Hello everyone! I've decided to upload this earlier than Christmas Eve because I want to get this message to you as soon as possible. What message? The one at the end of this chapter. As some of you may have guessed, I feel very strongly about Christmas and that's why I want to express my feelings and thoughts this way.
If you guys are wondering, I've added this into a part of the universe I expanded on. This takes place in between Regalian Bloodbath and Fall of Ragers, and is set as the second Christmas ever in the Underland. The first Christmas was established in my first Christmas special- Good Tidings, when he introduces the concept of Christmas to the Underland. Check that out if you haven't. It's somewhat important to understanding this story.
Because this is set before Fall of Ragers, there are a couple of little references I snuck inside. See if you can spot them! It should be quite obvious during a particular segment.
This story won't be particularly funny or fluffy, because they're not my strong suits. But I can say that I've worked really hard to capture the spirit of Christmas in this story, and it can be considered heartwarming!
Have a fun time reading this!
A Regalian Christmas
"I think you shall be just as famous for founding Christmas here as you are for being the Warrior," Apollo remarked.
The infectious holiday cheer which was rampant back in the Overland was suddenly a living and breathing part of Regalia. Weathered houses suddenly looked jovial, adorned with lights and wearing their green or red designs with pride. An overwhelming smell of gingerbread wafted about the city, evoking warm smiles which in turn spread even more joy.
Beautifully sung carols swept through the streets of the city, causing the city to stir with delight on this Christmas morning. The sun may not have been able to beam down on these people, but it might as well have. Gregor couldn't help but let a grin spread across his face as he saw people exchanging presents with each other.
But what truly warmed Gregor's often frigid heart was the sight of children playing together, as their laughter could be heard for miles and miles. It truly encapsulated the spirit of Christmas- a season of cheer and giving. It was the one time of the year, at least in the Overland, where generosity was aplenty, even in the selfish capitalist constructs which held society together.
And Gregor was glad he could spread it to these people, who surely deserved it the most, especially after all they'd been through. Sure, the concept of Christmas was still in its infancy in the Underland, but many people had willingly adopted it as a tradition. Gregor was extremely grateful to the people for being so receptive to such a new idea. Perhaps Easter in the future? Who knew what the future had in store for this city after all…
"Well," he said to Apollo, "I'm just glad it worked out."
"Indeed," Apollo mused, "I'm surprised that the city has fallen in love with it so quickly."
"They need it," Gregor replied, almost in diametrically opposed solemnity to the occasion. "This city has gone through hell and back. It needs to unite together, and this festivity does that."
Apollo nodded in response, before asking, "Shall we head to the cave then?"
This year, both Apollo and he had decided to drop a present in Ares' cave. It was purely ceremonial and was meant to honour a friend they once had by their side. And they were both fine with someone taking the present… It was still in the spirit of spreading cheer after all.
Gregor wordlessly clambered onto Apollo's back, carrying a gift-wrapped shirt in his right hand. It was one of the shirts he had worn while he was in the Underland- somehow, the silk clothing he had worn while he was embarking on the prophecy of Bane had been kept in his personal wardrobe, even after all these years. It was worn down and not functional anymore, but Gregor still kept it for the sake of sentimentality. Now it would serve a different purpose.
Apollo took off towards the cave, choosing to slow down instead of employing his usually blistering pace, which allowed Gregor to observe the different ways Christmas was being celebrated in the city. A baker was giving out free bread today, with priority given to all the hungry and less well-off children. Some bats were in the midst of performing a routine in the arena, much to the delight of a good two hundred people who had gone to watch them.
As they hovered over the city, Gregor's smile only stretched wider. He was to join Luxa and other friends for a lunch banquet after dropping the present off at Ares' cave, where they would sing and eat and be merry… It was going to be awesome.
Within minutes, they were out of the city and close to Ares' cave. Apollo gracefully arced downwards and landed with some finesse at the entrance into the cave. Gregor got down promptly and strode into the cave, placing the present next to the food basket dedicated in his honour all those years ago.
