Okay, now I'm back on the family PC, so there's a greater chance of typos (our keyboard's not the best; I really should buy us a new one).

This one might be a bit shorter, and I'll go ahead and warn you that there'll be some censorship used here (strong language—or, at least, what I consider strong language).

Fakir fangirls, PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR FEELS BRUISED. There's a lot of heart-wrenching for Fakir in this one!

Oh, I don't own the chapter title, but I did tweak it. The Lady of Shallot is a long and beautiful poem written by the great Alfred Lord Tennyson. It was given music and made into an epic song by the singer Loreena McKenitt as well; it's really cool (she also did Alfred Noyes' The Highwayman. I guess she likes poets named Alfred! LOL) I always thought it would be awesome to do a semblance of that poem in Princess Tutu, the way they did all those other stories and poems! So I did it myself! Hope you like it!

"Ladies first." – Kuzco, The Emperor's New Groove

Chapter 10: The Ladies of Shallot
Prince Sigfried stood in the same room in which he'd caged Clara the evening before; the witch was kneeling patiently on the floor of her cage and both were waiting for the first rays of dawn to come peeking through the pines.

Finally, that first spark of sunshine winked into the sky like a fairy and the sun slowly began to rise in the room. It crawled up the bodies of the prince and the witch, but neither broke eye contact. The witch smiled.

"Tell me, prince," she asked, "Did you enjoy your time without a heart?"

"How did you know about that?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Come," she said, "Let us do battle."

"Very well," said the prince. If she wouldn't answer civilly, he'd have to beat it out of her. He cast the spell that released her from the cage.

Then all hell broke loose.

Fakir stirred and woke up; he'd felt some sort of disturbance and felt the need to write. He knelt close to the lantern with a blanket around his shoulders and his notepad on his knees.

He took a moment to look around at his travel companions. The mist was thinner around their campsite than anywhere else, especially around the embers of the fire. Malen was sleeping on her side with her own blanket draped over herself and Uzura, who was using her tummy for a pillow. And was he wrong or was that Autor's school jacket under Malen's head? He looked over at him; he was sitting against a tree, slumped over with sleep, his blanket loose on his back and his bow and arrows leaning on him. He must've fallen asleep on his watch.

Fakir looked around for Rey and found him standing by the boat on the riverside. The young boy pulled his blanket around himself and walked over to join him.

"Rey," he said quietly, "Is everything all right?"

"No," the man answered, "Something is very wrong."

"I know," said Fakir, "I feel it, too."

"The tower's not so far now," said Rey, "If she's going to be saved, we'd better move fast and soon."

"Why do you want to help us?" Fakir asked, "Why have you helped us so far?"

"I have my reasons," he said, "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. I can protect you and your friends, but I must ask you to have patience with me."

"Let me ask you one thing," said Fakir, "How do you know why we're here?"

"I read your story while you were sleeping," said Rey, "I could also see you were headed toward the tower, so I concluded that we are on the same journey."

"I see." Fakir turned and looked at the others. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning cut through the sky beyond the forest that turned the sky red! It shook the ground and made them stumble.

"What the h-was that?" Fakir exclaimed.

"Fakir!" Malen called, "It's the witch!"

He ran back to her; she showed him her latest sketch, a beautiful but evil witch in combat with a prince.

"Mytho!" he gasped, "We have to go! Now!" He grabbed their stuff and packed it quickly. "Malen, you stay with Autor! Uzura, stay with me!"

"Whoa!" Uzura exclaimed as he grabbed her hand, "What's happening, zura?"

"Everybody in!" said Rey with the boat ready. Fakir popped Uzura in and Malen and Autor quickly hopped in. Rey and Fakir pushed off while Autor started rowing.

"Forget the oars," Rey said, "I'll take care of this." He gripped both sides of the boat and murmured something. Then he said "Hold on tight!" and the boat sped off downriver! The kids were knocked back a bit, but they regained their seats and held onto the sides. Uzura got excited and started playing her drum.

They were only a couple of hundred feet away now; in fact, they were skimming through the lake of lilies when another bolt of lightning struck the island right next to the tower!

"DUCK!" Fakir cried. Sensing the urgency, Rey put on an extra burst of speed and actually ran the boat ashore. The writer jumped out and bee-lined it for the tower.

"Fakir!" Autor called, "Wait!" But waiting was no longer an option for Fakir; now his only priority was getting to duck before something horrible happened. He shoved his way inside and tore up the winding staircase with Rey on his heels.

"I'm coming, Duck!" he shouted desperately. He was so close now, he could feel her in his arms already. They saw the door at the top of the stairs!

"Duck!" he burst into the room with Rey at his shoulder. He whipped his head around, looking for her messy pink hair.

But no one was there.

"She's gone," Rey whispered, "Meine Himmel, she's gone!"

Fakir stood numb with shock as he stared at the rose-laden bed she was supposed to still be in. His heart lurched within him and started to climb out of his chest. To keep it from exploding, he gasped for air and stumbled to the window. He leaned out and screamed her name with such anguish as could rip the sky in two.

"DUCK!"

The first few moments of that sunrise brought a rude awakening to the princess and her friend; that jolt brought on by the witch's lightning had rocked the tower and terrified them into consciousness.

"What was that?" Duck exclaimed as she tried to sit up. Rue caught herself against the window sill and looked out toward the castle. Then she looked down at the lake; half a dozen inky black figures were swimming toward the island! She didn't worry until she saw them slip through the barrier of magic surrounding it! She gasped loudly and backed away.

"What's wrong, Rue?" Duck asked. Rue turned and ran to her.

