Fraud at Snowfields Read online

  She laid a hand on Will’s shoulder, steered him to the couch, and made him sit down. His father sat down next to Will’s mother on the other side of the corner sofa, taking her hand and sharing a smile with her. Then he looked at Will and smiled at him proudly. Will felt totally confused, wondering what this curiously-clad man could want from him. Mr Chevalier took a seat right in front of Will and looked at him gravely.

  ‘Now, Will, I know you must be quite confused by all this, and very curious about why on earth I came to visit you on Boxing Day. Trouble is, every time I have to do this, I’m not quite sure where to start.’ He winked at Will, confusing him all the more.

  ‘Well, I know you have just finished the current term at your school, right?’

  Will just nodded, feeling mystified.

  ‘Now, I have come today to tell you about a different school. One that would be happy to have you as a student in March, when the next school year begins there. When I say school, it is not just a school but more of a college or even a job-training facility. This school chooses twenty young people each year who are allowed to enrol. And... Hrumpf.’ He cleared his throat and announced, ‘We are happy to inform you that you are one of those students who can start there in March next year.’

  He beamed at Will, who felt he should respond somehow. ‘Oh, that’s good, but... Er, I’m afraid I have no idea what school you’re talking about.’

  Mr Chevalier’s grin faded a little, and he smacked his forehead. ‘Of course. My fault, my fault. Sorry. You obviously wouldn’t know about it, would you, because it is kept secret. A big secret, in fact. The school I’m talking about is Snowfields. It is the training centre for the direct helpers of Father Christmas. It is the foremost place to learn all about Christmas, the production and delivery of the presents, and where you get the high qualifications needed for this tricky business.’ He was positively beaming again. He stood.

  ‘Today I have the great honour to inform you that you qualify for this school, and that you have been chosen to undergo all the necessary training that will allow you to belong to the top of the business one day!’ With this he reached into his waistcoat and pulled out a scroll bound with a gold ribbon and sealed with a blotch of red wax and presented it to Will.

  Will was stunned. He stared at the scroll, then at the man holding it in front of him, who was grinning so hard his face was in danger of splitting right in half. Will looked at the scroll again. He heard Lucy shouting, ‘What?’ but he ignored her. He glanced at his mother. Her face shone with pride. He turned to his father. There was a happy smile on his face too. Will looked back at the stranger who was still holding the scroll in front of him. He slowly shook his head and a grin finally spread on his face, too.

  ‘Very, very good! It was a great idea and it was well presented. Brilliantly. For a moment you really had me there. But in the end it was just a bit too grand to believe. A bit over the top. Nevertheless it was great fun—playing a joke like this on me. Whose idea was it? Yours, Dad? And this gentleman who helped you so excellently, is he a colleague...from work? I...believe I...’

  While he was talking, he looked at his parents. But then he stuttered to a halt, because their smiles were slowly fading, and they shook their heads. Something was wrong here. Even Lucy was silent. Now, of course all this could not be true—that much was obvious to him. But why had they not all joined in, laughing with him now that the fun was played out? He had a feeling he was missing something. Will looked at the stranger again: his grin had faded quite a bit, too, and he was also shaking his head vigorously.

  The man looked up to the ceiling and moaned. ‘Why? Why don’t they ever believe me? It must be these modern times. The young have become so distrusting. Too much rational thinking, too little imagination in their heads. Ah, well, it’s not the first time.’ He sighed. ‘Will, listen. I really am what I’ve told you I am—an emissary of Snowfields. I really have been sent to invite you to our school. And this scroll I’ve got for you is genuine, and no joke at all.’

  Will felt uncertain. He turned to his parents, who were nodding at him encouragingly. He said to the stranger, not quite so sure of himself now, ‘Well, this joke has gone far enough. There’s no need to push it any further.’ But there was more than a little doubt in his voice.

  His father cleared his throat. ‘I think it would be best if we show him your...your means of transportation, Mr Chevalier.’

