Princess Claus and the Great Escape

by J L Gillham

  I face toward the ocean as I debate over pulling my hand away. I don’t want to seem rude, but what if he gets the wrong idea?

  I don’t drop his hand. The power of that last wave surprised me. And after cramping up hiding in the sleigh, I could use a little steadying. With each wave that splashes me, I feel my worries sinking. Once we are waist deep, the water seems a bit calmer.

  Finn hasn’t let go of my hand yet. I peer down at our locked hands through the water. I am about to let go when something tickles my ankle. Though I can’t see what it is, I assume it’s seaweed. Then the tickling feels like scraping, and finally what I’m sure is a nibble.

  I race toward the shore, then onto the dry sand. It takes me a moment to realize I’m still holding Finn’s hand and that I’d dragged him along with me.

  “Um, I think there are piranha in the water,” I say with the most serious tone I can muster.

  “Guess so.” I can tell he’s trying to suppress his grin, but I’m glad he’s failing miserably, revealing an adorable smile that makes me want to brave the so-called piranha-infested water.

  “Noelle!” Aurora shouts.

  I whip around to face her, releasing Finn’s hand in the process. Then I run my fingers through my damp hair. I glance up at Finn and see a frown as he looks from my hand to my face. When our eyes meet, I look away.

  I brace myself for a stern lecture from my little brother, who is trailing closely behind Aurora. Instead of a mom-sized scolding, all he says is, “Hey, sis.” Then he puts his arm around Aurora’s shoulder. She stands a little taller, and her grin widens as she glances at her brother. I turn to face Finn. Big mistake. His head is cocked to the side, and it seems like he hasn’t stopped staring at me since I dropped his hand.

  The conversation started by Aurora once we’ve unpacked is about sandcastles. All four of us begin building our own, trying to see who will make the tallest one. Eventually our chatter turns to silence as we each focus on our structures, with the sound of the lapping waves in the background.

  At the same time, I realize playing with sand is much harder than playing with snow, Finn and Aurora begin talking about lunch preparations. I resign myself to what I know is about to come. I face my brother. Instead of a look of annoyance, there is a touch of mirth in his expression.

  “When the sleigh raced through the magical barrier, I was shocked.” Nicky chuckles. “Honestly, I doubted my luck. Had I known you were a stow-away I would’ve given our jailbreak a hundred percent chance of failure.”

  “How’d you do it?” I switch from trying to make the tallest sandcastle to picking up nearby seashells for decorations.

  “No idea.” Nicky laughs then shrugs. “I’d planned on it failing, then making some excuse and inviting them to the hot tub. I thought if I offered that idea in the first place, Aurora wouldn’t have been as likely to say yes.”

  “What’d ya do? Hide under all the blankets in the back?” He shakes his head back and forth.

  Drat. Why hadn’t I thought of hiding where the toys for Christmas delivery usually go. I laugh. “Wish I’d been that smart. Try inside the seat!”

  His mouth drops. “Man, you really wanted out of the cage.”

  I glance at Finn and Aurora. They aren’t paying us any attention as they discuss the menu at their father’s diner for the rest of the week.

  Nicky was right. I would’ve done anything to break free. And, now I have. I’ll hang out with everyone. Once the rest of the group is distracted, I’ll head away from the beach and toward the nearest town. Then I truly will be free. Once I’m gone, Nicky will have to take up the calling of Santa. And, I have a hunch he’ll not only love it, but be great at it, too.

  Nicky bites his lips and glares at me like I’m an ancient text he’s trying to decipher. Will he figure out my plan? He rises and brushes sand off his shorts.

  “You know it doesn’t matter if every day for the rest of my life I prove I’d make the best Santa between the both of us. Dad will never take your legacy from you.” He pauses, then turns and walks away. As he does, he says, “Even if you don’t want it.”

  I grind my teeth. I want to shout at him, “Yes, Dad will if I’m not there to fulfill it!” Instead, I stand and walk in the opposite direction, kicking sand up as I go.

  Is Nicky bluffing? What if Dad goes it alone this year if I am not there to accompany him? And next year, too. If he doesn’t allow Nicky to take my place and instead Dad holds out for my return will the toll on Dad crush him?

