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It was the morning of the Sugarspun Ball in the Marzipan Castle. Everything had been prepared: the castle had been decorated with sumptuous icing, little crystallized fruits were giving off light in the ballroom, and a carpet of cranberry glazing had been spread in the Great Hallway. All the princesses were happily chattering away and tying the ribbons of their gowns as their maids busied themselves with their hair, and they were excitedly talking about the joys of the day ahead, about the dancing – and the beaus. All but one of them.
Princess Csilla, the youngest and fairest of the princesses, was sitting with her brother in the throne room. Her brother, the Nutcracker and the Prince, was sitting on his candied throne with a pensive gloom on his face. "My dear sister," he murmured, "I wonder if it is as wise as I hoped to hold this ball."
"Why do you wonder so?" Csilla asked. She spoke softly; she did not want to sound like she was questioning her dear brother. She knew his feelings were often to be trusted. She merely wanted to know.
"I do not know, only I woke up this morning with an ill feeling about it. Perhaps I should not have done it, but your sisters wanted it so."
It was true. Her sisters had been pestering him for months to hold a great ball. "We would find beaus," they said, "and you will finally find your sweet maid to love you and transform you back to your beautiful self." But her brother the Nutcracker did not think that was the way to break the curse Mrs Mouserinks had placed on her. Still, he had finally conceded, just to make everyone happy.
"It will do you good, too," Csilla said gently. "Forget about your great worries for a while, and spend a day only enjoying all the beauty and the splendor of our kingdom."
"If only I could forget my worries!" sighed her brother. "I wonder even now how I could possibly defeat the Mouse King before he wreaks even more havoc in the far-flung parts of my realm. Only yesterday there came a message from a gingerbread wood all chewed into pieces, its inhabitants forced to flee to the Waste of Dates to be safe. He seeks to terrorize my population, to keep us living in fear of when he will strike next… Yet he evades me and I can't put an end to him and save myself from the curse!"
"It is a great problem", she agreed, "but you could stop thinking about it just for one day, I am sure you would then be better able to face him."
"Perhaps," he said sadly and did not look convinced.
Her brother was sometimes too downcast in his mind, Csilla had to admit. But somehow she liked him all the more for it. And he had suffered through terrible ordeals in the past. It was no wonder if his thoughts were gloomier than those of her sisters.
But even through his sadness, her brother smiled at her and said: "Still, you must enjoy yourself, my dear sister. How fair you are this morning! I am sure you will have a thousand beaus before the evening is through."
"I don't need even one. It is my sisters who want beaus, not I," Csilla said, and it was the truth. "Why should I wish to leave this fair land, and my dear brother and my dear sisters, to go to some foreign prince whose heart may be made of tinfoil or bitter almonds? This is where I belong, and where I will be happy to the end of my days."
"Still, I wish for you to enjoy yourself."
"That I shall," she assured him with a smile. "I do not want a beau, but I do like to dance, and I like to dress in my fairest gown and know that I can bring some delight to these sweet people by smiling and glowing the best I can."
She smoothed down the fabric of her dress, which was sewn from finest silks and chiffons, with a dainty bodice of rich blue velvet, encrusted with tiny jewels. Before the dancing would begin, her maid would attach a tiara and a fine white veil to her head, crowned as it already was with her rich auburn tresses that were dressed in an elaborate construction of braids. Two bright stars glimmered in her earrings, and she was so beautiful that whenever she looked into a mirror, her own breath caught. She liked that; it was pleasant to be beautiful, and above all it was pleasant that other people could be made happy by the sight of her. And it was most of all to her own people to whom she wanted to bring this happiness; unlike her sisters, who hoped to impress foreign lands in their future days.
She spoke to her brother of the music that she had heard the orchestra to rehearse, of the sweetest gowns that the ladies of the castle would wear, of the marzipan roses that were decorating the castle and its gates. It all made him smile, but there was always a hint of sadness behind that smile. She wished dearly for the arrival of that girl who would love him for who he was, so that he could be happy and look like his true self again. Surely there had to be someone who would see the kind and generous heart behind that slightly gruesome face?
"Perhaps even the Coconut Princess may arrive!" she suggested. "She is said to be the fairest princess in all land."
"Coconuts may be too hard for even me to break," he said, smiling ruefully, "but I shall look gladly upon any guests who wish to arrive."
Little by little the sugar-coated coaches pulled by little marzipan horses began to arrive, and their fair castle began to fill with guests. Csilla had to go away to have her tiara and veil fitted. When she returned to the great hall, she found her brother in his festive gear, smiling. She thought he must be happy after all. The air was filled with the sweetest tones of music, and Csilla's face shone like stars when she knew she would soon get to dance.
