The Nutcracker Bleeds (26 page)

“We’ll
be going back to the Lady now,” he said, louder so that it would catch Brooke’s
attention. “She needs to know that the rodents are not simply after her
kingdom. Hopefully, she will be able to acknowledge the seriousness of it.”

Anne
nodded, finally releasing his fingers. She turned back toward Brooke, who
waited behind her. Armand lingered a moment, wondering and confusing himself
until he banished those things. He then stepped in front of them and led the
way toward Olivia’s bedroom.

1

Lantern
light illuminated the spines of all the visible books inside of the Lady
Sovereign’s palace. Most were covered by the framed pictures, but some still
peeked through. Olivia sat on her throne, head propped on her hand, staring
toward the books and trying to read the names of them going down the line
.
Little Lord Fauntleroy, Moods, The Silver Skates, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland...
It wasn’t long before her eyesight drifted and the words became a blur.

Throughout
the last while, soldiers had been coming in and out, reporting that there were
no disturbances–reporting there had been no rodent sightings, that everything
was fine within the kingdom. This was what she’d wanted, wasn’t it? So why did
she feel so absent?

Granted,
she didn’t think about her old life or miss it in the smallest degree. She
didn’t think about her parents who had tried to ignore her existence. She
didn’t think of her brothers and sister who she’d only played with
occasionally. She did not think of Todd who had wanted to take her away from
all her wonderful toys. There were only two people from that life that she
thought about. She greatly wished that her uncle Euan could have come with her;
he would have liked this place.

The
second was
Anne.

How
exactly had her nanny come to be here? Was it right that the woman had followed
her everywhere in her old life, and now she had seen fit to follow her here?
What was more than that, Anne wanted both of them to
leave
–to go back to
that old life, but Olivia was having none of that talk. This was Olivia’s own
magical world, and Anne was certainly not welcome in it. The woman was likely
off somewhere right now causing trouble. The girl knew she should have had the
meddlesome wretch beheaded when she’d had the chance.

Olivia
sighed out, sitting there, shielded from the open aisle by glorious peacock
feathers. Tilting her gaze to the side, she watched her favorite ballerina doll
dance gracefully and endlessly.

Olivia
understood her position as the Lady Sovereign. She knew that it was her duty to
command these toys–as she had been doing since before she had come here–but
this game was getting old. Before, she’d at least gotten to do something
different with herself. She didn’t always have to play the war game. Now, she
was restricted to sitting here for hours and hours on end with nothing to do.
If something could have happened at least! Or if Armand was there…

Ah, Armand!
Beautiful Armand–her prince; her hero. She’d loved him from the moment she’d
first laid eyes on him. She’d held him in her hands, and she’d known that he
was perfect. How long had it been since she’d seen him? Every fleeting moment
seemed like an eternity. How long would it be before he would come back again?
He should be by her side every moment! That was what soldiers did for their
ladies.

She
smiled. Yes; this was a different twist on the entertainment. She was not
simply a queen fearing for her subjects and the standing of her kingdom. She
was a forlorn lover, wondering if her soldier would return to her. Every time
Armand came and left again, she could play this game once more. Eventually, he
would say he was there to stay. She anticipated their future wedding ceremony.
Still, she missed him while he was away.

But
she knew that wherever he was, he must have been thinking about her. It
wouldn’t do for him to keep her waiting much longer.

“Lady!”

The
word brought Olivia out of her stupor, and she nodded for the peacock feathers
to be withdrawn from her view so that she could see who had addressed her. The
girl lifted her eyes to see a soldier in red running toward the throne. His
tall, furry hat fell off as he moved forward, but he did not stop to get it.
The Lady saw the worried look in his small, black eyes, and she rose from her
seat immediately.

“What
is wrong?” she asked. No matter what role she played, her concern for all her
subjects was very real. They were her
family
.

The
soldier stopped before her, heaving from his long trek even though he had
neither lungs nor breath, either one. He knelt.

“Pardon
the intrusion, Lady Sovereign,” he gasped. “But I have distressing news!”

Olivia
stood up as straight as she could manage to receive this report. She knew it
would not be good.

2

Together,
the trio consisting of two soldiers and a misplaced human came upon the
entrance to the Lady Sovereign’s kingdom. There was not one among them that
would venture to call one of the others ‘
friend
’, but they were joined
nonetheless. Armand and Brooke both had the common goal of protecting Anne, and
on the other side of things, Anne had a very certain intention to be protected.

In a
straight, silent line, they stood before the vent–gate.

Anne
remembered this place, just as she remembered the passages leading to it. This
was where she’d tricked the guards into thinking that she was Olivia and had
broken free of the jester puppet.

Bad
memories…Good memories… Clever girl, Anne.

A
round, wooden face peered through one of the decorative holes in the grate. The
woman thought this was a familiar sight as well.

“Password?”
the soldier asked after eyeballing them a moment.

Anne
cringed. How many times had she heard that? Still, she had no idea what the
password was to get in; only out. She hoped Armand knew it. If not, there might
be problems, and perhaps a few lifeless soldiers.

“A
pocket full of rye,” the nutcracker said without a hitch.

She
looked toward him with wide eyes. It was impossible! Ridiculous!

“A
pocket full of rye?” she asked as if she hadn’t heard him correctly. “
That’s
the password?”

Sing
a song of six pence; a pocket full of rye…
One phrase was to get out, the
other to get back in.

“Couldn’t
figure it out?” he asked, taking a free jab at her intelligence. She felt it,
and there was a very strong urge to slap her own face.

