The next few days were unbearable.
The princess found herself many times, counting down the minutes and the hours till she could excuse herself and only go to her room. To read. Books were a great comfort to her.
She didn't know this, or never really noticed that Derek was also fond of reading.
The prince would often sit by the open fire, with a book in his hold and his eyes gazing at the many words. Reading was a privilege, most commoners could not read. Except a few, such as Bromley for example.
Odette did find herself, however, deeply engrossed by a book that week, about romance and finding true love. The sacrifices the characters had to go through... and the pain.
But she hoped against all hope that this book in her hands would have a happy ending. She had read it so many times, knowing it did- but the suspense in the words always gave her doubt.
She would never find out this time, though... because while she was in the living room, all cuddled up on a couch, a thick hand suddenly snatched the book RIGHT out of her grasp, and she gasped, sitting up instantly as she glanced up.
There above her was Bromley, Derek coming in from the distance and Odette quickly got to her feet, trying to snatch the book back but Bromley only held it high above her, out of her reach.
"GIVE IT BACK!" She demanded, her cheeks flushed with rage and Bromley only laughed at her, throwing it suddenly to Derek who caught it, just barely.
The prince grinned as he opened the book up, reading the first page he saw and he smirked, looking at Odette in a pitying manner.
"Oh, I would give up anything to be with you!" He teased the words of the story out, and Odette nearly had upset tears gather in her eyes but NO. She would not cry in front of the prince.
She ran towards him, trying to reach for the book again and Derek only laughed harshly, tossing it back to Bromley but Bromley fumbled when he reached to catch it and the book dropped instead into open blazing fire.
Odette's eyes went wide. She fell on her knees before the hot flames, the fire shimmering in her eyes. She was just frozen in her shocked emotion and Derek gulped heavily, not realizing until now how much he had hurt the princess.
"Odette-" He began to say, approaching her and placing his hand on her shoulder but she shook him off harshly and got up.
She tried to remain calm, as calm as possible as she walked out of the room like a dignified and proud lady.
But the minute she was in the hall by herself, she broke down.
Tears began rolling down her cheeks, her nose stuffy and her eyes red from the weeping. She rushed to her room after this breakdown of emotions and slammed her room's door shut behind her. She leant down to the floor and only cried into her arms, her legs pulled closed.
Back in the living room, Derek and Bromley were at a loss for words.
"I didn't mean to destroy her book..." Bromley said guiltily, watching the flames whip back and forth, "We were just messing."
"I don't think she will see it that way," Derek said weakly back and only sighed heavily before collapsing into his armchair again, "I can't believe we did that... I just can't."
"So, should you apologize?" Bromley then asked the prince and Derek's eyes exploded open as he pointed to himself and stuttered.
"Excuse M-me?! ME?!"
"Well, she won't think anything of it if I say I'm sorry." Bromley concluded and Derek shut his eyes hard in frustration before slitting them open again and sighing out annoyed.
"Okay... OKAY."
"Go on then," Bromley said, smiling as he pushed Derek in the direction of Odette's room. Derek was very annoyed at his friend now, but his heart thudded in sad pain, knowing he DID have to do something to amend this situation. He just wished it was not apologizing to the one person he despised the most.
Bromley kept forcing Derek down the hall to right in front of her door where Bromley finally released the prince and Derek gulped as he stood there at the shut foreboding entrance.
He cleared his throat, shaking down his body and took a few deep breaths in and out.
"She's only a girl, Derek," Bromley went on, amused at his friend for trying to prep himself up, "She's run by her emotions anyway,"
When Derek heard this, it made him mad for some reason. Then the talk he and King William had when playing chess came to his head and he knew truthfully that women weren't inferior to him, to men...
They could be just as brilliant as each other.
And as cruel as the other as well.
Derek finally straightened up tall and rattled his knuckles to the door but there was no answer. So he tried again, knocking hard on the door before deciding to just open it and come in.
He pulled down the door handle and walked in quietly, trying to catch a glimpse of the princess.
Bromley kept watch at the open door now, and Derek didn't have to look far till he found Odette sitting down the side of her bed on the floor. Many, MANY tissues were sprinkled around her, showing how much the girl had cried and from what Prince Derek could see, she had cried A LOT.
"Odette...?" He asked weakly, standing above her and she didn't dare look up at him. Her tears stopped, but her eyes were red with veins and she only hissed back to him.
"WHAT?"
"I'm..." He didn't know how to say the words. He never normally had to use this sentence to anyone, "I'm... sorry..."
"No, you're not." Odette said bitterly, wiping her wet cheeks with the sleeve of her dress, "No... YOU ARE NOT."
Derek only groaned frustrated, and decided to just see her at her eye level. He knelt down on his knees beside her and replied, "I ACTUALLY really am..."
"Do you know how many copies were made of that book?"
"A hundred-?"
"NO." She snapped angrily, glaring into his eyes now, "ONLY TEN."
"Only ten?!" Derek said in surprise, "You got to be KIDDING me."
"I KID you not!" She only yelled back at him, before forcefully turning away and Derek felt a deep pang of guilt in his heart now. He gazed into nothing for a moment, as he tried to figure out what to do in this scene and moment. He finally decided to shift the blame.
"Well, it WAS really Bromley who dropped it-" Odette gasped when she heard these words, but Derek continued on clueless, "He's the one you should hate."
