Rudolph was huffing and puffing loudly taking the turn carefully then jumping over the obstacle. They surged forward, accelerating as the terrain went downhill. Despite managing their breath, they were now breathing hard as they took the final turn at full speed. Snow hadn’t yet settled and they felt their hooves slip slightly off track. They skidded outward before their legs found hold again and accelerate. They could see the finish line at the end of the field. It was straight ahead.
Wind was not in their favour unfortunately, but that was part of the training. You had to make the wind your friend if you were going to run. Rudolph raised their head high and embraced the wind. Suddenly their antlers became friends with the wind and whistled with it. Rudolph ate the remaining distance at incredible speed and could feel that was one of their best time yet. Surely the kind of performance could win them a spot.
They barrelled through the gate as a loud whistle rang on the empty plain, failing to find an echo. They could hear Anna’s excited voice as she announced their time. For sure, it had to be it. They could feel how almost every turn and speed in this race had been managed. Anna repeated the time, her voice sounding muffled behind Rudolph’s heartbeat. They laid flat on the snow, gladly letting their body warmth drain out to the ground and catching their breath.
“Rudolph! By Santa’s bushy beard, that was brilliant! Haven’t seen a time like that coming from you!” exclaimed Anna. She was wearing a chronometer around her neck and she had been one of Rudolph biggest fan, supporting them through their training.
“How much?” Rudolph croaked, their mouth dried.
Anna gave me a pained smile and Rudolph could feel their heart sinking. They hadn’t made it. Even an almost perfect race wasn’t enough.
“How much?” Rudolph repeated, forcing the words out. Even if they hadn’t made it, they needed to know. How far off were they?
“Twelve minutes and nineteen seconds,” said Anna. “I’m sorry, that puts you at fifteenth position on the current standing.”
The snow suddenly felt like it had drained all of their warmth at once. “This isn’t enough,” sighed Rudolph. Christmas was coming soon and the final race was taking place next week. Only the twelve fastest reindeers would be able to ride along Santa and tour the world. “Tell me Anna, how am I supposed to make it? We’ve been relentlessly training for months. You ruthlessly pushed me through all the drills that even elves could not imagine. We ran by sun, by wind and gave it my all. Blood, sweat and tears yet even that isn’t enough. I need to get that spot. I want to travel. Have you heard of the Bahamas? They say that sun shines the same amount every day of the year. And the sea there is crystal blue! Like ice, but liquid and warm. And I want to see the penguins in Southern America, the giraffes in Africa and the pandas of Asia.”
“I want to see it all, Anna,” added Rudolph.
“I know, Rudolph.” She looked sad, almost sadder than them, even though she wasn’t the one competing for the position. Unfortunately, it had been years since a female-presenting reindeer had managed a spot at Santa’s sledge. Their method of filtering ‘the best’ of reindeers relied entirely upon physical challenges that male-presenting reindeers were given an unfair advantage because of their body type. The entirety of Santa’s methodology was so deeply flawed that she’d refused to participate. Talk about presenting a fair challenge where all were equal. But if it was Rudolph’s dream, then she’d helped them. They’d do the same for her. “Do you think it could help if you were going to see Gastong? I know he won the competition back then when he was young.”
“Gastong?!” He can barely drag himself across the street to get to the bar these days.
“Well, with a spark of luck he’ll have some advice for you. Bring some flint.” She gave him a pointed look and the hint of a mischievous smile showed on her face. “Unless you want to let James win, of course.”
“Don’t you dare. If that horse of a reindeer makes it, then something is very wrong with the world. Anna, last time we competed can I remind you that he tackled me so I wouldn’t win?”
“I think something if really wrong with the world indeed, since James does have a chance to make it. Go to Gastong. What do you have to lose anyway?”
Rudolph was tired. Over the past week, their schedule had been packed with daily training. Sprints, interval training. Endurance run had blended one another, whether a blizzard was on the way or not. Whether wind blasted you with tiny ice shards as you rushed through them or not. If you wanted to tour the world on Santa’s sledge during Christmas night, well you had to work for it, didn’t you?
