My Christmas Star ( A Santa Clause Story Ft Bernard x OC)

Chapter 8: Bernard's Promise

I woke up the next morning but Bernard wasn't beside me. He was gone. I sat up and looked around in confusion. I rubbed my eyes and got out of bed. The cold floor met my feet and I scrambled over to my closet. It was Christmas after all and the day of our annual Christmas Party. I decided to go with something sparkly and festive. It was a sparkly green dress that fell three inches above the knee and was skin-tight. I curled my hair and did my makeup. I did a sparkly green eyeshadow with red lipstick. I put on some three inch heels (that weren't pointy) and left the room. Everything was set up. Now all I had to do was turn the workshop into the ballroom. I flicked my hand and the workshop turned into a ballroom. I smiled. I loved doing this every year.

 

I looked over in the center and saw Bernard and Curtis putting up the snowflakes. I walked over to them.
"Can I help?" I asked. Bernard and Curtis looked over at me.
"Whoa," said Curtis.
"Wow," Bernard whispered.
"What? I dress like this almost every year," I said to them as I grabbed a snowflake and flicked it, causing it to levitate into the air.
"No, we know. It's just–"
"--You've never gone this fancy before," Bernard cut Curtis off.
"Oh, well. I thought, you know since this year was different then the others, I thought I'd dress a little more...festive," I replied.
"Well, you look very beautiful, Stella," Bernard told me as he smiled at me.
"Yeah, you look nice," Curtis said. I smiled at the two of them.
"Thank you. I'm going to go check on the kitchen and see what's baking," I said. I turned around and started to walk away.
"--Stella, wait!" Bernard called. I stopped and turned around.
"Yes?"
"Um...meet me over at the skating rink in an hour?" he asked. I smiled.
"Sure," I replied. I went to turn around again but Bernard took my arm, spun me around to face him and smashed his lips onto mine. I gasped but soon melted in the kiss.
"Get a room," Curtis commented. Bernard broke the kiss and the two of us looked over at Curtis and crossed our arms.
"Uhh," Curtis chuckled nervously before he quickly turned around and got back to work. Bernard and I looked at each other and shook our heads. Bernard took my hand and kissed my knuckles.
"I'll see you in an hour," he told me before he kissed my knuckles again. I blushed and nodded before I turned away.
I went to the kitchens and the elves were cooking gingerbread houses, cookies, and other baked goods.
"Alright, everybody!" I called. "Let's start cooking the ham, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans, and some sweet rolls. We want to make today perfect for our new Mrs. Claus," I announced as I walked through the kitchen. Just then, Abby walked up to me.
"Do you mind taste-testing this cocoa for me, Stella?" she asked as she held a mug up to me.
"Of course," I replied as I took the mug. I took a sip. "Ooh, that tastes really good, actually. Did you do something new?" I asked before I took another sip.
"Yes, I blended it, mixed in whipped cream and added cinnamon," Abby told me.
"Wow, this is great. I actually used to add cinnamon to the hot cocoa I made for Charlie and I when he was younger. This is really good. Great Job, Abby," I said as I smiled and caressed her chin with my thumb and index finger. Abby smiled and walked off. I took another sip and walked forward. Annie came up to me with a tray of cookies.
"Can you please test-taste these cookies, Stella?" Annie asked me.
"Of course I will, huggabunch," I said before I took a cookie off her tray. I bit into the cookie and got an idea. I dipped the cookie in my hot chocolate and took a bite.
"Mmm," I hummed.
"You like it?" Annie asked, happily.
"It's amazing! I definitely recommend dipping them in Abby's hot cocoa. It makes an excellent combination. Good job, sweet-pea," I said as I rubbed her shoulder. I walked through the kitchen eating and drinking my cookie and cocoa. I managed to finish both as I checked on the different cooking stations.
I left the kitchen and decided to check on the other decorations for the party. All the snowflakes were up, the Christmas Tree was beautifully decorated and my tree topper that Mom got me for Christmas eight years ago was on the top. I smiled. Just then, one of the cooks came up to me.
"The food is ready to be laid out, ma'am," he told me.
"Thank you, Gabe. I'll get right on it," I told him. I then snapped my fingers and all the food laid out on long tables covered in white cloth. The foods were either on large white serving plates or silver platters. I smiled. I loved this part of my job.
"--Stella!" came a voice. I turned around and saw my Dad and stepmom coming towards me. I smiled and approached them.
"You really outdid yourself this year," Dad told me as he engulfed me in a hug.
"Thanks, Dad," I said. I looked over at my new step-mother and she embraced me.
"Oh, this is all beautiful, Stella. I'm still overly shocked that this is happening," she told me.
"I know, it'll be a lot to get used to. But, you'll grow to really love it," I told her.
"Hey, Dad can I talk to my new mom for a moment?" I asked. Dad looked over to Carol and the two of them smiled.
"Of course you can," Dad told me. I smiled and Carol walked over to me. I linked arms with her and walked her around the Ballroom.
"So, tell me. How did you and Dad become a thing?" I asked.
"Well, I guess we kind of started to click when he and Charlie came to do community service at the park," Carol replied.
"What sparked the romance?" I asked with a smirk. Carol giggled.
"Well, it was the day of the staff Christmas party and your dad shows up and asks if he wants to go get noodles and pie," Carol replied before she burst out giggling. I laughed. Her laugh was contagious and I loved it.
"Okay, and what next? Did you get noodles and pie?" I asked.
"No, not exactly. I decided to invite him to the party and all this stuff started to happen," Carol replied.
"Like what?"
