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Her office was something that matched Noelle completely, the light mix of blues decorated with snowflakes and polar bears. She was seated at her desk, the chair was soft and comfortable resting by the dark mahogany desk. Noelle bit her lip as she looked at the large book, she lightly brushed her fingers across the hard cover admiring the gold embroidery. She opened the book and began reading through the standard Clause that stated by reading this, she had accepted her role as the Christmas Spirit; She was ready for this new life.

The Christmas Spirit spreads Christmas joy and functions off of the belief in Christmas. With every child that believes, the stronger the magic in which you can use. It is important to understand that your role is to support Santa and ensure that Christmas is a success. Should anything happen to Santa, you are to stand in for him and ensure everything is in control until he can take charge. As the Christmas Spirit, you are in charge of the Elves unless you choose someone else to do so.

As you may have noticed by now, The Christmas Spirit transforms into an Elf. You must finalize the transformation by your first Christmas otherwise you can lose the title. To finalize your life as an Elf, you must use the magic granted to you and chant an incantation with full acceptance. Once you do this, you will take on the life of an Elf which includes immortality and the life of an Elf. Choose wisely as the reversal of this decision can have many negative effects such as amnesia, illness, and/or death.

Noelle swallowed carefully at that, she leaned back in her seat as she processed the words she read. She couldn't see her life any other way and with her father as Santa, she couldn't deny the joys that came with living in the North Pole prepping for Christmas every year. She turned the page and looked at the words of the incantation, she didn't know the language but assumed that it'd be natural to speak. Her words were slow and expressive, her body felt light as she stood up and noticed a light forming over her.

Noelle had closed her eyes from the sudden light and when she opened her eyes, she looked down to see she was now wearing a dress with white stockings matched with some boots similar to Santa's. Her ears came to a point, her cheeks sparkled with glitter, and she felt lighter on her feet, she smiled and looked in the mirror to see her outfit in one piece. The door to her office opened to reveal Bernard, he stopped in the doorway when Noelle turned to him with a smile on her face. "You... already accepted it," Bernard breathed out, if she wasn't already beautiful before, she was breathtaking now.

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"Green... really is your colour," Bernard complimented as the door closed behind him, he took a few more steps into the room. "I have no doubts about my life here in the North Pole so of course I accepted it," Noelle told him as she walked closer to him, she bit her lip before reaching out to grab his hand. "Besides, by being here in the North Pole, I... get to be here with you," Noelle told him softly. "With me?" Bernard asked her softly, his cheeks flushed pink before he cleared his throat. "Well, uh, I'm glad because, uh, I would hate for you to have to leave and--" Bernard's words were cut short.

Noelle leaned up and kissed Bernard, she froze in place immediately feeling like she should have asked first but when Bernard's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him, she guessed he didn't mind so much. Bernard's free hand cupped Noelle's cheek as he deepened the kiss, his heart was racing within his chest and the feeling of a herd of reindeer stampeding through his stomach was something he didn't dislike. Noelle melted into Bernard's embrace, her left hand rested on his chest while her right hand rested on the back of his neck.

They pulled away for some air, Noelle rested her forehead against his with her eyes closed. "You kissed me," Bernard stated as he opened his eyes to admire the woman in his arms. "You kissed me back," Noelle pointed out with a smile. "It'd be rude not to," Bernard replied to her with a chuckle. "Oh, so you only kissed me back out of--" Bernard cut her off with another kiss, he had never kissed someone before but if it felt fireworks each time, then he'd never stop kissing Noelle. "I think it's obvious how I feel about you," Bernard whispered after he pulled away.

"And I you," Noelle whispered back as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, Bernard's arms moving around her waist for a hug. Bernard stayed in the office with Noelle, the two sitting on the couch with her laying against him as she continued reading through the book to understand the importance of her job. Noelle immediately decided that Bernard would be the one she trusted to be in charge alongside her considering he had already been doing that job. She just hoped that with her added help, Bernard wouldn't be so stressed out during the preparations for Christmas.

