88Hello everyone!
I'm sure this comes as a surprise to absolutely no one, but I am continuing my yearly tradition with writing something for the holidays.
This time, rather than one shots or an unrelated story, I decided to do a Christmas fic.
Now, this is going to be a halfway cross between Santa Clause 2 and this one tumblr prompt that went something like: person A doesn't believe in Christmas, and person B is the elf who has to make them believe... or something like that.
I just kinda went along with it and made it my own!
Lastly: enjoy!
Every story about the North Pole has one fundamentally wrong fact.
Santa Claus doesn't actually exist. Some of you might have already been aware of that fact, but here's what you don't know: magical creatures do exist, and they all live in the North Pole.
There, they work together to build toys and all kinds of gifts for the good people of the world, just in time to deliver them for Christmas.
But of course, it wouldn't be a wise idea to just leave everyone to their own devices. And so, in charge of the entire place was an elf named Regina. Always wearing a red dress, Regina had inherited the role of running the North Pole after her father died. She made sure everything ran smoothly and that everyone had a part to play that they could excel at. Whether it was to make toys or sweets, there were a myriad of jobs to keep everyone busy.
All of their work was centered around getting things ready for Christmas. Regina had a list, which kept track of who had behaved themselves, and those who hadn't, no matter their age. And of course, on the 25th of December, she went around the world on the night before Christmas, delivering toys and gifts to those who had behaved themselves.
The whole place ran like a clock, smooth and precise, but always with enough space for fun hijinks and shenanigans. Overall, the Pole was something like paradise for all the magical creatures. They had a place where they could be free and have fun, not to mention they all thrived doing the work they did. But best of all, they lived under the rule of a benevolent leader who sought to accommodate for all their needs.
But not everything was fun and games. The North Pole also had a second purpose, and that was cultivating and guarding the world's source of magic.
You see, the world is a magical place, but magic itself is feeble. It can only be cultivated if enough people believe in magic. The more believers of magic there are, the more magic there is in the world, and the easier it is to harness it. And as the North Pole ran on magic, they needed people to believe. To accomplish that, Regina was in charge of going around the world and providing Christmas miracles and magical acts for children who stayed up long enough to try and get a glimpse of who would leave a present under their tree.
However, the world had changed. People weren't believing in magic as much, and that was affecting them. They had enough to get by from year to year, but it wasn't an ideal situation.
And then, it got worse.
"We have a problem."
Regina looked up from her desk at the voice. It was Mulan, her second in command. She looked shaken, which was a first for the usually calm and composed elf. Beside her, Snow looked panicked and winded, as if she had just ran a long distance. Regina shucked off her glasses and looked at them expectantly, wondering what got the two women so worried. "If this is about Frank pouring strawberry juice over his sister's head, I am already well aware of that."
"Not exactly. Rumpelstiltskin has robbed most of our magical supply."
"What?" Regina gasped. And then she thundered, "How?! I thought the vault was well-guarded. Not to mention he would need the keys to get in!"
Mulan began to explain, "Apparently he used a fair amount of trickery and deceit to get inside. It seems he really hadn't been as reformed as we had believed. But that's not all. Snow also checked the map. Between the amount of magic that the imp took, and the lack of believers, we won't have enough to get us to Christmas."
Regina nodded along, well-aware of the map. It measured the amount of magic believers in the world. She grew sombre as Mulan finished. "What are our options then?"
Snow took a deep breath before saying, "I think we need more Christmas miracles."
"It's November, no one's going to be looking for a miracle now," Regina huffed.
Mulan shook her head. "While that may be true, we need to get our numbers up."
"Besides, it's not just Christmas they have to believe in," Snow added. "Magic works too."
"That's quite true." Regina hummed. "Where do I even get started?"
"I'd say to pick a spot and start there. You don't have to make the entire world believe, just get a few people talking, and word will spread fast," Mulan suggested.
"Well, I suppose I'll be visiting my sister earlier than expected," Regina quipped, an idea forming in her mind. "I can do this quickly enough."
Mulan grimaced. "There is a caveat though...as you can imagine, we have a limited amount of magic left, and we're going to start having to ration. So you have to make people believe while using as little magic as you can."
Being measured was not in Regina's nature, she loved being able to spread joy and magic, so this just complicated matters. Great. "How will I know how much magic we have left? Is there a way to check or do I have to keep popping back here?"
Both women shook their heads. Mulan said, "I believe we have an enchanted pocket watch that could keep track of that. It's quite old but it should work fine."
Regina looked at her two elves with a deadpan expression. She hadn't been in this position for many years, so she was still trying to understand how everything worked, particularly the antiquated aspects of the job. "Way to be modern."
Snow looked sheepish. "I'll see if I can't find someone who can make something better once this is all behind us."
"Wonderful. Meanwhile, I'll go let my mother know I'll be leaving the Pole in pursuit of more magical Christmas miracles."
In a quaint house by the North Pole's outskirts, resided Regina's mother. Regina had suggested that her mother could stay with her, but her mother shook her head, wanting the quiet and cozy cottage after living so long in the bustle of the North Pole's center. Currently, they were sitting by the fireplace, nursing a cup of hot cocoa.
"Miracles?" Cora started, after Regina finished explaining. At Regina's nod, Cora smiled widely and practically preened as she said, "Well, I suppose that if it gets you out of your workshop more frequently, then I'm all for you finding and handing out these miracles. Maybe you'll even find someone...?"
Regina frowned and rolled her eyes. Of course her mother would go this route. "Not really in my plans. Plus, you act like it's very simple to find a partner here. It's not like there's a dating app for finding someone in the North Pole, so it's not entirely my fault I haven't found someone yet.
"Getting back to the topic at hand, I figured I'll just visit Zelena, try my luck there. Surely in New York there must be someone there who can use a bit of magic in their lives."
Cora smiled reassuringly. "Oh I'm certain that city could use plenty of magic. And before you completely change the topic, I will remind you that you are young and beautiful, so it won't take long before you'll charm someone, I'm sure of it."
"Sure mother. And then when I tell them I live and rule the North Pole, anyone in their right mind will run for the hills."
With a scoff, Cora said, "Pish posh. And you know what, I'll go with you. It's been a while since I've seen my granddaughter."
And so, together, both women got ready and made their way to Regina's magical fireplace, located in the heart of her workshop. That was how she delivered gifts to everyone, using magic to travel through fireplaces around the world.
A small crowd had gathered to see their leader off, and Regina couldn't help but feel a little bit proud that she was so well-respected that people would actually miss her. It was all that she had wanted since she had taken over for her father - to be as respected as he had been.
As they readied, Regina was given the timepiece that actually served as an indicator of the amount of magic the Pole had. Each tick was one percent of magic gone. Currently she had 40%.
Snow took her aside to add, "Please keep in mind that if you run out of magic, you won't be able to return here. At least, not the easy way."
Regina nodded. "Of course. I'll be careful."
Once she was ready to leave, Regina turned to address the crowd gathered. "I know that everyone is aware of the problem we're facing, but I can assure you, I am personally going to resolve this one way or another. So carry on with your work and your lives, and don't fret, and by the time Christmas is upon us, this matter will be a thing of the past."
A dwarf named Leroy hooted, "Yeah! And if you find that imp, give him a good punch in the face for us will ya?"
Regina grinned. "Oh believe me, I will."
And that was Chapter 1!
Some background, a glimpse of our plot, and of course, the other half of the ship will be showing up next!
I'll be updating tomorrow, as is customary.
Love to know your thoughts!