When in Lapland...

Chapter 1

 The full moon shone proudly in the sky after another beautiful day of twinkling stars and lights in Lapland. The time was nearing midday and the sun had already risen and set for the day in this particular Christmassy region. Charity and Vanessa had taken Johnny and Moses for five fun-filled days in Lapland, Finland. Though December 24th had come around quickly, and they were all now ready to head home; to be in bed early on Christmas Eve night. They had spent the last few days trying out snowboarding, sleigh rides and of course meeting Father Christmas himself. At the airport, the departure lounge began to fill up with other families who were ready to take their own flights home, to wherever in the world they may live, while Charity sat up against the window with her iPad, where a single bar of Wi-Fi flickered upon its screen. Noah and Sarah had decided they were too old for building snowmen and visiting Santa Claus and were being trusted to stay home and take care of themselves and the house while the rest of the family were away. And though they would be missed, both mums knew that the teenagers would be better off at home in the warm with their endless phone data coverage and Xbox than traipsing around behind two five-year-olds in the snow, moaning about minus six-degree weather. The familiar sound of the facetime ringtone jingled as Charity finally managed to get through to Jacob's Fold. After a few seconds, two pixelated faces appeared on the screen with a clear lag of time difference as Noah and Sarah spoke without their lips moving. "Hi" Charity chirped, happy to see that for the fifth day in a row the teenagers were still alive and well, and the house was still standing and had not burnt to the ground or been flooded. "You okay? We're just at the airport now, say hi boys" Charity added, as Johnny, Moses and Vanessa appeared behind her on the screen, waving cheerily to their family back home. "Yeah, we're ok, be glad to have you back. We're actually getting bored of having pizza for tea every night" Sarah told. "Speak for yourself" Noah argued, nudging his niece playfully. "Awh, we won't be long. The flight has been delayed for a few minutes due to a strong gust of wind blowing in, but other than that everything has gone to plan so far." Vanessa explained as she took a glimpse out of the window to see trees swaying rather violently in the distance. "How long is your flight this time?" Sarah asked. "Only three hours, we managed to book a nonstop flight home so we won't have to stop over anywhere in Europe. We should touchdown in Manchester at around two o'clock, your time" Charity told them, explaining the two-hour time difference between their destinations. "Are you sad to be leaving?" Noah asked Charity, who had moaned about the extreme cold all week. "Kind of, I'll miss the fun times, and the sauna at the hotel, but Babe, I can't wait to walk through that door and get into bed and not have to wear three pairs of socks" She joked. Noah and Sarah laughed, suddenly noticing something a little out of place on the runway. "What's that?" They both asked, squinting for a better view of whatever it was airport staff were chasing outside. Charity and Vanessa turned sharply to see not one, but two reindeers running in circles up and down the flight path. "You've got to be kidding me," Charity murmured. "Rudolph" Moses shouted loudly, pointing to the glass and catching the attention of the family beside them, starting a chain of gasps from children who all ran to the window to see their favourite Christmas creatures galloping and misbehaving on the runway. "That's not good," Vanessa said, turning to Charity, as they realised their flight was bound to be pushed back even further now. "Guys, we're going to have to go. I need to keep a listen out for announcements. I'll message you when I know what's going on" she sighed, then shut off the iPad and headed off to the information desk to see if she could find out if this game of 'man v reindeer' hindered their travel in any way. "Charity, please, be nice" Vanessa called out as her fiancé stormed towards the young man manning the desk on the other side of the room. Charity turned back and showed a fake smile to Vanessa, before carrying on her soldiering march to the desk. "Oi, what's going on out there?" She asked, her voice a little louder than usual. "I apologise, Ma'am, this doesn't usually happen" The young man announced, his accent thick and jolly just like everyone else she had heard and