Swan Obsession

Odette sat astride the grey Arabian mare, her father holding her in place behind her, as they entered the courtyard of the palace of the neighbouring kingdom. She absently smoothed the wrinkles in her pink velvet gown, a princess like gesture, for most other six year olds she knew, like those in the village, were dirt covered little beasts that ran about shrieking, and chasing one another. She looked upon the regal grey stone walls, laced elegantly with ivy, and heard the trumpeting of the chamberlain announcing their arrival. A frown played upon her lips. The creamy stone of her father's palace was much more beautiful than they grey stone of the crennellated towers of Prince Derek's palace. The thought of Prince Derek caused her to frown.

At the heart of the courtyard, her father climbed down the mare, and holding her by the waist, he plucked her off her horse and lowered her to the ground. The neighbouring queen was ready to greet them, vivacious as a butterfly, but her young son only scowled from behind her skirt. Unembarrassed, the queen pushed her son out towards Odette, and she curtseyed to his sloppy bow. Prince Derek looked imploringly towards his mother, but seeing the expression upon her face, he decided not to push his luck, and distastefully, he reached for the young princess's hand and kissed it. Odette shuddered inwardly at the feel of his slimy boy's lips upon the back of her hand. He was a toad! Of that she was sure, and as quickly as she could without being rude, she withdrew her hand. This certainly was not her idea of fun. How she would endure an entire summer at Derek's palace, she did not know, but suddenly, she couldn't help but wish that she were a simple village brat, stained with mud. It was sure to be a torturously long summer.

Unfortunately for Odette, her initial impressions were correct. At six, she couldn't help but think that the older boy reminded her of the rats that occasionally plagued the village. He had a tendency to sneak and snivel about, always plotting trouble. As they grew older, he only seemed to get worse. When she was eight and he, ten, Derek had received an ornate wooden sword as a gift from the captain of the knights, and she spent the entire season bruised and furious. At twelve, Derek had somehow expanded his vocabulary to include the most colourful and vilest of curse words, and she spent so much time covering her ears that it amazed her to find they weren't pressed into her head by the end of the summer.

Season's passed, and summer, after summer, Odette and Derek were forced to spend their time together. How Odette loathed him! He wore his dirt coloured hair like a page boy, and upon his face, there was always an irritating smirk, as though he fancied himself above her. The now thirteen year old Odette tugged on her straw-coloured braids with irritation. She wished there was some way she could simply disappear, or change into something else; anything, as long as she did not have to spend time in the company of Derek. She glanced out the arched window of her tower room, and in the distance noticed the flight of swans. Oh, to be one of them... A shiver ran down her spine as though someone could read her thoughts, and she closed her eyes to steady herself.