Author's Note: Just a bit of info on Saoirse. When she uses her magic powers, her eyes take on the form of a cat's, the pupils turning into slits. If you have ever watched shadowhunters, then just think of Magnus Bane's eyes when he uses his magic.

Also, bloody hell, this chapter was longer than i expected it to be!

That will be all. Enjoy!

"Come on, Rie. It's not gonna be that bad. You even got your own room."

Carter was sat on his sister's bed as she moved about the room, unpacking her belongings. She seemed highly irritated and Carter could tell that she wanted to be left alone. But, unfortunately, Carter had promised his mother that he would do his very best to involve Saoirse in all the festivities while they were with their cousin. This meant he had to pester his sister, even if it meant he got hurt.

"Rie, please. Just try to enjoy this holiday. Mom is Worried about you and... Rie?"

Carter noticed that Saoirse had stopped moving about now and was staring down at something in her hands. Carter approached her and peered over her shoulder. In her hands were a picture of him, Saoirse, Gildar, and their parents. They all looked really happy and Saoirse had a massive smile on her face as she was sat comfortably in her father's arms.

"I remember this," Saoirse muttered as she stroked her father's face. "Gildar was spending the summer with us. Dad had gotten a day off and mom thought it would be a good idea to go to the beach."

Carter nodded as a smile spread across his face. "Yeah. I remember you getting your ice cream more on your face than in your mouth."

Saoirse nodded, but, she did not smile.

"That was our last summer together... before..." The girl didn't finish her sentence. She didn't have to as Carter knew what she was thinking.

"Rie," he sighed, turning his sister to face him. "I know you miss dad, but, you can't just hide away forever. It's not healthy. Where's that fun-loving girl I used to know?"

The scowl had appeared on Saoirse's face once more as she shoved the picture into the back of the closet, hiding it away so no one could see it. "That girl is gone. And she's not coming back."

"Alright." Carter agreed as he moved away from his sister. "But, understand that we have to follow the rules while staying here. And Knightriss has demanded that we all participate in decorating the castle for Christmas. So, You need to be in the main living area at six."

"And why would I help with the decorating?" Saoirse asked as she began to place glass vials upon the surface of her dressing table.

"Well," Carter sighed, "I heard Kookaburra say that Knightriss throws a bucket of slime over anyone who doesn't take part."

Saoirse growled. She didn't believe that the leader would actually throw a bucket of slime over her if she did not make an appearance, but, thinking about it, Saoirse did not know this woman at all, so, she did not want to take any risks. With an irritated huff, Saoirse plonked a cauldron onto her desk.

"Fine," She hissed, "But, I'm not gonna enjoy it."

Carter laughed. "I have no doubts that you will be the grumpiest person there."

Little did either of them know, that statement would not be entirely true.

XXXXXX

At exactly 6 pm, Saoirse emerged from her room and began advancing down the staircase. She could hear laughter and joy coming from the living area, making her feel physically sick. The sound reminded her of when her mother had forced her to go to the Christmas party that was being held at her high school when she was younger. She hated it back then and she still hated it now.

The living area was a chaotic mess of fairy lights, tinsel, ornaments, and colored card as the defenders moved about in order to put up the specific decorations that had been selected.

"Rie! Rie! Over here!"

Saoirse glanced over at the fireplace to see Ruby sat comfortably with stacks of the colored card surrounding her. Kookaburra, Skab, and Tinkor were sat around her as the small girl seemed to be showing them something.

"What do you want, fur face?" Saoirse asked as she approached the group, making them all look up at her.

"Ruby's showing us how to make paper chains!" Kook exclaimed, waving his hands above his head to add effect. Ruby laughed as she looped a red piece of card around a green piece.

"Help us make them," Ruby spoke. "You're amazing at making these!"

Saoirse shook her head as she began to move away. "No."

"But, it's fun!" Skabb shouted, throwing the paper in the air and getting them stuck in everyone's hair.

"I would rather stick needles in my eyes." Saoirse hissed as she moved over to the couch that was positioned at the back of the room.

