Snow Angels

      "Then, one year, the Snow Faerie had an idea. She decided she would bless a number of pets across Neopia and ask them to be her helpers for that one night. She spent weeks choosing the perfect little pets to bless and, on Christmas eve, she visited each of them in turn. She gave them the ability to make it snow where ever they went, and the ability to travel quickly over the land so they could spread snow far and wide and still be home by morning.

      "And out her little helpers went, bringing a white Christmas to pets on every continent. The Snow Faerie herself went to the most secluded and dangerous areas, leaving the pets to the cities and towns they knew well. By morning, every place in Neopia that could have snow was blanketed in it, and all the little pets were back home, safe in bed.

      "When the chosen pets were awoken the next morning by their siblings and parents, they naturally wondered if it was all a dream. But under each of their trees was a small blue box with their name on it, and inside, a beautiful silver snowflake and a card that simply read 'Thank you, my Snow Angel.'"

      The tiny Christmas Zafara sitting on her mother's lap stared in wonder at the illustration of the silver snowflake in the book of winter stories her mother was reading from.

      "Mama?" she asked. "Do you think I could be a Snow Angel?"

      "Maybe so, Melissa, if you're good. No one knows how the Snow Faerie picks her Angels," her mother responded, closing the book and setting it on the table next to her. "But, it's time for bed, and I'm sure the Snow Faerie is much more likely to choose a good little girl who goes to bed on time."

      Melissa nodded and hopped off her mother's lap. "Good night!" she called as she scurried to her room. Once there, she hopped into bed and gazed at the old wooden advent calendar sitting on her desk, lit by moonlight. Nineteen of the tiny doors were open, and she knew exactly where the twentieth door was, waiting to be opened in the morning.

      "I want to be a Snow Angel..." she whispered to the night as she drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were full of snow and silver and the beating of faerie wings that night.

      ~*~

      Melissa awoke the next morning to the smell of hot chocolate and her mother's voice calling to her from the kitchen. She hopped out of bed and opened the tiny door marked 20 on her advent calendar, revealing a shining blue faerie.

      "A good sign!" she smiled, and proceeded to get dressed and make her way to the kitchen.

      "Good, you're up," her mother said as she place a plate of warm pancakes on the table, "We need to go out to the market today and pick up the last few gifts for your cousins. And while we're there, you can see Santa Kau!"

      "Excellent! I can't wait!" Melissa said, digging into her breakfast.

      It didn't take long for the Zafara pair to finish eating and clean up, and soon they were walking the winding path that led from their cottage in the woods to the nearby village and it's bustling little market. It was cold enough out for Melissa to see her breath, and she was bundled up in her favorite coat and scarf. The ground was hard and slightly frosty, but there was no snow on the ground to hamper their way.

      Without the distraction of snow to play in and icicles to admire, Melissa and her mother arrived at the village in a short amount of time. It was, naturally, full of pets buying Christmas gifts and ingredients for their Christmas dinners. Santa Kau sat in the middle of the square upon a red and white, throne-like chair the town brought out every year, with a small fence around him to allow the children he spoke to some amount of privacy as they whispered their wishes to him. The line to see him wound a little ways around the square and three slightly hassled looking Wockies dressed as elves ran up and down it, keeping the children from pushing or cutting in line.

      Taking one look at the line, Melissa's mother turned to her and said, "Why don't you get in line, and I'll meet you at the end after you've seen Santa Kau?"

      Melissa nodded and ran to the end of the line, waving to some of her friends who were further up. She spent twenty minutes admiring window displays and chatting with the pets next to her before she was finally at the front of the line, approaching Santa Kau to tell him her wish.

      "Hello there!" the bearded Kau greeted as he lifted the Zafara onto his lap. "What special gift do you want this year?"

      Instead of asking for a toy or a necklace like she had been planning, she looked at him and said "I.... I want to be one of the Snow Faerie's Snow Angels and make sure everyone around here gets a perfect white Christmas." She then looked away, suddenly realizing that only the Snow Faerie had any say in who became a Snow Angel and that Santa Kau wouldn't be able to help her.

      "Well... that's not your usual gift, and I can't make any promises, but when I head back up to my workshop on Terror Mountain, I'll put in a good word for you, how's that?" the old Kau said thoughtfully, a mischievous glint in his eye.

      "Oh, that'd be wonderful!" Melissa exclaimed, hugging the bearded pet. She returned his smile as she hopped down, took a candy cane from the elf-hatted Blumaroo a few steps away from the old throne-like chair, and joined her mother just beyond the fence.

