"The Hollow"

"Chapter 21: Two Orders of Business"

Santa made a few more trips to The Hollow over the next few days, both to explore the city and to get to know its residents a little better. He was the one to point out something interesting about the Dark Elves. He noticed that the tarnished silver specks on their cheeks were beginning to regain some of their sparkle. Alpha had a theory about that, too, and she let Santa in on a little secret when he found his way to her house.

"Roy...Or, rather, you would call him 'Tooth Fairy'...asked me to give his sister's wings a proper burial, and I've done so. The Fairy magic that The Founders stole...it's no longer in them. And, because her spirit has been satisfied, the negative energy is becoming more positive. I know it sounds like New Age garbage, but I noticed the untarnishing myself, and the Fairy Rings answer to me."

"About that," Santa held up a finger, "I noticed that there aren't as many."

"Aye," she passed him a plate of sugar cookies. "We don't need ten of them down here. It's not a huge place. Seven is a good number, and we could all use a bit of luck, I think. There were originally thirteen, you know. Old Silas thinks Brinna's spirit rebelled and managed to get rid of three of them. They were good friends, those two...Brinna and Silas, I mean. She used to visit him. And I didn't know a thing about it."

"Silas is that frog-fish guy in the river, right? Bernard told me about him." Santa smiled.

"Gave the poor Elf quite a turn, I'm afraid!" she chuckled, then leaned forward, her ears tilting back sadly. "I haven't heard from Roy, and I didn't expect to...but..."

"You want to know how he is," Santa looked down.

"I can guess. But I have to ask."

He sighed, putting his half-eaten cookie down on his napkin. "Well, he had to go right to work almost as soon as we got back, and this is after he'd been awake for nearly twenty-four hours. It would be nice if he could have just one night off, especially after that, but he's kinda stuck with his job. From what I hear, when he isn't working these days he's sleeping."

Alpha nodded, not at all surprised.

"He's mentioned you a few times," Santa continued, taking another bite of his cookie.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He didn't go into a lot of detail, but it sounds like you made quite an impression." He smiled. "Whatever it is you said to him, I think it meant a lot."

Alpha got up to refill their cider cups. "I've been there meself...It's never easy. Smallpox wiped out most of my family, and at one point it was just me brother Andrew and I."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

She nodded, giving him his cider and sitting down. "He went on to marry, and his wife and I didn't get along. Then I met a man who was more than what he seemed to be. I made a choice...became like him...had a son, lost them both. And here I am. And all this time, I've been workin' for their murderers."

Santa had no words. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and shook his head mutely.

Alpha leaned forward and put her hand over his. "Make something good come of this, Santa...please. Give us justice."

Santa nodded his head, an idea beginning to make itself known to him, but he kept it under his hat for the time being. "Well...if you would, can you please leave the Fairy Ring that's in the alley at the Pole? Just temporarily."

Alpha didn't know why he was asking, but she saw no harm in doing so, and shrugged as she sipped her cider. "Certainly. You and yours are always welcome here...though things are something of a mess at the moment."

"I guess starting from scratch isn't so easy..."

"No...it's not."

Carol was over the moon to have Buddy home again, and while the toddler had a nightmare that first night and was more clingy than usual, he seemed to be recovering from his ordeal rather well.

Bernard's knee was merely sprained, and he was able to return to work while wearing a knee brace under his pants. As Pearl had predicted, he had a fine black eye, but he was well aware that it could have been a lot worse.

A week passed before the Council of Legendary Figures met at the North Pole to have a serious meeting. Santa felt that Alpha and her band of misfit monsters deserved recognition for their part in helping him recover his son, and Mother Nature and Father Time had a little surprise in store.

Alpha, Omen, Punky, Pearl, and Robert had been asked to join them at the North Pole to sit in at the meeting, along with the Dark Elves who had helped bring Buddy home. The 'monsters' arrived fifteen minutes early. Alpha was in human form again, and she was surprised to note that switching back and forth between the two forms was no longer painful. Robert's hair was now a bright scarlet, and the first thing he did when they arrived in Elfsburg and saw all the snow was change himself into a bat and fly up onto a low roof. Once he landed, he changed back and shielded his eyes as he looked down. The alley was still somewhat dark, but the whole place was much brighter than they were used to.

"Oh, my goodness..." Alpha facepalmed. "Robert, what on Earth are ye doin'?"

"I'm gonna jump ass-first into this snowbank!" the Vampire announced, pointing at a two-foot-high drift of snow that had gathered beside the building.

"Okay," Alpha made as if to clasp her hands behind her back, but she backed against a low wall and packed a large snowball in her hands. "Ready when you are."

"Go?" Robert pointed.

"Aye."

