Nick

"Haven't found a date to the banquet yet?" my brother asked, jumping in my view to block my path.

"No" I lied to the prying ears of my brother. He would only snoop around to find out the identity of my date if I answered yes.

"The banquet is in two days Nick! Guests are starting to arrive at our palace" he grinned, taking pleasure in my predicament. We continued to walk through the palace as I went to find my room.

"I'll find someone. Don't you worry." I pushed him aside and stormed to relax in my room. This plan with Wynter needed to go flawlessly or else....

Just as I entered my room I see Samantha sitting at my bedside.

"Nick" she stands hesitantly, stepping closer to greet me.

"Who let you in here ?" I asked coldly. She pouted and tossed her hair to the side.

"Look I'm woman enough to admit that we had our differences Nick" she smiled through a lazy chuckle.

"Mhmmm" I scoffed, dismissing the lack of seriousness in her claim. She stepped over to me and hugged my neck, resting her lips against my cheek.

"Can't we just start over Nick?" she begged, running a hand down my spine.

"Sorry, but I don't take kindly to cheaters" I fumed, pulling her hands away.

"You are no Saint Nick!" she pouted, "we both stepped out." she muttered with disdain. Samantha was the highest elf in the kingdom. She was beautiful, smart and charmingly aware of the influence she had on men. She came from a long line of elf royalty. They were protectors of the spirit realm.

We had dated for a year and a half; we were soon to be betrothed all until she cheated on me with a no name prince from another realm. It was her loss, not mine.

I plopped down to the edge of my bed and pushed my hands to my face. I needed to get rid of her. "Look, Samantha, I'm seeing someone" I lied.

"Who?" she squinted suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it" I snapped. She pouted and walked to the edge of my bed, resting in its warmth as she locked eyes with mine. She started to unzip her dress until it fell to the bed and leaned against my lap. "Don't you miss this?" she pouted, biting her lip in an poor attempt to tease me.

"To be honest Samantha.. I don't" I snapped throwing my towel over her naked body. She had broken my heart and I had finally gotten over it. Plus, I was about to make the announcement to the winter realm about my betrothal to Wynter. Samantha would dangle this over me if I gave in.

"Whatever! you'll be begging for me soon Nick! just you wait!" she pouted, and stood to redress. She pushed me out the way to return to her realm.

___

The day before the banquet had finally arrived.

I sat up from my bed and picked up my phone to confirm the details with Wynter.

"You up?" I texted her. It was 10 am their time. I needed to sneak her into the palace in time to get her prepped and ready for the banquet tomorrow night.

My servant came in with a hot meal before I went to the shower to groom and prepare for the door. More hours passed as I went over seating arrangements and details with my mother.

"I just finished work. What's up?"

"I am picking you up tonight. You are staying at the north pole tonight until the banquet tomorrow night." I texted.

"You must have drank too much eggnog Nick. You only said I needed to come for one night"

"Plans changed" I texted her back. Why was she so defiant.

"Yea right. Good bye Santa" she texted and left the chat.

"wynter...wynter!!!"

No reply.

"Nick are you listening!" My mother clapped, snapping me from the glare of my screen.

"Yes. Yes" I lied, still waiting for her reply. "Mom, I got to go and...finalize the caterers" I lied. She nodded and continued on to speak with the planners of the banquet.

I see Lewis in the hallway of the west wing, talking it up with some princess. "Hey bro? stall for me. I have something to take care of"

"Is it a girl?" he asks, mocking my predicament with his air kisses. I pushed him out the way and head to my car parked near the stables of the palace. I would drag her to the North Pole by force; whether she liked it or not.

__

Wynter

"Finished" I breathed as I typed in the last of the figure on my spreadsheet. I closed my computer with glee and went to my fridge to grab my thawed meat to start on dinner. Just as I poured myself a glass of cider, I hear an engine vroom outside then a violent knock at the door.

"Wynter!" his familier voice called.

Shoot!

I ducked to the floor and zoomed behind my kitchen counter.

What did he want now!?

He skillfully opened the door, probably with his magic, and called for me again.

"wynter are you really gonna hide from Santa? Don't you know the song?" he yelled. I still remained silent in my spot as he walked past each area of my house, looking for any sudden movement.

"You better not run you better not hide?" he chants, "I know when you've been sleeping I know when you're awake" he sings, mocking me playfully.

Just as I thought the coast was clear, he came behind me and  cleared his throat.

"For someone who only visits once a year, you seem to come more often" I teased him carelessly. He only stood with his hands crossed over his chest while a look of anger rested in his eyes.

"I need you at the north pole tonight." he fumed, waiting for me to stand.

"Not tonight! I said the night of the banquet" I protested, pushing him aside so I could drink my cider.

"No Wynter! You gotta be there in time for the banquet. I have to sneak you in"

"The answer is still no" I snapped, anchoring myself against the kitchen cabinets. " I have a life Nicholas. A job and a company to take care off. Remember that?" I pulled the laptop from my kitchen island and sat down again to run some numbers I had forgotten. "I said I would help you but it has to be on my terms."

"You really wanna do this Wynter?" he said, taking a swig from my bottle. I ignored him and continued to smooth the graphics for my palette. He pulled my waist into his torso, clasping my neck against his palm. I stared at him in silence, observing his features with intrigue. I had never been this close to him before and I was certainly turned on.

"I should have never gave you your wish. You're a bad girl." he whispered into my lips. I blushed  and tried to pull away but he grabbed my waist and lifted me like nothing, pulling me over his shoulders.

