So Be Good, For Krampus' Sake

Hello reader,

I hope you don`t mind if I take a moment of your time to thank you for reading my piece, I truly appreciate it :) Being a novice writer, trying to improve his skills, I`d be grateful for any feedback or comments you`d be willing to leave.

Have fun and I wish you a merry 'Krampusnacht'.

So be good, for Krampus` sake.

§1

The fire in the old, granite hearth crackled and popped as flames danced merrily along the blackened pine logs. Julia felt a smile spreading across her face as she lifted a steaming mug of gluhwein to her lips, the rich scent of warm wine and cinnamon coloring her world in warm shades of red.

It had been years since she`d visited her grandmother, Greta, in Austria, but as Julia watched the elderly matriarch tell stories to her young cousins, it felt like she`d never left.

In true Germanic fashion, the five youngsters surrounded their grandmother as she held up an old book of fairytales in her lap. Greta never once glanced at the yellowed pages, she knew the tales by heart.

The kids were completely enraptured as they listened.

". . . And so, with thousands of homes to visit, Sankt Nikolaus needed someone who could help him on this most special of days. He needed someone to make sure little children always behaved well."

"Krampus!" The gaggle of children around her exclaimed in a chorus of voices. Julia couldn`t help but chuckle at their enthusiasm.

Apparently Greta felt the same. Her grandmother nodded wisely, orange flamelight accentuating her restrained smile.

"That`s right, Krampus," she continued. "The son of Hel. A half demon, half goat."

Greta`s face became grave as she spoke, meeting each set of wide eyes around her.

"They say you can hear him coming for you, for he carries rattling chains and long, birch branches to whip misbehaving children into shape."

As the old woman lowered her voice even Julia could feel herself being pulled into her grandmother`s tale.

"And if the child has been particularly naughty," she aimed a crocked-eyebrow glance at little Lise, "if she took a cookie without asking, for example. . ."

The young girl averted her eyes, but Julia could see that her mischievous smirk was mirrored on Greta`s face. An Austrian grandmother loves spoiling her grandkids rotten after all.

". . . When a child is that naughty, their parents will only find claw marks that the beast left in its passing. For you see. . . Krampus loves snatching children up in his jute sack and taking them back to the Underworld. Like that!"

Quick as a whip, Julia saw her grandmother grab Fritz by the collar of his pajama's, a grin plastered on her face. The boy squealed in delight and half-heartedly tried to wriggle free of Greta`s grasp. The rest of the kids giggled.

"But grandma," Lise asked, "can Krampus really visit every home in one night?"

"Oh yes, my dear." Greta`s hand brushed the girls blond locks from her eyes. "For he has many helpers of his own, who keep an eye out for naughtiness."

Julia took another sip of her gluhwein. Pulling her legs beneath her on the chair, she noticed the spiced warmth beginning to make her feel light-headed. Grandma Greta apparently didn`t believe in boiling the alcohol out of her winter drinks.

"So." The woman concluded, closing the story book slowly. "I hope you`ve all been very good this year and that Sankt Nikolaus brings you all a wonderful present tonight. And if not. . ." She winked at Lise, who shyly looked away again.

"Maybe you can promise Krampus that you`ll be better next year, so he doesn`t take you with him, hmm? Now, off to bed with you."

***

It took a while to get the riled kids upstairs into their beds, but together Julia and her grandmother managed to tuck them all in before the clock struck 10 o`clock.

"They adore you." Julia said.

"Ha, they should. Who else spoils them with cookies and chocolate milk before bedtime?"

"You`re not worried that those scary stories are going to give them nightmares?"

Greta`s beheld her granddaughter. Her piercing gaze softened by the smile lines around them. Julia remembered the intensity behind those blue eyes as if she was herself no older than her now sleeping cousins.

"Don`t be so sure they`re just stories, Julia."

Her grandmother had always liked the Germanic version of her name better. Pronouncing the first part as "you". To Julia it brought a certain melody to the otherwise common name. Strange, how such a small detail could make her feel at home even after all these years.

The old woman wiggled her eyebrows at her. "Have you been a good girl overseas?"

"Grandma," she responded, faking outrage. "I`ve only ever been the very best." She overemphasized to convey that she`d play along.

Her grandmother`s attentive eyes held her for a moment longer, almost seeming to read something in her own, before blinking and smiling.

