*hollers* MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lol. I love today.

OBVIOUSLY!

Yeah yeah, okay. Sorry everyone I bored to DEATH with that last chapter (except for Applejax XD, who is still awesome, and Michele, who totally made my day. Thank you!) Is everybody busy with Christmas? Or was that chapter a complete miss? (Yikes...rhyme.) I dunno. Hopefully you won't mind a little more LoTR weirdness, then back to Christmassy-ness. And finally we get to the bottom of all of the issues.

As for the chapter title, well...PPMF (Please Pardon My French).

Lol.

Merry Christmas, guys.

-Ana

P.S. please pardon my phonetically spelled phrases, particularly Arwen's. In the movie subtitles, it just says the English translation, and i didn't Google. (For shame!) Lol feeling like a noob.

9. Shit Happens

It only took Ellington a few minutes of looking things over to realize that everything was absolutely perfect. That was one of the bonuses to living in the North Pole: whenever there was a party, you could be sure a team of expert decorators had been there. It showed!

She had wanted to throw a pre-Christmas eve party; knowing how hard that day would be made her wish for a day and a party when she wouldn't have to think about the loss of her entire family. Being the Number Two elf definitely had its perks; Santa had granted her request almost before it had come out of her mouth. She knew that he, Mrs. Claus and the rest of the Legendary Figures (well, barring Jack, most likely) felt simply awful about the turn of events, but that was that. The sacrifice had to be made, or...

Ellington didn't like to think about the alternative.

Annise had been taken back to her room, to change into her 'costume'. Now, with her morning rounds done, Ellington went to put on her own, wondering what Bernard's reaction would be to his costume, and wishing she could be there to see it...when he was still fully dressed of course.

Why had that even occurred to her?

Ugh!

Bernard was busy, and so quickly forgot what she had said about the party; instead, he mulled over the events of the morning, while finishing some boring end-of-year paperwork that he hoped to spare Ellington the hassle of. He felt released, somehow, having let himself off the hook for like-liking her. He had been so opposed the idea of actually obeying The Emissary Clause that he had intentionally blinded himself to his own feelings...not that he had done a particularly good job of it, he had constantly been slipping up. But he had made a conscious effort of not showing any affection, and now, not doing the same thing was just as (if not far more) easy. He was good at being crabby; but it seemed natural to be friendly with her...even though he was feeling a lot more than just 'friendly' himself.

Because that was the odd thing about Ellington, Bernard realized. From the other girls (not least of which was that new elf Tabitha) he could sense when they were 'crushing on him', as Ellington had called it. He had secret senses not unlike hers: he too had a slight telepathy, but also, he just knew things through the magic of being the Head Elf. However from Ellington, his own Number Two, he just got...well, a confusing array of colorful emotions, but nothing concretely 'romantic'.

Perhaps, he thought, that would be something to ask Cupid about. That, and how to actually show more than just friendly intent in a relationship that has so far been strictly platonic.

Judy stuck her head in the door. "Bernard! What are you doing?! The party's starting in twenty minutes!"

"Oh, um...right!" Bernard stood up in a hurry. "Thanks." Then he remembered something. "Wait, Judy!"

Judy came back. "Yes?"

"Could you let Elle—I mean, Ellington, know that the Reports have been closed, so she doesn't have to worry about them?"

"Sure," said Judy pleasantly. "I'll tell her as soon as I see her."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Don't forget to wear your costume! Elle would be terribly disappointed." Judy went out grinning, her long, flowing costume trailing behind her. It was why she'd been careful to only let Bernard see her head...she didn't want to spoil the surprise.

Wondering what she meant, then suddenly remembering what Ellington had said about his 'costume,' Bernard went to the closet and pulled open the doors. All of the coats and such had been removed, so that only a single outfit hung on a hanger.

He scowled.

"Oh, God no," Bernard said, fingering the fabric. He recognized it, of course. "Not just a Trekkie," he muttered miserably. Leave it to Ellington...

"Eem Arwen teleen lethiade," Judy announced mystically as she entered the room. "Losto bethneen tolodon un galad."

The rest of the partygoers all gave an admiring cry. Someone (it was actually the guy Judy was dating) who was dressed as Aragorn nearly fainted. They were all elves underneath their costumes, of course; but in those costumes they could become quite a convincing crowd of of elves, dwarves, hobbits and men. With an awesome set having been built right there in the Dining Hall, Middle Earth had come to life in the North Pole.

