Sorry this has taken so long to write, but last month was NaNoWriMo, and I did manage to write all 30,000 words last month. Then, after I tried to finish up this chapter, I sprained my wrist, so writing has been impossible for the last week.
But the chapter is done and just in time for Christmas!
Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!
OCs © to me!
Chapter 12: O Tannenbaum
"Vér vilja þér ettsvat kátr Jóla-aptann! Vér vilja þér ettsvat kátr Jóla-aptann! Vér vilja þér ettsvat kátr Jóla-aptann! Ok eittsvat bliðr nyr ár(1)!"
Xehanort looked up from where he sat, smirking at Eraqus' singing. With Christmas around the corner, Master Sato cut training down to celebrate, and Eraqus was having a great time.
"Happ tiðendi á þér, á þér ok þinn kind, happ tiðendi til Jóla-aptann ok ettsvat bliðr nyr ár!"
The silver haired boy stared out the window as the boy continued to sing loudly. His eyes studied the stars overhead and for just a minute, he wondered about his family back on the islands.
"Missing home?" Sato sat down, his arms full of garland to string around the library.
"A little. I wonder what they're doing right now… Does my family even miss me, even at this time of year." His eyes threatened to spill tears over as much as he fought them.
His fellow student dropped a Santa hat upon his friend's head. "I'm sure they do. It is Christmas time after all."
Pushing up the Santa hat, Xehanort huffed. "Sure." Grabbing a handful of garland, he tossed it backwards, relishing in the sputtering he heard as he landed a direct hit in Eraqus' face.
"Why don't you two take a trip." Sato smiled, picking up the garland from around Eraqus. "We need to go get the tree anyway…"
"THE TREE!" Eraqus grabbed his fellow student's arm, jerking him off the seat with such vigor that Xehanort barely found his footing in time.
He huffed. "Seriously…?"
"This is going to be amazing! Have you ever seen a Christmas tree before?"
"Not a real one. The islands are too hot for that."
"Then let's go now!"
"It's almost time for bed!"
"Who cares!?"
"Me!"
A hand landed on both boy's shoulders. "Go in the morning, and take as long as you need. Anyways, it will give you time to pick out presents for a certain master that you both still have not gotten a gift for."
Well that wasn't subtle at all.
"Then let's get to bed now!" Eraqus dragged Xehanort down the hall.
"I thought you didn't want to go to bed!?"
"Plans change!"
"Where are we going anyway?" Xehanort yawned.
"The best place ever!" Eraqus held up the star shard with a wide grin.
Best place ever? That did not answer his question. But, whatever. Anything to distract him from thinking about home. Even taking that demon rock they called a star shard. The more he saw that thing in use, the less he liked it.
It felt like his insides were getting jerked around when he used it. After returning from Moana's world, Xehanort had trained with it. He didn't have a Keyblade glider, so it was his only form of transport off world, and it made him not want to leave the world ever again.
But it couldn't be helped.
"Make sure the old man sends you home before Christmas Eve."
"Of course he will, but I wouldn't call him that if I were you, Master."
"You're right."
Who were they talking about?
"Ready to go, Xehanort?"
"Go where!?"
"Just put your hand on the stupid rock!"
"Have fun you two!"
The silver-haired boy rolled his eyes before grabbing the rock. Something inside him said he would regret this trip. As his stomach lurched, the rock dragging the two of them away from Scala.
This was going to suck.
…
Or so he thought.
Puff.
Xehanort landed face first into something fluffy and very, very cold.
"Pft! What the!?"
He sat up shaking his head. When his eyes opened, his jaw fell open. He saw a soft night sky glittering with stars. All around was a white powdery substance. He himself sad knee-deep in the stuff.
"Wait," his eyes sparkled at the shimmering new sight, "is this, snow?"
Eraqus laughed. "Oh yeah, you grew up on an island. Is this your first time seeing snow?"
"Uh huh…"
The boy lifted up his hand to look at the snow before he paused. His hand looked a little… off. Gloves?