"Good. I`ll admit that I sometimes worried that such a big city would change even a well behaved girl like you, Julia."

A flicker of something Julia couldn`t place danced in the woman`s eyes. Yet, as quickly as it had formed, it disappeared. Greta changed the subject to a less invasive topic.

"Will you really be alright sleeping in the guesthouse?"

"Of course, wouldn`t want to disturb the little ones. As long as it`s warm I`ll be fine."

"Well alright then, honey. I`ve lit the fireplace a few hours ago, but don`t forget to put on a new log, so you`ll be warm in the night. You can find them-"

"In the barn, I know, Grams."

"Ugh, don`t call me that, please," she winced, "I`ve never understood why people like being called that. I have a proper title."

Julia blew an amused breath of air through her nose and stepped forward. She hugged her grandmother, who placed a kiss on her forehead, even though the senior was nearly a full head shorter than she was at this point.

"Schlaf gut, Schatz."

"Schlaf gut, Oma."

§2 -- 22:12 PM

Julia carefully closed the door behind her as she stepped in the cold night. Her footsteps crunching in the freshly fallen snow as she made her way to the guesthouse. She pulled her shawl closer around her shoulders to ward of the chilly mountain air, which penetrated even her thick sweater with ease.

She could see her breath puff out in fluffy clouds in the silence surrounding the remote homestead. A waning moon illuminated her path past the red and green painted barn.

To her amusement, Julia felt a slight tremble in her legs as she reached out to the doorhandle of the guesthouse, though she`d only taken a few dozen strides. Seems like the 'glowing wine' had hit her harder then she`d thought.

She couldn`t stop herself from giggling as the image of her grandma feeding her shots popped into her head out of the blue. Julia could already imagine Greta tearing up the dancefloor.

Her giggle turned into a full on wheezing laughter. Julia nearly doubled over as the thought of her matronly grandmother twerking made its debut.

This was so stupid but she couldn`t stop her mind from conjuring up the images as she chocked back laughter under the dark sky.

With unsteady fingers she shook the doorhandle up and down. The effect of which was a metallic rattling -click- before she could swing the door open.

Julia stumbled into the guestroom. Still trying to suppress her mirth, lest she wake anyone, she let herself drop down onto the bed and buried her face in the pillows. She could finally let go and make as much noise as she needed.

God, it was silly, her eyes teared up as she chortled into the soft pillows, but it felt too good to stop. She`d needed this after the year she`d had.

It wasn`t even laughing about a certain thing, Julia let herself giggle purely for the hell of it, reveling in the way her stomach began to clench. She felt like she couldn`t breathe, which only served to fuel the hilarity of the moment.

She let the burst of merriment play out, until she lay on the bed feeling delightfully heavy and content.

The covers smelled like sandalwood, just as she remembered from her childhood. The roughly woven fabric felt comfortable against her cheek. She made herself take in a few steadying breaths. Loosening the tightness around her waist.

Now that she`d settled down she looked around the room, idly taking note of the furnishings.

The large bed she lay on stood as the centerpiece, complete with small, wooden bedstands on either side. On the opposite end of the room, six feet from the foot of the bed, flames crackled in the lit hearth, just like her grandma had said.

Her face nestled between the thick, fluffy pillows Julia couldn`t actually see much of anything, but she was mesmerized by the soft orange glow that danced on the walls.

Everything felt exactly like it did when she was younger.

With one exception, Julia noted casually. The bedpost closest to the door showed three lines trailing across its width. Neatly spaced from each other, yet running diagonally up the post, through the grain.

Huh, weird.

Feeling her attention fading and her body sinking slowly into the mattress, Julia kicked off her shoes as best she could. The sounds of rubber soles clattering against wooden floorboards told her she`d succeeded.

Not wanting to lift her spinning head, she shimmied beneath the weighty covers and basked in their sandalwood embrace. Thoughts of snow, fire, pine trees and happiness flowed through her mind as she closed her eyes.

She was home.

§3 -- 00:01 AM

Something tickled her face.

Julia brushed her hand along her forehead, emitting groggy, complaintive noises as she did so. The light sensation returned after mere heartbeats, lifting the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

What the hell!?

