Author's note: Siegfried is eight in this story. I'm trying to work out a few things about the ages of the other characters but I'm not going to specify (unless asked) since they might still be changed.
"Go home, you little brat!" shouted the innkeeper. He slammed the door just as a snowball struck the doorknocker.
Siegfried stood angrily in the snow, packing together more snow in his hands. He threw the second snowball but it missed the windowpane and landed in the bushes. Muttering to himself, he grudgingly turned around to walk the winding path back home.
Just why was the innkeeper so furious at him today? The sun was only beginning to set, dyeing the frozen fields and mountains a deep pink. Usually he was allowed to play with Burke until dark, even in the winter.
He wiped his hands on his cloak. The wind was already howling through the snow laden trees when he suddenly remembered he had left his scarf on the inn table. He kicked a snowdrift when he realized it meant an entire night of his mother scolding him for forgetting his scarf again since he could not retrieve it until tomorrow. But as he passed by the brightly lit houses in the street and glanced at his dim little homestead halfway up the mountain, he remembered she was often busy in the winter, minding the animals and cooking. He hoped she would be too tired to notice.
And it was not yet dark. He could tarry a little more.
Perhaps it had to do with the cold, or the wind, since streets were strangely empty at this time. Normally Siegfried would have seen at least a few children playing in the snow at this time, with their parents leaning out of their windows telling them to get inside. But after a while, he found the silence quite enjoyable to wonder about anything else. The ruddy faced boy that normally played with his friends on this rock would be jealous indeed if he saw Siegfried sitting there now instead of him. He smiled at the thought and gathered the snow at the top of the rock to make some snowballs. Soon he had a small pile of them, and satisfied, he began to gather them in his arms.
Clink, clink.
Siegfried looked around, but could see nothing.
Clink, clink.
The noise grew louder. The lamps were not lit today, but in the faint glow from the inn windows, he could see a dark figure about twenty yards from where he stood. He quickly gathered all his snowballs and ducked behind the rock.
The figure kept coming closer. Even in the growing darkness, Siegfried could now see its shape more clearly. Broken chains hung off its wrists and were dragging across the snow. Dark fur covered its entire body and large horns protruded from its head. It shuffled across the snow as if it were carrying a heavy burden on its back.
Had it seen him? Siegfried did not want to find out. He stood up and began to run home.
Clink, clink.
The sound was coming closer. The beast had seen him after all, and its movements became faster. He was running as fast as his little legs could carry him, but he was still too slow. It was now only ten yards away. He would have to leave some weight behind.
He looked down and saw the snowballs in his arms. He grabbed one and threw it right at the devil. The snowball hit it right between its horns and it groaned in response. Siegfried saw it was holding a switch in one of its hands and remembered. It was Krampusnacht.
He remembered last year well. His mother had forbidden him to leave the homestead that day, and his father was out chopping wood. He had grumbled until nightfall. Even when his mother began clearing the table, he remained seated by the window, staring into the dark woods. Suddenly there was a sudden deafening knock at the door. His mother sweetly asked him to answer it but he refused. Scolding him for his disobedience, she strode towards the door and opened it.
Siegfried had half expected his father to come through the door carrying the firewood. But instead he saw a devil standing in the hall, birch rod in hand.
"Siegfried!" it roared. "You've been naughty this year, haven't you?! Krampus punishes bad children. Come with me to hell!"
He shrieked and ran behind his mother, who simply patted him on the shoulder. Krampus walked closer to him, until he could see the grooves on its ugly face and red tongue. The birch rod whistled through the air and struck the floor near his feet.
"Mother! Make it go away!" he sobbed.
"Krampus won't come back if you're a good boy, Siegfried," she replied calmly.
"I'll be good!" he cried, burying his face in her dress.
Krampus growled and stormed out of the hallway. His mother closed the door, and put Siegfried on her lap. She held him until he stopped crying, and by then, Frederick had come home, looking very cold and tired. He lifted Siegfried from her lap, tousled his hair and told him to be brave and good.
The memory brought shame and fear into Siegfried again. He knew he had not been good this year, and therefore long awaited beating―and passage to hell―would likely take place this year. He was still outside alone in town; his home was at least fifteen minutes away and his father was not even home this year to protect him from this monster.
Clink.
The devil was following him. Siegfried threw another snowball at it. It missed. He threw another, and another, until they were all gone. Now that the snowballs were gone, and used well, he ran as fast as he could up the steep path, not daring to stop or look behind him. He finally reached the front step and began pounding on the door.
"Mother, it's me, I'm sorry I'm home late!" he cried, trying to hold back his tears. The devil was very close now. It was just behind the fence, its chains leaving trails in the fresh fallen snow.
The door creaked open. Siegfried pushed himself inside and slammed the door. He was cold and gasping for air. His mother looked at him with concern and tried to remove his cloak so he could speak.
"Krampus…he's outside," he choked when the cloak was removed from his shoulders.
