The Star Wars Nutcracker

by starwenn

Clara "Rey" Stahlbaum receives a special gift from her Uncle Luke on Christmas Eve...but she doesn't realize how special until she finds herself in the Land of Sweets, helping her uncle and her beloved Nutcracker rescue the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier from the wicked Mouse King Snoke.

The Nutcracker

Rating: PG

Pairings: Han/Leia, Finn/Rey

Disclaimer: The franchise belongs to George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company.

It was Christmas Eve, 1892, in a small town in Germany. Clara Marie "Rey" Stahlbaum was so excited for her parents' annual Christmas party, she couldn't stop dancing. Her new white dress, with it's green and red ribbon trim and fancy frilly petticoats and lace collar, twirled around her legs. Her mother Leia had given her a new pair of white shoes to match. Not the strap shoes or boots her friends still wore, but beautiful shiny white slippers with real heels. She tried so hard to peek into the doorway to the ballroom, but it remained locked tight.

Her brother Benjamin was leaning against a wall. He looked bored, as usual. He was nearly five years older than her. Everything bored him, if it didn't anger him. Mother said he was going through a stage. Rey just hoped it would pass soon. Ever since he got into long pants, he'd stopped being fun. He would sometimes play with his toy soldiers, but he made fun of her games and the little figures she'd build from old metal scraps.

"Miss Rey, please calm down!" fussed old Cedric, the tall English butler who had been with her parents for as long as she could remember. He closed the door before she could peek out of it again. "You know Mr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum like the tree to be a surprise."

She twirled around a chair. "I just can't wait any longer, Cedric! When is the party going to start?"

"Right about now, sweetheart." Hans Stahlbaum came in from his office. Rey thought he was the handsomest father in Germany. He had thick, silvery hair, worn longer than the fashion, bright hazel eyes that always seemed to be laughing, and a crooked little smile. Though Rey loved her mother, she was really her father's girl. "Your mother is already greeting the first guests. I was told to help Cedric bring the children in, before they burst."

Rey fixed his tie and pulled down his brown jacket. "How do you always manage to get your suit crooked? It looks like wings sticking out of your back!"

"Your mother's asked me the same question for years." He fixed his cuff links. "I have a shipping business to run. I don't have the time for fancy clothes."

"Father, it's just Christmas." Benjamin stuck his considerable nose in the air. "I don't see what the fuss is all about."

"How could you not fuss about Christmas?" Rey took her father's hand. "It's my favorite time of year! There's so many things to do and toys and games and parties...and of course, dances!" She pulled him around the room, dancing wildly with him.

They had just finished when a fuzzy head appeared between the doors. Christophe, her father's valet, nodded at Hans. His heavy brown beard actually seemed to bob. He looked like a giant teddy bear in a servant's uniform. "They are ready, Monsieur Stahlbaum," he might have said. Christophe came from France, and he had such a thick accent, Rey frequently had a hard time understanding him.

Her father had no such trouble. Christophe had been his valet for years. "We're on our way." He took Rey's arm. "Would you mind your old papa as an escort?"

She grinned at him. "I couldn't have a better one!"

The moment she saw the tree, she forgot everything else, forgot Benjamin and being teased. It was the most enormous, shining fir tree Rey had ever seen. It extended in all directions, nearly reaching the ceiling. Mother, Cedric, and Mrs. Maz the housekeeper had decked it out in sparkling glass balls and fruit and animals, lacy fans, sugar plums wrapped in foil, candy canes, and cut-out cookies. Tiny candles flickered on the branches. A star trimmed in tin and ribbon seemed to glow at the very top. The floor beneath it was laden with packages in every shape and size. Even Benjamin gasped.

"My dear, you outdid yourself this year." Hans leaned over his wife Leia, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Leia was the most beautiful and intelligent woman Rey had ever known. She was the town's first woman mayor, who was known for being firm but fair despite her hot temper. Her fashionable plum-colored gown, with it's sweeping skirts and soft lace collar and cuffs, made her look like a fairy queen. Thick gray-brown hair was caught up in an elegant crown of braids.

"Oh Mother, it's amazing!" Rey beamed at her. "It's the loveliest tree in the world."

Benjamin nodded, trying not to show his delight. "It's nice." He grabbed one of the boxes under the tree, shaking it. "Is this one for me?"

"Ben!" Hans grabbed the package. "Wait for the guests to arrive, son."

Benjamin glared at him, returning to sulking on a chair. "I wasn't hurting it. I was just testing it."

Rey loved their Christmas Eve party. Mother and Father always invited their closest friends. Many of their friends had children her age, and it was fun to play with them outside of school. Poe Dameron, the cheeky son of Kes Dameron of the town council and his wife Shara, came bearing a box wrapped in green tissue paper. To Rey's surprise, she could hear mewing from within.

"Open it!" He grinned. "I hope you like her."

Rey undid the ribbon and pulled off the top. The moment the box was open, a tiny, plump orange and brown calico kitten jumped out! "Oh, Poe, she's adorable!" She cuddled the little cat in her arms. The kitten purred, leaning into her new mistress. "What's her name?"

"I call her Bee Bee the Eighth." Poe chuckled. "She's the eighth in her litter. Our old cat had kittens a month ago. We didn't have room to keep all of them. I know you wanted a pet..."

"Poe, she's perfect! Thank you!" Rey hugged her friend, ignoring Bee Bee's mewed protests.

She received such wonderful gifts! Kay Connix gave her a new chocolate-brown velvet cape. "It's what all the ladies wear in Paris," she insisted. "It'll keep you warm in the snow." Kay herself was so pretty. She had golden hair that was pulled into two buns on the top of her head. Her mother was an actress and her father a successful writer of plays, so she always knew what was in style. Her white and blue dress was trimmed with fluffy fur on the collar, cuffs, and skirt.

Jessika Pava and Termmin "Snap" Wextley gave her their gift together. "We pooled our resources," Jess insisted. Her family was from the Philippines originally. She always looked so exotic, with her almond-shaped eyes and shiny black hair. Snap was the son of a retired general who was one of her mother's advisers.

"Oh!" Rey pulled a book out of the paper. "It's on repairing those new motor cars that have started appearing. Father just bought one a few months ago. He takes us all out in it when the weather's fine. He even showed me the engine. I hope I'll get to drive one someday!"

"We know." Snap let out a hearty laugh. "It's all you talk about, besides dancing!"

Father and Mother gave her a gorgeous doll. It was a beautiful fairy ballerina in a glittering white and gold tutu, white satin shoes, golden satin wings, and a tiara trimmed with real crystal. "That's for you, my little Rey of sunshine." Hans gave her a hug. "We know you love to dance."

"Take care of her, though," Leia reminded her. "She's not your average play doll. She's a genuine collector's item from the finest toy shop in Berlin."

"I will, Mother!" Rey hugged her doll. "I promise!"

"Honestly!" Armitage Hux was a friend of Benjamin's. His father, Bristol Hux, was on the town council and the wealthiest man in town. He was tall and slender, with short gingery hair and a thin mouth that was twisted into a perpetual sneer. "Such childish notions. Christmas is so outdated. Don't you agree, Ben?"

Ben frowned for a minute, but then he sneered. "Yeah. You act like such a kid, Rey. Why don't you grow up?"

Rey glared at him. She never let her brother pick on her! "Why don't you learn to have a little fun?"

"She's right, you know." Poe was older, really closer to Benjamin's age than hers. He had been friends with Benjamin until he got all snooty and started to spend more time with Hux. "Christmas is a time of joy and charity, when families come together and share what they have."

Jess put her hands on her hips. "I think you guys are the ones who need to grow up!"

"It's a time when people spend and spend and spend, without any thought to anything else." Benjamin raised his chin stubbornly. He looked a lot like their mother when he did that. "I agree with Mr. Snoke. The holiday should be spent quietly, or not celebrated at all. Why do we need holidays anyway?"

Rey wrinkled her nose. "Why do you think so highly of Mr. Snoke? I don't like him, even if he is our tutor! I don't want to hear about how bad things are and how everything would be better if everyone did things his way. I want to learn about science and numbers and wonderful stories!"

"You're just a girl, anyway," Benjamin grumbled. "You wouldn't understand."

Rey smirked as a young woman who was so tall, she had to bend down to get through the doorway came in. "Would you say that around your Gwendolyn?"

Benjamin turned away and fiddled with his tie. Hux turned as red as his mop of carroty hair. Rey knew they were both sweet on Gwendolyn Phasen, the daughter of the town police chief. Rey thought that if Gwen was the police chief, crime in town would vanish overnight! Gwen was tall and strong, with short blond hair and intense blue eyes that always seemed to be boring holes into everything. Even the frilly silver and black gown she wore couldn't soften her long, lean figure.

"Hello, gentlemen," she called, opening her black lace fan so hard, it snapped like a cap gun. "I'm so glad to see both of you tonight!"

Benjamin tugged at his collar. "You...you are?"

"I heard Mayor Stahlbaum has provided the most wonderful appetizers. I was wondering if someone would like to lead me to the table?" The moment she grinned at them from behind her fan, Benjamin and Hux both came running. Rey had a hard time not falling over laughing at the goofy, love-sick expressions on their faces.

"We'd be charmed to, my lady." Hux kissed her gloved hand.

"Uh, yeah." Benjamin grabbed her arm. He'd unfortunately inherited his father's idea of flirting, which was "argue with the girl until she likes you." "How come you're always hungry? All you ever do when we're together is eat!"

Gwen wrinkled her nose and pulled her arm away. "All you ever do is criticize me. Really, you're worse than a child."

Hux glared at him, but Ben refused to let go of her arm. They both led her over to the table laden with cakes, cinnamon star cookies, candies, nuts, sugared fruits, and almond tarts.

As Rey went to sit down with her new kitten, the door to the ballroom was suddenly flung open! A chilly wind blew snow around a small, slender figure in the doorway, making his cape fly up around his shoulders like wings. When the wind subsided, the figure pulled his cape around him, revealing only his gray-yellow hair and deep blue eyes. He swished around the room, trying to scare the children. They jumped away, giggling.

Rey knew who he was. "Uncle Luke!" She threw her arms around him, ignoring Bee Bee's squeaks. "I'm so glad you're here!"

Her uncle chuckled. "I could never fool you, my little ray of sunshine."

Luke Drosselmeyer was a toy and clock maker, one of the best in Germany. He built the stately grandfather clock with the carved owl on top in the corner of the ballroom. He always made the children special toys just for them, especially at Christmas. He loved children. He had once been the town's teacher, but had retired many years before to concentrate on his toys and clocks.

Rey thought he was wonderful. Uncle Luke could make anything. She sometimes even helped him in his shop after her lessons. "What did you bring us, Uncle? A new doll? Or a toy car? Or a..."

"Well," her uncle said with his big sunny grin, "why don't you look under the tree and see?"

To Rey's surprise, there were several very large packages that hadn't been there before. Father and Christophe were already pulling the top off the first. "Ooh," Rey exclaimed at the red and gold-painted box, "a theater!"

He gathered the other guests around. "How would you all like to have a puppet show?"

Rey loved the show! She dangled the sash of her dress over Bee Bee's little paws, letting her play with it, while listening to the story of a prince who was cursed by an evil Mouse King. The King took over his lands, imprisoning the king and queen of the fairies and turning the prince into a wooden man. A smart, strong princess finally released the king and queen and kissed the prince, freeing him from the spell.

Benjamin rolled his eyes the whole time. "What tripe!" he muttered.

"Quiet." Gwendolyn smacked his shoulder with her fan. "I want to hear the end!"

Everyone applauded when the show was over. "But wait!" Christophe and a dark-skinned young man brought the second and third large presents as Luke swished his cape again. "There's more!" The young man rolled the puppet show away. "These are some of my greatest creations."

The children oohed and ahhed as they pulled out a life-size soldier in a chocolate-colored costume, reminiscent of the uniform of the Spanish army. A pretty Asian doll wore a lovely white blouse with a huge lace collar and a short, lacy skirt the color of ginger, with gold and red flowers in her black hair. A huge Russian Cossack marched around the room. Luke wound them up and let them dance together. Rey clapped in delight. She thought they were the most amazing things she'd ever seen!

The young man who helped with the packages stood off to the side. He was handsome in his simple black and white suit, with soft skin the color of coffee and gentle dark eyes. He too watched rapturously. "Aren't they amazing?" Rey asked him.

The young man nodded. "Mr. Drosselmeyer is a true magician. He's taught me so much already!" He gave her a big, bright smile. "My name is Finn. I'm Mr. Drosselmeyer's new apprentice. I was working for the chief of police, but I don't think I was really cut out for police work. Blood makes my insides feel queasy. Miss Gwendolyn is probably more suited to it than me!"

Rey smiled. She really liked Finn. He had a nice smile. "I love working in Uncle Luke's shop. Sometimes, after lessons, I'll come in and help him with anything he needs. Maybe I'll see you there."

"That would be nice. I don't really know many people. I used to live in an orphanage in Munich, until I was old enough to find work." He took her hand. "You're the first person besides Mr. Drosselmeyer who's really been nice to me here." He stroked Bee Bee's head. "Your kitty's cute. What's her name?"

