Merry Christmas! This year, a cracky story inspired from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! Wonderful!
Full summary: Suzaku is a young wild reindeer who has a dream. He wants to join Santa's top herd, the Reindeer of Rounds. When he is faced with rejection, he almost loses hope... only to find it yet again in the person of his own Christmas miracle, Prince Lelouch of Christmastown. Join Suzaku and Lelouch in their quest to fight the Abominable Snow V.V. and bring joy to the world!
Pairing: Suzaku/Lelouch
The Tale of Prince Lelouch of Christmastown and Sir Suzaku, his Reindeer Knight
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived an old man whose life ambition was to spread the joy and happiness of Christmas to the world. Seeing his kindness, the powers that be granted him great magic. This power, commonly known as the Christmas Spirit, allowed him to travel from home to home, to deliver his presents to every child and every dreamer.
But this man, whom everyone knew as Santa Claus, but whose actual name was Charles, had a problem. Despite his great skill and great magic, he could not travel the whole world, carrying a huge sack of toys, on his own, with no means of locomotion.
And so it was that Santa's reindeer came to be.
Time passed, and Charles's operation expanded. As the population of the planet grew, so did Santa Charles's necessity for an increasing amount of presents. He could no longer make the presents himself, so he recruited elves to his assistance.
Soon, it became obvious that his previous home could not sustain the size of his new inner circle of associates. Originally, he decided to build a new base at the North Pole, but he couldn't exactly move into the middle of an ocean. He settled for Greenland, instead, and there, he built a grand city, which he called Christmastown.
Now, technically speaking, there was nothing wrong with that. Charles fully intended to continue on his mission to bring joy to the world and so on and so forth. Unfortunately, it did not occur to him that the territory he had just taken over had been occupied by other living creatures. Christmastown ended up chasing away the wild reindeer and other beasts that had lived in the area, cutting them off from what had been their home.
The years flew past. With each passing Christmas, Santa Charles became even more obsessively fixated on his mission. His elves and reindeer became more arrogant, increasingly dismissive of the wild reindeer that still populated the area and who attempted to get by, despite the increasingly oppressive feeling of Santa's magic. As the world's faith in Santa diminished, Santa's stress level increased, the Christmas Spirit suffered and the wild reindeer of Greenland started to die out.
It was in this context that a certain reindeer appeared.
Suzaku, for this was the reindeer's name, was unusual among his kind. Born a wild reindeer, he was nevertheless fascinated with Santa's magic. He felt that the fights between wild reindeer and Santa's tamed ones needed to stop, and that they should all work together, to make the world start believing in Christmas miracles again. Santa Charles's role in the world was to bring happiness to children. Surely, he couldn't be bad. It was all just a huge misunderstanding, Suzaku just knew it.
His father, Genbu, often berated him for his foolish beliefs. "You cannot trust Santa Charles, Suzaku. He might preach love and togetherness, but in the end, we are not included in that."
"You're wrong," Suzaku said, clopping his hoof. "You're wrong, and I'm going to prove it."
Of course, Suzaku was being a little too optimistic. But he was also quite stubborn, and more well-informed than he should have been. Despite his family's attempts to dissuade him from his quest, he managed to learn the time and location of the tryouts for Santa's topmost reindeer herd, and he decided to apply.
Christmastown was quite far from the icy grounds where Suzaku's herd lived. Nevertheless, Suzaku didn't let that deter him. Guided by the Northern Lights, he made his way through the tundra, uncaring of the dangers he was exposing himself to, ushered onwards by his determination and his desire to join Santa's herd.
Against all odds, no predator ambushed the young calf and neither did he collapse out of exhaustion. Instead, he managed to reach the edges of Christmastown. As soon as he saw the city rising in the distance, Suzaku rejoiced, believing it to be a sign that he had been intended to come here. But his mission was not meant to be accomplished so easily.
He was only a mile away from the entrance to Christmastown when a patrol of elves stopped him. "What is a wild reindeer like you doing here?" a female, silver-haired elf asked.
She was a little intimidating, but she had nothing on Suzaku's father, or even on his father's second in command, Tohdoh. "I'm here to apply for a position with the Reindeer of Rounds," he replied without missing a beat.
