Revised as of January 2008: I'm finally getting around to revising this. XD;; Well, hopefully these past years I've gotten some more writing skill so I know what fits together better.

(I'd like to thank the people who have reviewed this fanfic and given me comments. I'm always open to suggestions on how to make it better!) Hello! This is Tomoyo Ichijouji, and here is my first Princess Tutu fanfic. It's basically a continuation of the series, labeled in episode form. Since my episodes/chapters are quite long, I'll likely be splitting each episode up into two or more parts. Also, I think that the music aspect in Princess Tutu is very important, so I'm continuing the tradition of song themes for each episode, plus a list of appropriate background music with their descriptions at the end of the chapter (not at the end of the section, but the actual entire episode). Before, I put them in the actual fanfic, but some have said that was distracting, so I took the direct labels out. Also at the end of the episode extra notes will be listed, such as meanings of names and/or terms. Since the songs must have explanations of where they're played in the story, they kind of do have spoilers, but that's why they're at the end. And so they don't take up so much space. Well...I guess that's all I wanted to mention. Here it goes!

Once upon a time, there was a duck. One day, the duck met a prince whose heart had been shattered to bits by a terrible raven and scattered in every direction. The duck felt sorry for the prince, and with the help of the prince's loyal knight, collected the pieces of heart, and gave them back to him. The prince returned to his former self, defeated the raven, and found his princess, and held the duck forever in his heart in gratitude.

That is the end of the story.

But, is the story truly finished? What happens to the characters after the story ends?

Princess Tutu
-Kapitel des Vogel-
-鳥の章-
(Chapter of the Bird)

27. AKT "The Duck and the Pauper"
- Dornröschen : Walzer - (Sleeping Beauty: Waltz)

It was early morning in the town of Kinkan, pleasant and sunny, with clouds like cotton balls adorning the orange sky. Inside one of the small houses in the town, a boy lay asleep upon a bed with olive-green covers. A lock of his black hair, tied in a ponytail in the back, fell over his forehead.

His green eyes opened gently. He took a breath and yawned, covering his mouth. Rising from the bed sleepily, he ambled over to the bathroom, passing a desk on which an exquisite antique red lamp stood. Ahiru had found it abandoned in an attic a long time ago, and so she and subsequently Fakir adopted it.

Fakir swept aside the bathtub curtains. A small yellow duck with a long feather sprouting out the top of her head was slumbering in the bathtub, her beak hidden underneath a wing.

"'Morning, Ahiru," Fakir said quietly with a small smile.

Ahiru's eyes peeped open. Then her head popped out from beneath her wing feathers and her eyes went wide in glee. "Quack!" she replied.

Fakir lifted Ahiru gently out of the tub, as they had done for the past few months. She rode on his shoulder as he brought her down to the kitchen. He collected the food he would need for the day before setting out to the lake, where he would write inspired by its clear, sparkling water while Ahiru swam about alongside him. Although he used to attend Kinkan Academy for dancing, ever since Ahiru returned to being a duck and spent most of her time at the lake, Fakir found himself preferring to sit at the dock in her company, with a fishing rod, parchment, and a quill in his hand. As a duck could no longer attend the school, he found he had less desire to do so as well.

Karon greeted them from the dining room table, drinking his tea. "Good morning, Fakir, Ahiru. A beautiful day to be outside, isn't it?"

Fakir gave a slight grumpy nod. Ahiru quacked in response.

"So then, you will be out early to greet them?"

Fakir blinked. "Greet…them?"

It was Karon's turn to be surprised. "You didn't know? Do you not remember? The Prince and Princess return to Kinkan today."

Ahiru's sapphire eyes and Fakir's green eyes both widened in astonishment. "The Prince and Princess? You mean…Mytho and Rue?"

Karon nodded slowly. "Yes…it's been going around most of the town recently…it's a little strange that you aren't aware of it by now." He thought a moment. "Well, you have been at that lake very often..."

Blinking in bewilderment, Fakir muttered a brief farewell and marched outside, Ahiru looking just as confused on his shoulder beside him.

Mytho…and Rue-chan? Coming back to Kinkan? Ahiru glanced at Fakir to her side. I had heard rumors that they might be coming back, but today? It is a bit sudden for this to pop up all at once, but I suppose it is reasonable that we wouldn't know…we don't spend much time around town, since we stay around the lake, after all.

Ahiru grinned. And if it is true, and they are returning, then we can see Mytho, and Rue-chan again! I hope they're doing all right!

Fakir was having somewhat different thoughts.

Why would Mytho and Rue be returning out of the blue like that? Especially since a while back no one even mentioned them after they went back into the story. I don't like the way this sounds…this could mean that there's trouble. There has to be a reason for them coming back now…what is it?

