Once upon a time, there was a coward. The coward was afraid of everything: his future, his past, and his present. One day a girl sought to befriend him, and he was afraid of even her. Eventually, though, he came to depend on the girl while she tried to inspire courage in him. When he realized he had fallen in love with the girl, his instinct was to run, but instead, in a rare show of courage he admitted his feelings to her, and she was elated. But, was it really courage that made him tell her? Or something more sinister?

Sunlight filtered in through the glass of Fakir's window, past his plain white curtains. He watched as the dust particles danced in its beams.

Seven days, but who was counting? He groaned and covered his face with his pillow. Maybe he could just sleep through the next century.

Charon had, thankfully, given him space and only asked for help at the smithy once last week. He didn't ask for his presence at dinner, at least, not after the second day, but Charon always made sure to make enough that Fakir could sneak some after Ahiru went to bed. It was rare his father didn't try and push Fakir into making up with Ahiru after only an hour, much less an entire week.

'Ahiru…'

How was he ever going to face her again? Seven days, and every night he dreamt of how nicely her lips fit against his.

Could he even be trusted around her? Sometimes he would hear her door creak closed and he would be overcome with the desire to go to her, press her against the wall, and kiss her until her lips were pleasantly swollen.

"Ugh!" He pressed the pillow against his face, trying to rid his mind of such disgusting thoughts. He had already taken advantage of her once, he would never allow himself to do so again.

If she would ever speak to him again.

'Not that she has a chance with you hiding in your room, idiot.' He mentally admonished himself.

Truthfully, he couldn't bear to face her. She was probably disgusted with him. He didn't blame her. He was disgusted with himself.

With an exasperated sigh he flung the pillow from his face. He really shouldn't stay holed up in his room. He was getting stir crazy.

What would she do if she saw him? Would she run from him? Would she glare at him? Would she act like nothing ever happened? None of those options sat well with him. He never wished he could go back in time and undo something as much as he did now.

But he couldn't just take it back. He couldn't tell her it was an accident, that it didn't mean anything. Because he had wanted to—still wanted to. Because it meant the world to him.

He sat up. He could at least take a bath; he was starting to stink.

Fakir got up and put together an outfit for the day before heading toward the bathroom. He paused in the hallway to glace at Ahiru's door. She was probably up by now. The only thing that separated them was a couple inches of wood… and his cowardice. He sighed and continued to the shower.


Ahiru played with the pendant around her neck; her fingers rubbed the smooth surface of the stone absentmindedly. Currently, it was white. Very white. Almost unnaturally white. The same white it had been when she first woke up after becoming human again.

"Ahiru?" Charon's voice was laced with concern, shaking Ahiru from her empty reverie.

How long had she been standing there?

"Huh?" She chirped in surprise, her wide, blue eyes looked frantic.

Charon pulled her into a hug, and, despite its suddenness, it was not unwelcome. Tears began welling in her eyes, and she tried to will them to stop.

A moment passed before Charon released her. "I'm sorry," Charon gave her shoulder a brief squeeze, "You just… you looked like you were going to disappear."

Ahiru looked down, unsure of what to say to him. The pendant was gray again, but she didn't have it in her to care.

Charon scratched the back of his head before starting again. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Fakir this time around, but… I consider you my child as well. So don't… don't think you can't talk to me, okay?"

The tears began spilling over, unforgiving. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him, but she hugged him tightly. "Thank you." She hated how you could hear the tears in her voice, but she repeated herself, regardless, "Thank you."

Was it a week ago? Had a week really passed since the day her feelings disappeared and Charon brought them back to her? Her emotions were tumultuous the following days, but she eventually calmed back down to her usual self.

She had seen the gem sparkle gray before, but never that dark. And honestly, she started thinking it was negligible. It hadn't been that dark before, it had always been quite pale—pale enough she sometimes thought she made it up.

Why was it turning gray? It was gray after she helped Lilie, so logically she figured it had to do with those black lights.

"Fragments…" She mumbled and pursed her lips.

All those fragments, as Drosselmeyer had called them, were going into her pendant. So… the pendant theoretically held the collection of fragments she had collected. Unless, they went somewhere else… At least, that's what she previously assumed, but now she wasn't so sure.

It had been gray when she became emotionless. Were the fragments related to that?

Her head began to hurt, and she dropped the stone along with her line of thinking. Since her last major headache had some undesirable side effects, she was unwilling to do anything that seemed to make her head hurt even just a little bit.

She needed some fresh air. She sighed when she sat up. She'd have to do her chores later today, she needed to get out of the house. Ahiru plucked a simple black skirt and a bright yellow shirt from her closet before setting about getting ready for the day.

Upon leaving her room, she noticed Fakir's door was open a crack. Her heart leapt to her throat. He'd been avoiding her ever since he… well. Maybe she needed to take the first step? Did she even know what to say? Every day that passed, she was less sure what exactly happened. Hesitantly, she tiptoed over to the open door.

"Fakir?" She whispered as she gently rapped at the wood of his door. There wasn't an answer, so Ahiru lightly pushed the door open further and peeked inside. It was empty.

She sighed, partially in disappointment. "Yeah, that seems about right." But, she had to admit she was a bit relieved. Ahiru turned around and left, she was going for a walk, anyway.

It was sprinkling a bit, so she grabbed the umbrella she bought a month or so ago. She smiled as she opened it up outside the door, its duckling pattern still cheered her up a bit when she saw it. Despite the light rain, it actually wasn't so bad. It wasn't raining nearly hard enough to form any puddles, and there weren't that many clouds out.

