the golden age

[deepest_magic]

When the party has died down, Isabella, for one, is well and truly exhausted. She explores the palace until she finds a room with a bed in it, and into this bed she flops, still in her clothes and holding her staff and carrying the cordial in her pocket. She sleeps late, because the party kept her up so late and she hadn't really slept the night before; but around noon, she stirs, and gets up, and goes looking for James and wherever her backpack may have got to. The backpack she finds in the great hall where the principal mass of the party was; some enterprising creature took both bags from the battlefield at Beruna up to the castle for them, and she only wishes she knew who it was. She takes her bag to her room and carries James's with her and continues looking for her friend.

Comments

[jackfrostbite]

"...What?"

[deepest_magic]

"I asked - you didn't already tell him, did you? If you're going to tell him yourself there's no point in me interrupting," Isabella says, switching to addressing Father Christmas.

[jackfrostbite]

"She asked, if I recall right, whether it is possible for you to die," says Father Christmas.

"And you said no, I'd wager."

Father Christmas nods.

"Wonderful," mutters Winter. "Merry Christmas to me."

[deepest_magic]

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd want to know."

[jackfrostbite]

Winter sighs. "Thank you, your majesty."

[deepest_magic]

"Enjoy your picnic."

And she goes upstairs again to bed with her spouse.

[neverbeatme]

James is sleepy but not quite asleep; she snuggles up cozily when Isabella arrives.

[deepest_magic]

"They were having a picnic," Isabella yawns.

[neverbeatme]

"Who?" mumbles James.

[deepest_magic]

"Winter 'n Father Christmas."

[neverbeatme]

...

"...I'll think about that in the morning," she decides. Snuggle snuggle. Snuggle snuggle sleep.

[deepest_magic]

Snuggle sleep indeed.

[neverbeatme]

And in the morning, when they are both more or less awake:

"...I guess a picnic was the best present Father Christmas could give him?"

[deepest_magic]

"Maybe. I assume it hasn't happened before, but maybe this year Winter would finally welcome the visit?"

[neverbeatme]

"Maybe... I bet Father Christmas would've had a hard time bringing him a picnic while he was being crushed under a rock, too, for that matter."

[deepest_magic]

"Yeah. And back when Jadis was around he couldn't visit anyone."

[neverbeatme]

Nod nod.

[deepest_magic]

"But maybe they'll do it again next year, it's the sort of thing that could recur."

[neverbeatme]

"Yeah... I'm wondering whether visiting Winter in his cell on Christmas would be a good idea or a bad one."

[deepest_magic]

"He didn't seem to mind my being there very much but I didn't loiter."

[neverbeatme]

"I have a year to think about it, I guess. But I might go visit him. On the theory that if Father Christmas has a picnic with him I might get to talk to Father Christmas for a while, and if Father Christmas doesn't have a picnic with him I can try to have a picnic with him instead in case that helps. But if it just seems to upset Winter I can not try it again the next year."

[deepest_magic]

"Yeah, that all seems reasonable."

[neverbeatme]

Sigh. Hug.

"Okay, it's Christmas, let's go do something that's not at all depressing."

[deepest_magic]

"Snowball fight?"

[neverbeatme]

"Snowball fight," James agrees enthusiastically.

There is a royal snowball fight. It's adorable.