I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU! So, here I am...saying thank you to all who are commenting/reviewing on my stories. It really makes me happy and inspires me to continue writing.

author2b3, you are so right, it is very ironic how many Wizard of Oz refs are in this. If those of you don't get the irony then I'll give you a hint: it has something to do with another fanfic I'm doing. (cough cough the Wizard of Gold Crown cough cough)

So, here is another chapter to my cool little idea that literally came out of nowhere and I hope you guys enjoy it just as much as the other chapters.

Chapter 10

GOING TO THE BIG CITY

Before they had actually left the circus grounds, Fakir had grabbed his sword and his cloak. He knew that the walk to the city was going to take far longer than a day and he wanted to be at least a bit prepared for the night.

The field was huge. It spanned many miles in all directions and it had several patches of just flowers that spotted along the landscape. Duck was soooo thrilled. She was running around, picking flowers and skipping and laughing and just being overjoyed about being thrilled.

Everyone watched her with a silent joy. They had never seen her so happy and even Fakir had a hard time keeping a glare on his face. He also seemed to notice her wings. They were actually real. For some reason, Fakir never realized that before. The way he could tell they were real was because every now and then they would open and flap about twice before folding back in.

He looked silently at the wings for a while until he decided to ask Rue a question. He made his way over to the fortune teller, who was walking with Mytho, and asked his question.

"Can Duck fly?"

She looked at him for a second, not quite sure she understood the question and he rolled his eyes.

"Can Duck fly? She has wings, can she fly?" he asked.

"Oh," Rue said, he brain finally deciphering the strange question. "No, she can't. Her wings are too small. They need to be at least a foot longer on either end of her arm span but as you can see they barely reach past her elbows."

"Has she ever tried to fly?"

"No, she's never given any thought to do something like that," Rue said as she watched the three younger girls running around. "She's like a duckling. Too young to fly."

"Huh. Seems pointless to have wings but not use them," Fakir said, putting his hands in his pockets. "That sucks."

"Tell me about it. I feel so sorry for her though. She hasn't had any chances to do anything important and I can see it bothers her too," Rue said with a sigh. "Sometimes I just wish I could take her place."

"Fakir," Mytho said and stared blankly at him. "What is anger?"

Fakir looked at the white haired boy with confusion.

"Well, that came out of nowhere," he said.

"Why do you have anger?" Mytho asked again.

"Because that's who I am. I'm an angry person. I don't know where it comes from or why I have it, but it's there," Fakir said.

"What does it mean?"

"Mytho, why are you asking these things?" Rue asked.

"Lillie said Fakir was an angry person but I don't know what anger is," he said and stared in front of him.

"It's something that you never want because it continues to ruin your life," Fakir said. "Believe me, I've lived with it my whole life. It's hell."

"Then why don't you change it?" Rue asked.

"Oh, right. I can totally change who I am just because…I don't like it. You've lived too long in that circus, you've forgotten what real people are like. They can't change, and neither can I," he said, glaring at the horizon.

Rue was about to make a statement when Duck ran up and pushed a flower into each person's hand.

"One for you, one for you and one for you," she gave a flower to Fakir last and he looked at it, kinda surprised. It was a blue flower and it looked very out of place against his dirty, black shirt. He looked up at the girl who gave it to him and she smiled. "I hope you like it."

He didn't have any idea of what to say. He felt the eyes of Rue and Mytho on him with anticipation but of what they were anticipating, he didn't know. Was this a normal thing that Duck did? He did live at the same circus with the girl for nearly a month but he didn't know any of her habits or quirks that would have given him a heads up on this little act of kindness. Well, maybe it was just out of joy and kindness that she did this or maybe…it meant something…more.

"Uh, thanks?" he asked in a mutter. How was he supposed to react? He had never been given a flower before and it was a bit embarrassing at how speechless he was. Oh, no…it wasn't because he thought that maybe she liked him, no. That wasn't it. He just didn't have people skills. He wasn't a people person and he had no idea how to be sensitive.

"No problem," she said and skipped away.

He stared after her. Why was she so freaking nice? Being like that in the city was bound to get her into a lot of trouble and he knew it.

"Isn't she just so sweet?" Rue asked as she smelled her red flower.

"Yeah, sure," Fakir mumbled.

"I have no idea where she got it from. It definitely wasn't from Pique or Lillie," she said with a smile.

"Maybe it was from you," Mytho said, not even realizing her hand a plant in his hand.

"Awe, thanks Mytho," she said and wrapped her arm around his.

Fakir couldn't stand it. He rolled his eyes and slowed down a bit so he wasn't next to them. He hated anything doing with romance and it showed on his face. For some reason, Duck couldn't see it. All she saw was Fakir being negative and alone so she decided to go and talk to him even though she had just left him.

"Hey Fakir," she said happily from behind him.

It startled him a little and he swung his around to see the bird-girl standing behind him.

