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 Nineteen

Fakir spent about half hour looking through some books, and testing stances himself. If he was going to describe a fight, he was going to do it at least somewhat accurately. He almost wanted to go and get his sword, but he knew the actions well enough that he didn't really need it. So he finally went back to work.

Princess Sylvia had almost finished with what she could do for Kurt. Annette tensed as she saw movement in the sky; "Princess, there are more crows coming."

Kurt was calmer by this point, and instructed, "Annette; take Princess Sylvia back to the group."

Annette nodded, but Sylvia began protesting; "But I'm not done-"

"My Princess, you must stay safe!" Kurt interrupted, "Else I will have failed you in my duty a second time."

Sylvia's face fell in dismay; "You didn't-"

"I will be fine, my Princess," he said, "You have done enough for me. I can defend myself, but I will only slow you down right now. Go with Annette."

"… I will tell Marie to come and help you," Sylvia said regretfully, "But first, you need to get to a better spot." She began trying to lift Kurt on her own, and Annette quickly joined. Kurt resisted momentarily, but soon helped them get him onto his good foot. They all hobbled to the nearest tree, and let Kurt down again. He stayed standing, though. "Kurt, you need to rest-"

"I am not standing on it, my Princess," he replied with a smirk, "That is rest enough. Now go."

Unhappy, but hearing the crows, Sylvia gave him a quick hug before taking off, putting her hood up as she left. Annette followed behind, sword drawn. The Princess was faster than Annette expected, and she resisted the urge to order the Princess to slow down.

Most of the party had followed in pursuit of the crows, and now the birds noticed their chase. The crows stopped and began attacking again. While fewer in number, the creatures were still just as tenacious as before. Leopold found more energy as he swung at the birds, almost forgetting his injury. He raised his arms and swung at a crow, managing to destroy it, but another crow was simply knocked to the side by his arms. Trying to regain height, it flew into his legs as he stepped forward. Leopold tripped and raised his arms again for counterbalance. He fell forward, towards his injured arm, and extended the arm to catch himself. As he hit the ground, the impact combined with his injury and a searing pain exploded in his shoulder. Crying out, he dropped his sword and rolled over onto his other side. The crow that had caused his fall was already up in the air, now fleeing with its comrades, but was soon taken out by another's sword. The miniature flock was disposed of. But Leopold couldn't notice for the pain.

"Leopold?!" Marie had heard his cry, and searched for him. As the last of the crows disintegrated, she saw him on the ground. "Leopold!" She rushed to his side. She saw scrapes all over him; "Leopold, you're bleeding! Where's your charm?" As she reached to check his side near the ground, she bumped his arm and he cried out again. Instantly retracting, she looked at his arm. The shoulder looked a little strange. "What happened?"

"I fell…" Leopold said confusedly, "It wasn't-" He cut off, grimacing.

Marie saw the blood on his shoulder, and immediately assumed a broken bone. "Leopold, don't move!" She began taking out items from her pack, preparing a healing spell.

Princess Sylvia and Annette arrived at the group, Aldrick meeting them at sword point; "State your name," he demanded, powerful despite his tiredness.

"Annette Clos of Ironrod," Annette responded immediately, getting her sword in front of the Princess.

"Princess Sylvia Colombe," Princess Sylvia recited, automatically standing straighter as she did so, despite the sword in her face, "Daughter of King Marius Colombe, ruler of Ironrod."

"And you, sir?" Annette panted, not putting away her sword.

"Aldrick Lubin of Ironrod," he replied, gratefully sheathing his sword. Annette nodded and did likewise, still breathing heavily. "We had hoped you would have gotten to the gates, Princess."

"The crows attacked our horse;" Princess Sylvia explained, "Where is Marie?"

Aldrick looked around briefly, and motioned; "She is helping someone who fell. The charms help protect against outward injury, but other problems can arise."

Sylvia nodded; "I know."

"… Of course."

Sylvia smiled at him kindly, then glanced at Marie and commented, "… I will ask when she is done. Could some of the others please help Kurt?" she asked Aldrick, "His foot got injured from the horse and he can't walk on it."

"He insisted that the Princess return to the group;" Annette continued, finally regaining her breath, "I had gone after them noticing their horse's distress, and was able to help. Sir Kurt charged me with bringing her back."

Aldrick nodded, then turned and instructed a few others nearby to go for Sir Kurt.

"Thank you," Princess Sylvia said to both Aldrick and those who left.

