Happily Ever Christmas

~Forty-Four~

We rejoined the others, me feeling a bit sheepish and self-conscious. I kept smoothing my red hair and my clothes and asking Steve if I looked alright.

He grinned at me indulgently and assured me that I looked beautiful; that I was always beautiful.

Heart melting!

I was such a sucker for him it was ridiculous. I felt like a teenager again.

The kids had already woken, we discovered when we stepped back into the room with the giant fireplace and the train track running the perimeter of the room.

My kids had taken their cousins down to the arcade room already, the elves explained to me, and their parents would be waking up soon.

I sat down by their cots with a mug of cocoa clasped in my hands so that I would be the first thing they saw upon opening their eyes. I proceeded to worry myself sick about things I couldn't possibly control.

*~*~*~*

Nana came awake first and I tried my best to give her a reassuring smile. I didn't even have time to struggle with what to tell her before the rest of my family were groggily coming around, as well, all with their own set of slurred questions and various needs to be met.

*~*~*~*

Seeing is believing, it's true.

But in this golden age of technology, people didn't always trust their eyes right away. Sometimes what you were seeing couldn't be trusted.

I came from a family full of skeptics; nonbelievers. These were not the people who believed in fairies or angels or even miracles, really.

They were the Scullys to Steve's Mulder and it took them half the day before they were able to start accepting what they were even seeing.

Once Grandma accepted it, they all had to accept it.

Eventually, though, they had to face their new, startling truth, when Elves were physically shaking their hands and their own children were telling them to come see the giant indoor ice skating rink or the giant chocolate fountain or the giant...everything else. Everything here save the elves themselves were giant, even Steve...

I trailed off on that thought, though, and slid him a sly smile which he returned with a knowing wink.

"So...are there stables full of reindeer somewhere that can really fly?!" Brian, Susan's husband, asked as his own excitement began to mount.

"No." Steve had to gently dash their hopes as he had had to douse mine when I had asked about the reindeer. "I mean, we do have reindeer, but they don't fly..."

"Yeah, Dad, Santa Claus, or "Nick Light" as the Snow Elves call him, doesn't fly in a magical sleigh through the air at night pulled by some reindeer to drop presents down chimneys, that's ridiculous." Ryland said to his dad, who blinked down at him owlishly. "He uses a set of leylines that connect via portals, or "fireplaces". It's kinda obvious when you think about it."

"Is-is that so, son?" Brian murmured, grasping his son's shoulder as if he was about to fall over.

"Yeah." Ryland blushed, however, when he realized that he might've spoke out of turn. He shifted to smile sheepishly at Steve. "Errr, right, Santa?"

Steve chuckled lightly. "You can just keep calling me Steve, son. I'm just a regular guy who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; that's how I got the job."

I glanced up at him searchingly, because I knew the true story and that was hardly how it had happened. I supposed it was fair that he didn't want to go into the clearly painful and personal subject with my family just now. He had been kind enough and generous enough to let them into his home, now it was my turn to take the lead and not push for more.

Before I could step up to suavely save Steve from having to explain anything further to my somewhat nosy family, a clear, feminine laugh cut through our protective family bubble.

"Oh, ha ha ha! Nick is so much more than just 'some average guy'."

We all turned towards that cold, cruel, beautiful sound. It was as if her fell voice lulled is all into a trance that forced us to turn and stare at her like a bunch of idiots.

She was beautiful, curse her.

Candace.

She was as pale as porcelain and almost as tall as Steve; at least four inches taller than me in her glitter-blasted high heels that she still somehow managed to glide elegantly along in.

Her platinum blonde hair cascaded in perfect roping curls down past her waist, her dark eyes glittered like Steve's; they were so obviously a perfect pair.

They were both Magic.

I studied that angel face of the devil woman, feeling defeated and glum inside already, just thinking about it.

She was so painfully gorgeous, who wouldn't desire her? I felt short and dumpy next to her, I hated to admit it, but it was true.

She was just so thin and her pale skin gleamed, draped as she was in this silver, shimmery, gossamer thing that somehow managed to cling to her just so, that even though she was practically nude, it was still tasteful.

"Nick Light has always been an exceptional individual, beyond reproach. Beyond your limited human perspective, too, surely." Her laugh tinkled like breaking glass as she swept her smug smile over my family. "Emily! I'm surprised to see you've returned already. And I see you've brought your entire brood with you, as well!"

I blinked up at the shockingly beautiful woman and suddenly the heat of my anger thawed through that wall of shock and I was no longer frozen in place by her.

Steve opened his mouth to protest; to say some perfectly polite thing and suavely come to my rescue, no doubt, gallant man that he was.

I lifted my hand and touched my fingers lightly to his chest, halting him.

This was my battle. This was my true first chance to defend my new relationship with Steve.

"It's Emberly, actually. Lady Candy, it's nice to see you again. This is my family, yes, Steve very gallantly brought them here so that they could see the place. You see, when a human family loves and respects each other, then we don't keep secrets from each other." I stared fearlessly into those scary ice eyes of hers and I felt a glimmer of triumph when I saw that land, striking home within her. I had been fishing in the dark; she just seemed like someone who would keep secrets, who kept herself cloaked in them, and who had inevitably been hurt by them.

I heard her softly suck in a breath and take a step back. "How-how sweet. So you and Nick-?"

"We're engaged!" I said without thinking. It just sort of slipped out of me.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Only two chapters left! ARE Y'ALL READY FOR THIS?!

HRH