(Here's the link to the beginning chapter)
"You want me to what?" Levi Wyatt asked. "I'm an elf, sir, not a detective. Look at me. Do I look like I could be a detective?"
Santa gave him a once over, then smiled. "Sometimes things may appear to be one thing but actually can be something else. You'll do fine."
Levi kicked at the floor, his mind racing. Santa was right about one thing, no one would ever imagine him to be a detective. Standing just a little under the average three feet tall with a mop of hair that looked like it was trying to escape, no one would ever think of him as anything but a second-hand Elf.
"Why is this list so important? Just let Christmas go by this year. That way none of the naughty kids would get anything since they don't deserve it."
Mrs. Claus came over and put her arms around Levi. "Oh there is much more to the list than just naughty and nice. People like to think it's that simple, but it really is much more." She looked at the others. "Could you all step out for a moment and leave us alone with Levi?
"We have some things to explain to him and I need you to go get things ready. He's gonna need the sleigh and reindeer before we get to the bottom of this."
"Sleigh? Reindeer?" Levi said. "Mrs. Claus I take care of the reindeer. I don't know anything about how they fly."
"No worries, my boy. If I can teach Santa to fly I can teach anyone."
Soon the room was empty except for Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Levi. Levi looked back and forth between the two as they smiled at him.
"I think you might want to reconsider your choice, Santa. There are all sorts of elves here better suited to do this. I'll just go back to cleaning the reindeer stables."
"Levi," Mrs. Claus said, "do you know why the list is so important?"
"It has all the names of the nice kids and the naughty ones. I should know since most of my life I've been on the naughty side."
Santa chuckled, reached for his pipe, lit it, then settled into a chair by the fire. Levi watched Santa's bemused face as the smoke curled around him and like magic went up the chimney. All he could think about was how he'd get out of this.
"Levi, go sit next to Santa. We're gonna explain about the list so you'll understand how important it is for you to help find it." Mrs. Clau pointed to an elf-sized chair next to Santa. She went to her own chair and picked up her knitting. Every year she made Santa a new hat and she'd fallen a bit behind.
"Now there is something most people don't now about the list," she began. "And we're going to explain it to you. Go ahead, Papa."
Santa tapped out his pipe, leaned forward in his chair, and put his hands on his knees.
"You see, Levi, my list is much more than just a list of names. More than just a tally of good or bad deeds. It acts more like a complete story of a child's life. Being naughty or nice isn't always a choice that's easy to make.
"Now every year I make sure that all the nice children receive presents and it is a tradition worth preserving. But it's the ones on the naughty list I worry about all year round. Moving them from one side of the list to the other is something we here is Christmas town work on the rest of the year. Do you understand?"
Jane Joyful Angelica
Levi shrugged. "Not really. I thought being bad put you on the naughty list and that was that."
Santa chuckled. "Oh, it's much more than that. Mama, you take it from here."
Mrs. Claus put down her knitting. "Levi, those who earn their way to the nice list deserve their presents on Christmas. They get our full attention for that day. But we spend the other 364 days working on moving them off the naughty list to the nice list.
"Christmas may come only once a year, but we try to keep that spirit of Christmas alive all the year round. We never give up on any child."
"So it isn't just a list. It's a whole history of a child throughout their lives?" Levi asked.
Mrs. Claus nodded. "That's it, my boy. That's why finding the list is important. There is so much more on it than just names."
"But I don't even know where to start. Or even how to start."
Santa stood and moved closer to the fire, warming his hands in front of the bouncing flames. "It's always best to start at the beginning. I picked you for this because you have a peculiar habit of finding trouble."
Levi's head hung down a bit. "I know, sir, sometimes I just can't help myself."
"Well, that talent of yours is just what we need," Mrs. Claus added. "Here's where you start. If you were going to take the list, how would you go about it?"
"I'd never do anything like that," Levi said. "I just like playing jokes on people."
"We know, dear. But just imagine it's one of your practical jokes. How would you do it?"
Levi's mind kicked into overdrive, thinking up various schemes to get the list. Santa and Mrs. Claus gave him a minute.
"You don't have to figure it out right now," Mrs. Claus said. "But start to work on it. We need to find that list as soon as we can. And there is one more thing."
Levi looked up, wondering what else could possibly happen now.
"You won't be working alone."
"I won't?"
"No, this could be dangerous. Anyone who would try to stop Christmas must be the worst of the worst. You need a partner."
"Ah, I prefer to work alone, Mrs. Claus. I like it that way."
"Not for this you don't," she answered, then walked over and opened the door.
An elf Levi had never seen before stood in the door. She was just about his height with a bright smile and two deep bluish-green eyes that seemed to look right through him.
"This is my assistant?" the new elf said, marching in the doorway and pointing. "Him?"
"Now Jane, I told you this was not your usual mission," Mrs. Claus said, moving to stand behind her. "This is Levi Wyatt. Levi, this is Jane Joyful Angelic. She's our lead investigator."
Levi's eyes blinked like a beacon. "We have investigators?"
"Of course," Santa said. "How do you think we find out about what the kids are up to?"
Levi and Jane held a staring contest. Neither one willing to surrender. Mrs. Claus let it play out for a bit, then cleared her throat.
"Okay, now that you two are friends. You need to prepare."
The two elves both turned to face her. "Prepare for what?" they said in unison only elves can do.
"To go find the list and save Christmas, of course."
Tomorrow: An Unlikely Pair
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