Further Complications
"Apple's gone!" Raven exclaimed. The minute she said this, Rotbart stopped fuming and Sparrow stopped cowering.
"WHAT?!" They both shouted.
"She's GONE!" Raven repeated.
"Gone where?!" Sparrow asked.
"How the hex should I know?!" Raven yelled.
"Gone how?!" Sparrow asked.
"She flew, you idiot." Rotbart growled. "That's what birds do."
"Yeah, but she's only been a bird for two minutes." Sparrow retorted. "Can she even fly?"
Raven and Rotbart's eyes widened in horror. Sparrow actually had a good point for a change. No one could survive a six story drop like that! They immediately ran to the window and looked at the ground below. There was no sign of a dead swan anywhere.
"Apparently she can." Raven sighed in relief.
"Good." Rotbart said. "I can still kill her then." Raven glared at him. "What?" Rotbart said defensively.
Raven rolled her eyes. "OK." She said. "Rotbart and I will track down Apple before she hurts herself..."
"Or someone else." Rotbart muttered. He could imagine what a pissed and panicked swan Apple was capable of.
"...And YOU get that charm back!" Raven told Sparrow.
"But what if she won't give it back?!" Sparrow asked.
"She?" Raven said. Rotbart immediately tensed up.
"Duchess." Sparrow said with a grin.
The former villain of the Swan Lake story stared at Sparrow with an unusual look on his face. "You gave my charm to Duchess?" He said slowly. It was impossible to read the tone of his voice, but Raven winced nonetheless. Rotbart had never really confessed his feelings about Duchess to her, but she had always suspected that she wasn't the only reason her brother wanted to take her destiny instead of his own.
Sparrow, however, was oblivious. "It was pretty, sparkly, and swan-shaped. I got major points for that. OOOOWW! I STOLE HER HEART, YEEAH!"
Rotbart sighed. "Well...tell her it came from me." He said shortly. "She won't want it then."
"And whatever you do, DON'T tell her it'll change Apple back!" Raven cautioned. She knew that Duchess would be all too eager to switch places with Apple.
"Fine." Sparrow said as he sauntered out the door. "As long as I don't have to deal with the other Swan Princess. I'll leave the chasing to you, my fiendish friends." He smirked.
"AND HURRY!" The two sorcerers yelled. Sparrow yelped and booked it out of there.
"Some hero he'll be." Rotbart muttered after Sparrow disappeared. "Let's go." He told his sister.
"Hey, You OK?" Raven asked in concern as he started to leave the room.
"Aside from the fact I could get expelled for hexing that bitch? Fine. Why wouldn't I be?" He said bitterly.
Raven wisely decided not to pry regarding Duchess. "No reason." She said. "Although you shouldn't call Apple a bitch."
"You're right. She's a royal bitch." Rotbart said.