The sound of footsteps roamed through the empty hallways, pushing away the soft silence of the night. Light from the lampposts outside fell onto the stone floor from the big windows, casting its soft light on the otherwise dark hallways. It was past curfew and I was well aware of it. I glanced at the watch on my wrist and cursed beneath my breath. It wasn't supposed to be this late! The previously decision about going back to the work room seemed to have taken a turn for the worse, as the chance of being caught was getting bigger by each second.

I sighed exhausted, if I had been better at it, I would have been back in my room hours ago. But if I hadn't gone, then I wouldn't have finished the present. Even if it was just a small thing, I wanted to give it to him on Christmas day.

I slowed down before my hand found the cold door handle, but before I could press it down, it opened on its own, easily vanishing from my hand. My eyes went up, startled by the sudden movement, and my stomach turned into a knot. I held my breath, closed my eyes and prepared myself mentally for what was bound to happen in seconds.

The door creaked softly and the person took at sharp breath.

''Lena?''

Surprised by the sudden use of my name, my eyes opened and met the eyes that belonged to the man I really didn't wanted to see. I quickly hid my hands behind my back, desperately hoping that he hadn't noticed the bag with the present in it.

''Jan… What are you doing out so late?'' I finally spoke, nervously fidgeting with the bag behind my back. He smiled softly, like he always did, and my heart sped up. Almost instantly, my body relaxed and I sighed softly.

''I was making sure all of the lights were turned off.'' He smiled while speaking and my eyes quickly looked down the hallway he came from. Everything was already dark and why would he be doing that so late? My eyes found his again and I couldn't help but wonder. ''But why are you out here so late? You must know that it's past your curfew.''

Hurry… Lie. Come on, say something…

I swallowed hard, no words formed in my head and my mouth opened but merely closed again seconds later. My body tensed up once again and my cheeks started to feel warm. ''I.. uuh..'' I managed to mumble quietly before giving up and sighing instead. My eyes flickered down to my feet but went back up to meet his as he chuckled softly.

''I'm not going to scold you.'' He flashed me that gentle smile that made my heart throb. ''I'm sure you had a good reason to be out this late.'' He continued softly, the smile remaining even as he finished speaking. My body relaxed again and I apologized with a smile. A comfortable silence fell between us and lasted until Jan looked out the window with a sudden interest. My gaze followed his with curiosity but I couldn't figure out what he was looking at.

''It's gotten cloudy…'' His voice was just a whisper beneath his breath. His eyes remained at the dark sky for a moment before they returned to mine. ''Shall I walk you back to your room?'' He asked with a smile and I gave him a soft nod. I was thankful for the darkness in the hallways, I would have been even more embarrassed if he had seen how flushed my face was.

We walked through the empty hallways in a comfortable silence until he suddenly slowed down before stopping completely. He stood in front of the last big window in this hallway and his attention went to something outside. I stood beside him, seeing as we were five steps away from the door to the servant quarters, it seemed like he didn't want to leave yet. Or so I hoped.

''Jan?'' I softly called his name while I watched his face, searching for a reaction. When he started smiling, I looked out the window as well. ''Oh!'' I gasped and took a step closer to the window. The bag in my hands was left in my left hand as the right went up and touched the cold glass with care.

''It's snowing.'' He smiled softer than usual, if that was possible, and didn't move his gaze.

''It's beautiful.'' I murmured softly, almost mesmerized by the soft looking and white snowflakes, slowly falling from the sky with graze. I looked at the scenery as I heard him say a low ''Yes'' behind me and my eyes suddenly met with his in the reflection. I caught my breath and hesitated, was he really looking at me? It felt as if my heart had stopped while my lips formed his name but no sound came from me. I watched him smile and take a step closer to me before I turned around. His soft, gentle and purple eyes made me melt slowly as I looked up at him.

''I have to admit… I was lying earlier.'' He spoke calmly and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, making him look apologetic. The soft light of the lamppost outside allowed me to see his face in the darkness. His cheeks had a faint red color and I started to think that he was as nervous as I was.

''Lied? About what?'' I asked, slightly surprised by the amount of hesitation and worry in my own voice.

''You weren't in your room so I figured you had to be in the work room.'' His soft smile widened. ''And I came looking for you.''

