I do not own Princess Tutu, Bizenghast, or The Swan Princess. All characters and names are copyright to their respective owners. And this is a long chapter, so be warned.
The Dark Prince
Once upon a time there was a Prince shrouded in Darkness. The Prince had grown up happy and loved, never knowing that he was living in Darkness until one day he fell in love, for you see the Princess of Light had stepped into the Darkness to save the White Prince. The Dark Prince loved the Light Princess and longed to possess her Light for his own. But the Prince was so shrouded in the Darkness that the Princess didn't even know of his existence; instead she was in love with the White Prince and chased after him even though her Destiny was unconnected to his. The Dark Prince watched as the Princess confessed her Love to the White Prince and disappeared in a speck of light in order to save him, but the White Prince cruelly chose another for his Princess. Though the Dark Prince grieved with the Light Princess over her lost love, he was relieved that she was not chosen for now he had a chance to keep her by his side make her his own.
Fakir grumbled as he got ready for the first day of school the next semester, he had not wanted to return after the long summer spent writing with Duckie by his side. He had argued loudly with Charon that without Mytho, Rue, or Duckie to go to school with he had no reason to continue his ballet studies. Charon had been upset with Fakir, insisting that the boy needed to finish his studies and not to use his friends as a flimsy excuse. It was Duckie who had convinced him to go back, dancing on webbed feet and miming with her wings to convey her feelings without words. "Just because I am not there does not mean you should give up your dancing. You're so beautiful when you dance, and you enjoy it too. Please Fakir, dance for me since I cannot."
Charon had watched Duckie dancing, not understanding what she was saying but able to see the effect she was having on his adoptive son. He put his hand over his heart as he looked up from Duckie to Fakir, "A man finishes what he started, Fakir. I'm not saying to go on and make a career out of ballet but at least graduate, for my sake."
Fakir couldn't continue arguing with them after that, so he had reluctantly agreed to continue his schooling. "Ready to go?" Fakir shouldered his schoolbag and looked expectantly towards Duckie, she simply nodded in response and motioned impatiently to the door. Fakir scooped her up with his free hand and headed out.
Fakir dropped Duckie off at her pond on his way to school, deciding that if she went with him it would only cause a lot of trouble even without a bunch of animals for students. Duckie quacked at Fakir and waggled her tail feathers, wishing him a good day in her own way.
School was very much what it was before Princess Tutu had first appeared, Fakir danced and everyone praised him, there were lessons and lectures and far more free time between classes than any school should have, and it seemed that all the girls whispered and giggled whenever he was near. A few of the braver ones had even come up to Fakir and asked if he had heard from Mytho and Rue since they left last semester, none of them seemed to know why the two favorites had left but they also didn't seem concerned about it. Fakir managed to answer that he had received a letter or two and they seemed to be doing well. None of them asked about Duckie.
Autor was still going to school as well, studying in the music program. "Fakir, I'm surprised to see you at school. Last time we spoke you seemed so certain that your days of ballet were over. And since the school has no literature department you had declared it "a waste of my time," as I recall."
"I had a change of heart, it happens from time to time. Who knows? I may decide I'd rather write ballets than fairy tales." They had fallen into an easy conversation after that, talking of doing research in the library and reading some of the great novelists, Autor even suggested starting a club with the only literature teacher in the whole school.
Or course this set off the gossip machine, Fakir had to fight to tune out the tittering girls whispering loudly about how lonely he must be without Mytho and how glad they were that he had made another friend. The ones who had heard Autor's comment about Fakir not coming back had run off shriek loudly about what a shame it would have been to their friends, but hadn't gone far enough away for Fakir not to hear them.
Finally the day was over, Fakir left as quickly as he could once the final lecture was over. He made a bee line for Duckie's pond where he was relieved to see that she was completely fine. "Hey there, Duckie. How was your day?" Duckie swam ashore where she greeted fakir with a pirouette and then mimed that she had had a quiet day, then mimed for him to talk. Fakir smiled as he picked Duckie up and then told her all about his day at school, telling her of Autor and all the gossip that wasn't about him.
A month passed that way, Fakir dropping Duckie off at the pond before school, a day of classes, practice, and sometimes after school activities for Fakir while Duckie spent her time floating serenely on the water or foraging for food, then Fakir picked up Duckie from the pond on his way home. One afternoon, after a little longer in the library than Fakir had intended, he went to the pond to pick Duckie up but she wasn't waiting for him. Fakir panicked then, running around the shore and calling her name, upon his second circuit of the pond he got a hold of himself and tried to calm down. "Okay Fakir, just because she's not here doesn't mean that she's in trouble. It's rather late and the sun is starting to go down pretty early, she probably went home ahead of me." Fakir smoothed out his uniform, then walked home as quickly as possible. Charon was waiting for him with dinner on the table.
"Fakir, you're home rather late." Charon looked up from the simple meal he was setting on the table to see Fakir looking around distractedly. "Where's Duckie?"
"She's not here?" Charon shook his head in response. "She wasn't at the pond when I got there either. I'm going to go check the school." Fakir dropped his books and ran out the door, trying to keep himself from panicking again. Duckie wasn't at the school either, though Author was and Fakir managed to rope him into looking for her as well. Fakir checked all of his usual haunts, then spread his search out into the town. Charon had joined the search as well, talking to other shop owners and people he knew in the hopes that one of them might have seen the little duck. Sadly everyone they talked to had not seen her and she wasn't anywhere to be found. Charon and Autor practically had to drag Fakir inside long after the rest of the town had gone to bed for the night, repeatedly telling him that he needed his rest if he was going to be able to keep searching for Duckie and they'd all have better luck when the sun came back up.
The next day Fakir didn't even bother thinking about going to classes, picking up his search where he had left off. Charon also closed down the shop for the day, searching throughout the town as well. At first Autor had protested, but eventually gave in and helped them look for Duckie as well. Sadly the second day's search was as fruitless as the first, but when he was dragged home this time Fakir had a plan. Instead of falling into bed he sat down at his desk, pulled out a quill and paper, and began to write.
There was the sound of metal scraping metal and the rustle of fabric then a bright, annoying light that went right through eyelids to pierce the brain. Eyes clenched tighter and head rolled to the side in an attempt to fight the waking world but sleep refused to come back. Then there was a voice, an insistent voice that kept jabbering away. Eventually eyes opened to inspect the world and find the source of the voice, a rather round and careworn woman's face greeted the eyes, seemingly haloed by the bright light. "Oh, I'm so glad to see Her Little Ladyship has finally woken up. Now let me just arrange your pillows so you can sit up all proper and comfortable like, there, and I'll go fetch Doctor." The woman did just as she said while she said it, quickly fluffing up the pillows and helping her young charge sit up before noisily moving out of the room.
The girl in the bed watched the woman leave with dull, disinterested eyes. She looked around the room, mostly white with pale pink and gold accents on everything she could see, and wondered dimly just where she was and how she got there. She didn't have long to wonder as the round woman returned shortly, followed by a slightly shorter, balding man. "… can't be helped but I'm just so relieved that she's woken up at all, Doctor." It seemed the woman had not stopped talking yet.
