Magical

Chapter 2

     That night, once the Calvin's had dinner and Rose had put Charlie to bed with a story, they all fell asleep.
     Sometime during the night, Rose was awoken by Charlie jumping on her bed. "Charlie?" She called, her voice full of sleep. "What are you doing?"
     "Santa's here, Rose! He's here!"
     "What are you talking about, Charlie?"
     "Santa's here! I heard him on the roof! Dad's gone out to check!"
     "What?! Charlie, he can't go out there by himself! He'll freeze!"
     With that, Rose quickly threw off the blanket and got up. Realizing that she was only wearing a tank top and booty shorts, she quickly grabbed a trenchcoat and laced up a pair of boots. Throwing it all on, she raced out the door, Charlie following close behind.
      Just as they made it outside, they saw a guy fall off their roof at their dad's feet. "You got him!" Charlie called.
     "Charlie! I told you to stay inside! And why'd you wake up your sister?"
     "I'm fine, dad. What happened?"
     "I don't know! The guy just fell off the damn roof!"
     "You killed him!" Charlie accused.
     "No I didn't."
     At that moment, the Santa disappeared, leaving only his clothes. "He's gone!"
     "He's naked somewhere!" Scott yelled.
     "Not an image I wanted in my head, dad!"
     Just as Scott was trying to decide what to do, a ladder appeared in front of him and he ran into it, smacking his head against the freezing cold metal.
     "Ow! Where'd this come from?"
     Charlie started up the ladder after pointing out the name printed on it: A Rose Sucha Ladder Company.
      Rose followed behind him, her curiosity now peaked. She had no idea what was going on but she definitely wanted to get to the bottom of it. Scott grabbed the coat, pants, and boots from the Santa and followed his children up the ladder, yelling at them to be careful all the way.
      When the little family got up the ladder onto the roof, they found a sleigh and eight reindeer waiting for them. Immediately, Charlie ran over to pet the reindeer while Scott kept yelling to be careful.
      "Those things could be vicious!"
      At that moment, the reindeer that Rose was petting -- Comet was what the name said on the harness -- started licking her face, making her giggle like she had as a little girl. "Yea, dad, they're so vicious that they're gonna lick us to death!"
      Scott smiled at his daughter, half from her smartass comment and half from the smile on her face.
      That's when a thought hit Rose. "Dad, I think I know what this is!"
      "Yea. We're getting the Disney package on cable. Merry Christmas."
      "No, dad. I know this may sound crazy but I think that maybe you're supposed to play Santa Claus for the night."
      "Are you nuts?" He asked his daughter. "Santa Claus isn't real." He whispered. "This whole thing is a setup or something."
     Rose rolled her eyes. "Dad, I'm not suggesting Santa Claus is real or anything. We both know that's not true. But...the only way to find out what's going on is to play along. If this is some sort of convoluted scheme, then we'll find out who's behind it. C'mon! Let's go on an adventure!"
      "Oh...fine! If I have to. Do I have to wear the suit?"
      "Yes, dad. The note told you to wear the suit."
      Scott grumbled but started putting on the suit. "Fine. I hope you're happy and, more importantly, I hope the guy who lives next door is a tailor!" He finished putting on the suit and posed. "How do I look? Nice?"
      "You look positively jolly!" Rose laughed.
      "Laugh it up, princess. Tonight, you're my elf and looking after your brother while I play America's Most Wanted!"
      So began a long night of delivering gifts to the children of the world. As the night drew to a close, the three found themselves lost in the middle of the Arctic. A boy walked out of the snow and pulled a pole from the ground. Pressing a series of numbers onto it, the ground beneath the Calvin's opened up and swallowed them whole.
                           * * * * *
     Meanwhile, Bernard was in his office, nursing a cup of hot cocoa as he went over a list of elves' names, trying to decide who should take vacation when. At that moment, he had a weird feeling. It was sort of a feeling of familiarity but different somehow.
      He set his quill aside and furrowed his eyebrows, lost in thought. Just as he did this, however, an elf ran into the room. "Bernard! It's happened! We've got a new Santa!"
