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Disclaimer: I don't own Princess Tutu. Okay? Okay.

THE FEELINGS OF A DUCK AND HER KNIGHT

CHAPTER FOUR: SAYING SORRY

Duck went over to sit down on a nearby bench. Miss Edal's words ran through her head. "A princess need not always be with a prince."

She sighed. What did Miss Edal mean by that? I'm so confused! Wait... Could she be talking about me and Mytho? The more the girl thought, the more confused she got. Sighing, she decided she'd put off thinking about the puppet's words for the next day. "I wonder what I do now? It's too late to go to school, and I don't want to go back to the dorm..." Duck then decided to go walk around the town for a while.

"Mommy!" she heard someone cry. Duck turned, and saw a young girl running up to a woman. "Look at the duckies over there! They're so cute!"

Duck accidentally said, "Quack!" Transforming into a duck, she quickly brought the clothes over to the river. Darn it! I have to learn to stop quacking!

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the little girl say, "Mommy, look! This one's the cutest!" To her surprise, the little girl came up to her. "Hiya, little duckie! I'm Maron! What's your name?"

"Quack!" Duck replied, smiling at Maron, who appeared to be five years old.

Maron's mother went up beside the girl. "She is adorable."

Hee, Duck thought happily. This is the first time I've ever been called cute.

Cautiously, Maron brought her hand over to Duck's small head. She giggled with excitement when Duck let her pet her head.

"Well, Maron, let's go home..."

"Wait!" Maron said to her mom. She turned to Duck. "Bye bye, Miss Duck." To her mother, she said, "Don't forget to say goodbye to Miss Duck, Mommy."

"It was nice to meet you, Miss Duck. Goodbye!" she said, holding her daughter's hand and leading her down the street. Maron looked back and waved. Duck raised a wing and waved back.

Once no one was around, she quickly got into the river and turned back into a duck, using her pendant. She jumped into the bush nearby that hid her clothes. She quickly changed and stepped out of the bush with a few twigs and leaves on her.

Duck smiled, but it slowly faded. "Mommy!" Maron had been saying. The little girl was so happy. Suddenly, after seeing the mother and daughter, Duck felt even more alone in the world. She had no mother or father. Even though she knew her father for eight years, he was away traveling for work most of the time. Duck knew her father loved her very much, and that was why he worked so hard, but she couldn't remember him at all. In fact, she couldn't remember anything before she was eight.

She was lonely. She wanted someone to be there always, someone other than her friends, with whom she can only confide in with small things.

"No! I can't be like this!" Duck shouted out of the blue. "I have to be happy and cheerful!" Putting on a smile and acting like she didn't have a care in the world, Duck began walking through the city.

Fakir was beating himself up mentally. It was quite a bloody scene. Just why was he beating himself up? Was it for skipping class with his foe?

Nope.

Was it because he never figured out Duck and Tutu were the same?

Nuh-uh.

It was actually because—and Fakir couldn't believe this—he felt bad for making Duck upset.

Since when had Fakir ever concerned himself about a girl's feelings? That was for wimpy guys. He didn't care about anything. Except for protecting Mytho.

And Duck.

Another hard punch was thrown in the arena of Fakir's mind. Why... he thought, frustrated. Why the heck am I worried about some GIRL?

He knew there was something different about how Duck made him feel. It wasn't friendship; it was something...different. But just what was that feeling? Fakir had no idea.

"Fine! If I'm this worried about it, I'll apol...o...gize..." Fakir pressed his hand against his mouth. Fakir was never one to apologize for doing something. He never apologized to his father, to Mytho, to anyone.

And here he was, thinking about apologizing to his enemy.

How about that?

Knowing her... he thought nervously. She'll end up worrying about it and fall into the lake! Or she'll be so deep in thought that she'll end up getting lost! Without another thought, Fakir got up and ran out of the room to find the girl.

Duck ended up pretty bored after a few minutes walking around the town by herself. It's no fun if you go alone, she thought gloomily. She decided to go into the forest nearby. Walking through the woods, she found a clearing and smiled. "I guess I should rest a second!" Duck sat down against a tree.

"Ahhh, this feels nice," she sighed with joy. Her mood became serious.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Fakir didn't answer my question. He really hates me...

"What do you think of me?" I can't tell you, Mytho. I'm sorry...

"I'm Princess Kraehe. I'll take what I want by force if need be!" Please...I want to protect Mytho...

Duck bit her lip to keep from crying. Protect...

Could she really protect the prince? Could she save his heart?

