"Here you go, darling." "But where are yours?" "The magic of Christmas is a child's making a wish, and it coming true." "Go ahead, Ayden." "We'll share whatever it is, all right?" "All right." "For a kite!" "Thank you, thank you!" "Well don't thank us." "Thank Father Christmas." "Thank you." "There he is." "Gazared." "Born tall." "Taxes." "I seem to recall after giving you last year's payment not all of it reached Lord Rockfort." "And I had men even more foul than you show at my door." "I'm not to blame, you can imagine." "Do you still from every person you collect, or just us?" "Are you going to give me the payment or do you need persuading?" "I'm not giving you anything." "I shall deliver my payment to Lord Rockfort himself." "I don't think our lord visits many men in the dungeon." "Arrest him!" "No!" "All right!" "All right." "Enough." "I'll get the money." "Just don't hurt her." "I wouldn't dream of hurting her." "Not when I can get such a fair price for another child in the mines." "Get them in the wagon." "No!" "No!" "Ayden, run!" "Stop fighting." "Run!" "Into the wagon." "Forget the girl." "We'll make 10 times as much from just one of these dragon eggs." "You, girl." "Give us the eggs." "No!" "I won't!" "Come on, girl." "D-d-d-d-dragon!" "Ayden!" "Get down!" "Ayden!" "Gazared!" "Set us free." "Gazared, don't be a coward!" "Ayden!" "Let's go!" "Watch it, watch it!" "No!" "No!" "Get away!" "Ayden!" "No." "She's safe." "I'll get your fresh pickled ginger." "Thank you." "He brandished his sword to face the ferocious dragon." "The battle was fierce, sword was..." "And they battled from sunup until sundown until finally the dragon fell." "The knight was victorious." "The villagers cheered, "We love you!"" "You'll be safe here." "I brought you some worms, too, for your wrist." "Stay off of that one until you feel better." "Where did you learn to do that?" "My mother taught me when I was about your age." "What is it?" "Dragons." "No, Come on, we need to go." "Come on, come on." "Wait, wait, wait for us!" "We're here." "We're here." "Hurry." "Hurry!" "I would expect you to take the warning bells a little more seriously, Ayden." "Especially with what happened to your parents." "I'm sorry, Sister Lenora." "Now go find the twins and make sure they're shuttering the windows properly instead of hanging out of them." "And bring them down for supper." " Can you see anything?" " No, I can't." " Where is it?" " I don't know." " Scoot over!" " No, you!" "I can't see." "Would you two knock it off and close that thing before you get us all cooked?" "You're not the boss of us." "Yeah?" "Hey!" "You could have killed us!" "Prepare to die!" "Don't be silly, Ayden." "You're safe here." "Talking to yourself again?" "No..." "I was..." "Shouldn't be such a It's very..." "Roslyn!" " You were saying?" " Garret." "Don't pick on Ayden." "Sister Lenora says supper's ready." "Hey!" " Oh..." " That is not fair." "The smell is awful!" "Finn!" "Hoyt!" "What are you doing?" "Nothing?" "We're just cleaning up for supper." "It's ready." "What is it, Ayden?" "Oh." "Just your stocking hanging on the fireplace." "It reminded me of Father Christmas." "Who?" "Who's Father Christmas?" " No one but a fairytale." " That's not true." "He's real, and he's wonderful." "Ayden's right." "Well, at least partially." "Many years ago, even before Sister Lenora was born, there was a man named Nicholas who lived in a village not far from here." "When his neighbors needed money for their daughter's wedding, he gifted it to them by dropping it down their chimney." "So no one would know it was him." "I remember this story." "After seeing how happy his neighbors were, he decided that was the way he wanted to live his life." "Bringing joy to the lives of other people." "He spent his nights making secret deliveries to those in need." "And even though helping grownups was good, what made Nicholas happiest was seeing the smiles on the children's faces when their wishes came true." "But how did he become Father Christmas?" "Well he started making a list of all the children that were good and deserved a present." "Not just in his town, but in every town he visited." "And soon, the list got so long, that it took a whole year to make all the gifts." "And then he chose a special night to deliver them on." "Christmas." "That sounds familiar." "Is Christmas real?" "When