      Bernard nodded. He'd gotten used to serving more than one Santa so he wasn't all that surprised. "Very well. I shall go to welcome him. Thanks, Malcolm."
      With that, he made his way out to the meeting point. He had no idea at the time but his life was about to change...forever.
                           * * * * *
      Rose was bouncing in excitement as she noticed where they were. They were in a large room full of elves. Yes, she had to admit they were elves because of the obvious pointy ears. And, for some reason, they all looked like children, which seemed a bit odd to her. As weird as it was, though, something in her told her that what she was seeing was real. Not only that, she had a weird feeling like something important was about to happen.
      "Stay here." Scott demanded before running off to find the nearest elf.
     Rose shook her head. "I'm not staying here. C'mon, Charlie!"
     The pair got out the sleigh and followed their dad, Rose moving much faster.
      Scott, meanwhile, wasn't having any luck with the elf he'd been talking to who kept insisting that he was in charge.
      At that moment, Bernard walked up, clearly annoyed. "Excuse me, are we on a coffee break?"
      "We don't drink coffee."
      "Then I guess the break is over!"
      The elf ran off. "Hey. Don't you think you were a little harsh with her? Who are you?"
      Bernard rolled his eyes in annoyance and responded, "I'm Bernard. Nice to meet ya, Santa."
      "I'm not Santa. It's Scott Calvin."
      "Look. The other guy fell off the roof, right?" Bernard said, smiling.
      "Hey. I know where this is going! The guy fell off my roof. I had nothing to do with it. I've got homeowners insurance and a good attorney. Not as good as my wife's but let's not open that can of worms!" He shook his head. He'd forever regret that he couldn't win Charlie in the custody battle and the only reason he got Rose was because she had insisted. Why, he still didn't know. "Hey! What am I doing here?"
      Bernard was just about to say something when he was distracted by a voice coming from behind the two of them. "Dad! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
      His gaze was immediately drawn to the woman who was rushing over towards them. Bernard had no idea why, but the moment he saw her, his heart started beating fast and he had a weird feeling stir inside him that he had never felt before.
     The young woman who raced towards them was definitely beautiful. The long hair that flowed down her back was a fiery red, offset by the tiny flakes of snow in her hair, her eyes a beautiful hazel that was mostly overcome by mint green, her pretty face full of small freckles, a pretty smile, and a cute button nose. She was a good few inches shorter than him, with curves that filled her out nicely, covered in a buttoned up black trenchcoat and boots.
      He couldn't help but stare. Never in his couple thousand years had he ever felt the weird feeling that was quickly spreading through his veins like fire.
      "Princess, I told you to stay in the sleigh."
      Rose shrugged. "I got bored."
      "And...who might you be?" Bernard asked, still unable to tear his eyes from the beautiful girl in front of him.
      "Hi." She said with a bright smile, holding out her hand. "I'm Rose."
      "This is my daughter." Scott added. "Rose, this is Benny."
      "Bernard!" Bernard said, finally breaking his gaze with Rose before turning toward her again. "I'm Bernard, the Head Elf." He straightened up proudly.
      Rose's smile widened as she gazed up at the Head Elf. He was very handsome, she thought. Taller than her by a few inches and well built, covered in red and gold clothing. Pointed ears and black curls poked out from under his cap, his face adorned with gorgeous heart-melting brown eyes and silver specks across his rosy cheeks.
      "Enchanted to meet you." Bernard said, taking Rose's outstretched hand in his and placing a gentle kiss on it, making her cheeks stain a light pink with the blush that spreading over them.
      "Nice to meet you too." She said quietly.
      "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
      "I'm thirsty and hungry too." Said Charlie from behind them.
      "Charlie, I told you to stay in the sleigh too!"
      Bernard finally managed to tear his gaze away from Rose to smile at Charlie. "Who's this?"
      "This is my son, Charlie. Charlie, this is B...?"
      "Bernard!"
       Tampering down his annoyance, Bernard handed Charlie a snow globe, telling him to take good care of it. Then he directed Charlie to follow another elf for some food and drink. He offered Rose the same but she decided to follow Bernard. He urged her and Scott to follow him.
       Scott threw his arms in the air in annoyance. "Look, Barnaby, I just wanna go home!"