Summary: Christmas has finally come. It is time to try and enjoy the days. Not a lot of characters in our story are having the best of luck at that. For one reason or another. Though there is a very interesting gift in store for some.


Notes: Today's update is slightly delayed due to issues in putting it together. Today we experience Christmas 1923 and as such the story refers to several carols. They are in their native languages despite there being people present, who can understand the words. I am not translating them, since I have no experience with adapting lyrics. Links are provided for you if you wish to listen to them. It is also time to slightly torture Alphonse. (Sorry, but teen crushes are bitch enough for straight people. At least Al gets a nice Christmas gift for all his trouble.)


The trio were allowed to keep their lead fortunes, but Edward had to surrender his apple, because those apples were meant for baking strudel and not for personal keepsakes. Not that it would make much of a difference if it was, since the contact between the apple and the air was already causing it to undergo browning from oxidation. Edward and Noah headed back into the kitchen to make sure guests could be served until midnight.

Alphonse was constantly trying to keep up along with the amount of people and even with the other waiters, they were having trouble. At least in this line of work, his old suit from München was useful, since Belveder demanded that their waiters maintained decorum. The restaurant was nearly full and with only three of them it was an unending run. Pork schnitzels and piece of cooked or fried carp were being consumed at a high rate.

Apparently, it was the good reputation of Hotel Belveder, which caused several families to decide this would be a good place to spend Christmas Eve together. The owners had gone so far as to invite musicians and singers to provide live entertainment. Today an unusual amount of child singers were present, and the group was constantly switching between German and Czechoslovak Christmas carols. Al took the four dishes from the table of finished servings.

Currently, the group was playing the German song 'O Fir Tree.' O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie grün sind deine Blätter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine Blätter! "Four carp dishes with potato salad," he announced as he approached the table. The people there were two parents in their early forties and their two children.

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit! Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! The quartet took their arms off the table, so he could set the plates down. He gave the children sized portion to the about eight-year-old daughter, then served the parents in clockwise motion and thus ended up with the final one for the teenage son. He then made what he would retroactively consider a massive error of judgement.

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Dein Kleid will mich was lehren! That error was looking up at the brown-haired teen son as he prepared to take the last plate off his left hand. The boy smiled at him in a way that hit him like a punch and he almost dropped one of the plates on the floor. "Sorry," he almost yelled as he caught it with his right hand and scared the four guests. "Are you okay," that son asked, and Alphonse felt himself blushing.

"Yeah, just... I just messed up the balance. I am so sorry," he muttered and tried to stamp down the thoughts that distracted him in the first place. "It's okay, boy, you did not actually drop anything," the mother calmed him down. "Thank you. Again, I would like to apologise," he said and promptly walked away from the table trying to ignore his head in favour of the song. Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit Gibt Mut und Kraft zu jeder Zeit! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Dein Kleid will mich was lehren!

Edward and Noah almost jumped as Al slammed the door into the kitchen behind him. They looked around, and he appeared like he had gone outside without a scarf. His cheeks were red. "Is something wrong," his brother asked. After a moment, he nodded ever so slightly. "I need a break for a moment," he explained, and sat down on a chair next to the door. The moment he did, his treasonous mind reminded him how kissable that boy's lips looked, and he now looked like the unpeeled apples in the baskets.

"Actually, I think more work is what I need now," he quickly corrected himself and promptly went to the table with finished dishes. His brother and their friend gave him bewildered looks. "You know, you can tell us if something is wrong," Noah offered, but he wagged his head and vanished back out into the restaurant proper with another serving. He was only too happy that it was for a table at a completely different end of the hall. By this point the group had switched their notes to the Czech carol 'How beautiful art thou, oh, innocent child.'

Jak jsi krásné, neviňátko, vprostřed bídy nebožátko. Před tebou padáme, dary své skládáme! If Alphonse knew what those words meant, he may have sworn up an absolute storm at them thinking they were mocking him, if the mere moment he heard the Czech words for 'how beautiful art thou' he wouldn't instead caught fire. Já ti nesu dvě kožičky, by zahřály tvé nožičky. Já zas trochu mlíčka, by kvetla tvá líčka! Já ti nesu veselého, beránka ze stáda svého, s ním si můžeš hráti, libě žertovati!

