A/N: I just want to say thank you to all of the old and new reviewers! This chapter is pretty long and it treads into more serious territory as well. After this chapter there will be two left so I hope everyone enjoys them!
A Little Girl's Curse
Duck sighed grumpily as she left the ballet dressing rooms at Gold Crown Academy. She had just undergone a humiliating visual performance in front of the whole class, making her wonder why she decided to take up ballet again in the first place. Oh that's right, she liked to dance! How could she forget? It never crossed her mind that she wasn't the best dancer (she had a certain unique style about her but she still was too clumsy and not very good), but she took up ballet anyway because she was no good at the other class divisions like art, drama, or literature.
"Oh, Duck! That performance today was so horribly-awful! It makes my heart pound just thinking about it!" Lilie piped up with her voice dripping with morbid positivity. The girl had seemingly popped up out of nowhere, scaring Duck out of her mind and causing her slight pain as her fantasizing friend practically snapped Duck's head clean off her neck when she grabbed her face to look at her. "But don't worry Little Duck; we'll always be here for you when you screw up again!"
Lilie finally let go of Duck's head as she chortled giddily to herself. The duck-girl rubbed her neck ruefully wondering if someday her happily-dreary friend would eventually kill her.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad Lilie." Pique commented dryly, her pink hair bobbing up and down as she moved to the two girls' sides. "Duck just tripped and fell onto the pianist who had to be taken to the hospital because his head was cracked open from the impact of hitting the side of the piano."
Duck almost cried in shame. Pique made it sound like it was an everyday occurrence! She almost killed the man!
"Oh don't worry too much about it Duck. That wasn't the first time it happened to him. Girls who were actually clumsier then you have given him worse injuries." Pique said trying to console her friend.
"Yes Duck, don't worry about it." Lilie added with her usual over-happiness. "The hit on his head will probably give him severe amnesia so he won't remember who hurt him in the first place!"
Duck grimaced. Why did Lilie have to sound so happy about that? That wasn't good at all!
"But it has got me thinking Duck." Pique started again as the girl's left the school building and walked towards the girl's dorms since school was done with for the day. "This is our last year here so we have to start thinking about what we want to major in for college! I'm sorry to say it but your dancing skills are average at best. You shouldn't expect to do professional dancing anytime in the near future."
Duck gave another little sigh. "I know that." She mumbled sadly. "I've been wondering about that too." She didn't have any amazing skills like Rue and Mytho had for dancing; she wasn't even sure if she was good enough to qualify for any career! Just what was she good at? Maybe she could be a back-up dancer for a traveling troop? No. Maybe a teacher? No, she hardly maintained a C average, how could she teach someone else? Oh! She was good with kids! Maybe she could open up a daycare or a preschool! Duck's thoughts turned more positive as she continued to think along this line.
"Well, we still have over half the year left so don't think too hard on it." Pique said, breaking Duck's positive train of thought as she patted her on the shoulder sympathetically.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want your little brain to explode from thinking to hard!" Lilie added happily like she wanted that very thing to happen to the poor duck.
With a little pat on the head from Lilie, Duck's two friends entered the girl's dorm compound that they had arrived at. Duck almost sighed in relief from their departure. She loved her friends but sometimes they could be a handful (not to mention party-poopers!). Thinking back to her career in daycare, Duck walked out of the iron gates of Gold Crown Academy with a new positive air in her step.
It had been about a week and a day since the reading of Charon's will, and Duck had moved into the blacksmith's house with Fakir and Uzura. The night of the will reading had been too busy, so she didn't actually move in until the following day after school. Duck remembered back to that night where everyone met up at Charon's old house to gather the objects that were written to them in the will. That night had been hectic, not to mention rather depressing.
Fakir and Duck had stood in the kitchen, watching the other's move about the house collecting the things they wanted (Uzura had followed Mytho into his old room, who was retrieving some of the things he had left there since he had lived in the house, to make sure he didn't take any of her toys). The air within the house was rather tense as the group went about the morbid business. To help with the situation, much to Duck and Fakir's embarrassment, Autor made jibes at the couple for Charon's letter and because they actually told the group that they were moving in together. The teasing eventually died down when Autor left with his hands full of the books that Charon had promised him. Shortly after that, Raetsel and her husband left because the day had been tiring for the young pregnant woman. Duck and Fakir gave her a hug as they confirmed that they would see her again at the baby shower a month away. That had left Mytho and Rue, who were uncertain about leaving. They weren't sure when they'd see their friends again, so being the polite people that they were; Duck and Fakir invited the royals to dinner.
