Merry Christmas everyone!
Due to the strenuous nature of these holidays I did not produce as promised. In order to atone I have made two short stories that predate the adventures of Clara in the view points of the Mouse King and Prince Eric. Enjoy!
Christmas Chapter 1: Christmas has gone to the Rats
For as long as he could remember Mouse had never liked Christmas.
He had 11 annoying siblings, mousettes and mouseirs whose concerns strayed very little from their next bite of cheese. They were stupid happy creatures content with the bare necessities, hoarding secret items that they would eventually trade with each other on that accursed day called Christmas. Despite himself it was in his nature to pick up soft bits of thread or shiny buttons whenever the spirit moved him. This was exactly what appealed to his family and so they were happy.
Mouse had come from a poor but cozy home. They lived on the outskirts of the Gingerbread Village to the East in farm country. His family owned the only decent farm in the area that held actual vegetables and fruits instead of candleberries and candy cane. They did have a bit of ginger wheat on the side for gingerbread but the villagers used it for shelter instead of food. His father had always told him using food as shelter was pure rubbish, the only thing they both agreed upon. The problem with his father was that the mouse could not see beyond the farm. His father had been a farm mouse, his father's father had been a farm mouse and it went over and over until their ancestor Dormius Mouse Mousechester had won the farm in a game of straws. A fine legacy indeed he thought sourly as he rubbed the top of his magic scepter. His very name came from the legacy. The name Mouse was name that each Mousechester had to name at least one child.
He thought that naming a mouse Mouse was the most idiotic thing he had ever heard of.
He sighed in annoyance. He needed to distract himself. With the village subdued and that troublesome prince made into nothing but a silly toy rotting in the dungeon he had little to do but think. "You there!" he yelled angrily at a guard who was passing by. He dropped his shield and scrambled to pick it up. "Yes sir!" the mouse said saluting though his knees were shaking. Mouse grinned evilly. "Go get it," he intoned menacingly. The mouse gulped and said in a shaky voice, "Go get what sir?" he quivered nervously. Mouse frowned heavily and he could see the guard looked ready to pass out. "How will you find out if you continue to stare at me like an imbecile!" he growled. The man saluted to him and dashed out on a fruitless journey. Satisfied with his deed he settled into the cold throne and thought about what to do next with the kingdom. "I have been having a bit of a sweet tooth," he said smirking. "Perhaps I should get something to sate my hunger." "Guards!" he yelled. Immediately two guards stood before him and saluted. "Yes sir!" they said in unison. His grin returned once again. "Take three squadrons up to the Gingerbread village and destroy it. Once it's cleared bring the sweets back to me." They saluted and began to follow out his orders.
He laid back into his throne content that he had accomplished something useful for the day. It might take a little bit of time for the village to clear but he was okay with that. Time was the key you see. Since his family was a staple in the Gingerbread community they were permitted to go to school there. He excelled in it and was happy to become well read. He read the laws of Parthenia, the literature of the land, and did his times tables with ease. There were three levels of education that could be pursued, but in order to enter the second level one had to maintain at least a C average. His siblings all passed the first level but the secondary level was only passed by him and his younger sister Angelina.
She was a petite worrisome thing, but intellectual enough that he favored her above his kin. She took on the dormouse features of his mother while he personally took on the coarse field mouse features of his father. He also suspected some kin down the line had fraternized with a rat. His father allowed them to continue their schooling so long as they kept up with their chores. He often spoke to Angelina about their school work but could not get her attention unless it revolved around a dance related topic. She had been bitten by the dancing bug when the town performed a few scenes of the Nutcracker suite in their school for the holidays. Since then she would follow the dancers around and study only so that she could stay to see the dancers. He was not surprised when she ran away in the middle of their semester to study at Camembert Academy. Last he had heard of her she had been adopted by another family and doing God knows what as a ballerina in training.
After that he realized he didn't really like ballet either.
