Princess Claus and the Great Escape

by J L Gillham

  “Don’t worry about me,” I stare at Nicky although I’m talking to Finn. “I have plans.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I rise and head toward Homebase. It takes everything in me not to glance back to find out if Finn is watching me. Instead I make a mental checklist of what to pack in my go-bag. I decide to stop by the library before heading to my room. Once there I let my fingers trail along the spines of the nearest shelf of books.

  The current row is cookbooks with an entire book dedicated solely to fruitcake. In my opinion, there’s no better paperweight than a hefty brick of fruitcake. However, my mother loves it. She and my dad make a new one each year around Christmas. Every time they make it, they remind me it was what they ate on their wedding day.

  I’d much rather prefer the traditional wedding cake on my wedding day. At the thought of me in a white dress walking down the aisle, I imagine Cole smiling as I approach.

  Unfortunately, the only emotion I can muster is fondness, not romantic excitement. Then the image of Finn standing before me in a tuxedo holding out a ring comes to my mind unbidden. I place my hand on my heart and sigh. I grimace, annoyed at myself for even momentarily forgetting I no longer like him romantically. Because if there’s no trusting him, there is no liking him. You might not like the colors of a parachute, but if you can’t trust it to open, it’s worthless.

  I glance around to see if anyone is there to notice me, and there is. Chin up and shoulders back, I put on the expression of professionalism.

  “Excuse me,” I say to Dapple, the elf. He is heading out the door to begin his other duties. Our library isn’t popular enough to need someone here full-time. When there isn’t a patient for our medic to attend to, Dapple reshelves books.

  “Yes, Princess Claus,” Dapple whispers, even though we are the only two people in the room. I see his hand reach for his cap where he keeps bandages.

  “Oh, no. I’m okay. I was just wondering, is there a group of books missing from a section?” I force nonchalance in my tone.

  Instead of looking around for an answer, he stares at me. “I can assure you I never put a book back in the wrong place.”

  “No, um. What I mean is...” I pause, considering my words carefully.

  Before I can explain myself, I hear the sound of a bell jingling. Without a word, Dapple raises his head, puts on his hat full of fresh bandages, and stomps away.

  “Sorry!” I shout as I watch him leave.

  Maybe it’s better I don’t have an audience. Although I might soon have to make small talk after all if even one elf comes here looking for a book to read during break.

  I go from row to row, scanning for empty spaces. Then I remember the title of the first book I looked at, The History of Santa. When I find the section, not only is there no empty space, there is an exact duplicate of the book, except this one isn’t covered in dust and the colors on the cover aren’t faded. Maybe when the books were taken from the library and left in the secret room, new ones replaced the old.

  When I get to the S section, I am shocked to find no books about snow globes. How am I ever going to fix the crack in the magical one if I can’t find out anything about how the magic works? I bite my lip. There’s got to be something on the origin of the magical snow globe. I rack my brain, trying to remember what Dad told me about it. I could ask him but decide it’s better not to make him suspicious. Instead, I head to my room.

  Once there, I see the whirlwind of magical snowflakes swirling above the telegraph. It must be a message from Cole. I skim through it, which is easy to do considering how short it is. There are two sentences about his newest experiment going well and asking how I am doing. Normally, Cole’s updates are lengthy. Then again, I can’t remember if I’ve even responded to him in the past week.

  After adding the paper to my box of correspondence, I get back to work. I lay out two pairs of pants, one sweater, and a few gems I stashed away long ago for just this occasion. Mom thought my fifteenth birthday present request for loose stones was odd. But she granted my request with tiger’s eye, rose quartz, and even a striking benitoite. I mentioned wanting to make a new piece of jewelry out of them. Any time she asked if I’d gotten around to the craft, I stated it was still a work in progress.

  The rationale was no matter what country I made my getaway to, gems would be easier to carry than a large wad of cash that might be the wrong currency. That and the fact that no one in Winter Wonderland uses money.

