No More Mr. Nice Guy!

**No More Mr. Nice Guy!** is a reimagining of The Swan Princess and plays off in an alternate reality where the villain, Rothbart, is a young man who abducts Odette under the premise her late mother promised her hand to him.

It mainly critiques the original movie's execution of Odette and Derek's romance.

The remake was conceived on September 8, 2021, and artwork first released at Deviantart on Oktober 5, 2021.

## Story

> **CHAPTER 1: Introduction**After many years of trying, the old King William finally becomes the father to a daughter, but loses his wife during labour. After grieving his loss, there's nothing left to do but take the situation for what it is and direct his attention to the child he's always wanted. He organizes a celebration in Odette's honour and many kings and queens show up to bring gifts.
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> When Queen Uberta instructs her son to hand over their heart necklace to the princess, she and William feel inspired by the moment and agree to work towards a future in which their children will be wed.
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> A young, uninvited prince and his servant watch on from the back and feel betrayed by the arrangement, since his late parents always claimed Odette's mother promised to give him her hand in marriage. Though the details on why are vague and there's no one left alive or willing to confirm it, Rothbart is determined to make it happen.
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> Back home, the boy digs out a secret family heirloom from the hidden chambers of his castle, and plans to borrow its magic to stage a violent kidnapping. Before he's able to figure out the workings of the forbidden item, William's soldiers break in and destroy the place.
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> Since Rothbart is a child, William sees no reason to give him a corporeal punishment and exiles him instead. Rothbart brings up the queen's promise to his family, but William says not to believe it to be true and again orders his leave.
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***CHAPTER 2: This is Not My Idea of Fun!**
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> Many years pass, wherein Prince Derek and Odette spend every summer together, but with little progress in terms of their relationship. They bicker and fight, then complain to their respective parent about the arrangement.
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> When puberty is over and they've lost their zits and childish mannerisms, the two suddenly see each other as a potential love interest and Derek wastes no time to announce their wedding upon seeing her again. Odette is a bit taken aback by it and wishes to know what makes her so desirable to him now. He mentions her beauty, but doesn't fully understand the question and has no follow-up. Odette and the listening staff feel disappointed, confusing Derek even more. Saddened that no genuine love has blossomed between the two, King William takes Odette and leaves the property.
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> On the ride home, their carriage is stopped by a man, who suddenly transforms into a flying beast and attacks them. It's a one-sided fight and only one guard musters the strength to run back to Derek's castle. Derek shows up at the scene, but finds Odette gone. The dying king's last words don't give a clear picture on what happened or who the culprit is, and Derek becomes obsessed on the meaning of his words.
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> That same night, the beast flies Odette to an unknown location and drops her off in a beautiful garden, then turns into Rothbart, now an adult. He has her take on the form of a swan and explains the details of his spell; which can only be temporarily undone when she's on the lake under an exposed moon. As said, she turns back into a human when the clouds in the sky disperse and the moonlight hits her feathers.
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> Odette doesn't return any words or much of a look as he chatters on, so he gets to the point and introduces himself as her husband. Creeped out and uneager to deal with the stranger, she snarls he doesn't need her if he has his eyes on her father's kingdom and he could easily take it with his magic abilities. Rothbart replies obtaining her kingdom is not his main goal and she's part of the package deal anyway.
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> His language tests her patience and she walks off. He reminds her of the spell and guarantees she won't find help before she's turned back into a swan. Odette cries in her frustration and Rothbart leaves to taunt her again some other time.
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***CHAPTER 3: I'll Die First!**
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> Days later, Odette has earned the friendship of some animals and is able to converse with them thanks to the spell. Nevertheless, the more time passes, the more restless she becomes and Rothbart's reveal on how to break the spell made her mind focus on Derek more than it ever did. Believing he could be her true love and solution to her predicament, she's began regretting her outburst back at his castle and find the petty fighting they used to do somewhat entertaining. As guessed, Rothbart's nightly attempts to ask her for marriage are always rejected.
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> He's rather insulted by her bold statement to choose death over him and wants to know what warrants the response. Odette lists up he attacked her and her father, is keeping her captive using magic, and is a stranger in general. He asks if her father never mentioned him, but she can't recall.
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> He gives her a proper introduction this time and shares with her the name "Aron Rothbart": the man her mother promised her hand to in exchange for magic aid from his parents. Odette is skeptical her family would get involved with dark sorcerers, to which he says not to know the why, just the so. She replies anyone could claim something to be so and it not to be enough for her to want to get to know him. Rothbart chuckles she might as well, since she won't be going anywhere, riling her up again. She declares to never give in, as her heart belongs to Derek.
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> Rothbart expresses confusion for how Derek managed to win her affection after all the public vitriol between them and asks if he too isn't a stranger. Odette scoffs at the question and points to the fact they've spent their entire childhood together, to which he remarks it's only been 3 months a year, during which their bickering was loud enough for him to hear at the other side of the country.
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> He then asks her a series of simple questions about her "boyfriend", like his favourite colour and biggest fear, but she only knows facts about Derek she happened to witness, whilst there's nothing he actually shared with her himself.
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> The cocky Rothbart proclaims he and Derek are thus both strangers and have an equal amount of chance swooning her. Odette disagrees and says to feel nothing but disdain for him. Rothbart smiles that merely to be another thing he and Derek have in common; and she'll grow to suddenly love him, given enough time. The mockery of her feelings doesn't sit well with her and she begins shouting him down while trying to beat him with a fallen tree branch, demanding to be released.
