Page 19 of Return of the Nutcracker Prince

Besides, what Klaus really needed her for was to defeat the Mouse King.Ifshe could reproduce what she’d done ten years ago.She still didn’t knowwhyshe’d thrown her slipper.Just that it had worked.

True to her word, Trixie was waiting in the bedroom for Clara after her bath, next to the wardrobe and a vanity she hadn’t noticed before.She had pulled the stool out in front of her.

Clutching the towel around her body, Clara padded over to the wardrobe, barefoot.“I think just a day dress for now.I don’t expect any fancy dinners when I’ve already eaten.”

Trixie nodded and pulled out what looked at first glance to be a simple red gown.That’s when she noticed that besides the long-sleeved black robe in the wardrobe, all the gowns were just as fancy as her Christmas gown.“My goodness, are we expecting a party?”

“His Highness insisted you have the best available.Are they not to your satisfaction?”

“They’re beautiful, but I normally only wear such gowns for special occasions.”

The blue pixie grinned in amusement.“When you stay in the palace, a special occasion often surprises you.”She held out a chemise for Clara, who dropped the towel and slid into it.

“You have very similar fashions to what I wore back home.”

“Master Ludwig advised us what you’re accustomed to wearing.He didn’t think you’d appreciate something like what Her Majesty wears.”

“I’ll have to thank him later.”

Once she was laced into the stays and gown, Trixie gestured to the stool in front of the vanity.When Clara sat down, she began to brush.“What do you usually do with your hair?”

“Heidi helps me.”She explained the process of braiding the front sections of her hair and coiling the back section up onto the back of her head.Trixie furrowed her blue brows.

“Very well.I want you to concentrate on that style for me, Miss Clara.Hopefully, I’ll get it right.”Then her violet eyes glowed, as she muttered something under her breath, and her long blonde hair lifted and styled itself!

When Trixie’s eyes stopped glowing, Clara’s hair was finished.“That was incredible!”

Her blue cheeks turned a pinkish hue.“My pleasure.Now, I’m sure the prince is waiting for your summons.I’ll send him to you.”

Klaus hurried up the hallway.It was evening, and the sun had started to set, but he was eager to show Clara around.She’d have an early morning start, and he didn’t want to keep her up too late.

At the double doors that led to the guest suite, he gave his breathing a chance to slow.Then he reached out and knocked three times on the door.Almost immediately it opened, and the vision of Clara in a scarlet gown stole his breath clean away.In the back of his mind was the vague notion that her dress matched his coat, and they would look like a couple strolling through the palace gardens.But her beauty eclipsed all thought.

“Your Highness.”

He shook his head.“Please don’t, Clara.You’re not my subject.”

She blushed.“Very well, Klaus.”

He raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently, as if they’d been separated for months.“I thought perhaps I dreamed you up.That when I woke up, you would still be in your realm.”

Clara’s brow furrowed.“You thoughtyoudreamedme?”

He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and led her down the hall.“Perhaps I should pinch myself, just in case.”Her giggle made him grin.

Watching her face take in the grand staircase and the hall below, Klaus wondered what to show her first.

“That staircase over there,” he pointed to the far side of the wall as they descended, “leads to my parents’ wing.That’s where my rooms are as well.”

They reached the bottom of the staircase and their shoes clicked on the gingerbread floor.Clara pulled on his arm towards a tapestry.

“I wanted to see these earlier, but we didn’t have time.”Her brown eyes swept over the image.“Isn’t that your mother?”

“Yes, the Dew Drop Fairy had this commissioned as a coronation gift.It shows the three queens of the realm.They’re all childhood friends.”He couldn’t keep the sadness from his voice as he pointed out his aunts immortalized in thread.“The one in green is the Dew Drop Fairy, my Aunt Lorelei.And the woman with white hair and the moon crown is Aunt Crescentia, the Snow Queen.”

She turned to him, worry written all over her face.“Are your aunts well?”

“No one’s heard from Aunt Lorelei since the Mouse King invaded Blumenland.And Schneeland has been under siege for quite some time.Aunt Crescentia is a powerful mage whose family specialty is defensive spells; she’s kept the Mouse King out, but also everyone else.The Land of Snow and Ice might as well have fallen with the Land of Flowers.”A sour taste rose in the back of his mouth, even as he uttered the words.His plan to bring Clara into the fold had been a last-ditch effort to free his realm; without her, he feared all hope was lost.

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