A Carter and Kat Christmas

by Steve Groll

Two young friends get a very unusual Christmas gift from an old friend and end up facing a dangerous challenge.

It was 6:00 a.m. Christmas morning when Carter's phone rang. He knew exactly who it was and answered with, “What did you get for Christmas, Kat.”

“How did you know it was me?” Kat asked.

“Who else would be calling at 6:00 in the morning?”

Kat giggled. “Did I wake you?”

“I was up, and you still haven't told me what you got for Christmas.”

“I'm not going to tell you. I want to show you. Can you meet me at our tree by the river in an hour?” Kat sounded excited.

“Yes,” Carter said.

“Great, I'll see you then.” Kat hung up before Carter could say bye.

After Carter finished his breakfast and dressed, he headed out to the large shade tree where he and Kat made most of their adventure plans. The sun was shining but it was cold, and Carter arrived dressed in his blue jeans, denim jacket, and hiking boots. He was a little upset with his parents because he did not get what he wanted for Christmas. Knowing that seeing Kat would elevate his mood, he arrived for their meeting a bit early hoping she would be early too. Unfortunately she was late.

Sitting with his back against the trunk of the tree, Carter, was scratching circles in the dirt with a twig when he heard footsteps approaching. Looking up he saw Kat walking toward him wearing camouflage green cargo pants, a brown leather jacket, and sturdy black leather boots. Around her neck hung an expensive looking pair of binoculars.

Carter jumped up. “Wow, Kat, you look like a real adventurer.”

“What, you mean I don't look like I'm going to a sleepover?”

“No way. You look like you are ready for some serious adventuring. I like it. Did your mom get all that for you?”

“Most of it. So what did you get?”

Carter made a sour face and said, “Not what I wanted, that's for sure. I wanted an advanced chemistry set that had experiments like they do in high school. But my dad was afraid that I would blow the house up or something. So I got a robe and house slippers instead.”

“Ah, I bet you look cute in them. Are the slippers pink, bunny slippers?” Kat teased.

“Ha ha, very funny. Hey, those binoculars look pretty cool; can I have look at them?”

Kat smiled, took the binoculars from around her neck and handed them to Carter, “Of course, they're yours after all.”

“What! These are mine?”

“Yes, I guess Santa left them at the wrong house. They had a ribbon with your name on them.”

“Awesome!” Carter took the binoculars and looked them over while wearing a big grin. “These are so cool. Thanks Kat. Oh, that reminds me, I found this under my tree with your name on it.” Carter reached under his jacket and pulled out a fancy looking digital camera.

Kat started jumping up and down, squealing, “I can't believe it! Is this really for me?”

Carter chuckled at Kat's display of excitement and said, “Yeah, I guess Santa thought it was time you upgraded from that cheap little film camera.”

Kat threw her arms around Carter and hugged him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“Hey, don't thank me, thank Santa.”

“Yeah, I'll do that if I ever see him.” Kat turned her camera on and took a quick snapshot of Carter as he looked through his binoculars.

“I don't believe it!” Carter gasped.

“What?” Kat asked.

“It can't be!” Carter said.

“What? What do you see, Carter?”

“It's Guard! He's standing on the other side of the river down by that big oak tree. Here have look.” (The Guardian is a mysterious old man dressed in a white robe who aided the children on their bizarre and dangerous adventurers beyond Dead Forest.)

Kat grabbed the binoculars from Carter, looked through them, and said, “I don't see him. Where is he?”

“I am right here,” came Guard's voice from behind the children. Startled, they jumped and turned to see Guard standing a few feet away smiling at them. “It is good to see you two again.”

“Guard!” the two said at the same time. What are you doing here," Carter asked.

“I have a Christmas gift for you two. The kind of gift you love to get. I am sending you on a very important adventure. There is no time to waste.”

Before the children could say or ask anything, they were engulfed in darkness and felt the sensation of falling. It was rather frightening, but it did not last long. When they were able to see again and feel their feet on solid ground, the two young explorers found themselves in an alley. Rough wooden buildings stood on either side of them. The ground was hard, packed dirt. Behind them was another building and ahead of them they could see an open area filled with people.

“That looks like a marketplace,” Carter said. “Let's go check it out.”

“Okay,” Kat said. “I sure wish we knew what we're doing here. It's not like Guard to just dump us someplace without any clue as to what we are supposed to do.”

Carter stopped and cocked his head as if he were listening to something.

“What is it, Carter? Do you hear something?”

“Yes, I just heard Guard in my head tell me that we are supposed to find the king and tell him what's going on in the village.”

“That's good, but how are we to know what we are supposed to tell the king? There must be all kinds of things going on in a village like this.”

Just then, loud shouts came from up the street to their left. A large crowd of people ran toward the sounds, and Carter and Kat followed them. About a hundred feet beyond the alley there was a mob of people shouting hateful things at someone or something in the center of the mob. The two adventurers heard things like, “What is that?”

