The steps to achieve a dream

Years passed by without mishap. Uzura enrolled into the Ballet Academy when she was twelve, just as her parents had done before her. Although, they were a bit surprised by her decision to do ballet. With her past joy in carrying that drum around, the Music Division would have been more fitting, or even the Art Division because she had always enjoyed drawing. No, even though she never showed any interest in it in her early years, Uzura wanted to study ballet. When Duck asked her what her reasons were, she answered that she wanted to be able to dance a Part de Deux with her true love. Duck had stared at her and did not quite follow her, but Fakir had chuckled and went along with it. Uzura's curiosity to the meaning of love would never be over until she would have that special dance with the one in her heart. That was what Uzura believed.
Uzura's classmates were all from parents who were older than Duck and Fakir, the children from their generation were all just in the Beginner's Class at the age of twelve. Children in Gold Crown Town first went to an public school till they reached the age of twelve, then they were given the choice to go to Gold Crown Town Academy to study music, ballet or art. If they would like to do another trade, then they could go to other smaller schools. Myre, Rue and Mytho's daughter, studied ballet. She was twelve years old now and she had made her choice to fill her parents shoes at the Ballet division. Her parents were still very famous for their dancing. Now they danced together in theatres. Myre had quite a reputation to uphold, but fortunately she had her mother's pride and ignored it all. As her neighbour, Uzura was on friendly terms with Myre, but not more than that. Myre was three years younger and therefore did not share the same interests. Uzura's loyal friend Rina did not study ballet, but drawings. In the past she had taught Uzura how to draw flowers and now she had become quite good at drawing sceneries. Uzura looked her up during their breaks and they always had lunch together. Another friend Uzura had outside her class was Van, Autor's son. He was the only one from that generation whose age was very close to hers. He was fourteen and he studied Music, just like his father, only he played oboe instead of piano. Van had also his own logic and was always very honest with Uzura and Rina. As Fakir's daughter, Uzura knew how to handle cynical remarks, but Rina was not always so ready to accept them. This caused Uzura to sometime stand between her two friends, but their quarrels never lasted for very long.
Uzura had grown up to be quite the image of Duck with her salmon hair that she wore in a little pony tail high on the back of her head and, although her eyes were emerald green, they were the same shape as Duck's eyes. She was also quite small for her age and had little form in her figure, but she turned out to be a much better dancer and she made it into the Special Class when she turned fifteen. Their teacher, Mss Belle often remarked that she took after her father and wanted her to dance the music Fakir liked. Mss Belle had been his classmate when he was at school, but Fakir had never talked to her. She had been one of Rue's friends.
Uzura had a strong will and wanted to choose her own music. Fakir's favourite piece of Beethoven's Egmont Overture was too heavy and gloomy for her taste. She liked The dance of the unhatched chickens from Mussorgsky or the Overture from the Nutcracker.
In her class Uzura had two good friends, Lilith and Julia. Julia loved the pieces from Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty and was most serene in her dancing. She had soft blue eyes and golden hair that she wore in a short braid over her left shoulder. Julia was Mss Belle's favourite, but she did not know that herself. Lilith was different, she was obsessed with music pieces like the Bald Mountain from Mussorgsky and Dance Macabre from Saint Sean. She had platinum blonde hair and with her pale grey eyes she drove shivers down everyone's spine when she danced Giselle's Waltz of the dead. Mss Belle never gave her the credit she deserved. In fact she prevented Lilith from dancing the pieces of her own choosing if she could help it. Lilith never went against her teacher's will, but she was not happy with it. She was not as ready as Uzura to speak her mind.
The Special Class still had a strict number of five and among them was one boy. Uzura never spoke with him and she hardly knew his name. his name was Taris and he never said much, it was like he didn't had a personality. He only did everything the teacher told him to do without question and he always went straight home without a word. Clara was the last member of the class and she was the only one with whom Taris spoke. She had light brown hair that she pinned up into a curled up bun and she had very dark eyes. Clara did speak to Uzura and her friends, but she had a sharp tongue and that often hit the wrong points with Lilith. Uzura thought Clara much like Rue and continued to talk with her whenever she was not with Lilith and Julia.

As members of the Special Class they all knew how to dance on point and dancing a Part de Deux was the next step. Because Taris was the only boy, the girls also learned how to dance the man's part. Uzura was thrilled to learn and didn't hide her enthusiasm, but she suddenly found herself also nervous. This was her reason for dancing ballet after all! Because she thought it so big a deal she was for the first time ever shy to show her skill. She only felt confident whenever she danced with Julia or Clara, because they were very confident themselves and hardly ever made a mistake.
When she danced with Julia she always danced the woman's part because she was much smaller than Julia was.

"You are getting better and better, Uzura!" Julia said delighted when they finished their Part de Deux from Sleeping Beauty in an empty class room after school. They did this every Tuesday afternoon. Julia had a strong ambition to enter the Art's Festival and so climb up to have a career in the Theatre, so she persuaded Uzura and Lilith to do extra training with her. Uzura and Lilith didn't mind, they didn't know what they wanted to do after the Ballet Academy, but extra practice was never a loss. Uzura wanted to perfect everything there is to dancing partnering. "You think so?" She replied and she whipped the sweat from her brow.

