Because it's Christmas

If you've ever been my friend during the Christmas season then you should know I LOVE CHRISTMAS. Favourite time of the year! I didn't even know what to write when I started this but there was no way I was going to miss writing a Christmas story, even with my exams! So enjoy, and happy holidays!

Hakuei had to admit. With her tough attitude, maturity from a young age, leadership abilities and overall tough and strong personality…

She was a sucker for the holiday spirit.

Then again, being one of Santa's helpers usually did that to a person. Santa ALWAYS selected Hakuei as one of his main assistants over the season. She was very efficient when it came to organizing schedules and keeping all the workers in check.

There was also the fact that she was one of the only ones who could keep a few specific members of Kou in line.

"It's time to lick candy canes until they become swords of sugary doom!" Judal laughed, waving around the pointed end of his candy cane. "The world will fall before my minty weapons of death!"

"We will never be defeated by your pathetic attempt at a candy weapon!" Kouha jeered, holding what looked like was a tub of hot chocolate. "I will melt you into a puddle of chocolaty firth and top your grave with whipped cream!"

"Tis' not the time for fighting each other!" Kougyoku jumped dramatically in between the two teens on the verge of battle. "We must unite to face our common enemy- the dreaded fruitcake!" The three all gasped at the poor fruitcake that was placed innocently on the table.

"Then we can reunite in a giant house made of gingerbread and steal all of their gumdrop buttons!" Kouha suggested. The three all jumped in the air and cheered before falling on the ground and laughing their heads off.

"I think you're all going to get cavities," Hakuryuu deadpanned, watching the three howl with laughter on the floor. With a sigh he closed the book he had been reading and got to his feet. "You know, when someone makes a fire in the fireplace, brings a book and some hot chocolate and wraps themselves in blankets and specifically tells everyone to leave him alone, usually that means he wants to be left ALONE." When none of the three responded Hakuryuu added, "In silence!"

"Aw come on Scrooge," Judal teased, wrapping one arm around his friend's shoulders while he tried to avoid the sticky candy in his hand. "It's Christmas eve! Are you really going to spend all that time in solitude with some book instead of playing with your family?"

Hakuryuu shrugged his arm off of him before standing from the chair. "Christmas is a time where everything should be peaceful and magical. For me, peaceful means getting to read. In peace!"

"But it's snowing outside!" Kougyoku exclaimed while Kouha slipped a Santa's hat on the unwilling Hakuryuu who scowled in protest. "It's the perfect day to play!"

Or get sugar rushes, Hakuryuu decided watching his laughing family jump around what was supposed to be the living room of the cottage he was staying in but had somehow become a battleground for sugary sweets. Pulling off the hat he said allowed, "Aren't you three supposed to be helping Hakuei and the others in the workshop?" Even though Kouha liked to say it was true as an excuse for his height, her family were not specifically Christmas elves. Of course, elves DID exist. Both the pointy eared, shoot arrows with a bow kind and the make toys all year round. Her family were tree elves, most of the year reigning in their kingdom in the forest. But around the month of November the court of Kou packed their things and either headed to warmer area or went up north to stay with Santa. It was a tradition going back generations for them. Every near when winter came around members of the royal family would hurry up to Santa's home and prepare for the wonderful day known as Christmas. Later, when the snow melted they would go back home.

Besides, they couldn't well stay in the forest when all the leaves were gone.

Last he had seen Hakuei had been helping Santa manage his naughty and nice list while Koumei had been making sure all the children of the world were on the list. Kouen was likely in his yearly debate about whether adults should be given little dashes of magic or should get their stockings full like the children did with Mrs. Claus. Honestly, it seemed to be an endless debate.

Judal rolled his eyes as he jumped on the couch. "Nah. It's too cold out there to bring Rudolph and the others out. Vixen nearly trampled me when I suggested it." Kouha had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He had been supposed to help with that, but he's almost laughed his head off when he'd gotten there to find Judal trying to bribe Rudolph with a carrot.

"And I'm not allowed back in the toy shop until after they are done making the gifts for our family," Kougyoku pouted. "So let's all go make a snowman!" Hakuryuu groaned as the other two jumped for joy at the idea. Judal started making plans for a snow army while Kouha wondered who they should pelt with snowballs first. Can't I get a break for at least one day? Hakuryuu wondered. Sure he loved Christmas and spending time with his family. Just, you know. Not ALL the time.

Luckily the world was saved from the invasion of Judal's snowmen by a knock on the door. "That must be the three ghosts of Christmas!" Kouha exclaimed while the other two fell over laughing. Hakuryuu shook his head while Kouha jumped over to the door and swiftly pulled it open. After a pause he called back, "false alarm guys. It's just an angel wearing an ugly Christmas sweater!"

