Ahiru stood in the kitchen, leaning over an open cookbook as she read the recipe that would be her dinner if she knew what on earth Parsley was.

Trying to figure out what a tsp or a tbsp were both thrown out the window a long time ago.

Parsley was supposed to be in last night's dinner as well, but she left it out since she didn't have it. She'd have to look for it harder at the grocery store when she went next time with Charon.

"Stir in medium heat until-"

There was a knock at the door.

Ahiru blinked. She wasn't expecting visitors and it wasn't a ballet night, so it wouldn't be Pique or Lillie coming to pick her up.

They knocked again.

Was it the bookmen? Had they finally found her and decided to make her a duck again?

Wait, that was ridiculous, they didn't even know she was a duck.

But, who else could it be?

Ahiru turned off the stove, the bubbles dying in the pot, and picked up a rolling pin before making her way to the door.

She looked out the peephole, but with very little light she only saw a glimpse of what was possibly the silhouette of a man.

Ahiru opened the door and brandished her rolling pin, holding it high over her head so this intruder would know she wasn't one to be messed with.

"Woah! Wait, it's just me!"

Ahiru let her arm fall. "Mytho?"

He came into her apartment, into the light and dropped his bag on the floor. "Is it really you?" He asked, reaching forward to touch her face.

"Yes, Mytho, it's me. It's Ahiru, I- I woke up."

There were tears in his eyes as he smiled down at her. "I'm so sorry I gave up on you." He wrapped his arms around her, and she couldn't help but return the favor.

"How did you find me?"

He shrugged, "Mom wouldn't tell me, but grandpa did."

"He called you?"

"Yeah, yeah he did." He pulled away, resting his hands on her shoulders. "He told me he gave you my phone number, though."

"He did, I was just so scared to call you." Ahiru pouted. "I didn't know what you'd say or how you'd react. And, I'm not really good with phones anyway."

Mytho smiled. "Did you think I'd be anything but ecstatic?"

"I don't know what I thought you would do, but I was still scared."

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I had to quit my job and had to talk to my landlord to drop the lease on my apartment. But I'm here now."

"You don't have a job?"

"I'll find one, it's okay."

"Or a place to live?"

"No, I was going to stay with Mom and Grandpa." Mytho grimaced. "Until I find a place at least."

"Why don't you stay here! I have an extra room, come look." Ahiru grabbed his hand and took him to the extra room she had. "It's not a 'bedroom' but I can get you a bed and you don't have to stay with Mom!"

Mytho looked down at her and smiled, he shook his head before ruffling up her hair. "C'mon, we have a lot of catching up to do, and-" he sniffed, "by the smell of it we can do that over dinner."

Mytho finished cooking for her, showing her how to do it - and what tsp and tbsp meant - and he was a lot better at cooking than her.

He went to college in Berlin to study ballet, she was glad he still carried that interest with him, he had gotten a job as a teacher in Berlin's premier ballet school, but quit a few days ago to come back home.

"Wow, that sounds important. Are you sure you're okay with quitting there? You could have just come down for a visit." Ahiru felt bad, she hadn't meant for him to just up and leave everything behind.

"When Grandpa first called me, after having not heard from him or mom since I left for college, I thought he was calling to tell me you died. When it was just the opposite, you were awake, it didn't matter what job I had, if I was prince of the land, I'd give it all up just to be with you again."

"Were you seeing anyone?"

Mytho raised an eyebrow at her. "Where ever did that come from? You sound like my friend, Benno, he's always waiting for me to find a girl."

Good. Perhaps there was a chance he could fall in love with Rue, and Rue could fall in love with him, the only problem was that she was still engaged to Autor.

"I just figured you may have someone."

Mytho shook his head. "No, not yet, though, now that you're awake, things are starting to look up, maybe I will find my princess. But, you? Grandpa said you'd been awake for a few months now, no boys?" He smirked at her, and Ahiru blushed.

"No!"

His smirk turned into a grin. "You do, don't you! Who is it, you'll have to introduce me to him!"

"I'm not with anyone, I've just been making friends, like Rue."

Mytho let his grin fade, "Who's Rue?"

"Oh, well, it's kind of hard to explain, but we met in the hospital a few weeks after I woke up, and we've run into each other a few times. She owns a ballet studio and has been teaching me."

"Really? Don't think she needs an extra teacher, do you?"

