Chapter 10

"Well, now isn't this a delightful turn of events?" Shen murmured, stalking into the room with the click-scraaaaaaaaaape of his claws on the floor.

"It can speak!" someone gasped. Around the room, through the crowd, ripples of shock and revulsion made people cower back. "Witchcraft!" shrieked another. Someone else made the symbol of the cross and huddled against their partner. "The devil's work!"

Shen's eyes left Odette's for a brief moment to cast around the room. He looked upon all the gathered nobles, heard their cutting words, and look of disdain crossed his features. His beak curled, and he muttered to himself. "How disappointing. No matter where I turn, no matter the world I inhabit, the imbecilic and small-minded hound my every step."

The look he cast the humans was one filled with hate, more than there should be for mere strangers. Odette listened to their continued whispers and saw the way Shen's eyes twitched with every biting insult. He'd heard these things before. They'd followed him for a long time. One of his claws scratched against the marble a little too harshly, sending a shrieking high noise into the air. It called for immediate silence. Shen turned to the one-eyed wolf.

"Boss Wolf? Anyone moves without my permission, kill them." The wolf nodded and brandished his hammer with a wicked grin. Upon hearing his words, the nobles gasped in fright and tried to retreat. But the wolves readied their weapons to strike, and everyone grew still. Shen tutted mockingly. "Do not worry my flock of ignorant fat sheep, I will leave you alone as soon as I am allowed what I came for."

Derek, still knelt by Odette, whispered to her. "I thought you said he was your friend."

Though she knew Derek wouldn't understand her, a small whisper still escaped her lips. "So did I."

Shen heard the little sound, and immediately refocused his attention on Odette, stalking towards her with a plaintive look in his eyes. "Oh but Odette, don't you see? I am your friend, I always have been. If you would just return with me to the mine, just listen to me–"

"I already did. I know exactly what you think of me." Her heart gave another throb. Odette sucked in a breath and tried to hide the way she felt weak for a brief moment. It passed a few seconds later, but already Odette could feel a decrease in her energy. Whatever was happening to her, it was progressing. Was she sick?

Shen's eyes darted over her. Of course he would notice her pain, he noticed everything, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. It was obviously of some interest to him, for one brow-feather quirked. But he said nothing of it. Instead he gestured to the grand ballroom, his eyes remaining on her. "And you'd rather wallow here in misery? Your prince is clearly a fool. They all are. Grazers that feed and feed and only look up when the grass is bare. You and I are above them, Odette. Let us leave them to the eat themselves into oblivion."

"She won't go anywhere with you!" Derek snarled out. He made to move, to do what, Odette didn't know, but before he could, wolves were on either side of him, grabbing hold of his arms and pinning him down to one knee.

Shen's eyes were cold. "She will do as I say."

"You have no power here! I made a vow to Odette!"

"But you didn't." A cruel smile twisted Shen's lips as he turned to Odette. The swan was reminded of why she'd fallen – her Derek, her last chance, had failed her. And Shen knew it. "It was just as I told you. He betrayed you. In the face of true adversity, he wilted."

"No–no! It's not like that!" Derek stuttered in panic, he turned to Odette, gazed into the startling blue of her eyes, and pleaded forgiveness. "I-I just… I didn't know what to do. For just a moment, when you didn't show up, I doubted. It was just one moment, I swear!"

"One moment too many, it would seem. But that's how it is with you, Derek, isn't it? Little blunders, little moments of thoughtlessness, all to prove your own ego correct. You believe yourself the hero of this story. But unfortunately, I'm now the one writing the ending."

"I would rather die than let you take her!"

"I'm so glad you feel that way!" Shen cackled, an excited gleam in his eyes as he pointed over his shoulder at the monstrosities behind him. "Otherwise I would've dragged these here for nothing."

Odette couldn't look upon the machines without shivering. It seemed that Derek also held the sentiment, for when he spoke, his voice was quiet and small. "What are those things?"

