Part four
After an unidentifiable amount of time had passed, Sakura woke from her unnatural sleep. She felt drained and weak. That was why it was good when she felt something soft underneath her. Mmmm, it's so comfy… Sakura mused dazedly. Then, like an oncoming tidal wave, her memory came rushing back to her. Sakura sat upright quickly taking in the environment around her.
She was in a bedroom, on a large king sized canopy bed. Sakura panicked. What in the heck was she doing on some bed in this weird old guy's house? Was he planning to do something to her? Right now, Sakura was so petrified that she couldn't even speak. But she chalked that up to be a good thing. Maybe, if she was quiet, then she could escape this place without him knowing.
That was when she noticed it. She was wearing different clothes! Instead of her plain turtle neck skirt and boots, she was now wearing a pale pink Victorian style ballroom gown complete with gloves and slippers. She also realized that her hair had been done as well. Instead of the plain boring straight hair that she always showcased. Her hair was done in a half up half down hair do, done in the most beautiful of curls. Her makeup was also done. What in the crap was going on! Why was she dressed like this? Wait, did that mean that he undressed her? Sakura shivered. What kind of madman was this?
For fear of hyperventilation, Sakura tried to calm her breathing as well as study the bedroom in which she now presided. Dark polished wooden furniture decorated the room. Tall lit candles were located on each dresser. Strange, there doesn't seem to be any kind of electrical appliances…Sakura pondered when she couldn't seem to locate anything modern in the entire room. This guy really is strange. She still did not remember Drosselmier's parting words.
So with a quiet step, she crawled off of the large bed and tiptoed towards the door. So far, there had been no signs of Drosselmier. This could be easier than she originally thought. Upon reaching it, Sakura tried the door handle, and to her utmost surprise and delight, she found that it was not locked. She was just happy at this moment that her captor was not as skilled with his kidnapping as he was with his crafting. Ever so softly, Sakura turned the golden handle and slipped out into what was a vast and long hallway. All along the walls candles lit the way. The wooden floor was covered with a plush red carpet. Well, the house is really nice. Sakura quickly cleared her mind of such useless knowledge. She was on a mission, and she could not afford errors.
But now, something else was catching her interest. Faded music could be heard off in the distance. As she made her way down the hallway, the sound of quick tempo classical music became increasingly louder. Not only that, she could hear the foreign voices of many people coming from downstairs as well. What the heck, it sounds like a party's going on down there? Now she was intrigued. Ok, so maybe he didn't kidnap her, but why on earth was he holding a party so late? All of the town's people she knew were long since asleep and it sounded like the whole town was downstairs. Curious, she walked on until she reached the large double staircase that led down into the foyer area which she had entered into what was earlier this night. But what she saw now made her gasp in awe. People in their finest apparel were entering the house and conversing while they made their way to the ballroom. All of these people were dressed in the olden style of dress which she was sporting this very moment. What is going on here?
Suddenly, Sakura's fear had dissipated, and now she longed to find the answer to this ongoing mystery. Then it hit her. Drosselmier's last words before she had lost consciousness.
Then, one night in the eighteen hundreds, the magician was sure that he had found the prince's true love. That night, when the clock struck midnight, the magician allowed the prince to come alive. It was a good thing because the sorcerer did not have a lot of magic in stock. The girl was given the means to restore the prince's heart." Drosselmier's facial expression turned bitter.
"But…it was all in vain, for she did not love the prince and all was lost. The prince was forced to return to his enchanted sleep, whereas the girl woke to tell of her fanciful journey." Drosselmier looked like he wanted to spit in disgust. Sakura listened with baited interest.
"Then something strange happened. Every time from that day forward that the magician brought a girl to the prince, she would return to the eighteenth century girl's time. It would appear that the magician's magic had run out."
Sakura raised a hand to her mouth in shock. No…it couldn't be. There was simply no way. But yet, Sakura couldn't help but believe that somehow she was now trapped in this nightmare. How was she supposed to get out of this? Drosselmier had never said what had happened to the girls who had not loved the prince after that fateful night. What became of them? She had to know the answers and right now there was no one who could answer them.
Still, there had to be some way out of here, and she was determined to find it. With a deep breath, she descended the stairs and fell in line with the other people around her. Many of those same people were a lot taller than her and so she could not yet see into the ballroom. But slowly, the couples dispersed and she was left to gawk at the splendor of the room. Couples were dancing merrily to the music while others were conversing along the walls.
