The Nutcracker Prince -Part One (Patreon)

Image credit: ninawolv3rina on Tumblr for the image of Drosselmeyer 

Here you go everyone you've waited for it! Here's Part One in The Nutcracker Prince!  Each new part will be released every Sunday in December! 

Please, please, please leave me some feedback I'd love to have it! I hope you enjoy! Only 24 days until Christmas!

-Britt xoxo

“That’s the last gift,” Clarence announced as the door to Mrs. Schneider’s house closed shut to him and his younger brother.

“Race you home slow-poke!” young Fritz dared –already setting off down the street kicking up snow as he went.

“Not fair!” Clarence cried out as he chased after his brother. Soon both boys’ breaths were coming out in billowing puffs around them in the Christmas Eve air as they raced one another through the streets of their town.

Clarence being the older of the two soon caught up to Fritz and surpassed him. But his lead did not last very long for but a moment or two later he turned the corner laughing and almost ran into the man exiting the toy shop. Clarence slid as he tried to stop himself from running into the gentleman and he was soon himself lying flat on his back in the snow!

“Clarence my boy is zat you?”

He looked up to see none other than Herr Drosselmeier before him. “Oh hello Uncle Drosselmeier!” he laughed. “Merry Christmas!”

“Ha-ha I’m—OH!” Fritz exclaimed as he saw who his brother had almost run into. He stopped to talk to the toymaker too.

“Merry Christmas! Vat’s zee hurry you two?” the middle-aged man asked them as he looked them over with his one good eye and a smile. His other had an eye-patch on it and neither boy knew why this was nor had dared to ask, ever. They’d known Drosselmeier their entire lives but had always been too shy to pose the question to him.

“We were racing each other home!” eleven year old Fritz announced boastfully, “I let Clarence take the lead and get a head start...”

Laughing, Uncle Drosselmeier leaned down and pulled Clarence to his feet. He knew by the look on the young man’s face that what Fritz said was a huge exaggeration. “Vell I von’t take up much more of your time. No doubt your parents are vaitink for your return.”

Clarence brushed the snow off of himself as he spoke, “You are coming to the party tonight aren’t you?” he asked his godfather.

“Of course.”

“Then come with us! We can wait for you!”

“Ah I vould but you see I haf a few zings I must do first for my nephew...”

“Your nephew?” Both Clarence and Fritz looked at the man in confusion. “You have a nephew?” Fritz went on.

“And are you actually his Uncle or does he just call you that like we do?” Clarence wondered.

Drosselmeier laughed. “Yes, yes,” he assured as he gestured a few times with his palms for them to calm their enthusiasm down. “Yes he is actually my nephew.”

“Will we get to meet him?” Fritz posed.

“Yes I hope someday soon you vill. 

“Now, run along you two; you mustn’t keep your family vaitink! I’ll see you later tonight!”

“Goodbye Uncle Drosselmeier!” Fritz called out behind him having already taken off running again through the snow-covered streets.

“Farewell Uncle,” Clarence proclaimed quickly before he took off again after his youngest sibling.

“Vell Hans my boy,” Drosselmeier murmured under his breath as he re-entered his shop, “tonight...”

The race between the two brothers seemed evenly matched. When one would take the lead, the other suddenly found an opportunity through some chance to overtake instead. Clarence won the lead through use of his longer legs only to be overtaken by Fritz when he had to stop for a carriage to pass. Fritz relished in his lead until he ran into a patch of ice and slipped and slid across it. When he finally caught up to Clarence again, his older brother had stopped to help pick up the presents that had dropped from Mrs. Strauss’ arms when she’d tried to avoid the running teen. But his brother caught up quickly. It wasn’t until they were nearest their house that Fritz figured he’d still win the battle. He knew a shortcut, which he took whilst his brother travelled over the bridge that led over the small brook running adjacent to their house. Fritz made it to the gate before Clarence and tried to jump over it instead of unlatching and walking in. But, he lost his balance and fell when Clarence too jumped over fluidly right beside him startling the young boy.

“Ha-ha I win!” Clarence announced breathlessly as he bent over in fatigue when he reached their front door. He gasped for breath in the cold air –trying to laugh at his victory.

“No fair!” Fritz whined as he walked up to the house dusting snow off himself and scowling.

The front door opened and Clarence turned to see their sister Louise. “Well it’s about time you two!” she admonished, “Mother and Father have been waiting! And there isn’t much time before our guests will be here!”

The two brothers passed into the house avoiding the stern look of their oldest sibling.

But their parents were in very good spirits despite what Louise had said. They calmly told Clarence and Fritz to hurry upstairs and change into their Christmas outfits and come downstairs so that they could all light the Christmas tree together before the evening’s party would begin.

Clarence arrived into the drawing room a short time later still flush-cheeked and stood at his father’s side. Fritz and his mother soon joined them and Louise and together the family lit the candles of their tree together. Once done, they stood back and admired it.

“Oh Ma-ma it’s the most beautiful Christmas tree we’ve ever had!” Clarence remarked in awe as he stood beside her. The resemblance between the two was quite obvious when side-by-side.

“Every year is the most beautiful,” she replied warmly.

“Well this is certainly the tallest,” their father Karl announced in his booming baritone as he looked up at it smiling. The man was tall and broad with a voice to match.

“Can we open presents now?” Fritz exclaimed in impatient excitement.

Their parents assented. Fritz already had his eye on one and within mere seconds he’d opened the box. “WOW! Soldiers! And cannons with cannonballs!” he cried happily.

Clarence knelt by the tree and searched out for something with his name scrawled upon it. He soon found something wrapped in green paper and pulled it towards him. He curiously opened the box and found, “Dancing slippers?! Oh thank you Ma-ma! Thank you Papa!” he proclaimed gratefully –grinning ear to ear. He hurried to try them on.

Meanwhile Louise was tenderly unwrapping a box of her own. “Oh Mother! Father! It’s gorgeous!” she proclaimed pulling out a lovely coral and pink frock. “I love it! It’s so...” She didn’t finish her sentence as she went towards the small mirror on the opposite wall holding the dress up to her to catch a small glimpse of what it would look like on.

Clarence looked up at his sister as he stood in his new shoes and felt them out. Louise twirled and caught his eye. “Clarence isn’t this the most wonderful dress you’ve ever seen?!” she asked him with gusto –just wanting to be complimented as she always seemed to be.

He didn’t reply; tired of his sister’s vain attitude.

“I’m going to go and put it on right now!” she announced –not even noticing his expression or his silence. Louise left the room hurriedly.

Clarence turned in his new shoes and smiled. “One day I’m going to be a part of the Grand Ballet and travel all over the world!” he exclaimed softly as though it were a solemn promise to himself.

