The Inventor's room was completely decorated in cuckoo-cuckoo clocks, pocket watches, wooden puppets, dolls, toys with wind-ups and springs, it reminded Alastor very much of the shop his uncle used to work in and it reminded Charlotte of all the wonderful toys her godfather would make for her.
"As you can see I have quite the collection here." The Inventor said, leading them over to a table with three chairs. "Have a seat, and I'll fetch you two something to eat and drink."
"Oh yes, thank you." Alastor said, feeling the hunger of his long empty belly rise up in full force. "I can't remember the last time I ate."
The Inventor laid out some spiced nuts and bread rolls for them to eat. Charlotte didn't eat much because she wasn't all that hungry, but Alastor almost cleaned the entire bowl and plate. Though she couldn't say that she was surprised by his ravenous appetite, the poor fellow had spent eight years without a meal. In fact she was surprised that he was able to come back to life period.
"Would anyone care for some peppermint tea?" The Inventor offered.
"Yes, thank you." Charlotte said.
"No thanks." Alastor said. "I don't like tea. Strange coming from someone who's half English, but I never picked up a taste for it."
"Never?" Charlotte asked.
"Never. But my aunt and uncle would drink it all the time, and for uncle it was the only non-alcoholic beverage he'd have. Even though in my opinion he was the worst tea maker ever. Everything he brewed tasted like nasty leaf juice. Ow!"
The inventor had thumped Alastor on the back of the head.
"What was that for?" He asked.
"Sorry. I thought I saw a termite crawling on your head." The Inventor said innocently, as he poured Charlotte a cup of hot tea.
She brought the tea to her lips and carefully sipped the hot liquid to where it wouldn't burn her lip. She thought the taste of peppermint was wonderful and the hot drink warmed her right up.
"It's delicious." Charlotte said. "We're grateful to your hospitality but would you mind, getting around to helping us with our...Transformation? If you can that is."
"Hmmm..." The Inventor looked at both of them carefully, examining each feature of their face and body, although Charlotte had the suspicion that he already knew what the problem was and that this was just for show.
"Alright I've got good news and I've got bad news. The bad news is there's nothing I can do. Absolutely nothing."
"Are you sure?" Alastor asked.
"Yep. I'm very sorry but the mouse queen's spell on you was extremely powerful. Almost impossible to break." He explained. "Almost. Good news is, I know how to break the spell on you kid."
"How?"
"A curse this evil and powerful, there's only one thing strong enough to destroy it. Love."
"Love?"
"Love. A love so true and selfless that it will overcome all evil. This means, not only will you turn back into a human, but it will destroy that hate-filled mouse king Vox and undo all the damage he's caused."
"Damage? What damage?"
"Well his majesty wasn't all too happy about you killing his mother. He wanted revenge, and that want led him to develop a desire to make all within this world suffer dearly for the demise of his mother. After the queen died, he became king of all mice and spent the next eight years learning how to use dark magic like his mother did. Once he mastered it, he took over the Kingdom of Sweets, allowing all the mice to devour everything and turning all within the kingdom into toys. Toys for him to mistreat and torment. And if that wasn't enough, he spread his evil to other lands, such as the Snowy Forest and the Flower Valley."
"That's terrible." Charlotte said.
"The only place that's safe from the mouse king's wrath is the Sheltered City. It was once just a junkyard, but those who managed to escape the mouse king, fled there and with my help, they used all that junk to first construct a protective wall made of iron, and later a prosperous city. But very few have made it to that city."
"What happened to the king and Princess Mimzy?" Alastor asked.
"They were among the lucky few who made it there. But if you want my opinion, the king was a damn coward. Abandoning his people in their time of need, leaving them to the mercy of that crazed rodent. If he was the only refugee, I wouldn't have lifted a finger to help him."
"So that's it? No one is going to try to stop him?"
"Only you can."
"Me?"
"Yes. The Sugar Plum Fairy said so."
"Who?"
"The Sugar Plum Fairy. She's the wisest person in the land, and she knows everything about good and evil. She said that only the Nutcracker Prince and his princess can defeat the mouse king."
"Well hold on, while I am a nutcracker, I'm not a prince."
"But you could become one." Charlotte said. "Aren't you technically engaged to this Princess Mimzy?"