"It is a good sign. Now if you don't mind I have a patient to see to." The man, presumably the doctor, pushed the woman aside and sat next to the girl, setting a bag on the bed. "I see that you're awake now, how do you feel? Any pain?" He pulled some bits of shiny metal out of the bag and began inspecting the girl.
"My head hurts and I feel weak," the girl responded dully.
"Understandable, you had quite the nasty fall." What fall? The girl didn't remember falling. "Anything else? Blurred vision, twitching muscles, trouble thinking?"
"It does feel like I'm thinking through a fog right now, and I don't know where I am or how I got here." the girl looked up at him expectantly, hoping he would tell her what was going on.
"That's unusual. Tell me, do you recognize this woman?" The girl looked over to the side where the round woman stood with glistening eyes behind the doctor, she shook her head which caused her bangs to fall into her vision. For a moment she was distracted by their unusual color, reddish orange. "And can you tell me your name, who you are, where you were born, what your parents look like?" The girl scrunched up her face in thought for a moment, trying to bring up those memories but coming up blank.
"No, I can't remember anything at all." The woman had cried out then, looking completely horrified at the girl's nonchalant dismissal.
"It's me, Nanny! Surely Her Little Ladyship recognizes her beloved lady's maid!"
The doctor looked surprised himself, the girl had stated it so calmly and unworriedly. He quickly suppressed his surprise and continued with the exam, asking the girl more questions, shining a light in her eyes, listening to her heart and lungs, poking her and asking if it hurt. Eventually he finished and pulled the crying woman out of the room and had a discussion with her that the girl couldn't hear through the door. It didn't matter though, she saw some birds flying through the sky framed in the window and they were far more interesting than the doctor or strange woman.
Eventually the woman came back into the room with a servant who was carrying a tray with the most heavenly scent wafting off it. "Some food and rest will have Her Little Ladyship feeling much more herself, right? You've been unconscious for almost a whole day so I'm sure Her Little Ladyship must be quite hungry." The servant set the tray down on the nightstand, then was shooed out of the room by the woman. "Now, would Her Little Ladyship like some soup and bread?"
"Is… is that my name?" The girl scrunched up her eyebrows as she looked up at the woman.
"That's right, you're Her Little Ladyship. And I'm Nanny, your lady's maid. Doctor says the accident caused some head trauma but a little time to heal and you'll be right as rain. Now eat up, you need your strength to recover." Her Little Ladyship smiled up at Nanny and obediently let the woman feed her.
The following morning Nanny came into the room with much hustling and bustling, opening Her Little Ladyship's curtains with great force and moving about the room as a great tidying force. "And how are we feeling today, Her Little Ladyship?" Her Little Ladyship blinked and rubbed her eyes as Nanny started chattering away. "We have a wonderful surprise for you, yes we do! Your parents were so worried about you after they heard about the accident that they called off their trip and came home early. They'll be up to see you in a moment, I'm just to see that you're decent to be seen first. Now if you'll just sit up we can change you into a fresh gown." While she was still talking Nanny had pulled down the bed sheets and plucked Her Little Ladyship's sleeping gown off. The girl saw only a flash of pale skin and volumes her orange hair before Nanny pulled a fresh sleeping gown over the girl's head and tucked her back into the bed. "Now you just stay here, Doctor ordered plenty of bed rest until you've recovered. I'll go fetch your parents." Nanny bustled out of the room while Her Little Ladyship tried to keep her head from spinning. The woman had great energy if nothing else.
By the time Her Little Ladyship had recovered from all the sudden activity she heard the door click as it was opened, she looked up to see Nanny opening the door and standing to the side with head bowed. Her Little Ladyship sat up against the pillows and squeezed the bed sheets in anticipation as her parents entered, unable to help feeling nervous despite knowing how silly it was. They were her parents, not some strangers! Though without her memory they were both.
"My darling little girl, I've been so worried for you!" A tall, blond man with bright blue eyes rushed into the room and grasped her hands desperately. "When I heard what had happened I feared for the worst and my heart nearly stopped for fright. I'm so glad to see you safe and sound." Tears brimmed up in the man's eyes as he spoke, looking at her with such tender affection that Her Little Ladyship's heart just melted at the sight.
A woman with perfectly arranged red hair and blue-green eyes followed the man into the room, kneeling next to the bed and embracing Her Little Ladyship. "We were both very worried about you, beloved. It's quite the relief to see you doing so well." The woman's eyes became misty as well, though she was much more contained than the man who was crying into her bed sheets. Her Little Ladyship's own eyes glistened as she looked at the two strangers who were her parents.
"I… I'm so happy to see you, Mother… Father." Her voice trembled as she tried desperately to recognize the man and woman as her parents if only because she couldn't bear to see them so heart broken.
The pair looked at each other worriedly, then back at Her Little Ladyship. The woman's eyes softened as she took the girl's hands, "Doctor warned us that you had lost your memory and that you might not recognize us. It's not your fault, darling. You're not to blame for what happened or for losing your memory." They embraced again, enveloping Her Little Ladyship and she cried with them, touched by their unconditional love.
A whole week passed before Doctor finally gave leave for Her Little Ladyship permission to leave the bed. She thought she would go crazy in the meantime, she felt completely better the very same day her parents had come to visit her and was chomping at the bit to get out of her room. It wasn't that she didn't love her room, it was light and airy and just beautiful, like she was living in a cloud perpetually kissed by the dawn light. But she longed to go outside, to feel the sun upon her face and the grass beneath her feet. Finally the day had come, as soon as Doctor had proclaimed her fit to leave bed and left she had jumped out of bed and run around her room. She picked up everything she could and gently touched what she couldn't, inspecting every little detail. But what truly caught her attention was a vanity she had not noticed from the bed, tucked away in a corner with a wardrobe between the mirror and where she had been trapped for the last week. As if mesmerized Her Little Ladyship sat on the cushioned seat and stared intently at the mirror, inspecting every aspect of her face. Nanny watched the whole thing with bemusement before sauntering up to Her Little Ladyship before the mirror and teasing her, "Afraid that your face had changed from the accident?"
"Well no, that's not it…" Her Little Ladyship looked up at Nanny in confusion, unsure why she had been staring so intently not but a moment ago.
"You may think it unfortunate the accident didn't knock the freckles from your face but I am still rather fond of them. Come, we can take breakfast in the sitting room if you're tired of being stuck in this room."
Her Little Ladyship's face beamed at the thought of being allowed to even leave the room, "That would be wonderful!" Nanny simply chuckled as she led Her Little Ladyship to the door and opened it into another room. It matched the bedroom completely, right down to the same pattern engraved into the furniture, though it obviously served a different purpose. To one side of the room were chairs and a sofa arranged around a delicate glass table, on the other side was a writing desk with a book shelf full of texts and workbooks on either side of it. On each wall was a door, the one she was standing in now looking around her with wonder, a set of French doors to the left leading to a balcony, a closed door across from her, and a set of double doors to her right. While Her Little Ladyship looked around in wonder Nanny walked up to the set of double doors and opened one up, leaning out into the hallway to speak with someone there. She turned back into the room as a servant followed with the breakfast tray to find Her Little Ladyship in the midst of opening the French doors onto the balcony.
