Chapter Text
The rest of the carriage ride was quiet.
It took a while, but eventually the Pilot’s sobbing died down into just the occasional sniffle. He still refused to look at the Captain and spent most of the journey with his face buried into Trish’s pajamas. In fact, the Pilot’s occasional sniffles seemed to be the only noise that anyone was willing to make the entire ride.
There were a few times where the Marksman would look back from his seat in the front, mouth open as if to say something and finally break the silence, but then he would catch sight of the Captain staunchly staring out at the horizon, a faraway look on his face, and snap his mouth shut, thinking better of it. That left only Trish and the Nutcracker, but what could they even say? They hadn’t exactly known the Guard- not like the other three had. Anything they say would just sound insincere, especially so soon, only minutes after the whole ordeal.
So, no one said anything, as the wheels of the carriage wobbled over the ice and the horses trotted along. Lucky animals, remaining completely oblivious as to what had just happened…
She wasn’t sure how long their silent carriage ride was. The minutes seemed to drag by, and the scenery wasn’t much to look at either, an endless sea of ice under a grey, cloudy sky. Eventually though, the Marksman finally broke the silence.
He squinted from his position in the front of the carriage, leaning forward slightly before pointing ahead of them. “I think I see land,” he said. Even the Pilot shifted to look, wiping his cheeks dry before leaning over the front seat. Trish squinted ahead, and there, far in the distance, she could see it. A little dark splotch on the horizon, a decent way away, but manageable, and getting closer by the second. The Captain smiled, clapping the Marksman on the shoulder.
“Good job, boys,” he said, “let’s pick up the pace if we can.”
With a quick flick of the reins, the horses sped up, and it wasn’t long before they were finally touching down on land.
The island itself was almost unbelievably lush; massive leafy trees created a thick canopy overhead, and the grass was so plentiful that Trish felt like she was stepping onto a pillow as she hopped out of the carriage. The air felt almost heavy with pollen and nectar, the scent of countless flowers littering the ground near overwhelming. She was so taken with it all, she almost didn’t notice the weight of a hand on her shoulder.
“Trish,” the Captain said, his voice lowered. The other boys still seemed too caught up in examining the island to notice that he had stopped her. “How are you feeling?” He asked.
Trish paused for a moment. How was she feeling? That sure was a loaded question…
“Honestly,” she began, “not great. I know you guys only rushed into this because I was stupid enough to get involved, and I can’t help but feel responsible for-”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” The Captain cut her off. Trish snapped her mouth shut, and rapidly tried to blink away the tears she could feel forming. If he noticed, he didn’t acknowledge it. “I’m asking if you’ve felt any different since landing here,” he gestured to the land around them, “on this island.”
Trish felt her heart plummet and tried not to let her disappointment show. The other boys had finally noticed the conversation happening behind them, and based on their looks of pity, she wasn’t doing a great job of hiding it. “Um, no,” she said. Her voice was wavering, and she stared very firmly at the grass around her feet. “I don’t feel any different.”
The Captain’s hand dropped from her shoulder, and even though Trish was still locked in a staring contest with the ground, she could almost feel the disappointment radiating off him. “Oh,” he said, “I see.”
The silence was once again stifling, no one making any movement as they all let the moment stew over them. Finally, Trish opened her mouth, ready to… apologize? Maybe? But the Captain beat her to it.
“When the Guard told us to get you here, I thought he was saying that it was you. That you were the Sugar Plum Princess,” he explained. He crossed his arms against his chest, and Trish couldn’t help but notice just how tightly he gripped his own sleeve.
“I thought,” he continued, “that out on the ice, he caught the trail, and it led to you.” He closed his eyes and sighed, “But, no. It was just a last-ditch guess. And he was wrong.”
Trish finally looked up, but everyone was conveniently looking elsewhere, and no one met her eyes. The Captain suddenly moved, shoulders straightened and head locked forward.
“We’ll move inland,” he said. His voice had hardened, perfectly balanced as if their conversation from just seconds before hadn’t happened. “The palace is said to be at the center of the island.”
And just like that he was off, marching forward, the other boys quickly falling in line. Trish stood behind a moment, closing her eyes and taking the slow, deep breaths that her mother said would help dry her tears and calm her down. By the time she opened them again, the others were just starting to disappear into the woods, and she hurried after them, tamping her hurt feelings down.
The trek through the woods was rough, especially for Trish wearing only her slippers. The foliage was thick, and there wasn’t any sort of path, the five of them simply stumbling through wherever they could manage. The island hadn’t seemed that large from out on the ice, but now that they were here, the walk seemed endless.
At one point, the Pilot fell back, keeping pace with Trish still lagging behind the group.
“Are you upset?” He asked. “You’ve been really quiet since your talk with him.” He gestured with his head to the front of the line, where the Captain was pushing his way through some low-hanging branches.
Trish shrugged, trying her best to make it look casual. “He asked if I was the Sugar Plum Princess. Which clearly, I’m not, because if I was, then none of this would have happened.” She sighed, running her fingers through her messy hair. “And he was so disappointed when I said I wasn’t feeling any different after reaching the island.”
