Remember when I said that I'd promise to shorten lapses in updates? Yeaaaaaahhhhh...So here we are now. The main reason that I didn't really do so much writing was because I was trying to create my very own original story. First chapter's not even out yet, but it actually seems worth the effort, so I'm not totally remorseful about missing the fanfiction. Though, I missed this story and all your love. Ha ha ha, I should just start the chapter now. Ok, I'll relieve you all.
Chapter 7: Beauty's Stage
Mr. Neko asked for the morning class to stay a few more minutes later the following day.
"Attention everyone. I have some very exciting news for you. I am overjoyed to tell you that we have been granted permission by the headmaster to attend the ballet of Sleeping Beauty, put on by the traveling show Eleki Truppe tonight!" Everyone gasped and began murmuring among each other. Ahiru, Mytho, and Rue looked at Fakir questioningly. "Quiet down, quiet down. Now, I know we haven't ever studied Sleeping Beauty before, much less even listen to the music, but I believe that you can not truly appreciate a ballet if you just watch the performance with tons of thoughts jumping in your heads." Mr. Neko twirled around and struck a pose. "No, you must discover the plot through the dance itself. That is the true purpose of ballet; to convey story through the most beautiful of dance!" He did a final jump, awaiting the excitement of the crowd. They only stared blankly at him. He immediately stretched in catlike way, embarrassed at the silence.
"And if any of you do not come to the show, I will personally see to it that you marry me!" Mr. Neko's cats meowed a battle cry and shooed the students out of the studio.
Outside of the studio, Rue brushed purple cat hair from her tights. "Felines. I've never liked them. Always scaring the prey. Honestly, their carcasses are the only good thing that comes out of their existence."
Mytho gently smiled at her. "Come now Rue. They are beneficial to the environment, even if they do eat birds. We mustn't judge a species based on what they eat for we all need a certain nourishment."
Rue rolled her eyes. She had noticed something in his words though. "What about the Raven? He consumes hearts; is he to be judged as a terrible being?" An aching feeling lodged in Mytho's chest; a sharp dagger of disappointment. "It's not the same with him, Rue. He chooses to do these unspeakable actions. He actively seeks to devour the emotions and lives of others when he could very well eat other things. To quench his hunger in a way that could be avoided, it is evil."
Rue tsked in stubborn denial. No matter what the ex-swan said, she would oppose him, for the love of her father and her flock. Though what he claimed did hit rather close to home...
Ahiru glanced between the two of them, quite aware of the tension in the air. She turned to Fakir instead.
"So Fakir..."
"What?" he grunted.
"What is Sleeping Beauty about?" That got the attention of the two arguers.
Fakir nonchalantly answered, "You're going to find out tonight so why bother asking now?"
Ahiru pouted. "But I-I mean we, know nothing about it. We're never going to be able to follow the story if we just focus on the dance."
He frowned at her. This duck never seemed to stop jabbering. "That's the whole point, idiot. Like Mr. Cat said, you have to find out the plot through the symbolism in the dance. I suppose I should at least give you an idea on what will happen though."
"Thank you Fakir," Ahiru cheerfully decreed, almost unintentionally trying to annoy him. Almost.
"So the basic run down of it is that an evil faerie gets angry when she isn't invited to the birthday party of a princess named Aurora. She curses the princess to die when she is sixteen from pricking her finger on a spindle, a sewing mechanism on a spinning wheel. Another fairy who happens to be a guest at the party weakens the curse so that the princess will only sleep for a hundred years along with her court until her 'true love' comes and kisses her. That's all I'll say. Any more and I'd just be ruining the play for you."
"I pity the princess, Aurora. To have no control in her fate, it must be miserable," Mytho contemplated aloud.
"Oh I'm sure that it's a fate that you yourself will become quite familiar with," a mysterious voice chuckled from the oblivion. It was however unheard by anyone. "Hmm, let's push that first piece into motion..."
Suddenly, a woman collided into an unsuspecting Ahiru.
"Quack!" Ahiru lost her balance and teetered forward into the open arms of the stranger. The pumpkin-eyed stranger picked up the poor girl bridal style.
"Oh goodness. I apologize for that. I wasn't looking where I was going." The woman had short, grayish brown hair that ended below the tip of her ears. Her lips were a colorless pink. She wore a grey leotard with a thin red x crisscrossing in the middle. Her skirt matched the color of the x, tied up with a small ribbon on the front. A white jacket hung around her shoulders. She definitely gave off the aura of a dancer.
