A Little She Mischief

Author's Note: This holiday story is for the

Winter Holidays Story Contest 2022

. This year, I wrote a whimsical little holiday tale with a sexy bit of magical cheer. Votes are appreciated. Peace on Earth and good will towards all fellow beings.

I awoke in my SUV, blinded by the sun's reflection off a blanket of snow. I squinted against it to see my parents' car and my sister's SUV parked outside this house my parents rented for our family's holiday gathering. The door opened and my mom appeared dressed in a blue Christmas sweater with a snowman and gold stars. I got out of my vehicle, hungover and completely disoriented.

"Eli! Oh my God," she said approaching me with open arms. "I was so worried about you."

"Sorry, mom," I said, returning her hug. "Got a little turned around."

"No matter. You're here and you're safe. Come in, come in. The kids are opening their presents. Then we'll have breakfast. Are you hungry?"

I followed her into the nicely appointed country house where the sound of ripping paper, clattering plates, noisy kids, and a television melded into the familiar sounds I know and appreciate. My dad hugged me with hard pats to the back followed by my sister and brother. My four nieces and nephews were spastically excited as they tore wrapping paper from boxes to see they got exactly what they wanted. Trying to shake the feeling of lost time, I engaged with my family on this beautiful Christmas morning. My sister's five year old, Sara, opened her gift to reveal the doll set she wanted. Her face was so precious, I pulled out my phone and said, "Hey, Sara. Hold up your present. Let me take a picture."

She gave me huge gap tooth smile as she held up the doll set. But my pleasant face suddenly became slack-jawed after I unlocked my phone and beheld the photo on the screen. It was of me, naked in an outdoor jacuzzi, smiling like a drunk frat boy flanked by five incredibly good looking young women dressed only in Santa hats holding their wine glasses to toast an unknown photographer. And there I was in the middle, looking stupid drunk as I joined their toast with a raised crystal goblet of grog. I was told I wouldn't remember, but I do. I remember everything.

Last night, Christmas Eve. An expected snow storm hit as I drove to the rental home. Snow swirled around my car as I journeyed down the unfamiliar, dark road with six foot snow drifts on either side of the road, narrowing the two lane road into a one lane cattle chute. It was as though a snowplow had plowed the road before me only a few minutes before. It had been that way for five miles. And when I rounded a bend, I slammed on the brakes as an impassable wall of snow blocked me from going any further. I sat there, windshield wipers squeaking across the windshield. I just started hitting the steering wheel and cursing the GPS system that led me down this lane. My only option was to back out the entire five miles to the rural road running beside the interstate highway. I wondered if the house I was looking for was just over the wall of snow. I bundled up my coat and left the warmth of my SUV to see if the house was close by.

Big, wet splotches of snow hit my face as I carefully climbed onto the hood and then up to the roof. Buffeted by the wind, my knees slid on the icy metal, but I was able to steady myself, and to mu relief, I spied blurry squares of yellow light from a two story house within walking distance. If the road was level to the snow covered field, the snow wouldn't be too deep to traverse once I cleared the thick wall of snow. I returned to the warmth of my car to debate my options of backing out or walking to the house. I decided to give the house a try. Hopefully, my folks were there. I wasn't dressed for the weather, in sneakers and a jacket, but I put on my gloves and a knit hat. The clock read 8:28pm when I removed the key from the ignition. I retrieved a folding shovel from the back of my SUV and stabbed at the wall of snow with a shovel for a while before finally breaking through. Stepping through the narrow opening, I began to trudge through knee high snow towards the inviting lights. My toes began to tingle and numb, and I kept my arms crossed across my chest in an effort to stay warm as I slogged towards those welcoming lights. When I was a few feet away the driveway, I saw a Tesla Model Y and a Prius parked outside the garage. They were not my family's cars. This was not my family's rental. I tried calling my mom one last time, but there was no signal to be found. I brushed away caked on snow off my jeans and stomped it from my shoes as I approached the front door framed by a string of white Christmas lights. A rhythmic bass beat pulsed from within. When I rang the doorbell, the music stopped and the sounds of merriment and laughter ceased. A curtain in a front window moved ever so slightly to the side before a young woman with shoulder length apple red hair opened the door. She looked like a college student dressed a Henley shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. With a big glass of wine in hand, she seemed drunkenly happy.