Aldrick sighed and glared in the direction of the setting sun. "If only we had been faster, we might have avoided an attack like that."

Sylvia thought of the extra time she had taken to dance for the knights. She looked down.

"I should have known that with two attacks already, the Raven must think our kingdom is ready for the taking," Aldrick continued.

"But the barrier still stands!" Princess Sylvia protested, "Why would he think that?"

"You are right, Princess," Aldrick responded tiredly, "But our victories are not exactly self-secured. We have had the aid of Prince Siegfried and his knights this day, but they cannot stay for much longer. Our forces are already weakened, as is the barrier. This could be the opportune time for the Raven to strike, if he gathers enough strength. Which is why we need to return as soon as possible;" He looked at the Princess; "While our King has never asked for assistance, I know that you and Marie could help support him in this time of need. He will be upset, surely, but necessity often puts our desires on hold."

Sylvia looked away again; "Yes… it does."

"Once Marie is done with helping the injured, she will go with you and a few guards to the gate. Marie knows the second password, and if she is uncooperative, the others will give our password. We will have Kurt for the other password if needed. You will travel faster with fewer people."

"But I will not abandon-"

"Princess Sylvia," Aldrick charged, facing her directly, "you are responsible for the citizens of Ironrod. You must take every opportunity to exercise your powers to aid in their protection, even if that means leaving some of them behind! We have proven that we can defend ourselves against a crow attack, so you need not fear losing us. But even if you did, it is more important that you do your duty. Isn't that what you came out here to show? That you would help the kingdom by any means possible?"

Taken aback, Sylvia shrank under his gaze; "… Yes…" she eventually replied. That was her original purpose in coming out, wasn't it? Thoughts of Prince Siegfried surfaced, though, filling her with uncertainty. She fidgeted with her hands, avoiding his gaze.

Annette was concerned that Aldrick was crossing a line, and coughed a little. Aldrick glanced at her, but stayed focused on the Princess. "I mean no disrespect, Princess, but we all need to remember our duties. Especially during times such as these."

Princess Sylvia straightened and nodded, but only looked at him briefly. Aldrick turned and walked off.

Marie was focused on helping Leopold. She'd had to uncover his shoulder, which had bothered him quite a bit, and had seen that while his shoulder looked off, it was still in-tact. The blood was coming from puncture wounds further up his shoulder, and seemed unconnected except for adding more pain. She'd tentatively tried moving his arm, but he'd cried out each time. She soon came to see it was dislocation, and could be helped, but she had to move his arm to do so. She gently spread some herbs on him, ignoring his grimaces and grunts, and warned him that she would have to do worse to fix it. He had said he was feeling sick. She'd quickly recruited another person to help, and warned Leopold again about the pain. But that hadn't prepared her for his cries as she moved his arm. She had to stop to collect herself again. As she went at it a second time, he passed out because of the pain. Once he was out, she quickly helped his shoulder back, his relaxation aiding the process. Afterwards, the recruited person left to ensure that no others needed help. Now Marie shakily used some healing magic to lessen the pain when he awoke, and speed the process of healing. She wiped tears away with her shoulder as she finished doing what she could. Why hadn't he told her he didn't have a charm bag? What had happened to it? Why did he run off like that before? She lowered her hands and began putting her things away, knocking a few things over in the process but picking them up again.

Princess Sylvia approached Marie with Annette, Marq, and Bronwin. As they got closer, Sylvia recognized Leopold on the ground. Gasping quietly, she relaxed as she saw him breathing. She reached a hand to her charm bag. It was probably because he had given it to her that he had been injured. Sorrow and guilt flooded her. She took off the charm bag.

"… Marie?"

As soon as she saw the Princess, Marie realized that Leopold had probably given his charm bag to her. Anger boiled within Marie. Princess Sylvia extended the charm bag as a token of peace, but the very sight of it only increased Marie's fury.

"… Leopold insisted I take this earlier," Princess Sylvia said softly; "I didn't want to take it, but-"

"Then why did you?!" Marie accused.

Princess Sylvia was surprised, and a bit hurt by her anger; "I said I did not want to-"

"But you did anyway!" Marie interjected, standing up, "You took it anyway!"

The guards beside the Princess tensed.

Marie continued, "Just because people tell you things doesn't mean you have to follow them! Just because they offer you things, doesn't mean you have to take them!" Tears swelled in her eyes again.

