Other Books by Natalie-Nicole Bates
See Me, Rise Series Book 1
Save Me (Believe Again), Rise Series Book 2
Forever Red Christmas
Eve of All Hallows
UNDOING THE SWAN GIRL
Undoing the Swan Girl
Natalie-Nicole Bates
Cover Art by: Regina Paul
Edited by: Jessica Eggleston
Stock Photo Credit: Royal Touch Photography
Leap of Faith Publishing
Undoing the Swan Girl
All Rights Reserved © 2016 by Natalie-Nicole Bates
No part of this novel may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author and publisher.
All characters, names, descriptions and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities to actual people living or dead are purely coincidental.
Leap Of Faith Publishing
For information address:
Leap Of Faith Publishing
PO Box 957705
Duluth, GA 30095
ISBN: 978-0-98338-889-7
Printed in the United States of America
Prologue
A newly minted woman of eighteen saw the strange little old man on the bench in the nearly deserted train station, but he posed no particular interest for the her. No, her head was in the clouds. Life was new and fresh; just beginning really. She wanted to break into song and dance, right there in the dilapidated little station.
Even a late train couldn’t remove the smile from her face. She shined with the exuberance of youth.
The little old man in the green tattered clothing, stroked a thoughtful thumb over his long, twisted beard. Not quite four feet tall, his feet clad in battered leather boots, and barely grazed the cracked floor; a floor which hadn’t seen as much as a broom for many moons gone by.
Finally, she pirouetted, and plopped down across from him, suitcase at her crossed ankles.
“Headed somewhere special, dearie?” he asked.
“Wherever the next train sees fit to take me. I plan to be a star upon the stage from east to west, north to south. I will entertain the common man and dignitaries alike, with my songs and dance. I will be famous one day, and everyone will love me, and know my name,” she announced in a pleasant, lilting little voice.
The pale, freckled skin of her face was framed by a mass of burnished curls. Not a classically pretty girl, but one with a plucky drive to succeed, and see the world from behind dark, sparkling eyes.
“I see,” he answered, and once again stroked his beard with his thumb. “I know of a girl, young like you are, who also had a head full of dreams to dance and sing, and entertain the masses.”
The girl’s hands folded in her lap, her eyes blazed with interest.
“Since we are stuck here together for an uncertain duration, would you like to hear her story?”
She bounced a little on the bench just then, anticipating the story of another girl who was perhaps just like her. “Yes, please,” she said eagerly.
“But first, what do they call you, dearie?”
“They call me Sarah Jane. I call myself, Aria,” she replied.
“Well, Aria let us begin.” His eyes then took on a faraway look, and he began to spin his tale.
Chapter One
Once upon a time ago, it all began in a land where innocence reigned…
They called her Princess.
In her nearly twenty years alive, she never knew if Princess was her true given name, or simply a term of endearment. What she did know for a fact was everyone loved her.
Her father loved her.
Her six older brothers loved her.
Perhaps even her long deceased mother, a witch from a long line of witches, who had cast a spell of innocence around her children, loved her while she was alive many years ago.
Not only did they love Princess, they doted on her as well. Every day they brought freshly picked lilacs and roses to decorate her hair. Hair the color of fallen oak leaves in autumn, dusted with a crown of gold.
In their own little world they lived, without close neighbors. Only her father’s entourage were there to protect them from any intruders, or unseen malevolent forces. They never ventured beyond the immediate vicinity of their home, and never felt a need to explore. Why leave when you were happy with what you had and loved your family?
Each of Princess’ brothers had his own talent bestowed upon him; a butcher, a hunter, a baker, a carpenter, a gardener, and a cook.
Princess was herself a talented seamstress. She possessed other talents as well, notably, dancing and singing. She fully used those talents to dance nightly for her family, and grace them with her singing. The voice of an angel she did have, they told her, and riotously applauded her every effort, to which she basked in their adoration.
She used to be so very happy, but lately her life changed, and not for the better.
Her father recently took a new bride, and Princess and her brothers were banished to an abandoned stone house deep in the desolate forest, to fend for themselves in a strange and curious new world.
Her father still loved them, this she was sure, but the woman in his life, whom she never met, was truly evil. Her father’s face took on a look of sheer terror when he spoke of his new wife. No one knew where she came from, or what her intentions were beyond banishing the children born from her father’s first wife. Yet it was apparent she held some strong power over him. Princess knew he would never willingly cast aside his beloved children.
“She is surely a witch, but not a good one like Mother,” her brother Alexander whispered to the other brothers.
But she heard him, every word. It distressed her to the point that her hands shook without respite. Her brothers assured her one day very soon, their father would arrive to take them back to the only home they knew, and they would leave behind the stone tomb where they now resided.
Until that day came, her brothers would continue to hunt and gather to keep them all alive and well. Although they tried their hardest to keep her spirits high, she lost the joy to sing and dance.
Finally, a rustling off