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The next few weeks were used to prepare for Christmas, Bernard and Judy worked with Scott to prep him for the role of Santa while Charlie worked with Quintin and his team to make improvements. In the process of this time, Bernard was helping Noelle train and learn the ropes around the Workshop along with stealing kisses when no one was watching or around, something that both of them would laugh about -- acting like a couple of lovestruck teenagers hiding away how they feel. But with the chaos of Christmas and the new roles, it seemed like a bad time to say anything about it.

At this current moment, Noelle was assisting her father with finishing up the Naughty and Nice list, checking it twice. "You're staring," Judy pointed out to Bernard who cleared his throat and turned away from Noelle to look at Judy. "I am not. I am ensuring that everyone is doing their job. It's my job to watch over everyone," Bernard replied to her with his hands on his hips. "No, you were watching Noelle with hearts in your eyes. I didn't know you had taken a liking for her," Judy teased with a grin on her face.

"Shouldn't you be working rather than misinterpreting my actions?" Bernard asked Judy who raised a brow at his words. "Well, I guess it's a good thing. I heard that there was someone else who had taken a liking to Noelle. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that she is available," Judy informed him causing Bernard's jaw to clench. "And who might that be?" Bernard asked in a tense voice that made Judy smirk. "Why do you care? You aren't interested, right?" Judy asked him hoping to bait him into telling the truth.

"I need to ensure that there are no distractions from Christmas, Judy," Bernard replied to her before noticing the teasing grin on her face. "Jealousy is not something I ever expected to see on you, but hey, I'm glad that someone has caught your attention. I was worried you'd be forever alone married to the job," Judy told him with a wink before she walked away leaving Bernard on his own. Bernard's eyes trailed back over to Noelle, he smiled as she laughed at something that was said before he turned to continue his work hoping to pass the time so he could spend time with Noelle.

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Later that night, Noelle had made her way through the Workshop towards the kitchens where she grabbed herself a Hot Cocoa and some sugar cookies before making her way back to her room when she noticed the light in Bernard's office was on. Noelle smiled to herself before rushing to grab another Hot Cocoa with whipped cream, cinnamon and crushed peppermint along with some gingerbread cookies. She made her way back to Bernard's office and tapped lightly on the door with her foot, the door opened to reveal a sleepy Bernard who was clearly overworking.

"I couldn't help but notice the light was on and assumed that you would be here working yourself to exhaustion so I brought Hot Cocoa and cookies to help," Noelle told him sweetly before using her magic to float the items into the room, placing them down on Bernard's desk as she walked in. "I appreciate it, Sweets, but you should be sleeping right now," Bernard told her as he closed the door and walked over to the desk, he sat back down and picked up the paper he had been reading. "I couldn't sleep and now that I know you're awake, I thought you'd like the company," Noelle replied to him.

She leaned against the desk with a sugar cookie, "Unless you'd rather be left alone. I'd hate to be a bother." Bernard looked up at her, "You'd never be a bother to me, Sweets. Your company is always welcome." Noelle blushed at his words as she finished off her sugar cookie before sipping her Hot Cocoa, she looked around Bernard's office and smiled at the sight of the small trinkets around the room. Her eyes landed on the bed cot within the room, she knew it was for the days that he had worked so much he couldn't find the energy to walk back to his home to sleep.

Noelle turned to look at a painting on the wall when Bernard smirked, he reached for Noelle's waist and pulled her to sit on his lap. "Bernard," Noelle happily shrieked before turning her head to look at him. "I just thought you'd be more comfortable sitting down," Bernard told her before reaching for the paperwork on the desk. Noelle smiled softly as she reached for the plate of cookies and moved them closer so they could eat the cookies while Bernard worked, Noelle helping with some pointers here and there. The stress of work wasn't present for Bernard with Noelle in his arms helping him, he leaned over to kiss her cheek before focusing back on his work.

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Rosemary Speaks

Bernard and Noelle are so adorable!
And Noelle's officially an immortal Elf!?

See you in the next chapter!