They started back to the village. Anna’s attempt at making conversation quickly died off when face by the heavy cloud that seemed to paint Rudolph’s humour. One week left. They were close, their time had been steadily improving but so had the competition’s.
As they entered the village, Anna bid them farewell. “Think about what I said, Rudolph. Gastong might not be the runner he was fifteen years ago, but he did win.”
“Yeah… Thanks, Anna. For everything,” said Rudolph in a quiet voice.
“Tomorrow at six?”
“Tomorrow at six,” replied Rudolph. They were hoping to sleep early to help with recovery, tomorrow was packed with a dense schedule.
Anna rounded the corner and disappeared behind an elf’s house. These poor lads and lasses couldn’t be resting much more than Rudolph, with all the presents to prepare. What a logistical nightmare it must be, figuring out everyone’s address, chimney access and so on. And that wasn’t even counting on those who thought electrical chimney were a good idea. Made as much sense as a melted snow men, these.
Slowly, they made their way back to their house where a warm meal was waiting for them. But as they came close, Anna’s words came back to mind. Maybe it could be worth going to Gastong. Gastong had been the town’s drunkard for a while, with a nasty reputation to go with it. You couldn’t say that he was in the greatest of shapes.
“Oh, and to hell with it all!” muttered Rudolph under their breath. They turned around, abandoning a warm meal and headed to pub. They were certainly more likely to meet Gastong there than at their place.
The pub had a quiet, musty air around it. Entirely made of wood, the pine trunks that lined the wall had been darkened by time and smoke. A couple were quietly chatting at the back and the barperson was wiping down a counter that probably didn’t need all that much wiping. Then, in a corner stood a reindeer. Well, stood was a strong word to use. Maybe slouched would be more appropriate. Puffy face with lidded eyes, patches on his skin was leather bare, the hair that should have stood there long gone. Their belly dropped low enough that you could hardly make out their legs. He had a distant look, glazing over what stood in front of him as he absently chewed on something.
Gastong. Rudolph’s supposed saviour.
Rudolph took a deep breath and crossed the bar, ordering a hot chocolate to the barperson. You couldn’t afford drinking alcohol when training was this intense. They sat down nearby Gastong’s spot who belatedly looked around, as if someone approaching him had popped him out of the daze he’d been trapped in.
“Whaddaya wan’? I paid my drinks, all o’ ‘em,” grumbled Gastong, his words slurring together. Then as he gave a good look at Rudolph he continued, “Who’re ye?”
“Name’s Rudolph, sir,” answered Rudolph stiffly. This was such a waste of time. They felt queasy. This was who had won the competition fifteen years ago? And not just qualified in the top twelve, but won? It was hard to believe. “I…,” started Rudolph. But then they hesitated. What should they asked, it just seemed ridiculous. Nonetheless, they forced the words out. “I’m coming to see you. I was wondering if you had any advice for a reindeer trying to qualify for the Christmas run?”
There. They’d swallowed their pride and asked. Anna would be proud. They felt proud, it hadn’t been an easy thing to do.
“The Christmas run, ye say? Yeah I got an advice for ye kid. Give it up. Ain’t worth it, I say. Go play ball or summin’, whateve’ you kids do these days.”
Rudolph breathed in. Held in their breath for a couple seconds, and breathed out. Then took a sip of chocolate. They’d been right, this was an utter loss of time, but at least they’d tried. And, well, they could still enjoy a hot chocolate at least.
They took another deep breath before asking, “still, sir. I would hear how you trained back then. What did you do ahead of the race?”
“I ran. Whaddaya think I did?” Gastong’s gruffy voice boomed across the room, drawing the couple’s and the barperson’s attention. “I grew sum’ antlers and bloo’y ran. Now will ye leave me to my beer kid, I ain’t got no wish to relive this. It ain’t worth it. An’ stop bein’ as noisy as these nasty elves! I’m done runnin’.”
