Hello everyone. I realize I have not updated my stories in so long, and I am sorry. I do plan on returning to them as soon as possible, but school and life have made everything so much harder. I wrote this for the time-being, and once the New Year begins, I plan on continuing my work. Please stay tuned. If you are wondering, the traditions of the Ice Elves in this story are based on those of Iceland, though with some differences to benefit the story and for other reasons. The music I chose to listen to while writing this consisted of Zara Larsson's "invisible" from the Netflix animated film Klaus during the gift exchange scene in Part III, and the "Christmas Medley" by Two Steps From Hell, my favorite music studio at the very end. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and God bless us, everyone!

Part I:

The Meeting

Cynder woke that morning to the smell of coffee, eggs, bacon, and toast. When she opened her sapphire eyes, she found Spyro sitting close to her, smiling brightly, with his amethyst eyes twinkling.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said to her.

"Good morning," she said through a great big yawn. "What time is it? It feels earlier than usual."

"Ah, well, it is," Spyro admitted. "It's half-past-eight."

"What?!" Cynder exclaimed. "Why in God's name would you wake me up that early?"

"We have a major mission coming up, is all," Spyro answered. "Maybe it's not that major, but it's a Christmas mission, and Hugo is holding a meeting in about twenty minutes. I brought you some breakfast to help you wake up, since I know you wouldn't want to wake up without something to motivate you."

"Thank you." She kissed him and took the tray. She found there was also a bagel on it, and she took the eggs and bacon and put them on it, creating one of her favorite meals: a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. After pouring some cream into the black coffee from the dispenser and stirring, she began eating. After swallowing a bite, careful not to open her mouth as she hate so that she did not hurt her sensitive ears, she looked back up at Spyro. "Now, why would Hugo want to make us wake up so early? I know he doesn't like to let us sleep, but I feel this is just ridiculous, don't you?"

"A bit," Spyro said. "But hey, it's for a good cause. Some of these villages in and around Skylands are poor, you know? I'd prefer to help out just a bit. Let's just hope Kaos doesn't try anything while we're bring cheer to these children."

"If he does, we'll just kick his butt like last year."

"True. You know, this is a special time. After all, it's our second Christmas together."

Cynder smiled as she took another bite, then sipped her coffee again.

"There are times I wish our lives could be simpler," she said. "But I wouldn't trade spending time with you during Christmas for the world. Now, if only it wasn't so cold outside. I might need to wear my cloak again."

Spyro nodded.

He wished Cynder didn't have to worry about her lack of body heat. That was still something he wished he could attack Malefor for. But at the same time, he wasn't going to let those thoughts corrupt his mind. He was going to keep his thoughts clear, and he was going to think only of all the positive things, such as spending time with her and all their friends, as well as bringing joy to the inhabitants of all these villages.

Cynder finished her meal and coffee, then got to her feet and stretched and yawned. She felt the cold air breeze through their treehouse, and she shivered, her teeth chattering. Spyro hugged her, warming her body. She cherished the warmth and wished it would never end.

When they did finally break their embrace, they heard the tap of claws against the balcony of the treehouse. Looking past Spyro as he turned around to greet the newcomers, they found their best friends: Sunburn and Sonic Boom.

"Morning!" Sunburn greeted.

"Morning to you guys!" Spyro said. "How are you both?"

"Great!" Sonic Boom replied. "What about you two?"

"You know, more than a bit tired," Cynder answered. "But I did have a nice wake-up call at the same time, thanks to Spyro."

"Yeah, there are times where I wish Hugo would get a better sense of timing for these meetings," Sunburn said. "He really needs to understand that there are some of us around here that like to sleep for at least eight hours or more."

Cynder jumped off the bed and walked to her closet, where she grabbed a cloak Spyro had bought for her three months previously. It was mostly black, but there was red where her chest would be located as she wore it, just like her scale pattern. There were also symbols in certain spots, resembling those on her forehead, around her eyes, and on her back.

After putting it on, she joined her mate and friends, and together they opened their wings and flew to the meeting tent, where they were sure Hugo was waiting for them and the other Skylanders. Along the way, she noticed the beautiful decorations set up around their base of operations, the Ruins.