The group of elves stared at him like he'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "The Reindeer of Rounds," an orange-eyed elf repeated, sneering at our little Suzaku. "Wild reindeer cannot apply to the Reindeer of Rounds. Leave, or we will have you forcibly removed."
"But I only want to help bring joy to the world," Suzaku protested. "I'm strong. I can learn how to fly. Please, give me a chance. If I could only go inside, I'm sure I could..."
"No," the elf cut him off, retrieving his spear. "Reindeer like you cannot be granted access to the Christmas Spirit."
Suzaku knew for a fact that elven weapons were very sharp and could do a lot of damage, but still, he had come so far. To have to turn away in failure after having made such a journey was too much of a blow for his young mind to comprehend.
It was at that moment that a veritable Christmas miracle happened. Out a thin air, a small child manifested on a nearby snow drift. Dressed in an ornate red suit lined with white fur, he eyed then all with curious amethyst eyes. "Jeremiah, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, Your Highness," the male elf who had told Suzaku off replied. "Just a wild reindeer making a ruckus. You should go back inside, with the others."
"The others are boring," the little boy said, pouting.
He turned toward Suzaku and shot him a quick smile. "Hi there. What's your name? Why did you come here? You must be really far from home."
Despite being somewhat taken aback by the avalanche of words, Suzaku managed to reply. "I'm Suzaku, Your Highness. And I came to join the Reindeer of Rounds."
"Hi, Suzaku," Lelouch replied, jumping off the snow drift—and tripping slightly as he landed. He righted himself at the last moment and straightened his back, facing the group once again. "I'm sorry to say, but I don't think my father will allow you to apply to the Reindeer of Rounds."
Suzaku deflated, the spark of hope that had ignited in his furred chest melting away like ice under elven fire. "Oh."
"But don't worry!" Lelouch added, extending his arms in a grand gesture. "If you want, you can be my reindeer. Or better yet, my knight. I need one, supposedly. Maybe not right now, since I'm too young to do much. But when I'm older, I'll have to travel and it can get dangerous. The Abominable Snow V.V. hunts us, you know."
This was actually true. Santa Charles had sired numerous children specifically for the purpose of assisting him in his mission, but they tended to die out fairly quickly. Santa's wives suffered similarly grizzly fates. Among Suzaku's people, there were tales of a curse caused by Santa's magic.
However, the position of knight was usually not occupied by reindeer. Such jobs went to elves, for the simple and obvious fact that they actually had opposable thumbs and could better fend off threats than four-legged beings.
Our young reindeer did not know what to say to the prince's offer. A knight, him? He was only a reindeer, and a wild one at that.
The elf Jeremiah spoke out in his stead. "Your Highness, you can't be serious!" he told the prince. "You can't take on a random wild reindeer as your knight."
He would never be able to wield a weapon," the silver-haired female elf added.
The prince waved his hand dismissively. "Details. He obviously has magic, otherwise, he wouldn't have made it here to begin with. And as for weapons, he has his antlers. They'll do fine in combat once he's older."
Jeremiah was still not convinced by these arguments. "But Your Highness..."
"Jeremiah," the prince said, his voice suddenly as cold and unyielding as an iceberg, "are you questioning my judgment?"
Jeremiah spluttered, but could not protest further. "No, Your Highness. Of course not." Secretly, he still thought that this was a horrible idea, but he was only an elf. Neither he, nor Viletta—or any of the other elves, for that matter—could say more without offending His Highness. Perhaps His Highness's family would have better luck and would be able to make the prince see sense.
Now ignoring Jeremiah and his elven companions, Lelouch turned toward Suzaku once again. "What do you think? Do you want to stay with me and be my knight? "
Suzaku nodded, happily trotting in place. "Yes! Absolutely! I'd love to."
It was not the most formal reply he could have provided, but it was the right one. And his enthusiasm was very well received by the prince.
