She caressed his cheek as his words sunk in. He had done it. All of this would finally be over. "It's really all over?"

The king sighed and nodded. "I'm using my royal override to get the bill passed the government house. I don't have the strength to try to fight with them. I need to get this done right now."

"Is that allowed?"

"It means I assume all responsibility for whatever the outcome is, but yes, it's not illegal."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. This is for the best, for all of us."

The queen smiled. "You must be exhausted. Come into the parlor and rest."

"I'm exhausted, but I have so much energy."

"That's just adrenaline. It'll wear off soon."

"I feel like I could climb down the side of the mountain."

"Please don't."

He chuckled. "I think I'll take a rest instead. I'll need it for tomorrow at the council meeting. They'll all want to know what I was thinking, while probably thinking that I wasn't." He rubbed his face. "I just hope I won't regret this later."

"You're doing what you think is best. That's what matters."

"Yeah. You're right."

"Of course I am." She kissed his cheek. "Go rest."

Over the next few months, Fiyero worked tirelessly, signing the bills and passing the new laws. The government house was understandably confused and upset that the king was passing right over them, but it also gave them the peace of mind that if something negative happened, they would be completely blameless.

There were still a few small uprisings here and there, but they were easily and peacefully resolved. Fiyero managed to convince himself that he wouldn't be able to please everyone and some people would always have the desire to fight, no matter what. There was nothing he could do about it, so he wouldn't try.

As Lurlinemas drew near, the castle began to liven up once again. There hadn't been that much excitement in what seemed like forever, and it was a refreshing change. Decorations covered almost every inch of the large house, making it feel lighter and brighter than ever before.

Elphaba secretly supervised the staff setting up the Lurlinemas tree the day before Lurlinemas Eve. She smiled as she watched one of the footmen lift Kenzin onto his shoulders to place an ornament on the tree. She saw Esaias try to sneak a cookie, and promptly be shooed away by one of the maids. It felt good to see her family happy again, and deep down, she knew Nessa was celebrating with their other family members somewhere in the beyond.

"Mama!"

Elphaba smiled as Kenzin hurried over to her and jumped into her arms. She kissed her cheek and snuggled closer. "Hi, Kezi."

"Doesn't the tree look pretty?"

"Yes. Everything looks wonderful in here." She carried her daughter back into the room. She felt her son tap her arm and looked down, noticing he was hiding something behind his back. "Esaias?"

"This is Nessa's ornament," he said, revealing the small pink, sparkly orb on a small, golden string. "For you."

Elphaba took it and gingerly slid it onto an empty branch. Thinking of her daughter no longer brought her despair and grief, but memories of the happy times. "Perfect."

"Come help us!" Kenzin giggled as she wiggled out of her mother's arms.

"I have to get back to work, but you're both doing a great job setting up. You all are," she smiled at the rest of the staff.

Everyone nodded their thanks and Elphaba left them to finish up. She went back to her office to review the seating chart for the Lurlinemas Dinner. Over the years, she had practically perfected the art of creating a seating chart that won't result in an all-out war. After scanning through her final list of changes one last time, she leaned back and removed her glasses from her face.

"Hey, you."

She glanced up and smiled at her husband. "Hey, you."

"You're still working?"

"I just finished."

"Good. There's something I want to show you."

Elphaba stood to follow him, but stilled as a soft noise reached her ears. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise. It sounds like…" She paused, straining her ears to hear. "Singing."

"I don't hear anything," Fiyero frowned.

"Xizi, do you hear that?" Elphaba called to the passing maid.

Xizi curtsied. "Hear what, Your Majesty?"

"That singing."

The maid frowned, but her face slowly softened as the voices came clearer to her. "I do."

"I still don't hear anything," Fiyero interjected.

"It's not coming from anywhere in the castle," Xizi said. "It sounds like it's coming from outside."

