Once upon a time there lived three friends and a princess...
"You know-urk-I thought that by now this'd be-ah-a cinch-but-!" Ahiru, balanced on two pointe's, while holding onto the bar with one hand. Struggling to hold the position, the pain in her feet are slowly becoming unbearable.
"I-know-erk-what you mean,-ur-mademoiselle!" Femio replies, the pain evident on his face as huge beads of sweat roll down his face. Yuma could be seen behind him, also experiencing difficulty in the prolonged time they've been in that position.
"Enough with your whining, Ms. Ahiru and Mr. Femio!" Ms. Cat scolds them. "Unless, of course... You want to be punished by having to keep this up longer than the rest of the class!" And her aura changes into a dangerous one.
"Eeeeek! We're sorry!"
Pok-Pok! A knock can be heard from the door. Ms. Cat, composed again, turns her attention to the door. Ahiru sweatdrops, and Femio releases a sigh of relief.
"That must be them now." And the feline instructor opens the door to let a group of ballet students, all clad in their practice attire, in to the room.
"Class, these are your upperclassmen. They are your fellow ballet students from the upper year levels. As you all know, we have a recital coming up and we are including all of the classes from our department. As such, your class will now be mixed with your upperclassmen in practicing for the said recital. I hope you all get along, and we all work hard together. Now please, welcome them." Ms. Cat concludes gesturing to the students.
The class makes a synchronized greeting to the elder ballet students, and soon the two classes start to integrate.
"Freya! Hermia!" Ahiru bounds over to the two acquaintances she made last school year.
"Ahiru. How nice it is to see you again." The blonde gives a soft smile, as the brunette behind her nods in agreement and in greeting.
"Where have you been, Ahiru? I was certainly surprised when you left some months ago! I was quite worried!" Hermia states moving closer to Ahiru.
"Ah! Well—I—uh!" The duckish girl flails.
Giving a soft chuckle, Freya cuts in. "We're just glad to see you again Ahiru."
"Ahiru...?"
Said girl, turns around to see Yuma and Femio approaching the group.
"Ah! What lovely Mademoiselles you both are! Here, a token of my meeting such exquisite beauties!" And he hands the two older girls each their own rose, as he strikes a few over done poses.
"It's very beautiful." Says Freya kindly, if a little embarrassed-like, and Hermia only nods nervously in agreement, a sweatdrop flowing down from her forehead.
"Fu~! I thought you said you were saving as many roses as you could for a girl you really like." Yuma says snidely with a mischievous grin on her face, partially hidden by the closed fist she placed over it.
"Oh! Yuma! Is that really you?" Another person joins the small group.
"Ahh! Mai, it's you!" The small girl turns to the new arrival.
"I haven't seen you since summer. How've you been?" The girl, Mai, says with a cheerful smile.
Mai, was a mature, tomboyish looking girl. She had short black hair that shone purple, and was in a sort of flipped hairdo. Her eyes were an amber shade of brown, and her expression showed that of a strong individual. She was slightly taller than Freya, but certainly shorter than Hermia who was the tallest girl in their class.
"I've been fine. Oh! By the way, Ahiru, this is Mai. I met her through the practices for the summer performance." Yuma says, minding her manners.
"Nice to meet you, Mai! I'm Ahiru." Then she turns to Freya and Hermia as well as she gestures at Femio, remembering she had not introduced him. "Oh, and this is my friend, Femio-"
"Sacre bleu! Yet another beauty has arrived!" Femio says as he bounds over to Mai, another rose in hand. "For you, Mademoiselle!"
All of a sudden, Mai goes beet red and starts to stutter. "Ah-Well I-!"
"Heehee~, why are you so embarrassed, Mai? You used to receive flowers from a few girls in our class all the time over summer!" Yuma teases.
"T-That's-"
However, seeing how embarrassed Mai was becoming, Ahiru decides to change the subject. "Ah—Have you guys met Autor? He's a close friend of mine, and very kind! Hey, Autor! Come over here a sec!"
And everyone, including Mai who turned slowly, brought their attention to the pianist in the corner of the room.
Autor ignores Ahiru silently, not even bothering to turn around in his seat in front of the piano. He merely continues his common routine of flipping through his music sheets.
