Worry gnawed at Lacey making it hard to concentrate. She wasn’t the only one. Today a listless mood hung in the workshop. More than once Lacey found herself fidgeting with the buttons that were supposed to go on her toys. It made her think of Jinxy, the way she added the highlights of glitter to her toys, and how she described her dedication to her work.

She needed more information if she wanted to solve Jinxy’s disappearance. What would Poirot do? Okay, but she wasn’t a detective like him, unless you gave her a set of accounting ledgers. Maybe she was more of a Miss Marple. Despite the situation, Lacey couldn’t help but smile fondly at the thought of those Agatha Christie characters. When was the last time she read one of her novels? She used to love them. Shaking off her errant thoughts, she refocused on the information she had. It was time to start collecting more.

Turning to the elf who had taken Jinxy’s spot, Lacey said, ‘Hi there, my name is Lacey. I don’t believe we’ve met.’

The elf looked up from the desk and stared. Oh no, I did something wrong. She felt a sudden urge to fill the uncomfortable silence. No, she thought, no. What was this, a staring contest? She was not going to blink first. Don’t talk, don’t blink, don’t give in. She carefully schooled her face to stay friendly and inviting and TO NOT BLINK!

Finally the other elf broke the silence, saying, ‘Hello.’ Then it looked away and resumed working. Taken aback, Lacey studied the strange creature. The other elves haven’t behaved like this. At least, not yet. Could this be normal? Lacey took a breath and tried again.

‘Everyone’s worried about Jinxy. Do you know her?’

Again the elf looked up and gave her a very long look. Not to be caught off guard this time, Lacey noticed that there wasn’t any particular malice or irritation in the look. Just … confusion? Changing tactics, Lacey tried again.

‘I’m sorry, am I not supposed to be talking to you? Is it a workshop rule or something? I’m new here, and I’m still learning.’

Understanding finally dawned on the elf’s face. ‘No, apologies, I didn’t realise you were new. I’m part of the elf reserve. It’s not so much that you’re not supposed to speak to me; it’s more that the other workshop elves usually don’t. It’s not their fault,’ he quickly modified. ‘It’s just that we’re not normally part of the workshop crew for very long, so we don’t get to know each other very well.’

‘I see. I didn’t realise there was an elf reserve. What do you do then when you are not helping in the workshop?’

‘We do all kinds of odd jobs here and there and all over the village. We take care of anything that doesn’t have a dedicated elf or crew assigned to it. And, of course, we fill in whenever one of the other elves becomes indisposed.’

Lacey didn’t know whether Jinxy’s absence counted as ‘indisposed’, but she supposed it was close enough.

‘Well, it’s nice to meet you, reserve elf,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘What is your name, by the way?’

‘I’m Elf.’

‘No, I meant your name.’

‘Elf,’ the elf said, now glaring at her.

‘Oh, I see. Well, nice to meet you, Elf.’

Apparently, that ended their conversation, as Elf ignored her held-out hand and bent back to his work at the toy assembly desk.

Uncomfortably, Lacey patted her hair instead. Elf? Really? The elf’s name was Elf? Well, I guess it is what it is.

Not to be stymied by one reserved elf, Lacey pricked up her ears, focusing on the various conversations around the workshop. Unsurprisingly, quite a few were about Jinxy, mostly speculating about where she’s gone off to this time. She wished she had a way to take notes, as it always helps her to think. Come to think of it, she had seen notebooks in the toy parts storage. A notebook would help her make better toys, now wouldn’t it? Yes indeed.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

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‘Hmm, mmm,’ Lacey jumped, almost dropping the notebook in which she was jotting down her impressions from the surrounding conversations in the workshop. The teddy bear on which she was ‘working’ was long forgotten.

‘Oh my Albyrne, you gave me a fright!’

‘Working hard, are you?’ Albyrne asked, curiously peering at the pages of her notebook.

‘I guess you could say that.’ Lacey closed the notebook. ‘Say, I see Jinxy still isn’t here. Did you and Melo find anything last night?’

