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Chapter Text

No matter how old she got, Christmas time always brought Ragatha the most wonderful dreams.

The most magical and romantic dream of all came to her on the night before her family’s traditional Christmas Eve party. It started off mysterious, as she wandered through a cold, isolated wintery cavern. Icicles hung from the ceiling in perfect form, and the icy walls were so shiny, she could see her reflection in them. She leaned forward, gazing at her appearance. She thought she looked different in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Having grown up in good fortune, she was used to being done up to look as elegant as possible, but this felt different. Her long red hair was down, her curls managed, but still free to fall as they may, as opposed to the precise coiffed ringlets that were expected of her. Her dress was beautiful, but in a very simple way. Pure white as the snow beneath her feet, and falling only to her knees. Her skirt was flowing and, in Ragatha’s eyes, absolutely lovely. All that adorned her feet were a pair of clean, light pink pointe shoes. Her only accessory, a small, silver tiara placed atop her head. Absolutely nothing about her was ostentatious or perfectly put together, and she had never been happier to see herself. She had figured out how she looked different. She saw herself as how she wanted to look, and not how somebody else would want her to look. She felt beautiful in an honest, liberated way. It was one kind of privilege she was foreign to.

Turning her focus away from her reflection, she suddenly felt called to exit the cave through the other side. She ducked her head as the ceiling got lower and made her way outside. A sheet of snow still covered the ground, though it felt much less cold than the narrow, isolated cave she had wandered out from. Everything seemed to open up around her. The air was much more clear and breathable, the sky a calming light blue. She looked ahead and beheld a spacious, regal courtyard with pillars made of delicately polished marble and statues carved with extreme care and detail. Ragatha let out a deep, rejuvenating exhale, more than content with the beauty of her surroundings.

As she stepped out further, she realized she was not out there alone. She could see, at the other side of the courtyard, a mysterious figure standing still with his gaze fixed on her. Slowly stepping forward, she got a better view of him. He was a man, tall, dark hair, handsome, with a wide smile that brought Ragatha both a sense of peace, as well as a desire for rebellion. Like she knew this man would solve all her problems and also create new ones. This drew her in more than it would have had he looked like any ordinary man she would meet in her everyday life. Above all else, she longed for freedom, and everything that came with it. Even danger.

She slowly got closer and closer, and the princely figure did the same. They spoke not a word to each other, but his eyes said everything she needed to hear, as well as receive her own messages. For once, she felt no need to over explain or stumble through her sentences. They were communicating without words, a comfort she knew she could become addicted to.

Still not breaking the silence, he held his hand out and bowed, as if asking her to dance. More than happy to accept his invitation, she took his hand and let him lead her in a dance like she had never experienced. In her home, dancing was precise, poised, and restrained. She wanted more than anything for her dancing to feel passionate and freeing. It was the best gift her prince could’ve given her, the freedom to be herself and still be loved.

Together, they turned the cobblestone paved ground into the dance floor of her dreams, until Ragatha blinked her eyes open, finding herself in the same bedroom, enveloped in her dark red satin bed sheets. Her smile from her dream stayed on her face as she stretched her limbs and gave a silent bit of gratitude for such a lovely dream. Sometimes, her dream scenarios were interrupted by her overbearing mother or her trouble making little brother. But this morning, she was free to have her dream all to herself, with nothing to ruin it.

She looked at the clock that hung on her wall next to her bedroom door. It was almost 5 AM. The house would be ordered out of their beds soon to help take care of the animals. She still had a few more minutes to lay in bed and reminisce about her prince. Sure, the prince and the snowy castle weren’t real, but she had to hold onto the hope that the feelings she had in her dream would one day be a reality. She was finally brought out of her daze by the sound of her clock.

“Cuckoo! Cuckoo!”

Ragatha let out one more dreamy sigh and climbed out of bed.

“Okay…” She muttered, making her bed back up, folding the sheets over her mattress just so, the way she was expected to. “Christmas Eve party tonight…big day.”

She caught herself in the mirror before washing her face in the bathroom sink. She didn’t look quite as beautiful as in her dream, but she looked almost as happy.

Chapter Text

Ragatha let out a deep exhale. She was nearly finished getting ready. She looked behind her up at her wall clock. It was around 4:30. The whole family was expected downstairs in the foyer at 5 o’ clock. She was relieved to know she had plenty of time.

Christmas Eve was a very important day for the Stahlbaums. Every year, a lavish party was held in their grand mansion, attracting a variety of guests. The festivities took place on the bottom floor of the house. Guests would enter into the foyer and spill into the dining room and living area. The foyer was intricately decorated so as to impress and delight all in attendance from the moment they walked through the door. The adults would show appreciation for the sophisticated garlands and furnishings, and the children would get excited over the towering size of the Christmas tree, standing almost as tall as the ceiling, with ornaments of every color adorning it. Being the largest Christmas tree in the house, it was strategically placed in immediate view to give guests an impression of the sort of luxurious environment they’ll find themselves in.

Friends and family were encouraged to make use of the dining room, where the family’s chefs had been preparing delectable meals and desserts that covered the extensive dinner table from one end to the other. Each chair had a place setting for anyone who wanted to sit down, eat, and mingle. The entertainment would take place in the adjacent room, the family room. The space was definitely made to accommodate a large number of people, making the room feel almost the size of a ballroom. A smaller, but still gorgeously decorated, Christmas tree stood in the back corner, this one completely flooded underneath with presents. The chimney and fireplace was set right between the tree and the family’s grand piano. Couches and chairs were set up against walls and scattered on the other side of the room, but the space was kept mostly open for dancing.

Ragatha had spent all day looking forward to the event. She was expected to work in the morning (farmers don’t have days off as they have livestock to care for), but she, her parents, and all the hired staff ended work early on the twenty-fourth, so that they could rest and ready themselves for the party. Ragatha’s parents hosted a number of parties throughout the year, but the Christmas Eve party was the one she looked forward to the most. It still wasn’t her exact ideal evening; as always, she had high expectations placed on her in regards to her manners, her appearance, and how she carried herself. Now that she was an adult, it was especially restrictive. Indulging in the more childish aspects of the season was absolutely off limits. Still, it was hard not to feel sentimental having a bunch of people over at the house to celebrate such a joyous, loving holiday. It warmed her heart to watch the children playing with their new toys together, even if she wasn’t allowed to join them. Among the adults, pleasantries hardly seemed forced for once. Food was shared, gifts were exchanged, gratitude was earnestly expressed. Ragatha found her parents sometimes hard to predict or decipher, but she had to be optimistic and believe that the spirit of the season made them loosen up a bit.

But the one thing Ragatha looked forward to the most was seeing her Godfather Kinger. He was a close friend of her mother’s side of the family and Ragatha’s favorite person in the world. Ever since she was a little girl, he had been enchanting her otherwise rigid world with incredible stories of kings and soldiers and love conquering all. Now that she was older, she rationally knew all his stories were made up, but a small part of herself wanted to believe they were all true. Her godfather was there to comfort her in times when her mother’s yelling and insults were too much to bear. Though she hadn’t gone to him about it in a while (after all, the way her mother treated her was her own fault, she figured), she was grateful to have grown up with that bit of kindness.

Godfather Kinger was not a frequent guest at her household’s parties. He was very…different from the common crowd, and despite being loved by the family, didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the attendees. None of them were particularly interested, if not completely grossed out, in hearing about his insect collection, which was often the only thing he wanted to talk about. Most of her family’s social gatherings were dull without him, so Ragatha made sure to visit him at his shop that also doubled as his home, so she could still see him.

One thing about Godfather Kinger was that he was getting older, and his memory was not what it used to be. He used to have a wife, Ragatha’s former godmother Queenie, and they were as in love as two people could be. In the years since he lost Queenie, he had lost a lot of sense, and he was bad at remembering things that only happened recently. It was incredibly hard to witness sometimes, but Ragatha believed it was better than never getting to see him. Plus, with his condition worsening and making him harder to be around, he needed family more than ever. He was there for her growing up, she was more than willing to be there for him.

She gave her ensemble one last glance over in her closet’s full body mirror. She wore an ankle length azure blue gown, which looked more like a nightgown than a ballgown. The bodice was a bit tight, but the skirt fell loose, making the dress feel quite light, which she really appreciated. She was usually forced to wear outfits that were way more uncomfortable and much less her style. The cozy look of it matched the warm Christmas feeling her parents went for. She was grateful her mother approved it with no arguments; it wasn’t exactly a common occurrence. It wasn’t exactly close to how she had looked in her most recent dream, but she was satisfied.

She went minimal on accessories, choosing to don a pair of blue sapphire stud earrings and her staple silver heart shaped locket. It was one of the most precious items she owned, containing a photo of her as a child with Kinger and Queenie. It was a gift from Queenie from a long time ago. Ragatha swore she would never part with it.

Her hair was curled in her staple perfect ringlets. She knew her mother wouldn’t budge on that. She, herself, had mixed feelings about it. They definitely looked nice, and she looked pretty with them. And, of course, she enjoyed making her mother happy. But she wished that, for once, her curls could just fall naturally. Sure, they were a little wild, but certainly not unruly, or even ugly. But there was no use arguing with her mother, so every social gathering required over an hour of hair prep. It was a bit tedious, but she decided it was best not to complain. Nobody likes a woman who complains, her mother had told her many times growing up.

She added the final touch to her look, a blue hair bow that matched the color of her dress. She smiled at her reflection as she remembered her dream from the night before. She exited her closet and glanced at the clock to make sure she still had time. Once she knew she was in the clear, she curtsied to the empty space in front of her.

“Hello, good sir.” She said, to no one in particular. “My name is Ragatha. It’s lovely to meet you.” She acted out a shy blush and looked away, bashfully folding her hands together. “Oh, you wish to dance with me? How romantic.” She picked her head back up and smiled, holding her hand out. “Why, I’d love to.”

Ragatha then, for only a moment, silently danced around her room, poised as if she had an invisible dance partner. Much like in her dream, their dance was romantic, but also fast and freeing. Once she was content, she stopped, curtsied, and thanked her imaginary suitor. Catching her breath, she let out a dreamy sigh, feeling her hair to make sure her curls were in place. Maybe this wouldn’t be her reality tonight, but someday, she thought to herself. Someday it will be.

–

Ragatha made her way downstairs to the foyer. She and her siblings were expected to greet guests as they arrived with their parents. The party was set to start at 6 PM, about thirty minutes away. Though, there were usually some of those who arrived a little early, so the family had to be at the door and ready.

As expected, she was the first of her siblings to make it downstairs. Her younger brother, Fritz, was eight years old, and her little sister, Louise, was five, so the housemaid was probably still getting them ready upstairs. She smiled as she saw her mother and father by the doorway, her father’s arm wrapped around her mother.

“Good evening.” Ragatha greeted them as she finished descending the stairs.

“Ragatha, darling!” Her father said happily, walking towards her and giving her a hug. “You look absolutely gorgeous.” He pulled her out of the hug and sighed happily. “My perfect daughter.”

Ragatha smiled. “Thank you, Father.” She was used to her father calling her perfect, but she appreciated the compliment. She turned toward her mother, and they both politely bowed their heads. “Good evening, Mother. You look very beautiful.”

“Oh, doesn’t she?” Mr. Stahlbaum gushed. “I knew when I bought her this dress that she would look absolutely stunning in it. Come on, dearest, give us a turn.”

Ragatha’s mother humbly closed her eyes, and spun once in her floor length cream colored gown. It was a bit simple, like Ragatha’s, but quite elegant. She had a small, held back smile on her face. Ragatha was sure she was brimming with pride, and just didn’t want to show it. Humility was also something she had taught Ragatha. It was okay for your partner to compliment you, but it was inappropriate and vain to speak highly of yourself. Let others do that for you, she had said.

“Very nice.” Ragatha said.

“Thank you, dear.” Mrs. Stahlbaum replied as she regained her balance, allowing her husband to take her arm. “Your dress really is pretty as well. Though, you have a few hairs out of place. Let me fix that for you.”

Ragatha held still and made sure not to make any kind of comment or facial expression. She thought her hair looked fine, and her father seemed to think so too. If she were to be honest, her mother “fixing” her appearance made her feel like a child. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But, as always, she stayed quiet. She didn’t want to step on any toes so close to the party guests arriving.

“There you are.” Ragatha’s mom said once she was finished fixing her daughter’s curls. “You look nice, though I believe you’ll look much more grown up if you get your hair cut shorter.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Ragatha said, giving a low curtsy. It was a tad difficult to appreciate compliments from her mom when they would be followed by some sort of insult, or advice on how she could be even better. “Shall I go upstairs and help with Fritz and Louise?”

“No need.” Her father replied. “I checked on them about ten minutes ago. They should be down soon.”

Like clockwork, seconds later, the three heard the maid call from the top of the stairs that the younger Stahlbaum children were dressed and ready. Fritz rushed down the stairs as Louise slowly followed behind him.

“Fritz! No running!” Mrs. Stahlbaum snapped.

“Raggy!” Fritz called out, running into Ragatha and hugging her waist.

“Hi, bud.” Ragatha said, petting her younger brother’s head. “You excited to see what toys Godfather Kinger is bringing you?”

“YES!!!” Fritz yelled happily.

“Fritz, I’m glad you’re excited, but make sure to keep your voice down, okay?” Mr. Stahlbaum said.

Ragatha let her father give Fritz his little pre-party lecture on keeping himself composed and shifted her focus to her little sister. Louise was wearing a formal red and black plaid dress that looked fitting for the holiday, but she looked very uncomfortable wearing it. She was scratching her arms and tugging at her collar.

“Hey, kiddo.” Ragatha said, kneeling down to her sister’s level, but not touching her so as to not overwhelm her. “Is your dress itchy?”

Louise nodded, looking displeased. “And it’s too tight.”

“I’m sorry, honey.” Ragatha said. “But just think, you only have to wear it for a few hours and then you can change into some nice comfy pajamas. And soon you’ll be having so much fun, you won’t even notice your dress.” She took pride in teaching her younger siblings to look on the bright side. “Come on, the nice people are gonna be here soon. You can stand next to me, okay?”

Louise agreed, following Ragatha to the doorway.

“Alright, everyone.” Mr. Stahlbaum addressed his family. “Places, please. Everyone will be arriving soon. Big smiles!”

“Remember your manners, Fritz.” Mrs. Stahlbaum said sternly. “Don’t lose your posture Ragatha. Make sure to speak up, Louise.”

–

Soon, the house was filled with esteemed guests. Friends of the family, farmhards and landscapers employed by Ragatha’s parents, and local business owners all brought themselves, their spouses, and their children to dine and intermingle. Ragatha guessed there must have been close to seventy or eighty bodies taking up the bottom floor of their home. For the first half hour or so, Ragatha, Fritz, and Louise were expected to stay by the front door with their parents, greeting the party goers as they arrived and welcoming them into their home. This wasn’t much of a big deal to Ragatha, she had done it many times before and, to her, it didn’t last too long. But thirty minutes of boring formalities felt like an eternity to a hyperactive child like Fritz, who much rather wanted to be playing with the other boys, and Louise, who grew quieter and more withdrawn as more people entered the house. Luckily, Ragatha was able to keep her little siblings under control with scarce remarks from their mother (though, her brother did get one “Fritz Stahlbaum! Behave now or you will get no presents until New Year’s!”).

Once most of the guests had arrived, Mr. Stahlbaum released his children to the celebration, with a comment from Mrs. Stahlbaum that anyone showing up that late doesn’t deserve to be greeted by the entire family. Ragatha couldn’t say she agreed, especially since Godfather Kinger hadn’t arrived yet. She was, however, relieved to no longer have to force a wide toothed grin for an extended time. Her cheeks had become very sore.

Whooping with excitement, Fritz dashed his way to the family room.

“No running, Fritz!” Their mother called out.

Louise silently took Ragatha’s hand, clearly overwhelmed with the amount of people in the house. Ragatha looked down at her little sister and smiled, softly squeezing her hand.

