Charlotte and Alastor followed Anthony to an area in the forest that was sheltered by the branches of snowy trees being tied together. Inside that make shift shelter was a very disturbing and sad sight. Human-sized dolls, wooden puppets, and toy soldiers that had been badly broken, torn up, or chewed. It made Charlotte's heart feel so terribly sore and she almost started crying.
"What happened here?" She asked.
"Well Vox turned us all into toys and the mice decided that all toys are to be played with. Even if they're actually human beings or fairies." Anthony answered. "So they 'played' with us."
Played he said. But it was more like torture. One rag doll had been hacked to bits, another who had so many tars on her limbs, a puppet who was half burned, then there was a tin soldier who was completely covered in rust and could do nothing except blink.
Not even Alastor was immune to the instant sympathy and horror that came from the scene of so many people hurting. He took a step back, and heard something shudder behind him. Turning around, he and Charlotte saw someone hiding in the corner. It was a little shepherdess doll made of china, wearing a sky blue dress and bonnet which contrasted with her rose colored hair. She looked up at them with tears in her eyes.
"Hello." Alastor said gently.
She recoiled in fear, her arms protectively clutching a life-sized plush sheep toy.
"Don't be afraid." Charlotte said in the same gentle tone.
"I can't." The shepherdess answered in a sad whisper.
She looked down and the two of them saw that her legs had been broken.
"That's Niffty." Anthony said. "She was a lady in-waiting, and that toy sheep she's holding was once her pet cat Kiki."
"But that sheep toy isn't moving." Charlotte pointed out.
"That's because Vox chose to turn Kiki into an inanimate toy."
"You mean he can actually do that?" Alastor asked.
"Why would he do that?" Charlotte asked.
"Hello, it was a cat and he's the mouse king." Anthony said. "Anyway Niffty was so angry by what they had done to her pet, she tried to attack them but they overpowered her and broke both her legs. "
"Can't you just put them back together again?" Charlotte asked.
"With what?" Anthony asked. "Vox ordered the mice to keep away anything and everything that could be used as a weapon against him. And the includes tools that could put broken toys back together again."
"But surely there must be something we can use." Alastor said. "And if not, maybe the Inventor's satchel has something."
Alastor opened the satchel, and it didn't just have something. It had everything. More needles and spools of thread, stuffing, an oil can, tweezers, sandpaper, a small hammer, a gear puller, shears, a pivot, and a bottle of glue. Alastor grabbed the glue and carefully approached Niffty.
"It's okay." He told her as he crouched down. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just going to fix you."
She still seemed hesitant to trust him, but when she saw that he had kid eyes, her fear vanished. The porcelain shepherdess held perfectly still and allowed the nutcracker to add a few drops of glue to her legs and then re-attached them in the spot from which they originated from.
"Now just wait a few minutes and you should be able to walk again." Alastor said.
Niffty looked down at her now glued on legs, and then back up to Alastor, flashing him a grateful smile.
"Thank you." She said softly.
"You're welcome." He smiled back and stood up. "Now who else needs a repair?"
One by one, all the broken toys came to Alastor and Charlotte to use their knowledge in needlework and mechanics to fixed them up. Charlotte stitched up and re-stuffed all the fabric based toys who had been cut or torn or unraveled, while Alastor oiled and tweaked all the mechanical toys, and each took turns using the glue on toys of a different material.
"This doesn't hurt right?" Charlotte asked as she pulled a threaded needle through the fabric face of a doll in order to see her ear back on.
"Oh no." The doll assured her. "I can't feel a thing, and bless you kind miss. Bless you so."
Charlotte smiled, happy to do someone a service like this.
"Alrighty, let's see what the damage is." Alastor said opening up the back of a tin soldier and poking around inside, checking the condition of each one. "Okay someone pass me the oil can."
Charlotte handed it to him and he proceeded to oil every rusted limb and mechanical organ that the tin solider had. Next he used his pivot to arrange the gears and springs into proper working order.
