Neia sat outside the papal estate for the fifteenth winter since the trial* and watched the snow begin to fall. The darkness was setting in early again as it always did when winter came to her world. The balcony on which she sat was on the uppermost floor, looking out over all her grand estate, and as she usually did in moments like this, she began that time alone.
The chill barely touched the flesh and bones of the mighty warrior pope, the gentle breeze and snow if anything, were a comfort to her. The chair in which she sat was probably the simplest piece of furniture on her grounds, carved from a broken tree that was taken from the remnants of her childhood village, it was her only true tie beyond memory to the life she'd left behind.
Simple smooth varnished oak, it was made with a bow at the base that let her rock, and it creaked a little on the stone balcony. Her hair, now longer than it had been in years, hung low enough to swing part way down the headrest, and her powerful hands were relaxed on the armrests that were oddly comfortable despite their unadorned nature.
And just like things always went when quiet moments alone stretched out, she was not isolated for long. Her ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps falling, and she felt the body of her wife come to a stop at her back. The chair ceased to move, and Skana's arms drifted down to her front as the lithe fencer bent forward to hold her mate in an embrace. "Is it one of those days, my love?" Skana asked and kissed the cheek she cherished.
"Yes… you know how winters are for me… those were the worst… I'm sorry." Neia said and let herself be enfolded a little more tightly, she reached up and touched where the hands of her embracing loved one joined together below her breast.
"Yes, and I know just like always, you're dead set on not making us worry, and just like always, I'll tell you that I'll stay with you all through the first snow, I'm here for you, where I belong, at your back, at your side, till last breath happens for one of us, and then again after the last breath leaves whoever remains." Skana whispered into her wife's ear and she felt the gloom begin to lift a little from the woman she loved.
Skana could feel the mood shift a little, "That's the spirit. You know, back during the war, I remember there was a solstice truce, do you recall?"
"Yes… most of it, we got very drunk and very… frisky, that night." Neia managed a smile and brushed a bit of snow from off her knee.
Skana laughed the baudy laugh she always did when she was feeling frisky. "Yes, we did, and… I know the first snow is hard on you, but… what if we did something different with it. Do you remember when we were training, back before things changed?"
"Nazarick… when we were a hundred strong… yes. Yes I recall. That was before you were anything but a name to me." Neia chuckled a little bit at the distant memory.
"Right, when they let us use the library in our free time, I remember reading a story about a holiday in the first world, called 'Christmas'. Does that sound familiar?" Skana asked with a little smile that Neia knew was there even without seeing it.
"I recall the word from somewhere." Neia replied, "Why?"
"It's held in the winter, I don't know the exact day, but… what if we make it this one, when the first snow falls. Make it something good, a time of gift giving, where we show how much our family matters to us all. Something that just makes our little ones happy… if nothing else, maybe it will distract you a little from…" Skana asked and Neia closed her eyes and squeezed her hand.
"Am I such a burden in days like this?" Neia asked and hung her head.
"Never." Skana said with undeniable resolve. "A thousand times this would still never be a burden… you know that." She moved to the front and knelt before the chair and gazed up through her one good green eye into the eyes of terror that she loved.
"Even the saddest day with you… is something I celebrate as the fulfillment of a dream." Skana said, and Neia's lips formed a little smile.
"That was silly of me, you're right, I do know better… I think that's a lovely idea. But you know how I am about good ideas… I have to make them bigger." Neia laughed genuinely, and Skana joined her in it.
"What are you going to do… send a priority message to every temple and…" Skana stopped when she saw the resolve in her lover's eyes. "Oh by the bones of our god… that is exactly what you're going to do."
"Yes, exactly." Neia replied and stood up from the chair, she extended a hand to her mate and helped her to her feet. "Give the order to my servants to get started, the first snow of every season will be 'Christmas' a special celebration of faith, family, and hope for the times ahead and celebration of the good times past, then go gather our children… I feel a story coming on, and they're still not too old for that!" Neia clapped her hands and before Skana knew it, 'Hurricane Neia' had already thrown herself into her newest project.
Skana looked up to the dark sky, the bright stars and bright white moon, 'Illyana, Gustav, Gilcrest, and so many others, if you're out there in some world beyond this and watching over us now, help us… and also, be happy there where you are. We'll drink to you tonight.'
She laughed lightly as a faint breeze brushed her cheek, and with a happy thought, she touched the place it kissed, and for a moment alone it felt like she saw the shapely outline of a beautiful face just beyond a flurry of snow, and a sense of well wishing rush over her skin leaving goosebumps in its wake.