“Did you have a coach? Maybe I could ask them?” Rudolph pressed. They could feel heat rising through their body and blood flushing their face, trying to keep their calm.
“Ye, his name’s Iorek. Now piss off,” said Gastong as he waved Rudolph away like a malodorous fly. As if Rudolph was the malodorous one here, bah!
“Iorek? The bear? You went to a BEAR for training? Were you out of your god damned mind?!”
“Ya, I stormin’ did. ye can see how that worked out for me, eh? Now can can ye take those blasted antlers outta my sight? I went to the bar to drink, forget and be alone. Not to be pestered by Santa’s crustiest toenail! Now GO,” said Gastong, roughly kicking Rudolph away and turning the other direction.
Well, at least there was a lead. Iorek. A bear smith, highly respected among them. Maybe bears could do something about reindeers. Beyond eating them, that is. This was utter suicide. But if you could say one thing about Rudolph, it’s that they were stubborn.
Still, it seemed prudent to drop by Anna’s place to let her know. Just in case… Well, just in case it was the last time they saw one another. Also, Rudolph would need to cancel most training sessions. Going to Alsvbar–the bear kingdom–and back before the race would already be tight.
As they reached Anna’s hut, they called for her and it was a sleepy voice that answered.
“Rudolph? What is it?” asked Anna, yawning widely.
“Anna, I’m going to see Iorek.”
All traces of sleep and drowsiness evaporated from her face. “You are what? Are you out of your god damned mind?!” she shrieked. A neighbour peeked through their window at the ruckus she was making. “You will get killed and hunted down before you even get close to Iorek! He might be a good fellow, but have you somehow forgotten that they are bears. Let me spell that out for you. B-E-A-R. Big, large creatures. White fur that you can’t see on snow. Each weighs more than you do. Each sprints as fast as any reindeer. Their claws will rend flesh as easily as their fangs will shatter your antlers.” She paused, as if catching her breath before continuing her tirade. “I know what this race means to you Rudolph, but you cannot throw your life away like this.”
“I’m sorry, Anna.”
“God damn it, Rudolph,” sighed Anna, “you stubborn, thick headed mule. Let me freshen up and I’ll be right there.”
Anna would follow them to the end of the world. Despite her more reasonable facade, she was just as unhinged as Rudolph was. A couple minutes later and they were galloping out of the village, heading North. Heading towards their likely death. It certainly was the likeliest outcome.
They rode all night, only resting for a couple of hours before a shy sun peeked–barely–at the horizon. It was a clear, cold day ahead. After some time, they settled on a rapid trot, the kind that would eat miles.
The trip, although only lasting two days until Alsvbar, still left them a lot of time to squeeze in some race training.
Finally, after a thankfully uneventful trip, they spotted Alsvbar on the horizon.
“Careful, now” said Anna in a hushed voice. “Any bear could sneak up on us, and if that happens, we run. I trust Iorek to not harm us. But that implies we get to him before we get turned into seasoned meat.”
Quietly, they advanced towards the village. They kept a heavy silence, wordlessly communicating as the tension between them became almost palpable.
“I think it might be the house on the right,” whispered Rudolph.
“Yeah, it’s the only one with smoke, that’s got to be the forge,” answered Anna. “Let’s get to it fast.”
They continued to creep closer. They were now at less than half a kilometre when they heard a growl on their left. They barely had time to turn their heads around as the bear sprang into action, jumping on Rudolph. The bear only narrowly missed them thanks to their reflexes, drilled down by months of intense training. Reflexes that most reindeers lacked. Anna and him sprang forward. They both kept up ahead of the bear. While bears could outpace any reindeer, Anna and Rudolph weren’t just any reindeer. Anna might not be participating in Christmas’ race, but she’d trained along Rudolph for months.
“Aim for the forge,” managed Rudolph. He barely registered Anna’s terse nod as they continued they frantic race against the loud killing machine tailing them. Unfortunately, their sprint hadn’t gone unnoticed and other bears saw them coming.
