Our Boxing Day Gift

The following is my entry in the

Literotica Winter Holidays Story Contest 2024

. Your votes and comments are most appreciated!

_______________

"Get the door, would you hon?"

"Sure," I called.

I had no idea who might be ringing our doorbell at this time of day. It was fairly late in the evening, and the day after Christmas. My wife Gloria was busy somewhere in the house, probably making a start at putting some decorations away.

Time tends to pass uneventfully for empty-nesters like us, at least that's our experience. Time seems to pass more quickly too. Is that because of the things not happening, or is it just us getting older?

I'm still a couple of years short of retirement, but work, apart from breaking up the day, is not a great source of excitement. They have me maintaining legacy projects for the most part, since I've been around long enough to remember what went into them. Not exactly something to get the blood flowing.

I know Gloria is feeling the same way. She's been nursing for more years than we've been married, and burnout has been setting in. It happens to the best of us.

So we treasure times like Christmas, when our kids come to visit and of course bring their spouses and kids. We all have a fine old time, enjoying a wonderful meal together (Gloria being a great cook), opening gifts, and in general basking in the love of our family. We think we've done a pretty good job with them.

But now that the leftover food had been parceled out, the echo of the last scream of delight from a little one had faded, all the torn wrapping paper had been picked up and sent to the trash, and the last hugs from our grown children had become memories, we were back to our routine, comfortable though it was.

And that routine was shattered when I opened the door to a shadowy figure in a coat.

"Hello," I said, trying to make out features. The hall light was off and the dark outside was deep.

"Hello," the figure returned. A female voice. She must be freezing. The wind was kicking up, bringing the December cold into the house.

"Can I help you?"

"You could invite me in," she said. "You are Will Roberts. I have been sent to you."

This was strange, without doubt. But it also tingled my curiosity. And, I needed to have the door closed again, to keep in our warmth.

"Please, come in," I said. She seemed harmless enough.

In the light of the house I could see better. Her face was stunning: piercing blue eyes and smooth skin of a golden color, and features that were once called noble. She wore a fur hat that covered the top of her head but not the cascade of flowing hair that fell well past her shoulders, colored like the dawn. She was around five and a half feet tall. Her coat was also fur and reached past her knees.

"I am pleased to meet you, Will Roberts," she said, extending a smooth, graceful hand. "I am called Faephyra. I come from the North."

I was more than a bit flummoxed, both by the unusual name and her enigmatic statement. But I took the offered hand, and found its grip warm and soothing.

"Do you mean Canada?"

"No, although parts of that country fall within our domain. I am sorry; I should explain myself better. My home is in the far North, above the Arctic Circle. I work with the one we refer to affectionately as the Old Man, though you will know him by one of his traditional names, such as Saint Nicholas."

"Santa Claus?"

"That's another. He actually has a proper Elvish name, but that is mostly ceremonial, for he is really a Man like you. But I am getting ahead of myself.

"As you might have guessed, I am descended from the ancient race. Not the Eldar; they and the legends surrounding them are from a different planet, far away from our Earth. But we have some similarities, and also some differences. We were active in the far mists of time from which any record has vanished, many thousands of years ago. During that age we associated more closely with Men, often out of necessity. But it came to be thought that we should set ourselves apart, so not to confront Men with our superiority and cause them to despair and die out, or even to attempt some conflict with us.

"So we have stayed out of sight as much as was possible, letting Man have the stage. Many of us chose the North as a suitable place of isolation. I for one am well suited to it. The climate is bracing, and the solitude is a source of serenity for me. And the beauty in summertime, when the sun does not set for many days, is hard to describe."

"Ah," I interjected. "But there is the winter, when the sun disappears for as many days."

Hearing myself, I could hardly believe that I was buying her story at all. But there was something about her—

"Yes, it is true," she said. "It provides the contrast that helps us appreciate the beauty. But I am getting ahead of myself again. I must ask you to introduce me to your wife, for she is as much part of what I bring as you are."

All right

, I thought.

I guess we're going to hear her out. She might need help, after all.

