Work Text:
13 year old Hannah Hook didn't believe in Santa Claus. Why would she? She hadn't even known who he was until December hit in Auradon.
Not to mention that he had never visited her or any of the other isle kids during Christmas before.
So the conclusion that he wasn't real came fairly easily to her, even if all the Auradon kids seemed baffled by her firm belief in that matter.
He had to not be real. Otherwise why wouldn't he have visited Dizzy or Hadie or the wee Smees or her kids (her younger crew mates) who were never anything but good and left them gifts like Ben insisted he did.
So no, she didn't believe in Santa Claus.
Until she did.
Hannah tossed and turned in her bed, mind racing. Ears throbbing and feeling as if she was being boiled alive from the inside as she held a pillow over her head firmly, clenching her teeth, trying to block out Luke's snoring and ignore Skia's staring. Trying not to stare at River as he shifted again and again in his sleep.
The three of them, Freddie, and the core four were the ones in the whole school minus a couple of teachers. So Hannah had reluctantly unshruken Luke and River, and allowed them to stay at his full height and Skia in her human form the entire break even though it caused her anxiety and paranoia to spike.
Even though her fingers had been twitching to shrink him and River back down and to snap at Skia to turn back into her raven/crow self.
She just bit her tongue. Knowing that doing that would be unfair to all three of them since none of them had any idea when they'd be able to safely do either again. For all they knew, they might never be able to do so freely.
The idea made her angry.
It wasn't fair that she had to hide her best friends.
It wasn't fair that she didn't know where her older sister was or that she had a scar on her arm from her.
It wasn't fair that her other older sister had sliced her leg and caused her to fall into the polluted water of the isle or that she still had the limp from when the crocodiles decided to use her leg as a chew toy.
It wasn't fair that she couldn't safely spend Christmas with Ally without exposing her as a vk or go to Neverland to celebrate without causing trouble for Peter.
And it certainly wasn't fair that the rest of her family and crew were still trapped on the isle.
Or that they'd been forcibly born into a prison while the Auradon kids got to eat fresh food, sleep in clean beds and wear clean clothes, and get toys from a mystical old man that the isle kids never even heard of.
It wasn't fair.
It wasn't fair.
IT WASN'T FAIR.
None of it was fair and she hated Auradon for it with every fiber of her being.
She hated them for all the abuse and sorrow and pain her friends and her had been through.
She hated them for damning her biological parents to death and for causing her disabilities by default.
She hated them for knowing putting a magical being like her adoptive mother in a place that would kill her and any kids she had.
And she hated that if anyone were to catch Skia, River, and Luke here, that all four of them would get a one way ticket back to the isle simply because they didn't want to be separated.
Her bed creaked as the brunette sat up and she tossed her pillow to the side, quietly getting out of the bed. Doing her best not to wake Luke despite how much his snoring annoyed her. Knowing that having to live in a dollhouse and sleep in a fake wooden bed with fake cloth covers and pillows and no mattress for months on end couldn't be comfortable. He deserved to be able to rest in a real bed for once.
"Where are you going?" Skia asked curiously from where she sat atop the wardrobe, unblinking. Not breaking her stare for even a second—her blue hair illuminating the room.
"For a walk" Hannah replied half-truthfully. Not wanting to admit that Skia's nightly staring and Luke's nonstop, heavy snores and River's sleepy restlesssness atop of the pressure of keeping them safe and hidden along with the thoughts of everyone back home were driving her nuts.
"Alright then. Be back before breakfast or I'll burn this place to the ground."
The brunette really hoped she was joking, though she knew that that was highly unlikely knowing her. Her fingers twitched as she pressed them into her palms—desperately trying to calm herself. She took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
She'd have to pay attention to the time during her walk then instead of just letting herself get lost in her head again like she usually did. Hannah was wondering if she'd ever be able to breathe freely again without worrying about whether her friend would commit arson without her.
"Alrighty second matey of mine."
Hannah shivered as she made her way through the snowy woods barefoot, hugging herself. She had been mistaken when she thought that her Rudolph pajama pants and reindeer lead pirate ship sweater were warm enough on their own for the weather and now her teeth just wouldn't stop chattering.
