The Dragon's Winter

by Felicity_M

Summary:

It's Geoff's first wintertime since becoming human, and it turns out he has a lot to learn about just how exciting winter in Voludera can be. (Set about two months after the events of The Dragon In The Castle and Striking A Chord).

(Each chapter was written for a different day of the 12 Days Of Christmas 2024 writing prompts challenge, but it all forms an overarching narrative!)

Chapter 1: Snow in Voludera

Notes:

The prompt list that I'm using for each of these chapters can be found here, though obviously I'm only doing 6 of the days for the AU.
This is for day 1, using prompts 'first snow' & 'getting soaked'.

 

“…SNOWING!!!!”

Geoff awoke to the sound of Cesar’s excited yelling, coming from out in the hallway. He blearily blinked his eyes open and saw that Kathy was waking up as well, wriggling a little bit as she lay in his arms.

“Seems like someone’s excited,” said Kathy quietly to Geoff.

“Can’t imagine why,” remarked Geoff drily, but then he smiled. “Good morning, by the way.”

Kathy smiled back and moved closer to kiss him, but she was interrupted by the bedroom door being flung open.

“GUYS!!! It’s snowing outside!” cried Cesar from the doorway.

Geoff turned his face to the direction of the doorway, but didn’t sit up. “Cesar, would you mind knocking first?” he asked.

“Sorry, sorry,” said Cesar, “but Geoff, it’s the first snow since you became human! Aren’t you excited?”

Geoff lifted his head up from the pillow. “I’m sure it’s much the same as all the snow I saw as a dragon: cold, white, and did I mention cold?”

Cesar rolled his eyes. “Well obviously you don’t know what you’ve been missing out on! And besides, there’s also the Winter Festival!”

“Winter Festival?” Geoff repeated. Then he held up a hand before Cesar could respond. “Wait, no, Cesar, could you tell us about it once we’ve actually gotten out of bed, please?”

“Okay, I’ll meet you down at the dining table. Don’t be long!” Cesar replied. And with that, he left.

 

Geoff slumped back down and sighed. “Guess there’s no chance of us getting breakfast in bed this morning, then?” he said.

Kathy laughed. “I’m afraid not,” she replied, smiling. “Another time, perhaps.” She gave Geoff a quick kiss, and then moved to get out of bed. “We better not keep Cesar waiting for too long!”

 

---

 

Layne, Eli, and Cesar were all at the dining table already when Geoff and Kathy arrived downstairs.

“Breakfast will be ready in a couple of minutes,” said Cesar. “The sooner we finish eating, the sooner we can go outside!”

“Whoa, what’s the hurry?” Geoff asked. “And go ‘outside’ where exactly?”

Cesar shrugged. “Just the Castle grounds, probably. Layne, Eli, and I always spend some time enjoying the first snowfall of the season, and it’s always best to do so in the morning, before the sun gets too high in the sky!”

Geoff raised an eyebrow. “Enjoying? What much is there to ‘enjoy’?” he asked incredulously.

Cesar gaped at him. “Don’t you have any books in your library that even mention it at all?” Geoff shrugged nonchalantly. “Well anyway, it can be super fun, I promise! You can go sledding, and make snowmen, and perhaps even have a bit of competition between friends?”

Well, Geoff certainly did enjoy a bit of a challenge from time to time. He turned his attention to Layne and Eli, seeking their input.

"The cold really isn’t so bad once you’re wearing enough warm clothing,” said Eli, “and you don’t have to stay outside any longer than you’re okay with.”

Geoff smiled. “Alright fine, I might as well see what all the fuss is about,” he said. “Kath? You gonna join in as well?”

Kathy shook her head. “I think I’ll sit this one out if you don’t mind,” she replied, “but I’ll make sure there are hot drinks waiting for you all when you come back inside.”

 

---

 

After breakfast, Kathy helped Geoff get dressed in their bedroom.

“Am I wearing enough layers yet?” Geoff asked with mild sarcasm. “I can barely touch my hands to my sides!”

“Good, it means you’ll stay nice and warm,” Kathy replied, doing up the fastenings on Geoff’s overcoat.

“I’d also be nice and warm if I just stayed inside.” Geoff placed a gloved hand on Kathy’s cheek. “We could go to the library, cuddle up with a blanket and a good book…”

Kathy removed Geoff’s hand from her face and rolled her eyes fondly. “Maybe later this afternoon,” she replied. She threw a scarf around Geoff’s neck and used it to pull him down towards her so she could kiss him. “Go have fun with the others, I’ll be here when you return.”

 

---

 

Cesar had donned a maroon hooded cloak, while Layne and Eli were in matching dusty blue coats with wool-lined hoods.

“Nice coats,” said Geoff, raising an eyebrow at the matching pair.

“Thanks!” said Eli. “They’re from The Palace, and they’re super warm.”

“Technically they’re just meant for knights,” said Layne, “but Eli wanted one too.”

“Well you did go on about how it was ‘the warmest coat you’ve ever worn’,” Eli replied, “and it certainly didn’t hurt to ask about it!”

Layne looked at Geoff. “When he says ‘ask about it’, he means claiming that he wouldn’t be able to do his magic effectively unless he was supplied with a certain winter garment or two to keep him adequately warm.”

“I mean it wasn’t a complete lie!”

“Hey, you two, snow outside, remember?” said Cesar, who was growing just a little bit impatient. Then, without waiting for a response, he pulled open one of the front doors and stepped outside, and Geoff, Eli, and Layne followed behind him.

 

As expected, it was most definitely cold out in the frosty winter air, and Geoff pushed his scarf further up his neck, wishing he was wearing something hooded as well. Still, the snowy landscape that greeted him was about as picturesque as anyone could ask for. The castle grounds wouldn’t properly be tended to until springtime, but any current state of disarray was barely noticeable thanks to the pristine layer of white that covered the lawns and garden beds, while also dusting the tops of bare trees and shrubs.

 

Cesar bounded ahead of the others, but turned and found a spot close to the castle’s walls, though a fair distance away from the doors. He waited until the others had caught up with him, and then clapped his hands together.

“Okay Geoff, it’s time to show you how to build a snowman!” he said.

“A snowman? Like a person made of snow?” Geoff asked, looking at Eli in case this was some sort of magic thing.

“Well they don’t really look very human-like,” said Eli with a smile, “but people decorate them, give them faces and arms and stuff, so I guess they’re kind of snow-people in their own way?”

“And snowmen are really easy to make!” said Cesar. “Here, I’ll show you the first part!”

Cesar began by forming a large, well-compacted snowball, roughly the size of his head. Then he began rolling it about in the snow, turning and tilting it this way and that, and Geoff watched as the snowball increased in size. By the time Cesar rolled it to a stop a couple of feet away from the stone brickwork, its diameter was about as long as Geoff’s arm.

“This is one of three snowballs that will make the snowman, each stacked on top of the last,” Cesar explained. “Do you wanna try making the next one, Geoff? It should be smaller than the first, not too much smaller, just enough that it’s noticeable when you stack it on top.”

“Sure, I’ll give it a try!” Geoff replied.

He made a large snowball first, like Cesar had done, and made sure it was packed firmly enough to stay together. Then he began rolling it around in the snow, though he didn’t have to roll his snowball as much as Cesar had.

“Is this good enough?” asked Geoff, halting his snowball a few steps away from Cesar’s.

“Perfect!” said Cesar. “You’re a natural at this! Now we gotta put that one on top of the first. It might be a bit heavy; you might have to bend your knees – sometimes it’d take two of us to- oh yeah I forgot: dragon strength.” Geoff had, of course, lifted the snowball as if it weighed no more than the smaller form it had started as, and easily carried it over to the larger snowball, to place it on top.

“Eli, do you wanna finish off the foundation for us?” asked Cesar.

“Already got it ready!” Eli replied.

Perhaps fittingly, another head-sized snowball was to be used as the ‘head’ for the snowman.

“Now time for the fun bit! Decorating!” said Cesar. “Layne! Go find a couple of branches and some small rocks!”

“On it!” Layne replied, and took off with brisk pace.

Cesar turned back to Geoff. “Different people use different things, but for the ‘traditional’ method-” Cesar reached into a large pouch inside his cloak “-you use coal for the eyes – don’t ask me why.” Cesar pulled out two small pieces of coal and stuck one on the front of the snowman’s head, then offered the second to Geoff, who took it and placed it across from the first piece. “Then either stones or buttons for, well, buttons. Like he’s wearing something, y’know?” Cesar retrieved three clothing buttons from his pouch and carefully pressed them in a line down the front of the middle snowball. “Then a carrot for the nose.” Cesar pulled out a carrot, one with the leafy green parts on top cut off, and offered it to Geoff. “Would you like to do the honours? Just put it so the pointy end is sticking straight out, but you don’t need to push it in too far. Yeah, perfect! Just like that!”

“A bold choice bringing that back again,” said Eli. Cesar pretended not to hear him.

“And now all that’s left is two tree branches for arms and some small stones to make the mouth, which Layne should be returning with any moment now!”

Layne was indeed just coming back into view, with a couple of branches tucked under one arm. His face lit up as he saw the mostly-decorated snowman, and his walking speed quickened.

“Now you’ve done it…” said Eli quietly.

 

Once in front of the snowman, Layne poked the branches into the snowman’s body for the arms, then dotted a smiling mouth on the face using the rocks he had collected. Once complete, an impish grin came across his face, and he plucked the carrot from the snowman, and sidled up to Eli.

“Hey Eli, remember this?” said Layne, putting on a silly voice while holding the carrot in front of his nose and wiggling it.

Eli rolled his eyes but there was a hint of a smile on his face. “Well even if I somehow managed to forget, I’m certainly being reminded now!” he said.

“Layne and J used to joke around a lot back when J still lived with us,” Cesar explained to Geoff. “Little bits of teasing, harmless pranks, that kind of thing-”

“Mostly harmless pranks,” added Eli.

“-But basically one year we were making a snowman together, and Layne started messing around with the carrot, and apparently it was such a random silly thing that J couldn’t really think of any clever comeback for it. It kind of drove J up the wall a little bit, actually!”

“And so, naturally, it became a recurring Thing,” said Eli, drily. “But after J left, I requested that Layne and Cesar to find other options for snowman noses, like a button or something like that. So why exactly do we have a carrot again, Cesar?”

Cesar shrugged, with a mostly-innocent grin. “I wanted to show Geoff the classic way of doing it, that’s all!” he said, going over to the snowman to see if it needed any extra snow between the three sections.

 

Layne, meanwhile, moved over to Geoff, still with the carrot held in front of his nose, and still with a wide, mischievous grin on his face.

“Hey there!” he said, in the same silly voice as before except more emphasised. “Would you like to play with Mister Snowman?”

Layne brought his ‘carrot-nose’ up close to Geoff’s face. Geoff smirked and opened his mouth towards the end of the carrot tip, but Layne snatched it away before Geoff could bite down on it.

“Hey! Mister Snowman needs that for his nose!” said Layne, still not losing the character voice.

Geoff raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Does he now?” he replied. “Well you better go give it back to him, then, hm?”

“…Yeah okay,” Layne replied, in his regular voice this time. He turned and went to go put the carrot back on the snowman, while Eli gave Geoff a quiet thumbs-up.

 

“Ooh, speaking of J, that reminds me!” said Cesar. “Now that there’s four of us again, we have enough for a proper 2-V-2 snowball fight!”

“A snowball fight, you say?” said Geoff. “Would this be the ‘bit of competition between friends’ that you mentioned earlier?”

Cesar nodded. “Sure is! But we’re gonna need a bit more open space than what we have here; come on!”

Cesar led the group down to an expanse of snow that hopefully in the springtime would become something like a lush green lawn.

“Okay Geoff, you can be on my team,” said Cesar, “which makes Layne and Eli the opposing team! The premise is simple; you just make snowballs – smaller than before, usually the palm of your hand is a good reference point – and then throw them at your opponent!”

“You throw them at people?” asked Geoff uncertainly. “Like, to hit them?”

“Yes, but don’t worry!” replied Cesar. “It’s just snow! It breaks apart on impact and it’s not gonna wound anybody!”

“Though with that being said,” interjected Eli, “if we’re doing it proper again, then we should take a moment to make some ‘defences’ first.”

“He means short walls of snow that you can duck behind,” Cesar clarified to Geoff. “And yeah of course!”

 

.

 

“So are there like rules to snowball fights? Some sort of goal?” Geoff asked, as Cesar built up a snow barrier.

Cesar shrugged. “Not really, it’s just a fun thing to do,” he replied. “Usually you just keep going until someone surrenders, or until you start running out of snow within your reach. You confident enough to make some snowballs quickly, ready to throw?”

Geoff scooped up some snow next to where he was crouching down, and shaped it into a ball. “How’s this?”

“Looks good to me!” Cesar replied. Then he called out to Layne and Eli, who were positioned about eight paces away. “You both ready over there?”

“We’re ready if you are!” came the response.

