Holly Jolly

🦌 one

chapter one

     When you grew up in The Arctic Circle, six months without sun didn't phase you. The Solstice was rapidly approaching and everything was blanketed in a blue glow. It really was a kind of magic.

The road that led back to the farm from The Village wasn't much of a road at all, covered with snow and only carved out by years of travel. I trudged along, flanked on either side by thick Nordic forest. Frost nipped at my face through the scarf. No matter how bundled up you were, the chill would get to you.

     The antique red sled was supposed to hold a couple pieces of firewood or a seven year old me, not two gigantic bags of reindeer feed. I strained muscles I didn't even know I had trying to pull it along behind me.

I was halfway home when the snow started—not fun snow. It was those, thick fluffy flakes that stuck to everything and weighed you down.

Just went I thought my arm was going to fall off, I heard the roar of an engine and the crunch of tires biting through snow. A sleek G-Wagon came around the bed, headlights bouncing shadows off the trees.

     It came to a sudden, crunchy halt, spraying snow all over me. Nicholas Klaus II stuck his head out the window, grinning emphatically.

     "Sorry! Jeez, I didn't even see you, Holly. What are you doing out here?" His eyes drifted down to where my sled was sagging under the weight of the feed. "Did your truck not start again? I was just at the farm and you weren't there, so I thought I'd try The Village."

Nick was a Klaus, that was for sure. Five years my junior, he had the trademark inability to not swoop in and give someone a hand.

"Never mind about that," I shook the snow off my coat. "When'd you get back?"

The boarding school Nick attended in Switzerland closed its doors the first month in December for the holiday season. But, it was a week away from Christmas and I hadn't seen him, which meant he'd snuck a little vacation in between, probably with his school friends.

I couldn't believe he was a senior already. It felt like yesterday that he was a bumbling kid following me around The Village. He'd always be that way to me, like a little brother I'd never had.

"Last night. I'll tell you all about it if you let me give you a ride back...deal?" He opened the car door before I could get a word of protest out. My knight in shining Moncler. I grabbed one bag and he grabbed the other, and soon we were headed back to the farm, sled bouncing around in Nick's backseat.

     "Okay, so where'd you go? Saint Moritz?" I pried. The Klauses were some of the wealthiest people in the world. Ever since Nick Senior launched Kringle Co., the sky was the limit. The family spent most of their time Down South, traveling and managing their business. But, December was for the Pole, always.

     "Zermatt," Nick sighed, relishing it, eyes on the road. He pulled a postcard from the sun visor, dropping it in my lap. "Here, I know you collect them. You would've loved it, seriously."

I turned the postcard over, studying the picture. The snow-covered slopes were beautiful, but as much as it'd be nice to visit the places on my cards, I got enough snow up here at the Pole. It was a big world, and seeing it in smaller windows made it less intimidating.