spoken to since arriving almost a week ago. "Oh, it doesn't, does it? This isn't some sort of free show for the kiddies to watch while you load up the bags, is it?" She toyed with him, and then felt guilty as he clearly didn't pick up on the sarcasm in her words. The man stuttered, and tucked a lock of dark blonde hair behind his ear as he tapped away on his keyboard, hoping desperately that the right answers would come up. Charity shifted from foot to foot as the slow computer loaded a new page. The young man attempted eye contact with Charity but quickly ducked his head once more as he grew timid of her scowl. "If you'll just bear with me, for a moment" He spoke in a whisper, but before he could refresh the page, an announcement boomed from the tanoy above. "This is a passenger announcement. All flights sadly will be delayed due to animal interference on the runway, we regret any inconvenience-" Charity stopped listening and turned to Vanessa in a strop. Vanessa met Charity with a frown as she too realised that they were going to be stuck there for the foreseeable. Charity rubbed the palm of her hand harshly across her forehead and took a deep breath, that was visible as a slither of cold grey air. "I'll be back in a minute" She mouthed to Vanessa, before leaving to find the toilets. The room filled with a mixture of defeated sighs and angry voices as others learned the fate of their Christmas Eve. It seemed nobody was going to make it home at their expected times as all flights upon the notice board switched to red writing with the dreaded word 'Delayed' next to the names of their destinations. A swarm of people rushed past as Charity seemed to be the only person heading in the opposite direction to the information desk, where the young man was about to be in for a grilling from hundreds of people, so she wasn't surprised when she glanced back to see him rushing off to find another co-worker to help him out while the angry mob approached.
 Two sets of double doors stood between the departure lounge and the rest of the airport where Charity remembered rushing past a disabled toilet on the way in, just over an hour ago. She headed solely by herself, down an empty hallway towards another hallway that branched off to the right, where a bright sign showed a drawing of a wheelchair and the abbreviation 'WC' overhead. As she picked up the pace, hurrying to the single toilet, hoping nobody had beaten her there, she quickly turned the corner and found the bright blue painted door open and unoccupied just up ahead, behind one last set of doors. As she grew more desperate to relieve her bladder she lashed out at the door, kicking it hard with her foot. The door was pushed with so much force that it very quickly flew open and was out of her reach long before she noticed an elderly man turn the corner. As the door coincided with him, Charity gasped loudly and swore, watching in horror as the old man fell to the floor. "Oh my God, I am so sorry" Charity choked, falling to her knees to try to help him up, but as she reached out for his hand, she realised that he was unconscious. "Oh no, no, no" She muttered repeatedly, reaching for her phone. "Babe, come quickly to the toilet around the corner. Don't bring the kids" She panicked. "What? What's wrong?" Vanessa worried from the other end of the phone. "Just hurry up, quick" Charity boomed, then hung up as the elderly man twitched and began to come around. "Thank God." She breathed, glad that she hadn't killed him. Within seconds, Vanessa appeared from behind, out of breath, after running all the way there. "What happened?" She wheezed, as she skidded to a halt, joining Charity upon her knees. "Hello, sir? Can you hear me?" She added, disregarding Charity as she focused on the old man. "Where am I?" He asked, his voice quiet and shaky. "You're at Rovaniemi airport, in Finland" Vanessa explained. "Ah, is that right?" The old man nodded, his eyes opening for the first time. He was a large man, which seemed lucky at this time as his body had cushioned his fall. "That's it. Can you tell me your name?" Vanessa asked him, calmly. "Kris" He answered, blinking rapidly as the bright ceiling light pierced his sight. "Kris Kringle, but I have many other names too. Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nic" He explained, with sincerity in his voice. "Oh no, he's delirious" Charity spat. Vanessa shot Charity a look that said 'shut up' without having to say the words out loud, as she helped the old man to sit upright. "Very funny" Vanessa laughed gently, nodding towards his long white beard. "You would think so, but it is true" He insisted. "No, it's not. And this isn't funny by the way" Charity began, she was going to get around to throwing in an apology after scolding him for joking with them while they worried, but before she could get to it, the old man interrupted her. "Yes, it is. I am Santa Claus" he told them again. "Alright then, Santa" Vanessa began, carefully checking his head for any cuts or lumps. "Is there anybody here with you? Can I go and find somebody, other than just a first aider?" She asked, trying her best to be polite and calm with him. "No, it's just me and my reindeer" He announced. "Reindeer? Was that you? Letting reindeers onto the runway as some kind of stupid joke?" Charity grilled him, no longer feeling bad for causing his accident. "It's no joke, Charity" He declared. Charity's eyes widened in confusion as she heard her name spoken from the stranger's lips. "How do you know my name?" She barked, checking her pockets to see if her flight details were visible with her name upon them. "I know all about you, Charity Dingle, and you too, Vanessa Woodfield" The old man smirked. Vanessa joined Charity in shock as she too wondered how he knew their names. "I also know that you're here with your sons, Johnny and Moses" he added. This now worried Charity and Vanessa, more. "How do you know that?" Vanessa asked him, raising her finger to Charity's lips to shush her as she sensed her partner's rising anger building up once more. "Because, I'm Santa Claus'' He told them again, growing more insistent. "And, I know all" He added, but gasped as his head began to pound with an ache that squandered his vision, his surroundings waved and wobbled as he tried to steady himself. "Don't move so quickly" Vanessa pleaded with him, knowing for sure that he had concussion. "Charity, go and get somebody" Vanessa insisted, tapping her repeatedly on the leg as she spoke. "Like who?", "Anybody, just go", "Please, don't worry. I don't need to be seen. I'm just fine" The old man vowed, as he attempted once more to get up off the cold floor, but failed. "I really think you should see a medic" Vanessa told him, beginning to lose her patience. "No, I don't have time for that. I need to get home to Mrs Claus'', "Let me guess. She's back at the North Pole?" Charity joked, sarcastically, having not actually left yet. "Exactly, yes" The old man replied. Charity rolled her eyes as he kept up his fairy-tale story. "You're going to have to come with me." He told them, hesitating at first as Charity glared at him from behind furrowed brows. "Absolutely not." She stated. Vanessa shushed her again. "We can't do that, sorry,'' Vanessa began, stopping for a split second as she once again, uneasily called him by the name he'd provided. "We have to get home to our family in time for Christmas, Santa'' She explained. "If you don't accompany me, Vanessa, there will be no Christmas'' he spoke clearly, and loudly, and it seemed the old man was now losing his patience, too. "Seriously? Drop the act, old man. How do you know our names? Is this some sort of scam? Are you going to fleece us of all we've got as a bid to stop you from going to the police?" Charity demanded, as she now started to grow weary of the strange guy sitting beside her. The old man turned to Charity, and then to Vanessa. "No. And I'm very sorry about this, but it is your fault, really." The old man said. "It was an accident" Charity raised her voice, but as she spoke, he ignored her and pulled a hat from his pocket. Typically, it was red in colour and adorned with white fluff, and a plump little bobble was attached to the end. As he held it tightly in his hands, the old man mumbled to himself. "Fly through the skies, Santa's grotto lies. Past the stars and through a black hole, home we go, to The North Pole" He rhymed. Before Charity had the chance to roll her eyes for the second time, red and green lights suddenly appeared before them. Not much different from the Northern Lights they had watched in awe the night before, these lights danced around them momentarily before swooping down and brushing against their skin. "What's going on?" Vanessa panicked as her body began to tingle. "Don't panic" The Old Man pleaded. "What do you mean don't panic? What is this?" Charity shouted, her body now tingling too. Without another word, the old man closed his eyes and the lights lifted them from the ground and they disappeared from the airport without a trace.