Actually, looking over himself, his entire outfit looked different. His coat now had sleeves and was a deep red. The inside of his hood, the lining of his coat, and the crossing straps that held the coat closed were a soft chestnut brown. His pants were black and shoes were brown. On his hands, the first thing that caught his eyes, were a bright yellow with a black zigzag running horizontally across his hand.
"Cool huh!?"
Eraqus stretched out a gloved hand to help him up.
His outfit changed too. His coat was a burnt orange with green lining and crossing straps. His shoes and pants were the same as Xehanort's, and his gloves were bright red with black horizontal stripes going across them(2).
"Why do we look like this?"
"Magic. The world changes us to fit in. Remember the lesson on the world order?"
"Yeah…"
"Though, this world knows of other worlds, so I guess it's more just for fun."
"But why would we come here for a Christmas tree?"
Eraqus pointed.
Turning around, Xehanort's eyes widened as a sight fell out before him. A sight that one could only call magical.
A small town of red brick buildings all draped with colorful lights. Giant candy canes, carousels, and other things colorful and joyful. All dusted with snow. Small people, dressed in green and red skittered about.
"Wh-what is this? Where are we?"
Eraqus grinned, pulling his friend up. "I hope you're on the nice list."
Nice list?
Wait…
"No… no. You're not serious?"
Eraqus laughed, but the laughter faded. "Wait. You don't… you don't believe in Santa?"
"No, I don't. My father made it clear from when I was a baby that Santa did not exist. So, are you trying to tell me that Santa is real?"
"Yes! That's his house down there."
No way.
No way in heck.
"Come on!" The younger boy grabbed his friend, pulling him down the hill.
The two boys floundered through the snow, nearly tripping down the hill. As they attempted to run through snow that came up to their knees. As the boys came closer, the small people, the elves, stopped, looking over at the boys.
"Eraqus is here!" A small elf grabbed the sleeve of a taller one.
"Eraqus!"
The boys sloshed through the snow, the younger one waving to the elves. "Buddy! Hermey(3)!"
"Where is Master Sato?" The taller elf cocked his head to the side.
"He sent me with my new friend. This is Xehanort; he's a new student of Master Sato's."
Buddy, the taller elf grinned. "Nice to meet you, Xehanort."
"Excuse me!" Another elf, this one with a dark green beret over his dark curly hair, stomped over. "You two are supposed to be working. I know Eraqus is a friend, but if you two are slacking this close to Christmas, I will give you both a demerit."
"Yes, Bernard(4)."
The two scattered, leaving the boys with the other elf, Bernard. "Good to see you, squirt."
"I'm a little big for that nickname, don't you think?"
"Not in the least, Eraqus. Who's your friend?"
Rather than let the chipper other student speak for him again, Xehanort spoke. "My name is Xehanort. I'm the newest apprentice of Master Sato. The master sent us here for a Christmas tree, but I didn't know that we would be coming to a place like this."
"Nice to meet you, Xehanort. Now, if you want a tree, go talk to the big man. I have to keep everything else on schedule." The elf quickly strode away, immediately yelling at another elf to get back to work.
Not surprising, the little clock over the door to Santa's house, read ten days till Christmas.
"Sure I can go in?"
"Why wouldn't you?" Eraqus cocked his head to the side. "Oh... because you didn't believe in Santa? Don't worry. Santa is a real nice guy, and since it's mostly the fault of your jerk of a father, I think he will be kind." Throwing open the door, Eraqus grinned. "Merry Christmas, Santa!"
Xehanort felt his breath hitch as he stared across at the old, short, fat man who sat at a mahogany desk in front of a fire. His long white beard fell over his chest, rising and falling with every breath. His traditional red hat sat on the desk, falling over the edge of the table.
His red coat hung on a rack near to the fire, and he wore a velvet house robe with ornate lining of green and gold thread.
He looked up, eyes black, but glittering with a deep kindness and joy. "Ah, Eraqus, my boy. It is good to see you. And… oh, this is a surprise. I did not expect to find Xehanort Himitsu at my doorstep."
"Y-you're real?"
"Of course," the old man chuckled, setting the quill pen into the inkwell, "I am Santa after all. But you are a person I did not expect to see you. Your father certainly drilled into you that I was not real."
