Swan Obsession

Odette had no recollection of falling asleep, but yet she awoke, pushing her crimson sheets absently aside to find herself in stately bedroom of dark cherry wood. She stretched her limbs, as she had every morning since she was but a tiny girl, and touched her bare feet to the rich Persian rug that lined the floor. Sleep-dazed, she gazed blankly at the gold framed painting upon the wall, depicting a knight kneeling by a glorious white unicorn. She had the impression of a most peculiar dream of being a swan for the past few months, but as the haze of sleep left her, she began to realize that this wasn't the bedroom she grew up in, nor was it the guest room she stayed at, at Derek's kingdom every summer. The tendril's of sleep left her, and she began to look around, glancing over the ruby and crystal chandelier, and the imposing columns of the four poster bed. She recognized this room, and as the memory came to her, colour suffused her cheeks. It was the room where Rothbart had first touched her, in places she couldn't have begun to even imagine.

Unsteadily, she pushed her weight off the bed, and walked, with a slight wobble, towards the grand double doors. Her mind a blur of thoughts and impressions, she found that she was unable to concentrate on the how and why of her situation. That she was a human, and not a swan barely registered in her mind. All Odette felt was a sudden need to go back to bed, and so, with a sway, she stumbled back onto the damask crimson sheets, and let herself relax in the peace of sleep.