Garland, holly, multicolored lights, and statues of angels, reindeer, and even Santa Claus were arranged throughout the rows of treehouses where other Skylanders slept, and in the main circle where the Core of Light was located.

Right there by the Core, which was composed of the eight main Elements—Magic, Undead, Fire, Air, Water, Tech, Earth, and Life—was a fifty-foot-tall Christmas tree covered in ornaments and the multicolored lights. It had been provided by a Christmas tree lot near the Shattered Island.

As they landed, Cynder noticed Hex, a Dark Elf Witch who acted as the second-in-command of the Undead Element—which Cynder herself led—and was one of her friends, floating in front of the tent's entrance.

"Good morning, Hex!" she called to her.

"Morning, Cynder," Hex said. While Hex did not smile, and while her voice was monotone much of the time, Cynder had come to know when Hex actually was happy, and now was one of those times. "How are you today?"

"I'm feeling really good. What about you?"

"I'm good."

Cynder smiled even more. Even when she saw the Skylander that trusted her the least, Slam Bam of the Water Element, she kept smiling, knowing it would make him angrier. He very much preferred to see her miserable.

Most of the Skylanders had arrived, and they started entering the tent. Spyro, Cynder, Sunburn, and Sonic Boom did, too, and they moved towards the back, where they found Hugo, a Mabu who acted as one of their main allies and a planner for the Skylanders, and Cali, a Lynx-like Mabu who was the Skylanders' trainer, healer, and constant friend, at the head of a mahogany table. They both smiled at Spyro and Cynder as they approached.

"Ah, good, you're here," Cali said. "We can get started." Looking around, she nodded, then called out, "Captains, group together here by your leaders!"

Spyro and Cynder, along with being the leaders of the Skylanders, were the Captains of Magic and, as previously mentioned, Undead, respectively. Sunburn led Fire, Sonic Boom led Air, Gill Grunt led Water, Trigger Happy led Tech, Bash led Earth, and Stealth Elf led Life.

The eight of them arranged themselves on the right side of the table, with the rest of the Skylanders on the left. There was barely enough room for all of them, which almost made Cynder laugh.

Clearing his throat, Hugo began the meeting. "Well, good morning, Skylanders. I'm sorry for waking you all so early, but it was best that you were surprised for this, because that's what Christmas is all about, right?" No one said anything, beyond a slight cough from Terrafin and many blank stares. "Okay, so, we need to go all throughout the Skylands, either in groups or alone, to spread this Christmas cheer to other villages. There are fifteen locations where we can accomplish this. Since there are…thirty-two of you, I think?" He looked at Cali, who nodded. "Yes! So, with there being that many of you, I think there can be some groups of three, and others of two. Is there anyone who would like to be solo?"

Cynder looked around, finding Stealth Elf's hand in the air, as well as Flashwing's.

An idea crossed her mind.

She needed to get Spyro's present done, and the only way she could do that was by being alone. If he was going to accompany her, then she would have little-to-no chance to find time for this.

I don't want to, she thought. But in order for everything to work out as it should, it's going to have to happen.

Though reluctant, she raised a paw into the air.

She expected to see Spyro's expression be one of surprise, but then she saw that he was smiling even brighter at her. This led to her expression being one of surprise.

"Okay," Cali said. "Come to us, and we'll help you find a place on the map here. Some of you can use the Core to get to your destination, others can fly or get there on foot, and some of you could use Flynn's help."

Cynder walked forward, but others beat her to it.

"Excuse me," Slam Bam said as he cut her in line. She opened her mouth to retort, but decided it wasn't worth it. This was Christmas, after all, and it was better if she were to keep her mouth shut instead of causing a problem when they were supposed to bring cheer to others.

Waiting her turn, she soon found herself before Cali and Hugo. Cali smiled at her. "Where would you like to go, Cyn?" she asked.

Cynder looked over the map, finding many places she had wanted to visit taken. As she looked everything over, she found there was one location no one had touched. In fact, the part of the map upon which it was printed appeared to be more worn than the rest.