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> Rothbart suggests her to calm down and erases the moon from the sky, forcing her to abort her hissy fit and head for the lake, where she transforms into a swan and sobs some more.
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***CHAPTER 4: Our Backs Are to the Wall!**
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> After a few more weeks of fruitless harassment and hearing Odette complain about his evil self and the restrictive spell, Rothbart makes the surprising offer to let her stay a human a bit longer. As she has to stay inside his castle during this period, though, she's wary of his intentions and immediately declines. He asks if her response is over knowing she won't be able to resist him, earning him a familiar beating with a branch.
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> With nothing else to say to each other, he places down the plate of food he originally came to deliver and walks off, his carefree smile fading the moment he turns around.
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> Odette's friends show up and Jean-Bob quickly comments on his embarrassing flirting attempts. He ponders how they haven't been able to outsmart someone like him, but Odette warns the frog not to underestimate Rothbart, as she witnessed his aggression and power back when he attacked her carriage.
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> The newest addition to the group then brings up a bold hypothetical of accepting the invitation to his castle. Odette is vocal in her disinterest for the idea, but Puffin argues the castle might have some handy items they could take, and sucking up to Rothbart will likely give her an opening to escape without being afflicted by the spell. He adds she could use a warm bed, but she reminds him it's summer.
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> Speed doesn't think it's a good idea, either, especially if Rothbart is as two-faced as Odette says he is. Puffin shrugs they're not obligated to do anything.
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> Nevertheless, their little exchange sticks with Odette. The night before the next moonless night arrives, she decides to have a go at manipulating the villain and asks Rothbart if his offer still stands.
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***CHAPTER 5: This is My Idea of Fun?**
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> Odette is given 5 uncursed days and may not leave Rothbart's castle in exchange, though the arrangement seems to be hinged upon good faith only and nothing is actually keeping her indoors. She's given a quick tour of the most important rooms and is told she may do whatever she sees fit during her stay, even walk around eating using her hands. By looking at Rothbart's messy head of hair, Odette is not surprised by his lack of etiquette, but keeps this opinion to herself.
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> She makes good use of her freedom to explore and meets up with Puffin at the windows often, who's scouting the rooms from the outside. To be indoors and have a proper bed after so long improves her spirits, though the fact Rothbart stopped begging for her hand helps as well. Their conversations grow more casual when they meet in the hallways, they eat together, and when Puffin instructs her to put effort into faking interest in his pastimes, it helps her learn more about him and he becomes increasingly less intimidating to her.
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> Even so, on the night of the 3rd day, she determines that the pressure of stress is necessary if she ever wants to see Derek again and becomes set on not giving Rothbart more attention than she has to.
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> The next morning, her stroll through the castle brings her to a small office/study room with quills, books, and many pieces of parchment lying around. She thinks the room could be important, but has no time to snoop around, as Rothbart and his old servant are heard approaching. He finds her standing at the door, but before he can ask for the reason, she pretends to need some paper to practise her drawing skills on. He's surprised to learn she has this hobby, but hands over some supplies. Since he sounds genuinely curious, she reluctantly agrees to show off her work when it's done.
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> After exploring the castle some more and reporting her failures to Puffin, she hastily draws a picture before dinner time. It's absolutely hideous and Rothbart makes sure to tell her. Odette replies it's a portrait of him and he should take his grievances to his parents.
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> Rothbart returns a long stare, then bursts into laughter. The drawing disappears in his belt and dinner is served by his clumsy servant. Odette asks where she's from and what her story is, but he says not to know, as he's always known her as demented and verbally challenged. After questioning if he can fix that with magic, he explains "fixing her" would come with personality traits that may or may not actually be hers, since brains are complicated organs. When they start rotting, the memories and quirks lost will forever be lost.
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> Odette finds his response odd and wonders why he'd even care whether or not Bridget becomes her old self. Rothbart admits to like playing mind tricks on people, but not steer their thoughts and opinions, as he can't stand the thought of someone's feelings not being genuine. Mind control is the most feeble magic there is and easy to undo, which is why he won't brainwash her to love him, either.
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> Odette sarcastically thanks him for having taken her away from everyone and everything she loves and only warping her body. He replies she's welcome.
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> On the next and last day, Odette and Puffin are talking at her bedroom window about what to do next. She thinks Rothbart is getting too comfortable too quickly and feels wrong for getting cosy with him, even if it's all sarcastic jokes. Puffin advices her to quit if she can't go through with it and promises they'll figure something out.
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> During breakfast, she makes sure to tell Rothbart she won't be extending her stay. He responds with surprise, since it looked like she was having a fairly good time, but she says not to feel at ease as long as she can't see Derek again. In a flash, he transforms himself into the handsome prince, but Odette is not impressed or charmed by it and gets up to start her day.
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> Inside her room, she practises her drawing skills, but every picture looks worse than the last, and in the end, she doesn't even know why she went through the trouble at all. The crudely scribbled girls remind her of her young self, and her mind involuntarily wanders to the time Derek and his friend bullied her. Feeling her mood drop, she heads over to the kitchen to get a refreshment, where she finds Rothbart's servant sitting on the cold floor, drawing as well. Odette sees it's a picture-perfect portrait of her master and can't resist giving the tiny woman a compliment.
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> Bridget releases a flattered crow and hands her a bottle of wine as thanks. Though it's a heavier drink than she was aiming for, she accepts it and takes her leave. Rothbart passes her in the hallway and asks if there's a celebration, to which she smirks that to be so with today as her last day.
