+Princess Tutu: Kapitel des Vogels+
Author: hakuchou-san
Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu. It's more fun to watch it anyway.
Author's Note: Yeah, so here's the first chapter (if you don't count the prologue). I guess the prologue sounded a bit one-shottish. I was intending for it to be an actual chapter, but I guess it just went in a different direction than I hoped. I'm probably gonna write more during summer break (yea, no school!), and I already have everything planned out, the ending and stuff, I'm just gonna have a hard time getting there. I'm still revising the plot, and I'm having trouble with it. I realized I'm probably not gonna get up to 50 chapters, no matter how much I want to or try, but that's my goal. I 'm not gonna use those little Japanese things like -senpai and -sama, since I've "grew up" without those for the series. However, I will use Ahiru's name as Ahiru, since it seems like more of a real name to me than Duck, and Rue-chan. I will only use -san, -chan, -kun, and stuff like that. Sorry if that confuzzles you. It also pains me I cannot have Rue and Mytho in every chapter, since its kinda like a tradition of them being in every episode. And yeah, I'll talk some more later, since this author's note is already a lot of words long. So, so long!
Special thanks to: The reviewers, Madelyn xD, Kay, ChibiBotan88, ColoredBleach, and Princess-tutu-007; my family and friends; and Ikuko Itoh-san, for creating such a brilliant show! You guys rock my socks!
And in case you're wondering. In my icfay, Fakir is quite smitten with our kawaii duckie! (Fakir-and-Ahiru-love-love-zura foreva 3!1)
"Quack?"
Floating on the misty waters of the pond…was a duck. The small, yellow duck watched as a boy danced on top of the water. The duck was smitten with him, watching him dance with love and envy in her eyes.
'I wish I could dance with him,' she thought. 'I want to dance with the prince.' She sighed. 'But I'm just a duck, so I can't…'
She continued to watch him dance, knowing her love would never be requited.
And then, she noticed another figure appear in the fog. It was a beautiful princess, with brown locks of hair. The duck smiled enviously. 'Wow! She's so pretty! Of course the prince would dance with her,' she added as he offered his hand to the princess. She took it, and they began a pas de duex.
The duck realized something. 'Oh! That's right! That's Prince Mytho and Rue-chan! They went away together after the story ended. And I…' she looked down at herself. 'I turned back into a duck, didn't I?'
The duck sighed unhappily and looked down on herself. Soon, the figures faded away into the mist. The sad creature began to swim away when she heard something behind her. She turned to see another figure appear, an old boy with dark green hair and eyes. He smiled and offered her his hand, and she quacked questioningly. 'Eh? But I can't dance, I'm a duck...' But suddenly, she was enveloped in a warm light, and felt strange, familiar tingles throughout her body. In an instant, the world around her became smaller than it already was to her, and she lifted her hands up, and flexed her fingers astonished.
She was human again.
She took the boy's hand, and he pulled her close to him. She blushed at being so close. He twirled the duck-turned-girl around and she extended her leg outwards. Their dance seemed to last forever.
'Fakir is dancing a pas de deux with me', she thought happily. 'And I'm human again, too! I'm so happy right now! If I could go to the academy again with all of my friends...I'd give my life for that.'
As they did their final move, the girl and boy looked at each other, hand in hand. Then, from behind her, the girl could hear an eerie cackle. "Ehehehehehehehe!"
She turned around sharply, recognizing the voice. "Who's there?" But she didn't see anything. But she heard the same voice again. "Be careful what you wish for! Ehehehehe!"
But this time, the voice wasn't coming from behind her, from where she turned to look.
It came from in front of her.
She turned around slowly, expecting, hoping it would be Fakir there. But it wasn't.
It was Drosselmeyer.
"ACKQUAAACCKKKQUAQUACK!" The girl screamed as she turned to run. She flapped her arms up and down in fright, then realized they were no longer arms, but feathers. And she was a duck again. She looked down to see the floorboards, and realized she was about to fall out of a bed. She quacked one last time as she flipped out of bed and onto the floor.
Chapter One: The Duck's Transformation
Part One of Two
Birds chirped hungrily by the window. The window opened slowly, due to the fact that it was another bird opening it. Once it was finally open, the millions of birds rushed inside, knocking the little duck over. "QUACK!"
