I meant it when I said I had the next couple of episodes already written and just about ready to post! =D I have one more in queue that I can post after this one, but then I'll already have caught up to where I've written, so I can't keep this speed up for long, unfortunately =x I am working on the chapter following that one though, writing with as much speed as I'm able! (Even if that isn't very fast orz)

Also, I don't know whether or not people even pay attention to the music lists at the end of each of these episodes, but I've always wanted to be able to give any people interested a chance to listen to the correlated music without having to meticulously hunt each one down themselves, since I personally have on hand each of the music pieces I list for the fic anyway. Well, finally I've uploaded and arranged to have a simple website that collects and organizes them all in order to either listen to or download to have on your own music player; FFnet mangles any direct URLs that are put into chapter text, so here's a coded one you can cut and paste into your web browser, with the dots replaced with periods and such (I've gone back and put the link with the music lists in previous chapters as well):
hidden-currents DOT org SLASH cotb_ost DOT htm
The music lists are still going to be at the end of each episode including this one and future ones, so you can look at either.

Again, thanks to Mangaka-chan for looking over these chapters for me! There were even a few scenes she wrote out some initial drafts for me, so she really helped me out here.


Once upon a time, there was a maiden. The maiden became stricken with an anguish that engulfed her entire being, making every moment of her life unbearable. Nothing that she or her loved ones did would cause the pain to abate, and gradually it took away her will to live. Finally, she could bear it no longer. In desperation, she gathered a vast bouquet of flowers in her hands, and with a final prayer, threw herself into the river, drowning herself and the pain, in hopes that death would be her final salvation.

However, the agony she felt was so strong, it lingered even beyond death. There was truly no escape from it. So, as her spirit fell into utter despair, she sank to the bottom of the river, screaming her undying anguish as she floated within the waters, shutting herself away from anyone else who might otherwise suffer along with her.

Princess Tutu
~Kapitel des Vogel~
~鳥の章~
(Chapter of the Bird)

31. AKT "Death and the Maiden"
~ Der Tod und das Mädchen ~

Ahiru ran across the wet cobblestone road, holding up her arms against the drops of rain falling from the dark gray sky above. "Oh, why didn't I bring an umbrella today?"

She saw a lit flower shop with its doors open, so she headed in that direction, taking refuge under its roof.

As she stood brushing the water droplets off herself, she heard a few familiar voices.

"What do you think of these white lilies, Lilie?"

"Oh, they're perfect, Pike! White to show the purity of the maiden in absolute despair! And isn't it so appropriate, it's raining, as if they're the maiden's own tears! How beautifully tragic!"

"Then let's get them to bring to the lake. She'll probably like 'em, I bet!"

Curious, Ahiru walked over to them. "Are you two getting flowers for someone?"

The two girls turned toward Ahiru with surprise on their faces.

"Oh, Ahiru-chan!" Pike exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I got caught in the rain and I didn't want to get myself too wet," Ahiru said, rubbing the back of her head bashfully. "How are you two doing?"

"Oh, isn't this just fateful!" Lilie said dramatically, grabbing onto Ahiru's hands with a starry-eyed expression. "The tears of the maiden make an excuse for a meeting with the mysterious and secretly sinister new student! What is to become of us?!"

"Er, I didn't plan this or anything…" Ahiru said with a sweatdrop.

"You were wondering what the flowers were for, right?" Pike said to Ahiru. "It's because it's the Day of the Despairing Maiden."

"The day of the despairing maiden?" Ahiru asked, confused. "What's that?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Lilie asked, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "This day each year, we celebrate the death of the maiden who threw herself into the lake when she fell into utter despair, where her spirit still remains in agony to this day!"

"We, um…celebrate that?" Ahiru said with an apprehensive expression on her face.

"You see, it's why the lake is also known as the Lake of Despair," Pike explained.

Ahiru blinked, contemplative. So, there's a reason why it's called that, other than that time I fell in myself. Could that have been why I was drawn there then?

"The maiden is said to have loved flowers," Pike said. "So, in memory of that suffering maiden, on this day we bring flowers to the lake, to try to comfort the maiden's spirit, still at the bottom of the lake."

"Huh," Ahiru said thoughtfully.

Lilie glanced outside. "Oh, the rain's stopped!"

