Once upon time, there was a nymph who loved a human. To be with him, she gave away her voice. She couldn't tell him anymore how she felt...As the man finally married it broke the the nymphs heart . Since that time she lured countless men on to their destruction to ease her own pain.

Akt 5: Orpheus in der Unterwelt

"You said you'd take care of that town fast, Jäger. And your mice haven't found any person for me to use.I'm disappointed", said the voice out of the mirror. It was frozen all over and the face in it could be barely seen. Only a pair of ice-cold eyes starred fiercefully.

Jäger had his back turned to the mirror. He was grunty about the situation.

"She was about to give in, but found out the truth after gained strength through it. She's harder to crack than any other one.

And that pest is now telling her about her past."

No mouse was near Jäger or the mirror. It was too cold. Jäger was breathing out the cold air.

"So, what should I do? It could take an eternity to make her come willingly. If it was for Tutu..."

"Whatever. Just bring her to me. You said that her dance is the most beautiful in the world. I won't accept failure!", said the Queen and left the mirror. As her presence disappeared, the ice on the mirror slowly melted. A mouse came out of his hiding place and looked if the place was safe.

Jäger was lost in had to bring Princess Tutu to the Queen, not just for her sake. The words of the spinner came back to him. Tutu's last sacrifice. And a smile folded on his face as he sat out for a place far far away.

"So..",said Fakir as he sat down. They were all in Ahirus room. Ella offered to tell them anything once they could find a place to talk. Now that everybody was in the room, all eyes were on Ella. The girl played with her hands nervously. Fakir tried to interrupt the silence and caught her attention.

Ella looked up. She met Ahirus gaze. She swallowed and then finally started talking.

"Well I'm not sure myself what happened. Like I said I still remember very little and it comes back to me very slowly. I do remember that I lived in a house with a lot of children. An orphanage I guess.. and I remember a lot of music... and singing. But anyway! I'm sure we used to play together, we were friends!"

"And how did she forget all about it then?",Fakir asked.

Ella looked at him, a little irritated. Fakir went on.

" If it's true what you're saying, why did she forget about it?"

Ella calmed down.

"This town was once spun into a tale wasn't it? Or rather the tale awoke to live...The prince and the raven, right?"

Ahiru eyes grew big.

"How did you...?"

" I was told by a spinner. The one who wrote stories about us."

One surprise after another. Everything came so fast and reached Ahiru so slow. She was glad that she was actually sitting. She closed her eyes and touched her forehead. She barely realized her surroundings.

" Are you sure? Another spinner?", Fakir asked finally.

Ella nodded.

" The spinner was different from the one here.. Drosselmeyer, right? She merged reality with her fantasy. If she saw someone who ate a lot, she turned him into a pig. Another person with a weird laughing pattern into a horse. And a little girl who was teased to be like a duck, was finally turned into a duck", she turned to Ahiru as she spoke her last words. So did Fakir.

Ahiru looked and said in a whisper." I'm not sure...I... think I remember something."

Fakir turned to her.

"A big house...white... and a river right next to it with a little bridge...and yes music, a piano..."

Ella smiled all over her face." Yes that's right! So we really knew each other. I wasn't sure if I made a mistake."

Fakir tried to shake off his confusion.

" Wait, so she's telling the truth? You're serious?"

Ahiru nodded. Her voice was weak, her head still dizzy and her hands were shaking. But she was smiling in excitement.

"Yes! I remember that we used to play together. But I'm not sure if it was an orphanage, more like a school..."

Ella thought for a moment. "Hmm, maybe your right. A music school maybe..."

Ahiru nodded. They moved closer together.

" And I remember that we once had a big fight about princes and knights or something!"

" Ah, you right, what was that all about again...?"

" It kind of makes me mad thinking about it."

"Oh and we were always dancing in the big music hall. There was even a big mirror!"

" And in winter we were always ice skating on the river! I remember that once..."

This went on for some time. Fakir cut himself out and watched the two girls chatting. He never saw Ahiru smile so brightly. She was really happy. Slowly he formed a picture in his head of a younger Ahiru dancing and singing on a green field, and behind a big white house.