Strangely, she felt a lonely ache. Yet, again, even in an alternate world, she was alone. Everybody always had somebody and she was always the one that had to sit back and watch as every other lucky girl got to dance with her own personal prince charming. Where was hers? Was she truly doomed to be the old lady with a million cats? She didn't know if she could handle that cruel fate. She just wanted someone. She wanted her own prince. Where was her happily ever after? Sakura sighed. This was the reason she didn't dwell on fantasies. They were simply that: fantasies. They were not something that were concrete. They could possibly never even come true. Sakura couldn't give her heart to such uncertainties. That was precisely the point in her being practical. As long as she stayed realistic and logical then her heart would never be shattered. She just didn't realize that her heart had frozen over in the process.
Her thoughts were abruptly halted at the sight of a tall man standing directly in front of her, ogling her, and undressing her with his eyes. For some reason, Sakura was struck dumb with the fact that this man looked and acted remarkably like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Sakura's eye twitched in irritation. Disney character look alike or not, he was still going to get a force filled knee to the nether regions if his gaze stayed plastered to her chest. When she thought about having a prince charming, this was certainly not what she had in mind. For crying out loud was this the best that she was going to get?!
"Ahem" Sakura cleared her throat in attempts to catch the swine of a man's preoccupied attention while she covered her chest by crossing her arms. She got the desired results when his eyes lazily roamed and lifted to lock gazes with her own fiery one.
"Why Clara, aren't you looking simply ravishing tonight." Sakura inwardly fumed. No apology! What a freaking creep! He actually thinks he can get away with that crap! However, her mind managed to rewind back to his previous words. Clara? Oh, that's right… Drosselmier said something about all of the girls going back to the eighteenth century time. Everyone must think I'm this Clara girl…
That whole time Sakura had managed to tune out the unknown pervert. Well, that is, until he grabbed her arm and began pulling her out to the middle of the dance floor. Sakura tried her best to stop him by digging her heels into the floor, but it was no use, this man was freakishly strong and incredibly determined. This synthesis reaction resulted in embarrassing trouble for Sakura.
"Uh no…you see I don't dance…as in like I really can't," Sakura pleaded trying to undo the vice like grip he had on her wrist. The still nameless man scoffed and shook his head.
"Pffft, oh come on Clara, I've seen you dance countless times, you're a natural, besides, you're with me the great Lawrence. There's no way you could look bad when you're by my side." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, you say 'oh great Lawrence'." This guy was just as arrogant and self centered as Gaston. She could only pray that her horrendous dancing skills would come in handy to scare this jerk off.
Lawrence made absolutely sure that they were in the very center of the room so that everyone else could gaze upon him and his choice in partner before he possessively wound his arms tightly about her. With no warning whatsoever, Lawrence began the brisk waltz, unmerciful to Sakura's insignificant feelings.
It was all Sakura could manage just to keep her eyes glued to the floor so that she could barely keep up with the steps without stepping on his large feet. It was tempting however; she had to admit if she could just stomp once "accidentally" as hard as she physically could just to vindicate herself against such an unashamed pervert. Yes, she could just step down right on that pinky toe of his. Ooh she would love to see the reaction out of the "Great Lawrence" then. As the seconds wore on, the option became increasingly enticing. In order to carry out this malicious plot she would have to gain eye contact with him so that he wouldn't suspect a thing.
When she was sure of the upcoming steps, Sakura lifted her gaze to find that Lawrence wasn't even paying attention to her. The nerve!
"Yes, poor Jonathan never could get a girl to take a liking to him. He's just unskilled when it comes to women. I've tried to teach him a couple of things but the poor lad always finds a way to foil my excellent advice. It's sad really."
Sakura narrowed and turned her gaze away from the arrogant and obviously conceited man. When she did, Sakura was rewarded with a delightful surprise. There in a glass enclosed case was the infamous nutcracker along with an assortment of other types of wooden toys. Investigating the nutcracker was the key to her return. This gave her an excuse to escape from the incorrigible Lawrence! Yes!
With an unexpected burst of strength, Sakura ripped herself out of Lawrence's hold. Lawrence looked dumfounded.
