Authors note:
EDIT: Hey y'all! I'm back and ready to finish this thing up! But note, I went back and reread the posted chapters because I was so unhappy with the way things left off and realized that I couldn't finish it the way it was going. So while the premise is the same, there are some definite changes and I would love to hear your feedback about it!
I don't own the Hunger Games! Suzanne Collins does, along with all the characters! I don't own the Nutcracker either. I'm not sure if it's in the public domain or not but rather safe than sorry! It belongs to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and E.T.A Hoffmann, I've just had the privilege to dance to it a few times!
Also: This is my first fanfiction so I understand it'll be a little rough! I seriously appreciate constructive criticism as I don't have a beta! Thanks y'all and I hope you like it!
There were very few places in West Virginia that celebrated Christmas quite like Panem. The usually quiet mining town became a center of activity during the Holiday Season, renowned for its festival of lights and old time charm. Snow would fall and cover the city with a soft blanket of white instead of the fine layer of coal dust normally known and what was bleak would become charming. And the people loved the brief period of tourism the season would bring.
None enjoyed Christmas time more than Madge Undersee. As the daughter of the mayor, Madge loved everything about Panem, especially at this time. She would bask in the holiday cheer, from the holiday themed cookies sold at the bakery to the giant Christmas tree in the city square. She loved the carols sung on the streets and how the festival of lights brought everyone together, including the families in the middle of the city to the ones living on the outskirts near the limits.
This year, however, there was one aspect of Christmas that Madge decidedly would not enjoy, or so she felt; the huge Christmas Eve party her family was hosting. As mayor, her father was always thinking of ways to appeal to the residents of Panem. With an election coming up, this was the best idea. It wasn't likely her father would lose the office: he was well-liked for his general pride for his city and the regulations he put in place for the mines, but it was always best to be safer than sorry. Key families were invited to the event and with several of her fellow classmates attending, Madge would have to be there.
It wasn't as though she was upset by the idea, she would just rather prefer a quiet Christmas Eve with her mother and father. As a senior in high school, this would be their last as a family in one home. And Madge's mother's health had slowly been declining. Her migraines were becoming more consistent and Madge was concerned she would overdo herself that evening.
But watching her mother with the vendors, Madge wondered if she had much of a cause for her concern. Mrs. Undersee seemed in her element placing platters of food and setting the holiday-themed flower arrangements.
"Shouldn't you think of lying down for a bit before the guests arrived?" Madge questioned her mother, toying with a poinsettia petal.
"Mmmm," her mother hummed, adjusting some garland. "I'm feeling fine at the moment. All this preparation is invigorating, don't you think?"
"But what happens if you start feeling unwell during the middle of the party?" Madge bit her lip, concentrating on the petal. She felt her mother smooth down her hair.
"Then I can go rest knowing that everything looks fine. And that my very capable daughter can handle anything left." Mrs. Undersee kissed the top of Madge's head. "But this capable daughter of mine needs to go and get changed before it gets much later."
Being shooed away, Madge climbed the staircase to the hall, giving another look down to the activity on the first floor before going into her room. She went to her closet to find a suitable dress. It had been some time since a party like this but she should have had something nice to wear hiding in her closet. Madge pulled out a black dress she had worn to a piano recital her freshman year; it might be a little tight but she was sure it would work.
As she held it up to her reflection in the mirror, Madge heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" she called, eyes still sizing up the reflection. Reyna, the Undersee's housekeeper came in, quietly shutting the door behind her.
"Just in time!" Reyna smiled, laying out a garment bag on Madge's bed. "Your mother bought you a dress for tonight, something to make it all a little more special."
"She really shouldn't have…" Madge unzipped the bag, unable to hide her grin as the dress was revealed. "But it is beautiful, isn't it?" The dress was bright white with intricate lace sleeves and a full skirt and Madge was sure she hadn't worn something so pretty before.
"I'll give you a moment to get changed but I can help with the zipper." Reyna hung the garment bag by Madge's closet as the blonde went behind a screen to change. A few moments later, Madge emerged and Reyna helped bring the zipper up all the way. "Now give me a twirl!" The housekeeper prompted and Madge obliged, letting the knee length skirt swish out.