Already, the more prominent members of the 'cast' had begun to arrive. Father Time made an excellent Gandalf, Curtis was tromping around happily in his Gimli outfit, Carol was dressed up as Eowyn, and believe it or not, when he transformed into his 'young' self, Scott really did make a convincing Faramir. Mother Nature insisted that she was the scenery, which was believable as she had changed into a dress that did in fact look like the topography of Middle Earth. Sandman and Tooth Fairy had places to be and so unfortunately couldn't be present, but Easter Bunny, who couldn't find an outfit that worked for him, was helping with the catering. Jack was nowhere to be seen.

Soon, Annise came in with Abby. Abby wore an 'elven' outfit, but it was Annise who really made some jaws drop.

Curtis' most notably.

Because Annise was absolutely perfect as Lady Galadriel.

The elves rang out in another round of applause and cheers, which made Annise blush. Curtis came up and offered her his arm, and she took it. They were absolutely adorable, the rumors spun. And soon people were wondering where Bernard and Ellington were. More rumors began to circulate.

Finally, Bernard appeared in the doorway. The room fell silent.

He had done it for Elle, he reminded himself.

Just beforethe entire party yelled, as Elle had told them to,

"Hail, Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood!"

Bernard scowled.

Unfortunately Tabitha skimmed in behind him, dressed as some sort of princess.

"And who are you, exactly?" asked Judy, a bit sternly. She knew what the new girl was up to, and didn't like the element of rivalry that was going on between her and Ellington. Half of the Workshop was rooting for Bernard and Ellington...and that was only the half that weren't private about it. But they were all careful not to let the two Head Elfs learn of the little betting ring going on behind their backs.

"I," said Tabitha quite pompously, "am Luthien Tinuviel."

Confused stares.

"Arwen's predesssor? The most beautiful elven maiden who ever lived?"

"Oh, that's not modest or anything," Scott muttered to Carol.

"You're not in the movies," Bernard said finally. The rest of the party gave him an odd look. Nobody had known he'd seen the movies before. "You're in the books. But Luthien Tinuviel was in the song Aragorn sang to Frodo on the road to Rivendell."

"Exactly!" Tabitha gushed, suddenly clinging to Bernard's arm. "I should have known you would recognize me, Bernard."

Several people audibly gagged.

"Where is Ellington?" Scott called, looking over the crowd. "Ellington!"

"Coming, coming! Good grief," echoed in from the hallway. Soon Ellington ran in, almost bumping into Bernard at the door. She was dressed as an elvish warrior, armed with a bow and quiver like his. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Tabitha, hanging off of Bernard.

Bernard, suddenly conscious of this, shook off the clinging hand.

"Who are you?" asked Tabitha irritably.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Ellington said. "The elves of Middle Earth do not wear dresses covered with sequins...especially not red ones."

"Well, I don't recognize you at all," Tabitha spat. Bernard took a step backward. He hadn't ever noticed how much jealousy Tabitha had against Ellington.

"Guess you haven't seen the new trailers then," said Ellington with a toss of her long, auburn hair. So it wasn't only Bernard who had needed a temporary dyeing and straightening for his 'costume'. Luckily, the Pole had magical ones that lasted only for as long as you needed them, then reverted back to the original style and color, so he wouldn't be stuck with long, blond hair for an extended period of time. "I'm Tauriel."

A collective ahhhh went through the crowd. They had been watching the trailers all afternoon (which had been playing on a giant screen on one wall) and did know who she was. It was rather fitting, actually. Tauriel and Legolas...Ellington and Bernard...

"Who?" Bernard had been in his office all day, and hadn't seen said trailers.

A wicked grin crept over Tabitha's face. "You...you're not in the books at all!"

"Well, no; but I personally think that LoTR has needed a badass elven girl for a long time..." Ellington trailed off, realizing what Tabitha was getting at. She had tricked her into admitting that...

"So you admit it! You don't even belong here! You're not one of us!" Tabitha cried triumphantly, knowing just how hard this would strike home. "I find that rather fitting, considering your circumstances. After all," she said more loudly, "what better role to play than one of an elf who doesn't even belong in the story at all!"

A collective gasp.

"What is she talking about?" Annise asked Curtis. "Ellington's not an elf."

Curtis sighed, and looked away.

"You have no right to say that to her!" Bernard snapped. "Apologize, now." The rest of the elves shifted uncomfortably. Bernard only rarely got angry, and twice in one month was too often for their liking. But it was heartening to see him come to Ellington's defense.

Which was good, since Ellington was speechless.

