Rothbart angrily shoved the bottles of glowing potions off of the table in his lair, where they flew off and shattered loudly on the wall, with shards of glass hitting the floor as well. He was in a true fit of rage since he had failed to capture Odette.

"I can't believe it! She wasn't there!" He shouted, fuming heavily. "That can only mean she is still with that weakling prince. Which also means… she's accepted his marriage proposal!" He shouted in anger as tiny bursts of red energy flew from his hands. "Now I'll never legally obtain the kingdom!"

As Rothbart tried to collect himself, something inside him suddenly sparked, and his eyes twitched.

"…Unless…"

As soon as it came to him, he chuckled darkly. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?! It's the perfect plan!... if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, as they say!"

Moments later, He and his assistant, Bridget, hastily left the castle and quietly walked into the thick, lush woods with the sounds of birds off in the distance. He certainly had a plan, but he knew he would need to find a new lair in order to pull it off.

Odette tossed and turned in her bed as she slept through a nightmare. Suddenly, she shot up and screamed. Breathing heavily, Odette looked around to see that she was in her bedroom at Uberta's castle. It had been three days since her father King William's funeral, but Odette chose not to return home afterward. Despite the emotional support she would've been given in her father's kingdom, her place was with Derek now, and his home was now hers.

As Odette sat in her bed, she jumped a bit as Derek burst through the door. "Odette! Are you alright?!" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah…I think so," Odette responded, "It was just a nightmare."

"Oh…okay," Derek said, still not entirely convinced, "Well, I guess I'll go back to bed now."

As Derek started to leave, Odette suddenly stopped him, "Derek, please wait."

"What is it, Odette?" Derek asked as he turned back towards her.

Odette looked at her fiancé with an expression of both fear and sorrow, "Don't leave...please."

Derek stood there for about a moment or two. He knew that Odette was still in pain from her father's death and that she needed all the support he could give her. After a few seconds, Derek sighed and then gave Odette a warm smile.

"Okay," he agreed before going over to Odette's bed and lying down next to her. He then wrapped his arms around her as she cuddled up to him. For a few minutes, they both lied there motionlessly, not saying a word or falling asleep. As Derek brushed his fiancée's hair back behind her ear, he began to grow worried about her.

In the few days since her father died, Odette had been acting a bit differently. She wasn't completely gone like some people going through a depression were, but she was still a bit out of touch with others. While it was true that Odette would still be kind to everyone, she always seemed sad and wouldn't talk to people as much as she usually did, and when the nightmares started, she began to grow more distant. This worried Derek greatly, and he knew he had to do something to help her feel better.

"Odette…can I talk to you about something?" Derek asked.

"Of course, anything," Odette responded.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

Odette looked at Derek in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You haven't been yourself since your father died," Derek explained.

"Not myself?" Odette asked.

"I mean, you're always sad and you're not letting others help you feel better when they try," Derek continued, "Now, I don't mean you should stop missing your father, I know what he meant to you, but I know he'd want you to be happy."

Odette looked down sadly, "I know…" she began, "I'm sorry, Derek. I know I haven't been myself lately, but I'll try to be happier and accept help from others. Like you said, my father would want me to be happy, plus we're getting married soon."

"Good," Derek said with a smile.

"Growing up, I often wondered why my father wanted me to marry you," Odette continued.

Derek looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"He often said that he wanted our kingdoms to join even though he and Uberta were already friends, but I had a feeling that there was another reason to it," Odette explained, "But now I know why he did it."

"Why?" Derek asked.

Odette took a deep breath before continuing, "…Because he knew you would take care of me if he died…that's why he wanted you to be my husband. As a child he saw himself in you. My father was old, even when I was born, and feared everyday he would die before I became an adult and that I would end up alone."

"I'm sorry, Odette," Derek apologized.

"It's alright, Derek," Odette reassured him, "At least he got his wish. He knows now that I won't be alone."

Derek smiled and took her hand, "You'll never be alone."

Odette looked up at Derek and smiled. He truly cared for her. After years of never being able to stand each other, they were as in love with each other as any couple would be, and Odette knew that they'd always be like that.

"And I know you're hurting right now," Derek continued, "So if you want, we can postpone the wedding until you feel better."

"Thank you," Odette said sweetly.

"You're welcome, Odette," Derek responded.

Suddenly, Odette realized something, "But wait, what about your mother?"

