The Wooden Heart Editing

Chapter 3

Disclaimer:

I do not claim the original fairy tale, but WH's plot and characters belong to me. Any famous songs, TV show/movie names, and brands that are mentioned in this work belong to their rightful owners.

Willa Field

-.-.-.-

Two:

Melting together

-.-.-.-

Hans shook violently as he moved back towards the window in fear of her turning away from him.

Why did he do something so stupid? He might just as well have lost the best thing in his life, despite meeting mere hours ago in the small toy shop. Because, really, he secretly knew of the fate they both shared from the moment his eyes laid on her. And from the moment he saw the beautiful blonde, he wanted her. Everything about, the nutcracker wanted it:

He wanted to stay with the beautiful blonde, to see all her cute expressions and each of the sides her bubbly personality. He wanted to be the only one to keep the young woman safe and happy. And it was the first time since he was cursed. The girl melted the ice that froze his heart. He again felt the warmth he was missing for years because of beautiful blonde:

But now, Michael feared the worst; he might have lost the only hope he had because of his own stupidity. Why did he let his emotions get the better of him?

But then he sounds of wheels snapped the nutcracker out of his depressing thoughts and he slowly lifted his icy gaze up back to the beautiful angel coming toward him with a strange sparkle in her now dull green eyes, which made them look alive once again.

He lost his breathe when he saw that sparkle in those eyes, his body heating up with anticipation of what was coming next and what she was going to say. Was she going to say go or stay? And if the teen says go, will he want to leave her behind?

These were questions going through his mind as he watched her come closer.

A few moments later, she stopped in front of the desk, in front of him, staring intensely into his eyes.

He shivered at the intense stare, waiting for the girl to break the deafening silence. And with one more smile, she caressed his fat face as she said sweetly:

"I want to tell you a story, okay Michael?" Maria paused to get an answer from him before she continued her speech.

After the trance ended, Hans breathed a deep breath and slowly nodded, and with that, the blonde grinned brightly.

"I have been in a personal hell for all my life and I never thought I'd be freed from the abuse. After many years, I just accepted that my parents hated me and what I had, even though it wasn't my fault, I took the punishment for being different. So, I started to live like a zombie and the abuse became my normal, I thought I deserved it because I wasn't the perfect daughter my parents wanted, so I took it. I'm not going to say what I have to go through because I know how you will react if you knew." She stated softly as she moved to the window, pausing for a few long moments

Looking at her like that broke his heart into a thousand tiny pieces, because Michael knew if Maria didn't want to tell him what they do to her. It must be worse than he can ever imagine.

He bit his bottom lip hard, the same questions running through the walls and halls of his mind, but he knew that she wouldn't give him the answers to them, no matter how much he begged. So, he kept them to himself as he waited for her to continue, not wanting to upset her as he knew she was fragile enough without him asking about the past.

After a few more moments of silence, beautiful Maria turned back to the nutcracker with the same smile she started the story with placed back on her full lips:

"But one night, after many years without an escape from the daily hell, I had a dream of a wooden prince, smiling lovingly while he held his hand to me as if he wanted to dance with me in a meadow. I felt so confused, why would he want to dance with me, I couldn't even walk let alone dance. So I voiced this to the prince, and do you know what he said to me?"

"I think I do." Hans whispered in wonder, awed by the fact that they shared the same dream for the many years. He dreamt of a reddish blonde beautiful young woman standing in front of him, looking shy as she reached to hold his hand, but not before he tells her…

"'….You are standing, my princess, therefore you can dance with me. So, please, dance with this poor soul.' I laughed so childish, but I didn't care at all, I just was so happy that I was standing. He pulled me to him and we danced the night away. When it was time to wake up and return to my hell, I was a wreck; I didn't want to wake up but he reassured me that he would be there every night with me. I sighed relieved and then light came through my window, calling me to the real world. Therefore, from the age of thirteen, I had the same dream each and every night, however as I matured, the dream did too.

