A/N Welcome to Christmas with the Drills in other words, lots of fluff. I know I've written their Christmas' before but I was inspired to make a separate story this time. This will be a two parter with the second (slightly longer part) going up on Christmas Eve. I really hope you enjoy. Also, pictures of Ava and Zara can be found at "Abby's" Tumblr account "abbydrill"
There was nothing better than that holiday feeling, even when you loved school.
That was Abby's thought as she walked up the hill towards Castle Overblow. It was December 22nd and she had over two weeks of Christmas holidays stretching ahead of her. Life was good.
She had just reached the main door when she met her Mama. The students had left the day before and although classes were over Constance had wanted to finish any paperwork before starting her own holidays.
"Oh good, I was waiting to see you before I left. Did you have a good last day?" Constance leaned down to kiss and hug her daughter.
"Yes, I'm glad to be off now though. I rang Mum from the bus, she's almost finished her shopping and will probably be at home when you get there."
Home to the Drills could be two places. There was the Castle of course where they spent weeks during term time, plus one weekend a month when Constance and Imogen were on supervision duty. Then there was their house around forty miles away where weekends and holiday time was spent. This was also Constance's destination for a night alone with Imogen while the girls stayed at one of their various homes away from home- this time Tom and Amelia's cottage on the castle grounds.
"Wonderful, I need to pick up her Christmas gifts and then I'm going straight there. I had better leave but before I go, a warning. There seems to have been a bit of an incident this morning and Ava is not too happy with Zara. She wouldn't tell me much but she might open up to you. I suspect its nothing but call us if we need to come back. We'll phone later to check on you okay?"
"Okay but I'm sure it's nothing. Have a nice night and we'll see you in the morning. Love you."
"And I love you dear."
Abby stayed watching as Constance took her broomstick, set it to hover and then gracefully sat astride it before taking off into the late afternoon sky.
'Better see what sister drama's been happening."
She had no sooner entered the staffroom when she was accosted by a certain sister.
"Abby, you're here. Secret sister cupboard talk please." Ava, wasting no time, was opening the cupboard door as she was speaking before holding out her hand and indicating her older sister join her.
Abby took a quick look towards the table where everyone else appeared to be laughing, including Zara who was eating an apple with a massive grin on her face. Clearly whatever had happened hadn't affected her too much.
"Okay, I'm coming." Abby easily climbed into the cupboard where Ava immediately wrapped her arms around her.
"Oh Abby, Zara did something very bad." To Abby's horror she then started to snivel.
"Hey, she's not even two, it can't be that bad. Mama didn't say anything and everyone else seems in good moods. What's happened?"
Ava cuddled closer, already feeling a bit better that she could talk about what had been troubling her. "This morning we were having breakfast before I went to school and she threw her cereal on the floor. Then she laughed. Lots. And Mummy had to clean it."
"And?" Abby was confused, it sounded like a typical breakfast to her.
"And Father Christmas is watching silly. He's seen her be naughty and she won't get presents." Ava started to cry again. "I can share if I get some but…."
"Shhh it's okay." If Ava hadn't been so upset Abby would have laughed. "That rule is only for really bad people. Zara's not bad is she? She's a bit curious but she's still a baby, not a big girl like you. And she's very sweet, she gives lovely snuggles and she shares things with us. Remember yesterday she wanted you to share her banana chips?"
As Ava pondered, Abby thought of a incident that to her summed up the differences between her sisters. Back in September when the school term began the three Drill girls were watching the first years arrive. The usual rule was that a girl needed to be thirteen to attend Cackle's, however this year there had been an exception. A couple who Constance and Amelia were acquainted with from The Cauldronite Association needed to travel for their work and had asked if their daughter, who would not be thirteen until February could attend the school. Constance, now principal since Amelia's almost retirement had agreed that they would help out.
The girl in question, Flora Hardy, had arrived looking nervous enough but by the time her mothers left she was almost hysterical. Imogen was trying her best to offer some comfort but to no avail. Abby, who was a similar age had been drafted in to help but before she could do anything Ava got there first.
"Please don't cry. My name is Ava Drill and that's my Mummy. My Mama is there, you can share them. We can be friends too."
Flora stopped crying as the three year old reached for her hand. She found herself immediately feeling better and smiling as the dark haired little girl with the green eyes beamed up at her. In the meantime there was a bit of action behind them. Zara had escaped from her Granny and rapidly ran towards her sisters. Unlike them she had little interest in Flora but her trunk was pretty intriguing. Within seconds she had managed to pop it open and was quickly rooting around looking for anything of interest.