“Thank you Ma-ma and Papa!” He went to hug his parents in gratitude.

“Oh Ma-ma this is lovely!” he murmured as he beheld her new necklace which his father had just given her a minute before.

Before she could reply, a loud trumpeting sound blew out and they turned in alarm to see Fritz dressed up in his soldier’s hat blowing on his horn. “Charge!” he bellowed out then galloped around the room as though on a horse and blew on his horn again. His family covered their ears until at last he stopped.

At that moment, Louise re-entered the room glowing with happiness and pride. “Oh how do I look?” she asked as she gave a twirl in her new dress.

“Like a princess my Sugarplum!” her father praised happily.

Smug, Louise moved graciously around in her gown. After several moments of this, Clarence took the opportunity to show off himself and pranced mockingly after his sister’s turned back. This made Fritz burst out laughing and Clarence was caught.

“You two are such children!” Louise sighed in frustration as she haughtily raised her chin and walked across the room elegantly.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door. “Oooh! I’ll get it!” Louise volunteered eagerly.

“Are you sure we have enough of everything? Punch? Port? Is everything laid out?” their father worried as they made their way after Louise.

“Darling we’ve enough to feed an army!” his wife teased. “Come along boys!” she beckoned her sons.

Clarence was putting his regular shoes back on and he slipped his Christmas gift back underneath the tree then scooped up their kitten who was playing with the ribbon on another of the gifts. “Come along Pavlova our guests are here,” he whispered to her.

A half hour later, the party was in full swing and the sounds of conversation and laughter echoed out from the drawing room and the adjoining room which served as both the ballroom and location of all the marvelous food spread out across long tables on the side of the room.

“Oh you must try Ingrid’s apple strudel!”

“This mulled wine is fabulous!”

“It’s good to see you Mr. Schaefer!”

“The decorations are so lovely this year!”

“Oh you really must come and see the tree! It’s the tallest one we’ve had yet!”

Somehow in the bustle Clarence had lost track of little Pavlova. He found the gray striped kitten underneath one of the food tables hiding from the copious amounts of people. He coaxed her out and began to carry her through the throng. “I don’t like these large groups either,” he admitted to her softly.

“Oh Clarence! Is that truly you?! Oh goodness you’ve grown so tall! You’re sprouting up like a string bean!”

“Eh, thank you Mrs. Schaefer!” he replied politely then awkwardly backed out of the conversation as she turned to the guest next to her to comment on the spread he was about to take food from.

“Finally,” Clarence whispered softly to himself as he managed to back out of the hall unseen. He thought he was alone until he heard the sound of Louise opening the door.

“Oh Jakob!” The blush in Louise’s tone was evident.

Clarence turned to watch his sister and her treasured Jakob as the young man stepped inside smiling. He was finely dressed and quite handsome which is why Louise loved him so. Or so Clarence figured. He had never bothered to ask his sister.

“This is for you, Louise. Merry Christmas,” he bid her as he slid a small corsage of flowers onto her wrist.

“Jakob they’re beautiful! They’re so pretty!”

“You’re the one that looks beautiful,” he replied.

“And you look so distinguished!” she cooed as he offered his arm and she took it. The two walked arm-in-arm into the hall together and Clarence watched them go with a mixture of feelings swirling around in his chest.

At sixteen, he was now at the age where he knew he was no longer a child and yet a piece of him wished he still were. The stress and pressures to participate in being incredibly social especially with people his own age strained him. He found himself unsure of what to talk about in conversation and longing to be left alone. 

He loved parties though, mind you. He just wished he could attend them without having to converse with so many people. He much preferred to listen and to watch the festivities instead of being a part of them at every given moment. His introverted tendencies seemed to cause him more and more trouble with each new year that went by and with each party his family held or were invited to. 

A bit of him also felt a bit of jealousy towards Louise. 

She was very beautiful in her features: bright expressive blue eyes, caramel coloured hair and petite lips and a constant blush to her cheeks. This bothered Clarence only a little however. He could care less about appearances.

He was growing into an attractive young man himself. Clarence too had the same sort of expressive eyes that they shared with their mother except that his were green and he’d always been told his smile could light up the darkest winter’s day. Tonight he had his lengthy and often unruly honey-coloured hair tied back in the style of the day with a dark green ribbon which matched his waistcoat. He was skinny as a child but once he’d gained some height his body seemed to proportion itself a little better and his gangly arms filled in some meanwhile his bony shoulders began to resemble a more aristocratic bearing as his father’s too did. Most of all Clarence had been glad that his lanky legs and ankles had finally become stronger and agreeable to his dancing which he loved above all in the world.

But thinking on his sister again, Clarence was at odds. Louise always seemed to know how to talk to people (except her own siblings mind you) and she was charming enough to have people interested in her conversation. And she had Jakob whom she adored and almost worshipped really. 

Clarence had no such luck. A few of the girls in town were clearly interested in him and found him incredibly handsome but he always found an inexcusable fault in each of them and those young ladies which had caught his eye seemed to feel opposed towards him.

He sighed softly to himself and scratched Pavlova’s ears. “All I wish for Christmas this year,” he murmured to her, “is to find one decent person to talk to besides Uncle Drosselmeier or Ma-ma and Papa or you Pavlova...”

Just then, his father beckoned him back into the room and the young man was forced to resume the party once more.

Luckily, he managed to avoid conversation again after awhile as he sat down and entertained the kitten with a bit of string discarded from one of Fritz’s gifts. He listened fondly to the musicians playing softly in the background of the conversation around them all and felt content in doing what he desired most; observing.

A sudden flash of light and pop of sound startled the party just moments later. Everyone turned in surprise to see at the entrance sparks of colour being set off by tiny firecrackers and after one final large burst of light and smoke, a cloaked figure could be seen in the doorway. It drew its cloaked arms open wide dissipating the smoke and revealing simultaneously a large, brightly lit castle which illuminated the figure’s face.

“Uncle Drosselmeier!” Clarence exclaimed in delight as he got to his feet at once.

“Ho-ho-ho! Splendid!” Clarence’s father boomed out.

“Wooow! What a fort!” the young Fritz proclaimed in awe as he rushed towards it.

Clarence followed, holding Pavlova in his arms and admired the splendid toy castle his godfather had brought which he could now hear tinkling out a melody on a music box somewhere within it.

“It has soldiers! So many soldiers!” Fritz announced with great pleasure as he watched the mechanical ones “march” in and out of the sides of the castle on a pre-set track.

“Wow look at the swans... And the dancers inside too!” Clarence marvelled.

“Drossel ol’ boy you’ve truly outdone yourself this year!” their father praised as he came forward with his wife, “What a magnificent contraption!”

