"What do you mean he wasn't frozen when you found him?!" Vox raged at the mice when they reported back with the bad news. "With the storm I whipped up, he shouldn't have been able to walk, let alone escape all of you!"
"I...I...I don't know what else to say sir." The captain said nervously. "When we found him he was moving just fine and he had made it to Flower Valley."
"But how?! How could he have possibly survived the snow storm unaffected?!"
"Maybe because he's made of wood now." Velvette pointed out.
"Oops." Vox said. "I guess I did overlook that little detail."
"Ya think?" His sister replied sarcastically. "I tried to tell you earlier, but you wouldn't listen. And another thing you overlooked was that girl being of flesh and blood, and she would have surely perished in that storm if her friends hadn't of found that cave."
"Friends?" He said. "What friends?"
"Oh yes, she and the nutcracker have quite the entourage now. A snow fairy, a former servant, and a flower fairy."
"What?! They have fairies with them now?! Ugh!" He scoffed in revulsion. "Those sickeningly-sweet pests! I hate them almost as much as I hate the nutcracker! They're so playful and friendly and good-natured! They make snow that's not cold or hard and they grow those useless flowers!"
"Then of course there's the whole uprising that the other toy turned people are talking about."
"Uprising?! They dare to plan an uprising against me?!"
"And that's not even the best part."
"Then what is? And how do you know all this stuff anyway?"
"You're not the only one who can use Mother's spell book. I cast a spell that allowed me to spy on the nutcracker so I could watch that snow storm plan of yours fail." She chuckled. "And not only did you fail at freezing the nutcracker but it looks like you're going to fail at getting a bride too."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well I hate I tell you this, actually I don't. You may have a rival for that lovely girl's affections."
"You mean there's another man in the picture?"
"A wooden one to be exact."
"The nutcracker?!" He shouted in furious disbelief.
"Yes, from what I've seen she's taken quite a shine to him and vice versa. Why they may already be head over heels in love."
"Nonsense! How could he possibly compare with me? He's just a block of wood. A loser-kid in a tree stump. I on the other hand am a king. I rule this entire land, I have an endless amount of riches. What does that nutcracker have, that I don't?"
"A brain." Velvette said.
"I have a brain!"
"That's up for debate." She began using her fingers to list more qualities. "Not only does he have brains but talent, charm, wit, personality."
"I have all of those and more."
"He's got nothing on you in the looks department if you ask me." The captain said.
"Yeah right." The lady mouse said rolling her eyes. "Here's a thought Vox, why don't you stop chasing after human girls and try pursuing a female in your own species? I'm sure if you lost a few pounds and fixed those teeth of yours, you could attract one desperate female mouse."
"Shut up!" Vox snapped at her.
"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" She teased.
"Well it's clear to me now that I've underestimated that puny wooden-headed twit and I can't rely on my troops or my magic in this situation." Vox declared. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
"Elaborate, if you please?"
"I'm going after them myself." He said grabbing his scepter. "I must demonstrate that I am the better catch. Once I dismember my competition and give an example of my magnificent power, she'll see that he's worthless and accept my humble proposal."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Well look at it this way, I can either have a new queen to rule by my side or a new porcelain doll to put on display."
"You're really sick, you know that?"
"And I think I'll take a little insurance for extra measure." Vox continued, ignoring his sister's words.
"What kind of insurance?" The captain asked.
"You'll see. For now, gather the troops and tell them to ready my carriage. I'm steppin out."
For the first half of the sleigh ride, Vagatha continued to give Charlotte words of encouragement to help her be more confident in herself. Wisely telling her that while it's okay to be scared and nervous, you shouldn't let fear stop you from being the best you can be. Let fear help you, not hurt you.
"Fear keeps you from getting arrogant and pushing yourself too far." She had said. "But those are the only things that fear should keep you from doing. You never have to be afraid to follow your dreams or to do what's right."
"But what if I fail?" Charlotte had asked.
"Figure out what you did wrong and try again."
"But what if I never succeed?"
"That'll only happen if you sincerely believe it and if you stop trying. It takes faith and effort to accomplish something."
The other half of the ride was spent with everyone exchanging stories about their lives, how they grew up, and how things were before Vox took over.
"One time the king had asked Vagatha and myself to decorate the castle for a grand gathering, but we couldn't stop arguing over what the theme should be. Winter or Spring." Anthony said.
"Oh dear, I remember that fiasco." Niffty said.
"He decorated one half of the castle in snow tips and I decorated the other half in floral arrangement." Vagatha said. "Then some snow fell on my head and I thought Anthony had thrown it at me. So I threw a ball of pollen at him and for the next three hours it was an all out war between frost and flowers."
"Now that's good entertainment." Alastor chuckled. "I wish I had been around to see that."
"By the time the party started, she was covered in snow and I was roped up in vines and leaves." Anthony laughed.
"We looked so ridiculous." Vagatha laughed along with him. "And all the guests thought it was funny too."
"But the king not so much." Anthony said. "Needless to say we were never asked to help out with a royal shindig again. Also I sneezed out pollen for a week."
He turned to Vagatha.
"Seriously, what is it with you and the pollen?"
