Outside jingled the academy's musical clock– the evening bell signaling the official closing of the classrooms.
Five sharp strikes from the bell tower bellowed through the air, vibrating the room's tall paned window.
Hrmm. I've always wondered, but. –What kinds of things do you find in those books? Duck asked sleepily.
The two had squandered away their day in silence– The knight who occupied himself by cycling through a massive pile of books, and the little duck sitting on the bed to preen herself and daydream.
To the duck, it seemed as if their days were going back to exactly the way they were not long ago– a continuation of the day before yesterday.
Except now they could talk and this was the longest length of time she had spent with him in weeks.
To say the least, it was comfortable and pleasant to her. Just as it should be.
But a thick curtain of apprehension hung in the air between the two.
There were now unforeseen variables.
"You'd have to read them all to find out." Fakir replied ambiguously.
Duck closed her eyes and stretched her beak. He had probably already stopped looking things up about her. It appeared he was now busy writing another school paper.
"...I read in one story that the girl merely had to shed all her feathers to regain her human shape." He spoke suddenly, as if he had heard her concerns.
That sounds very painful. It'd be like pulling out all your hair. She mused aloud.
"There are far more painful things to part with." He retorted.
Hmm... Duck mumbled, earnestly meditating on the knight's statement.
In truth he meant nothing by it and was only trying to keep her silent and busy.
Busy the thought did keep her, though. But by the time she had almost figured it out, the knight's stomach had let out a low growl.
She waited for him to say something, but he only kept on writing.
Aren't you hungry? You should go get something to eat. Duck fretted.
The knight stood up in response, slowly clearing off his desk. When he was done, he only looked out the window.
"You know what's weird?" He asked. The duck slowly shook her head in consternation.
After a score of silent, abrupt moments, a full spread meal materialized on top of the knight's desk.
"I can write about dishes! Bowls of salad, gravy boats– magically appearing on my desk– and the result is immediate." Fakir denounced, slamming his palms down on its surface. The plates jumped in response.
That's... amazing... You're really good at writing! Duck encouraged uncertainly.
"It's the same as how it was when I was a child. The only stories that ever came true were the stupid ones." He reflected.
Don't worry, once you eat, you'll feel much better about all of this. Everything will turn out fine. The little duck persuaded cheerfully, already sensing the knight's darker mood. She knew that he had a bad temper whenever he was hungry.
Sullenly, the knight took her advice, sat down, and bit into a leg of meat. He continued to stare out the window in distraction.
Halfway in terror, the little duck watched him devour the roast turkey.
That side of meat... is no bigger than me. She gulped. If she didn't turn into a girl, she either had to go back to stay alone in Fakir's room or risk the consequences of staying in the dorm.
Fakir stood up and placed a plate full of lettuce and greens onto the bed before her.
"You should eat too." He advised.
Well into the task of gobbling up their food, a strong knocking sounded at the door.
Who's that? Duck quacked.
"Be quiet." Fakir urged as her grabbed her up and stuffed her under the bed.
Sitting in the cold darkness, she turned her attention to Fakir's feet, which were stalking up to the door, unlatching it and pulling it open.
"You have her in here, don't you?" A familiar voice accused.
"It's only you?" Fakir asked, opening the door wider to let the student in. He immediately closed the door behind them and locked it.
"Duck, you can come out now." Fakir announced.
Cautiously, the little duck peeked out from under the bed.
The new person in the room was that studious, bespectacled boy who knew everything about Drosselmeyer.
"So Autor, what brings you here?" Fakir questioned.
Autor let out an arrogant chuckle and sat down. "Nothing that I want from either of you. I just came here out of the goodness of my heart to tell you that the school administration already knows about your little pet duck." He announced.
Waaa? Duck spat.
"How can that be?" Fakir demanded, shaking Autor by the shoulders, "–Did you have anything to do with this?...!"
"Accusing me will get you no results. It's merely something I heard when I passed by the office to pick up a spare of today's work packet." Autor described, pulling a brown envelope out of his coat and shoving it at a startled Fakir.
"Your constant journeys off-campus at odd hours in the night... Combined with your absence today probably caused some curious ears to perch themselves at your door... They plan to search your room within the hour, so you'd best think of something." Autor advised, standing up to leave.
The knight stared down at the packet in disarray.
I know this isn't the greatest time to say this... But I'm glad you have a friend now, Fakir. Duck observed aloud.
"T...That's not true!" Fakir fumed in embarrassment, shaking the packet at her.
"...Curious you can understand her... Has something happened lately?" Autor asked.
"Never mind that, I'll tell you later. Get up Duck!" Fakir hurried, grabbing clothing out of the wardrobe.