Gregor felt a small tear slip out of his eye as he swallowed and just reminisced about his time together with Ares. It was so uncharacteristic for him to tear during a celebration which beckoned for joy rather than sadness, but the thought of enjoying this Christmas day without his bond broke his heart.
"You think he would have liked it?"
Gregor turned to see Apollo right behind him, gazing down at the present. "What, you mean the present?" Gregor asked.
"Christmas," Apollo clarified. "Do you think he'd like Christmas?"
"I don't know," Gregor replied with a heavy sigh. "I guess we'll never know, huh?"
"You know what," Apollo responded in an upbeat fashion. "I think he would have loved it."
"He would?"
"Yes," Apollo said, nodding his head enthusiastically. "Ares may have preferred to be a loner, but to see his friends happy… That would have made him happy. He never expresses it, but I know that his friends mean the world to him. And if his friends reveled in this festive season, I suspect he would have been delighted to be a part of it too."
"Well," Gregor chuckled slightly with a smile of sheer nostalgia, "that's actually comforting."
They both shared a knowing smile. Apollo had his fair share of tragedies which haunted his past, but he had learned to put in behind and look towards the future. In so many senses, Gregor felt a connection with Apollo- he was not like Ares, and yet he seemed to fill the role so superbly. Gregor finally had a confidante again besides Luxa. Sure, Ripred almost fell into that category, but he still belonged on the fringes of Gregor's personal circle of trust. It was never good to trust Ripred completely… After all, the rat had a history of being a double agent.
The emotional moment was suddenly shattered by a sob which echoed around the cave. They both glanced at each other. "That wasn't you, right?" Gregor asked Apollo.
The bat shook his head, and the two instantly started to move around the cave to find the source of the sob. Within seconds, Apollo had found the treasure. "Over here!" he called out to Gregor.
Gregor jogged over and almost let out an audible groan. A young rat was tucked into the corner of the cave, shaking like a leaf in the middle of a thunderstorm. Her frightened eyes kept darting forward and backwards, and Gregor was relieved that fear seemed to paralyse its throat. Otherwise, he expected that Apollo's ears would be bleeding from the intense screaming that would have been inevitable.
"Why are you here, pup?" Apollo asked.
The little rat responded by wailing away, causing Apollo to flinch from the ear-piercing shriek. "I LOST MAMA!" she cried. "I LOST MAMA!"
"Ok," Gregor said calmly, "How did you lose her?"
By now, the little rat had calmed down considerably, perhaps exhausted of crying. "I was playing," she said softly. "Mama back home. I forgot Mama. I don't know way back."
Despite her broken English, Gregor understood her perfectly, which must have been his version of a Christmas miracle this year. "Ok," he began uncertainly, "Um… Do you know where you live… What's your name? What do we call you?"
"Blurhind," she said softly.
"Ok Blurhind," Gregor said as patiently as he could. "Do you know where you're from?"
She shook her head and sniffled. "I part of colony. Don't know name."
"Shit," Gregor cursed under his breath. He looked up at Apollo, who seemed to recover from the pain earlier. "What do we do now?"
"We have to bring her home," Apollo replied bluntly.
"We can't," Gregor said, allowing a bit of frustration to seep into his voice. "We have the lunch banquet with Luxa, remember? We don't even know the damn name of her colony, how are we supposed to find it AND deliver her there AND make it back in time for the banquet?"
"Warrior," Apollo sighed, "I'm afraid we have to do it. We can't just leave her here on her own."
"We won't have to," Gregor pointed out, "We could bring her and leave her in our city for a while to celebrate Christmas, then when the celebration's over we send her back home. Simple!"
"Look at her now," Apollo replied, gesturing with his head at her. "She's not even close to being in the condition to celebrate Christmas. She's scared, Warrior, and she won't stop being frightened until she finds her mother."
