The Sugar Plum Fairy

A Christmas Horror Story

It was Christmas Eve when Natalie was taken.

She was only six years old. Everything was new to her and everything made her giddy with excitement.

Her mother had taken her to the Nutcracker Ballet at their local performing arts center. She was worried that Natalie wouldn't be able to sit still through the three-hour production, that she would jump up and scream and twirl like she always did. But Natalie sat perfectly still with her pink uggs flat on the floor and her eyes glued to the stage. Her mother was glowing with pride.

They arrived back home around nine PM, well past Natalie's bedtime. They blasted Christmas music from the radio on the car ride home. Natalie bounced in her car seat, practically swimming in her fluffy tutu as she belted along to "Jingle Bell Rock."

"Do you think I could be a famous singer someday, Mommy?"' Natalie asked her mother. "Like when I grow up?"

"Sure, baby. You can be whatever you want to be". Her mother replied. focused on the icy stretch of road in front of her.

The string of pale yellow Christmas lights that hung from the roof of their cozy bungalow glowed like a beacon on the late December night. Natalie's mother helped Natalie remove her boots and set them neatly on the doormat.

"Now." Natialie's mother said, hanging up both of their jackets "I need you to change into your special Christmas Pajamas and get all cozy in your bed so Santa can come. Let me know if you need help buttoning the top."

"Okay!" Natalie kicked off her tutu. It was now torn ragged at the bottom and coated with dirt. Natalie's mother sighed. She had no idea how to go about washing something like that.

Natalie ran to her bedroom and rummaged through her drawers for her coveted Frosty the Snowman pajamas.

"Mommy?" She called. "Can you help me button up the shirt?"

Natalie's mother's joints ached as she made her way to Natalie's bedroom. She really needed to put more effort into teaching Natalie how to button her own buttons.

Natalie hummed happily as her mother slipped the last button through its wrung.

"Do you think I could be a ballerina like the ones in the show we just watched?" She asked.

"I thought you wanted to be a singer." Her mother said.

"I can be a ballerina-singer!" Natalie beamed, showing off the new gap in her front teeth

"Of course you can, baby." Her mother picked her up and gently set her in her bed. "It's time to go to sleep so Santa can come and leave presents for you."

"Wait!" Natalie had an adorable sense of urgency in her voice. "We forgot to leave out milk and cookies for Santa."

Natalie's mother stifled a groan. It seemed that this night would never end.

"Of course." Natalie's mother managed to smile. "How could I have forgotten? Let's pick out some cookies for Santa. Then I need you to go right to sleep, okay? You don't want to be awake when Santa comes. You'll scare him off."

"It will only take a minute." Natalie jumped down from her bed "Then I'll go right back to sleep. I promise."

Natalie's mother made herself a cup of tea as she watched Natalie dig through the festive cookie tin she had brought out for her. Natalie had grown so much over the past year. Her Cat and Jack leggings were beginning to creep up her ankles like a weed. Her toes were beginning to smash into the front of her shoes.

Natalie's mother couldn't help but feel guilty. She was raising Natalie as a single mother with no help from Natalie's father. Money was more than tight. She had to hunt in the thrift stores and clearance bins for months to even have gifts to give Natalie this year.

Natalie was still young enough for the garage sale clothes and the nearly bare covers to go unnoticed. She was a happy child. Ordinary things still filled her with wonder. She didn't care how cheap they were Yet guilt still often weighed on Natalie's mother like a plume of smoke. She often wondered how things could have been different if only Natalie's father hadn't left them.

Natalie carefully arranged her plate of cookies for Santa on the windowsill. She chose a wide variety of state Chips Ahoy, broken Oreos, and a sugar cookie of her own making. The plate

resembled a charcuterie board of cheap baked goods.

"I wanted to give Santa some choices," Natalie explained. "I thought it would be the nicest thing to do since I don't know what his favorite cookie is."

"Great thinking, Nat." Natalie's mom ran her fingers through Natile's hair. "I'm sure Santa will appreciate that a lot. Now it's time to get off to bed. If you're still awake when Santa comes you'll scare him off and he'll go right back up the chimney with all your presents You don't want that do you?"

Natalie shook her head "No, I don't want that. You're right. Mommy, I should go to sleep now."

Natalie looked up at her mother with concern as she tucked her in under her Frozen.

"Mommy?" She asked.

"What is it, baby?' Her mother replied

"Do you think the fairy is sad? All alone in the cold and the snow?"

