Sora no Ato: Chapter 14
Wintertime: Thoughts and Presents
November came to Seize, bringing with it the cold and snow of winter. Kanata was happy as this would be her first—and maybe only—chance to spend the winter holidays with Rio. Rio had left Seize about this time last year at her father's request to fulfill peace treaty obligations, so Kanata never had this chance then. But that peace was so wonderful a gift that she couldn't really complain about Rio's absence. Nonetheless, celebrating together this year was something she looked forward to.
Before Rio's return, Kanata had been planning on taking Kureha home to visit her family for the holidays. But as nice as it would be to see her parents and give Kureha a family holiday, it wasn't worth giving up her only chance to celebrate them with Rio. She felt Kureha would understand, and would also want to be with Rio. Maybe next winter she could take Kureha to visit her folks.
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Snow once more covered Seize. As the platoon enjoyed a warm dinner together, Kanata and Kureha shared their memories of finding Aisha beneath the snowy cliffs while out on patrol. Their bringing her back to the Fortress lead to her meeting them all—especially Noël—and to her gradual recovery. Kanata asked Noël, ``in your next letter, please tell Aisha to keep warm and be careful around snowy cliffs.''
They all laughed at this reference to the fall which had first injured Aisha and brought her to Kanata and Kureha's attention. Noël agreed to, smiling quietly as this also was the beginning of her relationship with Aisha.
``It was this time last year that you left to make our peace, wasn't it, Rio?'' Filicia asked.
Rio thought a moment. ``Yes, you're right. It was.'' She continued thinking, then added, ``That would also make it a year since Madame Jacott taught me about my mother ...and passed away.''
Kanata agreed, she had been thinking along the same lines.
``How did Yuuko take her death?'' Rio asked, turning to Kanata. ``I know she always helped Madame Jacott in the market. I left before I heard anything. ...Then again, I was a bit preoccupied myself at that time,'' she added with a laugh.
``She's doing fine now,'' Kanata replied. ``Of course she was sad then, but Martin and Naomi helped her. And since she helped Madame sell pickles in the market, she saw her declining health so she wasn't that surprised. Remember, she was the one who was first worried about Madame Jacott.''
``And you helped Yuuko too, Kanata,'' Filicia added.
Kanata mumbled she didn't do anything, she was just being herself.
``And that is what helped Yuuko,'' Rio explained, ``your cheerful joy in life.''
The rest of the dinnertime conversation was filled with talk of the coming winter holidays and what they might do for them.
ooo OOO ooo
All in the platoon were accustomed to the regular letters Noël and Rio received from the Roman Empire, and they no longer found an Imperial Palace address worthy of mention. However, a package from the Helvetian Capital for Rio from her father piqued their curiosity. Filicia was pleased that Rio did not respond ``pitch it,'' when told she had something from her father. She was now at least willing to see what he had to say first. While Rio would likely never love her father, she had grown enough that she would communicate with him at times. Of course, Rio might just be discarding these more recent letters in private, but Filicia didn't think she was.
Rio waited to open the package until she was back in her own room, with the door closed for privacy. Before digging deeper, she opened the enclosed letter. I hope this isn't another something he wants me to do, she thought to herself, remembering his previous plea to save Helvetia and then Franz Leopold's request she present medals for him. And I guess neither of those turned out quite as bad as I feared in the end. She shook her head to clear away these musings and sat down to actually read the letter.
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Dear Rio,
I hope this finds you doing well. Let me thank you again for saving our country and ending the war. I, and our whole country, appreciate your sacrifice at the altar of peace.
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Rio skimmed the next few lines of similar platitudes and laughed to herself. He still didn't quite understand her. For him the country and his own position came first, and while he could readily work with other politicians, his understanding of people outside of the political realm was ...not so good. She doubted he would ever understand why she finally ended up agreeing to the peace treaty terms. And the more she corresponded with Franz Leopold and got to know him, the less onerous those terms came to feel.
But enough of that, what did her dad really want to say? She continued reading the body of the letter.
