It Started With a Sleigh

by Kaydence Snow

  “We’ll go down together. Probably time to head off anyway.” El leaned back against the desk and smiled at me. “If someone would just get her shit together and put her clothes back on.”

  I pointed at them both in turn and raised my eyebrows. “It’s your fault I’m like this.”

  El grinned and held his right hand up, the back of it resting on his shoulder as if he were carrying a tray. Tin leaned forward and slapped it in a backward high five.

  “Fuck yeah, it is.” Tin nodded. They both looked very satisfied with themselves. I couldn’t blame them; the feeling was warranted. We were, after all, completely satisfied.

  I just shook my head and pulled on my tights and underwear.

  I took my hair down and smoothed it before retying the ponytail. Tin appeared in front of me, twirling a sprig of mistletoe in his fingers that he’d pulled from a vase by the door. He tucked a stray hair behind my ear and gently slid the mistletoe into the top of my ponytail. I just about melted in the chair. He was so sweet and full of life.

  El handed me my boots. Just as I was pulling up the zipper on the left one, the door burst open, and someone I’d never seen before rushed into the office. He was middle-aged and bald, kind of gangly. At the sight of three random people, he paused.

  “Who are you?” The man frowned and looked around the dark space, taking in the mess on the desk. I was pretty sure this was his office, and I was pretty sure it smelled like sex.

  I quickly finished zipping up my boot and sprang out of the chair, rushing around the desk.

  “Hey, is this your office?” Tin sounded completely casual and relaxed even as we all rushed toward the door. “We just got a bit lost, man. Sorry.”

  The man crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “Got lost, my ass. I know exactly what you three were doing in here, and you’re going to pay to have my office cleaned professionally. Sanitized from top to bottom.”

  We hurried into the hall, the looks on all our faces something between guilt and barely restrained laughter.

  “Hey, wait a minute, who the hell even are you people?” The man was starting to yell, coming out the door after us. “Do you even work here? How did you get in here? This party’s for employees and family only. Hey, get back here!”

  He was pissed off, and I could understand why. But we’d already started to flee, and the more he came after us and yelled, the faster we moved. We were like a bunch of teenagers caught out after curfew, and by the time we reached the stairs, we were running. We laughed as we sped down, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a bit of fear pushing me.

  Max was in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with the same two dudes who’d dragged him off earlier and a whole bunch of other people none of us had ever met. I grabbed his arm as we passed, and the guys helped me push him into a run. He tried to ask what the hell was going on, but we all just yelled at him to run between peals of laughter, and he quickly got on board.

  I took the lead, aiming for the stairs at the back of the corridor, but just as we approached, the elevator opened, and a couple of latecomers to the party stepped out. We rushed past them, and I jabbed at the Ground button, then the Close Door button repeatedly. Slowly, the elevator doors started to slide closed.

  Our pursuer was still running toward us. He yelled and frantically pointed in our direction, but we couldn’t hear what he was saying over the noise of the party. The doors shut before he could reach us.

  As the elevator started to move down, I breathed a sigh of relief, and we all burst into laughter—bent over double, tears in the corners of our eyes, uncontrollable laughter.

  The Snowman

  About halfway down, we managed to get our laughter under control enough for Max to ask, “What the hell was that all about?”

  That set the three of us off again, and he had to wait for the laughter to die down before he got an answer.

  “We got caught with our pants down.” El tried to keep a straight face, but a snort of laughter escaped. I could feel the giggles bubbling up again.

  “Yeah, that guy chasing us caught us jingling some bells,” Tin helpfully added, and I had to bite my lips to keep from laughing.

  “Did you see the look on his face?” I couldn’t hold it in any longer, and we all descended into another laughing fit.

  Max crossed his arms. “You’re telling me the three of you had sex in some poor guy’s office and got caught?”

  We all nodded, grinning and wiping tears from the corners of our eyes.

