Sasori led his troops (and Deidara) towards the Christmas tree, oddly enough. But as they neared the tree, the light around them changed. It grew softer, clearer. And then, below them, Deidara noticed that there was snow on the carpet. The presents were disappearing, and the ground below them was slowly turning completely white as they continued on.

And then, as they passed the trunk of the tree, everything changed.

The walls and furniture and even the presents all around them vanished, leaving what could only be described as a wonderland. Glittering snow was everywhere, and what wasn't covered in snow had a thin layer of ice, giving it almost mirror-like properties. The tree was still above them, fantastically large icicles hanging from its boughs. Deidara glanced back behind him, but there was no more room. It was just more snow, with evergreens dotting the landscape, and what appeared to be a frozen river in the distance.

He felt his breath hitch, especially as he looked down and noticed he could see his breath. So it really was cold out, and it was real snow. But he didn't really feel cold. All Deidara felt was the warmth of Sasori's hand and the slight crunch of not-cold snow under his socks. As they marched onward, the troops still cheering behind them, things began to come into view behind the hills in front of them.

First, it was a house. Squat, homey, with an absurd color arrangement. Then, it was another house. And another. And by the time they passed the first one, Deidara noticed that the color arrangement wasn't absurd; it was completely natural, considering the home was made out of candy. He grinned at the very thought. Gingerbread houses everywhere. Such a land.

More and more houses came into view, until it was a full blown city of them. People peeked out of windows and half-opened doors, joining in the celebration once they realized that it was their side that won. The multitude behind them grew in size this way. Sasori, leading Deidara, headed this parade, and was still smiling to himself. In fact, he was even humming some vaguely familiar tune. Deidara glanced around once more, and spotted Sasuke not far from their position, also humming the same tune. In spite of himself, he hummed along with them, completely unsure of where he had heard the song before. Probably from some ballet.

"Sasori, uh, where are we going, yeah?" Deidara asked. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the merriment behind them.

"To the castle, of course," Sasori replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Oh, you never told me--what's your name?"

Deidara's heart sank. So this really wasn't his doll then, was it? What kind of high was he on, then? The pale-skinned, red-haired, cinnamon-eyed doll in front of him wasn't his doll. That didn't make sense. So who was he, then? "It's Deidara."

Sasori paused in mid-step, just long enough for Deidara to catch. He blinked, trying to catch Sasori's eye (after all, it had been so easy before), but the redhead just closed his eyes and smiled vapidly at him. "That's a pretty name."

Deidara turned and looked at Sasuke again. He was marching along just a few paces behind them, off to the right. While his marching was exactly as it had been earlier, his expression betrayed him. Sasuke was happy, and dolls did not just get happy. Toys couldn't control their expressions like that. Toys didn't feel any emotions.

The only logical conclusion that Deidara could come up with (Sasuke's smirk, Sasori's warm hands) was that they were dolls no longer.

-

-.-.-

-

The castle was huge. That's all Deidara could think of to describe it. Mostly because his brain was lucky not to have shut down completely. Sasori (and Sasuke, even) was real. He was flesh and bone and blood and he wasn't a doll anymore. (Sure, he looked it, but that was beside the point.)

Deidara told himself to calm down, that even real people could look like dolls; after all, the three girls earlier had been living porcelain. There was a logical explanation for this.

But when he saw the castle, all he could do was stare in wonder.

It was large, yes. Larger than any single building he had ever seen before in his life. But it was completely white. So white, in fact, it had a bluish sheen, and its shadows were a darker blue. It almost looked like a cake; the snow on top of its turrets and walls looked like frosting, dripping down onto the sides and then freezing like that. For all he knew, it was a cake. (If the houses could be gingerbread, the castle could be a cake. It all made sense.)

Deidara was priding himself on how coherent he was keeping his thoughts when they neared the castle gates. Then they crashed completely.

Hinata, and a younger girl with darker hair but the same white eyes, were both standing there. Deidara took it to be her sister, Hanabi. Both were dressed in pure white dresses that wrapped around their bodies rather snugly, and then flared out in different spots. Also, they had matching white tiaras and ribbons tied around their necks, wrists and ankles. Both girls bowed, ribbons fluttering. "Hail to the victorious army!" Hinata called, batting her white eyes at them.

