NB: I got this out earlier than anticipated; consider it a Christmas gift. If, dear reader, you'd like to spread some Christmas cheer in return, know that feedback is a writer's favorite gift. It would mean the world to me to know what you think. Really.
Also, I want to remind you that all of these vignettes will not fit neatly into the 'Fidelitas' timeline. You will certainly notice inconsistencies. I hope they are not too jarring. If it helps, you're welcome to consider this series an AU of that story (an AU of an AU, as it were).
Hey guys, I don't say this enough, but thank you for reading. All of you.
Alexandra Nikolayevich's love of sweets was legendary. When she was a very young girl, Yuri regularly indulged this sweet tooth with homemade cakes and cookies. She'd run home from school clothes askew and breath nearly gone in a desperate rush to sample her guardian's latest culinary achievement. Afternoon tea and cake was the perfect panacea for a schoolgirl's woes. From poor test marks to a broken heart, Yuri could mend nearly anything with the perfect treat. In those days, he was the magician, not her. That was before Alexandra hit puberty. When she realized that she could no longer devour such foods without causing serious harm to her waistline, she only indulged on very special occasions. In this, like so much in her life, her discipline tended to err on the side of self-denial.
Alexandra was also a notorious Scrooge. She hated Christmas. It was irrational to have antipathy towards a holiday, but it made perfect sense to Yuri. It was on Christmas Eve many years ago that Alexandra's parents were killed on the way home from a relative's holiday party. The official report claimed that the couple's SUV skidded on a patch of black ice before flipping over and exploding. But Yuri knew better. The residual magical energy at the site of the crash told an altogether different story – that the cult of magicians hunting descendants of the Romanovs had made their way to America. Identifying his employers' bodies had been difficult, but nothing crushed his spirit so thoroughly as having to tell a very young mistress that her parents would never come home. He remembered how Alexandra had handled the news with a stoic reserve that no child should possess. It was immediately afterwards that the two moved to New Orleans, where Yuri enlisted many an exorcist and magician to teach the girl how to use her supernatural gifts.
The exorcist's hatred of all things Yuletide ebbed after she was married, though. Indeed, she would spend inordinate amounts of time making sweets for Nikki and Isaac (sweets that she never ate) and decorating the massive manor with boughs of fir and baubles of all colors. After their deaths, however, she reverted to hating the season. As a gesture of sympathy, and because he didn't know what else to do for his ward, on the first Christmas after their deaths, Yuri baked a cake as a kind of present. Alexandra, for her part, forgot her strict avoidance of desserts and ate it with such relish that the sight of her tugged at his long memory in a bittersweet way.
That was before the demon decided that the birth of Christ was an occasion worthy of celebration. Things had changed in the Nikolayevich manor since Sebastian's Summoning, no doubt, but his sudden love of Christmas left Yuri with a dreadful foreboding that settled in his chest and showed no signs of diminishing until after the New Year. The demon had magically turned the house into a Christmas paradise, complete with several large bedecked trees and mistletoe hanging from every opportune perch. Yuri confronted the horrifying scene on the morning of Christmas Eve. He had just decided to do away with as many of the decorations as possible when he heard a strangled scream coming from the foyer. Too late. She's already seen. If he was worried about his ward turning sullen and withdrawn, however, his concerns were misplaced.
"Pira," Alexandra intoned lazily as she shuffled down the steps in her pajamas, her eyes sparkling with the sort of mischief that had only been elicited by Isaac before now. The offensively ostentatious tree that Sebastian had set up in the foyer burst into magical flames, causing an awful acrid odor that arose from the synthetic ornaments being burned by supernaturally hot fire.
"Yuri, have you made any coffee?" she asked happily, completely ignoring the fact that the entryway was now in flames. "And Sebastian, wherever you are, you impish bastard, I order you to put out this fire and return this house to normal."
The demon materialized, a smirk alighting his lips and reflected flames dancing in his eyes. "Master, have you any idea how long it took me to put that up?" He asked it as though he'd been a particularly long-suffering subordinate.
