The Round Queen and Reunion!

Without hesitation, I stomped my way past the many children here, who weren’t too happy about me cutting in line, but this was for their own good. I went right up the swirling candy cane stairs, and climbed the jingle jangle ladder to meet those elves face to face…

They certainly weren’t real elves. Tall in stature and without pointy ears. They weren’t even pure blooded humans in costume either. They were demi-humans. One a rabbit and the other a cat.

“H-hey, kid!” the timid sounding demi-human rabbit shouted as I approached. “You gotta’ wait your turn, do you hear me?” he pointed to a pocket watch, which was spinning out of control like time was fast forwarding… The twelve o'clock point said ‘Not You’re Turn,’ written in the most atrocious handwriting with improper grammar and everything.

“Yeah yeah…” My scowl against them grew. “Listen up, I have a question for you two hired helpers. How could you ever deny someone a chance to meet with Santa? That’s not the way of Christmas!”

“Who do you think you are?” hissed the sassy cat girl demi-human. “Get back to the front of the line, or I’ll call security!”

“No!” I shouted in protest. “I don’t know what sort of rabbit hole you're running here, but you guys are acting more like club bouncers than jolly elves.”

Demi-humans were always looking for work, since they didn’t completely get along with humans. They couldn’t wield magic as well as their counterparts, but they did have some extra physical strength that made them good at playing security roles.

They also had a little intimidation factor as well, but no amount of snarls and hissing was going to work on me.

“S-seriously?” The timid rabbit demi-human tapped his fluffy foot repeatedly as if becoming impatient with my dispute. “What should we do?” he asked the cat girl. “She looks awfully angry with us…”

“Don’t be so stupid!” the cat girl argued. “Why don’t we just give in and let her through?” She sprouted a freakish grin, which was more evidence that something funny was going on. “‘Santa’ can take ‘good’ care of her.”

Why doesn't she just twirl those whiskers like a super villain already?

“Oh!” the rabbit elf snapped his fluffy fingers. “Yes! Let’s throw her in, indeed!”

I did not like the way they were talking. This seemed like more of a trap than a visit with old saint Nicholas. I had my doubts, but if anyone could handle herself here, it was me.

“Woah!” I shouted as a hole opened up under my feet and I dropped down a slide.

The slide was so fast and laid out like a roller coaster. There were at least three loops and by the end I was going so fast that I defied the laws of physics and slid upwards.

“Jane! Stop this crazy thing!”

I was heading for the ceiling fast.

A hole opened up and I slid right on through it, flying right up into the air before gravity claimed me again and dropped me into a pile of fluffy fake snow.

“Urlando Studios’s got nothin’ on this…” I stood up and patted all the dust and fake fluff off me. Once I was clean, my eyes wandered to assess the make-believe environment around me.

“Woah…” I uttered, overlooking an endless, blizzarding abyss with a single checkerboard road. Hearts were in the black tiles and crowns in the white. It was barely given a guiding light by blinking Christmas bulbs, many of which flickered once, but never lit again.

On a more spiritual side, I sensed this was some sort of domain magic, which explained why it looked a lot bigger and crazier on the inside than it did from the outside.

“Well, no reason to get cold feet.”

I began stepping along the path, careful not to slip on the sheet of ice coating the tiles, or risk a fall into the endless white void that I wasn’t sure even had a bottom. Eventually I materialized my wings and I took to the air to try and bypass the slippery surface, but the cold wind above was especially hard on my feathers.

“I knew I should have preened and fluffed them yesterday…”

Regardless of my lazy mistake, I had to carefully continue on until I spotted a single light in the distance, which turned out to be a castle made out of Christmas presents.

The gate inside was guarded by similar elf dressed demi-humans, each holding giant candy canes sharpened like swords.

“Halt!” called out the squeaky one on the left, who was a mouse. “State your name, child, and we shall let you pass.

“Gee, Santa sure has been beefing up security, hasn’t he?” I rolled my eyes as I landed in front of them, then dematerialized my wings. “Worried Krampus might show up and ruin the fun?”

The guards refused to respond, only offering me a chilled scowl. So I saw no reason to continue bantering if it wasn’t getting under their skin.

“Yalda Asamo,” I answered the mouse man’s question. “And, for the record, none of you two would be able to stop Krampus if he showed up. Believe me.”

“Get inside, naughty child!” shouted the guard on the right, who was looking turtley enough for the turtle club. “Be thankful we show mercy to the youth.”

“Nothing says mercy like pointing sword candy canes at a kid.” I rolled my eyes and stepped beyond the gate.

Mountains of presents of all shapes and sizes were piled high in the castle, especially into the chamber I was meant to walk in, which I had to assume was the throne room. I could hear the sound of boxes and wrapping paper being torn to shreds, all the while a giggly cackle occasionally broke through the tearing.

“Oh dear…” An enthusiastic woman announced. “Yes! I love this one! It’s perfect! Wait, eww! What horrible taste in color…”

She was all the way at the end of the chamber, pompous sounding and dressed just as gaudy as her attitude. She was a round gal too. The buttons of her green and red cashmere coat were really putting in the work to hold her dignity together. A big red heart necklace hung down her neck like a weird ornament.