Ahiru hummed softly, making up the tune as she went. The sound of the droplets hitting the earth was calming. Maybe she would go to a bakery for a morning treat. A few months ago, Charon started giving her an allowance, and while she usually saved it up to buy him little presents—such as his favorite baumkuchen or some candied nuts—she figured it didn't hurt to spend a little on herself every once in a while.

Upon arriving to a small bakery she had never been to before, Ahiru closed her umbrella and gave it a good-natured shake. The smells that rushed at her as she entered could only be described as heavenly.

"Be with you in a moment!" A female voice called out from behind the counter.

"Take your time," Ahiru responded as she inspected the glass display case. Her mouth was practically watering at the sight of all the delicious treats.

"Here." The same voice prompted Ahiru to look up. An older woman with graying hair and a weathered face was holding out a menu.

Ahiru took it gratefully, "Thanks." She gave the menu a cursory glance before looking back at the woman. "How are you supposed to choose something?" She whined, "It all looks so good!"

The woman laughed. "My personal favorite is the apfelküchle." She reached across the counter and tapped the item on the menu. "Our baker makes the best apfelküchle in town, if you ask me."

Ahiru glossed over the description before nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah, okay! I'll have that, then!"

She handed the menu back to the woman, who turned and yelled, "Bernhard! Apfelküchle!"

"What?!" An even older looking man with a brown flat cap covering his balding head poked his head out from the durchreiche.

"I said apfelküchle!" The woman repeated, "Apfelküchle!"

"Ehh," the old man waived his hand dismissively and disappeared back behind the wall "I heard ya, I heard ya."

The woman turned back to Ahiru with a bright smile, which belied the exchange she just had. "Go sit down, I'll bring you some milk."

"Oh, thank you." Ahiru looked behind her at the tables. It was a small bakery and only had two tables set up. She imagined it was mostly a carry-out type deal.

A moment later the woman came out with a glass of milk. "Your order will be done shortly. He may be slow at everything else, but Bernhard is still spry in the kitchen."

Ahiru smiled and watched the woman hobble back to her counter. She took a small sip from her cup and nearly choked at a sudden loud sound from the nearby window.

"Eh?!" Ahiru squawked in surprise when she saw Lilie's face pressed up against the glass of the bakery, her sage-haired girlfriend looked mortified as she tried to pull her back.

Ahiru stared in utter stupefaction as Lilie stared back at her. A devilish glint flashed in her green eyes, and she dragged Malen into the bakery, barely giving her enough time to shake the water from her black umbrella.

"Ah-Ahiru!" Malen squeaked, her face red from embarrassment.

Lilie cut her off, "So you're the brave savior who sought the love of my bosom, only to discover you'd have to fight to the death against my dear, dainty lover!"

"Uhm—"

"—Oh, please don't take her words to heart; she's just like this…" Malen chewed on her bottom lip.

"No!" Lilie insisted. "She must prove her love the only way one can—with clashing swords, and sparks, and—"

Ahiru laughed. It had been years since Lilie tried to incite her into battle over an imagined love rivalry.

Malen looked relieved at the sound and gripped her girlfriend's hand tightly. "Actually, we're having a small party to celebrate… well, us." She swallowed before continuing. "You disappeared without us noticing, so we never got to thank you and… uhm… Well, we'd like you to come? If you wanted to?"

Ahiru opened her mouth to respond, but Malen quickly interjected again.

"I mean, it'll be super small. Just some of our closest friends. Like, uh, five or six people including us! Like a girls' night."

"And there will be battles for love!"

"No love battles, I swear."

Ahiru thought for a moment. She had promised to stay out of Pique and Lilie's life, but was one little party so bad? After this, she would stay away for good. They were just saying thank you, right? And, if she was being honest with herself, the thought of spending time with a bunch of other girls was really enticing, even if just for a night; ever since she became human again, she'd been surrounded by men. "When is it?"

"Two days from now!" Malen said. "At eighteen hundred hours."

"She means six at night," Lilie supplied, pinching Malen's cheek, "She's such a nerd, how cute!"

Ahiru smiled at the two girls, "Alright, sure. I'll go."

Malen grinned, "Oh, I'm so glad! I felt horrible knowing we didn't thank you properly! Who knows what would've happened to Lilie, passed out in the forest like that! —Oh! It'll be in Lilie and her roommate's dorm…" she paused. "Uh… do you know where the Goldkrone Academy girl's dorm is?"

Ahiru nodded.

"Okay, great! We'll meet you at the entrance, then."

"Excuse me." The old woman squeezed past Lilie and Malen and set Ahiru's order on the table before her. "There you go. Let me know if you need anything."

"Oh!" Malen moved out of the way of the old woman as she moved past again. "I'm sorry, we're interrupting your meal, we should go. We'll see you soon!"

Lilie waved behind her as she linked arms with her girlfriend. "Toodles!"

Ahiru couldn't help but giggle at the parts of their conversation she caught before they left.

"It's a tragedy you didn't fight. After you lost I would've nursed your poor, broken body back to health, crying every day!"

"You think I'd lose?"

"Oh, Malen, sweetie…"

Just one party couldn't hurt. She'd get a quick window into their lives. Just a small snapshot showing her that they were okay. She wasn't going to get attached again, she was going to be able to let go when she saw how happy they were without her. She could do this.

The delicious scent of her apfelküchle wafted up, causing Ahiru's mouth to water. She decided to focus on eating her treat instead.


"Thank you for your patronage!" the husky voice of the shop-keep called after Ahiru as she opened the door to leave.