Hakuei laughed as Kouha moved so she could get inside. "M-my sweater is absolutely perfect for the Christmas season. And I wasn't going to c-comment on yours but…" The others laughed while Hakuei pulled her boots off. She had been completely bundled with a scarf, mittens, boots, big jacket and ear muffs. Once she'd finally removed the remaining layers she rubbed her arms in relief. "I-I-It's absolutely freezing out there! I haven't seen this much s-s-snow in years!"

Hakuryuu rushed to get Hakuei some hot chocolate while she rested on the couch. Kougyoku glanced out the window as Hakuei wrapped herself up with a blanket. "Yeesh! It's a disaster out there!" Kouha and Judal pushed around her to get a look at the snowfall they had failed to notice in their little drama.

Judal stared as if it was the first time he'd ever seen snow before. "Yikes."

It seemed as if the air itself had turned into a mixture of ice and snow. Everything was absolutely white, even the light from the workshop across the road was dimmed from the snow. The houses around the village square were covered in frost and some even had barred up their windows for safety. It wasn't a winter wonderland, it was pure, unadulterated snow on a rampage. Even the tracks Hakuei had left had already been filled up with snow. As if someone had decided to take all the snow from everywhere in the world and just drop it on top of the North Pole. "Man," Judal whistled as he rubbed the back of his head in distain. "I haven't seen this much snow since ol' frosty got sick and couldn't control the weather." After some contemplation he glanced at a now melting Hakuei. "Hey, you don't think someone got frosty drunk on Christmas Eve, right?" To the side, Hakuei scrunched up her nose and let out a huff of breath.

Before anyone could reply, Kougyoku yanked at Judal's braid, making him let out a yelp. "Judal, that's rude! If I had his powers, I would freeze you for calling me that!" The foolish boy just laughed as if the threat was nothing more than a fly on the wall.

"Oh yeah, sure! When was the last time that guy came down to the north pole at Christmas?" Kougyoku didn't answer. "Right! He's got way too much to do, no way he's coming up here any,"

Just as he finished there was a loud hammering on the door.

"EEK!" Judal jumped in surprise and hit the floor with a thump. "T-that's not him is it?" Kouha laughed while Hakuryuu rolled his eyes.

"Our hero," He mumbled under his breath. Ignoring the teasing sibling duo of Kouha and Kougyoku, he stomped around them and to the door. The second it was open a wave of snow was ushered in. "Gah! Get inside already!" He just barely got out of the way in time for the visitor to sneak in. It took both of them to close the door again, and by the time it was a pile of snow had formed around the door. Hakuryuu had to wipe the snow out of his hair as their guest unbundled himself from his layers of winter gear.

Once he had removed his winter mask Kouha and Kougyoku jumped up. "Kouen!"

Kouen nodded at the two of them as Kouha jumped up and down had Kougyoku hugged him with glee. He patted her on the head in return, never being one for many hugs. "I'm sure the group of you have noticed the snow pouring down outside." Their eyes trailed to the pile of snow at the door. Then the snow pouring down outside. Then Hakuei who was just barely regaining feeling in her toes.

"…It may have crossed our minds."

"What's the problem with a bit of snow?" Judal scoffed, jumping onto to couch next to Hakuei so his feet hung off the end. "Just get Rudolph to shine that nose of his and Santa will be on his way. This much snow just means more snow armies to build tomorrow." He and Kouha produced evil grins while the others shivered.

Kouen shook his head. "That was because last time there was a lot of snow, but this time there is snow and ice. He can make it so they see through the snow, but it still won't be safe for them to go out in the snowfall." Kouen shook his head as he moved closer to the fire to warm himself up. "Koumei's trying to find a way to arm the sled with magic so it can fly safely, but he doesn't think that it will be ready in time." The younger members of the family all gave each other nervous looks. Santa had to be out before midnight or else he wouldn't be able to get all the presents to the kids on time. For the years they had known Santa he'd never missed a year. If he didn't finish his job in time…

Well, they weren't too sure what would happen.

Judal carelessly sipped his hot chocolate. "Sucks. No Christmas. Real bummer. They'll have to survive with the presents their parents get them. How tragic."

Kougyoku pouted. "Well bah humbug to you too."

"But Santa's got his magic," Hakuryuu argued, trying to reassure a grim looking Kou family. "Can't he just make it stop snowing around the sleigh?"

Again Kouen shook his head. "Normally he can. But a different kind of magic is fighting his, so there is no way he can stop the snow as well as use his magic to make the sleigh and reindeer fly through the night."

"You're not telling me that the snowfall is someone's magic!" kouha laughed. When no one joined in he stopped. "Oh. That is what you're telling me."