Unable to fight it any longer, tears began streaming down Duck's cheeks, leaving wet trails behind. She took a shuddering breath. No! she thought. I can't be like this! I have to be stronger, for Mytho's sake! These thoughts caused her to sob more. When did she become so weak?

Meanwhile, Drosselmeyer watched the scene with delight. "Oh my," he said with glee. "Those thoughts are dangerous, truly dangerous. Doubting yourself only means trouble, you know. Oh, how wonderful; how terrible! If you continue crying and doubting, doubting and crying, you will soon end up losing your ability to fight, and that doesn't mean only mentally..."

Back in the woods, Duck said in a cracking voice, "I don't want to be like this! I want to protect! I want to protect the people around me! I want to help Kraehe be good! I want to tell Mytho how I feel about him! I want...!" The girl stopped, realizing what she almost said. I want Fakir to like me. But if she loved Mytho, why did she care what Fakir thought of her? She didn't mind too much when Rue didn't like her at first. So how come she cared about Fakir's thoughts about her?

Do I love Mytho? The thought startled Duck. Of course she loved him...didn't she?

Fakir ran through town, searching for the girl in the streets. Someone stopped him and asked if he was looking for someone. The knight gave a description of Duck, and the man pointed towards the woods. Fakir thanked him and ran into the forest.

Fakir came upon a large clearing. He was about to move on when he saw a figure against a tree. He cautiously stepped forward, unable to identify the figure. He took a few more quiet steps and saw it was a girl. It was Duck. His Duck.

Fakir's face turned blood red. Since...Since when has she been my Duck? He thought, embarrassed. Fakir stopped his mental rampage when he noticed that Duck was shaking. Silver streaks slid down her cheeks. Fakir's heart felt like a knife had been stabbed into it. She wasn't crying about him...was she?

Quietly, the knight stepped forward until he was right in front of the sobbing duck-girl, without her knowledge. "Hey," he said, almost silently.

Duck stopped shaking from her tears, and glanced up, her face red from crying. "F...Fakir?"

He nodded. "You okay?" he asked.

She turned away. Suddenly, she swirled around, smiling. "Yes! I'm fine! Thanks anyway, Fakir. Oh, but what are you doing out here? Maybe you like coming here? Sorry! I better get out of your way then! Um, maybe this is your own private place? Oops! I shouldn't ask, should I? Well, anyway, better go. Bye!" Duck said this seemingly in one breath as she turned on her heel and stiffly began walking away as if she were a mechanical toy.

With no warning, Fakir stopped her dead in her tracks by turning her around and embracing her. Fakir himself was barely aware of his actions. "I'm sorry."

Duck blinked, her face dark red. When she first met Fakir, she thought he was a coldhearted jerk who liked to be in control and boss Mytho around. But then, when she saw him crying that time (A/N I know the crying happened after Mytho asked "What do you think of me?" but this is fanfiction! Anything goes, right? Even out of order episodes!), she realized he was actually very kind. He just didn't like to show it.

However, Fakir apologizing was an entirely different matter. Whether he was secretly kind or not, him saying "I'm sorry" was something totally not Fakir-like. Especially now that he had found out Duck's alter ego.

Fakir continued. "I hurt you a lot, didn't I? I don't know if you'll forgive me or not, but I'm really, truly sorry." Duck's eyes compassionately narrowed. Even though it wasn't just Fakir's fault that she was crying, his attitude towards her made her just break down.

Duck looked up at Fakir, who backed up a little to see her face, but not enough to let go of her. Duck smiled. "Thank you, Fakir. I'm really glad you came looking for me today. Um, does this mean that you don't hate me?"

Fakir smiled, still barely noticing what he was doing. For once, he was doing something that came from the heart. Something kind. "I'd never hate you." They stayed like that for a while, when finally the old Fakir resurfaced and noticed his actions. With a blush spreading over his neck and face, Fakir let go of Duck and turned in the opposite direction, the direction out towards the town. "O...okay, let's go. But don't expect to see something like that from me too often, got it?"

Duck looked at him quizically. I guess the old Fakir's back, she thought. Then she grinned. "Okay!"

"Then hurry up and let's get out of these stupid woods!" Still dark red, he grabbed Duck's hand and led her towards the town. Duck smiled. She felt much better, somehow, with Fakir. She felt happy; utter joy was in her soul.

And you know what? They never remembered to let go of the other's hand.

Prettyinpinkgal: Yay! Another chapter! You know what, forget about what I said earlier about there not being too many chapters. I think there's gonna be. I'm also thinking about putting in another villain, one that could hear Duck's weak thoughts. What do you guys think? Please review!