Remember Me: A Nutcracker Story | ✔

IX. Preparations

"Will she be alright?"

"She's emotionally tired, Your Highness. And apart from that she had bruises on her cheeks, wrists and ankles; it looks like she was bound and hit across the face. She just needs to rest and get her strength back."

"Is there anything we can do to help her get better?"

Voices were once again floating around Mary's head. She tried to open her eyes, but they were so heavy that it took a great amount of effort to lift her lids even a bit. Through her lashes she could see people moving about around her bed, and she could smell the sweet garden aroma of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Mary tried to move her limbs, and like her eyelids, they felt so heavy.

"Mary! Are you awake?"

Mary cracked her eyes open further, and then she could see Sticks' worried face just inches from her own. "Y-yeah..."

The Sugar Plum Fairy moved by her head, and a moment later there was a glass of water in front of her. She felt the cool glass against her lips and heard water sloshing inside.

"Will you please leave us for now, Doctor? Thank you. Drink, dear," said the Sugar Plum Fairy to Mary. "Your throat must be so dry."

Mary drank from the glass, and she felt her strength returning to her after every gulp, although not by much. After drinking the whole thing, she lay back and stared at the ceiling.

"What... What happened? How long was I out?"

"You fell asleep on our way back to the Land of Sweets," explained Sticks. "You've been sleeping for a day."

At this, Mary remembered all the things the Rat King told her. They surged into her mind like a swift and unkind river. She closed her eyes and bit her lip as she waited for the onslaught of memories to stop. After a moment, she told the people around her everything she had been told. When she was done, the Sugar Plum Fairy sat down heavily on a nearby chair.

"And so, this is his plan," she breathed. "And the mystery of NC's birth is finally revealed."

At this, Mary sat up carefully and stared at the Sugar Plum Fairy. "What do you mean?"

"It means exactly as I said," explained the Sugar Plum Fairy. "My sister, the Snow Queen, suddenly became pregnant and gave birth to NC. No one knew how or why, but I alone knew that she had a suitor back then. But she did not tell me who it was, or that something had happened between them. I'm afraid I've been slow to put two and two together."

"So it is true..." murmured Mary. "He... I thought he was lying. I wanted to believe he was lying..."

A grim silence fell in the room, each one present mulling over what had just been revealed. Sticks, Tinker, and Gielgud were all fed the story that NC's father had been a merchant, and he had taken ill during a trip after NC was conceived, leaving the Snow Queen to give birth and rule alone. At this revelation, they were as shocked as Mary.

NC's father is no other than the Prince Eric who ended up being the Rat King under the curse of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

"She warned me," said the Sugar Plum Fairy softly. "She told me about the deception of man. I thought my defenses were enough. But I didn't know just how attractive evil could make itself look."

"That... That vile creature!" spat Tinker after a moment's silence. "He defiles the Snow Queen, leaves her with his sire, and threatens to take the Sugar Plum Fairy's birth name by force. He must be stopped before he does any more damage!"

"Indeed he must," said Gielgud. "If he wasn't lying, he had told NC the same story, albeit with a different tone. He would have made himself out to be the victim of it all, and he took advantage of a grieving NC to meet his demands."