12-10-2011, 08:27 PM
DISCLAIMER: Princess Tutu does not belong to me, this is just a fic I wrote for fangirly fun.
If you like it and/or have constructive criticism to give, please, lay it on me! Just don't flame. Oh, and be warned, there be spoilers in these waters!
***
Chapter 1: The Prince’s Return
The whole town, seemingly the entire kingdom, was in the streets, the citizens decked out in their finest clothes, their brightest smiles. Music could be heard streaming from every direction; color and warm light met Duck’s eyes everywhere she looked.
“Wow!” She gasped, grinning widely. “I’ve never seen anything like this! Isn’t it amazing, Fakir?”
“Yeah,” the dark-haired young man by her side agreed, a smile on his own face. “I’ll say this for Mytho’s storybook kingdom: they don’t hold back when there’s celebrating to be done.”
Duck laughed. “Well, of course not! Their prince just came home, after all, and with his future princess, too. What’s not to party abou—Oh, that looks so good!” She waved her index finger at a street stall brimming with all sorts of baked goods. “Let’s get some, Fakir!”
“Okay, okay, just wait for me,” he chuckled, following her eager scampering at a more sedate pace.
“Why, ‘allo there, young miss and mister,” the stall-keeper beamed at them from beneath his bushy brown mustache. “What’ll it be on this fine day of Prince Siegfried’s Festival?”
Duck wasted no time in loading her arms with all the sweets she could carry. Turning to Fakir, she chirped happily, “Wow, I can’t hold any more; I guess this is it.”
“That will be ten gold crowns for the lot,” the stall-keeper informed Fakir, his eyes almost hidden by his round, ruddy cheeks.
Fakir visibly paled. “Ten gold…? I don’t have that much! Mytho only gave me—”
The stall-keeper’s smile diminished somewhat. “Well, if you can’t pay the full price, then I’ll have my pastries back, if you please.”
Duck’s shoulders visibly drooped as she prepared to return the goods in her arms. Just then, however, a hand dropped lightly onto her shoulder.
“That won’t be necessary, good sir,” a familiar voice spoke softly from behind her. “Will these crowns do?”
The stall-keeper turned red and bobbed his head up and down. “Y-yes, Your Highness Prince Siegfried! Absolutely. No, wait, these are friends of yours? Then by all means, take the lot free of charge!”
“That would hardly be fair.” Duck saw Mytho’s slender hand drop a small leather pouch into the stall-keeper’s palm. “That should cover it. Have a good day.”
“And you as well, My Lord!”
Fakir smiled and shook his head before turning away; Duck felt Mytho’s hand steering her from the stall, too. “I’m glad I found you, although I honestly wasn’t looking for you quite yet. You came early.”
“Duck wanted to see the festival before we went to meet you,” Fakir said. With a jolt, Duck realized Mytho’s hand was still on her shoulder. Jumping away, she nodded furiously.
“Y-yeah, Fakir’s right! We decided to come a few hours early so we could look around; I mean, you don’t see royal festivals like this every day!”
She was being awkward and she knew it; she wanted to clobber herself over the head. Why couldn’t she be more ladylike and refined like—
“Duck? Is that you?”
“Rue!” Duck’s eyes lit up as she saw her friend approach. Completely forgetting about the pastries in her arms, she went in for a hug, almost spilling the baked goods in the process.
The raven-haired girl laughed. “Here, let me help you with that.” She took a few sugared rolls from Duck, causing her to turn red.
“Oh, no, Rue, you don’t have to… I mean, you’re a princess now. I can handle myself, see?”
Contrary to the pink-haired girl’s words, several cookies tumbled to the ground, breaking into pieces.
“Nooo!” Duck cried out. Fakir put a hand over his eyes. Mytho hid a smile. Rue put her hands on her hips.
“Duck, don’t be like that. We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m still me, and besides, I’m not a princess yet. That’s still a while away.” Sighing, she turned to an elegantly-dressed girl standing behind her. “Nina, would you go get a basket for Duck’s things? No, don’t go back to the castle, that’s too far. Just buy one from someone nearby, okay?”
Duck stared with her mouth open as Nina curtsied slightly and hurried away. “Wow. Was that a lady-in-waiting?”
“One of them,” Rue said.
Duck turned her awe-struck gaze to her friend. “You really are like a princess, Rue! I mean, of course you are, since you’re going to be one soon, I just meant that—”
“I know what you meant.” Rue laughed. “Come on, let’s walk around together. Mytho and I only have a little while left before we have to go back to the castle to get ready for the ceremony.”
“Oh, that’s right! The ceremony…” Duck began to imagine what the ceremony would be like. Mytho would be crowned prince of his kingdom again, a symbol of his triumphant return. Rue would be there, too, but she would not have a large role in the ceremony. She’d said that she didn’t want her betrothal to Mytho to be a big deal. Everyone knows, but that’s not the point. I don’t want it to seem like I’m flaunting it… I don’t want any fancy announcements or anything, period. We’ll announce it more formally when the time draws near. For now… I just want to enjoy being with Mytho.