"You're really good at this." Charlotte observed.
"I learned it from my uncle." Alastor said. "His magic tricks were impressive but I was more interested in his clockmaking skills. So I became an apprentice of his."
"Looks like he taught you well."
"He taught me much but not everything." Alastor said digging deeper into the toy's back. "I'm not a professional so I'm not sure how much or how little I can do. And just look at the cases I've got, Lordy soldier boy, how ever did you get like this?"
"This is Baxter." Anthony said to Alastor. "He was a palace guard who tried to fight back and because of that, after Vox turned him into a tin soldier, he had the mice dunk him in the river for several hours and then left him to rot in an alleyway."
"I would have preferred to rot than to just stand by and do nothing." The tin solider said.
"A brave one, is he?" Alastor said.
"Brave, yes." Anthony said. "Smart, not so much."
"Well what else could I do?" Baxter asked. "I had to at least try to protect the citizens of our kingdom. Even if I did end up failing."
"Well this time you won't have to fight back alone because the guy repairing you is none other than the nutcracker prince that Sugar Plum spoke up."
Baxter, Niffty, and every other toy looked directly at Alastor, their eyes full of hope and awe. This made him feel very uncomfortable.
"Are you really the nutcracker prince?" Niffty asked. "The one who's come to save us?"
"Um...I suppose." Alastor said.
Cheers erupted from all the toys that had once been human.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!" Niffty clapped.
"I am at your service your majesty." Baxter said turning himself around. "If you need a man at arms that you can trust, I am that man. Well...Tin man that is. But while I am only a man made of tin and gears, I'm just as brave, loyal, and formidable as any man made of flesh and blood."
"What's the plan your highness?" A doll asked.
"Just give the word and we'll all do as you command without question." Another tin soldier said.
"Oh well...My plan is...Is...Let me finish taking care of everyone here and then I'll disclose my plan to all." Alastor declared.
"So considerate and compassionate." A lady doll swooned.
"And even more noble than I suspected." A third tin soldier said. "The mouse king doesn't stand a chance against him."
But despite constant praise, the calm smile on the nutcracker's face and his chipper tone, Charlotte could tell that he was not pleased by any of this. In fact it just made him all the more uncomfortable. She could see it in his eyes. But she didn't know why. From what she read in fairy stories, becoming an adored and respected hero was the best position a character could have. A chance to defeat a great evil, be richly rewarded, and win the admiration of all. Didn't Alastor want that?
"Are you alright?" She asked him quietly as they were working together to fix a marionette. She was patching up his clothes while he was re-hammering the nails into his broken off arm.
"Me? Oh I'm perfectly fine my dear." Alastor said. "Though I am disturbed by the large number of injuries and repairs needed. Even more disturbing is that these toys are actually people. And just when I think Vox can't sink any lower."
"It is horrible." She agreed. "But that's not what I meant."
"What did you mean?"
"Well...Maybe I'm just imagining things but it seems to me whenever someone praises you for being their savior, you feel discomfort."
"Discomfort? Ha!" He chuckled at the notion. "Now where would you get an idea like that?"
"I don't know. It's just something about your eyes. They always dim when it happens. Is there something bothering you? Do you wanna talk about it?"
Alastor had to think before responding. He wasn't sure if he had the courage to trust her with how he really felt or what he was really thinking. What if she blabbed? Then there would be panic and nothing made a problem more difficult than panic. But on the other hand, there was a slight chance he'd burst into wood shavings if he didn't tell someone.
"There are times when your feelings are of little importance and you must put them aside for a greater cause." He recalled his mother saying once. "But there are also times when you must unveil your heart and express your true emotions, other wise it will hurt you inside. When the opportunity for the latter comes, take it."
But was this his opportunity?
"Guys!" They were interrupted by Anthony rushing in. "We've got trouble! You better take a peek outside!"
Charlotte and Alastor put down their work and followed Anthony to see what the matter was.