"Gloria!" I called.

"What is it?" I heard from the vicinity of our bedroom.

"Could you come to the living room, dear? We have a visitor."

"Be right there."

In the meantime I invited Faephyra to take off her coat. She did so, and it was time for me to be stunned again. She wore a white gown of some fabric like nothing I had ever seen. It shimmered in the light of the atrium as if giving off that light by itself. The gown was taken in at her waist by a belt that appeared to be made of woven gold, which also shimmered in the light. The sleeves reached just below her elbows, revealing the most graceful forearms of the same burnished color as her face. She had full hips and a full bust, marvelously set apart by the belt. She wore a necklace with a pendant made in some pattern that was strange, but oddly evocative. It too appeared to be gold, and sat on the smooth upper slope of her bosom.

I hung up her coat, trying hard not to stare.

"Please, come to our living room," I said.

We had just arrived when Gloria appeared, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, as was I. The contrast could hardly have been greater. I noticed once again that she filled out that combo very nicely. She had gotten most of her figure back after the kids arrived, a thing that I appreciated quite sincerely.

I made the introduction.

"Faephyra, this is my wife, Gloria. Gloria, this is Faephyra. She has a remarkable story for us."

"Do you mind if we call you Faye, for short?"

I had to grin. That was the girl I married, for sure. Red hair, green eyes, and no tolerance for pomposity.

"Not at all," she replied. "Do whatever makes you comfortable with me. May I repeat my story for you?"

"Please do," said Gloria.

_______________

"So, you don't all live up north, then?" Gloria asked.

Faephyra was seated on the sofa. She had somehow maneuvered me to be next to her, while Gloria had taken the recliner opposite us.

"No, we are almost everywhere. Most of us can pass for human pretty easily. We just have to avoid doing anything so superlative as to attract attention. And, well, one has to drop out of sight every so often and assume a new identity, naturally—"

"Why is that?" Gloria pressed her.

"Because, my dear, we Elves are long-lived. We don't age, and are immune to disease—at least all known disease. We can die by violence or accident, but by being careful we can live much longer than a human lifespan. So we must not keep one identity so long that questions start being asked."

"Well, that's fascinating," I said. "So, how old are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I don't mind at all, Will. There is no point to vanity about age if it is not reflected in appearance. I just celebrated my three hundredth, let's see, four years ago now. That is not especially old for us. The Old Man is something over seventeen hundred, but he looks not a day over sixty."

"Just a minute, Faye," I said. "How is that possible if he is a Man, as you told me?"

"Ah, good catch, Will. There is a reason, but may I defer your answer just for a little while? Only because everything will be more understandable if first I explain how we got involved with him in the beginning."

"All right, sure," I agreed. This was starting to get interesting.

"Earlier I glossed over a tremendous amount of history from the time when we and Man openly coexisted on Earth. Nothing written remains of this time, as I said. But there are legends that live on among us. They tell of an age when dark powers were afoot on Earth, and were communed with by other races who sought to use them to dominate all others.

"You must understand that when I use the word 'races' I refer to nothing like the different varieties of Man today, whose small differences are meaningless in comparison. No, I am talking about creatures a hundred times more separated from either of us than you and I are from each other, as Elf and Man.

"Their aggression led to a titanic conflict that threatened to consume the world. Elves and Men made alliance during that age, to defend the freedom of both. Many terrible battles were fought, with much suffering and loss of life. After untold years the War was won. The legend tells that—though I think this part a bit fanciful—that in the end it was one of the lowliest of our company who struck the final blow that defeated the enemy and saved the world from evil, at least for a time."

I felt disappointment. I had hoped for something more original.

"Really, Faye?" I said. "This sounds very familiar. I've read those books too."

"Of course you have, my dear Will. Tolkien had an intuition about our shared history, which was subtly encouraged by some of our operatives, though he was never contacted directly. He projected our story onto a wholly different world, and he of course got many things wrong. Intuition is not a reliable guide to truth, after all."