Cesar looked at Geoff and grinned, “Alright, when I call out ‘go’, that’s when we start, okay?” Then he yelled out: “Alright, when I say ‘go’! 3… 2… 1… GO!”

 

Four snowballs flew through the air at the same time. Two managed to collide with each other, one hit Eli and Layne’s snow wall, and the other almost hit Geoff had he not ducked out of the way. After that, Geoff fell into a sort of rhythm of making snowballs, throwing them, and trying to avoid any incoming ones. He wasn’t always successful at the dodging part, but nor were any of his friends, and it wasn’t long before Geoff managed to get a couple of good hits on both Eli and Layne.

 

“Stocking up on ammo are we?” said Geoff, noticing Cesar was focusing on making a small pile of snowballs behind their barrier wall.

“Sometimes it’s more efficient if one person just focuses on making the snowballs while the other person focuses on throwing them,” Cesar explained, handing Geoff a snowball. “Plus it’s good to have consistency in your snowballs: too small and they won’t travel very far, if they don’t fall apart in your hand first. But too big and they-”
Cesar stopped talking as a realization came to him, and then his face lit up as his realization was followed by An Idea.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Uh, why have Geoff and Cesar suddenly both ducked behind their wall, completely out of sight?” asked Eli.

“Who knows,” said Layne, smirking. “Maybe Cesar’s advising Geoff that they both surrender!”

Layne started making another snowball, but stopped when he saw Eli’s eyes going wide as he stared in the direction of their opponents.

“Or maybe it was because they decided to do that.”

Layne followed his gaze, and also went wide-eyed when he saw Geoff holding a snowball about the size of his head (if not bigger), ready to throw it, while Cesar stood next to him, looking extremely smug.

“You can surrender now if you want to!” came Cesar’s voice.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“HEY! No fair!” yelled Layne. “That’s cheating!”

“Is not!” Cesar called back. “Is it cheating if Geoff just happens to be extra strong?”

“Sounds like using special abilities to me!” shouted Eli. “And if that’s allowed…”

Eli looked down to the side, holding out a hand and saying something Geoff and Cesar couldn’t hear. Then they saw three snowballs levitate into the air and hover by Eli’s side.

 

Geoff and Cesar looked at each other, grinned, and then turned back to Layne and Eli, and then it was on.

 

Suddenly the previous snowball-throwing seemed more like a warm-up round. There were large snowballs, fast snowballs, and snowballs coming three-at-once, and Geoff couldn’t help but laugh from the craziness of it all.

 

Finally, though, the snow within arms reach was becoming thin, and the rate of snowballs from both directions was slowing.

“Alright… I think I’m ready to surrender,” said Geoff, sitting down behind the snow wall as he tried to catch his breath, though he was smiling still.

“Yeah, I think I am too,” said Cesar. He stood up and made a large sweeping motion with his hand over the snow wall. He sat back down next to Geoff. “Yeah, Layne and Eli are surrendering as well; they’re coming over now.” He grinned at Geoff. “Call it a draw, hey?”

 

“Gods, Geoff, you look practically soaked!” said Layne, as he walked over with Eli. “How many snowballs did you get hit with?”

“I wasn’t exactly keeping count,” Geoff replied, pushing some of his cold, wet hair away from his face. “Anyway, your coats are looking kinda damp as well!”

Eli chuckled. “Yeah you did pretty well – you both did,” he replied. “Also you might not notice the cold now, but you probably will in a few moments, so I say that we all head back inside to get warm, yeah?"

“I won’t say no to that!” said Geoff, while accepting Layne’s offered hand to help him back up on his feet again.

 

.

 

“So Geoff, would you say you’re having second thoughts about snow now?” asked Cesar as the group walked back towards the doors of the castle.

Geoff shrugged a shoulder casually and smiled. “Well, if people can change their minds about dragons, then there’s no reason why a dragon can’t change his mind about snow,” he replied.

 

“Did you mean ‘there’s snow reason’?”

“Layne!”

Notes:

I was so thrilled when I realised I *finally* had a way to integrate a carrot joke thing into the AU, and such a perfect opportunity! Also I've never actually experienced snow in real life before so I had to do a bit of googling (honestly I've had to google at least one thing for every single day I've written!) (As of writing this, I've already got all but the final part done and ready to post).

Chapter 2: Finding Warmth In Wintertime

Notes:

For Day 4 prompt "mulled wine"

Once back inside the doors of Sunlight Castle, servants came and removed the wet outer-most clothing from Geoff, Layne, Eli, and Cesar, all to be dried by the laundress. Then the group headed to the dining room, where Kathy was waiting for them.

“You’re looking quite rosy-cheeked!” said Kathy as Geoff came to give her a kiss. “Did you have a good time outside?”

“I did, in fact!” Geoff replied. “I even helped make a snowman, you know!” He looked up and sniffed the air. “Mmm, something smells really good.”

“I smell it too!” said Cesar. “And I hope it’s what I think it is!”

“Well come sit down, all of you, and you’ll find out!” said Kathy. Then, once the guys had all taken their seats, she disappeared through a door to the kitchen, and then quickly returned holding a serving tray with five glass mugs on it, which she set down on the table. The drinks were of a dark red colour, and each mug had a slice of orange, a stick of cinnamon, and a couple of star anise inside. “Careful, they’re still fairly hot!”

“Mulled wine, I presume?” said Eli, eagerly taking a glass.

“It sure is!” said Kathy as the rest of the glasses were distributed across the table.

“Nice!” said Geoff. “I’ve always wanted to try some, but I never really had the resources to make any.” He took a large sip of the wine. It was warm, and rich with spices, and had just the right amount of sweetness from the fruit and sugar mixed in. “Wow, this is fantastic!"

“Yeah, I’m feeling warmer already!” added Layne.

“Thank you!” said Kathy, smiling. “It’s a family recipe.”

 

The group sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying their wine, before Cesar spoke up.

“Hey Geoff,” he began, “so like obviously you were never much a fan of the cold and all that, and I guess you probably didn’t go outside much when you were a lot bigger, but what about when you were younger and smaller? Didn’t you ever go outside in the snow, even out of curiosity?”

Geoff inclined his head in thought. “Well, yeah, there was definitely this one time... This might sound like a random question, but have any of you ever eaten snow before?”

“Maybe once or twice when I was younger,” said Kathy.

“A few times as a kid,” agreed Cesar, nodding.

“Oh yeah for sure, many times!” said Layne. Then he coughed. “Not recently, though, of course. Just as a kid, totally.”

“Well, I was curious as a young dragon,” said Geoff. “And back when I didn't fully understand what snow was, I decided to try to eat some of it. Turns out that it was a bit too freezing-cold for my small dragon body; I had to go back inside and lie in front of one of the fireplaces – already lit, thankfully – and it must have been hours before I was able to make even the smallest bit of flame again!” Geoff chuckled, seeing the others trying and failing to hide their amused expressions. “Yeah I suppose I can laugh about it now, but it really wasn't a fun time for me! Put me off snow for a long, long time!”

Then Geoff's expression became sombre, and he fixed his gaze downwards towards his mug. “But… there were other reasons why I wasn't a fan of winter. Besides the cold, I mean,” he said, his voice a little quieter now. “I usually had fewer unwelcome visitors in the wintertime, but that was about the only silver lining I had. There was also less activity in the forest, so not as many things for me to scavenge or gather, although I did learn to stock up beforehand in preparation. But the days were – are – shorter as well, meaning less warm sunlight and more cold darkness. And then there were at least a couple of times in winter where I’d look out one of the windows at night, and catch a glimpse of the town in the distance, and it would have all these lights, and it looked so warm and inviting…” He inhaled a shaky breath. “…And it just reminded me of how alone I was.”

Kathy had placed a hand on Geoff's arm in a comforting manner, and when Geoff looked back up, his friends were all looking at him with deeply sympathetic expressions. Cesar even appeared a little misty-eyed.

Geoff managed a weak smile. “Sorry, didn't mean to bring the mood down,” he said.

Eli shook his head. “No need to apologise,” he said. “It can be hard to share things like that, but important nonetheless.”

Cesar got up from his chair and came around to give Geoff a side-hug. “If I could travel back in time, I would give dragon-you so many presents, and I would keep you company, and I would tell you that it was all gonna be okay!” said Cesar, sounding on the verge of tears himself.

Geoff patted Cesar’s arm appreciatively. “Hey, it’s alright,” he said. “I have a chance now to catch up on everything I’ve been missing out on, right? Like didn’t you mention something about a Winter Festival?”

Cesar brightened. “Oh yeah! The Winter Festival!” He hurried back around to his seat and sat down again, leaning forward over the table in eagerness. “So, multiple kingdoms have some sort of event or celebration thing during winter, usually close to the end of the year, and for Voludera, we have the Winter Festival! People decorate their houses, and the town as well, and there are special markets, and it all culminates with the day of Yuletide! People give gifts to each other, and at night there’s a big party in the village with lots of dancing and performances and-” Cesar cut himself off as his eyes widened, and he drummed on the table in excitement. “Guys! I have an idea! We should totally do a performance or two at the Yuletide party!”

“Well I can’t say it’s not definitely tempting,” said Layne, “but would we even be granted the opportunity? The performance lineup has been the same for years now, and don’t get me wrong, I think it’d be great to have something new added in, but would other people be fine with it?”

Cesar waved a hand, unbothered. “That part won’t be an issue,” he replied. “I’ll go find Omar tomorrow and have a talk with him; who’s gonna say no to having even more music and singing at a party?” Cesar looked over at Geoff. “Omar’s the one who usually organises music acts for any events in the village, and sometimes acts as the host for them as well,” he explained. “He also helps out when travelling performers and minstrels come to The Palace, and I often chat to him whenever he’s around!”

“What would we even sing, though?” Geoff asked, having another drink of his wine as he mentally shuffled through all the songs he currently knew of.

“I’m guessing you haven’t come across any Yuletide music, then?” asked Eli. Geoff shrugged. “There might be one or two relevant sheet music booklets up in the Music Room, if not a Cheat Sheet or two as well, but you might also find some songbooks in the village bookstore, and I can go see tomorrow if I can grab any song track duplicates for you to listen to.”

“So does that mean you’re in as well, Eli?” Cesar asked, grinning. Eli sighed and rolled his eyes, but didn’t try to hide his smile. “Yeah, why not. If the rest of you are keen for it, then so am I,” he replied.

“But aren’t you getting ahead of yourself, Cesar? Forgetting something, perhaps?” He raised an eyebrow, his smile becoming a playful smirk. “It’s the first snow of the season today, which also means…”

Cesar smacked his forehead in realization. “Oh of course! Decorations!” he cried. He looked at Geoff as he explained. “Some people choose a specific day when they start decorating for the Winter Festival, but other people, including us, usually choose the first snow day to do it. It’s just traditional, y’know?”

“What kind of things do you decorate with?” Geoff asked.

Cesar’s grin somehow grew even larger. “I can show you!” he replied. “There should be a box or two of some of our decorations upstairs. Come on!” And with that, Cesar got up from his chair and bounced out of the dining room.

 

Geoff shared a glance with Kathy and smiled. This was shaping up to be his most enjoyable winter period by far.

Notes:

This was basically just me taking an opportunity to get some more plot set-up stuff out of the way, as well as one or two things that I was going to include in the previous part, but then changed my mind about. Making the prompt fit the story rather than vice versa, as it were. Also I don't think I've ever actually *seen* mulled wine irl, let alone drank it, so this required some googling as well.

Chapter 3: Deck The (Castle) Halls

Notes:

For Day 7 prompts "decorations" and "a little accident".

Geoff, Kathy, Eli, and Layne followed Cesar out of the dining room, and upstairs to one of the spare bedchambers. Over in the corner of the room, Cesar was kneeling down next to a couple of boxes, and looking inside one of them eagerly.

“Yes! I knew we had kept our decorations from last year!” said Cesar.

“And some from the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that…” said Eli drily.

Cesar looked up. “I know it might not be much to decorate a whole castle with, but we could buy some more – there’s usually special Winter Markets happening in town around the start of the festival – and I could make some more as well!” Cesar pulled out a stringed garland of paper snowflakes from the box. The snowflakes were a little crumpled and slightly yellowed around the edges.

Geoff held up a hand as Cesar appeared to be reaching into the box again. “Cesar, hang on,” he began, “I really do love the concept, it sounds pretty fun and I’m sure you’ve got plenty of ideas for decorating the castle, but I’m still trying to recover my energy from the snowball fight; would it be alright if this could maybe wait until after lunch?”

Cesar deflated a little. “Yeah, alright then, I can wait,” he replied, standing up. Then he brightened. “Ooh! I could go down to the village in the meantime and buy some stuff for decoration-making!” A look of hesitation flashed on his face. “Uh, if that’s alright, Geoff?”

Geoff smiled reassuringly. “Of course it’s alright! Go right ahead!” he replied. “I’ll probably go just relax in the library for a while.”

“I’ll keep you company!” said Kathy, sharing an affectionate smile with Geoff.