"Hmm, maybe she does, it's just her and her receptionist right now, but she could have more classes with a second teacher." Ahiru smiled, oh how perfect! They would meet, and they would get to know each other and fall in love all over again. "I'll ask her about it, okay?"

"That sounds great to me. Is she your only friend?"

Ahiru beamed, "Hardly! I met two girls in my class, Pique and Lillie, they're really nice and give me rides to class since I've just been riding your bike." She proceeded to tell him all about them, and perhaps she knew them too well for the short amount of time they had been friends here, but she didn't particularly care. "And, well, I have one other friend, if I can even call him that."

"Oh a man? See, I knew you had someone." He started poking her shoulder repeatedly. "Tell me about him, funny as your big brother? He can't possibly be as handsome."

"He's more." Ahiru said wistfully, "Wait! No, that's not what I meant!"

Mytho smirked again.

"Fine." Ahiru sighed, rolling her eyes. "He is pretty handsome, he's not terribly funny but he's kind. He spends his Saturday mornings with me, though I'm sure he could be spending his time somewhere else. He acts tough, but he's nothing more than a little puppy."

"Ahiru, you sound like you love him."

Ahiru shook her head. "No, he thinks I'm crazy."

"What?" Mytho furrowed his eyebrows. "Why does he think that?"

"It's nothing."

"No, tell me. Wait 'til I get my hands on him, no one calls you crazy but me."

Ahiru giggled. "No, really it's not a big deal, he still comes." She looked at Mytho, trying to gauge what his reaction would be, could she tell him? "I had this dream…"

She continued on, telling him the shortest synopsis she could of her journey, collecting heart shards for the heartless prince, trying to save the tainted princess, and her friendship with the knight turned writer.

"... I guess in truth, there was only one princess, I was only a duck pretending to be a princess."

"You dreamed about me?" The corner of his lip curved up. "That's sweet. Who was the princess?"

"Oh," He thought it was a dream too, perhaps she shouldn't waste her breath telling everyone the story, but what if it did work for someone? She couldn't stop, even if it meant she'd have to relive her story a hundred times. "You know how our brains use people we've just seen on the street. I don't even remember what her face looks like."

"Did you tell this man this dream? And that's why he thinks you're crazy?"

"Not exactly, I guess he doesn't mean it in a literal sense." She shrugged, what was one or two lies? What was twenty-five or fifty? She was so tired of lying, when could she go back to her story? Back to her home? Where she didn't have to lie to anyone anymore.

"Hey, you know what I just realized?"

"What?"

"We have ten years of birthdays to make up for you." He smiled, he stood and took her plate out from in front of her. "We can celebrate mine, too. What do you want to do?"

"Oh! I- I don't-"

"What if we went to the lake?" Mytho suggested, rinsing the plates in water, his back to her. "You used to love going there when you were young, we would go fishing and camping, it was always extravagant."

"Sure! That sounds like fun."

"How about next month? I can plan everything and get enough money to pay for it all."

"Oh, you don't have to, we can go half and half, you said it was to celebrate your birthday, too."

"Hmm, fine, do you want to invite anyone? Any of your new friends?"

Ahiru's back straightened. How did she miss it? It was such a perfect opportunity for the four of them to all be together.

She smiled. "Let me talk to them."

Fakir had beaten her to the bookstore, he was seated against the wall, one leg outstretched, the other he used as a perch for the book in his hand.

"You're late." He snapped the book shut.

She smiled, setting down her bag and sitting next to him on her knees. "I didn't realize I had to be here at a certain time."

"No," He blushed, "You're just normally here by now, that's all."

Ahiru giggled, "Okay. Say, I have a question for you this time."

He nodded. "Shoot."

She looked appalled. "I'm sorry? Shoot what?"

"No, it means, go ahead, ask away." He gave her a strange look. "Don't have expressions like that in Gold Crown?"

"The hunters do."

"Oh. And you're a- oh." He cleared his throat. "You didn't have any run ins with hunters, did you?"

"Hey, I had a question first."

Fakir nodded. "Right, go ahead."

She smiled. "I woke up a week after my birthday, and my brother is insisting that we celebrate it."

"So?"

"So, he wants to go camping up at the lake, and asked if I wanted to bring any friends." She smiled at him, expectantly.

"Me?" He asked, quick to catch on. "I've only known you for a few weeks."

"Ten years."