“Snap out of it.” Fakir smacked Duck lightly on the arm. She jumped and whirled to face him. “Hey, what was that for?”
“You were spacing out, weren’t you?”
“That doesn’t mean you have to hit me!”
“I didn’t hit you hard. You can’t be telling me that hurt.”
“It didn’t hurt, but it still—”
“Are you two coming?” Rue called. The pair turned; Rue and Mytho had already started making their way down the street. “Don’t make us leave you behind.”
“Ack! No, wait for us!”
Fakir smiled to himself and shook his head as Duck raced to reunite with Mytho and Rue. As he drew near to the group, as well, Mytho dropped back from the girls. “Hey, Fakir. Do you have a moment?”
“Sure, Mytho. What’s up?”
“I was just wondering…” The pale-haired boy paused. “How are things going with you and Duck?”
Fakir blinked. “They’re going… fine.”
“Nothing’s changed? I mean, except for Duck. I was wondering why you wrote it that she turned back into a girl.”
“I told you already; she wanted to be a girl for the ceremony. She wanted to be able to talk with you and Rue.”
“Did she tell you that? I mean, did she let you know somehow?”
For the first time that day, Fakir couldn’t meet Mytho’s eyes. Mytho nodded. “So you surprised her, then.”
“Ack! Fakir! Fakiiiiirrr!”
“Duck? I’m in here.”
“Fakir, look at me! Wait, don’t look at me! Just… I’m a girl again! I’m not a duck, Fakir! I’m a girl! How did this happen? What… Why…?!”
“Duck, calm down. I’m the reason you’re a girl again.”
“What… Wait, what?!”
“I wrote a story where you turned back into a girl.”
“Y-you really did that? But Fakir…! Why, Fakir?”
“Don’t worry, it’s just for Mytho’s crowning ceremony. I thought you would enjoy it more if you got rid of your duck-bill and feathers for a while.”
“…Really? I didn’t mind being a duck, Fakir. But… I guess it would be nice to be able to talk with them. It would be like old times, almost.”
“Yeah, that’s it. Now how about you go get dressed before Karon walks in? I left some clothes upstairs on the bed.”
“ACK!”
“It’s not like you to do something like that, Fakir,” Mytho mused.
“What, you’re not happy you can talk with her?”
The prince shook his head. “No, it’s just… Doing things purely for your own sake instead of others’.”
“I’m not doing it just for my sake.”
“What do you mean?”
Fakir flushed and didn’t answer.
Mytho laughed. “You’re bad at hiding your emotions, you know that?”
“Shut up.”
***
“We’re here!” Duck called out as she burst into the castle. The guards, already alerted to her and Fakir’s arrival, bowed to let them pass. “Where’s Rue?” She asked a random maid, who jumped and looked scandalized at being spoken to so directly.
“I’m sorry, Miss, but I am extremely busy preparing for the crowning ceremony. I would suggest you ask someone else.”
Fakir put a hand on Duck’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of Princess Tutu coming to visit.”
The maid jumped again. “Princess—You mean this is…?” She looked at Fakir and nodded. “Please, follow me. I shall take you to Lady Rue.”
Three marble staircases and five velvet-carpeted halls later, Duck was just beginning to wonder when exactly they would make it to Rue’s room, when the maid stopped in front of a pair of large double-doors. “Here are Lady Rue’s chambers. You may go right on in, since she is expecting you.”
“Thanks!” Duck flung open one of the doors.
“Duck, Fakir!” Rue stood from where she sat in front of a mirror having her hair done; the lady-in-waiting attending to her squawked indignantly at having her work interrupted, but was ignored. “You made it. It was an hour or so ago that we split up, wasn’t it? I was worried you wouldn’t make it here in time because of the crowds.”
“Yeah, it was tough getting here,” her friend chuckled. “There are more and more people coming into the city by the minute. I wonder if there will even be room for you and Mytho to go out there when the time comes.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Rue said with a smile. “In the meantime, we should get you ready for your roles as Guests of Honor.”
“What?” Duck gaped at the raven-haired girl. Rue frowned.
“Don’t tell me Mytho didn’t tell you when he invited you two. Since you as Princess Tutu helped Mytho regain his heart and defeat the Raven, as well as Fakir, you’re both to have the Guest of Honor positions in the chariot directly behind ours, and special seats at the feast this evening after the crowning ceremony.”
“Bu-bu-but… Fakir, did you know about this?”
He sighed and nodded. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d be freaking out.”
“Freaking out? Who’s freaking out?” Duck laughed shakily. “I don’t see anyone freaking out, do you see anyone—Rue I can’t do this please don’t make me,” she begged in a rush.
Rue blinked. “You don’t want to?”
“I-it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I don’t want to, er, steal the spotlight from you and Mytho—not that I think that I’m better than you or anything, quite the opposite, it’s just—”
“She’s got stage fright,” Fakir said bluntly.
Duck turned red. Rue looked at her.