Gregor looked down at Blurhind, who in turn stared right back at him with fearful eyes. Gregor suddenly imagined Boots sitting there, vulnerable and alone, with no older brother or mother or father to watch out for her. And that thought, his stone-cold heart softened and melted.
It was Christmas, after all- a season of giving. And even if it meant sacrificing something Gregor had been looking forward to, Gregor knew that he had to give his time and effort to this little pup. "You're right," he said to Apollo. "We're going to miss the banquet, but we have to get her home. But where do we begin?"
"Actually, I have an idea," Apollo said with a wry smile…
"The last time you came to me with a pup," Ripred snarled, "it grew up to become the Bane."
Gregor and Apollo both glanced at each other sheepishly and looked down at their feet. "We're not asking you to keep it," Gregor added hopefully. "We just need your help to find its mother."
"Do you know where each and every human in Regalia lives, Gregor?" Ripred asked aggressively.
Gregor shook his head.
"Then how do you expect me to know where her mother is?"
"I don't know," Gregor admitted. "I was hoping you'd help me with that."
Ripred snorted in disgust, and his gaze flitted over to the pup, who looked even more gripped by fear than she was before. But to Gregor's surprise, the old rat's expression seemed to soften, as if he had embarked on a wistful memory road trip, and she reminded him of someone.
"Remind me why the two of you are in such a rush again?" he suddenly spoke up.
Gregor and Apollo both exchanged a glance at each other before Gregor answered, "We're celebrating Christmas back in Regalia, and there's this large banquet we're supposed to attend."
Ripred actually burst out into a short, scornful chuckle. "Ah yes," he recalled. "That stupid celebration. That's why I left the city."
"I thought you left the city to negotiate compensation costs with the Fount," Gregor frowned.
"I did have a discussion with Susannah and York," Ripred confirmed. "But why do you think I'm here? I can just imagine the city, with all the noise and the… people."
"C'mon Ripred," Gregor sighed in exasperation. "We're all having a great time back there."
"I'm SURE you are," Ripred replied sardonically. "The rich people in the city feel a bit better about themselves because you're finally giving to the poor, and the poor people just use the opportunity to leech off the rich."
"That's not what it is," Gregor said defensively.
"That's exactly what it is," Ripred fired back, "Everybody feels better about themselves because of it, no matter how selfish or nasty they've been over the last year. Have you told Luxa about what Christmas is like back in the Overland?"
"What do you mean?" Gregor asked.
Ripred responded with his trademark eye-rolling, before saying, "It's just a period when shops take advantage of sentimentality to rip money right out of people's hands. That's all it is, Overlander- a period to stimulate the economy. Believe me, I've done my research."
"It's not," Gregor replied stoutly. "It's so much more than that, but you just don't see it. People are genuinely looking to help each other. It's that one time of the year when we're all trying to become the person we always wanted to be."
"Keep telling yourself that," Ripred said cynically. He glanced over at the pup and said, "You can leave her with me. When you're done with your… celebration, you can pick her up and go around looking for her mother."
"I can't," Gregor said, shaking his head. "It's Christmas. I have to do better for her."
"Oh Sandwich," Ripred sniggered. "You're doing this for her because it's Christmas?"
Fed up with Ripred's cynical and jaundiced attitude towards Christmas, Gregor turned and said to Apollo, "Let's leave. He's not going to help us."
Gregor hoisted Blurhind up onto Apollo's back, before hopping on himself. "It's just a festival!" Ripred called out. "The people won't remember it years from now. In fact, I'm guessing only half the city is celebrating it now."
"If only I could show you how wrong you are," Gregor replied.
"Ripred, I've been in this city as long as you have," Apollo added. "And believe me when I say that I've never seen it so happy before."
Ripred offered no response, so Apollo extended his wings and prepared to launch himself out of the cave. But before the big black bat could soar through the air once more, Ripred suddenly said, "Go check out the Redfur colony. It's south of here and is near the river. It's close enough to Ares' cave and her accent suggests that she could come from that area."