  The stranger’s face lit up again. ‘Yes! You’re right. My fault, my fault. That should help him believe me. It always does the trick. Let’s go!’

  He seized Will’s hand and pulled him along. His parents followed. Before Will knew what had happened, he was through the door, and the stranger was dragging him onto the snow-covered terrace.

  Will was dumbstruck. He absolutely could not believe what his eyes were telling him was in front of him. There was a real sleigh standing on the lawn at the back of their house! A sleigh! Not a small sledge for children, like the one he had that was standing inside the garage, the ones you rode down the snowy hills on just for fun. This was an actual sleigh—the kind you sometimes saw in films, drawn by horses. And this one was large, made out of brown wood that was so smooth and highly polished it gleamed and shone in the sunlight. There were red ribbons and bows tied here and there to the railing all around it. And—he rubbed his eyes and pinched himself really hard in case he was still fast asleep and dreaming wildly, but they were still there—four great and proud reindeer stood in front of the sleigh. They were large animals with glossy coats in different hues of brown. All of them had impressive antlers and bright-red tack with tiny, golden bells. Then there was a squeal and Lucy bounded past the others towards the reindeer.

  ‘Oh! Aren’t they cute? Look at them!’ She ran straight up to the nearest one and started stroking its nose.

  Conrad stood beside Will, once again a broad grin on his face, and he laid a hand on Will’s shoulder. ‘Quite impressive, isn’t it? Of course,’ he added in an offhand way, ‘it’s not our newest model, the Executive High Motion, but the Wood Voyager Supreme, which is standard for delivery service. But I am quite fond of it because it’s tough and never lets you down when you need it. You know, the newer ones always give you a bit of trouble when you get into atmospheric turbulences.’

  Will wanted to answer, but he had to go looking for his voice first. He found it hiding in a dark place in the corner of his throat, brought it up, and got hold of it again.

  ‘I... I can’t believe it,’ he said. His brain ran the last sentence past him again and marked a word in red. ‘Er, turbulences? Does it fly? Really fly?’

  ‘Oh yes, of course it does.’ Conrad laughed. ‘And the feeling is really indescribable. It’s breathtaking when you are flying over a snow-covered city that is bathed in the warm glow of all the Christmas lights. Or when you are flying over a white beach in a tropical region, where palms are growing and the blue water is so clear you can see the rainbow-coloured fish trailing lazily through the water.’ His eyes sparkled, and his face mirrored the joy of flying.

  Conrad went over to the reindeer and patted the nearest one lightly on its head. It responded by rubbing its nose on his arm. Will gave them a closer look. They were proud animals. They were standing there quite calmly, their heads held high in the air, and only once in a while one of them would toss its head and paw the snow restlessly. Even all the fuss Lucy was making did not disturb them.

  ‘Come on over and have a closer look,’ called Conrad.

  Will carefully walked over to the sleigh, almost afraid it might disappear when he reached it. He gazed at it. The wood was velvet-smooth and so highly polished he could almost see his face in it. The skids were of shining silver, nearly fiery where the sunlight hit them. He stretched out his hand carefully and touched the wood. It was real. A feeling of deep wonder overcame him.

  Conrad’s voice right next to him made him jump: ‘I know exactly what you’d like. Let’s take a short trip round the chimneys, okay?’r />
  Will could only answer with a weak nod, not trusting himself to speak.

  ‘What about you, young lady?’ Conrad asked Lucy. ‘Would you like to join us?’ He smiled at her invitingly.

  But Lucy shied away, looking rather afraid. ‘Oh, no. No, thank you. I’d rather watch for now. Thank you very much.’ Prudently she stepped away from the sleigh.

  Conrad nodded understandingly. ‘Okay.’ He turned back to Will and helped him onto the sleigh, climbed up in front of him onto the driver’s seat, and took the reins. He gave them a light shake, and the sleigh started moving with a slight jolt. They had only gone a few feet when Will felt they were lifting off the ground. In the next moment, they were completely in the air, and went right over the top of the nearest bush. They rose higher and higher. Now they were level with the balcony, then they were going round the chimney of the house. They were still rising, and Will gripped the rail so tightly his knuckles turned white.

