Santa Claus: The First Noel

By Todd Graham

Christmas has been under attack for years, thanks to the evil Ice Queen and her mother, Emma Frostbite, the Empress of the North. With the power of a troll army and Nutcracker war machine behind them, the Queen and her mother have now set their sights on the last remaining Christmas stronghold, the twin cities of Feliz and Navidad. Now that Christmas bells, songs, and the spirit have been taken away for good, this just may be the end of Christmas in the world.

Sixteen-year-old orphan Nicholas Claus isn’t about to let this happen. Fueled by an indomitable Christmas spirit, Nicholas embarks on a quest to seek help from a mysterious woman called Christmas Carol, stop the Ice Queen, and hopefully restore Christmas to its ultimate glory. While following clues hidden in a special snow globe, he is joined by allies as they attempt to find Christmas Carol and battle forces bent on destroying the holiday. As Nicholas and his friends set out on a hero’s mission to Tannenbaum, Feliz, Navidad, and the North Pole, he has no idea that his journey is about to lead him to receive the best Christmas gift ever.

Santa Claus: The First Noel continues the tale of a young man’s quest to save Christmas from the destructive claws of an evil Ice Queen and her frosty mother.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532061059

Todd Graham

Todd Graham earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Central Michigan University. He is a retired school teacher and author of the first two books in the Santa Claus series, The Spirit of Christmas and The Christmas Song. Todd resides Winter Haven, Florida.

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Copyright © 2018 Todd Graham.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-6104-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-6106-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-6105-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018912630

iUniverse rev. date: 11/30/2018

Contents

Chapter One: You Better Watch Out

Chapter Two: No Matter How Far Away You Roam

Chapter Three: So Bring It Right Here

Chapter Four: All of the Other Reindeer

Chapter Five: Folks Dressed Up Like Eskimos

Chapter Six: A Turkey and Some Mistletoe

Chapter Seven: Tiny Tots with Their Eyes All Aglow

Chapter Eight: Right Down Santa Claws Lane

Chapter Nine: Then One Foggy Christmas Eve

Chapter Ten: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Chapter One

You Better Watch Out

’Twas still the same night before Christmas and all through a very special house there was a stirring alright, and it was even a mouse! Literally! Truth be told, it was several mice stirring in the house, and those mice were on the run from…

SNAP!

No, it wasn’t a mousetrap at all. The snap of the end of a rolled-up blanket cracked against the floor, just missing its intended mouse target. The rolled-up blanket was tattered and worn and covered with every imaginable old liquid stain you could think of. There were rips and loose threads, and the blanket should have served as nothing more than a cleaning rag.

However, in the hands of its owner, Rett Kringle, it was a most formidable weapon.

Rett Kringle, the elderly man brandishing the blanket, appeared less than capable of handling any weapon. His hands were shaky and dotted with age spots that he liked to refer to as his cheetah pattern. Even though he was fairly tall, he was quite scrawny and hunched over, suggesting that a cane or a walker would be his best friend in the world, yet he used neither to get around. He was nearly bald with a few gray wisps of hair refusing to vacate the top of his head. His face wore several layers of wrinkles, and if you squinted just right, his wrinkles looked to have wrinkles as well. He wore an old green bathrobe that covered his striped pajamas. He wore a spectacle in one eye to help him see better because his other eye was just fine as it zeroed in on…

Mouse! Rett yelled to himself as he again snapped his blanket trying to connect with a furry little creature which scampered away unharmed. Dagnabit! Stupid little vermin! C’mon out and fight like a man!

Would that be a man like you? came the voice of his older sister, Madison Kringle.

Rett spun around as quickly as his hunched body would allow him to and squinted up to his sister.

Madison stood on the second-floor balcony overlooking the space in her home that she referred to as The Great Room. Her brother was a very small portion of that room at the moment, and Madison let her eyes drift right and left to fondly scan the whole area.

Like the rest of her home, the Great Room was a rustic delight. There was a clear frontier feel to the space as the wood floor gave way to rolling log walls, the log cabin-type you might see in a good western movie. Various shades of the color brown permeated the entire area, and all the furniture and drapes and lamp shades were clearly of some fabric that appeared to be of animal hide. All of the many sofas and chairs were quite fancy, so much so that one might think this was a store that sold parlor furniture. The windows were tall and elegant, and the raised ceiling made the large space seem enormous.

The room’s most striking feature was the immaculately constructed fireplace at the far end of the room. The stones marking the outside of the fireplace were all a brilliant shiny marble as though someone polished them every hour. The stones rose majestically up the wall as they disappeared through the ceiling. The fireplace opening was a good six feet tall and just as wide with a handcrafted metal covering that made even the top works of art in the world jealous as it was adorned with intricate images of buffalo and horses. The roaring bonfire from within sent a warm and inviting glow throughout The Great Room.

