Shadowsblade a Christmas Tale: Written by Shadowsblade

Created for war and forged in pain, dealing with demons within and without.

A Christmas vacation and a world of toy deliveries saved

In this chapter

Christmas

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~o~O~o~

~o~O~o~

December 24th,
3:20 in the afternoon

Far from Whateley, in upper state Vermont at a large Ski resort.

All the teen girls are gathered around the fireplace after finishing off a very large lunch that the Leigh twins had arranged for the group, along with providing this rather nice ski chalet. Most of this was short vacation from school was provided by the producers of the twins last motion picture as a bonus for making personal appearances at conventions to 'sell' the movie and the other girls were invited for their combined helping out with the large crowds of children!

Rohanna was just taking a place on the large leather sectional couch, as the two sugar hyper kids roared right over the top of the couches back. One used the tall back as a take off pad and flapped his feathery wings hard to fly up to the next level of the four story near mansion of a log cabin. The little girl hot on his heels, took off on her bat like leathery wings from the floor and landed with her clawed feet gaining purchase on the thick wooden rail on the balcony overlooking the living room below.

"Get back here Tim, you are not getting away from me so easy!" Tessa shouted at the boy who was about her same size with the wings of a hawk on his back.

"Tessa...no claw marks on the wood in here please? I know the whole cabin is made of logs, but don't treat them as if they are outside...please?" the tall blonde teen with black feathered wings of her own said sitting in a spot next to the Drow and placed a large plate of warm cookies on the coffee table that she brought from the kitchen with her.

"Yes auntie Kyley, but I have to catch this hellion first!" Tessa squealed out and she ran after the boy up the stairs farther.

"Says the near demon chasing the angel?" Becky says with a laugh, as she sat down next to her love and cuddled up closer trying to get warm as she noticed the falling snow outside the large picture windows of the room.

"Hey you two, get down here and try to stay still. AND if you do I will tell you a Santa story!" a shorter girl with Mediterranean looks and matching long black hair said as she took a spot in one of the large leather recliners across the table from the couch.

Becky laughed at the teen just taking a seat, "Santa is not real, tall tales again Kelly?"

"SANTA is not real, then how can you humans worship nothing for over a month like you all do then?" Kyley questioned the idea of paying homage to nothing like it was a GOD!

Becky gulped a little....whoops the cat was out of the bag and her love knew it. She had been telling the very GOO like being she called her love, that Santa did exist for several weeks trying to make this first Christmas fun for them all, Kyley, Tessa, and the newly added Tim before he grew up fast past this time in his new life as one of Kyley's Hawklords!

"Haaa Becky got found out!" Kevin said as he plopped into a large love seat, then his Drow twin love fell right next to him and gave him being the new Drow around the campus a warm hug.

As she hugged the Drow male next to her, Rehanna spoke up from her nuzzling one of his ears, "Santa is real and so are the Christmas elves you humans call them. The only friendly and nice elves I might add!"

Right then a crash sounded out through the whole room from upstairs....then came twin "Sorry" from two kids now in trouble up there.

"Well there goes the damages deposit...but who cares?" Said a now laughing Rohanna.

Becky growled out to the kids upstairs, "Keep it up and no presents under the tree tomorrow as Santa will not show up for bad kids!" she warned the two youngest in the house.

"Becky, you say one second he does exist then the next not...then change your mind, to he does exist? Is this Santa god or spirit real or not?" Kyley asked confused again at what humans say or do at times.

"REAL" both Drow twins sing out.

"Fake, fake, fake!" Kelly laughs out.

Tonya the other new elf or Sidhe in the house finally comes out of the kitchen after her turn at cleaning up, "Well real or not...Kevin believed in him for years, while I did not. I saw mom and dad wrapping 'Santa' gifts one night when I was four and that killed it for me?" she admitted laughing as she flopped into the last seat in the matching recliner next to Kelly's chair.

