After being told to stay away from Ahiru, the knights tossed Fakir out of the castle. On the stone steps, he looked up at the towering castle, as if he was trying to figure out what room she lived in, but there were so many windows and towers and, possibly, hundreds of rooms in the castle. He stood up and dusted off the seat of his pants before walking down the steps to the town below. Because the knights had dragged him off, he hadn't the time to search for a place to stay.

I guess I'm sleeping outside, again… he thought to himself as he walked all the way across the town to find his horse right where he had left it; behind a house, near a small patch of woods. Pulling the blanket off of his horse, he let himself fall onto the ground and quickly fell asleep.

The next day, around six in the morning, Fakir awoke to horns blasting. He jumped up instantly and looked around him, trying to find where the noise was coming from. Getting up, he ran over to the road closest to him, still searching for the source of the noise. Then, he began to run down the road; the sound was getting louder. He skidded to a halt when he reached the same place he had been last night for the festival.

There, he saw the king and Ahiru. When the horns silenced their instruments, the king began to speak.

"As of today, I am proud to announce that Princess Tutu is engaged to the prince of the kingdom Arimana!" he said, half-hugging her like yesterday. Fakir stood there petrified. Ahriu was…getting married? Did she not love him like she told him last night, or was it all just something she decided to do to have some fun before she went off and got married.

Fakir felt confused and angry at the same time. At first, he began to trot off back to his horse, but as he neared his horse, he slowed down. What if it wasn't Ahiru's decision to go off and get married? What if it was an arranged marriage? If so, what could a former knight like him do about that?

He kicked a rock as he kept walking. Looking back, he saw Ahiru's eyes following him. She looked at him sadly, as if it were she was trying to tell him that she was sorry. That look made his stomach flip, but what was she sorry for? Was she sorry for not telling him that she really loved someone else, or that she didn't get the time to tell him that she was arranged in a marriage?

Back where his horse was, he quickly folded up his blanket and draped it over the saddle before mounting his horse as he rode it back out. As he rode his horse down the rode, about to travel back to town, even if he didn't have the needed supplies he heard one more thing. The king announced something about a ball.

"A…ball?" Fakir repeated to himself. Maybe he could wish her to be happy and to say good-bye. "Huh, Fakir, watch what you think. You're sounding sappy" he said to himself with a soft chuckle, deciding to listen to the king a little while longer.

The king spoke of that everyone was invited and that it was tonight, but that they must wear their best clothes. Fakir sighed. He traveled light with only a bit of money and some food. He didn't bring any dress clothes. How would he know that he needed to bring dress clothes? Did that now mean that he couldn't say good-bye to Ahiru? No, he'd find a way even if it meant sneaking into the ball.

Fakir stood at the bottom of the stairs to the castle. Now, the problem was getting in. Many people, and couple, walked up the stairs to the castle in their fancy dress clothes. Unfortunately, his clothes made him stick out like a sore thumb. Probably, one of the only ways he'd get in was if Drosslemeyer came in and stopped time. Then, he could go and run past everyone. But counting on that was next to impossible. He needed a different plan.

Running though the shadows of trees, bushes and walls, Fakir quickly found himself in a garden that had a side entrance to the castle. And by the sound of it, it was very close to the ball room. As he neared the entrance, the songs grew louder. But, before he could get any closer, he saw Ahiru in the corner of his eye. He whipped around to make sure it was her. It was!

But before he could take one step closer, he saw another person walk up to her and Fakir quickly hid behind a shrub close to the two as he listened in on their conversation.

"By why won't you marry me?" the male asked.

"I know I should and that it's the best for the kingdom, but I…I love someone else" Ahiru said.

"But…" the male said, not able to say anything else. Fakir didn't care about the male at the moment, though. He focused more on Ahiru's dress. It was beautiful on her; a long, silver-y white dress.

"I'll be back" the male said, his voice layered with obvious rejection. Fakir took this as his chance to say good-bye to his Ahiru. Quickly, he ran towards the girl. Alas, she didn't notice him until he stood directly in front of her.

"Fakir?" she asked, looking up at him with her large, blue eyes. Fakir swallowed loudly as he looked at her.

"Ahiru, I…I came to say…" he began. What did he come to say? He had somehow forgotten. Then, a thought came to mind. "Ahiru, I love you", Fakir was finally to say. This time Drosslemeyer didn't come in or Ahiru's 'father' come in and shoo him away.

Without warning, Ahiru pulled the boy into a hug. Startled at first, Fakir just stared down at the girl before wrapping his arms around the girl. The two stood there like that, just enjoying each other's company, but both knew one thing: This wasn't going to last long. It was the truth and there was no use hiding it.

As expected, the boy from before, along with Ahiru's father came into the gardens. The two stood there, shocked by the sight. But the king's expression quickly turned into anger.

"How dare you!" the king shouted. "I thought I sent you away!" he yelled. Fakir thought it was stupid. Just because you threw someone out the castle doesn't mean you can come back when invited.

"I was just saying good-bye!" Fakir shouted back as he let go of Ahiru and began to walk off. Then, he felt a tug on his hand. Turning around, it was Ahiru. Something in her eyes plead from him not to leave her and for some reason, he knew what she was thinking. She wanted to run away. Fakir gave her a reassuring smile before looking up at the two other males by the entrance.

"Come on!" he said, pulling Ahiru along as he ran off, the girl trailing behind him.