Chapter 2
It has been an hour since the party has started and Serena has been feeling bored. Mr. Sycamore and Grace have been entertaining the guests by offering them food and showing off the size of the Christmas tree. Aria and Pierre have been sitting on a couch together just staring at each other with googly looks in their eyes. Mr. Sycamore’s business partner arrived with his family including his 15-year-old son, Alain which Mairin is secretly happy to see. Calem eventually became so bored that he convinced his father to let him take his toy soldiers out of the toy cabinet so that he can play next to the Christmas tree. Eventually, musicians arrived and started playing classical music much to the guests’ amusement.
Serena, however, has been sitting down quietly with her kitten, Shauna, feeling dreadfully weary. In her mind, she thinks about asking her parents to allow her to be excused from the party so that she can practice her ballet dancing up in her room. She detests seeing her house filled with the uptight people who she knows will be asking her about finding a suitor just like Mrs. Budwell.
Suddenly, the lights begin to flicker and a loud thunderous sound is heard from the main hall entrance. Guests are screaming in alarm as the entryway to the entrance hall turns dark and colorful sparks explode in different directions. A trio of doves suddenly appear from the void and fly all over the living room before landing on top of the toy cabinet. Everyone including Mr. Sycamore and Grace begins to worry in fear which only grows as they see two shadowy figures cloaked in black appear.
Suddenly, the lights come back just as quickly to reveal Uncle Timothy and Mr. Coovers as the cloaked figures before they take off their cloaks and show what they were hiding under them. In front of the two men is a small table with wheels where a giant toy fort stands tall and majestic. Statues of swans swim on the lake surrounding the fort and toy soldiers march in circles inside its walls and inside the building and on top of the highest tower, a wooden figure of Uncle Timothy appears from the balcony and drops a small pile of sparkles into the air.
When everyone realizes what just happened, their looks of worry melt into faces of joy and amazement. Serena, Calem, and Mairin race over to the fort while several adults follow behind in amazement.
“Wow, look at the fort!” Calem exclaims.
“How marvelous!” Mr. Sycamore says happily.
“Look at that, Shauna,” Serena says as she picks up her kitten to show the toy.
“Timothy, old boy, you've outdone yourself this year,” Mr. Sycamore says as he pats Uncle Timothy in the back. “And did you help, Mr. Coovers?”
“Sure did,” Mr. Coovers says proudly. “And this guy would not have finished in time without me.”
Uncle Timothy merely nods and says, “It’s true.”
“Well, I'm glad to see your hard work pay off,” Mr. Sycamore says happily. “Such a magnificent contraption.”
“It truly is a work of art,” Grace says in agreement.
“Thank you both,” Uncle Timothy says as both he and Mr. Coovers give their hosts respectable bows. “Your pleasure is our reward.”
“Hey, Uncle Timothy, can the soldiers inside come out?” Calem asks excitedly.
Uncle Timothy chuckles and says, “No, Calem. I'm afraid that's not possible.”
“Oh, I do wish the swans could fly,” Mairim says with a dreamy look.
“That is also impossible, dear Mairim,” Uncle Timothy says.
“Why don't you make the soldiers fire their weapons, Uncle Timothy,” Calem demands.
“Calem, that's quite enough,” Grace says calmly.
“Come on, Uncle Timothy,” Calem demands again, ignoring his mother. “Just flip a switch and have the soldiers fire their guns! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!”
“No, no, no, no, no!” Uncle Timothy shouts, frustrated at the young boy’s demands. “Don't you see? That's the way this fort was meant to work and that's the way it does work!”
Silence fills the room with the exception of the melody playing from the fort. Calem stares at Uncle Timothy for long before he frowns childishly and walks away.
“I can make my soldiers do anything I like,” he grumbles bitterly.
Some of the guests gasp softly and shock of the boy’s bitter response. After a moment, they silently decide to break the crowd surrounding the fort much to Mr. Sycamore, Grace, Serena, Mr. Coovers, and especially Uncle Timothy's displeasure. The toy maker shakes his head disapprovingly before he flips a switch behind the fort turning it off.
“Toys like this are really wasted on the children of today,” he says bitterly. “They simply have no respect for the laws of mechanics.”
Without another word, he pushes the fort to a spot against the wall next to the Christmas tree and finds a chair by the fireplace to sit on with a defeated sigh. Serena looks at him sympathetically while her father clears his throat and Grace gestures the musicians to continue playing. Mr. Coovers lets out a sympathetic sigh before he walks over to the middle of the room and gathers Mairin, Calem, Alain, and some of the other children together around so he can tell them stories about his time in Unova much to the children's excitement. Serena frowns, no longer interested in the bald man's stories as she watches her father walk over to Uncle Timothy sympathetically.
“Look here, Timothy, dear boy, why don't I get you some punch and some food,” Mr. Sycamore offers.
“Thank you, Augustine, but just punch would be fine for now,” Uncle Timothy replies politely with his eyes fixed on the fireplace.
Mr. Sycamore nods in understanding before he pats his friend on the shoulder and leaves. Serena returns to her sitting spot with Shawna and slumps in her chair. She watches the adults including Aria and Pierre begin to dance together while the children listen to Mr. Coovers’ stories intently. After a moment, Mr. Sycamore comes back and places a cup of punch on the table next to Uncle Timothy's seat before he quietly joins the dancing with Grace. Serena sighs and with Shauna still in her arms gets up and walks over to Uncle Timothy who takes a small sip of his punch with a wooden face.