The name of the village on the map was, "Kát."

"What's this village here like?" she inquired of them. "It looks like it hasn't been touched in a while."

"Hm, you're right," Cali said. "I've heard of Kát, but not much. I think its name means 'happy' or 'cheerful' in some language. Maybe the Ice Elves? I don't know. But do you really want to go there? It's not very well-known, and you know I don't want you getting hurt, Cynder."

"I know, Cali," Cynder said. "Thanks for your concern, but I think I'll be fine."

"I'll go with her," Sonic Boom volunteered. "I can help keep an eye on her."

Cynder nodded, finding that to be a good option. She would be able to spend time with her best friend, while also allowing her to likely either work on her gift for Sunburn, like Cynder was for Spyro, or buy one for him.

"Okay!" Cali wrote their names with a blue pencil on the map. "Well, that's settled. It looks like it's just through the Kiaki Forest, so I think Flynn should be the one to take you there. Go meet him by the docks."

The two turned away from Cali and went to their mates.

"Are you sad I'm not coming with you?" Cynder asked Spyro.

"No, I totally understand," he said. "I'm just glad Sonic Boom is going with you."

"And I think it's a good thing for both of you to do," Sunburn said. "It gives you time to spend with one another, and you get to help another area out. Just be safe, okay?"

The two couples embraced and shared a kiss with their respective mates.

Then they parted ways, with both sharing a last "I love you" before departing.

Cynder and Sonic Boom walked to the docks, where they found Flynn standing there near his hot-air balloon. Cynder thought the docks was a strange place for such a mode of transportation, but she shrugged those thoughts off and continued forward.

"Hey, Flynn," Cynder said. "We need your help, if you don't mind."

"Sure, what is it?" he said.

"We need you to take us to this village called Kát," Sonic Boom said. "Have you ever heard of it?"

"Not too well," Flynn said. Both Cynder and Sonic Boom noticed he was less boisterous than usual, more mellow. Usually, he was showing off his muscles, yelling "Boom!", and crushing on Cali no matter how many times she rebuffed his advances. "Let's get going if we're going."

Within the next few minutes, Cynder and Sonic Boom were in the basket, and they had taken flight.

"This is going to be real different, I'm sure," Sonic Boom said. Cynder saw she was very excited. She felt a similar way, just not as much.

"Admittedly, I have something I need to do while we're there," Cynder said. She reached into her cloak's pocket and pulled out a small box. "I'm building something inside it, and I needed to be away from Spyro in order to finish it. But at least I can also spend time in a new place, and with my best friend in all of existence."

Sonic Boom smiled and draped a wing around Cynder to keep her warm. Both continued to smile, sure they were in for a pleasant surprise.

Part II:

Kát

"There's the forest," Sonic Boom said. "I wonder what's down there."

"A lot of snow, I'm sure," Cynder said jokingly, leading to a laugh from Sonic Boom. "Wolves, and bears, too."

"I wonder if the village knows we're coming."

"I'd hope so. I don't want to shock the inhabitants."

Soon enough, they found there was what looked like a multitude of colored lights like those from the Ruins. The village wasn't too big, about the same size as the main area around the Core back at the Ruins.

"Ahoy up there!" an accented voice called. "What business do you have up there?"

"We're Skylanders!" Cynder yelled down. "We've come to visit!"

"Land here, then!" the voice called back.

There was a flash of beautiful red-and-green light, and the three of them in the balloon saw a landing pad appear, previously invisible to them.

"Wow," Sonic Boom breathed next to Cynder. "It's beautiful."

"Agreed," Cynder said.

They landed within the next five minutes, and Cynder and Sonic Boom jumped out of the hot-air balloon.

"Welcome, Skylanders!" the owner of the voice they had heard previously said as he approached. Cynder saw the previous assumption of the inhabitants of Kát being Ice Elves had been correct. "We're so glad you were able to make it! But aren't there more of you?"

"There are," Cynder said. "Many more. But we've dispersed around Skylands to visit other villages. The two of us decided to visit here, since it appeared you haven't had too many visits from us."

