━━ ⦗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 thirty-six! 036. the swan prince
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THERE WAS NOway she would be able to see him. Even as she hovered around near the entrance of his chambers, Odette could not enter. She could not sneak inside, nor could she ask▬he was dying; Arthur was dying, and the young handmaiden was unable to do anything about it. The King refused to leave his side that night, there were guards stationed outside of his door, Morgana only went in by herself and not even Ronyn could pull the right strings to let Odette see the Prince.
She kept glancing around the corner in the hallway, waiting for Ronyn to return. She fiddled with her fingers and paced, trying to calm her racing heart▬none of which worked. Odette chewed at her bottom lip, crouching down to sit▬hidden in the shadows of the table and tapestry. It was so late, and the events were so troubling, that she had a feeling no one cared about where she was.
Odette pulled her mother's clip from her hair and set it on her knees▬her dirty skirts that were worn-out from all the days she spent knelt on stone floors. She pursed her lips, forcing her tears back as she traced her fingers along the simple design. Arthur had made a promise that he would come back▬Odette supposed she should have made him promise to the world that he would come back alive and well.
Footsteps made her glance upwards. Immediately, Odette was on her feet as soon as she saw it was Ronyn. "H▬How is he?" she asked, her voice small.
His eyes were red around the rim▬he was trying very hard not to shed a tear himself. Ronyn shook his head, full of despair. Odette's knees quivered and she slowly sat back down, not sure whether she'd be able to keep herself standing for much longer.
"He cannot die," muttered the handmaiden. Ronyn sighed. He decided to sit down beside her. She hitched a sobbing breath. "He▬he cannot..."
"He is still breathing," offered Ronyn▬though he did not sound convinced. He sounded distant, dull and dry ... drifting off without even a thought of making it home. "Perhaps there is still hope."
Odette merely hung her head, pulling her legs closer and wrapping her arms tight around them. "He is supposed to one day be King."
"Perhaps he will be, still."
She met his gaze, upset▬Odette saw right through him. Ronyn sighed and gave it up, leaning his head back against the stone wall. The young handmaiden shook her head and admitting to Ronyn in a whisper: "He promised me. He promised me he would make it back and ..." she wiped away her tears quickly. "I cannot watch him die, Ronyn..."
He closed his eyes, pained. His voice was heavy and hoarse: "I know," he murmured. His voice dropped to a cracked whisper, too: "I know..."
The next morning, Arthur only grew worse. His fever had heightened, and his wound had started to grow infected▬his breathing was concerning, Gaius told Odette who demanded for information ... his body was starting to slowly shut down, painfully and in dreadful ways. News had begun to spread through the kingdom, and some of the people had begun to gather at the citadel gates, passing over gifts and sending messages with tears to the King. Some offered prayers and hope, determined to believe the Prince would live. Odette hoped that they were right.