"But…" Kougyoku tried to put the pieces together. "There's only one person who controls the snow…but why would he…" There was no need for her to say the name out loud. There were a few types of magic in the world. The kind that was passed through blood, which their family had. The kind that a few were randomly born with, like Judal's magic. The kind that one had gained over the years, like father time (Aka, Solomon.). For specific types though, Santa's magic, and for example, controlling snow, it didn't work like that. A specific line of a magical family would get the power to control the snow until the next member of the family line took up the position. Only one person at a time could control the magic, which was why there was only ever one Santa. That was also true for the power to control snow and ice.

The humans liked to call him Jack Frost. Apparently Jack used to be a common name for someone who liked to play tricks on others. Frost certainly fit well for someone who could control the snow. However, those at the North Pole liked to call him by a different name…

"Sinbad," Hakuei huffed in irritation.

Hakuei had to admit. She had been fascinated by him when she was younger. Hakuei had once heard the story about the first one accidentally freezing her entire kingdom and making a living snowman! Her family of elves weren't able to do much other than the simplest forms of magic. For someone to be able to control a whole element…She'd used to dream about meeting the 'jack frost' of her lifetime when she was younger. A few times on Christmas Eve she would wait by the window not looking for Santa, but to catch a glimpse of Jack Frost who brought snow to the world.

When she had finally met the man she had been extremely disappointed.

"That guy?" Kouha shouted in confusion. "Why would he try and ruin Christmas? He loves it just as much as anyone!"

"Maybe he made some deal with the Grinch that we don't know about," Judal snickered. He would know. Apparently he had the Grinch's number on speed-dial.

"I don't know," Kouen told them all. "But I don't think he's doing it for some game." Hakuryuu pondered the idea that perhaps he was sick and he was losing control of his powers. Hakuei on the other hand scowled at the idea that he was playing some joke on them. It seemed to be his pattern whenever she saw him. He was really living up to his name as 'Jack Frost' the mischief maker. "Whatever he's doing," Kouen continued, dragging them unwillingly out of their thoughts. "He's not hiding. He's here. In the North Pole."

"WHAT?" All of them jumped up in shock. It wasn't like he didn't come up for Christmas once in a while. What was odd was that he was present for the trouble he was causing. Usually he set off a blizzard then the next thing anyone knew he was halfway across the world.

The eldest Ren brother nodded. He'd folded his arms across his chest with one hand stroking his beard, carefully considering the situation. "Yes. Koumei told me a few minutes ago. Apparently after the elves had finished their calculations of the weather, he burst through the main doors to the toy factory. He announced that when we are ready to make a deal, send our messenger into the barn. Then he walked out." After a brief moment he added, "Oh, he's waiting in the barn with the old sled."

"That jerk!" Judal jumped to his feet. "I was going to use that for tricks tomorrow! It's probably frozen over by now!" The others ignored his tantrum.

"What kind of deal does he want to make?" Hakuryuu asked his cousin. "What could Santa have that Sinbad thinks he needs to make threats to get?" Santa and Jack Frosts were usually on good terms, since everyone loved snow on Christmas. Besides, Sinbad already had his magic and a kingdom of snow. All Santa had was the magic to make the sleigh fly and see who's been naughty or nice.

"Information?" Kouen hypothesized out loud. "Power? Santa Claus has been around for hundreds of years. Perhaps he knows a secret that Sinbad wants to know." A few of them caught the little sparkle in his eyes when he mentioned secret information. That would have been the perfect gift for Kouen. "While Santa only uses his magic to make others happy and spends a majority of it on one day, he is powerful. He can see the hearts of humans, make anything fly as well as sense what a person is doing, whether sleeping or awake. And that is the magic that he uses. It's unclear whether he has more." The others took some time to process this. They'd only ever seen Santa as a Jolly uncle sort of fellow. To see him as someone who could actually fight…no, that was silly! Santa would never fight.

"But even so," Kougyoku jumped in. "What good is all that to Sinbad?" The others didn't respond. No one could come up with what Sinbad would want that power for. He was already one of the most powerful beings in the known world, with a power that was only given to one member of the world at a time. Kougyoku let out a nervous sigh. "Oh, poor Santa. Is he alright?"

To their surprise, Kouen actually nodded. "Yes. It's odd, but since Sinbad came…The rest of his elves have been in a panic and even Mrs. Claus is starting to get nervous but Santa…He is showing no signs of worry. He actually laughed earlier." There was a pause that overwhelmed the room. It was broken when Kouen abruptly turned to face Hakuei. "Sister, he wants you to go talk to Sinbad."

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Santa want's ME to go after Sinbad?" Hakuei sputtered in shock. "W…why?"

"I don't know," Kouen admitted. "But he had that look on his face…" When Hakuei's response was a blank expression he explained, "The one that he has when he knows something the rest of us don't. He usually has it on when he's plotting something." Kouen paused. "That, or he's planning on stealing Mrs. Claus's Christmas cookies before Christmas again." Kouha decided not to tell him that he and Judal had already done that the day before.

