A VERY AKESO CHRISTMAS

This story takes place a few months after the events of Duality (which means it includes some spoilers for the Riven Worlds novels).

Eren sat on the balcony with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. The air was filled with scents of clover and damp wood after an overnight rainfall. A trio of birds sang their usual morning melody overhead, and the muffled, rapid thumps of a cervinae chasing its prey echoed through the weald.

Another perfect day on Hirlas. In the weeks following the Rasu attack, various groups had bandied about adopting a new name for their awakened planet, but in the end none of them stuck. After all, Hirlas had always been alive for the Naraida and Volucri who called it home.

He sighed and sipped on his tea, trying to will the melancholy away. And failing.

The one-year anniversary of Cosime’s death had come and gone last week. He’d taken a few days off work for it, and hadn’t yet been able to convince himself to return. He’d been doing so well recently, too. But the arrival of the dark date had whacked him over the head and sent him into a proper tailspin of grief and despair, and now all he wanted to do was sulk for the next hundred years.

The telltale glow of a wormhole forming on the balcony gleamed against the high emerald leaves, and he forced himself to his feet to greet his unannounced and not particularly welcome guest.

A few seconds later, Caleb walked through wearing a friendly smile.

Eren couldn’t quite muster the same. “To what do I owe this unexpected visit?”

“We’d like for you to come over for dinner. Or, breakfast in your case, I suppose. Doesn’t really matter.”

“Thanks for the invite, mate, but I’m not feeling up to it today.”

“Which is exactly why you should come. Please? For us? You don’t have to stay long. We’ll understand.”

“Ahhh…fine. Okay.” Not long ago, Caleb had saved not just his and Felzeor’s lives, but the lives of millions of Hirlas’ inhabitants, so it was mostly a sense of duty that forced him to agree. “Let me change into something more appropriate—”

“Don’t worry about it. Just bring yourself.” Caleb gestured to the wormhole. “After you.”

He gathered up his meager strength and stepped through the wormhole onto…was this Akeso?

Snow covered the ground in every direction and hung in ivory dollops from the tree limbs, where Akeso-birds fluttered about stringing silver garland from limb to limb. The stream running in front of the house had frozen into a meandering ice rink, and the night air glittered with pinpricks of red and green light. He shook his head, confused. He’d never seen snow on Akeso before.

Ahead, the house was decked in an extravaganza of greenery and shining balls and red bows and bright artificial stars; the two largest trees situated off the porch bore matching attire.

“What is this?”

Alex appeared from his left as the wormhole faded away. “It’s Christmas.” She extended a hand to him. “Come inside.”

What in Athena’s name was ‘Christmas’? A quick query told him it was a Human holiday with religious roots that centered around gift-giving, decorating trees, singing carols, lighting things up, something about reindeer and…possibly snowball fights?

In the nearby meadow, Kennedy’s two kids were engaged in a high-pitched battle of dueling snowballs, pelting each other over and over in the face and chest as they drew from ever-growing piles of perfectly formed balls of snow. Because Akeso was creating the weaponry for them; as each ball was retrieved and thrown, a new spot of snow rolled itself up into an orb and deposited itself in the stack.

He chuckled in unexpected delight and stooped down to scoop up a handful of snow, which he packed into a haphazard ball. “It’s not as geometrically perfect as Akeso’s creations, but….” He drew his arm back and lobbed it gently into the back of Jonas’ head.

Both kids spun in surprise, then ran over, stumbling through the powdery snow and cackling. Braelyn slammed into his legs, arms wide. “Come play with us! Be on my team!”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Eren’s going to come inside and say hello to everyone first.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Everyone?”

She flashed him a grin. “I told you—it’s Christmas. Kiddos, fresh cookies will be ready in about five minutes. Don’t miss them.”

“We won’t!” Jonas palmed a new snowball Akeso had served up for him and pelted his sister in the head, then ran off, her hot on his tail.

