Chapter 8: A star on the dark horizon

Molly, Bernard, and Judy sat on the stools at the large table in the kitchen, sipping their hot beverages, focused intently on their own respective cups. Molly's brow was furrowed, Bernard was frowning, and Judy was deep in thought. Figuring out the semantics of how this plan would work was proving more and more difficult by the minute.

The kitchen, which had seemed magical and wonderful only hours before, now seemed hauntingly quiet. The cool touch of the wood sent a shiver up Molly's spine as a perplexed look sat permanently on her face.

"What if…." Judy began, then her voice trailed off. "Never mind, that won't work."

Bernard shook his head in bewilderment. "I should have fought harder to find a way that you could stay here. How would anyone besides the elves here know the rules were broken?"

"It's okay, Bernard, really," Molly said, offering a sympathetic smile. "The will of the council must be followed. Even if it's complicated."

She took another sip of her coffee, trying to force her brain to come up with some kind of brilliant idea to make this directive work. As if the coffee suddenly jolted her brain to life, the idea hit and she blinked in surprise. "I've got it!"

Both elves looked away from their own cups, expectantly awaiting the revelation Molly had.

"We know Calvin's a bit of a jerk, and is super forgetful when it comes to his kid, right?"

"Well, we know he's a jerk… but it does make sense from the way he treated Charlie last night," Bernard said.

Molly continued. "It stands to reason he's probably just as forgetful when it comes to other things as well. Could we not forge some kind of documents dated several months ago about a live-in nanny, something about wanting to make his home more welcoming and better suited for when he has his son?"

A smile spread across Judy's face and the gears in her mind started turning. "That's actually not a bad idea! I can get the elves in records to whip something up. We still have a few hours left before morning, and since this is an emergency of sorts, we could employ E.L.F.S. to take care of getting the paperwork to the appropriate locations."

"You could drop me off at the doorstep Christmas morning; I'll show up with the paperwork and he'll be freaked out that he knows me. I can act weirded out as he'll probably mention I was in his dream and I'll suggest that perhaps it was his brain trying to remind him I'd be showing up."

Judy nodded enthusiastically. "My only concern would be Charlie. He'd recognize you right away." She glanced over at Bernard. "Maybe you could take care of that? Have a quick word with Charlie while Santa is trying to figure out things with Molly?"

Bernard just stared at them for a moment and blinked. "How did you two just do that?"

Without skipping a beat, and in complete unison, both women replied "Great minds!" then laughed.

He shook his head slowly in bewilderment. "That was weird. But yes, I can take care of that. Once he gets you a room, Molly, I'll meet you in there and we can try to sort out where to go from there."

The plan was quickly and efficiently coming together. Judy hurried off to records to put the plan in play, while Bernard walked Molly back to his apartment to gather her things. It saddened the blonde that she had spent so little time in Elfsburg and at the workshop. There were still no answers as to why she was there in the first place, and now the place she desired to see most would be far from her reaches.

"What am I going to do about clothes?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"I hadn't thought of that. I suppose we'll have to get you some. We have vaults of different currencies for extreme circumstances. I think we can spare some money. We should probably provide you with a stipend until Calvin starts to pay you anyway."

At the mention of pay, Molly' eyes flew wide open in panic. "Pay?! How are we going to do that if I'm not an American citizen? I don't even have a bank in this world!"

Bernard chuckled. "Judy will take care of that in records. We have dummy accounts at all the major banks just in case. We'll switch this one to the name we'll create for you and have all the appropriate paperwork drawn up."

Molly let out a sigh of relief, then slumped down on the couch and huffed. She pulled her legs up to the couch, wrapping her arms around them so her knees were just under her chin.

"It's crazy. I used to daydream about those movies being real-about the chance to end up living them. But I never actually imagined that if it happened, it would be so real. That it wouldn't be all sunshine, roses and magic. That there'd be real consequences to my being here, and that there would be a feeling of being completely alone."

Bernard listened quietly, observing this girl who had been so filled with positivity and light the night before. Even though her sadness seemed in the moment, there was a darkness in her eyes he hadn't noticed before. Not an evil darkness, but one of loneliness and sadness. He sat down beside her and smiled.

"Things usually aren't quite as magical as we dream they would be," he said, leaning back into the couch, and shifting so that he was facing her. "But we make the best of it, just like you were doing last night."

Looking up, Molly smiled feebly. "You're right, I know you are. It's just. You know, there's this place filled with life and magic. And instead, I'm going to be spending my time here with a grouchy man who doesn't want to accept that he's Santa, dealing with the thralls of his unpleasant divorce, and my only real friend will be a six-year-old."

She sighed again and shrugged. "Maybe it won't be that bad. But right now, it's hard to see the upside."

Reaching over, Bernard placed his hand on her knee to comfort her. "Hey, you won't be alone. I'm not going to just leave you there – I'll come visit as often as I can, and I'm sure Judy will take some time to come see you too. She's taken quite a liking to you. Something about your fighting spirit?"

Molly laughed through the tears that were starting to run down her face and wiped them off her cheeks with the back of her sleeve.

"Do you think the council will be okay with that?"

