The swan was taken in by a group of gathered swans, who took each other by choice, not by blood. She thought of her primary caretaker as her older sister and her peers as sisters. The everyday day calmness would be blessing to others, she considered it boring and awaited the day she would be allowed to fly out. Stories that her sisters would share, about journeys they lived through before they paused them to rest here, only ignited the desire to see it for herself.

She wanted to see it, but her sisters told her to wait. They warned her, that it was too early for that yet, for her to . That she was too young, too naive.

And so, Swan forced herself to wait, to fly higher and farther than anybody before.

If not counting that day, when Shivane's friend visited, Jadwiga's days were mostly the same everyday. With the passing of these peaceful days, she ended up improving a lot, to the point, she could explore her surroundings more well and, more importantly, take care of herself without needing help. She didn't want to have Shivane constantly worry about her, so she promised swan maiden, that she will be fine on her own. While Shivane, at first, was reluctant to leave her on her own, she ultimately had to relent, as her free days were ending and she had to return to work.

Even when Jadwiga insisted that she would be fine on her own, during the week, as the white-black haired woman would be busy at her work, she felt rather lonely. She would try to distract herself with two of her past-times.

Due to her improvement in language, she would read books that Shivane had at home. Some were in language she couldn't understand at all, but most of them were in modern polish. Jadwiga often pondered if swan maiden bought them specifically for her, but she told herself that she was wrong. Some words in them were familiar to her, while some were completely new. With her trying to learn on her own, strzyga tried to figure out their meaning from context clues, and could only hope she was correct in her understanding.

Concepts in most of them left her pondering just how much did the world change. Back then, all of it would be unthinkable to write and share with general public. Sometimes, she wished that back then it wouldn't have been, as maybe she would have different mindset.

The changes also would appear in the outside that she would observe from the window.

Jadwiga would watch the street and folks that walked. First thing that caught her attention were the carriages, that would move on their own, without horses that would drag them, and seemed to be more common today. The carriage driver would be in the same space as their passengers even. Only later did she found out that these carriages were now cars.

After the curiosity regarding carriages passed, her attention turned towards people. She saw new faces everyday, each different from last. While mostly she would treat her observations casually, sometimes, she would have to pause to observe situation more closely. Such as when she saw two women holding hands and that nobody batted an eye, or from what she saw. The world truly had changed and Jadwiga had realized that she had to catch up with it soon, so she would be able to experience it with Shivane, when she would permit it.

She had to prove herself ready, to be able to experience it, even if swan maiden worried about her condition and the difference in environment. She knew that she would be safe from human diseases, and humans would be safe from her, as she wasn't one.

She understood the basic language and the people, but one thing that she couldn't figure out herself and from observation were the inventions that humanity made. No matter how much she watched Shivane do stuff, it would leave more questions that answer. Once, she saw Shivane use two squares that were tied together and would open up like a box, with the one on top lighting up. Whenever she would poke the bottom square, something would change on the one on top.

It was one of things Jadwiga didn't dare to touch, as it seemed to be important, relating to Shivane's works and she was too afraid to break it.

Realizing that her mind drifted off, and it gotten late, Jadwiga sighed and moved away from the window, to eat. She figured out where things were kept and the basic functions of inventions in the household in weeks she was left on her own. Cold box that kept food fresh and well was an amazing invention, even if she couldn't figure out where the coldness came from, or how it would light up whenever someone would open box.

And now came Jadwiga's least favorite time of the day, waiting for Shivane to come back home, as the loneliness was getting the better off her.

She tried to be brave and well, but her heart would tell her otherwise. She missed swan maiden, but more importantly, her want of outside wouldn't lessen. It just got stronger everyday, as she pondered if she was or wasn't a monster she was lead to believe, from her form to her desire. Jadwiga wanted to think that, but the past and the feathers wouldn't able to be erased.

Do descendants of her kin still exist, or did they cease to exist and she was the only one left? Would those people call her what the peasants did, as she got rid off that man?

What was it again, that she was called over and over again, due to her nature?

"Monster…"

Jadwiga muttered under her breath, as the memories came back. She wasn't hungry anymore, as the meat she ate only reminded her of flesh now. In her state, she didn't even notice, when she drifted off to sleep, as if she was experiencing exhaustion of her experiences again.

When Shivane came back to her home, she was greeted with strzyga asleep next to the kitchen counter, half eaten ham still in her hand.