“Uncle Timothy, I'm sorry that Calem and Mairin acted that way,” she says sadly. “I think your fort is truly wonderful. I believe I would have played with it all the time if I was their age.”
The man takes another sip of his drink before turning to the honey blonde teenager with a small smile.
“Thank you, Serena,” he says before he frowns and says with a huff, “I suppose this is just the simple life of being an artist. Whether you are a toy maker, painter, writer, actor, or even a ballerina, there will always be difficulties where you put your heart into a project or a performance only to gain not even an inkling of the reception you were hoping for. It can be a hard life indeed.”
Serena frowns, gets down on her knees and puts her hands on tops of Uncle Timothy's.
“That doesn't mean you shouldn't try,” she insists. “You should never give up until it's over.”
Uncle Timothy chuckles softly in amusement before turning to Serena with a soft smile.
“What an encouraging choice of words,” he says. “Tell me, did you come up with that yourself or read it in a book?”
“Neither, actually,” Serena replies. “I learned that phrase a long time ago from a boy in ballet class back when we all lived in Kanto.”
“Oh?” Uncle Timothy asks sounding very interested. “I don’t think you have ever told me about this boy before.”
Serena realizes what she said and looks away bashfully. Uncle Timothy merely grins in interest.
“So, the future famous ballet dancer who cares little for marriage has been interested in a boy before,” he says teasingly. “This I must hear.”
“S-stop that, Uncle Timothy, it isn’t like that,” Serena says bashfully.
“Oh? Then what was it like?” Uncle Timothy asks. “Come now, out with it.”
Serena hesitates before she sighs in defeat.
“Alright,” she says. “I met him on my first day in ballet class in Cerulean City. Neither of us were very good at figuring out the steps that the teacher was showing us and I was getting frustrated. I grew worried that I wasn’t fit to become a ballet dancer even though I had been wanting to become one ever since Papa first took us all to a ballet.”
“Ah, yes, I remember joining your family in going to that ballet in Cerulean City,” Uncle Timothy says with a fond look. “You were about eleven, nearly twelve years old if my memory serves correctly.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Serena says before she continues. “After falling down for what felt like the hundredth time cutting my knee in the process, I began to cry until the boy walked over to me. He just told me that it’s okay before bandaging my knee with a handkerchief and helping me up. He encouraged me to try again simply by saying ‘Don’t give up until it’s over,’ and so with his help, I began to improve until I managed to do it right. The boy himself, however, didn’t do so well, but he looked so content to try that he encouraged me to take his words to heart without even knowing it.”
“Sounds like a very kind and friendly boy,” Uncle Timothy says with a warm smile. “What was his name?”
Serena frowns and looks away from Uncle Timothy sadly.
“I never learned his name,” she admits. “His mother took him home in some distant town before I could ask that day and he never came to class again since.”
Uncle Timothy frowns and says, “That is a shame.”
Serena nods in agreement. She then turns her head back to say another thing to Uncle Timothy, but her voice suddenly dies in her throat when something catches her eye.
Under the Christmas tree is the bottom half of a present box and in the box is a wooden doll. Serena walks over to it curiously and sees that it’s a doll soldier wearing a deep blue soldier uniform, a black soldier hat and has pointy raven hair. Serena picks it up and stares at its face which contains two large, brown eyes, a small, cylinder nose, two z shaped marks on its cheeks and a large, rectangular mouth showing his large, wooden, white teeth. The honey blonde teenager stares at the doll curiously as she examines it from all sides.
“Now where in the world did you come from?” she asks quizzingly.
Suddenly, it hits her, and she turns around to see Uncle Timothy watching her with a pleased, cunning grin. Serena smiles as she walks over to him.
“Uncle Timothy, you brought him over here, didn’t you?” she asks.
“Indeed, I did,” Uncle Timothy responds proudly. “Do you like him?”
“Yes, I do. I’ve never seen anything like him before,” Serena says with her eyes turning back to examining the doll until she frowns in confusion. “But what is it?”
“He’s a nutcracker,” Uncle Timothy answers.
“A nutcracker?” Serena asks puzzled. “I’ve never seen a nutcracker like this before.”
“Oh, nutcracker dolls like him have become very common in Kanto over the last couple of years,” Uncle Timothy replies while putting his cup of punch down on the table and takes a nut from a bowl of nuts standing next to it. “Here, let me show you how it works.”
Serena complies and gives the doll to Uncle Timothy. The man puts the nut in the nutcracker’s mouth and pulls the lever behind it down. The nutcracker’s mouth closes, crushing the shell of the nut and Uncle Timothy takes the nut out to eat it before turning to Serena.
“Now you try,” he says.
Serena smiles and takes the nutcracker before putting another nut from the bowl. She puts it in the nutcracker’s mouth and with another pull of the lever, it crushes the shell leaving only the nut intact.
“Oh, thank you, nutcracker,” Serena says with a pleased smile before she suddenly finds two small hands wrapped around the doll.
“Can I try? Can I try? It’s my turn!” Calem demands as he yanks the nutcracker from Serena’s hands.
“Calem, you can’t just take him like that,” Serena argues.
“Now Serena, let Calem have a try,” Uncle Timothy says calmly.
“But Uncle Timothy, I found him first,” Serena protests childishly.
