Chapter 13: The Snowflake Promenade

It was the night of the winter solstice which meant that it was time for the Snowflake Promenade. All over Heaven, angels were getting all gussied up in their prettiest dresses. Snow was falling all over Heaven which made the ideal weather for the winter ball.

At Lapis' house, the young angel's guardian was helping her get ready.

"I'm so excited for you, Lapis." Rose beamed as she was preening her young charge. "I can't believe your going to your first dance."

"I'm also going with my first date." Lapis added.

Her caretaker was putting the final touches on the little angel's makeup. And then, she stepped back to admire her work saying, "And finished."

Lapis was now wearing a sparkly blue ballgown that covered her feet. She also had some blush to make her face glow and a barely noticeable amount of lip gloss. Her hair was all done up and had a golden olive branch barrette in it.

"Oh, look at you." Rose gushed, her eyes shining. "Everyone is just going to adore you."

The young angel looked at herself in the mirror, looking rather surprised by her own appearance.

"I feel like everyone's not going to recognize me." she stammered. "Even I don't recognize me."

Just then, a knock sounded off through the halls.

"That must be Peridot." she chimed as she made her way to the front door.

She opened it and there was her soulmate with a small box in his hands. The disguised demon was wearing a black tuxedo with a green bowtie. Lapis almost found her self at a loss for words as her heart raced from how handsome her boyfriend looked.

The masquerading being was equally stunned by the young angel's appearance.

"Hi, Peridot." Lapis nearly babbled. "Wow. You look great."

"And you look beautiful." Peridot blathered. "I mean you always look beautiful, but that dress looks stunning on you. It's makes you look like an immaculate goddess. I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"A little bit." Lapis giggled. "But, it's okay."

"Oh, I made a corsage for you." her date mentioned, opening the box to reveal the accessory.

The corsage was made up of baby's breath, a blue orchid, and a pure white rose. Lapis thought it looked gorgeous. The male angel helped his girlfriend put it on her wrist.

Then, he cleared his throat, held out his hand, and asked; "Shall we?"

Lapis gladly took the disguised demon's hand and was about to fly off with him. But then, Rose put a hand on her shoulder; stopping her.

"Don't forget your cardigan, sweetheart." the caregiver told her charge, handing her the article of clothing. "I don't want you to catch a cold."

"Yes, Rose." the young angel nodded.

She slipped the cardigan on and the three angels flew off to Blue Diamond's temple.

They entered into a ballroom where other angels were mingling. The ballroom was decorated in blue, white, silver, and even dark green. It was walking through a wintry forest. There was even glitter everywhere to make it look like frost was covering the place.

"This is so beautiful." Lapis marvelled.

"I'll say." agreed Peridot.

Just then, the angel matriarch clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention.

"My dear angels." said Blue Diamond. "Welcome to the Snowflake Promenade. I hope that you all enjoy the festivities of the longest night of the year."

As the angels applauded, Lapis saw her friends out of the corner of her eye. She broke away from her date and caretaker to greet them. The four angels were wearing fancy dresses in their favorite colors: robin's egg blue, magenta, royal purple, and pink.

"It's so good to you guys." the blue-haired angel gleamed.

"Same with you." Stevonnie concurred. "We're so excited that you're here with so many angels around."

"Yeah, and here we thought you'd be hiding under one of the party tables by now." Amethyst joked before being lightly hit on the shoulder by Garnet.

"What can I say?" Lapis shrugged. "Ever since Peridot came into my life, he's really helped me come out of my shell."

Speaking of Peridot, she didn't realize that her disguised boyfriend disappeared into the crowd until she lost sight of him completely.

"Oh no, where'd he go?" the young angel began to panic. "Peri probably didn't even know that I wandered off."

"Peri?" her short friend chuckled teasingly. "Is that what you call him now?"

"That's what I like to call him sometimes." Lapis replied defensively while blushing. "Anyway, I gotta him and Rose. I'll catch up with you guys later."

She left her friends and started searching the party venue for her date and chaperone. But, there were a lot of angels here and the ballroom was huge to the little angel.

"Are you enjoying your first Snowflake Promenade?" an unfamiliar voice chimed from behind, making Lapis jump a little.

She turned around to find a pair of angels who she had never met. One who was rather burly for an angel and the other who looked just like Lapis.

The brawny angel had dark brown skin, black eyes, and dreadlocks in rainbow colors. Her frilly dress was a bright burgundy.

The Lapis look-alike had tan skin with dark freckles on her cheeks. Her hair was a darker blue than Lapis' and was tied in a ponytail. She wore a billowing dress of navy blue.

"Sorry, did we startle you?" the muscular angel asked.

"Just a little." Lapis responded as she composed herself. "I'm Lapis. What are your names?"

"Just call me Freckles." the slender angel said.

"And I'm Bismuth." the brawny one added.

"Glad to meet you." Lapis smiled, shaking both angels' hands. But then, she glanced over to the side.

"Are you looking for someone?" asked Freckles.

"I'm looking for my caretaker Rose and another angel named Peridot." the younger angel nodded. "He's my date."

Just then, she saw Peridot carefully wiggle his way through the other ball goers and pop his head out before her.

"There you are, Lapis." the disguised demon said. "I was getting worried about you. You should warn me when you walk off like that."

"Peridot." the blue-haired angel beamed, hugging her boyfriend. "I'm so glad you found me."

That was when a slow, romantic song started to play. Peridot got the hint on what to do at a time like this.

"May I have this dance?" the male demon requested, offering his hand to his date.

"Of course." Lapis snickered. "Although, I should warn you. I've never danced before so I might be pretty bad."

"I reject that statement out of hand." her date disagreed.

The two of them started dancing. And with every step, twirl, and dip; they were both as graceful as the snowflakes outside. Peridot sealed the dance with a kiss on Lapis' lips, which caught the young angel a little off guard. But, she quickly melted into it. Many onlookers were in absolute awe.

"Wow." Lapis expounded, still feeling weightless as her boyfriend pulled away. "That felt marvelous."

"And you call yourself a bad dancer." Peridot smirked.

"You're not so bad yourself." the young angel replied smugly.

All around them, other angels; including Lapis' friends were applauding for the couple.

"Do you want to come outside and watch the snow fall with me?" asked the disguised demon. "It's getting a little too crowded in here."

"Sure." his angelic girlfriend responded.

Outside on the balcony of the temple, Lapis and Peridot watched the snowflakes flutter down from above. The young angel had a very warm blanket wrapped around her to protect her from the frigid temperature.

"Are you sure don't need a blanket?" she asked her date.

"I'm sure." the demon assured her. "The inside of a demon is a natural inferno. We can survive in subzero temperatures."

Lapis took a moment to lay her head on Peridot's shoulder as the snow continued to drift down. Some of the flakes brushed against her cheek, tickling it a little.

"I love snowflakes." she said. "They're soft like feathers and look almost like stars. I wonder if you could wish on snowflakes. And if you could, would they come true?"

Peridot was amazed by how poetic that sounded.

Tonight had been nothing short of enchanting. The angel and demon only wished that there was a way that could share many more nights and days as magical as this.