I would like to thank Autobot00001 for beta reading and helping me improve!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Swan Princess. The Swan Princess is owned by Richard Rich.

Chapter 3

For the next three weeks, Derek taught Odette how to defend herself. He taught her how to fight with a sword, as well as with a bow and arrow. Odette got the hang of it rather quickly. She was even better than when they were young children. Odette may not have been the best archer at first, and she was a better sword fighter than Derek. Regardless, Derek attempted to teach her archery. She struggled to hit the target at first, but with Derek's encouragement and teaching, she was able to hit the target. Not long afterwards, Odette was hitting the bullseye consistently, as if she had been an expert all along. While she was able to hit the bullseye at a high rate, Odette had yet to make any attempts at hitting a moving target. Since Odette had no problem hitting the bullseye on a target holding still, Derek decided it was time to take that next step.

Derek and Bromley already had experience with hitting moving targets, but they decided to practice as well to keep their skills keen. Their targets consisted of the musicians dressed as different animals. To avoid seriously injuring them, Odette, Derek, and Bromley each had arrows that were outfitted with cushioned heads of different colors.

Rogers was pouring orange powder into Derek's quiver, not feeling pleased.

"The musicians are not happy about this," Rogers remarked.

Derek nodded in understanding. "I'm sure that it is not their favorite thing in the world, but we need to practice."

"No complaints here, I see," Rogers responded sarcastically, bringing the bucket up to his face and tapping the bottom of it. "I am certain it's going to be great!" He had barely finished his sentence when the last of the orange powder whiffed into his face and covered it.

"The Great Animal will not give up easily," Derek stated, putting an orange blindfold over his eyes.

"What makes you so sure that the attack was not just a coincidence?" Rogers asked, wiping the orange powder off his face with a white handkerchief.

"It was no random attack Rogers," Odette chimed in. "The Great Animal targeted my father, and he said it had to do with a mistake he made when I was born. Thus, I think it was after me too."

"Are you thinking the Great Animal will come after you next?" Rogers asked with wide eyes.

"That is exactly what we are thinking, Rogers," Derek elaborated. "William's captain mentioned that after they were attacked the Great Animal was looking for something in the carriage. It was after Odette, but why it's after her is a mystery to us. We also don't know what mistake William made either. All we know is it was around the time Odette was born."

Rogers nodded. "Alright then. Does Odette really need to practice as well? There's really no point to it if you're going to protect her."

"Yes, there is, Rogers," Derek insisted. "She needs to be able to defend herself in case anything happens to me."

"Since the Great Animal was after my father, I have no doubt it will come after me next," Odette said as she tied a purple blindfold around her eyes.

Rogers let out a sigh, realizing that their minds were made up. "Very well then. I must point out that you two must continue to be getting to know each other better so we can plan the wedding."

Derek let out a small laugh. "Don't worry, Rogers. Once Odette and I are certain that we can defend ourselves, we will get back to spending some time together to know each other better. Until then though, it is too early to be planning anything related to the wedding." He then asked Bromley, "Are you ready, Brom?"

"Hey! No peaking Bromley!" Rogers shouted, smacking Bromley's hand as he attempted to peak through his blue blindfold. Rogers turned his attention to the musicians. "Animals, assemble!"

"Lord Rogers, I object to this!" the head musician yelled. "We are musicians!"

"We had to use someone, and today is the servants' day off," Rogers explained.

"I am not a boar though! I'm an artist!" the head musician protested.

"You could've fooled me, I'm sure," Rogers muttered.

"Come on guys! You've got nothing to worry about! The arrows are harmless!" Derek said before shooting one of the cushioned arrows at his foot to reassure the musicians. While the musicians were not pleased, they knew there was no way they were getting out of this one. Therefore, they quickly changed into their animal costumes. Since no one knew what the Great Animal looked like, each musician a was dressed as a different animal. Each animal awarded a different number of points for each hit.

"Alright, musicians. Down on all fours please and give some fierce growls!" Rogers instructed. None of the musicians felt like humiliating themselves any further, so Rogers continued, "Liven it up a little bit! Strike fear into my heart!"

The shortest musician, Galvin, who was dressed as a white rabbit, sucked in a huge amount of air and let out a roar that sounded like a lion.

It startled Rogers at first, but then he looked at Galvin with an annoyed look. "Not you, Galvin. You're a rabbit for crying out loud!" In response to Rogers words, Galvin crossed his arms and tapped his foot swiftly.

Just then, Rogers began the signal. "On your marks, get set, go!" He took off Odette, Derek, and Bromley's blindfolds as the animals took off running. Odette and Derek began to fire their arrows, hitting their targets consistently. They both mostly went after a musician dressed as a duck, much to his dismay. On the other hand, Bromley was going after Galvin as he was worth one hundred points a hit, but the small rabbit man proved too quick for him.

"Thirteen seconds!" Rogers shouted as time continued to dwindle. "Twelve, eleven, ten…..

