There's a knock at the door and your mother lifts her head from the roast she is preparing, her face shiny from the heat. "Oh, that must be the guests! Severa, can you let them in?"

"Sure." You put down your knife and wipe your hands on your apron before making your way to the front door. You pass by Daddy in the dining room, where he's setting up all the silverware with unbounded glee at being unsupervised. Only after you make him promise not to curse any of the dinner plates do you continue on.

You could hassle him a bit more but you're in waaay too good of a mood right now. Because it's Yuletide! The most wonderful time of the year! It's the time where you get presents, drink copious amounts of delicious dragon-nog and gather your whole family and friends together under one roof.

Though honestly, you're still a bit surprised that your parents even let you participate in this year's Yuletide as opposed to grounding you for a century. Mom was hysterical when she found the two of you in the forest and she nearly killed her Pegasus trying to ferry all of you home at a breakneck speed. Daddy was just as distraught; for the entire week you were bedridden with fever, he didn't make one silly pun or even crack a smile. It was a rough week for everyone, that week.

Yet, here you are now, relatively healthy and hearty, with just a lingering cough from your fever. And mostly ungrounded after your excursion into the woods, which is both pleasantly surprising and worrisome. Despite their appearances, your parents are hardly floozies and you have a gut feeling that once Yuletide is over and everyone settles down, your chores are going to increase. Exponentially.

But you can care about that later because right now, it's Yuletide!

You open the door and put on your best Yuletide face. "Merry Yuletide!" you shout.

Then you see who it is and your shout peters out. "Oh."

Aunt Selena blinks back at you, looking a little taken aback at your enthusiasm. "Uh, thanks." Her eyes stray to the bright red stocking cap you're wearing and you flush, feeling terribly silly and awkward at the moment. Thankfully, she looks just as uncomfortable and doesn't comment on it, instead shifting the wrapped parcel she has underneath her arm. "Merry Yuletide to you too."

You weren't expecting her of all people to show up for Yuletide and wow, does that make you sound ungrateful after she saved your life and all. Guilt wells up in your stomach and you nervously shift your weight. You really should have taken the time to visit or at least thank her for what she did. But you honestly forgot with all the excitement and hubbub leading up to Yuletide. Maybe you should just…

You stop that line of thought before it can grow. No. The two of you have been through too much to regress now. This time, you have to move forward, for both your sakes.

You open the door further and move to the side.

"C'mon in, Aunt Selena."

Aunt Selena looks surprised at the invitation and she raises a hand in protest. "Oh, no. I uh… I just wanted to check up on you. Make sure you weren't… dead, I guess." She makes a face. "Okay, that sounded better in my head. I don't know how, it just did."

"Pleeeease?" You can tell she's stalling so you try pouting at her. It works wonders on your dad and decently on your mom, maybe it'll work on your aunt.

She gets a funny look on her face. "Are you constipated? You look constipated."

You drop the pout and huff. "Oh, just come in, Aunt Selena." You grab her hand and bring her in, surprising both you and her with your forwardness. "It's cold and we have dragon-nog."

The dragon-nog seems to do the trick- Aunt Selena hesitates briefly for a second and then nods and steps in fully, closing the door behind her. "I guess I could stay for a cup if you're offering. Just one cup, mind you."

You resist the urge to smirk. A point for you! "Sure."

You lead her back into the dining room where Mom is putting out the roast as Daddy helps. She looks up when you enter. "Oh, Severa, that was quick. Who was at…" she begins, just as Aunt Selena shuffles into the dining room and your mother jolts up in surprise. "Severa!"

"Yeah?" you say the same time Aunt Selena mutters, "Hi." The two of you exchange confused glances for a second before Aunt Selena steps forward and presents the wrapped parcel to your parents.

"I bring squash."

Your expression turns horrified. You hate squash.

Minus one point for you…

Mom and Daddy exchange glances. "Oh, that's… very kind of you, L-Selena," Mom says before hesitating. "But, er… What's the occasion?"

Your aunt sets the squash on the table and shrugs, averting her eyes. She scratches her cheek with a finger, looking vaguely embarrassed.

"It's Yuletide, isn't it?"

It takes your parents a moment to parse this simple sentence. Just a moment. And then your mother smiles so wide that it looks like her face will split in half. Your father claps his hands in delight.

"Nyahaha, that's right it is!" He locks your aunt in a one armed hug, ignoring her protests. "Happy Yuletide, kiddo!"

"Ger' offa me…" is Aunt Selena's muffled reply, just before Mom leaps in on the hug. "Oof!" She struggles futilely for a second before resigning herself to their ministrations. Before you can react, she grabs your arm and drags you in as well.

"Now we can all suffer," she says, looking self-satisfied.

You grin as well. Points for everyone!

