HES Part 5

“I know some of the folklore behind the ballet, but very little of it.” She told him. “I saw the movie when I was a little girl, but I didn’t care for it.”

“The movie was just a Disney wanna be.” He replied. “Not including the movie, what do you know about it?”

“Well, let’s see.” She began. “Barron Von Rothbart was an evil wizard, who in actuality was an owl, that could take human form. He captured beautiful young maidens, and took them away to an enchanted lake. Von Rothbart cursed them, by making them swans by day and humans by night. The pinnacle of his collection was the Princess Odette, as he made her his Swan Queen. The enchanted lake was made out of the tears of Odette’s disheartened mother. Von Rothbart had destroyed the kingdom, and took Odette and the other maidens away.”

“What else do you know about the story?” He asked.

“He then told Odette that the curse could only be broken, if a man proclaimed his true love for her.” She answered. “But if the young man betrayed that love, then Odette would belong to Rothbart forever. It was soon after that, when she met Prince Siegfried, and they fell in love. Siegfried told her that their was going to be a ball, in his honor. If she could sneak away from Rothbart, Siegfried would proclaim his love for her to everyone at the ball. It would then break the curse, and Siegfried would take her as his bride.”

“Did it work?” He asked.

“Oh come now.” She replied. “You’ve performed as Von Rothbart for years, you know what happened.”

“Humor me.” He said, as he smiled, and rested his face against the palm of his hand.

“No, it didn’t work.” She answered. “Because Von Rothbart found out about their plan. He had a daughter that looked like Odette, named Odile. But she was not pure of heart, as Odette was, and so she took the form of the black swan. She went to the ball, disguised as Odette, and seduced Siegfried as they danced together. Not only did she convince him that she was Odette, but that he also got the name wrong. She told him her name was Odile. When their dance was over, he proclaimed to everyone at the ball that he was in love with Odile. And that she was his chosen bride. It was at that moment that Von Rothbart presented himself to Siegfried’s mother, stating that he was Odile’s father, and that her son must honor his proposal to his daughter.”

“What happened next?” Bartholomew asked her, as he seemed to be entranced with her, as she was telling him what she knew of the story.

“Von Rothbart then revealed to everyone at the ball, including Siegfried, that Odette was actually just outside the window.” She answered. “Siegfried was devastated as he soon realized that he had been tricked into betraying Odette, thereby forever cursing her and the other swan maidens. Von Rothbart then turned back into an owl, as Odile turned into the black swan. While in owl form he grabbed the broken hearted Odette, then he left with her, and his daughter.”

“So what did Siegfried do?” Bartholomew inquired.

“Siegfried followed Von Rothbart, Odile, and Odette to the lake.” She replied. “He came to apologize to Odette, and proclaim his love for her. But Von Rothbart laughed, and stated that it was too late. Not only that, but he had made a promise to Odile, and that Siegfried had to keep his promise. But Siegfried rejected Odile, and he and Von Rothbart fought over Odette. It was at that moment, that Odette forgave Siegfried. Knowing that she and Siegfried could never be together, she jumped off a cliff and drowned herself in the lake of tears. Siegfried, and Rothbart were both devastated. But Siegfried was so distraught, that he too plunged himself into the lake of tears and drowned. The act of love was so great, that it broke the curse. Both Von Rothbart, and Odile died, while the swan maidens were finally free.”

“That’s probably the story that most people have heard.” He said. “But why do you think that Von Rothbart was so obsessed with Odette in the first place?”

“Well, it’s not stated in the ballet exactly what Von Rothbart’s motivations were.” She said. “But there are many different interpretations.”

“Tell me.” He said to her.

“Well, one theory is that he just hated women .” She answered. “And he wanted to punish those that he was attracted to, and that he liked playing mind games with is captives, especially Odette. Another theory being that he was just a pervert that wanted the maidens, for his own personal harem, and that Odette was his favorite. But the most popular version, was that he was in love with Odette. He had taken human form, and presented himself as a Barron, so that he could ask for the Princess Odette’s hand in marriage. But when the queen, and Odette refused, he became vengeful. That’s when he destroyed the kingdom, and took Odette and the other maidens away. He thought that she would eventually fall in love with him. Once she did that, he himself would break the curse by declaring his love for her.”