I mean, as soon as I was started to reach the age of seventeen, the prince started to tell me that we will meet soon, in person, and then kissed me heatedly before I woke from the surreal dream. Every time he would tell me that, I would ask what he meant by that, but the prince would just smile at me and shake his head. I wondered about the dream for days before today, Christmas Eve, when I saw you in Drosselmeier's shop. And as soon as I did, I felt the same longing I felt in the dream, so I had to have you. You reminded me so much of the prince from my dream and the pull towards you was too intense for me to ignore.

Then when I heard you speak, I was sure that I was hearing things, I was sure things like this could not happen. I thought, that voice was in my dream, it couldn't be real, couldn't be? But it could be, and in that moment, I believed in you and I want you to know I will help you in any way possible, Nutcracker Prince."

With that story done, she curtsied to her best ability in the wheelchair, a slight blush placed onto her cheeks.

He smiled at her sweet actions, stepping towards her bowed head, and Hans slowly lifted her chin to his gaze as his hand tenderly moved to her cheek to caress her smooth skin. He noticed that his beautiful Maria was searching his eyes for something that Hans was sure she didn't quite know.

Or maybe she does and the nutcracker would never know. Maybe it was a mystery to be kept locked in her dark pools. A mystery the nutcracker could not wait to solve; he was going to be the one to discover all what is Maria.

Hans wants to know everything about this kind angel with dark green eyes, he wants to show her a world without being scared and being shy towards people, and he was going to be the one to protect and love her. Because she was someone that deserves those things the most out of the entire world. Hans wanted to the one to give the blonde angel that.

She smiled slightly as the tears of relief flowed down her cheeks, those tears melted his heart even more to the reddish-blonde and soon the nutcracker would be playdoo in her hands.

This girl was the first to pull him out from this endless years-long depression after thinking he would never be warm again and he didn't mind one bit:

"Thank you, Michael." Maria whispered softly, closing her eyes at his touch, seemingly loving the contact between them.

"For what, sües mdchen (sweet girl)?"

"For being so sweet to me."

He smiled shyly in response, shaking his head to wave her sweet statement off. Maria didn't have to thank him, he didn't need the thanks, the nutcracker just wanted to be someone that she could lean on and could be able to talk to when she needs to. And, tenderly and softly, Hans voiced this to the sitting beauty in front of him as he continued to caress her sweet skin, earning a watery smile.

After a few minutes of blissfully silence, a knock echoed around the room, shaking both from the bubble they were sharing. Maria looked at the nutcracker once more before she smiled, turning from him:

"Yes?" She called in a response to the knock, seemingly afraid to open the door to see her abuser at the door.

He growled deeply, causing the young woman to hush him with a finger to her lips as she wiped at the dried tears with her free hand.

"Mari, sweetie, you have to get dressed, father wants you to be at the party. I am sorry, Mari." A female sounded so sad, but the blonde sighed sadly and shook her head, making her braid fly:

"Don't be sorry, Anna. I'll be out in a few minutes; tell momma I took the cookies to uncle."

"Okay, sis. Hurry though; I don't want you to get hurt again because of mother's anger."

"I will, sissy, don't worry. Now go, they are waiting for you." She didn't snap at her sister, but Maria did sound annoyed so the other young woman took the hint and Hans heard her heels clicked away after a few moments of silence.

Maria sighed once again and then she turned to him, a sad expression was laced to her still beautiful features:

"I'm sorry to leave you, but I have to attend our Christmas party. God, I don't want to go, I want to stay with you." She admitted with a pout as she moved herself to her closet, pulling out a dress sized bag and draping it over the handle bars of the chair.

Hans watched her wheel to an old screen, the kind he used to see in women's rooms in Fae. He figured she uses that to dress in private without any fear of peeping Toms.

He breathed a worried sigh as he moved to sit down on the edge of the desk, letting his eyes roam as his thoughts ran free.

