A/N: Hi all! Thank you very much for giving this story a go. Author's notes will go at the end of the chapters from now on but I wanted to clarify some things first. (They will also never be this long in the future)
This is definitely not my first story, nor my first Supernatural story, but it is the first one I am choosing to publish. I appreciate reviews and messages more than y'all may ever know, but I am human, so rude/scathing/flaming comments do hurt my feelings. I would humbly ask that you not write anything nasty - though I don't truly worry any of you lovelies will! I just wanted to put it out there, because I write for fun and as a stress-reliever. I am a Classicist by day who studies ancient religions and cross-cultural influences in the Mediterranean, so writing for this show in particular is a lovely outlet for my every day academic stress! I do hope you enjoy what I've come up with.
As another note: as stated in the summary, this is an AU from the canon season 6 ending, so I will be changing many things. If things get unclear, feel free to let me know! This is also a little whimsical and festive at times, but it's the holiday season and I'm feeling merry. It isn't all candy canes and gumdrops, though. There will be some violence, gore, and general sad times. Things every episode usually has, ya know? I will probably not finish this story by Christmas, but I am someone who loves the holidays year 'round, so, we shall see.
And finally: there will be some sort of romance, because I am a sucker for love and warmth and goodness (and I think these characters deserve every ounce of joy this world could possibly offer them - though they so seldom get it), but I have not decided who the pairing will be. It is not heavily important for the plot at this moment, as I want to develop relationships equally between the characters and not have things be like "hey, she's pretty" *instant love, sacrifices self, together forever, roll credits*. I'm not into that. If y'all have strong feelings one way or another for matters of our characters' hearts, please let me know! The rating is T for now, but it may change depending on future chapters/ what you fantastic humans want. I've got the plot, so I'd love to see where y'all want to see our lovely characters go! :)
Title taken from Michael Buble's song "Cold December Night".
Again, thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me. xx
"They call it 'The Season of Giving'.
I'm here, I'm yours for the taking.
They call it 'The Season of Giving'.
I'm here. I'm yours."
December 5, North Pole.
A pair of expensive boots crunched the light and fluffy snow of the sparkling North Pole. The well tailored suit that clung to the body of a scowling man was damp and beginning to become heavier and heavier with each snowflake that fell and dissolved upon its soft, black fabric. His face was contorted into a grudgingly unhappy sort. Wisps of air showed up in the chill of the morning as he huffed and puffed his way up the steep hill.
"Bloody Hell," he mumbled in his lilt, "couldn't have put in a damn road?"
He finally reached the top of the hill, nearly doubling over from the high altitude, and cursed his human vessel.
"A lot of good you've done me so far, haven't yeh?" Exasperated, he put his hands on his knees and puffed some more. "Now where in the hell is this damned place?"
Like a beacon in the distance, he saw the unmistakable marker of the fabled city. A red and white striped flagpole stuck up into the clear blue sky, waving around the universal insignia for the place (well, at least to all of its inhabitants it was universal and, at least, fabled among everyone else): a blue snowflake.
"Finally," he gasped out. "Christmasland."
He continued to plow through the snow the entire way, mentally reaming out the little shit who put a spell blocking teleportation powers all over this infernal place.
Crowley's brow furrowed in determination. He'd get there soon enough.
Then they'd all bloody pay.
Little Hollow, Christmastown.
Evelyn had just set down her cup of tea when she heard them. Footsteps sinking into the snow. The sound wasn't light and pleasant like she was accustomed to. Instead, it was a harsh stomping.
Human, she thought to herself as she got up to inspect the noise.
Little Hollow was just at the crest of the forest – and not just any forest, mind you, but the Candy Cane Forest. It wasn't like you would expect, full of light and brightly colored edible things like gumdrops and sugarplums. No, the Candy Cane Forest was quite dangerous for anyone to venture in alone. It was full of winding, twisty paths and the occasional molasses pit – quite similar to quicksand only much, much more sticky. And of course the Candy Cane Forest was notorious for its overpopulation of Gumdrop Goblins – incredibly nasty creatures with an unquenchable sweet tooth. And, for warning's sake, blood was very sweet to them.
But, the quiet village of Little Hollow was seldom bothered by such creatures, for they daren't travel outside of the safety of the looming candy canes since, as was well known, sunlight burns them up on the spot and they held a particular aversion to bright and cheery things. Fortunately for Little Hollow, every house was covered with lights and decorations – very unpleasant sights for beady-eyed Gumdrop Goblins.