"I guess we should take the chance and get going," Pike said. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Me?" Ahiru blinked. She couldn't help but be curious about this tradition. Plus, that lake held many important memories of hers as well, and though they were bittersweet, Ahiru thought it would be nice to take a chance to visit it again, to see it with new eyes. "Umm, sure! If you don't mind having me randomly tag along…"

"That's the funniest thing." Pike placed her fingers on her chin. "I almost feel like you're not just some other classmate. Kinda like, we've met you before somewhere…"

"You thought so too, Pike?!" Lilie exclaimed excitedly. "It's like a twisted turn of fate! No, a conspiracy!"

Ahiru held up her hands and waved them dismissively. "Ehh, no, I'm sure that…"

She paused. They don't recall that they were my friends back when the story was still happening, but…do they still remember, somehow…?

"C'mon, let's just get going before it starts raining again!" Pike said energetically, wrapping her arm around Ahiru's shoulders.

o-o-o-o-o

When the three friends reached the lake, the sky was even darker and gloomier than it had back at the flower shop in town. A gray mist emitted from the lake, swallowing up any light that might have leaked out from town or the sky above, making it almost darker than dusk, even in the middle of the afternoon.

"The lake looks much scarier today…" Ahiru said nervously, clasping her hands together.

"You mean it usually isn't this scary-looking?" Pike asked Ahiru, her own voice a little shaky.

"Oh, look over there! What's that?!" Lilie exclaimed, pointing energetically into the mist. "Is that a ghost?!"

Ahiru and Pike jumped, letting out small yelps. They gazed out into the mist, but they couldn't make anything out.

"Lilie, don't scare us like that!" Pike said with a grimace.

"Th-there's nothing really out there, right?" Ahiru said, grabbing onto Pike's shoulder for comfort.

"Oh, are you scared of ghosts?" Lilie asked Ahiru with a creepy smile. "Can you handle the ghost maiden of the Lake of Despair…?"

Ahiru whimpered. "I-I don't wanna see any ghosts…!"

Lilie glomped her affectionately, almost smothering her. "Oh, don't you worry, Ahiru-chan! I'm here to comfort you from the horrors of the haunted lake!"

"W-wait, I see someone…" Pike said, pointing in the direction Lilie had. Someone was walking toward them out of the mist…

"I-is someone there?" another girl's voice asked tentatively.

Ahiru blinked. "Hey, that voice sounds familiar…"

The girl coming from the direction of the voice walked into view. Ahiru's eyes widened. "Helmina-chan? Is that you?"

Helmina sighed with relief, holding her chest. "Oh, good. I was worried for a moment there."

Pike and Lilie looked at Ahiru. "Do you know this girl?" Pike asked.

"Yeah, I met her a short time ago when she wrote the script for the apprentice class," Ahiru said. She noticed Helmina holding a small bouquet of flowers. "Are you here to give those to the Maiden of Despair too, Helmina-chan?"

"Yes…" Helmina looked around uneasily. "But I got a bad feeling coming here, somehow; chills went down my spine and I became afraid, like I wasn't supposed to come here…"

As she said that, vague moaning began to hum through the air, the sound dissipated as if coming from all around them, but sounding loudest from the lake. The gloom around the lake seemed to draw closer and grow darker around them.

The four girls drew together, looking around them with fear in their expressions. "I'm… kinda getting the same feeling," Pike said shakily.

Ahiru gulped. "M-maybe we should, um, carefully turn around and go back to Kin—"

An unearthly, agonized shriek pierced through the air like a knife.

More screams followed just after, this time emitted from the four girls that had been standing by the lake. They weren't standing there anymore though, as they all tore through the path back towards Kinkan Town.

What Ahiru didn't notice in the chaos was that her pendant had gone dark while at the lake, and as she ran away, it faded back to its original magenta, but still retained a shadowy tinge.

o-o-o-o-o

"Tr…Trutho…is that really you?" the frail woman asked, her shaking hand held out towards Mytho. "It's me…Emma."

It took Mytho a moment to realize what this meant. "Trutho…? You know him?"

The woman named Emma furrowed her brows. "Know him? Are you not him? Then, who…?"

Mytho placed his hand on his chest. "I am Prince Siegfried, the prince of Kinkan Town. Trutho is… my younger brother."

Emma's eyes widened. "You're his brother! Then, you must know…" Her face fell, sorrow and guilt permeating her expression, but after a moment, she looked back at him pleadingly. "But then, Trutho! Is he all right? Is he safe?"

