Sleighing Her Elf (Operation Reindeer Retreival Book 3) (3 page)

“I like them. Until today, I have never seen you as you normally are.”

“I think Santa wanted it that way. At first, it was to protect us from the aggression of males, but then, we took on the seeming of nuns. Unfortunately, we were nuns who went into heat, and being unable to satisfy that particular urge caused what can only be described as job in-satisfaction.”

“So, you have been going into heat with no outlet for hundreds of years?” His astonishment was obvious.

“Yep. Researching the options that the humans had just made things more frustrating, and masturbation can only get you so far before you start looking at the vegetables at dinner with a lustful eye. That gets old quickly as well.”

He shivered and held her tighter. “I can’t imagine life without the touch of a lover.”

“Well, we all charged out and tried our hand at sex with humans.”

“How do you know how to do that?”

She winced. “I am not supposed to say.”

“Do you know where your teammates are?”

“Of course.” She shrugged. “It comes with being part of a group. Any of us can locate the others, and Ru has known how to find us this entire time.”

“Why didn’t she leave?”

“That ruby around her neck is her birthright, but it is also very easy to track. An alarm would have sounded the moment she left. She didn’t want to risk our experiences for hers.”

“You left her behind anyway?”

“She was in charge. She is our leader. She told us we could go, and we went with the promise to return.” Penny chuckled. “She even taught us to get around detection for the most part or at least delay it.”

“Well, as none of the other elves managed to locate you, or even knew you were missing, I am guessing that she gave good advice.”

“She did, but she always does. She might be the youngest of us, but she is definitely the most intelligent.” Penny sighed.

Something was exploding on her television, but the light outside was fading.

“Penny, if you wish to go for a walk in the sunset, I would be happy to come with you.”

She smiled. “Excellent. Give me five minutes to get dressed.”

She rolled off the couch and landed on all fours. In a moment, she was up on her feet and in her bedroom.

When she was dressed and ready, she returned to the living room, she looked around for him. Merkoss was standing near the door wearing his jacket, jeans and boots. He was holding her parka and smiling.

“Are you sure you want to come with me? I am pretty sure that you aren’t as weatherproof as I am.”

“We all have our strengths. I am sure that you will help to warm me up if bits of me get frozen.” He winked. “Again.”

She slid into her parka and closed the front, stepping into her boots and bending quickly to finish the lacing. Merkoss gripped her hips.

“What are you doing, Merkoss?”

“Helping you keep your balance in the most entertaining way possible.”

She snorted and straightened. “You can let go now.”

He laughed. “Spoilsport.”

When she was ready, they exited her cabin and walked into the brisk winter air. The sunset had painted the white snow in pinks and oranges.

Penny walked with Merkoss following, and she headed for the rise near her home. The view of the sunset over the hill and the snow-covered meadow. She crouched and looked out over the silence, the human world with the planes in the sky beyond and the lights blinking in through the trees from houses and other structures. It seemed so alone here, but there was always another human habitation just a few miles away.

The workshop was a different dimension from this place, both literally and figuratively. Here, there was peace and this moment that she could enjoy.

She turned and beckoned to Merkoss. He joined her on the hilltop, and she pulled his arms around her. “Can you see it?”

“The beauty? The sunset? Or the joy in your face?”

“Any of it. This is what I wanted, and I didn’t even know it.” She felt tears welling in her eyes. “They have all this beauty, and they still huddle in cities and towns. They stay inside when winter touches the world and ignore the amazing landscape that they are right in the middle of. They are blind.”

He hugged her. “They are not blind, they just can’t see through your eyes. I like what you see. It is a blaze of light that the world needs.”

“The world needs Prancer, not the views of Penny Rancer.” She chuckled ruefully as the stars crept out to light the sky.

“The world needs you both. I need you both, but that is something that you will have to decide as time passes.”

“What? Whether I want my snowman all year round?”

He coughed uncomfortably. “I can’t promise to freeze myself again, but I am willing to roll around in the snow to re-enact our first night together anytime you ask.”

She felt the urge to return to the workshop pounding in her veins. “Well, we had better get back inside. I need to grab the rest of my presents for the girls.”

He turned her in his arms. “Just one more thing.”

He kissed her under the gathering stars, with the air they exhaled misting around them. Penny kissed him back and held him until the last traces of the sunset were gone. Eventually, they walked back to the cabin in the starlight with the glow from the sky on the snow lighting the way.

Inside her temporary home, she grabbed the bag of presents, and when she had everything ready, she grabbed her collar.

“You have it?” Merkoss seemed surprised. “I didn’t think you would wear it.”

“It is the uniform of my position, the mark of my particular magic.” She unfurled it and looked at it with a heavy sigh.

“I can put it on you.”

“No.”

He quieted, and she pointed to the bag. “Grab that sack, please. I will need you to hold it during the flight.”

“You want me to...”

“Ride me. Yes. I want you to be on my back, holding onto my horns and keeping my stuff from crushing a small bungalow on the way home.”

“As my lady wishes.”

Penny had to admit that it sounded nice. She nodded and walked to the door. “Well, I suppose that there is only one thing left to do.”

He followed her outside with his outdoor clothing all nicely fastened. “What is the last step?”

“I was only able to come here because of this snowflake, so I am guessing it had something to do with my home and means of transport.” She chuckled and took off her parka, dropping it in the snow. She opened her shirt and held the small case in her hand, peeling the snowflake off with her right hand. She pressed it into the case, not wanting to waste it.

“Here. Put this in the bag or zip it into your pocket. I don’t want it getting lost.” She smiled brightly.

When the snowflake was secure, she kissed him one last time, and then, she buckled on her collar.

Prancer took over, and she became the reindeer. She turned her head and was unsurprised to see her home and the snow plow disappear in a swirl of magic.

She stamped her feet and looked down at Merkoss. He smiled and ran his hand over her side. “You are bigger than I remembered.”

She stamped her hoof and jerked her head. He followed orders, and she stood as the bag was thrown over her shoulders. He mounted her next and got a good grip on her horns and cleared his throat.

“I am ready when you are, Prancer.”

It was all she needed to hear. Half a dozen steps in the snow were all she needed to take off and rise above the treeline, her hooves churning the air and running on a current only she could see.

Her instinct guided her, and she headed home. The workshop awaited, and her one day of duty a year was just another day away.

So, this was short and the price reflected it.

Next up is Vixen’s story in
Hung by the Fire.

Join me every week until Xmas for a reindeer story that will culminate with Rudolph’s tale on Dec 23
^rd
. The reindeer need a day to get ready, after all.

Thanks for reading,

Viola Grace

http://www.violagrace.com

Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it; she always goes for the cheap laugh.