“You’re joking. After gathering all the heart shards and battling Kraehe and the Raven’s minions, you’re afraid to ride around in a chariot?”
“Yes,” Duck squeaked.
Rue slowly shook her head, a slight smile on her face. “All right; I think I get what’s going on. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll tell Mytho.”
“Oh thank you Rue,” Duck babbled out. “I’d do anything for you, you know I would, it’s just that all those people and they’re looking at me and I’m not Tutu now, I’m just Duck…”
“She said she gets it, idiot,” Fakir broke in. “Why don’t we leave so she can finish getting ready.”
“We? You mean, you’re not going to be a Guest of Honor, Fakir?” The blue-eyed girl asked.
“Why would I be the only Guest of Honor? Come on, let’s go.” He turned and walked out the door. Duck turned back to Rue.
“Well, um, I guess we’ll be going now, Rue. See you later, bye!”
Tossing her friend a hasty wave, she raced out the door to catch up to Fakir.
***
Duck cheered and laughed as the colorful parade passed by, completely caught up in the crowd’s near-euphoric mood. “Yaaay! Welcome back, Prince Siegfried! Long live the prince!”
“Why are you calling him ‘prince’?” Fakir asked. “He’s not still Mytho to you?”
“Of course he is,” Duck grinned, not about to let her good mood be ruined. “But if someone heard me yelling, ‘Long live Mytho,’ they’d think I was weird or something.”
Fakir just looked at her.
“Hey!” She frowned. “What’re you staring at?”
“Nothing.” He looked away pointedly.
She hit him on the arm.
“OW! Hey, that really did hurt, idiot!”
“Well, you deserved it! You’re the one making fun of me, idiot.”
“You should know by now that I was just—”
“Oh, oh, look! Here they come!” Duck gestured excitedly to an approaching chariot that was lavishly decorated with white and red roses.
“Those red ones must be for Rue, and the white ones are for Mytho, of course,” she observed. “They’re already accepting Rue as their princess; that’s great!”
Fakir looked at her again, this time more closely, and was about to speak when she began cheering once more.
“You can see them more clearly now; hey, Fakir, wave! Make sure they see us!”
Duck jumped around, flinging her arms about every which way. People in the crowd nearby moved quickly to avoid being hit.
“Uh, Duck,” Fakir began, but she only grabbed his arm, hauled it upright and waved it around like his hand was a pennant.
“Come on, Fakir, you’re not waving. Don’t tell me you’re not happy for them at all?” She asked teasingly.
“Don’t tell me you are.”
Duck looked up at him, shocked at how suddenly serious he was. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Mytho wanting Rue for his princess. Rue is going to marry him, not you. And you don’t care about that anymore?”
Duck stared at him for a while longer before quickly turning away, gazing instead at the approaching chariot in which Mytho and Rue were standing. The storybook prince was holding Rue’s hand with his own, their fingers intertwined as they waved to the crowds with their free hands. Two white horses pulled the chariot down the cobblestone road; radiant smiles adorned Rue and Mytho’s faces.
“They look so happy,” Duck murmured. Fakir thought her voice sounded almost wistful; was it for them or for her? She still wasn’t looking at him, or responding to him. His eyes on her were unwavering, however, as his hand drew towards her own.
Just then, she spoke in a low voice, almost inaudible through the din of the crowd. “You’re right, Fakir. I do still love Mytho.”
Duck didn’t see his fingers, barely touching hers, clench into a fist and return to his side.
“I know it’s stupid,” she continued, fighting to restrain tears. “I mean, he has Rue now, he doesn’t need me.”
“What do you mean, he doesn’t need you?”
Duck looked up once more at the sharpness in Fakir’s voice.
“You’re the one who helped him, aren’t you? You’re the one who returned his heart to him. You’ve fought for him, cried for him. And now you’re giving up on him?”
“Giving up…?”
He folded his arms, glaring down at her. “That’s not the Duck I know. The Duck I know would fight for Mytho no matter what. She wouldn’t let something like this get in her way.”
“What do you mean?” Duck’s eyes narrowed, even though traces of tears still lingered in them. “Mytho’s already chosen his princess; he’s chosen Rue. Look at them!” She flung a hand out to where the two stood in the chariot. “He doesn’t even know I love him. He can’t know, or else…”
“You mean your curse?”
“Yeah.” Duck bowed her head. “I’ll turn into a speck of light and vanish.”
“Like I said. The Duck I know wouldn’t let something like that get in her way.”
“But how can I do anything about it now? I’m not Princess Tutu anymore. I’m just… Duck. I would still be just a duck if you hadn’t written me back into a girl for this. Besides, what about Rue? I don’t want to hurt her; she’s my friend.”
“Better her than you,” Fakir muttered under his breath.
“Huh? Fakir, did you say something?”
“No. Anyway, just think about what I said.” Seemingly without thinking, he caught her hand up in his and tugged her towards where the chariot was turning a corner. “Come on, we’re going to lose them if we don’t catch up.”
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