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> Lunchtime is unusually quiet. Odette asks Rothbart if he's all out of subjects to talk about, to which he smiles to have enough pleasantries to share, but that she looks out of it sometimes, as if a certain big-jawed man is on her mind. Odette replies Rothbart's not on her mind at all.
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> He asks if she's figured out Derek's favourite colour yet, earning him an irritated head-tilt, concluding lunch.
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> Later, Bridget boldly shows up at Odette's room to invite her to help with dinner. She's not eager to play Rothbart's housewife, but the servant conveys it's simple work and she only has to decorate dessert to her liking. As it sounds rather fun, Odette accepts and contentedly messes around with the already prepared pastries. Time flies, and though she could barely communicate with Bridget, Odette enjoyed her company and joins Rothbart in the dining room feeling satisfied with her results.
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> Food is placed on the table, including the pastries that have clearly been made by someone who never worked a day in a kitchen. Rothbart lets his expression do the talking.
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> He says it was fun having her around and she's welcome to come back whenever she's tired of being a bird. Odette does her best not to give a response or says much else during dinner.
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> Before she can retreat into her bedroom, he meets her at the door and asks with more sincerity not to go. She says her mind can't be changed on this and the manipulation tricks he likes to pull off so much won't work on her. He answers to have pulled nothing on her during her stay and truly loves her. She doesn't believe it and wants to head inside her room, but he pins her hand on the door and asks if she knows his favourite colour and biggest fear.
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> Odette gives him a static look over her shoulder, then answers it to be red. He wishes to know the answer to the second question, but she refuses to say. The fact she's learned so much about her kidnapper in only a few months time, making Derek look like the stranger, sours her heart.
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> Odette turns around to face him and asks him to get off the door, but instead, he leans in. She watches it happen like a deer in headlights, then flees into her bedroom and locks the door before his face can touch hers.
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***CHAPTER 6: I Want This to Be Big!**
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> Months have passed when Queen Uberta takes it upon herself to help her son find a new bride and finally give her kingdom a king after her husband's passing. She organizes a ball and many princesses are invited, but the councillor reminds her Derek is still out looking for Odette and likely not interested in becoming king until then. She ignores it and heads over to the library to give Derek the good news of all the guests who'll be attending, but he thinks to have gotten a clue on what King William's last words meant and shows little interest for the matchmaking event disguised as a random party.
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> Meanwhile, Odette and her animal friends conduct her next escape attempt, but she feels it to be pointless as long they don't even know where they are. Jean-Bob entertains the idea Rothbart is using magic to keep his plot of land away from civilization, but Puffin thinks he wouldn't have been able to find and meet them if that were true. One thing they all agree on is that Odette should stop trying to go out in her human form and benefit from her ability to traverse the air as a swan. Nevertheless, their unfamiliarity for their surroundings isn't in their favour and she expresses worry on what Rothbart will do if they allow even more time to pass.
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> She thinks back to the small office she once found and ponders if Rothbart has a map of the country, but then, the subject of their conversation suddenly shows up inside a tree. They nervously stare at him, wondering if he's able to understand animals.
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> He jumps down and kicks Odette's little friends away as he turns to her. Seemingly with no relevance to their conversation, he mentions how Queen Uberta has organized a ball for Derek and many beautiful royalty with ulterior motives will be going. Odette frowns in silence. He smiles it to be expected, since the queen has ulterior motives as well and has forgotten all about her. Odette turns away her head. He continues on about how quickly everyone has moved on, "like that entire 3-months-a-year-childhood she's spent with Derek truly meant nothing". Enough of his jabs, she starts pecking at his legs.
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> He hops away from her fury and transforms her into a human to allow her to speak, whereafter the air is filled with the noise of her shouting. Rothbart insists not to be the villain and more worthy of her hand, since she at the very least stayed on his mind for longer than a handful of months. Odette believes he has ulterior motives himself and isn't actually in love with her, whilst assured Derek is still out looking for her.
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> Rothbart asks what Derek's motives are; and why he'd still be fighting for her. She states he loves her, end sentence. He moans to know that part, since she's repeated it often, but not the reason.
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> Odette goes through the possibilities, but can only think back to their last moment together where he complimented her beauty and nothing else. Like already established, Derek shared little about himself and Odette can only make guesses. Her silence is picked up on and Rothbart smiles a scheming smile.
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> He makes clear to know she was about to run off again, but is willing to grant her her freedom if Derek is truly the one. Odette's so convinced, she's ready to bet her life on it, so Rothbart implements it in the deal. He calls over Bridget and transforms her into an exact clone of her.
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> He argues Derek is so focused on her appearance alone, he'd even accept an insipid fool dressed like her. Odette thinks he'll know right away something's off, since they've known each other for 12 years, but Rothbart isn't convinced you can know someone you never wanted to get to know.
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> Odette is given permission to watch her clone interact with Derek, though as a swan and without interfering.
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***CHAPTER 7: A Vow of Everlasting Love!**
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> The next day, Odette and her friends head off, with the transformed Bridget leading the way. She finds Derek out hunting in the woods before they arrive at his castle, though, enticing her to approach.
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> Her stalking breeds suspicion with him and he starts entertaining the possibility she could be the shapeshifting monster that killed King William. He turns around and aims his bow at her, but Odette is saved in time by Puffin.
