Secret Santa One shot for Awesome Rapidash. Hope you like it. Happy Holidays!
She let out a sigh, her brow furrowed as she looked in the large mirror held by one of her Teddy Bears. She couldn't believe she had agreed to go to this, in fact, she couldn't believe how her words failed her when she spoke to him. She had meant to say no, but when her mouth opened, the only sound that came out was a squeaked 'sure.'
The Witch Princess sighed once again, her ruby eyes flickering over to the clock on her wall. Maybe she was getting soft. She still thought she was mischievous, maybe not as much as she had been when she was younger, but to agree to go to the Starry Night festival with a mortal? A mortal farmer, no less? She was practically asking for the horrible name she had made for herself to be ruined.
She tugged on her dress, wondering if she was supposed to show up in fancy clothes or not. She had never really experienced this festival, slightly worried that she would look foolish if she over or under dressed.
Her arms folded as her brows furrowed. She was the great Witch Princess. Anything she wore would look fabulous, whether it be rags or fur coats. With a flick of her wrist, she waved away her bear, opting to just go wearing her normal attire, and keeping a clothes swapping spell handy.
The Witch Princess looked at the clock one final time before snapping her fingers, disappearing from her own house and reappearing on a snow covered farm.
As she raised her hand to the door, a voice in the back of her mind told her she could still back out. Tell him something came up, or rather, tell him she just didn't want to go. That sounded more like her. She bit her lip, her fisted hand an inch from the door. She shook her head before landing two soft knocks on the door. She was already there. Might as well bear it.
Within a few moments of her knocking, the sound o a person walking across the house was heard, the door handle slowly turning before the door opened.
Her ruby eyes looked into his brown ones, flickering down to his body before meeting his gaze once again. A small wave of relief came over her as she noticed he wasn't dressed fancy or anything. However, it seemed as if he traded his overalls in for a pair of jeans and a plaid button down shirt. Casual and comfy, yet still presentable.
"Happy Starry Night, Witch Princess." He spoke to her softly, rubbing the back of his head before stepping aside to let her in.
A bit hesitant on both speech and actions, she slowly stepped into his house, the warmth from his fire place lightly hitting her cheeks as she left the cold.
"Um, you too, I guess." She said to him, looking around his house. It was decorated with a Winter Holiday theme, giving off a homey vibe to it, much brighter and more colorful than her own dark living quarters.
After closing the door, Jack walked across the room to his table, pulling a chair out for Witch Princess to sit down.
She quirked an eyebrow, staying silent, and walking to the seat, sitting down. Before she knew it, an array of platters started filling the table, Jack walking two at a time over before taking his seat across from her.
"Did you make this all yourself?" She asked, looking over each different dish he had made, surprisingly all things she liked. She had to admit, she was a bit impressed. A man who lived on his own, able to cook half decent meals.
"Yep. It took a while, but it's worth it. Hopefully." He gave we a small smile, before they began to eat.
The two sat there in silence for a few minutes, not really sure what to talk about. The Witch Princess picked up her glass of wine, swirling the liquid before taking a sip. Should she ask him about his farm? About his animals? Maybe that would be too out of character for her, considering she normally appeared to congratulate him when a number of them passed. Before she could say anything, the sound of his voice hit her ears.
"So...how have you been? Make any cool potions or discover any neat spells?"
The Witch Princess normally kept to herself, ignoring mortals and avoiding any kind of social interaction with them that didn't involve her causing them some kind of trouble. But for some reason, something compelled her to talk to him, to be more social, rather than sit in silence like she had originally planned.
She told him of her spells and potions, how everyday she practiced her magic in order to become a master at it. She was already great with it, however, there were times when something would go awry. Like the Goddess turning to stone. Just a tiny, little mistake on her part.
When she finally finished, Jack gave her another small smile, causing the ghost of one to flicker on her own face for a split second.
It was strange, she thought to herself. She felt something, something different, something she had never felt before in her entire life. But whatever it was, she knew Jack was the cause of it. Each time her eyes met with his, each time that smile appeared on his face, the sound of his voice, the unknown feeling would rush through her, her heart rate increasing.
They continued to talk about various things, the witch telling him about her rivalry with the Harvest Goddess, him telling her about how there was a mad scientist who had a mermaid living in his basement. She had to admit, it was quite enjoyable, unable to control the corners of her mouth from curving up, even letting out a chuckle or two from his jokes.
"Would you like to look at the stars?" Jack asked her as he placed his silverware on his empty plate, using his cloth napkin to wipe his hands.
The Witch Princess nodded her head. It was the Starry Night festival after all, and even though she wasn't too familiar with the festival, one could obviously deduce that star gazing was apart of it.
Jack stood up from his place before walking over to the witch and pulling her chair out for her, before offering her his hand. She blinked her eyes, staring at it for a moment before hesitantly placing her own in his, standing up and walking along side him to the door. He grabbed his jacket and gloves with his free hand, holding them between his arm and body before opening his front door, allowing the witch to walk out first. He led her into town, finding an empty bench in a secluded area for the two to sit down on.
They both sat there, heads angled to look up at the stars, the sky mostly clear save for a large group of clouds off in the distance.
"Do you know anything about the stars?" Jack asked her, his eyes moving to get a glimpse of her before returning his gaze back to the stars above them.
"I know a few things about them, mostly the zodiac though. There's a fellow magic user I'm acquainted with who could tell you everything about them though. Even stars that are unknown to mortal scientists." She spoke softly, before pointing out a few constellations she was familiar with to him.
They sat outside watching the stars for a bit, before the clouds in the distance covered their view, snow flakes lightly falling from the sky.
"Thank you," he started, turning towards her, a smile coming to his face, "for spending the festival with me. I...I hope you enjoyed it."
The witch turned to him, thinking for a moment. In all honesty, she had enjoyed the night, the first time she had really ever enjoyed the presence of another person. Giving him a small nod, she faced forward again, scratching the back of her head.
"You're pretty interesting for a mortal." Her voice was soft, telling him in her own way that she liked him.
"Maybe...we could do this again...not that I'm available to, I'm a very busy person." A small blush came on her face as she turned her head to the opposite side.
"But I might be able to squeeze something like this in again." she whispered to him, still facing away from him.
"That'd be nice." A smile came to his face as he lightly grabbed her hand in his, the witch turning her head to face him, staring into his brown eyes.
The snow began to fall even heavier, indicating that tomorrow the town would surely be covered in yet another layer of snow. Still holding her hand, Jack stood up, the Witch following his lead.
"I should take you home before the snow gets any worse." He said before they slowly began walking up the path towards her house.
When they finally reached it, she turned to him and spoke.
"Thank you...it was fun."
Jack nodded his head, a blush coming onto his face before he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
"Good Night, Witch Princess." He whispered, before taking his leave.
She stood there, her hand creeping up and placing itself where his lips had touched her, a small smile coming to her face. Maybe she was getting soft, but...maybe getting soft was good.