Sich Entsinnen Die Kleine Kinder
(Remember The Little Children)

The Prologue Which Got Out Of Hand And Was Suddenly More Of A Chapter
Or Just 'The Prologue', If You Prefer.

Gold Crown Town was a small and respectable sort of town in the heart of Germany. It was a little old-fashioned and a bit unusual, but for all that it was still a respectable place with respectable occupants who were polite and gracious and nary a bad word could be said for the rather quiet town.

Quiet, save for the children.

There were three of them, an unlikely trio. No one could fathom why such different children would form such a solid friendship, but they gathered that their differences were what made them so troublesome. There were two boys the same age as each other, and one girl two years younger. She was from a foreign family, which initially had made her quite an outcast until she had befriended the boys. Her mother was a Japanese woman, and that was where she had been born, but her father was a German and it was from him she got her fiery red hair.

Now as has been mentioned, to begin with the Schwan family were outcasts. No one would speak to Edel Schwan, the girl's mother, for she was strange and couldn't speak very much German. Edel grew quieter and more withdrawn than ever as a result of her isolation, and her daughter picked up on her shyness. Conversation was traded only with her father, Drosselmeyer, and all business was done through him.

A year after their arrival in town, Drosselmeyer fell ill and was ordered a two week's bed rest. Because he was unable to speak on behalf of his family, and Edel couldn't speak enough German yet, they began to run low on food. Worried for her parents, the girl went to the grocer's on her own.

"Please… I need help," she told the grocer, but she had no money with her and he refused to help. She went from shopkeeper to shopkeeper trying to make them understand, but though she spoke German, she was only four and couldn't express what she needed to. At last the baker's wife took pity on her.

"What is the problem?"

"My father is sick. My mother can't speak. We have no food."

The woman gave her some bread and then called her son. "Autor, go with this girl and ask her father for payment. Look after her."

And in this way Autor Klavier, son of the baker, befriended Ahiru Schwan, the writer's daughter. And perhaps if it had ended there, there would not be a story to tell, for Autor was a well-mannered and respectable boy like most of the people in Gold Crown Town were, as I have said, and Ahiru was still rather shy and reserved and would likely have stayed that way and been very quiet and polite and not really very interesting either to be truthful.

But this is not where it ends, for Autor had taken his mother's words very much to heart and decided it was his duty to look after Ahiru. And he was a curious boy by nature and had many questions. "Why can't your mother speak?" "What's wrong with your father?" "Where do you go to school?" he asked. And it was the answer to the last question that really shocked him.

"Don't go to school? Then you must have a tutor," he said, because Autor was an educated boy and he guessed everyone must be like him, which perhaps shows he was not as educated yet as he would like everyone to believe.

"I don't. I'm four."

"I went to pre-school when I was four. Don't you go to pre-school?"

"No."

"Then how will you get to kindergarten?"

"I don't know."

"Well you have to."

"Why?"

"Because everyone goes to kindergarten. It's what's proper."

"But I don't think we can afford it. What happens if you don't go?"

And Autor was stumped, because he didn't know. He'd never heard of anyone not going to school before, and didn't know what the punishment was for not doing so – there had to be a punishment, because going to school was the right thing and not going was wrong, and when you do something wrong you get in trouble. Autor knew all that, but not what happened if you didn't go to school.

"Mother said I was to look after you, and there's a punishment for not going," he told her solemnly, "so I will have to make sure you go to school, or else I'll not be doing my job. Then I shall get into trouble."

Ahiru's blue eyes got very large. "Oh but I don't want that! You've been so nice!"

"Then you must go to school. You ask your father and I shall ask mine and between us we shall get it settled."

And all this may not have worked out if Drosselmeyer hadn't given the baker's a nice tip for their kindness, and if Autor were not such a prodigy. He was a very intelligent boy and showed great skill in music, and his father was already making all kinds of plans for his future and was certain there would be plenty of scholarships. If all this had not happened then perhaps Herr Klavier wouldn't have agreed to lend the Schwan's some money for tuition that they would have to pay back, and Ahiru might never have gone to school, and Edel might never have learned proper German.

