Page 10 of Return of the Nutcracker Prince

She braced herself for the lecture.If this were her brother, he’d never forgive her for causing him to lose one of his horses.Mama would have surely berated her as well.

But nothing came.

“Aren’t you angry?”Why did she ask that?Perhaps he was so angry he couldn’t speak, and she’d just invited him to yell.

“Of course I’m angry.The Mouse King has been destroying the entire realm.”

“I, uh… that’s not what I meant.”

Klaus looked down at her incredulously as he pressed Peppermint back into a gallop once they reached a field.

“Am I angry at you?Gingersnaps, no!It’s not your fault.This is the reality of war.We’re blessed to have gotten out of there unharmed.”

Out of the corner of her eye, a wall made of a strange-looking brown stone came into view.“The mice outnumbered us severely, and if anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”He paused, and his gaze caressed her face in a way that made her shiver with something other than cold.“You’re far more important than a horse.”

Clara blinked at him.She’d never heard that before.In her world, women weren’t much better off than horses.At least in her opinion.

Now sheknewshe was dreaming.

“We’re here,” Klaus said, breaking her out of her thoughts.In front of them, a large gate of thick red and white peppermint sticks rose into the sky, permitting them to pass.“The guards saw me coming.Let’s ask about Tinsel.”

She looked up in amazement as Klaus directed Peppermint under the portcullis.It immediately dropped behind them.He walked his steed over to a trough standing off to the side of the gate, then dismounted and tied Pepper to a post.

Reaching for her, Klaus’s smile dazzled her in the early morning light.“Welcome back to the Land of Sweets and Toys.”

Chapter 4

“PrinceKlaus!”Theguardon duty climbed down a striped candy ladder from the ramparts and ran up to Klaus while his saddle partner gazed around, speechless.

“My thanks for the swift entry; we were running from the Mouse Army.”

The young soldier saluted him.“We were not aware you had left the Land of Sweets.”

“You weren’t supposed to.”Klaus cursed his lack of foresight.Of course, now word would get back to his parents that he had been away.“The mice attacked, and we lost sight of our injured mare.Did she come by here?”

“A brown horse with Süssland crimson and gold ran through about an hour ago, like the devil was on her tail.”

That drew Clara’s attention.“What about her injury?”

The guard shook his head.“We couldn’t catch her, Miss.”

“Listen, Private, er…”

The young man’s spine straightened, and he saluted once more.“Private Gebäck, Your Highness.”

“Private Gebäck, I would appreciate it if you and your contingent could keep my entrance here from reaching the palace.I should like to explain my actions to the Sugar Plum Fairy myself.We are making our way there now.”

“I will tell the others, My Prince.”

“You have my thanks.”Peppermint was slurping from the trough, which someone had just refreshed.He patted the long equine neck and felt more than heard him snort.

“Can you get us home, old friend?”

Pepper raised his head and snorted once more, then pushed his nose into Klaus’s hand.He chuckled.“Very well, you shall have some pets first.”

As a boy, when he wasn’t dodging his lessons or fencing with his tutor, Klaus could often be found in the stables.He loved the freeing feeling of riding, and the horses never cared about his rank.They’d happily melt the stresses of the palace away in exchange for the treats in his pocket.

Clara approached them.“May I pet him as well?”

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