Overwhelmed, Mytho gently held up his hands, as if to say to wait a moment. "Y-yes, he's fine, but…"

Emma sighed deeply with relief. "Oh, that's good. I was so worried all this time…"

"But, how… how do you know him, Emma-san?" Mytho asked. "Who are you, exactly?"

"I…" Emma paused, looking pensive. "I was the one who looked after him, when he lived here in Ginkan…before the ravens began the attacks."

Mytho's eyes widened as he recalled something. "My little brother had barely mentioned something about him and ravens, having lived here before. But he didn't say much more about it. Do you know what happened?"

Emma's eyes fell, filling with sorrow. "It's a long story. And not a happy one, either. I can only pray that you would forgive me for letting him go off alone…"

She glanced around the hallway. "I…shouldn't be seen out in the open by too many here. If I am to tell the story, it should be elsewhere."

"I wouldn't want to have you standing out here for long," Mytho said. "Would you mind visiting our room here at the inn, so you can sit down and take your time?"

"Yes, that sounds all right," Emma said with a nod.

Emma turned around and began to sidle along the wall again, and at this Mytho offered his arm to support her.

"Thank you," Emma said, smiling. "You're quite the gentleman, I see."

"You've injured your foot, right?" Mytho said with concern. "Would you like me to carry you?"

At the first statement Emma's face sobered, but at the latter sentence she laughed. "Oh, no, I couldn't! I'd be too embarrassed at that, I would."

Mytho couldn't help but smile in return.

o-o-o-o-o

"Really, there's no need for this much hospitality," Emma said with a little embarrassment as Komaro delicately poured her a cup of tea after serving Mytho, who was sitting across the table from her. "I'm just a simple gypsy, after all…"

"Any guest of the prince should be afforded as such," Komaro said with dignity. "And besides that, it seems you are acquainted with his Majesty's brother, am I correct?"

"It was some time ago that I last saw him, but yes," she replied.

"Then if I may," Komaro met his sovereign's eyes briefly and Mytho gave a small nod to continue, "I admit I am curious about your story, and would be interested in knowing what has happened from your viewpoint. If I have your permission, I would like to listen as well," he said, placing a hand on a third chair at the table.

"As a royal vassal, you're already much higher rank than I am," Emma said with a small smile. "I'm unaccustomed to being asked leave to have an audience with me, rather than the other way around."

"Nonetheless, I still ask," Komaro said with insistent politeness, hand still perched on the chair back, as if not daring to presume a seat without permission.

"Yes, yes, just please sit down already," Emma said with a good-natured smirk on her face as she gestured to the chair that Komaro was clutching.

"Thank you," Mytho said to Emma. "I appreciate how open you're being with what may not be an easy story to tell."

"I…suppose I owe it to you, with you as Trutho's brother," Emma said somberly, placing the teacup gingerly back onto the table. "The story… it will be a long one."

"It was years and years ago, when I had been but a girl, no older than Trutho, or you, look to be. It still strikes me so much now, the resemblance between you two," Emma said. "It really does take me back to those days…

"Ginkan has always been a conservative place, and there was a clear divide between those who had much and those who had little. Those of us who were too poor to own property in town, like us gypsies, were shunned by the higher classes, nobility and the like; often they fear us all as pickpockets or robbers, even when we did our best to earn our living like everyone else.

"It wasn't that bad though, before. Common people who were a little more well off like merchants and established artisans were more understanding, and we could get along well enough to get by, as long as nobility didn't get involved. That's when problems happened, and no matter who was really to blame, the nobility would always be pardoned, and the poor people would be blamed. Such was simply how things worked, and we had to make do if we wanted to stay in the town. Those of us who knew how hard things could be tried to help each other out, and offer shelter to those who needed help. So it was even with Trutho, but…"

Emma trailed off, a sorrowful, haunted expression on her face. Not sure whether to speak, Mytho blinked and folded his hands, waiting for her to continue. Before long, though, she took a breath, cleared her throat and went on.

"We knew from the beginning that it wasn't going to be easy when a group of us gypsies first moved into Ginkan. I was but a girl then, and we were preparing to enter the town the following morning, after spending the night outside the walls.

"That night, I couldn't sleep, so I was outside, getting some fresh air while everyone else was asleep in the covered wagons. Around where we camped, the night sky was clear, but in the distance, where the neighboring town to Ginkan was, dark unnatural clouds were gathered. I wondered if perhaps that might have been the reason for my difficulty sleeping that night, when I heard a horrible screech in the air."

"Emma, what on earth is going on out there?" one of the men in the caravan asked as he peered out from the covered wagon in which the rest of his family lived.

