Grace of a Swan

Grace of a Swan is a short, Original Character-oriented fan fiction and drabble written by Jade Encrusted Bugs.

Summary
The timeline of Grace takes place right before the Legacy Day ceremony, when the legacy-year students enter the outer patio and begin to take their seats. It's narrated in a third person limited with a primary focus on the swan maiden Griselle, the The Ugly Duckling's daughter. Among other things, the brief narrative entails a small look into the pressure felt by the destiny she was born with.

Cast

 * Griselle Damgaard, daughter of The Ugly Duckling.
 * (unnamed) Cordelia Chopper, daughter of the Tin Woodman of Oz.
 * (unnamed) C.J. Wogglebug, son of The Woggle-Bug from the Land of Oz series. Coincidentally owned by yours truly.
 * (unnamed) Two random persons. No really, even the author doesn't know.

The Story~
While making her way through the Legacy Day terrace, Griselle could feel the others watching as she passed. The first-year students were in awe; with her dyed locs curled, facial vitiligo covered, and dawning an elegant feathered cloak loaned from her father, the sophmores could barely recognize her.

"Is she like, the next Swan Princess?"

"Odette's kid is Duchess, you dolt!"

"Well, there's more than one swan in Swan Lake..."

"Okay, but real talk: that girl over there could give the Swan Princess a run for Cinderella's pumpkin carriage."

Her cheeks burned under the concealer she wore. It was all so awkward. Some noticed her in a positive light, sure, but Legacy Day was different. She was considered stunning. Beautiful even, with a notable surplus of unwanted stares. Tonight, Griselle embodied the swan she was sure to become.

A bird in a cage of maquillage that hid her so-called imperfections. She felt like a fraud.

"Skin dark as ebony, streaks of hair as white as snow, lips as red as blood."

The unlikely swan maiden turned her head. At first she couldn't detect it, but what gave away the source of the voice was the smug, satisfied simper worn by the bug-like boy she just passed by. What a creep, she thought.

A short-statured Ozian girl in a tin-accented dress shouted "I'll give YOU blood if you don't quit ogling!" and elbowed him roughly. The Woggle-Bug's son winced, and Griselle smirked while heading to the safety of her assigned spot.

Griselle's Legacy Attire
Trivia
 * Griselle's cloak was designed with Swan Maiden folklore in mind, as her creator has head-canoned that the Ugly Duckling and his precursors have descended from such shapeshifting persons.
 * The creepy Snow White parallel had originally meant to be used in a more classy, poetic third-person format, but Jade Encrusted Bug's attempts to include it in a non-awkward manner had failed miserably. When she considered including the antagonist C.J. from The Road Out of Oz Ain't Paved in Gold, the rest of the plot was essentially formed.
 * Griselle didn't willingly wear her vitiligo-covering makeup, but out of pressure from an outside force. Who exactly the person is has yet to be officially revealed (let alone decided upon) by the creator herself.