Chapter 24 #2
“Nick, I don’t understand any of this. It feels like you’re trying to tell me something and I’m not getting it.”
It wasn’t her; it was him. Struggling with his big reveal. To be fair, this was the first time he’d had to tell anyone that he was Santa Claus. And it was Cora. The woman who’d become his North Star.
“There’s more I need to explain. It’s going to make Gold Lumen and the Yearweave seem real.”
She pursed her lips and made a face. He felt her slipping further from him the longer it took him to get his confession out but there was no way to hurry this.
Everything hung on this moment. He’d gotten the agreement of the council for an engagement but they weren’t going to give him another five years to get married.
He had to convince Cora of who he was and ask her to marry him. “Tell me.”
“I got your letter.”
Her brow furrowed as she gently shook her head. “What letter? I didn’t send you a letter.”
“Yes, you did. You wrote it yesterday,” he informed her.
He’d been shocked when it had arrived. Martha had brought it in when it had arrived on her desk from the mail department.
All letters to Santa arrived in Hearthvale, no matter what format they arrived in—handwritten and sent through the post, emails, video notes, texts.
They were all received and processed. Each name matched carefully to one on the lists both Nice and Naughty.
A well-worded letter could help move someone off the Naughty List. “I thought you didn’t believe in me. ”
“Nick, seriously, the only letter I wrote was one to Santa Claus. I dropped it at the mailbox in the toy village. There’s no way you could have received that one.”
“There is,” he said, sweating through his shirt. Shrugging out of his jacket, he tossed it across the room toward the guest chair in front of his desk. “I’m Santa Claus.”
The words hung in the air. She squinted at him then gave him a disgusted look.
“What’s wrong with you, Nick? If you don’t love me, just say so.”
Shock reverberated through her. Of all the ways she’d seen this evening going, this wasn’t it. This place did feel like it held some kind of magic, she’d give him that, but claiming to be Santa? Hardly.
“Let’s sit down.”
What she really wanted to do was bolt from this place back to the safety of her own home. He could go back to whatever it was he really did and her back to her life. Back to working all the time and her quiet, safe home where she kept to herself.
Except she couldn’t put herself back in the box. “Do you mean you’re like Santa Claus? I know you’re a toymaker…”
“I read your letter. The one you wrote yesterday, in which you talked about your wishes for the year and asked—”
Heat burned her cheeks. “Don’t say it. You can’t be Santa. You don’t have white hair or a belly. Also elves … where are the elves?”
He led her to two chairs in front of the large fireplace and waved his hand toward the waiting logs stacked there. A fire immediately roared to life. Her mouth fell open.
“The first Nicholas was a real person who lived in the third century CE in what is now modern-day Turkey. His relics are enshrined in Bari, Italy which is how he became known as Nicholas Bari, and he is my ancestor.”
Cora’s eyes kept moving between him, the Yearweave, and the fire.
“He was known for his generosity toward children and the poor, and became associated with secret gift-giving, starting during the cold winter months when resources were scarce. He often left handcrafted toys for children who craved some joy after the darkness of winter, but also hand-carved figures and painted wooden animals were gifted to everyone.”
Cora was silent, waiting for him to finish explaining.
“Nicholas’s good heart and intentions wove Gold Lumen into the world.
When he was forty-two, he was visited by the Weaver of Seasons.
She showed him the threads of the children he had saved and explained that the laughter he kindled had softened winter.
She offered him a place in the pattern—immortality bound to service.
As long as he remained a keeper of joy, he would be immortal. ”
“The Weaver of Seasons? Is she the one who made that tapestry?” Cora asked, dumbfounded.
“Yes, it’s a reflection of the entire world.
The contract that Nicholas signed was woven into the tapestry—that tree there at the start of it.
He wasn’t meant to be alone forever. She made concessions for him to have a wife and children.
When the time came, the mantle of Gift Bearer would be passed to one of his descendants,” Nick told her.
“That’s why you have to be married?” she asked.
“Both yes and no. I can continue but my magic will grow weaker as Pete’s takes over until I eventually fade from memory and from existence. Christmas magic powers hope and goodwill in the mortal world—your world—but in mine it powers life itself.”
“So Christmas disappears?”
“It would continue but instead of a celebration of joy, it would be more like an audit.” Cora knotted her hands together.
“This is all a lot to take in, I get that. But I needed you to know the truth of who I am before we talk about love. I can’t walk away from this.
Ever. It’s important you understand that. ”
Even if he wanted to give up everything for Cora, he couldn’t.
“I’ve talked to the council today and petitioned for an extension and they have agreed. An engagement will be enough to satisfy the contract to give you time to adjust to—”
“The council? I thought the … Weaver of the Seasons was in charge,” Cora said, tensing.
“The weaver is a spirit who only takes the form of a being when called upon. They can appear as a woman or a man and usually they are carrying some kind of needle and thread. The Council of Legendaries monitors levels of Gold Lumen; it is self-governing. I’m one of eight.”
Cora put her head in her hands and her shoulders slumped forward. “I can’t deal with this. This is all … a lot to take in. And if I did believe all this, how do I know you care about me for me and not just to beat Pete? Or to save your realm?”
Nick got up and knelt in front of her chair, putting his hands over hers and lowering them from her face until their eyes met. “I’m still the man you love. The man who loves you.”
She gave him the saddest smile he’d ever seen.
“When you entered my life in your on-point plaid with your demands that I help you save the Winter Wonderland with a toy that would enchant kids of every age, you intrigued me greatly.”
“I annoyed you too.”
“Not really. You showed me something that I had been missing by hiding up here in Hearthvale. The real world didn’t work the way I remembered.
It had changed and expanded. You were creating a modern Christmas experience.
What I’ve seen is a woman who is smart, funny, and who understands the true meaning of Christmas.
“I need that woman by my side, Cora. I love you more than you can imagine. I have been falling for you since that night I walked you home. I got a glimpse of the special magic you carry in your soul.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“I am. Your life hasn’t been easy but you kept that spark alive.
You took a season that for you meant pain and heartache and created an event that brings joy and light to everyone who visits it and everyone they visit when they leave.
That kind of Gold Lumen is powerful, Cora.
The kind that can power both of our worlds.
I love you and I want you to be by my side. Forever.”