“Don’t worry, Louise.” She said reassuringly. “Godfather Kinger should be here soon, and I’m sure he’s made you something special.”

That cheered her up. She giggled in excitement. “You’re right!”

Ragatha at least certainly hoped Godfather Kinger was on his way. He wouldn’t have forgotten about the party, would he?

Their mother looked down at her youngest daughter. “Louise, sweetheart, why don’t you join those girls over there?” She pointed to a group of young girls marveling at the large Christmas tree. “I’ll let you have a cookie before dinner.” Ragatha couldn’t help but notice her mother’s tone sounded genuinely kind and encouraging, something she didn’t hear often. Louise nodded, then slowly walked away. As young as she was, she also knew better than to argue with her mother.

Once she was out of earshot, Mrs. Stahlbaum spoke to Ragatha, not looking her daughter in the eye, but motioning to the dining room ahead of them. “Remember Ragatha, no childish behavior tonight. You’re a lady now, you should be associating with other adults.” She had the same kind of tone as she used with Louise, as if condescending her was actually supposed to help her. Or, perhaps it was and Ragatha was being unfair.

“You know,” her mother went on. “There are some fine gentlemen at this party that are close to your age. You might want to think about your future and try dancing with some of them.”

Ragatha didn’t know what to say to that. Of course, less than an hour ago, she was just dreaming about sharing a dance with a partner, but she didn’t really have interest in anybody that would be there that night. Even if they were worth talking to, she knew none of them could give her the kind of life that she wanted. Still, she knew she couldn’t disagree. “Yes, mother.”

As if he hadn’t heard what they were talking about, despite standing right next to them, Ragatha’s father took her mother’s hand and gestured toward the festivities. “How about we head in there so everyone can see how beautiful you are?”

Mrs. Stahlbaum closed her eyes and gave almost a bashful smile, then gracefully made her way into the party, led by her adoring husband. Ragatha smiled as she watched them. Perhaps her mom was so hard on her only so she could find someone who loves her as much as her father loves her mother.

Ragatha took a deep breath and stepped out into the crowd. She hadn’t eaten in hours, so she decided to make a plate for herself and find a spot at the table. She gravitated towards familiar, friendlier faces, briefly conversing with shopkeeps she recognized and farmhands she worked with. Once she was finished, she excused herself from the table and made her way into the living room. Everyone seemed to be having a nice time. Children were playing together in the corner by the tree. Her parents and a few other couples were dancing as one of the town’s musicians tickled at the keys of her family’s piano. People from all areas of the town seemed to be connecting with each other, which warmed Ragatha’s heart.

She couldn’t help but wonder why Godfather Kinger wasn’t there yet. It was around 7, an hour after the party officially started. She began to worry. Kinger had memory problems, what if he had forgotten what day it was? What if he had forgotten his way to their house? She knew she should’ve gone to get him herself, she thought. The children would be awfully disappointed to miss out on the toys he brought for them. Not to mention Ragatha herself, who longed to see her godfather more than anything else.

Before she could ruminate further, she was approached by the son of one of her father’s associates. She didn’t think they had ever spoken before, but he asked her to dance, and she agreed, knowing her mother’s eyes were on her and feeling as if she had no other choice. Their rigid form in dance and awkward small talk gave Ragatha the impression he was just as forced to do this as she was, which was definitely not her ideal love story. She was relieved when the dance was over and they went their separate ways.

Just as she was about to give up hope that Godfather Kinger would show up, she turned and saw him walking through the doorway. Kinger, as usual, had turned most heads in attendance and greatly quieted the room, though he seemed not to notice. He was an old man with long white hair and white beard to match. He wore a large black top hat and an extravagant black coat, making him appear as some kind of dark wizard. Ragatha knew better, though. He was just an eccentric old man who wore black because it was his favorite color. And, as always, he was carrying a large bag of presents.

Ragatha excitedly rushed up to her godfather. She was so relieved that he had made it. “Godfather Kinger! I’m so happy you made it!” She wanted so badly to hug him, but chose to keep herself composed.

There was a pause before Kinger jumped. “Ah! Ragatha! You startled me!”

Ragatha bowed her head apologetically. “Sorry, Godfather. May I take your hat and coat?” There must not have been anyone at the door to take them for him.

“Oh, sure, thank you.” Ragatha was hardly surprised to see that he had another floor length coat underneath his large, foreboding black coat. This one was purple, with a white faux fur trim, and made him look quite regal. Ragatha saw him wearing it most days. It seemed to be comfortable for him.

“Kinger’s here!” Fritz yelled out.

Soon enough, all the kids were clamoring at Kinger, desperate to see what kind of toy he would give them. Ragatha smiled, charmed by the scene, before announcing that she’d be right back.

Kinger caught her as she was about to leave to put his garments in the coat closet. “Oh! Ragatha, wait! Take this!” He reached into his bag of presents and handed her the one at the very top.

Ragatha looked at the box curiously. It was a red box of moderate size, small, but bigger than a jewelry case. It wasn’t wrapped, it simply had a gold bow on top and a white tag that read “For my dear goddaughter, Ragatha.”

She could feel her heart melt. She had to keep herself from tearing up. It was just a Christmas present, and she didn’t even know what it was yet. But it meant a lot to her that even though Kinger didn’t remember to arrive at the party on time, he still made sure to remember to give her her present right away, and to keep it safe on top of the other presents.

“Thank you, Godfather.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before letting him return to the clamoring children. She stared down at her present, lightly running her thumb across the top of the box. Her gaze stayed fixed on it the whole walk to the coat closet, bowing to apologize to the people she almost bumped into on the way. She had no idea what it could’ve been. Kinger gave her something different every year, usually something he made himself. Every present came with a story. She was brimming with excitement over what kind of story this year’s present would come with.

Once she returned, she watched Kinger finish handing out presents. He spoke little, perhaps only somewhat aware of what was going on, but it was still a happy scene. Soon the room was spread out with wide eyed tots playing with dolls, stuffed animals, toy soldiers (Fritz was overjoyed), and wind up cars. Some of the adults thanked him, some simply turned back to their previous conversation. To most of them, he had served his purpose, and nobody wished to seek further conversation with him.

Well, Ragatha would make sure he wasn’t lonely. Sure, she probably hadn’t met her mother’s socializing expectations yet, but there was no harm in spending some time with her closest family member. She especially needed to make sure he was going to handle the party okay before she left him to his own devices.

Also she really wanted to open her present.

“Godfather Kinger?”

He had been looking around the room, not seeming to notice everyone quickly turning away from him. He looked a little lost, but hearing Ragatha speak up caught his ear. He silently turned towards her with a blank look on his face.

Ragatha cleared her throat. “Do you want me to open this?”

“I don’t know…” Kinger said, thoughtfully. “What’s in it?”

Ragatha gave a small laugh. “Let’s find out.”

She opened the box slowly, as if she wanted to savor such a special moment. Once she could see inside, she saw something she wasn’t quite suspecting, but she immediately fell in love. It was a nutcracker, though not one like she had ever seen before. He had a typical nutcracker body, with a red and black tail jacket, white pants, black boots, and a small sword tucked into a sheath at his side. What set him apart was his body, or rather his head. He had the head of a purple rabbit, with his ears standing up, and a small hat that matched the colors of his suit sitting between them. He stood tall and proud like she would expect a nutcracker soldier to, but there was a playful look in his black and yellow eyes. His wide toothed grin, standard for a wooden nutcracker, matched the yellow in his eyes. These features gave him a sort of cat-like appearance, despite being a bunny. Either way, he was adorable. The intricate details and uniqueness of his design made Ragatha feel special. Kinger must have put several hours into crafting this for her.

“He’s beautiful, Godfather.” Ragatha said, tearing up. “Thank you so much.”

Kinger smiled. ”You’re welcome.” There was a pause. “Uh, thank you for what?”

Ragatha gave a bittersweet sigh. She was sadly used to hearing him talk like this. “Oh, nothing.” She looked back down at her Nutcracker, gliding a thumb across his face. She was hoping to hear the backstory behind her nutcracker soldier, but Kinger clearly wasn’t in the mindset for storytelling. He was probably overwhelmed by the party. The story would come eventually, so she chose to only focus on how happy she was with such a wonderful gift.

The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment, until Fritz ran up to Ragatha and started eyeing his sister’s Christmas present. “What’d you get?”

“Godfather Kinger gave me this nutcracker he made.” Ragatha said, beaming with pride. “Isn’t he perfect?”

“Cool! He looks like he could be a general!” Fritz’s eyes widened, seeing the nutcracker’s potential for his own toy army. “He even has a sword. Let me have him!”

Ragatha always tried to be patient with her siblings, but she knew how rough Fritz played with his toys sometimes. This nutcracker was a work of art her Godfather had laboriously made for her; he needed to be handled carefully. “Fritz,” Ragatha began calmly. “How about I put him on display in one of our glass cases and you can look at him all you want, okay?”

Fritz scoffed. “No way! He should be leading my soldiers into battle! Give him!” He reached to grab the nutcracker from Ragatha’s hands, who quickly raised her arms to her chest and pulled him away.

“F-fritz, please!” Ragatha could feel herself becoming more anxious. She knew she needed to carry herself a certain way, but this was one thing she really wanted to keep close to her. “He’s not a toy! Be careful!” She looked over at Kinger, hoping he would interfere, but he seemed distracted, staring at a family portrait that hung on the wall.

“I’m gonna tell mom you’re not sharing!” Fritz whined, stomping his foot. Getting their mother involved was the last thing Ragatha wanted. Before she could protest, he reached for the nutcracker and grabbed onto his left arm, trying to pull him from Ragatha's grasp.

Ragatha knew it was childish, but she couldn’t let Fritz take him. “Fritz!” She yelled, fighting to keep her nutcracker from being taken, until they both heard a sound.

SNAP!

Ragatha gasped. They both froze. With her brother’s grip loosened, she was able to pull the nutcracker back towards her and inspect him. The arm that Fritz had been tugging on was broken, still in one piece, but the joint connecting the upper and lower arm had snapped. His left arm now lay limp, unable to hold itself in place.

Ragatha could not keep herself from getting upset. Tears streamed down her face and she raised her voice at Fritz. “Fritz! I asked you to be careful with him! Look, now his arm is broken!”

“Well, if you had just let me have him, he wouldn’t have broke!” Fritz argued back.

Ragatha frantically looked back at Kinger. “Godfather? Did you see what happened?”

“Hm?” Kinger said, still staring at the portrait. “Oh, yes, I’m fine, thank you.” He seemed to have missed the whole scuffle.

“Oh, I hope Godfather Kinger can fix him!” Ragatha said, sadly looking down at her poor injured nutcracker before turning back to Fritz. “You should know better, Fritz. It's not nice to take things that don’t belong to you!”

Before Fritz could argue back, they both heard the sound of a different voice.

“Ragatha Stahlbaum!”

It was their mother.

Fritz hardly reacted, but Ragatha immediately straightened up, holding the nutcracker in both hands and hiding him behind her back. “M-mother!”

Mrs. Stahlbaum strode over to her son and daughter, smiling a pressed smile that held back her surprised outrage. She motioned for Ragatha to turn around and stand next to her, so that she’d be facing away from everyone else. “Ragatha, what is going on? Why are you acting like such a child?”

Ragatha’s face was beet red. She didn’t mean to get so upset, but why couldn’t she just have one thing for herself? “I’m sorry, Mother, i-it’s just,”

“What are you hiding behind your back?” Her mother sternly interrupted. She held onto her forced grin, but her angered tone told Ragatha her true feelings.

Ragatha frowned and pulled her nutcracker out from behind her. “You see, Mother, Godfather Kinger gave me this nutcracker he made. Isn’t he beautiful? Fritz tried to take him when I told him not to, and he broke him!” She tried to make her mother understand why she was so upset. “I love Godfather Kinger, and I love this nutcracker he made for me, and I was upset that Fritz broke him. I’m sorry for raising my voice at him, Mother, but-”

“That’s enough, Ragatha.” Her mother interrupted again. “You are a grown woman in polite company, and I expect you to act like one. It’s not like a lady to get so upset over a toy. You’re making yourself look foolish, which makes me look foolish as well. I won’t have it. I would think you’d know better than to cause such a scene.”

Ragatha could feel her heart sink. Why did this have to happen now? “I said I’m sorry, Mother, I was just upset!” She held her nutcracker close, but gently, so as to not further injure him again. “I hardly even caused a scene.” She muttered. “It didn’t seem like many people noticed.”

“Well, I noticed. And I’m ending it.” Her mother insisted. Ragatha could tell her forced smile was harder to maintain. “Look at you, crying over something so insignificant on a holiday. And around your Godfather. You know he’s unwell, you’re only going to upset him.”

That comment hurt the most. Why did her mother have to bring her godfather into this? He didn't even seem to notice what had happened. And if he did, he would’ve felt sorry for her, Ragatha thought. He loved her, and made the nutcracker for her. He wouldn’t want it to break or for her to cry. “That’s not fair! Kinger-”

Mrs. Stahlbaum held her hand up and bowed her head, again as if she was trying to maintain positive body language. “I’ll hear no more of this, Ragatha. Go to the washroom, compose yourself, and return to the party once you’re finished acting like a child.”

“But Mother-”

“Ragatha, we are done talking about this.” Her mother said, definitively. She turned her attention away from her daughter and walked over to Kinger, who was still silently staring at the portrait. “Kinger, I am so sorry you had to see that. Are you well?”

As if the past few minutes hadn’t even happened, he turned towards Mrs. Stahlbaum. “I was just wondering why something seems missing in this portrait…I think I’ve figured it out. The walls are the wrong shade of blue.” He chuckled. “I don’t know how it took me so long to realize, it’s so obvious.”

Ragatha sighed. The family portrait he had been staring at was painted the year before. It featured Ragatha, her parents, her siblings, and Kinger standing together in the same room they currently stood in. Ragatha knew exactly what Kinger thought was missing: his wife, Queenie. He just didn’t remember.

She watched her mother politely dismiss herself and return to the party, after making eye contact with Ragatha and motioning to the doorway, urging her to exit while tears still stained her face. There was no disobeying her mother, so she turned to leave, looking back over her shoulder to make sure Kinger was okay. She caught him wandering out into the crowd, so his mind seemed to be back on the party. She sniffled, and held her nutcracker close, then made her temporary exit.

–

Ragatha took a deep breath and looked down at the sink, not wanting to see herself in the mirror just yet. She knew she couldn’t be away from the party for too long, or there would be suspicion, which would just as easily anger her mother. When she had entered the bathroom, she gently laid her nutcracker down on the counter, afraid of handling him with anything less than extreme caution and gentleness out of fear of breaking him further. She let herself cry for a few minutes, knowing she had to let some tears out so they didn’t come out in front of the party guests.

Maybe her mother was right. Perhaps she was childish and selfish for getting so upset. And what she said about Kinger…that was the last thing Ragatha wanted. To make her loving Godfather suffer more than he already had. Is that why he dissociated from the scene? Because Ragatha was upsetting him? She hated the thought of staying away from him, but she didn't want to hurt him. Still, if he really felt that way, he wouldn’t be so nice to her…would he?

It was all very confusing. Growing up. Being what everybody wants you to be. It felt like everybody wanted something different from her. Her mother wanted her to be responsible and well mannered. Her father…well, she didn't have a clear idea of what her father wanted. It seemed like he wanted them all to smile and be happy. Or rather, look happy. He wasn’t as opinionated or, well, bossy, as her mother, so it seemed like he often let her take the reins. And her godfather wanted her to be herself. He wanted her to be happy, but not the way her father wanted her to be happy. It felt different, more…genuine. He wanted her to believe in fairy tales and happy endings, even as an adult woman. Meanwhile, her mom would talk about those concepts as if they were ridiculous. But weren’t her parents happy? They rarely fought and always seemed very in love and happy together. It was just all so confusing.