And that was why Evelyn loved the nook of a town at the edge of the forest so much. It was quiet, which she liked, but not terribly far from the city where she worked. All in all it worked quite well for her except when foreigners came because Little Hollow was the first place inhabited by kind-folk like her for miles and miles. It was the first place on one's way to Holly City, home of the famous Workshop.
Now, however, Evelyn was not thinking of her duties for the day or the fact that she would most likely be late for work at this rate. She was more focused on the looming dark figure that was slowly trudging its way through the thick blanket of snow. He was a handsome fellow but obviously up to no good. Evelyn could sense his villainous ways immediately. She, as well as everyone in Christmasland, was exceptionally skilled at detecting evil, cheerless beings.
"Oh no," she sighed out, not prepared or ready to go toe to toe with such a man. But. Another sigh. If she must...
I've only had three cups of tea!
"What a terrible Monday this has been so far," she mumbled before throwing on her bright red snow boots, pulling on her deep green cloak, and rushing out her door. A glance at her wall clock before she left told her she had only been awake for three hours. Yes, quite a dreadful Monday so far.
"Excuse me!" She called out. Her voice was pleasant enough, but there was an undertone of wariness there as she approached the figure. "Sir! Um, if I could have a word?"
Crowley turned around and looked every which way. "Someone say something?"
"Yes!" Evelyn waved a hand, though she doubted he saw it, and continued making her way over to him through the sparkling snow. "Me! Over here!"
The King of Hell looked down his nose at the creature now staring up at him. Planted firmly in front of him she was all curls and big blue eyes and a disastrously happy aura. He couldn't think of any combination he hated less in that moment, except if she were to have been flanked by two flannel clad brothers – the proverbial thorns in his demonic side. "What the hell are you supposed to be?"
Evelyn was quite unamused with his lack of decency and chose to give him an indignant huff in return.
"Tell me who you are or I will smite you on this very snow mound." Crowley was in no mood for games with such small, unimportant beings. Evelyn thought she could see an angry vein protruding from his temple.
The woman before him crossed her arms as a sour look settled on her pixie-like face. "My name is Evelyn, if you must know, sir. What is your name and what is your business in Little Hollow?"
"What are you? The guard dog? Not very threatening at all, are you?." He paused. "Wait a damn minute," Crowley got incredibly close to her face then, "Little Hollow? What in the...isn't this Christmasland?"
Evelyn blinked her bright blue eyes at him. "This is Christmasland."
"But you said this was Little Hollow."
"It is."
"But you just said it was Christmasland."
"That too."
Crowley threw his arms up, "How the hell can it be both?"
Evelyn narrowed her eyes and answered slowly so that this daft being would understand, "Because...it...is."
Crowley gave her an evil look and it chilled her blood, something not even the fluffy snow could do. "I've had it with you, you tiny little minx. Tell me how to get to the damned book or I'll rip your head off."
Evelyn opened and closed her mouth several times before being able to answer. Well, what good would ripping my head off do? Then he would never find out...and the snow would look so awful covered in blood...
His anger was giving her anxiety. She wasn't fond of angry people, especially when she hadn't had enough caffeine.
She tried to appear as innocent as possible, not wanting her shoulders to be made decidedly lighter any time soon. "What book?" Crowley took notice that she was beginning to edge her way back to her little cottage.
"Oh no you don't!" He threw out a hand and grabbed a fistful of her golden curls. As she was yanked back towards him, a cry of pain left her lips and echoed all around them. She prayed none of her neighbors heard. If they came out to investigate there was no telling what this horribly enraged man would do to them. Her eyes flickered over to the Candy Cane forest. They would never come out from their hidden lairs, but if someone were to throw her in there...she wouldn't survive and she knew it. She clung to the hope that he had no idea what lie beyond the striped borders and wouldn't use that to his advantage.
Crowley tipped his head to the side as he saw something peculiar sticking out on either side of her head.
"Aha!" He held her up off the ground by her hair. "An elf! I am in the right place!"
"I never said you weren't!" Evelyn protested, clawing at his hands to get him to let her go. Her hair pulled painfully at her scalp. "Now put me down, would you? You'll wrinkle my good cloak!"
"Oh, no, I don't think I will," he set her down but spoke to her sinisterly, keeping a firm hold of her hair still. "You see, I need that book, and you're going to get it for me."
She crossed her arms and tried to ignore the pounding in the back of her head. "Or what?"
"Or I kill every last happy soul in this damned place."
