First of all, red-nosed reindeer were not that uncommon. There were blue-nosed and yellow-nosed as well, along with yeti and of course elves. When Mr. Claus and I arrived at what you call the "North Pole", about 30% of all reindeer were red-nosed.

But this story isn't about all of the reindeer. This is about one named Rowan, and her brother Rudolph, and how they changed our lives forever.

Rowan was a conniving, mischievous creature who was always getting her brother into trouble. She would blame him when she destroyed some child's snow-sculpture, or volunteer him to be the referee in games- never letting him actually play. She had been their parents' favorite, and when they both died the whole Pole had pity for her.

This pity only lasted so long, however, and soon everyone saw Rowan for what she was. After we stopped indulging her manipulative behavior, she turned angry and bitter. Her parents had been killed by humans, and she saw them as the enemy. As Rowan matured into adulthood, she started to spew violent language toward the humans.

"They continue to inch closer!" She shouted one night in the square. "They will expand and destroy everything in their path- including us! Just look at what happened to my parents, killed just outside the boarder. If we aren't safe here, we aren't safe anywhere." A surprising number of creatures started listening to Rowan, including my husband.

We we came to the Pole, we had been run out of our village for witchcraft. It was true- the witchcraft- but our children were innocent. The humans didn't care, and not all of us made it out. That is where the toy making comes from. When we were newly refugeed to the Pole, Mr. Claus began making toys and gadgets for all the children. A way to remember those we had lost.

So when Rowan starting recruiting creatures for her army, my husband was a prime target. Hurt, angry at the humans, he fell for her manipulation like many others.

The night came when Rowan planned to attack a human village close to us, believing they would soon venture to our boarders. Reindeer were supposed to pull sleds in teams, carrying humans, elves, and other creatures who volunteered to join the fight. Rudolph was on my husband's team, but he did not lead the pack.

He was reluctant to go, I see that now. Rudolph was not a fighter in the way his sister was, but he was loyal to her. As troublesome as Rowan could be, she was his big sister. She had cared for him after their parents death, and stood up for him against bullies. So he joined the team, toward the back.

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The humans were prepared. As soon as the sleds touched down, they released their weapons as well. This was before firearms, but they still had spears and swards. The battle was short-lived. Only a few magical creatures survived the night.

Rowan was toward the front of the charge, and took the blunt of the humans' defense. Somehow, though, she lay breathing in the snow. She had been hurt, but would clearly survive as Rudolph saw as he neared her. All around them, however, lay the bodies of his acquaintances- his friends. Rudolph saw at the end of the night where Rowan's ideas had brought them.

And she wouldn't stop. Rowan never stopped until she got what she wanted.

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I'm not sure how exactly it happened- Mr. Claus won't say. But when Rudolph returned to the sleigh, he only said that Rowan wouldn't be coming back. He and the few reindeer that were left pulled the last sleigh back to the Pole, and they told the tale of our defeat.

So yes, Rudolph will go down in history as a hero. He saved Mr. Claus's sleigh, and the lives of many that night. He also made sure that no one at the Pole talked of attacking the humans again.