"Calm down, Siegfried," she answered, sounding a little confused. "Krampus, you say? It's not today, I think. Let me see. Wait. It is, but it's still too soon for the devil to be outside. Why would that be?"
She bit her lip and looked out the window nervously. "It's too soon…" Siegfried heard her murmur.
Both of them jumped when the door was struck so hard from the outside that it shook in its frame. The chains clinked as they slid on the step outside, and Siegfried could hear the birch rod scratching at the wood.
"Krampus demands that you open this door!"
To Siegfried's horror, his mother opened the door. The devil jumped inside and howled, sending snow and birch twigs flying into the walls. Its chains struck an ornament nearby and knocked it to the floor. Margaret did not move from where she stood. Siegfried jumped behind her.
"Köhler, if you think this is funny, you can leave. It isn't even Krampusnacht for a few more hours and I won't have you terrorizing my boy on such short notice and causing an uproar."
"I AM NOT KÖHLER!" it roared, flailing its chains and striking the wooden floor. The snow on its face and fur slid off and melted into puddles at its feet.
"What? Then who are y―?" she sputtered indignantly.
"I AM KRAMPUS!" it bellowed. It looked around the room before fixing its small red eyes at Margaret and grabbed her arm. "MARGARET! YOU'VE BEEN BAD TOO! TIME FOR A FLOGGING!" The devil began to lash her with its chains.
"Ouch! What on earth are you doing?" she yelled. She seized a broom nearby and began to strike its head, sending more twigs and snow on the furniture and floor. Siegfried watched in terrified awe.
Be brave, Siegfried.
His father's words echoed in his mind. The devil was in his house when it should not be there; chairs were getting knocked over in the struggle, and his mother was striking it in the head in an attempt to drive it away with no more effect than his snowballs. He felt anger bubble inside him and he wiped the tears from his face. He had to act.
Siegfried jumped out from behind his mother and grabbed Krampus' leg to try to slow him down. Krampus momentarily ceased his flogging and tried to shake off the small boy. Siegfried was hanging on for dear life, and began to grab at anything else he could reach. He wrenched the birch rod from Krampus' belt and threw it to the floor.
"Go away, devil!" he hollered. He reached up and seized the next nearest thing he could reach; its horns. Krampus began to thrash more wildly, trying to shake the boy off his head, and Siegfried was forced to grab onto its beard to keep himself from falling.
A few confusing minutes passed, during which everyone got hit with either a broom or chains, Siegfried landed roughly on the floor. He got up, dazed, and realized he was holding something in his hands. He turned it over. The devil's face stared back at him. He dropped the face with a shriek and looked up in at horror at Krampus.
Except it was his father's face in the midst of the fur, bells, chains and basket. Siegfried stared at him in total shock before he burst into tears, whimpering and choking out unintelligible words.
Margaret, still white faced, pulled Siegfried close and rocked him in her arms. "Shh…Siegfried, calm down, son. Your father's not a devil; he's just out of his mind…"
Frederick stood there for a few awkward moments before Margaret turned to him, eyes narrowed to green slits.
"Frederick! Y-you returned from your campaign without telling me? You came home, like this?" she hissed, pointing at the fallen mask.
"Er…well, we were riding to Freiberg when a sudden snowstorm came. We couldn't lead the horses over all that snow and ice, so we decided to turn back. I actually arrived at the bar earlier today to rest a little before I came home to surprise you. Then I was sitting by the fire when Köhler came over and somehow talked me into being Krampus in his place. He said he has a bit of a cold today, so he didn't want to be out. When I walked out, I saw Siegfried playing by himself…and got a little carried away. So, what do you think?" He grinned sheepishly.
Margaret's face turned from white to pink as Frederick's turned from pink to white.
"Why you―" she snarled, leaping on him and yanking the goat pelt from his shoulders. "You scared me to death, traumatized our son, and you have a lot of explaining to do about why you just did that―" she pointed at his chains, "and then do something about this―" she handed him the broom, "before I will even let you rest. Not another word from you or you will sleep in the barn tonight." She stormed out of the room, rambling about being married to a child.
Siegfried was left alone with Frederick in the hall. They began to pick up stray twigs when Siegfried suddenly laughed. The last turn of events was so amusing that he could not stay angry. Frederick was confused, but he decided to address the situation anyway.
"I'm sorry, Siegfried. This was probably the last thing you wanted to see your father in. Yes, it was really immature of me to scare you and your mother like that. And ruin Krampusnacht this year and possibly every year in the future…but remember that we want you to be good without the holiday devil scaring you every year, if you can understand. Is that all right?"
Siegfried wiped his face again and nodded.
"That's my boy." Frederick discarded the twigs and hugged Siegfried.
"I'm just glad you came home, Father," said Siegfried. Frederick tousled the boy's hair.
"Oh, and by the way." Frederick reached into the basket he was carrying. "Here's your scarf. That way, only one of us would be yelled at today."
Siegfried took the scarf and a small wrapped parcel fell out. Frederick smiled.
"Happy Krampusnacht, Siegfried."