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Merry Fake Xmas!

By the way, does anyone know why they call it Xmas? I could never figure that out.

This chapter takes place at Xmas, which may seem a little strange since it's summer, but it's fitting.

The next chapter will make you feel warm internally and not externally. It's supposed to be one of those feel-good Xmas stories (although in this case it would be a Xmas chapter) that everyone loves.

And now for something random.

l-l Cassette Tape!

:(:) Pig!

Use those on Gmail and it should show up. Just remember that cassette tape is lowercase L (or uppercase I, whichever shows up as a vertical line), asterisk, dash, asterisk, and lowercase L (or uppercase I). The pig is colon, left parenthese, colon, right parenthese.

Happy reading!

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Chapter Eight

Merry Is One Way To Put It

Susan rushed around the kitchen, checking everything because she was cooking Christmas Eve dinner and she wanted it to be just right.There was the roast turkey, ham, corn, pigs-in-blankets, cranberry sauce, and the Christmas pudding to take care of, and it was a lot of stress since she was serving twelve people.

"Caspian!" she called.

"Yes?"

"Are Leo and Lily ready?"

"I'm getting them dressed right now, love! Don't worry about it."

Susan gave a relieved sigh. That was a load off of her shoulders.

Edmund, meanwhile, was in his room with Lyric. He was getting himself ready for the feast, and was nervously making sure he looked good.

Edmund had decided on a tuxedo, but he felt like it was too plain.

"Relax," said Lyric consolingly. "You look fine. Stop worrying."

"I want to look like a king," said Edmund.

Lyric really was extraordinarily beautiful with her long black hair, and tonight she was wearing a marvelous green dress that went very well with her deep blue eyes.

"You already do to me."

Edmund smiled and they kissed each other.

"Hey!" said Peter, who was also wearing a tuxedo and who had walked past with Mirabelle. "No snogging until you see mistletoe."

"You're one to talk," said Edmund sulkily, but he obeyed and followed his brother.

Lucy, meanwhile, was in her room with Julius.

Julius had on a tuxedo as well. Lucy had on a fabulous silver dress with a snowflake in her hair, and her pregnancy clearly showed.

"Are you feeling okay?" said Julius.

"Yeah," said Lucy, who had her hand on her stomach and was apprently in some form of pain. "He's just kicking really-" She let out a sharp gasp of pain. "Hard."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Lucy. "It'll pass. Now come on, we need to go sit down for the feast."

They heard Peter, Edmund, Lyric, and Mirabelle pass by and they stood up.

"You look beautiful," said Julius.

Lucy gave a small smile. "Thank you."

"Peter," said Mirabelle, who was wearing a bright red dress with a poinsettia on the front. "Who's making dinner?"

"Susan is," said Lucy, and she came out of her room with Julius.

Edmund gave a small snort.

"What?" said Lyric. "Should we be entertained?"

"Su's terrible at cooking," said Edmund. "One time she tried to make dinner for our parent's anniversary."

"And?" said Mirabelle. "Did what I assume happened happen?"

"Su was nervous and she ended up burning everything," said Peter reminiscently. "Mum and Dad didn't mind, though. They just laughed, said thank you, and reminded me, Edmund, and Lucy not to let her cook again."

"Maybe this time will be different," said Lucy. "It is Christmas."

"I sure hope it is different," said Edmund. "If she burns anything I'm not eating it."

"Shh," said Peter as they walked past the kitchen. "If Su catches wind of anything we're saying she'll get nervous and burn things again."

They went to the table and sat down. Caspian already had Lily, who was wearing a green dress and had a red ribbon in her hair, and Leo, who was wearing a small tuxedo.

"Aunt Lu, sit by us!" said Leo.

"Yeah, sit here!" said Lily.

Lucy beamed at them and turned to Julius.

"We can sit there, can't we?" she said, apparently over her brief moment of pain.

"Wherever you want to sit," said Julius.

So Lucy took a seat next to Lily.

Peter sat at the head of the table, with Mirabelle on his right side and Julius on his left. To Mirabelle's right were Trumpkin and Lilygloves' seats. They would be there shortly. Edmund and Lyric sat next to where Lilygloves would be, and Susan would take the head of the table on the other side, next to Caspian.

"All right," said Susan, coming out of the kitchen and looking beautiful in a purple dress with her hair tied back and a sprig of mistletoe in it.

"Dinner is served. Mind you, I did spend all night making this for you all. I hope it looks all right."

