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

Chapter 2: The Guardian

It's been a few years since the Krumholtz family settled into their new home outside of the North Pole. They paid a few visits but not very many because they were still trying to distance themselves so that they could work on their own family. Stella and Bernard had both started aging. Stella was getting more into politics and was going to be running for mayor for the next semester. And in order to uphold her duties of being Christmas Spirit, she used her magic to create Christmas magic around the small town she lived in and on occasion, she'd travel to different parts of the world to give Christmas Spirit to those who were less fortunate. She would visit foster homes, homeless shelters, some local hospitals, etc. Bernard was a stay-at-home Dad The twins were now ten, the triplets were seven and Stella was now carrying another child. Yes, child. Stella and Bernard are now expecting another child. No twins, no triplets, no quadruplets, just one single child. She was nine months pregnant and wasn't expecting to give birth for another few months, at least in theory.

On the first night of December of that year, Stella and Bernard were both woken up by a blue light.
"Wake up, Ms. Spirit," came a voice. "
Five more minutes, Mom," Stella mumbled.
"Wake up," the voice whispered loudly. Stella opened her eyes and saw that Bethlehem was right in front of her. She then shook Bernard awake.
"Bernard. Bernard!" Stella said groggily as she shook Bernard awake. Bernard groaned.
"Five more minutes," Bernard groaned.
"I will hit you with my pillow. Get up. We have a visitor," Stella said as she continued to shake her husband awake.
"What?" Bernard groaned. He then opened his eyes and looked from his wife to the bright blue light.
"Whoa..." he trailed.
"Good evening Christmas Spirit and Bernard. I'm sorry to have to wake you at such an early hour but there is something I must show you," Bethlehem told the two tired (retired) elves. Stella and Bernard rubbed their eyes and got out of bed.
"What must you show us at this time of day, m'lady?" Bernard asked.
"Follow me and I'll show you," Bethlehem said as opened the door to the bedroom. But, on the other side was not the hallway. It was a swirling vortex. The two exchanged looks and followed Bethlehem through the swirling vortex. But just as they did so, they entered a black and white world.
"Whoa. Did we just time travel?" Stella asked as she fixed her robe
"In a manner of speaking. There's someone I'd like you to meet," Bethlehem replied. Just then, they heard a very familiar but also unfamiliar laugh.
"Here he comes," Bethlehem said.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Bethlehem, it's good to see you, my dear," the Santa said as he approached the trio.
"Hello, Santa. I wanted you to meet someone. And reunite with an old friend," Bethlehem replied.
"Oh my goodness. Could it be? Bernard Krumholts and Stella Calvin? Ho, ho, ho! It's good to see you, old friend. And it's an honor to finally meet you, Christmas Spirit," the Santa told Bernard and Stella.
"It's good to see you, Santa Seventeen," Bernard said.
"Santa Seventeen?" Stella asked with confusion.
"Well, there have been a lot of us. I'm the seventeenth Santa, so you can call me Seventeen," the Santa replied. "And right now we are in the Great Depression, which happened during my reign," Seventeen explained.
"I kinda noticed. How did you make do?" asked Stella.
"Well, at this time people enjoyed the little things. So, we handed out oranges and socks," Seventeen replied as he handed a pair of socks to a little boy who smiled and giggled before he walked away.
"I admire how you were still able to make people happy even during a horrible time," Stella said as she watched the little boy walk away.
"We couldn't skip one Christmas because of a war. Even if we couldn't make toys, we made children smile by giving them food and clothes," Seventeen replied.
"Mind if change the scenery?" Bethlehem asked as she opened the door again.
"Of course, Bethlehem. It's time that she knew," Seventeen said as he gestured to Stella. Bethlehem brought them back through the door, but instead of going back inside their house, it was a house that Stella hadn't seen since her childhood.
"Whoa. Are we..."
"--Yes, Ms. Spirit. We are in your father's old house. Just then, from the living room, the fireplace opened and Seventeen reappeared.
"Whoa," Stella said with a smile.
"Hello, again," the Santa said with his iconic laugh.
