Krampus looked down to see that the floors were made of swirls of brown and cream marble. As he ran, the scent of cinnamon hit his nose so strongly that he wondered if the castle's interior was made out of the finest of pastries. He was marveled by how much had changed. Before, the castle had a simple design: a rather large gingerbread house mainly crafted by colored crystals.

In fact, Krampus mused, it couldn't have been considered a castle to begin with. The scent reminded him of before, when he would make boxes of cinnamon buns for the workers when the king wasn't looking. It was a tranquil time then. Yet the more he discovered new changes to the North Pole, the more he felt like it would never return to how it was before.

Once again brushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, he slowed his pace when he ran out of breath. Taking a moment to observe his surroundings, he noticed that the castle was much more luxurious than he remembered.

Peppermint candy cane designed pillars were scattered around the hall as brown and gold spiral designs clung to the ceiling. The walls were splattered with a checkered layer of brown and cream shades similar to the floor that Krampus stood on.

When Krampus stopped walking, a set of two large eight paneled doors stood before him. As he stepped closer, the scent of chocolate enwrapped his senses, dominating the remainder of cinnamon that lingered in his thoughts. Curious, Krampus allowed his fingers to brush against the door. The material was hard and fragile, as if pushing any further would clapse the structure.

He observed his fingernails, surprised to see a brown substance tucked under them. Sniffing it for a moment before licking it clean, he came to the conclusion that the doors were the source of the bittersweet smell, for they were made of chocolate. He inhaled deeply as he wrapped his hand around the golden door knob and peeked inside.

The first thing he noticed was the golden throne at the back, plush with scarlet cushion that ended at the armrest; King Santa, a large man, though aged with grey hair was still strong and adorned the throne wrapped in a thick white shawl. He looked down with furrowed eyebrows as he spoke to the person who was blocked from Krampus's view by a pillar. The king, Krampus noted, he hasn't changed a bit.

He tiptoed close enough to see the person who stood next to the King. The mysterious figure was shrouded in mist as snowflakes fell from their shoulders. Krampus peered closer, intrigued by their interactions. The King was seething; he could tell by the way his cheeks flushed pink as the person spoke.

Krampus licked his lips with the tip of his tongue when he caught a glimpse of the person. His face was icy blue with a stone cold expression locked on his features. Krampus felt a chilling sensation just by watching the man. Whenever he spoke, piles of condensed water vapor stumbled out of his mouth, as if his body was a living freezer. He knew exactly who it was: the one person who he despised almost as much as the King― Jack Frost.

The man used to always play pranks on young Krampus so much that he was forced to rip himself from the hold of his childhood innocence and into that of maturity at a young age. He never understood why Jack bothered him, nor did he care. They sporadically exchanged greetings if they met in the town when they grew into young men, yet spoke nothing of the past.

Now he stood before King Santa, tall and quiet, just as he used to be. Krampus figured that it was about time he interrupted them, stepping forward with. The shackles that bound his loyalty to the King jingled, catching the attention of both of them. They turned their gazes to him.

Jack was the first to speak after a long silence. "Krampus? What're you doing here?"

"What, can't the prince of the Winter Throne visit his soon-to-be castle after a century vacation?" Krampus spat, glaring at the King as he remembered the day of his demise. The King only stared back with a deceitful smile.

Jack raised his stark white eyebrows, smirking in amusement. "Hmm... Didn't think you'd actually come back. Still, how dare you present yourself in such atrocious attire? I thought the king sent you robes," he said while scrutinizing the goat demon with visible disgust, "not rags."

"Ah, well blame Santa. He's not very updated with the times. He was always a stubborn old man who never bothered to adapt to the modern millennium-"

"Silence!" The king scolded, his voice reverberating through the hall and pounding into their ears. "I don't remember raising such insolent children who spoke to each other with disrepect. Jack," he motioned with a sigh, "about the sinners, you know what to do."

"Understood. I'll take care of it." Jack bowed until King Santa dismissed him. Krampus watched him leave with suspicion. What did he mean by 'take care of it'?

"Now then," the King spoke with a hint of joy after a door shut, "Krampus. I am pleased to inform you that your exile has been lifted momentarily, as long as you will follow my orders."

"What orders?" He muttered while crossing his arms. "You never said anything about 'orders.'"

The old man shook his head disapprovingly. "Are you saying that you won't comply? Who knows, dear Krampus, what would happen to that girl of yours if you don't?" He paused, glancing at the goat demon, "maybe I should exile her instead?"

Krampus's eyes widened as he growled before charging for the man. His claws were about to reach for King Santa when something tackled him to the ground. The king only looked down at him with a sneer hidden beneath his full white beard.

Krampus struggled to free myself, but his efforts were in vain as he lost energy with every attempt. He gasped when he felt his arms numb as ice crystals creeped up from his fingertips. "What's happening?!" The coldness quickly turned to prickles of heat, burning his skin in a way that only ice could do. When he looked up with visible panic, he noticed that Jack Frost was on top of him.

"Try not to struggle; you'll die quicker that way," he nonchalantly said before pressing his freezing arms down more.

"Why are you doing this?" Krampus croaked out, hardly breathing as the freezing cold that spider-walked up his body knocked the air out of him.

Jack smirked, beaming his white teeth down at the goat man while stating, "Because you tried to raise your hand against His Highness. Are you calm now, Fool?"

With no other choice and his anger replaced with slight fear and disgust, he nodded. By now his most of his body was coated in ice, each part in him being paralyzed with the manipulated frost except for his head. He couldn't speak; his voice had abandoned him when he dared to shoot a glare at the cool-headed man.

As soon as he did, the ice was removed as quickly as it had come, with Jack Frost removing himself from on top of Krampus to standing above him. He stretched his long arm out to the bewildered man, yet received no verbal response. Instead, a dark fire lit in Krampus's eyes as he looked at the king. His blood was boiling so much that if he were a kettle, he would've certainly been whistling.

Krampus ignored the tall blue figure's gesture and stood up himself. After a few staggering seconds, he rubbed his shoulders and answered, "I am no fool; I simply wish to know why I was exiled in the first place, and why-"

Jack watched him stand, pulling his hand back with a sneer. "Krampus, you obviously have lost your intelligence and grace if you can no longer suppress your emotions when in the prescence of royalty."

The half-goat demon sighed deeply, ignoring the urge he had to say something rather offensive to the blue-bearded man. He turned to Santa instead. "Why did you bring me here?"

The large man stared at him in amusement. "I've told you before. It is because I see potential― and it should be used where I see fit. You have actually just convinced me of how perfect you are for the job. You're strong, ferocious and..." He trailed off, scanning Krampus's body for a brief moment. "fairly useful."

Krampus looked down, tightening his fists. I don't know if I should feel offended or not. He sighed in defeat before stating, "The only sinful one here is you. After I told you again and again to not whip the reindeers, you purposely hit them harder. You didn't stop, you just turned the other way to my advice. That," he paused, glaring at the man who sat in the throne, "is unforgivable."

The king chuckled, caressing his beard with his gloved hand. "What are you, the white knight in shining armor? How amusing. Besides, I have done nothing but blessed these people with my generousity. I could have done much worse."

Krampus stiffened and opened his mouth to speak, but King Santa rose his hand with superiority. "We're done talking. Boys," he gestured towards the doors, "escort him out."