Derek's eyes widened as he realized what she meant, "Oh man, I forgot about mother," he said before sighing heavily, "She's not gonna be happy about this."

Needless to say, Derek's prediction was accurate. The next morning, when he and Odette told his mother about their plans to postpone the wedding, Uberta simply stood there for a few moments with an expression of shock on her face. Derek tried his best to explain his reasoning to her, but she wasn't convinced at all.

"It's for the best, mother," Derek explained, "I want to give Odette enough time to heal before we get married."

Suddenly, something was happening, and it was something that Derek had seen happen many times over the years. His mother's eyes suddenly widened in an extremely sad expression as her lower lip started quivering. Whenever Uberta gets extremely upset, she does what Derek calls 'the lip thing.'

"Oh no, Mother! Please don't give us the lip thing!" Derek pleaded.

"But…b-but!" Uberta said as she kept whimpering.

"We have to do something, Derek!" Odette said just below a shout, "I can't stand to see her like this!"

Suddenly, Derek got an idea, "If you let us postpone the wedding, that'll give you more time to plan it," he explained.

Suddenly, Uberta stopped whimpering and blinked at her son, "What?"

"That way, you can make it even more spectacular," Derek continued, "And everyone will see that you haven't lost your touch when it comes to planning special occasions."

Just then, without any warning, Uberta suddenly and happily gave out a loud squeal and hugged her son tight, "Thank you, darling!"

"You're welcome," Derek said as his mother let go of him. Just then he remembered a very important detail, "But please, mother, no beauty pageants please, this is a wedding!"

Just as Derek said that, Uberta gasped, "Goodness no! A wedding is supposed to be about the bride and groom, and a beauty pageant would steal the spotlight from them, especially the bride!" Suddenly, Uberta gave them a smirk, "But that doesn't mean it won't still be big!"

As Uberta ran off to plan the wedding, Derek and Odette stood there for a few moments. Derek, of course, was having a few regrets, "…What have I done?" he asked himself.

Odette gave out a slight giggle, "It looks to me like you've created a monster, Derek."

Derek then shook his head, looking back on his childhood, "Nah, mother's been like that since before I was born. At least, that's what everyone tells me."

And it was all true. As far back as Derek could remember, Uberta had always throwing large parties, planning huge events for special occasions, and hosting what seemed like a thousand beauty pageants, most of which Derek and Odette were forced into going to together, but he still loved her since she was his mother. Maybe he could at least keep his mother under control with the wedding somehow. But there was still the question of how long they should postpone the wedding for.

"So how long should we postpone the wedding for?" Derek asked.

Odette shrugged, "About a month or so."

"Okay, that should be long enough," Derek agreed, "but if you need more time, just let me know, okay?"

Odette looked at her fiancé with a smile, "Of course, Derek. In fact, I'm actually feeling a bit better now."

"Really? Why's that?" Derek asked.

"I don't know," Odette responded, "I can't really explain it, but I'm starting to feel better about everything. Maybe it's what you said last night about how my father would want me to be happy."

Suddenly, Derek wrapped his arms around Odette and held her lovingly, "That's good to hear, Odette." Just then, Derek let go of her, "Well, if you need me, I'll be in the library."

Odette looked at her fiancé in confusion, "The library?"

Derek nodded, "Yeah, I'm doing research to see if I can figure out what the Great Animal is."

Odette understood why Derek was doing that. He wanted to know what the Great Animal was incase it ever came after them. While Odette and everyone else said that it was unlikely, Derek still thought it could be possible.

"Okay, good luck," Odette wished him as he left.

About an hour later, Odette began to wander around the castle. While she was still a bit sad about her father, she felt much better after what Derek had told her last night. She didn't want to be sad anymore since that wouldn't be what William would've wanted.

As Odette walked through the halls, she decided to step outside into the garden for some much needed fresh air. She then sat on the bench and began to look around. Everything was so beautiful and full of life, the flowers were in bloom, the birds were singing, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. As she sat there, Odette sighed happily and closed her eyes as she began to think of the wonderful life she and Derek would have after being married. She imagined the two of them living happily together and starting a family of their own, something she never would've thought of when they were younger, at least not without being utterly disgusted by the idea considering Derek was a snot when they were children. But Odette knew that Derek was a changed man, and she knew that he would be a wonderful and loving husband to her.

Suddenly, Odette was taken out of her thoughts as she heard a familiar voice, "Princess?"