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> Even when they're taking the high ground, Derek is set on chasing her down and won't let the two friends rest. Puffin suggests she should take this opportunity to lead him back to Rothbart's castle and reveal herself when the moon comes out, but she doesn't think that's the safest option and doubts Derek could take Rothbart on if he were to show up.
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> Unsure on what to do, they aimlessly fly around while trying to avoid the arrows being fired their way. When these start scraping her, the fake Odette shows up to call for Derek's attention. He instantly stops and his expression becomes frozen in bewilderment. The real Odette collapses from exhaustion and is caught mid-air by Rothbart, who takes her out of Derek's sight during the distraction.
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> Though she doesn't want to be touched by him, she only has energy left to listen to the conversation between her loved one and the obvious faker. Disappointment hits when Derek is so overcome with joy of having found her, he questions nothing. He wishes to turn his mother's ball into their reunion party and wedding, and fake Odette gleefully accepts. Odette's eyes swell up with tears and she hurriedly jumps out of Rothbart's arms to see Derek, who's already left with his impostor fiance.
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> Rothbart carefully smirks he was right, but she can't accept the conversation she just heard and wants to see what he'll do at the ball -thinking he'll have figured out the truth by then. He promises he won't, but Odette's already waddled off.
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> The sun has fully set by the time she arrives. Through one of the windows, she sees princesses being introduced as they enter, proving without a doubt Uberta wanted Derek to move on. As they're not her concern, though, she looks around the room for Derek and Bridget.
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> After some time, fake Odette enters and everyone turns silent when they see the familiar face graciously sliding towards them in an uncharacteristically pitch-black dress. A few seconds later, Derek joins her side and announces "Odette's" return to the staring crowd. Odette's heart starts racing when she realizes he still hasn't noticed the woman next to him to be an impostor.
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> Fake Odette begins to inhabit more of Bridget's mannerisms the longer Derek's romantic speech continues, still not raising any suspicion with anybody, except Queen Uberta and her councillor. Odette notices and hopes they'll intervene, but they're visibly unsure what to make of it and keep on spectating.
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> Odette nervously flies around the building to peck at the windows, but it fails to catch Derek's attention. He proclaims his love for the clone and announces their wedding.
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> Odette instantly feels dizzy and speeds off in her sorrow.
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> After saying his vow, the room suddenly turns dark and Rothbart comes barging in through the entrance. As no one knows who he is or how to respond, he gives the guests his last name, whereafter gasps follow.
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> Queen Uberta immediately shouts at Derek to release Odette, startling and upsetting him. She asks him again and reveals to him the deal Odette's mother made with the Rothbarts. Rothbart is amazed to have found another person acknowledging the deal ever existed, and Uberta clarifies King William shared the info with her, since he wanted her son to marry Odette, though didn't know if he'd become a problem in the future. Rothbart grins contentedly that he did.
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> Derek isn't having it and stands in front of fake Odette, demanding Rothbart to get out. Uberta wants him to give up on her and warns he's the offspring of powerful sorcerers, but Derek ignores her and keeps firing off threats at the intruder.
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> Rothbart chuckles he didn't come for the woman standing next to him, but for him. Derek asks what for, Rothbart answers to avenge his wife. A sharp light engulfs him, turning him into a giant crossbreed monster. The room starts shrieking as the beast stomps his way through and launches anyone unlucky enough to be in reach. Derek hurriedly grabs fake Odette in his arms, but Rothbart catches up within seconds and slaps her away. Derek panics and sprints after her, but when he turns her head, is looking straight at the face of the senile Bridget.
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> Rothbart laughs and punches in half of the ballroom, the rubble landing on Derek. He flies off with his detransformed servant, abandoning the crime scene.
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***CHAPTER 8: Far Shorter Than Forever!**
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> Rothbart meets up with Odette in the forest, a small distance away from Derek's castle. He transforms her back into a human, but she won't get up and asks him if she's dying. He says no. She's confused to why she's feeling so weak, and he smirks she's just a drama queen.
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> Odette returns a brief smile, but the tears won't stop falling. He hunches down next to her and advices her not to cry over a bullet dodged.
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> When he wants to help her get up, an arrow suddenly speeds towards his head. He hears it being fired off in time and barely dodges it. A roughed-up Derek shows up from behind the trees, his bow still aimed at him. He demands him to stay away from Odette and shoots again. Rothbart evades it a second time and Odette gets up with renewed energy when she sees Derek has come for her.
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> He urges her to run over and warns Rothbart is a shapeshifting monster, to which Rothbart huffs he's a human sorcerer, not a monster who knows how to shapeshift. Derek barks with venomous anger he could've fooled him.
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> Odette finds the confrontation way more violent than is warranted and wants to de-escalate things, but Derek argues for the justification and reveals Rothbart attacked his castle. Since she was there just a few minutes ago, she's surprised to hear a whole battle transpired. Rothbart doesn't bother to hide it and says it was Derek's just deserts.
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> The seething prince shoots off another arrow that misses and asks if the innocent partygoers deserved to get hurt. Rothbart replies any one of them -if able and given the green light- would've taken him out when he was a child, just for being a Rothbart.
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> Odette has no context for the conversation going on and wants to know what it's about. Derek tells her how Rothbart's parents exploited her parents' wish for a child and targeted her mother in secret with a deal that made her promise her firstborn's hand to Rothbart for a fertility potion, which only ended up killing her during labour.
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> Though the story is news to her, there's some credibility in it; and Rothbart's playful, repetitive utterings about being her husband start to make sense. Still a bit taken aback by the thought the villain could've been somewhat in the right this entire time, she asks if it's certain this is true, since she was never even informed of the Rothbarts' existence. Derek replies his mother said the last one is standing next to her, and it's a disgusting family that focussed on evil, unnatural magic, with a personality to match.