"Still say he is real!" Rohanna says and her twin nods along with her words.

"Well prove it then?" Kelly says pulling a wallet out of her pocket, "then, I bet you a 'gold' on it!" she add in a bet, the only one the two long lived beings gave credence to...'Gold's' as they all called them, were personally labeled favor 'chits' they traded amongst each other once and awhile. Even Kyley and a few others of Whatley and the outside world were using them now.

"And how do I prove it to you?" the Drow pondered back.

"That is up to the Drow...you are supposed to be very crafty creatures for Sidhe...or not?" Kelly grinned evilly back to the twin.

"So would you settle for a Christmas elf or a reindeer or us kidnapping Santa himself on Christmas eve?" Rehanna the twin sister questioned the small teen goddess of fate or one of the many that are?

"Hummm an elf would be good, but dressing one up will not do? So you tell me then, what would be proof?" the dark haired teen said as she kicked up the foot rest on the recliner.

With the giggling of the kids going nuts upstairs, both Twins stood quickly up and said in unison, "So this is a challenge I guess, well we got ya covered then and will be back with some sorta proof in a few hours!"

After both Drow ported away, Kevin stared at Kelly more than angry, "She had better be back soon...OR I will be REAL mad with you Kelly!"

"What...boy...was she giving you a special Christmas present?" she grinned to the teen.

"YES....and you had better not mess that up!" he warned again.

~o~O~o~

North pole....top of the world.

Both Drow pop back into existence and look every direction they can...'south' and that old joke hovered in their shared minds. "Everything is SOUTH of here no matter the direction you walk in!"

As Rehanna scanned the area around them, she spotted it first. A small slip in the dimension of the world hiding a doorway to another, one that only popped up on certain days or times of the solar year as the sun, moon and earth, plus many stars spun around each other in the madness that is the universe at large.

Both twins nodded to one another and walked off towards the rift, then right through it into the small dimension that was hidden inside! Within this small universe unto itself was the world that held the realm of father Christmas or Pere Noel, Dun Che Lao Ren (“Christmas Old Man”), Weihnachtsmann (“Christmas Man”)Hoteiosho (a god or priest who bears gifts) among dozens if not hundreds and he does not show up all over the world on one night. Each nation has it's own day or time they use, with their own named legend and only in the last few decades has the 'Santa' legend from the US taken over for the most part.

As the Drow walked into the small world unto it's own, they noted that most of the decorations were Christmas based or themed with winter months for the most part. But right now the place seemed to follow the US version of Santa legend and it must change as the days pass and as the legend changes this place in turn to appear nearer to the holiday coming up?

Rohanna could make out some of the fading of other nation's 'Santa' stylings, as the US legend style resemblance took them over, "I wonder if the Easter bunny has the same issues!" she laughed out.

As both Drow crept up the long street of half sized homes that must certainly be home to the smaller stature elves of here, one of the elves stepped out of his home and jingled his keys as he locked his door. Then as he turned away from his house, he spotted the two VERY tall to him Drow standing in the middle of the small cobblestone paved street.

"What are you doing here, your delivery is not due for hours and coming here to demand more presents Rehanna and Rohanna is not allowed!" the little elf shouted at both Drow by NAME!

"You speak Drow?" Rehanna asked.

"And why not, or how could I read all the letters of kids from all over this world and others?" he stated with pride.

"Hummm makes sense to me?" Rohanna added next.

"But none of that nonsense...what are you two Drow doing here?" he asked again more than mad at the intrusion on his nice town by the twin Drows.

"We came here on a bet?" Rehanna started.

Rohanna said next nodding to her twin. "...if we can we need proof to show a human or two that this place and Santa do really exist. We know they do, so it was easy to come here for us?"

"Well you can not get proof, you should know that is not allowed?" the smaller elf huffed out in anger.

"Well we don't!" both Drow said in unison.