She then looked up to see her father's captain, who had his arm in a sling, as he had not fully healed yet. "Oh, Captain Gregory! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still here."

"It's quite alright, Your Highness," Captain Gregory reassured her, "How are you?"

"I'm feeling better, thank you," Odette responded. She had known her father's captain for many years, but never really talked with him until now. "How's your arm?" she asked.

"Broken, but it's healing," Captain Gregory told her.

Odette smiled, "I'm glad to hear that."

Gregory paused for a moment before speaking again, "I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now."

Odette looked at him in confusion, "You have?"

The captain nodded to her, "Yes…I'm sorry I couldn't save your father. I failed to protect him and I let him down…and I let you down."

Odette was a bit surprised by Gregory's words, but she then smiled and put her hand on the side of his good arm. "Please don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault. You did everything you could," she said in an understanding tone.

Gregory nodded, but then hung his head, "I know…but even though he told me to go tell you what had happened, I still feel somewhat responsible for what happened. I mean, I practically abandoned him."

"It's alright, Captain," Odette reassured him, "He wanted you to make sure I was alright. If I knew my father, then I'd know that he'd be sure that you did the right thing."

Gregory smiled at the young princess's words, "Thank you, Princess…" Suddenly, his smile faded, "but there's more I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Odette asked.

Captain Gregory took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy for him. "I know that the prince is doing research on the Great Animal incase it comes back," he began.

"Yeah," Odette agreed, "He really wants to make sure that it doesn't come after me. But I still don't understand why he'd think that it would."

"…I think I know why it would," Gregory said after a moment of silence.

Odette looked at him with a blank expression, "What do you mean?"

Derek flipped through one of the books on the table before moving onto another one. He and Bromley had been in the royal library for what seemed like forever, or that's how it at least felt for Bromley. They had already been through numerous books on different kinds of animals, monsters, and mythical creatures, but none of them referred to a "Great Animal" as King William had told Derek, and quite frankly, it was frustrating him very much.

"Hey Derek, how about a break?" Bromley said.

"Yeah, sure Brom, just five more minutes," Derek said without paying any attention as he looked through yet another book.

"That's what you said an hour ago," Bromley whined.

About a minute later, Odette came into the library, and she looked a little upset, although she tried to hide it. "How's the research coming, boys?" she asked as she walked over to them.

"Not so good," Derek said with a sigh.

"Maybe you should take a break," Odette suggested.

"Forget it, Princess," Bromley responded, "I asked for one and he said five more minutes, and that was an hour ago!"

Odette then turned to her fiancé and looked at him with a stern expression, "Derek, don't you think Bromley deserves a break?"

"Yeah, sure," Derek said, still looking through the book, "Brom, you can go take a break."

"Oh sure, I ask for one and I don't get it, but I do when she asks," Bromley said sarcastically as he got up and started walking away, "That makes perfect sense!"

As Bromley left the library, Odette looked at Derek with a worried expression, "Derek, please put the book down."

"Just a minute, Odette," Derek told her, but Odette wasn't going to take no for an answer, so she took the book from Derek's hands, closed it, and put it on the table.

"Hey!" Derek protested.

"Derek, I really need to talk to you," Odette pleaded.

Derek let out another sigh, "Okay. What do you need, Odette?"

"It's about the Great Animal," Odette began as she sat down at the table.

Derek had a feeling about what his fiancée was going to tell him, "Look, Odette, I know that you're worried about me finding it because it killed your father, but I'm only doing this to protect you."

Odette smiled, "I know, and I'm grateful, but there's something I need to tell you."

"I know, everyone else told me the same thing," Derek interrupted, "That your father's attack was just a freak accident and that there's no reason why it'd come after you, but remember what your father said about it being his fault?"

"I remember," Odette said softly, remembering the painful memory, "but that's not what I wanted to tell you about."

"What is it?" Derek asked.

Odette paused for a minute before speaking again, "I just had a long talk with my father's captain, and he thinks that the Great Animal attacked my father was under orders to do it."

Derek looked at Odette in surprise, "Under orders? Why does he think that?"

"He said that he saw the some of the Great Animal's attack," Odette continued, "He didn't get a good look at it, but he said that it moved strangely, like it had higher intelligence than normal animals."

At this point, Derek was completely confused, "What do you mean?"

"He said that it attacked the soldiers first and then threw my father against the tree we found him lying on," Odette said.

"So…he thought it devised some sort of strategy?" Derek responded.

Odette nodded, "That's what he told me."

