Once upon a time there was a girl. She lost her memory in an accident that separated her from her family. The girl wandered around, trying to determine who she was, and in that time she created a new life for herself. She found a new town and fell in love with a wonderful man. When her family finally found her and brought her back home, the girl was happy to see them again…but her old home no longer felt like home, and the girl was no longer the girl her family had once known.


Act 37: The Princess and the Vulture (Part 1)

(((Cry)))

When Ahiru opened her eyes, she found herself in another strange place.

"Where…where am I now?" she thought out loud.

She was in the main hall of a marble palace with detailed tapestries on the walls, a swan statue adorning the grand staircase and silk curtains. The colors of the castle, however, were all different shades of brown as if the scenery was a water-damaged painting. Many rooms branched out from the hall, but an odd mist hovered over them, blurring them so one couldn't identify what kind of rooms they were…a mist that reminded Ahiru strongly of the mist that surrounded the lake she had always dreamed of and had just been in.

Looking around for some form of life, Ahiru raised her voice and called,

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"This is a memory," a voice behind her stated quietly. "No one will answer you."

Ahiru clamped her hands over her mouth to hold back a quack of surprise, turning to see the stranger with owl wings from back at the lake.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked. "What is this place? Why is it covered…?"

"In mist?" the old man finished for her, gesturing around. "This is a mental recreation of our home…and yours too, at one point…but you have lost most of your humanity from being in the outside world for so long, and have therefore forgotten your human life."

"B-but I'm not human!" Ahiru insisted, feeling very nervous since she didn't know what was going on. "I-I'm just a duck!"

"You will only be just a duck," the man murmured, his yellow eyes flashing in both sadness and anger, "if my idea fails and your mind doesn't respond to our memories. We shall start with my memories, now…!"

The elder abruptly vanished, and Ahiru felt herself being tugged up the grand staircase. Her feet left the floor…colors swirled around her vision…

And she found herself in the doorway of a room, full of animated color and life.

The walls were a delicate pale yellow and were covered with child-quality crayon drawings of princesses and prima ballerinas, and porcelain dolls and stuffed animals were scattered on the floor.

Sitting in front of a white bureau was a girl no older than eight dressed in a sunny yellow ball gown with her shoulder-length curly red hair tied back in a matching bow. She was looking at her reflection in a hand mirror, smiling as she played with a gold necklace around her neck. On the necklace was a gold heart-shaped locket with a swan etched on it, and it seemed like it was something the girl had only recently acquired but loved very much.

Ahiru walked over to the girl, her blue eyes wide.

'This girl looks like me when I was human…is this the girl those men think I am?'

Tinkling music played in the background, drawing Ahiru's attention to a black velvet music box on the bureau in the front of the girl. The tune, so much like a mother's lullaby, warmed Ahiru's heart in a way she couldn't explain.

"You look lovely, granddaughter," came an amused voice from the doorway.

Ahiru whirled around to find the white-haired stranger from before in the doorway she'd just been in. He looked different, however. His beard was shorter, he was plumper and dressed in violet silk and most importantly he did not have the snowy owl wings his modern counterpart had.

'Wait!' Ahiru thought suddenly. 'Did he just call that girl his granddaughter?'

A preteen boy then peeked out from behind the old man to smile at the little girl.

Ahiru couldn't hold back a shocked "Quack!"

It was Mytho.

He was younger and he was dressed in a pearl white velvet tunic and white pants that Ahiru hadn't seen him in before, but there was no mistaking his messy white hair, lean danseur figure and caring amber eyes.

'These strangers knew Mytho,' Ahiru realized. 'Mytho before he lost his heart!'

The red-haired girl scrambled up from her stool so she could run over to the younger Mytho and give him a huge hug.

"This is so exciting, ni-chan!" the little girl chirped, her blue eyes shining.

'Brother?' Ahiru recurred inwardly, her eyes widening. 'This girl is Mytho's…!'

Mytho (or, as Ahiru remembered he was called in the past, "Siegfried") smiled fondly at the little girl as their grandfather and they started down the hall.

"I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, Odette."

Ahiru felt herself gliding above the floor alongside the old man out of her control, but was too interested in the siblings' conversation to really notice.

"But what about you, ni-chan?" Odette inquired, frowning slightly. "You love everyone…but don't you want to actually fall in love with somebody? Choose one over all of them?"

"I don't know if I could," responded Siegfried, looking thoughtful. "It seems unfair to love one person more than everyone else."

"But what if the person is really special to you?" asked Odette. "Don't you want someone you can talk to and laugh with?"

Siegfried gave his little sister a smile. "Don't worry about me, Odette. I have you, dou-sama and jii-sama…and you know I love you most of all."

Odette looked hesitant, but nodded. "Well…all right, ni-chan, if you're really okay with it…but I just want the best for you. I'll always be there for you, you know that, right?"

Siegfried smiled. "Of course I do."

The old man and the two children started down the grand staircase, to find a middle-aged man waiting for them at the bottom.

