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“Nope. No way. Definitely not.”
“Darra, please. It’s Christmas, and this is what mortal families do!” Kyra did her best to keep her tone hushed but she was finding that extremely difficult.
They were in a public place and this was not the sort of argument that she wanted passers by to hear. Her husband was being frustratingly stubborn, however, and it was difficult to convey her annoyance in a whisper. She was pretty sure the lady in the red jacket who had just passed them had overheard her use the word ‘mortal.’
At this rate, it was probably only a matter of time before the DMI was on their case.
“Daddy, please! I want to see Santa. You said we would!”
Kyra could not suppress a satisfied smirk at her son’s plea and there was no doubt that Adrien was on her side with this one. The four-year-old had been looking forward to this all week and it wasn’t fair to back out of the promise they had made now.
“We did promise, Darra.” She pointed out before brushing a lock of dark brown hair out of her son’s eyes. “And it’s Ella’s first Christmas. I want to get a nice photo we can give to my dad. You know, a nice normal photo. We never give him any that he can take to work or show to his friends.”
Her dad did have several pictures of his grandchildren, of course, but since both children had taken after their father more than they had expected, Steve Glen hadn’t really been able to show them off as much as he would have liked. Despite their unique lineage, and her own unusual mixture of fairy, elf and human, both Adrien and Ella had been born looking like full-blooded elves. That had been an unexpected surprise and while she did love their adorably pointed ears, it had made any excursions into the human world fairly difficult.
It had taken Kyra a long time to learn the spells needed to make her children visible and human-looking, and she did not like to risk using them often. Using too much magic on young children was not advisable, and it was unsettling to see them in disguise, which was why she had been hoping to keep their trip to the mall short and sweet that afternoon.
So far, however, things had not gone according to plan.
They had arrived at the River City Shopping Centre on schedule but had already had to make two trips to the toilets for emergency nappy changes and dealt with Adrien having a meltdown in front of a festive chocolate shop. The mall wasn’t huge, but it had taken almost forty-five minutes to reach ‘Santa’s Village’…and that was when the real trouble had begun.
Darra had taken one look at the display before shaking his head in horror and insisting that they call the whole thing off.
In her opinion, he was overreacting, and she was determined to see this through, no matter what. Sure, she had been purposefully vague about what to expect (growing up in the magical world, he had never experienced a human mall during Christmas time), and she had suspected that he wouldn’t be too pleased by some elements of it, but she had not really anticipated this level of resistance.
“Kyra, I do not want my children being photographed with those…those…things!” Darra insisted, tilting his head towards the entrance to Santa’s Village. “It’s insulting! They look ridiculous!”
Kyra glanced back before letting out a long sigh. She could understand where he was coming from, but she had hoped that he would be able to see it all as a bit of Christmassy fun.
Apparently, that was not the case.
Her husband could not stop glaring at the two teenagers who were dressed up as Christmas elves by the entrance and he made no attempt to mask his disgust.
Even she had to admit that they looked preposterous with their green and red striped outfits, oversized plastic ears, and pointy festive hats. But she didn’t really think that it would have a detrimental effect on the kids. All Adrien cared about was seeing Santa, and Ella was too young to know what was going on.
“The picture is just with Santa,” Kyra explained, trying her best to be patient as she drew a deep breath. “You don’t have to talk to those two, we just have to walk past and wait in the queue, take a quick picture, at leave. It’ll be fast, I promise.”
As if sensing his opportunity, Adrien took a step forward and tugged on his father’s pant leg, looking up with his wide brown eyes.
“Daddy, pretty please?” He asked again with his most adorable pout, “I’ve been good all week and I really want to meet Santa.”
Darra shot Kyra an annoyed look that seemed to say ‘we are not done discussing this’ before he crouched down to meet his son’s eye.
“Alright buddy.” He said with a sigh, eliciting a huge smile from the boy. “But we’re not going to talk to those people in the silly costumes at the front.” Darra paused for a moment, shooting his wife a subtle glare. “And we’re never going to tell Grandma and Grandpa Blackwell about this, deal?”
Adrien shook his head eagerly, clearly willing to agree to anything that would get him to Santa, before beginning his dash towards the entrance.
She heard Darra let out an annoyed sigh as he began to push Ella’s carriage but she purposefully quickened her stride to catch up with her son before he could say anything else. Adrien had been too quick to be greeted by the so-called elves at the entrance and as they opened their mouths to greet her she shook her head frantically, hoping to spare them from a confrontation with her husband.
Thankfully, the two teens seemed to get the hint and they kept quiet as the rest of the Blackwell family walked past. Darra had been unable to hold back another glare and, as they joined the short queue inside ‘Santa’s workshop’ he muttered something about having no respect.
Kyra wanted to point out that they were simply two high-schoolers making a bit of seasonal cash, and had no idea that elves actually existed, but she thought the better of it. He was clearly not in the mood to listen to reason and the display inside of the workshop had already provided more unpleasant distractions.
