Ascending From Madness

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “Where is my sweet little Dee?” I teased.

  “You’ll get her back tomorrow.” Matt nudged me. “For a day.”

  I knew she’d relax sometime, but her drive to get Christmas to where it used to be after so many years of darkness was obsessive. It was subtle, but even here on Earth I felt a bit more happiness, a lightness since Winterland had been restored. They destroyed Jessica’s castle and built the new Workshop there. The town I had walked through to the queen’s castle was rebuilt, surging with life again. Cafes, houses, and shops. Flowers sang happily in the window beds, the river bubbling with joy, and glorious sun greeted them every day. Even if it was rainy, snowy, or cloudy, you still felt the break of day, the endless night gone.

  I was looking forward to spending the day with my family in Winterland after the work was done. Relaxing in the cabin, laughing, drinking, and eating, consuming so many calories from Hare’s food and mead I might have to diet the rest of the year.

  So worth it.

  Not sure if it was Nick or Santa who decided to stay living in the cabin, using a mirror to travel to work daily. Think he liked the peace and quiet there. The two men would always live in one body, and both seemed to have come to accept the other’s presence. There was far too much pain and darkness for Santa to ever be without Nick. And Santa saved Nick from drowning in the negative anger and pain.

  Those we lost were still in our hearts, but a new joy was helping us through. Rudy and Vixen were expecting a baby girl in spring, which they already knew would be named after their fallen comrades. Dasher-Prancer-Dancer. Bit of a mouthful, but I noticed everyone already nicknaming the unborn reindeer Dash or DP.

  I couldn’t have been happier for him. They were so in love and happy. Rudy and I would always be close, but his world was Vixen and the baby.

  Rudy wasn’t the only one who found love in tragedy.

  “Dee!” Dum’s voice wailed through the mirror, his upper body coming into the room. “Oh good, you guys are back.” Dum waved at us with a toothy grin.

  “Dum, what is it? Why aren’t you at your station?” Dee’s voice pitched up.

  “Uhhh… We have a situation…” Her second in command appeared anxious.

  “What now?” She exclaimed. “I left you in charge for a minute. You couldn’t even handle a minute, Dum-Puck?”

  I snorted. Yes, I still found that funny as hell.

  “You know I don’t handle crises well.” He tugged at his hat, pulling it more to one side, covering the healed stump on the side of his head. He still wasn’t secure about being the elf without an ear, but Bea seemed to find it incredibly sexy, which helped his ego a bit. He hadn’t completely bounced back emotionally from the battle. He still suffered nightmares and some down times, but every day it got better. Especially since he and Bea had become really good friends. After all his talk about “normal” elves, he oddly adored her kind of crazy. They giggled and ran around a lot like they were five.

  “What. Is. It?” Dee stared at her brother.

  “Happy quit again.”

  “Again? He can’t quit. It’s Christmas Eve. Tell him to get his ass back in the workshop.”

  “You tell him. But I think he’s already at the pub, drinking.”

  “Ugh!” She cried at the ceiling. “That cantankerous, grouchy ass. How is he even a puck? He’s everything opposite from an elf. He’s an anti-elf.”

  “You tell me,” Dum muttered. “You’re the one dating him.”

  Dating sounded so funny with those two. Half the time they acted as if they hated each other; the other half you’d find them sneaking sly looks and disappearing together. The gossip on the odd pairing was ramped through the village, others trying to figure out exactly what was going on and what they saw in each other. Being Santa’s lead elf, most thought Dee should be with another Christmas loving, happy elf. That wasn’t her. She always liked different boys, crushing on Rudy and Scrooge.

  Happy may be an elf on the outside, though he was quite a bit taller than all the other elves, but on the inside, he was a grumpy, sarcastic man. Very un-elfish and she loved that.

  I was thrilled for her because I knew she was completely in love. I think I was the only one she confessed to.

  “Go. Find him.”

  “What?” Dum cupped his bad ear.

  “Dum!”

  “Sorry, can’t hear you.” He slipped back into the mirror, pointing at his bad ear. He used this tactic a lot when he wanted to get out of something.

  “Dammit, Dum. I know you can hear me. Maybe you have no brain cells left, but your left ear is working just fine.” She yelled back at him. “Dum!”

  He poked his head in again.