The question lingered in Fakir's mind. Swaying between doubt and assurance, he glanced back at Ahiru on his left shoulder. She beamed at him, with cheer and warmth shining in her eyes, with almost the same golden radiance that returned the entire town to their true selves with her simple, mystical dance.

Fakir let out a breath that he hadn't before noticed he had been holding. It was at times like these he could swear Ahiru was still communicating with him somehow, reasoning with him and reassuring him. Even without words to speak with, she was the best companion he had ever known.

As they turned the corner, they spotted a fairly large crowd of people gathered about the street a block ahead of them. Even though it was the main street, it didn't make sense for it to be this busy, and at this time of day.

Fakir approached the gathering and found a person to interrogate. "Ebine-san? What's the big crowd about? What's going on?"

The largish woman replied, "Oh, didn't you know? Everyone's here to watch – the Prince and Princess will be arriving soon! The procession's going to be spectacular!"

There was a small murmur of assent throughout the people in the crowd adjacent to them.

Fakir stood silently in the crowd, thinking. The whole town's acting as if there always were a Prince and Princess…did the town really forget about them, or…?

The crowd started to stir. Fakir nearly stood on his toes to see what was going on, but let Ahiru have a better view from the top of his head.

o-o-o-o-o

Outside the town's gates, a figure in a frayed faded-gray cloak gazed up at the town's high walls.

"So, this is the town of Kinkan," the boy in the cloak uttered aloud curiously. His blue eyes glimmered with anticipation from under the mantle's hood.

If anything, at least here'll be better than there, he reassured himself grimly.Nobody knows about me here, and there won't be those people around, so everything'll be fine…hopefully…

He started toward the gates when he noticed a sizable crowd gathered at the gates and all about the wall. It looked as if it stretched down the pathway inside as well.

Looks like someone important is arriving today. It's like there's going to be some kind of fantastic parade or something. Doesn't look like I'll be able to get in quietly from here.

He sighed. Well, I suppose I'll find a gate to the town from another direction.

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir glanced up towards Ahiru flying above the crowd. "Do you see them yet?" he called up to her.

Ahiru shook her head. Fakir lowered his head and sighed with irritation again, pursing his lips. The crowd was growing excited, so those two should arrive at any moment…

"Quack!"

Fakir's eyes shot back upward. Ahiru was quacking incessantly, taking a quick look back down at Fakir, and indicating with her eyes towards their left, towards one of the gates to Kinkan. The clock tower began to chime, displaying the clockwork swan, knight, and prince and princess that spun steadily to the toll of the miniature bells.

A throng of spectators cheered as a group of swans showered the path with dazzling white feathers. People from some stories high flung rose petals into the air, creating a splendid rainfall of pink and white floating down towards the joyful crowd.

A pair of white swans led a golden sparkling coach that seemed to drift through the air. Ahiru from the sky, and Fakir below peering over the heads of the crowd, both recognized it as identical to the one the prince and princess had departed in. In it were Prince Siegfried, who the pair knew as Mytho, and Princess Rue, waving lightly to the crowds as they passed. They even had on the same rich, baroque attire that Ahiru and Fakir had seen them leave in. Mytho, in his regal indigo coat with a collar resembling a pair of white wings and matching white pants and cape, and Rue, in her majestic white featherlike dress with layered puffed sleeves and gown, truly looked like they had walked straight out of a fairy tale. They remembered and contrasted how distraught Rue had been before the Raven had been defeated. Compared to when she still had been teetering between Kraehe and Rue, and when her love for Mytho was overlooked or even abused, she looked so much happier and content now with Mytho as his princess.

Ahiru quacked happily. Mytho! Rue-chan! She flapped towards them.

Fakir saw them as well. Both of them seem to be doing all right … He noticed that Mytho seemed a little less lively than he had been when departing. His expression seemed preoccupied, or troubled. Rue didn't seem as anxious, but he noticed her glance at Mytho worriedly.

Suddenly, a duck swooped down and landed on the bow of their carriage, quacking a friendly hello. Some of the crowd chuckled.

"A-Ahiru!" Fakir shook his head, crossing his arms and frowning. "You'd better not get yourself run over…"

"Quack!" Ahiru greeted Mytho and Rue with a big duckling grin.

Mytho seemed taken aback, but softened with a princely smile. "Hello, Tutu. We have not seen each other for some time."

Rue smiled also. "It's wonderful to know you are well, Ahiru."

Ahiru responded with joyful quacks.

"Is Fakir doing all right as well?"

"Quack!" Ahiru nodded.

"Hmm…" Rue thought for a moment. "Lead him to the gates of the palace. We'll meet personally there. Just follow the main street down straight and you'll see it."

Affirmative! Ahiru quacked again, and flew back to Fakir.

"That's one way to get a lot of attention, Ahiru…" he told her, shaking his head.

