After an exhausting two days, my Hussars and I finally arrived back at Marzipan Castle. We arrived just as dawn was breaking. Just in time. I dreaded each sunrise in the human world, where we automatically lost the ability to move till nightfall. As we marched through Candyburg, I could see the Hussars gaping at the site.
"Wait till you see what it's like when everyone wakes up and the city comes to life," I told them. "This is your new home."
The Hussars could only nod in agreement. For better or worse, this was their new home now, because after what we had been through, there was no way any of them could go back. I had their loyalty, forever.
We walked into the Castle, and immediately ran into Clara, who was rushing down the hallways.
"Clara."
"Nutcracker!" Clara gasped as she turned and her eyes met mine, two splotches appearing on her cheeks, "You're back, and you brought... friends."
"Not just friends, comrades in arms. Now, aren't you going to prepare a bath for your poor brother and his loyal friends?"
Clara bobbed. "Of, of course! I'll be just a minute."
"I would like a family meeting after my bath," I called after her as she scurried off, "I'm sure you are all curious to know what has transpired."
Clara didn't even look back.
The Nutcracker watched her go. "I want someone following her everywhere. She's up to something."
*******
"Brother Nutcracker!" All my sisters sounded far too cheery. "You're alive!"
They moved around the Hussars, handing out candy apples and eggnog like perfect hostesses. My men were relaxed after the bath, but I knew better than to let my guard down. The great hall was suspiciously empty, with no servants around.
I snorted. "Of course. I haven't seen all of you so cheerful since I defeated the Mouse King. I didn't know that news of the death of the latest traitor travelled so fast, or that you even cared about him."
The youngest quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, of course not. It's just, we were worried, and well, we...ow!"
"You wanted to tell us something?" Clara asked smoothly, pulling her sister back and silencing her with a glare. "It will have to be quick, we must open court in half an hour."
"Perfect," I said. "Shall we continue our talk in the throne room?"
*******
I looked down at the sulky faces of my sisters and smiled. As soon as my men and I had entered the throne room, I had headed for the throne, my Hussars clearing the way for me. As a result, there was a whole room full of people; some of them citizens here to petition the court, ready to listen to my every word.
"You may have heard of the Stahlbaum family. Our dear Marie is one of them. Well, I'm here to tell you that Fritz Stahlbaum has died at the hands of my men and I. To celebrate their loyalty and new freedom, we will feast in their honour tonight."
The crowd did not respond as I had expected. They kept silent, their eyes to the ground. Did they think I would turn on them next? Fools, I needed a Kingdom to rule.
"Is this how you react to good news?" I demanded.
The room stayed silent until one Hussar shouted, "Long live the King!"
"Long live the King!" the other Hussars joined in. They stamped their feet in approval, encouraging the rest of my people.
"Long live the King," my sisters whispered. At a look from the Hussars, their next cheer was shouted.
"Long live the King!"
Soon, the whole room was thundering with support for my reign. With such support, how could I refuse to lead my subjects? I immediately dismissed court, promising that the next time it was called would be after my coronation. I even gave the servants the day off, to reward them for their years of loyal service. Though they were new to the court, the Hussars showed everyone out, their gleaming swords an awe-inspiring sight.
My Hussars escorted the people out of the Castle, and my sisters escorted me out of the throne room, barely waiting for the doors to close before complaining.
"Nutcracker, how could you kill Herr Stahlbaum?" Clara said.
"Stop," I said as I held up a hand, "I am no longer Nutcracker, I am now King."
"You can't be King! You're still cursed," Clara argued, my other sisters nodding behind her.
Such fools. "Can't you see that it doesn't matter? The Hussars are here, and they will help convince everyone to make me King now."
My sisters twittered amongst themselves, and annoyed with the noise, I walked ahead. The noise lessened, until there was a sudden yelp. I turned around to see a Hussar drag one of them, the youngest, away from the group.
"What are you doing? Unhand her!" Clara shrieked.
"Your Majesty," The Hussar said, ignoring her, "I heard this one whisper, 'what about Lord Candy'. I thought it prudent to draw this to your attention."
Amazing. I hadn't even told the Hussars who Lord Candy was, yet they could sense he was a threat. I turned to my sisters, who were all cowed by my gaze.
"What do you traitors have to say?"
Clara lifted her chin. "In case you've forgotten, we hold the role of regent until a new King or Queen is crowned. For your information, Lord Candy sent a messenger to us an hour after you left the other day, asking about the...the possibility of convening a council to resolve this situation. We have been regent for far too long, and the nobles are anxious to find a new King."
"So he wanted you to crown him."
Clara shook her head 'no', but the anxious look on her face betrayed her. Were there vipers in every nest? Were all of them traitors? My own flesh and blood?
"Your Majesty, what should we do with them?" the Hussar asked, pulling me back to reality.
"Why don't you kill us now, brother dear," Clara spit out. "Your soldiers seem ready enough."
The Hussar's face blanched at Clara's words.
I considered giving in to her request, but had to shake my head.
"No," I said, "I'm sorry sister dear, but I can't grant you your request. We are family, after all." And all of you regent, my mind added. If I executed them, Lord Candy and his lackey nobles would have cause to declare me traitor to the realm and start a war.
Not to mention that my Hussars had enough killing for the time being. They needed to rest, and to make them kill my sisters might cause them to turn against me.
"I have decided what to do" I told the Hussars, "I have forgiven my sisters, but it is clear they need protecting from undue influences. I want one Hussar following each of them at all times. Take shifts if necessary. From now on, all their mail will come directly to me. After all, I must familiarize myself with the running of the Kingdom. Now, I want you to decide among yourselves who will follow which sister. You have five minutes. "
The Hussar nodded and ran off, leaving me alone with my sisters.