"Aren't they ingenious? I designed them myself." The peacock preened. "Do you want to see them, Prince Derek?"

The scathing way he said Derek's name was followed by a little chuckle and flick of his feathers. The wolves understood the signal and began to drag Derek away. Odette vainly tried to reach out, to grab hold of Derek's cape, to hold onto him and stop whatever they would do to him! But here hold was too weak, her body too easily out of breath. She was helpless to do anything but watch as the wolves dragged Derek in front of the central machine, forcing him to his knees again so he could stare directly into the monster's circular maw.

"Quite the invention. My magnum opus, wouldn't you say? And the best part? They're a gift!" Shen checked his excited enthusiasm, as if there was some tedious piece of information he'd forgotten to mention. "By that, I mean your parting gift…. In that it will part you. Yes, part of you here, part of you there, and part of you waaaaaaaaaay over there – staining the wall!"

The crowd shrieked in horror, and Odette felt her stomach heave with panic. She reached out to Shen, her feathers catching on the bottom of his robe as she yelled out: "No, Shen – please! You can't!"

"I can't?" he echoed, as if the word were a foreign one. He burst into laughter, the sound filled with no kind of amusement. I made the swan shiver when he cast fearsome red eyes on her, now building with malice. "Odette, you have no idea the depths to which I will sink to get what I desire. I've massacred an entire village just to eradicate the existence of a potential enemy. I've bargained and bullied my way through the worst scum the world has to offer, for soldiers. I've built machines and traps that would haunt your nightmares, for coin. And all the while I've plotted for years and years the best way to have my vengeance on the family that forced me to live such a hard life. Even you."

Her blood ran cold and her voice trembled. "What have I done?"

"You, Odette, have haunted my dreams. You've invaded my mind. For weeks I've followed you, I've been so close as to reach out and touch what I want. You've made me battle with myself, struggle to choose between pragmatism and a yearning that has all but consumed me. For longer and longer still, you've been denying me, and all the while it continues I've been losing my mind! Until finally, after tonight, I won't be denied a moment longer."

There was nothing but insanity in his eyes. It dawned on Odette just how long he'd been playing a game with her, pretending with her, and all the while the façade had been in place, he'd slowly been driven mad the longer he went without getting his own way. Tonight was the tip of the scales. And she was left frozen in fear.

"So now you know how far I'm willing to go, I shall show you my generosity. Come away with me and be mine and I won't make you watch the castle and everyone in it be destroyed."

Odette couldn't comprehend a mindset that would allow anyone to come to that conclusion and be serious. She couldn't understand how anyone could resort to such violence, such a level of depravity and brutality. But she knew he was extremely serious. Though his voice was light as if he spoke about giving the choice between jam or butter, his eyes twitched with a burning ferocity.

"I… I– argh," She gasped again when her heart gave another painful lurch. She clutched her chest and breathed through the pain until it passed enough for her to look up into Shen's eyes, his face suddenly so close, their beaks brushed. "I'll go with you, Shen. Just don't hurt anyone else."

"Perhaps we should both be thinking more about this sudden turn of your health…" he murmured. The concern was brushed aside as he straightened. "But very well. I will not harm the idiots – if we leave now."

The peacock offered out his wing for her to take. Odette cast one last look at Derek, of the chance at freedom she'd thought she'd been so close to obtaining. Now it was all snatched away, as far away from her now as her childhood home, and the safety of her father's arms. Reservedly, she reached out and took hold of Shen's wing in hers.

"No!" Derek cried out. He suddenly bolted upright, the movement taking his captors by surprise and their grip slipping. He threw them off, the sword at his belt suddenly out and in his hand. He charged at Shen, a war-cry on his lips –

The one eyed wolf smashed into Derek's side with his shoulder, and then followed it up with a hard punch to the face. The Prince had not expected the blow and fell with a cough. The wolf boss barked, and one of his subordinates held a smouldering stick to the top of one of the machines.

