The Return of The Nutcracker

Chapter 7

After April calmed down the villagers, we headed inside a building. Into a large room with several chairs at a table. The room was dimly lit as the flames on the walls caused shadows. Most of the seats were filled. April sat at the head of the table as Eric and I sat next to Sam. April's eyes scanned down the table. A large man stood up and cleared his throat. "Princess, we must go to war tomorrow." She held up her hand. He fell quiet. She slowly stood up. "It's your highness." She corrected him. "I am acting in my father's place until we can rescue him." She grew quiet. Maybe she was thinking about the king again.

Another man stood up; he wore a lot of jewelry. "And how did that plan go? Alexander set a trap and caught you and the prince. We will not support another rescue mission." He puffed up just thinking of the idea.

The skinny man next to him stood up slowly, he had a candy cane suit on. Yes, it was made out of a real one. "He is right. For the time being, we must pretend that your father is gone and act on your commands. Alexander will get in here one way or another. What if he succeeds tomorrow? The longer we hide, the more strength he will gain to force his way in." His voice was raspy.

The large man nodded. "He is right your highness. Alexander will slowly take this kingdom. Then what of the people? What of these lands?"

Eric stood up and slammed his hand on the table. "ENOUGH!" Everyone fell silent. "The princess is trying her hardest. The first thing she did was try to save our king. He had more power than the four of us combined. The villagers will be safer if we move our armies out into the open and fight."

Sam slowly stood up. "My people are here to help. If we combine our armies, it only adds up to four hundred soldiers. I fear this will not be enough."

April's eyes met his. "If this is all we have, then it must work. We only have so much time before he tries to break in here again." Her head hung low, as if she knew he would win.

The man with the jewelry snorted. "And what of the lost prince? Where is he with his great skills? Now we have a wooden solider who can be set on fire with one arrow." Eric gave him a dirty look. I gently touched his hand. Eric slowly sat back down in his seat. April looked at him, giving him dirty looks for bringing this up. "We will not speak of my missing brother again." Her voice was strong. But her eyes looked like she was hiding a wound that still had salt on it.

Sam spoke up. "Princess, what are your orders?" April smiled at him, a silent thank you for changing the subject. She glanced down at the table, looking the council in the eyes. "We gather up everything. Our troops set out by dawn." The council silently all stood up and bowed to her before leaving. April stormed outside. I got up and quickly went after her. Once I got outside, she was sitting by the edge of the river. Her eyes were just watching the water flow. Everyone was really moving about, trying to prepare for tomorrow. Weaving through the crowd, I went over and sat next to her. "Are you okay?" She didn't look at me. Her head hung low, her legs were crossed. She wiped her tears away. "I hate when they bring up my brother. It isn't enough that Alexander took him away."

She paused and cried more. I placed my hand on her shoulder. She sniffled. "Don't worry about me Clara. You need your rest. Go before you don't get any sleep." I didn't want to leave her, but I knew deep down she just wanted some privacy. I silently nodded and stood up. "I'm here if you need me." April didn't respond. I headed back to my tent and crawled inside. My mind was racing. At dawn, we would have to face Alexander again. Closing my eyes, it was like I could see him in front of me. The way he looked at me, like I was his grand prize once he took this place over. The smirks and faces he makes when he knows my guard is up. His scent is like a musky forest. Strong and intoxicating. But not enough to make me be within three inches of him. His heart was dark and his mind was full of evil.