  We trade all sorts of things with the nearby town including precious stones, baked goods, and as-is toys that didn’t make the cut for Santa. I doubt I could use a sugar cookie as payment to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but maybe they’d take a ruby.

  Satisfied with my plan, I glance at the clock and realize I still have time to eat a hot dinner for once, my last supper here.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The next day I wake with more than enough time to get ready and check out the sleigh before Finn and Aurora show up. I showered the night before but decide to still spray myself with two squirts of my favorite perfume. It’s a homemade blend with hints of rose and juniper berry. Perfume at a beach might not be necessary. However, the daily routine of using the scent is hard to skip.

  After forgetting my go-bag the other day when I set off the alarms, I make sure I’ve got it this time. Before I make it halfway through the main building, I hear a familiar voice. It’s one I was expecting, just not yet.

  “Noelle, I haven't seen you in...how long has it been?” Aurora rushes toward me and gives me a hug. My tension melts like frozen cubes in iced hot chocolate. When she releases me, I shift my weight from one leg to another.

  I guess she didn’t notice me yesterday when I sat on the log and watched her play snowball soccer. “It's been a while.” I pause, then come up with a safe topic of conversation. “How’s designing clothes going?” I remember she was always drawing dresses in her notebook.

  “Great! I can’t believe you remembered that.” She takes my hands in hers. “What’s this I hear about you not joining us? I’d love for you to come.” With a pause, she glances at Finn. He and Nicky are caught up in their own conversation by the bend in the hallway leading west toward the stables. “And so would my brother,” she whispers.

  My cheeks flush. I’m grateful she’s holding my hands. Otherwise, they would’ve flown to cover my cheeks, which would’ve made the blush more noticeable.

  “Yes, sorry. I’ve got to prepare for Christmas.” I glance at Finn. He seems to be deep in conversation with Nicky. I wonder about her comment. Even if Finn does have feelings for me, I still don’t trust him enough to let him be my boyfriend. Now being my friend, that’s a possibility.

  “That’s right. Isn’t this your first year getting to deliver all the gifts?” Aurora doesn’t wait for my answer but begins rambling. “Oh, how exciting. To be able to see the world and make so many children happy. There’s nothing more magical that I can think of.” She bites her lip and has a distant look on her face, like she’s actually trying to think of what could be more magical.

  I wonder how she knows about this being my first year to practice being the future Santa. Maybe Nicky told her before I got here. Or he could’ve told her another day. Though she hasn’t seen me this past year, I’ve seen her. She occasionally tagged along with her brother on deliveries. Both often stayed to hang out with Nicky, mainly playing snowball soccer. At the first hint of visitors, I made myself scarce.

  I frown when I realize I’ve avoided Aurora not because of anything she’s done. No, it was because I lost faith in her brother. Even though Aurora and I were never close, she didn’t deserve to be shunned this past year. She’d never betrayed my trust, but I dropped her like a piece of hot coal.

  “You know, it’s really good to see you,” I say, even though that’s something people usually mention earlier on in a conversation. I make sure to smile widely.

  She blinks rapidly, then gives me a big hug. “You too.”

  �
��I hope you have wonderful birthday celebration.” I clutch my go-bag straps, itching to get on with my plan but also making sure not to break eye contact. Rudeness is one way to get put on the naughty list.

  Her grin spreads so wide you’d think invisible fingers were pulling at the corners of her lips. “Thanks! Maybe when you’ve finished Christmas this year, you could swing by the diner in town. I’m a waitress. You're always welcome to try our hot chocolate, though it’s nothing like the secret recipe here.”

  My first thoughts are of the menu. Since there is an abundance of salmon around, I imagine the diner offering everything from salmon on a stick to salmon mac & cheese. That gives me the idea to make some gag gifts for Nicky this year, like salmon cotton candy or salmon popsicles—that is, if my plan fails and I’m stuck hanging around.

  “We’ll miss the sunrise if we don’t hurry!” Nicky shouts pulling me from my fishy thoughts.

  Aurora glances his way, then faces me and frowns. “You should join us.”