It was a nice picture, although it made him a little sad. It also meant that there were stories about Ahiru he never knew or imagined. Well, at the moment, she could barely remember it herself.

Fakir raised himself. Ahiru stopped talking abruptly.

"What is it?"

" I'm going back home. It seems you got a lot to talk about. See you."

Ahiru wanted to say something but Fakir was already out the door. She mumbled something into her hand. Ella turned to her, with a serious look yet again.

" Say, do you like him?"

Ahiru looked at her and stuttered."W-what? Huh? I-I..."

Ella smiled brightly and took the other girl's hands.

" I can tell from your face that you do! I know how that's like. But you didn't tell him yet?"

" I-It's not that easy... I don't know-"

" If you don't ask you'll never find out!"

Ahiru tried to calm down. Her cheeks were still red.

"But I.."

"Ah right, the Princess Tutu thing...disappearing in a flash of light, right?"

"You know that, too?"

" Well yeah, I kind of know what happened, more or less."

Ahiru gave her a curious look.

" From that spinner?"

Ella nodded."She was able to see what happened here. I actually don't know that much about her."

Ahiru sat back and thought for a while. " Why didn't she turn you back then? She already told you so much."

"For fun, I guess? She wouldn't tell me anything about myself either. She only told me a little about that Queen..."

"Really?"

Ella held her knees close to her chest and laid her head down.

"Jäger is her loyal servant. She promised him anything he wants if he helped her. She only wants everything the world got to offer. And make everyone believe that she's the center of the world."

Ahiru was silent. Ella became really sad all of a sudden.

" I'm trying to get him out of that story and stop the Queen..."

"So he was written into it?"

Ella looked at the other girl. She smiled again.

" Yeah I think so!"

Ahiru wondered about her sudden change of mood. But Ella was already talking about something else.

"So! Now back to the important stuff! How you gonna tell him?"

Ahiru looked at her confused. She didn't know what she meant.

"The confession, Ahiru, the confession!"

Ahiru blushed.

" I can't tell him! I'd rather stay this way than disappearing! And I don't know how he feels..." After all the drama lately she didn't want to risk it one more time. Being close to him should be enough, he wouldn't break his promise.

Ella leaned back and looked at the ceiling.

"So you don't care if he falls in love with someone else?"

Ahiru looked at her irritated. Although there was a sudden ache in her heart. Just to think that he might like another girl...

True, when it was Mytho she knew that Rue was the better match for him. She accepted it, sadly, but she wanted him to be happy. But Fakir? That was rather different. Since they fought together for Mythos sake, they've been gotten closer, maybe even more than just friends. He always took care of Ahiru since she turned into a duck. Of course she wanted him to be happy. But could she accept it if he found happiness with someone else?

Ahiru was silent. She never experienced this kind of feelings before.

"So, what are you going to do?", asked Ella curiously. Ahiru didn't look at her.

" But what if I disappear...?"

"Well, then you need some other way to show him your feelings, right?"

That's right,thought Ahiru to herself. She once presented her feelings through her dance for Mytho! It might work again.

Ahiru was pumped and stood up so fast that she startled Ella.

"All right, I'm going to do it!"

"Um maybe you should wait until tomorrow? "

"Huh? Yeah you're right it's really late already..."

"Well, then it's time for me to go too. Got to go to class tomorrow."

"Right", said Ahiru as Ella stood up.

They told each other good night as Ella walked out of Ahirus room. The brunette leaned against the door and dropped her smile. She sighed and looked at her feet. After a short while she walked over to her room.

Rue still felt uneasy. Mytho had talked to many people about the raven's blood but there was no one who knew anything about it. Anybody who usually got infected by the raven's blood turned into a monster and had to be killed. Luckily Mytho was able to convince everybody, who he entrusted this information to, that Rue won't harm anyone.

But still, she felt watched by those eyes. Looking at her every move. Or maybe it was just her imagination? She couldn't tell.

Mytho was by her side more than before. But Rue couldn't overcome this terrible notion.

