Swan Lake. Dragon Empire. Natalie Yacobson

looked at her hands, they glowed as if they were on fire. Her scarlet dress turned black, like the plumage of a black swan, a green light flashed in her eyes, and only the golden crown on her head remained the only one that did not look like a swan in her. Did the prediction come true, and she became a dark princess.

      Odile could not understand what was wrong with her, but immediately the air around her burst into triumphant laugh of Rothbert, and a transparent tear flowed down Odile’s cheek, her love was lost forever, she became a black swan.

      Suddenly the silence of the night was broken by a roar, and Rothbert, in anticipation, raised his eyes to the wind-blown window, the whole sky behind him became flaming. Odile stepped back from the window and saw a golden dragon with wild, fierce eyes hovering in the sky like a gloomy bird. He was so terrible, so disgusting, but how could he be here in the land of darkness.

      Odile watched him, forgetting that her dress had turned black. He flew into the open window and occupied almost all the empty space in the hall. Its tail curled in rings, and golden scales glittered in the darkness, as if combined with a golden crown on Odile’s head.

      Fiery breath was bursting from its mouth, its paws were so strong that it seemed that if they wanted to, they would destroy the entire castle, but this was impossible, the castle of King Rothbert was indestructible.

      With the dragon, something began to happen right before Odile’s eyes, its tail and paws began to shrink and grow into a golden body, golden color and scales began to shrink and disappear, and now, it was no longer a monster, but a young man. Odile recognized him, he was a frequent visitor to their castle. Now Odile understood why, at nightfall, he politely said goodbye to her and left any ball in order to quickly hide in the dark.

      «Edwin,» she barely managed to say, not believing what she saw. Odile looked frightened now at her father, then at her friend, but now both of them, so dear to her, turned into fiends of darkness.

      «It is finished, Odile,» said Rothbert, «stop hiding, the young prince is not worthy of you, look at yourself, you are a black swan.»

      «No,» Odile blurted out.

      She could no longer bear what was happening to her, Odile ran out of the hall and rushed away.

      She paused in the dark hallway of the castle and looked into the huge oval mirror in a gilded frame that hung on the wall. Yes, now, in fact, she could be called a black swan, beautiful, but given over to darkness. Suddenly, behind her in the mirror, she saw the reflection of her father, although it changed so that it was almost impossible to recognize him. All the former beauty disappeared from his face, only his eyes remained the same as they were, but now an evil, furious light sparkled in them, destroying all living things around him.

      «Now you know everything, Odile,» he hissed and his eerie, deaf voice was even more terrible than his face, «now you are also one of us, I will make you the queen of evil, you will forget the young prince, our goal is revenge on everyone for the death of my love and your mother, now you are a black swan.»

      «But I can’t,» she whispered, «I’m not like that.»

      «You are a black swan, and you are the queen of the beauties stolen for me and turned into swans,» said the king of darkness, and Odile saw the golden dragon wriggle in the darkness, and her white hands slowly turn into the plumage of a black bird.

      Odile felt how slowly and inexorably she herself was becoming evil, she could never forget the beautiful eyes of Christian, but now she herself was becoming a part and queen of the dark forces. Her hands were covered with feathers, and now, not a girl, but a black swan with a golden crown on a proud head, flew away into the darkness of the night, where a fierce wolf howl was heard, and Rothbert looked after her and grinned viciously.

      Meanwhile, Christian made his way into the castle hall. Where to go, where to find Odile? Suddenly, on the floor, he saw something that looked like a black feather, he bent down to get a better look at it, but suddenly a black swan flew right over his head, and then Odile appeared in front of him, as if it had appeared right from the ground.

      «Odile,» he exclaimed joyfully, but she was cold and only now, tearing his eyes away from her face, he saw that she was in a dress black as night and a golden crown on her dark-haired head.

      «Run,» burst out from her, «rather escape from here.»

      «Odile,» he repeated, grabbing her hand, but her fingers were cold as ice, there was no life or warmth in them, like in any ordinary person.

      He looked at her, he could not take his eyes off her face, and she, too, seemed ready to look at the prince for ages, but something dark appeared in her gaze.

      «Go away,» she said, «you have no idea what could happen to a person here.»

      «It doesn’t scare me,» he replied, «today I could barely get out of the palace and came here, we can run away from here together, this is the only way.»

      He glanced anxiously, remembering his life away from Odile.

      «My uncle became the king of Spain,» he continued, «they wanted to send me there so that I could learn to rule the country and wield weapons, we can escape there together, and no one can find us there.»

      «You have no idea what you’re saying,» Odile closed her eyes for a moment, now she was a black swan, and love was irreversible, and she so loved that sweet face of Christian, from whose beauty it was impossible to take her eyes off. She could not betray her love, but the evil genius was already awakening in her.

      «I’m a dark princess,» she said. «I’m damned, like my father, find yourself another.»

      «No,» he said, going up to her, «you are the most wonderful girl in the whole world, you are the most beautiful, and I don’t care that you live in a cursed castle, that everyone is afraid of the king – your father, I love you, even if you are a black swan.»

      Prince Charming didn’t know he was caught in the net of the new princess of darkness, but he didn’t care. He would never have been able to stop loving her, he would never have been able to forget her marvelous features. Even though there was more dark than light in her, it no longer mattered.

      «I love you, Odile,» he repeated, and going up to her, he wanted to kiss the black-haired princess, but suddenly a terrible roar was heard over the castle. The silhouette of a huge dragon flashed through the window.

      Odile looked at Christian in horror, now she could not do anything, nothing could help her beautiful, but mortal lover.

      Lightning flashed over the castle and reflected in the hall itself. Christian stood and did not believe himself, a man stood in front of him in clouds of blue smoke. He saw him somewhere, but he just did not remember where, and it was hardly an ordinary person. The prince was brave and was not afraid of anything, he was not going to hide from those who surrounded his love with their evil spells, he wanted to fight them in a real war and defeat those forces that no one else could defeat but him.

      However, Odile died of horror, she did not expect that so quickly her mysterious friend and witch’s father would understand that the prince had come to her to ask for her hand, and they would give him a hearty welcome.

      Edwin looked at them, and his eyes were bloodshot. Anger twisted his attractive face. He wanted to destroy their love because of his dark passion for Princess Odile.

      «The time has come for you to die, Prince Christian,» he hissed.

      «How do you know my name,» broke out from Christian, but his enemy only grinned viciously, it was not for nothing that he kept this secret, but Christian looked at him closely.

      «I know you,» he said, «we’ve met somewhere before.»

      «Everything in this world is unknown, handsome prince,» Edwin grinned and raised a sharp sword glittering in the darkness in his hand.

      Christian