Author's Notes: Here's the third chapter! I'm sorry if it comes across as rushed. I want to put up as many chapters for this story during the month as possible, so I've been trying to write at least 500 words per day. There are also other stories to work on, so combine that with work, trying to exercise 30 minutes a day, and other stuff… Well, please don't be surprised if the last chapter is posted several months in the future.

Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Tyki and Ellen get to meet at the very end! Oh, and please leave a review if you have anything to say about this story. Please and thank you!

Chapter Three: Candy Canes

-xXx-

Several minutes ago

"Hmm…" Ellen tapped her chin with her left index finger and readjusted the left earbud of a pair currently streaming a playlist of her favorite songs from iHeartRadio. After wearing Timcanpy out with playtime until he fell asleep and checking the contents of her refrigerator (dinner was most likely going to be beef stew from the pressure cooker), the young woman went back downstairs to start on her lengthy to-do list for the shop. She quickly decided that storing Mr. Kamelot's order should be the first task to complete, given that it was both time-sensitive and time-consuming.

As such, she was now standing in front of a long table (situated in the space next to the hallway leading to the storage room, kitchen, and front room) which barely had a centimeter devoid of sweets. Stacked next to it were the nine cardboard boxes she had shown to Lenalee earlier.

'Alright, the toffees and truffles without fruits or nuts can go straight to the freezer,' the confectioner thought while separating said sweets from the others. This was easy to do, given that she had a simple system for sweets' identification. Whether made of cellophane, plastic, or kraft paper, each type of container bore at least one symbol that foretold their contents' identity and/or optimal storage conditions. The fruit and nut-free truffles and toffees, for example, were each marked with a blue snowflake – indicating the ability to freeze them without worry.

Now, this identification system did require more work on Ellen's part. Paperboard boxes could simply have the symbols stamped onto their white undersides. But plastic containers and cellophane required special stickers to be printed up and placed on at a time. Despite all that, however, they did help cut down on time spent on sorting them out from one another. And some of her customers also appreciated how the symbols helped them organize and keep their purchases fresher for longer.

With the first group of sweets safely packed into a box placed on a metal drink trolley she'd received as a gag gift from Daisya last year, Ellen turned back to the table and randomly selected a box that could fit in the palm of her hand from the rest. Turning it over triggered a sound akin to rain striking the ground and revealed a stamp of tiny polka dots within a circle – the symbol for jelly beans.

Ellen walked over to the thermostat and checked the current temperature. The display showed '16 degrees Celsius': the lower end of the range for room temperature.

'They can be left in the storage room, then,' she decided before returning to the table and boxing the new batch of sweets. 'Though some might need to be moved to the walk-in fridge should the storage room grow too full.'

And that was the process for the next several minutes. By the end, Ellen had one box of sweets heading for the freezer, two for the fridge, and the rest staying in the storage room.

"Perfect," the young woman happily sighed to herself as she took a step back. But then a slightly anxious feeling flit across her. While she had yet to receive an e-mail telling her that Mr. Kamelot was cancelling his order, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't do so, either. After all, there were still roughly nine hours left in the day – plenty of time for him to change his mind at the last minute.

The young woman pondered this conundrum for a few more seconds, then shook her head in dismissal. 'Ultimately, Ellen, it's out of your hands,' she reminded herself as she moved away from the table and grabbed the trolley's handle. 'Worrying about it further will help no one, least of all you.'

The confectioner started pushing the trolley in the direction of the kitchen. But before she even reached the storage room, her silver-grey eyes fell upon the pine door to the supply closet; a tiny room where she kept cleaning supplies for the shop and other miscellaneous items that didn't belong upstairs. Among those other items were a snow shovel and a few large bags of sand.

Ellen blinked and turned her gaze from the supply closet to inspect the trolley. It came up to her waist and had two shelves, the top one currently carrying the boxes of freezable or refrigerable sweets.

'Well… I did scatter some sand on the steps earlier this morning, but I'll still need more for the shoveling once the snow stops,' she thought to herself. 'And with some rearrangements, I think I can fit one bag onto here.'

Nodding to herself, the young woman made a detour to the supply closet and retrieved a bag of sand. Then, after all the sweets were moved to the lower shelf, she easily picked up the heavy bag and laid it flat on the top shelf.

With that done, Ellen gave the trolley a test push. Naturally, the sand added resistance to her pushing, but she could still manage to move the trolley without hardship.

'Alright, then,' the confectioner thought as she resumed her journey to the kitchen. 'Back to work.'

Once the sweets were stored in either the freezer or the fridge, the confectioner entered the shop's front room via the door behind the sales counter. Additional maneuvering needed to be undertaken, due to the tight space in between the wall and counter as well as the counter gate and flap, but she nevertheless managed to cross the room with the trolley and reached the shop's entrance.

Ellen lifted the bag from the trolley and carefully placed it near the door. Once she was sure that the bag wouldn't slide down the wall, she stood back up and made a circuit around the room. Her eyes swept over every shelf and table, carefully taking in just how the sweets were arranged and displayed within the available space.

