Okay, chapter 4! I don't have very much to say right now so I'll just get on with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters.

Ahiru could see the shocked looks of Rue and Mytho and their subtle hints to go hide just before she found herself shrinking. Ahiru quickly tied her clothes around her neck and made a dash towards the back of one of the nearby buildings. As Pique and Lillie turned around to ask Ahiru why in the world she was so jumpy, they frowned to see that their friend had run away.

"I guess she's just easily startled, huh?" Pique asked no one in particularly. She shrugged it off, but Lillie seemed delighted at this new piece of information. "Oh, this year really is going to be fun!" Except for an annoyed sigh, Pique mostly ignored her friend's comment and turned back to Mytho and Rue.

"But...what are you two doing back?"

Mytho smiled at Pique and Lillie, causing them to gasp at the new sight. Ever since they had known Mytho, they had never seen him smile at all! "Well, Rue thought that I needed a little break from tending to my kingdom. It has become a bit overwhelming."

"If you don't mind, though, we'll be on our way now. I think we need to speak with Ahiru. Come, Prince." Rue said with a slight smile in the other girls' direction as she pulled Mytho by the arm.

Meanwhile, behind one of the school buildings, Ahiru stood on her toes, reaching for the handle of the water faucet. She was just about an inch away from being able to grab onto it, so Ahiru jumped and pushed the tap, opening the water. Ahiru landed on her butt with a thud and easily turned off the water now that she was a girl again. She looked at herself. "It looks like I can still turn into a duck." she sighed. "I guess it can't be helped." Quickly, she got up and slipped into her uniform again.

"Ahiru?" Ahiru's head snapped to the voice rounding the corner of the building and hurriedly did up the last of the buttons on her shirt.

"Um, y-yes?" She called out. Suddenly, Rue and Mytho rounded the corner and Ahiru immediately relaxed. "Mytho! Rue! What are you guys doing here?"

"What are we doing here? What are you doing here, Ahiru?" Rue asked with disbelief. "You're a girl again!"

Ahiru giggled and scratched her head. "Well, it's kinda a long story...classes are over for today so why don't you guys just come over to Fakir's house and we'll let you guys know all about it." Ahiru grabbed Rue's hand happily and began leading her and Mytho towards the library. "We should probably go get Fakir first. I think he said he would be in the library."

Ahiru burst into the library excitedly and practically ran towards the reading area. Sure enough, Fakir was seated at a desk on the far side of the room, quietly reading a book. "Fakir! Look, it's-!"

"Will you please be quiet!" Ahiru jumped and looked up to the railing above her head. Autor was standing in front of one the shelves and was now glaring down at them. However, his glare turned into a look of surprise as he realized who it was that he had shushed.

"It's you! How-" But then, Autor's eyes drifted to the girl trailing behind Ahiru. She wasn't looking up at him so he couldn't see her face, but not in a million years could he mistake that raven hair and ivory skin for anyone else. "Rue..." Then she looked up at him. She gave him an apologetic smile and turned away. His heart sank as his gaze drifted towards the white-haired boy beside her. I see... Mytho sensed the boy's gaze and looked at him. As the two exchanged glances, Mytho felt a strange sensation boiling in his chest. However, he just couldn't place what it was.

"I'm so sorry!" Autor grumbled to himself as he took a book from the shelf and proceeded to the desk nearby. Meanwhile, Fakir, who had heard Ahiru's call, immediately came over, his book tucked away under his arm and nearly gasped.

"Mytho. Rue. What are you two doing here?" he asked, pleasantly surprised. Mytho chuckled. "Come, we'll explain once we get back to your house."

"So I had this dream where I was dancing with Princess Tutu, and then I suddenly woke up as a girl! That's when I found out that I had this pendant." Ahiru jumped as she remembered something and then turned to Fakir. "Oh, and it looks like I can still turn back into a duck whenever I...uh, you know." Fakir nodded as he poured tea into the cups in front of his guests. Turning back to Rue and Mytho, she added, "But the weird thing was, was that Princess Tutu told me that there would be challenges along the way! But so far, we haven't seen anything suspicious."

