Singing, Searching, and Snowing

"O holy night! The stars are brightly shining!" I sang loudly as I hung garland in the halls of the Cair, a task Susan had delegated to me.

"This is the night of our dear Savior's birth!" someone continued from behind me. I turned to see Faith going behind me and hanging holly everywhere.

"Long lay the world, in sin and error pining," Rose added from a few feet away where she was stringing ribbons everywhere.

"Till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine! O night, O night divine!" we sang together. The three of us shared a grin.

"Well, you three made short work of this hallway," Susan commented as she walked up.

"Well, they do say, 'Many hands make light work,'" I replied.

She smiled. "True. Now, can you three keep my siblings in the Cair for the next...ah, two hours or so?"

"Sure!" Faith said with a grin.

"Mind if I ask why, though?" Rose furrowed her brow.

"I have to go shopping." She winked. "And I promised the kids that I'd take them with me."

"Ah. Go on, then. We've got this." I shooed her away. "I'll take Pete, Faith, Ed, and Rose, Lu."

"As always." Rose smirked.

"Oh, do you want Peter?"

"Uh, no. He's all yours."

I grinned. "Thought you'd say that."

We separated, each going to find her charge. The first place I looked for Peter was our bedroom. "Not there..." Then, I checked his study. "Or there." Next, the kitchen. "Nope." Within a half hour, I had searched all his favorite places and had come up with nothing. "Where could he be?" I muttered. Finally, in desperation, I grabbed my thick cloak and gloves and went out to the garden. Snow had begun to fall several hours before. I paused for a moment, reveling in the winter wonderland. "Don't get snow like this in Tennessee."

"No, I suppose not. We did in England, though," a voice a few feet away answered.

I looked up. "Peter! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I've been out here." He gave me a charming smile.

I chuckled. "Well, no harm done, I guess."

He offered me his hand. "Join me? I was just about to build a snowman."

"That sounds like glorious fun!"

For the next few hours, we forgot that we were king and queen and were simply Hannah and Peter. We built snowmen, made snow angels, and generally acted like children. We finally wound up sledding down a large hill near the Cair. We had been at it for about fifteen minutes when I suggested that we should probably go back inside (our socks were rather soaked through our thick winter boots). Peter agreed but wanted to go down one last time. I agreed, and he pushed himself down. Suddenly, I realized he was veering off of the path we had worn and would hit a tree. "Peter, look out!" I cried. He had noticed this as well, though, and threw himself off the sled and onto the snow. He didn't move. "Peter!" I screamed, running toward him. I flung myself down beside him, rolling him onto his back. "Peter, are you alright?" I asked worriedly. Then, the little scamp started laughing! I tried to slap him, but he captured my hands. "Why, you-" He caught me off guard when he started to roll us both around, getting us even more soaked than before!

When we stopped, I was on top of him, and he was reaching up to kiss me. Just before our lips met, however, I found myself flying into the snow beside Peter...courtesy of a snowball or two. Both of us looked up to see Edmund, Lucy, Michael, Adrien, Faith, and Rose. All of them held snowballs save my cousins, who were leaning over to replace theirs. "Six to two? So not fair!" I called, forming my own snowball.

"Let's get them," Peter whispered.

"Oh, yeah." We immediately began pelting each other for all we were worth. The numerical advantage was theirs, though. Just when we were about to call a tactical retreat (and get some hot cocoa inside), Susan and the children returned from shopping. "Su! Help! We're being defeated!" I shouted. They all rushed to join the fight, with Mary and Abby joining the enemy. Everyone else was on our side. "Playing field's a bit more even now!" Peter called.

We slammed each other with snow for about half an hour more, until us mothers remembered that the children probably needed to get out of the cold or risk pneumonia. No one wanted to take that chance, of course, so inside we went. We all sat by the fire and drank mugs of hot cocoa or tea, depending on personal preference (us Americans had cocoa). "Now," Peter said, drawing my attention from the flames, "where were we?" He leaned forward, his lips barely an inch from mine...

I shot up in bed, gasping. "There. Of course, I had to wake up there. That's just not right," I muttered. A soft buzzing sound brought me back to this world, as I received a phone call. "At..." I checked the clock. "2:48 am?" I picked it up. "Hello?" I breathed, not wanting to wake my parents in the next room.

"Hey, Han. Sorry it's so late...early...whatever."

"Oh, hi, Rose. I was up anyway."

"Pleasant dream that ended at the worst moment?"

I grinned. "How'd you know?"

"Because I had the same kind. Last Christmas at home?"

"Yeah. I bet Faith had the same dream."

"I'm sure." She paused. "I miss it there. I miss everyone."

"Me, too. I just...I don't know. I miss Him most of all."

"Yeah, me, too. I mean, He's here, but...we can't see Him. And, before you go quoting on me, I know 2 Corinthians says that we walk by faith, not sight."

"I know what you mean. We both miss hearing His voice. We believe by faith, but...seeing and talking with Him was nice."

"Do you think He's pleased with us? I mean, are we doing His work?"

"Do we believe in Him?"

"Huh?"

"John 6. Look it up...in the morning."

We were silent for a while, each lost in her own memories. Finally, she said, "Hey, who won the snowball fight?"

I rolled my eyes. "G'night, Rose."

"Night, Han. And merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, too." We hung up, and I stood by the window. "Merry Christmas, Lu. Merry Christmas, Ed. Merry Christmas, Su. Merry Christmas, beloved Peter." I hesitated, playing with a strand of hair. I yawned, crawling back into bed as I whispered, "Long live the true King!"

A/N: Yes. I haven't posted anything in forever. Sorry! *hides*

Anyway, in case you're curious, the scene with Hannah and Peter rolling was partially inspired by the picnic scene in Star Wars: Episode II.

A belated merry Christmas!