Holiday Spirit for Hire

by Isabelle Saint-Michael

  I nodded, wanting to tell him to just let me sleep in the chair but when I closed my eyes again I heard him curse under his breath and scoop me up in his arms. He carried me the short distance and sat me on the fold-out cot.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled as I wiggled and fumbled with the blankets to crawl under them.

  I heard him cross the room and pull off his clothes. I barely opened my eyes and watched as he stripped down to nothing and climbed into his own bed. I snuggled into a pillow that smelled a great deal like him. It was woodsy with a hint of spice. I sighed happily and drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  An alarm clock was going off somewhere in the room when I opened my eyes. I looked around the darkened chamber and quickly found the offender. I stumbled across the room to the bed that took up most of the corner. Justin was lightly snoring. I picked up his phone and noticed the time was six AM. I looked at his adorable sleeping face and hit the snooze button.

  The fire had died and the floor was almost like ice even through my wool socks. I made my cot up so it looked less messy and pulled on my clothes from yesterday. Quietly as possible I ducked out the front door and headed for the bathroom and kitchen. I had been lucky enough to find a stash of new toothbrushes in the bathroom the night before and was looking forward to coffee and lack of morning breath.

  When I wandered into the kitchen I found a short round woman about my height standing beside the massive oven flipping pancakes. She turned and gave me a surprised look.

  “Oh, hello there. You must be Justin’s little friend. You’re very short for a Werewolf, aren’t you?” Her smile was warm and inviting. She had a lone dimple just like Justin.

  “Hi, I’m Grace.” I leaned forward and shook her hand. “I’m only half Were. My mother is a bonded Human and she is shorter than I am.” I smiled broadly. “Are you one of Justin’s sisters?”

  She flipped a pancake and laughed. It was a full-hearted, merry sound. “Heavens no. You’re a sweet girl. I’m his mother, Joy. Nice to meet you, Gracie - are you hungry?”

  I meant to tell her I just needed a cup of coffee but soon I was seated in the dining room with a dozen or so Dwarves eating pancakes, eggs, and bacon. All of the Dwarves took a moment to introduce themselves. For so early in the morning they were a lively bunch. They had me smiling and laughing with everyone despite the wee hours. I was just standing up to return my dishes to the kitchen when the door to the dining room was slammed open.

  “You!” Justin’s voice was deep and filled with deadly menace as he pointed at me.

  I blinked at him. “Did I drink the last of the coffee?” I looked down at the mug in my hand.

  He stormed angrily across the dining room. All the Dwarves were stunned into silence. I held out my mug. “It’s got milk and sugar in it but if you want it…”

  “You turned off my alarm!” he accused.

  I shifted uncomfortably. “Actually I just hit snooze. You were out cold and looked so peaceful.”

  “I don’t have a snooze,” he growled.

  “I didn’t know that. I thought I was being helpful.” I offered an apologetic smile.

  Justin roared again and turned to walk away. He paused, turned back to me, took the cup of coffee, then disappeared in the direction he had come from. I finished collecting my plates in silence. Everyone was staring at me.

  “Well, I hope I haven’t ruined anyone else’s morning, because I’m out of coffee.” I laughed nervously and took my plates into the kitchen.

  Checking the clock on the wall I rushed to take care of my bathroom needs and finish getting dressed. Gathering my cases, uniform, and hat in my arms I headed for the office. I got about three steps out the door and turned back to the house.

  I stepped into the kitchen and smiled at Joy. “Can I make a doggie bag to take with me?” I asked.

  She handed me a plastic container and pointed me to the leftovers. I stacked four pancakes, a handful of sausage, and some bacon, eggs and toast into the container. “Thank you.”

  She looked at the massive pile. “You’ll fit in here just fine with a healthy appetite like that.” I smiled as I ducked out the door.

  I looked off into the distance and could see the smoke from the fireplaces in the main workshop billowing towards the sky. I pushed myself into a run to get across the icy cold campus. The wind bit at my face, making it sting. I made it to the office with ten minutes to spare.