A blast of light and sound both blinded and deafened Odette. A split second later, the castle shook as one of the pillars in the ballroom was blasted into rubble. Odette screamed in fright, having never witnessed such destruction achieved so easily and so fast. Wings wrapped around her and guided her out through the mayhem that erupted all around. Sound returned to her as wolves barked and crowds screamed and bricks began to fall from the ceiling. In the pandemonium, Odette was helpless to do anything but cling to the arms around her, even as she wanted to go to Derek as the walls of his castle crumbled.

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours before the rumbles and the screaming stopped and the dust began to clear. Derek coughed the bad air from his lungs, choking on the rubble that had fallen all around. When finally his vision cleared enough, he saw the devastation he was left with.

The entire front wall around the entrance doors had fallen. The ceiling had thankfully held, though perhaps barely, if the pebbled that still tumbled from above were any indication. Rubble littered the floor, people were either buried underneath it, or they were half trampled. Sobs and wails of the injured and the despairing filled the hall. Derek tried to get up, but felt something pull him back. A rock had fallen on his cape. The prince took a moment to realise that if the had fallen just one foot more to the right, then his head would've crushed like an egg. It wasn't often one experienced moments to recognise how close they had been to death without knowing it beforehand. It made one go weak in the knees and the stomach churn. Getting over it quickly, knowing there was still much to do, Derek picked up his sword from where it had fallen, and cut himself free. No point wasting energy trying to pull the cape out from under the rock.

Taking a moment to steady his suddenly wobbly legs, Derek looked about the room, and felt his heart shiver with fear. "Mother? Mother!"

He looked around the room, praying to god that he would not find his beloved mother beneath the mountains of gargantuan stone. And then, through the noise of the room, he heard a little cough and a splutter. "Derek? Derek!"

"Mother!" he raced across the hall where her pale and dusted hand poked out into the air to signal her position. He scrambled to unearth her. Thankfully she'd been covered with only smaller pieces, fractured parts of wooden beams holding her down. The queen was too weak to dig herself out, so her son set about doing it for her. His carelessness in his franticness caused him to cut his palms but he did not care. A moment later, he was aware of another pair of hands helping him. And then he saw roger, dust stained but otherwise unruffled, helping to pull out Uberta. Finally, the pair of them managed to get the queen out, and Derek cradled his mother against him, thankful in silent prayer to have been able to save her. "Is everyone alright?"

Out of breath, Roger looked over the devastated room, disquiet and taking a moment to reach his conclusion. "It was mostly the front-wall, I think…"

From beyond the destroyed wall, they heard shouts, and then armoured heads poked up over the rubble, and soldiers began to climb over in to the fray. Derek stood and beckoned them closer. "Guards! Help pull these people out!"

The soldiers instantly did as their monarch bid, and set to work on freeing as many as they could. All the while, everyone grew fearful if more of the castle would fall on top of them. It became paramount to get everyone out before that happened, and to do so whilst making sure to not disturb anything that might set off another catastrophe. Derek helped them, though the back of his mind still screamed that he needed to go and save Odette. It was tempered by the reality that so many lay wounded, and all of them needed help.

"Derek, we'll live." His mother's voice came, uncharacteristically serious as she grabbed hold of his sleeve and pulled him down to look in her eyes. "Stop that monster."

Slowly, he nodded. As if his body had a will of its own, it guided him out of the broken castle whilst his mind still lay in a daze. He ran down towards the stables and flung open the doors. Going to his horse, he plucked up his saddle which already had a bow and quiver of arrows ready to go. Jumping onto the back of his horse, Derek steered the animal out of the castle grounds and towards the forest. A party of wolves as big as the force Shen had arrived with, and hauling around machines of war such as that, would leave an easy trail to follow. And besides, the peacock-monster had mentioned he wanted to take back Odette to a 'mine' of some kind. The prince had a good suspicion of what he was looking for.