Ahiru calls out to him again, and this time he glances at her, watches her a bit... Then turns back to the piano.
"Hrrrrmph! I just wanted you to meet my friends!" Ahiru retorts sticking her tongue out at Autor's back.
Mai looks on, watching the bespectacled music student, seemingly in a daze.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Yuma asks innocently from her side.
"Oh! Err, it's nothing." She replies unconvincingly. Before Yuma could further pry, Freya can be heard speaking up.
"It's quite alright, Ahiru. Autor plays the piano for our class as well, so most of us are at least somewhat familiar with how he is." She says simply with a warm smile.
"Yes, Ahiru. It's totally fine! Now, how about we go do some of our routines. Ms. Cat is still busy sorting the students, but we will be called soon so we better be ready." Hermia adds as she moves to the bars at the side of the room, as the rest follow suit.
"Aww... I don't know why I have to stay behind to clean the room again..." Ahiru complains as she lugs her mop and bucket into the room.
"Ms. Cat already told you. It was because of your whining earlier in class during your pointe practice." Autor says curtly as he gathers his things, always the last to leave the room.
"That's not fair! Then why isn't Femio made to clean as well? She heard him too!" Ahiru pouts as she swings her mop onto the floor. "Hey... Where is he anyway?"
"He went off somewhere with Yuma. Something about 'mademoiselles' or other. Yuma mostly just followed along to watch the reaction of other girls, which she finds quite amusing." The indigo haired boy finishes as he rises, and heads for the door. "Anyway, I'll be off now. Good luck with your work, Ahiru." He nods in her direction , and grabs hold of the door knob and opens the door.
"Ah!"
Surprised, the two look to see Mai standing at the doorway.
'Deja Vu, much.' Autor thinks sarcastically to himself. "'Scuse me." He says dismissively as he walks past the short haired girl and makes his way down the hall.
Ahiru watches Autor leave, only to notice that she wasn't the only one watching the strict music student. Mai, with a face that seems to hide a tinge of sadness, continues looking down the hall, her eyes being the betrayers of the true strength of emotion within.
"...Mai?" Ahiru couldn't help but say before she even realized she'd said it.
"Oh! Sorry... What was that... Ahiru, Was it?" The other girl says startled as she turns to face the redhead.
Ahiru bounds over to her, a smile once again plastered on her face. "Yup! That's me!"
"Ah, sorry about that." The girl says, her usual, confident tomboy demeanor showing again.
Ahiru watches her a short while, then speaks once more. "That Autor sure is a grump, huh?" A huge grin plastered on her face.
"W-what? I guess..." The taller girl sweatdrops. Then looks sideways awkwardly. "Hey, Ahiru? What's your... relationship... with Autor?"
"W-Whaaaat? Ah! He's-um...!" The duckish girl then composes herself again. "He's my friend of course! That's it!"
"Hahaha. Sorry. Didn't mean to embarrass you." Mai says smiling widely at Ahiru.
Ahiru smiles back cheerily, then stops a bit as she realizes something.
"Hey, do you like Autor?" Ahiru says simply.
This time, it was Mai's turn to lose her composure. "Wait-What? What-What makes you think that!" Her face was as red as a tomato and her eyes keep shifting between looking at Ahiru and looking sideways.
"Hehe. Sorry. Was I wrong?" Ahiru smiles genuinely up at Mai, almost as if the two had been friends for a long time now.
"I first noticed him when I was running some errands around school." Mai starts. "I had to deliver some documents to the music department that day..."
"As I headed down the hall to the office of the Music head, I suddenly notice the faintest sound of music. It was quiet... Far away... But something about it drew me in."
"I followed the sound 'til I came upon one of the practice rooms. The one where they had a grand piano inside."
"The sound that flowed from the cracks of the door... was... beautiful." Mai shifts a little at this.
"It was a very powerful piece, played with as much power as it deserved. Strong. Vigilant. Unwavering. A wondrous tune. Listening to it almost made me want to dance right then and there." She smiles a little.
"With a strong need to sate my curiosity at who could produce such a passionate melody, I opened the door ever so slightly and took a peek."
"And if it were possible for me to be more overwhelmed than I already was, then at that moment, when I saw his figure sitting at the piano; playing with such passion... It was almost as if time had stopped then, and there was nothing but him and his music..."