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> Rothbart is insulted by the remark and snarls he didn't even know of his family before today. He believes the events are purposely being misinterpreted to make them look like the villain, and the deal involved two parties who knew what they were doing without being pressured. He adds that women dying in labour is a natural tragedy, not one you can blame on magic, making that a dubious statement as well.
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> Derek ignores him -and as to confirm his wariness for the character- asks Odette if he's not the reason for her sudden disappearance. She confirms he kidnapped her. He tightens the arrow on his string and concludes to have all the evidence he needs. Odette's not completely on board, though, but when she starts talking about settling it with a peaceful separation, Derek interrupts and tells her her father died at Rothbart's hands. Odette falls silent.
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> She stutters that can't be true and he was still alive when Rothbart grabbed her, but Derek assures her he died miserably in his arms. Rothbart growls that King William was a stupid, old fossil of a man who would've died sometime this year anyway, and he barely scraped him back then. Odette begins to cry loudly. Rothbart insists he'd never do something he knows would hurt her, to which Derek hisses that didn't stop him from kidnapping her, nor believes his testimony absolves him from being the cause of her father's death. He calls him a murderer for taking William -and the casualties made back at the ball.
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> The grieving Odette falls to her knees and Derek asks her again to come over to his side and gain his protection, but Rothbart gets in front of her and growls he's had his chance. Derek demands him to step away again, but he's not having any more of his threats and character assassinations, and proclaims he'll have to fight him. Derek warns he's an excellent archer, but Rothbart counts the times he's missed, then arrogantly announces to help him out by giving him a bigger target. He transforms into his beastly form and speeds towards the hero prince with a frightening howl.
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> Derek is flung around the place and tries his best to land back on his feet and get a hit on him, but his arrows either don't penetrate or miss because of the gusts of wind caused by Rothbart's wings. Rothbart is working diligently to give Derek a slow death, a sight Odette can't stand to stay an onlooker of.
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> When Derek's crippled body finally returns back to the ground, she runs over and shields him. She begs Rothbart to stop and just leave the country, with the promise no armies will be sent after him. Derek's not content with that and insists he needs to be killed, as Rothbarts are stubborn, self-serving, and run on vengeance.
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> Rothbart is seemingly not listening to her plea, either, and slowly approaches with the intent to snatch away his prey from her arms, but Odette tightens her grip and asks him again to leave. Derek tries to shield her instead and huffs he'll forever come back for her if not killed.
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> The beast looks at him, then Odette. He growls softly, but his body and expression exude uncertainty on how to progress. Odette determinedly holds onto Derek, who ever so slowly gets up and draws something from the back of his belt.
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> As his mobility recovers, Odette's mind appears more eased. With her affection for him seemingly still a fact, it affects Rothbart's will to fight. He allows for Derek to jump him with a dagger.
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> Odette tells him to wait, but he furiously swipes at the beast and yells Rothbart needs to pay for his crimes. The dagger enters the side of Rothbart's neck, again and again, but he just lies down to let it happen and doesn't even make a sound as he's being murdered. Odette is overcome with all kinds of conflicting emotions and can only watch the monster's defeated face with silent shock and dread. She yells what he's doing, but as the question is applicable to both men and both have their minds made up, there's no reply.
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> Though she's unable to figure out her feelings for her kidnapper and alleged father's murderer, as the truth concerning their parents has many holes filled in by spiteful outsiders, tears are still falling.
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> With one last thrust of the dagger, magic starts leaking out of the floored creature and Rothbart explodes into nothingness. Odette's breathing staggers now that he's gone, regretful she only stood there to watch. She doesn't have time to explore her emotions further, as the victorious Derek hurries towards her for an embrace. He smiles sweetly upon having saved her and promises to never let her go again. He commends her kindness and courage, but Odette doesn't recognize herself in his compliments and just looks at him.
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> He asks if she's alright, but her face answers the question for her. He places his hand over her shoulder and suggests to come back to his castle, but Odette stays put and moves her head away from him.
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> She mutters how he wasn't suspicious of fake Odette and nothing has changed since last time they met. Derek gives his apologies and admits he was blinded by the belief he had finally found her. She disagrees that to be the cause of his obliviousness, rather the fact they don't know each other. While he looks like the perfect man, he never behaved as such and made her feel like a bother every summer.
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> Derek becomes visibly distraught the more she speaks her mind, and begs her to give their relationship a chance under the premise real love was felt that day.
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> Odette gives him a long stare, then asks what her favourite colour is. Derek looks unsure, but also doesn't understand the relevance and refuses to entertain such a question at a moment like this. She reassures him not to know his, either.
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> She thanks him for trying to save her and turns around. Derek follows after her and begs her again to reconsider, turning the expression on her face more stern. Whilst continuing her walk, she lists the same series of questions Rothbart once presented, none Derek has an answer for, let alone the right one. His pace slows down when he realizes he indeed knows nothing about his dream girl. As a last attempt to save their relationship, he promises to learn the answer to each question. Odette stops to turn around.
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> Derek eagerly waits for her response, but her face exudes hurtful disinterest with a bit of lingering heartbreak. She moans 12 years was enough time, and gives him a gloomy goodbye.
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***CHAPTER 9: Happily Never After!**
 (Click "Expand" to read)>*

