Part 3

"What a beautiful ceremony, don't you agree, Bernard?"

Bernard groaned when he heard Santa's unmistakable voice behind him. He was uncomfortable in a traditional white silk shirt with ruffles around the collar, a short corduroy jacket, and green corduroy lederhosen, and all he wanted was to go home. Sure, he was happy for Judy and Andrew, but Christmas was less than a week away. Surely there were more pressing matters at hand?

Santa slid into the seat across from Bernard. The tables around them, all draped with carefully embroidered tablecloths adorned with miniature Christmas trees for centerpieces, were empty- the other elves were dancing. He surveyed the head elf for a few moments, wondering exactly why the other elf was under so much stress, even sitting amidst a wedding celebration.

Bernard shook his head. "Of course, Santa, it was a very good ceremony. As was the last one we both attended, in the spring of 2000." He purposefully put an extra emphasis on the word 'spring', at which Santa gave a short bark of laughter.

"Is that why you aren't celebrating?" Santa asked, sipping a glass of sparkling champagne that one of the elves working as waiter presented him as soon as he had seated himself. "Bernard, you've managed to run the workshop without any mistakes for over a thousand years. I think you, of all people, could afford to relax for a bit."

Bernard glared at him, and then glanced over at the crowd of dancing elves. He decided rather quickly that he preferred being alone with Santa than lost in that crowd.

"I suppose I could," Bernard grumbled. He accepted a flute of champagne from a passing waiter's tray, and held it up. "To Judy and Andrew, and to Christmas Eve."

Santa held his glass, and took a sip. Mrs. Clause, dressed in a simple blue gown and silver earrings, joined them, a bit flushed from dancing.

"I can't believe you two are sitting her arguing when you could be out there!" She gestured to the dance floor, ablaze with colour. "You could use a lady in your life," she added to the head elf. He spluttered. "No, honestly," she barreled on. "You work too hard, and you're always stressed. You need a little bit of a social life, and what more than a lady friend?"

Santa shrugged. "We were just talking, that's all." He surveyed his wife. "Why this sudden interest in Bernard's love life?" He turned to Bernard, who was ashen. "It must be the wedding fever. Women get that way, don't they? Carol, why don't you go and have fun, and we'll be along in a minute or two?"

Mrs. Clause opened her mouth, and then paused with a grin. "Fine."

Bernard let out a sigh, one that he was unaware he'd been holding in.

"But only if Bernard comes with me," she added hastily, grabbing Bernard's arm and leading him from his chair. Spluttering but unable to make himself wrench his arm away, Bernard began dancing obligingly. Mrs. Clause grinned over his shoulder at her husband, who was watching happily. As he spun Mrs. Clause outward, he glanced around him and was surprised to see Belle dancing not far away with the groom. He found himself watching as she dipped her head back, her blonde hair catching the gleams from the twinkling fairy lights that were strung about the ballroom.

The dance ended, and he bowed slightly to Mrs. Clause, who curtsied in return. The partners switched, and Bernard found himself dancing with Judy, the bride. She giggled when he jokingly kissed her gloved hand, and twirled her about the floor.

As elves from around the city spun around them, Judy stood on tiptoe and whispered into Bernard's ear. "So," she said quietly, so no one else could hear, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Bernard thought for a moment, and nodded. Because you just didn't tell the bride that you thought she had planned her wedding at the wrong time of the year- it wasn't proper. "Of course, Judy," he said.

"You're lying," she said with a small smile. "But that's okay." She spun, and he caught her hand again. "Do you like Belle's dress?"

"Belle?" Bernard repeated. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the elf. She was dancing with Curtis, whose eyes had just about fallen out of his head at his luck. Though she herself was rather average for her age, Belle was still on the shorter side, making her a bit taller than the keeper of the handbook. His eyes fell at just about the top of her dress, a fact Bernard presumed she hadn't been made aware of yet.

Judy cleared her throat.

Bernard snapped around to face her, and shrugged. "It's nice," he said noncommittally.

Judy smiled knowingly. "Just nice?" she asked teasingly.

Bernard turned back to her, and smirked. "Fine," he snapped. "She looks very pretty. Was that better?"

Judy laughed. "That's more along the lines I was looking for," she admitted. Andrew, having torn himself away from an elderly nurse who was holding one of his gloves and giggling, whirled by and scooped his bride away from the head elf. Bernard took the opportunity to inch towards the table he'd been sitting at, but was stopped by Santa's niece, Lucy, who was ten.

"Dance with me?" she asked sweetly. He grinned in spite of himself at her blue velvet dress and shiny black Mary Janes.

"Of course, Miss Lucy," he said. The elves playing in the band on the stage behind him struck up a tune he could have sworn he'd heard about a million times in the workshop- 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.' "Here," he said, taking her hands in his. "I'll show you how to waltz."

