The Nutcracker King (Coming From Darkness #1)

Chapter 3 Part 1: Nutcracker

Searching for Princess Pirlipat proved to be no easy task. She seemed to have vanished into thin air, probably spirited away by sympathisers. I circled the kingdom on my horse, but no one had any useful information to give. I even went to the next kingdom, Paperland, where I was received graciously, but provided with no useful information.

On the way back from Paperland, I passed through Candytown, no relation to the Candyburg where I now lived. On the surface, it looked like any other province of my Candy Kingdom, but as I passed through, I noticed that not only was my presence unheralded, people were openly turning their faces away and spitting as I passed through on my steed.

"Prince... Nutcracker," a harsh voice hailed me from behind. I turned to see an old man, his weathered face creased in an oily smile. Behind him were at least four other riders, all armed to the teeth.

I tipped my head, "Lord Candy."

"What brings you here, Nutcracker?" Lord Candy said. "Is there trouble in Candyburg?"

"No, no," I shook my head. "I'm just making a tour of my Kingdom."

Lord Candy's smile shrunk as mine grew. The man looked like he had just bit into a bad candy apple. "Your future province, should you ever ascend the throne, is being well managed by me," he said. "Instead of gallivanting about, why don't you go back and guard your precious Marzipan Castle? After all, it would be terrible for you if Princess Pirlipat returned."

His speech over, Lord Candy dug his heels into his mount and rode off, his riders forced to scramble after him. The stampede threw sugar dust over everyone — my horse, me, and even the villagers who were standing nearby.

"Lord Candy is gone," I reassured the villagers. "Should anyone have complaints, or information about the whereabouts of traitors, come talk to me. I will be here as long as you need me."

Infuriatingly, no one came forward. A few even muttered 'traitor' as they glared at me. If they had dared to do this in Candyburg, they would have been torn apart by the crowd, but here, insolence was tolerated, even encouraged, by the ambitious Lord Candy.

After an hour of waiting I gave up. This town had been taken in by the propaganda of Lord Candy, and clearly regarded my sisters, who ruled as regents after Pirlipat and the royal family vanished, as nothing more than usurpers. Sadly, this logic wasn't applied to Lord Candy himself; neither was the prophecy about my Kingship given any weight.

As I left the town and headed towards the Sea of Almond Milk, a fortune cookie dropped out of nowhere and hit my horse, causing it to balk and neigh frantically.

"Woah, boy." I deftly jumped off the horse and calmed him down. "It's just a cookie, see?"

I picked it up and showed it to him. It tried to bite the cookie. I laughed and broke it in two. I gave half to the horse, but was distracted by its contents. Inside was a piece of paper.

Two towns away, in the great candy-apple tree just outside, there is a secret route to a traitor's nest. Beware while travelling there, for many are traitors to the crown. Long Live the Nutcracker King!

I searched around me for the writer of the note as I digested the information. Who was this loyalist who threw cookies instead of addressing me directly? I poked around, but there was nothing. The note was clearly written in distinctive script, yet to investigate would cost me valuable time. Valuable time that could be used to spirit Pirlipat away, if the town in question was as full of traitors as the note indicated.

Deciding that there was no time to waste, I sped away to the village in question. Sure enough, there was a huge candy-apple tree flowering just outside of to it. Luscious red candy apples hung from every branch, and I could not see any route. I circled the large trunk, pressing my hand against the chocolate bark, but there were no seams or hidden doors of any kind.

"Ouch!" An apple dropped on my head. I looked up, and noticed something very peculiar. The apples grew thickly, but here and there, there were gaps. From this angle, it was clear that the gaps connected in a long, winding tunnel. Someone had plucked the apples to ensure easy climbing.

I started climbing.

*******

The top of the tree lead to what appeared to be a human toyshop. The shelves were placed higher than the towers of Marzipan Castle, and the chairs were as big as the ones in Marie's house. Was this a tunnel to the human world? But that could not be, for no toys were able to move in the human world during the day.

In fact, although I'd never been here, something about the place felt strangely familiar. Yet a cursory inspection showed no signs of royal sympathisers. But for some reason, I felt as though I had spent a lot of time here in the past.

But I suppose that's due to the curse. Pirlipat must be close to be able to mess with my mind like that. I quickly brandished my sword and walked towards the most likely hiding place - a dollhouse placed on the floor.

"Pirlipat!" I shouted, "Show yourself! It is I, the Nutcracker whom you have cursed."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of gold running away from the window.

Pirlipat.

I opened the door and walked into the dollhouse.

"It will do you no good to hide Pirlipat. This house isn't very big. Sooner or later, I will find you."

As I spoke, I walked up the stairs and headed right. That was where the Princess's chambers were in the Castle, and Pirlipat was not smart enough to modify the floor-plan. Her routine was planned and stuck to from the moment she was born.

Apart from the fact that she was cursed by the Mouse Queen.

I kicked open the door, and in the corner of a lush, red velvet bedroom, I saw a face like a porcelain doll. A face that I once thought I loved.

"Princess."

Pirlipat edged towards a cupboard. "Nutcracker! How did you find me?" Her face was ghostly pale, and for once, the famed apple red cheeks were gone. She looked ugly.

"Did you really think you could hide from me? Now, I want this curse lifted."

I took a step closer. Pirlipat tried to run. I caught her easily and flung her to the ground, kneeling on her back to prevent her from moving.

"I didn't cast it!" She cried desperately. "Please Nutcracker, I'm sorry. I'll marry you and you'll be King, that's what you wanted, right? Just don't kill me. I didn't cast the curse, it was the Mouse Queen!"

"But I was cursed because of you," I told her calmly as I flipped her over to face me. I wanted her to know what was happening, to see my face twisted in its perpetual grin. "I'll get rid of the source of the curse, you, and free myself. Then I can make Demoiselle Marie a true Queen."

"Demoiselle Marie?" Pirlipat cried in disbelief, a little of her haughty ways returning. "That girl is a country bumpkin. No one will accept her as quee—"

I refused to let her finish the sentence. No one was allowed to speak so of my dear Marie. She was a thousand times the princess this empty headed doll had ever been.

Pirlipat stared at me with fearful blue eyes. She had opened her mouth to speak, but a trickle of blood came out instead. She never looked better — the crimson blood on her pale skin.

Careful not to pull my sword out of her stomach and lose all that nourishing blood, I climbed down the tree and called my steed over. Very carefully, I placed Pirlipat on the horse, careful not to jolt her. She struggled for a while, but I held her in my arms and whispered to her. Eventually, she stopped struggling and lay back, resting against me. 

Thanks for reading! I'm posting this a few hours earlier than usual because it's GW and I'm working a very, very, long shift today (which is code for "all I can manage when I get home is to shower and sleep"). I hope you enjoyed this, and if you did, please like/comment/add to your lists so that others can find it! The next part will be up on Tuesday(: