The Nutcracker King (Coming From Darkness #1)

Chapter 8 Part 2: Marie

The first night was the worst. Marie lay in her bed, expecting to hear the footsteps of the Nutcracker any minute. She told herself that the Nutcracker wouldn't dare come, with the Hussars stomping around and mother wailing in her room, but still, she was afraid of hearing the soft pitter-patter of footsteps that preceded his arrival.

Two days later, Marie watched the sun filter in through her window, the colours changing from a warm orange to a clear light. But until the last ray of sunrise was gone, Marie refused to believe that the Nutcracker would leave her alone.

"Goodness, Demoiselle Marie, you look like you haven't slept a wink."

Cook came into the room with a breakfast tray an hour or two after sunrise.

Marie yawned. "I couldn't sleep. Is Mother...?"

Cook sighed heavily. "No. And your father is still asleep, what with your Mother and those Hussars stomping around the house. You better eat up, Demoiselle Marie, the Hussars will want to talk to you after breakfast. I couldn't keep them away any longer."

She handed Marie a tray filled with cold cuts of meat, rolls of bread with jam, a few types of cheese and a pot of coffee. Fritz would have loved it. Marie felt sick just looking at it. She drank a few sips of the coffee, but even that was too much.

"I'm sorry, Cook. I can't, not now, can you please take it away?"

Unlike most days, where a refusal to eat would have resulted in a lecture and threats to: 'call your mother, Demoiselle Marie, I don't care if you're a young lady now', today, Cook only sighed and took the tray away without uttering a single word.

A few minutes later, sister Luise bustled in with the same tray. Luise had rushed back home after hearing about Fritz.

"Marie, I know you're upset, I am too, but you need to eat. We can't have you fainting while the Hussars are here," she said.

"Luise, is this my fault?"

Luise put the tray down and stared at her. "Why would it be your fault?" When Marie didn't answer, she said kindly, "listen, Marie, mother's in a bad state. I need you to be strong for her. I will be leaving for Godfather Drosselmeier's funeral soon, he deserves at least one of us there. After that, I have to return, at least to tell my husband how the investigation is going before coming back. I'll see you in a few days, but I need you to be strong until then. Will you please eat something?"

She waited until Marie nodded before passing her the breakfast tray and then left the room.

*******

"Demoiselle Marie, I am sorry for your loss." There were two Hussars already waiting in the sitting room when Marie came down. Her father was standing silently at a corner; when she looked at him, she could see the tears in his eyes.

"My apologies for being late," Marie mumbled softly.

"It is understandable. Now, we have a few questions for you," One of the Hussars, the older looking one, began. Suddenly he was interrupted when a loud wailing noise started ringing throughout the house.

Marie stood up, when she saw her father move from his spot. "My apologies," he said as he edged towards the door, "I must attend to my wife."

"As we were saying, we would like to ask you a few questions," The Hussar said as the wailing in the background grew softer. He seemed completely unaffected by her mother's grief, although his companion fidgeted nervously. "It is our understanding that you were the one who found your brother."

While the Hussar droned on, Marie shifted herself so that she was sitting on her hands. Why did you go to the old playroom? Did you see anyone in there? Was Fritz already dead when you went there? The questions went on and on. Marie felt like she had repeated herself a thousand times.

"I went to the playroom because I heard a noise. It sounded like Fritz."

"I... I don't know. I didn't see a human in there."

"He was... Fritz was...when I opened the door, I'm sorry, I don't feel too good."

And it was true. The churning in her stomach had grown worse as she spoke. Why was she protecting the Nutcracker? She should have told them the truth and have them burn him right now. But each time she opened her mouth, she could only tell the partial truth — that there were no humans in the room when she opened the door.

Finally, it was over.

"Thank you, Demoiselle Marie," the Hussar said as they stood up. "We're sorry for your loss."

As they made their way to the door, Marie made one last attempt to tell the truth. "Wait," she called out, "Fritz..., he...Godfather Drosselmeier..." she stuttered as they looked at her. A moment passed. "I'm sorry," she said, "It's nothing."

The two Hussars sighed and left the room, leaving Marie alone. As soon as she heard the door slam shut, she leapt out of the chair and stumbled out of the room and ran past her father, who was walking in.

"I don't feel well," Marie managed before she threw up all over the floor.

*******

That night, Marie insisted on sleeping in Fritz's room. The only one who tried to make a fuss was Cook, but she was quickly overruled by father.

"Let her do as she wants," he said as mother started wailing again. "Cook, bring a pot of tea to my wife's room in a few minutes. No more coffee, mind, the last thing she needs is more stimulants."

He hurried back to the room, and cook shuffled back to the kitchen. Before anyone else could make a fuss, Marie headed to Fritz's room and after making sure there were no stray Hussars lying about, shut the door tightly.

She crawled into the bed and shut her eyes. When she next opened them, it was morning.

I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm starting to sound like a broken record but I'm really sorry about being absent. I wasn't in a very good place emotionally and ended up taking a break from a lot of internet things, including Wattpad. I don't dare to make promises about posting regularly but we'll see how it goes(: