Relena could not sleep. She kept having the strange feeling that someone was watching her. She kept hearing movement in the night all around her. This was hardly the sort of Christmas Eve most people longed for. Her Godfather's words haunted her and she sat up and looked at her bedside table for her Nutcracker only to find him missing. She had placed him there before bed in a sort of childish tribute to her waning beliefs. Somehow she knew she would be safer with him there. The fact that he was missing alarmed her more than she cared to admit. Slipping on her robe and slippers, she lit the candle by her bed and searched the room.

A few of her items had been tipped over and scattered around the room. Her mind automatically returned to the sounds she'd thought she had imagined. Another loud noise came from down the hall and she found herself needing to check it out. Grabbing a parasol as a sort of defense mechanism, she took the candle in the other hand and made her way out of her room.

The noise continued and grew louder as she neared the parlor where just hours before she had been listening to her Godfather's tales. The sight that greeted her had her questioning her sanity. Her Nutcracker was alive! He seemed to be locked in combat against a group of mice and rats all bearing tiny weapon of various kinds. The speed and ease with which the small soldier moved seemed hampered only a little by his wooden frame. He blocked one attack only to roll out of the way of another.

"Nutcracker?" Relena rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times to reassure herself she was merely dreaming, resorting to pinching herself. It didn't work.

"There she is! Attack!" The command came from a rather large rodent standing on the edge of the fireplace mantle. He wore a military uniform of some sort and carried with him a scepter with a glowing green crystal at the top. At his instruction, the small attack force turned their attention to her. She had no idea how much damage they thought they could do to a human but she wasn't going to wait to find out.

"This can't really be happening." She took her parasol and began to swing it strategically at the incoming rodents. Her Nutcracker Jumped and used the area around him to catapult his way in front her where he continued his fight.

"Quickly, you must get to higher ground!" Relena heard the Nutcracker yell up at her and she wasn't going to argue. She made her way quickly to the ottoman and climbed up, keeping her parasol at the ready.

"A valiant effort, you wooden nuisance! But it will do you no good! The king will have her head as a trophy and use your broken body as kindling in his celebratory bonfire!"

"What is going on here?!" She shouted as she landed another steady blow against her minuscule attackers. One by one, they fell: few ran for cover to nurse their wounds from the impact. Some had been knocked unconscious or killed. She and her Nutcracker were winning.

Her wooden protected defeated the last of them and the commander yelled in pure anger. The Large Rodent slid his way down the garland to the floor, clearing the space between them in a few long bounds. He stood and turned his scepter into a glowing sword. "I'll chop you into splinters and use them as the spikes I'll drive into her heart!"

Relena was so confused. If this was a dream, it was the strangest she'd ever had. If it was truly happening, however, then all of her Godfather's tales were true. Who were these rodents? What were they and why did they want her dead?

"I won't let you have the chance to touch her!" Her Nutcracker almost growled in response. Their voices sounded tiny as one would expect. It might have been amusing were it not for that fact that her life seemed to be in danger.

They continued fighting, covering more distance across the floor than she thought possible for such small creatures. It became very clear that the commander was leading him close to the fireplace where the glowing embers still burned hot. He was so preoccupied protecting her from the commander; he didn't see the rats behind him. They were out of reach of her parasol and there was not time to warn him. They knocked him down, clearly about to deal the finishing blow. Panicked, she looked for some—anything—to throw. Finally, she took off her slipper, the only thing she had to throw, and tossed it with all she had at the commander.

The slipper found its mark, hitting the commander with such for that he fell and slammed into the solid stone of the hearth. The scepter flew from his hand and into the fire, causing sparks to fly across the room in a dazzling shower of greens and blues. One of the fragments of light hit her night dress and, as she reached to check on it, she began to slowly find herself becoming smaller. As distracting and disconcerting as it was, she still managed to see the two rats carry their leader away toward a hole in the trunk of the Christmas tree.

She had little time to ponder the how and the why that hole existed as the pace of her shrinking increased. She hopped down from the chair, laid her parasol beside the settee, and ran to her Nutcracker who lay motionless on the ground. By the time she knelt by his side, she was nearly his size, if, perhaps, a little shorter.