"Likely less than a second. And it should take even less time to take it down." She walked down the stairs and past her servant with an imperiousness in her carriage that caused Sebastian's smirk to lengthen into a sharp-toothed grin. Clearly, he read his master's actions as an implicit challenge. Yuri could only shake his head in disbelief and pinch the bridge of his nose tiredly. All the evidence suggested that his day was going to be uncommonly long. In fact, it would be nothing short of a Christmas miracle if all the occupants of the house emerged with nothing more than minor bodily injuries. He made his way back to the kitchen for more coffee.
Yuri's predictions were unfailingly accurate. After setting things right in terms of decorations, Sebastian called forth a hellish choir of demonic familiars to perform a farce of carolers. The inky black creatures gathered in the recently cleared foyer and sang in a shrill screech, setting the humans' teeth on edge. Demonoid as they were, they cared not one whit for lyrical faithfulness. Wishes for a merry Christmas turned into wishes for the exorcist's slow and torturous demise, complete with mention of Lucifer's particular cruelty towards divine agents in Hell. Even Sebastian raised a concerned eyebrow at that. But Alexandra was more amused than anything. She retrieved a reliquary from the library as the ghoulish choir launched into a perverse version of the 'Carol of the Bells.' With the help of Saint Basil's rosary, she was able to exorcise the lot of them with little effort. Yuri kept mental score, noting with satisfaction that Alexandra was currently two for zero. Sebastian has no idea who he's dealing with. I trained Sasha very well.
Having failed by adding Yuletide accoutrements to the manor, Sebastian decided that matters might sway to his advantage if he removed things. He determined that Christmas is a holiday best experienced cold. He deactivated the central heating, smiling at the fact that this small action didn't require any magical effort. Never the underachiever, he then inundated the house with the cold Russian air and a self-contained snowstorm. That's better, he thought. Upon realizing that her home was now no more comfortable than the tundra, Alexandra decided that ordering him to set things right again would only increase his creativity for the next go-around.
"Sebastian, come." He materialized as asked, barely restraining himself from laughing outright as he took in the thick blanket that she'd wrapped around herself. "I'm having a dilemma. Can you guess what it is?" she asked, the supernaturally-sustained wind cutting against her words.
"Yes. I suspect you'd like to order me to undo this ambient change. But if you do so, you will have to contend with whatever I might contrive next, no?"
"Precisely." She seemed to be thoroughly amused, Sebastian noted. He tensed. When Alexandra smiled like that, he generally found himself in a position of distinct disadvantage. "And so I wondered how I might convince you to stop acting like a schoolboy with a crush." She waved her hand in a gesture uncannily reminiscent of his own elegant flourishes. "I don't much like having my ponytail pulled."
"And, what, praytell, have you decided?" He spoke in a haughty tone, deciding that the very fact of her offering an incentive was indicative of his victory. There was no need to be alarmed.
She merely directed her gaze upward. He followed the line of her sight, and when he saw the lone sprig of mistletoe hanging from the library's ceiling, his eyes glowed with understanding. But Sebastian was no easy conquest; he'd teach her that before the day was out. One kiss was simply not sufficient to compel his obedience. He would hold out for a more enticing offer. That ambition was crushed as he leveled his eyes again on his master. Alexandra had shed her blanket, revealing that she'd been completely naked except for the impractical shoes that she'd put on. She was sitting in the armchair before the fireplace, one leg languidly crossed over another as the flames cast shifting shadows across her skin. He felt an anticipation creeping under his fingertips as he closed his eyes against the kinds of thoughts that could threaten to undo a servant's aesthetic. But as much as Sebastian had accurately marked his master's proclivities, she had in turn marked his various kinks. It was those naughty tendencies that she appealed to now as she slid her hands from her neck to her stomach and downward from there. Sebastian was imagining his hands slipping along her body in place of hers when she uncrossed her legs. The gnawing sensation in the pit of the demon's stomach intensified into a pitch of near-frenzy, clouding his thoughts and causing a sweeping heat to build in the room, even as an arctic chill settled around them.
"Master," he made an effort to learn the precise nature of her game, "what exactly are you offering?"
