Derek and Odette had finally arrived a humble cottage that belonged to King William's captain, Gregory, and his wife, Claire. She was a fair woman with green eyes and dark brown hair tied in a simple bun wearing a simple plane blue dress with an apron.

"There you go, Princess" she smiled as she poured a cup of tea for Odette.

"Thank you, Claire" she smiled at Claire.

"Is there anything else I can help with?" Claire then asked her husband, walking around the table to where they were sitting.

"No thank you, that'll be all for right now, dearest" he then smiled at his wife. Claire smiles back before leaving the room to finish with some chores in the other room.

"Your wife is very kind, Gregory" Odette smiled at Gregory.

"Indeed" Gregory sighed happily. He was lucky to have a woman like Claire in his life.

"What does she do?" Derek then asked.

"She's a midwife," Gregory explained. "She helps expectant mothers through their pregnancies and assists them when they give birth."

"Oh my" Odette said amazed and made a mental note to call upon this woman when she eventually had children.

"So what is it you wanted to tell us about the Great Animal?" Derek then asked, eager for the information.

Gregory sighed in response, trying to find the words to say since it wouldn't be easy for the princess to hear.

"Do you remember when I said I thought it attacked your father under orders?" he finally asked.

"Yes?" Odette inquired, anxiously.

"I think I know who's controlling it and ordered to attack your father" Gregory then said.

"You do?" Derek then asked just as anxious as his wife.

"But I still don't understand. Everyone loved my father" Odette said confused upon remembering how everyone loved and adored her father.

"Not everyone," Gregory informed the two, "I remembered that someone who had no love for King William."

"Who?" Odette asked.

"His name was Rothbart," Gregory answered.

"Rothbart?" Odette asked, obviously having never heard the name in her life.

"Who was he?" Derek inquired.

"He was an enchanter who had secretly been studying the Forbidden Arts so he could overthrow your father" Gregory began, "But your father found out about his plans and put a stop to them, destroying his powers in the process. I myself led the raid that led to Rothbart's capture. But despite calls for his death, your father only had him banished."

"You think that this Rothbart might be behind the Great Animal attacking my father?" Odette then asked.

"If he's regained his former powers, it's possible" Gregory answered once again, "Rothbart made it clear on the day he was exiled that he would someday get his powers back, and told your father that when he does, everything he owned and everything he loved...would be his"

Odette thought for a moment before realizing something. "You mean the kingdom and…" she shuddered out of fear. "Me?"

Gregory nodded, confirming the princess's fears. "There's no doubt he would have wanted to marry you in order to get your father's kingdom legally. But now that you're married to Prince Derek, his plans have been foiled."

Derek could see how shocked Odette was from this news. And he didn't blame her; he too was shocked by this revelation as much as his wife was, possibly even more. He simply took his wife's hand to try and comfort her, but also to comfort himself. He was terrified beyond words.

"Something tells me that marrying me won't keep Odette safe from Rothbart, or the Great Animal" he finally spoke his fears.

"You're probably right, Your Highness," Gregory agreed. "Which is why you need to keep her safe"

"I will. I'll die for her if I have to" the prince promised, while staring at his devastated wife.

"Good. But for her sake, let's hope it doesn't come to that" Gregory said with concern.

"Captain?" Odette finally spoke up.

"Yes, Princess?" Gregory asked.

"Thank you. You've put us one step closer to giving my father justice and…ah!" she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

"Odette? Are you alright?" Derek asked concerned.

"I...I don't know. I've been feeling like this for a while, but it's strange" the princess replied, still in pain. "This is just what I need now," she sarcastically thought to herself, this was the last thing she needed.

Claire comes into the room upon hearing Odette's cries of pain. "Is everything alright in here?" she asked alerted.

"Odette feels a little under the weather" Derek explained.

"Really? Let me see. Come with me, dear" Claire then offered.

"Okay" Odette said as she got up and followed Claire to the other room.

A few minutes later Odette returned to the room with Claire and for some odd reason Odette had tears falling down her face, and yet she looked happy for some reason.

"Are you alright, Odette?" Derek asked with concern in his voice.

"I am," Odette replied while whipping a few of her tears from her face.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked once again.

