Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu...but neither does Drosselmyer, so there!
Thank you Hyperpegasi, Winter Snow, SinShu, and tsubasamemories for supporting me so far!
This is an AU fan fiction. There are no heart shards, instead there are unlucky spells floating around that need to be broken. Drosselmeyer doesn't write stories, but he does carve "curses" into an old oak tree that always come true. None of the people are animals...or at least not originally...there is the girl who becomes a duck, and the boy who becomes...well, I'll let you wait and see. Rated T just to be safe.
New summary. Spells from long ago are creating havoc. A girl with a magic pendant discovers the ability to become the mysterious Princess Tutu. But why is it like this? Who exactly is the boy? What about his best friend/bodyguard, girlfriend, or the wolf?
Mostly cannon parings (I might throw in a couple extras!), and as close to character as possible. They might act a little differently, but that would be because the storyline is different, thus tweaking their personalities somewhat. I apologize for anything anyone might find worth getting upset over. I'm really hoping people like this!
Chapter 3: Touch
Eyes meet, fingers intertwine, and three words fill the air. Is this the beginning of a romance? A tragedy? Or maybe...
I became Princess Tutu and helped save everyone...
Ahiru's eyes glazed over as she daydreamed.
"Pull your chin up!" Pique scolded her as the book slid off her head and hit the floor.
"Ah aha ha ha..." Ahiru laughed nervously as Pique's flaming stare scorched down on her.
"It's nothing to laugh at!" Pique stabbed her finger into Ahiru's nose, "At this rate, you'll never get out of the Apprentice class-"
"STOP!" Lillie shoved Pique away from Ahiru, sending her somersaulting across the studio floor, "Don't ask for the impossible!"
"Doing two things at once is impossible for Ahiru!" Lillie held her arms around Ahiru's head.
"It's only balancing books on her head while walking!" Pique shot as she clenched her fists.
"Even if it's that simple, you just can't do things you can't do!" Lillie declared, squishing Ahiru's head as she viciously rubbed her hand over the top of Ahiru's orange hair.
"She'll never be a Prima like that!" Pique said.
"That's simply not possible for Ahiru!" Lillie gave Pique a sad look, "Don't say any more cruel things like that!"
"Look how much you've hurt her!" Lillie looked down into Ahiru's pained face, "Smile...smile-"
"That's your doing," Pique said as she watched Lillie pull Ahiru's face into painful smile.
"Is not!" Lillie denied.
"But you know," Pique had a thoughtful look on her face, "Acting like a fool when you're in the Apprentice class...isn't that a little strange, Ahiru?"
"She's always strange, you know," Lillie said.
"More strange than usual, I mean!" Pique explained.
"Now that you mention it..." Lillie said as they both looked at Ahiru.
"I wonder if something happened...?" They said in a suggestive manner.
"No, nothing really!" Ahiru said in defense.
"Liar!" They said.
"Er, well I um-" Ahiru tried to think of what to say.
"Say it," They said.
"Ah let's see-" Ahiru said, finally thinking of something, "Ah yes, a dream, it's about a dream! I was a a beautiful ballerina named Princess Tutu. There was a girl who glowed with a red light, but after I danced with her the light left her and was absorbed into my pendant. When the light left her body, everything went back to normal-"
"That's it?" They asked, interrupting her story.
"I get the feeling I've heard that story before," Pique said.
"Story?" Ahiru asked.
"The tale of the phantom girl who rights wrongs, right?" Lillie said.
"Wh-where did you hear that story?!" Ahiru asked.
"Eh, it's an old rumor. Isn't that common knowledge?" Pique said.
"I-is that right?" Ahiru said.
"This isn't the time to be grinning foolishly and talking about fairy tails, is it now?" Pique said as she placed one of the books back on Ahiru's head.
"Two books is just too much for you, huh Ahiru?" Lillie said as they began to leave.
"Make sure you can do it by the end of the day!" Pique ordered.
"Do your best. You have nothing to lose," Lillie raised her hand in farewell.
