"Shh," whispered Clara, pressing a finger to her lips.
Marie giggled and blew out a stream of air similar to Clara's shushing sound.
Clara adjusted Marie in her arms and edged closer to her and Eric's bed. The blankets were rumpled and twisted, only partially covering Eric's sleeping form. He was lying on his side with one arm bent outward, the fingers of his hand curled over the sheets. After a moment a low sigh escaped him, prompting a smile from Clara.
"Alright, Marie," Clara breathed. She bent and set Marie on the bed. "Go ahead."
Marie took a step forward. But her balance was wobbly at best on the mattress, so she dropped to her hands and knees, deciding that she could reach her father faster by crawling. Eric's brow creased at the shifting of the mattress, but he did not wake. Instead, he simply rolled onto his back. This seemed to please Marie, who threw herself forward – onto Eric's stomach.
Eric grunted at the impact, flinching into awareness as his eyes snapped open. "Wha…?" he slurred.
"Pah-pa!' cried Marie.
The confusion in Eric's eyes faded, and he gave a sluggish smile. "G'morning..."
Marie crawled further onto Eric's stomach, pulling at his nightshirt with her efforts. Eric lifted his hand to Marie's head, stroking through her short blonde hair with drowsy movements. Once he was more coherent, his gaze flickered up to Clara. "Just so you're aware, threats of child attacks will not persuade me to wake any earlier than usual."
"Who said I was trying to persuade you to do anything?" Clara settled onto the bed with an innocent smile. "Perhaps we simply got lonely waiting for you to get up."
"Hm." Eric gave a lock of Marie's hair a gentle tug, prompting a giggle from her. He grinned, then looked back up at Clara. "Aren't you exhausted?" he asked in disbelief. "It was past midnight when we got to bed."
Clara shrugged. She supposed she should feel somewhat tired. After attending the conference, she and Eric had spent the majority of yesterday traveling back to the castle. They hadn't arrived until well past eleven, and had barely enough energy to check on Marie (who was sleeping in the nursery connected to their bedchamber) before changing and collapsing into bed.
Yet weariness was not what tugged at Clara now. Quite the opposite, really. She shifted, eager to meet Elizabeth and Tommy for breakfast.
Eric shook his head at Marie. "I don't think it's very fair, Marie. Of course your mother has endless energy – she has magic. How am I supposed to best that?"
"You can't," teased Clara.
Marie gave herself a push off of Eric's chest, tumbling onto the empty space on the other side of him. Immediately she raised herself onto her hands and knees, and began to crawl towards an unused pillow.
Clara watched Marie for a few seconds, then turned her attention back to Eric. "Stop being such a slug-a-bed and come down for breakfast," she said. "I'm starving."
Clara moved to stand, but Eric lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and dragging her back onto the mattress.
"Eric!"
Eric laughed as he drew Clara against him, holding her down as he kissed her. At the sudden explosion of noise, Marie turned away from the pillow she had been trying to flip over. She gave an excited cry and scrambled back to her parents. Seeing her approach, Eric unhooked one arm from around Clara and scooped up Marie. He plopped her on top of Clara's stomach, effectively pining Clara in place.
"Ma!" exclaimed Marie.
Clara exhaled an amused sigh. Pulling Marie towards her, she planted a kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Now that you are fully awake," said Clara, smirking up at Eric. "Shall we go downstairs?"
"What are you talking about?" grinned Eric. "I've been ready."
Clara rolled her eyes. "What am I going to do with your papa?" she asked Marie.
Marie simply giggled.
/
"You want to what?" Clara hovered her knife over the toast she was buttering, staring at her brother.
Tommy shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Visit the Gingerbread Village," he repeated, sounding less sure than he had when he originally voiced the idea. He glanced at Marie, who was sitting in her high chair beside him and gnawing at a strawberry muffin. Sensing Tommy's gaze, Marie smiled up at him. Tommy returned the grin and playfully tapped his toast on her nose.
"Today?" asked Elizabeth. She leaned forward to get a better look at Tommy, as Marie was sitting between the two of them.
Clara lowered the knife. "But the Summer Festival starts tomorrow. There's a lot that still needs to be done."
