Disclaimer: Princess Tutu does not belong to me, and neither to the characters. I only claim some responsibility for those whose names are unfamiliar. The rest is up to the story.

Chapter Fifteen

Fakir managed to awake and get to class in a timely manner, despite staying up later than he intended, writing. As he changed in the locker room, he overheard some discussion.

"… signing up for the auditions next week…"

"Yeah, they want to keep it to one day or close to it so there's more time for practices, I hear…"

Fakir remembered hearing Mrs. Katerina mention auditions for the next ballet at the beginning of class. He should probably try out for at least some role. He wondered what it might do to his schedule with writing. He hadn't planned that far ahead yet, but if he was going to devote adequate time to both… What was he thinking, performing was a main goal for ballet dancers! Taking part in productions like this was one of the purposes of specializing in ballet. It would also be a good opportunity to prove he was still dedicated; to himself and others.

On his way to the library, he stopped by the sign-up sheet and filled some of the empty space. Then he continued to a desk, pen and ink in hand.

Marie wore the Princess' cloak once more, although this time she wasn't worried about Kurt. As they approached the gate guard, Kurt reined the horse to a halt. Marie felt slightly awkward riding behind him, but he had said it was the easiest way, aside from her getting her own horse, which she had apparently forfeited the right to. She was to keep her arms around him at all times, to ensure that she didn't 'accidentally' fall off. Not that she would ever do such a thing, but she did not want to press her luck by arguing.

"The expedition has not returned yet, Princess," the main guard reported.

"We are not here to await them," Kurt responded, "We are going through."

The guard flinched in shock; "W-what?"

Kurt lowered his voice; "The king has asked us to perform a task outside the gates. I agree that it is undesirable, but so are the circumstances. Because of urgency, I cannot elaborate. Now please, send the signal and let us through."

"B-but, Sir Kurt," the guard stammered, "we received word that there is a mass of crows outside our gates! Prince Siegfried and some of his knights are dispatching them, but-"

"Are they near this particular gate?"

The guard shook his head, "No, but-"

"Then I will repeat that this is urgent."

The guard's face contorted in anxiety; "But-"

"I have faith in Prince Siegfried and his troops. The King is waiting for the signal that we are leaving. I suggest that you not delay us;" Kurt's tone did not allow for questions.

The guard looked at Marie, then at the gate, and back at Kurt. He still hesitated.

Before Kurt could say anything more, Marie spoke up in the Princess' voice; "Please, Machum. It's to help protect us."

Kurt tensed, but only shot a glance at her. The guard softened at her tone, and sighed. "… You will need a new password. Two, one, three." Both Kurt and Marie nodded, and Machum called up to the signaler, "Give the signal!" The flagman hesitated, and Machum reassured him; "I know! Urgent from the King!"

The flagman still seemed unsure, but as Machum took a breath to yell at him again, the man lifted his flags. Machum let his breath out as the message was sent, and looked back at Marie; "You have a charm from Marie, right?"

Marie smiled a little under the hood, and nodded, indicating towards a bag on the saddle.

Machum nodded, then turned to Kurt. "Two, one, three. Godspeed, Sir Kurt."

The flash came, and the gate was opened. Kurt urged the horse through quickly. "Hold fast," he instructed Marie.

Her stomach sank as she realized what he was going to do, and she quickly squeezed her legs and grasped around his torso as he urged the horse to a gallop. Then the gates closed and the barrier was raised again. Marie clutched onto Kurt with fervor, bouncing against the mare's back and pressing her head against his back to try to keep her hood up. If her hood fell, the guards would not see the white hair of their Princess.

"I told you- to be quiet!" Kurt snapped as they dashed down the path, his voice in rhythm with the horse's strides.

Marie turned her head to reply in her normal voice; "I- I had- to!" She sounded a bit frantic as her head bounced against him.

"And- your magic?" he retorted.

"It test-tested it!" The forced stutter annoyed her, but it also made conversation short.

Kurt focused on getting distance from the wall. That did not take very long, however, and soon he slowed the mare to a trot. Marie continued bouncing, and she felt even more unstable.

"Ca-can't- you sl-OW!" Marie exclaimed as she bit her tongue trying to communicate. Her hood finally fell back as well.

He eventually slowed the mare down to a walk, which greatly reduced the bouncing. Kurt kept the pace brisk, but didn't push any further. After a few moments, Marie leaned back a little, no longer plastered to Kurt's back.

"You should follow my instructions more closely, Marie," Kurt intoned.

"… My hood fell down," she commented, once she felt she could speak again.

"We're far enough from the wall, keeping the hood down will be better," Kurt said.

Marie sighed, sounding frazzled. After getting used to the gait, she complained, "We would be faster if we had two horses."

"Yes, we would," Kurt agreed, "But I would have to trust you more to allow that. And if that were the case, we probably wouldn't need to be out here right now."

Mare was grateful that she couldn't see his stare, but she imagined it. "Again, I… I apologize for that."

As they ambled on, Marie looked at the desolation around them. She kept an eye out for the expedition party, sure that they were returning by now. But it was hard to ignore what the Raven had done to their kingdom. And everything else. Even though she had seen it before, when she was inside the walls she could forget about it; forget that the war had destroyed so much.

"And this is where you thought the Princess would be safe?" Kurt's tone was even.

"I… Well it's not like we're being ambushed by crows at every corner!" she defended. "And… she wanted to come out anyway."

"I know that Princess Sylvia would never have asked you to help her with such a thing, even if she had wanted to," Kurt returned.

"No, not exactly," Marie said, "but… I could see it. I knew that she wanted to go and see the Prince, and I thought that if she did, then maybe-" realizing what she was about to say, she recovered; "Maybe she could raise the morale of his troops too. And again, the whole middle-of-the-day situation…"

Kurt glanced at the sun, which was lowering now. "Yes, usually the expeditions have returned by this point, or at least been near the gates. But if Princess Sylvia did encounter any troops, she would have stayed to comfort and encourage them longer than anticipated. Surely you might have thought of that."

Marie looked down; "Yes… I-" she paused, then sighed; "Yes," she repeated sullenly.

Kurt let the silence hold for a little while, then said, "Do not let your realization keep you from looking for the Princess. You have begun to redeem yourself; continue and be of assistance now."

"Yes," Marie replied. She lifted her head and actively kept an eye out for signs of the expedition as they continued on the path.