"All right," I said. I guessed I was going to have to go along with this, at least for the moment. I stole a glance at Gloria. Her expression was neutral, and I figured she was in a similar mental state.

"So tell me how you got involved with the Old Man, as you call him."

"We came across him in Myra, in the fourth century C.E, when he was bishop of the town. We were impressed by his charitable works and wanted to reward him. You see, we owe a great debt of gratitude to Men, who suffered and sacrificed the most in the Great War. We want to help them do better. So from time to time, we find a worthy individual and raise them up, give them a better platform, so to speak, closer to our level."

"So how did you do that?" I asked.

"After he was released from Roman prison, we gave him an Elven wife. Oh, it was done very subtly, of course. But we caused them to be introduced, and Lorafiel Diamondshadow, like all of us Elf women, can be very persuasive. She was quite taken with him from the beginning, and we still tell stories of how we at the time watched their love blossom.

"Celibacy for the clergy was not strictly required yet, but Nicolas belonged to an order that expected it. Lorafiel was able to convince him that he could better serve his Lord by leaving the Church and devoting himself to the happiness of the world's children, with her by his side. At this point, we came out and introduced ourselves. I must say, it was a shock to the Old Man, but after some short time he accepted us.

"Our renowned elder Elric Vellilas officiated their wedding, and we worked to set up their operation in the North. A group of us faked his death to cover our tracks. And that's how we did it."

"Why has he lived so long, then?" Gloria broke in.

"Because, my dear Gloria, intimacy with one of us bestows on a human our immunity from aging and disease. You might call it magical, but to us it is just a fact of life. That is the gift we gave him, along with the love and devotion of his Lora, as he often calls her."

"Wow," said Gloria. "So you help him with the gift thing, then?"

"I do, along with many others. It is light work, and quite gratifying. It also leaves us time for other pursuits, as we choose."

"But how does he manage it, getting everything delivered in one night?" I asked. "The stories about the reindeer and all that can't be true, can they?"

"That story was made up by the man who wrote that poem," Faephyra replied. "That would be hard to pull off, even with magic involved. No, we do things in a more prosaic way, most of the time. We have a global network of local couriers who get the job done with relative ease. We have been building it up over the centuries, and we now have secret warehouses all over."

I was going to ask how it was even possible to keep all that a secret, but Gloria spoke first.

"So, who sent you to us, and what is the purpose of this visit?"

"The council to which I belong is always looking for new humans who deserve elevation, and who might be useful to us in our underground alliance. Because, as you might guess, once one has learned we exist, and has even become like unto us, they have an enormous secret to keep with us. They might as well work with us in our project to better this Earth for all peoples. We have been observing you for a long time, along with many others, and have decided to make you this offer. Become like us, my dear Will and Gloria, in long life and perfect health, and help us bring on a new age of peace and prosperity for all!"

A strange thrill went through me at hearing this. What she was saying was, quite literally, too good to be true. It couldn't possibly be true! But then again, what if...

I looked at Gloria. She seemed as stunned as I was.

I decided to demand some evidence, that being what was missing from Faye's story.

"All right, how do we know that you are what you say you are? That this isn't a big joke, some hidden camera show or something? Can you prove this is real?"

"I am afraid that would be rather difficult, Will. We are very much like humans in form, except for some things you would need an x-ray machine to see, and even then it would take an expert to tell. But there are a couple of things I can show you that might persuade you. For one, look here—"

She skimmed up her amazing cascade of hair on the side facing me, revealing an ear like the finest shell on the beach. Just at the top of the pinna, the flesh reversed curvature to come to a point. Not a large feature, but it was unmistakable.

"—as told in your legends," she went on. "The stories and images are exaggerated, but based in fact."

My skepticism was taking fresh hold.

"I'm sorry Faye, but that's rather weak sauce. Anyone could have that mutation."

"True, Will. I don't take either of you for a gullible fool, but I thought that might help. All right, here's something different. Just relax and look at me, please."