The thought of that dinner gave Duck a little headache as she remembered it. Since Mytho and Rue had never cooked a day in their lives (They had professional cooks and they were guests after all), and Charon was obviously not going to rise from the grave and cook them dinner, the preparations were left to Fakir. That's what the knight had thought anyway; for you see, Duck also wanted to cook dinner for her friends but Fakir seemed to be firmly against it.
"Come on Fakir!" She had whined persistently as she tried to grab a wooden spoon from the kitchen counter. "Can't I cook dinner for Mytho and Rue?"
The knight quickly grabbed the wooden appliance and held it out of the duck-girl's reach. "No! There is no way I'm ever letting you near a stove again, especially after last time!" Fakir had exclaimed in annoyance. "You practically set the whole house on fire, including your hair!"
Duck gave a little huff at the reminder of her past fault in the kitchen as she tried vainly to grab the wooden spoon from Fakir's hand. "Well, the whole house didn't catch on fire and my hair grew back!" she cried indignantly.
Fakir scoffed at the girl's rebuttal. "Did you actually expect me to let you cook after hearing that? The answer is still no!"
While Fakir was distracted with his comment, Duck had jumped up and tore the big wooden spoon from the knight's hands. The girl's eyes held a look of triumph as she one-upped the man. "Well, this is my house too so I have the right to use the kitchen!"
"Hah!" the knight scoffed again grabbing onto the spoon in the pushy girl's hands. "If I remember correctly, Charon made me the prime owner of the house, so that means whatever I say goes!"
Duck stomped her foot in anger at the knight's ridiculous words as the two began playing tug-of-war over the wooden kitchen appliance. "You're not the boss of me! Now stop being a jerk and give me the spoon so I can cook dinner!"
Fakir's reply was a grunt of disapproval as him and Duck pulled on opposite ends of the spoon, seeing who would let go first. The two continued their silly little sparring match completely forgetting about the audience in the kitchen with them. Mytho, Rue, and Uzura watched the weird couple fight over the wooden spoon with great amusement.
"They're fighting lovey-dovey-zura!" Uzura exclaimed happily as she beat excitedly on her drum.
Rue giggled at the puppet's assessment. "They are putting on quiet the performance." The princess turned to look at her prince with amusement in her eyes. "Maybe we should ask them to be our new court jesters?"
Mytho smiled and chuckled at the thought of Fakir and Duck in jester costumes. "Yes, maybe I should ask them before we leave?"
The three continued to watch the struggle between the knight and duck until Fakir won out and held the spoon above his head like a mighty saber. A smug smile graced his lips as he looked down at the smaller Duck, who was flapping her arms like a fledgling leaving the nest for the first time as she tried to reach the spoon again. Once the girl had finally given up and bowed her head in defeat, the sound of laughter filled the room. The duck and the knight were caught off guard when they heard the laughter and round of applause from behind them and turned around to see their guests.
"That was a great performance you two." Mytho laughed with great mirth. "I was wondering if you two wanted to be my new court jesters. The position is open to anyone who wishes to apply." The prince finished, shaking with little bouts of laughter. His wife soon joined him in his laughing fit, while little Uzura hit her drum repeatedly in excitement.
Fakir and Duck stood together awkwardly as they looked on at the laughing trio while their faces turned beat red. After the laughter died down, and an awkward silence ensued, Duck and Fakir looked away from each other in embarrassment. They had completely forgotten that the others were there.
"Can I at least help you?" Duck mumbled out grumpily as she tried to break the silence that had settled in the room. She peered at the knight from the corner of her eyes.
The knight in question sighed in defeat. He should have known that when Duck got overly persistent that there was no persuading her otherwise. "Fine." He grunted out, not at all pleased with the situation. "Just don't do anything stupid!" And with that, Fakir headed over to the kitchen counter to start preparing the meal.
Duck glowered at the night's back, peeved that he would say such a thing. She stomped over to the counter, kicked her knight in the shins as hard as she could for being such a jerk (which caused the boy to hop up and down for a minute in pain), and helped with the food preparations as well.