Ahiru waved over her shoulder, sending the older woman a toothy grin as she stepped out. The sprinkling had stopped during her morning meal, leaving in its wake an earthy petrichor. Ahiru chewed on her lip anxiously as she headed back home. In two days, she would be going to her first party—a small party, but a party nonetheless—and with Pique and Lilie no less. She was excited; for one evening she could pretend nothing changed and she was celebrating one of her best friends' new relationship. She'd have to be careful, though. She had memories of them that they did not share with her. Ahiru definitely had the potential to look like a stalkerish creep if she wasn't cautious. Regardless of her worries, her happiness bubbled as she practically skipped.

Nothing made her enthusiasm wane as she finished out the chores she normally did when she first woke up. She hummed while scrubbing the laundry and hanging it to dry. She gleefully slid along the floor as she swept and mopped. Her mood didn't even falter as she brought the laundry in to fold it and noted, again, that Fakir hadn't put out any laundry to be done. After she put away the laundry, she retired to her room, where she started to plan what to wear to the party.

Ahiru giggled as she tried on different clothes combinations and posed in the mirror; a growing pile of discarded outfits slowly took over her bed. She'd examine herself from different angles, wondering if she should wear something fancier or go casual and chic.

Her smile faded as she stared at her reflection. The blue ruffles of her midriff shirt rustled against her shoulders. It was the same shirt she wore that day. For a moment she could feel Fakir's hot, chapped lips pressed against hers—the coldness of his sudden absence quickly following. She swallowed and pushed the thoughts aside. For once, whatever that was, it wasn't going to ruin her mood. In two days, she was going to be having a great time, and until then she was just going to be excited. With this resolution in mind, she tugged the shirt off and tossed it to the bottom of her closet.

In seconds, her chest and torso were adorned with a sleeveless white shirt. "Hmm…" she tapped her chin thoughtfully before grabbing a pleated, high-waisted yellow skirt and pulling it up her legs. After tucking the shirt into the skirt, she looked at herself critically before grinning. "Perfect!" And thus, in true Ahiru fashion, she had decided what to wear to an event days before it was scheduled to occur. She twirled once, admiring the flow of her skirts, before carefully removing her chosen outfit and neatly putting them away for later.

Ahiru got redressed and flopped down on her bed. She rolled on her side and stared out the nearby window. Excitement bubbled in the pit of her stomach as she imagined what would happen at the party. Conscientiously, she reminded herself not to get too involved. She was, after all, invited as an expression of gratitude.

Exhaling heavily, Ahiru sat up and tried not to let her excitement give way to worry. With that thought, she went to the window and pushed it open, hoping the fresh air would ease her mind. Ahiru kneeled on the window seat, placed her elbows on the wooden sill, and rested her chin on her knuckles. The light scent of petrichor had faded, and the air felt nice and cool. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes; she needed more moments like these: quiet and peaceful. Opening her eyes back up, she caught a splash of emerald on the ground.

"Oh!" She gasped and leaned out the window, trying to get a closer look. "Is that…?" Before she could finish her thought, her hand slipped and for a brief, terrifying moment, her thoughts all turned to the imminent fall before her. She screeched in surprised, flailing her arms wildly around her. Luckily, she was able to catch herself on the wall.

Ahiru chuckled in relief and pulled herself back inside. Cautiously, she peered back down at the ground. "I should probably go downstairs to look at it…" she mused. It didn't take long for her to make her way down the stairs and outside the house. She glanced up at the roof to make sure she was at the right spot before inspecting her findings.

She squealed, "It is!"

Growing in the barren spot by the stone wall of the house, was a green stalk, maybe ten or eleven centimeters tall, topped with two little green leaves. Ahiru squatted down to get a closer look. Near the base of the stalk was a split open sunflower seed shell—undoubtedly bird feed that had fallen out of her window. A grin spread across her face as she stared at the green seedling. At the academy she had to be careful not to let any seeds to fall out of the window lest she get scolded by the dorm's gardener. Here, though, she doubted Charon would mind if she let the flower grow.

"Should I water it?" She bit her lip as she regarded the small sprout. The ground was still a bit damp from the earlier shower. She shook her head, "Noo… it already rained." Ahiru stared at the plant a moment longer before standing back up. "To the library, it is."


When Ahiru arrived home, Charon was in the kitchen cutting up ingredients for dinner.

"Hey, Charon!" Ahiru greeted.

Charon tossed some roughly chopped beef cubes into a pot on the oven, making a pleasant plopping sound as it submerged in what Ahiru could only assume was water. "Welcome home, Ahiru." Charon greeted back. "Will you hand me the onion on the table?"

Ahiru grabbed the aforementioned onion from the table and walked over to Charon.

He thanked her and took it. Ahiru watched as he chopped the top off the onion and peeled its papery skin off. While he was cutting it in half, she spoke up. "Can I help?" It wasn't uncommon for Ahiru to help Charon with dinner, especially on evenings she had nothing else to do. Though she was a total disaster in the kitchen when she first started, she was learning a lot from watching Charon.

He gestured back towards the table. "Will you peel the potatoes?"

"Sure." Ahiru smiled as she settled at the table and carefully began scrapping the peel off into a waste bucket with the small peeling knife. The first few times she tried peeling a fruit or vegetable, she always managed to cut herself, but she was getting better at it now. It took a bit of convincing to get Charon trust her after the first cut, and even more after the second and third cuts, but he no longer protested—especially now that it had been a while since she last cut herself.

A rough cough interrupted her thoughts and she glanced over at the older man who had his mouth buried in his elbow.

"You okay?" She asked softly once his cough subsided.

Charon cleared his throat with a laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine. Must have something in my throat." He cleared his throat again and resumed cutting the onions into thick chunks. "So, what were you up to today?"