Fakir! Mytho and Rue-chan want us to follow them to the palace! Ahiru quacked impulsively. Remembering after a moment that she couldn't talk, she glanced towards the direction of Mytho and Rue's carriage, dancing frantically, using what ballet mime she knew to tell Fakir that they needed to get to the palace.

Although her movements would look like no more than frantic flailing to anyone else, Fakir was somehow able to understand her, perhaps just by the virtue of having been subjected to their daily game of charades often enough. "So...follow...Mytho and...Rue...to...a tall building...a castle?...and...meet there?"

Ahiru nodded.

"Right," Fakir nodded back, "let's go from the side pathway following the main road; it'll take too long to get through the crowds as they are now."

Ahiru assented, and then took off higher in the skies as Fakir went down the other road so Ahiru could keep an eye out for Mytho and Rue.

As Fakir walked, he thought about what Ahiru had managed to get across to him. Mytho and Rue have a castle here? I don't remember a castle around within the town borders…and if it were big, wouldn't it be even less likely that I would have missed it?

They reached the gates of Kinkan Academy, which judging from the guards posted around the bridge, was the rendezvous point. Ahiru, a little tired from all the flying, landed on Fakir's shoulder to rest. As they approached, a soldier took a few steps forward.

"Kinkan Academy is closed today due to Prince Siegfried and Princess Rue's return. Classes will commence as usual tomorrow."

As Fakir had been neglecting to attend after Ahiru had started being just a duck again, he did not know this. "So, this is their palace?"

Another soldier nodded. "While they were absent, it was used full-time as a school for the fine arts out of great generosity, and will still be working as one even when they are present. In fact, the Prince and Princess will be giving demonstrations of dance in classes after they have moved in properly."

The guard who had talked to them spoke up again. "Anyhow, why are you here? What is your business with the Prince?" His eyes flitted to the duck on Fakir's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Garald. He and the duck are very good friends of mine."

"Quack!" Mytho!

Mytho and Rue had arrived, their golden carriage slowing to a stop in front of the gates.

"Haven't seen either of you two in a while," Fakir said. "Sorry about the trouble."

"Think nothing of it, Fakir," Mytho waved it away, pardoning it. "I'm very happy to see you."

"…Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Fakir asked hesitantly.

Mytho sighed heavily, his face growing more worried, the way it had been in the carriage before. "Actually, there is. Something has come to my attention recently that is cause for concern."

Fakir frowned. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Rue glanced around. "I think it will be best if we discussed this inside…"

o-o-o-o-o

The boy in the cloak strolled through one of the gates of Kinkan, where there was not nearly as much traffic as the previous one he had tried. "Well, that wasn't too hard," he remarked.

He pulled off his hood and gazed up at the cloudless cerulean sky, revealing hair of short white locks that astoundingly resembled Mytho's. "Gosh, what a nice day today…"

He wandered around the streets, looking here and there at the shops and stores along the way, searching for a place he could possibly find some kind of work. If worst came to absolute worst…maybe he'd quietly take a tidbit or two from a loose cupboard here or there.

He came across a shop with loaves of delicious-looking white bread and magnificent cakes in the display window. He noticed a sign in one corner that stated in neat bold handwriting: Help Wanted.

Now, that's more like it, the boy thought, his expression brightening as he opened the door and walked inside.

The aroma of baking bread made his mouth water as soon as he entered. As wonderful as the scent was, it made his stomach rumble, making him hungrier than he already was. Reasoning to himself that he'd be able to eat if he got a job, he went up to the counter and waited for the baker to come over.

The boy waited by the counter, watching the baker in the kitchen finish his work with the dough. Then the baker came to greet him.

"Hello, and what can I help you wi – "

The baker's eyes widened as he spotted the boy. "It…it can't be!"

The boy tensed up.

The baker looked positively overjoyed and bowed meekly. "Y-your majesty! What an honor to find you in our humble bakery! What brings you here today, on all days?"

This outcome was even more surprising than the boy could've imagined. "…'Your majesty'?" he mumbled in complete bewilderment. "Wh-what…"

"My sincerest apologies, your Highness! Why, with those clothes on, I couldn't even recognize you at first!"

Blinking, the boy replied, "But…I'm not any kind of royalty! I'm just someone that came into your shop, and I wanted to ask for a job –"

The baker chuckled. "Now I see! What a great way to make an entrance on your arrival, Prince Siegfried, pretend you're a poor boy and sneak around town and greet everyone, and let me tell you now, you blend in so well that I doubt anyone will notice!"

The boy was just about ready to swear aloud, which he didn't do very often (usually he swore under his breath). "I'm not joking! I'm not Prince Siegfried or any other kind of prince! I'm just a person named Trutho! My name is Trutho!"

