The Nutcracker Prince and The Mouseking

Chapter 7: Home

Alexander's knee bounces quickly, his gaze fixated on the on a door outside the car he and Clara were sitting in. Snow was gently falling on the ground, melting as soon as it landed; the sound of cars and people muffled through the closed doors. He twists his fingers in anticipation; it had been a year since he had last been here...and a year since had last seen his family. What would they think of this? How would they react? He groans loudly at the thoughts accelerating his anxiety,

"What's wrong? You can't be nervous, can you?" Clara asks, putting a hand over his, frowning as she feels it tremble. Alexander laughs nervously, though it sounds much more choked than natural,

"Well, I haven't seen them in a while. And they haven't seen me in over a year...I just don't know what they will think of me," he whispers, unable to speak louder. Clara holds him tightly, trying her best to calm his frenzied nerves. He wraps his arms around hers and sighs.

The two jolt as the door opens. The director in a suit and warm coat ushers them into the building and up to the stage. Alexander can see the huge amount of people sitting in the seats and he gulps. Clara moves around so she can see through the same gap and gives him an equally terrified expression,

"Now then, I have some good news..." Drosselmeier says onstage, the duo looking at each other, "That the curse is...Broken! Please come onto the stage!" The director nods at the two and they walk up onto the stage, clasping each other's hands tightly. As they step into the bright spotlights, the audience explodes into applause, whooping and cheering. One family dead silent in awe, standing up with agape expressions.

Alexander scans over the audience and stops. His family is there, in shock, standing in the middle of the aisle. He gasps and lets go of Clara's hand. She smiles as he cries and leaps off the stage, sprinting towards them and throwing himself into a hug, almost knocking his mother and father off their feet. The audience cheer even louder as he pulls himself away with tears streaming down his face, his family whispering quickly to him, tears in their eyes and they hug again, relief in every motion they make,

"Thank you, thank you so much Mr Drosselmeier!" Alexander's mother calls, her face red from crying, peeking out from behind his hat. Drosselmeier bows, his hand sweeping through the air,

"Not a problem at all, my dear!" he replies, a twinkle in his eye and a grin plastered over his face.

Alexander pauses, something is off. Where is Clara? He breaks away from his family and turns to the stage. She is standing there, on her own, looking horribly timid. He goes up to her, extending a hand and almost pulling it back at the sight of her teary face. He rushes up to her, worry seeping quickly into his actions and mind,

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asks, holding her gently and wiping away her tears,

"I'm- I'm so happy for you! But- but now you're leaving, you're going to go home, will I see you again?" she sobs, making the audience grow quieter,

"Who said anything about leaving you? Yes, I must go home but I can always come back to see you, always," Alexander replies, his voice warm and worried, tilting Clara's chin up so she can meet his eyes. He almost starts to lean closer, but he turns to the audience, extending an arm for Clara,

"Shall we?" he asks, smirking,

"Oh, alright then," she says quietly, taking his arm and they walk down to Alexander's family,

"Mum, Dad, this is Clara. She helped to break my curse and is one of my closest friends," Alexander says, giving a glance to Clara out of the corner of his eye, reassuring her that this was a little cover-up lie. They look at him with a suspicious spark in their eyes and greet Clara back, giving her their thanks for helping their son.

His mother clears her throat,

"I would say we should go home now, Alexander. You have missed so much in the past year," she says. Alexander looks down, nodding,

"But first could I do something?" he asks. His parents nod,

"Clara, so I can come visit you could you tell me your address?"

"I could write it down for you really quick," she replies and dashes over to Drosselmeier for pen and paper. She quickly scrawls down her address and hands the paper to Alexander. He takes it and slips it into his jacket,

"Thank you. I will visit you, I promise," he says quickly as his parents are pulling on their coats and the other audience members are getting ready to leave, the lights have brightened, and he can see the bright red tinge on Clara's face. She steps up to him and pauses before throwing her arms around him and pulling herself so she can kiss him. Alexander gasps and his face becomes as red as his jacket as he hears a squeal behind him,

"Mum! Clara kissed Alexander!!" his younger sibling screeches. Alexander whips around to cover their mouth before his mother can register what happened,

"What?" they mouth through his hand,

"Just shut up! You didn't see anything!"

"Scared to admit you love her? Do you love her?" they prod, making Alexander's face grow redder and he grumbles,

"I- I – just shut it! You didn't see a thing!" he stammers, his hands shaking slightly and his face a bright scarlet. He clears his throat, turning back to Clara. She has her head down and her hands tied into knots,

"This is goodbye?" she says as a lone tear drips down her face,

"For now, Clara. Only for now," he replies wiping away her tears and hugging her tightly,

"Oh ok, for now then. But come back soon, please!" She cries,

"Don't worry I will come back, I promise I will," he says as his parents call him. He tightens his embrace and lets go, a hand lingering out as he walks away, his heart panging as Clara stands there and teary, small smile on her face, relieved that she didn't have to worry about him anymore but sad to see him leaving her, only if it was temporary.