Trumpkin and Lilygloves emerged, carrying dishes and trays.

The food actually was beautiful. The turkey and ham were roasted to perfection, the corn lay steaming in its dish, the pigs-in-blankets were wrapped up neatly, and the cranberry sauce looked normal. The plum pudding looked the best of all, with some holly decorating the top.

"Wow," said Lyric. "It looks wonderful, Queen Susan."

"Please just call me Susan," said Susan politely, sitting down and smiling at her. "Or Su, whichever you'd prefer."

Trumpkin and Lilygloves sat down at their spots after everything had been laid out.

"Okay," said Peter. "We should say a prayer."

"Absolutely," said Lucy. "Hold hands."

They all did.

Susan began. "We thank the heavens for the snow (deciding to bring it this year, considering the one year's distastrous results). It looks very nice and reminds us of the joy and wonder that winter and Christmas bring.

We thank the heavens for the food, and I personally thank the heavens for helping me not to burn anything."

There were smiles all around the table.

"But we must also thank you for the people we are with. Whether we are celebrating new life-"

Julius squeezed Lucy's hand.

"-or remembering the old-"

Trumpkin and Lilygloves nodded.

"-we are very blessed to be here with them. Thank you."

There was a collective sigh, but Susan waved her hand at them.

"Lily, Leo, do you want to add anything?"

"Yeah," said Lily, and they all joined hands once again.

"Can you please let Father Christmas give us lots of presents? I was good this year, I promise! Ask Mum and Dad!"

There was a rumble of laughter that almost instantly died down as Leo spoke.

"Long live Aslan."

Susan and Caspian opened their eyes and looked at him. So did everyone else.

Instantly Susan's eyes were glimmering with pride, and Caspian tousled his hair.

"Indeed," said Lilygloves. "Long live Aslan."

There were murmurs of agreement, then they let go of each other's hands.

"Dig in, everyone!" said Susan cheerfully.

And they did.

"This is amazing, Susan!" said Peter. "I'm impressed."

"I always believed in you Su," said Edmund, who had helped himself to everything.

"You didn't burn anything!" said Lucy.

"I can't believe it either," said Susan. "I felt like I could pull it off this time."

"And you did," said Mirabelle. "This is fantastic."

"Magnificent," said Lyric.

"Just right," said Julius.

"Delicious!" said Caspian.

"Inspired!" said Lilygloves.

"Disgusting," said Trumpkin.

They continued eating.

"Leo, wipe your mouth," said Susan. "Caspian, can you wipe his mouth? He's got cranberry sauce on his face."

Caspian took a napkin and wiped Leo's face, Leo struggled away.

"Dad," he muttered.

Lily was enthousiastically telling her Aunt Lu what she wanted for Christmas.

"I asked for a pony and a picture book and a bear!" she said. "Do you think Father Christmas will bring me all that?"

"Why not?" said Lucy. "You've been very good."

"Mum!" said Lily. "Have I been good?"

"Yes sweetie," said Susan absentmindedly, cutting her turkey into strips.

"What do you want for Christmas, Leo?" said Lucy.

"A sword!" said Leo. "A sword and a shield like Uncle Pete!"

"Well," began Peter, but Lucy shook her head at him.

Just let him believe it. Her eyes said, so Peter changed tack.

"I'm sure you'll get those. You've been very good too."

Edmund said "You look very pretty, Lyric."

"Thanks," said Lyric. "You look handsome."

"Thank you."

"No snogging," Peter said again, as Edmund leaned toward Lyric for a kiss.

Edmund scowled at him. "I can kiss her if I want to."

"Wait until you see mistletoe. You're not snogging her here in front of Lily and Leo."

Edmund's eyes sent apologies at Lyric and daggers at Peter.

"King Peter," said Lilygloves. "You made the right choice when you married this lovely lady."

He signalled Mirabelle, whose cheeks were very pink.

"I know," said Peter. "I love her too."

The color in Mirabelle's cheeks deepened and she giggled.

Trumpkin, meanwhile, was complaining about the food.

"It's too dry," he said. "And the cranberry sauce is too runny."

"So you like it?" said Edmund, grinning.

Trumpkin chose not to reply.

"Well," said Peter, after everyone was done. "That was some dinner."

"Yes it was," said Mirabelle. "Thank you, Susan."

"Of course," said Susan. "Anything for my family. Now I have to go put Lily and Leo to bed-"

This was met with cries of "Mum!" and "We want to wait for Father Christmas!"

