By Amanda Pizzolatto
Word Count: 3074
Rating: G
Summary: The story of one girl’s battle to save Christmas.

The town of Crystal Woods, Asphodel, is widely known for its celebration of the Christmas season, often nicknamed the Christmas Town. Every house is lined with lights, every chimney is smoking, and every door has a wreath. But one particular tradition is what really earned the nickname—that of the giant pine tree that is placed in the middle of town every year and decorated elaborately, crowned with a giant angel that has weathered many a blizzard. Presents are placed under the tree by Santa Claus, for the whole town. On Christmas morning, with the freshly fallen snow that always comes on time, it provides quite the magical sight. But one year, for one little girl, the magic became all too real…
It was Christmas Eve, and inside one home, a pair of sisters were in the midst of an argument.  
“Annie, get down from there! The tree is heavy enough already with all of the ornaments; we don’t need you to topple it over with your weight and get you severely hurt!”
“But Marie, I didn’t get to see the new angel before they put her at the top!”
“Anne Dorothy Henault, get down here, or I’m telling Mama!”
“Ugh, fine! I’m coming!” The sandy blonde climbed down the enormous tree and faced her older sister, a brunette of thirteen years peering through her glasses. Annie pushed up her own glasses, a hint of defiance in her eyes, though her sister had won this round.
“What is so important about you seeing the new angel, anyway?” Marie wondered. “She’s really not that different than the old one.”
“Every angel is different; you just have to take the time to see it.”
Marie rolled her eyes. “Really, Annie, stop acting like such a little kid.”
Annie scoffed, “Really, Marie, stop acting like you’re trying to be an adult.” Marie growled at her. “Besides, I’m only ten; I have every right to act like a little kid.” She stuck her tongue out at Marie before dashing down the hallway.
“Hey! Mama! Annie stuck her tongue out at me again!” shouted Marie as she started after her younger sister.
“Really, girls? Right before your grandparents arrive?” Their mother walked into the room with a pile of presents that she began to gently set under the tree. Marie turned back to help her. “Thank you, Marie.”
“You’re welcome.”
Anne peeked into the room and said, “Mama, may I see the new angel now?”
“Annie, your father has already picked up the ladder, so I’m afraid it’s too late now. And don’t go climbing up that tree, either; it will just topple over and land on top of you, hurting you severely.”
Marie shot Annie an ‘I-told you-so’ look.
“But Mama!”
Her mother shook her head. “No, Annie, you’ll just have to meet her when we take down the tree. Any more complaining, and you’ll have to wait until next year, understand?”
Annie sighed, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, now go clean up real quick. Your grandparents should be getting here soon.”
“Yes, ma’am,” chorused the girls before taking off to tidy themselves up.
When they returned, their brothers David and Tommy, and older sister Elizabeth were already sitting on the sofa, waiting while their parents and the servants scurried around, getting a few minor details taken care of for the long-awaited visit. The two girls joined their siblings on the sofa, and in a matter of minutes, there was a unanimous swinging of legs from the three youngest.
“Annie, please stop that; you’re a lady!” Marie hissed.
“David, Tommy, please behave, we’re having guests!” berated Elizabeth.
“Annie, sit nicely!”
“Tommy, don’t pick at your nose!”
“David, feet on the floor!”
“But my feet can’t touch the floor!”
“Doesn’t matter, your feet can’t be on the sofa.”
“Well, I want them to be!”
“You can’t!”
“Mama, Papa!”
“David, Tommy, behave!” Their father’s voice floated into the living room right as a couple of knocks echoed throughout the house.
Tommy bounced off the sofa and cried, “Grandma and Grandpa are here!” He raced to the front door, followed by his siblings, where their parents were opening the door for their grandparents.
“Hello Mom, Dad, so good to see you!” Their mother hugged them.
“Oh, it’s always so pleasant to see you and James, Dorothy, and of course, the children!”
“Grandma, Grandpa!” the children chorused as they rushed in for hugs.
“Oh my goodness, I could just eat you all up! Mm-mm! Oh my, Tommy, you’re getting so big! And you too, David! Such strapping young men! And my, Elizabeth, how you’ve grown! Practically a young lady now! And you as well, Marie!”
“Thank you, Grandma!” the two chorused.
“And little Annie, still full of energy and spunk, I see. Oh, I hope you never grow up.”
“Oh, I’m sure I will eventually, Grandma, but I aim to enjoy every minute of my childhood,” quipped Annie.
Her grandmother winked. “Smart girl.”
“Grandpa, grandpa! You’ve got to come see the fort Daddy helped us build!” Tommy exclaimed as he bounced up and down with excitement.
“Oh I will, don’t worry, but your grandma and I need to get in and take care of our things first, don’t you think?” asked Grandpa with that old twinkle in his eyes.
David snickered. “Right, sorry, Grandpa. Hey Tommy, let’s go make sure the fort is in tip-top shape while they unpack.”
“Ooh, good idea!” Tommy followed his older brother as they dashed down the hall.