When a person came into this room, it was almost as if stepping back in time to the days of the Old West and walking into the immaculate lobby of a frontier town’s finest hotel. Madison always got that feeling when she looked at her Great Room. Just then, the only thing interrupting that image was that of her younger brother. That was funny. They were both ancient, by even their own standards, so younger was a very relative term.

Younger was how Madison Kringle felt whenever she was in her enormous home. From the outside her home appeared quite majestic and very mansion-like. It was big and tall and spread out. It also very much had a look of wealth to it as it sat right on the coast, suggesting that its owner had to be of some extraordinary means. At the same time, the home spoke volumes about being a very humble dwelling place as its wooden exterior of stacked logs gave it a hearty down-to-earth type of look to it.

The Kringle place was covered in snow and ice as it rested on its watery and icy coast in the hamlet of Gjoa Haven on King William Island in the country of Canada. Gjoa Haven was a little hamlet of close to 1,500 people located very far north in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Gjoa Haven was above the Arctic Circle and the one and only settlement on King William Island. It had just one airport, which was pretty much the only way people came to be there from elsewhere in the world.

That airport was the way her brother Rett, her sister Reegan, and all their grandchildren – her one grandson, Rett’s two twin granddaughters, and Reegan’s three triplet granddaughters – came to be there on this Christmas Eve. Reegan would be coming down to that room shortly with all six of their grandchildren, so Madison only had a short moment or two with her brother.

You’re not going to get those mice, Madison assured her brother.

They may think they’re so tough, Maddie, came Rett’s reply, but I got them all on the run now.

Yes, with that ridiculous blanket of yours, Madison said as she began to step down the curved staircase from the second-floor balcony. What did Uncle Topp call that thing, your dishrag? Maddie laughed at the phrase.

Rett raised one eyebrow while lowering the other as he did the same with the two corners of his mouth. This was a look he gave his sister often, and she knew it meant that he was at once both irritated and amused by what had just been said.

Madison continued down the stairs and across the room without a word. All the while, she and her brother looked at one another and had a very nice conversation with their eyes and faces. A brother and sister who had gone through what they had over the years had no difficulty having these types of conversations.

As Madison reached Rett, she gave him as big a bear hug as she could though it was punctuated by a gentleness that spoke volumes. You know he was just kidding.

As they slowly detached from each other and sat down on the nearest couch to the fireplace, Rett answered, Yeah, I do, but you and he and lots of others better ought to remember just how much this ‘dishrag’ of mine came in more than handy in some pretty dire predicaments. Rett chuckled as he stroked his blanket like a young kitten.

For a few moments, the two of them just sat alone quietly together. Their facial expressions appeared to go through a thousand different reactions in the span of those few moments. There was no doubt they were thinking back to a thousand different memories that brought those reactions to their faces.

Madison sighed and tugged at her yellow bathrobe that was plenty big enough for her but just did not seem to fit right. Her robe was longer than her brother’s robe and gave the impression that she was almost some kind of royalty, as did her frilly pastel pink nightgown that was mostly swallowed up by her elegant robe. Madison also had a beautifully woven shawl of white wrapped tightly around her shoulders for some extra warmth.

Madison was a very, very old woman who was also very short but who always managed to get around quite nicely despite the fact that many parts of her body were simply not quite working like they used to do. She also had eyes that were not working quite like they did years ago, so a small pair of spectacles held tightly to her face, slipping down off her nose as often as they could manage. Madison kept her hair much as she did in her youth though at her age her locks were more of a blonde and gray swirl than her youthful blonde hair from days gone by. She had a kind and childlike face that almost seemed a contradiction to the old lady look which came about because of her many wrinkles and old lady spectacles.

Madison pushed her spectacles up onto her nose with her pinky finger and said, So, tonight is the night. We said we were going to do this. There’s no going back now.

Rett nodded and replied, Not getting second thoughts, are you?

No…no…I just hope Reegan has them all well prepared, Madison said. I mean, this is a pretty big leap we’re taking tonight.

And if you can’t keep your voices lower, you’re going to ruin the surprise! the voice of their younger sister, Reegan Kringle, came from the second-floor balcony as well. In fact, she was standing in almost the identical spot that her sister had been standing on a few minutes earlier when she was overlooking the Great Room.

Madison and Rett turned to look over their shoulders to see the youngest of their sibling group perched on the balcony like a bird of prey might do before swooping down to snare its meal. However, there was more like a flock up on the balcony as Reegan was surrounded by six different children who all looked down into the Great Room and beamed with enthusiasm. Something was definitely up!

The six children were the various grandchildren of the three old Kringle siblings. There were five girls and one boy who were definitely divided by height as they stood in a descending row next to Reegan. There was a set of twins and a set of triplets, though neither set were of the identical variety, while the only only-child was the boy who towered over his female cousins.

