Swan Lake

Well at the end of the world

Etienne drove for a long time through the forest, he was heading to the place where legends about damned beauties are born, to the swan lakes. By evening, he got lost and was only glad to see a small tavern behind the trees, in a clearing.

The prince entered the tavern and sat down at one of the empty tables. A servant immediately approached him with a jug of wine. Pouring wine into a glass, she whispered:

“If you want to save your life, leave here!”

“I don’t understand,” he burst out, but she hurriedly moved away from the prince, the owner himself was approaching him.

“Welcome to our land,” he greeted Etienne. “Are you a traveler?”

“Yes,” Etienne confirmed, “I'm just lost and can't find my way, I'm here by accident.”

“Maybe you are looking for something, no one just wanders here. The whole world knows the bad reputation of this place.”

“No,” Etienne assured him, “in my country they don't know anything about this place.”

“Your country?” the owner grinned, “you want to say that you are the prince of some country.

“No,” Etienne hastily lied, “no, that you, I’m just a poor traveler,” he assured him, and at the same moment he thought what his friends, mother and brother would say if they knew about his adventure.

“Well,” said his involuntary interlocutor, “you disappointed me.”

“Believe me, I didn't want that,” Etienne turned away from him and was about to end the conversation, but the innkeeper did not want to leave him, as if he was trying to get something from the young prince.

“You are from afar,” he asked.

“I can't say,” said Etienne, “this place is probably far from my country, but I don't even know where I am and what kind of tavern it is.”

“Trust me,” the owner assured him, “this is the best tavern in the whole world.”

“The best?” Etienne chuckled.

“Yes, here you can find not only wine, food and snacks, but also everything that the human heart wants.”

“And what is it?”

“Otherworldly forces,” the owner whispered to him so that no one else could hear.

“Are you laughing?” Etienne burst out, but the owner only shook his head mysteriously.

“Whatever you want will be here, no matter you are a prince or a simple wanderer, the dark forces help everyone without a choice, just call them. You know about the castle of the witch's roses or about its master.”

Etienne shook his head, but he began to suspect that something was wrong.

“What are you trying to say?” Etienne burst out, and the owner moved a little away from him.

“That you are finished, Prince Etienne,” he said, smiling slyly, like a snake.

This smile pissed off Etienne, how the owner of the tavern at the end of the world could know about the prince of another kingdom. There is not much time left for blurring. At the same moment, knights in black burst into the tavern, the black knights of the king of evil, and there were many of them.

“Here it is,” shouted their head, “death to Prince Etienne!”

Etienne drew his sword, the first blow he put down one of the black knights, but there were too many of them. Etienne retreated and suddenly faced another enemy. He put his sword to the stranger's chest. Suddenly, the helmet that covered his head fell off, and waves of dazzling blond hair fell over his shoulders, so beautiful it was hard to believe. Miraculously, Odette stood in front of him in the clothes of a young man.

“Odette!” not believing himself, he whispered.

“Etienne!” burst out from her.

“I've been looking for you all over the world,” he said, forgetting about the battle and danger.

“I was looking for you,” she replied.

Etienne and Odette retreated before the onslaught of the black knights. Odette pressed herself against the wall, and suddenly something crunched in her, and Odette found herself on a dark staircase leading down somewhere. The door slammed shut behind them.

"Is it a trap again," Etienne whispered.

“This is our salvation,” Odette said, grabbing his arm. The staircase was lit by rare torches. There was only one thing left for them, to go down. There was no turning back and could not be, but Etienne nevertheless found Odette and was happy

“God, where have you been?” he asked.

“Don’t ask me about it,” Odette whispered sadly, “I’m not in my power to confess everything to you.”

“I found you, and this is the main thing,” he said, “but promise that you will not disappear again as before.”

“I can't,” Odette shook her head sadly, “you almost killed me.”

“I didn't know it was you.”

“One more minute, and you would have said that to my corpse.”

“And, how could I think that you changed the princess dress for the outfit of a poor boy and instead of palaces you go to taverns.”

“Why don't I have the right?” Odette laughed.

“I would never have known you,” he admitted.

“At first you were a lover of taverns, now I, what's the difference,” - she smiled.

“We must both look very stupid.”

“It seems that so, you became a prince - a traveler, and I disguised as a boy, it already looks like romance, isn't it?”

“I have always loved you,” he honestly admitted, but she hastened to turn away, because now she was a swan princess, not an earthly girl.

“Where are we?” Odette asked, looking around.

“Perhaps we are already in the next world, although I imagined hell a little differently, and even more so, heaven,” said Etienne.

“Black knights, what did they want?” burst out from her.

“They were looking for me, or maybe both of us.”

“They serve the king of evil.”

“Rothbert?”

“Yes, he is the king of evil, one cannot escape his witchcraft.”

“I heard,” said Etienne, “that he shares his power over the world with dark forces, and that he ...

“Turns girls into swans,” she finished.

“Yes.”

