A knocking at his door resounded throughout the room, tempting him to just roll over, put his head under the pillow and ignore it. His mood was awful, he’d admit that much, he was constantly angry due to the stress his situation left him with. Stupid people waking him up at the butt-crack of dawn didn’t help their chances of survival in the least. Rolling his eyes, he sat up and threw the sheet back so he could turn and get out of the bed without falling on his face due to something wrapped around his ankle. Within a few long strides he was standing behind the door, pulling the pants he’d grabbed up to make him as decent as he was getting this early.

“What do you want?”

He opened the door, eyes widening in surprise as a female body flung itself at him. Her arms wrapped around him in a bear hug before she suddenly jumped back. Staring in amazement, he watched her face grow a shade of red much deeper than his hair. She wrung her hands in a mixture of distress and embarrassment. Rolling his eye at her, he gestured for the girl and the small man behind her to come in before her hysterical giggles could wake the neighbors.

Laying on his side upon the bed, he propped his head on his hand, elbow digging into the hard mattress as he waited for her to say something. When the woman finally looked at him, her eyes grew a gleam of urgency that called to him.

“My lord Cross… I have something very important I need you to help me with. It’s… My parents are being held in an attempt to lure you there as they know you’re my, err, hero so to speak. These criminals are not Noah, but they’ve been too elusive for the American authorities to track. I’ve got the location of their current lair, but I need help now before they can move again.”

“What makes you think I’m the one that needs to help you?”

“Because I know about your past.”

His eye that had been examining the small, defected man next to her widened again at her words. If she spoke the truth, then she already knew what he was hiding beneath the bandages and thick head of hair. What if she bluffs? I can’t risk it… Especially not in my current position.

“Have you told anyone about it?”

“Not a soul.”

Normally, he would be quick to doubt the words that came out of a strangers mouth, but the honesty in her eyes drove him to believe her despite himself. Even if I did agree to help, it would take days to sail there. It only takes hours to pack up hostages and burn evidence. We could never make it in time. Certainly, he was picking his brain for excuses not to help her. It wasn’t that he had something more important to do, in fact he had nothing to do, it was just that helping people was not his forte and anyone could get rid of a few measly kidnappers.

“It would take to long to sail a ship, no matter how fast, to America. They would be gone by the time we were half way across the sea.”

“Not if we travel his way.”

He directed his gaze back down at the midget, who smiled and waved. So this is what the children mean when they say ‘elf’. What a jip, I expected something more… Interesting than some damn midget with pointy ears. Where’s the bells on the end of his hat? And the pointy shoes? My god, who ever started the rumor and turned Mister Kringle into Santa really over exaggerated everything. I bet the man isn’t even really fat!

“You’re a minion of Chris?”

“That’s Sir Kringle to you, you demonic spawn!”

He pursed his lips, trying as hard as he could not to call the little man on what he’d said. It was true that he didn’t have the most pure of birth and his past didn’t help him much but he was no demon.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. I suppose I don’t have a choice in whether or not I help you, especially if that thing can make us travel across the world in the blink of an eye.”

“This thing can do a Hell of a lot more than just that twinkle toes!”

Grinding his teeth together, he bit back the sharp responses that came to mind. Running a hand through his hair, he let out an exasperated sigh at seeing the expression in the girl‘s eyes. I really don’t have a choice. He got up off of the bed, walking over and putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Go wait for me outside, I’ll just be no more than a minute.”

Watching the two leave his room, he closed the door softly behind them, but not before giving the minion a swift kick in the ass. Grinning, he listened to the complaining of the smaller figure outside. He ran over to the small bathroom, picking up some towels and clean clothing, he went for a dip in the tub.

There was no way, he was making a second impression in a country as some “nasty smelling foreigner”. He’d known someone who’d visited a different country and didn’t do any washing… Let’s just say that’s also the person who committed suicide because they thought they weren’t worth anything after all of the nasty things its residents said (and what his family said when he came back).