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to be yours, so I am sending them to you. These are a few pieces of jewelry which I had originally given to your mother. They have taken an interesting path this past decade. Of all places, they turned up in the hoard we recovered from Baron Condé after his treason. While we were going over all of that, they came to my attention.
I suppose that nothing he did should surprise us anymore, but one of the officers—perhaps trying to curry favor, I don't know—singled out these items to track down their history and see if we could uncover any further miscreants clinging to the Baron. There were a lot to choose from, for in addition to being a greedy snake, the baron was a magpie collecting all sorts of items he had no real use or need for. Thankfully for us, this also meant he kept many of the notes he received with gifts, and so it turned out with these. Of all people, he was given them by Bishop Alexander, ``In token of the help you have given regarding that town house. Perhaps you can make use of these someday.'' The implication was to use them against me, whether for bribery or blackmail I do not know. We can only assume that Bishop Alexander took them from your mother in her last days.
I'm sorry that it has taken so many years to get these back, but I feel they belong to you by right of your mother, as it looks like they were unjustly taken from her.
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Well, thought Rio, That's quite the development. I wouldn't have guessed that anything would tie the Baron—and even Colonel Hopkins back to my mother. She quickly scanned the polite closing of the letter and moved to the box.
Carefully wrapped inside were a matching pendant and earring and also a broach. She remembered her mother wearing the broach, but not so much the pendant and earrings. These were not the style she usually wore. All were beautiful and wearable, showing good taste and not overly gaudy.
Rio pulled out the bell she wore around her neck and looked at it. Her dad had given this to her and a matching one to her sister Iliya. She wore it more for it's tie to her sister than anything else. In fact when Kanata arrived in Seize, she had been willing to let it go, cutting loose one more tie to her father, but Kanata had gone to great effort to recover it after Shuko had stolen it the day Kanata arrived in Seize. She smiled. Now she wore it for its ties to Kanata as well as her sister.
Her gaze moved from the bell to the jewelry from her father to the pictures of Franz Leopold on her desk. This brought both men to mind and made her think of the differences between them. Even though her opinion of her father had improved this past year, there were still plenty of black marks on his record in her mind. Franz Leopold had a much better record. But maybe that's just because I haven't known him long enough to see his faults, she thought. No, that's just pessimism and paranoia talking. She needed to hope, and her impression of the man Franz Leopold was said that he cared more for people, and for peace, than her father. He was a good-hearted ``people person'' while her dad was, at the core, a politician. With her dad, she felt he was always calculating and holding back information and trust, in case they would be useful in some future power play. Franz Leopold felt more trustworthy and caring. For him, trust was good in itself, to be spent freely as it would be returned, not hoarded against some eventual need. Maybe that was why she no longer looked forward to her upcoming marriage with so much dread.
She looked back at the bell itself now, rather than her memories. It was silver with a very nicely done pattern of cherry blossoms and leaves. It did seem that her dad had an ability to pick nice jewelry ...or he had someone on his staff who did.
But what would she do with this jewelry? It was not something she would wear with her uniform, and she didn't know about fashion in the Roman Empire. Thankfully she didn't have to decide now, so she wrapped the pieces back up in their packing and put them away to decide on later.
ooo OOO ooo
Kanata was probably the most visibly excited over the preparations for the winter holidays. She approached them with a childlike glee and verve. Kureha also looked forward to them, but her mature air wouldn't let her be as outwardly excited. It ended up that Mishio and the other orphans dragged Noël and the others into more into the preparations and excitement of the season than they had been in previous years. It was hard to decide which the orphans liked more, baking or eating the traditional holiday treats. Filicia saw this all and thought it good that her ``family'' was going to have one last fun holiday together.
Noël and Rio conferred with each other and Yumina about Roman traditions for the holidays. The topic had also come up in their Roman correspondence. Much was similar, but the empire focused more on a slightly earlier holiday they called Weihnacht rather than on the common New Year's in Helvetia. Both were festival to bring cheer in the darkest days of winter, and both centered much celebration in families. The types of decorations varied—though pine boughs figured in both—as did the foods specifically associated with the holidays.