"Duck? How did you get back there?" he asked.

"Um, I walk slow?" she asked angelically. "Actually, I was just picking some flowers over there and I got so into picking the prettiest ones that I kinda got left behind. Has that ever happened to you? You know, you're walking with someone and you see something that makes you stop and you stare or whatever and soon realized that the person you were walking with was way ahead of you and you have to run to catch up with them again. You know what I mean?"

He was staring at her with confused awe.

"I don't know how you can talk like that without taking a breath. It's ridiculous," he said and she just grinned. "You are such a mystery to me."

"So are you. I don't get how you never seem to have fun or anything. You're always so serious and you get mad easily and you…"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there because I want you to actually breath when you talk and I don't want you to go off on some tangent," he said and rolled his eyes. "I know what you mean though. I still don't understand myself sometimes and it just…it just bothers me how I'm so…I don't know. I really don't know."

"Maybe if you just talked with people you could figure out what is bothering you," she said with a happy grin. "Who knows, maybe the only way to get the answer you need is from someone else. Oh well, just a thought."

How was she still able to surprise him like that? How could she still say things that made him put his guard down? He was so confused by who she was. She acted so much like a kid most of the time and yet she would say things that would actually make sense as if she was a genius. Why couldn't he just put her in one category and let her stay there? It was so confusing.

"So, uh, you think that if I spoke to people about what I feel then they could help me figure out what upsets me?" he asked, trying to make sure he wasn't hearing things.

"Yep, pretty much. It seems to me that you hold things in and try to fight the battles on your own when you have people who could help," she said and looked down. "That's how I've survived all these years. I've put my trust into my friends and they've helped me."

"Oh yeah, Pique and Lillie have totally helped you. I can see that part of your trust worked out well."

"Huh? Well, Pique and Lillie aren't always the nicest but they still try. It's the best any of us could do," she said softly.

"Yeah, but like some wise old weirdo once said, 'do or do not, there is no try.' If you aren't going to succeed, then why even bother?" Fakir said.

"Because you'd just be giving up and that's not something a hero would do," she said.

"Hero?" he asked and looked down at her. "Are you saying you think I'm a hero? Or are you talking about someone else?"

"Um, if I say I'm talking about you…would you be mad?" she asked.

"Not exactly but I would definitely deny it," he said looking back in front of him. "Hero, right. I'd be a horrible hero and don't say I wouldn't…I just know I would. Being a hero means to be self-sacrificing and I doubt I could do that. I doubt I'd even try."

He looked down at the ground and put his hands in his pockets again. He was silent…and so was she. She seemed to be able to realize that what they were talking about was upsetting him but why, she couldn't figure it out. She thought she would ask him, but at a later time. He didn't look like he wanted to talk anymore and she felt it was her fault for making him upset so she just walked away.

As the day progressed, Duck noticed that still, Fakir was silent. He only looked around every once and a while and he had no sign of how he felt or was thinking on his face. Sometimes he acted a lot like Mytho, only angrier.

They were walking for a very long time and soon Duck couldn't ignore the hunger pains in her stomach. She didn't want to be nuisance by complaining but she was really hungry and she wanted to know if they were going to stop anytime soon.

She got lucky. She wasn't the only one who was hungry. In fact, all of them were hungry and Fakir was able to lead them to an old lodge that seemed to be empty. It didn't mean that it was deserted, it just meant that no one was home and they raided the pantry. Guess the owners didn't know that locks had been invented yet because the front door had no lock but even if it did, Fakir could have easily opened it.

They scrammed after taking some bread and stuff and continued on their way to the city. It was already after noon and the sun was making the long journey even harder than it needed to be. Duck, who wasn't used to walking for such a long time in the hot sun, started to not feel good and she nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

"Duck? Duck are you okay?" Rue asked, helping the girl stand.

"I…I don't feel very good and my feet hurt," she said softly.

"Great. Something else to prolong our journey," Fakir mumbled.

"Fakir, have a heart. She's young and this is something very new to her. Don't get all upset over something she can't control and besides, she might be getting heat stroke," Rue said and put her hand on Duck's forehead.

"Ooh, heat stroke. It sounds bad," Lillie said.

"Well, duh. You CAN get sick from overheating in the sun," Pique said. "Jeez, I thought you'd know that."

"Yeah, okay, that could be really bad and all but if we want to get to the city before this time tomorrow then we need to keep moving," Fakir said.

"And how do you suggest we keep going when Duck could be sick?" Rue asked.

He rolled his eyes and stepped towards the girl. "Ugh, I guess I'll just have to carry her, okay? She's not that heavy and we can use my freaking cloak to shield her from the sun. Can we just get going?"

Rue stared at him with surprise as he placed the cloak over Duck's frail body and carefully picked her up. She looked like she was about to pass out and she leaned her head against his shoulder with relief. He didn't even look down at her. He just started walking and it wasn't long before the others soon caught up with him.