“I might go check in at The Palace, then,” said Layne, “I’ll see if I’ve got any Winter Festival duties, and hope that I’m not needed for Yuletide.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Eli to Layne. “I’ll try to have a quick look for Yuletide music stuff, both song tracks and sheet music.”

“Everyone make sure to return in time for lunch!” said Kathy.

 

---

 

“Be careful not to eat too fast, Cesar! You’ll give yourself a sore stomach!”

The group had reconvened at the dining table for lunch, and Cesar in particular was tucking into his meal doggedly.

“What’s got you so hungry, Cesar?” Geoff asked.

“Let me guess,” said Eli, a knowing look in his eyes, “Cesar’s thinking that the sooner he’s done with his food, the sooner decorating can begin, right Cesar?”

Cesar looked up from his plate and smiled sheepishly. “Not that I’m trying to hurry you guys or anything…”

Geoff chuckled. “Well you mentioned something about making decorations yourself, right?” he asked. “Maybe you could start making some more while you wait for us, if you wanted to?”

Cesar beamed. “Great idea! I can go make a start on it right now!” he said. He grabbed his plate, and disappeared out of the room.

“And there he goes!” said Eli, rolling his eyes but smiling.

 

Geoff turned to look at Kathy. “Actually, speaking of the Winter Festival and stuff,” he began, “Cesar said that many other kingdoms have their own celebratory things in winter as well, right?” He looked over at Eli, who nodded in confirmation, before focusing back on Kathy. “So what about the kingdom you and your parents moved to? Did that have something as well?” Geoff asked.

Kathy gave a half-nod half-shrug. “Yeah, technically,” she replied, “but it wasn’t much like the Winter Festival here. Vecchinoio would have combat displays from the Royal Knights, marching parades, big speeches from their king about hoping for a prosperous new year – all very formalised, you know.”

“Sounds boring,” said Layne.

“I often found it so, yes” said Kathy, nodding again. “I don’t actually remember much about my winter experiences in Voludera growing up, but I remember that I was never allowed to attend the Yuletide party in town. I always did love getting to see the decorations in the village, though!”

“Sounds like we’re both in for some new experiences, then!” said Geoff, smiling. He pushed his chair out from the table. “What do you say we go check out that box of decorations that Cesar was looking at before?”

“Sure, if Cesar hasn’t gotten impatient and beaten us to it!” replied Kathy.

 

---

 

The group headed up to the spare bedchamber where the box of decorations was still sitting, but Cesar wasn’t there.

“He’s probably making more decorations in his room,” said Layne.

“Hopefully that’s what he’s up to, anyway,” said Eli.

 

Geoff approached the box and sat down next to it as he looked inside.

“Sure got a lot of stuff on strings in here,” he said, pulling out a threaded chain of cotton balls.

“And you have a lot of empty wall-space,” said Layne, “so I think it’ll work out alright.”

“We could definitely benefit from a few more garlands and hanging decorations and the like,” said Eli, “whether bought, or made, or some of each. There really is plenty of space to make use of!” He reached into the box and lifted out a long chain of fabric bunting, with patterns embroidered in colours of red and green. “Oh I’m glad we hung onto this one, for sure!”

“The idea of hanging up decorations is one thing,” said Kathy, “but figuring out how to do it is another matter entirely, both in terms of height and in getting things to stay up!”

Eli looked unbothered, and perhaps even a little smug. “Well I can’t say for sure how everyone else does it,” he said, “but we usually find ways to manage.” He lifted a hand up, palm facing upwards, and the string of cotton balls rose up into the air, hovering about half a foot above the ground.

“Works for me!” said Geoff.

 

.

 

Layne and Eli took some of the garlands and other stringed decorations, and went to go find places to put them, while Geoff and Kathy kept rummaging through the box they had come from.

“Wow, there’s some really nice stuff in here,” said Geoff, pulling out some shimmering ornaments made of coloured glass. “I’d be tempted to keep some of these on display year-round!”

“Yeah, I get that, but then they wouldn’t be as special!” said Kathy, pulling out a couple of figurines carved out of wood. “Most of the reasoning for having special winter decorations is so you have something else to look forward to when the season comes around again!” Then Kathy’s cheeks went pink as she spotted something else, down in the bottom of the box. “Oh goodness, would you look at that?” She lifted it out and showed it to Geoff. “I assume you’ve seen this before?” she asked.

“Mistletoe, right?” Geoff replied. “Or something made to resemble a mistletoe cutting, at least. Or it’s a cutting with some sort of magical preservation, I suppose.”

“Do you know much about mistletoe?” Kathy asked in a subtle hint-hint manner. “Have you read about it, maybe?”

Geoff thought for a moment. “It grows on the stems of other trees, the berries are usually white, but can be yellow, and they taste pretty bad.”

“Well, yes, but- wait, what do you mean ‘taste bad’? Mistletoe berries are poisonous!”

“They are?”

Kathy chuckled. “Well, poisonous to humans and at least some animals, anyway. But what I was going to say was that some people hang mistletoe in doorways during wintertime.” Kathy held up the mistletoe and dangled it between the tops of both their heads. “And if two people with feelings for each other happen to find themselves underneath it, then they must share a kiss!”

Geoff felt his cheeks become a little warmer. “Oh really? Is that so?” he replied, his eyes twinkling. He reached up and gently placed one hand over Kathy’s, with the mistletoe still held aloft in her grasp. “Well I don’t think we need a plant to help us with that kind of thing, but since we’ve been given the opportunity…”

Geoff began slowly leaning in closer, and Kathy mirrored his movement without hesitation. Her heart fluttered as Geoff tilted his head ever-so-slightly, and she closed her eyes…

“I see you’ve found the mistletoe, then?”

The two of them whipped their heads around to see Eli standing in the doorway with an amused smirk on his face. “It belongs to Cesar, or it did, anyway,” he continued. “Apparently he hung onto it ‘in case he found the right person’. The both of you might as well keep it, though – you’d certainly get more use out of it than Cesar ever did!”

“Have you come to grab more decorations to hang up?” Geoff asked, trying to sound casual while hoping his face didn’t look as red as it felt.

“Actually I was coming to show you a couple that we’ve put up so far,” Eli replied, “and ask you if you had any ideas or suggestions, but I can come back later if you’d prefer…?”

Geoff sighed and stood up. “No, it’s fine, lead the way,” he said. Geoff offered Kathy a hand to help her to her feet, while giving her a small smile and a half-shrug.

“It’s alright, we can leave this till later,” said Kathy quietly to Geoff, wiggling the mistletoe in her fingers. “Perhaps we could put this somewhere in the bedchamber tonight, hm?” Geoff’s face became flushed with heat again, but he said nothing and simply squeezed her hand affectionately, before the both of them followed Eli out of the room.

 

.

 

Layne was waiting for them downstairs next to a pile of stringed decorations on the ground, along with a strand of fabric bunting which hung above the entrance doors, and a string of brightly-painted nuts and fruit seeds, which ran along an adjacent wall.

Geoff looked up at the bunting on the wall and then down at the pile on the floor. “Hang on, I thought I only saw one strand of this fabric bunting stuff in the box?” he asked in confusion. “And some of these look longer than they did earlier.”

Eli shrugged, a small hint of smugness in his expression. “Duplication spells and extension spells aren’t really a bother for simple items such as these,” he replied. “And it’s all in the spirit of the Winter Festival, right?”

“So what do you think?” Layne asked to Geoff and Kathy.

Kathy looked around at the great stone walls as she thought for a moment, before turning to Eli. “So it’s really not too much effort to put things up wherever you want?” she asked

Eli waved a hand, and sent a string of paper snowflakes high up onto the wall, enough that they would have been level with Geoff’s snout if he were in dragon form. “No trouble at all, so long as I can still see where I’m putting stuff!” he said.

“So easy in fact that sometimes you don’t know when to stop!” said Layne, smirking at Eli with light-hearted teasing.

“Hey, we all make mistakes sometimes!”

Kathy smiled. “Well, I think that that other cloth bunting could go on the wall at the top of the main staircase, and some of those strings of nuts and seeds would work well underneath some of the windows down here,” she said.

“Yes, and perhaps we could string some of those cotton balls up along the staircase banisters,” said Geoff. “Maybe even use the cotton balls for the lower set, and use the snowflakes for the upper set.”

Eli grinned. “All sounds good to me!” he said, and then he began carrying out Kathy and Geoff’s suggestions.

“We might have to leave the bough till tomorrow,” said Layne, “but so long as we don’t forget about it!” He looked at Geoff. “It’s traditional for people to hang a branch of like a pine tree or a fir tree on the outside of their house above the doorway,” he explained. “Something to do with hoping for a prosperous and plentiful new year or something like that, I dunno, but it looks kinda cool, anyway. We just go find a new bough each year; most people do.”

“Oh yeah I think I remember,” said Kathy. “My parents would have a whole archway of evergreen branches outside the doors to our castle. I wonder if maybe we could do the same thing here?”

“Sounds like something Cesar would love, honestly,” said Layne. He paused for a moment. “Where is Cesar, anyway? It’s not like him to be missing out on all this; usually he’d be throwing decorations around left right and centre!”

Geoff cupped his hands around his mouth and looked up in the direction of the bedchambers. “Cesar! You’re missing out on decorating!” he called.

“Uh, I’ll be there in just a moment!” Cesar called back.

A mid-air string of cotton fell to the ground as Eli stopped what he was doing. “Uh oh, I think I know that tone of voice,” he said, eyes narrowing.

“Let me guess,” said Layne, “it’s the ‘I’ve-messed-up-and-I’m-trying-to-stop-you-from-finding-out-about-it voice, right?”

“Takes one to know one!” Eli replied. Layne poked his tongue out at him.

“We better go make sure Cesar is okay,” said Kathy. Geoff nodded and followed her upstairs, with Layne and Eli in tow.

 

 .

 

The group found Cesar in the hallway outside his bedroom, with a couple handfuls of paper stars and paper flowers in his arms.

“Oh hey guys! And Kathy!” said Cesar. “I didn’t mean to take so long, I’ve just been in my room, this whole time! Just making decorations! Really getting into the swing of things, y’know?” He was attempting to sound like his usual bubbly self, but his smile was strained and didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Kathy took a couple of paper flowers and examined them, impressed.

“You must have a lot of experience making these!” she said. “These two look practically identical to each other!”

“Yeah, well, practice makes perfect and all that!” Cesar replied, his voice now definitely tinged with nervousness (or perhaps guilt, or both).

Eli was looking closely at the paper flowers Kathy was holding, growing even more suspicious as he touched a couple of the petals.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got any more decorations in your room that we could use, Cesar?” he asked. “We’ve got a lot of free space to work with, after all!” He was smiling, but there was a look in Eli’s eyes that said ‘I know there’s something you’re not telling us.’

“Uh, yeah! Sure! Of course!” Cesar replied. “You all just wait here a moment, and I’ll go and grab some more! Here, Geoff, hold these for me!” Geoff was suddenly given the other paper flowers and paper stars to hold.

Eli’s patience was visibly wearing thin. “Cesar, give me one good reason why we shouldn’t go into your room ourselves,” he said.

Cesar hesitated, one hand on his door handle. “Um, because you might see some of the gifts I’ve gotten all of you?” he suggested.

“Nice try, but you usually don’t start gift-shopping until the Winter Markets in town.”

Cesar slumped his shoulders in defeat. “Okay, but can you at least promise not to get mad?” he asked.

Eli looked at Cesar’s anxious expression and sighed. “I promise not to yell or raise my voice at all, but that’s all I can guarantee.”

“Fine, better than nothing, I suppose.”

Then Cesar swung open his bedroom door, and led the others inside.

 

.

 

There were a couple moments of silence as Geoff, Kathy, Layne, and Eli stared in shock and surprise at Cesar’s bed, or at least what they assumed to be Cesar’s bed. It was piled high with countless paper flowers, and then there were yet more piles sitting on the floor adjacent. One pile sat separate to the rest, and was a grouping of paper stars rather than flowers.

“So like have you been secretly stocking up on these in preparation for the season or what?” asked Layne, breaking the silence.

“I don’t think we’re gonna have enough boxes for all of these,” said Geoff.

Eli looked a little more around the room, and his eyes landed on one more star and two more flowers sitting on a small table off to the side. These ones were sparkling, as if coated in some special glittery substance. Eli’s eyes widened and his jaw clenched. Then he took a deep breath in, and then out again. “Cesar, have you been in my Magic Room?” he asked, sounding like someone using every ounce of willpower to retain their composure.

“Why, what makes you say that?” Cesar replied, with a last-ditch attempt at innocence.

“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps because I can recognize Magic Dust when I see it?”

“Oh is that what it’s called? Yeah that makes sense I guess…”

“Cesar-”

Cesar threw up his hands pleadingly. “I can explain! I swear!” Eli folded his arms and looked at him expectantly. “Look, I had been busy making some of these, but then I decided to take a break from paper-folding, and I went for a wander through the castle to get some ideas on the best places to put stuff up…”

“And you happened to pass by my Magic Room?” Eli guessed, raising an eyebrow.

