Chapter 5-Uncle Drosselmeier's Presents
After what seems a very long time, after dinner was served, sparks appear in the entrance to the Hall. Everyone stops what they're doing and looks at the door, which opens and magical fireworks spring out. But a single yellow firework spins in place and circles an old man with an eyepatch over his right eye. The man flings out his cloak and reveals a wonderful clockwork toy castle that was hiding beneath his cloak. I stand, forgetting about Tealea, and rush over to the castle and the old man with Pavia in my arms. Joshua runs over just as I stop and he looks at the moving toy soldiers and not at the castle itself.
"Wow! Look at all of them!" he says and he looks even more animated than he was when he opened his gift from Grandpa, if possible.
"It's beautiful Uncle Drosselmeier." I say as the guests start to crowd behind me. Father and Mother come up behind us and express their gratitude to the gift.
"It was nothing. Your gratitude and pleasure is my reward." Uncle Drosselmeier says. Joshua asks if the toy soldiers can come out. "No, I am afraid that's not possible."
"I kinda wish the swans could fly." Our Godfather shakes his head at me. "But it's beautiful all the same. Thank you."
"Make the soldiers fire their weapons! POW! Bang!"
"No, this is how it was made to work and how it does work." Uncle Drosselmeier says, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh. I can make my soldiers do whatever I want." Then, Joshua does a very rude thing; he turns his back on toy castle and walks back to his soldiers. I hear Father sigh, and Mother signals the musicians to start playing. As they begin, Uncle Drosselmeier pushes a button on the tower, making all movement on and in the castle stop, then rolls it to stand next to the fireplace nearest to the Christmas tree. Since the musicians are playing a song that a couple is able to dance to, not a single person, I leave the Great Hall and sit on a chair in the dining room.
However, Laura and Isaac are in there too; when they hear the music, they decide to go and dance. Sighing, I make my way back into the Great Hall. Avoiding the dancing couples, I make my way to where I left Tealea. I then put her in the Toy Cabinet and notice, out of the corner of my eye, a mysterious box. I turn around, and next to the box that once held Tealea, there was a new box! I pick it up and open it to reveal another doll.
It is apparently a male doll, he has long black hair, green eyes, and he is wearing a green variation of a knight's off duty outfit with black boots and a tall green hat with a black bobble on the top of it. And attached to his belt is a metal sword. When I take him out I find out that he is made of all wood, except the sword.
"Where in the world did you come from?" I hear a snicker, and turn to Uncle Drosselmeier. "You brought him didn't you?"
"Do you like him?" the question takes me by surprise.
"I haven't ever had a doll made of all wood before. But I've never seen this kind of doll either. What is he?"
"A nutcracker, Kyrie. Here, allow me to show you." He takes a walnut from the bowl on the table next to him and places it in the nutcracker's mouth. I give him the doll and he pushes the doll's bound-up hair forward and his mouth cracks the nut shell.
"Lemme try!" Uncle Drosselmeier hands me the doll back and holds out the bowl of walnuts. I take the last one and do exactly what he did. "Thanks, though I don't like walnuts." I smile at the doll, and just for a moment, I see his eyes sparkle. But, before I can question my Godfather, Joshua comes and takes the nutcracker away from me. "Give him back!"
"Now, Kyrie, let Joshua have a turn." Joshua pops the cannon ball from earlier into my nutcracker's mouth.
"I found him, and Joshua always breaks everything I get that he wants!"
"No, I don't!" just as he says that, he breaks off two teeth of my nutcracker with the cannon ball when he tries to break the cannon ball. "Woops, uh-oh. Sorry, Kyrie."
"Give him back, I knew you'd break him!" Joshua gives me the nutcracker back, saying that he isn't even a real solider and he doesn't have a cross bow. I look at the nutcracker and sigh at his injury. "My poor nutcracker."
"There, Kyrie, I will fix him up. But first, let me tell you how he became like this."