"Because I have some good news," Odette said, beaming a little with excitement.

"Good news?" now Derek was really confused.

"Why yes…father," she simply said, smiling.

"Father?" the confused prince asked. Why would she call him father? Unless... "Wait" it hit him like a ton of bricks. "You mean..." he stuttered while staring directly at his wife's stomach.

Odette nods happily "Derek...I'm pregnant"

Everything seems to stop for Derek upon hearing those words. His wife was pregnant, he was going to be a father, they were going to have a baby. It almost overwhelmed the poor prince.

"I...I don't know what to say" was all he could say at this moment.

"We talked about this. We said we wouldn't have anything to worry about if this happened this soon," Odette said, holding on to her husband's hands.

"I know," he said, remembering that conversation. "I guess I'm just a little surprised. I never expected it to happen so soon," Derek admitted.

"I know," Odette smiled at Derek. "But I know you'll be a great father"

"I…Uh…" Derek stuttered, but was cut off by his wife's unexpected kiss. Seconds later his shock disappeared as he melted into his wife's kiss. But was interrupted by Gregory clearing his throat.

"Sorry," Odette apologized, embarrassed by that as she and Derek broke the kiss.

"It's alright. But as happy as happy as this news is, it's probably best that we keep this between the four of us," he the caption then suggested.

"Why? The people are going to be thrilled," Derek commented, "Not to mention my mother would kill me if I didn't tell her" he shuddered at the idea of what that woman would do to him.

"I understand, but if Rothbart where to find out about the baby too, you could be in even more danger" Gregory explained. And he was right. And Odette knew that not only would she and Derek be in danger, but so would their baby.

"So what do we do?" Odette then asked.

"The only thing you can do now is go into hiding," Gregory suggested.

"But where would we go?" she asked once again concerned.

"Odette has a point," Derek agreed with his wife. "We can't exactly live in the woods with a baby on the way. I can hunt, of course, but we'd still need shelter"

"You don't have to live in the woods" Gregory began. "There's an abandoned castle north of Uberta's kingdom that would serve as a good place to lay low until Rothbart is found."

"But how do we find him?" Derek then asked.

"Write a letter to your mother, your highness. Explain the situation to her in it, and I'll deliver it to her myself. Tell her to get the word out about Rothbart and everyone will be looking for him. He'd have nowhere to hide, but you'll still have to until he's drawn out" Gregory explained as he got up and grabbed a nearby piece of paper and quill on a desk.

"But how will we know when it's safe to come out of hiding?" Odette asked this time.

"Only Claire and I will know where you are, so when Rothbart is apprehended, I'll come to you to tell you, but until then you two must stay at that castle" Gregory explained once again.

"Alright," Odette nodded in agreement. "But how will we know where it is, though?"

"Claire, go get a map of the kingdoms for me please," Gregory then asked his wife. She simply nods and leaves the room. Moments later Claire returned with the map and laid it out on the table. Gregory then took a good look at it before saying "Here we are. The castle is right here"

Derek reads the map right where Gregory pointed out to get an idea of where it was. "That's actually not that far from my mother's kingdom" Derek pointed out. "We should probably wait until nightfall before we leave, in case we're being watched," he then suggest to his wife.

"That's a good idea," Odette agreed. Better safe than sorry.

"Oh, and you'll need this book on childbirth, in case the baby comes while you're still hiding" Claire then said handing the young prince a book all on childbirth

"Okay, thanks" he said, taking the book.

Claire then handed Odette a bunch of baby clothes. "And you might need these too"

"I can't thank you enough for all you two have done for us" Odette said, grateful for their help.

"It's our pleasure, Odette" Gregory smiled at the princess. "Maybe now your father's spirit will find peace"

"I hope so," Odette prayed. Hoping that justice will be served.

Once night finally arrived the young couple left the cottage from the back alleyway wearing different common clothing and cloaks so no one would recognize them, they even had to abandon their horses as an extra precaution in case they were being watched. Once out of town the two made the long journey towards the abandon castle by a lake known as Swan Lake

Me: Sorry for the long wait on this one and the others, guys. I've been really busy lately. But still, I hope you've enjoyed the new chapter. Let me know what you all think!