The group filed inside, where Christmas aromas filled the air.
"Mmmm! I smell gingerbread." said Pippi."
Gretel sidled up to her and gave her a nudge. "You can have it." she whispered in her ear.
"I bet they make fantastic shortbread here." Bethan breathed.
"Mm,hmmmm." Cosima purred, nodding. "And such a cozy fireplace. Ahhh. So here we are. I suppose you already know of us, but just to avoid any confusion, I'm Cosima Brett, and these are my friends and fellow mission workers. This is Pippi Longstocking." she indicated the red-headed woman who was all smiles from ear to ear.
"Hello, Santa, I'm glad to finally meet you in person." Pippi stepped forward, extending her hand.
"Pippilotta, never failing to make the nice list, the pleasure's all mine." Santa shook her hand.
"Oh, you remembered my first full name - it's been a while since anyone's called me that." Pippi chuckled, then she stepped back to introduce the short, pale brunette fairy, NT.
"And you are - " Santa began as NT stepped forward with a straight-faced expression. .
She did not speak, but appeared to be considering.
"That's all right, my dear," Santa said compassionately, reaching out and giving her cold hand a gentle squeeze.
"Her name is NT Dawson, Santa," Pippi explained quietly, "I've been taking care of her since..." She trailed off and put a finger to her lips.
Santa nodded.
Iris was next. "Hello, Santa sir," she said.
"Oh," Santa gave a low "ho ho ho!" "There's no need to be so formal, come in and make yourselves at home!"
"I'm Gretel, and pleased to finally meet you in person!" Gretel gave Santa's hand a hearty handshake.
"It's a pleasure, Gretel, welcome, come on in!" Santa laughed.
There was a momentary pause, and then…
"And now, Cosima, don't be so shy, let's see if you shake hands as well as your friends," Santa encouraged.
"Heh," Cosima gave him a lopsided grin, "I think Bethan should be next, after the snowball crushing she gave out there, her hands are probably colder than mine."
Santa gave a louder "Ho ho ho!" smiling ear to ear, nodding at Cosima, he turned to Bethan, and shook her hand heartily. "Welcome here, Bethan Larrabee, and a merry Christmas!"
"Same to you Santa!" Bethan said, grinning ear to ear.
Cosima looked on, smiling blissfully. She startled when it became apparent that Santa was not about to leave her out of his personal greetings.
"Cosima Veronica Brett," he said, coming over to her, "Merry Christmas to you." He shook her hand heartily. "Why so shy?"
Cosima felt her face flush with mingled excitement and slight embarrassment. "Can't quite figure that one out myself." she muttered.
"I think I can," said Santa with a grin, and a slight mischievous tone, "You're as excited as the others and you're trying not to let it show, why don't you just admit it?" He laughed, clapping her on the back.
Cosima burst out into a stifled laugh.
"Come on, Cosima, what's with you today?" Pippi said, looking at Cosima, then over at Santa.
Cosima deadpanned in response.
Santa looked at Pippi, "Your friend is a bit of a tough nut to crack, would you like to help me?"
"Sure, what did you have in mind?"
"If you'll just pick her up and, " he moved to the other side of the room, "toss her to me, and I'll toss her back."
"Oh, no!" Cosima looked panicked, and started searching for a place to retreat.
"Oh, hahahaha!" Gretel's hearty laughter rang out.
Pippi caught Cosima anyway, "Oh, no you don't, it's time for a little Hurl-the-girl!" She picked her up and threw her right into Santa.
"Ack!" Cosima protested.
"Hehehehehe! Nice catch!" Iris laughed.
The other newcomers joined in the laughter, it was entirely too contageous.
Santa tossed Cosima back to Pippi.
"Argh!" But Cosima was definitely laughing at this point.
There was more laughter from those looking on.
Then Pippi threw her up in the air in a twirling motion, catching her again, then threw her back at Santa.
Cosima squealed and shrieked, landing in Santa's arms, guard finally down, laughing as hard as the others.
Santa laughed and asked her, "Now, what would you like for Christmas, Cosima?"
"Nothing in particular," she spluttered. "I'm just sorry all of my friends couldn't be here."
"Oh, maybe they can't be here tonight, or right this minute, but you never know what the future holds." Santa said thoughtfully to her.
"Oh, I just thought of something!" Cosima suddenly said as she extricated herself from Santa's arms, "Has Frosty the Snowman come to life yet?"
"Not yet, and we've tried. Either it's the wrong hat or else something's wrong and the magic isn't working any more."
"Oh, too bad, I would've loved to see him come to life and meet him as well." said Cosima.
"Maybe this is all in connection with what's going on around here." Pippi suggested.
"I've thought of that, too." said Santa. "Well, why don't you all just make yourselves at home, enjoy the fire and there are lots of hot drinks and goodies of all sorts. Once you have had a little refreshment, I'll take you all on a tour, and we can talk business later on."
Everyone sat around the fire, chatting, laughing and enjoying refreshments that were so good, making anything else they'd ever had in the way of festive foods, pale in comparison.
Eventually, the room became quiet and the atmosphere filled with contentment. It was one of those times no one wished to see come to an end.
After a brief but well-deserved rest, Santa began taking them on a tour as promised.
First on the list was the toy factory, which actually covered much more than toys. Elves were still hard at work, making various things from dolls to computers. The machinery was all up to date just like in every other manufacturing company anywhere in America.
Every now and then, the visitors got a curious look and a smile from various elves as they walked on through, seeing how various things were made.
They toured the candy-making factory which smelled absolutely delicious. Everyone got a traditional candy cane fresh off the presses, and another type of candy of their own choosing.
Then Santa took everyone to see his sleigh. It was stored in a room that had many harnesses and a storage space where extra bells were kept, and other assorted odds and ends that were needed should anything start wearing out or breaking.
Santa passed around a bell that wasn't attached to anything yet, and everyone got to jingle it. NT was particularly excited about this, appreciating the fact these weren't just any old bells. This was an actual Santa sleigh bell! She held it in silence for a longer time than anyone before giving it a slight jingle and passing it to Iris.
Suddenly, there came a slight commotion from the sleigh. An outcry and gasp from Cosima caused everyone to turn toward her.
She was standing right next to the sleigh, and seemed to be trying to recover from a bad fright.
"Let me guess, you get spooked by mice too?" Santa was used to a few of the elves being frightened of tiny rodents or bugs, so that was what he thought was wrong this time as well.
Cosima caught her breath. "Not a mouse." she said. "Have you got a backup sleigh you could use instead of this one?"
"Yes, but why?" Santa asked her.
"Because this one ain't safe. Whoever these people are, they've got it in for you - in a - very - bad - way - this sleigh's got a death or at least serious injury curse on it."
Several gasps were uttered.
"What!?" Santa looked taken aback. "How come I couldn't detect this?"
"That was part of the bad magic. It was designed so its target, you, wouldn't." she replied grimly. "It's set to blow up or crumble apart when you are in mid-flight."
There was stunned silence for a moment.
Cosima continued. "I'll try to remove it, but I don't know how long that'll take."
"I have a replacement I could use," Santa said soberly.
"May I see it?" asked Cosima.
"Certainly," said Santa, "Please excuse us a moment. He led Cosima through a small door into another part of the storage facility.
"Sickos." Gretel said, incensed.
"And what else might be hexed? I've seen my share of this kind of thing." said Pippi grimly. "They never stop at just one."
For the next little while, the newcomers fell to concerned murmuring among themselves.
The door was heard opening, and Santa returned with Cosima. "Now, he said, shaking his head to clear it, "How about moving on?"
There were various agreements made by the group.
Santa led them outside.
--