From where they sat in the Healing Hall’s attic, Peter and Lacey stared at Albyrne’s porch, where his door had closed behind the little group. The scent of pine hung around them, mixed with the sweet fragrance of hot chocolate drifting up from their mugs.

  ‘What do you think that’s about?’ Lacey asked.

  ‘Honestly? I have no idea. At this time of night, this close to Christmas, most elves should long be in bed already, never mind visiting each other.’

  Lacey watched the shadows play in Albyrne’s windows, as he and his guests moved around. ‘We have to know what they’re doing,’ she said. ‘Would we be able to hear them talk, if we were outside the windows?’

  He slowly shook his head, tiredly rubbing his neck. ‘Most village cottages have thick walls and well-insulated windows. It has to be out here. On top of that, there’s a layer of snow on just about everything. There’s no way.’

  She pressed her lips together, thinking. ‘And Albyrne’s curtains are drawn, so we wouldn’t be able to look inside either.’ Frustrated, she stared down into her hot chocolate.

  Peter rubbed his eyes, reminding Lacey of how long he’d been up, not to mention the day he’d spent combing the countryside for Jinxy.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘You’re tired. You should go home and get some rest.’

  ‘And risk you trying to climb another roof by yourself?’ He gently tapped his almost-empty mug against where her shoulder was under her blanket cocoon. ‘No way, I’m staying right here.’

  ‘Then at least get some sleep. I’ll wake you if anything happens.’

  Just as she finished those words, a star briefly pulsed in the night sky, illuminating the attic for a moment.

  Surprised, Lacey looked up. ‘What just happened?’

  ‘Oh, that’s the Lodestar’s flare. It pulses once at midnight, every night. That means it’s morning now – Sleighday has begun.’

  ‘The Lodestar?’ she asked. ‘I don’t know that name.’

  ‘It’s just another name for the North Star. See – there it is.’

  She angled her head close to his arm, following the line of sight Peter pointed out to the Lodestar.

  ‘That’s also the star “Starday”, the beginning of our week refers to. Do you remember the first line of the rhyme?’

  ‘On Starday, set thy sight anew,’ she recited, surprised that she’d remembered it.

  ‘Yes. “Lodestar” means “guiding star”, so on the first day of the week you get your bearings and set out to achieve your goals.’

  ‘How lovely,’ Lacey murmured. The idea appealed to her, deciding your destiny and then working towards it. She hoped that somehow the Lodestar was pulling her closer to wherever Jinxy was. Please lead us to the answers we seek, Lacey thought, sending the wish to the heavens.

  With a great yawn, Peter said, ‘Anyway, I’ll take you up on your offer, if you don’t mind. But please wake me if something changes or you want to get some sleep.’

  ‘Sure will,’ she agreed, having no intention of waking him so she could sleep. If she had to stay awake all night, she would. Peter needed the sleep more.

  ??

  The village quietly spread out under the light of the stars, covered by a blanket of snow. It’s almost like a scene in a snowglobe, Lacey thought. Everything completely still, until you shook it again.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Peter was asleep, wrapped under the Healing Hall’s quilted blankets, head resting on a pillow borrowed from a bed below. For a moment she watched him, his chest slowly rising and falling. Noticing one of the blankets slipping a bit, she reached out and pulled it back into place.

  The lights were still on in Albyrne’s house. Though shadows occasionally moved across the curtains, none of the elves inside had reappeared yet. Hours came and went as Lacey fought her own sleepiness, stirring and wriggling around to stay awake.

  Finally, her head nodded the motion jerking her awake. She blearily focused on Albyrne’s house again. What she saw immediately brought her back to full alertness.

  ‘Peter,’ she whispered urgently, leaning over to give him a shake.

  He groggily opened his eyes, blinking at her a few times.

  ‘Something’s happening, come look,’ she said.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he asked, scooting back up to peer out the window.

  In the light shining through Albyrne’s curtains, distorted shadows were frantically moving about. One shadow separated upwards, looking like a raised fist, and was then yanked away by someone else.