"Marie, be careful with your words!" Bronwin warned.

Princess Sylvia withdrew her hand hesitantly; "I… I did not mean-"

"Then what did you mean?" Marie questioned, ignoring the warning; "What is it you are trying to do?"

"Marie!" Bronwin repeated.

Marie said no more words, but glared at the Princess, waiting.

Princess Sylvia's mind swirled with Aldrick's words and her own feelings of uselessness. Fighting, she tried remembering what Kurt had mentioned earlier, her own words failing her; "I… I'm simply… a beacon of light-"

"Fine then!" Marie interrupted the stutters, glaring at the Princess, tears now falling down her face; "May you turn into light! If you truly care so much, then as soon as you confess your love, may you turn into a speck of light and vanish!"

"Princess, watch out!" Marq cried as he drew his sword. From above, a crow suddenly dove towards the Princess, claws outstretched. Marq quickly sliced through the creature, but as it disintegrated, some blood spattered onto the Princess. Shocked by both the actions, and Marie's words, Princess Sylvia was speechless. Marie had stepped back in surprise, and as the feathers dissolved, almost choked on her tears as she tried breathing again.

"Marie!" Annette barked, "Watch what you say! Not only does your anger attract the crows, but you are speaking to our Princess! She does not deserve-"

Marie turned and fled. Bronwin took off after her.

"No… please-" Princess Sylvia plead quietly, having seen the pain and fear in Marie's face, the pain that she had caused.

"She needs to come with us, Princess," Annette reminded her, thinking that the Princess had forgotten.

Princess Sylvia shook her head; "No, it's not…"

As Marie continued to elude capture, Marq joined Bronwin in chase up the trail. Sylvia dropped the charm bag beside Leopold's unconscious form as she watched. "She didn't-" Words of the knights from before came to her unbidden, of how hard things were, of how little she could help. Her hands shook.

"Princess?" Annette asked, noticing, "Are you alright?"

Sylvia took a step back. Kurt's reprimands came afresh to her mind, and Aldrick's many arguments as to why she shouldn't even be there came up. Marie's accusations, spoken or not, added to the condemnation. And at her feet lay Leopold's unconscious body, barely alive for all she knew, a charge that needed no words. "I didn't want… to hurt…"

Fakir clenched his teeth; he had known that Sylvia would feel guilt and pain, but not this much. … Fine, if that was how she was going to go through it, he would have to push through as well.

Annette reached out a hand and steadied the Princess worriedly; "Do you need to sit down, Princess?"

Sylvia looked up and saw that Marq and Bronwin had finally caught Marie, and were bringing her back. Marie looked desolate as they restrained and supported her, walking forcibly.

"… Princess Tutu?" Annette hoped the term would remind the Princess of the people she was protecting.

Unfortunately, it did. Sylvia's mind, already inundated with accusations, was then filled with the faces of her kingdom's people. The people she was supposed to help protect. The people she was putting in danger by being outside the wall. Who she was endangering by insisting they stay out longer. Who she couldn't send aid of any kind to except a smile or two, which could do nothing in the face of the Raven. The people could seem to gain nothing from her except pain and annoyance!

"That's false," Fakir exclaimed, "They care for you!"

"Liar!" Sylvia yelled at the air, tears in her eyes; "I am useless!"

Fakir stopped writing, almost throwing his pen down in frustration, pressure in his own eyes. She wasn't-! He hadn't wanted to say anything, but he wasn't trying to put her through this much pain! How could she even-!

… But she was convinced now, apparently, for even his power to talk directly to her wasn't enough. He raised his arms over his head and sighed in exasperation, getting control of his own feelings again.

Unfortunately, the only thing to do now was to continue… He breathed deeply and dipped his pen in more ink.

Before Annette could get a better grip on the Princess, Sylvia broke away and began running. Annette immediately started after her, but Sylvia had grief fueling her strides, and aimed for the woods.

"Princess!" Annette cried out, "Don't! It's dangerous-!"

But Sylvia was already weaving through the trees, and Annette struggled to keep her in sight. With the evening's dimming light, Annette could not keep the Princess' white hair straight from the glaring shadows through the trees' branches. Soon, the Princess disappeared completely. Annette frantically searched, but could find no traces. Even the echoes of her running offered little help. Annette knew she should return for a larger search group before darkness fell. Anxiously, she looked around one more time, took note of which way the sounds were headed, then rushed back to the group.