 Within mere seconds, Charity and Vanessa found their feet upon the ground once more, and other than feeling a little nauseous, both felt fine. Not believing their eyes, they each rubbed them and blinked, taking in their new surroundings. "Where are we?" A little voice asked, tugging at Vanessa's coat. Both mums turned to find that Johnny and Moses were safe and with them, wherever it was they had been taken. "I don't know," Vanessa told the boys, in the calmest voice she could summon as she herself worried on the inside. "You're at the North Pole, young man" The old man told Johnny. "Are you Santa?" Moses asked, looking him up and down, taking in his large frame and long thick beard. "Yes, yes I am." The old man nodded. "I thought so," Moses nodded back, as if it were no big deal. After all, he had already sat on Santa's lap a few days ago and asked him for a bike for Christmas. "I'm sorry, but is no one else freaking out right now?" Charity asked, her voice shaking as she stared down the man who she now half believed, really was Santa Claus. Vanessa raised her hand like a schoolgirl would. "I'm freaking out, a bit" She murmured. "Please don't worry. If we can just make our way over to the house, I will explain everything" He reassured them, and held out his arm to show them the way. From what they could see, the North Pole was very much like Lapland, but without all the tourists. Snow blanketed all the land and the sky was deep and dark and filled with stars, and thousands of trees lined the hills miles away as a gentle breeze whipped by. "Who wants a hot chocolate?" The old man asked. "Me" Both boys cheered, excitedly. "I thought so. And maybe something a little stronger for your Mummy's, a Brandy perhaps?" He suggested with a light chuckle. "Too right" Vanessa mouthed, "And make it a double" Charity added, as they timidly followed the old man and their sons to the large house that lit up the near distance in twinkling golden lights. Once inside, Santa was greeted by a group of elves who were excited to see him back, but each of them cocked their heads to the side at the sight of the new faces that had come along with him. "Is Mrs Claus around?" He asked, ignoring their questionable little faces as his head continued to pound. As the words left his mouth, Mrs Claus appeared just ahead, rushing a little in a panic. "Are you alright?" She asked, with red dimpled cheeks. "I saw it happen on the seeing glass" she told her husband, as she fussed at him to see the lump that had appeared on his head. "I am fine, hurts a bit, and quite slumbersome, though" He spoke, like a poet or old timely person, so Charity thought. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but can you please inform us why we are here?" Vanessa asked, raising her voice above the chit chat of the Claus'. Mrs Claus ducked her head, as if she were expecting one of them to burst into a fit of anger, while Santa, on the other hand, came over mischievously, as if he was savouring the moment, he was to offload his plans for the two women. "Please, take a seat" He insisted, shifting aside so that Charity and Vanessa could perch on a large green sofa. Just as they did, a new elf arrived with a silver tray. On top of it stood two hot chocolates, topped with cream and chocolate sprinkles, and beside them were two crystal tumblers with a drop of brandy inside. Charity reached out and threw back her shot without a word of thanks, whereas Vanessa took hers and held it in her hands, without yet taking a sip. "Can we just get straight to the point?" She asked, politely. Looking up at Mr and Mrs Claus. "I'll tell you what. How would you boys like to munch on some chocolates and candy canes?" The old lady asked, pulling a handful of gold coins from her big velvet pocket. Johnny and Moses lit up the room with their excited toothy grins and leapt to their feet, following Mrs Claus across the room to reach down the candy canes she had offered, which were hanging upon the wall near the open fireplace. As the boy's footsteps receded, Santa took a seat beside Charity and Vanessa, and anxiously drummed his fat fingertips upon the coffee table. "Here's the thing," He began. Sensing the impending doom, Charity grew nervous and snatched Vanessa's brandy from her lap and threw it down the hatch. Vanessa turned to her fiancé and scowled, now wishing she had drunk it while she had had the chance. "I'm not the first Santa Claus. My father was your 'Father Christmas' before me, and his father before him, and so on. What's important for you to know is that a 'Santa' needs to be well rested and full of joy on Christmas Eve night, to be able to fly around the world delivering gifts to girls' and boys' ' He told, his tone borderline loud and story like, like an old and wise teacher. "When has anyone ever been both of those things at once?" Charity joked, her nerves getting the better of her as she was talked down to by a strange, overweight man. Santa's eyes made a beeline for Charity and for a moment he looked the opposite of jolly. "My point is. After my little, 'accident', or so you have called it. I am not fit to fly. Which is where you will see our predicament. No Santa, no presents, no Christmas'' He pointed out. "So, you're saying, basically, that Charity has ruined Christmas, for the