The Six Swans

For how long Annabelle repeated the same daily ritual of waking up, gathering flowers and sewing, she did not know. Days merged together in her desperate attempt to make shirts.

People would stare at her as they walked by, thinking she was simply another crazy homeless person. They would never know her struggle; they would never believe her if they found out. Annabelle remained alone, sewing at the base of her tree or sleeping in its branches.

One morning, Annabelle sat high in her tree, preparing herself to climb down and gather more flowers. Shouts of excitement filled the air, sounding much too old to be the normal kids that run around the park. She peaked through the leaves of her tree and watched five unfamiliar men run into the park.

"Not it," they yelled in unison, save for one with perfectly placed black hair.

"Fine, I'll be it," he grumbled.

They walked towards her tree laughing to each other and plotting ways to out run their black haired friend.

"This tree is home base," the one with an afro declared, pointing to her tree.

The black haired one dubbed it stood at the base of the tree prepared to close his eyes and count for their game of hide and seek. Annabelle shifted on her tree branch, causing it to shake. The unexpected movement caught the eye of the black haired man. He looked up at the tree, taking in the sight of her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Annabelle said nothing but stared at the man with large eyes. No one had ever tried to talk to her before. The man's friends gathered around the tree, curious as to what their friend was looking at.

"Come down," the one with glasses commanded, "We won't hurt you."

Annabelle shook her head, still silent. The group pushed harder to get her to come down. She stayed silent. In an attempt to make them leave, she threw down her gold chain from her neck. This was no use. The group continued to ask her to come down. She removed the sash from around her waist and threw it down at them. Realizing that too had no effect, she threw down her once bright sundress, leaving her clad in only a white tank top and boy short panties. The strongest of the group climbed the tree, picked her up and brought her back down. She did not struggle in his hold for fear of falling to the ground.

The man who noticed her first, the one who had been dubbed it, asked again, "Who are you? Why were you sitting up in that tree?"

She refused to answer, continuing to stare at him dumbly.

"What do we do, Gerard?" asked the shortest.

The man—Gerard—overtaken with her beauty, answered, "We'll bring her home with us."

The four other males looked at their friend as if he had grown ten heads and called himself a fairy.

"Are you serious?" the one with the afro asked.

"Yes."

Gerard grabbed Annabelle from his friend and wrapped her tenderly in his hoodie. He took a hold of her knapsack and led his confused friends from the park to their limousine. His friends entered first; then he placed Annabelle on the seat, scooting in after her. Annabelle silently questioned the man's motives. Would he hurt her? Maybe kill her? Would she never see her swan brothers again? Would they never be saved from their horrible, if not fairytale-like, curse?

The limousine pulled up to a mansion, parking in its driveway. Gerard slid out of the limo and removed Annabelle, holding her bridal-style in his arms. He brought her up the cobblestone walkway. The door opened before he reached it, a woman clad in a maids outfit stood in the doorway, head bowed. He nodded his thanks and continued into the house, up the stairs, and to a large room. He placed Annabelle lightly on the feather-soft bed.

"This is my room," he said to her.

She stared at him still. However, fear began to replace her emotionless mask. Gerard was glad that she had some feeling, though it was not a positive one; he had begun to think the beautiful girl actually did have something wrong with her. The sight of emotion put that thought to rest.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. I promise," he said.

Annabelle took ease at his promise. Maybe he was not as bad she first thought.

"I'm going to run a bath for you so you can get cleaned for lunch. I'll provide a dress for you and leave it right here on the bed. There are supplies in the bathroom for you to get ready with."

She didn't respond. Gerard walked through the door connecting the bathroom and his room, turned on the water, and sat by the tub, waiting for it to fill. When it was finished, he stopped the water and returned to his bedroom.

"I'll be back in thirty minutes," he said.

Annabelle made no sign of hearing him. He sighed and left the room.

She stood when the door had firmly closed behind him and entered the bathroom. For security, she closed that door and locked it. Her dirt ridden tank top and underwear were removed from her body. She stepped into the bath. Dirt immediately detached from her body in the warm water. Enjoying the feeling of water on her skin, she scrubbed her body and hair, ridding the dirt and smell from herself. Finished, she stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel lying on the sink. It had been so long since she took time on her appearance that she simply could not remember what to do. Instead of frustrating herself, she skipped the step of beautifying and slipped on the silk, black dress left for her.

On his word, Gerard walked in thirty minutes after he had left. His eyes laid on Annabelle, his breath disappeared from his body. Cleaned and dressed in the silk dress, she looked even more beautiful then before. His lungs began working again in a desperate need for oxygen.

"You look amazing," he stated.

The compliment seemed to go unnoticed by Annabelle. Gerard could not stop his heart from falling at her lack of response.

"Follow me to dining room," he instructed.

She stood; this pleased Gerard. She could hear and process words, as well as feel emotion. Speech simply eluded the beauty. He could not wrap his mind around why.

He led the way down the stairs and to the dining room where others were seated. Two seats were left open next to each other, one of which he pulled out for Annabelle to sit on. He took the one next to her. Food was served; the conversation among the men remained light-hearted. Annabelle refused to talk still, not wanting to ruin the chance of saving her brothers. She ate with poise and manners of a well-bred person. Gerard marveled at her. There was no way the girl had been homeless all her life and he was determined to find out what had happened. He had to admit, he was impressed with her modest ways and behavior. Love for her had formed inside him and she had not even uttered a single word. He decided he would make her his.

In his thoughts, he had drifted from the conversation. His friends called his name repeatedly.

"What?" he asked, finally snapping out of his trance.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" the one with glasses asks.

Gerard spoke in a strong voice, "I have decided I will marry this girl and no one else."

Shock was the emotion on everyone's face, including Annabelle's. This man had not even known her for a day and he decided this.

"Gerard Arthur Way, what has gotten into you?" the shortest asked.

It was too late to change his mind, though. Gerard was set in his decision to marry the mute girl sitting next to him.