"Don't worry, I've got this, I'll look after her, god knows somebody's got to." Skana said to the empty night, and went inside to carry out the pope's orders.
A few hours later, she found herself in the great library on a long silk covered couch. A large minotaur girl sat on a chair specially made for her, though she towered head and shoulders and then some over all others, she seemed to all of them nothing more than a beloved daughter or precious sister. She wore a large green and red tunic made for easy freedom of movement and cut to fit her contours. 'If I sent her to the Minotaur Kingdom, she'd break many bull hearts.' Skana reflected, 'My little adorasnoot, hard to believe how grown she is now.'
Directly beside Skana sat Gottfried, a swarthy youth in his teens, he was taller than both his parents and powerfully built, like his father, the former captain of the Black Scripture, he had dark hair and boyish features, but his mother's blue eyes, if not their shape.
Zyanya, his elder sister, a half-elf born from Skana's brief liaison with an elven warrior turned explorer priest, sat at her left hand. Arrayed about the floor were the rest of their children, eager for the story Neia had to tell.
Neia herself, dressed in green and black clothing, closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she sat back in a chair that was frankly meant for someone taller than herself. Her straw golden hair hung down her front and she played with it idly as she composed her impromptu story in her head.
Finally she cleared her throat, and began.
"Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house…
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In the hopes that Lord Ainz soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of swords all danced in their heads,
Skana with blade, and Neia with bow
Bringing what presents? Only we know,
We'd just done the deed and lain down for the night
When a great big noise made us shoot upright
We rushed from the bed with joy in our heads
Off to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters,
Threw open the sash
The moon on the breast of new fallen snow
Gave lustre of midday to the world below
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But the great royal carriage of someone so dear
The carriage came on without giving a sign
But I knew in an instant, it must be Lord Ainz
More rapid it was than all birds of the air
The names for his servants, I clearly could hear.
Come Cocytus come Nabe, Albedo, Shalltear!
Come Demiurge, Mare, and Aura, we're here!
To the house of the pope, my daughter so dear!
A bundle of toys he had on his back,
Like a divine peddler, overflowing his sack
His eyes red as blood
His cheeks white as snow
Though his skull couldn't smile,
His spirit did show
Though he was undead
There was nothing to dread
Because under Lord Ainz
We'd sleep safe in our beds!
With barely a word, except for his blessing
The whole of the world, would feel safe resting
Neia clapped her hands together and closed the story out, and it was just at that moment, before any of her children could stir even slightly, that the gate opened and Ainz stepped through into the great library of the papal estate, dressed in a curious red and white outfit, and true to the story, he held over his back a very large sack.
Nor was he alone, behind him came the guardians, and behind them the various members of the Pleiades bearing food and drinks enough to let any five estates feast.
Skana's mouth dropped open as her emerald green eye swept the display, and snapped her face to her wife. "When did you…"
"While you were sending word to the rest of the world." Neia grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head, "Father loved the idea, and since I'm not allowed to leave the estate, he brought it to me."
"Nor did he come with just his own." A golden haired beauty emerged from behind the guardians, and the Holy Queen emerged, and hot on her heels Queen Zesshi came after.
"It's been a few years, but where the saviors of two nations are in need of cheer, I think I can speak for us both when I say, we won't be far behind in bringing it." Queen Calca gave a warm and lovely smile, and the two royals approached to render their embrace to the pope when she stood.
"Grandfather!" The children shot to their feet as fast as they could, and one by one the lot of them paid their affectionate respects to their divine lord, and then to each of the guardians in turn.
The hours after were filled with drinking, music, song, and lively conversation that carried on far into the night until even the most enthusiastic reveler that wasn't undead, began to grow weary.
When at last it began to fade and the children were dispatched off to bed, Neia approached the lord she loved and heartily embraced him. "Thank you for coming, I think my winters will be much easier to bear, with times like this in them to look forward to."
"You said a long time ago, I would never lose you, and just as surely, I will always come for you." Ainz answered to his living child in spirit if not in body, "I'll leave you to lay out the presents for my grandchildren, and close out this night in the way of a poem I once heard long ago.
Happy Christmas to all, and to all, a good night."
Ainz said before the gate spell activated, and he left with the guardians, leaving a pair of drunken Queens needing help to some guest rooms, that Neia and Skana were happy to provide before retiring to their own bed.