Ragatha took another deep breath. This wasn’t anything she needed to worry about right now. She needed to be a good daughter, a good goddaughter, and a good big sister. She glanced over at her nutcracker, laying face up on the counter, his broken arm lying limp beside him. Although it made her question her selflessness, she wasn’t planning on letting Fritz play with him. She’d apologize and find some other way to appease him. For now, she was grateful her dress had pockets. She tenderly picked up her nutcracker, and carefully slid him into her right pocket. He’d stay there for the rest of the night, she decided, as she brushed herself off and took one more deep breath before looking at herself in the mirror.

It was a bit hard for her to see. She had been nearly blind in her right eye for a long time, and it sometimes caused her to squint or give her headaches. She wished she could wear glasses or contacts or, silly as it was, an eye patch of some sort, but her mother insisted there was nothing wrong with her daughter’s eye. So it was something Ragatha just had to live with. She leaned forward and squinted to examine her face. Her eyes were a little puffy, but otherwise, there was no real indication on her face that she had been crying. This was good, she thought, this will keep her mother off her case. She used her hands to fix up her hair real quick, then forced a smile before heading back out to the party.

When Ragatha reentered the living area, she could see Fritz standing at the doorway, as if waiting for her. “I'm sorry, Raggy.” He said right away, looking up at her with a guilty expression. “I didn’t mean to break your nutcracker.”

Ragatha smiled at him and ran a hand through his hair. “Aw, it’s okay, buddy. Kinger made him, he can probably fix him. But I appreciate your apology.”

Fritz gave her a hug, which she returned. She wasn’t really expecting him to apologize, and perhaps their mother had told him to, but it was still nice to have things feel at peace again. Fritz wasn’t a bad kid, he was just kind of spoiled, which certainly wasn’t his fault.

“Who knows?” She said, “You still have your Christmas presents from Mother and Father to open tomorrow. Maybe there’ll be someone who can lead your soldiers into battle.”

“Yeah!” Fritz said happily.

Ragatha looked back out at the party and saw Kinger standing alone by the wall. He didn’t look particularly sad, but she didn’t want him to be bored or lonely. “Hey, Fritz. How about you go back to playing with your new toys? Your army needs you.”

Fritz nodded, and headed back over to his previous spot, giving Ragatha the opportunity to approach Kinger. She was quickly stopped, however, by her father.

“Ragatha, darling.” He said, taking her hand and twirling her, causing her to laugh at the unexpected dance. “You really do look lovely, dear. Just like your mother.”

Ragatha chuckled awkwardly. Her mother definitely wasn’t her favorite person to be compared to, though she knew it didn’t mean anything bad coming from her father. “Thank you, Father.” She was going to simply move on, but then she impulsively spoke. “Speaking of mother,-”

“Yes, I did see the two of you together, and I asked her what happened.” He said, his demeanor not changing at all. “I’ll tell you what I told her: there’s no need for such negativity. We’re celebrating the happiest, most loving day of the year. Now, sweetheart, you know I don’t like to see such somber faces, so just try to smile for me. Okay, dear?”

Ragatha gave her father the smile she didn’t exactly feel, but knew he wanted to see. “You’re right, father. Thank you.”

“Of course, daughter.” He said, patting her on the shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I know a partner dance is about to start, so I must grab your mother for it. Save a dance for later for your father, though?”

Ragatha nodded. “Yes, father.”

With that, she watched him return to his wife, kissing her hand before asking her to dance with him. Mrs. Stahlbaum seemed to revel in the affection whenever he was like this, and it made Ragatha happy to see.

Knowing that her parents were both content, she made her way over to Kinger.

“Are you okay, Godfather?” Ragatha asked, standing beside him against the wall.

“Hm?” Kinger said, just noticing she was there. “Oh, yes. I was just wondering.”

There was an extended silence. She assumed he was going to follow that up with something, but he just stopped talking. “Wondering what?”

“Just in general.” He said, casually. “Oh! That reminds me. Next time you visit, you have to see how my insect collection has grown. You’d think winter would be a bad time to catch bugs, but there are still some hiding around. You just have to look extra hard for them.”

Ragatha laughed. She wasn’t especially fond of bugs. She hated anything that could crawl on her skin and make her feel, well, icky. The more legs the worse, with centipedes being her biggest fear. But Godfather Kinger loved bugs, because his wife Queenie had loved bugs. Now that she was gone, Ragatha supposed Kinger liked to keep bugs in his house as a way of keeping Queenie close to his heart. She certainly couldn’t begrudge that, so she let Kinger show her the insects he added to his collection, so long as they were kept in enclosures so she wouldn’t have to worry about them crawling on her.

“I’m glad you could find new ones, Godfather.” She smiled as they stood against the wall, watching the party commence in front of them. She heard the beginning of the song her father was referring to being played on the piano. It was a traditional partner dance song that she had heard, and danced to, many times growing up. She would normally be happy to partake, but she didn’t want to leave Kinger alone, so she was content with watching, until something took her by surprise.

“Oh, hey! I know this one!” Kinger said, before offering his hand to his goddaughter. “Care for a dance?”

Ragatha gaped at Kinger’s gloved hand. She didn’t think he’d feel well enough to dance. “This dance is choreographed. Do you remember the steps?”

“Well, sure. Give or take.” He shrugged. “Either way, it’ll be fun!”

As much as she wanted to dance with him, her mother would be right there. What if they messed up the steps and she got in trouble again for “acting foolish”? But while she tried to settle her internal debate, Kinger grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the floor.

“The intro’s almost over! We have to move!”

Ragatha started out a bit nervous. Of course, she knew Kinger wouldn’t judge her performance, but everyone else certainly would. She had done this dance many times before, so she wasn’t sure why it was suddenly so nerve wracking. Still, she had the best partner she could’ve asked for. It didn’t take long for her to shake off any apprehensions she had at the beginning, thanks to Kinger’s infectious energy. Her godfather had, as expected, only somewhat remembered how to do the dance. For every step he got right, he got one wrong, and he didn’t seem to care one bit. It was a kind of freedom Ragatha envied and admired, enough that it made her loosen up as the dance continued. She did get one move wrong towards the end of the song, heel turning when she was supposed to let Kinger guide her in a circle around him. This sort of thing would normally make her shut down in embarrassment, but she was having such a good time, she just laughed it off. It was a rare moment for her, where she felt free of expectations, and able to let herself off the hook for small mistakes. By the end of the song, Ragatha and Kinger were both smiling and laughing, having too much fun to worry about anything else. For once, she didn’t feel watched or judged by anyone. Not even her mother, who seemed too preoccupied with her own dancing.

“I’m really happy you made it to the party, Godfather.” It was one of those moments where she felt a wave of gratitude for having someone like Kinger in her life, and she didn’t want to let it go unspoken.

“Well, you know what they say.” Kinger said, confidently.

A puzzled look struck her face. “No, what?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Kinger laughed, though Ragatha knew he wasn’t joking. “I thought you would know.”

She chuckled, shaking her head, before giving him a tight hug. Then, something occurred to her. “Have you eaten, godfather?”

“Not since I left home, no.” Kinger replied.

“Oh!” Ragatha said, pulling out of the hug. She probably should have made sure of that sooner, but she could remedy it now. “Well, we put out a lot of food. I’m sure there’s still plenty left. You should go have some!”

Kinger nodded. “Why, thank you. But only if you join me.”

Ragatha smiled. That was a condition she could surely meet. “Of course.”

She did a quick scan of the room to check on her siblings before exiting. Fritz was still playing with the other boys by the tree, and Louise was dancing with their father, looking much happier than when the party had started. Ragatha sighed in relief, happy that the night seemed to be going well for everybody, now that they had moved past the one bit of drama.

As she followed Kinger into the dining room, she reached into her pocket and held onto her nutcracker, still lying broken but safe. Even if she couldn’t see him, and didn’t plan on pulling him out until the night was over, it brought her comfort just knowing he was still with her. She really hoped Kinger would be able to fix his arm, but she was optimistic that he could. She just had to keep him safe until then. Getting a quick glance down at him resting in her pocket, his wide smile reminded her of the smile of the prince she danced with in her dream. It may be childish, she thought, but it felt nice to think about them being the same person. Perhaps once she knew his name and found out more about him, she could make that concept work. She’d find out his story soon enough, but even knowing so little about him, she loved him with all her heart.

Chapter Text

Once she reached the end of the night, Ragatha was relieved to feel like the rest of the party went well. After sitting at the table and talking with Kinger as he had his late dinner, she politely excused herself. She wished she could spend the entire night by his side, but she knew more socializing with others was expected of her. Her godfather had seemed to be in a better state, still not really talking with much sense, but she was less worried about him getting lost or confused without her. She'd make sure to keep an eye on him, though.

She tried to start a conversation with the man she had danced with earlier, but she could quickly see that this late in the evening, he had gotten exceptionally drunk. If that was how he wanted to enjoy the party, that was his right, but it made talking to him exceptionally uncomfortable. It only took a few moments into the conversation for her to find an excuse to leave it. She hated the idea of being flirted with by someone inebriated. Perhaps it made her a spoilsport, but she wanted displays of affection to come from a sound mind. It felt much less meaningful otherwise. If her mother brought it up later, she could truthfully say that she tried, but this was not how she wanted to spend her night.

Politely excusing herself and looking around the room, she could see the party was beginning to clear out. It was Christmas Eve, after all. Children needed to be home and in bed if they wanted to wake up to extra presents under their tree. She was happy to see Louise waving goodbye to the girls she had joined at the start of the party. It wasn't often her little sister came out of her shell. By nearly 10 PM, there were only a few childless stragglers getting in one more dance or one more bite of food before heading back home. Despite the room growing less crowded, the energy never really died down. It was infectious, making Ragatha certain she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

She spent the rest of the night sitting at the piano, insisting the man who had been playing for most of the night grab something to eat. He thanked her for the reminder, so lost in the music he hadn't noticed how much time had passed, and she took her turn at the keys. She could see that her parents were still dancing together, likely savoring the last bit of time they had on the floor together. Ragatha smiled, then looked over at Kinger, who was standing against the wall watching her play, which made her smile grow even bigger.

She just wanted everybody around her to be happy. A wave of relief washed over her knowing that at this moment, everyone was.

—

Ragatha made sure to keep her posture for the last few minutes of the evening as she joined her family in seeing off the last of the party guests. Once everyone was gone and the chorus of "Farewell!" "Thank you for coming!" "Merry Christmas!" and "Get home safe!" came to an end, Mr. Stahlbaum closed the front door, then addressed his family.

"Wonderful job, everyone!" He said happily. "Another successful Stahlbaum party." He stepped up to his children and patted Fritz and Louise on the head, and did the same to Ragatha's shoulder. "Thank you all for being on your best behavior."

Ragatha curtsied and exhaled deeply, grateful that her earlier spat with Fritz seemed to have been forgotten.

"And of course," Mr. Stahlbaum began, turning to his wife and taking her hand. "My wondrous peacock. You were radiant tonight, darling. They all loved you."

As if still not wanting to look too prideful, Mrs. Stahlbaum responded with only a bashful smile.

Ragatha had grown up hearing her father call her mother his "wondrous peacock". He seemed to say it most often when they had visitors, as if he was so taken with his wife's beauty that he wanted to show her off to the world. Ragatha found herself very homely and underwhelming, so she doubted anybody would ever see her that way. But she was happy for her mother.

"Now, children, off to bed." Mr. Stahlbaum said, not losing the joy in his tone. "The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner it will be Christmas morning."

Fritz and Louise went to hug their older sister and their parents, and then ran up the stairs to their bedrooms. Ragatha watched them go, unsure if she was expected to follow them. Sometimes Ragatha was included when his father addressed them as 'children', even though she wasn't a child. But he didn't seem bothered, as he was more focused on pulling his wife in for one more quick stride across the foyer, and the two made their way up the stairs to finally turn in for the night.

Once her parents were out of sight, Ragatha looked behind her and saw Kinger sitting in the loveseat next to the large Christmas tree. He seemed to be admiring it, transfixed by the multicolored lights. Ragatha flipped the switch on the wall, making the tree the room's only light source, and watched her godfather's eyes grow even wider. It was a lovely scene. She was happy Kinger was still there. He had been invited to stay overnight in one of their guest rooms, so he didn't have to walk back to his house in the dark, cold night.

Ragatha reached into her pocket and pulled out her nutcracker, finally letting him back out into the world, now that she was sure he was safe. His arm still couldn't hold itself up, but he seemed to otherwise still be in good condition. She held onto him gently as she stepped forward and sat on the floor next to Kinger’s chair. She perched the nutcracker on her lap, angling him up so he could look up at the big, beautiful Christmas tree.

The two (or rather, three) sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, before Ragatha heard her Godfather say something.

"What happened?"

"Hm?" She looked up at him, not sure what he was referring to.

"What happened to the nutcracker?" He asked, leaning forward to get a closer look.

"Oh." Ragatha said, hardly able to hide the sadness in her voice. She held the nutcracker up and let his broken arm lay in the palm of her hand."Fritz tried to take him. He pulled on his arm too hard." She paused, realizing she shouldn't blame her brother. "B-but it was my fault! I should've just let him play with it…" She had to make sure not to cry in front of him. She didn't want to upset him, like her mother warned her against. "I don't know. I just wish it didn't happen. I've been keeping him safe in my pocket since."

Kinger said nothing and slowly took the nutcracker out of Ragatha's hand, carefully inspecting him.

"His arm is broken." She pointed at the nutcracker's broken joint. "His shoulder is still intact, but the joint connecting his upper and lower arm snapped. It wouldn't have happened if I just let Fritz have him. I…" She sighed. "I just really love this nutcracker because you made him for me and he's so beautiful and detailed and he has such a nice smile, and I really value every present you give me, Godfather." She didn't mean to get so emotional, but she realized she still had pent up feelings from what happened. She wasn't really given the opportunity to process it, but was instead made to brush it off and move on. "But I know now that it was selfish to try to keep him for myself. If I had just let Fritz play with him, his arm wouldn't be broken. I'm sorry, Godfather."

Kinger looked at Ragatha with sympathy, more concerned now for her than for the nutcracker. "You don't need to blame yourself for this."

Ragatha looked away, saying nothing.

"I know Fritz is a little kid," He went on. "But you're allowed to set boundaries for yourself. If you asked him not to take your nutcracker, and he tried to take it, so his arm broke, that doesn't sound like your fault."

Ragatha appreciated his kindness, but it still didn't make sense to her. "Mother saw what happened." She said, looking away and instinctively straightening her posture. "She got mad at me and said I was acting childish. It's hard not to think she's right. We're holding a Christmas party. There were a lot of people around. I didn't mean to embarrass her. Fritz is just a kid, but I'm an adult. I should know better than to let my emotions get the better of me." She let out a heavy sigh. "It's just really hard sometimes."

Kinger stayed quiet for a moment, then finally spoke. "It seems like you're under a lot of pressure."

Ragatha wasn't sure what to say. She knew she wasn’t supposed to, but she could feel the tears coming back. She definitely felt a lot of pressure, but it just seemed like another thing she was doing wrong. Making sure everyone in your family is happy and comfortable shouldn't be so hard. And if she did find it hard, well, that clearly meant she wasn't doing a good enough job.

She sniffled. "I just need to do better."

The more he listened to his goddaughter, the more concerned and empathetic he felt towards her. He glanced down at the nutcracker he gifted her, still lying in his palms. "You really love this nutcracker, don't you?"

Ragatha looked back at Kinger and fervently nodded her head, rubbing her eyes to make the tears go away. "Oh, I do, godfather. He's perfect. Even with his broken arm."

Kinger chuckled, then looked Ragatha in the eye. "Actually, he's far from perfect."

Ragatha frowned. "Why would you say that?" She tried to get a good look at the nutcracker from her seat on the floor. She hadn't noticed any imperfections in his design. From what she saw, he seemed very carefully crafted.

"To you, he's perfect." Kinger said. "Because you love him. You also don't know much about him. But I know you have a lot of love and kindness in your heart, that even if you knew his story, you would still love him just as much. Maybe even more."

