Act 9: Meeting the Family Rue did not sleep much better after her talk with Uncle Henry. Her guilt about the lies they had told had lessened after her late-night confession, but that had been replaced by worry about what kind of test her parents would make her undergo to prove that she really was their daughter. Surely they didn’t expect her to remember anything about the short time she lived with them; the only reason she “remembered” her kidnapping was because she had seen the flashback from the story. She had only been six months old at the time, after all. Her first real memory was meeting Mytho for the first time, and that had happened when she was about four or five. However, she did at last manage to get in at least a couple of hours of sleep before she was awakened by Mytho gently shaking her shoulder. “Come on, wake up, Rue,” he said softly when she groaned, her body protesting the early wake-up call. “You’re meeting your real parents today, remember?” At the reminder, Rue’s eyes flew open, and she sat up in bed to find Mytho already dressed in slightly baggy clothes she didn’t recognize. “Where did you get those clothes from?” “Ah, these?” Mytho looked down at the black slacks and green shirt he wore. “They’re Fakir’s. Ahiru dropped them off this morning. She thought we might want to wear something a little more casual to your parents’ house than the clothes we wore yesterday.” He nodded toward a chair in the corner of the guest bedroom. “She also brought those for you. I don’t know how they’ll fit, since Ahiru is a bit smaller than you, but…” Rue walked over to the chair and inspected the clothes: a pretty white blouse with puffy sleeves and a burgundy skirt, along with a pair of flats. To her surprise, she realized that they weren’t Ahiru’s clothes, but one of her own outfits, left behind when she had left Kinkan for her new life in Mytho‘s kingdom. Ahiru must have salvaged it from her old dorm room at the Academy. “They’ll be fine,” Rue said, and began getting dressed. A few minutes later, Uncle Henry knocked on their door to inform them that breakfast was ready. Rue wasn’t hungry, the butterflies in her stomach making her too nervous to eat, but she took one final look in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance, before following Mytho out the door. “Rue, have you decided what you are going to tell your parents about…well, what happened?” Mytho asked in a quiet voice as they walked slowly to the kitchen. The scent of freshly brewed coffee tickled their noses, along with what smelled like burnt bacon. “It’ll be okay,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster. “Uncle Henry actually already knows the whole story.” Mytho stopped in his tracks. “He does? How?” “I told him last night. We both had trouble sleeping, so we talked over a glass of warm milk.” “Did he believe you?” Rue sighed, remembering their conversation. “I think he *wants* to believe me,” she replied after a short pause. “I don’t know if he’s exactly convinced, but I do think he wants Gisela back so badly, he’s willing to at least consider the possibility I am telling the truth.” “That’s good, isn’t it?” “Yes, but the story isn’t going to be enough to convince my parents I really am Gisela. Uncle Henry says that every girl who has claimed to be Gisela has had to undergo some kind of test to prove her identity.” “A test? What sort of test?” She shrugged. “I have no idea. The only thing Uncle Henry would tell me about it was that if I really was Gisela, then I didn’t need to worry. I *am* worried, though, Mytho,” she confessed, feeling her eyes begin to well with tears. “W-What if I fail?” Pulling her close, Mytho kissed her furrowed forehead. “Oh, Rue, you *are* Gisela. If your uncle says that the true Gisela has nothing to worry about, then I’m sure you will pass whatever test they give you with flying colors.” “Yes, but --” “Hey, you two, your breakfast is getting cold,” Uncle Henry said, interrupting their private moment. “I’m going down to the shop for a few minutes to help Jan open up and make sure he has everything under control. When I’m finished, we can start heading to my brother’s place, okay?” Rue and Mytho nodded their agreement, then went to the kitchen to eat their breakfast. True to his word, Uncle Henry returned ten minutes later, and, after they cleared the table, the three of them began to walk to her parents’ house a couple of blocks away. Unlike