"To be honest, I don't care what they think," Bernard replied. "As far as I'm concerned, you're our responsibility. That means taking care of you and giving you what you need to survive in this world." He paused, then winked. "And if Santa ends up being as much of a handful as he was last night, you're going to need a lot."

Molly leapt across the couch and threw her arms around Bernard then pulled away. "Thank you. Seriously, thank you so much. It's terrifying not knowing anyone or anything in a strange world. I'm a little less scared knowing I have at least two people I can rely on."

Bernard flushed slightly at the sudden burst of affection, but quickly shook it off and smiled. "I'm sure you'll find as time goes on, you'll have more than that to rely on." He stood up and motioned towards the door. "We should get going. Judy will more than likely have everything ready for you, and we have to get you to Illinois."

Dr. Hismus, Quinton, and Judy were waiting for the head elf and the human girl in Bernard's office, much to Molly' surprise. She hadn't expected the other two elves to be there, but it felt good to see at least someone willing to bid her farewell.

"I'm going to check in on you for your health, every now and again," Dr. Hismus said. "It will take too much to get you in to see a human doctor, and we need to keep you healthy." His tone was very matter of fact, which caused Molly to fight to stifle a giggle. It was going to take some serious adjusting to fully accept hearing such adult tones from the young-looking elves. Still, she appreciated at least the normalcy of their behaviour. It seemed somewhat grounding in a world that felt like chaos all around her.

Judy smiled warmly and handed Molly a small duffle bag. "I took the liberty of packing some clothes for you. We still had some leftovers for undercover jobs from an older elf that was about your size. They're from the 70s, so they might seem a bit out of place, but it's mostly jeans and t-shirts, so it should be a start."

Molly slung the bag over her shoulder and hugged the elf. "Thank you, for everything Judy. You've been a sprinkle of sanity in all this tumult and confusion."

"I'm glad you've found my presence calming. I can only imagine how this has all been for you." She handed Molly a large manila envelope that the young woman swore smelled of peppermints and chocolate. "Inside you'll find your documents, a new driver's license and date of birth, and anything you need to start your life with the Calvins. There's also a bank card and information on your bank account. If you need anything else, I'll get that arranged for you."

Molly took the papers and thanked Judy again. Quinton spoke up next, stepping forward to shake Molly hand. "Good luck, Molly. I was looking forward to having at least one more tall person around to help out, but perhaps we will get that chance yet."

Grinning, Molly shook his hand. "Oh, I have no doubt that we will."

The three elves filtered out of the office, heading back to work with a final farewell to the human. Molly looked over at Bernard. "So do we have to leave this second, or can we take a walk through Elfsburg first?"

Bernard contemplated for a moment before smiling. "I think we could do that. Just let me reload my watch with another battery; I have more than enough magic to transport myself and talk to Charlie, but it's going to take more for the two of us."

He opened the top drawer in his desk and pulled out a small item with a golden glow. It was the shape and size of your typical watch battery and slid easily inside of Bernard's watch.

"So explain this to me," Molly said. "If you're elves with magic, why do you need extra magic and how does your magic run out?"

"The source of our magic is the North Pole. When the first Santa was found and Elfsburg was created, the elders who helped with its creation fueled the life source of their magic into every fibre of this place. Unfortunately, it also tied the bloodlines of all Christmas elves to the North Pole, meaning it is both the source of our magic and the limits of it."

"So basically, the longer you are away from the North Pole, the less access you have to the source, and the weaker your magic becomes?"

Bernard nodded. "Basically. The magic we work into these watches is manufactured, but it helps. It too, is limited though, because it comes from us. It's physically draining, and taking too much can kill us. So, it has its uses, but we are still cautious."

It made sense-but it also saddened Molly a bit. Even in a world where magic truly existed, that magic was limited by the disbelief of the world itself. She wondered, if the world could be taught to believe in magic, would the Christmas Elves' power flourish again?

Breaking away from her thoughts she smiled at Bernard softly. "Well, we better get going then; we don't want to risk you using up all your magic just to take me to Illinois."

They walked down the hallway, and Molly craned her neck to get one last glance at the workshop and the wondrous building surrounding it. She took in every piece of it-the shades of gold, red, and green on the posts, the sparkles glittering off the elves' cheeks, the machinery—everything. If she never got the chance to return to this place, she wanted every moment of it burned into her memory forever.

When they reached the main entrance, Molly paused and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. She could feel her anxiety levels spiking, and for just a moment, considered turning on her heels and fleeing back into the workshop. For Bernard's sake, however, she knew she had to push through it. Her hands were shaking slightly, as she tried to fathom this new life that was set before her.

Bernard stopped beside the girl, noticing the slight quiver in her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Molly gave him a short nod. "I will be. It's just...when we open this door, everything gets real. This new life, leaving here, the fact that I am so far away from home. This door—this moment—changes everything."

Before he fully realized what he was doing, Bernard moved and pulled the trembling girl into a tight hug, then stepped back, hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. She gave him a perplexed look.

"It doesn't change everything. Even though you haven't been here long, you have friends here in Elfsburg. You have me, and right now, we have all the time in the world to become friends. You won't be alone."

Taking one last deep breath, Molly smiled, then pulled away and flung open the doors.

"Let the adventure begin!"