A Fantasy Christmas Read online

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  A Fantasy Christmas

  Three Romantic Tales of Love and Magic

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

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  Halfling by Cindy C Bennett

  Banished from the South Pole, Kara tries to carve out a new life among the elves of the North. It’s not easy with a secret to protect—a secret she's cursed with by the unusual circumstances of her heritage: half-elf, half-fairy. In the North, she’s assigned to work with Seb on a special project. He's the most gorgeous elf she’s ever seen—and the orneriest.

  As if being banished wasn’t punishment enough.

  Seb introduces her to Trystin, a fairy from the nearby fairy forest. Trystin discerns her secret right away, promising to teach her how to use the powers given to her by the very thing she’s fighting to keep hidden.

  Aphrodite by Stephanie Fowers

  Nothing is simple for Aphrodite’s daughter, especially love.

  Scorned by society in regency England, Affry longs for romance. Upon encountering a dashing nobleman at her aunty's Christmas' ball, Affry gets caught in a lovely intrigue with disastrous results. Worse, she wins the interest of the gods. Now the furies of the underworld and Hades himself are after her.

  When all is fair in war, Affry must use love as her weapon—but only for the one who’s stolen her heart.

  Loving Marigold by Sherry Gammon

  Young Marigold Yarrow has a secret. She’s also in love with Jack Mahoney. In the middle of her ninth grade year, Jack's family up and moves to Port Fare, New York, leaving the small town of Sugar Maple, West Virginia—and Marigold—far behind.

  Nine years later Jack and Marigold meet again. They join forces to weed out the shady Abbott boys. The unscrupulous brothers are illegally selling moonshine near her home on Sugar Maple Ridge. And they'll do anything to get Marigold to leave the ridge… Anything.

  This time it may be magic that tears Jack and Marigold apart.

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  Halfling

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  by Cindy C Bennett

  Chapter One

  Kara took a deep breath, her hand on the glass doorknob. A new beginning. She kept repeating the words over and over in her mind. They rang just as hollowly now as when she’d been banished. Well, there was nothing to be done for it. This was her new life—for now. At least until her secret was once again discovered.

  She twisted the knob and pushed on the massive, heavy oak door. It swung inward easily enough. Kara was immediately assaulted by the sights and sounds of the workshop’s interior. The other elves worked cheerfully, noisily, happy to be back to work after the month long break following Christmas. Kara doubted she’d ever find the same joy that seemed to come so naturally to everyone else.

  She stepped into the bright room, which seemed as if a rainbow had exploded within, painting every color imaginable across the walls, ceilings, and workbenches. Instead of appearing overwhelming though, the colors complimented one another bringing a feeling of peace and cheer. She supposed that was the way the North Pole should appear.

  “Are you Kara?”

  She turned toward the speaker, a man with white hair. She nodded and shook his proffered hand. A pair of round spectacles rested on the end of his nose, as much a fashion statement as a necessary accessory. He glanced down at his clipboard and flipped through some of the papers as Kara took the time to study him. He looked like a typical male elf: smooth skin, handsome features, pointed ears, strong, masculine body. She guessed his age to be around eight hundred by the stark color of his hair. Most elves didn’t earn their white hair until they’d lived at least six hundred years, more commonly seven hundred when the first one appeared. He was tall, though not as tall as her father.

  “I’m Abriel. I’ll be your trainer.”

  Without waiting for a response the harried man strode away. Kara assumed she was to follow, and did so. Abriel seemed surprisingly sullen for an elf, but that didn’t surprise Kara. Many of the supervisors, who were the only ones authorized to train newbies, were as abrupt as Abriel. The quality and quantity of production depended on their management skills. She also knew that outside of work, men like Abriel were some of the happiest and most content.