I stood there, completely dumbfounded, heat instantly appearing in my cheeks and not a single word would form in my head.

''I'm sorry if this surprised you.'' His voice was almost the same, except for the faint hint of disappointment in it. His eyes fell down, ''I didn't mean to-''

''No!'' I blurted out, surprising both of us and making his eyes return to mine. ''Uh… I mean… I'm surprised but not in a negative way.'' I awkwardly explained and huffed when he softly chuckled. At least he was smiling again. The warmth in my cheeks lingered there while I noticed his had the same delicate look. I smiled calmly, so much for it being a bad decision.

''Really? I'm glad.'' His voice was normal again, maybe a bit gentler, and his warm eyes didn't leave mine again. A short silence fell between us as we merely smiled at each other shyly before our eyes fell down. ''I… I know it's a bit early to give you this…'' He spoke softly while his hand reached for something in his pocket. My eyes followed his hand and widened when he pulled out a small package. The wrapping was pitch black and had a red bow around it. I smiled big without realizing it and reached out with both of my hands, temporarily forgetting about the bag in my left hand. My heart raced as I gently took it from him. ''I won't have much time around Christmas as Prince Joshua requires my help with planning the Christmas party. So I wanted to give it to you now instead of later.''

''Jan… I don't know what to say.'' I looked up at him with a big smile and flushed cheeks. ''You shouldn't have…'' I mumbled and suddenly remembered the bag in my hand. ''Oh… Um, actually, I have something for you as well.'' The warmth in my cheeks made me self-conscious and I felt my voice shake faintly. ''I didn't have time to wrap it because I only just finished it.'' I spoke while giving him the bag and kept my eyes down in embarrassment. Still, I looked up as the bag rustled and watched as he pulled out the black scarf I had knitted for him. ''I saw you outside a couple of days ago. You weren't wearing a scarf and since the weather will only get worse, I wanted to make this for you.'' I nervously glanced up at him, slightly panicking when a reaction wasn't clear on his face. ''I only recently learned how to knit. So it's not perfect… You don't have to wear it if you don't like it…'' I tried my best not to sound disappointed as my eyes fell down again and I felt my mouth dry up.

''Thank you, it's perfect.'' His voice made me look up at him again and I was instantly struck by his heartwarming smile. I felt the disappointment vanish and I smiled softly while I watched him try it on. It was big enough for him to wrap it around his neck two times and thick enough to keep him warm. His eyes found mine and my skin started to tingle softly. ''This will definitively keep me warm.'' He smiled big and honest, making my heart skip a beat or two. When he started to take it off, I remembered the gift in my hand.

''I'm glad you like it.'' I smiled embarrassed and my eyes fell down on the small gift in my hands. My fingers slowly removed the ribbon and then gently took of the wrapping, revealing a little black box. My glance went up out of surprise and easily found his, which was full of anticipation, and stayed like that until he gave me small nod with a smile. My glance fell down again, watching as I opened the small box and I gasped softly. ''It's beautiful.'' I almost whispered and studied the necklace. It was made of silver but had a darker color to it. The heart pendant was the same dark colored silver and brushed, so it wasn't flashy. I looked up at him with a big smile. ''Thank you. Can I put it on now?''

He looked at me with gentle eyes and nodded softly. ''Here, let me help.'' He smiled and carefully took the box out of my hand. ''Turn around.'' I did as I was told and turned around. I watched him in the reflection and caught my breath when he put the necklace around my neck. I reached my hand out to move my hair over my shoulder but stopped when my fingers brushed against his. A shiver ran down my spine and my hand retreated. He made a soft sound and I secretly watched him using the reflection again. He smiled gently as his thin fingers moved my hair and then proceeded to close the necklace's lock. I met his eyes for a second and looked down quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed that I was watching him. ''Thanks.'' I mumbled while my fingers carefully touched the pendant before I turned around with soft smile.

