Clara and her Nutcracker Prince - Part I, Chapter 2
LadyKaren50
Chapter 2 - The Revenge of the Myce
Interlude: Tchaikovsky Symphony #5, Movt. 3-Waltz
Allow me, dear reader, to take a pause from the narrative of Clara's adventure to tell you about the mice - or rather the Myce. Undoubtably, you have in mind those little rodent-like creatures which often live behind walls, and who come out in the night to scavenge for food, and who often are chased and killed for breakfast by the family's cat. And you would not be wrong, on one level. For certainly, the Stahlbaum's had a perennial problem with these kinds of creatures, as did almost every homeowner living in their town at this time. And Clara would have encountered these mice from time to time over the years. Unlike many girls, however, Clara was never repulsed or frightened by these little creatures. She was rather oblivious to them, if you want to know the truth.
But the creatures confronting Clara in our story are not those kinds of "mice." Oh no, Clara now found herself in an intense conflict with a much different kind of adversary; a more intransigent and seemingly dangerous adversary that we will call "Myce!"
The story of the Myce actually extends several generations before Clara's birth and didn't involve the Stahlbaum's at all, at first. But it probably won't surprise you to discover that it was none other than Christian Elias Drösselmeyer who first became involved with this community of unusual beings and brought them into contact with Clara Stahlbaum.
For these Myce were residents of the Land of Sweets, which is an invisible and fantastical land and which exists among, above, under, around and besides human dwellings. The Land of Sweets is the home of many different kinds of creatures who live in a peaceful community with one another. Usually there is no contact between the human world and the creatures of the Land of Sweets, but every so often someone finds a way to break through. And it was Uncle Drösselmeyer, of course, who had first discovered this secret and had shared it with none other than Clara Stahlbaum.
There is much history and many stories that could be related about Drösselmeyer's experiences with the Myce, but suffice it to say that while things started off on a positive foot, it soon became apparent that these Myce were rather intrigued and attracted by the human world. And despite the deep struggles and conflicts they perceived as overwhelming the human world, they nevertheless, perhaps naively, thought that they could bring healing and wholeness to the fractured world of humans. Thus, they got it into their minds that they could use Clara, in particular, to achieve this goal. And so, one Christmas Eve, 20 years before when Clara was 18, after the events of the party just described, these Myce made the effort to breach the divide between their world and the human world by attempting to abduct Clara. But quite unexpectedly and surprisingly, they had been beaten back by an army of tin soldiers led by none other than Clara's magical Nutcracker Prince. Clara had even participated herself in the victory herself by throwing her slipper at the multiple heads of the doddering Myce King, which then caused him to stumble and fall from the window sill, where he was perched in order to observe the fight and to give orders. It was this battle which had inspired Clara's deep affection and connection with the Nutcracker Prince, who had then taken her in a beautiful carriage drawn by a group of magnificent magical reindeer on a whirlwind trip throughout the Land of the Sweets in celebration of their victory. And during this trip she had met so many wonderful and remarkable creatures and seen so many wondrous sights before being delivered safely back to the security of her home.
But unbeknownst to Clara, the Myce had suffered not only the loss of the battle, but they had lost their King in the melee when he had fallen from the window sill as the result of being hit by Clara's slipper. This loss had prompted them to give up any hopes of gaining a foothold in the human world, but they were intensely angered and determined to find a way to get revenge upon Clara, the Prince and anyone else whom they perceived to be allies of their now enemy. After all, despite their efforts to contact her through the years she had never once offered any kind of apology.
Now, Clara's Godfather, Uncle Drösselmeyer, had apologized for his part in facilitating the contacts of the two disparate realms. And while his apology had been accepted (after all, the Myce were always willing to accept a sincere apology) as far as they were concerned his apology did not count for Clara or for the Nutcracker Prince. And so, without her even knowing, Clara's image soon appeared on "Wanted" posters which were plastered all over the "Land of the Sweets." And they resolved to pursue this until they had their apology! No matter how long it took.