"That's true," the Ice Elf said. "I'm Fannar, the mayor of Kát, and I am glad to say that we welcome the two of you."

"I'm Cynder, the second-in-command of the Skylanders and leader of the Undead Element, and this is Sonic Boom, my best friend and leader of the Air Element," Cynder said. "Tell me, what kinds of traditions do you have around here?"

"We like to have live music in the village square," Fannar said. "There will be one later tonight, and I hope you two will attend!"

"We would be delighted!" Sonic Boom exclaimed.

"Great! Now, let's find you a place to room for the night! Unless you would like to stay longer?"

"Well, it's the twenty-third, right?" Cynder said. "Two days until Christmas. We would like to stay until the day after Christmas, if that's possible. Just to get to know the inhabitants here and to work on gifts for our mates."

"That would be perfectly fine. Now, let's find out whom you can stay with. We don't get many visitors, so we usually let anyone who does visit to stay with a willing individual, couple, or even a family."

"So long as it isn't intruding upon them." Cynder found she was beginning to shiver a bit now. Her teeth would soon chatter unless she got somewhere warm soon.

"There's no intrusion at all," Fannar continued. "We're just happy to know the Skylanders decided to come and visit! We haven't had anything close to a visit from you since Eon came about thirty years ago!"

"You've met Eon?" Sonic Boom blurted. "Wow."

"Yes, and he was a great man," Fannar said. "What's he doing right now?"

"We haven't seen him in quite some time," Cynder said. "He went on a journey, and we haven't seen him since then." She looked to Sonic Boom. While she and Spyro hadn't told most others, they felt they could entrust their best friends with the knowledge.

The village around them was decorated with many lights, and every home appeared to have a tree in their windows. Snowflakes were falling, and there was a soft glow in the air. Beyond the frigid air that surrounded her, Cynder thought it was just perfect.

"Th-this is am-mazing," Cynder said through chattering teeth. Hearing this, Sonic Boom draped a wing around her. Even despite the cloak, Cynder was beginning to feel the cold more than she wished.

"Are you okay, Cynder?" Fannar asked in a concerned tone.

"I don't have b-body heat," she answered. "A result of s-s-something th-that occurred t-t-to me s-some time ago."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. Well, in that case, we'll have to find somewhere warm for you. I know! You can stay with me and my family!"

"Are you sure? Once again, we don't want to intrude."

"No, you're fine! We have a spare bedroom with two extra beds, for you and your good friend! Just make yourselves at home! Fortunately for you, here we are!"

The home was two stories tall, made of a beautiful kind of wood Cynder could not identify. The lights inside were on, and Cynder immediately felt warm inside without even going inside.

Fannar opened the front door and invited them in. As she stepped in, Cynder sighed with relief as she felt the warmth spreading over body.

Any cold she had felt previously was completely gone, and that made her even happier. Sonic Boom noticed this and became happier, as well.

"Honey, I'm home!" he announced. "And I have visitors!" Another Ice Elf with white hair and blue eyes like Cynder's appeared. She kissed her husband before turning to the two newcomers. "This is Cynder and Sonic Boom. They're Skylanders, and they have come to spend Jól with us!" He turned back to Cynder. "This is my wife, Hildur."

"It's so great to meet you two!" Hildur greeted. "I'm so happy to spend the holidays with you!"

"The same to you," Cynder said.

The pitter-patter of tiny footsteps appeared, and Cynder saw two children, one a boy resembling his father, the other a girl who had her father's facial features but her mother's hair, come running into the room.

"These are our children," Fannar said. "The boy is Freyr, the girl is Embla. He is seven, she is five." As he spoke, an older Ice Elf entered the room. She looked to be either Fannar or Hildur's mother, and the children's grandmother. "And last, but never least, this is my mother, Edda. She is actually the oldest inhabitant of Kát. Children, Mother, these are Cynder and Sonic Boom. They are Skylanders that have come to join us for Jól."

"Hi!" the children said.

"Velkominn, Skylanders," Edda said. "Welcome to our home."

"Now, there is only a short amount of time before the concert, so I will let the two of you have either some time alone in your rooms, or you can come and talk to us," Fannar said. "Freyr, could you show these two to their rooms?"

