A Christmas Story by Kiley and Tien

Author's Note:  This piece was written near Christmas time; Kiley and I thought it would be fun to make a little story to go with the wonderful holiday.  Enjoy our Christmas story!

“Jingle Bells, Jingle bells! Jingle all the way!” go the carolers walking from house to house.It was Christmas Eve and all of the little boys and girls were yelling rambunctiously, throwing glitter and streamers toward the tree. They were practically creating their own winter wonderland. Outside kids were sledding, skiing, and of course playing in the snow.

One house down Santa Street lived a boy, Frederick, and a little girl, Fran. Their parents didn’t approve of Christmas. They weren’t as joyful as their neighbors on Santa St.  In their tiny gray house, no joy was spread. There were no stocking above the fireplace, no glittering crystal balls on their evergreen trees, and of course no presents. Man, this family is boring.

The kids were nothing like their parents. They deserved happiness, not boredom.  They sat outside on their front porch, watching the little kids get ready for Santa to arrive. They wanted the twinkling Christmas lights and the glittering Christmas tree. They savored every waking minute of that, except for the couple kissing under the mistletoe.

Well, maybe the kids were a little bit like their parents. An idea sparked into both of their tiny little heads.“Hey, if we can’t celebrate Christmas, then nobody can!” Frederick said with a cackling evil laugh.  At that moment an evil grin spread across Fran’s face.

At night, they both sat in their living room thinking of ways to stop Christmas. But there was no need for plotting. At that moment, a puff of smoke came out of the fireplace. They thought it was Santa, but no, it was an evil, anti-Christmas witch named Zoe.

“I know what you can do.” Said Zoe with an evil grin on her face.

“Wait, who are you?” said Fran with fright.

“I am what you’ve been waiting for. I will help you stop Christmas. It’s my least favorite holiday.”

But then, another puff of smoke came out of the fireplace. It was a tiny, purple fairy named Callie.

“Wait, stop! Don’t listen to her. She just wants to ruin the holiday for everyone on Santa Street,” said Callie.

“And, how do you know that?” Frederick questioned.

“Because, she is my evil step-sister.”

“Seriously, we aren’t to a Cinderella story, are we?” the kids asked.

“What’s Cinderella? Callie questioned in a serious tone. “Don’t tell me that’s another witch. Now come on and we will ask the Prince for help. Now get into my used to be pumpkin carriage.”

“Oh brother, really?” the kids said in unison.

As they rode away in Callie’s used to be pumpkin carriage pulled by four snow white horses, Zoe, the evil witch, followed behind on her broomstick. When they got to the castle, nobody was there. Not even the servants, it was a vacant area. So, they went next door to his brother’s castle, and still no one was to be seen. So they took the horse drawn carriage to the third castle. The castle that was the biggest and best of them all. And of course, everyone was there.  The prince was throwing a huge Christmas Eve party to spread joy throughout the kingdom.  When the prince spotted us, he danced across the room to where we were standing.  
    “Hello Callie,”greeted the prince, “How may I help you?”
    “It’s Zoe, she is trying to stop Christmas and plans to destroy this holiday forever!” Callie said this in a rushed and frightened voice.
    The prince and everyone else in the room stopped and looked at the four of them. “I, Prince Harold, will not stand for this destruction of Christmas.  Come my people and we will stop Zoe!”
    Everyone cheered and hollered in approval of the plan.
    “Now, wait a second,” Callie commanded, “If we all go Zoe will hear us coming and she will destroy everyone in her path.  We only need daring, brave, and worthy people.  If you want to come, you need to be prepare for the most frightening and wicked plans that Zoe has in store.”
    At that moment, a majority of the people stepped back.  The ones who didn’t move didn’t say anything either.  When they thought they lost everyone, a little girl with her younger brother stepped in front of the crowd.
    “My brother and I will join you.  We want her to feel the pain she gave us when she took our parents.”
    “Your name?” asked Callie in a sweet, gentle voice.
    “Winter and this is my brother, Hunt,” she replied in a proud and strong voice.
    “Thank you for volunteering; any others willing to help us?”
    Winter and Hunt got more volunteers than they could imagine.  Although, they had to remember to keep a small army.  They decided to take the first five that raised their hand.  Now, all they had to do was pack for their journey; they would leave at the crack of dawn.  
    That night Fran and Frederick lay in bed thinking.  Of course, they had the same thoughts too.  What dangerous things does Zoe have planned? Will they be able to stop her?  After all those thoughts running through their heads, they fell asleep.  
    Mean while, Zoe was in her fortress stirring up an idea, literally.  Her cauldron changed colors and flashed lights which signaled another idea.  
    “Ooh, maybe I can send my dragons to destroy everyone on Santa Street,” Zoe thought.  “No, not evil enough.  Maybe I can follow Santa on his flight to America.  When he gets to the border, I can hijack his sleigh when he goes to get hot chocolate.  He won’t make it to anybody’s house, well at least with presents he won’t. No matter what I do, I have to hurry, because Santa Claus is coming to town.”  Zoe marched out of her lair and disappeared into the mysterious sky.