That boy Paul, who was Madison’s grandson, spoke up right away, Judging by what I just heard and the fact that it’s Christmas Eve, I’m guessing you all have a really big surprise in store for us!

Paul was right on the money. At thirteen years old, Paul was a very sharp young man. He sometimes came across to others as a little quiet and withdrawn, but anyone getting to know him knew that that label didn’t fit at all. He was well on his way to cracking the six feet tall threshold even though he was just in 7th grade, a ragged bush of tousled brownish hair nearly getting him to that height. Paul was tall and thin while still carrying around that look of holding onto some degree of baby fat in his face. There was no doubt that he gave off a friendly and gentle vibe wherever he appeared and could instantly calm any situation. He alternated between wearing his glasses and contacts, and just then Paul squinted as his lenses were bothering him just a tad.

Squint and all, Paul grabbed Reegan’s hand and led her to the stairs.

C’mon, Grandma ReeRee, Paul coaxed the woman he called a grandmother though she was really a great-aunt. This has to be good.

Reegan allowed Paul to lead her to the top of the stairs but not before using her free hand to grab the hand of Katherine, one of the fraternal twins who were Rett’s two granddaughters. Katherine didn’t say a word but held on tightly as she too grabbed another hand with her free one. She latched onto the hand of Kelsey, her cousin and one of the triplets who were the grandchildren of Reegan herself. The remaining grandchildren all followed suit and made a chain of Kringle descendents as they marched down the stairs to join Madison and Rett in the Great Room.

It was quite an orderly procession until the group hit the bottom of the stairs. As soon as they did, the grandkids all dispersed and sprinted for the collection of warm, cushy, and comfortable chairs and sofas near the fireplace.

Reegan laughed as she suddenly found herself all alone at the foot of the stairs.

Reegan was much like her siblings, very advanced in age, though she was the youngest, and as her siblings would say, most spoiled of the three. Reegan was very tall like her brother, but unlike her brother and sister, Reegan still maintained a good amount of agility for her many years of life. Reegan allowed her gray hair to flow down her front and back keeping it quite long for her age, but that’s because she wanted it to display a few wisps of hair that clung to her former brunette color from days gone by. Her robe was red and green and left no doubt that it was a robe specifically designed for Christmas, Underneath, Reegan was more comfortable with footed pajamas than a nightgown.

In fact, all six grandchildren were extremely comfortable in their own brand-new sets of footed pajamas. Reegan had taken them shopping earlier and bought each of them a special set of pajamas with the only stipulation being that they had to be Christmassy in some way. She was very pleased with the pj’s that the children had selected, and she grinned widely as she looked at all of the grandchildren settling into chairs and sofas in their new pajamas. Even Paul, who might have appeared too old for such a thing, appeared to beam as he wiggled around in his Coca Cola Polar Bears themed pajamas.

So, is something going to happen or what? another of Reegan’s triplet granddaughters, Kara, said to the group in a snarky manner.

Oh, most definitely something’s going to happen, Paul reassured all of his cousins.

I know! Krandall, the other twin, said. Tell us a story, like an awesome Christmas story!

Madison, Rett, and Reegan all glanced at one another with all-knowing smiles as Reegan was the last to take a seat in a most elegant rocking chair nearest the fireplace.

Yeah, Kaylee, the third and final triplet joined in, tell us the story of all of us as babies again, how we got born and how it’s like Christmas and everything with us. Tell us that!

Madison, the self-proclaimed wisest of the grandparents since she was the oldest, shook her head and said, Now, now, we do have a story to tell, but do you really want us to spend time telling you all of that again?

Rett chuckled and added, I agree. You don’t want us telling you again how you Kringle grandchildren all came to be, do you? I mean, do you really want to hear how Grandma Maddie, my older sister, kept her maiden name of Kringle when she married and talked her husband into letting her one son have that last name, and his name was Ryan Junior or R.J. Kringle?

My dad’s name, Paul explained for the others who already knew.

Rett continued, And do you truly want to listen again to how I had a son who I also named Ryan? Hee, hee, Ryan Bryan, otherwise known as R.B. Kringle! And there’s no way you want the story about how my younger sister, Reegan, made her husband take her last name of Kringle before they had one son who they named Ryan Christmas or R.C. Kringle. That’s almost as crazy as telling you again how each one of those boys named Ryan were born on Christmas Eve in the same year.

Uh, you’re telling it, Madison flatly told her brother.

Rett laughed as he pointed at all of the children and said their names, And you Katherine, Krandall, Kara, Kelsey, Kaylee, and… Rett’s voice rose higher before dropping off to finish with, …Paul…your three dads, our sons, all got married on Christmas Day, but you don’t want to hear about that again for sure.