He pointed at her. "You've known me for ten years, I-" He pointed to himself. "Have known you for little over a month."

"It'll be next month, so then you'll have known me for two." She smiled. "Please?"

He opened his mouth, probably to reject her, but paused, she had started to pout her lower lip and made her eyes water. "Don't do that."

"Please, Fakir? You'll have so much time to ask me questions." She held her hands together like she was begging, which she was, and leaned in slightly.

"I- That's ridiculous- stop making that face."

"Please, go. Please?" She drew out.

He looked away. "No. No, that's just-" He looked back at her. "No."

If possible, Ahiru made her face look even more pathetic. "Please? It's for my birthday, I haven't had a birthday in ten years."

"I-" He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Fine!"

"Yay!" She grinned. "Thank you so much, Fakir! It's going to be really fun, I promise!"

"I'm sure. Now I get my question."

"Right!"

"Did you have any run ins with hunters?"

Ahiru smiled. She touched an old scar on her shoulder. "You flipped. Look." She pulled at the collar of her shirt - it was getting much too hot for sweaters.

There was something in his eyes, pity? No, was it possible that he remembered?

He raised his hand and brushed the tips of his fingers to the scar, it was so old it was white. He pulled away but she grabbed his hand instead.

She ran her thumb over the scar that ran across the top of his right hand. "I know how you got this, but how did you get it here?"

"I stabbed myself, it was an accident."

"No, it was intentional."

"What?"

Ahiru looked up at him. She let his hand go. "Before I gave Mytho the last heart shard, I tried to drown myself, or rather, Drosselmeyer tried to make me drown myself. He controlled me through you, he forced your hand to write and you couldn't stop him, you grabbed aletter opener and stabbed your hand so you would stop writing."

"To save you?"

"You ran after me, trying to find the lake, and you dove down into its depths to pull me out."

"And, did I?"

"Sort of, you stopped to dance with me first."

He raised his eyebrow, as if out of all the things she had told him, that was the most unbelievable. "I stopped to dance?"

She giggled. "It was a stage, we could breath, it wasn't a real lake, it never was."

He took his hand back, brushing his fingers over the scar. "I was trying to cook when I got this, I got mad because the chicken was impossible to cut, someone called my name, and I stabbed my own hand. But, you're story gives it so much more importance."

"It was important. I would have failed without you."

"The hunters?" He asked, after a moments silence.

"Oh! Well, it was a few years later, I was flying back to the lake and the loudest crack filled the sky!..."

Today, he seemed more curious with her, asking things about her, things she liked, what she would do on the lake as a duck, if she wanted to go back to being one…

That was the hardest to answer, because the truth was, she was unsure.

"Being a duck… It's who I am, my true self. But, being a person, talking with you, dancing again, I don't know if I could ever go back to being a duck."

"Do you ever think that you were supposed to be a woman? That that was taken away from you?"

"What do you mean?" Ahiru tilted her head. "I'm a duck."

"Drosselmeyer doesn't really seem like one to tell the truth, and he changed other students and people to be animals, why not you?"

"Yeah, but I stayed a duck after it all ended."

"I can't imagine you being a duck." He told her. "All the ducks I've seen act like they're just animals, don't you think, if you were really a duck, you'd act like one?"

"I-!" She pursed her lips. "I do act like a duck!"

"But you're a person, you have this kindness, this humanness, I don't think a duck could ever be described as human, or kind."

"I don't remember anything before I was a duck."

"Do you remember anything before the start of the story? When you were called to be Princess Tutu?"

"I remember I wanted to make Mytho smile, and then I was a girl." She furrowed her eyebrows, "I don't remember anything before that. That doesn't make me a girl, it just means that I don't remember everything." Her heart pounded, she has a duck, she had to be, it was all she had ever known. "Next question."

"Ahiru-"

"Next question, please."

He made a face, like he was considering her. "Fine. Next question."

She was a duck, she couldn't be anything else. She couldn't be.

"Ahiru?" Rue looked pleasantly surprised as Ahiru walked into the studio in the middle of the day rather than for her usual evening class. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something, if that's alright."

"Of course, let me, uh-" Rue looked down at her class, all young children, perhaps the oldest was thirteen. "Just do that last routine again, alright?"

The class groaned, but started anyway.

Rue lead Ahiru out into the hallway. "Yes?"

"Do you need any teachers?"

"What? Why do you ask-" Rue looked past Ahiru, out into the waiting room. "That."