  “Maybe next time,” I answer, shrugging my shoulders. I walk in the opposite direction as Aurora heads off to join Nicky and Finn.

  Nuts. I knew I should have woken an hour earlier. But how was I supposed to know they’d changed the time when they’d meet. I’ll have to take the shortcut. I veer north, and thirty seconds later feel the frigid temperature as I step outside. Jogging is my only option. I put my hat, coat, and gloves on and then make sure my go-bag is secure.

  By the time I reach the back door of the stables, I can already hear the trio heading this way. I yank open the lid of the bench. Then I grab three of the inflatables Nicky’s already packed the sleigh with. They make a whistling sound as they are flung into an empty reindeer stall.

  I place my go-bag in the opening and lay down, using the bag as a make-shift pillow. Next I cover myself with a blanket and yank the lid shut. My right foot gets caught in a bucket, probably there to use to make sandcastles. I ignore it out of fear they’ll hear me.

  “It's too bad your sister can't come,” Aurora says.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Nicky doesn’t sound devastated I’m not joining them. At least he didn’t tell them I’m not allowed out, and that if I tried to join them it’d ruin their plans.

  “You two still don't get along?” Finn asks.

  “Still,” is Nicky’s response. Then he begins loading the sleigh. I hear shuffling going on. Then I hear a sound like someone is scratching at the sleigh, and worry my plan has been foiled by a four-legged furball.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Tiny begins meowing in his cat-like growl. “Move away, Tiny,” Nicky complains.

  The polar bear paws harder on the sleigh, then huffs. I hear the faint sound of his whine getting louder.

  “You want to come, boy?” I hear Nicky say. Although Tiny can fly when attached to the sleigh, I’m glad he can’t talk. Otherwise, he would’ve given away my secret location. I hear clicking sounds and figure Nicky is switching out the harness for the reindeer with the one for Tiny.

  “All aboard,” Nicky says. I hear shuffling around as they climb into the sleigh.

  “I thought only reindeer can pull Santa’s sleigh?” Aurora says.

  “Technically, this isn’t Santa’s sleigh. It’s one of the trainers Princess Claus and I use to practice with. And besides, it’s magic that makes a creature able to pull the sleigh.”

  “So, does that mean I could hook up my neighbor’s troop of cats?” Finn asks. Everyone chuckles.

  “Hee-ah,” Nicky says. I’m sure Nicky is sitting in the middle so he can handle the reins properly.

  Before I can hear where Nicky is going to head to, the sleigh moves forward and the sounds of the conversations going on above me are drowned out. I wish I could see, but I am inside what feels like an eternal midnight. I feel the sleigh tilt upward and know we are ascending into the sky.

  “There’s the wall,” Finn says. “Um, is it supposed to open up or something. Because otherwise we are going to hit it. Hard.”

  As we fly faster, I’m not worried about being discovered when I begin shouting because my verbal fears blend in with the chorus already shouting.

  For a moment, it’s as if I’m swimming in a pool. We must be moving through the magical barrier. My entire body feels like it’s wrapped in Jello. Then the feeling suddenly stops.

  “We did it!” my brother shouts.

  “Do I want to ask why you sound surprised?” Aurora says.

  “Nope,” Nicky says, chuckling. “Now on to someplace warm.”

  The three chatter about the view. Though I’ve never seen anything but Winter Wonderland from practicing flying the sleigh and would love to get a glimpse myself, I have something more important to do. I have to figure out how we made it past the magical barrier.

  Could it really be as simple as flying through the ceiling? Is a ladder all I needed to check the wall a bit higher than I had been? Dad always warned me not to fly too high or too close to the wall so I didn’t crash into it. And I believed him.

  If my hands could leave fingerprints on the dome, they would cover all of the ground level of the barrier. Whenever I pressed my hand against the magical barrier, there was no give, nothing but resistance.

  While marking off the grid, Tiny always led the sleigh while I rotated which sleigh to use. All five of them were unable to push even an inch into the wall.

