Long ago, there was a warrior. In order to protect his friend, the warrior had to take his friend’s life. Long ago, there was a sword. This sword had continued to fight for peace, yet realized that to protect the peace, it had no choice but to kill the one who wielded it, and thus took its master’s life. The warrior and the sword had to do what they did, but was that really what they ought to have done?

The musical theme for this episode is Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet overture (an overture for the play, not a ballet), and on top of a couple nods to the play in the beginning of the episode, the whole tone of the episode is rather brooding and gothic – the few happy scenes with Duck and Mytho are always cut short by Fakir or Kraehe.

Speaking of Kraehe, Rue seems to have forgotten about her already, at least until the Heart Shard she brought home confronts her.

Heart Shard: Why do you don black feathers? Do you have a special power dwelling within you? Come on, tell me, which one is the real you? Who are you really?

Rue shuts the shard away in a drawer, but those questions won’t go away so easily.  This is the second episode in a row that she’s spent mostly in her room, thinking, trying to sort things out on her own.  It’s telling that while everyone in school seemed to be talking about Mytho’s disappearance last episode, there’s not a word about Rue.

At least Duck has Edel to talk to.

Edel: The name of this gem is Courage – a single gem made of two.

Duck concludes that she should tell Mytho who she is and try to work together with him – she does think of Rue, but doesn’t want to “put [her] in danger.”

Which brings us to the star of the episode, Fakir.

We get a look at several facets of his personality that he never showed before – like how nice he is to animals.

Duck: Somehow, he wasn’t like the usual Fakir…No no no no no! He’s definitely a bad guy! I’m not going to be fooled just because the bread was tasty!

But the most interesting developments show up in his relationship with Mytho, who wants to meet with Duck because he thinks it will bring him closer to Tutu.

Fakir: Don’t get involved with Tutu. Her existence will just bring you unhappiness in the end.

Mytho openly defies Fakir (in public, no less), and Fakir loses his temper and slaps him, but to no avail.

Fakir: So I’m no longer able to stop Mytho with words.

Then he seeks for the sword that was broken –er, the Prince’s sword (which you may recognize from some of the prologues) so that he can actually do something.

Duck and Mytho’s little rendezvous gets crashed before she can even try to reveal anything.  Rue follows Mytho (perhaps intending to give back his heart shard).

Mytho: Whenever I think of Tutu, I become filled with the desire to see her. I want to be with Tutu always.

Rue is quite understandably furious to hear her boyfriend saying this (and at a place where they had presumably met many times before themselves).  So she transforms again.

Princess Kraehe: I will always be with you. You’re like a doll, but I will love you. I will make you forget Tutu.

She echoes her sentiments from Episode 4, when we last saw Rue and Mytho together in this place. Then Fakir cuts in, attacking Kraehe and making her drop the heart shard before she retreats, frightened and confused as last time.

This is the first time that Fakir has actually met Tutu, and it highlights their respective means and ends. Fakir intends to shatter the Prince’s heart again because he wants to return Mytho to “normal”, and really, because he doesn’t know what else he can do.  But of course he’s foiled by Tutu.

Princess Tutu: I’m sorry. I can’t save or protect you from the suffering, because all I can do is restore your heart to you. That’s it.

This represents one of the things I love about this show: Tutu is able to defeat Fakir and his sword just by expressing herself.  When Mytho drops the sword, Fakir realizes that he won’t be able to change his mind about it.

Fakir: So this is the answer you have chosen.

Next time: The Black Shoes…