"Sorry to bother you," I said. "But I'm stuck in the snow and my phone isn't getting any bars. Can I use your phone?"

"Come in," she said, stepping aside.

I was surprised a woman would allow a strange man into her isolated home, but I wiped my feet on the door mat before gratefully stepped in out the cold.

Inside, the festively decorated house was full of holiday cheer with Christmas lights and glittering gold tinsel. It smelled like Christmas; fresh pine from pine boughs lit by strings of Christmas lights and cinnamon from burning spice candles. I followed the redhead as she walked into a main family room. The grazing table laden with all kinds of nibblies, a lit Christmas tree and a roaring fire in a fireplace; It was all so inviting. We weren't alone. On the blanket strewn couches sat four young women, all in cozy flannel pajamas. They were all lithe and incredibly good looking with heart shaped faces. They looked as though they could all be related.

I put on my meekest voice, to show that I was no threat, and humbly said, "Sorry to interrupt your party, but can I use your phone? I'm stuck in the snow. It's really bad out there."

The brunette said, "Oh, sorry, that was me. My bad."

The women drunkenly laughed at their inside joke. A smile flinched onto my face. It was so cozy in here, with the fire and the ladies.

The redhead who opened the door plopped down in a plush chair said, "We don't have a land line and our phones aren't working either. You're welcome to stay until the morning."

The only other choice I had was to trudge through the freezing weather and back my car out the long, unforgiving chute.

I replied, "If it's not an inconvenience?"

"No inconvenience at all," said the tallest blonde with amazing sky blue eyes. "Take off your shoes. Sit by the fire. Get warmed up."

I took off my hat and gloves before shrugging off my coat which I hung on rack of coat pegs and freed my cold feet from soggy shoes, before venturing into family room.

I waved and said, "Hi. I'm Elias," before placing my shoes beside crackling fire in the fireplace.

The red head introduced herself. "I'm Viviana. That's Amira," she pointing to the girl with straight blonde hair.

"Lyric." The girl with wavy light fawn colored hair blushed and gave me a shy smile.

"Elsabay." The tallest girl with dark blonde hair gave me a lopsided grin as she raised her full glass to toast my arrival.

"And Galia." The brunette girl with amazing green eyes gave me a polite nod.

"Nice to meet you all. Thanks for letting me join you."

Lyric and Elsabay parted as they made space for me on the couch. I took a seat between the two, rubbing my hands in an effort to warm them up.

Lyric's voice was incredibly sweet when she asked, "Would you like some spiced brandy cider?"

I looked into her incredible Swiss topaz blue eyes and was immediately smitten. "Yes, thank you."

She got up and walked over to a table full of food where she ladled hot liquid from a warming pot into a crystal goblet. She had the most graceful walk with the of lightest steps. Her cute body in that tight baby blue t-shirt and pajamas embellished with white snowflakes was so alluring. She returned to deliver the crystal goblet of spiced liquor with floating cherries into my cold hands of which I sipped. It was the most delicious beverage I've never tasted before. I wanted to drain the cup and ask for more, but I drank like a civilized man.

Lyric turned to me and said, "We're in the middle of gift giving."

I could see hand knit scarves, boxes of baked goods and candles amongst wrapping paper and empty holiday gift bags.

Viviana swirled her wine in her glass and said, "We make home-made gifts and exchange."

"You made this vibrator?" Galia asked, holding up the sex toy.

"No, but you wanted it," Elsabay replied.

They giggled in such a delightful way, that their mirth caused me to me smile. It was then that I noticed one woman's ears, now poking from her hair, were pointed like an elf or Star Trek Vulcan. They all did. And their ears looked so...real.

I drank before asking, "What, are you guys cos-playing elves?"

They giggled.

Galia said, "We

are

elves, dumb ass."

They laughed. I thought they were kidding but the more I looked at them, I came to realize that these exquisite women were somehow otherworldly.

Viviana looked at me and said, "Look, the truth is, we're elves from Santa's village."

"Really?"

Lyric softly said, "We're hiding so they won't find us."

"Who?" I asked.

"Our clans," replied Lyric.

