13.4

[fairytaleknight]

"Princess Tutu," Fakir gasps, with what remains of his breath. "You must see to Mytho's future."

Good. That's the last thing. The Prince's sword is broken; Mytho won't lose his heart, and Tutu will keep him safe. Fakir can fall now.

The lake closes over him.

(Happiness, to those who accept their fates.It's quiet down here, lit by a strange and

Comments

[authorsbypass]

The author's attention is elsewhere. Drosselmeyer is in his rocking chair, cackling in delight at the tragic unfolding of his story. Tutu and Kraehe fighting over the prince they both love; the knight fallen, his greatest deeds not enough to save him, and Tutu doomed to never speak her love.

Edel should be on the shelf. She's only a puppet, of course.

(And this time,)

She's not.

(don't start taking an interest in the hearts of humans!)

She's walking instead, tireless as only an automaton can be, halfway between the story and its gears; cobblestones click under her heels, but passersby ghost through her, and with painted wooden eyes she watches the story unfold.

Miss Edel, thank you,, said Duck, who shouldn't have said anything of the sort. I guess we'll be going now.

Drosselmeyer is watching his tragedy unfold. Of course he's laughing.

(And this time...)

[fairytaleknight]

Fakir floats in a thick and heavy darkness.

(There ought to be light. There ought to be a spotlight on Fakir. But the author isn't watching. That author isn't watching, anyway.)

It occurs to Fakir at last -- thoughts move through his mind very slowly, now -- that he is breathing the water without difficulty. But he is bleeding from enough places that he will die, very soon.

Good.

[authorsbypass]

There ought to be light.

Edel is a puppet. She's never had feelings; she carries them in her jewel box and gives them away, and they never belong to her. She has no heart for them to rest in.

But there's something in her anyway, some unfamiliar swelling where a heart should be, some desire that says I want to help them. That says, I want to be worthy of Duck. That says, My friends.

It won't last, Edel knows. She's a puppet. She's not made for this. She's made to serve the author's story. Drosselmeyer will reshape her into what she's supposed to be, the moment he realizes, and she should welcome that. But somehow--

Somehow she doesn't want it to go away.

It'll only last a little while.

She slips between the gears of the story -- it's easy when you know, when it's what you're made to do, and Drosselmeyer never even glances away from his triumph -- and into Duck's room.

"Lamp," she says softly, to the oil lamp burning with a low warm glow by Duck's bed. "I want to shine for someone too."

"Will you help me?"

[fairytaleknight]

Fakir closes his eyes.

There's nothing left to see any more, anyway.

I wonder how Duck's doing.

Is she fighting Kraehe? Will she win? Will she take Mytho home, and will they live happily ever after?

It seems a horrible shame to him that he doesn't know and will never know how the story ends.