"Wouldn't you like to find out?" And that's when he realized that she'd won. It was likely that he'd get no more than a kick in the face, but the prospect of carnal pleasure was all too alluring, and he'd never forgo the opportunity to finally taste of his master's flesh. He moved closer, tugging at his gloves with his teeth as his fingers itched for contact. Alexandra stayed put, allowing him to come to her. It was her aim to maintain perfect control of the situation. "Fix the temperature in here, will you? And no more additions or subtractions to the house."
"I can keep you warm," he purred, but he waved a hand and the room returned to its former coziness, all the snow and wind having been banished outside.
"And the manor?" she inquired.
"You have my word that I will neither conjure or remove any items or entities in this house tonight." Alexandra was flattered at the level of his desire. He had denied himself any possible loopholes, at least until sunrise. The storm rattled the mullioned windows slightly, but the magician could only hear the forceful stammering of her heart as Sebastian inched ever closer. He'd been lured by her actions, but his feline movements left her without doubt that the Nikolayevich manor housed only one expert seducer, and the master of the house was not that individual. She could already imagine how he'd taste – a bit like cloves and ginger, sin and smoke.
Sebastian knelt in front of her. He placed his hand on her thighs and chuckled as she gasped slightly at his touch. Alexandra might have initiated this little game, yes, but he had a number of virtuoso skills at his disposal that would secure his win. Demons were lust personified, after all. Resisting him would take every ounce of her efforts. She leaned forward slightly, placing a shaky hand under his chin and pulling him towards her. And when their lips met, Alexandra discovered that she'd been wrong. Sebastian didn't taste as she imagined. In fact, he was rather sweet, but not cloying – like cinnamon. But the taste of sin was certainly present, and it was that particular note to which she responded when she ordered him to take his hands off her and move aside.
If he didn't recognize that each such encounter raised the stakes little by little, he would have been very angry indeed. But he was far too perceptive not to notice how her pulse raced as he came close, and how her breath seemed to catch when he tugged gently at her hair. Sebastian might have been frustrated tonight, but all the evidence suggested that her defenses would crumble in short order.
This knowledge didn't mean he wouldn't have his revenge, however. He was by no means a humanitarian, and his master had made a veritable sport out of piquing his appetite only to deny him. So, one couldn't really blame him for grinding up the mistletoe that had precipitated his current situation and then slyly mixing it into Yuri's cake batter. Neither Alexandra nor Yuri had noticed anything, and by the time the exorcist had finished her third piece of cake, her stomach was in knots, her pulse thready, and her complexion peaky. A fever rushed through her skin, causing her to run out the front door and throw herself into the wintry night in hopes of quenching the fire coursing through her body. She gulped several breaths of air before hitting her knees and retching violently as her stomach rejected the poisoned dessert.
"Oh dear. Are you unwell, master?" Sebastian was leaning against the front door, arms crossed nonchalantly over his chest and ruby eyes positively flashing in delight.
"What did you do?" The words issued forth in a harsh whisper.
"I suppose you think you were very clever with that mistletoe. Perhaps. But a clever woman would know that it's dangerous to provoke a demon." He spoke the words in a matter-of-fact tone that sent a chill through her recently feverish limbs.
"You poisoned me." Alexandra was shocked. Sebastian had never intentionally put her life at risk. Indeed, he'd even sacrificed himself on occasion so that she might be delivered from danger. Maybe I pushed him too far. "I can't believe you'd resort to such cheap means to kill me, Sebastian." A nascent anger was building in her, although she knew that getting worked up would only cause the poison to spread more quickly through her bloodstream. She tried to calm herself and find a way out of her current predicament. Perhaps Yuri could prepare an antivenom.
"Don't be absurd. You're a magician. You should know that mistletoe is only deadly in massive quantities." He tutted. So, she was not in any mortal peril. This did nothing to soothe her fury.
"Get the hell away from me before I find a way to maim you permanently!" She growled furiously at him before doubling over again.
