Silently, Fakir put his hand on the ballet classroom's door handle. Pausing, he turned to Duck. "As I told you earlier, try not to say too much," he said. "But when you do, use your lowest voice. And keep your hat on no matter what."

Duck nodded her head carefully and thought to herself: I guess there's nothing I can say at this point. I wonder if I can really pull off acting like a boy, though. But... Won't I have to be like this until I graduate? I didn't even think about the long term consequence!

The door swept open and the brightness of the classroom flooded into the dark hallway. Duck could see the familiar backs of her classmates once again– their bodies hunched and sitting down on the classroom ground, all dressed in their leotards and tights. She could be near them once again. Her eyes widened when she noticed the back of Lillie's blonde puffy pigtails and Pike's tightly bound pink bun. Duck's eyes brimmed with tears at this and a glad smile pulled across her face.

Fakir noticed this and stood in front of her to shield her emotional display. "Are you crying?" he asked perturbed, glancing back sideways.

"No-no. I'm just happy," Duck squeaked. She then covered her mouth and spoke in a deeper, but childish voice: "I mean, I'm glad to see everyone again."

"Pfft... you sound like an 8-year-old boy," he remarked, stifling his laughter.

Duck frowned at him. "Well at least that's something...!"

By now the classroom had already begun to notice Duck and murmured in curiosity. Even Pike and Lillie observed her.

"Hey, doesn't that kid look familiar?" Pike whispered, turning to Lillie.

"Mm, not really. But he looks so defenseless. Fresh meat!" Lillie sighed happily.

Though Duck could not hear them, she beamed in happiness.

"Oh, it seems the new student turned up for today after all! How nice, come over here and introduce yourself to the class!" the teacher greeted. She was a lightweight-looking young woman with an honest face and brown ponytail. The old teacher, Mr. Cat, had long since been forgotten.

Duck clenched her firsts to her chest in nervousness and looked down, carefully thinking to herself: Do I respond? Fakir told me not to talk too much, didn't I talk too much already? I did talk too much, I used up my talkability as soon as I saw the whole class, errgh! Hey. Is talkability even a word? I wonder...

"Sorry. He's a bit shy," Fakir said, placing his hand on Duck's shoulder. "His name is Duck– an old family friend and now a beginning First Year student."

The class murmured loudly in increased awe.

"Um... Fakir. Counting back, I'm actually a Third Year now," Duck whispered to him.

"Only in physical age." He pushed down on her shoulder to hush her up. "Clearly not mental..."

Duck puffed out her cheeks in annoyance: I... I know I'm bad at school! she thought; But you don't have to be so rude about it!

"I hope you can open up to us in the future then, Duck," the honest-faced teacher said. "Please sit down and join the class."

Awkwardly, Duck took her first step towards them and stopped in indecision. Walking ahead of her, though, Fakir sat down outside the group by the wall. Placing his hand on the ground beside him, he glanced up at Duck expectantly.

Duck gulped and clenched her fists to her side. I guess he does want me to sit next to him all the time, she thought, remembering well how he once guarded Mytho is such a way. But that makes perfect sense. If I'm found out, as either a duck or a girl, I could get in a lot of trouble! Still a bit wobbly-kneed, she stalked over and plunked down beside him. She stared at him, unable to concentrate on the teacher's words.

"-if you always turned your legs this way when pulling in, it's the easiest way to avoid injury when bending–" the teacher rambled on.

Dazing off, Duck looked at the back of Pike and Lillie's heads. Every now and then they turned to each other to say something or giggle. Lillie put her hand over her mouth and mischievously squinted her eyes as Pike whispered something in her ear.

Duck gazed thoughtfully at them. Wow... Is that how the three of us used to look together? she wondered; We hardly ever paid attention to Mr. Cat back then. And... Yeah. Fakir and Mytho were usually behind us or off to the side, right in this spot even... maybe. Out of vision. Just like how we are now. I wonder... if Fakir and Mytho ever saw us goofing off like that... Duck beheld them in wide-eyed thought.

Fakir, however, looked at Duck in concern. He could already tell that she was pining to be with her old friends. Those troublemakers... Fakir thought to himself in annoyance; Those two were the reason Duck never did well in class.

"–All rise, it's time for warm-ups," the teacher said in a surprisingly strong voice.

"Wha–" Duck snapped out of it and looked about. Everyone in class was already standing and walking off.

Fakir was also up and stretching his arms. "Come on you. Aren't you the one that likes ballet?" he instigated.