“Daddy?” Adrien asked, turning towards his father after taking a long glimpse through a window inside the pavilion. “Why are those elves so tiny?”
For a moment, neither parent knew what he was referring to, but as they bent down to look at the display he had been gazing at their questions were answered.
The area where families waited for their turn with Santa was lined with small, child-sized windows, each of which looked out upon a miniature Christmas display. The one Adrien had been looking at depicted a scene in Santa’s workshop, complete with a troop of tiny elves hammering away at various toys as Santa looked on.
Darra instantly stiffened, and Kyra could tell that he was fighting to keep his cool.
“Because they’re not real elves.” He explained, as calmly as he could through gritted teeth. “They’re just characters in a human story.”
Adrien seemed satisfied with that answer but, before he could move on to look through the next window Darra put a hand on his shoulder.
“Let’s not look at any more of those displays, okay buddy?” He said before shooting Kyra another pointed look. “They’re a bit silly, don’t you think?”
The boy shrugged but, thankfully, seemed willing to comply and talk turned to all of the things he was hoping to find under the tree on Christmas morning.
After what felt like eternity, but was probably only a couple of minutes, it was finally their turn and Adrien quickly rushed forward to take a seat on Santa’s lap. He started talking excitedly, clearly convinced that he was meeting the real deal. Even Darra had to smile at the boy’s enthusiasm, and Kyra felt a moment of relief as she brought Ella over for the photo op as well.
The relief was short lived, however. After a few seconds, Darra caught sight of the woman who was taking the photographs and a fresh scowl instantly crossed his face. She was dressed up in full elf gear too and looked just as absurd at the two out front.
“It’s okay.” Kyra whispered as she stepped back beside him. “They’re just gonna take the picture and then we can go. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
Unfortunately, the photographer turned out to be a bit chattier than she had hoped.
“Hello there, sweetheart, I’m Merry the Christmas elf!” She greeted Adrien as she adjusted his pose next to Santa. “Can you lean nice and close while Santa holds your baby sister?”
Adrien smiled happily, clearly forgetting the promise he had made about not talking to the so-called elves.
“Hi Merry!” He greeted back with a wave before obligingly following her instructions. “I’m Adrien. And this is Ella. We’re actually elves too, like our dad.”
Kyra felt Darra tense beside her as he let out a quiet choking noise. They both exchanged a look of mutual shock. Clearly, they had not drilled in the importance of magical secrets well enough—but Kyra quickly gathered her composure and did her best to keep a calm smile on her face.
“It’s fine. He’s young, they’ll just think he has a big imagination.” She whispered as quietly as she could.
Thankfully, “Merry” let out an amused laugh.
“Is that so?” She asked as she backed up and positioned herself behind the camera. “And I suppose your mum is an elf too, Adrien?”
Kyra did her best to catch her son’s eye, but the boy was too wrapped up in his conversation to look in her direction.
“Kinda.” He replied, still smiling. “She’s part elf, part fairy, and part human.”
The mother had to suppress a groan as she began to think about the sort of serious conversation they obviously needed to have when they got home. Maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea after all.
“My my, aren’t you a creative one.” The photographer laughed again. “Now, smile!”
With one blinding flash, it was finally over and Kyra quickly dashed over to pick up Ella and usher Adrien towards the exit. “Thanks.” She managed, offering Santa and his helper the best smile she could muster in the current circumstances. Clearly, they had not believed the boy but it did not make the moment any more comfortable.
Darra followed closely behind, the buggy in tow, and both parents let out a sigh of relief as they finally emerged back into the mall.
“Ooo, look, a Santa’s workshop colouring book!” Adrien exclaimed, clearly oblivious to their current stress levels.
Kyra took a quick glace at the pile of free books before abruptly directing him away. “You don’t need that, Adrien. You have nicer colouring books at home.” She said firmly. There was a picture of Santa and a few tiny elves on the cover, and she was willing to bet that the pictures inside were no better.
For the first time that afternoon, Darra nodded in agreement.
Before her son could protest Kyra turned to her husband. “I’m going to go pay for the picture at the front. You take the kids back to that private bathroom we found and jump home. I’ll be there soon.”
“Fine.” Darra agreed, clearly keen to get out of the human mall and back to the safety of their own home. “See you soon.”
Without another moment of hesitation, he began to trek across the long hallway. As she watched them go, Kyra let out another long sigh of relief.
As long as Adrien didn’t talk to anyone else in the next minute and a half, they were going to survive this family outing.
Barely.
…she hoped that her father really appreciated his Christmas present this year.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“He’s finally asleep.” Kyra said, flopping down on the couch next to her husband. Darra had already poured two glasses of red wine, and she gratefully picked hers up. It had been a long day, to say the least, and she felt that she had earned this treat.