What Lelouch wasn't saying was that he didn't only want a reindeer or a knight. He wanted a friend. His male siblings were all older, and while he got along with them well enough, they didn't have time to keep him company or anything like that. Schneizel, who was most prone to intellectual pursuits, like Lelouch, practically managed the whole workshop now. Odysseus was useless, and Clovis tended to get too wrapped up in ideas for toy design. As for his female siblings...Cornelia would soon start helping their father with delivering the presents and Guinevere had her own little plan of expanding Santa's domain. The rest of them, who were closer to Lelouch's age, were usually either involved in their studies or playing with the elves. His mother was an elf and the head of security of Christmastown, and she had always been more dedicated to her service to Santa Charles than to her children. The people he was closest to were his sisters Euphemia and Nunnally, but even they could not completely understand.
Lelouch did agree that it was a little crazy to make a reindeer his knight. However, he had always been an excellent judge of character, and he sensed that this particular reindeer was special. It could have been the way his green eyes shone with magic, blessed with more Christmas Spirit than three quarters of Lelouch's family would ever have. It could have been that he so obviously wanted to bring joy to the world, and he had gone both against everything—the mandates of his family and the impossible geographic conditions—to come here. Either way, Lelouch liked a rebel, especially one who went against the rules for a good cause, so he decided Suzaku had to stay with him.
"This will be a little informal, but please kneel."
Suzaku did, dropping to the ground in front of the prince. Lelouch waved his hand, and a small sprig of mistletoe appeared in his palm. He swept it over Suzaku's left antler and said, "Suzaku, wild reindeer of Greenland, do you swear to honor the creed of Christmastown, to dedicate your life to bringing joy and happiness to the world?"
Suzaku's little heart raced in his chest, and his hooves seemed to tingle with a great power. "I so swear," he said, although he did not know what guided him to speak the words.
Lelouch touched Suzaku's right horn with the mistletoe. "Do you swear to act as my sword and shield and protect me from any threats that may arise as we pursue this noble quest?"
"I so swear," Suzaku replied, this time a little more confident.
Finally, Lelouch brought the spring of mistletoe to the center of Suzaku's furred forehead. "I now dub thee, Sir Suzaku, Knight of Prince Lelouch of Christmastown."
By now, the accumulating magic had begun to draw a crowd, and by the time Suzaku got up, a large number of people, beyond the patrol of elves, had already gathered. None, however, could do anything about the prince's decision. And so it was that Suzaku the reindeer became a knight and joined Santa Charles's household.
As expected, the rest of Lelouch's family was not thrilled with the idea of having a wild reindeer around as Lelouch's companion, least of all his knight. However, Lelouch persisted, and Santa Charles could not deny him. He had a special fondness for his young son. Not only was Lelouch physically similar to Charles's dearest wife, but he had already demonstrated a great mastery over the Christmas Spirit, and he reminded Charles very much of himself, when he was younger. He secretly hoped that Lelouch would succeed him as Santa one day.
"The ways of the Christmas Spirit were mysterious," he told his protesting second daughter, Cornelia, when she brought her concerns to him. "There's no harm in letting Lelouch have his reindeer for now. The calf did, after all, make the trip to Christmastown. That alone is remarkable."
Even Cornelia, who did not like wild reindeer much, could not argue against that. Therefore, Suzaku was allowed to start his training with the rest of the reindeer, and started lessons of knighthood the rest of the time.
At first, it was not easy. Suzaku happily took to wearing the knight uniform. Lelouch had one especially made for him, a version that would not hinder his motions, and Suzaku was proud to wear it. Every time he put it on, he felt like he was part of something greater than himself, and he became happier and happier that he had come here and more convinced that he had truly been meant to be Lelouch's knight all along.
But knighthood did not come naturally to a reindeer. He did not have hands to wield regular weapons. He was clumsy and uneducated, and he could not even read the writing in Christmastown.
Every time he failed in one of the simplest endeavors required for a person his age, something inside Suzaku shriveled a little and died.
"He's only a reindeer, and a wild one at that," people whispered. "What could've possibly possessed the prince to grant him this position?"
"Maybe it's the curse. Maybe it's taking the prince's mind."
"Such a shame. Prince Lelouch had such potential too."
"Well, his mother always was an odd one too. I suppose it's not that surprising."
Soon, Suzaku began to feel that his sheer presence was doing more harm than good to the prince. But Prince Lelouch refused to accept this.