“It is a monster.”

“Be careful.”

“It looks dangerous.”

“Somebody kill it!”

Carter and Kat scooted their way through the crowd to get a look at what all the fuss was about. When they got close enough, they saw something strange. It was a young man who looked perfectly normal except for one thing; he had green skin. His hands, face and sandal-ed feet were as green as a Christmas tree. The terrified look on the young man's face told the partners that he was not dangerous. After all, how could having green skin make you dangerous?

“Please, good people, I mean you no harm. I just wanted to visit your village and get to know you. I may be different, but I am not dangerous. My name is Thomas, and I have money to spend in your marketplace.”

“How do we know you are not here to kill us? Are we just supposed to take your word for it? I have small children and I do not want them to get hurt,” said a woman from the crowd.

“I say, better to be safe than sorry, let's just get rid of him,” said a rather heavy, balding, unpleasant looking man.

“At least let's tie him up to the punishing post until we decide what to do with him,” Said an older gentleman. “Come on some of you young strong men help me secure him.”

The town took Thomas to the end of the street and used rough ropes to tie him to a seven ft. pole sticking up out of the ground. “There, that should hold him until we decide what to do with him,” said a tall man with a beard and a black hat.

Some of the younger children started taunting Thomas shouting “Green bean, green bean, green bean.” When one of them picked up a handful of mud and threw it at him, the others followed with rocks and sticks.

Kat was so upset that she started toward the kids to tell them to stop, but before she got there a girl about Kat's age and three boys that were with her, chased the kids away. Carter and Kat walked up to the girl and her friends. “I'm glad you guys did that. My name is Kat and this is my friend Carter. Kat held her hand out to the girl and the girl took Kat's hand and shook it.

My name is Emily and these are my brothers. This is Carter, my oldest brother, Jacob, and Brodie.”

Carter shook hands with Emily and her brothers. When he shook Carter's hand, he said, “Good name my friend,” and smiled at him.

After the children finished their introductions, Emily went up to Thomas and asked if he needed some water. Thomas nodded and her brother Carter said, “I'll get him some.” There was a well nearby and the 3 brothers lowered a bucket into the well and pulled it up full of water. Carter dipped a wooden cup in the water and brought it to Thomas. Emily said, “I'm sorry for the way you are being treated. I don't know what we can do. I think the men are planning to do something terrible before tomorrow.”

Kat said, “We know what to do. We have to talk to the king. Can you show us where he lives?”

Jacob said, “We have a wagon and two strong horses that can take us all to the king.”

Emily sighed. “We can take you to the king's castle, but the guards will not let a bunch of kids past the gates.”

Carter said, “It's okay. If you take us to the king, Kat and I know how to get into the castle.”

“If you say so,” Emily said not convinced. “At least it isn't far. We can be there in about twenty minutes. Let's go.”

When they arrived at the castle gate, Kat said, “I think it would be best if just Carter and I go. Will you wait for us and take us back to town?”

Just then, Brodie said “I'm hungry.”

Emily took an apple from a basket under the seat and handed it to her youngest brother. “We will wait for you, but I hope you know what you are doing. The king is very powerful and mysterious. He and his guards all wear masks so you never see their faces. Their bodies are covered at all times so all you ever see is their eyes. They give me the creeps.”

“Me too,” said Brodie with a mouth full of apple.

“Thanks guys,” said Carter. “We will be back as soon as we can.”

It was a short walk up a small hill to reach the castle gates. Standing outside the gates were two large, powerful looking guards covered from head to toe in leather armor. They were heavily armed with broadswords and dangerous looking lances. “What are you kids doing here?” The guard on the right said in a harsh voice. “Move along if you don't want to get into trouble.”

Carter stepped up and said, “We are here to see the King. The guardian sent us.”

The two guards looked at each other and then back at the children. The guard asked, “What are your names?”

“I'm Carter and this is my friend Kat. We have urgent business with the king.”

The guard on the left said, “Open the gate and take them to the king at once.”

The guard on the right saluted and said, “We must hurry.”

Carter and Kat looked at each other and shrugged, surprised at how easy it was to get access to the King.

The guard leading them moved so fast through winding corridors and passageways that the children had to run to keep up with him. Finally they came to a magnificent throne room filled with important looking people dressed in beautiful clothing. Sitting on the throne was a man who, like the guards, was covered so that only his eyes were revealed. Upon his head he wore a golden crown, and he had beautiful golden designs across his armor. He wore a red robe over his shoulders that came almost to the floor.

“What is the meaning of this interruption?” the king said.

Kneeling on one knee with head bowed, the guard said, “Please your majesty, forgive the interruption, but I bring The Guardian's champions, Carter and Kat, as you ordered.”

The king shot to his feet and said, “Is it true ? Are these children from The Guardian?”

Carter stepped forward and bowed to the king. “Yes your majesty. We have been sent by The Guardian on a matter of great urgency. There is a young man with green skin being tormented in the village.”