"Sorry, Bernie, but no." Tabitha stepped forward into Ellington's space. "You think you can just waltz into the North Pole, charm Santa and the rest of the Legendary Figures, and get grandfathered into a job that you, as a human, had no right to in the first place?" She laughed bitterly. "It makes me sick, the way you walk around with Bernard, acting like nobody knows that you're...how did you put it, when you were labeling me? Head over heels for him."

"That's enough!" Bernard was visibly upset, and yet confused; everyone could see that. He stepped between Ellington and the aggressive elf, in a protective way. "No one slanders a Head Elf."

Tabitha laughed again. "Bernard, you may be seventeen hundred years old, but you are as naïve as any boy ever was. I'm not slandering. Look around! Everyone here knows I'm telling the truth. "

Bernard looked up and around the room, at Judy, Curtis, Abby, the Legendary Figures, Santa and Mrs. Claus...and finally, his eyes fell on Annise. Even she saw it.

Everyone. But. Him. Knew?

"Elle?" Bernard turned to face her, but Ellington's head was hanging in shame. Everything Tabitha was saying was true. Why had she ever accepted in the first place? And Bernard...he would hate her for lying to him.

"Tabitha, this is completely unacceptable—"

"Quiet, fat boy!" Tabitha commanded.

"'Fat boy'?" Scott repeated distastefully. He was in his non-Santa form.

"This is a direct violation of the elfin code of conduct!" Mother Nature said.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it? Nothing, as usual!" said Tabitha, turning back to Ellington. "You're a child; what would ever move you to think that Bernard would be interested in someone like you?" Tabitha smoothed her dress. "Especially when there are better fish in the pond."

A general boo arose from the other partygoers.

Tabitha snarled like an angry cat, causing the entire crowd to gasp and step back.

"Why...why are you doing this?" Ellington whispered. She knew why, but it was one of those things where you had to hear it to believe it.

"Because you don't deserve this life," Tabitha said maliciously. " As Number Two elf: I do. And I'm not letting this go...I will keep bothering you until you crack...unless you're already there?"

A tear rolled down Ellington's cheek. Stay calm...stay calm...

Bernard was livid. "You are FIRED," he announced, not for the first time that month. But this time, Santa nodded in agreement.

Ellington flinched, and buried her face in her hands. Inwardly cursing how much she felt like a Mary Sue.

Tabitha laughed yet again...she seemed to be quite the fan of evil laughter. "Ah, Bernie. I'm not fired," she said. "You can't fire me! I don't work for either of you!" As if on cue, her shiny red dress changed into a bright blue one.

"You...you're Jack's elf!" Santa cried angrily. Then, noticing some Elficers sneaking in behind her, he decided to stall. "But...you know what? You have a point."

"She does?" asked Mother Nature, Father Time, Easter Bunny, Carol, Curtis, Abby, Judy...well, pretty much everybody all at once.

"I do?" Tabitha was surprised.

"I'm sorry, what?" said Bernard, with a confused look in Santa's direction. Casually following Scott's gaze to the Elficers, he understood, and, though he hated to, played along. "You do, actually. Have a point."

"Really?" Much too easily fooled, mainly because of her infatuation with him, Tabitha stepped forward and set her hand on Bernard's arm again. She smiled at him, as though nothing had happened between her and his Number Two only seconds before.

"I have just one thing to say to you," he said.

Grinning, Tabitha asked, "What?"

Pulling her in a bit closer, and tightening his grip on her arm, Bernard whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, " You were right about my not knowing about Ellington. I was clueless. No longer, thanks to you."

Tabitha beamed.

"But In my book, Ellington is no child. And she will never be a waste of my time, because if we're talking about fish, she will always be a bigger, better fish than you." And he gave her a meaningful look.

"You...you mean you actually...like her?" said Tabitha, horrified. "No...no, you can't! I'm not done yet! I ..."

Bernard smiled back, a bit smugly. "Guess you'll have to save it for the cops," he said, as the Elficers shot out and grabbed her.

"Augh! Let me go!" Tabitha cried, very stereotypically. "You wouldn't believe what he just told me! Santa's gonna want to hear this!"

The Elficers rolled their eyes.

"But you don't work for me, remember? Take her away, Elficers!" Santa called, over the cheering of the elves, as Tabitha was dragged away—after she had been gagged.

Bernard turned and smiled at the crowd, blushing. Everybody knowing was embarrassing...but it was also a relief. He didn't have to fake for anyone—including Ellington— anymore.

Speaking of Ellington...

Bernard found her spot empty. And an echo of footsteps retreating down the hall. Everyone had been so busy watching him and Tabitha that they hadn't seen her slip out.

