The Secret Fifth

10: Presents

Peter, Susan, and Lucy climbed out with jaws dropped. Right before their eyes stood Father Christmas!

"Merry Christmas, sir." Lucy was the first was speak. A large grin covered her face, and she boldly walked up to the man. He smiled back with a chuckle.

"It certainly is, Lucy. Now that you've arrived." The deep man's voice sent chills down Peter and Susan's spine; he was everything they had ever imagined. Once they had finally found their voices, Susan began to speak.

"Look, I've put up with a lot since I got here, but this..." She turned to look at Peter, who shared a look with her and turned to the white bearded man.

"We thought you were the Witch." He finished. The old man sighed and grabbed his wide hips.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry about that; but in my defense, I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch." He said.

"I thought there were no Christmas in Narnia." Susan said, deciding to believe that this wasn't all a dream for a moment.

"No. Not for a long time. But the hope that you have brought, Your Majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's power. Still, I dare say you could do with these." Father Christmas reached behind him, plucking a large brown sack from his sleigh. Peter and Susan grinned with glee, and Lucy leapt towards the sleigh.

"Presents!" She squealed. Father Christmas smiled and nodded, pulling out a gift for her. His hand held a glass cordial that was filled to the brim with a thick and red liquid.

"The juice of the fire-flower. One drop will cure any injury. And though I hope you never have to use it..." Father Christmas reached his hand back into the back, coming back up with a thin auburn belt with a dagger strapped to it. It had a golden hilt of a great lion. Lucy took it with a gasp.

"Thank you sir, I think I could be brave enough." The smallest Pevensie held her gifts close to her chest as she stepped back to her siblings.

"I'm sure you could. But battles are ugly affairs. Susan." As her name was spoken, Susan stepped forward from beside Peter with a wary look. He presented her with a beautiful golden brown bow and quiver, with arrows of blood red feathers. "Trust in this bow, and it will not easily miss." She took the gift with a small smile, not able to keep her smart mouth closed.

"What happened to "battles are ugly affairs"?" She smirked. Peter rolled his eyes at his sister's sass while Father Christmas chuckled. He then pulled out a small ivory horn, the same color as her quiver.

"Though you don't seem to have a problem making yourself heard, blow on this horn and wherever you are, help will come." The man shot Peter an odd look as Susan took the horn with her thanks. She stepped back towards her brother just as he moved towards the bag.

"Peter. The time to use these may be near at hand." Father pulled perhaps the greatest gift from the bag, a long and grand sword, with the same hilt as Lucy's small dagger, and a shining shield with it. Peter drew the sword with a dropped jaw, smiling as his eyes wandered the metal.

"Thank you, sir." He breathed. He began to take steps back towards his sisters, but Father Christmas stopped him.

"And, for your sister." He reached back into his bag, and Peter shot Susan a very conflicted look. Lucy was practically leaping with glee, happy that Annelise would receive a gift as well.

"But sir-" Peter began. His sentence was caught in his throat as Father Christmas pulled a gleaming silver pipe from his bag.

"The use of this weapon will only be revealed once it is in the hands of it's true owner. The Daughter of Astery." He handed the pipe to Peter, who took it with furrowed eyebrows and tucked it into his belt loop. It fit securely. Lucy stepped forward and tugged on Father Christmas's coat.

"Sir, where is Annie? Will we see her again?" She asked. The man put a loving hand on the girl's shoulder, but his eyes held pity.

"You will see her sooner than you think, young one. You must look for her where she is not expected." With a last reassuring squeeze, he pulled himself from Lucy and heaved his bag into his sleigh. "These are tools, not toys. Bear them well and wisely. Now, I must be off. Winter is almost over, and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years. Long live Aslan!" He snapped the reigns of his sleigh after climbing in, and soon enough all that was left of him was the faint jingle of the bells. Lucy turned to her sister with a smirk.

"Told you he was real." She said. Susan rolled her eyes with a smile as she strapped her new gifts onto her back. Peter did the same, and he found his hand falling on the pipe of his sister's as he spoke.

"He said winter was almost over. You know what that means." His eyes travelled between his family and the beavers as the chill of realization ran through them all. "No more ice."