"Arrange the marriage!"

Derek's words resonated around in Odette's head aimlessly as her gaze darted around the ballroom, watching as everyone was suddenly happily cheering all around her. But truthfully, she wasn't all that happy. Everything was happening so fast for her. It wasn't even a year ago that she and Derek were at each other's throats, and only moments ago had they seen each other as adults for the first time, and were actually civil with each other for the first time since childhood. More than civil, actually. They kissed! And even though she admittedly enjoyed it, Odette couldn't understand what Derek was thinking in moving along so fast with those words.

'What?! He wants to marry me now?!' She thought, 'But why?!'

As she looked around the ballroom, Odette saw that everyone was still cheering. As soon as Rogers signaled for his old orchestra to start playing, she realized she had to put a stop to all this. "Wait!" She called out loud enough for all to hear. As if on cue, the band immediately ceased playing, and everyone in the ballroom looked upon her and Derek, who was just as confused as they were.

"What?" He asked, "You're all I've ever wanted. You're beautiful!"

Odette blushed at Derek's comment, "Thank you" she responded, "…But what else?"

"What else?" Derek asked in confusion.

"Is beauty all that matters to you?" Odette asked, obviously wanting to know if Derek truly loved her or not.

But as soon as she asked such a question, she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and looked over to see none other than her father frowning at her and shaking his head. From the looks of it, he was thinking that perhaps she'd gone too far. But all Odette did was flash him a serious look, telling her father that this had to be asked if she and Derek were to be married, which is what he and Derek's mother, Queen Uberta, had wanted for years. She then look back at Derek, who was evidently trying to think of what to say.

"Derek?" said Uberta, "...What else?"

Derek was at a complete loss of words. He had absolutely no idea of what to say, and as he looked around the ballroom and saw that everyone's eyes on him. He began to grow even more nervous, feeling his face growing hot with anxiety. Derek opened his mouth to say something. He finally knew exactly what he was going to answer for. He was just about to ask 'What else is there?' but before he could, something stopped him. Something inside of him was telling him that if he asked that question, he'd never marry Odette, and that it would hurt her immensely. He thought it over for a moment, and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When Derek opened his eyes again, he took Odette's hands and looked her in the eye.

"Look, Odette," he began, "I know we've had our differences in the past, and growing up, we weren't the best of friends. But beauty isn't at all the only thing that matters to me."

Odette's eyes widened in surprise, "It's not?"

"Absolutely not," Derek continued firmly, "While it's true that I first noticed your beauty, it was your heart that made me fall for you. The way you're always kind to everyone you meet, and how you aren't afraid to do the right thing… any man would be lucky to have you as a wife. Besides, as kids... I admittedly did have a crush on you. You were strong, you managed to kick my butt at sword fighting, and you always played being so calm when we were teenagers. You showed far more maturity than I did, presented yourself like a true princess... and you never backed down from any challenge I gave you, and you always won. I think you won me over a long time ago before we stepped in this room. But for years, I just never thought you wanted me or if what I felt for you was absolute respect. But now I know."

Odette was caught completely off guard by Derek's words. Not once in their entire lives had he ever uttered anything so sweet to her or anyone else. It was as if he really did care for her, and the revelation that he did have feelings for her as a child was almost too much to comprehend at first. All her life, for as long as she remembered, Odette had been expected to marry Derek despite the fact that she was almost certain that it would never happen. However, thinking back to it all, Odette began to recall that, at times, she too had felt something other than contempt for him. There always was something about his goofy antics that made her laugh when he wasn't looking, his adventurous spirit, and how he'd pushed Odette to her best with his pranks that caused her to fight for herself.

"And if there's anything I'm certain about right now, it's that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Derek said as he got down on one knee and took Odette's left hand, "So I ask you, will you marry me?"

Odette then began to breathe heavily, with a mix of emotions flying through her mind like a tumultuous storm. Finally, she looked at Derek with a tearful smile and said, "Yes!"