There were too many birds scattered in the room, so the duck waddled over to the open door and hopped down the steps. The other birds followed.
Fakir was cooking eggs on the stove when he heard a chirping noise coming from upstairs. He turned to look just as a swarm of birds flew in the kitchen. There were so many, he couldn't see a thing. "What the hell is this!" he said to himself.
Ahiru tried to get through the mob of birds in order to get the birdseed. She pushed and shoved, and finally she got to a cabinet. She opened it up, pulled out the bag of birdseed with her beak, and hurriedly waddled out the door.
Right when Fakir was about to shoo a bird away for pecking at his breakfast, in a matter of seconds, they all flew out of the door. He sighed, exasperated. The writer looked out the door to see they were all huddled around a bag of birdseed. He sweatdropped as Ahiru wandered in, exhausted. "Did you do that?" he asked, pointed to the birds.
Ahiru nodded, tired. She flew up onto the table and waited for breakfast. "What, you're hungry too?" Fakir asked as he closed the front door.
It has been a few months since the defeat of the monster raven. Since Ahiru was Princess Tutu and Mytho was heartless. Fakir and Ahiru were both glad that they found their own happiness somewhere else, and they expected them to write again soon. Fakir had stored the previous letters they sent in a drawer in his desk.
Fakir still couldn't find a way to make Ahiru human again. He had tried to write stories to help her, but he couldn't find the right story, the perfect story. Ahiru truly deserved happiness, more than any of them. Fakir felt guilt (and was sure Rue and Mytho did too) that while they were humans, living their lives like normal people, Ahiru was still only a duck. Even if that was what she lived as before, swimming in the pond without any friends, Fakir knew in his heart that Ahiru longed to be a human again.
And he would do whatever it took to make her human again.
Fakir was deep in thought, and Ahiru noticed. "Quack?" Fakir snapped back to reality.
"Oh, sorry, spaced out for a bit."
Ahiru cocked her head to one side as she pecked some more at her bread. They continued to eat in silence (Fakir has nothing to talk about and Ahiru can't talk) when they heard a knock on the door. Fakir got up to answer it, and Ahiru stayed at the table, thinking it's just another fangirl from the school. But she peeks to see who it is anyway.
Fakir answered the door, and is nearly knocked over.
"Good morning, good, good, morning, and hello my friends! How are you, yes, yes, how are you? Doing fine, very fine? Yes, very fine indeedy, oh ho ho ho ho ho ho!" The man at the front door was wearing a tophat and a golden suit, with a baton. His orange hair fell in waves, long enough to cover his ears.
"Qua--!" Ahiru jumps with surprise and Fakir backs away. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"
"Who am I? Who am I, you ask?" he laughed. "Well, welly well well then, I must introduce myself. Yes, yes, you must know my name indeed, very much indeed, you must know my name at once!"
Fakir sighed. "Just get to the point already."
"Yes! My name is Hani, yes, Hani, at your service!" He pulled off his hat and bowed, adding, "And I was sent by Prince Mytho and Princess Rue to escort, yes, escort Sir Fakir and Lady Ahiru to their castle--"
"What? Rue and Mytho?" Fakir asked astonished. Ahiru quacked, jumped off the table, and waddled excitedly over to Fakir and Hani.
Hani looked at them condescendingly and frowned. "That's Prince Mytho and Princess Rue to you! Dear, dear, the disrespect young adults show these days to those of a higher class! Acting as if they're friends!"
Now it was Fakir and Ahiru's turn to look at Hani condescendingly. "We are their friends."
Hani look slightly embarassed. "Yes, w-well," he stammered, a pink flush creeping onto his yellowish complexion, "t-that's beside the point, now, anyway! You two, I'm assuming you're these 'Fakir' and 'Ahiru' peoples they are talking about, I am pleaseed to inform you, that both of you," he pulled out an envelope from his pocket-- it had a seal with two swans on it, the tips of their beaks touching for form a heart. Ahiru recognized it has the same thing carved into Mytho's sword handle-- and handed it to Fakir, "have been invited to Your Highness's royal ball, a ceremony for their wedding."
