The Swan Princess & The Swan Princess 2

Chapter One

{Alivia's POV}

I awoke to a quick start, my heart pounding out of it's chest. Sweat dripping down my neck, my hair soaked and my hands were shaking. Another nightmare. I could feel myself being trapped once more in the body of the Swan. Rupert's dark magic swallowing my thoughts. Entering and violating my body and mind to where I was no longer in control. 

Beside me I heard Grant snoring, none the wiser of the constant nightmares that shadowed my thoughts. It had been two whole years and yet so much had happened. Not only between Grant and I's relationship, but the whole kingdom seemed to be much different than I remembered it to be. 

Slowly I pulled back the covers, and stepped my feet onto the cool polished floor. Giving a small sigh, I grabbed my shawl and decided a walk around the castle seemed to do me some good. Carefully, trying not to wake Grant I wandered the halls. I didn't bring a candle with me, which thinking now, I should've. 

However, I noticed since I became a Swan, I was much more active at night. I could see better. My peripheral vision was fantastic and I had a new knack for sensing out danger when I could not before. I was a rather...gullible child. 

My hands followed the cobblestone walls, walking the same path I did usually when my sleep was abruptly ruined due to an overwhelming nightmare. Taking deep breaths as I let my mind focus on the walls and not what I just dreamed of. 

I stopped when I reached the corridor of Grant's mother, Eugenia. She was a light sleeper, which I discovered one night during a walk when I found her opening her door and whispering out into the night "Whose there? I can hear you!" 

I didn't have the nerve to inform her that it was me that night and not a stranger wanting to kidnap her and turn her into some form of beast but whenever I tried too, my mouth stayed firmly shut. 

Cautiously I tip toed past Eugenia's double doors and continued walking through my usual nighttime routine. Passing the grand windows, Brandin and Emma's doors and down the grand staircase. 

What would Grant do, if he knew I was walking aimlessly around the castle alone at night?  I scoffed at myself. I knew he'd be mad. The poor man can't even stand it when I go into town with just Eugenia and Roger, a couple I never would have assumed would have merged together. 

"You can't just roam around Alivia. You're a Queen, for one. Two, you've already been marked as an easy target...what's to stop the next dark wizard from keeping you prisoner again?" That had actually been a rather sporting argument the two of us hashed out more often than frequent. 

I knew my past mistakes, my history with dark wizards. Which is why I made it Brandin and Rogers mission to locate and destroy any and all wizard remains at Rupert's castle. Antonio and Elise found everything they could and from what Roger and Brandin tell me, burned it all. 

Brandin, and his wife Emma, Duke and Duchess of Liversteam had taken over my family castle and remained there for a majority of the year, as an easier correspondence for those that lived on the opposite side of Lake Purity, which was the large lake that separated Liversteam and Kurtley. So, Grant and I would be able to limit our travel time. 

The Duke and Duchess had two children now, a son named Derek, and a new baby girl named Odette. Derek, the three year old, and Odette the one year old. They were beautiful children, smart like their father and beautiful like their mother. 

Roger took to tutoring the two and rather enjoyed it. He often claimed "It is by far easier teaching these angels than their father and their cousin!" I would often chuckle knowing how uninterested in anything Grant was as a child. 

Children...another thing than burdened my mind. Grant and I had been desperately trying to have an heir, a child to love. I fear my mother's genes were stronger in me than I originally believed. For like my mother, there is yet to be a child in our future. 

"Your majesty!" I shot up from my position sitting on the staircase, to notice there was a housemaid walking up towards me. 

"It's rather early for you to be awake! What are you doing out here all by yourself?" As the young lady walked closer, I realized it was Eugenia's ladies maid, Helga. I couldn't think of anything to say, other than the truth and before I realized it, I had already answered. 

"I woke up early this morning and found myself walking around the palace. Am I in the way?" Helga immediately curtsied and walked closer towards me on the stairs. 

"No, your majesty, but...if you don't mind me saying so, The Lady Eugenia requested that I wake her up rather early today, it's Festival Days planning at dinner and she wanted to be prepared." I felt a headache come on as I was reminded that today was the meeting for Festival Days....the worst Festival I'd ever heard of. 

Every year, Kurtley celebrated the fall harvest, a brilliant thing... but no, in honor of the harvest, they only had one thing. An obstacle course, where one could win a trophy. A small, useless thing. The only participants are Grant, Brandin and occasionally the young lad. 

In my opinion, it's really just one of the ways Grant would secretly celebrate my absence. You see, Festival Days comes around in the Fall, which is exactly not even a month after my father and I would leave to return home from our summer with Eugenia and Grant. So of course Grant's nostalgia would forever be in tune with Festival Days. 

"Oh, yes. I seemed to of forgotten that was today. Thank you for reminding me Helga, I will head up and go back to my rooms." Helga smiled and walked a kind distance behind me on the staircase to Eugenia's room. 

However, I wasn't aware than Grant would have been eagerly waiting for me to return from my nightly walk (which took longer than I originally planned, thanks to my wandering mind) sitting on the bed, rather intensely glaring at the door. 

"Alivia, where have you been?" It was then, that I truly realized just how mad Grant was. Honestly, men.

Well, there it is, the first official chapter of the second book! Goodness I am actually really excited about this. I hope to make this book more detailed and certifiably longer than the original. If you are all still out there, please, comment share ideas, opinions, thoughts...things you WANT to see in this next book, things you don't want to see, etc. 

Thank you again,

thequeen2375