Of course Hakuei wanted to help Santa. She was one of his main helpers over the holiday season. But never in the job description had anyone told her she would have to negotiate with…with…jack frost! "I…I can't! You have to tell him no! I don't even know what I would say!"

"Oh sweet holly and mistletoe," Hakuei blurted as her teeth chattered. "It is cold!"

Unfortunately Hakuei had very quickly lost the argument as the rest of the family had urged her to go out to speak to the king of ice. Time was passing, and Santa had to be out as soon as possible. Hakuei shivered and rubber her arms as she trudged through the snow towards the old barn that held Santa's old sleigh. Even through the pouring rain she could see the ice that had surrounded the wood. I'm gonna say he's in that one, Hakuei huffed. Forcing one foot in front of the other she headed over as quickly as she could. Being back in the snow was an unpleasant reminder of just how bad it was outside. Sinbad was really doing his finest work that day. But there was definitely no way Santa was flying in that.

When she got to the door it took all her energy to pound her hand on the door before quickly wrapping it around herself once again. "S-Sinbad! Open up!" She nearly bit off her tongue from the chattering teeth. The only thing keeping her warm was the fire of anger burning inside of her. That stupid ice man had better have a good reason for doing this on Christmas Eve…

To her relief the door creaked open, seemingly on its own. But Hakuei knew better, seeing the traces of snow etching around the wooden doorframe. Still shivering she pushed herself through the door and yanked it close behind her. "I-I-It's to c-c-cool!"

"Oh thanks, I try!"

Hakuei jumped. With a twist on her heal she found the famous Mr. Frost perched on top of the abandoned sled. The flicker in his eyes was a promise of tricks and games that she could not afford to play.

Before she had met him in the past, she had always pictured him as either a queen of ice or an old man. Sometimes a young boy who liked to play tricks on people, hence the name. There would be little dancing tiny versions on him like in the movies, with spikey blue hair and always laughed. She hadn't been expecting an adult male, only a few years older than her with long purple hair and glowing gold eyes. His clothes matched the look at least. Dark blue pants with brown shoes that curled at the ends. A light blue button up shirt with a few buttons undone and a dark blue vest with white fuzz on the inside and a wide blue scarf with white gems around his waist. Every piece of clothing was laced with frost, making his image practically glow when his with moonlight. His skin was a few shades darker than her very pale completion, probably from birth considering there was no way he ever got any sun. She'd heard other elves and creatures call him hot, though the word itself didn't seem to fit. When Hakuei's eyes glanced on him she admitted that her heart took a little leap. No matter how many times they'd run into each other that never stopped.

Luckily her memories reminded her why a little heart leap when she looked at him would be all she allowed.

He grinned at the sight of her, his teeth as white as snow. Hakuei scowled in response, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Sinbad. What are you doing?" He tipped his head to the side, pretending to contemplate the question.

"What am I doing? At the moment enjoying the welcome company," he gestured to her. As slippery as ice he slipped off the sleigh and sauntered over to her. "When was the last time we saw each other? Two months ago? Three?" Hakuei rolled her eyes. They both knew he knew the exact time they had last seen each other. He just wanted to prove she remembered as well.

Normally she tried not to comply with his demands, but she knew she didn't have the time to argue with him. "It was on Halloween. You tried to scare townsfolk into believing their forest was haunted." Sinbad snickered at the memory, but Hakuei glowered at him. "It was my forest! I had to come all the way back there from here and fix all the damage you caused!"

Sinbad put a hand on his heart and faked hurt. "Damage? It was just a bit of fun! Don't tell me you didn't enjoy the random snowballs that would attack anyone who came near." Sinbad snickered at the memory, fitting the image of Jack Frost the trickster. "Some of them were convinced there were witches in that forest!"

With a shake of her head, she stomped around him and further into the barn. Within the hour he had been waiting he'd managed to turn the barn into his own fortress. The pillars were covered in ice and beautiful trails of snowflakes danced on the walls. Wherever he stepped ice would trail out from his footsteps and slowly etch its way around the ground. The ice looked like cracks in the ground, the same as cracks in ice when it was starting to melt. Hakuei had to tiptoe her way around the ice to be sure she didn't slip. Sinbad judged her expression as she took in the sights. "Impressed with my work?"

"H-hardly," Hakuei huffed. At least it wasn't as cold around him. Since snow and ice came naturally to him he could take away the cold and keep the ice whenever someone else came in. "Aren't you supposed to be down in the South Pole? Santa didn't tell me you were spending Christmas here." Usually Sinbad remained in his palace of ice, often accompanied by his group of magical friends. Hakuei had only met a few of them, Jafar, Yamu, Pisti, Spartos, but she knew there was more. Every once in a while he and a few others would come down and spend Christmas in Santa's village. Hakuei usually counted on them informing Santa ahead of time so she could find ways to avoid running into the man of ice, as well as the mistletoe which mysteriously appeared around the house.