  Abriel led her to one of the back workbenches. Kara had managed to work her way up to Upper Fabrication in the South before her world fell apart, but now Abriel led her to the Department of Early Production. So, she’d been demoted as well. Tears pricked her eyes at her loss. Not just at her position, though she’d been very proud of being in Upper Production at her young age. She missed her family, her father in particular. He was big and strong, and a fierce protector of Kara and her three older sisters. The fact that she’d recently found out he wasn’t her blood father didn’t change her love for him.

  Grumbling, Abriel pointed to an empty space at the workbench. “You’ll work here.”

  As if he felt the weight of her appraisal, Abriel glanced up. Kara held his gaze. She had a secret, true, that her very life depended on keeping buried within her mind. But unless it affected protecting her secret, Kara prided herself on her honesty. She wouldn’t look away and pretend she hadn’t stared.

  “I assume since you had a position slightly higher than this one that you won’t need much training?” He peered at her over the top of his spectacles. As it was rare for an elf to need glasses, Kara decided Abriel must spend a great deal of time reading to be required to wear them now—or he wore them to look important.

  “No, I think I can handle it,” she answered.

  “Good. This is Pearl,” he waved to the elf who stood next to an empty work station. Pearl’s pink hair framed a face that was beautiful even by elven standards. “She’ll answer any questions, and summon me if needed.”

  Without waiting for her to respond, he turned and strode away. Kara watched him go, breaking into a smile. Abriel was very like the South Pole elves. At least that much was familiar. She turned to Pearl, who watched Abriel walk away also, sharing Kara’s smile.

  “He’s a good man,” she said, looking at Kara. Kara was struck by the bright orange of Pearl’s eyes. Orange eyes—true orange eyes, were rare. Rumor was that orange-eyed elves came from a nearly extinct, ancient line of the most magical of elves.

  Kara nodded. “I know. He reminds me of someone I knew.”

  She slid into the empty work station and immediately picked up the tools lying there. The conveyor belt in front of them carried a variety of small metal cars. Kara snatched one up and used her tools to quickly apply the four tiny rubber tires.

  “You’re good,” Pearl commented. “Were you in Early Production in the South?”

  Kara shook her head, grabbing another car and repeating the procedure. “No . . . Upper Production.”

  She wasn’t sure how much she should reveal to the beautiful Pearl. Everyone knew she’d come from the South—where else would an elf of her age come from? But they didn’t know she’d been forced here. They would all assume she was here by choice, and that it was an honor to have been accepted here.

  Pearl whistled low between her teeth. “Wow, you’re young for that. Why’d they start you here?”

  Kara shrugged, adding four more of the tiny tires in quick succession. “I don’t know. Perhaps there was a need.”

  “That’s true,” Pearl agreed. “Dotty was promoted only last week and we don’t have any newbies due for another three months. Maybe they’ll move you then.”

  “Maybe,” Kara said, though she knew it was unlikely. She’d been banished in shame.

 
“How’d you luck out to get transferred here?” Pearl asked.

  Kara wanted to tell her it was the furthest thing from luck there was. She’d been foolish and careless and as a result had exposed her secret. There had been quite a furor, with Kara and her family caught in the middle. She’d had to distance herself from them after her discovery in order to spare them. She didn’t know which was worse—being separated from them in the South when they were so close, or being separated from them here, where she had no chance to see them.

  “You must be really good,” Pearl continued without waiting for her to answer. “Although it does seem odd that they’d place you in EP with your high ranking.”

  Kara knew Pearl couldn’t begin to conceive of an elf being shamed and banished. It just didn’t happen. At least, not for the last two hundred years—longer than she had been alive.

  They worked side by side for some time while Pearl fed her gossip about the North elves. The names meant nothing to Kara, but she found Pearl amusing, and it helped the time pass quickly.

  So quickly, in fact, that when the lunch melody sounded overhead from the familiar Angklung, she startled. Immediately all the conveyor belts stopped, and every elf put down their tools. Kara wished she could continue to work throughout the lunch break, but knew the request would cause an uproar.