He didn't want her to go either, for she was going to be close to her monstrous mother and despite being in a room filled of people, he feared that the older woman wouldn't hold back her anger if Maria did something wrong; the thought made him shudder deeply. Hans wanted to be there with her to keep her safe, because, he might just be a mere toy, but he will do anything protect this girl:

He would fight to the bitter end if it came down to that, because the utter thought of losing her was almost enough to send the nutcracker into pure madness. And that is something truly amazing to Hans:

His past had nearly frozen him to the idea of finding his true love and the cure to his ageless curse. He thought it was a useless search with no end, but then came this girl wheeling into the shop, rewaking the passion in his heart. Now he wished the angel would never leave him. He smiled slightly at her shadow, standing to turn to the window as the snow danced in the wind:

"Are you the one? Are you the one I was dreaming of, my princess? Are you her?" Hans whispered under his breathe, wondering if the answer was as clear as it seemed at that moment or if he would have to keep searching for it. It was an amazing mystery the nutcracker couldn't wait to solve.

The sound of wheels on the wooden floor brought him back to reality and he turned to her as she moved back to the vanity, a silent gasp escaped his lips as soon as Hans saw her in her grown. She was so beautiful:

Her dress was a classic ball grown with a classy Christmas twist to it, red covered the chest but green peeked out from the middle, and the main green skirt was curtained by red.

It was a sight not to miss, it was too beautiful to miss. And while there were sleeves, her shoulders were bare, giving the grown a mature look. The dress transformed her from a mere teenage girl into a young princess right before his eyes; he gulped as she worked on her make-up and hair.

"My god, you are beautiful, my princess." He whispered into the silence, making the blonde jump in the middle of twisting her hair into a tight bun with a red ribbon. She turned to the nutcracker, a shy expression laced to her face as she shook her head in denial:

"That's so sweet of you to say, but I'm not really beautiful." Maria stated quietly, turning back to the mirror, her expression turned sad as she stared back at her reflection.

He gasped loudly at that statement, not believing she said that she wasn't beautiful. Because the girl is the most beautiful creature to grace the worlds and the sweetest one too, why would she not see that? Was the abuse really that bad?

"Why would you say that? You are so beautiful, surely everyone would see that." That earned him a bitter laugh, her hands went back to working on her bun.

"They don't take the time to look pass the wheelchair, I'm just a crippled girl who is clueless. I am just a stupid cripple. That is just how things are for me. I'm sorry, but that is the truth and I need to live with that..."

As the nutcracker stared wide-eyed in shock and a raging anger, but with that, the nutcracker knew that he had to go too now, the nutcracker had to. Maria might not think so, but Hans knew the men at the party would see her as beautiful as he did, they would have to be stupid to not to. How would they not spot an angel in their mist, despite the chair? An angel too beautiful like her needs to be cherished and adored, and the nutcracker knew in that moment for sure that he was the only one that was going to do those things, period.

He smiled a big grin, Hans liked the feeling that was growing inside of him, and it keeps on growing every passing moment. It was a new sensation, and for the first time in the seventy years, Hans don't feel guilty for feeling something towards a female besides Isabella Durazo.

"Can I go with you? It might be funner if you had someone to talk to instead of sitting in a corner alone." He suggested gently, not wanting to seem pushy but he wouldn't take no for an answer and would keep on asking until she said yes to him. He had to go to that party and Michael will go.

Maria giggled at his suggestion and turned back to him, her strawberry blonde hair was now tied into the tight bun with the red ribbon:

"Ok, first of all, funner is not a word, you silly nutcracker. Second of all, oh yes come, please. I don't want to go there without you, I feel safe with you." She admitted in a breathy whisper, her green eyes falling to her lap shyly, and Hans found it so adorable.

He smiled once more before he walked back towards the edge of the old desk, feeling on the highest cloud there is and a loud chuckle escaped from his wooden lips, making the girl look up with her dark pools sparking like a giddy child, it was like she loved the sound of his laugh and the fact that she was the reason for it.

It was the first of many moments the pair would gladly share; no matter if they were bad or good, the young couple would be so happy to share them.

A moment passed in a comfortable silence before Hans smiled lovingly as he lifted his hand to her as if he was meeting an important royal female for the first time and he asked very nobly:

"Shall we take our leave then, milady?"

