Chapter Text
The Writer
"Duck, you idiot! You're so clumsy." Fakir sighed. He looked at the broken vase, then at the guilty looking duck. Finally, without another word, he left the living room to collect the duster and dustpan. When he returned he gave the duck a look.
"This is the second of today, what do you do with these things?" He muttered to her while cleaning up.
The duck quacked in answer, as if she could understand what he was saying. She sheepishly shifted her flat webbed feet, which made it clear that she accidentally had kicked it over.
Fakir noticed her dejected mood and sighed. Duck had always been clumsy as a girl and it seemed to have affected her coordination as a duck as well. Even after four years, she still forgot the shape of her own body.
"It can't be helped I guess.” He said to her gently and he gave her a consoling smile to let her know that he was not mad at her.
“You know I only keep these flowers in the house so you can have a bit of nature here, but if you keep knocking them over I'll have to tell Retsel that our house is not save for any bouquet she brings." A sarcastic smirk formed on his face. He knew he got her feeling flustered with this comment. Even though Duck's expressions were harder to read since she had returned to her true form, Fakir could imagine her stubborn face. He laid down the dustpan and turned towards the door, then looked over his shoulder.
"Well then, I'll go shopping for dinner. Will you come with me, Duck?"
"Quack!" Duck squawked cheerfully and she followed him out the house and into the street.
Fakir lived with Duck outside town, just beyond one of the five gates. Fakir had never been a social person. When he was a child he had chosen solitude in consideration of the safety of his friend, Mytho who, without feelings, would meet too many complications around other people. Then, as the years progressed, Fakir had become more wary of people and trusted no one well enough to confide in. Now Mytho had returned to where he belonged, but Duck remained. Duck had forced herself into Fakir's little circle of trust for the same reason he had created the circle, the protection of Mytho. Duck had been optimistic, cheerful and determined, but also very fragile when it came to saving Mytho. She wanted nothing else than for him to be happy and for that she was ready to sacrifice everything, but deep down she knew she had to watch him find love without her. She could never be with him as a lover because she was in truth a duck and fated to vanish the moment she would confess her love.
In the end she and Fakir had to be left behind after the story of their town had come to a close. Duck had to return to her true form, but she had been scared of being alone. Even back as a duck she was still a girl in mind and so she would not fit into her old world anymore. So Fakir had promised her to stay by her side. Now, Fakir chose his solitude for her sake and only went into Gold Crown Town if he had to.
"Shhh" Whispered Piqué from behind a little bush to Lillie. Lilie quickly took something out of her bag and then joined her friend. Together they stared intently at the gate that led out of town. The thing that Lilie had taken out of her bag was a camera. She held it hopefully before her right eye and when the gate opened she immediately took a picture. Only it wasn't the person they had been waiting for. It was Femio, the fool of the village.
Out of total shock Lilie wanted to scream, but Pique clapped her hand over her mouth just in time. And so they sat there. Silently they watched Femio pass by. A few minutes later the gate opened again and there he was, the one they had waited for. Piqué and Lillie just couldn't control themselves and screamed his name.
“Fakir!”
Startled by their own daring, the two girls looked at Fakir as he turned and walked towards them. Piqué and Lille had completely forgotten what they wanted to say and just stared.
The duck, who stood behind Fakir, had jumped a foot in the air when she heard the voices of Piqué and Lilie and she had to have a rest first to calm down.
"Hey" Fakir said to them, slightly irritated. What did these girls want? Piqué and Lilie used to be Duck's best friends, but they had forgotten her due to the sudden end of the fairy tale that allowed her to be a girl in the first place. They had not forgotten Fakir, however, because he was born in the town and happened to be in their year at the Ballet Academy. Fakir quit ballet after the end of the story. He had entered solely to keep an eye on Mytho, who had loved to dance. Fakir had been quite good at it himself, but it had never been his passion in life and so he no longer saw the point to continue. However, for some reason Piqué and Lilie had decided they wanted to be friends with him, which had to be very uncomfortable for Duck. Solely on her behalf he had put up with their company so now and again, but he really had enough of this. He just wanted to go on with his shopping and leave!
Giggling the two girls ran away and Fakir walked back to check on Duck who still hadn't fully recovered from the shock. Fakir crouched down in front of her and gazed at her with great apprehension. Duck was old for a duck after all. He took her carefully in his arms and walked into the town. Duck calmly leaned against Fakir's chest and trusted him completely.
A few days later Duck came down with a cold. Even though it was only a cold, it was quite dangerous for a duck as old as she was. To Fakir's annoyance, it took not long for the whole town to know of it as well. Every day Fakir got the same comments:
"How is the duck? Is it getting any better?"
But also comments where it looked like Duck had already passed away.
“Aaw, it was such an adorable ducky." And: "Yeah, all things pass away some day."
Fakir thought it was bad enough that Duck got a cold. He didn't need all the feigned sympathy. He just wanted her to be healthy again.
When Fakir came home from an errand in town, a few days into her illness, Duck no longer lay in her little bed. Startled, Fakir dropped the bag and his coat on the floor and immediately called her name.
"Duck!" Fakir walked further into the room, all the while frantically looking for a sign of her.
"Quack" Came softly out of the kitchen. Quickly Fakir followed her weak voice. There, in the kitchen, near the stove sat Duck. She gazed at him cheerfully with her weak, sick eyes. Clearly she wanted to keep him company while he prepared dinner.
Fakir said 'no' by shaking his head. "Moron, you have to stay in bed." He picked her up and set her a bit roughly upon her pillow.
"Quack" Duck said resentfully.
Fakir just ignored her and went back into the hallway to properly put away his coat and bag. Then, unexpectedly, the doorbell rang. Fakir angrily opened the door with a scowl.
"What?!" He snapped, directly in the faces of Piqué and Lilie. Startled from Fakir's reaction they stepped backwards and didn’t dare to speak. Fakir understood that he had been too hard on them. He apologized and let them in. The two girls did not expect this and stared at him while they took a seat in the living room. Fakir did not know why he led them in. It all didn't matter to him anymore. He had the feeling the two girls wanted to see Duck and who was he to stop them now?
Duck was very tired from her little adventure into the kitchen, so Fakir went to her bed, took her in his arms and carried her to the living room. There, he took a seat opposite the two girls and put Duck carefully on his knee. Slowly, the little duck closed her eyes and fell asleep, leaning on Fakir. Fakir's eyes began to sting and he had to blink rapidly to keep the tears from rolling over his cheeks. Piqué's and Lillie's eyes were looking red as well and soon they started to cry. Especially Lilie, from whom no one really expected it. She used to really like drama and sadness.
Fakir was the only one who still wasn't crying, although he had to try hard not to.
That night, he had a very scary nightmare. It was so real that the tears flowed down his cheeks in his sleep. In the dream he picked up the weak duck with shaking hands, but before he knew it, she was gone and Fakir dropped down onto his knees with his face buried in his empty hands.
Shaking, Fakir opened his eyes. He didn't hesitate for one moment and went straight to Duck's little bed. Slowly he lifted her in his hands and looked at her. Weakly, she opened her eyes. Duck smiled at him and then closed her eyes again. This time forever.
"DUCK!"