Mrs. Clause sat at her desk surveying the enormity of her empire from the top turret of the their castle as she replaced a button on her husbands suit. She was distracting herself from her real chore today. How was she going to break the news to Kai? How would dear Santa respond?
The elves would be coming home soon – home to the Clause’s Winter Castle. It was a beautiful place designed by intricate math. It had once belonged to the Snow Queen. But, elves knew nothing of this history and so there were no thoughts of it as they made their way from the secular world soon after thanksgiving for their pilgrimage back home to the North Pole. Over the course of the month Santa would give them their assignments for the New Year. Hundreds of them would be home for the holidays. At the end of the month long reunion, Santa would get in his sleigh pulled by the infamous reindeer and would deliver them on Christmas day to their posts around the world.
Elves did make toys, but not in the way most people thought. Elves spent the whole year being the spirit that inspired humans to make things – toys for kids, toys for adults, and even toys for animals. Through the years they had inspired great innovation and imparted much frivolity. Their spirit of Christmas motivated everything from cell phones to video games to chew toys – anything that allowed creatures to play. Elves were good at play. While they hadn’t invented it, they had certainly reinvented it.
All this activity was necessary in their work in reversing the effects of the Snow Queen. The industrial activity needed to create these many toys had increased the temperature of the earth and had brought them several degrees from the Queens long winter – or the mini-ice age as educated people now called it. After Kai and she had conquered the Queen they had created this mythology of Christmas to facilitate their work.
Their defeat of the queen had brought them together in a union of marriage. While they were developing their plan, their love became manifest and Mrs. Clause gave birth to several children; elves, elves that were always born on Christmas day. After a long night of tirelessly delivering Christmas all around the world, Santa would come home to witness the miracle of mother with child.
As elementals themselves, the first time she became pregnant, they weren’t sure what they would give birth to. They had been delighted to have created such clever creatures born to bless others with creativity and play. These creatures, elves, could inspire with just their presence. The gifts of their children had turned the stress of their work into play. Elves had invented the Christmas Spirit. They will be the saviors of the world they had joked. It had seemed appropriate to tie their myth to the birth of The Savior.
It was several hundred years into their work now and the earth had warmed. Some would say too much. Where the bitter cold of the Snow Queen had once claimed lives of entire villages, the reverse was becoming true and heat now seemed to threaten.
When Kai and Gerda had claimed their victory over the Snow Queen, they had taken her castle and contained her in it. A spell had been placed on the Queen diminishing her power allowing her limited access to the world. She was an immortal like themselves so there was no way to destroy her for ever. Gerda Clause now looked hesitantly towards the part of the castle she was contained in. Was it time to free her? Could she be contained if given more power? Was their work for naught?
Gerda rubbed her tummy feeling the presence of the new elf to be born in less than a month when Santa found her in her tower.
“What is it my dear? You look troubled.”
Mrs. Clause took Santa’s hand gently into her own. “I fear I will never have flowers in my garden.” She said sadly. “Summer must never reach us.”
7SeasonsAgo 