He gave Santa a meaningful look.

"Go get her, Bernard," Santa said quietly.

"Yeah, go get her!"

"Woohoo!"

"Go Bernard!"

The elves were supportive as always.

Ug—Bernard stopped himself from thinking it. What was the point, anyway?

"Elle?!" he yelled, running out after her.

More cheering ensued, along with several cries of, "We won! We won! Told you they'd get together." And the holding up of many green wager slips.

"Yeah, well. The bet's not over. They're not 'together' yet," said some of the elves, who were looking a bit worried.

"You guys are terrible!" Carol cried, laughing. "Scott, did you know about this?"

With a rueful look, Santa pulled out his own handful of green slips.

And then, Cupid fluttered out from behind the door, chuckling. "Boy, was that fun."

"Cupid!" Mother Nature cried. "What were you doing back there? You said you weren't coming!"

"I lied. Sorry about that. But come on," Cupid said wearily. "You can't tell me that it wasn't getting to you how they are always eyeing each other when the other wasn't looking! It's heart wrenching! It's angst-y! It's enough to drive this Cherub of Love insane!"

"Cupid," said Scott, his voice full of dread. "What did you DO?"

"Oh...nothing much. Just shot Bernard with one of my Courage dipped arrows. It's about Time that guy figured out what the heck he's feeling." He shot Father Time a displeased look. Father Time just shrugged. "Sheesh. Seventeen hundred years. Talk about a dry spell." Cupid shook his head. "Then, I shot Ellington with a Vulnerability arrow. That should make things a little easier for the guy."

Ellington couldn't bear to watch it. Tabitha with Bernard...it was her nightmare all over again. So when everybody was busy watching the 'show', she'd snuck out the door.

And ran.

Out of the Kitchen wing, out of the Workshop, and almost to the mountains that skirted Elfsburg. Her newly acquired elfin speed sure helped in getting places quickly. There she fell on her knees, and just sobbed.

So much for the badass elven girl.

Everything had been ruined. Tabitha, that little orc, had just blown her cover with Bernard, laid out in clear daylight all of the reasons she should be replaced, and humiliated her in front of all the elves. Plus, now Annise probably knew that she would be staying behind! Or would she...it was possible that the Council would renege on their previous offer.

Shoot, anything was possible at this point.

She felt a hundred times colder than she had in her nightmare...

And then it started snowing.

Great.

She should have known this would happen. Good things didn't happen to her, or her family. Good things only pretended to happen, then turned into something else entirely. Something far more sinister...

On this train of thought, Ellington looked up at the sky—or what would have been the sky, had she been above ground. She could see fissures in its surface; what used to be a brilliant blue was now a dull brown color, not at all beautiful. This seemed like an appropriate metaphor for Ellington: she had thought she was making things better, but really, she had just been getting better at ignoring the real problems. Like, for instance, the fact that she had agreed to work alongside her long-time crush in a strictly platonic way for a theoretical eternity. What could possibly be more stupid than that? Oh yeah, Tabitha had already told her: expecting that 'strictly platonic' status to change, eventually.

Bernard had been an elf for hundreds upon hundreds of years; if, among all of the beautiful elves in the Pole, not one had won his heart, what chance did she, a human turncoat with authority issues and a knack for annoying him, have?

The problem, Ellington realized, was that too many things were unknown. It was nearly impossible to foresee how things would go: if hopes were false, if people would change, if choices would lead to success or heartbreak. She had taken too many chances in the past two months, chances that weren't coming out in her favor; and now, she was clueless about which, if any, had actually gone right.

It was more than slightly ironic that she was on her knees, out in the cold.

Really, could it get much worse?

"Ellington! Thank goodness!"

Why, yes. Yes it could.

"Jack," Ellington said flatly. She felt like she didn't have a drop of emotion left in her. It didn't really matter if Jack screwed her over again. Life sucked, anyway.

Jack, who had been running down the mountain, stopped in front of her. "I was just trying to get back to the Workshop...the Council needs to know—gosh, you look terrible."

"Yeah, well. I feel even more terrible than I look, if that tells you anything." Ellington stared at the holes she had melted in the snow with her tears. She felt like there were holes inside of her, too.

"My goodness. What happened?" Kneeling, Jack wrapped an arm around her. Even though this felt like a rerun of her last time with him, it didn't affect Ellington in the sway she had expected it would. The contact made fresh tears spring to her eyes.

By now, the effects of Cupid's arrow were really hitting her system full force. So by the time she'd told him everything, she was bawling her eyes out again.