Neia and Skana made love that night, their bellies warm with wine and filled with good food, in their own bed in their own home, with contented and safe children sleeping in rooms of their own, looking forward to tomorrow, which to the both of them, was the whole point of it all.
"Well that was unexpected." Nua said to herself while Kaiji washed her back.
"What, mistress?" Kaiji asked, pausing momentarily.
"A message from the pope… the Dark Savior. Not for me specifically, but for all of us who are the priests and priestesses of the faith. The first snow is to be a holiday celebration… and these are some interesting details." Nua explained.
"How so… mistress?" Kaiji asked, "Is there… cause for concern?" The demon-elf asked with reticence.
"No, this is… absolutely wonderful. Tell me, Kaiji, are they predicting snow soon?" Nua asked with barely suppressed eagerness.
"Yes, mistress, three days from now in fact." Kaiji replied and pursed her lips, "Is there something I can do?"
"Yes, you, Priceless, in fact all of Komestra… this will be amazing." Nua said with a smile in her voice that could be heard even if it could not be seen from behind her. "Be quick, I don't want to waste a moment!"
"A-At once, mistress!" Kaiji said hastily, caught off her guard by the sudden rush of enthusiasm in the normally somber and serious Prince Aiwenor, she briefly dropped her soap and scrub brush, and blushed with embarrassment that briefly turned her purple skin gray.
Nua laughed warmly, "It's fine, we've got all day, and this is going to be extra special."
Kaiji flushed all the deeper for the unexpected warmth in the voice of her owner, and resumed the process of bathing the woman as expeditiously as she could. Normally bathing the Prince was one of the demon-elf's favorite parts of the day, early in the morning, before all others arose to begin the day, it was just they alone in the bath house. They could speak more freely than at other times, and with gentle prodding, her lady revealed bits of her life before coming to Mict'aratz.
And yet the lady Nua was still more mysterious than not, despite what amounted to many hours alone with her. In all those hours of what to Kaiji was a sacrament, she'd never heard the kind of warmth that was just displayed, passing the Prince's lips. It made her the happiest kind of nervous, anxious, and excited all at once.
Her heart thrummed like the string of the instruments she sometimes played to ease her lady's rest, and sang with the anticipation of the unknown that part of her knew was coming.
When the bath was through, dressing was almost as rushed, Priceless stood ready and waiting with the formal clothing for the day, but as soon as she saw Nua's face when the woman breezed into her quarters with Kaiji following swiftly behind the fast moving ruler of Komestra**.
"My lady, has something…" Priceless's bountiful brown eyes widened in sudden anxiety, a mistress in a hurry, taking the great long strides, was seldom a good thing. But her anxious question was cut off by the press of Nua's index finger. The wood elf Prince wiggled her ears excitedly, and a rare… exceptionally broad smile loomed above the little brown haired slave.
"Something, yes, something good. Something I think all the slaves and citizens of Komestra will revel in." Nua said, "Get something less formal than usual, pure function, we have a lot to do, and summon Tir, and all the messengers in my palace, I want the whole city to enjoy this."
Nua cast off her robe, leaving her nude until the pair of servants could scramble to find the preferred clothing selection for the day and bring it to her.
They dressed her with long practiced ease, and in a moment the black pants and black and red patterned shirt suitable for day outings and riding were on, and her servants finished securing her boots.
As soon as they were done, Nua lowered her right hand to them, and each in turn pressed their lips to the giving palm in supplication before they rose. "Now!" Nua clapped her hands together and rubbed them eagerly, "Let me tell you about Christmas…"
The demon-elf and human slaves traded a confused look. "Christmas?" They looked up to their beloved owner, "What is Christmas?"
They found out in very short order, and when Nua finished telling it all, they hung their heads, "My lady… this is Mict'aratz, holidays like that, outside of Pas'en, are all but unheard of." Kaiji said sadly. "I appreciate your intent, I do but…"
"Who is the Prince of Komestra?" Nua demanded and crossed her arms, she looked down at the demon-elf woman that had given up her life to service.
"You… you are the Prince, and your will is law." Kaiji replied with obedient warmth.
"Then it is my will that my people should be happy. I need to give them something to celebrate to make this extra special…" Nua pondered the question for a moment, her sharp blue eyes were lost to the world to such a degree that she saw nothing else around her.
It was in moments like this that Kaiji loved her best, and was most certain that she chose rightly to name her as her goddess. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the same awestruck and adoring look in Priceless, and felt not the least bit surprised. The usually serious wood elf had literally dragged her back from her own private hell. But it was like this, when the Prince was lost in visions only she could see, that she seemed the very best of herself.
