The Swan Princess by Elizabeth Bruner

Author:Elizabeth Bruner [Bruner, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: ShadowInk Press
Published: 2015-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

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When he left, explaining he needed to go home and find out what he could about her curse, she swam listlessly around the lake. Her first bite of food burned as she swallowed it, the reminder that she was going to be in this form, away from all human contact until she could figure out a way to break a curse that wasn't meant for her.

While her mind burned through the shame, humiliation and disappointment she felt at having failed at her initial attempt at breaking the curse, her body operated on an instinctual level. It wasn't until the nest was almost finished that she realized what she was doing. Peter hadn't returned, something that drove her depression deeper than she'd ever realized it was possible to go, and she was getting ready to lay an egg.

With a week to go before the next full moon, Giselle sat on her nest and pushed and strained to expel the egg she'd felt growing within her body. It was the largest egg she'd ever seen and she was exhausted when she was finished. If a swan could weep, she would have. As it was, it was all she could do to eat the offerings the other swans brought to her, determined to keep her and the baby alive even if she didn't care.

The day before the full moon, Peter came back to the clearing around the lake. He brought more supplies with him, looking around for Giselle while he set up his tent. It wasn't until she saw him that she realized she'd built her nest where it couldn't be seen. She didn't want to leave it, or the egg, until she absolutely had to.

As the sun set and the moon rose, she stepped off the nest and into the water. One of the other swans came to take her place, the other swans keeping guard until she could return. Giselle turned while she was still in the water, sinking under the surface and kicking her strong legs until she reached somewhere shallow enough to stand.

Rising from the lake, she pushed her hair back as she walked towards the shore. Her dress clung to her, soaked through, and she could feel every movement of her body. She felt awkward, as though something had changed and she couldn't figure out what. Her balance was off, the graceful movements of her feet felt leaden.

Peter watched her emerge from the lake and his breath caught in his chest. If he hadn't known better, he would have sworn she was a water spirit come to seduce him to his doom. He would have gone, following her into the lake until she dragged him to her lair. As it was, he hoped he could prove to be her salvation.

"Why were you gone so long?" She asked him when he went to take her in his arms. "I thought you weren't ever coming back."

"I told you, I had to do some research. It took me longer than I thought it would but what it turned up was fascinating.

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