Soon, the families took off into a horse-drawn carriage to head over to the holiday party for the family friend Clara had told Jack and Jill about. Many others were out and about in the snow, greeting each other joyfully and wishing each other a Merry Christmas and rather Happy Holidays. A family was even shown dragging a tree behind them to put their gifts underneath. Clara looked out the window, keeping her eyes down low before she instinctively looked over as her father spoke to her suddenly.
"It is important to be on your best behavior tonight," Benjamin spoke. "That means remembering our manners at dinner. Fritz!" he then called to his son instantly.
Fritz looked up and over bashfully as he was eating a cookie and leaving crumbs everywhere.
"I do want one dance with you, Louise," Benjamin then said to his elder daughter before looking to his middle child. "And you, Clara."
"Do I have to dance?" Clara frowned.
"Yes, you do," Benjamin nodded. "And no disappearing tonight either. Mingle and engage with the guests especially with your Aunt Alice's company."
"What about me?" Fritz then piped up.
"What about you?" Benjamin asked him.
"Who will dance with me?" Fritz then asked.
Benjamin didn't answer that right away as Clara and Louise smirked and giggled quietly and teasingly to their brother. "Well, perhaps that Jill girl will dance with you if there's no one else." he then suggested.
"You really thnk she would dance with me?" Fritz then wondered.
"The worst thing she can say is no," Benjamin replied. "As long as you're on your best behavior."
"Yes, Father." Fritz said with a nod.
Alice, Hatter, Snow, Charles, and the twins were in their own separate carriage going over the same rules.
"Jill, if you wouldn't mind, I think I'd like to have a father/daughter dance with you tonight." Charles said to the girl warmly.
"I think I would like that too," Jill smiled before pouting a little. "Even if you're not my blood father?"
"Oh, my dear Jill, blood doesn't make a family," Snow replied. "Love and trust does. You and Jack may have been adopted, but we still love you both as our own. It's what Hope would've wanted."
"Yes, you're all still family and so are I and Hatter," Alice added with a smile. "Your Avengers Grimm family of course."
Jack and Jill both smiled back at the brunette woman. "Thanks, Aunt Alice." they then said thankfully.
"You're very welcome, my dears," Alice nodded. "I'm saddened that I can't reunite and catch up with my sister Marie due to unfortunate events, but we will all be just fine."
"And this Christmas is sure to be as interesting as Dorothy Gale showing Christmas to The Land of Oz." Hatter nodded.
"Will we ever go to Oz?" Jack wondered.
"We'll just have to wait and see about that in Looking Glass, though Dorothy would make an excellent addition due to her history of fighting witches." Alice replied with a small nod.
"As long as we don't have repeat of that nasty war with those wicked witches." Snow piped up.
"Don't worry, Dorothy Gale would take care of any future issues with witches especially those Flying Monkeys." Alice reassured with a nod.
"Let's hope not." Charles added.
The carriages soon began to pull up to a grand and very vast mansion where many people were visiting for the festivities of the winter holiday. The gates had opened for their horses to lead them further along inside before they had stopped. Benjamin, Hatter, and Charles stood outside the carriages first once they got down and out and helped the ladies out to go inside the mansion.
"Yay! Godfather's house," Fritz beamed once he got out of the carriage before rushing inside ahead of his sisters. "Last one in is a nincompoop."
Jack and Jill followed the Stahbulm siblings out next, though Jack was fixed on the sight of Clara again.
"Whatcha lookin' at, Bro?" Jill asked, nudging her twin a bit.
Jack blinked before looking over. "Er... Uh... Nothing..." he then said while blushing a bit. "Don't worry about it."
"Hmm..." Jill hummed suspiciously before glancing over at Clara and then back at Jack, catching his gaze before she smirked. "Oh... I see..."
"Huh? What're you talking about?" Jack asked with wide eyes.
"You like Clara." Jill realized with a suspicious smirk.
"What?! N-No, I don't!" Jack gasped and sputtered.
"I think you're wrong." Jill teased.
"Hmph," Jack firmly pouted. "Oh, yeah? Well... You liked that Peter boy we brought to Neverland!"