I don’t think Grandpa Rett took his medication today, Reegan offered as an explanation.

Haha, Rett said as he was on a roll, There’s no way you want to sit through the story of when Paul, Grandma Maddie’s grandson, was born on Christmas Eve and then three years later my twin granddaughters, Katherine and Krandall, were born on Christmas Eve, or tell you that three more years later Grandma Reegan’s triplet granddaughters, Kara and Kelsey and Kaylee, were all born on Christmas Eve. You don’t want to hear all that, do you?

They just did, genius, Madison scolded her brother playfully.

How’d I get the only name that doesn’t start with a K? Paul wondered.

That’s why we are like the biggest Christmas family of all! Krandall happily exclaimed to everyone. That’s why we love Christmas!

Yeah, right, said Kaylee, Santa Claus’s family would be a bigger Christmas family than we are.

Funny you should bring that up just now, Kaylee, her Grandma Reegan said. You see…

Kara interrupted, You don’t even know, Kaylee. Kids in school were talking, and there’s no such thing as…

Whoa, whoa, hold on there, Madison was forced to interrupt as well. Don’t tell me that there are kids at school who don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore!

Paul thought he’d help out a little, though being thirteen he already knew there was no such thing as Santa. Well, lots of kids say there isn’t a Santa Claus, but that’s just because people think it’s cool to say that. They don’t really know that he is very real and brings presents around the world to millions of people every year. Paul smiled and winked at his grandmother Maddie.

Madison made an audible Hmmmmmm.

See, Kara, Kaylee said, Santa is real, and his family is the biggest Christmas one ever!

Does he even have a family? Krandall wanted to know. I mean, I know there’s a Mrs. Claus, but is there any other family?

Funny you should ask that question, Krandall, Reegan answered. There couldn’t have been a more perfect transition than what the girl had just provided. In fact, you are all here this Christmas for just that reason.

Uh, Grandpa Rett, Krandall asked, what does Grandma ReeRee mean? Dad and Mom just said it was important that we all spend this Christmas with all the grandparents,

Take it away, Grandma Maddie, Reegan gave a nice introduction to her older sister.

Listen up, everyone, Grandma Madison began, tonight is a very special night. Oh yes, it’s Christmas Eve and it’s getting late and we all know why that’s pretty special each and every year. But for all us old grandparents of yours and your parents and especially for all of you, tonight is going to be extra special. And I mean extra extra special! Tonight, for the first time, you are all going to hear a story.

A Christmas story? asked Kelsey.

Oh, more than just a Christmas story, Madison continued. You’re all going to hear why Krandall was actually right when she said we are like the biggest Christmas family of all time. Madison paused for some effect at that point while the kids all sat and waited without saying a word.

Everyone, take a spot – SCRAMBLE! Rett yelled as best he could with his old voice.

Everyone in the room got up and moved around and past and by one another in a hectic silly manner enjoying every moment of the wonderful chaos. Reegan chose to remain in the rocker she had previously selected and laughed at the craziness of everyone else changing seats.

When the dust had settled, Reegan looked at the results. Grandma Madison was sitting in the middle of a sofa with her grandson Paul seated on one side and the twin Katherine on the other side. Katherine didn’t say a word, she never did, but looked about ready to burst with enthusiasm. Grandpa Rett had plopped himself down into a very plush love seat and was joined there by his other twin granddaughter, Krandall, looking just as excited as her sister, Katherine. Reegan’s three granddaughters, the triplets Kara, Kelsey, and Kaylee, all split up. Kelsey took a spot on the carpet right in front of her grandmother’s rocker, Kara sat in the biggest lounge chair in the whole room, nearly disappearing in its cushion, and Kaylee decided to lie down on the longest couch in the room, seeming very much the wrong size for the couch that looked gigantic with her on top. The furniture selected made a very convenient arc in front of the fireplace and warmed everyone equally well. There couldn’t have been a more perfect setting to tell a story.

Children, Madison said, it’s time to tell you a story. A long time ago…

In a galaxy far, far away, Paul, the only teenager, finished for his grandmother.

Paul, I love you dearly, but shut up, his grandmother ordered.

The rest of the grandchildren all laughed as did Paul himself.

A long time ago, there wasn’t the type of Christmas that we all know now-a-days. Yes, it was very different indeed, Madison began the story. It started on a hillside, a very snowy and cold hillside way up north, actually very close to the North Pole as a matter of fact. There were two young girls lying in the snow making snow angels…

It began up north, way up north, very far north, so north that you weren’t truly all that far from the North Pole. It was cold, of course, and winter all the time there obviously. Since it’s winter time all the time, you’d think it was more or less Christmas all the time too. Not in those days however.