He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, as if to look at her from a different angle. "Why? Would you have left?" Her eyes narrowed at him, but she knew better than to respond. He was gifted at spotting out liars she had come to learn. Sinbad sighed, circling around her to walk around, as if to contain his thoughts. "This time it seems you won't get the chance. Looks like there is quite a blizzard going on outside. Did you notice?" Hakuei ground her teeth together while Sinbad played at innocence. At that time, it wasn't from the cold.

"Sinbad, you need to stop making it snow so hard," Hakuei ordered him. "The reindeer can't fly in this weather, and we have to get the Christmas presents to everyone before morning!" He shifted ever so slightly so he could glance at her over his shoulder. His golden eyes reminded her of the sun sparkling off the sea, or a flashlight when shone through ice. Either way, they were never direct. He was always hiding something. But Hakuei did not have time to try and figure out what that was. "What is it that you want?"

For a moment he pursed his lips. Hakuei resisted the urge to slug him across the face. That would NOT put her on the nice list. I don't have time for him to dawdle though! He must have known that, for he loved to tease her. Facing the window he put a hand over his mouth and chin, pretending to ponder the question. "What do I want? Hm…"

"I don't have time for this Sinbad!" Hakuei exclaimed, stomping over to him. "There's only an hour left until Santa should be up in the air, and he's going to go whether it's snowing or-"

"Do you remember the first Christmas that we met?" Hakuei raised her eyebrow at the sudden change of topic.

"Of course I do," she answered slowly, suspicious. Perhaps he was trying to get her mind off the matter at hand. "I was just a teenager when you invited yourself over to Santa's on Christmas Eve. You said you wanted to see if you were faster than the reindeer." Sinbad puffed out his chest proudly at the reminder.

"I was, wasn't I?"

Hakuei scrunched her nose at him. He had been. But the story didn't end there. "I don't know what you remember from that day." Hakuei grumbled at him. Then, in a brief moment of vulnerability she admitted under her breath, "But that had to be the worst Christmas Eve of my life."

That Christmas had been almost 120 years ago, (As magical creatures lived much longer than most.) Hakuei had been about the human age of an older adult, but as an elf she was in the middle of her teens. It was rare to find someone who was close to your age in years, another reason why she'd been curious about Sinbad when they had first met. While he was older, it was only a few years, which was rare in the magical community unless you were of the same family. He'd burst through the doors on Christmas Eve, sauntering like he owned the place and chatting with everyone like long lost friends. Hakuei had been enraptured by the gold sparkle of his eyes and bound by her curiosity of his powers. She thought she had done well in hiding that, but even so she had still fallen in his trap.

"You convinced me to come watch you and the reindeer race," Hakuei continued the story. "I knew you weren't supposed to. I knew they were supposed to be resting for the upcoming trip. But you insisted nothing bad would happen. You told me that you wanted to show me that your powers were stronger than the magic put over the reindeers." More like he was trying to show off, but Hakuei kept that at bay. "So you all snuck outside a few hours before nightfall. You even carried me because you wanted me to see the ice as you skated across the sky. Rudolph had yelled that I gave you a handicap, but you insisted you could still win."

For a moment she let her mind trail back to that. When Sinbad flew, he crated ice in the sky and skated across it as if he was riding a wave. The world had looked so small from where he had taken her. Everything looked so fragile and pure. He'd created snowflakes to encircle them, the simple sight of the carefully designed pieces of snow a piece of magic in itself. Sinbad had held her against him so she could feel his warmth on her back as she stared at the ground below them. Hakuei had felt like her heart was going to burst from happiness from the sheer thrill of the experience.

But all good things come to an end.

When she looked up she saw Sinbad was smirking at her. He must have known what she had been thinking of. Quickly she forced a scowl on her face and made the story continue. "But then you crashed. You and the reindeer were going so fast that right before you hit the finish line, your ice got caught with the sleigh. You tossed me into a pile of snow as you and the reindeer collided with the ground. All of you were out cold till the next day."

"I got you out in time, didn't I?" Sinbad mentioned as if it was of grave importance. Hakuei's glare said it was not.

"Yeah. Making me the one to deal with the issue. I had to use what little magic I had to bring all of you back to the village. I was the one who had to take the blame for letting all of you go out when I should have known better. I was the one who had to take the guilt when my family and Santa had to figure out some other way to get around the world that year. They had to take an old sleigh and one of the b-team of reindeer. They almost got caught three times that night and barely made it back before sunrise. It took me nearly 40 years before Santa's elves let me again to let me work with him over the holidays! I was put on the naughty list for the next 10 years! And then when I got home, the elven council all decided I was too foolish, childish and inexperienced to help with anything of political importance for 100 years!" She stopped when she realized she was screaming. Sinbad was staring at her, open-mouthed by her reply. For the first time she discovered that he might not have known the whole outcome of his visit.

