The last few weeks before Derek and Odette's wedding went relatively quickly. They had trained less often so they could spend more time together, which wasn't all that easy since there were still a million things to do before the big day, but luckily Uberta was in charge of most of the planning process and things were getting done much quicker.
Of course, there were some challenges that came with planning the wedding. There had to be a few exchanges with food and flowers because Uberta thought most of them would be tasteless and uncharismatic, and she wanted everything to be spectacular as her only child was about to get married and be king. There were even times where Uberta chased a few of the florists were chased by an angry Uberta when they brought in baby's breath when she asked for white lilies, Derek had to step in to stop his mother saying that she couldn't be in the wedding if she were in prison. But despite all the drama that came with the planning, nothing could prepare them for what was coming next.
It was on the very last day before the wedding. Uberta was in the ballroom supervising the servants who were setting everything up for the wedding reception, and she wasn't very happy with how things were going. "Come on people, speed up production here! Flowers on the right! The wedding takes place tomorrow and I want this finished TODAY! I'm not getting any younger and I want to live to see my grandchildren!" she shouted before turning to a group of servants who were setting one of the tables and grabbed the tablecloth, "And you! Does this look like silk to you?!"
The servants looked at her nervously, not knowing what their queen would do next.
"Take it back and get me a silk tablecloth! And make them like swans!" Uberta ordered them as they rushed out of the ballroom with the tablecloth.
"Are you sure you aren't going a bit overboard with the preparations, Your Highness?" Rogers carefully asked.
"Of course not, Rogers!" Uberta exclaimed, "Tomorrow is going to be the biggest day of my life and I want everything to be perfect!"
"I realize that, but-," Rogers began again before getting cut off mid sentence.
"OH! Here come the doves!" Uberta squealed, indicating that her attitude had changed. Rogers let out a great sigh. His queen had always been like this for as long as he could remember, but he said nothing out of fear of losing his job, or worse.
"Where are Derek and Odette anyways?" Uberta asked.
"Odette is out picking wild flowers for her bouquet," Rogers explained, "and Derek is in the library."
Uberta immediately frowned, "What is Derek doing in the library on the day before his wedding?! Oh, never mind, I know what he's doing. He's still working on the mystery of the fat animal."
"The Great Animal, Your Highness," Rogers corrected her.
Uberta rolled her eyes, "Oh big deal, they mean the same thing! Both can't fit into a size six!"
"Not necessarily." Rogers commented.
"Oh, I don't have time for this!" Uberta shouted, "Rogers! In one hour, you are to keep Derek and Odette apart for twenty-four hours until the ceremony!"
Rogers nodded in understanding, "Ah yes, that tradition. But Your Highness, I must ask you something."
"Well make it quick!" Uberta snapped at him, "I still have to see if the cooks will be ready by tomorrow!"
"Of course, but how do you know that Derek and Odette are both ready to get married?" Rogers asked.
"What are you talking about, Rogers? Of course they're both ready!" Uberta exclaimed as she rearranges the roses in a vase, "Remember when Derek proposed?"
"Of course I remember," Rogers said, "but although Derek may be ready now, Odette may not be."
As soon as Rogers finished his sentence, Uberta stopped dead in her tracks and looked at her son's mentor, "What do you mean?"
"Well, her father just passed away not that long ago, and she may still be recovering from that ordeal," Rogers explained, "And no offense intended, but you haven't really talked to her about it that much since it happened."
Uberta realized that Rogers was right. She had been so preoccupied with planning the wedding that she hadn't really talked with Odette about her father's death. "Oh, the poor dear," she said with a sigh, "You're right, Rogers. I'll talk to her about it tonight. But right now, go and find her and Derek."
"Yes, Your Highness, right away," Rogers said with a nod before leaving.
Derek stood on the second floor of the castle library, flipping through yet another book. With the wedding being only a day away, he was even more determined to discover what the Great Animal was, but so far, he's found nothing.