"Bee Bee the Eighth." The orange and white kitten purred, enjoying the attention. She climbed into Finn's arms. "I think she likes you!"

"Miss Stahlbaum!" Rey winced at the sound of Mr. Snoke, her tutor. "What are you doing dilly-dallying with an apprentice? What would your mother think? You, the daughter of two of the most important people in town!"

Snoke was a nasty old man. He looked like Ebeneezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, tall and gaunt and wrinkled and gray. Even his thin wool suit was a dull gray, a startling contrast to the bright colored gowns and suits around the ballroom. He didn't really approve of anyone who wasn't her brother or her mother. He would praise her brother for his penmanship and fencing, and scold her for her poor writing and grammar. She preferred working with her uncle to listening to him railing on and on about how much better off the town was when her grandfather was alive.

"That's my apprentice." Uncle Luke put an arm around Finn. "My niece can speak with him whenever she wants."

"Maybe I'd better be getting along." Finn was already cowering under Snoke's glare. "I have work to do in the shop anyway." He gave Rey his huge, blinding smile. Rey felt her insides turn all mushy. "I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Stahlbaum."

Rey nodded. "I hope so!"

Luke could see how disappointed she was when Finn left. "Why don't I give out the remaining presents?" He put an arm around the girl. "I have special things for everyone."

"Really, Mr. Drosselmeyer, spoiling the youngsters with your silly toys! It's childish and wasteful." Snoke hit the side of one box. "You should be teaching them how to work and obey their elders, not about frivolity. You know your father Anakin would never have approved of such nonsense."

"We all need a little frivolity every now and then, Snoke," Luke said as he ducked into another large box. It almost looked like it was going to swallow him whole! He lifted out porcelain dolls for Jess and Kay. Gwendolyn had a silvery clock with crystal trim. Benjamin, Poe, Snap, and Hux all got toy soldiers. Hans and Leia got a handsome new wooden clock for the mantelpiece in the parlor. Christophe got his very own silver pocket watch. Even Snoke was given a small gray clock to hang on his bedroom wall.

"What about me, Uncle?" Rey looked up at him pleadingly. "You didn't forget me, did you?"

Luke chuckled. "Maybe I did. I can't remember..." He ducked into the box again. "Hmmm...nope...not that one...no...that's not it! Where is that gift?" He emerged with a box wrapped in bright red and green paper. "Here it is!" He handed it to Rey. "This isn't something I made. It's something I...found. On my travels." Uncle Luke, Mother, and Father had traveled together all across Europe, finding unique items for Father's business, before Mother had Benjamin and they settled down. Even then, Uncle Luke still sometimes made trips. He never failed to come back with unusual souvenirs.

She ripped off the paper and opened the lid. "Oh, Uncle!" Her slender fingers revealed a small man made all of dark wood, clad in a painted-on red toy soldier's uniform. He had fluffy dark horse's hair under his tall black hat, and the widest mouth she'd ever seen on a doll. "I love him!" She moved a lever on his back. "I've never seen a doll like this!" She happily swirled around the room with him.

"Here." Luke gently took the doll from her. "This is what he does." He took a small walnut from a bowl on the buffet table. "He's a nutcracker." He raised the lever, then gently placed the nut between the doll's jaws. When he lowered the lever on the doll, the jaws neatly cracked the nut in half. "Here you go." He handed her one half of the meat, then tossed the other in his mouth. "He's economical, really. A doll and a kitchen tool."

Benjamin grabbed the nutcracker from his sister. "I think he's ugly." The lanky boy played with the lever, trying to figure out how the jaw moved. "Doesn't seem like such a big deal to me."

"No!" Rey tried to reach for it, but he held it over her head. "Uncle Luke, make him give it back! He'll break it!"

Luke reached for the Nutcracker. "Benjamin Bail Stahlbaum, you give that to your sister at once!"

"I just want to try it!" Benjamin ducked over to the food table. "You never give me anything fun, Uncle Luke. Just boring toy soldiers and stuff." He grabbed the largest walnut in the bowl, crammed it under the Nutcracker's mouth, and yanked the lever down as hard as he could.

CRRACCK! Not only did it not crack the nut all the way, but the nutcracker's jaw now hung open loosely, the hinges broken. Rey had just dragged Hans over when Benjamin threw the nutcracker on the table. "What a useless pile of junk. This isn't fit to crack nuts for the mice in this house!"

"I knew it!" Rey burst into tears, yanking the doll into her arms. "You broke him, Benjamin! You're a murderer!"

"I am not!" Benjamin snorted. "He's just some doll. It's not like he's real."

Hans grabbed his son's arm, his face as red as holly berries. "You had no right to take things from your sister or playing with them roughly. Apologize to Rey this minute!"

The young man turned to his sister, frowning. "Sorry, Rey." he muttered, looking at the floor. "I didn't mean to break it. I just wanted to see it. You get all the good toys. I never get anything I like."

Snoke put his arm around Benjamin. "There there, young Stahlbaum. No harm done. It's only a toy. Why don't we go find your friend Hux and discuss your grandfather's policies on crime and jails? Now there was a real leader. Anakin Drosselmeyer was a good, strong mayor, not soft like your father."

Rey was still crying when Luke came over to her. "Why did Benjamin do that?" She glared over her shoulder at her brother. "I hate him, Uncle Luke! He's such a bully!"

Luke shook his head. "I always did think Leia spoiled that boy. She shouldn't let Snoke influence him so much." He pulled out his handkerchief and tied it around the Nutcracker's jaw. "There. That'll hold him until I can fix him tomorrow."

Rey hugged him. "Thank you, Uncle Luke."

He smiled at her. "You're welcome. Now..." He put the nutcracker under the tree as music began. "Would you care to dance with me, Miss Rey Stahlbaum?"

Rey curtsied as best she could. "I'd be delighted, Mr. Luke Drosselmeyer!"

Rey felt better when she danced. She danced with Uncle Luke, with her father, with Poe and Jess' fathers. She danced with Poe, who liked lively steps he learned when his family lived in Spain. She danced with Jess, who taught her real folk dances from the Philippines. Snap wasn't a good dancer. He tended to step on her toes. He was a good talker, though. They talked about fixing cars and the latest models. She even danced with Bee Bee, though the kitten squeaked and fussed so much, she finally let her chase the mice in the kitchen.

Ben mostly danced with Gwendolyn or Hux. Every time one boy would start dancing with her, the other would push his way in. Rey couldn't help giggling at them. They spent the dances glaring at one another. Gwendolyn, for her part, seemed somewhere between annoyed and amused by their behavior.

It was a wonderful party after that. Rey and the girls played with their new dolls. She introduced her beautiful fairy to the Nutcracker and to Bee Bee. She was sure they would become great friends. All of the girls stroked the kitten's back, listening to her purr. The only trouble was the boys kept running through on Ben's old hobby horses, pretending to be soldiers and have battles. Hans and Poe's father Kes finally took their horses and swords away.

The end of the party came all too soon. They were all expected to see their guests off. "You'll come by tomorrow, my little Rey?" Uncle Luke asked as she helped him with his brown velvet cape.

"Of course!" She smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I love helping you." She smiled a little. "And I want to talk to Finn, too. He seemed really nice."

"Finn and I would both appreciate that. He hasn't made many friends his own age since I hired him a few weeks ago." Luke gave her a big hug. "Merry Christmas, Rey."

She smiled. "Merry Christmas, Uncle." He hugged Leia and shook Hans and Ben's hands and was finally off.

"Well, that's that." Hans reached over his head and stretched his long arms. "I think it's time some children went to bed. We've all had a long night."

"Father, I'm not a child anymore!" Ben made a face. "Can't I stay up like you and Mother?"

"Benjamin, we're going to bed, too. It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be even longer." Leia gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Good night, dear." She gave Rey a hug. "You too, Rey. I know you'll be up bright and early to have our annual Christmas breakfast."

"Mother," Rey asked, "can I take the nutcracker to bed with me?"

"No. I'm afraid he'll have to stay with the other toys here in the ballroom, until we can find a place for him in your room." She handed her a sleepy Bee Bee. "You can take your kitten upstairs with you, though, at least until we can make her a bed in the kitchen. Right now, you need to find a bowl for her food."

"Poe gave me a bag of food in the box she came in." She took Bee Bee into her arms. "I'll take her to the kitchen. Miss Maz will probably have a bowl she can eat out of." She gave her Mother a kiss. "Thank you for the doll, Mother. Merry Christmas!"

Leia patted her daughter's arm. "You're welcome, dear. I'm glad you like her. I know you love dancing."

Hans grinned and opened his arms. "Give your old dad a hug!" She did so, letting him squeeze her tightly, ignoring Bee Bee's surprised squeaks. "You have a nice night, kid. Don't let the cat make a mess. Ol' Maz will have a fit. You know she likes a clean kitchen."

Christophe's hug was even bigger. "Joyuex Noel, ma petite Rey."

Mr. Christophe gave the best hugs! And he was really warm and furry, too, like hugging a blanket. "Thank you, Mr. Christophe. You too!"

"Ben..." she started. Her brother finally sighed and gave her a small hug.

"Merry Christmas, sis," he muttered before finally fleeing upstairs.

"I don't know what's gotten into him lately." Leia looked concerned. "He doesn't listen to me anymore. He certainly doesn't listen to his father! He and Hans have been at odds for months, ever since he said he didn't want to work either for the town or in his father's shipping business."

Rey looked over her shoulder as Snoke kissed Leia's hand. She did not like the gleam in his eye. "Perhaps your husband is being too hard on the boy. He is a man now, not a child. All young men go through rebellious stages. Just let me do my work on him, Mayor Stahlbaum. He's the finest pupil I've ever had. He'll find his place soon enough. He may be as good a man someday as your father Anakin Drosselmeyer."

Leia frowned. "Anakin Drosselmeyer was one of the worst mayors we ever had in this town. After Mother died, he started taking bribes, arresting innocent people on trumped-up charges, and hiring people to ransack the homes of his political rivals. A lot of people were very happy when he finally died."

Her father pushed between them, taking Leia's hand and glaring at Snoke. "Go get your own date for tonight. This one's taken."

"Hans," Leia snapped as she made for the steps, "that wasn't necessary, not to mention rude. We were just talking."

The taller man watched as Snoke sniffed and headed out the door. "Didn't look like 'just talking' to me. He thinks he can worm his way into your good graces by acting like the gentleman he isn't."

"You're not one to talk," Leia snapped. "When I met you, you were no more than a common thief and smuggler!"

"At least I was honest about it." Hans followed her upstairs. "Snoke has all these big ideas, but when you get down to it, he's just a jerk trying to get ahead on your money."

"May I remind you," Leia hissed, "that he's teaching our children?"

"That wasn't my idea," Hans grumbled. "You're the one who suggested him. You insisted on taking charge of their education. My hands were tied."

Rey could just barely hear her mother sigh at the top of the steps. "I only wanted what's best for them. Snoke's well-learned. He taught the Chancellor's children and several families that knew my father. I thought it was the right thing to do." She leaned into his chest. "Hans, I love you. I've never wanted anyone else." She could hear the grin in Leia's voice. "Even after all this time, you still drive me crazy."

Hans' voice was very happy, and maybe a little smug. "I know."

Two silhouettes on the floral wallpaper kissed, deeply and passionately. No one kissed quite like her parents did. They always made it look like one of those romantic stage melodramas her mother loved.

An annoyed mew from her arms reminded her that she had a job to do. "Sorry, Bee Bee." She rubbed the kitten's head, listening to her purr. "Let's go get you something to eat."

Mrs. Maz was cleaning up in the kitchen when she arrived with Bee Bee. She was the oldest and tiniest person Rey knew, with her fluffy gray hair and huge, thick spectacles...and yet, she could terrorize anyone who dared make a mess in her domain. Rey was pretty sure she was sweet on Christophe, her first husband having passed on years ago. She made excuses to get him into the kitchen or to have him taste-test her latest creation whenever she could get away with it. She'd seen Chrstophe leave the kitchen blushing under his beard on more than one occasion.

"Here you go." She put the food for the cat in an old tin bowl. "That'll work until we can find her a real pet bowl. She is a cute one." Bee Bee let out a happy squeak and dug in, not even noticing when Maz stroked her back.

"Mrs. Maz," Rey said as she sat down at the table in the center of the large room, "why do Mother and Father argue so much? My friends' parents don't argue nearly as much as they do."

"I think it's their way of loving, dear. Everyone has their own way of being in love. They're just such forceful personalities, I don't think they're used to giving in to anyone. Even the people they care about." She took two cinnamon star cookies out of a clay jar and handed them to the girl. "Here you go. Don't tell your mother I was giving you cookies in the middle of the night. She does like you to be regular about meals."

Rey nibbled on her cookie. "Maz, what's it like to be in love? Does it mean arguing and then kissing, like Mother and Father? Or mooning over someone until they like you, like Ben's doing with Hux and Gwendolyn?"

Maz joined her at the table with two cookies of her own and a mug of hot tea. "It means different things to different people. My Yoda was a very quiet man. Very learned. He taught children for fifty years before he died. He taught your uncle, you know. We did sometimes fight. He could be a stubborn old goat." She smiled. "But the best part was always when we made up." She squeezed Rey's hand. "Your parents love each other, no matter what. It'll take more than some shriveled prune in a suit to come between them."