"Oh...oh my dear Ellington. This is simply terrible!" Jack sighed dramatically, and stroked her hair...she was still in her Tauriel costume. "You must want very badly for this all to end."

"But...but it's p-partly your fault!" Ellington sobbed. "Tabitha was your elf; she ruined everything!"

"An unfortunate occurrence but not her—or my—intended result. You see, we were trying to get you two together."

A lie, obviously. But Ellington didn't know that.

She looked up, confused. "What?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh come now, Ellington. You didn't think I'd give you Nightmare dust—sorry about that, by the way; but I assure you, it was necessary—just for giggles?" Shaking his head, Jack went on. "Oh no. It was to get you a little more attention from Number One, especially since my plan had backfired and he'd wandered off with Tabs. She was supposed to make him mad, and he was supposed to insist you go with him, but no such luck."

Ellington moaned. "Don't remind me."

"He is exceptionally hard to persuade," Jack said. "So I thought, if you were sick, he'd come running. At least that part worked."

Thinking back on the events of that morning, Ellington sighed shakily. "Yeah, well. Now it just hurts. I don't think this would hurt so much if that hadn't happened." She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms tightly around them. "It would have been better if I'd never come at all. Then I never would have had to go through this...or bother Bernard, either. I wish it hadn't happened..."

"You do?" said Jack, his bright blue adopting a falsely surprised look. "You mean, you wish you'd never come to the Pole at all?"

"Yeah...sort of. I wish I'd never come to the Pole."

"At all?"

Ellington gave him a dirty look. Cupid's arrow or not, she wasn't that confused. "I don't know what you're trying to pull over on me, Jack..."

"Sorry. Force of habit." Jack gave her a look almost as dubious. "I know you doubt my ability to be anything but a wily two faced snake, but trust me, it's there. I wasn't unfrozen for nothing, you know."

"Yes, but you're just as frozen as you were before, now," Ellington argued, then clutched at her head. "Ugh! I'm getting an awful headache."

"I'm sorry," said Jack sympathetically. Then he froze—figuratively, that is. "Oh dear. I entirely forgot...I've got to get down and speak with the Council."

"They won't be too happy to see you, after the Nightmare dust thing." Ellington sniffed. "What's the big hurry, anyway? You've been gone for days; why hurry back now?"

"My dear Ellington," Jack said, somewhat fondly. "Even when you are emotionally compromised, you have the most insightful questions."

With a glare, Ellington said, "Spiel, Jack."

With his eyes shining, Jack told the story. "Once I heard how angry the council was, I knew I needed to do something to make it better...after all, I only really wanted you two together. I needed to do something redeeming... and so I trekked way out here, up the mountains, to take a look at that dismal hunk of arctic waste." He pointed up at the ice. "It's weakening, Ellington. I can communicate with ice—yes, I know how weird that sounds, but you of all people should understand—and it told me that it doesn't have long."

"If you can communicate with it," Ellington said irritably, "Then why didn't you ask it what's weakening it in the first place?!"

"Patience, pet," Jack soothed. "I'm getting to it, give me a chance. Now, where was I? Oh yes: It doesn't have long. I listened closely to it, and do you know what I heard? Voices."

"Duh." Ellington was far from impressed.

"No, not duh," Jack chastised. "These voices were muttering angry things, bad things about Christmas. They told me that we only have until midnight on Christmas eve to stop it, or Christmas will be destroyed forever."

"Well, that's news." Ellington had a nasty feeling in her stomach.

"Yeah, well; it's really no surprise, if you think about it. Poetic justice, or whatnot. Anyway, the Voice. It was a female voice at first, but others were with it. And the I recognized it: your sister, Dorothy."

"Dottie?" Ellington frowned. "Dottie? I'm sorry; Dottie may be bitter, and she may be rude, but she isn't that influential."

"You're missing the point," said Jack impatiently. "You see: before you three ever came to the Pole, magic was drawing you here. It was The Emissary Clause; it needed to be fulfilled, and it had chosen you three as candidates for Bernard." There was a definite note of disdain in his tone when he said the Head Elf's name.

"Wait...what do you mean, 'candidates for Bernard'?"

Jack paused, and furrowed his brow. "You mean the Big Guy didn't tell you what The Emissary Clause was really about?"

"Um...Christmas spirit?"

A laugh. "Sounds so innocent, doesn't it? No, that's not what it's really about." Using that 'I-can-pull-stuff-out -of-thin -air -because -I'm -a -Legendary -Figure' trick, Jack produced The Santa Handbook from behind his back. "I borrowed this from you," he apologized.

