Getting an early start!
Title: In the Bleak Midwinter
Author: Nuance
Fandoms: Fandom High, Black Jewels, X-men. But mostly Fandom High.
Rating: G
Author's Note: Christmas Winsol fluff, plain and simple. Written for not_a_parakeet.
This is the worst Winsol ever, Karla thought, glaring stubbornly at her feet. Her Winsol was sucking. Quite a lot. She listened to the quiet murmur of her friends, talking and laughing together, and tried not to grimace. No sense ruining everyone else's good time just because she was miserable. She would just sit here with her book and keep her sulking to herself. Mother Night, she couldn't even try to drink her bad mood away. That just reminded her that she was here, alone with no one to share her Winsol cup.
***
To be fair, her lousy holiday had started back in Fandom, when she'd asked Warren if he wanted to come home for the holiday with her. The asking had mostly been a formality in her mind. Why wouldn't he want to accompany her home so they could spend a holiday--the most important holiday--together? Except his answer hadn't been what she'd been expecting.
"Errr, I'd love to, really," Warren had replied, stammering a bit. "But I have to do something else."
Karla had just gaped at him, confused. "You...what?"
He'd given her a kind of hapless shrug. "I already have plans. I--can't go with you. Sorry."
Under different circumstances, Karla might have demanded more information, tried to figure out exactly what was more important than his girlfriend, but she was so thrown by this that Warren was able to just lean in, give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and hurry away, saying he had somewhere to be. Karla'd just watched him, shocked, thinking to herself, If he doesn't want to go back to Kaeleer-- not that she could entirely blame him after the last debacle --why can't he just say so?
The next day, blinking back tears she'd deny to the end of time, Karla walked through the portal alone.
Arriving at the Hall should have put her in better spirits, but from the moment she'd arrived, everyone had been too busy to spend time with her. Jaenelle and Lucivar especially-they kept flitting away on ‘errands.’ She’d offered to accompany them the first few times, only to keep getting the brush-off. After the fourth time Jaenelle had trilled, ‘we're buying Winsol presents' or Lucivar had growled, 'You'd have more fun here,' Karla had finally gotten the hint. They were off doing something and whatever it was, it didn't involve her. Fine.
She'd spent the three days leading up to Winsol sulkily staring at a book. Uncle Saetan was finishing up all of the accumulated paperwork and taking care of any last minute issues that arose, so he could enjoy the thirteen nights of Winsol in peace. The servants were busy scrubbing the house down and preparing magnificent feasts. The last thing they needed was a bored and lonely witch getting underfoot. And the rest of the coven and boyos hadn't arrived until late this afternoon--just in time to nap before the festivities began.
Even Morton had deserted her. He'd been surprised and overjoyed to see her, which had been nice, but had then explained with a rather sheepish expression, that he'd promised Aaron he'd share a cup with Sabrina, so Aaron could drink with Kalush tonight. Had he known she was coming… Karla had waved that away with a forced little laugh and then had pled exhaustion so she could flee to her room.
***
Maybe I'll just go home tomorrow, Karla thought, watching the minutes tick by on the clock. It was half past eleven-soon they'd toast and exchange presents and then Karla could go back to her room. She didn't think anyone would notice if she skipped the dance tonight. It wasn't like anyone had noticed her so far. She hadn't realized it could be so lonely, surrounded by a crowd of people. Andulvar and Prothvar. Lucivar and Mephis. Saetan and Jaenelle, Khary and Morghann, Gabrielle and Chaosti, Morton and Sabrina...So many people, all of them her friends, and not one person seemed all that happy to see her.
If she'd known that her self-pitying expression was drawing knowing little smirks and surreptitious nudges from other people around the room, she might not even have stayed for the toast, best friends with Witch or not. I'll tell everyone that something's come up and I'm needed elsewhere and maybe I can still find someone to visit over the holidays. Or I'll just hang out in the dorms with everyone else who is staying at the school because they have nowhere else to go...