It wasn't until the hellish light of the mine engulphed Odette and she was dragged down to the depths that her shock began to wear off and sense returned to her. She at first tried to shake Shen's hold off her, for he'd kept a secure grip the entire journey back. When he refused to let her go, she began to fight like a wildcat. Horror at what he'd done, revulsion that such a man would touch her; despite her weakness in her body, she tried to pull back and out of his grip. It was no use, but it didn't mean she would give up.

"You killed them!" she hissed at him, tears burning her eyes. Good god, she couldn't think of it. The castle had been falling when she'd last seen it. How many had died? The thought made her insides quake with grief. "I went with you and you killed them anyway!"

"I wasn't going to until your pathetic boy attempted to get in the way." Shen snapped back irritably.

"I was a fool to trust you! To ever see anything good in you!"

Shen brought them to the main hall, the fiery light of the melting pot casting all of them in a red glow. The wolves set about pushing the monster-weapons into their places. Shen finally swung Odette around to face him, letting go of her in the process. "Maybe you were. But maybe in time, you'll see that I can be capable of goodness. You'll see that I am worthy of trust. If only you'd give me an incentive."

He reached out to touch the underside of her beak, to stroke her flesh with affection. Odette steeled her eyes and turned her head away from him and out of his reach. "I agreed to this. I will uphold that. But I won't give you anything else twisted that you may want."

"I want nothing from you but love. I am not Rothbart, I do not want a queen. I am not Derek, I do not want a prize. All I want is love. The way no woman has ever loved me. That kind of happiness has always been beyond my reach." There was such quiet loneliness, such a yearning for understanding that Odette was sure he wasn't aware he was speaking in such a way himself. And then something nasty came over his expression, and his beady eyes met hers with a dark hiss. "But now I realise that happiness must be taken. And I will take mine."

Though she should be frightened by what that could possibly mean, Odette couldn't help but stare at the man before her. She felt her bitterness fall away into despair. Was it true that Shen had been shown no love? Or was that a lie too? In her heart, the swan knew it to be truth, for the proof was in his actions, his mannerisms. She remembered back to when she'd been deceived by him, when she'd thought he was her friend. When they'd been new to each other, she'd reached out to touch him, to hold him as was only natural to her. Yet Shen had acted as if the simplest forms of endearment were alien to him.

Pity stirred in her breast as she realised how hurt he must've been. If he'd been denied affection, was it any wonder that he'd clung to whatever forms of love she'd given him like a drowning man? It wasn't such a leap in logic anymore as to why he would convince himself that the pair of them were in love. She'd given him something he'd been starving for, and he was desperate to not let it go.

"What happened to you to make you so cold, Shen?" she asked quietly.

Shen turned his face away from her, as if he knew she could read how open he'd become. The shadows swallowed his expression and left nothing but his eyes to glow in the dim light. "The world revealed how cold it was to me. I have only responded in kind."

"You spoke to me once of the hate your parents harboured for you. But now I realise that it was disappointment. The same which I now feel for the peacock that was my friend." A tear slid past Odette's cheek without her meaning to. "I wish we had met sooner, Shen. Perhaps then you might've been shown compassion and you could've given the world your best – instead of your worst."

Slowly, he turned back to her, eyes wide and staring at her. Odette didn't know if it was with anger, incredulity or anguish that he looked upon her. He was so blank and stiff that it could've been any of those, all three or something else entirely. Beside them appeared a wolf, a bundle of cloth in its arms that it offered to Shen. The peacock took the fabric in his wings slowly, running his feathers over the smooth silken surface like a child would cling to a blanket for comfort in a moment of distress.

"Put these on," he muttered coldly and flung the bundle into her arms. "I'll have you fit for a wedding. And then maybe you can be disappointed in a husband as well."

Such hurt, such bitterness and resentment in that one word. Disappointed. He knew it well. Without knowing it, Odette had echoed in some way Shen's father's own words to him when they'd last seen one another. She looked down at the cloth she now held, and recognised it as the gown Shen had shown her hours earlier, what he'd said he'd had made for her. Odette's shoulders drooped. Despair was drowning her soul.