Ahiru returned to the potato in her hand, and with a smile on her face she blurted, "There's a sunflower growing under my window!"

Charon chuckled at her outburst. "Oh?"

Ahiru nodded enthusiastically even though they weren't facing one another. "Yup! And I went to the library and was reading how to take care of them. They're easy to take care of, apparently!"

Charon dumped the chopped onions into the pot before stirring it gently. He, like his father before him, had been a blacksmith all his life; however, he did remember a few things from helping his mother in the garden when he was a small child. "I can give you some manure from the stable, if you'd like."

Ahiru's eyes lit up as she picked up an unpeeled potato. She had read about the benefits of different fertilizers. "Yeah! That'd be great!" She hummed as she gingerly nicked an eye off into the waste bucket.

Charon smiled and sprinkled some spices into his stew from little glass jars he kept by the stove.

"Oh!" Ahiru exclaimed suddenly, "I almost forgot!" She whirled around in her chair. "I was invited to a party!"

Charon looked over at her in surprise. "A party?"

"Yeah!" Ahiru set the knife down and collected the peeled potatoes before walking over to the sink to rinse them. "Some girls I had met in town invited me to a party they're having in the Goldkrone Academy girls' dorm."

While it was a bit of a relief that the party was in a girls' dorm, thus no boys would be present—after all, he was still hoping his son would get his head out of his ass and ask the girl out—Charon wasn't aware Ahiru had befriended any local girls. Naturally, he wanted her to be happy and have a support group, but he couldn't stop his paternal protectiveness from rearing its head.

Ahiru must have sensed some hesitation in Charon's silence, as she quickly added, "It'll be a small get together with just a few girls! I had helped one of them out, so they invited me as a thank you." She placed the freshly washed potatoes on the cutting board.

She was clearly excited for the party, and Charon had to admit he was glad she found some friends. "When is it?"

"In two days," Ahiru responded.

Charon nodded as he started chopping the potatoes she had placed out for him. "Do you need to bring anything?"

Ahiru froze. Bring anything? Was that something you did for parties? Bring something? "Uhhh…"

Charon laughed. "That's alright." He had no idea how the young girl seemed to have such limited life experiences, and neither Fakir nor Ahiru had ever offered an explanation. He figured it was safe to chalk it up to her charm. "Punch is what I usually think of when I think of parties. We can make a big thermos of some for you to take."

Ahiru's eyes glinted. "Really?!"

"I'll make a list for you of things you'll need to pick up at the market tomorrow," Charon tossed the potato chunks in the pot.

Giggling in delight, Ahiru wrapped her arms around Charon's middle. "Thank you!" She released him and hopped back to her chair and finished peeling the last few potatoes while they chatted idly.

Fakir's absence at dinner was less conspicuous that night.


Firmly in Ahiru's grip was the list Charon had written up for her to take to the market. He had entrusted her with not only getting ingredients for the punchhe was going to make for the party tomorrow, but also the ingredients for the meal he was making tonight.

"Strawberries… oranges…" she mumbled under her breath as she stalked around the market looking for the ingredients. It didn't take her long to find everything, and soon the basket she brought was overflowing with packages wrapped with brown paper. She grinned as she carefully placed her last item—a glass bottle of mineral water—into the pile.

On her way home, Ahiru debated on what she should do for the rest of the day. Already she had completed her daily chores, and before starting the day's work, Charon put some fertilizer around the sunflower sprout. Her trip to the market took a lot less time than she had predicted.

She chewed on her lip as she opened the door to the house. "Oh!" She gasped in surprise, momentarily losing her balance.

Before her, standing in the hallway looking just as shocked as she felt, was Fakir.

They stared at each other with wide eyes for what felt to be an eternity. Memories of his lips pressed against hers flashed in both of their minds. Almost in unison, their faces flushed deep shades of red. Ahiru was certain her heart was going to pound its way out of her chest.

"Uh—"

"You—"

They spoke at the same time, causing them to cut off just as quickly as they started. Silence reigned over them again. A moment passed before Ahiru looked at the floor, trying to find the words to say to him.

This broken eye contact, however, seemed to break the spell and Fakir mumbled something about the library before pushing past her. Ahiru stared at his retreating form until it disappeared around a corner. She exhaled and closed her eyes, just standing in the open doorway for a moment, then went inside.

Her heart still pounded in her chest and her face was hot from the blood rushing in her cheeks. She set the basket of groceries on the table and sat down, her eyes staring unfocused before her.

He had told her where he was going. She could follow him and demand an explanation—but, she had also known where he had been this entire time. Nothing had ever been stopping her from demanding an explanation from him. Hot tears spilled over her cheeks, and she tried to push down the bitter disappointment in her throat.


The day started slowly for Ahiru, as it was wont to do when she was looking forward to something. She fed the birds, watered her sunflower sprout, and finished her daily chores before noon. Feeling listless, she cut two chunks of bread, slathered them with some red currant marmalade, ate one, and took the other Charon in the smithy.

Charon was thankful for a brief reprieve, though he had to take a few minutes to clean his hands and arms off before he could eat the snack. After eating, he sent her away with the reassurance he would come home early to help her make the punch before she left.

She eventually settled on her usual fall back plan of taking a long bath, but even after a luxurious soak and rough scrubbing, it was only four. She sighed as she pressed her hair in the plush towel. Even if she tried doing one of the elaborate—well as elaborate as she could manage—plaits that Raetzel had taught her, it would only knock out an hour and a half tops. Before she could resign herself to an over-the-top hair style, the sound of the front door opening and closing stopped her thoughts. Moments later Charon was knocking at her door.

"Ahiru?"