She was at the lake again, dancing on the water. Not Tutu, but her as a girl. She danced alone for a while until her prince, no, her knight came. She smiled as he invited her to dance with him. The touch of his hand was so warm. He held her firmly yet gentle. She was so happy she thought that it didn't matter if she would die.

He pulled her closer to her and embraced her. The girl could feel her cheeks turning red. She smiled and closed her eyes.

Then the knight spoke :" How do feel about me?"

The girl opened her eyes fast and her smile disappeared. She freed herself a little from his grip and looked at him irritated." How I feel...?"

"Say that you love me", he whispered.

" I- I can't."She shook her head.

The knight looked disappointed, let go of the girl and turned around to leave. The girl tried to chase after him in shock but she couldn't catch up to him. Even her voice left her. She couldn't do anything. The last thing she saw was him walking over to another girl.

That's when Ahiru opened her eyes, falling out of her bed as usual. Just after a short moment she realized that it was just a dream. A nice dream, which turned into a nightmare. And it didn't seem that unrealistic to her. It already happened once.

But this was no moment to be sad! She had decided to tell him, any way it would work. She jumped up and screamed:" I'm not going to give up!" and soon after left for school.

She surprised Pique and Lilie by her new gained power but they didn't bother to ask. Ahiru was just like before, a little girl that smiled all over her face. She gave her all in the dance lessons, even though she sometimes distracted herself, thinking about Fakir, but snapped out of it fast.

While breaktime, Ella came over to her.

" So, what is your plan?"

" Huh?"

" How are you going to tell him without...actually...telling him", Ella asked unsure about her choice of words.

"I will...! ...uh...I..", stuttered Ahiru. She realized that she didn't really gave any thought about that. True, she knew she couldn't tell him directly but other then that she didn't think about what to do. She thought about dancing, but she wasn't Princess Tutu after all. There should be something else.

" You didn't think about it?"

" Ah well, you see. I was never supposed to confess so...I never thought about it at all."

Ella waited for her to speak again. Then Ahiru stood up fast and turned to her.

" He wasn't at school today either right?"

" Huh? N-No he wasn't-"

" Right! So I'll go look for him! See you later!", she yelled with a smile.

" What about afternoon classes! Ahiru!"

But she couldn't hear her anymore. Ella looked after her annoyed.

" She didn't change at all. Still without a care in the world...", she played with her wristband on her right arm. Her eyes became distant and only the school bells could bring her back from her slowly returning memories.

First Ahiru checked the library. After running threw a few corridors she saw a familiar head and stopped.

"Fakir!"

He turned around to face her.

"What are you doing here?", he said in a calm voice.

" I have something to tell you! It's important!"

Fakir looked at her curiously. Ahiru had decided that the best way to show him her feelings would be the pose for love. The easiest and fastest way to confess. Yeah, right...

The only thing she didn't consider was her nervousness. She was about to confess her love after all! Fakir stared at her, waiting for what was to come, but she couldn't move. Only slowly she moved her hands up. She closed her eyes hard. She couldn't see his reaction. He didn't say a word. But then.

" …. are you hurt or something?"

" Huh?"

Ahiru was that much stressed that she couldn't show the pose properly. She held her chest roughly and her whole body language told of her pain. But it wasn't a physical pain, that is.

She gave a short irritating laugh and moved her hands to the back of her body.

" Ahaha, it's nothing forget about it! Bye!"

She left in a blink of an eye, and Fakir just scratched his head wondering but smiled lightly before turning back to his book.

After Ahiru was out of the library she leaned against a tree. She didn't know she would be so stiff in front of him. Normally she could talk to him, even argue with him. So what happened? Even though love was the cause, that turned her into Princess Tutu in the first place she never gave to much thought to that little word.

It didn't work. Her nightmare came back to her, and the knight's words, too. She straightened her back and tried to think of something else.

" People say The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Maybe if I cook something nice for him..."

Ahiru ran over to the school kitchen to prepare something. She decided on a cake but didn't feel very comfortable to use eggs, so she left them out. She might have put salt in it instead of sugar and maybe to much baking soda. She couldn't really recall later if she even put milk into it but guessed that there should be enough milk in the chocolate.