I did. I could have looked at her all day, to be honest. But now something was happening. It was like the air around her turned electric. Everything about her was brighter, more colorful, more vibrant. While before she had appeared as an attractive woman, now she was transformed into a goddess, but a completely obtainable goddess, infinitely desirable and clearly desiring, as her crystal blue eyes gazed into mine with longing. Blood was rushing to my groin as my libido went into overdrive, and my penis was filling out, becoming turgid and swelling inside my jeans.

I looked over at Gloria. Her face was flushed and her breathing had quickened. She looked like she did when she was very horny and coming to me for relief.

But my eyes were quickly drawn back to

her

, the avatar of desire in front of us.

Then, almost mercifully, it lessened. In a few seconds we were back to what we had called normal a minute ago, except that my cock was still straining against the crotch of my pants.

"When we desire someone very much, but they are hesitant, we can do this," she said.

What had she just done? Pheromones? Magic? Clearly no human woman could have cast that spell.

"It is a thing that is mostly looked down on, considered to be cheating or bordering on coercive. But it is a power that we have."

My skepticism was floundering. How could anyone fake that? This must be a superior being a foot away from me on the sofa.

"Faye," I said, "What did we do to deserve this thing you offer?"

"Sometimes, being good, decent people is enough. I was one of those assigned to observe you, and I did. I saw your goodness. I love both of you very much, and I desire you both."

"What do you need from us?" Gloria asked her.

"It's very simple," she replied. "Make love with me. Now. Tonight. That's all it will take for you to be transformed."

"May we speak with each other for a few minutes?" I said. "Alone?"

"Certainly," said Faye. "I will wait here."

We went to our bedroom and closed the door.

"Do we really want to do this?" Gloria asked, her voice quivering. "We'd outlive the children. We'd outlive all our friends. It's frightening."

"Yes, but we'd get to see our great-grandchildren and beyond grow up."

"We couldn't do it as us. We'd have to take on new identities, like she said. A couple of long-lost friends of the family? It's all so strange."

"But darling, just think of the possibilities. Think about being part of something greater than us. They have a project that could transform the world. Imagine going through that, you and me together. What do we have to look forward to now? A few more decades, fading, getting ill, the kids having to take care of us..."

She stepped into my arms. "I don't know. I guess you're right. This is just so much, so quickly."

"I know," I said, hugging her. "There's just one more thing."

"What's that?"

"Do you think it's worth breaking monogamy for, after all these years?"

She laughed.

"I know you've just been holding out for some Elf strange."

When we returned to the living room with Faephyra, there was a moment of awkward silence. Finally I found the right words.

"We're ready. We want to join you."

"Wonderful," she said. "You've made me so happy. Come, let us get started."

She stood and unclasped her gold weave belt, which fell away. Her shimmering gown now flowed freely over her body, and I was suddenly sure that she was wearing nothing under it.

"Just a minute," said Gloria. "What is my part in this scene? I'm straight."

Mostly, anyway

, I thought, being party to certain confidences. But that was a private matter, and her comfort with the situation was paramount.

"Ah, but by my power I caused you to feel attracted to me, no?" said Faye. "But never fear, dear Gloria. I have something to show you that should put you at ease. Come closer to me, please."

Gloria stepped over and stood in front of her, looking apprehensive.

"Put your hand out and touch me, between my legs. Yes, there. Go ahead, feel me."

Gloria pressed Faye's gown in, right at the juncture of her legs. Just at the point where she would make contact with Faye's body, her eyes went wide in astonishment.

"Oh my...god," she said slowly.

She made up and down motions with her hand, which she curled into an open fist, and the gown began to rise, pushed up by something underneath.

"You...you have a cock!"

By now the hidden cock was fully erect and making a tent of the front of Faye's gown.

"Yes, I do," Faye said. "I also have fully functional female parts," this last while looking at me pointedly.

"Let me explain," she said.

"I am special. I was born like this, as happens occasionally in both our peoples. The difference is, among humans, people like me are generally regarded as freaks, something to fear and hate. But among the Firstborn, I am seen as a special gift from the beyond, a bridge between the male and female principles, able to see what neither can see alone.