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[h1][color=DarkOrange]Scar Lionhart[/color] and [color=MistyRose]Odette Swan[/color][/h1]
[h2]Flashback - Swan Lake - Part Three[/h2][/center]

[b][i]Two months ago...[/i][/b]

[i]It was at that point where the sun still had a few moments before coming up over the horizon though the sky was filled with enough light to see by, although still dark. The rain had only lasted about two hours into the night before moving on, though the canopy Scar had been resting under did very little to keep him dry. Thankfully, enough years spent in the wilds had hardened his body to such elements, and short of a slight shiver that would subside after the sun came up, he was unaffected.

Lifting his heavy lids, Scar's beady black eyes looked up to the treetops above, feeling a few remaining droplets of water drip down onto his face. Taking in a deep breath of the fresh, dawn air, he forced himself back up into a sitting position, using the back of his hand to wipe away the small droplets of water left on his face while resting his back against the trunk of the tree.

A twinge of a tickle made its way down his wrist when he moved his hand to wipe away the water, bringing his attention to the small golden chain he had wrapped around it the night before in an effort to keep it safe while he attempted to get some sleep. Using his other hand, Scar unclasped the chain and let the pendant fall loose into his open palm, once more examining the swan embroidery upon it's face. She had given it to him in wanting for him to find the hope that she had seemed to have lost herself... the hope that he had forgotten that used to exist inside of him.

The sun broke over the tops of the mountains, a beam of warm light filtering through the trees, over the rolling fog on the lake and and kissing the wet, tanned skin of his face forcing Scar to squint a bit at the sudden brightness. Rubbing his eye with his free palm, Scar closed up his opposite hand around the pendant and using the strength of his arms, pushed himself up and off of the ground to his feet with the added support of the tree trunk. An immediate wash of pain come over his leg despite him keeping a majority of his weight on the other, causing him to grit his teeth in irritance at the constant reminder of his failure.

The gentle breeze through the trees caused the leaves to dance gracefully casting their shadows on the ground surrounding where the young girl stood her gaze lifted up to the sky as she watched the moon departing so that the sun could once more take its place above the world, her heart sank with each inch of the moon that dissipated causing a single tear to slip from the corner of her eye to roll down her cheek giving her the surprise that she was still capable of making them after the events that had transpired throughout the night, closing her eyes she lifted her hand up her fingers running through her long wavy blonde locks savoring the feeling that it gave her and would give her for the last time before she went through with the choice that she had made while giving up the last thing giving her the hope at the life she had always dreamed about.

Allowing her eyes to follow the suns light as it rose above the tree tops she stood from her perch her feet carrying her through the trees and into the water of the lake her eyes closing as she felt the warmth of the suns rays flow down over her body spreading through her like wildfire while she waited for the curse to set in and for her form to change back to that of the swan she had grown so used to over the years, after a few moments she opened her eyes slowly the realization dawning that she would not be able to return to the skies for yet another day as the one who had already caused her so much pain had caught on to her train of thought keeping her on two legs for another day in order to keep her in his possession.

Stumbling backwards a few steps she dropped back onto the bank of the lake her hands coming up to cover her face as her long locks fell over her shoulders hiding her from view of those who roamed close to her, dropping her hands down from her face she wrapped her arms tightly around her knees pulling them in close to her chest as she hunched over her head dropping so that it rested in her lap.

It wasn't at all difficult to catch sight of The Swan Princess resting down by the lake. As the sun continued to rise above the mountains her figure became more and more encased by the orange glow of the sunrise until it seemed as if the light was all entirely focused on her, like a spotlight. The gold necklace in Scar's palm felt heavier in his hand as he watched her posture sink lower and lower into a slouch he knew instantly and from experience to be defeat. Truly, just like that, she was going to give up? Shaking his head, he tightened his grip on the necklace in his hand and made his way over to the lake, taking great care of his bad leg but extending just the right amount of force on it so that the torn muscles could get exercised properly. He said nothing as he finally reached her and with a bit of a painful grunt, he extended his bad leg, bending the good one and with the help of his hands, eased himself down into a sitting position next to her.

"She would have been about your age by now if I hadn't..." No matter how much he wanted to, Scar couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. It had been years since he had talked about his family to anyone, let alone what happened; what he had done to them. "She had a lot to live for, and I took that away from her before she even had a true chance to experience what life had to offer..." Looking down at his fist, he eased his fingers apart until the golden pendant could be seen cradled ever so delicately into his palm. "In a way, I see parts of her in you, what she would have been if-" Scar shook his head, again unable to finish his thought. Instead, he twisted his torso a bit to face her and using both hands, swung the necklace around her neck and clasped it back together at the back, setting it down gently on top of her skin.

