SIX, SECRET STORY OF THE SWAN

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EIGHT YEARS AGO,

"WHAT WAS THE name idea?" They sat in the comfort of Remiel's apartment, exchanging quiet Mandarin. Dick and Remiel had gone off to buy more food at the supermarket downstairs, Daniel had gone home to start packing for his trip to Gotham, and Cecily was in the other apartment they'd bought in the building. Just her and Damian, sat around the dining table, a plate of fruit shared between them.

It was their first night in Hong Kong. Yu Lan would be lying if she said she wasn't bustling with excitement. It was so different from what she was used to. All the LED lights illuminating the night sky. Nothing like the darkness that befell her forest in the evenings.

Earlier, in the car ride home, Damian had said that he'd come up with a good idea for her English name. Yu Lan was simple enough, but she did want an English name. She wanted a name she chose. Something she could hear and not think about the Eyu Sect. About the people who died. About her past. It would feel like a clean break from everything before. A reason to look forward to this new life.

She'd only just started learning English—she was still working on the alphabets, but she had a good memory. It wouldn't take too long, hopefully, especially with so many people helping her.

"I assume you've never heard of Swan Lake?" Damian leaned forward. "It's a ballet."

"What's a ballet?" Remiel frowned, testing the word on her lips. Ba lei. She'd never heard of that word before, even in Mandarin.

"It's a type of dance. Swan Lake. Do you want me to tell you the story?"

"Yeah. Of course. What does this have to do with names, though?"

"Well..."

It was a little while later that he'd finished the story, since Yu Lan kept pausing him as he spoke to ask questions. By the time he was done, she was silent, contemplating. She knew why he'd suggested this, of course. He knew she liked swans. He'd seen her feed the swans in her forest, throwing them pieces of man tou, and the way she'd said goodbye to all of them before leaving.

But he wouldn't know how much this story fitted her. And hopefully, he never would.

"I was thinking," Damian murmured, unsure what to make of her silence, "you could consider the name Odette. Like the main character."

But her mind was elsewhere. "What was the name of that other girl? The daughter of the wizard? The one transformed to look like Odette at the ball?"

Damian's brows raised. "Her? Odile. Her name's Odile."

"Can I be called that? O...dile? How is that written?"

"She's not a good guy in the story, though."

"It's boring being named after the good guys." Yu Lan flashed him a cheeky grin. "What if I take the villain's name and give it new life, you know? Like, oh, we all thought people called that are horrible and bad, but you've really given it a new meaning! How cool would that be?" A break from the past... Odile felt more suitable than Odette. She was not a girl waiting to be saved.

Damian looked faintly amused. "I'll show you how it's spelt. You don't need to decide anything yet. It's just a possibility."

She nodded, of course, but she didn't tell him that her mind was already set on it.

Odile.

Such a pretty name. So fitting as well. One day, she'd be able to pronounce it without sounding so incredibly awkward. Hopefully, as quickly as possible. But at the same time, she also had to learn Cantonese on the side.

SWAN SONG / damian wayneWhere stories live. Discover now