He walked quickly between the tables in a vain attempt to make his mind shut up. A group of friends from Germany that were holidaying abroad had nonetheless asked for Herring Salad with bread as their Christmas meal. Al really could not understand the appeal, but he served them with as much professionalism as he could. If they noticed the remnants of his blush, they did not comment on it. At least not to his face.

Já ti nesu dvě kožíšky, by zahřály tvé dušičky. Já zas trochu mlíčka, by kvetla tvá víčka. Já ti nesu veselého, beránka ze stáda svého. S ním si můžeš hráti, libě žertovati. A co my ti chudí dáme? Darovati co nemáme. My ti zadudáme, písně zazpíváme. As he returned this time, he failed to think through where the shortest path would take him. He looked up and saw that boy again. The blush came back with a massive vengeance. At least he himself was paying attention to his meal.

A waiter cannot just start swearing in front of the guests, Alphonse desperately reminded himself. Maybe if he was having trouble with a sudden crush on a girl, he could excuse himself from being a serving waiter until they left. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no way he was mentioning having a crush on a male to anyone but his brother or Noah, and they had no power over his work hours. Although only actual homosexual acts were illegal, he was not risking getting himself, and possibly them as well, kicked out.

This time he did not manage to get to the table with the finished servings, since the moment he entered the kitchen again, his brother jumped him and pulled him to the side. "Just tell us what's wrong," he said in a firm tone that brokered no argument. Alphonse muttered an answer so quietly, neither could hear. "Maybe so we can actually understand you," Noah pressed him. "There is a cute boy out there," he repeated through clenched teeth and looking around for oncoming doom.

"Oh," both of the others said in slightly different tones. He saw his brother try and fail to suppress a smile and gave a withering look of betrayal. "You had us thinking there was something seriously wrong," Noah reprimanded him, and he almost swore at her. "This is a massive problem. I cannot stop thinking about how cute he looks and..." He decided to not mention the desire to kiss him or possibly more. "That's normal for crushes, Al," Edward explained and received an annoyed sigh back.

"In case you forgot, Edward, not everyone shares your opinions on homosexuality. I would rather not risk somebody noticing that I find another teen boy attractive," he harshly whispered. "Come on, Al," Ed said as he patted his brother's back, "the people outside are more concerned with getting their dinner than where the waiter is looking as he walks around the room." "I would rather not test that. Besides, they are other people there."

"Alphonse, is something wrong," came the voice of Mr. Acker and the boy suddenly straightened out from sheer fear. "He is just a bit tired, because he had trouble sleeping," his brother promptly answered, and it was not entirely a lie. "Don't worry, my boy, it is already almost half past nine, and we close at ten. You can go and have all the rest you need. We have enough staff for the morning, so if you need more sleep, you can come in for the lunch rush only," the man told him and went back.

"Thank you," Alphonse ground out and quickly grabbed another set of plates. This time he was greeted by 'Silent Night' instead. Technically that song had versions in both languages, but it was a turn for a German carol. Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! Alles schläft, einsam wacht Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar. Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar, Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh, Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

"Pork schnitzel with potatoes," he said through slightly clenched teeth as he arrived at their table. This time that boy was looking up and noticed him. He gave him another smile and Alphonse felt like snow somebody threw on top of a stove. Stop thinking about making out with him, he internally yelled at himself. Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht, Hirten erst kundgemacht. Durch der Engel Halleluja Tönt es laut von fern und nah: Christ, der Retter ist da, Christ, der Retter ist da!


Most of the Cabinet of Antonín Švehla attended the Christmas Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Vitus. In truth, a large part of this was in deference to the fact that among their members were politicians from the Czechoslovak People's Party, who were ardent defenders of Roman Catholicism. As such Josef Dolanský, the Minister of Justice, and Jan Šrámek, the Minister of Public Health and Physical Education, were the only truly enthusiastic people there despite half of their colleagues nominally being Roman Catholics as well.