"You can't give up hope so easily, not when there are others out there who share a common goal; a similar dream of wanting their freedom. If you feel as if there is no hope left for you, then I will hope twice as hard for the both of us, so long as you know that it is still out there, waiting for you to take charge and embrace it."

With that said, Scar removed his hands from around the necklace clasp, gave Odette a very curt nod and moved his leg as he began to prepare to stand back up to leave.

Her body tensed slightly jumping as she heard his voice calling to her from her side causing her to lift herself up her head turning so that she was looking over at him her light blue orbs flicking down his figure to linger on his injured leg before lifting once more to catch his eye listening silently as he spoke, her lips parted slightly her hand reaching up to press against the pendent he once more replaced around her neck his fingers brushing over her skin as he fixed the clasp his hands lingering against her neck before slowly retreating, the man who she had been arguing with just hours ago now lifting himself from the ground as he began to make his way from the Lake.

Lifting her hand up she let her fingers brush against the cool gold of the pendant as it laid against her skin causing her to hesitate for a few moments suspended in her own thoughts about what he had told her, she reminded him of his own daughter? A sharp pang of guilt shot through her heart as she reflected back on the events of the night remembering how she had been the one to bring up the topic in her anger towards him, she had been wrong to do so, it was none of her business unless he wished to make it so.

Pulling herself up to her feet she turned her eyes lingering on his back as she took a couple of steps closer to him her hands falling together in front of her chest and her fingers playing with each other as she spoke softly, "Your injuries need time to heal... Please do not feel obligated to leave because of my words earlier..." Turning her gaze down at the ground she fell silent for a few moments before her mind came to rest upon something he had said to her while she had been tending to his wounds, "If you do not mind me asking... What does Maliaka mean..?"

Heading towards the thicket of trees that he had come through when he had first arrived there, he didn't pause his step as she tried to assure him that his leg still needed time to heal, however at the mention of 'Malaika,' he halted. Keeping his back to her, he racked his brain for information as to why this desolate little girl would know a word from his native language, the only thing that made any sense was the night before, when his memories were still very fuzzy after waking up finding that Odette had dressed his wounds, there was a brief moment in where he had truly thought his life was over, he had even seen an angel hovering over him, guiding him to his final resting place.

Pressing his lips together in a firm line, Scar then came to realize that there was no angel, only Odette. [i]She[/i] had been his angel.

"Where I come from, we have an ancient language that most of the people have forgotten about. Though, since I was born a royal I was taught key words of the language that have been passed down through generation upon generation in hopes that one day the language would once again become the standard." Pausing, Scar turned his body so that he was facing Odette once more, though kept his distance. "The name I gave myself as a young man is Kovu, but as my people have become more comfortable with the English language, I am most often referred to as Scar for it's literal translation." He paused again to vaguely gesture to the 'C' shaped scar surrounding his eye.

"Malaika... has a similar story as far as two names go. When I was lying there in the grass, unconscious, an angel came to me, trying to help me to what I thought would be my final resting place. When my eyes opened and I saw the angel for myself I was sure I had reached the other side, so in reverence I called the angel by the true name of my people before I passed out again. I'm realizing now... that there was no angel... not literally anyway, but might as well have been for her actions proved to be just as pure and noble as any celestial being could ever be. She was you. You are Malaika. You helped me when everyone else would have taken the chance to slit my throat where I lay vulnerable and finish the job Rothbart began. I am not a loved King, no one has ever shown me that amount of kindness before, thus you have earned the name."

Her gaze lifted from the ground at which they stood the distance between them seeming to get smaller as his words weighed down upon her shoulders her cheeks turning a light shade of red as she began to understand the meaning behind the word and just how much his explanation meant to her, her mind working to commit each and every word he spoke to her memory so that she would never be able to forget the kind words he offered her even after her awful behavior throughout the night, "I only did what I felt in my heart was the right thing to do... You have been nothing but kind to me. You even gave me your word that you would attempt to break my curse, and even though I knew that it was not possible to do so, I could not just leave you to die. Nor could I let anyone else make an attempt at it if I had the choice nor means to stop it."

Lifting her hand up once more she allowed her fingers to slowly brush over the gold pendant that hung from the chain he had replaced around her neck, "Thank you for returning this to me, I have had this in my possession for as long as I can remember..."