"Ah it's okay. It happens a lot more often than you know," Ahiru laughed in uncomfortable familiarity.
The woman placed Ahiru back on her feet.
"Thank you miss...?"
"Paulamoni. Or should I say Mrs. Paulamoni." The woman chuckled softly. "It's a delight to see the locals going about their day. Are you students of the Golden Crown Academy?"
"We are as a matter of fact," Rue answered in a curt manner. "And you?"
"I'm with the traveling show, Eleki Truppe. I'm the lead role." The group gasped.
"We are going to see the performance tonight," Mytho told her.
"That's wonderful. You must be the ballet students then. What a pleasure it is to meet you. I'm glad I decided to walk around town. Looks like that rabbit noble I fed gave me more luck than I thought."
"Rabbits? Luck?" Fakir mumbled to himself. The three former birds shared a look between each other. It wasn't uncommon knowledge that the rabbit kingdom were luck bringers and that if you were kind to one, they would give you good luck in return. However, it was not in a person's best interest to talk about it for the gift would go away after mentioning it.
"So are you excited for tonight?"
"They've never seen a real ballet before," Fakir stated, clearly becoming done with the whole situation.
"Never? That's rather odd, isn't it? Either way, you'll absolutely love it. Since I was lucky enough to chat with you all, you can all have a backstage tour. Paulo will be ecstatic!"
"Thank you Mrs. Paulamoni," the group said in unison.
"Of course. I better get going now. I still need to practice for tonight. Good-bye then!" Paulamoni gave a small wave. She walked off.
The group went to their dorms after that. They were all throughly exhausted. They needed their rest for the show tonight. Rue went to sleep with nightmares of her father's displeasure regarding her disappearance. Mytho dreamt of the end to the black and white war, with peace settling across the land, finally. All the while, Ahiru did not go to sleep. She questioned the purpose of Princess Tutu, even more so the reason she was a human. It was clear to her that some unknown magic was in play. She just hoped that it wouldn't hurt her, or her newfound friends. Instead of these troubling thoughts, Ahiru used her last moments of consciousness to think of Mytho, holding her with loving, steady arms.
Of course, it wasn't too long before Fakir came to get them all. They ex-birds trudged behind him, some more tired than others, to the local theatre. Tan cushioned seats lined all parts of the inner chamber with a stage at the head. The red velvet curtains covered the stage. The teens found a few empty seats near the front and settled in. Lilie, in the back, hollered to Ahiru a greeting, much to the embarrassment of Pike and the girl being called on. Ahiru weakly waved back at them, praying that Lilie hadn't disturbed the rest of the audience. Autor moved down the aisle and sat in the row behind them.
"Hello Rue," he said to Rue. "It's lovely to see you."
Rue glanced back and smirked. "Likewise," she said. Before he could say anything else, the ballet began.
It was the most marvelous experience Ahiru ever had the pleasure of experiencing. "Look at how beautiful they are," she whispered to Fakir. He raised a questioning eyebrow, but otherwise kept his slight frown. Ahiru sighed in dreamy happiness. The graceful dancing was incredible. The story, the costumes, the choreography! She sighed again.
Suddenly, the lady Paulamoni came out as Princess Aurora. The crowd gasped in quiet amazement. She wore a white tutu that formed a star with a pale gold outline and two matching swirls on the chest. The rest of the tutu was light pink with white ruffles on the edges. Her legs were covered in white tights with more pale pink at the bottom as her pointe shoes. On her arms were gold armbands with the pink ruffles on them. Her neck was enclosed by a star-like gold collar that coincided with the crown on her head. She was gorgeous, a being radiating beauty.
As Paulamoni danced with the four other men on stage, she tripped over herself and wavered in her dancing. Her face momentarily changed to one of anxiousness. Ahiru stared closely at her. Was she nervous? Her momentary lapse suggested so.
"You can do it, Miss Paulamoni," Ahiru silently cheered. As Paulamoni kept standing still, a man not dressed in a costume got her attention from the side of the stage. Ahiru almost missed him if it hadn't been for Paulamoni turning her head. The man gave a thumbs up and blew her a kiss. She smiled and mouthed a thank you. With that, her confidence was restored once again.