Rey licked the crumbs off her fingers. "You don't like Snoke either, then."

"Not at all. I don't think he really cares about teaching. He only wants the position in a fancy household, so he can move into your mother's good graces and join her council. He wants to rule, not teach." She sighed. "I think your mother's starting to see it, but he has your brother over a barrel. That boy's so desperate to become his grandfather and not his father, he'll take the first avenue he can...even if he's going down the wrong road."

"That's what I think." The girl sighed. "I wish Ben would listen. We used to have so much fun together, but now he thinks he's better than I am. He thinks he's better than anyone, except for Snoke."

"It's his age. He'll learn quickly when Snoke turns out to be full of hot air." She chuckled when Rey and Bee Bee yawned at the same time. "I think two young ladies need to get their rest." She handed the sleepy kitten to Rey. "You go to bed, both of you. It's been a long night. Merry Christmas, Rey."

Rey kissed her on her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Maz. Thank you for the cookies!"

"You're welcome, dear." She hustled the girl out the door. "Now, move along, child. I still have to sweep out the stove and lay down traps for the mice. I hope your new little friend likes rodent stew. Those darn critters have been getting worse and worse. I found two in the cheese yesterday!"

Rey wrinkled her nose as she headed across the dining room. "I wouldn't want to eat a mouse, would you, Bee Bee? I'll bet they taste terrible." The kitten mewed her agreement.

She was so tired after her long day, she didn't see the mouse until she heard something squeaking loudly underfoot. She jumped and saw a flash of fuzzy gray dashing for the area behind the cupboard in the ballroom. "Mother really needs to get someone to do something about the mouse problem," she gasped. "That one was the size of an ornament on the tree in the ballroom!"

Rey couldn't sleep. Her mind kept wandering to her nutcracker. Even Bee Bee's tiny purrs on the pillow next to her head couldn't soothe her. "What if he's lonely down there? He doesn't know any of the toys well. What if the mice get to him? A mouse chewed a hole in the arm of my favorite stuffed frog. What if they decide they want to gnaw on wood?"

Her mind was spinning with memories of the party. She wanted to see Finn again. She liked him. He was so sweet and charming. She wouldn't mind being friends with him. He had such a nice smile. She wanted him to meet all her friends and join them in their games and fun.

And then there was Snoke...and Christophe...and her parents. Would Snoke try to hurt them? Would he try to take Mother away? No, Mother loved Father. She saw them kiss. She was too smart for an old miser like Snoke. Snoke was just like the mice in the walls. He'd raise a ruckus, then would be trapped and would go away.

But what about Father? He said his hands were tied. And Benjamin? Ben would defend Snoke until the end. He thought their tutor could do no wrong. Mother said he was going through a rebellious stage. Rey hoped it ended soon. How could he have broken her nutcracker? She never touched his silly old toy soldiers. It was like he was another person.

That was when she heard a strange thump downstairs. "Mother?" She called, sitting upright. "Father? Ben?" She shivered. It had begun to snow as the party was ending. The delicate white flakes were flying down at a furious rate. They had already covered her window pane.

Bee Bee lifted her head from the pillow, probably wondering where all the body heat went. "Come on, girl." She slowly picked up the kitten, pulling her robe and slippers over her lacy blue and white satin nightgown. "Let's go see what's going on downstairs. Besides, I want to visit my nutcracker."

She lit her candle and crept down the hall, making sure not to wake the family and servants. Her tiny feet moved slowly down the stairs, then across the parlor and Father's office. She swore she saw two balls of gray fuzz dashing towards the ballroom, but when she moved her candle to take a closer look, they were gone. An owl hooted somewhere n the distance.

The ballroom was dark as a tomb. The tree was now only lit by the moon shining in the huge picture window behind it. The toys and games they'd received that night stood at attention underneath. Everything was shadowy and still.

Rey finally found her nutcracker. He was on a shelf with the toy soldiers, where her mother had put him. She put Bee Bee down and swept her new favorite toy into her arms. "Hello, nutcracker!" she whispered. "Did you think I'd leave you behind?" She gave him a hug. "I don't care what Benjamin says. You're not useless! You're good at your job, and you're so beautiful. Uncle Luke did good work on you." She ran her fingers over his broken jaw and fuzzy hair. "There's something about you. I don't know what it is. You feel more like a prince than a soldier to me!"

Bee Bee watched as her new owner swirled around the room with the strange little wooden man. The kitten didn't quite understand what the fuss was. Her human swished her tails so nicely, but that toy looked like a painted scratching post to her.

Rey finally yawned, settling down on a small couch by the tree. "Tomorrow, Nutcracker," she whispered, "Uncle Luke will fix you, and everything will be all right." She kissed the toy on his dark wooden forehead. "I promise." She lifted Bee Bee onto the couch next to her, settling her two favorite Christmas presents down for a night's rest.

She'd barely dropped off to sleep when she heard the same owl hoot. It sounded awfully close, like it was in the room. Bee Bee meowed and pawed her arm in alarm. She looked up at the ceiling...just in time to see the owl from the top of the grandfather clock swoop down over her head! She gasped, the Nutcracker falling from her arms and onto the floor.

The owl landed in front of the Christmas tree. The moment the moonlight hit it, it was surrounded by a sparkling pink-silver light. When the sparkles vanished, her Uncle Luke appeared. His brown and cream suit had been replaced by a black velvet uniform and long, swirling cape that looked more like it belonged to a magician of old than a toy maker.

"Uncle Luke!" She ran to him, leaving her nutcracker on the couch. Bee Bee followed, staying close to her human. "What's going on? I know people say you're a magician, but..."

"They're right. I am." He bowed before her. "You're looking at Sir Luke Drosselmeyer, knight and court magician to the rightful rulers of the Land of Sweets."

"Sir?" Now she was confused. "The rightful rulers? What's the Land of Sweets?"

"Luke!" She blinked as a yellow-amber glow twinkled over her uncle's head. "Kid, use that magic and get down here. We're gonna need your help." Rey knew that gruff, gentle voice. It was a great deal like her father's.

"I'll be down in a minute." He turned to Rey. "Do you want to defend your Nutcracker?"

Rey had no idea what was going on. "Well, yes, but..."

That was when she saw the mice. There were mice all over the ballroom! They came out of the radiators and from holes in the walls. They came up from under the floor boards. They used buttons for shields, sewing needles for swords, and knitting needles for lances. Their uniforms looked like they'd been stripped off older soldier dolls. Rey's eyes widened. "So that's where Mrs. Maz's sewing kit went."

Bee Bee tugged at the skirt of her nightgown, nodding at the tree. Her human let out a gasp as she turned around. "What's happening?" Even as the mice arrived, the tree started growing...and so did Bee Bee! Everything around Rey grew and grew, until Bee Bee was the size of a horse, and she and Uncle Luke were the size of the toys and mice!

The golden light landed in front of them. "Hope your magician's staff is sharpened, kid." It landed before them, fading away to reveal a handsome older man. One who did, indeed, greatly resemble Hans Stahlbaum. "We're gonna need it." He had thick silvery hair to his shoulders, bright hazel eyes...and large, beautiful wings that fluttered behind his back, deep blue wings with ruby red trim. A crown of daisies adorned his pale locks. He nodded at Rey. "Who's the human kid?"

"Han, this is Rey." He waved at the man. "Rey, this is Han, Cavalier and husband of Queen Leia, the Sugar Plum Fairy."

"You're a real fairy?" She reached out to touch his delicate wings. "I've never seen a fairy before..."

He pulled away quickly. "There's a reason we don't like to be seen. You humans like messing with our wings. We can't lose 'em, or we'll die." The hazel eyes moved to Luke. "Is this the best you could do?"

"Han, it was short notice." He pulled a long green crystal staff out of his cape that hadn't been there before. "Rey is smart, strong, and capable. I think she'll be a great asset."

"Asset to what?" Even as she looked around Rey was beginning to get the idea. Every toy in the ballroom was coming to life. "What's going on?"

That was when she swore she heard her nutcracker groan. She, Han, and Uncle Luke ran to him immediately. "Did you have to drop me so hard?" He rubbed his rear. "I think I splintered something."

"Sorry." Han and Luke helped him to his feet. She tugged the handkerchief off. "I didn't know...well, I didn't know you could move."

"That's ok." He grinned at her. It seemed more sweet than grotesque. There was something about it that she just...knew. "Come on. Kylo Ren, the Mouse King's greatest warrior, is on his way here. He's after my hide, and the hide of every toy, flower and snow fairy, and piece of candy in the human realm."

"What!?" Rey looked around her. "I don't understand any of this. Why is he after you?"

Now the Nutcracker sounded confused. "I don't know. Sir Drosselmeyer told me this before he brought me here. I only know that you need to stay with me. These mice could get rough."

She gathered one of the sewing needles in her hand. It now more closely resembled the swords the toy soldiers and the Nutcracker carried. "I can take care of myself."

Bee Bee nudged her. "I can't cuddle you now, Bee." She grinned and swung onto the kitten's back. "But I can ride you! Hop on, Nutcracker! You too, Uncle Luke."

Luke grinned. "Why not?" He climbed on behind her, drawing his green staff.

The Nutcracker gingerly touched Bee Bee. "Is she safe?"

Rey laughed, scratching her between the ears. "Of course! She's tame as...well, a kitten."

"Ok. Here goes nothing." The Nutcracker just managed to make it on last before Bee Bee took off like a shot for the paper mache fort under the tree.

Han lifted into the air, leaving a trail of gold and blue sparkles behind him. "Thanks anyway, kid, but I have my own transportation." He sprinted ahead, his wings a blur in the dark winter night.

More mice were pouring into the ballroom. Rey, Luke, and the Nutcracker fought them off. Han and other glowing balls of light shot blue, gold, pink, and green beams at the mice, turning them into candy or flowers. The mice ducked the "cannon balls" (they were really her marbles) the toy soldiers shot from their tin cannons. Bee Bee leaped onto mice, kicking them or knocking them away.

Han saw the cannon balls shot in their direction, but his warning light came too late. They rolled under Bee Bee's little paws, tripping her over. The trio on her back went sprawling on the wooden floor. "Are you all right?" The Nutcracker asked, helping Rey to her feet.

"Yes." Rey dusted off her nightgown, then helped her uncle. "I'm fine. I don't know if I can say the same for your army."

"Senior Drosselmeyer," called a distinct Spanish accent. The Spanish soldier doll in the brown velvet uniform hurried over. He had short, dark curls under his flat-brimmed hat and large, flashing brown eyes. In fact, Rey swore she'd seen him somewhere before. With him was the Asian doll in the ginger dress, holding a long, thick sword that looked like a tapestry needle. "We are so glad you have come! The mice, they are overwhelming our toys. All of them, they take prisoner."

Rey laughed as the stuffed bear her Uncle Lando gave to her for Christmas reached over and gave Poe a huge hug. "Do not worry, Chewbacca." Poe insisted, "I know we have you."

Han landed, giving the bear huge hug of his own. "This is Chewbacca, the finest stuffed animal warrior we have." Chewbacca had what looked like a bandoleer filled with candy slung across his shoulder. He carried a candy-cane bow and peppermint stick arrows. "He's my right hand. I don't know what I'd do without him."

The Russian Cossack soldier rushed over, jumping around and ducking under fallen toys and mice. "Sir, we just got word that Kylo Ren has arrived with more mice. He's out to destroy us all!"

Han lifted his chin defiantly. "Let me deal with him."

"No!" The Nutcracker shook his head. "This is my fight...I think. I remember...I think I remember a Kylo Ren. I used to work for him, until I escaped. He was the one who made me into this! I have to stop him!"

"Han of the Fairies!" A voice called out to them from across the room. He was the most peculiar mouse Rey had ever seen. He was tall and thin, his body wrapped in a thick dark cloak and gloves. His black mouse ears, nose, and whiskers looked more like a mask than the appendages of a real rodent. His long black tail looked like it had been sewn together from thick wool.

Han spread his wings to block the others. "Son!" He pulled his gold wand out of his vest. "Prince of the fairies!"

The false mouse merely remained where he was. "That's not who I am," he hissed, "Father."

"It is who you are. Who you always were." Han held out his hand. "I want you to come back to us. Your mother wants you back."

"No, Father." He glared at Han. "Only King Snoke knows what I want."

The older fairy raised his wand. "So help me, if this is the only way to get through to you..."

Kylo Ren laughed, a hollow, tinny sound under his mask. The moment Han shot a gold light at him, he pulled out a red wand of his own, sending the light flying back into Han. It flung him against the wall, leaving him dazed. "You're fat and soft, Sugar Plum Cavalier." He nodded at two of the real mice. "Bring him to King Snoke. Use the iron chains. Iron inhibits a fairy's powers."

"In the name of our queen," the Spanish soldier added, "you are under arrest!" The stuffed bear leaped onto mice left and right, until there were too many to hold back.