  “Fine. I will deal with him.” She adjusted her ear mic. “For now, take his spot; I need to get to the control room.” She motioned for him to go. “There’s a bad snowstorm in Poland. A kid won’t sleep in Bruges, and as usual, dozens of kids suddenly went from naughty to nice, not wanting to lose out on presents.” She rubbed at her head, sighing before she started to follow her brother back through the mirror. “Now, Hare!” she yelled at the bunny before she slipped through.

  “Dammit. I was hoping she forgot about me,” Hare grumbled, crawling out and moving for the mirror. He dipped his hand into his apron and pulled out a small mead bottle, guzzling it down. “Now I see why so many chefs drink or take drugs, the endless desire for our master pieces can really take a toll.”

  “Just wait until we open your bakery next door. You are going to be worshipped.” I winked at him.

  “They won’t even know I’m the one baking,” he scoffed. Our set up was Hare would bake in his kitchen, and we’d run the hat and bakery shop. With help of course, but because of our circumstance, it couldn’t be someone off the street.

  Now that Jessica was gone and the water she drugged her people with out of their systems, I met many lovely characters. Most didn’t remember much from that time. As much as their faces sometimes haunted me, almost losing my head to that crowd, I had to remember they were victims too.

  And many in Winterland looked like regular humans, which worked in our favor. Eve, Holly, and Joseph worked in the shop. They were giddy to travel between the realms and utterly fascinated by New York.

  They loved working here and, honestly, they were the best employees. I didn’t know what I’d do without them. Especially now that we would be expanding.

  We had searched for the queen’s harem but never found people like Pepper Mint or Everly. I had a sinking feeling they had slipped into Earth’s realm, hiding in the vastness of people. “Could you imagine? The relentlessness of fame if they found out an extremely rugged, handsome, talking hare with badass scars, wearing his own foot around his neck, was the one baking the orgasms on a plate for them? Being revered like that would be too much for him.”

  “So humble.” Scrooge chuckled.

  “Lick my nutcracker,” Hare jabbed back before jumping through the mirror, leaving us with only the melody of Pen’s song. He sat on the floor at my feet, entranced by the snow globe, singing to it.

  “Just wait until he learns we’re naming it The White Rabbit.”

  The tag line for the bakery would be, “It’s always teatime.” A nod to the tattoo inked on Scrooge’s chest and our sign out front. It didn’t bother me that it was Belle’s phrase. I wasn’t afraid of the past. Everything led us here… to each other.

  Scrooge twisted me to face him, his gaze heating again. “Not too late to go upstairs for a moment.”

  “Think Dee will actually boil us in figgy pudding.”

  “Again, worth it.” His hands moved down my sides.

  Staring up at him I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. I had known I didn’t want to leave earth permanently, nor did I want to let Winterland go. Okay, I would have never let Scrooge go. But for a moment, I feared I might have to choose.

  He had kissed me, the sun rising in Winterland for the first time in decades, his eyes boring into me.

&nbs
p; “Where you go, I go, Ms. Liddell.”

  “You’d leave Winterland? Your family?”

  “Remember, I’m a greedy, selfish asshole.” He growled in my ear. “I want both. And I will take both.”

  Santa had been firm in his rules about traveling between the realms, but with a little persuasion, and the fact he knew I was a key and could open and close it if I wanted, he relented. There was always the chance Winterland could be discovered or a character would become reckless, but you couldn’t live life in fear.

  That wasn’t really living.

  Brought back to the present, I stared up at him. “I love you.” My mouth met his, kissing him softly.

  “You are really asking for me to toss you over my shoulder and take you upstairs.” He moved in closer. “And fuck any trace of you off the good list.”

  “Think I did that when I smashed a bottle into Nick’s head.”

  “Still jealous over that,” he muttered as he kissed me.

  “Santa’s sack. You two are at it again,” Hare barked from the mirror. “Come on, Dee’s cracking the whip.”

  “Sounds kinky.” Scrooge nuzzled my neck, nipping my jaw. “Though I’d rather do that to you upstairs.”

  “Go without us.” I waved Hare off, my legs tightening with desire.

  “Oh, okay.” Hare shrugged. “Guess I’ll drink the fresh batch of mead all by myself then.”

