Title: Royalty

Fandom: Princess Tutu

Character/Pairing: Fakir/Ahiru

Rating: PG.

Word Count: 477

Summary/Description: She is a princess until the end.

Warning/Spoilers: Spoilers for the end of the anime.

A/N: 31 days, February 12th: the sweet fruition of an earthly crown. :D First Tutu fic! OMG, this anime was so cute and adorable, I almost couldn't write fic for it. :)

Dedication: Happy birthday, Ali Wildgoose. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the cute ball of awesome that is Princess Tutu.

Fakir wouldn't have heard it had it not been for the eerie quiet of his home. The lake was not a very popular spot; less than five people frequented it per week. The surroundings areas, where Fakir had built his hut, were more or less deserted as well, which was more than fine by him. He relished the silence and the hollowness of sound.

Ahiru, if she hadn't liked it before, would like the solitude now, as it helped Fakir to save her life. First, he heard the dog barking and growling lowly, the sounds getting closer and closer as if it was giving chase to something. Then, he registered the frantic flapping and squawking outside his front door. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. Fakir rolled his eyes, put down his cup of tea, and quickly strode to the door.

Ahiru flapped up into his arms immediately, and not a second too soon. The dog, some sort of half breed, barrelled into Fakir's legs. The both of them continued to make enough racket to rattle the living and wake the dead.

The writer sighed. Some days, it wasn't quiet enough.

He shooed the dog quickly enough; once the thing seemed to realise that Fakir wasn't going to relinquish the duck, it trotted off moodily.

That done, Fakir went back inside and closed the door. Ahiru gave what he supposed was a squawk of relief, and rest her downy head against his chest. He tightened his grip on her soft body, even as he glared down at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to come out of the pond when I'm not around?"

The duck ruffled her feathers indignantly. Rather than be amazed that a duck could managed to look indignant, Fakir put her down on his table next to his tea cup. He went to the cupboard for some bread.

"I don't suppose you'll ever learn," he said with a sigh as he sat back down. He spread some crumbs before her, and she tucked into them as neatly and as elegantly as a duck could. Fakir watched her with a mixture of exasperation and something he wouldn't term affection. He noticed for the first that she had a dusting of tiny leaves at the top of her head; probably garnered in the wild chase that she had led the dog on. It encircled her head a like crown.

"You look ridiculous," he said simply, and used his hand to dust the leaves away. She looked a little surprised at his touch, but only turned away from her meal long enough to send a throaty 'hmph!' in his direction.

Fakir almost smiled. He took a sip of his tea, and went back to his writing, as Ahiru pecked away at the crumbs on the table next to him.

A/N: skjhfds They're so cute. :') Comments appreciated.