"You're not angry that I didn't believe?"
"No. So, do you believe now?"
Xehanort watched as the old man stepped down from his chair and came over to him. This all seemed like a dream, honestly. Santa being real… There was no way…
But here he was, standing before him.
Santa Clause.
…
Why was that so surprising? Other world and the Keyblade were real too. Why wouldn't Santa be real too?
"I believe."
"Good." The old man grinned over at Eraqus. "And how are you, Eraqus?"
"I'm good! Master Sato sent us for a tree."
"Why don't you go look, Eraqus? Xehanort and I will join you in a little bit, but I would like to speak to him one-on-one."
The black-haired boy stared between the two of them. "Of course. Trust me, I'll find us the best trees to pick from!" His footsteps echoed down the hall, heading toward the back door of the nice house.
"Come sit." Santa sat down, gesturing toward a chair on the other side of the fireplace. Xehanort sat down, staring into the fire, the soft flames licking up toward the sky. "Xehanort, tell me. Do you hate your father?"
"Well, I don't like him… and I do resent him for everything he did to me. So, maybe I do hate him."
Santa sighed. "I feared as much. And I am aware that darkness interests you." He smiled sadly. "Listen. The path you are on currently is one that must be managed carefully. The hatred within you will only make it more difficult to control. I wished to warn you. As a person with magic like mine, I know many things. I also know that darkness is necessary. One can walk the path of darkness, but not be evil." His eyes drifted to the paper on his desk. "I've had those who walk in the dark on my nice list."
"Really?"
"Yes. But you cannot allow that hatred inside you to remain, or you will never be able to stay out of the depths that can be the darkness." He smiled. "I wanted to tell you this as someone who cares for your wellbeing. Tell me, as someone who has a second chance to be on my nice list, what would you like for Christmas?"
"What would I like for Christmas…?"
What a loaded question.
The boy sat, staring into the flames. He'd never once written to Santa, and all the stories he'd heard were in the form of songs that his mother would sometimes sing when his father was out of the house.
But, as he thought, one thing came to mind.
"For Christmas, I would like you to deliver a letter to Venus."
"That's a nice tree, boys!" Sato smiled. "Did you have time to talk with Santa?"
Xehanort stared up at the Christmas tree. The 10 foot tall conifer enveloping him in the sweet smell of fir. "Yeah… we did."
Christmas morning.
Just another morning for Venus. Her father never got her gifts. In her bedroom a tiny little tree made of paper stood. Her one decoration.
"Merry Christmas to me…" She sighed.
But, as her eyes reached the tree, she paused. A letter… A letter sat under the tree.
Throwing off the covers, she ran over, grabbing the paper. Her hands trembled as she read the little inscription on the outside of the envelope.
To: Vee
From: Xay
Dear Vee,
I've missed you.
But, the last few weeks have been completely amazing! I didn't just leave. I actually managed to meet a Keyblade Master, a real one! They exist! His name is Master Sato. He has another student who is just a bit younger than me named Eraqus. They're really nice.
I've seen amazing things! Master Sato took me to Eraqus' homeworld when I collapsed. There, a goddess named Freya (who is Eraqus' mother!) healed me of my sickness. I'm not dying anymore! When we were there, I got to see how beautiful that other world was! Then, Master Sato sent me to another world all by myself. I met a girl named Moana and managed to help her save her world.
Now, as for this letter… Master Sato sent us to get a Christmas tree, and we went to a place called Christmas Town! This place is amazing! And I got to meet Santa! He's real, really real! He asked me what I wanted for Christmas, an I told him to bring you this letter. I want you to tell my family that I'm alright.
I hope to be home soon, but if I don't come back, I'll send you a letter next Christmas. Maybe you can ask Santa to deliver a letter to me."
I really, truly miss you.
See you soon.
Your dearest friend,
Xay
Merry Christmas everyone!
Footnotes:
(1) This is the song "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" in Old Nordic since Eraqus did grow up on a Nordic world.
(2) See if you can figure out what these outfits are a reference to.
(3) Two elves known from Christmas movies.
(4) Another elf from a Christmas movie.