"What is his story, godfather?" Ragatha asked, trying not to sound too excited. She was glad he seemed to be in the right mindset for storytelling.

"You see, Ragatha," He began. "This brave soldier was once a prince. But he hated being a prince. Too many rules, too much responsibility, not enough fun or danger. But, whether he liked it or not, that was his life. He did whatever he could to rebel, and one day, not long before his coronation, he got into some trouble."

"What happened to him?" Ragatha said, deeply invested.

Kinger gave a nervous laugh. "Forgive me, I don't quite remember the details. But what I do know is that his nutcracker form is a curse. The thing is, his land has been taken under siege by an evil mouse king and is in a state of panic. Your nutcracker prince's curse will break once he brings goodness back to the kingdom."

Ragatha was deep in thought. She wasn't quite expecting something so dark. Her godfather's stories were usually more lighthearted, but no matter what, they always had a happy ending. She had to hope there was one for her nutcracker.

"Did he?" She asked, hopefully. "Bring back goodness, I mean. He must have."

"I don't know." Kinger replied, honestly. "I think that's for you to decide."

"Me?" Ragatha said, surprised. Kinger's stories were never open-ended.

"It's just like what we were talking about." As he spoke, he pulled a large handkerchief out of his pocket, and began wrapping it around the nutracker's broken arm. "You're under so much pressure that you get upset with yourself if one little thing goes wrong. You can't expect yourself to be perfect. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to feel strong emotions. And you can't get mad at yourself for it." He finished wrapping the nutcracker's arm, the handkerchief serving as a sling to keep the arm in place.

Ragatha tried to make sense of Kinger's words. "But, what does that have to do with the nutcracker?"

"Well, he's under a lot of pressure, too." He explained. "He handles it differently than you do, because everybody faces their problems differently. But the feeling is still the same. Do you think he's worthy of love and acceptance, despite his mistakes?"

"Of course I do." She gazed lovingly at her nutcracker, still in Kinger's possession as he made sure everything was stable.

"Then you need to believe that you do, too."

Once he was sure his temporary solution was working, he handed the nutcracker back to Ragatha. She made sure to hold him very carefully, as if handling glass. Looking down at him longingly, she thought about what her godfather had said. She wanted very badly to believe that he was right about her. The thought of letting herself off the hook for her mistakes and not constantly being afraid of stepping on toes was certainly enticing. It just sounded so much easier said than done. And it only added to her constant confusion on if she should listen to her mother, her father, or her godfather. Still, his words made her feel happier and more comforted than she had all night.

"I'll try, Godfather." She said, sincerely. "Thank you for fixing him."

"I can fix him up better later." He reassured her. "But the cast should prevent any further damage."

The comfortable silence returned as Ragatha held the nutcracker in her arms, and both her and her godfather sat and admired the Christmas tree. She had a lot on her mind. The party. Her mother. Her father. Her siblings. Her godfather's story and his kind words. She habitually glanced down at her locket and clasped her palm around it.

Unable to keep herself from voicing her most pressing thought, she broke the silence.

"I wish Mother felt the same way about my mistakes as you do."

Kinger frowned, and Ragatha saw a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher.

"I'm sorry." She said, shaking her head and putting her hands down in her lap. "That's probably really mean and unfair of me to say. I'm sure mother just wants me to be happy."

"It's not mean." Kinger said, then sighed deeply. "I've known your mother since she was younger than you are now. I don't often agree with her, but I know some things that probably explain why she acts the way she does."

Ragatha had no idea what to say. She hesitated before speaking. "What…kind of things?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about." It seemed like he was trying to be strong for her, when his previous wisdom came so naturally. "If your mother makes you feel bad a lot of the time, you're allowed to be upset about it. You're allowed to think it's unfair, and I'm sorry that I'm often not there to do something about it." It didn't need to be said, but she knew by "not there", he meant both physically and mentally. "Just…try not to blame yourself for how she treats you. This stays between us, but she hasn't known a lot of love in her life."

Her face went blank in complete shock. She hated to doubt her godfather, but that couldn't be true. She saw how loving her father always was with her mother. It just didn't make any sense. "I don't understand. My mother seems very happy…when she isn't being mean."

Kinger sighed again, clearly regretting bringing this up, but not wanting to shelter Ragatha. "Well, think about it this way. If she were really happy, why would she be so mean?"

Ragatha sat in bemused silence. It was a lot for her to ponder. When her godfather was in the right state of mind, he could be very wise, and she trusted that wisdom. But she had never even entertained the idea that her parents weren't happy. And that they were, intentionally or not, passing that unhappiness onto their children.

"I'm sorry if that was too much." Kinger said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I told you because I want you to know the way your parents treat you isn't your fault. I want you to stop being so hard on yourself, and that could be something you tell yourself to feel better. I’m sorry if it didn't work."

Ragatha shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. Kinger was just trying to comfort her. She probably didn't need to think too deeply about it. She looked at her nutcracker, then at Kinger, and smiled. "No, it's okay. Thank you again, godfather. Your kindness means a lot to me."

Kinger gave her a small smile. "Well, back at you double."

She had to keep herself from getting teary eyed again. Somehow, knowing she was able to bring happiness and comfort to Kinger's life meant even more to her than him giving her the same thing. That must be what it means to love someone, she thought. It was how she knew she loved her nutcracker. She knew he wasn't even alive, but knowing his arm was in stable condition and would soon be fully fixed made her feel even better than having her own feelings validated.

They let a few more moments of silence pass, then Kinger stood up from his chair. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to hit the hay." He leaned down and gave her a hug. "Good night, Ragatha. I hope you're feeling at least a little better."

She chuckled, hugging him back tightly. She always savored their hugs, as she made sure not to try to touch him when she knew he wasn't fully present. "I'm feeling much better, Godfather. Thank you."

Kinger began to make his way towards the stairs, then stopped. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Hm?" She said, looking up at where he stood.

"Merry Christmas, Ragatha."

She could practically feel her heart melt. "Merry Christmas, Godfather. Oh, by the way, I asked the servants to give you lots of extra pillows." She knew that was how he liked to sleep.

"Thank you!" He called out as he hopped up each stair, one by one, making Ragatha laugh. Just when she thinks she has him figured out, he surprises her again.

It was now just her and the nutcracker, sitting together in the dark. She figured she might as well go to bed. It was almost midnight, and she didn't want to be too tired to wake up in the morning. There was only one matter left to attend to: what to do with her poor, injured nutcracker.

Sure, Kinger had bandaged him up, but she wanted to make sure she left him in a safe location. She could bring him up to her room with her. No, she thought, he wouldn't like it there. Far too boring. She could display him on a shelf or in a glass case. No, her mother would think her tacky for displaying a "broken toy". She could leave him here under the tree they sat in front of, but this tree had nothing underneath it. She didn't want him to be lonely.

This gave her a better idea.

"Come with me." She carried him with her as she made her way back into the now empty family room. She knew it was a little silly to be talking to a wooden figure that couldn't hear her or talk back, but there was nobody around to judge her. It was a rare moment where she could do as she pleased and not have to tell herself to conform to what others wanted from her.

She turned on a small table lamp, so that the room stayed dim, but not pitch dark. The only other light came from the Christmas tree lights, usually kept unplugged overnight, but left on for all of Christmas eve and day. She walked up to the tree and kneeled on the floor in front of it. This tree had lots of unopened presents underneath it and also newly opened toys that were neatly lined up in front of them. Their sister requested that Fritz and Louise pick up after themselves as the party was winding down with a promise that there would be plenty more time to play tomorrow. Better to have that than have their mother criticize them for being disorganized and careless.

"I'm going to sleep now." She said to the nutcracker, setting him on the floor in front of the other toys. "I didn't want you to be alone on Christmas Eve, so I thought I'd set you up with some friends."

"These are Fritz's toy soldiers. He really wants you to lead them into battle." She chuckled. "I suppose you can as long as he plays nice. I'm sure they'll respect you and follow all of your orders. Maybe they can help you defeat the Mouse King."

"These," She shifted his focus to three small rag dolls lined up in a row, "are Louise's new dolls. I'm not sure if you'd have any interest in them, but soldiers need people to fight for, after all. Louise is shy, but very brave, and I'd like to think her dolls are too. They can provide emotional support, and perhaps even medical aid? Though, for you, we can rely on Godfather Kinger to fix you up."

It really was silly, she thought, to be talking so much to an inanimate object. She hated admitting it, but she found herself quite lonely at times. She knew she shouldn't feel that way; she had her family, a big house, a lot of animals. She especially liked talking to the animals, despite her mother warning her against it ("What lady with any sense would talk to livestock as if they were her equals?"). She loved her parents, and her siblings, but she could never really talk to them about anything on her mind.

She had Kinger, but she didn't want every time they talked to be about her problems, especially when Kinger was suffering from his own ailments. She already somewhat regretted opening up to him that night. He was very kind to her, but she feared being so negative around him would only make him feel worse. She hesitated to talk to anyone about her mother, knowing that if she found out (and she often did), Ragatha would have to face the brunt of her yelling once again.

So here she was, talking to her one armed nutcracker prince, as if he was her friend. Maybe they could be friends in secret. A kind of love nobody else was allowed to know of.

She took a deep breath after spending a few moments lost in thought. "I hope they will be good company for you tonight." She picked him up and held him close to her chest in a comforting hug, being sure to be careful with his arm.

"Thank you." She said, softly. She didn't feel the need to explain. She hoped he would just understand.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, then laid him down next to the dolls. God, she was enamored with his smile.

"Good night, Nutcracker." She said, quietly as she set him down. "Good night, dolls and soldiers. Sleep well."

The atmosphere in the room felt almost magical, and she hated to leave it so soon, especially since she had it all to herself. She could even see it was snowing outside. It was as perfect a nighttime Christmas Eve scene could be. She decided to lay down on the fainting couch next to the doorway for a few minutes before heading upstairs to go to bed. She didn't feel very tired, so she didn't think she would fall asleep, but was lulled by the perfect coziness of the scene within moments.

—

It wasn't long until Ragatha was awoken by the large grandfather clock that stood against the wall a few feet away from her. It slowly chimed twelve times, signifying that it was now midnight. It was officially Christmas day.

Normally, she would have opened her eyes, stretched, and lazily crept her way upstairs to her room, having felt slightly dizzy over falling asleep when she hadn't intended to. But the first thing she saw upon opening her sleepy eyes was a mysterious figure crouching atop the clock, shocking her awake and making her fall out of her seat and onto the floor.

"Godfather Kinger?"

There was no way she saw that. She was either dreaming or seeing things. She rubbed her eyes and, sure enough, when she opened them, there was nothing there.

"Well, that was strange." She muttered to herself. Her bad eye must have been conjuring things, she thought. She looked around the room, expecting the oddities to end there. All seemed quiet until she heard a tiny squeak, and felt something brush past her ankle.

"WAH!"

She couldn't keep herself from shrieking, and she prayed nobody could hear her from upstairs. She instinctively lifted her feet up onto the couch, putting herself in a fetal position. As she looked ahead, she saw a rather large mouse skittering across the floor.

"How on Earth did a mouse get in here?" She asked herself, incredulously. She sometimes would spot mice and other small creatures outside in the barn, but never inside the house. Her mother made sure of that; she hated pests.

As Ragatha tried to determine where the mouse had come from, she was horrified to see three more scurrying in from different corners of the room. In the blink of an eye, more and more seemed to be pouring in from everywhere. It was enough to make Ragatha sick. Where were they coming from? And why were there so many of them? There seemed to be twenty or thirty of them now, and they were all congregating in the center of the room. Ragatha was completely grossed out, and had no idea what to do.

After a few minutes, it seemed like the last of them had made their way into the room, and she stood up on the couch to see if she could get a look at what they were doing. They couldn't have been after crumbs of food on the floor. Her mother kept that carpet spotless, only allocating party dining to the dinner table. Besides, there were far too many to only be after little bits of food.

Her focus shifted to the tree, praying they'd not go near it. She could slightly make out nearby movement but it didn't seem to be mice.

No, it couldn't be. The dark must have been playing tricks on her eyes.

She swore she could see her nutcracker move.

It was all so bizarre. She had to still be asleep, she thought. A swarm of mice in her house was improbable, but her nutcracker moving around on his own was impossible.

She tried rubbing her cheeks and quickly blinking her eyes to try to wake herself up. Her efforts were interrupted by one of the mice, who was standing on two legs and poking her ankle with something sharp.

"AH!!" She shrieked again. Dream or not, she couldn't stay where she was now that the mice were coming after her. She shook the mouse away from her foot and backed up until her back was against the wall. She quickly shuffled around the corner to the other side of the room, doing her best to avoid the cluster in the center.

The closer she got to the tree, she could see that her eyes were, in fact, not deceiving her. Not only was her nutcracker waving his good arm around, sword in hand, but the other toys were moving as well. The toy soldiers were getting into formation, seemingly following the nutcracker, and the dolls appeared to be cowering in fear. As if the situation wasn't hard enough to wrap her head around, she heard a voice ring out over the action.

"ATTACK!"

It was her nutcracker.

On his command, the toy soldiers charged ahead, their tiny guns pointed at the swarm of mice, who looked to be charging right back at them.

"Now I know I'm dreaming." Ragatha said, her voice dripping with fear and confusion.

She stayed pressed tightly against the wall, watching the bizarre battle unfold. She was worried at first it'd be bloody, but the guns predictably had no ammo, so they were used as blunt force objects for hitting instead. She had to wonder what toys and mice would even be at war over.

Her eyes followed the nutcracker, who had nobly charged head first into the fray, quickly clashing swords with the biggest of the bunch. Ragatha had to wonder if that was the Mouse King from the story. The rest of the living room was an all out brawl that she could hardly wrap her head around. The mice outnumbered the toy soldiers, but were met with a fair fight. There seemed to be others involved that Ragatha didn't even recognize, potentially other toys or creatures that had snuck into the house. She couldn't even tell what side they were on.

The nutcracker's skirmish had made it outside the battlefield and was moving further away to the other side of the room. Ragatha was sure now that he had to have been fighting against the Mouse King, as not only was the creature large in size, but he looked to have multiple heads, and a small golden crown on each one of them. It was nauseating to witness, but she silently cheered on her nutcracker as she crept further down along the wall, not wanting to be too close to the struggle.

She made her way to the tree in the corner, but it was too close to the wall to hide behind. Plus, she knew her mother would be incredibly displeased with her if any of the ornaments broke. As she watched the chaos unfold in front of her, she felt like she had to do something, but what was she to do? She could technically just step on the mice and squish them, but she didn't want to do that. She didn't like killing animals. She made her way in front of the tree and slowly stepped forward, awkwardly trying to shoo the mice away, but finding it difficult with the many different kinds of creatures attacking each other across the floor. It was proving exceedingly difficult not to trip or step on anyone, and her efforts soon failed as she stumbled over and fell onto her back, landing on a few of the soldiers.

"Sorry!" She cried out, further amazed by the ridiculousness of the situation. She propped herself up with her elbows, letting those she crushed limp away from underneath her. She looked behind her and could see them retreat towards the tree, the dolls appearing to be giving them medical aid, just as she had suggested earlier.

"Huh." The whole thing just confused and surprised her more and more.

When she turned back around, she was terrified to see the mouse army all charging straight towards her, making her body completely freeze up in terror. Her eyes darted around, but she had lost sight of the nutcracker. The other soldiers had run behind her, as if using her large body as a shield or some kind of barricade. She had gotten herself into the worst predicament possible.

To her surprise, however, the army all stopped right as they reached her feet. She silently stared in horror as they all stood still in a large group in front of her. She could see something that seemed to be crawling through the crowd, making its way to the front. In the blink of an eye, the mouse king was at the front, and he crawled up Ragatha's leg, stopping at the top of her knee. She felt like she was going to squirm out of her skin, but she dared not move.