is it?" "It's real." "It's less than a week away." "And now his list includes every child in the whole world!" "So you'd better be good." "And just how does he travel around the whole entire world and visit every child in one night?" "He uses magic." "Really." "Well he must have lost it, then." "There haven't been presents in any stockings for years now." "Isn't that right, Finn?" "Why hasn't Father Christmas been seen in years?" "Why haven't we ever had a Christmas here?" "Well maybe it's because we don't believe." "We need to believe that he'll come." "Make a wish in your heart for him to answer." "I think it's cruel that you're getting their hopes up." "I don't want any part of it." "Don't worry." "I'll talk to her." "We wish for a..." "Make it silent." "So only he can hear it." "We need to show Father Christmas that we believe." "You don't have to." "He can see it in your heart." "What if we made him something?" "We should make him a wreath." "We can hang it on the door, and that way he'll know that he's welcome." "Here." "You keep gathering firewood, and I'm going to look for some leaves and holly berries." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "What are you looking for?" "Oh only holly berries and leaves." "Holly berries are poisonous." "They're not for eating." "We're making a wreath." "For Father Christmas." "There is not going to be a Christmas, child." "Not this year." "Perhaps never again." "How would you know?" "Can't you feel it?" "It's gone." "What's gone?" "The magic." "It's gone out of us." "And all good things are turning bad." "Yes." "I know." "I'm not pretty." "But I once was." "You're... you're an elf?" "What happened to you?" "There's a darkness in the north." "Father Christmas is dying." "He sent us to find the magic." "But he didn't realize how quickly the elves were turning..." "I only made it this far because of this." "What is that?" "It's a way-stone." "A compass." "It was meant to guide me to the magic, but instead it led me to you." "Why me?" "Ayden!" "I don't know." "But I believe you are meant to have it." "Once you take it, there will be nothing left to keep the snow from taking me." "I don't understand." "Why..." "Follow the compass." "Find the magic." "Save Christmas." "I can't do that." "I can't do it by myself." "Come on, we've got to go!" "Why?" " What is it Ayden?" " Come on!" "Sorry." "Animals!" "Why is everybody always running in this place?" "Ayden!" "What is it?" "What's wrong?" "What is it?" "Are you all right?" "What's going on here?" "I need to make sure no one's listening." " What are you doing?" " What's gong on?" "Come on, Ayden." "What is it?" "Ayden," " what's going on?" " Tell us what's happening." "As I've told you many times before, we don't bid them out until they become of age." "I mean, even orphans deserve to be children." "All right." "We'll take one before we leave town tomorrow, and we'll back for the other next week." "I have something to show you." "It's important." "So you met a real live elf?" "Yes." "And he told you Christmas wasn't coming back this year." "Well not just this year, maybe never." "Unless you use this crystal to find the missing magic?" "Well he called it a compass, but yes." "All right." "I'm in." "You really believe me just like that?" "I can't think of any better reason why you'd have a magic glowing rock." "So when so we leave?" "You're all crazy!" "You really want to get yourself lost and probably killed over a silly rock?" "You know what, you're more than welcome to do it." "Alone." "No one invited you anyways." "We'll leave first thing in the morning." "But before you make your decisions," "I want you to know that this is not going to be easy." "We're going to be runaways." "We're going to have no money, no food, no shelter." "All we have is this." "And we don't even know where it's taking us." "We're going to find the lost magic." "We're going to save Christmas!" "Roslyn's right." "You're all crazy." "But of course I'll go." "What are you all up to?" "It's almost supper." "Go wash up." "Hoyt," "Did you make past the ogre OK?" "Yeah, just barely." "Good." "I don't want to come face to face with her this early." "Especially with her dragon breath." "Where's Garret?" "Come on let's do this." "Coming." "I'm coming." "You're early." "Fetch the boy." "Let me get you something to drink first." "What are we going