As Uncle Timothy tries to calm Serena down, however, Calem reaches for the bowl only to find no more nuts inside. He frowns, eager to use the nutcracker and looks around for something to crack with it. Just then, he finds one of the toy cannonballs from his new set of toy soldiers and cannons lying under the table. Excited, Calem puts the cannonball in the nutcracker’s mouth and pulls the lever hard only for the nutcracker’s two front teeth to break off with a sharp snap. He stares at the damage with shock before nervously turning to Serena and Uncle Timothy who clearly heard it break.
“Oh no! Calem!” Serena says angrily.
“Uh, I didn’t know that was going to happen,” he protests.
“You don’t know anything, let me have him!” Serena says yanking the doll away from her little brother. “I knew you would break him! I just knew it!”
Calem frowns bitterly and gets up and walks away.
“Aw, you can have him. I don’t care,” he says coldly as he walks away. “He’s not even a real soldier. He doesn’t have a sword.”
Serena glares at her brother bitterly before turning to the nutcracker with a sad look.
“Poor nutcracker,” she says as she pets the doll sympathetically.
Uncle Timothy watches sadly, displeased to see his gift damaged. He looks down and finds the nutcracker's missing teeth and smiles before picking them up and putting them in his pocket.
“Not to worry, Serena,” he says turning to the upset teenager. “I can fix him no problem. He’ll be good as new before you know it.”
Serena only sighs and keeps staring at the nutcracker, still disappointed to see it broken. Uncle Timothy frowns until he snaps his finger.
“I know,” he says. “Why don’t I tell you the story of how the nutcracker came to be?”
Serena turns to the toy maker quizzingly and asks, “The story of how he came to be?”
“Yes, you see in Kanto, many nutcracker dolls like him are given stories about how they came to look the way they do which are created by their inventors and passed down to their new owners,” Uncle Timothy says. “In fact, the story of this particular nutcracker is one I made a couple years ago with Mr. Coovers and my nephew.”
“You mean the nephew that you were doing something for, before coming to the party?” Serena asks.
“The very same,” Uncle Timothy answers. “So would you like to hear it?”
“Yes, please,” Serena says with a smile as she sits down, crosses her legs and awaits hearing the tale while holding the nutcracker close.
“Alright then, where to begin?” Uncle Timothy asks himself before snapping his fingers. “Ah yes. Now, Serena, do you remember when I sadly had to stay in Kanto when you and your family moved to Kalos five years ago?”
Serena frowns and says, “All too well. Aria, Calem, Mairin, and I were broken-hearted, worried that we'd never see you again and Papa was upset that you were still working for King Giovanni.”
Uncle Timothy frowns back.
“Yes, I was still working as King Giovanni's royal mechanic and magician, and yes, your father's feelings were well warranted. The king of Kanto is a power-hungry buffoon who has done terrible things to his people that gave your parents the decision to move. But unlike you, I was not allowed to leave freely,” he says sadly before giving the teenager a soft smile. “But life working in Viridian Castle wasn't all that bad. In fact, that's where I befriended Mr. Coovers.”
“Really?” Serena asks.
“Yes,” Uncle Timothy says. “You see he was my co-worker with taking care of all the clocks and other machinery in the castle. We both share the same disgust for King Giovanni's rule as your father does, but we didn't say anything out of fear for our lives. So as long as we did our jobs we weren't bothering King Giovanni and so he didn't bother us.”
“That sounds comforting for you and Mr. Coovers, Uncle Timothy, but what does that have to do with the nutcracker?” Serena asks curiously.
“All in good time, my child,” Uncle Timothy says. “Now our story begins roughly two years after you and your family moved to Kalos. It was King Giovanni's birthday and many members of Kanto nobility traveled all the way to Viridian Castle to bring all sorts of wealthy gifts and partake in the grand birthday feast. The king ate and drank with the nobility and his daughter, Princess Giselle who is a beautiful but spoiled girl and the king’s pride and joy. Meanwhile, his wife, the queen who is a large and cheerfully naive woman was in the kitchen making a large blue cheesecake, King Giovanni's favorite.”
“Blue cheesecake? That sounds disgusting,” Serena remarks.
Uncle Timothy chuckles and says, “It’s true. Very few people enjoy that dish, but it is what the king loves so every person who was partaking in the feast had to have a slice of this birthday cake whether they wanted to or not. Unfortunately, it was because of that blue cheesecake that all the trouble began.”
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It was while the Queen was single-handedly making the cake big enough to feed everyone in the grand hall. She was happily making the finishing touches for her husband’s dessert including a carving of his face made of blue cheese on top of it - or so I have heard from other castle staff members when she heard a loud squeak. The queen yelped in alarm and turned around to find a skinny rat standing on its back legs like a human and wearing a red tunic and a golden crown. The rat let out a proud, maniacal laugh that horrified the queen before it spoke.
“Give me that cheese,” it demanded pompously. “I am a queen too, and as the rat queen, I want something to eat right now.”
“No, you cannot,” The Queen protested despite trembling in fear. “This is for my husband, King Giovanni. It’s his birthday cake.”
“I don't care if it's for the emperor of the world, you fat, quivering lard,” the Rat Queen growls. “Now hand it over.”
“No, I won't,” The Queen says struggling to put on a brave face.
“Suit yourself,” the Rat Queen says. “Powuru!”
Without another word, another rat enters the room. This one was twice the size of an ordinary rat and had a muscular build. The remainder of the poor queen’s courage dissolved quickly as the large rat named Powuru climbed to the table where the cheesecake stood, drew out his black and blood-red sword and pointed it at the large woman with a menacing glare in its red eyes.