Emma shook her head, tendrils of loose hair waving about her face. "I don't know," she said with a frown, flinching as another loud screech tore through the dark night air.

Though the inhuman sounds terrified her, within those frightening yowls Emma heard the cries of someone in horrible pain. Someone is suffering; someone needs help, she thought, her brows knitting with unease.

Despite the protests of her people and her own fears, both of them telling her to stay away from whatever emitted the shrieks, Emma took off into the night toward their source.

Her bare feet carried her past rough bushes, their branches scrapping at her legs. The scattered moonlight from overhead illuminated her way as another wail filled the air, this time louder and closer.

Pushing a low branch aside, the young gypsy came across a clearing amongst the trees. In the middle of the dark grass huddled a small black figure letting out rasping moans and whimpers.

At the soft thumps of Emma's footsteps, the hunched figure glanced up, and what the young girl saw made her cover her mouth. It looked like a boy, but one who was covered head to toe in spines of gleaming black feathers, which quivered whenever he shuddered. Blue eyes peeked out from beneath arms that resembled wings more than limbs, and Emma felt her stomach turn when she saw a black beak protruding from his face where his mouth should have been.

Upon seeing Emma, the plumed creature cringed, letting out a fearful whine and burying himself under his feathery arms.

Momentarily frozen in place from the shock of what she saw before her, Emma clasped her hands together apprehensively. He's out here, all alone…

Though she had no idea what she could do for him, with every ounce of willpower she had, she stepped toward the creature and slowly knelt beside him.

"I'm here to help you," Emma said gently. "It'll be all right…"

She reached her hand out to touch the creature's feathered arm reassuringly. He flinched at the contact, but then he began to tremble a little less, seeming to understand that she did not mean to harm him.

"Emma!"

Other voices approached their location, and Emma looked up to see two waving lantern lights coming from several of the other gypsies in her band, standing at the edge of the clearing.

"What are you doing, girl?!" one of the women exclaimed in horror. "Get away from that dreadful thing!"

Emma remained where she was, looking over the feathered person worriedly. "I can't leave him here like this," she said with a voice that was shaking ever so slightly. "He's really scared, and he needs help…"

Then, from the direction of the ominous dark clouds in the distance, a blinding crimson radiance flashed in the sky, bright enough to shine through the trees and light up the entire clearing for an instant. Suddenly, the feathered creature screamed sharply, writhing for a moment, and then collapsing limply onto the ground.

Opening her eyes after the bright light vanished, Emma gasped with alarm, thinking that the light had somehow hurt him, and reached out a hand toward him anxiously.

But as she did so, she saw the black spines and feathers that had been covering his body shed off and vanish, revealing a completely human-looking boy with snow-white hair. The stark contrast of his now fair appearance took Emma by surprise only for a moment before she perceived how pale and weak this unconscious boy looked to be.

So she took him in her arms and turned toward the other gypsies from her caravan. "Please, he isn't well! We have to do something for him! He's all alone; we can't just abandon him here when he's helpless like this…"

Remembering all too well what that 'boy' had been but a moment ago, the gypsies looked at one another hesitantly.

Then, one of the women slowly approached the two in the clearing. With one having joined in, others followed suit, and soon a group of the gypsies along with Emma helped carry the boy back to the caravan wagons.

Emma paused for a time, folding her hands solemnly, before continuing. "He was unconscious for days, and bedridden for weeks afterward. By then, we had long since moved into town, and tried to settle in to make a living there. When he was awake enough to talk, we eventually learned that he had no memories prior to his recovery. I was relieved to know this, because I couldn't have imagined how horrible it would have been to remember whatever had happened to put him in such a state that I found him…

"As you're already aware, since he had no memories of his past, including his name, I gave him the name of 'Trutho'. Curious how it matches with your nickname of Mytho, isn't it?" Emma said, a small grin appearing on her face.

"A dear friend had given that name to me when I was unable to remember mine," Mytho said with a nod.

"Perhaps we thought similarly, as I also thought about how he seemed to have come out of nowhere, as if from a story. But, I thought that he seemed so honest and so… 'real', that I wanted his name to match. So, Trutho it was.