Ahiru jumped up and scurried to the door, struggling to drape her towel over her shoulders as she moved. She pulled the door open and greeted him cheerily. "Charon!"

"We better start the punch now so the mineral water has time to absorb some of the fruit flavor."

"I'll be down in a minute! I just want to tie my hair back!"

Charon nodded as he started to turn away, "Alright, I'll be waiting."

Ahiru hurried back to her dresser, but a series of coughs coming from the stairs caused her pause. She frowned and made a mental note to make Charon some tea after they were done with the punch. Refocusing on the task at hand, Ahiru's skilled fingers exercised their muscle memory as they flew through her hair in a flurry, pulling the strands tight with each pass. She inspected her braid in the mirror briefly before bounding down the stairs.

Charon was standing by the table, sorting out the ingredients for dinner from the ingredients for the punch. "There you are," he greeted.

Ahiru helped him store the vegetables away for dinner and watched patiently as he showed her how to slice the strawberries. One he turned the knife and cutting board over to her, he took a handful of strawberries he cut the tops off of and began crushing them in his mortar.

After Ahiru finished slicing the strawberries, Charon scraped the strawberry pulp into the large thermos he set out and poured the entire bottle of mineral water in it. Ahiru added the strawberry slices as he started to slice up a couple oranges. Once the oranges were added, Charon stirred the contents of the thermos, dropping in a bunch of raspberries.

"There." Charon tightly twisted the lid shut. "Now we just let it sit for a few hours."

"Thanks, Charon!" Ahiru grinned up at him. Punch was a lot easier to make than she thought it might be and couldn't wait to see everyone's reactions.

"Not at all," Charon dismissed as he washed his hands of the various juices he had gotten on them.

Before Charon turned the water off, she took the opportunity to fill a pot with some water.

"What's that for?" Charon asked.

Ahiru placed the pot on the stove. "I wanted to make you tea," she explained.

"You don't have t—"

"—but I want to, so sit down."

Charon had spent enough time with Ahiru—and watching Fakir interact with her—to know that arguing with her was pointless, so he just shook his head and sat down.

It didn't take long for the water to boil, allowing just little more time than it took for Ahiru to get a big mug, drip a little honey onto the bottom of it, find the tea, and sling a teabag over the rim of the cup. After she carefully poured the hot water into the cup she placed the cup in front of Charon and handed him a spoon.

"Sugar?"

Charon shook his head with a smile. "No, no. Thanks, kiddo."

Ahiru returned the smile, "Thank you!" She sat across from him and they chatted about her sunflower while Charon sipped his tea.

Almost an hour passed before Ahiru helped Charon make schnitzel for dinner. She was pleased she only made a little mess breading the pounded pork. By the time they were done eating, Ahiru was pleased to find she had just enough time to get changed before she had to leave.

Charon stopped her briefly to have her taste a small cup of the punch. "You have to taste your food while you cook," he advised, "How else will you know you're serving good food?"

Ahiru was pleasantly surprised by the fizzy sensation of the small bubbles from the mineral water. "Delicious!" She insisted he try a small amount before dashing up the stairs. Moments later, Ahiru was back downstairs, dressed in her chosen party attire, ready to go.

Charon chuckled and wished her well before handing her the thermos in a cloth bag for easy carrying and seeing her off.

There was a slight bounce to Ahiru's step as she made her way to the Goldkrone Academy's girls' dorm. She tried not to let her mind get carried away with fantasies of what the party would be like.

"Going to a party~" she sang as skipped along the road, "Gonna bring some pu-unch!" She giggled merrily as she turned another corner. Just further ahead were the gates to the girls' dormitory. Standing behind the gate was Malen and Lilie, giggling amongst themselves. Ahiru jogged over to them.

"Malen! Lilie!" Ahiru greeted.

"Ahiru!" Malen grinned and pushed the gate open to let her in. "Come on in!"

Ahiru held up the cloth bag she held as she stepped through. "I brought some punch!"

Lilie's green eyes flashed in excitement as she took the bag from her, "Ooh!" she squealed, "Did you bring the hard stuff to try and make our morals loose?!"

"Hard stuff?"

Malen took the bag from Lilie, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Ignore her."

"It's just mineral water with some fruit…" Ahiru supplied, still unsure what Lilie meant by 'the hard stuff.'

Lilie pouted briefly before getting a mischievous glint in her eye. "Oh, is our little Ahiru untainted by the evils of alcohol? How cute!"

Ahiru's nose wrinkled in memory of her first and last bout with alcohol. Her stomach churned just thinking of how much she threw up.

Malen motioned for Ahiru to follow, trying to change the subject. "Come on, we came down here a few minutes ago, and everyone else is coming from inside the dorms, so we don't know who's here yet."

Ahiru followed the couple into the building, up some stairs, and through a few hallways. Lilie and Pique's must've changed rooms since she was last human, as the pathway was unfamiliar to her.

Lilie stopped at a door, "Here it is!" With a flourish she swung the door open and entered. "The stars have arrived!"

Ahiru peered from behind Malen's shoulder as they entered, trying to see who was there. Malen stepped to the side revealing two other girls.

"This is Pique," Malen gestured to the girl in question, "she's Lilie's roommate. And that," she pointed to the blue-haired girl standing next to Pique, "is Lory. She's Pique and Lilie's best friend."

"This is Ahiru!" Lilie announced as she closed the door.

"Hi!" Lory squawked out, waving at Ahiru with a toothy grin.

Ahiru greeted her with a grin of her own then turned to Pique. Before Ahiru could greet the other girl, Lilie threw her arms up in annoyance. "Where is Hermia?"

"Come on, you know she's going to be late. She was helping Lysander today." Pique rolled her eyes.

