Barbie and the Swan Cake :)

Reuniting with Rothdaddy- UH i mean.. Rothbart.

With Odette's newfound firewood, she begins to make herself a nice, toastie fire, as she used to go on camping trips with her father all the time when she was younger, and he taught her all about surviving in the wild in case she ever got lost.

Odette lays down in her handmade leaf bed, and drifts off to sleep, thinking of the events of the day, and what will come tomorrow.

*~* THE NEXT MORNING *~*

Odette wakes to a mysterious shadow over her. As she opened her eyes slightly to see what it was, she hears a deep, raspy, alluring voice say to her,

"Good morning, Little Princess"

She knew exactly who this was. The man whom she could never forget. Rothbart.

"What are you doing here, Rothbart" Odette said sternly.

"Well, for starters, you stole my firewood..." Says Rothbart shyly with a sheepish grin.

"Oh... I am deeply sorry." Odette apologises embarrassingly.

Rothbart's grin gets wider, "Thats okay, Princess, im more than happy to share"

"Care to join me by the fire", Odette offers, "It's awful cold this morning."

Not that the fire was as big as it was several hours ago, however it was a nice gesture on Odettes part.

"Uh- Yes- sure.", Rothbart says hesitantly, "I wouldn't want to impose-"

"-not at all!" Odette interrupts.

Rothbart sits down sheepishly, as he does not know how to act in front of Odette, as last time they met was not the most pleasant. 

It is silent for a good 5 minutes, you can hear dripping of water, Odette notices Rothbart avoiding eye contact, looking everywhere but Odettes direction and twiddling his large, girthy nose nervously.

Odette looks over at Rothbart, studying him. She notices the differences in him since they last saw each other, his wrinkles have faded, his hair has changed from a dirty grey to a silverer shine; a shine which is as great as the most beautiful cutlery in the palace, a shine which emphasises his high cheekbones and facial structure. Odette gets goosebumps thinking about touching his hair and running her fingers through it.

He looks at her. Odette gathers her thoughts and starts a conversation.

"So", Odette says, breaking the tension, "where have you been the past three months? D-Did you think of me at all...?"

"Of course, i thought of you!" Rothbart replies, giving her a reassuring smile, "I have really been thinking about the kind of person i used to be, so hungry for power, i want to change and better myself. That is what I have been doing in these caves for three months." 

Odette projects an uncertain smile, happy that Rothbart wishes to better himself, but yet at the same time, she wishes it was for her that he was changing. Little does she know, it is.

"I must say, Rothbart, I did not expect this sudden change in you... I admire that." Odette says supportively, smiling still.

Rothbart does not reply. He just smiles, happy that Odette seems to be supportive of his new outlook on life, hopeful to one day gain her forgiveness.

After a little while of catching up and reminiscing, they hear some mysterious men shouting outside the cave.

"PRINCESS ODETTE, PRINCESS ODETTE!" They cried.

"Oh no! It's the palace guards! They're looking for me! We must hide." Odette exclaims.

"Come with me!" Rothbart says while putting out the fire to destroy the evidence. Rothbart then grabs Odettes hand and drags her to a nearby ditch in the side of the cave.

Odettes heart started racing. She had never been this close to Rothbart before. She loved it.