Disclaimer: Still I don´t own Swan Princess...or any sequel of it
Note: I´ve hidden some "cheese jokes" in here, so have fun finding them ;)
Chapter 2 : A cheesy matter
Being royal ment that you always had duties - even on your wedding day.
So it occurred that the freshly married couple only had a few moments "of triumph" to show off in front of the nation, after they already had to leave for the castle again.
Important meetings with the kings, queens and dukes of other countries had to be arranged and realized. Boundings had to be re-confirmed, new political connections had to be made.
With a sigh Rothbart climbed out of the carriage, a bunch of servants already on his heels to help him change his clothes. Annoyed, he chased them away.
"I haven´t even entered the bloody castle, will you wait for a moment, dammit ?!"
Odette took malicious pleasure in this sight before she herself was surrounded by several maidens, who dragged her into the castle, into her room, for undressing and re-dressing her again for the meeting-to-be.
There, she was helped out of her wedding dress; which was beautiful nontheless, but became heavier and bulkier by the seconds, so that she was glad to change into a more comfortable, elegant blue gown. Some of the maids took hold of her crown, passed it on to a servant, who left the room with it. Undoubtedly he was heading for the family vault deep down in the castle, where the royal family´s regalia - so Rothbart´s crown too and a scepter - rested and were mostly kept over the year, only brought out to day light for important occasions, a wedding for example.
The valuable crown was replaced by another, less rich-equipped one - one could call it an "everyday crown".
Sounds of protest could be heard from another room of the castle. Obviously Rothbart didn´t like the fact one bit, that his crown - finally achieved - was taken away from him once more after such a short amount of time.
"No, you´re not - I say NOT going to take it away from me..alive !"
"Please, Sir.." One of the servants dared to speak.
"This is the common procedure. We have to put the crowns back into the vault, that´s the law!"
"I´m the king, so I make the laws !"
"But this law is older than probably the country itself ! It-"
"-Wait." Rothbart interrupted him, raising a hand.
"Did I actually hear a ´´but´´ coming out of your mouth ? Are you contradicting your king ?!"
Now the man looked seriously frightened.
"No ! No, Sir ! I never intended-"
"-Stop." He interfered once again. Rubbing his temples with his fingers, he said;
"This ain´t worth it...get-..get me my other crown ! Fast !"
Like bees out of their beehive the servants buzzed away in order to fulfill Rothbart´s demand, not wishing to anger him even more. Moments later one of them returned. The young man was completely out of breath, as he had been passing several floors on his quest. Shaking, he bowed down, holding up a crown - the one Rothbart had worn from the beginning on, since the time at the Swan Lake. With an impatient look on his face Rothbart snatched it out of his fingers and placed the crown on his head; letting out a deep, relaxed breath after doing so.
"Now..."He started, a mischievous grin playing around his lips, "..let the fun begin..."
After King and Queen had been properly dressed, both made their way into the entrance hall to await the arrival of their guests.
"I haven´t been a king for a day, and already I´m hating it.." Rothbart joked, with a side glance to Odette. Right now he was dressed in a royal red, the way his clothes were cut having a great similarity to his common ones.
"I mean Kings just don´t wait ! They´re too important for that.."
Odette simply turned her head away, showing him the cold shoulder, literally.
"Then maybe you shouldn´t have married me, you bastard.." She hissed under her breath.
"Sorry - crown over my ears - what have you been saying ?"
"Oh, I just wondered who our guests are.."
"The little fat guy said something about ´´Netherland´´...King-"
Suddenly Chamberlain appeared next to them, a scroll in his hand.
"King Norbert of the Netherlands and his wife Narzissa !" He exclaimed, loudly.
At once the gate was pushed open and an elderly man and woman completely dressed in yellow entered through it.
"My dear Norbert !" Rothbart exclaimed, strolling directly towards him, completely ignoring etiquettes.
"Do I know you ?" King Norbert asked, a little taken aback about this greeting.
"No, but you definitely are going to !" He joked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Come, let me show you around ! Your journey must have been cheesy, all the long roads...
