I admit I was sceptical about Princess Tutu when I first heard about it. Then I gave it a chance. Now I feel like a fool for mocking it so much!
This was written for RobinRocks, who challenged me to rewrite any Grimm fairytale I wanted for a fandom of my choice. Tutu seemed to fit the best! I did choose quite an obscure fairytale really - The Singing Bone. You can find the original at www. familymanagement. com/literacy/grimms/grimms21. html (without the spaces) if you're interested.
Singing Bones
III
Once upon a time there was a duck whose name was Ahiru. The little duck became a human to help the Prince regain his heart. To help Prince Mytho, the little duck become Princess Tutu, the beautiful and kind-hearted prima donna ballerina. Princess Tutu was a tragic figure, fated to die if she ever confessed her love for the Prince.
However, the characters had other ideas.
The Prince had his heart and he had Rue. It was time for a happily ever after for the characters and time for Princess Tutu to perform the final steps. Life would go back to the way it should have been.
But she couldn't say it. She loved Mytho and yet, at such a crucial time, she couldn't bring herself to fix it all, even if she wasn't meant to be there. Rue and Mytho would have their happy ending. Both she and Fakir would live to see the end. They would be there for the Prince and his Princess should they be needed.
It was a happily ever after for them all.
At first.
II
Within days, the happily ever after begins to fade like impure ink. She's perpetually graceful and she is gentle and she is kind. The White Princess and the Knight dance the pas de deux, spinning and falling in their attempts to avoid the shadows in their minds.
He should be a writer and she, a duck.
It's hypocrisy. She knows this. She accepts this. It's all for the happy ending, surely?
But where is the clumsy girl with a flyaway braid and a sunny, too-wide eyes? Where is the little duck who gobbles breadcrumbs from the grass?
Fakir the Knight belongs to the White Princess now but it's all paper-thin. He's a writer, not a knight anymore. And by rights, he belongs to the klutzy duck-girl, not the swan.
I
It's not for the happy ending, she realises one evening. Mytho and Rue have the happy ending they always wanted and needed. And though he never admits it, Fakir is as unsettled as she is. Selfish survival is not something Princess Tutu ever wanted; something she was ever meant to want, let alone have.
She knows the story has to end properly – some endings simply cannot rewritten. That is the true meaning of fate. It's deep in her bones, a song with an operatic power that she can't ignore.
And so, on the last day of Spring, she flattens her feet, stands square and kisses Fakir on the cheek.
It's the last he sees of Princess Tutu.
He finds a duck by the lakeside, pecking idly at some small red fragments that litter the ground. It looks Fakir in the eye as he approaches and quacks. Fakir pats the little duck on the head.
"We're almost there, Ahiru," he says. He picks up the little duck gently, the hint of a smile on his tired face.
Once upon a time, there was a Swan Princess who was really a duck and a Knight who was really a Writer. They stood by each other in defence of the Prince and a happily ever after. And though the Prince lived happily for the rest of his days with the Raven Princess, the Swan Princess and the Knight knew only unease.
Once upon a time...
Once..
Once upon a time, there was a Swan Princess who was really a duck. When the Princess finally accepted her ending, her Knight could accept his own as a Writer. They are still looking for their happy ending, where the bones of the past can be laid to rest.
I admit I took quite a few liberties with my 'adaptation', but it's sort of there, yes? So be proud, RobinRocks! I managed almost 600 words!
I'm not entirely happy with the tone of it, particularly the 'fairytale' bits, but I felt it was as good as I was gonna get it without input. This was totally unbetaed.
As ever, crit is welcome and gratefully received!