"In Ginkan, the way Trutho looked would have made him stand out very much, and being among us gypsies that wasn't the best of traits to have. It didn't help that he was naturally curious, so he would find himself in places where he could have easily gotten into trouble," Emma said, shaking her head with an exasperated smile. "Fortunately, though, he also turned out to be very good at hiding himself, so with a hooded cloak, he could make himself sparse enough that any trouble he might have found himself in, he could simply sneak out of it. So, all things considered, there shouldn't have been any problem with him living alongside us, even in this less-than-perfect town."

"There was one thing, though, that ended up disrupting all of that…" Emma looked up at Mytho. "Did you know of his special ability to communicate with animals?"

Mytho looked surprised, which was telling enough. "No, this is the first I've heard of such a thing from him…"

Emma sighed. "It makes sense that he'd have a habit of keeping it secret. While he never boasted about it, word did get around about his special ability, and as we would only learn later, the nobles learned about it too. The troubles began when, those number of years ago, the crows began to assail the town, for reasons unknown to anyone."

Mytho's expression darkened as he silently listened on.

"Without any known cause for this ongoing calamity, the nobility nonetheless wanted someone to take the blame. As superstitions flew around, the ones who had no power to argue against them, who were outsiders to the town, were blamed as witches, enchanters." Emma grimaced, as if a bitter taste had appeared in her mouth. "Any gypsy who was caught in the vicinity of an attack was accused as such, and as the attacks wore on, so did the accusations. Eventually, I suspect the nobility grew desperate, and they began to actively hunt us down, so we had to go into hiding."

Emma glanced up at Mytho somberly. "One day, though, it was I who found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Emma hurried along the cobblestone backstreets as long shadows of the buildings around her lapped over her figure. Cradling a precious loaf of bread that had been given to her by a sympathetic baker, she rushed to the cellar refuge where she and Trutho temporarily called home. With this loaf, the two of them would have food for a few days, and they wouldn't have to risk detection by venturing out.

But the shadow that drove them into this situation remained ever present. Flocks of crows hovered overhead, and Emma glanced up from time to time, nervously watching them, knowing they would be watching her from above. It was much easier to outrun humans, but crows were a different story altogether, with their keen vision and vast vantage point. To Emma's relief, after a stretch the crows peeled off and disappeared from the narrow skyline. She sighed, glad that the birds no longer had their menacing eyes set on her as she turned a corner into an adjacent street. Her mind still occupied by the crows, Emma almost didn't stop in time to prevent herself from running into a well-dressed woman.

Emma looked up timidly and was met by the disdainful glare of a noblewoman and her two attendant maids. The noblewoman had luxurious, waist-length wavy ginger hair and strident green eyes, with lips painted a deep maroon. She wore a rich, velvety crimson gown over a sheer beige ruffled blouse, and nestled in her thick locks were a pair of garnet earrings hanging from her ears that shimmered like crystallized drops of blood. The noble narrowed her eyes, and said condescendingly, "A gypsy waif? Don't you know rats should not venture out during the day? You had best watch your step, otherwise—"

But before the noblewoman could finish her sentence, a screech sent four pairs of eyes shooting up toward the sky. The flock of crows that had been following Emma reappeared out of nowhere. Sharp talons extended, they dove for the group of women. The two maids screamed and fled from their mistress, but the crows peeked at their faces, forcing them to the ground.

The noblewoman and Emma tried to shield their face from the crows, but to no avail. Suddenly, the crows called in unison and Emma opened her eyes enough to see the birds take flight as a group of armored guards rushed towards them.

"Lady Macbeth! Are you all right, my lady?" The captain of the guards knelt down and helped the woman back onto her feet.

"That gypsy girl, it was her!"

Emma barely had time to react before she was roughly hauled up by two guards and forced to kneel before the enraged noblewoman.

Lady Macbeth cast a scornful look at the poor young woman, "She brought the crows with her! Arrest her! Cast her into the dungeons and let her rot there!"

"But, I—!" Emma began to speak, but a small figure suddenly dashed from the shadows and stood protectively in front of her.

Emma blinked at the mop of white hair. "Trutho? What are you—!?"

"It's not Emma's fault!" he declared to the surprise of all present. "I…"

He hesitated momentarily, then continued, "I can understand their speech, that of the crows and other animals. I can help stop them from attacking people! So please, let Emma go! She had nothing to do with this!"

The menace in Lady Macbeth's eyes cooled, and she looked with interest at the strange boy who had made such a bold declaration. "I have heard rumors of a gypsy boy who spoke the tongues of wild beasts. Is that true, boy?"

"I-I can speak with them, yes," Trutho stuttered, "If I can stop them, then there's no need to lock up the gypsies anymore, right?"