With the creature now being so close to her, he was definitely scary, but not quite as gross as she expected. He did, in fact, have five heads, which Ragatha hated being so close to, but he otherwise looked…cartoony? He didn’t look like he had fur, instead looking as if he was made from a rubbery texture. He looked practically nothing like a real mouse, or rat, for that matter. In fact, with all of them being so close to her, she could not see that they all looked more like toys than real mice.

She still absolutely hated having the Mouse King standing on her knee, staring at her, as if determining his next move. She made sure he didn’t get the chance to make it, thrashing her legs around, throwing the army in a tizzy and sending the Mouse King flying. She quickly stood up and looked down by her feet. Those warring on the nutcracker’s side were gone, apparently having fled to either hide or regroup, and there was still no sign of the nutcracker himself. She had to hope that he had escaped as well, and that his disappearance didn't mean he was defeated.

She fearfully backed up until she was almost touching the Christmas tree, knowing that there was nowhere she could possibly hide due to her size. Once the Mouse King had gathered himself after being flung across the room, she knew he would be coming right back for her. She suddenly felt dizzy. Something was happening to her, but she couldn't quite determine what. She faced the tree, which looked to be slowly growing larger and larger in size. She tried to voice her confusion, but words stayed stuck in her throat. She looked down at the floor, which was only getting closer to her face.

She was shrinking.

She tried to look down at her body, but all she saw was a white, glowing light. The light seemed to be coming from her entire body, and it became so bright that she could hardly see a thing. She crouched into a fetal position, and ducked her head into her arms, eyes closed and feeling more helpless than ever. She couldn't remember the last time she was this afraid.

A moment passed and things seemed still, and the light seemed to have faded. She slowly opened her eyes and stood up. The tree now completely towered over her, appearing massive in size. She had to be about the same size as Louise's dolls, who were still hiding from all the action.

She looked down at her hands and nearly jumped backwards. They were still the same shape, but she only had three fingers, as if her hands were now some kind of strange mittens. She rubbed them together, and they felt much more like cloth than skin. She touched her face, her arms, her legs. They all felt the same. Like she was no longer human.

Looking back down at her body, she could see her outfit had changed too. She still wore a blue dress, but this one was bigger and had more of a patchwork pattern, and she wore black ballet flats on her doll-like feet. She was almost too afraid to find out how much her face had changed.

Her observation was interrupted by a sound coming from behind her. She quickly turned around to find the Mouse King practically breathing down her neck, causing her to scream and stumble backwards. She was now completely pressed up against one of the present boxes that lay under the tree, cornered with nowhere to escape to.

The rat king towered over her and pointed what Ragatha guessed was some kind of glowing scepter right at her. She stared at it in fear. Was he the one that transformed her into a rag doll? What kind of magic did he have?

"Please." Ragatha begged, fully aware of how defenseless she was. "I don't want any trouble…"

The mouse king raised his scepter, making Ragatha close her eyes and brace for impact, until she heard a loud sound.

CLANG!

She opened her eyes and looked up to see her nutcracker prince standing defensively in front of her, holding his sword up to hold off the mouse king's attack.

She could feel the stars in her eyes. It was as if this horrible nightmare had become a beautiful dream in the blink of an eye. Seeing her prince, now taller than her when he could once fit in her hands, dash in and save her from being attacked, would've been enough to make her swoon, if her awe wasn't quickly interrupted.

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

Right. She couldn't really let him save her if she didn't run away.

She quickly picked herself up and ran off, holding onto her dress as she made her escape. "Thank you, Nutcracker!"

She ran off to the side of the room and hid behind a chair, nervously peeking out from behind it. The battle between the two armies had restarted without her noticing, and raged on even harder now. Now that Ragatha was closer to them in size, she now had to worry about her own safety. She could see now that the Mouse King's army, as diverse as it was, had weapons of their own, and some seemed strong enough to even use their fists.

Her new size made her feel completely powerless, and she deeply regretted not doing more before she was shrunken down. She didn't want anyone hurt, but she probably could've opened the window and threw the mouse king outside. Gently. But that wouldn't have helped, she thought. Her prince had a destiny to fulfill. He had to bring goodness back to his kingdom, which must have meant defeating the mouse king. She had to find some way to help.

She looked around to see if she could find some sort of weapon. Sure enough, only a few feet away, she saw one of the toy soldier's guns lying on the ground, most likely having been dropped in action. She had no experience with guns, but this wasn't a real gun. It was just a piece of plastic.

The nutcracker seemed to have quickly recovered, and was once again holding his own against the mouse king. It seemed like a pretty fair fight, so maybe if he had some backup, Ragatha thought, he could come out on top. As much as she hated the idea of being so close to the multiheaded mouse, her nutcracker needed her. She couldn't just stand and watch.

She approached slowly, hoping to not be noticed. She figured if she snuck up behind the Mouse King, she could get in a surprise attack. She crept closer, grateful that the two weren't currently traveling much. Once she was almost close enough to make her attack, she raised her plastic weapon, getting ready to hit him as hard as she could in the back of the head, but she fumbled her gun in surprise as she heard the nutcracker raise his voice upon noticing her presence.

"What are you doing?!"

The Mouse King turned around, his five faces right in front of Ragatha's own once again, causing her to shriek and cover her eyes.

"Hey!" The nutcracker yelled at the Mouse King, stepping in front of Ragatha. "I'm not done with you!"

She felt bad for getting in the way, but was very touched that her nutcracker prince was protecting her. He must not have wanted her to join the fight to keep her from getting hurt. She'd have to try to find a way to help from a distance.

She ran back to the chair she previously hid behind, trying to figure out what to do. She tried climbing the leg of the chair, thinking maybe she could go for an aerial attack, but all she did was slide down. She considered trying to get the other soldiers to help, but their brawl was far too chaotic. It was all up to her.

Ragatha gasped as the mouse king used his tail to trip up the nutcracker and send him falling backwards, dropping his sword at his side. Her nutcracker was now more vulnerable than ever. She had to do something.

Acting without thinking, she yelled out. "Hey RAT King!"

The Mouse King stopped and snarled in Ragatha's direction.

She did the first thing she could think of. She reached for one of her slippers and tossed it right at one of the mouse king's heads. She would've immediately felt foolish for doing something that would no doubt have a miniscule effect on the villain, but she seemed to hit him in just the right spot. He started loudly shrieking in pain, dropping his scepter and hunching over in near defeat.

The nutcracker seized his opportunity, picked up his sword, and stabbed the mouse right in the back. The sword impaled him, sticking out through his stomach on the other side. Ragatha flinched, but then opened her eyes to see there was no blood. Either way, the damage was done. The mouse let out one weak final cry, then fell limp, the sword still protruding through his body. The nutcracker had killed him.

Then, something completely unexpected happened.

BANG!

The mouse king exploded.

Ragatha watched in horror as his body disappeared in front of her eyes, and streams of confetti rained down onto the nutcracker's sword. The crowns that sat atop all five of his heads fell to the ground, and his scepter dissolved into glitter.

"Wh…what?"

The room, previously loud and chaotic, quickly fell quiet. She looked around, confused by the sudden silence, and was shocked to find all the toy soldiers, along with their weapons, were gone. The Mouse King's army froze in place, then quickly scampered away to wherever they had come from. With their king defeated, the battle was officially over.

And just like that, the room was almost exactly back to the way she found it. No mice, or strange creatures or toys she didn't recognize, and no changes to the environment. It was once again a warm, cozy Christmas scene. Only, Ragatha was still a rag doll that barely stood a foot tall. She had to remind herself that she was dreaming, or the whiplash would've been too much for her to bear. Or, that is, she had to have been dreaming. None of what had taken place since she thought she woke up was logical. But…it really did feel like she was awake.

She could see that the toy soldiers, as well as the dolls, were right back in their spot under the tree. They lay untouched and motionless, as if they had never come to life in the first place. Her nutcracker, however, was still very much conscious. As she recovered her shoe and put it back on, she watched as he brushed himself off with his good arm, clearly not as bothered as she was by the whole event. She thought maybe he would come up to her and say something, but instead, he just stood there, facing away from her and muttering to himself.

Now that it was all over, and she didn’t have to be afraid of the Mouse King or his army, it was just her and her nutcracker. She felt an overflowing sense of affection for him. She was already full of love for him when she had gone to sleep, and now, dream or not, he had proved to be the prince of her dreams. He was strong, loyal, and most importantly, he had saved her from being attacked by the Mouse King. Of course her godfather, the one person in the world who she felt the most loved by, had channeled it all into this man who was absolutely perfect for her. She wanted nothing more than to look him in the eye, thank him for his rescue, and give him another kiss on the cheek to show her gratitude.

She shyly approached him, unable to hide her bashful smile. “Oh, Nutcracker?”

He didn’t respond, presumably not hearing her. Now that she was closer to him, she could better make out what he was saying.

"I bet Caine thinks he's reeeaaal funny." He sounded…incredibly bitter? He was examining his hands and lifting his legs. “Bring goodness back to the kingdom. Well, guess what! I'm still a piece of firewood!"

His complaints were harshly whispered, and Ragatha couldn't help but feel sorry for him, even if she didn't quite understand what was going on.

She spoke up to get his attention. "Excuse me. Nutcracker?"

He stood tall, clearly surprised to hear from her, and quickly spun around to face her. Ragatha could tell from his face that he was very much not happy.

"You?" He said, now sounding more annoyed than angry. "You're still here?"

Ragatha blinked in confusion. It wasn't quite the greeting she was expecting from her kind, noble nutcracker. In just his first time directly addressing her, he was nothing at all like she thought he'd be. His big, curious pupils had shrunk considerably, and his eyebrows, that she hadn't seen before, were furrowed in frustration. And, most bizarre of all, his mouth never opened as he spoke. His lips would move to the words he said, but his teeth always stayed in place. He moved more organically than she would expect someone made of wood to move, but he also moved more robotically than she expected of someone who previously looked so alive.

Stunned speechless, she started awkwardly rubbing her arm. "Uh…"

"Ugh." The nutcracker rolled his eyes, then picked his sword up off the ground and drew it back into its sheath. "Are you gonna help me find a way out of here or are you just gonna stand there and gawk?"

Her eyes darted around nervously. Why was he talking to her like that? Did she do something wrong? She thought she was helping, but was it not good enough?

She bowed her head, rubbing her temple with her soft, cloth hands. This was clearly her brain not being able to decide what kind of dream she was having. She was ready for it to be over.

She took her left hand and held it up to the nutcracker, still not looking up at him. "Can you pinch this, please? I'm ready to wake up."

The nutcracker's pupils went wide as he stared down at her hand for a few seconds, before fiercely opening his jaw and biting down hard on her pointer finger.

"OUCH!" Ragatha yelled, quickly pulling her hand away. She didn't even know his mouth could open, given the way it moved when he talked. Though, he was a nutcracker. That was sort of their purpose. But why bite her finger?

The nutcracker burst into a fit of laughter, and Ragatha felt a wave of embarrassment crash over her. "Why did you do that?!" She could hardly hide the vexation in her voice.

Still laughing, he pretended to wipe a tear out of his eye. "Because it was funny!" Catching his breath, he gave her a condescending pat on the head. "Oh, thanks, dollface. That was the first real laugh I've had in a while. You really set yourself up for that one."

She was growing more impatient, and feeling the pain of him biting her finger made it very clear that she, somehow, wasn't dreaming.

"Anyway," He said, pulling out a brown knapsack, from seemingly out of nowhere. "If you're gonna stick around, make yourself useful. Take this, and put those inside." He handed her the bag, and then pointed at the Mouse King's five crowns that lay scattered on the ground a few feet away from them. "I'm sure you can handle that." He dropped the bag in front of her feet, then shifted back towards the tree and started looking around. She could hear him let out a frustrated sigh, clearly not fully past the state she had first found him in.

To say she was disappointed would be an understatement. She thought her brave, heroic nutcracker, who so valiantly defended her against the Mouse King, would be the one thing to bring some comfort and clarity to this whole situation. Instead, he was just making it harder and more confusing for her.

Maybe, she thought, if she did what he asked, he would be nicer to her. She picked up the knapsack and obediently picked up the five crowns and placed them inside, making sure to handle them carefully. She looked behind her to see the nutcracker using the right side of his body to push present boxes off to the side, though she couldn't gather why.

"Listen, Nutcracker…" She started, tying the sac at the top and dragging it back over to where he was working.

"Ugh, don't call me that." He said, cringing.

Her face fell. She hated how nervous he made her. It felt wrong. "Well, what am I supposed to call you?"

"Uh, how about my name?" He looked back at her, once again hardly hiding his irritation in his face or voice. He saw that she had done as he had asked and shrugged. "Just leave that there." He said, flatly.

"I don't know your name." Now that she thought about it, it did feel strange to just call him 'Nutcracker'. Kinger didn't tell her his name, so she just assumed he didn't have one.

"It's Jax." He replied, leaning back onto a present box and pushing it out of his way.

She thought for a moment, remembering the story her godfather had told her. "Prince Jax?"

"Oh, God, no." Jax shuddered. "That's even worse. No, just Jax."

Ragatha nearly flinched. She hated when she said the wrong thing without meaning to. "Okay, sorry." She stood there awkwardly while Jax did…whatever it was he was doing. "Well, my name is Ragatha."

"Okay." He said, sounding as if he did not care in the slightest.

It was hard for her to even believe this was the prince from her godfather's story. Sure, he was rebellious, but Kinger didn't say anything about him being mean. "You are a prince, right?" She asked. Maybe her godfather's memory was acting up and this was a different nutcracker who just also happened to be involved in a rivalry with the Mouse King.

Jax grunted, then began looking around the open space he created. "Well, that depends on who you ask." He got on his knees, as if he was trying to examine the crawl space. "I, myself, would like to think I'm a real prince." His voice dripped with sarcasm, and she could just tell he kept that sardonic grin on his face, even if she couldn't see it.

She felt herself growing more and more vexed by the tonal whiplash of how he spoke to her. Rude and standoffish one moment, immature and jovial the next. Why did she have to choose between him actually answering her questions and not being so rude in the process?

She folded her hands together. "Do you even know if there is a way back to your kingdom from here?" She knew her patience was wearing thin, and she had to do her best to keep it in check.

"What do you think I'm doing right now?" He snapped at her, causing her limbs to freeze up. He growled, then stood back up, putting his right hand on his hip. "I don't even remember how I got here. But if I can find where the Mouse King and his army came from, I can make my way back and figure out what's going on."

She still didn't like the way he was talking to her, but she did her best to empathize. After all, her mother often scolded, and even insulted her, but she still loved her mother dearly. Surely, she could afford her nutcracker prince the same grace. She gave him an attempt at a reassuring smile. "Well, hey. At least you're not alone in not knowing what's going on. We've got that in common."

He responded with laughter, but not the kind she had hoped for. It sounded more patronizing than appreciative. "Like I'd want to have anything in common with a sad little rag dolly whose hair looks like licorice."

Ragatha stepped back in surprise. "Rag…dolly?"

That's right, she thought. Her physical form had changed. She had nearly forgotten after getting overwhelmed by all the action. Her eye caught a nearby red ball ornament that she could see had a reflective surface, and she curiously brought her face up to it. Now that she could see her upper half, she really did look like a sad rag doll. Her bad eye had been replaced by a blue button. Her other eye looked mostly normal, but still felt more like that of a doll's than a human's, and it was black as opposed to the green eyes she previously had. And then there was her hair. It was still the same bright shade of red, but it now looked more like yarn than human hair. And it was wild, even wilder than her natural curls. Her first impression was that her mother would've hated it. She couldn't tell if she thought she was ugly, or if she just thought that others would find her ugly. Either way, it made her uncomfortable.

The one thing that hadn't seemed to change was that she still wore a blue bow atop her head. This gave her a sudden moment of panic.

"My locket!" She cried, bringing her hands up to her neck. She looked down but couldn't see or feel herself wearing any kind of jewelry. "Oh, I hope it's not missing…" She felt a wave of despair crash over her. That locket was her prized possession. She'd be devastated if it was gone forever.

