Prince Anthony and Prince Stephen had been betrothed since they were small children.

Looking back, the fact that it went ahead was a surprise. On their first meeting, the children did their best to injure each other, finding the largest sticks and trying to hit each other, with Tony even stooping to trying to push Stephen into a pile of horse dung.

Stephen retaliated by using his magic to throw rotten fruit at the other boy.

Tony then destroyed the other boy's specially made treehouse.

It was clear to anyone that watched them, that the pair well and truly despised each other.

So, when the two men seemed to get on and eagerly accepted their betrothal, everyone was surprised. On the night of their betrothal, the two danced together all night.

With the wedding scheduled for six months' time, Prince Stephen headed back to his own country, parting from the other prince, with a fond kiss on the cheek.

It wasn't the wisest choice to travel in the darkness, but his own kingdom had to be told of the joyous news and extended periods of time without the royal family could lead to civil war. The darkness might have brought the unknown, but Stephen believed he was well-prepared against anything that might happen.

Lightning crackled in the sky, striking a tree directly in front of the carriage, causing it to fall and block the way. Intending to use his magic to clear the way, Stephen climbed out of the carriage, only to take a step back at the creature that seemed to come out of nowhere. He tried to use his magic to take care of the child, but something shot out and knocked him unconscious, killing all the guards present before grabbing the prince and carrying the young man away.

Or at least, it almost killed all the guards.

The Guard Captain, Wong, knew that his injuries were severe, but he also knew that he had to warn someone that his Crown Prince had been captured. Using the last little bits of his strength, he created a portal to the kingdom and stepped through.

Not the right kingdom though.

….

Tony wasn't sleeping.

Not a rare occurrence, as his mind often ran far too quickly, coming up with new ideas and building on existing ones. Thankful to change into his non-posh clothes, he nearly missed the portal glowing out of the corner of his eye.

"Stephen, miss me- "He stopped in his tracks as Captain Wong stepped through and instantly collapsed to the ground, "- HEALER! I NEED A HEALER DOWN HERE!"

As the guard that usually stood outside his lab ran away to fetch one, Tony knelt by Wong's side, "What happened?" he asked.

"The carriage… attacked." Was all Wong could say before he lost consciousness and the Healer raced into the room, gently moving the Prince to one side.

Tony didn't care about that though… all he could think about was Wong's last sentence. "Stephen." He whispered, going into immediate panic mode, rushing out of the door and ignoring everyone's protests for him to stop as he grabbed a horse and shot off.

The path was familiar, but the carriage and the dead guards… not so much. Looking around, he heard laboured breathing coming from near the carriage. When he rushed over, he knelt down by another guard who was near death.

"What happened?"

The guard wheezed, blood dribbling out the side of his mouth as he tried to speak. "T-t-the Prince!"

"Where is he?" Tony asked, fear, worry and dread bubbling up in his stomach.

"G-g-gone!"

It was like Tony's heart stopped, "Who did this?"

It took so much energy for the guard to force his dying words out, and Tony hung onto every one of them, "T-The great beast!"

The rain came down hard and the guard took his last breath.

"No, no, no!" Tony checked the man's pulse, but it was too late. He stumbled to his feet, and called out, "STEPHEN! STEPHEN!"

Silence.

Elsewhere, Stephen was dropped on the ground, the figure of Kaecilius appearing beside him, waving his hand over the still figure and muttering a curse.

When Stephen did eventually wake up, he moved to defend himself, only for nothing to happen.

"Feels empty, doesn't it." Kaecilius asked, almost in pity, "Like you've lost a limb."

"I-I demand to be taken back immediately!" Stephen ordered, his voice remaining steady, despite the distress at the back of his mind.

"I can't do that…. Not without a little bit of insurance." Kaecilius gestured to the lake behind Stephen, "This lake will be your new home… unless you agree to marry me."

"…. What?"

"You have been curse, My Prince… wait a moment and you will see what I mean."

"Wait, what?!"

"You require an explanation then?" Kaecilius smirked, "It is a simple curse… when the moonlight is on the lake, and as long as you are there, you will be human. If you are not, then you will live out your days as a harmless creature."

"What do you want?" Stephen asked, straightening up and trying to fight back the dread building up in his stomach.

"Agree to marry me instead of that… Stark prince, and I will end the curse."

Stephen shook his head, "Never… never in a million years."

"Then you will stay here… and you will never see Prince Anthony again." Kaecilius smirked again, "A pity really."

"A pity?"

"The only other way to break the curse, is through a confession of true love."

Before Stephen could reply, he started to feel a pain, a change in his body. Something swirled all around him, and he was shrinking, feathers popping out of his skin and his hands changing to wings.

"Goodbye Prince Stephen."

The black swan, with a single white feather turned away.

….….