The fact that the Christmas Mass in question was being given by František Xaver Kordáč, with whom a lot of people in their group had severe gripes. His predecessor as Archbishop of Prague, Count Paul Huyn, fled in 1919 as he was considered too connected to the old Austro-Hungarian Empire to be trusted, but Pope Benedict XV decided to replace him with an ardent Ultramontanist. At least for the sake of peace on Christmas, Kordáč did not go straight into a sermon on the current state of the country.

"Where is the President going tonight," Švehla asked Beneš as he slid into the bench next to him. "He went back to the Lány château, so I am assuming that if he does go to a church service, he will go to the Evangelical Church in Kladno," Beneš answered. "That doesn't surprise me. He and Kordáč get on like oil and water," Švehla assessed, and Beneš almost laughed out loud. "Maybe if you set that oil on fire, that notion would work."

"That's what happens when you get people with a Doctorate in Philosophy into a room. Kordáč is a faithful Roman Catholic with a library containing philosophical and religious texts from every corner of the world and opposite him, you have Masaryk – a man that made deep studies of society, who rebelled from the Catholic Church, railed against religious education and sectarianism under the Habsburg, defended a Jew from Anti-Semitic accusations, married a Unitarian from America and adopted both feminism and the separation of Church and State as key ideals," Udržal pointed out.

In splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te. They all rose from their benches as the Latin chant based on Psalm 109 filled the Cathedral, and Kordáč and his helpers started to pass around midnight communion. It was rather pointed that the Archbishop himself offered the Eucharist directly to Dolanský and Šrámek and a few others not directly opposed to him, but left it to his deacon helpers to offer it to the others. Most of the others put a finger in front of their mouth as a sign of refusal.

If anything, accepting would have probably pissed the Archbishop off a lot, since according to Catholic Canon Law only those under Sanctifying grace could receive any part of it. Given some of them had left the church and others had certainly not been to Confession after most recently committing mortal sins, taking it would be considered sacrilege of the highest order. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask, Mr. Udržal," Švehla whispered over as the deacons passed them. "Is there news about Harrer?"

"Not much so far. Though he has, apparently, already made himself a nuisance among the people of the Golden Lane. There have been no official complaints thus far, but the President did ask me to meet him on the 27th, so maybe he has received actual letters." "What about as far as actual security is concerned?" "Nothing concrete so far. As far as I know, being a weirdo is not considered illegal."

"Could you two at least wait after Holy Mass ends, and we take our leave, before discussing these things? This is a House of God, you two," Dolanský suddenly turned to them with a massive frown, which caused his moustache to bend as well. "Apologies," both promptly responded, despite the fact that they were his equal and superior. It was not a good idea to potentially threaten the stability of the current coalition.

As the Eucharist finally reached the back benches and everyone sat down, organ music started to play again. A group of altar boys dressed in their white clothes started singing the Czech carol 'Christ the Lord is born' to the music. Narodil se Kristus Pán, veselme se, z růže kvítek vykvet nám, radujme se. Z života čistého, z rodu královského, nám, nám, narodil se! Jenž prorokován jest, veselme se, ten na svět poslán jest, radujme se! Z života čistého, z rodu královského, nám, nám, narodil se!

Kordáč was slowly walking back to the front of the Cathedral, and it ultimately took long enough that they were already half-way through the carol. Člověčenství naše, veselme se, ráčil vzíti na Bůh se, radujme se! Z života čistého, z rodu královského, nám, nám, narodil se! Goliáš obloupen, veselme se, člověk jest vykoupen, radujme se! Z života čistého, z rodu královského, nám, nám, narodil se!

"Indeed Christ is born to us as prophesied and also in each of his faithful as Paul tell us," Kordáč began. "Do not forget that this day is mainly a reminder of the Christian Gospel. We recall that God himself sent his only-begotten son to redeem the world from its bondage to sin. This is a completely free gift that any man can take up, so long as he is willing to acknowledge the nature of its giver. God's People, go out and, as Christ was, is and will be, be a light to the world in the darkness!"


