The Nutcracker King (Coming From Darkness #1)

Chapter 1 Part 1: Marie

"Mother, must I go to the dinner tonight?" Marie stared at her closet and shook her head in dismay. She didn't want to wear any of her formal dresses.

Behind her, Mother sighed, shaking her head fondly at her youngest child. She had hoped for her second daughter to be a good, quiet girl, but she did not expect Marie to be such a homebody. "We've already accepted the invitation on your behalf. Besides, Councillor Drosselmeier has been invited as well, you've always enjoyed his company, have you not? And Fritz promised to come this time, he's even bringing a friend."

Ah, there it was. Mother wanted Marie to settle down like her elder sister, which was why they made sure she was regularly invited to small dinner parties. But Marie had no desire to go to these parties. The young men her age were invariably Fritz's friends: all loud, boisterous and not at all prince-like. Marie would much rather go to bed early to wait for the Nutcracker. The nightly balls at his kingdom were much more fun.

"Marie, darling?"

Turning to face her mother, Marie faked a smile. "As long as it ends early. What should I wear, the blue or the violet?"

*******

"Good evening."

"Good evening, Demoiselle Stahlbaum. I am Heinrich Schmidt." Fritz's friend bowed politely.

Marie curtsied in return. "Good evening, Herr Schmidt. Please call me Marie."

Herr Schmidt smiled warmly at her as he took his seat next to hers. "In that case, please call me Heinrich."

A few hours later, Marie had decided that this dinner party wasn't so bad after all. The company of this Herr Heinrich was strangely enjoyable. Unlike most of Fritz's friends, he was quiet and did not demand that Marie engage in conversation.

They sat together quietly until the main course, when Godfather Drosselmeier came over.

"Marie! How are your dolls? How is the Nutcracker? Has the Mouse King threatened you recently?"

Her godfather boomed in an unnaturally loud voice. His face was flushed, and Marie felt the heat rising to her cheeks as well. Before she could reply, Godfather Drosselmeier had staggered back to his seat.

Marie kept her eyes on her sauerbraten as Fritz snickered. She could feel her cheeks heating up.

"It's ok," Herr Heinrich spoke quietly. "I have heard that Councillor Drosselmeier has taken to such... habits recently."

"Such habits?" Marie asked. Godfather Drosselemeir had always been strange, but Marie had never seen a change in how he treated her or the clocks he so tenderly mended.

"Drinking, Demoiselle Marie. It has been going on for some time, although it was only in the past year or so that his work has been affected. It has not yet affected the clocks under his care, and we must thank God for small mercies such as that."

"Thank you for telling me." Marie gave him a small smile.

"Heinrich!" Fritz popped up behind them. "I see you're finally talking. Don't you bully my little sister, she's quieter than you, if such a thing were possible."

Herr Heinrich smiled faintly, and his golden hair gleamed in the light. "Don't worry, Fritz. I was just making conversation." Turning to Marie, he said in a confiding manner, "Do you know that your brother makes a habit of scolding everyone who sits next to you? No one is good enough for his sister, if you ask him."

Both Fritz and Marie turned red, although this time, Marie blushed with pleasure. With only a year between them, she and Fritz were very close. But he could not help being such a boy sometimes, always teasing her about the Nutcracker. Fritz stammered something about his meal and went away.

"Would you be so kind as to tell me about this Herr Nutcracker, Demoiselle Marie?" Herr Schmidt asked.

Pleased to have an audience, Marie told him about all that had happened eight years ago, about how the Nutcracker came to life, and how she had helped him defeat the Mouse King with help from Fritz's hussars. But Marie said nothing about the nightly visits she still made to the Marzipan Castle.

When she finished, Herr Heinrich was looking at her intently. Just as she feared he would say something condescending, or worse, break into laughter, he spoke quietly. "You were very brave, Demoiselle Marie."

A weight lifted and just like that, dinner was over.

*******

A few hours later, Marie was awoken from her bed by another voice. She had not intended to doze off, but she was much more tired than she expected.

"Demoiselle Marie," the Nutcracker whispered. "Are you ready?"

The Nutcracker was perched at the foot of her bed, as always.

Marie opened her eyes and threw off her sheets. She stood next to the bed in her nightgown and closed her eyes. As the Nutcracker cast his spell, she felt herself shrinking, till she was once again his height. Together, they made their way to the dresser and waited for the ladder to descend from the sleeve of the old fox fur coat.

It made a loud clicking noise, and Marie looked back once, suddenly afraid that this time, someone would hear and enter her room. Seeing no one, she followed the Nutcracker up the ladder.

Once she reached the top, she found herself in Sugar-Candy Meadow, like always. Marie enjoyed her leisurely stroll through the kingdom with the Nutcracker, not to mention the usual warm welcome at Marzipan Castle.

"Greetings, dear Marie! You look lovely, as usual," the four princesses cried out in unison. The oldest, Clara, stepped forward in a gorgeous fiery red dress. Dancing gingerbread men and women, along with shooting stars were embroidered in vivid colours along the bottom of the dress. As Clara walked, it seemed as though the embroidered people were walking too. "We've picked some of your favourite candy plums and apples for you. When you've eaten, would you help us pound some sugar candy?"

"Of course!" Marie cried happily. Pounding sugar candy was a tradition started from her first visit to Marzipan Castle. It never felt like work.

Marie followed the princesses into Marzipan Castle, passing through the ballroom where she tarried a short while to greet the many guests before heading to the kitchen. There, a basket of purple plums and red apples sat.

Marie immediately took a plum and bit into it, savouring the sweet juices that mingled with the crunchy sugar coating. She polished off half the basket before she remembered what she came to do, and finally started pounding on the sugar candy. When she had finished helping, she would dance the rest of the night away with the Nutcracker.

Yes, today had turned out to be a very good day for Marie. 

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please vote, comment or add it to your lists so that others can find it. The next part (the Nutcracker's story) will be posted next Tuesday.