As time went on his father expected him to drop out. He was a middle child and they told him this was why he was so disturbed with thoughts of education when he should be in the field. His brothers tried to shame him with their superior milking skills but he personally never felt it. He stayed in school against their wishes and learned more and more looking for a chance, any chance to get out. It came when the King's previous spirit animal and royal advisor died. He had never been so happy for the death of another mouse. The King was looking for a replacement who would embody all the attributes of his previous advisor and be able to give sound advice. It would have to be a mouse and all of the mice of the land regardless of gender were eligible. In order to prepared he took all the books that were in the school that concerned the old advisor and schooled himself in his decisions and court policy. One of his first duties was to lose his field mouse accent. Instead he sought to adopt the accent of a more articulate wise person.
One day in class they were made to listen to a tape of poetry. Each poem would have another voice. To his delight he found that the poem the Jabberwocky from Alice through the looking glass held a voice he found pleasing. He "borrowed" the tape and played it over and over working on the sound of his voice until his speech pattern was completely changed. Once satisfied he proceeded to the castle wearing his best clothes. To his annoyance his best looked faltering in the sight of some of the finery of the other mice that stood in line to the castle. Obviously they were the children of the upper or middle class mice that ran up and down clocks to change the time, or worked in detective agencies.
Mouse however did not falter.
He invited a fellow competitor to go with him for a walk so that they may further discuss the rules of this campaign. Needless to say he emerged from the trip well dressed with one less competitor. When the time came instead of dazzling speech and bravado he simply showed his calculating intelligence. He was chosen with little fuss and could not help but notice that everyone seemed pleased with the King's choice except his little brat who sat on his throne glaring at him. He ignored him. A little prince was no matter. He was loyal to the King finding that he could learn a lot as well as give his honest input. He found himself in the company of intelligent people and flexed his mind. However, on rare occasions he would be beaten in a verbal joust. Mouse did not like to lose. He had never liked to lose, even at things he deemed unimportant like milking or planting seed. The more he worked under the King, the more he realized he was losing to him. What made this silly man more qualified to rule than him? He had studied more law than him and was a cornerstone of the palace. He was now dressed in the same finery as those of the castle. He had left his family a cozy deposit of money with the assurance they would stay out of his life. His mother was reluctant, but his father's crop was in dire need of help and so they accepted the proposal. Mouse thought of the last day he had seen them. His father had admitted his wrongs and said he was proud of him. His mother had cried. He growled and rolled his eyes. He had no need of them. He didn't need anyone but himself.
Seeing a shiny thing out the corner of his eye he saw an emerald earring lying on the floor. Must have been left when he cleaned out the palace's residents. He stood and looked around briefly. No one in sight. He walked over and picked up the glittering earring to his eyes. In it he saw his triumphant face. It was the face of a champion. After the King had passed he had been kind enough to leave the post of King to Mouse. Mouse King. Yes, his new name. Perfect. He had been delirious with self-gratification until he learned it was only until that brat grew old enough to hold it. Mouse snarled at the memory. Oh no, he hadn't wanted that. He was not going to lose to a child. With that he had begun to research dark magic. With it he used the King's own scepter to bring the kingdom to his knees. A wonderfully happy ending; the Prince forever to rot in the dungeon, the people at his feet, and perhaps even the power in the scepter to keep him from aging. He turned the earring in his hand and smiled before realizing what he had just done. Angrily he tossed it in a far corner.