“No running in the house!” James shouted after them. The boys slowed down, but they could be heard picking up speed before they dashed out of the house. James sighed as he turned to his in-laws. “Shall we show you to your room now?”
“Please do; I want to be able to put up my feet for a bit,” muttered Grandpa.
James chuckled, “Alright, here, let me take these bags.”
“Oh, thank you,” the grandparents said.
James took a couple of the bags while Dorothy took a third, and the girls each took one grandparent’s hand, with Annie in the middle.
“Your house looks so lovely all decked out. It’s been way too long since we’ve been here,” commented Grandma as they walked up the stairs.
“It has been too long, Mom. How are Jessica, Oliver, and their children?”
“Oh, they’re doing just wonderful; their only problem is the same that you have—the children are growing up way too fast.”
“Grandma!” exclaimed the girls as the adults chuckled.
“Unfortunately, Mom, I have to agree, they are growing up way too fast,” chuckled Dorothy as she glanced at each of her daughters.
“Yes, unfortunately, but that is one of the crosses of being a parent—having to watch your children grow up. Well, here we are,” stated James as they entered a room.
“Oh, you haven’t changed it a bit.”
“Oh, yes they did, Clara. Look, they changed the bedspread!” He grinned and winked at the girls, who giggled.
Clara swatted him, “Really, George.”
Dorothy chuckled, “Well, we’ll leave and let you get situated. Dinner’s at six, as usual.”
Clara nodded, “We’ll be down soon, don’t worry.”
“I still have to see that fort the boys were telling me about,” commented George.
“Right. It’s outside, once you’re ready to look at it,” James told them.
“Alright, thank you, we won’t be long,” stated George. The five left them in the room and went downstairs to prepare for dinner.
George went and saw the fort, much to the boys’ delight, before the three had to come in for dinner. Talk over dinner was light and joyous, though the children were bombarding their grandparents with questions about their trip, to which George and Clara answered enthusiastically. But too soon it was all over, and it was time for bed. The children were unceremoniously marched off to their rooms despite their moaning and groaning, but it wasn’t long after they had their bedtime story that they were sound asleep.
The clock chimes tolled midnight when Annie’s eyes popped open. She let her vision become accustomed to the dark before putting on her glasses and silently rising out of her bed. The house was in total darkness, and everyone else was sound asleep. Annie tiptoed through the hall and down the stairs as quietly as she could. Her feet found a couple of squeaky boards, and she paused each time there was a noise as she listened to see if anyone woke up. When no one did, she continued on, until she reached their Christmas tree. Moonlight streamed through the living room windows, bathing the tree in a delicate light. Several of the ornaments sparkled as they caught the moonlight, but Annie’s eyes went to the top of the tree, where the angel stood. She gasped. The top of the tree was bare!
“Oh no! Ma . . .” she paused. Should she wake up her family now? They’d ask her why she was up and wandering the house so late at night, and she would certainly be in trouble for it. But she had to find their angel!
She was glancing around the room to see if it had fallen off when her eyes settled on the window. Her mouth dropped open as she saw three toys waving frantically at her—a stuffed snowman, a nutcracker, and a teddy bear. She rushed to the door and opened it. The three toys, along with a few snowflakes, tumbled in and began to talk all at once.
“You have to help us!”
“Someone, or something, is stealing all the angels!”
“There’s a little bit of the Christmas spirit in each angel, and without them, Christmas will be lost!”
Annie could hardly believe her eyes…or her ears. “What? How are you alive? What’s really going on? And why me?”
The three repeated what they had just said, that someone, or something was stealing the angels, without which there would be no Christmas spirit. “As for why you, well, you’re the only human who’s up! And we need someone to climb the town tree to ask the Big Angel what needs to be done to save the smaller angels!” the snowman finished.
“Oh! Well, I’ll be happy to help, but I need to get a few things on before we go; it’s getting awfully chilly out there.”
“Alright, but make it quick, we’re running out of time!” the nutcracker reminded her.
Annie nodded and dashed up the stairs quietly, so as not to wake anyone while she gathered her shoes and robe. She went back downstairs and grabbed her coat before following the toys outside and to the center of town where the giant pine stood. As big as the pine tree was, and as small as Annie was, she could still see the large angel perched on the topmost branches. Annie didn’t hesitate; upon reaching the tree trunk, she began climbing upward.
“Be careful, Annie!” warned the toys.
“I will!” she called back before continuing her ascent. She climbed the tree fairly easily, having done so many times before, but it was a little slower than usual, simply because she had no desire to destroy the hard work of the adults who had decorated it so elegantly. Yes, she wanted to climb the indoor tree back home, but she would have done it very carefully so as not to upset it. But this tree had deep roots, and time was of the essence.
Letting out a huff, she finally reached the top. There stood the angel, almost as tall as her sister Marie, and looked very much alive.
“Hello Annie,” spoke the angel in a lovely voice. “I have been waiting for you.”
Annie nodded as she got her breath back. “Well, I’ve been waiting to get up here. A basket and pulley would work wonders, you know.”
The Angel laughed. “So it would, but your trip up the tree has proven that you are determined to help us.”