Now Edel saw how excited her daughter was about school, and she drew courage from this. They'd have to pay Herr Klavier back after all and the sooner the better, but Drosselmeyer's writing was still 'picking up' and there was hardly enough money to put food on the table each night. If Edel got a job it would certainly help, but she didn't know enough German yet. And that is how Edel got a job as an assistant to Charon Schmied, who was willing to teach her German while she worked, so long as they weren't busy. And a year later, it was how Ahiru and Autor would befriend the third member of their trio.

Charon had a sister who had married the miller and together they had a son. One bitter night a thief broke into the mill in hopes of stealing some food, but did not expect the miller to still be there. He was showing his son how to operate the machinery. In a panic the thief grabbed the boy and told the miller if he didn't obey the boy would die. At knifepoint the miller gathered some goods and gave them to the thief. Once satisfied the thief released the boy, and the miller attempted to get his produce back and attacked the thief with a mallet.

The commotion drew the miller's wife, Charon's sister, and in the ensuing skirmish both husband and wife were killed. The thief took what he came for and left a traumatized seven-year-old behind.

"Fakir, my name is Charon. I'm your uncle. I know you're frightened now, but you must trust me. I will never hurt you, understand?"

"Herr Schmied, I have arrived for wor—oh I'm so sorry."

Fakir startled, hiding behind his uncle. "You don't need to be afraid of her either, Fakir. This is Frau Edel, she is my assistant. She has a daughter a little younger than you, and she's very nice. It's all right."

"That's right… Fakir. Would you like to meet her?"

Charon chose to send Fakir to the school where Ahiru went. "Perhaps you'll be friends with her. She's very shy, but you're such a brave boy, maybe you can help her."

And then Fakir felt a lot braver, and when he got to school a few days later he searched for Ahiru with the red hair. A boy his age in glasses stepped between them. "Hey, what do you want with her?"

"I'm only saying hello moron, what's your problem?"

"Well you can't."

"I can't what?"

"Say hello to her. Leave her alone."

"Hey! I can say hello if I want to! You can't stop me."

"You shouldn't fight; Frau Hermia says it's wrong!" Ahiru protested, squirming in between them. "Autor, you're being mean, he only wants to say hello to me. And… you, you shouldn't call him names!"

"My name is Fakir, not 'you', idiot."

"Hey, don't call her an idiot!"

"If it's true I can."

"No!"

"I'm not an idiot, meanie!"

And thus a friendship was formed. Sort of.

Author's Note: Oh hello there Princess Tutu fandom, how are you? It's been a while I know, and I'm very stupid for starting another story when I still haven't finished any of my others! My sincerest of apologies for overloading you, PT Fandom, with unfinished works. It must get so very heavy. It must make you sad. I'd like to promise they'll be finished one day, but I need to stop making promises I may not keep. And really it's your fault for giving such wonderful characters to work with and unleashing a thousand million plot bunnies onto the world. This story, added to unfinished stories, this is you reaping what you've sown.

In any case, people of the fandom, I'd very much appreciate your opinions on this new idea. I know, I know, I really should stop and just finish the ones I've started but it's just so easy to get carried away with new ideas! You all know what it's like, I'm sure. To be clear, for once I do have an idea of where this is going! Hooray! Whether I'll ever get there… but let's not dwell on that. Right now this story has a bright and promising future! Rue and Mytho will make their appearances eventually, too. But for the time being I'm establishing the Trio Of Doom, because that's really what all this will revolve around. They're sort of like Harry, Ron and Hermione, only not like them at all really. I'm rambling, sorry, let me just wrap up with a traditional, "Please review", and ask me any questions you may have regarding the plot, who's going to be in the story, where is this going etc. you may have. But please don't hound me about not finishing the things I've started. I swear I'll try soon!
- Lexiconish.