A rattle of metal, like that of chains echoed. Odette's head snapped up at the odd noise. A group of wolves, led by the one-eyed one, came in dragging a load of chains behind him. At first she saw Jon-bob, Speed and Puffin all chained in cuffs. They were roughed up but otherwise unharmed. Odette couldn't help feeling relieved at that. But then, in the next breath she froze as the familiar hunched figure of Rothbart was dragged into the room. The sorcerer had beaten badly, if the bruises and cuts along his face and body were any indication. But there was a smug smirk on his lips and when he looked at Odette almost ferally, the swan devolved into a fit of panic.

"You have him imprisoned?!" she squawked at Shen indignantly. "You told me he was gone!"

When Shen pretended not to have heard her, Rothbart threw his head back and laughed. "Your little prince has lied about many things, hasn't he? And the vile little creature's work is not yet done."

"Silence, sorcerer." Shen growled out and slapped the human across one cheek. "You will tell me of the spell to release me from your influence. Furthermore, you will also allow for Odette and all the cannons I have assembled to be brought back to China with me. If you don't, I can make things very unpleasant for you."

"Is that a threat?" grinned the man.

"Do it!" with a flick of his wrist, Shen brought out a gleaming knife and held it at Rothbart's eye-level. "Or I'll start slicing away at your body until you do."

The grin grew wider. "Oh! It is a threat."

"Do not test me, sorcerer."

"You have nothing to bargain with, little prince," giggled Rothbart, his eyes sliding towards Odette. "You are already destroying all the things you love!"

But beyond Shen's notice, far above in the rocky rafters of the cave, lurked a shadow. Derek hunkered down, overlooking the gigantic cavern and the tools of crafting and war that lay all about. It was all so organised and sophisticated – they must've been here a while. The human prince had managed to sneak his way in. As he'd suspected, those machines had slowed Shen down on his retreat back to his lair, and there was either no time or foresight to cover their tracks. It had taken him a little time to navigate the many passages of the mine in order to reach this central point – all without being spotted. But finally, he'd managed to find them.

He'd overheard the peacock's demands of the Rothbart, and it took everything in him not to impulsively lash out to stop such a thing. He couldn't let the demon-bird take Odette away. But, he reminded himself, he wouldn't help anyone by acting foolishly. Bow in hand, Derek silently crouched low and pulled on the string, sure to be as quiet as he could. He aimed the arrow for the spot squarely between the peacock's shoulder blades, straight for the heart. The bow pressed against his cut palms, but he bit back the pain. The pressure released a small trickle of blood to run down the length of the bow, dangling precariously off the tip. It fell, straight down through the cavern, and landed on a wolf's nose directly below him. The wolf was perplexed for a second at the drop of moisture that had hit him, until he caught the coppery scent of blood. It only took him to look up and spot the intruder for the game to be up.

The wolf howled an alarm. Everyone spun to see the source. Derek was taken by surprise by the sudden noise. They'd all seen him now. Taking his chance, Derek fired the arrow, but Shen leapt into the air to avoid it, and flung three knives back in return. The human flinched, expecting to feel the steel bite into his flesh. But it never came. Opening his eyes, he saw the knives had missed and struck the ledge beneath him. But Shen never missed his target. After a single moment of trying to retain its shape, the ledge cracked between each knife, and then completely crumbled.

Derek screamed as he fell, trying to grasp hold of rocks or any handhold that would keep him up. Everything fell away from him. He fell to the floor some twelve feet below. He lay there, winded and dazed. And then claws grabbed hold of his arms and yanked him up. Someone snatched the bow still clutched in his hand. The wolves pulled Derek's arms wide and pressed on his shoulders, straining the joints to keep him unable to fight back.

"Greetings, Prince Derek!" Shen said jovially. "My, this is a welcome surprise. Though you've caught me a little unawares, I wasn't expecting visitors at such a late hour. But no matter. I'm sure we can make room for the celebrations."

