Page 6 of Protected

The magician's clock ticked and the first ding of the fae-made bells inside rang through the room awakening the magic. The lights on the tree and from within glowed brighter and the scent of snowflakes, pine, and aromatic sweets from the Winter Realm drifted around us.

"Ready, Princess?" Her entire world was about to change. Mine too if I was lucky.

She glanced over at the clock, then back to me and shook her head. "Not in the slightest."

"Don't worry, I'll be here to protect you every step of the way." I squeezed her hand and together we took the first step forward.

But instead of being wrapped into the magic of the portal, we were met with the sword of the one person I'd been doing my best to avoid. Konig, The Mouse Prince.

"Good try, Nuss." He eyed the Princess like a prize. "The Queen has commanded me to capture her and bring her back to the Winter Realm."

I dropped ClaraMarie's hand and drew my saber from the hilt at my hip. "You'll have to go through me first, and I will never allow you to take her anywhere near that despot you call the Queen."

Clara's mouth fell open and she gaped at the two of us. "You're going to fight over me? This is a strange dream. I may need to seek out some psychological analysis in the morning."

Konig grinned at her like she was the sweetest of sugar plums and he was going to eat her up. Princess Clara smiled right back at him, and a shiver went from my skin to my spine. She knew nothing of Konig's treachery, and I would not allow her to be tempted by his good looks and charm.

"Not on my watch, traitor." I raised my sword and stepped in front of the Princess. For the briefest of moments, I thought I saw hurt flash in Konig's eyes. Good. The way he betrayed us all should cause him infinite pain.

"Seems I have no choice, once again." He lifted his weapon and eyed my bandaged arm. "En garde, Nutcracker. Do your worst."

I advanced with three fast and hard blows. If I could back Konig up far enough, the princess and I could make a dash for the portal. He retreated all right. Too easily.

He always was the most cunning among us. I slashed at him again, and he jumped away, leading me further from the princess and hardly tarrying himself. This was a mouse trap if ever I saw one. I knew how to push his buttons just as well. "Fight, you bastard. You're not going to let an injured Nutcracker best you, are you?"

"You're the bastard, not me, remember?" For the first time in the fight, he struck at me and grazed my already injured arm, drawing blood, but not doing any real damage.

I deflected his blade and spun to check Princess Clara's safety and position. Fuck.

Clara squealed and jumped away, kicking at the little beasts. "I don't like this part of the dream. Shoo, you dirty little things, shoo. Get away."

She was being surrounded by dozens of mice who were trying to shepherd her toward the portal. If they pushed her through, who knows where she'd land in the Winter Realm.

Konig advanced on me with real effort now. Even his minions took her through the portal, he alone would be able to find her on the other side. Dammit. I would not let the hopes of the entire realm be dashed before they even knew we'd found the lost princess.

"She's practically in the arms of the Queen already, Nuss. I thought you'd try a bit harder to save her. Perhaps you want her to be controlled. Is that your dark fantasy, or are you too much of a bright shining snowflake to desire her that way?" His blows hit hard and with only one arm, I struggled to keep my balance.

His sword wasn't the only thing to strike at me. He knew how I already had a deep need for the princess. His animal senses could sniff out emotions just as well as if he were reading minds. I may not be as pure as a true guardsman should be, but he could use Princess Clara's sweet innocence against her.

"You have no idea how I feel about the princess, and you could never understand what we all want from her. Neither you nor your Queen will have command over her." I couldn't let that happen. With renewed effort, I jumped forward, crashing out swords together and shoving Konig back across the room. I spun and ran toward the princess, hoping to gather her up and jump through the tree's portal before he could catch me.

Konig wasn't going to let me get anywhere near her and use my intention on the portal to guide us to my home and the meeting place of the other Nutcrackers in the Land of the Snowflakes. He jumped high up into the air, like only a shifter from the Land of Animals could, grabbed onto the chandelier and propelled himself through the air to land right in my path.

A chill blew through me seeing that he'd bested me. With one easy move, he could grab her and take her to the Queen. I charged forward with no concern for my own safety. It wasn't a gentleman's attack and that was my only advantage now.

Konig dodged and fell back into the tree, sending his minions scattering in multiple directions. an idea formed that could save her from being kidnapped.

No. I couldn't send her through on her own. That could be catastrophic. She knew nothing of our world and would be lost alone in the snow. That would be even worse than allowing her to go with the mice. At least someone would know where she was if they took her though.

What choice did I have? I jumped up onto the closest chair, and then the table, doing my best to gain an advantage over my opponent. We'd trained and fought together. He knew my moves and strategies just as well I knew his. There was no way he'd allow me to escape with the Princess.

I had to send her on her own. But without a clear intention, she could be captured or worse before we found her. I should have explained how the portal between realms worked but I hadn't thought she'd need to know. The best I could do now was give her a mental picture.

It would give away the location of the Nutcracker resistance, but I had to trust in my fellow guard that they could keep her and the rest of the oppressed safe when the Mouse Queen inevitably came for them. I hated the idea of not being there with her, but this was the closest I had to plan, even if it was a shitty one.

"I've figured out your plan, Konig. But the Princess will use her own intention to get to the rest of her guard." I pushed my voice out loud so that she would hear me and hopefully understand. Even putting the thought into her head to focus on my brothers in arms could help her land safely in their keep. Or so I hoped.

Princess Clara caught a stray mouse with the toe of her dainty little shoe and flung it straight into the tree. The magic of the portal fizzled and fritzed as the animal was sent back into the Winter Realm. Her eyes went big and round out like fluffy snowflakes, and she snorted with her surprise. "I will?"

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