“The door was open! It’s not like I broke in! So I stopped to have a bit of a look inside – from the doorway – and I happened to spot a small pot of this sparkly powder stuff! And I happened to be holding one of the stars I had made, and I thought that the sparkly stuff would make the star look really pretty; I didn’t think it would actually do anything!”

Eli looked at him disbelievingly. “You found it in the Magic Room, and yet you didn’t expect the powder to be magical?” he asked.

Cesar shrugged helplessly. “I kinda wondered if maybe it’d make the star start glowing?” he replied. “But I also kinda just thought it probably wouldn’t do anything because I’m not a magic-user!”

Eli shook his head. “Magic Dust, as it’s most commonly called, is made with finely-crushed metals and/or gemstones, and it’s infused with what is basically magic essence. It doesn’t inherently need a person to provide a source of magic – it pretty much is one. But it seems you more or less figured that out yourself?”

“Yeah, well, I went in and sprinkled some of the ‘Magic Dust’ onto the star I was holding, and I was just thinking about how I would need to make a good few more of them, when suddenly like five extra ones appeared on the table!”

“And yet you then used the Magic Dust again?” said Eli, glancing again at the gargantuan mass of paper flowers.

Cesar looked extremely sheepish. “I guess I did kind of get excited by the idea of saving some time and effort,” he replied. “I went and grabbed one of the flowers I had made and put some of the Magic Dust on it, and then I put some on one of the magic copies it had made, and that’s when it kind of got out of hand.”

Geoff happened to look over at a chair in the room, upon which sat a few matching doublets, each identical to the one that Cesar was currently wearing. “Uh, not to make any assumptions, but did you do any more duplications after that?” he asked.

Cesar saw where Geoff was looking and grimaced. “Look, I was just wiping the Magic Dust stuff off of my fingers! That was a total accident!”

“Well hey, at least we didn’t end up with multiple Cesars!” Layne joked.

Eli remained deadpan. “No, Magic Dust isn’t that powerful, thankfully,” he said. “It’s usually used when a magic-user wishes to apply a spell or enchantment to a specific item and have it last for a long time. But regardless, it is meant to be only handled by magic-users for a reason, and it is not easy to obtain!” Eli took a step towards Cesar, and Cesar immediately cowered away from him.

Fortunately for Cesar, Kathy decided to step in – literally moving to stand between the two men. “Alright, how about we all pause and take a deep breath for a moment?” she said. She turned to Cesar. “Cesar, you should have come to talk to one of us instead of trying to hide it and deal with the problem all yourself. And even ignoring how risky it was for you to go into the Magic Room by yourself and touch things in there, the simple fact of the matter is that you used something you knew didn’t belong to you, without permission!”

Cesar hung his head sadly. “I know, I’m really sorry,” he said, to both Kathy and Eli.

Kathy then turned to Eli. “Eli, obviously you have good reason to be annoyed and upset, but please remember that no one got hurt, nothing got broken, and there was no actual damage caused because of this. Cesar is clearly very remorseful about what he did-”

Cesar nodded emphatically.

“-and I’m sure we can find ways to obtain more Magic Dust if you need it.”

Eli sighed. “Yeah, alright, I guess I can let this one slide,” he said. He held up a finger and pointed it towards Cesar. “But Cesar, never go into my Magic Room by yourself again without my permission!” he said.

“I won’t! I promise! Swear it!” Cesar replied, holding up a hand while placing the other on his chest.

Eli turned and pointed his finger towards Layne. “That goes for you as well!”

Layne looked surprised and indignant. “Me? But I had nothing to do with this!” he protested. Eli fixed him with a Look. “…Yeah, yeah, I promise as well,” said Layne.

 

.

 

“So anyone got any suggestions about getting rid of some of these?” asked Cesar, gesturing to the mass of flowers. “I was thinking about maybe flattening them or tearing them up, but that would kinda take a long time, and I’d still be left with lots of paper!”

“Well, the magic-copy flowers are also just paper, right?” said Layne. “Maybe we could throw some into a fire?”

“Hmm, I guess that wouldn’t have any disastrous consequences,” mused Eli. “I could go light the fireplace in the master bedroom; magic fire for magic flower duplicates, that kinda fits, right?”

“Might still be a little time-consuming, though, depending on how quickly or slowly the paper burns,” said Kathy.

Geoff, meanwhile, looked thoughtful, as he looked towards the pair of Magic-Dust-coated flowers. “Hey Eli, I don’t suppose you could figure out which of these two flowers is a magic duplicate, by any chance?” he asked.

Eli looked at him curiously, but went over and picked up a glittering flower in each hand, eyeing them closely, and even sniffing them. “It’s this one,” he said, holding up the flower in his left hand.

Geoff took it from him and turned to the rest of the group as he explained his idea. “The large majority of the flowers here came from when you put Magic Dust on this magic-copy flower specifically, yes?” Geoff asked. Cesar nodded. “And all the duplicates would be connected to the original thing that was magically copied in the first place, right? Like they appeared specifically because there was a paper flower that was sprinkled with Magic Dust. But if we destroyed this original source flower, then maybe all the copies that sprung from it will be destroyed as well!”

Eli considered the idea, and appeared intrigued by it. “That… sounds like it could work, actually!” he said. “It’s worth a shot, if nothing else!”

“Have you not used Magic Dust for duplication spells before?” Kathy asked Eli.

Eli shook his head. “No, I more use magic dust for stuff like making a candle burn brighter and/or longer, or making an inkwell hold more ink than its size allows, that sort of thing.”

Layne raised a hand. “Uh, if there’s a chance that what happens to the source object will happen to all its copies, then perhaps we shouldn’t throw it into any sort of fire,” he said, as Cesar’s expression became alarmed at the thought of his entire bed setting alight.

Eli snorted. “No, best not to,” he replied. “I could turn it into a small handful of sand, perhaps? Geoff, hold your hand out flat with the flower resting on your palm.” Geoff did as instructed. Eli stretched out his hands and wiggled his fingers in readiness. “Alright, let’s see if this works. Flos semel chartaceus; Nunc tumulus arenae!”

The flower appeared to dissolve on Geoff’s hand, until nothing remained but a small pile of pale sand. Geoff wasn’t sure what to do with the sand, and didn’t want to just drop it on the floor, until he looked over at Cesar’s bed and decided to just let it fall anyway, where it could join some of the other sand in the room.

“It worked!” said Cesar happily, looking at the greatly-reduced scattering of flowers on the bed. “But now my bed’s all sandy, and so is some of the floor!”

“And if you ever touch anything in my Magic Room again without asking, I’ll bring an entire coastline into your bedroom!” said Eli.

Kathy placed a hand on Cesar’s shoulder. “We can help you deal with that later tonight,” she said, “but how about we go get some more decorating done while there’s still daylight left?”

Eli’s expression relaxed into a smile. “Yeah, come on, Cesar, I wouldn’t want you missing out on all the fun!” he said.

Cesar beamed. “Well what are we waiting for, then?” he replied.

 

Geoff and Kathy hung back for a moment while Layne and Eli followed Cesar out of the room.

“Man, what a day!” said Geoff. “I wonder how other Voluderians get on with this kind of thing, or even just people in other castles, for that matter.”

“I bet they have less fun,” Kathy replied. “And besides, even the most beautifully-decorated castle wouldn’t be of any interest to me if I had no one to share it with.”

“Well I can’t disagree with you there,” Geoff replied, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Kathy pulled out the mistletoe from her pocket and held it above her head with a playful grin. Geoff laughed, but of course was more than happy to oblige her.

 

Notes:

- Believe it or not, I do often at the very least try to make things *plausible* when it comes to the vaguely-medieval aesthetic, so I did a fair bit of googling about the history of Christmas decor and early Christmas decorations and stuff (turns out that Germans invented a *lot*). I knew that I wouldn't be able to have any inclusion of tinsel, but somehow I genuinely forgot entirely about the concept of ribbons, and I'm not kidding.
- Another kingdom gets a name! (and yes it has a translation). I got indirectly inspired by @MountainSunrise and decided that all the kingdom names in this universe start with V.
- I couldn't be bothered including the concept of tree-decorating into this, purely because I couldn't think of a way to make it interesting, so I just went with the bough thing instead, which still does have legit historical roots! (Pun not intended)
- I cannot stop myself from writing cute Geoff/Kathy stuff into every dang fic part, my brain keeps just sending me ideas! Visions, even!

Chapter 4: Music and Markets

Notes:

For day 9 prompt "Christmas fair/market"

Sunlight Castle was a hive of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming Yuletide Party. Cesar had gone to The Palace and spoken to Omar about performing on the night, and then had returned to Sunlight Castle to share the good news.

“Hey guys! Guess what! Omar said yes to us singing at the Yuletide celebration!” said Cesar to the others as they all gathered around the dining table, hot drinks in hand.

“Really? He did?” asked Eli.

Cesar nodded. “Yeah! He actually agreed that the usual lineup of singers was getting just a little stale, and I knew he wouldn’t say no to having a bit of additional entertainment on the night! Also, Geoff, Omar asked if you might do a solo song as well, maybe?”

Geoff blinked. “Uhh, what did you tell him?” he asked.

“I said that you wouldn’t be opposed to it, but that I couldn’t confirm or deny anything until I had asked you,” Cesar replied, shrugging, “but he really seemed keen on the idea!”

“Well, I might be able to get something prepared if I have a spare chance or two, but I’m gonna leave that as a ‘maybe’ for now,” said Geoff. “We should prioritise our group performances first. How many songs are we gonna be doing?”

“Just two,” Cesar replied, “with a third spot open for if you do end up doing an extra song yourself.”

“We better start by figuring out what songs we’re gonna sing,” said Layne. “We can’t sing anything that’ll also be sung by somebody else, and I’m assuming that all the other performers will be sticking with all the songs they usually do?”

“Don’t worry, I think I can help us figure out our options,” said Eli, pulling out a couple of booklets from his satchel. “While Cesar was talking with Omar earlier, I had a look in The Palace and then took a visit to the bookstore in town, and picked up some sheet music and songbooks to give us some ideas.”

“Perfect!” said Cesar. “If nobody’s busy, we could take these up to the Music Room and start planning now!”

“The sooner the better, I suppose!” Geoff replied, and Layne and Eli nodded in agreement.

“I’ll leave you four to it, then!” said Kathy, giving Geoff a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be in the library if you need me!”

 

---

 

“Ooh this would be a great song to do!” said Cesar, showing the others the page he was looking at.

“’Jingle Bell Rock’?” said Geoff, reading the song title aloud. He knew a bit about the concept of “rocking” music from a couple of the books he had found in the Music Room, but he wasn’t aware of bells having any sort of involvement in the music style, ‘jingle’ ones or otherwise.

“Yeah! It actually originates from one of the other kingdoms,” said Cesar, “but so do a lot of the other songs, and travelling minstrels have performed it at the Palace a few times, and honestly I think it’d be really fun to do!” Then Cesar noticed Geoff’s expression of mild confusion. “Have you heard of jingle bells before, Geoff?” he asked.

“Uhh, I’m guessing they’re not the same thing as regular bells?” Geoff replied.

“Not exactly, no,” said Cesar, shaking his head. “They’re also known as sleigh bells, because that’s what people put them on! Sleighs are basically what some people use in winter instead of carts – you’ll probably see one next time you head down to the village. They’re not always easy to hear coming, because the snow muffles the sound of horse hooves and stuff, so people put little round bells on them so they can be heard! Then at some point someone had the idea of using them as a musical instrument thing as well!” Cesar looked around the room. “I don’t think we have any in here, unfortunately. I don’t really know how to describe what they sound like, it’s kinda like…”

As Cesar trailed off, he heard what very much sounded like somebody shaking sleigh bells. “Yeah! Like that!” …Wait what?” he said. Cesar turned and fixed his gaze upon Layne, who was trying to look innocent, but without putting much effort into it. “Layne, was that you?” Cesar asked.

Layne grinned. “What, you mean this?” he replied, and then made the sound again.

“How long have you been able to imitate sleigh bells for?” Eli asked in surprise.

Layne shrugged. “A while, maybe even a year or more, but it just never came up in conversation.”

“Well we are definitely incorporating that into the performance somehow!” said Cesar.

 

Geoff flipped through one of the other songbooks that Eli had brought, scanning through the song titles despite not knowing any of them.

“What about this song, ‘Sleigh Ride’?” said Geoff. “Obviously I don’t know what it sounds like, but maybe it’d fit thematically with the Jingle Bell Rock song?”

“Oh of course!” said Cesar. “Yeah that’d be perfect! Great choice, Geoff!”

“That one’s usually more of a ‘street song’”, said Eli, “one of the sorts that people sing during some of the daytime festivities of the Festival. I’ve never heard it performed during the night party before, but we might as well be the first to do it!”