"Celebrations?" Derek repeated breathlessly.

"Didn't you know?" the smile Shen displayed was cruel as he wrapped a wing around Odette pulled her close to his side. "Odette and I are going to be married. But I must thank you, Derek, for you've gifted me the greatest wedding present!"

Now it was Odette's turn to be confused, suddenly afraid of what that meant as she looked up at Shen. "What?"

"It's simple, Odette. You care for your precious oaf so much? Then this will be easy for you." The smile never wavered, his gaze never faltered. "Wed me. Be my wife. Return with me to China. Love me all the rest of your days. Or… watch your Derek die."

On cue, the Boss Wolf pulled out a dagger and held the tip against Shen's throat. Odette gave a wordless cry, desperate to stop such a horrible thing from happening. At her protest, Shen held up a wing, and the wolf slowly withdrew the blade from the fragile flesh – though not completely.

Derek seemed to finally register what Shen had said and looked between the peacock and the swan with dawning realisation. "No… no! Odette don't do it! Please! Don't agree to this."

"I'd hurry, Odette," Shen strutted behind her, murmuring sweetly in her ear. "You've already told me how disappointed you are with me. So now I just need a yes or no answer."

"Odette, listen to me. You can't agree to this. It's madness."

"The entire world is filled with madness. It just depends on the degree of the insanity between each individual."

Derek turned his hate-filled eyes on Shen and furiously demanded: "And are you so insane that you'd delude yourself into thinking she'd ever love you?"

"Delusions or reality, I still win." Was the cool retort.

"For god's sake, Odette. Don't throw your life away for my sake!"

Shen laughed. "Look at that! The fool thinks he can sway you with the one truly selfless thing he's ever done in his life."

Odette listened to the pair of them, back and forth, between one and the other. She was stranded, torn, unable to speak, unable to think. If she agreed to Shen's request, then her freedom would be forever taken from her, Derek's attempts to free her would have been in vain, everything she'd worked so hard for would be in vain. And yet, she knew she couldn't watch Derek die. She knew she couldn't watch Shen commit murder. Her heart was breaking as she tried to decide between them. Another wave of dizziness overcame her, her body grew weak, and breathing was difficult. "Shen… I-I can't…"

"You want to see him live? Then just say yes." He implored her. When she couldn't answer straight away, Shen sniffed curtly. "No? Very well then. I'll be sure to give him a beggar's burial."

He held up his wing, and the boss wolf pressed his knife against Derek's jugular. A bright crimson droplet trickled down his neck–

"No, wait!" Odette shouted.

Everyone froze in place. Derek watched with wide eyed horror. The wolves held their breath in anticipation for blood shed. Jon-Bob, Speed and Puffin watched the drama unfold, working themselves secretly free of their bindings to help. Rothbart grinned manically. Shen kept his eyes rooted on Odette. She stared up at him, about to give her verdict, for surely her life was not worth more than all this.

"I… I…" the words would not come, her wings shook and her heart began to falter in its beat. "I don't feel… well…"

All at once, her energy left her and she collapsed. Shen and Derek cried out in unison. The peacock fell beside her, gathering the woman into his arms. He checked her pulse – faint. Her breathing was laboured. Her eyes lids fluttered closed. Shen tried to shake her awake, panic setting in at this sudden turn – he didn't know what to do!

Triumphant laughter filled the hall. All turned their gaze onto Rothbart as the wizard struggled to stand. "You should've left her to me, Little Prince! A broken heart is a powerful thing! Now, Odette will die."

A flash of red light blinded everyone! The screech of metal breaking filled their ears. And when Shen and the others looked back, Rothbart was gone. In his place stood an abomination of an animal, the likes of which none of them had ever seen before. It stood on two oversized legs like an eagle's, with long curling talons gouging at rock and earth. Translucent green bat-like wings were spread on either side of it, black matted fur covered its body, thinning just enough to reveal twin red eyes and a wolfish muzzle filled with teeth. The wolves cowered back at the monster screeched. Shen stared, awestruck at such a create that he couldn't even name.

