"How do you get in without a fireplace?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know." Their dad told them "One just kind of appeared."
"Awesome". Charlie stated as Selene nodded.
"It kind of is." She told them as Scott chuckled. They were flying off landing on the next house as Scott went through.
But soon once again they were off and the sun was starting to come up "Charlie, Silver, look at the clouds over here. Aren't they pretty?" Willa asks, only to not get a response.
"Charlie! Selene!" Scott yelled, fearing that his kids might've fallen off the sled.
He and Willa then look back as they hear laughing. "We're fine, guys," Selene told him as she and Charlie were laughing in the back of the sled with a dog licking Charlie's face.
"Yah!" Scott yelled as he hit on the reigns and soon Selene and Charlie were back in front. Charlie and Willa fell asleep and both were leaning against Selene's arms. But when Scott made a turn on the sled, they woke up.
"All right. Morning, fellas." Scott told the kids. "Morning sport. Morning Silver. We're done, Comet. Ho ho ho. Back to the house. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. When I wake up, I'm getting a CAT scan!" Their dad yelled as they headed off towards the sun.
*A While Later*
Instead of being back home, the group soon ended up in a seemingly deserted area where snow was everywhere.
"Huh. You know, one of my dreams actual involved living in a snowy wonderland". Willa comments, making Selene laugh a bit despite the situation at the moment.
"Is this okay, dad?" Charlie asked Scott as he stood up and turned to the kids.
"No, it's not okay!" He angrily tells them before turning back to the reindeer. "Hey, does this look like home to you guys?" He asked them.
The reigns soon were pulled out of Scott's hands as the reindeer began walking away "No, no, no, no. Hey, hey! Where you going? Come back here! Oh." He grunted as he sat back down.
"Now what? How are we going to get back home?" Selene asks. Christmas music suddenly starts to play as a little boy came out of nowhere.
"Hey, hey! Hey, buddy! You, sir! Hey!" Scott yelled as the boy seemed to rub his hands together. Selene, Willa, and Charlie noticed he had pointy ears.
"Maybe this is that snowy wonderland dream". Willa says.
"Can you hear me?" Scott continued to try to speak with the boy as he pulls up a pole.
"What's that?" Scott asked leaning towards the kids.
"How are we supposed to know?" Selene tells him.
"I think it's the North Pole." Charlie guesses.
"That's the North Pole?" Scott asks upsettingly. "Hey, buddy you need some help. Hello! What are you doing?" He asked. A keypad of some sort seemed to come out and the boy pressed its buttons.
And soon a noise was heard, the boy crossed his arms and smiled looking at them as the sleigh began going down. Charlie grabbed onto his sister as they headed down, the temperature changing and getting warmer.
The lower they got, the more they were able to see that there was what seemed to be a workshop that had all these kids with pointy ears looking up at them.
They soon finally stop as they reached the bottom. "Where are all the grown-ups?" Scott asked while the kids looked around in awe.
"This is so cool!" Charlie says.
"Oh, I'm definitely exploring this place". Selene is about to get out of the sled when her dad stops her.
"No, you are definitely not! I need you three to stay here." He told her as she crosses her arms in frustration. Scott hopped out of the sleigh, trying to find out what was going on. As soon as he left, Selene jumped out of the sleigh.
"Silver, what are you doing?" Willa asked her.
"Exploring", she answered. "Come on let's check this place out while dad's gone. I'm sure he won't notice", She tells them.
Charlie follows her while Willa hesitates, but proceeded to come along anyway. They look around the place for a bit until Charlie sees their dad talking to someone, who looks like his sister's age, and begins walking towards him.
Selene notices and goes after her brother. "Charlie, wait up!"
"Can I get you a drink?" the guy asked Scott once the kids arrive.
"No, I don't want a drink," he tells him as Charlie joins the conversation.
"I'm thirsty. And hungry, too".
"Charlie!" Selene and Willa come in next, which gets Scott mad.
"Guys, I thought I told you all to stay in the sleigh".
"Dad, did you really expect me to listen when I haven't been doing it this whole night?" Selene places her hands on her hips.
"Who's this?" The guy asked as Scott answered him.
"This is my daughter, Selene, but I call her Silver".
"Dad, he doesn't need to know that", Selene says while Scott continues to introduce the kids.
"My son, Charlie. And my daughter's friend, Willa". He then tries to introduce them to the guy. "I'm sorry. Guys this is...b." He begins stammering.
