When the heir to Christmas falls for a girl who hates the holiday, he risks losing his birthright to a trickster cousin unless he (and his magical friends) can melt her bah-humbug heart.
* * *
With his pet reindeer, grumpy...
"Are you sure you're okay?" Noelle asked as they turned into the market square. Only somewhat jokingly fearing being added to the "Naughty List," she took Nick's instructions to heart and set out for their morning activity immediately, even skipping a delicious smelling breakfast.
"Yeah. Don't worry about me. It's probably still just jet lag; nothing a little ibuprofen can't cure," Avery said, hurrying ahead in the softly falling snow. "Where are we starting again? First row fourth stall or fourth row first stall?"
Noelle checked the map as the white tuft at the end of her knitted red hat fell into her face. "Uhm, the first row," she said, pointing to the left. "I can't make out the icon, though. It looks like a chess board, maybe?"
She had no idea why Nick would send them to a board game vendor, but as they walked down the row with small, wooden bodegas on both sides, Noelle realized that she might be wrong about her guess. The smell of toasted sugar led them right to stop number one on the map.
"Waffles!" Avery exclaimed as they stopped at the counter displaying heaps of the baked dough. There were circle ones and square ones, rolled up ones and folded ones, and even ones tinted with various shades of food coloring.
"Good morning, ladies," the man behind the counter greeted them. "You're Mr. Klaas's guests, I assume?"
Noelle smiled. They were indeed at the right place. "Yes, we are."
The shopkeeper nodded. "Very good. Then I have a special treat for you." Turning around, he fiddled for a moment at the back where are the cooking things were located. When he was done, he had two paper plates each with five, heart-shaped waffles topped with red jam and whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce. "A Scandinavian specialty. Enjoy."
"Wow, thank you," Noelle said, already salivating at the thought of taking a huge bite. "How much?"
"You mean the cost? Nothing, of course. It has been taken care of. Merry Christmas!" the shopkeeper said before turning to new customers.
Avery had already dug into hers and had a dollop of cream on the tip of her nose to show for it. "Oh. My. Gosh. This is incredible. Where to now?" she asked before taking another bite.
"You haven't even finished this and you want to go to the next stop?" Noelle teased, dipping her finger into the pooled chocolate on the edge of the plate and licking it off. It was the best chocolate she'd ever had—creamy, sweet, but not overly sweet with a hint of bitterness and citrus.
"I can eat and walk," Avery mumbled, her mouth full.
Noelle relented. "All right," she said, balancing the plate in one hand and checking the map in the other. "Stop number two is that way."
Because the market was crowded and eating while browsing wasn't as easy as Avery had made it sound, they had finished their waffles by the time they got to the number two spot Nick had marked on the map. It had a ballerina icon next to the numeral, and sure enough, it sold all type of ballet related accouterments.
Tulle skirts, tights with cute patterns, and sparkly hair combs hung displayed on the three walls. A kindly looking woman was leaning forward on the counter, already waiting for them.
"I thought you may have gotten lost on the way," she said with a laugh, pushing a small cardboard box forward. "No bother. I was asked to give this to Noelle."
"That would be me," she stepped closer. "Can I open it?"
The woman nodded. "I don't see why not."
After making sure her hands weren't sticky from the waffles, Noelle removed the box top. Inside, was a pair of leather, split sole slippers.
"They're beautiful, but I don't dance," Noelle said, confused at why Nick would want her to have ballet shoes.
The woman shrugged. "Maybe now is the time to start. A Merry Christmas to you both," she said before returning to folding her wares.
"That was odd," Avery said as they continued walking through the market. "But I am now even more curious what awaits us at the next stop. Lead the way."
The stall marked with a number three was just a few vendors down. Labeled with a bottle, it had a large sign on the front advertising "Glögg."
"What's glögg?" Avery asked as they walked up to the counter.
She was probably just wondering out-loud, but the proprietress—who'd been ladling a maroon colored liquid into a metal cup—spoke up. "It's spiced wine, my dear." After topping it off, she handed it to Avery. "Go on. Give it a good swig."
Avery first sniffed the steaming drink; it had a slice of orange and a star anise floating on top, along with a thick cinnamon stick. She drank. "Whoow. That's some strong stuff. What's in it?"
The woman laughed and handed Noelle a similar cup. "That's a family secret. You tell me what you taste."
Noelle also took a sip. It was warm and smooth. "Apart from the obvious? Cloves, maybe. And vanilla?"
"Not bad," the woman said. "Merry Christmas, ladies."
They finished their drinks, leaving the cups on the counter.
"Ooh, getting to number four is going to be interesting," Avery said from behind reddening cheeks.
Noelle wiped the corner of her lips. The glögg was unbelievably delicious and much needed to wash down the sweet waffle, but she could also feel herself getting a little light headed. "No kidding. You may have to do the navigating on this one. My eyesight is a little fuzzy," she said with a giggle.
"I get lost on the subway," Avery said before also laughing.
They made it to the next stop on the map seriously buzzing, but at least they weren't cold. This stall was the most on-brand for the holiday, filled with handcrafted, wooden toys. After once again having her identity confirmed, Noelle received another gift from the proprietor. This time, the box contained a one-foot tall nutcracker doll. Dressed as a nineteenth-century toy soldier, he held a scabbard at his side and bared his teeth in a vicious snarl.
"Oh, thank you," Noelle said, even more confused about the reason for this particular gift. But if there were a pattern to this treasure hunt, then their next stop would lead to something delicious, so after tucking this box into a bag next to the ballet shoes, they trudged forward.
"Four down, two to go," she whispered to herself as she became exceedingly anxious to meet up with Nick. They'd gone zero to sixty really, really quickly last night and she had no idea how their reunion would go today. Would it be super awkward? There was only one way to find out.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
This is my #NaNoWriMo2019 project and while I absolutely love all of my silent readers, I would LOVE to get your encouragement while writing this story. So please, please, please add it to your libraries, vote on the chapters (updates daily!) and leave me comments. <3
