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Upon entering the castle, the princess was bombarded by all the servants that could be away from their posts. They cheered, hugged and clapped for the newlyweds; missing their young lady particularly around the holidays. She was the heart of their Yuletide spirit, and it hadn’t been the same without her.

The castle servants tried to decorate like their lady used to, but it’d been nothing like what Peggy and Skye accomplished yearly. The tree was up, but barely decorated. The garlands were hung, but with none of the trimmings that usually covered them. Only about half of the decorations Skye and Peggy had made and collected over the years were out on display.

As the servants crowded around the couple, a familiar booming voice rang out from across the room; “There’s me lassie! Merry Yuletide, ye two!”

Lucas nearly jogged across the room to scoop Skye up in a bear hug. He seemed in good spirits, which was still a little jarring to her. They’d only patched up their relationship a month ago; after her wedding. She was happy that he was acting more fatherly, but the princess knew he was still keeping things from her.

As she embraced her father, Skye shoved the thought down. She wanted to enjoy her first Yuletide with her parents in years; and her first one with Tidas as his wife. Right as she pulled away from her father, Lidia called out to her daughter. She was coming out of the banquet room; the same place her father had just come from.

Lidia stretched out her arms before being anywhere near Skye; in anticipation of a hug. She speed-walked towards her mother, and squeezed her tightly. Her eyes had been misty with unspoken emotion, which surprised Skye. It warmed her heart to see that her mother had missed her. She was still adjusting to the realization that her parents truly did love her. But the princess had promised herself to give them both an honest chance, so that’s what she would do.

When Skye embraced her mother, a familiar face popped around the corner to say; “Is that a surly princess Ima hearing?!”

“Petrie! What are ye doing her?! Tis Yuletide! Why are ye not with yer family?!”

.....

The Nomad huffed sadly before replying; “Let’s just say I can’t go home right now, and leave it at that for now? I’d like to stay in a pleasant mood, if I can..”

“Will your family be all right without you?” Tidas inquired; worried that Murdoc might’ve found out that the man saved him.

“Aye; they be set for weeks on supplies, thanks to you and the princess.. It’s, umm... Complicated, home at the moment..”

“Say no more; ye can tell use what ye want, when ye want. Until then; Everyone gets a job to do!” Skye shouted as she looked around in a circle.

“Job? What job?! Why do I have to work?! Ima guest!” Petrie’s voice was shrill as he complained.

“Oh, quit yer whinin’! We need to put up the rest of the decorations, and don’t have much time; where’s Peggy?!” Skye shouted out right as her and Nicolas came through the main door.

Peggy was pink in her face, and covered in snow. She’d been outside; directing the luggage. Her breathing was heavy as she shot the princess an exasperated expression.

“I JUST came through the door, lass.. It’s colder than Miser Herod’s heart out there! Cut me some slack!”

Skye apologized to Peggy as her husband asked; “Miser Herod? Who’s that?”

Both Skye and Peggy stopped in their tracks to stare at Tidas as Nicolas laughed in the background. The two women knew that the prince had heard the story before, at least as a child. Skye crossed her arms before saying; “Come on, ye know the story: Santa the Claws Versus the Ice Miser?!”

Tidas thought deeply a moment before smacking his hands together in realization; “OH! That’s right! Santa saved a town from a greedy miser that was taxing people to death, right?”

“Aye! It’s one of me favorite stories. After Santa Versus Krampus,” Skye beamed as she replied.

Nicolas had been laughing and smiling throughout their conversation, until the princess had mentioned Krampus. His face seemed placid, but at the same time; his eyes were filled with grief. The sentiment confused her for a moment.

Skye wasn’t sure why it hadn’t clicked before: Nicolas was Santa, after all. He could tell her if any of the stories she knew of were real or not. He’d let little details slide here and there, but the princess still had heard any stories directly from the source yet.

Peggy had told Skye bits from his stories as they came up, but she’d still hadn’t heard a full one yet. The Ice miser was one of her favorites because it was the first story she remembered Lucas reading to her as a child. Then and there, Skye decided to request a story during dinner; after they finished putting up the rest of the decorations.

With everyone involved; coating Moonstone Castle in Yuletide cheer took about an hour. Several footmen went out to the extra storage buildings on the backside of the stables. Decorations, extra furnishings, and other various hodgepodge items could be found there. It hadn’t taken them long to put everything out.