  I quickly dropped everything on my desk and grabbed the plastic container of breakfast. I did my best to make my way back to Justin’s office. As I expected he was sitting behind his laptop with a cup of coffee in one hand. I knocked on the door. Without looking up he told me to come in.

  “I’m really sorry about this morning,” I started. His head snapped up, an angry glare still in his eyes. Without another word I tiptoed across the office and sat the breakfast container on his desk.

  “Yeah, I’m going to go work now.” He eyed the container with disbelief. He looked like he was going to say something but I didn’t stick around long enough to be snapped at again.

  I clocked in just as it snapped to eight AM. I opened the case files I had brought home with me last night to review. My next two cases dealt with matters of the heart. One was for an Elven Prince who had his heart set on a Dwarven bride. They had gotten into a massive fight a few weeks ago and she had returned to her own Kingdom. Their engagement was then broken. Now, she was engaged to another from a different Kingdom. Breaking the engagement could mean war for her people but there was the small problem that she was still in love with the Prince.

  I fumbled with my pen trying to figure out how best to handle this. I wasn’t very familiar with customs from other realms as I had never really left the Human realm. My father had said that other realms could be too dangerous. Sighing heavily I put the file aside and grabbed the other one.

  The next case seemed like something out of Dickens. An old woman had withdrawn from the world. She lived alone with a handful of cats. Crazy old cat lady cannot bode well for me, I thought. While she had plenty of money, she had no kindness for others. She underpaid her personal assistant and was now making the unfortunate assistant work Christmas when she had promised her a holiday vacation. The assistant had saved for two years to afford the plane ticket home to see her family but now couldn’t even get a refund.

  I looked around the room. There were at least a half dozen of us who were Holiday Spirits. Some of them were pulling on uniforms while others were making phone calls. It was then I noticed they all had heavy wool coats or cloaks lined in flannel or fur. Even their gowns were made of thicker fabric. Pursing my lips I looked at my pile of thin cloth then back at the others. One after another they tossed bits of the fake snow into the air and disappeared.

  The only way I was going to get to the bottom of this Elf and Dwarven dilemma was to see it firsthand. I stripped and pulled on the “uniform”. The dress was strapless and laced tightly up the back. It was slit to the hip on either side. The cape attached to my wrists and the back of my dress dragged behind me on the ground. I tugged the heavy green wreath onto my head and looked in the mirror beside the door. I felt like I was dressed for a comic convention and not for spreading Yuletide cheer. When I turned around I found the few other women left in the office staring at me open-mouthed.

  “It’s all she had left,” I offered.

  “What the heck did you say to Maggie to make her give you that?” asked one Gnome. “You’re going to freeze to death.”

  “I wish I knew.” I shrugged. I picked up the case file and the magic snow. “How do I use this stuff?” I asked as I looked at it.

  “Haven’t you ever used magic? It’s all-purpose snow,” offered another woman.

  “No, I’ve lived in the Human realm my entire life. Raised mostly Human in fact.” They all exchanged looks.

  “Pinch some, toss it over your head and tell it where you want to go,” called out the Gnome on the phone.

  I loo
ped the bag around my wrist, opened the case file and tossed the snow in the air. “The castle of Prince Maerryn.”

  The air above me twinkled and I watched in amazement when the world changed shape around me. A castle came into view as blast of icy wind hit me. A chill ran through me that shot clear to my toes.

  I looked around and when I saw only a few people standing about, I marched up the stone stairs to the door of what looked like the front of the castle. I knocked but nobody answered, so I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  The hall within was huge. Castle staff hustled around busily hanging greenery and tapestries on every available wall. At the center of it all stood a short woman with wavy dark hair, directing. Every time she picked something up someone would come by and take it out of her hands. I closed the door behind me.

  “Excuse me,” I called across the room.

  Nobody answered. Taking my courage in hand I crossed to the woman at the center of the room. “Excuse me?” I said again a little louder.

  The dark haired woman whirled around to face me. Her eyes flared with surprise when she saw me.