“Defy my mother again and I with slit your plump body from your feet to your nose before you can move a muscle,” he threatened with a deep cruel voice.
The queen just whimpered before lifting her hands in surrender and stepping away from the rats and the cake. The Rat Queen laughed maniacally before she let out a high-pitched whistle. Before the Queen realized it, scores of rats flooded the kitchen floors and climbed onto the table. The poor woman watched helplessly as the Rat Queen and her children gorged themselves in the cake she worked so hard to make. Even the large rat, Powuru, started grabbing large chunks of the cake and shoving it down his throat in one bite like a barbaric warrior eating meat straight out of the carcass of the beast he just slaughtered.
Before long, the Queen couldn't take it anymore and let out a high-pitched scream in fear. Her screams were so loud that it reached the ears of two guards who were standing guard on the other side of the hall. They raced to the kitchen as fast as they could, and as soon as they entered the room, all of the rats including the Rat Queen and Powuru fled. Unfortunately, the rats had all but finished eating the cake as there was nothing but crumbs and some large scraps on the plate where the large dish once stood. Having seen this, the Queen’s cries of fear turned into cries of misery and the two guards stared at the nearly empty plate horrified of how King Giovanni will react.
Suddenly, a booming voice is heard from upstairs shouting, “Bring me my cake!” The guards grew even more afraid knowing that the king will be very impatient if he is kept waiting. Then the Queen stands up, collects herself and glumly gestures them to follow her. The three of them fearfully go up the stairs to the main dining hall where King Giovanni is waiting for them with Princess Giselle and the Kanto nobility. Before the king could ask where the cake is, the Queen broke down and got on her knees in front of her husband.
“Oh my dear king, please forgive me,” she weeps. “It’s the Rat Queen’s fault! As soon as I finished making your cake, she came out of nowhere with her children and ate the entire dessert up before the guards could come to my aid!”
“What?!” King Giovanni roars furious, much to the fear of everyone around him except for Princess Giselle. “This is an outrage! Bring me the head of the Rat Queen at once!”
All the guards in the room stutter nervously before they salute and quickly run out of the room, desperate to follow the king’s wishes.
Eventually, the birthday festivities continued without the King’s blue cheesecake much to the Kings irritation and the secret relief of all the nobility. The guards searched high and low earnestly for the Rat Queen and her children but could not find them anywhere. By nightfall, King Giovanni summoned the Captain of the Guard to his throne room where he, the Queen and Princess Giselle sat in their respective thrones.
“Well?” King Giovanni asked impatiently.
“We are sorry, Your Majesty,” the Captain of the Guard replied. “We searched through every crevasse in the castle but have found no sign of the Rat Queen or any of her children.”
King Giovanni screamed and slammed his fists.
“Imbeciles! Morons! Fools!” He shouted. “What good are you if you can't find a few rodents! I should have your heads right now for this insolence!”
The Captain of the Guard whimpered quietly for fear of his life as the king glared daggers at him. Suddenly, the king’s bloodthirst was interrupted when Princess Giselle suddenly spoke.
“Papa, if they can't find the Rat Queen, then why not lure her to us?” She asked bluntly.
King Giovanni's anger fades into a look of realization and then into a mischievous grin before turning to his daughter.
“Excellent, Giselle,” he complimented proudly. “You are as wise as you are lovely, my child.”
“I sure am, Papa,” Giselle said boastfully as she took out a mirror lying next to her and held it up in front of her to admire her beauty. Her parents smile, approving of her pride in her looks before the king turned to the Captain of the Guard.
“Bring me the royal mechanics immediately,” he ordered.
“At once, my lord,” the Captain of the Guard said before leaving with haste.
Before long, the captain returned to the throne room with, as you may have guessed, none other than myself and Mr. Coovers. We both gave King Giovanni respective bows before he spoke.
“You two know of what happened during my birthday feast?” He asked.
“Yes, Your Highness, and we are sorry that such a deed has been done to you,” Mr. Coovers answered while secretly not meaning a word he just said.
“Save your pity, you bald twit,” the king snarled. “I want you two to use all of your skills to hunt down the Rat Queen. Set traps to lure her and her children to their deaths and bring me her corpse on a golden platter. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Mr. Coovers and I replied professionally.
“Then go!” King Giovanni roared.
Mr. Coovers and I were quick to leave the throne room at once. We went to our quarters where we brainstormed ideas for ways to trap the Rat Queen and her children. Eventually, we came up with rat versions of the mousetrap and so set various traps all over the castle placing cheese and other scraps of food to lure them. Much to our relief, the plan worked without a hitch as within 24 hours, countless rats fell for each and every trap resulting in their instant deaths. The result gave King Giovanni a twisted sense of pleasure knowing that his revenge for his birthday cake was going extremely well.
But despite our progress, the Rat Queen and her oldest son, Powuru were nowhere to be found. The king grew uneasy knowing that with the Rat Queen’s cunning wit and Powuru’s deadly skill with a sword despite his size, they would find a way to get revenge.
It wasn't long before the King was proven correct. On the third night after King Giovanni's birthday feast, the Rat Queen and Powuru snuck into Princess Giselle's bedroom where she was sleeping and was being watched by her nanny and her cats. Unfortunately, the nanny and the cats were fast asleep when the two rats snuck into the room and climbed into Princess Giselle’s bed. With a mischievous grin, the Rat Queen licked her lips and began to chant.