      ~*~

      The next few days flew by in a blur as Melissa and her mother wrapped gifts, baked cookies, and prepared their cottage to welcome their small extended family for Christmas celebrations. Before they knew it, it was the evening of December 24th, and Melissa was hanging her stocking on the fireplace, ready to be filled with trinkets and sweets. Behind her, her mother placed a plate of cookies and a glass of milk on the table that had held the winter story book a few nights ago.

      "Is that everything?" Melissa's mother asked, looking around the room. The tree sparkled with ornaments and lights and the gifts below it shone in the firelight.

      "I think so!" Melissa said, hopping down from the stool she had to stand on to reach the mantlepiece. She pushed the stool off to the side of the fireplace so no one would trip over it at any point in the night.

      "All right then, off to bed with you. Tomorrow's a big day!" her mother replied, dusting her paws off on her skirt, "You don't want to be awake when Santa Kau comes."

      Melissa grinned and she ran to her room and hopped into bed. Her mother followed her in and tucked her in, kissing her on the forehead as she wished her good night.

      Warm and cozy, Melissa was just about to drift off to sleep when her window silently flew open and a swirl of glittering snow flew in, materializing into the Snow Faerie. The gust of cold air that accompanied this shook Melissa awake and she sat bolt upright in bed.

      "Hello, my dear," the Snow Faerie said gently, "I heard from a certain Kau that you wanted to be one of my helpers above all else this year." She down smiled at the stunned Zafara.

      "Oh, yes, yes of course!" Melissa whispered, stunned. As much as she wanted it, there had been a part of her that was sure she'd never have the Snow Faerie visit her in the night.

      "Well then, let it be so," the Snow Faerie brushed her hand against Melissa's cheek, leaving a blue, snowflake-spattered mark on it. With a dim glow, the mark temporarily spread to the rest of Melissa's body, leaving behind a simple yet elegant blue dress, shiny ice blue shoes, a golden necklace and bracelets, and faerie wings the color of deep frozen water. The faerie then created an ice wand with a glowing tip out of thin air and handed it to the girl.

      "When the tip of that wand flashes yellow, it will be time for you to go home. The spell only lasts until daybreak, so pay attention to the wand. Good luck, and happy travels," she said, and dissolved into a swirl of snowflakes once again.

      Melissa sat on her bed, stunned, for half a moment before jumping off it and running to her still open window with a grin. Carefully, she flapped her new faerie wings and found that they held her weight with ease. With a look of joy and a barely-restrained cry of glee, she flew out her window and up above her house. There, she paused for a moment to take in the sight. For miles around the bare tops of the trees swayed in the night breeze, the only sign of civilization the plumes of smoke from chimneys in the distance. The sky above her was clear with brilliant stars dotting the velvety darkness. Laughing, she took off into the night, the light of the crescent moon guiding her way.

      As she flew, snow fell in a wide blanket behind her, continuing and spreading until there was a thick blanket. She went first to the village, pouring snow on every building and drawing designs on her friend's windows until it looked like a picture from a greeting card. Then, she took to the air again, and began to spiral outwards from the village, making larger and larger circles until she couldn't even see the smoke from the chimneys any more. She came upon several more villages and towns as she flew, and each one she covered in snow and ice for the residents to wake up to.

      Eventually, she noticed snow she wasn't responsible for. Looking across the field she was flying over, she saw a silver Cybunny clad in blue flying in the opposite direction. Just as she was about to call out, the tips of both of their ice wands glowed yellow. Instead, she waved to her fellow Snow Angel and turned towards home.

      She flew swiftly, watching the pale light of dawn creep up on the far side of the forest. Just as she landed in her room, dawn fully broke, and her blue and gold outfit dissolved into glitter dust, leaving behind her pajamas. Exhausted, she crawled into bed and instantly fell asleep.

      ~*~

      Several hours later, Melissa awake with a start as sunlight hit her face. Shivering, she got out of bed and closed her window, wondering belatedly why it was open before the past night's events came rushing back to her. Excited, she ran to her mother's room and jumped onto her bed. She almost began to tell her mother about becoming a Snow Angel, but was caught in a moment of doubt. What if it has simply been a very vivid dream? Instead, she woke her mother with the usual cries of "It's Christmas! Time to open presents!"

      But as she led her mother to the living room, the first thing that caught the tiny Zafara's eye with not her bulging stocking, or the missing cookies. It was a small, blue box, sitting under the tree.

      And waiting inside was a beautiful silver snowflake and a card that simply read 'Thank you, my Snow Angel.'

The End