"Nonsense. Don't listen to them. You're my knight, and I'm completely confident that you can beat them in anything you try.
"You have been blessed by the Christmas Spirit, Suzaku. Don't give up just because of some naysayers. I believe in you."
Prince Lelouch threw himself into helping Suzaku with abandon. Euphemia and Nunnally joined in, and while they could not do much for Suzaku's education, they did provide great emotional support. In a particularly strange twist, Marianne decided to support her son's project and started to give Suzaku private lessons. She secretly found Suzaku fascinating and was interested in capitalizing on his rather intriguing, antler-including fighting style.
As the months passed, the people of Christmastown soon began to grow accustomed to Suzaku's presence. And while he was still very young and couldn't contribute to the overall success of Christmas in any way, he found hope, togetherness and friendship in his close relationship with Lelouch.
And once Lelouch finally told him the true extent of his plans, Suzaku grew even more determined to become the best knight he could possibly be. Sometimes, he still wished he could've done more, been more than just a reindeer, but he could not change the circumstances of his birth. All he could do was embrace the opportunities he had been granted and support his dear friend in every way that was within his ability.
However, while Suzaku's goal was admirable, his decisions didn't come without consequences. It did not take long for Suzaku's family to learn of his actions and the fact that he had managed to acquire an important position with one of the members of Santa Charles's family. This did not sit well with all the members of Genbu's herd. Genbu himself was furious. He had never thought that Suzaku would truly go so far and actually allow himself to be tamed by Santa and his cronies.
Something needed to be done. But what?
One night, as Genbu pondered this dilemma, he was suddenly approached by a massive hulking white figure. "I know what troubles your heart," said the figure. "But you need not fear. The stain of that dishonor can still be wiped."
"But how?" Genbu cried. "My son has become a tame reindeer."
"It is quite simple. Once Santa's son, the prince who has tamed him, is removed, Suzaku will be forced to return to his true family. They will no longer accept him there."
That made sense to Genbu. At the same time, though, it was a dangerous mission. Security around Christmastown was very tight, and Santa's family and staff could only be attacked when they were out on deliveries.
Genbu had two options—to either wait until his son and the boy who called himself his master were old enough to go on such a mission, or to lure them out somehow.
Fortunately, the mysterious figure—who was actually not that mysterious at all—provided him with the solution. "This Christmas, Santa's second daughter Cornelia will receive her own sleigh. She already has her reindeer picked out. I will intercept the sleigh and attack it. The rest of her family will undoubtedly try to find her, and in the chaos, you and your herd will be able to sneak into Christmastown and deal with Lelouch."
It did not occur to Genbu to ask why the figure was going to all this trouble to get rid of the young prince. After all, it was the Abominable Snow V.V. It didn't need a reason for its actions.
Genbu would have perhaps been a little warier had he known that the Abominable Snow V.V. was in fact, Santa's own brother, Victor. Victor had once shared Charles's dream of togetherness and joy, but he had lost touch with it once he had realized that it meant his brother would always belong to the children of the world, and not to him. When this had happened, the Christmas Spirit had turned on Victor, and Victor had mutated from Santa's twin brother, into the monster he now was. Since that day, he had made it his business to sabotage Santa's mission.
His plan for Lelouch's death was one of his latest schemes, one which he had been craving to fulfill precisely because Charles cared about this particular son—and about his mother—more than he did the others. He knew that attacking Cornelia would also lure Marianne out, and by doing this, he would get rid of two pests at the same time.
In any case, the Abominable Snow V.V. made all the arrangements with Genbu, and on Christmas eve, he was prepared. As soon as he saw Cornelia's sleigh fly out from the workshop, he pursued it. He summoned all the creatures at his disposal and assaulted the sleigh with massive blocks of ice and snow.
Cornelia was an excellent navigator. Her sleigh was top notch, and her reindeer fast and strong. She managed to dodge the first attack. But as she struggled with the reins, a heavy chill wind began to blow, and the magic around the sled faltered. "Alfred, David, Claudio!" she shouted to her reindeer. "Faster!"
"Yes, Princess!" said her reindeer, struggling against the blizzard.