Duck shook her head, clearing the memory from her mind. Ever since that little incident, Duck had been very persistent with cooking dinner from then on. To help her with her inexperience, she applied for a waitressing job at Ebine's restaurant in the woods, which unlike before, was booming with business. Ebine had taken the girl in like she was her own daughter and taught her how to carry heavy dishes and gave her cooking tips for when Duck was in the kitchen. Duck was very glad for the help (and the money as well because Fakir's publishing money was mainly going towards his college education and the two needed to eat) and usually worked at the restaurant every day after school.
Today was Duck's day off though, so instead of heading towards the park where the restaurant was located, she headed off towards her new home. She was extra excited to get home today because she wanted to try out a new tea recipe that Ebine had taught her. Duck specifically wanted to do this for Fakir because the boy had been really busy as of late. He was writing again! The duck-girl took that as a good sign because ever since the knight had moved back into Charon's house he had been moody and distant again, even with Duck and Uzura there to help him. For him to be writing now was a true sign of things going back to normal! Duck really hoped that the tea she would be preparing would further help the young writer to calm down. If that didn't work then maybe she should try to get him to dance? He hadn't danced for a long time now so maybe she could persuade him to dance with her later! The duck gave a squeal of excitement at the thought. Maybe he'd dance another pas de duex with her!
The little duck's thoughts went deeper and deeper into random dancing fantasies as she made her way up to the old blacksmith house. She was so busy fantasizing that she almost didn't notice Uzura sitting outside by the front door. Duck stopped a few feet away from the puppet with worry written all over her face. She had noticed the little girl had been acting sort of strange since the funeral but this was the first time she saw Uzura so troubled.
The puppet in question was sitting against the outer wall of the house, her head bent down in despair as she stared at the cobbled street in front of her. Seeing the girl like this broke Duck's heart. Uzura shouldn't have been so depressed; she was a little kid after all, and little kids should be happy and carefree. Was Charon's death still secretly troubling her?
Wanting to find out once and for all, Duck quietly walked up to the little puppet and kneeled down in front of her. "Uzura?" she asked just as quietly. "Is there something on your mind?"
Uzura jumped up in fright from the sudden question. She didn't expect Duck to be coming home so soon. "No-zura! Nothing's on Uzura's mind-zura!" she rambled frantically, hoping the duck wouldn't press on.
Duck gave a weird look to the frantic little girl. It was obvious that she was hiding something. "You're lying Uzura, something is bothering you. Please tell me so I can help you."
Uzura started to fidget nervously at Duck's determination. She looked away from her care-taker and replied in a quiet voice. "I don't want to talk about it-zura…"
Now Duck was very worried. Usually Uzura would say whatever came to her mind without any problems, but now she was trying to hide them away. Duck wondered if she had unconsciously taken on this bad habit from Fakir. The duck-girl gave a sad sigh as she looked intently at the fidgeting puppet. "Uzura…whatever this is about it's causing you to act strangely. Please…if you don't talk to someone about this then this sadness you feel will only get worse."
The puppet peered up at Duck anxiously. She wasn't sure if she should talk about what had been on her mind for so long. Her worries were swept away though by Duck's next words.
"I just want to help you, Uzura." Duck whispered kindly. "We're family, and I'll always be here if you need someone to talk too, so please…tell me what's bothering you."
Duck's blue eyes were filled with so much concern that the little puppet couldn't keep quiet any longer. "It's something that Rue said at the funeral-zura. She said something that made me think real hard-zura." Uzura responded quietly, averting her eyes from her helper.
Duck gave Uzura a questioning look. "Rue said something to you? What was that?" She was very curious now. Just what did Rue say to make Uzura start acting this way?
Uzura started to fidget nervously again, her feat shuffling from side to side in worry. This was it. This was the beginning to a conversation that had given her nightmares when she worried herself to sleep every night. She was so afraid of what she would find out that she reverted back to keeping her mouth shut.
"Please Uzura, tell me." Duck pleaded, scared for the little girl's well being. The puppets behavior was beginning to frighten her and made her wonder if she actually wanted to know what was on the little girl's mind.
There was another great moment of silence while Uzura contemplated continuing the conversation. Duck did say that if she didn't tell someone she'd become even more sad and scared than she was now…
The puppet sighed in defeat. She would ask the questions that plagued her mind. "Rue said that we wouldn't see Charon again until our time comes too-zura." Uzura spoke up again after a brief moment of silence.
Duck was surprised by Uzura answer. Just where was she going with this? "What are you trying to tell me Uzura?" Duck asked tentatively, knowing that she was swimming into troubled waters.