Julia surged awake, sitting up straight, peering into the darkness around her. Shit. . . she`d totally forgotten to put a new log on the fire. Without the warm light the room was bathed in pitch blackness, the family house being as secluded as it was.

She couldn`t see a thing, but to her dismay she could hear a slight breathing coming from just beside her.

"H-hello?"

Her voice was barely more than a loud exhalation. Her throat was chocked with the sudden fear of knowing she wasn`t alone in the room.

A small rush of air came in response to her question.

"Who are you?"

A weight lifted of the bed. Julia could clearly feel herself rising as the springs extended. She heard a soft, yet exaggerated sigh, followed by a sound she couldn`t place.

Dulled footsteps told her the person walked towards the guestrooms outside door.

*clop* *clop*

A jolt ran through her as she hear her shoes dropping onto the floor. The sudden noise startled her.

"Didn`t even take the time to undress properly. . ."

The words were spoken in a drawl, like the man couldn`t be bothered to hide his discontent. The voice sounded familiar somehow, definitely male. Not unfriendly or hostile, but as if the fact of her clothed state disheartened him.

". . .That just won`t do."

"W-who are you?" She repeated, louder this time, almost managing a whisper.

The man seemed to ignore her as she heard footsteps crossed to the fireplace. Julia heard the dry scraping of logs before they were laid into the metal brazier with a clank.

Was he really taking his time to light a fire?

The rasp of paper against paper and a sudden flare of light told her he`d found some matches. A yellow glow blossomed from the lit match, framing his silhouette as he knelt before the logs.

Scrawny shoulders blocked Julia`s sight of the growing flames. The figure drew in a slow breath and blew gently to stimulate the ignited kindling.

Drawing her gaze away from the stranger, Julia looked around her in search of her cellphone. Where had she left the stupid thing? She always put it on her nightstand to charge.

Wait. . . She`d left her phone attached to her charger in the main house`s kitchen.

Dammit.

Her heartbeat quickened now that she began to realize that she`d be hard-pressed to get away from the unknown man. Julia could tell that he wasn`t much larger than she was, but without her shoes she`d never be able to outrun him in the snow.

Even worse, she knew her grandmother slept with earplugs in and her cousins occupied the best insulated room to keep them warm.

Nobody would hear her if she screamed.

A cold tide of panic rose in her chest. Julia was frozen in place as the man righted himself and turned around.

"Hope I didn`t startle you, Julia."

Julia could practically hear the grin in his tone, even without noticing the white glint of bared teeth against his inky outline. Was that normal?

The man stood maybe 5'7", his hands resting on his hips. He cocked his pelvis, drawing her eyes to it. It hit her that he was posing. . .

"Like what you see?"

As the radiance in the fireplace grew, Julia was shocked to discover that the stranger was completely nude. But something was off.

He wasn`t quite a man.

And he wasn`t quite a stranger.

The pitch-black shade of his skin didn`t lighten as increasingly brighter light washed over his features. Only his blue eyes and his glimmering smile broke the stygian coloring. Shocked, Julia realized that she recognized him.

The being before her resembled a guy she`d been in college with. Their short interaction was anything but positive.

"B-Ben?"

She thought back of her last encounter with the lanky, awkward young man. She`d caught him watching some obscene form of hentai, wherein a impossibly busty woman was tied and pleasured by a writhing mass of tentacles.

Unable to hide her amusement over the scandalous animation, she`d started a gossip that quickly got out of hand. He`d worn the nickname 'tentacle Ben' ever since.

The figure`s grin widened -- broadening into a wolfish display of teeth. He tilted his head, seemingly amused by her uncertainty.

"Close. . . " it breathed, "but let`s not dawdle on the details, shall we?"

This creature was awfully at ease for someone breaking into a home. It seemed nearly. . . polite. Maybe if she could keep it talking she could figure out a way to escape.

"W-what do you mean 'close'?"

"I mean that we take the appearance of people who were mistreated by you humans. So in a way. . . Yes, I am Ben." The creature articulated an elegant flourish as he explained.

"I am the way you 'perceived' him. His mind, his interests, his body. With a few. . . alterations."

The last words came out in an almost hungry growl. Not-Ben gestured at his crotch, informing Julia of the disconcerting lack of a penis. Where the member should have hung there was only smooth skin, as if he was a Ken doll.