The show eventually ended and the curtains closed. The audience stood up and applauded. After that, the teens made to congratulate the cast members. Paulamoni and the man from before were holding a bouquet of roses together.
"Good job, Miss Paulamoni," Ahiru said with a huge smile.
"Thank you. This night was made even more special with you all here," she replied. The other three blushed slightly. "And I couldn't have done it without the encouragement of my loving husband," Paulamoni said to the man.
"Yes, what would you have done without him," the man echoed sarcastically, kissing the prima ballerina on the forehead.
"Oh Paulo."
Paulamoni turned her attention back to her guests. "I almost forgot. I still promised to have Paulo give a backstage tour. Could you be a dear, Paulo, and do that for them?"
"Of course my love," he answered, motioning for the others to follow him. Rue and Ahiru silently sighed at their loving banter. If only they could have that with their certain someone...
Paulo began leading them deep into the depths of the theatre, but Mytho halted them to point up at the rafters.
"Is that a canary up there?" he asked.
"Good eye. It is a canary. A baby one actually. He's our troupe pet. We put him in his tiny nest above the stage to help us break a leg, more or less."
"Break a leg?" Mytho said in shock.
"It's a saying that means good luck," Fakir quickly explained. He nodded, understanding then.
"Well come along," Paulo continued. Rue and Fakir moved forward with him, along with Ahiru who started trailing after them, but Mytho stayed in his spot. His eyes would not leave the place where the canary was. He scanned the area and found a steep staircase that led to the dangerous ceiling. He climbed up, ending on top of a beam that led to where the baby canary was. Ahiru, who had went to look for him, watched as he walked to the bird. He bent down and took out some seeds from his pockets.
"Here," he said to the small avian. The little canary peeped and hopped to take the food. Alas, the poor bird lost his balance and tumbled over the beam. Mytho stretched his arms and brought the yellow puffball to his chest, unluckily losing his balance too. They free fell to the floor below.
"Mytho!" Ahiru screamed, terror paralyzing every part of her body.
"Yes, embrace your role as the heroine of the story, champion of the prince's heart! Become Princess Tutu and unleash my beautiful tragedy!" an old voice declared. Ahiru's pendant shone brightly, and she transformed into Princess Tutu. Vines appeared from her pirouette, springing her into the air. She took one of Mytho's free hands and twirled him upright, spun them both around each other, and brought themselves close as she did an arabesque midair. Mytho stared at her, his eyes a mixture of fear, confusion, awe, and curiosity. His emotions did not stop him from wrapping an arm around his savior's waist, to which she did to his neck.
They landed gently to the ground, Mytho revealing the canary in his hand. The duo gazed into each other's eyes, never letting go.
"Thank you," Mytho finally said. Tutu smiled.
"You're very welcome, my prince."
Mytho's eyebrows rose up and his mouth opened agape. "How did you know? Are you..."
"Mytho! Are you alright?!" Fakir shouted, running over with Rue and Paulo. They gasped when they saw Tutu.
Paulo squinted. "A giant swan? Is that actually the prince?"
"It's the ballerina from before," Rue said in disbelief. Fakir glanced at her before turning to the stranger. Tutu took a step back and released Mytho, his hand sliding off her own. She ran away from the onlookers, terrified.
"Wait! Please!" Mytho cried.
Tutu hid behind a wall when she was far enough. She put a hand to her chest in hopes of easing her uneven breaths. She de-transformed back into Ahiru.
"What did I do?" she whispered. "I danced with him, Mytho...my prince. I was seen though. What should I do?" Ahiru felt her pendant. "I'm just a duck. I'm getting ahead of myself here. Mytho doesn't need me. Who would need me? Except...I saved him. I danced with him in the air! It was wonderful." She giggled, blushing wildly.
"I suppose I do have some use as Princess Tutu then. And I get to be a masterful pointe dancer! Maybe, it's worth hiding it from my friends. If only to help Mytho. Alright! I'm ready for anything. I am Princess Tutu, the prince's prima donna!"
Yes! Finally done. The characters have finally seen Princess Tutu. Ooh I'm so excited. I hope you appreciate some of the references I made to the anime. Or maybe you won't. Who's to say. Now excuse me as I get to my other Princess Tutu fanfic. Mwahahahahaha! P.S. I finally noticed that the proper way to continue a quote is to comma it. OOPS.
