The Journey Ahead
Summary: Princess Tutu, Princess of the Swans, has engaged, by their families, to Myuto, the Prince of a far away land. To wed her love, Prince Myuto's knight, Fakir, is asked to go to her kingdom and accompany her on the journey to Myuto's kingdom. Will Tutu fall for the knight of her perhaps beloved? Will the knight leave all duty, all loyalties, to be with his beloved? As love is tested, Princess Kraehe, Princess of the Ravens, schemes to rule the kingdoms and the Prince's heart. How will our heroine possibly defeat this foe?
Last Chapter: Princess Tutu suddenly turns ill, alarming her Knight, Fakir. As Princess Kraehe schemes to get rid of Tutu and as Prince Myuto fears for Tutu's wellbeing, Tutu and Fakir are attacked by Raven minions. And in the midst of the battle... Fakir finds Tutu nowhere to be found...
Thanks for the reviews:
Siriaca-Ying-Fa- I know, right? XD
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Mercy the fallen angel- Yeah, it was a bit rushed, I admit.
BalletArtist- Thank you!
RedRoseInADarkAlley- Thank you so much!
SasuxSakufan- Sorry for the long wait!
Silviara (ch4)- Lol, thanks!
Akaiihana- Thank you!
Riku- I understand, and again I'm sorry.
-'ahiru-nonoko'—Thanks!
New Favs and New Alerts:
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Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy!
I Do Not Own Princess Tutu!
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"… Duck?!"
The carriage doors flapped open, and the interior was empty, except for the amount of crow feathers lying about. Fakir felt his hands tighten into fists as he could only stare in horror at the empty carriage.
"Duck... Duck...," he whispered. Then he began spinning about as he lashed and attacked some of the Raven minions. "Duck! Duck...! Where are you?! ... Duck!!"
He flinched as he saw her. Princess Tutu lied unconscious, with her arms clawed by two crows that began to carry her away. "Fa... kir...," she moaned, wincing in pain as she regained consciousness only slightly before reverting back to unconsciousness. Fakir began to run to her, calling out her name, but the ten Raven minions stepped in the way, each charging at the Knight once more.
Dammit... I have no time for you guys... I have to get to... to... "... Duck!!" Fakir called out to her as he slashed three Raven minions in one hit, who all fell to the ground, disappearing into crow feathers. He did the same to three more until there was one Raven minion left. Only one more... and then... and then I can... Fakir's eyes widened.
This time, Princess Tutu was gone. The crows and the young princess were nowhere to be seen. Fakir stood there in shock as the last Raven Minion drove his feathery blade into Fakir as blood dripped on the ground.
"D-Duck...," Fakir whispered.
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"Everything is coming into place... Soon, the Prince will be mine...," Princess Kraehe whispered. She sat in her throne, closing her eyes. "And then... I'll finally have a happy ending..."
"But happy endings are boring. I prefer tragedies instead."
Kraehe's eyes opened as she sharply stood up, spinning around. "Who goes there?" she challenged, glaring, "Who dares to invade my thoughts?!" Out of nowhere, a grandfather clock appeared before her. A... clock? What...? "What is this?! Answer me!" She flinched as someone stepped out of the grandfather clock. Kraehe narrowed her eyes. "What... No, who are you...?" she bellowed.
The old man smiled. "The writer of tragedies: Drosselmeyer."
"Drosselmeyer, eh...? Father had already warned me of you." Then Kraehe flinched. She drew back instinctively. "You... You're the person who froze time... I remember this power... and I've heard rumors of you. You've cursed a town, and had stayed there ever since, wanting only tragedies for your stories, so why are you here, of all places?"
"I thought you, of all people, would have realized it by now, Kraehe. I weave all stories into tragedies, including this one," Drosselmeyer murmured.
"This one?" Kraehe questioned, "What do you mean?"
"No one can escape my eyes," Drosselmeyer told her, "Not the Prince, not the Raven, not Princess Tutu, not the Knight who was killed by the Ravens, not even you... who has no place in my story. I never recall writing of a raven princess... in The Prince and The Raven."
Kraehe gasped. "What are you saying...?"
"I am saying that Princess Tutu and you... shall never find happiness. You may not be an original character in my story, but it would be cruel of me to leave you out of their misery. You will be the same as them." Drosselmeyer slowly entered the grandfather clock once more. He began to cackle in laughter as the clock began to disappear. "You will live in tragedy, just like them!"