The rest of the afternoon is spent in a generally good mood as you help around the kitchen, preparing for the rest of the guests. Aunt Selena mainly hovers on the side, dragon-nog in one hand, wearing a red stocking cap that Daddy forced on her. She and your parents trade stories of the war and you listen with rapt attention as they reminisce of the days of old.

"I still can't believe you gave M-Cordelia a severed hand for your first anniversary present!" Aunt Selena takes a swig of her dragon-nog as she watches Daddy sprinkle sugar on the cookies. "A severed hand, for Naga's sake!"

"Technically a Risen hand," you correct. "But still, gross, Daddy."

He chuckles and throws on enough sugar to give cavities. "What can I say? To the dark mage in love, there's no such thing as ethics, nya ha!"

"Gag," you and Aunt Selena say at the same time.

"Well, I thought it was very sweet," Mom kisses Daddy on the cheek. "And the bracelet he attached on to it was beautiful. A little bloodied, but still beautiful." She picks up the tray in front of her and offers it to you. "On that note, some butternut squash, Severa?"

"Uh, I'm good thanks."

"Severa." Mom looks at you with her mother look. "At least try it. Aunt Selena will be upset if you don't."

Aunt Selena rolls her eyes and sarcastically places a hand over her heart. "Oh, the rejection."

"Okay, okay already." You take a piece and choke it down best you can. "There. Deeee-lish."

Mom nods, satisfied and then offers the plate to Aunt Selena. "Some for you, Selena?"

Your aunt quickly straightens up. "Oh, uh no, I'm good. I, uh, had some before I came here. Yep." She glances in your direction and the corners of her lip quirk up. "Besides, I'd hate to deprive Severa any more of your deee-lishous squash."

Ohhhhh, you are so getting her back for this. Before you can protest, Mom inadvertently comes to the rescue.

"It's fine; I made plenty for everyone!" She shoves a piece into your aunt's hands and smiles at her. "Enjoy!"

You burst out laughing at the horrified expression on Aunt Selena's face.

Aunt Selena leaves before the first guest arrives, making a vague promise to your protesting parents that she'll be around more often before they let her go. As she's lacing up her boots, you suddenly remember what had been niggling the back of your memory ever since she came in.

"Wait a second," you tell her, bolting off to your room before she can reply. You shove open the door and scan the shelves…There! You snatch it off the shelf and return back to the entrance where Aunt Selena is waiting with a perplexed expression.

"Whoa, slow down, squirt." She takes her hand off the door knob and places it on your shoulder to prevent you from skidding into the door. "What is it?"

"You…" You pause to catch your breath. "You never took it."

"Took what?"

You're too out of breath to say anything so instead, you simply hold out your hand and open it. The fay's feather lies in it, looking as pristine as the day you found it.

Aunt Selena's expression instantly turns inscrutable. "Oh. That."

You nod and offer it to her. "Here. Your Yuletide present."

Aunt Selena hesitates and bites her lip. Slowly, she puts a hand forward… and then swiftly retracts it.

"I… I shouldn't."

The rejection surprises you. After you went through so much trouble to get it, you didn't actually think she'd refuse. You lower your hand, feeling dumb. "Oh. Okay…"

Aunt Selena notices the hurt in your expression and she sighs and scratches the back of her head. "No, that came out wrong. Look, squirt," she pats you on the shoulder to get you to look at her. "I'm… touched that you went all the way to get me another one. I really am. But that feather, it…" She pauses, trying to find the right words. "It has a lot of… memories that come with it."

The phrase confuses you. "You… you don't want to remember them?"

"Like I could ever forget." She shakes her head. "No. My problem is I'd end up stuck in my own head remembering it all. And she… My friend wouldn't have wanted that."

The image of Aunt Selena staring at the feather with a dead expression on her face resurfaces in your memory and you slowly nod. "I think…I get that."

She closes your hand over the feather. "Tell you what. You keep it and make some memories for yourself. And when you think you have enough, you give it to your friend and tell them to do the same. That way, I'll know it's going to good use, okay?" She pauses a bit and then adds with a smirk. "Think of it as your early Yuletide present from the best aunt in all of Ylisse."

"But I'm the one who went and got the feather."

"Okay, gawds, early Yuletide present to yourself. But the idea was all mine, ya hear?"

"I hear," you say and then maybe it's the spirit of the season or maybe it's the dragon-nog doing its magic, but you wrap your arms around your aunt's waist in a surprise hug. You feel your aunt stiffen, caught off guard by the gesture.

"Merry Yuletide, Aunt Selena."

Your aunt is motionless for a second. And then you feel her hand descend on your head. She ruffles your hair a bit, something she must've learned from Daddy because he does the same thing and it never fails to make you feel a little pleased inside.

"You too squirt," your aunt says softly. "Merry Yuletide, Severa."