It was bad, it was very bad.

Or perhaps it was good.

Odette wasn't sure if not seeing Derek – ahem, Prince Derek – in the last three days was a good thing or a bad thing.

It was good because it meant she didn't have to own up to her offensive display that morning three days ago.

It was bad because it meant she couldn't own up to her offensive display that morning three days ago.

It was bad because now she didn't know if the Prince had been truly offended.

She didn't know if he was well.

She didn't even know if he was here – though she was sure she would have heard if he were leaving.

It was bad because Odette had not seen his face. And that was a stupid thought.

It was bad because the bads outweighed the goods.

But what could she do? It's not as if she could waltz right up to him and ask how he was. Ask whether he hated her for what she did.

Odette snorted. To hate someone meant you actually had to have a feeling towards them; to hate someone meant that the hated had the opportunity to be liked, or in her case unnoticed, but screwed it up.

And that was exactly what she had done.

She wondered whether Maria had found out. She had been particularly quiet – not to the average, ignorant onlooker, but to the maids, Maria had been quiet. Whether that was from the overload of rage or whether she was truly ignorant of what happened Odette didn't know.

What had happened… what had happened… She… Ugh! Why was it so difficult to tell herself? She can't exactly hide from it. She had to own up to what she did; the consequences won't jut disappear.

She almost kissed Prince Derek. There, she said it.

She, Odette – a maid in the Swan Lake castle – almost forced the crowned Prince Derek to kiss her.

Maybe it was her fault she had not seen Derek about in his own castle. Maybe she was such a disgrace, he couldn't be anywhere near her.

Then again, she couldn't exactly think of any arguments otherwise.

Odette sighed. She was probably going to end up on supper duty tonight, so she would see Prince Derek then. That thought was surprisingly comforting.

Then again… You don't suppose he would stay away from supper, do you? Odette could not stand the thought of driving the Prince away from vital food just because of her presence.

She wouldn't know until supper. And until then, she had to get her chores done. They didn't seem to get finished as quick as they used to in recent times...

"Ahem."

Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. Prince Derek stood behind Odette.

Derek was pleased to finally see Odette. Had she been avoiding him these past few days? It seemed to him that she had just disappeared. No matter where he had looked, he could not seem to find her.

When Odette spun to acknowledge him, which was almost instantly, Derek just gazed.

He stood looking at the maid bowed before him and continued in silence until she looked.

She smiled politely at him, prompting he order what he wanted done. After all, that was the only thing she was here for she reminded herself.

"Good morning." He said, pleased he now had her attention.

Odette was a little surprised; she was expecting something along the lines of 'mop the kitchen floor' or 'can you turn down an extra bed for this evening?' Nevertheless she couldn't keep standing there saying nothing; she had already caused enough damage.

"Yes, it is a fine morning."

Silence. Awkward silence.

"Odette," he broke, "Would you mind accompanying me on a walk through the garden?"

What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean she was fired and the walk will really be an escort from the palace? Was it a sign of forgiveness?

Regardless, only royalty could be around royalty. It was a social sin to put a black mark on that rule of etiquette. Imagine what would happen if Maria found out, or worse, saw her with the Prince. Just the two of them. The consequences were unfathomable.

But now she wrestled the bottomless canyon of what's right and what's selfish. She couldn't go with the Prince. But she wanted to go with him.

Yes, I will accompany you through the gardens. Odette wished she had the courage to say that. She wished she could.

No, no she didn't. She didn't want to burden the Prince. She didn't want to face Maria – but that was the selfish want.

So she just gawped. She couldn't say yes. She couldn't. But was refusal perhaps ruder?

"Your majesty," finally breathed Odette, "A servant must not be seen walking with a royal." Which wasn't a lie – at all.

Derek thought that Odette would say something like this. And he frankly didn't care. "I really do insist." He urged.

Odette looked down at the cleaning cloth in her hands. Well this was sufficiently awkward…

Derek noticed the discomfort, he found it almost tangible. Maybe her hesitation went deeper than the social aspect of it all. "Perhaps as friends then…?"

The discomfort disappeared – sort of. Odette looked back at Prince Derek. It took a few messages to her brain before she could nod her head, but it came. Small and timid, but not unnoticed. Derek smiled at that.

- - - - -

Crunch, crunch, crunch. That was the sound of the gravel beneath Prince Derek and Odette's feet. That was the only sound that had been spoken.

Odette wasn't sure of what to do.

Prince Derek had been the one who had invited her on this walk, and had not said anything yet. Should she perhaps begin the conversation? Really, she shouldn't even be talking to him. Period. But seeing as Derek was the one who had instigated this, shouldn't he be the one to say something? Then again, he was the Prince, he was royalty. He can do anything he wants.