  “Yes. Oh my! Who are you?” she asked. She looked at my clothes and raised a curious brow.

  “I’m a Holiday Spirit, here for Prince Maerryn. Do you know where I could find him?” I asked as politely as I could.

  She bent down to pick up a box of greenery but suddenly out of nowhere a tall Elf with long dark hair appeared. He grabbed the box from her hands and held it high above his head.

  “I told you not to lift anything heavy.” She stood on her toes reaching for it before she looked back at me.

  “Oh, sorry. I’m not entirely sure where he is. I believe he is out looking for a tree for the main hall with members of the guard.” She looked back at the Elf. “Tallyn, give me the damn box. I’ll be fine, we just found out two weeks ago I’m pregnant. It will be months before we have to worry about me picking up something heavy,” she growled.

  Before I could stop myself I could hear myself saying, “Actually, you’re most vulnerable to hurting the baby in the first trimester. As you get further along it becomes more dangerous for you in the sense you may pull something.”

  Both she and the tall Elf turned to look at me. “Sorry, force of habit. My dad is an OBGYN.” I shrugged. The woman smiled broadly at me.

  “You’re from the Human realm!” She stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lily, and this is my husband Tallyn, Maerryn’s younger brother.” She motioned to the Elf beside her who was staring at me slack-jawed.

  “Aren’t you cold?” he asked, taking my hand.

  “More than you can ever imagine,” I told him as I gave a slight curtsey.

  “Why aren’t you wearing more? It’s dangerous to be out in so little,” he added.

  “I somehow managed to piss of a Gnome at the North Pole. Do you know where I might find your brother?” I tried to redirect attention back to my case.

  “He’s out getting a tree, but you can’t go out there like that. You should stay here until he gets back.” He turned and called a maid over. “Fetch a blanket and hot drink for our guest.”

  Lily stepped beside me, lacing her arm through mine and guiding me towards the fireplace. “Ca’mon, have a seat by the fire, get warm and keep me company while you wait. They aren’t going to let me do anything anyway.”

  We settled into a couple high back chairs by the fire. The maid arrived with a thick warm blanket and two steaming cups of tea, which I gladly accepted one of. “So tell me, how do you know Maerryn?”

  “Truthfully, I don’t.”

  She paused and considered me for a moment. Her look told me she fully expected more of an explanation. Before long I had told Lily how I lost my job and ended up working at the North Pole for the season.

  “And so now I’m stuck playing Holiday Spirit from now until Christmas Eve. How did you end up here?” I asked.

  She gave me a friendly laugh and told me all about the powers of Soul Mates and how she and Tallyn had ended up together. I sipped on the tea, enthralled by her tale. When the doors to the great hall burst open and a tall blonde Elf strolled in barking orders I knew I had found my Prince. I thanked Lily, set down my teacup and marched across the hall.

  “Prince Maerryn?” I asked as I approached. He whirled around, his face lighting up as his eyes raked over my body.

  “Yes, my Lady, how can I help you?” he answered.

  “Wonderful,” I cried happily.

  I smiled sweetly at him, stepped close, grabbed the front of his tunic in my hand, and tossed some magic snow into the air above us. “The Dwarven stronghold where I can find Lady Fairwynn.” Once again the air around us began to twinkle. Maerryn fought against my grip but it was too late. He was coming with me.

  When the world materialized around us we were standing in the kitchen of a great stone building. The entire kitchen staff turned to stare at us.

  Maerryn yanked out of my grasp. “What’s wrong with you?!?” he demanded of me.

  “I’m your Holiday Spirit,” I responded with a sarcastic smile.

  “You’re my what,” he asked flatly.

  “Your Holiday Spirit. I’m here to make sure you get the happy Yule you deserve with your Dwarven bride.” With a soothing breath, I relaxed enough to offer a genuine smile.

  “She doesn’t want me,” he responded.

  “I have a case file that says she loves you and you love her. She’s about to make a big mistake and end up with another guy, so you have to tell her how you feel or you will both be miserable for a long, long time. If you’re anything like Werewolves that could be centuries.” I was gasping for air by the time I finished my rant.