"Yes, I have it!" Nua exclaimed and snapped her fingers. "On the day of the first snowfall, all slaves are free, and all their masters and mistresses are to act as giving gods and goddesses, and give their slaves gifts as if they were their own beloved children… and we'll make this for children too! Yes, all children will be free from any work, no school or tasks, let them enjoy the snow. All nobles will go about the city on sleighs, give wine and meat and bread and gifts to everyone they pass. Let's see anyone try to be unhappy in such a circumstance! Let this last from the first flakes until sunrise the following day… with one day to recover after… I expect most of the city will be drunk anyway."
"Mistress that is… nothing like that has ever been done before…" Priceless ventured to say, and Nua reached down and cupped the cheeks of the slender human woman. She pressed her forehead against that of Priceless and whispered to her.
"You're right, but in all the long years of this world, there was never a god who gave so much to his servants as my own, there was never a savior who tore her very soul asunder to save a people not her own, until the Demon of the West first took up her bow… and never has a vile sinner like myself, so loved those she sins against, as I. If I can bring happiness like this to my people before my day of reckoning comes, then at least I will have left something else behind beyond my tyranny." Nua bit her lip briefly, and then kissed the forehead of her slave and straightened up.
"What are you waiting for?" She said, the loving lady gone and stern mistress restored, Nua pointed to the door, "Go! See my will done!"
Within that very hour the throne room of the city-state was packed with messengers and Nua repeated her orders, no sooner were the messengers gone out and the criers in the streets than the nobles were summoned to receive the same talk, there were objections of course, with the myriad of young nobles aghast at such an outpouring of frivolity.
"A joyless reign is a worthless one." Nua answered their objections sternly and crossed her arms on the throne. "What is the point of all this, if not to make life worth living? I know you're accustomed to the sternness of the old ways, thinking the only path to power was training yourselves to your limits… there is truth in that. But!" She stopped suddenly and raised her metallic left hand and clenched it into a fist, then let the silence hang.
"You are more than mere pieces on the game board! You are men! You are women! You are full of life and I would be a poor ruler if I kept your lives hopeless! The time will come when I will call on my people to lay down their all for my goals, and when that day comes, I want you to come knowing that it is not for just more of the same endless sacrifices, but to make life itself worth living! Give the slaves their day of happiness, let your children play in the snow, be like the gods you rule as, and give to the people who serve you, to show that you value them. You are all my precious children… and I will not leave your lives as empty as they were before my coming." Nua's passionate words were not as fully persuasive as one might have hoped…
But the power of her office was enough to tell them she was serious, and so her will was carried out.
A few days later, the first snows came to Komestra, beginning just before dawn, the wide stone streets began to fill with a sea of white. Nua was one of the first to know of it when she awoke before all her city, as she so often did. She approached the window and flung open the curtain to look out over the city she ruled and could not keep the smile at bay.
"Student… why did you open the curtain?" Solution groused from where she slept.
"You know why, Teacher. Do you want to go with me today, or will you go back to master to report on what we're doing here?" Nua asked, bemused.
"I'll be heading back, I think. However, I'll send the Pain Children to you, I'm sure they'll be happy with this surprise, maybe even have some choice words for you." Solution taunted her student and rose from the bed. She stretched out easily, and Nua turned her back to look out over the city.
"I can hardly complain if they do, if anyone does." Nua said somewhat somberly, folding her hands behind her back as Solution made her exit.
Normally Nua would have rung the bell to summon her servants, but on this day at least, she had no servants by her own law. Still, it was not all that surprising when Kaiji and Priceless entered her chambers.
Nua turned to face them, and to their shock, she went down to one knee and bowed her head. "I have done many terrible things in my time since coming to this land, I terrified you, I enslaved you, I put you at great risk, and worst of all, I promised I would never set you free. I violated every belief I ever had, and shamed every sacrifice ever made to save my wretched hide. For any harm I ever did, I beg your forgiveness, and on this Christmas day, I am yours to command, what gifts you want, you need only name, and if there are blows you wish to strike, I accept them."
Her eyes were closed, and Nua had no more to say, however when two pairs of arms came around her body to embrace her, it was welcome. "I told you, my lady, you could take this scrap of bronze from around my throat, and I would still be forever at your feet. Neither Priceless or myself want to be anywhere else but in your service, danger be damned." Kaiji whispered, and kissed the cheek of the woman who she once counted as the most terrifying of monsters.