"Yes," Freyr said with a bright smile that made Cynder's already-large smile even larger. It brought back memories of when she used to not smile quite as much, giving only half-smiles and the like. But this wasn't to remember the negative times, but rather, to move on from them and see where she was now.

They walked to the stairs, which were mostly wooden with some red carpeting upon the very middle of them, and went up. After reaching the second-floor landing, Freyr led them to their right down a long hallway. They reached the third door on the right, which Freyr opened for them.

"There you go!" he said. "I hope you have a good time with us tonight! You're sure to have a blast!"

"Thank you," Sonic Boom said.

When he had left them alone, Cynder closed the door. Looking around the room, she found a large mirror above a mahogany dresser and two large beds next to each other for them to sleep on.

"What are you going to do with this time we have?" Sonic Boom asked.

"Work on Spyro's gift," Cynder replied. "I think I need to figure some things out with it first."

"You have a lot of time to do that tomorrow, don't you?"

"I do…but I want to spend a great deal of time with Fannar and his family, too. I don't want to seem like I came here only to show them I don't want to spend time with them at all, you know?"

"Good point." Sonic Boom cleared her throat. "Do you wish Spyro and Sunburn had joined us?"

"A little, but I think it's for the best, since you still have a gift for Sunburn to work on, don't you?"

"I do, but not like you, I don't think," Sonic Boom said. "I was actually going to try and find something to buy for him. It's not that I didn't want to make something for him, but I thought I might find an amazing gift in another area like this!"

"That's an amazing idea," Cynder said.

"Thanks."

For the next thirty minutes after their conversation ended, Cynder reached into her cloak and began working on her present for Spyro. Sonic Boom watched for a little, but then decided to go downstairs.

Just before leaving the bedroom, Sonic Boom turned back to Cynder. "Are you going to come to the concert?"

"Maybe. But for the moment, I need to focus on this. I'm sorry, Sonic Boom, but…"

"Don't worry." Sonic Boom smiled brightly. "I'll let them know. I'm sure they'll understand."

Sonic Boom left the room and went downstairs, where she found Fannar and his family getting ready. "Is it time for the concert?" she asked.

"Yes," Fannar said. "Is Cynder coming?"

"She's working on a gift for her mate," Sonic Boom said. "I have to get a present for my mate, too, but if there is a gift shop or something, then that's what I'm going to use."

"There are many!" Hildur said. "I can't wait for you and Cynder to experience all our traditions and the fun we have every single year!"

Upstairs, Cynder had nearly finished, and she was extremely happy about that. She could go and join them and not deal with the issue of not having her gift ready for the love of her life.

Almost done, she thought. Just a bit more, and then we get to experience what I'm sure will be a unique and amazing time.

She wondered if Spyro and Sunburn would end up joining them. She very much wished they would, but she did not know for sure. For all she knew, they wouldn't see them again until they got back to the Ruins.

But at least she would be able to spend time with her best friend in all of existence.

And as she went back to work on the present, she smiled.

Meanwhile, Sonic Boom and Fannar and his family had arrived at the concert hall where the musical event would take place. The hall was red-and-gold, with red curtains draped in front of the stage.

By this point, a large number of Ice Elves had arrived, all of them waiting on Fannar apparently. He smiled at Sonic Boom and went to the stage. The curtains opened up, and he jumped up.

"Welcome, my favorite people! We are gathered here for a grand time of music and fellowship! Tonight, we have two very special guests, two Skylanders that have joined us to bring Christmas cheer! One will come a little bit later, but we have one here right now! Come on up here, Sonic Boom!"

Sonic Boom was a bit reluctant, but she decided that it was for the best, and so she walked on up there and stood next to Fannar.

"Hello!" she said. "As Fannar said, my name is Sonic Boom, and I am one of the Skylanders! I am the Captain of the Air Element, and my mate is the Captain of the Fire Element. We have strived to make Skylands a better place for every single one of you, and it is so amazing to be here tonight! I am glad to be here, and I hope your Christmas is better than ever before!"