  Thankfully, Pearl took her by the hand and led the way to the eating hall. If the workshop was a festive place, the eating hall was even more so. In the South the eating hall had been business-like, nothing more than a place to partake of sustenance. Here, it felt as if she’d stepped into the middle of a celebratory dinner.

  Elves talked, laughed, and some even danced around the edges of the room to the music that beat through the speakers from the live band that played on a raised stage in the corner. Long buffet tables were laden with an abundance of colorful, delectable foods that caused Kara’s stomach to rumble. Her eyes grew wide at the selection. She thought of her sister, Elena, who was so picky. Even she could find something to eat among the many choices.

  Kara followed Pearl, choosing foods near where Pearl did. She didn’t want to lose her only acquaintance and have to search her out in the spacious room. The last thing she wanted was to eat alone. Pearl led her to a long table filled with other elves around their same age. They all looked at her curiously as she sat.

  “Everyone, this is Kara.” No need to explain she was new or where she was from—it was obvious. “Kara, this is Misha, and Aubrie, and Kaitlin . . .” Pearl continued to name the other elves who were nearby, pointing to each one in turn. They were all as familiar in looks as those she’d left in the South Pole. Hair ranging from blue, to green, to yellow, to the same pink as Pearl’s. None of them shared the orange eyes. Instead their eyes were typical of most elves, in a rainbow of bright colors.

  “Welcome to the North Pole,” said a girl with green hair and yellow eyes. Kara thought Pearl had named her as Aubrie, but she wasn’t sure. “Congratulations on your transfer.”

  Kara mumbled thanks. There wasn’t anything to be congratulated for.

  They continued their cheerful banter and gossip with one another, occasionally asking Kara questions. Her short answers stopped them from asking more. As she ladled lemon chicken soup—which was amazingly delicious—into her mouth, she caught sight of a male elf entering the room. She froze with the spoon halfway to her lips.

  He was dazzling. She’d never seen an elf that looked like him. He was tall and lean, as were most elves, but he was even taller than most. His broad chest and shoulders made him formidable. His arms rippled with tight muscles. His form was arresting, surely, but it was his face that held her mouth-gaped attention.

  His cheekbones were high and strong, his lips full and sensuous above a seriously masculine jaw. His eyes shone bright blue—like the sky on the clearest of days, framed with long, dark lashes that would be envied by any female. His long midnight-black hair was tied back with a length of leather, giving him a fierce appearance. He was attractive beyond any elf—beyond anything—she’d ever seen—and that was saying a lot considering the natural beauty of all elves.

  Pearl laughed and nudged her. Kara glanced quickly at her before her eyes were drawn back to him. “Everyone has the same reaction when they first see him,” Pearl said. She leaned closer. “Don’t let his looks fool you. He’s one of the meanest, most cold-hearted beings you’ll meet.”

  That caught Kara’s attention and she looked at Pearl to see if she was fooling her. Pearl looked as cheerful as ever, but there was a seriousness in her eyes.

  “It’s true,” maybe-Aubrie said. “I don’t think there’s been a female under the age of three-hundred who hasn’t made a play for him—and most of the females over that age, as well.”

  “I would say he’s left a string of broken hearts behind,” another elf with sunshine yellow hair and dark purple eyes, who Kara thought might be Kaitlin, said. “But it would require him having an actual relationship to break someone’s heart.”

  “He doesn’t have any friends?” Kara asked, somehow saddened by the thought.

  “A few,” the green-eyed maybe-Aubrie said. “But they don’t talk about him, and they definitely don’t put in a good word with him for any of the females.”

  Kara had a feeling maybe-Aubrie had tried that very tactic. Kara’s eyes returned to the glorious elf, watching as he piled a plate high with food and moved to sit at a table alone. “Who is he?”

  “His name is Seb,” Pearl said. Kara glanced at her at the strange name. “Short for Sebastian, but no one calls him that.”