Christmas did exist. It wasn’t like there wasn’t this special occasion because Christmas was there. It’s just that Christmas wasn’t like it is today. Christmas back then, at least for some time, was more about its true meaning. It was more about a baby boy being born. It was more about why that boy was special and what he would mean to the world.

At that time, Christmas was very much on the minds of two young girls. These two girls, who were making snow angels, were each about seven years old.

They laughed and giggled and swept their arms and legs back and forth to make their own unique angels in the snow.

One of them was singing.

The First Noel, the Angels did say

Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay

In fields where they lay keeping their sheep

On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King of Israel!

That was the sweet voice of one of the two young girls. She was a fairly typical young girl at that time. Her family came from fairly humble means, a farming family as a matter of fact, which was pretty challenging since it was winter pretty much all the time there. They raised hearty winter plants and grew lots of towering pine trees. Though her family was not wealthy, she was clothed well and showed no signs of being anything but happy. This young lady was the youngest in her family, yet she had one amazing talent that she shared with only one of her other siblings, and that was that she could sing very beautifully.

The singer looked to the other girl, her friend and another busy seven-year-old, flapping her arms like crazy to make a snow angel. This girl also appeared very happy though it was more of a mask with her. Her clothes were worn and wrinkled and showed telltale signs of repeated wearings without coming anywhere near to being washed. She was obviously from a very poor background though it was a bit difficult to tell as she was rather plump as if she may have had plenty to eat. The second girl looked to the first who clearly wanted her to take over singing the next verse of the song. The second girl did not open her mouth to sing.

C’mon, you know the words. We practiced them all day, the first girl said. Again, she cued the second girl with a nod of her head.

Her friend refused to sing a single word.

Remember, like this… said the first young lady as she continued…

The First Noel, the Angels did say

Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay

In fields where they lay keeping their sheep

On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King of Israel!

Still the second young girl would not join the first in singing. She smiled and continued her snow angel construction as best she could. The first girl looked confused but continued right on making her own glorious snow angel.

This went on for -

Grandma Maddie, Grandma Maddie, Kara raised her voice and stopped the story before it even had a chance to begin. Is this a story about singing? Are we just gonna be listening to you sing?

Kara, that’s rude, Krandall spoke up.

Reegan laughed out loud. After all, it was one of her triplet granddaughters Kara who had stopped the story in its tracks. That’s just like I used to have to interrupt Grandma Maddie too, back when we were kids. She always did have some trouble telling stories the right way.

I liked it, Paul, ever the peacemaker, said in defense of his grandmother.

No, no, no, Grandma Reegan’s right, Rett agreed. Maddie, that’s not the spot to begin our story tonight.

Who made you king of story beginnings? Madison wanted to know.

That’s not exciting, Rett said. That’s not going to get these kids into the mood for the rest of the story. You need a much better beginning.

Well, where do you suggest I start then? Madison asked.

Let’s get this tale off to a flying start, a big bang, Rett said. Tell them what happened in the town of Tidings. That has some action!

Madison couldn’t help but laugh herself, so she said, It’s got the same song for goodness sake!

Just do it, Maddie, Rett said.

Alright, alright, Madison started the story yet again, It was still a long time ago, and it was a wintry and blustery day…

It was a wintry and blustery day, late in the evening with a glorious purple and yellow sunset slowly disappearing behind rolling hills of snow that surrounded a small village named Tidings. The wind was whipping a heavy army of snowflakes that dropped from the sky all over the place doing two things. One, it was darkening the whole area even from the remaining light of the sunset. Two, it was making sure that the place was definitely a most beautiful sight.

It wasn’t Christmas Eve at that time. No, it was maybe eight or nine days before Christmas that year. You might think this town of Tidings would be all decked out for the Christmas season, that most wonderful time of the year. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. There were no decorations at all to be seen. There were no festive colors of red or green or gold or silver. There was no tinsel. There was no hollee. Not only was there nothing of Christmas to be seen, there was absolutely nothing of Christmas to be heard. No bells, no singing, no merriment whatsoever. There was nothing at all in this town to indicate that Christmas Day would arrive in a little over a week.

The town of Tidings itself was a rather plain kind of place. There wasn’t a whole lot to distinguish it from so many other small little towns just like it up north. It was a rather small village with the typical allotment of structures strewn about – houses, shops, small businesses, a little school, a tiny church. It had the usual town square located right where it should be, in the dead center of the town. All the buildings were set in rather typical blocks of roads and streets that crisscrossed in nice tidy corner angles. In fact, these were street corners that one would expect someone else from the town to extend a greeting of good tidings when passing by.

That evening, there were no good tidings being exchanged. There were no passersby greeting one another in any type of cheery way. There was nothing friendly going on at all, which was strange because this had been a town known for its friendliness and hospitality over the years.

