The Swan Princess

Chapter 35: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed...

"Move!" I shout, running through the halls. Annalise, Emilia, and Margo carry my train, rushing me through each hallway. Up a stairwell. Down a banister. Through the kitchen shortcuts, cooks looking up from their cutting boards in confusion.

The white dress makes me so much more heavy, that I'm exerting myself just hustling through this familiar path.

When I reach the Great Room, I throw open the double doors with a mighty groan.

"Announcing: Princess Insun, Odette Von Rothbart, the real Swan Princess!" Annalise's voice echoes across the room. Heads turn toward me.

I sink to the ground in a curtsy, slow enough to make sure everyone in the room has turned to watch. Let them make the connection. Princess Insun, Odette, and the white swan that terrorizes this place are all one.

Odile's murderous glare confuses the witnesses, who whip their heads between the two of us. The imposter, and the original.

"Who are you?" Odile grasps.

"I am Odette Von Rothbart. I am your sister, the first of the the Von Rothbart line, and the best enchantress in the family." I draw my arms up in a circle, causing pink sparks to light up the air. Odile steps back.

"I am the true Princess Insun of Joseon. My mother's coup succeeded," I wink at her, "and a refugee I am no more." The pink sparks land on me, transforming my white dress into a pink hanbok. The garment flows out, showing the flair of my homeland.

"Lastly," I step forward, a menacing grin on my face. Odile can't look away. "I am the true swan princess." I jump up, transforming into swan mid-flight, flapping my arm to levitate mid-air. The tiara shrinks to rest on my head, and I twirl in my bird form. Courtiers cover their mouths in shock. Queen Sera gives me an almost imperceptible nod of approval. Sieg, who had initially been whirling between looking at Odile and myself, now stares directly at me. I've never seen a more proud gaze in my life.

I land down in my wedding dress, causing it to poof and expand around me.

"Odile, leave the prince's side,

Force your illusion of me to subside,

Be grateful I choose not to strike you dead,

For your desperate attempts to get a crown on your head!"

Odile's illusion sputters and fades, revealing her normal face in the devastatingly simple black dress. Sieg cackles, and gasps and confusion fill the conversation of the audience. Queen Sera yanks Odile by the arm, pulling her away.

"No!" she shrieks. "Marry me! Choose me! Pick me!" she screams desperately.

"Odette, you scheming witch," she hisses,

"Mute yourself, bitch," I complete. Sieg laughs wickedly.

Odile's lips clamp together, and she's dragged out.

The rose petals, which had fallen to the bottom of their glass container, started to rise and re-assemble around the bud.

"Do you like my dress?" I smile under my lashes at Sieg, then spin coyly. He claps in delight, delighting the white feathers that catch air and soar.

"That's my beautiful bride."

Annalise, who was waiting behind me, links arms with me and leads me forward.

The product's of Prince Siegfried's scheming are all here and watching. My old friend, the mirror, is seated in the front row. My mother, with her tearful gaze, siting beside it. I give her a wink as I proceed to the top of the altar, and the orchestra starts the wedding march.

I reach the end, and Sieg gazes at me with devotion.

Keeping his eyes on my, he lifts up the glass container to his right. Then, with a reverent gentleness, he places the rose in my hand, and wraps his hands around mine.

"Odette, to you, this is a rose, but to me, this is my heart. "

I hold it to me, more precious than any bouquet.

"Sieg, I love you in every variation — the lone and fearsome wolf, the noble and gallant knight, and the scheming, devoted prince."

He gazes down, his eyes blurring behind a film of tears.

"Odette, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I whisper, and go up on my tiptoes to kiss him.

My old rival.

My new fascination.

My borrowed companion.

My blue-eyed true love.

My prince.

The end :)