The Nutcracker Prince

Chapter 3

Now the hole in the wall led to two kingdoms, one was the warm and enchanting land of sweets but the other was an icy cold kingdom which was ruled by the cold-hearted moth king.

"So is the job done?" He asked his minions. "Was Cat Noir destroyed? Did you tear him apart stitch by stitch."

"Well we were about to-" A mouse said.

"What?!" He shouted. "You didn't kill him! You couldn't tear apart a doll! You call yourselves mighty warriors? You're more like sewer rats!"

"But your lordship he was alive." Another mouse said.

"What? Alive? How?"

"We don't know." A moth said.

"Still, there was a whole army of you! You could've taken him."

"But master there was this tiny girl who pushed a large candle on us and it broke my tail." A rat said.

"A girl?" He said suspiciously.

"About fourteen, dark hair, beautiful, wore a nightgown and red shoes." The rat described.

"Did she look like a princess?"

"Don't know sir." A moth said.

"A girl helping Cat Noir." He thought to himself. "If she turns out to be a real princess and if she kisses him then- find Cat Noir! And destroy him at all costs!"

...

"I'm sure there's plenty of left over food from the party." Marinette said as they walked into the dining hall. "Oh Dear." She said looking at the table that now appeared much bigger. "Okay we're here so can you change me back?"

"Sorry but I didn't shrink you."

"Well neither of us are tall enough to reach the table. So how are we..." She looked around then an idea popped into her head. "May I borrow your sword?"

"Sure." She took it then pulled a long lace from her nightgown. She tied the lace to the sword and threw it up to the table.

"Nice throw." Chat said.

"Thank you." She tugged on the lace to make sure it was secure. Then the two of them climbed up the lace until they reached the top. "Here you go left over gingerbread."

"Thanks." He bit into the small pierce of gingerbread which was actually a lot larger to them. "This is really good."

"Glad you like it. So um you wouldn't happen to know who shrank me would you?"

"No. I fell asleep when you did and when I woke up I was alive and you were small. By the way, how did you bring me back to life?"

"I... I don't know. Are you sure I even did it?"

"Well Fu couldn't have done it. He's tried for two years."

"Does Fu know magic?"

"Yes."

"You think he shrunk me?"

"I don't know."

"Well you wouldn't happen to know how to change me back?"

"No."

"Great! So I'm stuck the size of a doll. What will my parents say?"

"If Fu did this then it's only temporary. His spells ware off in a couple hours."

"What a relief. So what will you do?"

"As for me, I have a moth king to find." Chat said. "The prince's fourteenth birthday has passed and if he's not freed by tomorrow morning then all hope is lost."

They climbed down and he went to the hole.

"Are you coming?" He asked.

"Me? With you? In there? I don't think so."

"Suit yourself. But if you're staying here you better get to high ground."

"Why is that?"

"Because the mice and moths will come back and if they find you here and not me they'll take you for questioning."

"But I don't know anything."

"They won't believe you."

"Oh boy."

"Don't worry when the spell wares off not only will you regain your normal size but you'll be sent back home."

"Okay." She sighed. Into the hole they went. It was pretty dark and hollow. "Um, quick question, how exactly are we going to find this moth king if we're in the wall."

"Looks can be deceiving although you are as wonderful as you look."

Marinette blushed.

"So if you don't mind me asking who were you before?"

"I...I...I lived in a castle."

"Were you a palace guard?"

"You could say that."

"What was the prince like?"

"Young and self cautious."

"Was he handsome?"

"Some people said he was. The kingdom was devastated when he was cursed. I've made it my mission to defeat the moth king and find a princess who will love him."

"I hate to disappoint you, but there aren't any princesses around here."

"Well she doesn't have to be a princess by royalty."

"In that case Chloe is as close to being a princess as it gets. If she knew there was a handsome prince who needed a kiss, she'd go for it."

"But what if he wasn't a handsome prince anymore?" He whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

They continued walking until Marinette felt snow under her foot. She then realized they were now in a forest, snow was everywhere. On the ground and in the trees.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"The winter woods."

"Strange there's snow but it's not cold."

"Would you like to know why? Follow me."

He led her to a frozen lake, they saw a glittering blue light in the sky, the light landed on the frozen lake. It took the form of a woman with long blue hair, wearing a snow white dress, and crystal wings on her back.

"Who is she?"

"Duusu."

"Oh she is so lovely."

"She's a snow fairy."

"I thought fairies only existed in stories.

"That's what they want you to think. Her job is to make Christmas snow and Christmas snow is never cold or hard. It's soft and delicate perfect for playing in. Watch."

Duusu made a snow flake appear in her hand then threw it into the sky. Suddenly hundreds of snowflakes fell from the sky. Marinette smiled and began to twirl in the soft snowflakes as they gently landed on her. Cat Noir smiled as he watched her dance in the snow, she looked so beautiful.

"Are there more of them?"

"Snow fairies? No but there are other fairies, there's Trixx she's a Christmas light fairy, every year at Christmas time she takes light from the northern lights and uses it to decorate people's houses. Then there's Pollen she's a flower fairy."

"Flowers at Christmas time?"

"Hey ever heard of poinsettias? The last one would be Tikki, she's a sugar plum fairy and what I've been told is that she's the most beautiful out of all of them."

"How magical."