  ‘It looks like they’re fighting,’ Lacey said, unwrapping herself from her blankets. ‘Come quick, we have to get over there.’

  He kicked off his blankets, and they raced downstairs, grabbing their winter gear, and out through the snow.

  ‘Wait,’ he hissed, pulling Lacey to the side and behind a neighbouring cottage. They peered around the corner as Albyrne’s guests came spilling out of his house. Icy was shaking his fist at the tall Tinsel, the mid-sized Blinky and portly Huey restraining him. Albyrne angrily waved his shillelagh at them all and then retreated inside, slamming the door.

  All four froze at the clap, dropping down behind the porch railings and nervously looking about. Obviously they were scared a neighbour might’ve heard the slam.

  They stayed down for a minute or two. When the rest of the houses stayed dark, and no curtains twitched, they cautiously got up again. Lacey and Peter quickly drew back, as the four warily checked the lane.

  Peering back out, they saw the four silently leaving, Tinsel walking on one side and Icy on the other, with Blinky and Huey in between. They were clearly still not happy with each other. Lacey motioned for Peter to follow, and the two of them set out, ducking from house to house, keeping the little group ahead in their view.

  Now, in the early morning hours, the four were less vigilant. In fact, once they got some distance between them and Albyrne’s house, it looked like they had stopped caring about concealment. No more furtive looking around, crouching, or tiptoeing. They walked normally, although they weren’t chatting.

  ‘They’re going home,’ Peter whispered, as elves began breaking off one by one. Huey first, then Tinsel, and then Blinky, each one entering a cottage on the way. At last, only Icy was left walking, heading past the toy-parts warehouse to the south-eastern part of the village. Reaching the edge, he entered one of the cottages right beside the forest, his door clicking shut behind him.

  ‘Well, well, that was interesting,’ Peter said. ‘Although I’m still not sure how it connects to Jinxy.’

  Lacey was about to respond, when something else happened.

  The door to the cottage right beside Icy’s opened, and Melo and Bethy came walking out. Although the murmur of their voices drifted out over the snow, Lacey and Peter were still too far away to make out the words. But you didn’t need words to see that the two of them were upset.

  Bethy was in tears, and looked like she was desperately pleading with Melo. Melo just kept shaking his head sadly, rebuffing her. She reached out to touch him, at which he took a step back, avoiding her hand. Sobbing, she dropped her arm. Melo gave a final, almost despairing, shake with his head, and then turned his back on her. He went back into his cottage, firmly closing the door between them.

  For a long time Bethy just stood there. Snowflakes began dropping again, and still she didn’t move. Then, as the sky began to almost imperceptibly lighten, she finally turned around and trudged away. Her shoulders hunched and her feet dragging with every step.

  ‘We should follow her,’ Lacey whispered, deeply struck by the little elf’s anguish. ‘Make sure she’s okay.’

  ‘She’s so sad,’ he said, sounding upset as well. ‘I wonder what had happened between her and Melo.’

  Lacey shrugged, shaking her head. ‘She’s been going through a tough time lately. Yesterday, at the workshop, she was super worn out. Cynthie and I had a bit of a situation—’

  ‘Wait,’ Peter interrupted her, raising an eyebrow. ‘Something happened with you and Cynthie?’

  She sighed. ‘That’s too stupid to talk about and you’ll probably hear about it today anyway. But what I meant to say, is that Bethy’s not okay right now.’

  He frowned, looking at Bethy’s ambling figure ahead of them in concern.

  She didn’t go far, before she also disappeared into her cottage in the south-western part of the village. Lacey and Peter stopped walking too, knowing that their night was finally at an end as well.

  ‘Speaking of worn out, you look like you can do with a good night’s sleep right about now,’ Peter said.

  ‘You mean “morning’s sleep”, don’t you?’ Lacey smiled tiredly. ‘And I’m not the only one. Let’s get to bed, shall we?’

  ‘Yes, indeed. I’ll walk you back to Mathilda’s.’

  ??????

  What would your Lodestar wish be?