"Huh, but Fakir–" Duck stopped, remembering to lower her voice: "–don't you like ballet too?"

"It's fine. As long as someone important to me likes it."

Duck gazed at him intently. Oh... Mytho liked to dance, so you wanted to dance too, she thought. It's like that, wasn't it? But when he left, why did you continue? Was it because of...

"Oh my, you're so cute!" a girl shrieked, grabbing up Duck in a backwards choke lock.

Looking up hopefully, Duck smiled in relief when she found Lillie. Yes, she smiled– even though the girl was squeezing all the precious air out of her chest and turning her face blue.

"I know now! He reminds me of a cute little brother!" Pike said, smiling into Duck's blue face. "Will you call me big sister?"

"He's getting embarrassed, it's so cute!" Lillie cried, squeezing Duck tighter.

What...? Duck thought, freezing at this. All the girls began herding around Duck, poking at her and remarking how cute she was.

"Ah, stop it. He looks young, but he's still about... 12 or so," Pike said, counting on her fingers. "Treat him with some respect already." She intervened, standing beside Duck as Lillie forcefully let go.

No no way! I'm not 12, I'm already 14! I can't believe this! Duck thought tearfully. I don't want to be seen as some hopeless little duck. I have to do something!

"N-n-nice to meet you," Duck managed out, glancing at everyone and bowing. She had to make a mature impression so she could at least earn a little respect! They really don't recognize me, she thought; They don't remember me at all. Just like how Fakir says Charon doesn't remember me... Everyone forgot the tale we were once living in. Gold Crown Town...

"I'm Pike and this is Lillie," the girl introduced, patting a glad Lillie's shoulder.

All the girls introduced themselves to Duck willingly, and all at once in an extremely overwhelming manner.

From the back corners of the classroom, however, the grumbling of the few other boys surfaced:

"...What's so great about him?"

"He looks like a baby, so what."

"Yeah, is he honestly in junior high yet?"

"Maybe he skipped some grades."

"He doesn't look that smart, though."

"Yeah, huh?"

"What's up with that weird hat?"

In consuming anger, Fakir flashed a cruel glare at the group of girls and they scattered apart just long enough for him to grab Duck away. "Visiting time is over. It's time for practicing," he told her loudly, just so that the others could overhear.

"Why do they think I'm a kid," Duck murmured in disappointment. I wanted to look cool and mature like Fakir... she thought pensively; Not like a 'cute little brother'!

"It's because you have a high voice and a round 'baby' face. That's why you look like a little boy to them," he said. "Don't be so surprised about it. At least you're not suspicious."

"Oh..." Duck's shoulders sank. Acting like this for the rest of my school life is really going to be the worst, huh? she thought with deep-seated solemness. And it doesn't really seem to bother Fakir– seeing me as a boy and all. What if he stops seeing me as a girl again? Maybe he just doesn't care... how I feel...

Sensing her downtrodden mood, Fakir swung Duck around by the arm to distract her and caught her. Pulling her back straight to his chest, he held her up on her tip-toes and stretched her in relevé. "That means I'm the only one who sees you as a girl," he whispered closely in her ear, chasing away all her doubts. I don't mind at all, he thought, because... I want no one else to look at her as I do.

What! Duck's face reddened.

He raised her arms up into the air gracefully and held them there. One hand above the other– her wrists limp in his and he guided her. She almost felt like a puppet or doll in his control, but somehow, she didn't seem to mind.

Huh... Duck thought as she stared into the long wall mirror and saw him holding her. I'm... standing so beautifully. It's like I'm Princess Tutu again.

The knight smiled for a brief second at her sense of wonder, but then he resumed his previously harsh expression. "Your second position is horrible!" he scolded. "Pull your feet further out."

"Wha! Like this?...!" Duck scrambled to assume position.

"I said second position, not 'bow-legged'!"

"I'm... I'm so sorry!"

"Hold you stomach in, straighten your spine– you're not a frog!"

"Ok! Like this?"

All through class the knight worked the poor girl into a better student, and when it was time to change and go to class, Fakir left Duck outside the boy's locker room while he retrieved her things.

"There's enough time to go back to our room and change. Let's hurry," he told her.

"Right," she answered, the two of them running off.

However, lurking from the shadows, two familiar figures watched. "That new boy is too suspicious, don't you think?" one whispered.

"Yeah. I've never seen Fakir so close with another guy... er, I think... Ah, never mind. Let's go and see what those two are up to..."

~Two strangers are watching a duck and a knight closely... Could they be recollecting a piece of their dream?~