  Conrad turned round. ‘All right there, Will?’

  Will just gave a slight nod. He was busy looking down at the rooftops that were passing by underneath. A slow grin crept onto his face and grew wider and wider, threatening to split it in two. His grip on the railing lessened to just a good hold-on.

  Conrad looked back at him. ‘Ah, I see. Now you know what flying is like. Brill’nt, isn’t it!’

  Will forced his gaze away from the wonderful sights below long enough to grin at Conrad. ‘Yeah, it’s fantastic. I’ve never felt anything like this in my life.’ He looked down again and saw that they were passing over a couple taking a stroll through the snow. ‘But won’t people see us up here? What will they think?’ He gave Conrad a concerned look.

  ‘No, no.’ Conrad laughed. ‘There’s no chance anyone will see us if I don’t want them to. Nobody except you and your parents are able to see the sleigh, because I spelled it.’

  ‘How—’ started Will.

  But Conrad interrupted him. ‘I can’t explain to you how we do it just now. But this is one of the things you will be learning at Snowfields. It’s taught in Basics of Magic there.’

  ‘Magic!’ Will gasped. ‘You... How... Magic really exists?’

  ‘Of course it does!’ Conrad snorted. ‘How do you think Christmas would work without magic? There just would be no Christmas without magic! All the deliveries on time, the fulfilment of the individual wishes, all of that wouldn’t be possible. Look, you’ve even got the popular saying “The Magic of Christmas”. That wasn’t just made up out of nothing.’

  Every time Will got a grip on himself again, it felt as if the rug were pulled out from under him, and he was left feeling dumbstruck once more. He still could not believe all this was happening. Then he concentrated on his surroundings again and realised the sleigh was slowly losing elevation. A moment later they had landed on the lawn at the back of the house again, without even the slightest bump when they touched the ground. Conrad got up from the driver’s seat and then helped Will out. When he got down from the sleigh and tried to put his weight on his legs, he was glad of Conrad’s hand, because the flight had somehow turned his knees into jelly.

  ‘Don’t worry. This happens to almost everybody when they fly with a sleigh for the first time,’ Conrad told him, giving him a slap on the back, which very nearly sent Will facedown into the snow. They walked up to his parents, whose eyes were filled with wonder at having just witnessed the miraculous flying sleigh. His father laid a hand on Will’s shoulder, and they all went inside into the living room again.

  When they had sat down, Conrad gave Will a serious look and said, ‘So, Will, after this small demonstration, I hope you believe me and the things I’ve told you. I really was sent from Snowfields to present you with the invitation to our school. I’d suggest you read this first, and then I’ll tell you more about it.’

  He offered Will the scroll again, and this time Will took it.

  ‘In the meantime… Would it be possible to get a cup of tea?’

  Will’s mother jumped up: ‘Oh, I am so sorry, Mr Chevalier. I should have offered you one right away, but I’m afraid all these unusual events this morning and all the quite unbelievable things you’ve told us quite distracted me. I’ll bring you one right away.’ She hurried into the kitchen.

  Will untied the gold ribbon that bound the scroll and looked at the seal. It was of red wax, and imprinted in it was the image of a Christmas parcel with a garland of holly around it. He remembered he had seen the same image on the sleigh.

  ‘That’s the official logo of our organisation,’ said Conrad when he saw Will looking at the image. Will broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. It was made of heavy parchment, and the writing was in black ink—very clear and handsome.

  Snowfields

  Official Training School of the Christmas Service

  Part of the White Christmas Organisation (WCO)

  Dear Mr Burns,

  It is my honour to inform you that you have been accepted as a student at Snowfields Training School.