...full of holes, just like Swiss cheese, eh ? But not to worry ! Tonight I shall show you the culinary side of the country !" Patting one hand against the other kings chest, making him cough. "Though I´m afraid there ain´t no cheese in the fridge...no camembert in the chambers, you know ?"
Laughing over his own joke, the two man left; leaving their wives alone in the hall.
Odette felt uncomfortable, to say the least.
She never had attended many political meetings, but the few she had seen were so different from that, that she was almost confirmed this had to be a catastrophe.
"I´m- I´m sorry Queen Narzissa-"
"No, I´m sorry, dear." The other queen smiled warmly. "For forgetting my manners."
She dropped a curtsey.
"Queen Narzissa of the Netherlands, wife of King Norbert. A pleasure to meet you."
Odette, relieved that there seemed to be still a change, did the same.
"Queen Odette of Swanstein - " She stopped for a moment, reluctant to say the next words. "Wife of King Rothbart. Also a pleasure."
"Now that we´re introduced to each other...how about tea and cheese cake ?"
Queen Narzissa asked, her face lightening up.
Rothbart unfortunately had to find out, that explaining something to someone - he himself didn´t knew so much about - wasn´t an easy task.
Hey, I hadn´t been having the crown for even twenty- four hours, how am I supposed to know about everything that happens in this bloody country ?! Hell, I don´t even know the way to the bathroom !
So he kept on talking; improvising here and there, adding facts, which he himself believed sounded good and such stuff.
When King Norbert asked about something he hadn´t the slightest clue about, he became a bit nervous - of course he didn´t show it.
Show no fear. Show no sign of nervousness at all. The royals will eventually find out. They will see that you´re different, not one of them. This makes you a peasant in their eyes...and he definitely wanted not to belong into that caste...that was Rothbart´s motto.
But to his luck - or so he thought - Lord Rogers happened to pass their way.
"Ah, Lord Rogers ! Excuse me ol´ Norbert..."
Rogers lifted a sceptical eyebrow as he saw Rothbart approaching.
"What is it that the king requires, that he actually has to turn to the staff ?"
The way Rogers said it, indicated how much he "liked" Rothbart´s somehow arrogant thinking bordering to self-overestimation.
"Listen - Rogers." It seemed like he had just recently remembered his name.
"This cheese head here-" He made a sign over to King Norbert.
"-has some pretty tough questions...and he wants answers !"
Rogers made a grimace. He obviously had an inner struggle, wheter to help his new king or letting him fail by giving false answers. Rogers decided for the country´s sake, as false answers would only harm the bounding to Netherland, which won´t be the best for the country.
"Fine." He finally agreed.
Rothbart´s expression lightened up. Patting him on the shoulders he said;
"Good man, Rogers. Remind me to raise whatever I´m paying you..."
Rogers rolled his eyes at that.
"Whatever."
Sun had set - and so had the guests´s interest in political manners and instead turned to food.
A banquet had been prepared in honor of the Dutch in the fest hall.
Rothbart indeed stood to his word, proofed by the various types of cheese presented on the table for the guest to "feast in".
Although she wasn´t hungry, Odette managed to eat a few bites of the meal - just because of politeness of course. More she was interested in, was overhearing the conversation between King Norbert and "her husband". She admitted it; she truly had been surprised to see them interacting quite peacefully, not one sign of discomfort on both men´s faces.
With her fork hanging in mid-air and her mind focused on things she maybe wasn´t supposed to hear, she first didn´t hear the words spoken to her.
Blinking, she turned her head to Queen Narzissa.
"I´m terribly sorry - but could you please repeat what you just said ? I was somehow-" Her eyes briefly wandered back to the two kings. "- distracted..."
The elderly Queen just smiled, knowingly. Which confused Odette somehow.
"Completely understandable." She said, suppressing a chuckle.
"You´re just married...it´s perfectly normal not to be able to think straight...! And with that husband..." Narzissa made it sound like he was actually something to be proud of !
A major blush Odette couldn´t prevent crept onto her cheeks.
