I'm saving some characters for the sequel, if I ever make one.

Chapter 4: Awakening

"It…can't be…" Duck inched closer, reaching out with her hand. She couldn't help but curiously touch the pair of swans decorating the hilt of Mytho's sword.

Then the sword disappeared. In fact, the whole room disappeared, replaced by a foggy lake.

"What?" Duck gasped, backing away from the edge of the water. The lake turned black, then the giant face of an old man with white hair and crazy eyes grinned up at her.

"Hello there, little Duck," he said.

She cried out, spun around to run away, but the face was now in the sky between the trees. "Who are you? What's going on?"

The man chuckled. "You still don't know who you are, do you? Allow me to enlighten you."

A large gear floated in from her left and when Duck looked inside, she saw a small, yellow bird sitting among the reeds on the lake. Just as she was wondering why the man was showing this to her, the duck started to glow. Then it transformed into a human girl.

No. It transformed into her.

Duck stared. "That's impossible! I'm not a duck!" She turned away, but another gear was in front of her. It pictured herself transforming again, but this time it was so bright that she was barely visible. All she caught was a dress that resembled a tutu. "I don't understand…"

The gear now showed the man's face. "Yes, I'm afraid you're only a duck. That means if you even so much as quack, you'll return to your true form. Only water and a certain Heart Shard can turn you back into a human."

Duck squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "That still doesn't make any sense!"

"The rest of the characters have taken their places in the story," the man's voice echoed around her, though she could no longer see him. "It's time you've taken yours…"

The vision inside the gear darkened, now showing a forest of dead trees. Duck peered closer.

A masked knight dressed in black with a brown cloak emerged from behind a tree, seemingly right in front of her.

Duck screamed, falling backwards. She landed out of the room in the stone corridor of the basement.

The old man's voice was barely a whisper. "…Princess Tutu…"

Duck opened her eyes at the sound of Uzura's voice.

"Please wake up, Duck-zura!" the puppet child cried, shaking her shoulder.

Alarmed and perplexed, Duck sat up, eyes focusing on her friend. "Uzura?"

Uzura's face relaxed, but still looked concerned. "Are you ok, zura?"

Duck couldn't answer. She risked a glance at Mytho's sword, still in the room. Her mind was still reeling. She heard footsteps approaching and turned to look.

Edel was walking up to her, an expression of understanding on her face.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have gone in there!" Duck blurted out. "What happened to me?"

Edel tilted her head thoughtfully. "It seems as though you were chosen."

Chosen? Edel sounded like she knew what was going on, or at least was aware of it. The images flashed through Duck's mind again. Finally, she asked the burning question. "Miss Edel…am I really…a duck?"

The woman's face became sympathetic. "Yes."

Duck's eyes welled up and she hung her head. She knew there was a reason why she was terrible at ballet. Why she couldn't remember her family. Why she was never going to achieve her dreams. She felt Edel's hands cupping her wet cheeks.

"Duck," she said, tilting her face towards her. "Those who accept their fate will be granted happiness. Those who defy their fate will be granted glory."

Duck searched Edel's eyes as if they held the meaning behind her words, but they were glassy like Uzura's.

Edel then told her, "You may take the Prince's sword and return it to him."

The young girl stood up fast, fear squeezing her heart. "No! I can't! I can't do anything!" She ran off up the stairs despite Uzura's pleas to come back. Duck rushed out of the restaurant and a short distance into the woods. Not knowing where to go or who to turn to, she collapsed to her knees and sobbed.

"Duck-zura!"

Duck sniffed and got up. "Sorry, Uzura. I'm leaving."

Uzura frowned. "But I want to go with you, zura."

"No. You have to go back; the others will help you."

"Why, zura?"

Duck snapped, "Didn't you hear what Edel said? The real me is a duck! How can I possibly be any help to the Freedom Fighters or even Prince Mytho?"

Uzura flinched, eyes watering as she gazed sadly at her.

Regretting her outburst, Duck knelt down and pulled Uzura into a hug. "I'm sorry. But it's better for everyone if I'm not any part of this." She let go and stood back up. "Goodbye, Uzura."

"Wait!" Uzura reached into her pocket and took out a pretty red pendant. Her tiny hand held it out to her. "A present for you, zura."

Duck smiled warmly and took it. "Thank you," she murmured, putting the necklace on. She nodded a last farewell then walked away before new tears could spill down her face.

"Where's Duck?" Pike asked worriedly. She and Karon had followed Edel to the basement when none of their friends had returned after a while.

Edel gazed at them solemnly. "Duck has made her choice." She held out Prince Mytho's sword, now sheathed, to Pike. "You may return this to the Prince."

Karon wondered aloud, "Where'd you get that?"

"There is a time and place for everything," Edel said simply.

The blacksmith deflated. He reached for the sword. "Better let me handle this."