There was a smattering of applause, and she jumped off the stage.

When Fannar had finished his speech and the concert began, Sonic Boom got into it and nodded her head and swayed along to the beautiful music. She felt a paw on her shoulder, and she turned around to find Cynder standing there.

"There you are!" Sonic Boom said. She hugged her. "Did you get everything done?"

"Yes, I did!" Cynder said with a great big smile. "After this, are you going to try to find something for Sunburn?"

"Yes!"

And so, they continued to listen to the concert. When everything was done, the two of them walked away from Fannar and his family once they told them what they were doing.

"Come back soon!" Fannar called after them. "We have a great surprise for you when you get back!"

The two of them eventually found a store that sold cards and gifts, and they entered.

"Hello!" the store owner, an older Ice Elf woman with short white hair and rosy cheeks very visible upon her blue skin, greeted as they walked in. "What can I help you find?"

"I'm looking for a gift for my mate," Sonic Boom explained. "Something I feel would make him extremely happy, while also not costing a fortune." She laughed a little at the last part, at which the Elf woman laughed, too.

"Well, just in a couple days ago, we have this!" She reached towards a large shelf behind her, grabbing what appeared to be a snow globe.

Sonic Boom grabbed it and looked at it. Both she and Cynder watched as a snowman appeared when she shook it, followed by two shadows of a couple that shared a kiss in front of the snowman. Pink hearts appeared above the lovers.

"This…this is perfect!" Sonic Boom exclaimed. "I'll take it! But first, I need to find the perfect card."

After doing that, and then paying for both, Sonic Boom and Cynder left the store.

"I can't believe I was able to find such a perfect gift so quickly!" Sonic Boom said to Cynder. "Maybe it's not as impressive as your gift—"

"Are you kidding?" Cynder said. "Yours is perfect! Just because one gift is more intricate than another does not mean that your mate will find it that way. And you shouldn't find it to be that way, either. Yours is perfect for you and Sunburn!"

With that, the two of them trotted happily back to Fannar's home.

It was there that they found a grand feast laid out for them.

"We will have another amazing feast for you on the twenty-fifth, if you will stay that long," Fannar explained. "But I thought this would be a good time to tell you that we do, in fact, do some things differently around here."

"Like what?" Cynder inquired.

"Tomorrow is the day that we exchange presents," Edda answered.

"Hm, that's different, but we're also in a completely different region than we're used to," Cynder said. "So that's not too weird."

"We're glad," Hildur said. "Will you stay until the twenty-fifth, though? We'd love for you try our favorite dish for this time of year, roast lamb."

"That sounds delicious!" Sonic Boom nearly shouted. "I'd happily stay until then!"

"So would I," Cynder said. "Of course, we'll have to make sure that our mates are fine with something like that."

"Which is perfectly understandable," Fannar said.

After talking for a few more minutes, Cynder and Sonic Boom sat down to eat. The meal was truly delicious, and after having a dessert consisting of what the family called "leaf bread" and glasses of milk. They decorated the Christmas tree with the family, as well, with Fannar explaining that it was different from many other traditions, but Cynder and Sonic Boom were just happy to take part.

The night came to an end with all of them talking around the fire.

"Thank you for so much hospitality," Cynder finally said as she sipped the coffee made for her by Hildur. "I never would have thought this would be such an amazing time."

"We're happy to have had you," Fannar said. "Are you planning on going to bed soon?"

"Yes," Cynder said. "Sonic Boom and I were able to get our presents bought and finished, respectively. I think we're going to retire for the night."

"And that is understandable," Fannar said. "We will wake you up in time for our exchange of gifts. I pray that you will sleep well."

As Cynder and Sonic Boom started on their way upstairs after telling everyone goodnight, Fannar added, "Will you share some words with the village tomorrow, Cynder?"

"Sure," Cynder said, though she was now nervous due to not knowing what to say to the village. What exactly could she say?

"Thank you," was all Fannar responded with, and with that, Cynder and Sonic Boom made their way to their room.

There, they fell asleep rather fast, but not before hugging and saying "Merry Christmas" to one another.

