“My children...”
“I promise, Odette. I will save your children, and I will find you.”
“Okay,” she responded. Maybe she shouldn’t believe him. She had barely known him long enough for that, but she did. It could all come back to her people’s ability to see true connections. In which case, she was connected to Stefan already, and very little could change that. Hence the trust.
“What are their names?” he asked, and the faith she had in him solidified. He cared. He must do if he was taking this time.
“Lincoln and Lena,” she responded, looking up at him with pleading eyes. She hoped he’d save them. She needed him to. The last thing she wanted was for her beautiful twins to end up in the clutches of a monster like their father.
“Lincoln and Lena,” Stefan repeated. She liked the way he said their names. It was almost in the way that a father should say it. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“For what?”
“To fly home, Odette. To fly free.” With his words, he swung the cloak around her shoulders, and she felt it’s old familiar weight settle there. She knew she’d missed the feeling of feathers on her back, but she was still taken aback by exactly how it felt.
She felt the transformation take hold, and before Stefan’s startled eyes, she transformed into the beautiful and elegant swan that she knew she was. Odette stretched out her wings, disappointed, but not surprised to see that her once crisp snow white feathers had turned the colour of ash. It was rumoured to happen any time a swan spent too much time away from their cloak. Or suffered severe distress. But she couldn’t let that deter her, now she was a swan again, she needed to fly home. She could feel the tug in her gut calling her the way that she needed to go.
“You’re beautiful,” Stefan muttered in awe. She bowed her long neck, unable to speak in this form, but hoping that conveyed her acceptance of his compliment. He held out his hand, before changing his mind and pulling it back. She wished he hadn’t. She wished he’d touched the softness of her feathers and given her the strength to make the flight she knew she had to. “Now fly home, I’ll see you soon.” He gave her a sad smile, and she turned away, looking towards the open window.
Odette stretched her wings once more, flapping them a few times to get the sensation of flight back into her. Taking a few unsteady steps, she lifted into the air and flew into the night.
4
Stefan watched as the beautiful creature took flight, a pang of longing travelling through his gut. He longed to be with her. Not in the sky, that’d be no fun. But as a wolf running down below her, heading in the same direction. He loved to run, to feel the wind ruffling through his fur and howling slightly in his ears. There was just something about it that made him feel freer than he ever felt in a castle, no matter what he did there.
Staring into the darkness outside, he suddenly snapped back to it. With Odette gone, it was only a matter of time before someone noticed, even if it was evening. And the last thing he wanted was for someone to realise and move the children before he could get to them. He had to get them out. It was the one thing she’d asked him to do. And then he’d go find her. Even as he’d been promising her, he had very little doubt that he’d actually go through with it. There was something about her that drew him in. A brightness to her face, even behind the slightly jaded eyes. She wasn’t broken, even though she had every reason to be, and he respected that in a way that many people might not. But then, most people probably wouldn’t notice that the Queen’s eyes held a hidden pain, or that she didn’t enjoy the things she should. He’d noticed that about her while he’d been staking out the castle.
He spun on his heels, heading back towards the doorway he seemed to have only just come through. He glanced around, ensuring that no one else was about, before honing in on his finding senses and thinking about Odette’s children. Lincoln and Lena. The names filled him with an odd feeling, almost like the affection he felt for his sister, but more protective. Which said a lot. When he was younger, he’d been so protective of Sierra that he’d threatened someone with castration. Luckily, the cur had believed his threat and left his little sister alone. Not so luckily, Sierra had been furious. So had their Mother. He’d ended up with extra chores for the week and a ban on midnight runs. Hadn’t stopped him doing it again though. He’d just been more subtle about it.
He followed his instincts, sneaking down hallways, and narrowly avoiding being discovered by a man he thought was a Duke. It was hard to tell, they were all dressed so opulently. The hall seemed to last forever, but eventually he came to a large wooden door that felt like the right one. Slowly, he pushed it open and stepped inside. The room was cold. Not just cold temperature wise, but cold in a somewhat clinical way. it reminded him of the hospital wing in Alventia. And it certainly didn’t remind him of the nursery that he’d grown up in. There was nothing child friendly, no warm colours, there wasn’t even a nurse maid. All of which made him truly wonder what kind of man King Ennardo really was. As if the fact he’d kept his wife essentially hostage for four years by stealing something that was so integral to her being.
For a moment, Stefan imagined being without his wolf, and a violent shudder passed through him. He didn’t like the thought in the slightest, and anger rose within him at the thought of what Odette had truly endured by being parted from her swan.
He pushed the thoughts aside. He had to if he was going to focus on the task at hand and not get completely sidetracked by things. He concentrated on his gut feeling, slipping into a side chamber, and his stomach sank. Two pairs of startling blue eyes looked up at him from cherubic faces. The children were probably only three years old or so. Maybe not even that. But they were wide awake and not making a sound. More than that, they looked scared. Like the reason they were so quiet was more ominous than he cared to truly imagine.