"Bernard." The guy told them.
"Bernard," Scott repeated.
"Hi, Bernard." Charlie greeted him.
"Hiya, sport". Bernard told him as they shook hands.
"Hey, dad. He called me sport. Just like you." Charlie told him.
"Wonderful." Their dad replied flatly as Selene rolled her eyes before speaking next.
"Hey, it's nice to meet you", She shook his hand next.
Once they stopped, Bernard turned to Charlie. "Hey, you know what? I've got something for you. Okay, now hold out your hand, all right?" Bernard asked Charlie as he handed him a snow globe. "Now, be very careful. This is very old, just like me. Shake it up, Charlie."
Charlie did so and he and the girls looked at the snow globe in awe. "Wow".
Bernard looks at the girls and speaks to them next. "As for you two, I have these". He hands Selene a blue-ish silver bell necklace. She looks at it as it shines and shows her reflection in the silver.
"Thanks. It's pretty", Selene smiles. She looks back to admire the necklace and doesn't notice that Bernard keeps staring at her.
He finally stops when Willa gets in the way of his view. "Do I also get a gift? Or does it just apply to their family?"
"Oh, right. This one's yours", He gives her a snowglobe that looks similar to Charlie's. Willa is slightly disappointed it wasn't like Selene's necklace but was still happy that she got something.
"Why don't you guys hold onto this stuff for me for a while? They might come in handy." Bernard told them.
"Thanks. Thanks a lot. We promise we'll take real good care of them." Charlie tells him.
"Make sure you do".
Willa places the snow globe away while Selene puts the necklace on. And Charlie tries to show Scott his snow globe. "Hey, dad look!"
"Fabulous ball." He told him, giving it back as he tried to talk to Bernard. "Hey, Barabas".
"Bernard!" Selene and Bernard say at the same time. They look at each other for a brief moment before slightly smiling at each other.
"Bernard. Can we take a direct flight back to reality or do we have to change planes in Denver?" Scott joked.
"Larry, take Charlie and Willa here and get them some chow". Bernard told a random elf boy passing by. Charlie grabs Willa's hand and begins running toward him.
"No! Larry, don't do that. Charlie! Willa!" Scott yells.
"Uh, will they be okay?" Selene asks.
"Yeah, they'll be fine", Bernard assures her. "Now, both of you follow me. You'll want to get out of those clothes".
"I... look, Barnaby, we just want to go home", Scott says, both he and Selene follow him.
They go to a different area of the workshop and Selene looks around in surprise while her dad tries to talk to Bernard. "Look, I am not Santa Claus! Ah." He realized they were in a toy factory room now.
"Did you or did you not read the card?" Bernard asked.
"Well, Willa read it, but dad did pick it up first". Selene answers him.
"Then he's the new Santa. And you're his assistant" Bernard tells them as Scott took off the jacket.
"What do you mean assistant?" Selene said as she finally takes off the hat.
"In you putting on the hat and him with the jacket, you both accepted the contract." He added while they walked down a couple of stairs.
"What contract?" Scott asked, grabbing a toy.
"The card in the Santa suit. She said you read it right? So when you put on the suit you fell subject to the Santa Clause. Here." Bernard told him, handing something over.
"The Santa Claus? Oh, you mean the guy who fell off our roof?" Scott asked.
"No, no, no. Not Santa Claus the person, Santa Clause the clause." Bernard explained. Selene nodded, understanding what he meant by that.
"What?" Scott asked. She and Bernard sighed while turning to him.
"Aren't you a businessman, dad?" Selene asked him.
"Yeah. You already know that." Scott stated.
"He means the Clause, as in the last line of a contract," Selene explains to him but Scott still seemed confused.
"Wait, how do you know that?" He asks her.
"Remember 'Bring Your Kid to Work' day?" She reminds him. "When I've got nothing to do in the office, I just look at a bunch of paperwork and draw on them".
"That was you?!" Scott asked in surprise. He never really thought it was her at the time, especially since there were a lot of kids there that day.
"Never mind that! You got the card?" Bernard asked in a louder tone, making Scott and Selene jumped a bit.
"Oh, yeah," Scott finds it in his pocket and hands it over.
"Okay, look." Bernard began exhaling as he put it in front of a magnifying glass. "The Santa Clause, in putting on the suit and entering the sleigh, the wearer waives any and all rights to any previous identity. Real or implied. And fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus in perpetuity until such time that wearer becomes unable to do so." He continues to explain as Scott rips the card out of his hand. "By either accident or design." He finished while Scott looked at him.