  Once I’d finished wracking my brain but coming up with no reasonable explanation, I begin humming to keep myself entertained. I don’t worry if they can hear me, since the trio keeps up a conversation the entire sleigh ride. Then I spend the rest of the time trying to come up with new ideas to fix the crack in the snow globe.

  “LOOK, WE MADE IT TO Hawaii!” Aurora shouts.

  “Which beach?” Nicky asks.

  “Hmmm. Eeny, meeny, miny...” Aurora pauses, then shouts, “That one!”

  The instant I know we are landing, every muscle in my body cries out in resistance to my contortionist position. The urge to uncurl couldn’t be satiated yet so I try to distract myself listening to try and find out where we are.

  Fortunately, instead of unpacking, the trio does a little exploring first. I count slowly to two hundred, then decide it’s time.

  Before they’ve all gotten out of earshot, my racing heart and cramped legs can’t take it anymore. With a shove, I throw open the seat. There must be a small cooler or something left on the bench, because I can’t get the seat to open all the way.

  “Whaaa,” I say, while tumbling out through the large crack. As I sit on the floor of the sleigh, I begin rubbing the elbow I smacked on my way out.

  “Ha!” I say. There was a cooler sitting on the bench that had forced my jailbreak to be not so smooth. The object now lies on the sand, probably tossed out by my hasty exit.

  I can already taste the salty air, and all my little aches melt like a snowman in springtime. Tiny is tied to a short tree. It looks like Nicky set down on the edge of a small forest to partially camouflage the sleigh.

  I rub my hand across a fat leaf. It feels more like plastic than anything real. We are on the eastern section, and just beyond the forest is a peninsula. To the far west are tall reads and some sort of gray and white birds soaring above. There are giant sand dunes to the north.

  As I look south, I gasp. The blue crashing waves remind me of the partially frozen waterfall in the ice caves near the eastern border of Winter Wonderland. A chuckle escapes. “Guess I’m the only scaredy-cat here,” I say to myself as I stare at four children splashing around. Two grown-ups are standing waist deep in the water nearby. Another three adults are splashing each other further away. To my surprise, I don’t see any surfers. Maybe these aren’t colossal waves at all.

  Tiny whimpers. “How’d you like your first flight outside of Winter Wonderland?” I ask while rubbing behind his ears. I reach to untie him when I realize a polar bear running around loose at the beach might be a bit of a shock for the other beachgoers. Of course, Tiny would be mor
e scared of them, but they wouldn’t know that.

  “Be back soon with a treat. Promise.” I give Tiny a quick kiss on the forehead. He huffs then lies down next to a bowl of water. At least Nicky made sure our fuzzball isn’t dehydrated. Before leaving my best Geir, I glance around again. “You won’t get into any trouble if I let you loose, will you?”

  Tiny lifts his head and stares at me. “Good enough.” I unhook him from the rope. “Stay close and out of sight, okay?” Instead of a response, Tiny lowers his head on the ground and closes his eyes. I guess the ride here wore him out.

  I yank my boots off, followed by three layers of thick tops. At least yesterday I’d heard they were headed someplace warm enough to swim. If it wasn’t for the hot tub, I wouldn’t even own a bathing suit. Once all my unnecessary winter layers leave a trail back to the sleigh, I finish by yanking off my socks.

  I dip my toes into the sand. If someone were watching me, they might worry I thought this was quicksand with how cautious I’m being. But for the moment, it’s not fear. Wanting to savor every second and new experience, I move at a slow pace. With both feet firmly on the ground, I begin walking toward the water. However, before I get far, my feet burn as if I’m running across coals like I’ve seen others do in books. “Ouch!” I say, jumping from one foot to the other. All I can think about is trying to fit my blistering toes back into my boots.

  “Head for the darker sand. It’ll cool you down,” comes a voice nearby.

  I race for the dark sand only to realize its shade comes from being wet. A few seconds later, I am joined by Finn. We both walk into the water.

  I bite my lip. I’m trying to think of something to say when a large wave smacks into me. It’s not enough to knock me down, but the strength of it surprises me.

  Finn takes my hand into his. “I’ll help keep you steady.”