“Hello, little ones,” he said softly, being very careful not to startle them. “I’m Stefan. I’m here to take you to your Mother.” He looked between the two children, pleased, but still saddened, when the little boy nodded his head a couple of times, but said nothing else. It was that moment when Stefan decided that King Ennardo would pay. Maybe not now, and probably with the help of his family, but the man would be brought down.
5
Odette watched nervously as her sisters all paraded onto the dance floor. It felt wrong. All too happy. The entire Court was nothing but smiles and laughter. No one had even commented on her return. They’d just smiled and accepted that she was back. Which was wrong. It had to be. Except, it wasn’t. They were cursed, and this was the norm.
But, what hurt the most, was that even her father hadn’t questioned what had happened to her. He’d opened his arms to her and embraced her, but that was all. No asking where she’d been for the past four years, or how she was doing, or anything. She almost wished she’d refused the cloak, and just not returned.
Except that living without her swan just wasn’t doable any more. And being unable to ignore the call home once she’d donned the feathers, here she was. The only reason she’d be able to leave now, was if she got married. And that seemed...unlikely.
Despite her telling herself no, Stefan’s face flashed before her eyes. She pushed it away. She couldn’t think about him like that, or at all. He may have promised that he’d find her, but she seriously doubted that he would. Or that he could even manage.
“Let me through!” a voice called through the crowds.
Odette’s heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be him, could it? How had he found her? How had he got here? And had he been able to save her children? She didn’t know which she wanted the answer to first. Actually, that was a lie, she did know.
Because her children certainly weren’t with him. She was at least a little grateful for that. Her Father wasn’t a bad man, not by any stretch of the imagination. But he would also likely give her children feathers, and she didn’t want that for them. A life bound to this castle wasn’t something she wished on anyone. Which w
as something she hadn’t realised until she’d returned.
“You can’t come in, the Swan Princesses are dancing,” one of the guards said loudly. Odette made a small dismissive noise, quite involuntarily. Six of the Swan Princesses were dancing. She was standing to the side, overlooked and longing to be elsewhere.
“It’s one of the Princesses I’ve come to see.”
There was a sharp intake in breath from just about everyone in the Court. And this time, Odette smiled to herself. She probably should have told him about the traditions of her people.
“You want to see one of the Princesses?” her Father’s voice boomed across the room.
“Yes, your majesty,” Stefan said, executing a swift bow that she was sure learned during his upbringing at a Court of his own.
“You want to speak to one of my daughters?”
Oh no, his voice was taking on the same tone he used to use when one of them had done something wrong. It wasn’t one any of them had ever been in a rush to hear.
“Yes, your majesty.”
“Do you have any idea what that actually means?” She couldn’t see her Father’s face, but she could picture him raising an eyebrow as he spoke.
“No, your majesty.” Stefan’s voice shook as he spoke, and Odette longed to run over to him and comfort him. And maybe explain to him what was about to happen.
“Daughters!” her Father commanded, and Odette sighed, taking the mask that was offered to her by a suddenly appearing servant. If she hadn’t been used to their uncanny ability to provide what was needed, then she may have been surprised by it.
She strapped the mask around her face, as her sisters were around the room too. She marvelled slightly in the fact this would be the first, and hopefully last, time she’d have to take part in the selection ceremony. She’d seen her six older sisters do it countless times. Basically, each and every time a man tried to claim one of them as his own. All of them failed.
She fell into line with them all, nerves fluttering in her stomach. She trusted that Stefan would be able to pick her out of the line-up. She hoped that he would. But with all of them looking so alike, and with their faces obscured by masks, it’d be almost impossible for him to tell.
“The only way to speak to one of my daughters, is to marry her.”
“Very well, your majesty,” Stefan replied without hesitation, and the fluttering in Odette’s stomach increased. Did he really want her that much? Or was he only doing this out of a sense of duty.
“To which Princess do you wish to speak?” her Father asked, standing rigid and formal.
Odette scrunched her hands into the feathers of her dress, fighting from showing her true feelings. Really, she wasn’t supposed to move at all. She couldn’t. For if anyone thought she’d in any way influenced the decision, Stefan would be imprisoned.
“Princess Odette.” Her name came from his lips in a whisper, like a caress, one that she couldn’t ignore, and yet had to.
“Very well. Here are the seven Princesses. If you can tell me which is my youngest, then she shall be yours to wed.”
She really wanted to wipe the smug smile off her father’s face. Just because no one had ever managed to beat his game before, didn’t mean that Stefan would fail too.
The man in question looked up and down the row of Princesses, his eyes lingering on her, and within seconds, he strode towards her and bowed.
“This is the Princess Odette.” His voice was strong and sure. He knew he was right, and for that she was glad.
One of the ever present servants stepped forward and untied the mask, pulling it away and revealing her face to the Court, and to the beaming Stefan.