whole world?" Vanessa asked, horrified. Charity scoffed and pulled a face at the blame she was receiving, but kept quiet as Santa spoke once more. "Not necessarily. You see, even though it is my job, it doesn't have to be me in that sleigh tonight. Children all over the globe will be expecting a bearded fellow and eight reindeer to deliver their gifts, but seeing as I am unable to do so, I'm going to be in need of a substitute" He divulged. "Well, as long as you're not expecting us to do it-" Charity began, sarcastic in reply as usual, but stopped dead in her tracks as she finally caught the hint that Santa had dropped. Like an owl, her head swivelled almost all the way around as she turned to Vanessa, and then back to Santa again. "You have got to be kidding me?" She blurted out. But Santa was far from joking and had dropped the half smile from his face. "Tell me this is just a big wind up," Charity added, looking at Vanessa again, this time ready to laugh, thinking that her partner had managed to pull a brilliant prank on her. But Vanessa looked just as taken aback as she had, and so Charity's laughter faded and her heart began to thud in her chest. "You want us to deliver millions of presents? Tonight?" Vanessa gasped, not believing her ears as she listened to Santa's instructions. "Yes. It has to be you. You are the ones who injured me, and everybody else here is needed for their own jobs. You're the only two people in the whole of the North Pole who can do this. It is important that the children get their gifts" Santa explained. "If it's so important, why were you hanging around a Finnish Airport in the first place, and not putting bows on boxes or something?" Charity argued, adamant that something wasn't right here. "I was in Lapland visiting Children on my last round of duty before heading home to load up the sleigh. And if it wasn't for you that's exactly what I would be doing" Santa shouted back, causing his already pounding head to hurt more. Quickly, he held his face in his palm and closed his eyes for a moment before regaining his strength to look up again. "It really is very important that you do this. If the children awake to empty stockings, they will question if I am real. And if enough Children stop believing in me, the magic of 'Father Christmas' will die, and myself with it, and Christmas will be over, for all" He spoke sombrely. Charity's face became a picture of confusion and disbelief, whereas Vanessa had believed in what she had been told, with every word. "That's so sad," Vanessa whispered, with that she turned to the boys who luckily hadn't heard any of what Santa had had to say. Johnny and Moses were laughing with Mrs Claus, with chocolate all over their tiny faces, and so Vanessa knew that they had to do this, for them. "Charity" She spoke, but was cut off. Charity had held out her hand and was deep in thought. "You look me in the eye and you tell me that this isn't just a big joke" She began. Santa looked to Charity with sad eyes. "It's no joke." He spoke. Charity shook her head in disappointment at herself, as she started to believe in the seriousness of their situation. "Okay, but if we were to do this, how are we supposed to fly a sleigh at God knows how many miles per hour, or squeeze down chimneys and be expected to drink gallons of milk?" She questioned, thrown off by how insane she must have sounded. "With magic," Santa said. "Magic" Charity muttered, throwing her hands into the air in disbelief and rolling her eyes. Vanessa sat quietly through all of this, just watching the man sitting in front of her as Charity rattled off her questions. But before either of them could ask another, the sofa they were sat on shifted for a moment before lifting off the carpet, floating in mid-air with them still upon it. "Oh my God, put us down" Vanessa shrieked as they reached the ceiling, terrified, and amazed by the magic that was now apparent. "Is it going to be safe?" Vanessa asked when they reached the floor once more. "Oh yes, it is quite safe" Santa insisted with multiple, fast nods. "What about the boys?", "Johnny and Moses can stay here with us, safe and sound, bellies full of chocolate and sweets, surrounded by so many toys that they won't even realise you've gone" He voiced, hopeful. Vanessa felt a lump in her throat as she mentally talked herself into accepting the responsibility given to her, and though she felt like a barrel of nerves, she nodded firmly. "Are you mad?" Charity shrieked. "Charity, think of the boys. What would we tell them if they woke up to no present's tomorrow morning?", "Uh, nothing, just take them out and buy some ourselves?", "Okay, what about the rest of the kids in the village? In the country? In the World? Are we going to take them out to the shops too?" Vanessa questioned, as she admittedly found herself getting excited for the adventure that lay ahead. Charity pulled a face, and glanced back and fore between Vanessa's hopeful smile and Santa's pleading eyes. Admitting defeat, she threw herself back on the sofa. "Alright" She sounded, in a voice like no other she had used until this very moment. "But I'm going to need five minutes" She added, covering her face with her hands. Vanessa smiled at Santa and beamed, whilst Charity failed to come up with an escape route in her head.