Eyes like Enstatite be as stone
Teeth like pearls be as dried bone
Scapolite-like hair made ugly as the night is long,
Never man shall right this wrong
Then, she bit the princess’s foot hard, digging her teeth through the skin. Princess Giselle screamed in pain instantly waking up the nanny and her cats. The Rat Queen and Powuru jumped out of the bed and raced into a hole in the wall before the cats could catch up to them. Suddenly, the nanny let out a high-pitched scream as she found the princess horribly transformed. Her teeth were yellow and crooked, her eyes desaturated, her hair turned into a faded mixture of brown and gray and her silk-like skin turned into a hideous light-green and was filled with large warts. When the princess realized what happened, she let out a wail louder than the nanny’s scream and cried to the heavens in devastation.
It wasn't long before Princess Giselle’s cries reached King Giovanni and the Queen. They ran as fast as they could to her bedroom and were horrified with what happened to their daughter. The king, in particular, was greatly distraught at how his precious daughter was disfigured. His grief turned into rage, however, and he ordered to have me and Mr. Coovers brought to him in the throne room.
“You fools!” He screamed. “You are to blame for my daughter's curse.”
“But sire,” I protested desperately with Mr. Coovers and me on our knees. “We only did what you ordered. There was no way any of us could have known that the Rat Queen can use magic.”
“I don't care about your excuses!” King Giovanni roared. “My poor little girl is cursed by the Rat Queen and it's all your fault! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!”
Mr. Coovers and I grew afraid as the guards came and began dragging us off to be executed. All hope looked lost until the Queen spoke much to everyone's surprise.
“Hold on, My King,” she says calmly to her husband. “Would it not make more sense to hold off their execution and give them a chance to redeem themselves?”
“And why would I do a thing like that, wife?” King Giovanni snarled.
“Because they were the ones who killed the Rat Queen's children, so perhaps they are able to also find a way to break the spell,” the Queen said. “You can always cut off their heads if they fail.”
King Giovanni did not like the idea of delaying his order to kill me and Mr. Coovers. But when he scratched his chin and considered the fact that we might still be useful for his daughter's sake he sighed in defeat.
“Very well,” he said before turning to me and Mr. Coovers with a threatening look in his eyes. “You have until the sun rises on the day after today and if you do not have a solution to Princess Giselle’s condition before the rooster crows, I will have the executioner to cut off your heads and thrust them on spikes in front of the castle gates for all of Viridian City to see.
Mr. Coovers and I nodded vigorously and without another word said, we raced out of the throne room and began looking desperately for a cure. We went to a well-respected sage simply called Oak who showed us all sorts of books about magic and alchemy, and other supernatural odds and ends. We prayed to The Lord for a discovery as we looked all over Oak’s library of books. Finally, as the day before our deadline was ending, Mr. Coovers found a book about the magic uses for nuts and found our solution. Overjoyed, we ran back to the castle, thanking The Lord and practically burst into the throne room where King Giovanni and his Queen were waiting eagerly.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!” I said excitedly. “We have found a way to break the spell!”
“Then out with it, man, what must be done?” King Giovanni demanded impatiently.
“It's very simple,” Mr. Coovers said while holding out the book he found. “All Princess Giselle has to do is eat the Krakatuk nut.”
“Really? That’s wonderful!” The Queen exclaimed happily. “We have plenty of Krakatuk nuts in the royal nuthouse.”
“That is wonderful news,” King Giovanni agreed with a grin.
“There is a very specific method to how the nut can free the princess from the spell, however,” I warned.
“Oh?” King Giovanni asked suspiciously.
“You see, sire, the Krakatuk nut is one of the hardest nuts in the world,” Mr. Coovers said while opening the book to the page he found. “In order for the shell to break for the cure, it must be bitten down by a man or a boy over 13-years-old who has never worn boots and must present the victim with their eyes closed and walk back ten steps without stopping. Only when the person has finished going back ten steps can the princess eat the nut and be cured.”
“Is that all?” King Giovanni asks with a cocky grin. “Very well. Let it be known that whoever can crack the nut shall become the prince of the land and gain my daughter's hand in marriage when she becomes of age. Only nobility may apply and they must have never worn boots.”
Mr. Coovers and I looked at each other in concern over the last thing the king said.
“Uh, Your Highness, I must point out that it is unlikely that any man whether they are nobility or not has never worn boots since it is custom to wear them,” I point out.
King Giovanni frowned and said, “I am aware of that, but this is the only cure and I will not allow anyone who isn't of noble class to attempt to cure and marry my daughter.”
“But sire, it is possible that a man or boy out of noble class might be the only one capable of cracking the nut,” Mr. Coovers protested. “Is it not worth the risk to find anyone who isn't of noble blood and has never worn boots to attempt to break the spell for the sake of your only child?”
King Giovanni winced at Mr. Coovers’ protest. He turned his back on us and thought hard about our argument. The thought of anyone have no class becoming prince of his kingdom and gain the hand of his daughter angered him deep inside, and yet he cannot deny that he values his daughter so much that he would do anything to bring her back to the way she was. Finally, he sighed and turned to us with a menacing look.
“We shall have tryouts for the nobility to attempt to crack the nut in two months time,” he said. “You have until then to find someone of lower class who meets the qualifications and may try to cure Giselle if the nobility fail. But understand that if no one is able to break it, I shall have the executioner slowly remove your heads from your shoulders with a saw rather than his axe.”