"You can tell apart rat accents?" Gregor said incredulously.
"Are you going to keep questioning me?" came Ripred's biting response.
Gregor just turned and gave Ripred a brief nod of his head to indicate his gratitude, and that was all he had time for before Apollo flew out of the cave to leave the old rat alone.
Apollo landed gently to prevent Blurhind from panicking. Gregor slid off his friend and took Blurhind down with him, whispering soft gibberish to her to soothe her burning anxiety. Apollo gave him a questioning look, but didn't say anything. Gregor gently placed her against the ground and gave her a light pat on the head. "This better be your home, Blurhind," Gregor said aloud. "You've already robbed me of a Christmas banquet."
Apollo burst into the familiar bat chuckle "Huh huh", before saying, "Peace, Warrior. She gave us more than a banquet."
"How so?"
"She gave us a chance to discover the true spirit of Christmas," Apollo answered softly. "We gave her hope when she had none, Warrior. Is that not the point of Christmas?"
Apollo's profound words needed no reply from Gregor. Feeling moved, Gregor just looked up at Apollo and nodded his head. The nod communicated not just a sense of gratitude, but also acknowledged their relationship. The two of them had endured so much together that they could be very honest with each other without having to say anything. They just seemed to know what the other was thinking sometimes.
Apollo nodded back at him and wordless craned his neck around, trying to catch a glimpse of any other gnawer around. But he didn't have to wait long.
Shrill squeaks echoed around the area as a wave of brown surged out of a couple of holes in the ground, quickly surrounding Gregor and Apollo. More rats poured out of other holes to join in the aggressive and imposing formation around them. "Don't we know we're allies?" Apollo asked aloud, to which Gregor only smiled.
The formation suddenly became rigid and tight as they stared at Gregor and Apollo, with Gregor and Apollo staring right back at them. A lone rat came trotting out of the disciplined formation, a female by the looks of it. Gregor crouched down and nudged Blurhind forward, with the little rat moving forward having found the impetus to do so with so many of her kind around her.
The lone female rat suddenly exclaimed, "Blurhind!"
"Mama!" the little rat squeaked with delight. She rushed right towards her mother and their nuzzles met, the clearest sign of affection between rats. Her mother was laughing with relief and elation, while the other rats squeaked excitedly.
"As I said, Warrior," Apollo mumbled with a triumphant grin. "Hope."
The female rat jogged forward and bowed her head. "Thank you, Warrior," she said. "She had been missing for almost two days. We feared she had lost her light… Again, my deepest and sincerest gratitude to you for bringing her back."
"No prob," Gregor replied, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly. "I couldn't just leave her there to find her own way home. I'm just glad we managed to find you."
Suddenly, he had an idea. "Hey," he began hesitantly, "would you… Would you like to bring Blurhind to Regalia for Christmas?"
"A very nice gesture by you," Apollo said to Gregor as they flew towards the High Hall.
Blurhind and her mother had readily agreed to participating in the Christmas celebrations, so Apollo dropped them off near some of their fellow gnawers to enjoy a huge feast on the streets, as the amount of singing and cheer seemed to heighten as the city now full awoke. There were just so many people celebrating Christmas in their own special way, whether it was through playing or singing or eating or dancing or just flying about. It was unlike anything Gregor had ever seen before.
This was the kind of stuff you found in fictional stories, where magical Victorian-era cities existed and everybody cheerfully engaged in good Christmas fun.
"Well, Ripred was wrong," Gregor remarked.
They landed on the High Hall, which was almost pitch black. Luxa had presumably started and finished the banquet without him, and was probably fuming right now. Gregor was in for an earful when he entered their room. Whatever- he'd take the earful for Blurhind.
"SURPRISE!" came a loud cheer from the darkness.
The candles in the High Hall suddenly lit up, revealing Luxa and all their friends. The tables were still all orderly and in place, with the delicious food still spread across the table, as if…
As if they had waited for him.