And there she was, a doll again. She seemed completely pale, washed-out, except for her hair. (Which had also been taken down and straightened, and now fell down her back in a waterfall of navy.) Her white eyes had that glassy look again, even as she stared welcomingly at them.

She took a few steps forward, on the tips of her toes, almost like a ballerina would. Sasori and Deidara stopped, as did the rest of the troops. Only Sasuke continued walking, though only for a few paces. Hinata eyed him shyly, and he just smirked and saluted her.

"Hail to the victorious army!" she repeated, curtsying. Her sister mimicked her movement. "We, the Snowflakes, proudly welcome you back to our land!"

"Greetings, Snowflakes," Sasori called back, raising his hand. "We're glad to be welcomed back." Deidara had a feeling that this was some sort of ritual they went through, but he wasn't quite sure. All of a sudden, it just seemed surreal again. Sasori, Sasuke, even Hinata. They were all just dolls, puppets on a string, going through the motions without really meaning any of them.

"The Queen is expecting you, Prince," she replied, glancing at Sasori. Then she turned her white gaze to Deidara. "Deidara!" And just like that, the ritual came to a crashing halt.

He perked up instantly at finally being recognized. Sasori and Sasuke both looked between the two in shock at this revelation. Hinata took a few more tip-toed steps towards them, her skirt and ribbons flowing out behind her with an imaginary wind. "Hinata?"

"Yes?" she asked expectantly, stopping.

"Uh, nothing, yeah," he looked away with a dry grin. "I just hadn't expected you to recognize me…"

"Why not?" she asked sweetly, tilting her head to one side. Her eyes were overly wide again, taking on glassiness once more. She looked more like a doll than anyone else there. "Of course I'd recognize you. You're with Sasori, of course. Are you two getting along well?"

"Did--Did you expect this to happen, yeah? What's going on?" Deidara asked, a bit too quickly to pass as nonchalant (which was what he'd been trying for). Being recognized was too good to be true in this crazy land.

"You're in the Land of Sweets, Deidara." She spread her arms with this announcement, as if that explained everything. When she didn't get the understanding look she expected, Hinata continued. "You're the Prince's guest now. This is a celebration in honor of the end of the war. Which, I hear, you had a hand in."

Was it really all that simple? "R-Right, yeah…"

"You know him?" Sasori finally asked, still looking back and forth between them.

Hinata bobbed her head (Hanabi doing the same behind her), and gestured them all inside. "Of course I know him. I'm the one who invited him here."

Sasori glared at her, for some reason that Deidara could not fathom. And then, as the gates to the castle had just opened, they went inside and left the Snowflakes outside.

-

-.-.-

-

"What is all this about?"

"This is a celebration. A ball."

"And that means I have to get dressed up again? This is dressed up for me, yeah!"

"Bah, I wear more formal things to bed every night."

"Yeah, well, you're a prince." Okay, so Deidara was sore about not knowing several things. The main was that Sasori was a prince. (Though Hinata supposedly inviting him into this crazy world was high up on that list, too. Had she invited him with the invitation to the Christmas party, or when she gave Sasori to him, or when she invited him to spend the night? He couldn't decide.) And now Sasori was definitely using all of the royal influence he possessed to get Deidara to doll up. (Figure of speech, of course.)

"And as a prince, my escort must be as magnificent as I am."

"Not an ounce of shame in your whole body, is there…?" Deidara asked shrewdly.

Sasori shrugged. "Now into the jacket you go."

"I am wearing the shirt, and that is as far as I'm going, yeah." He had to put his foot down before Sasori had him completely done up.

The redhead, who had been holding up the jacket insistently, let his arms relax. "…It's this or a dress."

And so Deidara did get into the jacket. Eventually. Sasori, who sighed in relief at this major accomplishment, turned back to the mirror he had been using and tried to comb out his hair with his fingers. Deidara sighed, grabbed a brush from the nearest vanity, and set about to combing the prince's scarlet hair. At least he wasn't as dressed up as Sasori; he was in full uniform, a small crown and all. Deidara couldn't comprehend getting that dressed up. "Isn't that uncomfortable?"

