The Yule Clause

Chapter Thirteen. Broken Christmas Memories.

July

Bernard trumped through the snow in the Wobbly Woods, on his way to see the Christmas witch. He could teleport to her house but knew just appearing in a witch's house wasn't a good idea. The elf reached the witch's cabin and knocked on the door, soon the door opened. "Bernard. What can I do for you?" La Befana asked. "I need you to unlock a dormant memory." He answered. She led him inside, then had him sit in a chair by the fire. "Now let's unlock your memories of Mackenzie." La Befana closed the door and walked over to the elf. "How did you know that?" Bernard asked. "Your sister likes to gossip." He sighed.

"Of course, I should have known." He was angry that his sister would be the one who told everyone.

"Alright Bernard. Close your eyes and think of Mackenzie." La Befana said. The head elf closed his eyes and thought of Mackenzie, while the Christmas Witch moved her fingers near his head.

Bernard was in Mackenzie's room on her bed with her as she cried in his arms. "Hey, it's okay I'm here, you'll be okay." He was rubbing her back. "It's not fair!" she cried louder. "I know, I know." He whispered. She looked up at him. "Bring them back!" she sobbed. He stared at the 6-year-old. "I'm really sorry, Kenzie...but I can't."

"Why not!?" she shouted. "Because my magic doesn't work that way..." he wanted to help her, but this was the one thing he couldn't do. "I'm so sorry..." he felt a tear start to fall, but he managed to smile. "But I'll always be here for you." He promised. The girl sniffed; "You will?"

"Yes."

The elf's eye shot open, and he turned to the witch with tears in his eyes. "What was that?"

"One of your memories of Mackenzie." La Befana replied. "It appears that you two knew each other since she was a child."

The Head Elf felt uncomfortable that he was having feelings for this girl when he knew her so young. "But I think that I..." he paused, did he really feel that way? "Love is a funny thing and works in mysterious ways." She said, he shook his head. "I don't love her!" La Befana wasn't buying it, "Go talk to her." She ordered. The elf sighed and stood up. "Fine, thank you."

Charlie and Mackenzie were playing catch at a park with Laura and Neal for a 4th of July picnic. "Do you and Bernard like each other more than friends?" The boy asked. "Just because we have been hanging out a lot, doesn't mean that we like each other more than friends." Mackenzie answered. "But he gave you a nickname, and-" "Kenzie!" Bernard appeared next to her, she jumped. "Hi Bernard." Charlie smiled up at him. "Hiya." He returned the smile, before looking back at Mackenzie. "I need to talk to you about something." She nodded and the elf took her by the hand to lead her to a more private area. As she followed close behind, she noticed how much he was sweating. "Do you want some water?" she asked. "I'm fine." She began to lead him to a tree so the shade would help cool him down. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked. He didn't know how to go about this because he still felt creepy and dirty. "I went to see La Befana and asked her to..." he stopped when he saw Charlie walking over to them. "Bernard, are you having heat stroke?" he asked the elf. "You should drink some water." Mackenzie nodded in agreement. Charlie led Bernard over to his mom and Neal. "Neal, could I have a lot of water for Bernard?" Charlie asked as if his stepfather would know who that was. Mackenzie covered Bernard's ears with his hair as Neal turned. "Of course." Laura handed the elf a water bottle. The elf took the bottle and drank it. "Feel better?" Mackenzie asked. "Yeah." He smiled at her, then looked at Laura. "Thank you."

"Of course, what was your name again?" she asked. "And how do you know Mack?" Before Bernard or Mackenzie could come up with a lie, Charlie answered his mother's question. "His name is Bernard, we met him at the North Pole." Laura and Neal shared the same worried look. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Bernard." Laura said holding out her hand for him to shake, she couldn't help but feel like she heard his name before.

"Yes, you too." He shook her hand. Mackenzie noticed that Bernard was starting to sweat again. "Uh Laura, I'm going to take Bernard back to the house." The elf turned to Mackenzie. "I should get home."

"You sure?" she asked, he nodded then gave her a loving smile, before walking away. Mackenzie blushed, "Told you that he likes you." Charlie said, not really understanding what his cousin was red but he knew that it happened a lot whenever Bernard was around, and smiled at her.

Poinsettia found her brother lying in a pile of snow. "Bernie...what are you doing?" "Cooling down." He responded. "It's very hot outside of the pole." His sister laughed and laid next to him. He stared at the sky. "So, did you go see Mack?" Poinsettia asked. "Yeah, I needed to talk to her, but I got really hot, and had to leave." He said turning to his sister, who was smiling. "Had to or wanted to?" she moved her eyebrows up and down; he rolled his eyes. "Had to, or I would have passed out!" his tone was angry, she took his hand. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." He smiled. "I'll see her in four months." He couldn't wait to see Mackenzie again and hoped that she was just as excited as he was.