Before she could work herself even further into a funk, Jaenelle glanced up from the cradle board and tilted her head slightly. "Does anyone else hear that?" she asked, furrowing her brow slightly.
Khary and Chaosti, thrilled at anything that got them out of playing yet another losing hand, both stopped immediately to listen. "It sounds like singing," Chaosti said slowly. "Children singing."
“Must be carolers from Halaway,” Saetan said, setting aside his book. “Shall we go listen, children?” He held out a hand to Karla. “Help me up, my dear?”
How nice. To be paid attention to only when she was needed for a favor. Yes, after the carolers, she'd say she had a headache and just retire to her room. Or maybe even before. Perhaps she could just help Uncle Saetan up and then head to her room immediately. She glanced up to speak, but he beat her to it. “Thank you, darling,” he said, settling her hand firmly in the crook of his elbow. “Let's go watch the carolers together, shall we? I'm certain you'll enjoy them."
Karla gave a listless nod. Why not? She could listen to a song or two, first. Besides, it was a children's choir. There was no better excuse for a headache, really.
***
Beale was already by the door by the time the group left the sitting room. He also looked delighted. He had a niece who lived in Halaway, if Karla remembered correctly. She must be one of the children out there. Otherwise, why would their normally stoic butler be that excited for a group of random carolers? Or maybe Beale just liked the holiday--though Karla grumpily decided that it was more likely that he had been tippling the Winsol rum a bit early.
As Beale opened the door, the carolers broke into a new song--Karla's own favorite, actually, though that didn't make her any more disposed to be pleased with anything. "In the bleak midwinter…" they sang, a cold gust of wind carrying their voices into the Hall. Not that anyone else seemed to care about how cold it was. Karla and Saetan were practically pushed outside onto the stoop; everyone crowding forward in anticipation.
And there, right in front of the carolers, stood Warren, bundled against the cold with a warm scarf and the coat she'd given him last year, surrounded by almost fifty children. Two child tightly clasped his hand, and another little girl was perched on his shoulders. The children were vaguely familiar-surely she didn't know the children in Halaway enough to recognize any? She turned questioning eyes up to Saetan, but he shook his head.
*Just enjoy the song, my dear,* he sent, golden eyes twinkling with amusement. *They've come quite a long way to sing for you.*
Sing for...her? Not them all? And how was Warren...?
But Warren wasn't saying anything, either. Just singing along with the children, his eyes fixed firmly on the music the small girl on his shoulders held in puffy green mittens.
"Frosty wind made moan / Earth was hard as iron / Water like a stone…" It was a short carol, really, a simple song about the world in winter, waiting for the warmth of spring and the care of a Queen to restore it back to life. The first Queen. Witch. The children sang it as best they could, their piping sopranos bolstered by Warren's clear tenor. "Snow had fallen / Snow on snow. / Snow on snow. / In the bleak midwinter. / Long ago."
When the carol ended, Warren finally--finally--looked over to her and gave her that crooked grin she adored. "Down you go, Cora," he said, plucking the little girl off his shoulders, his eyes remaining locked with Karla's. And as soon as the little girl was safely on the ground, he stepped forward, climbing the steps to the front door. "Happy Winsol, Karla," he whispered, before pulling her in for a deep kiss.
It was a lovely long kiss, one that might have gone on longer, had it not been for the children who'd begun giggling and Uncle Saetan's ostentatious clearing of his throat. Unfortunately a kiss of the quality was not at all conducive to Karla's ability to think, so when he finally released her she was still as confused as before. "How?" she asked, looking up at him. "What?"
Warren laughed a bit and pulled her close-and out of the doorway. The children all clambered up the stairs and swarmed into the Hall. "Why don't I explain after everyone goes inside?" he suggested, dropping another kiss onto her temple. "I only managed to convince everyone to come by promising Mrs. Beale's hot chocolate. It's so famous, they've heard of it in Askavi."