"I'll make it back in time to help," assured Tommy. He looked at Eric. "It's not that far, is it?"
Eric shrugged. "It's a couple of hours by horseback."
"That's a lot of time dedicated to a simple visit. At least the entire morning, and part of the afternoon." Clara frowned at Tommy. "Can we not take you next week? After the festival is over?"
"But I need to go today," insisted Tommy.
Marie threw a piece of muffin at Tommy, hitting him in the arm. He tossed a glare at her, but quickly snapped his gaze back to Clara.
"Why today?" Clara asked suspiciously.
"Well..." Tommy glanced between her and Eric, looking rather embarrassed. "This girl, Pepper Rosecurry, came by the castle yesterday looking for Masha. She wanted to buy some of Masha's cider. But Masha wasn't here, and Pepper had to leave. So...I offered to deliver it today."
Understanding lit Eric's face. A smirk pricked the corner of his lips, and he and Elizabeth exchanged a glance.
Clara raised her eyebrows at Tommy. "That's why? You want to deliver cider to Pepper Rosecurry?" Exasperation passed over her face, but it softened as she studied her brother's nervous expression. She sighed. "Alright, I suppose. As long as you're back by mid-afternoon."
"I can take him," offered Eric.
"I don't need an escort, Eric," huffed Tommy. "I'm sixteen."
Eric snorted. "Do you know how to get there?"
Tommy pressed his lips together uncertainly. "Can't you just...tell me the way?"
Eric gave Tommy a look that, though amused, firmly rejected Tommy's suggestion.
"I'd feel better if Eric went with you," interjected Clara.
"I'm not a complete idiot, Clara." Tommy frowned, lowering his toast to his plate. "There aren't that many roads leading away from the castle. How hard can it be to follow a road?"
"It's not that I don't have faith in your directional skills," said Clara. "It's your lack of punctuality that is the problem. I don't want you getting distracted and coming back too late."
"I promise to let you deliver the cider on your own," Eric said. He leaned across the table and dropped a slice of banana on Marie's tray. "I'll stay outside with the horses."
"I...who...what is that supposed to mean?" flushed Tommy. "Who cares if you come into the bakery? I...I don't."
"Right. Of course," said Eric, his subtle sarcasm not lost on Tommy. Eric settled back in his chair, watching Marie stuff the banana piece into her mouth – which was still full of muffin.
"I suppose that leaves you and I in charge of the final preparations for the festival, then," Clara said to Elizabeth.
"Honestly, that is probably for the best," Elizabeth said, laughing at the offended expressions Eric and Tommy thew her. She stood and pulled Marie from her seat. "It's decided then."
/
During Eric and Tommy's absence, Clara and Elizabeth worked to complete the final preparations for Parthenia's Summer Festival. The five-day long holiday was a centuries-old tradition for the kingdom. Every year in the summer the festival was held in the field at the bottom of the hill the castle stood on. Dozens of dancers, singers, and magic users came to the festival, where they would perform a variety of acts for enraptured audiences. Food was available, and vendors came to sell various gifts and trinkets. It was a celebration the entire kingdom looked forward too.
In the days leading up to the festival, the performance stages and vendor booths had been set up in their proper places. Elizabeth and Captain Candy had taken charge of affairs, as Eric and Clara had been called away to their political conference on short notice. But it seemed that their absence had not hindered the festival's planning, as everything remained on schedule.
Yet the decorating still needed to be completed before tomorrow. Clara, Elizabeth, and some of the castle staff had undertaken the task, which turned out to be a many-hours long process. The castle's royal enchanter, Hoffmann, agreed to help, using his magic to send orbs of pink, lavender, and gold hovering above the festival grounds. The glowing spheres rotated slowly, acting as both decoration and luminescence. Banners of brightly colored silk were put up as well, dipping between booths and over the stages in splashes of warm colors.
Evening was approaching soon now. Clara knelt on the main stage, which stood in the center of the field. On the floor around her were small white beads. Above her hovered more of the beads, which glittered like tiny stars as they floated lazily over the stage. Clara plucked one of the beads from the stage floor and set it in her upturned palm. She focused on it, her brow creasing in concentration as she blew softly onto the bead.
