A Very Castafiore Christmas
Author's Note: Here's the first chapter of my new holiday story, A Very Castafiore Christmas. It's going to be great. :) Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Tintin.
Chapter 1
It was a frozen winter day. Icy gusts of cold wind sprang up from the north and sent a December chill through the world. Villagers in the nearby towns surrounding the Marlinspike estate rushed to the department stores to stock up on fire logs, Christmas trees, and fir garlands for their front doors. Even though there wasn't any snow yet, everybody expected the first snowflakes to fall in a few days; until then, they were content to enjoy the holiday festivities and wait for Christmas.
"No snow," grumbled Captain Haddock, staring miserably out the window that faced Marlinspike's long front drive. "How are we supposed to celebrate Christmas without any snow?"
Although Captain Haddock had never been an overly festive person, and was never one to pay very much attention to holidays and the like, Christmas was one celebration that he never missed. He loved to watch the leaves turn from green to red to gold and finally drop from the trees; he loved the changing weather of winter, the icy coldness outside that stung your cheeks. He loved the fresh blanket of white snow that covered the ground and laced the trees with glittering crystal. He loved how Marlinspike looked with fir garlands over its French doors and marble archways, and he loved the sound of vintage Christmas music coming from the radio in the kitchen. Although he'd never admit it to Tintin, or anyone else, he loved Christmas.
But right now, with only four days to Christmas and no snow to be seen, he was getting very annoyed. He sat and stared blankly out of the paned window, wishing desperately for snow. Several times he was convinced that he saw a snowflake drift lazily from the sky, but it always turned out to be a false alarm.
Maybe I should just get used to it, he wondered. After all, I haven't had very good luck lately, have I?
He hadn't. Earlier in the year, Tintin had dropped him from a sun chair in the back garden as a practical joke, and he'd fallen and twisted a bone in his hand on the impact. He'd eaten a cake from a neighbor while in the hospital and almost dropped dead of food poisoning. And while he was recovering from the injury and the food poisoning, Bianca Castafiore (herself!) had decided to pay a "nice little visit", staying for an entire week straight and subjecting him to endless scales and opera arias, sung at an inhumanly high pitch.
At least Castafiore's gone. He brightened at the thought. Hopefully we won't see any more of that woman for a while.
The sound of tiny footsteps padding up from behind the Captain alerted him to Snowy's presence. He turned around from his overstuffed armchair and looked pointedly towards the dog, which was wagging its white tail excitedly, its whole body vibrating with anticipation. Snowy woofed twice happily, then after eliciting no reaction from the Captain, lay down on the marble floor and made whining noises. He knew this game well: It was called Play With Me Or Else: an annoying tactic that Snowy often employed to get attention from the Captain when Tintin was gone.
"Tintin's not here," Haddock explained, fixing the terrier with what he hoped was an understanding look. "He's not here. Tintin went shopping. Now go and do something else."
Snowy remained where he was on the floor, panting and lolling his tongue forward.
Haddock half-heartedly aimed a foot at the dog, which quickly scrambled to his feet and scampered off, barking excitedly.
Well, that's taken care of that!
Relieved to have Snowy gone, he looked back to the window. It was then that he noticed the motorcycle and its ginger-haired passenger, speeding down the front drive towards the house. Tintin! Moments later, Tintin burst through the front doors, cheeks flushed, his quiff flattened slightly by the motorcycle helmet.
"Hello, Captain," he said brightly, starting to remove his coat. "I went down to the Christmas market and bought some porcelain houses for the snow village. Nestor is bringing it inside through the receiving room." The coat removed, he walked towards the living room, where Haddock's armchair, and its occupant, sat.
Captain Haddock glanced at Tintin. "Did you have a good time?" he asked, disinterestedly, and looked back through the window, noticing the dark figure of Nestor opening the motorcycle trunk.
"It was wonderful," replied Tintin breathlessly, plopping into a sofa near the fireplace. "You have to come with me sometime. Even though it's only…" He looked at his watch quickly. "Even though it's only 10:30 in the morning, they had all of the lights up and everything. Oh, and you really should have tasted the food! Fresh waffles, kugelhopf, nutmeg-and-ginger cookies, chocolate trees, tarte au fromage, everything you can imagine. I sampled pretty much everything."
Then he noticed the Captain, or rather, the Captain's bad mood. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
Haddock looked at Tintin. In a way, he wished that he hadn't been in a bad mood. Tintin looked so happy and innocent there on the couch, that Haddock hated to spoil his friend's excitement. Quickly, he pasted a smile on his face. "I'm fine, just a bit bored perhaps."
"Do you want to go and check the mail for today?" Tintin suggested. "The fresh air would work wonders, Captain."
"Doesn't Nestor do that?" the Captain replied, confused.
Tintin laughed, springing from the couch and walking towards the coatrack. Before he disappeared through the doorway to the foyer, he turned around and looked back at Haddock. "Come on, Captain. You'll enjoy it!"
He was about to refuse, when he realized that he really did want to go outside. Even if there wasn't any snow, he might as well…
"Wait, I'm coming!" he called out, as Tintin opened the front doors and stepped outside.
/
Their thick winter boots crunched against the gravel as they walked down Marlinspike's front drive, and as Captain Haddock looked out over the bleak, ruggedly beautiful landscape, he was glad that he'd decided to come with Tintin. He didn't spend enough time with that boy, anyway.
Everything was cold and still, and the sky was gray. Even though they were heavily bundled in fur coats and scarves, the icy wind nipped at their cheeks as they walked, side by side, down the long winding road past the front gate.
"I love winter," said Tintin suddenly, with a note of exhilaration in his voice. "I don't like it as much as spring or summer, but all the same…"
"It's all right," replied Haddock gruffly, and immediately wishing he had said more. Winter was his favorite time of year, after all. "I like the snow and everything."
"Yeah, the snow is nice."
"And ice. And frost," the Captain said thoughtfully. Then, he remembered why he was upset. "But no snow," he added, an annoyed tone in his voice.
Tintin laughed. "That's fine by me. Besides, it will snow before Christmas. Wait and see."
Everybody seemed to have that mindset, Haddock noted. "How can you be so sure? What if it doesn't?"
Tintin rounded a bend in the gravel path. "Then it doesn't. By the way, have you heard from our friend Castafiore recently?"
"Castafiore?" Haddock replied, dumbfounded. "Why on earth would I hear from her?"
"No reason. I was just wondering, I suppose."
"Well, you'll be happy to know that we haven't heard a single word from that subtropical sea-louse," the Captain replied, with feeling. "Or that Mozart-plunking pianist of hers!"
"Goodness, Captain! She can't be all that bad!" Tintin laughed.
"Hmm… well…" grumbled Haddock.
"Here we are!" Tintin exclaimed, as they rounded a bend, and the mailbox came into view.
"I doubt we'll have much mail, anyway," called Haddock, struggling to keep up with Tintin.
"I suppose not…" said Tintin, only half listening. He opened the mailbox and began sorting through its contents.
Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and his mouth opened slightly, as if he was on the verge of saying something.
"What is it?" the Captain asked nervously.
"You won't believe this, Captain! You really won't believe it!" Tintin burst out excitedly. "And to think that we were just talking about her!"
"No," Haddock breathed. He realized he knew all too well who the letter was from. And he knew he probably wouldn't like what it was about to say.
In an instant, everything in Captain Haddock's world began to go south.
Author's Note: MWAHAHAHA! I'm so evil, doing this to the Captain. More chapters soon! Are you excited?
As always, review if you liked it!