The North Pole,

24th December 2021.

As the sun started to set, a particular winged infant made his way up the north pole to Santa's residence. It was evidently shown on his face that he'd rather be up in Mount Olympus, doing some unproductive things. Besides, he didn't like to leave Olympus especially when it wasn't February. He frowned when he noticed the reindeers were out and ready for the journey, but Santa on the other hand was nowhere to be found. Cupid walked into Santa's cosy home. The frown on his face dissipated into worry as he saw Santa on the floor. 

"Hey, old man. I got your message." He said as he helped Santa sit up. "Last time I came up here, it was to check on my buddy Cupid, the reindeer. He's doing really well." He babbled. Santa sighed heavily and gave Cupid a long look. "Eros, I didn't call on you all the way from Mount Olympus to have you check on your buddy." Santa sassed. Cupid tried so hard to keep a straight face. Like he wanted to be there in the first place. But at the same time, Cupid knew something was wrong because Santa said his Greek name. 

"I was called on why?" He questioned. Santa took a deep breath before answering. "This is going to sound very absurd." He paused and looked at Cupid's reaction. "Okay, it's Christmas eve and Santa Claus has to deliver the presents in about now. But apparently, if Santa isn't able to do the delivery, a god is called to assist." He finished. Cupid held back his laughter, "Why were you talking in the third person?" He chuckled. Claus ran his fingers through his white beard regretting his decision to call on Cupid. 

After a few more minutes of convincing Cupid to make the deliveries, which he reluctantly agreed to, he finally sat in the sleigh. Santa could barely make it out of his home to see Cupid off. So off Cupid went, after sneaking his buddy a little snack. "I don't even know how to fly this thing," Cupid muttered under his breath. As he held the reins, the reindeers took off into the sky taking the sleigh up with them. And that was the dawn of Cupid's delivery adventures!

After ten minutes of being up in the air, he started to get motion sickness which wasn't supposed to happen. He bent over and retched in the sleigh. "If Santa asks, it wasn't me." He warned the reindeers. They made a noise that sounded like a snicker. Soon, it was time to make deliveries. Cupid reached for the big bag of presents. He groaned when he couldn't reach it. Muttering incoherent words under his breath. He turned to get it. But nothing was there to be reached for. Cupid didn't take the presents with him. 

He turned back to look at the reindeers which looked irritated by his presence except for his Cupid buddy. He scratched his neck in an awkward manner, "Um guys, have you perhaps seen the big bag of presents that's supposed to be at the back of the sleigh?" He asked them as if they were ever going to respond. He sat back into the sleigh and tried to think. He was the god of love. And he'd never go anywhere without his trusted bow and lovely arrows. An unusual smile danced on his lips as he figured out what to do. He wasn't going to ruin Christmas after all. 

The true meaning of Christmas after all was to spread love and that involved a certain baby with some archery skills. So, after coming up with a plan, Cupid continued his journey and started spreading love. Whenever he saw someone that was feeling unloved, he nail them in the heart with his gold-tipped arrows. So far, his method was somehow efficient because he could feel the spirit of love in the atmosphere. He was about to cross over that town onto the next but he stopped when he felt a strong emotion. It was a girl. 

He stopped the reindeers and even forced them to land. He risked being seen by humans just because he was intrigued by what one was feeling. He decided to change his appearance into that of a mortal as he approached her. He analysed her. She sat outside in front of a door. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. As he got closer, Cupid knew she was broken. And in desperate need of some love. So from the distance, Cupid brought out one of his gold-tipped arrows and shot her directly in the heart. 

He started to walk back to the hidden sleigh when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see that same girl following him. His eyes widened as he cursed under his breath.  According to the myth, a person struck by the arrow immediately falls in love. She had fallen in love with Cupid himself. He realised he was disguised as a mortal. He took a step back and reached for one of his lead-tipped arrows. "Hi, there." He tried to make conversation. She just smiled at him, probably being madly in love with him. 

He held the leaden arrow behind his back. He had to shoot her with that in order to create order from what would be chaos. He couldn't have a mortal ridden with love for him on Christmas Eve. Especially when he had Santa duties to do. So, he approached the female and aimed at her. She realised what he was about to do, and she dodged. Cupid watched with fury as a perfectly good leaden arrow went through a brick wall. "Not cool." She said and crossed her arms. He turned back to look at her, "So you talk now." He retorted. She didn't even give him a chance to do anything. She took his hand and ran out of the place. 

Cupid was worried out of his mind as he tried to get out of the mortal's vice-like grip. He was a god or crying out loud, how could he not escape? "Um, young female." He started and tried to reason with her. His voice reeked of fright. She shushed him and continued taking him to an unknown place. Santa was never going to trust him ever again, not that he did though. Cupid knew deep down that he had ruined Christmas, a love arrow gone awry. 

A lot of things went wrong that Christmas, Santa was unable to deliver presents, Cupid forgot those said presents. He spread love in the air, at least to one town. In the end, Cupid didn't exactly spread the Christmas spirit and all that merry fun but he signified the true meaning of Christmas. Love...

Author's note

Honestly, I had so much fun coming up with this story. I know the ending isn't itttttt but I really enjoyed typing this!