by Eustacia Tan
“I’m not Marie,” Lizzie said quickly, “I’m Elizabeth, your—” She was about to make herself say that hateful word when the Nutcracker grabbed her by the throat and lifted her.
“My Maria mine,” he said, his eyes clouding over with emotion. “Why did you go?”
“Let go of her, brother,” a far off voice sounded, and Marie was dropped to the floor. She breathed heavily, for once savouring the sickly sweet air. A delicate hand patted her on the back, and she was helped to her feet.
“You go too far, Clara,” the Nutcracker shouted at her. “What difference does it make to you how I discipline my wife.”
“She’s not Marie,” Clara shouted. “She’s Elizabeth, your goddaughter and heir to the throne. Have you forgotten what you’ve done?”
“That’s what I said, my goddaughter. Why do I have such stupid sisters?” He slapped her, but Clara barely flinched. “Elizabeth, you better not learn from your aunts. All they like to do is to shout at me. Me. When I’m working so hard for all your sakes. Where is my general?”
A smartly dressed tin soldier stepped forward. “What is your wish, my King?”
“I want you and your men to conduct a guerrilla campaign. If the villagers won’t help me launch a full-scale war, then we will thoroughly demoralise Beauty’s Kingdom and force them to return the traitors to us. I will send you a detailed plan by this afternoon.”
The soldier bowed. “As usual, your Majesty’s tactics are flawless. I will brief the men immediately.” He turned to smirk at Lizzie and Clara before exiting the room.
When the soldier left, the Nutcracker refocused his attention on the two. “Why are you here, Clara?”
“I heard that you called for Elizabeth, and thought that I should look in,” Clara said. “I owe it to my sister-in-law to protect this child. Anyway, it’s no big loss even if you kill me. It just means I never have to see your face again.”
“Do not goad me,” the Nutcracker said, his fist clenched. He took a step forward and raised his fist, before pausing. “That’s a beautiful dress, Elizabeth,” he said with a sudden smile. “I remember when I gave my dear Marie that dress. She looked like the sun. But your hair spoils the effect. I want it dyed to be as golden as the sun.”
“And how will she do that?”
“Do I look like I care? Use lemons to lighten it or something. I will provide the materials. Must I think of everything here? Elizabeth, go back and finish your lessons. I will be testing you during dinner.”
The two waited with bowed heads until the doors slammed shut and they were alone.
“Thank you, Aunt Clara,” Lizzie said. She desperately wanted to sit down. These incidents were getting more and more frequent lately. She vastly preferred the initial days where he had largely ignored her.
“Let’s go,” Clara said, “I don’t want you around him if possible. Ever since Marie managed to escape, he’s been growing more and more unstable.”
“Princess Clara,” her personal guard said, “Perhaps you should bring Princess Elizabeth back to her room immediately.”
“Yes, you’re right. Thank you, Hans,” Clara said. She and Hans flanked Lizzie, and together they walked her back to her rooms.
Lizzie looked down at the gingerbread floor passing beneath their feet and twisted her hands. “I’m sorry,” she said.
As always, Clara smiled and said, “It’s not your fault.” But Lizzie could see the sadness in her eyes. The other aunts had told her that Clara and Marie had been close, almost like sisters. She must miss her.
As Lizzie and Clara made their way through the corridors, they passed by the Nutcracker’s study. She could hear him giving orders to the tin soldiers. Lizzie kept her eyes carefully adverted and her ears open. “Forces... attack.... at twilight... blend in...” Beside her, Aunt Clara paled, and Hans’s fist clenched slightly.
She hoped Grandmother Marie, her parents, Laura and Mr. Heinrich would be safe. From the Nutcracker’s ravings, she knew they had made it to Beauty’s Kingdom and were living in the royal compound, but nothing else.
“Alright,” Clara said as they reached Lizzie’s room. “I’ve placed your exercises on your desk. When you’re done, call one of the guards, and they’ll come get me. I have something to do.”
“In the garden?” Lizzie asked.
Clara dipped her head. “Yes, I will probably take a while. I’ll need a bath after this.” She turned and left, leaving Lizzie alone to wonder what this mysterious garden was. Everyone seemed to hate it but no one would tell her anything. She had first heard about it during one of the Nutcracker’s episodes, when for the first time, he mistook her for Grandmother Marie. He was raving about a person named Pirlipat, and how he wished that he could have finished his revenge, but held back for the sake of his kingdom.
“Will you tell me about it someday?” Lizzie said, crossing her fingers behind her back. Clara opened her mouth, but Hans quickly cut in.
“Let’s go, Princess Clara,” he said. “We can’t afford to be late.”
“You— You’re right, as usual. I’ll see you later, Lizzie.”
Lizzie watched as Aunt Clara and Hans left. She liked Hans. He was one of the few soldiers that was nice to her. Two of her aunts had awful personal guards who seemed to enjoy tattling on them. But the other two, one of whom was Hans, went out of their way to give her salty snacks. Fish from Paperland, which made her homesick for the grandparents she never knew, and bacon from back home, which made her cry.
Once she could no longer see Aunt Clara and Hans, Lizzie went to her desk and began her work. While the Nutcracker refused to let her touch anything important, he did seem intent on making her his heir and was making her study the history of the Kingdom of Dolls.