She reached out and pulled his head into her lap, taking the hat off of his head so that the chin strap wouldn't hinder his… breathing? Dolls couldn't breathe… could they? She gazed down at his face as the characteristic lines from the grains of the wood began to vanish. As if triggered by her touch, a soft, blue glow began to shimmer all over him His face softened, though his features were still handsomely chiseled. He was turning into a human before her eyes. She smoothed some of his unruly hair out of his eyes, gently.

He had protected her. He was hurt, because of her. She could see a small trickle of blood form on his temple from where the commander or one of his soldiers had struck a blow. Tearing the hem of her nightdress, she bandaged his head tenderly. Just as the final knot was tied, however, her rescuer's eyes shot open. He rolled away from her and jumped to his feet.

"Did you see?!" He declared, eyes wide as he glanced around.

"See… what?" Relena was perplexed.

"Did you see where they went? What direction did they go?" He jerked around as fast as if he was unused to his human body. She imagined it had to handle different from wood.

"Take it easy. You took a nasty hit. You need to rest." He seemed to ignore her words and walked up to her. He wasn't at all the gallant young man she had imagined.

"Did you see where they went or not?"

"They went through a hole at the base of the tree, but—" he spun on his heel, picked up his sword and began to make his way over to the tree.

"Wait!" She shouted after him and began to follow. "Who were those rodents? What were they doing here?" He continued to ignore her. "How are you alive? How is any of this possible?" again, he gave no response. He continued toward the tree.

"At least tell me what is going on?" He suddenly stopped and turned to her, his eyes locking with her in an intense stare.

"The less you know the better."

"But Nutcracker—"

"My name is Heero. And you would be better off staying here where it's safe. You will be back to your normal size by morning. The magic of that scepter will not last long in your world."

Relena felt her ire rising. She needed answers and he was just going to leave her confused and a fraction of her normal size.

"Why were they trying to kill me?" He stared at her for a moment and she could see the unspoken thoughts flashing in his eyes.

"That was a regiment of the RATs army sent to your world to find and destroy you through whatever means necessary." Heero turned to the tree again and made to leave her behind.

"Destroy me? Why? What have I done? I didn't even know they existed."

"It's not what you did. It's what you are." Relena stared at him, more confused than she was before.

"What do you mean?" She could swear he rolled his eyes as he sighed.

"Your real name is Relena Peacecraft: Princess of the fallen Kingdom of Sanc in the land of Etheria." He turned to her, eyes locking with hers once more. "And you are the heir to the legacy of the Sugarplum Fairy."

A princess? Heir to the Sugar Plum Fairy?

She heard him say it but could barely believe her own ears. Her Godfather had mentioned the Sugar Plum Fairy and her wretched fate at the hands of the dictator and the royal family of Sanc that had been casualties of the totalitarian power-grab. Her Nutcracker was real. The soldier from the story was her Nutcracker. The soldier from the story was real. The stories were true. And she was… a princess…? It was all so overwhelming. She began to feel dizzy.

Those dreams—those nightmares had been memories. The people screaming, the flames, the woman who held her close and cried when they were parted… they were her people. That was her… mother… in spite of herself, she felt her knees begin to buckle. He was there beside her almost instantly, supporting her.

"I am sorry if this information overwhelmed you, but you did ask." He helped steady her and once she was, he stepped back. "And now that you know, you can rest easy here where you'll be safe."

"Safe?" She thought back to the mice that had attacked her. Those creatures were intelligent enough to talk, and to give and obey orders. They could easily find a way to kill her. "Those rodents broke into my house and tried to kill me while I slept. I'm sure they might have succeeded too if you hadn't stopped them…" she paused, suddenly feeling very sheepish and ungrateful. She looked into his eyes and found herself hypnotized. They had been dazzling as glass, now they were entrancing. "Thank you, by the way… for saving me." He nodded.

"You did a fairly good job defending yourself as well. You will be fine if you stay here."

"Nutcracker… Heero… If what you say is true; if I really am the missing princess than I have a duty to help reclaim my kingdom."

"Princess—"

"My name is Relena." Heero stared at her for a moment before sighing.

"It will be dangerous."

"I know, but… If I can help them; if I can save them from the monsters who destroyed my family, then I will do all that I can." There was a brief moment of awkward silence as though he was considering her words. Finally, he nodded to her.

"Very well." Heero turned toward the tree. "Stay behind me and keep up. I have some friends I have to find, if they are still alive."