Amber honestly didn’t know what to do anymore. They were roaming the halls of the castle, but she didn’t really know what to look for anymore. Yeah, they needed that scepter (or so she thought; it made sense), but what about after?

Hakyeon seemed to sense something was wrong, and looked over at the young woman by his side.

“You are uncertain as to what will happen next, are you not?” he asked.

Amber hummed, before replying, “To be quite honest, yeah. I mean, what do we do after we’ve got the scepter? That’s the thing that shrunk me, so it should make me big again, but how do I get home?”

Hakyeon let this question simmer for a bit before saying, “I still believe that the Sugar Plum Fairy is the one who will aid us in our quests. Perhaps the scepter will indeed help, but I suspect that she is the one to help you find your way home.”

Amber paused, thinking it over. Perhaps he was right, but that also meant that they would have to go on a quest to find her. She didn’t want to spend time doing that. Not when they were already at the heart of the enemy’s lair.

Relenting, she asked, “Do you have any clues about where she could be? We can’t just search blindly. If you’ve been searching for her, someone must have told you something.”

Hakyeon looked down. “She was the ruler of the Land of Sweets, but the Land of Sweets was destroyed by the mouse king once he took over the kingdom. She went into hiding, and no one has heard from her for years. I’d heard rumors that her cavalier had recently emerged, so if we were to find him, perhaps he could lead us to her.”

“Great! So then where is this cavalier?” she demanded.

“I… do not know. The last I heard he was in a land far away, and when I ventured there, it turned out to be your land. I found no traces when I was there. It became a dead end.” The resignation was clear on his face.

Amber groaned in frustration.

They turned a corner, and suddenly she was pushed back and up against the wall by Hakyeon, who pressed himself close to her.

A moment later she heard why: a group of mice soldiers stomped down the stairs just around the corner. Amber peaked around the corner, and her eyes widened when she saw the chained figure standing in the middle. The young man looked worse for wear, his whole face bruised and bloodied. He barely supported himself as the mice dragged him along. His legs finally gave out behind him, and he collapsed to the ground, causing the entire troop to come to a halt.

The mouse leading the soldiers turned around in annoyance.

“Hurry it up! His Majesty said this one was to be put in maximum security immediately,” he ordered, disdain lacing his words.

He his heel and kept walking. The soldiers hoisted the young man up, physically dragging his unconscious body behind them.

Amber looked up at the nutcracker, the horror in her eyes clear. However, she was surprised to see that instead of the same horror, his expression was one of deep thought.

“Is something the matter?” she asked hesitantly.

“It is curious that the young man is still alive. The mouse king likes to transform disobedient subjects into inanimate objects, so for this one to still be human…” he trailed off, lost in thought.

Amber immediately understood his train of thought. “He has information that the mouse king needs,” she finished. He nodded.

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