"It's okay; I didn't exactly miss it. In fact I didn't realize it was missing. When Curtis passed it to me I was worried that carrying it around would eventually give me back problems, so I didn't. But anyway...The Clause?"

"The Clause. Well, read it for yourself." Jack opened the book to the correct page, and handed it to Ellington, along with his handkerchief.

"Thanks." Ellington wiped her eyes before reading aloud. " 'Rule 9,274, The Emissary Clause. Every 550 years, an emissary must be chosen from among humans to visit the North Pole, be they lonely or without cheer. All emissaries must be under the age of eighteen. All emissaries must be female. This practice must be observed every 550th year, with the exception of postponements. Such postponements may be made only by Santa or the Head Elf. This Clause has been created and endorsed by..." she paused.

"What?" Jack asked, knowing full well just what.

"It's signed, Nicholas of Myra," Ellington said, awestruck.

"Well, read on," Jack prompted. She wasn't to the good part yet.

" 'This Clause has been created and endorsed by Nicholas of Myra, on this twenty fourth day of the month of December, being Christmas eve of the year three hundred and forty four. All said Emissaries shall be considered candidates for matchmaking with...what?" The last what was Ellington's addition. She went on reading in silence.

'All said Emissaries shall be considered candidates for matchmaking with Theodulus, sometime Bernard, my spiritual child and beloved and trusty helper. This Clause shall bind him to select one of the maidens chosen by the Magic as a suitable bride. However, certain conditions may nullify some candidates, including (but not limited to) illness, great difference in age, or other unsuitable qualities, most notably, lack of true and unwavering Christmas Spirit.'

Wha...why didn't Santa tell me?! Or any of us girls? We deserved to know we were being set up with his Head Elf! This is complete bullshit!"

"Because he knew only one of you was even a candidate," Jack explained, ignoring her language. "Didn't you hear what it said? 'Certain conditions' may keep the girls from being candidates. And they did: 'great difference in age', 'lack of true and unwavering Christmas Spirit'? Those perfectly describe your sisters, don't they? That leaves only you as a 'candidate' at all."

"So...I was being set up with him from the beginning? To be his bride? " Ellington said. "That's...really cliché."

"Why yes, I'd say it is." Jack admitted, humorously.

"Hey...did Bernard know about this?"

Jack gave her a meaningful look. "You bet he did. He postponed it three times."

"So that's why he was avoiding me!" cried Ellington, suddenly understanding. It all made sense now. "He knew he was being paired up with me, and hated it!" The idea made her stomach turn. Bernard had hated the idea of being with her. In her 'Vulnerable' confusion, all of the kind, sweet things Bernard had done for her flew out of the window...especially as she was being heavily influenced by Jack's presence.

"A sad fact, my dear; but unavoidable. Despite our best efforts, Bernard remained...well, rather unwavering himself." Seeing Ellington tear up again, Jack added, "Too bad he didn't know a good thing when he saw one."

"He lied to me," Ellington whispered. "He told me that he wanted me to be here, that I was overreacting, misreading him. But... I wasn't. I wasn't wrong. Santa probably forced him to accept me as Number Two...and then he lied again, telling me it was his idea." If she had thought her heart was breaking before, it was nothing compared to now. Before, her heart had been broken in pieces. Now, it had been trampled into a million tiny shards. Like it was made of glass.

Ugh, stupid metaphors.

"I'm...so sorry," said Jack, in that falsely apologetic tone of his. But Ellington was too distraught to catch it. She felt like screaming, tearing her hair out, running for miles and miles again; anything to make the searing pain in her chest stop. She wanted it to stop...and for the thoughts of Bernard to get out of her head forever. She wanted to forget...to forget him forever...

And she didn't realize that she was projecting those thoughts directly into Jack's mind.

Damn telepathy. It never seemed to work in her favor anymore.

"I can make that happen."

Ellington looked up, surprised. "What...did you say?"

Jack gave her a small, sad smile, and said, "To forget him. I can make that happen."

Had she said that aloud? Before, Ellington would have shrunk away from any offer Jack had. But now she was desperate.

"How?"

"The same way you just made me hear your thoughts," stated Jack simply. "Your telepathy."

"My telepathy?" This repeating thing she was doing, under normal circumstances, would have made her face palm.

"Yes." Jack pointed skyward. "It works on that, too. The Unknown, as the Council has been calling it. Silly, really; it's nothing unknown at all. Just...hatred, plain and simple. Ill will, discontent, 'lack of Christmas Spirit'; whatever you want to call it. But you, and perhaps only you, can make it go away."

