Title: Missing Pieces
Author: Candyland
Fandom: Princess Tutu: Within a story, a duck becomes a girl becomes a superhero ballerina to gather the pieces of her prince's heart. The villain wears toe shoes and a tutu and is STILL a badass. Meanwhile, the author of the story is crazy, sadistic, and wants an angsty ending—basically a fanfiction writer.
Wordcount: 720
Taunt: My fandom doesn't believe in wearing pants.

Life went on, as it always had, in Gold Crown Town. Day turned to night, night turned to day, and the seasons rolled in and out, each one the newest chapter in the story called Reality.

On one particular morning, the denizens of the town awoke, each feeling as though they had just awakened from some truly fantastic dream. But it had passed, as dreams were wont to do, and so the people went about their lives. Few wondered about the last wispy tendrils of recollection born of that dream. But for some reason, things felt different to many.

There was a stray cat that sometimes wandered the academy grounds. Pique had stopped many times to pet this cat; it was friendly enough, given how aloof cats tended to be. One day, she saw the familiar brown cat being accompanied by a pretty white cat. And she found it strange that her first thought upon seeing the two was that the brown cat had finally gotten married. What an odd thought to have about a cat.

Ballet classes went on, and the beginners began further lessons into the study of pointe. But a few of them—Lilie in particular—kept glancing over towards the corner. For some reason, they thought there should be someone sitting there, watching the lesson with stars in her eyes.

After class one day, Lilie went for a walk. She passed two second-year students—Lysander and Hermia really were an adorable couple—and made her way into the town. As she was wandering, she heard a bird caw in the sky above her. She looked up and saw a large black bird flying overhead. She stared at it, unable to look away, and when it cawed again she felt a shiver run through her, like the bird was something to be afraid of. How silly—it was just a raven.

One female student went for a walk in the forest beside the school on afternoon, and as she passed a tree, she felt an almost overwhelming urge to scratch at the ground. For whatever reason, she wanted to see if there were ants there. Strange—she was really none too fond of insects.

The special ballet class, consisting of the five top female dancers in the school, to practice and dazzle the others with their skill and amazing routines. Yet one girl commented that she felt a little out of place there—like it wasn't truly her spot. Still, her dancing was beautiful, and so things went on. The five of them always looked so lovely in their matching blue costumes and white toe shoes. No one wondered (aloud, at least) why it seemed there should be one in red, shining above all the rest.

Fakir still had an entire faction of girls within the school who loved and adored him. He was still one of the best dancers in the academy, graceful and fluid. But there was far more sadness in him now, wisdom where there once had been anger, and patience to replace the fiery temper. When not in classes, he could often be seen sitting in a chair on the dock by the pond, a pad of his paper in his lap and a pen in his hand. Sometimes he would have a fishing pole beside him.

During those times, a small yellow duck could be seen bobbing in the water alongside the wooden dock, as if keeping him company while he wrote. On rare occasions, he would turn and smile at the water-bird. It was like the two somehow shared some secret, something only the two of them knew.

But the most profound piece that seemed to be missing involved Pique and Lilie. As they walked between buildings together, heading to their next class, they were talking and laughing as they always did. And in the middle of the conversation, they both simultaneously looked to the space between them, expecting a person to be there, but finding only empty air. The two girls paused—shouldn't there be someone else walking with them now?

They looked at each other for a moment, then laughed nervously and continued on their way. They were being silly—there was no one with them. It was obviously some sort of dream.

And it was time for class.

PS. This was inspired by two scenes from the closing credits of the final episode. One was a shot of a normal brown cat (obviously their marriage-crazed teacher) being accompanied by a white cat and some kittens. The other was of Pique and Lilie walking along, and they both look at the space between them, where Ahiru would have walked.

I adore Princess Tutu. Wish I had more ideas for it…anyway, thanks for reading, all! Much love!