Chapter 8: Drosselmeyer's Nephew, Pike, Pike Where Could You Be?

Fakir woke up and left the house rather quickly before Ahiru left.

Even if he had overreacted. Even if she thought he was taking this too seriously, he at least had to kind of one up Nesu. Frankly he couldn't help it.

He entered the library. Even Autor wasn't here. It echoed in its emptiness. Everyone must be practicing for the Nutcracker Duets tomorrow. It was the last of the challenges they'd been given before the summer started. If they'd planned on making it through this year...or even possibly going professional, impressing Setsuna would get them closer to being scouted.

He looked for Nutcracker in the archives.

As far as he could remember, the Prince was nothing more than a Toy Soldier in this story. Surely a Knight of his character was a little more than a Toy Soldier. If he knew…how it was written, maybe he could put himself into the role of this character.

He looked at the Novel within a larger Anthology of Classical Works.

He sighed this would take a while.

Ahiru woke up and left her room in a groggy sleep. Her nightgown was half off when she creeped out the door.

"Fakir? Fakir are you here?"

Emptiness. She sighed. Maybe at the least she could talk to Pike today. She got dressed and didn't feel like eating. Honestly her mind had been scrambled enough for sleep she surely didn't feel like anything else scrambled.

She left in a rush. She knew Fakir went to the library but she figured she might as well leave him. She looked everywhere but no sign of Pike. She wondered where she would be? Even Lillie hadn't seen her…If she had wanted to practice…maybe the studio?

She ran in and peaked inside. Empty. She sighed. She turned and held her head heavy. It was bad enough that there was friction with Nesu and Pike but now Pike seemed to blame her for it? She didn't want this attention. How did Rue handle this before?

"You rarely seem to watch where your walking you know. You're lucky I was, for a girl with such great dance presence, you slouch your neck like a sad swan you know? Problems with the boyfriend?"

She raised her head to see Nesu before her with a raised brow.

"No. No problems with Fakir." She couldn't afford to be smart with him, she needed to find Pike. "Nesu, you know Fakir ran into Pike last night. She was really torn by what you said….and…and well I need to talk to her. Do you know where she is?"

"Well I assume practicing somewhere. I didn't mean to get on her bad side, but its nice to see that some people are willing to go to such lengths for me." He smiled a little too much at that.

"She wasn't here…or the forrest where Fakir saw her…or anywhere downtown…I asked Lillie too…I'm beginning to worry."

"Oh I wouldn't. I'm sure she scurried off somewhere to practice. However, I thought for sure Fakir and you would be practicing?"

"Scurried off? But to where?" Ahiru said to herself. "No, he's looking into the roles first from The Nutcracker."

"It's actually The Nutcracker and Mouse King you know." Nesu said coyly. "And speaking of mice…I saw one in the forest last night…"

"You were in the forest?"

"I go there to think. The small lake there is quite calming actually. Reminiscent of another one I once saw." Nesu said. "Well I might actually apologize to Fakir, you said he was in the library?"

"Apologize?"

"He and I got off to the wrong foot I think. I think it's time to equal the odds out."

"Well I hope you can. I'm going to keep looking for Pike." Ahiru left.

Nesu smiled to himself as she ran away. "So Fakir really wants to become the Nutcracker Prince for Ahiru? There is really only room for one Prince, and I've already taken that role…" His eyes caught a small mouse running from the corner of the studio to the mirror. "Oh well, I guess I ought to see how that's going for him."

Fakir had stopped early on in the book. Something had simply made him hesitant to continue. And then he had continued. And now he wished he hadn't.

Drosselmeyer. The godfather's name was Drosselmeyer. And he made toys. Fakir was well aware that Drosselmeyer himself had made various contraptions so he could keep the town under his control to continue writing. But he made those…puppets? Ezel…

And that was only the beginning. His nephew was the Nutcracker Prince. Now…did that mean Fakir's ancestor was…or was he…as a decendent of Drosselmeyer….? He fathomed ideas before coming to the conclusion that part of his own self was somehow might be linked to this, and maybe becoming the Prince-character for this story wasn't too far off for tomorrow. Maybe now that he knew, he could practice with Ahiru.

He looked to his left and right. Nobody was present. He knew if Autor saw him he'd have his head, but –

Fakir circled some of the more heroic parts. The parts about the nephew. The parts of the Prince taking down the Mouse King. Key parts about the Nutcracker. He looked at the book. It was big. Too big. He surely didn't need a whole anthology.

He did a second double take for Autor or anyone else. He questioned…as a writer his own respect for text…and then he…

Rrrrrrriiippppp.

5 pages. 5 pages that would give him enough to embody this character. He' d just need to bring glue to the library next time or hope Autor didn't take it out and throw a fit.

He closed the book and rose to put it away when he heard footsteps and saw Nesumir walking over.

"So, I heard you were doing some research?" Nesumir didn't even look his way, he was playing with what ironically looked like a nut tossing it in his hand.

"Who told you?"

"Ahiru. She's looking for Pike, although I don't know how much good it'll do her."

"You know where Pike is?"

"I don't know where she is. But I know that she won't be easy to find, considering Ahiru's probably looking for the wrong thing."

"I don't follow." Fakir wondered what Nesumir could possibly attain from foolish riddles. If Pike was mad at Ahiru she was probably avoiding her.

"Don't worry about it." Nesu shrugged. "So you really are getting into this role as the Nutcracker Prince for Professor Setsuna."

"That…and it's for myself…and for Ahiru. I'm not going to let her down." Fakir said frankly.

"Noble of you."

"Can you stop tossing that nut around? It's destracting."

"Sorry. I actually had these for a snack but I forgot my own nutcracker at home, ironic huh? I don't see much of one here either." Nesu smirked at him and threw the nut fast at Fakir.

Fakir caught it and looked at it. He wondered if he'd really come all this way to just make snide comments and tease him.

"Can't play a Nutcracker boy, If you can't break a nut." Nesu challenged.

"Aren't you hoping to play the same role?"

"If Pike even shows up sure. If not, I guess I'll have to dance solo tomorrow. So the pressures on, or are you just going to be some second rated dancer. I mean maybe Setsuna will have Ahiru partner with me tomorrow since I'm alone. I mean if you're incompetent, that would be quite a let down-"

"CRACK"

Fakir rubbed his jaw tenderly as the Nut, to his own surprise had broke.

"So you really are Drosselmeyer's Nephew aren't you?" Nesu raised a brow and a smirk.

"How do you…what are you saying?" Fakir looked at him with a tender jaw, but was astonished.

"I mean the character. You seem to be able to play it." Nesu said.

Fakir stepped back away from Nesu. His words. So accepting all of a sudden? Even if the nephew in the book did crack the nut on the first try I mean it was just a nut- wait - what was that feeling by his foot-

"Wooah." Fakir fell back onto the ground, and watched a small mouse sneak away through the library. He'd thought he'd felt something brush by him. Now his tailbone was hurt too.

"Goodluck with that." Nesu snickered and walked away and took out another Nut from his pocket.

"A Cracked the Nut. Seven Steps Backward. My dear Pike you really are my Queen."

He tossed it in his hand as he walked into the evening light, leaving Fakir, who had no clue what he'd just walked into...or rather fallen into.