And like anyone posing to be royalty, she had a ridiculous crown on her head, this one made of Christmas wreaths and gold mistletoe.

Hate to be the dude caught under that crown with her… Yuck!

“You’re not Santa,” I accused to draw her attention from the present box she was mangling with her 10cm long Christmas themed nails.

“Egh!” she grimaced as I approached. “And you're not a polite child who deserves gifts!”

“I’ll have you know I’ve been a good girl all year!” I folded my arms and gave her a sassy tilt of my head. “Now why don’t you explain what’s the deal with all these gifts? And if I don’t like your answer, I’ll make sure the only one you get is a lump of coal.”

“Naughty!” She pointed to me, her long, gangly finger shaking for extra emphasis. “Naughty girl! Guards! Off with her head!”

The guards peeked in from the gate and shrugged.

“Uh…” the guards shook their heads.

“What are you fools waiting for? Deal with her!” the woman screamed, her voice so scratchy that the stained glass windows above were cracking. “Her head must roll for disrespecting me!”

“Well… Uh…” The left one shrugged again. “I know we’re supposed to threaten kids and stuff, but we can’t hurt them. We’ll get sued.”

“Yeah…” the right one flicked the candy cane sword and it wobbled uncontrollably. “Besides, these things are rubber props.”

“Is minimum wage not enough to inspire loyalty anymore?” The round woman rubbed her forehead in disappointment.

“Are you getting minimum wage?” the mouse man asked his friend.

“No…” the turtle guy replied. “Should we be getting paid that much?”

Suddenly the round queen tugged at her collar, like she’d made a mistake bringing that up.

“Uh…” she uttered. “Fine! I’ll deal with her myself!”

She took up one of the gifts from her side and opened it. Out came a toy revolver with an orange tipped barrel.

*BANG*

It wasn’t a toy! Ice bullets ripped through the air and I had to dodge like a mad hatter!

What is she trying to do? shoot my eye out?!

One ice bullet ricochet off the wall and struck my arm in the surprise attack and ice grew over it, preventing me from moving it properly.

“Woah!” I did a one-handed flip over a box and took cover, then picked apart the ice covering my arm. “I’ve heard of the cold shoulder, but this is ridiculous.”

“Not enough, eh?!” the round queen opened up a new gift, this one containing an oversized bazooka. “Say hello to my little friend!”

*PWOOOFF!*

A snowman head shot out from the launcher and struck to the right of where I was hiding, creating a blast of snow that forced me out into the open.

“Gah!” I grunted as I rolled to catch my fall. “Hey, lady! Frosty called, and he wants his head back!”

“Naughty!” She tossed the bazooka away and pulled up a sword of ice. “Off with your naughty head!”

She came swinging, but wildly like she’d never held a sword properly in her life.

One swing went left, shooting out a cold shockwave. I dodged with a quick crouch.

The sword came back heading right, I spun in a fancy upwards twirl to evade.

Then finally she brought it back up and swiped down…

I caught the ice blade between my two pointer fingers and held it steady mere inches away from my face. It wasn’t even a struggle.

“Is this popsicle for me?” I gave the ice sword a quick lick. “Yuck! Tastes like tapioca and mid-life crisis.”

“Wh…” horror spilled over her face. “What are you?!”

“It’s a little rude to ask someone ‘what they are’ in this day and age, don’t you think?” I tilted my head down to let the light menacingly shiver over half my smirking face.

*CRACK!*

I broke the blade in half and the round queen stumbled her butt back into her throne of gifts, but couldn’t bear to lower her chipped sword of ice as if it would somehow defend against me.

In desperation, she swiped off the tops of a few boxes and a small army of plastic dolls began marching on my position.

*SHWING!*

I summoned my stardust crystal spear and cut them all down with ease, then aimed my blade at the chest of the round queen.

“Now I have a question…” I stood over her, a menacing look in my blue eyes. “Mind telling me exactly what you’ve been doing here? What’s with all these presents?”

She grimaced again and grit her teeth tightly, grinding them so loud I could hear them cracking and turning to dust.

“Every child desires gifts, don’t they? I have the power to steal those wishes and bring those selfish desires to life, no matter how amazingly impossible they are!” she laughed maniacally. “Ankle biters want the craziest things, so I thought… Why not steal those powerful gifts to grow my domain?”

“And the bigger your domain, the more gifts you can steal from children's minds. Am I right?”

“Correct…” she had a terrible grin on her face, which told me this was only the beginning of her plans. “But I can’t let a little brat like you ruin all this planning!”

Her body freezed quickly and turned into pure ice, then melted down into a puddle that scattered to every corner of the chamber.

“Darn…” I tried to locate her, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight. “I can’t even sense her… Where did she go?”

Suddenly all the presents stacked around me began to shake, as if their contents were trying to escape. Several of the boxes spilled over and large amounts of Pego-Blocs escaped.

The tiny plastic bricks bounced on their own and collected together, eventually forming into the shape of a person, vaguely shaped like an idealistic variant of the round queen.