 

---

 

And now, a couple days later, it was finally time for the Voludera Winter Markets. Geoff, Kathy, Eli, Layne, and Cesar all bundled up in warm clothing, and began to make their way down to the village in the mid to late morning.

“It’s not a proper Winter Festival experience without visiting the markets!” said Cesar to Geoff as they walked.

“Some folks from other kingdoms often come to sell their wares at these markets specifically,” Eli explained. “Then you’ve got your usual travelling merchants and traders of course, and the food vendors, but also some Voluderians have their own stalls as well.”

“It helps to give some people a bit of extra money to spend at this time of year,” Cesar continued, “and some will even spend weeks upon weeks making sure they have plenty of things to sell!”

“Have you ever sold things at the markets, Cesar?” asked Geoff.

Cesar shook his head. “Nah, I make enough from my work at the Palace,” he replied, “but I have sometimes helped out with getting the stalls set up, and sometimes I’ve helped pack everything up, too!”

“Yeah, they often give free food and drink to those who help out!” said Layne.

“Good to know,” Geoff replied, chuckling. “Anyway, remind me what exactly we’re looking for?”

“Gift-shopping, and possibly look for some more decorations for the castle,” said Kathy. “You don’t have to overthink the gifts too much, just if you see something that you think one of us might like! It’s the thought that counts, after all!”

Geoff nodded. “Got it, I’ll do my best,” he replied. Then he realized that they were almost at the markets, evident not just by sight but by smell. Geoff blissfully took in the aromas of hot baked goods, sweet pastries, spices, and more.

“Smells good, doesn’t it?” said Layne with a grin, seeing Geoff’s face.

 

The five of them had come to a stop only a handful of feet away from where one of the rows of stalls began. Cesar moved to stand at the front of the group, facing everyone else.

“Layne, Eli, are we still gonna go with our usual market method?” he asked.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” said Eli.

“Makes sense for gift-shopping,” added Layne with a nod and a shrug.

Cesar then looked at Geoff and Kathy. “The plan is that each of us split up and go look at the stalls ourselves – usually we each pick a different point to start from and then just work our way along – and then we meet back up in the main square at midday for food, and then we just take it from there!”

“Well we’re not gonna stop you!” Kathy replied. She looked up at Geoff. “Don’t worry, we can explore the markets together for a while first if you want.”

Cesar beamed. “Main square at midday! Don’t forget!” he said, before dashing off into the hustle and bustle of the town.

 

.

 

Geoff had been filled with awe the first ever time he had walked through Voludera’s town, but if that had been wondrous, then this was beyond what any words or emotions could describe. It was like there was almost a sort of warm glow to the village, and an overall cheerful feeling that vaguely reminded Geoff of the town party not long after his initial transformation, except this was far better in every way. There were stalls selling toys, and stalls with jewellery made from precious metals, and market carts with pastries and sweet treats, and vendors dispensing hot drinks, and that was just what Geoff could see from the first line of stalls that he and Kathy were walking down.

“Looks like some other nobles have come to check out the markets as well,” said Kathy, noticing a few finer-clothed individuals in the crowd.

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” said Geoff. “Who wouldn’t want to come see markets like these?”

 

Suddenly, something at one of the market stalls caught his eye.

“Uh, you go on ahead, Kath, I'll catch up in a moment,” said Geoff, before slowly walking up to the stall of interest.

There, grouped together at one side of the main display table, was a cluster of little wood-carved dragons, each with a pair of little downwards-curved horns. Geoff picked one up and gazed at it in wonder, the wooden dragon being no bigger than his palm.

 

The young man in charge of the stall had curly light brown hair and a boyish face, and looked to be no older than 25. He had been bending down and dealing with something behind the table when Geoff had approached.

“Good morning sir!” said the young man, seeing the pants and boots of a new potential customer. He straightened back up. “How may I help you toda-”

He cut himself off, going pale as he noticed exactly who had come to see his stall, and what he was currently holding and looking at.

“Oh my gosh, Mr Geoffrey, sir-” the young man quickly bowed. “I'm so sorry, please don't be mad, I swear I didn't mean anything bad by it! It- it's meant to be a good thing!”

Geoff gave him a kind smile. “Did you make these yourself?” he asked, gently but not unkindly.

The young man nodded shyly.

Geoff's smile grew wider. “You're very talented, these are fantastic!” said Geoff. “How much?”

“How much?” repeated the young man. “Y-you want to buy one? I mean, you can just take one, if you want!”

Geoff held up a hand and shook his head. “No no, you surely put a lot of time and hard work into making these. It's only right that you should be paid in exchange for them. And please, call me Geoff, and consider me no different to any other customer of yours.” Geoff put down the wooden dragon he'd been holding to reach into his satchel.

He retrieved a pouch of gold coins and dropped a handful onto the table. “Would this be a reasonable price?”

The young man stared at the coins, then looked up at Geoff. “Really? Are you sure?” he asked in disbelief.

Geoff gave him a light-hearted shrug. “Well, I'm definitely taking this,” he said, picking up the wooden dragon again, “and I'm gonna leave these coins here, and whether or not you keep them is up to you. How about that?”

The young man nodded, and then snatched up the coins as if they were in imminent danger of disappearing. “Thank you mister Geoff sir!" he said. "Have a happy Yuletide!”

Geoff had started to walk off, but stopped and turned back with a smile. “And a happy Yuletide to you too!” he replied.

 

.

 

“Find anything good?” Kathy asked when Geoff caught back up to her.

Geoff nodded. “I know we're not really meant to be buying gifts for ourselves, but…” he showed Kathy the wooden dragon he had purchased.

Kathy's wonderstruck expression was much the same as Geoff's had been upon first seeing it. “Oh that's lovely!” she said. “Whoever made it did a great job of capturing your likeness!”

“Maybe I should have bought two, one for you as well, now that I think about it,” said Geoff. “Though I'm happy to give you this one if you'd like!”

Geoff offered the figurine to Kathy, but she gently pushed his hand away. “No, it’s okay, you bought it for yourself, and so you should keep it for yourself!” she replied. Then Kathy took hold of Geoff's scarf and lightly tugged on it in a playful manner. “And besides, I already have the real thing, don't I?”

Geoff’s smile was the kind that he only wore when looking at Kathy, and it was indeed an expression reserved for her alone. “Indeed you do,” he replied, kissing the top of her head.

 

---

 

Everyone returned to Sunlight Castle that afternoon with stomachs full of food and bags full of trinkets, ornaments, and gifts. There was just enough time for some more performance practice before supper, and Geoff was given a few ideas for his own potential solo performance.

 

Later that night, Geoff sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the wooden dragon in his hands, deep in thought.

Kathy emerged from the side washroom, having gotten changed into her night clothes. She came and sat down next to Geoff, and rested her head up against his shoulder. “Whatcha thinking about?” she asked.

Geoff gave a half-shrug. “Eh, not much,” he replied. “Or, well, it’s hard to explain. Just seeing myself in a different way, I guess.”

“A good way, I hope?” said Kathy.

Geoff placed the wooden dragon onto his bedside table and smiled. “Yeah, definitely in a good way.”

Notes:

When I was originally looking through the prompt list and deciding whether each day was a "yes", "no", or "maybe" in terms of whether or not I was gonna write something for any of its prompts, Day 9 was a "maybe" that in fact was almost gonna become a "no", but suddenly one night I had the idea for the scene with the little wooden dragons at the market stall, and so I noted it down in my Notes app on my phone (as at the time I was in the process of writing Day 1/chapter 1). Then when it eventually came the time to write this chapter properly, I decided to flesh it out a bit by doing some additional 'set-up' for the Yuletide Party (which, spoilers, will be covered in the last chapter!).
- I've kinda sorta written myself into a corner with my worldbuilding, at least music-wise, because I knew I couldn't choose any songs that mentioned Santa, Christmas, or Jesus, so it did narrow down the list a fair bit, but I did still have a decent selection to toss up between!
- VoicePlay haven't properly covered Sleigh Ride before, *but* in their cover of Holiday Road from their 2012 Peppermint Winter album (and also from when they used to perform at Christmas events at Disney World), they do mix in a little bit of the song, but swapping out the words "sleigh ride" for "holiday road" instead! And then I couldn't resist choosing Jingle Bell Rock as the other song, even if I did have to do a tiny bit of "creative license" with the whole musical concept of "rock" ^^;
- The young seller at the market was 100% written and described with a certain individual in mind, and hopefully he shouldn't be too hard to guess!

Chapter 5: Unexpected Visitors

Notes:

For day 10 prompt "surprise visit"

(Also fun fact: I *mostly* wrote all these parts in order, but one day I was out walking my dog when I came up with an idea for this part, and at the time I was still in the middle of writing Day 4/chapter 2, but this idea ended up growing and developing very quickly in my brain, and it was all so clear in my head that I realized that I had to "strike while the iron's hot" and put chapter 2 on hold until I had finished writing this, so yeah!)

Amongst all the excitement about the Winter Festival, and the rehearsals for the Yuletide Party performance, Geoff and Kathy had seemingly managed to find a quiet moment to themselves. Eli had gone into town to help with party set-up, and Cesar and Layne had gone to The Palace, each with their own tasks and responsibilities related to Yuletide preparations.

“It seems like it’s just you and me this morning,” said Geoff to Kathy.

“It seems so,” Kathy replied, smiling. “Perhaps we could go cozy up in the library together for a while?”

Geoff grinned and kissed her forehead. “I thought you’d never ask!”

 

.

 

With a blanket over both their legs, the pair had sat themselves at one end of the library’s couch. Geoff was sitting up against the armrest with a book in his hands, while Kathy was snuggled up as close as she could be without being in his lap. There was a definite chill in the air, but the sunlight coming through the library’s large window was just enough to stop the cold from being too unpleasant. As she listened to Geoff’s soothing timbre as he read aloud, Kathy was feeling quite peaceful and relaxed, and perhaps may have even begun to drift off to sleep had there not been a knock at the library door.

“Come in!” Geoff called out as Kathy shook herself back to a more lucid state.

One of the servants opened the door.

“There’s a couple of people arrived who wish to see you, Lady Kathryn,” he said.

“Oh?” said Kathy, sharing a puzzled glance with Geoff. “Did they say who they were?”

The servant shrugged. “I’m just telling you what they told me to say, Lady Kathryn,” he replied, before bowing.

“Well, I’ll be with them in just a moment, thank you for letting me know,” said Kathy. She turned to Geoff. “I better go see what this is all about. You can stay here if you want; hopefully it won’t be too much trouble to deal with these visitors, whoever they are.” Kathy gave Geoff a quick kiss (and then another, just for good measure), then got up from the couch and walked out of the library and towards the front doors downstairs.

 

.

 

Kathy couldn’t see any sign of the mystery guests inside. ‘They must have been left waiting outside the doors – I hope they didn’t mind!’ She pulled open the front doors, while thinking about maybe talking to the staff about not letting any visitors wait outside in the cold if it could be helped… and nearly fell over backwards when she saw who waited for her on the other side of the doors.

“KATHY!” the two visitors cried out happily.

“Mom? Dad? I.. What a surprise!” said Kathy as the pair embraced her.

“Isn’t it?” said Kathy’s mother, stepping away again.

“Since you’re living in Voludera again, and since it’s the time of the Winter Festival, we figured we’d come for a visit, in the spirit of the festivities!” added Kathy’s father.

“Yes, well, you certainly surprised me!” said Kathy, putting on a big smile as her mind raced. “Certainly very kind of you… Please, come in, come in!” she beckoned her parents out of the cold air and closed the doors behind them. “Uh, I was just in the middle of a thing, I just need to go and quickly finish dealing with it, if you don’t mind, and then I’ll be more than free to catch up with you both! Brandon! Franchezca!” She called for a couple of the servants, who appeared promptly. “Please take my parents’ coats, and then show them to the parlour, and see if they’d like anything to drink. I’ll be with them very shortly!” And with that, she turned and hurried upstairs.

 

.

 

Geoff was reading a different book to himself when Kathy re-entered the library, but he immediately put the book down when he looked up and saw Kathy’s expression.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Is there trouble?” he asked, concerned.

“Not exactly,” said Kathy, before quickly clarifying. “Nobody’s hurt! It’s not that kind of trouble! It’s just that, uh, well, my parents are here. At the castle.”

Geoff’s eyes widened. “Your parents? Here? Why?”

“'In the spirit of the Winter Festival', or something like that, apparently.”

“I wasn’t even sure if you still talked to your parents, honestly,” said Geoff. “Not that I ever asked, I suppose.”

Kathy gave a half shrug. “Well it’s not like I totally cut contact with them after I moved out or anything like that,” she replied, “but I wasn’t exactly spending every moment that I could with them either, you know? It was mostly just the expected niceties and the annual family gatherings; things like that. I told them about my decision to move back to Voludera, but I didn’t tell them my main desires or intentions, of course.”

Geoff nodded. “Okay, so how much do they know about… y’know?” He gestured to himself.