 The reindeer had already been brushed, fed and watered and were waiting as they usually did, in their luxurious stables as the last of the gifts made their way onto the sleigh. A giant red sack was strapped tightly onto the back seat and looked fit to burst as a handful of elves tightened the thick rope ties into a perfectly shaped bow at the top of it. The sleigh itself wasn't all that much different from the imagined version from television or greetings cards. It too, was red, wooden and was adorned with brass handles and bodywork. "It really stinks in here" Charity mentioned whilst wrinkling her nose as they all headed to the first stable to load up the reindeers to the sleigh. "It's not that bad" Vanessa shrugged as she excitedly held out her hand to touch the reindeer closest to her. "Hi, Comet" She giggled as the famous reindeer nibbled at her fingers as she read his name from a plaque. "This is crazy" She added as she felt the excitement of their situation bubble away inside her. "You know, I treated a reindeer once?" Vanessa told Santa as he arrived by her side. He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "There was a Christmas market in the village a few years ago and someone let all the reindeers out as a prank, but unfortunately, in all the carnage one of the smaller ones got trampled. He was ok though, in the end" she beamed. Santa smiled back after listening intently to her story, when all the while Charity ducked and cowered from Cupid, in the stable next over. "Don't touch me" she warned the six-foot creature as she ducked away from its head. "Alright, shall we get started?" Santa asked, rubbing his hands together as he watched Charity back away into a corner. With that, he raised his hand and with one finger he swished a pattern in the air, causing each stable door to open, letting the reindeers out into the barn. Like they had done hundreds of times, each reindeer made their way over to their space in front of the sleigh, and waited patiently to be fastened up. "Ooh, this way, Comet" Vanessa motioned as they sidestepped beside one another. "Oi, mate, over here" Charity shouted, bickering with one of the other reindeers who had gone in the wrong direction and had its rear end in her face. Vanessa chuckled quietly to herself as Charity froze with her back turned. "If I turn around and see you laughing, you can go around the world on your own" Charity warned, but still smiled when she saw Vanessa hiding her laugh behind the back of her hand.
 After a few minutes, all eight reindeers were buckled up and ready to go, but before Charity and Vanessa could hop up onto the sleigh, they were pulled aside by Mrs Claus, who had arrived with a pile of freshly washed and folded laundry. "Is that for us?" Vanessa asked, thinking they were receiving a warm jumper or fluffy blanket for their lap. Mrs Claus smiled sweetly as she handed over the warm clothes in her hands, but while she came over innocently, Santa sucked in his cheeks, as if he were waiting for them to notice what was really going on. Vanessa was handed a bundle of green material, and Charity received red. "An elf costume?" Vanessa voiced, unfolding the clothes to reveal a green shirt and red and white striped leggings, with a matching jingle belled hat. Charity's eyes widened as she unfolded her own pile, where just as she thought, she was provided with a red suit and false elasticated beard. Without saying a word, she looked to Santa. "If you were to be seen, you'd have to be in a suit and beard" He explained, holding his hands up. "Oh, so the fact I'm a woman, doesn't matter. As long as I have a hairy face?" She spat, flicking the beard out in front of them all. "I'm known for my beard, Charity, that's just how it goes", "I'm not letting anyone see me in this", "Good, because the whole point is not to be seen, to keep the magic alive" Santa chortled. Charity rubbed her face with her hand. "Fine, you know what? Fine" She sighed loudly. "I'll just put on the stupid costume and deliver the stupid gifts to the stupid kids, and then, hopefully I can get home and go to bed" She moaned, as she angrily stomped her way into the suit. Vanessa followed her lead and slipped her costume on over the top of her clothes and didn't really mind the way she looked in it. Charity turned to her wanting to say something sarcastic but when she saw her fiancé's little smile, she couldn't make fun of her. "You look cute" She said with a straight face. "And you look" Vanessa paused, "Handsome" She added, as she helped Charity into the beard and kissed her gently on the lips as the prickly hairs tickled her face. Santa coughed and cleared his throat, waiting for the two women to finish their embrace. "Right. Well, if you just want to hop on up" He nodded to the sleigh. Vanessa squeaked as she pulled open the door to climb in, but