"We have to go," she said, "Our magic protection has been breached! Something's coming after us!" She grabbed two cloaks from the wall, sat Duck up and wrapped her in one, then put the other on herself. She slung on a couple of food and water bags and carefully picked Duck up out of the bed with her arms around her waist.

"Brace yourself," she said. Duck nodded and held on tight. Rue stomped on the floor twice and the board gave way beneath them. They slid the length of the tower down a secret chute and came out at a waterway that would go right to the back end of the lake. A boat was waiting for them; the princess laid her friend inside and climbed in beside her. She tapped the boat with her palm.

"Go!" she ordered. The boat magically came to life and obeyed her command. It was only halfway to the lake, however, when the second lightning bolt struck the island; it sent the boat surfing the rest of the way with the girls freaking out, getting knocked to and fro the whole time. They finally spun out at the mouth of the lake.

"Hey, Rue," said Duck, "You okay?"

She didn't answer.

"Rue!" she panicked, "Come on! Talk to me!" But the impact had knocked the princess out cold. Now Duck was alone on a lake in a body that didn't work with an unconscious princess; she was quite literally a sitting duck.

It was about that moment that she heard a sound she had longed for ever since she awoke.

She heard Fakir calling out her name.

"Ah!" she cried and tried to sit up with tears in her eyes, "FAK—mmph!" A hand covered her mouth.

"Not so loud, little Duck," a voice slithered in her ear, "The mistress has need of you."

"Mmm!" she screamed behind the hand. From the sound of it, Fakir was mere meters away! She just had to call out for him! If only she could get free!

'Fakir!' she cried in her head, 'Fakir, help me! I can't move!'

Malen wondered what had happened up there as she reviewed some of her sketches. She went back to a particular drawing of Duck lying in a boat with roses in her hands. She gasped in shock.

"Autor, look!" she showed it to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"This drawing," she explained, "I drew it yesterday, but…"

"But what?" he prompted.

"There are lilies around the boat." She looked haunted. "I didn't draw those!" His eyes widened.

"Well, we're on a lake full of lilies," he observed, "Perhaps that's why they appeared."

"Or could she possibly be on the lake with us?" said Malen. As if in answer, Uzura's red pendant glowed.

"Duck!" Uzura exclaimed and played her drum, "She's somewhere close, zura!"

Autor started rowing around the left side of the island and Malen looked around with her sharp artist's eyes.

"There's a boat!" she pointed straight ahead. Something in Autor's mind—perhaps his role in the story, or perhaps some instinct of a Drosselmeyer descendant—told him that the black cloaked figure standing in the other boat was an enemy. He drew an arrow, aimed high, and released.

"Yes!" he clenched a fist when he saw the figure reel and collapse into the water, "Hurry! Let's go get her!"

"Autor!" Fakir called form the tower window, "What's happening?"

"Duck is on the lake!" he answered as he rowed, "She's in a boat behind the island!"

"We'll meet you there!" said Fakir, "Come on, Rey."

Autor rowed as hard as he possibly could; Malen quickly did a new drawing of Fakir while he and Rey ran across the island along the waterway.

"There's another guy, zura!" Uzura pointed. Another black figure slunk out of the water and into Duck's boat!

"Hold on, Duck!" cried Fakir, "We're coming!"

But the figure was already casting the spell that lifted the boat from the lake. Autor fired another arrow and killed him, realizing too late that the boat would fall back in, which it did.

"DUCK!" Fakir plowed his way into the water and swam for all he was worth. Rey followed him again, doffing his cloak as he ran in. While he dove for the princess, Fakir went for Duck. He'd seen Rue fall in, so he could only assume that Duck was still safe in the boat.

Fakir grabbed onto the boat and looked inside; once again, he was disappointed.

Duck was gone.

Rey surfaced with the princess in his arms; she was still unconscious.

"Fakir!" he gasped for air, "Is Duck all right?"

"I don't know." He sounded hollow. "She's gone again." He clenched his fists in frustration and anger.

"D—it," his voice shook, "D—it!" He gripped the boat and threw his head up.

"CLARA!" his voice exploded.

Mytho whipped his head in the direction of his mother's tower.

"That sounds like…" His eyes widened in shock. "Fakir!" He sounded furious, too! That could only mean one thing!

He slashed his sword angrily down Clara's body and knocked her down.

"What have you done to them?" he demanded of her, "Where are my princess and my friend?" She knocked him back with her own burst of angry power.

"Your lachrymose foundling is nothing to me," she said bitterly, "It's that body I want!"

"No!" he shouted, "I'll never let you have it, Clara!" He raised his sword to finish her off, but she magically stopped him with her hand. Lightning shot out and shocked him. His eyes screwed shut from the pain and he cried out.

Miles away in the tower, the writer hesitated to hear the cries of pain he knew came from his prince.

'No,' he thought, 'I won't hesitate any longer!'

Author's Review:
Like a lot of people, I first heard the word "lachrymose" in the third A Series of Unfortunate Events book series. I looked it up and it basically means "easily prone to tears," and let's face it, Rue cries more than any character in the show. Years after reading those books, I got on Netflix and discovered Black Butler. The second half of the first season uses a song called "Lachrymosa" as its end credits song. It's by a Japanese girl group called Kalafina; I highly recommend them. They have excellent and dramatic music with some amazing violin action!

The last time I wrote a story involving censorship and strong language was when I wrote my Kingdom Hearts epic, The Hunt for the Hearts. For some reason, I created an angry twelve-year-old daughter of Xehanort. She ended up being a bad guy turned good and was adopted by Riku's parents. If you haven't read it, I'd recommend it to any Kingdom Hearts fan, but please bear in mind that I wrote it BEFORE they came out with Birth by Sleep. So don't get all "why isn't Xion in it" on me.

Hope you enjoyed this, despite all the Feels destruction! Please review!