A Twisted Christmas

Chapter Eight

At the bittersweet memory of his parents, he reached up to stroke his ridged horns. Even if the elves disliked his rather devilish appearance, he would still appreciate his life. The fact that the same King who took him in when he was an orphan would carelessly take that away from the people who loved him as a ruler disgusted him.

However, he wasn't quite sure if that was the case. Vanilla could have very well been exaggerating. She always did have a knack for acting, he noted with nostalgia. But something about her demeanor told him otherwise. So he made it a point to head straight for the factory afterwards, as that was the area where all the elves were most likely to reside.

Krampus turned around just as a elevator came to a stop, sliding the doors open to reveal the clean, elegantly themed monochrome lobby. After constantly going up the back steps to get some refreshments for the parched prisoners, Krampus had already embedded the architecture of the luxurious room into his mind.

He sprinted forward with his eyes locked on the double doors in front of him as a chill crawled down his spine from the sudden drop of temperature. The wind brushed against his body, pushing and pulling his hair and fur in everywhich direction while he ran past the various painting and furniture that were scattered within the room. Once he reached the doors, he pulled on the cream-kissed double doors without hesitation.

A burst of winter air filled his lungs when he stepped outside, his foot and hoof numbing at the bare contact with the white surface. Krampus grimanced at the sky while the doors closed behind him. Although he was glad to finally be out of that suffocating prison, he clenched his fists at the thought of those who weren't. He remembered looking at their pitiful faces as they begged him to let them out, as well as the cries they emitted when Krampus could only shake his head. He hated to see the glimmer of hope fade from their eyes, and he would've done anything to bring it back.

Yet when he spotted the dimmly lit factory that stood near the edge of the once cozy town, he sighed. It would take days to get there on foot, the goat demon realized with grief as he kicked the snow. Wait, that's it! He exclaimed when the familiar jingle of his friend's collar clawed past his clouded thoughts to remind him of who soared above the clouds under his care only a century or two before.

"Simon!" Krampus called out as he ran aimlessly with his focus on the black silhouette that was flying towards him. When the reindeer turned to the Prince with questioning eyes, he waved his arms. Simon dived to the ground in a matter of seconds, with waves of snow swooshing in his wake.

"My Lord," he began as he landed before Krampus with a bow, "how may I be of assistance?"

Krampus smiled from ear to ear while patting the reindeer's head. "I want you to take me somewhere."

"Certainly. I am grateful to have the opportunity," Simon bowed, "to accompany you to wherever you may wish to go."

Krampus chuckled. "I told you; no need to be so formal, young chap. I just need to take a quick trip to the factory and check on something." Surely the town can't be in the grave state that Vanilla described it to be. I have to see it for myself.

"Ah, so the girl told you about what happened. My apologies for not informing you of the current situation at your request."

"No, no, it's fine. I don't care about that." Krampus gave a bitter smile when the air caressed his shivering cheeks. "You had to follow that man's orders. Still, I can't help but criticise his new... laws." As Krampus prattled on about the rules he learned of while watching the prisoners, he hopped onto Simon and laid back with his tail swinging lazily. "It's horrible down there. One of the little ones was arrested for eating cookies. Cookies, Simon! I need to help them out as future ruler of this Kingdom."

"Well," he moved his neck and shoulders around to adjust to the added weight before taking flight, "just know that I can't assist you even though we are on much better terms than I am with the King. Although you raised me, I cannot disobey him."

"Yes, and I was raised by Santa after my mother and father died. How ironic that he may be punished by his own 'child.' That sounds fun." Krampus stared at his large, scarred hands and licked his lips. "Anyways, I don't mind. I think I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

Simon only bobbed his head and apologized for his words as they headed towards the factory before remaining silent. After awhile, he turned to Krampus and warned, "Hold on," before kicking his legs to move faster. Krampus tugged on the reindeer's thick antlers to keep steady while he changed to a more comfortable position.

He was nearly blinded by the blur of stars that they sped past while gusts of wind snuck into his layers of fur and traced his skin. Burying his head into Simon's fur for warmth was a simple task, however, doing so would only prove his weakness. So Krampus tightened his grip on the deer's antlers and stared at the factory that seemed to emit toxic chemicals into the air as they grew closer.

While Simon searched for an empty space to land, Krampus noticed how desolate and lifeless the factory looked. No one was playing in the snow or testing out new toys like before. He remembered the workshop as a colorful, vibrant place with toy planes and hot air balloons taking flight in the sky and little dolls and cars littered the snow.

It was a fun time for everyone, when the town was illuminated by laughter and lunar powered christmas lights embraced the crystal trees. Now what remained of the past was the layer of snow that coated the land. Everything changed, yet stayed the same.

Krampus climbed off Simon and scratched his horns against the deer's antlers before nuzzling his forehead. It was their way of showing affection towards each other. "Ah, it's good to be back. Can you wait here? I'm hoping that this won't take much time."

Simon's deep voice rattled when he retorted, "Of course. It is the least I can do to make up for my sins." The reindeer gave the goat demon a somber look but before he could speak once more, a hand roughly patted his head.

"Simon, I told you; it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. But this government," he trailed off when his eyes landed on the bustling old factory, "it needs to change." He then gave a small, bitter smile before running to the building.