Shivering with fear, Kraehe fell to her throne as she sat there, shaking. "N-No... You're wrong... I will have the Prince... I will have a happy ending... Father promised that... and he's never wrong... You're wrong... It... can't be...," she whispered. "... You're wrong...!!"
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Slashing down the last of the crows, Fakir looked around sharply, hoping to find some trace of Tutu. Then he saw the trail of crows' feather leading the same way Tutu had come from.
Tutu..., he mumbled as he quickly got the carriage ready and began the chase. He bit his lip, feeling the wound ache. Blood dripped from his clothes as he continued to steer the horses.
I can't stop... Not now... I have to keep moving... For Duck...
Duck...
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Where am I...? My head hurts... For a second, I thought I heard...
"Fakir!" Tutu's eyes instantly opened as she found herself being carried away by two crows.
She winced as their hold on her arms hurt her terribly. Still, Tutu began to struggle. She remembered Fakir leaving her to fight ten Raven minions, and before she knew it, crow feather surrounded her and she had blacked out. Tutu looked around as she continued to struggle with the crows, who began pecking at her to stop, but she didn't give in. She couldn't see Fakir or the carriage or Raven minions on the dirty path the crow were carrying her in.
Fakir... Oh, Fakir..., Tutu whispered. Please... Don't die...
To her astonishment, the two crows released her. Tutu fell to the ground as she tried to see where they were going, but the crows flew too fast, hurrying back to Kraehe as they realized her desperate state of distress. Tutu began to crawl back to the battlefield where Fakir was, wherever it was at. Her arms felt weak and her legs felt heavy. She could barely attempt to stand.
Fakir... Don't die...
Building up the courage, Tutu began to stand and began to walk, even though it was painful. "This pain is enough to endure... Compared to what Fakir has to go through every time to protect me... I can handle it," she told herself optimistically, "Heh, I'll have to get stronger, or Myuto will never want marry me!"
Then something caught her eye. A young man driving a carriage coming towards her. As she ran towards him, he fell off the carriage in a daze from his injuries.
"... Fakir!!"
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"My Prince, are you all right?" one of the Knights asked him as he escorted Myuto to his room, "Recently, your health hasn't been very well..."
Myuto shook his head. "I'm fine," he reassured, "I'll feel even better once Princess Tutu returns here safely." Tutu... Please be safe. And please... take care of Fakir...
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Fakir winced as he opened his eyes as a sudden rumbling of shock sent him bouncing. He rubbed his head, realizing he was inside the carriage instead of driving it as usual. I thought I was dead... How did I...? He wondered as he felt his wound, only to find bandages. "Ah... How...?"
Fakir looked around. "Duck...?" More bumps on the road made Fakir jump in his seat, bumping his hand on the ceiling again. "Geez... Who in the heck is driving the...?" His eyes widened. He quickly turned for the carriage door and opened it.
"Duck?!" Fakir asked with disbelief.
Tutu blinked as she glanced behind her shoulder. "Good morning, Fakir!" she greeted, grinning. "I see you're looking better!"
"Stop the carriage! I'll drive! You have no idea how to drive that thing, and you'll only get us killed! Besides, you have a fever!"
"Fakir, it's been two days, and I feel just peachy right now. You should be the one resting. If you keep moving around like that, you'll either fall out of the carriage or your wounds will――" Tutu's eyes widened. "Fakir, your wounds opened!!"
"What?!" Fakir looked down to find blood seeping through the bandages.
"I told you to rest! Get inside!"
"This is all your fault!"
"My fault?!" Tutu snapped as she stopped the carriage, making Fakir once again smack his face into the door, "You're the one who got injured!"
"Because you got sick and got kidnapped!" Fakir shot back, jumping out of the carriage to face her.
Tutu sighed. "You're right... I'm sorry, Fakir." Fakir blinked, surprised. "Oh, and... thank you, Fakir."
"Thank me?" Fakir repeated, confused, "For what?"
Princess Tutu looked up at her Knight and smiled. "For being alive."
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Chapter 7 Done! (Wow, I just finished updating four fanfics today, including this one. I might do so more! XD) Tutu and Fakir get into some trouble, but is it with Kraehe? The Ravens? Or something worse? Anyways, RXR!