Before Sasori could reply, the door to the dressing room burst open, and in flounced one of the last people Deidara expected to see. "Sakura?!"

The pink-haired girl cocked her head to one side, and then looked behind her. "…Excuse me?" she asked politely, clearly confused. Deidara just gaped at her, so she turned to Sasori instead. "Who is this, Prince?"

"My escort for the evening. His name is Deidara," Sasori replied tersely, eyeing her. "Why are you here?"

"Is this the one that the Snowflake Hinata invited?" she gushed, rushing over. It was then that Deidara discovered that she wasn't walking; she was floating. Two translucent wings were fluttering from her shoulder blades, keeping her aloft.

Now that he really looked at her, aside from the initial recognition, she really did look much different. Her short hair was down, curled inward, framing her already round face. Her face wasn't nearly as pale as it had been at the Christmas party (which seemed like years ago now), and instead had a healthy, rosy flush. Her eyes were bright and lively, and her hands were constantly moving. Deidara followed the movement for a moment, and realized she had some sort of wand in one hand. Her dress wasn't nearly as gown-ish as it had been before; now it was as short as Hinata's had been, and a pale enough pink to match her hair. It flared out at the hips in a bell shape, and was tight enough to pass as a corset from there up. It was also strapless, shaped like a heart in front and dipping down into a V shape in the back. And Deidara only saw most of this because she kept twirling around and fluttering around him.

"Who are you supposed to be, yeah?" he asked dumbly, staring at her. He knew her as Sakura, but…

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Deidara. I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy. Welcome to our land," she said melodiously, giggling as she somersaulted through the air. She seemed so lively now…and yet, Deidara could swear that she looked just like a doll. She still had the gussied up look about her, and while bright, her eyes were staring a bit too widely at him to be completely normal.

"Uh…yeah…nice to meet you too, yeah," he mumbled, still staring at her.

Sasori sighed, and took over. "Sugar Plum, why are you here?"

"Oh! The Queen is waiting, Prince. It seems as if the ball has started earlier than expected. Most everyone's already there, too," she said pleasantly, beaming at him. Sasori stared at her for a moment, and then groaned.

"Great…We'll be right out. Go ahead and announce us," he ordered, running a hand through his hair (which only messed up any progress they'd had with it). The Sugar Plum Fairy flounced back out of the room with a shake of her hips, neglecting to close the door behind her. Sasori hastily pulled his own jacket on, and then dusted off Deidara's shoulders and messed with his blond hair, which had been let down from its earlier ponytail. "Okay, if you just be quiet unless addressed and know how to dance, you'll be fine."

Deidara got the feeling that the only reason Sasori was doing those things was just so he could touch him, but he wasn't complaining. For a doll, Sasori's hands were always so warm. "Right." He reached over and combed out a cowlick in the prince's red hair, and then grinned. Hopefully it was more reassuring than how he actually felt. "Why so nervous? You just killed Orochimaru, yeah. I thought that was supposed to be the hard part."

"You haven't met my grandmother," Sasori replied with a cynical smile.

Deidara was then pulled out the door by the hand and out into the hallway, where they almost crashed into another fairy. He bit his tongue to stop him from shouting the first thing that came to mind like the last time (Ino!), and instead just let her usher them both down a long hallway and stopped them in front of a set of double doors. "Here we go," she whispered to them, disappearing as the doors opened. Deidara glanced into the darkness where she'd vanished, but was soon distracted by the bright light of the ballroom.

Blinking as he adjusted to the light, he vaguely heard someone shout, "Now announcing, his Majesty, the Prince, Sasori and his escort, Deidara!" Deidara just figured he'd follow Sasori as the redhead took a step forward, still clutching his hand. It was a wonder his hand didn't break. Sasori must be nervous.

