At first when Maria looked around at the place she had arrived at she was disappointed, she was still in a clock tower. Giant cogs and wheels were still turning as the seconds ticked by, but then she turned to the big clock window and realized this clock was different! Both the visors and numbers were different, and so was this room now that Maria thought about it. It was a different floor… A different clock.
"Lady Maria." A voice spoke and Maria turned only for her eyes to widen in shock.
For there stood the nutcracker, except now he was just as tall as she she was! Still wooden, still with that big mouth of his and his exposed teethes, still with his tiny small legs and his square head. But big!
"Nutcracker?" Maria asked. "Have you… Grown bigger?" she asked. "Or is it me who have gotten smaller?"
"That's a good question." The nutcracker admitted. "I'm not sure myself, I sure was shocked to though. When I arrived in your world and everything was so big!"
"So this is your world then?" Maria asked looking around. "It seems awfully similar." she pointed out slightly disappointed. "Except for you of course." she remarked and then looked at the backside of the clock… Which showed one minute after one in the night. That made Maria smile "So Nutcracker, now we are in your world. Does that mean you wont just freeze and stop talking like that again?" she asked. "You'll be able to talk, all the time?"
"Of course i'll be able to, it's your world that is strange that I couldn't there!" The nutcracker proclaimed.
"Well I suppose so." Maria smiled then her smile faltered. "What about the mouse king? Is he bigger to in this world?"
"Well… Yes." The nutcracker admitted. "We should get moving before he finds us." he suggested offering Maria a hand.
And Maria smiled as she accepted the large wooden hand, with a nice black glove painted upon it. "Okay." she said and allowed the nutcracker to lead her down the stairs while Maria looked around.
"Why are the door between our worlds in the clocktower?" Maria asked confused.
"Because clocks by their mere existence are magic of course." The Nutcracker replied.
"Really?" Maria asked. "Clocks are magic?"
"Of course they are! They can tell the time, and always keep track on it! How is that not magic?" The Nutcracker. "Would you be able to tell the time by yourself if you didn't have a clock?"
"No, not really." Maria had to admit. "Nutcracker where are we going now? What kind of wizard are we going to meet?"
"Not a wizard, only nearly one." The Nutcracker corrected Maria. "We are going to meet the clockmaker of course! He's the smartest man I know!"
"The clock maker?" Maria asked. "Oh I see! I he builds clocks, and clocks are magical! So he knows magic! That makes sense!"
"Exactly, now you're getting it!" The Nutcracker smiled as finally they reached the buttom floor and the nutcracker let go of Maria's hand to open the door for her, opening up to a huge snow white landscape.
Wide-eyed did Maria look out, everywhere she looked that heavy blanket of snow covered the ground, glittering and sparkly in a constant contest with the millions of stars from above.
Maria had never seen so many stars at one place before, and these ones shined so brightly then Maria blinked as she looked around and realized the clock tower was in the middle of no-where!
That sure was strange! Who would need to look at the clock all the way out here? "What does a clocktower do all the way out here?" she finally had to ask.
"The King and Queen finally got tired of all the worlds magicians using the clocktower in the city, so they had one build out here for the magicians to use." The Nutcracker informed. "Come on, the clock makers house is this way, he lives right in between the city and this clocktower so he can maintain both clocks."
"City?" Maria asked as she followed the nutcracker. "And it has a king and queen? Does it then also has a castle? And maybe a princess or a prince?" she asked.
The Nutcracker silenced but then he nodded. "Yes, there's a castle with a king and a Queen." he acknowledged.
"And a prince or princess? Perhaps even more?" Maria asked.
To that though, the nutcracker didn't respond.
Maria blinked but decided not to pursue it, he knew better than to ask to many questions when people didn't want to talk, then she hissed.
"Lady Maria?" The Nutcracker asked. "What's wrong?"
"My foot." Maria hissed. "I'm sorry, it's okay."
The Nutcracker how-ever fell down to his legs and gently picked up her foot to reveal that it had gotten swollen, and the area around the bite mark of the mouse had become purple. "I'm so sorry, you shouldn't have walked on this." he said.
"I'm fine Nutcracker, I can walk." Maria assured.
"Lady Maria, you already carried me for such a long stretch, it is only fair I carry you now isn't it?" The Nutcracker asked.
"But… You were so small back then, and now we are the same seize." Maria had to point out.
"I can handle it!" The Nutcracker stated proudly. "I am a strongsoldier you know! And soldiers go through lots of hard stuff like this all the time, that is what we do! You can count on me! Come on then, get on my back." he asked.
Maria hesitated but then finally did what she was asked, wrapping her arms around the nutcrackers broad wooden neck and allowed him to pick up in her legs, then he stumbled slightly and Maria became concerned if his thin legs would even be able to carry the both of them, but finally he seemed to find his balance and started to walk across the snow.
Maria exhaled deeply as she leaned towards his back, it was a pretty hard surface as it was made out of wood and there was no body heat at all, still Maria found comfort in her position. "Please tell me if it becomes to much nutcracker." she asked. "I can walk."
"What kind of soldier wouldn't be able to help a lady in need?" The nutcracker asked. "It's not far, I can make due!" he promised.
Maria smiled then she frowned. "Nutcracker, what were you doing in my world?" she asked. "You said you were…. Looking for something."
The Nutcracker exhaled deeply. "I was looking for a nut." he admitted. "The crackertack, but I don't think it's anywhere in your world."
"What made you think it was?" Maria asked.
"I had a wise man make my horoscope." The Nutcracker admitted. "The horoscope said I needed to go to your world to find what I was looking for… Something tells me that wasn't a wise man at all and he is laughing counting the money I gave him."
"I see, i'm sorry." Maria said a little sadly. "Nutcracker… Would you be able to travel to other worlds than just mine through the clocktower?" she asked. "Are there even more worlds out there?"
"There are as many worlds as there are stars on the sky." The Nutcracker informed. "How-ever, the ways you can get to them varies. Some are available through the clocktower, yours is one of them of course. Oddly enough, the door to your world only opens on December and then only until that holiday you people call christmas is over, then the door closes. I suppose we better get you healed before the door closes in a few days." he commented.
"Oh yes… I suppose." Maria nodded. "Why December though? Why not April or July?"
"I'm not sure." The Nutcracker had to admit. "Perhaps that's just the time our worlds are closest to each other, perhaps that is the time our worlds are the most a like. We should ask the clock maker though, he knows much more about this kind of stuff than me."
"I can't wait until I meet him." Maria smiled. "What is he like?"
"Well, he is a bit strange." The Nutcracker admitted. "And he lives alone, he doesn't even have neighbors and he says he likes it that way, then people wont disturb him. But he's also really nice and he's my friend." he stated.
"Well then if he's your friend i'm sure it'll be okay." Maria smiled and then shook her head, a talking wooden man calling this clock maker strange?
He would have to be very strange indeed to top any of the things Maria had witnessed in the last hour.