"Her Little Ladyship!" Nanny bustled over to her young charge with great speed, she pulled the doors closed and turned to scold Her Little Ladyship. "Now you know Doctor said that you're not strong enough to go outside yet." Her Little Ladyship pouted as she implored Nanny with her eyes to just let her out onto the balcony. "None of that, it's not lady-like to try and wheedle what you want out of one when you know it's wrong. Simply being out of bed will have to suffice until you are fully recovered. Now come eat your breakfast, Governess will be most displeased if you have not finished eating and dressed before it is time for your lessons."
"I'm to have lessons?" Her Little Ladyship looked up at Nanny happily as the woman led her over to the table where the servant had quietly set up her breakfast and then bowed before leaving.
"Of course, Governess is upset that you couldn't have them all week and is eager to start again. She fears that your memory loss may put you even further behind. Though you seem to be doing so well that I don't think you'll have a problem with that." Her Little Ladyship beamed as Nanny talked, she certainly easily recognized the people around her now and felt that with every story one of them had to tell of her life before the accident that she was remembering more, though she couldn't be entirely sure if she was actually remembering or just hearing stories and thinking it was memory.
She didn't have time to dwell on that thought as the door was opened suddenly and a voice called, "His Lord and Ladyship." In walked Her Little Ladyship's parents, both looking quite pleased to see her out of bed.
"Mother, Father! Come and eat with us, it'll be so nice to have breakfast together." Her Little Ladyship motioned to the table which was overflowing with fruit and toast.
"How charming, acting as a little hostess. You're just so precious." Father sat next to her and pulled her into one of his bear hugs. Her Little Ladyship smiled as she returned Father's embrace.
"It really is sweet of you, darling, but we've already eaten. We're just so excited that you're finally well enough to be out of bed." Mother sat on Her Little Ladyship's other side and joined the hug. "Doctor tells us that you're doing very well and should be completely recovered soon, then we can put this whole ordeal behind us. In the mean time I've started planning for a ball to celebrate your being well again. Won't that be wonderful?"
Her Little Ladyship smiled up at Mother, "That sounds like a lot of fun! Will I get to dance?"
"Of course, what would be the point of a ball without dancing?" Father beamed at her as he ruffled her hair, "You're so silly sometimes."
"It'll be held in one month and I've already sent out the invitations, Queen Mother has even sent back her RSVP." Mother was all coy and smirks as she nudged Her Little Ladyship playfully.
"Oh wow, a queen is going to come to our ball? That's so very exciting!" Her Little Ladyship beamed up at Mother, though the woman looked surprised and saddened by her daughter's reaction, glancing over at Father.
"Yes, that is very exciting," Father began, "But I think your mother is more excited about Queen Mother's son: Prince Derek."
"He has quite the crush on you, darling!" Mother touched Her Little Ladyship's hand quite proudly, "He has been most worried about you ever since he was informed of the accident."
Father coughed quietly as if trying to hold in something he knew would get him in trouble. "Yes well, he is the utmost gentleman and will be welcome at the ball." Father didn't look like he meant it at all.
Mother giggled, "Father is just being protective of his only daughter, don't mind him."
"Her Little Ladyship is too young for such attentions yet, the Prince would do well to keep his crushes to himself for a couple more years, at least!" Her Little Ladyship watched them go back and forth in that manner for quite some time, feeling more and more left out as they casually discussed a young man she was supposed to have known since she was a small child but couldn't remember even what color his hair was. "But as wonderful as this has been we must be going now. We shall join you for dinner this evening, precious."
"Oh yes, of course!" Her Little Ladyship rose with her parents to bid them good day as they stood to leave, hugging them both before they existed the room. "Nanny?" Her Little Ladyship looked around, just then realizing that the usually boisterous woman had stood quietly in the background with head bowed while her parents had been in the room.
"Her Little Ladyship wants to know about the Prince?" Her Little Ladyship nodded her head guiltily while Nanny chuckled. "It will have to be quick, Governess will be here soon and you're not yet dressed. Come into the bedroom and I'll tell you about him while we dress you." Nanny ushered Her Little Ladyship back into the bedroom as she spoke. "What did you want to know first?"
"I suppose… I want to know what he looks like." Nanny began pulling an outfit from the wardrobe and laying it out on the bed as Her Little Ladyship spoke.
"Oh, he's quite handsome! All the maidens in the kingdom just swoon at the sight of him, even some of us who aren't so maidenly anymore." Nanny blushed slightly as she fell into a reverie, but quickly snapped herself out of it. "Now raise your arms so I can get that sleeping gown off you, yes that's right. Now where was I? Oh yes, his looks. To start with Prince Derek is only a few years your senior, still far too young to take over his father's kingdom, may his soul rest in peace. He has the most luscious dark hair, from his late father, and his mother's dark eyes, quite striking against his pale skin. Now turn around so I can fasten up the back of your dress, there's a good girl. What else is there to say, he's about a head taller than Her Little Ladyship, with broad shoulders and he's very strong. I hear he trains hard every day to learn sword fighting and horseback riding as well as the more cultured arts like poetry and dancing. Now sit here so I can put your hair into a plait, I'm sure you look forward to the day you can first put it up and wear long dresses like your mother. Let's see… was there anything else you wanted to know about Prince Derek?"
Her Little Ladyship was stripped, dressed, and had her hair put into one long braid while Nanny had talked nonstop, though she was only too happy to let the woman babble as she tried to absorb all the information. Dark hair and eyes? It did sound familiar, were his eyes a dark shade of green perhaps? "I think that should about do it for now. But is he kind? Is he proud? Is he a good prince?"
"Oh, Prince Derek is all goodness and light. He is kind and gentle, he takes others into consideration and is learning to rule the kingdom with wisdom and grace. Why I even knew his nanny and she told me that she never heard a cross word from him when he was a child, and that he was always obedient and well behaved. Now we really haven't time for any more, I can hear Governess in the sitting room grousing about how late we are. Off we go." And with that Nanny ushered Her Little Ladyship back into the sitting room where a rather severe looking woman was waiting for them impatiently.
A month had come and gone, the day of the much awaited for ball had finally arrived. Her Little Ladyship looked forward to a day of getting dressed up and happily chatting about the night to come but instead found herself in one of her family's sitting rooms, the rugs and furniture pushed to the side as one of the servants played a simple tune on the pianoforte and another stood in as her partner. "Quick, quick, sloooow. Quick, quick, sloooow. How do you expect to dance at the ball tonight when you can barely do the basic steps? I know you had at least that down well enough before the accident, I can't believe we had to start all over again from the beginning!"
Her Little Ladyship gave an embarrassed grin as Governess went into the same rant she always had since starting Her Little Ladyship's lessons back up, but Her Little Ladyship knew she was just upset that Mother had given instructions for Governess to focus solely on her dancing until after the ball and Governess felt that learning to read and write was more important. "You shouldn't be so hard on Her Little Ladyship, it's not her fault the accident addled her memories so badly!" Oh Nanny, always so quick to defend her beloved young mistress.
