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The first thing that Tooth noticed as she slowly succmbed from sleep was the strange glowing light. At first she had no clue what was going on, her sisters could have sneaked in her room and turned the light on but they rarely ever did that.

A couple of seconds later after she had finally managed to open her eyes, the light faded as if it had never been there.

Tooth stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes, she must have imagined the light but it must have been the thing that woke her up because normally she spelt like a log.

She sat in bed for a few minutes and switched on her bedside lamp, she could clearly see her clock. It was already Christmas and she had been asleep for an hour? The hour's sleep would explain her dry throat and thirst, she hadn't nearly had enough sleep.

Sighing, she got up out of the bed and headed downstairs so that she could get a drink.

The house was quiet, Tooth found it quite peaceful as she went into the kitchen. She took a few minutes to get a glass and fill it with tap water before taking a swig. She leant against the counter and held the glass in her hand. She wasn't tired but knew that nothing was going to make the time pass quicker unless she headed to bed.

Putting the glass down, she walked past the living room and saw a strange light coming from it. At first thought, it looked like the light she had imagined in her bedroom but it couldn't be, could it? She decided to investigate.

Tooth headed into the room and the light stayed where it was. However as Tooth got nearer to it, she noticed that it actually was glowing sand slowly wafting around in circles. She rubbed her eyes, not believing what she was seeing.

Glowing Sand? How did that make sense? She was dreaming, there was no other explanation. It was a pretty bizarre dream because she was sure that she had been wide awake more than a few mere moments ago but she could have easily just fallen asleep on her bed.

She watched the sand glow for several minutes until she heard a frightening whinny, it sounded like a horse but she couldn't be too sure. After the whinny. sand filled the room. This sand glowed black and there was something about it that Tooth didn't like.

It began to overlap the golden sand and soon it became black. Tooth blinked, what was even going on?

The sand picked up as Tooth tried to exit the room before it engulfed her. It surrounded her in a heaving mass. All she could see was swirling black sand as it threatened to go into her eyes, Tooth was forced to close them.

However that wasn't the worst part as Tooth began to feel strange, it almost felt like she was shrinking. The shrinking feeling carried on for a couple of minutes until it was finally over and she dropped to the floor.

As she looked up, she knew something was terribly wrong, the couch and christmas tree were much taller than they had been, it was almost like looking up at skyscraper as Tooth had to crane her neck just to see the star at the top.

Another whinny caught her attention and Tooth looked at the ground, the black sand had soon appeared again but this time it began to take the shape of horses. They stood tall and had glowing amber eyes, Tooth stared at them in fear. What was happening?

One horse began to walk forward and sand swirled around it's back to reveal a figure. The figure struck fear into the very core of Toothinana. Just the figure's presence made her want to run away.

He was a man, however his skin seemed to resemble that of a rotting corpse, as if the very life had been sucked out of him. He wore a long black cloak and grey riding boots. His hair was pitch black and stuck up like a brush. His eyes were the same eerie amber as the horses.

"Now, what do we have here?" He asked, his voice surly.

"My name's Toothiana, I don't understand what's going on." Tooth replied to the best of her ability without shaking. This dream was certainly taking a bizarre turn.

"What a ridiculous name. Such a mouthful as well, I don't presume you're useful as you're getting in my way."

"Your way of what?" She asked in confusion.

"My way of finally killing the nutcracker! My conquest had lasted for so many years now, I lost track but now I will get him. I will have the kingdom in my hands and finally be rid of him. But first, let's get rid of you." He said with an evil grin.

Nutcracker? Was this man talking about her nutcracker? Who even was he?

"Just who are you?"

"My dear, I am known as The Nightmare King." The man said as he began to conjure a bow and arrow out of the black sand.

"What are you doing?"

He began to aim the arrow at Toothiana. "Sweet nightmares." He whispered as he let the arrow go.

Tooth tried to run but she felt frozen, her legs wouldn't move. She needed to get out of the way, why wouldn't her legs move? The arrow began to get closer and closer until she felt someone grab her hand and shout "Run!"

Suddenly her legs began to move as her rescuer pulled her towards the Christmas tree. She heard the arrow hit the floor but didn't look back. By now, the man was probably chasing them with all his horses.

Tooth stole a quick glance at her rescuer, It was the nutcracker! He was alive and moving on his own accord! She carried on running towards the Christmas tree, the nutcracker's hand felt like she was holding a piece of wood in her hand as they ran together.

They didn't stop until they were underneath the tree, Tooth tried to catch her breath and stared at the nutcracker, he too was panting. However as she turned to look across the floor, the horses were racing towards them. The nutcracker took another deep breath and grabbed her hand again.