"Okay, but for now follow me and lets go see the big man about all of this mess!" the elf said as he walked away and up the street towards larger buildings at the center of town.

"All right, but what is your name?" Rohanna asked trying to remain polite like she has to be.

"Me?" he asked back over his shoulder and saw both Drow nod back, "Well I am Alabaster Snowball, the only elf on staff at the North Pole with two university degrees and both are from Cambridge! Besides I am in charge of the 'naughty or nice list' these long years...I am training a replacement...want a job?" he asked the two Drow that shook their heads in reply instantly!

"No thanks, too much responsibility for us right now!" Rohanna nearly shouted back to him.

Shortly the small elf lead them into a huge barn or in this case ARK! One that housed every creature you could think of, because Santa's sleigh was not only pulled by reindeers! In some worlds, it was sled dogs, cats, fish, birds or bugs or lastly people carrying a sedan chair!

Alabaster walked over to a large man that strangely was growing fatter by the second as Christmas eve night came closer, "Santa what's wrong?" he asked using the name that fit the being best right now.

"Well my friends," he started glancing and smiling the Drow's way too! "The reindeer are acting strange...almost sickly tonight, we might have to call this one night off for the first time in a millennium!"

Alabaster walked over to a much taller blond haired elf that had bells interwoven in his long braided hair. The bells jingled as he helped move one the large deer back into it's stall...Dancer was the name above the stall, carved in the wooden plaque and the reindeer almost looked drunk to the Drow as the deer stumbled about backing into his place in the row of his fellow deer.

"Wunorse Openslae! What is the matter with your DEER tonight, we have to get the presents out or be buried alive in toys! You know better than I do, the machines making them never stop and can't be ever stopped! That is the curse of this place...deliver toys over and over or drown in them!" the smaller elf shouted up at the much taller one.

Rohanna thought those words over...'this place has to keep delivering toys or the world floods over with them! How funny!" she thought to her twin who stifled a short laugh at the idea of a 'toy making curse!'

"This is not a funny matter Drow!" a fairy said as it buzzed in Rehanna's face and Lilac reacted instantly to shoo her away...with pointy spear in hand!

"Sugarplum Mary, none of that!" Santa warned the small flying ball of anger, "they are guests and maybe you should offer the fellow Pixies a sweet, while the Drow twins try to help us all out?"

"As you ask Santa...I am Sugarplum Mary, a sugar plum fairy and I run all the sweets services of the pole!" she said proudly, then whipped out a plate of mint cookies for the two Pixies from nowhere and placed them on a small table for the two of them to eat!

"Can we?" Violet asked before even thinking to take the sweet offer.

"Go ahead you two...have at it!" Rehanna said with a smile and both Pixies buzzed over to the waiting treat, then started to eat the small cookies that were made in their size!

Santa grinned his greeting to the Drow, "I am glad you showed up, I hope you can help us out with this issue?"

"We don't know deer, but magical creatures we certainly do?" Rehanna said.

Wunorse Openslae barked instantly as the Drow walked protectively over nearer to HIS deer, "Ohhh no...I am not having Drow touch my deer, they are not magical components to ground up for spells or making weapons!" he shouted at the fact that most Drow were know for killing off creatures for spell 'bits' over the millennia.

"Hey we only do that when ordered to by others, so unless you want us to do that...we will not!" Rohanna growled at the blond elf now blocking her path.

"FINE, but I don't know what two Drow are going to know about a LIVING reindeer?" he mocked the twin Sidhe.

"Well one thing I can see?" Rehanna said petting the Dancer's side and head, "He is out of it...like drugged or drunk?"

"Do these deer use magical essence for flight or do they use something else?" Rohanna asked looking Prancer over in the next stall.

"Yes they do use essence, just like you Sidhe do....why?" Openslae asked wondering what the two were up to.

"Give me a second to call on one of my Grove mates and have her come here so she can check on something?" Rehanna said now and started to walk out of the huge barn.