Herr Drosselmeier bowed his head in humbled thanks for the compliments.

“It truly is a work of art,” Clarence’s mother proclaimed, “Such fine detail. It’s stunning!”

“It’s wonderful!” Clarence whispered softly as he caught his godfather’s eye and smiled.

“Your pleasure is my revard,” Drosselmeier proclaimed in his thick accent. That was another thing about him that the children had never remarked upon. It was clear that he hadn’t always lived in their little town and perhaps not even in their country either! They had wondered but had never asked. Clarence had come close, once. But that had been a long time ago now.

“Can the soldiers fire their guns?” Fritz asked eagerly.

“No, Fritz, I’m afraid not.”

“Can the swans fly?”

“No Clarence I’m afraid zat is im-possibal.”

“What about having some of the soldiers march up to their posts on the castle wall?”

“That too is impossibal.”

“Oh I do wish the music played a waltz,” Louise commented as she had come over with Jakob on her arm, “It’s more romantic, don’t you think?”

Clarence thought the gentle music-box tune was just fine considering it wasn’t just the ballroom inhabitants that needed music. It needed to encompass the entirety of the castle.

“No, no, no!” Drosselmeier proclaimed in frustration as he moved the hand of the clock on the tower of the castle and the entire scene stopped and the lights went out on the thing. “Don’t you see: zat is how it vas made to verk and zat is how it /does/ verk!”

“Well I can make my soldiers do anything I want,” Fritz muttered as he crossed his arms and walked away.

Louise and Jakob moved away too –with Louise slightly embarrassed for criticising something that had not necessarily been meant for their entertainment.

Uncle Drosselmeier shook his head. “Toys like zis are vasted on zee children of today. Zey’f no respect for zee laws of mechanics!” He began to wheel the toy castle away into the corner of the room.

Everyone stood in somewhat awkward silence for a moment before the hostess of the party clapped her hands towards the musicians to start playing again.

“Eh Drosselmeier you look thirsty! Let me get you some punch!” Karl proclaimed, starting forward towards his guest with his wife following.

Clarence moved out of the way as couples began to take hands and dance to the melody. ‘A waltz’ he realized, ‘Well Louise got her wish...’ He kept Pavlova in his arms as he stood to the side of the room.

Fritz watched as his sister and her beau sat down on a chaise near to where Clarence stood. “What an enchanting melody,” Louise commented.

“It is,” Jakob agreed then looked at the meek expression of Louise and smiled. “Would you care to dance?” he asked as he held his hand to her.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as though surprised but both of her brothers nearby were certain she’d been expecting this all along, “I’d love to!”

“I’d love to!” Fritz mocked her from far enough away that he was certain that neither she nor Jakob could hear. He rolled his eyes as his sister took the dance floor with the man of her choice.

Clarence took the now empty chaise and looked out at all of the dancers as he stroked Pavlova’s ears softly. It was beautiful: everyone dancing together in unison in small circles around the ballroom area.

“Would you care to ehm, dance?” a soft voice asked. He turned to see young fourteen year old Elsa Schmidt staring back at him from behind her tightly wound blonde curls that surrounded her face. Despite the fact that this girl was one of the most bothersome and annoying girls Clarence had ever had the pleasure of meeting, he gave a soft sigh and placed Pavlova down beside him before standing. 

“Might I have the pleasure?” he asked politely as he extended his hand. He saw in her eyes that this moment was going to be forever treasured by Elsa and that it had just given her false hope that he wished to be eternal friends (and perhaps more).

They took a few turns but it had always been obvious that Elsa was no dancer for she could not keep any sort of tempo or rhythm. Several times she trod on Clarence’s feet and moved in the opposite direction, sometimes to the effect of bumping into other dancers around the floor. Clarence was glad when the dance was over but she insisted they dance their way into the next one and with no valid excuse or change of partner Clarence was forced to remain with her.

“Christmas is such a wonderful time! It must be so joyous for you to have such a lovely house to share it with all of us!” Elsa cooed.

Clarence only smiled.

“Doesn’t it get tiresome having to watch everyone else have fun? The adults always take over the dances but I decided this year I wouldn’t let that be an obstacle. And here we are!

“You’re very good! Mother tells me you train in the ballet but not The Grand Ballet. I would love to be in the ballet but I’ve got too sensitive of ankles and I could never allow myself so much time for practice when there are so many more things I must occupy my time with!

“And, anyway, the lady ballerinas have to do most of the work so you must be lucky not to have so much time for practices. 

“My cousin says she once met the Prima Ballerina of the Austrian National Ballet but of course you can’t believe a word Gerta says she’s always exaggerating herself!”

Clarence, who was annoyed by Elsa’s chatter, suddenly wondered if the girl ever stopped to take breath as she spoke. ‘It is no wonder she can’t keep time she doesn’t even pay attention to the music but to the sound of her own voice!’ he thought to himself. She hadn’t stopped once long enough for Clarence to make any comment –even if he had wanted to, which he didn’t.

He wasn’t at all interested in the topics of conversation that Elsa flew over so incredibly rapidly. His mind suddenly wandered as he pictured her words flying alongside the swans from the toy castle who had suddenly picked themselves up and taken to flight.

“Clarence? Clarence?!” Elsa exclaimed which brought him abruptly from his reverie.

He focused on her again and found that the song had changed and that he had led them both off to the side of the dance floor. “Eh, thank you for the pleasure of your company Fräulein Schmidt but I must refresh myself with some punch. Excuse me,” he told her with a small bow then turned on his heel before she had any chance to put in that she too would like a cup of refreshment.

After taking a small cup of punch, Clarence made his way over to where Herr Drosselmeier was sitting. “Good evening.”

“Good efening Clarence!” The man looked pleased to see him. He had since been relieved of his top hat and cloak and was resting comfortably near the Christmas tree in an armchair.

The young man sat down on his knees and carefully sipped his punch. “Thank you for the marvelous gift presentation,” Clarence told his godfather, “Pa-pa was right in saying that you’ve outdone yourself! This is the most marvelous thing I think I have seen of yours yet!”

“Zank you Clarence. Zat’s very kind of you.”

“I noticed though,” Clarence remarked, “that the boy isn’t there in this one.”

The toymaker smiled. “Ah, you noticed did you?”

In every grand toy that Drosselmeier had ever made, Clarence had always noticed that his godfather had always put in the imagery of a young dark haired boy in addition to something representing himself, the toymaker, as well. In the city scene that had been in Drosselmeier’s toyshop window this past season the boy had been present passing off small boxes onto a conveyor meanwhile the mechanical Drosselmeier moved them from the end of the conveyor and dropped them into a larger box where they disappeared and the scene endlessly looped. Once his secret had been discovered by Clarence, the two had made it a bit of a game and with every new toy Drosselmeier had tried to come up with a creative way to incorporate himself and this boy into the scenes or the larger toys he created. Clarence had truly enjoyed the toy that had the young boy’s face move in and out from a windowpane as though peeking outside and hiding himself back behind the curtains once more!