  I trail off, heading to the sleigh. Food, the perfect distraction! I lick my lips imagining the taste of the s’mores. Slowing my pace, I inhale a deep breath of the salty air, then sigh as the feel of the sun warms my shoulders.

  When I open the lid, instead of marshmallows and chocolate there is a clear sandwich bag with what looks like crinkled green construction paper inside. I hold it up and face the group.

  “It’s seaweed,” Aurora says, then adds, “Duh.”

  “Yeah, you brought that because we sure won’t find any in the ocean.” Finn bumps into his sister.

  Instead of rolling her eyes, she laughs. “Good one.”

  I bite my lip as I watch their interactions. Aurora walks over to the cooler and pulls out a small glass bottle. “And, of course, soy sauce, a large bowl of rice, and everything else we need to make homemade sushi.”

  “Do you eat like this all the time?” I ask, then clap my hand over my mouth, knowing how rude I sounded.

  “Actually, no.” Aurora shrugs her shoulders as she places all the ingredients back into the cooler, lifts it by the handle, and carries it to the blanket. As we follow her, my brother, who just joined us, offers to carry the food. She hands it over to him. “Don’t you ever get sick of eating the same old thing all the time?” She plops down onto the blanket.

  What I want to say is that she doesn’t know the half of it. Not only do I eat the same old thing all the time, but I also relive the same old day all the time, Christmas Day. Instead I just smile, and say, “I’m up for the challenge. Raw fish for lunch it is.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  A half hour later all four of us have managed to get just as much rice on the blanket as we have into our homemade sushi rolls. Every now and then, a bird flies overhead and dives down toward our lunch. “Scat!” I wave my hands around trying to fend off the intruder.

  “We’d better make sure to pick up each piece of rice.” Finn begins dropping the tiny white pieces into a trash bag.

  “I didn’t know you were so eco-friendly,” I tease.

  “Not exactly.” He points to the west tip of the island. It’s about a quarter of the size of a soccer field and scattered with scraggly trees. Two birds land on the tip of one. Then I notice a sign, but it’s too far away to read. “It’s a designated bird sanctuary. You’re not even allowed to walk through it.” He continues picking up the rice.

  “Rice is terrible for birds.” Aurora doesn’t help with the cleaning but uses the last of the rice to make another sushi roll.

  “I’ve never had so much fun eating with my fingers,” my brother says. He pulls out all the ingredients to make s’mores and rests them on the picnic blanket.

  I glance at him and am taken aback at the look on his face. The skin flanking his eyes are crinkled and his shoulders are relaxed. The last time I actually saw him this happy was...I can’t remember ever seeing him this happy. Maybe I am not the only one who was feeling a bit trapped.

  “The only thing that would make this day complete is a bonfire,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself. The setting sun and wet pants clinging to my legs cause me to shiver.

  “I’ll be back,” Finn says as he heads into the tall bushes.

  I watch as one family gather their belongings then drag a cooler with wheels along the sand. The little boy, tasked with holding a circular float, squeezes so hard I wonder how long until it pops. Halfway between our group and the bird sanctuary is a man and woman enjoying the beginning of the sunse
t. She tips back a water bottle, emptying it. Then her significant other tosses her a new one.

  There is also a man walking along the shore. His trousers are rolled up so the encroaching waves only make his feet and not his clothes wet. I grin as I admire his tweed vest that matches his cap. It reminds me of something my grandfather would wear. The man has red hair peeking out of his hat, just barely covering his ears, and bushy, red eyebrows with a thin beard.

  I guess I didn’t eat enough sushi because my stomach rumbles. How long until the s’mores? I don’t want Finn thinking I’m looking at him because I have a crush on him. It’s strictly hunger related. So, I wait. Then I decide it’s been long enough to look for Finn without seeming too eager.

  He’s petting Tiny behind the ears. Glance accomplished, I force myself to stare at the ocean. A tingle of exhilaration thrills me with each wave crashing onto the shore. For a moment, I consider heading in again. Then I turn my head as I hear Finn walking back with an armful of dry branches and twigs. It doesn’t take long for him to get a small bonfire going. I opt for desert over swimming.