"It's no matter, just trust in your partner and let him lead. If you can do that you should be able to dance decently." Her Little Ladyship looked down at her feet for a moment, then back up at Governess. "In other words: don't try to count in your head or do your own thing, just clear your thoughts and keep your frame up. Let's start this from the top." Her Little Ladyship nodded as she took first position again, letting the young man start taking her through the basic steps once more. For several measures this worked out rather well, then he tried to lead her through a spin and she faltered, unsure what to do, and ended up falling over.
"Ooww! That hurt." Her Little Ladyship sat in a rumpled heap on the ground, still tightly grasping the hand of the servant who had been her leader with him leaning awkwardly over her. "At least I didn't take him down with me this time."
Before Governess had a chance to blow up at her student yet again the door burst open as a servant rushed in, "A carriage has just arrived, it has the royal crest on it!"
"What? But it's still morning, none of the guests are to be here until this evening! The Prince can't have arrived yet!"
"You want to tell the Prince what he can and can't do?" Nanny hesitated for a moment, then turned to Her Little Ladyship.
"You're not fit to be seen and we must greet his majesty shortly! Come quickly." Nanny grabbed Her Little Ladyship's hand and dragged her up to her room where much fuss was made about putting Her Little Ladyship into a proper dress and doing her hair just right. Before Her Little Ladyship had a chance to recover she was dragged back down to the front room where her parents were waiting for her outside of the door. Nanny was in such a rush that when she suddenly halted Her Little Ladyship fell flat on her face from the force.
"Darling, are you all right?" Mother kneeled down with Nanny on the other side, both afraid to see what damage had been done. Her Little Ladyship sat up, holding her nose.
"I'm fine, just a little trip." They both tutted and petted her for a moment, worried that the fall would show on her face but relieved to see the redness to her nose quickly fading.
"Now then, let us go greet our guests. We mustn't keep royalty waiting!" Mother happily took Her Little Ladyship's hand as she helped her up, Father standing to the side in bemusement through the whole production. With a nod from Father the servants opened the door and the trio walked in. Mother immediately went up to a woman sitting on the far side of the room and took her hands.
"Queen Mother, so good to see you again."
"Always a pleasure Her Ladyship, you have such a charming home!" The thin woman smiled back at Mother cordially though she didn't stand. Her Little Ladyship found herself fascinated with the woman's rather tall up do and the way her gray hair swayed back and forth. "And it's so good to see Her Little Ladyship doing so well." Queen Mother turned to smile happily at her. Her Little Ladyship was so busy wondering how the little gold crown pinned to Queen Mother's hair didn't fall out that she quite forgot her manners until Father's hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.
Her Little Ladyship blushed in embarrassment and quickly curtsied her greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you, er… well, I mean… meet you again." Her blush only deepened as she realized how rude it would be to introduce yourself to someone you supposedly had met before. "I'm sorry, I haven't quite got all my memory back though Doctor says I'm making good progress and I might not ever get all my memory back, especially the memories from the accident, but I'm remembering a lot more all the time and seeing familiar people helps so I'm sure I'll remember you quickly since you're here now and and… I'm so sorry!" Her Little Ladyship bowed at the waist in apology after she had finished babbling to Queen Mother. Father chuckled, fully amused by his daughter's antics while Mother simply groaned, horrified that she had yet to break her daughter of her habit.
"Her Little Ladyship, stand up straight! We already talked about this!"
"Oh yes, ladies don't bow, they curtsy." Her Little Ladyship quickly stood straight as a rod, then curtsied once again. Unable to keep it in any longer Queen Mother began to giggle quite madly with a hand over her mouth and merriment dancing in her eyes. Her Little Ladyship relaxed a little and smiled at the older woman, at least she was not angry with her awkwardness.
"Delightful as always, Her Little Ladyship is a breath of fresh air when everyone else in court is stuffy as an old chair. Derek, I'm sure the journey has quite tired you out. Why don't you take a refreshing turn in the garden with Her Little Ladyship?" Queen Mother turned to look a little behind her to a boy that Her Little Ladyship had not noticed earlier while Mother had been fussing over Queen Mother.
"I think that's a splendid idea, darling, why don't you take him down the walk on the north side of the house? It's lovely this time of the year." Mother happily sat next to Queen Mother as Prince Derek walked up to Her Little Ladyship and bowed politely. Father looked ready to protest but was getting such glares from Mother that he simply cleared his throat and sat across from the women as they began chatting happily.
"Yes uhm… of course!" Her Little Ladyship curtsied to Prince Derek before leading him to the doors. "Right this way." Once outside Her Little Ladyship tried to calm down, shooting inquisitive glances at the Prince because she had been too flustered to get a good look at him while in the house. He had dark clothing, black and violet with gold embroidering along the outer seams with a crest on his right breast: a black swan rampant with a gold crown over a violet field. He was indeed a whole head taller than her, with curly hair cropped close to his head and his skin was just as pale and creamy as Nanny had said. On the next glance she got a good look at his eyes, so dark they looked black as his hair, because he was looking at her too. Her Little Ladyship blushed and looked away.
"Have you forgotten me as well as my mother?"
Her Little Ladyship's face paled, his voice had sounded so sad as he asked her that she didn't have the heart to tell him. "I couldn't even remember my parents' faces," She managed as a rather downhearted reply.
"It must have been quite the ordeal for you, waking up in a strange place surrounded by unfamiliar faces without even knowing your own name." He gently took her hand and tried to look into her face though she was looking down.
"It was strange, but I was very calm. I think I was still in shock. I'm sorry I don't remember you! I really want to!" Her Little Ladyship looked up at the Prince with tears in her eyes, truly feeling horrible for forgetting him.
"Hush now, it's okay. No one blames you for what happened, it wasn't your fault the accident took your memories. It doesn't matter if you can't remember me right now, we can get to know each other all over again and build new memories. Like this lovely walk right now, or the ball tonight." He smiled down at her and put a hand to her face, Her Little Ladyship relaxed a little and smiled gently at him.
"Yes, all we can do is keep moving forward. The ball tonight will be a lot of fun!" She beamed up at him happily as they began walking again.
"So, am I what you expected?" The Prince smirked at her as he asked the question, causing her to blush in embarrassment again.
"Oh well, you know, I had been told what you looked like so I wasn't expecting a fair haired Prince or anything." She didn't have the heart to tell him that for some reason she had expected him to look differently despite how perfectly he matched everyone's description. Not once had anyone told her that he had forest green eyes or held his hair back in a low ponytail but for some reason that's what she had expected.
"Please, just call me Derek. We are friends after all."
"All right, Derek." Her Little Ladyship smiled brightly as they talked about nothing and wandered through her favorite garden. She was feeling very happy when they returned to the house proper, both ready for lunch after wandering around outside in the sun for half the morning.
"It's just that she hasn't been the same since the accident. You saw her, our daughter used to be graceful and charming. She may still be kind and gentle but she has no poise, no elegance." Her Little Ladyship looked down at her feet just outside of the room her parents and Queen Mother were currently sitting in. It seems they had started discussing her condition while she and Derek were out. The Prince was frowning mightily, he seemed upset that they were talking about her so.