"Don't make this about me, Jack," Jill replied. "And if you like Clara, that's okay."
"Well, I-" Jack was about to retort.
"Come on, you two!" Snow called out to the twins as she came right behind them. "Just because my name is Snow White doesn't mean I want to spend the rest of the evening in it! What's the hold-up?"
"Nothing, Mother~" Jack and Jill replied innocently as Jill smirked at her twin brother while Jack pouted and blushed at his twin sister.
"Then come on!" Snow then urged them as they walked ahead of her then. "Let's go inside before we freeze worse than my icicle powers."
They soon came inside to the party and heard lively chatter while Clara took her egg out and put it in her dress pocket, wearing a lovely violet gown as a man took their coats. The siblings looked all around with awe while the twins also looked very impressed and excited to be apart of this.
"It's just as how I remember it," Alice said as she took a look. "I've missed this place most of all."
"I'm glad you get to come back then, my dear Alice." Hatter smiled at the woman beside him.
"And I'm glad that you get to join me." Alice nodded in anticipation.
"Master Drosselmeyer welcomes Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Jones," A butler began to announce the guests who came to the party and they descended down the steps to join the others in the main foyer. "Dr. and Mrs. McDonald, Timothy and Ezekiel McDonald."
"Oh, uh, Clara..." Jack spoke up bashfully to the girl beside him. "I... I... I like..."
"Did you say something, Jack?" Clara asked as she suddenly faced him while pocketing her late mother's egg.
"Erm... Uh..." Jack blinked and blushed, fiddling with his tie in the suit that Snow and Charles gave him for tonight. "You have a very nice dress."
"Oh, thank you," Clara smiled warmly at him. "You're so sweet."
Jack blushed before smiling back at her.
"You look very handsome in that suit too," Clara then said to him. "You look like a little prince."
"Heh... You have no idea..." Jack blushed and whispered to himself about being seen as a prince.
A machine soon took the coats from the butlers who handed the coats over and it moved the coats around mechanically.
"Wow..." Jill whispered as that looked very impressive for this time.
"Magic!" Fritz beamed as even he looked enthralled.
"Fritz, come on." Clara told her little brother, taking his hand and walking over with him to join their family at the steps.
"How do we get them back?" Fritz wondered.
"I wonder too." Jill added before she joined her family too.
They soon began to join the party as other people gathered around and a very large and grand Christmas tree was shown. The tree had plenty of ornaments hung with care as well as candles for lights which reminded Jack and Jill of how they did things back home since in Fabletown, they now had electricity due to modern technology and being in a world without magic. There were also fancy red ribbons and presents laying underneath the tree that really made it look and feel like Christmas for many joyful souls who had seen it.
"The Stahlbaum family," Benjamin told the butler next to him quietly as The Waltz of the Flowers began to play for the guests. "Benjamin, Louise, Fritz, and Clara."
"The Charming family," Alice added then. "Snow White, Charles, Jack, and Jill, and guests: Alice and Hatter."
"Snow White? Hatter?" The butler mumbled to himself. "What unusual names."
"No more unusual than Fezziwig I gather." Hatter piped up.
Clara soon wandered onto the dancefloor, prompting Jack and Jill to look over to her and soon followed her. The men and women continued to dance and enjoy themselves on the joy that Christmas Day would bring for them. It was a little difficult to avoid the dancers while the orchestra sat behind reindeer ornaments, perhaps for their own protection.
"Where are we going?" Jack asked behind Clara, startling her suddenly.
"You scared me!" Clara gasped and pouted as she put her hand to her chest.
"Sorry, Clara..." Jack frowned bashfully.
"I was looking for my godfather." Clara told them then.
"Your godfather?" Jill asked. "Oh, you mean Drosselmeyer?"
"Yes, exactly," Clara nodded. "I'm sure he can help tell me more about that egg that my mother left for me."
"Do you mind if we come along?" Jack asked.
"Well... I suppose you could come and meet him," Clara then said. "Just hurry."
Jack and Jill nodded in agreement before going after Clara. They soon came to one doorway and began to carefully step down the steps, going into what looked like a very dark room. There were plenty of candles lit around, but the room was still quite dark.
