A big thanks to LunaSphere, you've been an inspiration and a motivator! And while I'm putting a note up here I want to remind everyone that I don't own the license to Princess Tutu, okay?

The Sacrifice

When Charon first came to Autor because Fakir had disappeared Autor hadn't been very worried, the young author was probably out communing with the Tree or studying in the library as he often did. But when Charon told him Fakir hadn't come home for the last two nights Autor began to worry. They searched through the whole town, from the field full of rocks to the school to the Lake of Sorrow outside the town's gates, and Fakir was no where to be found.

The last place they went to was the duck pond, or Duckie's pond, as they liked to call it. To be honest they had passed near it a few times but hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary aside from a lack of Duckie swimming around on the surface and had decided to search elsewhere. They still saw no sign of Duckie on the placid waters, but Charon did find something that made him call out to Autor worriedly. Sitting on the dock as if the boy had just left were Fakir's belongings: his fishing pole, clothes, and writing supplies were all gathered about in a tight group while his quill had been blown away and was floating merrily on the surface of the pond, just visible in the waning evening light.

"We lucked out, all his papers are still attached to his writing board." Autor picked up the previously mentioned writing board which did indeed have a great deal of paper attached to it.

"What does it say? Does it say where he went without any of his clothes?" Charon hovered worriedly over the boy's shoulder, hoping the things Fakir had written would give them some hint or other.

Autor flipped through the paper before answering. He really wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything by hastily reading what was on top but what he found made him glad he hadn't. "There's a great deal in here about sacrifice and paying a price..." Autor flipped through more pages, scanning them quickly while Charon waited nervously for him to finish. "It seems like he was worried about what the price would be to make Duckie a girl again." Charon nodded, he knew about her true role while they were still under the story's spell and had noticed how attached his adoptive son had become to her right near the end.

"But does any of it say what that sacrifice was?" Charon started to become truly worried now; Fakir may have tried to pay the price on his own.

"There is a story here; I think it was the last thing he wrote. But it's getting pretty dark, let's head inside where we can read it better." They gathered all of Fakir's belongings from the lonely dock before returning to Charon's home for tea and a long read.

Once upon a Duck had taken on the guise of a human girl to protect the she had fallen in love with while the Knight that had sworn to protect the Prince fought against the Duck, thinking she was a threat. But this is not that story.

Once upon a time the very same Duck gave up her human guise to save the very same Prince while the very same Knight did all that he could to protect the Duck, but this is not that story either.

Once upon a time a Knight had fallen in love with a Duck who was once a girl, but with all his power as a knight he could not be with her. And so they spent their days near each other as he had once promised, she floating placidly on her little pond and he sitting placidly on the grass, both simply content to be near each other. But soon the Knight was not content simply to be forever near the one he loved and never to be with her, so he consulted all the old books and tomes he could find in the hopes of finding a way to be with the Duck. He found that the price he had to pay was very high, but not too high a price to pay in order to spend the rest of his life at her side. So the Knight gave up his humanity and disappeared in a flash of light, as the Duck had once done herself to save the Prince they both cared so deeply for, becoming a duck himself to spend the rest of their days together. The end.

"That's it? It's rather short." Autor simply chose to ignore Charon's comment to re-read a few key points and flip through the pages to further study Fakir's notes.

Charon sat back in his chair and sipped his tea, "I would have liked a little warning first, at least let me know he was going to up and vanish."

"He was probably worried you would try to stop him," Autor replied absently. When Charon's words sank in he looked up with a start. "You're fine with Fakir turning himself into a duck?"

Charon waved his cup of tea at Autor, "I've always encouraged Fakir to follow his own path, to find his own happiness... if he thinks he can find it with that sweet girl as a duck then I suppose I should be happy for him. I just hope they stay close, they'd be safe as long as they stayed near the town."

Autor smiled, "Somehow I think Fakir and Duckie can take care of themselves, even as ducks."

And they did.

Author's note: So this was the ending that made the most sense to me, there would be risks involved in turning Duckie back into a girl and I really think she'd be somewhat against it. Afterall, they dedicated a good deal of attention to Fakir convincing her it's okay to be a duck and then he goes and turns her back into a girl? It feels a little hypocritical.

Anyways, first inspired by LunaSphere's story This Pendent Heart, then re-inspired by her story Drabble for two Ducks, go read them!