Act 4: Hope

	It was gone.

	The last and final hope she had of ever finding her real parents 
was gone, nothing more than a pile of ashes.

	Rue had no idea how long she sat at Fakir’s kitchen table, simply 
staring off into space. She was vaguely aware when Fakir set a bowl of 
tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich in front of her, but her 
appetite was nonexistent. She only took a few sips of the soup and a 
small bite of the sandwich to be polite, then pushed the rest away.

	“Fakir, can’t you write a story about Rue finding her parents?” 
Ahiru asked, wrapping a comforting arm around Rue. Evidently, Mytho had 
told the former duck the whole story after she had run off to find Fakir.

	“I could, but without knowing their names, there’s no guarantee 
that the parents she would find would be her true parents,” Fakir said, 
running a hand through his dark hair. “The story could simply choose a 
random couple to fill the role, much like Drosselmeyer chose you to be 
Princess Tutu.”

	“But there has to be something we can do!” Ahiru insisted. “It’s 
too sad to leave things like this. I’m sure Rue’s real family misses her, 
too.”

	“Do you have any other suggestions, Ahiru? Believe me, I would 
love to help Rue find her parents. I hate what I did, but what else can 
we do?”

	“I-I don’t know…”

	“It’s okay, Ahiru,” Rue said, her voice barely above whisper. It 
was the first thing she had said since Fakir told her he had burned the 
story in order to prevent it from happening again. “Fakir’s right. 
There’s nothing we can do. It was a long shot anyway. Who knows if their 
names were even in the book?” Pushing her chair away from the table, Rue 
stood up. “I’m feeling tired. Fakir, is there somewhere I can take a 
nap?”

	Fakir told her where she could find the bedroom, and Rue excused 
herself, holding back her sobs until she was safely behind closed doors. 
She then collapsed on the bed and buried her face in a pillow, rivers of 
tears flowing down her cheeks. The pillow was flatter and rougher than 
the ones she was accustomed to at the palace, bur Rue barely noticed, her 
entire body consumed with grief for a family she would never have the 
chance to know.

	“Mama… Papa…”

	About an hour later, there was a soft knock on the door, 
awakening Rue from the light slumber she managed to find after finally 
exhausting herself to sleep. Rue sat back up and wiped her tear-stained 
face with the corner of the blanket. “Come in,” she said, hoping she 
didn’t look as bad as she felt. 

	The door opened, and the figure of her husband stepped inside. 
“Oh, Rue…” he said, his voice soft and full of tenderness as he closed 
the door behind him.

	Wanting nothing more than to be held, Rue stood up and threw 
herself in Mytho’s arms. He wrapped her in his embrace and kissed the top 
of her head.

	“Are you okay?” he asked.

	She couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. Shaking her head, Rue 
held Mytho even closer to her. “My heart hurts, Mytho,” she whispered, 
struggling not to cry again. “It hurts so, so much…” 

	“I know, I know…”

	Mytho continued to hold her until they were interrupted by 
another knock on the door. That time, it was Ahiru, wearing a bright 
smile on her face that seemed almost cruel considering the pain Rue was 
in.

	“Rue, hurry, you have to come!” she said excitedly, grabbing 
Rue’s wrist. “Quick!”

	“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Rue asked. Despite Ahiru’s 
attempts to pull her out of the bedroom, she yanked her arm away and 
stood firmly in place, not in the mood to rejoin their friends at the 
moment, no matter how rude it might seem.

	“Ahiru, could you give me and Rue some privacy?” Mytho suggested 
in a more polite tone than Rue had managed. “Rue’s had quite a shock. I 
don’t think she’s ready to face the world just yet.”

	“But, Rue, Fakir thinks he may know of another way we can find 
your parents,” Ahiru said.   

	“What?”

	“The library. Fakir remembered that the library has an archive of 
every 'Kinkan Guild' ever printed, and he thinks there may have been an 
article about your kidnapping. It‘s a bit of a long shot, but it‘s worth 
a look at least, isn‘t it?”

	With all her heart and soul, Rue wanted to say yes, but she 
wasn’t sure she could risk getting her hopes up once again. What would 
she do if they searched the library’s archives, only to come up empty? 
Her heart wouldn’t be able to bear another disappointment.

	“I-I can’t, Ahiru,” Rue said with a shake of her head, surprising 
the former duck, who no doubt assumed the news would cheer her up.

	“But, Rue…”

	“It’s too hard. I can’t -- No, I won’t allow myself to think it 
might possible. It just hurts too much.”

	“Are you certain, Rue?” Mytho asked, caressing her arm. “I know 
you’ve been disappointed so far, but if there’s even the slightest chance 
we can find your parents, isn’t it worth taking that chance?”

	“But what if we can’t find anything?”

	“Then you are no worse off than you are right now. You have 
everything to gain, and nothing to lose.”

	Rue sighed. Logically, she knew Mytho was right. She really 
didn’t have anything to lose by looking through some musty old 
newspapers, and if the article truly did exist… Could she ever forgive 
herself if she gave up her search before trying every possible avenue?

	“Okay,” she finally agreed. “Let’s go to the library.” 


DISCLAIMER: "Princess Tutu" doesn't belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any comments or criticisms can be sent to me at 
ElysionDream@aol.com.