"I see..." Rue said in a melancholy tone. Mytho frowned with concern and put his hand comfortingly over hers and then smiled at Ahiru. "Well, for now, it's good to see you again, Ahiru. It's great that you're a girl again."

"So what's your story now? What brings you here to Kinkan so suddenly?" Fakir asked as he sat down across from them.

"Well, you see, after Rue and I returned to my kingdom in the story, we found that all was not as I had left it. My kingdom had fallen into chaos. So, there was much to be done to put things back in order and to return my kingdom to its former glory. So far, I've managed to restore law and order, but rebuilding the buildings and lives that had been torn apart by the chaos is proving to be a much harder task. It was putting a lot of stress on me so Rue thought that I should come here to Kinkan to relax."

"Oh, speaking of your kingdom, Mytho, but you see, to cover up Ahiru's sudden reappearance and to make an excuse for her to live here, we told Charon that you sent Ahiru here from your kingdom. Our story was that Ahiru was being targeted by someone and so you sent her here to live with us so that she could be safe."

"Oh I see. Well, I promise not to ruin the secret." Mytho said with a smile.

As the four of them began talking and catching up with each other, time seemed to fly by and before they knew it, it was already dark out. Rue twisted around in her chair and got up. "Oh, it looks like we have to go. People might get worried if we arrive at the dorms too late."

"Will you two be going to class tomorrow?" Ahiru asked. Rue nodded and immediately Ahiru brightened. "Okay! Then we'll see you guys tomorrow!"

The two nodded as they walked out the door, leaving Ahiru and Fakir behind to clean up the table and the teacups. Not long after, though, they heard a knocking on the door. "I'll get it!" Ahiru said happily as she ran to the door. When she answered it, Rue was standing there.

"Oh, hi Rue! Did you forget something?" Rue stayed silent for a moment and simply stared at Ahiru. In her eyes, Ahiru could see a touch of hysteria and worry. Suddenly, the image of Rue's despairing figure from her dream, flashed across her mind. "Rue? W-what's wrong?"

"Mytho said that I suggested that he come here to get away from the stress." Rue replied in a hushed voice. "But that's not entirely true."

"What?"

"I brought him here because I thought that seeing you and Fakir and Kinkan town, would help him keep sight of himself." Ahiru was beginning to get worried. The thickness of Rue's voice, as if she was holding back tears, kept giving Ahiru a feeling of uneasiness. Something obviously wasn't right.

"What do you mean, Rue?"

"A few months after returning to Mytho's kingdom, I could sense it. Something was wrong with him. At first, I really thought that it was simply stress. But then...I saw those eyes. Every now and then, his eyes would flash red and I would catch him staring at some of his servants and maids. Then...recently, I-I...." Rue collapsed to her knees. Ahiru knelt down, eyes full of concern and, although she knew better, she urged her friend on. "What...happened?"

"I saw him, in an abandoned part of the castle town, with one of his maids. She lay dead in a pool of her own blood, and...her heart had been cut out." By this point, Ahiru was barely listening, for, she already knew. Her dream was coming true, Mytho was already searching for hearts. "He feinted then, and I brought him back to the castle. When he woke up, he had no memory of what he had done."

"Ahiru, you have to help me watch over him. I...I think that the raven's blood that still runs through his veins is fighting for control again and I don't know whether or not he'll do something like that again. That's why, you have to help me watch over him until I can figure out how to help him." Ahiru could only nod.

"Is it...okay for me to tell Fakir?" Ahiru asked timidly. Rue nodded and brought herself up. She took a deep breath to compose herself and then said, "I think that it would be best if we all knew what was going on, just in case something happens again." Rue turned around. "I suppose I should go catch up with Mytho now...and...thank you Ahiru."

Ahiru smiled sadly and nodded. As Rue disappeared into the distance, Ahiru shut the door and returned to the kitchen where Fakir was just finishing his clean up. "So, who was it?"

"Fakir..." Ahiru began seriously causing Fakir to turn all the way around to face her. "Hm?"

"My nightmare...it's coming true."