‘These are just two threads of the tapestry, but I believe I know how to weave them in,’ Lacey said, looking directly at Danji. ‘You know, an avalanche starts small. Maybe just one tiny floating snowflake landing in exactly the wrong spot. To understand the avalanche, we must then understand where the snowflake fell.

  ‘Danji, on that Starday afternoon, you and Jinxy had an argument. Pursuant to the Rite of Truth, I ask only what needs to be asked. You don’t have to tell us how the argument started, or what it was about. But, can you please tell us as much as you’re able to remember about what was said during your argument?’

  There was complete silence in the hall. Danji’s eyes were blinking fast behind her glasses. Mathilda reached out, taking her hand reassuringly, lending Danji her strength. She took a deep breath, but instead of facing Lacey, she looked out over the collection of elves in the common room.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Danji said. ‘But I can’t answer that.’

  Shocked whispers rolled through the room, at which Mathilda raised a hand to quiet them. ‘Let her finish,’ she said.

  Danji met her eyes gratefully, tightening her hold on her hand.

  ‘It’s not that I don’t want to answer,’ she continued. ‘It’s just that I can’t. That afternoon I had been sipping glühwein all day long. I kinda remember that Jinxy and I fought, but …’ Her eyes finally flicked over to Lacey. ‘I don’t recall what I said.’

  Lacey nodded. ‘Thank you, Danji. That’s very brave of you to admit here. I was hoping you would know, but that’s all right. Because, there’s someone else here that does remember. Isn’t that right, Bethy?’

  Bethy stiffened, her gaze instinctively flitting to the door.

  Danji gasped. ‘Bethy? Were you there?’

  There was something behind Danji’s surprise Lacey couldn’t quite decipher. Anger? Shame? she wondered. It can’t be easy realising a friend has seen your worst behaviour.

  ‘Yes,’ Bethy admitted, her voice catching as she nervously dug her fingers into the folds of her winter skirt. Clearing her throat, she repeated her answer, ‘Yes, I was there. But you wouldn’t have known, because I was behind the holly bushes on the outskirts past which the two of you were fighting in the snowfield.’

  Behind her glasses, Danji’s eyes widened. ‘Why were you there? Were you spying on us?’

  ‘Oh no, I would never spy on you. Only, I guess I did. But not in the way you think. I only wanted to help.’

  ‘Of course you did,’ Lacey encouraged her. ‘Why don’t you tell us what happened from your perspective?’

  ‘Well, that afternoon, in the workshop, I saw Danji heading out. I’m sorry Danji, but at that point we all knew you were drinking again, and I guessed that you were going to fetch more glühwein. Jinxy got up to follow you, since she was planning to confront you about it. I became worried, because I didn’t know what would happen between the two of you. I wanted to be close so I could help, if needed. That’s why I followed Jinxy out and to your cottage.’

  Lacey nodded. ‘And, staying close enough to help, what did you hear Danji and Jinxy say to each other? I know that you only want to protect your friends, but please speak true as the Rite of Truth demands.’

  Bethy dropped the folds of her skirt, intertwining her fingers instead so that she ended up clutching her own hands. ‘It wasn’t very nice. I don’t remember the exact words and a lot was said, but it ended on you, Danji, telling Jinxy that she only cares about friends when it suits her, and then Jinxy called you a drunken shoddy stitcher.’

  There was a collective gasp at the insult. Danji flinched, as if someone had stabbed her in the heart. Mathilda leaned over to stroke her back.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  ‘Well I never,’ one of the ladies said.

  ‘A shoddy stitcher? Oh, that’s too bad,’ Golly said, horrified.

  ‘What’s drunken?’ Elyi asked. His mom belatedly clapped her hands over his ears.

  ‘But they didn’t really mean it,’ Bethy hastily added for the audience. ‘Jinxy and Danji are both great friends and elves – it was just the heat of the moment.’

  ‘And you know this, because you saw Jinxy after the fight,’ Lacey said.

  Bethy sighed in confirmation. ‘At first I ran to Danji when Jinxy stormed away, because she was swaying. I was just in time to catch her as she blacked out, and after that there really wasn’t much I could do for her. I’m not strong enough to carry her home, and she was dressed warmly in her winter wear. I managed to drag her into a sheltered eddy, and left her there to sleep it off.'