“Why didn’t you include him this time Uncle?”

“Because my dear boy I incorporated him in anozer vay.”

“Don’t tell me! I’ll find him out then!” Clarence vowed excitedly.

Drosselmeier smiled, pleased.

“And don’t listen to Fritz about the soldiers! He has enough toys that can fire their cannons and guns! I was only joking about wanting the swans to fly but perhaps another time you could find a way.”

“Perhaps but it voot be somevat of a challenge.”

“I shall leave you to think on it then Uncle!” Clarence chuckled.

“I noticed,” Drosselmeier spoke up some several moments later, “zat you were dancink vith young Elsa Schmidt if I’m not mistaken.”

“Ah yes,” Clarence replied but he couldn’t keep the wariness from his tone.

His godfather smiled knowingly. “You do not like her so much I take it?”

“I’m sure she is a lovely girl,” Clarence began, “but she is far too talkative for me upon topics I’ve absolutely no interest in and she strikes me as a girl who will grow up into turning out like Louise who only wishes for the attentions of suitors and to make other young ladies envious! In fact, she reminds me of Louise’s china doll in the cabinet! Both have the same tight curls and slightly puckered lips and wide eyes with long lashes and a fine dress!”

Uncle Drosselmeier was chuckling softly.

“I am sorry. That was a bit...rude,” Clarence apologized.

“No need. You did not say anyzink against her only zat she is not meant for your friendship...”

Clarence looked down at his now empty cup with a slight blush having spoken so out of turn in his honesty.

A moment later there was the sound of tinkling coming from the direction of the Christmas tree. “Pavlova!” Clarence chastised, “Get out from under there! You’ll break something!” He leaned over to see where his kitten had gotten to only to feel her climb up onto his lap from the opposite side of him. He had momentary surprise but his attention had already been captured by a gift under the tree which had been unwrapped and out of its open box a figure sat perched amongst the paper. Clarence gently lifted Pavlova from his lap and crawled a few feet closer to survey the toy that stared back at him from its spot under the tree. It looked like one of Fritz’ soldiers but this one had a bright red frock coat which contrasted against the green paper it sat amongst. Although it had a belt, it wore no weapons and nothing served in place of them. Clarence noticed the ruffled cravat as he got closer and smiled a little upon seeing the dark hair underneath a tall, dark hat. But this was no soldier he noticed as he picked it up. Its neck and shoulders were broad and the face was wide with a large toothy grin. “Where did you come from?” he whispered as he looked the figure over. It was much larger than any of Fritz’ cavalry as well although it stood at attention as any soldier might.

Clarence turned towards his godfather smiling, “You brought this, didn’t you Uncle?”

Drosselmeier’s good eye had a special gleam; one that told Clarence he was up to something! “So,” the toymaker began, “you like him?”

“I’ve never seen anything like him,” Clarence confessed as he sat down again beside his godfather and smiled as he looked the doll over once more. He was made of wood and was finely painted; all his colours still vibrant and immaculate.

“He’s a nutcracker. Here, let me schow you how he verks.” The man took a nut from a bowl which sat on the small table beside him. Reverently and carefully Clarence passed the nutcracker over. His uncle used the back of the nutcracker to open its mouth and he placed the nut inside. Then, he pressed down on the protruding piece, which was decorated like hair pulled back with a cord, and the nutcracker’s jaws closed shut simultaneously cracking the shell.

Clarence smiled at the marvel. “How wonderful! Might I try?”

“Of course!”

The teen smiled when his nut too cracked easily under the work of the nutcracker’s bite.

“Clarence!” Fritz whined as he ran up to them. “Let go of my soldier!”

Before his older brother could protest Fritz had reached out and grabbed the nutcracker.

“Hey!” Clarence proclaimed, “Fritz!”

“Oh wow a tall soldier! He can be a general and lead the troops into battle!”

“Fritz give it back he’s not a toy!” Clarence argued. “It’s a nutcracker!”

“A what!? No, he’s a soldier and he’s mine Clarence! Your time for toys is over! He’s mine and I’m going to play with him!”

Clarence stood up. “Give it back Fritz he’s not your gift!” He reached to take the nutcracker but Fritz held on tight.

“Stop it! He’s a soldier and he’s mine!”

“Is not!”

“Fritz! It’s a Nutcracker,” Uncle Drosselmeier told the boy, “Let your brozer show you how it verks.”

“Here.” Clarence passed a nut over only for Fritz to drop it and the nut rolled away towards the tree. 

Fritz, still holding onto the nutcracker, ran after it. “Here!” he announced triumphantly.

“Put the nut into his mouth and press the lever at the back.”

Fritz did as instructed only, his nut did not crack. “Why doesn’t it work!?” he cried out as he gave it one last hard push. CRACK! The sound of wood splintering echoed out and surprised Fritz released the lever. A metal cannonball from his toy set tumbled from the mouth of the nutcracker.

“FRITZ! What have you done!?” Clarence demanded in horror.

“Oops!”

“I can’t believe this! I just knew you would break it! I just knew it!”

“Here have him back then!” Fritz shoved the nutcracker back into his brother’s chest with a defensive tone of voice not appreciating being chastised so. “He’s not even a real soldier anyway,” he remarked as he walked away before he could get into trouble, “He doesn’t even have a sword!”

Clarence pushed away his anger at Fritz and looked down at the nutcracker. “He’s broken you hasn’t he? I can’t believe this!” he whispered in sadness.

“Now, now Clarence it is alright,” his godfather soothed, “He can alvays be fixed.”

“I just feel so terrible! He wasn’t meant for Fritz, was he, and now my brother’s gone and broken him anyway! He’s such a wonder and now he’s broken...”

“Now don’t despair! He’s more resilient than he looks my boy!”

Clarence looked up at Uncle Drosselmeier. “I suppose then he’s seen many battles?”

“Not quite so. Perhaps vone day and soon he vill see zee biggest battle ever experienced by Ze Land of ze Dolls. But, he is not a soldier.”

“No?”

“No. He is a prince in fact.”

“Ah! That explains why he doesn’t have any weapon then,” Clarence smiled, “A prince, huh? Well, is it common for nutcrackers to be so splendidly decorated and designed with such noble bearing?” he asked.

“Vy don’t you and I sit comfortably and a bit closer to ze fire and I vill tell you all about him and how he came to be as you see him now?”