"Out you come Sweetpea. Flora, I'm so sorry let me help you repack before you go to your room." Imogen had scooped Zara up while Flora picked up her bits and pieces. "You've met our little crew now anyway, this is Zara, mischief is her middle name. Are you feeling a bit better?"
'Yes Miss Drill. I'll miss my parents but maybe things won't be so bad here."
Flora had quickly settled in and true to her word Ava never forgot her new friend and always made a beeline to say hello and chat whenever she could. Once she had gotten to know the students Zara had become more interested in them and the girls all loved the cheeky little toddler who loved nothing more than dancing on the stage anytime she was brought into Assembly.
Speaking of Zara there was a little tap on the cupboard door. "Absy, Absy."
"Let's leave her in, the three of us can have a cuddle and make plans for this evening."
Ava, in the most "Mama" like way closed her eyes, shook her head and sighed, "Okay."
Abby opened the door allowing Zara to hop in. "Hello there. Have you been causing trouble again?"
'Yeah." Zara grinned happily at her sisters before kissing them both, causing Ava to forget her earlier worry and annoyance.
Zara was unsurprisingly a beautifully little girl. There was no question that she and Ava were sisters, they both had the same nose and general face shape although Ava had lost that rounder toddler look. However Zara, in contrast to her older sister had very straight blonde hair that was cut into a bob shape. Her large eyes had stayed brown from birth and were framed by thick dark lashes and although she really only showed it to people she trusted, she had the happiest, cheekiest smile anyone could imagine.
"Come here." Abby sat on one of her cupboard cushions with a sister at either side. "You two are getting so big, you'll be taller than me soon."
"No way, you're our big sister." Ava giggled.
"Don't be too sure, I'm a shortie, you'll be tall like Mama. Now, let's stay in here for a few minutes and then we'll go and finish their Christmas cards okay."
"Okay." two voices responded in unison.
While the girls were planning their Christmas crafts Constance was walking into their lovely warm home. She cast a spell to hide her shopping bags, placed her outer clothes and shoes in the hall cupboard and followed the music that was playing to the sitting room.
Besides their bedroom, this was probably their favourite room in the house. It was decorated in a mix of cream, tan and taupe colours and always felt warm and inviting. Both Constance and Imogen were keen that no room was off limits to the children, Constance in particular knew how that could feel. However the rule was that this room was for relaxing and winding down and the girls had the conservatory/playroom for their more energetic moments. So far the arrangement was working out well for all of them, even Zara who loved her chill out time with the family before bed.
"Hey Sweetheart."
Imogen grinned up from her location in front of the fire. She was sat on the floor with a glass of wine on the small table next to her. The only other light in the room was coming from the Christmas tree in the corner. The original idea had been to decorate it in a mix of blue and silver but with an artistic teenager and two young children the plan had changed over the years. Now it was a mix of decorations they had collected, items from Imogen's childhood that Tom had given them as well as precious items their daughters had created. It was cluttered and mismatched and they wouldn't change it for the world.
"Hello my Darling, you've started early." Constance bent down for a kiss before taking a sip from the glass.
"Ha, this is the first time I've sat down all day. I've collected all the gifts and did the majority of the food shopping. Then I tidied the kids playroom and dumped the rubbish. Besides, we are on holidays and child free for the evening. Dinner's in the oven and I for one am very much looking forward to an evening alone with you."
"As am I. As much as I'm enjoying being principal this break is very much needed. One thing before we switch off though, am I to understand there was a bit of an incident this morning?"
Imogen chuckled, "It was nothing. I gave Zara her cereal in the Christmas bowl Stephen bought her, she was so fascinated by the reindeer that she turned it over, not realising the food would go all over the floor but when it did she found it hilarious. To be honest it would have been a lot easier if Ava hadn't decided she needed to help and trampled it into the floor but she meant well. How did you hear about it?"
Constance leaned back on the couch and reached down to gently massage Imogen's scalp, "Oh I got a vague version of events. I think Ava's worried that it will impact Zara receiving any Christmas gifts so she didn't want to go into too much detail. I'd imagine Abby is getting the gist of it right now."
"Oh, my poor little poppet, I didn't realise she was so bothered. I took her to nursery straight after so we didn't talk about it. Abby will set her right though. Hmm, that's nice." Imogen loved having her scalp massaged. It tended to have two effects depending on her mood. Sometimes it sent her to sleep and others, like now, it got her in the mood for other things. "Are you hungry?"
"Not quite. Are you?"
"No, I will be afterwards though. Get down here. Please?"
Her request was immediately granted and within a couple of seconds Constance was straddling her. She looked down before they kissed again. "Am I squashing you?"
"What? No, I love having you on top of me, it feels so good."
