At his voice, Stahlmaus’ head whipped up. His eyes landed on Alex and brightened with interest, no longer overlooking him. “Celesta, you didn’t tell me we had company,” he said reprovingly. He stood and descended the steps in front of the throne, coming to a stop directly in front of their small party. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“So I’ve seen,” Alex answered, meeting the Mouse King’s eyes evenly. “I don’t much approve of your methods.”
Stahlmaus shrugged and held his hands out in front of himself. “My realm, my methods. But we’ve wasted enough time.” His eyes narrowed as he analyzed Alex’s stance. “And it appears time is something you don’t have to waste.”
“No, I don't. So you’ll listen to what Celesta has to say.”
Stahlmaus gave a long-suffering sigh. “Very well.” He turned towards his niece with a patronizing look. “What is it you simplymusttell me?”
The little pixie straightened her shoulders, and Alex knew that if she still had her wings, they would be standing at attention as well. “I’m formally requesting that you step down as regent. I’ve been of legal age for years now. It’s time for me to assume my role.”
Her uncle let out a loud guffaw. “Ha! As if anyone in the Winter Court would be willing to accept a pathetic little half-elf as their queen. Winter was once the leader of the courts. We were revered, we were honored, we were held in the highest esteem. Until your weakling of a father, that is. But don’t worry. I shall set things right again.” His eyes were glowing with power lust as he spoke. “Not only shall Winter once more take her place as head of the Courts, butIshall be in the forefront as the leader of all Faerie.”
“I thought you were exaggerating about his ego,” Alex said conversationally, looking over at Celesta. “But you weren’t wrong.”
“Yes,” she replied with a sigh. “I didn’t think it would work, but we had to try it that way first. Godfather?”
Drosselmeyer had wandered away from their small group during this exchange, pretending to be interested in something on the wall behind Stahlmaus. At her signal, he set the mirror down on the floor and began humming. He nodded to Alex.
Alex’s harmonica was already in his hand, having pulled it out when he realized his arm would soon be too stiff to maneuver into his pocket. With an effort, he brought the instrument to his mouth. It was strange, holding it with just one hand rather than two, but he had done it often enough during the first weeks of his recovery that he knew he could make it work.
During their walk to the palace in Iysen, Alex had considered what song would best suit their purposes. It needed to be something that was so strongly tied to memories of his home that there was no room for error. He took a deep breath and reached deep into the place where he had locked away all the memories of his family since their deaths. The song he played was the very first one his mother had taught him on the piano. He remembered the feeling of her warm hands on his, guiding his fingers over the keys as he sat on her lap. He could still smell her, the mixed scent of rosewater and the lye soap she used to wash their clothes. He could hear her gently humming the melody in his ear as he played, her voice low and rich and happy. His heart ached with grief for the feeling of arms around him that he would never feel again, with longing for the home that he had once known but was now gone forever.
“Ah, ah, ah, Mr. Monde,” Stahlmaus reprimanded, trying to knock the harmonica from his hands. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”
Unfortunately for the king, Alex’s fingers were now firmly locked in place around the instrument. Short of grabbing his hand and wrestling the instrument from his grip, there was not much Stahlmaus could do.
Alex shuffled his feet backwards and kept playing. Drosselmeyer had explained that it would take a few moments for the magic to anchor the gate to his realm, and if he stopped before the gateway was complete, he would have to start over.
The Mouse King, perhaps seeing that the soldier in front of him was not to be deterred by mere force, switched his tactics.
“I’m not sure what my niece has been telling you,” he began, adopting a benevolent and kind tone, as if dealing with a wayward child. “Perhaps with her big eyes and pretty face she has convinced you to believe that she will be allowed to take the crown of Winter once I am gone. But you must know that the pure-blooded among the Court will never allow a half-breed like her to rule in my stead. She may have promised you power and position, but she will have none herself and no way to reward you for what will ultimately be seen as treason.”
Alex ignored him and kept on playing. Drosselmeyer held up two fingers. The gateway was almost complete.
“But I can give you those things,” Stahlmaus continued. “I can remove your curse. With your abilities and my power, the two of us would be the undisputed rulers of Faerie. There would be nothing in this or other realms that would be able to stop us. Everything you could ever want would be at the palm of your hands.”
Drosselmeyer held up his hands and stepped back. The surface of the mirror on the floor grew and glowed with a golden, swirling light. Alex slowly, painfully, moved the harmonica a few inches from his mouth. Nearly his entire body was numb now, and he wasn’t quite sure how he remained standing.
“I’m just a soldier.” The effort involved in moving his lips made forming words tremendously difficult. “I’ve never wanted power.”
Stahlmaus’ face darkened, and he lifted his violin to his chin and poised his bow over the strings. “A pity, really,” he sneered, “to have to waste such a talent as yours.” He brought the bow down hard and a loud, strident chord rang from the instrument. Streams of light and sound reverberated off the walls and ceiling, growing in volume and intensity until it coalesced into a single bright light that streaked through the air towards Alex.
He knew there was no hope that he could move quickly enough to dodge it, and he braced himself for the impact.
“Alex!” Celesta threw herself in front of him, taking the full force of whatever magic the Mouse King had intended for him into herself. Unable to turn his head, Alex watched from the corner of his eyes as his little ballerina flew across the floor at the impact, skidded into a pillar, and remained very, very still.
Pain and anger flared to life in Alex’s chest. “I’ve never wanted power,” he repeated, channeling all of his energy into taking one careful, measured step towards Stahlmaus. “I just want to protect the people I love.”
With that, he fell forward onto the Mouse King’s chest, knocking him off balance. Stahlmaus stumbled backwards and caught his heel on the edge of the gateway. He screamed as he fell with flailing arms into the circle of light, disappearing as if under the surface of deep water.
Alex landed heavily on his side just outside of the gateway, though he saw rather than felt when he hit the floor. He tried rolling over, but it was too late. His body no longer responded to any of his commands, as stiff and unyielding as if he were truly made of wood. Alex tried to close his eyes, but even his eyelids would not listen. His breathing began to slow and his heart beat erratically as the curse finally reached his internal organs.
A face appeared in his field of vision, blurry and unfocused. “Goodbye, Alex,” Celesta whispered, pressing her lips to his. He could feel just the faintest hint of their soft warmth. “You’ve never been just a soldier to me. I love you.”
He heard Drosselmeyer join her and then he was falling, falling, falling through the light. He watched as the circle of the mirror grew smaller and smaller, and then everything went dark.
Fourteen
