Chapter 13: The Star is Stolen
Panic stricken, Grace struggled to free her ankles from the thin string but still couldn't move an inch. Right now, she could see a thick cloud of steam rising out of the engine with the whistle still blowing. Her heart skipped a beat as Grace imagined the train zooming toward her at a maximum high speed. But before the whistle grew closer, Grace felt herself being pushed off into the air once again and watched as the toy train continued speeding along the iron tracks. The fairies spotted her just in time to remove the strings from her ankles and lift her out of the trains' path.
"Are you alright?" asked the blond fairy.
"I think so," replied Grace rubbing her sore ankles from the tight bond.
"Listen closely now," began the red haired fairy in a serious tone. "The important thing to do when one is lost is to stay where you are until someone finds you. And please hold still while we're carrying you. That is what caused this fault." These words she spoke of were for her own protection; not to be harsh.
"I promise I will not panic anymore," Grace acquiesced. She still trusted the fairies to keep her safe while finding a way back upstairs. "But where does that train go?" She was still curious about where the tracks lead.
"Those tracks lead to all the other rooms of Santa's workshop," responded the red haired fairy. "It will never run out of steam; and I wouldn't think about riding in it or standing in its path."
Grace asked no more questions as the fairies hoisted her into the air and carried her over the train set to head for the next door.
The stairway
"There it is!" shouted the blond fairy in rejoice. "We've found the stairway!" The fairies entered a tiny empty room with spiraled stairs leading up through a hole. Normally, this is where all the elves would exit once finished with whatever work was needed to be done. Grace of course had many other misadventures with the fairies in Toyland such as finding her way in a big doll house, dancing along with figures in a room full of music boxes, or sliding down a toy chute. It took the fairies several minutes to locate her in a realistic plastic toy barn of farm animals; now they were relived to have found the stairs because of their arms feeling tired out from carrying Grace so long.
"Once we enter that hole up there," the brown haired fairy promised Grace. "We'll be able to change you back to normal size."
"I'm glad that I had an adventure throughout Toyland," Grace said out loud cheerfully. "But now I have to get back to my friends. They'll wonder where I am."
"Remember, don't wiggle." The fairies concentrated on moving the shrunken dairy cow up through the hole in the ceiling. This hole had been a little lower than the one from where Grace had fallen through. Though she was still heavy, the fairies kept their concentration on the ceiling hole.
Back in the hallway
"There you are!" a fairy with wavy silver hair had spotted the four fairies coming toward her carrying what appeared to be the smallest dairy cow she had ever laid eyes on. "What happened to her…?"
"No time to explain," the blond fairy interrupted hesitantly. "We have to find the dust that will change her back to normal size."
"Alright, come this way," the fairies followed her all the way down the hall until they reached the pixie dust room where the red bags were organized on many shelves.
"Now where is it? I know I put it here someplace." The silver haired fairy rambled as she was sorting through the red bags with many types of odd names. Right now she had been searching for one that would be tagged growing dust. "Aha, here we are!" she shouted as she pulled out a medium sized red bag tied with gold lace. "Place the cow down on the floor."
The fairies obeyed her command as Grace was landed safely on the wooden floor allowing the silver haired fairy to sprinkle the dust over her like fine powdery snow. She had to make sure not to spill the entire bag; otherwise Grace might have grown into a giant dairy cow rampaging out of the workshop. Before Grace knew it, she found her head halfway up to the shelf of magic bags. In other words, she was back to normal size.
"Oh dear, I still have to get to the storage room," Grace had nearly forgotten about volunteering to go fetch boxes and rushed out.
The fairies couldn't believe it. After all that, the cow just ran off without even looking back in their direction. Was she only using them so she could just have an adventure in the toy factory? What a complete disgrace she turned out to be.
"Um, thank you for helping me back to normal size," Grace appeared again at the entrance of the pixie dust room when she had forgotten to thank them. "Sorry if I've caused you any trouble."
"No trouble at all, now run along and do your job," the silver haired fairy assured her that all was well by shooing her. Grace ran off down the hall.
The fairies had proud smiles on their faces. How ungrateful of them to think of that sweet cow as a selfish good-for-nothing when she had done nothing to hurt them in the first place. None of them knew of the spell or the plot Crystal had against the cows and it might have been possible that Grace might have been affected again a moment after she had returned to normal size.
"Remember, go straight until you reach the end, and then turn left," Grace said to herself when she walked faster than before. This time, it didn't take to long for her to find the room with all the endless boxes piling up. Pushing a cart out with her head forcefully, she noticed another particular door that had a looking glass with mistletoe nailed at the top at the end of the left hall.
Her curiosity returned to her when she gazed in wonder at the beautifully made mistletoe tied in a small silk ribbon. She had forgotten about the stack of boxes and walked slowly to the door. But even if she wanted to peek in, she felt certain that the door would be locked securely. Grace took a deep breath and pushed the door open. A brilliant light came flooding out when she had done so.
Inside was a wondrous grand room like the dance floor back at the Gingerbread Kingdom, except that this one was more spirited and imaginative with a long dining table with chairs in each row, a wooly read carpet, and a shelf full of books against the wall. But the most beautiful sight to gaze upon was an enormous Christmas tree, decorated in colorful twinkling lights, glass balls, lighted candles, sugarplums, candy canes, and gold apples that glittered like the sun. Presents of different shapes and sizes laid under the tree wrapped in shining paper and bows. Of course, Grace wasn't that interested in the presents because she was now gazing in wonder at the most beautiful star that stood at the treetop lighting up like a real star in the nighttime sky. The young heifer's eyes sparkled with delight as if she were enchanted by another fairy spell. Filled with excitement, Grace felt like she was on the brink of entering the heavenly skies whilst flying to catch up with the light. Like Maggie, she was becoming lost in a dreamy state. Now this was one dream she would never want to wake up from.