He was no longer Mouse Mousechester! He was the Mouse King, forever. "My lord," three mouse guards said waking to him with an unmistakable air of dread. "The prisoner's escaped!" they said bowing low. Mouse saw red and gripped his scepter until his knuckle turned white. "What?" he hissed softly. The mice shivered and threw themselves at his feet. "He disappeared sir! He managed to slip out of the castle. We have no idea where he's gone!" "WELL FIND HIM!" Mouse growled dangerously. "CHECK ALL THE PORTALS! NOW!" They jumped up and began to run when he called out "Wait!" They turned, their faces white. He looked to see which one was the least visibly scared and told him "Not you." He yelped and his face turned more frightened then the other two combined. Too late. "Retrieve that," he said pointing to the earring in the corner. The guard flew off unaware that Mouse was whispering a curse. The guard extended a paw out to the king, his hand out and reverently on one knee. "Thank you," Mouse said tapping the man's shoulder with the scepter. His face was frozen in fear as he became a living statue. Taking the earring from the statues paw he put his feet on the mouse's head and twirled it in his hands. "Sir!" the guard who he had sent off on a fruitless mission said coming forth. Upon seeing his fellow guard his eyes grew wide. "Yes?" Mouse asked snappily. "I found it. A portal to a town that has treasures similar to the Gingerbread Village." The Mouse wondered how he came to that conclusion but decided he didn't care. Why did he need an excuse to ransack a village? "Good," he said leaning back. "We attack at midnight." "Yes sir," the mouse said and scurried to tell the remaining squads.
Mouse rolled his eyes and leant back dangling his treasure. "Mouse King," he said smirking. "Mouse King." The first thing he would do after he attacked this new town was get a new crown. It needed to be bigger and grander. He did have a wonderful head for it. He would put this jewel inside of it. With those thoughts he smiled and closed his eyes.
What a wonderful notion.
Christmas Chapter: Toys in Babeland
Eric had run as fast as his legs could carry him out of his castle. He had never thought he would need to run from his own home. Angry that he couldn't see he was shocked to feel himself falling. Realizing he had fallen in a portal he tightened his body so that he could assure himself minimal damage on the way down. He fell through the hole that winded down until he fell hard on a surface. He was happy that he could feel nothing, than felt an ebbing of despair creep upon him. He could feel nothing. Deciding it was not good to wallow in self-pity he went to lift himself up and found he could not. How could this be? Had he broken himself? Feeling panic he heard loud footsteps come towards him. He tried to look in the direction of the noise and found he could not. His eyes were frozen in place. He could not feel it, but he was sure that a hand had picked him up.
"How much for this?" a woman asked. Lifting him he saw she was a pretty middle-aged woman with pretty red hair and a kind light brown face. The man looked at him astonished. Looking ahead Eric was able to see that he was in some kind of Asian puppet shop. Among all of the pretty fair faced dolls he looked severely out of place. The man looked him over and frowned. Despite this he still answered, "1900 yen." The woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow as though she felt she was being tricked but she simply nodded and reached toward her purse. The man leaned forward as though to receive it but she pulled her purse back and added, "But you must wrap it for me. Nicely." The man frowned and said "Wrapping is extra." "I am paying extra," she said smartly. "Do we have a deal sir?" The man frowned and nodded. "The only man who can wrap is an old retired Egyptian priest." The woman smiled brightly. "How delightful! This will work wonderfully." The man shrugged and walked to get his worker.
The woman raised him to her eye level and smiled. "Hello," she whispered to him. He wanted to respond and couldn't move his mouth. She pulled his stick and his mouth opened. Still no sound. She closed it and repeated this process once more. "You will be the perfect gift for my niece," she said grinning. Eric frowned. Great, he should be off saving his kingdom but he was going to be attending tea parties with a six year old. "I don't get to come home often," she said looking off sadly. "My work keeps me very busy. She's a tough girl but I can tell she misses me." Eric thought about his father and sympathized with the girl. You must promise to look after her for me when I'm gone," she said patting his nose
Inside he was touched by the woman's reasons but could not truly dedicate time to the cause. He had his own promises to keep, he couldn't afford to fail again. Before he was thrown into the dungeon he had come up with a plan to save his kingdom. He had to find the Sugar Plum Princess. He had no idea how, but he would not stop until he did. "Here he is," the man said bring forth a small old man who had a long roll of wrapping paper and a box about the size of him. He was glad he didn't need to breathe. "Good luck," the woman whispered giving him a wink. Then he was put inside the box, a small silk blanket draped over his form. "Do you have tape?" he heard the woman ask. "No need," a soft voice said. Must have been the old man. He knew the old man softly turned the box over and over countless times. He would have closed his eyes to keep from getting dizzy but could not and did not feel any dizziness. "Wow!" the woman said as he suddenly stopped. "You used the entire roll! This will be wonderfully secure!" Eric sighed and wondered if he'd ever get home.
