Dark Prospects

Warnings: Possible spoilers for SC1 and 2.

Genre: Romance

Pairings: Bernard/Noel

Rating: PG-13 to be safe

A/N: My first SC fic. Please be nice.

Chapter 1: Noel

The entire workshop was dead silent. Anyone would be a bit surprised if a strange Human girl suddenly appeared out of no where in what was supposed to be a strictly secret organization.

Bernard studied her. She was definitely human; her ears were completely round like Santa's. She was very thin as though it had been a matter of weeks since her last meal. She had pale blonde hair all the way down to her knees (he'd never seen hair so long!) and dark blue eyes that were only a few shades from black. The girl wore an odd outfit, consisting of a dark brown, nearly sleeveless, shirt that looked almost like part of a battle suit, long blackish gloves that seemed to match the shirt, black jean shorts, and tall black boots. She had dark circles under her eyes and was overall in horrible condition.

It had been a moderately normal day in the North Pole when they all heard a loud crash. From the looks on the other elves' faces, Bernard assumed this girl had just appeared, but how could a mere human possibly do something like that?

The girl shakily got to her feet and it was only then that the Head Elf noticed she was carrying what looked like a heavy duffel bag and thought to help her. Santa beat him to it. Scott rushed over to her and offered to hold the bag, which she hesitated to, but finally let him carry for her.

Scott nodded at him quickly before leading the girl away, indicating that he follow. Bernard obediently trailed behind them while trying to divert the other elves' attention, which was, of course, a lost cause.

"Are you all right?" Scott asked worriedly as soon as the three of them were alone in Scott's office. "Who are you? What happened?"

Bernard blinked. He didn't know who she was? Wasn't Santa supposed to know every human child? True, she was more of a young lady than a child—maybe fourteen—but still…

The girl scowled. "I'm fine. I'm called Noel, and I… ended up here somehow. I don't know how." It was odd how she didn't even bother to try and make her lie convincing.

"Where do you live?" Bernard asked wearily.

Noel turned to him and shrugged evasively. She stared dully at the floor, her thin layer of bangs falling over her eyes, shielding them from the elf's view. She didn't seem surprised in the least that she was talking to Santa Clause and an elf. That wasn't extremely uncommon among children, but it was almost unheard of for someone her age. Almost.

"That's not an answer." Bernard said flatly, his patience already waning.

Noel turned on him sharply. "I don't have to answer to you."

Scott gave the Head Elf a look and said gently, "Will you please give us some kind of answer?"

She considered him for a moment and decided to comply. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you come here?" Scott asked. "How did you get here?"

"I told you I don't know." She said mildly. "Any real questions?"

"Where do you live?" Scott repeated Bernard's question.

Noel shrugged. "Not here."

"Would you be more specific?" Santa's patience never seemed to thin.

"Probably not."

Scott sighed. "Who are your parents?"

"They're dead."

"I'm sorry. Who are your guardians?"

She shrugged vaguely. "Don't be sorry, they brought it on themselves. And I don't have any."

"Well who do you live with then?" Scott questioned, perplexed.

Noel looked away, clearly meaning she would discuss the subject no further.

"Would you like to stay here?" Santa asked finally seeing he would get no more out of her at the time. Bernard glanced at his boss incredulously. A human at the North Pole!

The girl glanced at Bernard. When she saw his clearly disapproving look, an unreadable expression flickered across her pointed features. "I don't have anywhere else to be, so I might as well…"