But Derek knew what it was, he knew it the moment he saw it, as King William's words came back to haunt him. "The Great Animal…"

The Great Animal screeched its piercing cry and lunged for the assembled group. It struck out with its talons, spearing two wolves, one in each clawed foot. It crushed them in its grip. The Wolf Boss ran into the fray, roaring his anger at this creature that dared to harm his brethren. He swung his massive Warhammer, and the blow knocked the Great Animal back a few steps. The thing grunted and growled lowly at the wolf. Then, it flapped its wings and rose into the air. There wasn't much room in the cavern for flight, but the Great Animal still managed to rise high enough before it dove for the wolves. They flung themselves aside to avoid the claws as the creature passed them by.

Shen realised he had to help his soldiers, for even Derek (who had been released in the chaos) was up and pulling out his sword to enter the fight. Yet he was loath to let Odette go. Reluctantly, he gently placed her on the ground. He hadn't prayed in a long time, but he prayed now, to whatever god would listen that she would be alive when he came back to her.

With righteous fury in his heart, the Peacock charged into the battle. The Great Animal was terrorising his troops, dive-bombing them in order to keep them on the run. Shen realised instantly that he had to get the thing back onto the ground. When the creature next made to turn, Shen threw out two blades. One struck muscle in the arm, the other cleaved a line through the delicate membrane. The Great Animal howled with pain, and fixed its hellish eyes on Shen. The peacock did not even give it time to respond, for he slung out his rope-dart and looped it around the beast's ankle. It tried to resist him, even though its damaged wing meant it couldn't keep up its flight effectively. Wolves surrounded their master, recognising that he needed extra muscle, and pulled on the rope. It brought the creature down to the ground, but it did not crash – it merely landed.

They charged, and the Great Animal snatched up wolves in it's jaws and slashed with its talons. It fought it's way through the throng to get to Shen, who was sticking to the side lines and throwing knives into precise locations along the body in an attempt to find a weak-spot and bring it down. The Great Animal batter two wolves out of its way and was suddenly far too close for comfort. It reached out for Shen with wicked paws. The peacock, in a panic with three knives held between his feathers, spun, slashing open the pad of the foot. The Great Animal recoiled with a scream of pain, but in the next second launched itself back at Shen, grasping him in his other foot.

Before it could rend him limb from limb, Derek appeared behind the creature and slashed his sword across its back. The Great Animal spun, shrieking, and threw its head into the human. Derek's sword was flung into the air as he was propelled back off his feet. The Animal caught it in his jaws, and holding its head high, with one clamp of its teeth, shattered the blade into a thousand pieces. But it was still enough of a distraction for Shen to wriggle free. He leapt into the air, fanning his train to suspend himself momentarily, and gave off a loud peacock-call. The sound alerted the Great Animal, who looked up at the noise – and was met with Shen's iron gauntlets punching it straight across the muzzle.

The Great Animal staggered back, shaking its head to rid the ringing that Shen knew must be bouncing around its skull. There was a frightened squeak, and Shen realised too late his mistake. Jon-Bob, Speed and Puffin, now free of their chains, were all gathered around Odette, having tried to shield her from the fighting. But now the Great Animal staggered until it was right above them.

It heard Jon-Bob's frightened noise before Puffin could silence him. It looked down at them. Its eyes focused on Odette. It looked back at Shen and Derek who was just getting up, its muzzle curling to reveal a wicked smile full of nasty teeth dripping saliva and gore. Primitively, it scooped the swan up in its wing and pinned her against its chest as if she were a chainmail shirt. Speed and Puffin tried to fight it off her, but it battered them aside with little effort. Shen remained frozen to the spot, terrified to even move for fear of what the monster would do next.