to do now?" "I know another way." "Follow me." "Don't wake the other children." "It's OVER 30 feet down." "That's why we're not jumping." "Come on come on come on!" "Come on, faster!" "You're taking too long." "Hurry up, come on!" "Hoyt, wait, I'm not down all the way." "One at a time, you numbskulls." "Ayden." "Hurry." "Garret come on." "I can't leave without Roslyn." "I'll buy you time by pulling up the blanket so they won't know and catch you." "If I don't meet you by the edge of the woods, then go on without me." "Garret, no!" "We can't go without you!" "Yes, you can, Ayden." "You must." "Promise me you will." "Promise." "Garret?" "Now go." "Hurry!" "Where's Garret?" "Oh." "He didn't make it out." "He told me we have to go on without him." "He made me promise." "I understand if you want to go back..." "If it's a choice between following your magic rock and facing the wrath of Sister Lenora and Father Mendel," "I'll take my chances with the rock." "Which way do we go?" "I wish I knew where this thing was taking us." "That's easy." "North." "Well how do you know that?" "You can tell by the moss." "It grows on the north side of the trees." " Oh, that's pretty handy." " Yeah." "And at night..." "It's probably just a squirrel or something." "Yeah." "A squirrel." "But we should stay together, just in case." "I don't think we're alone in these woods." "I have an idea." "Anytime now, Finn." "No!" "Reveal yourself." "Roslyn?" "What are you doing here?" "Let me down." "No way." "Sister Lenora could have sent you." "Cut me down!" "Is Garret with you?" "I am not telling you anything until you cut me down!" "What is wrong with you, Finn?" "Nothing's wrong with me." "You're the one who's stalking us through the woods." "Now where's Garret?" "He's not coming." "What do you mean?" " Is he all right?" " No." "He's not all right." "Nothing is all right right now, Ayden." "We have to get moving." "They're after us." "Not that way." "We're heading north." "Well if you want to go north, I know a faster way." "The river." "I assume you don't want anyone following you?" "I couldn't imagine running into anyone worse." "Christmas is only four days away, so the faster the better." "See?" "What would you do without me?" "Roslyn?" "It's that way." "Oh." "Couldn't imagine Sister Lenora and Father Mendel ever catching up with us." "This is going to be much faster than walking." "How did you know this was here?" "Garret used to help Old Man Husker haul his catch from here to the market." "Isn't he going to miss his boat?" "Look at this thing." "Hasn't been used in months, maybe even years." "No one is going to miss it." "Is it lunchtime yet?" "It looks like about midday." "What do we have to eat?" "Sorry." "I got hungry." "Seriously?" "How long did you think we were going to be out here?" "Hey." "What did you bring?" "I was in a hurry, OK?" "And I thought you would be smart enough to bring more than just stinky cheese." "You can do a lot with stinky cheese." "Why don't we catch our own lunch?" "Good idea, Rand." "You see?" "If we all work together we can make it." "What do you think we're going to catch?" "This way you won't get wet." "There's something in the water." "Rand!" "Rand!" "It got me!" "It got me." "Help me!" "Please!" "Something's on me!" "Grab on!" "Get him in, come on!" "Are you all right?" "What had you?" "That was raw." "We traveled much faster than we would have through your mossy trees." "We should make a fire and set up camp." "It's gonna be dark soon." "What if a dragon smells our smoke and comes for us?" "I'd welcome some dragon fire." "Dragons always smell smoke." "It's in their noses all the time." "They won't be able to tell our fire from their own." "Trust me." "We still shouldn't build a fire." "Why are you so scared, Roslyn?" "It's not like we've never been caught and punished before." "How does that thing work, anyway?" "It has to be some kind of magic, right?" "My mother said the magic of Christmas is a child making a wish and it coming true." "Mind if I see that?" "How did you do that?" "I just did what you said." "I have the same Christmas wish every year, to go on an adventure." "I just thought about how I feel now that it's finally coming true." "Can we have it now?" "Rather not see what happens after you two make a wish." "Why not?" "Actually, you'd better hold on to that." "Roslyn, what was