  “Coming!” Scrooge and I swung for the mirror. Scrooge followed Hare, disappearing in the mirror as I picked up Pen. Shutting off the light by the open office door, the street and twinkle lights flooding down the short hallway to me.

  “Alice.” Like a whisper of wind, my name slithered over my shoulder, snaking up the back of my neck, like cold icy fingers. My body came to a jolting halt. “Al-ice.”

  I jerked my head over my shoulder, my gaze traveling outside the huge window, fear prickling at my skin.

  My gaze fell on a shadowy figure standing by a tree outside. Wearing a large hood, I couldn’t make out any features, but terror stuttered the breath in my lungs. A guttural instinct pounded my heart against my ribs. I could feel eyes on me, as if it could see me way back in my office. Dread bottomed out my stomach, dampening my skin with sweat. A hiss wheezed through my throat.

  Then I blinked.

  Gone.

  The spot was empty.

  Curious.

  Still staring outside, I took a deep breath, swallowing back my fright. Nothing’s there, Alice. You know she is gone. It was just in your head, I said to myself, willing my thumping heart to calm down. She can’t ever hurt you again.

  I knew she was gone, but nightmares of her still simmered up through the cracks. I hated that even from the Land of the Lost Souls, she could still find a way to torment me.

  “Ms. Alice, are you okay?” Pen tapped at my shoulder, turning my head back to him.

  “Yes. Just fine.” I nodded, swallowing down the lump of fear in my throat. “Let’s go wrap some presents.”

  “And me?” Pen squealed. He loved when I decorated him like a Christmas tree.

  “Absolutely.” I winked. “When Dee isn’t watching.”

  “Or she’ll yell at us again.”

  “You better get moving.” Scrooge’s voice drew me to the mirror as he stepped back through. “Or are you asking to be spanked, Ms. Liddell?” His eyebrow cocked up.

  “That a promise, Mr. Scrooge?” I tried to smile.

  “You okay?” he asked as I moved to him, taking Pen from my arms.

  “Yeah.” I nodded, forcing the moment out of my head. I shook my shoulders, letting playful humor dance on my lips. “I’m more than okay. Spanking and mead?” My mouth brushed his. “What more could a girl want?”

  “Fuck, Ms. Liddell.” He groaned behind me as I stepped into the mirror.

  This life was everything I wanted and more. I would not let her ghost destroy it. My heart full of love, I plunged into the hole.

  Letting myself descend into the insanity was the only way I could rise and…

  Ascend from madness.

  THE END

  Thank you to all my readers. Your opinion really matters to me and helps others decide if they want to purchase my book. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on the site where you purchased it. It would mean a lot. Thank you.

  Also check out my Contemporary Romance and Paranormal Romance novels listed in the front of this book.

  Acknowledgements

  I hope you have enjoyed Alice and Scrooge’s story, along with Hare, Rudy, Santa, Dee, Dum, and Pen! Would love to continue the series with Dinah’s story as I have fallen so in love with this series and these characters! I hope you guys have too. Thank you again for giving this mad tale a chance.

  Kiki & Colleen at Next Step P.R.- Thank you for all your hard work! I love you ladies so much.

  Jordan Rosenfeld at Write Livelihood - Every book is better because of you. I have your voice constantly in my head as I write.

  Hollie “the editor”- Always wonderful, supportive, and a dream to work with.

  Jay Aheer- So much beauty. I am in love with your work!

  Judi Fennell at www.formatting4U.com- Always fast and always spot on!

  To all the readers who have supported me: My gratitude is for all you do and how much you help indie authors out of the pure love of reading.

  To all the indie/hybrid authors out there who inspire, challenge, support, and push me to be better: I love you!

  And to anyone who has picked up an indie book and given an unknown author a chance. THANK YOU!

  About the Author

  Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and sarcastic heroines who kick butt. She also enjoys books, travel, TV shows, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Stacey swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world.

  She grew up in Northern California, where she ran around on her family’s farm, raising animals, riding horses, playing flashlight tag, and turning hay bales into cool forts.

  When she’s not writing she’s out hiking, spending time with friends, and traveling. She also volunteers helping animals and is eco-friendly. She feels all animals, people, and the environment should be treated kindly.

  To learn more about Stacey or her books, visit her at:

  Author website & Newsletter: www.staceymariebrown.com

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