Pike swiped it and held it close, protesting, "But she gave it to me!"

Before Karon could argue, sounds of commotion came from the restaurant.

Edel glanced at the ceiling and announced calmly, "They're here."

The three of them made their way upstairs only to find that Final Draft members—crows and humans—had invaded and begun attacking everyone.

"Stay close, kid," Karon told her, taking out his knife. He lunged at the nearest crow soldier.

Pike hunched her shoulders and whimpered, "Wait, I need a weapon too!"

Edel stated mystically, "The pen is mightier than the sword."

"Oh yeah!" Pike realized. "I have a sword!" Carefully, she unsheathed the blade and held it up with both hands. Feeling a lot more confident, she fought alongside Karon.

Meanwhile outside the restaurant, Fakir arrived with reinforcements. One of his followers approached him and said, "Sir, the puppet was seen heading into the woods with a girl."

Fakir turned sharply in the direction of the dense forest.

Duck paused her trudging to analyze her surroundings. It seemed darker here despite the dappled sunlight through the trees. This didn't look like the way she had come at all. "Oh great," she moaned. "I'm not only useless, I'm also lost."

The sound of a sword unsheathing nearby made her flinch.

Her eyes darted around, but no one was there. Too scared to breathe, Duck crept around a large tree trunk only to see a dark figure striding towards her.

The knight from her vision.

Duck's heart skipped a beat in terror. She immediately ran the other way, stumbling a couple of times on bramble. She climbed a slope where a fallen log rested on top. Maybe if she hid under there…

But when she reached it, the knight was already in front of her with his sword pointed towards her chin. Duck froze.

"So, you're the girl I've heard about," he murmured, briefly glancing up and down at her.

"W-what do you want?" Duck's wide-eyed gaze kept flicking from his mask to his sword.

"The puppet. Where is it?"

She gulped. He must've wanted the Heart Shard. Could this be the same knight that Karon had told her about? The one from the story? Regardless, Duck wasn't going to put Uzura and her friends in danger, so she remained silent.

The knight trailed the blade gently down her neck and Duck shivered. She thought for sure he was going to pierce her pounding heart, but he just lifted her jewel pendant with the sword's tip. "The Heart Shard… You have it."

Duck's face matched the surprise in his voice and she took a glimpse at the necklace. All this time she thought it was just a regular gem. Did Uzura know that when she gave it to her? "I…do?"

Pike backed into the side of the house as crows closed in on her and Karon. She held her sword defensively, willing to fight until the end.

Which might not be that much longer.

There just seemed to be too many of them. The Final Draft had already rounded up most of the people from the restaurant to interrogate them. It was just then that Pike realized she didn't know what the Final Draft did to traitors, and she wasn't eager to find out.

"I can ride!" squealed a high-pitched voice that Pike thought she would never hear again. Lillie barreled through the crow soldiers on a horse, disintegrating them. She skidded the horse to a stop, flipped her blond ponytails back and asked Pike sincerely, "Did I miss all the tragedy?"

Pike stared, dumbfounded. "I…you… I thought you were dead?"

"Good heavens, no! If I die, who will appreciate all the misery that everyone is going through?"

Pike was too thankful for Lillie saving them, so she just rolled her eyes.

Karon pointed and spoke up in relief, "The rest of the Freedom Fighters are here too!"

Indeed, Freedom Fighters came charging in on horseback and on foot to come to the aid of the innocent. They put up a good fight, too. It seemed like the Final Draft had met its match.

Pike heard Lillie gasp. "Pike! Have you been battling?"

The pink-haired girl looked at the sword in her hand. "Oh, yeah I have. Sorta."

Lillie jumped down from the horse and threw her arms over her friend. "Oh you poor thing! You must be so wounded!"

Pike struggled to get her off. "I'm not really hurt—"

Lillie held her tighter. "I'm here now, you don't have to keep denying it!"

Pike exhaled in defeat.

How long did she have it? Fakir wondered. It didn't matter. He lowered his sword and stepped closer to the girl. His other hand reached for the pendant.

"No!" She clasped both hands around the jewel desperately. "I won't let you hurt Prince Mytho!"

He had to admire her bravery. After all, she seemed like just a normal girl who got mixed up in his war. The knight's larger hand wrapped around the necklace chains and yanked hard.

But the necklace didn't break off.

"What?" He saw the girl wince from the chain digging into her neck as he tried again, but even she seemed amazed that it wouldn't come off.

Fakir heard one of his men call out to him, "Sir! The Freedom Fighters are here!"

"Full retreat," he told him as he sheathed his sword, not taking his eyes off the girl. "And forget the puppet. We have what we need." He pinched the base of her neck and she lost consciousness, falling into his arms. With one hand under her knees and the other supporting her back, Fakir carried the lithe girl to his horse.

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