  Together with this scroll, you will receive all necessary forms and information, including a list of the things you will need to bring with you, as the school will not provide them. Our emissary will be pleased to help you if you have any questions. Please feel free to write to me if there are any problems or if there is anything you do not understand. Means to reach me will also be explained by the emissary.

  Also enclosed you will find a form we need to enrol you as a student. Please complete it with your personal details and send it back as soon as possible. Your first term will begin on the first of March. Instructions on how to reach the school are enclosed and will also be explained by our emissary.

  I must request that you will not mention anything about the school, Snowfields, the Christmas Service, the White Christmas Organisation (WCO), or anything else about the related aspects to anyone except your parents, brothers, and sisters (not even other relatives!) unless you know they are members of the mentioned institutions. You can recognise a member by a badge showing the logo of the White Christmas Organisation, which is also printed on this scroll and all the other documents which are enclosed. This logo is only visible to members of the organisation.

  I am looking forward to welcoming you personally at our school.

  Merry Christmas.

  Star Dustfall

  Snowfields

  Will read the letter twice before he let it sink onto his knees, and he looked up. In the meantime his parents had laid the table and were sipping tea together with Mr Chevalier. Will handed them the scroll wordlessly and started looking through the other papers that had fallen out when he had opened it. There was the form and the list of things he was required to have, the instructions on how to reach the school, a list of the subjects of the first term, and a paper with the heading ‘Main Facts about Snowfields, Top School of the Christmas Service’.

  He peered closely at the paper where the subjects were listed. He would never have dreamed that subjects like this even existed. There were, for example, Basics of Magic, and Handling of Letters to Father Christmas, but also some quite ordinary subjects like Logistics, Warehousing, and Material Procurement. There also was a short definition next to each subject.

  ‘Basics of Magic,’ he read, ‘provides the knowledge of all the necessary magic that is needed for the day-to-day work and the delivery of presents. You will be trained in special abilities, mainly for coping with problems and to guarantee uninterrupted business. This subject will be taught by Miss Star Dustfall.

  ‘Handling of Letters to Father Christmas: This subject may sound a bit odd and not very important, but it is in fact one of the most vital departments of our organisation. You will be taught how the letters have to be interpreted, how the wishes have to be judged, and, most important, how it is possible to make nearly everybody happy on Christmas Eve, even if the wish expressed in the letter is impossible to fulfil. The teacher for this subject will be Mr Quill Parchmentinus.

  ‘Logistics: One of
the major problems our organisation has to cope with during the whole year is logistics. Material has to be provided for the production of presents, unfinished products have to be transported between different departments, the finished products have to be stored until they are needed (this will be taught in a special subject), etc. This subject will be taught by Mr Getius Thingsmoving.

  ‘Warehousing: This subject deals with the storage of all goods used in production, and especially of the finished products. The training will involve learning about the management of the space, the different methods of storage, optimal indexing of the goods, providing optimal access to the goods, etc. This subject will be taught by Mrs. Storia Itaway.

  ‘Material Procurement: The materials used in production have to be obtained, they have to be stored until they are needed, the necessary amounts have to be judged, contracts have to be negotiated, etc. All the necessary qualifications for these tasks will be gained in this subject. It will be taught by Mr Argius Contractus.’

  Will was fascinated. All this sounded really interesting, just amazing. He looked up and saw that Conrad was watching him, and when their eyes met, Conrad smiled and gave him a wink.

  Will asked, ‘So, you really want me to join this school? Me? To learn all this? And you said Father Christmas really does exist?’

  ‘Yes, indeed. All this is true, and you were chosen to join this school from a lot of other young people. You’ve got all the necessary qualifications. And, I can tell you, you’ll really like it there—I myself was a student at Stardust College and, though it was good, I would have given nearly anything for the opportunity to go to Snowfields. It really is the best place the Organisation’s got. All doors are open for the graduates of Snowfields, many of whom are working at the top levels of the organisation. You’ve got a bright future lying in front of you, Will!’