Saoirse hated Christmas.
It was full of joy, love, and excitement, a selection of things that Saoirse did not enjoy. Back home, Saoirse would usually remain hidden within her room for the whole holiday. Her mother had tried on numerous occasions to get her daughter involved in the festivities, only to fail every time.

So, when the twin's mother declared that both Carter and Saoirse would be going to spend Christmas with their cousin, Saoirse was beyond furious.
For one, Saoirse despised her cousin a great amount. This was because the boy would always be obsessing over his looks and, whenever he came to visit, would try and encourage Saoirse to wear some kind of makeup.

Another thing was that their cousin didn't exactly live alone. He lived in a castle with eight other people, who Saoirse had yet to meet. So, to know that she would be spending the festive holiday she hated so much in a place that was not her home with people that she was sure she would despise filled the young warlock with anger.

Carter had been rather cheerful during the whole journey to the castle where their cousin lived. This cheerfulness only angered Saoirse more as she knew exactly what he was happy about.
"Come on, Rie. It'll be good to see Gildar after so long. He's been busy defending the castle, so, to spend Christmas relaxing with us will be nice." Carter spoke as the horse-drawn cart began slowing down in front of a castle.

"Carter, both you and I know that the only reason you agreed to go is due to the fact that Mom said that Ruby would be there."

Ruby was squirretle. Half-human, half squirrel. The twin's mother had grown up with Ruby's mother, meaning that, the twins had been in Ruby's life since she was born. It was also a little known fact that Carter happened to have a massive crush on Ruby. Together, Ruby and Carter would continuously annoy Saoirse. This meant that Christmas would be even worse for the cold-hearted girl.

Standing in front of the castle door, his hair blowing in the wind and a perfect smile on his face, was cousin Gildar. His arms were held open invitingly, and Saoirse knew she would be forced into a hug.
"Carter! Saoirse! It is so good to see you!" The young Viking called out as the cart came to a stop. Carter jumped out of the carriage while it was still in motion and bounded over to Gildar, throwing his arms around him in a friendly hug.
"You've grown taller," Gildar commented as he embraced Carter. "Although, I can see that you are still quite the hugger."

"You bet!" Carter laughed, stepping away from the older man. "Has Ruby arrived yet?"

Gildar shook his head as he turned to look at Saoirse, who was stood with her bag held tightly in her arms and a sour expression upon her face. "And there she is. Pulling a face that looks like she's eaten something disgusting."

"I'm not pulling a face." Saoirse hissed, grasping onto her bag tighter out of anger. Gildar laughed as he stepped forward and wrapped her into a hug, making her blood boil. It was silent for a minute, a very awkward silence, for Saoirse.
"Let. me. Go."

Gildar remembered this tone of voice from when he last visited the twins and his Aunt. He remembered what had happened when he didn't heed the warning he had been given. And, quite frankly, he did not need a reminder of what would happen if he did not release his younger cousin from his grasp.

"If you follow me inside, I'll introduce you to everyone," Gildar told them, flashing them a pearly white smile.
Saoirse turned to look at her brother, her scowl more fierce than before. "He better be hiding all of his mirrors while I'm here because I've got a feeling that they'll all be broken before we leave." And with that, the dark-haired girl began to follow her cousin into the castle.

XXXXXXX

"Everyone! I would like you to meet my cousins!" Gildar bellowed, causing a chorus of groans to echo from the main living area. Gildar guided the twins through the doorway and into the room were eight other defenders were waiting. They all seemed relatively different from each other. But, there was one that caught her eye. His hair was styled into a blue mohawk and blue paint was painted over his left eye. He didn't bother to look up, his eyes focused on the magazine he was reading. This didn't seem to bother Saoirse as this was something she would do herself.

"Okay, Saoirse, Carter. This is Knightriss." Gildar began as he led the twins over toward a tall knight that stood by the fireplace. The woman smiled and nodded her head. "Pleasure to meet you, My Dears."

Gildar introduced the twins to everyone, before finally coming to a halt next to the defender who was too busy reading his magazine to pay attention. Stood next to him was a girl with the same blue paint on her face. Both had similar features, hinting that they were related.
"This is Shaiden and Thorne."

Shaiden smiled warmly at the two, holding out her hand in greeting. Carter grasped her hand, shaking it briskly. "Nice to meet you." he smiled. Saoirse didn't say anything, the scowl on her face making it clear she was tired of all these introductions.
"Thorne." Shaiden elbowed the boy, causing him to look up from his magazine, an irritated look on his face. "Say hello."

"No."

Shaiden looked at the twins apologetically. "Sorry about my brother. He can be a bit... stubborn at times."

"Does it look like I care?" Saoirse asked, her eyes focused on her chipping black nail varnish. Shaiden raised her eyebrows seemingly surprised at Saoirse's response. She stared at Saoirse, which seemed to bother the girl a great deal.
"Is there a problem?" She asked with an ice-cold tone. "Realized that I'm nothing like my cousin and his ridiculously massive ego?"

"Okay!" Carter announced quickly, hoping to ease the tension that was building. "Gildar, Be a good cousin and show Rie where she'll be sleeping. I know that she'll want to get settled in before Ruby arrives."

Gildar nodded and began to lead Saoirse out of the room. Carter watched them disappear before turning to face everyone that was in the room.
"Sorry 'bout that. Rie can be a bit... cold to people she doesn't know. But, look on the bright side, at least she hasn't punched any of you!"

"She punches people?" It seemed that Thorne had gotten interested all of a sudden. Carter crossed his arms over his chest.
"Now that I think about it," He frowned as he thought back on his sister's violent nature. "The last time Rie punch anyone was when Ruby accidentally set her hair on fire."

"How many times do I have to tell you, that was an accident!"

Carter grinned as he spun around to greet Ruby. It had been quite a few months since he had seen the girl, with her going through hard work in order to become a defender herself. Ruby had shaped quite the muscular physique since Carter had last seen her and her tail, which used to be a small stump, had fully grown into that of a squirrel's. But, even though there were physical changes, Carter still noticed the mischief behind her eyes and in her smile. She was still Ruby.

Dropping her bags by her feet, Ruby charged at Carter, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him tightly. The motion of the interaction almost knocked Carter to the floor, but, he managed to steady his balance as he returned the hug.
Gildar returned at that moment, clutching onto the upper portion of his arm, which looked slightly red.

Carter sighed as Ruby turned to look at the Viking.
"What did you do? Surely she didn't punch you because you showed her to her room?"

Gildar Pouted. "I only told her if she needed any facial materials, to come and find me."
Carter smacked his hand over his face as he internally groaned. "Did you not learn from the last time?"

"I would've thought she'd have changed her point of view!"

Ruby shook her head as she watched the scene play out. This was going to be one awesome Christmas.