The carriage rattled over the forest road, the lanterns swaying as King Edmund and Sofia rode in silence. The young princess, her amulet glowing faintly against her collarbone, kept sneaking glances at her father. His brow was furrowed, his hands tight on his knees—he had been so quiet since the broken betrothal.

Then the air grew cold. A strange wind whipped through the trees, snuffing out the lanterns. Horses shrieked as a blast of magic sent the carriage crashing onto its side.

The door was wrenched open with a violent crack. Standing framed in the moonlight was a figure Edmund had not seen in years.

“Cedric…” Edmund breathed, scrambling to shield Sofia.

The sorcerer stepped inside, his cloak dragging across the shattered wood. His two-toned hair gleamed in the half-light, his unusual eyes flickering with a cruel satisfaction.
“Your Majesty. Did you really think banishment could rid you of me forever?”

“You dare show your face after betraying this kingdom?” Edmund spat.

Sofia clutched her amulet, staring up at Cedric in shock. “You’re the one from the stories…”

Cedric’s gaze lingered on her—just for a moment—before snapping back to Edmund. “Yes. The ‘villain’ who sought only to prove his worth. And look at you now, Edmund, dragging your little princess home after she humiliated her betrothed. Not such a picture-perfect king after all, are you?”

With a wave of his hand, violet light wrapped around Edmund. The king gasped as his body stiffened, his skin paling until he stood frozen, unmoving, a statue of cold gray stone. Sofia screamed and rushed to him, beating her fists against the unyielding surface.

“No! Father!”

Cedric’s expression shifted—there was triumph, but not glee. He turned to Sofia, voice low.
“Do not despair, little swan. Your father lives. Stone is not death. But you will stay with me, as my… guest.”

“Why are you doing this?” Sofia cried, tears streaking her cheeks.

His eyes glinted with something unreadable. “Because it is the only way to make your kingdom—and mine—see the power they scorned.”

He reached for her wrist. She tried to pull away, but his grip was firm, though not cruel. With a whispered incantation, black feathers began to shimmer across her arms, her voice breaking into a cry as her form shrank and twisted until a white swan fluttered helplessly in his grasp.

“Beautiful,” Cedric murmured, almost to himself, as he carried her toward the shadows. “A princess by night, a swan by day… A curse befitting one who was given everything I was denied.”

He glanced back once at the stone form of Edmund, his jaw tightening. Then he vanished into the forest with the struggling bird in his arms, leaving behind only silence and the faint shimmer of fading magic.