Gregor and Apollo were suddenly mobbed by their friends. Faces came and went, with Gregor having just enough time to pull off a Santa Claus joke on Howard, which resulted in a chorus of laughter and a scarlet red Howard. There was so much going on, with the whole world spinning in a blur around him…
Until he saw Luxa. He brushed past a couple of people impolitely, but he didn't care much. He ran right up to her and gave her a hug. "Oh my god," he breathed. "You guys waited!"
"We heard about you and the little rat," Luxa replied, breaking off the hug and placing her hands on his nape while staring into his eyes lovingly. "We couldn't deny you a feast, could we?"
"But how did you know?" he asked, bringing his hand up and running his fingers through her hair.
"I told them," came a voice behind him.
Gregor spun around and found himself face to face with Ripred. "You old bastard," Gregor said with a smile. "You wanted to come for Christmas after all!"
"Nonsense," Ripred replied dismissively. "You told me there was a feast, so I decided to come by and have some shrimp. There was a flier on his way back here, so I decided to hitch a ride back too."
"I feel sorry for the bat," Gregor said mockingly.
Ripred actually chuckled in response, and the three of them gazed out at the city, which had burst to life with celebration. "You proved me wrong," Ripred said grudgingly. "Not many people prove me wrong. You've done good work introducing this stupid festival to us."
"Was that a compliment?"
"You wish," Ripred snorted, but the old rat actually smirked slightly, before sauntering off to look for more shrimp in cream sauce.
Gregor turned back to face Luxa. She reached up and stroked his face, saying, "I'm proud of you. But…"
"But what?" he asked, suddenly feeling a little more concerned.
She swallowed a little nervously, before saying, "I do not know what Christmas traditions are like, so… I gave some of our food to some of the beggars on the street. Is that… allowed? Are we allowed to take food from a banquet and give it to people not participating in the banquet?"
"Of course you are!" Gregor exclaimed. "That's the whole spirit of Christmas!"
He wrapped his arms around her waist and added, "I'm so proud of you, and… and… I feel so lucky to be with you."
"So do I," she replied. "Merry Christmas Gregor."
Then they leaned in to kiss each other.
So that's it! Like I mentioned earlier, this story is less about humour and fluff compared to my first Christmas special. I played to my strengths with this story, writing a simple story in my attempt to capture the essence and spirit of Christmas. It's a season of giving and hope, so I focused on these two aspects a lot in this story.
Anyway, as is with my Christmas special every year, I have something to say to everybody once again:
Not everyone has to be a Christian to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. Christmas doesn't have to be a time exclusively enjoyed by those who are religious. I personally believe it's a period when we try to be a little nicer and kinder and more generous. It's a time when we try to be the people we always wanted to be. Not a rich megalomaniac, but a good person.
And many of us are in positions of privilege this Christmas compared to others, who might be lonely or depressed or in abject poverty. And there's a reason why this is the season of giving and hope. This is our opportunity to give what we have to those who are disenfranchised, whether it's a listening ear or a beautiful plush toy. There are so many who can't enjoy Christmas like we do, so this Christmas I implore and even challenge you to spread Christmas joy. This is a chance for all of us to step up and be anonymous heroes to each other, and to do one thing- Spread hope.
I'm not advocating for us to be generous only during Christmas. We should be kind all the time if we can. But this season, if we haven't done an examination of ourselves yet, this is a chance for us to reflect on our character and act based on that reflection.
And to all the cynics out there like Ripred, I understand your point of view. All I ask is that you consider your role this Christmas. That's all I ask for those who view Christmas as nothing more than a couple of days where people pretend to be nice. This season is offering us the chance to evolve as people, so just think about it.
2016 has been a rough year for many, so let's try and redeem it this one last week. Go out and help someone. Make someone's end of year that much better. And I suspect you'll find a sense of fulfillment you've never felt before.
I wish all of you a very merry Christmas!
Vengeous