"..It was never my intention to get you in trouble," Sinbad replied, a hint of vulnerability in his voice. For a moment Hakuei's heart softened at his tone and she allowed him to gain back a sliver of warmth.

But Hakuei forced that warmth back into the heat of cold anger and glared at him. No, don't forgive him! She tried to convince herself. He's just trying to get himself off the hook. "I was absolutely humiliated Sinbad. And you-you were nothing like I thought you were!" She huffed, turning away from his regret. The only one who hadn't been angry outside of her siblings and cousins was Santa. For some reason he hadn't even given her a frown. Instead as she had told him the story there had been the hint of a smile on his face. As if he knew something that she had yet to see. At the time she had been grateful, but later she'd wondered what was it that he had found so funny?

She felt the cold chill on the back of her head, telling her Sinbad had taken the few steps closer. "I remember a few other details from those two days." Hakuei shook her head. She should have known that a man named by the humans as someone who liked to play tricks would be a trickster. She'd set herself up for failure at a young age.

"I remember you looked like Christmas morning."

"And you nearly ruined Christmas that year," She snuffed at him. Stepping away she turned so she could see him but didn't look in his eye. There was honest regret in his expression, but a set determination that she'd always admired. Of course she would never say that out loud.

Sliding around her he slapped a grin on his face and made her face him. "And yet," Sinbad replied, "The next day when I woke up forced to stay in bed the next morning for my health, I woke up in the middle of the day to find you next to me."

"I remember."

"You had brought me some food," Sinbad continued as if she hadn't spoken, dancing with the snowflakes he created in his hands. "Hot chocolate with whipped cream and waffles. You were reading a book-the Christmas story? - When you saw that I had woken up. You told me to eat and that my gifts were left under the tree to open later. Mrs. Claus had made me promise to not get out of bed that day and I had to call Jafar and explain why I wasn't going to make it till the next day." Hakuei smiled at that. She'd remembered his friends yelling at him through the phone. They were so loud her siblings in the other room had heard.

"But even when I was bedridden, you stayed with me." His eyes got a glazy look as his memories transported him back to a different world. "You brought me my gifts and talked to me about the day. You only left when I had fallen asleep and was always there when I woke up. Before nightfall I had told you to go back to your own room so you could get some sleep. But in the middle of the night I had woken up to find you asleep on the chair next to me."

I had asked you why you were being nice to me when you were so angry the day before. Do you remember what you said?" He looked up at her, and she could not find the energy to look away. Did she remember? He'd given her the strangest look, mixed with suspicion and caution. Had he wondered if she had some alternative motive? Did she remember? Her heart had jumped in her chest when he'd fixed her eyes on her in the past. Even with all her anger she'd somehow been able to contain it for that day. She'd never let herself say it but deep down she'd enjoyed that Christmas. Did she remember what she'd said?

Of course she remembered.

"…Because it's Christmas."

The sparkling grin he sent back at her was as if he believed his smile alone would make up for all the trouble that he caused her. "You set the bar to high. I haven't had that much fun on Christmas since that day." She tried to ignore the little leap in her heart that came next.

Instead she tried to force her thoughts back to reality. "Yeah. Then you left the next morning."

"Well could you blame me?" Sinbad questioned her. "I was pretty sure Jafar was going to bite my head off if I'd been any later, Christmas spirit to the wind!" Sinbad leaned back against the barn doors. His eyes watched the snowflakes poor down to the earth, covering it in a blanket of frost. "And that was the beginning of our beautiful relationship as-"

"-Enemies."

"-Lovers."

They both paused.

"WHAT?" They exclaimed at the same time.

"Enemies?" Sinbad shouted at her in shock. It looked so genuine Hakuei almost thought she was in the wrong. "We aren't enemies Hakuei! How could you even think that?" They were both so shocked at the others conclusion, Hakuei didn't even notice as the ice around Sinbad shattered.

"W-we are not lovers! We are the farthest thing from lovers that people could be!" Her hands ran through her head as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened. "Sinbad, you not only showed yourself to be a cocky, reckless, selfish jerk on Christmas Eve, you are currently trying to destroy yet another Christmas! And for what? The joy of watching me get angry?" She decided to not mention what her impression of him had been on Christmas day itself. He didn't need to know she'd started to warm up to him after spending the day with him. Besides, she'd moved past that day! "Why do you always do this?" Hakuei threw her hands up in exasperation. "All year round, especially on Christmas, you find ways to cause problems for me! I'm always having to fix your mistakes or clean up after your games! Is it because I was nice to you on Christmas? Because this is not a way to say thank you, it's torture!" His mouth was dropped open, offended by her interpretation.