Mr. Coovers and I gulped and nodded in understanding before we raced to our quarters, packed our things and began our long journey through all of Kanto. From Cerulean City to the Orange Islands, the two of us search high and low to find any man or boy over 13 years of age who has never worn any boots. Unfortunately, winter was coming and so there was wasn't a man woman or child that we didn't find wearing winter boots as it began to snow all over the region. Mr. Coovers and I began to lose all hope and so decided to make our way to our hometown of Pallet Town to spend time with our families one final time before we are executed for our failure.
It was a couple of days after Christmas when we arrived in Pallet Town. Mr. Coovers decided to stay with his parents while I went to visit my cousin, Delia and her 14-year-old son, Ash. I sent a letter informing Delia of the reason of my visit and so when she opened her front door, she was quick to pull be into a tight hug before bringing me inside where she already had a warm meal made ready for me. As I ate, the two of us sat in silence, letting the weight of the situation fill the air.
“Is there really nothing you can do?” Delia asked.
“I'm afraid not,” I said glumly. “The tryouts are in two days and there isn't a soul who fits the cure’s criteria.”
Delia frowns sadly and whimpers, “Why can't you just run away? Just go as far away from Kanto as you can. I'm sure that family in Kalos would welcome you with open arms since you are their children’s godfather.”
I gave her a sad smile and said, “Yes, I would love to go to Kalos and see them again, but I'm afraid King Giovanni would find a way to bring me back here just to execute me anyway.”
Delia’s eyes began to water and she began to cry in despair while I glumly ate my stew. We stayed that way before I heard footsteps coming from upstairs. I managed to smile before turning to Delia.
“Is that who I think it is?” I asked with a grin.
Delia managed to recollect herself and said with a soft smile, “He’s been looking forward to seeing you.”
My grin grew and I turned my head to see Ash running down the stairs to see me with excitement in his eyes.
“Uncle Timothy!” He shouted as he ran over to hug me.
“Ash! How’s my favorite nephew?” I happily asked hugging him back.
“Hey, I'm your only nephew,” he said.
“All the more reason to be the best...and the worst you little rascal,” I replied teasingly as I pulled him in for a noogie. “Are you still learning ballet?”
“I sure am,” Ash said with a toothy grin. “Want to see my latest routine.”
“Please,” I answered.
With his body full of energy, Ash found an empty spot from the dining table one begin showing his ballet dance moves. I watched intently as a caring uncle should while Delila merely smiled in support of her son before she leaned into my ear.
“He’s always in his room all the time practicing,” she whispered earning a chuckle from me. “I honestly don't know what has gotten him so interested in ballet.”
I chuckled and said, “Well, that is Ash for you. When he has his mind about something, he sticks to it.”
“Ugh, as his mother, I can say you have no idea,” Delia said rolling her eyes. “He's always been stubborn just like his father. Why every year that I've tried to make him put on boots during this time of the year and he always refuses because he wants to keep wearing his shoes.”
At this, my eyes widen before turning to my cousin surprised.
“He has never worn boots?” I asked.
“Never,” Delia confirmed. “He’s so persistent that I always give up before I can try to put one on his foot.”
I stared at her for a moment or two before I began to laugh maniacally. Both Ash and his mother look at me confused at my sudden demeanor before I stand up and began jumping for joy like a maniac.
“That’s it!” I shouted. “That’s exactly what I need to break the spell!”
“It is?” Delia asked confused.
“Uncle Timothy, are you okay?” Ash asked.
I ran over to my nephew, placing my hands on his shoulders.
“Ash, have you really never worn a boot in your life?” I asked.
“No, of course not,” Ash answered in a childish manner.
“Spectacular!” I said joyously. “Ash, you are just the person I need to save Princess Giselle and myself and Mr. Coovers.”
“I am?” He asked confused.
“Yes,” I said. “How would like to be a hero in the eyes of a king by rescuing his daughter and become prince of the land as well as gain Princess Giselle's hand in marriage?”
“What?!” Delia screamed in shock.
“Oh, I have no desire to become a prince or get married to some uptight princess, Uncle Timothy,” Ash answers. “But if I can help you with whatever this important thing is with the king, I will do everything I can.”
“Oh, bless you, son!” I said happily.
The next day, Mr. Coovers and I left for Viridian Castle taking Ash with us. Among the way, we went to a tailor who dressed him in a nice blue suit to make himself presentable to King Giovanni, the Queen, and Princess Giselle.
Meanwhile, as we were on our way to the city, the tryouts had already long begun and several members of nobility had come to attempt to break the shell of the nut. Several dukes and marquees tried to crack the nut only to break their teeth in the process. They were soon found out to have lied about never wearing boots and so King Giovanni angrily had them banished.
As they tried to break the nut, the Rat Queen was laughing maniacally as she and Powuru were hiding behind one of the statues of King Giovanni lined up on each side of the throne room.
“Watch very closely and take pleasure in this, Powuru,” she snickered boastfully. “Not one of these fools will break this spell.
“Spells, spells, spells. Who cares about your ridiculous spells?” Powuru rebuked in a cold voice. “This is not about your silly magic, mother. This is about pure strength.”
The Rat Queen let out a roar of laughter that was drowned out by a duke screaming in pain from his teeth breaking from trying to crack the nut.