As his eyes slowly adjusted, Deidara could start to pick out individual things. Across the immense room, there was a high throne, and a woman seated in it. In between there and where they currently were (a large staircase leading downward), there were hundreds of people, all in formal attire, of varying colors and hues. The dresses were pretty exotic, he noted, and wondered what kind of ball this was supposed to be.

What was alarming, however, was that he recognized a few people. The Sugar Plum Fairy and her other fairy friend were fluttering in amongst the crowd, beaming at them both. The two Snowflakes, Hinata standing beside Sasuke, were present. As Sasori led him down the stairs and past all of these people, Deidara could have sworn that he had even seen Kisame and Itachi.

It felt like an eternity before they reached the grand throne, much too long for Deidara's tastes, at least. Sasori was still gripping his hand for dear life, too. The blond artist glanced over and noticed with a small smile that Sasori's crown was slightly crooked. It was cute in a way he had never thought of the doll before. Before, it was just handsome, and pretty. Now, suddenly, Sasori had become cute.

The prince bowed his head, and jerked Deidara down by the hand when the blond failed to mimic the movement. "Hello, grandmother," he said quietly, still bowing.

"You may rise, Sasori." He and Deidara both stood straight again, and Deidara noticed that even if she was his grandmother, she still was beautiful in a way that only the dolls of this land managed. Her grey hair shone in the chandelier's above, and her crown glittered with jewels and glowed with gold. She had a kind face, too, even with the wrinkles. "I am glad that you made it home, safely."

"Thank you," Sasori inclined his head again, and Deidara jumped to copy it, but it turned out to just be a nod. "Grandmother, this is Deidara."

He flushed, and wondered what he had done to Sasori to cause him to throw him into the spotlight so remorselessly like that. What did you say to a queen? Hi, I like your grandson a bit too much for it to be normal? I think I'm high? Your grandson is secretly my doll?

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Deidara," the queen nodded in his direction, and he hastily jumped to attention.

"No, it's my pleasure--I mean…Thank you, your Majesty?" He bowed, feeling pretty foolish right then. Luckily, Sasori saved him.

"The Snowflake Hinata says that she invited him here," he said solemnly. Deidara suddenly felt like he was some sort of interesting experiment, based on the way the queen was suddenly examining him.

"Is that so…" she murmured, giving him a once-over. "In that case, please take good care of my grandson, Deidara."

Deidara felt blindsided by that. Sure, he could take care of a doll, but this? A prince? "Um, yeah," he muttered, biting the inside of his cheek nervously. Something was off here, and he needed to figure out what before he got in over his head. (Well, he probably had already, but that was beside the point.)

"And then, with the safe return home of all of this land's army, and our crowned Prince, let the ball commence!" the queen called, spreading her arms grandly.

Sasori turned and pulled Deidara back down the stairs towards the ballroom floor. He had never felt so relieved in his life. Deidara made a mental note to never speak to a queen again if he didn't know what he was talking about. Once they were a fair distance away from the throne and the music had started up, Sasori turned to him and offered his hand (that he'd just let go of Deidara with), and asked, "Care to dance?"

"Sure," he replied with a grin.

Sasori was only an inch or two shorter than him, but he was still leading, which Deidara was oddly fine with. He barely knew how to waltz, anyway. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Sasori's.

It seemed like only a short time before someone tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "May I cut in?" But as Deidara reopened his eyes, he noticed that it had already switched songs, and they had somehow danced quite a bit farther away from the throne.

"Yes, of course," Sasori replied, backing away, though he sent a sour look to the woman who had just cut in. Deidara found himself dancing with the platinum blonde fairy now, who was smiling coyly at him.

"You're the one the Snowflake Hinata invited for Prince Sasori, hmm?" she asked in a low, husky voice. Deidara wondered why people kept mentioning that. Was it supposed to be important?

"I suppose so, yeah. And you are?"

"I'm the Dew Drop Fairy," she replied with a titter. "And you are Deidara."

"Yeah."