"Pardon me, I should be going. There's the uh… ball. Yes, the ball, I should go start preparing for it. So much to do, you know. I had a very nice walk, Prince Derek." Her Little Ladyship quickly gave an awkward curtsy before turning and running down the hallway. Derek clenched his fists, then straightened out his clothing before entering the room, this simply would not do.
Her Little Ladyship ran into her sitting room, collapsing onto one of her chairs and tried to scrub the tears from her face. Nanny simply came in and kneeled next to the chair, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping Her Little Ladyship's face dry. "There now, what has upset Her Little Ladyship so?"
"Am I really that different from what I was before? Am I really so bad off now?" Nanny looked quite hurt and took Her Little Ladyship's hands.
"Now who says that? You're still the same sweet, caring girl I've known since birth."
"Mother and Father were talking with Queen Mother. They were saying that before the accident I was graceful and elegant but now I'm all bumbling and awkward. I've heard them talk to Doctor sometimes too, that they fear more than my memories were addled and that my mind may be damaged. Is it really that bad?"
Nanny just continued to wipe the tears that were flowing down her young mistress's face. "Yes, you were more graceful before but it took a lot of practice and training to get there. I'm sure that you can get your memories back and be graceful again with enough practice, don't let their worries affect you so. Cheer up, you can't go to the ball with your face all red and puffy!"
Her Little Ladyship gave Nanny a watery smile, "Thank you Nanny. You're always so good and kind to me."
Nanny simply smiled at her young charge and continued to comfort her, Her Little Ladyship couldn't attend the ball looking such a wreck after all.
Later that night the ball was held, it was a dazzling affair with wonderful dancing to wonderful music. Or at least it was supposed to be, Her Little Ladyship stood in a dark corner of the ballroom, half hiding behind a curtain as she burned with embarrassment. The afternoon had been so pleasant after lunch, how did it come to this? After Nanny had calmed her down and seen that Her Little Ladyship was fed they had an impromptu dance practice with some coaching from Nanny that had actually had Her Little Ladyship dancing well. The pair waltzed grandly up and down her room before Nanny ended the dance with an underarm turn and a grand flair, Her Little Ladyship had been too busy enjoying herself to trip over her feet and was quite pleased with the result. So when the ball had started and Her Little Ladyship had stood up with Derek she hadn't felt half so nervous she had during practice that morning.
"It's all this stupid mask's fault." Her Little Ladyship plucked unhappily at the white gilt mask weighed down with tiny diamonds and large white feathers that was fastened to her face. Some time during the planning Mother had thought it would such fun to have a Masque and had declared that Her Little Ladyship would be a swan. The ball gown and mask she had been given were both made of the purest white clothe and were covered with the same tiny diamonds and huge white feathers, they only made her skin itch and weighed down the mask to the point of slipping down her face. If she hadn't been wearing the mask it wouldn't have kept falling and she wouldn't have kept pushing it back up and she wouldn't have accidentally stomped on Derek's foot, in high heels no less. Her Little Ladyship cringed as she remembered the chaos that had ensued, Derek fell over right into a couple that was minding their own business near them, which in turn cause another couple dancing purposefully across the dance floor to trip over the other couple, and the catastrophic effect simply spread like dominoes from there. The dancers who saw it coming and tried to get out of the way only crashed into less observant dancers right behind them, a few had even taken out some of the guests who were socializing on the side lines with wine in hand. There Her Little Ladyship had stood in the center of it all completely unscathed while practically every person in the ballroom had taken some kind of damage, be it bruised elbows or stained costumes. The shame still burned on her face as she remembered Queen Mother fussing over her fallen son as he was rushed out of the ballroom to have his foot and various bruises and scrapes sustained in the disaster that had followed cared for. Her parents were right, there was something wrong with her.
"Won't you dance with me?" Her Little Ladyship looked up at the unfamiliar face, surprised that someone would dare ask her after what had happened.
"What, me?"
"Yes, you. There's no one else here." The young man stood before her with hand outstretched, he was dressed as a knight in leather armor with a matching leather mask.
"Weren't you here for the first dance? I'm a terrible dancer who would probably just get you hurt if you tried. Why don't you ask someone else?"
"I saw, but it's to be expected when you wear something like this to dance." Before Her Little Ladyship had a chance to realize what the strange boy was doing he reached over and pulled her mask from her face. "Most people take off their masks to dance, especially if it's as ill fitting as this one is."
Her Little Ladyship angrily snatched it from his grasp, how dare he be so forward and so rude. "You're still wearing your mask."
The boy dressed as a knight reached up and removed his own mask, revealing forest green eyes. Her Little Ladyship was so struck by how familiar his eyes were that at first she didn't hear what he said next. "Are you pleased now?"
"I suppose so, but you're quite bold, you know. Touching a strange girl's face like that out of the blue and talking to me when we haven't even been introduced!" For some reason the knight only smiled, as if he enjoyed arguing with her.
"Now that we have our masks off, will you dance with me?" He held his hand out to her again expectantly.
"Why should I? I don't even know you and you've been quite rude. Besides, even without the mask I'm still a clumsy dancer. I'd rather just stay here and watch the others." She leaned against the wall and looked longingly at the dance floor, the other dancers seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"We don't have to go out there if you like, we can dance just as easily right here. And we're far enough away that if you fall there's no one to trip over you." Her Little Ladyship wondered at how he kept his hand stretched out in invitation, surely his shoulder must be hurting from the effort.
"Fine, one dance." Her Little Ladyship moved the mask to her left hand and put her arms up, ready to start dancing to the waltz that was playing. To her surprise the knight instead took her hand and pulled her forward, stretching her other arm out with his other hand and causing her to drop her mask in surprise. Almost out of instinct she stepped forward to keep from falling and threw her other leg out to keep balance. "What, what's this?"
"We're dancing, what else?" He continued to lead her in a strangely familiar dance, supporting her gently yet firmly as he lead her around the tiny space.
"Is this… ballet? But I don't know any ballet!" She squawked in protest as he lifted her up, spinning them both around.
"You're doing quite well for someone who doesn't know what she's doing," he teased right back. He had moved them out of the corner a little bit as he started leading her into a more complicated dance. The nearby dancers saw what was going on and stopped to watch, wondering when Her Little Ladyship had learned ballet and who the strange youth dancing with her was.
Her Little Ladyship smiled as the dance continued, she did know ballet! She was able to keep up with him far better than she had any of the ballroom dancing, though wearing the wrong shoes for it was a bit of a distraction. Before she had realized what had happened they had ended up in the center of the dance floor with the rest of the dancers in a big circle around them, stopped and staring. Even the music had stopped, the musicians unsure of what to play.
The more Her Little Ladyship danced the more familiar it became, like she had danced with this boy dressed as a knight before. It was like a veil was being lifted from her mind and a name came through it. "Fakir?" He stopped the dance then, one arm around her waist and the other stretched out elegantly behind him. "Fakir, it is you!"
"Duckie," he replied, he would have said more but Duckie nearly bowled him over with an excited hug.
"No! No I won't allow this!" Fakir and Duckie looked up to see Derek standing at the edge of the crowd, those nearest him were fighting to step away from the seething boy. "How dare you touch her, you commoner. Where are my guards?" Derek roared as he called for his personal bodyguards, ordering them to capture Fakir immediately.