"There was nothing we could have done." King Howard sighed, standing in the doorway to his son's workshop.

Tony didn't respond at first, too engrossed with his work. Eventually, knowing that his father wasn't going to leave, he pushed himself away from the desk and turned to the older man. "He's out there somewhere."

"Prince Stephen is gone." Howard stated firmly, "His parents are already preparing to storm the castle, not believing that we don't have him." He then sighed, "Tony… I am sorry."

"He's not gone like that…" Tony turned away, "… not until I find a body."

Nothing his Father said was going to make any difference to that.

When his Father finally left, Tony went straight to Rhodey, who was lingering in the war room, clearly preparing for a possible attack.

"What do have on a 'great beast'?" He asked, "Anything?"

"Great Beast?" Rhodey frowned, "Wong mentioned something like that…. From what we've been able to find out, there are legends of a Great Beast disguising itself as something harmless, luring people into a false sense of security, before killing them. But they're just stories? Something you tell children to make them behave!"

"Maybe not…" Tony mused, "… is that offer for hunting lessons still on?"

"Tony… what are you planning… Tony!"

…..

In the grounds, there was a large field where most archery practice took place. Tony and Rhodey clutched their bows as the archery master stepped out, closely followed by several unimpressed teens.

"Ummm, Clint… where are the servants?"

"Apparently, they have the day off, so my magnificent assistants are going to help today, right Kate?"

"We hate you, and we had better get a pay-rise for this."

"The Prince is right there, put all complaints of money to him." Clint ignored Tony's eye roll when he turned to him, "Now, you've a load of fake arrows there with paint on them. The Prince is red, and Captain Rhodey is blue."

"Do we have to do this?" A white-haired teen whined, "Isn't this cruel?"

"Don't worry, like Barton said, you will get a pay-rise." Tony chuckled, "These arrows are completely harmless. Barton, you joining in?"

The group of young teens all started to shake their heads desperately, sighing in relief when Clint shook his head, "Nah, gotta give you guys a chance." He clapped his hands together, "Now, the scores of the animals are the numbers they're wearing. You ready?"

Tony and Rhodey nodded.

"GO!"

The teens scattered, and the pair leapt into action. The teens went running behind trees, hedges and bushes, with a small number gathering behind a hedge fence.

"DUCK!"

"Yes? AH!"

Blue paint in the face.

Tony focused on the white-haired teen, the fastest of them who was dressed as a rabbit, ignoring his Father calling for him as the King watched from the balcony, with other nobles and royals sipping tea beside him.

"TWELVE SECONDS!" Clint cried out.

Every animal was covered in blue, while the rabbit was clean… until Rhodey spotted him out of the corner of his eye and shot at him, just as the teen yelped and jumped into a bush.

"TIME'S UP!" Clint yelled out, "Animals, gather!"

The teens all came back, limping and complaining about the unfairness of it all.

"You guys are definitely getting that pay-rise." Tony reassured them, wincing at the placement of some of the paint as Clint counted up the points.

"Well done Captain Rhodes." Clint smirked, not noticing how the Prince hit the white rabbit three times with the red arrow, slipping some gold coins into the teen's hand, "Two hundred and twenty-eight points for the main animals… and zero for the Prince. And now for the- Oh."

Three red spots on the rabbit.

Rhodey raised an incredulous eyebrow, "Good shooting Your Highness."

"So… two hundred and twenty-eight to three hundred?"

"Hang on." Rhodey gestured for the boy to turn, revealing a blue spot on the back, "Make that three hundred and twenty-eight to three hundred."

"Thank goodness." Clint sighed, "If the Prince lost to the Captain of the guards, then I really would start to worry."

…..

Stephen sighed wearily as he helped the floundering frog out of the pond. Out of all the creatures in this hell-hole, why was it, that he was stuck with the only frog that seemed to hate water.

"Don't look at me like that." He scolded the frog, "Like you're expecting me to kiss you." He placed it on the ground, "I'm not a Prince anymore anyway…. I'm just Stephen the swan, ruler of nothing."

As if on cue, the gloomy surroundings changed, becoming brighter, trees and flowers coming alive. Green and luscious grass started to grow, almost like spring and summer had come at once. From behind an arch, that used to be nothing but parts of ruins, Kaecilius emerged.

"Once again I ask, my Prince." The man moved forwards, "Will you marry me?"

"You ask me the same question every night." Stephen rolled his eyes in exasperation, "The answer is no. It will always be no! You will not have my kingdom, or any other kingdom!"

There was a tense moment of silence, before Kaecilius sneered. "It seems you require more time to think."

….

"Get moving!" King Howard ordered, "Everything needs to be perfect! And I mean perfect!"

He eyed the extravagant ballroom.

Yes. Everything had to be perfect.

Tony was once again single, and this just wouldn't do. Princes and Princess from every land would be invited, and there was every chance Tony would pick one…. Hopefully Rogers. That Prince was the best strategist in the land.