“How?” she whispered.
“I told you, I find what I want.”
Epilogue
Stefan smiled as he watched the woman who would soon be his wife. She was sat by the open fire, playing with her twins and chattering away in a language he didn’t know. He guessed it was one that belonged to the swans.
He was almost reluctant to tell her that it was time for them to go back to his true home, and that their stay in his Mother’s old cottage was over. But if they didn’t return, then they wouldn’t be able to plan with his family about how to stop the tyranny that Ennardo was enacting. Stefan was sure that Odette wasn’t the first victim of his cruelty, nor would she be his last.
Only once they’d managed to get rid of the King who’d kidnapped her, and suppressed his own Court, would Odette truly be at peace. Then, she could take her place as regent for her son, and give Ennardo’s Kingdom the leadership it truly deserved. And he’d be by her, and her children, for every step of that journey.
Maybe then, her feathers would return to the snow white she’d been born with. But he doubted it. Pain and suffering had caused them to turn black, or at least, that’s what her Father had said. He’d softened a little when in private with Stefan and Odette, but still not enough. It hadn’t been until Odette told him that her people were cursed to stay in the palace, conforming to the rules that’d been there for centuries, that he’d truly understood. None of them had any choice. Odette was the first person to ever go missing or leave. He still hated that none of them seemed to care about what had happened to her while she was gone. But he understood now. Or at least, he understood a little.
But at least now she was free. Now she could fly whenever she wished, safe in the knowledge that she could return to a home where she was truly loved.
The End
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Clipped! I hope you enjoy it! I love fairy tales (just in case you couldn’t tell!) and this is the first of a set of four retellings which follow the children of the fairy tale characters in my main series, Beyond the Cursed, which starts with Awakening (books2read.com/AwakeningBeyondTheCurse). Also, thank you for even picking up this collection! It’s been amazing to organise something with so many fantastic and talented authors from around the globe, as well as close personal friends (who are super talented themselves). So, to them (and I hope they know who they are): thank you for making this whole thing possible!
A little more about me…
Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Paranormal Romance Author. Whether it’s witches, shifters or princesses, she writes the stories that just won’t leave her head.
While she’s not writing, Laura loves to read, bake and cook…apparently successfully!
You can find her books on her website:
http://www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk/
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The Quest
Paula Harmon
Day Eight
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me…
The Quest
Paula Harmon
Victorian Paranormal
In a parallel universe, dragons are used for fuel and the people who understand them are feared as spies and traitors. Dorissa and Menilly, estranged sisters descended from the dragon-people, are desperate to find their runaway brother before he falls victim to the urban underworld. But the mysterious Mr Beringer believes they are the only key to saving the country from revolution. Who can be trusted in a fog-bound city, which simmers with unrest and deceit?
1
Autumn Mission
‘Read all about it!’ yelled the boy on the corner opposite the steamway station. In the dusk, he waved newspapers in the faces of passers-by and raised his voice when they tried to side-step him.
‘Milkmaid Mayhem - sour milk thrown at Number 10, Dorning Street! Dissident dragon-defenders disrupt steamway underground plans! Anarchist Alert - where is the Queen?’
Two young women walked towards him arm in arm, heads close, chatting. Their faces were obscured by fashionable bonnets, frilled in tartan and shiny with silk. Long cloaks draped, concealing their forms from narrow shoulders to the bottom of wide skirts. Their feet were invisible as their hems were less than an inch from the pavement, giving them the impression of gliding.
One of the women paused to
buy a paper.
‘Those milkmaids are simply ordinary folk trying to make a living, just like you,’ she said. ‘Have you thought about that? Whose side are you on?’
‘The side what’s paying me, miss,’ answered the boy. ‘Why should I care about milk? I ‘aven’t had milk since I was a nipper. Them dairy maids - they need to get a job on the steamway - that’s what’s up and coming. Even a woman could find a job on the steamway nowadays. It’s what I’m gonna do, soon as they’ll take me. Or they could go up north and work in the mills, if the dragon-defenders stop trying to confistake the shaleys what they run off of.’
‘So you don’t like the dragon-defenders?’
‘Nah, how can you trust someone who can talk to things without speaking? They should go back to where they came from, I say. The people. Not the dragons. We needs the dragons. Gotta move with the times. Gonna buy a paper?’
She paid for one and took it from his inky hand.
‘Read all about it!’ yelled the boy, forgetting her existence.
Outside a haberdasher, the two women paused and consulted. Then the tall one with a slight limp went inside. The other, head on one side, peered at the goods within the window as if gauging their quality by sight alone.
A man drew near. Not so close that there was any chance he could appear to touch her, but close enough to be heard above the clatter of the carriages in the road, the whistles coming from the steamway station and the boy’s demands for passers-by to purchase the evening paper.
‘Did you read it?’ he said, very low.
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