Amira poured herself some more wine before telling the tale. "The Elven were once majestic people, but our light began to dwindle in this world hundreds of years ago. Many elf clans took to the sea and returned to elven realms. Some went mad and wander great forests to this day. The elders of our clans discovered Christmas magic in the frozen lands. It strengthened our light, our life force, so they took refuge with Mr. Christmas. More chardonnay, Galia?"

Galia reached out with her glass for Amira to fill before continuing. "We left the village and ended up making lives for ourselves in your world. The only problem is that every year, as we near Christmas Eve, Christmas magic peaks in power. The elders of our village clans, the Gilwanys and Balywyns, can use it to find us. Elf magic is stronger in a collective, so on Christmas Eve, we gather from all over the world, and combine our energy to hide from their detection."

Viviana said, "And regarding our ears, we can keep up human appearances under normal circumstances. But on Christmas Eve, it's hard to keep our true selves from coming forth."

"So you guys just left?" I said before draining my goblet.

Amira said, "One Christmas morning, when everyone was deep asleep, the five of us escaped the frozen north."

"I'm a tinker," Elsabay said. "I pulled Santa's original sled from the hall of discarded things and refurbished it."

"And I stole a reindeer," claimed Amira. "We bridled it up and flew away."

For some reason, I believed them. I believed every single word. Lyric took my empty goblet to ladle in some more warm spiced spirits and handed it to me.

"What happens to you if they find you?"

Lyric took a seat and replied, "They'd take us back and we'd never to see this world again."

I was relieved that they wouldn't be severely punished but still, once you find joy in this world, it's hard to let go.

A tinkling sound emanated from a smart device. Elsabay looked down at her chiming watch. Her face lit up with glee. She excitedly bounced up and down. "Ibernith and Tarazar have aligned! Time for Aubernache!"

They all got up, full of unbridled enthusiasm, obviously excited about something. Amira pulled her shirt up over her head and tossed it aside. Without the necessity of a bra, her beautiful breasts jiggled as she started to pull off her leggings. They all began to undress with no regard to the outsider in their midst. They had the same elf tits with taffy pink nipples. They were in perfect proportion to their lithe frames. She-elves are perfect creatures.

"What's Aubernache?" I asked, watching the girls disrobe.

"A ritual bath under our two most sacred stars," Viviana replied, kicking off her slippers before lowering her pajama bottoms to reveal she wasn't wearing panties.

My eyes remained on her little patch of red fur at the apex of her legs.

"To bathe under them during their alignment is considered good luck," Amira replied before pulling down her leggings. With that, she grabbed a white trimmed Santa hat from the stack of red hats and pulled it down over her ears "Especially if you're wearing a

tolohut

."

"A tolohut?"

"The hat," Lyric said, picking up a tolohut.

She approached seemly unconcerned of the dumbfounded man staring at her naked beauty as she placed the soft as cashmere red had on my head.

Thank you," I said, securing it upon my head.

She grabbed another hat to pull down over her head. "It's tradition to wear a tolohut during Aubernache. Plus it keeps our ears warm."

She gave me the sweetest smile before turning to join the others. With only their hats on their heads, they chattered and giggled as they picked up their drinks and opened the sliding glass door leading to the backyard. The patio area was lit with white Christmas lights and like a bevy of nymphs, they hurried to the lit pool's adjacent jacuzzi. They stepped into the steamy water bubbling from underwater jets. The snow storm had stopped as though we were in the eye of a hurricane. I looked up to see an occasional snowflake drifting towards the ground. It was then that I noticed that to the north of the moon, there was a brilliant white light in the night sky; one star in front of the other to form a starlight brighter than the moon.

Viviana turned to me and said, "Join us, Elias."

They all gestured for me to join, so I disrobed inside, near the sliding glass door, and with my goblet in hand, ambled outside to join them. They stared at my genitals as I lowered myself into the water, settling in the warmth while keeping my warm boozy cider above water.

My eyes met Lyric's and she said to me, "Make a wish. The elders say that if you make a wish during Aubernache, it'll come true."

I just wished things would improve world-wide; peace and better days for us all.

Elsabay gleefully exclaimed, "Nyorala!"