  Max pinched the bridge of his nose, but we all saw his amused smile before he turned to face the opening elevator doors.

  Still a bit worried the bald guy would send security after us, we rushed across the lobby and out into the street. It wasn’t until we stepped outside that I realized I’d left my coat upstairs.

  “Shit.” I immediately started to shiver. The wind was icy. It would surely snow any moment now.

  Tin rubbed my arms. “Where’s your coat?”

  “Forgot it in our rush to get away.”

  “Here.” El shrugged his off and draped it over my shoulders, and I tucked my hands into the sleeves. The tips of my fingers barely reached the gold fur trim, but I was instantly warmer and surrounded by his pine-and-mulled-wine smell.

  “Thank you. But won’t you be cold? Maybe I can sneak back up and get mine.”

  “I’ll be fine.” He smiled. He was in nothing but black pants, a tight white T-shirt, and boots, but he looked completely unbothered by the cold. “Protection magic, remember?”

  “Right!” I tucked the rich fabric closer around myself. They were so real, so genuine, that sometimes I forgot they were magical elves from the fucking North Pole.

  “We probably don’t have time for that anyway.” Max held up the snow globe, studying it intently. “We got a good amount up there, but we need more.”

  The globe was now constantly emitting a faint glow, and the scene looked even more alive. The little trees even looked as though they were rustling in the breeze.

  “Oh yeah!” Tin reached into his pockets and pulled out a handful of gingerbread cookies. He dropped them into the pouch Max pulled out.

  “Nice. I got this.” Max added reindeer ears attached to a headband, complete with bells.

  El reached into the pocket of the coat I was now wearing and pulled something out in his fist. He held it over the pouch and opened his finger. What looked like green glitter sprinkled into the bag.

  “Christmas faery dust?” Tin asked, and El nodded.

  “That explains a lot.” Max released a lighthearted sigh, then turned to me, putting the globe and pouch away. He reached over my shoulders and pulled El’s hood up over my head. “Now, which way next?”

  “This way.” I pointed up the street. The main shopping precinct and mall were just around the corner.

  Unlike the shady neighborhood I lived in, this part of the city was decked out in decorations and bustling with last-minute shoppers. The diners and restaurants we passed looked cozy and cheery, full of people cupping steaming drinks in their hands, and the shop fronts had elaborate displays.

  The guys took it all in with smiles as we approached the main square. A Christmas market had been set up with stalls selling ornaments and hand-crafted gifts and vendors selling hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts.

  “Ooh! Chestnuts!” Tin beelined for the vendor and ordered a serving as the others gravitated toward the temporary ice rink.

  Most of the people with young children had gone home, but plenty of teenagers and couples were skating on the ice. A massive, twinkling tree loomed over the whole scene.

  Tin returned with the roasted chestnuts, and we all huddled around him, devouring the treats in a matter of moments.

  The chestnuts had helped warm my cold fingers. It was so chilly they probably didn’t even need to use whatever machines kept the ice rink frozen. But there was still no snow. To the side of the ice rink, the grotto—potted, lit-up Christmas trees with open s
paces and benches in between—was coated in soft powder from two snow machines. A group of young boys were pelting each other with snowballs, and I could just make out a snowman farther back, between the trees.

  “Should we go for a skate?” Max suggested.

  “No.” I shook my head vigorously. I was painfully uncoordinated and had broken my arm the last time I’d attempted it in high school. “You guys go ahead, but I have no interest in strapping knives to my feet and repeatedly falling down onto a hard, cold surface.”

  They all laughed.

  “We can teach you,” Tin offered.

  “You all know how to skate?”

  “It’s part of basic elf training.” Max shrugged.

  “Of course it is.” I rolled my eyes. I thought I was a Christmas pro, but these guys were overachievers on a whole other level.

  “Come on. It’ll be fun.” El nudged my shoulder. I bit my lip, remembering how painful and inconvenient it had been to have my arm in a cast for three months.