"What fairy, Darling?"

"The one in the car window on the way home. She looked kind of sad. I felt bad for her."

Natalie's mother forced a smile. She was glad Natale had such a healthy imagination, but she never exactly knew how to respond when she asked questions like this.

"I'm sure the fairy is fine." Natalie's mother said "Fairies are magical after all aren't they? The magic keeps them from getting too cold."

Natalie grew quiet for a long moment.

"I guess so." She said.

"Merry Christmas, sweet girl." Natalie's mother planted a kiss on her forehead before shutting the lights off and closing the door.

Natalie was so excited she felt as if her insides were going to explode. She could barely even contain herself enough to stay tucked in her bed. She wanted to twirl, She wanted to dance.

Santa was coming tonight, and Natalie knew the gift she wanted the most would be wrapped up and waiting patiently under the tree come morning light.

She knew Santa would bring it. This was the only gift on her Christmas list after all.

Time ticked by excruciatingly slowly. Natalie had made more than a dozen attempts at falling asleep. It seemed the sun would never rise again.

Natalie threw her comforter to the ground in frustration and slumped down onto her bedroom floor to play with her Barbies.

Natalie was dressing her Barbies in the best Christmas clothes she could find when she noticed the blue spark flitting past her window.

Something like a snowflake landed on her arm. The room went cold. She felt a presence in her room, a pair of eyes glued to the back of her head as sharp as the edge of a blade.

"Hello?" Natalie called out softly. "Is someone there?"

"Hello there." A distant voice replied.

There was something odd about the voice that Natalie couldn't quite put her finger on. She couldn't identify it as male or female. It didn't even seem particularly human-like. It made the hairs on Natalie's arms stand on end.

"Who are you?" Natalie asked, mustering up all her bravery

"A fairy." The voice sounded like it was smiling "A Christmas Eve fairy."

Despite herself, Natalie beamed. She was finally getting to meet a real fairy."Are you a Sugar Plum Fairy? Like the one I saw dance in the Ballet yesterday"

The strange fairy hesitated for a second "Yes, my dear, that's exactly what I am."

"Why can't I see you?" Natalie asked, "Are you as pretty as the ballerina who danced in the show?"

"I only appear to those who have the true Christmas Spirit." The Sugar Plum Fairy replied, "Do you have true Christmas spirit, dear Natalie?"

Natalie nodded frantically. She was so giddy she didn't even stop to wonder how the Sugar Plum Fairy knew her name.

"Close your eyes." The Sugar Plum Fairy said. "And don't open them until I tell you to."

Natalie enthusiastically obeyed, squeezing her eyes shut so tight she saw white sparks underneath her eyelids.

A tiny, cold pair of moth-like wings fluttered against her cheek.

"Tell me, Natalie," It whispered in her ear, voice as sharp as a blade. "Do you believe in the Christmas Spirit, really and truly?"

Natalie nodded again, blonde curls bouncing wildly. She was really struggling to keep her eyes shut, but she didn't want to do anything that might scare the Sugar Plum Fairy away.

"I do." She cried out. "I do have the Christmas Spirit. Really and Truly."

The Sugar Plum Fairy let out an odd little giggle "Then it's finally time to open your eyes."

Natalie wasted no time. She opened her eyes as fast as possible.

She didn't see the Sugar Plum Fairy at first. She was disappointed to see her bedroom looked no different than it always had. But then she heard a loud creaking noise, like the alignment of a spine.

A tiny, ice-blue figure flitted into her field of vision. "Hello there, Natalie."

The Sugar Plum fairy didn't look like any fairy Natalie had ever seen, It's body was wiry and impossibly smooth, almost like its skin was made of delicate rubber. Its face looked like it was made from pinched clay with a sharp pointed chin and a long pin thin nose.

The thing that struck Natalie most was its eyes. They were not the eyes of a human or a bug for that matter. They were glossy and pitch black as if they were made of glass. Natalie was both horrified and fascinated.

"You..you don't look like a fairy." Natalie managed.

"That's because it's winter, child." The Sugar Plum Fairy smiled. "We fairies lose our petals in the fall, just like the trees you have in your backyard. That's why I must look a bit disappointing to you this Christmas Eve. I apologize."

"Oh." Natalie looked down at her feet, She didn't know why, but it made her head hurt to look at the Sugar Plum fairy for too long." Well, do you want to play with me? I have lots of toys. We can play anything you want."