"Clara what on earth are you doing? The dance isn't even halfway through yet" Lawrence exclaimed. A coy smile made its way onto Sakura's face. Her voice was saturated with false sweetness and sincerity.
"Oh, but you see, I have to go see this nutcracker over there. It is simply fascinating!" Lawrence looked flabbergasted and appalled.
"You would choose that silly nutcracker, over a strapping young man like me?" Lawrence asked as though it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. An evil knowing smirk spread wide across her features.
"Sad, isn't it." Without another word, she left the dumbstruck man standing alone. She had other more important matters to attend to. Besides, she felt the familiar tugging of the locket and somehow knew that this was right.
The tall wooden toy cabinet stood alone in the room, content to protect its treasures. Falling into the same mesmerizing trance, Sakura stepped softly up to the case, letting her hand rest gently on the glass. There on the middle row, in the very center was the beloved and sought after nutcracker. The glass suddenly seemed like it was a prison for the nutcracker and Sakura wanted nothing more than to free him from it. Even in this time, the nutcracker still held that intricate perfection that most toys lacked. The secret in his obsidian eyes was also there.
"Nutcracker…" Sakura whispered her breath hardly audible. Was it really true that he was actually some kind of an enchanted prince? The more Sakura thought about it, the more it became a plausible explanation. She was here in the eighteenth century after all. If so, then what was it that she could do to set him free? She didn't have the slightest clue where the prince's heart was. And even if she did find it, how was she supposed to give it to him?
"Oh Nutcracker, what can I do to help you?" Her hand reached tantalizingly slow towards the knob that kept that opened the glass doors. But just as she was about to unlock the case and free the precious nutcracker, she heard the one name that could set her free from this nightmare herself.
"Oh Uncle Drosselmier, it's so good to see you!" someone exclaimed far off behind her. Sakura's eyes widened. Drosselmier was here. Swiftly, she turned around and began to scan the room quickly for any signs of the old man, the poor nutcracker forgotten.
In the opposite corner of the room, Drosselmier handed out toys to the many children that had crowded around him. Children or not, nothing would keep her from getting to him. She was going to have a few words with the conniving trickster…now. Without the slightest bit of intimidation, Sakura marched all the way across the room without giving anyone around her even so much as a second look.
When she was about ten feet away, Drosselmier looked up from his gift giving to lock gazes with the fiery young maiden.
"Oh, miss Clara, what a pleasure it is for you to grace us with your presence this night," Drosselmier exclaimed light heartedly, but Sakura saw straight through the deception and focused on the underlying taunt. She was not in the mood and would not tolerate another second of it.
"Cut the crap Drosselmier. We're going to talk now." Sakura growled out. The small children looked appalled and stared at the Clara imposter horrified before scattering away to tell whoever would listen.
"Such language for a young lady." Drosselmier's eyes danced with mirth and amusement. Sakura scoffed before narrowing her eyes at him.
"Well it's a good thing I'm not one now isn't it." Her sarcastic tone was scathing but Drosselmier took it all in stride. His sly smile stood unwavering.
"My dear you shouldn't say such things, people would begin to think that ye are not of sound mind." Sakura's eyes flashed in righteous anger.
"I think I have a right to be crazy when I'm the one being transported back to the eighteenth century all because you want me to break some curse on some nutcracker." Her voice rose with every syllable causing the bystanders to stare at her in confusion. Something was obviously wrong with Clara. Unaware of the upcoming danger, Sakura continued on her furious tirade.
"Now you are going to take me back to the future this instant or I swear you are going to learn a new meaning of pain." Sakura growled out sticking her finger right in Drosselmier's face. Suddenly, however, she felt large burlesque arms wrap themselves around her waist and yank her forcefully away from Drosselmier. Startled, Sakura
squirmed in the man's arms.
"Hey, let me go!" she shrieked in indignation. No such luck. To her right, Sakura heard a foreign feminine voice sound.
"I'm so sorry! Clara must be suffering from her fever again. I'll just have her taken to her room." They thought she was crazy! No! She wasn't!
"I'm not feverish and I'm not Clara! Now let me go! Drosselmier tell them! Tell them I'm not Clara!" Sakura screamed as she was hauled away kicking and screaming. But Drosselmier merely smiled not uttering a single word, although his eyes were positively gleaming in amusement. Needless to say, it had been quite an interesting party.
