Happily Ever After
"My feet are killing me!"
"Oh, I think my toes fell off!"
"How many more days do we have of en pointe before we get a break, again?"
"It's supposed to get easier..."
"You don't want to quit ballet, do you!"
"NO! Never! I'm going to be a legend at this school!"
"Ha! Good luck!"
"Hey, did you guys hear? Maria confessed to Fakir!"
"NO! What happened?"
"Same thing as always."
"Oh... poor Maria!"
"Poor Maria nothing! If she'd had any luck, I'd have had to take her out myself."
"Have you said anything to Fakir?"
"Eeek, no! I couldn't even dream about it! Besides, no girl has ever gotten his attention."
"I heard he's had more than fifty love letters this year alone!"
"Does he have a girlfriend?"
"I heard somewhere he has an older lover from another town!"
"No, no, nothing like that! The truth is much stranger!"
"Oooh! Tell, tell!"
"Is it a BOYFRIEND?"
"You guys really haven't heard?"
"Just tell us already!"
"Well, they say he turns down every girl who declares her love for him, then goes home to..."
"Yes?"
"His duck."
"His DUCK!"
"Shhh! You guys didn't hear it from me, okay, but that's what I heard. Fakir is devoted to his pet duck. He takes her with him everywhere, when he's not in school."
"That's so CUTE!"
"That's so weird."
"Why would he turn down girlfriends in favour of a duck?"
"I don't know! It's just what I heard!"
"Maybe she's his lover, and she was enchanted in an evil spell, and is trapped in that form, but he loves her so much he sticks by her anyway until he can find a cure!"
"I wouldn't hold your breath on that."
"What kind of duck is it?"
"I don't know! I've never seen it!"
"He's not, like... IN love with it, is he?"
"Don't be weird!"
"I think it's sweet! Fakir loves animals!"
"Yeah! Listen to you, trying to make him sound weird when he's just kind-hearted!"
"Fakir has a dark side, but he's kind to animals! Be still my heart!"
"Are you gonna confess?"
"Ooh! You've got to!"
"Oh, no! Guys, I can't bear it-!"
"We'll help you! Come on, we'll write you a letter and all you'll have to do is sign it!"
Ahiru, drowsy, ruffled her wings as she repositioned herself on the wicker chair. Next to her, Fakir looked away from his book and down at her. She blinked up at him, and gave a small 'quack' as he stroked the feathers between her eyes, gently.
"I'll always be by your side," he'd promised, and held his word. He smiled warmly as she nuzzled forward against his fingertips, then tucked her head back towards her wing.
They had no regrets.
End