"Torture? I'm not torturing you! I never hurt anyone or caused you problems that couldn't be fixed. I was trying to get your attention!" Hakuei stared at him while he ran one hand through his hair, shaking his head as he let out a chuckle. "You're not exactly making things easy for me, you know? Unless I cause some great problem or do something so you have no choice, you'll avoid me! Don't think I didn't notice last Christmas when you had 'too much work to come out and say hi?'" He said making air quotations in the air. As he did little snowflakes danced around his hands. "Or, this one's good, the Christmas when you left on Christmas Eve because, for the first time EVER, you decided you wanted to spend your Christmas somewhere warm." At the memory Hakuei noticed that the air around Sinbad turned much colder. His mouth twitched and Hakuei saw the distinct impression of anger in his eyes.

"What? Jealous of Mr. Sun?"

Sinbad bristled. "I hate that guy."

If she were being honest, she hadn't been a big fan of him either. The sun made her dry and uncomfortable, since she was a forest elf used to the shade of the trees. She'd missed her family, had hardly gotten anything done, and Mr. Sun wanted to give to many hugs which made her feel like she was going to melt. And NOT in the good way.

She was definitely a fan of white Christmas.

"We are Enemies!"

"Lovers!"

"Enemies!'

"Lovers!"

"ENEMIES!"

"LOVERS!"

"This is ridiculous!" Hakuei stomped her foot, cracking the ice underneath her. "I'm not having this discussion! If you are ready to have a serious discussion, go find Koumei!" Spinning on her heal she stomped towards the door.

Sinbad let out a cry of frustration. "Don't walk away when we are talking!" Out of the corner of her eye she caught Sinbad flick his hand in the air. The ice underneath her was instantly turned smooth. Hakuei gasped as she started to lose her balance. Then there was a rush of wind and she was pushed back. Unable to keep her balance she fell backwards- Right where Sinbad could catch her. "There," Sinbad smirked when Hakuei tilted her head back to look him in the eye. "Much better."

Oh how she HATED it when one side of his mouth would tip up just a bit higher. Even when he was cold, it made her feel warm inside. How ridiculous! "Let me go!" She managed to pull away from him and keep her balance. To her surprise Sinbad didn't resist.

She discovered why when her feet would not move.

Looking down she found the ice had risen up and surrounded her feet. She was trapped in place by the ice that was certainly not there by accident. "You-You let me go!" Sinbad hardly blinked as he circled around so he could face her. That cocky smile was still on his face, taunting her without words. "Stop it! I'm freezing!" In a desperate attempt to be free she tried to pull her feet out. All she did was make her lose her balance once again. Only that time she fell forward and Sinbad had to catch her again. "Sinbad!"

"I love it when your cheeks get so warm," Sinbad purred as he trailed a finger across her cheeks. "The only warm thing I seem to like." She tried to force her blush into a scowl. She had already wasted enough time talking about the past and their-existent/Non-existent-relationship. There was no way she could let Santa down!

"I'll stop the snow," Sinbad interrupted her thoughts. Hakuei blinked, having completely forgotten about her original reason for coming to see him. Stupid Sinbad distracting her! "But under one condition."

She bristled with anger. "A deal? Sinbad, there is no time for this! It's Christmas eve!" Sinbad waved the question away carelessly. If he kept doing that Hakuei's anger would be enough to melt the snow.

"I know, you've mentioned that a few times now. The more you repeat it the more time will be wasted." She was silently contemplating burying him in the snow. "Don't worry, it's not that difficult," Sinbad tried to ease her temper that was growing to unimaginable heights.

"It had better be," She grumbled at him. "If I have to come all the way here just to deliver a message back to Santa…"

"Oh no, I don't want anything from him," Sinbad explained. "I want to make a deal with you."

Hakuei felt her eyes widen. "With me?" she hoped her scarf hid the blush on her cheeks. Even her own body was betraying her!

"That's right," Sinbad explained. Gliding over to her he explained, "I'll make it stop snowing so Santa can go and deliver all the presents before Christmas morning. Heck, I'll even add in making sure that they aren't seen and get back before sunrise. But I need you to do something for me."

Immediately her eyes narrowed at him. She'd never actually made a deal with him, despite having met with him many times over the years. Anyone who had on the other hand, even his friends Jafar and Masrur, all advised her to never make a deal with him. "…What kind of deal?" She asked cautiously, at least willing to hear him out. It wasn't like she had that many options, or the time.

His grin was laced with poison. In a flash he jumped away and Hakuei had to wave her arms to keep her balance. He on the other hand skidded on the ice in a flashy was as easily as he would have walked on the ground. Show-off. "Not lovers? Okay, fine, maybe we aren't." Sinbad began mumbling under his breath. "If me using my powers across the world to get your attention isn't considered a relationship that is…"

"It's not!" Hakuei barked at him.

