I thank Unnoticeable_Demon for helping.
Once upon a time, there was a man who died. The story was interrupted. Along with his heart, the prince lost his kindness toward other people and even his memories of having fought bravely. Meanwhile, scattered throughout the town, the shards of the prince's heart sought places to settle and found their way into people's hearts which had a void in them. Among those possessed by the shards were some who ended up making their own tales go awry.
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Tiger sat near the fountain in the school's courtyard, sketching the door she had seen in her dream that night. What struck her in particular was a name. Carved in a hanging plaque next to it. Had it been the door to someone's home? If so, why would she dream of it? She didn't know any Ebine, did she?
On the other side of the fountain was some movement and Tiger got distracted for a moment as she watched as Rue walked over to meet Mytho with a picnic basket. They both left for the park and Tiger tried to get back to her drawing.
"Going on a picnic, huh?" Mumbled to herself and a sly smile crossed her lips. "Guess that's one afternoon she will not be practicing her dancing.'
Tiger heard someone approaching her and she looked up to see Fakir standing in front of her.
"Yes?" She asked him.
"Have you seen Mytho?" Fakir asked her straight out.
"He just left with Rue on a picnic." Tiger replied flatly and she wanted to resume her work.
"Where?" Fakir asked, but Tiger didn't look up at him again.
"I didn't bother looking. It's not my business what they do." Tiger told him matter-of-factly. She heard Fakir only make an annoyed noise and then leave.
Then, not long after Fakir had left her alone, Tiger could hear footsteps again. With an annoyed sigh she laid down her sketchbook and looked up to see the strange child from the other day.
"You came back?" She said to him and it surprised her actually how happy she was to see him. With everything that had happened, she felt a sort of kinship with this boy.
"I-I wanted to give you something." The boy told her in a small voice and just like last time he took a book from his back and gave it to Tiger. This time, however, it really was a book, called the Prince and the Raven.
"What does this have to do with me?" Tiger wanted to know and she looked at the book in confusion.
"You saw the heart shard the other day, didn't you?" The child asked her.
"Yes," replied Tiger, "it was all very weird."
"The book will show you more." The child said, then he disappeared again.
Tiger shrugged and put her sketchbook away. 'I guess I'll read this instead then.'
Tiger opened the book and began reading. The story was about a brave and handsome prince who wanted to help his kingdom by vanquishing a monstrous raven. The prince stood not alone in this fight. He had a loyal servant, a knight, by his side. However, the knight was torn in two by the claws of the Raven and the prince had no choice but to seal the raven away by shattering his own heart. A puzzle that was meant to remain unsolved. And then there was Princess Tutu. A character barely mentioned in the tale, but crucial to the climax of the tragedy. Princess Tutu wanted to restore the prince's heart to him, because she wanted him to be happy. Because she loved him, but the moment she would confess her love for the prince, she would turn into a speck of light and vanish…
Tiger gasped and shut the book with a snap. "Duck!" She whispered. Tiger took a moment to compose herself, then opened the book again. She kept reading to see if the name Princess Clara would come up. Her heart was in her throat. If the knight was to be torn in two and Princess Tutu would vanish for love, what devastating fate could be awaiting her?
"Nothing." Tiger concluded out loud when she had finished reading. "Guess I'm not a character in this story." She wasn't sure if it was a relief or not.
With a snap, she closed the book and put it away. She had enough of the story and went back to her drawing. After all she needed to figure out what her dreams meant. They had to be connected to her own fate.
"Maybe someone in town knows." She thought out loud. Tiger stood up to leave. She would have gone back to the dormitory to change, but it was still school hours.
First she headed straight to places where a lot of people would gather, like the marketplace and the park, but people had no time for her in those places. So Tiger took to the neighborhoods nearby where she eventually got a useful answer from a man walking his dog.
"Yeah, I know Ebine. She's a good cook. Or at least she used to be."
"A cook?" Tiger repeated surprised.
"Yes, she and her husband owned a restaurant. It was quite popular and had a cozy atmosphere, but after Ebine lost him, her cooking became cold and tasteless. I doubt people still eat there."
"No…" Tiger was shocked. The man was not cruel about it, Ebine's fate didn't seem to affect him much either.