Clarence loved a good story and so he eagerly helped Drosselmeier move his chair closer to the warmth of the hearth where he then settled down himself to listen to the tale holding The Nutcracker Prince in his arms.

“Vunce upon a time, in a land far away and long ago, there lived a clockmaker Frederich and his nephew Hans. They both lived and verked in the castle, for ze clockmaker vas Ze Royal Clockmaker and upon fery spechal occasions Royal Magician to zee King. He and his nephew loved their verk for zey oversaw all zee clocks vithin zee castle. 

“Although Hans had just turned sefenteen, he vas not so tempted by zee glamour of court life he saw around him. He vas fery happy to be his uncle’s help and apprentice and hoped to vone day carry on in his uncle’s shoes. Despite his youth und great skills he expressed he much preferred his humbled verk ofer any advancement he could be offered in zee kingdom or elsevere. His uncle, zerefore, vas very proud of his nephew’s humbled outlook and vas happy to apprentice him.

“Now, all vas vell in za kingdom until zee King’s berthday. The entire castle und court vas buzzing vith activity in preparation. Zee King’s berthday cake vas vat started za events of sat day vich vould have dire consequences. For you see, zee King vas fond of cheesecake. And so zee royal bakers created a most vondrous cake and on top of it zey placed a sculpture of zee King carved from blue cheese!”

“Blue cheese!?” Clarence proclaimed in shock and surprise, “Yuck! That had to smell something awful!”

“In fact it did und zat is vat started zee commoshun. For you see, zee royals and zer subjects vere not zee only inhabitants of za castle. Deep below liffed an entire kingdom of mice!”

Clarence’s face lit up in excitement by this turn of events.

“Zee Mouse Queen and her subjects had liffed for quite some time vithout causing trouble to zee inhabitants. But za smell of zee cheesecake and za blue cheese topper had effery mouse intoxicated and it could not be ignored. So, zey vaited until za cake was left alone in a royal hall before it vould be presented to za King and then they all moofed in upon it!

“It vas not long before zey herd footsteps approaching and scampered avay. But vone mouse did not get avay in time and ven zee cake vas veeled to zee King and unveiled everyvone at court and zee King and Queen saw za results of vat zee mice had done. Za lone mouse vas too full of his meal to escape capture and za King knew immediately zat zee Mouse Queen vas to be blamed.

“Off vith her head!” he cried. It vas zee last straw. But, zey vood have to catch zee Queen first!”

Clarence had forgotten all about the party around him at this point. He was too enraptured by the story now.

“Vell zeir vere no mouse-catchers in za kingdom. And so, zee King turned to his clockmaker.”

“Really? What could /he/ do?!”

“Vell it vas simple! He could infent a mouse trap!”

This made Clarence laugh happily in surprise. “I should have thought of that!” he chuckled.

Drosselmeier laughed too. “Vell za traps vere fery successful! A veek after zey vere set zey had caught all of zee mice. All but two. For you see, Zee Mouse Queen and her royal son vere not as stupid and gullible as zeir subjects. But zee Queen took zis all fery personally. For now she had no mice to rule over in her kingdom! She sought revenge!” Herr Drosselmeier coughed and Clarence immediately stood. 

“I will get you some refreshment Uncle! I must know what happens next!” he proclaimed excitedly. He handed the nutcracker over to Drosselmeier before moving to retrieve refills on the glasses of punch.

In his absence, Uncle Drosselmeier examined the nutcracker carefully and moved his hands over it looking for its ailments from Fritz’ mishaps. “You are already back to health I see,” he whispered. “Zat is fery vell...”

Just then Clarence returned with the drinks. He exchanged a glass for the nutcracker and resumed his seat beside his uncle waiting to hear what would happen next in the tale.

Herr Drosselmeier took a sip or two of his punch before resuming the narrative. “Vere vas I? AH! Yes. Zee Mouse Queen sought to avenge herself upon zee King of za land. For you see, zeir feud had begun many years before and za capture of all zee mice had reminded za Queen of old grievances.

So, she went after something very special to zee King. Late at night she and her son crept up into a tower of zee castle into zee bed chamber of— Princess Pearl ve shall call her. There, za Queen dabbled in magic that only she alone knew for it vas said she fell into a potion of some sort at a young age and vas endowed wif gifts some of vich vere passed onto her son. So, she cast a curse upon zee sleeping princess turning zee vain girl’s eyes from azure to muddy vater, her skin of porcelain to a ruddy and uneffen appearance, her hair of golden silk to broken straw and her teeth of pearls to misshapen lumps. She vas beautiful no longer.

Ven zee King and Queen found out, zey vere devastated. Zey could not marry off zeir daughter vith such ugliness.” Drosselmeier paused to take a drink of punch and Clarence awaited him eagerly. “Zee King sought za help of Friederich to uncofer a vay to referse za spell. But it vas in fain. Zee magician had never encountered such tricks and such deep seated magic before.

“Off vith his head!” za King cried. But his Queen requested that Frederich and Hans haf until zee sun rose za next morning to complete their task. So it vas given to sem.

Zey remained in za princess’ room for hours as za magician poured ofer books and incantations and more books trying to find a cure. But za clockmaker and magician vas not so skilled in zis sort of magic.

He told Hans to leaf zee kingdom in case zee King vished to execute him too come morning. But Hans vould not leaf his uncle.

Zen, just before za dawn broke zee princess avoke to see Hans eating a handful of nuts. Za boy remarked upon it to his uncle zat zee princess was sure fond of nuts as she had snatched zem from his hand and devoured zem noisily. All at vonce zee answer came to za clockmaker and ven moments later zee soldiers came to take him avay he sought to tell Zee King of his solution: Zee Cracker-Tooth-Nut.”

“That’s an odd name!” Clarence laughed.

“Vell zere is no good translation.”

“Ah! Go on Uncle!”

He then explained that all that had to be done was to crack open one of the nuts from the tree which grew especially in The King’s own gardens and feed it to the princess on the day following a new moon. The Princess would then hopefully be restored to her former state for it was said that the Cracker-Tooth-Nut was infamous for absolving Old-Earth magic. The only obstacle that lay ahead was the cracking of the nut itself. It was all but impossible to do and the stories all stated that it could only be done in a sort of ritual procedure. The nut had to be cracked open by someone who had never been in love by opening the shell with their teeth and then handing the nut to the intended, in this case The Princess, without looking at them before taking seven steps backwards without stumbling. It seemed simple enough.

“Zee King decreed zat all ze eligible men of saa kingdom come to attempt to break open zee nut and, if zey vere successful zey vould vin zee princess’ hand in marriage!”

“I bet you everyone and his cousin showed up!” Clarence joked which made Drosselmeier laugh a little.