Sometime later the twin walked back in with the Matron of the Grove at her side and the Matron bowed to the large man in red fur, "Santa...was it you called this being Rehanna mistress, protector of the Grove?"

"Yes, Santa or Saint nick among many of the humans, or us Sidhe...we called him the 'blessed gift elf' and other names over the age of the queens." the tall Drow said waving over to the man in red fur with white trimmings.

"Ahhh a Nymph, you better get busy and help us out here...before the Misses hears one of your kind is here and keeps me from my warm bed thinking I was playing around on her!" he started to belly laugh like his true legendary self.

After being given some quiet time to examine each of the reindeer in turn, the Matron nods back to Rehanna as she walks back over to the anxiously waiting group, "You are correct in your first assessment Protector of the Grove, this deer is feeling the change in the flow of essence in the world. Because they only see it once a year, for but one day or night and with the changes in the Ley lines because of the World Trees planting...it shocked them a bit and made them 'drunk' on the extra essence flow of this world?" she laughed a little.

"So how long Miss till my deer are better?" Wunorse Openslae asked the Nymph.

"Well not for a month and you will have to expose the whole herd to the world at least weekly from here on out to keep them balanced with the Ley lines new flow these days, as it grows stronger and moor powerful?" she advised the blonde elf in charge of their care.

"WELL rusty jingle bells!" Alabaster Snowball tried to curse, but failed?

"What are we going to do tonight then, we have to deliver the presents or the flow will over run us all?" Santa asked the group.

"Use some other creature that flies?" Rohanna suggested.

"We can not, only ones made or born for this day can do the task. All the others need the whole year to rest from the last trip they completed." Santa sighed out in defeat.

"I know a creature that can do it and all we need for fuel is some of Sugarplum Mary's sugary treats!" Rohanna said with a smile of discovery.

"AND what would that be?" Alabaster Snowball sasses the taller teen.

"Pixies!" Rohanna sings out.

"We don't have nearly enough!" Santa admits.

"Well Violet, do we have that many?" she asked the tiny Pixie on her shoulder eating a small cookie.

Violet wipes the messy chocolate mint off her small face from eating, "I have 374 sisters, brothers and cousins in my family clan alone and there are at least thirty more just like that in the Grove!"

"Well let me think..." says Wunorse Openslae, as he steps up, then measures Violet's weight and size while she is sitting on the Drows shoulder and has her lift up a few things from the barn while flying.

"300 would do it!" the blonde elf gives his appraisal of the odds.

A far older Christmas elf that just hobbled into the barn or Ark adds in with his idea next to the whole plan, "I know Pixies and they are smart, fast and nearly impossible for children to spot. So have a few hundred or more fly along in the sleigh's wake and deliver presents as you go Santa. they can do the easier jobs, the single children or what there is and Alabaster Snowball can guide them as you go a long in tonight's flight with his staff of 'Naughty or nice list elves'..."

"Great idea Shinny Upatree! No wonder you are the oldest and smartest of my elves!" Santa laughs once more and shakes his belly in a now trademark way.

With both violet and Lilacs help, we gathered the Pixies of the Grove and asked for the help of a few others along the way and with a major Grove in every well populated city. We had a virtual Fae army to back up Santa on this task of his tonight!

I found out that Santa's sleigh rides in a slowed or sped up time bubble much like the Grove can do at times. This is so he can speed up to cross area's of nearly nothing and slow down to a crawl in the dense cities of the humans.

Inside the bubble he could blast over thousands of miles in a second, then slow down to make minutes seem like days when he need the time. As the Pixies on the first leg among many were readied and fueled up by tons of mint chocolate cookies. The Christmas elf leaders divided up the clans of pixies to deliver packages in certain cities to speed up Santa's trip this night.

As that time came nearer! Santa shouted out to all the very proud Pixies chosen to pull his sleigh via very thin magic ropes each one held, "On Violet and lilac...Cein and Nyx...Onward..."