Her sadness was interrupted by a strange sound. She picked her head up and looked back where Jax had been standing and found him cutting through the bottom branches of the tree with his sword.

"Hey! Stop!" Ragatha yelled, rushing forward and tugging on his arm. "That's my family's Christmas tree!"

"Don't care." He replied blankly, pushing her away and continuing to hack at the branches.

"What are you doing?!" Ragatha asked, frantically.

"I already told you. I'm trying to find a way out of here." He turned around to face her and let his arm fall to his side, sword still in hand. "Look, doll, I would love to revel in the horrible position you've gotten yourself in. It's truly hilarious. But I've got my own problems to deal with."

"Revel in…?" Ragatha couldn't be more upset if she tried. "I thought you cared about me!" She pouted and crossed her arms.

Jax scoffed. "Why would I care about you?"

The words stung more than they probably should have. "Because you're my nutcracker! You were a gift to me from my Godfather Kinger. And you protected me from the Mouse King."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I didn't do that."

Ragatha nodded her head defiantly. "Yes, you did."

He pretended to be in deep thought. "Hmm…doesn't sound like something I would do. You're probably making stuff up to make yourself feel better. It's sad, really."

She could hardly take his juvenile behavior anymore. "You jumped in front of me and protected me from getting hit by the Mouse King! You told me to get out of there!"

This time, he let out a genuine laugh. "Oh, you really thought I did that for you? That is rich!" He put his sword back in its sheath and knocked on her forehead with his knuckles. "Hey dummy! I was trying to fight the Mouse King, and you were in my way. So I was telling you to get lost and let me do what I need to do."

"But…" Her face fell. It couldn't be true. "I really thought you were saving me…"

"Oh, Raggy." He said, patting her shoulder. "It sounds to me like you were projecting your romantic fairy tale garbage onto me. Well, newsflash, dollface. I'm no knight in shining armor. I'm not doing any of this for you. I'm trying to break my own curse. You can figure out how to break yours yourself."

The reality that the man she thought was her prince didn't actually care about her mixed with the hopelessness of being changed into a walking, talking toy was sinking in, and she felt more defeated than she had all night. But after a moment of silently ruminating while Jax went right back to looking around for an exit, something he had said stuck out to her.

"My godfather says that you can break your curse by bringing goodness back to your kingdom." She thought out loud. "But you're still a nutcracker."

"Very observant, Rags." He called over his shoulder. "Next you're gonna tell me that you're still a rag doll. Or that I'm still handsome even when I'm made of wood."

She rolled her eyes, ignoring his sarcasm. "Do you know how you're supposed to bring back goodness?"

"Well, geez, Raggy." He cheekily cupped his chin with his good hand. "If I did, do you think I'd still look like a glorified paperweight?"

She swore she probably looked as done with this whole situation as she felt. "Maybe you'd have broken your curse by now if you actually took this seriously!"

"Sure, but how booooooring would that be?" He said, hunching over in an exaggerated manner. "Maybe YOU should lighten up. And probably find a comb, too."

Ragatha grabbed strands of her hair as anger coursed through her felt body. She had reached her boiling point. "JAAAAX!"

He snickered, then opened his mouth to make another bad joke, but ended up wincing and defensively shielding his face as he felt blinded by a bright light appearing in his peripheral vision.

Ragatha did the same, covering her one eye as she, too, was caught off guard by the sudden brightness. They both kept their eyes closed, and they only opened them upon hearing an unexpected sound.

"Sorry," They heard a man's voice say after deeply inhaling. "I was holding my breath."

Ragatha carefully inspected the strange subject that stood before them. He was tall, but stood incredibly hunched over. He, like them, definitely wasn't human, and his head made him look like some kind of chess piece. His eyeballs stuck to his head in a way she found slightly horrifying, and he had no mouth, at least not one that she could see. Being approached by something, or someone, like this would've normally made her even more distressed. But seeing the long purple coat he wore that went all the way to the floor, and hearing the sound of his voice, she recognized him immediately.

"…Godfather Kinger?"

Chapter Text

"…Godfather Kinger? Is it really you?"

Ragatha felt a combination of bewilderment and relief. It was incredibly comforting to see a familiar face, but also bizarre, considering it wasn't his actual face. She had no idea why her godfather stood before her as a king chess piece with crooked eyeballs and no mouth, but she supposed it wasn't any more confusing than anything else that had happened since the clock had struck midnight.

"You know this guy?" Jax's face twisted in judgment.

"He's my Godfather!" She snapped at him, then turned back to Kinger. "Oh, Godfather Kinger. Do you know what's happening? Why am I a rag doll? Why are you a chess piece?" She refrained from asking why her nutcracker was being such a jerk. One problem at a time.

"Shh!" Kinger said, bringing a gloved hand to her mouth. (Oh God, he didn't have any arms??) His eyes scanned the room, as if to make sure they weren't being watched. "We don't have much time."

Ragatha had no idea what he could've meant. She saw the face of the grandfather clock across the room, which, confusingly, read that it was midnight. Was the clock broken? Or was time standing still? 

She slowly pulled Kinger's hand off her face, but kept hold of it for comfort. "What's happened to us, Godfather?"

Kinger gave Ragatha what she assumed was a look of sympathy, though it was hard to tell with his new features. "You're going to be okay, Ragatha."

Their moment was interrupted by Jax, who let out a loud, exaggerated yawn. "Oh, how nice." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Hey, crazy." He said, waving a hand in front of Kinger's face. "You know how to get back?"

Ragatha defensively stepped in front of Kinger, not letting go of his hand. "Don't call my Godfather crazy, you big jerk!"

"Your highness." Kinger said, bowing his head with sincerity. "I can actually get you back to the Kingdom of Sweets." He let go of Ragatha's hand and walked in front of her, getting closer to Jax. "But first, we should fix your arm."

Jax backed away slowly as Kinger approached him. "Hey! Don't touch it."

Kinger stepped back and straightened his posture. "No need." To Ragatha and Jax's amazement, he clapped his hands once, and a glowing monarch butterfly appeared between them. "Take it!"

Jax leaned back, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I don't wanna take it."

"You just need to touch it with your finger." Kinger explained.

Jax hesitantly raised his right pointer finger and winced as he lightly touched the butterfly. The second he did, it disappeared, and the three all heard a sound.

DING!

In the blink of an eye, Jax's broken left arm was completely healed and out of its cast. He lifted the arm and started moving it around. It really felt as good as new.

Ragatha gasped. "How did you do that, Godfather?"

"It's a health restoring butterfly." Kinger said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, it better not have infected me with anything." Jax said snarkily, crossing his arms.

Ragatha narrowed her eye at him. Kinger had just fixed his arm in a millisecond and he couldn't even say thank you? "That was very kind of you, Godfather." She made sure her tone was pleasant, though she shot daggers at Jax on every word. "But, now what?"

"You two have to get out of here, and fast." Kinger said urgently. "Prince Jax is needed back at the castle."

Jax gagged at hearing his honorific, but Ragatha ignored him. "But why do I have to go?"

"Well, gee, Raggy." Jax laughed. "If you stick around here, they'll mistake you for a Christmas present." He turned around and collected the bag he had told Ragatha to put the five crowns of the Mouse King inside. She eyed him, wondering what he needed them for.

Kinger put a hand on Ragatha's shoulder. "I know you don't understand now, but you will." Despite his new form, Ragatha felt soothed by the kindness in his voice. "They're going to need all the help they can get down there. And I think you're the perfect one for the job."

He held his hand out to the side, and a clear, blue circle appeared next to them.

Ragatha nervously stepped back. "Wh…what is that?"

"It's a portal." Kinger answered. "It'll take you two where you need to go."

Jax put his hands on his hips. "Wow, thanks, Looney. How incredibly convenient."

Ragatha still had a hard time following that her godfather was now a chess piece, let alone that he had magic powers. But one thing he said stood out to her. "Us two? You're not coming, Godfather?"

"Don't worry, Ragatha." Kinger said. "I'll catch up with you later. But you two need to hurry."

Ragatha stared expectantly at Jax, who smirked at her.

"Ladies first."

She raised an eyebrow.

"How else am I gonna know it's safe?" He held his arms up in a questioning pose. She couldn't help but notice how much more animated his movements were now that he no longer had a broken arm. "Remember, you're traveling with royalty here."

"I thought you didn't care about being a prince." Ragatha pointed out.

"Only when I can use it to my advantage." He said, winking at her.

Ragatha sighed, then stepped forward towards the portal. She turned around to get one last look at Kinger before leaving him. Her lip quivered, and she rushed up to hug him.

"Oh, godfather." She said, trying to keep herself from crying. She could see Jax rolling his eyes, but she paid him no mind. "It's all so much. Everything's happening so fast." She blinked back tears. "And worst of all, I lost my locket. The one with the picture of you, me, and Queenie. I'm sorry, Godfather."

"Hey, it's all right." Kinger said reassuringly, and brought his hands to her back to return her hug. "You're the strongest person I know, Ragatha. I know there's nothing ahead for you that you can't handle."

Ragatha sighed. "I don't feel very strong."

"And that's okay, too." Kinger said. "Just do your best. You may not believe it, but putting your best out there, even if it doesn't seem like much, is better than doing nothing at all."

Ragatha said nothing, but slowly nodded her head, burying it into Kinger's coat.

"And don't worry about the locket." Kinger said, patting Ragatha on the head. "I'm sure you'll find it."

Ragatha wasn't sure how she was supposed to find it, considering she was about to leave where she had lost it. But Kinger was doing his best to cheer her up, and she didn't want to refute him, even if it felt impossible. At least he didn't seem betrayed that she had lost it, though she still felt immense guilt.

"Now, go on." Kinger said. "I'll see you sooner than you know it."

Ragatha was also uncertain how true that was, but she knew it was time to leave. "Thank you, Godfather. For everything."

She let go of Kinger, then inhaled deeply before turning around to once again face the portal, but then suddenly felt herself being grabbed.

"TOO SLOW!" Jax yelled, lifting her up over his head, and tossing her haphazardly through the portal. He then strode through himself, coolly, as if he hadn't just thrown a woman, and sarcastically saluted Kinger on his way out, the portal sealing behind him.

—

Ragatha felt herself land hard on the ground.

"Ow…"

She slowly blinked her eye open, but all she saw was white. Her first worry was that she had a concussion, until a flood of sensations hit her all at once. The air, as well as the ground she laid on, was cold, and she smelled something heavenly.

Looking around, it seemed that the white that surrounded her was snow. They seemed to be in an icy cave, one not unlike the one from her dream the night before.

"Tsk. Sleeping on the job." Jax said, putting a hand on his hip. "Honestly, I expected better from you, Rags."

The heat on Ragatha's face could've melted the snow that covered her body. "Well, maybe I wouldn't be on the ground if you didn't THROW ME in here!"

Jax dismissively waved a hand in her direction as she stood up and brushed snow off her dress. "Excuses, excuses." Realizing where they were, he slumped over in frustration. "Geez, Kinger couldn't just teleport us to the castle. He had to leave us all the way up here."

Ragatha didn't know what he meant by 'up here', but she flared up at any criticism of her beloved godfather. "How do you even know my godfather, anyway?"

"He's the kingdom's resident nutcase." Jax replied, looping a finger next to his head in mockery. "Well, one of them. We've got way too many, if you ask me."

Ragatha didn't understand what he meant at all. Godfather Kinger had made the nutcracker himself, didn't he? And even if he didn't, he lived in the real world with her. He wasn't from…wherever it was that they were. But she was learning that she wasn't going to get any information out of Jax, and she couldn't stand the way he talked about her godfather.

"Well, do you know how to get back to your castle from here?" She asked, trudging through the snow towards him. She couldn’t help but ponder how she could even feel when she no longer had human skin.

"Oh, yeah." Jax said. "I used to come up here all the time to avoid having to do boring stuff. I'd bring a big spoon and just eat sugar off the ground in chunks. Ah, good times."

Ragatha looked down at the ground, confused. "Sugar?"

"Yeah." Jax said, casually, as if Ragatha was supposed to have known that already. "It's the Sugarcane Mountains. It's all made up of sugar."

Well, that would explain the sweet smell, Ragatha thought. "Then, why is it cold? I thought it was snow." She scooped some of the white substance up with her finger and lightly tasted it with her tongue. Yup, it was definitely sugar.

"What, it can't be both?" He elbowed her arm. "Come on, where's your sense of creativity? Remember, we're not in your boring, ordinary, boring, boring house anymore. Things are actually fun here. Well, y'know, sometimes."

She felt a kneejerk need to defend her parents' home. "My house is not boring."

"Whatever you say." He shrugged. “Speaking of boring, I'm headed back to my castle. Feel free to not follow me."

Ragatha nervously rubbed her palm. She wasn't exactly eager to climb down a mountain with only this wooden jerk for company, but she knew she had nowhere else to go. She had to find a way to change back to her original form and get back home. Her family needed her. But Godfather Kinger had said that she could be of help to this kingdom. She really hoped he was right.

She went to follow him outside the cave, but stopped when she heard a strange, twinkling sound. Curiously seeking the source of the sound, she started backtracking.

"Do you hear that?" Ragatha said.

"Hm?" Once Jax heard what Ragatha was referring to, he immediately grit his teeth. "Uggghhh. It's the winter faeries."

Ragatha's head perked up, then she looked back at him wonder. "Faeries?"

"Yeah." He said, his tone the exact opposite of her awestruck one. "They're so annoying. Let's get out of here before they see us."

Ragatha completely ignored his request, practically skipping further into the cave in search of the faeries. She couldn't see them, but she could now hear tiny, joyous voices. Even in her adult age, she felt a sense of childlike fascination at the idea of faeries, and she wasn't going to let Jax ruin it for her.

It didn't take long for the faeries to make themselves visible. They really did look like tiny humans, but with paper thin blue wings that carried them through the sky with a sort of grace and elegance that Ragatha had never seen. They wore skirts and dresses of pure white, much like the sugar snow Ragatha stood in. They seemed to be in a euphoric state of celebration, singing, dancing, leaping, and cheering as they glided across the sky. Their singing made them sound like a choir of angels. Some were creating snowflakes out of thin air and tossing them up to the cave ceiling, where they would burst like fireworks and fall to the ground.

Ragatha's face lit up in absolute delight. She thought back to when she was only six years old, running through the wide, open field of her family's farm. Her mother had found her after searching for nearly an hour, spotting Ragatha's head barely peeking out over the tall grass. When asked why she was outside all alone, she told her mother that she was searching for faeries, only to be told that they don't exist, and that she was far too old to be believing in faeries. Never mind that it was Godfather Kinger who had told her about them. Were these the faeries he had told her about?

Regardless, it was difficult to hide her childlike excitement over seeing not just one faerie, but an entire ensemble of them. It was a feeling she was more than grateful for after going through hours of distress. She stood back and watched, silently envious of the creatures that she could only dream of looking, singing, and dancing like. She felt an immense honor being in their presence, but kept her distance, afraid of crashing a party that she hadn't been invited to.

Jax, however, hardly hid his visible annoyance over the interruption of their journey back to his home. He sighed, crossed his arms, and slouched against the wall of the cave's exit tunnel. "Ugh, faeries..." He grumbled.

His transgressions went entirely unheard by Ragatha, who was kneeling down to sit in the sugar snow and continue watching, so long as it didn't bother the faeries. She felt tempted to eat some of the sugar, but ultimately resisted. She was raised in too polite a household to eat off the ground.

She shyly kept her distance, swaying to the faeries' song as she sat on her knees. To her surprise, a particularly tiny faerie flew up to her face amidst the celebration.

"Would you like to dance with us, miss?" She asked, her voice soft and high pitched.

Ragatha chuckled nervously. She appreciated being asked, but the last thing she wanted to do was impose.