Then again, he knew that he couldn't get his hopes up… not after what happened with Stephen.

That was truly a shame.

"Ah, there you are!" Howard raised an eyebrow as his son entered the room.

"Here I am." Tony didn't seem to notice that anything was amiss, "I'm going hunting with Rhodey."

"Again?" Howard exclaimed, knowing that there was no way to stop his son. He sighed, "Very well. Be sure to be back before tomorrow evening."

"…. For what?"

For a genius, he could be quite clueless when something was happening right in front of him.

"The ball!" Howard gestured all around him, "You must be here for the ball, everyone who is anyone is invited. You will find someone you like, and fingers crossed, an heir will come of it."

Tony's eyes narrowed, "The only one I want, is Stephen."

"Stephen is dead!"

Silence fell across the room, with many of the servants almost seeming to hold their breath.

"… I'll be back before tomorrow night." With that, Tony turned on his heel and strode out of the ballroom.

Sometimes, Howard wished he'd had a daughter… then she could have taken after her Mother instead of him.

…..

As the sun rose at the lake again, Stephen was back in his swan form, flying into the air. Yes, he had to be back at the lake when there's moonlight if he wanted to be human, but that didn't mean he had to stay at the lake.

Of course, his daylight ventures were pretty useless as he had no idea where he was, and therefore no idea where Tony was.

Kaecilius probably had a map in his home but getting in there was the big problem. Which is what led to him checking the castle for any signs of the mad sorcerer, sneaking in through an open window and grabbing a map from a large pile on the table.

Step one of the plan was complete.

….…..

The forests were dense, and it seemed like there would be no chance of finding a creature capable of mass slaughter and abduction. Tony kept behind Rhodey all the way, as it started to get dark.

As Rhodey chased after a bobcat, Tony spotted something flying overhead. A tree rustled and a swan landed on a nearby rock, almost seeming to stare at him.

"Hello there…" Tony muttered, firing off a shot at the gorgeous bird, only to miss and send it flying off, "… Dammit!"

Not waiting for Rhodey, he raced off after the bird.

….

Up in the sky, swooping down occasionally to make sure Tony could keep up, Stephen cursed to himself.

If this Prince shot him instead of using his brain, then he was really not going to be happy.

He had to get to the lake fast. Spotting it in the distance, he tried to put on a burst of speed, but he could only go as fast as the wind would carry him.

He was getting closer now.

Landing in the lake, Stephen cursed again when he realised that the moon had disappeared behind clouds. "Oh, come on!" he squawked out in indignation, sighing as Tony burst into the clearing, crossbow at the ready.

Really, he was lucky that the moon reappeared before Tony could pull the trigger.

Feeling a familiar warmth all around him, Stephen couldn't help but feel thankful as he turned back into a human again. The sight caused Tony to lower his weapon, his eyes widening as the swan became Stephen.

"Stephen?!" Tony said in disbelief.

"Tony!" Stephen smiled wider than he had in a long time, a light coming back into his eyes. They'd done it and now Tony would know everything.

He didn't even have to run towards Tony, as the shorter man ran into the water to join him, not caring about getting his clothes wet. The two embraced long and hard, taking in each other's scent and warmth.

"I've been so worried!" Tony gasped wetly, "Everyone kept saying you were dead, but I knew – I knew you weren't!"

"I don't have long to explain he'll be here soon." Stephen glanced around frantically, "Kaelicius, all of it's been Kaelicius! He did this, he wants my hand in marriage and- "

"Whoa! It's okay! It's okay!" Tony frowned, "Can't you just magic your way out of here? Come back to the castle, we'll get married and then I'll give a public declaration of love! That always breaks curses!"

Stephen fought back the urge to cry, nodding his head. "I-I will… I promise. Tomorrow. Come back tomorrow."

Tony frowned in confusion, before nodding reluctantly and slowly leaving.

Seconds after the prince was out of sight, there was a menacing chuckle came from behind him.

"Foolish child," Kaelicius spat, "I heard everything you and your precious Prince said."

Stephen's heart sank.

No, it couldn't be.

Everything?

"Well, there's nothing you can do!" Stephen growled, despite not believing his own words.

"Oh, but I certainly can." Kaelicius said, "My plan shall be glorious. My powers are more magnificent than they have ever been, and therefore, I will humiliate Prince Stark." He then started to pace, "All I need is for someone to take your place, I'm sure someone will be willing to pretend to be you, so when Prince Stark does get married, it won't be to you."

"That will never work." Stephen rolled his eyes, pushing down the worry in his heart, "Tony knows me."

"Maybe… but you won't be able to do anything about it. A pretty swan all locked up, because tomorrow night after all, there's a new moon."