The result however was clear. Disaster. Not only the kitchen was in a mess, but the cake looked horrible. Out of curiosity and confidence she still tried the cake. She couldn't eve take a bite because it was so hard and the taste couldn't be defined any other way than disgusting.

So after she cleaned up after her mess and threw away the cake, she pondered again about what she should do.

Next thing she could think of was writing a love letter. Fakir did receive one from her once, though it was not written by her. What if he thought it was a joke?

" I won't know if i don't try!"

So she sad down to write about her feelings. And realized that she had no idea how to put her feelings into words. She also didn't know if she could write a simple " I love you" and get around the curse this way. She wasn't a writer, but Fakir was. So she scribbled and crossed words for approximately an hour before she gave up.

She still refused to give up and tried another thing right after another.

" You seem restless ", said Mytho finally. Rue was sitting in the castle's garden. Even in the coldest winter the garden seemed to be a beautiful place. Rue didn't smile.

"Isn't it obvious? There is nothing here that could help me. I still think that I should leave this place..."

The prince looked at her discouraged. He knew that there weren't many people and places they could ask about the raven blood. Nobody worried about studying it in any way. There was nothing he could say to her for encouragement.

He couldn't remember when she last smiled. He feared that he wouldn't be able to keep her from leaving any longer.

A strong wind arose. The trees moved and a few snowflakes fell from the sky. Mytho moved closer to his princess. He reached a hand out to her, but she didn't even turn to him.

"It's cold. You should go back inside.", he said after a while.

Rue sighed and nestled down in her warm coat.

" How long is it going to take to make you realize that I don't belong here...", she whispered.

Mytho was stunned by her words. She looked at him fiercely. But before he could give her an answer the wind arose again and a boy appeared behind Mytho with a evil smile on his lips.

" How nice to meet again, prince. Or maybe it's our first encounter?"

Rues eyes grew big in surprise and Mytho turned around fast to face the person.

"...Who are you?"

The boy took a bow as he said:" Just a mere hunter, your highness. They call me Jäger. And today you happen to be my prey."

Mytho tried to reach out for his sword and Rue could already hear the knight's footsteps but it was too late. Jäger pierced the prince with a dagger, right through his heart. Mytho breathed in from the shock. He couldn't move. He could only feel the chill from the knife. Rue gave a little painful cry. Even the soldiers that had now arrived couldn't move.

But as Jäger pulled the blade out of the prince's body, the knights remembered their duty and attacked the boy. However, the boy disappeared into nothingness before they could reach him. Mytho fell on one knew as he held his chest. His eyes were still wide open from the shock. Rue stood up and kneel next him. One knight came closer to look for his well-being.

" Prince, is everything all right? Somebody get a doctor right now!"

Rue took his face into her hands and looked at him worried. Her eyes glittered, she was about to cry.

"Mytho are you alright? Your heart, he pierced your heart! "

She moved away his hands from his chest to get a better look. His clothes were torn but his body wasn't even scratched. There was absolutely nothing. Rue touched his chest.

" But...how? I could see him piercing you how could this..."

Rues eyes grew wide. She looked straight in the princes eyes.

"Is it your heart...?", she whispered in disbelief. Mytho slowly calmed down.

" Don't worry I'm alright. But he did take a piece of my heart..."

He tried to stand but his legs were still shaking. Rue supported him and helped him up. She looked at him concerned, but he only smiled for her.

" I guess this is no good time for you to leave..."

Rue looked at him surprised and then looked away.

"Stop it, it's not the time to say something like that."

The prince was moved into the castle as the doctor came running through the halls to him.

Ahiru sighed. It almost nighttime. She was sitting on the gangplank at the lake , slowly moving her feet almost touching the waters surface.

Throughout the day she had thought of various things to confess to Fakir, hopelessly. She thought about roses but was almost immediately reminded of Femio and couldn't bring herself to give them to Fakir. Then she tried to do something with music ( since she grew up in a musical house as she knew now) but failed terribly. Autor kicked her out of the music room after a few notes on the piano. She thought about maybe knitting a scarf for him, but she didn't know anything about knitting and nobody was around to teach her.

