[ WP ] The devil once promised he would grant you any wish , free of charge , on the day Hell froze over . Today he 's back , and covered in snow .

He slammed the door of the cabin open and waltzed in trailblazing snow. I paused at my beer guzzling to get a good look at the fur-coated stranger, the first in a decade. It might have been the horns or the forked tail that gave it away, then again it was probably the red skin. The devil stopped three paces away while a snowflake melted on his dark cheek. “ Hell just froze over, ” he said. 
 
 I choked, spluttered, almost died from the teaspoons worth of beer in my mouth. “ C-Come again? ” 
 
 “ My first thought was to burn this cabin down –with you in it of course. ” The devil snatched a Bud from the cooler and bit the cap off. “ Then I thought, no, I might be a lying thieving shmuck that tortures and maims, but I stay true to my word, that ’ s the one thing I have over... *him*. ” 
 
 He looked and talked the way he had ten years ago, back when he ’ d come to me for a favour. In return for my services, I ’ d been granted a wish on the condition that hell froze over. Never thought I ’ d get it of course, what with him being the lord of the flames and all. But now he was here, two nights before Christmas, with his blood red skin and a fur coat on. 
 
 “ You want something to eat? ” I asked. 
 
 The lord of red drained the beer in one gulp and then slammed the empty bottle on the table top. “ Your wish, Nicholas, get on with it. My imps are dealing with ice in their ass if you hadn ’ t heard. ” 
 
 Scrap that, he was even worse than before. “ Right... ” I said, finishing the last of my beer. The hell was I going to ask the Devil for? 
 
 -- -- 
 
 “ *792,001*, ” The devil said. 
 
 “ *792,002.... 003... 004... * ” He paused at his shoveling to consider something. 
 
 “ Ipachaus, come here. ” 
 
 An imp as tall as his knee, with pointed ears, and two small wings, trotted over. Despite the snow filling every corner of hell, the Imp seemed to melt under some unknown heat. The devil ignored it, too busy with his thoughts. “ Can you believe that'Nicholas' man? ” 
 
 Ipachaus shrugged. But then again he always shrugged, the only reason the devil liked Imps was because they worked hard and kept their mouths shut – most of the time. 
 
 “ He wished for a never ending supply of presents. He could have ended poverty or I don ’ t know, my reign? He had me worried for a second, the old fool. ” 
 
 Ipachaus shrugged. 
 
 “ Must have been afraid of me, most humans are. ” The devil grinned and got back to his shoveling. 
 
 It was on the one millionth and triple six stroke that his spade hit something solid. Upon clearing the snow, the devil found a silent but very powerful snow machine. Only one person had had access to his realm that knew about snow technology and that was Nicholas. 
 
 “ Ipachaus! ” the devil grumbled. 
 
 Ipachaus shrugged. 
 
 “ Gather the imps, I need you to attend business for me. The man shall pay! ” 
 
 If the Devil had the means, he would have made the trip himself. However, without a deal struck he couldn ’ t cross the void. The Imps would take care of Nicholas for him; he ’ d make sure of it. 
 
 -- -- 
 
 I was busy sorting the presents into sections when there was a knock on my cabin door. At first, I ’ d wondered if it was Satan again, but then I remembered that he usually barged in with a face full of snow. 
 
 Frosted flakes blew into the room as I peeled the door back and peeked through the crack. “ Hello? ” 
 
 There was no one there. Until I felt the tug on my trousers. Five Imps gazed up at me from the doorstep, all knee height, shivering in the cold. I surveyed them with a worried glance, wondering if they came bearing news that the devil had uncovered my plot. But the way they shivered, with their little paws, and shriveled wings, hit a soft spot in my heart. I let them in and shut the door. 
 
 They crowded around the hearth with the towels I ’ d given them. The white cotton was now coloured red, and the imps revealed their green skin. They ’ d explained that they ’ d been painting themselves red to avoid Satan ’ s wrath. Turns out they were really just Elves looking for somewhere to stay and the underworld had somehow been the best option. 
 
 “ Where are you going to go now? ” 
 
 The first Elf shrugged. He was an oddball. The Elf with bright green eyes and long ears spoke up for the group, “ We were hoping you could take care of us, sir. We ’ ll never go back to Satan ’ s home. ” They all shuddered as if possessed by the cold again. 
 
 “ Whatever will you do in my home? ” I asked. There wasn ’ t enough work for all of us, just a cabin, food, and a whole lot of presents. 
 
 “ We could help you organise them, so your home is always neat. ” 
 
 The more I considered it, the more I liked the idea; in fact, I liked it a lot. With an endless supply, we could even give some out to those in need. “ You ’ re going to have to dress up, though, so you do n't scare anyone in the area. And there ’ ll be no red skin dye around here. ” 
 
 They all nodded. “ Promise, sir. What do we call you, sir? ” 
 
 Well, I was plain old Nicholas, but to spite the devil I thought up a funny quip. “ Saint Nicholas will do. ” 
 
 “ Santa! ” one of the elves said. 
 
 I suppose that could work. “ Saint Nicholas or Santa, and from now on, you will be my working Elves. ” 