That year, however, something dark and desolate had come to the village. Something awful and hopeless had happened. Something definitely evil had brought its way to the little village of Tidings. What was worse is that it just wasn’t that village to which this evil had come. There was something bad happening all over the North, and it was sweeping its way over everyplace and everything. It was completely taking over the world and seeming as though nothing could stop it at all!

You see, Christmas was dying. It was ending. It was being forgotten or replaced or set aside by so many people. Christmas was being taken away from people everywhere. It was being stopped, it was being forbidden, and it was being taken away. Christmas was disappearing. Christmas was evaporating. Christmas was nearly gone for good. Christmas was being destroyed!

In this little town of Tidings, the last few tangible remnants of Christmas in that place were being wiped out completely. More to the point, they were being reduced to ashes!

A blazing bonfire lit up the evening hours that were quickly descending into darkness. The fire was huge as its flames leaped nearly twenty feet in the air. Several large logs supported the base of the massive blaze, but it was the constant feeding of the fire that fueled its roaring height. Townsperson after townsperson after townsperson were lined up in front of the fire waiting their turn to drop something into the flames.

The people each held one or more sheets of some kind of paper in their hands as the line awaiting the fire extended the length of at least two of the city streets. The townspeople did not appear to be anything close to happy. Interestingly enough, they all didn’t appear to be anything like sad either. All the townspeople seemed to be almost empty or devoid of any emotion at all. They seemed vacant, or hollow, or spiritless. They all just seemed resigned to do what they had no choice but to do at that time. They had to toss their papers in the fire. One by one, each man, woman, and child stepped slowly up to the massive flames, tossed papers into the fire, and then turned around before slowly walking back up the street, more than likely returning home.

Overseeing this processional of paper burning were a large number of very large creatures. Trolls! Lots and lots of trolls. There were in fact only about as third as many trolls watching over the people and forcing them to burn papers as there were people in the town being forced to do so. Trolls were famous for being fierce warriors, so it was no problem for them to control that many people, even as outnumbered as they were.

Unlike the townsfolk, the trolls showed plenty of emotion on their faces. Each one had an almost gleeful expression as they supervised the burning line. Underneath that expression there was a genuine and sincere loathing and hatred for all the people that was unmistakable. While each troll wore a devilish smirk on his face, each troll also wore a heavy suit of body armor pieces that didn’t cover the entire body as trolls were rather large creatures. The armor did cover up certain strategic areas of each troll’s body, but there was so much of the troll’s telltale brownish-orangish fur sticking out from beneath their armor that it left no doubt what these beings were. Their faces were oversized compared to people’s heads with big fat noses and large drooling mouths full of sharp pointy teeth. Most of each troll’s teeth was on display as they opened their mouths to bark orders at the townspeople.

Get moving, you filthy animals! one of the trolls nearest the flames yelled at the people in line. We don’t have all night! I got things to do! Move it, move it!

The people sped up a bit in dropping their papers on the fire.

How many more are left, Captain? another troll near the flames asked the first troll, who was clearly in charge of the operation.

Not too much more, maybe another 100 or so, the troll captain answered. Are you sure we got them all? Every single one? You sure there isn’t a single sheet of Christmas music or Christmas songs left in the town?

I think we got them all, Captain, the second troll responded. These townsfilth will never have Christmas songs or music again! He laughed a mighty laugh echoed by his captain. They won’t be able to fight against the Ice Queen, and better still, any trace of a memory of the Christmas story will be destroyed!

You’re sure? The captain troll asked again. It’s not just her majesty, the Ice Queen, we’d be disappointing this time if we’re wrong. Her mother, the Empress, is coming down from the North Pole to be sure Christmas dies once and for all.

Uh, the second troll stuttered, yeah, you see, the thing is…we’re pretty sure we got every single song and piece of music that was written down. We think we got every possible song that people sing at Christmas, but we did hear this one rumor. There’s talk of one last Christmas song that’s written down called ‘The First Noel’. It’s supposedly hidden in a tree out in the forest west of town, and uh…um…

Spit it out, idiot! What? the captain asked.

They say it’s guarded, it’s booby trapped, the second troll said. You can’t get to it without facing grave danger.

Well? the captain said. Are you waiting for an invitation? Gather your trolls and go get it – NOW!

The second troll stumbled back and nearly fell over before righting himself and turning to run off. He screamed some commands and almost instantly eleven other trolls joined him in mid stride as they ran down the main street of the town heading for the forest beyond to hopefully secure that town’s final Christmas song.

Just as they had gone, a cloaked figure in line dropped his papers into the fire before stepping away. He had overheard the entire conversation between the troll captain and his underling. He walked quickly enough to get away from there but not so quickly as to arouse any suspicion. As soon as this man was safely away from the fire area, he removed the hood of his cloak to get a better look at the group of trolls heading out of town.