Racing towards the tree trunk, Tooth saw a gaping black hole. She had a bad feeling about it and tried to pry her hand out of the nutcracker's but they carried on running and soon entered it. The two of them both went tumbling into a forest and Tooth landed face first.

The nutcracker stood up and dusted off his clothes. Tooth stayed on the floor, watching him.

"Geez that was close." He said, his voice deep. It was strange to watch him talk, it was almost like he was constricted.

Tooth looked at him. Did he know that was going to happen? "Can you please just explain what's going on? This is my dream, I should be fully in control of it." Tooth mumbled, she was pretty sure she was able to control aspects of it.

To her surprise, the nutcracker began to laugh. "A dream? You think this is a dream? Toothiana, this isn't a dream." He responded.

Tooth's eyes widened. "Then, this is all real and how do even know my name? This can't be real! This has to be a dream."

"I'm afraid it's not a dream, I've known you for a long time Toothiana."

Tooth rubbed her arm, this wasn't a dream. Everything that was happening was real? This was so messed up. She guessed she had no other choice but to go along with it, everything had felt very real so far she guessed. It was still hard to get her head around.

"Yeah, that really makes you sound like a stalker. I don't even want to know. Somehow my present's become alive, we were being chased by a crazy guy calling himself The Nightmare King and now I'm in a forest. I wish this was a dream."

The nutcracker just smiled. "He shrunk you down as well, I think you're forgetting that minor detail."

Toothiana just stared, he had shrunk her down? Is that why the Christmas Tree had been so huge? Today was not her day.

"I need to get back home! It's Christmas! I can't be stuck in this forest!"

The nutcracker's smile disappeared. "Afraid that's not possible, Pitch is back there. The portal is closed anyway. I do have a friend who might be able to get us back, it's been such a long time since I was here though."

"A long time?"

"I don't know how much time has passed but my friend found me all those years ago, you might like him. I believe he's the one who awoke me."

"What do you mean, 'found me'?"

"I was abandoned in the forest, I don't know who I am. All I know is my name."

"Then why is the Nightmare King after you?"

"Isn't that the million dollar question. He sent me to your world after he found me all a few months after I had awoken in the forest. From what I can gather, he is the one who cursed the Kingdom of Burgess in eternal sleep and nightmares, he apparently killed the prince. No-one dared to stand up to him after that, I don't understand why's he after me. Maybe he's just bored and needs someone else to kill."

Tooth was shocked by this revelation. He had cursed an entire kingdom into eternal sleep? How the subjects of the kingdom were getting on, she feared to know.

"Are we in the Kingdom of Burgess now then?" Tooth asked, looking around at the towering trees. The place didn't seem like it was stuck in eternal nightmares.

"No, this is uncharted territory. In fact this is the very forest that I was found, my friend's cabin should just be around here somewhere."

"And do you think he would be able to send me home, I need to get back to my family."

"I wouldn't advise it but yes, I'm sure he will, now come on." The nutcracker offered his hand and helped Tooth up to her feet.

"Nutcracker, what if he can't get me home, what am I going to do then?"

"We will see and don't call me Nutcracker, call me Jack."

"Jack? But I thought you didn't remember anything."

"Well I remember my name that's all like I said before, now come on Toothiana."

Tooth stood by him and the two began to walk together through the forest. "Toothiana's too formal, just Tooth will do."

"Tooth then." The nutcracker said with a smile.

The two of them walked for several minutes until a wooden log cabin came into view, smoke was arising from the window and to Tooth it looked very homey. Jack began to run and hammered on the door. It was opened by a small stout figure.

Tooth stared in surprise, he was a small golden man. His hair was golden and he seemed to glow.

"Sandy! It's been a long time!"

Sandy didn't say anything, instead a few images made of sand drifted in front of the man. It looked the same glowing sand Tooth had seen early, was this short man the source of it?

"Nothing has changed much then. Even after all the years, no-one has dared stand up to him. I wish I could do something but I don't know how." Jack muttered.

The short man placed floated up and placed a small hand of the nutcracker's shoulder as a means of support. Tooth could see the closeness between the two.

She stood there awkwardly waiting for Jack to introduce her.

"Oh yeah, this is Tooth, she wanted to ask you something." He gestured to her and Tooth walked forward to the small man.

"Hi, I was wondering if you would be able to get me home." Tooth asked, however much to her disappointment, Sandy just shook his head.

Replies to Reviews:

freakbubbletea-Glad you are! I hope you enjoy the story as it develops.

abzrocks14-Thank you! It is based on the few films and the ballet involving the Nutcracker but I do want to put my own take on it to the best of my ability. I do spell check my work after, always the best thing to do!

bluefrosty27- Thank you and I can too!

FlightFeathers-Hope you enjoyed this update!