Only two hundred metres left. “Iorek!” Screamed Anna.
A hundred metres left.
They were breathing hard, their hooves clattering and echoing against the houses around. They were now chased by what felt like a horde of bears. Iorek had better be home or this would not be pretty.
Fifty metres left.
As they came to the forge, a bear surged from behind a building they’d just passed and jumped on Rudolph, swiping at their face and casting them to the ground. Rudolph heard a loud crack and felt something snap. Their vision went dark and they distantly registered their body crashing down the snow.
That was it. So close and yet, they’d fail. Rudolph waited for the killing blow to come, screams and growls all around blending in a loud noise.
“ENOUGH,” said a loud voice that cut through the noise.
“THESE REINDEERS STAND UPON MY PROPERTY, AND THEY ARE UNDER MY PROTECTION. Back OFF, McLair. You and your thugs.”
Miraculously, the bears listened. They didn’t seem happy about it, but as the McLair slowly started to leave the property, his minions followed suit. The growls and yells still rang in Rudolph’s ears who was still laying on the floor, waiting for a death blow that was not to come. Anna stood between Iorek and Rudolph, eyes wide and her pupils dilated, her mouth was half-open gazing at something on the floor near Rudolph. As they followed her gaze, they saw what the brown shape was. Their antlers. Their magnificent, superb antlers laid there, like a vulgar bone thrown out to the wolves.
“My… my antlers…” wheezed Rudolph, their breath catching as they tried to recover both from the physical and emotional shock. Their antlers were both their pride and companion, always standing proud above their head, no matter how dreary the day had been. They were the one that made the wind sing. They could feel bile rising and they suddenly felt sick.
“They’re gone,” said a deep, rumbling voice now echoing around the eerily quiet village. “And there’s nothing you can do about it, kid. I would think you should be happy to be alive at all.”
“Iorek!” exclaimed Anna. “Thank you oh–so much for your timely arrival. We’d be dead without your help.”
“That, you would be,” he replied. “What were you thinking, coming here? Why not send for me? I’d have met you at the outskirts of the village and would have been able to accompany you in safety. McLair and his gang would never have dared to intervene.
“There was no time,” said Rudolph. “I need to ask you for help. Help about the Christmas run.”
Iorek stayed silent, contemplating Rudolph as if he were evaluating them. The silence stretched, past the limit that made it awkward. Even Anna seemed too intimidated to speak, she seemed to hold her breath.
“Very well. Let us see how you run. Beat me to that tree on the hill,” said Iorek. And without further adue he launched himself in a sprint towards the said tree.
Rudolph, still laying on the ground stayed stunned for a second before their body kicked into action. They scrambled up the floor and rushed forward, loudly encouraged by Anna. “Go!” They heard her say.
The tiredness from the previous days and the feeling of strained muscles after their run against death disappeared. They felt their heart ache as, despite letting the wind rush around them, it did not whistle. It did not whistle for there were no antlers to accompany it this time. Tears streamed off Rudolph at the loss, but they pushed those thoughts back. Rage and grit burned in their veins as they redoubled their efforts, first catching up and finally passing Iorek mere metres before arriving.
“That’s pretty good, kid,” said Iorek. “Now we run back.”
Cursing under their breath, They ran again and stopped in front of Anna who still stood there, waiting for the verdict. Hopefully they hadn’t come all this way for nothing.
“Now I have an idea of how you run, so I can make you a pair. I’m guessing this is what you came here for, isn’t it?” asked Iorek.
“A… pair, sir?” said Rudolph at a loss.
“Why did you come to me, if not for that?”
“It was Gastong. I went to him and he directed me to you without any more information,” said Rudolph. “He mentioned that you would be one to help me with the race.”
Iorek sighed loudly. “That fool… That fool sent you to die.”
“What? Why?!” said Anna. “Gastong would have no reason for that.”