  “The globe is loving this place.” Max surreptitiously pulled back one side of his coat, exposing the snow globe poking out of an inside pocket. It was glowing in that way I’d come to understand meant it was charging.

  I groaned. “Fine. But you better hope this ‘can’t get hurt on Christmas Eve’ juju extends to me.”

  “Yes!” Tin punched the air and ran ahead to rent skates. I had no idea where they were getting money from—none of them had wallets that I could see. Hopefully they weren’t just stealing things.

  Within five minutes, I had the death traps strapped to my feet and was hobbling to the edge of the ice, gripping Max’s arm for dear life.

  Tin rushed ahead, El right on his heels, and started zooming around the rink, going forward, then backward, jumping and twisting like a pro. El just tucked his hands behind his back and bent down low, as if he were in a race. Without his coat, I could clearly see every toned muscle tensing and dancing under the fabric of his shirt as he moved languidly, gliding over the ice.

  By the time I eased onto the ice on baby giraffe legs, the two of them had done at least three laps. I couldn’t really watch them though. I needed all my focus to make sure I didn’t face-plant.

  “This was a bad idea,” I muttered, every muscle in my body tense as Max slid around to stand directly in front of me. The others joined us, startling me as they skidded to a halt. I really wanted to whack them, but it was more important to hold on to Max.

  Max held my hands firmly as Tin moved behind me and placed his hands at my waist. El stood shoulder to shoulder with me.

  “Ready?” El asked, his hands still clasped behind his back. Annoying, smug, good-at-everything elf . . .

  “No.” I frowned at my shaking knees.

  “We got you, Sadie.” Tin gave my waist a gentle squeeze.

  “We won’t let you fall.” Max backed him up.

  I nodded, and they all moved as one, Tin pushing me from the back, Max pulling and skating backward, and El keeping pace with us and giving me instructions.

  “Bend your knees—it will lower your center of gravity and make it harder to fall.”

  I bent my knees.

  “Lift your eyes. You don’t need to look at your feet. You need to see where you’re going.”

  I looked up, even though I could really only see Max’s smiling face in front of me.

  “OK, now push off with one foot while . . .”

  El continued to give me instructions while the others held me tightly, guiding me gently along the ice.

  Eventually I started to relax; my muscles loosened, and excitement slowly replaced fear. Tin let go first, zipping off to do another manic, complicated lap. Then, when I said I was ready, Max let go too. He kept skating backward, grinning at me as he got farther and farther away. Then he turned effortlessly and pushed into a faster pace.

  I just moved one leg in front of the other steadily, reminding myself to bend my knees and look ahead.

  “I’m doing it,” I breathed with a smile.

  “Yes, you are.” El winked at me, then zoomed away too.

  For a split second, I panicked without any of them nearby, but then I reminded myself I was managing just fine and continued to glide along at my glacial pace—pun intended.

  They whizzed past me, calling things out and flicking my hair but never startling or shoving me so I would fall. I’d been deathly afraid of ice skating, but now I was actually enjoying it.

  After a while, I started to get tired, and I realized I had no idea how to stop.

  The next time a green velvet coat came flying past, I called out, “How do I stop?”

  The coat had red trim—Max—and I turned my head to follow him with my eyes, but that meant I stopped looking where I was going.

  I screamed and threw my arms out as the barrier rushed toward me.

  My skates slammed into the hard barrier with a thud, but instead of getting thrown over the top, I was caught by a strong arm around my middle; another appeared just under my neck.

  Max had one arm around my waist, the other propped against the barrier. Tin mirrored his position on my other side, his free arm thrown out to catch me across the chest.

  Behind me, I could hear El laughing his ass off. I flipped him off over my shoulder and thanked the other two for saving my life.

  “Anytime, beautiful.” Tin kissed me on the cheek and skated off, chasing after El.