Yuri appeared just as Sebastian dematerialized in a whirl of black smoke. Alexandra didn't have to explain. Her guardian was an expert on magical plants, and given the fact that the house was recently overrun with mistletoe, it did not take him long to put two and two together. He sighed wearily, made a mental note to douse the demon with holy water, and then guided Alexandra up to her bedroom and deposited her in the shower, where she cleaned herself up before collapsing altogether in the bathtub. The mistletoe seemed to have been expelled from her system; Alexandra no longer felt on the perpetual verge of vomiting. She did, however, feel like killing her demon bodyguard. But her anger relented the tiniest bit when she considered how she'd treated him earlier that evening. I suppose he's just getting me back. Sebastian was ruthless, she knew. It made him an invaluable asset in her mission for revenge. Knowing that his tastes tended towards darker fare, she reconciled herself to being grateful that he'd not managed to kill her.
The magician emerged from the bathroom in much better spirits. This cheerfulness disappeared when she saw that the object of her recent thoughts was leaning against the far wall of the room. He was clearly waiting for her. Again she was thankful that his gentlemanly politeness kept him from intruding upon her privacy (most of the time anyway).
"What now? Have you turned Santa's sleigh into Charon's ferry? Decided that we need a nativity scene featuring the birth of the Antichrist?"
"No." He nearly snickered.
"Are you here to offer me some tea laced with arsenic, then? Or do you think I've suffered enough?" Alexandra rounded on him. Sebastian did nothing to conceal the sheer satisfaction he was extracting from this conversation. He was supremely pleased with himself.
"Nothing like that, no."
"Well? What is it then? I suppose you want me to apologize for trying to seduce you. I might have thought about it, before you poisoned me!" Her voice was on the verge of reaching a pitch that should have been beyond a human's range.
"An apology would be ideal, yes, but I would prefer such sentiments be demonstrated through action rather than words," he retorted smoothly.
"Keep dreaming, you jerk." He laughed then, his rich, vibrant voice filling the room and causing Alexandra's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.
"Master, do you remember last Christmas?" He finally inquired.
"I remember not having to worry about whether or not my contracted demon had made my life a living Hell. And how many times must I tell you to stop calling me that?"
He sighed in pretend impatience. "I take your point. But you've not answered my question."
"I remember," she admitted softly. And she did. She'd rather not conjure up those memories now, but she certainly remembered last Christmas. It was the first she'd spent without her family, and while she pretended to be delighted with Yuri's gift of tea and cake, she could ill conceal her true feelings from the preternaturally sensitive creature at her side. Alexandra had been exceedingly depressed, and quite suicidal. In fact, once her guardian had fallen asleep, the exorcist contemplated placing his handgun to her temple and pulling the trigger. In a moment of cowardice or insight, she decided that a better course of action was to drown herself in several glasses scotch. Last Christmas had been the very worst in a life filled with awful Christmases.
"Our contract stipulates that I protect your life. Did it never occur to you that you might need protection from yourself?" He said seriously before pressing his fingers to his temple and shaking his head in feigned disappointment. "I wonder why I deign to serve such a foolish master."
Alexandra could have fallen over in surprise. Once again, Sebastian had displayed a humanity that was a rarity even in humans. Of course, he'd demonstrated his twisted version of kindness by feeding her poisoned cake, but she'd fall into an infinite cycle of analysis if she dwelled on the details. His inconsistency would never be comprehensible to her ever-rational mind. Even so, his efforts at distracting her had worked beautifully. She walked towards him and leaned her head on his chest. He interpreted the gesture for what it was – an expression of gratitude in a moment of weakness.
"Foolish," he whispered as he slipped his fingers through her still-damp hair. "Do you realize you're grateful for my performing duties for which you've already rendered your soul?"
She stepped back from him then, knowing that his seemingly-innocuous words carried in them a warning not to take his true nature lightly. Alexandra was cognizant of the fact that he was no angel, but sometimes, she thought that she could see facets of sentiment underneath his façade that betrayed the demon's heart. He almost felt like a blessing on those days.
"Goodnight, Sebastian. You can go now." She adopted her usual commanding tone, intimating quite clearly that she'd accepted his admonishment with all due sincerity.
"Merry Christmas, master."
'M' is for 'mistletoe'.
AN: My protagonists are deserving of lumps of coal, aren't they? Merry Christmas, all! Hope you have a wonderful holiday.