"Godfather?" Clara soon called before something flew by and screeched, making the three youngsters duck down instantly.
"Whoa! What was that?" Jill gasped.
"An owl." Jack noted.
The owl flew all around the room before it rested and sat on a perch, looking over at the three youngsters.
"Hello," Clara said to the owl who hooted softly at the three of them. "Have you seen Godfather anywhere?" she then asked the bird.
"He sees everything," A voice said right behind the three, making them look over to a well-dressed man with wild hair and wore an eyepatch. "Which can be a great help to an old man."
"Godfather." Clara smiled warmly at the man behind them.
"Hello, Clara," The man smiled back before looking over at the twins. "And I see you made some new friends."
"Yes, they know Aunt Alice." Clara nodded.
"Aunt Alice, you say? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time," The man smiled warmly as he hugged Clara and looked over at the twins. "It's lovely to meet you two. Who are you?"
"We're Jack and Jill." The twins announced together.
"Jack and Jill... What lovely names you two have..." The man nodded. "I'm a good friend of the family's, so you two are welcome to my eyes as well. You may call me Mr. Drosselmeyer."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Drosselmeyer." Jill nodded at the man.
"Yes, lovely to meet you." Jack added, though he and Jill had to wonder why he had an eyepatch, but they kept that question to themselves because it would probably be rude if they asked.
"We need your help." Clara soon told her godfather.
"Ah, but I need your help first. Look at this damn thing," Drosselmeyer said to the children, though mostly Clara. He then flicked on the switch of what looked like a carousel with swans on top of it that spread their wings, but it was moving the wrong way. "Backwards. It moves... Backwards."
"Why is it doing that?" Jill wondered.
"The mechanism must be reversed. I know, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out why." Drosselmeyer explained.
Clara then looked like she had an idea. "May I?" she then piped up.
"Please." Drosselmeyer allowed.
Clara then clicked the switch and the music shut off. Jack and Jill then came to Clara's sides to see what the girl was going to do. It looks like the idler wheel has slipped. Hmm... Causing the pinion ring to engage the secondary drive gear," she then noted about the device before she held out her hand for a certain tool. "Pliers."
Drosselmeyer smiled proudly at Clara before giving her the tool that she would need.
Clara then accepted the tool and began to get to work despite her age after she figured out the problem. "Ah. There." she then said once she was done.
Drosselmeyer then clicked the switch which made the music come back on and the swans were moving as they were meant to and he was now happy and proud. "Ah. Clever girl," he then chuckled warmly to Clara while Jack and Jill smiled, proud of what Clara had done too. "I knew you could do it."
Clara smiled back as she felt proud of herself too.
"All right now, Miss Clara..." Drosselmeyer then began to say as he clicked the switch again to turn off the device. "Why are you down here with me instead of upstairs, dancing?" he then asked the girl.
"Well, it's like she said, Mr. Drosselmeyer," Jack spoke up. "Clara needs your help with something."
"With this." Clara added as she took the egg out of her pocket to give to her godfather.
Drosselmeyer took the egg and soon began to examine it once it was handed to him. "Ah. I haven't seen this in a very long time," he then said. "I made it for another clever girl who came to live with me after she and her sister were orphaned at a very early age."
"Mother." Clara realized softly.
"Mmm-hmm." Drosselmeyer nodded.
"Aunt Alice is an orphan?" Jack frowned.
"I never knew that." Jill added.
"You know, when your mother first arrived, she wouldn't leave her room," Drosselmeyer began to tell Clara as he kept an eye on the egg. "Spent day and night locked away, her head buried in her books."
"So, what did you do?" Clara asked softly.
"I left this outside her door," Drosselmeyer explained. "And, over time, she came to trust me, but most importantly herself. And now she's given it to you."
"But she didn't leave me the key." Clara said to him softly.
"You must miss her terribly. I know I do." Drosselmeyer then said to Clara about her mother.
Jack and Jill also looked soft as they could understand and relate to how it felt to have a dead mother.
"And I can't imagine how your father must feel." Drosselmeyer then added softly.