As soon as Odette had agreed, Derek felt an enormous smile grow on his face as he shot up and wrapped his arms around Odette, who immediately returned the hug. They heard the crowd start cheering again, accompanied by the sound of the orchestra playing, and Uberta loudly crying joyfully as expected. But they barely even noticed. They just held each other closely and tightly as they began to think about how lucky they were to have each other.

The following morning, Derek and Odette's engagement was announced to the whole kingdom. Everyone was overjoyed to hear that they were finally getting married, and that the kingdoms would be united. But as happy as the occasion was, it was cut short for some as King William had to return home to take care of various royal issues. Odette, however, decided to stay behind so that she and Derek could help Uberta plan for the wedding.

"Are you sure you don't want to come home for a few weeks, Odette?" William asked as he stood outside the castle with Derek and Odette.

Odette nodded, "I'm sure father. I figured I should stay here to help plan for the wedding."

"Well, alright then," William accepted, "…I just can't believe it. For years, I wanted you to fall in love with Derek…but now you're finally getting married, you're leaving home and…" William stopped talking for a few moments as he began to tear up a bit, "I won't be able to see you much anymore. It's suddenly difficult for me to let you go now that it's truly happening."

"I know it's hard, father," Odette agreed, "but that doesn't mean I can't come and visit once in a while."

"I know," William said, doing his best to try and collect himself.

"Don't worry, William," Derek reassured, "I'll take good care of her until you get back for the wedding."

William smiled at his future son-in-law, "I know you will, my boy."

Odette then wrapped her arms around her father and gave him a long, loving hug, "Goodbye father."

"Goodbye dear," William said as he returned the hug. They stayed like that for several moments until they finally let each other go, and with that, the king went forth and climbed into the carriage of his horse, and he rode off into the distance. Odette smiled as she and Derek watched King William leave along with his soldiers.

"He's a good man," Derek commented.

"He is," Odette agreed, "As much as he wanted me to marry you, it sounds pretty hard on him…letting me go like he said."

"Why's that?" Derek asked.

"Because I'm all he has left of my mother," She explained, "Even to this day, I don't think he's fully gotten over her death."

"I know what it's like…the death of someone close to you," Derek said, "My mother and I went through the same thing when my father died. We always needed each other for comfort in those days, and we still do now. The important thing is that we both got to say goodbye."

"I'm so sorry, Derek," Odette apologized.

"It's alright, Odette," Derek reassured her. He then heard the small resonance of thunder off in the distant sky, and turned to see dark grey storm clouds slowly heading their way. The air was getting cooler, the winds were picking up, and the brief claps of thunder were gradually getting louder as they spoke.

"Looks like there's a storm coming," Derek acknowledged, "We'd better head inside."

Odette looked and saw the clouds and nodded in agreement, "I hope my father can make it without any trouble from this."

Lightning flashed and thunder crackled outside the castle as Derek and Odette lounged in the castle foyer with Derek's best friend Bromley and counselor Rogers. Derek was playing chess with Bromley, who was cheating during the game without anyone noticing since Derek was watching Odette pace the floor worriedly.

"It's really storming out there," Odette commented.

"Don't worry, Odette," Derek said, trying to reassure her, "I'm sure your father will be fine."

"That's right," Rogers chimed in, "The storm won't last forever."

"I know," Odette said, "but it's not just the storm that worries me. I just can't shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen."

Derek then got up and walked over to Odette and wrapped his arms around her from behind, trying to give her a sense of security, "It'll be alright, honey. Your father has ten soldiers with him. They'd never let anything happen to him.

"I hope you're right," Odette said, not completely convinced.

Seconds later, Uberta came into the foyer with a small stack of drawings in her hands, "Oh Odette!" she shouted excitedly.

Derek and Odette jumped a little bit and looked to see her.

"What is it, Uberta?" Odette asked.

"I came up with some designs!" Uberta said.

Odette raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, "For what?"

"Your wedding gown!" Uberta squealed.

