Page 12 of Dreaming of an Earth Christmas

She waved her off. “No, I think I’ll be fine. I’m not planning to play in it.” Mia placed her hand on the clear barrier that formed the obvious globe shape, and then she pressed her hand over the small authorization panel V’kesth had worked into the material. She’d wanted to just go for another simple button, but her work partner liked to keep things complicated.

A door-size opening peeled back, and Mia stepped inside. She didn’t bother closing it after Marta followed her. The barrier was for aesthetic purposes—the tech that created the globe effect didn’t require it, but half the fun was feeling as if you were inside a real snow globe.

She looked up and felt the fluffy snowflakes fall upon her face and got caught up in the magic of it despite herself. Mia closed her eyes, held her arms, and spun. She didn’t have to have grown up with snowy winters for the falling snow to make her feel like a little girl again. From Marta’s pleased laughter, Mia suspected the other woman was enjoying herself, too.

She lowered her head and turned back to face the others, giving a big wave to Sseith and the two men next to him. V’esthiss was watching her with his head tilted towards his shoulder, while Alice’s husband T’kalinth frowned fiercely. Carlie strode towards the snow globe’s entrance holding the hand of her little girl. Violet’s red curls bounced above her shoulders as the toddler looked up open-mouthed at the snow swirling inside. Carlie gave Mia and Marta a big grin as she picked up Violet and swung her in first.

“What do you think, baby?” Carlie asked, bending down on one knee to smile at the child after she’d stepped inside. Violet was looking up, seemingly unable to tear her gaze away from the snow. She held out one chubby hand and touched one of the quickly melting flakes that’d landed on her skin.

Mia smiled as she watched. This was the reason she’d bothered recreating the device in the first place—to give these children that first taste of winter. She’d heard from others in Ve’aska that there were remote regions of the Northern Continent where it was rumored to snow, but according to them, no one went there or had any desire to do so.

A rapid flapping of wings had her looking back towards the entrance. Althiss leapt into the globe and then propelled himself up with his small wings until he hovered at shoulder height for a brief moment. Then he began to slowly drift downward as snow coated his forest green and red feathers. Alexis had followed her son, and she looked at Mia with a broad smile.

“Thank you for this. What a wonderful surprise,” the other woman said. Then she bent down and scooped up some snow in her hands and formed a misshapen ball, laughing as she tried to do it without pressing her palms too hard against the loose snow. Alexis tossed the ball at her friend Carlie, instinctively lifting her hands to protect her face when her friend felt the impact of the snow ball and turned around to see who’d thrown it.

Carlie narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, so it’s going to be like that, is it?” she asked, trying to sound serious, but her barely repressed grin was ruining the effect. “I think you forgot that where I grew up, we actually had snowy winters. That means that I’m an expert in snow ball fights, and you just messed up—big time. You could’ve had me on your side, Alex. Remember that.”

Carlie crouched down and hissed as the icy snow touched her bare hands, but she laughed as she hurried to form a snowball. Then she hurled it right at Alexis, and it broke apart into a big pouf of powdery snow as it hit. The children were squealing with laughter, and she heard Althiss’ wings flapping again.

“I think we’re going to need those gloves, Kat,” Mia called. She looked down at the snow covered ground and then back at her arms. She was wearing a long-sleeved tunic and trousers. Maybe it wouldn’t be too unbearable to get down and make a snow angel. The last time she’d done so was probably twelve years ago at one of those company picnics in a globe similar to this one. She bit her lip and then kneeled down before she lay back, letting out a little cry as the cold engulfed her. She moved her arms and legs side to side and laughed as her first attempt to get back up failed.

“Here, take my hand.” Kat had her arm out, and Mia gladly took it. As soon as she got to her feet, Kat handed her a pair of gloves. “These will probably help,” she said before she started handing pairs out to the rest of them.

As soon as her hands were covered, Carlie was able to ramp up her snowball production. Violet half hid behind her legs as she laughed, and Althiss had joined in on the assault, throwing his smaller snowballs at his mother. Mia’s lips quirked. She wasn’t surprised. It’s what her own boys would’ve done.