Once the time got below ten seconds, Odette and Derek spotted Galvin, who managed to evade Bromley for the last time. Just then, Rogers announced that there were only five seconds remaining.

When Rogers said four second remaining, Galvin dove into the bushes while Odette and Derek each fired an arrow at him.

Three, two, one….

"Time's up!" Rogers announced once time ran out. "Animals! Assemble for counting scores."

The musicians gathered around, and Rogers started counting each colored dot. Orange dots indicated shots scored by Derek while purple dots were scored by Odette. What no one noticed was Bromley tapping one his blue arrows on Galvin.

"Derek finished with a score of three hundred ninety-seven! Well done!" Rogers congratulated after counting Derek's orange dots. He then counted Odette's purple dots next. "Odette scored three hundred ninety-eight points!"

Odette smiled and let out a slight giggle. "It looks like I outscored you Derek."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"By one point," Derek responded, rolling his eyes.

"Lastly, Bromley." Bromley shrugged as Rogers saw that there were no blue dots on any of the animals until he got to the one-hundred-point white rabbit. He was stunned to see four blue dots on Galvin's head, which indicated that Bromley "scored" four hundred points.

"I believe that is four hundred points, Rogers," Bromley stated with a chuckle.

"Good shooting, Bromley," Derek praised.

"Well then, write down the scores!" Bromley urged Rogers.

"Hold on a moment Rogers. I think a few dots might've been missed," Odette said before she instructed Galvin to turned around and bend over. She lifted Galvin's tail up with her bow and saw an orange dot and a purple dot on Galvin's behind.

Derek looked at his best friend and chuckled. "Well sorry, Bromley. I guess you can't win them all." He then turned to Odette and smiled. "Looks like you win this round, Odette. I have to admit it, you had one heck of a performance out there."

"I appreciate it, Derek. Thank you," Odette replied, beaming. "I had a pretty good teacher."

"Well, I tried my best," Derek shrugged. "I think you are more than capable of defending yourself now."

"There is one thing you guys forgot though," Bromley chimed in. He tried to sound tough. "It takes courage! That's my cup of tea!"

"Well then. Since you are demonstrating your toughness, how about a quick round of Catch and Fire?" Rogers asked with a smirk.

Bromley's eyes widened as he immediately hid behind Odette and Derek. "Catch and Fire? You mean me?!

"Yes, since you're the only one with enough courage, after all," Rogers mocked, which caused Bromley to gulp nervously.

Derek was tempted to do a round or two of Catch and Fire with Bromley but hesitated. While he had done Catch and Fire many times before, Derek was beginning to think that it would not be worth the risk. As skilled as Derek was, he knew that no matter how good one was at something, no one was perfect. If he made a mistake, it could result in either himself or Bromley getting seriously injured or killed. Considering how Odette had just lost her father a month ago, Derek was unwilling to do anything that could risk himself getting killed. If something were to happen to him, it would be pure agony for Odette. He did not want that to happen.

"I don't think Catch and Fire would be a good idea, Rogers," Derek said.

"Why not?" Rogers inquired.

"Because it is a risky game, and if anything were to happen to me, then I wouldn't be able to protect Odette. Plus, I would rather not risk anything happening to Bromley either," Derek stated.

Rogers raised an eyebrow, but saw that Derek was serious. Thus, he shrugged.

"Have it your way," Rogers said.

"Thank you for understanding, Rogers," Derek responded.

"That doesn't mean you will quit practicing, won't it?" Rogers wondered.

"No. We will not do any Catch and Fire, but I have every intent on continuing to practice and teach Odette. With how dangerous the Great Animals is, we will need to get as much practice in as possible to be prepared for anything the Great Animal can throw at us," Derek explained.

Odette smiled. She appreciated how protective Derek was. Odette agreed that Derek needed to continue to practice and sharpen his skills, as well as Odette's but without any recklessness. One wrong move could result in something terrible happened to them.

OoOoOoOoOoO

After training had concluded, the royals were having lunch. Bromley was wolfing down his sandwich.

"Whoa, slow down there, Bromley. We can't have you getting sick," Derek said as he shook his head and smiled.

"What? I'm hungry," Bromley replied as he finished the last of his sandwich.

Odette couldn't help but giggle. "I can see that."

The royals continued to consume their sandwiches. Once they were finished, Derek asked Odette, "Would you like to take a walk outside, Odette? It is a beautiful day outside."

Odette nodded and smiled at the suggestion. "I'd like to."

"Just be careful out there. You never know what kind of dangers could be lurking in the woods," Rogers chimed in.

"Don't worry Rogers. Everything will be fine," Derek stated.

"We will see you guys when you get back," Bromley said.

"When we do return, how about another chess match, Bromley?" Derek suggested.

"Sure! I'd be up for that," Bromley replied with a grin.

