A/N: I suppose I should warn you that this "retelling" won't be as straightforward as some of you might expect. The two scenes in this chapter, for instance, are not in the movie (especially that second one). I'm really sorry if this bothers anyone; most of it was done to expand on Mint's character.
The only time Major Mint really associated with the villagers (apart from when he was giving them orders, of course) was when he had to eat. The Treetop Village was large, but it only had one dining hall; a middle-sized, circular room filled with six long, wooden tables and benches. It wasn't designed for comfort; the "village" was originally intended as an army base, so practicality was the first priority. The only ones with their own rooms were the Major and Captain, and they were lucky to get them; everyone else had to sleep in dormitories, regardless of their age or marital status. A lot of people weren't happy with this; these citizens were part of a farming community, so being cooped up high above the trees was unusual and uncomfortable by their standards and the separation of their families didn't make it any easier. Major Mint, whose family had never been the farming type, didn't really understand this need to feel grass beneath one's feet; not at the cost of safety, anyway. In fact, the constant complaints about it began to annoy him and only helped to distance him from the people he was supposed to be protecting. Candy was better at socialising; he chatted with these men and women as if they were his equals. They were grateful to both men for saving them, but only three of them could actually consider the Major their friend.
One of these three was walking past the table where the two officers, and their new guests, were seated; a thin, brown-haired woman in a light blue dress. Candy called out to her.
"Elizabeth! Come and join us!"
Elizabeth looked at them uncertainly. "Am I allowed to?" she asked, looking straight at the Major.
"Oh, yes, of course," he nodded, gesturing to the empty seat beside him. "Plenty of room."
Candy winked at him as she sat down, and Mint glared at him. Did he have to make it so obvious? Even the newcomers had noticed it, and they were now looking at him as if he was some riddle they were trying to solve. Well, he wasn't having any of that.
Elizabeth leaned towards him. "Are you alright, Major?" she asked him, touching his arm with one skinny hand. "I've been worried about you. You don't seem to have-"
Great scott, she's making it worse!
Mint jerked his arm away and straightened up. "I am in perfectly good health, Elizabeth," he retorted, jutting his chin out as he did so. "But I will feel a lot better if I manage to eat something without being dragged into pointless conversation!"
Elizabeth flinched away, the others stopped looking at him and Candy didn't say a word. Good; he was in control again.
He made the announcement about twenty minutes later. The people didn't take it very well.
"What do you mean, you're going?" asked one old man. "You need to be here! What about us?"
"Are you abandoning us?" asked his grandson.
"Of course they're abandoning us!" One old crone near the back announced. "Anyone with sense would leave this place before the Mouse King destroys it!"
"You're supposed to protect us!"
"How could you do this?"
"Don't you care about us anymore?"
"Of course we care about you!" Candy insisted as Mint grew increasingly more irritated. "That's why we're doing this! We need to leave so we can defeat the Mouse!"
"Well, why can't you do that here?"
"They're going to run off on us! Just like Prince Eric did!"
"WILL YOU ALL BE QUIET AND LET ME FINISH?" shouted the Major. Surprisingly, it worked.
"We are leaving," the Major explained as calmly as he possibly could, "because we think we have found someone capable of defeating the Mouse King. Now, I know we haven't done very well so far, so this is probably the best chance we have. We need to find this" – he still couldn't take it seriously – "this... this Sugar Plum Princess."
No one said a word to this. Maybe they'd all heard the fairytales the Captain was talking about. Maybe they actually believed them.
"This Princess lives far away from here. We have no choice but to leave you, but I assure you, you are not being abandoned. We will return. You have my word on that."
"Well, what are we supposed to do then?" asked the old crone.
"Keep your heads down and try not to get yourselves killed," the Major replied. "As long as you stay up here and don't take any chances down below, you should be perfectly safe until we return."
Later on that night, as he was packing his supplies, Major Mint heard a knock at his door. He was only slightly surprised to see Elizabeth standing there, her hands clasped together.
Neither of them said anything. Mint nodded and the young woman came into the room, closing the door behind her. Once the Major was absolutely sure that no one was watching him, he put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her.
Contrary to what people might assume, Major Mint wasn't stupid. He had figured out that this woman was the one who was "asking after him", and he knew that tea and biscuits weren't exactly on the agenda. He also knew that Elizabeth was in love with him; and, as much as he tried to deny it, he was very much in love with her. Not that Mint was ever going to admit this. There was a time and place for a relationship and this wasn't it. It didn't help that Elizabeth was a hopeless romantic. He'd known her for nearly two years now – he'd taken shelter in her house after his army was massacred – and she clearly expected him to bring her flowers, serenade her and basically act like a lovesick fool. Well, that wasn't how he did things, and she had to accept that. He had a job to do, and defeating the Mouse King had to be the first priority at all times. It didn't mean he didn't love her; in fact, once the Mouse King was gone, he'd already decided he'd marry her. But Elizabeth had a noticeable lack of confidence and seemed to be convinced that, if he didn't declare his love for her every day, he'd lost interest. On top of that, she was just as clingy and simple as the rest of those villagers; except instead of just fretting about her own safety, she worried about his as well.
"Are you sure you'll be safe?" she asked him now.
"I can't make any promises, Elizabeth. I have no idea what I'm up against!"
Well, he wasn't going to mollycoddle a woman who was nearly 25 years old, no matter how worried she got. Still, she had enough sense not to beg him to stay.
"Why'd you come here?" he asked her.
She looked a bit hurt. "Can't I come here? Can't I see you?"
"Most people usually have a reason."
"I have a reason; a very good reason. I love you, Major."
Mint nodded.
"I love you, and I wanted to... well... spend the night with you."
He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but it had clearly taken Elizabeth a lot of nerve to approach him like this. She'd never sought him out like this before, since she was so afraid of offending him by distracting him from his work.
"Well," he said, "I don't see why not."
It was only when she stretched out on the bed, fiddling with her dress as she did so, that Mint realised exactly what she expected to do. He wondered if he should tell her to stop; this was the sort of thing she should save for another night. On the other hand, he hadn't been with a woman for about fifteen years and he did intend to marry this one. He could get away with it, this once.
"Major," she asked. "Will you... will you help me?"
"Of course, my dear."
The expedition set off the next morning. Major Mint and Captain Candy were the only ones carrying supplies; there wasn't a knapsack suitable for the Nutcracker and they weren't going to make a young girl carry a heavy load. Still, there was enough for the whole group; Mint had made sure of that before they left. He felt more than ready to lead the expedition, especially after the night before. He hadn't slept that well in years.
The villagers gathered around them, cheering and wishing them the best of luck. Clara hugged the two children while Masher looked on and the other three shook hands with some of the men.
"We'll be back before you know it!" the Captain said to one of the men. Mint had no time for such friendly banter. His handshakes were brief and he only spoke to remind them to stay in the village.
When he reached Elizabeth, he offered her one small courtesy; he tipped his helmet to her. The time for showing affection was gone and his personal feelings were once again shoved to the back of his mind, replaced immediately by observations, map routes and the pride that comes with authority.
He had an expedition to lead.