Keeping his eyes on hers, the only indication he gave that he had even heard her words was a very subtle nod of the head forward, though it could also be taken as not just a nod, but a bow as well; with him it was hard to tell. His eyes then flicked from hers to the golden pendant hanging from her neck, then back up to her eyes.

"I meant what I said. I [i]will[/i] kill Rothbart if I can't find a way to break these curses; yours and mine. And I'm sure you and I aren't the only ones who have fallen victim to that man's subjection." He moved his hand back, running his fingers through his short cropped hair, the water that had collected down in his roots from the rainfall causing some areas to spike up and off of his forehead completely. "Our curses can't be too different from one another, there has to be something that binds them together, something equal that can break them, I gather that by killing the man who has cursed us, they will all be lifted. The only other solace I will find is if I break my curse as intended, to find it in my heart to love my brother and fix our relationship, but with him dead, I no longer have the option. I need to find another way."

Stepping forward, closing the distance between the two of them again, Scar reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"If I am wrong, and bringing an end to The Great Animal does not lift the curses, you still have a chance." Moving his hand from her shoulder, he delicately picked up the pendant of her necklace with his thumb and forefinger, lifting it off of her chest a few inches though kept his eyes on hers. "You have hope." He finished, as if the symbol of the swan on the pendant no longer was a memory of her misfortune, but a the very symbol of hope itself.

Shaking her head softly she dropped her gaze slightly the mentioning of the curse they shared causing her heart to sink slightly as she hadn't been completely honest with the gravity of situation that she was in, "My King, I have not been completely honest with you as to the extent of my curse... Please do not think that I would lie to you, what I have told you is completely true, but it is not as simple as finding a man who can love me..." Biting her lower lip she nibbled on it softly contemplating and choosing her words carefully as she tried to explain it to him, "It is true that I am a swan by day, and a girl by the light of the moon. However only a vow, of everlasting love can break the curse that has been set..."

She lifted her head slowly nervous at his reaction to her not having told him the whole truth the night they had met after he had asked her about it, "Only, if the one who truly loves me makes the vow to another... Or the wrong man makes it to me... I die." She smiled softly as she glanced down watching him thumb at her necklace, "It has always been a reminder of what used to be... I will be sure to see the swan as nothing more than a symbol of hope, the hope that you have once again given me."

As she further explained the extent of her curse to him, he returned the pendant back down to lay flat on her chest and took half a step backwards, putting a respectable amount of distance between them. A flash of understanding came over his dark eyes, lightening the color a few shades to a soft brown.

"You are not a swan now, and the sun has risen above the mountains. Therefore there are ways around your curse." Closing his eyes for a moment, Scar took in a deep breath, trying to place this strange feeling warming in his chest. He hadn't ever been able to relate to anyone before, not like this, and it made that protective instinct he held over Odette to grow even more.

Clearing his throat and opening his eyes back up, he realized something else within him then; she had called him her King... and though that wasn't exactly true as they were in a new land, normally he wouldn't stop to correct this, taking any sort of power over another person that he could, but Odette was different, she had proven this in many different ways. If his child had lived, he wouldn't have her call him her King, not in private, and he wanted the same for Odette.

"Scar is fine. Here I am not your King and I do not wish for you to treat me as such, only as your... your..." He trailed off, unable to pinpoint the exact word he was looking for.

Turning her head to the side her gaze trailed over to the waters in the lake her hands lifting from her dress for a moment before falling back to what was left of the material in a dismissive manner showing that it was not a normal thing but it was something that she had grown used to, "This is what happens when I choose to defy him... He gifts me the chance at staying a girl for the day, giving me no chance to leave the prison he has set me in. I can not get far on legs, and I can not return to this state from that of the swan if I am not by the lake..."

Raising her hand up to brush some of her hair back she neatly tucked it back behind her ear her light blue orbs flicking back to meet his as a warm and loving smile played on her lips, "You may not rule over these lands, however that will not stop me from showing you the respect that you deserve. But if you wish it, I will try my best to call you by your name Scar." Tilting her head her eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion as he tried to think of the word that he wanted to use, "... Friend..?"

Taken back some by the word 'friend' it took the King a moment or two to collect his thoughts so that he could say what it is he had been thinking. Crossing his arms over his chest, puffing it out slightly as if he were trying to regain some amount of his masculinity he had lost somewhere along the way with this conversation, he gave her a curt nod.

"If that is what you wish for me to be." He replied a bit gruffly, getting the cutting edge back into his voice that was his usual tone. Turning his gaze over his right shoulder, he once more looked upon the thicket of trees that would lead him back to the road he had traveled here on. He wasn't exactly in great shape, but he'd rather put some distance between Swan Lake and himself by tonight, or he just might try to storm the castle once more and end up in an even worse condition.