"Oh, no, thank you." She said, humbly. "You all dance so perfectly. I don't think I'd be able to keep up." She had, of course, learned to dance growing up, but both her difference in size and ability would likely make her stand out too much. "I'd love to watch, though, if that's okay." She smiled and held out her hand, inviting the faerie child to perch on her palm. She couldn't help but think the small girl resembled her little sister, Louise.

"Of course you can watch!" The faerie said, sitting on Ragatha's palm and letting her tiny legs dangle.

"You all seem very happy. Are you celebrating something?" Ragatha asked.

"Oh, yes, miss!" The faerie said excitedly. "Everyone is saying that the Mouse King has been defeated and that our kingdom is saved! I do so hope it's true!"

"It is true." Ragatha said, nodding. "I saw it myself." She knew she could have added that she had helped, but she didn't want to sound too proud.

This was followed by a loud, collective cheer, and more streams of snow being tossed into the air. The faeries' joy was absolutely infectious. She was thrilled to see that the news of the Mouse King's defeat was already bringing hope back to Jax's people. Perhaps bringing back goodness would be easier than they thought. She looked back at Jax to see if he felt any kind of pride or relief, but, as expected, he seemed to be ignoring everything that was happening.

Ragatha was far too entranced to care, however, and she let the small faerie return to the group, waving goodbye as she flew away. She couldn't believe that she had spoken to a real faerie, and that she had held one in her hand. As if that wasn't enough, a few adult faeries flew above her head and spun in a circle.

"We are honored to be in the presence of someone who witnessed the defeat of the Mouse King!" They cried out in happiness. Ragatha beamed, then shyly fiddled with her hands.

"No credit for the guy who actually defeated the Mouse King, huh?" Jax muttered, still facing away from the scene.

Ragatha paid him no mind. He clearly didn't care enough to actually join them.

Ragatha sat for a few more minutes, watching as the faeries' dance grew even more joyous and passionate. Observing them, she questioned if what her godfather had told her about faeries was true. He had said that their bodies are so miniscule, that they feel their emotions very strongly, as if they can't be contained. She would now be inclined to believe it, seeing how strongly they threw their bodies into every single step as a way of expressing their cheerfulness. Ragatha had certainly never been as small as a faerie, but she did sometimes feel that her emotions were too much for her body. Sitting on the cold ground, she closed her eyes and took a few minutes to imagine how freeing it would be to express herself the way faeries could. It wasn't the same as actually being allowed to do it, but it was a fantasy she could keep close to her heart.

Jax, finally sick of how much time he felt they were wasting, scoffed and turned around. He could hardly believe this rag doll he had gotten stuck with was sitting around and giggling with faeries when he had a curse to break.

"Okay, girls!" He called out with a fake cheerful tone, taking a few steps forward. "Playtime's over! Let's get out of here!"

Ragatha's face fell as she noticed Jax, who put his hands on his hips and started tapping his foot with impatience. He really couldn't let her have this, she thought.

Ragatha sighed, then stood up and waved goodbye to her miniature friends. "I have to go now. Thank you for letting me sit with you, winter faeries! And congratulations!"

"Are you going to the castle?" A faerie asked.

"Uh, yes! We are, actually." Ragatha replied.

"In theory." Jax grumbled.

"We would be glad to clear the path to the castle for you!" The faerie replied. "Anything for the kingdom's heroes!"

"'The kingdom's heroes, she didn't even do anything!'" Jax yelled.

"I did too!" Ragatha stomped her foot. She knew she should’ve expected it, but how could he forget that she directly helped him make the finishing blow?

A handful of faeries giggled as they watched the scene, then whispered to each other. They broke apart into two groups, one flying around Ragatha in a circle, the other around Jax. Ragatha laughed, elated to be closely surrounded by the faeries in a final embrace, while Jax growled and swatted at the faeries in an attempt to get them away from him.

Before the two even realized, they stood right in front of each other, having been pushed in each other's direction by the faeries, who had now floated up to the ceiling, finishing their song. Ragatha looked up at Jax in astonishment, her hands falling on his wooden arms, and she jumped slightly as she felt his hands land on her hips. Their wide eyes met for only a second, until they became intensely aware of how close the faeries had pulled them to each other. They both quickly pulled away, Ragatha straightening up and awkwardly rubbing her arm, Jax slouching in irritation and fidgeting with the handle of his sheathed sword.

To their relief, neither had to acknowledge what had just happened, as the faeries flew outside the cave, and they ran to follow them out. They watched as the winter faeries did as they promised and cleared a safe, wide path down the mountain. Ragatha's face lit up with relief, thankful that making their way down would now be much easier.

“Thank you, winter faeries!” Ragatha called out, her voice carrying down the mountain as the faeries disappeared within seconds. 

Once they were gone, Ragatha’s focus shifted to her surroundings. It was clearly morning, as the sun was rising in the sky. She could’ve sworn the sun had eyes and a mouth, but she shook her head, assuming she was seeing things.

She gazed out at the breathtaking view from the top of the mountain. Looking out far into the distance, she could see just how far the land seemed to stretch on. She knew that the prince’s kingdom had been in ruins, but any destruction couldn’t be seen from far away. From her tall vantage point, all she could tell was that this land was colorful, candy coated, and just as much a treat for the eyes as for the nose. At the bottom of the mountain, she saw a colossal palace, with red and white striped towers, presumably made out of candy canes. The mountain they stood atop must have been behind the castle, she figured, and the different areas of the kingdom branched off just past it. 

“Wow…” Staring at the view in awe, she found it absolutely magnificent. 

Ignoring her, Jax glanced down at the path the faeries had created. "Oh, darn. I was really hoping for more danger."

Ragatha's face dropped. Now that she was alone with Jax again, things instantly felt much less magical. “Haven't you had enough danger?" She put her hands on her hips. "I thought you were over all this."

"What I'm over," Jax said. "Is annoying, whimsical rag dolls bringing the journey to a dead halt to play with pretty little faeries." 

"Well, you could have left that whole time!" Ragatha snapped. "Nobody was making you wait for me." Even though she was technically right, she was relieved he didn't abandon her. She would have no idea how to otherwise make her way through the kingdom, and she certainly didn't love the idea of making the trek down the mountain all alone.

“Yeah, well…” He found himself stammering, but quickly recovered. “It would have been too boring going down the mountain without someone to chuck snowballs at!” He rapidly scooped up a handful of sugar snow, and shoved it in her face before she could even react. 

Ragatha coughed and sputtered, then growled at Jax for his continued harassment. She wished her moment with the faeries would have never ended. Now, she was facing the inevitability of traveling with a complete nuisance.

Jax dashed ahead, his laughter carrying behind him. "Last one down the mountain's a licorice head!"

Ragatha sighed, a heavy shiver coursing down her body. "I hope Godfather knows what he's doing." She muttered to herself, running to catch up with her juvenile traveling companion.

—

"You know, you're really not making this very fun, Raggy."

Finally managing to catch up to Jax about ten minutes down the mountain, she stopped and brought her hands to her thighs, trying desperately to catch her breath. The wooden bunny had finally grown tired of being so far ahead of the rag doll that he stopped and leaned against a bare tree trunk, waiting for her to make her way down.

"I'm guessing you don't run much." He quipped. "Too many fancy parties and prissy dresses for all that, huh?"

Still breathing heavily, she grimaced at his cocky smile. "I'll have you know," She said, once she started catching her breath. "I live on a farm. I work outside every day. I'm sure I'm way more active than you!"

Jax simply laughed. "You are way too easy!" He leaned forward and flicked her on her forehead, infuriating her even more. "Okay, farm girl. If you're so 'active', then you should have no problem making it down the rest of the mountain. Quit being such a hold up!"

He turned around and continued down the path, walking this time, and whistling as if he didn't have a care in the world. Ragatha, meanwhile, wanted to rip her yarn hair out. She detested that she had no choice but to stay with him, but the sooner they made it to his castle, the sooner she could be human again and get back home.

She did a brisk jog to catch up to him, then kept at his pace as she walked beside him. He continued his casual whistling, and she was unsure what to say. She was growing tired from all the arguing, but he seemed to be in a better mood than when she first met him. And she did not want to be trapped in an uncomfortable silence.

"So," She started. "You really know your way around this mountain, huh?"

"Oh, yeah." He answered, and she could tell he was being truthful from the way that he moved through the terrain. Watching him step around every bump in the road, move his head to dodge long tree branches, and step carefully over patches of ice, she would believe that he could walk down this mountain blindfolded.

"Me and-" He stopped and cleared his throat before starting over. "I used to come up here if I had a full schedule of boring 'royal obligations'." He made air quotes with his fingers, as if it was a phrase he had heard numerous times and grown very tired of. "It was the perfect place to run away to, since I'm way faster than anyone who would try to come find me. If they wanted me back, they'd have to send someone to climb a whole mountain." He laughed as if he had told an exceptionally funny joke.

Ragatha, of course, found this incredibly irresponsible, but deep down, she envied him. She would never admit it out loud, but she would have loved a place to run away and escape to growing up. There were definitely times that she wanted to, such as when her mother would yell at her, or if the pressures of being the oldest sibling were too much to bear. But even if she did have something like that, she'd probably never actually go there. Unlike Jax, her responsibilities were much more important to her than her feelings.

"What made you stop going?" She asked, curiously noting that he spoke of all this as if it happened a long time ago.

Jax abruptly stopped walking, and Ragatha turned to see that he was staring straight ahead, his pupils wider than she had ever seen them.

"Jax?" Ragatha asked, taken aback.

He chuckled, then shook his head and continued walking. "Well, once my peak masculine figure got turned into a hunk of wood, I wasn't nearly as fast as I used to be." He let out an exhausted sigh. "It sucks."

She found his quick heel turn odd, but decided not to acknowledge it. Maybe it was one of the effects of his curse, she thought. "How long ago was that?" She asked.

"Ugh, way too long ago." He started counting on his wooden gloved fingers. "Like, almost a year."

"Oh…" Ragatha, unexpectedly, felt very sorry for him. It must have been really difficult to live like that for so long. She hated to think that her curse could last that long, or even longer. She had to make sure that didn’t happen.

"Yeah, I'd say it's the second worst thing to happen to me in the last year." He said, his voice suddenly sullen and morose.

Ragatha's eyebrows raised in concern. "What's the first?"

Jax didn’t answer, his eyes brimming with sadness.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Ragatha said, waving her hands in apology. "You don't have to tell me if it's too sad to talk about."

"No, I can tell you…" He gave an embellished sigh, then looked out into the distance as they walked. "You see, it was bad enough that I was cursed with the body of a nutcracker, but then…" He paused for dramatic effect. "I got saddled with finding the solution to my problem with an annoying rag doll who likes watching faeries dance and complaining about everything."

Ragatha groaned. Just when she thought he was finally being honest about himself. "JAX!"

Jax absolutely cracked up, elbowing Ragatha as he laughed. "You see? You are way too easy! You practically walked into that one!"

Ragatha crossed her arms and huffed. "I fail to see how I'm the annoying one when you can't say one thing that isn't meant to rile me up!"

"Oh, that's easy." He said. "When I do that, it's funny. But when you're all," He put on a high pitched, mocking voice. "'Oh, look at the beautiful faeries! Oh, Jax! Don't be mean to my nut job godfather! Oh, poor me, I'm a useless dolly now. Bad things only happen to me!'" His fake smile dropped. "It's annoying."

She pouted, hurt by his mockery of her and his belittling of her feelings. "I don't sound like that…" She said quietly.

"'I don't sound like that!'" He mocked her again. "That's you!"

Her hands dropped to her sides and balled up into fists. She really felt like they were having a real conversation for a minute, and now they were just arguing again. "I'm pretty sure you've complained about being a nutcracker more than I've complained about being a doll." This accusation, she realized, offended her the most. She always did her best not to complain, even if she felt she had a good reason to. She was taught very young that it was one of the most unladylike things she could do.

Jax simply laughed again. "Seriously, Raggy. You gotta chill out." He put a hand on her shoulder and shook it as they walked. "You are way too easy to rile up. People are gonna take advantage of you for that."

She huffed. "You mean like how you have been? All night?"

"Yes, exactly." He said, sounding very proud of himself.

Ragatha sighed in defeat. She knew he was right. It was really easy for her to get frustrated with him. She wasn't sure why. She usually had a lot of patience, or at least tried to come off that way. But she had never met anyone like Jax. It was sometimes hard to deal with her mother, or her little brother, but it was never this trying. Then again, she had never known anyone who had been cursed into a different body. She wanted badly to sympathize with him, but it was proving very demanding when he was always making fun of her and deriving joy from her misery.

She sighed. "Have you ever done anything to help anyone else?"

"I defeated the Mouse King, didn't I?" He reminded her.

"That was to help yourself." She said.

"Sure, but you saw the dumb faeries." Jax said. "I saved the whole kingdom! Everyone down there is celebrating me right now!" He pointed down at the bottom of the mountain. "Have you ever done anything to make a whole town celebrate you?"

Ragatha frowned. Except for her birthday, she had never been celebrated for anything. She did a lot of work on her family's farm that she would be proud of, but it was always treated as what was generally expected from her. There was one day that two of the farmhands were sick, and she had to do all their work for them, on top of her own chores. She had never ended a day more exhausted, and she didn't get any extra thanks for it. A part of her could never imagine being someone who demands or expects to be overly praised for putting in extra effort. Another part of her really wished she could be, even once.

Clearly hit in a sensitive place, she bowed her head and weakly responded, "You got me there."

Jax studied her, confused over how soon she stopped falling for his bait. For the first time since meeting her, he didn't quite know what to say, but now he was the one that hated the silence.

"We're about halfway there." He said, changing the subject.

"Oh?" Ragatha shook her head in an attempt to escape her memories of home. "This hasn't been as bad as I thought."

"Yeah, these mountains aren't so bad." Jax said, stepping over a wide patch of ice on the ground. "The faeries made it almost too easy."

Ragatha noticed this and followed suit. "I bet it makes you glad we saw them, huh?"

Jax scoffed. "Not really. I could've made it down either way. I doubt you could, though."

"Once again," She said, hardly attempting to hide her annoyance. "I've lived on a farm my whole life. I can handle the rough outdoors just FINE!"

Her voice raised on the last word of her sentence as she slipped on an ice patch she hadn't noticed him avoiding. Immediately panicking, she grabbed onto his arm, accidentally dragging him to the ground with her.

"HEY!"

She had landed on her back, with him falling on top of her. He wasn't as heavy as she thought he would be, but his wooden body was stiff and firm, and knocked the wind right out of her. Gasping, she opened her eye to see his face inches from hers, with him clearly being just as disoriented as she was.

She tried to back her face away, but found that she couldn't with her head against the cold ground. She instinctively raised her knee, which hit him right in the stomach.

"Sorry!" She covered her face in embarrassment. "Ow…" She whispered. The impact had clearly hurt her knee more than it had hurt his stomach.

She slowly removed her hands from her eyes when she realized that she still felt a block of wood on her body. Jax was staring at her with wide eyes and an equally wide grin.

"What are you doing?" She felt like she was blushing. She wasn’t even sure if she could blush.

"Wondering if cloth bodies can get splinters." He jested.

Ragatha sighed and closed her eyes again. "I'm sorry I slipped. Can you please get off me?"

He pretended to think for a second. "Since you said please."

Jax snickered, then stood up, searching his body for any damage, but found none. Ragatha, on the other hand, found the answer to Jax's question.

"I guess rag dolls can get splinters." She said, exasperated, as she noticed the nutcracker had left a handful of them on her arms and legs.

"Oh, that's awesome!" Jax laughed. "You've got one on your face, too." Before she could respond, he knelt down and put his hand on her cheek in an attempt to pull the splinter out.

"Ow!" Ragatha said, swatting his hand away. "How is that supposed to help? You're just gonna give me more splinters!"

"Gosh, Rags." He said, standing back up. "I thought you wanted me to be nicer." He shook his head. "What are we gonna do with you?"

Ragatha said, pulling the splinter out of her cheek. "Ow!" She still didn't understand how she could feel pain. "Well, we'll find out when we get there, I guess."