Ahiru looked back, and smiled. Rue was looking at Mytho.

"That's my brother. He was a ballet teacher in Berlin, but quit to come live with me once he heard I was awake. I thought it would do you well if you could have two classes going on at once."

Rue nodded. "Right. Of course."

Mytho turned to look at them, his smile fading as he made eye contact with Rue. He started walking towards them.

He held out his hand. "My name is Mytho. And yours?"

"Rue." She told him, placing her hand gently in his, he brought it up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Well." She cleared her throat. "I would need to see what you can do, how advanced you are."

"I'd say quite."

Ahiru smiled before leaving them, going back into the class with the kids and watching them perform.

"You're Ahiru, right?" One of them shouted.

"Huh?"

"You're name! It's Ahiru right?"

"Y-yeah, how did you know?"

A little girl stepped away from the barre, and while her hair was blonde, it was obvious who it was. "I'm Uzura! My mom works at the hospital! I saw you while you were sleeping!"

"Uzura." Ahiru whispered, mainly to herself. She never thought she'd get to see Uzura again, not after the story ended. "I was, now I'm awake."

Uzura smiled. "I see that!"

Rue and Mytho stepped back into the class. "Students, meet your new teacher, Mytho. Some of you will probably begin taking his class instead of mine in the weeks to come."

The students looked at each other before they cheered.

"Hey, what does that mean?"

Rue started berating the children and gave them a very advanced set to do as punishment.

Ahiru leaned over to Mytho, "What did you do?"

Mytho smirked and shrugged. "Just showed her some of my moves."

"In the hall? It's kind of crapped in there, how did you manage that?"

"No, not moves like that."

Ahiru quirked an eyebrow. "Than what?"

Mytho shook his head, before knocking on her temple. "Hello, anyone in there? I showed her some moves."

"I still don't get it."

Mytho let out an exasperated sigh. "I flirted with her a bit, Ahiru."

"Mytho! She's engaged!"

"Oh. She is?" He looked sad. His eyes found her so easily, and for a moment, he took her in. "Why didn't you say?"

"She doesn't love him, I was hoping if she met you, she'd break it off."

"Ahiru! That's bad!"

"It's not like she loves him or anything!" Ahiru looked over at Rue, correcting Uzura's form. "She doesn't belong with him."

"Who does she belong with? Me?"

Ahiru looked at him, and nodded.

He scoffed. "You can't be serious, there's no way she'd go for a guy like me." He sighed. "She deserves a prince."

Ahiru nodded, she patted Mytho's arm. "She does.

"Hang on, I'm gonna invite her to the lake." Ahiru walked away.

"The la- Wait, Ahiru, don't!"

"Straight leg, stop sticking your bottom out!"

"Hey, Rue?" Ahiru tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Mytho is planning on going to the lake for my birthday since I've missed the last few, would you like to come with us? Fakir's coming as well."

Shock covered her features. "You got Fakir to come? Hold on, when did you start being friends with Fakir, Ahiru?"

"I ran into him at the bookstore, we kind of meet up every Saturday to talk." Ahiru let a small grin cover her features. "But, I invited him to come as well, won't you come? Please?"

Rue snuck a glance at Mytho. "And you're brother will be there?"

Ahiru nodded. "It's for his birthday as well."

"I suppose I can shift my schedule around to go, just tell Anna when it is and she'll write it down in my calendar."

Ahiru wrapped her arms around Rue. "I will! It's gonna be so much fun!"

"I can't wait, just-" She cleared her throat. "I can't swim, so I probably won't be going into the lake, is that fine?"

"Of course! Just as long as you're there! We'll go hiking, and have campfires and all kinds of fun stuff!"

"Should I bring anything?"

"Hmm." Ahiru put a finger on her chin. "Maybe, I'm not sure, ask Mytho, he's planning it all!"

Ahiru went back to Mytho and left, leaving the dates with Anna.

Ahiru stood on a stool, dusting a music box sitting on the top shelf just so, while Fakir stood below her. He had come in to visit Charon - not his guardian, but still a man he knew - and found Ahiru there.

"You're just everywhere, aren't you?"

She giggled. "I suppose I am, are you looking for omething?"

"No, just came to talk to Charon when I saw you."

"Oh, you know Charon?"

