The Nutcracker King (Coming From Darkness #1)

Chapter 6 Part 2: Fritz

Fritz stared at his sister. Had she lost her mind? Fritz said as much, and added, "You should have seen the crime scene, Marie. There was so much blood everywhere, on the floor, on the walls. The murderer has to be as big as Godfather Drosselmeier, not a tiny little doll."

Marie scrunched her face into an obstinate look. "I don't know how he did it, but he did. He came that night, all covered in ghastly blood." Her face paled as she spoke, and her hands squeezed the skirt of her dress.

"Marie, I'm not saying that I don't believe you," Fritz said gently, "but why would your Nutcracker kill Godfather Drosselmeier?"

Marie looked up for a moment before turning her head away, looking everywhere but at him. "Do you remember the year I asked for one of your Hussar's swords?"

"Of course."

"Well, you know why I needed it. Because the Nutcracker needed to defeat the Mouse King. Like I tried to tell you all, he succeeded and he brought me to Marzipan Castle as a sign of his gratitude. You all laughed at me when I told you this, so I hid it."

"Hid what?"

"Well, I didn't go to Marzipan Castle just once," The words tumbled out. "I've been going there every night for the last eight years. Well, almost every night. I haven't gone since, since I knew about Godfather. Please Fritz, you have to believe me."

If his sister could hear herself, she would realise something was wrong with her. "You mean to say that for eight years, you've been going to a magical kingdom every night, and no one noticed?"

Silently, she nodded.

"Marie, are you listening to yourself? Godfather may have given us the doll, but..." Fritz stopped talking when he realised that his sister was about to cry. He stood up to comfort her, but before he took the two steps towards her chair, she started crying.

"It's ok," He tried to comfort her, "Really, I'll catch whoever's responsible."

But Marie didn't even seem to be listening.

"It's all my fault," she sobbed, "the Nutcracker did it because of me. He killed Princess Pirlipat and Godfather Drosselmeier. It's all my fault."

"Princess Pirlipat? The one cursed by the Mouse Queen?"

Marie nodded, still crying.

Fritz stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me, Marie," he said seriously. "I don't know what he has been telling you, but none of this is your fault. You didn't kill anyone."

"You believe me?"

"Well, I guess," he lied. "Tell you what, I know how to solve this. We'll burn the Nutcracker." He looked at his sister and tried to smile encouragingly.

Although Marie looked horrified, she didn't say a word. She just stared at her hands.

"Yes, that's what we'll do," Fritz said thoughtfully. If this would put Marie's mind at rest while he hunted the real killer, it would be worth the trouble. "He's in the glass cabinet, right? Let's see, Mother and Father are distracted now, but I think they'd care if we burnt it in the day. So, I'll find a quiet space and burn it. Then we'll have avenged Godfather Drosselmeier."

"You still don't believe me," Marie said quietly. Her next words came out as a shout, "You didn't believe me then, and you don't believe me now. Why don't you ask your Hussars? They were the ones helping Nutcracker back then."

"The Hussars?"

"Your toy hussars."

"Oh, my Hussars? Them, help Godfather Drosselmeier's killer? You must be joking." Fritz might have grown up, but he still refused to think any less of his prized Hussars.

"Well then, we'll just go to the shelves and see, won't we." Marie lifted up her chin and marched out of the room. Fritz sighed, and followed his sister.

"Marie, I'm telling you, there isn't any proof," Fritz said as he followed his sister into the sitting room.

"No proof of what?"

Marie and Fritz turned to see their sister Luise standing at the door. Her eyes were red as well.

"Luise," Marie exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

Luise walked over and drew them in for a hug. "I travelled back as fast as I could once I heard the news."

"But, the funeral isn't for a few more days. There'll be an inquest, and," Fritz started to blather. Luise rarely came back home ever since she got married, moved out of the city, and gave birth.

"Quiet, Fritz," Luise said, ruffling his hair. "I don't hate you, I'm just busy." She turned to Marie, who was smiling at the sight of her sister. "I'm glad to see you smile, Marie. Mother mentioned that you were very down."

"You've already seen mother?" Fritz interjected.

Luise glanced at him. "Yes, Fritz. She's in the kitchen now, talking to cook about dinner."

"Will you stay long?" Marie asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't," Luise said, frowning slightly. "My husband feels it would not be suitable for me to leave the children alone for too long, even if he's in the house. I have to leave after dinner, but I will be back for the funeral, and I'll bring everyone with me. You two will be able to see your niece and nephew. Now, it's almost dinner time, let's go."

*******

Fritz was standing outside Marie's room, doing his best not to make a sound. Marie's whispered instructions before dinner had been clear, "Please Fritz, stand guard outside my room tonight. But keep quiet, or he'll hear you."

He had wanted to ask Marie what she meant, but mother had entered with Luise, who spent the entire dinner talking about her children. The kids were cute, but how could she spend a whole dinner talking about them when there were much more important things going on?

Fritz tried to talk about the case with his father, and received the glares of ice from both mother and Luise. He had not been restored to their good graces by the time Luise left, not even one hour after desert.

"Demoiselle Marie, I'm here."

What was that? Fritz held his breath. His sister was a good girl, why would a man be inside her room at night?

And how did that man sneak past him?

"Go away, Nutcracker." Marie's voice was strained. "There is nothing you could say to make me go with you."

"What about my sisters? They miss you." The male voice — the Nutcracker?— said plaintively. There was silence, and for a moment, Fritz thought his sister had given in.

"I miss them too," Marie admitted softly, so softly that Fritz almost didn't hear her. "But I can't go back, not after what you did."

The Nutcracker sighed. "One day, Demoiselle Marie, you will understand that I did all this for you. I brought some of your favourite candy apples, if you come back with me tomorrow, I will make sure you have a feast. There is no need for you to be sad because the traitor Drosselmeier deserved to die. Just like Pirlipat. You'll understand."

There was a small thump, and then silence. Fritz didn't know whether the Nutcracker, or unknown man, was still in the room. He stood in the hallway, not daring to move, till at last the door opened. Marie came out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Do you believe me now?" she whispered.

Fritz looked over to her shoulder, and saw a doll's basket full of red apples on Marie's bed. Staring at it, he nodded. 

Aaaand now we have Fritz! Will he succeed? More importantly, has Marie convinced him that the Nutcracker is real? Tune in next Tuesday to find out(: