed like a swan. Fluttering their wings, throwing some of the water on them, or shaking their proud, sinuous necks. She looked as hard as she could and she was certain that they were swans this time. She would have staked her life on it.
But as they got closer yet, the light began to dim. And as it dimmed, the dark shadows shifted and changed; growing more distinct again. They too changed and soon it was clear to her they were not swans and not even moving. They became figures merely standing there in the midst of the river's lake, facing her.
The moon itself seemed to dim next, dim enough to where she could see the shadow of the trees on the far side. The surface of the river smoothed further until it was like glass. And when it did she saw them standing on the water. This time she couldn't contain her excitement.
"Salvatore! Uberto! Tito! Giuseppi! Giovanni!" she cried. With her free hand, she waved to them, and with her held hand she tried to pull Ruggero on harder. "You're here! You're all here! You're…"
Again her voice caught in her throat. Ruggero did not let himself be pulled as he had on all other locations. And as for the five, they neither smiled at her nor even seemed to notice her other than to stare at her. They had that same hollow, melancholy look. Even her little brothers were the same.
Her happiness was again squelched. Seeing them like this made her uncomfortable and fearful. She looked up to Ruggero, but he only kept leading her onward. He never looked at her once. She swallowed. She gripped his hand a bit tighter, as if to verify something. It was warm enough, but she still didn't feel well.
"Ruggero…why do you look like this? Why do you all look like this? Why aren't you smiling or talking?" she finally asked. She swallowed again at the thought of the next question. "Are you…dead?"
"We're not dead, Costanza," he quietly answered. "We're worse than dead."
That chilled Costanza to the bone. The way he said that was deathly serious, and just the fact he had mentioned such a terrible thing rendered the girl mute for a short time.
It was only a little bit farther when they reached the side of the lake. Once at the foot of the shore, Ruggero suddenly turned into her path. It made her halt and she looked up to him. He continued to stare at her with that same hollow look.
"We have to go now, Costanza. Do not stop here. Do not stop until you're far away from here." His hand began to loosen, meaning to let her go.
Yet on feeling that, she snapped back to life. Immediately she gripped his hand more fiercely, preventing him. "Wait…go? What do you mean? Ruggero, why are you all leaving me? Why did you leave me back at the villa? I was scared to death! I've been calling for you and the others all day! Something terrible happened to father's servant! I thought something terrible happened to you! We have to leave here! We have to go home!"
Ruggero slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Costanza. We can't go home anymore." He began to pull at her hand again, moving a foot back toward the water.
She wouldn't let him. She reached out and seized him by the wrist as well, so he would be forced to pry her fingers loose if he wanted to be free of her. "Why? Why can't we? What's happened? What did you mean by…" She trailed off, but she forced herself to finish. "…by why you said?"
Ruggero's face finally changed, but only to grow truly sad now. "I don't want to tell you, Costanza… It will only make things worse. You should think of us as dead…"
"No! No!" She shouted so loudly that even those on the lake began to look sad as well. "I want to know! Why can't we all go home together?"
"Costanza, I don't have much time… We only have a quarter of an hour each night…"
"Tell me!"
"It will only make you sad…"
"Tell me or I'll never let go!"
Ruggero bowed his head slightly. He said nothing, only looked sadder than before. His hollow eyes closed and he sighed, and finally he looked up again.
"We're cursed, Costanza."
Her young face, which had been tightening with growing anger and desperation, now went blank. "Wh…what?"
"That thing that forced father to marry her did it. We were all cursed by her," he quietly continued. "We're not men anymore."
The girl's face tightened. Fear as well as dread crept into her with this new revelation. She began to cringe. "What…what are you, then?"
"Aside from one quarter of an hour every night, we're swans."
Costanza gave a small gasp, not only at what she heard…but at the realization. The feathers she had seen around the wagon. The swans that had flown over her during the day. The one that had dropped and kept her from walking over the escarpment. It had been them…trapped in those bodies. Trapped as mute birds.
Her lip began to tremble. "For…for how long?"
"Forever. We cannot age anymore. Either we live for eternity as swans, or someone or something kills us."
She gave another gasp, accidentally releasing his wrist with one hand to cup her mouth. Her own face began to fill with matching sadness. Ruggero bowed his head, not wanting to look at her now. Not wanting to make things any worse.