After taking a deep sip she pulled her legs up beneath her and leaned back, her head nestled against his warm chest.
The lights on the Christmas tree sparkled warmly and she spent a long moment simply revelling in the sound of the crackling fire. It might not have been the Christmassy day she had been hoping for, but things had turned out okay in the end. She would always be grateful for her little family, no matter how complicated things might be at times.
“Do you think he understood our talk?” Darra asked after taking a drink from his own glass.
Kyra paused for a moment, recalling the discussion that had had about keeping secrets from humans after their stressful trip to see Santa.
“I think he got it.” She said honestly. “But he’s still a friendly four-year-old, and he’s not used to hiding things.” The woman looked up at her husband before hesitantly continuing. “You’re probably right, we shouldn’t put him in situations like that until we’re sure he’s ready.”
Darra nodded in agreement but, thankfully, chose not to follow that with an ‘I told you so”—even though he had every right to that day.
“I’m sorry I dragged you guys there.” Kyra added, letting out another sigh. “I thought it would be a nice thing to do for my dad, but it was a little silly. I don’t like having to hide who they really are and—”
“And some human Christmas traditions reinforce ridiculous stereotypes about elves?” He finished for her, a knowing smirk on his face.
Kyra gave him a playful nudge before nodding.
“It’s okay.” Darra continued, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. “I get it. You meant well and wanted them to experience something you did as a kid.”
The woman nodded again, glad that he had calmed down significantly since their earlier trip and was back to being his usual sweet and laid-back self.
Even during their most stressful times, she never questioned her love for this man.
“You know,” she began again, looking up at him once more as she leaned forward and placed down her glass. “I’m not sure if I hate everything about those silly Christmas elves. I mean, I do love Christmas, and it’s kind of fun to be festive, don’t you think?”
Darra raised an eyebrow, clearly perplexed by her sudden change in tone.
“I suppose.” He said, curious but hesitant.
With a playful smirk, she slowly undid the top two buttons of his white shirt and placed a quick peck on his cheek. He smiled.
“I know it’s stupid, but I keep wondering what my handsome elf would look like with a little festive touch…and nothing else.” She continued, her voice much lower than it had been before. “I mean, if you’re game that is.”
Darra rolled his eyes playfully before pulling her forward and capturing her with a deep kiss. As they broke apart, he sighed in mock annoyance.
“You know that this handsome elf is willing to do pretty much anything you want.” He replied, still holding her close. “You always manage to make me weak.”
Kyra smiled back and, with a wave of her hand, summoned the item that she’d had in mind.
For a moment, it looked like he was a about to protest but, thankfully, he simply let out an amused laugh and took the hat from her. A second later, he had put it on his head and shot her skeptical look. “Really, Kyra?” He asked, clearly having no idea how adorably appealing he looked.
“Really.” She confirmed before straddling his lap and pulling him in for another passionate kiss.
After a long day, Kyra needed this sweet—and festive— release.
Just as things began to heat up, however, the sound a quiet voice caused the two to break apart abruptly.
“Mum? Dad?”
Thankfully, their clothes were still more or less on and Kyra did her best to quickly steady her breath.
“Adrien! You’re awake!” She said, jumping to her feet as she tried to ignore the annoying pound of her heart.
Darra looked equally surprised and he scrambled to adjust his now-half opened shirt.
“I wanted some water.” The boy said, stifling a yawn as he stretched out his arms.
“Of course, sweetheart, come with me to the kitchen and I’ll get you a glass.”
But the boy did not move as she passed and, now more awake, he stood starring at his father instead.
“Daddy? Do you work for Santa?” He asked, innocently noticing the hat Darra had obligingly agreed to wear.
The look of horror that crossed the man’s face was priceless and he instantly pulled off the item and blasted it into oblivion with a flash of blue light from his fingers. Kyra had to stifle a laugh as he struggled to regain his composure.
“No! Of course not!” He stuttered. “Mummy and Daddy…we…I found that silly hat behind the couch and decided to try it on.”
Kyra snorted but the boy seemed to accept his father’s lame answer.
“Come on, let’s get that water.” She cut in, finally ushering Adrien out of the room.
Before she left, she managed to catch her husband’s eye and mouthed a quick ‘sorry’ before giving him a playful wink.
Darra glared back, shaking his head slowly from side to side.
She knew he wasn’t actually that angry, though, and she was willing to bet that he would be more than willing to pick up where they had left off soon.
As she made her way towards the kitchen with her son, the boy paused for a moment and looked up. It was clear that something was on his mind.
“Mum,” He began, gazing at her with his perfect combination of her brown eyes and his father’s pointed ears. “I think I’d like to work for Santa one day.”
That had not been what she had been expecting and Kyra could not hold back a laugh.
“Okay, sweetheart.” She replied with a smile. “Just don’t tell your father.”