"I felt that passion; The strength in his playing... It was so strong I myself felt empowered. It was..."
Suddenly, Mai stops to notice herself.
"O-Oh... I'm probably not making much sense anymore, am I?" She says embarrassedly, but suddenly looks surprised to see Ahiru with a face that said she completely understood.
"No... It makes perfect sense." Ahiru holds her knees closely to her, shifting in her position that's seated on the floor. "I... can relate somewhat."
Mai watches her curiously.
"I mean, maybe our feelings and the degree of those feelings may not be completely alike... But I do understand." Ahiru looks out the window. "The passion he has when he plays... It saved me once after all." And she gazes at the trees outside, remembering that time.
"Ahiru..."
"Oh! I—I mean..! Uhh..."
"I was a little jealous actually." Mai looks down at her shoes.
"What do you mean?" Ahiru presses.
"You said a while ago that... he's a close friend of yours. I couldn't even ever talk to him... Probably the only time he ever spoke to me was that one time I was in the library and he told me to return the books I got to their designated shelves." Her amber eyes then meets the redhead's sapphire ones. "Usually that guy just ignores people when they speak to him. But even though he brushed you off a while ago... I heard you guys talking after the class ended. You must be really good friends for him to speak so casually with you, huh?"
"M-Mai..."
"Hahaha. I shouldn't have been jealous though. Just having these feelings... is enough." And Mai smiles at her brightly, but slightly blushing. "I was actually planning to confess a while ago after class."
"W-What? Does that mean I ruined it?" Ahiru stands and looks panicky.
"It's alright... I was planning to confess but... I wasn't really hoping on anything happening. I just wanted... To tell my feelings. To have been able to admit them to him. Rather than later regret never having done so." Mai says also standing up, and staring out the window.
"You're... very brave, Mai..." She says for a lack for a better word, and she can't help but gaze at the other girl admiringly.
Unbeknownst to either girls, just behind the door of the ballet room, a girl stands in the hallway. She then walks away quietly, having heard the whole conversation, a smile plastered on her face.
"Go on! He should be exiting the library by now. He always leaves the library around this time" Ahiru whispers loudly, hiding in a bush.
Mai, who was standing outside the library doors, begins to look nervous again, and her cheeks turn red.
Just as she was about to reply something to Ahiru, the doors of the library open, and the music student she admires comes into view.
"A-Autor...!"
"Hm?"
One dark haired student stares at the other.
"Oh. You're one of the girls from the ballet department. Sorry, but the library is closed now. You may return tomorrow." He says simply as he locks the doors and walks down the short set of stairs and past Mai.
"W-wait! That's not it...!" She quickly turns around to face him.
He, in turn, slowly turns around as well.
"I-" She looks down at her feet and begins to fidget. Across her, Autor looks less than amused.
'C'mon, Mai! You can do this!' Ahiru cheers in her head, ever the supporting the friend.
Almost as if she heard Ahiru, she glances towards the bush Ahiru was hiding in, and could see Ahiru's encouraging smile. Composing herself, she turns back to Autor and practically blurts out;
"I really like you, Autor! You're an amazing musician! The way you play is just amazing... It's strong... Passionate... Admirable." She looks him straight in the eyes. "I..." And she falters again, noticing herself and feeling a little bashful. "I just wanted to tell you that..."
"Alright." And without saying anything more, Autor just turns around again and begins to walk away.
Both Mai and Ahiru respond in shock, one more violently than the other.
"Autor!" Ahiru screams and runs towards Autor, grabbing him by the arm and forcing him to face her. "What are you doing! Is that all you have to say after Mai here shared her heart-felt feelings to you?"
Mai on the other hand, visibly shaken, just watches the ground by her feet, feeling more and more embarrassed as Ahiru continues to berate Autor.
"It took a lot from Mai just to say those things! You should at least-"
"It doesn't concern you, Ahiru. And furthermore, seeing as this is my business, I decide how I am to respond to it." He speaks curtly as he glares at the ginger-haired girl holding his arm.
"Autor, you-!"
But before Ahiru could finish, Mai runs off in the opposite direction.
The two friends stand there in front of the library doors in silence, neither looking at the other.
