Run little elf run, p.1
Run, Little Elf, Run, page 1
Run, Little Elf, Run
Tia Fanning
Fanning, Mason & McKee
Copyright
Run, Little Elf, Run
Copyright © 2023 by Tia Fanning. All Rights Reserved.
Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Author: Tia Fanning
Visit my website at www.authortiafanning.com
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: December 2023
Fanning, Mason & McKee, LLC
Content Editor: Dani Carr
Book Description
As the sun sets on the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas, one little Elf finds herself lost in a dark forest, being hunted by demons. If she can survive until sunrise, she will be free of their evil designs and can return to her life as before. But if she is captured before the rays of light breach the dawning sky, then she belongs to them and must endure whatever wicked passions they wish to inflict upon her.
Story Elements
—WARNING—
THIS IS A DARK MONSTER ROMANCE.
The DEMONS are beastly. The scenes are BRUTAL and BLOODY.
THIS DARK MONSTER ROMANCE IS A FIVE OUT OF FIVE ON THE BLACK HEART DARKNESS SCALE. FORBIDDEN AND TABOO ELEMENTS ARE FEATURED IN THIS BOOK.
Trauma Trigger Warning: There Are Graphic References and Descriptions of Extreme Violence, Sexual Assault, and Physical Abuse in this story. Reader Discretion is Advised.
READERS: Please be advised that this dark love story contains explicit descriptions of intimacy, violent themes, and adult narratives that are only suitable for mature readers. Furthermore, this Erotic Horror Romance features discipline themes and fetish elements as found in BDSM and other kink lifestyles featuring power exchanges. These story elements may include but are not limited to…
Non-Consent
Dubious Consent
Forced Seduction
Corporal Punishment
Edge Play
Blood Play
Primal Play
Bondage
Degradation
Multiple Partner Intimacy
Romance tropes found in this work of Adult Romantic Fiction include…
Monster Sex
Age Gap
Villain Love
Captive Heroine
Stalking
Abduction
Forced Proximity
Power Dynamics
Polyamory
Please note that the explicit descriptions of sexual intimacy as written in this story is only suitable for mature readers. By continuing from this point, you are acknowledging the following:
•You have read the BOOK ELEMENTS page.
•You have read the BOOK DESCRIPTION page.
•You are excited to enjoy this erotic adult romance with the full knowledge and understanding of what you may encounter within these pages.
•You are considered a legal adult in your country of residence.
Enjoy
Dedication
For those of us who love the beauty in the darkness… and for the little girls we used to be, who would have said yes to the villain because of that pretty dress.
Chapter One
“Fucking snow,” I muttered. “Can’t see shit.”
I heaved my frustration and squinted through the windshield. I swear my headlights were making the visibility worse.
It was dark. It was cold. And I was exhausted. Having just finished the Sunday shift at the mall, I was in no mood to deal with the freaky whiteout that had descended on me.
I was traveling down a road I knew well, but no longer recognized— and at a speed slower than molasses in winter. Did I miss my turn? Nothing felt familiar.
Ugh. All I wanted to do was get out of this ridiculous elf costume and soak in a warm bathtub. Instead, I was trapped on a deserted highway in the middle of a snow squall.
Honestly, I wasn’t making enough money for this hardship. I didn’t even like kids that much. I should have never taken the “Santa’s Little Helper” gig at the mall. It’s not like capturing photos of bratty kids on Santa’s knee was really helping me build my portfolio or pay down my student loans.
Suddenly, a kid in holiday pajamas ran out in front of me, waving frantically. I slammed on my brakes and slid right into him. He rolled onto my hood like the star of a bad action movie.
“Oh fuck!” I pushed my gear into P and jumped out of the car. “Fuck! Fuck! Oh my God!” I ran around the hood. “Are you okay?”
The poor kid groaned. “I’m okay,” he squeaked.
“Where are your fucking parents?” I yelled. We were in the middle of nowhere in a goddamn snowstorm. “Don’t move! What if you broke your neck?”
“I can’t do it,” he declared, reaching for me to help pull himself off the car.
As I steadied him on his feet, I struggled to understand what he was wearing. His red hat was long, and what I had thought was a white scarf was actually a long beard. He looked like a living garden gnome in Christmas wear.
“I’d rather live in shame than be sacrificed.” He clung to me. “You will have to go in my stead.”
“What do you mean?” I looked around. There was nothing but trees, snow, and the soft hum of my car. “Who’s going to sacrifice you?”
Seemingly uninjured, the weird guy dragged me over to the edge of the road. “Take this.”
“Take what?”
He grabbed both my wrists. “Hold your hands out—palms up.”
I complied. “What? Why?”