Jax sighed. "Ugh, this is taking way too long."

To her complete surprise, she watched him pull a sled out of nowhere, just as he had done with the bag from earlier.

"Ow. You've had that this whole time? Ow." She asked, pulling out her remaining splinters.

"Yup." He said, dropping the sled on the ground, then peering down the mountain to figure out a good starting point.

"Well, why didn't you bring it out earlier?" Ragatha was, once again, confused and frustrated. Weren't they supposed to get to the castle as soon as possible?

Jax shrugged. "Didn't feel like it."

Ragatha looked down at the sled, noting its small size. There was no way it was going to fit both of them. "So, you're just gonna slide down the mountain on your sled and leave me behind again?"

"Nope!"

Just like when he tossed her through Kinger's portal, he grabbed her, plopped himself on the sled, and practically tossed her behind him.

"WOAH!"

"Hang on, dollface!"

She wildly flung her arms around him and held on for dear life as he pushed them forward and the sled started racing for the bottom of the mountain. Shrieking at the top of her lungs, she winced and hid her face. His wooden body was undesirable to cling to, and she would certainly end this escapade with even more splinters, but she had no other choice.

"HAHA, YEAH!" Jax whooped as they slid even faster down the mountain. "Come on, Rags! Live a little!" He lifted his shoulder, nudging her to stop hiding.

"Do you even know what you're doing?!" Ragatha yelled, refusing to look up.

"Do you really think I'd do this if I didn't know what I was doing?" He laughed.

"YES!"

Despite her better judgment, she peeked out from behind him, and was relieved to see the path ahead of them was a clear, straight shot. She was so sure Jax was going to steer them into a tree or a rock or something else that would make them crash horribly. She felt a breeze blowing through her hair as they raced down the mountain. It was cold, but it felt nice, and the sweet sugar smell was even stronger. She rested her chin on his shoulder and let herself calm down, knowing that they would be at the castle soon enough.

—

Once the pair made it to the ground level of the mountain, Ragatha took a deep breath and let go of Jax.

"Ow." She, predictably, had a number of splinters on her arms. She stood up and began to pull them out. "Well, I guess that wasn't too bad. Ow."

"See?" Jax said, getting up and putting his sled away. "I told you I knew what I was doing."

"Right, of course. Ow." Ragatha said, throwing his usual sarcasm back at him. "How could I not trust the man who picked me up and threw me through a portal in the snow? Ow."

Jax stepped up to her and bent down to be at eye level with her, his smile as wide as usual.

Ragatha quickly grew nervous. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jax said nothing, then took her hand in his and lifted it up, making Ragatha even more nervous. If she knew any better, she'd think he was going to kiss her hand, and they were far past that kind of formality.

Then, living to subvert her expectations, he simply picked a splinter out of Ragatha's hand, then dropped it, letting it fall limp at her side.

"You missed one." He said cheekily, before turning around and walking away from her.

Ragatha's face scrunched up, and she rubbed her hand, sore from the pain of all the splinters. "Ow…" She whispered as she watched him walk ahead of her.

"Come on, doll." He called out. "Not getting any less wooden over here."

–

"How are we supposed to get in?"

The two hiked their way around to the front of the castle, now standing in an extensive, regal courtyard not unlike the one from her most recent dream. The castle was magnificent, standing taller than any building she had ever seen, likely twice the size of her own family's estate. Now that she was up close, she could see that the walls and towers were, in fact, made of peppermint, with red and white vertical stripe patterns all the way across. The entire structure was surrounded by a wide, chocolate moat. A drawbridge connected the courtyard to the castle itself, but was currently raised up, with no visible way for Jax and Ragatha to get inside.

"It doesn't seem like there's anybody here." Ragatha said, noticing the unoccupied drawbridge control tower.

"Relax, doll." Jax said, then pulled out a yellow key. "I've got the key to the drawbridge tower."

Ragatha eyed him suspiciously. "I know you're the prince, and all, but you strike me as someone who really shouldn't be allowed to have keys."

Jax's smile widened, but he said nothing.

Ragatha sighed. "Okay, how are we supposed to get over there? It's across the moat."

Jax smirked. "How about we just eat all the chocolate so it won't be in our way?"

Ragatha was getting really tired of rolling her eyes. "Can you please take this seriously for once?"

He paused, making a facetiously thoughtful face, then smiled at her again.

"No."

And within seconds, Ragatha was once again grabbed by her side, hoisted in the air above Jax's head, and tossed with all the nutcracker's strength to the other side. Ragatha shrieked and covered her eyes as she flew right over the chocolate moat and landed hard on top of the short candy cane fence that surrounded the castle's entrance.

"OUCH!" Ragatha cried out on impact, then fell backwards behind the fence, now fully across the way.

The first thing she heard was Jax's uproarious laughter. "Oh, I gotta hand it to you, Rags. You have made this WAY more fun than it normally would've been."

Ragatha was steaming. "By being your punching bag?!" She yelled, picking herself off the ground and stretching her injured back.

"Exactly!" He gave her a thumbs up that she could hardly see with the distance between them. "Now, climb up the steps to the tower and use the key to lower the drawbridge."

She grew even more furious. "How am I supposed to do that when I don't even have the key?!"

"Sure you do." Jax said, matter of factly. "Check your pocket."

Ragatha begrudgingly did as he asked and reached into her dress pockets. Sure enough, the key Jax had been holding up just a moment ago was now in her left pocket. She shot him a look of sheer confusion, to which he responded by nodding proudly.

She took a couple deep breaths, clutching the key in both hands. "Okay, I don't have time for this." She whispered to herself, making her way up to the tower, her body still aching from the harsh impact of being thrown onto a candy cane fence.

She turned the key and lowered the drawbridge, then met Jax back on the ground floor, her anger apparent on her face. 

"See, that wasn't so hard." Jax said, nonchalantly.

"Maybe for you." Ragatha muttered.

"Well, yeah." Jax replied, taking the key back from her. "Who else would I be speaking for?"

Ragatha grunted in frustration. She had to keep reminding herself arguing with him wasn’t worth it.

As they approached the large double doors that opened into the castle, Ragatha suddenly felt very nervous. She examined her posture and straightened up, fixing her hair and making sure she was smiling politely.

Jax noticed this and scoffed. "What was that for?"

"I'm just making myself presentable." She answered, directly quoting her own mother's words. "I've never met royalty before."

"Hey, what about me?" He said, feigning offense.

"You don't count." She said, struggling to not lose face. "I'm sure most royals don't act like you."

"You're right." He said, pulling out another key, this one red and white, matching the castle walls. "I'm way more fun. You snooze, you lose!" He quickly unlocked and opened the door, letting it fall behind him as he rushed in. 

“Hey!” Ragatha rushed to fit through while the door was still closing. Once inside, they found the castle foyer dimly lit and completely empty.

"Where is everybody?" Ragatha asked.

"I don't know." Jax replied, unbothered. "I'm gonna get something to eat."

He started to walk off through a corridor on their left, with Ragatha rushing to catch up. "Hey, wait! You can't leave me alone here! I don't wanna get lost."

She followed him as he silently walked down a long hallway. Letting her eyes wander, she saw that the inside of the castle was even prettier than the outside. Much like the kingdom she saw outstretched before her atop the Sugarcane Mountains, everything was bursting with color. While the building’s exterior made it seem like you could eat every square inch and be fed for a lifetime, the interior didn’t seem to be made of candy at all, but instead was painted and decorated with bright shades of red, yellow, pink, and orange. Ceramic vases of candy bouquets lined the hallway and the curtains, unlike in the previous room, were wide open and letting the sunlight stream in. Ragatha had to wonder how Jax became the person he did growing up in such a delectably saccharine home. Perhaps all the sugar had permanently affected his brain.

Once they reached the end of the hallway, Jax, rather rudely in Ragatha’s opinion, barged his way through the swinging kitchen door.  

"Alright, kitchen, I'm back!" Jax said loudly. "Destroying Caine's most powerful NPC to date worked up quite an appetite and your prince needs a hearty breakfast!"

Ragatha let out a yelp as Jax let the door close right on her face. Recovering from the fourth or fifth time he had caused her bodily harm, she followed him inside, only to see that there was nobody else in the kitchen.

"HELLO?" Jax yelled, reeking of entitlement. "I swear, it's impossible to find good help these days." He trudged over to the fridge, opened it and stared inside. "Uggggh, there's like, nothing in here." He dramatically shoved the fridge door closed, crossed his arms, and leaned against the counter.

Ragatha folded her hands in front of her, her eyes darting to the floor. She could never imagine acting like this in her house, even if she was royalty. Then, something dawned on her.

"Do you…even need to eat?"

Jax grimaced at her. "No, but I can if I want to. And I want to."

"Then, why don't you make something yourself?" Ragatha asked. "Don't you know how to cook anything?"

"No, why would I?" Jax replied, genuinely perplexed by her question. "I have people to do that for me. Or at least I did." He said spitefully. "I knew things were bad here, but I didn't think everyone fled the castle."

Now that Ragatha thought about it, she felt pretty hungry too. She was starting to think her new body was just an illusion, considering she could still feel all the physical sensations of a human body. 

But before either of them could figure out what to do for food, they heard a voice that was unfamiliar to Ragatha coming from behind them.

"Jax? Is that you?"

Ragatha's head turned towards the door where she saw the head of a small woman wearing a jester hat and white face paint peeking through.

"Oh, hey Pomni!" Jax said, his tone of voice sounding much more positive. "Guess who’s finally back?"

Pomni let out a huge sigh of relief, then fully walked into the kitchen and closed the door behind her. She was very short, Ragatha noticed, and she had brown hair and red and blue eyes that matched her jester costume. "Oh, thank GOD. Is it true you defeated the Mouse King? There have been so many rumors that I don’t even know what to believe."

Ragatha kept her hands folded and stayed quiet, waiting to be acknowledged.

"Oh, I beat him, alright." Jax said, sounding more annoyed than proud. "Not that you would know, considering I'm still a piece of firewood."

"Oh…" Pomni said, bowing her head. "That's bad…but also…good?" She picked her head up and noticed Ragatha. "Who are you?"

Never forgetting her manners, Ragatha gave a small curtsy. "How do you do? I'm-"

"She's just some girl," Jax interrupted. "That got turned into a rag doll by the Mouse King. So now she thinks it means we're friends or something."

Pomni rolled her eyes, but gave Ragatha a small smile. "So, what really happened?"

Ragatha wasn't quite sure how to answer. How do you tell someone you just met that you're from a completely different world with a completely different body and a completely different height? She decided to just introduce herself the way she would to anyone.

"I-I'm Ragatha Stahlbaum." She said, curtsying again. "Of the Stahlbaum family farm. And I met Jax…" She hesitated. "Through my Godfather Kinger."

"You know Kinger? How did you meet Jax through him?” Pomni was stunned. Kinger was the last person she’d think Jax would associate with.

"Don't mind her." Jax said, grinning. "She's probably craaaazy just like him. It must run in the family."

Ragatha hated losing her head in front of a perfect stranger, but Jax had once again crossed a line. "I told you not to talk about my family like that!"

"Okay, okay!" Pomni said, holding her hands up. "So the Mouse King turned you into a rag doll like how he turned Jax into a nutcracker?"

Ragatha looked at Jax, then back at Pomni. "I…think that's what happened."

"So, you're cursed." Pomni stated. "Do you know how to break your curse?"

"No." Ragatha said sadly. "That's why I'm here. Jax still needs to figure out how to break his curse. I figure, maybe I can find out how to break mine. And I really need to do it soon. I'm not from around here, and my family needs me back home right away."

"Right." Pomni said, then gave Ragatha a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry you had to get involved in all this. You seem…nice."

"Well, I think she's annoying and has dumb hair." Jax said, as if he were giving a lecture.

"You think everyone is annoying." Pomni replied, laughing.

"Speaking of annoying," Jax said. "Is Loo around?"

"Uh, yeah. She should be up." Pomni said. "She told all the staff last night they could go home and celebrate the good news with their families. I guess she figured you'd be back soon and we could figure things out from there."

"Well, geez." He said, frustrated. "She couldn't think about making sure I had something to eat." His tone immediately went back to being humorous. "Guess I'll just have to eat her. Big mistake on her part."

"I'm sorry." Ragatha spoke up. She hated speaking out of turn, but she was growing more confused by the minute. "Who's Loo?" 

Pomni was about to answer, but Jax beat her to it. "'Princess Lollilalu'," He said in a high pitched, mocking voice. "Is an NPC Caine made to help run the kingdom because I guess I wasn't doing a good enough job."

Again, feeling the need to actually clarify, Pomni turned to Ragatha. "It was just to have someone in charge until Jax became King."

"Yeah, and I was WEEKS away from my coronation before his stupid Mouse King changed me into a glorified paperweight." Jax whined. "I really think we should charge him with treason for that."

Ragatha blinked, hardly feeling like her question had been answered. "NPC? Caine? I don't understand."

"Come on, Jax." Pomni said. "She doesn't even know who Caine is?"

"Gimme a break, I've known the bag of stuffing for like a day." Jax said.

"And you didn't bother telling her anything that's going on?" Pomni questioned.

"Why should I? Besides, it's funnier this way."

"Well, she could help you actually break your curse. Maybe that’s a bit more important than what’s funny.”

Ragatha’s eye darted back and forth between the two quipping at each other, having no clue what to make of the conversation. She couldn’t tell if they were fighting or not. Their words opposed each other, but neither of them sounded particularly angry. Maybe it was only her mother that was harsh with her oppositions, but she had always assumed that was how the world treated conflict and bad behavior. It was a bit of a relief to see that even a clown didn’t seem to think his antics were laughable, but the uncomfortable feeling she got watching two people bickering felt torturous. She had learned very early in life that her biggest allergy was tension.

She cleared her throat, not daring to be too impolite, but wanting to interject in some way. "Come on, guys.” She did her best to sound as optimistic as possible. “This back and forth isn't going to solve our problems! I say we find this Princess Lolly…Loo and ask her if she has any ideas."

Jax and Pomni looked at Ragatha questioningly, then at each other, then back to Ragatha, before Pomni spoke. “Maybe she’s right. Things have been really stressful around here. Now that you’re back, we can finally start to make some progress.” She gave Jax a small smile. “I’m just glad you’re okay, Jax. I was honestly kinda worried.”

Jax smiled, then placed a hand on Pomni's shoulder. "Thanks, Pomni. I'm glad I'm okay, too."

Ragatha found this a pretty selfish thing to say, but Pomni just laughed and elbowed Jax in the gut, making Jax laugh too. Ragatha stood awkwardly between them. She wasn't used to seeing people interact like this. Perhaps it was a cultural thing.

Jax sighed once his and Pomni's fit of laughter came to an end. "You think Loo's in the throne room?"

"Probably, yeah." She said. “I can bring you guys there.”

"Don't you wanna make me a sandwich first?" Jax asked, giving her big, pleading eyes.

"No." Pomni said bluntly, turning to exit the kitchen.

Ragatha walked alongside Jax and Pomni, still not sure what to make of their interactions. She held her head up, knowing that at least they could come up with a plan to put her back to normal and get her back home. She moved her hand to her chest to clutch her locket, as she often did when she needed comfort, but sighed when she remembered it was lost.

She thought back to what Godfather Kinger had said when she last saw them. He said she was the strongest person he knows, and that he believed she was the key to helping save this kingdom. She had very little confidence that he was right. This new world was beautiful and strange and confusing and awe inspiring. How was she supposed to make any kind of impact on such an extraordinary place when she herself was so ordinary?

Kinger had also told her that he would catch up with her, and she hoped that it would be sooner rather than later. She watched Jax and Pomni catching up like old friends and wished she had someone to talk to. She generally avoided voicing any negative emotions, and so, as she often did, she kept them all inside her head and made sure to not add a word to the conversation she hadn’t been invited into. It was how she managed her home life, and it would be how she managed this daunting new experience.