Introduction: ? Participant in the Nov. 2025 Royal Road Writathon.It's almost Christmas, and Lacey is still working. Love? She doesn’t even have time to meet the new neighbour. But when she wakes up in a snowdrift in Santa’s Village after falling and hitting her head, she knows it’s time for a break. Even if it means making toys in Santa’s workshop. Then, a fellow workshop elf vanishes, and Santa instructs Lacey to find her. Except, Jinxy has a reputation for disappearing, and nobody takes Lacey’s search seriously. Even Peter, the handsome dark-eyed village guard, is far more interested in Lacey than finding a flighty elf. That’s fine. Lacey’s used to solving her own problems. That’s how she prefers to lead life anyway. Now, if she can only get Peter to stay out of her business, things would be perfect.But with time running out and Jinxy nowhere to be found, she might need to trust someone after all.A festive romantic comedy with snowflakes, a missing elf, magical mishaps, and one very determined heroine.?? About Use of AIThis story is written by a human. Like many modern authors, I use digital tools (including AI) to stay organised — from brainstorming notes to final editing polish. Any AI contributions to the finished text are minor and fully reviewed before publication....