"If you insist on gifts though… we could use a new pillow…" Priceless added in a tiny voice, and Nua did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"A pillow, or a whole bed, name your wishes!" Nua exclaimed happily, "No one has ever been as lucky as I, to have such faithful servants as I have in you!"
This was the scene that presented itself when the Pain Children made their entrance. Lenah & Straen, the white haired twins Nua had rescued from the clutches of Bracer, the former Cerebrate. Veema, the elven daughter of Freyjin, the servant who once served as her Steward, and the blue haired Shi, formerly 'Number Four' the child carried out of the Tlalmok Empire… all were rising into the flower of their youth now, and were shaping up to be beautiful and talented young assassins in the service of the House of Aiwenor.
Nua looked past the embrace of her closest servants to the four, and slowly pressed the pair away. "I am at your disposal, ask what you will, say what you will, do what you will, I will bear or accomplish whatever you need."
The four traded thoughtful looks and all scratched their head in sync with one another.
"Well, I could use a new knife… this one has been all chipped." Shi said and drew hers out, "The handle is worn too, I've had this one since I was… well I don't know how old I am, but… since I got started on this."
"Yeah… we could all use new knives I think…" Lenah muttered, "We've gotten bigger, and these are meant for smaller hands anyway. Can we ask for that as a present?"
"That's all you all want, new knives?" Nua asked and furrowed her golden brow.
"Sure, what else do we need? You avenged the mother Bracer took, and Freyjin too, you took care of us, gave us food, shelter, clothing, school… you're kinda like another mother, more than a mistress anyway." Straen murmured with a little blush. "Since we can say anything we want today... I guess that's OK to say too, right?"
"Since anyone can say anything today… and I'm not your mistress again until tomorrow, then… yes, yes that is a wonderful thing to say. Tomorrow… tomorrow everything will be as it is again, but today, just for today… if there are no words of anger you have for me, and no blows of fury to strike… then let me do this."
Nua rose to her feet, went past her most devoted and closest servants, and hugged her assassins in training, one by one, she embraced them as if they were her own daughters, and kissed each of them on their foreheads, "I have done far more wrong in my time here, than I ever thought I'd do in an entire elven lifetime. But I've done it all for the right reasons, and you're proof of that. You're strong, and therefore you'll be safe, no matter what happens to me. You are my precious children, all of you, it doesn't matter that you're slaves, you're worth my blood to protect, and I treasure you more than you could possibly know. Now… if those are the only gifts you all want… let's go see about that. Then…" Nua stepped away and gestured to the great pane of glass that exposed a city where snow was glittering like diamonds in the rising sun…
"Snow day! Go, play, and have what fun you like! You've heard of snowball fights, well go out and win them all!" She grinned like a fool for the first time in centuries, and the lot of them followed her out of her chambers.
A few hours later, Nua was riding in a sleigh driven by another of her nobles, throwing out toy swords, dolls, and sweets to the children that she passed, the bells along the side ringing noisily, while near at hand another noble was tossing out bread and meat to the adults who lined the streets.
The sun was high in the sky, but the spirits of the city of Komestra were higher even than that great big yellow orb above, impromptu snow walls were built and the younger were busy throwing balls of white powder back and forth.
Down the street, adults more interested in wine than bread or meat, staggered along the sidewalk with flaggons full and raising a toast to every person they passed. Foggy breath fled ahead of singing voices, and when the Prince of Komestra passed another sled full of nobles, it was quickly noticed that their cheeks were quite rosy from their own round of drinking as they'd gotten into the spirit of things. A group of younger men and women, they'd flung themselves into drinking songs along with their giving sprees. 'I haven't had this much fun in… I don't remember.' Nua mused, and tossed a wooden sword to a boy running beside the sled.
"Get em Shi!" Lenah shouted and bent backwards to avoid the snowball that came at her head, she snapped up like a bendy branch held back and released, and threw the ball of snow, it popped a boy right in the kisser, and Shi took advantage of the opening in the lines of the other side, just as Lenah said. She jumped against the wall, planted a second foot above the first, and flipped backward, flinging the ball of snow into the forehead of a girl who was briefly distracted by the boy who was just struck.
Straen and Veema flung with greater volume but lower accuracy, forcing the remaining kids to keep their heads down. The Pain Children, the first hand students of Solution and Solution's own pupil, proved that their training was not for nothing, nor that their years of working together were without result. They read one another's intent at a glance and operated seamlessly, turning a snowball fight into an impromptu training session that had less blood than usual.
