“See that it does," he ordered. Then he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of her Lips wrapping around his bulbous helmet as the water continued to cascade down over them both.

KKK KOK

There wasn't really all that much time for Wendall and Callie to be alone over the next few days. At least not to the degree where they could devote a proper amount of attention to each other without being interrupted by elves needing instructions or assistance. Callie spent most of her time working over the list and the request letters alongside the captain Wendall had assigned the job to. She effectively became his second in command when he wasn't available at the grotto, and handled the job with remarkable efficiency. So good was her skill in those matters that he was freed up to go out into the workshops and warehouses to oversee production

It took the elves a while to get used to the new routine, and they occasionally needed to be reminded that they could rest when they liked. Their new boss was always graciously received, and every time

Wendall walked out onto the workshop floors the elves would immediately redouble their efforts. Some had to be dragged away from their posts by

Elven Resources to get some rest. After a few days it became clear that resting actually allowed them to work much faster than they had been doing. Sleep restored their own natural magic, and gave them a supernatural swiftness and strength that drastically increased overall production.

With the elves taking care of business, Wendall initially spent most of his time getting to know the vast underground world he'd inherited.

At least he looked more the part now. His old suit no Longer seemed to fit his new bulkier frame so he'd adorned himself with a set of green silken pyjamas, some fluffy brown slippers and a deep red dressing gown lined with white fur. When he asked the elf who presented him with these gifts where the fur came from, she told him it was from a polar bear. Aghast, Wendall had pushed the dressing gown aside and demanded that they use fake fur instead. The confused elf informed him that although he was the boss, not using the polar bear fur would deeply hurt the feelings the bear who'd grown it specially to be sheared for the garment. Apparently his name was Snowy and he worked in the

Transport and Delivery department.

After hearing about that, Wendall had worn the dressing gown and decided not to ask so many questions in future.

Not that there wasn't plenty for him to do. His mornings were spent checking up on the evening's activities, and addressing any problems that needed to be brought to his attention. That was usually a task he did with Callie through their breakfast before they parted ways with a kiss at the door and he went out into the workshops to hear reports from the captains, and to plot out their next move in getting ready for the big night.

With six days to go, he found himself in the stables having an argument with Donner and Blitzen. They weren't difficult to spot as each of the pair wore a single golden thunderbolt hanging from a piece of thin red cloth. The small jewels each hung on one of their antlers Like earrings.

"I'm just saying we could lower our flight path and let the people below catch a little glimpse of us here and there. It doesn't need to be an entirely stealth mission, you know." Wendall had his arms folded across his chest as he looked down over the two reindeer.

“And all we're saying," said Blitzen through gritted teeth, “is that if most of these countries we fly over see an unidentified flying object in their airspace in this day and age we might end up with a couple of

F-16s checking out our asses. I've told you, boss. Dasher and Comet are our speed freaks, Cupid and Vixen keep an eye on our magic reserves,

Prancer and Dancer are aerial manoeuvres and we're in charge of making sure some asshole doesn't blow us out of the fucking sky. Please let us do our job, sir. Unless you wanna spend this year giving out free venison, courtesy of an air-to-air missile.”

“No, that's not..." Wendall paused and took a deep breath to steady his growing temper at the frustrating beasts. Then an idea occurred to him.

“What if we did have authority to be there?”

“How do you mean?" Donner gave her antlers an inquisitive tilt.

“Elina! She's been out there with her guys stirring up the spirit of the season for weeks now. We could have her team use some of those giant piles of money the last guy made to stage some shows on Christmas