The bead shivered, then began to emit the same white glow as those above. Slowly, the bead levitated out of Clara's hand. It drifted upwards, stopping only when it had reached the height of the others. Clara smiled in satisfaction, then reached for another.
The sound of footsteps ascending the stage's side stairs made her pause, and she twisted around to see Eric step onto the stage. Her smile widened, and, abandoning the remaining beads, she stood and turned to face him.
"I was hoping you would be back soon," she said. "How did it go?"
"Exceedingly well," replied Eric. "Tommy and Pepper talked for some time in the bakery." A grin played at the corners of his mouth. "He seemed rather pleased when he came outside."
"I'm glad to hear it. I suppose that makes it alright that you avoided decoration duty today, then," teased Clara.
"That was my plan all along," winked Eric. He looked up at the sparkling beads above them. "Though you seem to be getting along just fine without me. I'm afraid my decorating skills are rather pathetic compared to yours."
"You're right," Clara said humorously "It's probably a good thing that you didn't help."
Eric laughed. He cast a glance in the direction of the road that led up to the castle. "Is Marie with Elizabeth?"
"No, Brigit is watching her."
Brigit was one of Clara's ladies-in-waiting who had become especially attached to Marie. The girl was only sixteen, but she had a certain way with children that Clara immediately noticed. Though not a solemn girl by any means, there was a maturity to Brigit that was beyond her years, making Clara feel comfortable leaving Marie in her care.
Eric nodded. He looked about them, taking note of the few staff members left in the field. Most of them had finished their tasks, and those that remained were simply putting the final touches on their projects. "Will you be done after this?" he asked Clara, gesturing to the beads. "It's almost suppertime."
"Yes, I believe so." Clara knelt and reached for another bead. But Eric bent and plucked one from the stage before she could, handing it to her. She flashed him a grateful look, then focused on the bead. A moment passed, and then it too ascended into the air. Eric continued to hand the remaining beads to her, and soon all were enchanted and floating above the stage, giving it a beautifully ethereal appearance.
They stood, and Eric took her hand in his. "Dance with me?" he asked softly.
Clara nodded, smiling as he swept her across the stage. They danced beneath the rays of twilight, whirling before an audience of fireflies and curious flower fairies until the sun dipped below the horizon.
/
Hundreds of people swarmed around the booths and tables set up in the field. Children cried out joyfully at the fairies dancing on the orbs of light above them, their hands sticky with the candies they held. Young men fiddled with flowers they had bought, eyeing potential partners that loitered near the dance platform. Vendors called out to passerby, promising the joy their products would bring, whether it be hundred-yard candy string, or an enchanted bracelet that was said to glow when your true love was near.
On the center stage was the Royal Parthenian Dance Troupe. They were one of the main performance groups chosen to celebrate the first day of the Summer Festival, and their dance easily exceeded expectations. Ballerinas in shimmering dresses twirled around each other, sending glitter showering from their skirts onto the audience.
"Pretty!" exclaimed Marie. She reached towards the ballerinas, making a grabbing motion with her hands.
"Yes, they are, aren't they?" said Clara. She shifted Marie on her hip and glanced up at Eric, whose hand rested on her waist as they moved through the crowd. "Afraid you'll lose us?" she joked.
"A little," smirked Eric. "I don't remember it being so crowded last year."
"I'll take that as a good sign for this year's festival then." Clara looked about them. "Have you seen Tommy?"
Eric pointed towards the dance platform that had been set up a few booths away from the stage. Near the edge of the platform, Tommy and Pepper were dancing. There was a hint of nervousness on Tommy's expression as he led Pepper through the winding couples, but it was easily overshadowed by the exhilaration in his eyes as Pepper smiled up at him.
"Well," grinned Clara. "I wonder what Grandfather would have to say to that."
"Yes, having one Drosselmeyer fall in love with an 'American' is bad enough. But two?" Eric shook his head in mock horror. "He'll never allow Tommy to visit 'Boston' again after learning about the frivolous activities we let him engage in."