The baker guffawed. "Hilarious! Ingenious! You've really thought this out!"

Trutho took a long, deep, trembling breath, and exhaled slowly. There was no point losing one's own head just because someone else lost his. If this baker really was that dense, then he might as well just play along. "All right, um…yeah, that's right, you've got me." Thinking quickly, Trutho added, "Well, I thought I might stop by and, well…sample some of your merchandise, if it wasn't too much trouble…"

"Oh, no, your Highness, it would be an honor!" he exclaimed, seizing a bunch of different kinds of breads and cakes and practically shoving them into Trutho's hands. "Please, try anything you want, even the whole store if you wish!"

Some time later, when the sun was starting to take its leave, the Mytho look-alike exited the bakery, still munching on a last piece of baked wheat bread. At least it wasn't the worst that could've happened. I suppose I should feel guilty, taking food in some noble's name, but if that's how I can feed myself, then that's the way it's gotta be…

Absorbed in his thoughts and food, Trutho failed to notice the small crowd of people gathering around him for a while. When he did, he balked and impulsively took off at a run. Realizing how strange this would look to everyone, he called behind him, "I…um, suddenly felt the desire to get some exercise and jog around town…"

And when he noticed a few people were still following him, he added louder, "And I'd like some peace and quiet, so could people stop following me?"

He finally was able to escape from the rest of the crowd, after nearly tripping numerous times in his haste, and found himself on a quieter street. He sighed with relief, and slid down against the wall, slumping onto the ground. "Peace and quiet…for now, anyway."

He gazed up at the sky. The west horizon was now bright orange, fading to navy blue overhead, casting elongated shadows across the streets around him. He couldn't think of anything else to do, so he decided to stay and catch his breath for a little while. He closed his eyes.

o-o-o-o-o

The sound of creaking and clanking surrounded a man with white, curled hair and many colorful feathers sticking out of his hat, walking alongside a tiny figure with light blue-green hair and a taptaptap from her small toy drum. The gears of stories turned endlessly, constantly, in a dark place where nothing else seemed to exist except for the people wandering around it.

Drosselmeyer sighed dramatically. "It's odd, how long we've been searching for a story to write, and yet nothing seems worthy of writing!"

Uzura shrugged. "I dunno-zura."

Drosselmeyer shook his head. "Many of these stories would be so boring I'd fall asleep before I finished them! No potential at all in any of the characters for good tragedy!"

Uzura blinked and shrugged again. Some of them actually looked to her like they could've been pretty nice if she had stuck around to watch. But, so far she didn't see any reason to stop following the tussle-mayor yet.

"Oh! What is this?"

Uzura looked frontward at the gear Drosselmeyer was staring at. On it was a threesome of feathers designed as if they could be used as quills: one was large and black, like a raven's; one was smaller and yellow, like a duck's; and the last was slightly larger than the yellow one, a white one.

"Hmm…" Drosselmeyer said, picking up the black feather and examining it while Uzura gazed up at him. "This looks familiar…"

Drosselmeyer grinned. "Well, what do you know? I think this is the Raven's feather!" He cackled. "This will certainly come in handy…and what is this?"

He picked up the white feather. "This couldn't be…a swan's feather?"

He studied the feather closer, flicking his wrist, looking at it front and back. Finally, he shook his head. "It's not, of course…should've realized I wouldn't find the prince's feather now that his story runs on its own. It's only a goose feather. Easy mistake to make."

He paused for a moment, and then slowly looked back at the white feather. "Strange…this one seems to have some kind of close relation to the swan feather…could it be…?"

He looked at it with amusement. "Didn't think I'd find this one, considering…" He placed it along with the black feather in his other hand.

"And now…the last one."

He reached for it, but Uzura snatched it out of his grasp.

"Eh?" He glared at her. "Uzura-chan, this is no time for playing games. Hand me that little feather now."

Uzura shook her head. "No-zura."

"What? Come now, come now, let me have it…I know just what to do with them – and anyhow, I saw them first…"

Uzura shook her head again stubbornly. For one thing, she highly doubted that Drosselmeyer was just going to stick them in his hat. "No way-zura. It's Ahiru's feather-zura."

Drosselmeyer smiled slyly. "Ahiru's feather, ay? The more, the merrier! Let me have it!"

"No-zura!" Uzura held it out of harm's way.

"Uzura-chan!"

"No!"

"…Please?"

"You can't have it-zura." She cuddled it in her arms right over the red tulip icon on her blouse.

Drosselmeyer sighed. "Oh well, I don't really have any more power over her anyway. Let me see what I can do with these…" Chortling, he set off to find the stories that the feathers led to. Worried, Uzura followed, clutching the duck's feather in her hands protectively.

