Mr. Claus

Chapter 13

     It was December 23rd.

The North Pole was bustling with activity surrounding Santa's departure taking place in the late morning the next day. The sleigh was moved out of the workshop and placed outside by a team of elves. Presents were shipped from all around the Pole and sorted by country, city, and household. Stacks of presents lined the workshop, the present room, and every hall. Elves ran through the workshop making final arrangements. Santa Claus could be seen walking through the halls, double and triple checking every small detail. Santa's reindeer could be heard from the workshop, grunting, barking, and kicking walls. Nerves ran through every soul in the North pole.

***

Elmore had been in the stable since the early morning. He fed every reindeer extra in preparation for the following day. He'd taken a long nap starting at noon, to prepare for the all-nighter he'd likely have to take with Blixem. She was ready to give birth at any moment, and he had to be prepared for a calf at all times. Elmore hadn't seen Nicholas at all since the week prior. He'd gotten his cast off the day before, and his earmuffs had been abandoned.

Throughout the day, Elmore polished every reindeer's harness; including each individual bell, he found everything he'd need for the reindeer to be brought to the sleigh, and he groomed every reindeer to perfection. By 7:00pm, Elmore felt prepared for the next day. He walked to dinner feeling confident and somewhat relaxed. He sat with Felix and Fritz, who were chatting about the craziness of the day. Elmore ate his soup and watched the elves around the room. A few elves from each town had arrived to drop off the presents their town had created and almost every elf stopped what they were to eat together before Christmas Eve, so the room was much more packed than usual.

"Who are those guys?" Felix asked.

"They're from Amity Village." Fritz replied.

"How do you know?" He asked his sister.

"You see the big guy in green? That's my guy."

Elmore laughed and Felix wrinkled his nose disapprovingly.

"What about that group?" Felix inconspicuously pointed towards a group of three. A small blonde elf, a slender brown haired elf, and an old woman.

"They're from Evergreen." Elmore replied.

"Oh, are you into one of them like Freddie?" Felix asked.

Elmore laughed. "I saw them arrive yesterday. I had to take their reindeer to the stable."

"As stressful as today is, I love to see people from all around. I wish we had more time to get to know them all." Fritz said.

Felix agreed. "We do have the party after Christmas. You can get to know them then."

"I guess so. How are the reindeer doing?"

"They're going mad. They're definitely ready to go."

"And Blixem?" Felix asked.

"She isn't showing any signs of giving birth yet. She definitely won't be having the baby before Mr. Claus has to leave. We can only hope the other seven can make the whole trip without Blixem's strength."

"I think they'll be able to do it. Who knows, maybe the baby will be the real Rudolph next Christmas and light the way for Santa's sleigh." Fritz joked.

They all laughed. The Rudolph story was a common theme in a lot of elves' jokes. Many reindeer calves were almost named Rudolph after the story was released in 1939.

"Are those elves staring at us or am I going crazy?" Fritz asked.

Felix and Elmore turned around to see the girls Fritz was talking about. Elmore immediately recognised the three young elves from Garland; a town south of the capital. A brunette girl was sitting between a noirette girl and a blonde boy. The trio looked to be around their age, and they were definitely staring. Felix turned back to Fritz and nodded. Elmore turned to the siblings.