Constance smiled, "Ah, but I'm not quite as light as I used to be."
Over the past couple of years she had gained a few pounds whereas Imogen was exactly the same as she had always been. It didn't bother her as much as it would have in the past but sometimes she couldn't help feeing a bit self conscious.
"Baby, you are perfect. You are healthy, you eat well, you do yoga and walk and you know you were too thin for your body shape in the past because you didn't look after yourself. Now, you do. I love your shape, especially your curves and I love you." Imogen wasn't lying in the slightest. Constance was still the sexiest woman she could imagine and right now she was thoroughly enjoying the feeling of her wife in her lap.
As they kissed again Imogen started to run her hands underneath Constance's long skirt. "Mmmm, weren't you wearing tights this morning?"
"Why yes I was, but tights are not the attractive item in the world are they?"
Imogen grinned. "No, but these certainly are. How are you so sexy?"
"Oh, you see I've spent the last five years with the most beautiful, sensual, tempting woman in the world and she encouraged me to accept and act on my desires. I believe it's been of benefit to us both."
"It most certainly has Sweetheart. Let me tell you my desire. I want both of us completely naked, being total cliches and making love in front of the fire."
Constance stole another kiss before rising up and shedding her skirt and blouse. She left her underwear, knowing that the removal of these particular articles along with her stockings was one of Imogen's most favourite things to do.
Sure enough Imogen, who had lost her own clothes very quickly, stayed kneeling as she slowly removed the stockings and lace briefs. Once they were gone she pulled Constance back down and with a moan removed the silky bra.
"You seem to have lost your clothes very quickly Darling, you didn't leave me anything to take off."
Imogen smirked before answering, "I changed before you arrived and guessed my clothes would be coming off pretty rapidly. There wasn't much point in putting anything underneath was there? Now tell me what you want."
"You, anything, everything as long as it's with you." Constance was in ecstasy as her body was explored and worshipped by the woman below her.
"Let's start with this, I want you to stay there, I need to see you." Imogen lay back on the cushions she had set out. She then ensured they were in the perfect position before wrapping her legs around the body above her. They moved together as they so often did, knowing when to change position slightly, how to use their hands and where a few whispered words would add to the sensations.
"Oh, please don't stop." Imogen climaxed first but was quickly followed by Constance who moaned loudly through her release.
"I love that sound." Imogen had moved into a more comfortable position for cuddling and was covering the smiling face next to her with kisses.
"And I love making it because you are the only one who gets to hear it. That was so good Darling."
"Well, you did most of the work," Imogen laughed as her stomach rumbled. "I guess I'm hungry now. Will we eat here?"
Constance thought that sounded like a wonderful idea. When the girls were there, meals were only allowed in the kitchen or dining room but things were slightly different when it was just the two of them. Once she had magicked their robes from the bedroom and both had cleaned up, she dished up the vegetable lasagne that Imogen had taken from the freezer. Luckily she had cast a spell to make sure it hadn't overcooked while they were distracted. She arrived back to the sitting room to find Imogen had poured another glass of wine for each of them and was staring into the fire.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Hmm, well I was just trying to thinking what our life would be like if we hadn't had children. If it was just us. What do you think?"
Constance placed the plates on the coffee table and pondered the question, "I would imagine it would be quite like this evening. We'd come here at the weekends and holidays. Maybe we'd travel a bit more. Our kitchen and conservatory would be tidier and things would be a lot quieter."
Imogen laughed, "It would. We'd probably have more sex as well. Although we do well enough and I think it makes us appreciate these times alone even more. Don't get me wrong, I don't desire it for a second, I love those girls so much and you know I always wanted a family. Having a "you" is the part I didn't dare dream of. What we have is perfect. We've managed to travel a fair bit, we've taken them to Italy twice and France, Spain and Ireland, hopefully next year we'll get to Denmark like we planned and maybe to Italy. And we have the best of both worlds because we get a night like this every two weeks or so and there are no shortage of babysitters."
"Exactly Darling. We both have everything we could want and even though I love these nights alone, I miss the children and can't wait to see them tomorrow. They're just such fun, real individuals and their personalities compliment each other so well. I can't imagine life without them. Let's have dinner then we'll phone them and after that, well, we have a long night ahead of us."
About an hour later Constance and Imogen were trying to hold back their laughter as they listened to Zara chatter away on speaker phone. Once of their youngest's funniest personality traits was that she loved talking on the phone. Her own plastic phone was one of her favourite toys and she could spend hours nattering away to her imaginary friends.
So far she had filled them in on what they'd had for tea, "Water and cake". What they were currently doing, "Colouring Pixie." What she was going to do next, "Play school." Both her parents were in hysterics. The laughter continued when Abby finally got the phone off her sister.