"Ruggero…I…"
"You were fortunate to not be there when we received the curse, Costanza, but now that you know the truth and you're still alive, you can't ever go home. If you do, she'll kill you…or do worse to you. She loves misery. That's why she didn't simply kill us. You need to go away. Don't ever let her find you. Just pretend we died. It will be better for you."
Costanza said nothing. She looked at Ruggero with shimmering eyes, tears welling up in them and rolling down her cheeks. Ruggero finally looked back up at her. His own eyes were filled with sadness, but it looked as if he could no longer cry.
"I'm sorry. I have to go now. I have to go back to the rest of our brothers."
He began to pull away. For a moment, her own grief at hearing of their horrible fate let him. He nearly slid his hand free…
Yet suddenly, she clutched it again.
Ruggero gave a start and looked back at her face. Her tears had stopped and her mouth had closed.
"How do I break it?"
He said nothing, simply stared back silently.
Again, she wouldn't let go. "There has to be a way. How can I break the curse?"
He closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. He seemed to grow sadder yet.
"Ruggero."
"I knew you would ask me this, Costanza. That's why I told you to forget us…"
"Ruggero!"
"There is no way, Costanza. Just do as I said-"
"No!" She pulled his hand back to her, enough to make him open his eyes again. "I won't!"
He looked sadder yet. "Costanza, listen to me. It's breaking our hearts to know you're going to have to suffer knowing what happened to us. Don't make it worse…"
"There's a way to break the curse, isn't there? Tell me what it is and I'll do it!"
"You can't…"
"Yes I can!"
"No you can't," he stated more flatly and firmly. "No one can. It's just more torture. Costanza, I told you to-"
"If you don't tell me how to break the curse, I swear I'll hate you forever!"
Ruggero was struck dumb. Costanza's sadness was gone. Now she was every bit as fiery and stubborn as she was at the worst of times. She glared right at him and her young grip was as ironclad as she could make it. She was serious.
His eyes closed again and he sighed, then he opened them again.
"You have seven years to make six shirts. One for each of us."
She frowned. "Ruggero, as if I couldn't sew-"
"From stinging nettle petals."
Costanza's frown faded as she went silent. That task would be hard enough even with seven years to work with. Picking anything from a stinging nettle was not advisable, and to sew from it would be even harder…especially if her fingers were tender from having gathered anything from it. Yet from their petals? Stinging nettles only had small blossoms, and trying to sew them together could easily tear them to bits. She had never tried to sew so much as rose petals together. Would it even be possible to sew two together, let alone make an entire shirt out of them…much less six of them?
She looked again at Ruggero's face. How sad it was. How hopeless. He and her brothers with them, the victims of that horrible thing…
She drew herself up.
"Very well."
"That's not all," Ruggero went on. "For those entire seven years, you cannot speak, laugh, or write. Not in the slightest. Not one word. Not so much as a giggle. If you breathe so much as a single syllable, everything will have been for nothing."
Now Costanza truly did feel overwhelmed. Not so much as a single word or laugh? She wasn't sure if that truly was possible. How many times today alone had she exclaimed when she stubbed her toe or tripped? Would that count? What if she talked in her sleep? And as sad as she felt right now, could she truly go all of seven years without a single laugh?
Seven years. To a girl of her age, it felt like an eternity. Over half of her life. Seven years to do a monumental task and live under a sentence of silence. Seven years of labor in which the slightest infraction, the slightest misstep, would render it all for nothing. A way to break the curse that was effectively impossible. Terribly easy to render useless. Could she do it? Could anyone?
A worm of self-doubt began to eat away at her. It whispered in her ear that Ruggero was right. This was too much for anyone. Perhaps it would be best to do as he said.
She could almost see her free hand reaching out, seizing that worm, and crushing it in her fist. This was her brothers…her family…her loved ones. If she couldn't do this for them, then who could she do it for? How could she claim to call herself their sister?
"Very well."
Ruggero stared quietly back at her. He said nothing, but his face didn't lose its sadness either.
She nodded, as if to affirm to herself. "I'll do it. I'll start at sunup tomorrow. That way I'll know when the sun rises in seven years I can speak again."