The strangest thing happened. A gold, translucent hammer hovered over one hand, and a paint brush hanging out a small jar of paint floated over the other.
“Wow,” I whispered in awe. The magical tools absorbed into my fingers.
The tingling sensation moved up my forearm and into my chest and dispersed. Not only did I no longer feel the cold, but the fatigue I had earlier was gone. Did he just dose me with magical cocaine or something? Or was I hallucinating all of this? Did I crash?
“I’m done with being a julenissen.”
“A yule-nisse?” I shook my head as he released my wrists. “I don’t even know what that is. What the hell is that?”
“Take my magic and go. Go for us—run, and keep the demons entertained until morning. That is all.” He pointed into the forest. “Hurry. You must go into the light. You’re already late.”
Something glowed in the darkness, deep within the forest. Go into the light?! “Am I dead?”
“No, not yet.” He pushed me along, and I fell forward into the snowbank. “Just run, and you might live.”
When I looked over my shoulder, I saw the Christmas gnome rush to my car and get in the driver seat. The tires slid in place for a moment before the vehicle took off.
I watched in stunned horror as the headlights disappeared. “Motherfucker,” I whispered. “He stole my fucking car.” And with it, my purse, my cellphone, and all my camera equipment.
With nothing but the mysterious glow and full moon to light the darkness, I climbed to my feet and cursed. Maybe it was a cabin? It didn’t seem to be too far away.
Muttering all the things I planned to do to that crazy, bearded asshole if I ever saw him again, I trudged my way into the dark wilderness.
There was a lone howl.
“Great.” This was the pervading mood of every horror movie I had ever seen. If some psycho serial killer didn’t get me, a pack of hungry wolves would.
At least I wasn’t cold.
“Probably just hyperthermia setting in,” I muttered to myself as I lumbered on.
A few minutes later, I stumbled into a small clearing, in which a giant evergreen stood. The glow seemed to be coming from the very top of it, like a ghostly Christmas star. So much for a cabin.
“Goddammit, I’m going to die out here, aren’t I,” I lamented. “I have the worst luck!”
When I approached the tree, something happened to me that I had only heard about in documentaries, but never thought I’d encounter, being that I was too poor to go skiing at those fancy resorts.
My footing gave out and I tumbled forth, falling head-first into a spruce trap.
The world went black, and I knew I had maybe a minute or so before I suffocated in the tree well. I couldn’t believe this would be how I died— upside down, drowning in snow.
Chapter Two
Suddenly, someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me down deeper. To my surprise, I was extracted from the spruce trap. It was some real Alice and Wonderland shit.
My rescuer released my hand, and I landed on my ass.
I coughed and sputtered and did my best to dust the slush off my face with wet gloves. I found myself in a snowy field right outside a vast forest of evergreens and white birch. The scene was breathtaking, making me wish I had
my camera. The full moon shone opposite a lavender sunset, with both celestial orbs seemingly much larger than they should be. Everything appeared richer, brighter, and simply bigger.
I was apparently dead. Or hallucinating from a lack of oxygen. This was not the Earth that I knew. It was too pretty, too clean, and not cold enough. It was too phantastic.
An older man with a long staff and vintage robes loomed over me.
I had to blink hard to understand what my eyes were taking in. If Gandalph the Grey and Old Father Christmas had a baby, this would be that child all grown up.
“Strange,” he said to me. “You look like a human female, but your clothes and magic indicate you are an elf. A very tall elf.”
I climbed to my feet. “Where am I?”
“You have been chosen by your people for this task, yes?”
“If you mean I was chosen to have some small dude steal my car and leave me stranded in a snowstorm, then yes.”
“Oh. Oh no.” He frowned. “How are you a human imbued with elven magic?”
“The guy who stole my car supposedly gave me his magic to—” I swung out my arms and turned around, “deal with this, whatever this might be. He was too frightened to do it himself.”
“Are you saying that, before the elf fled, he bestowed to you his elven magic so that you, a human, might save the innocents of your realm and those in-between from powerful demons?”
“I guess. Funny that my car thief had mentioned demons too.”
I looked at the hooked staff and recognized it from confirmation class. The crozier combined with the robes, and the darker skin, and that subtle divine golden glow...
Was it December 5th? Was this the eve of…
“Are you…” I cleared my throat. “Are you St. Nicholas?”
“I’m more mage than saint and called by many names.”
“I don’t need to know all your names.” Shock had made me eerily calm. “I just need to know if this is my afterlife.”
The mage looked confused. “You’re not dead.”
A howl pierced the air.
“…yet,” I whispered, recalling the elf’s fateful words. “Lord, help me.”
The mage pointed his staff at the woods. “You must enter the forest to begin the hunt. You have magic to aid you in entertaining the beasts until sunrise.”