"Yes…" Lady Macbeth touched her lips, her dark eyes deep in thought. "What is your name, child?" she asked, her tone softening.

Trutho cringed uncomfortably under the woman's disquieting gaze, and replied, "T-Trutho…"

"Trutho. If you wish for me to let this gypsy waif go, then you will come with me."

Trutho glanced behind him at Emma who shook her head vehemently. "No, don't do it, Trutho! I can take care of myself in prison, and I'll find a way out somehow. Don't listen to her!"

"Confident, aren't you?" Lady Macbeth sneered. "In that case, gypsy waif, I will have you locked up in a dark cell without any windows or another soul to speak with for the rest of your life. You will eventually beg for mercy before going mad. You wouldn't want that to happen to her, would you, Trutho?" Lady Macbeth cooed as she walked up to Trutho and gently laid her hand on his head. "My husband is a powerful man within the Ginkan Council. If you come with me, I will let her go and have the guards let the gypsies alone. What say you?"

"I…I'll come with you," Trutho said in a small voice, his head bowed.

"A wise choice," Lady Macbeth seized Trutho's hand and walked away with the guards bringing up the rear. With a wave of her other hand, the two guards unhanded Emma.

Tears running down her cheeks, Emma dashed towards the noblewoman as she led Trutho away, but was quickly held back by the guards.

"Trutho, no! Don't go!" she screamed.

Trutho glanced behind him, his usually bright eyes dimmed and resigned, before turning his back toward Emma. And that was the last Emma saw of him for a long time.

Emma gazed out the room's window, the somber look on her face still remaining. "For a time, it seemed as if somehow, he was able to stop them, as the attacks had waned. We dared to hope that the crows had been quelled, and that we would no longer be persecuted for their assaults."

She closed her eyes, shaking her head again. "But, one day, they began to attack again, and this time they seemed to target particular people, who seemed to all be nobility. The conclusion they had made turned things from bad to worse, as the nobles believed that the strange boy had set them on the nobility himself, to avenge us gypsies. So in retaliation, the gypsies began being hunted down with even more doggedness than in the past. Before, they would release us after a week or so, but now whole families would be thrown into prison together, from the youngest babe to ailing elders. Worst of all, Trutho was still nowhere to be seen. I could only assume that he had been held captive somewhere, and having no idea where he was I could do nothing for him. Though some of our people began to doubt him, that perhaps he had somehow betrayed us, I knew he would never do something like that. I could only worry in silence.

"Some of us tried to leave the town, but they would use the opportunity to catch us at the exits; essentially, we were trapped inside a town whose higher ranking members of society loathed us. It bewildered me to no end: if they didn't want us around, why not simply drive us out, rather than toil so much to vilify us? The common people and those who were sympathetic to our pleas did what they could for us, giving us places to hide and live in secret, but it would come at great risk to them, for they would be accused themselves of harboring gypsies and be punished themselves if caught in the act."

Emma placed a hand on her right leg, gripping it slightly. "It was only a matter of time before they would come for me as well. On that day, I was running from the guards, having accidentally let myself be seen, and I feared that I would not be able to outrun them this time."

Emma stumbled as she ran along the vacant cobblestone road, her chest heaving from exertion as her sore muscles ached from fatigue. She could hear the clanking of the guards' armor in the distance, their voices echoing barely a few blocks away. It was only a matter of time before they caught up with Emma, and an exhausted gypsy woman like her would be at their mercy.

Then, from around a corner, Emma suddenly felt herself get tugged off into a side alley by a hand that had reached out and grabbed her. She fumbled for the miniature dagger that she kept hidden within her dress for protection, trying to escape, when a familiar voice she hadn't heard for months whispered shakily, "Emma! Emma, it…it's me!"

Unable to believe her ears, she turned her head toward her captor and saw Trutho's timid face peering out from underneath his hood.

"Tr…Trutho!" Emma exclaimed joyfully as she wrapped her arms around him. "I thought you were—oh, how grateful I am to see you again!"

"Yes, I'm…" Torn between the happy reunion and the dire situation, he said nervously while glancing about them, "We need to be careful, they might hear you…"

"Oh…yes, you're right," Emma lowered her voice a bit sheepishly. "Trutho, all this time, what did you…?"

Emma trailed off as she examined Trutho more closely. His expression was haggard, and his eyes were fearful and dazed. His trembling hands were clasped together tightly, and he was hunched over, curling into himself like a frightened small animal, as if wanting to hide away from the entire world.