"But why would he think that it was being controlled by someone?" Derek asked.

"Because after it attacked my father and his soldiers, it searched the carriage," Odette continued, "The Captain said that it was as if the Great Animal was looking for something."

Derek thought about it for a moment, and then realized something, "…Or someone."

Odette looked at Derek in confusion, but then started shaking a bit as she realized what he meant, "You don't think-,"

"That's exactly what I think," Derek cut her off, "Whoever sent the Great Animal to attack your father was after you. And if you hadn't stayed here, it would've gotten to you."

"But who would want to capture me?" Odette asked.

Derek shook his head, "I don't know, but since they didn't succeed then, they'll more than likely try again." Just then, Derek noticed that Odette was unnerved by his words. He then stood up, went over to her, helped her to her feet, and held her close, "But I won't let that happen, Odette. I promised your father I'd protect you, and that's exactly what I intend to do. I love you too much to let anything happen to you."

"But what if you can't protect me?" Odette asked worriedly.

"I doubt that'll ever happen," Derek said before getting an idea, "but incase it does, you'll have to learn to protect yourself."

"How?" Odette asked.

Derek grinned, "I think I have an idea."

A few minutes later, Derek and Odette found themselves outside in the courtyard. Derek figured that the best way for Odette to learn how to defend herself was for him to teach her how. They had sparred with wooden swords as children, most of the time Odette would win, but Derek was worried that since it had been a few years she needed a refresher course.

"Here you go," Derek said as he handed one of the swords to Odette.

"It's been a while since we've sparred, you know," Odette commented smiling.

"Yeah," Derek agreed, "I should probably explain the basics."

Suddenly, Odette smirked at her fiancé, "I don't think we fully need to remember the basics, I did beat you all the time."

"Oh?" Derek said with a smirk of his own, "Is that a challenge I hear?"

Derek and Odette took out their swords and got into their stances.

"Ready?" Derek asked.

Odette nodded, "Ready."

Just then, Derek swung his sword at Odette a few times, but she was able to block each of his blows. "Very good," Derek complimented. Just then, Odette tripped him and he fell to the ground with a thud, "Ow!"

Odette giggled. This was reminding her of the few good times during their childhood.

Derek chuckled, "You got better."

"Of course I did," Odette commented.

"But then again, so did I," Derek said before jumping to his feet and swiping his sword towards Odette's head, but stopped it before hitting her. Odette gasped at Derek's attack, causing him to realize what he had done, "Oh, sorry Odette! I didn't mean to scare you!"

Just then, catching him more off guard, Odette went on the offensive and started swinging her sword at Derek. He managed to block her attacks, but she was attacking more fiercely than he remembered. A few more minutes of sparring went by until Derek and Odette decided to take a break.

"When did you get so good with a sword?" Derek asked as he and Odette tried to catch their breaths.

"Practice," Odette told him.

"Did your father teach you?" Derek responded.

Odette shook her head, "No, I taught myself out of boredom, and I wanted to continue beating you."

Derek looked at her in surprise, "You did?" he asked before smirking, "So what was with all the years of you trying to get me to play dress-up?"

"Payback," Odette told him.

"For what?" Derek asked.

Odette raised an eyebrow, "For being a toad when we were growing up."

Derek suddenly blushed in embarrassment as he remembered everything else from their childhood, "Oh," he said with a sigh, "I know I was a jerk, Odette, but I've learned my lesson."

"Really?" Odette asked.

Derek nodded, "Yeah. And I promise I won't be that way anymore. After all, we are getting married."

Odette smiled for a few moments, but suddenly her smile faded, "…If it makes you feel better, I'm just as guilty."

Derek looked at Odette in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Odette paused for a moment, "…You know how I flirted with the guards?"

"Yeah?" Suddenly, Derek knew what she meant, "…Oh."

"I wanted to see your reaction," Odette said as she hung her head in shame.

Just then Derek took her in his arms and held her lovingly, "It's okay, Odette. The past is the past. We should try to move on and make to best of the time we have now."

Odette smiled at Derek before the two of them kissed. He was right. The past was the past, and whatever grudges they may have had against each other, they were gone. They had both changed for the better, and that was all that mattered.

Me: Oh man! This took FOREVER to write! Sorry about the long wait guys, but I hope you all enjoy this. And in the next chapter, there'll be something you're all probably familiar with if you've seen the first Swan Princess movie, but with a little twist. Please review.