Their acrobatic performances and artful dodges began to draw an audience, and with unlimited ammunition, the 'opposing' side continued to grow as children from around the local area of the city began to join the frey on the 'losing' side, just to keep the impossible game going for as long as possible.
To keep up with the demand for 'ammunition' Veema secured herself behind a snow wall and made snowballs to supply to her sisters, her blonde hair bounced wildly at her back as she called out who each ball of powder was for and each one caught it without fail and used it to sail through the air and pound some unwary or unswift unfortunate in the face, chest, or in one cringing moment, in the balls when he fell backward on a patch of ice before it hit.
A collective 'ooooh' went up and various men sucked in their teeth when the young man's hands went to the injured area and he left the 'battle line' for another to step in.
The fighting went on relentlessly as the Pain Children's flowing teamwork and their billowing hair provided a most entertaining show, until it became more obvious that nobody, even their opponents, wanted them to lose, and they began to 'show off'. Lifting off of one anothers waiting hands to soar through the air only to land delicately after casting a ball of snow from on high, and then lifting off another thereafter, spinning madly like toy tops and yet not missing where they aimed.
But all shows had to end, and when they began to run out of opponents, they took their bows and left laughing in one another's arms all the way back to their home at the palace.
Nightfall came far too soon for Nua's liking, and after a multitude of trips around her city passing out toys, treats, and food to revelers and children alike, she made her way back to her home in the palace. Solution was not in her room, and that surprised the Prince not even a little. However, Kaiji, Priceless, and the Pain Children were waiting for her, and that did surprise her.
The four young pain children were the first to move, they embraced their keeper happily and tightly, Veema, as she usually did, spoke for them all. "Tomorrow, you'll be our mistress again, and we'll be your servants, raised and trained to kill for you. But while we can say it, we want you to know we love our lives, and treasure you more than you know. Our avenger, our teacher, our protector, our Prince… and while we can still be bold enough to say it, 'mother'."
Nua sniffled to keep back her gut wrenching emotions, "There will be a time one day when I'm not your mistress anymore, tomorrow might not be that day, but the world changes, Mict'aratz changes… I will make it change, and you'll help me. When it does, remember what I tell you now and I tell you… I'm proud of you all… my treasures worth more than glittering gold and platinum… go get your rest, and Merry Christmas." She kissed each of their foreheads, and let them go.
When their embrace broke, Nua approached her first and most loyal servants, "If you're about to offer to help me get ready for bed, remember, for today at least, you're nobody's slaves, not even mine." Nua said with a wry and pleasant smile on her face.
"You don't have to be, for us to love you… you who will be empress, you who saved our lives, you who gave us to one another… and gave our people a future when we had none…" Kaiji's gifted tongue spoke for herself and her mate, but as if the holiday demanded more surprises, the quiet, meek Priceless spoke up as well.
"We're not doing it because we have to right now, we're doing it because we want to, because we love you, and this is how we can show you… if we're free today, then we're free to serve, and that is our choice."
Nua hung her head, defeated, and let out a weary sigh, "Some battles," she smiled a little from her downcast posture, "I don't mind losing, go ahead, Priceless, Kaiji."
She waited as they undressed her from her day's clothing, then put her into her silken night clothes and turned down her bed.
Priceless closed the shades to cut off the glow of the moon, and Kaiji kissed their Prince upon her forehead.
Nua stretched out beneath the heavy covers of the luxurious bed, "Merry Christmas to all… and to all a good night." She murmured, and fell asleep happier than she had in almost two hundred years.
Vargas sat around the fire with the tribe of centaurs, they were a curious lot by any standard, but for all that, it was hard even for the ex-theocracy special forces warrior to hate them. They were quick with jokes and quick to toast, and seemed to savor every moment like it was fresh cooked meat.
His tasks since arriving with Botisa's tribe had settled into a regular routine of hunting and talking as he got a feel for the land that they called home. The open steppes had crisp, clear air unlike anything he knew in city life, but which reminded him a great deal of the open ground he'd enjoyed on his many missions far from home. On this occasion, the fires the tribe lit within the security of their wagon circles were rising far higher than even the tallest of the centaur elders and warriors, and the bearer of the one torch was Botisa, who told the story of his travel to the House of Aiwenor.