She was halfway finished with the day’s work when there was a knock on her door. A strange soldier stood at the entrance. He had scratches, and his paint was peeling, but he had a kind smile, like Hans.
“Are you the princess Elizabeth?” he asked.
Lizzie nodded.
“I am one of the Hussars from the Royal Guard,” he said, and bowed. “The King has sent me to be your personal bodyguard. He has noticed that you’ve been unescorted since your arrival, and worries for your personal safety.”
“Please tell the king ‘thank you,’” Lizzie said automatically. A guard? No, another jailor.
The guard bowed again. “You may thank him in person. The King also requests your presence. Your signature is needed to complete some paperwork. I believe it’s about increasing the taxes from your kingdom to feed the soldiers there.”
“I understand,” Lizzie said as she got up. “I’ll come right away.”
Her heart sank further and further with every step she took. She had signed a document allowing the Nutcracker to impose a second tax, separate from their yearly tribute to her and her family, on her citizens when she first came. Now she was to allow this second tax to increase. Everyone back home must hate me, Lizzie thought.
“Take courage,” the guard whispered. He smiled at Lizzie’s surprised look. “I was once Queen Marie’s personal guard,” he said softly, “I recognise that face. Now, put on a smile. The Nutcracker prefers to see his subjects smiling.”
Lizzie nodded in understanding and plastered on her brightest smile as they reached the Nutcracker’s study.
“Father?” she said as she knocked on the door. “It’s your daughter, Elizabeth. I heard that you wished to see me.” She smoothed out the creases in her dress and prepared to go in.
This is Not The End
Heinrich breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the capital. They would be safe here, at least for now. How he wished that Doc had journeyed with them. But he had insisted on staying near the capital.
“Heinrich,” Marie murmured, “I don’t remember Beauty’s Kingdom looking like this.”
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked. She was looking better and better by the day. Doc’s cure wasn’t perfect — it couldn’t be since the only
one who knew the cure was the Nutcracker — but as the one who mixed the ingredients, Doc knew enough to recreate a good substitute.
Marie shrugged. “It just feels different.” She looked at Heinrich for support.
Heinrich scanned the surroundings. The kingdom certainly felt sadder, though he had noticed this the moment they had crossed the border. But more than that — there was an odd hunger in some of the eyes of the citizens.
“Do you think Marah has come?” Snow White asked anxiously. “Some of them look like goblins.”
Laura immediately looked around. “Do you mean there are others who follow the princess?”
Before anyone could answer, a guard in worn but polished armour approached them. “What brings you here?” he demanded. “Haven’t you heard about the plague?”
“What plague?” Snow White asked. She straightened when the guard looked at her. “I am Queen Snow White from the neighbouring kingdom. I wish to see King Charming and Queen Beauty.”
“And I’m Heinrich,” Heinrich quickly added. “The King and Queen will remember me.”
“Well, I’ve definitely heard of you, sir, though I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the King and Queen of the neighbouring lands,” the guard said with a sniff. “Follow me, and stay away from the shadows.”
The five of them followed the soldier into the royal compound. Things definitely looked worn down, Heinrich noted, though there was a noble elegance to it.
“Your Highness,” the guard said as he brought them to a hall. “Mr. Heinrich and his companions are here.”
“Heinrich?” the familiar voice of King Charming rang out as they entered. The years had etched themselves on the King and Queen, but Heinrich recognised them immediately.
“Your Highness,” Heinrich said, kneeling. “May I present Marie, Queen Snow White and her husband, King White, and Laura.”
“So you’re the famous Marie,” Queen Beauty said, coming to greet them. “I don’t know if you remember, but we met once, at the birth of my daughter.”
Marie nodded. “I’ve longed to meet you again. I’m very sorry to hear about her.”
“It is what it is,” Queen Beauty said. “Come, let us talk somewhere more private. Despite all that Charming and I have done, much has changed for the worse.”
Thank you for reading all the way to the end. I’d be extremely grateful if you could leave a review letting others know what you thought of the book! Also, you can join my mailing list at http://bit.ly/eustaciamailinglist if you want to be one of the first to hear the latest news about the next book and/or get a review copy.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading all the way to the end of The Goblin Apple and I hope that if you’ve been wanting to see a slightly happier end to The Nutcracker King, that your wishes have (somewhat) been fulfilled.
It’s been a fun journey writing this book and the story is definitely not over yet. I hope you’ll continue reading! Please drop me a line at eustacia[dot]tan[at]gmail[dot]com. I’d love to chat!
About the Author
Eustacia Tan is the author of the Coming from Darkness dark fairy tale retelling series. She’s big on tea, vocaloid songs, Asian fantasy and Grimm. Based in Japan but originally from Singapore, Eustacia reads too much and writes just to get the ideas out of her head. Find her on WattPad where her story Mi & You is featured or read her blog about life in Japan.
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Also by Eustacia Tan
Coming From Darkness
The Nutcracker King
Beauty's Daughter
The Goblin Apple
Standalone
The School of Anime Characters
Watch for more at Eustacia Tan’s site.