As Zoe took flight in the back of the castle, Callie, Prince Harold, and the rest of the army arrived on a small carriage pulled by 4 chestnut horses.  “Here’s the plan,” Callie started as she pulled out a map with lines and arrows in every direction, “We’ll split into groups of three.  Fran, Winter, Lia, go through the back door and find the lair. Hunt, Frederick, John, go through the side entrance to find Zoe.  Prince Harold, George and I will stop any trouble along the way.  What ever you do, don’t get caught.”  

Fran, Winter, and Lia made their way to the back as Hunt, Frederick, and John went through the side.  Callie and her team waited to make sure nothing went wrong.  Please don’t take them, Callie whispered.  As soon as everyone was safe in the fortress, well as safe as a witches home could be, Prince Harold and his team headed inside.  

The door clicked behind Lia.  “Now where are we going to find a liar in this place?” asked Fran.  Their whispers bounced off the walls.  Pitter patters of little feet and the rustle of wings was heard from every corner.

“Let’s think,” decided Winter, “if Zoe doesn’t want us to find it she’ll put it far off and hidden behind something...terrible.”

Zoe obviously knew they were coming, because as they made their first step in Fran slipped through a trap door and ways holding on for dear life with her left hand.

    “Ah!” screamed Fran,”Don’t just stand there, help me!”
    “Shh!” exclaimed Winter and Lia in unison.  They grabbed on to each of Fran’s arms and pulled her out of the hole.
    Right as she got out, Winter felt somebody’s breath at the back of her neck.  She spun around and saw a boy with caramel colored hair, but it was hard to see because he was wearing a helmet.

“You aren’t supposed to be here. This is Zoe’s castle, and you are definitely not Zoe,” the guy said as he stared at them in disgust.

“Wait a second,” said Fran. “Where is Zoe, and who are you? You look really familiar.”

“It’s none of your business where Zoe went,” the boy commanded in a voice that showed in his lack of confidence. “Why would I tell you my name?  You haven’t told me yours.”

“Fran, Winter, Lia.  Now will you tell us?”

“Fine, I’m Trek.”

“Of course,” exclaimed Winter. “That’s how I remember you.  Your parents were good friends with mine.  We used to go to each other’s houses for Christmas.  Your real name is Kert; it’s Trek backwards.”

“What are you talking about?  I don’t have parents.”

“Everyone has parents.”

“Not me, I’m a part of Zoe’s plan so I can’t trust you, but if you show me my parents I might consider believing you.”
    “I can’t do that, because they were destroyed by Zoe along with my parents.  Zoe must have taken you after your mom and dad died.  If you help us find Zoe, we can stop all this nonsense that she has cause for us; we can stop her once and for all.”

There was a long pause, then Kert nodded.  “Only for my parents.”  They all smiled in triumph.  Then, Kert started to tell them her plan.  “She is going to the border of the united states and is wait for Santa to arrive at the beach of the Pacific Ocean.  Most times, he will take a hot cocoa break once he arrives in a different country.  That is when Zoe will hop on his sleigh and take it, along with the reindeer and the presents, back here, which will stop Santa from going back to his workshop, delivering any more Christmas presents, and spreading joy throughout the world.  Her plan is fool proof.  She can’t be stopped.” He pointed as a map that she gave him.