"I suppose, the deal we made with her father was if I broke the spell on her, we'd be married once I became a man."
"Then it's simple." Charlotte decided. "You marry the princess and her love for you will change you back and destroy the mouse king."
"But marriage is really a big step and I hardly know her." Alastor said. "On the other hand though, there doesn't seem to be any other way to fix things."
"What about me?" Charlotte asked the Inventor. "How can I become thirteen again?"
"That's a little more complicated." He answered. "You see, the Sugar Plum Fairy did this to you."
"She did? I didn't see a fairy when I was transformed. I didn't see anyone."
"She doesn't always make her presence known when she does stuff like this."
"Well why did she do this to me?"
"Probably because she believes you can help save this world. Only time she ever gets someone involved, is because she sees something in them that could prove to be heroic."
"Heroic? Me?" Charlotte said rather meekly. "I'm sorry, but she must've gotten me mixed up with somebody else. I'm not a hero, I'm just a little girl. Or rather, I was just a little girl. Still even with an adult body, I can't do anything. Not anything heroic that is."
"Maybe." The Inventor said. "But I've never known Sugar Plum to ever make a mistake. Not in this department that is. She has a way seeing what kind of heart a person has and that allows her to know what a person is capable of."
"And what did she see in me?" Charlotte asked.
"I don't know. You'll have to ask her yourself."
"Do you know where I can find her?"
"Sometimes I do know, and sometimes I don't know. She's an unpredictable one, she is. Right now I haven't the foggiest idea where she is, but I can promise you this, she's bound to show up once the mouse king is defeated."
"Would she change me back?"
"She will eventually."
"I guess that means we have no choice but to try our luck with defeating Vox." Alastor said. "Which means I have to get married. That'll please my aunt, she always did hope I'd settle down soon."
The Inventor opened a pocket in his coat, producing a rolled up sheet of paper which he handed to Alastor.
"This is the map to the Sheltered City. You'll have to pass through the Snowy Forest and the Flower Valley, both territories are occupied by Vox's troops so there will be danger." He opened another pocket in his coat and from this one, he produced a small satchel. "Take this with you."
"What is it?" Alastor asked accepting the satchel.
"It's a bag of special tricks I've invented. If any mice pursue you, these will slow them down. But each trick only works once so don't use them unless it's an emergency."
"Thank you."
"That's all I can do to help you for now. I have to manage a lot of things around here. Like the time and the safety of the refugees. But good luck to you both."
After that, the Inventor led them over to another door. He opened it, and on the other side was a long, dark tunnel. Alastor didn't appear the least bit frightened, but Charlotte was a little afraid.
"Well? Are you coming?" He asked her when he started to go through the doorway and she had yet to take one step.
"I don't know." She said anxiously. "Maybe I should just wait here, and you can come back and bring the Sugar Plum Fairy with you."
"Hate to break it to you doll, but there's no way you're getting changed back by waiting around here." The Inventor said. "If you want to get any younger, you'll have to go to Sugar Plum yourself."
"Oh...Okay."
Charlotte really didn't want to do this. Going off into God knows where and facing that awful Vox again, just thinking about it made her shudder. This wasn't something she could do. She wasn't brave or strong or clever or fast. What was it about her that could possibly give anyone the idea that she could be a hero? It was nonsense.
But like it or not, she had to do this if she ever wanted to go back to her proper age. If she didn't then there was a very slim chance that she would be able go home again. Her father didn't believe in magic, so there's no way she'd be able to convince him that she was his daughter whom a sugar plum fairy transformed into an adult for some heroic purpose. If she were to go back in this state and tell him such things, he'd think her a mad woman and send her to an asylum, while he and her mother would spend the rest of their lives believing their real daughter probably ran away or was kidnapped. They'd be so terribly heartbroken.
"Well, here I go."
And without any further hesitation, she joined Alastor in the tunnel. Once they were gone, the Inventor muttered to himself,
"Worst tea maker, ha! You never could appreciate good taste and you still haven't learned to control that snarky mouth of yours, you little ingrate. Lucky your aunt loves you so much. Otherwise I would have done far worse than thump your noggin."
But despite his words, he had wanted nothing more than to run to the nutcracker and hug him tight. But he resisted. He couldn't risk anyone learning his secret just yet.