Swan Lake - The fallen Kingdom

Chapter One

Inspired by "A Throne of Swans" by Elizabeth Corr and Katharine Corr.

Edited by my best friend, BK.

Father was dead.

Died, allegedly, from a heart attack, of all things. Did they actually expect anyone to buy that? Father's medical history was squeaky clean, and his health as good as everybody else, and yet - yet, that is what the doctor had informed me, his mouth set in a grim line, head bowed in sorrow. For God's sake, I didn't even get to see his body; after all, they didn't let me, as if the whole thing wasn't suspicious enough. The whole thing reeked of malicious intent and murderous secrets - did they really think me so dumb as to be clueless on what was going on? Father had been killed, I was sure of it - too many things didn't add up, the circumstances behind all of this were incredibly shady, and the very thought of someone assassinating Father made my fists clench hard enough to draw blood.

My footsteps echoed throughout the hallways as the silence rang in my ears, silver chandelier glinting ever so slightly in the dim light, paintings adorned at the side as if ready to jump to life at any moment. The castle had never been this quiet before - now that Father was gone, I truly was all alone. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, threatening to spill as something tugged at my chest, a deep well of emotion, of grief, that threatened to reign free, but I shoved it down promptly - I couldn't fall apart, not here, not now. The feeling was familiar, disgustingly so; I grudgingly recalled Mother's death 6 years prior.

The memory was still fresh in my mind, crystal clear, untainted by the passage of time. It had been dinner, and I was eagerly shoving my pudding aside, showing her my magic progress when she had coughed, a horrible, hoarse sound that would stay etched in my mind for a long time to come, as crimson red blood splattered on the table, on my face; she fell, face-down, onto the floor, and I was too young to fully understand what was going on but my blood ran cold anyway. Medical had been called immediately, and the imperial doctor examined her, colour steadily draining from his face.

"Your highness, I regret to inform you that the Duchess has passed on." he had said, expression twisted into something unrecognisable.

That was the first, and last, time I had ever seen my father cry.

I loved Mother, and then she was gone. Now, Father? Father too? The tight feeling in my gut unfurled slowly again, and I didn't even bother to get rid of it this time. Instead, I let the hot tears flow down my cheeks silently, because everyone I'd ever loved had left me, and despair hung over like a tight blanket, suffocating me.

Then and there, I made a silent vow to the heavens, to my parents, but most importantly, to myself.

I'll find who did this to you, Father, I swore, closing my eyes. And then I'll make them pay a thousand times over.

At that point, I had already reached my room and was appraising my disheveled, unkempt reflection in the mirror with disapproval. The door cracked open with a knock, and I jumped at the sudden sound. "Your highness, it's time," Lord Lancelot, my advisor, said, tactfully not mentioning my tear-streaked cheeks.

I gave him a curt nod. "I'll be there," I said, gratified to hear my voice come out steady and strong. He cast me one last worried look and left as I gritted my teeth and wiped away the last of my pathetic tears. Carefully, I took off my tiara and set it on the vanity, hands trembling only slightly.

"Come on, Prince. " I told the figure at my side. Prince was an Onu wolf, the last of his kind - his clan had been wiped out, just like mine. Perhaps that was part of the reason I felt such a kinship with him. His snow-white fur was soft to the touch, with only the slightest hint of ice-blue at the tips of its tail and ears; I stroked him absentmindedly, running my hands through his coat smoothly.

When the flighted - the modern term for shapeshifters like me - touched either animals or the flightless, the flighted would cause their skin to freeze. In other words, if the former held on for too long, the flightless' arms or legs would eventually fall off, crashing into ice cubes. As a result of this, society had become segregated into two very distinct portions; the flightless, afraid for their lives, went out of their way to avoid the flighted, and the flighted had very limited contact with animals as well.

But not the Onu wolves - they were the exception.

These particular species of wolves were magical - amazingly, they could even understand our language. They had something called Freeze-Breath; in other words, they could freeze practically anything. Mother and I had found him 7 years ago in the forest, fur matted with blood, bleeding to death. Prince had been just a baby then. We had taken him back to the castle and nursed him back to health.

He was very unpleasant at first; he would growl and snap at whoever so much as dared to touch him. I used to have bite marks all over my hands, scars still faintly visible till today. It took a while, but he warmed up to us eventually - he became a part of our family. He was just as sad as I was when Mother passed on. Now that everyone had left, it was just me and him in this lonely, lonely world

Prince wagged his tail and followed behind me like a butler. We arrived at the shore. All the nobles of Avenor were here for the last flight of the prince. They wore long black cloaks, loosely tied to their bodies. They took off their cloaks and bent down to the floor, transforming from human to bird. The sky filled with eagles, ravens, herons and all breeds of birds as the nobles take off to the sky. But there were no swans. After Father passed away, there were no swans left in Avenor. Adopted into a swan family, I, unfortunately, was not a swan myself. Swans were one of the most graceful and royal birds, but they couldn't compare to my clan.

My ancestors, the Phoenixes, came from ancient times before the Swan clan even existed. However, the Phoenixes had been 'extinct' ever since 17 years ago. My whole clan had been wiped out when Prince George, my father's elder brother, conquered Auston and became the King. Mother had told me that she found me on the doorsteps on 17 August, the same day the Phoenixes were wiped out.

I took off my cloak, soaring into the sky. To make me look like a Swan from afar, my feathers were dyed a snowy, pure white. Of course, if anyone took a closer look, they would see that I obviously was not a Swan - but as long as nobody scrutinised me too closely, I would be safe.

If they found out that a descendent of the previous royal family of Auston was still alive, I would be killed in a heartbeat.

Hence, this had to be kept a secret. In the whole of Avenor and Auston, only four people knew my secret. Father, Mother, Lord Lancelot and I. Or... rather, only two people knew now, seeing as how half of those people were dead.

Now, the boat, carrying my father's corpse, was set on fire in a blaze of bright, blinding flames. I flew out to sea, following the boat with an empty heart. The nobles followed a safe distance behind me. The hollow feeling in my ribcage faded into a dull rage as I watched the last of my so-called family burned into ashes.