Odette seemed to rouse herself in that moment. Head hung low, she turned it weakly to try and see who held her. She beheld the face of the creature that haunted her nightmares, the creature that had stolen her father from her. Rothbart. Fear overcame her for a moment, and she opened her beak as if to scream when the Great Animal turned to look at her with gloating eyes. And then something else grew in her soul, a resolve that Shen nor any of the others had witnessed before.

With the last of her strength, Odette drew her head back on her long neck, and then rushed forward. Her beak drove into the red eye closest to her. The strength with which she dealt the blow had the Great Animal screaming in pain. A swan-like hiss came from her as she twisted her head and drew back quickly with a disgusted noise, blood and gore filling the whole in the skull where the Great Animal's eye had been.

The monster roared in agony, and promptly dropped the swan. Shen rushed forward and caught her in his arms. He'd never been a figure devoted to strength, so all he managed to do was break Odette's fall as he fell in a heap with her. He wanted to pull her head close to his, to tell her how proud he was of what she'd done – just like she'd told him so long ago! But her eyes were closed, and if anything, she seemed even weaker than before.

Stumbling about in agony, the Great Animal collided against one of the cannons. Blindly, it attacked at what it thought was another assailant, its claws slicing along the metal and creating sparks. Shen was only aware of the coming doom when he heard his wolves shout in alarm to try and get the thing to stop. He looked up, and was just about to shout himself, when the Great Animal's claws struck the igniter.

The cannon fired. The roar was so loud it deafened all those within. The cannonball was launched upwards, as the cannon had been tilted upwards in order to help prevent accidents, and hit the ceiling. When the roar of the cannon finally died, thunder from the earth grew all around them. Cracks grew along the ceiling, like the branches of a tree, some large and thick with smaller veins branching off further still. Pebbles fell and the entire cavern began to shake.

"It's gonna cave in!" shouted the Boss Wolf in alarm.

Shen looked on all his soldiers and waved them all towards the exit frantically. "Everybody out! Now!"

They ran. Everyone ran, the animals, the wolves, even Derek all ran. Rothbart was still crazed in his pain, and no one was going to tell him otherwise. Shen tried to scoop Odette into his arms and carry her, but her limp weight was not an easy thing to drag with him in any kind of haste. Rocks began to fall from the ceiling, smashing into the ground in a cloud of dust that obscured one's vision. Shen kept an eye on the ceiling to try and avoid the next one to fall. He paused briefly to look at his cannons. It was too late to call back any of his wolves to pull them out, they'd be crushed. Whilst he lamented the loss of so much hard work, it wasn't worth their lives. He briefly thought to run to his office and grab his plans, his precious plans, so that he could continue his work and not restart from scratch. But Odette groaned in his arms, reminding him of how much precious time he had. There was no choice really. It was her every time.

The shaking grew worse and more and more of the mine began to collapse. The wolves all rushed out of the entrance, the Boss Wolf there quickly doing a head count to make sure all his brothers were accounted for. Derek had stooped to pick up Speed, Jon-Bob and Puffin when the animals had been going too slow to keep up. He sprinted out with them in his arms. His heels had just made over the threshold, when there was an ominous roar behind him, and the entire cavern collapsed.

Everyone panted, relieved for a moment to find themselves alive. But it was the Boss Wolf that noticed a certain absence amongst their numbers. Lord Shen was not among them. Then Derek remembered that Odette needed medical attention and went to turn to her, but could not see her anywhere. They looked all about in mounting dread. And then they turned back to the entrance of the mine, now completely buried in rubble.

And Odette and Shen still trapped inside.

"NOOOO! Odette!" Derek screamed and ran back to the once-entrance of the cavern. He picked up the first boulder he came to and tried desperately to lift it and push it aside.

"Everybody!" barked the Boss Wolf. "Come on! Dig 'em out!"

And suddenly paws joined in with Derek's hands as everyone began to try and dig out the two lost birds. Hatreds were forgotten in that moment as only a single purpose filled them. To get their loved ones back.