Disclaimer:
I don't own any of these characters.
Author's Note:
I know it's kind of early in the season, but I was just in the Christmas spirit and decided to write a little Christmas one-shot to celebrate! Special thanks to DarkAngel048 who's wonderful Erika/Dominic at Christmastime idea inspired this small fic. I admit that I am not very good at short stories, but I hope you will enjoy this.
We enter the story several years after the movie ends. King Dominick and Erika are now married and have a small family of their own.
It was Christmas Eve and already the castle was brimming with joyful laughter as the spicy fragrance of gingerbread wafted through the air. Erika (or should we say Queen Erika) sat in a chair by the hearth, watching as her husband and two small children trimmed the tree. The children were already bustling with excitement over the promise of St. Nicolas and the gifts that he'd bring come the following morning. Erika smiled. She was sure nothing could spoil this happy occasion. Absolutely nothing.
Heather, the youngest of her children, came bounding over to her in two large leaps and claimed the space on her mother's lap. "How much more time, Mama?" She asked, her blue eyes sparkling in the light of the flickering flame.
"How much more time until what?" Erika teased, taking a quick glance at the clock in the corner. It was only five in the evening. Christmas was still seven hours away.
"Till Christmas!" The blue-eyed girl pressed and soon her brother and father came to join the duo at the chair.
"Well, let's see here…" Erika tapped her chin thoughtfully as Thomas sat on the floor and her husband, Dominick, came up behind the chair, resting his arms on the top. "It's five o' clock now, so that means in exactly three hours we will have supper and then…"
"No, no, Mama." The young princess shook her head. "Till Christmas! Till Christmas!"
Dominick chuckled and Erika looked up at him before looking down at her daughter. "Alright then. Seven hours. But by then you'll be sleeping."
"But I want to stay up."
Thomas sighed and looked at his sister. "That's what you said last year."
Heather stuck out her tongue.
"Neither of you will be staying up." Dominick stated firmly and laid a hand on his wife's shoulder. Erika reached up and took his hand. "If you do, St. Nicolas will never come, because good children listen to their parents and are in bed by nine o' clock."
The children nodded and Erika smiled up at her husband. It was times like this that she knew exactly why she had married him. Dominick was not only a warm and caring husband, he was also a warm, caring, and devoted father and king. Their kingdom was very lucky. Dominick ruled with a just and understanding hand.
"I've got an idea." Erika stood, taking Heather into her arms. "Why don't we all get into our winter clothes and take a walk before dinner? That is, if the tree's all done?" She looked to her husband.
"It's finished." Dominick assured her.
"I think that's a good idea." Thomas nodded his head. "Could we stop at the toy store on the way?"
"The toy store?" Erika broke into a grin and ruffled her son's hair.
"Of course. My army needs a new general. Wolfie ran off with the last one."
Erika tried not to laugh. "Okay, we'll stop by, but we're not going to buy anything." She set Heather on the floor. "Don't forget, tomorrow you'll probably have a new general and a whole bunch of extra men."
Thomas nodded. "Yes, Mama." He looked to his sister. "C'mon. Last one outside is a Preminger!"
Erika's smile faded as she watched her children run off in the direction of the front hall.
"Something wrong?" Dominick came to her and took her hand.
She looked up at him and sighed. "I sometimes wonder if we shouldn't have told them."
"About what?"
"About how we met."
Dominick laughed as they began to walk towards the front hall. "Why not? They asked us about it, and we weren't going to lie. Besides, you'll have to admit, it makes a good bedtime story."
"But really, 'last one outside is a Preminger?' Since when has Preminger replaced the 'rotten egg'?"
"Since Preminger kidnapped the princess and I met you." He kissed the tip of her nose and Erika couldn't help but feel warm inside. Dominick was right. She shouldn't worry. Thomas was only playing. There wasn't any merit to his statement. He meant nothing by it. She could let it go, just like she had let go of her past.
By the time the two parents finally got into their winter gear, the young prince and princess were already clawing at the front handle, waiting to leave.
"Have a goodtime." A maid bid them farewell as Erika pulled on her mittens.
"We will. Thank you."
"Do you need anything from the bakery while we're out?" Dominick asked her.
The maid gave her employer a motherly scowl. "Aw, now come on, sir. We have servants to do all that." She walked them to the door and let them out. "Be careful, children, and watch yourselves."
Erika nodded and followed her family out onto the front steps of the palace. The door closed and she took the hand Dominick offered her, watching as two guards stepped away from the palace. They would serve as escorts for the royal family on their outing. To say the very least, this was the one thing Erika hated about royal life.
"Race you to the bridge!"
"Thomas! Slow down!"
"No running!" Dominick called after his children as they charged ahead. The children obediently complied and lowered their sprint to a fast walk.
Erika watched them go and as one of the guards followed in haste. "Dominick? Why do we always have to have bodyguards?"
"To keep us safe."