“Strength?” she tittered. “Powuru, my boy, you are the strongest and most vicious rat I could hope for in an heir to my crown, but you lack understanding that there is more to destroy your enemy than your physical might. Indeed, a time might come where you will have to call on the powers of darkness to destroy your enemies in a way your sword cannot.”
But Powuru merely scoffed in disinterest while his mother returned to watch with sickly pleasure as each man fails to break the spell and is banished on the spot by an incensed King Giovanni. As the two rats watched, Mr. Coovers, Ash and I entered the throne room. By the time we made our way in front of the royal family, the last nobleman tried to crack the nut only for his teeth to shatter like glass causing him to screech in pain.
“Banished!” King Giovanni roared with a wave of his fists before two soldiers take away the whimpering man and the king turns to the three of us. “I should have known that it was impossible to crack that nut! At least you two had the decency to come back and accept the responsibility of your failure!”
“Wait, Your Highness,” I pleaded with my hands up. “There is hope for Princess Giselle. See I have brought with us my only nephew, Ash, who is 14 years of age and I can confirm has never worn boots a day in his life.”
King Giovanni scoffed and grumbled, “Do you take me for a fool? I see what you are doing. You are using your nephew as a means to save your own life by making him a prince!”
“No, sire. That's not it at all,” Mr. Coovers said. “Ash does meet the requirements of the cure and he has no desire for the reward.”
At this, King Giovanni pauses and stared at us skeptically. Then he looked directly at Ash with a suspicious look.
“Is what they say true, boy?” He snarled. “Do you not wish to when my daughter's hand and become prince of my kingdom?”
“Not at all, Your Highness,” Ash answered sincerely. “I only wish that help you and my uncle and his friend if I can. I have no desire to rule a kingdom for I have my own dreams far outside of such responsibility that you bear with your crown.”
“Indeed?” King Giovanni asked with a raised eyebrow. “And what is it that you wish to be?”
“A ballet dancer, sir,” Ash replied.
For a moment, there was silence before King Giovanni burst into laughter. He began to hold on to his gut while tears run down his face. Then, Princess Giselle began to laugh followed by Powuru, the Rat Queen, and all the guards in the throne room. Even the Queen tried to hide a giggle while Ash, Mr. Coovers, and I just stood there, doing our best not to angrily rebuke them for mocking my dear nephew’s dream. Finally, they all finished laughing and King Giovanni turned to Ash with an amused grin.
“A ballet dancer? That's the silliest thing I've heard in years,” he says before sitting down on his throne and waving his hand at me. “Very well, your nephew has my permission to try as a reward for amusing me.”
I gave him a thankful nod before turning to Ash.
“Remember, after you break the nut, give it to the princess and then close your eyes and walk ten spaces back,” I whispered.
“Understood, Uncle Timothy,” Ash said. “I won't let you down.”
I nod and gave my nephew a brief hug before he took the Krakatuk nut from the cushion held by a servant and began to bite down. We stared in anticipation for a moment before the shell suddenly broke with a simple snap. Everyone gasped in shock as the tiny nut fell off the shell and landed in Ash’s hand. He smiled triumphantly and walked it over to Princess Giselle who smiled excitedly as she snatched the nut from his hand. Then Ash closed his eyes and began to walk backward counting to ten.
“No!” The Rat Queen shrieked hysterically. “That cannot be!”
“Well, don't say I didn't tell you, mother,” Powuru sneered. “If you had just let me at them, I would have cut all of them down for their crimes by now.”
“Silence!” The Rat Queen hissed bitterly. “I am not finished yet.”
With a vengeful look in her eyes, she sneaks from statue to statue coming closer to Ash who is close to counting to ten.
The spell you broke shall be your downfall
You shall forever crack nuts
Prince of the Dolls
Her chanting this time was heard by Mr. Coovers who turned his head and saw the Rat Queen sneaking up toward Ash from behind.
“Ash, look out!” He shouted.
I turned my head from the royal family to see what was the matter, but by the time I did the Rat Queen had already bit Ash’s foot right as he made his tenth step. As Princess Giselle ate the Krakatuk nut with her parents watching in anticipation, Mr. Coovers and I watched in horror as my only nephew screamed in pain and stepped back knocking off one of the statues before he instantly transformed into a lifeless nutcracker doll. The statue tumbled down knocking over the statue next to it causing a domino effect on all of the statues that the rats were hiding behind. Powuru and the Rat Queen ran for their lives as fast as they could but it wasn't long before all the statues came tumbling down and one large piece of debris landed right on the rat prince's tail.
Powuru howled in furious pain has he managed to yank his tail from under the debris only to find it crooked and flat. His blood began to boil as he stood up and turned to where he last saw the Rat Queen.
“Mother!” He growled angrily. “Look. Look what you've done to my tail!”
But the Rat Queen made no response. Powuru’s anger turned into confusion as he looked around for his mother until he looked down and his eyes widened. Lying under a large piece of a broken statue with half of her body shown was the Rat Queen's body lying motionless. Powuru stared at his mother's body taken aback at this sudden turn of events. His moment of surprise passed away as quickly as it emerged, however, when his eyes turned to the Rat Queen’s crown lying on the ground next to the body. It was in that moment that the rat prince’s mouth began to curve up. A cruel cackle emerged from his mouth as Powuru picked up the crown and stared at it with a large grin on his face showing his long, sharp, crooked teeth. He placed it on top of his head as his cackle turned into a maniacal, triumphant laugh.