Another nervous fidget was Duck's response as Uzura prepared herself for further explanation. "When Rue said that-zura…did she mean that we would see Charon again when we die and go to Heaven-zura?" Uzura asked as she looked into Duck's eyes for the first time since the conversation began.
Duck paused to think about what Uzura had said before agreeing. "Yes, that's what Rue probably meant. Is that what's bothering you, Uzura?"
The puppet shook her head. In truth this was still the beginning of what she was about to ask Duck. There was still more she needed to know and make sure of before asking the dreaded question.
Duck was perplexed by this. Was there more that the puppet needed to know? She thought that what Rue had said was self-explanatory and didn't need any more explanation. Duck urged Uzura on with her eyes to continue. Whatever was on the little girl's mind, Duck was determined to help her through it.
"If what Rue said was true-zura…then does that mean that Rue and The Prince will die like Charon one day-zura?" Uzura questioned again treading ever closer to her final question. She hoped that Duck wouldn't confirm her worst fears.
Duck was startled by the question and also saddened. She didn't want to think about Rue and Mytho passing on forever, it was just too sad. "Yes, one day Rue and Mytho will eventually go to Heaven too." Duck murmured sadly to the waiting puppet-girl. "No one knows when that day is, but a long-long time from now they will join Charon up in Heaven too."
Uzura's eyes widened in fear. She stared frantically into Duck's aquatic blue eyes, hoping against all hope that what she was saying wasn't true. "Raetsel and the Mean Glasses Guy too-zura?"
Duck bowed her head sadly thinking of her other friends passing as well. Uzura looked so desperate for a different answer, but Duck would never lie to her. "Yes, they'll live in Heaven someday too." These sad thoughts were almost bringing the duck-girl to tears.
Uzura made an audible frightened gasp. It couldn't be! She would lose her other friends as well? In final desperation she grabbed onto Duck's arms, squeezing with all her might as tears threatened to spill-over her eyes. "Duck and Fakir too-zura!" she pleaded, hoping with every fiber of her being that Duck wouldn't confirm this as well.
At the mention of her own name and the name of the person she cared about most left the puppet's lips, Duck's eyes began to water. The thought of her own death slightly frightened her and the thought of Fakir's left her unable to speak for some time. When she finally composed herself to look back into Uzura's pleading eyes, she mustered all her courage to answer the question. "Yes." Duck choked out with finality, nodding her head in grim affirmation.
The next thing Duck felt was a crushing bear-hug as Uzura threw herself into Duck's arms. "No-zura! Don't leave me too-zura!" the little girl wailed as she buried her head into Duck's school uniform.
Duck tried to calm the crying puppet by putting her arms around her. "Shh Uzura, it's alright. That won't happen for a very long time so you shouldn't get upset over it." Duck consoled with soothing words, blinking through her own tears. She hoped Uzura wasn't crying too hard that she couldn't hear her. "There's no reason to be afraid." She added soothingly.
"Yes there is-zura!" Uzura screamed, pushing herself away from Duck and crying into her little hands. "Uzura doesn't want people to leave her anymore-zura! If they do then Uzura would be alone-zura!"
Duck had no idea that Charon's death had taken such a toll on Uzura's sense of belonging. She wasn't sure how to calm Uzura's fears. Why would Uzura be alone? "What do you mean that you'll be alone Uzura?" Duck voiced her question out of curiosity as she took Uzura's hands away from her eyes so she could look at her directly.
This was it. The final question that Uzura had been hiding within herself for so long was about to be asked. Uzura sniffled trying to dry her tears as she finally asked the dreaded question. "Will Uzura die as well-zura?"
Duck started at the question. She stared down in shock at the weeping puppet she called her sister, not at all sure how she was going to answer that question. Duck was surprised to find how hard Uzura's question was starting to make her think. Could Uzura actually die? Edel (Uzura's original form) had lit herself on fire to help Duck escape from an underground cavern, but she continued to live on within Uzura's heart…so in a sense Edel was still alive. Did that mean the Uzura would continue to live on as well?
While Duck continued to think, Uzura calmed herself down enough to dry her tears. "Duck-zura?" she asked quietly, hoping the older girl would answer her question soon.
After hearing her name being called, Duck focused on Uzura again, uncertainty written all over her face. "I don't know, Uzura." Duck replied while shaking her head. "I have no idea if you can actually…die." She emphasized the last word unsurely.