"What did King William mean?" Derek asked himself in frustration as he put down the book he was reading and picked up another one. Suddenly, as he flipped through the pages, something caught his eye. He turned back to where he saw it, "It's not what is seems?" Derek turned to the next page, and then began flipping back and forth between the two pages. He smiled as he finally figured out what King William meant.
"Of course!" Derek said with a chuckle, "It's not what it seems! now we'll find out who killed William and Odette can get closure!"
And with that, Derek tore the two pages out of the book and ran out of the library, eager to share his discovery with everyone.
Meanwhile, in the forest near the castle, Odette happily hummed to herself as she picked roses and other wild flowers for her wedding bouquet. She couldn't believe that she only had one day left before she and Derek became husband and wife. She was excited at the thought of her and Derek getting married and starting a family, something that used to make her stomach turn when she was younger. But in spite of how she and Derek used to despise each other, she couldn't imagine life without him. But Odette was snapped out of her thoughts when an unusual feeling came over her. It was almost as if she were being watched. She looked up and took a few moments to assess her surroundings, but she still didn't see anyone. Odette brushed it off and continued to pick the flowers.
But sure enough, she was right to feel that way. For unknown to the young princess, the evil enchanter Rothbart was watching her from a close but safe distance. He smirked as he thought that his plan was finally going to work. His plan was to turn Odette into a swan and hold her captive, only releasing her when she finally agreed to marry him. Rothbart held out his hand to use the spell, but nothing happened. Something was wrong. The enchanter tried again, but still nothing happened.
"Why isn't this working?!" Rothbart exclaimed in a hushed, yet frustrated voice. He couldn't understand why the spell wasn't working, but he knew something was wrong. Rothbart began to grow angry about this and thought his plan would never work now. He held his hand out again and small sparks of red electricity began shoot from his fingertips.
"Well if I can't have her, no one can," Rothbart said as he prepared to kill Odette. But before he could, he heard something from behind him. Rothbart turned around and saw a large carriage approaching. He hid behind the tree as the carriage drove past.
Inside the carriage was a young man in his early twenties with green eyes and light brown hair that was combed back and had golden-blonde highlights in it. The young man was admiring himself in a handheld mirror, "Hello handsome," he said to himself, "Where have you been all my life? Oh wait! I was born this way!"
Suddenly, the young man saw something in the side of his mirror and turned it to get a better look. And sure enough, he saw Odette picking the flowers.
"Stop the carriage at once!" he commanded the driver. He then got out of the carriage and ran towards Odette, who was watching after she heard him shout at the driver.
"Well hello there, fair maiden," the young man greeted her.
"Oh…hello," Odette greeted back in confusion.
"I must admit, you are the most beautiful person I've met since, well, me," the young man said somewhat obnoxiously, "It's quite rare to meet someone like that actually, but it seems you were born under a lucky star to have this gift, my dear."
"Thank you?" Odette said, still confused.
"I'm traveling through on my way home to my kingdom," he said, "My name is Prince Damien of Hashmere. And you are?"
"Princess Odette," Odette introduced herself.
"You're a princess?!" Prince Damien exclaimed excitedly, "What an amazing coincidence! We must get to know each other more! Or better yet! Get married!"
Odette looked at Lucas in shock, "I beg your pardon?"
"I'm a prince and you're a princess, and we have two kingdoms that we can unite under matrimony," Damien babbled, "It was fate that brought us together, and we should be together, If you do you shall be queen of the greatest kingdom in the land!"
"Oh," Odette said in surprise, knowing that this boy was obviously unaware that she was already engaged, "Well thank you for your generous offer, but I must respectfully decline."
"Say what?" Damien asked as his excitement faded.
"I can't marry you because I'm already getting married tomorrow," Odette explained.
"What?! To who?!" Damien exclaimed in disbelief.
"Prince Derek of Chamburg," Odette said proudfully.
"Oh I've heard of him," Damien said with a frown, "but why on earth would you marry that idiot when you could marry someone like me?!"