She looked down at her snow angel. It was a lot crooked and a little messy in the spot where she’d pushed herself up to grab Kat’s hand. She’d need to add some abdominal exercises to her to-do list, it seemed, she thought regretfully. When she turned to look out at the garden for L’xat, she saw Alice standing on the other side of the globe, waving and holding her new baby. Mia waved back and started to make her way back towards the edge of the globe.

“I surrender,” Alexis was crying as she laughed. Mia shook her head and smiled as she ducked beneath the opening to step outside and join Alice. Mia had been looking forward to cuddling her baby since she’d first received Kat’s invitation. Before she reached the other woman, she felt L’xat’s fingers brushing her hair back from her forehead.

“Are you well, my Mia?” She looked up at him, surprised to see he seemed genuinely concerned.

“Of course,” she replied, unable to resist pressing her lips against his. He reared back, and she heard the snap of his crown feathers as he pulled away.

“Mia! Your mouth—your lips! You’re freezing!” Before she could reply, L’xat had her wrapped up in his strong arms. She wasn’t going to complain, and the welcome heat of his sculpted chest felt wonderful against her cool cheek. He was ineffectually patting her hair and rubbing her shoulders.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled happily against his satiny scales. Then she smiled—again. There might be better ways to celebrate Christmas, but at that moment, she couldn’t think of any.

Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming

CARLIE

Carlie was startingto feel the sting of the cold against her cheeks. It was probably time to take Violet back outside of the amazing giant snow globe L’xat’s mate Mia had made for them, but she didn’t really want to leave yet. She loved Xithilene, but sometimes she missed being truly cold. No climate control could quite recreate the icy bite of winter wind.

Carlie walked towards Violet where she was playing with Althiss. She was just about to reach out and tap her daughter’s shoulder, when some instinct urged her to turn around. She looked back and abruptly closed her mouth, doing her best to conceal her reaction. Sseith had just strode inside the snow globe. His black crown feathers were quivering above his head, and he looked about ready to hiss. Suddenly his blood red gaze swung to her, and she knew she was in for it now.

Her big, bronze-scaled hunk of a husband was storming over towards her, his lovely robes billowing behind him as the snow fell all over his bare chest. And practically bare feet. If she’d known he was planning on entering the snow globe, she would’ve told him that sandals were a poor choice for snowy weather. She felt the smile stretching her lips and fought madly to keep it from growing. Just then, someone threw a snowball. It hit Sseith right on the stomach, just below his Lady’s talisman, shattering completely on contact.

Althiss’ happy screech forced the grin free. Then she laughed. Big mistake. Her furious, and if she read him correctly, freezing, mate glared at her before he swept Violet off of the ground and up into his arms. Althiss had decided to join in with her laughter, and his high-pitched glee was probably only adding fuel to the fire. Sseith’s hand clamped down over her forearm.

“Out. Now,” he ordered as he led them all towards the opening on the side of the globe.

“It was getting a little chilly,” she said, knowing all the while that she was poking the beast, but she always enjoyed it when Sseith got a little feisty. Wine red eyes looked even better when they were flashing with passion, whether it was from anger or…other emotions.

Carlie hopped out of the globe behind her mate and daughter. He took a few more long strides forward before he spun to face her. She admired the way his robes flared out around him as he glowered at her. “We’re going inside—now. No more of this—” Sseith stopped talking and shuddered, his mouth twisting into a grimace. “This horrible contraption,” he finished. He looked down at Violet and brushed some rapidly melting snow from her bright hair before he turned his head back to Carlie. “This was supposed to be your perfect Earth Christmas. It won’t be if you sicken from that unnatural cold.”

He frowned, and she could see he really was genuinely worried. Carlie walked closer and hugged her shivering spouse, working her left hand beneath his robes. He yelped and she bit her lip. She’d removed her gloves, but she hadn’t realized her touch would still be so cold.

“Sorry, baby. That was unintentional. What do you mean, this is supposed to be my perfect Earth Christmas?” she asked. Was that what he’d been up to all week? She felt as if she’d barely seen him lately, but he’d been acting all mysterious, and she hadn’t wanted to spoil his surprises. She was already anticipating the reappearance of the “offering tree” he’d made for her before, although she was worried about the level of blood loss all those little scrolls fastened to the branches represented.

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