The Pilot said nothing, just kept looking at her with a raised eyebrow as they walked. As if he were waiting for something more. Trish sighed again. Fine, if he really wanted to know…
“And…” she began, “I’m a little bummed because I thought he was just… checking in on me. Making sure I was okay.”
The Pilot hummed in acknowledgement, finally taking his eyes off her and onto the forest in front of them. “He doesn’t really do that kinda thing,” he said. Trish grimaced.
“I just thought he’d be… nicer?” She said.
The Pilot looked at her eyes wide and jaw open. “He is nice!” He said. He drummed his fingers against his thigh, speaking slowly as if thinking over each word before it left his mouth. “He’s just… our boss. So, he has to keep it together.” He slowed slightly, lowering his voice as the others continued marching on ahead. “And” he added, “I think if he went around asking all of us how we’re doing, he’d be forced to realize that he’s not doing okay himself.”
Trish was silent for a moment, thinking it over. It… made sense. It sucked, but it made sense. She forced a smile and nudged the Pilot with her shoulder. “You’re pretty smart,” she said. He just rolled his eyes and snorted.
“I know someone who’d disagree,” he replied. They walked side by side for a few minutes, picking up their pace to catch up to the others ahead of them.
“We’re usually a lot more fun than this,” he said when they had finally rejoined the rest of the group. “When we’ve found the Princess and beat the Crimson King and everything’s back to normal, you should hang out! There’s this cafe we always go to, and they have the best strawberry cake, you’ll love it!”
Trish felt herself smiling again. “You think we’re gonna win this?” She asked. The Pilot’s jovial attitude suddenly dropped, and his melancholy air from earlier returned.
“We have to, now,” he said. “When we find the Sugar Plum Princess, and she defeats the Crimson King… she’ll make everything okay again.”
Aw, shit. And he was finally smiling again, too… Trish wanted to say something to bring the mood back up, but before she could, the Marksman’s voice cut through the air.
“Holy shit! Is that it?”
He was pointing ahead, where the Captain had just pushed aside a low-hanging branch, giving way to a massive, fielded clearing, and in the middle of it, a magnificent palace. All polished marble, glimmering pink where the light hit. The Pilot gave a whoop! and ran ahead with the Marksman, both gesturing wildly and exchanging excited whispers to each other.
The Nutcracker stayed behind, offering Trish a hand and an encouraging smile to help her over the last of the bushes and into the clearing.
“You think she’s in there, boss?” The Marksman asked. He and the Pilot had crowded around on either side of the Captain, the three of them slowly walking toward the palace’s grand double doors.
“We’ll just have to go in and see,” the Captain replied. He suddenly paused for a moment and turned back. “Nutcracker, Trish! Are you two coming?” He called out.
“Yes, we’ll be right there!” The Nutcracker called back and gave Trish’s hand a gentle tug. “We ought to catch up,” he said.
But Trish couldn’t move. Looking up at the palace, it was so grand and… imposing. It wasn’t right for her to be there.
“I can’t,” she whispered as the Nutcracker pulled her forward again. She dug her feet into the ground. “I can’t go in there.”
He stopped his tugging, instead lacing his fingers through hers and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Why not?” He asked.
Trish shook her head. “A man just died thinking that I was the Sugar Plum Princess. I can’t go in there, knowing that I’m not. It’s just a feeling, I-” she paused, lifting her eyes to meet his. “I shouldn’t be in there.”
The Nutcracker said nothing for a while, simply examining her face, but he must have noted some sort of desperation in her eyes because eventually he gave her a nod. “Okay,” he said, finally letting go of her hand, “We’ll go ahead. You just wait here. We’ll be back for you, I promise.”
Trish let out a sigh. She hadn’t realized just how much the prospect of going into that palace had wound her up, but with his confirmation that she didn’t have to go, it felt like several pounds of stress had melted off her body in an instant. She crossed her arms over her chest and picked at her pajama sleeves as she watched the Nutcracker run ahead to the other three, all of them leaning in a moment as he told them that Trish wouldn’t be coming. There was some back and forth that Trish couldn’t hear- the boys’ voices carried away in the breeze before they could reach her- but eventually they all must have agreed, because the Pilot turned around to give her a big wave goodbye. Trish smiled and gave him a wave back, and then they were off, heading toward that giant staircase leading to the doors of the palace.
Trish was glad she wasn’t going. It would be beautiful to see up close, she was certain, but that feeling in her gut screaming at her not to go was far stronger than any architectural appreciation she may have had for the building.
The boys had just reached the bottom of the staircase when the wind picked up. Trish’s messy hair flew everywhere, several strands finding their way into her mouth, leaving her spitting and pulling them out. Nasty. The leaves overhead rustled, and Trish couldn’t help but look at them.
