A/N: Merry Christmas lovely ones! For the next twelve days there should be twelve festive DD fics! Should be, some may be late but it should be okay! This one is Christmas Markets.
It's written in more of a Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park kind of Christmas Market, not traditional European ones.
"Come on, let's go on the Haunted House." Jane begged, tugging Carlos towards the ride.
"Why is there a Haunted House?" Jay frowned, nursing his hot spiced wine jealously after Lonnie had drank almost half. "This is a Christmas fair?"
"There always has to be a Haunted House." Jane said firmly, dragging her long suffering boyfriend towards the queue. Uma and Harry looked askance at one another before the pair also decided to join them; they wanted to test how scary the house was.
The others meanwhile started to mill around the various stalls that built up the market. Evie and Audrey were distracted by one of the jewellery stands, while Jay, Gil and Lonnie had hunted out the biggest burgers they could find and feast on. Doug and Chad were surprisingly stood together, warm cups of hot chocolate and mulled wine in their hands trying to warm themselves up, both of them lightly chatting about mundane topics while the girls were still deciding on whether or not to buy the jewellery pieces they had spotted.
Ben and Mal meanwhile were wrapped up in one another; it was the first time they had seen each other in two weeks and they were making the most of each other. They would join their friends shortly but for now, after Ben's trip away to Charmington and Mal's intense revision sessions, the pair just appreciated the silent warmth of being with one another.
"Hey put each other down!" Evie called over and the pair shared one final kiss before heading over to join the small gang.
"I want that!" Mal looked enviously at the burger Lonnie was holding.
"I want nothing." Harry looked faintly green as he came out of the ride's exit and grimaced as Jay waved the burger under his nose.
"Scary ride?" Audrey asked innocently.
"I thought it was a walking Haunted House, not a Ghost Train." He grunted, sitting down briefly.
"Please don't tell me Captain Hook's son gets travel sick."
"Little bit." Gil admitted and was blissfully unaware of the dark look Harry was shooting him.
"Well that was fun! Can we do the rollercoaster next?" Jane came out looking bright eyed and excited.
"Without me, yes you can." Carlos said firmly. "There's a stall over the other side I really want to see."
"Candyfloss?" Evie turned to Doug who nodded.
"An Evie hyped up on pure sugar. Please." He said sarcastically, and ignoring her light slap to his arm, he held her hand and the pair went off to hunt out the cotton candy stall.
"Oh I want them, if it's still Nifflehiggs making it, they used to make pink and blue floss for me!" Audrey grabbed Uma and soon most of the group had converged on the candyfloss stall.
"Miss Audrey!" An older man beamed from behind. "I didn't think I'd get to use those sugars again!" Before anyone could say a word, he started to pour the canisters into his machine and soon there was a mound of cotton candy in the palest of pink and blue.
"What's special about the sugars?" Uma asked curiously.
"There's magic in them from the Three Fairies." Mr Nigglehiggs answered, sweeping a stick around the cauldron before looking shrewdly at the group gathered before his stall.
"Thank you!" Audrey squeaked as she took the stick topped with fluffy floss.
"Now, Miss Mal. Definitely got the colour for you." The man adjusted his glasses and hunted through the wall of sugar canisters behind him.
Half an hour later saw Mal polishing off her dark purple floss, Evie savouring her dark blue floss, Jane eating the blue and white swirled cotton candy Mr Nifflehiggs had made for her. Audrey had long finished her own and was staring at Uma's turquoise pile longingly. Lonnie having eaten way too many burgers had regretfully passed on a floss and instead was picking pieces off Carlos's red and white mound of fluffy sugar.
"Thank you!" They chorused and they let him serve the ever growing queue.
"Mulled wine or cocoa?" Chad mused as the passed stall after stall, some stuffed with food, others towering piles of marshmallows and fat chocolate kisses. There were jewellery stalls, baubles and trinkets displayed on others; maps of old kingdoms carefully reproduced, stand after stand with items for pets and other fluffy creatures.
Descending into another discussion about where to go next, Mal felt Ben pull her to the back of the group again. The pair traipsed behind their friends, watching with fond smiles as Audrey and Uma bickered, as Harry lounged over Carlos and Gil gave Lonnie a piggyback.
"Queen of the Isle and Queen of Auradon." Ben mused, sneaking a quick kiss while the others were distracted.
"King of the Isle, King of Auradon and King of my heart." Mal whispered back, taking the time to lengthen the kiss and the markets around them seemed to fade to silence.