“Gastong is a fool. A fool who happened to run fast. Back then at least. He might simply have sent you off so you would stop to bother him. I will not lie. This race is going to be tough. There is a small thing I can make for you, though, since you’ve come this far. I have some horseshoes I should be able to fit to your hooves. They are not going to solve everything, but at least they should help with grip and rubble.” He turned to Anna, “You want some, too?”
Anna nodded eagerly. “Gladly, sir Iorek!” she peeped.
Without a word, Iorek turned and entered his house, disappearing inside.
“What do you think?” said Rudolph as they turned to Anna.
“I don’t know, maybe that could give you an edge? I’m not quite sure what we expected, coming all the way out here,” she answered, “but horseshoes were not one of them. But I can see how they’d help! Think of how you slipped on your last training run, a couple of days ago.”
“Right. Well, I’ll give it a shot. I don’t have much to lose, do I?” Said Rudolph as they turned their head up to the sky, looking at the last embers of sunset. We only have a couple of days until the race, but we should be fine.”
A short time later, Iorek came back, brandishing proudly a load of horseshoes and beckoning them forward. Rudolph and Anna exchange uncertain looks at the image of Iorek, his arms full of horseshoes and a mischievous grin on his lips. Nobody should enjoy the thought of nailing iron through someone’s hoof that much.
Overall, it really wasn’t such a bad experience. The shoes had to be resized, but nailing them didn’t hurt a bit. When it was done, their legs felt heavy, but somehow more sure footed. Anna even kicked a rock and sent it flying. “I barely felt anything! Iorek, this is grand!”
“There you have it,” proclaimed Iorek. “Horseshoes that, if anything, will avoid that you hurt yourself running or have to dodge around the rocks.”
“Thank you, Iorek. We owe you,” said Rudolph. “For both the shoes and saving our skins.” Rudolph gave a longing look at their broken antlers that laid on the snow.
“Don’t mention it,” said Iorek. “Win that race. Or do not. Can’t say it’s worth it, honestly. Look at what it did to Gastong. Winning the race is the easy part.”
A couple of days later, Anna and Rudolph were finally making their way back to their village after what had been a thankfully uneventful ride back.
“Rudolph…” started Anna, looking at them intensely. “Be careful tomorrow, I know how much we’ve prepared for this race, but Gastong’s behaviour and Iorek’s warnings are nothing if not ominous. I don’t know what happens on that Christmas world tour. It’s true that a lot of reindeers do not make it back.
“They’re all taking holidays in Antartica, everyone knows that! Lands of infinite beauty and size! They earned it and they simply don’t want to come back,” answered Rudolph promptly. This was well known, this was taught to every reindeer as they grew older.
“I suppose…” said Anna, uncertain. “In any case, you should get some rest, the race starts in less than twelve hours and you should eat some food and get some sleep.”
“Thank you for everything, Anna. You saved my life the other day. But more than that you’ve prepared for this race just as much as I did, if not more.”
“Always, Rudolph,” said Anna, her eyes shining with the lights from the illuminated village they stood in.
The next day, the horizon had barely started to glow with a sun that stayed out of reach. The gleam was just enough to reveal the mass of hopefuls lining up for the Christmas race. Anticipation among the participants was almost palpable. A silence broken only by hooves stomping snow and the heavy puffing of some reindeers. Rudolph stood between two giants. Longer legs were usually an advantage. Each of the giant barely gave Rudolph a glance, as if they weren’t even worth being noticed. One of them even seemed to sneer as they noticed the broken antlers. Whirls of emotions burst through Rudolph’s body. They’d show them. Iron shoes securing their hooves, they were ready to win their spot on this race. Memories began to flash past. Memories of training, under the rain, under the heat during the summer and during the night and blizzards.
Finally, the judge started forward with what felt like deliberately slow pace. Then, finally, the countdown began. “Three, …”
Focus sharpened Rudolph’s senses.
“Two, …” The voice rang, propelled by the wind in the impossibly silent field. Everyone was holding their breath.
“One, … Go!”
