The Wild Swans

by Shea, K. M.

  “Mostly because I can,” Steffen said.

  “Such a shock,” Falk said.

  “Wait until it’s dry,” Mikk summarized for Elise’s benefit as the rest of their siblings entered the fray.

  “If you say so,” Elise said.

  It was another three days before Elise could walk without her bare feet sinking into mud and muck. During the three days of mud, Elise fell several times, so on the first day of warm weather and solid footing, Elise plunged into the pond.

  She dove in with her dress on and her hair unbound. When she popped up for air a swan regally padded by, Steffen probably. Elise watched the swan before she tried scrubbing at the worst of her dress stains while standing in the water.

  When her teeth started to chatter, Elise clambered back onto shore, ringing water out of her dress and hair.

  “You should dry off before you get yourself sick,” Brida said, chopping a sturdy tree limb with her axe.

  Elise sneezed twice and flicked water off her skin as she walked past the shelter, pausing to grab her whistle, knife, and burlap cloth.

  Properly armed, Elise hiked a short way into the woods. She could still hear the noises her brothers made as swans—the sound their flapping wings produced was quite loud—when she found a boulder situated in a spot of sunshine.

  Elise dropped the burlap cloth and set the knife and whistle on the boulder before she climbed it, sunning herself on the warm surface as she attempted to comb her wild hair with her fingers.

  As her hair dried, her bouncy curls sprang into their usual tangled ringlets. Elise abandoned the ribbon she used to keep her hair tied in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck and fluffed her hair, hoping to get it to dry quicker. The early summer air was cooler than she estimated, and between her sopping dress and wet head, she was getting a chill.

  Once she felt she had sufficiently untangled her wild curls, Elise tried wringing more water from her dress. Both the morning sun and the rock warmed Elise, making her damp situation bearable, and in less than an hour, Elise was more or less dry.

  Elise tossed her curly mop of hair over her shoulders as she reached for her ribbon, intending to pull her hair back so she could nettle hunt without it flapping in her face.

  She froze when she heard a male voice say, “So it is true. There is maiden as lovely as a summer day who has taken up residence at Farsund Pond.”

  Elise slowly lifted her eyes up to stare at a handsome young man who had soundlessly crept up on her. The fine velvet of his tunic was too expensive to make him anything less than a noble. He had baby fine blonde hair and grey eyes that were the same intense color as frothy rapids.

  Elise flattened her lips and reached for her whistle as she kept eye contact with the strange man.

  “I won’t hurt you,” he said, lifting both of his hands. “I’m worried for you. How can you survive out here, alone?”

  Elise, obviously, was silent.

  “Won’t you speak? You can trust me,” he said, taking a step closer to her. “Where are you from? I’ve never seen anyone like you. Your hair is beautiful.”

  Elise slid off her rock, clutching her whistle. She was careful not to place her back to the man as she retreated to the pond.

  “Easy, easy,” the man said, as if Elise were a wild horse he needed to soothe. “Do you want to leave this place? I could take you somewhere warm. You could sleep in a real bed and eat only the best foods. Don’t you want to come?”

  Elise shook her head, making the young man smile.

  “So you can understand, then? You aren’t dumb. Nor are you a witch, like that foolish hunter said you were,” the man said. “Come with me. I will protect you.”

  Elise shook her head and kept backing up.

  “You will be safe, I promise. Just trust me,” the man said before lunging forward and grabbing Elise’s wrist.

  Elise shoved her whistle between her teeth and tried punching the man with her free hand. He caught her jab and within seconds had her flung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

  “I’m doing this for your own good,” the man said as Elise struggled.

  Elise took in a deep breath of air, positioned her mouth by the man’s ear, and blew her whistle so hard she made her ears pop.

  “Ow, what was that for?” the man said, dropping Elise to clamp his hands to his ears.

  Elise hit the ground with a thud. She rolled away, getting grass stains all over her dress, and scrambled to her feet, blasting another note on her whistle.

