Ooo, we're in double digit chapters! Yay!

Thanks for the reviews Hope, Winter Oak, and NotTheArtist! I watched the cartoon movie The Swan Princess last night and couldn't think of anything but this story all day. Sorry it's been awhile since I updated. Thank you for the interest and support! :D

In other news, the poll is closed! Thank you everyone for voting! I finally have an ending chosen. So now maybe I can write this story a bit faster. It's still a surprise though! :)

The Clock is Ticking

Molly woke up stiff and smelling of algae. The sun was high in the sky, telling her she had slept in again. Molly never used to sleep in so much, but these past few days had been rather… taxing.

Stretching, the first thing the swan did was step back into the chilly waters of the lake. Molly spread her feathers, preening them with her beak. She allowed herself to splash about a bit, getting rid of the mud from her flight mishaps the previous day.

That's right… She would get to fly again! Well, that was one thing to look forward to.

Depressing thoughts of being a swan until the end of her days (how long did swans live anyways?) swirling around her head, Molly dashed across her farm and beat her wings. She was soon in the air, heading back to Fugue Forest.

Anissa loved mornings. The fields were quiet and endless. She was left to water her beloved rows of crops at her leisure, but her favorite days were harvesting days like today. At the end of the season, there would be a few days like today when all she did was collect what her care had brought. It was such a feeling of achievement that she rarely found anywhere else.

The brunette let out a happy sigh as she straightened her back. Balancing her basket laden with fresh potatoes on her hip, Anissa threw her long hair over her shoulder and looked up at the bright blue sky. It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky! Well, except for that one… But… what is that?

Setting her basket down and hefting up her skirts, Anissa jumped the rows of plants and stopped at the wooden fence. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look.

The pure white bird flapped its wings and angled its body away from her. Anissa noted the distinctive black feet and beak. The long neck and brilliant wings were enough alone to convince her though. "A swan? I wonder what a swan is doing here?"

The bird twisted towards Fugue and soon disappeared from sight.

Forgetting about her field for the moment, Anissa climbed the fence and swung her legs to the other side. Hiking up her dress again, the girl ran up the grass to her friend over the hill.

Renee was brushing one of the many cows in the great barn of Horn Ranch. The ranch was enormous and produced most all of Castanet's meat and dairy needs. But Renee was born and raised here and wasn't intimidated by the sheer size of the herd that her father brought up. She loved each and every one of the animals on the farm and tended to them daily.

She was wrapped up cooing comforts to the skittish cow, so she didn't hear or see Anissa entering the barn looking for her.

"Renee!" Anissa called over the loud mooing. "Renee, where are you?"

"Huh?" Renee looked up, her bob haircut bouncing around her ears. "Anissa?"

"Renee!"

"I'm over here!" She called, stepping away from the cow. It began to fidget from the shouting and stomped its foot to show its displeasure.

Anissa finally found her friend in the rows of cattle and panted a bit from her run when she reached her.

"Hey, Anissa, what's up?"

"I just saw a swan! Isn't that strange?" Anissa got right to the point.

Renee's eyebrow furrowed. "That is strange. Swans aren't native here. Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, I wouldn't be telling you otherwise," Anissa chided, quick to make her report. "It had long black legs and a matching black beak."

"No yellow or orange markings on its face?" She questioned expertly.

"Not that I could see."

"Hm, sounds like a Trumpeter Swan to me, but I obviously can't be sure until I've seen it. Where was it?" Renee absentmindedly gave the anxious cow a pat.

Anissa shrugged slightly. "It went into Fugue Forest, so I don't know where it went exactly."

"Hm," Renee said again. The girl loved animals more than anything, so she was determined to help this one out. "Someone probably set it loose, or it got away from being dinner. I'll be on the look-out for it. Thanks, Anissa."

"No problem," Anissa smiled. "I thought you'd be interested. Well… harvesting season! See you later, Renee!"

"Bye, Anissa! Take care!" Renee waved. Anissa soon disappeared and Renee went back to tending the cow.