'Fakir?' Ahiru thought in shock.

A second later, she corrected herself. The man had his strawberry blond hair tied back in a ponytail like Fakir's often was, and his amber eyes were similar to Fakir's too…but the man smiled in a way Fakir never had: a way a proud father would as his child first went off to school.

"King Baltazar," the red-haired man greeted the elder with an amicable hug.

"My dear son-in-law, such formalities!" Baltazar responded as he patted the younger man heartily on the back. "How goes you, Lohengrin?"

'Lohengrin…?' Ahiru thought, disbelieving. 'The knight? But if he's Baltazar-san's son-in-law…that means…Lohengrin is Mytho's father!'

"I am well, thank you," replied Lohengrin. "And the formalities shall remain, your Highness. I may be called a prince now, but I will always be a knight of Cygnus, so don't bother trying to change me."

"Dou-chan!"

Odette ran to Lohengrin, and the red-haired knight picked her up and whirled around in the air, laughing fondly.

A smile came to Ahiru's face at the sight of such fatherly affection.

'Wow…it's hard to see Fakir as Lohengrin's reincarnation now that I've seen him! Lohengrin's so…happy and polite…and Fakir's brooding and suspicious.'

Lohengrin placed Odette gently back on the floor, smiling at both Siegfried and her in turn. "My, you both look like royalty…now I feel ashamed, being unable to match you two!"

He winked playfully. "But nonetheless…I suppose everyone is waiting for us to join them in the great hall. Siegfried, Odette, you go on ahead…your youthful limbs shouldn't have to wait for us old people to catch up."

Odette and Siegfried nodded, before running away toward what could be assumed to be the great hall.

Ahiru made to follow them, but it was as if she were rooted where she stood; no matter how hard she tried pulling herself away from that spot, she couldn't make herself move.

"Has she shown any magical tendencies yet?" murmured Baltazar.

Ahiru turned back around, to see Lohengrin's face was much more serious.

"No," the knight answered quietly. "Are you absolutely certain that Odette inherited part of Tutu's soul?"

'What?' thought Ahiru in confusion. 'Mytho's sister inherited part of Tutu's soul?'

"There's no doubt of it," Baltazar replied impatiently. "Tutu vanished after giving birth to her…her soul was broken apart into red light…and the light fell over baby Odette as she slept in Siegfried's arms."

'Wait a minute,' Ahiru said to herself, trying to keep all of this new information straight. 'Princess Tutu vanished giving birth to Odette…who is sister to Mytho…who is the son of Lohengrin…Tutu is Lohengrin's wife?! Tutu is Mytho's mother?!'

She scratched the top of her head frantically in extreme anxiety. 'GAH! This is too much to take in at once!'

"We know Siegfried has been able to create Tutu's magical flowers and use them to fly since then," Baltazar pushed on gruffly. "He inherited part of her…and Odette did as well!"

The old king then frowned. "But what part of Tutu could Odette have inherited, then? Obviously not her magic or her ballet…I can see those went solely to Siegfried. So what went to Odette?"

"Her character," Lohengrin murmured suddenly.

"What?" Baltazar eyed the younger man with a questioning look.

"Her character," Lohengrin repeated, comprehension coming to his amber eyes. "Haven't you ever wondered why Odette is so wise even though she's so young? She is always giving Siegfried advice, even though she's younger than he is. And while Siegfried tries to love everyone as destiny ordains he will, Odette is sincerely kind and helpful to everyone because of who she is."

Baltazar's yellow eyes widened behind his gold glasses. "I see…Odette inherited Tutu's kindness and wisdom."

"Not only that, I think," muttered Lohengrin, his hand moving to rest on his mouth pensively. "Tutu…was always worried about Siegfried, you remember?"

"Of course," Baltazar concurred. "She always believed someone would try and take advantage of Siegfried's loving heart…and it seems she's correct; after all, we both know of the rumors that the Monster Raven is seeking to eat Siegfried's heart as he has so many others."

"Yes…" Lohengrin seemed deep in thought. "I have heard Odette say to Siegfried often that she's there for him, to help him…even though we know full well she is likely to be quite helpless indeed."

"What are you meaning to convey, Lohengrin?" inquired Baltazar.

"I mean," said Lohengrin, "that Odette has also gained Tutu's role of protector to Siegfried. Odette is in the role that Tutu once was…so, in a way, Odette is the last real piece of Tutu we have. Siegfried earned her magic and dancing…but those are her gifts, not who she was."

Ahiru's eyes widened slightly. 'Oh, I get it…so Mytho got Tutu's talents…while Odette got Tutu's personality!'

"If that's the case," stated Baltazar, his tone becoming grave, "then Odette would be an almost reincarnation of Tutu. I can only hope the fate written for her is not as unfortunate as Tutu's was…"

Lohengrin eyed the door to the great hall with foreboding. Then he turned back to Baltazar seriously.

"We'll have no word of any of this to anyone," he whispered more coldly than Ahiru had ever heard him, making him sound a lot like Fakir, "especially not Odette or Siegfried."