Odette looked at the prince with shock, "Excuse me?!"
"A beautiful princess like yourself shouldn't be marrying a dunderhead like him!" Damien explained, "He has been known to say the most outrageous and idiotic things at social gatherings, he is an absolute embarrassment and he will only bring you down and cause you nothing but pure humiliation and make you the laughing stalk to the whole kingdom! Your beauty is something he doesn't deserve and you certainly should not be the queen of an imbecile king like him!"
Odette glared at him, "Well, maybe he doesn't deserve me, but he was there for me when I needed him most, and I love him more than anything! And besides that, beauty isn't the only thing that matters to you, is it?"
Damien scoffed and rolled his eyes, "What else is there?"
Having been disgusted by his words, Odette grabbed her bouquet and walked away in anger.
"What?! It's the truth!" Damien called out.
Suddenly, Rothbart, who had been watching the whole thing, smirked to himself and chuckled evilly, "I think I've just found a new plan."
As Odette rushed back to Uberta's castle, she felt nothing but utter fury. Never had she felt so insulted in all her life, not even when Derek shot a tomato at her when they were children. She just couldn't believe that someone had insulted her fiancé like that and had the nerve to ask her to marry him instead! All because he liked her for her beauty, it was beyond sickening and absolutely shallow! But then she began to think, what if Damien was right? What if her marriage with Derek would ruin her? Odette then shook her head, not believing it for one second longer.
'Derek would never do that to me!' she thought, 'Not after everything he's done for me after my father's death! He sees more than my appearance, he knows there's more to me than that!'
But Odette was snapped out of her thoughts as she entered the castle grounds and saw Derek and Bromley talking. Derek immediately spotted her and rushed over to her.
"Odette!" he said excitedly, "I'm glad you're here, I think I've finally figured it out!"
"Figured what out, Derek?" Odette asked in confusion.
Derek said nothing as he grabbed his fiancée's hand and led her to the tree where Bromley was sitting near and eating an apple.
"So what's your big discovery, Derek?" Odette asked.
"This," Derek responded as he laid a drawing of a mouse on a rock.
Odette looked at the picture in confusion until Bromley, with his mouth full of apple, said what she was thinking.
"It's a mouse," Bromley said jokingly.
"No," Derek responded, "The Great Animal."
"The Great Animal?" Odette asked, not understanding what Derek was trying to tell them.
Bromley chuckled at his best friend's statement, thinking it was all a joke, "A bit small, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah," Derek agreed before laying a drawing of a dragon on top of it, "until it changes into this."
Bromley immediately stopped eating his apple as his and Odette's eyes widened.
"An animal that can change its shape!" Derek explained, "A harmless creature approaches, then suddenly, it's too late."
"You mean…you mean it could be anything?" Bromley asked nervously.
Derek nodded, "Anything."
Suddenly, a fly came in and started buzzing around Bromley's head, causing him to yelp in fear as he fell backwards off of the log he was sitting on. Derek chuckled at the sight of his best friend's antics and began to spoke again, "Sorry Brom, I didn't mean to startle you."
"Th-that's okay, Derek," Bromley said, still a bit nervous, "I think I'm gonna go back inside now."
And with that, Bromley stood up and walked back inside the castle. Left alone, Derek looked at Odette.
"So what do you think of my discovery, Odette?" Derek asked.
"Well, I think you're definitely on to something," Odette responded, "but we'll have to search for the Great Animal after we get married and settled down."
Derek nodded in understanding, "Right." He then noticed that the Great Animal wasn't the only thing on his fiancée's mind, "Odette? You okay?"
Odette nodded, but then paused a bit before talking again, "…Derek, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Did you really mean it when you said you loved me for more than just my beauty?" Odette asked.
Derek then took her in his arms and looked deep into her eyes, "Every word. I love you for who you are, Odette, and that's what's really important."
Odette smiled warmly at her fiancé's words, "I know."
"But why do you ask?" Derek asked in confusion.
