Chapter 11: In Too Deep

Fakir looked at the lake. The sun was barely up in the sky. He'd have at least an hour of light before the sun went completely down and the moon went up. He looked at it. According to Autor, his original house was burnt down...but Fakir had always found it strange how close his cabin was to the original spot. So...his great-great-great-grandfathers bones, who was probably somehow controlling this secondary plot they were becoming entrapped in, were likely at the bottom of this lake...with a notebook he'd hoped to find...if he was lucky enough.

He looked at it. Dark, blue...mystical. If the house was on the left...chances are the body would be towards the edge of the lake. He took a deep breath, took off his jacket and jumped in.

He felt the cool water around him, and to his surprise found the water quite clear. The bottom was more than 8 feet down easily, so he knew he'd have to take at least two trips. Maybe Ahiru would have been more fit for this job with likely better swimming abilities then him.

He held his breathe before getting about half way down, and started to let his breath out. Maybe he would see something. He landed at the bottom, and noticed a patch that was uneven...as if years of water had revealed a disturbed area underneath...it couldn't be that easy could it? He tried to move some of the dirt out of the way...after all these years maybe the sand had eroded down in the water and-

A bone. Fakir felt his breathe escape him, with surprise and with a frantic swim moved to the top of the water. He escaped with a huge gulp of air and treaded water. Something made the whole ordeal more...freaky...seeing the remains and a real skeleton bone.

Ahiru, who was still a swan, was inwardly debating whether she should tell him...or rather show him the curse. What would he react like? She only had about an hour or so of day before the sun completely set...and the moon would rise and she'd have to have her decision set. Her twin made it sound like she was only doing damage by showing him...but if he was aware couldn't he help her? He'd know it wasn't her acting strange in the day! That the girl he fought with today wasn't her! She paced around the lake when she saw a large splash as something emerged from the water...

Fakir! Fakir was swimming in the lake? But how? Why? What was he doing?! She'd rarely ever gone to the bottom...it was at least eight feet deep! She snuck behind a bush, not wanting to scare him, knowing the last time he saw her, she'd been honking at her fake-self and he'd shooed her away.

Fakir took a deep breath. Could it have been Drosselmeyer's bones? He'd never seen a real skeleton before, only in books, but he'd have to see if it was there. He took out the spade he'd brought and took a deep breathe before returning down again.

Ahiru waddled to the edge of the lake and stuck her head under the water to see if she could see what he was doing. He was deep, and digging for something...but what? She saw him rise again.

Fakir had uncovered a bit more, enough to know that some of the cloth of his clothing was still intact...meaning...maybe if he was lucky enough the notebook would be legible. Maybe Autor knew something about restoration. He had to try...one more go.

Fakir swam to the bottom and he'd had most of an arm and leg uncovered. Remnants of his attire were deteriorating, holy and dirty. He pushed more of the sandy dirt away, as the chest and face was revealed. Likely killed in the same clothes he'd seen him with during last time they'd encountered each other during Ahiru's fight with the Raven. He held his breath for just enough time to slip his hand in the inner pocket of the his jacket...of which could be barely called a jacket at this point. Fakir's fingers touched what seemed to be a hard leather encasing...a closed buttoned covering...a case... which likely held a book. He took it out of the skeletal remains, surprised by his own luck, when the book, as he put it in his own pocket, seemed to cause a jolt...a hard ripple through the waters that knocked his breath out of him,as if the book had awakened something or had disturbed the waters.

Ahiru felt the vibration in the water, but couldn't see exactly what Fakir had been doing. She lifted her head from the water waiting for him to swim up...he was coming up right? Something didn't happen to him? She waited to see the splash of him emerging...but nothing. She frantically dipped her head underwater, and saw what looked like an unconscious Fakir.

She jumped in and dove down until she reached him and pulled her neck under his arm and lifted him up out of the water, having him lean against her body and white silk feathers. She quickly swam to the side of the lake and tried to lift him onto the grass. She used her head to nudge him up. She looked with her wide blue eyes at him, scared. She couldn't do anything as a swan! She nudged his face a bit, trying to wake him up...

Fakir felt his vision blur as he opened his eyes and suddenly felt water come up from his lungs as he coughed and struggled for air. He pushed himself up and coughed up more water. He looked around...that pulse...was the notebook really that important that it caused some kind of disruption? And how did he get to the gra-

He suddenly saw the white swan who was staring at him intensely, and nudged his leg lightly. Her feathers wet. A track of duck prints alongside a wet trail he'd likely left on the grass...the same swan that went at Ahiru before? And now, she had saved him from drowning and got him to wake up? What was this swan? Who was this swan? It's big blue eyes seemed vaguely familiar...

"Fakir!"

Fakir turned to see Ahira running to him.

"Did that swan do this?"

"A swan couldn't cause me to drown...no. I wanted a break so I went into the water for a dip...just so happened I misjudged my swimming abilities." He said and got up. Ahiru didn't need to know about the book yet. Not until he was sure what he was dealing with...or she became entangled in this swan ordeal.