"I'll fight you, Kylo Ren!" The Nutcracker caught the sword the Russian Cossack tossed him. "I'll fight you for the Sugar Plum Cavalier and this beautiful maiden." He nodded at Rey, who blushed a bit.

Kylo Ren's eyes rolled under the mask. "I don't care for some human girl. I do, however, want that meddlesome fairy." His eyes roamed over Rey to Luke. "I should have known you'd be involved, Drosselmeyer. You should not have come back."

"I had to, Ren." Luke put an arm around the Nutcracker. "I wasn't going to let you get away with helping the Mouse King take over the Land of Sweets."

Ren nodded at the mice behind him. He shot out a light from his red rock candy wand. Most of the toys in the room stiffened instantly. Two mice locked Chewbacca and the dolls in the toy cabinet. It took four mice to bind Han's wrists, arms, and wings with narrow metal chains and wrestle his wand from his grasp. Luke and Rey held off six more with his staff.

"Come out, Ren!" The Nutcracker waved his weapon. "Or are you too afraid when there's no Snoke around to defend you?"

"I'm no coward." There was a dark gold light around the red rock candy wand, which lengthened into a bright red sword. "You're no match for me, traitor!"

The Nutcracker kicked out a wooden leg, sending Ren sprawling. "I'm no traitor. I never wanted to work for the Land of the First Order. I couldn't stand all the killing and enslaving. That's no way to run a country."

Ren and the Nutcracker leaped and thrust and parried all around the tree. They swung on ornaments and ducked around fallen toys. Ren finally shoved a glass bowl of gaily striped hard candy to the floor. The bowl shattered, its contents rolling under the Nutcracker's awkward, too-thin legs, tripping him. He lost his sword and landed on the floor with a clatter of wood on wood.

Ren held his red candy sword over the Nutcracker's throat. "You are beaten, useless toy." The fake mouse nodded at his real army. Rey watched in horror as they dragged a struggling, yelling Han into the mouse hole. A stream of screaming toys were shoved in after him. "Your army has fallen. The Sugar Plum Cavalier is my prisoner. Your magician is powerless. And now..." He raised the sword. "You will die."

"No! Not the Nutcracker!" Rey wouldn't let that...that whatever he was hurt her Nutcracker! Quickly, she pulled off her slipper and threw it as hard as she could at his hand.

"Ow!" Kylo Ren clutched his wrist, his rock candy sword falling to the ground next to the Nutcracker's. Luke raised his staff. He shot a bright green beam at Ren, a beam so powerful it lifted him and threw him into the mouse hole. His remaining army took one look at Luke and Rey and Bee Bee and followed him, squeaking in terror. A slender mouse with red fur gathered his sword as he left.

"Nutcracker!" Rey hurried over to him, followed by Bee Bee. "Are you all right? I wish I could have gotten there sooner!"

The wooden toy just seemed to stare at her. Or at least his dark wooden head was turned in her direction. "You're beautiful."

Rey blushed. "Thank you. You're...you're very unique."

The wooden man sighed. "You can be honest. I know I'm ugly." She and the Spanish soldier helped him to his feet. "I wasn't always like this, you know. Trouble is, I can't remember what I was before...this. I was in the Mouse Army, and then the Land of Sweets, but before that..."

"We will help you, Senior Nutcracker." The Spanish soldier bowed with a flourish. "El Comendante Poe Damerez, of the Candy Army. Senior Drosselmeyer brought us here to assist you with Kylo Ren and mouse warriors."

Luke nodded. "And we don't have much time. Ren is probably on his way back to Snoke now, and he has Han." Chewbacca the bear warrior let out an anguished growl at the mention of Han.

Poe started towards the mouse hole. "We must tell Queen Leia, the Sugar Plum Fairy. She was in charge of Land of Sweets before Mouse King come. She may already know Cavalier is taken. They are bonded that way."

"Sugar Plum Fairy?" Rey finally sat down next to Bee Bee, who gently nudged her now very small mistress. "Could someone tell me exactly what is happening and why there was a war in my parents' ball room?"

"We'll do that on the way to the Snowflake Meadows." Luke stroked Bee Bee. "I'm sorry girl, but we're going to have to leave you. I'll bring Rey back very soon. I promise. Time in the Land of Sweets is different than it is here." Bee Bee gave him a sandpapery lick on his cheek, her way of saying she understood.

"Oh Bee Bee..." Rey hugged her pet. Bee Bee kissed her in return. "You be good now." She put her slipper back on, pulled her robe around her shoulders, and turned to the others. "All right. I'm ready. As long as I get home in time for Christmas morning. My family will miss me." She looked at her slippers. "And I'll miss them. Even Benjamin."

"I know you will." Luke put his arms around her. "We'll be home just in time for Mrs. Maz's sausages and coddled eggs."

"Besides," the Nutcracker put his arm around her other side, "I'm glad you're coming. You're one of the only humans who has ever been nice to me."

"We're glad you're coming, too." The candied ginger doll smiled at her. She seemed so familiar! They all did. "I'm Jessika, of the Candied Ginger and Fruit Guard. This is Snap," she nodded at the small young Russian officer with the beard and round-cheeked smile, "of the Russian Trepak Calvary."

Snap grabbed her hand, shaking it. "You don't know how much we like your help, Reyvina. You stopped that very bad Mouse warrior. You are hero to all toys!"

Rey shook her head. "I didn't really do anything. Uncle Luke was the one who shot him."

"This way." Luke lead them into the mouse hole. It was pitch black. He took Rey's hand and gave her his wooden smile again. Most humans would have found it grotesque, but it turned Rey only blushed, even if she wished he wouldn't grab her hand so often. "The way to the Snowflake Meadow is through the Mouse Hole." Luke lifted his staff, making it glow. The soft light lit their way through the grimy tunnel.

"So, Uncle Luke," she started, "I know you're a wonderful toy maker, and I'd...well, I'd heard rumors you could do magic..."

"How did I become a magician?" Luke smiled. "Simple." He waved his green staff...and a pair of green wings with white trim appeared on his back. "I'm a fairy, too. I just don't show it as often. I prefer to live undetected in the mortal realm." He sighed and made his wings vanish. "Besides, I was banished when the Mouse King came to power."

Rey didn't like the sound of that. "Who's the Mouse King?"

"He is terrible creature." Chewbacca growled angrily as Poe continued. "He is very old, but very powerful. He's oldest and most powerful of all the mouse magicians. The mice live in the Kingdom of the First Order. It is dark, evil place, where nothing grows and nothing happy is allowed – not candy, or music, or flowers, or laughter, or even Christmas! King Snoke is miserable, nasty old mouse. He says no creature should be better than a mouse."

"Snoke hates things that are sweet or beautiful." Jessika frowned. "He invaded the Land of Sweets. Queen Leia and Cavalier Han and the Candy Army pushed him as far back as the borders, but the fight had a terrible cost. Many toys were sent to the salt and pepper mines. They cut the wings off fairies or turned them into wood."

Luke's deep frown could barely be seen in the pale light. "I was supposed to protect Prince Finnegan, the true ruler of the Land of Sweets. Leia and Han were acting as regents until he came of age. He would have taken the throne this very night, on Christmas Eve, like each ruler in his family before him."

The older magician's voice became rough and sorrowful. "Kylo Ren attacked the prince. They fought and fought hard, but Ren cast a foul spell before he could defeat him. I don't know what happened after that. I was banished to the Mortal Realm, but I kept track of what went on in the Land of Sweets."

"I wish I could remember this." The Nutcracker looked down at his wooden hands sadly. "I did work for the First Order for a time, but I couldn't stand all the killing, or the way they treated people. I ran away. The mice chased me, I got lost in the Snowflake Meadows, and then...I woke up in Rey's arms. I don't remember anything before the First Order. I have no idea where I came from or if I have a family."

"It's all right." Rey squeezed his wooden hand. "We'll help you find out where you belong. You can always come back with me and my family." She shivered. "Why is it so cold? I wish Father would stop saying he can fix the radiator himself and get a professional to do it."

"It's not the radiator." Luke smiled. "Welcome to the Snowflake Meadows."

They emerged into a snow-swept landscape. It wasn't their front yard. There were no trees or other houses to be seen. It was all light, fluffy whiteness. The moon shown on the falling flakes, giving them the appearance of glitter falling to the ground. The entire world sparkled like diamonds.

"Master Luke!" Rey got quite a surprise when a group of beautiful women emerged from the snow. They wore white gowns with short, fluffy skirts that shimmered like the snow around them. Gossamer wings almost seemed to float on their backs. One had two golden buns on her head and a silver crown trimmed with white crystal between them. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Lady Kaydel!" Luke gave her a hug. "It's good to be back. How's this year's snow fall coming?"

"Very well, Master Luke." Her big grin was familiar. "We just finished Munich. We're going up north to Scandinavia. Helsinki and Stockholm always make huge orders at this time of year."

Rey exchanged surprised looks with the Nutcracker. "Orders?"

Poe laughed. "Oh, this is Lady Kaydel, the head of the Snowflake Fairies. She and her girls are in charge of keeping the world white in the winter."

"It's nice to meet you." Lady Kaydel bobbed, her wings a blur. "Queen Leia asked me to bring you to Ribbon Candy Village. The mice have invaded Gingerbread Castle. They drove the Queen and the Candy Army to the edge of the Mint Sugar Forest."

"Our poor queen!" Poe turned to her. "We must go there at once! We have much news to tell her."

Chewbacca growled. Kaydel's eyes widened. "Oh no! Chewbacca, they've taken the Cavalier?" The more upset she became, the more snow seemed to blow behind her. "Is this true, Master Luke?"

"I'm afraid so." Luke put his arms around Rey and the Nutcracker. "But we'll have help rescuing him. I did what I promised my sister. I brought reinforcements."

Kaydel took Rey's hand. "Some of the other girls told me what you did. You, and your wooden friend. You were both very brave."

Rey shrugged. "I only did what I had to."

"No, you were real heroes. They might have taken even more prisoners if you hadn't stopped Ren." The little snow fairy shuddered. "Ren is a terrible warrior, the Mouse King's favorite. No one knows who he is, or where he came from, only that he serves the Land of the First Order. He hates fairies, too. He's destroyed whole fairy towns and keeps the wings from the ones he kills as trophies."

The Nucracker's painted eyes gleamed. "That's horrible! I'd heard in the Mouse Army that he was doing awful things, but nothing like that!"

Even as they spoke, another white shape emerged from the blizzard. Rey had never seen such a lovely sleigh. It looked like it was made of snow, or perhaps molded sugar. The gold rails were foil-covered chocolate. Two large, furry reindeer pranced through the cold fluff.

Kaydel took the reigns herself. "All aboard for the Mint Sugar Forest and Ribbon Candy Village!"

As soon as everyone managed to squeeze into the sleigh, it rose into the air, flying over the pale moonlit fields. The blizzard gave way to a warm, sweet-smelling twilight. Rey'd never seen anything like the Land of Sweets. Trees were chocolate bark dripping with green mint sugar leaves. Houses were made of gingerbread, cake, and hard candy. Bridges were toffee trimmed with icing. Swan boats floated lazily in a bubbling strawberry soda river. Flowers in tulle gowns danced in bright-colored valleys.

Beyond the looming Dark Chocolate Mountain, Rey could see a dark, forbidding castle on the horizon. "What's that there? That gloomy world over the valley?"

Kaydel looked frightened. "That's the Land of the First Order, where the mice live. King Snoke likes to keep it as miserable and gray as he is. They say nothing grows there, and no one is allowed to play games or laugh or joke or have any kind of fun. He rules from Starkiller Fortress."

Rey made a face. "Sounds wonderful. I'll bet my brother and our tutor would fit right in."

The sleigh landed in a small village on the edge of the Mint Sugar Tree Forest. So many different kinds of candy came to greet them! She couldn't keep track of them all. There were Spanish chocolate girls in red ruffled dresses and Chinese tea soldiers in silk wrap pantsuits. Candy cane sailors sported red and white striped uniforms. Girls in fluffy pastel gowns made of pastry helped Rey and the Nutcracker out of the sleigh.

"Luke!" A beautiful older woman literally flew out of the largest of the ribbon candy houses. She was petite, even for a fairy, with large dark eyes and a wide, gentle pink mouth. Purple and pink wings matched her lavender gown with its deep purple bodice. Gray braids were topped with a large glittering tiara, trimmed with crystal plum blossoms. Her purple wand had an amethyst plum blossom on the end.

Rey's eyes widened. "Mother?" It certainly looked like Mother, much like the Cavalier had resembled her father. Come to think of it, Kylo Ren's voice was known to her, too...

The fairy went right to Luke first, giving him a hug. "Hello, my brother. I'm so glad you were able to come back at last." Her dark eyes became downcast. "I only wish...Han..."

Luke returned her hug fiercely. "Don't worry, sister. We'll rescue him. I don't think Snoke will do anything to him right away. He's bait to trap us." He turned to Rey and the Nutcracker. "I told you I'd bring help. This is Rey and the Nutcracker, from the Mortal Realm."

Leia took Rey's hand. "That was a very brave thing you did, my dear, standing up to Kylo Ren." She reached for the Nutcracker with her other hand. "Both of you. We're in your debt." She curtsied. "I am Queen Leia, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and until we can find Prince Finnegan, the ruler of the Land of Sweets."