your wish?" "Nothing special." "What about you?" "Well mine's not very original." "An orphan wishing for a family." "Welcome to the club." "Roslyn?" "What are you doing here?" "I was about to ask you the same question." "I just wanted to see how lost we really were." "There's something you're not telling us." "You've been acting really strange." "Why did you come after us?" "Did something happen to Garret?" "I know he means a lot to you." "You have no idea what you're talking about." "He would be here if he could." "What does that mean?" "It means... it means the sun's up." "We need to get moving." "Roslyn." "Looks like your magic rock's been leading us in circles." "We're gonna starve to death before we even get there." "Hey, I think I found something up here!" "I thought you didn't believe in Christmas." "At this point I don't know what to believe." "You need to get your eyes checked." "Why?" "At least." "Can you smell that?" "Fresh baked bread." "And bacon!" "I'm not going in there." "The crystal says we go to the tavern." "I agree with Finn." "The compass hasn't steered us wrong yet." "And I have?" "The river." "Wouldn't it be nice to go somewhere that wasn't crawling with bugs?" "I doubt there are any less bugs in there than there are out here." "But food." "It doesn't look like a very charitable place, Finn." "How do you imagine paying for that?" "With my good looks." "Get away from here, kids." "What?" "We'll have a loaf of your finest bread and a flagon of water, kind sir." "How do you plan do pay for this?" "How about a trade?" "Come on, where's your Christmas spirit?" "What, you haven't noticed my decorations?" "That was the last man that couldn't pay for his meal." "Now scram!" "It's all right." "There's a here." "Excuse me, sir?" "Would you be so kind as to..." "I am so sorry." "She thought you looked just like our uncle did." "Our mistake." "Thanks, That was about to get ugly." "You mean uglier." "That guy was only pretty ugly." "Get down!" "What are you doing?" "I know you." "Go go go!" "There." "There they are." "Behind those tables!" "Get out of my way!" "Come here." "Get over here." "Hey!" "That's mine, give it back!" "Where did you get the Waystone?" "Waystone?" "That's what the old elf called it." "Now you get me out here, kid, and it's yours." "Move faster, kid, faster." "There." "There's a knife." "There's a knife." "Get one." "Come on kids, let's go." "Don't let them escape." "Out of the way." "Where'd they go?" "Where are those cursed brats?" "Look over there!" "Hey!" "Give it back!" "Give it..." "Stop him!" "Hey, wait!" " I need to talk..." " No, Finn, stop!" "Go." "Go, go, go." "We need to go!" "We need to go now." "Excuse me, excuse me." "Could you help us?" "Oh sure, hop in." "Come on!" "Let go!" "Get off!" "Wait..." "They're catching up!" "Go faster!" "Help me with this." "Apples!" "Pass them up here." "Use your slingshot Fin." "Nice shot Finn." "This is good, this is good." "Right here." "Quick, quick, quick!" "What is going on?" "Not here, come on." " Thank you." " Hup!" "Stay with them." " Faster Let's go!" "..." " Move quickly." "We can't let them get away." " We need to keep moving." " No!" "I want answers." "All in good time." "From you." "Those two are partly responsible for my parents' deaths." "Do you know them?" "No." "Well I mean, not really." "Do you think Sister Lenora sent them after us?" "What do they want with us?" "They're bounty hunters." "Oh." "So which one of you got today?" "It was me." "What?" "Spit it out!" "When you become of age, you're old enough to become an apprentice." "Kids with parents usually pick with much fair." "Kids like us get sold to the highest bidder." "Garret." "They must have took him the morning we left." "That's who was there." "And you must have been the other one on the list." "I heard them talking about it." "They were gonna send me to the mines." "I..." "I couldn't stand going, I had to run away." "Old enough to know who's of age and who's not." "Why not?" "Well let's put it this way." "If those guys catch up to us, they are not taking you back to the orphanage." "Roslyn, they've been after you this whole time." "Not us." "I put you all in danger." "I was afraid." "You should have told us." "We never would have left you." "I'm so sorry." "This is all very sweet." "But there is a pack of ruthless bounty hunters who would have caught