"You don't think they should know?" Baltazar asked. "They may find it comforting, to have a piece of their mother with them."

"With that, they may have to think of what else they might have gained from Tutu," Lohengrin muttered bitterly, turning away from Baltazar as if to walk toward the great hall.

"They need to be prepared for what may lie ahead," insisted Baltazar. "Fate is a ruthless thing…to resist it brings glory, but never triumph."

"I want my children to live happily," Lohengrin dissented, his voice filled with a bite he hadn't been using before. "They shouldn't think such things…they're children. Siegfried's destiny of having to love everyone has chained him down enough…their innocence is too precious to be soiled by such hopelessness."

"They cannot be happy forever, Lohengrin," reproached Baltazar, "just as you and Tutu couldn't. That is the way things are. One day, if you wish to protect the innocence in them that you treasure so much, you will have to fight with more than simply words."

Lohengrin gave Baltazar a testy look without turning fully around, but still struggled to retain his anger in front of the king. "What are you saying?"

"You need either to accept that they will have to fight through life themselves," Baltazar responded seriously, "or you will have to fight life tooth and nail so that it never reaches them."

Lohengrin stared at Baltazar for a long moment, his eyes blazing both fiercely and ruefully, before turning away from him.

"I am a knight, your Highness. If fate is going to ruin my children's lives as it has mine…I will do everything in my power to protect them from it."

Ahiru watched him leave for the great hall, feeling a pain in her heart.

'Lohengrin was just like Fakir right then…Fakir before he became a writer…'


"Listen," Fakir growled at Ahiru as he walked to stand beside her but looking away from her. "Don't get close to Mytho again."

Ahiru looked at him and felt her heart prickle with fear at the dangerous, flaring look in Fakir's eyes.

"If you do, I won't just let it go."


'Trying to protect Mytho and Odette from tragedy…'
"It's all right now," Fakir assured Mytho, putting his hands on his shoulders, "you don't have to suffer anymore."

"What are you doing?" Princess Tutu demanded, feeling her worry escalate as Fakir sat Mytho down on the ground.

"Sit," Fakir spoke to Mytho, ignoring Tutu completely as he held up the prince's swan-adorned sword. "I'll break apart your heart for you once again."


'Being afraid to fight without words…'
"Now that the time to fight has arrived, aren't you just scared that you'll follow the same fate as the knight in the story?" inquired Charon coldly.

Fakir stiffened angrily, his eyes widening and then narrowing. "That's not it!"

"You've just kept this up because you can't help Mytho get his heart back," Charon plowed on ruthlessly. "I let you go to Kinkan Academy so you could dance as you liked…but that's because you're afraid of fighting!"


But being determined to protect them, no matter what it took…'
"Yes, it's as you say, Charon," Fakir murmured from the floor, touching the cheek where Charon had slapped him. "I may be afraid. But…I want to protect him! That pure, unreliable Mytho…"
"Sad, isn't it?" a familiar voice to Ahiru's right spoke suddenly.

Ahiru turned to see the raven-winged Arabian man from the lake as the scene paused, the living colors turning once more to photograph-like sepias.

"Lohengrin was a knight who had never seen battle, for he couldn't protect anyone with more than words," the tanned, black-haired young man commented vaguely. "I never knew he would be so determined to shield you and Prince Siegfried from harm, hime."

Ahiru was about to protest that she wasn't Odette, but the Arabian held a hand up to silence her.

"My memories are next," he told her, before flourishing his hand and making the room blur as Ahiru felt herself being tugged sharply toward the great hall.


I'm afraid that is all for today. Is a fun story awaiting us? A sad story? Or maybe…?


Translations:

Dou-chan / dou-sama - different Japanese forms of "Dad"; "-chan" makes it like "Daddy" and "-sama" makes it a very formal version of "Father"

Jii-sama - Japanese for "Grandfather"

Name Notes:

Baltazar - Phoenician for "protect the king"; name of one of the three kings/wise men that visited newborn Jesus in the Bible

Music Notes:

"Prologue": starts as Ahiru notices the music box playing, and stops first at 0:30 as Siegfried's presence is revealed. The music again picks up for Odette's "well…all right, ni-chan" chain of speech, with the three walking down the stairs to greet Lohengrin at 0:42, and the piece stopping again at 0:52 after Baltazar and Lohengrin hug. As the Arabian near the chapter's end, the piece sneaks back in, stopping for the final time before the crescendo at 0:55.

"Cry": starts at 1:10 as Baltazar starts his "If that's the case…" chain of speech, with his last statement to Lohengrin about fighting fate tooth and nail to protect Siegfried and Odette before 2:31 and Ahiru's thoughts starting at 2:56. The piece ends after the Arabian talks about Lohengrin and Ahiru tries to interrupt.

The piece "Prologue" is from the "Anastasia" soundtrack.

The piece "Cry" is from the "The Prince of Egypt" soundtrack.