"You did?" Derek asked as he let go of his fiancé.

Uberta giggled a bit, "Of course! After all these years of planning, I finally get to show them!"

"Well, actually mother-," Derek began before being cut off when Uberta grabbed Odette's arm and took her to a table. He then let out a great sigh, "Some things never change. I'd better follow."

Bromley cleared his throat to get Derek's attention and raised an eyebrow.

"What about the game?" Bromley asked.

"Oh right," Derek said as he moved one of his pieces, "Checkmate!"

"Huh?" Bromley said as he looked at the chessboard in confusion.

King William's party moved swiftly through the woods as the rain came down hard, the ground filled with moist dirt, flooding puddles of water and mud as far as the eye could see. But as William sat restlessly in the carriage, the weather was far from the main thing on his mind. Rather, it was something that had happened to him many years ago, and something that he would never forget for the rest of his days.

Many years ago, when William was still a young man, he was wandering around a large, lively festival of some sort until he saw a tall, yellow tent that belonged to an old Gypsy fortuneteller. Curious about the sight, he figured it might be interesting to have his fortune read for him, so he chose to go in. He walked into the tent, and moments later, a middle-aged Gypsy woman came in from a back room, giving him a small smile.

"Ah, King William," she greeted. "I have been expecting you for a very long time."

"Y-you have?" William said in shock, being surprised that this fortuneteller knew who he was. Sure, he was the king, he thought, but he had never even seen this woman before. "How did you know I'd come here?" he asked, earning a smile from her.

"I know many things that cannot easily be explained, your majesty," The fortuneteller explained, "I am Araana, and I will be your guide through this journey." Taking William's hand, she finished. "Now please, follow me."

Araana led William to a back room in her tent, where there were two small chairs and a small round table surrounded by a thick purple curtain made of satin. At the center of the table was a glimmering, clear crystal ball. William raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"How much will this cost me?" He asked skeptically.

"Actually, Your Highness, this is a very important meeting for you, therefore I won't charge you anything," Araana said.

"Really, it is?" William asked again in surprise.

With no reply, the two of them sat across from each other at the table, and William grew curious as to just what would or could happen next. It wasn't every day that the king (Or anyone for that matter) is suddenly told his fortune for free, let alone that it's very important to him.

"In order to tell your fortune, your highness, I must look into your soul," Araana explained, "To do that, you will need to give me your hand. Your left hand will show me your past, and your right hand will show me your future."

William gave Araana his left hand as instructed, where she held it as she looked into her crystal ball. The gypsy stared intently into it, leaning her head in ever closer to it. Her eyes widened briefly.

"Oh my..." Araana said.

"What? What do you see?" William asked nervously.

"I see that you and your wife, the queen, have been struggling to have a child for a long time," Araana began. William looked at Araana in shock. No one else knew about the king and his wife's struggle to conceive, "How did you…Yes, we have been trying for a while now."

"And you wish to know if you will ever succeed, correct?"

King William nodded reluctantly, "Yes."

"Are you certain?" Araana asked cautiously, "Sometimes, the future may not always be what they desire to hear."

"Please!" William insisted, the urgency rising in his voice, "I need to know, for the sake of my wife and country…will we have an heir?"

"Very well, your highness," Araana sighed as she released William's left hand, "Give me your right hand."

William anxiously did as instructed, and held out his right hand to Araana. She took it and once again looked into her crystal ball, her eyes widening yet again.

"Oh..." Araana said after a few moments.

"What is it?" William asked worriedly.

She looked up at him, and after a few moments of tension for William, the gypsy smiled. "…Yes. Eventually, you and your wife will have a child."

Upon hearing this news, William smiled vibrantly, feeling ready to jump out of his seat and cheer of utter joy from the bottom of his heard. "However" Araana continued, her own smile fading now, "It will not be for many more years, and… I'm afraid your wife will not survive the birth."