He knew he had to and soon. He knew the box was moving as he slid around inside it and knew when it was in a place when he was still. He knew he had been inside it for some time when he suddenly heard other voices calling out. "Aunt Drosselmeyer!" a voice said happily. The sound was beautiful and he wondered if that was the woman's niece. He heard laughter and the woman said, "You're at least a head taller!" "Don't remind me," the girl groaned. After that he heard their voices drift as they moved farther away. A little after he heard several voices talking, some were laughing, some were obviously drunk.
It must have been some kind of party. He wondered with annoyance why he didn't just wait to escape.
After some time Eric felt someone ripping at the paper that contained him. It was first gentle and soft before it became viciously urgent. "Who the heck are you trying to keep out?" the girl asked. "It was wrapped by an Egyptian priest, much like a mummy," the woman responded. "Next time just stick a bow on it and drop it in a plastic baggie," the girl responded. Soon she managed to un-wrap the box and pulled aside the silk blanket that had covered him. Judging from her initial look he could tell she wasn't thrilled. He was shocked however that she was a young woman, a beautiful one at that with the skin of brown sugar and long flowing fingers that curled around him confidently. "A nutcracker," she said, her melodic voice trying to fake optimism. She tested him similar to her Aunt's evaluation and looked him over with her stormy gray eyes. He was surprised to see her looks changing into genuine happiness as she finished her appraisal.
"He's wonderful," she said with a breathtaking smile. "Thank you Aunt Drosselmeyer."
He felt warm and was shocked to be able to feel until he heard a boy say, "He sure is ugly." The girl gave him a tight smile too nice to be real and said, "Now he'll match your face." Eric was a little shocked at the fierceness in her tone but decided to leave it be. He listened as the aunt spoke about the heart of a prince being inside him. He felt a shiver run down his spine. How did she know? "Then I'll use him to strike down Doctor Mindbender!" he heard the boy yell. He was shocked when he felt himself being pulled on by both the girl and her brother. He wanted to warn them about pulling on his bad arm but voiceless he felt his arm snap in the boy's hands. He didn't feel anything but wondered with anxiousness if the girl was going to throw him out. He was relieved when she firmly disciplined her brother before forgiving him and then began to speak to him.
Her words were strange as she reassured him though her hands were soft as they bound his arm in ribbon. He was shocked by how well she did it and was sure that if he was human he would heal wonderfully. He was touched by her gestures. His eyes glimmered briefly in appreciation which offset another round of coarse language. After threatening him she resumed her previous activities. Later that night she fell asleep on the couch with him in her arms. Her arms encompassed him and she rested him against her body, holding him like a treasure. He remembered looking deeply into her gray eyes and suddenly wanted to protect her. He thought of the promise her aunt had asked of him. Inwardly sighing he decided that for the time being he could carry it out.
Until he found a way home, he would protect this violent beauty as a parting gesture.
DEADLINES ARE MY KRYPTONITE!
I'm sorry that I wasn't able to meet my deadline. I honestly don't know why I even try. *tears*
From now on no more deadlines because it only tortures me and you. It drives us CRAZY! I started with a simple idea that started to grow and soon it became ridiculously big. As a result you can definitely expect more than 12 chapters. It's going take a while. What I will promise you however is once I start I will not stop. I will never make you go on not knowing how this whole thing ended. Have faith in me and I promise to deliver.
Have wonderful Holidays!^^ JOY TO THE WORLD! Let's start anew with the new year!XD
