Searching for the Missing Past Act 1: Nightmare Memory “No! Don’t take me away! Please, no!” Rue’s eyes were closed, but she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her, pulling her close. At first, she struggled to break free of the embrace, until she became aware of her husband’s soft voice whispering words of comfort. She then relaxed, and her garnet eyes fluttered open. “Mytho?” “It’s okay, Rue,” he said, lightly kissing her forehead. “You’re safe with me. You were just having a nightmare again.” “Oh.” Rue sighed and snuggled even closer to Mytho, his warm body heat assuring her that she was in fact safe from the evil crows in her nightmare. Her beloved prince would always be there to protect her, as he had proven in the final battle with the Raven, the being she had considered her father for most of her life. However, he could not stop the nightmares she’d been having ever since that day. That was something only she could do, but no matter how many times she went to bed, determined only to dream of happy things, she couldn’t help but dream of the memory she had seen when the story turned back, the memory of her kidnapping as a baby by the crows from her real, human parents. She didn’t even know who they were, or, for that matter, her real name. She only knew herself as Kraehe, the name the Raven had bestowed on her, and Rue, the name she had given Mytho the first time they met, but, for all she knew, she could have been a Gretchen, Brigitta, or even a Hilda (though she sincerely hoped not). “What are you thinking about?” Mytho asked. Rue had thought he’d gone back to sleep, but craning her neck upwards, she saw that he was still wide awake, a concerned look on his face as he looked down on her. “Nothing,” she lied. Though Rue usually felt like she could tell Mytho almost anything, she never talked to him about her nightmares, knowing it would only make him sad to realize she was in such pain, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Normally, Mytho respected her wish not to talk about the nightmares, but this time, he would not let the subject go. “Almost every night I hear you shouting in your sleep,” he said, placing a hand right above her left breast. “Even now, I can feel your heartbeat racing. Something is troubling you, Rue, and I wish you would tell me what it is.” His bright golden eyes suddenly dimmed. “Are you unhappy? With me?” “No, of course not!” Shocked that he would even suggest such a thing, Rue sat up so that she could look Mytho straight in the eye and caressed his cheek. “I love you with every fiber of my being. You should know that better than anyone.” “Then why do I feel as if you are shutting me out?” Unable to deny it, Rue sighed and looked down at her hands, which she had folded on her lap. On the left one, her golden wedding ring lightly shimmered in the light coming from the full moon outside their window, and Rue was reminded of the words engraved on the inside of the band: Two hearts become one. They had made a promise on their wedding day that they would share each other’s pain and sorrow, as well as their joy and happiness -- a vow, she was ashamed to admit, she hadn’t kept. “Do you really want to know what’s been bothering me?” Rue asked, twirling the band on her finger. “Of course I do. I can’t bear to see you like this anymore. Please, tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll do anything in my power to fix it.” Drawing in a deep breath, Rue finally confessed her secret desire, the wish she had kept hidden in her heart ever since the day she found out the truth. “I-I want to find my family, Mytho.” “Your family?” “My human family, my real parents,” Rue said. “Ever since the story turned back and I learned that the crows had kidnapped me from a human couple to become the Raven’s daughter, I can’t help but wonder who they are, if they ever had any more children… It feels like something very important is missing in my heart.” “I can certainly understand that feeling,” Mytho said, bringing his hand to his own heart, “but why didn’t you tell me about this before, Rue?” “Because it’s an impossible dream. I was kidnapped from the human realm, and even if there was a way to return, I wouldn’t know where to look. I don’t even know my own name, much less theirs.” “You don’t know that for certain. There could be a way to find them…” Rue smiled sadly and kissed her husband on the cheek. It was sweet of him to try to cheer her up, but she already knew that the odds were next to nothing that she would ever be able to find her real parents. “Just forget about it, Mytho. You’re all the family I need,” she said, laying back down and snuggling underneath the blanket. “Go back to sleep. Tomorrow’s a busy day.” DISCLAIMER: "Princess Tutu" doesn't belong to me. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any comments or criticisms can be sent to me at ElysionDream@aol.com.