“Why can’t you do anything?”
“I am stationed here by the adults; they have done a good job, as always, making sure I stay here. Have you never wondered why I am always able to survive blizzards?”
“Oh, they do that good of a job, huh?”
The Angel nodded, “They do, which means that whatever entity is stealing the other angels will have a hard time taking me down. That should give you enough time to find the items I need—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
“Gold, frankincense, and myrrh? The presents from the three Wise Men to the Christ Child?”
The Angel nodded, “Yes, the key ingredients to preserving the Christmas spirit, because they remind us of the reason why Christ was born.”
Annie nodded. “I see; so, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Where can I find those items at this late hour?”
“You will have to go into the forest on the outskirts of town and look for a hole beneath a pine tree; there you will find the real reason for the town’s Christmas spirit. A stash of gold, frankincense, and myrrh lies buried there, planted by the genies many years ago.”
“So there’s a stash of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in a hole underneath a pine tree in the forest?”
“Yes, now go quickly; there is not much time. Return to me once you have those items.”  
Annie nodded. “Right, I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
“Good. May God guide you, and I will buy you as much time as I can.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you.” The Angel smiled at Annie as she descended from the tree. The three toys were waiting for her at the bottom.
“What did the Angel say?” asked the teddy bear as soon as her feet touched the ground.
“I have to get some gold, frankincense, and myrrh from a hole under a pine tree in the forest,” Annie quickly explained as she began walking.
“Alright,” quipped the snowman as the three followed her.
“What are you doing?” Annie asked.
“We’re not letting you go in by yourself. What if that entity tries to stop you? We need to make sure you get the gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Angel,” stated the nutcracker.
Annie smiled. “Alright, thank you.”
The three toys nodded and walked with her into the forest. As they had thought, the entity did try to stop them, by sending his minions after them. But the toys were able to defend Annie, allowing her to get the items from the hole, and they found out who the entity was—none other than the demon Krampus. With this new information, and the gold, frankincense and myrrh, the four rushed back to the tree. To their dismay, the tree had turned into a battlefield; toys were fighting Krampus’ demons while the Angel was fending off Krampus himself with what little power she had.
“Get the gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Angel; we’ll distract them!” shouted the nutcracker as he unsheathed his sword and charged.
The snowman and the teddy bear climbed on Annie’s back and held on tightly to her coat as she climbed. The snowman got off at about the halfway point to battle some demons, leaving the teddy bear to make sure she got to the top.
“What’s that sound?” asked the teddy bear.
Annie paused to listen; words could barely be heard over the din of battle. She gasped. “The Angel’s singing ‘We Three Kings’! We need to hurry!”
Annie and the teddy bear made it to the top, where a little treasure chest stood open.
“Now what?” asked the bear.
“Born a king on Bethlehem’s plain; Gold I bring to crown Him again . . .”
“The gold!” exclaimed Annie. She and the teddy bear began taking the gold out of her pockets and tossing them into the chest.
“Frankincense to offer have I; Incense owns a Deity nigh . . .”
Annie and the bear tossed in the frankincense. Annie let out a little shriek as a demon tried to push her off. The bear jumped it and the demon flew away, trying to get it off.
“Get the myrrh in!” yelled the bear.
“Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume; Breathes a life of gathering gloom . . .”
Annie quickly threw in the myrrh, the last piece just entering the chest when a demon pushed her off the branch. Annie screamed, but the words of the song washed over her with a sense of calm as the Angel finished with a chorus as loud as the sea.
“Glorious now, behold Him arise; King and God and Sacrifice. Alleluia, alleluia; Earth to heaven replies. O-O star of wonder, star of night; Star with royal beauty bright, westward leading still proceeding; Guide us to thy perfect light.”
As the end chorus reached its crescendo, a light grew with it and burst forth like a star exploding. Annie found herself falling gently, ever so gently into a dreamless sleep.
“Annie, Annie, wake up! It’s Christmas!” shouted Tommy.
“Come on, you lazy old slowpokes, Mama and Papa are waiting for you to get downstairs before we leave for the Pine Tree!” exclaimed David.
The three girls bounded out of their beds, Annie full of surprise. Wasn’t she just falling from the pine tree? But she said not a word, thinking it might have been just a dream, and quickly got dressed. The family made their way to the center of town, where everyone had gathered at the great pine tree. The Mayor stood underneath the tree, and began calling out names and handing out presents. Annie tried to get a good look at the Angel on top, but she couldn’t make out much, though, for a moment, she thought the Angel seemed to sparkle even with the cloud cover.
When it came time for the Henaults to get their gifts, Annie felt the same excitement that she experienced every year before opening the presents Santa Claus had left. But imagine her surprise when she opened up her present, and three familiar faces stared back up at her.
“What? Why would Santa give you a plush snowman, a nutcracker, and a teddy bear?” asked Marie.
Annie just smiled. “He knew what I wanted.”
“Whatever,” shrugged Marie as she went off in search of her friends, to show them what she got from Santa.
Annie gazed down at her toys with a smile on her face. “So it was real.” she whispered.
The bear winked.