Well, this story has stretched out a LOT longer than I had planned. You all can thank Pandora from Archive of Our Own (and another friend over Discord whose literary name/names I do not know) for convincing me to finish up this next chapter. Not to worry; I'm still working on Something Stinks. Hopefully, though, I can get this one wrapped up before it's time for Christmas in July! lol Happy Reading!
"Everyone from poor raggedy shepherds to rich and powerful kings... to conniving thieves (can experience Christmas)."
Mrs. Martin, 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas
Once when Judy was a very young doe, she had seen a cartoon about spiders – and one in particular which dangled over its prey and then sprang on them with an outstretched web like a fishermammal casting a net. With Nick and Taelia gone, the party felt like such an arachnid, giant-sized, was hanging over the whole proceeding.
It was the last place in the world one would have expected to hear music… but there it was.
Tikhaya noch' svyataya noch'
Vse spokoyno, vse svetlo
Vokrug etoy devstvennoy materi i rebenka
Svyatoy mladenets takoy nezhnyy i myagkiy
Son v Nebesnom mire
Son v Nebesnom mire
The words were strange, but the melody was unquestionably 'Silent Night.' But who would be singing at a time like this? everyone wondered.
One by one, heads turned toward the source of the sound. When the singer became clear, Judy's jaw dropped.
Vanya?!
It was Vanya indeed, head tilted downward as if to draw the notes up from deep in her body. Her singing voice sounded – to Judy's rather jaded ears, at least – more accustomed to singing sultry tunes in night clubs and seedy bars than Christmas carols at a benefit party. Yet for all that, there was a curious and haunting beauty to it as she trolled out the familiar melody of 'Silent Night' in a language Judy had never heard.
The vixen paused, looked around, and spread her paws in a show of mild irritation. "Well, why the staring?" she asked. "You think Jolly Old Saint Nick would want to leave us like this?" Then, unabated, she continued her song.
Tikhaya noch' svyataya noch'
Pastukhi drozhat pri vide
Slava, tekushchaya s Neba izdaleka
Nebesnyye khozyayeva poyut Alliluyya
Khristos Spasitel' rodilsya
Khristos Spasitel' rodilsya
As she sang on, one or two voices joined in singing in English. Then came more, and more. Violet's voice could be heard in the medley, and Jordy's too. No one was more surprised than Judy, however, when she found herself singing the familiar tune.
Tikhaya noch' svyataya noch'
Syn Bozhiy, chistyy svet lyubvi
luchistyye luchi ot tvoyego svyatogo litsa
S rassvetom iskupitel'noy blagodati
Iisus, Gospod' pri tvoyem rozhdenii,
Iisus, Gospod' pri tvoyem rozhdenii
After 'Silent Night,' they segued into, 'Jolly Old Saint Nicholas,' and then 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas.' It wouldn't be just to say that everyone felt fine... but it wouldn't be fair to say no one felt better.
After a few more carols, Vanya – who had slipped into the crowd during the singing – appeared at the Bingo table. "Well," she called in a voice which would have made a lot more sense coming from almost anyone else under the circumstances, "anyone up for games?"
The whole thing was more than the rabbit officer could take in. I need to go sit down, she thought.
For the rest of the party, Vanya's strange behavior continued. She wasn't exactly as tender as the Ghost of Christmas Past, nor as jolly as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Still, she seemed at least to be trying to do an impression of Taelia instead of her own usual snide, cynical demeanor. Judy would have traded her right ear to know what was going on, torn as she found herself between hoping that the Christmas spirit had finally taken hold of her old foe and fearing that this was just preparation for some sudden but inevitable betrayal.
Vanya, however, seemed determined to keep her in the dark. Every time Judy tried to get her aside for a minute to talk, the vixen pointed out that they had a party to manage. When that failed – that is, when Judy almost managed to catch her unoccupied – she seemed almost to melt away and slip off somewhere before the doe could get to her. Indeed, with her performance that night it was a wonder that she'd ever been successfully arrested.
Oddly enough, the rest of the "What do you want for Christmas" part ran much more smoothly, with Judy, Mr. Prongsy, and even Vanya dividing up the remaining youngsters. Judy kept glancing at Vanya, and even as her suspicions of a trick ebbed, her curiosity and confusion threw her mind around like so much laundry in a dryer. Even with the weight of the smaller kits hopping into her lap, she had to pinch herself or bite her lip now and then to convince herself this was all real. What in the world is going on here?