"Nyorala!" they exclaimed as they raised their wine glasses in a toast and looked towards the darkness of the neighboring woods. I followed suit, smiling as though we were taking a selfie.

"Nyorala!" I exclaimed before drinking my grog.

They giggled at my pronunciation of their elvish salute. Like a buffoon, I asked, "So, elf sex. What's that like? Are male elves built like humans? Cock and balls?"

They giggled. Amira answered, "Yes, elves have a cock and balls. But elves only have sex when they're in love."

"Like we are," Galia said.

She turned to Elsabay. Her serious eyes softened as she kissed Elsabay's pouty lips. I sat in awkward silence listening to the bubbling water as the two made out with sweet caresses. I fought hard to keep my cock flaccid but it was such a turn on. When they stopped, we all sipped our drinks. I broke the silence by saying, "I have so many questions. Why did you leave?"

Viviana said, "Boredom. Depression. Take your pick."

"I guess it's pretty barren up there at the north pole."

"Elven realms tend to bob in and out of this nature's reality," Amira explained. "But yes, the north pole sucks."

Elsabay said, "We just wanted to see more of this world."

Lyric shyly said, "It is tradition that every Christmas Eve, two elven elders are chosen to ride with Santa as he delivers gifts. In the old days, the day after their return, they'd tell the elf children of all the wonders in the outside world."

Elsabay wistfully said, "Cars and electric music."

Amira said, "And herbal essence shampoo."

"So we left," Viviana finished. "We learned how to make identities for ourselves and just blended in."

"So what do you guys do for a living?"

Viviana replied, "I started a plant based skin care and cosmetics line called She Mischief."

"Elsabay and I grow organic farm-to-table vegetables and own a landscape architecture business," Galia replied.

Lyric said, "I sell custom made cookies on-line."

Amira answered, "I spend time on yachts and have sex with men."

My eyebrow arched at her honesty. None of the other she elves reacted with judgement to Amira's yacht girl work.

Lyric turned to me and asked, "What do you do?"

"I work for the US Forest Service."

She smiled and said, "You care for the forests and its creatures?"

"I try," I said, thinking about all of the weirdos, poachers and meth labs I've come across over the years of being a forest technician.

Lyric replied, "You are a good man."

It didn't know how it was possible, but Lyric looked prettier than when we first met. They all did. They were returning to their true elven form as we neared midnight. Lyric's chin had narrowed a bit. Her nose had the cutest tip and her hair was now a luxurious shade of golden copper. Her high cheekbones were what models aspire to be through plastic surgery; beautiful at every angle. Her tilted cat eyes had narrowed a bit as though they'd evolved from centuries of arctic snow glare. And she had the cutest sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. I forced myself to look away and went to sip my drink, but my cup was empty. I wanted more but didn't want to leave the tub. Upon seeing my empty cup, Lyric lifted her hand from the tub and with a whir of her finger in the air, my cup began to fill with more brandy cider. I raised it to toast her before guzzling down the brew.

Out of nowhere I asked, "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"You won't remember any of this in the morning. Christmas magic and all; ooooooh," Viviana replied with spooky long fingers.

They laughed. I wondered if they'd spirit me into another realm like Avalon to keep their secret safe.

"Darling," Galia drawled. "Your soul is way too impure and imperfect to enter our lands."

It's then I found out, elves can read minds.

Out of nowhere, Galia said, "I hate how we're portrayed in Harry Potter movies. Sure we shrink in size as we grow older, but we're not twisted, deformed little slaves."

"I hate stupid Christmas cartoons and Keebler elves," Amira added. "Lord of the Rings is much more accurate."

"I think Tolkien spoke to one of our kind," replied Viviana. "He knew way too much about us and our realms."

As they gabbed about portrayals of elves in modern culture, I looked up to see that the moon was slowly disappearing behind gathering clouds. They blotted out the stars and the snow began to fall as the storm was returning. The she-elves rose from the tub, daintily stepping out of the jacuzzi and began to scamper back into the house. I followed them, staring at their glistening skin on their derrieres. A pyramid of rolled towels on a nearby table awaited our return. I wrapped the large warm towel around my torso as the she-elves dried themselves in front of the fireplace. Once dried, I reached for my cold damp clothes when Lyric stepped up to hand me a wrapped gift.