Tell Me a Story

AN: I can't explain too much of what led to this story without spoiling it. Basically it was spawn from my very odd line of thinking which has made itself apparent in some of my other fics.

Disclaimer: I don't own Princess Tutu. So don't sue me. I'm not selling this, duh.

Kinkan Town had always been prone to the suggestion of stories; not from reading them, but from the actual writing. The town had, in fact, been released from the effects of one of these stories that had controlled their every way of life a few months earlier. Few remembered this occurrence, however, as it was also part of the story's design.

The citizens now went on with their normal lives as though nothing had ever been strange. In fact, their memories of that time were all but gone. A few people that had been more tightly woven into the story felt as though something were missing, although most could not place what it was.

As for the ones that did remember, they were looked upon as odd in the town. Their numbers were very few, and one was hardly noticed at all, but something seemed off about them.

For instance, the young man that spent much of his time writing. The people had remembered him as a boy with a troubled past who tended to be moody. Now he suddenly was obsessed with his works and more open to others than before. They could have sworn a few people had helped to change him... but who were they, again? Must have been their imaginations.

He continued to write and puzzle the townsfolk, however, as did the fact that there was a small duck that never seemed to leave his side. Something in the bird's eyes made it seem almost human. Something about the way it reacted... could ducks even react? No, that was a crazy notion. And yet, the people could not help but whisper about the creepy duck guy, and they could not help but feel these things around the bird.

Of course, the townsfolk had forgotten that this duck had, for a time, been a girl. As Ahiru, she had loved to dance and help those around her, especially her beloved prince who needed his heart returned. The prince was only remembered as a character in a story now, though, and the girl as a shadow. The duck remembered all of this, however. It was not in her design to forget what had happened because it was not in her design to still exist at the end of the story. The same went for the knight who had not died as he was supposed to, and it was he that had kept writing so he could truly finish the story for the prince. It was he who continued to write stories of hope to this day. It was a happily ever after all around.

Or was it? For the knight himself had been very close to the girl that was now a duck. After the many pains and hardships the two had gone through together, Fakir had sworn to remain by her side forever. Even a promise as simple as that had been enough to restore happiness and hope to Ahiru.

What was the nature of this relationship? Were they truly happy with the way things stood? Was he really glad to see her in this form? Did Fakir secretly wish to return her to being a human through his writing? And, if he did, was he not capable of doing so, which would to lead to angst? The copious amounts of angst?!

And did the duck that had a taste of humanity truly want to remain a bird though it was her true self? Now that she was free to follow her own feelings, what were they? What, also, were her feelings toward this young man who had given her strength when she needed it most? What, indeed...

Ahiru awoke with a grunt. She had that strange dream again. The one with the narrator. "I really wish I'd quit having those," she thought as she squirmed.

Still, she couldn't complain too much about her situation. After Prince Siegfried and Rue had left, she had stayed at Fakir's until her wounds were healed. Once she was able to get around on her own again, the two of them had just stayed together. Whether it was in the town or at the lake or in his room, she was always with him.

This fact shouldn't have surprised her, though, and it didn't really. He had told her he would stay with her, and that's what he was doing. It made her happy, she knew that for certain. Plus, it was nice to have a warm bed in a blanket-lined basket in the corner of his room.

The days had been going by uneventfully since the story had ended. While she could no longer go to school or dance with everyone as she had loved to do, she could still bring smiles to people by simply being there. It was too bad that most of them gave her strange looks whenever they saw her, though. She wondered why they did that.

She could keep Fakir company while he wrote, too. She wasn't really sure what he was writing at the moment. It was a bit hard for her to read as a duck, and he didn't really talk about it to her nor could she hear him writing in her mind. Ahiru could only assume that meant he wasn't writing about her this time, and, honestly, she wasn't really sure how she felt about that. It was nice to no longer be part of a story and to be able to make her own decisions, yet something about Fakir not writing about her felt a bit... cold.

"Wait, cold?" she suddenly thought. Now that she noticed it, she suddenly was feeling very cold. This was definitely not normal for that warm little bed she had. "Huh, I must have fallen out again. It was probably because of that weird dream I had," she told herself, scratching herself on the head.

...Wait, what?

Upon realizing what she had done, she quickly sat up and looked down at her hands. Yes, she definitely had hands. She could only assume she had a human body to go with them. In her utter surprise and disbelief, she let out a scream.

Fakir immediately awoke and sat straight up in his bed. "What happened?!" he cried, not having time to think about the implications of her shout. He looked down at her and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Fakir, what...?"

Within a split second he had turned bright red and flung his blankets at her.

"What was that for, Fakir?!"

"Cover up!"

Ahiru blushed as she realized that she was not, in fact, wearing anything. She quickly wrapped the blankets around herself and sat on the floor. Then she turned her attention back to Fakir, who seemed very interested in the wall. "All right," she said, a bit of embarrassment in her voice.

Fakir turned back to look at her, an expression of disbelief on his face. If he wanted to say something, he was too lost in thought to express it.

After a bit of a silence, Ahiru finally spoke again. She still sounded a tad embarrassed and unsure. "Say, Fakir, why did you wr-"

"Why are you a girl again?" he finally asked, still in disbelief.

"Hu...Huuuuuuuuuh?!"