He sighed, the sort of sound one makes to a child when they declare a fool's errand such as emptying the ocean or building a bridge to the moon and go after it anyway, not knowing the futility. "Costanza… please don't. Don't make it worse on us."
"Ruggero."
She clutched his hand and wrist even more tightly. She stared right into his hollow eyes.
"If I have to cut out my own tongue, burn my own mouth shut, and pick nettles until my hands are forever twice their normal size, I swear to God…I will break your curse in seven years."
He kept looking at her sadly, but he said no more. Even as he was now, he could tell when her mind was made up. He could not dissuade her.
Finally, she loosened her grip, but she kept her eyes on his. He slowly let it slip, and then walked back into the water. He kept staring at her as she did, but she kept staring back, just as firm, just as fierce, and just as devoted. She had made a vow and she would not break or back down. She wanted them to see that look. She wanted them to see how hard she had made herself to do this, and how she would not give up. She didn't want them to be sad any longer because of this.
Ruggero kept giving her the same look, but his sadness did turn back to melancholy. Whether because she had instilled hope or because he didn't want her to suffer, she didn't know. But he kept looking as he backed up to the others. They all kept staring at her as well. The moon began to glow bright again. As it did, the far side of the shore vanished. It started to sweep over the six of them and swallow them up.
Seeing them fading, she held out her hands and cried to them.
"I'll save you all! I promise! No matter what, I'll save you!"
They vanished into the light, and began to fade from her sight. The sadness surged in her heart again, not knowing when she'd see them again. It drove her onward, made her charge after them. She stepped into the water…
With a sharp exhale, Costanza leaned her head up from the rolled up cloth.
She was breathing hard again; her eyes wide and alert. She looked around herself, expecting to see her brothers still there. However, she saw nothing. Nothing but the inside of the house she had lodged in. It was dark again—as dark as it had been when she laid down. The shadows were back, the moon was again nearly obscured, and the crickets and frogs were both chirping outside.
She turned to the doorway but there was nothing there. The path was clear, and the lake beyond was rough again from the flowing water. She felt much heavier now. The pain from her day's excursion had returned, and now she was stiff and sore. She realized she had to have fallen asleep when she lay down. She didn't know how long she had been out, but whoever was lodging there hadn't returned, obviously.
Robbers…
She remembered that word and stiffened. That was what Ruggero had told her, but…
She looked up and around again. Everything about her was hard, firm, and real. The darkness, to be sure, as well as the regular moonlight and the insects chirping. By comparison, what she had just seen had been ethereal and intangible. Dreamlike. Impossible. The visions she had seen of her brothers had not been anything from the real, waking world that she had ever seen. And while she swore she had heard Ruggero's voice and felt his touch, questions now arose in her mind if it was simply memory. Seeing and hearing the curse of the swans; things that could have been simply from seeing the birds earlier that day.
Again, a voice of doubt rose inside of her. She hadn't seen her brothers; she had only dreamed it. Only dreamed of their curse. Only dreamed of the long sentence and the insurmountable task it would take to break it. Just a silly fantasy from an exhausted brain. Truly a waste of a time and effort to even consider it…
Yet when that thought arose, she bit down, tightened her small hands into fists, and pushed it out.
I did see Ruggero. I did see my brothers. I did hear their curse. And I'll break it. I promised my brothers and swore to God, and that's what I'll do.
Taking the rest of what she had seen as truth as well, she didn't stay in that house a moment longer. Rising again, finding new strength she didn't know she had, she walked out to the doorway threshold and to the path beyond, heading back for the river. From now on, she would be on her own. She would need to find food and shelter of a more lasting sort, somewhere far from anyone. Far from anyone who could talk to her, and far from anyone who could possibly make her laugh. Most of all, she would need a needle and thread so she could begin as soon as possible. As soon as she was away from this place, she would pray until daybreak for success. It would be the last audible prayers she would whisper for the next seven years, after all, and she had much to ask God for.
Feeling both older and stronger than she had that morning, Costanza stepped off of the path and continued to follow the path of the river long into the night.
To be continued...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This concludes the first "part" of the story. It's split into three sections separated by spans of time...if you've read the fairy tale you probably know which ones I'm speaking of. The middle portion, which is coming up next, is what I fleshed out the most with my own interpretation.