"Damn cold weather. Damn lost boys' kids running my jacket. Damn everything" the brunette scowled, shaking. "Damn Auradon rules making my fucking eye twitch every five minutes. Damn Auradon snotty princess breaking my goggles and leaving me mostly blind. Damn Maleficent forcing me to come to stupid Auradon on threat of my friends' lives–"
Jingle Jingle Jingle...
The pirate captain whirled around in the direction of the sound and narrowed her eyes. Gripping the fork in her pocket tightly, ready to fight off an attacker if need be. She let down her guard slightly when she spotted a tiny figure in the distance, and followed. Worried that it must be a lost pet or child that needed help getting back home.
The figure bolted and Hannah followed slowly, worrying her lip. Wondering if this was a trap.
SNAP.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Hannah sped off towards the terror filled scream, fearful for the child, pet, or creature's safety—and secretly her own.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
When Hannah finally arrived at the source of the sound, her jaw dropped. Almost not able to believe the strange sight was in front of her.
Because there in front of her was undoubtedly a small, triangular shaped creature with pinkish skin, sharp teeth, and pointy ears that was about as tall as her boot. It was dressed in an odd, hat-like outfit that had a bell at the top. Just like the elfs that Ben and the others had described.
And it was trapped in what looked like a rabbit trap, unable to free itself.
Without hesitation, Hannah raced over and dropped to her knees beside the trap.
Startling the poor elf, who started to flail unhappily. Hissing at her like a cat.
Hannah blinked, baffled. Wondering if this was really what made the mysterious Santa Claus' toys.
She quickly shook the thought off, telling herself that she could come back to that later as she raised her hands up. Hopefully showing the critter that she wasn't a threat.
"Hey little fella. It's okay. I'm here to help. I promise I'm not gonna hurt you—" she slowly lowered one hand, not taking her eyes off of the trap as she searched through her pocket . "I'm gonna get you out of there. You just gotta stay calm."
The elf hissed again.
Hannah knew that it must have been terrified. She was a lot bigger than it after all.
"Are you hungry?" She asked softly, brows furrowed.
The elf perked up before giving her a face splitting grin. Nodding eagerly.
Hannah, not sure whether or not meat would hurt the elf, gave him Graham crackers instead. He quickly snagged them from her, practically inhaling them.
Hannah quickly grabbed her pair of mini bolt cutters (that she may or may not have borrowed from the school) from her pocket. Slowly but surely breaking through the darrated trap.
"Wal-la! There you go little guy! You're free now!"
The elf scurried into her lap, a lot more friendly now that he (at least she thought it was a he) knew that she had treats.
"Okay then. Let's go find your ...boss?" Hannah said unsurely, not sure whether or not that was the correct term anymore.
The elf just babbled at her.
Hannah was seriously starting to doubt that he and his friends were the ones making the toys.
Hannah carried the elf through the force, her shivering getting worse the longer she stayed out in the cold.
Teeth chattering.
Her feet, face, ears, and fingers were starting to feel numb, and her lip was getting worse.
She was starting to see why her dad wanted her to wear gloves and boots everywhere.
"Are you sure this is the direction he was heading?" It was so cold out that she could see her breath— which she found odd. Probably because it rarely got this cold on the isle and never snowed.
The elf just nodded eagerly.
Hannah was slowly growing frustrated, wondering if the elf even knew what it was talking—gesturing— about. But she did her best not to let that show, not wanting to scare the little guy since she got the impression that he was a lot like a small child. Unable to talk or completely understand/help her in the way she wanted.
So, instead of yelling or swearing like she felt like doing, she settled for sighing and continuing forth "if you're sure."
"DINGLE! DINGLE! Where'd you go?!" a booming, Russian accented voice called out from a little ahead. Nearly causing Hannah to jump out of her skin and exciting the elf.
The 13 year old looked down at the elf, confused "is that your boss?"
The elf nodded, confusing her more.
The stories didn't mention Santa being Russian.
But then again, they never really said where he had come from before he moved to the North Pole.
And people weren't really supposed to be awake to talk to the guy. So maybe no one knew he was.
Hannah shrugged and decided to just go with it, taking a deep breath before loudly calling out to the far off man who she couldn't see.
"SANTA!"
She heard leaves scrunching and what sounded like someone slipping as the loud, booming voice from before exclaimed "SWEET MAN IN MOON!"
Which was quickly followed by a loud thud and groaning.
Hannah winced "oooh... welp. If I wasn't on the naughty list before, then I definitely am now."