So where did that leave her?

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Now they were at the head of the castle's shrub maze. Odette stopped dead in her tracks, Derek noticed and stopped to turn around a few steps ahead. All she could do was inhale and stare blatantly at the maze entrance.

"What's wrong?" asked Derek, cocking his head slightly.

Odette had not finished her work for the day, the sun would be setting in an hour or so, what would happen if they could not find their way out of the maze? That was what was wrong. But for some strange reason, that maze seemed ominous.

"Uhh…" breathed Odette, not retracting her stare. She closed her mouth and grimaced. How could she finish her explanation…?

Derek smiled coyly to himself and then smiled at Odette, "I know this maze backwards, Odette. Don't worry." He was either very good at interpreting non-coherent facial expressions, or he was a mind reader.

"It really isn't a matter of backwards or forwards, it is a matter of knowing the paths through, your majesty."

She finally turned her owl wide eyes to Prince Derek, who choked back a chuckle. Then he let it go, and Odette couldn't help but giggle a little too. Yet neither had any idea what was so funny.

Derek quieted to a smile. "I promise you there are no big scary monsters…" he mocked. She smiled, still unsure. So he came over and took her hand.

That same feeling that coursed through them that night in the kitchen swirled restlessly through them again. Only this time the intensity of the sparks was ten times the previous experience.

It was mind blowing. They couldn't breathe. There were waves of tingles assaulting their hands, electrical currents flowing through their bodies. Ignorance of the surrounding world in their minds.

Only, this time, they did not jerk their hands apart. No, this feeling was almost unbearably intense, but to let go would be painful.

After the initial shock had passed, when everyone could begin breathing on command, Derek tugged on Odette's hand motioning her forward into the maze. She followed without a fuss, and clearly without a second thought.

Derek certainly knew his way around the maze. He weaved in and out of the sharp corners, leading Odette.

After a few minutes of jogging, and yet again no speaking, Derek slowly drew to a halt. In front of them was a fountain in a small clearing.

It was quite pretty.

Odette turned to Derek, mostly to gauge his reaction. But he surprised her.

He leant down and brushed his lips against hers. He was very gentle and caressed her cheek with his free hand (the other still conveyed the sparks through them).

Just like that, Derek was kissing Odette.

There aren't many ways the feelings they caused one another can be described. The whole ordeal was sweet, yet longing. Lustful but still careful.

Slowly Odette drew her lips back from Derek. But she didn't go far. She couldn't bare it, but she had to. This was utterly forbidden. Derek moved to the side of her face and lightly tapped her cheek with a chaste kiss. That simple gesture woke Odette up.

She gasped and took an abrupt step away. Her breathing was deep and her eyes were wide in shock, desperation, happiness and sadness and about a million other emotions that contradicted one another. She slowly drifted further away from him, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

But Derek understood the madness of it, all too well. It can't be this way, but it was. It would never be allowed, but he wanted it. It was wrong, but it felt too good.

As if on cue, thunder rumbled deafeningly across the kingdom and the rain bucketed down.

Derek looked around, squinting into the rain. He made an attempt to move off, but turned back to Odette when she did not make any movements to follow.

"Come." He motioned her to him. She didn't respond how he intended; she peered back over her shoulder wondering whether she could remember the way she came.

Derek became a little exasperated. "Are you going to get out of this maze by yourself?"

At that point Odette sucked in a ragged, much needed breath, bit her lip and gave in against her better judgement. She ran in the direction Derek had originally started and he followed on, taking her arm to guide her.

They jogged in silence, only the pelting rain made a sound. The once crunchy gravel sound was now just a sloshing beneath their speeding feet.

They sped round a few corners, down a few straights until they reached another little clearing. Odette thought that they had merely gone in a circle, but instead of a fountain there was a small gazebo. It had lush green vines crawling up the unnatural white pillars, and a black shingle roof. It was rather picturesque sitting in the middle of a well kept maze on a dark stormy day. But when you are running for cover you barely notice.

Odette raced up the few little steps to the protective confines of the roof, Derek following suite.

Derek stood in the doorway watching Odette carefully. "Are you alright?" he breathed. Though he was a very athletic person, Derek inhaled in and out deeply.

Odette took a graceful seat on the floor of the gazebo, fairly close to the centre. The rain was coming from all sorts of mystical angles and managed to get in through the open edges of the shelter. The centre was the driest place.

But she couldn't speak, so she nodded her head sternly to prove her point. She too was catching her breath.