> Queen Odette is walking through her garden and is visited by her animal friends.
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> Speed politely compliments her changed hairstyle and asks if she's happy, but Jean-Bob butts in to answer for her and immediately tries to steer the attention to the fact Odette owes him a kiss she wasn't allowed to give back when she was cursed. Still thinking he's been cursed himself and eager to become a human prince, he puckers his lips.
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> Odette releases a crooked smile and decides to disappoint the small frog with the truth of his situation. She kisses his head, instantly bringing him into an ecstatic, lovestruck frenzy, whereafter he lands back on his feet like nothing happened and declares himself human. Speed jokes to Odette if she's interested in marrying him now, but she says to want to wait a while before stepping into the wedding boat.
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> Jean-Bob is not offended and starts strutting towards her castle with the intent to pick up some girls. Puffin calls after him he's still green, but the frog's already gone.
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> Puffin turns to Odette and asks if she and Derek are still friends, despite everything. She replies they never were, but to understand what he means, and confirms they can depend on each other in times of great need. With the newly acquired knowledge Derek used to be her childhood bully, Speed asks if he established this agreement in the hopes he'll win her back one day. Odette thinks it's likely, which is why she doesn't intend to call upon his aid often.
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> Puffin, on the other hand, vividly remembers her positive and loving opinions about Derek and asks if she did the right thing calling off the wedding, as he might very well love many other things about her. Odette sighs and accepts the possibility exists, yet it was her appearance that motivated him to pursue her.
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> Despite there being no fairy tale ending to her story, Speed and Puffin agree that the young Odette just barely started her life and it could still happen in the future. She smiles at their optimism.
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> She invites them to come back for lunch later that day, but Puffin declines and says to have "an air force of swans" waiting to be trained. Odette and Speed don't even want to know what he's up to and just nod. With that, he flies away, whereafter the screams of women fill the air and Speed decides to crawl towards the castle to check on Jean-Bob.
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> Odette remains on her little garden bridge and looks down to the water below. Her reflection looks back at her with an indiscernible expression and a subtle warm breeze begins rustling the leaves of the plant life surrounding her. Weak ripples appear in the water, like something enormous is moving around miles away, but Odette only sees herself and only feels the breeze.
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## Characters

