Humpty Dumpty

Princess Tutu sat on a wall

Princess Tutu had a great fall

All Fakir's talents and all Fakir's heart,

Couldn't put Princess Tutu back together again.

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Princess Tutu, Ahiru, Duck. three names, three bodies, one mind. They were united in the front, they all wanted to fix Mytho, to make him happy, to put together his cracked egg shell and smooth it neatly over so nobody could see what he was, a broken egg. She probably would've succeeded if not for Fakir and Kraehe. Fakir wanted to keep Mytho his crack egg self, to let him be nothing but yolk, he wanted it to remain that way, because he feared losing Mytho, he feared change, and most of all, he feared that once repaired the next crack would be irreparable. Kraehe had similar fears, after all, who could love a raven? So she did something unforgivable, resigning herself to the impossibility of such a love, she made the crack worse. Just like the nursery rhyme: Mytho sat on a wall, Mytho had a great fall, All Ahiru's strength and all Ahiru's heart, couldn't put Mytho back together again. Except....

She did. Mytho was not a broken egg any longer, he was repaired, sure, you could see his cracks, but he was together, he was fine. Princess Tutu, however....

It had began a few months after returning Mytho's heart, Fakir had called out to her, and she had looked confused for a moment, before remembering and flying towards him happily. Fakir hadn't noticed, and he would blame himself for that later, but as for now, he smiled and patted her head and began to write.

The first time Fakir really, reallynoticed, was when it started to cold, and he tried to bring her back into the cabin, and she resisted. He had mistaken it for a normal Ahiru behavior, and had tried to calm her down. She had bitten him, hard. Then, she had come to her senses and in her own duck-like way tried to kiss his hand better. Long after the wound healed he could feel the pain of it.

Ahiru was forgetting.

He began to show up at the lake as often as he could, as if afraid that she would depart during the night without him being aware of it. He began to write more often, trying to write her story, to allow her to keep her memory, or become a girl if he had to. None of his attempts succeeded, she continued to forget.

The first time he had cried about it, really took the full realisation, he had watched as she flew off for the winter. He had known it would happen at the progress she was forgetting, it was instinctual for her to fly away. But he had still called after her, still tried to chase and jump after her, to catch her before she departed. Then, he had slumped over, and sobbed into the unforgiving red earth until he could no longer, than wrote five pages of a story in which she regained her memory and returned to him so that they could live happily ever after.

Five months past.

When she had returned, she was no longer yellow, but a nice strong white, nearly full grown, when he had moved to try and embrace her in relief, she had attacked him. He didn't let it stop him, he continued to try. It became a common sight for Fakir to walk around with bandages and bruises covering him. He kept trying and trying to get her to remember. But, sometimes, it was easier for him to forget. To mix her up with the other ducks until he spotted her familiar blue eyes, easier than blushing and apologizing to the duck who would show indifference to him.

When Rue and Mytho had come to visit, it was only natural he'd gone a little mad with grief. They had been uncomfortable inside his lake-side shack, and finally, after he had successfully dodged the question three times, Mytho cornered him, and asked with his saddened cracked-egg shell eyes, what was wrong? Fakir had sobbed, harder than ever, and then, righted himself and brought them to the lake. He had tried, in hope Mytho's presence would fix things, to call for Ahiru, she had not come. Like a dead man, he walked towards her, the only blue eyed duck, and sat besides her. He pointed towards the horrified Rue and worried Mytho, and told her that they were there. She had quacked and tried to bite him again. He was numb to the pain of it. Rue began to sob, and Mytho called out for him to stop lying, that that wasn't Princess Tutu. Fakir had allowed it, he was numb to all.

Ahiru continued to bite him. By the time Mytho pulled himself together enough to realise Fakir wasn't lying, he had pulled the writer away, bloody and bruised. They watched as he bandaged himself up silently. And departed with an equal silence. They're hearts were all heavy, they had all lost. But, Fakir, had gotten an idea. He had nothing, nothing, for himself as a human, and some days found himself thinking of suicide, but why go through with that when he could...

The next time Rue and Mytho visited Fakir, they found the shack empty, they had hoped against hope that he had moved away, that he hadn't broken his promise to Ahiru, that he had finally moved on. When they saw the grey duck besides the blue-eyed white duck in the lake, they had known instantly.

Mytho had screamed and shouted until he was sick and all the ducks had flown away. He blamed Fakir, told him so several times, called him a coward and worthless writer, until he could no longer speak through his heavy sobs, Rue had kneeled besides him in understanding, and held him tightly, and then as the grey duck guiltily approached, still retaining some memories it seemed, she had glared. She had told him he had done enough, and told him that if this was the life he chose, he could go on with it and leave them out of it.

Fakir accepted that, he had his 'happy ever after' now, why would he need them? A few months later, he drifted. He watched, disinterestedly and only dimly aware, as hunters shot Ahiru down, and then flew off to find a new home, he didn't want that to happen to him. Somewhere, in the back of his disappearing mind, Fakir sobbed himself into oblivion over the girl he was doomed to never live happily ever after with.

Fakir sat on a wall,

Fakir had a great fall,

Nobodies efforts, and nobodies worries,

Would ever save Fakir from himself.

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AN: Erm... yeah.... depressive mood and inspiration don't go hand in hand. I was just kind of thinking of Humpty Dumpty, and how it could apply to a person like , "There once was a happy person, who lost it all, no matter how hard their loved ones tried, they couldn't fix it all." so yeah, Ahiru/Fakir moment struck, and you got this. On another note, I have seen fics where Fakir ends up a duck, but stays with Ahiru still. I don't know about you, but I don't think ducks mate for life (I'm not particularly sure on that one, but I think they don't), so, if Fakir and Ahiru were reduced to their basic elements as ducks, they probably wouldn't stick together.