The man was a hero. Actually, he was known around the land as Prince Hero, that was his name. He didn’t necessarily have the look of a typical hero, but there were no doubts about his exploits all across the North, and everyone had pretty much heard of this guy. His short brown hair only blew slightly in the wind as it looked like he had had a most recent haircut. He looked fairly young though no one was totally positive about his age. There was no doubt that his face came across as a seasoned heroic man, but anyone may have guessed he was in his 20’s, 30’s or 40’s and felt that he had to have been that age. He narrowed his baby blue eyes that overlooked his rather extended nose to see exactly where those trolls were heading. He thought he knew the location they seemed to be aiming for, and he knew a shortcut!

Prince Hero then threw off the cloak he was wearing as it didn’t offer him the freedom of movement he required to do his typical hero-type business. Instead he was clothed quite heroically functional – he wore a purple tunic with yellow sleeves with matching purple boots aligned with yellow trim. Shiny new protective armor clung to his body in strategic spots such as his kneecaps, elbows, chest, and shoulders. The ensemble was completed with an armored cap on the top of his head. In many ways, his appearance looked like that of a knight, but this knight could move in much more heroic ways than could a knight in full shining armor.

This hero began to move in the direction of the shortcut he knew.

His first step brought him face to face with another person he hadn’t even noticed there a moment before he moved. It was a young woman standing right in front of him and blocking his path. She wasn’t a particularly tall woman by any means though she looked quite athletic and strong for her size. She had fairly long bleach blonde hair that looked so pure, and though her eye color came across as blue, it was more like a frozen blue. She was extremely pretty, and Prince Hero thought she looked a bit out of place in that town. Her pretty face also seemed out of place as she didn’t have the vacant, spiritless expression of the other folks in the village. Her face at once seemed both hopeful and concerned, both determined and unsure.

The young woman’s clothes were another story completely. As pretty as she was, the sweater that she wore was the ugliest thing Hero had seen in quite some time. It looked to be a type of Christmas sweater, but it was ugly for sure with colors, patterns, and textures spread out at seemingly random places all over her sweater. In fact, Prince Hero squinted a bit as it looked like there were even some things that looked like cats on her sweater. Strapped across her shoulder from one side of her body to the other was a good size bag filled with items that seemed to want to burst through its sides.

Um…you can’t go there yet! The young woman said to Hero, and she sounded pretty certain.

Listen, miss, Hero said, I have to beat those trolls there. That’s the last Christmas song that this town has, and I need to get it before they do.

Yeah, you don’t understand, she replied. You can’t go yet, um, or at least until you know what you are facing. Otherwise, you won’t, um, even have a chance of getting ‘The First Noel’ and keeping it safe.

Who are you? Hero asked. How do you know anything about this?

Um, my name is Kalin, the young woman answered. Um, I’m not from around here, very far away as a matter of fact. Just trust me, I know how to get by all the dangers that are guarding this last Christmas song. Um, we need to go now!

Hero could just tell that this young woman could be trusted.

Alright, Hero said, tell me how I can get by the dangers and get the last written song from this village of Tidings.

Yeah, there’s no time, Kalin responded. I’ll go with you and um, tell you as we get to them. We’ll, um, never beat the trolls unless we go now. There’s just no time, yeah!

Hero knew she was right. He nodded his head in agreement.

Okay, let’s go, Hero said. By the way, my name is…

Prince Hero, yeah, I know, um, who you are, Kalin said as she turned to go off in the direction of Prince Hero’s shortcut. Um, I’ve always thought that name was a little bit weird.

Better than my real one, Hero said as he and Kalin took off at a sprint.

They ran down the street and off into the nearby forest. It was indeed a short run for the two of them as it was indeed a shortcut as Hero had thought. It was no trouble getting there before the dozen trolls who were nowhere in sight as the two of them arrived.

Prince Hero and Kalin stopped in a small clearing in the forest. The clearing was rather circular, a diameter of perhaps thirty feet, with a great number of differing size pine trees ringing the outside of the circle. Though they had run through a pretty dense area of trees to reach the clearing, there was an open spot on the arc of the circle that was about ten feet long. That spot went straight off into the forest in a long path about a hundred feet long that gradually tapered off in its width and ended in a huge disfigured pine tree that looked both dead and thriving at the same time. There was a gaping hole in that tree that could be easily seen from the clearing. Hero and Kalin went to the spot looking down the path towards the tree.

Here it is, Kalin, Hero said. Are you ready? Let’s get that Christmas song!

Um, I’m ready, Kalin added, but, yeah, you need to be ready to do what I say. Listen, um, carefully and do everything you’re supposed to do to get to the song and, um, to get back out.

