"Clara and the Nutcracker"
Chapter 2: The End of the Beginning
It was so fast and so wild I couldn't even scream. It could only look at the swirling vortex in horror. Above me the nutcracker was also tumbling. I began to pray that he didn't fall on me. Soon we both regained our voices and began to scream. If I wasn't a part of it, I would have found the situation hilarious. We landed roughly on piles of snow. I shivered as I felt some go down my back. I have always hated the cold. Loved snow, cold though, not my thing. "Where are we?" I said looking at the vast cave of ice we were trapped in. "Must have taken a wrong turn back there. Now where did my sword go?" "Great," I said tiredly. He was still sitting and I saw his sword poking out of the snow. "Here lemme…" I pulled it out and saw that it was his sword, arm and all. "…literally give you a hand…hm."
"Sorry," he said reattaching it, looking rather embarrassed. "That happens a lot." I couldn't help but laugh. Then suddenly I heard the sound of chimes. No sooner did I hear it did a small glow of light circle around and float near my face. "Self Supporting Florescent Light?" I asked in wonder. "No," he said amused. "A snow fairy." Then the ball of light was suddenly a little girl with blonde hair and wings wearing a cute little blue tutu and ballet slippers. "It's so cute," I said breathlessly. It made some high pitched squeals, and then circled around me, then grabbed my sleeve and began pulling. I smiled widely despite myself and the fairy bounced into the nutcracker. He caught her with his hand and she stood up shakily. She then saw that one of her wings had been crumpled. Suddenly she emitted a series of loud angry squeaks that though they had no meaning to me, made me smile. "Ha, she is totally cursing you out." Hands on her hips, she continued until he said, "Well I'm sorry, but you should have been more careful." I smiled. "Here," I said extending a hand. She jumped into it with a squeak, and I felt a thrill of excitement. "We'll fix this right up."
Gently I smoothed out her wing between my fingers. "Good as new," I beamed. She tested it out, saw it could work, and then flew away. "Hm, not so much as a thank you," the nutcracker said. I shrugged. "Not everyone's as formal as you are NC." He looked at me in confusion. "NC?" "Short for Nutcracker," I said shrugging once more. "Less syllables." He frowned and then walked towards the wall of ice. "Now, time to find a way out of here." He raised his sword. "I wouldn't do that if I were…" Before I finished he hit the wall with his sword and grunted as the effort did nothing. "Ugh, these walls are solid ice." "Ya think so?" I said sarcastically. He turned and stared at me. "Must you be so negative? You haven't said a positive thing to me since we met." I was taken back. I hadn't? "…Sorry," I said reproachfully. "I…" pride stopped me before I could continue and instead I asked, "What now?" As though answering a sudden gust of wind blew my skirt about. We turned to look in the direction of the wind. To my surprise the snowflakes began bursting into tall regal fairies. The most surprising thing to me however, was that they were dancing ballet. Music was playing. I didn't ask where it came from. All I knew was that those fairies were dancing to the Waltz of the Snowflakes. I could see all the steps, clear as day and expertly executed. Lovely Boureé, Grand jeté's that stretched into the sky, pirouettes that never ended. Every move accented by blue fairy dust. I could only stare in wonder as the blue fairies danced through the air.
They themselves were blue with blue hair, and they had snowflakes for tutus. Suddenly the blonde fairy came spinning dizzily into the circle. She must have been young still. She tried hard to get into the dance, but she was not quick enough to enter their complex patterns. They swirled around me, wrapping me in light. The nutcracker watched, as wowed as I was. They formed beautiful patterns in the sky. Then suddenly, I was pulled on my finger, by the blonde fairy towards the circle. She had definitely gotten stronger. "Oh no, I…" she ignored me and showed me a simple horse step and then gestured for me to do it. Despite myself I did it and enjoyed it too. Then she tried to make me pirouette and I tried to do it in my boots. Nevertheless the snow in my mouth told me I had failed. I turned to look at NC and saw he was respectfully trying to not laugh on my account. The blonde fairy looked very sadly towards me, then looked at the other fairies who began gathering at the ice wall. They danced closer now. I giggled as one jetéd off the top of my head. So awesome.
They swirled in one wave and I watched as they grabbed the nutcracker and pulled him closer to me. "Hey!" he yelled laughing. He was close to me now, and I couldn't help but think about how blue his eyes were. I turned away and watched them as they all flew at the wall. Suddenly we were flooded with light. They had opened the cave up for us. "I guess this was their thank you." He began walking. "Ha, you think?" I said joyfully following him. "Bye snow fairies!" I yelled. "Where'd they go?" He shrugged. "Probably off to make a blizzard somewhere." We walked on toward the cave. Little did I know my footsteps were causing something magical to happen. "You didn't tell me there was ballet here," I said smiling. "We created ballet, do you dance?" I frowned for a moment and said, "No." Before he could ask me more I gasped.
