Things had been abnormally tense around the village; after all, this time last year, a war had nearly broken out between the Elves of the Pole and their woodland cousins. A scouting party had been spotted on the first of the month, come bearing goodwill on the fifth, and before two weeks was up, the two factions had found themselves caught up in a bitter battle, and the culprits who had started the whole mess were still at large.
Well, they might have been at large. A year spent wandering the ice deserts and tundras of the arctic was sure to be harsh, and without the shelter of the village, it was hard to say for sure whether the rogue elves has survived the first winter, let alone the one that was soon to start.
But regardless of whether Timber and his band of renegades were still out there, neither hide nor hair had been seen of them since the nights before the Battle of the Blizzard. The Wood Elves had also cut contact with the Pole again, and there was no more talk of peace and reconciliation. Of course, this also meant that for the moment, there was no more talk of war, either, and most of the village was content with assuming that no news must be good news... right?
Itâs what most of them told themselves, anyway.Â
It was thanks to all of this tension and remembrance and uncertainty that Jubilee woke late on the First of December, her skin paler than usual and her eyes and hair lacking their normal luster. A chill ran down her spine as she flopped the covers off herself and sluggishly rolled out of bed to get ready for the day.
Once showered and dressed, she stumbled from her room to find that she was the last one up; her mother and siblings had already gone on ahead of her, and only Nan was there to greet her at the breakfast table, looking up from her embroidery with a tired smile. Both of them knew why the other seemed a little out of it today.
âMom went to work?â Jubilee asked as she helped herself to the last of the now lukewarm eggs.
The old woman nodded, squinting a little as she finished one more stitch out of the dozens sheâd already placed. âShe thought that maybe surrounding herself with records of the past might help to keep her away from the present for a while.â
âRowan said heâd check in on her around lunchtime.â
Jubi seemed a little happier with this answer, scraping butter across cold toast. âAnd youâll be alright here alone? I donât imagine thereâll be much real fun going on around the village... just going through the motions, if you ask me.â
Nan chuckled warmly. âYouâre right, child, but Iâve been around long enough to know that sometimes youâve just gotta fake it âtil you feel it. As long as people try, itâll come back to them eventually. It always has and it always will.â
âWell, if you say so...â
âBesides, I think itâll do you good for you to get out of the village again. Cheer begets cheer, you know, and nobody spreads it better than you, my little sugar cookie.â
âI suppose,â Jubilee replied with a strange sort of half smile.
âYou suppose, do you? Well IÂ know, so there! Now go on and finish your breakfast before olâ Topaz worries himself into a fit.â
She smiled for real this time, giggling as she scooped the last of her eggs into her toast and made herself a little sandwich.
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Not long after, Jubilee waved goodbye to her grandmother and set out. She opted to walk, wanting to conserve her magic so she would be in top form when she met whoever sheâd be granting wishes for this year.Â
And just like that, she was daydreaming about her assignment, just like she had done every year before, with a gentle smile on her face as she tread nimbly over the hard-packed snow. Maybe this year sheâd help an old man rediscover the joys of the season, or spend time with a college student on their first Christmas away from home...
When she entered the warmth of the hall, however, she quickly lost her smile again. Why, the place was practically empty! Sure, she was a bit late, but there were maybe three dozen elves left in the building; it seemed that volunteer numbers were lower than theyâd been in years.
One desk in particular had no one at all standing in front of it. Behind it sat an ancient, white-haired elf with a kindly face and big, soulful eyes, staring off into the distance as if he was seeing something that nobody else could. As Jubilee approached, he blinked twice and shook himself out of it, standing up to greet her with a grin.
âJubilee! I was beginninâ to wonder if weâd even see ya this year,â he said, apparently relieved as he handed her the last file on the desk.Â
âWouldnât miss it,â she said softly, flipping the file open. Before she had a chance to look it over, however, Elder Topaz continued.
âAye, anâ Iâm glad ya didnât. Thinâs out there have been kinda... not so good these days.â He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. âI think the world needs us now moreân ever, yâknow? Little beacons in the dark.â
â...Yeah. Yeah, youâre exactly right.â That same odd half smile that sheâd given Nan was back.
âWell, no use in sittinâ here, shootinâ the breeze,â he said, retracting his hand and slamming it on the desk exuberantly. âThereâs work to be done!â
âRight again, sir! Thanks for waiting on me.â
Topaz waved dismissively. âBah, werenât no thing. Ya just get out there anâ get to gettinâ.â
Jubilee said her goodbyes and stepped away so she could review the file sheâd been given. Clipped to the inside cover of the folder was a picture of a grinning, exuberant-looking man with rosy cheeks, and a gleaming crown perched atop his nearly hairless head. A king, then? Sheâd never been assigned to royalty before... hopefully there was something in the file about how she should behave.
Height. Weight. Current residence... Sugar Rush? She wasnât familiar with any place called Sugar Rush... She skipped a little further down the page.
Jumping gingerbread on a pogostick, he lived in a kingdom made of candy?!Â
Well, she supposed, I guess that means he is aptly named.Â
Whatâs more, it existed in some kind of virtual realm crafted by humans... Interesting. At least it didnât seem like it would be all that hard to get there with her magic.
Really though, this seemed like the kind of place one had to experience to truly understand. Jubilee closed her eyes, and in a flurry of blue sparks, she was gone.