Robert jumped off the small building, tucking his legs up cannonball-style, and stuck in the snow pile like a cork. Alpha's grin stretched wide as she drew her arm back and hit him in the face with the snowball, causing him to roar in outrage and fling handfuls of snow at her. She put up her hands to block it, laughing loudly.

That was the sight that greeted Tooth Fairy when he flew down to join the meeting, and he smiled in spite of himself. "Having fun?" he asked as he landed nearby, ducking to avoid a snowball from Robert.

Alpha turned and smiled warmly, hugging him on impulse. "Always havin' fun."

Tooth Fairy was greatly taken aback by this, and he awkwardly hugged back.

She mistakenly thought that she'd offended him, and she quickly took a step back as she let go. "Oh, I'm sorry..."

"Oh, no, it's fine." he rubbed the back of his neck.

Robert got out of the snowbank and dusted off his butt, showing his fangs in a wide grin. "She's a hugger, if she likes you. Guess you're in, dude!"

Pearl lightly tapped Alpha's shoulder with her broomstick. "That was very forward of you, young lady!" she teased.

Alpha, not to be outdone, put her fists on her hips and retorted, "Who are you callin' 'young'? I used to babysit you."

Punky pointed at Pearl and laughed, and they all trooped out of the alley. Once the full brightness of Elfsburg hit them, everyone but Tooth Fairy shielded their eyes and halted in their tracks.

"What's wrong?" Tooth Fairy asked, then he realized. "Oh...it's too bright for you. Here, Alpha, you take my hand and Punky's. You form a line, and I'll lead you inside."

Omen allowed Pearl to pick him up. "Guess it's a game of 'Follow the Leader'..."

They made their way inside, and their eyes gradually adjusted to the brighter light. It wasn't so bright in the Workshop, and that seemed to help. Once Alpha and her group were able to see where they were going, Tooth Fairy let go of her hand and led the way with very little expression on his face.

Alpha fell into step beside him, and asked quietly. "How're you doing?"

He shrugged. "I'm here."

She saw that he wasn't in an especially social mood, and she took the hint.

The Elves regarded their 'dark' brethren with some curiosity, and they were obviously suspicious of Punky in particular. He sort of resembled a living toy, and memories of Toy Santa weren't far from their minds. These newcomers made no move to harm anyone, though, and the Elves quickly lost interest and got back to work.

Bernard, who stood just outside of Santa's office, grinned widely when he spotted Alpha. He pointed accusingly at the Werewolf and tried to look severe. "You didn't stick around to say goodbye!"

"Oh. Goodbye, then."

They had a brief stare-down, then Alpha cracked a smile and came forward to shake his hand, which he accepted before pulling her into a brief hug. "I like 'hellos' better. It's been a privilege, Bernard." she added, then gave a low whistle as she pointed to his shiner. "You look like you just called Butterbean a sissy."

The Elf grinned as he stepped back, touching his black eye. "You were getting one of these, too. How is it already gone?"

"I heal fast," she shrugged. "So...any idea why we're here?"

"You'll see."

They all filed into the office, and saw that the other Legendary Figures had already arrived. Alpha and her group were suddenly shy, especially when a pretty blonde woman came forward and seized Alpha in a tight embrace.

"Oof!" Alpha gasped as the breath was squeezed out of her, and her arms went awkwardly around Carol. "I guess we're doing this now..."

Carol stepped back, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you. For saving my baby."

"Oh!" Alpha smiled and relaxed, realizing who this was. "You're most welcome. It wasn't just me, though."

Carol took in the sight of them, this ragtag group of Halloween creatures, as well as Simon and the good 'Dark' Elves, and her smile never faltered. "Thank you. All of you."

Tooth Fairy perched on the arm of a couch, and his eyes kept straying to Alpha; he wasn't even aware of it.

Mother Nature tapped her gavel when everyone was settled. She held a tiny orange pumpkin in one hand, but no one questioned it. "I now convene this meeting of the Council of Legendary Figures, and as you know, we have a lot to talk about. The first order of business is Halloween."

They all looked at each other, confused. The Easter Bunny was staring at Alpha, his nose twitching suspiciously. He was told what she was, and his natural instinct was to get as far away from her as possible. She seemed rather unassuming, but he didn't trust that.

Mother Nature continued, "It's been a long time since we inducted a new member of the Council of Legendary Figures. The most recent ones were the predecessors of the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny."

Omen could already see where this was going, and he jumped out of Pearl's arms. "All right, I'm out."

They watched him jump up on the desk and begin to clean his paws. Whatever it was that Mother Nature was about to suggest, he clearly wanted no part of it.

"That is your choice," Mother Nature looked mildly amused. "Now...Santa tells me that all of you helped bring his son home safely, at great risk to yourselves. This hasn't gone unnoticed. I would now like to offer one of you the opportunity to represent your Holiday, and become a member of the Council. Take this opportunity now to speak among yourselves."