"Alright then. We'll see you guys in a little while," Derek said as he and Odette walked to the entrance of the palace.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Odette and Derek walked around the grounds of the castle, making sure to stay close enough where they would be safe.

The royals were smiling at each other, hand in hand as they enjoyed the tranquil weather before them.

After walking around for a while, Uberta ran up to them. "Odette! Derek!"

Their eyes widened with concern. "What it is, mother?"

"There is a carriage that crashed not too far from the kingdom!" Uberta exclaimed worriedly.

"That's not good. We must make sure that everyone in the carriage is alright," Derek said determinedly as the royals ran to the stables to get their horses and get to the crashed carriage. Uberta stayed behind while Odette and Derek went to investigate the crashed carriage.

Odette couldn't believe it. The Great Animal had attacked her father's carriage, and now another carriage had crashed. While Odette was certain that it had nothing to do with the Great Animal, she hoped that there were no serious injuries or deaths involved with the crash.

After a little bit of riding, Odette and Derek arrived at the crashed carriage.

Standing in front of the crashed carriage were four people; three of them appeared to be teenagers or young adults, while the other one appeared to be an older gentleman grasping two of the young people's shoulders while his left foot was hanging in the air.

The two young people holding the older gentleman appeared to be a young couple; the woman had ginger hair with blue eyes, while the man had brown hair and hazel eyes. Next to them was the third man, who was taller than the other three people. He had black hair and blue eyes.

"Is everyone alright?" Derek asked worriedly as he got off his horse.

"George unfortunately hurt his ankle. Based on how it looks, we fear it might be a serious injury. We hope it is nothing more than a sprain, but unfortunately, we don't know," the man grasping George's shoulder said, having a sympathetic look on his face when he faced the older man.

"We are hoping you can help us get somewhere so George can get medical treatment as soon as possible. That is, if you are okay with that," the woman added. "We understand that none of us know each other, but George needs help."

"Yes. Chamburg is right this way," Odette responded as she gestured in the direction she and Derek came from.

Derek then looked around, noticing there were no horses around the carriage. "I assume there were horses pulling the carriage, right?"

"Yes, there were. For some reason, they just suddenly ran off. We don't know why they would just run off like that," the black-haired man stated.

Derek nodded with a sympathetic look on his face. "Alright then. We'll help you all get to Chamburg."

"That would be great. Thank you very much," the man grasping George said. "I am Prince Cedric of Drunada by the way. This is my wife, Princess Amelia. What is your name?"

"Prince Derek of Chamburg," Derek greeted.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Derek. I would shake your hand, but George needs support right now. He can't put any weight on his left leg," Cedric explained.

"I understand," Derek said. "What is your name?" he wondered, turning to the black-haired man.

"My name is Prince Seth of Drunada. I'm Cedric's older brother," Seth replied.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Seth," Derek greeted.

"You can just call me Seth. There is no need for formalities," Seth stated with a chuckle.

"What's your name?" Seth asked, turning his attention to Odette.

"I'm Princess Odette," Odette greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Princess Odette," Seth responded with a smile.

The genuine smile on Seth's face made Derek feel something inside of him. He was hoping that he would not have to compete with anyone for Odette's love. That was the last thing he wanted to go through. Since they were not married yet, he reminded himself that he would have to do the right thing. He wasn't going to rush him and Odette getting married, but the longer it took, the more opportunities that any other man could have to steal her away from him. He dreaded that thought.

"My name is George. Nice to meet you all," George greeted. "As much as I would like to stay and chat, my left foot needs to be looked at I'm afraid. Until I know for sure what happened to it, I don't think I'll be able to stop thinking about it."

"Okay. We can help you get to Chamburg," Derek said as he, Cedric, and Amelia carefully helped the injured George into his horse. Once George was settled onto Derek's horse, Seth volunteered to ride with Derek and George, while Amelia and Cedric decided to ride with Odette.

Little did any of them know, that they were being watched. Behind a tree, Rothbart smirked, pleased that his plan has worked. As the carriage had passed by, he had cast a spell on the horses that had made them cause the carriage to crash and run off abruptly.

Rothbart was determined to have Odette to himself, no matter who got involved.

"That might not have been what I had in mind, but so far it seems to be working," Rothbart said to himself.

He realized that the royals were being helped by Odette and Derek. Now that they had seen what happened, Rothbart was certain that they would take the four royals back to the kingdom with them.

Rothbart was unsure whether he could convince any of the four royals to join him, but he had a gut feeling that one of them might join his side. Based on the conversations he heard, he felt that Amelia, Cedric, and George were just too kind to even think such a thing. Seth, however, was a whole different story. If only there was something he could do to catch Seth all by himself and maybe talk to him about teaming up.

Rothbart knew that it was unlikely that something like that would happen, but if there was anyway that he could gamble on something that would end up paying if it worked, then so be it.

He grinned at the thought of having Odette and the kingdom to himself. Getting to do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted sounded so appealing to him.