The Return of The Nutcracker

Chapter 6

Sam stood up and wiped his jacket off. "Good. Ask them if they could spare a gum drop or two. I'm starving." April rolled her eyes at him. I unlocked their cell door. April quickly got out. "We need a plan fast. He's going to know we've escaped." Looking around, if we went back the way we came. We would be sitting ducks. My eyes went to the bare wall next to us. I aimed my key at it. A door appeared. Sam checked behind us. Goblins began rushing towards the dungeon. Their amour clashing could be heard echoing in the stairwell. Ellie flew to April's ear and spoke to her. "What do you mean..." April's voice sounded confused. Ellie started speaking again. April quickly nodded. "Lead us there. Hurry!" The door flew open. The fairies flew down the steps. Sam rushed in front of us. April and I shut the door behind us. Aiming my key towards the door, it vanished. "We don't need to give them hints." I mumbled. The goblins charged into the dungeon. 

"Clara, come on." April pulled on my hand. We fast paced down the steps. Once we got to the end, there was a Viking style boat in a river waiting for us. The front of it was in the shape of a sea dragon. My eyes widened. "What is this?"

"My father built it. It's a secret route for us to get out in case of an emergency. This is where I went once the guards and Alexander showed up." We slowly climbed into the boat. Sam went to the front and stood by the head. April and I sat in the middle. The fairies flew ahead of the boat. My mind went to Eric. I remembered when I first came here, I sat next to Eric as we watched April dancing with a prince. My eyes met April's. "When I first came here, who was it you were dancing with?" 

She silently pointed at Sam. "He was young then. But he's still a handsome guy. He has more wisdom, I think." Her eyes looked sad. She must have been worried about the King. We weren't able to save him without us running away.

My hand went over hers. "We will get the King back." She gave a small smile. I was going to help them. Even if we had to build up an army to try and knock down his walls. Hopefully we could do this without any bloodshed. The river started to get fogged up. April stood up. "We are close." There was a waterfall up ahead. But instead of water, it was all fog. Sam held on tight to the neck of the boat. We passed under the fog. The sun was shining in our faces. Large mountains covered around the area. The villagers were preparing for war. They had launchers, horses, pistols. The other villagers were going about their day as normal. The sweet fairies were standing by the solders squeaking pointing at something. April saw my face and laughed. "The sweet fairies are giving them spicy gumdrops. If the goblins eat them, they will explode." I raised my eyebrow at her. 

Sam glanced back and held his stomach. "Worst thing they can do to us is make us stay close by the can." He shuddered as he turned his head back. April slowly rolled her eyes. The boat stopped at the dock. A guard stood there and held out his hand. April took it. They bowed before her. "Your highness, everything is going to plan."

"Excellent. Sorry it took us so long. Someone had to regain their hope again." April turned around and winked at me. Sam climbed out of the boat. A guard held out his hand for me. As I was pulled out of the boat, something familiar caught my eye. I squinted to try and get a better look. My eyes couldn't believe it. Eric was standing by the horses, feeding them carrots. I took a single breath then started running. My heart was pounding in my ears. Eric turned around and smiled at me. My legs wouldn't stop running. I was too relived to see him. I ran straight into him and caused him to fall to the ground. Eric held me in his arms. I cried into his wooden vest. "I thought you were dead. I've never felt so guilty."

He smiled and laughed a little. I pulled away from him confused. "I thought you knew." I turned around; April stood there. "She thought you were dead. That's why it took us forever."

Eric stood up. Then pulled me to my feet. I wiped my tears away. "It looked like the flames engulfed you. I thought that George had won."

April raised her eyebrow. "Who is George?"

"Alexander and George are the same person. George is her arraigned marriage." Eric spoke as if he was annoyed by that. April held a piece of her hair in between her fingers. "Are we almost ready?" They started walking together. There was a tug on my sleeve. Ellie pulled me away. She smiled at me. A couple of woman villagers walked up to me. They were holding a dress. They quietly passed it to me. Before I could thank them, they left. I held it up. It was the same dress I had on when I faced Astra in the woods. Except this time, it was torn on the bottom. For me to be able to move easier. The sleeves were torn off halfway. I quickly got an idea. I raced over to the soldiers. "Do you guys have an extra pair of boots?" They stared at me silently.

     I stepped outside of the building wearing my torn-up dress. A hat that reminded me of the nutcrackers, which I used the key to make and the black boots. I also had to create a belt so I could have a sword hanging off of it. Two guards saluted me when I stepped out. Everyone looked prepared. Well almost, everyone was moving quickly. Sam ran past me. "Clara!" I quickly caught up to him. His eyes met mine. He kept running. I tried to keep up with him as best as I could. He leaped over a barrel. I did the same. I didn't even know why we were running. Out of the corner of my eye, was April. She was riding a horse. She was holding reins to a second one. Without stopping, she passed me the reins. I jumped and hoped up on the horse. We raced around the village. She took a couple of sharp turns, but I was still able to keep up. A hanging sign was about to knock me off, so I jumped and landed on the ground. Over by a gazebo, Ellie was dancing in the air. She motioned for me to join her. Which I did. I danced my way over to her. On my tip toes, I twirled, leaped. My arms went up into the air as I twirled. I wish I could keep dancing. The world started shaking. I closed my eyes, trying to get everything to go back to normal.

"Wake up! Clara!" My body was shaking. April was leaning over me. I sat up; my head was hurting. "What happened?"

Sam stood there with his arms crossed. "You ran into a barrel and passed out." April helped me stand up. "What happened before that?" I asked.

"We were racing, I tried to cheat by hopping over a barrel. I didn't expect for you to do the same thing." Sam shrugged.

April crossed her arms. "This isn't a time to play anyways. We are at war." From across the river, Eric was talking to a group of men. My thoughts began to wander. Did I feel something more with him? Or was it all just my imagination getting to me? I was so worried that he was dead. But over thrilled to see him alive. Shaking my head, I snapped out of those thoughts for now. April led me over to a bed where I could rest for the night. It was getting darker. The villagers began lighting their torches. April led me to a tent. She smiled at me. "I like what you did with your dress. I just hope you don't lose your faith again."

I nodded. "Thank you, April. I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you are." She shook her head. Sam was heading our way. Eric came up behind him and touched his shoulder. Sam turned around and they started talking. April was smiling. "I think he's turning back to the prince I first knew and loved." I couldn't keep my eyes off Eric. How I wished he was human again. How I wished George would just vanish. Everything would be normal again. April saw my face. "What's wrong Clara?" I waved my hand. It seems silly to have a crush on someone made out of wood. Was it a crush? Did he feel the same as well?

"I just want things to go back to before. Without Alexander here." I had to say his real name. George was just a name in my world. April raised her eyebrow; her index finger was on the side of her mouth as if she was thinking. Sam touched her shoulder. "Council wants to meet us." April nodded. They left together. Eric walked up to me. Our eyes met. My cheeks started blushing. He's been my friend ever since I saved him from the mouse king. Yet here I am, wishing he was human...

Eric cleared his throat. "How is your head?" Before I could answer his question, the ground began to shake. The villagers were waiting. The ground beneath our feet began to crack. Screaming could be heard. People were running in panic, was all I could hear over the crackling. The ground parted at our feet. Eric grabbed me and pulled me over to his side. Some of the houses were cracking. April rushed over to the center and held up a staff made out of sweets. She twirled it and jammed it into the ground. The cracking went on for another minute before stopping. A light glowed in every crack as they were sealed up. April pulled the staff out of the ground. She glanced over at us, then at her people. "We need to prepare for tomorrow." 

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