"Planning on making a run for it? I figured you could just hide her better... Oh well. Be careful. " Autor finished, leaving out the door.
"Who's been bothering to watch me leave at night?" Fakir protested under his breath, stuffing the garments into the case.
I don't know... But I think he's right, Fakir. If you just hide me better, it should be alright. The little duck coaxed.
There was another knock at the door, causing both the duck and the knight to jump.
"-Hurry up, they're coming down the hall right now!" Autor's voiced hissed deeply behind the door.
"Damn it! Get under the bed again!" Fakir grabbed her.
Isn't that too obvious? That's the first place they'll look! Stuff me into your bag and put me in the closet. Duck pleaded.
There was another knock, one that was far different from the one before. Its harsh pounding was one that resounded of authority.
With no ideas, the knight followed exactly what the little duck said and stuffed her in the bag he had been packing– setting her down in the wardrobe and closing its heavy doors behind her.
"We're coming in!" A voice shouted outside, jiggling the latch with a master key.
Without much more provoking, the knight opened the door to the strangers.
"Is there a problem?" The knight asked, glaring at the two officials– a tall and goatlike woman from the admission's office and a badger-like man who served as a counselor.
"We have been requested to search your room for any unauthorized objects... or creatures. Pardon our intrusion." The badger-like man stated, busting the door open wider with a bounce from his belly.
The knight could only stand back and watch silently as the two stepped into the room uncertainly.
Just as Duck had said, the first thing they did was look under the bed– lounging on their stomachs to get a better look.
"Nothing here." The woman observed, sounding like she was bored and apt to leave.
"Hmm..." The man grumbled, looking around the room. He lifted up a serving tray as if to expect to find something beneath it.
As if to intentionally disrupt him, however, the academy's clock outside began its usual jingle– it's tones pulsating the air with six consecutive strikes.
To the knight's horror, something snapped and scraped inside the wardrobe.
The old man and the woman turned, eagerly honing it on it.
"I stacked things precariously in there– don't open both doors at the same time." The knight lied, holding his mouth in hand. Though he remained calm, his blackish green pupils shook in alarm.
Slowly the badgerly-man opened one side of the large wooden cabinet, shifting through the clothing.
Then he opened the other door.
In clear view was Duck, human again– and dressed up in Fakir's school uniform.
Her eyes were blank in fear– one of Fakir's casual shirts perched atop her head like a hat.
"A... another student?" The goat-like woman asked. The badger-like man stood back in agitation.
"Stand up! Give your name and class number." He blasted.
"Duck! And I don't go to school here yet, but I want to be in the ballet division." She confessed in her nervousness, bowing to the two teachers– the shirt still on her head. Fakir groaned and held his face in chagrin.
"Well then... This is very odd... But also very splendid! There aren't many boys in the ballet division." The lady remarked.
"Fine then. Since you two seem to know each other, senior Fakir will be your roommate and be in charge of showing you around while we get your classes in order.
"So then Duck, do you have a last name?"
"Q-uaack!" She cried, then covering her mouth out of habit.
"Duck Q'uaak... That is a very odd name... Best of luck to you then. Stop by the office before noon for your papers." The lady remarked, pulling a note pad and pen out of a pocket from her pink dress suit.
"Or else...!" The man threatened.
The door closed behind them.
"Another male student for the ballet division? The principal will be pleased." They heard the badger-like man carrying on from beyond the door.
Fakir sank to his knees.
Duck glanced all around the room before asking: "What just happened?"
"I don't think I could've wrote anything more stupid than this." Fakir admitted.
"Wait. Did they think I was a boy?" Duck cried out, pointing to her face in cold sweat.
"I guess we have your unhuman appearances to thank for that... Not that turning into a human at that moment was any more convenient." He explained.
"Does that mean I'm a duck that turns into a girl but looks like a boy?" Duck sobbed, rolling up into a ball.
"...Calm down. It's the uniform. And that shirt you're wearing on your head." He pointed out.
Duck ignored him and blurted out her newest idea: "No worries then! Even if they didn't accept me as a girl, they did accept me as a student. If I just talk to them, I'm sure I can straighten this all out and they'll place me back in the girl's dormitory so I can be with Pike and Lillie a–"
"–No, this could actually be a good thing. It'll give us more time to figure things out." Fakir interjected.
Actually, he partly just wanted to keep her away from Pike and Lillie.
"Is that... so?" Duck asked aloud, looking up at the ceiling to consider it.
"Yes, it's better for you to stay close by me. Now get some sleep. We have to wake up before dawn in order to obtain something you'll need..." He said, taking out a piece of paper and scribbling down something very quickly...