A hop, skip, and a jump across gears away, Drosselmeyer took a glance at his two feathers and stopped at his destination. "So, this is where the raven's feather leads to…and the goose's…and–"

He blinked and his eyes widened to a pair of white and orange orbs. "It can't be!"

Uzura glanced at Ahiru's feather and found that it lead to the same cluster of gears.

"This is where we started off at!" Drosselmeyer exclaimed. "The prince, the useless knight, the raven's false daughter, the duck – they're all here with them!"

Uzura gaped at the gears in awe. "Aaooohhhhh…"

She glanced again at the yellow feather she was holding, and looked back up at the unmoving gear that was linked to it. It was connected with another gear together, side-by-side.

o-o-o-o-o

Fakir sat at the dock overlooking the lake, watching Ahiru and a friend of hers, the great blue heron Sagi, as he contemplated what Mytho and Rue had told them some time earlier.

"So, let me get this straight," Fakir took a breath, "Groups of ravens have started appearing in a neighboring town, and they've begun stalking people?"

"Right," Mytho affirmed. "We've gotten several messages already that these birds have started congregating strangely, pursuing individuals, as well as some close calls of assault."

"This sounds just like something the Raven would set up," Rue added.

Mytho's amber eyes narrowed uneasily. "If something's going to happen, I can't risk another victim of the ravens. We both know what the consequences could be." He glanced significantly at Rue. She returned the look.

"We had gotten the first message just after coming back to this world," Rue said. "We couldn't just change plans right then and go right to Ginkan, we had arranged to come back to Kinkan first thing. Now that we're here, though…"

Mytho sighed. "I know it might not be anything to worry about, but there's a major risk that if anything isn't done right away, things will get out of hand. After all, matters seem to be fine here. Another problem is that we're expected to stay for a while…" He trailed off.

"How could the Raven still be alive?" Fakir asked. "You did slay the raven before, didn't you, Mytho?"

"Rue and I did," Mytho answered, "and we pierced it right through the heart. It was shattered to pieces; I know all of you saw it."

"So then…what's going on here?"

There was silence for some moments.

Fakir recalled that Mytho proceeded to invite them both to the ball that was to be held for the royal couple's arrival. So, that night they were to arrive at the school (or Mytho and Rue's castle) for the party.

Fakir shook his head, a little irritated. It seemed that today he couldn't concentrate on his writing, again. He hadn't written more than a few words since they had come here after the meeting. Resignedly, he placed his parchment and quill to the side. Since he hadn't brought his fishing rod with him, he contented himself with watching Ahiru, whom was watching the great blue heron catch fish with a swift jab of her long pointed beak. Sagi, like Ahiru, had a little distinctive feather on her head, except that Sagi had a rightward oriented pale squiggle instead of Ahiru's long yellow feather. Ahiru and Sagi had become friends quite easily when they had first met. According to Ahiru (after he had deciphered a long session of ballet mime charades), Sagi apparently had been a new resident of the lake, and had been asking around for directions. Ahiru, of course, had been happy to help her out, and they had been seen together at the lake ever since.

After some time had passed, it was dusk, and the sky was filled with the orange and gold of a setting sun. It would soon be time for Ahiru and Fakir to attend Mytho's welcoming celebration.

"Ahiru! It's almost time to go," Fakir called out.

Ahiru quacked in response, quacked a farewell to Sagi, and flew over to Fakir. Together they set out for the palace while Sagi watched them with a parting gaze.

As they reached the town borders, they noticed that there were more carriages arriving at the town than usual. They all were in the same sort of fashion: baroque, fancy, and expensive-looking.

Ahiru looked a little puzzled. She quacked at Fakir inquiringly.

"What?" Fakir gazed around at what she was looking at, then replied, "Oh, those people. They're likely here for the gala that Mytho's holding that we're going to. With him being high ranking royalty and all, all sorts of nobility are going to be present at it. No big surprise."

Ahiru nodded, and appeared to have her question answered. They were silent as they entered the town among other stagecoaches.

"Oy, what are you doing in the road, pedestrian! Outta the waaaaaaaay!"

"What the – "

One carriage going particularly fast zoomed towards them. The driver, who was dressed like she should've been of nobility, was laughing maniacally, while another man in a servant's uniform desperately tried to calm her down (with no apparent success). Fakir had to dive aside in a panic. Ahiru, blown aside by the speed of the wagon, was knocked to the other side of the road, wheeling around high into the air.

"Ahiru!" Fakir cried in horror.

She was propelled so far that she disappeared over a row of buildings as she started to fall back down.

Fakir swore, and dashed towards where Ahiru had fallen. He was further delayed by needing to sidetrack around houses, buildings, and other carriages that blocked the quicker ways. Ahiru, I hope you have enough sense to stay where you are…if you can still move…

o-o-o-o-o

As Ahiru tumbled downward, she flapped her wings frantically, hoping to get enough lift to lessen her fall. As luck would have it, she was able to land softly on the cobblestone street. After checking herself through, she found she didn't have as much as a scratch, though she was winded.