“I dunno,” Kathy replied. “They knew I was moving into Sunlight Castle, i.e. what most people used to call Dragon Castle, so obviously they know that something happened to the dragon who lived here, whether they think he- er, you were slain or exiled or what, but we better make sure we set the story straight quickly; we don’t want any sort of repeat of Rosebush Castle!”

“Agreed,” said Geoff. He got up from the couch and walked over to Kathy, taking her hands in his. “Hey, whatever happens, I’ve got your back, okay?” he said.

Kathy squeezed his hands appreciatively. “I know,” she replied, managing a smile. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

.

 

When they were just reaching the parlour door, Kathy stopped and held up a hand.

“Wait here until I call for you,” she said to Geoff quietly. Geoff nodded, and hung back while Kathy opened the door and walked into the parlour.

 

.

 

“So how have you both been?” Kathy asked, moving a chair around so she could sit across from her parents, a small table between them. “All is well in Vecchinoio, I hope?’

Kathy’s mother looked like she was going to respond, but then didn’t, instead gasping as she looked down at Kathy’s hands. “Kathryn! Is that a wedding ring?” she asked.

“An engagement ring, actually,” Kathy corrected. ‘As predictable as ever…’

“An engagement ring! Oh my!”

“Our girl is finally getting married!” said Kathy’s father.

“Why is this the first we’re hearing of this news?” asked her mother.

Kathy looked apologetic. “Sorry, I’ve just been so busy with everything, it just slipped my mind to tell you both!” she said.

“So who’s the lucky man?” Kathy’s mother asked. “Anyone we know?”

“You can meet him, if you want!” Kathy replied. “Geoff! Are you there?”

Geoff, of course, had been waiting just outside, and now entered the parlour, looking like someone who was doing his absolute best to hide his nervousness.

“Mom, dad, this is Geoffrey, though he usually just goes by ‘Geoff’,” said Kathy. “Geoff, these are my parents, Lord Stefano and Lady Bianca.”

“It’s good to meet you, Geoff,” said Lord Stefano, standing up and offering his hand. Geoff took his hand and shook it, then brought another chair over to sit next to Kathy. Kathy’s parents were definitely looking him up and down, but there was no sign of any sort of recognition on their faces.

 

“So how did the two of you meet?” asked Kathy’s mother.

Kathy and Geoff looked at each other, and then Kathy spoke. “Well, obviously you know how this castle used to be inhabited by a dragon, right?” she said.

“Yes of course,” replied her father, “it’s the whole reason why we moved away from Voludera in the first place, after all!” Out of the corner of her eye, Kathy noticed Geoff stiffen slightly.

“So are you the dashing knight who slayed the fearsome dragon, perhaps?” Kathy’s mother asked Geoff.

Geoff glanced at Kathy before responding. “No, actually, I was the dragon, who then became human,” he replied. “Or I guess I am the dragon, just now in human form. Yeah, you get the idea…”

His voice trailed off as he saw the expressions on the faces of Kathy’s parents. Lady Bianca looked aghast, while Lord Stefano now appeared practically thunderous.

“I thought you’d be smarter than this,” Kathy’s father said to her, his voice filled with a disappointed anger. Then he stood up and walked out of the room. Lady Bianca got up as well, giving Kathy a saddened look, before following her husband out the doorway.

 

“…That went well,” said Geoff glumly.

“Well, it could have gone a whole lot worse!” said Kathy at an attempt at reassurance. She placed a hand on Geoff’s shoulder. “I’ll go after them and try to talk to them; you just try and take your mind off things for now.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “We’ll get this sorted, don’t you worry.”

 

.

 

Kathy couldn’t see any sign of her father, but she just happened to see her mother disappearing out the front door, so she quickly grabbed a coat for herself, and then hurried after her. She caught up to her mother walking outside through the castle grounds, and the two of them walked side-by-side in silence for a minute or so, until her mother spoke.

“We moved away from Voludera to protect you, you know that, right?” Kathy’s mother said softly.

Kathy couldn’t hide her doubtful expression. “Well, I know you had the best of intentions, anyway,” she replied, choosing her words carefully.

“Vecchinoio was a perfectly good kingdom. It still is! Couldn’t you be happy there?”

“I know it’s a good kingdom, mom, and I stayed there for so many years, didn’t I? It’s not like I moved back to Voludera the first chance I had! I tried my best to make the most of the life I had in Vecchinoio, I really did! But in the end, I guess you could say that it had given me everything it could give, and there was nothing more for me to find there.”

“And… you thought that there might be something better for you back here? In Voludera?” Lady Bianca’s tone wasn't accusatory, but rather that of someone trying to obtain a better understanding.

“Well, yeah!” said Kathy. “And I did find something: I found him.”

“The dragon.”

“His name is Geoff, but yes. And I know you’re worried about me, and that you’ve heard many things about ‘The Dragon’, but I guarantee you that almost all if not all of those things are completely false! I’m still safe and alive, aren’t I? Seriously, mom, ask anyone in the village, ask our friends who live with us; they’ll all tell you that Geoff has a good heart – something that not all regular men have, might I remind you? And actually, the first time I met Geoff as he is now, as a human, we were total strangers to each other!”

Kathy’s mother came to a stop. “You have friends as well that you live with?” she asked.

Kathy nodded. “I wouldn’t have met them if it weren’t for Geoff. There’s Eli, the royal sorcerer – he’s the one who turned Geoff human in the first place – and Layne, a royal knight, and Cesar, the royal tailor’s apprentice! It’s kind of a long story, but they helped take care of Geoff after he first became human, and then I invited them to live with us.”

Lady Bianca stared out into the distance, as if in thought, but then she turned her focus back to Kathy. “I think I’d like to learn more about your new fiancé,” she said, smiling.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Figuring that there was no point in staying in the parlour by himself, Geoff headed upstairs to the music room, and sat down at the piano. He had been trying to learn how to play it – actually really play it – sometimes using the 'Cheat Sheets', and sometimes just regular sheet music. He had learned a couple of songs so far, and was currently trying to learn a Yuletide song, though he wasn’t sure if he’d have it perfected in time for the party. Still, it was as good an option as any for a current distraction.

Geoff hadn’t been at the piano for long before he felt like someone was watching him. He glanced up and saw Lord Stefano standing in the doorway, then quickly looked back down at the piano again, unsure of what else to do. He wasn’t sure if Kathy had had a talk with her father yet, and he didn’t want any trouble.

Lord Stefano took a few steps into the room. “You play piano?” he asked Geoff.

Geoff looked up, sitting up straight but avoiding eye contact. “Yes sir,” he said, trying to sound respectful. “Or I’m trying to learn, at least. I sing, also.”

“Can you sing while playing piano as well?”

“Uh, well, I’m still learning, as I said, but I know a couple songs where I can do both, yes.”

“I would like to hear you sing one, if you wouldn’t mind,” said Kathy’s father.

Geoff nodded, not really sure what this was all leading to, if anything, but not daring to even consider saying no. He removed the sheet music from the stand and placed it beside him on the piano stool. He didn’t bother going to grab different sheet music for the song he was thinking of; he didn’t need to.

Geoff took a deep breath in, and then began playing the piano, before he started to sing.

“Why are there so many songs about rainbows?
And what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.

So we’ve been told, and some choose to believe it.
I know they’re wrong, wait and see.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.”

 

Lord Stefano took a chair and came over to sit next to Geoff, his expression largely unreadable (thanks in part to the thick moustache on his face).

“Why is it that you sing and play piano?” asked Lord Stefano.

Geoff wasn’t expecting to be asked such a question, and took a moment before responding. “Because I like it, I guess?” he said. “I didn’t really get to experience a lot of music as a dragon – I didn’t even know that this room existed until like a couple of months ago, and I probably wouldn’t have fit into it back then anyway. But music makes me happy – both hearing it and playing it myself, including singing – and it makes other people happy, too. Plus it’s something else to do with my time; something I can practice, work on, and hopefully get better at.”

Lord Stefano nodded, seemingly satisfied with Geoff’s response.

Then he switched topics. “So what is it that you want with my daughter?” he asked.

Geoff blinked. “I want to spend the rest of my life with her, that’s all,” he said. ‘That’s all’; totally a simple request that surely nobody could find any issue with, right? Geoff tried his best to ignore his thoughts for the time being.

“And why Kathryn?” asked Lord Stefano. “Why not any other woman?”

Geoff might have been inexperienced with this sort of situation, but he wasn’t stupid; he knew he was being tested. All he could do was be honest. “Well, she’s kind, caring, intelligent, and I can spend hours in her company and have it be the highlight of my day,” he said. “Kathy was also the first ever person to treat me with true kindness – as a companion, even – back when she was a young girl and I was a small dragon, and I never forgot about her. It was by pure luck that we ever met again, and honestly I still feel so lucky that I get to wake up next to her each morning.” Geoff’s gaze had wandered as he spoke, but now he looked back at Kathy’s father. “Lord Stefano, I promise that I never caused anyone any harm as a dragon, and I would never do anything to hurt Kathy. I love her, I really do.”

There was a beat of silence as Lord Stefano looked at him intently, while Geoff held eye contact, trying with all his might to convey what words could not. Then, Lord Stefano’s face appeared to soften ever so slightly, and there was some tension released from his shoulders.

“What was the song you were playing before?” Lord Stefano asked. Geoff looked down, but couldn’t help his mouth twitching upwards.

“Oh, it’s just a song I was trying to learn for the Yuletide party,” he replied, putting his sheet music back up on the stand. “My friends and I are performing at the event, you see. I’m still not a total piano expert, though, and I’m not sure if I can learn this song well enough in time.”

There was a small smile on Lord Stefano’s face. “I play the piano myself,” he said. “Perhaps I could offer a bit of help?”

Geoff smiled back, as relief washed over him. “I would very much appreciate that, thank you,” he replied.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Kathy and her mother had headed back inside the castle as Kathy had told her more about Geoff. The party in town (the event meant to be celebrating the dragon being gotten rid of), the meetings in the forest, the unexpected reveal of Geoff’s true identity, all the way up to Geoff proposing to her (although Kathy skipped a few details here and there – her mother didn’t need to know everything).

“I can see why you care so much about him,” said Kathy’s mother, as the two of them began walking upstairs.

Kathy nodded. “He’s truly a wonderful man, and a lovely dragon.” She paused as she reached the top of the steps and smiled. “I can hear piano music; he must be in the Music Room.

“He plays?” asked Kathy’s mother, sounding impressed.

“He’s been learning how to. But he’s definitely an incredible singer – I always love getting to listen to him.”

 

Kathy stopped talking as she and her mother approached the corridor where the Music Room was located. She could hear quiet humming, but that definitely wasn’t Geoff’s humming. Quietly, she crept up to the open doorway, her mother behind her, and put a hand to her mouth in surprise as she looked inside. Her father was sitting next to Geoff, humming along softly as Geoff played the piano. She watched in wonder as her father appeared to help Geoff with adjusting his hand positioning on the keys, and there was an encouraging smile on Lord Stefano’s face. Then he looked up and saw his wife and daughter standing in the doorway. Geoff looked up as well, following his gaze, and beamed when he saw Kathy.

“Hope we’re not interrupting anything!” said Kathy, taking a couple steps inside.

Geoff got up from the piano and walked over to her. “It’s alright, your father was just giving me some help with a song I’ve been practicing,” he said.

“He seems to be quite a natural when it comes to music!” said Lord Stefano, coming up behind Geoff. Then he sighed, and placed a hand on Kathy’s shoulder, while looking between her and Geoff. “I may not understand everything about your relationship, or about you, Geoffrey, but so long as you take care of each other, and you make each other happy, then that’s all that matters. And I wish the both of you a long, happy marriage.”

Tears of happiness were forming in Kathy’s eyes, and she surged forward to hug her dad. Kathy’s mother joined in the hug, and Geoff stood back as the family shared the embrace, just happy that everything had been resolved. But then Lord Stefano looked up at Geoff, smiled, and reached out an arm towards him, and how could Geoff refuse?

Notes:

- For all intents and purposes, Kathy's parents are original characters in this, and I came up with their names with the help of a name generator thing (yes I deliberately picked Italian names). I will note however that I got a *teeny* bit of inspiration from the fact that Kathy's actual dad irl was/is the music teacher at the high school that Kathy, Geoff, and Layne all attended! (And he taught them all as well).
- (Speaking of names, the names of the two servants were intentional, and that's all I'm saying on that).
- I've been hoping for an opportunity to incorporate Geoff's short cover of Rainbow Connection into the AU somehow, and I finally got one! (Also man I would kill for a full-length version, like it doesn't have to be anything fancy, just him and a piano doing a straight cover, that's all I'm asking for, please!!!)
- You know in the movie Tangled at the end where Rapunzel reunites with her parents and then Flynn/Eugene is standing off to the side, smiling, but then he gets pulled into the hug as well and it's all cute? Yeah <3
- I couldn't be bothered figuring out a nice way to write it in, but in my mind Kathy's parents stay until like at least evening and so the other guys get to meet them when they get back to the castle

Chapter 6: Party Of Your Yuletide

Notes:

For day 11 prompt "Christmas party/ball"
(Not only is this chapter probably the longest chapter of anything I've written, but I only *just* got this finished in time, too! (Well it's after midnight when I'm posting this to AO3, but I did get it up on Tumblr like mere minutes beforehand, and plus I live in Australia, so it's still the 23rd for most other people in the world right now anyway!)