  “Prince Maerryn!” A strong masculine voice called from behind us.

  I whirled around in time to catch sight of a Dwarven man with short dark hair and playful eyes strolling towards us. “I’m glad to see you, brother. You came to your senses and are here to get my sister back.” The man looked at me with confusion. “Who’s that?”

  “Good to see you too, James. This is my Holiday Spirit. She kidnapped me and dragged me here to make me win back your sister.” Maerryn’s words were laced with annoyance.

  James rubbed his chin as he looked me over. “Aren’t you cold?” he finally asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes! Very.”

  James called for a maid. “Girl, please fetch the lady a blanket and something warm to drink.”

  He turned his attention back to Maerryn. “I’m glad you’re here. Fairwynn just agreed to a binding with a Werewolf noble. He’s a nice enough chap, but I know she is still hung up on you. She thinks it will be good for the Kingdom if she makes a tie between the races.”

  Maerryn shook his head. “I’m not here to stop her. Like I said, I was kidnapped and brought here.” With an angry thrust of his hand he pointed at me. “By her!” Everyone in the kitchen looked at me.

  Shifting uncomfortably side to side, I looked at the heavy stone floor before looking up at Maerryn and smiling again. When I met the fury in his eyes all my confidence was gone.

  “I’m just doing my job!” I whined loudly. “Give me a break, this is like day one and a half for me.”

  “Did I ask you to help me?” he asked angrily.

  I started to answer but suddenly there was a woman’s confused voice from the far side of the kitchen.

  “Maerryn? What are you doing here?” I turned to find a Dwarven woman with copper hair pulled up into a large bun entering the kitchen. Her pale skin looked like porcelain against the dim lights at the door.

  “Fairwynn,” Maerryn choked. “I’m, ah, here...” He trailed off.

  I cleared my throat. “He’s here to see you.” I filled in.

  She turned to look at me. She opened her mouth to ask something but I quickly interjected. “Yes, I’m cold and someone is already getting me a drink and blanket, thank you.”

  She snapped her mouth shut and looked at Maerryn and James.

  “Who i
s she?” she asked.

  “Our Holiday Spirit. She’s here to assure you and I have a merry Yule and end up together,” Maerryn responded.

  I shrugged and nodded when she looked back at me. Fairwynn was silent for a moment then rushed forward, throwing her arms around Maerryn.

  “I missed you so much! I’m sorry,” she said as she buried her face into his tunic.

  Giving up he wrapped his arms around her and started offering apologies as well. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you. I just don’t want you in harm’s way,” he said, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind an ear.

  James appeared at my side. “My Lady, why don’t we clear out and give them some room.” I looked back at the couple then allowed James to escort me into a great hall where a large number of castle staff were also decorating.

  “I bet this place is beautiful when it’s all decorated.” I stared at all the intricate stonework.

  “It is,” he answered. “So do you know many of the Dwarves at the North Pole?” he asked.

  “Only a few. I just arrived yesterday. I met Justin Kringle. He’s sort of grumpy but every so often I see this glimpse of something charming and sweet. I also met his mother Joy this morning and a few of his sisters and cousins.”

  I smiled, remembering breakfast. Within minutes I had felt like a member of the family. “They seem like really good people.”

  “They are. The Kringles were originally from this realm. A great number of the Dwarves here will head to the North Pole to help out a week or two before Yule.” He smiled. “I go almost every year. It’s become a tradition for my sister and me.”

  I accepted a hot mug of something alcoholic when it was handed to me. “Thank you!” I said, smiling at the maid that brought it. I took a sip and it burned all the way down but tasted amazing. “Wow, this is amazing.”

  James laughed. “I’ll give you a small keg to take back if you can help solve the rest of the problem.”

  I looked at him, processing his words. “The rest of the problem?”

  He pointed to a tall muscular man with grey eyes that seemed to glow a little in the shadows where he sat reading.