"Oh, no-..you understood that completely wrong ! It´s not that I-"
"Of course.." The older woman said with a wink.
"Can´t wait until tonight, ne ? Excited, eh ? He probably is, too. Everybody is, before that.
My Norbert and I have been, too...Haaah..." The woman got a dreamy look on her face.
"How long that had been ago..."
Odette´s face grew hotter than it should have, with images never thought of before flashing through her mind. She concentrated. Hard...on a piece of cheese.
"How did you meet, anyway ? If I´m allowed to ask.." Narzissa asked suddenly.
"Uhm...at a lake..." Odette said slightly distracted, originally intenting on eavesdropping again.
"At a lake ?" The Queen raised her eyebrows. Then a grin hushed over her face.
"With the full moon high up, eh ?"
"Uh, right..."
"Pretty romantic.."
"Eh, yes,yes..." Odette wasn´t even listening to her anymore, far too concerned with other
things.
"Of course he proposed to you there, too ?"
"Uhm, sure.."
The Queen chuckled to herself. This young lady would nod to everything she said..and so she decided to have some fun on her old days;
"And maybe it was there that he first kissed you ?"
"Hmm..."
Just why can´t she stop babbling ?! That´s annoying ! Odette thought, ennervated.
I can´t hear a thing they´re saying just because of her !
"..and then both of you swam in the lake, naked...eh ?"
"Yes.."
"After that he took you in the water ?"
"Hm-hm..."
"Also from behind ?"
"Why not ?"
Muffled laughter ripped the two kings out of their conversation.
"Darling ?" King Norbert asked, making a surprised face.
Queen Narzissa couldn´t have held her breath any longer, the laughter simply bursted out of her and unloaded in wild cackles.
"It seems my dear wife proved to us how funny she can be,..when she wants.." Rothbart said, a mixture of pride and sulking in his voice.
They all fell into a more or less nervous laughter, with Narzissa being the loudest of them.
"Darling.." Odette started, her voice dripping with false emotion, the world´s nicest fake smile on her lips - all to leave a good reputation that is.
"You have to tell me your secret with handling our guests."
Rothbart - at first dumbfounded over his new "nickname" - was about to answer, when King Norbert did it for him instead.
"That is easy, my dearest Queen. This man here - your husband - is such a delightful business partner ! He showed me one important thing : Not to grow stiff, not to stagnate.
That´s why I adore his direct, refreshing manner of ruling...Who needs etiquettes when you can have him ?" The King laughed.
Odette didn´t believe her ears. What she just heard was..impossible.. This foreign king actually liked Rothbart´s rude, crude and unprofessional behavior ?! She would have bet her castle, that the king would be faster leaving than they could say "cheese" ! ...And now that !
"Indeed very refreshing..." Norbert continued.
"This perfect team work and cooperating with the castle´s staff is amazing ! You see, Narzissa, I kept asking questions to that poor fellow, when their counsellor - Lord Rouquefort I believe was his name - showed up, to explain into even further detail ! Wonderful...simply wonderful !"
After continuing on listening to King Norbert´s seemingly endless speech of praise for the hospitaly he had experienced, their guests finally prepared for leaving.
Standing in front of the carriage that should bring them home, both kings embraced one last time.
"I would be honored to welcome you also in my kingdom, my dear Rothbart !"
"I would love to...let´s see if my schedule and wife will make it possible."
Meanwhile the wives were at a certain topic again.
"I felt his hands, my dear. They´re good hands...Take advantage of that ! But tell him, when he´s too rough..and most of all : don´t let him forget to use his tongue ! This-"
Again incredible heat resided in Odette´s cheeks.
"I- I will keep that in mind." She desperately tried to silence the woman.
"And-" The Queen wanted to start again, when Norbert interfered.
"Ladies..time to part. Goodbye Queen Odette !"
With a final wave both King and Queen of Netherland went into the carriage and drove off.
"What a day..." Rothbart chuckled.
Note: Did you find all 9 cheese jokes ;) ?..review please !