The snow has finally stopped, leaving a beautiful dusting over the earth. A clear blue sky stretches out over the mountains and flat plains below. Perfect, I think to myself as I button my coat. I slip out of my room and head for the door, push it open quietly, and walk to the stairs.
"Hey Aqua, where are you going?" I turn around to find Ven and Terra looking at me, both of them dismissing their Keyblades.
"No where in particular," I say coyly.
"Come on, Aqua," Ven says, "don't do this to us."
It really is too much fun messing with him, but I decide against it. "I'm going out to pick a tree."
"By yourself?" Terra says, crossing his arms. "Aqua, you know that that's something we're supposed to do together."
"Why? Do you want to come too?" I joke. Both boys head off to their rooms and meet me downstairs decked out in winter gear. "Everybody ready," I say, pulling open the doors. Down the stairs we go to the forecourt where Terra and I summon our gliders. Ven hops on Terra's and we speed off across the sky towards one of the nearby peaks.
The snow covered tops of the pines, glittering in the sunlight. Suddenly, an idea pops into my mind. I pull a 180 and shoot at branches, dropping heaps of snow on my two friends. Both smile, and a competitive glint appears in Terra's eyes. I turn around and try to disappear, but soon find myself getting bumped into snow banks. Laughter echoes through the forest as we all play and act like children. Finally, completely covered in snow, we come to a clearing in the woods.
"Alright," I say, shaking some of the snow out of my hair. "Let's find a tree."
"Can I pick one out?" Ven asks. I look at Terra, and we let him run off to find a tree. As we follow a short ways behind, I can't help but continue to try to dump snow on my friend's head. Terra chases after me, grabbing snow, and sticks it down the back of my shirt. I squeal as the cold rushes through my body, his face lighting up with mischief. "Hey, you guys," Ven calls out in the distance, "I found one."
The tree he's found is perfect: about 12 foot tall, sunlight shines through the boughs and makes the snow shine like diamonds. "It's perfect," Terra says, summoning his Keyblade. I grab Ven and pull him away as Terra swings Earthshaker at the trunk. Slowly, the notch begins to grow and the tree begins to tip.
"TIMBER!" Ven screams as it falls to the snow.
Terra and I summon our gliders again; we tie the tree to the back of his, while most of the weight rests on my own glider. With the boys on Terra's glider and me sitting on the tree, making sure it stays on my glider, we set off for home.
Getting the tree inside is an easier feat than getting it to the castle: thank goodness for Zero Gravity spells.
"Master Eraqus!" Ven screams as we walk through the door and runs off to find the Master. "We got a Christmas tree; come and see it." Terra and I smile, remembering being that old and the excitement that came with it. With his help, we're able to get the tree in the stand. I stand back and admire our work; behind the tree, the stained-glass window shines multicolored spots on the branches.
"You three have really outdone yourselves this year," Master Eraqus, practically being dragged by Ven, says. "Well, let the decorating begin." Everyone spits up, running to different corners of the castle to retrieve Christmas decorations. I grab a box of ornaments, each made of glittering glass, checking to make sure one item is there before heading back.
The throne room is alive; Terra's untangling lights, Master Eraqus and Ven are draping garland and ribbon, while Christmas music blares in the background.
"Ven, can you come here for a minute?" I say putting down the box.
"What is it Aqua?" the blonde says, skidding to a stop in front of me.
"I've got something for you." I pull out a glass ornament: it's green, cut so that it actually spells out "Ventus" in script, accented with silver. He takes it in his hands, turning it in his hands, before look back up at me. His eyes are wet.
"Thank you so much, Aqua."
I pull him close and give him a hug. "You're very welcome, Ven. Merry Christmas."
"Hey, Aqua," Terra yells from across the room, "the lights are ready for you." Giving Ventus one last squeeze before going off to help Terra. I take one end of the lights in hand, and start Spellweaver; I spin around the tree, soaring higher and higher until the entire tree is laced with lights. From there, we can start decorating.
As we put on ornaments, we dance around the room and sing as loud as we possibly can. Master Eraqus or Terra will occasionally take my hand and we'll do a random dance break, while I'll grab Ven and we'll spin around the room. All time seems to melt away as we laugh and enjoy one another company.
In what seems to be no time at all, the tree is decorated and stands glittering in the fading light of day.
"Now, for the finishing touch," Master Eraqus says, reaching into a small box. He pulls out the Christmas star and looks at each of us, his gaze stopping on Ven. "Ventus, if you wouldn't mind, could you put the star on this year?"
"Me?" the young apprentice asks, eyes wide with shock.
"This is your first Christmas here with us. I'd like for you to have this honor."
The boy takes the star in his hands and walks over to the tree, quite unsure of how he's to reach the top. Terra walks up behind him and lifts him to his shoulder, giving him a boost of height. Still unable to reach the top, I cast a Zero Gravity spell under Terra, channeling all my energy and focus as I slowly lift both of my friends into the air. Ven reaches out and carefully places the star on top. After lowering them back down to the ground, Master Eraqus gives me the signal and I cast Holy inside the star. It erupts in a rainbow of light. Terra and Ven come and join us as well look over our masterpiece.
"We make a good team," Ven whispers. Gazing up at the tree and then at my friends, I realize how true that statement is. With these two by my side, there's nothing I can't do