The king roared in anger, “Nooooooo! Quick, get my warhorse and my royal guard mounted. We ride, immediately!”

So great was the kings anger that it scared Carter and Kat. The guard that brought the children before the king told them, “Return to the village as quickly as you can, and if you arrive before the king, tell the people that the king is on his way and he will deal with the green man. Do all in your power to prevent any harm to the green man. Now follow me and I will show you out.”

Once Carter and Kat got back to the wagon, they jumped in and yelled, “Hurry back to the village as quick as possible.”

Emily's brother, Carter, said, “I'll drive. I am the best at handling this rig.”

It was a rough ride, but they made it back to the village just as a group of rough looking men were piling wood around the green man's feet.

Jumping down from the wagon, Carter and Kat ran to the men and said, “What are you doing?”

“Get away you brats, unless you want to get burned. We are going to roast this green skinned monster before he can hurt anyone,” said the tall man with the black hat.

“No you can't do that,” said Carter. “The king is on his way to deal with him.”

“Get out of here. We don't even know you two. And you do not really expect us to believe that you know anything about our king and what he is doing.”

“We just talked to him,” Kat said. “He will be here any minute.”

“Get away from here or we will tie you to that pole, and you can burn along with that green skinned freak,” said another man carrying a torch.”

Just then Emily, and her three brothers surrounded Thomas trying to protect him, but the men of the village pulled them off and held them so they could not get in their way. Then to everyone’s surprise the sound of many horses approaching and a trumpet call was heard.

“It's the king,” Emily cried.

“The king? The king is coming here now?” People asked each other as they moved back away from Thomas.

When the King and his men finally arrived, the people fell to their knees and bowed their heads. Some even cried for fear of what he might do.

“What is the meaning of this?” the king asked as he glared down at the cowering people. “Well someone speak up. What goes hear?”

One of the men that was most determined to destroy Thomas spoke up and said, “Your majesty, our village was attacked by this monster here and some of our bravest men subdued him. You arrived just in time to see us destroy him.”

The king climbed off his horse and motioned for the people to stand. The king walked over to Thomas and looked him over. It was obvious that the people of the village had been hurtful to the green man. He was bleeding from cuts on his head and face. He was covered with dirt and filth that had been thrown at him. His face was wet from people spitting on him.

“As you can see, Majesty, he is not human. He is dangerous and needs to be destroyed,” said the man.

Turning to the people the king asked, “Have I been a good king to you?”

All people said, “Yes.”

“The best king we have known,” said a woman holding a baby. “You have always protected us from our enemies. Your warriors are the best in the land. Everyone says so.”

The people all nodded their agreement.

”Have I over taxed you?” asked the king.

The people all expressed their agreement that they were prosperous under his reign and felt that the taxes were fair. Some even said that they knew that tax money was used to help them struggle through the hard times when food was scarce. And it was true that the king was a fair man and the people were satisfied with his reign.

“I try to be a good and fair ruler. I try to protect all people from the monsters that would do us harm. But today I must admit that I am not sure who the real monsters are. After seeing what you have done to my son, Thomas, simply because his skin is a different color than yours, I question my own judgment.”

The people were astonished at what the king had just said. At first they did not believe their ears. Then the king reached up and removed the mask that covered his face, and all of his guards did the same revealing that they all had green skin. The people were shocked and filled with terror.

“Yes, you do well to be afraid. My son convinced me that it would be safe for him to venture into the village as himself, and meet the people he would some day rule. Because today is his birthday, I was a little too willing to grant him his wishes. Now he sees what you are. And I agree with you, the monsters should be destroyed. Those who hurt and kill for no good reason should be removed from this land.” The king pulled his sword, and all his men stepped down from their horses and drew their swords. The people cried out and begged for forgiveness.

Thomas said, “Father, please, have mercy on them. They are still young and have much to learn.”

The king looked at his son and seeing again how poorly the people had treated him made the king burn with anger. He struggled with his decision whether to destroy the village or see if they would change if shown mercy. The king put his sword away. “Cut my son free, and know that it is only because of his forgiveness toward you that I do not destroy this village.”

The people wept with shame and sorrow for how they treated the kings son and were amazed that he forgave them. They thanked the king and Thomas for sparing them. They promised that they would learn from this terrible incident.

“Come, my son and let us leave this place,” the king said.

“Father, I must first thank some brave children who helped me even though they did not know who I was.”

“Yes, I too would like to show my gratitude to them.”

The king and Thomas met with Emily, Carter, Jacob, Brodie, Kat, and Carter. The king told them that they would always be welcome to visit the castle any time they wanted to and if there was ever anything they needed, they could count on him and his son to help them, The king even invited them to stay and live at the palace if they ever wanted to. After the king and his men left, Carter and Kat said their goodbyes to their new friends. Then they fell into the darkness again feeling the sensation of falling they found themselves back under their tree by the river.