It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was like God himself had painted the canvas of land that lay before me. "Welcome to Parthenia," he said, happy at my reaction. I could do nothing but gape and voice my opinions. "It's…so beautiful." I heard birds chirping everywhere. The grass was go amazingly green it almost hurt to look at it. The snow… I picked some up. "The snow isn't even cold," I said with astonishment. "The trees actually smell like peppermint, and I've never seen a sky so blue." But then again, you never just saw the sky in New York. He nodded in agreement "Soon it'll all be a memory if the mouse king has his way." I frowned. This is probably what earth would be like if we never polluted it. "Then let's go kick his ass!" I said straightening my boots. "I'll be damned if I let that rodent destroy a place like this." I turned and saw the nutcracker look at me strangely. "Why do you speak that way?" I cocked my head to one side. "Huh?" "Why do you speak as though you are a man? And a mild mannered one at that." I shrugged. "It's just the way I speak. Sort of like a natural deterrent I guess." He walked up next to me and looked in my eyes. "Who do you need to deter?" My eyes widened startled at both his eyes and the question. I rubbed my head. "Ugh, at the moment, you." "Let's get going." We began climbing down a series of stone steps. "And you're sure the Sugar Plum Princess can help?" I asked. "She's our only hope of defeating him," he said firmly. "I really hope she exists," I said jumping over a branch. "For our sake."
Unknown to us, Pim, the spy bat of the mouse king had just taken flight.
We walked until we hit a village. I could tell it was going to be bad when I saw it covered in fog. Giant pieces of candy were scattered everywhere. Pieces that were supposed to be doors and wagons we laying, strewn everywhere. "It's what's left of the Gingerbread Village. The mouse king's work no doubt." He walked forward, angrily. I frowned. "What kind of people lived here? Toaster Strudel?" He frowned sadly, though he did not know what I meant. "I didn't know things had gotten this bad."
I looked to my left and saw a small children's doll. Its feet were two different sizes, its hair was brown yarn, its dress was made of scraps and its eyes were blue buttons. It was handmade no doubt with a mother's love, and now the child or mother was gone. I picked it up and felt myself turn a bit sick as I passed it to NC. "What kind of hellish fairytale do you live in?" Suddenly we heard a horse whiney. We walked toward it. I stopped cold in my tracks. The horse was pink, and had blonde hair. A pink horse with blonde hair…and blue eyes…that's normal. I walked up to it combing its mane. "Steady," I said patting it. "We won't hurt you." It calmed down. "What are you like My Little Pony's Mom or something?"
Suddenly I was hit very hard on my butt by a snowball. "What the!" I yelled. "It's an ambush!" NC yelled squatting down as the snow began to fly. "Take cover!" "An ambush with snowballs?" I asked mockingly. "And why isn't the horse freaking out?" It was simply chilling in the corner. We slowly inched up and saw that a little girl dressed like a candy cane and a little boy dress like a gingerbread were throwing the snowballs. "It's alright, they're just children." Then a snowball knocked hit hat off his head. I dove down instantly. "Yeah! Kid's who nearly took your head off!" "Yeah, very good aim," he said surprised. Thinking of the doll suddenly I stuck it up in the air so they could see it. "WAIT!" The snowballs ceased. I slowly got up. "We found this. Is she yours?" The little girl ran towards us is excitement. "Patty!" she yelled. She took her and hugged her to her chest.
Her outfit was that of a pink candy-cane with a kind of clown twist to it. Her long blonde hair spilled out the top of her hat. "And for the record kid," I said patting her head. "Never approach a stranger, even if they have something of yours or want to give you something. Not everyone's like us." The boy lingered in an Eskimo like jumpsuit complete with brown mittens and a bag. He had cropped little blonde hair. "And you!" I yelled to him. "You have to stay with your sister at all times. You're her protector, so if anything, you should've been throwing tons of snowballs to get her away from us." He began to trudge over, so we looked at the little girl with her doll. "What happened here?" asked the nutcracker. "We went out with Marzipan to gather candle berries," she said in a high-pitched voice, petting her horse. Whatever those are, I thought. "We came back and everything…" the boy said in an equally high voice petting the horse as well. "…And everyone." "…Was gone." "Hm," I said. "Your fraternal twins aren't you?" "Huh?" they said at the same time. I shook my head. "Nevermind."
