He rose from the depths of the ocean, pulling himself to land when his hands found the rocky surface. Water dropped from his fur and splashed to the ground. Its sound, mixed with his heavy breaths, echoed along the moist walls. The prince's soaked fur weighed him down when he climbed out of the water.

That was close. I'll swim back later. Krampus shook off the water and shivered. He looked around, noticing the purple mist surrounding him. Gotta get those flowers. Even when his eyes burned, he was determined to help the North Polians. As prince, no, as the Christmas Devil, I refuse to stand by and let this happen Who would've thought that the naughtiest of them all would be ol' Saint Nick.

He marched forward. The cave's stalactites's tears fell onto Krampus's body without rhythm. He rubbed his arms and took a deep breath before walking into the darkness. His eyes were watering from the fumes that invaded his senses. I'm really hoping Vanilla didn't mess up and send me to the wrong cave.

The goat demon followed the source until he reached a peculiar sighting. Flowers coated the ground in a dye of violets and blues. The potent fragrance emitted from them would've instantly killed an elf or deer. Even Krampus was showing symptoms.

His throat was burning and his vision was covered in green and purple spots. It was as if the demonic blood flowing through his veinse rushed to his head, making it ache. He sunk to his knees and crawled to the flowers, brushing his fingertips against their stems with the last of his strength.

Ripping them from the ground, he stood back up. That was easier than I thought, was his last thought until he fell to the ground. His heart's beating grew weaker. Then suddenly, all was silent.

After a few moments, he bolted back up. Shit! I died again. Marie was right; this place is horrid, even for me. Once he gathered some more flowers, he rushed back to the tunnel and dove into the ocean. He looked around when he saw the mermaid's emerald tail swaying against the waves. Marie, take me back to the North Pole now.

She nodded before silently taking his hand and swimming forward.

Now that that problem's out the way, I can finally go home, he thought, too distracted by his goals to notice Marie's grip on him tighten. She stopped, causing Krampus to look at her. What is it?

She looked down. Her white eyelashes reflected the moonlight as tears clung to them before diluting into the ocean. "I... I won't," she whispered.

What? his thoughts were laced with venom more potent than the flowers clutched in his hand. What did you say?

"I won't let you leave!" With every word she yelled, her nails dug deeper into his skin. A twisted smile stained her once elegant face when she embraced him with her tail. "I'll drown you as many times as I have to, I don't care; just don't leave me..."

Krampus scrolled his eyes over her body. So let me get this straight. He attepted to push her away, but to no avail. You kidnapped me from the North Pole, tortured me and forced me to touch you when I was young and now you want me to stay down here and die with you? I don't have time to play your games.

She sighed while nuzzling Krampus's chest. "Then I'll just force you to give in. The best part is that you can't teleport so we'll have lots of fun." Marie then dragged him downwards towards the abyss. "Soon you'll forget all about that place."

Not today. He attempted to kick his way out of her hold, only to fall deeper into her embrace.

"No, you're going to stay." Her eyes glowed as hands rose from the bottom. Whispers surrounded them, trying to separate the two. "He's mine," she growled, scaring off the other ocean dwellers.

Actually, I'm no one's. Krampus glared at her before lowering his head to ram her with his horns. He dug them into her stomach, enough to make her distance from him.

"Agh!" She held her stomach and stared at him with wide eyes. Her blood floated between them as she turned away.

Ah, ah, ah. The goat demon grabbed her head and smiled. He then took one petal and stuffed it down her throat before kicking her away. Marie's body squirmed and wriggled until she stopped moving, sinking to the ground.

Wow, this is that powerful? Wait until the king gets a load of this. He turned upwards, glad to finally be free. He glanced at Marie's sinking body and thought, Sorry, before swimming back to the surface.

No time for remorse. She's a mermaid― A little petal won't kill her. Krampus looked down to find the flowers still in his hand. Once his head popped up from the water, he took in as much oxygen as his lungs could before swimming back to land.

Despite his body shivering from the icy water, he welcomed the snow that melted against his cheeks. "No more water." There he laid for a few moments to catch his stolen breaths until his heart's race returned to normal. All right, he thought with a sigh as he stood, time to go.

After opening the portal and diving in, he headed to the hole that presented the front of the posh jail. Once he went through it, he stepped into the snow. Hm, the king's kitchen is probably at the castle. Vanilla should know where, since she's been there before. So he ran inside while shielding the flowers from the harsh wind with his tail.

With the elevator taking him down to the basement, Krampus was free to explore his thoughts. Finally got these damned flowers. He opened his hands to look at the withering flower. It's funny how quickly beautiful things die. His back rested against the wall when he muttered, "just like Mother and Father."

He thought of every time he would rest on his mother's warm fur as she lulled him to sleep. He thought of the moments he spent training with his father in order to adapt to his powers and the days they would all spend simply watching the world move by when a sigh escaped from him. Knowing Mother, she'd probably do the same things I am now. Or not, who knows? They're both in a place where I can't reach them.

Krampus shook his head as an attempt to rid himself of such bittersweet memories just when the doors slid open. "Vanilla," he called while running to her cage.

She stretched her arms after yawning, holding her thin pillow tightly. "What is it now, Kram-"

"Here," he muttered while looking away. "I got the flowers."

She reached her arms out to exaamine the plant. "Wow, you really did it. There's still some nectar left, though it's a bit wet." She licked her lips, wide eyed as she looked at him. "You need to crush the petals and extract the nectar in order to use it."

Krampus scratched his head and frowned. "Sounds annoying."

"There should be some tools in the royal kitchen― it's near the... Servant's Hall, I think." Her chin rested in her palm when she sighed. "Now Krampus, are you sure you want to do this? You'll be in danger if you get caught without permission, especially after whatever stunt you pulled awhile ago."

The goat demon chuckled at her scrunched nose. "I'm already healed; I'll be fine. Don't worry." He ruffled her red locks with his free hand, revealing her sharp ears.

"...Okay, I guess. The hall should be to the left of the king's den. Better yet, just follow a snowman. They'll be bound to go there to harass the elves."

"Hm. Interesting." I should ask Tim and Yuki. They'd tell me, hopefully. "I'll check it out. Thanks." He took a step back with his tail swinging behind him.

"Wait; what'll you do afterwards?" She clutched her pillow tighter as her eyes gazed at him.

Krampus grasped his chin between his fingers. "I'll... well, I don't know yet. Let's worry about that later."

Vanilla's small figure shook as she chuckled. "That's just like you. All right, but be careful." Her green eyes glistened when she muttered, "I don't want anyone else to die."

A flick landed on her head, making her hands reach up to rub the spot. "What the hell?"

The goat demon licked his lips and snickered. "I can't die, remember? Or at least, it's hard for me to. Stop overthinking it and just put your faith in me."

With that, he walked back to the elevator, pushing the up button so that he could leave. I've gathered some power from children, but it's still relatively scarce. I have to use it with caution. But I don't want to use Simon either... he's had a rough day. Just as he sighed the doors opened, so he stepped inside.