Alpha was painfully conscious of the Council's eyes on them as Pearl, Punky, and Robert turned towards her.

Pearl shook her head. "It's a great honor, but...I was looking forward to retiring."

Punky chimed in, "And I've got a bar to run."

Robert snorted, and addressed the room at large. "Look, I'm glad the kid's safe, and I'm, like, honored and stuff...but I'm no good for that kind of job. I'm too lazy."

Alpha thoughtfully rubbed her chin. "Just what would that entail?"

Mother Nature was all too happy to explain. "If the Council votes in favor of inclusion, you will take this pumpkin as your symbol and be sworn in. You will be required to attend Council meetings, of course. And once you decide how you will represent your Holiday, your specific magic will become fixed in that way; what you do your first year is what you will do every year. Will you accept this responsibility?"

Alpha thought about how much she had on her plate already, but it might benefit her people to have this connection. Also, she didn't want to lose the friends she had made. But she wanted to make sure this wasn't a mistake. "Would you have me? I mean...you don't know much about me."

Santa put a finger beside his nose, and then he folded his hands and leaned forward. "Fenella Macauley, AKA 'Alpha'. Born October seventh, 1512, to Normond Macauley and Agnes Macauley, nee Dunbrek. Third-born of six. Naughty List part-timer for disobedience, but basically good-hearted. You play the tin whistle and the acoustic guitar. And you also have a weakness for jerky."

Alpha's mouth sagged open as Santa rattled off several facts about her that almost no one would know, and she recovered herself with a laugh. "Okay...now, that is spooky!"

There was another chuckle, and Santa grinned. "So, what do you say? Wanna join us?"

She nodded. "Aye."

Mother Nature beamed at her and nodded. "All in favor of including Alpha as the newest member of the Council of Legendary Figures?"

Tooth Fairy's hand shot up first, and everyone but the Easter Bunny followed suit.

"And all opposed?" Mother Nature looked at Easter Bunny, who still didn't raise his paw. "Easter Bunny? In favor or opposed?"

Easter Bunny twitched his nose when Alpha looked directly at him, and he seemed to want to melt into his seat. "Please don't eat me..."

The others smothered chuckles, and Alpha shook her head. "I won't. I might boop your nose at some point, though."

That did it. Everyone laughed at that, even the Easter Bunny, and he finally raised his hand.

"Okay. In favor, not opposed."

"Motion carried," Mother Nature tapped the gavel, and beckoned. "Step forward, Alpha."

Alpha got up and approached her, trying not to look as uncertain as she felt.

"Hold out your hand"

Alpha did so, and Mother Nature placed the tiny pumpkin into her palm. "Alpha, do you swear to represent Halloween to the best of your abilities, to aid your fellow Council members in their time of need, and to treat them as you would like to be treated?"

"I do."

The pumpkin briefly began to glow orange, and the points of light traveled up her arm and disappeared at around the vicinity of her heart. She very nearly dropped the pumpkin as invisible shackles seemed to bind her wrists and ankles. They weren't there, and yet they were very real, and her commitment was lasting. "That...was interesting."

Father Time smiled at her. "Welcome to the Council of Legendary Figures."

"Hear hear," Tooth Fairy clapped politely, and the others followed suit.

Alpha sat back down again, and Mother Nature turned serious once more.

"Our next order of business is a far less happy one. Bernard...bring them in." Mother Nature folded her hands.

Bernard opened another door, and The Founders and their followers were brought into the room. They weren't physically restrained in any way, but the Elficers surrounded them on all sides, and without the power of Brinna's wings they couldn't fight back. Tooth Fairy grew so tense that he nearly shot to his feet, but Alpha anticipated this and put a hand on his shoulder.

Viola and Avery glared daggers at all of them, and Alpha in particular. Here was the one who had knocked them out and stolen their power.

Mother Nature addressed the eleven Dark Elves. "You stand accused of kidnapping the son of Santa Claus, and of the murder of the Tooth Fairy's sister. You also stand accused of the attempted murder of the Tooth Fairy, the murders of Alpha's mate and son, and the enslavement of an innocent soul."

Viola sneered at Alpha and the Tooth Fairy. "She wasn't that innocent. She told us all about her brother. The one who only cared about himself."

Tooth Fairy clenched his fists, which began to glow with purple magic, and his face turned red. Alpha, who was stone-faced, gently squeezed his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "She's baiting you. Don't give her what she wants."

He continued to glare daggers at Viola, but unclenched his hands.

Avery looked up at Mother Nature, folding his arms. "I don't regret anything. Well, no, that's a lie. I wish we'd gotten his wings."