Uzura gasped in surprise. She had to know if she could go to Heaven with the others! She had to! She didn't want to be alone! "Is there any way we can find out-zura?" she asked in desperation.
Duck thought for a moment before an idea surfaced in her mind. "Maybe there is a way!" Duck exclaimed with determination. "Even though Charon's the one that made you Uzura, Fakir was still there as well! Maybe he'll know how to answer your questions!"
Uzura's eyes widened upon this realization. She nodded her head to Duck, showing her that she understood and wanted to continue this conversation with the knight in question.
With determination, Duck led Uzura into the house to talk with Fakir.
Fakir gave a sigh of relief as he placed his duck-feathered quill back onto his desk. He had finally finished writing another story for Gold Crown Town. It was sort of relaxing getting back into his daily routine again; going to school, then coming home to write, but it was still rather tiring all the same. There just weren't enough hours in the day to write his stories, do his homework, and keep up with his social life. With another sigh the young writer picked up the pieces of parchment on his desk. As he began reanalyzing his newest story he heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in." Fakir called out distractedly while he busily scratched out some lines that didn't fit with his story.
There was a soft creaking noise as Fakir's bedroom door opened partway to reveal Duck carrying a tea tray. It was sort of difficult holding the tray and opening the door at the same time but with all the waitress training she had gone through, Duck had become considerably better at keeping her balance. "Hey, Fakir!" Duck exclaimed happily; proud that she was able to keep her balance and also for the tea she had brewed up. "I know you were working hard so I made you some tea."
The knight looked up warily from his papers at the mention of Duck making tea. "Oh…thank you..." He replied unsurely, wondering if the stuff would actually poison him.
When it came to Duck, she wasn't very talented in the cooking department by a long shot. Most of her food turned out to be highly inedible and caused slight food poisoning. Thankfully from Ebine's tutelage (Fakir praised the ground she walked on), Duck's food was becoming more edible by the day.
The duck-girl walked nervously up to Fakir's desk and placed the tea tray in the corner as far away from the papers as possible so they wouldn't accidentally get soaked if he spilled. She then peered at the boy anxiously, wondering exactly how to bring up Uzura's dreaded question. "So did you finish the story you were writing?" She asked halfway curious and halfway purposely trying to start up the conversation.
Fakir smiled at the girl's question. "Yes I have. Would you like to read it when I'm done editing?"
"Of course!" Duck exclaimed excitedly. She always read Fakir's stories when he was done with them. They were usually very interesting and Fakir always liked to hear her input.
"Good." Fakir nodded, going back to his editing. It was a minute or so later when he realized that Duck hadn't left yet. He looked up at the girl questioningly. "Is there something else Duck?"
"U-u-um…" the girl started up nervously, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her grey skirt. Fakir seemed to be in such a better mood today that she didn't want to break Uzura's question to him.
"Duck?" Fakir asked again in a more serious tone, noticing the girl's hesitation. What was causing her so much agitation?
"Um…Fakir…it's about Uzura." Duck started up again with more courage this time. She had to get Fakir to answer the question but she wasn't sure how to start it up.
"What about Uzura?" Fakir asked with increased interest and slight worry. "Don't tell me she chased the neighbor's cat up the tree again."
Duck waved her arms back and forth crazily at the notion. "Oh, no, no, no, no, it's nothing like that!" Uzura had this strange habit where whenever she saw the neighbor's cat she'd run at it full-throttle while banging her drum like a psychotic maniac until the poor thing found refuge in a nearby tree. Duck swore one of these days the cat was going to die of a heart attack. "It's just that Uzura asked me a question I didn't know how to answer, so I thought you might be able to answer it for her instead." She stated while rubbing the back of her head uneasily.
The knight's eyes narrowed in concern. "Why would I be able to answer this question and not you?"
"Well," Duck explained. "It's about when she was created."
"Oh." Fakir grunted unhappily; that definitely made his good mood disappear.
Duck wasn't surprised by Fakir's short answer, she expected it really. Talking about Uzura's creation was also bringing up memories of Charon making her from Miss Edel's un-burnt wood. Duck almost hated herself for stirring up memories that Fakir didn't want but it was necessary for Uzura's sake. "Will you please talk to her Fakir? She's very worked up about this."