Stephen felt like his heart was breaking, hunching in on himself as he changed back into a swan.

….

Howard frowned.

Tony had been acting odd ever since returning, floating around like he was on cloud nine as he helped with the ball preparations.

"These should be black roses… or white, not red!" The Prince ordered, despite red always being one of his favourite colours, "White like a swan." He turned his attention to the food on the table, "Are these fit for a swan to eat? Try something else!"

He then moved over to the band, "Change the music… something beautiful and graceful. Like a swan!"

Tony hated music like that.

"And just what has you in such a good mood?" Howard asked his son.

"I have found someone!"

That… did not fill Howard with the joy he thought it would.

….

One by one, little by little, the castle started to fill up.

The unofficial 'swan' theme could be seen wherever you looked. It was only slightly reassuring to Howard, that Colonel Rhodes looked just as confused as he felt at the sudden change in Tony's mood.

"Come on Rhodes!" Tony pouted, practically hanging off his best friend, "You're my best man, remember?"

"Right… and who exactly are you going to be marrying?"

Stephen refused to give up.

He was a prince, and princes didn't give up, not for anything.

He needed to break into the tower… over the crocodile infested waters. He knew there was a small, underwater entrance, but there was no-way he'd be able to fit…. And the only help that he had… was a frog that hated water.

"Please." He begged the creature that stared blankly up at him, "I don't have my magic right now, so I'm asking you very nicely… please break into that tower and get that map."

….

"There he is!" Tony beamed, happiness swelling as he spotted Stephen making his way through the crowd of people, that smile as warm as it ever was.

Ignoring the stunned look on his friend's face, he rushed over, practically jumping in front of the other prince.

"I wasn't sure if you were coming!"

Stephen just smiled at him, allowing Tony to take his arm and lead him into the middle of the room, where the announcement would be made.

The castle was so close!

Stephen flew as fast as he could, gliding through the chilly night sky. He could see the light shining through the ornate windows.

"Tony!" He called out, realising that the doors were closed, frantically tapping his beak on the glass.

He could hear them, but they couldn't hear him.

"I wish to announce an engagement and declare my true love- " Tony was saying beside the impersonator.

"TONY!" Stephen flew from one window to another.

"- To Prince Stephen!"

"NO!"

Not even getting shot in the chest could be worse than this feeling. He could feel his heart crumbling into pieces as lightning flashed around the castle and Kaelicius revealing himself to the rest of the castle.

….

"You!" Tony watched Kaelicius walk in, all high and mighty as though he'd won something.

"Greetings, Prince Anthony."

"Stay back!" The Prince stood in front of who he thought his true love to be, in order to protect him, "You can't have him! I've just declared my true love to him! The curse is broken!"

"Is that so?" Kaelicius smirked, pointing at Stephen, prompting Tony to spin around, only to take several steps back in alarm, when all he saw was a stranger staring back at him.

"Look at your real true love, Prince Anthony!" Kaelicius pointed at one of the large windows, where a white swan could be seen flying past.

"Stephen…no… NO!" Tony moved to chase him, "NO!"

The ballroom descended into chaos as all warriors dived towards Kaelicius, only to run into some sort of force field, as the sorcerer chased after the prince.

Tony pushed his horse to it's very limits, feeling like his heart was going to stop when he saw the swan lying still beside the lake.

"Stephen!"

He jumped off his horse, rushing over and taking the swan into his arms.

"Stephen!" He pleaded, only for there to be no response, "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault, I should have known that it wasn't you!" Tears streamed down his cheeks, knowing his love was dead.

Knowing that he was the one who killed him.

"I lo- "

He was cut off by the roar of a beast.

Tony glanced around frantically, only to look up and see the creature flying high above him, the sight dark and horrifying.

"HE IS DEAD PRINCE ANTHONY." Kaelicius's voice came from the creature, "AND SOON YOU WILL JOIN HIM."

"Think again." Tony hissed, reaching to his belt and grabbing a miniatured crossbow. His own design, with little, but piercing arrows.

Taking careful aim, as the creature dived towards him, Tony fired, sending one of those arrows directly into the creature's chest.

A wail was let out that would put a banshee to shame, the body twitching as though in the midst of a seizure as it went crashing into the depths of the water.

When he was sure that the creature wasn't going to rise up, and was truly dead, Tony turned his attention back to Stephen.

"I love you…" He begged, "… Please, I do! I think I've loved you from the beginning, not matter how mad we drove each other. You're strong, brave, kind and- and I better man than I could ever hope to be! I love you."

Gently, he lay the swan down on the ground, before burying his face in his hands.

He didn't see the glow spreading all over the swan's body, slowly but surely, changing back into Stephen.

Tony heard the sharp gasp, looking up just in time to see Stephen's eyes fluttering open and a soft smile appearing on his face.

"Stephen!"

"… Tony."