“Mmm, good morning, Kath,” said Geoff as he was gently awoken by his fiancée.

“Morning, sleepyhead!” said Kathy, moving closer to kiss him. “And happy Yuletide!”

“Happy Yuletide to you too,” said Geoff, kissing her on the cheek. “Cesar should be bursting down the door any second now to make sure we haven’t forgotten!”

Kathy giggled. “Oh don’t worry about that,” she replied, “I actually had a talk with the others, asking them to keep it down in and around the bedrooms this morning, and not to expect us downstairs for breakfast – I was thinking we could have it brought to us instead?”

Geoff’s face brightened with interest. “Breakfast in bed? Really?” he asked. “It must be a special day!”

 

---

 

A little later, when Geoff and Kathy had just begun heading downstairs to join the others, they were quite surprised to see that it was snowing inside the castle. Except… Wait… It wasn’t quite like regular snow, and when Geoff held out his hand, a piece of ‘snow’ faded into thin air as it touched his palm, a mere illusion.

“What do you think?” said Eli, coming over to the bottom of the stairs. “I’ve just been practising and trying out some spells for the party tonight!”

“Very impressive!” Geoff replied as he and Kathy descended down to him. “And happy Yuletide!”

“There you both are! Finally!” said Cesar, appearing from the dining room with Layne. He ran up and threw his arms around Geoff and Kathy in a quick hug. “Happy Yuletide!” He stepped back. “Also, Geoff, while I remember, uh, I’ve got an idea for your solo performance!”

“Yeah? What sort of idea?”

Cesar looked away. “Uh, well, so you’re doing ‘Winter Wonderland’, right? Yeah so obviously it’s your performance, your big moment and all that, but I was thinking, uh, if maybe we could take one of the verses? Like Layne, Eli, and me, I mean. Just one verse! Specifically the second snowman verse, like the whole ‘in the meadow we can build a snowman’, like the second one of that, um, yeah.”

Geoff shrugged. “Sure, go ahead, so long as you can follow along with the piano melody,” he replied. “Do you wanna practice it when we do some final rehearsals this afternoon?”

“I think we’ll be good, don’t worry,” said Cesar. “I kinda wanna keep it as a surprise.”

Geoff raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘surprise’?” he asked. “What exactly are you planning, and how ‘surprising’ am I going to find it?”

Kathy squeezed his hand. “It’s alright, Cesar told me about the idea the other day,” she said. “It’s truly nothing to be concerned about – just a bit of entertaining fun in the spirit of Yuletide!”

“Well, I guess I’ll take your word for it, then!” said Geoff.

 

---

 

In Voludera, lunch was the main meal on the day of Yuletide (for those attending the party at night, anyway), and both Geoff and Layne were more than willing to volunteer to help begin meal preparations, while the others went to get the dining room ready and set the table.

 

For a little while, Geoff and Layne worked together in comfortable quiet, with Layne preparing pastry for the mince pies, while Geoff got ingredients ready for the roast meats. Then Layne spoke up.

“I’ve always wanted to perform at the Yuletide party, you know,” said Layne, in a soft tone of voice, as if admitting a secret.

“Yeah?” said Geoff. “Did you never get a chance to before or something?”

Layne shrugged. “More like I just never really bothered to pursue the idea,” he replied. “I mean like, even if I did get an opportunity, there’d be of course the matter of what would I perform, and how would I do it, and what if it went badly? It was always just easier to just leave it as a vague dream.” By this point both he and Geoff had paused what they were doing and were leaning up against one of the kitchen worktables as they talked.

“What about Cesar?” asked Geoff. “He’s friends with Omar, right? And he definitely seems to have a love for performing – hasn’t he ever tried to get involved in Yuletide stuff?”

Layne shook his head. “You’d have to talk to Cesar to ask about his exact mindset, but like, you know what we’ve said about the party having the same people do the same stuff for multiple years! What reason did we have to think that we could possibly bring something new to it?” Layne looked down, but then smiled as he looked back up at Geoff. “But then you came along.”

Geoff couldn’t help but give a snort of laughter. “Oh please, Cesar was the one with the idea, not me!”

“Yeah, but you almost definitely helped plant that idea in his brain!”

“What, because of the performance thing for Athelmar?”

“Well, yeah! But also…” Layne hesitated and looked away, as if lacking the ability to finish his sentence out loud. “Well, uh, anyway, we better keep going with the food preparation stuff.”

“Of course,” Geoff replied, smiling at Layne in a way to indicate that he understood the gist of the words left unspoken. “We better not leave the others waiting on us for too long!”

 

.

 

A few minutes later, Geoff and Layne returned to the dining room, after leaving the actual cooking and serving tasks to the hands of the kitchen staff. While the group waited on lunch, it was time for the exchanging of gifts. Geoff got a new winter coat from Cesar, and a few new books filled with wintery tales from Layne. From Eli, Geoff received a small glass sphere mounted on a brightly painted stand. If one were to gently shake the sphere, it would send up a flurry of what looked like tiny flecks of snow, which would then slowly drift down towards a miniature castle, sitting atop a blanket of white. And from Kathy, Geoff was given a framed drawing, one which Geoff immediately recognized as Kathy’s own creation. The drawing was of Geoff himself, but twice over: on the left side, his dragon form, and on the right side his human form, facing each other as if one was a mirror reflection of the other.

“These are all amazing gifts, thank you all so much!” said Geoff. He decided to wear the new coat to the Yuletide Party, and he was already planning on finding space on his bedside table for both the snow globe and the artwork. Finding a spot in the library for the new books might be a bit more of a challenge, but that would have to wait for another time, because now, lunch was just about to be served.

 

---

 

The guys didn’t spend too long resting their full stomachs after they finished eating, as they quickly headed up to the Music Room for final group rehearsals. Then everyone got changed into their nicest winter clothing for a quick dress rehearsal, before Eli, Layne, and Cesar had to leave to help with the party set-up in the village.

“Come down around sunset! Or when you see the village start to light up!” Cesar said to Geoff and Kathy as he left with Layne and Eli. “Then come find one of us when you do – we’ll probably be hanging around the main square!”

“We’ll be with you before you know it!” Geoff replied.

“See you in a little bit!”

“Bye!”

 

.

 

“Well, I might as well go do some final rehearsals of my own solo thing,” said Geoff once it was just him and Kathy left in the castle. “I don’t suppose you can give me any hints about this ‘surprise’ Cesar is planning for during my song, maybe?”

Kathy gestured for Geoff to bend down as if she was going to whisper in his ear, but when Geoff did so, he received a kiss on the cheek instead.

“Sorry,” said Kathy with a small giggle, “I’ve been sworn to secrecy!”

Geoff chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Fine, I guess I’ll just try not to think about it for the time being, then,” he said.

“Probably for the best,” Kathy replied, smiling.

 

---

 

Once Geoff was as satisfied as he could be with his song rendition, he and Kathy went outside and found a bench within the castle grounds to sit down on, where they could cuddle up and watch as the sun sank down to the horizon and beyond, leaving pastel hues of pink, purple, and blue as it went.

 

“Well, I think it’s time for us to start walking down,” said Geoff once the village was glowing as brightly as he remembered from his glimpse of it many winters ago.

“Yes, I do believe this is our cue,” Kathy replied, noticing a line of small golden lights, floating in the air and forming a trail up the roadway, stopping at the castle gates.

Geoff chuckled when he saw what Kathy was referring to. “They certainly spare no effort!” He stood up and offered his hand. “Shall we?”

Kathy took Geoff’s hand and stood up as well. “We shall.”

 

---

 

Geoff and Kathy first found Layne, who was down one of the village side-streets, while engaged in conversation with a blonde-haired woman. Geoff was about to go over to him, but Kathy held up a hand.

“Just hang on a minute,” she said quietly, looking over at Layne with a knowing smile on her face.

“Huh?” said Geoff. “What do you mean? …Oh.”

Geoff had witnessed Layne talking to other Voluderians on many an occasion, whether in his role as a Royal Knight, or simply as someone looking to buy things and/or strike up a casual conversation. This, however, appeared to be a scenario of a somewhat different kind.

Geoff chuckled quietly. “Well, whaddya know?”

 

After another moment or two, Layne looked over and noticed Geoff and Kathy standing off to the side.

“Maybe I’ll see you later tonight?” said Layne to the woman.

“Well I’ll certainly be seeing you later tonight, by the sounds of it!” the woman replied with a friendly grin. “I’ll be cheering you on!” Then, with a wave farewell, she turned and headed up the side-street, disappearing amongst the gathering crowd further into the village. Layne waved back as he watched her leave, his cheeks tinted an uncharacteristic shade of pink.

 

“Making new friends, are we?” Geoff asked with a teasing smirk as he strolled over to his friend.

Layne rolled his eyes. “Hilarious,” he replied flatly. “I’m just engaging with the community, helping to spread festive cheer, that sort of thing!”

“Oh yes, you looked very engaged!” Geoff remarked, casually resting his elbow on Layne’s shoulder. “Are you gonna ask her to dance at some point tonight?”

“I’m not really a dancer,” Layne replied, removing Geoff’s arm from his shoulder, “and plus there’s a lot of people here, I dunno, it probably won’t happen.”

“We can keep an eye out for her if you’d like!” said Geoff, and Kathy nodded in agreement. “And don’t worry about the dancing – just fake it till you make it! Copy other people, and act like you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine!”

Layne gave a small shrug and looked away. “Yeah, whatever, let’s just go find Eli and Cesar,” he said, turning and heading in the direction of the main square. Geoff and Kathy exchanged small, knowing smiles between each other, before following behind him.

 

.

 

Layne, Geoff, and Kathy found Eli and Cesar in the main square, talking with a man whom Geoff assumed to be Omar.

“Hey, does he look a little familiar to you?” Geoff said to Kathy. “Wasn’t he the guy that hosted the… y’know, the event that neither of us were expected to be attending?”

“I do believe he is,” Kathy replied. “Cesar did say he was involved in many village events, after all.”

 

Omar lit up as he saw Geoff and Kathy approaching.

“Hey, you must be Geoff! It’s so great to finally meet you properly!” he said, shaking Geoff’s hand. “And Lady Kathryn, I presume? A pleasure to meet you as well!” He did a short bow. “I was just talking with Eli and Cesar here about how the show is gonna work! So I’ve slotted you guys in as the third performance of the night; that’ll give people enough time to settle in and get into the party spirit before you go on, and then you’ll have plenty of time left in the rest of the night to enjoy the party for yourselves!”

Geoff nodded. “Okay, will you be calling us up to introduce us first? We haven’t actually come up with a group name or anything like that,” he said.

“Nah don’t worry,” replied Omar, “not all group acts have one, and we usually skip the introductions for the Yuletide party anyway. Though with that being said, you’ll be going up after The Five Tonics – your friends know who I’m talking about.” Layne, Eli, and Cesar all nodded. “Come to the side of the stage when they’re about midway or so through their set – they’ll be doing 5 songs – and I’ll explain more to you guys then. But for now, I need to go and get this night started!” And then with a casual salute, Omar turned and made his way over to the stage set up at one end of the square.

 

“Man, I can’t believe we’re going right after The Five Tonics!” said Cesar. “Like gosh, no pressure or anything!”

“Are they professionals?” Geoff asked with genuine curiosity.

“Objectively, yes,” replied Layne, with a nonchalant shrug.

“They’re fairly popular at The Palace, but Yuletide is what they’re really known for,” added Cesar.

“Eh, I always thought they were lacking just a little something,” said Layne. But before Geoff could ask any more questions, Omar’s voice rang out across the square.

“Good evening Voludera!” Omar called out. The people mingling about went quiet, and some people gathered closer to the stage where Omar was standing. “I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Day Of Yuletide, and now it’s time to finish it off the best way we know how: with Voludera’s annual Yuletide Party!” There were a few whoops and cheers from the crowd. “If you’ve been to one of these before, we’ve got the same great lineup of performances for you as previous years, but if you stay close by for now, then very soon you’re gonna see some newcomers to the stage, with a few extra songs thrown into the mix!”

“Does that count as an introduction?” asked Geoff quietly.

“Might as well spark some interest in the crowd!” Kathy replied.

Omar kept talking. “…But for now, grab some food, grab some friends and loved ones, and get ready for an awesome night!”

 

---

 

Geoff, Kathy, Eli, Layne, and Cesar returned to the main square after following Omar’s suggestion of grabbing some food (“you shouldn’t perform on an empty stomach!” Layne had said). The first act, a band which had played some Yuletide-themed instrumental tunes, was just packing up their things, and Geoff looked over to the side of the stage where the next act was waiting, a group consisting of four men and one woman.