The man made it worse with a nonchalant shrug. "It was a hard blow and it cost her her customers."
"Where is this restaurant?" Tiger asked.
"Just behind the woods." The man said and he thumped behind him before he went on with his walk.
Tiger waited till the man was out of sight. She had a strange feeling about all of it. Then she set off in the direction the man had pointed out, but soon her determined step changed into a wander. "Everything looks the same." Tiger groaned as she spun around to see where to go next. Suddenly she could hear small footsteps behind her. She turned and found the strange boy standing behind her.
"I know where it is. Follow me." he said and without another word he set off into the woods.
"Did you find more of Fakir's memories?" Tiger asked him while she made a skip to keep up with his fast trot.
"Fakir?" The boy asked surprised.
"A special friend from my childhood," Tiger replied.
"Special? How? You mean you loved him?" The boy asked curiously.
"I…. " Tiger was thrown off by this question. "I said he is special to me." She told him evasively. "He found me."
"How?" The boy repeated annoyingly.
Tiger sighed, feeling flustered and irritated. "Look, that was a long time, ok? But then there was an accident. There was a fire and Fakir was never the same since. He became cold, bitter and distant to his friends."
"Were you saved?" The boy looked at her and Tiger saw real concern in his eyes. It surprised her and for the first time she wondered if he knew her from some forgotten past.
"I don't remember." Tiger said quietly. "But I am still here, so I guess I was."
They reached the restaurant. It was a beautiful old house with the shape of a small church, one square upright part with a tower-like roof and a lower half, horizontally attached to its side. The house was surrounded by a low wooden porch where two sets of patio furniture were placed for customers. There were flowers placed on the tables and round the porch's fence and above the front door. Thick ivy grew around the roof.
Sure enough, the front door of the restaurant was the exact door Tiger had seen in her dream. A very old fashioned one made of wood with iron reinforcements. Even the symbol on the stained glass window was an exact match, a straight line that coiled itself into a spiral like some kind of staff. Tiger checked her sketch to be sure, but she didn't need to, she had remembered it well without the visual aid.
"Well, it looks like a nice place. I can't let it suffer." Tiger declared to herself and she stepped forwards to knock on the door, but was stopped by a loud quacking at her feet. It was Duck, there was no mistaking that large yellow feather on her head.
"Duck? What are you doing here?"
"I ran into Mytho while he was getting water for Rue. They were on a picnic, but didn't have any water with them, you see? We wanted to give Rue good water and found this place. The woman who owns it is acting really strange. Her name is Ebine and she only gave us cold dishes. I got kicked out, but Mytho is still inside. She keeps on feeding him. I think she might want to eat him!" Duck explained breathlessly and panic built in her voice as she talked.
"That's ridiculous. She's not going to eat him." Tiger sighed, imagining how happy Miss Ebine must have been to finally have someone to serve again. "She has a serious problem and she needs the Princesses' help."
"You mean Princess Tutu and Princess Clara?"
"Exactly." Tiger confirmed resolutely and she prepared herself to Transform. Duck gave her a determined nod and did the same.
The front door of the restaurant flew open when the light from both transformations had hit its windows.
"Who's there?" Asked the stout woman with purple hair and eyes on the doorstep.
"Meal time has now ended." Princess Tutu announced in a calm voice and while dancing graceful pirouettes she entered the restaurant and lifted Mytho out of harm's way by creating strong magical vines that lifted him high up in the air.
"Please, my Prince. You must rest a while." She told him and true enough, Mytho fell asleep instantly.
"My customer! Give me back my customer!" Miss Ebine cried out in distress.
"You have nothing to fear from us. We're here to help you." Princess Clara told her kindly.
"Please come dance with me, Miss Ebine." Princess Tutu said and offered Miss Ebina her hand, but Miss Ebine backed away and looked affronted again.
"I am not a dancer. My job is not to dance. My job is to cook and have my customers eat my cooking."
"Dancing is not a job." Princess Clara replied simply.
"What do you hope to gain by forcing him to eat?" Princess Tutu asked Miss Ebine.
"I want him to keep eating more and more!" Miss Ebine replied fiercely.
