Day 19: Tiona's Story

On the island of Telskyura, there wasn't really a Winter. Due to the climate, there was no snowfall. There was just a slightly colder time of the year compared to the rest. And due to the deadly nature of the island, Christmas wasn't really celebrated. That hadn't stopped Tiona from learning everything that she could, though.

It all started with a story that she got. There was a single mention of the holiday within this heroic tale, a prize for one of her many victories. The way it had been spelt had been enough for her. At her following prize selection, she asked for books on Christmas. The request had surprised everyone, but Goddess Kali had listened to her child and gotten the books. Tiona had gobbled up all the information in front of her like it was her last meal. She reread the story of Santa Claus and his magic flying reindeer probably over one hundred times. She read the stories so much that she learned to recite them by heart. Tiona tried telling Tione, but her twin never ended up listening.

Of course, just reading the stories did nothing to actually make Christmas happen. The fights still happened, and Tiona still had to kill. But Tiona liked to pretend that she would be able to celebrate one day. She tried to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, deep down in herself. Tiona would continue hoping.

Then, she and Tione got their freedom. The twins left Kali Familia and never looked back. The thought occasionally crossed Tiona's mind, but she never spoke it out loud. She knew that her sister was still healing. Instead, the two travelled, eventually finding their way to Orario. In the Dungeon City, they joined the prestigious Loki Familia. That was around the time Tiona started to remember the story of Christmas and Santa Claus. She waited for her first Winter in Orario to come before asking Finn about Christmas. The pallum informed her that they did, in fact, celebrate Christmas in Loki Familia.

Tiona's smile was the biggest it had ever been. She jumped into the festivities with gusto. Some said that she jumped a little too deep and was in over her head. Others would just say that she was trying to make the most of it. The amazon went out and bought ugly Christmas sweaters for herself and her sister. She even bought one for Ais, which took a lot of fighting for the kenki to wear.

The only thing people didn't let her do was bake Christmas goodies. Which made sense in hindsight. Tiona's kitchen skills were just awful. But she happily ate everything thrown her way.

There was only one problem, Tione. Tiona's sister refused to so much as crack a smile in the festivities. There were large parts of the girl that were still in Telskyura. She did not smile and often just followed Finn around. Tiona was at her wit's end about what to do to make this right.

That is, until the week before Christmas. Tiona saw some children, most likely orphans, running around Orario. One of the quieter kids was sitting out of the playing until another one put some snow down the kid's back. Soon they were all up and running and having a good time together. Tiona watched these kids, getting her own devious idea.

One morning, when Tiona, Tione, and Ais were out walking to the item shop, Tiona began her plan. The young amazon scooped up some snow and put it down her sister's coat. With her enhanced speed, Tiona could back off enough to give herself an alibi. Ais just watched on, confused, as Tione whirled, looking for who did the deed. She saw that Ais was closer, and in her blind rage, she accused the Sword Princess of putting snow down her back.

Ais had just responded with her typical passivity. That had only served to anger Tione more, so the amazon had picked up a snowball and thrown it at Ais's face. The blonde had been so surprised by the turn of events that she had let the snow smack right on the nose. Tiona giggled from her position a couple feet back, which alerted Tione to her presence. The siblings then duked it out, snow flying across the boulevard. Ais still refused to react, just watching everything happen.

By the end of the hour of snow fighting, Tiona was laughing as Tione shovelled snow on top of her. The two broke down in a fit of giggles heard throughout the city. They apologized to Ais for the inconvenience, but the Sword Princess didn't care about that. She just asked if she could join in next time.

After their long day of getting along, the three went home, and Tiona was happy to see her sister in higher spirits. Christmas would always be Tiona's favourite holiday. Not just because of the baubles and trinkets, but because of how it kept the darkness at bay from the people she cared about. So, Tiona would lead the charge in Christmas celebrations for every year after. After all, merry-making usually required just a bit of noise.

The End

Hestia placed the quilted square down next to the others. The image was simple; it was two sisters smiling and laughing. However, just like all the other things that Hestia had knit, the details were perfect.

The Goddess said nothing, though, as she put it down. She just sat down in her sizeable comfy chair and got ready to do the next one. After all, it was just her in this room, with no one to speak to. There was a small, comfortable fire burning in the mantle place, a tea set that was still warm, and a ser of cookies that had been baked by Hestia for this occasion. For all of that, though, the Goddess of the Hearth looked lonely. She thought back on all the stories she had told and gave a melancholic grin. She still had more tales to tell, after all, and it would not do for her to mope around.