Her knight, the elf Guilford was already attempting to shield the sleigh from the attacks of the Abominable Snow V.V., and he encountered some success. However, V.V. had had months to prepare. He pursued Cornelia's sleigh, and just before Cornelia could ride out of his reach, threw a massive stalactite at her.
The only thing Guilford and Cornelia could manage to do was slow down the projectile. The magic kept them from dying horrible deaths, protecting Cornelia, her knight and reindeer. However, the stalactite still hit the sleigh, severely damaging the mechanism that held it aloft. The vehicle collapsed, landing in a snow drift a few feet away from the Abominable Snow V.V.
Back in Christmastown, Prince Schneizel, who was monitoring the general success of Christmas and the progress of the present deliveries, instantly sensed something was wrong. As soon as he realized the problem, he summoned Lelouch's mother and notified her of what had occurred. "Cornelia's sleigh has been attacked by the Abominable Snow V.V. We must ride to her aid at once."
Marianne prepared her troops accordingly, and within minutes, the forces of Christmastown were ready to rush to the princess's assistance. Since Santa Charles was gone, Prince Schneizel would lead the battle against the Abominable Snow V.V. He taking his own private sleigh, the Avalon, which was equipped with the latest in Christmas Spirit technology. He hoped that it would finally be enough to remove the monster that had been in a thorn in his side for much too long.
Before he left, he made sure to tighten all remaining security around Christmastown. In his absence, Guinevere and Clovis would monitor progress in the workshop, which was not ideal, but would suffice. Jeremiah would remain in charge of the elves, and he was competent. That didn't mean Schneizel didn't worry.
"Stay in your rooms and listen to Odysseus and the others," he said to his younger siblings. "We will be back before you know it."
A chorus of "Yes, Schneizel," followed. Schneizel was not completely convinced of the promise—Lelouch's agreement was particularly suspicious—but he could do nothing more.
As Schneizel departed on his mission, Odysseus ushered the children into the grand living room of the Christmastown palace. "Well, then, here we are, so very comfortable. How about I read you a story?"
Some of the children embraced the distraction. Despite his unremarkable nature, Odysseus did have a soothing voice, and it helped calm them down. Lelouch, on the other hand, was Not Happy with this development. Once he made sure Nunnally was safe, he took advantage of a moment when Odysseus was not looking and sneaked out.
"This is all very suspicious," he told Suzaku, who was, as always, trotting by his side. "There hasn't been an attack of this magnitude in ages. The Abominable Snow V.V. is planning something bigger."
"Like what? An attack on Christmastown?"
It was the only thing that qualified as bigger than attacking Princess Cornelia while on her Christmas eve present delivery.
"It's a possibility," Lelouch said. "But I don't know how he would manage to hold his own both against Schneizel, and the forces we have here in Christmastown."
He wished he were older, so that he could go help somehow. But alas, he was still only a child, so he was stuck waiting here while the adults fought the Abominable Snow V.V. It was so frustrating.
"Come on," he told his reindeer knight. "Let's go see Euphie. She wasn't in the living room earlier, and she must be very worried about Cornelia."
"You don't think she'd leave Christmastown to rush to Princess Cornelia's aid, do you?" Suzaku asked, his wide green eyes glinting with concern.
"I would not be surprised. You know how she is."
Suzaku nodded. " Yes, you're right. She's very impulsive."
Of course, it was a little hypocritical of both Lelouch and Suzaku to say such a thing. Despite being a reindeer and understanding the dangers of the wild, Suzaku had risked his own safety to come to Christmastown. It was similarly not uncommon for Lelouch to follow his impulses, as evidenced by the little fact that he'd knighted a wild reindeer.
Those instances had not involved an attack of the Abominable Snow V.V., but that was beside the point.
In any case, Suzaku and Lelouch never did get the chance to reach Euphemia's quarters. As they were passing through the main foyer of the palace, the palace doors burst open, and Genbu's herd streamed in.
Suzaku didn't think he'd ever been more shocked his whole life, other than perhaps the notorious time when he had become Lelouch's knight.
"Father? What... How? How did you get here?"