At that, the children cheered, tugging off hats and coats and gloves. Helene and Mrs. Beale herded them into the kitchen, where a crackling fire, platters of nutcakes, and, yes, the promised hot chocolate awaited. Normally, Karla might have joined the dash, but she had far too many questions to even be tempted by the promise of nutcakes and cocoa.
"Askavi?" she repeated in a whisper. "You mean--Agio?"
No wonder the children all looked familiar. They were the children she'd Healed in Agio. Every last one of them. For a moment, even Warren was ignored in favor of watching them with wide, wondrous eyes. They looked like happy, healthy children, no sign of the trauma they'd lived through. Not tonight.
"It was all Warren's idea," Jaenelle said, coming over to join them, Lucivar not far behind. "He wrote Lucivar to see if it was possible, who came and asked me, and we set off to gather up all the children who'd be willing to come along for a few nights."
"So that's where you were always going off to!" Karla said, pointing an accusing finger at her best friend.
Lucivar rumbled a small laugh. "That's where," he said with a nod. "All while trying to come up with excuses to keep one sulky little witch from suspecting anything." He laughed harder when Karla's face reddened as she realized just how completely silly she'd been this whole week.
"It wouldn't have been so obvious," Jaenelle said, taking up the story again, voice full of laughter that was mercifully suppressed, at least for now. “But every child we found wanted to come. We'd expected at least some of them to be too nervous or shy to agree, but they all wanted to thank you for Healing them.”
“And some of them,” Warren said, nodding at Cora, “wanted to know if the Prince ended up winning the heart of the lovely Queen.”
Karla had to hug him again at that. “You told them that he had, right?” she asked, burying her face in his neck.
“Of course,” he said, wrapping his wings around her. “In fact, what I told them was that they'll live happily ever after.”
***
That night, when midnight tolled and glasses of blooded rum were raised for the glory of Witch, Karla had someone to share her cup. It was, she decided as she met his eyes over the rim of the glass, the best Winsol she'd ever celebrated.
Author: Nuance
Fandoms: Fandom High, Black Jewels, X-men. But mostly Fandom High.
Rating: G
Author's Note: Christmas Winsol fluff, plain and simple. Written for not_a_parakeet.
This is the worst Winsol ever, Karla thought, glaring stubbornly at her feet. Her Winsol was sucking. Quite a lot. She listened to the quiet murmur of her friends, talking and laughing together, and tried not to grimace. No sense ruining everyone else's good time just because she was miserable. She would just sit here with her book and keep her sulking to herself. Mother Night, she couldn't even try to drink her bad mood away. That just reminded her that she was here, alone with no one to share her Winsol cup.
***
To be fair, her lousy holiday had started back in Fandom, when she'd asked Warren if he wanted to come home for the holiday with her. The asking had mostly been a formality in her mind. Why wouldn't he want to accompany her home so they could spend a holiday--the most important holiday--together? Except his answer hadn't been what she'd been expecting.
"Errr, I'd love to, really," Warren had replied, stammering a bit. "But I have to do something else."
Karla had just gaped at him, confused. "You...what?"
He'd given her a kind of hapless shrug. "I already have plans. I--can't go with you. Sorry."
Under different circumstances, Karla might have demanded more information, tried to figure out exactly what was more important than his girlfriend, but she was so thrown by this that Warren was able to just lean in, give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and hurry away, saying he had somewhere to be. Karla'd just watched him, shocked, thinking to herself, If he doesn't want to go back to Kaeleer-- not that she could entirely blame him after the last debacle --why can't he just say so?
The next day, blinking back tears she'd deny to the end of time, Karla walked through the portal alone.
Arriving at the Hall should have put her in better spirits, but from the moment she'd arrived, everyone had been too busy to spend time with her. Jaenelle and Lucivar especially-they kept flitting away on ‘errands.’ She’d offered to accompany them the first few times, only to keep getting the brush-off. After the fourth time Jaenelle had trilled, ‘we're buying Winsol presents' or Lucivar had growled, 'You'd have more fun here,' Karla had finally gotten the hint. They were off doing something and whatever it was, it didn't involve her. Fine.
