━━ ⦗the swan princess! ⦘
❝ you're beautiful!
thank you, but what else?
... what else is there? ... ❞
███████████ 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝
the courageous odette teaches the
once and future king a less...
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chapter eighteen! 018. magical hearts
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THE MARKETS were the love of the week. Everyone went down to spend their day chatting, wandering past exotic delicacies, artistry delights and everything a merchant, traveller or a worker from Camelot had to offer. Peasants, Lords, Ladies and royalty all mingled together for a day, caring little of who walked the streets with them. There were games in the streets where the children played▬trying to see who could land their ring around the wooden poles dug into the ground; trying to see how many pins they could knock down with their balls. Odette loved playing Kayles. They used to give the pins names; it made it more fun to knock them down. They might name them notable figures they fought a war against, ancient evil sorcerers, the ancient High Kings of the Five Kingdoms▬Odette often christened her's Arthur and Ronyn (just to see the looks on their faces whenever she played a game against them as a child).
When travelling through the markets with Gwen and Morgana, Odette couldn't stop herself when she saw a came of Kayles just by the side of the street. A group of children were setting up their third game of the morning, laughing and taunting each other with their balls and wooden sticks. She glanced at Morgana and Gwen, who both held already a basket full of fabric, jewellery and other trinkets they found at the stalls. Odette clutched her own basket, desperate to try and join the game▬even at her age.
"Have you played?" she asked them amongst the chatter of Market Day.
Morgana frowned, glancing over her shoulder at the children. "Kayles?"
Odette nodded, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Kayles," she said in a dramatic matter-of-fact tone. Then, without even asking permission, Odette passed her basket over to Gwen and raced around the people towards the street side where the children were setting up their game.
She giggled a little, stepping up onto the wooden plank set across the muddy trenches on the side of the street from last night's rain. "Hello!" she greeted as she walked across the plank with mocking arms set out to balance her. "Good day!"
The children glanced back as she made her way over. They shared glances. One of them held their Kayles ball protectively to their chest.
"Sorry," Odette landed on the other side, realising she must look so strange to alert herself to them. "Sorry▬hello, how are you? Is that Kayles you're playing?"
The eldest child would be no older than twelve. She tossed her ball in her hands, dressed in a tunic that didn't go past her shins baked with mud▬most definitely from earlier morning playful activities. "Yes, what is it to you?" she asked.
Odette grinned shyly, "I love Kayles. Can I play a game with you?"
The children shared another glance. They were rather unsure. But then the youngest▬a boy of six, stepped forward and handed her his ball himself. Odette's grin broadened and she took it, "Thank you," she told the little boy.