“And you think that this is just an invention of ordinary people or a fairy tale?”

“I don’t know,” he replied.

“This is reality, but it looks so much like a fairy tale or a legend, doesn't it?”

“Can this really happen?”

“Why not,” Odette replied in a strange way, and her eyes darkened.

“I found you, and that’s the main thing,” said Etienne.

“You think so?” she grinned, “but we need to somehow get out of this labyrinth, if there is a way out at all.”

Suddenly a beam of light fell on their path, it was bright, but there was some kind of magic in it.

“Where do you think we will go?” Etienne asked involuntarily.

“Probably to the very end of the world,” Odette replied.

The light grew brighter. Here they again found themselves in the fresh air, They stood next to some ancient and beautiful gate.

“Maybe we’ll come in?” Etienne suggested.

They entered the open gate and found themselves in a stone courtyard in front of a small stone well.

“Well at the end of the world,” smiled Odette, “I have never seen anything like it, but maybe there is someone here, although I doubt it.”

“Most likely, this is a deserted place.”

“Maybe elves live here,” Odette said, laughing, although she still didn't know what the joke would cost her.

“Is there anybody here?” called Etienne.

“I’m afraid that if someone sees us,” Odette glanced at her boy's clothes, “then we will be mistaken not for elves, but for vagabonds.”

“You have elf hair,” said the prince.

Suddenly something gurgled at the bottom of the well.

Etienne rushed to the well.

“Look,” he burst out, “there is still water in it.”

“So fairies don’t live there,” Odette replied, “or are they hiding under the water, your highness?”

“The prince is always ready to serve you,” Etienne smiled, “you are also a princess, albeit in a boy's outfit, but because of you, Odette, I am ready to break up with the whole family,” he quietly added to himself, “unless of course you not a fairy.”

A smile could barely stay on her lips.

“And what if I’m a fairy,” she asked sadly, not expecting a kind answer.

“I don’t care,” Etienne admitted from the bottom of his heart, and she darkened a little, sadness ran across her face, she now had nothing but the plumage of a swan and the command of the magical night.

“What are we going to do,” Odette asked, turning away from the well.

“We’ll think of something,” Etienne decided. “Stay here, and I will try to find someone alive if there are any people here.”

He glanced at Odette one last time, as if he had a presentiment that something bad was about to happen to them, and went out through the gate to look for a way to salvation. Odette leaned toward the well and her blonde hair fell over her face. The water below shone mysteriously, it seemed that something dark and terrible was hidden behind it, the secret world of elves and fairies.

Suddenly Odette saw at the bottom of the well, instead of water, a face similar to her own. A beauty with black hair who appeared to her in her dreams. There was a whisper:

“You have a sister, princess, you have a sister.”

The black princess, about whom legends were made and songs were sung, could not be her relative, or ...

A flash of lightning, and now three witches stood in front of her, appearing here, as if from the dreams of her childhood. She drew back at first, but then forced herself to show courage.

“Princess,” one of them hissed, “here the boundaries of the mortal world end, there is nothing for man to do.”

“I'm not a man anymore,” Odette threw up her blonde head sadly and proudly.

“No, you are half human, princess is a swan, you have nothing to do here, this is our abode, and only supernatural beings can penetrate here, the one who violates the boundaries of the world of life and the world of witchcraft is doomed to death.”

“This is an ordinary well,” Odette was confused.

“No,” sounded the fatal answer, “this is a well at the end of the world, a repository of dark forces, but you cannot know this, you do not even know your own sister, who has become a beautiful devil.”

“I have no sister.”

But only a devilish laugh was her answer, the witches laughed and did not want to explain why.

“Your sister is a demon, your childhood friend is a dark prince,” came the reply, “you shouldn't have come here.”

“I didn't know,” Odette blurted out.

“Leave, or you will die,” the witch ordered. All three devilish figures disappeared into thin air, bursting into flames, and Odette remained at the lonely well.

It was necessary to leave here as soon as possible, but where did Etienne go. It's time to be saved, but as always he is not there. Odette looked around in despair.

“Go away,” sounded in the silence, but Odette did not take a step, and then the shaggy figure of a witch, which appeared out of nowhere, pushed her into the well with her long clawed hand. Odette plunged into complete darkness.

She woke up, a bright light hit her eyes. Odette was not at the bottom of a well, but in a sunny valley between the mountains. A special world opened before her, hidden at the bottom of an old abandoned well - the world of elves.

Tiny beautiful girls with wings, fairies, fluttered around the wonderful flowers. Odette was also no longer in the attire of a young man, but in a wonderful white ball gown. White flowers were woven into her hair. Her outfit was like a bride's dress, but who Odette herself was in the world of magic.

A wonderful white, with orange spots, butterfly flew up to her, as if calling her after him. Odette answered her call. She walked and then ran along a beautiful meadow with flowers illuminated by the sun, but the butterfly did not disappear from view until it led her to a high rock. There was no further way, but suddenly the rock parted, freeing Odette a passage into a huge hall, where a butterfly guide immediately flew in.