"Hello, Your Majesty. My name is Clara Stahlbaum, but my family calls me Rey." Rey tried curtsying, but she almost ended up on the ground. "Uh, I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Leia helped her to her feet. "I've never met royalty before!"

"Leia is fine." The older fairy put her arms around the wooden toy and the girl. "Let me get you two settled and find Rey a change of clothes before we figure out what to do next."

Jessika, the Candied Ginger Soldier, helped her change into a ruffly white blouse and a pale blue skirt not unlike her gold one. "There." She smiled, her almond-shaped eyes crinkling at the sides. "Now you look like a Candy Soldier."

"Jess," Rey began, "who is Kylo Ren? Why does he hate Han...and candy...and everyone?" Rey buttoned the top of the skirt. "Han called him his son."

The candied ginger girl nodded. "It's rumored he's Queen Leia and Cavalier Han's son Prince Ben. They sent him to Sir Luke Drosselmeyer's school, where Ben was to learn to be a good fairy, after they became regents. Snoke was one of the teachers. I heard he put a spell on him that made him turn against his parents."

"He didn't seem like he was under a spell to me." Rey pulled her shoulder-length brown waves into three buns behind her head. "There. I'm ready."

"You'll need one more thing." She handed Rey a sword made of white rock crystal. "If we're going to go up against the mouse army, you'll need to defend yourself."

Rey clutched her sword. "We're going after Han, right?'

"And all the others Ren's taking to the salt and pepper mines." Jessika lead her across the Ribbon Candy Village square to the largest house in town. "Snoke and Ren have enslaved many toys and human citizens of the Land of Sweets. They work in their salt and pepper mines day after day, until they're worn down or die."

Queen Leia and the rest of the Candy Army stood in what appeared to have once been a parlor room. Maps made of waxed paper and candy buttons were spread out across the peppermint bark tables. "Good," the older woman said as the girls arrived, "we're all here."

One of the Toy Soldiers was glaring at the Nutcracker. "Can we trust him?" He poked his finger at the wooden man's painted chest. "I recognize him. He was a soldier in the Mouse King's Army! I saw him at the siege of Gingerbread City."

"We can trust him, Statura." Poe put his arms around the toy. "He save our lives in the Mortal Realm and tried to save Cavalier Han."

Queen Leia took the Nutcracker's black-painted hands. "You once worked for King Snoke and the Mouse Army. You know the Land of the First Order better than any of us. If you have any information that will allow us to get into his castle..."

The Nutcracker bobbed, the closest thing he could to a nod. "I'll do what I can to help, Your M...Miss Leia. The Mouse Army doesn't mess around! They could be coming for us at any minute!"

Rey pointed to one of the largest candy buttons on the edge of the map. "What's Mother Maz's Castle?"

"Mother Maz runs a home for gingerbread children and others who have no place to go." Leia saw where her finger was. "It's in the district of Takodana, near where the salt and pepper mines are."

"What if we went as slaves?" Rey looked at the surprised faced around her. "We could blend in with the real slaves and get into the castle before we free them."

"I don't think I could get away with that. I'm too well-known." Leia smiled. "But with costumes borrowed from Mother Maz, it might work for some of the soldiers."

Chewbacca shook his head. "I know, Chewie." Leia patted his paw. "Many of your fellow stuffed animals were taken to the salt and pepper mines. We're going to need you elsewhere, though. Some of us are going to go into the castle to stop their new weapon and find my husband."

The Nutcracker looked away from Rey. "I don't know if this is a good idea. You don't know what you're up against. The Mouse Army is brutal. They'll tear anything they get their paws on apart or turn them into wood."

Rey frowned. "We'll work together and keep you safe. The Mouse Army won't get you again." She turned to her uncle. "What about you? I imagine the Mouse King knows you very well by now."

Luke gave them his sunny grin. "You don't have to worry about me." He flourished his cloak...and literally vanished into a corner. "My cloak allows me to blend into the shadows, and there's many shadows in the Starkiller Fortress."

"There is another way in." The Nutcracker smoothed out what looked like a huge castle outlined with black jelly beans. He tapped the bottom of the castle. "There's an opening in the mountain under the Fortress that's used by servants and incoming and outgoing troops. You'll have to get past Captain Phasma, though." He shivered. "She's the biggest, strongest mouse who ever lived! She's twice as tall as a regular mouse, with teeth that are far sharper. She'll have no trouble killing all of us the moment she sees us."

"If we attacked her with one or two people, there might be trouble." Leia traced a line into the castle with gold magic. "But I don't think even she could handle a crowd...or a very angry stuffed bear. Chewbacca, you'll lead Rey, Luke, the Nutcracker, and I into the castle to deal with this Captain and rescue my husband." She turned to Poe. "You'll take the group going into the mines to rescue the slaves, including Jessika and Snap. The Mouse Army isn't as familiar with you."

Poe bowed with a flourish. "You can count on me, La Reina Leia."

"Good." Leia gathered the map. "I'll see you all tomorrow morning. We'll be leaving at the first light of dawn for Mother Maz's house."

"Nutcracker?" Rey went to him as the others split to their own living quarters.

He actually seemed to blush, or at least his wood turned a little red where his cheeks were supposed to be. "Yes? Rey, do you mind that...that I'm a traitor? Or some people think I am. I really couldn't stay in the Land of the First Order anymore. I just couldn't hurt anyone, and that's what they want."

"No, it's not that. We'll, it's sort of that, but not just that." She felt herself turning red, too. What was it about the Nutcracker that made her feel all mushy inside? "It's just...I've never fought anything worse than a car engine before. How can I stop a whole army of mice? I'm not a soldier, like you and Poe and Jessika, or a fairy like Queen Leia, or a magician like Uncle Luke. I'm no one."

"You'll be fine, Rey." His big toothy smile managed to look sweet rather than scary. "You're a lot more than you believe you are. I think you're the strongest person in this world or the Mortal Realm. You stood up to Kylo Ren, and that takes courage."

She smiled at him. "You think so?"

"Yeah." He took her hand. "Do you mind if...if I walk you to the sleigh?"

She squeezed his wooden hand. "Not at all."

Uncle Luke flew the molded sugar sleigh over the multi-colored landscape. As they moved further inland, the scenery gradually became less bright. The green cotton candy grass, lollipop flowers, and mint sugar trees were replaced by brittle brown plants and black hulks of trees that were sadly bent and misshapen. The Dark Chocolate Mountains loomed ever-closer. The black rock crystal of Starkiller Fortress, with its needle-like spires stabbing the clouds, dominated the skyline of the Land of the First Order.

They arrived in a spot that was still green at the southern base of the Dark Chocolate Mountains. A cottage made of gingerbread and candy canes was nestled in the mint sugar trees. Gingerbread and candy cane children chased each other around the yard, laughing and playing and tossing a ball made of peppermint puffs.

"Hello there!" Rey had never seen such a small woman perched on such a huge dress. Mother Maz's billowing gown seemed to dominate everything. It looked like a giant Christmas cake, with gay orange and yellow stripes and blue and green ribbons and ruffles. She could barely catch a glimpse of the beaming elderly brown-skinned woman peeking out of the giant lace collar. Her eyes were hidden by thick rock candy spectacles. "So glad you've finally arrived! I'll get my children to serve you peppermint tea and spice cookies."

"That won't be necessary, Mother Maz." Poe helped Leia out of the sleigh. She flew up to the old woman's head. "We're just here to get some supplies and get organized before we start into Starkiller Fortress."

"Oh no." Maz literally pushed Leia along with her little fingers. "First, you eat. Your army can't run if it has no food in its belly. Besides, your beloved Cavalier is unharmed for the moment. Weak, but unharmed." She frowned. "Snoke dumped him in the Pit of Nightmares in the mountain under Starkiller Fortress. No fairy has ever managed to escape from there, not even your wily spouse."

Rey didn't like the sound of that. "What's the Pit of Nightmares?"

"Only the darkest, deepest, most dismal spot in the entire Land of the First Order." The Nutcracker's gentle voice crackled with horror. "Fairies live on light. They can't survive without it. Snoke imprisons the fairies he captures in the Pit of Nightmares to weaken them before he and Kylo Ren hack their wings off or turn them into wood."

Poe saw Leia's face fall. "Maybe he does not wish to do that to Han. He want him alive."

"Yes." The small older fairy's voiced cracked. "Because Han and the captured toys are bait to trap the rest of us."

Mother Maz's home was just as eccentric as she was. It was all made of sponge cake, with icing trim, bonbon knobs, and spun sugar glass windows and mirrors. Toys made of candy canes and chocolate truffles lay scattered around. The elderly woman commanded the gingerbread children to pick up their mess before shooing them upstairs. A cook made of gumdrops brought them their tea and cookies, along with marzipan fruit and candied pear bread.

Rey had just finished her bread, with it's sweet hazelnut spread, when she heard what she thought was a voice...and it was calling her name. It was faint, but there. Rey, it whispered, come to us...

Who here knew her name, besides the toys, her uncle and the Nutcracker? She followed the voice to a door. It swung open the moment she touched the gumdrop knob.

Her feet made hollow sounds on the rickety almond bark steps. The room she found herself in was presumably a basement. Other than the gingerbread walls, it could have been the basement at home. It was filled with jars of jams and chutneys, dried herbs, and piles of boxes and old, musty trunks. One solitary sugar glass window let in the watery light from the forest.

She knelt before one long, dusty old trunk. The lid creaked open as soon as her fingers brushed it. A blue sword, made of heavy old rock candy, rested in a bed of spun sugar. She lifted into her hands. It felt heavy, hard.

Suddenly, her world changed. She was standing in a black corridor, a gleaming obsidian hall in an otherwise white candy city. She saw the green glow, heard the sound of a raspy squeak. Two figures were locked in combat, their blades flying. One knocked the other, a small male fairy with golden hair, out a sugar candy window. When he turned to her, she thought she saw a mouse mask, not unlike Kylo Ren's, but more...mechanical. More terrifying. It came near her, holding out its...hand? Paw?

Come with me, it rasped. It reached for her...and suddenly, she saw long, sharp claws on those hands...or paws. It might have been Kylo Ren. It was certainly tall enough to pass for him. But there was a darkness to his voice, a deep-seated evil. It repulsed her.

When she looked closer...it was Kylo Ren. She thought she saw her uncle fleeing from his red blade, something small and gaily painted in his arms. She heard "I won't let you hurt him anymore!" before he hurried into the snow.

"You, girl," the figure hissed, "come with me..."

"No!" She screamed, shutting the lid hard. "No, I won't!"

"Rey!" Mother Maz somehow managed to get her entire dress down the splintered staircase. "What are you doing down here?"

"He...that..." She pulled away. "What is that?"

"That, was the sword of Anakin of the Skywalker Fairies." One of the gingerbread children rushed over and opened it again. "He was one of the great magicians of the Land of Sweets...before the previous Mouse King corrupted his powers and turned him into a half-mouse, half-machine."

"He fought..." Rey's eyes widened. "With Uncle Luke. That looked a little like Uncle Luke I saw fly through the window!"

"Rey." Luke followed them downstairs. "That's why I brought you here. You're destined. I've always known you were one of us. My father, your grandfather, passed it to me...and now I'll pass it to you."

"Oh Uncle, no!" Rey skittered as far from the box as she could. "I don't want to have anything to do with that again! Ever!"

"Wait, Rey!" But Luke couldn't stop her from darting up the stairs and back into the main house.

The Nutcracker saw her hurrying for the front door. "What are you doing? Are you ok?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. I don't belong here. I'm not a mouse, a toy, a fairy, or a piece of candy! I'm a normal, ordinary human being! I have to get home. Bee Bee needs me, and I can only imagine what my parents will say when they find out I've been gone all night."

"But Rey..." The Nutcracker began. She pushed his hand away as she hurried out the door and into the woods.

She had to find her way back. She shouldn't have come. She was crazy to think she could handle magic. She wasn't a magician. She was a child. Her abilities were mechanical, not magical.

Still, she thought, there was the Nutcracker. She was nearly very certain that he wasn't who he claimed he was. She felt like she knew him. In fact, she felt like she knew everyone. Queen Leia, the Nutcracker, the soldiers, Chewbacca...everyone was familiar. How could she let them down?

She finally stopped by a mint sugar tree, out of breath. One of the gingerbread children tugged at her. It had followed her all the way from Maz's. "I'm sorry," she puffed, "but I don't know if I'm coming back. I'm just...not a fairy or a magician. What can I do?"

That was when she finally listened. There was someone else in the woods. Footsteps crackled over dried sugar leaves. Raspy breathing echoed off the dark chocolate trunks. She was about to follow the gingerbread child back to Mother Maz's when she saw the mice. They shot hard cheese balls from their muskets, but she managed to dodge them. She and the gingerbread child threw pine cones and small rocks at them. She always did have good aim. She managed to knock down several.

"Little gingerbread girl," Rey started, "we have to get back to Mother Maz and Uncle Luke. You lead. I don't know my way around." She remembered the military talk Hux and Ben used when they played with their toy soldiers. "I'll cover for you."