"What does that mean?" He asked.
"I guess it means that since you put on the suit on, now your Santa", Selene says. "And I'm your personal assistant".
"She's right", Bernard nods.
"That's ridiculous, I didn't put on a suit just to..." Scott was explaining until Bernard cut him off.
"TRY TO UNDERSTAND THIS!" He yelled, making the other elves gasp.
He looks over at Selene, who backs away from him a bit in slight fear. He sighs and takes a deep breath before speaking softer, "Sorry for yelling", he apologizes to the teen before turning to her dad. "Let me explain something to you, okay?" He asked, sounding desperate for Scott to understand at this point, "Toys have to be delivered, I'm not going to do it, it's not my job. I'm just an elf. It's Santa's job, but Santa fell off a roof. Your roof. You read the card, you put on the suit. That clearly falls under the Santa Clause so you're Santa, okay?" He sounded very frustrated.
Selene walks towards him and places her hand on his shoulder, making Bernard flinch a bit but still allowing her to do so. "You sound very stressed. Ever thought about relaxing? Because I've only known you for a few minutes and yet I'm very concerned about you".
"I'm fine", he tells her calmly. He appreciated the fact that she was worried for him. It was kind of nice.
Scott didn't like this, so he pulled Selene to his side and asked another question. "So when can we get out of here?"
"Selene, Dad, you gotta see this place!" Charlie yelled as he and Willa ran up to them.
"This place is literally better than I could've imagined", Willa exclaims. The two of them are ignored however.
"You leave tomorrow morning. You have eleven months to get your affairs in order then you're both due back here on Thanksgiving." Bernard said.
"We're not coming back on Thanksgiving", Scott said.
"I'll ship the list to your house", Bernard replied with clenched teeth.
"What list?" Scott asked.
"Come on, now. The list." Bernard said. Scott shook his head, making Bernard look around a bit before singing softly. "♫He's making a list...♫"
"♫Checking it twice!♫" Charlie sang a lot louder.
"♫Gonna find out who's naughty or nice!♫" The other elves sang.
"Why did that slightly unnerve me?" Willa asks herself.
Bernard puts his hands on his face and sighs for the hundredth time that night before looking back at Scott. "Ugh. Look, you put a 'P' next to the kids who are nice and a 'C' next to the naughty ones."
"P and C?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, P for present, C for coal, right Bernard?" Charlie asked looking at the elf.
"Right." He stated before walking off.
"Wait a minute! How do I know who's good and bad?" Scott asked as he followed him.
"You'll know". Bernard told him.
"What if I don't wanna do this?"
"Dad! Please don't even joke about a thing like that!" Selene begged him.
"Why not? What if I don't buy into this Santa Claus thing? What if I choose not to believe it?" Her dad asked. Dead silence filled the room and everyone stopped working to look at him.
Selene shook her head as Bernard tried to reason with Scott, "Then there would be millions of disappointed children around the world. You see, children hold the spirit of Christmas within their hearts. You wouldn't want to be responsible for killing the spirit of Christmas, now would you... Santa?" He asked.
Scott had no response as Bernard turned away again. "Judy will take you to your room, get out of the suit, it needs to be cleaned". He then grabs Selene's hand and brings her with him. "Then get some sleep. We've got a lot of work to do and only a year in which to do it".
"Hey, where are you taking my daughter?" Scott calls after him, only to not get a response this time. "Silver! Silver! Selene!"
"I got her", Willa says as she runs after her friend. She makes it to her and Bernard stops the minute he sees her.
"Hey, hey! I just need her. You, go back with the others", Bernard orders her.
"Hey buddy, I'm not normally the rude type, but you don't get to order me around. Wherever she goes, I go; and you're just going to have to deal with it". Willa crosses her arms.
Bernard sighs again. "Fine. Just don't make this harder than it needs to be".
The girls both follow the elf and he brings them to a big bedroom. They couldn't help but marvel at the size, or the view they had on the room's balcony. "This is amazing!" Willa exclaims.
"Your dad gets his room and you have yours", Bernard says. "There's a door in the corner that leads to an office. Your office".
"Wait, you still haven't explained what being Santa's assistant means". Selene reminds him as she takes off her sweater and places it on a dresser near the bed.
"Does it involve you turning into an elf?" Willa asks.