It was so strange, here in Parthenia. She couldn’t tell what season it was. It was winter, back on that snow covered mountain that Trish had first opened her eyes on. And when the fairies had been released from the well, it felt like summer, with all those fruits hanging heavy in the trees and green leaves everywhere. On the outskirts of this island, it had been spring, with the pollen and the flowers as far as the eye could see.
But now, at the center of the island, it was fall. The leaves rustling overhead were just on the verge of turning yellow, and as another heavy gust of wind blew, whistling through the trees, Trish watched a handful of them break off their branches, whipping through the air.
She blinked, and smiled at them, down on the ground. The bright yellow against the green of the grass was pretty, and it was so quiet that Trish couldn’t help but feel peaceful.
It was quiet. Why was it quiet? The rustle of the leaves in the wind had been the only thing she could hear, before.
There was no wind.
Trish blinked again. She had been looking down at the leaves. She had watched them fall.
Had she watched them fall?
She had watched them break off from the tree. The wind was blowing. She was looking at them on the ground. The wind had stopped.
When had the leaves fallen?
She bent down to pick one up, twirling it around in her fingers. It was just a leaf. A yellow one, with what looked to be a small bite made by some kind of insect taken out of it. There was nothing extraordinary about the leaf.
Why did Trish feel so off about it?
“Hey guys!” She called out, “Did you notice anything weird just happen?” She held the leaf closer to her face, squinting her eyes to examine it further. It was completely normal.
No one had called back to her.
“Guys?” She asked again, this time turning around. The Sugar Plum Princess’ palace stood behind her, just as before. There was no one on the steps, and Trish groaned. They must have made it inside already, and now she’d have to go chasing after them.
Great.
She took the leaf with her.
With every step she took up those stairs, Trish’s heartbeat quickened. It’s fine, she tried to tell herself, the boys are just inside. They’re fine. She still wasn’t going to stop until she found them alive and well, though.
Swinging open the doors with a bellowing “HELLO!!” did nothing to lift her spirits, as the creak of the hinges were the only sound to greet her.
It was too early to give up, logically she knew that. But her gut wasn’t listening to that logic. It had known before she had even stepped foot in this palace that the boys weren’t here. That feeling was back- the one that had told her to free those fairies from the well, and to stay away from the palace in the first place- and this time it was telling her that they were gone.
In the time that it took for some leaves to fall, they had disappeared.
She didn’t know how, but she knew. They were gone, and she was alone.
***
The water lapping at her toes was cold. Trish had stopped being able to feel it some time ago, too lost in her own mind to really notice or care about the tingling numbness in her feet.
She had made it back to the shore only to find that the ice covering the sea had apparently melted while they’d been looking for the palace. Which left her stranded. Because her situation couldn’t have possibly gotten any worse. The horses were nowhere to be seen either, having wandered off after the Nutcracker had taken them off their harnesses to graze.
Which left her sitting, alone, dipping her feet into the freezing water and letting the static in her brain take over until the blood flow had cut off and the skin of her feet had turned wrinkled and white.
Where could she even go from here? The chill of the metal locket against her collar told Trish that yes, she could go home. They hadn’t found the Sugar Plum Princess to make her big again, but… her mom loved her. And she had doll clothes. They could certainly work something out; she had no doubt about that. But if she left now, what would happen to this place? The remains of the Bodyguard Squad would certainly be executed for treason, and the Nutcracker…
No, she couldn't go home. Not yet. Not when she was their only hope of survival.
But she was still stuck on this island. She finally pulled her feet out of the water, tucking her knees in close to her chest. The wind had started up again, and she pulled her body tighter into a little ball with a shiver. She couldn’t swim back, that would be a death sentence, and she certainly didn’t have enough faith in any potential boat-building skills she may have had to cross the Sea of Storms.
An insect darted past her cheek, and Trish swatted it away with a groan. Didn’t these stupid bugs know that she was in a crisis and had to think? She had to get back…
The insect darted past again, this time catching a few strands of her hair and pulling them along with it. Trish gasped, reaching out to swat at it again when another one flew full speed into her hand, bouncing off it before righting itself and zipping past her nose. A third showed itself, speeding directly for her face, and on instinct Trish closed her eyes and braced herself but… there was no impact.
Slowly, she opened one eye, and then the other. The insect was… hovering? Buzzing in place, right at the tip of her nose. She crossed her eyes, trying to get a better view of the thing positioned so close to her face.
It was glowing.
She glanced around, and sure enough, the other two insects still flitting about nearby were glowing too, lit up in various soft colours.
“Hello,” Trish said, and extended a hand slowly with her index finger raised, like a perch for a bird. The fairy chittered a bit and sat, and Trish held it up to her eye level. “Are you here to magic my way off this island?”
The other two suddenly began looping around, and the one on her finger rose and zipped right past her ear.
Trish scrambled to her feet and turned just in time to see them scatter into the woods, thousands of those little twinkling lights visible amongst the thick branches.
She wasn’t sure where these fairies were leading her, but if it was to her boys, then she didn’t have much of a choice.
She shoved her slippers back onto her freezing cold feet and ran after them.