For any young child, the Christmas season was both welcomed and sought after. Especially when it came to the night before. Most children, due to their curious nature, spent at least one of the years camping out for ole Saint Nick.

Of course, these were young ones, so most never could stay awake all night to spy on their target.

Iris was a different story. Previously, this seven year old had stolen a bottle of their mother's cola, chucked full of caffeine and sugar to keep them awake and alert.

As the clock struck midnight, the child set off at the rustle in the chimney. It wasn't followed by a clumsy break-in nor a fall. Just a magical poof and in came a jolly fat man. Iris knew to watch from afar and attack only when he was least expecting it.

Another thing that differentiated Iris from normal children was what they were after.

Santa's Naughty and Nice List. An odd choice, yet even the name oozed magic of multiple varieties. If any of his possessions were to give an inhibitor or a sprinkle of the unknown, that was it.

So they watched as he checked this list multiple times as per the famous sayings before nestling the strip of paper atop a nearby table. Just a few hours prior, milk and cookies were laid out for such an occasion. It would be a shame if he didn't indulge!

While distracted, Iris scrambled over, hidden from sight with use of conveniently placed furniture. They didn't stop until at their destination. Rather than taking more time than necessary to steal the whole list, Iris ripped a corner of the dusted paper. Now held tight in their palm, they bolted from sight as quickly and quietly as they were able until arriving at their room.

Parchment in hand, they looked down once more before doing the only thing thought of to consume this magic.

They ate it.

15 Years Later

"Hurry up Sally! You'll miss it! These cupcakes only come around this time of year, and I must get my hands on one!" A little boy dragged his friend by the arm, mothers wallet in his free hand.

"I don't know what all this mess is about some cakes. You can get them anywhere any time of year!" The girl shook her arm free with an unhappy 'hmph.'

Yet curiosity still led them both to this mysterious bakery that housed the cupcakes the boy was after.

'Naughty or Nice Cupcakes'. Also known as N or N Cupcakes. The bakery owner wasn't all that great at names. The point was that this was a holiday special.

The Bakery was wedged between the local police station and the grocery store. An odd placement most questioned until after witnessing the effects of this 'special'.

Both children approached the outdoors display. "We'd both like one N or N please!"

Iris, the owner of the bakery, gave each a warm smile before reaching over to grab a few freshly made the day before. The trick was that they were simply normal vanilla cupcakes. However, due to the consumption of the list they stole and ate themselves as a child, they had an extra magic kick to them.

"These look just like normal cakes!" Sally frowned, inspecting the delicacy as if it were supposed to hold more secrets or goodies than it seemed. Special her boot! Taking a bite of the crumbly dessert, or so what was meant to be, she was met with a horrible surprise.

"There's coal in my cake!" Perhaps half the adult’s height, the preteen stomped forward, slamming a hand on the table in front of her. "I demand a refund!"

Behind her, her companion, Oliver was having slightly better luck. As he bit into his treat, his teeth also met with an unusual feeling, but not the same substance. "Sally! Look! There was money in my cupcake!!" The excited boy showed his spoils.

"I-You-What?!" Sally darted her head from the suspicious shop owner to her friend in disbelief. "This isn't fair!"

"Don't worry, I'll buy you some candy. Come on." Oliver herded his friend over. Before heading off, he waved a parting to the baker.

This was why the grocery store was next door.

Next up in line to test their luck was a businessman who seemed to want nothing more than to not be there yet had no choice.

"I guess I'll have...whatever they had." Couldn't hurt, could it?

With a smile and a nod, his treat was given. The man raised an eyebrow, seemingly inspecting the cupcake from the outside. It seemed edible. Reminded him almost of the pastries he would receive from the wife of the last man he scammed out of millions of dollars. Plain, simple. Enough to hold your attention through a conversation, yet nothing to write home about. His mouth raised into a smirk, reminiscing about how she would plead for him to reconsider.

Biting into the soft dough was like sinking his teeth into the final documents stating their demise.

A couple of bites in and something felt noticeably wrong. He began to choke. Arms shot through the air, grasping at the sides of his throat. It felt as if he had just swallowed a needle. One small enough to leave him trapped between being unable to swallow it and unable to cough it up. He weazed, anything to help himself through. In panic, his eyes shot around, desperately urging someone, anyone to rush to his aid.

The opposite to what he himself would have done.

As if sensing that thought, the tip of the needle he had ingested let lose to a small amount of liquid it held tucked away. It burned while making contact with his throat, forcing him to let out a pained scream while falling to his knees. Never before had he felt pain quite like this. Once the liquid; acid he would never find out, made contact with the rest of his body traveling through his digestive system, he found himself gurgling up blood.

Luckily for him, a death like this came a lot quicker than one of the possibilities at the end of robbing a poor family blind. Although it was extremely humiliating. Not once did a single soul move to support him. With his eyes, he cursed them.

Especially…!

Unable to urge air through his lungs any longer, he felt his conscious leaving. In his last moments, he felt a presence approach him. Unable to move more than his eyes, he turned to watch the baker squat to match his height.

“Shhh. Just close your eyes. It ends the pain faster.” Iris cooed, covering his eyelids, shutting them for him as he breathed his last breath.

As if nothing had transpired, everyone nearby watching continued on with their lives as if nothing happened.

For this was a show witnesses seasonally. As they say, if you're naughty, you got your just desserts.

At the end of each night, Iris reflected back on each days events while baking for the next. It brought them joy to see those who earned good gain gifts while those who were bad punished by their own wrongdoings. It was amazing to think that the magic to create such a thing came from such a small piece of parchment.

It was such a shame Iris couldn’t eat any of their own creations after that day. Stealing from Santa was considered a crime. Who knew what kind of punishment would have been in store. Yet a price must be paid to use a power of any sort.

A price like this they found it was worth to pay.