Elphaba looked out the window and saw what look like a small stream of dancing lights approaching the gate. She belatedly realized that it was a group of people carrying lanterns, and the source of the singing.

"Your Majesties," Captain Ceren hurried in and bowed. "A group of carolers is approaching. How would you like us to handle them?"

"Handle them?" Elphaba repeated. "It's Lurlinemas. They're carolers."

"They could be dangerous," the captain reminded them. "The last time a mob approached the castle, they –"

"Weren't singing Lurlinemas carols. And these people aren't a 'mob'. They came all this way to sing Lurlinemas carols to us." She turned to Fiyero, silently asking this favor of him.

The king looked torn. Would this affect the safety of his family once again? He couldn't afford to make the same mistake twice, especially when the last time had such devastating and irreplaceable consequences. But he now heard the carolers, sounding like a choir of angels. He turned to the captain. "How many are there?"

"My men counted no more than twenty men, women, and children."

Fiyero nodded. "Please have them escorted into the parlor." He turned back to Elphaba. "I think the children will enjoy this, also."

Elphaba smiled and nodded to Xizi, who curtsied and left to find the young heirs. A few moments later, the royal family gathered in the parlor, eagerly awaiting the performance. Kenzin sat on her mother's lap, while Esaias sat beside his father. They heard the singing from down the hall, gradually growing louder until the doors opened, allowing the choir of carolers to enter. They formed two horizontal lines in front of the monarchs, the children in the front, with the adults shadowing them, holding the lanterns, and all wearing matching red and green coats and hats.

"Bring back the holly. Bring back the cheer. Bring forth good blessings, and good tithings for the year," one of the children sang, launching the choir into the song.

Fiyero smiled. This was one of his favorite Lurlinemas carols growing up. He had many fun memories of him and Hanna lighting candles and decorating the tree while singing. "Put up the tree, and light all the lights. Hold up all the lanterns, to light up the night."

All eyes went to the king as he stood and joined the carolers. He proudly stood in the center, holding hands with two of the children. A few of the adults looked shocked, but kept singing. The children were positively gleeful.

"All shall be right and good. Forever may the good times last. And may we all have the strength to say, let's put all bad things in the past."

Elphaba smiled sadly. If only it were that simple. She would give anything to be able to do that, and she would give even more to turn back the clocks. But she knew that could never happen. She felt Kenzin nudge her and looked up to see one of the boys standing in front of her with a large present.

"Is this for me?" she asked.

The young boy nodded.

"Thank you." She gently placed Kenzin next to her, removed the top, and reached inside, pulling out an evergreen crown, decorated with bits of holly. She smiled and gingerly placed it on her head and looked up at Fiyero, realizing he was already wearing his. There were smaller ones for Esaias and Kenzin, which they eagerly wore as they joined in the singing.

The choir sang a few more songs, with the royal family opting to simply sit and enjoy, still wearing their special crowns. After three more songs, plus an encore, they extended an invitation of hot chocolate and cookies, which was eagerly accepted, before leaving, singing as they departed.

"That was fun," Fiyero murmured into Elphaba's ear once everything had calmed down.

Elphaba leaned against him. "I don't remember the castle hosting carolers."

"We used to when I was a boy. It must have been before you came. There was a really bad storm that stopped them one year. After that, it just never happened again, mostly due to safety reasons on both sides. But I'm glad it was reinstated this year, and hopefully will be for the years to come." Fiyero looked back at Kenzin and Esaias, who had fallen asleep on the couch. He grabbed a blanket from the closet and covered them, kissing their foreheads. "Nanny Cattery can put them to bed when she comes back. I still have to show you my surprise."

Elphaba followed him up the stairs. "What is it?"

"Do you remember our first Lurlinemas?"

"I had just found out I was pregnant with Esaias."

"No, I mean, when we were children."

Elphaba thought back. "Yero, I was six years old. I don't remember –"

"This was back when you, me, and Hanna were all friends, before I became a jerk to you. Well, as friendly as we could be, considering you were terrified of us. Of everyone, really. You would always run away, and Hanna thought it was a game of tag, which probably made it worse for you."