Finally, it is Ahiru who breaks the silence. "What was that all about, Autor?" She looks at him angrily but pleadingly at the same time.
Still, not looking at her, his eyes are hidden by the glare of the sunset on his glasses. "It is none of your conc-"
"Yes it is!" She turns quickly to look at him. "Not only because I'm your friend, but because I am Mai's friend too! How could you be so cold to someone who thought so highly of you?"
While his expression remains hidden behind his spectacles, he visibly clenches his hand tighter around the spine of the book he was holding.
"And who am I to her, huh?" He says keeping an even voice. "Because to me, she was nothing but some girl from the ballet department whose name I didn't even know."
"That's-"
"No, Ahiru. I don't know who she is. And I don't really care to find out. I have no time for silly little girls and their admirations. Unless you've forgotten, we have more pressing concerns we should best be focused on." He at last slowly turns to look at her, the ever serious expression he wears; present on his face.
They both stare at each other quietly, a soft wind beginning to blow between them.
"Mademoiselle Ahiru! (Oh, and Autor, too)! I thought I'd find you guys here! Ready to head bac-"
Femio walks in on the scene only to be halted by the heavy atmosphere.
Mai continues to run until finally, she could no more. Stopping by the gazebo in the nearby woods beside the school, she sits quietly, looking at the darkening sky.
"What am I doing?" She says to herself quietly. "Why... Why did I have to say it? I should've known he would not return my feelings."
She slowly starts to cry. "It hurts." She grasps her chest. "It hurts too much... This rejection..."
She grits her teeth and slowly rises. "If only-If only I'd kept quiet... If I'd only kept to myself! Why did I-"
"Soooooo, pitiful. It's sad, really."
Surprised by the voice, Mai immediately looks up to see a blonde girl in a black dress balanced on her toes at the tip of the gazebo.
The girl in black descends gracefully and lands in front of the bewildered tomboy.
She takes a step forward and extends her hand towards the dark-haired girl, and begins to speak.
"You wallow in your own regret. It's making you suffer, isn't it? Let me help you."
"I thought... We finally understood each other." Ahiru says sadly, looking down, trying her best to not cry.
Autor says nothing. But behind his spectacles that hid them, his eyes secretly show a discomfort. He did not mean to upset her. Not Ahiru.
Femio, looking very uncomfortable just looks between the two, unsure if he should step in or no. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he turns to Autor with an unconvincing smile.
"You know, my dear friend, you really ought to learn to speak kinder to Mademoiselle Ahiru." He tries to make it sound jokingly, which in turn just sounded rather lame.
Ahiru and Autor still both refusing to look each other straight, continue their silence.
Femio was getting desperate. "C'mon! Have we not all become muy good friends?" He says with a large smile while sweat-dropping at the same time.
This statement finally got Ahiru to look up, but still neither said a word.
Femio continues, "We've all been having a lot of fun all together, Oui? We should not be having these, er, misunderstandings(?) anymore! We should all just calm down, as good friends, and talk about-RAVENS!"
At the sudden outburst, the two finally snap out of it and look in the direction Femio was staring wide-eyed at.
As feared, there was a flock of raves looming over some ways away, above the trees of the nearby wood.
Ahiru's eyes widen as she realized, "That's the direction Mai ran in!"
Sure enough, as they arrived at the location of the flock of ravens, a familiar scenario greets them.
The blonde girl clad in black, a spiked-black pillar at the center, and this time, Mai was the one on top of it.
Ahiru and Femio both begin to transform, and in their place stood two figures clad in white and red respectively.
Princess Tutu, with white feathers in her hair, and a small gold crown a top her head, was a vision of sweet radiance. She wore a simple white dress, with a pink tutu underneath. The dress was adorned with a small set of faerie wings in the back, and three long 'tails' trailing behind her. She wore pink ballet shoes on her feet, white puffed 'sleeves' on her arms, and round gold beads around her wrists. The whole outfit is finished off with a beautiful golden pendant, in an ornate, feather-like design, hung around her neck.