Genbu did not provide a reply. Anger exploded through him at the sight of his son standing next to the Christmastown prince. He had known Suzaku had been tamed, but to see him wearing... clothes? And was that... A collar? Impossible. This could not be permitted.
No son of his could've done something so foul. This had to be the side-effect of an enchantment. The Abominable Snow V.V. was right. The Christmastown prince needed to be removed, at once.
Genbu charged, intent of running Lelouch through with his massive antlers. He moved too quickly for Lelouch to react in any way to his attack. Suzaku did better.
He was small, barely out of calfhood, really, but he still managed to push Lelouch out of the way. His tiny antlers could not even meet his father's, so instead, he physically rushed at Genbu, using every ounce of strength in his body. The two reindeer clashed, and there was a flash of bright light. Father and son flew back, in opposite directions.
Completely ignoring the herd of reindeer, Lelouch rushed to his friend's side. "Suzaku! Suzaku, are you all—"
The question died in his throat when he saw the gaping wound in Suzaku's side. No, Suzaku was not all right. His magic had protected him somewhat, but Genbu's antlers had been stronger.
"Le-Lelouch?" Suzaku gasped out. It hurt... Everything hurt. But he couldn't just lie there. He was a knight. He had to protect Lelouch. "R-Run. I'll... I'll hold them off."
As he spoke, he tried to get up, and more blood seeped out of his wound. Tears started to flow from Lelouch's eyes as he took in the extent of the damage. "No," he whispered. "Don't move. Please. It's fine. Just lie down."
Suzaku would've probably continued to be stubborn about it, but the blood loss was getting to him and he slumped back down on the floor, drained. Lelouch pressed his hands against the wound, trying to stem the hemorrhaging. The threads of his usually potent magic escaped him, and his friend's eyes closed as he slowly started to fade into death. "Suzaku, no... Please, no."
"You can still save him," a sudden voice said behind him.
Lelouch turned, only to find himself facing a beautiful, green-haired woman. "What? Who... Who are you?"
"I am an envoy of the Christmas Spirit. You may call me C.C."
C.C.? Lelouch had heard his mother speak of a C.C., but he'd never seen the mysterious 'witch' before. If this was the same person his mother had mentioned, there might still be hope for Suzaku. "What do you mean I can still save Suzaku?" he asked. "My magic isn't working."
"The power of Christmas is all about giving. It lies in the desire to share your kindness and possibilities with another. It means more than just material presents. But then, you already knew that."
Lelouch nodded, fat tears still flowing down his cheeks. He had been telling his family that for years. Giving children toys was all well and good, but he had always thought that they could do more with the Christmas Spirit, bring joy in other, more long-lasting ways.
"Christmas is all about fulfilling wishes," C.C. continued. "Your wish might not be enough to change this boy's fate, but if you unite with his unfulfilled one, that will change. Go on."
Lelouch wasn't sure what she meant by that and what unfulfilled wish Suzaku had, but regardless, he knew he had to try. He save his friend. He pressed his hand to Suzaku's wound once again and wished for Suzaku to live, as hard as he possibly could.
Christmas Spirit magic had always come easy to Lelouch, but this was on an entirely different level altogether. It was not something that had ever been attempted before, least of all by a child, and like C.C. had said, it should not have worked.
However, Suzaku's wish lingered at the back of his fading consciousness. He wanted to be with Lelouch, not as a reindeer, but as a person. He wanted to be able to hold Lelouch back, to hug Lelouch just like Lelouch hugged him. He wanted to be able to hold pens and swords, so that Lelouch would never be spurned for having picked an animal for a knight.
The two wishes connected, entwining like threads. Power vibrated from the new bond, echoing through the core of the earth itself.
Elsewhere, just as he was getting ready to deliver the finishing blow to Marianne, the Abominable Snow V.V. felt the power of the Christmas Spirit leaving him. His massive arms were suddenly drained of strength. He cried out as he attempt to hold onto his magic, but he could do nothing.
Back in Christmastown, Lelouch's eyes lit up, the purple going bright crimson. Inside Suzaku, the Christmas Spirit magic took, and his body was enveloped in a bright crimson glow.