"I…I don't know what to do anymore," Trutho said, his voice so faint it was nearly lost in the wind. "I tried to help, but in the end I think I only caused more trouble for everyone. All the gypsies are being persecuted even more, and it's all because of me…"

"I know you would never betray us willingly," Emma said assuredly, her fingers grasping Truth's shoulders tightly. "Whatever happened, I'm sure that—"

"It doesn't matter," Trutho said with defeated eyes. "I have to find a way to fix it, somehow. And the only thing I can think of… is if I leave, and never came back. Then you can still blame everything on me; at least, then, our people won't be hunted down anymore."

Emma sighed somberly. "Trutho, we gypsies are going to be blamed for the troubles of the town, regardless of any excuses that could be made, justified or not. We are at the bottom of this society, and that fact is what is to blame for our suffering in the end. As much as I wish that someone, anyone could make things different… such is beyond any of our power to change."

"But then, what should I do now?" Trutho asked her, looking at Emma with lost eyes. "I'll do whatever you think is best for everyone else… just, please; I don't want to cause the others any more suffering."

Emma's brows furrowed as she glanced downward at the cup of tea in her hands, which had not moved for some time. "I must tell you now, why I told him what I said after that. In the time we were in Ginkan, I heard tales of a young man in the next town over who had lost his memories, and that he was rumored to be a prince from a story. Without Trutho knowing about it, I looked into these tales, and that was when I realized the truth of where Trutho had come from, and the one place where he might find a family to be with.

"So I told him to go. To leave for the town nearby, and there perhaps he might find someone he had lost. He was confused, but I didn't have the heart to explain further. I didn't want him to go, I wished from the bottom of my heart for him to stay. But I also wished that Ginkan was not the wretched place it was, and that wish was not granted. Without one, I couldn't have the other. Because for him to be safe, he had to leave this town behind."

Emma's eyes were still averted, but Mytho thought he could see them glistening with unshed tears.

"He wouldn't listen to me at first, but by then the guards caught up with us, and we both had to escape. So I said for us to head for the city wall; we would both escape together, I told him. That got him to move along."

Emma closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "In the end, though, it was a lie. We managed to slip past the city wall, through the drainage system. By then, night had fallen. Somehow the guards had detected us and we were chased us into the woods outside the town where we became separated. I was caught while he remained hidden somewhere; the soldiers still were looking for him even as they took me away.

"And that was the last I ever saw or heard of him, until I met you today," Emma said. "You can't imagine how relieved I am to know that he is well and safe."

Mytho smiled. "Then I'm sure that he would be so happy to hear that you are safe as well."

Emma's expression fell, and she folded her hands despondently in her lap. "I…I fear to let him see me as I am now. I am…not who I was when he knew me."

Mytho's brows furrowed. Looking up, he and Komaro exchanged mystified glances. "What do you mean?"

"You have already seen it," Emma said. "That I can barely walk on my own two feet, and it causes me pain to do so. This injury was one I received from my imprisonment, where I had been handled so roughly that my ankle was broken, and from the maltreatment I suffered there, it never properly healed. Eventually I was let out seemingly out of pity, but it seemed more as if I was no longer deemed a threat, and there were more dangerous criminals that needed the space."

Her eyebrows creased, as her eyes filled with humiliation. "I used to love dancing, you know. With the rest of the gypsies, and Trutho when he was here. But there's no way I'll ever be able to again, with these injuries."

A shadow passed over her, making Emma look up, blinking away the tears that had welled up at the corners of her eyes. Mytho stood before her, his eyebrows knitted with deep sorrow, as he opened his arms and gently embraced her. "That's so terrible. You didn't deserve this. None of you deserved to suffer like this."

He released her and with his hands on her shoulders, he said with a resolute expression, "I will stop the corruption in this town and set things right again, even if I must risk my life to do it."

Emma sighed, looking into Mytho's gallant eyes with her sad, cynical ones. "You have a noble heart, young prince. But, in all truth, what can a prince from a fairy tale world do against the ugliness of this earthly realm?"

o-o-o-o-o

Ahiru swam deeper and deeper in the Lake of Despair. She could hear the agonized cries and sobs of a girl that drifted up from down below, bubbling up through the dark waters. The sounds sent a shudder through Ahiru's body. Yet as much as she was frightened by the wails, Ahiru felt that she had to help somehow—that girl was all alone at the bottom of the lake and seemed to be in such pain.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" Ahiru called out below. "I'm here to help you! Where are you? I want to find you so I can rescue you!"