Derek nodded softly in approval and turned to face the doorway, seemingly watching the rain pour.

Now what? The rain was hard, and probably wouldn't settle for a while, Odette couldn't think of anything to say, she was too far gone in shock, and Derek wasn't saying anything either. So they stayed immobile and silent. Neither looking in the same direction as the other, but always looking out at the rain. Derek stood at the opening of the gazebo, his back toward Odette who sat curled in the centre.

That's how they stayed.

Then the rain began to slacken. Slowly the droplets grew smaller and more infrequent until they became just a light shower.

"Thank you," whispered Odette. Really she didn't know what to say; she wasn't allowed to strike conversation with the Prince, but to not thank him, she suspected, would be worse.

Derek divvied his eyes for the first time from the showering water and looked at Odette over his shoulder. His eyes were soft and his small smile was relaxed. "You are welcome." He simply smiled.

Odette sat uneasily, Derek knew. It was probably something to do with him being a Prince – the future King actually. He knew that tended to make people around him feel uneasy, more so in recent years as he became closer to the proper age. Not only would people his age treat him differently, but those older would too. It made no sense; he was still the same person every time he had seen them.

Then Derek politely turned his body and asked Odette if he could ask her something. She not uncharacteristically scrutinized the possibilities, but of course agreed knowing how to not insult a person.

"How long have you been working here?"

Odette ducked her head, smiling politely to herself. "Two years, your majesty. I arrived not two weeks after you had departed." She began to think too quickly about what she said. The Prince did not want to hear her life story, nor should he have to endure such torment – or at least that is what she decided.

Two years was a fairly long time, considering her age. By the by, what is her exact age? Derek thought she was about his age – how big of a difference was there? "How old are you Odette?"

"I am sixteen."

"You were working here when you were fourteen?" he blurted curtly. Wow, at fourteen he was aiming at targets with a bow and arrow, having fun, not working to just live.

"Yes." Said Odette.

Derek looked at her and urged for more comprehensive details. But Odette didn't want to do this; she didn't want to be here with work left undone, she didn't want to be making a burden of herself, though Maria said she couldn't help that. No matter what she will ever do, Odette will always be a burden – that is what Maria tells her day in and day out. And Odette believed it. But upon the Prince's silent request, Odette elaborated anxiously.

"I have been working since I was eight years old. After my father died, I had no family and I have to support myself somehow."

Derek sat there in wonder at the girl before him. She truly was unlike the other princesses he knew, which were the only girls he conversed with. She lived like this and still didn't complain or demand attention for it.

Odette stood up noiselessly and came over to Derek. "I do beg your pardon your majesty, but I still have a few tasks to attend to before nightfall. I hope you shall forgive my rudeness in leaving…"

Hurt and anger did not flash across his face as Odette had expected. Derek understood. "Of course, you shall be requiring a guide, am I correct?"

Oh no, Odette didn't want to say it, but she knew she probably wouldn't get out of this maze until well after midnight without some assistance. She spent so long contemplating her response that Derek was able to guess from her silence.

In an involuntary action, he took her hand and began to lead her through the maze.

He turned back to her just before rushing them both out of the gazebo. "And please…" said Derek, his tone gentle and irresistible. "Call me Derek, I beg you."

Odette gave a tiny nod, completely struck in shock, fear, elation, want, impropriety… "Derek." she tried out.

He smiled and urged her forward with him.

They weaved in and out of the lush green hedges, Odette feeling like she was going in circles, Derek knowing every turn like the back of his hand.

Finally, the reached a spot where the opening was in view. Odette breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your stop, I do believe," Derek mocked. Very chivalrously he bent his head over Odette's raised hand within his and placed a soft kiss upon it.

Odette was ready to choke on her own breath. Twice it had happened – in one day! Actually, she realised, that would make it the third. Surely she was losing her mind… Life was not this good.

She stepped away from Derek, possibly a little too abruptly, and curtseyed hastily. "Good evening, your highness." He looked at her meaningfully. "Derek." she amended.

And she swiftly turned and walked a little too fast toward the opening of the maze.

As soon as she stepped into view of the castle, Odette knew there was a problem. At least she can say she got one thing right today: life was not good.

As soon as she stepped out of the confines of the hedge there came a quiet, lethal threat from a comfortable, near-by seat in the garden.

"Odette, I shall be requiring your assistance this evening with the dishes."

Maria.

Well, we finally broke down a small barrier between Derek and Odette - but will she let it happen? And now Maria - uh oh! How much did she see/hear/find out? Or is it merely a coincidence?
Love to know what you thought of this chapter - the story should be getting a lot better from here on... tell me what you think so far. Thanks!