"How?" Ellington's comebacks were really suffering under the emotional strain.

"By projecting your thoughts—happy, Christmassy thoughts, mind you—much as you projected those miserable ones into mine. If you can drown out the angry ones, it should reverse their negative effects on the Pole."

"And...how does this make me forget B...B..." She stumbled over his name. Ellington couldn't bring herself to say it.

Jack sighed wistfully. "If I told you, it wouldn't work, I'm afraid. Remember the Nightmare dust? If I would have told you, then..."

"I get it, I get it," said Ellington quickly, not wanting to relive that again.

"So? Will you do it?"

Ellington sighed. She didn't have anything to lose now. Either she would have to stay at the Pole and lose her family, and Bernard, and everything; or she would be sent home, and lose her father, and Bernard, and everything. The odds weren't exactly in her favor, either way.

And with her mind as (unfortunately) Vulnerable as it was, it didn't take her long to decide.

"Yes," she agreed. "I'll go. I'll do it. Just...make me forget him."

Jack stood up, and offered her a hand. "Then let's go. We don't have any time to waste. The sooner the Polar Cap is restored, the better, right?"

Ellington took his hand, magically foregoing her Tauriel outfit and switching back into her elfin clothes...which in this case thankfully included tall black boots and a long, dark green pea coat. Her own curls, snow covered, had returned, her fully pointed ears peeking out from them. But her eyes—those bright, sparkling blue eyes that Jack adored—were reddened from weeping, and bore a heart breaking look in them. "Show me the way," she said quietly.

The snow fell softly around them as they climbed up the mountains; it was thick enough to block the sight of them from those in Elfsburg who were searching desperately for them... mainly, Ellington.

Bernard couldn't see her falling into Jack's trap.

He couldn't stop her.

And Ellington, for her part, didn't look back.

"Elle!" Having eliminated the Workshop, Bernard was running around Elfsburg, searching for his... "Elle! Ellington! Has anyone seen Number Two?" Gosh, did he like the sound of that now.

"Nope."

"Sorry, Bernard!"

"Dammit," Bernard muttered. She had been right when she had said, 'If I didn't want to be found, you wouldn't find me, plain and simple.'

He had been searching for over four hours already. This part of Elfsburg had been his last hope.

Then, just when he had decided to go back to the Workshop and ask the Council for some help, he got a horrible, tearing feeling in his stomach.

And a group of nearby elves gasped. "Look! The Polar Cap! It's..."

"Turning blue," Bernard finished, in disbelief.

The news spread like wildfire. Bernard had no doubt that already the Council and the others in the Workshop were out in the courtyard watching the transformation. In about five minutes, the Cap was fully blue again.

The cheering could be heard all throughout Elfsburg.

But Bernard felt very sick. His instinct told him that something was terribly wrong.

All of the elves began to move towards the Workshop, were Santa would probably give them an upbeat speech that Bernard didn't want hear just then. His Elle was missing, and the feeling he got thinking about her was very unsettled...wait, had he just called her 'his Elle'?!

The feeling grew exponentially worse, when, as the snow started to clear, Barnard saw Jack coming down the mountain, swinging something he definitely shouldn't have had.

Bernard cut right to the chase. "Where's Elle?" he demanded. "And...why do you have Father Time's pocket watch?"

Jack smiled an oily smile. "Quite impressive, isn't it?" he said, gesturing up at the Cap. "Your little girlfriend has quite the impressive mental talent herself, too. But...she's not really your girlfriend, is she? You're looking for something a little more...permanent in a relationship; aren't you, Mr. Elf Number One?"

Bernard clenched his fists in barely controlled rage. Jack had done something alright. "Where. Is. She?" he said through his teeth.

"Easy, easy," Jack laughed a cold, satisfied laugh. "Your darling Elle expressed a wish to me, to forget you entirely."

"What?" Bernard's face fell.

"Why yes. After the whole Tabitha incident, and after I showed her the entirety of The Emissary Clause—"

"You showed her the Clause?!" Bernard yelled.

Jack ignored him, and went on as if uninterrupted. "...Naturally, she felt pretty betrayed by you. She told me that her entire time here had been full of lies, that she had failed everyone, and that she wished it had never happened."

"No...no no no," muttered Bernard miserably. "It wasn't...she didn't even...augh!" He hid his face in his hands.

"And seeing as I just happened to have the tool to make that happen..." Jack swung the pocket watch in circles, chuckling to himself.

Bernard looked up, horrified. "You didn't."