"Now that we are alone for the last time, do you have any questions?"
"Yes," Clara still dared to speak up, "must they follow us everywhere? Do we not deserve privacy?"
I moved closer to Clara, making sure she could see every grain of wood on my face. "Do traitors deserve to live? From now on, no matter what you do, in your bed, in your bath, in the Garden, there will be a Hussar there."
"The Garden too?"
"Of course," I said. "They have been with me when Fritz was killed, the Garden is nothing to them. But for your sakes, I will be the one to break the news to them — look, here they come."
I saw a small guard of Hussars marching towards us. As they arrived, each one-stepped behind one of my sisters. Clearly, they had settled everything between themselves.
"Excellent." I clapped my hands. "Now, escort my sisters as they retrieve every single correspondence they have ever received from Lord Candy. I will look at them all in their study — which will now be my study — in an hour. Have the rest of the Hussars gather there as well. "
*******
"... does anyone have any questions?"
The Hussars shook their heads. Their faces were pale, but apart from that, they seemed to take the news of the garden in their stride. I had explained it to them logically, showing how the humanity we felt while bathing in Fritz's bath was akin to blood bringing life to the kingdom.
In the front row, my sisters sat fuming silently. For all their supposed hate of the Garden and their reluctance to go in, they hated sharing it with others. Maybe we were related.
"No questions?" I said, "In that case, we'll continue. First, we will review the evidence of treason by the regents against the realm." I leaned forward and picked up a sheath of papers. The Hussars had ransacked their rooms and brought back every scrap of paper. Most of it was useless, but some was very helpful to my agenda.
I flipped through the papers. "Here's one declaring undying love — oh, by a pageboy. And another one where you gossip about Pirlipat to the other nobles, and look, here's one where Lord Candy writes to inform you of his wish to become King. And none of you thought to inform me?"
Clara glared at me. "You are not King," she said icily, "we are the regents, and how we deal with missives is up to us."
"Let's not fight, Clara, just tell me, how did you answer the request?"
Clara sat back, crossed her arms and looked away. I looked to my other sisters, but they all copied her and pointedly averted their eyes. I sighed.
"In that case, we'll just have to continue reading these. Let's see, useless gossip, useless gossip, useless gossip... here it is. Lord Candy's reply. He says that he understands your reluctance to change anything, but he will come with a group of nobles to present his case by the 30th. Isn't that four days from now? Traitors!"
I threw the missives at my sisters, who still refused to meet my eyes. Those traitors never intended to give me the throne, even though the prophecy had foretold my reign.
"I hate to do this, but you have gone too far. Hussars, take my sisters to the garden and lock them in there with a knife. They can choose what to do after that."
"Are you sure, Your Majesty?" A Hussar asked.
I looked him right in the eye. "Don't worry, I do not turn on those loyal to me." They all got the message.
As one, the Hussars leapt up and my sisters screamed. The youngest was crying even before her guard could grab ahold of her. They kicked and screamed, but they were no match for my guards. Soon, they were overpowered, and we prepared to bring them to the Garden.
"Stop!" Clara shouted as a Hussar tied her arms. "You can't do this, the Kingdom will revolt. You need us, Nutcracker."
I walked up to her and smiled in her face. "Oh my dear sister, I don't need you. You failed in your duties, which makes you useless. With the Hussars around, I doubt anyone will stand against me."
To my left and right was the soft sound of sobbing. Only Clara's eyes were dry, and she still glared at me defiantly.
"Really? Will your Hussars stay after they realise you tricked them into killing Fritz? Marie loved him."
I struck her and she staggered to one side. The Hussar holding her leapt back and stared at me mournfully.
"Demoiselle Stahlbaum loved him?" he asked pathetically. "But you said she hated him. You said that she wouldn't take care of us because she hated him."
"Well, he lied," Clara butted in. "She always tells us about the gifts he gives her; his worst fault, if it's a fault, is that he cannot pick out jewellery that suits her."
"Shut her up," I ordered, but no one listened.
My carefully managed scene devolved into a shouting match. The Hussars were supposed to be loyal to me, but here they were, screaming along with my sisters. It took two chairs and the metal grill before they finally settled down. Clara was holding her hands over her right eye, and a trickle of blood flowed from her head. The other sisters were clutching each other, but otherwise unharmed.
"Alright," I said, trying to keep calm, "are you done? Might I remind the Hussars what we went through together? And my sisters what they've been doing in the Garden for the last few years?"
Everyone stared at the floor. I felt like a parent. If only Demoiselle Marie was here, then I'd have someone supporting me. I let them be, went back to what was left of the table and scribbled down a quick note.
Lord Candy,
It is our pleasure to announce the coronation of our brother, the Nutcracker Prince next week. You are cordially invited to the ceremony to swear the fealty of your fiefdom.
"Clara, I want you to pass this to Lord Candy," I held the note out to Clara. "I forgive all of you one more time, but know that I'm keeping an eye on you. Hussars, I will assume your lapse of control is due to the unfamiliar surroundings."
This was a huge risk. No one in this room could be trusted, but I had no choice. A King must learn to delegate and trust. Besides, I had more pressing issues at hand — I had not seen Demoiselle Marie for over a week.
Clara sniffled, but she took the note. I smiled kindly at her.
"Now go prepare the royal robes, the coronation will start in a week. Make sure you prepare a dress for Demoiselle Marie as well. Now, go neaten yourselves. What will the servants think, to have their Princesses looking like wild women."
Author's note in the next chapter. If you have any comments, please let me know (if you liked it, I would be forever appreciative if you voted/added it to your lists.