His lip twitched, "Not the way you think I do, I just come in here a lot, Autor used to drag me along to this place since he doesn't have a car, and I would talk to Charon while he looked around."

"Oh, at least you still know him." She smiled down at him.

She placed back the old music box she had been dusting and turned her attentions to an old, old, old vase when the door opened and crashed against the wall. Ahiru gasped and held out her hands as the vase fell, just barely catching it.

"You! You've been keeping my daughter locked away here and I've come to take her back!"

Oh, no.

"Ma'am, please, why don't you sit down, and-" Charon tried to contemplate her.

"No! Where is my baby!"

Ahiru placed the vase back on the shelf and scurried off her stool.

"Ahiru, who is that?" Fakir asked, following her as she hid behind one of the shelves.

"Elora. She's my mother here." Ahiru shook her head. "But I know she's not."

"You're going to tell me where she is now or I will call the police!"

"Why does she think Charon's kidnapped you?" He asked, he stood in front of Ahiru and picked up an old book, pretending to be a customer so he could keep a better eye on Elora while allowing Ahiru to hide.

"I don't know."

"I'll find her myself!"

"She's coming over here." Fakir warned.

Ahiru looked at the floor, perhaps she needed to have this conversation and Elora would finally leave her alone. She stepped out from her hiding space and stepped up to meet her Mother.

"Oh, Ahiru! Look at you!" Elora grabbed her wrist and started to drag her along.

"Mama, stop!" Ahiru clawed at Elora's hand, but her grip was strong.

"We're going home, tell this nice man goodbye." Elora turned to Charon, who had followed her. "Thank you for letting her play storekeeper, but it's time for her to go home."

Elora took another step, but a hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder. "Let her go."

Ahiru looked over at Fakir, his eyes sharp and deadly. She was glad they weren't aimed at her.

"Young man, this is my daughter and frankly none of your business."

"Ahiru, would you like to leave with her?"

Ahiru shook her head.

"I believe Ahiru is able to make choices for herself, being a young woman, herself. Let. Her. Go."

Elora's grip loosened just enough for Ahiru to slip away and she stood behind Fakir.

"Ahiru!" Elora called out. "Get back here! You're embarrassing me!"

"Madam, you have done that for yourself." Fakir told her with a scorching tongue.

"Mama," Ahiru said, stepping out from behind Fakir so she stood next to him instead. "I'm not a child, I left and you need to accept that."

"Ahiru, I am your mother, I sat by your side for ten years, waiting for you to wake up."

"And I woke up with you by my side, but I'm not a baby anymore, you can't treat me like one. I made the choice to leave, to work here, to live away from you, please you have to accept that."

"You- you choose this, over me?" She placed her hand over her heart.

Ahiru nodded.

"I see." Elora didn't know what to do next. "Will I… ever see you again?"

"I don't know. I'll call you once I do."

Elora looked between the three of them, "Don't forget me."

"I won't." Ahiru shook her head. "I promise."

Elora nodded and walked away.

"Ahiru, are you alright?" Charon asked. "Who was that?"

Ahiru watched as Elora left, her car driving away from the little antique shop. "I don't know."

Charon opened his mouth to say more, but shut it, deciding that it wasn't his business.

"How long did you have to live with that?" Fakir asked her.

"Too long." Ahiru rubbed her forehead and moaned. "I think Drosselmeyer put her there so I wouldn't run off and try to find you. That I would be happy with a family."

"Obviously, that didn't work."

Ahiru went back to her stool. "I think he's had worse ideas."

"Like what?"

"Like making his grandson a main character in his story."

"Or making a duck into a princess?"

Ahiru hummed. "No, I think I like that idea."

"You like that idea because it made you a princess."

She smiled. "No, I like that idea because I never would have met you without it."

Fakir shook his head.

"What?"

"You're crazy. You're absolutely insane."

"And yet you're still here." Ahiru starting dusting the vase again. "Perhaps you're the crazy one."

"Perhaps I'm the crazy one for believing it."

She looked down at him. "You do?"

"I don't understand it myself. It's impossible, it's all impossible, but ..." He looked up at her, eyes gazing into hers and never leaving. "I can't help but think it's true."

"Fakir, did you come to talk to me or just to bother my worker?" Charon teased, standing at the other end of the shelf.

"Yeah I did, but don't think it's because I missed you, old man." Fakir walked away, leaving Ahiru to finish her work, but she smiled nonetheless.

He believed her. He believed her.