"No skipping out!" Pique ordered as they left.
"Ahh, you know," Ahiru called after them, "Was the girl seen in the park?"
"Huh? She's said to have appeared in multiple places," Pique said.
"Wha?" Ahiru blinked.
"The last story was that she helped an elderly seamstress on the far side of town, right?" Lillie asked as they walked out the door.
"That's right, her neighbor claimed to have seen the whole thing," Pique answered.
While she was alone, Ahiru set the book down and rested against the bar. She had a distant, thoughtful look on her face.
"There's a story floating around about Princess Tutu? Something mysterious like that, I wonder how it happened," Ahiru said to herself as she stared out the window, "I only became her twice, and that was yesterday. No one else was around-"
She noticed Rue walking toward the swan shaped fountain outside carrying a basket, "Ah, Rue-chan, I wonder if she's heard the story...Ah! Mytho-sempei!"
Ahiru watched as the two people met by the fountain, "He's going on a picnic with Rue-chan. How lucky...but then, a duck-girl like me would never have a chance to do something like that."
Ahiru sighed, "Maybe I should start practicing again-"
"Hey!" a voice caught her attention, it was Fakir leaning on the door, "Have you seen Mytho?"
"Is there something wrong with Mytho-sempei?" Ahiru asked stiffly, not happy to see the jerk again.
"That boy..." Fakir glared into space, "Going out without telling me..."
"Does it matter?" Ahiru said with a frown, "Mytho-sempei is Rue-chan's boyfriend after all."
"What?!" Fakir's gaze snapped to her and he quickly strode up to her, "Is he with Rue? Where did they go? Answer me!"
"I don't know..." Ahiru said with wide eyes as he cornered her against the wall, leaning over her in an intimidating way.
"You liar!" he said.
"It's true I tell you!" Ahiru shot back.
After a moment he finally backed off and began to walk away, "Whatever, I'll find them on my own."
Ahiru looked after him with a grimace.
'Ah, I wonder if he knows anything about Princess Tutu...' she suddenly remembered, "Um...do you know anything about the phantom girl who rights wrongs?"
"What about it?" Fakir turned his attention back to her.
"Well I'm not really sure..." Ahiru tried to think about what to ask.
"Hmph, it's just a ridiculous rumor," he turned back to the doors and walked out.
"Who does he think he is?" Ahiru wrinkled her nose at his attitude as she attempted to balance with the book, "He doesn't know anything!"
"I'll have to find the answers myself," Ahiru said in determination after failing to keep the book on her head.
"It's not skipping," Ahiru told herself as she walked through town, "I'm just recharging my spirit. It's okay if it's just that! And if I happen to run into them, I can just warn them that that jerk is looking for them...I wonder if I should tell Mytho-sempei that I'm..."
"Reality has a shy nature. If you get too close it will hide away," came a nearby voice, making Ahiru pause and look about.
"Adel-san?" Ahiru asked.
"Reality can't stand to be alone. If you try to keep it away, it will chase after you," Adel came from behind a building and stepped toward Ahiru, "Confused about something I wonder?"
"Y-yeah," Ahiru nodded, "You see, yesterday on my way to the dorms, my pendant reacted and I went to find what it wanted. There was a girl using a strange power and she glowed with a red light, just like I do when I become the princess--Mytho-sempei named me Princess Tutu by the way--but after I danced with her, and helped her sort out her feelings, the glow left her body and flew into my pendant. She was back to normal this morning, but then I heard from Pique and Lillie that stories similar to that have happened recently. What do you think, Adel-san?"
"...I think I've also heard similar stories," Adel-san said softly in thought, "Perhaps I should look into them some more."
"Really? That would make me feel better," Ahiru smiled.
"Alright," Adel smiled before turning away, "I have to go back to the shop now. Take care."
"Okay, bye Adel-san!" Ahiru waved after her before turning to go on her way.
"Oh, and Ahiru?" Adel's voice made her pause and look back, "Make sure you practice hard to get out of the Apprentice Class."