"Okay Bernard," Lucy said happily. She twirled around slowly under Bernard's care, and shrieked with glee when he spun her.

When the song ended, she bounded off to find Charlie, shouting 'thank you' over her shoulder. He sighed with relief, and attempted again to edge off the dance floor. This time he was stopped by a tap on his shoulder.

"Are you… sneaking away?" a quiet voice asked with a hint of amusement.

Bernard turned slowly, to find a smirking Belle in front of him. The emeralds sewn into her dress reflected the soft fairy lights strung around the ballroom, and sparkled beautifully. They made it seem like she herself was a glittering jewel amidst dull rocks. "I was…" he gestured uncomfortably towards the table that Santa, Mrs. Clause, Lucy, and Charlie were sitting at. The table he'd been trying to get to. "About to take a break, actually," he said lamely.

"Oh, I see," she said with a smirk. "And the fact that you didn't even want to come doesn't have anything to do with it, hmmm?" Someone shoved her into him, and he automatically reached for her hands. They began to dance with the rest of the crowd, and neither noticed when Judy and Andrew danced by and snapped a photograph.

"As a matter of fact…" Bernard began, sounding a bit harsher than he had intended. The sting in his voice did not go unnoticed- Belle looked up at him, the smile fading from her eyes.

"I understand," Belle said. She didn't really understand how his behaviour had gone odd since the last time they had spoken, the day Chet almost ran into them. She took her hands away and curtsied. "Thank you for the dance, sir." She slipped past a pair of older elves making googly eyes at each other before Bernard could get another word out.

He sighed, and made his way towards the Clauses. He sat roughly in the only empty space, and signaled the waiter, who hurried over and supplied him with a flute of champagne. Bernard surveyed the dance floor again, and upon catching a glimpse of green, downed the entire glass. It was only after did he realise that the only green he'd seen across the floor was the boughs of the Christmas tree on the stage with the band.

Mrs. Clause cleared her throat. "Bernard, if I may-"

He held his hand up. "Mrs. Clause, with all due respect, I would rather you not try to pull any love therapist act on me. I'm perfectly content."

She opened her mouth to say something anyway, but was drowned out by an elf announcing the ceremonial tossing of the bride's flowers and the groom's cufflinks, and the request for every single elf or human in the room to make their way to the center of the ballroom. Both Clauses stared at Bernard.

When he finally noticed their expressions, he shook his head. "No. I'm not doing it."

"But you have to!" Mrs. Clause exclaimed. "Every single elf or human has to participate; those are the rules." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Do I need to escort you?"

Bernard stared at her, and she raised her eyebrows. Throwing his napkin on the table, he stood and stomped towards the center of the room, where the crowd of elves was gathered. An elf bearing a green velvet cushion was standing in between Judy and Andrew, who had placed their respective items on the crushed emerald material.

The elf holding the cushions snapped his fingers, and a megaphone appeared in his hand. He lifted it to his mouth, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen! As you all know, the items placed upon the cushion have been placed under the Happily Ever After spell, and once the groom is instructed to kiss the bride, they will vanish. The items have been known to take up to three years to seek the destined. If you are lucky enough to have the items turn up in your house, you may be lucky enough to find their counterpart."

Some of the older elves smiled appreciatively. For the younger elves, and for Lucy, Charlie's half-sister, the elf holding the cushion elaborated. "You see," he said, holding up the crushed velvet pillow, "If these find their way back to each other, and the two people truly believe, their love will last forever."

The gathering of women clapped.

He held the pillow high, and then whispered, "Then without further ado, good luck!" He slid the cufflinks into the spaces on the ribbon holding the flowers together. "You… er, can kiss the bride," he added.

Andrew turned to Judy, and grinned. He slid his hands into her hair, and tilted her face towards his. A single tear dropped from her eye, and she sniffed. He paused, but she shook her head and leaned forward, capturing his lips in a sweet kiss.

The majority of the women cooed, and the men continued clapping. The flowers shimmered, and disappeared.

Later that night, after the city had fallen asleep and the snow had started falling, an old magic took hold of the energy that surrounded the North Pole. The flowers, having disengaged from the cufflinks, sought out the next groom. Shortly before dawn, they found him- he had fallen asleep half-dressed on an old sleigh bed in the dormitory wing connected to the workshop. His hat was cock-eyed on his head, and his hair covered his closed eyes, normally as brown as warm gingerbread. They situated themselves on the horn table in the front hall of his suite of rooms, waiting for the morning.

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this next installment of Jingle Belle! I totally got re-inspired by this holiday cd that the Disney Channel put out, believe it or not, so I probably won't be going anywhere for a while. I have a basic, bulletproof outline in mind (watch out!!!!), but as always, SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME. I also updated my profile, so, if you wanna check that out, it's absolutely corking with me. In fact, I also love reviews! Over and out! Flyinghawk.