"Wait...since we're in my childhood home..." Stella looked around the house then at Seventeen "--You're the guy my dad knocked off the roof by accident?" Stella asked as she looked from Bernard to Seventeen.
"The one and only. But it was never an accident," Seventeen said as he shook his head.
"What do you mean it wasn't an accident?" Stella asked in confusion.
"Of course not! I'm Santa! I've been on millions of roofs. Someone yelling Hey! wouldn't make me slip off a roof."
"So, all this time you knew that my Dad was supposed to be Santa Claus and I was supposed to be Christmas Spirit?" Stella asked.
"That very year I knew it would be time to pass the torch down to a human and his family. Your father was the first ever human Santa," Seventeen replied.
"Wait, if my Dad was the first human Santa, then what were all the other Santas? Elves?" Stella questioned.
"Not elves, ethereals," Santa replied.
"Oh, okay. So why pass the torch down to a human and not another ethereal?" asked Stella.
"Because I thought a human Santa, alongside his daughter or son as Christmas Spirit Themself could raise their two separate families in the North Pole and perhaps those kids would inherit the magic of the North and of Bethlehem, making the passing of the torches of Santa and Christmas Spirit less up to the whims of a bunch of pompous ethereals," Seventeen explained explained.
"Wait, so are you saying that we were never meant to retire and leave the North Pole? We were supposed to raise our families in the North Pole?" Stella asked.
"Technically, yes. Especially if they've already developed magic," Santa replied.
"Oh, no," Stella said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Holly-Joy has teleportation skills, Nicky can levitate, Christopher and Joseph can read minds, and whatever Evangeline draws comes to life so that's great. That's fantastic. Guess, we're moving, honey," Stella stressed.
"Don't stress yourself, none, Christmas Spirit. You can still live in the real world for some time. But, you'll know when the time comes that you and your family must return," Santa said, calmly.
"So, we don't have to move right away?" asked Stella.
"Not right away. But, you'll know deep in here–" Seventeen gestured to Stella's heart "--just when it's time to return."
Stella let out a sigh of relief and nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"Alright. We must move on. It was good seeing you," Bethlehem said as she reopened the door.
"Alright. It was an honor seeing you both," Seventeen said.
"It was an honor seeing you again too, sir," Bernard said.
"Yes, an honor," Stella repeated. Bernard put his arm around his wife and the two went through the door again. This time it looked like they were in some kind of pub.
"Bless my eyes! Could it be?" came a voice. "The girl from my prophecy?"
"Your eyes don't deceive you, St. Nicholas," Bethlehem said with a smile as they approached the man in the red robe and staff. St. Nicholas approached the trio.
"My goodness. You look just as I pictured you. And look! You're wearing the necklace my wife made," St. Nicholas said as he gestured to Stella.
"Yes, sir. I rarely ever take it off," Stella replied.
"It's a good thing you haven't. That necklace contains your life force, you know. As long as the Christmas spirit stays alive, so shall you," St. Nicholas said.
"Yes, sir. I know the rules of the necklace."
"Good girl. You have been taught well," St. Nicholas said pridefully as he nodded at Stella.
"Well, I did train her, so of course she was taught well," Bernard interjected shyly.
"Ah, yes. Of course. Bernard, I haven't seen you since you were a tiny tot. It's good to know you've grown to be a spectacular elf," St. Nicholas told Bernard.
"Thank you, sir. I know I've done my job well," Bernard said with a nod.
"Yes, and so has she. She defeated the Snow Queen!" St. Nicholas said.
"I feel like I healed and saved her more than defeated her but whatever floats your boat," Stella said with a dismissive wave.
"Regardless, you saved the North Pole."
"On countless occasions," Bernard interjected.
"Well, that is her job. She is the protector of the North Pole!"
"Well, actually that's more of Harold's job now. I just spread Christmas Spirit throughout the world so that One: my Dad has an easier time doing his job. Two: I stay alive so I can raise my family and three: Making people happy is something I personally enjoy."
"And that is exactly why you were chosen by the prophecy, dear Stella," St. Nicholas told Stella.
"I know, I've been told a million times," Stella chuckled.