Ahiru stood dumbfounded as she watched Adel vanish down the street, "How did...she know...about that...?!"
Finally shaking it off, she went for a walk in the park. It was a nice day tho go for a walk, she smiled to herself and hummed a simple tune. Then she noticed a furry black tail on the other side of the bushes. Quick to find out what it was, Ahiru stuck her head over them. It was the wolf.
"Hey! I found you again!" Ahiru began to step over/through the bushes. The wolf's head snapped up to look at her and it growled defensively.
"Ahh!" she fell face first onto the ground, "Ah usen erey ice!" (A.N.: she said "that wasn't very nice")
The wolf sweat dropped, it's green eyes declaring the face-planted girl an idiot.
"Hmph, you didn't have to startle me like that, you know!" Ahiru sat up, wiping the dirt off her face, and dusting the grass off her cloths, "I've been worried about you. You just ran off after I treated you wounds and I had no idea if you were alright or not!"
The wolf growled at her again.
"Jeeze, what's your problem?! You're just like that jerk, Fakir-sempei!" Ahiru stood stiffly and turned her back on the wolf, "...I'll just call you Fakir-chan then. It serves you right!"
The wolf stopped growling and Ahiru turned to look. Fakir the wolf was staring at her with his startled forest-green eyes. Ahiru stared right back at it.
'They remind me of Fakir-sempei's eyes. How strange...' Ahiru smiled, "Your eyes are really handsome when you aren't making mean faces."
An obscured blush found it's way across the wolf's face and it took a small step back, "Grruff!"
"What's wrong? Hey!" Ahiru shouted after him as he started running away, "Where are you going?!"
Even though he was far ahead of her, she chased after him. When she finally caught up with him, he'd found Rue. He snarled angrily at her, though she barely took the time to look up at him. A picnic basket sat half empty beside her.
"Oh, it's you again," Rue rested her head back against the tree, "I don't want to play fetch, so go away."
"Ah! Rue-chan!" Ahiru caught Rue's attention, "You know Fakir-chan?"
The wolf growled at Ahiru again.
"It's your own fault for acting like him. Stop being such a grump!" Ahiru frowned at him.
"You named him after Fakir? How appropriate," Rue stood from the ground and dusted her skirt off.
"S-sorry to disturb you," Ahiru apologized, then she remembered something, "Weren't you with Mytho-sempei? I thought you went on a picnic together."
Fakir-chan growled again, but both girls ignored him.
"He just went to get some water," Rue said.
"Ah, well, enjoy your picnic!" Ahiru said with an awkward smile, "I'll go now!"
When Ahiru turned to leave, she noticed Fakir-chan was already on the go, "Hey!"
Hearing her voice, the wolf ran faster. Ahiru quickly ran after him, catching up rather easier than one would expect. Rue merely blinked after them.
"He probably caught Mytho's scent..." Rue said to herself, "He has been gone for a while now..."
Ahiru fallowed Fakir-chan a good distance through town, and showed no sign of giving up. As they ran through the woods at the edge of town, they abruptly found themselves standing before a restaurant. Ahiru paused at the tree line as the black wolf dashed to the front door. She saw that there was a grave in the backyard, and felt a wave of sadness. Only as Fakir-chan began snarling and scratching at the door did Ahiru join him there.
"What are you doing? The owner won't be-" she stopped short as she realized her pendant was glowing.
The door suddenly swung open, "Welcome!"
Ahiru nearly quacked in surprise as the apron clad woman towered over her, "I'm sorry we-"
"Come in, come in!" she grabbed Ahiru's arm in an attempt to pull her inside.
"Wait I-" Ahiru was roughly shoved out of the way by the snarling Fakir-chan. The woman glared at him with glowing red eyes.
"Fakir-chan!" Ahiru half cried, half scolded, as she scrambled to her feet.
The glow suddenly spread over the woman's body as she grew angrier with the wolf, "How dare you!"