The fairy hummed along with the music, resting her head on his shoulder as they danced. Deidara didn't exactly mind, but couldn't help but wish that it was Sasori doing that. He glanced over and saw him dancing with the Sugar Plum Fairy, also conversing. Judging on the way they were glancing at him, no doubt they were also talking about the one the Snowflake Hinata invited for Prince Sasori. (It was an interesting title, but he knew it was going to get really annoying, really fast.) Something else that caught his eye in the crowd was Sasuke and Hinata, dancing together. Neither of them were speaking, but both of them had their eyes closed, the Snowflake resting her head on the soldier's shoulder with a porcelain smile on her face.

The song ended, and the Dew Drop fairy, whose dress matched the Sugar Plum's in everything but color he just noticed, fluttered off with a wave and a smile. Sasori rejoined him, taking his hand again, as if it belonged there. Deidara didn't mind. "I seem to be causing quite the stir as the one Snowflake Hinata invited, yeah," he said casually, watching as a few dancers took the floor. No one else seemed to be dancing save them.

"Those are the Chocolate dancers. They're quite good, aren't they?" Sasori asked, just as casually. Deidara nodded stiffly, bent on not saying anything else until the doll answered his question. So he and Sasori silently watched the Chocolate dancers twirl about in their suits and dresses, putting on quite a show. Even Deidara had to admit that they really were good. "…Yes, you do." Finally, Sasori replied.

"What does that mean?"

"It means she invited you here to be with me. By ways no one knows about," Sasori replied calmly, keeping his brown eyes trained on the pirouetting dancers.

"To be here with you?" he echoed, curious. "What does that mean?"

"As a prince, I am going to rule this land some day. It's common knowledge that I don't want to do that alone. It'd be a very lonely job, I imagine."

Deidara flushed slightly, and decided to watch the dancers instead of Sasori from now on. He didn't reply.

-

-.-.-

-

There were several dancers that evening for their entertainment, most of them sweet-themed, it seemed. Chocolate, Tea, Coffee, and Candy Cane dancers, a blonde, busty woman called Mother Ginger with her Bonbon dancers, the Marzipan shepherds (who were really dancers as well), and then the last two dances were quite surprising. After a brief argument about it, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Dew Drop Fairy ended up dancing together, as apparently the Dew Drop Fairy was supposed to go first but hadn't, due to her dance with Deidara.

The final dance was one that Deidara recognized completely. It was called the Waltz of the Flowers, but he had already seen it before. It was that ginger-haired man and the blue-haired woman with the flower in her hair, only now, they didn't have visible joints. They were completely made of flawless, human, living skin. Which only proved to Deidara that here, no one (and yet everyone) was really a doll. They twirled and tangoed in time with the music, though during the whole time, they were staring into each other's eyes. Deidara had to wonder if they were dancing to their own music that only they could hear.

He almost looked around for Madara, convinced the man was here somewhere, but caught himself in time.

Then there was a general dance once more, though Deidara was dragged off by Sasori. That seemed to be a recurring theme in their relationship so far. He drew him away into a secluded balcony, outside in the moonlight. The moon's light reflected off of the snow everywhere, bathing everything in a dreamlike, yet sharp, glow from below. Sasori took both of Deidara's hands, staring intently at him. Deidara patiently stared back, waiting for the other to speak first. After all, he was the victim in all of this.

"Are you going to stay here? With me?" Sasori asked quietly.

"Is there a choice in the matter, yeah?" Deidara asked, just as quietly. He didn't know why they were keeping their voices down, especially as the snow absorbed their sounds.

"There is always a choice. You can walk away from me right now if you'd like, Deidara."

"You know I wouldn't do that," Deidara murmured, closing his eyes. He reopened them after a moment, but kept them lidded, imitating Sasori's expression. "I've already become too attached to this place. And…to you…"

"Attachment isn't always a good thing," Sasori replied practically. "I'm glad you were invited, though…"

"So am I."

"Are you staying?"

"…Yeah."

Sasori smiled at him, closing his eyes. It made him look innocent, beatific even. It made him look like a doll. Then, he leaned up and kissed Deidara.

Deidara bolted upright, chest heaving, hands flying to his mouth. The room around him was dark, and there was no one else there. He was in his pajamas and still in the Hyuuga mansion. There was no beautiful redheaded doll lying next to him where he'd put him.

It had all just been a dream…