"It's funny what a nice dress can do to change a mood. I may end up enjoying this evening after all," Madge grinned to Reyna.
Reyna's grey eyes shone. "I am sure you will. And will you be prancing around like this all evening?"
"Oh no, I only plan to prance around you!" Madge laughed. "Do you have any special plans for this evening?"
"I'm going home in a few minutes to do some last minute gift wrapping. I was able to get Tithe that bike he wanted this year." Reyna beamed. Madge felt the mother's joy. It was only a few years ago that Reyna had lost her husband in a mining accident. It was that accident that prompted the regulation changes Mayor Undersee brought about. Though he never really mentioned it, the mayor tried hard in the community to help those that had been affected in the accident, offering families jobs here and there to ease burdens.
"I'm sure he will love it!" Madge smiled, "and if he needs someone to help him learn to ride it, I'm not too shabby."
"I'll pass the information along," Reyna laughed again. "And try to enjoy yourself tonight. Merry Christmas, Madge!"
"Merry Christmas, Reyna!" Madge spent the remainder of her time fixing her hair and watching a flurry pick up outside the window. The sun was beginning to set and it wouldn't be too much longer before the guests arrived.
"Well?" Madge smiled into her hand as she bounded down the stairs, giving a little twirl as she reached the bottom. Both her parents looked up and smiled. "Beautiful" her father gave a tired smiled and rubbed his glasses. Despite his decision to hold the party, Madge took after her father in many ways, one being their preference to quiet nights with family.
Madge gave her father a reassuring hug as the doorbell rang, announcing the first guests. Most of the first arrivals were neighbors who lived along their block. The formal setting of the house made Madge feel more tense than normal, despite knowing these families for years now. More people kept coming through the door and Mrs. Undersee would prompt Madge to give brief tours of the house.
As more people began to appear, the less nervous Madge became and she livened up a bit. She glided about, socializing with different families, giving compliments here and there, and even dancing to some of the songs.
"Margaret!" Madge heard the effusive voice of Mrs. Cartwright before she saw her. Delly's mom was the epitome of pleasantly plump and one of the warmest people in Panem. "Don't you look mighty pretty this evening!"
"Thank you very much, Mrs. Cartwright. Was Delly able to make it? I haven't seen her yet." Madge scanned the room to find her friend.
"Oh yes! The Mellarks made cookies for the little kids. I think she's helping Peeta and Katniss give some out."
"Watch where you're going" A gruff voice broke Madge's cloud of excitement and Mrs. Cartwright pursed her lips. Sherriff Cray had wandered too close in to the dancing circle and gotten knocked into.
What a Scrooge, she grimaced as he floundered about. He had obviously helped himself generously to the liquor. A mini Cray wasn't too far behind. And he brought his son. Lovely. Rupert Cray had inherited his father's personality and was a nightmare of a ten year old.
Before Madge could go warn her father about Cray, she spotted a vibrantly clothed figure in the door way. "Uncle Abernathy!" Her face lit up as she bounded over to her uncle.
Uncle Abernathy was an interesting man, regarded as an oddity in Panem. Once upon a time Haymitch Abernathy had been married to Mrs. Undersee's twin, Maysilee. Only a few years into their marriage, Maysilee passed away in an accident far too young. It left both Haymitch and Mrs. Undersee in a bad state. While Mrs. Undersee had eventually succumbed to migraines that kept her bedridden, Uncle Abernathy had become almost agoraphobic. Once a well respected clockmaker in Panem, the years had increased his 'odd' behavior. He ventured out only to collect trinkets from local flea markets and garage sales. He fancied himself an inventor, though most people scoffed at that title.
Despite only being married into the family for a short time, the Undersees regarded Uncle Abernathy as a permanent family member and loved him dearly.
"The nutjob is here." Madge heard Mrs. Mellark not-quite-whisper to her husband who fidgeted uncomfortably. Madge shot a look over their way and the Mellark's youngest son, Peeta, gave an apologetic smile. How on Earth Peeta was part Mrs. Mellark, Madge couldn't quite figure out.
"Ignore her." Katniss seemed to appear out of the woodwork. "She's bitter all the time."