The water she’d used to escape my grasp slipped over the Pego-Bloc woman and seeped into the micro gaps between each brick. Moments later the plastic creation became animated.

“Hoo hoo hoo!” laughed the round queen in this new form. “What do you think of me now? I find it the perfect-”

I flew in fast and punched her, breaking chunks of the brittle plastic bricks in the process.

“Hey!” she shouted as she jumped back. “I was about to monologue you!”

“I honestly don’t care,” I replied. “Can we get this over with already? I’d like to enjoy the holiday.”

With a growl, she ran in at me, reinforcing her new plastic body with a layer of ice. Her speed was greater, largely in part to how much thinner she was.

She threw a wide punch, which I evaded on the inside and chopped her brick arm right off. I followed it up by smacking away the other arm that came around for a retaliation strike.

“This is just pathetic!”

With that statement, I threw a fist right into her chest, which cleared away every block all the way down to her core. That heart was black as coal, which meant there was a demon in that soul that needed to be cleansed.

She was panicked, but a sly smile tugged her lips.

“What is it you want more than anything, child?” she looked me dead in the eyes, hers turning bright red. “Ooh, I see…Let’s make it real, shall we?!”

She was about to try some sort of trick, but I wasn’t going to fall for-

“Hey, kiddo.”

I froze at the sound of that warm male voice, mere moments away from striking the blackened heart with a cleansing stardust spear.

“D-daddy?”

I quickly spun around to find my own father there behind me, exactly the way I’d last seen him. His silver plated torso, short white hair and blue eyes, and his golden colored crystal heart.

“That’s me,” he smirked, standing proudly. “No idea how I got here, but hey, I won’t complain.”

Tears immediately fell down my face. It really was him. I couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t just some copy or clone made as a figment of the domain we were in, but the real deal. His spirit matched exactly.

I couldn’t help but run up to him and hold him tightly, feeling the warmth of his body heat, the hard rubber of his stomach.

“Dad!” I cried into his belly. “Daddy!” I bounced in place, trying to bury my head further into him. “You’re really here! It really is you!”

His right hand brushed the back of my head while the left held my back tightly. His eyes watered a tad too. “It’s so good to see you again, Yalda. You’ve gotten so big, you know?”

“I have?” I sniffled, looking up at him to see his soft smile. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, really!” he chuckled. “My little angel is growing up…” he sniffled too and brushed a tear from his eye. “Man, it feels so great to know you're turning into a real woman. Not just that, but a hero too! Proud of you, kiddo.”

“Thanks, dad,” I warmly smiled, still crying. “This is our first Christmas together in years, you know?”

“Wish it could be under better circumstances…” he held me to the side and raised a hand toward the round queen, who had sloppily put her arms back together and was sneaking out of the castle. “This thing giving you trouble?”

She was caught in a big sparkly bubble and lifted up into the air. Then she telekinetically flew toward us, all the while cursing and swearing like a sailor. Thankfully the bubble wouldn’t let those foul words escape through.

“She’s trying to steal Christmas.” I nodded, watching as dads stardust bubble washed the woman's soul clean of all its darkness and turned her back into a harmless, middle aged human about half the size of her previous form. “Although, I should probably thank her.”

“Oh yeah?” Dad's brow arched. “Not like you to thank the villains. I wasn’t wrong about the hero thing, right?” he asked in a playful voice.

“Heck no!” I shook my head and laughed. “She gave me the one present I wanted this year more than anything. That was to see you!” I hugged him tightly again, really digging my nails into his back to anchor myself. “But, I bet this won’t last forever.”

“Probably not, kiddo,” He patted my head again. “But hey, even just a few moments was enough for a while, right?”

“It’s never enough…” I sighed. “But, yeah…”

“Aahhh…” he cooed out, lifting me up and placing me in front of him. Then he kneeled down slightly since I was much shorter than he was. “Hey… S’long as you remember me, we’ll always be together in here.” He pointed to my crystal heart. “One day, Yalda, we’ll be together again.” he lifted his pinky. “You trust me?”

I nodded without hesitation. “I trust you, dad!” We locked pinkys and shook on it. There wasn’t any going back after that!

“Right!” he let go and did a stretch. “Well, eh… Gotta’ head back for now. They’re already giving me an earful on the other end. I hope you can’t hear it, cause there’s this loud mouth…” there was a screech in the air and we all grimaced at the sound. “Yeah, yeah!” dad shouted back. “Dang, that guy’s loud.”

I had no idea who he was getting yelled at by, but even if he wasn’t being told to return to where he was, this domain was falling apart around our ears and returning to reality.

“One more hug…” I requested as he began to fade away into sparkles. “Please! I just need one more!”

“Come here, kiddo!” he announced with enthusiasm. “Give your ol’ pops a good hug, would you?”

I jumped into his arms, almost making him fall over and I held on tight until there wasn’t any corporeal bit of him left here.

“I love you, dad,” I said. “I’ll keep doing what you made me for, I promise!”

“Love you too, Yalda.” he replied before vanishing completely.

“Keep savin’ the world, kiddo. See you soon.”