  We’d come to a stop right next to the grotto with snow-machine powder. My heart was hammering, both from exhilaration and the fear of nearly dying an icy death. I heaved heavy breaths in and out, white-knuckling the barrier. Max just leaned on it casually next to me, rubbing my back and waiting.

  “I’m good, I’m good, I’m cool,” I said once my breathing was at a level that allowed me to talk.

  “Good. You did great for someone who hasn’t skated since high school.”

  “Thank you. I’m pretty proud of myself.”

  “You should be.” He grinned—there was that red glint in his eye. His arm was still at my back, resting in the curve just above my ass, and his cheeks looked about as flushed as mine felt, not that it was anywhere near as obvious on his dark skin.

  El flicked my ponytail as he zoomed past once more, and Tin whooped. I waved, and Max removed his arm from my back.

  “Can’t believe how good you guys are at this.” I shook my head. “All Christmas things, really. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised, considering you’re elves and all, but . . .”

  “When you find something you really care about, it’s hard not to throw yourself completely into it. Those two never had the picture-perfect Christmas, the amazingly decorated tree. Sure, they craved it, but they never knew what they were missing, not really. I had it, and I lost it.” He paused, his unfocused eyes staring out at the fake snow falling over the potted trees.

  The change in topic was a bit sudden, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to know more about Max. Although this didn’t seem like a fluffy story. My heart constricted. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it, but I’d listen if he wanted to share it with me.

  “I had parents, a brother, and a sister. Both my grandparents died while I was in elementary school, but I had an uncle, a couple of aunts, cousins. I had a family, and we were close. We spent holidays together, taking turns to host. It wasn’t perfect—no family ever is—but it was pretty damn good. I had people I loved to gather around the Christmas tree with.”

  He paused again, and the dread settling over me got a little heavier. I adjusted my stance, gliding the heavy skates on the slick ice to steady myself. The laughing and music faded as I watched Max’s profile.

  “Max.” I placed my hand on his forearm and spoke gently. “What happened?” I didn’t want to know. I had to know.

  “It was summer. I can’t remember why my parents had everyone over—someone’s birthday maybe? I was seventeen and not paying too much attention to all that stuff. I was at that age when it’s not really cool to hang
out with your family. I didn’t even wanna be there, spent most of the morning texting my friends. Anyway, there was a faulty gas line out back. It was such a nice day. They decided to do a barbecue. Everyone was in the backyard. I’d just walked out the front of the house to grab something from my car. My uncle lit the barbecue, and that was it. My whole family—twelve people—gone.” He clenched his teeth and took a breath. “My mom and one of my cousins survived, but they both died in the hospital a few days later.”

  My mouth was hanging slightly open, my eyes wide with shock. It was the most horrific thing I’d ever heard. The thought of my family being ripped away from me—all those people at my parents’ place, probably gathered around the fire by now, just gone—made me feel sick to my stomach.

  “I had to organize funerals for twelve people. I was seventeen, for fuck’s sake. I’d never even had a job. My mom had some distant family on the other side of the country, but I’d never even met them, and Mom hadn’t spoken to them in over twenty years. They came to the funeral, but it was family friends who helped me deal with it all.”

  “I am so sorry that happened to you, Max. It’s really awful. I can’t even imagine . . . god, I’m so sorry.” I was rambling. I didn’t know what to say.

  He blinked and turned to look at me, as if he’d forgotten I was even there. “I’ve had a lot of time to deal with it. It’ll never not hurt, but it does get easier to live with. Shit, I’m sorry for bringing the mood down.” He gave me a weak smile and rubbed the back of his head, then lifted his hood, the red fur obstructing his downturned face. I reached up and yanked it right off again.

  “Don’t.” I gave him a smile. “You don’t need to hide from me. Or apologize for telling me something so personal. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

  “It’s OK. Thanks for listening, Sadie.” His smile was a little lighter that time, the look in his eyes a little more present.

  “Anytime.”

  “You know, not a day goes by that I don’t miss them, but I really am grateful to have El and Tin now. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”