A swan in these parts? Very strange indeed.

It was sunset when The Witch was kicking her legs in the murky water by her house. The tips of her black Mary Jane heels swirled the algae on the surface of the lake. She gripped the wooden bridge and stared up at the waning sun, wondering where our protagonist might be. Vivi would admit to herself (and only herself) that she had been selfish and unfair, but… could anyone really blame her? Well, she supposed they could. This situation was rather ridiculous. Vivi allowed herself to laugh. The Lily on the Lake curse? Who knew she had it in her?

A slow padding made her turn her head with a smile. "Ah, so you came waddling back, eh?"

Vivi knew it was mean, but she couldn't help herself. Molly's webbed feet made their way across the first bridge, to the island, and into the water.

"Find out a bit about yourself? Take a birdie vacation?" The Witch wouldn't have been surprised if Molly finally snapped and attacked her. She could just picture that large beak pecking at her eyes. "Guess I can't blame you – I'd want to be human again, too, after that long."

Molly seemed to ignore her as the sky darkened and finally reached a bluish black. As the moon was continuing to grow, the world at night continued to grow brighter. In a few minutes, Molly started to glow and her body seemed to stretch upwards before Vivi couldn't see her behind the water. It fell back into the lake, leaving the farmer once again standing there, knee deep in the water.

"I never noticed how short you are," Vivi commented. "Did you stop growing at twelve?"

Molly's lip quivered and she suddenly burst into tears. The Witch stared in shock as Molly slowly sunk to her knees and sat there, getting herself soaked to her stomach. She sobbed loudly without shame, making The Witch very uncomfortable.

Vivi stood, brushed the dirt from her shorts, and walked over to the muddy island between the bridges. She swayed on her feet guiltily with her hands behind her back. The heels of her shoes dug into the dirt. Molly's sobs grew quieter and quieter until they were repressed sniffles behind her hands. "I… didn't mean to make you cry like that."

Molly revealed her blotchy red face, wiping the rapid tears with the backs of her hands. "I-I-It wasn't y-your fault…"

"Ha!" Vivi let out a loud laugh, startling the girl. "Are you kidding me? Of course it's my fault! If it's something wrong in your life, I'm pretty sure I can lay claim to the source."

Molly tried to smile, but she only managed a quick, broken grin. "M-Maybe, then… Oh, I don't know what I'm going to do…!"

Vivi awkwardly waited for Molly to stop crying again. Surprising her, another creature in the water stopped before Molly. Molly wiped her eyes and saw Speed the turtle wading through to meet her. She placed a hand on his tough, round head in thanks for the comfort. With a quick look around her, Archie was on the bank, pacing back and forth and trying to see past the distance. A pair of shiny eyes in the hollow tree by the Witch's House told Molly Romeo was watching, too.

"At least get out of the water… It's kind of gross," Vivi finally said.

Molly nodded, getting to her feet unsteadily. The Witch held out a hand and Molly took it, hopping back up onto the shore. Speed managed to crawl his way onto the island, too, and Archie came speeding along the bridge to circle around Molly's feet.

The Witch shrieked. "Eek, what is that?!"

"It's just a weasel…" Molly said, sitting down in the dirt. Archie climbed into her lap and immediately sat down, finally satisfied. Speed sat by her side as well, tucking his legs in.

Vivi raised an eyebrow. "I see you've got your forest friends. What are you – a fairytale princess?"

Molly let out a laugh that time. "Of course not… Well, maybe. This seems like it should be a movie. I wish it was a movie…"

Vivi hesitated, but sat down next to her in the dirt. Speed sat between them and The Witch eyed him uneasily. That mouth looked like it could bite through a finger or two… She cleared her throat. "Um… I'm still working on this 'friend' thing… And friends help with problems, right? So… what's up?"