"It was the mouse king's army," she said unhappily. The boy folded his arms. "This is all Prince Eric's fault." I noticed the nutcracker noticeably droop. More suspicion. "Who's Prince Eric?" I asked. "The son of the king who ruled before the mouse took over," he answered. Mentally I put a check next to the possibility. That would explain his uncalled for chivalry and his tableside manners. "Yeah, but he wasn't much of a prince." The little boy spoke while the little girl shook her head for emphasis. "The King left his throne and golden scepter to his royal advisor…" the nutcracker continued. "The mouse," the little girl declared sadly. "Until the prince could prove himself worthy."
"Lemme guess," I said rolling my eyes. "Rat boy decided he liked being the Big Cheese? Ugh, I'm getting lamer by the minute. But what happened to Prince Eric?" The boy frowned and flailed his hands in dismissal. "Don't know don't care." The girl shook her head in agreement. "We're better off without him." I frowned at their animosity and watched the nutcracker bring along Marzipan's coach. "You kids are too young to have so much animosity." NC laughed. "You're full of animosity." I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, cause my mind is old as dirt." He smiled a sad smile before picking up the boy and setting him in the carriage. "It's dangerous here. We'll travel together until we can find you a safe home." "I hope you can drive this thing," I said jumping in the front. "But of course," he said grabbing the reins and Marzipan began to trot away. "Onward Frou Frou horse!" I yelled.
As we rode on we suddenly heard a commotion father down the hill. We stopped and…parked Marzipan, before walking up the hill. Over the cliff we saw the mouse kings soldiers carrying away large pieces of candy in carriages. "The mouse king's army," I said in annoyance. "Carrying away what's left of our village!" The little girl said angrily. I patted her comfortingly. "Well it wasn't exactly the smartest game plan to make a village out of delicious edible sweets." She wrinkled her nose. Suddenly NC grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the other side of the hill. "May I speak with you for a moment?" he asked calmly. "Not like your giving me a choice NC," I grumbled as I was pulled gently through the children. "We'll be right back." Then when we out of hearing distance he turned to me. "Why must you act so tactlessly?" I put my hands on my hips. "Excuse me? Are you telling me an edible village is a stupendous idea?" "No," he said rolling his eyes. "Not just that comment. Everything you say." My eyes widened and I was about to curse at him when NC silenced me with a harsh whisper. "Why are you so obnoxious? You have manners but you refuse to use them!" I didn't know how to respond, not that NC allowed me to anyway. "You don't consider other's feelings when you say your comments. You know your being rude." I glared at him and jabbed a finger in his chest. "And what's your excuse Mr. Chivalry?" I whispered angrily. "You want me to be something I'm not! You're not even trying to see things my way! All you do is act like your better than me, and ya know what?" I shook my head and frowned. "Maybe you are." He looked at me shocked, but the children suddenly motioned for us to come.
Hearing a distressed whiney, we saw Marzipan was being accosted by two mouse king soldiers. Unsure of what to do I felt better when Marzipan tugged away and ran over then with the carriage. "Right on frou frou horse!" I whispered joyfully. Then they saw us at the top of the hill. "THERE THEY ARE!" one of them yelled, and then began to run at us. "COME ON!" another yelled as they began to fill the valley. "Come on!" I yelled myself. "What are you waiting for!? Into the woods!" We ran as fast as we could, me in front, the children in the middle, and the nutcracker behind. We were breathing heavy, but we kept a fast pace. Suddenly a mouse jumped out the woods in front of me. Wasting no time, I punched him in the face and jumped over him. "Haul ass! COME ON!" The others followed suit. "They're getting closer!" the little girl yelled. "Up here!" I suddenly heard. A long rope ladder dropped out of a tree.
In front of us however were three mouse soldiers. NC went to draw his sword but stopped when I grabbed his shoulders. Lifting myself up I delivered a nasty drop kick into the neck of the first soldier. Catching on NC grabbed my arms and swung me into the next mouse. My foot connected neatly with his jaw. He dropped me and finished off the last mouse as I pushed the children faster up the ladder. "GET EM!" we heard as we neared the top, the sound of clanking metal urging us faster. The nutcracker was last to pull himself up. "Is everyone alright?" He asked, and then saw my dour look. Along with the several spears aimed at my head. "Uh," I said holding the children. "Define alright, cuz I'm not really sure." "Well," a gruff voice said, a sword in his hand. To my left was a tall skinny Caucasian man who mirrored a tin toy solider in every way. His pants were blue, his shirt red and adorned with a white X and white shoulder pads. To my surprise, his hat mirrored NC's. I mentally wrote that down too. Behind him looking everything like a sexy Aladdin, was a handsome Indian man dressed in white and blue finery. He had a white turban on his head, a white shirt with white pants, a blue sash across his chest, and blue pointy boots on. Sadly, he too had a sword.