"She might not be tall for a centaur, but she was a head taller than any of the others if it was a finger width, and though she had a doomful air and her breath was cold as death, I could feel passion and energy coming off her as surely as the warmth of this torch. She fed me well as if I were her brother, gave me salt from her table and gave honors to us, and let me travel with her to see her people fight. Strange as it seems, there are others who can do war, and that is why she sent us this one." He waved his hand to Vargas, who inclined his head toward them with deference.
Vargas looked up, his sharp eyes told him even through the darkness that the snows were coming and coming fast.
"Give him the torch!" A grumpy old centaur said, "I'da like ta hear a story outa this one, 'ees far too quiet." The gray haired old one said, "C'n tell a lottabout someone what with the stories they tell!"
Vargas chuckled a bit, and when Botisa looked at him, he nodded and held out his hand. "If you'd like, fine, it's a special time of year for my people at home, so why not?" He shrugged, and the one torch passed from hand to hand, and Vargas held it for himself. He stood up with the torch in hand.
"A long, long time ago, in a land far, far away from here, my race was weak, oppressed, we were nothing but livestock to some, or game animals to be hunted by others. Our fondest hope was to be slaves because there was nothing else but to be meat. The years were dark and our futures blacker than the night if this torch and the fire it came from were to go out right now. Then came the Six. What world they came from, we never knew, but they guided us through dark winters, established a kingdom, gave us a future, they gave us times to celebrate, and let us grow strong. Our young grew up, grew old, had young of their own, who we knew would do the same, all because they came. But… the Six who we called gods, were not eternal as we thought… they faded, vanishing with time, returning to their own realm, or so we assume. The last of them died centuries ago, protecting us from a terrible onslaught. Still, we remember them, honor their sacrifices to us, and keep their traditions, especially in times like this."
"What is it that you do?" Botisa asked with curiosity that was clearly shared by his kin.
Vargas got an enormous smile on his face and gestured to the bonfire, "In our villages and towns, animals they can't keep alive through the winter are slaughtered, some of that meat is sold to our great cities, while the rest… well we feast! I grew up in a village, so when the cold winters hit and the first snows fell, that was when I ate best. It was when we all ate our fill. The fires lept high, and in my childhood it seemed high enough that they were touching the sky as we roasted so much meat it felt like we could feed the whole world if my little village wanted."
Vargas's look grew distant and his eyes turned west, "I look on those like golden times now, how little I understood." he wiped his eyes briefly, "We believed that every spark that jumped up from the burning common flame, represented an animal that was going to be born in the year ahead. A sheep or cow or goat, the fire itself promised us a future through our beasts. And of course, there were no fields to tend, though our men would often hunt for extra, we had plenty for that season, most of the time. My father was a very good hunter, and we always had the most of all our neighbors. But my favorite times… were the snowfalls."
"What made those special?" Botisa prodded as he sensed the spirit of longing in his traveling companion.
"The snowball fights, of course. We were a warrior people, and our children had a particular game, we would take a tiny ball of ice, no bigger around than the thumb, and pack snow around it. We would then make lots of snowballs without that, and pile up snow in various places and try to hit each other, whoever got dinged with the ice, was out. But the rest, you could keep the fight going. And of course, men and women had their own version. The older ones, they would make big balls of snow, set one on top of the other so that it formed the shape of a human, and stick a carrot on the face," Vargas tapped his nose, "here, and then try to knock the nose off with a thrown ball of snow."
"Both would do this?" Botisa asked as he tried to picture the commonly hard faced Vargas as enthusiastic and carefree as that.
"Oh yes! Men would wager with women, women with men, and…" Vargas scratched his head, "Now that I look back on it, there were a lot of weddings around that time, looking back, I can't help but think it was more than just kisses that were wagered, and a lot of children were born in summer warmth. It's funny, I never really thought about that till just now. Perhaps I'd have known it, but I left home early for military service and… well I never went back. I don't know if that village is still there, or if it was one of the places the one my mistress called 'The Dark Savior' burned to ashes."
Vargas sighed and cast his eyes west again, "Home, it's not really home anymore, even if I went back… do they keep those traditions? Who still lives, am I one of the few who remain…? Forgive me, it's hardly a cheerful story to think about."
"Well if we had snow, my friend, we'd be happy to imitate your customs at least this once, you've come all this way ready to risk your life to save us from a dangerous foe, the least we can do is let your traditions live one more day among the lives you're going to try to save." Botisa proposed, and a rumbling around the fire carried the agreement from one figure to the next.