  She paused, looking with pleading eyes at Mathilda who nodded, as if confirming that what she had done was enough for Danji. Bethy’s frame relaxed ever so slightly.

  It didn’t last long however, as Danji spoke, her eyes wide and a blush creeping up her neck.

  ‘You saw?’ she said, her lip quivering. ‘Oh, I’m so embarrassed. Everything I thought I was hiding, someone knew.’

  ‘No, no,’ Bethy quickly interrupted. ‘I’m glad I was there for you. What if you had blacked out alone? I’d never want you to be hurt and alone.’

  ‘I thought about getting help,’ she continued, addressing the rest of the elves again. ‘But Danji was okay for the moment, so I ran after Jinxy instead.’

  ‘Who ended up boarding the Polar Express,’ Lacey said.

  ‘Yes,’ Bethy confirmed. ‘Yes, she did.’

  ??

  For a moment, the room was deadly silent, and then an uproar erupted.

  ‘But you said she wasn’t planning to leave!’ Melo yelled. ‘There were one, two, three, four reasons for her to stay!’

  ‘She got on the train?’ Cynthie cried, astounded. ‘But she knew we were getting ready for the master-toymaker challenge!’

  Peter didn’t say anything, but there was a calculating look on his face that told Lacey he was carefully following along, putting the pieces together. He looked away before she could meet his eyes, though. She pressed her lips together, and allowed the chaos in the room to play out for another moment. Then she raised her hands to continue speaking.

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Jinxy had many reasons to stay, except that one single snowflake landed in exactly the wrong spot. And, to fully understand it, we need to explain what pushed her into getting on the train, and everything that happened after. Let’s start with what happened after, since that’s the piece that I slotted into place first.’

  This time it was Bethy that looked like she was going to cry. Beside her, Elf had become unnaturally still, almost like a statue shaped out of stone.

  ‘Bethy,’ Lacey continued, ‘I believe I’ve figured out your part in what happened after, but you’re going to have to help me with the fragment of Jinxy’s coat.’

  Her eyes watery, and her voice catching slightly before steadying again, Bethy said, ‘She wasn’t going to get on the train at first. When I got to her, she wouldn’t even speak about Danji. All she wanted was the package she was waiting for that was supposed to be on the train. But then the train arrived and the package wasn’t there…’

  Bethy’s knee bounced up and down, as she struggled to force out the rest of the sentence. Lacey finished it for her.

  ‘She decided that she must go fetch it herself.’

  ‘She did,’ Bethy said. ‘And I don’t even know what was in it. I tried to argue with her. I told her we have toys to make for the children on Earth. I told her she and Cynthie were about to do the master-toymaker challenge. I told her she was supposed to meet up with Melo. Nothing worked. If anything, she became more determined.’ She stopped to shake her head. ‘I couldn’t stop her. What was so important that suddenly she didn’t care about any of those things?’

  ‘The one little snowflake,’ Lacey said. ‘That was what had been so important. Against that there was nothing you could do to stop her, no matter how hard you tried. Finally, when she stepped onto the train, you grabbed hold of her coat.’

  She didn’t have to say anything more. Tears began to roll down Bethy’s face, confirming everything Lacey said.

  From the corner of her eye, Lacey saw Peter leaning forward, paying rapt attention. She hoped he approved of the job she was doing with the unveiling. Bethy spoke again, pulling Lacey back into the moment.

  ‘I’m lucky Mr Nezer wasn’t there to see, or he would’ve yelled at me too,’ Bethy said, her voice thick with the tears that were finally falling. ‘I tried to pull her back, but she was clinging to the grab handle and then the train began puffing forward. I didn’t mean to tear her coat, but the movement caught me off guard. If I had known it was about to leave, I would’ve let go. That piece you found, is the piece that tore off in my hand.’

  Something in Lacey’s chest loosened, as Bethy confirmed what she had suspected. However, it wasn’t done yet.

  ‘And that’s how the mystery of Jinxy’s disappearance began,’ Lacey said. ‘But, it’s not all yet.’ Her gaze glided from Bethy to land on the next sorry actor in the unfortunate tale. ‘Under the Rite of Truth, Elf, please tell us what happened next.’

  ??????