Thirty minutes later found Sakura sulking miserably on the floor of her supposed bedroom. They had locked her in. She was trapped and alone. New all time lows had been reached. Hopelessness covered her like a magnetic cloud. She was lost and had no means of returning to her own time.
She wanted to hate that nutcracker. He had brought her nothing but pain and strife. But for some frustrating and indefinable reason she simply couldn't. Okay, so rationally he hadn't technically done anything. It was that infuriating Drosselmier. He had managed to ruin her entire life in less than a few hours. That had to be some sort of world record. She was sure of it. Unconsciously, her fists clenched and her nails dug into the skin of her palms.
She was sick of other people always walking all over her, and her being too non confrontational to say anything to defend herself. Well, that Sakura was gone now. She was going to stand up for herself, here and now. It didn't matter if she wasn't strong enough. She would find a way, starting with escaping from this substandard prison. Taking out all of the constricting pins from her hair, Sakura made her way over to the door. Silently, she knelt in front of the door and took one of her pins and slipped it into the keyhole. A few adjustments later found the door's lock clicking open. Bingo! She mentally cheered. And they say television doesn't teach you anything…But first… With the door still closed tightly, Sakura slipped out of the annoyingly itchy dress leaving her only in a skimpy silk spaghetti strap slip reaching down to mid-thigh.
"Well, it's not like anyone's still here anyways, besides it's not like I'm going to be staying here all that long. All I have to do is find Drosselmier and bribe him into taking me back, and I have the perfect plan." Sakura muttered darkly to herself as she turned the golden door handle.
Sure enough, all of the previous guests had vacated the premises. With the stealth of a ninja Sakura tiptoed down the hallway and descended the stairs picking up only a single candle to light her way through the darkness of the night.
To her supreme luck, she found that the ballroom door was still left ajar, making it possible for her to slip into the room without a sound. With a steady heart, Sakura snuck into the room, keeping a hawk's eye out for any sign of another presence. It would not be beneficial if she was caught in her little mission. Not when she was so close.
She could almost see him now. He, the ever precious prince was waiting for her in his glass case. She could almost feel it. Strange, why would he be waiting for her? Sakura hastily shook the thoughts away. He was just a nutcracker, and right now she had to be ruthless with Drosselmier if she ever wanted to get back to her own home. She had to keep focused on her goal. She could not let her heart of ice be melted if she was to achieve her goal.
She was about three steps away from the toy cabinet when the infamous old hoarse voice was heard behind her. She could almost hear the eerie music of the Dance of the Sugar Plum fairy softly accompanying him.
"Isn't it a little late for one such as you to still be awake at such an hour." Sakura quickly glanced over to see that the old magician was leaning against the equally ancient grandfather clock. The face read that it was only about another minute before midnight. Now why was this familiar? It was at midnight in her world when she had been transported to this God forsaken place. Sakura glared back blatantly defiant.
"I don't think that's something for you to decide." Drosselmier smirked. Such a feisty one this lass was. She'd be good for him. Speaking of which…
"You want the nutcracker." His statement was both accusing and yet at the same time held a slight amusement. Sakura tried to hide her shock. So he knew…It would make no difference in the end. Sakura tried to make a break for the toy cabinet, but found to her horror that she couldn't move an inch of her body. She glared daggers at the enchanted old man. He smirked knowingly.
"I'm sorry my dear but using the nutcracker against me is useless. Besides, there are important issues that need to be discussed." Drosselmier's tone was stern and held no room for argument. He eyed her challenging her to rebuke him, but not a word came from her startled lips. This man truly had magical powers and she was currently treading on dangerous ground. When he saw that she was not going to argue, Drosselmier nodded.
"Alright then, on to business. As you can see quite clearly my dear, you have been selected to be the chosen one who can return to him the prince's heart. It is a duty only you can perform. The life of the prince depends on you. Oh and one more thing. That locket which you wear around your neck; you must never take it off because it is the only link that you have to the prince's world. If you do, you will instantly be transported back to your own time at the consequence of the prince. Please do not fail him. You are his only hope. He as well as I will be counting on you. Good luck my dear. Oh, and one last thing…"
With a snap of his fingers, Drosselmier disappeared and in his place was a stand. On that wooden stand was one of the most magnificent sights that Sakura had ever seen. It was a castle. Its intricacies rivaled only that of the nutcracker. The architecture of the miniature royal haven was exotically exquisite. Sakura could even see from where she was that Drosselmier had installed little rooms into the castle as well. But wait, what did that have to do with her? What did a castle have relation to anything.