"We shall, my gentle sir." She replied, her accent made the statement sound even more ancient, as her lips turned up into a shy smile and Maria slowly settled him onto her lap.

And, with a deep breath, she wheeled to her door, while Hans braced himself a long night.

-.-.-.-

The night sky swirled by the blue Honda-fort's windows as the family of five made their way to the Sand Box, a local restaurant that also hosts all of Maria's family's gatherings as she told him before they gotten into the car:

That fact made Hans nervous because if the heads of the family were very highly respected in this small town and verily wealthy, no one would believe that a respected couple would hold such a dark secret like abuse. And that means Maria has absolutely no one to turn to, well at least not until the early morning when they met in that small shop, that is.

He smiled inwardly at the last thought, looking up at Maria and he instantly frowned as soon as he saw her tense expression, letting his smile fade into a boiled-raging expression.

She was so freaking scared for what could happened tonight at the Christmas party and if she would do something to anger her parents, Hans could sense that both were her abuser from the way they acted icy cold towards her when her father had to move her into the car, and the whole evening would be ruin, because of her reckless behavior.

He knew that was what was going through her native mind, she thought that she was the sole reason this was happening to her, and they made her think like that. He hated them with a passion for the behavior they had towards Maria. He glared at the front of the car, the feeling of hatred growing in his chest for the cold-hearted people tormenting his lovely princess.

He will take her away from this hell and she will have a new chance to have the life she deserves. He would be sure that he would be the one to give her that, he nodded firmly and squeezed her hand:

Maria startled a little before she shifted her beautiful cat eyes on him and smiled slightly as her hand caressed his hard skin. After the tender moment, the pair slipped into silence once more, stepping back into their own minds for the drive.

They arrived at the restaurant when the sky finally turned dark blue of night, while the youngest Sawyer got out of the car—well, actually jump out of it—the elder sister argued with their parents about who will be responsible for Maria. The middle child sighed in relentless and hung her head as she listened to the seemingly endless argument, ashamed for being a burden to her family, but the nutcracker heard the love her sister had for Maria in her voice. And he was deeply thankful towards Anna and for someone who does actually care deeply for her.

"I will take care of her, mother! You do not have to worry about Mari, please just give the responsibility to me for tonight. Don't do this to her please! Not on Christmas Eve, god damn! It's a holiday for gods' sake!"

"No Annabella, you are not going to be tie to the useless monster, especially when your fiance is here for you. It will be next to us where it belongs." The woman coldly replied; no expression was laced to her lovely features, just a stony face.

Hans was so disgusted with what he was hearing from her mother, the one person that was supposed to protect her, but instead of loving and caring for her beautiful daughter, the cold-hearted woman called Maria 'it'? Oh god, what did Maria do to deserve this hellish life? She is sweet and kind, but she was put into this hell, this makes him so mad towards whatever higher power bonded her to the life she is living.

He actually is looking forward to returning to the land of toys with Maria, because Saza Gae is looking like heaven right now next to this, and, maybe, it is a heavenly place.

Anna growled deeply as she paced in anger, her hands clutching her skirt so tight that her knuckles glowed white:

"Don't you dare call her a thing, mother! She is a beautiful young woman who is hungry for your love, don't you see how hard she always had tried to be what you want her to be like, despite the hell you put her through? But it will never be good enough for you, right dear father and mother? You never once touched me or Danny, only Maria, and why?! Because you think she is a freak, a demon, and worse! You are blinded by the wheelchair, but if you open your damned eyes, you will see the most beautiful, wonderful girl you'd be lucky to have as a daughter.

Maria Ann is an angel, not the monster you claim her to be, and I feel bad for you that you are not able to see that. I hope to God that you won't regret how you treated her, because once she is able to, that girl will run so damned far from you and WE will never see her again; I will lose my best friend and Daniel will lose his beloved older sister. Your actions will cause so pain, think about that."