"Can we please?" said Lily, tugging at her mother's dress.

"We'll be good!" said Leo. "We promise! We won't be loud!"

"You're being loud now," said Trumpkin grumpily, making his way to bed.

"Please?" said Lily and Leo. "Please please please please please?"

"Well," said Susan. "All right."

"Yay!" they yelled jumping up and down and hugging each other.

"Shhh!" said Susan. "You told me you'd be quiet. Now come on, let's get your nightclothes on."

Caspian took Leo, Susan took Lily, and they all went into Lily and Leo's bedroom.

"You're sleeping here, aren't you?" said Edmund.

"Of course," said Lyric. "I said I was spending Christmas with my family, and I meant it."

Edmund grinned. "We need to find some mistletoe, because you're making me want to kiss you."

Lyric giggled and they ran off together.

Peter and Mirabelle went into the lounge area.

"Oh!" said Mirabelle.

The lounge had been decorated too; there were lights all along the wall and a beautiful Christmas tree in the corner.

Ornaments and trinkets from the tree gleamed as a fire crackled in the fireplace.

In dishes on the table there were mints and chestnuts, and there were blankets and pillows on the sofas and chairs.

"This," announced Peter. "Is where we're going to be for the next few hours."

"It looks lovely Peter," said Mirabelle, kissing his cheek.

Just then, Edmund and Lyric rushed into the room, their hair messed up and their eyes wild.

"Where is the mistletoe?" they gasped.

"In...here..." said Peter, pointing confusedly. Edmund and Lyric rushed toward it and kissed each other.

They broke apart, gasping.

"I love you!" said Lyric.

"I love you too!" said Edmund.

Then they resumed.

Lucy came in with Julius.

"I can't say I'm surprised," said Julius. "They've been trying this all night from what I've seen."

Lucy gave a small smirk and sat down on a chair. Julius' smile vanished and he went to go sit next to her.

Caspian and Susan came in carrying their children. They too were wearing nightclothes.

At this entrance, Edmund and Lyric sat down, their faces pink and their hair mussed.

"Now remember," said Susan to her children. "Keep your voices down. We don't want to wake Lilygloves and we especially don't want to wake Trumpkin."

Leo and Lily nodded obediently and sat on the sofa next to Peter.

"Lu," said Julius. "I'm really concerned about you. You don't look well."

"I'm fine," said Lucy, trying to smile and ending up with a grimace.

"What?" she said rather irritably as everyone looked at her.

Susan went over to Lucy and felt her stomach.

"You need to lie down," she said after a minute or two.

"I'll take her to her room," said Julius.

"No," said Susan, standing. She whispered something in Julius' ear and he looked at her, his eyes wide.

"Are you sure?" said Julius.

"Oh yes," said Susan. "Positive. Go."

Julius led Lucy out of the room.

"What's wrong with her?" said Caspian.

"Pain," said Susan. "She's in a lot of pain. I think her baby will be born soon.

Not now!" she added quickly, as Edmund and Peter stood up. "Lucy needs to rest. Now I say we stay here and enjoy Christmas. Who would like some Christmas cookies? Lilygloves made them."

Lily, Leo and Edmund (remembering to be quiet) raised their hands. Susan nodded and got them some.

"Uncle Ed," said Leo. "What do you want for Christmas?"

"I already have everything I want," said Edmund, locking eyes with Lyric. Lyric smiled and lay against him.

Lily cuddled up next to her mother. Within seconds, she was asleep, with Caspian and Leo soon following.

Minutes turned to hours as the night dragged on. Conversation was normal but quiet.

After a while, they got into the wine. Everyone except Susan and Mirabelle became what Lucy called "loopy".

"Hey, you know, you know, you know what?" said Edmund, who was leaning over the side of the chair. "It's December- December 24th!"

Then he fell off the chair, howling with laughter.

"So I've been told," said Susan, who looked very disapproving of this behavior. Mirabelle sat next to her, her arms folded across her chest, shaking her head.

"That's Christmas Eve!" said Lyric, who had also collapsed into giggles. "I like, no, I love Christmas Eve. Love it, love it, love it. It's just-" She flailed her arms around, knocking over a lamp. "Happy, you know? It's just g-good."

"Yes it is," said Mirabelle, snatching the bottle of wine from Peter. "That is quite enough for you, Peter."