I held out my hands to check for the floating symbols of my supposed new power. A literal toy hammer suddenly appeared in one palm, and a physical paint jar and brush in the other.
“Whoa,” I exclaimed, dropping both items at my feet. “What the fuck?” These were not the floaty images from earlier. These were very real, very tangible objects.
“You must save your own people and those innocents in-between. The demons await. If you do not entertain the wicked creatures, they will leave their woodland domain to hunt in the other realms.”
I shrugged. “Lots of people hunt—”
“The beasts will torture and consume those humans they hunt without care.”
My brain buzzed to a stop. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Tonight, the Tree of Life opens from sunrise to sunset. Many will visit the mortal realm to answer the summons and gift those who are good. While that occurs, you must spend the night entertaining the demons, or they will travel to other realms, including yours, to hunt innocents instead.”
I sighed, coming to terms that I would definitely be dying tonight. “Let me guess. I’m now the sacrifice the elf was talking about not wanting to be when he thieved my shit and dipped out.”
I couldn’t believe that bearded motherfucker stole my car and sentenced me to death. If I ever saw him again, I would beat his ass all the way back to the North Pole.
The mage looked sad. “Many elves before you, through the millennia, have been captured and consumed.”
“Many?” I narrowed my gaze. “How many?”
St. Nick cleared his throat. “All of them.”
“And humans?” I asked, my voice a bit strained.
“We have never had a human—”
“To sacrifice?”
“You need not be a sacrifice,” he retorted. “If you just run, little elf, run and hide until morning, you might live.”
“Run and hide!” I suppressed my panic. Panic never helped anyone. “Isn’t that what the other elves did?”
“Yes,” he admitted, “but elves do not live like humans. Humans are raised in violence. You have learned how to survive an encounter with a monster, yes? Heard stories and such.”
“Really?” I leveled the mage a skeptical glare. “Those are just fairytales and horror movies.”
“You are armed as no other elf before you— with both knowledge and magic. You are powerful.”
“Where I come from,” I grumbled pointedly, “church tradition teaches that you chained the demons. Why aren’t you going in there and dealing with this yourself, mage?”
“I cannot risk capture, or the demons might break those chains which keep them trapped here with the other evils. It is only once a year that this door opens, and while any powerful enough might pass through it, the chains will pull these creatures back to this realm at dawn. However, the damage they can do in a few hours is devastating.”
I groaned at the ridiculousness of this surreal bullshit. “So what do the demons hunt and eat the other 364 days of the year?”
“Whatever they might conjure. Demons hold immense power. They also consume the other monsters in the forest when inclined.”
My eye twitched. The kind of twitching that occurred when one was about to lose their shit. I asked quietly, “Then why don’t the demons just conjure elves to eat instead?”
“Because it’s not about food. They simply wish to hunt a creature who possesses a soul for the sport of it. They like to play with their prey, and then eat it before the prey can escape back to the portal.”
Run, little elf, run…
When I heard another utterly terrifying bellow, I nearly peed myself. “So I am a distraction. By hunting me, the demons will not need to go elsewhere to hunt.”
“Correct,” the mage confirmed. “Just note that, in times past, when the demons caught the chosen too quickly, they would still find time to wreak havoc on the other realms until sunrise. So it is imperative that you stay alive as long as you can.”
“Why not send two elves? Or more? That way if one dies, you have a backup.”
He looked thoughtful. “That is a lot to ask from creatures that rarely reproduce. There is so few of them left. And they already serve humanity in so many other ways.”
I covered my face and pressed my fingertips into my eyes to hold back the tears of frustration. Fuck it. I didn’t have much of a reason to live anyway. A shitty apartment. A shitty car. No friends or pets. My asshole family wasn’t going to miss me. Raised in violence was an understatement concerning them. I ditched their toxic, abusive asses long ago, but still had the scars and the PTSD to show for it.
…why not go out of this existence a hero.
“What kind of magic do I have?” I now understood the word of the asshole elf. Julenissen. He was done with being a winter spirit. But without context, I didn’t understand what that meant. Was he a sprite? A gnome? A goblin? A pixie? “What exactly is a yule nisse?” I asked.
“For you and your culture, it’s a Christmas elf. They make and distribute simple toys to the young children in your realm.”
Greeeaaattt. I really did get shafted by the very creature I played at my shitty job.
I rubbed the tension building in my forehead. “So what powers do I have to defeat these demons?”
“You will not be able to defeat them. However, you will no longer suffer the cold. You will understand and speak in all languages. You will be able to make toys with your hands at a mere thought. You will never fall ill. You are essentially immortal… unless purposely killed by demons with stronger magic than you. Murder is your weakness.”