"Hermia?" Ahiru couldn't stop herself from asking. Since when did Lilie and Pique know Hermia?

Malen responded, "Hermia is one of the advanced class ballet students, along with Pique and Lilie. Her boyfriend, Lysander, is in the art program with me. She actually is the one who introduced me and Lilie."

"Oh." Ahiru nodded politely.

"And she's been passionately in love with me since! How cute!" Lilie interjected and wrapped her arms around Malen.

Ahiru smiled as the two began squabbling. Deciding it was best to let them have their moment, she gently took the cloth bag with the punch in it from Malen and set it on the table that had an array of other snacks on it. After removing the thermos from the bag, which she folded and tucked under the container, Ahiru approached Lory and Pique.

"So, uhm, Lory and Pique, right?" Ahiru hoped she sounded reasonably unfamiliar with Pique's name.

Lory nodded enthusiastically, and Pique offered her hand.

"You're Ahiru, right?" Pique asked as she shook Ahiru's hand. When Ahiru nodded Pique laughed. "I heard all about how you 'saved Lilie from the jaws of death itself.'" She rolled her eyes. "Lilie likes to embellish a lot."

"She does," Ahiru agreed, then added for good measure, "so I've gathered, anyway."

Pique jerked her head in the direction of the thermos Ahiru put out. "So whatcha bring, anyway?"

"Punch! My uh…" Ahiru paused as she tried to think of a word to describe Charon. He wasn't her dad, but landlord certainly sounded much too disingenuous. "… Guardian? helped me make it."

Pique raised an eyebrow. "You sound uncertain."

Ahiru scratched her cheek as she tried to think of a way to explain. "Well, he's… uh. My friend's dad. He lets me live with them."

Lory cocked her head, "Don't you go to school?"

Ahiru averted her eyes and shook her head. "No… that's not really something feasible for me."

Pique looked like she wanted to ask another question, but was interrupted by a knock on the door followed by Hermia sticking her head in.

"Hermia!" a chorus of voices greeted the girl as she shut the door behind her.

"Sorry I'm late!" Hermia apologized.

Pique spoke quietly to Ahiru, "Sorry, there's something I needed to talk about with Hermia. I'll catch up with you later." With that, she walked over to Hermia, greeting her.

This, of course, left Ahiru with the girl who now occupied the space in Pique and Lilie's life that Ahiru once did. Up close, Lory was surprisingly shorter than Ahiru suspected—she was actually shorter than Ahiru. Her cerulean pixie cut framed her pale face and complemented her bright brown eyes. Somehow the light freckles dusting her cheeks seemed almost insulting to Ahiru. It was like some evil entity was shoving the fact that Lory took her place in more ways than one right in Ahiru's face. The name 'Drosselmeyer' flashed in Ahiru's mind, but she quickly pushed it away.

"Uhh… are you in the advanced ballet class, too?" Ahiru asked gesturing towards Pique and Lilie.

"I wish!" Lory laughed and shook her head. "No, I started up in the beginners' class around the same time Pique and Lilie were promoted to the advanced class."

'So, she's younger than us,' Ahiru realized.

"They took a special interest in me for some reason." Lory imitated Lilie's high-pitched voice, "She's so awful, she'll never get her toe shoes! How cute!"

Ahiru gave a half smile, it wasn't that long ago that Lilie had said the same thing about her.

Lory sighed, "I guess she was right, though. I keep teetering between the probationary and beginners' classes, so…"

"Some people just take longer to learn it, ya know?" Ahiru supplied, feeling a little sorry for the girl. She often wondered if she had been able to keep practicing as a girl, would she have gotten any better? Or would she stay precariously balancing on that thin line between the probationary class and the beginners' class?

Lory nodded and looked over at her friends. "Pique keeps telling me that. I'm grateful that two advanced students took me under their wings and give me advice—especially when it comes to well, you know… boys." She had whispered the word 'boys' and her cheeks flushed.

Ahiru tried not to hate how similar Lory sounded to herself when she was younger. She half wondered if Lory had misplaced feelings of love for a mythical prince, but quickly quashed the petty thought.

"But…" Lory bit her lip and looked down at her hands. "Sometimes I feel like they only keep me around to fill some void, ya know? Like it's not that I'm me, but that I'm… someone."

"Ah, you—" Ahiru started to interject, but stopped short when she saw a flash of light from her cleavage where she had tucked her pendant. She gripped the gem in her fist and discreetly surveyed the room, hoping no one saw. 'How am I going to take care of this fragment if we're in a big group?' Ahiru noticed Lory was looking up at her, waiting to see what she was going to say and decided she'd have to worry about that later.

"I don't uh…. I don't really know them very well," Ahiru began, "but, uhm, they don't seem like the kind of people who would do that? I'm sure they are friends with you because, well, you know, you're you."

"I guess you're right…" Lory's shook her head, and a smile was placed firmly on her lips. "I'm sorry! I don't know why I'm bothering you with this sort of thing! I guess you just seem like someone who is easy to talk to."

"It's okay, I guess I do tend to be that person for people…. Uhh…" Ahiru looked around wildly trying to think of what to do to cheer her up, while also trying to think of a way to get her alone so she could actually do something to help. Her eyes landed on the metal thermos Charon had sent her with. "Why don't we have some punch?!"

She couldn't just lure Lory outside and deal with the fragment—it would be much too suspicious when Ahiru inevitably either came back alone or with a passed-out Lory on her back. Especially considering why she was invited to the party in the first place. For now, she would just have to get Lory to focus on the party celebrating one of her best friend's relationship.

Lory followed Ahiru to the table. "What kind of punch is it?"

