by Shea, K. M.
“Princess,” Brida said, her voice taking on a note of panic as she placed her hands on Elise’s shoulders and shook her.
Elise’s heart ached—throbbing worse than her burning fingers.
Mertein was the one personal choice she made. Just like everything else in her life, she knew he had to be suitable, yes, but there were at least a dozen other men who were just as suitable. It was Mertein Elise had hoped for.
And now he had abandoned her.
Elise picked up the letter and tore it right beneath the words “I am engaged to marry another.”
She gave the top half of the letter to Brida and stood, crumpling the rest of the letter in her fist. She grabbed the shirt she was working on before she retreated to the woods, tears still falling from her eyes.
Even in great sorrow Elise had to be perfect.
The following day, Elise sat with her brothers around the fire, knitting in the orange light. Telling them about Mertein when they turned human the night before had been pure torture—Gerhart and Mikk didn’t seem to care, Falk and Erick acted as if they expected it all along. Nick made a badly received joke about it. Only Rune and Steffen were sympathetic.
Thankfully, though, they seemed to pick up on Elise’s sorrow and did their best to spare Elise’s feelings. Or so she thought.
“Based on the rate at which Elise is knitting, we can expect to be human again by midsummer,” Erick pronounced.
“Do you think you’ll be able to speed up as you get better at this, Elise?” Nick asked.
“It’s hard to say,” Elise said. “It did take most of my first day to remember how to knit and cast on and purl. After I complete this first shirt—and I use that description loosely, it’s more like a shrug of some sort—it should be easier.”
“Imagine that. Elise isn’t perfect at something,” Gerhart sneered.
“Gerhart,” Rune warned as he emerged from the woods with an armload of firewood.
“I’m not certain I will be able to knit faster, though,” Elise continued, clenching her teeth to keep herself from snarling at Gerhart.
“Why not?” Nick asked.
“Because it hurts a great deal to do this, and my fingers are growing stiff and inflexible,” Elise said.
“Oh.”
“If Brida is willing, she should scout out the area during daylight. There may be a village nearby where we could purchase a salve or dressing for Elise’s hands,” Falk said.
“Excellent idea. Would you mind terribly, Captain Meier?” Rune asked, flashing her a dazzling smile.
“Not at all Prince Rune,” Brida easily agreed.
“We appreciate your willingness, Brida,” Nick said.
Mikk nodded in agreement.
“Elise is just being a girl,” Gerhart said, rolling his eyes. “Falk already found her those plants to help with the pain.”
“I hate you,” Elise said, the words were out of her mouth before she thought them through, but even after she spoke Elise wasn’t sorry. She was sick of subjecting herself to Gerhart’s bad temper.
“So the Perfect Princess hates someone. Maybe she’s not so perfect after all,” Gerhart said.
“I have done nothing wrong to you. I have spent months, if not years, putting up with your temper tantrums, and I refuse to deal with them anymore as I spend my days making sacrifices for you,” Elise said.
“You have done nothing to me?” Gerhart sputtered. “Do you have any idea what I’ve gone through because of you?”
“Gerhart,” Falk warned.
“All day long all I hear is how wonderful you are, how great you are, how you’re going to be the family savior. Why can’t you be more like your sister, Gerhart? She’s so young, and she’s already in charge of a department, Gerhart!”
“Your jealousy is not my problem,” Elise said.
“Funny, I said the same thing to my dear brothers, and they didn’t seem to think so.”
“You aren’t making any sense.”
“Then maybe you should try talking to Falk and your precious Rune. You didn’t know they’ve been going behind your back, intimidating anyone who looks twice at you, huh? I’m surprised your dearest Mertein held out as long as he did.”
Elise turned to look at Falk and Rune, who were standing next to each other. Her voice was quiet but as sharp as a sword when she asked, “What is he talking about?”
“You never noticed?” Gerhart continued, unable to shut up. “Falk is over the moon for you, and Rune has spent years keeping him away from you. You think you know your golden-boy-hero? You should see him when he’s threatening someone to make them stay away from you. He’s real heroic then.”
“GERHART,” Rune snapped.
Elise stared unseeingly at her foster brothers. “What?”
There was an uncomfortable silence for several moments before Mikk spoke. “So, it will take Elise to midsummer to free us,” he said.
“Oh, no,” Elise said, scrambling to her feet. “You owe me an explanation. What is Hart talking about?”
“It’s nothing, Elise,” Rune said, his voice once again warm and light. “Ignore him. Gerhart has always been jealous of you,” he said.
“No, he hasn’t,” Elise said. When Queen Ingrid had first plucked her from palace service—where she had discovered Elise—Gerhart was the friendliest out of all the brothers. He was Elise’s companion as a child. It was only about three years ago that he started getting prickly. At first Elise thought it was because he was growing up, but when it continued, she realized there was no reasonable explanation.
“Focusing on the task at hand would be wisest,” Erick said. “We must break our curse and free Father from Clotilde. It is our duty.”
It was Erick’s mistake to speak of duty.
“Our duty? Since when was this our duty?” Elise asked. “Angelique made it clear this is my duty. It has always been this way, hasn’t it? I have been valued by this family because of what I do. I do the things no one else wants to do.”