"Yes, but why?" Repeated Princess Tutu patiently.
"What do you mean why? I want him to eat lots and lots. I want my dear customer to have his fill. Because having him filled with every kind of delicious food is pure happiness." Miss Ebine stared in desperation to Princess Tutu while she spoke and a red shimmer in the form of Mytho began to form behind her. Unseen and unknown to either Princess Tutu or Miss Ebine, a small sphere of brilliant white-blue light had appeared as well.
"A memory." Princess Clara called out when she saw it. "Please, I need that sphere." But it was like she hadn't spoken at all. Miss Ebine was in a sort of trance once the red Mytho had appeared and Princess Tutu only had eyes for the heart shard.
"I've found you. This person's heart is not where you belong. Let's go back." She said to it, gently.
"I'm not letting him go anywhere! Stay away!" Miss Ebine had snapped out of her trance and just as Anteaterina had summoned dangerous mudslides and giant sharp stalagmites with her emotional turmoil, Miss Ebine enclosed herself and the heart shard in a whirling black spiral that carried her and her prisoner high in the air. Once high enough the black smoke spread and formed a boat with an open railing and three sails.
"Miss Ebine!" Princess Clara and Princess Tutu both called out, but the boat kept drifting away from them.
"I just want him to enjoy my cooking! That's what a restaurant is for!" Miss Ebine shouted back to them.
The Princesses spun and created a boat of their own, it was an exact copy of Miss Ebine's boat with the difference that theirs was made of rosy light instead of gray smoke.
"Then why has your cooking become so bland and cold?" Princess Tutu asked her.
Miss Ebine only gasped and back away. She didn't answer. Maybe she didn't have an answer.
Princess Tutu started to dance, while she kept on trying to get through to Miss Ebine. "Why would you force your customer to eat such a meal? Why would you lock him up? I want you to tell me, what it is you're feeling, Miss Ebine?"
"What would your husband think if he saw you like this?" Princess Clara suddenly asked and she stepped forth to face Miss Ebine.
"Husband?" Princess Tutu asked, confused and she looked round to Princess Clara for an explanation.
"Yes, she lost her husband a while back. A man on the street told me."
"What I'm feeling. My husband." Miss Ebine repeated in an uncertain whisper.
"Come dance with me, Miss Ebine." Princess Tutu tried again, but Princess Clara put out her hand as well, seeing as she knew more of Miss Ebine's hidden pain.
"With us." She corrected Princess Tutu and gave the latter an encouraging smile.
Princess Tutu gave her a nod and Miss Ebine took both their hands. Together they danced and Miss Ebine told them her story.
"Yes, back then, I felt a little uncertainty but mostly bliss. I could've burst with happiness. A warm atmosphere, happy conversations, delicious food."
As she told her story, photographs of a past happiness were shown to the two princesses.
"I can see it. It's lovely." Princess Clara said as she watched every picture turn and fly away.
"What a wonderful restaurant. A wonderful couple." Princess Tutu agreed.
"I'd set my dish next to his and point saying, "Who will taste better, you or you?" He'd tease me and point at mine, "You still have a long way to go." But that was happiness for me."
Tutu gasped, something had dawned on her. Earlier she had said to Tiger that she feared Miss Ebine might want to eat Mytho. That must have been because Miss Ebine must have used that line her husband always had said. But, of course, it had been about recipes not people.
"But… there's no one left to tease me when I ask about it. I have recipes, but the person who cooked them is no longer here. I'm so lonely. So I wanted to have my customers stay as long as possible. I could at least have that." Miss Ebine explained.
"Yes, I understand that feeling all too well." Princess Clara told her softly and she thought back to the time when Fakir avoided her.
"You're the feeling of Loneliness, aren't you?" Princess Tutu asked the heart shard.
"The feeling of Loneliness?" The red shimmer of Mytho could only repeat with uncertainty.
"Yes, but this is not where you belong." Princess Tutu held out her hands for the heart shard to return to her, so she could give it to Mytho.
The Heart shard turned to Miss Ebine. "I'm sorry, but I must go." It told her and he vanished to become a tiny shard in Princess Tutu's hands.
"Wait, don't go! Please, I'll be all alone again." Miss Ebine called out in desperation.
