Major mint is not dead. Just know that.
ps ive forgotten the disclaimer for every single chapter of this -_- SO I don't own Barbie movies of any kind. good for me; I can just write these fanfictions without getting sued!
Heading down the shadowy trail, I take a deep breath in. The crisp, clean smell of the peppermint pine trees fills my nose as I begin skipping. The dark green needles crunch under my feet as I wander: if the royalty didn't have so many issues, Parthenia wouldn't be a bad place to live.
After a few hours of walking, I notice the sky turn from blue to lavender and look around for someplace to camp for the night. Settling under a large pine a few feet from the path, I pull out the map Captain Candy gave me. Its appearance has changed: rather than just the route to the Sea of Storms, it shows the entire kingdom, as well as…footprints?
Little moving footprints wander all over the map, and tiny names scrawled in ink follow each pair. My mind immediately thinks of The Marauder's Map, from Harry Potter: it's exactly the same thing, but it shows people without me having to whisper a spell.
Unrolling it fully, I eagerly explore the map. I find myself in the area labeled "Peppermint Forest" before letting my eyes continue. To the east of me, Captain Candy paces as the rest of the villagers live life in their treehouses. It's pretty far from me: I've covered a lot of ground.
Just north of the village are the words "Ice Cave", printed over a large blue circle. My way in, but not out, and I frown as I continue exploring the map.
In the pink building labeled "Palace", far to the southwest, I can see the Mouse King's footsteps walking the castle. "Bastard," I hiss at the map. "Enjoy your reign while you're king of this place. It won't last long."
The Mouse King won't be sitting on the throne when I leave. I promised myself that when he shrank me.
Besides the village and the king, no one's in Parthenia. Literally, no one. A few mouse soldiers are scattered around the Palace and the lands near it, but besides that, nobody else is on the map.
Except for that silly Nutcracker.
He's running in circles around the gingerbread village far to the south of me, and I smirk. He's nowhere close to my path, and I think it's safe to say I'll make it to the Sea of Storms and back without running into him.
I tuck the map safely back in my knapsack and lay down, trying to sleep. Despite the crazy few hours I've had, I'm not tired at all, so I just stand up and keep walking again. Munching an apple, I head further down the path in silence, in case a few animals are around.
Suddenly, I hear a loud crack from the tree above, and I brace myself for battle as a tall, lean creature comes leaping at me. I punch at the air, sending my fists flying, but the creature dodges my every attack easily. "Calm yourself, my dear," a low voice murmurs. "I'll only harm you if, uh, if you were, say, a servant of the Mouse."
I recognize the stuttering voice and straighten up, lowering my arms. "Major Mint?" I ask tentatively.
A familiar figure steps into the moonlight. Tall and light-haired, with a red and white criss-crossed shirt and a mustache reaching around to his sideburns. He gazes down at me huffily. "In the flesh," he states simply. Extending his hand, he asks, "Who are you?" I sigh. "Jenna," I say.
"Delightful to meet you, I suppose. But now, Miss Jenna, we come to the important question: are you for or against this dreadful Mouse?"
"Against," I tell him confidently. "He's the reason I'm where I am now."
"Ah! Splendid. Then we shall have no trouble," he says with a grin disguised as a scowl. "Come on, then: it's the evening now, and the little buggers in the wood would no doubt enjoy a good-sized snack as much as the rest of us; particularly when the snack is, ah, you or I. I've a splendid little hideaway out here: perfect shelter for someone weak like yourself."
I feel my cheeks turn red and anger fill my mind. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much! Just because you've had years of military training doesn't mean I'm helpless like that idiot Clara!" I scream.
I slap my hand over my mouth as Major Mint's face clouds. "That foolish girl…she's the reason we're in this MESS! Her and that idiotic pile of wood!"
Turning my head, I ask, "What can you tell me about it? I'm trying to help fix the problem, if I can." He just shakes his head. "My dear, there is nothing anyone can do now. We defeated the Mouse once, but we cannot do it again! It is now every man for himself, and THAT is exactly what I am doing!"
He turns back to me. "However, if you truly wish to be of service, I can give you something to help you." He vanishes into the treetops, and I squint into the dark branches before hearing him clunk down behind me a few moments later.
Carrying a gold and pink box, he whispers, "This is the crown of Parthenia. Not just the magic replica that wretched Mouse wears: no, this is THE crown. I left the Palace and let Major Mint rule perhaps two…three years ago, and this has been in my possession ever since. I am fifty-three years old, and my skills won't last much longer. I need someone young and determined to protect it." He leans toward me, and I can barely hear his next words.
"Will you, Jenna, be the new guardian of the Crown of Parthenia?"
I gaze at the box for a moment, then slowly, surely, I nod, and Major Mint nods as well, handing me the box. It's very light, but then again, it's only a crown.
"Very well," he murmurs. "You will be a good, fair guardian, I hope. For if you are not, terrible things shall happen to you. Terrible, horrid things."
Suddenly he stands up straight. "Farewell then, Miss Jenna," he says. "Perhaps we shall meet again." Shaking my hand firmly, he leaps back into the dark tree branches, and I raise one hand in farewell before continuing on.
Slipping the box into my knapsack, I take out an apple from my food supply and start munching. I'm finally tired, so I spread out underneath a tree as far as I can get from Major Mint's strange pine-tree hideaway and lay down, using my arms for a pillow. I keep the bag strap around my neck as I drift off into a strange sleep.
I wake up in my dream, but it seems like my eyes are only half-open. I lay in the grass watching different bugs crawl under leaves and fall asleep themselves. I smile softly at the sleeping bugs, and I'm imagining what happens in their dreams. Do they see me sleep?
Suddenly, the worst thing possible happens. The Nutcracker walks by on the path. I try to hold as still as possible, wanting badly to blend into the darkness. I pray in my head. Please, please, please, God, don't let him find me. Don't let that bastard think I got lost and screwed up and that I need his help when I don't.
Nutcracker pauses and looks around, but I know he doesn't see me, because he faces forward again and continues straight up the path. Relief flooding through my veins that it was only a dream, I fall into a dark, quiet sleep.