The child squeaked and hurried along as she threw everything she could get her hands on – rocks, sticks, acorns, nuts, pieces of rock candy crystal, pine cones made from mint chocolate patties. She was about to go after it when a figure stepped into her view. A tall, dark figure wearing a metal mask with mouse ears.

"Kylo Ren!" She threw rocks and pine cones at him as hard as she could. He just sliced them in half with his red rock candy crystal sword. "Come out! I'm not afraid of you! Who are you?"

"I'm no one you need to know about." He finally stepped out of the afternoon shadows, his long black robes trailing behind him. "What I want to know is," he put out his sword against her throat, "who are you, girl?"

"I'm...I'm Rey. Clara Stahlbaum, but my family calls me Rey." He raised his hand over her forehead, prodding it. "What are you doing? Taking my temperature? Other than I don't like you holding that giant crystal lollipop of yours so close to me, I feel fine, thank you!"

"No," he hissed. "I'm reading your mind." She winced as he poked around her head, her eyes starting to flutter. "You're the girl from the Mortal Realm. Drosselmeyer brought you here to defeat my master. You and that useless wooden traitor."

"He's not a traitor." Rey glared at him as best she could. "And he's not useless! He's strong and brave!"

"His jaw is broken." Ren's voice was a sneer. "He's not fit to crack nuts for my mouse army."

Rey made a face. "Now you sound like my brother."

He ran his gloved fingers across her forehead, whispering into her ear. "You have a very interesting mind. You're far stronger than you know. I think I'll take that mind." He stroked her forehead. "Come with me, my little one. Come with me to the Starkiller Fortress. We'll have a longer discussion there." He lifted his head, enough for her to see the very human skin on his neck under the mask. "You'll even get to see your precious Fairy Cavalier, if you're a very good girl."

"I will?" She'd never been so tired. She was barely standing.

"Yes." He finally ran his hand over her face. A red light bathed her cheeks and forehead. "You will sleep, my little Rey. Sleep deeply. Sleep now."

His words were the last things she remembered before her eyes closed, unable to resist his powers anymore.

When she awoke, she was in total darkness. Not a sliver of light broke through the thick rock walls around her. "Where am I?" she muttered to herself. "How did I get here?"

"Hello?" A feeble but familiar gruff voice seemed to come from the other side of the wall. "Rey? Is that you, kid?"

"Han?" Rey tried to lean her ear against the wall, which wasn't easy when she was chained to the one alongside it with heavy iron manacles. "It's me, Han! They caught me in the woods outside of Mother Maz's house."

"Kid, I'm so glad to hear from you." His voice was hoarse and cracking. "I don't know how long I've been in here. I'm too damn tired to move Can't even fly. They still have the iron on my wings."

"I'll get you out of here." Rey struggled wildly with her chains, but they were held fast to the wall. "I promise."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Han chuckled. "I saw you take on Kylo Ren and his army. Hell, I was scared of you."

She leaned against the jagged wall. "Where are we?"

"The Pit of Nightmares." Han's voice became cranky. "Yeah, it's a nightmare, all right. It's dark as hell in here, and it smells like wet mouse fur. When I get my hands on that son of mine..."

That was when she heard the door open in Han's cell. The raspy breathing gave away Kylo Ren's arrival well before she heard his voice. There were other footsteps as well, ones that clanked loudly.

"Hello, Father." The footsteps moved closer to the wall. "Ready to tell me where Mother and the Candy Army are hiding now?"

Iron manacles rubbed against the wall. "I wouldn't tell you in a million years, son. Besides," there was a shrug in his voice, "I have no idea. I haven't seen your mother in nearly a week. I was leading the soldiers stationed near the Snowflake Meadows."

"Why did Mother marry you?" Kylo Ren hissed. "A fairy thief with weak nature powers and no position in the government or influence at court? She could have married any fairy she wanted..."

"I love her, Ben," Han insisted. "I always have, and I always will. Did that ever occur to you?"

Rey's eyes widened. Ben? So Kylo Ren is his son. I knew there was something familiar about him. He's a lot like my brother!

"Love doesn't matter, Father." Kylo Ren stepped closer to the wall. "Power matters. Love is for fools."

"Then you're the fool, kid." The hiss in Han's voice made him sound very much like his son. "What are you going to do with all that power? Who will you share it with? Snoke? He doesn't care about you. He's using you to get to your mother and her title. When he's gotten what he wants, he'll kill you, like he's killed most of the other fairies in the Land of Sweets."

"No! He'll find a place for me in his plans!" She winced when Kylo Ren slammed his gloved fist against the wall. "You're afraid of me! I'm stronger than you are! My powers are five times stronger!"

"Ben, I know you're in there somewhere." Han's voice softened. "You don't belong here. You're not one of them, and you know it."

"Might I suggest a way to eliminate this nuisance?" She heard fingers yank against silken wings and Han's angry yelp. The voice was familiar, a smooth, spoiled accent. "Cut off his wings. Perhaps at the Gingerbread Town Square, just outside the castle? Hold him up as an example of what happens when supposedly powerful beings defy the Land of the First Order. I heard Vader executed many fairies that way. He had a vast collection of wings he'd cut himself."

"Yes." Kylo Ren's voice became a smirk. "You'll finally have some use, Cavalier. Your execution should bring Mother flying to her precious husband's welcome. Snoke is very interested in her. Once he offers to make her his queen and merge their lands, she'll be putty in his hands. They'll make these lands as mighty as they were when King Vader ruled them."

Chains rattled hard against the walls. Rey suspected Han was trying to angrily lunge for his captors. "Never! Leia would never give up her throne to Snoke. It's not hers to give. It rightfully belongs to the Trooper family. Besides, she hates Snoke. He's killed too many fairies for her to agree to this!"

"The Trooper family is dead." Kylo Ren's voice got very close to the wall. "As you will be soon, Cavalier." The feet moved away from the prisoner. "Take him to the Gingerbread Castle dungeon. Make sure you cover all sources of light in his cell. Officer Mitaka, announce to everyone in the Land of Sweets that the coronation for King Snoke and his new bride will be dawn on Christmas Day. We'll have Santa Claus himself officiate it. Hux, go to Phasma and have her bring the army to Gingerbread Town. I'm going to question the girl in the next cell. She seems to have powers she's unaware of, very strong, familiar powers. I want to read her mind further."

Rey's eyes widened. They were coming to her cell! She could hear Han's feeble attempts to struggle with the guards. They must have ignored his protests, since his gruff voice and their steps in perfect time faded out quickly.

As soon as they were gone, the door was flung open. Her eyes adjusted to the weak light as Kylo Ren stepped in. "Girl," he rasped. "I've been looking forward to this."

"It certainly took you long enough." Hazel eyes glared at his gleaming black helmet, with its silly fake mouse ears and whiskers. "If you're going to interrogate me, could you at least give me the honor of taking that blasted thing off? It'll be a lot easier talking to a real face."

"Very well." She had no idea what to expect as he tugged it off, but it wasn't...her brother. It was her brother. He had the same long face and pale skin and big dark eyes that reminded her of their mother's. He even had that thick, black hair that was really the only thing he was vain about. Rey liked to joke that he fussed with his hair more than any woman ever did.

"Benjamin!" She couldn't help her shocked squeak. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not my real name anymore." He raised an eyebrow. "And I've always lived here, girl." He walked around her. "How did you know my real name?"

"You look like...like someone I know." She clenched her fists. "I heard everything you said to Fa...your father in the next cell. I think it's horrible, wanting to kill him just to show how powerful you are. He's our...your father! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"You don't understand!" Ben matched her glare. "How could you? You're just a girl. You've never lived in anyone's shadow."

"Yes, I have. Yours!" Rey frowned. She didn't mean for the words to come out like that. "My brother is the one our tutor likes. He's smart and good at everything. I'm good at mechanics and dancing and not much else. Not to mention, he's the heir to Father's business."

Ben put a hand – a slender white human hand – against her forehead. "You're telling the truth." He ran his fingers along her temples. "You're from the Mortal Realm, but there's something...something in the back of your mind...you're more powerful than you know."

He gave her such a familiar grin, her stomach dropped. "How would you like to join the Mouse Army? You'll finally get a taste of real power. I could teach you how to use that new magic of yours."

Rey yanked her head away. "I'd rather eat smelly old cheese. And get your hands off me. They're like ice."

She decided it was time to return the favor. Her eyes closed, and she concentrated. Probing his mind was actually easier than she thought. He made his desires so obvious. "You...you're afraid to be like Han. You think it'll make you weak, as you were when you were a fairy child. Snoke's filled your head with a lot of rubbish about how powerful your grandfather was." She raised her head high. "You may think you're so high and mighty, Kylo Ren, but you'll never, NEVER be as strong as King Vader!"

Ren raised his hand to slap her, the way he had very likely hit his father...but after a few second, he lowered them. "Leave her." He shoved the helmet back on his head. "Perhaps a few days in the Pit of Darkness will quiet that feisty little temper of hers. I'll come back for her after I've seen to the King and Queen's coronation."

"No!" The girl struggled wildly as he left. "That won't happen! I won't let it! You'll see!" She thought he seemed a bit rattled as he stumbled out, but that might have been her imagination. He was so hard to read under that helmet.

There was no way she could stay here that long. She noticed he left one guard at the door to her cell. She might be able to do something with that. "Hey out there! I'm terribly hungry. Could you maybe get me a bite to eat?" The mouse didn't respond. "You don't want me to turn into some poor, starved bag of skin and bones, do you? King Snoke wouldn't like that." She concentrated. "I want you to bring me food. A four-course meal, if you can." It wasn't really a lie. She was starving. She hadn't eaten anything since at least that morning.

To her surprise, the mouse did everything she asked. He brought her a meal of the finest cheese she'd ever seen! There was every kind of cheese in the world, from Cheddar to Gouda to blue cheese. After she'd had her fill, he even wiped her lips and took the tray.

"You're going to hand me the keys and your candy cane bow and arrows." The mouse did so, his button eyes completely clouded over and vague. "And then you'll take a nice nap on the cot here. When you wake up, you'll remember none of this."

"I will remember none of this." Rey couldn't help giggling when the mouse just lay right down in the cot and started snoring almost immediately. It worked! It really worked. She tip-toed out of the cell, making sure to lock the door behind her.

She grabbed the first torch she saw to light her way. This "pit" was really more like a dungeon. Not a speck of light shined through. She saw heavy doors that likely lead to other cells. If only she knew where they'd gone with Han, or even how to get out.

Something small and sharp dropped on top of her head. "Ouch!" She rubbed where it hit. "Now, where did that come from?" Her fingers picked up a sharp rock candy crystal pebble. It was reddish, not black like the walls of the Pit. Hazel eyes rolled upwards, towards the ceiling.

Only there wasn't a ceiling. There was just...light. It really was a pit, after all. "And if there's a pit," she murmured to herself, "there has to be something on top."

She put the torch back in a bracket and reached for one of the rock candy crystals. There were indentations in the crystal, holes carved from years of use and mice trying to nibble at them. She'd always been a good climber. There was a huge old oak tree in her family's backyard she could shimmy up in less than five minutes. It drove Ben crazy. He was terrible at climbing. He'd get up a limb, then get tangled and fall back out again. He could never catch her.

Climbing a rock wall was a lot different than climbing a tree. She closed her eyes and concentrated, swinging the bow and quiver of arrows over her shoulders. One hand, then one foot. Her dainty human feet slipped at least three times, sending little candy pebbles to the pit bellow. Her arms ached, and her legs wobbled, but she held on. The light at the top of the pit kept beckoning to her. There had to be a way to warn Leia and the others and tell them about Han and the trap. There had to be!

One hand, then the other...one foot, then the other. It felt like it took hours to climb that rock wall. As she got closer, her ears picked up voices. They were unfamiliar and rather squeaky. Probably mice, she figured. Most of the army may not have left for Gingerbread Town yet.

As she reached the top, she finally heard a voice and a growl she knew. "Easy, Chewie. I'm sorry. This was the only way we could get into the Castle."

Rey grinned at another familiar, more masculine voice. "Are you sure this was a good idea, Your Majesty? You know that evil Kylo Ren can see through any magic..."

"He can," said Leia, "but most mice can't. It'll be enough for us to get through the castle and down into the pit."

"Leia? Nutcracker? Chewbacca?" She wiggled her fingers. "Could someone give me a hand here?"

"Rey!" The Nutcracker's excited voice bounced off the black rock walls. "Hold on! We're going to save you!"

"I've already done a pretty good job of that." She looked up with a grin. "I just need a hand getting up there."

Furry paws thrust themselves in front of her face. She took hold of them with both hands. Chewbacca caught her just in time. If she'd been there a moment longer, the ledge would have crumbled out from under her feet, sending her hundreds of meters to the hard floor below.

"Thank you!" She threw herself into the outstretched, fuzzy brown arms. "That was a close one, Chewie!"

A pair of wooden arms folded around her. "I'm so glad you're ok, Rey. I missed you."