Tinkor frowned as he turned to look at Ruby. "Tinky thinks doing that would be incredibly painful."

Ruby smiled at him. "She wasn't being serious. Rie can very sarcastic at times. It's her way of getting the point across."

Saoirse curled up on the couch and stared out of the window. It was getting dark now, the moon was just peeking out from behind the trees, forcing the water in the moat to sparkle. For once, Saoirse felt peaceful, like everything was meant to be, but, that feeling was disturbed by very heavy footsteps.

Thorne entered the room, his cold stormy eyes scanning over everyone before they landed on Kook.

"Oi," he called out as he approached the bird. "Are you ready to go or not?"
Kook looked up from the card that he was attempting to loop together and stared at Thorne. "I've been ready for the last half an hour, mate."

"Where you going?" Ruby asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"We're going to get the tree," Thorne responded harshly as he nudged Kook with his foot. "Now, come on."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ruby called out as she stumbled to her feet. "Can I come with you?"

Thorne frowned as he stared at Ruby. "No."

"Oh, come on. I'll be on my best behavior."

"I've heard that sentence before," Carter called out from the other side of the room, where he was hanging Garlands onto the wall. Ruby turned to Carter, hands on her hips.
"Hush, Gregory. The adults are talking."

Carter stuck out his tongue upon hearing his middle name spoken, and Crocness smirked as she looked at Carter. "Your middle name is Gregory?"

"Please let me come with you." Ruby continued to plead, clasping her hands under her chin and pouting.

"No," Thorne repeated. "I have enough on my mind with having to find a tree and keep an eye on Bird Brain. I do not need another child to watch over."

Ruby looked like she was going to protest, but, another voice spoke up before she had a chance to make an argument.

"What if I went with you?"
Everyone went silent and turned to look at Saoirse. Her face was cupped in her hands as she stared at Thorne innocently.

"You... want to go with them?" Gildar spoke up, finally breaking the silence. Saoirse nodded. "It counts as participating, does it not?"
Carter tilted his head to the side, staring at his sister in confusion.
"You hate looking for a Tree. You complain about it every year," He spoke as he tried to understand what was going on in his sister's head.

"True," Saoirse responded, "But, you said that Mom wanted me to try and participate this year. No offence, but, I don't want to be hanging jolly stockings or making those stupid Paper chains. This is the perfect opportunity for me to help without actually doing anything. Plus, If I went along, I could keep an eye of fur face and make sure she doesn't do anything that could get herself hurt."

Carter found himself chuckling at his sister. Of course she would find a way to get out of Decorating. But, Carter wasn't mad at her for it, because, in a way, this was helping. And, part of him hoped that in doing this, maybe Saoirse would communicate with one of the defenders and, at the very least, become more friendly with everyone.

Everyone turned to look at Thorne, waiting to see what his answer would be. The blue-haired defender didn't appriciate the sudden increase of attention he had seemed to have gained and it began to make him more irritated than he already was.

"Fine!" He growled, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. "But, you're taking the fall for anything stupid she does."

"Trust me," Saoirse responded as her famous scowl reappeared on her features. "If she even thinks about doing anything stupid, she won't live to see tomorrow."

XXXXXXX

Finding a tree proved to be a lot harder than originally thought. It didn't help that the bird and the squirrel that had joined the hunting party were too busy bouncing about the trees to even bother trying to spot a tree that would be good enough. This bothered Thorne a great deal as the whole reason he had agreed to bring them along was so that they could help and make the job a great deal quicker.
Even the grumpy girl that came along wasn't helpful, always shrugging her shoulders and pointing out the negatives about every tree they inspected. Thorne finally lost it when Kook "flew" out of a tree and collided with him, Ruby following behind shortly after to help the two up.

"This is stupid!" Thorne hissed, brushing the dirt off himself.

"What is?" Ruby asked.

"I would've been alright with finding a tree on my own! Your supposed to be helping me yet your acting like children!"

"Come on, mate. We're just having a bit of fun." Kook responded, not meeting Thorne's gaze.

"Fun?! We don't have time for fun! It's getting late and we STILL don't have a tree!"