  She needn’t have bothered. Brida came tearing through the woods, a spear held above her head and roaring like an angry bear. Behind her was a train of four snow white swans. The swans flapped their wings and strained their necks while they hissed.

  “Get away from her!” Brida shouted, sounding scarier than ever as she leveled her spear at the intruder.

  “What? What’s going on?” the man said.

  “What did you do to her?” Brida asked, suspiciously eyeing the grass stains on Elise’s dress as Elise passed her, aiming to stand with the swans.

  “Nothing! I thought she was alone in the woods so I was going to take her back to the palace so she could find shelter,” the man said.

  “Likely story!”

  “It’s true. Who are you that you don’t recognize me?”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  The man thumped the stag symbol embroidered on the front of his tunic. “I am Prince Toril, the only child of King Torgen and heir to the throne of Verglas,” he said. “In case you didn’t know it is a capital offense to brandish a weapon at me.”

  “Royal or not, it’s an offense to humanity to manhandle a girl,” Brida spat.

  “I wasn’t manhandling her! Please, there must be some way we can come to an agreement.”

  “Leave right now and that will be a proper agreement,” Brida said.

  “This forest is mine; you can hardly force me out of it.”

  Brida held the spear in a throwing position. “Oh?” she asked.

  “Except for today,” the prince hastily said. “I can see I have upset your…delicate nerves. I shall take my leave now and come back at a better time,” he said, starting to back up.

  “Don’t come back,” Brida warned. “You aren’t wanted here.”

  “That you have made perfectly clear, madam,” the prince said before darting out sight. “But I will be back. Count on it.”

  Brida held an arm in front of Elise as she listened to the man stumble through the woods. (Elise had to wonder how she missed his arrival if that was how he usually moved.) When the noises faded, Brida lowered her weapon and her arm. “Well done, Fürstin,” Brida said before she plunged through the four troubled swans and headed back to the camp.

  Elise followed, the swans in tow, with wide eyes. She had never imagined there would be a day when Brida would praise her.

  Elise glanced over her shoulder in the direction Prince Toril had disappeared. What was he doing this far south? Elise shivered in the cool summer air, hoping he would forget about her, forget about Brida, and forget about her wild swans.

  “Prince Toril? What could he possibly want with Elise?” Nick asked as he sat next to Brida.

  “I could think of several things,” Rune frowned. “Did you scare him enough?” he asked Brida—who was telling her part of the story.

  “If I had frightened him anymore, he very likely would have wet his royal trousers,” Brida dryly said.

  “That’s our Brida,” Nick chimed in.

  Rune nodded and paced by the fire.

  “Perhaps we should move,” Elise said.

  “There’s no reason to. The prince of Verglas is not known for his sharp wit. He will never figure out who you are. I doubt we are in any real danger except for extreme annoyance if he keeps popping up,” Steffen said.

  “He will be leaving to go north to the capital soon,” Falk said.

  “How do you know?” Elise asked.

  “Based on his
clothes, he’s obviously on a hunting trip. Even though he is flippant, he is the only heir to the throne and as such would have to be in court most of the time,” Falk said.

  “Based on his clothes? You remember what he looked like? You were one of the swans that came with Brida?” Elise asked.

  Falk shifted and looked, for the first time in years, uncomfortable. “Yes.”

  Before Elise could further pursue this interesting reveal, Rune, who still paced, said, “I don’t care. First the hunter and now this prince—I will not let us put Elise’s life in danger.”

  “I assure you, Prince Rune, I will do my best to protect Princess Elise,” Brida said.

  Rune pressed his lips together and tried to hang his thumbs on a sword belt that wasn’t there. His hazel eyes were dim and tinted with frustration.

  “That’s not enough, is it?” Brida asked, her voice hollow.

  Rune looked away and flexed his hands.

  Erick cleared his throat, drawing Elise’s attention to hm. He discreetly tipped his head in Rune’s direction and made a shooing gesture.