Cynder closed her eyes, still nervous, but managed to smile and think of surprising her mate with the special gift she had made for him.

Part III:

A Different, Yet Beautiful, Kind of Christmas Eve

That morning, Cynder and Sonic Boom were woken by Hildur, who told them the exchange of presents was about to begin.

"We don't always exchange gifts this early, but we thought it would be nice to be able to do it as you do, in the morning, to honor our guests," she explained.

"You didn't have to do that," Cynder said. "We would have happily waited."

"That's sweet of you, but we also have a great deal of work that has to be done as the leaders of the village," she said, "and so it's easier to get the exchange out of the way so we can spend more time with each other on Jóladagur—Christmas Day."

When they had reached the landing on the first floor, they found a number of presents now…well, present under the tree.

"Mother, would you kindly pass the first present?" Fannar asked Edda.

"Of course," Edda said. She grabbed a small, square present, looked at the name on the tag, and handed it to Freyr. When he opened it, he found a toy plane within the wrappings.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "This is great!"

The exchange continued, with Cynder and Sonic Boom helping, as well.

Most of the presents had been exchanged when Fannar grabbed two from behind the tree.

"We wanted to honor our guests," he said. "The both of you have been amazing guests and good friends, and so we went out and bought you these gifts as you slept last night and early this morning."

Cynder was about to say that the family hadn't needed to do that, but she thought otherwise and just accepted it. "Thank you," she said. She opened the wrappings and the box within which the present was located and found a sweater within it. It was black-and-red, just like her scale pattern. It was very similar to the cloak she wore, with the only difference being the lack of representations of her natural markings. But that did not matter, because it was one of the best gifts she had been given.

"Thank you so much," she said, tears filling her eyes. "I'll cherish it forever!"

Looking over to Sonic Boom, she found the Griffiness had been gifted a similar sweater, though it had emerald green in the place of the red on Cynder's.

"Thank you," she breathed, her eyes wide.

"You're both so very welcome," Fannar said. "You have been a blessing, and we wanted to return the favor."

After the exchange, they had to go their separate ways. Fannar explained that he needed to go into the office with Hildur in order to look over important papers that came along with being the mayor of a village like this.

"You'll be entering the village square with Edda and the children," Fannar said. "You'll be giving out gifts when the time comes."

"We'll do the very best," Cynder promised.

"I know you will," Fannar said.

After parting ways, Cynder and Sonic Boom—now wearing their sweaters with great pride, in which their presents for their mates were also located—followed Edda, Freyr, and Embla to the square, where the beautiful Christmas tree was located.

Even more Ice Elves than before were assembled around a stage just in front of the tree.

"Now is your time," Edda said to Cynder. "You said you would make a speech, and now is that time." She smiled at her.

Cynder swallowed, still feeling nervous.

But she knew she could do it, and so, with the happiness from earlier and the thoughts of Spyro and her friends fueling her, she went up to the stage and cleared her throat before beginning.

"My name is Cynder," she said. "I know that you do not know me, but I believe one of the best parts of Christmas is spreading cheer to even those that do not know you. I think we all need that, especially when we have felt down at other times in our lives." She sighed due to the trepidation that came with revealing parts of her past, but she knew now was the right time to say this. "For the first fifteen years of my life, I was unable to experience something as beautiful as Christmas because I was kidnapped as an egg by an evil monster. But I was freed by the love of my life, and I have cherished Christmas ever since. In fact, this is my second Christmas after being freed, and while Spyro is not here now, I will be happy to give my gift to him. I am honored to be here, and I thank you for accepting me. I hope you all have a great Christmas, and God bless us, everyone."

With that, she got off the stage, with a great deal of applause following the end of her words. She was surprised by this, but heartened all the same. When she reached her spot by Sonic Boom, Edda, and the children, she found Edda crying.

"That was beautiful, my dear," she said.

"It was," a familiar voice spoke from behind Cynder. She whirled around to find not only Spyro, but also Sunburn, standing there. Both were smiling wide, and the pairs of mates embraced, then kissed passionately.

"What are you doing here?" Cynder asked. "I thought you were elsewhere!"