"That was absolute torture," Alphonse muttered as he sat down on his bed. "Oh, come on, Al, you are being overdramatic," Edward argued and received another withering stare as his reward. "I fell like you two are not getting how much trouble I would get in, if someone besides you two found out about me being homosexual. We finally found a stable and reasonable employment – well, you could kiss that goodbye. Either you would need to publicly forswear me or follow me into banishment."

"We choose the latter," they both said, and when Alphonse started crying, they both jumped him and forcibly pulled him into a hug. "Nobody is going to catch you crushing on another boy. There is only one clairvoyant among the staff of Hotel Belveder, and she is your friend," Noah pointed out. "Also, I swear if you even try to hang yourself out to dry to save us, I will find you and first beat up the people after you and then your own behind for being an idiot," Ed told him and was glad to receive a laugh in turn.

"We don't give a fuck if you are interested in guys and anyone who bothers you about it will receive our boots up their ass before they can blink," he added with a murderous look, but clearly not aimed at his brother directly. "I highly doubt that anyone noticed anything. The restaurant was so full, a person standing directly next to you would not have been able to determine where you were looking to at any particular time," Noah added.

"So, now that we have convinced you that you are safe with us," he continued, and Alphonse gave him a so-so gesture. "Mind telling us who caught your eye," Noah finished with an evil grin, and they laughed at the massive groan they received in turn. "Calm me down with one corner of your mouth and ask for details with the other," he accused them. "We are your brother and friend respectively. It is our job to tease you, unless you are emotionally compromised, in which case we hug you until you are not," Edward stated as if it was self-evident.

"There was a family eating carp for Christmas Dinner. They were parents with a young girl and a teen boy. When I handed him his plate, I looked up at his face. He gave me this cute smile and..." At this point, his brother cooed. About two seconds later, Edward received his brother's pillow straight to his face. He loudly laughed as he put it to the side and so his brother blushing so bad, he appeared to be putting out enough heat to make the air shiver.

"Shut up," Alphonse yelled at him. "Do you know how hard it is to maintain decorum as a waiter, when you are keeping your mind out of the gutter by sheer force of will," he asked much more quietly. "I have yet to work as a waiter, so no, I cannot," Ed calmly answered with a genuine smile. "It will be alright," Noah appeased him as she started to pat his hair. "As long as I don't meet him, it will probably be alright. I don't think if I see him again, I will be able to keep myself discreet."

"Who says that he would not like the idea of you two being together," she suggested, and he gave a look like he thought she was insane. "Oh, do you," Ed started as he turned to reach for something. "Do not," his brother almost screeched. "If you suggest that the lead hand fortune is in any way symbolic of us being anything besides waiter and guest, I will beat you up on principle," he warned, and Edward turned around with a gesture of surrender.

"But it could be," he added with a less genuine small, and received an immediate kick in the shin. "Ouch, that hurt!" "Anyway," Al continued ploughing right pass that. "I am pretty sure this is nothing but another passing awkward crush. That is not something I would be willing to build a relationship on. Especially one that is considered illegal in every country in both worlds." That was the end of that discussion before they went to sleep.

Alphonse did in fact take Christmas Day morning off. Edward and Noah went to bake more strudel for the breakfast rush and then got roped into preparing lunches before they could even take a break. Acker agreed in return to give them the afternoon off. Al came in just before the noon rush and hoped as much as he could that the family, or at least the boy himself, would chose to either eat somewhere else, or not when he was making rounds.

Of course why would fortune ever respect his wishes? The entire family came into the restaurant before it was even noon. I really wish it was not monumentally suspicious, if I poured the entire jug of water on my face, he thought as he immediately headed into the back. "They're here again," he groaned as he walked past Edward and Noah. "Can I take a small toilet brake," Ed suddenly asked Acker and before Al could shut that down the head chef answered that "Of course, you can."

His brother thus headed straight out into the restaurant and turned a corner into the bathroom. Within half minute he was already coming back out and Alphonse was out with more plates, because he could not justify loitering about without assurance that his brother would not try to call his bluff by hiding out of the view of the door and pretending to be taking somewhat longer than usual in the restroom.