The farmer stared for a minute, making The Witch writhe with internal awkwardness and worry that the offer would be rejected. Molly blinked. Quickly, Vivi added: "Unless you don't want to talk. Whatever, then. Just wanted to know what was on your mind…"

Molly gave her a small smile. "I can't remember the last time someone asked me what I thought…"

Vivi blushed, feeling very stupid. She knew she was doing it wrong…

"Thank you."

The Witch looked back up and saw Molly smiling back at her. She gave her a more confident smile. "Alright then! So?"

Molly sighed, beginning the story that was cut off. "Remember when I asked you… I mean, what would happen if someone kissed me? Before I kissed the man I love?"

Vivi wrinkled her nose. "Had no idea this would be a mushy relationship talk. But… yeah. Sure, I remember. …Why? Were you whoring around?"

"What?! NO!" Molly quickly glared. She looked down at Archie, scratching his back. "It was an accident…"

"Aha!" Vivi said. "I was right!"

"It wasn't like that!" Molly grumbled, surprised she was defending Luke. She was still awfully mad at him, but she had to admit… he was trying to help… in the worst way ever. "He was just trying to help."

"Oh…" The Witch nodded sarcastically in agreement. "That makes it all better."

"I know it doesn't!" Molly said. "That's the problem! Can I still kiss Gill and end the curse?"

Vivi shook her head. "No. It specifically says the man you kiss has to be the man you love. Because he's got to tell you he loves you in return."

"But I don't love Luke, so shouldn't the kiss mean nothing?" Molly asked hopefully.

This made The Witch recoil somewhat. "The carpenter?"

"Wait, you know him?!" Molly gasped.

"Of course!" Vivi sniffed as if she was insulted. "I've seen him in the forest a million times."

"Then why didn't you kidnap him instead?!" She sighed selfishly.

"Are you kidding me?! He carries an axe!"

"True…" Molly agreed, remembering the sight of the shiny tool when she made him try to prove who he was. She was such an idiot…

"Anyways, I don't think so. I mean it says only him. I don't think the curse was kidding around with the 'only,'" Vivi shrugged.

Molly groaned. "Then what am I going to do? Make Luke fall in love with me?"

Even though Molly was kidding, The Witch nodded. "It seems like the only way to me."

"Wait, what? You're not serious?" Molly's eyes bugged.

"Well, yeah. If he tells you he loves you, I don't see why the conditions of the curse wouldn't be filled."

Molly shook her head. "There's no way though! I mean… I'm engaged to Gill! And Luke's… well… an idiot. I can't just force him to fall in love with me! …Can I?"

Vivi realized that Molly was asking for a spell. She immediately put her up hands in refusal. "No! No way! No more spell experiments! I've had enough of magic on humans for quite a long time, thanks."

Molly sighed grumpily, crossing her arms.

The Witch added: "Besides, what if something went wrong and he couldn't love you or he fell in love with someone else? It would only make things more difficult."

"I guess you're right…" She said in defeat.

"Whether you like it or not, Luke's your only hope now."

Molly suddenly turned to The Witch as if she just realized she was sitting there. "Any reason you're being so friendly? No offence, but… it's a little unexpected."

Vivi chuckled, the moonlight sparkling in her long silver hair. Despite what must've been years of aging, she was radiant and youthful. Vivi was really rather beautiful in a mysterious and enchanting way. "Like I said, I'm trying out this 'friend' thing… And honestly… I've been thinking of ways to break it to you…"

Molly noticed her sudden change in demeanor. The Witch fumbled her fingers, staring down at them intently. "What? Break what to me?"

"I've been doing lots of reading…" Vivi mumbled. Her next sentence was even quieter, so Molly had to lean to hear her. "And… I don't really know how to tell you, but… There's… kind of a time limit."

"A time limit?!" Molly shouted, unnerving Archie and Vivi, making them both jump in surprise. "When? How long do I have?"

The Witch bit her lip. "Well, he has to tell you before the first snow, or…"

"What? I'll be a swan forever?" Molly panicked. Her heart was racing, and she knew deep down it was something much worse.

"Actually… you'll die."