These discussions spread over to dinnertime and everyone enjoyed comparing how things differed where they came from, for they even differed inside Helvetia. Kanata made some of her mother's recipes from southern Helvetia. Filicia's family was from the north and their traditions were closer to some of the Roman ones. She even knew on of the styles of Roman cookies that Rio and Noël mentioned and promised to make a batch for all of them to enjoy.
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Kureha had to consciously let herself enjoy these festivities. Growing up an orphan, she hadn't had the family to absorb traditions from. But this year she felt happy to follow Filicia and Rio as well as the others in preparing. She even talked Rio into helping her look for something to get, or make, for Klaus.
``He means a lot to you, doesn't he?'' Rio asked while they were out on the town.
``Yes, he does.'' Kureha looked down, embarrassed. ``I...''
``He really is a good and caring man. You could pick far worse to admire.''
Kureha smiled at this praise, more-so because it was from someone she also admired. ``And it's not because I think he's the Desert Wolf,'' she explained. ``It's because he is who he is.''
Rio nodded, thankful that Kureha understood this. Her expression encouraged Kureha to say more.
``I know I used to call him that, and think that's who he was, but I got over that.'' She paused in the city street where they walked, and looked up at the sky, faintly gray over the stuccoed buildings lining it. ``I suspected for a while, but I finally confirmed this last year when you all rescued the two of us from the river during that typhoon. Sitting there with him, watching the river eat away at our shelter, I finally realized that it wasn't the Desert Wolf whom I admired, but rather this man next to me who was fighting his own fear trying to protect me.'' She grinned up at Rio. ``And that was a good thing, since I also confirmed then that he didn't have the Desert Wolf's tattoo on his chest.''
``Good for you,'' said Rio. ``I guess that your improved relationship after that came from more than just surviving shared danger.'' It was Rio's turn to pause and remember. ``Did you know that when he left the next morning he told us he didn't want to destroy your dreams? Is that why you marked out the tattoo on your picture of the Desert Wolf?''
``Yes. I know. We talked about that later. The fact that he's not the Desert Wolf doesn't make me admire him any less. And I think he feels better not having to live up to that legend.''
``Good. I'm glad there aren't any misunderstandings between you now. And it's good to have someone you can trust and admire.'' She smiled, thinking of Iliya.
Kureha nodded in agreement. ``So what are you thinking of getting him?'' Rio asked.
``Well,'' said Kureha, ``I was thinking...''
They continued their walk into town, discussing Kureha's ideas.
``I wonder how much we'll see this season from the Roman Empire?'' Rio mused. ``They're famous for their intricate toys, and now that peace has opened up trade, I expect to see more of them in the market here.''
ooo OOO ooo
A few days later, just in time for Klaus' next courier run, Rio and Noël each wrapped a package to send off rather than their typical letter. Their usual letters were included in these boxes, but they also held holiday presents. Noël's was smaller, and only she knew what present it held for Aisha. She had made whatever it was by herself in her workshop.
Rio's box for Franz Leopold was much larger. On the other hand, it held not one but four presents: for Franz Leopold and his three daughters. These were also wrapped in plenty of padding to cushion the delicate glassware Karl and Maria had especially made.
Klaus was happy to take these on the first stage of their journey.
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He arrived back with his normal courier delivery not long before New Year's. As this would be his last visit before the holidays, Filicia invited him in to join in their celebration and for dinner. It didn't take much convincing to get him to agree. Perhaps he already felt part of things having brought packages this time in addition to the usual dispatches and letters. Fortunately the time was no problem. His schedule allowed for bad weather which had not appeared and did not look to do so.