“Fery close indeed yes Clarence! It vas zee day after za new moon and zere vas a line up of suitors as far as could be seen! Yet, efen after an entire day of letting each man have his turn, zee nut still had not been cracked! All of zee suitors vere blindfolded so zat zey vould not see Princess Pearl’s ugliness and so zat zey vould not accidentally look upon her as zey handed off the nut. Zey all gave valiant efforts. Some efen broke zeir teeth trying to break open zee nut. But no one had been successful.

Zey King was in despair and vas about to declare zat for sa failure heads be removed!

Vile all eyes were on ze royal family, sa clockmaker’s eyes vere upon his nephew wishing zat he vould somehow be spared from zee vrath of za king. His nephew Hans vas looking at za princess vith pity. Zen, Hans gazed down at zee nut upon za pillow he held for it had been his job to stand at attention vith it during the process of sa day. Vile zee King began to acclaim his tirade against za plan to cure his daughter the princess, Hans slipped zee nut into his own mouth and turned away from gazing at zee princess. But a moment later zee nut emerged from his mouth again into his hand and he discarded the shell to zee floor along with zee silken pillow.

Noticing zee movement za Queen stopped zee King and all gazed silently as Hans valked forvard wiff his eyes closed and held out his hand and ze nut as he knelt down before her. Princess Pearl took zee nut greedily into her own hand and ate it at vonce!

Eferyvone vas shocked as suddenly a loud popping occurred and Za Princess vas restored to her former self!”

“Well done!” Clarence praised softly to the nutcracker in his arms.

“Indeed. But, Hans still had to take his steps vithout stumbling. Low and behold, Zee Mouse Queen vas nearby. She had seen her spell broken and vas outraged. She scurried forvard casting a curse as she did so vith her son following close behind her. It vas too late for her to cause Hans to stumble but she cast her curse and bit his heel just as his Uncle called out to him in alarm. Hans cried out in pain and kicked out his foot vich sent both zee Mouse Queen and her son flying through zee air and into a vall nearby. Zen, zee curse took its effect and the poor boy stumbled forvard as he vas transformed –triggering a chain reaction of events! Hans knocked into a decorative pillar. It fell into another vich then knocked down a third. Zis crushed Zee Mouse Queen and broke zee arm of za Mouse Prince. But, all eyes vere upon za boy who had suddenly hit zee floor turned into a small vooden toy; a nutcracker.

Zee King and Queen and their daughter vere shocked. “How dare you try and pass off a nutcracker as a future son-in-law to me and zis kingdom!” za King roared vith anger. “Prince of our lands? No! Prince of Ze Dolls!” He vished to haff his clockmaker executed right zere on zee spot! Only zee Queen’s vords spared his life saying:

“He has restored our daughter! Let his punishment be lessened!”

So, instead zee clockmaker and his nutcracker vere banished from zee kingdom forever. As zey left, Hans’ uncle swore zat vone day he vould learn how to break zee spell. Zee End.”

Clarence clapped in appreciation. “That was a terrible story though Uncle!” he went on to say despite his show of enjoyment, “Hans should have ended up Prince of the land or at least rewarded handsomely for his accomplishment as well as his Uncle and they should have lived happily on doing the work they both loved!”

“Yes, vell, Hans did become a prince.”

“Ah yes: of the dolls,” Clarence finished, “But still, it’s not fair. And, anyway, I imagine he’d never been to The Land of the Dolls so for them to accept him as their Prince, well, I’m sure that’s an entirely different story!” he pointed out. 

He paused and looked at the nutcracker in his hands. “I hope, at least, you were still happy,” he told the toy. “And I hope one day the spell can be broken!”

“It can on the night that he slays The Mouse King.”

“The Mouse King?” Clarence repeated with confusion.

“Vy yes! I forgot to tell zee part of za story vere zee son of Za Mouse Queen proclaimed zat he vould haff his revenge upon Hans for vat he had done to him and his moser who had zere died leafing him King of a barren kingdom. He promised to gazzer an army and return someday to turn poor Hans into a pile of splinters or zey vould both perish in zee battle! Zoze vere his vords, so it is said. But vith zee death of Zee Queen’s only heir to her throne and powers her curse could be broken and Hans freed of his new fate. It is clear zat he has not yet died for as you can see Hans remains as he is. I imagine zat zee magic zat allowed for zee Queen to talk and cast her magic allowed for her son who inherited a few of his mozzer’s gifts to live a long, long life.”

“So Hans must slay The Mouse King and regain his former self? Let me guess he must also win the hand of a fair young maiden?” Clarence teased, “All fairy stories are the same.”

At that moment, Clarence was called to join his father and mother. “Thank you for the story Uncle Drosselmeier and for the present!” he exclaimed quickly as he stood. “I’ll take good care of him I swear. And I will keep him away from Fritz!”

“I vill see him safely to zee doll cupboard. You join your parents.” Drosselmeier accepted the nutcracker from his godson and watched him go with a fond look.

The night was a fine success. Everyone who had attended the party went home happy; full of good food and drink and memories they wouldn’t soon forget. Many of them had been invited to the party the day after Christmas Day in two days’ time and they looked forward to joining the festivities once more!

That night, however, Clarence couldn’t sleep. He felt restless; unsure if it was anxiousness over the upcoming day ahead with the party he and his immediate and extended family would have for Christmas Day or whether he was still antsy from the party that had just happened that day. 

He got up from his room, taking Pavlova, and wandered the house as quietly as he could to get to the toy room where many of his and his sister’s old toys were still kept along with Fritz’ current ones. He turned the key to one of the music boxes that Uncle Drosselmeier had given to Louise just a few years before and he opened the lid to hear its melody. Louise had pretended to like it but Clarence had been the one to listen to its song more times than he could count now. The song was one popular of the day in which it had been made and was one that had an accompanying dance. Perhaps that is why Clarence had always taken to it. 

But tonight, even the music box couldn’t bring him satisfaction. He sighed and closed the lid only a minute after he’d opened it. “Come along Pavlova,” he whispered softly.

He headed downstairs to seek out the doll cabinet located within the same drawing room as the beautiful Christmas tree. Being around the toy room had reminded Clarence suddenly of his gift earlier and that he had not seen the nutcracker since he’d handed it to his godfather after the story.

He opened the cabinet doors wide and lifted the nutcracker from the wooden box with the silken pillow inside that the gift had been laid upon. “Good evening Nutcracker!” he greeted. “Or shall I call you ‘Your Highness?’” he teased. “Well I must apologize again for the terrible behaviour of my brother, Fritz,” he went on after a moment. “His enthusiasm isn’t something that makes him careful... But, you seem to be alright for now. Did Uncle Drosselmeier fix you up already or were you not badly injured?” He looked the doll over.