Vargas shot to his feet, and bowed deeply, then pointed to the sky, "The snow is going to fall tonight, if it lies… hoof thick, I'll teach our games to your children, and our songs to your singers, and I will thank you for all my life for a wonderful, wonderful day."
They retired to slumber not long after, but when Vargas slept, it was only lightly, it was as if he was a child again, waiting to see the first snows fall to play games again, the furs kept him warm and comfortable, so much so that when he did wake up just before dawn, he was disappointed because he didn't feel the cold.
But when he took a deep breath, and 'saw' that breath in front of him, he grinned as broadly as he had in childhood and shot to his feet, casting off his furs and shouting louder than he planned, "It's snowing!"
He saw the flecks of white coming down and threw on everything he needed, boots and heavy cloak, shirt and pants, and cast a brief spell to keep his body warmer than the clothing itself would commonly allow, then dashed out of his tent and into the open steppe beneath the white covered sky which poured down flake after flake like salt out of a shaker.
The centaur children, promised games by their parents who spread the word of the visitor's story, were quick to assemble to hear his explanation, and for the first time since he was nine years old, Vargas built a snowman.
Though he didn't have a carrot, he substituted a thick stick in its place. The tough pony bodies of the centaur children dealt with the snow easily enough and many figures began to appear, dotting the landscape left and right.
Their older siblings appeared with the mares of their race and began to make wagers against one another, and when the snowball fight was explained, it took mere minutes before he was watching centaur colts running after one another like mad, and galloping noises abounded over the hard frozen ground.
It wasn't long before the adult stallions and mares came on and wanted to hear his music, and for that he did the best, and offered one song he knew well.
"Jingle bells, batman smells
Robins laid their eggs
The batmobile lost a wheel
And the joker got away"
"What's a batman? And what's a batmobile? And who is the joker?" Botisa asked, shaking his head to dislodge the snow from his thick dark hair.
Vargas scratched his head, "I don't exactly know, batmen don't bathe much, so they do smell, and robins lay eggs, I've always figured that a batmobile must be some kind of cart for batmen, but I've never seen one use a cart. But evidently jokers play pranks on batmen and… well if the carts are broken it is easy to get away with it."
He then shrugged off the memory and ran his hands through his short brown hair and taught them a drinking song instead.
"Oh a skeleton got me bourbon, an ogre got me ale
An if ah end up sober, ah'll surely start to wail!
Whiskey hid out in the wood, so I swiftly crept away
To find my mates'a beat me there, an they been drinkin all damn day!"
The centaur tribe of stallions and mares picked up the drinking song with surprising alacrity, and before he knew it, the accurate centaur throws began to miss the noses of snowmen as the alcohol dulled their senses.
The snow continued to fall for most of the day, and the bottles of wine and beer kept getting passed around, and the most sober tended the large and ongoing bonfire, and it was there that Vargas eventually found himself when the party was in full swing. With his exceptional martial skills, he was able to apply them to keeping himself largely sober, and he looked west again, this time thinking not of the nation that no longer existed. But rather of the wife who bore his child, and of the mistress who gave her back to him. "It's a whole other world out there now…" He said to the crackling flames and brought his knees up to his chest and took a deep swig of the bottle. A snowball struck him in the back, and an apologetic centaur filly ran over to bow her head. She had long golden hair and blushed very deeply, her bright brown eyes were clearly full of regret and her cheeks rosey with embarrassment.
"It's fine, go on." He waved his hand back the way she'd come, sending her galloping back to the game, and himself back to his thoughts.
"Yes, a whole other world… and maybe not a bad one. That's something worth drinking to." He said, and took another deep draught of the bottle before setting it down. The sun wasn't quite set yet, there was some daylight yet, enough to get him to stand up, and quickly made a snowball, and threw it into the back of an unwary colt. The young boy looked behind to see the human grinning the grin of the happy guilty.
"You got room for one more, lad?" Vargas asked, "Or is a human too much for you?" He winked, and the brown haired youth with the short brown hair crouched down to make a snowball at the same moment as Vargas.
Before either ball was in the air, Vargas couldn't help but think, 'A whole new world… and I think I'll be proud to shape it… here's to the year ahead!' And then the ball of snow left his hand.
*Story- The Trial: Journey's End
**Characters/Story- (Kaiji/Priceless/Nua)- Who Endures: Books I-X? (God Rising: The Cult of Ainz, Blood in the Streets, The Trial: Journey's End)