Clara laughed. "Oh dear, you're probably right."
"Your Majesties!"
Eric and Clara turned to watch as a ballerina from the Royal Parthenian Dance Troupe hurried towards them. She was a slender, rather tall girl with a narrow face that matched her lithe features. Behind her, the other dancers were making their way off the stage.
"Hello, Peony," smiled Eric.
Peony Corlynch beamed at Eric and Clara, then waved at Marie. "Hello Marie!"
Marie cried out gleefully, swiping at Peony's fingers.
"Your dancing was beautiful, Peony," said Clara. "You did a marvelous job."
"Thank you," said Peony.
"I thought I heard a rumor that you have earned the lead role in the troupe's upcoming ballet," said Eric. "Is that true?"
Peony blushed. "It is!"
"That's wonderful!" praised Clara. She grasped Peony's arm and gave it a squeeze. "We're so proud of you."
Peony's eyes, never lacking their usual sharpness, flashed with excitement. "Ebba is going to help make the costumes for it. We're going to use fairy dust to make the skirts float during the water segments."
"That sounds spectacular," said Clara. "You'll have to let us know the moment tickets go on sale."
"I will," assured Peony.
"Peony!"
Peony glanced behind her at the distant shout. Standing by the stage was another dancer around Peony's age. She was waving wildly, a grin stretched across her face.
"I should be going," said Peony, glancing back at Eric and Clara. "My friends are waiting."
"Of course," said Eric. "We'll see you soon, though."
Peony nodded, looking eager at Eric's promise. She bobbed a quick curtsy to them, then dashed off to join her friends.
"She's doing so well," Clara said happily to Eric.
"Yes she is, isn't she?" Relief passed through Eric as he watched Peony disappear with her friends into the crowd.
When Hugo Corlynch had been released two years after his arrest, Eric was worried about disrupting the Corlynch children's lives once again with the sudden reappearance of their father. But as Corlynch had been deemed a safe and capable caretaker for his children by then, Eric found himself unable to object to Corlynch coming back for them.
Eric and Clara had already prepared a new farm for the family upon Corlynch's release. Knowing that Corlynch would be too proud to take it as charity, Eric made it a condition that Corlynch could return to his children only if he accepted the farm as well. Corlynch did so, and the farm continued to thrive today.
Peony was the only child to not go back with her father. As the years had passed between Corlynch's arrest and release, Peony had grown exceptionally attached to Ebba Jerkins. And – to Clara's surprise – Eric as well. There was a softness Peony reserved only for Eric, accompanied by a raw honesty the two shared when conversing.
As for Peony's talent for dancing, it only increased with the years. Unwilling to move away and give up her passion, Peony decided to stay with Ebba Jerkins. Clara knew that the motherly support Ebba provided was something Peony still desperately needed, and therefore was relieved by Peony's decision. Though saddened by his daughter's refusal to come to the farm, Hugo Corlynch had not resisted it. It seemed that time and guilt had worn away the ferocity he had possessed before. Now, he took the care of his children with a solemn, yet steadfast, sense of duty.
According to Ebba Jerkins, Peony still visited her father occasionally. But the visits were rare, and were meant more for her siblings than her father. It saddened Clara and Eric to see how broken the Corlynch family had become by the Mouse King's reign, but there was little else they could do beyond what they had already done. Eric refrained from mentioning Peony's father when he spoke with her, allowing her to decide if she ever wanted the conversation to touch on her father. Which it rarely did.
Yet despite the hardships of choosing her dreams of dance over her father, Peony only seemed to grow in confidence. Eric and Clara had little worry for her now, and were happy to provide their support where they could.
"Shall we be heading back to the castle?" asked Eric. He glanced up at the sky, which was pink and orange from the setting sun. "Marie should be going to bed soon."
"I can take her, if you want to stay," said Clara. "The festival won't end for a couple more hours, and I know Tommy won't leave until then."
Eric shook his head. "I'd rather be with you two."
Clara raised herself on her toes to press a kiss to Eric's cheek. She slipped her free arm through his, letting him lead them towards the sloping hill that rose to the castle.