Yuletide Museum and Archives, Holly City
"Evelyn!" A tall man with a blue holiday hat yelled out as Crowley burst through the doors of the exquisite building. The woman in question was still grasped firmly by the hair. The demon turned king took a moment to admire the gothic architecture and the breathtaking, carved stonework that paneled the room. The vaulted ceiling was painted with a bright and colorful scene showing canonical stories of Christmas. Crowley nearly gagged.
"Do you lot ever get sick of Christmas?"
"And just who do you think you are?" The tall man asked harshly, stalking over to where Crowley and Evelyn were. Evelyn was roughly shoved forward, her knees scraping against the worn, stone ground.
"Jeremy, don't," Evelyn warned ignoring the stinging of her skin and the general discomfort her body was experiencing. She tried to reach out to her friend but Crowley fiercely yanked her back and chided her by clicking his tongue.
Jeremy had already taken notice of her bloodied and bruised knees along with the smudges of dirt on her face from being dragged every which way. He launched himself forward and Evelyn watched in horror as the elf that she had worked alongside of for many, many years dropped dead at the hands of the monster who was pulling on her long locks even more impatiently now.
"Pointy-eared idiot. Move," Crowley ordered her, stepping over the fallen body of Jeremy. His eyes remained open and they seemed to bore into Evelyn as they passed him. She whispered a few parting words to him and tried to keep her tears at bay. This really and truly had been an awful Monday.
Evelyn reluctantly, for she feared if she did not do as he said she would surely lose her life just as Jeremy had, led Crowley to a heavily secured room equipped with state of the art cameras and censoring systems. The space was grand, the walls were flecked with gold, and the scent of gingerbread wafted through the air. A brilliant light fixture shown down like Heaven's rays upon a glass display case, inches thick, and fitted with a laser detection system. Inside the glass was what Crowley had come for.
"Get it for me."
Evelyn had taken enough. "No."
Crowley raised his eyebrows, "No? Well, you've been quite useful up 'til this point, love. It's a shame to waste such a pretty face. Even if you are a mangey elf."
Evelyn held her arms over her face to brace herself as Crowley reached up, ready to end her right then and there. He was interrupted, thankfully, blessedly, by a loud boom! and a barrage of angry shouting and hollering coming their way.
"What in the god damn...?"
Several dozen elves pushed their way into the room, armed to the teeth with deadly weapons. Crowley sighed, exasperated. Today just hadn't been his day at all. Evelyn had been thinking the exact same thing since she'd walked out her door.
"I thought you all were happy creatures?" He spat out towards the small army.
"We are," came a booming voice, "until someone comes and threatens our home."
A man stepped in, glory radiating around him and his usually jovial face adorned with a frown. His build was strong and well defined muscles rippled underneath the red fabric of his thermal shirt. His biceps bulged and flexed. Powerful forearms revealed themselves as he pushed his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. Crowley noted his tremendous white beard and rolled his eyes. Some things just never changed.
"Hello, Nick," he greeted with no emotion or gladness whatsoever.
"Crowley," Nick nodded back with not much more pleasantry. "Mind telling me what you're doing invading my city?"
Crowley pointed at the glass case. Inside of it sat a book, huge and filled with glittering, scrolling lettering. Its pages were seemingly endless, the volume and mass of such a thing surely weighing more than the average man could ever hope to lift. Crowley knew, however, that the book was enchanted and if he could just get his hands on it he'd be able to carry it out of this cheerful hellhole.
"I want that," he stated simply. Evelyn rolled her eyes though not really in any position to be cheeky. Her head throbbed, her knees ached, and she couldn't rid the vacant eyes of Jeremy from her mind.
"Well, you can't have it," Nick countered. "It belongs to me and it stays here."
"Ah, but does it belong to you?" Crowley asked in his deceptive and conniving tone. "Or do you just keep it safe for the actually important guy?"
"Your mind games won't work on me, Crowley," Nick told him, deepening his frown and crossing his incredibly thick arms across his chest. "You know today is a big day, so why come now? And why come alone?"
"Ah, yes, eternal training for the yearly wrestling match and all that fun stuff." The demon rolled his eyes, "Honestly I don't even know why you still do that. Wouldn't it just be easier to lock his ass down in Purgatory?"
"And risk idiots like you letting him out? Look what almost happened not even three months ago. No, I'd much rather have it this way. The arrangement has worked thus far."
"Oh, good. So instead of doing the smart thing you just get yourself beat into oblivion each year." Crowley nodded with a sarcastic look to match his tone, "Brilliant, Nick, simply brilliant."
Nick rolled his eyes. Although he was an older man, he was still pretty intimidating and he radiated saintly power. He stepped right up to Crowley and towered over him despite the demon's tall height.