Everybody jumped forward. Adrenaline coursed through Rudolph’s veins as they surged forward. The overwhelming noise of the flood of reindeers gushing through the race’s tracks faded into the background, replaced by the steady rhythm of their hooves pounding the snow and their heartbeat.
Although packed at first, a few managed to extract themselves from the mass as they pressed forward. Rudolph was within them. The twelve prized spots still within reach. Distantly, the encouragement of bystanders reached their ears as the twenty-something reindeers leading the race rushed past.
They were reaching the hill and slowly, the first reindeers among the group started to lag behind, their breathing ragged and shallow. As they climbed to the top, Rudolph’s shoes helped them climb the hill despite the rolling stones and pebbles. A few more competitors fell to them, either of pain or stumbling because of the uneven terrain.
As they galloped down the hill and skidded down the ice, Rudolph manage to good look at the group. Fifteen reindeers remained and Rudolph was in tenth position, if barely. They could almost feel the breath of two runners behind them. Only a short distance remained, and they all took the last sharp turn at breakneck speed. Another slipped and fell out. Rudolph had started to slip, but again their shoes proved their worth as they managed to grip the snow and keep them on track. They now stood in eighth position and started to feel exhilaration as they could spot the finish line straight ahead.
The pack started to sprint. As if until now the race had been a mere jog, they were now finishing the race with what felt like flying. The weight of the iron shoes started to tire Rudolph. Despite the grip and the protection they’d given them, they were now a hindrance as each step became heavier, pushing Rudolph’s burning muscles further beyond their capacity. A couple a reindeers passed them back. They were now in tenth position, but could feel their pace inextricably slowing down. Less than two hundred metres remained, and they could see Anna waiting for them at the finishing line. They closed their eyes, focused on their breathing, pushing through it all.
They gained one position. But they had barely passed the competitor before intense pain burned white across their vision, caused them to scream and fall. They immediately got back on their legs and hobbled forward, their three legs still working. They could see the group of fourteen suffering as much as Rudolph did, and the last straggler also slowed down considerably, less than fifty metres before the end. Rudolph somehow managed to double them. One more spot. One more and they’d make it. They gave it their all, seeing the next reindeer on their left.
They were now almost neck to neck.
Ten metres.
Rudolph crossed the line, eyes closed and holding their breath. They managed to keep going for some distance before collapsing, their body’s strength abandoning them. Their vision darkened as the pain they’d kept at bay during the race swallowed them. Their body trembled and cried. But Rudolph only had the dimmest of consciousness, watching their body process the trauma they had inflicted upon it.
Some faces passed over that they could barely make out. They recognised Anna among them. They even saw some light peek at them on the horizon. Even the sun had blessed them with its light.
Rudolph opened their eyes again. They were in a warm room. The timid light of the curious sun had long since gone on its way.
“Anna?…” Said Rudolph.
“Oh there you are! Goodness, Rudolph you gave me a fright,” said Anna.
“How–…,” started Rudolph. But then they stopped as they noticed the sad smile on Anna’s face.
“You came in thirteenth. I’m sorry Rudolph. I know you wanted this.”
“Thirteenth,” said Rudolph. They let the word sit on their tongue, and it left a bitter taste. Years of hoping. Months and month of extreme preparation. But in the end, they’d achieved no better than those other ones that hadn’t trained and only participated for the fun of it. “I wanted to explore. I wanted to go, to see the Bahamas, to see the sea and the beaches and the sun.”
“I know you did,” said Anna. “But there’s a thing I’ve never understood about all this.”
“What’s that?”
“Why do we have to pull a sledge to explore the world?” Said Anna as a smile started to blossom on her face.
“But we can’t, we need to fly to go!” exclaimed Rudolph.
“Do we? That’s what they say. How about we go check for ourselves? Let’s explore a bit.” Anna eyed Rudolph’s leg that was still left dangling at their side. “Once you’ve recovered, though. No argument.”
“Once I’ve recovered,” replied Rudolph with a smile.
THE END