Erika already knew that and scolded herself for asking such a boring question. She supposed she did so, only to let her husband know it bothered her. She couldn't understand why they couldn't just go anywhere they wished, alone, as a family. The only place she had this freedom was on the castle grounds, but she had already been over that terrain countless times. And it wasn't just the territory, it was the people. No one approached you when you were with palace guards. Everyone just nodded and bowed, offering unmeant pleasantries. Erika missed the profound delight in common conversation. She never had those anymore. Well, not with just anybody.
The royal family soon reached the town and the children instantly stood closer to their parents. The last throng of holiday shoppers still milled about the snowy streets, pushing carts or holding baskets and packages as they walked by. As usual, nobody welcomed them and nobody asked about their day, but plenty of people stared. Erika hated the starring worst of all. Don't they know I was once one of them? I do understand what it's like to have nothing. Why do they look at me that way?
As they neared the toy store, Erika suddenly felt a tugging in her heart. She turned the way her mind was telling her and it is here, she saw a short, elderly woman, hobbling down the street with a stick as a cane. Erika's heart instantly went out to the old woman and she turned to her husband quickly. "I'll be right back."
"Erika? Where are you going?"
She ignored his question and instantly went to the crooked figure. She tugged off her scarf and mittens as she did so and held them in her hands. "Excuse me." She stopped in front of the elder and gasped when she looked up. The clothes were foreign, and so was the battered cloak, but that face… Erika recognized that face instantly.
"E-Erika?" Madame Carp's eyes widened.
Erika spoke quickly. "Madame Carp! What are you doing here?" It was a strange feeling for Erika. But for the very first time in her life, she felt no fear standing in the presence of this once hard and cruel woman. Perhaps it was how old and frail Madame Carp now looked. Without her makeup and fine clothes, she looked nothing short of an old beggar woman, seeking the help of generous townsfolk and those kind of heart.
"I've been traveling around for years…" The old woman coughed. "It's not easy finding work with a reputation like mine. Nobody wants to hire you."
A twinge of anger coursed through Erika's veins and her brow furrowed. It's no wonder after the way you treated me, Mama and Papa, and then poor Bertie. All her past hate for the woman came coursing back and she began to return her mittens to her freezing fingers.
Madame Carp watched her as she did so. "So, how about you? You're married to that king now, I suppose. Enjoying married life? All that money?"
Erika's anger progressed. "I didn't marry Dominick for his money. I…" She let her voice trail off as she looked back at her husband and two children who stood, eyes aglow as they gazed into the toyshop window. She softened. "I married him for love. I wouldn't care if he was as dirt poor as I once was."
"Money runs out." Madame Carp nodded, as if reliving an old memory of her own. "Do you know how hard it is to live out on the street?"
Erika wanted to say 'yes', but knew she couldn't. She had never lived on the street a day of her life. Her parents had always taken care of her and then… Madame Carp. Erika paused, the second mitten halfway onto her hand. "No… you're right. I don't know."
"Ha! You see?" The old woman sneered. "You've had it better off than you've ever thought! I could have thrown you out anytime I wanted to when you weren't paying your money. But I didn't, did I? I gave you a dress, a bed, eggs in the morning and bread at night. I even gave you a job, so you could work off the debt."
"You charged interest!"
"Not much… just a little bit…" All the fire left the old woman, but the hate had also left the once-seamstress.
As much as she hated to admit it, Madam Carp was right. Even though her times in the dress shop had been grueling, filled with hard work and labor and no love to be heard of, Erika had been provided for. In a strange way, she did owe Madam Carp something. After all, had the old woman said no when Wolfie was brought into the household? No. She didn't say a word about the cat. Never had.
"Madame Carp-"
"Erika-"
They both spoke at once and then hung their heads shamefully. Erika was the first to speak again.
"Madame Carp, it's Christmastime. My family and I are going to finish our walk and then return to the palace for a warm meal and a bedtime story. The kids will be put to bed and then Dominick and I will sit by the fire with my old cat and pray together. I…" She began peeling off her gloves again. "I want you to come join us."
"You want me to…" The words caught in the old woman's throat as she stared at the girl she once knew who had grown up into a woman in so little time. "But, why?"
Erika sort of smiled as she offered her scarf and mittens to her past employer. "Because, Christmas is a time of giving, of love, a time to forgive. For it is said, 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'" She paused and waited for a reaction.
Madame Carp's lips moved slowly, "John 3:16…"
Erika's smile widened as the woman labeled the verse she had quoted. "You see, Madame Carp? Jesus was born on the very first Christmas; He was God's gift to the world. That's why we give gifts each Christmas, as a symbol of God's gift to us. I never realized it before, but even though you were cruel to me, you also gave me so much when I was growing up. I want to give back. You're right, it isn't right for me to be in my castle all snug and warm when there are people out here, like you, who need a warm bed, a meal, and some friends. Please come home with my family and me. It'll be my Christmas gift to you, a symbol of my forgiveness. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me as well, and accept my gift. A symbol of my own love and appreciation."
And then, tears leapt to the old woman's eyes as she took Erika's hands in hers and squeezed them very tightly. "Yes, I would like that." She said quietly. "And I thank you very very much."
Erika wiped a tear from her own eye and took the old lady by the hand. "Come with me, Madame Carp, and welcome to the family."