Fakir looked up at Duck's pleading tone. As his eyes met hers, he thought about how Uzura had been acting lately and how worried Duck seemed to be about her. Now that he thought about it, he was worried for the little girl too. It wasn't like the puppet to get worked up over something. "Fine." He let out with a sigh. "Can you bring her in?"
Duck gave the knight a small smile of thanks as she turned to the partly opened door way. "Uzura? You can come in now." She called to the waiting puppet.
At Duck's call, Uzura's head peaked out from behind the door frame. Her painted blue eyes searched Fakir's for confirmation to enter his room. When the knight nodded, she slowly walked into the room with her hands folded out in front of her and head bowed. Once she had reached the desk, Uzura fidgeted nervously again. She knew Fakir wasn't in the best mood at the moment and she was slightly frightened of him when he wasn't. Uzura looked up at Duck for some form of comfort.
Duck gave Uzura her best encouraging smile and placed her hand on the doll's head. "Go ahead Uzura. Just start from the beginning and ask him what you asked me."
Taking Duck's motherly encouragement in stride, Uzura looked up at Fakir. The knight was looking at the girl with interest as Uzura explained her and Duck's conversation. "Duck asked me why I've been sad lately-zura. I didn't want to answer her because I was scared, but Duck said she wanted to help me-zura! So I told her about what I've been thinking about-zura!"
"And what were you thinking about Uzura?" Fakir asked patiently, waiting for the puppet to explain further on her odd behavior.
"Well, Rue said something that made me think reeeaaallly hard-zura! She said we'd see Charon again when we died and went to Heaven too-zura!" Uzura exclaimed while she waved her arms up and down getting worked up. "Then I asked if that meant that Duck and Fakir would die someday too, and Duck said you would-zura! That made me very sad…" the little girl ended morosely, her eyes welling up again with tears. "I didn't want to be alone-zura!"
Fakir gazed at Uzura with great concern. He never expected Duck and Uzura to have this sort of conversation in the first place. "Why would you be alone?" The knight unknowingly asked the same question as Duck did a few minutes ago.
Uzura began to sniffle as new tears started to spill down her cheeks. It was time for her question to be answered. "Duck asked me the same question-zura. So I asked her….I asked her if Uzura will die someday too-zura!"
Shock flitted across Fakir's features as he took in the little puppets words. He never would have expected the little girl to ask about her own mortality.
"You see Fakir? This is why I brought Uzura to you." Duck explained softly. "I wasn't really sure how to answer her because I don't really know too much about her creation or how her body works."
Fakir closed his eyes in grim understanding. He thought deeply in silence as he wondered how to answer the question that Uzura dreaded to hear. Fakir's frowned deepened on his face as he came to a realization. It was just a theory, but it was the most accurate answer he could come up with. That still didn't mean he had to like it though. "The answer lies more in Edel's creation then it does Uzura's." Fakir began, breaking the long anticipated silence.
"What do you mean?" Duck replied with wonder while Uzura listened intently at the knight's feet.
"What I mean is that Edel was Uzura's previous form, so she's made of the same material as Edel was." Fakir explained slowly, conjuring up the information he knew about the mysterious puppet. "Edel was made by Drosselmeyer for a specific reason Duck, and that was to urge you to continue on your role as Princess Tutu. It took more than an ordinary puppet to do that."
Duck nodded in understanding. Fakir did make a good point; Edel was a special puppet, but what did that have to do with Uzura's ability to live or die?
Knowing he hadn't explained enough, Fakir continued on. "Drosselmeyer wanted a puppet with human like qualities that he could control with his every whim. In order to do that, he used magical wood to create a puppet to fit that role."
"Drosselmeyer wrote true stories right-zura?" Uzura asked with interest, interrupting the knight with her own idea. "Couldn't he create a puppet with his words-zura?"
Fakir gave a small smile at the puppet's intuitive question. "He sort of did that in a way." He explained further. "In order to get magical wood he had to write a source for it."
Duck gasped in astonishment as Fakir's words clicked in her mind. "The Tree of Knowledge!" she blurted out, startling both Uzura and Fakir at her sudden outburst.
"Yes, The Tree of Knowledge." Fakir nodded in confirmation, bestowing another smile to Duck for figuring it out.
"The Tree of Knowledge-zura?" Uzura questioned again. The name rolled off her tongue in familiarity. Where had she heard that name before?
"That's the tree that gave Fakir his writing powers." Duck explained to the questioning puppet-girl.
"Ohhhh!" Uzura vocalized as she remembered Duck telling her about Fakir talking to a tree all those years ago.