Rohanna interrupts the spirit of Christmases shout, "Ahhh Santa we don't really have all night for you to do the whole mouseketeer roll call for over 300 Pixies tonight and at each house's roof? Now do we?" she smiled to the older man or near god of Christmas.

"You are right, so off we go!" he shouted and was off.

The Sleigh took off instantly because it weighed nothing while it's magical field was in use and was going up quickly into the night's sky. A black blob of the sleigh, with a fat man at the reins and all lead by a blur of tiny wings, with a dark fuzzy patch of a thousand or so Pixies following right behind in it's magical twinkling wake.

All of that sight vanished at insane speed from the twin Drow's view, the old elf patted the closer Drow on her back, "You can go next year maybe, he just did not have the room for you both tonight...there will be thousands of other runs over the long years...that I am sure of deary!" Shinny Upatree the oldest of Christmas elves said to the two teens.

As the sleigh flew on its long night, the Pixies were fed mint cookies at each step that had enough time and those too tired to fly on? They were changed out with fresh volunteers at each large city! The many other clans worked in instant harmony with the 'List' elves and flew presents off in every direction at each new city...never making a mistake or missing a home!

~o~O~o~

What seemed like a few hours to the waiting Drows, was all night to the rest of the world!

The sleigh came in for a landing at what seemed to be a dawn of light across the small village at the top of the world and behind it the gate to the world began closing for one more year. Santa jumped out of his sleigh with a bound of energy, "Well this night was rescued by the smallest of Fae and I will tell Gaea about this in my own ways. Your Pixie army of friends Rohanna and Rehanna did very well, almost well enough to replace reindeer on the next trip!" he boasted for the thousands of the small Fae who helped tonight all over the world.

Violet and Lilac flew very tried looking paths to their chosen Drow and fell into their waiting outstretched hands, Violet spoke for both of them, "We made it all night thanks to our armor's magic and spells....but I don't want to see another mint cookie for at least a month!" she said and fell instantly asleep.

Lilac nodded to her sisters words and gave a few well timed thumbs up...until Violet mentioned mint cookies! That is when Lilac almost barfed! Then she fell asleep too.

"Well we should get going Santa, good luck with next year and call us if you need us!" Rohanna said as she walked off towards the still open gate back home.

"I will" Santa said then smiled over to the twins, "I have an eye on you two and rewards will come eventually with time?" he gave both of them.

The villagers wave bye to the two Drow as they vanished from their sight.

Back in the real world, only a few hours had passed by even though in both twins mind the day had changed. The magic of that place had moved past them and changed them. But the world was still the same one they had left and they ported home without even noticing it all.

Once both appeared in the living room, all the kids gathered around them and a few older beings.

"Well did you find Santa or not?" Kelly asked the Drow.

"Nope we did not find him at all or see anything up at the north pole...both Drow LIED strangely and knew it instantly! But lied all the same and there was nothing stopping them or causing them pain or to correct the utter lie they just said?

"Well hand it over then!" Kelly insisted to the twins and she was given a gold coin with the twins personal symbol on it's back.

"Hey why are the Pixie asleep Rohanna?" Tessa asked seeing the two of them asleep in the Drow's hands and as they laid them on soft pillows for the night.

"They did lots of flying for us up there on the north pole." Rehanna admitted to the small girl Succubus.

Tessa sniffed at them as they lay slumbering on the pillow Rohanna had for them everywhere they went, "They smell REAL minty for some reason?"

Rehanna and Rohanna laughed like twin maniacs at hearing those words come from the child near her Pixies, "That they do!" they howled in funny unison.

Soon enough, late night came and the little kids were tucked into bed as the older teens gathered hidden presents from hiding places all over the large home. They were all quickly placed under the dozen foot tall tree with care, in hopes that a man would soon be there!

~o~O~o~

Later that night after they all went to bed.