Rey leaned against his hard shoulders. "I missed you too, Nutcracker." She finally pulled away long enough to see what he was wearing. "Why are you painted to to look like a mouse?" His uniform was now gray instead of red. He had mouse ears on his hat and scratchy wire whiskers sticking out of his face. The blue rock candy sword from Mother Maz's home rested by his side. A very, very tall and furry mouse held a candy cane bow and arrow next to him, his eyes searching for any sign of movement.

"It's a temporary spell." A female mouse in a lavender gown waved a wand behind them. "We had to blend in somehow."

Rey couldn't take her eyes off her beloved Nutcracker. "What are all of you doing here?"

"The plan, remember?" The Nutcracker managed to give her a big smile, despite his broken jaw. "We came after you and Cavalier Han."

A shorter mouse wore a black velvet cape and had thick whiskers on his chin. "Rey, did you see Han in the Pit of Nightmares?"

"No, but I heard him." She turned to what she suspected was her uncle. "They're taking him to Gingerbread Castle. Kylo Ren will cut off his wings at the first light of Christmas Day. He wants to use his execution to bring the Candy Army into the open."

"I won't let him do it!" Leia's paw curled around her purple crystal wand. "I did feel them take him away. His light is faint, but it isn't here. We have to get him back."

"Wait, there's more." Rey turned to Leia. "Ren is using Han to lure you to Snoke. His master is going to try to force you to become his queen and merge your lands."

Chewbacca let out an angry roar that filled the halls. "No way!" The Nutcracker drew his sword. "We'll stop him before then!"

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Santa Claus would never sanction this. He knows Leia wouldn't be happy with Snoke, and it wouldn't be good for the Land of Sweets or Christmas, either. The Land of Sweets provides many of the toys his workers don't make themselves."

Rey rolled her eyes. "No one is going to sanction anything until we get moving." She started down the hall. "We're going to need a fast getaway. We have to be at the Gingerbread Castle, wherever that is, before morning."

The Nutcracker pulled them all into an alcove as a platoon of mouse troops marched by them. "And I know how to do it. Leia, change us back. I want this...er, mouse...to recognize us."

"All right." She waved her wand. Soft, glowing purple lights surrounded the group. When they subsided, everyone looked as normal as they were going to. "That's better. I never was the biggest fan of cheese."

"Shh!" A tall figure in shiny silver and black armor, with pale gold ears sticking out of the top, stomped by them. The Nutcracker pointed at it and whispered something to Chewie. The stuffed bear's furry paw shot out and yanked the mouse soldier into the alcove.

"What in the name of the Land of the First Order is this?" To Rey's surprise, the voice was deep, but very female...and strangely familiar. "Unhand me, you gigantic dust mop!"

"Take off that mask, Captain Phasma, so you can see me!" The Nutcracker pushed her. "I'm in charge now, miss. I'm the one giving the orders. Who's the better soldier now? You're going to do everything we say, or this bear's going to start looking for honey in your rear end!"

Luke sighed and pulled the Nutcracker aside. "Calm down. I think she gets the point."

The mouse shook her head and finally pulled off her helmet. Somehow, Rey wasn't surprised to see the lovely face and pale blond hair of Gwen Phasen underneath. The only difference were her whiskers, pale beige ears, and slightly longer nose. "Nutcracker," she snapped, "I knew you'd come back. Decided to stop being a coward and return to our employ? I might be able to convince Snoke to go a little easy on you. He'll only burn part of your wooden hide."

She didn't even jump when Luke narrowed his eyes and pressed his green staff against her back. "Captain, you are going to sneak us onto the sleigh carriage with your men. Better yet," he grinned, "we'll go in style. Get us on General Hux's private carriage."

Rey smirked. "Or our bear friend Chewbacca will decided you look like a very tasty silvery fish." Chewie sniffed at her, perhaps deciding if he could peel off that armor and get a taste of her furry insides.

"All right already!" She lead them to a large room at the end of the hall. It looked like a war room, with lots of wax paper maps and globes made of popcorn balls. Another mouse, a tall, thin one with ginger red fur, was already there. She waved the others behind the door. "Hux," she said, "I'd like to request for my men and I to join you on your private sleigh going to the Land of Sweets. There's more room for us to train."

"I'd rather not listen to the troops jumping about." Hux rolled his eyes as she reached for his neck. "Oh, fine. On second consideration, it might not hurt to have bodyguards at my disposal. The transport leaves in less than ten minutes. Get your men on it as quickly as possible. The Sugar Plum Cavalier's execution and King Snoke and Queen Leia's coronation will take place promptly at dawn."

"I'm already in charge of one world," Leia snarled, her brown eyes suddenly filled with fire. "There's no way I'll marry that dirty cheese-snatcher!"

Luke put a hand on her shoulder. "We won't let that happen." He turned to Chewbacca. "You and I are going to go down to the mines to gather the remaining Candy Army. Poe and the others are freeing the toys and candy who were enslaved in the Mortal Realm. We'll contact them and send them along to Gingerbread Castle."

"Please be careful, brother." Leia gave him a fierce hug. She had to fly to Chewbacca to be able to give him an equally large one. "You too, Chewie."

Rey frowned. "Uncle Luke..."

The small magician gave his niece and the Nutcracker a big hug. "Watch out for Kylo Ren. He's determined to get rid of both of you."

The Nutcracker shuddered. "I hope we never see him again!"

She made a face. "I have the feeling we more than likely will."

Phasma lead them down the hall to the largest sleigh Rey had ever seen. It was made of black molded sugar with silver foil trim and runners, with three very big reindeer pulling it. Leia cast the mouse spell on them again, making them all resemble the Mouse Army. Rey wasn't sure she liked that. Her short brown fur itched, people kept stepping on her tail, and she had a weird craving for Gouda the entire trip.

She looked over the side as the landscape rushed by her. She'd had no idea what time it was when they found her, but from the looks of things, it was the middle of the night when she left. The winged horses that pulled the carriage just couldn't go fast enough! Her head was too filled with thoughts to enjoy the beauty of the landscape below her as it changed from the blacks and browns of the Land of the First Order to the brilliant pastels of the Land of Sweets. She tried to sleep, but her dreams were filled with mice in black robes stabbing fairies in the heart while she watched and the Nutcracker burned.

"Foil-covered chocolate coin for your thoughts?" The Nutcracker's gentle voice nudged her back into wakefulness. "Are you ok? You were sort of moaning in your sleep."

"No, not really." She shifted in the carriage. "Aren't you tired?"

He shrugged. "I'm a toy. We don't need to sleep. Besides, I think we're almost there."

The light outside was getting brighter and brighter. She could see the sun slowly rising over the Dark Chocolate Mountains. The early morning sun cast long, deep shadows over the biggest castle Rey had ever seen. It was made entirely of gingerbread, from the walls to the peaked roofs that were covered in pale green icing. Candies of every description decorated the sides. Two black licorice ropes held up the long drawbridge.

The whole town was gingerbread houses. They put the small cottage she, Maz, and Jess had worked on at home two days before to shame. There were great mansions, stables, churches, and even department stores and businesses, every last one made of gingerbread and icing. The pine trees were piles of green whipped cream. The cobblestone streets were hard candy. Rey was getting hungry just looking at it.

As soon as they landed, they managed to separate themselves from the rest of the group down an alley. "What are we going to do with her?" The Nutcracker still held Phasma's arm.

Leia's dark eyes glittered. "Where's the nearest opening to the sewers?"

The Nutcracker echoed her grin. "Down by Cadbury's Department Store."

"Good." Leia waved her wand. The first wave restored them to their regular forms. The second lifted Phasma in the air, ignoring her angry squawks. They followed Leia's light until it reached a thick foil-covered circle in the road. The glittering purple light surrounded the lid until it was large enough for Phasma. The other deposited her in it and slammed the lid shut.

Leia put her wand away. "There! Took out the trash."

Rey and the Nutcracker followed her down the alley. The girl grinned at her. "Where did you get that idea?"

The older fairy hovered just a few centimeters off the ground as she lead them down dark back streets. "I was held prisoner by King Vader many years ago. He destroyed Alderaan, the Land of the Fairies, in order to get me to tell him the location of the First Candy Army. Han, Chewbacca, and my brother tried to rescue me, but they weren't very good at it. I lead them out through the sewers."

"Speaking of..." The Nutcracker pushed the two women aside as more mouse troops marched past them. A tall figure covered in a heavy black wool cape was being lead by a masked Kylo Ren and the red mouse...who looked, Rey thought, an awful lot like her brother's friend Hux with whiskers and round ears.

Leia closed her eyes, her hand held over her heard. She lifted her wand, letting a thin stream of purple light go to the cloaked figure. It turned around...and Rey could see the bumps on his back that the cape smothered and a few wisps of silver and white hair. She swore it actually stared right at them. When the light tried to flow around the cape, the fabric absorbed it instead.

"Han," Leia whispered. "That cloak is made from no-magic velvet. It smothers and absorbs any magic or light that tries to penetrate it. Ben...Kylo Ren is taking no chances."

"Make way for the King!" The largest carriage Rey had ever seen, lead by a team of six reindeer, followed the prisoner and his guards. The girl's eyes widened when she saw who sat in the back with Hux and Ben.

Rey gasped. "Snoke!" It couldn't have been anyone else. Even as a mouse, he was old and gray and wrinkly. His beady black eyes were sharp, though, and his crooked whiskers twitched. His eyes darted here and there, seeing all. His guards lead him to two gingerbread thrones, one smaller than the other, on the back of the platform. He settled down, leering at the crowds. He held a long, heavy black rock candy staff with a mouse head carved on the end.

"How are we going to get to him?" The Nutcracker poked his head out. "This place is swarming with soldiers. It's three-fourths mice."

Rey agreed. "We're going to need a distraction."

The twang of a guitar and castanets in the center of the square answered that question. A group of toys in fancy Spanish costumes were dancing to a lively tune. "Citizens of the Land of Sweets!" The short man strumming the guitar hid his curls under a wide-brimmed black hat, but the laid-back smile gave Commander Poe away. "We have gathered some of our finest performers to put on a show for our great leader King Snoke!"

Kylo Ren turned his intimidating helmet to the performers. "Oh please. We need to get on with the execution."

Snoke's nasty little smile chilled Rey to the bone. "Why not? We'll need time to set up the execution and ceremony, and Santa Claus has yet to arrive. Perhaps a little amusement might be in order."

Rey didn't know how Poe had gotten the toys from the mines in time, but she was glad he had. He played a Spanish folk song while dancing with a lovely lady in a frilly red gown. Chinese soldiers jumped out of giant teapots. Jessika and the Candied Fruit Soldiers played reed flutes while they danced. Snap and the Russian Trepak officers performed a wild folk dance. Mother Maz arrived with her cookie children under her cake dress. They tumbled and spun dizzily into each other. Two Arabian Coffee dancers slinked around each other in a pas de deux that was so sensual, Rey blushed.

"I wish they could keep distracting them forever." The Nutcracker managed a grin as he clapped for the Coffee dancers. "They're really good! Poe should take them on the road after this is all over."

"Look!" Rey pointed to the square. The mouse soldiers had moved away from Han to watch the show. There were only two holding onto him now.

Leia nodded. "Let's go."

They stuck to the shadows as much as possible, even as they grew longer in the early morning light. "We have to go fast!" The Nutcracker grabbed Rey's hand. She looked down at it, frowning. "The moment it gets to Christmas Day, they'll start the ceremony!"

"Wait!" Leia hurried to them. "There's something wrong here..."

But Rey was already disarming one of the mice. The Nutcracker smacked the other over the head with the butt of his sword. "Han! Cavalier! Are you all right?"

"No!" Leia's shocked voice was loud enough to hear over the music. "That's not him! It's..."

"Hello, Nutcracker." Kylo Ren...Prince Ben...removed his hood. "I had the feeling you'd be coming back to us."

"Han! Where is he?" Leia raised her wand...but a dull black light yanked it out of her hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Your Majesty." Her wand flew into Snoke's grasp as he stood. Leia's eyes were filled with an furious fire, even when the ugly old mouse kissed her hand. "I would be honored if you'd become my queen. You're an uncommonly strong fairy, with a good head for ruling. Between the two of us, we could bring our two lands to their knees!"

"After everything you've done, to my family, our land, and our people?" The dark eyes glared daggers that would have cut Snoke in the heart, if he had one. "I'd rather die!"

He raised Leia's chin. "That can be arranged, my dear." He grabbed her shoulders and forced her into the smaller throne.

Rey started towards them, but she was immediately surrounded by fifteen rock candy swords and lances. The Nutcracker was luckier. He decked Ben in the face and took off into the shadows. She hoped he was getting help.

Ren narrowed his eyes as he rubbed his chin. "Just for that, I think we can eliminate those performers. I know they're the Candy Army in a rather bad disguise. We just got word that there was a break-out at the salt and pepper mines. Many toys were freed, including members of the Army." The black-clad fairy raised his red wand. Bright red lights swirled around the candy dancers. Poe managed to hurry into an alley, but Jessika, Snap, and the remaining soldiers stiffened and became wooden toy dolls, animals, and nutcrackers.

"Is that what you did to the Nutcracker?" Rey stared at Prince Ben in horror. "He got in your way, so you turned him into a toy? Was he human once, too?" She suddenly wished she hadn't eaten all that cheese. Every morsel seemed to tighten in the pit of her stomach.