“You’re the one who acts the part of Perfect Princess,” Gerhart muttered.
“You think I WANT to be perfect? I hate the flute. I wish I could break my instrument in half! Horses terrify me, but I force myself to go riding for the sake of this festering family. I would rather eat glass than converse with the smug Sole Ambassador, but none of it is good enough for you! No matter what I do, you want more. You don’t even like me.”
“That’s not true,” Nick started to say.
“Oh, is it? Is that why you have so much fun picking at what I do?” Elise asked, folding her arms across her chest.
“I never—,”
“You always do. Not like any of the others are any better. Steffen only likes me because I’m the one sibling he can get to do whatever he wants. All he has to do us utter the words duty, and I will do it. Mikk has never bothered to hide his distaste of me; Erick is just as bad as Steffen as he constantly reminds me that I need to perform better, that I have to do more.”
“I do not—,”
“I can’t believe you dare to say that when you just got over asking me if I could knit faster! At least Hart is openly bratty and doesn’t even pretend to like me. And you two,” Elise said, twisting to face Rune and Falk. “I don’t believe a word of what Hart said about you. It’s impossible. Everyone knows Falk hates me.”
Rune and Falk were silent, and Elise lost some of her certainty.
“Rune, you didn’t bully Mertein,” Elise said, changing tactics.
Rune opened his mouth but said nothing.
“He did it only because he is in love with you, Elise,” Nick said.
Elise shook her head. “No.”
“Why do you think he won’t let you call him brother?” Gerhart said.
“Elise,” Rune said, reaching for her.
Elise leaped backwards. “Who are you really?” she whispered.
“Elise, you’re over-wrought,” Steffen said.
“Of course I am!” Elise snarled. “T
he one brother I counted on is-is..! I lost the man I wanted to marry because of YOU. Mertein was my personal choice, and he’s gone because I’m out here sacrificing for you, and you all expect me to.”
“We don’t expect—,”
“Then why are you treating me like this? The second you turn human you want to know my progress. You push me to knit in the firelight, to collect more stinging nettles. You won’t let me do anything but sleep, eat, and knit! This stupid shirt is red because I’m bleeding on it! And you all act like Brida is saving the world because she’s doing things so I can knit more! I HATE you! Forget breaking the curse by midsummer—I’m not going to knit as much as another loop. You all can stay swans for the rest of your lives. I DON’T CARE!” Elise said.
She left the firelight and stomped into the woods.
“Elise,” Rune called.
Elise heard one of her foster brothers move, as if to follow her, and she bolted. She raced blindly through the dark trees, crashing through bushes and almost wiping out on a fallen log.
When the glow of the campfire couldn’t be seen anymore, Elise found a giant tree and started climbing. She lost her grip a few times, and the bark scratched her already injured hands, but when Elise was high enough, she found a cradle in the center of the tree formed by three large branches stretching out in different directions.
Elise huddled there, tears streaming from her eyes.
“Elise!” an Arcainian prince called.
“Eliiiiise!”
“Elise!”
Elise closed her eyes and covered her ears, blocking out the shouts. She was exhausted; she felt horribly alone, and she didn’t know what to do.
“Elise!”
“Eeeeliiiise!”
Elise woke to the scraping noise of a knife on wood. She slowly opened her eyes, grimacing and rolling her shoulders, which had grown stiff in her unusual sleeping position in the tree. After anchoring herself to a branch, Elise leaned over the side to look for the source of the noise.
Brida was sitting at the base of Elise’s tree, whittling away at a chunk of wood. “I waited until sunrise to track you through the forest,” Brida said.
Elise leaned back into her spot on the tree. How does she know I’m awake?
“Your brothers looked for you until they had to return to the pond. They’re worried.”
Elise rolled her eyes. They were probably more worried that Elise wasn’t going to knit their shirts.
“If you don’t intend to talk to them tonight, I would like to tell them you are safe.”
Elise closed her eyes and leaned back into the embrace of the tree. Her stomach growled like a starving bear. Elise tried to muffle the noises by wrapping her arms around her waist.
She nearly jumped out of the tree when rope hit the branch next to her. It slid off the surface and fell back to the ground. Another swing and the rope sailed over the branch. The end was weighted down with a stone, so it made a rudimentary pulley of a sort. After some scuffling on the ground, Brida used the rope to heft up a small parcel of food containing berries, some edible plants, and a little bit of cheese.
“Eat, Princess,” Brida advised, sitting down on the ground again, placing her back to the tree as she kept whittling.
Elise took the food, setting it on her knees. Her stomach growled again, so Elise reluctantly started with the berries. She occasionally leaned out of her tree to glance at Brida far below. The captain kept whittling, not looking at all inclined to move.
Night fell. Elise remained in her tree.
“I’m going back to the campsite. It’s not safe to leave you out here, but…,” Brida trailed off and scuffed a boot in the ground. “Here, take this,” she said, using her pulley system to send a canvas bag up to Elise.
In the bag was a wooden whistle.