Kelly heard a creak of a floorboard in her room and instantly her blade came out, "Who is there!" she whispered into the darkness.

A large man in a red fur suit came into the light suddenly and her sword vanished because there was no threat in the room any longer, "You know who Kelly!" the red shadow said.

"No way...Rohanna said you did not exist...she admitted it darn it and paid off on the bet!" Kelly reasoned to the shadow that became more and more solid as it came closer to her bed.

"Well you know how magic is...maybe? And the Drow had to lie to keep the magic alive!" Santa said as he sat on the end of her large bed.

"Well I guess I have to give that coin back and give her one of mine then?" Kelly asked the man.

"Or end up on the Naughty list for a few millennia?" he warned Kelly of the only outcome for this night if she did not give in to his decision!

"Fine...you win, Christmas has to go on!" she smiled to him and Santa stood up, then vanished with a burst of twinkles and snow.

~o~O~o~

That morning.

Kyley awoke to find a very collectible 'Pez' candy dispensers under her pillow and several more of them under the tree. Becky did not recall buying them nor did anyone else? The last present unwrapped with Santa's name on it, contained one of Kyley's missing sets of armor for Tim to use!

Becky found her special present right after Kyley opened her's and inside the box was a block of silver metal. That Kyley tried to warn her, "Don't touch it!"
But it was too late, the metal flowed over Becky's fingers, onto her hand, up her arm and all over her body while forming the same armor Kyley had, but in shinny silver instead of Kyley's all black armor.

Kyley examined the armor and found a crest on the chest right where one should be, "This was my mom's! I have to guess it's your now and I am very sure she would like you to have it?" she smiled.

"How do I get out of this stuff?" Becky questioned suddenly sacred someone might need a can opener!

"Think bracelet and it will?" Kyley said simply, while showing off her's and Becky did just that. When she thought of that same style that Kyley had, the metal flowed into the same jewelry, on the same arm!

Kevin found a gift under the tree, a matching set of Drow armor much like Rohanna or her twin made long years ago and it was crafted to match him exactly. Then the last surprise, a blade to match! The twins had no idea how that got there?

Kelly finds her 'from Santa' present and shakes the box first...."It's not big enough to be the hot pink steel toed boots I wanted"

But inside the Box, she finds a leather sheath that holds a 18 inch overall long knife with a 12 inch drop point bowie design blade and the very thin wavy lines of light of alternating light and dark metals show it is made of Damascus steel? The handle has a brass pommel, as she examines the blade closer to find the makers mark near the guard...it's her's and her Grandfather's!

Kelly remembers making the blade with him at her grandfathers forge and then she lost in one of her many battles in her military time...there is no way it can be here...it was lost for good?

What Rohanna and Rehanna found in their shared box was a simple letter addressed to them written in old Drow and that was something they never spoke in or wrote!
"Freedom is, letting someone you love tell you to tear off your own chains!"
That was all it said.

~o~O~o~

Miles away that morning

Jobe awoke in his large family home or city block of royal housing and went to unwrap her presents of the year. Strangely, each and every box with her name on it was filled with a lump of black coal and the last had a small hand written note that vanished after she read it in a cloud of snow, along with wisp of peppermint smell...."Please be better to the Drow you copied....or no more presents for you.........Signed Santa"

At a small home near ARC, Ellena Blackwood unwraps her presents from family and friends. She would have normally been with family this day, but her research into the twin Drows was too important to her and the plans on using them to her advantage.

She unwrapped the first package and found a large lump of utter black dirty coal in the box nestled in wrapping paper...the note read one word..."Don't!"

She hastily unwrapped the next one..."DO!"

Then the next one revealed..."IT!"

And the next..."Or you WILL be sorry forever!...Santa and others!" the signature, the symbols used instead of names after Santa's name...all vanished in BLACK acrid smoke that smelled like death!

~o~O~o~

~o~O~o~

~o~O~o~