Chapter 44: Help, Part 1

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 find her. Suddenly, it occurred to him that there were several places along the stairwells that led off in different directions. If she couldn't see where she was going, there was a possibility that she may have lost the path. If she wasn't careful, she could easily tumble over the edge. There were also sharp cliffs, overhangs, and caves. There was simply no way that he could check all of those places by himself. If he were going to find Serendipity in time, he would need assistance. Reluctant to leave without her, he made the only choice he could and transported himself to the one place he knew he could find dozens of helpers at one time.
Serendipity hadn't needed to hear the entire conversation in order to realize that Corey had not been honest with her. Clearly, he had used some sort of magic spell to make her wish to stay at the North Pole. Whatever it was he had done to her, it had made her feel as if he cared for her, as if he wanted her to stay there for him. To think, she had actually entertained the notion of relocating not so that she could make her dolls for thousands of children around the world but so that she would have the opportunity to spend the rest of her life with him.
There was only one other time in her life when she could remember feeling so foolish.
She knew that Ingrid was aware she had backed out of the room, had taken off running, but she wasn't sure if she would notify Corey or not. She had no idea how much of a head start she had or how long it might take him to find her. She also had no idea where she was going or how she would find her way back home. She wasn't sure if she was still inside the dome or outside. All she knew was that she needed to escape as quickly as possible, and if she perished while doing so, well, then so be it. Her only regret was that Pozzletot was with her. She wished she had left him behind so that he would be safe. Now, he was tucked inside of her pocket, and as she fought her way through the ice and snow, looking for some sort of shelter, she was hopeful that her body would stay warm enough to keep him alive.
She had attempted to take the first stairwell she had come to, the one on the right, but after sliding down what must have been considered the first flight of stairs, she had lost her way. She was hesitant to traverse too quickly, afraid she would take a wrong step and fall off of the side of the cliff. Soon, she found what seemed to be a path that, while still leading down the side of the mountain, seemed to be less steep, and she dug her hands into the side of the mountain as she scooted along, one foot and then the other, checking for security along the ridge as she did so. Once, she stepped on an unstable rock and pulled her lead foot back just in time as several chunks of loose gravel came tumbling down the side of the mountain below her. She was able to feel her way around the hole left in its wake and continue on her journey, one small step at a time.
It didn't take long for her face to become numb with cold. Her feet were also freezing. Her hands seemed warm enough, and she thought that might be because Corey had infused her mittens with the same sort of magic he had used to warm the mittens he had given her yesterday. Thoughts of the day prior made her eyes tear up even more so than the bitterly cold wind, and she had to push them aside; she couldn't possibly afford to start crying, not now, not in this weather.?She pressed on, one unsteady step in front of the other thinking not about where she would go when she reached the ground but only about where to put her foot next.
Corey appeared in the barn so unexpectedly, he received a spray of warm cocoa in his face as he began to materialize, courtesy of a startled Hillstern. "Sorry, sir," he began, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping away the droplets. "I didn't expect to see you."
"No, it's fine," Corey assured him, brushing him aside. "There's no time for that. I need your help."
"What's wrong?" the elf asked, frozen in his tracks.
"It's Serendipity. She's lost out there somewhere near the Snow Queen's castle. I need the reindeer and every elf you have available to start searching for her. But most importantly, I need the baby reindeer."
"The baby reindeer?" Hillstern echoed. "What do you need him for?"
"The light!" Snowshoes replied, dropping the armload of hay he had been carrying onto the ground behind Hillstern. "Come on, boss. Let's go!"