''It looks good on you.'' He smiled while his fingers went to touch the necklace as well. My skin tingled as his fingertips brushed against it and I kept my eyes down. He made a soft sigh before his fingers moved; now softly tipping my chin upwards. I didn't object and quickly found myself getting lost in his gentle eyes. The smile was still on his lips as his fingers moved again, carefully brushing some stray hairs away from my face before settling on my cheek. I felt my heart beat faster and blood pumping in my ears. I couldn't move or look away but in reality, I didn't want to do either of those two things. I slightly opened my mouth, wondering if I should say anything but the thought quickly left my head when his lips softly pressed against mine. I closed my eyes and quickly responded to his soft and gentle kiss, ignoring my rapidly beating heart as it felt like it was beating against my ribcage. His hand moved to the back of my head and his fingers intertwined themselves in my hair. Our lips parted long enough for us to take a quick breath before they were pressed together again. My hand grabbed his jacket before my mind went blank and I forgot about everything else than the sensation of his lips on mine.

When we parted, I couldn't tell how much time had passed but I felt slightly dizzy and out of breath. I kept my eyes closed until I felt his hand move, brushing against my cheek before disappearing. His face was as flushed as mine and I couldn't help but smile because of that. We stayed silent until our eyes met and he cleared his throat softly, almost as if he was embarrassed. His glance went up and I quickly followed it.

''Mistletoe…'' He hummed softly as we looked at it.

I hadn't noticed it until now. ''Oh…'' I murmured and felt a little stab of disappointment. I looked back at him when he suddenly moved, once again pressing his lips against mine. The kiss was quick and gentle but a kiss nonetheless. He drew away as quickly as he had kissed me.

''It's getting late.'' He sounded calm but his breathing was still as quick as mine. I gave him a weak nod and watched as he smiled softly. ''Goodnight.'' He smiled before starting to make his way down the hallway. I watched him as he left, a slightly confused but happy feeling spreading through my body. I couldn't help but smile faintly and my fingers went to wrap themselves around my necklace. My eyes fell down but moved back up when I heard his footsteps come to a halt. My eyes met his. ''Normally, you would only kiss a person once under a mistletoe…'' He said with a gentle smile before he started walking again.

The smile on my lips widened and as the sound of his footsteps faded, I turned around. I watched the snowflakes fall and waited for my breathing to calm.

The followings weeks were busier than I had imagined. Everyone struggled to prepare for the Christmas party and I found myself swamped with work. It was my job to prepare the outfits for the royal family and it was keeping me as busy as everyone else was with their assignments. Despite the busyness, the castle was full of life and people who were looking forwards to Christmas, so almost everyone was working with a smile on their face.

It helped a great deal, seeing everyone with a smile on their face as they hurried down the hallway. I clumsily carried the three rolls of fabric in my hands, struggling not to drop them as I hurried down the hallway, just like the rest. Something caught my eye outside and I came to a stop. It was as if the pressure and the people around me vanished for a second while I gazed out the large window. It was snowing again. I sighed deeply and it felt as if this was the first time I had really relaxed in the last couple of weeks. My mind drifted back to the memory of the evening, which still somehow felt like yesterday, the sensation of his soft lips on mine and the gentle smile he had worn. My eyes closed while I allowed myself to get lost in the memory.

My eyes opened again when the memory didn't end like it usually did and I felt the warmth rise to my cheeks. Now wasn't the time to think those kinds of thoughts. I gently shook my head before taking one last look at the white scenery outside. I caught my breath for a second before smiling again when I noticed him. He was standing there, looking up at me, smiling, with snowflakes in his brown hair and wearing the scarf I had given him. The cold had given him that lovely line of red across his cheeks and his breath turned into a white cloud. We smiled at each other until he broke eye contact by looking over his shoulder. I noticed Prince Joshua behind him and for a second, his eyes met mine. His eyes seemed to flicker between me and Jan and then, it looked like he realized that we had been looking at each other. His eyes went back to Jan when Jan started to walk towards him. Judging by the white clouds forming, they were discussing something as they started to walk off.

I watched them go and readied myself to leave as well. Just as I was about to take my first step, Jan looked over his shoulder for just a second, his eyes meeting mine with a warm gaze. Seconds later, he turned and I did the same. We returned to our duties with a smile lingering on our lips and warmth I couldn't describe. My fingers would have touched the necklace if it wasn't for the rolls of fabric in my hands and I fought the urge with a small smile. This was probably the first time I couldn't wait for Christmas to be over…