"Drosselmeyer created The Tree of Knowledge and used some of the tree's magical wood to make Edel. That's what Autor and I found out when we were researching him three years ago." Fakir started up again. "But that's only the beginning. Because Edel was magical, she was able to understand human emotions and in the end made a heart for herself when she wanted to turn her back on her creator in order to help us."
Duck nodded her head sadly. She remembered Edel burning her body to lead her and Mytho out of a collapsing cavern, and also to warm Fakir, who had fallen into the frozen lake within the cave. "But Ms. Edel didn't die from burning herself did she? She still lives on in Uzura's heart even though her original body is gone."
"Yes, your right." Fakir commented approvingly while Uzura stared between the two in wonderment. She wasn't exactly sure if she fully understood the conversation. "We know for a fact that Edel isn't dead because Uzura is Ms. Edel. When Edel realized her own heart existed, and when she burned away her old body, her heart continued to exist within her un-burnt remains. So when Charon created Uzura from those ashes, Ms. Edel's heart took on the same form as her new body. Her heart was reborn into a child's heart."
Duck smiled at that. "I always wondered how Uzura could still be Ms. Edel! But…what does that have to do with Uzura's question?"
The knight was silent again for a moment as he thought on his previous theory. "Well, since Ms. Edel's body was magical, that can only mean that Uzura's body is as well; and if that's the case…" Fakir sighed with regret. "That could possibly mean that Uzura can't die."
Duck and Uzura gasped in shock. "How can that be?" Duck exclaimed in protest, noticing hot tears starting to trail down Uzura's cheeks. "What makes her immortal just because she's magical? The Raven was magical too and he died!"
Fakir's face was overcome with sadness as he tried to make Duck understand. "Haven't you noticed yet, Duck? It's been over three years since Uzura was created and since then she hasn't aged. Not even the wood she's made out of has become scratched or chipped."
Duck choked back a startled cry. She hadn't noticed that at first but now that she thought about it, it made perfect sense. Uzura hadn't aged in any way and that was because of her practically indestructible magical body. "But what if Uzura gets caught on fire? Will she disappear then?" Duck asked hesitantly. She didn't want to think of Uzura turning into a pile of burning ashes.
"That I'm not too sure on." Fakir grunted with slight annoyance. "I'm not sure if I will ever be able to answer that question. From what I can theorize though; if Edel's heart still remained while her body burned away, then Uzura's might remain as well if she was to fall under the same fate."
At the knight's last theory, Uzura began to sob. "Does *hic* that mean *hic* that when Duck and Fakir go to Heaven *hic* Uzura will never ever see them again-zura!"
Fakir's heart caught in his throat as he looked away from the little girl. The young knight hated himself for hurting the girl so badly. He didn't want to answer her question, but seeing as Uzura was desperate for a definite answer, he had no choice. "If my theory is correct then yes, you'll never pass on, Uzura." He whispered with grim finality, making Uzura's worst fears come true.
Uzura's shook her head back in forth in disbelief. She couldn't die? She couldn't go to Heaven where Charon and everyone else would be?
She'd be alone.
The puppet-girls eyes widened in fear; flashes of all the memories she had with everyone she cared about raced through her mind. The little girl's body began to shake uncontrollably. She could almost see it. She could almost see herself walking the streets of Gold Crown Town alone. Strangers would surround her everyday as she walked down the street, their faces horribly disfigured and unfriendly. She could see Charon's old house run down and dilapidated because no one was alive anymore to take care of it. Having no place left to go, Uzura could see herself walking zombie-like towards a familiar grave yard, her eyes dead from lack of anymore emotions to feel, as she gazed down at the plot's that contained her loved-ones names written in cold stone…
"No-zura!" The little doll wailed in despair, trying to push the morbid images away. "That can't be true-zura! I don't want Duck and Fakir to die; you're the only family I have-zura!" The outlook on her distant future was too much to take in. The thought of her staring down at the gravestones of her loved ones had made her feel so hollow.
Like an actual puppet.
Uzura couldn't see clearly anymore. Her eyes were glossed over from too many tears. She cried her little heart out begging destiny to change the plans it had in store for her. In desperation she flung herself onto Duck, hoping that if she held onto her with all her might that the duck-girl wouldn't disappear forever. "Please don't leave me-zura! I don't want to be alone! I don't want to be alone-zura!"