A scream burst from the bottom.

"NO!" the voice shrieked. "DON'T COME CLOSER!"

As if the words were an underwater shockwave, Ahiru was blasted away from the voice, upward and out of the water—

"QUAAAAAACK!"

And Ahiru found herself toppling out of the ceiling bed, getting tangled in her sheets and rolling down onto the floor, now as a yellow duck.

After getting her bearings for a moment, she realized that she had transformed and sighed at the minor annoyance. I hate it when this happens…

Groggily, Ahiru waddled over to the bucket of water sitting in the corner of the room for whenever she quacked in her sleep. She grabbed the bucket with her wings and tipped it over, expecting to topple back to the ground as a girl again.

The water splashed over her, and she was dripping wet from head to toe. Yet, instead of cold water clinging to her skin, the drops simply beaded off and rolled off her still feathered form.

Huh?

Ahiru glanced down at her neck to see if she was still wearing her pendant. There it was, but instead of the usual magenta, the ovular jewel was a dull gray, as if it had been somehow dirtied.

What's going on? Is there something wrong with my pendant!?

"Ahiru? What's going on?"

Ahiru recognized Sagi's voice from the bed by the stairs, but it wasn't a human voice. Ahiru scuttled toward Sagi's bed and found a light blue heron brushing off the covers and stepping gingerly onto the floor. Her circular pendant, normally sea blue, was a similar smoky color as Ahiru's.

"That's strange; did I squawk in my sleep?" Sagi looked at her wings in confusion and mild embarrassment. She stepped over to the puddle of water Ahiru had created and placed a bird foot into it. Nothing happened.

"Your pendant doesn't work either?" Ahiru asked worriedly. "I tried using some water just now, but it didn't work!"

"But why?" Sagi said with concern. "Do you have any idea why this could be happening?"

"No, I don't!" Ahiru exclaimed, scurrying around the floor in a building panic. "This hasn't ever happened before! The pendants are a weird color, and we can't turn back even with water—I don't know what to do!"

Clueless herself as to what to do about the problem, Sagi could only stand there watching the duck flap her wings about, so she at least tried to calm Ahiru down. "I…I'm sure we can figure something out. Who might know about how to solve this problem?"

"Fakir! Maybe Fakir will know what to do!" Ahiru said, clambering up to the windowsill and opening the latch with her beak. "He's just across the dormitory grounds, so c'mon, let's go ask him for help!"

Ahiru leapt out of the window and into the air, and Sagi followed behind her.

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir was awoken by a loud thump on his dorm room's window.

As he got up out of bed to open the curtain and see what it was, Autor roused from sleep as well. "What was that?" he asked blearily, rubbing his eyes before grabbing his glasses off his desk and putting them on.

Pulling the curtains aside, Fakir's eyes widened. "Ahiru!"

He opened the window, and in tumbled a yellow duck, which began flailing her wings and quacking frantically, trying to communicate to Fakir as a great blue heron from outside landed quietly beside her.

Immediately upon their entrance, Autor sneezed. "What the—oh, great, it's you two," Autor said nasally as he covered his nose, glaring at the two birds across the room who were the objects of his allergic reaction. "There'd better be a good reason for coming over like this!"

As Fakir closed the window, he tried to decipher Ahiru's frenetic motions. "Wait, slow down, Ahiru," he said. "What's wrong? Why are you two coming over here as birds?"

Thinking of what the easiest way could be to point out their dilemma, Ahiru cupped her pendant in her wings and held it up to Fakir.

Fakir knelt down to examine it. The dull smoky color made him furrow his brows. "Your pendant changed colors?" he asked. "When did this happen? This morning?"

Ahiru and Sagi both nodded their heads. Sagi bent her neck and grabbed her own pendant with her beak and showed it to Fakir as well.

"It's the same color," Fakir said, a hand thoughtfully at his chin. "So it's probably caused by the same thing, whatever it is."

"Both of their pendants are from the lake, where the pendants' magic comes from," Autor said through his hand, which was covering his nose and mouth with a handkerchief. "That magic is what makes them human, so…if the pendants are discolored like this, then that probably means that the magic is malfunctioning somehow."

"As for why, we have no idea…" Fakir said, glancing over at Ahiru and Sagi again. "But if what you're saying is right, Autor, then we have to go find out the reason."