Though the nearly arrived blizzard effectively ended the workday early, the shop still saw several customers coming in to purchase sweets. And of course, it was possible not everyone who entered received their goods in a legal manner. Sweets were incredibly easy to steal, and while she had several prevention methods in place – signs, mirrors, security cameras and a counter which faced the entrance – there were still moments when a shoplifter could go unnoticed.

Thankfully, the confectioner could see no obvious signs of theft from this preliminary inspection. It was still possible that theft had happened, and only her taking inventory and reviewing security footage could definitively prove or disprove any assumptions made. But the visual absence of robbery did make her feel a bit better.

Ellen was just about to retrieve her trolley when she noticed something rather odd with the green tablecloth covering one of the display tables. Instead of hanging straight down and nearly brushing the floor, there was one small area where the tablecloth's hemline curved out and around – a clear indication that something was hidden underneath.

Lifting the tablecloth quickly confirmed that possibility, as the confectioner was greeted by the sight of a Christmas bauble lying on its side.

'Huh?' she thought, picking the red ball depicting a snowman up and looking at its previous home: a Christmas tree set up in the corner by the shop window. Four feet of distance separated Ellen's current location from the tree. 'How did this get over here?'

The young woman mentally reviewed the day's events in search of an answer. The only moment that truly stood out was Emilia and Timothy's visit thirty minutes before Lenalee's. While Ellen and Emilia had been distracted with the purchase of a few boxes of candy canes, Timothy used the opportunity to… cheekily handle Emilia's top assets. Emilia, however, did not appreciate his action, and expressed her opinion by chasing the nine-year-old boy around the shop before delivering a punch on the top of his head. Thankfully for Ellen, their antics did very little damage to her shop; the most that happened was the light jostling of shelves and tables as they brushed past.

'At least, that's what I thought,' Ellen amended in her head. 'I guess the sound of the ornament falling to the ground was covered up by Emilia's angry shouts and Timothy's cries. I suppose I should be grateful it's made of plastic and not glass…'

Pulling up to the Christmas tree, the confectioner's silver-grey quickly looked it over for space to hang the bauble up.

'I can put it over there,' she decided after finding a nude branch hanging off the tree's right side. Because the branch was easily in arm's reach, Ellen merely bent over and carefully hooked the bauble on without disturbing the other decorations.

But just as the young woman let the Christmas ornament go, she was startled by a loud shout and thud overriding Ariana Grande's "no tears left to cry". "What was that?" she questioned out loud, then removed the earbuds and put them into her right trouser pocket.

Now that Ellen was no longer listening to her personal playlist, she could hear both the Christmas playlist playing over the shop's speakers and the barking of Timcanpy from upstairs. Still, neither of them could have produced the sounds that just captured her attention. As such, she moved to the shop window and peered outside to find an additional source.

And it was a good thing she did. For right in front of the steps, there was someone lying on their side as snowfall diligently worked to bury them.

Alarmed by the sight, Ellen rushed to grab her parka and headed for the door. The young woman had just managed to put her hood when she crossed the threshold and hurried towards the stranger.

Though the veil of snow was very dense, she still could see that the stranger – a man, judging by his physique – had managed to push himself into a sitting position, but did nothing else besides clutching his right shoulder and letting out a hiss of pain.

Sighing with relief over the fact that the man was at least still conscious, the confectioner walked up to and kneeled beside him. She then gently laid a hand on his left arm to get his attention…

And, for a long second, was left absolutely mesmerized once she saw his face.

It was an honestly embarrassing reaction for Ellen, given that she was a grown woman; not a schoolgirl prone to becoming tongue-tied in the presence of the opposite sex. Still, she couldn't help it – the man was just so bloody handsome! Dark, wavy hair; flawless hazelnut skin; a finely sculpted jawline – those were just some of the physical features that caused her mouth to go dry and her heart to skip a beat.

But what had truly captivated the young woman were his eyes. Those golden irises glowed brighter than the light from the windows and lamp behind them. And when they settled upon Ellen, she felt as if this man could see underneath her thick parka and hood – all the way to her nude skin…

The long second did eventually end, however, and the confectioner was left feeling foolish for practically mooning over a stranger while heavy snowfall continued to cover them.

'Get ahold of yourself, Ellen! This man requires assistance, not gawking.'

With that mental scolding delivered, Ellen softly cleared her throat and sent him a reassuring smile.

The young woman belatedly noticed the soft crunching of snow coming from above, but kept her attention on him as she asked, "Are you all right, sir?"

- xXx -

Cultural Notes

Kraft paper – Paper or paperboard made from chemical pulp that's produced by the kraft process (an eight-step procedure that includes treating wood chips with hot water, sodium hydroxide, and sodium sulfide). Comes in several varieties (sack, spinning, hunting cartridge, etc.) but each are known for having good strength and/or durability.

16 degrees Celsius – Rounds up to 61 degrees Fahrenheit.

Trolley (UK) – Another name for a rolling cart.

Sand on the steps – Putting sand down on snow or icy roads provides traction, which is helpful during shoveling. Unlike salt, however, the sand can't melt snow. So, it must be reapplied if the first layer gets buried by additional snow.