By the time they reached a decent place to rest for the night Duck had fallen asleep in his arms. She was breathing softly and Fakir couldn't help but think she was lucky to be able to sleep so peacefully. He knew that even though they were out of the circus, Drosselmeyer would still be after them, after him and he couldn't let the other performers get hurt. He felt an obligation to protect them. It was a feeling he didn't understand but he knew he had to obey it or shiz would happen.

He placed Duck down gently and immediately grabbed Mytho to gather fire wood. It would get cold at night and he knew that. He also knew that the others would probably freeze if they didn't have a fire going and so that was why he was out getting the fire wood.

"Fakir?" Mytho asked as they broke twigs and small branches off the thin trees that were scattered around the area.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you know about the Raven?" he asked, slowly picking up fallen twigs.

"Uh, yeah. I've suffered under his reign for nine years now," Fakir said and looked at the white haired boy from the corner of his eye. "Why?"

"Do you think he is responsible for the circus?"

"Uh, no. It was because Drosselmeyer was fired from the King's service. Don't you ever listen to Rue when she talks or do you seriously sit there and let what she says go in one ear and out the other?" Fakir asked, looking at the other boy.

"I don't know."

"You never know anything do you?" Fakir asked. "Wow, I had no idea that losing your heart would also make you a moron. I'll keep that in mind the next time I plan on cutting someone's heart out."

"What will happen if no one can stop the Raven?" Mytho asked.

"Complete annihilation," Fakir said. "Simple enough so don't ask how, I have no idea."

"Okay."

Fakir rolled his eyes and continued to find more fire wood. He wouldn't admit it but he was thinking about what could happen if the Raven wasn't stopped. Would anyone survive? If no one did then where did the stories come from? Someone has to have survived so maybe there was a chance life wouldn't end for the kingdom but it was like .0000001 out of a million.

He was thinking about it even as he started the fire and watched the rest of the group get situated around it. He stood off to the side and looked at them. They were all talking about something that he could care less about but he knew that it was something that was keeping their spirits up.

The only person, besides himself, who wasn't in the group was Duck but she was sleeping, his cloak still covering her small, partially feathered body. The firelight bounced off her feathers in such a way that at one point he thought she had normal hair. The orange light blended in so well with her hair/feathers that it actually made her look normal. He had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things and eventually came to the conclusion that he was making himself paranoid.

It wasn't long before the others fell asleep and he decided to stay up and keep watch, just in case they randomly got attacked by something. See? Paranoid. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep so he got comfortable sitting against a rock and poking at the fire with a stick. It was so hypnotizing that he soon calmed down enough to doze off and soon he was in a light sleep.

He may have been able to get to sleep somewhat peacefully but Rue was having a hard time staying asleep. She had a horrible nightmare that made her sweat with fright and shake uncontrollably. Don't know if that's considered a seizure or not but that's what happened.

In her dream she was just walking through the field hence they came and was watching Duck happily when a large shadow came up from behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks and her heart began to beat faster. She recognized the shadow. She knew who's it was and she knew who it was after. She tried to call for Duck to run but no sound came from her throat and she felt her body being forced to turn around. She wanted to close her eyes but she couldn't and what she saw made her scream in terror. It was the Raven! He was looking right at her and he had a wicked smile on his evil face.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" she cried as she tried to run.

Her legs wouldn't move. She was frozen by fear and even her shouts seemed to only be coming from her head. She hadn't actually screamed. She hadn't actually made any plea or shout.

The Raven swooped in closer and just before he grabbed her she bolted up.

She looked around, breathing heavy and started to cry. She had never been so scared in her life and she didn't know what it meant. The Raven was after her, she knew that, and she also knew that he was also after Duck. She was scared. Now that she was out of the circus and getting closer to the kingdom she knew from the deepest depths of her heart that her nightmares would get worse and eventually they would come true. Reason number one why she hated being a fortune teller.

As she sat there crying as softly as she could she felt a touch her shoulder. She looked up to see Mytho as the person who owned the hand. She wiped away her tears and tried to smile at the boy but she knew that even without a heart he could see something was wrong.

"I'm sorry Mytho," she sniffled. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yes," he said then sat next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I…I…" she couldn't say yes or no. She looked at his honey brown eyes and broke into more sobs. She buried her face into his shoulder and cried as softly as she could, "I don't know what to do Mytho. I fear I'm endangering all of you by being here."

"Why?"

"The Raven is after me," Rue whispered.

"Why?"

"I'm…I'm…" she stuttered. She couldn't say why. She first had to know she could trust him not to tell the others anything she was about to say. "Mytho, can you keep a secret?"

"Yes."

"Do you promise not to tell the others anything I'm about to say?" she asked, her head moving up and down with his every breath.

"Yes."

"I…I'm the Raven's…daughter."