"All Father cares about is appearances." Clara pouted.
"No. My guess is he feels every bit the way you do," Drosselmeyer replied. "Remember, Clara, some locks are harder to pick than others. And I'm afraid this one is especially tricky."
"Pin tumblers. I know. I tried." Clara replied with a small smile.
Drosselmeyer chuckled warmly in response. Jack and Jill also smiled before flinching as the bell suddenly began to toll.
"Oh. It's time," Drosselmeyer soon noticed before giving Clara her egg back. "Here, you run along and I'll be up shortly. It's Christmas Eve. It's going to be a magical night." he then informed the youngsters.
Clara smiled and nodded before she took the egg back. "Come on, guys." she then told Jack and Jill.
"We're right behind ya." Jack reassured.
"Definitely." Jill added.
And so, the youngsters walked off together to head back upstairs.
Once they were out of earshot, Drosselmeyer sighed to himself as the owl hooted to him. "Yes, I know, my friend. It won't be easy, but it was her mother's dying wish... So go keep an eye on her and her friends seem to be important too." he then said softly to the owl.
The owl soon left its perch and began to fly after Clara and the twins as they headed upstairs.
Back upstairs, the party guests were now watching a prima ballerina in action, dancing to the music provided for her. Once she finished her dance, she landed on her knees with her hands above her head and the song ended, prompting the audience to applaud for her.
"I sure wish that I could dance like that." Jill whispered to herself.
"Maybe someday you will, my dear." Charles whispered back warmly to his adoptive daughter.
Jill beamed as she looked so very hopeful about that possibility, especially in getting a scholarship to The Red Shoes' Dance Academy back in Fabletown.
Drosselmeyer soon stepped up on stage, applauding the dancer as she left the stage and soon addressed the crowd in front of him. "Ladies and gentlemen, my favorite part of Christmas, my favorite part of this evening... I present to you... Your gifts." he then told the crowd.
The crowd then looked very excited and rushed out the doors in anticipation once they opened for them and they came to go outside.
"What's going on, Aunt Alice?" Jack asked the woman behind him.
"It appears that Uncle Drosselmeyer is going to bestow his gifts for all of us," Alice smiled warmly and in nostalgia. "He does this every year for his parties."
"Do we get presents too?" Jill asked hopefully.
"Yes, of course you do, dears." Alice smiled and nodded.
Jack and Jill beamed together before they ran outside after the other guests. Snow and Charles chuckled together before they came to join the children outside to see what the big excitement was all about. Jack and Jill followed the other children through the snow-covered hedges that had lanterns lit up all around the yard before finding the D emblem that stood for Drosselmeyer of course.
"Clara. Where have you been?" Benjamin asked once he found his middle child. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
"I was in Drosselmeyer's workshop trying to open-" Clara began to explain.
"I told you not to disappear," Benjamin interrupted firmly. "And I was expecting to dance with you."
Clara frowned. "Father, I really don't want to dance." she then said softly.
"Why, Clara, must you think only about yourself?" Benjamin asked coldly.
"I could ask the same of you." Clara retorted.
Benjamin flinched a little before he soon decided to walk away from his daughter in disappointment. Clara frowned before she stepped away from her father and came to join the other children outside.
"Clara, what's going on?" Jack asked the girl.
"Don't worry about it," Clara said softly. "Let's just go outside, okay?"
"Are you sure?" Jill asked out of concern.
"Yes, I'm sure," Clara nodded. "Come on."
Jack and Jill still felt worried, but they went outside with Clara to join in on the fun. Clara soon found one tag with her name on it.
"That tag has your name on it." Jill noticed.
"That's what Uncle Drosselmeyer does," Clara nodded. "He does this every year for all of us."
Jack and Jill smiled as that sounded like a really nice tradition. They then decided to follow Clara while the other children ran around to follow the strings that had their names on them as the adults mingled while the children went to receive their gifts.
"Look at my present!" Fritz said as he came out with a new gift, roaring and playfully scaring his sister.
Clara gasped before smiling in amusement once she saw what her brother had in his hands. "A nutcracker soldier?" she then asked.