"Yeah, I mean it. You put your whole heart in it." Julia said. "Have you found a boy to dance with yet?"

"N-no." Uzura answered, suddenly taken aback by the question and her pale cheeks coloured. "You know that I want to find that feeling of love, like my parents."

"Well, you don't have to love the guy you are dancing with." Lilith said. And she handed both her friends a towel and a bottle with cold water. "I know you have this ideal you see every day at home, but it is pretty far-fetched. Not everybody can find love like in a fairy tale."

"You're right." Uzura said sadly and she looked at the floor. It was just that she wished for it, she wanted to know if she could love too.

"Ah don't be sad, Uzura!" Lilith cried out, suddenly filled with guilt at the sight of her friend's sad face. "I only mean that you have to look and not dream. The world is just a bit harder than in fairy tales, but if you wait, maybe something wonderful will come along."

"Really?" Uzura looked up with a smiling face and her green eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. Uzura was always in high spirits and it was nearly impossible to get her down. Lilith and Julia were used to it by now and were no longer surprised when their friend cheered up so quickly.

"Oh you three are still here?" A voice called from the door and the three friends turned around to see their teacher, smiling at them. "You are working hard." She said as she walked into the room.

"Yes ma'am, we practice here every week." Julia replied politely.

"I see, well that explains the major improvements I see with all three of you." Mss Belle smiled. She was strict, but also very kind and she thought it important for her students to be enthusiastic.
"Oh Uzura, I thought of something for you." She went on and she looked directly at Uzura.

"For me?" Uzura asked surprised.

"Yes, I believe you've set your heart on dancing a Part de Deux and I really think you should ask Taris to dance with you. I think you two would match each other well. Up until now, only Clara have danced with him, but your style would inspire him, I think."

"Eh oh, I don't want to come between Clara and Taris." Uzura said quickly, but that was not really the reason. As far as she knew those two were just friends and Clara wouldn't be offended if she asked her, but Uzura really didn't feel like dancing with Taris. Where would the feeling of love be then?

"Don't worry, I can talk to Taris if you don't feel up to it." Mss Belle said comforting.

"No, that's not it!" Uzura blurred out and Mss Belle gave her a curious gaze.

"Do you have a fight with Taris?" she asked worried.

"No, ma'am. He actually never talks to me." Uzura said.

"Well then, maybe this is a good opportunity for you to get to know each other. Trust me, it will be good for you to dance with a male partner. You will learn it better and faster."

Lilith and Julia looked at their friend, but Uzura was speechless for once. She was curious to know the feeling of dancing with a boy, she was dying to know! But what if Taris ruined her dream? To her, it seemed that he had no feelings at all!

"Thank you ma'am. Can you ask Taris? I think it will be strange if I suddenly start talking to him." Uzura said at last. She just had to be brave. This could be her chance to improve herself and know more!

"No problem, I'm glad you agree with me." Mss Belle said kindly and she left the class room. Julia and Lilith gave Uzura a wondrous look but said nothing and silently they prepared to go home.

Duck was waiting for Uzura at the gate like she always did with Isa at her hand. Duck and Fakir had never really stopped picking Uzura up from school even though she was no longer in any danger to be kidnapped. It had become a tradition that they liked to keep. Whenever Duck was unable to come, Fakir would pick her up instead and always they would bring Isa with them. She was eight years old now and went to an public school which was closer to home. Duck or Fakir would first go by Isa's school and bring her along to Uzura's school. Isa liked it a lot, she thought it a little trip she took every day and she wanted to be the first to talk to her big sister who, in her eyes, was already a great dancer.

Uzura said goodbye to her friends and when she turned to ran towards her little sister, an identical smile, which they both had inherited from their mother, coloured their faces. It was actually the only thing that connected the two sisters in their features. Uzura had salmon hair and a pale skin and looked very much like Duck, but Isa was almost the spitting image of Fakir. She had his hair and skin, but instead of emerald green eyes, hers were ocean blue and her face was more round and she had freckles around her nose, like Duck had in the past.
Duck thought Isa a charming child, because she had Fakir's looks, but Rue had once pointed out that she looked rather gloomy. This was really not true, because Isa was as spirited as Uzura, but she also was a thinker and could spend hours thinking with a frown on her face. It was at such times that Rue had made her remark, mainly to annoy Fakir.

"Sissy!" Isa called cheerfully to her big sister as Uzura arrived in front of her family.

"Shall we go?" Duck asked Uzura as happy as ever.

"Yep." Uzura replied as happy and she took Isa's other hand. As they walked home Uzura told her mother about her day. It was not very different from other days, but she told it anyway. She did not tell her mother and sister about her agreement to dance a Part de Deux with Taris, though, because she still had mixed feelings about it and did not know how to put it in words. So after she told her story till the point where Mss Belle had said that they made major improvements with their dancing, she asked how her mother's day went. Duck had worked for the first time at Ebine's restaurant and she had been very nervous about it.