### Odette

Princess Odette is the daughter of King William. She is 18 years old.

Her parents struggled to conceive a child and her existence is only thanks to a magic potion concocted by the Rothbarts. In exchange for this, Odette's mother promised to give their son her hand in marriage, but William was not on board and disregarded the deal after both his wife and the Rothbarts had died. Odette was kept clueless and coaxed to bond with Prince Derek instead.

Her relationship with Derek was rocky. Odette used to be an easily offended child and liked to resort to violence -traits her father worked hard on to get rid of- but Derek had palpable contempt for her, regardless of how she conducted herself. When he befriended Bromley, Odette became the target of bullying and ridicule. These moments made her conscious of herself and her looks, which wasn't considered stellar at the time. While she remained cool and assertive throughout her life, she was also looking to be accepted, and Derek smiling at the mere sight of her at their last summer meeting instantly charmed her.

Though he's never treated her well and she was consistently vocal in her preference to stay home over coming over, she believed Derek was handsome since they were teenagers and felt happy to had acquired his interest. When he couldn't give her any compliments besides her beauty, she was heartbroken and declined to marry him -despite the irony she too only cared for his appearance.

While she stood by her decision, he stayed on her mind and she began re-examining their relationship after getting captured by Rothbart. When informed that her transformation curse could be made undone by a kiss and a promise of eternal devotion from the one she loves, her thoughts could only go back to the one boy she's been pushed towards her entire life. With determination, she convinced herself her love for Derek was genuine.

Odette and Rothbart met every night, but she was rarely in the mood to speak and most of their interactions ended with her trying to beat him up, which Rothbart tolerated with humor. During any other time, she and her animal friends would try to come up with ways to escape and find Derek.

Her opinions on her kidnapper were all over the place, and moments she allowed herself to think he wasn't vile disturbed her. She believed he was a crazed stalker and worried his carefree act could change at any time, whereafter he'd settle on brainwashing or killing her. Because Rothbart remained patient and kept his hands to himself, it made Odette lower some of her defenses. Many discarded personality traits from her childhood returned during her period of captivity with him.

When she accepted the invitation to his castle and got introduced to a more relaxed setting, it confirmed and solidified the relationship they had built up prior. Her feelings of anger and worry remained, yet a seed of affection was planted when he made clear to know and enjoy particular traits of hers that she had been criticized over by others.

She was spooked by her moment of hesitation when he came to see her at her bedroom door and had to make the conscious decision not to see him as a friend, let alone something more.

Despite the emotional distance she tried to maintain, her affection for him is what pushed her to try and stand in between him and Derek during their confrontation. As her feelings for Rothbart were still a mix of conflicting extremes, though, she could not decide on any kind of action when Derek started killing him in front of her.

While his victory was arguably warranted, it left Odette feeling displeased. After the many conversations with Rothbart and his successful attempt of proving Derek couldn't recognize anything about her besides her appearance, she acknowledged her love for Derek was equally as superficial. She reinstated her original decision to not get wed and returned to her father's kingdom alone.

### Derek

Prince Derek is the son of Queen Uberta. He is 21 years old.

When Uberta and King William agreed to work towards an alliance through their children, he was pressured to bond with Odette and become the new king of his widowed mother's kingdom as soon as possible.

He had no patience for the princess and believed she made for a boring playmate. Her interests and moments of joy were always met with negativity or indifference, and when Derek got himself a more interesting buddy, it hindered their relationship even more. Odette was often scolded by her father for her violent and impatient responses to Derek, but though she attempted to lose her bad traits and engage with him more sincerely, he and Bromley took on the roles of typical high school bullies and were relentless.

When Odette was 18 years old and her beauty had fully developed, Derek was instantly smitten by the sight of her and treated her accordingly. She wished to know if there was anything else about her that helped changed his tune, but Derek didn't understand the question and thought she was asking him to gauge her appearance beyond what he already expressed. He gave a foolish answer in return, bringing an abrupt end to the engagement.

He did not accept this outcome and planned to prove his love to her, but she was reported missing later that night. Desperate to find the girl of his dreams and witness her beauty again with a proper confession, he tried finding her whereabouts and the meaning of her father's last words. Despite his rigorous search and archery training, he didn't find her or defeated Rothbart on his own efforts, though victory still ended up being his.