the previous night, when it had been difficult to get a word in edgewise when he spoke, Uncle Henry was rather subdued during their walk. Rue attributed his silence to what she had told him last night, for which she didn’t blame him, and kept quiet herself as she and Mytho followed him, walking hand-in-hand. When they finally reached the house -- a three-story manor surrounded by a colorful garden -- a young girl who was reading a book on the front porch came running through the front gate. “Uncle Henry!” the girl, who Rue assumed to be her sister Anneliese, said, giving him a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming over today!” Uncle Henry chuckled and affectionately ruffled the girl’s curly blonde hair. “That’s because it was supposed to be a surprise,” he replied. “Where are your parents and Josef?” “Inside.” At that point, Anneliese became aware of Rue’s and Mytho’s presence. “Who are they?” she asked, giving them curious stares. “Friends of mine. I’ll give the proper introductions once everyone is together. Will you show us in, Anneliese?” “Of course.” Motioning for them to follow, Anneliese led them through the garden and inside the house. “Mama, Papa, Uncle Henry is here, and he’s brought some friends!” she called out in a surprisingly loud voice for such a little girl. “Anneliese Hoffmann, how many times do I have to tell you that it’s not polite to shout?” a woman said, coming out of what appeared to be the kitchen, if the apron tied around her waist and the streak of flour on her cheek was any indication. Rue instantly recognized her as her mother and felt her heartbeat begin to quicken. “Do forgive my daughter’s rudeness. She can be a little rambunc--” As had happened the first time Uncle Henry saw Rue, her mother stopped in the middle of her sentence, dark brown eyes staring at Rue as if she had just seen a ghost. “Eva?” Uncle Henry stepped forward, taking her arm. For a moment, it appeared as if she might faint. “Are you alright?” “W-What?” Her mother shook her head. “Oh, yes, I’m quite fine,” she insisted, some of the color returning to her face. “It’s just that…” “…she looks so much like you when you were younger,” he completed for her. “Like how Gisela might look if she was still alive?” Her mother nodded. “So you have brought us another Gisela candidate,” she said softly, almost mournful, as she turned to face her brother-in-law. “Henry, we said no more imposters. After the last girl… It‘s just too hard to go through it all again.” “I know, Eva. You’ve been disappointed before, but there’s something about this girl. I can’t say for certain that she is your Gisela, and I’ll be the first to tell you that the story she told me last night sounds like something right out of a Grimm’s fairy tale, but just look at her.” Uncle Henry nodded toward Rue. “She’s the spitting image of you when you were her age. I dare you to deny it.” Although Rue already had perfect posture due to her years of studying ballet, she found herself standing even straighter as her mother came forward to inspect her. “I was never so skinny, but I suppose there is a rather strong resemblance,” her mother murmured to herself, lifting Rue’s chin. “Such a pretty girl… What’s your name?” “R-Rue von Hohenheim.” Her answer seemed to surprise her mother. “You don’t call yourself Gisela?” “I only learned of the name from an old newspaper yesterday,” Rue admitted, resolving that, unlike with Uncle Henry, she would tell the truth from the start. “I was looking to find my parents, so a friend of ours at the library allowed us to look through the archives.” “You say you were looking to find your parents? Are you saying that the reward money didn’t interest you at all?” “Mrs. Hoffman, with all due respect, I should say Rue and I are even wealthier than your family,” Mytho answered for her, taking Rue‘s hand. “She has no reason to be after your family’s modest wealth. Rue‘s only looking for the family she thought she would never find again.” “And may I ask, who are you?” Rue’s mother asked, looking at Mytho with a trace of suspicion. “I’m her husband, Prince Seigfried von Hohenheim.” At Mytho’s introduction, Anneliese, who had remained quiet on the sidelines after her mother‘s earlier admonishment, gasped. “You mean, like the Prince in the book?” “What book, Anneliese?” her mother inquired. “'The Prince and the Raven', of course. Papa always reads it to me at least once a