"Don't worry. You won't be left alone, Miss Ebine. Because you have the recipes left by the one you loved. Right here." Princess Tutu told her and together with Princess Clara she showed her a magical water lily, which opened to reveal the box with all her husband's recipes. Miss Ebine took them in her arms with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Your husband never left you, and he never will." Princess Clara told her kindly.
"Lots of dishes are waiting, wanting to be made. A gift left to you by the one who loved you. The power to turn loneliness into strength." Princess Tutu added.
Just then the sphere with Fakir's memories floated by. Princess Clara grabbed the memory and peered into it. She could see herself. A young Tiger by the lake side. Fakir came to join her and silently they watched the little ripples in the water for a while.
"Do you miss your own parents? I mean, since you don't remember. I'm so sorry." Fakir scratched his head in embarrassment. "I mean, it must be lonely."
"Yeah, it is lonely when I think about it." Tiger replied and she wiped the tears from her face, "And I'm different from everyone else which makes me not part of any crowd." But then she looked at Fakir with a bright smile. "But, when I'm with you, I never feel alone."
Princess Clara blinked and she was back with Miss Ebine and Princess Tutu.
Miss Ebine was still crying heartily and hugged the box of recipes tightly.
"My dear… I feel like I can cook warm dishes again. Warm, just like your heart. I'll make this a wonderful restaurant again. Please help me, my dear."
And with that, she let the boat that had formed itself around her again, sail her back through the door of her restaurant. Her home.
Mytho was let down from the vines and Princess Tutu returned his heart shard to him.
Princess Clara looked down at the little ball of light that was a piece of someone as well. "Yes, I want Fakir's heart to be warm again, too."
"Mytho!"
Fakir had arrived with Rue and they were heading towards him. Quickly the two girls, transformed back into normal schoolgirls, hid behind the back wall of the restaurant.
"May this memory reach his heart." Tiger whispered quickly to the sphere and sent it off.
The sphere entered Fakir's head and for a moment he could only think back to a lonely figure, sitting by herself. Small and sad. 'Have I really made Tiger that lonely?' Fakir wondered and he felt a pang of regret in his heart. Then he remembered where he was and frantically looked around him to find his friend. Mytho was standing, just behind the restaurant.
"Mytho, what are you doing here?" He called out to him. He had brought his horse with him in order to find him faster, but then Rue had wanted to come with him and plans had gone astray. It was quite late in the day now.
"Hey!" He called Mytho to his attention.
Mytho looked up. "Nothing." He replied.
"So what happened, Mytho?" Fakir pressed on.
"Princess Tutu… she appeared and touched me." Mytho told him vaguely.
"Princess Tutu?" Fakir repeated in surprise.
"That's ridiculous, that's just a story. Though blessed with beauty, cleverness and strength, she is still a princess fated never to be with her prince. When she confesses her love, she turns into a speck of light and vanishes."
Tiger looked at Duck who was breathing rather rapidly next to her. She looked shocked. 'So Duck doesn't know about the full story then.' Tiger thought. 'Alright, it is time to face the music.' she thought and to Duck's horror she walked away from their hiding spot and to the group in front of the restaurant.
"Tiger? What are you doing here?" Fakir asked her, confused, but his tone had changed since the last time they spoke. It was less… cold.
"A woman was having trouble with this restaurant since she lost her husband, so I was helping her move forward like he would have wanted." She told him straight out. She knew it must sound quite random, but it was still the truth.
"This restaurant? I have never heard of it." Rue said and she looked in doubt up to the building.
"Yes, I believe business will bloom again soon." Tiger said to her.
Rue only shrugged. "Shall we go then?" She said and took Mytho by the hand to lead him away. Tiger turned around to look towards their hiding place, but Duck had gone as well. It was just herself and Fakir now.
"Tiger?" Fakir spoke and Tiger turned away from the corner where Duck had been.
"Yeah?" There was no buried anger nor sarcasm in her voice this time, she genuinely was curious to know what he would say.
However Fakir avoided his eyes again and sighed. "Forget it, it's not important." He mumbled and left.
"I still have a long way to go." Tiger thought disappointed as she watched him leave on his horse.