She paused at the end and crossed her arms, staring intensely at the expressionless people standing in front of her as angry tears ran down her face. After many minutes crawled by slowly, the slightly older blonde threw up her hands in a mixture of annoyance and anger and stormed toward the car, shaking her head feverishly.

She probably felt the same way Hans did in that moment, so angry and frustrated by the cold actions and so confused as to why they acted so cold to a wonderful girl like Mari:

Anna acted more like a mother than her own, and that is another sad thing about all this; they never had the chance to be normal sisters, Anna is probably always worried about what the heads will do next to Maria while juggling loving her siblings and living her own life and Maria is always trying to be everything her parents want but failing to her disappointment.

Too busy to see that time is running low and this might be the last night they have to bond as true sisters.

Hans sighed, wondering if he should wait to take her to his world for a few weeks more, but he realized that it would not be safe to wait with Adam knowing where he was. It has to be tonight or not at all, and Hans wasn't willing to be selfless and leave her behind. After years of thinking he'd alone forever, he wanted to explore this thing with the most interesting girl he has met since his days in the world of Fae, and Hans won't let go her go without a fight.

He smiled sadly, thinking that this might be the first time he ever been so selfish and it might hurt the only girl he wanted to make happy for this was his choice, not hers. Deep inside of his soul, Michael hoped the beautiful girl would forgive him for his selfishness after she saw that he did for her, her safely.

After that moved through his mind's walls, he shook his head slowly to free himself from the thoughts while he looked up out of the car's window where Anna and a guy stood, Hans figured that the guy was her fiancé as he let his eyes wander over the board-built and blonde man.

As they softly talked and the man comforted his lover while she cried into his shoulder, yelling something inaudible but Hans knew that she was yelling curses towards their parents and screams in anger filled the beautiful night air:

Her cries and screams shattered him to the core, the love was so strong that he almost changed his mind and leave Maria behind, but he slowly came to know Anna would want to her sister to be happy and he would be the one to make her happy. He just didn't see the way Anna smiled when the girl and seemingly toy stared lovingly into their eyes.

Hans looked at Maria when she uneasily wiggled, waiting for her sister to get her out of the car, and the nutcracker stood on her lap before he pulled her chin tenderly up so they were eye-to-eye with a comforting grin placed onto his red lips. However, inside the nutcracker was breaking under her depression dwelling onto her lovely facial features:

"Sweet girl, its Christmas Eve and the night is beautiful, don't worry about them tonight. Just enjoy the night for me, please?" Hans whispered gently, bringing his hand to her cheek as a few tears hit his wooden hand and her hand met his, her dark pools seemed like a swap in the bayous with the tears pooling in their eyes:

"Michael, will you take me away from here, please? I cannot stand this anymore."

Her sudden question shocked the wooden young man into silence, not sure how to reply to her pleadingly question, and he haven't had the choice to answer as the door slowly flew opened. Hans stared at the ravenette guy stood there with a gentle smile:

"Okay sweetie, let's go have fun. I wonder what Drosselmeier has in store for the night, he always awed us at this time of year." He stated excitedly as the man sat the strawberry-blonde beauty down in the old chair, setting the new beloved toy back onto her lap, and then he pushed to the door.

As they passed by the relatives, she smiled widely and waved cheerily at them, hiding the pain she obviously felt inside.

He sighed sadly as they made their way to a table in a lone corner. Once he, the guy, parked her next to the table and made sure she was comfortable, he knelt down to her level with Anna standing by him, trying to show the calm smile that always soothed her younger sister, the nutcracker assumed idly:

"Are you good, Mari? Do you need anything, sweetie? I will get you whatever you want."

"Thank you, West, I'm really thirsty. Can you get me a drink, please?" Maria asked quietly, hugging Hans to her chest as if he was a beloved teddy bear keeping the fears at bay.

He nodded as a smile laced to his lips, kissing her cheek before they weaved through the laughing crowd to the long table with colorful foods and tasteful drinks settled upon the top, leaving the pair to their own world.