Femio, has renamed himself, Prince Varten in this form; The name Varten meaning "Rose Giver". He was now adorned in a red princely outfit. He wore white tights, and red shoes, as well as a thin silver crown that wrapped around the width of his head. His top was a bright crimson with a white undershirt whose collar is made visible; The collar itself poofed around his neck like a ruff. The red top was buttoned down the middle with silver buttons, and its sleeves were large and very loose, but tight around the fore-arms. To finish the whole look off, he wore a dark red cape that he wore over his right shoulder, hung there with a silver lace. The cape itself reached to about a little past the end of his torso.
The stunning figures step into the scene.
"Fair-haired beauty!" The Prince calls out to the girl clad in black; Princess Lenore. "I have come to save you from this wickedness you writhe in. I shall free you with my love!" And he assumes the ballet stance that meant 'love' as red petals begin to dance around him.
Princess Lenore merely gives him an amused but disgusted smirk. "You never give up, do you?"
"Why must you keep doing this, Lenore?" Princess Tutu steps forward, reaching both hands forward.
"It is something I must do. And you just seem to love getting in the way. So, shall we begin as usual? Eh, Tutu?" The blonde assumes her stance as she says the name of her adversary with acid.
Tutu twirls her hands above her hands, then brings one down in an inviting manner that's meant to ask someone to dance. "Let's begin."
And the two begin to dance.
Both dance, spinning on their toes. Lenore begins to dance more invigoratingly and with each spin releases a sharp wind mixed with feathers, almost as if she were a small cyclone ripping apart the air.
Tutu tries to keep up, but is having trouble. However, right before Tutu completely falters, a third dancer joins the fray.
The Prince spins as well, a gust of wind and petals flying about him.
The three continue to dance as if in harmony.
Autor watches from the edge of the clearing, watching the whole thing happen. 'Something's wrong...' He doesn't know why... But there was something different here... It was almost as if Tutu wasn't quite herself, and Varten was only half there... And Lenore was somehow aware of these.
Without being entirely sure, Autor wasn't sure what to do; But he had to warn them somehow...!
"Tutu! Varten!"
Taking this as her cue, however, Lenore suddenly breaks from the dance.
Both Autor's call and Lenore's break away surprised the two and they begin to falter in their dance and accidentally bump into each other, ending the dance.
Autor runs over to them. "What is wrong with you two! Mai is close to revealing her heart! What is with this half-hearted dancing!" He scolds them.
The two look up at Autor, but before either could retort, they hear Lenore laugh as she stands a top the pillar where Mai is. Without saying anything, she merely smirks at them as if sure of her nearing victory.
"Shouldn't you two have been stronger than Lenore now that you are both here!" Autor follows up catching their attention once more.
But without even talking, its almost as if all three of them suddenly understood what was wrong.
It doesn't matter if they were all together if they were not united. Not just Tutu and Varten, but Autor as well.
There was doubt in all their hearts.
Varten, who could not even get his friends to listen to him to bring them back from an argument-How could he ever hope to get the girl he loves to listen to him so he could bring her back from whatever evil clutches have her?
Tutu's specialty was always understanding the hearts of others. She'd done it time and again. She'd reach out, and she'd hold their heart close, and feel what they feel... But why could she not even do that with someone she considers a dear friend?
This time, Autor understood. This was his doing. In his years of solitude and a great lack in any sort of friendship, he didn't know how to even have friends. And now that he did have friends... He did nothing but drag them down in the selfishness he didn't know he nurtured in his heart all these years.
Mai's chest was beginning to glow.
This drew both a panic, and a strange sort of resolve in Autor.
"Help... me."
Tutu and Varten look up to see Autor, head down, shaking slightly.
"Help me... Help you."
It was quite a lame plea... Despite his extensive vocabulary and knowledge earned from reading books... It was something he wasn't sure he knew how to phrase.
But among friends, long sentences with peppered words and metaphors were unneeded.
Varten and Tutu understood. Autor had never asked anything of them-Except maybe the occasional strict plea for silence in the library-He had never asked for anything else. And they understood. It was not in Autor's character to merely ask for help... But he did, and he did for someone else.
Standing up, both move toward Autor. Tutu took his hand, and he looked up at them finally. He was met with warm smiles from both his friends, and they all nodded simultaneously.
And by magic, white vines begin to grow from underneath the three and they were all brought up to the level of the black pillar. The white vines grew into a large white platform among the trees and looked like a glowing white stage above the gazebo.
