When Claire woke the next morning she instinctively knew it was later than usual. A glance at the ticking clock on the mantle simply confirmed her suspicions. It was nearly eleven o'clock. Why hadn't anyone come to wake her?

By the time she was up and ready to face the day, nearly thirty minutes had past and Claire had remained undisturbed, even by Ms. Avery who would certainly be curious as to her whereabouts by now. Wouldn't she?

Hopping into a pair of shoes, Claire was still pulling her second shoe on when she pulled the bedroom door open and peeked into the hallway. It was quiet, the only sound was that of light rain pattering gently against glass window panes. The sky beyond was gray and dreary which perhaps explained why Claire had found it so easy to sleep without interruption.

She headed towards the far end of the hall, to the stairs that lead up to the attic. She climbed them without hesitation, peeking around the edge of the open door when she reached the top. She fully expected to see Alek sprawled across the couch, not-sleeping, but was surprised, and disappointed, to find the room was empty.

Rocking back on her heels, Claire frowned and made her way back downstairs.

She stopped outside of Arabella's room and knocked lightly on the door. When she didn't receive an answer, she opened it carefully and peeked inside. The room beyond was decorated with white floral wallpaper and plush white carpets leaving Claire with the impression that this was what the interior of a marshmallow might look like. The large four post bed was neatly made and as far as Claire could tell the room itself was as empty as the attic.

Where was everyone?

Deciding to investigate further, Claire made her way towards the stairs only to stop short when she came to the door that lead to Draz's room. Unlike the other rooms on the hall, the door to this room hung open, as though the latch hadn't caught.

"Draz?" she inquired, pushing it open a little further in order to peek inside.

No answer.

Biting lightly on her lower lip, Claire felt a sudden urge to step into the room. Instead, she reached for the knob and pulled the door closed with a loud snap. She frowned, uncertain why she felt the inexplicable urge to go inside. It wasn't her room and whatever was inside was none of her business.

Turning on her heel, she made it a few steps before stopping and turning back.

It felt like someone, or something, was calling to her, whispering her name. It was so faint that Claire honestly though she was simply hallucinating. As she moved closer to the door, however, the sensation grew more intense.

She paced by the door two more times, gauging how the feeling waned as she moved further away, but was no less insistent, and grew more intense when she got closer.

After staring long and hard on the polished oak door, Claire grasped the brass knob and twisted. As the door swung inward, Claire expected to be confronted with something out of the ordinary, something to warrant the butterflies which fluttered wildly in her stomach.

At first glance, it looked as though no one occupied the room at all. The bed was neatly made, the furniture appeared undisturbed, and there were no items that appeared out of place -- like scattered clothing, or forgotten trinkets.

Claire let out a heavy sigh of frustration. The feeling that had goaded her into the room to begin with had not abated, but rather had grown tenfold since she'd passed over the threshold.

As she turned to leave, pulling the door closed behind her, Claire caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. Slowly she turned back, her gaze dropping towards a splash of color visible just beneath the bed.

Moving back into the room, Claire lowered herself to her hands and knees and peeked beneath the lacy bedskirt. There, lying on the floor, was a small wooden box which Claire presumed had fallen from somewhere, presumably the nightstand.

Outside the rain began to fall with more intensity and in the distance thunder rumbled, a warning of what was to come. Claire didn't notice, her attention was focused elsewhere.

Reaching for the box, she drew it out and examined it.

The top of the box was decorated with ornate carvings of different geometric shapes and symbols, all intertwined and beautifully painted. There were no visible hinges, or latches, but a seam running along the edges suggested that the box could be opened.

Try as she might to pry the top off, it refused to budge.

"Open, will you?" Claire grumbled, giving up and tossing the box onto the bed in mild frustration.. Seconds after the words passed her lips, a pale blue light appeared to move along the seam, traversing the perimeter of the box before a soft click sounded.

Stepping closer, Claire saw that the lid popped open on one side.

Confused, but curious, Claire slowly lifted the lid and found herself admiring a set of cards. A familiar set of cards.