Towards the end, the vixen did something which really surprised the bunny. "I'd like to say something," she called out when, to the untrained observer, it seemed as though she had ended up near Judy by chance. Once she had everyone's attention, she went on. "Earlier, I made a few remarks here and there to watch Mrs. Claws do a magic trick. I was joking; just a little bit of fun. However, I'm sorry I did it in light of all that's happened." She turned to Judy and gave a sad smile. "Carrots, since you're running the show at this point, will you tell Mrs. Claws I'm sorry when you see her?"
Judy was somewhat at a loss. It definitely wasn't Vanya's style to confess without so much as an accusation, and it was hard to tell whether she was actually sorry or just covering her tracks. About the only thing that made any sense was the slight emphasis on Judy's nickname; Vanya was clearly milking that opportunity for her own enjoyment.
So it's not a sudden case of Christmas Spirit, Judy reflected. Not a total one, anyway.'
Lacking anything close to a conclusive theory, she decided to roll with it and just nod. "I'll give her the message," she promised. Then, hissing under her breath, she added, "But would you mind telling me why-?"
Vanya whipped her head around at some alleged crisis across the room by the snack tables. "Excuse me, Carrots. Hey, kid! No double-dipping! Grab a sample cup for that!"
Hmph, fumed the rabbit. Maybe she's just doing this to drive me crazy.
At that moment, Judy's phone buzzed in her pocket. "Oh, that must be Ni- uh, Saint Nick," she said, fumbling with her words even as she fumbled for the phone. "Let's see, let's see- there!" She managed to pull the phone out and smack the "Accept" icon before the third ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, Carrots," Nick reported in a low voice with a kind of draggy feeling to it.
Uh-oh, thought Judy. Does that tone mean he's just tired from the post-coffee crash, or…?
"Boss!" she blurted, remembering that she had to be in character. "What's the news?" Please be good news. Please be good news.
"Well, the doctors had to put a camera down Mrs. Claws' throat to be on the safe side…"
Judy winced, glad that she hadn't put the call on speakerphone. She knew how much fun it wasn't to be checked out with a gastroscope. "Give it to me straight, Santa," she pleaded. "What's the verdict?"
Nick's voice was glum and weary. "Well…" Then he brightened into a tired-yet-satisfied tone. "It looks like everything is just fine."
At those words, the bunny felt ready to collapse. She's okay, she thought. Then the words erupted from her mouth. "She's okay!"
Nick's next words were drowned out in the loud cheering that filled the party.
"Wait! Wait! Quiet everyone!" Judy called, waving her free paw. "What was that again?" she asked once the noise subsided.
"I said we'll be taking a cab back to your folks' house, so I guess we'll see you there. Hope you don't mind grabbing our things before you leave."
Judy assured him that it would be no problem on her end, and wished him and Taelia a merry Christmas before ending the call.
As the party finally broke up, everyone was at last in high spirits – or almost everyone. As she and her siblings tried to direct traffic through the coat room, Judy detected a slight tumult involving a pair of rabbit parents and two girl kits who obviously did not want to part ways for the night.
"I want her to come home with us!" cried one, her markings clearly matching her up with the parents. The other, slightly smaller and locked in a hug with her, had a not-quite-daring-to-hope look in her eyes as she avoided directly meeting her friend's family's gaze.
The father was obviously trying to pry his daughter away. "Sweetheart, she has to go back to the orphanage now. This isn't like taking in a lizard off the street."
"Actually," Judy interrupted, breaking in on the tender scene, "There's an elk over there who can help. If you want to, I'm sure he'd be glad to help you out with the adoption – or at least bringing..." she tried to get a look at the other's nametag, but it was hidden from view. "What's your name?" she asked, crouching to look the bunny in the eye.
"Alice," said the bunny.
"Bringing Alice to spend Christmas with you," Judy finished.
The father looked uncertain. The mother looked relieved. Their daughter looked ecstatic. "Could we?!" she cried.
Judy nodded. "Come on. We'd better ask him; he has to go now – and you'll need some time to pack if you're going to go somewhere," she added to the orphan.
Alice looked hopeful, albeit with the kind of hope of one who had seen her share of potential foster homes. "Okay," she relented.
While this was going on, Vanya had almost managed to slip out the door with the departing kids. The elk, however, was just stopping her when Judy came up and the kits poured out their story.
"Oh yes," the elk agreed, sticking out a foot to hinder Vanya from leaving. "Alice – and her brothers and sister, if you're willing – are up for visits or adoption." He fished in his pocket and drew out a card. "Call me tonight or swing by tomorrow, and we'll see if we can work something out."
The kits squealed with delight and hugged one another until Judy gently separated them.
"We'll come tomorrow," promised the father. "Rain or sleet or snow; we'll at least stop by to visit."