Albyrne’s face became troubled. ‘No, we did not. With my luck, we should’ve discovered something, but it’s like she had just disappeared. I worry about the lass.’

‘Yes, me too.’

‘Oh well, she’ll either show up or Peter will find her. Let me add a little luck to this bear for you, and I’ll be on my way.’ He gave the bear a soft thump on the head with his shillelagh and hobbled over to the next elf.

‘That’s what you get for slacking off,’ Elf muttered next to her, his eyes focused on the drumming set before him.

Lacey glared at him before resuming work on the bear. Such a disagreeable elf she had never met. But she soon noticed that he wasn’t all that absorbed by his toys either. Every now and again, his eyes wandered over to Jinxy’s friends before he would quickly refocus on the project in front of him. Was he looking at anyone in particular? Following the direction of his gaze, she accidentally met Cynthie’s eyes, although it didn’t seem like Cynthie was entirely focused on her. Cynthie frowned, dropping her gaze back to her work. Beside her, Bethy was sewing on a sleeve, her tongue sticking out as she pulled the thread through with exaggerated motions. Was that what Elf was watching?

Lacey surreptitiously pulled her notebook back out, noting her impressions down. However, this time, the lucky bear interrupted her thoughts. His black button eyes stared at her, seemingly begging to be finished. ‘Okay, okay,’ she muttered and got back to work. Time flew until the end-of-day whistle blew.

‘Oh my, what an adorable bear!’ It was Danji, exclaiming in awe at the lucky bear still sitting on Lacey’s desk. ‘Look, Cynthie! This one looks almost as good as one of yours!’ That remark drew in not only Cynthie but Bethy as well. Elf huffed and got up as they approached, making a wide circle around Bethy as he scurried out.

‘Awe, what a precious bear!’ Cynthie exclaimed. ‘But we all know Jinxy makes the prettiest toys.’

‘No way, Cynthie,’ Danji added. ‘No one’s toys compare to yours, and Jinxy knows it.’ Cynthie blushed lightly, waving the compliment away.

‘Speaking of, has anyone seen Jinxy since yesterday?’ Lacey jumped in. Everyone shook their heads.

‘It’s hard to know what to think,’ Danji said. ‘It happens so often. I feel like she should be fine, but I worry about her.’

‘Yes, I wish she would tell us when she wants to leave, but she never does,’ Cynthie added.

‘I just hope she hasn’t gone to The Wasteland.’

‘Stop it, Bethy, of course she hasn’t gone to The Wasteland! Jinxy might be a dreamer, but she’s not stupid.’

‘Do we know that, Cynthie? She’s always talking about reaching out to the Abominable Snowman and where else would she be this time of year? It’s too cold to stay overnight in her usual places.’

‘So, she’s gone somewhere else then,’ Danji firmly interjected. ‘Jinxy knows the outside and the weather. Maybe she’s visiting someone.’

‘Without telling her darling Melo?’ Bethy raised an eyebrow.

‘Let’s just eat and get back to work. Peter will find her wherever she is.’ The little group followed Cynthie out of the hall, not noticing Lacey staying behind.

Abominable Snowman? Lacey wrote and circled in her notebook with a frown. Does that fit? But Jinxy had been talking about taking Lacey for a hike on the trails. Everyone said she was absentminded, but would she forget her plans so quickly? Sighing she also packed up to head out. Stepping through the door she gave a small scream as two grey shapes whizzed past her face. Her scream startled Mathilda in turn, who had just turned the corner.

‘Lacey?! Are you okay?!’

‘Aside from almost having a heart attack? What were those things?’ Lacey gasped.

Mathilda’s face relaxed.

‘Oh, it must have been the two turtle doves. They’ve got a nest up in the workshop eaves, and they dive-bomb people occasionally. Don’t worry; they’re just trying to distract you from their nest. There must be either eggs or chicks in there.’

‘My heart,’ Lacey muttered, laying her hand dramatically on her chest.

Mathilda giggled. ‘If you want to learn more about the birds we have here, Melo is the elf to talk to. He is our resident avian specialist.’

‘That sounds very interesting, what a good idea.’

And maybe I can also ask him a few other questions…

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