Uzura's cries of agony were too much for Duck. She felt her legs crumble beneath her as she held onto the little girl for dear life. Agonized sobs wracked the young girl's frame as she cried with her grieving friend. Fate was too cruel. How could a little girl be destined to live forever as everyone she knew and cared about died around her? How could that be right?
"This isn't right Fakir…" Duck pleaded out between sobs; imploring the knight to do anything he could to change the girl's fate. "Please…t-there has to be a way t-to change this! There has to be!" Her voice began to get more desperate with every breath. "Uzura doesn't deserve this Fakir, please!"
Fakir couldn't bring himself to look at her. He was facing away from the two people he cared about the most in complete self-loathing. With every sob and plea he heard he detested himself all the more. He regretted even answering the question; he should have just kept his mouth shut! When Duck screamed her last plea he flew out of his chair and took his frustration out on the opposite wall, punching a good sized dent into the plaster. "And just what do you want me to do Duck? What could I possibly do to make this better?" He screamed in anger and frustration as he glared towards the two girls sobbing on the floor.
Uzura squeaked in fright from the knight's venomous outburst and held onto Duck tighter as she continued to cry. Duck also flinched from Fakir's reaction. She looked up at him in terror, wondering what he was going to do next.
Seeing the two girls' reactions to him made Fakir feel sick with himself. He shouldn't have yelled but he was just too angry with himself in order to stop it, and because of that he took it out on the people he cared about. He was also the one that had caused them to cry in the first place! Fakir's face filled with pain and grief as he sat back down in his chair and turned away from the frightened girls, too disgusted with himself to look them in the eyes.
Duck's fear subsided once she saw Fakir sit back down. She was sure he wasn't going to hurt them but he was known to be quiet unpredictable when he was angry. Duck choked back more agonized sobs as she saw Fakir turn away from her dejectedly as he wallowed in his own grief. She remembered the good mood he was in earlier today and was overcome with guilt as she realized she had taken that good mood away. She had made Fakir answer Uzura's question that had led to all of this heartache! There had to be a way for her to fix this! Duck looked around the room frantically for anything that would give her an idea or help her. Her heart beat erratically with hope as her eyes fell upon Fakir's story that was still lying on his desk. That was it! "Fakir!" she gasped in realization. "You can write a story! You can write a story for Uzura!"
The duck's hopeful gasp brought Fakir back from his internal grieving. He stared into Duck's blue eyes with shock. "A…story?" he whispered uncertainly.
Uzura sobs quieted down when she heard Duck's idea. Her eyes filled with hope as she pondered the possibilities of a story written about her working. The puppet-girl composed herself and let go of Duck to look at her. "Do you think it will work-zura?"
Duck nodded her head determinedly. A new light shined in her eyes as she looked between the puppet and knight. "It will work! Fakir is an amazing story writer! There's no doubt in my mind that he can do this." She stopped as she stared with hope into Fakir's eyes. "This might be our only way to change things, Fakir. You changed the fates of the people from The Prince and the Raven and you can change Uzura's just as well."
Fakir continued to stare deeply into Duck's aquatic depths. The light and hope radiating from her was so overwhelming that it stunned the knight into silence. Could he actually write a story about Uzura's mortality? The thought almost frightened him. Many things could go wrong… he might accidently end up killing her like he did his parents!
Uzura believed that what Duck said was right. She conveyed her belief by gazing hopefully up at the knight before her. "You can do it Fakir! I believe in you-zura!" With that, Uzura took her drum from her side and began beating it in an up-beat manner restoring more hope to the doubtful knight.
Fakir gave a small smile at the two girls' faith in him. How could he say no to their enthusiasm when they were putting all of their hope into the writing of this story? "Alright," Fakir agreed with new-found strength. "I'll do my best."
From there the depressing atmosphere disappeared from the room like it never existed to begin with. Duck and Uzura celebrated with jubilation as they bounced out of Fakir's room to give the boy space to write the new story.
The knight chuckled to himself. Who would have thought that the day would have turned out like this? Feeling a little more optimistic than usual, Fakir glanced at the still untouched tea set that Duck had left for him. The boy gave an indifferent shrug as he poured himself a cup, not really caring if he would regret it later. What could it hurt right? The knight took a small sip and was surprised to find out the tea was actually good! Taking the drinkable tea as a good omen Fakir took out some new parchment, dipped his quill into some ink, and with renewed determination began to write.