She'd spent the three days leading up to Winsol sulkily staring at a book. Uncle Saetan was finishing up all of the accumulated paperwork and taking care of any last minute issues that arose, so he could enjoy the thirteen nights of Winsol in peace. The servants were busy scrubbing the house down and preparing magnificent feasts. The last thing they needed was a bored and lonely witch getting underfoot. And the rest of the coven and boyos hadn't arrived until late this afternoon--just in time to nap before the festivities began.
Even Morton had deserted her. He'd been surprised and overjoyed to see her, which had been nice, but had then explained with a rather sheepish expression, that he'd promised Aaron he'd share a cup with Sabrina, so Aaron could drink with Kalush tonight. Had he known she was coming… Karla had waved that away with a forced little laugh and then had pled exhaustion so she could flee to her room.
***
Maybe I'll just go home tomorrow, Karla thought, watching the minutes tick by on the clock. It was half past eleven-soon they'd toast and exchange presents and then Karla could go back to her room. She didn't think anyone would notice if she skipped the dance tonight. It wasn't like anyone had noticed her so far. She hadn't realized it could be so lonely, surrounded by a crowd of people. Andulvar and Prothvar. Lucivar and Mephis. Saetan and Jaenelle, Khary and Morghann, Gabrielle and Chaosti, Morton and Sabrina...So many people, all of them her friends, and not one person seemed all that happy to see her.
If she'd known that her self-pitying expression was drawing knowing little smirks and surreptitious nudges from other people around the room, she might not even have stayed for the toast, best friends with Witch or not. I'll tell everyone that something's come up and I'm needed elsewhere and maybe I can still find someone to visit over the holidays. Or I'll just hang out in the dorms with everyone else who is staying at the school because they have nowhere else to go...
Before she could work herself even further into a funk, Jaenelle glanced up from the cradle board and tilted her head slightly. "Does anyone else hear that?" she asked, furrowing her brow slightly.
Khary and Chaosti, thrilled at anything that got them out of playing yet another losing hand, both stopped immediately to listen. "It sounds like singing," Chaosti said slowly. "Children singing."
“Must be carolers from Halaway,” Saetan said, setting aside his book. “Shall we go listen, children?” He held out a hand to Karla. “Help me up, my dear?”
How nice. To be paid attention to only when she was needed for a favor. Yes, after the carolers, she'd say she had a headache and just retire to her room. Or maybe even before. Perhaps she could just help Uncle Saetan up and then head to her room immediately. She glanced up to speak, but he beat her to it. “Thank you, darling,” he said, settling her hand firmly in the crook of his elbow. “Let's go watch the carolers together, shall we? I'm certain you'll enjoy them."
Karla gave a listless nod. Why not? She could listen to a song or two, first. Besides, it was a children's choir. There was no better excuse for a headache, really.
***
Beale was already by the door by the time the group left the sitting room. He also looked delighted. He had a niece who lived in Halaway, if Karla remembered correctly. She must be one of the children out there. Otherwise, why would their normally stoic butler be that excited for a group of random carolers? Or maybe Beale just liked the holiday--though Karla grumpily decided that it was more likely that he had been tippling the Winsol rum a bit early.
As Beale opened the door, the carolers broke into a new song--Karla's own favorite, actually, though that didn't make her any more disposed to be pleased with anything. "In the bleak midwinter…" they sang, a cold gust of wind carrying their voices into the Hall. Not that anyone else seemed to care about how cold it was. Karla and Saetan were practically pushed outside onto the stoop; everyone crowding forward in anticipation.