There were princes and dukes enough to dance with all the twelve princesses of the Kingdom, and Csilla was not lacking in beaus. She could dance in minuets, polkas, gavottes, quadrilles, polonaises, and so much more. But when the handsome Duke of Cotton Candy presented her his most radiant smile, she knew his eyes were only shining because there was nothing in his head and the candlelight could shine in, and so she declined his offer for a waltz and said that her feet were too tired. She retired to her brother, hoping to converse with him and ask him if he was enjoying himself. But just then trumpets sounded and the entry of the Coconut Princess was announced.
She arrived with an entourage of dozens dressed in the fanciest garments imaginable, and the Princess herself wore a dress so white and so wide that Csilla felt herself quite diminished in comparison. The Princess had hair of richest brown and hazel-coloured eyes, and her skin was like coconut milk and lilies, her mouth red and sweet and full as a strawberry, and she walked with such elegant steps she seemed to glide above the ground, not walk. She presented herself to the Nutcracker, her face the perfect picture of a smile as she sunk into a deep curtsey and said: "I salute you, dear Prince, and bring you the greetings of the Coconut Kingdom!"
The Prince received her with the utmost courtesy and bade her to dance with him. The next song was a waltz, and the Princess smiled sweetly as the Nutcracker held her close in that daring, sweeping dance. The princes and dukes in the Princess' entourage bowed in turn to all the princesses of the castle, and Csilla herself had to dance a waltz with one of the princes of the Coconut Court, who held her all too close and said that she looked prettier than a piece of candy, while clearly sizing up how much costly fabric had been used for her dress. She did not like him, and as soon as the dance was over, she excused herself politely and fled upstairs to the galleries.
She hid herself behind a pillar as well as she could and fanned herself with her little lace fan. It was very hot in the galleries. But her eyes were fastened to the dance floor, where her brother was still with the Coconut Princess. They danced one dance after another, and the Princess smiled and talked so sweetly that her brother began to smile, the gloom almost lifting up from his face. And when later they were conversing upon sweetmeats, the whole ballroom heard her exclaim: "Your Highness, how dear you are to me!"
Several of Csilla's sisters gasped quietly, and Csilla knew they were thinking of that prophecy, which said that their brother could be restored to his former appearance if a maiden truly loved him. But she knew he also had to slay the Mouse King, who was nowhere to be seen, and she withdrew from the galleries to go to a quiet room on her own. Somehow she did not like all this.
When she entered the staircase, she almost bumped into a young man. They both gasped, and she stepped back to survey him in surprise. He was certainly no prince, no duke or even a lesser lord, he was only a young squire. By his garb he had to be of the entourage of the Coconut Princess, but he had a coat of deep red velvet and silk stockings of the same colour, and he had the warmest brown eyes which shone with earnest admiration. "I apologise, your Highness!" he said, in a voice that almost stuck in his throat. "I did not - I only saw you - I thought you must be some divine apparition!"
Csilla felt herself blush. "I am only Csilla", she murmured, forgetting that moment that she was any kind of a princess at all. "You must come from Coconut Land."
"I do", he confessed. "I serve the Coconut Court. But – originally I come from the Land of Spices and live by the Cinnamon Hill. I was taken to the Coconut Land to prove my father would be a loyal servant of the Coconut King."
"Really?" Csilla asked excitedly. "I have always wanted to know more about the Land of Spices. I love baking with cinnamon."
"You do?" The young man smiled uncertainly.
"I could... perhaps... tell you some recipes." He was blushing and looking down again, so hiding his beautiful eyes from her.
"Please do, that would delight me unimaginably!"
Still blushing, but looking at her again, the young man began to tell her of the wondrous cinnamon almonds that his mother had invented. But before he had finished, one of Csilla's sisters came to demand that she should join them and talk to the Princess. So Csilla had to leave, but she found herself strangely wishing that the young man would not like her only because she was beautiful and a princess.
The Princess stood in the middle of the Great Chocolate Salon, and she seemed to occupy the whole room with her wide white dress. She was smiling and talking incessantly, flirting her fan coyly at the Nutcracker. Everybody thought she was the loveliest creature ever. The Nutcracker also seemed quite taken with her. At least he smiled very much.
Csilla looked at the Princess and thought her smile seemed to be glued on with sugar water. She wondered if she was very bad to think in that way. She hid her face behind her fan and moved around as if the admire the dress of the Princess, but really she just did not want anybody to see what she was feeling.