"What do you think of him?" Fritz then asked Clara as he continued to circle her and the twins.
Jack and Jill just stepped back, not sure what to make of the nutcracker soldier.
"How handsome." Clara remarked.
"He's your boyfriend!" Fritz laughed at Clara teasingly before he ran off with his new gift.
Clara smiled, amused with her brother before she went to climb up the staircase with Jack and Jill behind her.
"If Christmas is like this every year, then I can't wait for next year." Jack said to his sister.
"Me too." Jill agreed with her brother.
"You two act as though you've never celebrated Christmas before." Clara noted to the twins.
Jack and Jill grew silent before they looked down at each other and looked softly in response.
"Oh... You two must know about Christmas," Clara said softly before she tried to help them understand. "Stockings in front of the fire? Tree? Tinsel? Presents?" she then asked, using buzzwords to see if they would mean anything to them, though it seemed to be fruitless so far.
"Presents? Do we get presents too?!" Jack and Jill both asked hopefully.
"Of course. Everyone gets a present on Christmas." Clara smiled and nodded at them.
Jack and Jill looked hopeful then.
"Even our parents?" Jack then asked, referring to Snow and Charles of course.
"Yes, even your parents," Clara smiled and nodded. "Now it's time to see what Drosselmeyer left for me."
Jack and Jill smiled back before they continued to follow Clara since they were learning about and enjoying their very first Christmas together.
"Have you two really not had a Christmas before?" Clara asked the twins in surprise.
"It's kind of a long story." Jack replied.
"That sounds so sad," Clara said softly. "I hope this is a good one."
"Us too." Jill said as Jack nodded as he agreed heavily.
The three youngsters continued down the hallway before they soon found a door that stood out to them. Clara opened the door and began to go inside of the room before Jack and Jill stood at her sides and then came behind her to properly follow her inside. There seemed to be a bright light at the end of the hallway that caught their attention, so they decided to follow it. As they came closer to the light, they soon suddenly found themselves outside as it began to snow, much to their confusion.
"What...? ...Where?" Clara muttered as she looked around.
"What do we do?" Jill asked. "Should we turn back around?"
"Well, the string leads out here for my gift, so we should follow it." Clara replied.
Jack and Jill looked at each other before they came outside and were suddenly in a winter wonderland.
An owl soon flew out and joined them as they continued to explore outside in the snow and soon found several trees, but one of them glowed almost as bright as the morning sun. That tree seemed very important, so Clara followed the string over to the tree and found something dangling from the snow-covered branches.
"Is that a key?" Jack asked then.
Clara smiled and nodded as that told her one thing. "Clever, Godfather. Clever." she then said as she began to reach out for the key.
A mouse then squeaked and suddenly lunged out, grabbing the key before Clara could get to it.
"What the-?!" Jack gasped as that startled him a little. "Where did that mouse come from?"
"Don't know." Jill replied.
The mouse looked up at them with the key in its mouth.
"It's mine!" Clara called out before going after the mouse and soon chased it as it ran away from her.
Jack and Jill then ran along with Clara to go after the mouse to get the key back because then it would probably help them solve the mystery about Clara's egg.
"Give back Clara's key!" Jill called out to the mouse as they ran.
The mouse continued to run from them and even hopped up in the air before going into a snowbank to hide into. Clara, Jack, and Jill then stopped in front of the snowbank as Clara put her hand in the snow to grab the mouse and also hopefully the key. However, the mouse popped up on the other side and soon continued to run off with the key. The chase continued as the mouse even hopped down and past the frozen lake as the kids continued from higher ground to catch up with the mouse. Soon, the mouse came over another frozen pond and slid across as the kids had to stop for now, watching as the mouse slid away from them.
"Bring back my key!" Clara complained to the mouse.
The mouse then took out the key and seemed to squeak tauntingly from where it was standing.
"I think that mouse is actually mocking us." Jack glared.
Clara stepped down onto the frozen pond, but it cracked underneath her footstep, so she had to back away, allowing the mouse to get away even further from them. "Filthy mouse." she then huffed before looking around for a way to get to the mouse without risking her life.
"Oh, look!" Jill pointed out once she saw a bridge on the left from them.