She breathed a deep breath, squeezing the nutcracker once more before setting on the table, and laid her chin on her folded hands, letting her eyes roam over the scene playing out in front of them. West soon returned with a cup filled of a red liquid and a plate of mouth-watering foods, Maria gave a smile before shooting him to the party with Anna:

Adults laughed at each other's jokes and talked cheerily as some danced out in the dance floor, some were alone as some were with a partner. Hans smiled as a slow song slowly faded in and the lone people stepping away from the floor, letting the couples have time to be alone in their own world as they danced, and the nutcracker loved seeing the loving glances the couples shared.

He imagined that the girl beside him and himself were one of these couple, and that image in his mind sent shivers down his stiffen spine. Maria smiled sweetly and then turned to him, the smile still placed onto her lips:

"Some of the couples are too cute for words, aren't they? I love seeing my sister and West together like that. They're my example of love, I believe, I mean they're what I want in a future relationship. If I even have a relationship at all." She whispered softly under her breath, careful to not let him to hear it, but he did and Hans did not like the statement.

"Maria, why do you think that? You are so special and beautiful. I think any guy would be lucky to be with you."

Maria opened her mouth to reply to his statement through a deep frown; but her reply was cut off before it made its way out when the loud pop sounded throughout the giant room and they turned their head to the floor once more where three boxes stood and the crazy old man grinning in the middle of the three. A black was cape pulled over his skinny frame and the hat he always wears when he does his magical act for the children in Ashley.

Hans breathed an annoyed sigh, crossing his arms across his chest because he was used to all of the tricks Drosselmeier specializes at. However, when Hans shifted his blue eyes to the angel beside him, he smiled lovingly when he saw the excited sparkle in Maria's eyes, loving the look of innocent happiness on her face.

Christmas should bring her happiness; she deserves to be free from the daily hell she suffered from for years. Then again, Maria would be free after tonight, he mused with a mysterious grin dancing upon his lips:

"My dears, come! I have a special treat for you darlings." Drosselmeier bellowed as he waved his arms madly, a grin stretched across his thin lips while all the children—from all ages—ran towards him with giddy smiles and they sat around the three boxes.

The old man grinned widely before he whipped out the wand from his sleeve and tapped the first box once, revealing the human sized clown doll slowly stepping out of it:

The doll stopped in the middle of the room, it paused in a hip-hop pose as the eager children wait for the doll to move, leaning forward in excitement.

A few minutes passed in silence before an up-beat song filled the room and then the male doll begun to move in a hip-hop dance, flipping into the air and his legs swung as he spun to the fast beat. The children laughed giddily as they cheered loudly and clapped to the fast movements of the doll, happy grins spread over their faces. Then after a few minutes of a few more moves, the doll ended his dance with a double flip and splits:

"Wonderful, uncle Drosselmeier! Again please!?" Maria voiced the request of the many giggling children unable to ask at that moment with her hands folded in front of her chest.

Hans chuckled at her innocent behavior and he sat down on the table with one leg stretched out and one popped up, putting an arm over his knee.

It was so amazing to watch the blonde's actions and expressions, they are the key into her world, and the nutcracker could wake another part of that beautiful world as she showed more and more to him. Hans loved watching her, just watching her; the actions she did were so adorable and sweet to the toy that he couldn't take his eyes off her. In fact, she has had cast a powerful spell on him that he had not noticed the party around him, because while he amusingly watched the cute teenager, he missed his uncle staring at him with his famous sneakily grin laced to his thin lips.

Drosselmeier knew what happened between the bewitched toy and his beloved goddaughter, oh yes he did, they slowly were falling in love with one another and soon Michael will be free from the endless curse that started it all.

But, with this happiness, this also brings danger to the human girl as well and the old man was worried about her ability to handle the things that will happen that night, and what will happen to her. He sighed deeply, shifting his grey gaze back on the eager teen and smiled as he tapped the second box, revealing a life-like ballerina in a flowy dress, but not before he pointed his wand towards his nephew for a surprise he and Maria would not forget…

As the famous song 'A Thousand Years' sounded in the room, wrapping everyone in a sweet melody, and the ballerina started to bourree forward to the middle before stopping into a classic attitude with a frozen smile upon her hauntingly beautiful face, Maria melted into the dance as her hands tightened her clutch, not noticing the strange light where her nutcracker sat, swirling magic towards the nutcracker's wooden body.

