Wicked Heart

Wicked Heart

This story is one we all know. It is a depiction of the Toy Soldier. Let’s not waste anymore of the 3000 words.

It was a bloody battlefield at the North Pole. Blood in the form of silver and gold glitter littered the bodies of Jack, the tin soldier, and the gingerbread men and was seeping everywhere. As Jack lie there injured, he saw his fallen comrades. It was a scene that would live in infamy in his mind forever. As the medics lifted him to safety, he began to fade.

We begin this story in the land of Jimmy Vanderpool. Jimmy was a good kid who loved his toys. Dad was to bring him a toy that would mold the story. It was Jack the Tin Solder. His father happened upon him at a yard sale in Montana.

After the war between the Elves and Santa, life went back to normal…to some degree. Corporal Jack was disregarded as most of the soldiers were from the war. Until now.

Corporal Jack was sitting on Jimmy’s dresser. As Jimmy came home from school, he was disappointed at the damaged toy and threw him into the ghetto pile of toys. 

Let’s begin the story from his eyes…

As I awoke in this new land of Jimmy Vanderpool, I noticed it was a community of damaged toys. A group of gumdrops approached with Timmy leading on crutches. 

“Hi Mister, welcome to the land of Vanderpool,”said Timmy.

“Hello, glad to meet you all, I am Jack,” said Jack.

“How were you injured mister?” asked Timmy.

“The Great War of the North Pole” replied Jack.

“Oh, The Purple Pimp was part of the Great War too,” said Timmy.

“Purple pimp?” asked Jack.

“Yeah, he rules The Land of Vanderpool. He is at the Candy Cane Club. He is so mean!” said Timmy. “Gotta go mister, feel free to see Mr. Johnson. He will have a place for you to stay.”

“Thank you Timmy” said Jack.

Timmy hobbled away. As I looked around, I saw a community of all different types of toys. I began to move towards the heart of town, when I saw her. 

She was magnificent, beautiful paper ballerina, stunning! She disappeared into what I assumed was a doctor’s office. I had to meet her, so I followed.

As I entered, she was tending to a patient. She was also a nurse…score! I needed a doctor and a beautiful nurse never hurt anyone! As I approached,

“Hello, I’m Jack,” said Jack.

“Holly” said Holly.

“I’m new, as you can see and I’m in need of a doctor,” said Jack.

“Have a seat and I will be right with you,” said Holly.

She was so beautiful! I would wait til the end of time! As I waited, I could only watch her gracefully moving around the office. As she approached, I began to get butterflies.

“Hello Jack, what are these injuries from?” asked Holly.

“I was in the Great War at the North Pole,” said Jack.

“Well, Dr. Crunch is a great doctor and will fix you right up,” said Holly.

I followed her to the examination room, watching in awe her every move. As we entered, I knew I had to ask her to dinner.

“Here you are, Jack. Wait on the table for Dr. Crunch. He will be in shortly,” said Holly.

“Hold on Holly,” said Jack.

I touched her arm ever so gently, to stop her retreat.

“Could I ask you to dinner?” asked Jack.

She began to blush and surprisingly she said, “Well, Jack I was going to stay in tonight, but dinner sounds lovely,” said Holly.

“7pm?” asked Jack.

“Well…yes, I live on 22 Powder Sugar Trail. It’s not far. I’ll see you soon Jack,” said Holly.

“Ok, see you then,” said Jack.

She left ever so gracefully. Then Dr. Crunch entered.

“Hello Jack,” said Dr. Crunch.

“Hello Doc,” said Jack.

“Let’s have a look,” said Dr. Crunch.

I put my leg up on the exam table. The doctor began to bend, pull and tap.

“Ouch!” said Jack.

“Sorry, seems your joint just needs a little tightening,” said Dr. Crunch.

The doctor grabbed a wrench and hammer. Tap, tap, clnk, click…Wow, my leg felt great!

“That should do it!” said Dr. Crunch.

“Great! What do I owe you?” asked Jack.