"Then we'll have to start one then!" Sinbad swirled around with a mischievous grin that Hakuei KNEW she did not like. "Tomorrow. Let's go on our fourth date."

Hakuei felt her mouth drop open. That? He was on the brink of ruining Christmas…for that? "W…What? When was our third date? Or our first?" Sinbad waved the question away, snowflakes following his hand as he moved.

"I think what's important now is whether you agree or not. So Hakuei," He shifted the ice that held her feet and brought her closer to him. She let out a quick gasp as he trailed one cold finger from her collar up to her chin with a clever smile. She could still feel the cold on her skin when he forced her to look her in the eyes. "Will you spend Christmas with me?"

Christmas?

He wanted to spend all of Christmas day with her?

Of all the things! He created a magical blizzard to spend one day with her? "That…That's it?" Sinbad raised one eyebrow as his head to the side.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm willing to go to extreme means to get what I want."

"With little worry towards what it does to others," Hakuei muttered.

"And what I really need," Sinbad continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Is you."

Hakuei stared into his eyes, trying to find the lie. There had to be more than that. But there was no trace of a lie in his eyes. Either he was telling the truth…or a really good liar. But…But…"Don't you have other people to spend Christmas with?"

"Oh sure!" Sinbad laughed. "I need to be at Drakon's place in the morning to give gifts around. But as long as I'm back for dinner, I'll be free for the rest of the day." With a wink he added, "And you know I can get there and back pretty quickly." At that point, she wasn't sure whether she should glare at him or laugh. She wasn't sure of anything at that point. It felt like everything she had known over the last hundred years or so had been a lie. Was that night even real? Was she dreaming? Was Santa playing some kind of trick on her? Would she wake up on Christmas morning just to find nothing had changed?

"Why…Why do you want to spend Christmas with me?"

Sinbad paused. He stared into her eyes, focusing on the bright blue colour that reminded him of the ice he loved so much. This one women who was the only one who had turned his world around for hundreds of years that passed and likely thousands to come within a few hours on one Christmas day. The one who had continued to capture his attention every time he saw her. He learned things about her he liked. He learned things about her he didn't like. He learned things he did like. But no matter what he learned, he always wanted to know more. More about her. He wanted to be around her more. All of her.

And as the legendary Jack Frost, he couldn't possibly let her get away.

"Because it's Christmas."

"Why do you think I would agree to do this?"

He paused at that. Then, with a sheepish smile he said, "Because it's Christmas?"

Hakuei paused. She stared into his eyes, glowing gold like one of the stars at midnight that she would stare at for hours. This was the man who she had wondered about for years as a child, wanting to meet him and discover what he was like. The same one that had crushed her dreams and haunted her nightmares for years afterwards. But even while she tried to tell herself that she hated all the trouble he would cause and never wanted to see him, her heart always got a giddy feeling when he was around. She secretly smiled every time he was able to prove someone else wrong, or froze over an unsuspecting human who was mistreating another. She didn't know him well.

But she couldn't help the desire in her heart that told her to find out more.

"…Fine. But only because it's Christmas."

"Sister, why don't you come play with us?"

Hakuei shook her head to Kouha who tried to pull Hakuei over to Kougyoku and Judal who were surrounded by a few Christmas elves. They had all finished unwrapping their gifts in the morning and now everyone had a few hours to do as they liked before dinner. Hakuryuu and Kouen were reading some books at the couch. Mrs. Claus and Koumei were helping the elves sort out the wrapping paper and divide the gifts that were left over. Her younger siblings were in a circle playing with the small weapons and toys they were given. Hakuei had put her presents to the side and wrapped herself up in a white Christmas sweater with a red scarf and green pants. Everyone else was still in their pajamas, but she looked ready to go out.

Kouha pouted up at his sister in anguish. "But I just got a bow and arrow set! You have to help me learn how to use it!" For the first time he gave her outfit an once-over. "Where are you going anyway?"

"Just…going to see someone," Hakuei answered, being purposefully vague as her cheeks turned red. "He has to leave before dinner, so I shouldn't keep him waiting."

Kouha frowned at her answer. "Who-"

"Hakuei?" She turned to see a familiar face standing at the doorway. He gave her a jolly smile. "You have a visitor." The cold air and snowflakes that trailed out behind him told her who it was. Hakuei tried to fight the smile on her face as the man gave her a knowing smile. "I don't believe he wants to be kept waiting," He added with a wink.

She nodded quickly. "Alright." After a quick goodbye to Kouha she grabbed her coat and hurried past the man.

As she was leaving she added, "Thank you Santa!"

Santa Claus chuckled. "Merry Christmas!"