"C'mon, we have to get out of here." Fakir took Duckie's hand and began running for the back of the room, the onlookers quickly split to either side of the room in a rushed attempt not to get involved in the fight. Fakir and Duckie were lucky, the Prince's personal guards had only been stationed around the regular entrances. Once the pair got to the far wall Fakir stopped before a tall window, from floor to ceiling, kicking out the glass before pulling Duckie through and out into the garden on the other side.
"What's going on? How did you get here? I'm not even entirely sure where here is!"
"Questions can wait, we're still have to get away from here or they'll catch us."
Duckie looked around, recognizing the garden they were in, then tugged on Fakir's hand. "This way." Stumbling over uneven grass in her heels, Duckie led Fakir through winding garden paths where tall planters and decorative trees would help hide them from the searching guards. Very soon they came to a copse of rather unkempt looking trees which Duckie ran through recklessly.
"Where are we going?" Fakir trailed along behind her, tightly holding onto her hand.
"This is the edge of the property, there was some sort of fight between Fath-" Duckie paused with the word half out of her mouth before continuing on, "between His Lordship and the neighbors. Now neither side bothers with the upkeep of this area, here's the wall dividing the two." Sure enough they came to a rather worn looking stone wall, complete with a rusted gate that was hanging slightly at a slant. Duckie pushed the gate, for a moment it seemed as if it wouldn't open but then it gave way and creaked open rather loudly. Fakir winced but went through and waited for Duckie to come through as well, helping her close it. Then Duckie took his hand again and gathered up her skirt with her other hand, leading him down a forest path that one had to know about to see. Once they were quite far from the gate Duckie slowed to a stop and sat down on the ground to catch her breath, Fakir did the same. "Is it time for questions now?"
"Only a few, we won't be safe until we're out of here altogether."
"So where is here in relation to Gold Crown Town?"
"We're inside a Story."
"What? Inside a Story? But how?"
"You were kidnapped, so I wrote a Story where I found you. It took a while and a lot of hunting but I found the Story you were stolen into and went in myself."
"Oh… I don't remember being kidnapped. Are all these people under a spell like in Gold Crown?"
"Yes, they're all under the control of the Story. It's an old one, one of the first that Drosselmeyer ever wrote. But it's about time we left, are you rested?"
"What? We can't just leave! All these people are under a spell and we have to help them! If this is Drosselmeyer's story it'll end in a tragedy!"
"Shhh, not so loud! Of course I know that, we won't be able to leave the Story until it has an ending. But I can't exactly write the ending out here in these woods without pen and paper. I brought some supplies with me, we just need to get to the road and I can lead us there." Duckie nodded and stood up, taking Fakir's hand again and leading him to the road. They walked this time, trying to keep quiet so as not to be caught. "How did you know about the wall and the gate or which direction to go anyway?"
"I've been living here for over a month, as soon as my pare- His Lord and Ladyship let me out of bed I ran all over the grounds and became familiar with it."
"So you remember your time here?"
"Of course, I may have been under a spell to keep me from remembering Gold Crown but that doesn't stop me from remembering everything that happened while I was under the spell." Fakir wasn't sure how to respond so they walked on in silence for quite some time, finally Duckie couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence, "I'm really glad you came for me. Thank you, Fakir." She smiled at him happily as she spoke.
"I'm just glad that you're all right." Fakir smiled back at her.
It was a long and dull journey that eventually led the pair back to where Fakir had been staying while trying to find Duckie within the Story, a humble stable where he worked as a stable hand with the horses within. They had both collapsed into the corner he was allowed to call his own, Duckie onto a cot and Fakir into a chair. While Duckie pulled the ruined shoes from her aching feet and protested that she shouldn't steal his bed Fakir dragged a satchel out from under the chair and pulled some clothing out of it. "Raetzel's old dress, Charon had found it and sent it with me. He sends his best regards, as does Autor."
"Thank you," Duckie meekly took the offered clothing and changed while Fakir turned the other way and made sure they were still alone. "What do we do with the ball gown?"
"I'm not sure, hide it for now." Fakir yawned, too drained from all the excitement to do more than sit back down in the plain, wooden chair and lean back.
"You should lay down, you're exhausted."
"You are too." Fakir smirked as Duckie tried to suppress a yawn, they were headed for another argument at this rate.
"I can't steal your bed, that's just wrong." Duckie frowned at him, refusing to go near the cot.
"There are other beds, I'll be fine." Fakir stood went across the small room to another cot tucked away in the far corner. "See? So just go to sleep, we'll figure the rest of this out in the morning." Fakir lay down on the other cot, Duckie simply lay down on the cot Fakir had left for her. It wasn't long until both of them were pulled into a deep sleep. One moment Duckie was just closing her eyes and the next there was a loud sound like someone banging on a door, there was yelling too but she couldn't make out what it was. She struggled to wake up, dully wondering what all the noise was about. Across the room she could see Fakir on his cot sit up suddenly and look around in a panic.
Before Duckie could ask him what was going on the room suddenly filled with people and the noise doubled. The shock of it seemed to wake Duckie up, she shot out of the bed and tried to fight through the horde of uniformed men to where they had roughly thrown Fakir to the floor and were now holding him down. "Fakir! Let him go!" The men next to Duckie held her back gently while another was pulling her torn and stained gown out from under her cot.
"My lady, calm down. You're safe now, we're here to rescue you from your kidnapper."
"What are you talking about? Fakir didn't kidnap me, he's my friend!" The men gave each other a worried look and Duckie thought she heard one say 'stock home something' but they wouldn't let her go.
"Her Little Ladyship should come outside now, your parents are very worried." The guards were careful not to hurt Duckie as they led her outside but they were quite insistent and wouldn't let her stay with Fakir like she wanted.
"That's not my name, my name is Duckie and Fakir is my friend. Why won't you listen to me?"
"Her Little Ladyship is not in her right mind." As they stepped outside Duckie looked over to where the voice came from, it was hard to tell if he was talking to her or about her, how did people know when their names made others refer to them in the third person?
"Prince Derek." Duckie stopped with a guard on each side just outside the stable door. Prince Derek stood next to one of his ornate carriages not even three feet from her.
"I'm so glad to see you are unharmed, though it's obvious that the fiend who kidnapped you has put you under some sort of spell."
"Fakir would never do anything like that, he's my friend!" Duckie cried desperately, trying to get Derek or the guards to believe her.
"You poor thing, we'll have to lift that nasty spell before returning you to your parents." Derek stepped forward, lifting his hand with index finger pointing at Duckie.
"I'm not under a spell at all," Duckie tried to step back but was trapped by the guards. "I was under a spell before but Fakir broke it," Duckie was going to say more but didn't have a chance as right then Derek touched her forehead. She immediately collapsed into the arms of the waiting guards, her head rolling to the side as her eyelids half closed and her jaw became slack. It was horrible, all Duckie could do was watch with unfocussed eyes as her supposed saviors dragged her friend off in chains while loading her into the prince's carriage.