“Are they The Five Tonics?” Geoff asked Cesar.

Cesar nodded. “They sure are!” he replied. “They’re not even from Voludera, actually, but they show up every year here to perform!”

“Do they not have their own Yuletide equivalent in their kingdom?”

“They do, but their main winter event is on a different day to ours, I think.”

The Five Tonics walked up onto the now-cleared stage and were met with a fair degree of cheering.

 

“Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”

 

---

 

When The Five Tonics began the third song of their set, Geoff and the others walked over to the side of the stage where Omar was waiting for them.

“So you guys are doing Sleigh Ride followed by Jingle Bell Rock, correct?” asked Omar. The group nodded. “Well, I’m happy to provide a bit of backing instrumentals if you need it!” He patted the top of the harpsichord he was standing next to.

“That would be perfect, thanks!” said Cesar.

“Yeah, but don’t start playing immediately,” said Layne, “you’ll know the right cue, I’m sure.”

“Duly noted!” said Omar. “Oh, and Geoff, I heard that you were in need of a piano for your solo performance afterwards?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I didn’t think about bringing mine down,” Geoff replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Omar laughed. “Don’t worry, there’s one waiting for you behind the stage. We managed to find one in The Palace, and it’s been properly tuned and ready to go for you!”

“Thanks, Omar,” Geoff replied, “but let’s deal with that some more after these first two songs.”

 

“Are you nervous at all?” Kathy asked Geoff.

“I dunno, maybe a little?” Geoff replied. “I can definitely feel my heart beating harder and quicker than usual.”

“It’s okay to be nervous!” said Cesar. “It just means that you’re getting fully prepared for your big moment!”

Geoff raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if that really makes sense or not.”

Cesar shrugged. “Eh, it’s just what I’ve heard a couple of times at The Palace, and I thought it sounded good,” he replied.

 

.

 

There was much cheering and applause from the crowd as The Five Tonics finished their last song for the night. They really had been quite impressive; their performance looked like it had been practiced a million times over, and even their bows and their walk off the stage looked rehearsed.

 

“Good luck, all of you!” said Kathy. “I’m sure you’re all gonna be amazing!”

Geoff bent down for a quick good-luck kiss from Kathy, and then helped Omar and Layne carry the harpsichord up on stage. There was some intrigued whispering and murmuring from the crowd as Geoff, Layne, Cesar, and Eli took their starting positions at the back of the stage, while Omar sat down at the harpsichord.

The four of them waited until the crowd had become quieter, and then, with a collective nod, Eli stepped forward, now illuminated by light, and began singing a slowed-down rendition of the first song.

“Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring, ting, tingling too…”

Some of the crowd looked around in mild confusion as they heard the sound of sleigh bells, but couldn’t place where they were coming from, and Geoff couldn’t help but grin in amusement, knowing that the true source was currently standing right next to him.

Cesar stepped forward and took the next line.

“Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with youuuu…”

Then it was Layne’s turn.

“Outside the snow is falling, and friends are calling to you…”

Then finally, Geoff stepped forward for his part.

"Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with youuuu…"

 

There had been some discussion during early rehearsals about Geoff using his ‘Dragon Voice’ so early on into the performance, with Geoff being the main voice of uncertainty. He had been unsure whether or not it would even fit well into the song at that point, but Layne had argued that it would be a strong attention-grabber if nothing else.

And indeed, there were small gasps of shock and awe from the crowd as Geoff rumbled out the last part of the line.

 

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Cesar gave the cue.

“A-one-two-three-four-five!”

Omar didn’t miss a beat as the performance suddenly doubled in energy.

“Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too!
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!
Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling to you!
Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!”

 

As Geoff bopped along to the song and jumped from lead vocals to backing vocals and harmonies and back again, he had a split-second realization that he wasn’t nervous now; he was actually quite enjoying himself. And when the first song came to an end, the audience were already clapping and cheering, even though they had another group song left to go.

 

For the second song, Geoff and his friends began side-by-side at the front of the stage, beginning the song with a group chorus of ‘ooo’s, except for Layne, who did his sleigh bells impression again, resulting in a ripple of surprise and wonderment from the crowd.

 

.

 

“…That’s the jingle bell!”
“That’s the jingle bell!”
“That’s the jingle bell rooooock!”
“Jingle bell rock!”

 

The audience clapped and cheered in absolute delight as the four singers onstage took their bows, each of them giddy with happiness from such a resounding success. But Geoff couldn’t quite yet go and enjoy himself with the rest of the partygoers, for now it was time for his solo performance.

Geoff helped carry the harpsichord off the stage, and then Cesar helped provide an extra set of hands for carrying up the piano; him, Omar, and Layne on one side, and Geoff on the other.

 

There was more murmuring and whispering from the crowd as Geoff sat down at the piano, and Geoff could feel his heart pounding in his chest again. But he just took a deep breath in, smiled over at Kathy and his friends, and then focused on the keys in front of him, before he started to sing.

“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?
In the lane, snow is glistening.
A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderland.”

Geoff had decided to not lean too heavily on his Dragon Voice for his performance. He wanted his singing to be appreciated on its own merit; to be appraised the way any regular human singer would be. And besides, he had found that he could sing quite sweetly when he went a little higher, or so Kathy said, anyway.

“Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is a new bird.
He sings a love song, as we go along,
Walking in a winter wonder land.”

…But with that being said, he still couldn’t help but slip in just a couple or so Dragon Voice moments into the song, for his own amusement as much as for anyone else’s.

“In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown.
He'll say, ‘Are you married?’ We'll say, ‘not yet!’”

A few people chuckled, and Geoff flashed a cheeky grin over at Kathy.

“…But you can do the job when you're in town!

Later on, we'll conspire,
As we dream by the fire.
To face unafraid, the plans that we've made,
Walking in a winter wonderland.”

 

Geoff relaxed a little as he took the song to a brief piano-only section. He spared a glance at Layne, Eli, and Cesar, all still standing with Kathy at the side of the stage. He hadn’t forgotten about Cesar’s ‘request’, but he couldn’t see anything that gave him any idea of what his friends were planning to do. And so, Geoff just kept on playing, and did his best to maintain focus on the keys when Layne walked onstage and began to sing, but the words certainly weren’t what Geoff had seen in the songbook.

“In the forest you may find a dragon…”

Eli walked up in time to take the next part.

“…but lacking any claws or horns or wings.”

Then Cesar came on.

“You should get to know this friendly dragon…”

Geoff was thankful to be able to at least partially rely on muscle memory for that section, as Kathy then walked up onstage to finish the verse.

“…and if you’re lucky you may even hear him sing!”

 

There were some brief cheers from the crowd, and Geoff had to summon a great deal of willpower to very quickly regain some composure, knowing that the song was yet to be completed.

“When it snows, ain't it thrilling? Though your nose gets a chilling.”

With a few quick looks and specifically-directed head movements, Geoff silently beckoned for Kathy to come sit next to him on the piano stool, and for Layne, Eli, and Cesar to stay up on the stage as well.

“We'll frolic and play, the Voludera way, Walking in a winter wonderland.”

Layne, Eli, and Cesar joined in to harmonise on the repeat of the last line, following Geoff’s silent directions.

“Walking in a winter wonderland.
Walking… in a winter… won-der-laaaaand!”

 

As Geoff played the very final notes of the song, there was a single second of quiet, before the audience erupted into applause, with cheers, whoops, and whistles. Geoff stood up for another round of bows, and found that his legs were a little shaky. Then he followed Kathy and his friends off of the stage, hoping that whoever had brought the piano down from The Palace to the village could also help take it away.

 

The group of five found a spot off to the side, a little away from the main gathering area, and no sooner had they stopped walking than Cesar gathered everyone into a tight group hug.

“Guys! That was the best thing ever! You all did incredible!” he said. He released his embrace and looked at Geoff with a thoroughly-pleased grin. “Did you like the surprise?”

“I certainly didn’t know what to expect, that’s for sure!” Geoff replied, exhilaration still coursing through his body. “But I loved it, I really did. How did you come up with it? When…? Who…?”

Layne raised a hand modestly. “It wasn’t really intended to be anything at first,” he said. “I was just singing it to myself one day, coming up with alternate lyrics, just for my own amusement, that’s all, but then Cesar heard some of it.”

“I thought it was really cute and sweet!” said Cesar. “So I encouraged Layne to keep going with it, and I knew you’d really like it too if you heard it!”

Geoff threw an arm around Cesar’s shoulders affectionately. “You don’t do anything by half, do you?” he said with a laugh. “What if I had said no to your ‘request’, out of curiosity?”

Cesar shrugged. “Probably would’ve just sung it to you during final rehearsals, maybe,” he said. “But I’m so glad you said yes!”

Geoff then turned his attention to Kathy. “And how exactly did you get involved, not that I’m complaining?” he asked.

Kathy smiled. “Simple, Cesar asked me, and how could I refuse?” she replied.

Geoff moved over to kiss the top of her head. “Well I absolutely loved it, thank you, all of you,” he said.

 

Then Omar came rushing over to them.

“Oh. My. Gods! You guys were fantastic! You absolutely killed it up there!” he cried delightedly. “Like I was sure you were all gonna be good, but you were totally amazing! Honestly if you’re not careful, I might ask you guys to come and be part of the Yuletide Party setlist next year too!”

“Well, you sometimes help organise other events and festivals and such in town as well, don’t you?” asked Geoff. “I’m not gonna confirm anything for certain, but perhaps you could keep us in mind for that sort of thing as well?” Eli, Layne, and Cesar all nodded in keen agreement.

Omar grinned. “I definitely will!” he replied. “But c'mon! There's still plenty of night left! Go and enjoy yourselves! You've earned it!”

 

.

 

Some of the partygoers in the square were beginning to pair up as the current act began their next song.

“The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing,
But I can weather the storm!
What do I care, how much it may storm?
I've got my love to keep me warm!”

Geoff bowed towards Kathy and offered his hand with a flourish.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” he asked, putting on a regal tone of voice.

Kathy giggled, and took Geoff's hand. “Why of course, my good sir!” she replied.

 

“I can't remember the worst December,
Just watch those icicles form!
What do I care, if icicles form?
I've got my love to keep me warm!”

 

Geoff looked around at the other Voluderians in the square, and caught sight of Layne, who was dancing with the woman he had been talking to earlier. He didn't appear to be the most coordinated or confident of dancers, but he and the woman both appeared to be having a good time together.

Geoff would tease Layne about it later, of course, but for now, he was just happy to see Layne enjoying himself.

 

“Off with my overcoat, off with my gloves,
Who needs an overcoat? I'm burning with love!”

 

Geoff turned his focus back to Kathy, gazing at her with great fondness as the two of them bobbed and swayed to the music.

“Anything on your mind?” Kathy asked, noticing the look in Geoff's eyes.

Geoff briefly removed his hand from Kathy's back to gently brush a strand of hair away from her face. “Just thinking about how lucky I am,” he replied, just loud enough for only Kathy to hear.

Kathy smiled at him lovingly, and then looked up as shimmering snowflakes began to float down over the crowd, ones which sparkled and left no feelings of coldness at all.

 

“My heart's on fire, and the flame grows higher,
So I will weather the storm!
What do I care how much it may storm?
I've got my love to keep me warm!”

 

---

 

“Well, guess it’s time that we all start heading back home,” said Eli as the last song of the night played and the party was winding down.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Geoff replied, admittedly feeling rather tired, though ultimately pleased after such a joyous party. He cast his eyes around at the village, taking in its warm glow one final time, but then he realized that there were lights coming from somewhere else as well. Indeed, there in the distance was Sunlight Castle, currently looking like a golden glowing beacon overlooking the town. “Eli, did you-?”

Eli grinned. “Just a final little surprise for the night,” he replied. “And besides, why should the village get to have all the fun?”

Perhaps he could attribute it to his growing weariness, but Geoff’s eyes were fogging up by a few tears of happiness, and he had to swallow back a small lump in his throat. There were so many things he wanted to say, but all he ended up saying was, “Yeah, come on, let’s go home.”

Home. Sunlight Castle really was a home now, wasn’t it? Somewhere warm and inviting, with other people to spend his time with. Geoff had spent so many years being in more-or-less solitude, but now he would never have to worry about being alone ever again.

Kathy squeezed his hand and smiled. “Happy Yuletide, Geoff.”

Notes:

- Fun fact that's only partially relevant: in Australia, lunch actually is the more common main meal of the day on Christmas as compared to Christmas dinner!
- Yes, I came up with those bonus lyrics by myself! Don't ask me how I came up with that idea myself, I just did! I'm pretty sure it was when I was having a shower though, lol.
- Writing endings is hard. I toyed up at least a couple different ways to finish this story before I finally decided.
- I could say even more here but I'm typing this all right before bed so I gotta be quick, but I love hearing from you fam in the comments! Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy Yuletide! ;) <3

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of Sunlight Castle Stories