"We were with a group of five, but when we asked to do this, they were fine with it, and so we came to see you two," Spyro answered. "Merry Christmas, my love."

"Merry Christmas to you," she replied. She reached into the pocket of her sweater and retrieved her gift. "They usually give out gifts on what we call Christmas Eve, and so I think it's best to give you this now."

The present she had made for him was a small musical box. It had their initials carved on the top: SxC. As Spyro touched it, he opened it, and beautiful music began playing. Two small figures popped up, attached to the inner workings of the music box, and moved in a circle around the music box.

"Wow," Spyro said. "Cyn, this is amazing." He hugged her again, this time even harder. "Thank you so much."

"And I got this for you," Sonic Boom said to Sunburn, handing him the snow globe. He beheld it, and when he saw what it did once you shook it, tears streamed through his feathers.

"That is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen," he said. "But the most beautiful will always be you." After they embraced, as well, he reached over to a saddlebag neither Cynder nor Sonic Boom had noticed before. He unzipped it and took out a large emerald, and Cynder thought it just might be the most beautiful emerald she had ever seen.

"This is for you," Sunburn said to Sonic Boom. "Maybe it's not much, but I thought of honoring our love with something I thought represented your beauty. Cali found this emerald while traveling through the Underworld and gave it to me. I now give it to you."

Sonic Boom thought it was one of the best gifts she had ever been given. "It's perfect," she said as she hugged him again. "Thank you."

As for Spyro, he retrieved what appeared to be a painting from the saddlebag. When he gave it to Cynder, she saw it was a depiction of the two of them, embracing during what looked to be their lifemate ceremony.

"I painted it myself," Spyro said. "I thought it was a perfect representation of my love for you."

"Funny enough, we didn't even mean to copy each other," Sunburn said. "It just happened."

"This is truly beautiful," Cynder said. "I couldn't ask for anything more amazing than this. Thank you."

After their exchange of gifts, Cynder introduced Spyro and Sunburn to Edda, Freyr, and Embla. After this, they started helping with the passing out of all the other gifts collected from the homes by the organizers of this exchange. It took a great deal of time for them to finish this, but as she watched the children around them smile, laugh, and play with their toys, Cynder felt her heart triple in size, even though it was already quite enlarged from the happiness that she had felt and that she found was all around her. This was a kind of happiness that she had never experienced before, and when she explained it to Spyro, he said that he felt the same exact way.

Fannar soon arrived with Hildur, and when he met Spyro and Sunburn, he said, "Your mates brought so much joy to us. Would you like to join us for our grand feast tomorrow?"

"Yes," Spyro said.

The rest of the day was spent helping others out with their presents or cleaning up after the great deal of partying that followed.

When the day came to an end, they returned to Fannar's home. "Thank you for all you've done," Fannar said to them after a little more partying in the home.

"You're welcome," Cynder said. "Thank you for all you've done."

A few hours later, Spyro, Cynder, Sunburn, and Sonic Boom were in the room on the second floor. Both Sunburn and Sonic Boom had fallen asleep already, but Spyro and Cynder remained awake for just a little longer.

"Thank you for everything," Cynder said to Spyro.

"Thank you," Spyro said, "for making it even more possible. Your big heart made so much of this possible. Yet another reason to love you. You never stop surprising me, Cyn."

"Gleðileg jól ástin mín," Cynder said.

"What?"

"Merry Christmas, my love."

With that, they curled up together, and Cynder smiled, both because of the cheer she had brought to Kát, and because she was able to spend time with the love of her life after all.

Epilogue:

The Strength to Continue

Having used the memories of that beautiful Christmas to fuel herself again despite the many setbacks, Cynder wiped a tear from her eye just as the flap to the tent opened and Sonic Boom entered.

"Cynder?" the Griffiness said. "You okay?"

"Yes," Cynder said. "Are the Skylanders ready?"

"They are."

"Then let's get this thing started."

Despite the wounds she had suffered, she moved forward, allowing that beautiful Christmas memory to give her the strength to continue.

With that fuel, everything would work out as it should, and she thought, I'm coming, Spyro.