"Okay, let me clarify a few things before Granny has a fit. We had soup and toasted sandwiches for tea, they were lovely. We are not in fact colouring Pixie, she's colouring in a picture of Pixie and we can play school if she wants but she'll be going to bed very soon. You should see her now, she's toddled over to Wendy and Shep's bed and is curled up next to Shep."
While both of Tom and Amelia's dogs loved the Drill girls, Abby was the one who had the most equal relationship with both. In turn, Ava had a strong bond with Wendy whereas Shep had been drawn to Zara since she was born.
"We know honey, tell Granny it's fine. We'll leave you go enjoy the rest of your evening. Love you all."
"Love you." Ava shouted loudly into the phone before Abby hung up. "Do they miss us? I miss them."
"Of course they do but married people need time alone together, we'll see them in the morning and then we're all on holidays so we'll have lots of time together."
"Oh yeah."
Abby pulled Ava onto her lap. "Tell you what, why don't you sleep in with me and Pixie tonight? I might get a little cold and I'd like you there."
She was completely stretching the truth, Granny and Granddad's cottage was always cosy and warm but she knew Ava loved when they had little sleepovers.
"Please! What about Zara?"
Abby caught Tom's eye before he interjected, "Well princess, Zara tends to sleep better on her own but we'll put the monitor in your room and when you hear her stirring in the morning Abby can bring her in with you."
It was a plan that suited everyone. The three girls got into their pyjamas and spent the rest of the evening finishing their cards and having fun with their pets and grandparents. Zara went to bed first with minimum fuss. She was followed a couple of hours later by Abby who was carrying an already fast asleep Ava.
At 7AM the next morning the eldest Drill girl was awakened by a familiar voice, "Hi, sleep's over."
"It certainly is. Abby whispered to herself as she put her slippers on and took Zara out of her cot in the next room. "Good morning, do you need a fresh nappy?"
"No." Zara giggled as she was released from her prison.
"Cool, back into bed with me and Ava you get. I'll tell you both a story if you're very good."
"Okay, sleepy Ava."
Sleepy Ava was in fact awake much to her older sister's surprise.
"When are we seeing Mummy and Mama?"
"In a few hours, after breakfast. Now, snuggle up. What story do you want?"
Ava gave her an incredulous look which made Abby laugh. She knew what story was required, it was always the same one.
"Well, it was a lovely sunny day in July and Mummy, Me, Granddad and Jamie got into the car to drive to the castle so Mummy and Mama could get married…."
Ava sighed with delight as she heard all about the romantic wedding. Meanwhile Zara was also listening but she didn't understand everything. That didn't matter though, being with her sisters and their cats was lovely.
Several hours later Constance and Imogen heard Amelia's familiar voice travelling up the stairs, "Hello, are you here?"
"Yes, we're upstairs", Constance called back. She smiled at Imogen, "At least we've finished." A quick flick of her hand removed the evidence of what they had been up to.
With a mischievous glint in her eye Imogen leaned over for a kiss, "You make it sound like we've been doing something else, not wrapping the final Christmas gifts."
They both laughed. Neither had any complaints about how they had spent their morning. They had woken up early and enjoyed some bedroom activities followed by a very intimate shower. After a relaxed breakfast they finished wrapping the childrens gifts accompanied by the Christmas music Imogen insisted on playing.
"Here they come." A loud noise signalled the imminent arrival of their girls.
Constance rose from the bed and opened the bedroom door. "Hello little ones."
"Hi." Zara ran into her Mama's arm and hugged her before getting distracted by the music that was playing.
Once she had received her own hug Ava followed her sister's lead and started waving her arms and bottom to the happy tunes.
"You two are certainly getting into the Christmas spirit. Do I get a kiss?" Imogen was watching the spectacle from the bed.
"Yeh, Cismas." Zara jumped up and down before running with Ava towards the bed where they were both pulled up into Mummy's arms.
"You're two little crazies you know." Abby kissed her mothers before sitting on the edge of the bed.
Imogen playfully shoved her eldest, "Look who's talking, that little dance they were doing looked very familiar to me."
Abby shrugged, "Well who taught me I wonder? Did you have a nice evening?"
"Lovely dear, we missed you all though and we're glad you're here now so we can enjoy our time off together. We have lots of things planned that you're all going to enjoy."
Ava had crawled across the bed to sit on Constance's lap and play with the longer version of her own dark, wavy hair. "Like what?"
"It's a surprise. I can tell you you're going to enjoy it all my dear. Just a day or so to wait little one and all our Christmas plans will be revealed, I promise."