Everyone went silent as Thorne glared at the two, before he marched forward, making his shoulder collide with Kook's. Saoirse sighed as turned to face Kook and Ruby. "Just try to keep up, yeah?"
And with that, Saoirse began hurrying to catch up with Thorne. She quickly realised that the man could move rather fast when he was angry. He had completely disappeared from view, making Saoirse very irritated very quickly.

Spinning around, Saoirse discovered that she was alone. Anger started flowing through her veins as she gazed about, hoping that she would catch a glimpse of green hair, blue chainmail or fluffy fur. But, sadly, she didn't.
"Great! Just great!" She yelled out of frustration, stamping her foot.

Snow began to fall as Saoirse marched forward, the cold flakes making a thick layer upon the ground. The snow crunched under Saoirse heavy boots as she pushed through the trees until she came into a clearing. In the centre of said clearing was a massive pine tree that sparkled in the moonlight. Fireflies hovered about, making the area eerily beautiful. The snow was falling heavier now and, seeing it as an opportunity, Saoirse hurried forward and hid under the extending branches which sheltered the grass underneath it from the falling snow.

She sat down comfortably, curling herself up as she tried to fight off the cold that was gradually creeping into her joints. Her teeth chattered as she listened to the noises of the night. If she got a cold from this, she was going to kill Thorne, then kill the other two for not keeping up with her.
Reaching her hand forward, Saoirse's eyes changed, taking of the form of a cat's. She focused and flames started flickering from her hands. She hadn't practiced enough to make a full ball of fire like her father could, but, it was enough to get a small amount of heat. Enough to keep her warm and stop her from getting hyperthermia.

After a short while, Saoirse started hearing voices talk among each other.

"If you hadn't just stormed off, then we wouldn't have lost her."

"You were acting like children! Don't even dare try to guilt trip me, you green-haired freak!"

"Can you two shut up with the arguing for just five minutes? If we don't find her, Carter is gonna kill us."

After a few more seconds, Ruby came tumbling in through the bushes and into the clearing.
"Rie!" She screeched as she hurried over to the girl who was shivering. "Guys! I found her!"
Thorne and Kook appeared moments later, Kook looking concerned while Thorne no longer had an irritated or angry expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked as she reached out and touched Saoirse's skin. "Jesus! You're freezing!"

"I'm fine, fur face." Saoirse spoke through chattering teeth.

"You're shivvering!" Kook argued.

"We need to get you back to the castle." Thorne told her, his voice as cold as ever.
Saoirse sighed before she looked up at the tree she was sat under.

"Is this tree good enough?"

Thorne looked up at the tree, his eyes widening as he inspected it. "It's Strong. Branches look thick."

"It looks spectacular!" Kook exclaimed.

"Let's chop it down so we can get Rie home." Ruby declared as she unsheathed the axe the she had settled on her back. She began to hack at the tree bark, cutting into the thick wood.
Kook cheered Ruby on while thorne sat down next to Saoirse. It was silent between the two for a moment, before Saoirse shuffled closer to Thorne.
"Wrap your arms around me." She demanded, causing Thorne to look at her with raised eyebrows.
"Excuse me?"

"Undo you coat and wrap your arms around me. I'm cold."

Thorne scoffed as he shook his head. "I am not hugging you."

"If you don't hug me and I get ill, it'll be your fault. So, stop being a god-damn asshole and hug me!"
Thorne felt his jaw slacken as Saoirse told him off. No one had ever spoken to him like that before and it had completely caught him off guard. Saoirse's expression suddenly changed as she sneezed. With an annoyed groan, Thorne undid his woolen coat. Saoirse was quick to snuggle into him and Thorne had to use all his strength to not gasp at how cold she actually was. Even though he was incredibly uncomfortable with this kind of contact, he knew that if Saoirse body tempurature didn't rise, she would become incredibly ill. So, reluctantly and awkwardly, he wrapped his coat around the both of them and pulled her close, rubbing his hands over her forearms to try and warm her up. Saoirse let out a soft sigh as she rested her head against his chest.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"