#going feral for my own fic i'm jsut so excited writing it i swear

[scary-lasagna]

The Christmas Express of the Underrealm, Pt I.

The sun has long since set over the rooftop of the manor, and clocks throughout the resident's rooms eagerly ticked down to midnight, for when Santa would arrive and chuck presents lovingly under the giant tree set in the middle of the foyer.

Slender made sure to simmer the fireplace early, so it would be cool enough to travel down, yet still strategically hold a bit of toasty warmth in contrast to the bitter cold and snow Santa would be facing throughout the night. The tall man ushered everyone off to bed early, clearing out the most populated rooms, and even wagging a finger at Jane for attempting to hide in her designated reading nook with [Y/N].

It's been long since Splendor tucked Sally into bed, and answered most of the Santa-related questions he could. Most of which he pinned on asking Slender tomorrow morning when she opened presents.

The pink walls and frills of her room only stared back at her as she kept her eyes overly wide to struggle to stay awake. The princess canopy made this more difficult, willingly placed there to create a mock sense of snoozy comfort made for a princess. Butterflies and other whimsical insects littered the bare spots of the wall around posters and self-painted portraits of herself and those she claims as her family. Vintage and modern toys alike neatly lined her rather large windowsill, along with paintbrushes used for her lovely portraits, getting the best view of when Santa comes along with his reindeer.

The 8-year-old crossed her fingers together and rested her intertwined hands on her stomach as she patiently waited… She looked over at the window, her toys still keeping an eye out for her as she pretended to sleep.

And waited.

She hummed an old tune to herself, attempting to smartly keep her mind busy enough to stay awake.

…And waited.

Sally lay in her bed, being very careful to not rustle any sheets, while breathing slowly and quietly. After all, how else could she listen for the ringing bells of Santa's sleigh? It might only be a quarter after 10, long past her bedtime, especially on Christmas Eve, but if The Great Claus were to travel across the realm, his sleigh would have to be the size of an ocean liner, and a total of three days to do it. Things just weren't adding up this year. So Sally decided she'd stay up to face the truth, and wondered quite a lot why she was still hearing footsteps outside of her room.

Why were people up if it's almost midnight? They're supposed to be in bed! Everyone knows that, it's literally in the song. Someone grumbled something about a cabin. It sounded like [Y/N]. The footsteps faded down the stairs.

He knows when you're sleeping and when you're awake, so it's only implied that you have to be sleeping by the time he gets here, or you'll be placed on the naughty list last minute!

What silly rules those are. Maybe Sally wanted a glass of water at midnight, would Santa deprive a dehydrated child of water just to put presents under the tree?

Her thoughts ceased to a screeching halt as her door popped open, a pencil-thin light peering into her safe space.

Holy SHIT is that Santa?

Sally shot up like a rocket, quickly peering through the door crack. It widened, revealing a shape that was nowhere near the size of a big jolly fat man and eight reindeer. Well, nine, if you include the weird outcast with a red nose.

In fact, it was a much, much smaller frame. Probably the shortest adult she's ever encountered.

"Ben, what do you want from me? I'm trying to sleep here." Sally huffed and plopped her head back into her pillow in aggravation. There's nothing that could be more important than the arrival of Santa.

Nothing.

"I just had a feeling you were still up, is all." Ben leaned on the doorframe for a second, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, why not? You already ruined it." Sally gripped her covers and turned over with a haste that was too overly dramatic to imply anything short of spoiled annoyance.

"Ruined what?" Ben took the invitation with ease, and sat on her bedside. "It's not even midnight yet." He glanced at the ticking clock on her bedside to make sure, and sure enough it was still counting down to 10:30.

"Well, you and everyone else are up, which means Santa isn't going to come!" Sally threatened the verge of tears now, with so much frustration in a tiny body like hers, the only way of release is through waterworks.

"Ooohh, so you don't know?"

Sally roughly turned her head toward Ben, yet her body lay still. "What?" She pouted.

"All of those myths are outdated. Santa's really with the times now," Ben shrugged smugly, "and it doesn't matter whether there are people awake or not, he knows how to find a way to sneak past them and place presents under the tree. They're invisible until morning, so even if a kid sneaks down to peek, they won't be there!"

Sally supposed that made sense. But she didn't admit it. After all, why would Splendor lie about having to stay in bed until morning?

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't be sleeping though." He gave her a pat on the shoulder, and attempted to leave, but Sally had one last thing to say.

"I'm not sleeping tonight. I'm listening for the bells on Santa's sleigh."

Ben smiled, and nodded knowingly at the door frame. "Wake me up when he gets here, then."

The door clicked shut, and Sally sank into her mattress with great comfort. She blamed her sleepiness on the canopy, and weakly shook a fist toward it with a sleepy groan.

Her eyelids held too much weight to keep prying open, and slipped, and fell into a cozy and warm darkness of slumber.

#IT'S A MAGIC CARPET ON A RAIL NEVER TAKES A REST #going feral for my own fic i'm jsut so excited writing it i swear #polar express #is one of my favorite xmas movies #and creepypasta?? my favorite fandom??? #it's the best thing really #the polar express #creepypasta #creepypasta x reader #creepypasta headcanon #creepypasta imagines #ben drowned #sally williams #christmas #creepypasta christmas #creepypasta holiday #holiday #xmas #slender #splendor #jane #jane the killer #jane arkensaw #ben drowned x reader #i'm gonna start putting my longer fics on ao3