-.-.-.-.-.-

The day we met,

Frozen I held my breath,

Right from the start.

-.-.-.-.-.-

The ballerina started her beautiful dance with a tendu, her legs slowly moved into their positions for the beginning of the dance: then the working leg shot into a frappe' movement as her arms smoothly moved with her body, her fiery hair swaying as well. The song seemed to surround her as she moved beautifully to the words. Everything else around the teen and the doll disappeared and Maria was blinded to her silly uncle/godfather stepping up behind her, a light begun to spin around her from her feet.

-.-.-.-.-.-

I knew that I'd found a home for my heart,

Beats fast,

Colors and promises.

-.-.-.-.-.-

As the doll continued to smoothly dance with Christina Perri's haunting and deep voice, the reddish-blonde young woman noticed the glowing light surrounding her and she gasped as she squeezed her dark eyes tight, fearful that the light might be dangerous, but then, after a few scary moments, the blinding light disappeared from behind her lids and she slowly opened her eyes to the unfamiliar scene of an empty room.

The teen c****d her head in confusion, wheeling deeper into the large room as she let her eyes wander around the room, not understanding why she was in this room. It was so confusing and she was frightened at this mystery:

-.-.-.-.-.-

How to be brave?

How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?

But watching you stand alone?

-.-.-.-.-.-

The verse startled her, jumping into the air, but soon she realized that the song sounded so clear, the song sounded like she still was in the giant room with the party.

She moved her eyes to search for anyone else in the room with her, but to no avail; there was no one in the room expect Maria, sitting in the middle of the room. Then the confusion grew when she looked down, her brows knotted together as she noticed that her dress changed into a comfortable but gorgeous dancing dress, crossing her arms across her chest as the teen growled deeply in frustration. Where was she and where was everyone else?

"What's going on here!? Where is everyone and where am I?" Maria's statement started out a yell then it turned into a soft whisper when footsteps sounded behind her, two set of steps it sounded like.

Maria froze and slowly turned around to see Drosselmeier smiling at her as he stood in front of someone in the shadows. She slowly moved towards her godfather, staring at him carefully:

-.-.-.-.-.-

All of my doubts suddenly goes away somehow.

One step closer.

I have died every day waiting for you,

Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you,

For a thousand years,

I'll love you for a thousand more

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Uncle Drosselmeier, what is going on? Why am I here?" She asked slowly, trying to peer over his shoulder to see who was hiding in the shadows, seeing the flash of white teeth. Her eyes widen at the sight, backing away from the old man as he giggled slyly:

"I have a surprise for you, my darling girl."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Time stands still,

Beauty in all she is,

I will be brave.

-.-.-.-.-.-.

Drosselmeier stepped aside with an arm stretched out as if he was a game show host, waving the figure forward. Maria lifted a hand to her chest as she waited for the mysterious person to step into the light.

After a few painfully slow moments passed by, Maria froze in a shocked position with her hand upon her mouth as her eyes widen when the male stepped into her sight, backing away more shyly upon seeing the revealed handsome brown-green eyed young man with a long midnight ponytail. He wore a royal-looking suit and a true smile upon his lip, although still wooden, he looked so humanly now.

Like he did in her dreams, always in her dreams, until now…

"M-Michael? Is that you?" She voiced, her voice was so soft, it was barely above a whisper; in fact, it sounded like a breath rather than a soft question. The young man grinned widely as he stepped forward to the flustered strawberry-blonde, her whispers started to get louder and louder while the happy tears streamed down her flushed face:

"How is this possible? I thought that…...uncle Drosselmeier, how…."

She was silenced by the old man's giggle and he placed a finger to her lips while he shook his head, winking his right eye at the girl.