"Why do I have no memory of this?"

"Because you've come such a long way since then."

"Then why do you remember this?"

"Because I do. Now, let me finish the story."

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but didn't say another word.

"Hanna and I were trying to turn you into the outgoing person you weren't ready to be yet. But then, Hanna noticed that you had a little hideaway corner in the library."

"I remember that corner."

"She was convinced that's where you lived. After the Lurlinemas Feast, Hanna and I had managed to get our hands on some leftovers. We found you hiding in the library and all three of us had our own feast in your little hideaway. Close your eyes."

Elphaba's eyebrow rose. "Excuse me?"

"Close your eyes."

"Why must I always close my eyes when you want to show me something?" she sighed, but conceded. She felt Fiyero take her hands and gently guide her down the hallways.

Elphaba had prided herself on her sense of direction in the castle, especially in the dark, due to her constant sneaking around in her youth. But with all the turns Fiyero was taking, she was starting to become disoriented and found herself clinging to his hands. But she knew Fiyero wouldn't let anything happen to her while she was in the vulnerable state she willingly put herself in.

"Are we going outside?" she asked, feeling a breeze on her face. "We're on the second floor."

"No, it's just an open window, but we're almost there."

She stiffened when she felt him let go of her hands. "Yero?"

"One sec."

"Can I open my eyes?"

"Not yet."

She heard him open a door before taking her hands and leading her inside. The familiar smell filled her nose and she relaxed, but her confusion increased. "Why are we in the library?"

"Because I thought it would be nice for us to have some alone time before our hectic holiday starts. You can open your eyes now."

She did and gasped, seeing a romantic picnic setting with two large pillows, vanilla candles, and small finger foods in her old corner. "What's... this is..."

"I hope you didn't get too full of hot chocolate and cookies."

"When did you do all this?"

"That doesn't matter. I just want you to sit and enjoy. You deserve a break after everything."

"So do you."

"We both do. So let's enjoy it. No one knows about the two of us being here, so we don't have to worry about being interrupted."

The couple happily settled down and Fiyero lit the candles, the sweet vanilla aroma filling the small hideaway. Elphaba settled next to her husband, nibbling on the small sandwiches. As the candles slowly burned out, the couple somehow managed to get their limbs tangled, with Elphaba on top, engaged in a gentle, yet passionate, make-out session.

"I can't remember the last time I felt this relaxed," Elphaba whispered, gently rolling onto her side, caressing Fiyero's face.

"Neither can I. This has been one hell of a year."

"You're telling me."

"But it's almost over."

She knew his words were meant to comfort, but for some reason, they didn't. This would be their first holiday without Nessa, but they knew she was celebrating with their other dearly departed family members. But she still wished she was here with them.

"Let's go to bed," she whispered, detangling her limbs and gently pushing herself onto her knees.

Fiyero nodded and they cleaned up the area, leaving no evidence of their date. They left the library and gave their garbage to a passing servant. He was clearly confused as to why the monarchs had been in the library at this time of night, and even more confused as to why they had burnt-out vanilla candles. Figuring that it would be in his best interest not to lose sleep over it, he simply took it and bowed.

Once she finished readying for bed, Elphaba was surprised to see Fiyero standing by the window, his hands clasped behind his back in a very dignified manner. She gently wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"It's snowing," Fiyero observed.

Sure enough, tiny snowflakes were becoming visible against the lantern-lit garden. Even in the dark, she could see it slowly beginning to accumulate over the grass and path.

"I love it when it snows on Lurlinemas," she whispered, kissing his cheek. "It makes the holiday even more perfect."

And they were going to make it the most perfect Lurlinemas ever.

The next chapter will be the final one! Also, it's Greg Awards time, and I'm hosting! Make sure to nominate your favorite authors and stories!