The matching menorahs were set out with their candles. Peggy didn’t trust anyone else to put the reds and greens in the right order. Lucas nearly used one of the red candles as the Shamash instead of the black one. The ornaments and ribbons for the garlands were taken care of first, since they took the longest to set up.

Bulbs and ribbons of vibrant silvers, whites, and blues looked beautiful against the dark green of the garland. Wreaths with reds, golds, and purples were hung on the doorways for luck. Lidia set up her little snowy village display that Lucas had bought her shortly after they married.

One of the few pleasant memories Skye had with her mother was playing with her and the village set as a child. It was modeled after some artifacts that tied into an ancient holiday. Apparently people used to decorate entire towns and cities in celebration of it. Even those that didn’t follow the religious aspects of the holiday still celebrated the spirit of it; which to her, was the most important part.

The little daylight tha had been left quickly faded over the horizon; ushering in a clear, Star-filled sky. The moon was waning, allowing the starlight to shine. Skye missed looking up at the stars from her window. The city lights obscured most of the stars she could see from her windows, making the lonely nights seem that much more desolate.

Even on their ride to the castle, Tidas had been working. He’d read reports and caught up on paperwork that didn’t require much writing. Legibility was difficult to pull off in a moving coach, so he’d focused on documents that only required signatures.

Skye had been annoyed, but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t as if she could help him get through it faster, and complaining would only hinder him. Instead: she compromised. He could work on the way there and back, but not while there; unless she was sleeping. Tidas only slept around five hours a night, which worried Skye greatly.

Their short time at the palace was just a glimpse at how little time they would have together; especially once Skye’s training started. Tidas was a prince, and the now the official Commander of the RMC again. His responsibilities were only going to increase as the number of indoctrinations increased.

After everyone finished decorating, everyone broke off to handle the rest of their daily tasks. Tidas went to continue his work, Lucas and Nicolas disappeared; Skye assumed to go drink. Lidia, Peggy, and the princess went to unpack and set up the gift bags for the cotters. It wasn’t until dinner time that everyone met back up to eat.

The dinner table brimmed with all of their favorite foods. It seemed like every meat one could think of was present at the table, along with every side. The desserts consisted of pies, cakes, and cookies of every flavor; from pumpkin pie to Jan hagel cookies. Skye loved the crunch of the nuts and the buttery undertones of the cookie made it one of her favorites.

Everyone ate until pants needed to be unbuttoned, and dress strings loosened so they could breathe. Skye had brought Zazzy out of her room with her to be a part of the festivities. Lidia was fascinated with her shell, and wondered if she could have the remains of it after Zazzy hatched some day.

Her mother thought that the texture and shine were unique, and she wanted to make jewelry from the shell pieces. Skye agreed easily, so long her mother gave her one of the finished products for her choker. Skye had barely taken it off since it was given to her on her birthday. She rarely switched out the stones; usually just sticking with the moonstone. It would be nice to have a memento of Zazzy; in case she decided dragons don’t do the ‘pet me’ thing.

Lucas and Nicolas were clearly buzzed when they came into the banquet room. The food helped soak up the alcohol, so as soon as dinner finished; they went back to drinking and talking. Lucas was explaining the flow of goods in and out of Dragonhorn when Skye came over to them. She looked shy and childlike as she fidgeted her fingers.

“I feel silly asking this, but Tis the eve of Yuletide! Shouldn’t ye be somewhere getting a bunch of reindeer in line for a flight? Or yelling at elves to pick up the pace?” Skye swirled the dram of whiskey in her hand as she’d spoken.

Nicolas laughed hard before rebutting; “By the gods! You have a friend enchant some reindeer One Time to help make deliveries, and suddenly it’s expected every time! Fae existing, no... But a fat human being flown around by reindeer; yeah, that’s believable..”

Everyone in the room laughed at the joke before the princess began wearing him down; “I hear ye, but I got one question: how do you get into everyone’s houses?”

Nicolas quirked an eyebrow before he explained; “I didn’t have to, back in the olden days. Stockings were originally hung outside on a door, or gate for me. It changed to inside the person’s home because of Miser Herod..”

“He was the Ice miser, right?” Tidas asked.

“The man was greed in physical form. If he wanted something, he got it; even people.. And at any cost,” Nicolas stated as he told Skye and those present his story....