That was too close! But now where am I? Ahiru thought anxiously. Where's Fakir?

She surveyed her surroundings. The street was one that she recognized as several blocks away from where she was before. It was much calmer than the main road, with just about no one except a person in a cloak strolling about behind her.

Ahiru paused a moment. That person…looks kind of familiar…

She gazed behind her at a boy dressed in a frayed graying mantle. He had white hair, spread around his head in straight locks, just like…

"Quack!" That couldn't be…Mytho!

Ahiru waddled swiftly towards him. What's he doing in clothes like that? Why isn't he with Rue-chan?

The boy's eyes caught on Ahiru. His eyebrows tilted in a puzzled manner. "Oh! …A duck?"

Ahiru gazed into his confused eyes. They weren't the same color…they weren't golden amber, like those of the real Mytho's were, but bright azure.

The boy blinked again. "Er…do I…know you?"

Ahiru's shoulders slumped. "Qua…" It couldn't be Mytho. Mytho would recognize her right away as "Tutu," for even though he still did not know that she was Ahiru the girl, he had realized soon before he had left that Princess Tutu was really a duck.

He studied her for a moment. "'Thought I was someone you knew, huh?" He smiled somewhat apologetically. "Sorry to disappoint."

Sighing to himself, he raised his head back up. "'Least you're not like the other obsessive folks around here…"

Puzzled, Ahiru stared after the boy as he set off on his way. Why was he able to understand her so well?

As she gazed at him for several more moments, suddenly he exclaimed, "Whoa!" and fell flat on his face.

"Ouch."

Ahiru examined him while he clambered back up and dusted himself off. Apparently he had tripped over a small jutting stone in the road.

Who was that boy? Ahiru thought, watching him disappear around a corner. Where did he come from? Why does he look so much like Mytho?

She sat there wondering for some moments.

"AHIRU!"

"Quack?" Ahiru glanced around before spotting Fakir racing towards her at top speed, so desperately relieved that he couldn't contain himself. Fakir scooped Ahiru right off her webbed feet and gave her a hug that nearly squeezed the air out of her. "Are you all right? Are you injured!"

Ahiru spread her wings in a demonstrating fashion, showing that she was unharmed, and then attempted to explain to him who she had just seen.

Perhaps both of them were exhausted from the recent brush with danger, since although she simply wanted to say "I saw someone that looks like the prince", Fakir had just recently discovered Ahiru was not run over and wasn't as keen as he usually was with interpreting her body language. Struggling to understand, Fakir said, "Wait…someone…saw the prince? You saw the prince? Mytho?" Fakir blinked. "You saw Mytho here?"

Ahiru shook her head frantically, and tried to clarify.

Fakir tried again. "Someone else…look at prince?" He shook his head irritably at himself. "Shoot, I don't understand…"

Ahiru sighed in frustration. Talking did have its advantages…

"Quack!" She had an idea. She implied for him to follow her, and set off flying towards the direction that the Mytho look-alike had gone. Fakir dashed after her.

Ahiru turned the corner. There was no one. Huh?

She flew up higher for more elevation to check around. In a moment, she found him, his frayed cloak and white hair instantly recognizable.

He was with someone else. Ahiru knew that person…her eyes widened.

o-o-o-o-o

Mytho sat on a cushioned velvet chair, leaning his head on his arm perched on the armrest. The window's light shining through to the wall towards his left was turning orange, and the shadows were starting to grow longer. His eyes were unfocused; his mind was elsewhere.

Ravens…why are they attacking? These letters that we had received…truth be told, there were relatively few of them…could these be isolated incidents, mere coincidences? Or is there something hiding within this situation that I can't see…?

He seemed too deep in thought to notice the hustling and bustling outside of the study room.

One young man prowling around nearby was giving orders to all of the other servants and attendants. He wore a simple beige tunic and white pants with a bright vermilion pullover on which a swan over a gold crown, the prince's insignia, was sketched. His hair was dark brown with flecks of red here and there. He looked quite stressed.

"WHAT! What do you mean he's fallen ill!" he burst out at a boy who had just given him the news. "He can't just walk out after promising to do the flower arrangement, that's going to be the first thing the guests will see!"

"H-he's too ill to travel all the way here, and he comes from quite a distance…" the boy stammered.

"I don't care! Tell him that he can do the flower arrangement wherever he is and we'll get someone to pick it up if we have to…"

"It's too far away, it'd never make it back in time –"

"Fine, then! Get the gardener to pick a selection, and hurry!"

The boy nodded timidly and hurried off down the corridor.