Odette froze on the threshold in silent admiration. She found herself at a magical ball of fairies and elves. Over the magnificent dresses of the ladies, long wings sparkled, like those of butterflies, pink, greenish, scarlet and blue, the gentlemen were dressed in suits of green brocade, decorated with leaves. In the middle there was a magic mirror, and in it everyone was reflected in a golden glow.

The butterfly accompanying Odette flew into the middle of the hall and flashed with a bright fire, and now a girl of marvelous beauty was already standing in front of her, in a white dress and with golden wings on her back, with her hand she held a golden mask to her face, her hair was the same light, like Odette's.

The girl was probably the queen of this ball, but then she took off the mask, and Odette froze in surprise, her own face was looking at her. Was her mother resurrected in the elf world?

“Diana,” she called her mother's name uncertainly, and she smiled back at her.

“I was expecting you,” she said, and went to the magic mirror, in which gold dust immediately scattered, and the wind blew on Diana's hair.

“You're my mother,” Odette asked uncertainly.

‘Yes, and I brought you here to save you.”

Her words sounded quiet, but a clear voice echoed throughout the hall, and everything was quiet around except him.

“Salvation in one, you must stay with me in the world of elves,” said Diana, and her eyes sparkled mysteriously, they had some kind of magical light that was not inherent in her during her lifetime. Dressed in her dress, the bride froze in anticipation, she alone was a bright bride - a person in the world of magic.

Etienne, meanwhile, returned to the well. He couldn't find anyone in this strange, deserted place. Suddenly, at the well, he saw a piece of Odette's clothes. understood everything and without fear jumped after her into the enchanted well.

Odette stood in the parting crowd of elves in the middle of the room and did not understand anything. In the ensuing silence, the sound of hurried steps was heard, a young man, dressed in all black, was approaching her, an aura of darkness and magic emanated from him. Odette realized at once that it was he, the dark prince, the lord of the elves.

“Richard,” she whispered.

“Come with me, Odette,” he said, “come with me, and you will become my eternal lover for ever, tell me that you love me as much as I love you.”

“Yes,” escaped from Odette, “yes, I love you, prince of elves.”

At that moment, her dress really seemed like a wedding attire, but her groom was in all black, he was an elf, not a man. She was in the arms of the fairy lord.

Another moment, and a fiery kiss would have burned her lips, but suddenly the mirror of magic behind them shattered from the blow of a sharp dagger, and Odette saw Etienne in front of her.

She looked at him with regret and dismay, what was she supposed to do now, but before the fragments of the magic mirror burst into flames, Etienne grabbed Odette's hand, and they rushed away.

“Etienne, I have to tell you ...” Odette uttered, panting from the fast run.

“Nothing matters now,” Etienne said. “We have to get out of here.”

They ran out of the cliff and raced across the glittering meadow, but the sun disappeared behind blue clouds, a terrible wind blew from nowhere, and a terrible thunderstorm burst right over their heads. At that moment, the meadow seemed endless, but they ran forward and would never turn back.

Odette fled with her last strength, and behind them on black horses rushed riders - elves in dark clothes, their horses were faster than the wind, but there was no way to catch up with the lovers, only Etienne did not know one thing, that he loves a girl - a swan, and not an earthly one princess, as he believed.

Etienne and Odette ran to the place where the well was supposed to begin, but there was no longer a hint of it. Suddenly in front of them, like a wall, one of the witches, whose eyes were missing, and she grabbed Odette's hand.

“You shouldn't have come here,” she said in a menacing, hissing voice, “now you will never see a human day.”

But Etienne threw the witch aside, and at that very moment, at the stone wall, someone threw a rope from above to them so that they could get out of the well.

“This is a lie?” Odette asked involuntarily.

“This is our last salvation,” said Etienne.

Odette grabbed the rope, followed by Etienne, and now they were at the well, but then they saw that the whole well was surrounded by the black knights of the king of evil Rothbert.

They were trapped, there was nowhere to run, but Etienne noticed several black horses behind the knights. The squad leader moved towards him, his eyes glittering with triumph.

“Well, well, dear prince,” said his enemy, laughing, “now your death is closer than ever.”

But Etienne, as soon as the opponent approached him, thrust his dagger straight into his heart, spattered blood and, taking advantage of the temporary turmoil, Etienne grabbed Odette's hand and ran to where he saw the horses. They jumped into their saddles and, before the black horde had time to recover, galloped away from their own death.

Was the victory really given to them so easily, it was hard to believe in it. The black army was already galloping after them.

“Odette,” Etienne whispered.

“We need to split up,” she replied.

“But where will we meet?”

“By the swan lakes,” she said in a strange way, “but you can only come there if you have the courage to love me after what you find out there.”

“I will come, no matter what it costs me,” Etienne spurred his horse, Odette followed him, and now they parted on two different roads, but Etienne knew for sure that they would meet again, and then the moment that they had been waiting for all their a life.