For the Love of an Elf (Bernard the Head Elf romance)

The New Santa

Sitting up quickly, Claire realized two things. First, the girls' clothes weren't funny, they were just, festive. Red and green, and striped. Second, she realized her dad and brother were gone. She scrambled to her feet, bumping into another kid who had been wiping down the sleigh behind her. These kids had no sense of personal space, thought Claire. No, not kids. If this was a Christmas dream, they should be -, 'elves'. She looked at the girl who had woken her. 'What?' 'Your question. We're elves', She repeated. 'The look on your face gave you away. My name is Tinsley, and you're in Santa's workshop in the North Pole. The new Santa and the little boy that were with you have gone already.' Claire stepped down from the sleigh, helped by a boy a few inches taller than her. He gave her a shy smile and a little nod and continued to brush out the bottom of the sleigh. 'Gone where?'Claire asked with a hint of panic in her voice that even she heard. Tinsley opened her mouth to answer when they heard somebody yell,'Try to understand this!' from the other side of the workshop. A chorus of 'ooooh' went up all around them, and Tinsley said, 'Well there's Santa'. Claire followed quickly after Tinsley, trying to take in everything around her, and heard Charlie from a distance say 'Checking it twice!', and all the elves around she and Tinsley sang 'Gonna find out who's naughty or nice!'. Finally seeing her dad, she ran up to him and put her arm through his so she wouldn't get separated from him again, while Charlie ran off again in a different direction. Her dad was arguing with a tall elf who sounded frustrated. Her dad was saying 'Why not? What if I choose not to believe it?' It got quiet all around them, and the elf said 'Then there would be millions of dissappointed children around the world.' He finally noticed Claire, eyes softening slightly. He stepped closer, tipping her chin with a finger. It was very warm, and he smelled like peppermint. 'You see, children hold the spirit of Christmas within their hearts.' He looked back up at her dad. 'You wouldn't want to be responsible for killing the spirit of Christmas, now would you, Santa?' He ran down a nearby staircase yelling over his shoulder, 'Judy will take you to your room. Get out of the suit. It needs to be cleaned.' 'And taken in!' said her dad. 'Then get some sleep!' The elf continued. 'We've got a lot of work to do and only a year in which to do it!' Claire watched him until he disappeared beneath them. Then a small train pulled up beside them, and the elf was forgotten momentarily. She followed the train beside her dad until they came to a hallway with big beautiful doors. The elf named Judy led them through one into a bedroom with a huge bed in the center. Charlie immediately climbed up in it and closed his eyes. Claire kicked off her boots for the first time all night and climbed up behind him. Charlie looked so happy, and she ran a hand through his hair, listening to her dad and Judy talk quietly. This was the best dream she had ever had, and she didn't want to wake up. Her dad got in on the other side of Charlie, and she drifted off.
A loud noise woke Claire for the third time that night. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and looked around for a moment confused, before remembering that she was in Santa's workshop. Or she was dreaming of Santa's workshop. She still wasn't sure. Climbing off the bed, she put her boots on and walked to the door, poking her head out. The girl elf from earlier, Tinsley, was bent down, picking up a tray of spilled cookies off the floor. Claire glanced back at her dad and Charlie, still asleep, then she tiptoed out, shutting the door behind her. She crept up behind Tinsley, who was muttering to herself, 'Clumsy, no good! Probably woke Santa. Oh, what will Judy say? Bernard will be so disappointed.' Claire tapped the elf on the shoulder, causing her to jump nearly a foot in the air in shock. 'Hi.' 'Oh! Hi! I'm sorry for waking you, miss. I tripped over my own shoes. I'm terribly clumsy.' Claire offered Tinsley a hand, which she took gratefully, and pulled the elf to her feet. She straightened her apron and said, 'Thank you, miss. I forgot to ask your name earlier when we were looking for Santa and your brother.' There it was again
Tinsley called her dad Santa. 'Oh! It's Claire. Claire Calvin. Thank you for the help earlier, by the way. I guess this is me returning the favor.' Tinsley giggled. 'Sure thing. Since you're awake, is there anything you need?' Claire almost said no, but her stomach chose that moment to let out a loud rumble. 'Food? And something to drink? It's been a long night.' Tinsley straightened up. 'Of course, Miss Claire. Right this way.' The elf led Claire down two more long colorful hallways and through huge double doors that opened into the biggest kitchen she had ever seen. It smelled wonderful, like fresh chocolate chip cookies, and there were elves bustling around with more trays of cookies and mugs full of dark brown liquid. Tinsley gestured to a stool by a long counter and grabbed one of the mugs passing by, handing it carefully to Claire. She took a tentative sip and grinned wide. It was hot cocoa, the best hot cocoa she had ever tasted. Tinsley smiled, content. 'That's Judy's special recipe. She took a really long time to perfect it, and it shows. She's the best cocoa maker here. Want a cookie?' Claire nodded fervently, and the elf reached out to a passing tray, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie as big as Claire's hand. Biting into it her smile got impossibly bigger. It was warm and gooey and perfect. She turned to thank Tinsley, but the elf had disappeared, and she realized she was nearly alone in the kitchen now. Finishing her cookie and taking a last sip of the cocoa she got down from the stool and walked back through the double doors. That was when she got lost. Trying to remember the way Tinsley had brought her only got her more confused, so she decided to wander until she found someone. Just when she was about ready to sit down and cry, she turned one more corner and saw a door cracked open, light spilling into the hallway. She hurried toward it, reading the plaque on the wall that read 'Head Elf'. That sounded important to her, surely someone who could help her get back to her dad, so she pushed it open and stepped inside.