"I actually already have a game in mind." The Sugar Plum Fairy grinned wider revealing a row of pointed, shark-like teeth. "But I'm going to have to ask you to follow me outside so we can play properly."

"Outside?" Natalie turned to look at the thick snowflakes coming down outside through her bedroom window. "I don't know. It's very very snowy out there. And I wouldn't want to accidentally scare off Santa."

The Sugar Plum Fairy smiled even wider. Its mouth slit its cheek all the way up to its pointed ears.

"As it happened," It said. "Santa Claus happens to be a good friend of mine."

Natalie's eyes grew wide "Really? That's so cool!"

"Uh-huh." The Sugar Plum Fairy's face barely moved when it spoke, as if it were made of plastic

"And I'm nearly positive he would be perfectly okay with you seeing him if it's by accident. Old Saint Nick is very much the understanding type."

Natalie looked down at her feet again. The way the Sugar Plum Fairy was looking at her made her feel sick but she didn't want the Sugar Plum Fairy to see her discomfort, She wanted to be brave.

"Alright, If you say so." She said,

The Sugar Plum Fairy made a little sound of satisfaction. "I'm so happy you've decided to play with me outside. I have a surprise for you out there. I think you'll really love it."

"Um okay." Natalie took one last glance out at the falling snow through the window. "I'm coming."

Natalie crept through the darkened living room, stepping as quietly as possible so as not to wake her mother. She stopped for a brief moment to admire the lights strung on the Christmas tree. The red and white glowed in the dark like stars. The way they illuminated Natalie's homemade ornaments never failed to make her smile. She could spend hours just staring at it until her vision went blurry.

"Come along, Natalie." The Sugar Plum Fairy urged impatiently. "You don't want to keep me waiting, do you?"

Natalie nearly stumbled over her own feet as she struggled to open the front door. She shivered in the unforgiving wind, flecks of ice collecting on her hair. For the first time that night, fear began to grow in her stomach.

"I'm not so sure I want to do this." She spoke up "It's really really cold out here."

The Sugar Plum Fairy pouted and crossed its arms" Please Natalie? You did promise me. I'll be so disappointed if you back out now."

Natalie took one last look over her shoulder. The Christmas lights were glimmering in the window as bright as ever. She could at least take comfort in the fact that they would be waiting for her when she got back, exactly where she left them.

"Okay," Natalie said finally. "But will you bring me back soon? I want to be home by morning so I can open my presents."

"Of course, my dear." The Sugar Plum Fairy said, growing distant.

The only light that broke the darkness was the icy white glow radiating off of the Sugar Plum Fairy. A cold wind blew right through her, causing her to shiver in her thin pajamas. She was already beginning to succumb to exhaustion.

The Sugar Plum Fairy flitted further ahead of Natalie. She was struggling to keep up, narrowly avoiding tripping over her own feet.

"Wait." Her voice was all but lost in the wind. "Wait for me."

The Sugar Plum Fairy was silent.

The backdrop of Natalie's busy neighborhood faded into nothingness quicker than Natalie could even process it. She was now being led through a thick, snow-capped pine forest. She tried to remember if she had ever passed through this forest before, but it was too dark to tell.

"I'm really tired." Natalie was beginning to cry."Are we almost there?"

"Just a little longer, my love. We're very nearly there".Something had changed in the Sugar Plum Fairy's voice. It sounded deeper, more distorted. It made Natalie's stomach lurch but she still had to trust it.

After all, she came this far. What other choice did she have?

All at once the Sugar Plum Fairy came to a halt. They had come to a gaping maw of a cave embedded into the side of a mountain.

"Come along, Natalie darling." The Sugar Plum Fairy urged, beckoning Natialie into the opening of the cave "Your surprise is right inside there."

Just looking at the cave made Natalie's stomach lurch. She was not going in there. No way.

Natalie shook her head "I'm sorry. I can't go in there. It's too scary."

"Natalie!" The Sugar Plum fairy snapped, sounding more inhuman than ever. "Do as I say, now!"

Natalie cowered. The way the Sugar Plum Fairy's voice spread fear throughout her body. She felt she had no choice but to obey.

The inside of the cave held a piercing kind of dark the likes of which Natalie had never experienced before. It left her feeling colder and more exposed than she ever felt in the open woods.

"Wait here, darling." The sweetness had returned to the Sugar Plum Fairy's voice. It did nothing to comfort Natalie anymore.

