Page 144 - Nuts to You - The Nutcracker Retold

story that Godfather Drosselmeir had delivered to her in between the gallops and twirls of that last dance. Clara was trying to make sense of something that made no sense at all, for she had deduced that yes, indeed, Godfather firmly said and even more firmly believed, that the very Nutcracker that she held in her arms was her dear, dear friend, Franz. She went over the story again in her mind. Yes, she was sure of that.
She wasn’t really sure she believed the story, but she was convinced that Drosselmeir did.
Clara tried parsing out the rest of the information thrown at her during that dance, but there was so much that made no sense at all. Mice – and nuts and sweets and princesses – were all thrown together like a fruit salad. It was all a jumble and difficult to separate out completely. But she did get a sense of magic spells and danger. And once again, she was firmly convinced that Drosselmeir had warned her of danger and urged her to take care of the Nutcracker. Reviewing everything once more, she was sure Drosselmeir had been afraid.
She really didn’t know what to be afraid of, but she was convinced that Drosselmeir did.
So, whether I believe it or not, Clara thought, this Nutcracker – in Drosselmeir’s eyes – is Franz. And, whether I believe it or not, Drosselmeir brought him to me to protect.
And as Clara continued to puzzle over this bit of information, she realized ... that someone would place the protection of someone he loved, only with someone he trusted – and preferably, with someone who loved that particular someone, who needed protection. Which meant,
130