Once Serendipity re-appeared in the main room, her cape, mittens, and hat on, Corey produced a matching scarf and wound it tightly around her, tucking everything in against the wind he knew they were about to encounter. “Are you ready?” he asked once she was bundled up.“Yes,” Serendipity confirmed through the layers. “How shall we get there? Will we take the sleigh again?”“No, this time, we shall travel by my magic,” Corey replied.“But, if you can magic me there with you, why couldn’t you magic me up those stairs yesterday?” she asked confused.“I could have,” he admitted. “I thought you should have the human experience of meeting Santa in the most regal way possible.”“Oh,” Serendipity muttered, still a bit confused. Then another thought occurred to her. “So, why couldn’t you have just used your magic to bring Pozzletot to me?&rdquo

Standing atop the crest of Mt. Menzelfrap looking down at the only two paths that seemed to be options for a young woman running through the ice and snow on foot. Two separate staircases led down the side of the mountain, both treacherous, and neither more friendly looking than the other. He glanced down both of them but saw no sign of Serendipity or her tracks. Of course, with the wind whipping the snow around so fiercely, he could only see a few feet in front of his face. Once again, he yelled her name but only heard the reverberations as they echoed off the mountains around him.He used his magic to transport himself down to the bottom of the stairwell on the left, thinking she may have chosen that one since it seemed to be closest to home. When she wasn’t there, he magicked himself over to the other stairwell. There was still no sign of her. He ran his hands through his hair in desperation. Blindly, he turned about in the snow, trying to think of what he could do to

It seemed to take hours for Serendipity to reach the cave opening, even though in actuality it only took a matter of minutes. The snow was pelting her face, making it difficult to see, and her hands were beginning to freeze now, too, right along with the rest of her body. Her footing the last few steps was unsure, and she nearly slipped as she grabbed hold of the rocky entrance way and pulled herself inside.The opening was narrow, and she had to crouch to slip inside, but once she finally made it through the entryway, though the temperature was still well below freezing, the lack of wind and snow seemed to make it more tolerable, and she collapsed on the damp floor against the mossy cave wall.Squirming in her pocket let her know that Pozzletot was still with her, though she did not know what shape he might be in. She didn’t dare take him out to inspect him as she didn’t want to further expose him to the frigid air. “Oh, Pozzletot,” she sa

“There’s something else, my dear,” Mrs. Claus said, her hands resting on her knees. A smile played around her rosy cheeks as she took a deep breath and continued. “As you may know, in my former life, I was a schoolteacher.”“Oh, yes,” Serendipity nodded. “I had heard that was the case, though I imagine that was several years ago, seeing as though you’ve been Mrs. Claus for all of these years.” Serendipity responded, wondering where this conversation was going.“Did you know, darling, that there are many other intelligent, famous, successful, well-known people who also struggled their whole lives with the tasks of reading and writing?” Mrs. Claus continued, leaning forward to look more closely at the young lady.“What?” Serendipity asked, glancing from St. Nicholas’s smiling face back to his wife’s “Whatever do you mean?”“Oh, yes! People like

Maevis had spent much of her time in Serendipity’s cottage awaiting word from her ward; would she choose to stay in the North Pole, or would she quickly return via some magic portal or reindeer transport?She had received a bit of an indication that Serendipity may have decided to stay when all of her doll parts suddenly disappeared out of the cottage and Marwolaeth Hall simultaneously. However, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it without some direct word from Serendipity herself. It was early on the third day when, as she continued to straighten and clean Serendipity’s workspace, the only task she could find to keep herself busy, she heard a bustling at the fireplace at her back. She turned quickly to see a magical envelope dancing atop the blazing fire, and careful not to burn herself, she used the poker to draw out the letter. Upon tearing it open, she read the following, written in the familiar hand of one Cornelius Cane:Dearest Mae