Key of Liberation: Beyond the Savannah (A Key Keepers novel)

Episode 0: How Star Stole Christmas

It was Christmas, but all was not well in the Kurenai household.

There lived a mommy, a daddy, their kitten and two cubs. The mommy and daddy loved their kitten and two cubs equally, but their kitten still wasn't used to sharing his mommy and daddy.

Alastair grumbled as he walked into the mall with his mom and baby brother. "Mommy, why do we have to go shopping? Couldn't I have gone with Daddy?"

"No, sweetie. Daddy went to fix a client's computer."

"Couldn't I have gone with him to fix it? En did!"

Lena laughed at her middle son's remark. "Honey, you don't know the ins and outs of computers yet." She ruffled his orange hair. "Maybe when you're older. Besides, En got to go because he hid in the car."

Alastair puffed his cheeks and crossed his arms. "I would have been fine sitting in a corner..."

Alastair's baby brother waddled over to him and stood between him and his mom. "Shop!" he said with a smile.

"Yes, we are," Lena said, smiling at her little boy.

Alastair leered at the kid. Things used to be simpler before he was born. It was bad enough that he had to share his dad with En, but now he had to share his mom too. Sometimes, he wished that Noah would disappear.

Alastair followed his mom and brother into the mall.

He saw his mom stare at a list that looked suspiciously like the one that he had made with his dad for Santa.

"First on the list is a tie for Daddy," she said.

Alastair blinked. Was his mom secretly one of Santa's helpers? His dad sometimes referred to her as his 'fairy'. Elves were a kind of fae.

Lena led her boys straight into a large store known for selling some of the best ties around.

Star stopped and stared at the blinking lights of a Christmas tree in the entrance of the store.

"You sure love lights. Don't you, Atty?" Lena asked, giggling.

Star nodded. "I do," he said as if in a trance.

"Hey, is that who I think it is? Sister!" a lady called out.

The boys' mom turned around and saw a blonde lady running over to her.

"Josie!" she yelled, running over to her friend with open arms.

"Hey, Helena! Out holiday shopping with the kids?"

"Yeah. Normally I leave them with Rin, but he's out on a job right now."

"Oh, I see. I would volunteer to watch over them, if I weren't doing my own shopping." Josie had bags on each of her arms.

Lena laughed. "Atty probably would go with you if you weren't. He was throwing a bit of a fit on the way here."

Josie stared at the hypnotized boy. "Well, seems he's calmed down now."

"Yeah, lights tend to do that to him." She glanced over at her youngest son who was going around in circles, grabbing the empty gift boxes below the tree. She laughed. "Noah, there's nothing there."

Noah put down the last box and frowned in disappointment. He must've been hoping to find a toy among them.

"He's so cute," Josie said, smiling at little Noah. She reached into her purse and pulled out an orange lollipop and unwrapped it. "Here's a little gift for you, little one."

Noah ran over to her, but the lollipop vanished. He glanced at Alastair who had taken it.

"Thanks," Alastair said, popping it into his mouth.