"I'm just not sure how you can handle it so well," Madge sighed. Katniss, along with being Madge's best friend, was Peeta's long time crush-turned-girlfriend from the rural part of town known as the Seam. Mrs. Mellark hardly veiled her disdain at Peeta's choice.
"It's because of her love that burns like a thousand suns for me" Peeta pressed kiss to Katniss' cheek, as Katniss grimaced at the public display of affection.
"Actually, it's just your cheese buns." Katniss corrected. "I'd go through anything for those."
Madge rolled her eyes at her friends and left them to their banter. She observed her… unique uncle in his faded suit and cloak that seemed to be a patchwork of fifty different colors."Merry Christmas Eve, Uncle Abernathy!"
"Haymitch!" Mrs. Undersee joined her family and gave her brother-in-law a tight hug. "We're so happy you could make it."
"Uncle Abernathy, have you been working on a new invention? Will I be able to come by and see it?" Madge's eyes shone asshe fired out questions.
"Yes, yes, yes. You will see in good time. But now go and enjoy the festivities, don't bother with a fuddy-duddy like me." He waved her off.
Protesting that he was not, but being further waved away, Madge acquiesced and went back to the festivities. She helped Delly pass out more sweets to the kids and danced with the cobbler's son twice.
Before Madge could realize how quickly the evening was going by and how much she enjoyed it, Mayor Undersee announced it was time to light the Christmas tree. All the party guests gathered around the impressive fir as guests lit the small candles that adorned the tree. The flicker of the flames danced around the small glass ornaments and the tree glowed beautifully.
Madge crept around to the back of the tree where she had placed her most cherished ornament; a figurine of dancer. The dancer's blonde hair had chipped away and she was missing the very tip of one of her feet but Madge loved her all the same.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" She could feel the sneer in little Rupert Cray's voice.
"Goodness! It's very impolite to sneak up people" Madge admonished him, evading his question. Rupert had a tendency to bring destruction where ever he went. But the boy stood rigid, looking up at her. She sighed, "To answer your question, I was just catching a moment to myself."
"Behind a tree."
"Well I'm sure you have peculiar hiding spots as well but I don't go questioning them." Madge kept her voice even. There was no point setting off the holy terror that night.
Welcome relief came when Uncle Abernathy stepped on to one of the tables, much to the chagrin of the family. "Ladies and gentlemen! The time has come to unveil my latest creation!"
He jumped off the table and Madge went to her father's side, giving him a small smile. Uncle Abernathy came back, wheeling in a caddy with a charming castle on it. Or rather, what was supposed to be a charming castle. Made of out of welded material, it had the potential to be very pretty had it been painted right-or at all- but the rough cut made it look un-kept.
Madge let out a breath she had unconsciously been holding in when Uncle Abernathy turned a key on the back and a beautiful melody played out. The little children ran up to the castle and pointed out various wonders, such as mechanical swans swimming around the castle and dancing figures on the inside.
Madge inspected the castle. "Uncle, this is fantastic but you must allow me to come by and help paint this. It's much too magnificent to look so downtrodden."
Uncle Haymitch gave a wry smile. "You can if you'd like."
"What else have you brought?!" Cried out a little girl.
"Ah" Uncle Abernathy smiled. "One of my best works yet." He reached in to a satin satchel and pulled out a wooden nutcracker. Madge gazed at it from behind the crowd of children.
"Does it play music? Or move?" asked a little boy.
"No" the clocksmith replied. "Simply carved from wood."
"Then how can it be one of your best works?" asked a third child. And then the younglings lost interest and ran back to sweets.
"I think he's beautiful" whispered Madge as she approached her uncle, blue eyes on the nutcracker. "May I….may I see him?"
"Of course" Uncle Abernathy gingerly gave Madge the nutcracker. "But be careful, this nutcracker is a prince."
"A prince?" Madge let out a laugh. "Well he is certainly dressed as one." She observed the nutcracker. His hair was made from the softest brown rabbit fur, his skin a deep tanned wood. His jacket was made from fine green velvet and Madge could have sworn his painted grey eyes gleamed. In his right hand he clutched a wooden sword. "Though to me, he looks more like a warrior, but he is lovely no matter what he is supposed to be."
