"Of all the ways I debated spending my Christmas this year, I have to admit this never quite crossed my mind," the man murmured, looking at his younger colleague in front of him.
"Perhaps we underestimated the Grimm," Alexander replied. "After all we have heard from Portland…"
"That is true," Albert De Groot mused. "It seems we are living in a strange world, Mr Meijer. First the incident with the grausen, and now this. I almost wish we were back to dealing with those young people who thought to break the Gesetzbuch Ehrenkodex again."
"They were undoubtedly easier to manage," the pflichttreue said in agreement.
"Yes they were. But I find we still have an important question left to answer – the Krampus that the Grimm handed us control over. What do we do about him?"
Alexander watched the man he had known since childhood with worried eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen De Groot without a quick action in mind, and he found he didn't like the change.
"If he is as unaware of wesen as we have been told, it will perhaps be an insurmountable obstacle to getting him to believe the truth."
De Groot turned from the window to face his young protégé. "Indeed," he murmured. "If this was any other case, I would have suggested an easier way out. But as things are unfolding in Portland, I do not truly believe we can risk having the Grimm against us."
"It is true then?" Alexander asked in fain shock. "About the bastard prince?"
"Sean Renard, yes. It seems he has not only thrown in his lot with the Laufer, but also with Grimm. He is too important to risk alienating, especially with the politics of his family now that the heir is dead."
"Many believe that he had a hand in it."
"And I do not doubt it," De Groot replied calmly. "Still, I do not think he intends to take over. From what I know of him, he is not too pleased with the idea of the Royal Houses existing at all, which makes him an all the more necessary ally."
"And it all comes back to the Krampus," Alexander sighed.
"Indeed. I suspect that this is a test – we made it rather clear that we did not trust the Grimm over the grausen incident, and as it stands, that was an intrusion into his territory without prior warning. This is his way of making certain that he can trust us – and someone who already holds the trust of a Royal, bastard or not, is not one to be trifled with."
"What about you?"
"For all that we have an understanding, Sean Renard has never trusted me, nor I him. No, if it comes to a choice, there is little doubt in my mind that he will choose the Grimm, even if doing so did not ensure a rather large amount of political power would fall into his hands," De Groot said.
Another person would have thought that he had made peace with that decision, understood it, even. But Alexander could detect the slightest hint of bitterness – his mentor had never taken well to the knowledge that there were greater powers in the world that he had to appease.
"And so, young Alexander," De Groot murmured, "We return to my original question. What do we do with the Krampus?"
As the man turned to look out the window in quiet contemplation, Alexander sighed. He had been looking forward to Christmas – but obviously, all those plans had to be cancelled now. This took precedence over anything else.
…
Damn the Grimm.
A/N: So I was rewatching 'Stories We Tell Our Young' and I've decided that I'm kind of in love with Alexander's character. I don't even know why.
Plus, I don't think the Council is going to be too pleased to be saddled with a Krampus just a couple of days before Christmas, so here have some wesen politics :)
Just one more chapter in this collection to go - I'm pretty sure it's going to be a min character ensemble piece.
Anyhow, I hope you guys liked this. As always, please don't forget to drop a review on your way out! :)