The Nutcracker

The war on Tellius passed. The wounds of the nations healed. Alliances were forged and enemies purged of the land. Sadly, hearts were broken in the process. Ike, the great warrior and savior of the land, left the continent. A short year came and went. He still wasn't seen and the young Crimean queen's broken heart couldn't mend.

Christmas Eve was always a pleasure for everyone in Castle Crimea. Bastian had given Lucia her share of mistletoe and Geoffrey had given his share of glares to his old friend. The Christmas tree's candles had been lit with care and a peaceful aura surrounded the castle. Everything was in place except for one person.

Elincia looked around the throne room. "Where's Uncle Renning? I don't see him anywhere…"

Bastian was first to answer. "Your uncle said he had to get something special for you." His mischievous smiled revealed a secret he was obviously in on. "He promised to be home before too long."

Elincia rolled her eyes. "You two know how much I hate secrets. Besides, it's Christmas Eve. This is my first Christmas with my uncle in quite some time. I'd like it better if he was here…"

As if on cue, Elincia's bedraggled uncle kicked the door open. His black armor was coated in flakes of snow, and he was carrying a box filled with colorful presents. "Merry Christmas!" he yelled. "Sorry I took so long. As you can see, I had a few errands to run."

"Oh Uncle..." Elincia shook her head, smiling.

"I apologized! Now, what do you say we open a few presents early?"

"I'm going to have to disagree, Lord Renning," Geoffrey said, his face as stoic as ever. "It's against tradition."

"Ah, but even traditions need to change!"

"That makes no sense, sir…"

"Well, neither does Bastian half the time."

"True. Go ahead then!"

Renning smiled. He always won. He quickly dropped his box on the ground and began handing out the presents. Bastian received his gladly and shook it like an anxious child. His eyes slowly shifted over to Elincia who was last to receive hers. "You may want to be careful with yours…some magic is more powerful on Christmas Eve than any other night of the year…"

"What are you talking about?" the young queen asked.

Her uncle's kind eyes looked right through her. "Go ahead. Open it."

Cautiously, Elincia ripped the dark green paper and scarlet ribbon off the box. Her eyes widened as she opened the white box.

"What is it?!" Lucia asked, leaning forward.

"It's Ike…" She gently picked the nutcracker up. Its blue hair was spiked slightly and his uniform was identical to the original. "Uncle!" She shot a glare in his direction.

"I have to take part of the blame. I'm at fault as well…" Bastian chuckled deeply, his tenor voice sweet and smooth. "I added a bit of magic myself… Christmas magic."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elincia asked, growing impatient.

"You'll see." He over-exaggerated a yawn and stood up. "It's getting quite late. Perhaps I should turn in. Good night all." He nodded towards Geoffrey and Renning and blew Lucia a dramatic kiss.

"Uncle, Bastian has finally lost it…"

"Oh no. He's perfectly sane. Hm…come to think of it, it is late. I should turn in as well." He smiled childishly and strolled out of the room with his secret.

Elincia held the Ike nutcracker carefully, turning it over and over again. Finally she turned to her two friends. "What did you guys get?"

Geoffrey held up an intricate spear with a blue bow stuck on the end. "I don't know… You tell me." He shook his head. "You're uncle knows me so well…"

Lucia sighed. "I'm pretty sure this one's from Bastian…" The Complete Works of Shakespeare sat in her lap, a rose tied to the cover with a pretty ribbon.

"Well, you got some sort of magic voodoo nutcracker I guess," Geoffrey said, setting his lance down. He walked over to Elincia. "May I?"

"What are you going to do?" She held it up to her shoulder like a doll.

"I just want to see it. Please…"

"Oh fine…" Unwillingly, she handed it over to the blue paladin.

Geoffrey took it and scrutinized it carefully. "Hm…there's nothing 'magical' about this…" He fiddled around with the cape. "I think Bastian just lost it…" He set it down on the table with a loud thud.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open by a powerful gale. The ever growing blizzard forced cold air into the entire room, extinguishing the fire. Geoffrey shielded his eyes, the cold stinging his eyes. "Who's there?!"

In the doorway stood an ominous shadow. It didn't say a word. It simply stood there amongst the blistering wind.

"Who's there?" Geoffrey demanded, standing up, lance in hand.

"Elincia…" the shadow said. The voice was strained and forced, adding to the already dark atmosphere. His thin shadowy hand slowly reached out.

That gave Geoffrey and Lucia enough reason to charge. With weapons drawn, they rushed at the figure. With a flick of his hand, the figure shot a blast of dark magic at the two siblings. Like the strong gust, it sent them flying across the room.

Elincia shivered and reached for Geoffrey's new lance, only to find it was way too heavy for her to lift. The figure walked closer, a black sword materializing from the shadows surrounding it. The young queen flinched, hoping this was some sort of strange dream.

Clang! Elincia slowly opened her eyes, surprised at the lack of gore. Her eyes lightened up. Before her stood a blue-haired warrior wielding a two handed sword. "Ike…" she whispered. Her eyes darted down to the nutcracker that had been on the table.

The strange shadow creature and Ike were locked in a powerful parry for what seemed an eternity. Finally, Ike broke through and slashed through the shadow as if it really was nothing but a shadow. The victor flipped his sword skillfully into drove it into its sheath. Then, slowly, he turned around, a sweet smile on his face.

"Are you okay, Queen Elincia?" He held out his hand.

She blinked a few times and tried to stop the tears. She could feel them forming and finally the hot streams falling down her face. "Oh Ike!" She jumped up and embraced him tightly. "Where'd you come from?!"

The young General chuckled under his breath. "That…is a secret…" He gently returned the young queen's embrace.

"No…how?"

"Would you believe it was Christmas magic?"

"Bastian did say something about that…but it doesn't sound half as crazy when you say it…" She leaned into his chest, tears still pouring down his face. "Why did you leave me?"

"It was a difficult choice to make, to leave Tellius…to leave you, but I had to… I couldn't stay here forever. Peace was made, and you were well off."

"I didn't want you to leave."

"I know that, but I knew you could rule Crimea by yourself. You could live without me…"

"But, it's hard. You left without telling anyone, especially me…do you know how much that hurt me?!"

"I'm sorry…" He pushed away from her embrace and looked down into her piercing green eyes. He leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. "Is that apology enough…"

The young queen leaned in for another hug. "That'll do… Are you going to stay now?"

"Maybe, just for Christmas…"

* * * * *

Renning smiled as he watched his niece sleep. Her long orange gown was draped over the sofa as she hugged the small nutcracker peacefully.

"Bastian, you were right. That was a good idea."

"Thank you, sire. She deserved a Merry Christmas."