"HE'S not the one with AUTHORITY here," Odette yelled at the prince before finally having enough of his BS and standing up on her feet, stormed out of her room. Derek had to snap himself out of his shock from her reaction and he chased after her, so very confused.
"Would you JUST hear me out?!" He begged as they stormed through the hallway, but Odette did not stop to listen, "It was AN ACCIDENT!"
"Accident, ACCIDENT?!" Odette replied back but to mostly herself and she finally reached the outdoors, walking into the gardens with Derek still hot on her tracks.
"Odette!"
"Odette?" The king's voice then said confused as he was at a table with the queen and Odette had only just marched by them, oblivious to their presence.
"WHAT!?" She snapped now at her father, and King William and Queen Uberta jumped back at her furious response.
"What happened?" The king asked gently, the two looking at her lost and confused by the scene.
"What happened?" Odette said to them coldly, and pointed her finger at Derek who was only a few feet away from her, "THAT." She glared at Derek like she wanted to explode his head – OH how the two thought so alike! "THAT is what HAPPENED!"
Queen Uberta pulled an upset face and Odette only turned to leave this place. She wanted to be alone.
She wanted to be right.
And she just wanted to GO HOME! TO ESCAPE IT ALL!
She shoved past Derek again, and he stood there, flabbergasted. The queen and king were close to getting up now in worry over the princess. King William asked Derek, in worry.
"My boy? What did you do...?"
"I..." Derek said, knowing now he couldn't place the blame on anyone else. He swallowed heavily and answered at last, "I destroyed her favourite book..." He shut his eyes in pain as his heart was hurting again and he finished in sorrow, "I destroyed everything..."
He spent the next ten minutes explaining to the two what had happened and what had gone down in the living room. The king seemed more distressed by this news than the queen. And Derek knew why.
Because the king knew his daughter... and he never wanted Odette to be hurt... to be so cruelly attacked and parted from her personal treasures. It was during this dialog with the King that Derek found out more about the book.
How it had been her mother's before Odette was born.
How it was only one of the few things Odette knew about the woman who died giving birth to her.
After knowing all this, Derek felt a lump in his throat and went back to Odette's room, not even bothering to knock this time as he let himself in. Odette was only lying on her bed, her eyes open and staring blankly ahead at nothing.
"Hey, Odette..." Derek said meekly, approaching her bed and sitting at its side opposite hers, "I'm so very sorry about what I did."
"You don't understand-"
"But I kinda do now... your father, he told me the history of that book,"
Odette jumped up into a quick sitting position as she jabbed her finger into Derek's chess and yelled, "HE DID WHAT?!"
"Calm down, Princess."
Odette was so red in the face, glaring at Derek in fury and he smiled awkwardly, saying again.
"Do you forgive me?"
She didn't say anything at first, but that was because she was building up her words. Derek watched concerned as she belted out her reply, "I will NEVER forgive you, DEREK! NEVER!"
His heart was hurting now as her answer seemed to hit him to the core. He wanted to yell back at her his side of the argument but no. Not today... he was just done trying today.
Things between the two only ever seemed to go from bad to worse.
"Fine." He finally responded, clearing the air as he spread out his hands to show he was done with this now, "FINE."
He got up and in angry steps left her room and headed to his own.
He sat on his bed in a thump and saw his bow on his nightstand. He picked it up in rage and got an arrow from next to it. He looked at that old drawing he did of Odette stuck on the wall opposite him and he aimed right for her heart.
When the arrow was released it hit the exact spot he had been trying to hit all his life. A perfect bull's eye.
Next time he would hunt he would make a kill.
Next time he saw Odette... he would... he would...? He didn't know what he would do. She was here for another while yet, and he'd have to talk to her eventually again.
But did SHE even ever want to talk back to him?
He wished he was as good at relationships as he was archery.
There was a knock on his door, and Derek tensed up, thinking it was the princess but it was not.
"Bromley?"
"Derek, I am so sorry about everything."
Derek only rolled his eyes high to the sky and replied, "It's not just your fault. It's BOTH our faults..."
"Will she ever forgive us?" His best friend asked earnestly and Derek scoffed, saying.
"I doubt it... she may be a princess, but she a stone-cold queen."
If only Derek had been careful with what he had said. Odette was at the other side of his door. She had tried to be the bigger person and had come to force herself to accept Derek's apology and say sorry as well for the words she had said.
But now? She wished he was dead.
She trembled away from his room, walking in lone steps of her own down the hall. She eventually went back to the living room and sat down on her chair from last time.
She watched in silence, the fire crackle and pop, and only looked at where her mother's book had been turned to ashes.
She had lost the day to pain and sorrow... she had lost this match to Derek. Who knew hating someone would cause so much sadness and pain?
She didn't want to hate anymore... she just wanted to give up.
Would she ever be allowed to? Would she ever be free to just not care anymore?
But that was the thing with Odette the princess. She cared too much... too much about everything. That would be her downfall in years to come... that would be her vice.
The fires only cackled away, sounding like they were laughing at her.
Derek stood by the door in the distance, watching her in silence as she gazed at the flames with no sound of her own either.
"Odette..." He whispered to himself before turning around to leave.
If only I'd known...he thought sadly about the book he had destroyed and just how much it really meant to her, if only I had known...
He didn't think he'd ever make this up to her.
But he would. He would.
He had to.