"Wait for what?" Natalie managed

The Sugar Plum Fairy gave no response. Its glow flattered out Leaving Natalie completely alone in the unforgiving darkness.

Natalie began to sob. She became very aware of how small she was, and how vulnerable and fragile she was.

She heard something stir behind her, something with long creaking limbs and sharp bones gnashing together. A pair of predator eyes fixed on her back. She felt like a rabbit in the sight of a wolf.

Natalie shrunk into herself, drawing her knees to her chest as if that would protect her.

"Hello?" Natalie called out. She could only hope the Sugar Plum Fairy could still hear you still hear her." I'm still here, waiting just like I promise. I'm getting really scared."

Natalie was met with nothing but eerie silence.

She felt something looming over her, something tall and threatening/ It was so close she could feel its breath at the back of her neck, hot and rotten smelling.

Natalie squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for what was to come.

Natalie's mother sat on the couch, clutching a mug of peppermint mocha in anticipation. She was so excited for Natalie to open the presents she got her that she could hardly resist going into her room and shaking her awake herself.

Natalie's mom had one she was particularly proud of, a four-foot-tall Barbie dream house she had bought secondhand from an online posting. It was pristine and beautiful, with not a single scratch on it. Natalie was going to be ecstatic.

The early morning ticked by into noon. Natalie still had not surfaced.

Natalie's mother was beginning to grow concerned. It wasn't like Natalie to sleep in so late, especially on Christmas morning. Something was not right about this.

Another hour went by. Natalie's mother decided it was time to check on her. Maybe Natalie had come down sick or was struck with one of her nightmares. There had to be something going on.

Natalie's mother craned her neck around the doorway of Natalie's bedroom.

"Natalie, Sweetheart." She said, "It's time to wake up. Santa came."

The lump of blankets on Natalie's bed remained unmoving.

"Natalie?" Natalie's mother hesitated for a moment before slowly peeling the comforter off of Natalie's bed.

The bed was empty. Natalie's mother let out a scream.

By nightfall, the search team had been sent out throughout all of the surrounding area Bloodhounds and volunteers stalked the back roads of the neighborhood, no stretch of road or empty field left unexplored.

Natalie's mother was inconsolable. She could barely stop sobbing for long enough to choke out a coherent sentence. A stone-faced cop patiently urged her statement out of her, his demeanor unwavering. He'd dealt with situations like this countless times before. He knew the drill.

One of the members of the search party approached Natalie's mother with a bowed head, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"We found your daughter." He said. "I'm so sorry."

Natalie's body was found near the opening of a narrow cave nestled in a treacherous stretch of mountain fifteen miles away. All the blood was drained from her veins, leaving her little body cold and empty. Her eyes had been torn from their sockets. The empathy spaces that once held her bright blue eyes look like they were still frozen with terror, a snapshot of her final moments. Her chest was savagely torn open like a ravaged animal carcass, a bloody gaping wound where her heart used to be.

Natalie's mother had to force herself to go to the morgue and identify her daughter's body. She fell to her knees when she saw what state her precious baby girl had been left in. How much pain she must have been in, how much fear she must have felt in her final moments. Natalie's mother sobbed so hard her whole body shuddered. She couldn't help but feel like this was somehow her fault like she was the one who had failed Natalie. She knew she had no hope of ever recovering from this.

The officer shook his head in frustration as he looked down at the report. His partner looked up from her paperwork in concern.

"Another one?" She asked.

The officer let out a huff of air through his teeth. "Yeah. They take a child on Christmas Eve every year without fail. What kind of sick fucker does something like that?"

His partner gave an empathetic nod "Well, are you any closer to catching the guy?"

"No. Not even anywhere close. No fingerprints. No DNA evidence. Nothing. We are completely in the dark here."

"Huh. That is really strange."

They sat in solemn silence, feeling the full weight of the situation.

"Do you think the person we're after might not ever be human?" The officer said, going out on a limb.

His partner lifted her head from her notebook to shoot him a strange look." What do you mean?"

"You know, it's quite strange the way this always happens, "The Officer said." with the draining of the blood and the gouged eyes with no evidence to be found in that same remote cave. Makes me wonder if something supernatural is involved."

His partner waved him off. "Don't be ridiculous. This isn't some Stephen King novel."

"I guess you're right." The Officer said. "Maybe the stress of the case is getting to my head."

Still, he wasn't so sure.

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