"Keep your chin up kid, these curses won't last forever." Scar then said, turning his attention back to her. "I thank you again for your hospitality, but I must begin my journey back to The Pride Lands so that I may rest up properly, and bring an end to all of this for m- for us."

Biting the inside of her lip she chewed on it for a moment contemplating his words in her mind as he confirmed her guess at what he was trying to say about what he wished their relationship to be, "I do not see you as a friend, but more of a father... I have not had someone who has cared about me in such a manner in so long... You are kind, and strong, and you have given me back the hope that he was once able to give me. I miss him so..."

Her eyes opened making them look slightly wider than they normally would as the idea popped into her head turning as she dropped her head, her fingers playing with the clasp on the necklace he had given back to her moments before, lowering it in front of her she did the clasp back up before she quickly closed the gap between them reaching out to take his hand as she slipped it into his palm just as she had done earlier that night, "I am not giving up my hope by giving this to you, but rather showing you that I will never forget you, just as I hope you shall never forget me. You are welcome here always, Scar."

His eyes widened a bit as she related him to her own father, whom he recalled she had mentioned the first night they had met when Rothbart had killed him in cold blood to claim Odette as his own. Inflating his chest a bit more, unable to quell the pride he was feeling with the title she had decided to give him, bringing back the feelings that had been suppressed for so long that he felt when he had once been a true father. He was being handed a second chance, the blood-lust within him of wanting Rothbart dead only intensifying even more with each breath he took. That evil sorcerer would not be the ruin of this relationship, not this time.

"Then a father to you I shall be." He agreed. Watching as she tugged his hand away from his chest, he felt the familiar cool metal against his palm. His mouth was already open in protest but she had cut him off, explaining her reasoning behind her giving him the necklace once more. Nodding in understanding, he clenched onto the pendant tightly in a fist, showing her just how seriously he was taking her gift.

"I will not forget you Malaika. I will return for you just as I promised. And I make good on my promises. Once your curse has been broken, you will be free to see the world just as you wanted, though you will always have a home away from home in The Pride Lands, with me."

Taking a moment to look down on his person, finding that he had nothing to give her in return save for the animal hide pants that were barely hanging on by a thread, his shoulders slouched, but just as they did an idea came to him.

"My traveling cloak, you still have it?"

Her heart swelled in her chest as she curled her fingers around his hand squeezing it gently as he agreed to being her father or as close a thing as he could to being so causing her smile to grow her eyes sparkling in the light of the sun showing him just how happy his words had made her, "I look forward to the day in which I can travel across the lands and see you in your home, it would give me nothing but joy to see the world you call your own."

Nodding as she thought back to the cloak he had given her both the night they had met and the night before now once more safely hidden beneath the tree in which they stood next to she removed one of her hands from his gesturing down to it, "Yes, I have it hidden so that Rothbart would not find me with it, I fear that if he did, he would take it away from me."

"Hold on to it, and keep it safe for me." He told her simply, finding no need for her to go and collect it for him; it was literally the only thing he could give her as of right now. Lowering both of his hands back to his sides, he once more looked back over his shoulder at the clump of trees before turning back to Odette, a sort of sad smile playing across his lips and nodded a farewell, turning to leave, never being one for long goodbyes, or any goodbye for that matter.

"Thank you..." Moving forward without a second thought as he began to walk away from her she slid her arms around his stomach her eyes closing as she pressed her body against his back in a warm hug her arms tightening as much as she could around his strong figure, "Please... Be safe on your trip back home, you will never be out of my thoughts... Father..."

Instinctively turning as he felt her arms slide around his middle, he kept moving until her head was instead pressed into his chest, his own arms wrapping around her tiny figure and looking down on her. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as she called him 'father', something they had just agreed upon not a few moments ago and yet it already felt as right as day. Bending his neck downwards a small ways, he kissed the top of her hair before standing back up straight, removing his arms from his hold on her.

"And you, be safe here. Don't do anything to set him off. Do as he says, be compliant, it will only be for a short while." Taking a few steps backwards after she loosened her hold on him, his sad smile turned just a bit more on the brighter side, taking a moment to open up his hand and wind the golden necklace back around his wrist as he had done the night before and secured it there tightly. "I'll see ya around kid." Scar once more turned his back and headed towards the clump of trees. The walk there was difficult and filled with pain, but he had endured worse; much, much worse. All that mattered now was getting home, rest up, and then come back with a bloody vengeance; for the first time in years now thinking of someone other than himself.[/i]