"Oh...well let me help you. That was the swan that honked at me the other day you know." Ahira took Fakir's shoulder.

"Mhm." Fakir's eyes followed the swan before they'd walked off together to the cabin.

Ahiru felt annoyed. She's saved Fakir! Did he even know? And now her evil twin was acting like the savior! She needed to talk to Fakir tonight she just had to !

Fakir went straight to his room and got changed. He couldn't afford getting a cold, not after he may have just found the book...already sealed in a leather case. He took it out and placed it on the window sill, hoping the evening breeze would dry the thing. It hopefully had at least some of the answers to the questions he'd come up with.

"I'm going back to the lake...I think I left my school bag there when I found you..." Ahira called out.

"Okay...when you get back...I need to talk to you." Fakir called from the other side of the door. Apparently Director Kugamaii wasn't too worried about the fact that Ahiru was still living with him...her dorm at the Academy never really did get mentioned since her audition...not that he cared...he kind of rather her be around with all this weird swan stuff up in the air.

Ahira walked purposefully back to the lake where her white swan victim was already at the lake waiting solemnly.

"Don't give me that look. You can tell him all about your little curse now...really I dare you." Ahira smirked all too knowingly and confidently as Ahiru swam over glaring as they began the dance that gave her back her humanity for the night's few precious hours.

Fakir didn't dare open the book until morning. He already dreaded the idea that the ink would be running down the pages...or maybe if he was really lucky, the paged would be just dust. He heard the door open.

"Ahiru?" He walked out, his hair still wet.

"Fakir, are you okay?" Ahiru asked.

"Yea... about going for a swim..." Fakir said.

"What were you looking for?" Ahiru asked.

"Wait...how did you know..." Fakir asked.

"Well...I saw you under the water...and you are a good swimmer so...I figured there was no way you'd just drown." Ahiru said, forgetting that he still didn't know she had been a swan before.

"Well...look I'm just looking into stuff about the black swan feather...and to be honest...you haven't noticed anything weird...like more swans showing up...there was a white one again on the lake when I-"

"I have." Ahiru said. "I noticed a black s-"

"A black what?" Fakir asked.

"A black sww-" Ahiru's eyes widdened. She couldn't say swan. Her lips wouldn't move. Her voice died...how? Did the black swan curse her further? Did she know she couldn't say the word the whole time? If she couldn't say Swan...then she couldn't turn!

"A black swan?" Fakir asked.

Ahiru nodded. At least Fakir wasn't clueless. "Yea...I'm not sure what it means but it doesn't seem good...but I don't think the white one is actually that bad."

Fakir nodded. "I agree...but look, about earlier today...you need to stop trying to please the Director so much...I mean it's great that you do so well...but it's just not you...and..." Fakir bit his lip. He didn't know exactly how to put it, but he cared to damn much for her to see her become someone other then the Ahiru he knew before. "Anyway, I've been looking into the swan feather thing and apparently Mytho and Rue have had an abundance of swans in their kingdom...the stories have been opened...and I have a feeling I'm on track to finding out why and what Drosselmeyer's plans are...but I need you to trust me."

Ahiru breathed out. So she couldn't turn into a swan in front of him unless he saw the change under the moonlight with the black swan...but, he was figuring out why exactly it was happening without even knowing it. It must have been linked to what he was looking for in the lake.

"Fakir, I don't feel like myself during the day...I can't say exactly, but trust me when I put it that if I do anything that's not like me...its because it isn't me...or something..." She admitted to her best ability rather meekly.

Fakir looked at her confused by her words. He kind of understood...considering nothing that had happened over the last few days had seemed like her...but she was her...wasn't she? He looked over to the book briefly, not long enough for Ahiru to spot it. He'd figure it out this time, and when he knew...he'd make sure Ahiru stayed a human this time...she deserved at least that much after all she did for Mytho and Rue's happy ending.

"Don't worry Ahiru. Whatever happens, we'll figure it out." Fakir said. "We've gone through worse..." He walked closer and gave her a small squeeze. He could tell...whatever was going on beyond the pressure for Ahiru to be the perfect partner...it was irking her.

"Fakir...why don't you sleep in the bed tonight...you almost drowned...you should have it." Ahiru said.

"You sure?" Fakir asked.

"Yea. Have a good night." Ahiru said as she walked out to the living room. She wasn't exactly relieved...but she felt a little better knowing that Fakir was on her side...hopefully.

"So my dear great-great-great-grandchild has taken my dear notebook...well if he want's to truly awaken his past...then let the games begin. I would really hate for my only heir to die...but...a knight so often goes nobly by the sword...and the boy has yet to realize what his ducky truly is." Drosselmeyer grinned. "Oh my dear boy, the real riddle you need to answer is
...what came first the Princess, the Duck or the Swan?"