Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring because she lived on her own and had just broken up with her boyfriend. Not ideal in the holidays you might think, but the time off and pressures of socialising with family does tend to apply pressure, widening those little cracks so at Christmas all the wrapping in the world can't paper over them.
She awoke suddenly, her room silent. She scrabbled for her phone on the night stand on reflex, but there was no alarm of course. She'd not set one, because of the night it 'twas'.
Her ears dialled up to 11, she waited expectantly for the meow of a cat, or drip of a tap, something to explain why she was awake. Then she heard it. Her breathe caught in her throat. Then again, definitely this time. A footstep in the hall!
She tried to call out but her voice died in her throat, her mouth dried by terror, the phone forgotten in her panic she flicked off her covers and slowly swung her long legs over the side of the bed. She got only one step before she kicked over the guitar she had leaning on the night-stand.
The crash was deafening, and as it faded into a tuneful(ish) resonance her voice returned, fuelled by fear and informed by bad Netflix movies.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE! YOU MOTHERSHIT FUCKING FUCK! I'LL KILL YOU! AAAAAHHHHHHHH"
There was a tennis racket on the night-stand that was promptly scooped up and with that in hand our heroine charged out into the hallway to see... nothing. At least at first.
Gradually the sound of sobbing became apparent from behind the hall curtains. The curtains shaking, as though in fear.
"You better show yourself. Right FUCKING NOW!" she growled.
The curtains began to move slowly, and a face emerged. Smooth, alabaster, exquisite. But the eyes. The eyes hit her like a tennis racket to the chest. Purple, faintly luminescent in the dim glow spilling from the light she'd left on downstairs. They were shrink-wrapped in tears, and the sorrow deflated her anger.
"The Police are on their way", she lied to further sobs from the the thing behind the curtain.
"Please", it said, "please, you have to forget you saw me. They'll take my licence away, I'll never be let out again!"
The tennis racket began to lower. "What?...ermm...huh?" she asked insightfully.
The creature began to stand as it came from behind the curtain, hands out in front of it, as if trying to calm a wild animal.
"WHOA THERE BU..." she began to shout, gesturing again with the racket but the words caught in her mouth as the creature straightened to its full height. About 5 feet tall. Dressed in a green tunic.
"A fucking elf! I'm dreaming about an elf on Christmas eve. Jesus FUCK! I'm going mental."
"You are not crazy, and please stop swearing so much. I'll leave, but you must call off the Police! I would never hurt you."
"Oh I know that, you're 5 foot nothing and I'm in shape and able to handle myself" she replied scornfully.
"Yes", said the Elf, "I see that".
She looked down at her nakedness. "Oh."
"The Police, my lady. Please!"
"They're not coming pipsqueak, but you give me good reason I shouldn't call them!"
"Because my whole future depends on it. If an Elf is spotted, he cannot again leave the shop. I'll be trapped away from the warmth and the lights and the life!"
"Whats your name?"
"Ethealdor."
"OK Ethealdor, I'm Bec. So what, I'm just supposed to forget I saw you?"
"I will do anything, please Lady Bec!"
Bec thought for a couple of seconds. "OK, I got it. You've seen me naked, sneaking about my house. You're going to take off that stupid tunic. Then we will be even."
Ethealdor looked at her quizzically. "You wish to see me unclothed?"
"That's what I said. Those ears not as on point as they look?"
He looked as though he was about to reply but instead he unbuttoned his smock and slipped it off what she noticed were pretty broad shoulders. He made no effort to conceal his nakedness.
"Right, that's better!", she said as she took a stride toward him, eyes ablaze with anger. And immediately tripped towards the stairs. Killed by an imaginary elf, was all she could think as she tumbled toward her doom in slow motion. How embarrassing.
"My LADY!" the elf shouted, and suddenly she found herself held in mid air. She looked over her shoulder awkwardly, to see the Elf holding her aloft, apparently without effort. How strong he must be to be holding so much weight without needing to grab me or brace himself. Not as helpless as she thought. She suddenly felt a lot less confident. Especially as one of his hands was on her breast.
"Please. Please put me down."
"Oh, of course", the Elf set her down on the landing, and stepped backwards. He had obviously been aware of where his hand was as well. His penis, previously unremarkable and in proportion to his 5ft frame was swelling prodigiously. Hanging down, swinging weightily.
She tried not to look. "Christ, I need to sit down." She flopped down on the previously treacherous top step. "What a weird dream."
The Elf came to sit next to me. Their thighs lightly touching. "Lady Bec. The Police?"
"Oh, that was just bullshit. I wanted to scare you." His arousal was now starting to be very distracting. "I, errr, wasn't, um".
"Does my ardour offend you, my Lady?" A large pearl of precum appeared on the now spectacular head.
"No. No, its just... there".
"It will return to normal if I relieve myself. If you wish to look away I can do this quickly."
"What the fuck", she said, mainly to herself as she got up in a daze and stood facing away, wondering what sort of crazy Freudian shit makes you dream of little green men wanking.
Rapid wet noises from behind her. She looked over my shoulder to see what looked like a man frantically stroking a cucumber. A man that was very definitely staring at her ass while he did it.
"Like what you see, PERVERT!" Pretty unfair under the circumstance maybe, but she was out of my comfort zone.
Ethealdor jumped out of his skin, like a teenager busted in the act and flushed a sort darker shade of green, more like oak leaves.
"My Lady, I, errr, sorry... I just. No of course. I mean, errr yes." He composed himself and smiled. "You look like Christmas morning. So much promised, so much unknown."
Bec paused. Thought, well, fuck it. In for a dream penny. In for a dream pounding. "That line normally work?" she asked with a smile.