Disclaimer: Non, non...This massochist does not own Princess Tutu...Princess Tutu belongs to EVERYONE! (Just kidding, it belongs to Ikuko Itoh!)
Thank you Astale5, bree luv, Chrysanth Florence, FeelTheBeat, Ineterin, James Birdsong, and yayabrande for the lovely reviews! ^_^
Thing don't always turn out the way you expect them to..."Happily Ever After" just got put on hold...it's time to see who sinks and who can swim ;3 (Please don't hit me with fish...italian food is fine, but please no fish...)
You've heard of Pandora's Box, right? Well...lol...
BTW, I forgot to mention anywhere...Veronica and Roxanne are about 7 and a half (they're actually twins...but they're nothing alike...), and I think Alphonse turned 6 recently, lol.
Chapter 3: Surprise
For a moment they had to blink while their eyes adjusted to the sudden light. They looked all about the room, but they only saw one thing worth interest. In the very center of the room there was a large ornamental box on a pedestal. It was the size and shape of a human casket.
"...that's it?" Alphonse complained, letting go of Roxanne's hand he'd been holding with his left hand, and taking his right off the hilt of the small dagger he'd brought.
"Looks like it," Roxanne looked up and around the room, "Maybe we should go back now."
Alphonse glowered, "After all that trouble I went through? I'm not going back till I see what's in that box!"
Roxanne paled, "But it looks like a casket. What if there's a dead person in there?"
Her brother grinned, "Are you scared?"
Roxanne puffed out her cheeks, "I'm not scared."
"Then come on," he pulled her over to the box.
After looking at it for a moment, he found a clasp, and undid it. He then tried to lift the lid, but it didn't budge. He pulled back with a frown.
"Hey, look," Roxanne pointed at another clasp, "There's more than one."
"Oh, right," Alphonse laughed, "Let's find them all then."
"Yep!" Roxanne smiled, fully into the game now.
Soon they found and undid all the clasps, and grinned at each other. They tested the lid, and it moved, eliciting gasps of joy from them.
"One," Alfonse said.
"Two," Roxanne giggled.
"Three!" they said together as they hefted the lid up and let it swing back on it's hinge.
They quickly peeked into the box, their faces beaming with curiosity. That was when they saw the body. With shrieks of terror they both fell back and scooted away from the casket as fast as they could.
"It's a dead person! A dead person!" Roxanne wailed.
"Why is there a dead person up here?" Alphonse wailed as well.
"I don't know! It doesn't make sense!" Roxanne cried, teary eyed.
"Maybe we should get out of here," Alphonse said, quickly wiping away any evidence of tears.
"But we can't leave it open!" Roxanne said, "Then everyone will know we messed with it!"
Alphonse frowned at the idea, but he didn't argue. Slowly, the two of them moved back toward the casket. Once they reached it, Roxanne was the first to pull on the lid. Alphonse held back.
"Wait, I wanna look at him again," he said, pulling himself up so he could look inside the casket once more, "Wow, he doesn't look pale and icky. He looks like a normal person."
"R-really?" Roxanne asked, both nervous and curious.
"Come on, take a look," he told her.
She hesitated, but her curiosity won her over. She went to her brother's side and peered in at the person inside the casket. Suddenly, she gasped.
"It-it's him!" she exclaimed.
"Huh?" Alphonse looked at her, "Him who?"
"The prince from my dream," she said, staring at the young man she'd dreamed of.
"But...he doesn't look like a prince," her brother said, pointing at the young man's plain and slightly tattered clothing, "He looks more like the gardener or something."
"He's a prince because I said he is!" Roxanne retorted, her face bright red.
Alphonse rolled his eyes, but then suddenly seemed thoughtful, "Hmm...if he is a prince...then maybe he's under a spell!"
"A spell?" Roxanne asked.
"Yeah, like in Sleeping Beauty or Snow White!" he said with enthusiasm.
"But that was a princess, not a prince," Roxanne said in confusion.
Alphonse frowned at her, "So? A prince could be put under a spell like that too."