Just then, as the two song hunters began to step down the path, there was a great bustle in the forest, and the dozen trolls that were after the same song burst into the clearing. The trolls spotted Hero and Kalin and bellowed out shouts of shock and anger. The trolls ran at the other two as Hero and Kalin began running down the path.

As Kalin ran, she reached into her bag and pulled out two small instruments, two little gray colored horns. She handed one to Hero as the trolls reached the opening spot and began running down the path as well.

Suddenly, a great commotion came from above. It was a screeching and blood-curdling sound that emanated from up in the trees to either side of the path. Hero, Kalin, and the trolls not far behind them all looked up to see what was creating the terrifying sound. They saw a massive collection of large birds of prey taking flight from the trees on both sides of the path just in front of where they had all stopped. The birds all swooped up above the trees for a short moment before collecting together into a large single mass, a killer flock that started to dive right at everyone standing on the path.

Um, little tin horns, Kalin almost sang, and little toy drums. Kalin withdrew two small drums with attached drumsticks from her bag and tossed one to Hero. Um, rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums!

What!? Hero yelled.

Just do it, Kalin yelled back. It’ll work, um, trust me!

Kalin brought her little tin horn to her lips and began to play, so Hero followed her lead. He brought his little tin horn to his mouth and blew as hard as he could. The sounds that came from the horns sounded exactly like rooty toot toot over and over. The huge flock of diving birds flew mere inches from their heads before swooping up and over them as they continued to toot their little tin horns.

The great flock of birds flew so fast that the first troll had no time to react as they weren’t all that far behind Hero and Kalin. The flock of birds swirled around the troll in a flurry of feathers and squawks and actually lifted the surprised troll off the ground. The other trolls dove to the ground to get out of the way, but the birds were all centered on that first troll. Slowly the flock rose with the troll right along with them.

Hero was so caught up in the sight that he almost forgot he was still playing his horn. Kalin gave him a little smack with the back of her hand to get his attention, and Hero stopped tooting his own horn. No sooner had Kalin and Hero stopped playing than the swirling flock of birds shot straight up into the air with the troll. The troll cursed something that couldn’t be heard over the birds, and then the flock zoomed off into the forest taking the troll with them.

Um, now the drums! Kalin instructed Hero as she grabbed the two drumsticks and began beating on her drum.

Why, what are these things going to be able to… Hero began to say before just as quickly reaching for his drumsticks and bringing them to his little toy drum. Hero started to tap on his drum as best he could to make it sound like the rhythm of rummy tum tum, rummy tum tum, rummy tum tum. Soon, he and Kalin were in sync and beating out a nice pattern on their little toy drums.

The rhythm of the drum beats matched up just in time. Just seconds before, a great many number of forest skunks had left the trees on both sides of the path and began scurrying right at Hero and Kalin. However, as the skunks neared them, they began to line up and march in formation to the rummy tum tum pattern. The skunks divided into two-line formations that marched right around the drum players before circling around the first troll they found still on the ground after diving from the birds’ strike. Nicely in formation, the skunks all marched in place but turned their heads away from the troll.

The troll looked up. Kalin stopped playing which signaled Hero to stop too. The troll saw what was about to happen and uttered, Mama, right before the skunks unleashed their spray with fire hose velocity right at the troll. The other trolls were shaken as those with big noses typically are by skunk smell, but they went off to the side of the path by the trees to leave the lone troll alone in the skunk attack. The skunks stopped spraying, and the troll toppled over. He would be of no further help that day! Only ten of the twelve trolls remained standing by the sides of the path.

Hero wasn’t enjoying the skunk mist that was left over either as the skunks disappeared into the forest, and he was startled when Kalin grabbed him by the hand and pulled him further down the path towards the crazy looking tree at the end. The ten remaining trolls were also up and had rushed by the stench cloud to try to catch up with Hero and Kalin. They stayed just a bit behind the two, and it certainly looked like none of them wanted to be directly behind those two and be the first to face whatever danger came next if it went by the two in the lead.

Of course, the trolls didn’t have the bag that Kalin did, or more importantly, they didn’t have what was inside of her bag, which so far had been very helpful. Kalin reached again into her bag as she ran. This time she pulled out two raggedy looking and floppy dolls from her bag, each one had an extremely bushy head of curly hair.

Um, curly head dolls that toddle and coo, Kalin once again sounded as though she was singing instead of speaking as she tossed one to Hero in mid run.

What on earth can these dolls do to help us? Hero asked. And just that quickly, both he and Kalin stopped running as they spotted the next forest danger.

Just in front of and to both sides of the path were a batch of porcupines, and every single one of them was in the middle of swiveling its body so as to fling its tail in the direction of those on the path. Each porcupine released several sharp and deadly quills from its tail at