As she spilled them into her hand and examined them, Claire realized it was the same deck of cards that Draz had used that night on the train. She had initially believed them to be fancy tarot cards of some sort, but now she wasn't so sure.

Draz had certainly treated them as such, but the cards were unlike anything she had ever seen.

As she flipped through them, examining each a moment before moving onto the next, a thought struck her. What if these were the cards that Draz had stolen from the academy? What was it Alek had called them? Summoning cards?

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her thoughts had Claire scrambling to her feet. She looked desperately for a place to hide, ultimately opting to duck behind the open door. The steps drew closer and then stopped, their owner standing just inside the doorway.

"How'd this get left open?" Ms. Avery muttered to herself, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in disapproval. Claire heard the knob rattle slightly as Ms. Avery took hold of it and pulled the door closed again.

She didn't breathe again until the footsteps had faded entirely, and didn't move again until she was certain they weren't coming back.

Looking down at the cards, Claire decided it was best just to return them to where she had found them and pretend she had never come into the room at all. Sliding them back into the box, she pressed the lid closed and dropped it to the floor. With her toe she guided the box back beneath the bed, leaving it close to the edge so it would be visible to anyone who came in and happened to look down.

Hurrying from the room, Claire closed the door behind her and hurried towards the stairs. She was halfway down when the front door burst open and Alek and Draz came tumbling in, laughing and shaking rain from their coats.

"It's really coming down out there," Claire called out, slowing her steps though she had less control over her racing heart. Had they been two minutes earlier, or had she lingered two minutes longer, she would have been caught red handed snooping about where she didn't belong. "Where were you guys? I was looking all over for you."

Alek shed his great coat and hung it on a tall coat rack by the door before making his way over to where she stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He caught her around the waist with one arm and leaned in to steal a quick, unexpected kiss.

"It's nice to see you too," Claire murmured, meeting his eyes.

"I took your advice," he said quietly, glancing towards Draz who was busy trying to pull off his muddy boots so as not to make extra work for Ms. Avery. "We both realized how foolish we were being, and that we were idiots."

"You," Draz interrupted, "how you were an idiot, Drosselmeyer."

Alek simply laughed before pulling Claire into a tight hug. "Thank you," he whispered softly.

"I didn't do anything," Claire murmured.

"Quite the contrary," Alek assured her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. Did you sleep well?"

"It's okay," Claire said, "I did, I slept much later than usual."

"Good," Alek said, looking towards Draz. "Because we need to talk. It's time I told you about the bag."

Silence filled the room as they all regarded the bag resting in the middle of the kitchen table. Claire couldn't help but feel anxious even though she couldn't explain why.

"So," Draz said, breaking the silence, "there's a wooden doll in that bag, eh? Is this some sort of weird magician thing? Like whoever has the doll is king of the magicians? Makes me kinda glad I got out when I did..."

Alek shook his head and sighed. "Firstly, what I am about to tell you never leaves this room," he said, reaching for the bag. He opened the drawstrings carefully and extracted the nutcracker Sevik was convinced was currently in his possession. "With that being said, what I am about to tell you also constitutes as high treason," he looked towards Draz, "punishable by death," he looked to Claire, "and they will not discriminate if you are captured. Citizen of Oria or not, you will be seen as a conspirator against the crown."

"Get on with it already, Drosselmeyer," Draz said, propping his feet up on the table before lacing his hands behind his head. "You had me at high treason. I don't know about Claire, but I'm always itching for a good fight."

"I'm not going anywhere," Claire said with a small smile. Her eyes settled on the nutcracker, something about it seemed familiar somehow though she'd only seen it once before, back at the warehouse.

Alek nodded and Claire saw some of the tension ease from his shoulders as he leaned forward to rest his forearms against the table.

"I'm confused about something," Claire said, "At the warehouse... didn't Sevik steal that?"

"No," Alek replied with a light smirk. "Sevik is clever, I'll give him that much, but he is still a fool if he thinks I'd give up something so valuable so easily."

"This is probably going to sound like a stupid question," Claire began, "but what is so important about an old nutcracker? A broken one at that."

