"It's about time," Virginia said with a grin when Alice got back to her room and held her hand up to show off her ring. "You sure that rock is big enough for having to put up with the man?"

Ellen had a different take on it. "It's lovely," she said, taking Alice's hand up so she could get a better look at it. "And it looks old. I think this cut was pretty popular about three or four hundred years ago…."

Alice nodded. "He said it was an heirloom. No interesting spells on it, though." She turned around to face Virginia. "And the rock is plenty big enough," she said returning the grin. "Granted his exterior is pretty tough, but once you get past that it would have been pretty hard for me not to fall for him."

"You know I have to give you grief about it…it's just too good of an opportunity to miss," Virginia replied.

Ellen pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Does this mean you are moving out soon?" she asked.

Alice's cheeks turned pink. "No, I'm sticking around for now." She might not care that much about what the general student population thought, but her friends were another matter.

"Have you decided when?" Ellen wanted to know. There was a little tinge of pink in her cheeks as well. "Not that I want you to leave or anything. I just thought that maybe you had talked about it since you've decided you're staying together."

"I…I don't think we're ready for that yet," Alice replied. "What we've basically said is that we would revisit the subject after I turn eighteen this spring." What he had said during one of their weekend teas is that he would not want to 'pick a flower before it fully blossoms.' It was something that they both had to be ready for before it would happen. She was not there yet, and she guessed that Hieronymous was not either.

"Well," Virginia teased, "you do have a romantic trip to look forward to coming up pretty soon."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "A romantic trip, to my grandfather's estate, with my brother," she deadpanned.

Virginia giggled. "Well, not so romantic then. But I hope you have fun anyway."

"I probably will," she said. Alice was looking forward to her trip, getting to know her grandfather better, and maybe they would be able to do some sightseeing as well.

Her grandfather would be sending Hieronymous the tickets for the plane, as well as their travel documentation. Apparently, she had two identities…one as Alice Hayes recognized by the U.S., and one as Alice Carleton recognized by the U.K. In her correspondence with her grandfather, he had explained that the English normals thought that her mother had gone to a boarding school for her education and then had married an American soldier. This excuse explained not only her mother's absence from the English social scene, but would explain her children's unmistakable American accents.

After putting on her nightgown, it occurred to Alice to wonder if she and Hieronymous would have to have a wedding using her English identity. If she did…once married last year, once to marry in the coming January, once in England, and maybe an additional ceremony that her parents could attend when she graduated.

She could not stop herself from laughing, and quickly got into bed so she could muffle it with her pillow before she could wake anyone up. Possibly, she would have four weddings altogether.

At least they would all be to the same man.

...

That Wednesday was the Secret Santa drawing. Alice was certain that Potsdam did something to it so everyone would get someone they knew and liked. Realizing this, getting one of her roommates again this year was not a surprise.

Clark and Virginia, who had gotten each other, both came to her for help finding something for the other. Once again, she thought Potsdam was meddling but did not tell either of them that. She gave Clark the list of cakes that Virginia said she had liked when helping her pick one for her wedding, and suggested that he ask the Glen if they had cupcakes of the same variety. She promised Virginia to go to the mall to help her find something the next Saturday. Her parents had sent some cash with the instructions to buy Christmas presents for her family, so she had to go the mall herself anyway.

In the meantime, her classes were demanding more and more of her attention. Comparing it to her piano lessons she had had when she was younger was easy. The first year, they had simply taught her which notes to push and how they sounded and then had started putting the notes together in a way that made sense. This year, the songs were growing more complicated as she played more notes together and played them faster or slower as was demanded. She also worked on boosting her strength in Green magic, as it was not her forte. When she had told Virginia this, her roommate had joked that when she said 'not her forte,' what she meant was that she was merely average in her abilities in that area. She knew that Virginia thought of her as a chronic overachiever, like Ellen, but as Alice saw it she merely tried to do her best in whatever she did.

Keeping herself busy seemed to make the time go faster. Before she knew it, she was at the mall with Virginia holding shopping bags containing the presents that she found so far.

"What did you find?" Virginia asked in the toy store, and Alice brandished the doll she had found for Nancy.

"At least little kids are easy to buy for," Alice admitted. "I didn't see anything Clark would like in here."

Virginia's eyebrows rose. "What would you expect to find him in here anyway?" It was, after all, a toy shop that appeared to be geared towards younger children.

"Oh," Alice thought. "I could get a game maybe. Or a leftover toy skeleton from Halloween…he's told me that he wants a skeleton to put in his closet."

Virginia snorted with laughter. "He is an odd one."

"He says he would send a picture of it to anyone that tries to dig up any dirt on him," Alice replied. "There would also be the caption 'this is the only skeleton in my closet.'"

Virginia laughed. "I could see that happening."

Alice was still smiling as they walked into the next store. Ornamental swords lined the walls, which Clark would also like, but she was sure that was outside Virginia's budget. She had just found a necklace she thought her mother would like when she heard a triumphant cry from Virginia, who had been digging through the sale items in the back. Alice walked around the shelf to find her roommate holding a hand-sized plastic skeleton standing in a clear case.

"I found it first," Virginia said with a big grin.

...

It was the following Thursday when she sat down with Hieronymous to enjoy the Christmas concert. Both Ellen and Donald were singing, and she could see where Clark and Virginia sat together several rows away. Alice did not think it was a 'date,' but they appeared to be enjoying one another's company.

"Do we have the tickets and everything?" she asked while waiting for the show to start.

Her husband nodded. "I received them last Saturday."

She smiled. "It must be different, to get mail that you don't feel inclined to burn."

Hieronymous sighed. "I have not been there for ten years. I am hoping he does not get news of my arrival. It would be…uncomfortable."

Alice understood that he spoke of his estranged father. She thought he was avoiding specific mention due to the fact that they were in public. For all the causal eavesdropper knew, they were talking about tickets to a theatre and an old acquaintance her husband was not eager to meet.

It would not surprise anyone that he burned his mail.

She simply nodded at his statement, and then her husband frowned. "While I was there," he started, "your brother said something strange."

"That's typical," she answered. "What type of strange?"

"The slightly morbid kind, I believe. I asked him how his gift exchange had gone, and he happily announced that Miss Danson had given him a skeleton to put in his closet."

Alice smiled. "I wasn't there when they exchanged gifts, but I wish I had been. Clark has wanted one for a while."

Hieronymous shook his head. "So, aside from him you have a father that makes explosives, two siblings that will attempt to outdo Mr. Danson's detention record for the sake of it, a four-year-old sister that uses so much White magic she drives the local authorities to paranoia, and a mother that is miraculously able to deal with the rest of you despite not using magic herself."

Alice grinned. "Actually, Nancy just had her birthday so she's five now. Looking forward to meeting everyone?"

"I confess I have some reservations about the acting skills of your younger siblings since they do know about our marriage, and some uneasiness that results from that," he replied.

Alice nodded, she knew what he meant. "If something does happen, can you just rewind Mom and Dad's memories and start over again?"

Her husband considered that for a moment. "Possibly, but Petunia would be a better choice there. Perhaps I can convince her to come and blend in with the wallpaper until we leave the house. She has been making noises about needing to assess your sister's progress herself anyway."

"That would work," Alice agreed as the lights dimmed, announcing the start of the concert.