  “Now I’m glad I made sure to bring s’mores,” Aurora says.

  “We can have them in a bit,” Finn says in a the most intense tone I’ve ever heard him use. I wonder if he is worried about stuffing himself with dessert, but I decide to not ask him. He hands each of us a canteen. After a tentative sip, I confirm it’s got water inside and not scalding hot chocolate.

  We each gather around the small but warm fire. The four of us jump from topic to topic. Eventually, Finn begins gathering all the plates and chopsticks. “I’m going to put this up.” Finn heads toward the sleigh. Two birds who were hovering above us follow Finn.

  “Yeah, and I’m going to check on Tiny.” Nicky says as he leaves to catch up to Finn.

  “Better run in zigzags!” Aurora shouts. Then, in a normal volume, she says to me, “That way the birds don’t have it so easy littering the boys’ heads with little white droppings.”

  I chuckle and am about to comment how much I’d love to see that happen to my brother when I bite my lip. Aurora and Finn tease each other, but they don’t take it as far as Nicky and I do. Before I have a chance to compare their sibling rivalry to ours, Aurora speaks again.

  “I was wondering,” Aurora begins, using the bucket from the sleigh to build a sandcastle. “If there's magic, why can't you just use it to make all the toys? That way the elves wouldn’t have to spend their entire lives sitting on hard benches whittling out wooden figures and other stuff.” Coming from anyone else, it would’ve sounded like the elves were doing slave labor. But Aurora seems genuinely curious.

  “It's the heart of humility and the pride of work well done that contributes to the spirit and the magic of Christmas,” Nicky answers for me, and for once I’m grateful. I am unsure of how I would’ve responded. Nicky plops back down in the sand, putting Aurora between us. “Each elf uses passion and talent to create the toys. That is greater than any gift born of magic.”

  “Like me making this sandcastle.” Aurora adds another floor to her mansion made of the little particles.

  “A life of equal parts passion and sacrifice,” I hear from Finn as he nears.

  It takes everything in me to not ask him directly what he’s passionate about and what sacrifices he’s had to make. My stomach drops and I blink rapidly. And then it's as if I can't stop myself, and the worries overflow. All my life everyone's looked at me a certain way and expected one thing from me, but what if I don't want that one thing, and what if I can't be that one thing? What if I fail?

  What if I let everybody down and ruin Christmas like I always thought I would? I think about the sacrifices I’ve had to make and the fears I still have. I inhale a shallow breath.

  I pause and look up at Finn. He stares at me quizzically, like he wants to ask what I’ve been thinking. After a moment when I don’t speak up, Finn restarts the conversation. “It can be scary. But don’t quit because you're scared that you'll fail. Do it because you love something else, because you feel like you’ll burst if you don’t pave your own path to your true passion.”

  Suddenly, both boys begin singing. “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.” Finn pulls out a cupcake from behind his back and holds it out before his sister. It’s lit with one pink candle. I join in the rest of the song. The moment we finish singing, Aurora blows out the candle.

  “That looks delicious, but do I have to share?” Aurora peels off the wrapper. Then she bites into it, clearly showing she will not be sharing either way.

  “No,” Finn says, then chuckles. He runs back to the sleigh and returns with a full tray.

  I lick my lips in anticipation. Raw fish isn’t my favorite, so I left plenty of room for dessert. After a few minutes of munching, Nicky and Aurora get lost in their own conversation. I bite my lip, locking away the question burning in my mind. What passion and sacrifices has Finn made? Was he thinking only about the elves or himself, too?

  I pick at my food. Then out of the corner of my eye, something moves. Once I give it my full attention, I see a mouse scurrying away, a piece of chocolate in its mouth. I wonder if it snuck up and stole a morsel. On second thought, the creature seems more like a rat than a mouse. Less like a character from a movie and more like something regularly seen in a sewer.

