Disclaimer: I don't own Princess Tutu, I don't own Princess Tutu, I don't own Princess Tutu...I don't own Princess Tutu...I think you get the point, lol.
Thank you Astale5, bree luv, Chrysanth Florence, FeelTheBeat, Ineterin, James Birdsong, MeraLee, 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...)
I love stairs~ :D
Chapter 4: How It Goes
"What?" Fakir gasped.
"The duck is gone, but this girl lives. Rue formed a contract with Ahiru, so that she could be reborn," Autor whispered, "You noticed how she called out your name just now, didn't you? Her memories from her previous life are slowly returning. You can see it, can't you? Those eyes aren't similar to hers, they are hers."
Fakir looked at Roxanne, then at Autor, then back at Roxanne again. He held his free hand to his head, as if dizzy.
"A-are you okay?" Roxanne asked in concern, stepping closer.
Alphonse stopped her by catching her hand, and gave Fakir a little glare. Fakir barely looked at the boy, in favor of meeting Roxanne's concerned blue eyes.
"I'm...fine," he said simply.
Roxanne brightened, "That's good."
"He's still a Baka Ouji..." Alphonse snorted.
"Stop calling him that, Alfy," Roxanne frowned at him.
"Hmph," her brother looked away, "He didn't even apologize for that huge bump he left on your head."
"Eh?" she immediately felt her head for the huge bump, but she only found a sore spot, "Ouch. Liar, there's no bump."
"Oh, I meant the huge purple spot," he said, cooly looking at her with one eye.
"Eh?" she began to panic, her hands covering the only slightly red area on her head.
Both Fakir and Autor sweat-dropped as they watched the childish display. Fakir let go of Autor's shirt with a moderately angry shove, and walked over to them. He knelt down in front of Roxanne.
"Let me see," he said.
"N-no...I don't want you to see..." she looked away with a blush.
Gently, but firmly, he grasped her hands and pulled them away from her head. Roxanne turned bright red and tried to pull away.
"N-no! Don't look!" she cried.
"It's fine, moron," he said, "It's only a little red."
"M-moron?" she blinked in surprise, and then she glared at him, "I'm not a moron!"
"Then don't be so gullible," Fakir told her, "Only morons believe everything their told."
"I-I don't! I'm not!" she argued, blushing in humiliation.
This time it was Autor and Alphonse who sweat-dropped.
Now out of things to say, Fakir was left just staring at her. After a moment, Roxanne's angry expression was replaced with that of a thoughtful one.
'His dark eyes...why do they seem so sad?' she wondered, 'He seems so lost...'
Suddenly feeling just a bit awkward, Fakir released her hands and stood up.
"Where is this?" Fakir asked, looking at Autor with a less than civil expression.
"The West Tower, Baka Ouji," Alphonse told him before Autor could say anything.
Fakir looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"I told you to stop calling him that," Roxanne hissed at her brother.
"Hey, Baka Ouji," Alphonse said, purposely ignoring her, "Since my sister broke your curse already, why don't you get lost? We don't need a baka ouji around here."
"I'm not a Prince," Fakir told him, "And I have half a mind to take a switch to your backside for calling your elders stupid."
"Ha! Just try it!" Alphonse told him, "Mama would kill you!"
Roxanne stiffened, and started to quiver. When Alphonse noticed this he paled.
"R-Roxi, I...I didn't mean it like that...I just..." he looked down, ashamed for spouting such an inconsiderate thing.
Startled from her thoughts, Roxanne smiled, "It's alright Alfy! Really! I'm fine!"
Her smile was a bit too bright. Alphonse didn't say anything more. Even Autor seemed more somber. Fakir sensed something was off, so he decided not to make a comment on it.
"I need to speak with Mytho," Fakir said to Autor.
Alphonse made a face, "Who are you talking about? You better not be calling my papa that! Baka oujis aren't allowed to call him that!"
"I'm not a baka ouji," Fakir told him, "And I'll call my friend Mytho if I want to."
"Ha! My papa isn't friends with a baka ouji like you!" Alphonse was sure of himself.
A tick appeared at Fakir's temple, but he chose to ignore the boy.
"Well?" Fakir gave Autor another dark look, "Are you going to take me to him, or are you going to step aside so I can go find him myself?"
Autor developed a tick, "As much as I relish the thought of rescuing you from the dungeon while you beg pathetically...I'll suppose escort you."
He turned to the door and opened it wide. Then he looked back at the two children, "As for you two, nearly the entire castle is searching for you...so I suggest you get your little royal selves out of this tower before I tell Veronica you're up here."
The two children paled a bit at the thought, both envisioning how angry their sister would be by this point. They quickly headed for the door. Fakir let them pass, sharing first an awkward glance with Roxanne, and then a mutual glare with Alphonse. Autor held out his hand before letting Alphonse pass to follow his sister.
"I believe you have something that belongs to me," the bespectacled man said.
"What makes you think I have it?" Alphonse said.
"Well, Roxanne isn't stealthy enough to steal," Autor said, "So of course I would believe you were the one who stole the key."
"Hey! I'm plenty stealthy!" Roxanne called back at them, not watching where she was stepping.
However, Fakir was paying attention, "Look out!"
Too late, Roxanne's little foot went down lower than she expected. With a loud sound of surprise, she flailed her arms wildly in an attempt to keep from falling down the long staircase. Fakir shot past Autor and Alphonse, and caught her hand just in time. In one smooth motion, he pulled her to him, and into his arms.
"Moron," he whispered roughly, catching his breath after the sudden rush of adrenaline, "Don't scare me like that!"
"S-sorry..." she said against his chest, her face bright red, "...thank you...Fakir."
With a sigh, Fakir stood, with her in his arms, "Alright, hold on."
"H-hey! I can walk!" Roxanne panicked.
"Don't squirm," Fakir ordered, "If you keep flailing your arms like that we'll both fall."
"B-but..."
"No "buts"," he told her, "Now just hold on to my neck, and we'll be out of this tower that much faster."
Begrudgingly, Roxanne did as she was told. Satisfied, Fakir quickly headed down the stairs, holding the little princess safely in his arms.
"...the baka ouji just kidnapped my sister..." Alphonse gritted his teeth, "Darn it!"
Autor sighed, "You had better prepare yourself...I think you and your sisters are about to get a huge surprise..."
"Huh?" Alphonse looked at him, "What do you mean?"
Autor sighed again, "Just don't cause your parents anymore trouble...and give me back my key already."
With a face that said he didn't want to, Alphonse pulled the key out of his pocket and gave it to Autor. Then, not wanting to waste another minute, the boy took off down the stairs in an effort to catch up with Fakir.
"Ten years...just ten years..." Autor grumbled, following after them, "Was that too much to ask for? Really, just ten more years...Rue's going to blame me for this...d*** it..."
Till The Next Chapter...
Poor Autor...but hey, that's what happens when you spout nonsense about monsters in front of a young prince who wants to show off how brave and clever he is...