"You think so?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said, "So if a princess is saved by a kiss from a prince...then a prince would be saved by a kiss from a princess! Like in The Princess and The Frog!"
Roxanne blushed, "What are you saying?"
Alphonse grinned mischievously, "Maybe if a princess kisses him, he'll wake up!"
"WHAT?" she turned bright red, "I-I-I CAN'T DO THAT!"
"Oh? Is that so?" her brother suddenly looked disappointed, "I guess he'll have to wait for another princess to come save him then..."
"Wh-what?" Roxanne grew worried, "Someone...else?"
"But maybe no princess will come for him," Alphonse stepped back from the casket and slowly headed for the door, "And he'll just sleep like that...forever."
She bit her lip and looked at the young man again. Her eyes grew sad, and her hand reached out and gently brushed back a lock of his dark hair.
"I...I want to see you smile again..." she whispered, her deep blue eyes looking at him kindly.
Her brother stood silently by the door, watching and waiting to see if she'd do it or not. Slowly, Roxanne leaned closer. She was blushing, but she had a look of determination on her face. She closed her eyes, and leaned in the rest of the way. Alphonse blushed at the scene, however, he didn't see that it was only a kiss on the forehead.
'Is he awake?' she was afraid to open her eyes.
After a moment, the young man's face scrunched. Then slowly, he opened his dark green eyes. Surprised, he sat up quickly, too quickly. His head collided with Roxanne's, creating a painful "thunk".
"Oww!" she fell back on her bottom, holding her head.
The young man held a hand to his head too, sharing her pain.
"Roxi!" Alphonse ran to his sister's side, "Are you okay?"
She looked up with a sheepish smile, "Yeah...but my head hurts."
The little boy frowned and shot a glare at the young man, "Baka Ouji."
The young man looked over at them, confused, "Where..."
Then he saw Roxanne, and his eyes widened in shock, "Ah...Ahiru?"
Alphonse snorted, "Baka Ouji. He's spouting gibberish."
They were all surprised when a sudden groan came from the doorway. A bespectacled man wearing an exasperated face stepped into the room. His eyes were brown, and his short hair was violet black.
"Uh-oh..." Alphonse began inching toward the back of the casket.
Roxanne gulped, "H-hello, Autor-san..."
"You're ten years too early..." Autor huffed, "You weren't supposed to come up here until you were 17...16 at the earliest..."
"...Autor?" the young man looked at him with shock and confusion, "You're...older?"
"Hmph," Autor huffed again, "And you haven't aged a day...it's been over seven years..."
The young man left the casket in two smooth motions, and stalked over to Autor angrily. He grabbed the somewhat taller man by the front of his shirt.
"What did you do?" he growled, "What are you talking about?"
"W-wait, Fakir!" little Roxanne scrambled to her feet.
The young man looked at her in surprise, "Ahiru?"
"Roxi, what's Fakir?" Alphonse asked in a low voice.
Roxanne looked at her brother in surprise, "Huh? Fakir?"
"That's what you just shouted," her brother huffed.
"I-I did?" she asked.
Alphonse just gave her a look.
"I knew it," Autor sighed, "Her memories are resurfacing."
"What?" the young man looked at him again.
"Rue's not going to be happy if I answer your questions while her children are listening," Autor said, taking a hold of his arm, "So for the moment, please control your temper, Fakir-kun."
"Rue's...children?" Fakir's eyes widened again, and he looked at Roxanne and Alphonse.
"You recall how Princess Tutu was a figment of Mytho's heart?" Autor asked in a low voice, catching Fakir's attention once more, "Her physical appearance was actually very similar to that of his late mother. The hair, the eyes...little Roxanne inherited that from her grandmother."
"...so that's why she looks like Ahiru..." Fakir glanced back at the little girl again.
Autor gave the young man a sly look, "You've misunderstood something, Fakir-kun...she is Ahiru."
Till The Next Chapter...
Dun dun DUN...I bet you ALL saw that comming, right? I mean, even if you didn't say it in the comments, I know I'm just that predicatable...T.T.