"Oh yes I did!" squealed Jack gleefully. "I sent her right back to where everything started to go wrong...the night she came here, actually. And this time, she won't answer her front door. Her father will."

"But her father is sick," Bernard argued.

"Not in this time line," Jack said casually. "You see, I built the new time line off of what she wished her life was like at this point...a bit of a mercy, after your ill treatment. I think she'll find it a much better place than the one she left."

"How did you know how to...?"

"It was a cinch! You know, the others should really stop explaining their methods at Council meetings," said Jack, brimming with mirth. "It's too easy for me to disguise myself as some frost on the window ledge, and listen in on everything. Poor Father Time was too explanatory for his own good."

"You..." Bernard growled. But Jack was too preoccupied with himself to pay the elf the attention he should have, given the murderous expression on his face.

"Oh, lovely," Jack chuckled. "And if I did it correctly, we should be catching up with the time line right about..."

A low earthquake shook the entire town, and a clear ripple seamed to pass over their surroundings.

"Now," said Jack, looking immensely pleased. He gave Bernard a condescending look, and flung his arms out wide. "Welcome, Bernard, to December 19th, 2013: the alternate reality!" And he threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, Ellington would be pleased with the Trekkie goodness of this moment!"

She was gone. Elle was gone, living a new, better life somewhere, and she had no memory of him at all. Something inside of Bernard snapped, felt like it was breaking. At the same moment, Bernard lost his 'cool'...and with a cry of rage, he punched Jack square in the nose, hard.

So hard that Jack fell backwards into the snow with a howl of pain.

Frost clutched at his face, moaning. "Frostbite, you've got a punch." He withdrew his hand to reveal a large trickle of blood running down his face. He looked up in disbelief. "I thought you'd never do it."

Standing over him, shaking in anger, Bernard said, "Well, well. My suspicion that you were blue blooded was correct, after all." His eyes were hard. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time." And without another word, he turned and stalked in the direction of the Workshop.

Before he had gone many paces, Jack, still on his butt in the snow, called, "I know you'll go after her."

Bernard stopped in his tracks.

"But she'll never fall for you a second time. Her heartbreak ensures it. Just ask Cupid."

"Thanks," Bernard called back over his shoulder, "For giving me another chance to prove you wrong." But as he ran off, he prayed that Jack wasn't right.

It took him twenty minutes to get back to the Workshop. Santa and the others were gathered outside in the courtyard, just as he'd expected.

"Bernard!" Carol cried, relieved. "We were so worried!"

"What happened?" Scott asked.

"Annise just disappeared!" Curtis yelled. "Into thin air, right when that earthquake happened!"

"Our costumes are gone!" Abby said sadly.

"And the Polar Cap!" Mother Nature exclaimed. "It's been repaired!"

"You look like hell!" Cupid announced. Everyone else stopped talking, and saw he was right. Bernard looked terrible.

"Yeah well, I feel even worse than I look, if that tells you anything." Bernard rubbed his face. "Look, Jack's back. He created an alternate time line, and put us through it."

All eyes flew to Father Time, who was checking his pockets. "Tricks and time warps," he muttered, "literally. Jack stole my pocket watch."

"Elle—Ellington's not here anymore," Bernard said. " Neither is Annise, or Dorothy. They're living somewhere else. And Santa," he looked seriously at Scott, "she found out about the Clause."

Quentin suddenly burst out of the Workshop's double doors. "Santa! He cried. "All of the toys we'd completed early are gone! Our production level has dropped to normal yearly rates! We're thousands of toys short again!"

"Makes sense," Father Time commented. "In this time line, Ellington wasn't here."

"Great," said Scott sarcastically. "So: we're hopelessly behind schedule, we've no idea where Ellington is, no way to get her back, and Christmas is in six days! Six days!" He threw up his hands. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going after her."

Scott turned to Bernard. "What?"

"Ellington. I'm going after her."

And the look on Bernard's face told them that no one would be able to convince him otherwise.

Whaaaaaaat!

I think Jack has a fetish for screwing up shit. That, and messing with time lines.

It just seemed right.

And yay/sigh/cheer! I finally made it to the part I've been dying to write.

What does Ellington wish her life is like at this point?

Will Bernard be able to find her?

What does this mean for the two of them?

OMFG this is gonna be fun.

Hope you guys liked it. Chapter 10 won't be long coming, don't worry.

Thoughts? Reviews? Comments? Please! I miss hearing from the greater majority of you.

Hope you're all having a great Christmas Day.

Cheers!

-Ana