Alice smiled, then slipped off to join the others from her group.
"Well, I think I'll be going," Vanya offered.
"Hold on a minute, Vanya," the elk ordered, and then bade the family depart. The daughter ran off to find her brothers and sisters, eager to tell them of the next day's outing.
Vanya looked up at her supervisor calmly, indifferent to whatever he might be about to tell her.
"You did a good job tonight," he said sincerely. "I had my doubts about even bringing you, but I'm glad I did."
The vixen waved a paw. "Oh, I'm sure it was just a flash in the pan," she answered cavalierly.
Judy frowned to hide a skeptical smile. "Really?" she asked. "Why's that?"
There was a smile in Vanya's eyes – the kind that usually hid a chuckle. "Oh, you two wouldn't understand it – but, since you must have an explanation, the truth is that I lost my motivation." Enjoying the confusion on Judy's face, she went on, "There's not much pleasure in making someone miserable when you just get upstaged by Lady Luck. It takes away all the satisfaction and gloating. Being helpful isn't my usual way, but it was better than nothing."
Judy frowned at this – genuinely this time – and glanced up at the elk. He sighed wearily and shrugged, but winked at Judy. The message was pretty clear: as usual, Vanya wasn't telling the whole truth.
Judy decided to play on the deception. "Well, do us all a favor: let your nice side show more often."
Vanya laughed. "Why on earth would I want to do that?" she asked derisively.
"Oh, I don't know," said Judy, sticking out a paw. "I just think it's nice to be able to part as friends for once."
The vixen snorted and rolled her eyes, but she shook the paw. "They do say you go easier on your friends," she observed.
Judy huffed and folded her arms. "That's blackmail," she accused.
Vanya chuckled and turned toward the bus. "That's right. Merry Christmas."
It seemed as though the exchange was over, but boarding the bus Vanya found herself plagued by a strange hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked out the window several times as her supervisor did the head count. Oddly enough, Judy was still standing out there, scrunching her face as if trying to figure out what kind of footing this put them on. If Nick had been out there she would have winked at him; maybe blown him a kiss just to annoy him.
Then she knew what was eating her, and she climbed up a little higher. Tugging at the window latches, she slid it don far enough to stick her muzzle out.
"Carrots," she called. "Just out of curiosity, what does he see in her?"
Judy stared up at her, her confusion renewed. "What?"
"Taelia," Vanya clarified, growing annoyed. If she had spent an evening playing nice, she might as well get some information out of it. "What's she got that I haven't? How did she catch Nick?"
Judy put a paw to her chin, deliberately drawing out her answer to make Vanya worry that the bus would leave too soon. At last she cupped her paws to her mouth. "I think it's that she respects him!"
The vixen rolled her eyes as the bus started to pull away. "Of course; the male ego."
Watching the bus leave and Vanya withdraw her head, Judy just shook her head. In a way, Vanya's bit of playing nice had worked. It was a cinch they'd cross paths again, probably on opposite sides, but next time... well, next time Judy might be a little gentler with the pawcuffs.
Vanya's actions here are, in part, a nod to the Christmas Truce in World War I, when the sound of German soldiers singing "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht" in their tongue) led to a cease-fire, the exchange of gifts, and even a game of soccer/football. Unfortunately, this did not sit well with the opposing generals, and steps were taken (with only limited success) to avoid such incidents for the rest of the war. For my own version, I chose to put Vanya's singing in Russian rather than German because that seemed more natural with her being an Arctic fox. It helped that the German lyrics are much easier to get ahold of, and that I supposed other people might be interested in the Russian version too; 'Silent Night,' in my opinion, sounds great in any language. On a side note, if you want to hear some really beautiful music, look up "Celtic Women Stille Nacht" on YouTube. You may want to bring Kleenex.
There's a reference here to 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas, the Christmas episode of The Adventures of McGee and Me which I quoted at the start of the chapter. I won't treat it as an Easter Egg because it's so obscure, but the exchange between Judy and Vanya about "blackmail" is an echo of a couple of remarks swapped between an art teacher and a school bully. If you haven't seen it or any of the other episodes of McGee and Me, I highly recommend them. I actually think 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas is the best Christmas special of all time, surpassing even It's Christmastime Charlie Brown. Yeah, you read that right.
So, it looks as if this little Christmas Catastrophe ended pretty nicely for everyone… but then, looks can be deceiving. There's still one mess to untangle; the one, in fact, which gave me the whole idea for this story. Anybody want to guess what it is?
Speaking of guessing games, I don't know if I want to count this as an Eastr Egg - but does the cartoon referenced in the first paragraph ring any bells?