"Well, he took us to the party in a horse-drawn sleigh with cocoa, blankets, and snow falling over us. Then, he gave out all these gifts to the staff and everyone was having fun and I just couldn't figure it out and then..."
"Then what?" I asked.
"Then he gave me my gift," Carol replied.
"What did he give you?" I asked.
"A baby doll. The soft pink one I used to have when I was a kid," Carol replied. "And then he kissed my under mistletoe that magically appeared over us," Carol replied with a small chuckle.
"What happened after that?" I asked.
"Well, he took us back to my place and that's when he decided to tell me he was, you know–Santa Claus," Carol responded.
"Let me guess, you didn't believe him," I said.
"No, I did not. I actually kicked him out of the house because I thought he was making fun of me for what I told him on the way to the party," Carol told me.
"I see. Don't worry, you weren't the first. My mom and Neal were pretty difficult to convince too. Especially Neal, since he's a psychiatrist. But, Charlie wouldn't stop trying to convince them. He was only six at the time. And on Christmas Eve of 1994, my dad was arrested because he took Charlie to the North Pole without our parents' permission. Not only that but that very day, my mom and Neal took away my dad's visitation rights with Charlie because of how my Dad's transition from being Scott Calvin to Santa Claus scared them and they thought that my dad was making these changes on purpose to get Charlie to like him more," I explained.
"That's awful," Carol said.
"Yeah. I wasn't a fan of it either. I tried hard to convince mom and Neal that Dad wasn't crazy and that these changes were happening on their own. But, of course no one listened to me either. The only one who did was Bernard," I said.
"Bernard. Isn't he the older looking elf?" asked Carol. I nodded. "And are you two–"
"--In a relationship? Yes," I replied.
"Ah, I figured. He seems sweet," Carol said. I smiled.
"He is. He can get on my nerves sometimes. But, all significant others do," I said with a chuckle.
"Yeah," Carol laughed.
"So, can I call you Mama Carol?" I asked.
"Mama Carol?" Carol asked.
"Yeah, like a cute nickname so that I don't mix up which mom I'm talking to or about," I told her.
"Yeah, it's cute. I like that," Carol said with a smile.
"Mama Carol?" I asked.
"Yes?" Carol replied with a smile.
"Have you heard of the Christmas Spirit Herself?" I asked.
"Yes, I have. Scott actually told me you were her when he tried to tell me he was Santa" Carol nodded.
"Well, he's right...you're looking right at her," I told her as I extended my arms out.
"Wait, seriously?" Carol told me.
"Yeah. You see this necklace–" I gestured to the Bethlehem charm around my neck.
"Yeah."
"It stores the power of Bethlehem itself for a whole year. And every first of June I go up on a cliff to recharge it," I explained.
"Oh, you mean the cliff we found you unconscious on?" asked Carol. I nodded.
"Yes," I chuckled.
"How did it happen? Was it similar to how Scott became Santa?" Carol asked.
"Pretty much. I became his assistant when I put on the green hat and held the book of names in my hands for the first time. I became Christmas Spirit Herself when Bernard gave me this necklace," I said as I gestured to my necklace.
"Oh, he gave you that necklace? How did he know you were the chosen one?" asked Carol.
"My necklace glowed when it came into contact with my skin. That's how he knew. He explained the whole Christmas Spirit Herself thing and I was shocked but I accepted it quicker than my Dad accepted being Santa," I replied. "Of course, my transition from human to elf was no picnic. Remember the time I fainted in your office?"
Carol nodded.
"Well, one of the things that I had to go through for my transition was that my body's immune system was changing so I'd get sick very easily. It had something to do with immortality," I explained.
"That would explain all your missing work that semester," Carol said as she gave me a look.
"Come onnnn, I made up for it and caught up and graduated on time," I whined. Carol chuckled. "Yes, you did and with flying colors," Carol said as she put her arms around me.
"Another part that sucked was that I couldn't take any man-made medicine. It all had to be elf made," I said.
"Elf made?" asked Carol.
"Yeah. Bernard would come and visit me when I was sick and he'd feed me this chestnut soup with a special formula of elf medicine. It made me feel better within minutes," I explained.
"Aw, how sweet of him. He seems to really love you," said Carol. I nodded.
"One time he did something so drastic he almost blew his cover," I said.
"How so?" asked Carol.
"Well, when I caught pneumonia, my parents got into an argument, which set me off and I ended up arguing with my mom, which overwhelmed me so much, I ended up having trouble breathing," I explained.
"Oh no," Carol said sadly as she stopped and looked at me.
"They started to give me medicine, which caused me to flatline. If it hadn't been for Bernard busting through those doors claiming I was allergic to the medicine they'd given me, I wouldn't be here," I said.
"Well, thank goodness for Bernard. He really must care about you," Carol said as she caressed my shoulder.
"Well, we've been together eight years now–Oh no, I forgot! We missed both my birthday and our anniversary!" I yelled.
"Your birthday and anniversary? How can you miss something like that?" asked Carol.
"Well, you know all the trouble with Charlie, the Mrs. Clause, and a Toy Santa that ran around like he owned the place didn't exactly make me think about any of those things," I said before I chuckled nervously.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go get your man–elf–man elf!" Carol stammered as she tried to find the right words.
"Wait, what time is it?" I asked. Carol checked her watch.
"It's 10:30," Carol replied.
"Okay, great! Gotta fly," I said as I walked away. "See you later, Mama Carol!" I shouted as I waved at her.
"Bye, honey!" she shouted back at me as she waved.