When the glow faded, a small brown-haired boy lay where the reindeer had been. The ugly wound in his side was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open and looked up at Lelouch. "What... Lelouch?"
Suzaku's voice sounded exactly the same. His eyes were just as large and green as they had been before and his antlers were still present, and just as cute. He was also very much human, and very much alive, and Lelouch didn't think he'd ever been happier before.
With a sob, Lelouch launched himself at his friend and hugged his neck. "You stupid idiot! Don't do that to me again."
Suzaku hugged Lelouch back, although somewhat awkwardly, since he had never hugged someone before. Unbeknownst to them, they had quite the audience.
Suzaku's former teacher, Tohdoh, watched the scene, and felt ashamed of what they had done. He'd always had doubts about Genbu's plan to assassinate the Christmastown prince, but now, he realized just how wrong he'd been. Some things were just more important than others, and the bond between Suzaku and the prince was clear.
Genbu himself managed to get up with great difficulty. He was dazed because of whatever magic his son had used on him, but not dazed enough to not realize that he had almost killed his own child.
It grated on him to watch Suzaku turn from a reindeer into a human-like boy, but at the same time, he saw it for what it was. A gift. It might have come at a price, but it had saved Suzaku's life.
Had Suzaku been right all along? Should they have just tried to find another way, instead of uselessly fighting? It seemed so impossible, but the proof was right there in front of him.
Meanwhile, Lelouch's siblings, who had all started to rush in when they had sensed the magic accumulate, were torn between awe and anger. They could not believe the wild reindeer had dared to attack Christmastown, but at the same time, they were a little too distracted by the actual Christmas miracle their brother had performed to think about that. Nunnally wanted to rush to Lelouch and Suzaku's side, but in a rare show of perceptiveness, Odysseus stopped her. Euphie dropped to her knees at the bottom of the stairs, almost crushed under the weight of her relief. She had thought that she would lose Lelouch and Suzaku too, on top of Cornelia, but apparently not.
Santa Charles himself popped up. Despite having been a good distance away, he managed to land the sleigh on a snowy peak in the Alps, left Bismarck there to guard the presents and traveled back to Christmastown. It was not precisely easy to journey this way, especially at his age, but it was worth it, to witness something so wondrous. It would seem that he had been right to deem his son important.
Of course, there were still the wild reindeer and V.V. to deal with, though, and the presents were not even halfway delivered. At this rate, Santa Charles would have to cancel Christmas.
Well, there was nothing for it. He'd think of a solution after he spoke with his son. "Well, it looks like you've had an eventful evening, son."
"Father," Lelouch said, jolting slightly, but not letting go of his knight. "I thought you were out delivering presents."
"I was, but unfortunately, this attack had to take precedence." He turned angry eyes toward the herd of reindeer. "Certain groups of individuals chose to attack our home."
"You're the one who encroached upon our land first, Santa," Genbu said. "You cannot blame us for retaliating."
"No, I suppose I cannot. But that doesn't mean I'll allow this trespass to go unpunished."
Lelouch secretly agreed with his father, since Suzaku had come so very close to dying. At the same time, though, he knew that this could escalate into something worse if he did not intervene.
He shared a look with C.C., and she shot him a soft, barely perceivable smile. That was enough encouragement for the young prince. "Don't hurt them, Father. Please. You know why they're angry, and they're not wrong."
Santa Charles turned toward his son. "They attacked our home. They almost killed your knight. You want to spare them?"
"It's Christmas. And... There's still so much we can do together, if we only try."
"With your permission, Santa, Lelouch is right," Suzaku piped up. "Reindeer can make wishes too. We can have Christmas Spirit too. We can help. There's no reason why things should be the way they are now.
"I won't deny that I'm upset that my former herd wanted to hurt Lelouch. But... Still, maybe there is another solution to all this? Some way out?"
He'd been given a second chance through this Christmas miracle. No, he wasn't happy with his father, but wouldn't it be foolish if he didn't at least try to give them the same opportunity?
Santa Charles sighed. Truth be told, it had troubled him that the wild reindeer were going extinct, but it had been a minor issue compared to everything else on his list.
"Very well then. I'll let this one slide. However, they have to agree to helping us deliver the presents tonight. Cornelia and Schneizel are fine, but their sleighs have taken damage. We have no other options."