“Instead of payment, what do you say to doing some work around the office?” asked Dr. Crunch.

“Sure! Hey doc, tell me about Holly, if you don’t mind” said Jack.

“Be careful Jack, everyone knows The Purple Pimp is in love with her,” said Dr. Crunch.

“Who is The Purple Pimp?” asked Jack.

“All we know is that his real name is Taufa. He also was in The Great War. He was a lieutenant with the Elves. He suffered great injuries and walks with a cane. He has a gang of Nutcrackers as his soldiers and he runs the Candy Cane Brothel on the west side of The Land of Vanderpool. He’s a dangerous gumdrop Jack, be careful. Now, go talk to Mr. Johnson and he will have lodging for you,” said Dr. Crunch.

“Thank you doc,” said Jack.

As I left, Holly smiled and gave me a fluttering finger wave. Oh yeah, she liked me! I was kinda handsome. I went off to check in at Mr. Johnson’s. As I walked down the street, I noticed a clothing shop, so I decided to stop in and grab a new suit. I also stopped to buy a bouquet of flowers for Holly.

Out of seemingly nowhere, one of Taufa’s nutcrackers appeared.

“Well, who do we have here, one of Santa’s worthless Tin Soldiers?” said Sammy the Nutcracker.

“Passing through, not looking for any trouble,” said Jack.

“Trouble? I’m just saying hello. I’m Sammy. Not going to tell me your name?” asked Sammy.

“Jack. Like I said, I’m just passing through.” 

As I went to step around this Sammy character, three more showed up. Well, not what I wanted on day one.

“Well boys, it looks like we got ourselves a tough guy,” said Sammy.

They circled around me until I had nowhere to go. The Nutcracker to my left, went to grab my arm…big mistake! I twisted him around until I was behind him, when he pulled his sword and started to swing it at me. I grabbed a nearby shovel, leaning near the shop where I just purchased the flowers and clocked him on his chin. 

“Hang on boys!” yelled Mr. Johnson.

Everyone froze. It was the sheriff walking up to us.

“We were just leaving Mr. Johnson,” said Sammy.

They picked up their fallen boy and he had glitter dripping from his busted lip.

“We will see you again soon Jack!” said Sammy.

Mr. Johnson turned to me and asked, “Who might you be?”

“Jack.”

“Nice to meet you Jack, I’m Mr. Johnson. Well, those boys can be a nuisance, but they usually keep their trouble at The Candy Cane with Taufa,” said Mr. Johnson. “Well over there is the sheriff’s office and the hotel. Room 103 is ready and prepared for ya. Let Suzy at the desk know if you need anything,” 

“Thank you,” said Jack.

I grabbed my clothes and flowers and headed over to the hotel to get ready for my dinner with Miss Holly.

I picked Holly up at 7pm sharp. She looked so beautiful, wearing her pink spandex ballerina outfit! Her Christmas ornament earrings were distracting enough so I could focus on those, instead of staring at her stunning body. I didn’t want to be all creepy!

We went to David’s Fine Italian Doughnut Shoppe for dinner. His sprinkled, chocolate glazed looked delicious! We drank molasses and feasted. We spent the evening laughing and talking. Unsurprising to me, she was just as beautiful inside as she was on the outside.

As the evening wound down, she asked me to escort her home. I happily obliged and as we approached the door, I moved across her path. She did not resist. I held her head in an embrace and kissed her as her paper knees started to fold and I grabbed the door handle so we could enter.

It was a few hours later when I gathered my belongings to head to Mr. Johnson’s hotel. It was a short walk. As I approached Candy Cane Lane, I saw them approach. This time they appeared more prepared with their fearless leader, Taufa the Purple Pimp himself.

“So, is this the famous Tin Soldier Jack?” asked Taufa.

He had a long Cuban cigar hanging from his lips. This time there was 12 nutcrackers and I did not stand a chance in this fight. There was a wagon and I grabbed a large iron bar. If this was going to be a beating, then they were going to feel it also.