"Leave my city now or I swear you will not be in the spirit to do much of anything else for the rest of eternity."
"Um," Crowley pretended to think, "I think we'll do things my way."
"Wha-"
But before Nick could finish his sentence, the demon king had thrust his hand out and crushed the souls out of every elf in the room besides Evelyn. Crowley thought that hey, she wasn't armed and she wasn't a threat at all. Maybe she would even make a good little minion one day. Plus, someone needed to tell the story of how a demon decimated the most holly-jolly place on Earth and effectively ruined Christmas for every snot nosed brat in the world.
Nick flew backwards and crashed into the wall behind him, the stone absorbing the force of his impact and taking his breath along with it. He locked eyes with Evelyn who stood terrified in the corner and mouthed one word to her. She frowned as he frantically wrenched his head towards the door, signaling for her to run. He then eyed his watch and Evelyn did the same, both noting that they had no time left.
A mighty roar echoed throughout the town.
"Oh my," Crowley smiled devilishly. "You're late for your little rendezvous, aren't you, Nick? Fabulous timing I have, I must say."
Nick watched Crowley blast open the glass case, alarms going off and mixing with the sound of the roaring from outside. "Looks like your little city is going to be in for quite a surprise, and not the merry kind."
"I'll deal with you after I deal with him," Nick seethed out.
"Oh, by then I'll be long gone," Crowley lifted the book out of the case, "And so will you. Come along now, Nicky."
"You can't make me leave, you evil son of a–" Another roar tore through he town, this time much closer.
"Don't be such a child. Yes, yes I can," Crowley stated matter-of-factly.
"Lowly demons can't make Saint Nicholas do anything."
Crowley smirked. "They can when they've been promoted to king."
Nick peered warily around the corner, searching for the oncoming beast, and then looked back at Crowley, "King of what?"
Crowley held out his hand, "King of Hell."
Evelyn watched, horrified, as Nick, Crowley, and the book disappeared without even a 'pop'. Then the screaming started from outside in the city. With no time to lose, she bravely rose from her squished position in the corner to sprint out of the museum and into the heavily crowded, snowy streets of Holly City. It was brighter than it had been when Crowley had dragged her into the building and Evelyn knew that it wasn't because the sun was now high in the sky.
The city was on fire.
Elves were running every which way and Evelyn could barely distinguish the civilian elves apart from the police elves. Everyone was scrambling to get off the streets, into a store, a restaurant, back to the villages, anywhere but the center of the city. A quick glance up Main Street would be a pretty good indicator on why.
Evelyn couldn't stomach looking at him. She kept her eyes down to the ground and ran as fast as she could down the streets of Holly City. The only thing on her mind was that she had to get to Little Hollow and she had to get there fast. Her short legs could only carry her so far, but she knew she would make it. All those trips to the gym hadn't been for nothing, she supposed. Plus, elves came blessedly equipped with surprisingly tough natural stamina.
After literally crashing through her front door (and trying not to cringe as she knocked over her favorite gingerbread house replica), she scrambled around trying to gather essential things in her leather knapsack. She was so frazzled that she nearly forgot the most important item. Quickly, she shoved that in too. The distraught elf tried her hardest not to listen to the screaming of the villagers in her little nook of the Pole. With a start, she realized where they would head. A horrible feeling of dread was beginning to make a permanent home in her stomach. The knot was twisting itself inside of her and the elf felt that she might double over from the pain of it all. She steeled herself, grit her teeth, and zipped outside, throwing her bag over her shoulders as she went.
She was just in time to be out of time.
She saw the last of her neighbors disappearing into the Candy Cane Forest, their bright cloaks vanishing behind the tall, looming canes. A small, round tear slid down her cheek at the new sets of screams coming from within the deep, dark, candy woods. They would never survive in there, not with all of the unknown creatures breeding and populating the dense forest. It would only be a matter of time before the red stripes of the ripened candy canes would be indistinguishable from the red splatters of blood.
Evelyn would take a different route. She was the last person to see Saint Nicholas before he had been kidnapped. She was the only person alive who knew who had taken him. And, to her horror, the possession in her knapsack made her the only person in the world who could stop the raging monster ravaging the streets of her beloved city and save the holidays.
But, she'd need help.
She would need to find who Nick had told her to find – his last mouthed words to her before he had been zapped away by the King of Hell.
Winchesters.
Cue the Supernatural title tag. Probably holiday themed, with lots of glitter, jingle bell sounds, those demonic noises, and maybe some blood? I feel that is appropriate.
One more time, thank you for being here. Much love from me to you! xx