King William's heart grew suddenly heavy, his excitement and joy collapsing almost entirely. While he was still happy that he would one day have a child, it hit him like a ton of stones that his beloved queen would not survive giving birth to them. In his mixed emotions and anxiousness, he had to know more.

"And…the child?" He asked.

Araana looked back into her crystal ball for a moment, "The child shall survive."

William gave a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."

"You will have a daughter; A princess." Araana continued. "She will be kind, gentle, and strong, and will grow to be as beautiful as a graceful swan."

William managed to smile, "I'm thankful."

Araana continued looking, "She will meet a young prince; He will be kind and loving to her, and shall marry her."

William looked at Araana in surprise, "Marry?"

"Yes," Araana then looked up at the king with a grim expression, "However, you will not live to see them marry."

"What?!" William exclaimed loudly, standing up from his seat in shock, "You mean I won't be able to see my daughter get married?! How?! What happens?!"

"After your daughter is born," Araana began, "You will make a grave mistake one day, and you will be unaware of the consequences it will bring until it is too late. This one mistake will be the cause of your death, and you will die some time before your daughter's wedding."

"And what of my daughter?" William asked urgently. "Will she be spared from the consequences of…whatever it is I do?"

Araana looked back into the crystal ball once again for a few moments, "…It is difficult to see. The future is always in motion, always changing," She explained, "Even as we speak now, the unwritten future is shifting from this very meeting alone. But I can assure you, King William, that while your future may be set, your daughter's future is not. And while there is nothing you can do to prevent your own death, you can ensure that your daughter will be protected long after you're gone."

"How?" King William asked.

Araana paused for a moment and spoke again, "Your daughter and the prince she is destined to marry, you must bring them together."

When he first saw Derek bringing the swan locket to Odette when she was born, William knew for certain that the prince Araana spoke of was him. Now that he and Odette were about to be married, William knew that the next part of the prophecy was coming; His death. The only problem was that he didn't know hardly anything about it. Where it would happen, when it would be, or just what his great mistake even was going to be. For years, he'd always been cautious of his actions in hopes he could try to change his fate, to see his daughter wed and have a family of her own. But even that couldn't ease his mind.

As he continued pondering these things, he sensed that the carriage had suddenly stopped. As soon as he felt the jolt of it, William looked up, snapped out of his thoughts and opened the door to stuck his head outside.

"Why have we stopped?" William asked.

The soldier driving the carriage pointed forward, and William looked up the road to see someone standing up ahead. It was a man who looked to be in his late forties, and had red hair, but was bald at the top with a large mustache.

'No… no! It can't be! After all this time!' William thought to himself as he immediately recognized the man, and in that instant, he had finally realized it. After so many years of anxiously waiting, wondering and speculation, William at long last knew what his grave mistake was. But it was too late now.

The man raised his hand, and a bright and glowing ball of light manifested in it, which he immediately threw onto the ground, forming a roaring wall of blinding green light, illuminating the entirety of the surrounding forest and sending shockwaves through the muddy ground beneath them. When it faded, something enormous and spiteful had emerged in its place, and instantly pounced forth at William and his soldiers.

"And here's a design with flowers!" Uberta said as she continued showing Odette her design options for her wedding dress, but as she continued to do so, both she and Derek were beginning to grow a bit anxious.

"You think we should tell her?" Derek asked Odette.

"Tell me what?" Uberta asked in confusion.

Odette shrugged, "I don't know, Derek. She did work hard on the designs."

"Yes, but so did you," He defended.

"Did what?" Uberta asked again.

"Now, uh, don't get upset, mother," Derek began, "but Odette already made a wedding dress design of her own."

"She did?" Uberta responded.

Odette then opened one of the drawers at the desk she was sitting at, and took out her own wedding gown in which she'd created on her own. It was white as pure snow, with lavish and silky swan-like features on it.

"This is the one I made," Odette explained as she handed the drawing to Uberta.

"What do you think, mother?" Derek asked as Uberta carefully looked it over, wanting to inspect every inch of the fabric.