A blinding white light changed the surrounding area into a watery landscape. The glowing woman stood on a white boat, and an unconscious Mytho rode along with her. Fakir-chan growled in frustration at the edge of the water when soldiers in watery armor emerged from it. As they raised their swords to point them at him, Ahiru's eyes widened.
"STOP IT!" Ahiru ran out in front of Fakir-chan, the transformation into Princess Tutu completing as she stood there. Uncertain, the soldiers stepped back and lowered their swords, "There is no need to fight."
"Who are you?" the woman demanded, her voice betraying her surprise. The wolf was similarly startled.
"I am called Princess Tutu," the soldiers vanished into the water as she stepped onto it, another boat materializing beneath her shoes, "What is your name?"
"My name is Agatha," the woman said in a lower voice.
Princess Tutu twirled her hands over her head and brought her hand out before her in a welcoming pose, "Would you please dance with me, Agatha-san?"
"Dance? Nonsense!" the boat drifted further away, "I cook food for customers! I won't let you distract me!"
"Please Agatha-san," Tutu's boat soon fallowed after, "I want to know why you're upset."
"Why I'm...upset?" Agatha hesitated, her expression softening.
"Dance with me, Agatha-san," Tutu held out her hand as the boats met. Finally, Agatha took her hand. The boats became one as they danced.
"What troubles you?" Tutu asked gently.
"I-" Agatha began, "I've been so lonely here, ever since my husband died...the customers stopped coming too, everything I cook seems so cold and tasteless...all I have left are the recipes my husband made with me, and any customers that take the trouble to visit."
"How sad," Tutu said in sympathy, "You've lost so much...but you can still regain your happiness."
"Regain my happiness?" Agatha asked. Behind them, Mytho awoke and stood up, watching them with his large amber eyes.
"This restaurant was important to both you and your husband, and you still have your recipes," Tutu said.
"But he's no longer here to help me," tears filled her eyes, "I'm all alone."
"No you're not," Tutu smiled, "He lives on in your heart."
Picking a lily pad from the water, a small box revealed itself in her hands, "And in your recipes you made together. I'm sure your husband wants you to continue making delicious food. You can turn your loneliness into strength."
The woman burst into tears as she held the box to her heart, "I...I feel that I can cook hot and delicious food again...I won't give in to loneliness...I will make this a great restaurant once again!"
The red glow abandoned Agatha and vanished into Tutu's pendant. Everything returned to normal, and Tutu helped the limp restaurant owner sit down at one of the tables.
With a smile, Tutu turned to leave. She curtsied as she walked by Mytho, "It was nice to be able to see you again, goodbye."
He took a hold of her wrist to make her stop,"Thank you, Tutu."
She blinked once, then she smiled at him, "You're welcome, Mytho."
Pulling her hand back as she curtsied one last time, she left the restaurant. Mytho watched her disappear out the open door.
Ahiru sighed deeply after returning to her ordinary self within the safety of the trees, "Mytho is such a good person, I'm sure I could trust him..."
Determined, she turned to step out of the woods, only to freeze and duck back into the bushes (A.N.: no pun intended, I swear!). Fakir and Rue were walking up to Mytho on the path to the restaurant.
"What were you doing here Mytho?" Fakir demanded.
"Nothing," Mytho said.
Both Rue and Fakir were slightly taken aback by his answer.
"You were gone for quite a while," Rue said, "Were you talking with someone?"
"Princess Tutu," Mytho said.
"Who?" Rue asked.
"The stranger that dances with those controlled by the red light," said Fakir.
"Oh, so she told you her name then."
"Actually, Mytho named her."
Rue's eyes widened before she composed herself, "I suppose that makes sense."
"It suited her," Mytho said, startling both of them again.
'What's wrong with them?' Ahiru thought to herself, 'Why are they giving him such odd looks?'
To be continued...
I hope everyone noticed how Fakir-chan saw everything! (And Ahiru remains ever-so-clueless...) Honestly though, I did not see this one coming.
My third chapter! I'm so happy! Any type of review is welcome! I hope you've all enjoyed this so far! More surprises are on their way! (Please tell me what you think, it lets me know you care.)