"What have we here!" the Tin soldier said. "A wooden spy?" Asked Aladdin. "Some new kind of mouse king trap?" "Oh please," I interjected. "What is this the Trojan War?" They looked at me shocked. "Do you really King Jerry would make something intellectual? All he does in smash stuff!" The tin man then came towards the children and me. I walked forward, pushing them behind me, getting in a fighting stance. "Kidnappers as well!" He yelled, his sword facing me. "No!" the little girl yelled. "They helped us!" "If you have nothing to hide," Aladdin said using his sword to annunciate, "…you won't mind answering a few questions." Then he walked away. "Come children," Tin man said. "Masher will take care of you." I bent down and hugged the children, rapidly whispering, "If you get in any trouble, scream and I'll be there before you blink." Then I walked away, leaving them in the hands of a strange plump woman who beckoned them eagerly. Too eagerly. Please don't eat them, I thought unhappily as me and NC were led into the tree house.
"Arg, let's start with who you are, and what your doing here!" the tin man said in a throaty voice. "I'm Nutcracker," NC volunteered, "And this is Clara. We're both victims of the mouse king's magic." I took a breath to make sure I didn't sound forward. "We're trying to find the only one who can defeat him. The Sugar Plum Princess." The tin man looked at me outraged. "The Sugar Plum princess?" asked Aladdin in wonder. "Well I've never heard of such a ridiculous story!" "It's the truth, told to me by Prince Eric himself," NC said humbly. I looked at him. Since when did he personally know Prince Eric? Another check on my list. Ho ho. "Prince Eric?" Tin man said in annoyance. "He's the reason we're in this mess! If it weren't for that reckless boy, the mouse king wouldn't be turning everyone into knickknacks!" I looked at NC and was shocked to see how crestfallen he looked. "You make the Prince sound pretty awful," he said downcast. "Awful!" Tin man said. Then he cleared his voice in strange way, as though he was speaking. "That's a compliment! He was useless, lazy and irresponsible!" He got up close to NC's face and he turned his head as a response. "Hey!" I said as politely as I could. "Do you need a lozenge?" "I beg your pardon?" He asked me confused. "You sound like you're going to lose a lung. What the heck is with the coughing?" I promptly mirrored his annoying habit and he looked at me in horror. "Why you cheeky…" "Major Mint, you're forgetting that Prince Eric was my friend," Aladdin said instantly walking up to NC's rescue. I knew I'd like him, and now tin man had a name. "Captain Candy!" Major Mint said in indignation. I snickered and saw that NC was looking at me. He gave me a small smile. "You're forgetting that I am your superior!" Captain Candy shook his head and rolled his eyes way up in his head. I held back a laugh. "I had high hopes for that boy…Rirrrrrrirrr, no matterrrr," he grumbled. "I've got more important things to worry about, like keeping what's left of our subjects safe."
"Then maybe you should be looking for the princess too," I said in a coy voice. Major Mint looked at me astonished. I often had that effect on people. "I don't have time to search for some…Sugar Pie…Ririii…Ririii…rarraragaH." "Uh, Sugar Plum Rir Riraagah ," I said smirking. "Ririrrhy some imaginary princess!" he yelled. "Cool it Scooby Doo, " I whispered under my breath. "Wait Major," Captain Candy said walking towards him. "They may be telling the truth. I once overheard the King telling Prince Eric about this powerful Princess. The King himself believed in her magic, and we've tried everything else to defeat the mouse." "Hm," the Major said, stroking his gray beard. "Do you know where she is?" "We've learned she's on an island across the Sea of Storms," NC answered firmly. The Major erupted in a series on nonsensical grunts. Then he stopped. "Very well. We'll all go looking for the Sugar Plum Princess." Suddenly with base in his voice and pointing to his chest he declared, "But I'll be in charge of the expedition!" I kept my mouth shut, my lips quivering to say the many, many things that came to mind. "Oh course," NC said humbly and began to follow me out. Before he left Captain Candy put on hand on his shoulder. "Do you know what became of Prince Eric?" he asked solemnly. I watched the nutcracker as his eyes flickered between Candy and the floor. "The mouse king destroyed him," he said solemnly. I frowned looking at Captain Candy's grieving face. I knew it. The final piece of the puzzle. As the nutcracker walked out of the room I knew who he really was.