Fakir stumbled as he was thrown into the cell, the thick wooden door was shut and locked behind him before he even had a chance to think about turning around. Not that he had thought about it, Fakir simply sank to the cold, hard, stone floor and dropped his head into his hands. "I failed. I had Duckie with me, I rescued her but before I could do anything at all they got her again. Now I'm locked up and they're probably putting her back under a spell and there's nothing I can do about it from down here. We're right back where we started, what was the point of coming here at all? What was the point?" Fakir would have wallowed in self pity for a while longer but he did remember what the point had been. With determination Fakir stood and started banging on the door. "Guard? You out there?"
The sound of something hard hitting the door forcefully was all the response Fakir got at first, but he kept knocking on the door and calling out. "What do you want?"
"I want to write a letter."
"No."
"Why not? I have the right to inform my family that I've been falsely imprisoned just as much as the guy in the next cell. Let me write a letter."
"Stop making all that fuss in there."
"All I want is a pen and some paper, what harm is it going to do?"
"No, now shut up."
"Let me write a letter!"
"And why should we?" This continued for quite some time, the guards finally gave in and gave Fakir some paper and a quill rather than his meal but Fakir was too eager to write to care. He had an ending to change.
It took quite some time for the spell on Duckie to wear off, it wasn't until long after they had arrived at the royal palace and she had been bathed and dressed she snapped out of it. Duckie wasn't sure what it was that had broken the spell, one moment she's just barely able to sit up while one of the maids was brushing her hair and crooning about how lucky she must feel to have been rescued so quickly and Duckie was thinking how decidedly not lucky she felt and the next it was like a weight had been lifted from her. She suddenly sat up, much to the maid's and her own surprise, and almost fell out of the chair she had been propped up in.
"Heavens you surprised me, Little Ladyship! It's good to see you doing so much better now, Prince Derek will be pleased to be informed of your recovery. Now why don't you just relax and we can have you all finished in time for afternoon tea.
Duckie sat back squarely in the chair as the maid directed, letting the maid continue to brush her hair and croon comforting things into her ear. No wait, this wasn't right! "I have to find Fakir!" Duckie stood up, knocking the chair back rather forcefully and stepped away from the maid.
"Whatever is the matter, Her Little Ladyship? Are you unwell?"
"No! That is… I need to speak with Prince Derek right away."
"Calm down, child. You'll see him shortly, we just need to finish putting your hair up and put a proper dress on you." The maid motioned to the chair Duckie had jumped out of as she held up the brush, Duckie just shook her head.
"I have to speak to Prince Derek right away, it's very urgent." The maid looked annoyed, then sighed and smiled gently at Duckie.
"I'm sure it was quite an ordeal you went through, perhaps you need to rest a little."
Duckie gritted her teeth and had to keep herself from doing something rash. "No, I don't need to rest. I need to see Prince Derek right now!" Duckie stamped her foot in frustration, "Why won't anyone listen to me?" She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest angrily. It was like dealing with Fakir before their truce all over again.
The maids looked quite shocked at Duckie's behavior, unsure how to deal with her. "Alright dear, I'll send one of the maids to fetch His Majesty Prince Derek. But in the mean time let us finish dressing you, we can't have him see you half dressed with your hair loose about your shoulders." Duckie looked down at the dressing gown they had her in, it covered more than her pajamas back in Gold Crown had and she had thought it was a full dress. They were going to put more on her? With a sigh of defeat she sat back in the chair and let the maid continue.
"Alright, but make it something quick. I really need to talk to Prince Derek right away."
Some twenty minutes and much fussing later Duckie was finally sitting in one of the sitting rooms. A servant had brought her to the room and told her that Derek would be along shortly and that she should wait there for him. She spent her time waiting by picking at the lace and ruffles on the needlessly heavy and frilly dress the maids had stuffed her in. She had given up on arguing with them as they didn't seem to hear or understand what she said, instead just letting them fuss and chatter over her until they finally let her go. "Is this what the people of Gold Crown were like? Is it what I was like? It's like they all have a Heart Shard the way Ebine did." Duckie heard the door open and stood quickly, her previous musings forgotten.
"Ah, Her Little Ladyship. You wanted to see me?" Derek walked into the room and greeted Duckie with open arms.
"My name isn't Her Little Ladyship, I'm not even sure if you could call that a name. But that's not important right now, my name is actually Duckie and I was under a spell to think I was Her Little Ladyship. I don't even know who she is or where but the real Her Little Ladyship is probably under a spell somewhere and even if she isn't I'm sure she misses her family and friends. Oh, and Fakir broke the spell, he's the one you dragged away, he didn't kidnap me. He's my friend who came to rescue me and take me back home to Gold Crown Town, which I'm not sure if you've heard of there but it's my home and I want to go back. So won't you please let us go?" Derek had looked shocked when Duckie first started her speech, growing paler and finally resigned as she continued talking.
"How do you remember all that?"
"What?" Duckie blinked as she looked up at the taller boy in confusion.
Derek stepped closer, "You shouldn't be able to remember an of that anymore."
Duckie took a step back from the approaching boy, "What do you mean? Are you the one who took my memory away?"
"How could my spell have failed?" Derek moved closer to Duckie, reaching out to grab hold of her.
"No, I don't want to be under a spell!" Duckie stumbled over the furniture as she moved away from Derek, circling around the room and getting a chair between herself and him.
Derek looked surprised and hurt as Duckie moved away from him. "Why are you running away from me, Princess? I'm just trying to help you."
"No, you're trying to make me forget everyone again. You'll probably hurt Fakir too, and you're the one who took me from Gold Crown in the first place, aren't you?"
Derek's face was crestfallen, his arms went limp as he looked about ready to cry. "Everything I do, every way I try to get closer to you and you only run further away from me. Why can't my feelings reach you, Princess Claire?" Before Duckie had a chance to do more than think how familiar those words sounded for some reason she was enveloped in a bright light. She put her hands in front of her face, trying to protect herself from whatever Derek would do next and to squint through the overpowering light.
As quickly as it came the light faded, leaving Duckie unharmed but confused. As she looked down she realized that she had transformed into Princess Tutu again, but it wasn't quite the same as when she was in Gold Crown. For one the Piece of Mytho's Heart wasn't around her neck anymore, and the tutu was now adorned with white feathers and intricate beading, the fairy wings on the back were also missing. "What? What happened? I'm Princess Tutu? It doesn't seem right… what happened to the tutu? Where'd the bow go? The shoes feel wrong too." Duckie winced as she looked down at her feet, now wearing toe shoes. How odd, as Princess Tutu she had never even noticed the toe shoes she always wore but for some reason right now they felt uncomfortable and foreign.
"Princess Claire," Duckie looked up at the sound of Derek's voice, forgetting that he was in the room at all. "Won't you dance with me?"
"What? But… I can't dance like this! It doesn't feel right and I can't dance en pointe." Derek ignored her protests and simply pulled her into a pas de deux.
"I don't understand, Claire, I've done everything for you. You were fading away in that town, trapped in that miserable form and wasting away from loneliness and sadness. I rescued you, took you away from all those people who used you only to throw you away and forget about you. I gave you a new home, loving parents, everything your heart could desire… what more could you want?"
