The moment Krampus tore past the clouds mounted on Simon, he felt the cold wind scrape against his ancient beard. He licked his lips to wipe away the snow that was nestled on his olive-toned skin and growled. That fool, he killed them. He could tell by the lingering scent of the king's peppermint robes.

He tugged on the reindeer's fur a little harder. I can't believe it, but I know I have to. You have to face reality, Krampus. He wanted to ram his fist into the face of Santa Claus, yet he knew that he couldn't. He was at a disadvantage with everyone, except for Simon and Vanilla, against him.

Nevertheless, Krampus was itching to have a word with the king. He didn't enjoy the sight of young elves holding weapons behind their hazy-eyed parents. Every one of them was controlled by this retched monarchy.

Krampus observed the scars that occasionally revealed themselves from under the reindeer's coat of beige fur. "Hurry, Simon."

He readjusted his grip on his friend's antlers when he noticed a collar on Simon's neck. It was the most advanced technology he had seen since his return.

The collar was black, with small, unlabeled yellow buttons scattered all across it. Circuits of electricity pulsed on its inside, all connecting to a green and gold chip that was safely held under the collar's transparent case.

"Simon," he muttered as they grew closer to the castle, "what's this collar?"

"It's just a... a tracker that the king installed on all reindeer to make sure that we don't try to escape."

"What would a GPS do? And why would any of you want to?"

Simon was silent for a moment before sighing, letting his white breath float above the clouds. "He... he took our families away. The fawns and does are all on separate territory, to keep the men focused on work. I haven't seen my wife since your exile."

The reindeer was staring straight forward, but Krampus could tell by his broken voice and trembling body that he was depressed. "Alas, the king swore that they would be kept safe as long as we did our work properly and endured his... actions."

"Simon..." The prince didn't know what to say. As a kid, he looked up to the king when he told Krampus about his journeys around the world and how he was getting too old for this job. Which was bullshit because he told me later that he become immortal after drinking a mermaid's blood.

But now, he wondered if all of that was just a sugar coated pile of lies to make himself look good. He swore to never see the king as his father; he already had one, even though he was dead. Ugh, at least my father truthfully shared his gritty tales.

"No need to pity me, I have to take responsibility for my actions. I can't put my family in danger."

Krampus looked up, trying to give his old companion comforting words. "I just wish he wouldn't threaten you all with your families' lives to get you to work. That seems to be having the opposite effect when all of you can't seem to stop worrying about them because of their distance from you."

He growled, growing more irated every time he heard of King Santa's laws. "What the hell has this man been doing while I was gone? He's not setting a good example." His tail swung furiously, patting the deer's back when it moved.

"It's fine; you don't need to get upset. I believe in him. He must be protecting them."

Krampus was skeptical of how accepting Simon was. Santa must've leveled up in his persuasion skills. "You were always a humble deer. It's too bad Santa doesn't realize that."

"All faults are forgiven through the passage of time."

The goat-demon looked down to the town that was covered in the darkness of the night sky and frowned. "No, not this man's."

Simon gave a nod of silent acknowledgement when he turned to land in front of Santa's ice castle.

Krampus climbed off of him, his hooves shivering from sinking into the hardened snow. He looked around, bewildered by how clean it was compared to the retched graveyard of a dump the junkyard was.

"You're off duty, Simon. I can take it from here." He smiled at him before knocking his horns with his antlers, "Go rest."

The deer bowed deeply. "Thank you, Your Highness. Have a safe journey." He then turned the opposite way, darting through the snow until he kicked up and flew home.

Krampus watched as his silhouette faded under the starry night sky before turning to the mighty ice castle that stood a ways from him.

Now that he's gone, I can finally focus. He turned to the palace and grimanced. "I can't believe I'm back here again."

As much as he wanted to head back to his makeshift home on the outskirts of the village, he had to face the truth, and the dark revelations that came with it. So he sprinted to castle with eyes burning yellow with rage.

When he reached the top of the grand staircase, Tim and Yuki were at the top, saluting to him. "How was your first day on the job?" Tim asked after Krampus caught his breath.

"Horrible. Why am I doing this again?" He bit his lip to hold in his growls. "Do you two know why he does this?"

Tim covered his mouth when a few chuckles escaped from his icicle-sharp teeth. Yuki patted his back, nearly tipping the snowman's head off in the process. While Tim was occupied with trying to balance himself, Yuki took over and answered for him all while the prince stood smirking at the two of them.

"Ahem," the linky snowman started, adjusting his eight buttons and carrot nose, "he's been doing this for a few decades, it seems. We were only created some years ago, so we can't tell you exactly when or why. No one is that close with the king." 

Damn. Krampus patted their shoulders when he walked past them. "I guess I'll ask him myself, th-"

The spears the guards held cut him off from finishing his sentences by blocking his path. If he moved any further, they would cut through him. Oh dear, he thought before raising his hands in defense.

Yuki looked down at him, his body casting a shadow over the furry man. "Our deepest apologies Prince Krampus, but we do not wish for any harm to befall the king."

"Yeah," Tim snarled with sudden disgust, "don't take us for fools. You reek of murderous intent."

The goat-demon took a whiff of his clothes and frowned before removing them. "That's probably the blood from the corpses I stumbled upon in the junkyard."

Tim's head spun to the front of his body when he uttered, "Why the hell would you go there? No one but the factory elves are allowed to go to the junkyard."

"No one told me this, so how would I know? Is anyone planning to clean it up or should we let the wild animals do it for us?" The goat-demon had gut feeling everyone ignored what they didn't want to see here.

"He is right, Tim. We should've guided him better. Even so," Yuki glanced at Krampus, "remember that you're on North Polian territory. Know your place."

Krampus looked down, allowing his hair to cover his face when he licked his lips. His eyebrows furrowed while he stared at the snow.

"You're right," he scoffed before looking at them, "This is my place!" 

Krampus then swung his tail before they could react, grabbing their spears and snatching them right from their sappy fingers. He pushed past them, heading straight for the royal hall.

Krampus didn't have the time to appreciate the sweet decoratives that were sprinkled around the castle, being instead occupied by the fury that rumbled inside of him. He focused on the echoes of his hooves connecting with the cinnamon-scented floor to remain calm. I don't need to deal with them. I should just get to the king as fast as possible.

Once he stood in front of the familiar chocolate doors, Krampus took a moment to slow his breathing. His heart rammed against his ribcage. His hand held tightly onto the golden doorknob as he pulled the doors open and leaned against its caramel frame.

The king was atop his lavish throne with piles of desserts on his lap. Krampus smirked at him as he stepped inside, careful to ensure that none of his actions betrayed his emotions. "You've been a naughty boy, Santa Claus."