However eerie, that wasn`t the thing that disturbed her the most. In the hand that stayed fixed on his cocked hip she could see the rectangular outline of her phone. The shiny, red case she`d bought for it not a week ago reflected the firelight as his hand moved it ever so slightly.

"Oh, this?" he asked, "I thought I would bring it with me, for some. . . souvenirs."

Again, that half growl tinged his voice on the last word.

"What the fuck do you want from me?"

Now that she knew what she faced, the icy fear that had started to spread through her stomach turned to burning anger. Who the hell did this asshole think he was?

Not-Ben rushed her, faster than her eyes could follow. One moment she was raising her voice in pique, the next his hand was clamped around her mouth, pressing her head roughly down into the pillows.

His inky form hovered unnaturally close above her supine body, seeing as he still held her phone in one hand. He seemingly held his entire weight with the hand pressed against her lips.

"Funny you should ask."

The jovial tone sent a shiver down her spine. She tried to fend him off, but to her horror she found that she couldn`t move her arms. Something was wrapped around her wrists.

"Struggle all you want, naughty girl. I like having to work for my prize."

Julia`s heart was beating frantically, threatening to deafen her with its fear-induced pace. This foul creature wanted her.

"To answer your question," Not-Ben said, while casually aiming his attention to her phone, "As you`ve been out of our glorious country for such a long time, we worried that you`d avoid paying the price for all the naughty things you`ve done over the last few years."

His thumb sped across the touch-screen, unlocking the phone with a digital *click*.

"So, to balance our account, the boss planned something special for you, seeing as you`re technically not fully grown up yet." He wiggled his hand in a so-so gesture, "we gave ourselves some wiggle room with a bit of creative rule bending."

Julia dimly remembered hearing something like this before. A roommate who studied biology had once told her that the brain kept developing until a person was around 25 years old -- a marker she was only a few months away from reaching. The being was using a very loose definition of 'grown up'.

Wait. . . did that mean his boss was-

"That being said," Not-Ben interrupted her thoughts. "He`s exceptionally busy this night of the year, so he tasked us with the more. . . Hmm, playful parts of your punishment."

"After all. . . You`ve been a very naughty girl."

Julia could see the whole of her captor`s face as he pronounced the statement hungrily. He held the phone towards her, the bright screen illuminating his face. A familiar shutter sound told her that he`d accessed the camera function.

"You`ve been so mean to poor, old Ben. I think he deserves some nice photos, don`t you?"

And with that the phone gave a distinct *snap* as not-Ben took her picture, his hand still covering her mouth.

§4 -- 00:13 AM

"Damn. . ." He rolled his eyes, "I always forget to turn on the flash." He met her wide-eyed gaze, "I`m such a klutz."

Julia tried desperately to wrench her wrists loose, wriggling beneath the being that now straddled her hips as it flippantly operated her phone.

"Ah well, you`re wearing way too much clothes anyway. Wouldn`t want Ben to think you`re a prude, now would we?"

To her horror, Julia saw two appendages elongating from behind the being`s back. They resembled vines, smoothly gliding through the air towards her.

Now that her attention was momentarily focused on not-Ben`s waist she saw that a similar pair of shadowy vines were wrapped around her lower arms, pinning them against her hips.

As soon as she`d made the observation the vines around her arms extended, pulling her wrists upwards, above her head. She winced as the rough movement thumped her knuckles against the oaken headboard.

"Ooh, you even have some sweet filters on here." Not-Ben remarked, his eyes plastered to her phone.

Julia tried to inch away from the tendrils, to no avail. Her head was held firmly in place, not a single hairsbreadth of leeway.

The second pair of round-tipped vines, however, stopped their menacing approach and dipped beneath the hem of her sweater. Julia`s stomach twitched, eliciting a muffled squeal from her, as the appendages wriggled over her ticklish lower belly.

What the hell was he doing?!

His intention quickly became clear when she felt the vines slipping beneath her undershirt. In a fluid motion the tendrils pulled both it and the sweater up over her chest, bunching the garments under her chin, where its hand -- still covering her mouth -- stopped the baring movement from continuing.

Julia felt her nipples harden as they were exposed to the wintry air. As if in response to her body`s reaction, Not-Ben looked up from the phone.

"Much better."

He rotated the phone horizontally, holding it closer to her, apparently trying to fill the screen with the round shapes of her breasts.