Marie lay in bed, her eyes shut but her ears straining to hear the sound of the Nutcracker. He was late. Could the Mouse King have come back? The Nutcracker had never been late, not once in eight years. It was most inconsiderate of him.
Finally, she smelled something strange, like her father after he came home from treating certain patients. But father had not been called out tonight. Marie felt something small hop onto her bed.
"Demoiselle Marie," a familiar voice spoke, "Sincerest apologies for my tardiness."
"It's alright, Nutcracker," Marie said as she opened her eyes. But when she laid eyes on Nutcracker, she had to stifle a scream.
The Nutcracker was covered in blood. His violet jacket was stained red, as red as the jacket's of one of Fritz's Hussars. Even his wooden grin was stained red. There were blood stains all over her bedsheets.
"Demoiselle Marie?" the Nutcracker's ugly red smile grew even wider. "Am I human now?"
Marie grabbed her blanket and held it out like a shield. "Stay away from me, you're covered in blood!"
The Nutcracker looked at himself. "Well, yes, it's Pirlipat's blood. But more importantly, am I human yet?"
Marie shook her head and the Nutcracker's face fell.
"I see," he said shaking his head, "it wasn't Pirlipat after all. I was afraid of that. All the way here, I was hoping that her blood would reverse the curse. Come Marie, we are late for the ball."
Marie shook her head again.
"Marie, why are you hesitating? I cannot bring you into Marzipan Castle if you do not let me shrink you down."
"I'm not going." Marie finally found her voice. "I'm not going anywhere with a murderer, and that's what you are!"
"I am not a murderer!" For the first time, the Nutcracker raised his voice at Marie. For the first time, the Nutcracker looked dismayed at Marie. "Alright," he lowered his voice, "at least let me explain what happened." He took a step forward.
"There is nothing to explain; stay away from me. I'll scream, I really will," Marie whispered.
The Nutcracker shook his head. "No you won't, I know you love me. And I love you too, that's why I killed Pirlipat. It was for us."
"For us?"
The Nutcracker nodded his head so vigorously that flakes of dried blood flew all over the bed. "Yes, for us. I thought that if I killed the reason why I am a Nutcracker, her blood would reverse the curse. You could call it a theory derived from the Kingdom."
"But the Kingdom runs on sweets and light, it has nothing to do with blood."
The Nutcracker looked uncomfortable. "You must believe me, Marie, though I daren't say more. I wish I could, but it's not for you to know, not yet. But please, come with me to Marzipan Castle. My sisters long to see you, and I, I need you now more than ever. Especially after Pirlipat."
Marie did not even consider it She shook her head.
"Alright," the Nutcracker said softly. "I won't force you. But I will come back tomorrow, and the night after that, and the night after that. I will not give up on us."
With that, he hopped off the bed and ran towards the cupboard, leaving a second, fainter, set of bloody footprints.
As soon as Marie thought the Nutcracker was gone, she leapt from her bed and pulled that old fur coat off, placing it on her drawer. Once she had done that, she started stripping the sheets from her bed and headed to the bathroom. That was where her mother found her the next morning, surrounded by wet bedclothes.
Yes, this chapter has three parts (instead of the usual two)! I hope you enjoyed all three sections and I will be posting Chapter 4 Part 1 on Tuesday so stay tuned! If you would like to help more people find the story, please like, comment and/or add this to your lists(:
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The Nutcracker King (Coming From Darkness #1)
FantasyHow far will you go for your 'Happily Ever After'? It has been eight years since the Nutcracker has defeated the Mouse King, and he is still a cursed doll. The Nutcracker's one desire is to break the curse, allowing him to take his rightful place a...
