The Nutcracker Princess

The Nutcracker Princess: Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Trapped In The Tundra

"Mrs Somers, can I be excused?" Without even looking at me, she nodded her head and I scurried off into the empty corridor. Quickening my pace, I raced towards the girls toilets. I needed somewhere quiet to talk to Phoebus, this was urgent. Just as the door was in sight, I walked straight into someone's chest.

"Sorry." I mumbled, trying to get past them. Whoever this was, they had been working out, I felt like I had just collided with a brick wall.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I gulped. I knew that voice.

"Somewhere you can't follow me." I laughed triumphantly, pointing towards the toilets. Aha! Take that Scroogey-pants! No man would dare enter the female lavatory...apart from this one it seems.

"Ow, let me go!" I hissed, as he grabbed my hand and led me towards the door, pushing me ahead of him, Noel slammed the door behind him and leant against it casually.

"So, I assume by now you've figured out Christmas is no more." I felt my legs wobble as he spoke those words. He had to be lying didn't he?

"You're not serious..." I managed to stutter, glaring at him with as much venom as I could muster.

"Holly, I'm deadly serious." He whispered, flashing me a victorious smirk.

"You couldn't just wipe it out in an instant, tha...that's not possible." Oh man, I could feel tears forming. I had to keep it together; this wasn't the time for waterworks.

"It is using magic. And when the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve, it'll be permanent." I felt anger bubbling inside of me, why that selfish, egocentric...

"Why?" I demanded, walking forwards to stand face to face. "Why would you want to destroy something as wonderful as Christmas?" By this point I didn't give a toss if I sounded like someone from a bad Hallmark movie, I was beyond caring. At first, Noel looked stunned by my fury, though quickly regained his usual haughty air.

"Why not?" He shrugged, brushing a black curl out of his eyes. "All Christmas is about is greed, no-one cares about the giving part, only the receiving. I'm doing the world a favour really."

"That's crap and you know it! Christmas makes the winter worth the cold and the dark; it gives hope to millions of people. Just think about what you're doing to your dad!" Those last words made his eyes turn colder than ever and his lips crumple into a frown.

"I assume carrot-conk filled you in about my unfortunate parentage?" I knew there was no use denying it; he had probably been spying on me.

"If you mean Phoebus then yes, anyway, did you actually think you'd get away with this cheese brain?" I reached my hand up to rub my brooch. "Christmas time, mistletoe an..." Noel clamped his hand firmly across my mouth.

"Oh no, you don't!" He deftly unpinned the candy cane from my jumper and slipped it in his pocket. "I'm going to have to make sure you're out of the way until my plans complete. Don't take this personally." Lifting his hand away from my mouth, I was about to start yelling, when he clicked his fingers and winked at me.

"Goodbye, Holly." I heard him chuckle, as my vision clouded over.

"When I get my hands on you Scrooge, I'm going to-What in the name of puff pastry mince pies...?" I wasn't standing in the ground floor girls toilets anymore, Instead I appeared to be somewhere in the Arctic tundra.