"So there you are young one," a jolly old voice gave Grace such a start of surprise that she uttered a small shriek and turned to see that it was Santa standing in the doorway with Rudolph, Maggie, and Mrs. Calloway.
"Oh, oh…I was just…trying to…to…find a few…" Grace was at a loss for words from being discovered in a room she was not meant to be sneaking around in. "what I meant to say is that…that…"
"I see that you've managed to step foot in the grandest family room with our special Christmas tree," Santa said quite pleased instead of outraged. "This is where I, Mrs. Clause and all the other fairies, elves, and gnomes gather to celebrate our success every year from making each Christmas more special."
"I wish I would never leave this room," Maggie said dreamily as she moved to have a better look at the beautiful tree with the star. "And I have never seen a star that bright or sparkling."
"But how is that star made?" Mrs. Calloway asked. "It doesn't look much like any ordinary decoration I've ever witnessed."
"That's because this star is lit by Christmas spirit and not by a candle or light," responded Santa as he and Rudolph moved further to the tree to explain how it is done. "You see, every mortal's Christmas wish is like a star twinkling in the sky; a star that is filled hope, generosity, and having something to believe in, even through the toughest times of their lives. And that is what lights up this star, magic from the heart."
The cows kept their attention to the star up on top while Santa went on explaining how a mortal keeps their faith alive all year around and how nobody has to be perfect just to be a good family member. Nobody was ever perfect. The cows' belief in Christmas and Santa made the star turn brighter. When they arrive home, no one will ever believe where they have been.
"How are we to explain this to the family back at home?" asked Maggie, still glaring at the treetop.
"We'll tell them we were stranded in a snowstorm but found our way back with a little luck," replied Mrs. Calloway as she, Maggie, Rudolph, and Santa walked out the door. "Then we'll explain all this through a simple Christmas story. They'll all love that."
Grace decided to stay behind in the room to stare at the wondrous tree for a little while longer, but Santa didn't mind that believing that she and the girls would be safe inside his workshop. And eventually, she would be out again with them. Grace still stood in awe stunned by the stars never-ending glow all because of Christmas spirit.
Unbeknownst to Grace however, this magical moment was soon to be crumbled by the intrusion of a pitiless ice lady. While the dairy cow was admiring the tree, she didn't notice the great shadow form closer behind her.
WHAM! The doors slammed like thunder. Startled, Grace spun around and gasped in horror upon setting her eyes on Crystal with black spectacles over her eyes standing at the doorway which was frozen shut. Grace backed against the tree trembling. How did she get in here and where did she get those black spectacles? She thought, still trembling.
"How did you get in here?" she asked in surprise. Her eyes widened when she noticed that Crystal was hiding something behind her back, but couldn't view what it was. She smiled maliciously as she approached the shivering bovine backing away from her.
"Do you obviously think I'd give up too soon?" the Ice Empress spoke in a cold, sharp tone as she leaned over Grace menacingly. Grace was unable to see the woman's eyes from behind those black spectacles, but imagined what horrible expression they formed into as she spoke. "I can transform into a speck of dust to reach difficult areas without being caught. I haven't come all this way just for you three of course."
"What else do you desire?" Grace asked weakly.
"The star of course," Crystal turned her attention to the star up on top and shifted upward to swipe it with her icy cold hands. The tree shook from her touch.
"Wait a minute, put that back!" Grace shouted angrily. "That star is the symbol of Christmas cheer and you can't have it!"
"Can't I?" Crystal turned back to Grace again with the same wicked smile. Even from behind those dark spectacles, she knew that the ice lady had not forgotten about her. She watched the bovine run to the frozen door kicking at it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Help me, Crystal is in here!" Grace cried out fearfully.
From behind her back, Crystal held three long tight cords of red lace and with her telekinetic powers; the cords slithered on the floor like snakes to throw themselves at Grace, wrapping around her legs and mouth tightly until she fell over and was unable to struggle any further. With the Christmas star held high in her right hand, Crystal crouched down toward Grace to check the tightness of the cords. Once sure that the bovine was bound so tightly that she couldn't kick or scream, Crystal straightened and tightened the cord around the bovine's mouth to not take any chances of her being able to call for help; then without a word, Grace could feel herself being pulled off by the floor and hanging over Crystal's left shoulder. Who would have thought this ice woman possessed other powers besides trapping those in blocks of ice.
From behind the woman's shoulder, Grace saw a piece of paper and a pen pop out of a drawer from the bottom of the bookshelf and land softly on the dining table allowing the pen to write something down over the blank paper. But she was unable to view what words had been written because of her being carried further away to another door. She could even feel her earmuffs slip off from her ears and land next to the note. The cords wouldn't budge a bit whenever she struggled.
"Now, now, there is no need to worry about ever seeing your friends again my pet," Crystal hissed in a mocking tone. "Once they read that letter, they'll have to come to me and accept my offer." With a sinister jeer, the back doors flew open letting cold air blow inside.
That was when Grace realized that the pen was writing down a ransom note telling the others that she is being held captive at Crystal's lair and demanding that if she is ever to be seen alive again, then the other two will have to show up without the hope of ever standing a chance against her powers.
"Lucky for me, I had to wear these protective eyeglasses I stole from the elves department to prevent my eyes from going blind," Grace heard Crystal utter menacingly as she was now out the door and disappeared into the bitter cold.