Tooth Fairy concentrated on the feeling of Alpha's hand on his shoulder. He reached up and clasped her hand in his, shutting out everything but this simple feeling. He refused to lose his temper, and she stood at his side as his anchor. He would remain calm!

"Well, ye didn't," Alpha said bluntly. "He still lives."

Mother Nature raised an eyebrow at the Dark Elves. "Do you deny it?"

"Deny it?" Viola shook her head. "We're proud of it. We might have failed, but we went after what we wanted. How many of you can say the same?"

The eleven Dark Elves murmured in agreement, and Mother Nature rapped her gavel on the block for silence.

"So be it. Now a punishment must be decided on."

Cupid spoke up. "What about lifelong imprisonment?"

Father Time stroked his beard. "I could put them in suspended animation..."

Jack Frost, who had sat in silence with his hands folded, spoke next. "I could freeze them, but since my heart's been thawed, there's no guarantee it'll stick."

Tooth Fairy was oddly silent. The others expected him to be the most vocal member of the group, but he said nothing.

Alpha and her crew whispered among themselves, and Mother Nature asked them what they were saying. Alpha cleared her throat. "Is execution an option?"

The room got so silent that you could hear a pin drop, and Mother Nature shook her head.

Alpha didn't back down. "I just think that the punishment should fit the crime. It's not just..." She glanced at the Tooth Fairy, who was looking down at his hands. "It's my family, too. My mate and boy are dead because of them. I worked for those two. For over four hundred years, I was their oblivious watchdog. They played us for fools, and we're letting them live?

Father Time put his hand on Mother Nature's shoulder. "What do you think?"

Mother Nature didn't look pleased, but they had never faced a situation like this before. Never had the Council taken so many attacks from one specific source, and the gravity of these actions could not be ignored. She pressed her hands together in a praying position and brought them to her mouth, and after a moment she nodded. "An exception can be made in this case. Death is, after all, a part of the natural order of things. I don't like it, but you have made your point. And Alpha, I'm aware that you yourself hunt quite frequently."

"Aye, for food," Alpha wanted to gloss over this part. "Deer, mostly. I never enjoyed it; it was necessary. These two did it for sport."

"All right," Mother Nature nodded. "All in favor of imprisonment in a state of suspended animation?" There was hesitation all around the room, but one by one, several hands went up. Father Time. Mother Nature. Cupid. Sandman. Jack Frost. The Easter Bunny. And, finally, Santa.

Tooth Fairy's brow contracted as a new pain gripped his heart. He wanted this threat gone. And these people he called 'friends' had voted to let them remain. He looked over at Alpha, and saw that she had not raised her hand. Was his only ally really the Werewolf he had known for such a short stretch of time?

"All in favor of execution?" Mother Nature asked, mostly as a formality. Alpha and Tooth Fairy had been outvoted.

Alpha raised her hand defiantly, followed in close succession by the Tooth Fairy. Both were unhappy with this, already knowing that they had been outvoted, but sticking with their choice.

Mother Nature nodded and tapped her gavel. "Motion carried."

Tooth Fairy and Alpha got up and headed for the door without a word, neither of them noticing the other until they nearly collided with each other.

"Oh, sorry."

"Oh, excuse me."

He opened the door and gestured for her to go ahead, and he followed after her.

Robert watched them leave, then got to his feet. "Guess we better bounce, too. It's been real."

Alpha and the Tooth Fairy walked side by side in silence for a while before she sighed and tucked her hands into her pockets. "So, that's it, then..."

Tooth Fairy grunted to mean yes. "It's by a majority vote. We're in the minority."

"Aye, I know how it works. We're doing something similar back home, though it's still in the planning stages." She looked over at him, and saw him nod dully. She licked her lips and ventured, "I thought you might like to know, I did as you asked. If you ever decide you're ready to...you know...all you have to do is ask, and I'll show you where."

He blinked several times, turning his eyes to the ceiling, determined not to cry in front of her again. When he was sure he was still in control, he nodded. "Thanks. Look, I'm gonna go. I have to get ready for work."

She nodded, and there was an awkward moment when they sort of almost hugged, but he knew he would probably lose it if he did that, and she just didn't want to be touched by anyone right now. They both lifted a hand in a wave, and he flew off.

Santa came up behind Alpha. "He all right?"

Alpha watched Tooth Fairy's form grow smaller and smaller as he got further and further away. "He's not...but I think he will be."

Note: Not exactly a happy ending, I know...but there's more to come! Alpha will have new responsibilities, Tooth Fairy will have his own journey of healing, and maybe something good can come of all this mess. We'll see! Butterbean is a boxer, by the way. I don't know if he's still active, but I do know that he kicked Johnny Knoxville's ass! I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope you'll stick with me for the next story!