"Fruit!" Ahiru responded. "It's strawberry, orange, and raspberries." Luckily, cups were out on the table for other drinks that had been provided, so Ahiru grabbed two and poured one for both of them.

Lory's eyes lit up after taking a sip. "This is really good!"

"Hey, are we breaking into the food?" Lilie squealed as she hurried over to the table. "Pour me a cup!" She nibbled on some pretzels while she waited for Ahiru to serve her. Ahiru was delighted to see Lilie had a fairly similar reaction to the beverage as Lory had. She was pleased as the remainder of the girls also asked for some punch and sang their own praises.

"Wait!" Hermia called out as Lilie was preparing to down her drink. "We should make a toast!"

"Oh!" Malen waved Hermia off, "You don't have to!"

"Nonsense! We're here celebrating you two, and what's a party without a good toast?"

Pique agreed with a hearty, "Yeah!"

"To Lilie and Malen! May your love bring you great happiness!"

"To Lilie and Malen!" everyone shouted in agreement and tapped their cups together. Ahiru giggled as she took a long sip of her drink. She hoped this proved to be a good distraction for Lory, because she certainly was forgetting her own woes.

After the toast, everyone started digging into the snacks and Malen pulled out some paper and taught them how to play a game the art students liked that involved folding the paper over after you draw, leaving bits of the bottom lines visible, passing the paper to the next person, and having them continue off of what was visible—so on and so forth. The girls found themselves rolling around the floor with laughter at the resulting travesties.

They played three complete rounds before the conversation diverged on to different topics, leaving partially drawn pictures in their wake. Hermia spent a few minutes gushing over the thesis project Lysander was working on. Much like the statue Ahiru saw him reveal, he apparently found a muse in his girlfriend and usually fashioned his sculptures after her.

"A lot of famous sculptors will be at the senior show, so hopefully he's offered an apprenticeship with one!" Hermia's eyes became dreamy and she began playing with the piping on the pillow in her lap. "He kinda hinted that if he does he might… propose."

Squeals rang out from every girl in the room.

"No way!" Lory buried her face in her hands excitedly. "He's going to propose?!"

Pique gave Hermia a hearty smack on the back. "Of course he is! You've been together for years now!"

Lilie rested her cheek in her palm dreamily. "And if he doesn't get the apprenticeship, he'll have to run away and live in shameful solitude, leaving his fair lady love desolate. How cute!"

"Lilie!" Malen admonished. "Lysander is one of the best in the art program! He'll get an apprenticeship!"

Hermia didn't seem phased by Lilie's response, however. Her cheeks were tinted a happy pink and a small smile graced her lips.

Lilie pouted for just a moment before turning her sights on Ahiru, her demeanor taking on a mischievous flare. "Ahiru…"

Ahiru turned her attention from Hermia to Lilie. "Hmm?" She knew that look on Lilie's face all too well. "Uhm… what?"

"Is there someone special in your life?"

Ahiru's stomach dropped. That was a topic she was not ready to even begin to face. "Oh… uh… N-no, I-I don't… uh…"

Hermia's romantic intuition proved to be as accurate as always when she stopped Lilie before she could press the line of questioning any further. "What about you, Pique? Any sightings recently?"

Lilie seemed eager to take up this digression and turned her impish sights on Pique. "Well?"

Pique flushed. "I actually saw him at the library a little over a week ago. He even said 'hello'."

Lory leaned over to Ahiru conspiratorially while Lilie spouted off something about a burning love. "Pique has a crush on an alumnus from the ballet department named Fakir."

A cold pit began forming in Ahiru's stomach. 'Fakir? I didn't think she still… hasn't she gotten over him by now?' Suddenly coming to this party felt like it was a bad idea.

Lory continued, completely oblivious to Ahiru's growing mortification. "I heard he came to our last ballet, The Firebird, but I didn't see him."

"That's right!" Lilie trilled. "One of the theatre students said he brought a date!"

Ahiru felt like sinking through the floorboards.

"You'll have to fight her to the death, prove your love to your tall, dark, and handsome Prince!" Lilie announced with fiery eyes.

Pique's head lulled to the side in exasperation. Lilie didn't phase her anymore, not after being roommates for three years. "Whatever. I heard they were just friends." Before Lilie could respond, Pique looked at Lory. "Don't think you're getting out of this unscathed!"

Lory's cheeks immediately turned bright red. "O-of course not!"

"So?"

"What?!" Lory pouted, "Nothing new has happened! Last time we talked, he said I look like a cute little bird." Her face colored at the memory, but instead of burying it in a pillow, she started getting up. "I'm getting more snacks, anyone else want anything?"

"I'd like some pretzels and cheese, if you don't mind." Hermia requested. Malen seconded her request.

Pique stood up as well, and started digging in a trunk. A few moments later, not long after Lory sat back down and gave Hermia and Malen their requested snacks, she triumphantly returned with a scarf. "Which one of the happy couple has to go first?!"

"Malen!" Lilie squealed, already getting up.

"Huh?" Ahiru glanced around in confusion.

"Blind man's buff," Hermia supplied.

Lory gave a quick explanation of how the game worked while Pique tied the scarf around Malen's head, covering her eyes. Hermia took the chance to scarf down what remained of her snack before picking up some of the clutter on the floor. Shortly after the group was screeching with laughter as they tried dodging away from Malen as she blindly lumbered after them.

Ahiru got caught a few times, though she only got to be the blind man twice. They played for a good while before it devolved into the point in the night where the girls dreamily shared their hopes and aspirations.