Suddenly she realized that she was hearing a strange gnawing noise. She looked carefully, and what did she see? There was a large mouse chewing on the hem of the Coconut Princess's sweet dress.
"A mouse, a mouse!" Csilla shrieked, and suddenly the whole room was up in alarm. The Coconut Princess screamed and tried to pull her wide skirts away from the horrid mouse's reach. The courtiers rushed to drive the mouse away with their batons, and the Nutcracker drew his sword. But as if that had been a sign, suddenly great mice with sharp with teeth were coming from all over the corridors. Ladies screamed, men roared in terror and anger, guards came shouting and the Nutcracker brandished his sword and called his panicking court to order.
Csilla, two of her sisters and the young squire led everybody else to safety, as they seemed to be the only people still capable of thinking reasonably. They hid in a corridor and watched the battle raging. Csilla was worried about her brother and didn't want to go further into hiding, but the young squire whispered to her: "Please, my lady, your brother needs more room to maneuver. We must withdraw!"
And they withdrew into one of the winding corridors, fleeing further and further. Although Csilla and the young squire tried to keep up with everyone else, at some point they lost them and were quite alone in a narrow corridor. The young squire pressed his arm protectively around her and listened carefully. Csilla only heard her own beating heart, which was very distracting. She had not realized it could thump quite so loudly.
Suddenly the young man leapt onwards, and just as he did, a huge mouse came forward in the corridor, its teeth dripping blood! It lunged towards Csilla, but the young man stopped its advance. After a brief sword-and-teeth fight he thrust resolutely, and his sword pierced the mouse, which groaned and squeaked, and then fell to the floor, limp and still. The young man looked at it, pale and almost shaking. Csilla felt weak.
"I do not like to kill," the young man whispered. "I don't like that they force us to."
"They do not normally attack us here", Csilla said.
"We get their attacks often," the young man said. "That is why…" Then he bit his lip. "Please, come, my lady, we must seek a safer place."
Barely had they found their way to a quiet space, when Csilla heard voices from the adjacent room. It took her a moment to distinguish the voice of the Coconut Princess. But then it was impossible not to hear it, for she was complaining very loudly indeed.
"Why did we come to this dreadful place?" the Coconut Princess was asking, weeping. "Those horrible creatures… You said the Nutcracker King would protect us! And he can't keep them away from his own Ball."
Somebody tried to murmur soothing words, but the Princess shrieked and continued even louder. "Must I really try to marry him? Why didn't anybody tell me how ugly he is? Am I, the most beautiful princess in the world, really meant to look upon that all my life?"
Csilla had by now realized it might have been the very presence of the Coconut Court which drew the mice into the castle. Perhaps it was because of them that her brother was leading a dangerous fight. It turned her insides into ice to hear the Princess say such words about him. She closed her eyes and drew a breath, trying to steady herself.
Then she felt arms around her waist and opened her eyes. The young man was holding her. "Please, my lady, do not faint."
"I will not", she whispered. "But what is she…?"
"It's true, we have been so infested by the troops of the Mouse King, that our King and Queen believed in the best that the Princess should try to marry the Nutcracker Prince, so that he would protect us," the young man admitted. "So she tried all her best to please him, so that he would wish to marry her."
Csilla felt like a knife was plunging into her heart when she thought about the Coconut Princess trying to cheat her brother into marrying her, despite not loving him at all. But Csilla had no more time to think about it when there was a great commotion in the next corridor. She rushed there to see her brother engaged in a fierce battle with the Commander of the Mice, who looked mighty and wild with his whiskers shaking dangerously and his military coat glittering with medals. But the medals made such a racket when he moved that they sometimes quite distracted him, and the Nutcracker was finally able to confuse him and plunge his sword into the great mouse's chest. As the Commander died, he croaked: "Do not sleep in peace, foul Nutcracker! The Mouse King is waiting for you! He will get you when you least expect it!"
Then it became very silent. The Nutcracker wiped his sword clean and sighed heavily. He backed away from the corpse of his fallen enemy. Then he noticed Csilla and the squire. He smiled wearily. "I am glad to see you are safe, my dear sister. You have done a good job protecting everyone, young man. I believe the danger is over for now."
"Is it?" Csilla asked, worried.
"Were the Mouse King really here, he would have showed himself already - his pride will not let him wait for so long. I believe this was just a warning sent to me and my people – a warning that we are never safe. But the Mouse King himself will not strike, not now. Perhaps not here at all."
"Then where?"
"If I only knew! Please, is everyone safe?"