Thus Klaus was brought into Filicia's ``family'' to celebrate the winter holidays. Perhaps Filicia was the only one to notice Klaus' little smile when she handed out the last of the packages he delivered to Kureha. Kureha's expression had brightened at that point. Previously she was trying to be happy for her friends who were receiving things from their families, but her expression still held an echo of sadness since she had no family to receive things from. Kanata received some miso and other specialties of her hometown from her parents. Noël was happy with a special letter from her professor, but that was far eclipsed by the scarf Aisha sent her.
Aisha had written on the enclosed card,
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Dearest Noël,
I noticed that you were still wearing that one scarf this summer. So I decided that if you liked it that much, I should knit you another one. I enjoyed doing so, as it gave me something to do with my hands while thinking of you. And this winter, I hope you will find yourself warmed by both its wool as well as the love that went into it.
Love,
Aisha
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Noël immediately folded the note to keep Aisha's precious words to herself and wrapped the new scarf around her neck. It must have been very warm, as her cheeks heated in a blush as she rubbed them against the scarf, savoring its feel and the love that made it.
Kureha's package turned out to be a medical textbook to help her in her studies to become a doctor. Inside was a brief note to her.
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Kureha,
I know this is the season for family gifts. Since your parents are no longer in a position to give you any presents to open, I thought I should, as I could not bear to see you alone and forsaken this Holiday. I hope you will find this useful in pursuit of your dream.
—Klaus
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On reading this, Kureha found her breath taken away along with her words. When they returned, all she could say was, ``Thank you, Klaus,'' but her tone was one she almost never used, and he could tell just how special this was to her. His small smile in answer said that he had just been repaid, and more.
Later, Rio told Kureha, ``This seems to be the year for books,'' explaining that Franz Leopold had given her an old Roman book on the study of old aircraft and analysis on how they might have flown, and that she had given Kanata a book of trumpet tunes.
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Not all presents were given in public like Kanata's gift to Filicia of a glass rabbit to join the menagerie she kept on her dressing table. Earlier that day, Rio had found Filicia alone in her office. ``You know,'' said Rio, ``there are times when the right present just about falls in your lap.'' She placed a small, wrapped box on Filicia's desk. ``Happy New Year, Filicia.''
``Rio, thank you.'' Filicia smiled and picked up the box. ``May I?'' she asked.
``Go ahead. Opening it is the only way I know for you to find out what's inside.''
Filicia chuckled at her teasing and proceeded to carefully undo the paper. Securely nestled inside the padding of the box, Filicia found a matching pendant and pair of earrings.
``Thank you.'' Filicia's cheeks colored. ``But you didn't have to go out and buy me fancy jewelry just for this holiday.'' Her mind began working. ``But if you did that, then what do you mean about it falling in your lap. Shopping for these wasn't that easy, was it?''
Rio laughed at her confusion. ``Actually, I have to admit that I neither shopped for nor bought your present.'' She savored Filicia's sincerely confused look at this explanation. ``Those actually belonged to my mother. I received them from ...my father in that package a couple weeks ago. He had given them to her, but somehow Baron Condé got a hold of them, probably through Bishop Alexander during mother's last illness. They belong on a lovely lady.''
Filicia blushed deeply and stammered, trying to respond. ``But Rio, you are lovely yourself, and these are your mother's...'' She had trouble getting any more out: emotions managed to tie her vocal cords in knots.
Rio chuckled. ``I will admit that I kept this one for myself.'' She pulled a broach out of her pocket and showed it to Filicia. ``I remember mother wearing this one, but not really those, so I will keep this as having special meaning to me and give you those. I think they will look good on you, and your expression tells me that they will have special meaning to you as well.''
``But...'' Filicia stared at her box. ``Are you sure that you want to give these away. It's not like you have so many things of your mother's that you can afford to just give them out profligately.''
``Yes, I am sure. And it's because they're precious to me, and because—in your own way—you are too, that I feel this is the perfect gift.''
``Rio...'' Filicia held the box to her chest. ``Thank you. I will treasure these forever, and every time I wear them I will think of you.''
This brought a blush to Rio's face, as she knew Filicia meant every one of those words. Rio hoped she had not implied too much with this gift.