And there, right in front of the carolers, stood Warren, bundled against the cold with a warm scarf and the coat she'd given him last year, surrounded by almost fifty children. Two child tightly clasped his hand, and another little girl was perched on his shoulders. The children were vaguely familiar-surely she didn't know the children in Halaway enough to recognize any? She turned questioning eyes up to Saetan, but he shook his head.
*Just enjoy the song, my dear,* he sent, golden eyes twinkling with amusement. *They've come quite a long way to sing for you.*
Sing for...her? Not them all? And how was Warren...?
But Warren wasn't saying anything, either. Just singing along with the children, his eyes fixed firmly on the music the small girl on his shoulders held in puffy green mittens.
"Frosty wind made moan / Earth was hard as iron / Water like a stone…" It was a short carol, really, a simple song about the world in winter, waiting for the warmth of spring and the care of a Queen to restore it back to life. The first Queen. Witch. The children sang it as best they could, their piping sopranos bolstered by Warren's clear tenor. "Snow had fallen / Snow on snow. / Snow on snow. / In the bleak midwinter. / Long ago."
When the carol ended, Warren finally--finally--looked over to her and gave her that crooked grin she adored. "Down you go, Cora," he said, plucking the little girl off his shoulders, his eyes remaining locked with Karla's. And as soon as the little girl was safely on the ground, he stepped forward, climbing the steps to the front door. "Happy Winsol, Karla," he whispered, before pulling her in for a deep kiss.
It was a lovely long kiss, one that might have gone on longer, had it not been for the children who'd begun giggling and Uncle Saetan's ostentatious clearing of his throat. Unfortunately a kiss of the quality was not at all conducive to Karla's ability to think, so when he finally released her she was still as confused as before. "How?" she asked, looking up at him. "What?"
Warren laughed a bit and pulled her close-and out of the doorway. The children all clambered up the stairs and swarmed into the Hall. "Why don't I explain after everyone goes inside?" he suggested, dropping another kiss onto her temple. "I only managed to convince everyone to come by promising Mrs. Beale's hot chocolate. It's so famous, they've heard of it in Askavi."
At that, the children cheered, tugging off hats and coats and gloves. Helene and Mrs. Beale herded them into the kitchen, where a crackling fire, platters of nutcakes, and, yes, the promised hot chocolate awaited. Normally, Karla might have joined the dash, but she had far too many questions to even be tempted by the promise of nutcakes and cocoa.
"Askavi?" she repeated in a whisper. "You mean--Agio?"
No wonder the children all looked familiar. They were the children she'd Healed in Agio. Every last one of them. For a moment, even Warren was ignored in favor of watching them with wide, wondrous eyes. They looked like happy, healthy children, no sign of the trauma they'd lived through. Not tonight.
"It was all Warren's idea," Jaenelle said, coming over to join them, Lucivar not far behind. "He wrote Lucivar to see if it was possible, who came and asked me, and we set off to gather up all the children who'd be willing to come along for a few nights."
"So that's where you were always going off to!" Karla said, pointing an accusing finger at her best friend.
Lucivar rumbled a small laugh. "That's where," he said with a nod. "All while trying to come up with excuses to keep one sulky little witch from suspecting anything." He laughed harder when Karla's face reddened as she realized just how completely silly she'd been this whole week.
"It wouldn't have been so obvious," Jaenelle said, taking up the story again, voice full of laughter that was mercifully suppressed, at least for now. “But every child we found wanted to come. We'd expected at least some of them to be too nervous or shy to agree, but they all wanted to thank you for Healing them.”
“And some of them,” Warren said, nodding at Cora, “wanted to know if the Prince ended up winning the heart of the lovely Queen.”
Karla had to hug him again at that. “You told them that he had, right?” she asked, burying her face in his neck.
“Of course,” he said, wrapping his wings around her. “In fact, what I told them was that they'll live happily ever after.”
***
That night, when midnight tolled and glasses of blooded rum were raised for the glory of Witch, Karla had someone to share her cup. It was, she decided as she met his eyes over the rim of the glass, the best Winsol she'd ever celebrated.