"Well…" Odette began, but was immediately cut off by the sound of someone else's voice.
"Oh there you two are!" said the voice, causing Derek and Odette to turn and see Rogers rushing towards them.
Derek sighed in annoyance, "What is it, Rogers?"
"Your mother entrusted me with making sure that you two don't see each other before the ceremony tomorrow, Derek," Rogers explained, "and the twenty-four hour mark before then begins in five minutes. Now come along, Odette, we mustn't ruin the tradition."
Odette sighed heavily and nodded, "Alright, Rogers," she said before looking back at Derek, "I'll see you tomorrow, Derek."
"See you tomorrow," Derek said before he and Odette shared one last kiss. After breaking the kiss, Odette left with Rogers and went back into the castle. Derek looked on as he wanted to get one last glimpse of his love.
Later that night, as Odette brushed her hair in front of her mirror, she started feeling better after everything that had happened that day. She was sure that her marriage to Derek was not a mistake, and that if there were one person who made her feel this happy, it was him. But then, as Odette continued brushing her hair, she remembered what else happened that day. She remembered that Derek had finally figured out that the Great Animal could be anything, and while Derek had promised not to go looking for it until after they'd settled down, she knew that wouldn't stop him from it forever. Odette knew that Derek wanted to honor her father's memory by bringing his killer to justice, but she feared that he could also be killed in the process and become a young widow. And if that wasn't bad enough, Odette then remembered that mere moments before she met Damien, she had the feeling that someone else was watching e got a chill down her spine just remembering it.
But before Odette could think about it anymore, she heard a knock on her door.
"Odette," said the voice of her future mother-in-law, "could I come in please?"
"Oh, Uberta!" Odette said as she finished brushing her hair, "Yes, of course."
Odette went and answered the door for Uberta, who came in with a tea tray, "I thought I'd bring you a cup of tea, dear."
"Oh, thank you," Odette thanked her with a smile, "but you didn't have to do that."
"Nonsense!" Uberta slightly exclaimed, "Besides, I've been meaning to talk with you."
Odette blinked at her fiancé's mother in surprise, "You have?"
Uberta nodded and put the tea tray on Odette's makeup table, "Yes, I haven't really talked with you much since your father passed away."
Odette's expression grew a bit sad as she sat back in her chair, "Oh, I see."
"Yes," Uberta said with a nod as she pulled up another chair and sat next to her future daughter-in-law, "So how are you feeling, dear?"
"I'm feeling a lot better, actually," Odette explained, "Derek told me that my father would want me to be happy." A smile grew on Odette's face, "I guess that's why the two of you wanted us to marry someday."
Uberta giggled at Odette's comment, "Well, it wasn't easy, but it did work. Your father was already of old age when you were born and wanted to make sure you were secured if he died too soon. I hope you don't hold a grudge against us for having you and Derek spend all those summer's together, we would have called it off if you two wanted nothing to do with each other and not because of the arguments children usually get in."
"It's alright," Odette commented.
"So you're feeling much better now?" Uberta asked, "Is there anything else you want to tell me before tomorrow?"
Odette shook her head, "Not really. And besides, I'd better get some sleep now since we all have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Well, if you should feel the need to talk to me again, you know where to find me," Uberta said before giving Odette a hug, "Goodnight, Odette."
"Goodnight, Uberta," Odette said with a smile as she returned the hug. As Uberta left the room, Odette went to the window and looked outside. She knew she wanted to tell Uberta about everything else, but she didn't want her to get upset about it since she had a million things to do that evening and the next day. Odette felt bad about it, but the feeling soon passed as she began to think about what the next day would bring. And she knew in her heart that she'd never be alone.
Me: Well, here you guys go! Sorry it took so long, and sorry to say this, but the big wedding won't be until the next chapter. And incase you guys haven't figured it out, Rothbart's new plan will involve letting Derek and Odette get married. I won't say what his whole plan is because I don't want the spoil the rest of the story. Please review.