"I presume things are somewhat hectic, Komaro?" Mytho asked his first assistant, who was nearly hyperventilating.

"It's been mayhem!" Komaro cried out. "Before, the cook forgot to bring the spices and didn't have enough flour to bake the second batch of biscuits. Then, I heard that one of the footmen got a twisted ankle, so we had to go find a replacement in a damn hurry! And not only that, just now the flower arranger –"

"– fell ill and you had to get the gardener to sort it up instead?" Mytho finished his sentence.

"Precisely!" Komaro exclaimed. "I hope you don't mind me saying so, your Highness, but this is grueling managing this by myself –"

"But you aren't on your own," Mytho pointed out, "You have the whole castle to help you out. Even I'd help you out if you'd let me…"

"Well…it's that…" Komaro stammered. "…It-It's my duty to manage everything…make sure everyone's doing what they're supposed to, and that everything runs smoothly…"

"But skulking around bellowing at working passersby?" Mytho shook his head. "Stop stressing out over all of this. These matters are all very trivial in the long run, after all…and besides," he joked, "if you die of anxiety, how will you ever manage anything else again?"

Komaro blinked with a start. "Th-that's right, that would be terrible…I must work extra hard to be more relaxed. Don't stress! Don't stress!" he told himself harshly.

Mytho smiled and shook his head again, and stepped out the doorway.

"Oh, your Majesty, are you going to take a walk?" Komaro asked. "There had to be some other reason that you decided to get up besides talking to me…"

"Of course there wouldn't need to be another reason," Mytho replied. "But actually…a walk would be a splendid idea."

"Really?" Komaro said. "If you are, be careful around the main entrance hall, I believe they're sweeping the floor, and in the ballroom, they're mopping, so…"

"No, not in the castle…outside, in town."

"What? Outside!" Komaro exclaimed. "But there's no one free to escort you, I'm afraid…"

"I won't need one," he replied. "I'm not going on a tour or anything, I just…need some time to think."

Komaro blinked for a couple of seconds. "Well, if that's what will make you happy, your Highness, by all means, go," he answered. "…You're sure you will be fine by yourself?"

"Yes, Komaro, I can take care of myself," Mytho responded with a sigh. "Seriously, you fret about me almost more than Rue does…" He set off in the direction of the nearest exit.

Komaro stood there, his gray eyes still blinking. He didn't really know what to say to that, so he proceeded to prowl around the castle once more.

o-o-o-o-o

Mytho exited the castle unseen. He wandered around the town, sticking to calmer, less busy streets, so as not to attract attention. He didn't want all the noise to distract him.

Ravens in Ginkan…should I go? But the gathering tonight…everyone will know that I'm gone, and…I don't want anyone else involved. If I leave even at any other time, someone will know that I'm absent anyway…what should I do? Wait? But who knows what the ravens will do while time flutters by…

He turned a corner onto a particularly deserted street, and its silence was like a thick cloud shrouding the air above it. His footsteps echoed strangely as he stepped across.

"Ah…" a deep, velvety voice murmured. "The Prince…I was wondering when you would stop by."

Mytho paused and looked around. "Who's there?"

"Something occupies your mind, Prince…" the voice continued. Mytho found a heavily curtained doorway to his left. The voice was coming from inside. "…something that threatens to remind you of the darkness in your most recent past."

He approached the doorway. "Who are you?"

"No need to fear, Prince…I am only Takako, a mere fortune teller. Please, do enter."

"I've heard of that name before…" Mytho pushed aside the curtains veiling the entrance and peered inside. "The fortunes I've heard that you tell are very accurate…" The dwelling's scent was old and musky, and the dusty furniture and fabric draped inside looked faded in the dim candlelight. "Uncannily accurate…" No one was to be seen.

Mytho looked all around, searching for a source of the voice when a woman in a dark mantle with white fur surrounding the shoulders quietly swept into the room. The woman with long dark coffee-colored hair and white bangs held a palm-sized jar with amber-colored dust in it.

"I know you will need this," she told him, giving Mytho the jar, "so I offer it to you ahead of time. It will make things easier."

Mytho glanced at the jar. "What is it?"

"If one takes this dust and sprinkles it onto their eyes – the eyelid will suffice – their eyes will modify into the color of the powder. In this case, of course, it is your exact match."

Mytho frowned, bewildered. "What will I need this for?"

Takako gazed at him intently with her golden eyes, an enigmatic smile growing on her lips. "You will need it, Prince."

"Just to warn you, Prince," Takako added before he left, "it takes only water to wash off dust."

o-o-o-o-o

In a room of the academy, a young woman surrounded by mirrors and exercise bars stood in fifth position. Dressed in her trademark claret ballet skirt and her curly black hair pressed into a bun, Rue danced gracefully and wordlessly around the room.

