(A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! How've your breaks been? I, for one, drove up to Michigan to spend time with my extended family. I wrecked my doctor-recommended diet, slept on a couch, posted the last chapter of "The Funny Farm and the Goblet of Fire," watched historical chick flicks, played Wii until I threw my shoulder out, got tackled by cousins, was shot multiple times by airsoft pellets, and got hardly any sleep! It was great! :D

Anyway, I know this chapter is a bit short, but it serves a purpose. I guess. O.o Either way, I hope you enjoy!)

--

Though Enna didn't know what 'Christmas' was, the excitement building in the castle as the days of December waned was contagious. Unfortunately for her, so was the illness that her maid had.

On Christmas day, Enna woke to a sunny morning and a swollen throat so sore she could hardly talk. She could hear the bustling about as the other residents in the castle woke and discovered the presents by their beds, but she was just too tired and sore to rouse herself from the tight tangle of her sheets. So there she remained for most of the morning, drifting between fevered waking and an uncomfortable drowse.

At about a quarter after ten, there came a soft knock at her door. Enna, dozing fitfully, didn't hear it, and kept on sleeping. A moment later, Aramir opened the door an inch or two and said softly, "Enna?"

She stirred at the sound of her name and woke. "Hmm?"

"Are you decent?"

Drawing her bedclothes up to her chin, Enna cleared her throat painfully and whispered, "Yes."

Aramir came into the room, holding something behind his back. "Happy Christmas!"

"And so to you."

He approached her bed, drawing aside the heavy curtains hanging around the mattress. "You've slept awful late this morning. Are you all right?"

Enna brushed a curl away from her face and tried to tuck it back into her messy plait. "A bit ill."

Aramir looked closer. "By the lion, Enna, you look it!" He sat at her side and touched a cool hand to her fiery-hot forehead. "And you're fevered, poor lass."

Enna sighed and closed her eyes. "Do other Christmases feel this way?"

She heard his chuckle as he shifted slightly on the bed. "No, I doubt it. Christmas is supposed to be a merry occasion."

"I don't feel very merry…"

"Perhaps this will cheer you. Go on, try to sit up. There's a good lass." He pressed into her shaking hands a package wrapped in brown paper.

"What is this?"

"It's a gift. Open it."

Pushing a lock of hair from her eyes, Enna looked at him and tore the paper away from the object. It was a bit of white sea glass, melted over a delicate wisp of kelp and tied to a thin cord of leather…just like the one her mother'd had.

"Oh, Aramir, it's lovely," she said around her aching throat, tears suddenly and unexpectedly welling up in her eyes.

Aramir touched her chin briefly. "I heard you call it sea glass…where I come from, we call it mermaid's tears. A fitting name, I think."

Taking a deep breath and forcing away the tears, Enna smiled and wrapped the necklet in its papers again. "I…I don't know much about Christmas, or giving presents, but I…yours is on that desk over there."

Aramir stood and went over to the window, picking up the tunic that lay folded on the escritoire. "Enna, it's fantastic."

"Unfold it and look on it before you pronounce judgment on it," Enna scolded, drawing her covers up higher around her shoulders. "I made it in the Narnian way, or at least tried to."

He shook it out, the soft cambric rustling. "I see the Galmanian influences."

Enna blushed. "Oh, dear, I did try…"

"No, no! I do think it looks quite nice. I daresay that no one else in Narnia has a shirt like this one. And the stitching on the yoke looks time-consuming."

"Only a little. Oh, and the jerkin underneath is for you, too."

He looked at her in surprise. "Enna, lass, you're far too kind!"

"Oh, nonsense. This I hope looks completely Narnian. At least, the cut does…I think I slipped and festooned it in a rather Galmanian fashion."

Aramir chuckled and picked up the forest green jerkin, running his thumb over the delicate embroidery that marched down the front of the article alongside the grommets and ties. "It's…I don't even know what to say, Enna."

"A simple 'thank you' will suffice." She blushed and tucked a curl behind her ear.

Suddenly, Aramir undid his simple leather jerkin and slipped it off, following it with his secondhand tunic until he stood bare-chested in her room. Enna blinked and felt a hot blush creeping up her face, her embarrassment tempered only by the sight of the old scars crisscrossing the youth's back. A moment later and they were covered by the new tunic and jerkin, and Aramir tied them up and admired himself in the mirror, completely unbothered by the fact that he'd stripped to the waist in front of a mortified young woman.

"I feel almost royal," he announced with a grin, turning to her.

He did look nice, Enna had to admit. "It looks well on you."

"Thank you, Enna," he said seriously, coming to sit by her side again and putting his hand on his chest. "It does mean a good deal to me."

Enna swallowed painfully and managed a small smile. "The sea glass means a considerable amount to me, as well."

"I've heard you speak about it before. I thought…I don't know. But I thought of you when I saw it."

To Enna's dismay, tears threatened to dampen her eyes again, but she forced them away and patted Aramir's arm. "Thank you."

His eyes softened a bit, and he put his hand over hers. "You're welcome. Now, you need to rest some more. I'll go have someone bring up some tea and soup."

"Oh, you don't—"

"You'll get better sooner if someone else cares for you," Aramir interrupted stubbornly. "Now lie down and try to sleep."

Enna did so obediently. Aramir got up from the bed, and she heard him chuckle once before he went to the door and let himself out, closing it quietly behind him. It seemed suddenly rather lonelier in the room, now that she was by herself again, and it took a bit of work to fall asleep, her hand curled around the paper-wrapped bit of jewelry.