Page 26 of Return of the Nutcracker Prince

“Half the training of Casters is babysitting.”His mother gave him a rare grin.“Usually powers manifest in puberty and teenagers are a mess of hormones.She has an advantage here, coming into her powers as an adult.”

“But she came into them ten years ago, remember?”

Galiena shook her head.“Not truly.The Realm of Waking dampens magic, even that of full-blooded Dreamers.She needed to be here for her powers to fully manifest.Had she thrown that spell at the Mouse King in our world, he likely would have died.”

Klaus’s heart pounded as his mother’s words washed over him.This could have all been over ten years ago.There would have been a magnificent celebration across the realm.But then Clara would have returned home, and he’d never have an excuse to see her again.

Ironically, he found himself grateful that had not been the last battle.

Tomorrow wouldn’t be, either, but they would turn the tide andthencrush the Mouse King.

Alaric started speaking again, and using the spelled stylus to draw out his plan on the magical map.Uncle Ludwig had fashioned it himself so that anyone could use it, not just mages.“Take a platoon of soldiers and mages to the caves tomorrow.It cuts the distance by days.You must sneak up on the mouse camp after darkness falls.They’ll be sluggish after their evening meal.Attack then, and our borders will be safe.”

Klaus hadn’t thought about using the passage to their neighbor.Since their discovery, the caves helped Dreamers transport goods between the Land of Sweets and the Land of Flowers.

“What if the mice know of the caves?”

Galiena shook her head.“When Ferdinand started raising his army, I met with Lorelei and Crescentia.Lorelei and I agreed if they ever invaded us, we’d spell the caves shut.You’ll need Mage Gingerbread to break through.She is the only one besides me that knows the counter-spell.”

“Aren’t you coming, Father?”

Alaric shook his head.“Someone has to stay behind to command the guards along the border wall.And you’re ready for this, son.I can’t express how sorry I am that I didn’t listen to you earlier.If I’d sent Ludwig, we could have given Clara more time to train.”

Holy mistletoe.His parents were actuallytrustinghim now.A weight lifted off his shoulders, light and warmth filling his chest.Now it was up to Klaus to prove he was worthy of that trust.

Their plan was sound.Klaus sent word to the generals that they were attacking the mice tomorrow.While their newest Caster learned how to harness her magic, he would inspect the troops and put them through their paces.The same as his father always did as Sugar Plum Consort.

Briefly, he let his mind wander to Clara.Her kind heart and fierce spirit would make a fine Sugar Plum Fairy, if his mother would permit her to stay.The beginnings of a plan of his own formed.Once the Mouse King was dead, he would petition for her to be the first Waking to be naturalized as a Dreamer.With their enemy gone, there was no way his parents would deny his request.The power he’d witnessed as a teen had to be only a fraction of her abilities, and he was more certain than ever that she was the key to taking down the tailed tyrant.

And frankly, her magicprovedshe didn’t belong in the Realm of Waking with the man her parents had promised her to.She belonged with the Dreamers.She belonged withhim.

Mother Gingerbread was a harsh taskmistress, running Clara through a gauntlet of mental and physical exercises.By lunch time, she was drenched in sweat, her energy stores depleted.But she could throw the magical missiles and shield on command.After lunch, the head mage had told her they would go over the more complicated spell work; she’d need to take notes until she memorized the incantations, but she was ready for battle with just those simple skills.

In her books, there was always a princess in hiding or an orphan with untapped magic.Clara had seemingly stumbled into a situation straight out of a fairy tale.Learning to access her magic had been liberating.Back home, she constantly felt powerless, forced to do what others expected of her.But with thispowersurging through her veins, she had clarity and purpose.A way to protect herself and others if necessary.

It was addicting.

The kitchen sent out a delicious meal of hearty stew along with crusty bread for dipping.She’d eaten her fill while Mother Gingerbread had gone inside to speak with the Sugar Plum Fairy.Clara tucked her extra piece of bread in her robe pocket and wandered the grounds, looking for the kitchen entrance, so she could take her dishes inside.

A side door stood open, rustling sounds coming from inside.Perhaps that was the way back to the kitchens?

She stepped across the threshold and stopped dead in her tracks.This wasn’t the kitchen.It was the storeroom for the palace.Sacks of grain, flour, and vegetables adorned the neatly organized shelves alongside jars of various candies she’d seen around the realm.But there was no one here.Had the staff been so busy they had forgotten to shut the door?

It was then she heard a tiny, high-pitched squeak.Just once.Then twice.When it turned into a constant wail, Clara clapped her hands over her ears and followed the noise.A second squeaking joined the first, and she broke out into a run to the back of the storeroom.

Had the mice invaded?

With her new magic at her fingertips, she slid to a stop with a ball of crimson light hovering above her palm.In the corner was exactly what she’d feared.

A mouse the size of a man had snuck into the palace!

A mouse who hid in the corner like the coward he was.

A mouse that was… nursing a baby?

The creature in the corner wasn’t a “he” at all.It was a “she.”Andshe was a mother.

Clara swallowed against the lump in her throat, as the mouse shielded her baby from attack with her arms.Snuffing out the magic, she plunged them back into darkness, although just enough sunlight reached through the open door for her to see.The mouse raised her trembling head.

---