“I can assure you, my dear.” He replied. “That the latter version was true.”

“How do you know that?” She asked.

“Don’t forget.” He explained. “I am from Germany, and we know the tale better than most. It was a story that I had heard most of my life. In fact, you may say that I know it by heart. We still have some time to kill, before your clothes are done. I want you to know the whole story. It will give you a real sense of the characters, and their motivations. I especially want you to know about the dynamic surrounding Rothbart and Odette. Once you learn that, you will understand them better than yourself. You will then be able to master the role of Odette through your dance. Then you will truly be the Swan Queen.”

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Many centuries prior….

The Princess Odette was running through the forest, crying. It was the young girl’s eighth birthday, and much to her dismay, her parents had invited a king and queen from a neighboring kingdom. It wasn’t the king, and queen that she didn’t like. It was their ten year old son, Prince Siegfried.

Odette was at that age, where she didn’t like boys to begin with, but Siegfried was just a big bully. If he wasn’t throwing rocks at her, then he was throwing them at the swans. This upset her even more, as they were her favorite animals.

She loved birds in particular, but swans where almost magical. Whenever she felt sad, or alone, she used to pretend that she could turn into one, and fly away with them. But the annoying boy was trying to hurt them.

“Stop it!” The young princess cried. “You’re going to hurt them!”

“There just stupid birds.” He scoffed. “So what?”

“They’re my friends, and I won’t let you hurt them!” She proclaimed.

“Stupid girl!” The prince laughed. “Of course they’re your friends! No one else would be friends with you!”

“Shut up!” She cried, profusely. Tears were streaming down her face, as the young prince just callously rolled his eyes at her.

“Oh alright!” He yelled, at her in annoyance. “I won’t hurt your stupid swans!” Just then a large dark looking bird flew over them. With a sinister smile on his face, Siegfried threw a rock at it as hard as he could.

“NO!” Cried Odette, as the rock hit the poor bird. Immediately, it dropped to the ground behind some tall grass.

“YES!” Exclaimed Siegfried, “I got him! One day I will be the greatest hunter in all the lands! I’m going to have it stuffed, and placed in my bedroom!”

“No you’re not!” Odette cried. “I’m going to save him!”

“Oh really?” Siegfried laughed. “And just how are you going to stop me?”

“If you want him, you’ll have to go through me!” She proclaimed, as she bravely stood in front of him. Siegfried just burst into laughter.

“You!” Cried Siegfried, as he laughed even harder. “How are you going to stop me? You’re just a scrawny little girl. I could easily get by you!”

“Maybe!” She stated with a look of determination. “But if you try and hurt me, I will tell both of our parents. How do you think they’ll like to hear about the brave prince who beat up a scrawny little girl?”

“Fine!” Replied the prince, as she had made him angry. “Go find that stupid bird! It’s probably dead by now anyway. He’s now the perfect playmate for you, completely useless and boring. I’m going to try to find someone fun to hang around with, why would I want to hang around with a stupid girl anyway?”

He then left her in a huff, as she was glad that the bully was gone. As soon as he turned to leave, she stuck her tongue out at him. She then went to look for the bird. Hopefully Siegfried was wrong. Hopefully it was still alive.

As she made her way through the tall grass, she heard what sounded like some kind of cooing. She looked down, and saw that it wasn’t just a bird that Siegfried had hurt. It was a black owl. She was surprised, as she had never seen anything like it. She didn’t even know such a creature even existed.

The poor thing was breathing, but it had obviously been badly hurt. A tear ran down her cheek as it landed on the owl’s face. It opened it’s eyes, and stared right at her. The creature opened it’s mouth, and barely made a screech.

The princess sadden by the owl’s apparent pain, took off the cape that had been wrapped around her shoulders. She then gently enveloped the helpless animal in her cape, as she gently lifted it off the ground. She then held it as a baby, as it began to coo in her arms.

“Don’t worry.” She whispered, as she smiled at the injured owl. “I’ll take care of you, and nurse you back to health. Then when you’re all better, I’ll set you free. And I promise that nasty Siegfried will never harm you again.”

The owl seemed to relax within her arms, as he seemed to find the little girl comforting. Tired from the ordeal, and feeling safe within her arms. The strange owl creature shut it’s eyes, and went to sleep.

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