"Everyone that I have seen is", she said. Then she added, though she did not like to: "The Coconut Princess and her court are in a nearby room."
"Then I must see at once that they are unharmed."
"Please, my brother -" She hesitated. Could she hurt him by telling him the truth? But how much more would he be hurt if she didn't? She had no choice but to tell him what she had heard the Coconut Princess say. She looked at him anxiously as she spoke of it, every word hurting her.
His face turned dark, but somehow he did not really seem surprised, merely… resigned? She hated more than ever that he had to look like that. Why could not someone come and love him already?
"I wanted to believe in her smiles," her brother said, "but deep in my heart I always worried… How sad that it had to be like that!"
Then he hurried to the room where he found the Coconut Princess seated on a large chair, her court surrounding her.
"My dear princess, I am glad to see you are safe and well," he said. "I also wish to let you know that if the Mouse King or his minions threaten your kingdom, you can always call upon my sword and my troops to help you to beat back that vicious foe. For that you need not marry me, nor pretend to love me. I do not need to be bartered with to help those in need."
The Coconut Princess turned pale, then blushed. Then she looked at the young squire by Csilla's said. "You, you traitor! What have you told him?"
"I heard myself what you said," Csilla spoke up. The Coconut Princess looked at her in horror, then stood up, swept up her skirts and ran from the room without a further word.
"You must excuse her," said the oldest Coconut Court lady, still shaking. "She is very young, and it's difficult to bring up someone who is made of coconut milk and icing. She did very well today, all things considered."
"She has been through more today than she can be expected to take," agreed the Nutcracker. "Therefore I release her from any requirements to try to pretend she cares for me, and she does not need to fear any ill will. Come now, we will gather everyone into safety."
Nobody felt like dancing anymore, so they sat down and ate what was left of their sumptuous feast, discussing what had happened and how to protect themselves in the future. There were all manner of wild guesses about where the Mouse King was planning his next attack, and when it would take place. But the Nutcracker was silent and thoughtful.
The Coconut Princess joined the feast later. She was surprisingly composed again. Csilla thought that someone must have put an extra layer of cream on her to hide all the flaws again. Csilla's own hair had become undone from its gorgeous coiffure, and the skirts of her beautiful dress were torn and dirty, but she didn't care, nor did she look for an extra layer of cream. The young squire was allowed to sit by her, and for some reason that made her very happy. She now asked him a great deal more about the Land of Spices, and he seemed the most flattered by her interest and told her a great number of stories and finished explaining how to make cinnamon almonds.
The Coconut Princess, however, was displeased with the young squire and told her he was dismissed from her service.
"Then I shall offer you a place in my court," said the Nutcracker. "You have defended the ladies bravely today and deserve a reward."
Csilla was happy. It would be nice to have the sweet young squire stay in the court. Then she could see him every day and they could talk to each other much more. Maybe some day they could even dance together. She thought it might be pleasant to dance with him.
But she was not happy to look upon her brother's sad and thoughtful face. When the evening was through, she stole away from everyone else and walked by him as he returned to his rooms.
"Are you sad about the Coconut Princess?" she asked.
"I am sad that someone should feel a need to pretend and cheat instead of just asking for my protection. Do they think I would have refused it? But I don't think I can blame her for hating my ugly appearance."
"But it's not fair! You have the truest, kindest heart in all the world, and it's not your fault that you look as you do!"
"Perhaps. But there is only so much you can expect of someone whose heart is made of sugar. No, it is not here that I must expect to find the maiden who will love me as I am, nor here that I will beat the Mouse King."
"Then where?"
The Nutcracker was silent for a few moments, then said: "In the world of humans."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. It must take a human girl with a human heart to love me though I am not a perfect creature of fairy tales. And it will be in the human world where the Mouse King will try to defeat me for good, for there his reward will be sweeter."
"But you are much weaker in the human world than here."
"Yes, that is true. But that is exactly where I must seek my release from the curse."
She wept then, and embraced him, and begged him to consider if there could not be another solution. But he was resolute.
"Do not worry, my sweet sister," he said gently. "Now that I know what I must do, I feel it in my heart that a solution must present itself. My uncle Droβelmeier is there in the human world. It was because of him that I ended up like this, so he might have a solution as well. And he is very resourceful. He will, perhaps, be able to arrange things just right… And it is not a long time until Christmas in the human world. It could be the time for a miracle can happen."
She embraced him and fervently bade him good night. After she had returned into her rooms that night, she stayed up for a long time, looking at the star jewels on the dark velvet of night sky, sending her fervent wish to the stars that a miracle would indeed happen.