Suddenly, her thoughts were ripped away by the dull thrum of the ancient grandfather clock. It was striking midnight once more.
"Remember, once you take that necklace off, the magic of Christmas will immediately cease, so make wise decisions and please…above all else please find a way to save the prince…" When Sakura turned around to question the mysterious mage, she found that he had vanished. It was then that she discovered that she could resume moving her body. Twirling around, she found not a single trace of the old man.
Sakura felt her heart begin to race. An overwhelming sense of fear encased her. She absolutely knew that something bad was about to happen. It just was imminent if Drosselmier had left. No…now she was all alone with no one to save her except herself. Well, she wasn't going to go down that easily. She just wished she knew what she was up against. She had to know if she even had a fighting chance.
Then the impossible happened.
Suddenly, everything around her started to move. The closer she looked; she discovered in shocked fascination that all of the furniture around her was growing to an exponential size. With each echoing gong of the increasingly louder grandfather clock, the smaller she felt at the growing sky scrapers that was once furniture. Every thing seemed to be enveloping her.
After another set of seconds, Sakura realized a frightening truth when all of the growing had ceased. Nothing had grown at all. It was she who had shrunk. A petrified and trembling hand found its way to her mouth. She had shrunk… Her world had officially spun out of any kind of reasonable control. Now how was she supposed to help this prince? How could she when she was about six inches tall?! She had had enough. Prince or not, she was going home.
However, other plans had been mapped out for this involuntary heroine. From out of the Christmas tree a loud rustling noise was heard. Sakura turned to the Christmas tree which was about fifty feet away now, only to see the largest set of beady red eyes glaring back at her.
Sakura's blood ran cold as she was unable to look away from those murderous orbs. All thoughts of taking off the necklace vanished. She couldn't take it off now, not knowing how long it would take for her transportation to take place when this unknown monster was growling at her with contemptuous intent. Panicking, Sakura looked around only to find that countless pairs of those crimson eyes were watching her like a hawk or how a predator stalks its prey.
Tears of fear and despair ran down her face in small rivers as a gigantic black rat about a story taller and wider than she was emerged slowly from out of the tree. She was going to die. She was going to be massacred by this beast. Never in her entire life had she seen anything more horrid. She could see that it had dirty razor sharp claws and jagged yellow fangs.
Trying to evade the inevitable Sakura backed away, when the rat continued to advance. It was only a matter or time now. He would slash at her and her life's essence would spill all over the floor. Finally, she stopped. Her body was paralyzed with fear and she couldn't move an inch.
The giant rat leaned over her, his rotten breath blowing in her face as it bared its fangs. The rat seemed to relish the scent of her terror. But as all good things come to an end, so did the rat's bloodlust take him over. Rearing back, the rat raised its claws to strike the young woman down in one final and single blow.
Out of instinct, Sakura fell to her knees and tried her best to feebly cover herself with her arms preparing herself for the last moments of her life. Everything from there went in slow motion for the young girl. As her eyes closed, she distinctly heard the sound of metal clashing. But why…she thought dumbly. Why wasn't she dead? Shouldn't the rat have struck her by now? Cautiously, she opened one of her tightly shut lids only to gasp in astonishment. Unconsciously, the other eye followed suit, and Sakura was caught then in a trance that she would never awaken from.
There in front of her, was a vision. It had to be. No one such as he could possibly exist. He was like some fallen guardian angel that was now defending her from the ravenous beast that sought to take her life. He was something out of a fairytale. He was the reason why her life had been torn at the seams. He was the reason behind everything. The precious thing that needed to be rescued. And now, Bella completely saw why. There in front of her, was the man who had just sliced the giant rat's eye with his sword. It was him. It was…the prince.
He was everything a prince should be. He was tall and lean standing proudly in his red uniform. He was gorgeous. He was unlike anyone she had ever seen. Spiky black locks defied gravity. It shone in a false moonlight and Bella thought that he was truly ethereal looking without even seeing his face yet.
Sakura could distinctly remember when her breathing hitched. Icy onyx met stunned green, and Sakura knew at once that this angel, this vision, was indeed…the nutcracker prince.