These clowns were about as organized as a circus clan. They started to circle me, then I wasted no time. First one I took down with ease. Using him as a shield, number 3 and 4 spun into 5 and 6. Now they were full charge, 7 and 8…I lost all vision from the blow.

As I awoke, I realized my arms were hanging above me from some chains and Taufa was standing in front of me.

“So Jack, I’ll give it to you, 10 of my best men laid out,” said Taufa.

His men continued beating on me while I was hanging from the chains. I had to get free.

“Jack, I was not going to accelerate my plans with Holly but you left me no choice,” said Taufa.

Taufa snapped his little gumdrop fingers and in came Holly. She was gagged and bound. I could hear her muffled crying but the glitter was dripping in my eyes, impairing my vision so I could barely make it all out.

“Take her to my suite,” said Taufa.

The Nutcrackers took Holly off and Taufa turned his attention back to me. As I bled, he just laughed at each strike.

“I will have Holly as my own. Sammy have a couple guys finish him, then dispose of him in the fire,” said Taufa.

I tried to get loose, but the chains were too tight on my wrists. There were 4 of them. As they approached, I knew there was only one way to do this. When they got close enough, I raised my legs to this little Nutcracker’s neck, releasing enough pressure on my wrists, allowing me to break free. We fell to the ground and I grabbed his sword. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. All 3 down and I turned to Sammy, who started begging for his little Nutcracker life.

“Where did they take her?” asked Jack.

“To the top of the mountain, it’s where his suite is. Look for the large fireplace,” said Sammy.

In one swift motion I ended him. I had to get to her before Taufa was able to take advantage of her.

I grabbed a couple of globes from the tree, filled them with hot molasses and turned to head up. I saw Timmy coming in with a bunch of his friends.

“We are here to help Jack!” said Timmy.

“Well, I’ll be. Nice to see you Timmy!” said Jack.

“We want to help you end Taufa’s rule of our land,” said Timmy.

Almost everyone showed up, gingerbread men, candy canes, MnMs, peanut clusters and Mr. Johnson himself.

“Come forward, I need to deputize you Jack,” said Sheriff Johnson.

Doctor Crunch came over, gave me a couple twists and taps, oiled a couple joints and I was good as new!

“As the town witness, raise your hand,” said Sheriff Johnson.

I raised my hand and he swore me in. He handed me a bb rifle and sent me on my way.

I set off with half the town and I equipped them with hot molasses Christmas globes. We were as ready as we were ever going to be.

As we approached, the fire was stoked and as live as a volcano. I told them to wait for my signal. I walked up and Taufa was on top of Holly, taking advantage of her. His Nutcrackers saw me and charged. I motioned and the town came alive. 

Taufa stood, pulling a blade from his cane and yelled, “get him!”

As they approached, the town unleashed a barrage of globes full of hot molasses, which dropped all of them. I approached Taufa to confront him. He was now, standing at a cliff, with a fire burning hot below.

He put the blade to Holly’s throat and I froze.

“Stop, or I’ll end her,” said Taufa.

From behind, Timmy tried to jump on Taufa and Taufa, Holly and I ended up falling over the cliff. I reached out to catch her, grabbing ahold of her armwith one hand and the other gripping the edge of the cliff. She was slipping. I saw Taufa melting as he fell into the flames below.

“Let me go Jack! Otherwise, we will both go over!” yelled Holly.

My other arm’s grip was failing and I was sliding further over the edge.

“Jack, the night we had was so magical. I love you. I knew immediately we were soulmates. Let me go, you can still save yourself.,” cried Holly.

“No Holly, I feel the same. If we fall, we fall together,” said Jack.

As my fingers lost their grip, I just let go. She was my love, my Holly.

As they both fell into the fire, the glitter spread into smoke. The townspeople watched as Holly’s glitter melted into the Tin Soldier’s steel and formed a true heart. A wicked but forever heart. The unbreakable heart of a paper ballerina and a lost Tin Soldier combined forever.

The End