month before I go to bed. The author died before it was ever finished, though, so whenever we get to the end, he always makes up a new ending to go with it. It‘s great fun,” Anneliese said, clapping her hands together. “Rereading most books is usually boring, since you already know what is going to happen at the end, but with 'The Prince and the Raven', it’s like a new story every time!” Mytho and Rue glanced at each other, sharing private smiles. If things went well, they would one day have to tell Anneliese the true ending of 'The Prince and the Raven'. “Funny you should mention that, Anneliese,” Unce Henry butted in, “because Seigfried here claims he really is the Prince from the story.” “Really?” Looking up at Mytho, Anneliese’s bright blue eyes widened until they were nearly as large as saucers. “You’re *the* Prince Seigfried?” “Anneliese, don’t be ridiculous,” her mother scolded. “You, too, Henry. Honestly, fictional characters come to life? That’s preposterous!” “Any more preposterous than you and Karl’s claim that Gisela was kidnapped by a flock of crows?” “T-That -- That’s different. Karl and I saw her kidnapping with our very eyes.” “Well, Rue claims that she was kidnapped by crows when she was about Gisela’s age, then taken to the lair of the Raven of the story, where she was raised as his own daughter, a crow born in human skin,” Uncle Henry said. “What do you think of that, Eva?” “Is that true?” her mother asked, turning her attention to Rue, who had no choice but to nod her head. “I know it sounds crazy, but it *is* the truth,” Rue declared. “The Raven from the story gave me the name Princess Kraehe and raised me as his daughter. I had no idea I was even human until about a year or so ago.” Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I have no idea what to think about all this. It’s crazy! Delusional, even. The idea that a raven from some fictional book decided to kidnap our Gisela to raise her as his own daugh--” “What about Gisela?” Coming down the staircase, a blond man who vaguely resembled Uncle Henry stopped on the mid-way landing. He was followed by a scrawny, dark-haired boy on the threshold of adolescence. Without a doubt, they were Rue’s father and younger brother Josef. “Henry, I didn’t expect to see you today,” her father said, continuing down the staircase. Josef stayed on the landing where he was, staring down at Rue with curiosity. “A problem at the shop?” Uncle Henry shook his head. “Jan’s taking care of things for today. My visit is of a more personal nature, Karl.” “Henry’s brought another girl who claims to Gisela,” Rue’s mother explained, taking her husband’s arm when he finished descending the staircase. “I’ve reminded him that we have no interest in meeting any more fake Giselas, but he seems so insistent about this one for some reason.” She nodded her head in Rue’s direction. “She is quite the beauty, I must admit,” her father said, fully turning his attention to a blushing Rue for the first time. “She reminds me a lot of you, Eva, when we first started courting. Why, she’s nearly the spitting image!” “Exactly the thought I had when I first met her,” Henry agreed. “I immediately thought, ’If Gisela is still alive, I bet she would look a lot like this girl.’ Even as a baby, Gisela took strongly after her mother.” “That’s no reason to believe this girl is Gisela,” her mother insisted. “I admit there is a resemblance, but the last time we saw our daughter, she was a baby. Babies change as they grow up. We have no idea what she looks like now, if she’s even still alive.” “Yes, but if there’s even the slightest chance that Rue is the real Gisela, don’t you want to know for sure?” Coming forward, Uncle Henry took his sister-in-law’s free hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Eva, look, I know how difficult this must be for you, but she is already here. Are you really willing to let her leave without even giving her a chance to prove her identity? That‘s all she‘s asking for -- a chance. Can you give it to her?” For a long, excruciating moment, her mother did not answer. Rue squeezed Mytho’s hand so tightly, she thought she heard a bone break, although he did not cry out. Finally, however, her mother nodded. “Fine, we will give her the test.” DISCLAIMER: "Princess Tutu" doesn't belong to me. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any comments or criticisms can be sent to me at ElysionDream@aol.com.