"But I," said Peter. "I want-I-I w-"

"You what?" said Susan. "Want to completely lose hold of yourself?"

"Y-Yeah, that's- that's it," said Peter.

"I won't allow it," said Mirabelle. "No more for any of you."

Peter didn't seem to mind, partly owing to the fact that he had fallen dead asleep.

"Don't worry," said a voice, and Lilygloves came out of the kitchen holding a bottle of dark liquid. "You give them this and they'll snap out of it."

"And Peter?" said Mirabelle.

"It's too late for him," said Lilygloves, surveying Peter with amusement. "He's out cold. But give this to King Edmund and Lady Lyric and they'll snap right out of it."

So Mirabelle got Lyric, Susan got Edmund, and they each took a small cup of the liquid.

"Who are you?" said Lyric, staring up at Mirabelle. "Are you my mother? You got, you got youunnnger." Lyric's words started to slur.

"Quickly," said Susan. She and Mirabelle poured the liquid down Edmund's and Lyric's throats.

"That should do it," said Lilygloves cheerfully, leaving the room.

Edmund sat up, blinking, and Lyric almost jumped up.

"What is that?" said Edmund. "Why am I lying on the floor?"

"Oh my gosh, I was drunk!" said Lyric, nearly pulling out her hair in disgust with herself. "Did Lily and Leo see?"

"No, they're asleep," said Susan. "That's obviously why you all waited until they were before breaking out into the wine."

"Susan!" said a voice, and Julius came into the room. "We need you."

"What's wrong?" said Susan, standing.

"The baby," said Julius, who looked joyful. "We want you there. No offense to anyone else, but just you."

Susan got up with a rather flattered look on her face and left the room.

The clock struck eleven fifty-five. Edmund and Lyric clasped each other's hands. Mirabelle sat, eating mint after mint out of the dish.

Caspian awoke and looked at his children.

"I'd better get them to bed," he said, more to himself than anyone else. He picked up the twins and took them upstairs.

They couldn't hear anything coming from the room, which made the mood more tense. Outside, it started to snow.

The clock was minutes away from striking midnight when Julius' voice startled them all out of their anticipation.

"Everyone! Come quick!"

Edmund, Lyric, Mirabelle, and Caspian, who had just come downstairs, followed Julius into the infirmary.

It was an unforgettable moment; they reached the door and a baby's crying entered the atmosphere.

"Look," said Julius. The look on his face was one of utmost joy as he brought forward a small bundle.

They all looked to see a small pink face with large brown eyes staring up at them.

"It's a boy!" said Susan, who was frankly hysterical.

"And born on Christmas Eve, Lu!" said Edmund, running over to the relieved and tired Lucy and giving her a kiss and a hug.

"Let me see him," said Lucy. Julius gave the boy to Lucy, who could not have been happier to see him.

"Hi," she said, as everyone gathered around her bed. "Hi, Jack."

"So that's his name?" said Mirabelle, whose eyes were alight.

"I like the name," said Lucy in a faint voice.

"It's a wonderful name," said Julius, kissing Lucy and then Jack.

"It fits him," said Susan.

"Wonderful," said Lyric. "Isn't it, Edmund?"

"Yeah," said Edmund. "I'm an uncle again!"

"Congratulations," said Caspian to Julius.

"Where's Peter?" said Lucy. "I want him to see."

"I'm here," said a hoarse voice, and Peter came in, rubbing his head. "Why was I on the floor?"

"I'll explain later," said Mirabelle absentmindedly, her eyes still on Jack.

"He looks just like you," said Peter, coming over to Lucy's bed.

There were chimes: the clock had just struck midnight.

"It's Christmas!" said Lyric.

"How wonderful!" said Mirabelle.

The men just smiled. Susan went up to Lucy.

"I told you nothing would happen."

Lucy smiled and clasped her sister's hand. A new light shone in her eyes that had been missing for a long time.

And as the Christmas celebration was heard outside, everyone felt it couldn't have been a more perfect moment.

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Was that good enough? I couldn't help feeling that this wasn't one of my best chapters.

Oh, and by the way, if you have negative comments, keep them to yourselves.

I repeat, if you have something bad to say, THINK IT. DON'T WASTE MY COMMENT SPACE.

If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

Okay, so I stole that from Star Wars.

To all my positive reviewers, if this really wasn't one of my best, I promise I will get better.

I won't let you guys down. It's my positive readers and reviewers that keep me writing.

Thank you.

Next chapter is a definite maybe.

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