Fakir took it and read outloud the contents. "We've got an invitation to visit Rue and Mytho for their wedding?"
"Prince Mytho and Princess Rue"-- Hani put an emphasis on "Prince" and "Princess"-- "insisted on inviting you two as special guests, as well as the entire Kinkan Academy." Hani obviously disapproved of this. Ahiru and Fakir noticed his cheerfulness that he first had was replaced with contempt behavior.
He clapped his white-gloved hands. "Let us begin our journey fortwith!"
Hani walked towards the carriage that was parked outside Fakir's house (but not before eating some of their breakfast, which angered Fakir). It was pulled by two female horses, one black, the other white. The carriage itself was a maroonish color, looking a little like velvet. Fakir picked up Ahiru in his arm and stepped outside. They both noticed people walking outside and stopping to stare. Could he have at least come when there weren't so many people around? Fakir thought to himself. Ahiru quacked, and Fakir noticed a little hopefulness in her voice. He guessed what she was asking. "No, Ahiru, I don't think Mytho and Rue are in there."
Ahiru quacked unhappily as Hani turned around and glared. "It's Prince Mytho and Princess Rue!"
"Shut up." Fakir glared back annoyed, and Hani quickly turned and continued walking, defeated.
Ahiru heard some girls in the crowd talking amongst each other. "Ooh! Look, it's Senior Fakir! I wonder where he's going?"
"Yeah, and who he knows that has a carriage like that! I wonder if he's actually a prince!"
"Or a knight!"
"I don't know many princesses and princes around here."
"Oh, well, the only ones I know of are Prince Mytho and Princess Rue! They used to go to Kinkan Academy."
"But what's he doing with a duck?"
"Yeah! And I heard a distant rumor that they were both friends with Fakir!"
Hani hastily opened the door of the carriage for the duck and former knight, and they climbed in. It was very nice inside. There were windows on each door with dark red curtains, and the walls and seats were cushioned with red velvet. Ahiru quacked in awe. Hani closed the door, and Ahiru jumped over to the opposite window and looked out the window. As the carriage began to move, Ahiru silently waved to all the pedestrians. They didn't notice though.
Ahiru had never been outside of Kinkan town before, so it was an exciting experience for her. She gazed at all the trees passing by as they rode on the trail. She noticed some birds and squirrels and other forest animals, and wished she could show Fakir.
But Fakir fell asleep.
Ahiru sighed, turning to Fakir, then turning back to the window.
Hani, on the other hand, kept on chatting away about life at their castle. His bright and airy mood was back. "It is a very pretty place, yes, very pretty, very much so. There are plenty of gardens and flowers and ponds and tables and picnics and birds and-- oh! I must show you two the rooms, they are absolutely gorgeous, yes, yes, I am very proud to live there, and the food is divine! A wide variety of food, yes, yes indeed, yes indeedy-deed! And then--"
Fakir's eyes flashed open, and Ahiru sensed a bit of anger in them. "Will you please be quiet? Some of us are trying to sleep."
Hani was quiet from then on.
When Hani went to open the door for Fakir and Ahiru, he never expected them to be sleeping. He smiled at the cuteness of the yellow duck sleeping in Fakir's lap, his right hand covering on side of her. Hani didn't want to disturb them, sensing this was a rare sight to see.
He woke them up anyway, but rather loudly.
"TIME TO WAKE UP, YOUNG QUESTS OF THIS HUMBLE CASTLE!"
Fakir and Ahiru both shot up in their seats, still dazed. "QUACK?"
"We have arrived at our destination, now, please, yes, pleasy pleasy, step out and come inside. Your Highnesses will be waiting for you.
Fakir stepped out and scratched his head. "Can you try not to be so loud next time?"
"Oh, not to worry!" Hani laughed, agitated. "There won't be a next time, because I'M NOT EVER DRIVING YOU TWO AROUND AGAIN!"
"Fine! See if I care!" Fakir retorted at Hani.
"Now now, there's no need to shout."
Ahiru hopped out, and she and Fakir turned to the source of the voice.
Mytho?
I'm afraid that is all for today. Is a fun story awaiting us? A sad story? Or maybe...