"It was ok, I guess," Duck started doubtingly, "I broke one plate and mixed up the food orders a few times, but the customers were really patient with me and Mss Ebine forgave me for the broken plate. I only hope I can improve soon and not be a burden."

"Of course, mam!" Uzura said high spirited, she saw the fact that Duck only broke one plate on her first day as the prove that she was not a screw up.
"Mss Ebine is nice, she will give you time to improve."

"You are right, Fakir too would probably say that I do not need to doubt myself." Duck said and she smiled at her children. Duck was still small and Uzura had almost caught up to her height. It would not be long before Uzura would stop growing and be the same height. Duck still had Princess Tutu's serene charm, but she had always kept her hair in a braid. It had been her way of cutting herself off from Princess Tutu and her history with Mytho. Her braid was a bit shorter though and now reached her waist. Since she had Isa, her hair wouldn't grow as well as before and she had to keep it shorter.
"How about you, Isa?" Duck asked her youngest daughter.

"Richard had his birthday, so we celebrated it." Isa replied. She did not tell her stories as enthusiastic as Uzura, but you could always tell by the way her eyes sparkled that she had fun.

"Oh really? I guess Hermia forgot to tell me." Duck said and she looked thoughtful for a moment."

"No, Richard says he is going to have his party next week because his daddy is away." Isa told them.

"Oh I see, so Lysander is away eh? That's why Hermia's thoughts must be occupied." Duck said and she looked sympathetically.

"No, I don't think Mss Hermia is like you." Isa said suddenly.

"W-what do you mean? 'Like me'?" Duck reacted surprised.

"Daddy says that you miss him too soon when he goes away." Isa answered and Uzura nodded.

"H-he said that? Fakir!" Duck cried out and she drew a weird face. It was quite strange, Duck had such a calm beauty as she grew older, but her true character hadn't changed and unfortunately for her, her daughters had Fakir's way of teasing her.

"Fakir, we're home!" Duck called up the stairs to Fakir's study.

"Yes, I'll be right down!" Fakir replied. Duck and her daughters made themselves comfortable in the living room and shortly after they all had chosen a seat, Fakir entered the room as well.

"Welcome home." Fakir said smilingly and he looked at each of them in turn, then he sat himself down on the couch where Duck had saved him a seat.

"Hi daddy." Isa said beamingly. "You weren't lonely today, were you?"

Fakir grinned at her. "It was very quiet," he said, "but I worked hard and time flew by."
Fakir then looked at his wife. "And how was your day, Duck?" he asked her sweetly.

"Well, I'm afraid I'll always be clumsy, but Mss Ebine is very patient with me, so I guess it was alright." Duck replied and she laughed awkwardly.

Like Duck, Fakir hadn't changed much in his character either. It was mostly because he had already changed his ways once and didn't feel the need to change anything else. He also kept his look, he had only grown older and his face appeared a bit thinner.
As the years passed, however, he had grown more social towards other people and also he would not make rash decisions because he had his family to think about.
One thing that would never change and had only grown stronger was his desire to protect the ones he loved. He had never forgot the things that had happened to Duck or Uzura, three years back when Drosselmeyer's right hand man wanted to use Uzura for his puppet collection and take Duck for his own. Nor did he ever forget the visit from Drosselmeyer, a week after Isa was born. He believed it was still his duty, not as a knight, but as a father and a husband, to protect them.
Fakir looked Duck deep in her eyes and reached out his hand to stroke her cheek. "Would it be alright if I kissed you?" he asked her softly.

Duck blinked twice. "Why would you need to ask that?" she asked surprised.

"Because Isa and Uzura are still in the same room and you will get embarrassed again." Fakir said and he gave her a teasing grin.

Just as he expected, Duck's face became flaming red. "No, I m-mean yes.." she stammered.

"See?" Fakir said amused and he leaned forward to kiss her. Duck accepted it and lay her hands gently on his chest.

There was always something moving about the way they kissed. As if they found each other every day for the first time. Duck had been made to believe in the past that she was bound to sacrifice herself for her true love. The love that, she knew deep down, belonged with her best friend. Without realising it she wished for them to be happy together and knew that she did not belong with him. She had Fakir beside her, but only when Mytho had his heart back and realised he wanted to make Rue his princess, it struck Duck that she always had known that and blamed herself for being selfish. She had felt unnecessary, chasing after a happiness that was never there and wanted to vanish when Fakir showed her his deep feelings for her and she realised that she had been looking the wrong way. They had believed that they were too late and would never be able to be together, but now they had a family together. Duck was very grateful to Fakir and wanted to show him how much he meant to her and Fakir wanted nothing else but to make her happy.

"Sissy."

Uzura, who had been lost in the beauty of her parent's love, tore her eyes away and looked down at Isa who had been trying to draw her attention by pulling on her sleeve.

"Let's go." Isa said in a low voice and she dragged her sister past her parents and brought her to her room.

AN: I hope this chapter has given you a good idea about the story, it also makes clear that I cannot fully neglect Fakir and Duck, I love them too much :P I hope you want to explore Uzura's story with me and I hope that it is not too confusing for those who have not read my other stories.

At the end of volume 2, Strings of love, Uzura becomes Fakir and Duck's daughter.

Review please! :)