“At last!” He roared. “I am king! I am the Rat King! All hail Powuru, Lord of the Rats!”
He let out another maniacal laugh before he turned to his mother’s body and spat out a ball of spit right on her face.
“That will teach you, mother,” he snarled in a condescending tone. “At last you have outlived your usefulness to me. Now no one can stop me from bringing the rats to eternal glory under my rule.”
Meanwhile, as this was going on with Powuru, Princess Giselle chewed on the nut for a couple seconds before she swallowed and with a loud pop her ugliness vanished and she became beautiful again. King Giovanni and the Queen were ecstatic as they rushed to both sides of their daughter and hugged her while she took out her mirror and proudly admired her looks as if nothing happened. The three of them laughed happily at their victory before they looked to thank me, Mr. Coovers and Ash. But all they saw was half of King Giovanni's statues destroyed and I was on my knees in front of the destruction cradling a nutcracker doll sadly with Mr. Coovers standing behind me with the same expression. When Princess Giselle looked at the doll that was dressed just like the boy who cracked the nut for her, she gave it a disgusted look.
“Ew, look at those horrible lifeless brown eyes and that awful creepy grin,” she said in an uptight matter. “Take that awful thing away at once!”
The king himself frowned disapprovingly as he stood up and marched toward me and Mr. Coovers.
“How dare you,” he snarled. “First you caused my daughter’s curse and then you tried to trick me into having a nutcracker as my son-in-law?!”
“What? No, Your Highness, it’s nothing like this,” Mr. Coovers defended while I was looking away holding the doll. “It was the Rat Queen, she -”
“Silence!” King Giovanni barked. “You two have caused trouble upon me and my family for the last time! I hereby banish both of you and your nutcracker from Kanto forever!”
Mr. Coovers gasped from this news while I still didn’t pay attention. The royal family then left the throne room to begin celebrating the return of the shallow princess’ beauty leaving the two of us alone with what remained of my nephew.
“Oh Ash, what have I done by bringing you here?” I finally managed to say. “Please forgive me, my dear boy. As The Lord is my witness, I promise you that I will find a way to break this spell.”
“Save your breath, you fool!” Powuru barked showing his face to me and Mr. Coovers who were both surprised by his wretched appearance. The Rat King growled menacingly and revealed his crooked tail to us. “No living creature has any right to touch me and yet because of your nephew has done to my tail, he must pay. The three of you are briefly fortunate that I did not bring my sword with me, but very soon, I’m going to hunt you down and make you witness my power. I am going to build an army that no one has ever seen and nothing will stop me. And if you think your nephew is ugly now, wait until I turn him into a pile of splinters.”
With that, Powuru let out another maniacal laugh and raced out of the throne room to begin his rule leaving myself, Mr. Coovers and poor Ash fully alone with the Rat King’s words sinking in.
************************************************************************************
“That’s a terrible story,” Serena says with a childish pout. “Ash should have become prince of Kanto and lived happily ever after.”
Uncle Timothy chuckles, amused by the 17-year-old girl’s reaction.
“Well, it would have been difficult to live happily ever after if he really did marry Princess Giselle, Serena. Mark my words,” he says. “Besides, even if he is not the prince of Kanto, he is kind of a prince as the Prince of the Dolls and he will rule over the land of the dolls for as long as the curse remains.”
“Sounds interesting if there actually is such a place,” Serena says unconvinced. “And even if there is, he’ll still be a nutcracker since the spell might never be broken.”
“Ah, but there’s a way that can happen,” Uncle Timothy says. “In order for him to be human again, two things must happen: first, he must confront and defeat Powuru, The Rat King.”
“Ah, let me guess,” Serena says with a skeptical smirk. “The second thing is he must win the hand of a fair maiden?”
“Exactly.” Uncle Timothy says with a grin. “Only a fair maiden who truly loves him no matter who or what he is can free him once Powuru is slain.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Serena says before looking at the nutcracker. “Still, that is a tragic ending, Uncle Timothy. It’s a good thing this isn’t really Ash though now that he lost his two front teeth, huh?”
“Indeed,” Uncle Timothy says with a nod.
“But is any of that story true?” Serena asks curiously. “I do recall that it was shortly after Christmas of that year that King Giovanni banished you.”
Uncle Timothy chuckles and says, “No, I was banished because Mr. Coovers and I could not fix King Giovanni's favorite clock.”
Serena raises her eyebrow and asks, “Really?”
“Well, it was such an old clock that it ultimately made more sense to retire it, but he wasn't willing to face reality,” Uncle Timothy answers with a shrug. “As I said, the king of Kanto is a cruel man, but he is also a buffoon.”
Serena keeps her suspicious look for a moment before she sighs and reluctantly believes her godfather. She then puts down the nutcracker and picks up Shauna who has been lying down next to her the whole time.
“Oh, Shauna, why do all fairy tales have to be the same?” She asks.
Uncle Timothy chuckles while the kitten just meows cutely as she is cradled by her owner. Serena then turns to the nutcracker that is standing tall on the ground and looking majestic apart from the loss of it's two front teeth and smiles.
“So is anything about Ash true?” She asks. “Does he want to be a ballet dancer like me?”
“Indeed he does,” Uncle Timothy says with a smile. “And I hope you two will get the chance to meet him. I imagine you will have much to talk about.”
“I think so too,” Serena says as she gives the nutcracker a friendly smile while her parents’ party goes on without her or Uncle Timothy.
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