“Well, at any rate, are you enjoying your new home? You’d like to meet your subjects?!” Clarence proclaimed softly in amusement as he caught sight of the other dolls in the cabinet. “Of course my liege! How foolish of me!”

He placed the nutcracker down on the chest of drawers cabinet nearby. Then, he took out dolls one at a time to show off to his nutcracker. “This here is Louise’s last doll. I believe she is called Marie. You know as much about her as I do,” he told him seriously.

“Next we have Trudy. She’s the oldest doll. She seems to be very kind despite what she perhaps may let on.” Clarence held up a doll which indeed was elderly. It was unclear whether he’d meant oldest by her appearance or by how long she’d been a part of the household. Either way, the statement rang true.

“This is Pantaloon; an old and distinguished soldier. He was mine and a general in the army. I won’t let Fritz have him but my brother doesn’t want him anyway; says a general this old wouldn’t make a good soldier. Well, what does he know? Pantaloon has seen more battles than any of Fritz’s soldiers but he’s retired now. He wears his uniform out of respect for his regiment now.”

Clarence returned the doll to his place then yawned. “Apologies Your Highness but I was just thinking that perhaps it best for your subjects to make their own introductions to you. After all, there are so many. I’m sure they will all serve you faithfully though,” he told The Nutcracker Prince.

He looked at him a moment longer before speaking again. “Ah yes you’re right I really should introduce myself,” he proclaimed with a grand bow. “I am Clarence, Your Highness, and I am Fritz’s older brother and Louise’s younger. My parents are the ones that own this fine place and were the hosts of tonight’s party! It /was/ quite something wasn’t it? I quite agree! A grand feast and lots of dancing! Dancing is my very favourite thing if you must know anything about me. I hope one day to dance in The Grand Ballet and travel the world.” He paused. “A demonstration you say? Well I cannot say no to Your Highness. Very well I shall do my best to please you although I do not have my dancing slippers on; merely my humble ones for use at night and in the mornings within the house.”

Clarence gave a bow before he twirled once before the nutcracker. Then, he did a few simple steps that he’d been practicing recently.

Pavlova, growing excited, pranced around and in doing so knocked a glass ball from the tree. Clarence gasped and turned towards the sound. “Pavlova!” he hissed softly, “You’re going to get us all in trouble! I’m really not supposed to be down here!” he whispered.

He turned back to The Nutcracker. “Excuse me my lord but I must be getting back now. I’ll return you at once.” He picked him up and placed him gently back onto the silken pillow. As he closed the doors to the cabinet, he caught sight of the reflection of someone in the glass standing near the grandfather clock across the room.

Startled, Clarence turned abruptly whispering the name of who he’d seen: “Uncle Drosselmeier!” But, the toymaker was not there where he had been standing in the reflection. Clarence looked around but saw that he was still alone.

“I think it’s definitely time to get back to bed,” he muttered as he picked up his candle once more.

As he stood again he heard the sound of chittering. He paused and listened in disbelief.

His attention was suddenly caught by movement near the clock again. “Uncle Drosselmeier is that you? It is! Get down from there at once and stop trying to scare me!” Clarence proclaimed to his godfather who looked to be atop the clock itself somehow!

Instead, Drosselmeier threw his cloaked arms wide and little bits of light flew through the air landing like sparkling raindrops around the room. Clarence felt shocked and a bit in awe at the magical appearance of whatever his godfather had thrown.

All at once the noises around the room got louder and as Clarence looked around him he saw tiny creatures coming into view. “Oh my God,” he whispered, “M-mice?” Sure enough, the rodents of various sizes began to emerge until there were more than twenty at the very least to Clarence’s mind! A realization dawned upon him. “Oh no!” If there were legions of mice then there had to be a Mouse King following not far behind!

Clarence turned back to the cabinet intending to protect The Nutcracker. Only, when he threw open the doors he was met with a surprising scene. His nutcracker was already sitting up and one of his hands was to his head.

“Wh-where am I?” His voice was baritone and rich despite the fact that it had not been used in so, so many years. Clarence was taken aback with speechlessness for a moment. His nutcracker was sitting up and talking and not only that but it seemed he’d changed a little to look more like a young man than a thick faced toy.

“Your Highness!” a woman’s voice proclaimed, “You must get up at once! The Mouse King and his army are about to launch their attack!”

Clarence watched speechless as Trudy, the older doll, stood at The Nutcracker’s side and begged him to move.

“Now, now what’s all the commotion?” an elderly voice from the bottom of the shelf asked. It was Pantaloon!

“The Mouse King’s after The Prince!” came the reply from Trudy.

“What? The Mouse King?” Nutcracker repeated in surprise. “But... what happened to The Queen? Last thing I remember there was The Princess and then—”

“Princess!?” came a shrill voice, “We’re in a crisis and you’re talking about a Princess?!” Marie rushed forward and smacked Nutcracker on his shoulder with her mirror.

“Hey!” he exclaimed in surprise as he grabbed the mirror from her. “What is the problem!?”

“Problem is you’re just sitting there on your royal behind when you should be leading us! You /are/ The Prince of the Dolls aren’t you?” Marie declared as she crossed her arms.

“No, no! I’m just a—” Nutcracker began until he caught sight of himself in the mirror and gasped. “What’s happened to me?!” Looking down at himself he grew even more worried Clarence could see plainly.

Suddenly Pavlova began to meow and claw at Clarence’s leg forcing him to pay attention. “What’s the matter?” he murmured as he leaned to pick her up. He noticed her fur was standing on end. “What’s wrong?”

As if to answer the question, there was a loud cackling laughter that came from behind them. Clarence turned to see a large mouse clambering up the side of one of the armchairs in the room and it stood at the top facing them triumphantly. It was the size of a rat and it wore a doublet and cloak and the crown on its head was unmistakeable. It was The Mouse King! “Revenge at last!” he cried out in a voice that grated on Clarence’s nerves. It reminded him somehow of rough gravel and yet the voice was surprisingly loud for such a small creature!

“Please Nutcracker,” came Trudy’s voice again, “you’re all we have!”

“But— I’ve never fought a battle before!”

“Pantaloon has!” Clarence spoke up, “He’s been through plenty! Haven’t you?”

Everyone looked at Clarence in surprise. The Nutcracker was the one who spoke first: “Wh-who are you?”

“I...I’m Clarence. I, uh, I’m Uncle Drosselmeier’s godson. He gave you to me for Christmas tonight!”

“Godson?” Nutcracker repeated softly in confusion.

“Well whoever you are you certainly know a thing or two for yes I /have/ fought several times in several different battles throughout these many years!” Pantaloon declared proudly.