"It is a good compromise, but not all of us are magical like young Suzaku," Tohdoh pointed out. "I'm not sure that is possible."
"Of course you're magical," C.C. replied in Charles's stead. "Otherwise, you would not be able to speak. And as for the rest of it... Everything is possible as long as you believe."
She waved a hand, and a massive sleigh filled with presents manifested in the courtyard of the palace. At the same time, several of the reindeer in the herd began to glow. "A temporary Christmas Spirit blessing," she explained. "It will go away after tonight."
"But who will lead the sleigh, Father?" Odysseus asked, somewhat nervously. He hoped he would not be picked, as he was rubbish as such tasks.
"I will, of course," Lelouch replied. "I may be young, but I'm sure Suzaku will help."
Santa Charles was amenable to this solution, and so, the sleigh led by wild reindeer took off, with Tohdoh acting as the first reindeer. Genbu stayed behind with the rest of his herd.
He still did not know what to think about everything that had happened, and he still needed to have a long conversation with his son, but in the meantime, he had a conversation pending with Santa Charles.
"Let me guess," Santa Charles said, "it was the Abominable Snow V.V. who let you into Christmastown."
Genbu nodded, and Santa Charles pressed his lips together in displeasure. "Well, I suppose it's high time I dealt with this."
Santa Charles fully intended to go after his brother and forcibly retract the Christmas Spirit magic from him if he had to. Of course, he did not know yet that it was not necessary.
"You don't need to worry about him any longer," C.C. said.
As she spoke, a small, white reindeer calf popped up at her feet. It looked up at the group with confused dark pink eyes. "Victor?" Santa Charles asked in disbelief.
The reindeer made his way to Charles's side on shaky legs and nudged him with its head. Santa Charles just stared, as discombobulated as his brother-turned-reindeer.
"When the Christmas Spirit was torn from V.V. and given to your son, V.V. became like this," C.C. explained. "He's not magical in the slightest and doesn't remember his past life. It's up to you to decide what you do with him next."
Santa Charles let out a low breath. He was too old for this. "Children... Do you mind taking him for tonight?" he asked the still watching group. "He should be harmless. Just... play with him or something."
An unholy glint appeared in Euphemia's eyes. She had heard enough to know that this was actually the being that had attacked Cornelia. She couldn't punish him per se, but there were all kinds of ways to make people—or creatures—suffer. "I'd love to, Father," she said.
Marrybell, Carine and even little Nunnally happily echoed her and joined in. The little reindeer V.V. was ushered away by the gaggle of children, into a fate that Santa Charles suspected would contain a lot of ribbons, dolls and sweet perfume.
Once the group was gone, Santa Charles looked at his watch. He was already behind schedule. "Genbu, do let yourself out. We will discuss the other matter at a later date."
Once Santa Charles vanished, Genbu turned toward the witch who was surprisingly still present. "I don't suppose you'd agree to help us home."
He wouldn't have normally asked, but he was tired, a good part of his herd was missing, his son had turned into a person and was likely furious with him, and he just wanted to sleep and not think about his poor decisions.
C.C. just laughed at him. "Sorry. Some journeys have to be made by one's own strength."
Genbu suspected the comment held a message deeper than just a reference to his request. Over the years that would follow, that guess would be confirmed.
Prince Lelouch of Christmastown never did become Santa. His dreams had always been greater, and he had always wanted to use his power to help the world as a whole.
When they became old enough, they were married, and Santa Charles, his wife Marianne, and the herd of wild reindeer cheered together, side by side. Even Genbu was there, having long ago reconciled with his son and accepted his son's mate.
Later, Lelouch and his knight dedicated their lives to fixing the damage mankind had done to the planet. By the time they were thirty, they had already managed to salvage many of the species that were running the risk of becoming extinct and were well on their way of cleaning the world's oceans.
Their magic finally ran out after they fixed the hole in the ozone layer, but they died together with a smile, holding hands. They came back as angels, always watching over the people whom they treasured so much.
Eventually, when the time came for them to take up arms against another, more palpable threat, they were reborn. But that is a different story entirely.