"If you like him that much then he is yours." Uncle Abernathy laid a kind hand on her shoulder.
"Oh! Oh no, I really can't accept. He's lovely, Uncle, but you must have worked so hard." Madge tried to hand him back but Haymitch refused. "I don't deserve a gift like him."
"Everyone deserves a little magic." But before Madge could ask him what he meant, her uncle was gone. In his place was Rupert.
"It's not fair he gave you that." The boy looked red in the face.
"What? The nutcracker? Of course it is. You and your friends weren't interested and he is my uncle."
"He should be mine" Rupert reached out to grab the doll.
Madge couldn't help but fume. If she felt she didn't deserve the nutcracker then Rupert most certainly did not, and reason was too slow to catch up to her words. "You heard me. You were not interested and my Uncle gave him to me. You can't get your way by having a tantrum this time. Now go get cookies before Delly gives them all away."
"NO" The impossible child roared and before Madge could even fathom what he was doing, Rupert grabbed the nutcracker and had thrown him on the ground.
Madge felt her blood run cold as she reached down and had to pick up two, not one whole piece of the nutcracker. The vicious mauling the poor nutcracker had received made his jaw piece break. Apparently the fury Madge was feeling was well written on her face because before she could smack the child senseless, Peeta had thrown him over his shoulder and went out to the hall. Sherriff Cray, gone past what a respectable sheriff should be, followed the youngest Mellark to claim his son.
"He'll be just fine." Madge heard Uncle Abernathy's voice. "Perhaps you could play his nurse and fix him up." Her uncle held out a handkerchief.
Madge sniffled and rolled her eyes. "I'm not a little kid anymore." But she pursed her lips and took it, wrapping up the nutcracker's face.
Her uncle chuckled. "In the next few days, we can take him back to my workshop and fix him up right."
Madge nodded and stifled a yawn. The clock chimed 10 times and the guests began to file out. Everyone thanked the Undersees for a wonderful evening and Madge had to agree with them; it had been a great night, despite her reservations.
Uncle Abernathy was last to leave and gave his beloved niece a kiss on the forward, telling her simply "sweet dreams, sweetheart."
By 11, the house was quiet and Madge attempted to approach dreamland. But her dozing was fitful and not an hour later, Madge was quietly descending the stairs to get a glass of warm milk, careful to avoid the few creaky steps. The Undersee house, while beautiful, was old and needed some repair work, if anyone would ever get to it. The fifth, seventh, and twelfth steps were the creaky culprits and years of going up and down trained her how to best avoid them and the noise.
As her toe touched the second to last step, she could have sworn she heard a faint squeak. That was supposed to be a perfectly fine step. She heard another squeak and realized it was not from the staircase. Her eyebrows creased as that sensation of worry clawed at her stomach. She waved it off. Too many sweets. But still….there was no harm in a little investigation to ease her active imagination.
She inspected the front door and saw no signs of tampering. The back door looked fine as well. It was nothing! On her way upstairs, milk forgotten, Madge paused to admire the tree…and saw something strange. Against the light of the candles, there seemed to be dozens of little shadows scurrying along the boughs.
She stifled a shriek when she saw the dozens of rats crawling over the Undersees' beautiful tree. Sure, Madge had heard of nests infesting peoples' homes but not theirs! She could wave this off as a sugar induced hallucination but she could feel the phantom sensation of little paws crawling on her.
"Time to go get my father and a broom" she muttered and looked toward the stairs. Except now the stairs looked farther away, and the railings much taller than she generally supposed they were.
A few more steps toward the stair case and panic set it. The stairs were definitely getting taller. That clutching feeling set in again and she looked toward the tree, which seemed to be getting taller as well. The dread dropped to her stomach as she realized things weren't getting taller, she was getting smaller.
The clock began to chime twelve times.
A.N #2: Reviews are so appreciated you have no idea! I know it starts out slow but starting next chapter it'll really pick up! I know I said it before but all the parts to this story are done and l WILL have it all uploaded before Christmas Eve! I need to amend my first authors note: Rupert belongs to me but I'm a little hesitant to claim him 'cause he's a brat.