up to the wagon by now and noticed that we are not in it." "So." "Unless you want to be really, really sorry, we need to go." "Now." "Who are you anyway?" "I'm Eric." "Let's go." " Hoyt." " Good." "Fin." " Rand." " Nice to meet you." "Pleasure." " Rosalynne." " Thank you." "So an elf gave you his Waystone?" "Just like that." "Not exactly." "When he gave it to me, he... changed." "Changed?" "Changed how?" "I don't know, it was... it was like he went dark all of a sudden." "Like..." "Like all of the magic was being drained out of him." "He turned into a goblin." "He told me to follow the Waystone, and I did." "And it led me to you." "Do you know where the magic is?" "I do." "But it's not that simple." "What do you mean?" "Father Christmas's magic comes from an orb that's cut from the same crystal as your Waystone." "I used to have it, but I lost it years ago." "Lost it?" "But you just said you knew where it was." "When I say I lost it, I meant to someone." "Or, in this case, an ogre." "So without this orb thing there's no chance of saving Christmas?" "Well, I know we should be rationing this, but if we're going after an ogre, I'm gonna need my strength." "I think there's a rock in my shoe." "We have bigger things to worry about." "Much bigger." "I can't believe you survived a fight with an ogre." "Well, uh, it wasn't really a fight." "What was it then?" "A battle of wits?" "Please, tell me you didn't lose to an ogre in a battle of wits." "Actually it was a bet." "Why in the world would you make a bet with an ogre?" "It's a long story." "You see..." "I have a plan." "Do you know what ogres like to eat?" "Besides children?" "Yes." "We're not going to let the ogre eat that, right?" "No." "It's a... distraction." "Quiet down, here he comes." "OK." "You ready?" "Yeah?" "Are you gonna remember the signal?" "In case he comes back?" "I can do it." "OK." "Easy as pie." "I hope that's not what you said before losing a bet to him." "So what does your stone do?" "How's it going to help bring the magic back?" "Well, Father Christmas uses it to slow down time so that he can deliver presents." "I mean, how do you think he did it all in one night?" "Will you be able to show us?" "Uh... maybe?" "There!" "There, I see it!" "Caw!" "Was that supposed to be a bird call?" "Caw!" "This way, this way!" "Run!" "Hey!" "Remember me?" "That's nice." "Should we see if they need any help?" "Run." "Come on, he won't stay unconscious forever!" "Come on, quickly!" "Quickly!" "Run!" "Go!" "We made it." "So is that the rock?" "Father Christmas uses it to slow down time." "That's how he deliver all the presents in one night." "Show us how it works." "Yeah, show us!" "Well, I..." "I don't actually know that I can make it work." "Why?" "What's missing?" "Well I don't actually know that it works at all anymore." "Ever since I laid hands on it, it's been dark." "How did you end up with this thing?" "That's a long story." "Look, if it's like Ayden says, and the elves are turning, then we don't have much time." "OK?" "We've got two days to get this to Father Christmas, and that's our only chance of making it work again." "All right, how do we find Father Christmas?" "I was afraid you'd ask that." "I could take you to the border of the North." "But that's as far as I'm going." "All right." "Come on, then." "Is that a field over there?" "Wouldn't that be easier to travel on?" "It'd be quicker, yes." "But being out in the open like that makes us easy lunch for a dragon." "Besides, in those woods are hunter-bandits." "You think that these woods are infested with goblins." "Are there?" "Goblins in these woods?" "In these woods?" "No." "No, the scariest things in these woods is us." "He doesn't seem very sure of himself." "They're close." "So." "How do you feel about using rivers to travel?" "It's a good way to hide your tracks, right?" "It seems like it could work." "But there's a lot of foul beasts lurking in that water who wouldn't think twice about tearing you into chum." "Ow." "Ouch." "What is it?" "Ready, aim, fire!" "Wait!" "Finn!" "Roslyn!" "Slow down!" "Grant!" "Wait, what are you..." "Finn, wait, where are you going?" "They shot this little one down too." "No, don't!" "Ayden, it's hurt." "She's an orphan like us now." "If we don't help her, no one will." "This is a bad idea." "We really should be going, there is nothing we can do." "Those