i'm so sorry, you guys! this week were my finals, but finals week is really next week so we still had classes, and i'm also prepping for the holidays and so forth. but i'm going home today! so hopefully i'll have a lot more writing time. thanks for your patience :)

It was not a terribly long walk to the village, but long enough that Maura and the nutcracker had stopped to rest and refuel about half of the way down. There was a large lake, dotted with fruit-bearing bushes, and the nutcracker gathered some of the fruit before they sat underneath a large pomander tree to eat. Their walk and meal were scored with light conversation, but as they neared the village, Nutcracker grew serious.

"What's the matter?" Maura asked, picking up on her companion's mood.

"This feels wrong," he answered quietly. "There is an orchard in Fruitcake Valley, and men and women from the village work there. We should hear them. And there are always carts and people on this road, especially so close to town – where are they?"

"Perhaps it's an off-day?" Maura suggested. "It is Christmas, after all."

"All the more reason for there to be activity," Nutcracker said.

They crested a small hill, and Nutcracker gasped. Maura wasn't quite sure what she was seeing. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"No," the nutcracker didn't answer, just shook his head in dismay. "No." He took off running down the hill, and Maura raced to keep up.

"Wait! Nutcracker, please, what is—" Then she understood. The gate to Gingerbread Village hung crooked, warped off its hinges by brute force or magic. The houses, which Maura assumed to have once been as lovely and perfect as the ones she saw in the bakery window, were demolished. Some looked as if huge bites had been taken out of them, and some were utterly crushed.

"What have I done," Maura heard the nutcracker mutter. His head was in his hands, and Maura's heart broke.

"Nutcracker," she murmured. "Let's go down and see. Perhaps it isn't so bad," she suggested optimistically.

The nutcracker sighed, but followed Maura down the path into the village. Maura tried not to gasp in shock and dismay every time they passed a dismantled cottage. She hadn't been expecting there to be so many traces of familiarity, but it seemed as though the citizens of Trimountaine had lived lives a lot like her own – there were broken parlor chairs, books with torn pages, and even a small doll much like one she'd had at Tommy's age.

Maura bent down and retrieved it from the rubble, brushing crumbs and glassy sugar shards out of its curly blonde hair. There was a small cry, and Maura whirled around in time to see two little heads disappear out of sight.

"Nutcracker," she whispered. Her friend was milling about rather aimlessly, a depressed expression on the handsome face. "Nutcracker, I think someone is watching us!"

"Soldiers?" he whispered back, already on high alert.

Maura shook her head. "Children," she replied. She hushed him with a finger to her lips, and motioned for him to follow her over to the pile of debris she'd seen the faces hide behind. Quietly, they walked to the small barricade, and Maura went over to one side while Nutcracker went to the other. As she had thought, Maura saw two little girls crouched together, and they were whispering furiously.

"She's got my doll!" one was saying, tears in her eyes.

"I know, but they'll leave soon if they don't see us. So keep quiet, and they won't."

"But she's got my doll!"

"Is this yours?" Maura asked gently, holding the doll out to the younger of the two. The big one sprang to her feet at the voice, and grabbed the little one's hand to pull her along, but Nutcracker was there to slow them down on the other side. "We're friends, I promise," Maura said, her voice still soft. "I'm Maura, and this is my friend Nutcracker. What are your names?"

"I'm Riley," said the big one, a tan girl with dark features who looked to be about Frankie's age. "And this is Susie," she gestured to the younger one, a pale girl with pitch-black hair who was clutching her doll for dear life. Maura figured she was Tommy's age, roughly. She smiled faintly at the thought of her little brothers, but was brought back to focus when Riley sneered, "Nutcracker is a stupid name. Why is your name Nutcracker?"

"It isn't," Nutcracker said archly, as if offended. Maura blushed. Of course his name isn't Nutcracker, she scolded herself. He was a person once. "It's my title. My name is—" he paused, stiltedly, and then said, "Er, you can call me Jane."

"Jane? That's a girl's name, silly!" Susie giggled.

Nutcracker – well, Jane – shrugged. "That's okay. I am a girl."

"You don't look like a girl! Girls wear dresses and have long hair!"

"I'm not wearing a dress," Riley scoffed indignantly, gesturing to her fleecy bodysuit. While Susie had on a full-skirted coat and wore a matching cap and muffler, Riley was decked out in a one-piece snow outfit with suede and soft shearling lining.

Susie grinned bashfully. "Oh."

"And who's to say I don't have long hair?" Jane asked, removing her tall soldier's hat. Dark curls tumbled free, and they ended in the middle of Jane's back.

Maura's mouth hung open in shock, and she felt more than a bit embarrassed. She tried to force an apology from her mouth, but couldn't find the right words. Instead, she listened and watched as her nutcracker – Jane – made the children feel at ease, and got them to agree to let her and Maura salvage what they could from the village and then bring the girls along on their journey.

"Can you tell me what happened here?" Jane asked Riley, as they walked down the village path to the main valley road.

"The Mouse King's army," Riley frowned darkly. "He sent his soldiers to round up the villagers and force them to join him, but nobody would. My mama told me they were preparing for a fight, but the soldiers came sooner than they thought and there were too many of them. They weren't ready. Some people escaped, but most everybody died," she said.

"How did the two of you survive?" Maura asked.

"We were out picking gumdrops," Susie piped up. "Mama made Riley take me, even though she said I was too little."

"I'm glad she did, Sue," Riley said, hugging her sister. "If she hadn't, I'd be all alone now."

Maura smiled sadly, thinking of her own family. Sure, Tommy and Frankie could be awful nuisances, but she would much rather have them than not.

"And you have been here all alone since you got back?" Jane asked, with no small amount of concern.

"Only since yesterday," Riley answered.