“Well, if we can’t stop her, then maybe we can help Santa.” Fran suggested.  They all stared at each other and nodded with the same thought.  They dashed off to find the others and share their logical plan.  

    When they shared it with the others, they all thought it was a great idea.  
    “How are we going to get to California on time?” Callie worried.  “It’s on the other side of the country.  Unless we had some magical material we won’t make it.”
    “I know!” Kert piped in. “You can use Zoe’s extra broomsticks in the broom closet. She has at least fifty.”  So they all went and grabbed a broomstick,  and were off into the pitch black sky.  
    They were only a few states away from what it looked like in the sky.  Although, not every plan was perfect.  

“Oh no! We ran out  of candy canes! Does anyone happen to have a hundred with them?” Kert said eagerness.

“Why would we need candy canes?” asked Prince Harold in a confused tone as his broom jerked downward.

“You know how most vehicles run on gasoline, well these brooms run on candy canes, peppermint for the best speed.”

“Sorry, none of us have candy canes with them at the moment.” said Frederick.

“Wait a second, I’m so stupid. Zoe keeps a stash a candy canes and a sleigh in each state. I bet if looked for them, we could fly the sleigh to California.” said Kert with excitement.     

“Well can you hurry my broom is empty,” George stated.

“Mine too,” shouted  John through the wind.  Both of their brooms stopped and fell towards the ground.  “Don’t wait for us, we will go home from here.”  They plunged towards Colorado

The rest of them started circling over the top of Colorado, looking for the candy canes and sleigh.

    “Hey, look!” yelled Winter. “I see a sleigh!”
    They all cheered and rode their broomsticks down to the ground.
    “Oh no, I just realized that the sleigh only fits three people.  Zoe doesn’t normally have guests, and Santa and his gifts will take up some space.” Kert was disappointed.
    “Kert, Winter, Lia, and Hunt, you have helped us greatly,” Callie announced.  “Prince Harold do you mind taking them home?”
    “Certainly not, I would be honor to escort you four to your homes.  Kert, you can stay in my guest suite,” Prince Harold chimed.
    “Thank you, you all have been great additions to our team.”  They five of them hopped onto their brooms, freshly loaded with candy canes, and soared into the night.  Callie, Fran, and Frederick took off in the sleigh gliding in the opposite direction.  They had a Christmas miracle worker to save.
    As they landed on the shore of Huntington Beach, they spotted Zoe on the other side searching for Santa.  Santa shot out of the sky on his big red sleigh.  Zoe didn’t see Santa from the opposite side.  Frederick quickly explained the plan to Santa, “Put everything in your sleigh in this sleigh and attach the reindeer to this one, too.  Zoe was planning to stop the Christmas spirit from spreading, so we are trying to help you.”  
    “Thank you for your help, but I just came from Hawaii, so I need to go and get some hot chocolate,”  decided Santa.
    “No worries we have some right here,” Fran said pulling out a mug full of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and mini marshmallows.  “You can drink it on the way.”
    “Well then what are you waiting for?”  They left Santa’s sleigh with a decoy gift sack and fake plastic reindeer.  Once they were in the sky Zoe spotted the sleigh.  
    “Yes, finally, my plans never fail, except for when I tried to destroy the Easter Bunny and stop the ball from dropping on New Years in Time Square.” Zoe thought.  She got in the sleigh and rode off towards the east.  “Empty?! No, it can’t be!” Zoe gasped. “No!” She screeched as she dove into the Grand Canyon.
    “It’s a good thing you guys picked me up; my sleigh was running low on fuel.” Santa added through is sips of hot chocolate.
    “Let me guess, your sleigh runs on candy canes.” Callie responded.
    “No that’s silly,” Santa chuckled, “Mine runs on pixie dust."

    “Yeah, that’s not silly.” Fran said sarcastically.