"So, which one is it?" Al just gave up and weakly pointed to a table. His brother tried to subtly take a look in that direction and noticed the teenager in question. "Huh. Good choice." Alphonse did not care he was carrying several plates and tried to kick his shin again. "Careful," Edward teased. "Don't you have food to cook?!" "It will be fine," Ed added and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Keep telling me that. Maybe, I'll believe it," he answered and tried to get his mind filled with the Czech carol 'We three Kings come to thee' instead of what was there now.

My tři králové jdeme k vám, štěstí, zdraví vinšujem vám! Štěstí, zdraví, dlouhá léta, my jsme k vám přišli z daleka! Z daleka je cesta naše, do Betléma mysl naše! Nám třem se hvězda zjevila, která jak živa nebyla! Jak jsme tu hvězdu viděli, hned jsme si koně osedlali! Co ty, černej, stojíš vzadu, vystrkuješ na nás bradu? Hrdě se k tomu hned přiznám, že já jsem mouřenínský král! A já černej vystupuju a Nový rok vám vinšuju! A my taky vystupujem a Nový rok vám vinšujem!


On Thursday the Minister of National Defence was brought into the Office of the President as he had told Prime Minister Švehla near the end of the Midnight Mass. "Your Excellency, I am told you wish to speak with me," Udržal said as he bowed to President Masaryk. "Indeed," the other man said as he looked out of the window with his back to him. "The people living in the Golden Lane have been complaining about Harrer. He's been running around and in their words 'being a creep' to them."

"My office has received similar reports. It appears that Harrer has not made any attempts to hide his political allegiance, and as such has annoyed several individuals residing in the area. The agents set to follow him indicate that there was almost a physical altercation between him and the poets Jaroslav Seifert and Vítězslav Nezval." Masaryk sighed and massaged his temple. "I really should have thought through letting him into an area frequented by left-wing and avant-garde artists," he admitted.

"Admittedly, I am not surprised that he has already managed to clash with the members of Devětsil. If Harrer's opinions of culture and the arts are anywhere close to those publicly supported by the National Socialists, then I am surprised this has not happened faster. According to reports from outside sources, after Hitler failed to gain admittance to the Academy of Arts, he became a hater of everything more recent than realism."

"I am pretty sure anything other than European is also an important component of that assessment," Masaryk argued. "I may not understand cubist or surrealist pieces much, but I at least understand some might find beauty in them. They would probably want to burn it all to set an example. A part of me is glad that Franz Kafka no longer resides in the Golden Lane, because that would almost certainly cause us even bigger headaches."

"Ah yes, the double whammy of right-wing anti-Semitism crashing into left-wing persuasions and actual Jews would have probably ensured that the Golden Lane would have already run red with blood," Udržal agreed. "Can we not even joke about that," Masaryk immediately complained. "The last thing I need is another blood libel accusation in my life," he muttered in reference to his defence of Leopold Hilsner against a death sentence on laughably weak charges stoked by anti-Semitic sentiments."

Udržal nodded in agreement. "I however have received some other interesting bits of information. It appears that Harrer has been trying to get into contact with another former resident of that little side street," he added and pulled a book out of his personal briefcase, which he then handed to Masaryk. It was a German book, with Fraktur used to print the front page. Gustav Meyrink, Der Golem, Ein Roman.

"We just noted Harrer's opinion of Jews and you tell me he seeks to contact a man that wrote about the Josefov Ghetto with love," Masaryk pointed out as he flipped through the pages of that novel. "Meyrink is an odd choice, I admit. His satirical insults of the German Empire under Wilhelm II and an approach to theosophy and Eastern religions that is separated from Thule Society's Ariosophy would appear to set them opposite each other.

But Harrer seeks him out regardless. The author is currently a resident of Starnberg in Southern Bavaria, near the Alpine foothills. No indication had yet been received on whether the two will achieve contact." Masaryk sat down in his chair and was briefly silent. "I think I will ask the Gendarmerie to start guarding the Golden Lane just in case. Please keep updating me as much as possible. I am only becoming more concerned the longer the man stays here." "It will be done, Your Excellency."