All of a sudden Draz began to laugh.

"I'll be damned. Not what," Draz said once he had caught his breath, "Who. I can't believe you, Drosselmeyer. You never cease to amaze. I didn't peg you for a traitor, but I'm thoroughly impressed. There is hope for you yet. I am definitely sticking around."

Alek scoffed.

"Were you really carrying him around all this time in your pocket like loose change?" Draz asked, dropping his feet to the floor so he could lean in closer.

"It certainly wasn't ideal, but it's not like I had many options," Alek replied with a sigh.

Claire reached out and picked up the nutcracker. It felt strangely warm beneath her fingertips and she couldn't be sure, but she was almost certain she could feel a faint pulse, like a heartbeat. It was just as likely she was feeling her own as the blood pulsed through her fingers, but she set the nutcracker down anyway.

"Can someone please explain to me what is so important about this doll?" Claire asked.

"Claire," Alek said, motioning towards the nutcracker. "This is not a doll. I would like to introduce to you, Prince Rollan Desimir, crowned prince and rightful heir to the Orian throne."

"Prince?" Claire asked, leaning closer to examine the doll-not-doll. "I don't know what you call them in your world, Alek, but in mine, we call these dolls."

"I think it might be best if you start from the beginning," Draz offered, settling back against the chair again. "You know how much I love a good story. I am also quite interested in learning why, and how, the prince there, came to be in your pocket... I mean, your possession."

Alek sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Very well," he said. "I suppose it's best to get it all out in the open. Two years ago I was approached a representative of a secret organization, an organization whose goal it was to restore the throne of Oria to its rightful heir."

"Restore? What happened that he needed to be restored?"

"His uncle, Nicolai, who now calls himself king, murdered Rollan's father in cold blood," Draz interjected. "The bastard should be--"

"That'll be quite enough, Draz," Alek interrupted with a sigh. "What Draz says is true, the king was murdered by his brother though it was made to seem like an accident. He attempted to do the same to Rollan, but Queen Elysia was able to intervene before the deed could be finished."

"Queen Elysia? Is she Rollan's mother?"

"No, Queen Elysia, Keeper of the Winter Wood, Queen of the Faeries," Draz explained, looking almost dreamy eyed at the thought.

"Oh," Claire replied. Queen of the faeries, of course, why hadn't she thought of that? "If she saved him, why is he... a doll?"

"She was too late to stop him from consuming the same poison that had been used to kill his father," Alek said quietly, "but not to save him from the agonizing death it would bring. To save his life, she turned him into a nutcracker and sent him with a keeper to your world, Claire."

"Why my world?"

"The lack of magic would make it impossible for the prince to be tracked down by those who wanted him dead," Alek explained. "As long as the prince lives, Nicolai's claim to the throne is threatened."

"What was it doing in the theatre?" Claire asked, thinking back to that fateful night that seemed a lifetime ago.

"We aren't really sure," Alek replied. "Elysia developed a cure to the poison several months ago, but we've been out of touch with his keeper for far longer. We suspected she was killed attempting to protect the prince and stashed him away for safe-keeping."

"I'd been searching for weeks before finally narrowing it down to that location. I knew there were powerful, dark forces at work, and it was vital that I procure prince before anyone else. As you well know, I very nearly failed in that regard. The rest of the tale, well, I think you know how that story goes."

"Yeah, I think I do," Claire replied distractedly.

"What exactly are you meant to do with him now that you've recovered him?" Draz asked, picking the nutcracker up.

"That is where things get a little more complicated. I was supposed to meet with a contact in a few days time, but I fear the situation is far more dangerous than any of us anticipated. Because of that, I intend to deliver him to Queen Elysia personally. Once I do, she can break the enchantment and restore the prince," Alek said, reaching out to take the nutcracker from Draz. "Then, we will call out Nicolai."

"Just like that?" Draz asked. "Do you really think Nicolai is going to abdicate without a fight?"

Alek shook his head.

"So what then? What is your plan?"

"We go to war."