"What do you mean?" Selene is confused. Willa then points to her ears and Selene becomes shocked the minute she touches them. She spots a mirror in the room and rushes to it to find herself with pointy ears. She turns around to Willa and Bernard and looks like she's about to scream.
"Please don't freak out!" Bernard quickly tells her.
Selene just stands there, still in shock but then starts speaking in a worried and fast tone. "Ah. I'm not freaking out, are you freaking out? No, I'm just very interested in my ears and the fact they've now become pointy... how long has it been like that exactly?"
"Since you've taken off the hat", Bernard answers. "You're Santa's new assistant; ergo, you will be turned into an elf the same way he will turn into Santa. Next to him, you're the second person in charge of this place. You make sure everything's in order and help out when you can".
"So, she basically has a higher power and position than you? Well that changes things". Willa smirks.
"That's right. She has higher power than me. Not you". Bernard points out. "So don't think just because you guys are friends means that you'll be able to do what you want".
Willa rolls her eyes. "Okay then. I'm gonna tell Mr. Calvin that everything is going good here. Be right back". she leaves the room to go find Scott and Charlie.
Selene smiles at her before turning to Bernard. "I still have one question. Why didn't the last Santa have an assistant with him?"
"Because he was alone when he became Santa. You're actually the first assistant to come here in centuries". He explains.
"Huh. I guess I'm lucky then. One in a million, am I right?" Selene jokes a bit. She then walks over to the balcony and looked at the amazing view of the North Pole, seeing all the little houses that lined the street. "This is still weird though... Just when I began to stop believing in Santa, this happens". She sighs. "There's something funny about that".
Silence begins to fill the room as Bernard kept smiling and sneaking glances at Selene. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about her intrigued him. Based on her interactions with Scott, she seemed to be a bit disobedient, but also pretty kind and smart. He just hoped that she and her dad will be able to get things situated before next Christmas.
Bernard then notices a bruise on the teen's arm. "How did that happen?"
Selene looks at him confused but then realizes she forgot about the injury on her arm. "Oh, that. Yeah, it's just something I got from a couple of jerks. Nothing too serious".
"Who were the jerks?" he asks her. She doesn't respond, which makes Bernard a bit worried. But he thought he shouldn't keep trying to pry an answer out of her. "Wait here for a second". He left the room and Selene decided that now would be a good time to change into new pajamas.
A few minutes later, Bernard returns with a first aid kit and he sees Selene in her new pajamas, still standing by the balcony. She turns around and greets him back with a smile. "You know there's a polar bear directing traffic, right?"
Bernard smirks and walks over to her side. He uses the first aid to treat her bruise and the two started chatting. It was pleasant for both of them, and the conversation went on for a few minutes.
"Hey, do I get elf abilities? Or just a makeover?" Selene asked.
"Oh, you'll get abilities. They're going to take a while to kick in though." Bernard answers her before looking at the time. "But for now, you should get some rest". He begins to walk out of the room until Selene calls his name.
"Oh and Bernard! Don't tell the other elves, but so far, I think you're my favorite one". She says. "You're a little tense but you know what you're doing. And you're also fun to talk to".
"Thanks", he responds before leaving the room, where he sees that some other elves, as well as Willa, were spying on him and Selene. The elves all ran off while laughing. All except for Willa, who was looking at him with a giddy expression.
"What?" Bernard asked her.
"Oh, nothing", Willa says unconvincingly before entering the room. "Have a good night, Romeo". She says to him before shutting the door.
She walks over to Selene, who seems really happy. "Sooo, he seems cute".
"Willa, we just met and he's probably like a thousand years old". Selene counters.
"Either way, I think he might like you".
"What makes you say that?"
"If you haven't noticed, the guy's a hot-head. Yet it's you he doesn't seem to yell at". Willa points out.
"That doesn't say much", Selene says. "Besides, like I said before, I don't plan on having a boyfriend".
"Suit yourself, Silver. But I'm just gonna say it. Tonight has been a rollercoaster of realizations and lots of surprises. I'm tired, so let's talk about this tomorrow". She walks over to the room's huge bed and flops on it, face-first.
Selene rolls her eyes and lays on the bed next to her friend. She fluffed her pillow and closed her eyes, hoping that this hasn't all been just a strange dream.
END CHAPTER
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A/N: The more I work on this movie, the longer the chapters get. Which technically is a good thing. Anyway, now that Selene has met Bernard, I can finally start the romance side plot.
Anyway, please comment and tell me what you think of the chapter.