Komaro peeked into the room. "Oh, Princess…there you are. I was wondering where you had gone –"

"Quiet. I'm practicing for the presentation after the guests arrive. Don't break my concentration."

"I-I wasn't about to," Komaro replied quickly. "Just checking around…I'll go now…" Komaro's head disappeared from the open crack between the double doors.

A pause. "Wait."

Komaro's head poked back in. "Yes, your Highness?"

"Where's Mytho?" Rue inquired. "I thought he would be here to rehearse with me, but I haven't seen him since we arrived."

"He said he was going out for a walk a little while ago," Komaro replied. "I don't know why, but he looked distracted about something…"

"Mytho's been like that ever since before we arrived." Rue shook her head. "I'll have to talk to him. He can't keep moping about like that."

Komaro nodded slowly. "Yes, I agree."

"Komaro?"

"Yes?" Komaro responded.

"Be sure to refer to me as 'your Highness' or 'Rue-sama'."

"Yes, your Highness." Komaro answered with a bow. He could never really tell whether she was joking or not when she said that, but with her, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Komaro once again disappeared from the doorway, and almost as an afterthought he closed the door quietly.

After Komaro had left, a few moments later, Rue chuckled to herself and continued practicing.

o-o-o-o-o

Mytho exited the fortune-teller's abode, putting the jar of eye-color-changing dust into his coat pocket. He had no idea what the fortune-teller was getting at, and she seemed to insist on being vague, but perhaps she knew something he didn't. Maybe somehow it would be useful…

Either way, he was back out on his stroll. Soon he'd need to head back to the academy – strangely it still seemed more like a school than a castle – and greet his guests at the gala. For some reason, his unease seemed to intensify with that thought. He knew it was the news of ravens that was on his mind; what else could be? It kept bothering him, pestering for him to do something…but what? How?

The prince turned a left corner. The whole street was still deserted and quiet, and only one other person with his cloak hood off stood walking on the road.

Mytho, occupied in his thoughts, didn't observe the person closely until he was just several feet in front of him. The other boy, with white hair in short straight locks and bright blue eyes, was not quite as distracted.

Trutho stopped in his tracks and stared at the person in front of him bewilderedly. The other person had white hair in the exact same style as his own. It seemed that the only real difference between them was the color of their eyes. There was anxiety in those eyes, he noticed.

Mytho realized he was being watched, and his head came up and met the other boy's. He blinked a couple times, his eyes missing the tension they had before. They were just blank now. Trutho blinked a couple times back.

Mytho's mouth moved silently as if he didn't have any breath left for words. He soon gave up on trying to speak, and strode towards Trutho hurriedly, as if Mytho were afraid he would disappear if he didn't get there soon enough. Mytho stopped abruptly directly in front of Trutho, staring at him with intense, astounded eyes. Then, before Trutho knew what was happening, Mytho embraced him tightly, bursting into joyful tears.

Trutho was flabbergasted. "Huh? What…what the heck?"

"Quack!"

Ahiru swooped down from the sky, followed by Fakir from an adjacent street. They ran to the two almost identical boys, one significantly more bewildered than the other.

"Mytho…" Fakir said. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" the Mytho with blue eyes exclaimed hysterically.

Ahiru landed on Fakir's shoulder. The boy abruptly stopped panicking when he spotted Ahiru and commented, "Oh, that's…the duck I saw earlier…" He pointed at Fakir's shoulder.

Ahiru quacked and nodded vigorously toward Fakir. He realized that this Mytho look-alike was the one she was trying to tell him about.

"Mytho…" Fakir glanced at the real Mytho. "Do you…know this person?"

At this, Mytho looked very sad. "I…did." There was a strange weight on the last word.

Trutho's face fell. His head drooped, and his eyes lowered towards the ground. "Well, I…I just don't remember…I never could remember my distant past, ever since…"

Realization struck Fakir. "Wait…Mytho, he isn't…couldn't be…your younger brother…could he?"

Mytho gazed back into Trutho's azure eyes. He could sense unease and uncertainty behind them, and a shrouded sadness, but above all else, he still recognized the curious little brother he had had so many years ago. "…He is. There's no mistaking him. But something must've happened…"

Mytho shuddered with unspoken rage. "Something must've happened…when he was…"

Fakir suddenly understood. "Mytho, it's all right. He's safe now; that's what matters."

Ahiru, thoroughly confused, blinked at Fakir, and quacked inquiringly.

"I'll explain later…" he whispered to her, glancing at Mytho.

After some moments, Mytho took a breath and seemed to recover himself. "We must return to the palace. Please follow me. I think it would be better off if we went unnoticed."

Having had experience with these situations before, Trutho instinctively pulled over his hood. Fakir followed quietly, and Ahiru, perceiving the collective silence between all of them, held her questions for later.