She was silent for a moment, which caused Odette to grow increasingly nervous. But then she finished looking it over and smiled at the young princess, "I love it!" Uberta squealed.

"Really?" Odette asked.

Uberta nodded, "Absolutely! I'll have the tailors get right to work on it! You are going to be the most beautiful bride in the whole kingdom, I just know it!"

Odette blushed and smiled at her future mother-in-law, who then pulled her and Derek into a group hug. But this moment of happiness was about to be shattered. Suddenly, the castle door burst open and a man in armor, dripping wet in rainwater stumbled in and fell to the floor, startling and alarming everyone. Derek rushed over to the man and examined his apparent wounds and immediately recognized him, "It's King William's captain!" He shouted.

"What?!" Odette exclaimed as she ran to the captain's side. She and Derek then tried to help him sit up, "Captain, are you alright?!"

"Princess…" The captain weakly responded.

"What happened?! Where is my father?!" Odette urgently asked.

"We…we were attacked." The captain struggled to say, "A great…animal!"

As the captain soon lost consciousness, Odette gasped.

"Father!" She shouted as she ran out of the castle door and towards the stables.

"Odette, wait!" Derek shouted to her as he took off running after her, "It's too dangerous!"

Odette jumped onto her horse and took off riding down the road. Derek followed close behind her on his own horse, and soon they rode off into the depths of the dark forest and through the thick, pouring rain that was constantly pounding against them and their horses. Fearing the worst, it became difficult for Odette to tell the difference between the rainwater and the tears on her cheeks anymore. Eventually, she spotted the broken, splintered remains of King William's carriage, surrounded by the mangled bodies of his soldiers and shards of metal and wood all over. But no sign of whoever or whatever had attacked them. It did not take long for Odette to see her father laying on the ground against a log, badly injured and apparently unable to get up.

"Father!" Odette screamed as she and Derek rushed to King William's side.

William opened his eyes to see his daughter kneeling over him, "Odette!" he gasped, "…Thank goodness you're alright."

"Who did this to you?!" She said, trying to calm her voice for him.

"It came so quickly…" William weakly explained. "…A great animal!"

"Easy William," Derek told him, "Save your strength, we're going to get you out of here! We're going to-"

"Listen to me!" William interrupted, sounding urgent, "Both of you! It… it's not what it seems! It's not…what it…seems."

"Not what it…What's not?" Derek asked.

William looked over at Odette with tears in his eyes mixing in with the rain. His voice began to fade. The princess nearly burst into tears hearing what her father had to say now.

"Odette…I am so sorry about all this. It's all my fault! This all happened because of a terrible mistake I made when you were born! While my fate is sealed... I fear you and Derek are about to pay the price for it as well! The consequences for my actions are far greater than I imagined, and this is… just the beginning. You two must be… prepared and brace yourself for w-what is about to come!"

"What are you talking about, father?" Odette sobbed, "What mistake? What consequences are you talking about?!"

William then reached over and took Derek's hand, "Derek… promise me… that you'll protect Odette and give her the happiness she deserves. No matter what happens, don't let her go… Promise me!" He begged.

"…I promise," Derek said after a moment.

Suddenly, King William had closed his eyes for the last time, and almost immediately went limp.

"Father?" Odette cried. "Father!"

But it was no use. She refused to admit it to herself, but she knew it to be true. Derek then put two fingers behind William's lower jaw to feel his pulse, but it only confirmed what he and Odette feared. King William was dead.

"He's gone…" Derek muttered sadly before Odette threw herself at him and began to sob as heavily as she possibly could. Derek wrapped his arms around his fiancée and held her close. He knew that this wasn't over. He knew now that whoever or whatever had killed Odette's father would soon come after her too. And he knew he'd have to be ready.

Me: Okay, this is a story I've had in my head for a while now, and I just REALLY wanted to get it written. I'd like to thank white pedal and WTF123 for helping me write this story, you guys are the best. The Swan Princess is owned by Richard Rich and Nest Entertainment. Please review.