The Feast of Saint Stephen was slightly kinder to Alphonse. Apparently the family had decided to actually go, and at least eat, outside. He was thinking that maybe he could finally have some of that promised peace that Christmas was supposed to bring, when the next morning they were not at breakfast either. Then he made the second error and took a temporary brake for brunch. "Excuse me," said a young male voice, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

How the hell did the boy find him, when he made a point of eating his food in a lonely corner of Hotel Belveder, he had no idea. "Ah... Yes?" "Would it be too assuming if I asked what your name is," the boy said and grabbed his left arm with his right as if he was nervous. Al failed to answer for a few seconds. "No, I guess. My name is Alphonse, but why do you want to know that?" If Alphonse had not been panicking the entire time, he may have seen the signs a lot more clearly.

He heard the boy almost whisper his name in repetition. "My name is Friedrich," he said, and Al almost laughed at the irony of being so upset by someone, whose name meant 'ruler of peace'. "A pleasure," he muttered, and there was a long stretch of silence that was slowly starting to become awkward. "You are really handsome," Friedrich suddenly admitted, and briefly the roles switched. Alphonse did not expect it and so briefly started at him with wide eyes.

Friedrich was now the one heavily blushing and looking anywhere, but at him. Al finally registered the statement fully and soon joined him. He noticed Friedrich's blue eyes were themselves filled with fear. "Thank you, but why did you tell me that," he said almost like a whisper. "I am sorry, if that makes you feel uncomfortable," Friedrich tried to apologise. "My family leaves tomorrow, I should have just kept my mouth shut and let this pass," he added so quickly Alphonse had to replay it in his head.

"What does your family leaving have to do with this?" "I told you that I consider you handsome, because I am let to believe we share a... 'particular trait not considered acceptable by most'," Friedrich asked and started to hold both his arms with the others. Finally, something managed to permeate the fog of Alphonse's own panic at potentially being revealed. "Oh... I see. You are not 'interested in people you should be'," he asked with a questioning tone towards the end.

Friedrich nodded, and Al was not sure whether he wanted to curse or not. He had just basically let it slip that he was homosexual. But the panic could not really take hold, since Friedrich was clearly one himself. "I have never met another boy like myself, and from the looks you gave me..." "You guessed I liked what I saw too," Alphonse suggested, and oddly did not stutter. Something about being in a presence of another teen like himself felt safe.

Of course, having this discussion in the corridor of a famous hotel was probably not the best choice. "If you would not be opposed to it..." Al looked at Friedrich with a raised eyebrow. "I would like to give you a late Christmas gift," the boy finished and took a slight step forward. "I would not be opposed to taking a gift from you, but what exactly do you want to give me? I don't see anything that you have on yourself." Alphonse looked down again to check he had no missed something.

Instead, Friedrich took another step forward. "I am not talking about a thing," Friedrich said and received a confused look from the waiter. He suddenly stepped a lot closer and almost entered Al's personal space properly. A suggestion appeared in Alphonse's head, and he turned nigh-scarlet. Surely he was not suggesting that! That was not exactly a gift you gave to someone you, properly, met minutes earlier. He did not manage to summon enough annoyance at his next thought that, if this was indeed the suggestion, it would be his 'first' kiss.

"Can I give it to you," Friedrich asked with a look that made Al briefly melt, enough to forget they were not in an even remotely private setting. He gave the slightest nod and very quickly found himself in a very awkward kiss. A small part of him felt bewildered and was screaming about the danger. The rest of him told that part to go screw itself, and he started to give back a bit. After a few second, both sets of lips parted and both boys looked like blushing messes.

"Thank you," Friedrich said. "I should be the one thanking you," Alphonse said as if that was the most natural thing ever. "I wish there was some way for me to stay," the other boy began, but Al held up a hand to stop him. "I understand, Friedrich, this felt nice, but we both know it won't be more than that. I doubt your family would accept you staying here or me joining with you all of a sudden." "The world is unfair," Friedrich muttered. "Yeah, it is." Alphonse looked down sadly.