“Bloody
hell…” she cursed, putting a hand to her forehead.

Brooke
listened to their exchange. He said nothing.

Before
them, the gate creaked open wide enough for them to pass inside and the
nutcracker stepped in first. They walked through the kingdom unopposed. Dolls
and stuffed things glanced at them, but went about their own business.
Patrolling soldiers went on about their rounds. Anne had thought all this was
terrifying once, but compared to the other things she’d seen, this was one very
happy and safe place to dwell. For a toy, this was the place to be. The best
thing about it for her might have been that Armand was always welcome here.
With him, she had no worries.

They
approached the fort of books, stopping alongside the wall of a large toy chest
that was painted pink and yellow. Here, Armand stopped.

“I
want the two of you to wait here.”

“Once
again leaving us behind?” Anne demanded, but she wasn’t so offended this time.

“Even
though you’re beneath the veil of her lenience, if the Lady Sovereign sees us
together, there’s a good chance she’ll have you executed.”

Anne
perked to awareness then, not quite expecting him to say that. There was a tiny
smile at the corner of his lips.

“She
has a jealous streak, does she?” Anne inquired, a bit pleased that Olivia might
feel threatened by her. It felt like revenge for Todd’s affections.

“Ask
the blind Swedish doll that looked at me for too long,” Armand replied
unfeelingly. “Olivia will justify it one way or the other.”

Armand
left them there, and Anne finally realized the hidden meaning in his statement.
The doll had perhaps not been blind before she’d looked.

Anne
glanced toward Brooke who had leaned himself back against the wall of the chest.
He turned his face to her when he noticed her gaze.

“Is
it alright for
her
to love him?” she asked pointedly, brushing through
her tousled hair with her fingers.

She
crossed her arms cockily, giving him a skeptical look with raised eyebrows, and
Brooke actually managed a smile. She was teasing him, he understood. It felt
humorous. For the moment–perhaps just this once–he allowed himself to enjoy it.

3

Once
again Armand found himself treading into the royal chamber of the Lady. How many
more times would he come back here before she asked him to stay, and what would
happen when he had to tell her no? So far, he’d been full of appropriate
excuses. How long until those ran out?

More
so than Anne, he needed this girl to remain calm and collected.

I
have to treat Olivia like I would have treated HER
. His own thought.
He ignored it.

When
he entered the throne room, the girl was already standing, speaking with a
kneeling soldier. She’d changed her appearance again. This time, she was wearing
a
green
dress.

Her
blue eyes caught sight of him, she rushed forward.

“Armand!”
she cried. He could see the worry and trepidation in those eyes, but perhaps it
was an act? He couldn’t tell this time.

Olivia
collided with him and buried her face in his coat. The girl was gathering
herself–or perhaps waiting for him to show concern over her. Gently, he took
her shoulders and held her away.

“What’s
happened?” he asked, highly curiously about the news and anxious to console
this young ruler as quickly as possible.

“You’ve
returned just in time!” she said, staring up at him. She looked to be fighting
back tears. “I’ve just gotten word that there’s been an attack on the toys in
the hall. They were wrapped in boxes waiting to be saved, only to be kidnapped
by rodents!”

The
Christmas toys. She was truly distraught over this, he guessed. This time, her
concerns were real. He squeezed her shoulders lightly, not wanting to show her
too much affection but needing to ease her somehow.

“I
already sent some soldiers,” she said. “Would you go as well? Would you make
sure that things are taken care of?”

The
look in her eyes was so pleading that he couldn’t possibly refuse. How could
he? She hadn’t asked him to stay, and that was good enough not to argue
against.

“I
will,” he promised. “But I was not simply stopping by. I came here to tell you
something very important.”

“What
is it?” she inquired. He knew he had her full attention. She would take his
words to heart.

For
her, the sweet version.

“It was
not your desire to be amongst the toys that brought you into this world,” he
said, leaning down toward her a bit. “Know, Majesty, that the rodents are not
only after your kingdom. They are after
you
.”

Olivia
heard everything he said, but still, she shook her head.

“I
don’t understand.”

So
knowing; so innocent.

“That
is alright,” he told her, standing upright once again. “Just be safe. And don’t
be afraid.”

The
nutcracker soldier kissed her hand, witnessing both her pleasure and her
relief. Then, he turned his face away and left.

Armand
was glad to be escaping, and at the same time, he hated himself for this
façade. It was the same as the last time he’d left, but soon, he knew this
instance of his lies would be far from his mind.

Olivia
was left alone, holding the hand he’d kissed gently, still swelling with love.

4

“Did
she listen to you?”

Anne’s
voice greeted him when Armand came back to the spot where he’d left her with
Brooke to wait. The sound floated into his right ear as he moved past her.

Better
than you do
,
he nearly replied, but instead, decided to ignore her.

“Let’s
go.”

“Where
are we going?” Brooke’s inquiry this time.

“The
Lady has made a request,” Armand said, turning back toward the two of them who
were rooted to the spot. “We’ll be going to the hall to sort through a few
things.”

“Will
this help us, or is this just some menial task?” Anne asked, skeptical of
anything Olivia would ask for since she had placed her bidding for the cat’s
eye.

Because
of his own thoughts at that moment, her words made him angry. Questions. So
many! He spun and walked toward her heatedly.

“When
are you going to learn to stop questioning me?”

He
wouldn’t have done anything when he’d gotten to her, but she would have
shrunken away, perhaps, and that would be enough. If she had insisted on being
bold, he would have stared her down until she relented and told him to lead on.
But none of that happened. Instead, a small sound reached his ears.