  Elise hesitated for a moment, wondering why of all her brothers it would be Erick to instruct her to talk with Rune.

  “I should check on the horses—they haven’t been offered water in a few hours. Come with me, Rune?” Elise asked.

  “Certainly,” Rune said, rallying a smile before he followed Elise out of the bright campfire circle.

  “I have lost track of the days, but it must be summer by now,” Elise said.

  “It is. It is still quite cool here, though.”

  “I agree. I knew our country has a warmer climate, but I still need to cover up when I sleep. At home it’s usually quite hot by now,” Elise said.

  Rune shrugged. “Verglas has been a colder country for centuries. Even its neighbors don’t get the same snowfall and cool summers. Do you want me to lead both of the horses?” Rune asked as they approached the shaky wooden fence that boxed the horses in for the night.

  “No, Falk’s horse and I have come to an understanding. And standing with them doesn’t bother me so much as being on their backs does,” Elise said, reaching for the rope halter Brida had fashioned for Falk’s horse after her arrival. She slipped it on over the gelding’s face and, using a rope, led him from the pen to the pond.

  “So what did you want to discuss?” Rune asked.

  “Pardon?”

  “Brida religiously waters the horses; your chore was just an excuse.”

  Elise watched Falk’s horse lip the water. “Yes,” she agreed before looking up at Rune. “I wanted to ask what is wrong.”

  “Wrong?”

  “You are troubled tonight.”

  Rune laughed. “Elise, I think anyone in our situation would be troubled.”

  Elise shook her head. “No, something has especially bothered you this evening.”

  Rune placed a hand on Brida’s horse and stroked her glossy shoulder. “I can’t help but think that I have failed you.”

  “How?”

  “You said Toril had you slung over his shoulder. If you didn’t have that whistle…,” Rune trailed off and ran a hand through his gold hair. “It’s not supposed to be like this,” he finally said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m supposed to be able protect you. I am—I’ve always wanted to be your hero. But right now, I am nothing.”

  Elise glanced at Falk’s horse to make sure it did not seem particularly inclined to walk off before she looped its lead rope across its back. “That isn’t true,” Elise said, warily circling around Brida’s horse—knowing the captain her horse was probably bad tempered and trained to bite—to reach Rune.

  “I don’t weigh my affections for you based on the present. Yes, you didn’t save me today, but there’s at least a hundred other times you have saved me,” Elise said, clasping Rune’s free hand between hers. “When I was first moved into the royal wing of Brandis and got lost for half a day, you found me. When I was thirteen and I came down with that horrid cold, you stayed with me until I got better—you refused to leave unlike everyone else so you caught my cold after I was better.”

  Rune cracked a smile at the recollection.

  “The summer before Mother died we went on a family picnic. I accidentally disturbed the nest of two rock griffons. You kept the male from slaughtering me,” Elise continued. “Last year, I nearly turned my office inside out because Lord Huge’s account was short some money, and I couldn’t figure out why. You staked him out and caught him in the act of embezzling. You were the department champion for a full season after that.”

  “I wonder if Lord Huge has recovered from that fright,” Rune said.

  “The point is this: I don’t love you because of what you do for me; I love you because you are steadfast and loyal and good,” Elise said.

  Rune gave Elise a dazzling smile. “You love me?”

  “Not that way,” Elise was quick to say. “I mean, I do, but not… romantic.”

  Rune sighed. “I suppose that would be too much to hope for,” he said, letting Brida’s horse go so he could graze Elise’s cheek with his fingertips.

  “Um, yes,” Elise said, looking away.

  “I’m sorry about the flirting, Elise.”

  “Um?” Elise said, trying to take a step backwards as she let go of Rune’s hand. (That was a mistake.)

  Rune slid his free hand around Elise’s waist as he breeched the new gap between them. “I did it because Steffen ordered me to be pleasant, but also because I was hoping to make you jealous.”

  “C-could you back up a little? Maybe?” Elise said, using her pointer finger to poke Rune in the chest.

