Page 3 of The Orc Who Hated Christmas

Several customers sat at tables, drinking hot chocolate, tea, or coffee and eating festive little treats. Graal never ate in here. Graal, so big and hulking, had never felt comfortable in such a cosy, pretty space.

He got in line. One customer stood in front of him. Graal glanced around the bakery. One of the customers ate a cookie shaped like a star with little swirls of white icing. Graal’s nose wrinkled. What was the point of spending so much time decorating cookies that would be eaten and gone in mere seconds? Frivolous festive bullshit. That was all it was.

Today, the pixie served alone at the counter. Graal thought he’d heard the others call the pixie Cas.

“Do you like my outfit? I’m the Christmas pixie,” Cas said with a flutter of his translucent wings.

Graal rolled his eyes. What was this bloody obsession with Christmas?

Fuck Christmas. It has never done me a spit of good.

“Your clothes are so beautiful,” the customer said, leaning close. “You are such a lovely Christmas pixie.”

Cas fluttered his eyelashes and smiled. “Thank you. You’re so kind!”

Was the customer going to order? Or would he stay there holding up the line? Graal just wanted to get some food so he could go home and fill his belly. Was it too much to ask that the servers actually serve instead of seeking compliments?

Graal looked at the pixie. His wings fluttered as he spoke. His long white and pale-blue hair had been woven into anelaborate array of twisted strands interspersed with ribbons of silver. His pixie aura shone around him.

Silvery makeup accentuated the delicate features of his pale face. His silver outfit showed off his slender frame. His tunic hung open halfway down his hairless, lithe chest, which gave Graal a glimpse of the shiny blue patterns that marked Cas’s skin.

The first time Graal had seen those types of markings on a pixie, he’d thought them magic tattoos. But no, pixies were just born with decorative marks.

Graal looked away. Of course this pretty pixie loved Christmas. It suited him. Frivolous and shiny.

Christmas wasn’t meant for orcs. Graal was technically only a half-orc, but he was still thuggish, massive, and ugly. No one made pretty clothes or sparkling accessories for orcs. They’d never suit someone like him.

Graal sneered. No. Christmas didn’t belong to monsters like him.

Cas leaned forward and said something too low for Graal to hear. The customer laughed, and sparkly dust floated in the air around the pixie.

He even makes the world sparkle and glow.

Graal crossed his arms over his chest as his annoyance continued to build. Several of the other bakers lingered out back. Why couldn’t one of them come and serve him, since this Christmas pixie seemed keener on chatting than serving?

Finally, the customer finished fawning over the pixie, took his package of baked goods, and left.

“Merry Christmas.” Cas smiled at Graal. “I’m the Christmas pixie, as you can tell.” He waved a hand over himself.

Graal approached the counter. He glanced at the pixie. Then looked away. The pixie was blindingly beautiful,especially up close. Graal hunched his shoulders. Every time the pixie served him, it just reminded Graal of his own grotesque appearance.

“What can I get you today?” Cas asked. “We have many Christmas treats.”

“Four loaves of brick bread,” Graal grumbled.

Miner’s bread, known commonly as brick bread, was thick, tough, dense, filling, and brick-like. Hence the name.

It would keep you going, keep you full, and last for a week before going off. Although, he usually got through four loaves in a day or two. It wasn’t the easiest to chew, especially the second day after buying them. But it was edible.

It was also cheap. Nothing frivolous or fancy for Graal. He just needed to fill his belly so he could work tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. And so on until he dropped dead.

Cas grabbed the loaves and wrapped them. “Maybe you want to try the sugar cookies as well. I iced them to look like Christmas baubles. I spent all morning on them.” He gestured to the delicate things. “They’re delicious. Since I made them, I know.” He laughed, a light melodic sound.

Graal shook his head. “Just brick bread.” Graal, ugly hulking brute that he was, would look ridiculous eating something so dainty.

“What about these?” Cas pointed behind the counter, perfect white teeth flashing. “Jam-filled cookies. They are scrumptious! Jasper and Leo made those. And we also have some nice cranberry tarts,” Cas prattled on. “And this is?—”

“Brick bread. Four loaves,” Graal interrupted.