  As she watched, two other male elves—both quite gorgeous themselves—joined him at the table. Seb smiled at them and Kara’s breath caught. With the smile he went from stunning to . . . angelic. He was almost unbearable to look at in his beauty.

  “How old is he?” Kara found herself asking. She didn’t know why she asked. Even if she were in a position to have a boyfriend . . . she sighed. She’d never be with anyone. It wasn’t possible. There wasn’t a male alive who could accept her as she was.

  “He’s about our age,” Pearl said. “A little older, maybe. He had his hundred and first birthday last week.”

  Kara was ninety-nine herself. She was just at the tail-end of teenage-hood. At her next birthday she’d be considered an adult—finally.

  “Don’t bother,” maybe-Kaitlin said. “He’s not interested in anyone.”

  Kara smiled at her. “Me neither,” she said. “I can’t have a boyfriend, or even date.” She hated the lie, but to support her secret it was required. She didn’t want them trying to set her up.

  Maybe-Kaitlin’s mouth dropped, as did most in the vicinity. At their age, males were important to females—dating a ritual that was finally allowed without supervision. Within the next few decades, most of the elves she shared the table with would likely be married and creating their own little elfkins.

  “Why not?” maybe-Misha blurted, her teal eyes wide.

  Kara shrugged, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. “Well, um, I . . .”

  Pearl came to her rescue. “C’mon, guys, give Kara her privacy. Maybe she left someone in the South.”

  “Ahh.” Sounds of understanding came from around the table. It wasn’t true, but Kara chose not to correct them. She did leave someone in the South. Her entire family, her heart more broken by that than it would have been if she’d left behind some boyfriend.

  Conversation resumed as both Seb and Kara’s possible broken hearts were forgotten. As Kara ate, she couldn’t help herself from peering up whenever possible to peek at the darkly beautiful Seb. She thought she was being rather unobvious until one of her peeks revealed him to be glaring at her, angry exasperation in his eyes.

  She nearly dropped her spoon. It was bad enough to be caught staring, but the absolute irritation in his gaze took her by surprise. She should have looked away and not looked again—that would be the polite thing to do—but there was something so compelling about his blue eye
s that she couldn’t force herself to. His eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened even more. He lifted his mug toward her in a mocking toast, tipping his head slightly.

  That was enough to break whatever spell held her and she quickly dropped her gaze back to her nearly empty bowl. Heat flooded her cheeks in embarrassment. She propped her cheek on one hand, daring to forget about her father’s lifelong admonishment to keep her elbows off the table. She refused to lift her eyes again until the tower bells sounded, indicating lunch hour was at an end.

  She stood and followed Pearl to the tray drop, resisting the temptation to glance back in Seb’s direction, no matter how strong.

  The rest of the day passed quickly enough with Pearl’s company. By the time the dismissal bell rang, Kara felt like she could count Pearl as a friend rather than just a coworker.

  “Would you like to come to the movies with me and some of my friends tonight?” Pearl offered. Kara was tempted. In the South, movies were not so easy to come by. She’d heard that in the North they always had new movies playing, current movies, straight from Hollywood.

  “Not tonight. Maybe another time?” she asked. She was tired and still humiliated at having been caught staring at Seb.

  Pearl smiled widely. “Anytime. See you tomorrow?”

  They went their separate ways, Kara walking toward the small, cozy cottage she’d been given. It looked very much like a red gingerbread house, with three dormers and tall columns supporting the pitched roof. White gables finished off the roofline. The pink door, though, was the only thing Kara didn’t care for.

  The cottage was nice, and more than she deserved, but lonely. It was unusual for elves to not share a cottage and yet she’d been given her own without a roommate. Two of her older sisters were married, but Elena and Kara had still lived with their father. He was popular, which meant their cottage had always been filled with people. She wondered if it still was after her embarrassing discovery, or if he’d been shamed, along with her sisters.