  I glance at Finn and see he’s preoccupied with picking up some nearby seashells. Then he tosses them like dice at a casino craps table. He leans toward the shells, picks up two, then has to rise and walk to get the rest. This time, instead of tossing them to the side, he throws them up in the air. They fall down in front of him. A bird dives down and snatches one of them up. As it flies away, it drops it, probably discovering the confiscated object isn’t edible.

  “Is this some beach game I’ve never heard of?” I ask, realizing how nice it is to not feel like I need to be so guarded around Finn. Of course, I’m not going to tell him any secrets.

  Instead of answering, he gathers the shells. “Hold out your hands.” He doesn’t look at me as he speaks. Instead, once I’ve made a bowl, palms up, he drops the shells and a bit of sand into my hands. “Now toss them.”

  “Up or to the side?” I ask, trying to make sense of the rules. This time he does meet my gaze.

  “Have you ever heard of the expression, ‘Let the chips fall where they may?’”

  If I let the chips fall where they may, I’ll be the future Santa. No, I’m going to take those chips and glue them to where I want them to go. “Um, I think so,” is the simple answer I decide to give.

  “Sometimes in life you have to let go of your plans. Let the seashells fall where they may.” He doesn’t take his eyes off me.

  I return his stare. A hint of a grin begins forming. I feel my face start to mirror the expression, and the lightheartedness feels nice. How long have I been absorbed with my escape plan? How much of life around me did I miss? I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.

  My heart stirs as Finn’s smile widens. That’s when my smile turns upside down. I pull my gaze from him and stare at my hands still holding the shells. No falling for boys you can’t trust, I tell myself.

  “Well, you gonna toss ’em or what?” Nicky’s question pulls me from my thoughts.

  I let out a breath and throw them, right into my brother’s chest.

  “Ow,” he complains. Then he picks up a spiral-shaped shell. “This one’s a bit pointy.”

  Aurora inspects it. “I think the prickly ones are sometimes the most interesting of them all.” She winks at Nicky.

  When I sneak a look at Finn, his smile meets his eyes. I watch as Finn uses all the fixings for a second dessert from a cooler that is smaller than the sushi one. As he begins roasting his marshmallow I think about what he said. If I let the chips fall where they may, I’d be forced into a life I didn’t choose and certainly don’t want.

  Frustration blooms. Not with Finn, but with myself. Why can’t I be like my brother? Or like Finn? He’s never complaine
d about his lot in life, splitting his time working at the diner and making food deliveries to Winter Wonderland. Just then a question occurs to me.

  “If you could do anything in life, what would it be?” I face Finn. He looks up toward the sky as if thinking.

  “I’d be a fashion designer,” Aurora says, joining our conversation. As she makes herself a s’more, she adds, “A runway filled with my creations, can’t you see it?” Instead of eating the treat, she hands it to Nicky. Then she rises and begins twirling her imaginary skirt.

  “That reminds me.” Her eyes lock on mine as she stills. “Are you having a birthday party this year? It would be the perfect occasion to wear my newest creation.” She takes a sip of water from her canteen.

  “I, um...” I pause, waiting for an excuse to magically form on my lips.

  “Yes, sis is having a dance,” Nicky chimes in.

  My glare turns into outright rage.

  Aurora turns to face him. “Really?” She claps her hands and resumes twirling. Then she yanks him up. He bows, and says, “My lady.”

  She giggles and takes his hand. The two begin whirling around, kicking sand up at every turn. I can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous they look.

  “I tell you what. I’ll strongly consider it. If I decide to, you’ll be the first to know.” I say this to Aurora, then look toward Finn. Aurora doesn’t seem to have heard me. She and Nicky are dancing further and further away.

  “You can tell her no. I do it all the time.” Finn offers me a s’more with a gooey marshmallow inside.

  “Clearly you didn’t catch the look on her face at the idea of being able to wear one of her own dresses,” I say, accepting the treat.

  “Guess I’ll have to pull my suit out of the closet. It didn’t make an appearance at your last party, but maybe I should wear it to this one.” Finn begins making his next dessert.

  I look away, not wanting him to see the look of anger on my face. Maybe a birthday celebration isn’t such a good idea after all. Then I remember my plan. I need a good distraction so I can sneak away from the group and make my getaway. How could I become so sidetracked?