He was arguably the hero in the situation, yet Odette thought the fight and their romance felt off, and could not give their story a happy ending.

### Aron Rothbart

Aron Rothbart is the canon antagonist rewritten. In this version, he is 26 years old.

He's the last living member of the Rothbart lineage; a notorious family of powerful, royal wizards. Because of their diminished numbers and bad reputation, his parents wished to secure for him the hand of a princess from a respected kingdom and made use of King William's desperation to have a child.

William's wife sought out the gifted magic users to help them with their fertility issues and agreed to give them what they wanted in return, though did so hoping she'd conceive a son and thus owe them no payment. The Rothbarts took no chances and their potion ensured a girl would be born, but as it was assembled with dark magic, the true price was death. William's wife did not survive her daughter's birth.

Aron's parents passed away shortly after making the potion, and he became orphaned at 8 years old with only one senile servant as his company. He refused to believe their family heirloom, The Orb, was a cursed tool, and thought it more likely his parents were assassinated.

King William became a suspect when he ignored his presence at baby Odette's ceremony and entertained a union between her and Queen Urberta's son, Derek. Feeling betrayed, Aron planned to embrace the same powers that killed his parents to capture Odette with, but the noise and lights spawned from his moments of practise were enough to grab the attention of passing travelers. William's soldiers showed up to kick him out of his own home and Aron had to start anew elsewhere.

In the following 18 years, he became a skilled sorcerer and magicked up a castle for himself. By shapeshifting, he was able to infiltrate William's kingdom and watch Odette grow up. When he trusted his powers for other purposes, he started gifting her moments that could've easily been shrugged off as luck.

Aron felt deeply connected to his promised bride and believed it was his job to watch over her. He waited to see if she and Derek would indeed develop feelings for each other, and on the day she officially rejected him, he saw his chance and violently took her away from the king who had been standing in the way of his happiness since he were a boy. Having that said, Aron had a lonely youth and only his meeting with Odette to look forward to.

When she became his prisoner, he settled on casting a spell on her over actually keeping her locked up. In order to break it, she had to kiss the man she loved, and he promise to love her for all eternity and mean it. Though Odette immediately believed Derek to be her destined lover, Rothbart set up this rule for them; and planned to be the one to break his own curse and thus prove to her to be genuine in his feelings.

For a fair amount of time, he didn't explicitly tell her the extend of his involvement with her life or why he's fond of her, as he believed the only detail that needed to be shared and honoured was the deal between her mother and his parents. They never clarified to their young son why it was made, though, and Aron was unable to convince Odette it was real. Not until she accepted to stay in his castle did he feel comfortable sharing more of his feelings, but since she was set on returning to Derek, it proved not to matter.

When she learned her father had died on the evening of her kidnapping and she still defended Derek, Aron saw no path to her heart and let himself be killed -also knowing not to possess the restraint to leave her alone otherwise.

The story presents the minor possibility he is still alive.

### King William

King William is the father of Odette. He was in his late 70s when he died.

He and his wife were kind and revered rulers, but struggled for the entirety of their lives to conceive a child. Since William was significantly older than her, he expressed the most worry, which encouraged his wife to seek out the help of the Rothbarts behind his back.

William was distraught to learn she trusted their dark magic and had promised their daughter's hand to Aron Rothbart. When the fertility potion then claimed her life, he became set on pretending no deal was ever made, only telling Queen Uberta about it.

When he got attacked by an adult Aron, he gave Derek a vague message in his last moments, as he did not recognize the child he exiled in the shadowy man who stopped his carriage.

### Queen Uberta

Queen Uberta is the mother of Derek. While the sequel insinuated she was 49 in the original movie, she's in her 60s in this version.

She and King William were good friends and ecstatic over the idea their children would one day be wed.

When a young Aron Rothbart was caught scheming an attack on William's kingdom, William thought it was the right time to tell her about the deal his late wife made with the Rothbarts, despite his worry she'd see the fact Odette was being watched by a Rothbart as future stress for Derek. The reveal did not demotivate her to continue on with their matchmaking plans.

Nevertheless, when Odette rejected Derek and was reported missing that same evening, Uberta instantly guessed Aron claimed her, and from that moment considered her a lost cause. Knowing that no one's a match to a fully trained Rothbart sorcerer, she kept her son uninformed and took on an inappropriately upbeat demeanour only a few days after her friend William was reported dead.

She tried hard to distract him by introducing new princesses into his life, and hoped to finally give her kingdom the king it's so long been without.

## Trivia

* The title refers to the song Rothbart performed in the original movie.
* Rothbart, in the movie and the original Swan Lake play, canonically has no first name;
	+ The name "Aron" was chosen for sounding similar to the social status of baron the Swan Lake version has.
* The time period in which Odette felt ugliest was a topic between her and Aron. Among other things, he remarked to find her the most cute with pigtails;
	+ At the end of the story, she wears her hair in two long braids.