Princesses Gone Wild

Odette rolled her eyes. “Okay, so the market’s ripe for erotic stories. How erotic? Like ‘oh, please touch my heart with your tongue’ erotic or…” she paused, “erotic like the truth behind the Ugly Duckling tale?”

“Wait a minute.” Sherry blinked. “The Ugly Duckling?”

“Awww. I loved that one.” Cinderella sighed. “Sweet fluffy ducklings, happy ever afters, beautiful swans….”

Odette snorted. “Where you been, girlie? Ducks shit all over the place, which stinks like hell and turns your glass slippers to mud. And God forbid you piss off a male swan. He’ll smash your kneecaps as soon as he looks at you.” She wriggled her bottom more comfortably on the couch, ignored the resulting cloud of feathers, and grinned at her friends. “Don’t ever be fooled by those swans’ grace and elegance. It’s a front. Underneath, they’re piss and vinegar, baby, and not always in a good way.”

She waved at the goblets on the table. “Pour us all some more mead, Aurora. Cinders, honey, put down that damn cloth. I’m gonna tell you gals a story. The real truth behind our little fuzzy duckling friend. Be warned.” Her smile faded, to be replaced by one of stern warning. “This isn’t a nice little sunset-and-cuddly bedtime story. I hope you’ve got the stones to deal with it.”