Caleb opened the front door, and a deluge of delightful aromas washed over Eren. Cinnamon and nutmeg and apple spice and definitely cookies baking rode a wave of warmth and chatter.

David Solovy stood in the kitchen wearing a bright green apron and two oven mitts decorated in red holly. He reached in the oven and removed a pan full of chocolate-crusted cookies, then picked one up and held it out to Eren. “Be my guinea pig and try it. Are they ready?”

“Uh….” He took the cookie hesitantly, as he wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of baked treats, and bit into it. His mouth filled with warm, melting, sugar-laden gooey goodness, and he moaned in pleasure. “Unph-huphf.”

“Skazochnaya! Alex, grab me a plate, will you?”

Caleb tilted his head toward the living room, and Eren followed. A roaring fire decorated the corner of the room, with old-fashioned lit candles lining the mantle. His eyes scanned those gathered there with interest. All the usual suspects—Kennedy and Noah, Mia and Malcolm, Isabela and Marlee, as well as Valkyrie and Thomas sporting their Human-like dolls—were gathered together in small groups, chatting and laughing. Miriam sat on the couch talking to Richard and Will; an open box sat on her lap, shiny, torn paper dangling off of it.

They wore slacks and sweaters and even a touch of silk here and there, and he suddenly felt horribly underdressed in his linen knickers and plain knit shirt.  Why hadn’t Caleb let him change clothes? Possibly because he’d likely have used it as an excuse to beg off the invitation?

“Oh, good, you made it.” He turned toward the familiar but unexpected voice, and Corradeo clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m not certain precisely what’s going on here, but it’s all simply delightful.” He handed Eren a steaming mug. “Try this. It’s mulled cider with cinnamon and a dash of rum. When you drink it, you believe you will never be cold again.”

“If you insist.” He took a small sip from the mug, and had to agree. Heat spread through his chest and into his limbs…and, in the sappiest of all metaphors, began to warm his heart. A smile lit his face, all the way to his eyes. He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been, and how being alone had made his sorrow so much worse.

Then a dash of panic descended, and he laid his free hand on Caleb’s arm. “I don’t have any gifts. If you’d warned me—”

“Don’t be silly.” Alex materialized at his side. “Christmas isn’t about gifts. It’s about being with family.” She reached onto the plate she held balanced on one palm and offered him a cookie. “Fancy another one?”

“Yes…thank you.” He absently took it from her, his mind glitching over her use of the word ‘family.’ Did she mean to say…? Suddenly overwhelmed with an irrational swell of emotion and gratitude, he spread his arms wide and did his best to wrap Alex, Caleb and Corradeo all up in a giant hug. “Thank you.”

“We’re glad you’re here.” Alex gave him a peck on the cheek before disentangling from his ridiculous hug. “More cookies to deliver.”

A shout erupted from Braelyn as she bolted into the room. “Come quick! You have to see!” As quickly as she’d arrived, she vanished back out the front door.

Caleb arched an eyebrow and gestured grandly toward the entry. “It seems we have to see.”

Everyone filed outside into the cold night air, plates and mugs in hand.

Above the frozen stream, just beyond the tree tops, a dance of lights soared across the sky. They took the shape of…Eren tilted his head curiously. Reindeer, pulling a sleigh. The outline of a rotund man with a long, flowing beard wearing a fur-lined coat held the reins atop the sleigh.

“It’s Santa, it’s Santa!” The kids sang in unison.

Eren nudged Alex. “That isn’t Mesme, is it? It can’t be. Mesme would never engage in frivolity.”

“Oh, but it would. I just had to ask sweetly.”

“Yes, Mesme was so blown away by the once-in-a-lifetime occurrence of Alex being sweet, it was completely disarmed and had no choice but to agree to a performance.” Caleb kissed Alex atop the head, then draped an arm over Eren’s shoulder and raised his voice above the joyous din. “Merry Christmas, everyone.”