bandits will be here any minute to make sure that that dragon is dead." "But aren't the bandits too scared to come into the woods?" "What about the goblins?" "Yeah, the only problem is there are no goblins." "Yes." "There are." "I think the beast went down by the river." "Did you see that?" "Don't be a coward." "This way." "Hey!" "You're no goblin." "Hey!" "You!" "Get over here!" "Don't worry." "They'll be back soon." "I'll go see what it is." "Isn't that sweet." "A girl and her dragon." "Step aside." "This one's mine." "I shot it down." "It's mine to kill." "Then you'll have to go through me first." "Our woods, our dragon." "Are you a goblin?" "Who are you?" "I was going to ask you the same thing." "What are you waiting for?" "Get out of here!" "Well it looks like you didn't have any problems here." "Well I did run into a little trouble, but I was able to take care of it." "With help." "Found you the herbs you needed." "Saerwen?" "Oh!" "Uh!" "That's for leaving." " And that is for not saying goodbye." " OK." "And that is for stealing the orb of Borealis." "Are you gonna beat the rest of us up, too?" "No." "I only do that to thieves." "Ayden, do you care to explain what's going on?" "Who's your new friend?" "This is Saerwen." "She's one of the elves from the north trying to find the orb of Borealis, which apparently was stolen from Father Christmas." "By his son." "Isn't that right, Eric?" "I didn't do it for me." "Well it was still pretty selfish." "You have no idea what's happening in the north, do you?" "Well I can see that it's not good." "Well this is the least of it." "The north is dying." "The Snall is back and it is huge and dark and dangerous and wrong." "And Father Christmas your father is not doing well." "Hold on." "I thought this orb thing was for delivering presents." "Now all of a sudden it's destroying the north?" "Yeah, I..." "I may not have been completely honest about its powers." "Well that is the understatement of the century." "When connected to Father Christmas's staff, the orb makes time in the north run constantly slower." "It has to for the north to function." "Is that why Father Christmas has lived for so long?" "Yes." "And it also helps us keep the Snall at bay." "With the power to control time, it can pretty much do anything." "No, it can't." "Eric." "You know that the orb can slow down time and sometimes even stop it at nothing." "Not even the orb can reverse it." "Yeah, but he didn't even try." "Someone had to try." "For her." "Who?" "Eric's mother died." "Five years ago." "He stole the orb to turn back time and save her." "Look." "You know that I never meant for any of this to happen." "I would never do anything to hurt you." "Don't ever leave without saying goodbye again." "Glad you came back." "But there isn't much time." "Even now it may be too late to save Christmas." "We've failed." "There's still a chance, Ayden." "But we must return the orb back to Father Christmas." "I was afraid you'd say that." "I know it hurts, but this will help your wing heal faster." "What are we going to do with her?" "We're keeping her." "She's not gonna be able to travel very far until her wings heal." "We can't wait." "Tomorrow is Christmas eve." "We can take her with us." "Dragons are meant to fly, not walk." "She would never make it in the snow." "What is so bad about this Snall thing?" "You'll find out soon enough." "I don't like the sound of that at all." "We should get some sleep." "We're going to need our rest." "You'll be safe here." "You have plenty of food and water." "Stay off that wing." "Even though it's healing fast, no flying." "You need your rest." "Don't worry." "You've created a sacred bond with her." "And you will always be able to find." "All set to go?" "We're going north." "Catch up with us when you can." "I don't remember it being quite so..." "Dark?" "Creepy?" "Terrifying beyond all belief?" "I was going to say big, but." "I told you it was bad." "And all this in a few years." "It's gotten worse as time goes on." "With no elves left to cut it back, it's gone dark and wild." "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to go in there?" "Going through the only way to the north now." "We have no other choice." "Do you have the feeling we're being watched?" "This way." "There is something back there." "Goblins." "They're gathering, closing in on us." "I've never