Every single idea was a disaster and she felt like time was running out. That dream really got to her. She couldn't shake of the feeling that it would come true very soon. She laid down on the wood and watched as some stars appeared on the dark night-sky. She returned to the lake because she thought that this was a better place to think. It was a special place for her and Fakir after all. Or maybe only for her?

She embraced herself and closed her eyes.

" I wished this would be easier.", she mumbled into her pullover.

"I could bring your happiness my dear", said a mysterious voice. Ahiru opened her eyes and looked to her right and left. Then she straightened her back to look at the lake. There was nothing. The voice chuckled and the waters surface moved. In the middle rose a feminine figure as the water froze over fast. Ahiru stood up and took a step back.

The figure reached out for Ahiru. Although she was made of ice she had no problem moving.

" Come to me, and I will grant you happiness", she said with a sweet voice. Ahiru had never heard such a smooth voice before. She almost wanted to reach for her hand but then realized something.

" You're... You're that queen..."

The figure let her hand down.

" Well yes. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I just want to help."

But Ahiru thought otherwise. She turned into Princess Tutu and came closer to the figure of ice. She didn't dare to touch the surface of the lake.

The Queen looked at her curiously.

" So this is Princess Tutu. My, I have to say that you really look beautiful. But would you please dance for me?"

Princess Tutu wanted to say something but she was interrupted. By the melody of a violin.

"This is not your place Pamina. Leave!"

Both of them turned around to the person with the violin, standing near the lake. It was the girl Princess Tutu saw with Freya. The melody of the violin became louder. It seemed to hurt the Queen. She grunted. Nothing of the smooth voice was left.

" Don't you think that this is over!", she spit and the water melted . It fell down with a splash and there was no sign of ice anymore. Princess Tutu turned to the girl, holding her hands close to her chest.

" So we meet again."

The girls violin had disappeared. She now looked confused at the Princess but then smiled again.

" Didn't you realize it yet?" she said as she turned back into a normal girl.

Princess Tutu looked at her surprised."Ella …?"

Ahiru had also turned back into a normal girl. She walked next to Ella, on their way back to the town.

" The name is Princess Aria. As I remembered that I am actually human, I was able to transform. But I think it's a little bit different from Princess Tutu. When I change, it only enforces my abilities."

Ahiru nodded.

" I see, so your good with music and stuff. I don't seem to have that kind of talent. Sigh. Ah, but what exactly makes you change?"

Ella raised her right hand and showed Ahiru her flower wristband.

" This here. It's a memento from the past. When I got this back, I started to remember the past. But I guess that the spinner had also something to do with it."

" It's beautiful...", said Ahiru.

" It was given to me as a present..."

" Really? From who?"

Ella gave her a strange look she couldn't really read. Ella sighed and said: " Not telling."

Ahiru wanted to say something but Ella cut her off.

" Ah, look who's coming!"

Ahiru looked in front of her. Fakir came walking down the path through the woods. Ahiru blushed lightly as she thought that he might have been looking for her.

"Well, I guess I leave you alone. I don't want to stand between you two." Before Ahiru could explain that she hadn't told Fakir yet, Ella already ran down the road, passed Fakir, and into the woods.

Fakir looked after her curiously but didn't say anything. Instead, he walked over to Ahiru, who had stopped her movement when she saw Fakir.

" Hey I was looking for you. Are you all right?"

" Huh?Y- Yeah, why do you ask?"

Fakir shrugged.

" You seemed to act more strangely than normal."

Ahiru looked away and gave a little laugh. Fakir turned around.

" Come on, it's getting late."

Ahiru nodded and ran to his side. They walked for a while without saying a word.

"...You're quiet. That's not like you."

Ahiru gave him a quick glance but then looked at her feet.

" I just... have a lot on my mind."

" You mean Jäger? He hasn't appeared for while now. But don't worry, I'm going to do something about this whole story. It's my fault after all."

Ahiru shook her head.