Charity pushed ahead of her and climbed the little ladder before scooting over onto the leather clad bench inside. "Vanessa" Santa spoke softly, pulling the small blonde to the side. "A word of advice. When you're out there, should you come across anybody in the flesh, a woken child or a person out celebrating and merry on the mulled wine, just remember to always treat the situation with cheer and joy. The magic of Christmas is sometimes fragile, but can take one a long way if used properly" He whispered, not necessarily keeping the information away from Charity, but he hoped to mention it without her hearing, in fear that she may change her mind about helping and leave them in the lurch. "Okay" Vanessa nodded, before looking up to Charity. "She's a feisty one" Santa added, following Vanessa's gaze. "She is, but she means well. I think she's just tried and in shock, she's not always like this, she can be really sweet too", "Oh I know, this is the first year in a long time that she's been on the nice list", They chuckled. "Are you coming or what?" Charity called down, her head reappearing from above as she interrupted their joke. Vanessa grinned. "Coming" She shouted back, putting her best foot forward, strenuously pulling herself onboard. Once seated, Santa stood back for a better view of the women behind the reins. "So, what now?" Charity asked, afraid to touch the reins in case the reindeer took off without any further instructions on what it was that they actually had to do. "Just do as I would. Tell the reindeers where you want to go and they'll take you there. Beneath your seat, is a book with each country's traditions and what the people call me. Be sure to get them right, leaving behind the correct clues that you've been is just as important as placing down the presents. Other than that, you can wing the rest" He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Good plan" Charity sighed, rolling her eyes sarcastically. "Oh, before I forget" Santa added, delving into his pocket to retrieve the same hat he had used back at the airport. "Pop this on Charity, you'll need it to fly, and to complete your look". Again, Charity sighed. "Funny, you look like you're feeling much better and could probably do this yourself now" she pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "I am always jolly, even in ill health", "Ill health? You had a bump to the head not a bout of man flu" She replied, sarcastically. "Please, give an old man a break, Miss Dingle" he pleaded, with a twinkle in his eye. Charity breathed harshly to hide her laughter as for the first time she and Santa seemed to share in a joke. Vanessa disappeared down under the seat and pulled out the thick hardback book they had just been told about. Blowing off a year's worth of cobwebs, she dusted the cover and opened it up. Inside was just as Santa had said, the many different names and aliases of Santa Claus, and the many traditions each country followed when leaving out stockings, boots to fill with sweets, and mince pies, cookies and milk. "All set?" Santa asked as he attempted to grab their attention away from the magical book. Charity and Vanessa pulled themselves together, with nerves kicking in, but they were finally ready to head off into the sky. "Alright. Let's do this" Vanessa nodded, holding out her hand to high five Charity, who left her hanging for a moment before slapping her palm lazily. "Now, to lift off you need to try to sound like me, very deeply, say to the reindeers, 'On Dasher, On Dancer, On Prancer and Vixen, On Comet, On Cupid, On Donner and Blitzen'," he reeled off from memory, the names of his eight reindeer. Charity's face was a picture as she attempted to remember the names and their order. "On" She said aloud, deeply, "On Dasher" she tried again, forcing her voice even deeper, before scowling at Mr and Mrs Claus who stood in a fit of giggles. "They're animals, Charity, they can't understand you" Mrs Claus chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. Vanessa cocked her head to the side and sniggered as her fiancé had been pranked. "I'm sorry," Santa added. "Just take the reins and give them a flick and away you'll go" He said more seriously. "Good luck" He spoke again, now stepping back to move out of the way as the barn doors opened wide, revealing the night sky. With one last glance back to the ground, and Santa's grotto, Charity took a deep breath before taking hold of the reins. Vanessa quickly slipped the magical bobble hat onto Charity's head and readjusted her bushy beard. "Alright, bring it on then" Charity murmured, psyching herself up. Then, in an instant, the reindeers perked up at her touch and jumped from the ground. Eight reindeers began to fly, their ankles slowly getting into motion as they levitated on the spot, before whipping out of the doors and off into the night.