met a full-blown goblin before, but deep down they're still elves." "Right?" "The Snall makes us forget who we are." "I feel it pulling on me." "So what do we do?" "We need to stay together." "What do we do?" "Run!" "OK follow the twins, I'll take Finn!" " What about the girls?" " They'll be fine, now go!" "Hey!" "Oh!" "A little help here?" "Take this!" "Finn!" "Finn!" "Finn!" "Behind you!" "Roslyn!" "Let go of my friend!" "Go, go!" "Hurry!" "Quickly!" "Go!" "Go!" "Get down!" "Let's go!" "I've got you." " What's wrong with..." " Not sure." "Saerwen?" "It's this place." "Eric?" "Get me out of here." "Eric." "Look." "You have to fight, you have to fight it." "I can't." "I'm out of time." "And I thought you needed me." "We need you." "No, don't leave me." "Don't leave me, we need you!" "I need you." "I need you." "Please." "Please." "You did it." "You used the orb." "Disgusting." "There's hope yet." "If we can get the orb back to Father Christmas in time." "But the sun is already setting." "It's Christmas Eve." "Wow." "I see the end of the Snarl!" "Follow us!" "What are we waiting for?" "Thank you!" "This is where Father Christmas lives?" "It didn't always look like this." "Are you ready?" "I just want to warn you." "You're not going to like what you see." "Father?" "Father." "He's still alive, he's just... old?" "It was only the magic of the orb that kept his body young." "Without it, he's just a thousand-year-old man." "Father." "I've brought back the orb." "You can save Christmas." "Come on, children." "Let's give them some time alone." "Father, I know how angry you must be." "Yet I know that there is nothing I can say to fix the damage I have done." "But I am sorry." "Here's our last hope." "At least I get to spend my last Christmas with you." "I can't believe we came all this way for nothing!" "We can't just give up." "There's nothing else to do." "And it's all my fault." "Christmas is lost forever." "No, it can't be lost!" "If we give up, then it really is lost." "But we already know that the magic... it's not completely gone." "Maybe not yet, but without a whole lot of magic, Father Christmas won't ever wake up." "Our... our Christmas wishes!" "Rand, Hoyt!" "We got our dragon." "I never told you, but my wish was to be free from the life that would have been forced onto me." "And I guess that came true, too." "I can't imagine those goons finding me all the way up here." "And I guess my wish came true a long time ago." "What was that?" "A family." "I don't know." "I mean even with all those wishes look." "My father hasn't stirred." "Not yet." "But they're right about the wishes." "Who knows how many it will take." "But look how powerful mine was in the Snarl." "When did your wish come true in the Snarl?" "When you said you needed me." "All right, Ayden." "I believe." "What's the plan?" "Eric!" "Get the list from your father." "Rand, Hoyt, Finn, go help Saerwen get the presents." "Roslyn, you're with me." "But, wait." "How are we gonna pull the sleigh without magic?" "Are you sure this thing is gonna work?" "No, but it's not impossible to imagine that it might." "That's everything." "It's now or never." "All right, dragon." "On the count of three." "One." "Two." "Three!" "It's all right!" "You can go." "Fire!" "Is everybody all right?" "Roslyn!" "The presents!" "Tell her we need to go higher!" "Higher!" "We need to go higher!" "Merry Christmas to you, too!" "Once all the presents are delivered, we'll ring the town bell and everyone will be able to wake up to their gifts." "With that many Christmas wishes coming true, there'll be enough magic to save Christmas for good." " Eveline and Violet Ashwater." " OK." "Larson Pike." "Pansy and Penny Brooks." "Christian Andrews." "Amora Brielle." "Who is out of bed?" "Hoyt?" "Rand?" "Oh, where have you been?" "I have been worried sick." " We went to the north." " To find Father Christmas." "There is no Father Christmas." " This is yours." " This one's for you." "I've always wanted one." "H... how did you know?" "It's not from us." "It's from him." "This is just like the one my mother had." "All the gifts have been delivered." "It's up to Ayden and the twins now." "To ring the bell." "I'll go see what's keeping her." "We need to hurry." " There it is, get the dragon!" " Come on!" "What is it?" "The dragon!" "I..." "I have to go help him." "You two go on without