Prince Ben only gave her a lopsided smirk that looked remarkably like his father's. "Maybe."

Another cloaked figure was dragged from the crowd and onto the platform. "Leia!" Han Solo's unmistakably gruff voice croaked from under the hood. "Are you all right? Have they hurt you?"

"No, they haven't." Leia gazed longingly at her husband. "Han, what have they done to you? Your wings..."

Han gave her a weak version of his famous smile. "I'll be ok, sweetheart."

"This is so banal." Hux rolled his eyes as he removed the mouse mask and black tunic he'd been wearing. He and Prince Ben shoved Han onto the platform. The red-furred mouse whipped the cloak off. Han's blue and red wings unfurled...butt they were limp and faded, a far cry from their glistening beauty in the ballroom. His wrists remained bound in iron chains and manacles.

Snoke clutched Leia's hand in a vice grip. Two mice had already thrown the black cloak over her shoulders. It took two more to hold a horrified Rey back. "Citizens of the Land of Sweets!" The evil Mouse King raised his staff. "Today, Christmas Day, marks the beginning of a new era for our lands, one in which the Land of Sweets and the Land of the First Order will be united!" He nodded at Ben, whose candy wand grew into the jagged red sword. "There will no longer be room for useless malcontents like this weak creature before me. All Christmas magic will belong to the mice of the First Order!"

As the Mouse King droned on, Rey thought she saw three figures – one wooden, one tall and furry, one small, with curly dark hair and wearing a red bolero costume – trying to sneak along the edges of the crowd. A black-painted wooden mitt pointed at the platform. She swore she heard Chewie's distinctive roar over the crowd.

"No!" Leia and Rey shrieked at the same time as Ben raised his sword over Han's wings. Leia turned to Snoke. "I won't let you do this!" She tried to run to Han, but Snoke threw his wand in front of her. "I love him! I've never loved anymore more!"

Han only gave her a small smile. "I know."

"Agree to be my queen, then." Snoke's toothy smile was cruel. "Become my bride, and I'll set him free. We could use strong bodies like his in the salt and pepper mines."

Leia pushed Snoke aside. "Never! I'd wouldn't marry you if you were the last available male in both lands! I wouldn't marry you if you were young and handsome, which you probably never were. The only man I ever wanted is kneeling on that platform."

"Leia!" Han tried to stand, but Hux and Ben forced him back down. "Forget it, Snoke. We ain't gonna give you what you want."

Snoke wrapped his arms around Leia, holding his staff to her throat. "Do it, Ren!" he hissed over his shoulder. "Cut the Cavalier's wings! Kill him!"

Ben's slender white hands were shaking, but his face was impassive. His sharp sword hovered over Han's back. He raised his sword...the red light flashed...Rey screamed...Han gasped...

There were shocked yells in the crowd. A candy cane arrow whizzed over her head. Ben barely managed to duck away from it, but it did manage to scratch his shoulder. Blue lights flashed as the Nutcrackler leaped onto the platform, using Anakin's blue rock candy sword and his hardened body to protect the helpless male fairy.

"Oh no, you don't." Poe rushed in after him, holding a candy cane bow and arrow of his own. "You will never take us alive, Snoke! We will fight you until the Sweet Soda Pop River goes sour!"

"You!" Ben glared at the Nutcracker. "You've interfered for the last time, you useless piece of trash!"

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, Ren." The Nutcracker somehow managed to grit his wooden teeth. "This fairy is one of the few beings who was ever good to me. I won't let you hurt him!"

The Nutcracker wasn't a bad swordsman, but Rey suspected he wasn't at Ren's level. Even with a damaged shoulder, Ren was still too fast for the wooden soldier. She gasped as the two leaped over the platform, fighting in the shocked crowd.

The two mice who were supposed to be holding onto her were as entranced with the duel as the rest of the toys and candy in the square. She took advantage of the distraction to elbow one of the mice, then step hard on the other's foot. The moment they squawked, a pair of furry paws grabbed them and knocked them together. Their heads clattered, leaving them both unconscious.

Rey grinned as Chewbacca appeared behind the now-sleeping mice. "Thanks, Chewie! You were brilliant." The giant bear nodded and gave her a great big hug.

Poe tossed her the candy cane bow. "Here you are, Senorita Rey! I fight better with fists!" He proceeded to prove this by decking three mice into each other like dominoes.

"Go get Leia and Han." Rey almost literally shoved Chewbacca to the back of the platform. "I'm going to help the Nutcracker with Ren."

"You watch out, Senorita." Poe frowned. "That Ren, he is full of tricks. Snoke is too. Don't let them get in your head." Chewie growled his agreement.

"I'll be all right." She gave them a lopsided smile that looked a great deal like her father's. "I can take care of myself."

The Gingerbread Town Square was now total bedlam. Candy and toys attacked mice, kicking them, stepping on their tails, and tossing them into carts to be hauled back to the Land of the First Order. Rey saw Captain Phasma sulking as the tall female soldier skulked over to King Snoke. She was hard to miss. The fragrance that drifted behind her was somewhere between rotted, centuries-old cheese and ripened sticky-sweet taffy that had been left out in the sun too long. Anyone who took one whiff of her instantly got out of her way.

Poe blocked Hux from leaving. "Going so soon, General? You are too afraid to fight without your friend Ren around?"

Hux put up his ginger-colored paws. "I can fight you with my tail tied behind my back, you chocolate cream puff!"

The smaller soldier smirked. "Oh, that hurt, Hux. You think you are funny, but I will have last laugh."

"We'll see about that." Hux may have had the advantage of height and a mouse's fast reflexes, but Poe was smaller and stronger. He ducked under the red mouse's skinny legs and around his back. "I am over here!"

Hux's face was getting as red as his fur. "Stay still so I can hit you!"

"Not a chance!" Poe finally delivered a solid right to Hux's nose. The mouse hit the platform with a soft whump!

"Owww!" Hux let out a wail. "I think you broke my beautiful nose!" He threw his paw over the bleeding nostrils.

Poe handed him a handkerchief...even as he started to tie him up with ropes of taffy. "Your nose, she is not so pretty as you think. It might look even better this way."

Chewbacca and Rey had pulled Han from the front of the platform. She tugged at his chains. "I can't get these off!" the girl groaned. "They're too tight."

The elder fairy just turned to the bear warrior with a feeble grin. "Hey Chewie, how about a paw here?" Rey could barely see those paws under all Chewie's fur, but somehow, they broke the iron bands on his wrists and wings like they were peanut brittle. "Thanks, pal. I owe you one." The bear gave his friend the biggest hug he possibly could! Han gasped. "I'm glad to see you too, but right now, we need to go get Leia and make sure the Nutcracker kid's ok."

"The Nutcracker!" Rey's voice was close to a screech. "Fat...Han, I forgot him! I have to go help him!"

Han nodded as he tested his wings. "You go get him, kid. Chewie n' I will go after Leia." He frowned. "And by the way, have you seen Luke? He's the only one missing."

Rey shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm surprised. Maybe he went to get more help."

That was when Rey heard the clatter and a sickening crunch. Han almost literally pushed her towards the combatants. "Go, kid. He needs you!"

Rey turned around just in time to see Ren slice into the Nutcracker's back and arm. He nearly cut his arm right in two. The blue candy sword skittered at Ren's feet. "I knew you were no match for me, you warped piece of trash! I should have taken you out years ago."

"No...I had to...to save my friends." The Nutcracker gasped and Rey screamed as Ren gave him one last slash that left his back in splinters. "I...Rey..."

"She's mine, now." Ren reached for the crystal sword. "As is this. It rightfully belongs to my family. I'm the heir to Anakin of the Skywalker Fairies, not you!"

"NOOO!" Rey raised her hand. "You...you bully!" Gold light flitted around her as the sun came up...and the blue candy sword flew across the platform and into her hand. into her hand. The moment the sword reached her, she felt the light penetrate her. Something inside her changed. Long golden wings burst from her back. Her white and gold gown, with it's short, stiff lace petticoats and gold beaded bodice, looked almost exactly like her fairy ballerina doll. A white crystal tiara sparkled from her brown waves.

King Snoke squeaked angrily as people in the crowd gasped. "The Dewdrop Fairy! I thought she was a myth!"

Ben held out his hand. "Give me that sword, girl. You don't know how to handle it."

Even her voice had a different timbre to it, one that was far more confidant than normal. "You'd be surprised, Fairy Prince. I'm not going to let you hurt this poor Nutcracker or the Sugar Plum Fairies anymore. They're my friends...my family. I love them. That's what's important."

"No!" Ben hissed. "They hate me! Father doesn't understand me. Mother cares more about work than she does about her own child. They raised that...that piece of wood and ignored me! They couldn't even be there for me for Christmas! They were too busy fussing over the heir apparent!"

"Ben, you're selfish and bratty," she insisted, "but you're also my bro...someone's son. You're in there somewhere."

"I...I'm not! I'm not weak! I'm more than them! Snoke says so!" He let out a growl, a pair of purple and blue wings appearing behind them. "I'm not like them!"

"We're both like them." She raised her sword. "And that's not a bad thing. Snoke's wrong, Benjamin. They love you."

"No!" Ben lunged for her. "Snoke wouldn't lie!"

She parried. She had no idea what she was doing. She'd only watched Ben's fencing classes. Girls weren't allowed to take part. She must have absorbed more of those classes than she thought. Not only did she hold her own, she actually drove her brother back to the edge of the platform. Of course, it helped that she was in decent shape, and he had a bleeding shoulder.

"How could you believe him?" Rey snarled, smashing at him. "He's just some MOUSE! That's all! An old man...rodent! This is your FAMILY! That Nutcracker never hurt you! Your parents care about you!"

Ben fell backwards against the platform, Rey hovering above him. "Kill me, Dewdrop Fairy. You know you want to."

Rey's rage was blinding. On one hand, she did want to. He'd killed others, tried to kill his father, may have killed the Nutcracker, and enslaved half the Candy Army. On the other...he was a person, or at least a fairy. And he looked and acted a lot like her brother. Her brother may have been a spoiled brat who drove her crazy, but he was her brother, and she loved him.

She raised the sword. Instead of hitting him with the blades, a beam of blue-gold light writhed around him. When it subsided, he now wore a black vest over a pale purple shirt and, quite frankly, looked a lot like a younger version of the Cavalier. His purple wings unfurled behind him, darker and sharper than his mother's.

"Principe Ben!" Poe's eyes widened. "It is you! Only someone who knows our land and customs would be able to attack as surely or swiftly. You are traitor, not Nutcracker!"

"You're a fairy now, Prince." Rey ignored his glares. "Your wings will be out for good. You can no longer make them disappear or hide them. You can't hide who you are."

"NO!" He shrieked as his wings lifted him into the air. "I'M NOT A FAIRY!"

Rey rushed over to the Nutcracker. Poe had already pushed his hat under his head for a pillow. Chewbacca held him, looking concerned. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

Poe shook his head. "Not unless you know a very good toy maker or wood carver. His wood, it is all broken."

"You...how could you love him! He's nothing! He's just a Nutcracker!" Ben hovered over them, looking confused. People in the crowd were calling out the names of wood workers or doctors that they knew.

"No, Ben!" Rey took him in her arms. "He's not nothing! He's special. He's tried to save Han and me twice. He's good and funny and brave. I don't care what he looks like. He's my friend!"

"How very touching." Rey barely heard the crowd murmur, or saw Snoke wander over, his guards holding a struggling Han and Leia. Both had cloaks thrown over their wings and mouse paws over their mouths. "Now, boy, it's time the so-called Dewdrop Fairy and the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier joined their broken toy. Turn them all into statues. The bear and the Spanish soldier, too."

"Do it!" Hux made his way over to Snoke, Phasma stumbling behind. She was eating the last of the taffy he'd been tied with. "Don't be a fool!"

"Ben," Rey whispered. "Please."

Ben had just closed his eyes and raised his red candy wand when the sound of jingle bells broke through the murmurs of the early morning crowds. She heard the snorting of reindeer and a very distinct "ho-ho-ho" as people began to flee the platform.

Ok, now this was just getting weird. There was only one person anywhere who "ho-ho-hoed" like that. She immediately searched the sky, looking for a familiar white beard and bowl full of jelly. "Father Christmas?"

It could be no one but him. He was accompanied by Lady Kaydel and her entire snowflake troop. They danced around him as he landed. He had a red sugar molded sleigh with magnificent gold-foil runners and gold-leaf trim. A velvet sack the size of her room at home stuffed full of toys sat in the back.

Father Christmas was surprisingly familiar, too. He had twinkling blue eyes and a gentle, kind smile she knew. His beard and hair were greyish yellow rather than white, and his stomach wasn't quite as round as the drawings and newspaper photos usually made him appear, but it was still him.

She almost dropped the Nutcracker. "Uncle Luke? You're Santa? Father Christmas?"

"Why yes, Rey. Have been for quite some time." He put out his green staff, blocking Snoke's twisted metal one. "You're through, Snoke. Father Christmas won't sanction any action that could threaten this world and the people in it. The world needs Christmas magic."

"Christmas!"