  Rune dropped his head until his forehead rested against Elise’s. “I miss you fiercely whenever I leave for my heroic duties.”

  “Ahaaa.”

  “Don’t you miss me?” Rune asked, his breath brushing Elise’s face.

  “Of c-course I miss you.”

  When Rune tangled his hand in Elise’s wild hair, Elise had enough. “No, no. This is yours, I believe,” she said, unhooking his arm from around her waist and pushing it into his chest. She jumped away from him and semi-violently brushed herself off before shaking like a wet dog.

  “What are you smirking at?” she asked when she turned to see Rune grinning widely.

  “I was just thinking,” he said.

  “About?” Elise snapped, angry that she let Rune push her off balance.

  “If being close to me makes you blush and upsets you so, you cannot possibly see me as your brother,” Rune said.

  “What?”

  “So I’m still a viable marriage option,” Rune said, his grin turning into a pleased smile.

  All the blood in Elise’s face drained. “Pardon?”

  “I still have a chance,” Rune said before patting Brida’s mare and leading her back to the pen.

  Elise was silent for a few moments. “No, you don’t,” she called, suddenly remembering herself as she scrambled to grab Falk’s horse.

  “I do. As sure as the sun shines, I do,” Rune laughed.

  “Go turn into a swan and eat a bug,” Elise muttered.

  Rune responded with a joyful, light-hearted laugh.

  Elise and her swan companion sat together and watched Brida perform her morning practice routine.

  Elise was shocked when, as she tied another nettle stem into the shirt, Brida dropped the sword she was practicing with.

  “You honestly did not know Prince Rune loved you, did you?”

  Elise eyed Brida above the shirt and suspiciously pulled her head back.

  “There’s no use denying it. Prince Rune has mooned over you for years. I always thought you were malicious for ignoring his feelings. Did you really never see them?”

  Elise absentmindedly knitted as she thought. Had she ever noticed the way Rune—or Falk—treated her was different? To a certain extent, yes. Falk wasn’t vocally rude to people as he was to Elise, and Rune was kind to all, bu
t even Elise knew she was special to him just as he was special to her.

  But love?

  No, Elise never saw that coming, had never dared to even think about it. From the day she was chosen as a foster child, all she concerned herself with was ways to prove her worth to her foster family. She never imagined any of them would genuinely want her.

  She had dared to hope for friendship with Gerhart, and eventually with Steffen once she started to work with him more as she took over the Treasury Department, but romance was never a deep desire of Elise’s. She wanted to be happy, yes, so she would be careful in selecting her marriage partner, but she never thought anyone—Mertein included—would love her with passion.

  “You didn’t know,” Brida said.

  Elise shook her head.

  Brida scratched the back of her neck and sighed. “You understand that he—they, really, I suppose—is devoted to you? Ignoring Prince Rune’s and Prince Falk’s feelings doesn’t mean they’re going to go away. Nor is it fair to the princes to reject them by not even acknowledging them.”

  Elise looked pained and gestured at Brida. What was she to do?

  Brida snorted. “As if I would know,” she said, picking up her sword again. She glanced at the swan and returned her attention to Elise. “But why not give them a chance? Let them both court you.”

  Elise stared at Brida with wide eyes and clutched the shirt to her chest regardless of the burning nettles.

  “It’s not like they’re going to eat you,” Brida said.

  Elise nodded vigorously.

  “You have got some disastrous notions of love, Princess,” Brida said before slashing the air with her sword.

  Elise shrugged and slowly went back to knitting.

  “One thing is for sure: you underestimate Prince Falk’s feelings for you,” Brida grunted.

  Elise looked up at her with disbelieving eyes.

  “I’m not saying this just because I admire Prince Rune,” Brida said, rolling her eyes. “I mean it. Prince Rune is your most obvious supporter, but Prince Falk…He has your back.”

  Elise tilted her head.

  “Well, who do you think is sitting with you right now?” Brida asked, pointing to Elise’s swan companion with her sword.