Hermia confessed that despite loving ballet, she desired to take up matchmaking. Malen professed she wanted to open an art gallery to feature not only her work, but other artists' as well. Lilie wanted to join a ballet troupe and become famous for her depiction of villainesses while Pique hoped to join a famous comic ballet troupe.

Lory had nodded off at some point, her head rested peacefully on a cushion as she laid on her stomach.

Pique sighed, "Doesn't she have cleaning duty tomorrow morning? If she misses it again, the instructor's going to be pissed."

Ahiru, sensing her chance, piped up, "It's getting pretty late, so I should probably get going. I can walk her back to her dorm to make sure she gets there safe."

"A true hero!" Lilie chirped.

"It's pretty dark out there, are you sure you don't want us to walk you home?" Hermia offered. "Power in numbers and all that."

Ahiru shook her head. Not only did she need to be alone with Lory, but she wasn't sure if Pique knew where Fakir lived or not—and she did not want to deal with that right now. "It's okay! I walk at night a lot, so I'm used to it!"

Hermia looked like she wanted to protest, but Ahiru waved her off. "Really! See?" She flexed her arm comically, though she did have a little bit of muscle built up from all the laundry she did.

Lilie responded by dramatically fanning herself, "Oh my!"

"Hm?" Lory stirred and blinked her brown eyes open. "Whadd I miss?"

Ahiru patted Lory's back, "Come on, I'll walk you back to your room."

Lory rubbed at her eyes and pushed herself up. "Oh, okay."

"Thanks for coming, Ahiru!" Malen stood up to say goodbye to her guests.

Ahiru shook her head. "Thanks for having me! I had a lot of fun." She grabbed the now-empty thermos and put it back in the cloth bag Charon had given her while Pique helped Lory up.

"It was nice meeting you," Hermia smiled at Ahiru and shook her hand. "We'll have to hang out more often."

Ahiru returned her smile and nodded, though she knew this would be the last time she let herself spend time with the group.

"Her room is on the next floor up. You turn right from the stairs and it's at the end of the hall on the left," Pique explained.

"I know m'room'zat." Lory yawned as she struggled to keep her eyes opened.

Ahiru thanked Pique and nudged Lory towards the door. "Thanks again for having me! Congrats Malen and Lilie!"

They waved and Ahiru followed a bleary Lory out into the hallway. "C'mon, 'hiru," Lory slurred.

Ahiru glanced around the hallway. It was empty, though it was risky to do anything just outside Pique and Lilie's door. She followed Lory up the stairs. This hallway was also empty.

Ahiru took a deep breath. Now or never. After tucking the thermos to the side, she clutched her pendant and drew out the warmth that preceded her transformation. Closing her eyes, she welcomed the comforting heat. When she opened her eyes again she was standing en pointe as Princess Tutu.

"Lory," she called out, "what pains you so?"

Lory stopped her trudging and turned around. "Huh?"

"What is holding you back?"

This seemed to wake Lory up, as her eyes became more alert. "I… I don't know."

"Come dance with me." Princess Tutu invited the girl with a flourish of her hands.

Without hesitation, Lory took her proffered hand and fell in step with the pas de deux. "I feel like… like I'm here not because I'm me, but…" Cerulean eyebrows knit as the girl struggled to put words to how she's been feeling.

Princess Tutu lead Lory through a supported adagio. "We can only be ourselves, and that's all you should try to be."

Lory closed her eyes and tried to focus on the emotion as Princess Tutu assisted her penché. "That's all I want to be, but I can't help feeling like I'm… I'm filling a hole?"

"Regardless of how we get to where we are, we mustn't lose sight of ourselves." The prima ballerina couldn't help but feel for the girl. If it was Ahiru who left a hole that needed filling, the last thing she wanted was for someone to suffer because of it. "If you focus on what is missing, you'll only lose yourself."

"I think my friends, they miss…" Lory wasn't sure exactly what she meant to say, or how to say it, but she knew the emotions were there.

With a gentle smile, Princess Tutu guided Lory's pirouettes. "Your friends are your friends because you are you. Perhaps they are missing something, but that does not change their love for you. Becoming something you are not will not help them recover."

"You're right. I'm only hurting myself and them…" Lory acquiesced. "I only want to be myself from now on." As she made to bow, a black light shot from her heart and into Princess Tutu's pendant. The prima ballerina winced, but managed to catch Lory before she fell to the ground.

Blue eyes looked down sympathetically upon the exhausted frame of the other girl. "Let's get you to bed." She shouldered the smaller girl and walked her down the hallway to her room. After tucking the girl into her bed, Princess Tutu stroked her forehead. Maybe now Lory could fulfill her own role in life.

"Pretty gray swannn…" Lory murmured.

Tutu's heart froze at the words. Gray? She looked down. Her tutu, once pristine white, was now a mild gray. "No…" She blanched and looked to the mirror on the girl's dresser.

Everything. Everything about her costume was gray. She touched the gray pendant around her neck and fell to her knees—her transformation falling with it.

It took several moments for Ahiru to collect herself before she left Lory's room. She collected the bag with the thermos in it out in the hallway where she left it and headed home.

She didn't even notice the pair of eyes watching her from the shadows.


A/N: Another chapter down, another fragment found! Anywho, I wanted to thank everyone for their kind comments! I've gotten messages on here, a03, and my tumblr and I'm so humbled by how wonderful you all are! I try my best to respond to every review, but, unfortunately, I'm unable to respond to anyone who reviews as a guest. So, those that do so please know I read and appreciate every review and message sent my way!

The art game referenced in this chapter is Exquisite Corpse or Consequences, depending on minor nuances in the rules/which title you prefer. Either way, it's a fun game and I do suggest trying it some time. Thanks for reading!