"Come on, let's go then." Jack suggested.
And soon, the kids walked over to the snow-covered bridge to hopefully cross it and continue to get to the mouse and the key. The mouse then got away as they rushed over, though they found someone who seemed to be trapped inside a box who was just standing there with his eyes closed and the snow gently fell on him and he appeared to be a soldier of some sorts.
"It's like Aunt Briar's glass coffin from when Magda took over Mother and Father's kingdom." Jack whispered to Jill.
"Very much so." Jill nodded as she remembered that even if her and Jack's memories were manipulated after the Time Wars incident.
"A nutcracker soldier." Clara said as she examined the man before she got no response and soon shrugged at Jack and Jill before she decided to cross the bridge anyway along with them.
"Halt!" A voice called, startling them to show that the soldier suddenly came to life and drew his sword out at them. "Who goes there?"
"It's just us!" Clara gasped in concern.
"State your purpose, Just Us." The soldier demanded.
"No, my name is Clara." Clara then corrected.
"And we're Jack and Jill." Jack then added, referring to himself and his twin sister obviously.
"And we must cross this bridge." Jill piped up then.
"Impossible. Nobody crosses the bridge to the Fourth Realm without a direct order from the regents." The soldier replied.
"Fourth Realm?" Jack and Jill then asked, never hearing of that, not even back in Looking Glass.
"Where are we?" Clara then asked.
"You're in the Christmas Tree Forest, but that is the Fourth Realm which is currently at war with the other three realms." The soldier explained before pointing over across the bridge to the other side where the mouse was with Clara's key.
"War?" The kids then asked in concern.
"That is correct, Miss Clara Jack Jill Just Us." The soldier nodded.
"Ugh... That's not what we said!" Jill complained then.
"Our names aren't Clara Jack Jill Just Us," Clara retorted. "No. It's Stahlbaum. Clara Stahlbaum."
"And we're Charming from our father's side of the family." Jill then added with her hands on his hips.
The soldier looked shocked at Clara's name. "Stahlbaum? Are you a relation to Marie Stahlbaum?" he then asked in utter shock.
"She's my mother." Clara revealed softly.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty!" The soldier replied before he got down on his knees to kneel before the young girl. "I didn't recognize you, Princess Clara."
"Princess?" The kids asked softly, not knowing that Clara was actually a princess and she didn't even know herself.
"Captain Phillip Hoffman. At your service, Your Majesty." The soldier then said to Clara.
"Maybe I have been spending too much time in the attic," Clara said softly before she decided to take advantage of her new princess title. "Captain Hoffman, we'd like to cross the river." she then said as bravely and maturely as possible.
"But the Fourth Realm is a very-" The soldier began to warn and remind.
"We have to go, Captain Hoffman." Clara then said firmly.
"And that's an order." Jill added as she knew that would help them get what they would want from the soldier.
"...Is that an order, Princess Clara?" The soldier then asked the girl, seeming to be unsure about listening to Jill since he didn't know her like he knew Clara.
"...Yes. I suppose it is," Clara then said calmly. "And you can call us Jack, Jill, and Clara." she then decided.
"Is that an order, too?" The soldier then asked.
"Yes." Clara then said a bit wearily.
"...Very well. Call me Captain." The soldier then said with a nod before going over to his box and began to grab a crank before moving it around and around to work on the bridge to move a bar that was currently blocking the bridge before stepping down on a lever.
"Uh... Thanks." Jack said.
The soldier nodded before walking off.
"Hopefully now we can find the mouse." Jill said.
Clara nodded as she looked over to the bridge expectingly.
"Jingles! Wake up, you lazy horse," The soldier soon called to the horse that was there, patting against it to make snow fall from it and wake it up. "Jingles!"
The horse, named Jingles, soon snorted and shook the snow off of his body as he soon woke up to join in on the adventure in crossing the bridge.
"Well, Aunt Alice might find this to be interesting." Jack said to Jill.
"Hopefully we can tell her once we're done with this adventure," Jill added. "That is, if we survive."
"I'm sure we will." Jack said with a small smile to his twin sister.