"You did all this, put all these people under a spell, for me?" Duckie stumbled as she tried to keep up with Derek, he kept leading her in a dance more complicated than she could do and her shoes kept tripping her up.
"And then he had to come along and ruin it all, That coward who couldn't protect you even when he had vowed it. Isn't my love enough, Claire?"
"Who's Claire?"
"You are, don't you remember? Your real name was Princess Claire and no matter what I did you never looked at me. But Siegfried is gone now, he chose another; so choose me, Claire, choose me."
Duckie shook her head, "I'm not Claire, Derek. My name is Duckie, I'm just a little duck who borrowed Princess Tutu's power to save a prince, but I'm not the princess herself."
"You're wrong, you are Claire. I saw you, chasing after Siegfried with that same single minded determination, just like before when you… when you…"
"When she confessed and vanished in a flash of light?" Duckie asked gently, "Claire is gone, Derek. She's gone and I'm not her." Duckie held her hands over her heart, tears coming into her eyes as she told Derek the horrible truth.
"No, no you're Claire. You are, please just say you love me, Claire, just say you love me!" Duckie simply shook her head, tears coming into her eyes. "Please, Claire! Why won't you love me? Is there another?"
Duckie blushed and started, not sure how to respond. "Well, that is…"
"Has someone else captured your heart? Declared his undying love? Made an oath to forsake all others for your sake?" Duckie shook her head silently to Derek's questions. "I'm making that oath now, Claire. I love, I always have and I always will. Please just say that you love me."
"I can't because I do love Fakir."
Deep beneath the castle Fakir dropped the pen he was holding, leaving a trail of smeared ink on the freshly written page. "She… loves me?" His face was completely red, all the way to the tips of his ears. "But what about Mytho? I thought she still loved him!" Fakir sat in shock for a moment before remembering that it wouldn't mean anything if he couldn't write them a happy ending. He hurriedly picked up the pen and continued.
"You love… Fakir?" Derek's legs wobbled dangerously as he stared at Duckie. "That commoner? The coward who couldn't protect you?"
"I… I do. Fakir! I know you're writing this and know what's going on. I don't know when it happened and it took me way too long to realize but I do love you, I love you more than I ever did Mytho!" There was another blinding flash of light, Derek was blinded and knocked over by the force of it. The light spread out from Duckie, sweeping out until it had filled up the whole kingdom with light and warmth.
Fakir dropped his pen then, rushing over to the door and trying to open it desperately. He could hear the guards in the hallway outside shouting and running about in confusion, it seemed that the spell on everyone had been broken by Duckie's confession and he was desperate to see if she were alright. When the door didn't budge he ran back to the story and hurriedly scribbled a sentence, hearing the door unlock as he forcefully dotted the period, then rushing past the guard looking into the room in confusion before he could even utter a sound.
Fakir raced through the castle as he tried to find the room where Duckie and Derek had been. The sheer amount of servants running to and fro and getting in his way was enough to drive him mad, the fact that he only found more as he threw open door after door in his attempts to find Duckie. Finally he opened one door and found what he was looking for, laying in the middle of the room in a pile of pink fabric and white lace lay Duckie, still a girl. Fakir sagged against the door frame with relief, "Duckie. Are you alright?" The girl's face scrunched up as she started to move, trying to sit up.
"What happened? I'm not Tutu anymore? Fakir? You're safe!" Duckie beamed up at Fakir happily.
Fakir kneeled on the floor next to her and pulled her into a hug, "I was so afraid you'd disappear again."
"I was so afraid Derek had done something terrible to you." Duckie hugged Fakir back, too relieved to do anything else.
At his rival's name Fakir pulled out of the hug and looked around. "Where is he? We have some unfinished business." Fakir growled and looked around the room, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Duckie looked around herself, trying to think of where he was last time she saw him. "Ah, over there!" Duckie pointed across the room, sitting by itself near a wall was a single black feather. Fakir went over and picked it up, inspecting it closely. Duckie took a moment to untangle her legs from the voluminous underskirts before joining Fakir and looking at the feather over his shoulder. "Is it a raven's feather?"
"No…. it's not. I'm not sure what it is but I know it's not a raven's feather."
Curiously Duckie reached over and plucked it from Fakir's hand. "I think it belongs to a water bird, like a duck or a goose or…" She thought of the symbol she had seen on Derek's clothing and carriages, "a black swan."
Fakir nodded solemnly, "The black swan that fell in love with a white swan but couldn't get her to return his feelings."
"What do you think happened to him? Where did he go?"
"I don't know, but I hope he never comes back."
"I hope he's happy, I think he was really suffering and didn't deserve it." Duckie sighed and looked at the feather in her hands sadly.
"Moron, you always want everyone to be happy but never worry about your own." Fakir patted her head to console her.
"I think this counts as a happy ending if we can go home to Gold Crown now."
Fakir nodded, "Let's go home." And home they went, where they eventually had a surprisingly short conversation that wasn't nearly as awkward as one would expect that ended in what we shall call their happily ever after.
The end.
A/N Twenty four pages! It was more but I accidentally saved over this file when I meant to save over the back up that had the first 13 pages written. Fortunately that was untouched so re-writing the first half wasn't that big of a deal but the second half is a bit different than when I first wrote it. It's just as well, I was unhappy with it the first time.
Okay, now for my babbling! I don't normally open these one shots with a fairy tale but it seemed fitting for this one, consider it part of the experimentation. Since the staff were calling Fakir "the dark prince" and Mytho "the white prince" before they were given names I wanted to bring that into this story, even though the dark prince turned out to not be Fakir afterall. And while that was part of what inspired this fic I'd have to say one of the main inspirations was Kingdom of the Birds, if you've read it I'm sure you can see where that kicked in. Mostly it started out at the ball scene, it didn't make sense to me that Fakir would waltz with Ahiru, he would dance a pas de deux with her even if everyone else was dancing a waltz. And I really really wanted that scene to be when Ahiru got her memory back in KoB so I decided to do just that for mine.
And about the names, Her Little Ladyship was the name of a ghost in Bizenghast (I seem to have lost the volume she was in, I'm quite upset about this) and I liked the idea of titles for names inside a fairy tale (Mytho in story was referred to to as just "The Prince" and Lohengrin was just "The Knight" and so forth) so I wanted to continue that in this story. I wanted Derek to be different though, he's the one pulling the strings here and is thus the only one not under the spell. I chose Derek because I wanted to have a lot of Swan Lake in this and Derek is probably the most famous Prince notSiegfried from any version of Swan Lake anywhere. I also used Queen Uberta as a reference when describing the Queen Mother. I chose Claire for Princess Tutu's real name because I still don't get how the translators got Kraehe from Kureru.
I have taken ball room dancing so I can tell you that like ballet there are first, second, third, fourth, and fifth positions. I do believe they are even related but they are very different. Trying to dance with someone who doesn't know how is very frustrating and very hard, trying to dance stuff you don't know how is just as bad for me (I'm a terrible follower, but I pick up the leader's stuff very well so far). Derek chose ballroom dancing because he was trying to keep Ahiru's memories of Gold Crown suppressed for as long as possible, not just because I actually know the base steps and a few turns for several ballroom dances. Eh heh...