“Mice! Salute your monarch! Get into formation!” The Mouse King cried out from atop his perch.

“Long Live The Mouse King!” the mice chanted as they assembled themselves into one large unit in preparation to fight.

“Hey Nutcracker!” called out the rodent ruler, “Come out and meet your fate!”

“He’s...he’s huge!” Nutcracker remarked softly.

“You must defeat him! You can, with the help of your...your subjects!” Clarence encouraged.

The doll looked at the young boy and slowly nodded. “I-I’ll do my best,” he replied. “But I’ll need a sword I-I think.”

“We can get you a sword! Pantaloon can help you arrange everyone into formation and I can help you dow—Oh!” Clarence exclaimed in surprise as he saw The Nutcracker had already reached the floor level using some sort of rope; one he suspected was likely Louise’s old skipping rope. “I-I’ll help you instead,” he murmured to Trudy and Marie who were about to go down the rope too. “I just don’t know whether it’s safe for you down there.”

“Leave me up here then I can’t get my dress ruffled!” Marie announced haughtily.

“I’ll stay too then and make sure she’s...okay,” Trudy muttered with a roll of her eyes.

A toy soldier stepped forward and handed The Nutcracker a sword. He thanked him shyly for it and held it aloof for a moment. “Eh, Pantaloon? I... Well you’re the only one here with experience and... and I’m afraid I really must count on you,” Nutcracker told him.

The elderly soldier saluted him. “Yes. Yes sir. I will serve you well! I shall lead the cavalry! I shall—Eh, what was I saying? Ehm Your Highness...please, make your speech to your troops!”

“Speech?”

“You are their monarch! They need inspiration that can only come from you to fight your noble cause!”

“Right. Um... Listen up everyone! All dolls and toys of the toy cabinet, we are under attack from The Mouse King who is here to destroy us and... We must fight back! We...we can defeat him!”

“All hail Prince Nutcracker!” many of the toys then began to cry out.

He shyly looked to the floor then back at his sword.

“Well done my liege!” Pantaloon praised, 

“Eh... cavalry get into place!” the elderly soldier went on a moment later. A dozen of Fritz’ toy soldiers on horses jumped down from the cabinet and lined themselves up. “Position the guns men!”

Clarence stood back and watched in wonder as more toy soldiers moved around the room setting up the defense and offense. He noticed several of them were gathering small round sweets from one of the side tables which they must have climbed up somehow. Some were arranging cannons. Others were checking to see that their guns were ready.

“We are almost in position,” Pantaloon told Nutcracker, “We must tell the infantry where to go.”

“Uh, where /should/they go?” Nutcracker asked shyly.

“The front, of course. You can tell them where to go; build morale to see you commanding your troops and all...”

“Right. Infantry!” The Nutcracker Prince called out, “Front and center!”

They began to march in formation and get into place. Clarence was in awe of it all.

“We’ll crush them!” The Mouse King cried out suddenly. Clarence noticed that a few of the mice were about to flank off and leave but their king hurried down the chair to their level and made a low noise intimidating them back to their places.

“Charge!” he cried out in a loud and clear voice. The mice, however, did not move. “I said, CHARGE!”

The mice began to squeak as they rushed forward towards the toys.

“Soldiers! Get ready!” Pantaloon cried out. The front line knelt down with their guns in a ready position to fire upon command. “On word from your Prince!”

Nutcracker looked at them nervously. “Ready!” he cried out as he looked to the attacking enemy, “FIRE!”

Pop! Pop! POP! went the guns of the toy soldiers. Tiny corks flew through the air and hit a few of the mice who faltered.

Clarence couldn’t help but laugh now though. All of the lead up to this moment had been incredibly tense and to suddenly hear tiny popping sounds and to see barely any mice fall except when they slipped on the tiny corks was quite funny to behold!

Next, the cannons went off. These were more effective against the mice. “Reload ammunition!” cried Pantaloon.

The Mouse King glared at the battle scene. “We’ve got our own force to reckon with!” he hollered before suddenly mice emerged with small catapults made from small household objects it appeared. They fired upon the toys sending small marbles flying through the air.

“If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell!” Pantaloon cried with vigour as he charged forward on foot.

“Such language!” Marie exclaimed in shock.

“I’m going to help!” Trudy announced as she slid down the rope.

“Charge!” Nutcracker yelled out a bit nervously as he saw Pantaloon going forth by his lonesome into the midst of the battle. The troops on horseback galloped.

Only, the mice had a ready assault and soon many riders were dismounted by the force of being hit by the buttons that the mice hurled at them.

Within moments the warfare had gone from flinging things airborne at one another to hand-to-hand combat. Clarence watched in awe; unable to move. It all felt so surreal and he was lost in the moment.

It was hard to tell who was winning. Just as he would see a mouse gain a victory over a toy soldier, he saw another soldier gain one over the mice. Although the rodents were not as precise in their movements as the trained soldiers they still managed to parry fairly well and to fight off attacks.

The teen decided to help. He set out into the battle and kicked his foot at any passing mice hoping to injure them enough that they’d surrender to the forces of the toys. Pavlova hissed from his arms but seemed anxious when he attempted to put her down so he kept her in his arms as he moved in and out of the fighting trying his best to help out.

Suddenly a voice called out over the sounds of the battle: “Your Highness! Your Highness!” It was Trudy. Clarence looked around to see what it was she could be so concerned about.

He saw The Mouse King raise his sword and drop it down; a signal. Clarence’s eyes darted around to find Nutcracker. But it was too late. The mice had climbed up the rope into the toy cabinet and pushed over Fritz’ horn and it fell onto The Prince with a thud.

“Nutcracker!” Clarence cried as he put Pavlova down.

The Prince was not hurt, however. He struggled and pushed the horn off of him at the very same moment that The Mouse King launched forward atop a toy horse set on wheels; in his arms a candle held out like a lance for jousting. He was headed straight for the momentarily defenceless Nutcracker Prince. He intended to burn him who was made from wood!

Seeing this, Clarence thought quickly and removed his slipper. “Oh no you don’t!” he muttered under his breath as he threw it at The Mouse King and sent the rodent flying the opposite way across the room from his intended victim. The candle landed with him and sputtered out but not before dripping hot wax onto the mouse’s tail.

He cried out in pain and from anger of his plan being foiled all at once! “Retreat!” he screamed as he escaped into a hole nearby.

Clarence went to take a step backward instinctively when he saw the mice all scurrying towards his direction. But, he slipped on a loose cannonball underneath his still slippered foot and tripped backwards falling and hitting his head against the glass of the grandfather clock –knocking him unconscious!

Part 2