"Well, you certainly aren't alone anymore," Maura said brightly.

"That's right," Jane agreed, smiling widely at Maura. "And we will stay together until we can find more allies."

"Who is Moore Alize?" Susie asked innocently.

Jane laughed. "More allies is not just one person – allies are…friends, or people who fight on the same side as you."

"Oh," Susie giggled."

"What if there are none?" Riley asked darkly. "What if we have no more allies?"

Maura and Jane shared a look. "There must be," Maura said optimistically.

"How do you know?"

Jane ignored the question for now, and instead directed one of her own at Susie. "Would you like to hear a story, Susie?"

"Oh, yes please!" Susie clapped her hands excitedly.

The sky was quickly growing dark, and Maura knew that they would soon have to stop for the night. Jane seemed to realize this as well, for she stopped walking and looked off into a clearing by the road.

"Alright, I'll tell you the story after we set up camp here. Can you help Maura find some food for us to eat? She's never been to Trimountaine before, so I need you to show her what is good and what is not." To Riley, she said, "Can you help me find some firewood?"

Riley nodded, and she and Jane went off to find kindling. Susie grabbed Maura's hand and pulled her off towards a clump of bushes, claiming that they were the most wonderful kinds of bushes in the world.

It was finally starting to sink in for Maura that she was going to be here a while, and that scared her. She nodded and hummed approval when Susie filled her pockets with berries and nuts, but she copied the child's actions almost robotically, and she was just barely holding it together. She was more than glad to get back to the campsite and find Jane stoking a small blaze, with Riley setting out a few small metal bowls they'd taken from one of the demolished houses in the village.

They added the berries to the bowls, and Jane cooked them over the fire with some juice from the pomanders until they made a sort of jelly. The nuts went on top, and they began to eat in silence.

"Can we hear the story now, Jane?" Susie cried out, mouth full of berry sauce. "I've been waiting and waiting!"

"Indeed you have," Jane agreed with a laugh. "Alright, then. Have you ever heard of the Sugarplum Princess?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"Well, once upon a time, there was a princess who lived on this island whom they called the Sugarplum Princess. She was clever, loyal, and just, and she was well-loved by the people of Trimountaine. She lived far away, though, in the Marzipan Manor on Divinity."

"Across the Sea of Storms?" Susie asked in breathless amazement.

"Exactly," Jane nodded.

"But that's impossible to cross!" Riley argued.

"But the Princess was the greatest practitioner of good magic that Trimountaine had ever seen, before or since! She was so powerful that she could gentle the Sea of Storms, just by wishing it."

"Princesses are stupid," Riley sneered harshly. "I hate them."

"How can you hate princesses?" Maura asked, shocked. "Princesses are lovely and wonderful and kind!"

"Princesses are nothing but trouble," Riley said.

"Remember what I told you," Jane whispered to Maura. "About our princess—"

"We're better off without them!" Riley continued. "Good riddance!"

"Your princess was a good person," Maura said firmly. "She was just brought up by a bad one. You need to show her some respect!"

"Maura, don't—" Jane warned, but it was too late.

"Respect? After what she has let her kingdom become? The Mouse King took over, and she just ran off! She let him destroy everything Trimountaine once was; what it once stood for! She is the reason our mother is dead!" Riley shouted, standing up so that she could have a better vantage against Maura. "She has done nothing to earn my respect," she finished, and stormed off into the trees.

"Oh, no," Jane muttered. "Maura, stay here with Susie. I'll go get her."

"No, Jane. This is my mess – I'll clean it up," Maura said softly. Rubbing her arms slightly, she wished that she'd been wearing more than her nightie when she'd been shrunk. But she ventured into the forest after Riley, hoping to find the girl quickly so they could all get some much needed rest.

Maura found her sitting against a tree, her knees pulled up to her chest, and fiddling with something that hung on a chain around her neck.

"I'm sorry, Riley," Maura began. "I – sometimes I forget to think before I speak, and then the words come out all wrong."

"I should have held my temper," Riley answered, not looking up. "Mama says – used to say – that I lose control too easily."

"It was just you and your sister?"

"Mmhmm. Papa was in the army – the good King's army – but he refused to murder innocent people for the Mouse."

"I am truly sorry," Maura said again, not knowing what else to say. She focused on the chain Riley was playing with. "That is beautiful," she said politely, staring at the pendant. It was a ring, really, but the center stone was an opal, and that was surrounded by tiny clustered pearls.

"It was Mama's," Riley said quietly.

They let the silence hang for a while, and then Maura held out her hand. "Shall we head back?"

Riley allowed the older girl to help her to her feet, and they walked back silently.

"You know, I'm scared to be all alone here," Maura said in a hushed voice, once she could see the flicker of flames in the distance. "I have never been here before, and I had neither family nor friends. But I have Jane now, and you have us and your sister. Together, we will be just fine."

Riley nodded without saying a word, but Maura felt as though she'd made even the slightest headway with her. And maybe, she thought as she sat on the log beside Jane, watching Riley tuck Susie and herself into their makeshift bed, she had helped herself feel better even more than she had helped Riley. She didn't feel nearly half as upset now, leaning her head against Jane's stiff shoulder. She felt…contented.

"Are you tired?" Jane asked her in a low tone. "You may go on to sleep, and I shall keep the watch."

"I would rather stay with you, if you don't mind," Maura said a bit shyly. After all, she wasn't completely comfortable in this strange land.

"Of course not," Jane murmured. She brought up a hand to Maura's cheek, and then stopped, her arm held stiffly in front of her. Maura shook her head lightly, and brought one of her own hands up to pull her nutcracker's hand to her cheek. She sighed, nestling her head in the wooden cup of Jane's hand.

"You don't have to be afraid," Maura mumbled, her eyes growing heavy. "I am here."