"Stop talking, and enjoy this gift, dear. You only have an hour with him like this so don't question it, enjoy it while you can." He whispered into her ear tenderly before pushing the innocent angel right into the nutcracker's arms:

The pair were shocked, just staring into each other's eyes as the sound of footsteps faded from the room, only leaving the beating of two beaten hearts that were just beginning to melt together into one much stronger being.

They were falling deeply into one another's spell and, oddly, they didn't seem to mind one bit. After a long pause, Hans smiled shyly as he lifted the beauty back on her feet, and without, breaking their stare, he tenderly held his hand out for her hand while an arm held her up, soothing a wild strand back to behind her flushed ear as Hans whispered breathy:

"Will you dance with this lonely prince, beautiful maiden?"

The girl blushed deeper, looking crestfallen and she shifted down to her feet, shaking her head.

"Michael, you know this is not the dream world where we can do anything we want to do. I can't walk and I can't move on my own, which means I can't dance."

"Stop it! Stop! Don't you dare ever speak like that again, Maria! You are perfect just the way you are, don't let their words get to you. Let this be the truth because it is the truth. I know you are broken right now, but I'm going to your handyman and fix you to the best you can be. I'm going to show you that you can do anything you put your mind to, my sweet girl. You can count on that, however, I want to dance with you. Please, my beautiful maiden, just…. see me as your safe haven, that's all I'm asking from you…"

She looked up with an unreadable expression, slowly nodding as her hand lifted to meet his. Once their hands met, the song softly repeated itself, but this time, it was a duet, warming them in this smooth rhythm. Without breaking eye contact, Hans started to lead her as the melody swirled with them; Maria's smile grew with every second:

Soon, they both got bolder and without her realizing it, Maria danced beautifully on the same legs she claimed to be broken; Hans spun her into the middle of the room where she swayed and moved on her own acorn to Christina's vocal, smiling as she did so. When the vocal melted into two once more, the blonde ran toward the ravenette and jumped into his arms, folding her body so her legs were inside of the nutcracker's hold as he slowly spun them around.

As soon as they came full circle, Maria let her body unfold, not even noticing they were being watched by thousands, she stretched her legs out on either side of her while her gaze stayed tangled with his hazel stare.

They were so close that both of their breath tickled their skin, but as if they were frozen by each other's heated gaze, neither moved a muscle to pull away. Instead, they slowly met in the middle, their lips molded into an awkward kiss, but the seemingly innocent kiss sent out a blinding light and caused harsh whispers.

But the pair were too busy to notice that the kiss begun a war, because the kiss lasted for what seemed like hours but neither teen cared, and they soon became entangled in each other as it turned into a true kiss; Maria's arms encircled themselves around Hans' neck as he pinned her to him, but alas the teens eventually needed to come up for air, and they hesitatingly pulled away only a few inches away from the other person but with a wide smile placed on each of their faces:

"I guess my words reached you, then?" He teased gently as he traced her jaw line with his finger tenderly, earning a blinding smile and the blonde squeezed him to her while her body turned back to its normal state, but then a deep voice interrupted the sweet moment:

"Well. Isn't that just the sweetest thing?"

The nutcracker stiffened and growled deeply, turning around to the figure in shadows as he hid his newfound lover behind. Not now, Hans thought as his he pulled his sword in front of them with a stone-hard stare, not when I finally found her.

"You finally decided to show your ugly mug, rat king?" Hans scowled out, hushing Maria's frightened whimpers with tender touches with the free hand.

After laughing, Adam stepped out of the shadows with a devilish grin, wearing a cape and a white dress shirt over his furry giant body and holding a huge sword toward the pair:

"I thought it about time that I came to visit you since it's been a while, my friend. Isn't that so wrong? And besides, I have to meet your lovely new friend." This statement earned the monster a loud, deep growl and a whimper from the reddish blonde teen as she grabbed the back of Hans' suit jacket tightly.

"Hans, is that….?"

The use of his middle name from her mouth startled him, but the nutcracker knew he couldn't show emotion in front of his enemy, so he nodded solemnly as his hold on his sword:

"Yes, he is. The mouse king…."