" No that's not it. I mean, of course I'm concerned about Jäger and the Queen but that's not what I meant."

"Then what is?"

"... it never felt so hard to be Princess Tutu when it was for Mythos sake..."

"What?", Fakir gave her a strange look." Is something wrong?"

Ahiru stopped. So did Fakir, not averting his eyes from her.

" I just don't know what to do anymore."

"...Ahiru?"

" I mean, I really never thought about it! There was no reason to. But when it comes down to it I don't know what to do."

Fakir listened to her confused.

" And it doesn't make it any better that I'm scared to disappear! It's so different from when it was with Mytho. As long as I could help him everything was alright. And I could accept that he picked Rue instead of me."

Ahirus voice became sadder. She was about to cry.

" But this time it's so much different! I really feel like my heart is about to burst just thinking about it!"

Fakir slowly realized and understood her words.

" You're..."

" I'm scared of loosing you! I tried to make you understand any other way but I messed it up every time! Everything went wrong! I don't know what I would do if you left me behind all of a sudden."

"We talked about this already, didn't we?I won't-"

" It's not the same!",shouted Ahiru, crying.

" I'm also just realizing it slowly. I can't compare this feelings to those I had for Mytho. My feelings for you are so much bigger, and I don't even know when it even started! And it hurts so much when I think that you might forget about me. I don't want that. I want you to be happy, but with me!

… I'm sounding so selfish saying this. I guess I know now how Princess Tutu must have felt... I don't care if I might disappear...Fakir, I lov-"

She couldn't finish her sentence. Rough but warm lips were pressed on hers. Time stood still. Her teary eyes were wide open in surprise. Then their lips parted again and Fakir gave her a concerned look.

" You're not supposed to say that. Idiot."

Ahiru only understood slowly what happened. She didn't say anything. She gazed at him like in trance. She closed her eyes and stretched out her lips to him, ready to be kissed again. Fakir blinked, but then leaned down to her again.

This moment lasted for a small eternity.

" So you really asked for love advice?", Ahiru laughed. Fakir blushed.

" Shut up. I needed to do something. I did it without thinking. That stupid cat was just the first thing that came to my mind."

Ahiru chuckled. They were slowly walking back to the town. The walls could already be seen in the distance. They walked hand in hand and had been talking for a while now. Both of them felt more relaxed than before and relieved now that they could talk about everything they had kept in their heart.

" Fakir? "

"Hmm?"

Fakir turned to face her.

"You see... I don't know what will happen if I say it... don't worry I won't, but... could you maybe say it to me...please?"

Fakir first didn't know what she meant, but as he realized it, he blushed and looked the other way. Ahiru gave him a serious look. She really wanted to at least hear it from him. At least once. Just this one time.

She squeezed his hand. But there seemed to be no reaction from him at all.

She looked disappointed at her feet. But all of a sudden she heard him mumbling, but still clear.

" I... love you"

Ahiru looked at him but he didn't turn around. Her face turned red, just like a tomato. If only she could have seen that his face didn't look any different.

They could hear their hearts beating loud in their ears. Good thing nobody could see them at that moment.

" Come on.", said Fakir and pulled her behind her. She stumbled but then caught up to him. She smiled. As she looked at Fakir she thought she glimpsed also a smile on his face.

Not that much of a cliffhanger I guess. XD

I think this chapter came out way cheesier then it was in my head.

My Beta-reader didn't think so, but i guess i really rushed this chapter and he had to correct a lot. He pointed out some mistakes in this one but they should be all corrected now.

Title is in english Orpheus in the Underworld, an Operette by Offenbach. I guess most of you are familiar with the Can-Can from the Moulin rouge? The "Galop" from the Operette is the most associated piece with that dance. And CanCan is most likely derived from the french word canard(duck) so i thought it fits perfectly for this chapter XD I wish this chapter was funnier though

The tale is a mix of the loreley and the little mermaid. Loreley was a nymph who was lying on a rock and while she enchanted the sailors with her singing, they crashed against the rock and died :)

This chapter came out long, although i have the feeling that it's actually short...