"Belsnickel! There's someone for you to meet!" St. Nicholas yelled. Just then some light footsteps could be heard treading from behind St. Nicholas. It was a furry little creature. St. Nicholas picked up the creature.
"Stella. This is Belsnickel. The first ever Santa Assistant," St. Nicholas said.
"Pleasure to meet you," the creature said in a high pitched British accent.
"Wait. You're an elf?" Stella asked.
"This is what all elves looked like before the great Evolution," Belsnickel explained. Stella looked over at Bernard who nodded.
"Did you used to look like that?" Stella asked.
"No, I was born after the Evolution," Bernard replied.
"How come you never told me about this?" Stella asked as she gestured to Belsnickel who was smiling.
"You never asked," Bernard replied with a shrug.
"I thought you became human because of jealousy and selfishness?" Stella asked as she looked at Belsnickel.
"I did, which started the Evolution. But instead of it being a punishment, elves started to beg Bethlehem to evolve them to make themselves look more like human children to make themselves feel a closer bond with human children. I was the only one who enjoyed my original form. It took hundreds of years before I was able to turn back. But when I did I learned my lesson that giving is better than receiving," Belsnickel explained. Stella and Bernard smiled at Belsnickel.
"Oh. You know who else would love to meet you?" St. Nicholas asked. "My wife," Santa said with a wink. Just then in a puff of smoke, a lady in a red coat appeared. She didn't look like the stereotypical Mrs. Claus that you would see in movies or on tin cookie containers. Her hair was a sandy blond instead of white/gray. Kind of like Carol's. And instead of the old lady bun, it was more of a high bun with curtain bangs.
"Mrs. Claus, I believe a very special someone is here," St. Nicholas said to his wife. Mrs. Claus lit up and approached her.
"Oh my!" Mrs. Claus said as she embraced Stella. "You are beautiful. And my necklace looks amazing on you," Mrs. Claus said as she smiled at Stella.
"Thank you. Am I all you ever hoped for?" Stella asked with a chuckle.
"And more. You're doing such a great job," Mrs. Claus told Stella. Stella smiled.
"Thank you for your time, St. Nicholas, Mrs. Claus, Belsnickel. We must be going now" Bethlehem said, which broke the semi-emotional moment between Stella and Mrs. Claus

"Thank you, Bethlehem," St. Nicholas said with a wink.
"Goodbye," Mrs. Claus said as Belsnickel waved.
Bethlehem opened the door again and led Bernard and Stella back through.
"So, was there a specific reason you wanted us to meet those Santas?" asked Stella.
"Yes, actually. They've been wanting to meet you, Christmas Spirit. And since you're retired, I've decided to give Bernard a special job," Bethlehem replied. Stella looked over at Bernard who looked rather surprised. "This realm needs a guardian. So, I've decided to give Bernard the job of the Guardian of this realm. It has no name and will probably not be given one. So Bernard, will you take the job?" Bethlehem asked as she looked over at Bernard.
"Of course I will. How could I turn down a job where I get to see all my old bosses," Bernard said with a chuckle.
"Then you must take this," Bethlehem said as she took out a circular object and passed it over to Bernard.
"It's the clicker that grants you access to the realm. Not only that but it will also freeze people in time due to the fact that you're time traveling, so time will freeze in the present as you visit the past," Bethlehem explained.
"Oh, cool. Does it work on animals too?" Bernard asked with a chuckle.
"Only on sea lions, I believe," Bethlehem replied.
"Now guard this realm well and only use it at dire need," Bethlehem told Bernard.
"I will, m'lady," Bernard nodded.
"Good. I will let you two rest now. Goodnight Christmas Spirit and Guardian of the realm," Bethlehem said before she turned back into a blue light and flew out the window back into the sky.
"Okay, that was fun. I'm going back to bed now," Stella said as she took off her robe and got back into bed.
"Guardian of the realm. I like that," Bernard said to himself as he admired the clicker.
"Bernard," Stella called.
"Coming, angel," Bernard said as he hurried back to bed. He put the clicker in one of the drawers on the nightstand and went back to bed.
"Bernard?"
"Yeah?"
"My water broke..."