"Put me down you kidnapper!!"I screamed. He ignored me and continued to walk towards my door to leave.

"Help help! I'm being kidnapped! By santaaaaa!!!" I screamed in my posh neighborhood, trying to pull at anything to anchor my body.

"You're so dramatic" he chuckled and continued, walking closer to a red corvette. I saw my elderly neighbor Ms. Robins in her garden and screamed for her help. "Ms. Robins! Help me! This man is kidnapping me" I wiggled in attempt to free myself.

"Oh Wynter! How are you! Oh! You and your shenanigans. He's a handsome one this one" she winked at me and continued to water her plants.

"No!! Ms. Robins!!" I yelled again but she waved us off.

"Remind me to give her something special next year" he chuckled to himself and turned me around, dropping me to the passengers side.

"Let me out!" I tried to hop out the car but he had already locked the door. "So what now? Santa clause" I mocked him, giving up when I realized couldn't unlock the doors.

I take a moment to look at the interior of his luxury car and frowned. "Aren't you supposed to have a red sleigh with 8 reindeer or something?"

He rolled his eyes and put the keys in the ignition, starting the engine of the car.

"Are you just going to ignore me?" I asked again, pulling a curl from his head. He sighed and continued to drive, speeding quickly down the pavement.

"Hello! The speed limits is 50!" I yelled as he pulled his car into gear and continued to accelerate, reaching 100 miles per hour.

Nick

"Nick! Are you crazy!" she screamed, clutching onto the side of her seat. I finally got fast enough to hit the vortex that interrupted the continuum between the earth realm and the North Pole.

She screamed in panic until she looked at her surroundings and observed the snow outside, reaching down to feel her body and face. She smiled in relief once she realized her body was still intact.

Her forehead was soon glued to my window as she took in the unfamiliar landscapes. The North Pole  wasn't anything like how they depicted on earth. It was a beautiful and ancient kingdom filled with magic and wonder. Our majestic castle was painted against the backdrop of the white snow capped mountain.

"You live in a castle?" she asked trying to hide her excitement.

"The Clause family is Christmas royalty. It's expected" I shrugged, pulling the car into the outside space near the stables. I opened the door for her and helped her outside. She shivered as soon as she stepped out the car; I knew she wasn't accustomed to our freezing cold weather.

I pulled off my jacket and grabbed her shoulders, blanketing it around her. She frowned and pushed my arms off, stepping over the piles of frost in the snow. "Come on, you're staying in my room."

"No way." She scoffed, "This castle is too big! You don't have spare rooms?" She protested.

"I have spare rooms but my servants have loose lips. No one can know about you until the banquet tomorrow night. Once I introduce you as my fiancé, you can stay in a separate room."

She nodded reluctantly and followed after me. I took her through the secret passageways and entry ways of the palace until we finally reached my wing.

"Hmm" she pouted, taking in the sights of my room.

"Problem?" I asked as she picked up a magizine from my shelf.

"I don't know...I guess I was expecting Santa's room to be a bit...different?" she shrugged plopping down to the bed.

I snatched the magazine from her hand and threw it to the side. "Here" I pass her a thick towel and red robe, "The shower is over there. I'll have the servants come in to sew the dress and do your face stuff."

"Do they have my color?" she pouted.

"Color?" I asked through a frown.

She lifted an eyebrow and pointed to her rich and ebony skin. "Everyone is pale as snow" She scoffed.

"I'll see what I can do." I sighed and turned to leave.

——

Wynter

The next morning came and I stretched in peace. It was the first time in a long time that I had gotten a full night of sleep. I shivered as I felt the coldness of the air and pulled my blanket tighter to provide warmth.

"Nick?" I whispered, sitting up to observe the room. I stood and went to check the bathrooms to see if he was there.

Nothing.

I sat in his bed again, then ran over to snoop through his things. I smiled as a I came across a young picture of him with his family; his father was the one dressed as a young Santa while his mother smiled with glee.

I pushed the picture frame back in its place and went over to his bookshelf in the corner where he had novels and scrolls of some sort. Just as I reached for a scroll, hidden behind another, the door handle jiggled and in he came.

I couldn't help the warmth radiating off my body as I saw him. He had dressed up for the party. He had a sleek black tux, tailored to fit him in all the right places. His curly hair was pulled back into a nest part.

He looked...

"Wynter?" he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm??" I pout, failing to realize his question. He had caught me staring...

"I said I'm going to not see you until they announce you later tonight. Will you be okay by yourself until then?" he asked.

"Yes...I mean no. Wait! What time is it?"

"We don't have time here. But you did sleep late. The banquet starts in an hour"

"Why didn't you wake me up!" I fumed, running to start the shower.

"What fun is that?" he frowned, leaning against the bookshelf.

"What do I do? I mean what do I say and eat? Who do I talk to?"

"Don't worry about it Wynter. Just act... sophisticated." he shrugged, opening the door so his servants could enter. They came in and measured my body before they went through a door to stitch my outfit.

"I am sophisticated!" I protested, flipping over the pillow to throw it in his face. He chuckled as he observed my fuzzy slippers and unruly hair and grinned. "Sure." he nodded and turned to leave once more.

Just before he left, he turned around to meet my eyes, "Oh and whatever you do... don't talk to Jack Frostensen"

"Who is that?" I asked through a frown. Now I was curious to know.

"He's...just....someone you need to avoid, okay?" he muttered and stepped out the door, leaving me alone in his room to prep.