“Blow it if you are in trouble—whether now or when you can’t speak. And gather up the rope if you don’t want to be sniffed out by your brothers,” Brida said before trudging off through the woods. “I will be back once I get more supplies and tell your brothers you are safe,” she called before she disappeared into the undergrowth.
Elise stretched out in her tree and stared up at the green canopy of leaves above her. She didn’t think much time had passed, so she almost fell out of her tree when torchlight lit up the forest.
“Brida came from this direction, so Elise must be somewhere in this part of the forest.”
It was Rune.
“That may be, but you do realize when she sees us there’s a good chance she might attempt to impale you with something?”
And Steffen.
“Elise would never hurt us,” Rune said, brandishing the torch high above his head.
“Oh no, she would not hurt me. I didn’t mislead her and lie to her about my feelings and the feelings of my greatest rival for the past three or four years or bully her sweetheart. No, if she is going to hurt someone it’s going to be you. I’m along so I can properly apologize and drag you back to the pond after you pass out from blood loss.”
“How thoughtful of you.”
“I can be a decent older brother.”
Elise peered out of her tree, watching her foster brothers weave through the trees.
“This just proves that honesty is the best policy,” Steffen said.
“Are you referring to Falk and me?”
“To a certain extent, yes. Did you already know Elise is afraid of horses?”
“Yes. She told me when I found her weeping in the stables several years ago.”
“What about the flute?”
“I did not know she hated it, but I knew she didn’t like it. She told me as much when she first started learning it.”
“Why. Why did she tell you?”
The pair was just a stone’s throw from Elise’s tree.
“Because I asked,” Rune said.
Steffen sighed. “No wonder she’s furious with you. She told you all the things she told no one else, and you never thought to open your great big yap to let her know you were in love with her.”
“I didn’t say anything because you and Father forbid it.”
“That was before Clotilde waltzed into the picture.
“Would you care to discuss your feelings for Gabrielle at this moment?”
“No, thank you,” Steffen said, stopping two trees away from Elise’s lookout.
“Exactly. What is it?”
“Nothing. I changed my mind, I’m going back to the camp. Elise could be anywhere in this forest. We’re better off trying to persuade Brida to tell us where she is.”
“She’s not going to budge.”
“Even if she doesn’t, my time will be spent just as well as yours,” Steffen said.
“Can you find your way back in the dark? I need the torch.”
“I’ll manage.”
“Very well, I’ll see you before we transform back into swans.”
“I suppose. Walk carefully,” Steffen said as Rune started to walk away.
“Of course,” Rune called over his shoulder.
After the light from his torch faded, Steffen stayed still in the utter darkness. “Elise?”
Elise jumped in her tree cradle. How does he know I’m here?
“Elise, I don’t think I can apologize for our conduct. There were things we didn’t know, things I didn’t know, but that doesn’t excuse us. You are right. We lean too heavily upon you, and we take it for granted that you will save the day—whether it be by charming Father when he’s angry at the rest of us, or safely escorting us around when we’re nothing but swans.”
Elise stubbornly remained silent.
“But you underestimate our feelings for you. You have no idea how difficult it is to see your baby sister… We can’t fix this,” Steffen said.
Elise looked up at these words, not because of what they meant but because of the way Steffen said them. Steffen typically wore an immobile façade of good humor. Rarely would one see him angry, and the only time Elise could eve
r recall seeing sorrow on his face was when Queen Ingrid died. But now Elise could hear Steffen’s voice wobble with emotion.
“It’s not that we can’t free ourselves as swans. It is that we can’t do anything to protect you. We’re stupid birds by day, understanding very little and remembering even less. Even if we knew, what could we do for you? It is terrible, Elise, to watch you undertake such pain and suffering for us when we can do nothing in return. I was determined to never sacrifice any of my siblings, and that is precisely what we’ve done to you.”
Steffen was silent for a few moments before he continued. “There is nothing worse as a prince, or as a man, than to see someone you care deeply for suffering and to be unable to fix it. As a result, I fear we may appear to be callous to you because we’re festering in our selfishness, wondering if all of this is worth it if we can’t even protect our sister.”
A twig cracked when Steffen shifted. “None of this excuses our behavior, but we owed you an explanation. I am sorry, Elise. I never thought you would put up a front as I do.”
The silence stretched on again as Steffen gathered his thoughts. “Angelique, the Lady Enchantress, will be able to free us in a year. We will gladly wait until then. You are free to do whatever you want, Elise. You have already saved us by bringing us to Verglas. We can ask nothing further of you. Think on what you would like to do, sister. We will do everything in our power to see you happy. Sweet dreams, Elise,” Steffen said.
He crunched on leaves and twigs as he marched back in the direction of their camp.
Elise sat in her tree and listened to her older brother walk away.
“Freedom isn’t want I wanted. I just want to be included,” Elise murmured.
Chapter 7
The following day, Elise was too stiff to stay in her tree for the day. Instead, she retrieved her knitting—if she was being honest with herself she knew she could never leave her foster brothers as swans no matter how tumultuous their relationship was at the moment—and sat out of sight in the forest, intending to retreat to a tree when the hour of transformation arrived.
She sat on the opposite side of the rock formation she used as shelter, out of sight of the pond and thus her foster brothers.