me." "Rand?" "Rand?" "Ayden?" "Rand?" "Hoyt?" "Where's their Christmas spirit?" "Well, angry mobs aren't exactly known for their good will." "Step aside." "You're gonna have to kill us first." "Yeah, what he said." " So be it." " No!" "Stop!" "Out of the way, girl." "This dragon is made for us to kill." "There's no need for violence." "It's Christmas." "Christmas or not, that's a dragon." " Yeah!" " Yeah." "I know all too well about the danger of dragons." "It was a dragon that took my parents from me." "But I was able to look past my fear." "If we don't hurt them, they won't hurt us." "It's just a young dragon." "It's an orphan." "Like me." "Rand?" "Hoyt?" "Thank you." "Ring the bell!" "Well, well, well." "Looks like our Christmas wish came true." "Are you going to come along quietly, or do you need persuading?" "It's a young dragon now." "But the dragons grow up." " Yeah!" " And then what?" "I Yeah." "Christmas is about forgiving, and understanding." "It reminds us to think of others instead of ourselves." "This dragon saved our lives, and it helped us deliver Christmas." "What Christmas?" "There is no Christmas anymore!" "Yeah!" "You have to let her go." "If someone doesn't ring that bell, there will never be another Christmas ever again." "Christmas." "That's just a story for kids." "Roslyn's too old to believe in that nonsense, isn't that right?" "If I let her go she'd just run away to save herself." "Let us go and you'll find out." "You're going to need two hands to ring that bell." "So what'll it be?" "Save yourself or save Christmas." "Roslyn." "You have to believe." "Just ring the bell and you're mine." "Let her go!" "Grandfather," "Grandfather, look!" "For Christmas!" "We did it." "This might actually work." "There's the rest of them." "Let go of them now." "My, oh my." "This little one has spirit." "You." "You're the reason my mother and father are dead." "It's because of you that I'm an orphan." "Yes." "I remember." "You cost me a lot that day." "I lost some good men and a good wagon." " Time to repay me for all the troub..." " She is not going anywhere." "If you try to to take her, that dragon will burn you to the ground." "Well that can't happen, can it?" "A good dragon is a dead dragon." " Oh, dear me!" "Father Christmas?" " Can it really be him?" "Father Christmas?" "Gazared." "Born tall." "Untie those children and release them to me." "Listen, old man." "We've paid for the girl and we're already several days past her delivery." "The rest we're taking for our trouble." "The only thing you'll be getting, Gazared, grim grace's justice." "And you barely deserve that much." "For your treachery, your thievery, your dishonesty, and, most despicably, your attack on these children," "I find you guilty, and sentence you..." "To what?" "What are you going to do?" "You are both banished." "Leave this land and never, ever, ever return." "And if we do?" "You'll have to deal with us." "All of us." "Yeah!" "..." "Father." "Father, I know how angry you must be." "Here." "It's all right." "All is forgiven." "Thank you for finding my son." "And bringing him home." "It wasn't me who found him." "It was these children." "Rand, Hoyt, Roslyn, Finn, Ayden." "My sincerest thanks." "I will not forget what you've done for me." "Saerwen, Eric." "Make sure Gazared and Born tall have left for good." "I'll see to it that these children get back home." "What's wrong, child?" "Don't you want to go?" "I just thought after all this, we wouldn't have to go back to the orphanage." "That's not your home anymore." "Your home is with me now." "For as long as you want." "And that goes for the rest of you, too." "I'm sure we can find five beds for the rest of you to sleep in." "Father Christmas?" "Can I have one more Christmas wish?" "Yes, we can pick up Garret along the way." "There they are!" "Don't hurt them, just give them a scare." "Hold on!" "Family is what's most important in life." "Be it formed of blood or of bond." "When someone joins a family, they are bound together forever." "They come to our rescue when we need it the most." "With family, we have our saddest moments," "but also our happiest." "Family is one of God's greatest gifts to us." "We must honor it, with all our heart, throughout our life." "And so, Saerwen, with great joy, you are hereby joined with our family." "Don't just stand there, boy." "Kiss the girl."