"I'm a flower fairy, what do you expect?" Vagatha replied.
"Well you don't always have to go so heavy on the pollen."
"On a different subject." Niffty said trying to prevent another argument from taking place. "Do you all remember the incredible banquets we used to have at the castle? All the exquisite music, the beautiful dances, and the delicious feasts."
"Oh yes." Vagatha sighed dreamily at the memory. "There truly is nothing like a banquet held in the Kingdom of Sweets. Everything is just full of beauty, and laughter, and sweetness."
"Well it all sounds very exciting." Alastor said. "Except for the sweet part."
"What do you mean?" Niffty asked. "You don't like candy, sugar plums, cakes, pies, and gingerbread?"
"No, no, no, no, and no." Alastor said. "You may find this hard to believe, but I never liked sugary things. Not even as a small child. I much preferred spicy and savory meals."
"Well there is food like that there." Anthony said. "A lot of nuts and breads, and you can drink it with Arabian coffee."
"Or Spanish chocolate." Vagatha added.
"Or Chinese tea." Niffty chimed.
"But the dancing was always the best part." Vagatha said. "We would all wear such pretty and specially made clothes while entertaining the guests with special tricks and performances."
"Vagatha was always the prettiest dancer." Anthony said.
"Thank you Anthony." She smiled at him sweetly. "But we all know that no one could dance better than Sugar Plum. She was the grand finale of each production and the guests adored her."
"I'd love to meet her." Charlotte said. "She sounds absolutely wonderful."
"She is." Niffty said. "She's said to be the wisest, bravest, kindest, and most beautiful person in all the lands. Although you might be equal to her in matters of beauty and kindness Charlotte."
"If I may ask." Alastor said. "If she truly is as wonderful as you say, then where is she? Why hasn't she tried to help you all? Why can't she overthrow the mouse king?"
"Because fairies are forbidden to use their magic for anything other than goodness and peace and love." Vagatha explained. "We can't use our magic for anything bad like violence or selfishness, otherwise we lose our powers forever."
"Which really sucks at a time like this." Anthony said. "Because having the power to instantly take down Vox would do everyone a world of good."
"Well no wonder you all think I'm you're only hope." Alastor said. "You can't really fight back, can you? Because if you do you'll be left powerless and worse off than you were before."
"Exactly." Anthony confirmed.
Alastor's entire face became dark and he looked down at his boots nervously, his mind contemplating what he was about to say next. Charlotte had a feeling that she knew what he was going to say, and she held his hand to give him the strength to do it. Before he spoke, he smiled at her to show his gratitude.
"There's something you all should know." He paused before going full disclosure. "I don't know if I can defeat Vox."
"Of course you can. The Sugar Plum Fairy said so." Niffty insisted.
"Perhaps, but it's not that simple."
"How do you mean?" Vagatha asked.
"For starters, how old do you all think I am?"
"Well you gotta be at least twenty something." Anthony said.
"You're somewhat correct. Chronologically and physically I am twenty years old. But here's the thing, during those eight years I was growing up, I was completely comatose. When I was twelve years old I blacked out and I remained that way for eight years, and my mentality never really adjusted to my physical maturing. In other words, while my body grew my brain did not."
"Hold on." Vagatha said, not liking at all where this was going. "You're saying that in that wooden head of yours is the brain of a twelve year old boy?"
"Yes." He admitted.
"You're a child?!" Anthony cried out.
"Mental and emotional wise, yes."
"So that means..." Vagatha trailed off as she put the pieces together.
"Oh my God! We are so screwed!" Anthony shouted.
"Please, nobody panic." Charlotte said.
"Nobody panic?! We just found out that our savior is a man-child! And not in the pathetic, creepy way. A literal man-child!"
"And we're just finding out about this now?!" Vagatha screamed at Alastor.
"I...I...I'm sorry." He tried not to stutter. "I mean, I never said I was the hero you were expecting. You all just automatically assumed I'd take on the role and succeed."
"Well you never told us that you weren't even fully through puberty yet!" Anthony said.
"You all started cheering as soon as you met me, I didn't know what to say! And it's not my fault I'm like this!"
"Maybe but what are we supposed to do now?!"
"Listen can we just talk about this?" Charlotte said. "Can we all just calm down?"
"I knew it!" Vagatha said. "I knew that there was no way in hell this guy was going to save us! I mean just look at him!"
"It's over! We're done for!" Anthony wailed frantically. "It's curtains for us all! End of the line! Finito!"
"I'm sorry!" Alastor shouted in frustration. "But I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask to be turned into a nutcracker for eight years and have my entire childhood stolen and then wake up as an instant adult who's supposed to save you all! Why don't you try to see things from my end?!"
Suddenly Niffty put two china fingers to her mouth and whistled so loud that it put an end to the chaos.
"Will the three of you get a grip already?" She said. "Now I understand that this new information is startling and worrisome, but screaming like a bunch of hysterical banshees isn't going to solve anything. I think we need to take this time to cool our heads down. It's been a long day and it's getting late. I say we stop this sleigh and camp out for the night. Does everyone else agree?"
No one answered but it was clear that they were all in agreement.