At the edge of it grew a stark white piano with ornamental white vines that served as its legs. Sitting in front of the piano, Autor began to play.
"W-What is this!" Lenore looked on seemingly alarmed.
And as Autor began his piece, Tutu and Varten began to dance in tandem.
'This song...'
Mai slowly opens her eyes. 'I remember this tune... This powerful song... Strong... Yet soothing...'
As Mai slowly starts to sit up, the glow in her chest disappears.
"I-Impossible!" The girl in black screeches.
"It's working!" cries Princess Tutu.
Mai blinks slowly as the light returns to her eyes. "I remember now." She stands and starts to walk onto the white stage and begins to dance, Princess Tutu and Prince Varten dancing with her.
"It didn't matter... If my feelings would be reciprocated or no." She twirls to the right.
"It didn't matter... Even if I never got an answer." She raises her arms high and balances on her toes.
"All that mattered..." She brought her arms down over her chest and bends sideways.
"Was that I spoke these feelings of mine... Have them heard." She straightens and has a soft look on her usually tomboyish face.
"The same way, I was able to hear the feelings spoken in that song as it was played in that practice room."
And with this, Lenore's black pillar disappears, and Lenore is forced to jump onto the white stage as well.
Her landing was a little short of graceful and she landed on one knee, but not before her fall was softened by a gentle hand grasping hers. Looking up in surprise, she comes face to face with Varten who gives her a warm smile befitting a prince.
She however responds with a scowl, and pulls her hand away violently, which ends up scratching Varten's face, and she hisses, "Don't touch me!" All before jumping off the white stage backwards to disappear in a flurry of black feathers.
The prince could only watch sadly as his love once again flees from him.
The stage soon starts to grow down into the ground again, and all that is left are four students; Two boys crouched over a red headed girl holding another girl with dark hair in her arms.
The next day everything seemed to have gone back to normal. As per usual, the three are walking home together. Ahiru, Autor, and Femio.
"Mai seems to be completely back to her usual upbeat self! Yuma even commented that she seems to be even more cheery than usual!" Ahiru beams, smiling widely, walking between her two friends.
"Well, that's all and good. I'm glad to hear she's doing better alre-" But Autor is cut off.
"Hey, mister! Don't forget that you still have to apologize to poor Mai! She may be taking it pretty good now, but your meanie attitude was no good at all!" Ahiru stops to wag a finger in front of Autor's face in a childish scolding.
"Y-yeah..." Autor merely sweatdrops, his eyebrows knotting together.
Off to the side, Femio is merely humming happily to himself.
"What are you so happy about? I thought you'd be sulking again from having your 'love' run away from you again." Autor says simply, looking uninterested, but asking nonetheless.
"Oh, but yesterday was different! I was actually able to hold her hand; Our eyes met; And I even got this lovely 'love-bite' from her!" The violet-haired lad says dreamily as he gently rubs his fingers over the scratches on his face. "It is a step forward to finally reaching her heart!" And he begins to walk ahead, dancing and singing to himself in mixed up languages; saying words like, 'amore~' and 'ti amo~'.
Autor just looks on, shaking his head in displeasure.
"I'm happy for him."
Autor looks down to see Ahiru smiling after the lovestruck Femio. She then turns her smile to Autor and smiles widely again at him.
"I'm also happy for you, Autor." She looks at him straight.
"W-what for?" Autor asks confused, his glasses glazing over.
"It was very nice of you, to play the piano that time for Mai. I don't think we would've been able to save her without it." Her smile becomes softer.
"I..." Autor looks away, seemingly staring after Femio, who was at a bit of a distance from them already without realizing. He pushes his glasses up his nose. "I didn't do it for Mai necessarily."
He straightens and looks at Ahiru through fogged glass. "I did it, to save Mai, for those who wanted to save her." He fidgets, "I did it... to help... my... friends save someone dear to them." And he looks away quickly.
He jumps a little as Ahiru jumps onto his arm, holding on tightly, and beaming brightly up at him.
Autor looks at her oddly with a faint blush on his face.
She gives him another one of her smiles and simply says, "It's about time you called us your friends out loud!"
And as Ahiru finishes her sentence, she proceeds to pull Autor by the arm as they run after Femio.
Chapter 6 : Expression