The Swan's Wish

Resolve

Derek

Tugging at the collar of the striped polo, I flexed every muscle up and down my back. My eyes had remained closed just a tad too long, however, for I heard the verbal cue from my man telling me it was time to exit the car. Taking a stiff breathe, I braced for the throng that was always waiting.

"Over here! Over here! Smile! Let us have a look at the grown-up troublemaker!"

"That's a tasty prince! Yes! Derek! Do you have any comments on Rothbart's arrival?"

"Derek, can we have a wedding update?"

"What a brooding face. Can't we have a smile, ol' boy?"

Nothing in me could conjure happiness. Not for these people. We made our way up to the open doors, my hands throwing tiny waves to a group of children waving the flag bearing both Denmark and English colors in honor of the betrothal. "Two fates becoming one... in the sight of God and everyone." I had read that quote in an American magazine months ago. There was always some new angle on the Royal Couple and the alleged Hot Goss happening between young royals. It never failed to amuse me, given Odette and I hadn't spoken in person for years when that article had surfaced.

"Your Highness, follow us this way." A troupe of serious looking men and women engulfed me into their group, escorting me to a private area at the back of the venue. There was an odd tingle of excitement hanging in the air. The room was buzzing in unison, instead of the usual casual chatter that danced across people's conversations. Many eyes darted over to me, with words being passed behind hands. Looking to my man, I asked the obvious. "What's going on, exactly?"

His jaw clenched in consternation. "Baron von Rothbart has arrived without announcement or invitation."

My pulse quickened, the sound of blood pounding through my body rebounding in my ears. "Odette?"

He nodded. "They are locating her now." He touched the tiny dot hovering over his ear, catching the latest sets of instructions from the guard, no doubt. "I need to see her as soon as possible," I reiterated.

"Yes, sir." His eyes flicked back and forth as they rushed us down the ill-lit hallway. Florescent lights were blinking in ominous flare, setting the scene for something as sinister as Shakespeare.

"Derek!" Princess Charlotte was on her feet as soon as they brought me into the safe room. "Have they told you?" Her fingers clutched the pearl cluster on her neck.

"Yes," I answered bleakly. Silently. "How...?" The words hung in the air. Everyone here looked as confused and as alarmed as I did.

"We have no idea," she whispered, slinking into the flimsy folding chair someone had set out for her. "No idea." Charlotte's normally bubbly personality was replaced with something quite frail. Her eyes were pressed tightly together, her lips mirroring that pressure as her hands wrung lightly in her lap. "I was just reminiscing of Charles, and his love for this event." A clear tear slid from the corner of her lashes, making a tiny trail down the side of her face. "How can this man taint every good thing I have?" The amount of emotion in her voice brought a flood of memories with it.

The scandal of murder. The magazine's incessant coverage of the palace. The paparazzi hounding the trial. The sabotage. The betrayal. The law that never seemed to be on Prince Charles' side.

"I'm so sorry, Charlotte." Dropping down to one knee beside her, I scooped one of her hands into mine.

"How he wasn't stripped of his title and banished into exile... Where was my country when I need them?" She quietly wailed. "He made promises. Everyone there that day heard him." She sniffed into her handkerchief. "He promised he would watch the House of Cromwell burn before he died. And now he's here!"

I watched the shaking of her shoulders for a moment more before standing to my feet. Resolve that resembled steel came and settled into my backbone. Odette was my future, and there was no way that Rothbart was going to steal her away from me.