Swan Obsession

notes: It'll get more adult in later chapters, I swear! Again, I'm sorry if it's kind of inconsistent at points. I was watching the movie the same time I was writing this, so there are a lot of direct quotes from it.

When he awoke, he could see nothing. His head pounded fiercely, and as he ran a gloved hand over his head, he felt a swollen lump. Rothbart groaned and attempted to stand. A wave of dizziness swept over him, compounded by the rank smell of the musty air, and he swayed. It smelled of human waste and vermin. He leaned against a damp and cold stone wall, and as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized that he was in a dungeon cell. The memory of the night before suddenly returned to him. The last of his strength left him at that moment, and he sunk back down, upon the rotting straw of the cell, wondering dispassionately if the king meant to kill him for his treason. It was a mercy when unconsciousness took him once again.

Rothbart felt a pair of chainmailed hands pull him to his feet, and a pair of cuffs were locked around his wrists. He was half led and half dragged up a set of stairs, past a long torch-lit corridor, and out into a courtyard. When the fresh air hit his sense, his mind suddenly switched into readiness. Was this it? Were they going to kill him now? He was ordered to sit atop a horse, it's reins led by another knight on horseback, and as he eyed his surroundings, he saw a score of knights upon mounts, bows held in readiness. They were to be his escorts. To his surprise, amongst them was the king. Rothbart maintained his silence. If they were leading him to his death, he wished to keep his dignity.

They exited the castle's cream-arched gates, over a smooth and artfully designed stone bridge laced with delicate ivy. They passed villages, farms, and towns, ignoring the curious glances of onlookers, whose simple lives gave greater significance to the slightest of unusual events. The group travelled in silence, listening to only the clopping of the horses' hooves till the gently rolling fields gave way to trees. They were at a thick wood that marked the edge of the king's kingdom. Solemnly, the king informed Rothbart that he was to be banished. The knights around him, bows poised and ready, scowled, muttering under their breaths that he should have been hung. The king however, was merciful, and was sure that with Rothbart's castle ransacked, and his magical tools destroyed, that he would pose no threat. As his cuffs were removed, Rothbart pushed the knights away from him, and they fell backwards.
His expression was grave and sinister has he turned towards the king, but within himself, he felt a deep maniacal joy.

"I'm not finished with you yet," Rothbart said, his voice strong and unwavering. "Someday, I'll get my power back... and when I do..." The edges of his mouth curled up in a cruel smile "... Everything you own, everything you love... Will. Be. Mine."

The king did not reply. With a stern expression upon his face, he simply pointed into the woods, his silence demanding that Rothbart leave immediately. Pulling his cape around him, Rothbart turned and strode off, his steps firm and nonchalant as he savoured the feeling of being alive. A smile still played upon his lips.