It's Christmas in February!

Watch the Show Here

00:00 Ring Those Christmas Bells
02:50 Larry's Comments
04:44 Come and See
09:00 One King (featuring kid nativity)
11:35 Little Drummer Boy
14:09 Charlie Brown Christmas
15:40 Hark the Herald Angels Sing
17:42 Larry's Comments
25:00 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, feat. Liz Cooke
28:30 Silver Bells
31:00 White Christmas Medley, feat.  Sisters, Twila, Jean & Barry dancing, and Aaron
40:15 Thank you to Betty Ann Blackburn
42:30 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Medley, feat. accordions, Rudolph, and Elf, and Santa
52:56 Let it Snow! & Winter Wonderland feat. Mixed Up Group
56:58 Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree feat. all the characters
59:22 Muppet Christmas Carol Medley, feat the D'Entremont/Triche quartet
1:02:34 The Grinch, feat. the Guys and The Grinch
1:10:00 Mele Kalikimaka, feat. The Celebration Ladies
1:12:33 All I Want for Christmas is You, feat. Celebration Ladies
1:17:22 Jingle Bell Rock
1:19:10 Baby it's Cold Outside
1:21:50 Do You Wanna Build a Snowman, feat. Jill & Sean
1:24:26 Sleigh Ride
1:28:00 Let There Be Peace on Earth

Mioko’s brown eyes darted back and forth as the two creatures wrestled and roared before him. He flinched when the black-furred felavis was struck across her face, but she quickly recovered and dove at her spotted rival.

The two felaves again went into a roll, but when the spotted beast took Raeya by the foreleg and tore its teeth into her fur, the sorcerer could no longer stay back.

In the moment it took for him to stretch out his arm, a stream of pale yellow energy gathered in his hand and shot like lightning to the center of the creature’s forehead.

The felavis let out a wounded growl, dropping Raeya and leaving her to collapse under her wounded limb.

Mioko shot another series of bolts, sending the creature staggering further away to give him space to run to the Amorfian’s side. He laid his hands upon her, immediately healing the deep gashes in her leg and the slashes across her face. 

“No–stop,” she uttered, her feline eyes watching the gashes break open the skin of his own arm and face.

“Trust me,” he hissed through a pained grimace.

Mioko turned his head just as the felavis beast recovered.

The creature roared and rushed at him.

He caught the creature’s snarling muzzle with his hands, and immediately, the gem around his neck burned with light.

The gashes tore through the spotted fur of the raging felavis as they disappeared from Mioko’s body.

The felavis retched and recoiled, now bearing all of the injuries it had inflicted. Whimpering in pain, it turned and fled from the clearing, limping heavily on its wounded leg.

Mioko stood still, watching to ensure the threat had left them. Only then did he allow his weakness to drop him down to one knee.

Raeya morphed back into human form and quickly gathered the wrap dress she had been wearing previously. She had scarcely finished wrapping it around her waist before coming to her own knees beside Mioko.

The crystal’s light again flared as her hands grasped at his arm.

The Weivan weakly shrunk from her gasp. “Careful,” he warned breathily. “I’ll just drain your energy if you touch me right now.”

Frowning, she clutched her hands together at her chest, watching as he slowly began to regain his strength on his own. “What if I want to help you?”

He smiled feebly. “I’ll be all right. I heal fast.”

She let out a slow breath before she glanced at the direction the felavis had run in. “What you did,” she spoke softly, “that was… unbelievable.”

“I’m never proud to use the magic in that way,” he admitted, shakily getting back onto his feet.

She followed him as he returned to the lake where they had initially stopped to take their rest. The evening light had faded, and the moon was rising overhead. The almost full disc reflected in the still water like a mirror as stars began to sprinkle across the darkness.

He bent down at the shore and took a handful of water to wash the blood from his arm. With no injury left behind, his body was washed clean. He scooped water into his hands and rinsed his face, and only after his eyes reopened did he find a bare foot step into the water beside him. The remaining water drained from his fingers as his eyes looked up to find Raeya standing before him. Her silver eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight.

The dimness of evening did little to hide the rosy tint of his freckled cheeks.

 “May I touch you now?” She held out her hands to him.

He took them without another thought. He stepped into the water after her, sandals still on his feet. He was drawn by her coquettish expression as if mesmerized.

She stopped when the water had reached their knees. The ripples from their journey had spread far out into the lake, breaking the moon’s reflection into glowing waves.

He held open his hands as she stepped closer to him, and he laid them gently on her back as she leaned against him. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I’m glad you are too,” her hand reached up to stroke his cheek, sliding down his tan skin until her fingers rubbed against the red stubble growing on his chin. “You are growing a beard?”

He smirked. “I’m just trying it out.”

“Hm,” she hummed, rubbing her fingers beneath his lips.

Mioko shut his eyes and leaned forward, only to feel her hand fall away. He opened his eyes to find her attention–and fingers–had dropped to the crystal around his neck.

“How did you come to be bound to this crystal?” Raeya pinched its facets as she turned it back and forth, admiring its faint glow as it hung from the chain around Mioko’s neck.

Mioko hummed and slid his arm further around her back. “It’s a very odd story.”

“Is it something you think I shouldn’t know?” Her eyes darted up to look at him.

He chewed on a smile, shaking his head. “All right. Have you ever heard of the Fae of U’dien?”

Raeya offered him a quizzical look as she released the crystal. “That is a child’s story.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Mioko’s voice lowered. “Until I heard their call.”

“You heard them?” Her eyes grew wide.

Giving her a squeeze, he turned his gaze to the lake before them and began the tale.

“When I was a boy, I had many daily tasks to help care for our farm: milking the cows, catching the chickens, feeding the horses, gathering wool from the banthoxen... It was tiresome. I never felt the fulfillment my family received by completing their work; instead, I would always wonder what life would be like without endless chores.

“One evening, I was feeling particularly fed up with everything, and I snuck away to the hilltop to watch the sunset on the bay. It was then I heard a gentle voice. It was as smooth as the waves on the sea: rolling to my ears like a whisper.

“‘Come,’ I heard the voice say. ‘Come away.’”

He turned to glance at Raeya, who listened on with silent awe. “I was surprised at first. I looked all around, but didn’t see anyone.”

“Were you scared?” she asked.

“Not really,” he shook his head, “but it was so faint, I worried that I was imagining it. I decided to turn back and go home.”

“The next evening, I went back to the hill, and I heard the voice again. Stronger, louder. And this time, I could feel it nudging me. I could see a pale yellow glow starting to form around me. But I didn’t move… and the voice, again, stopped. But I couldn’t stop thinking about that feeling…

“The following day, I was so distracted that I continually got in trouble. It was my own fault,” he winced, “but I had had enough. By the time evening came, I was so upset–so tired of everything–that I raced to the hilltop. At once, voices returned to me. At once, they seemed familiar, safe and warm. I saw the glistening of magic surround me; I felt a pulling like the wind at my back. I followed the yellow glow and let it carry me down the hill until I reached the shoreline. The voices called like a song upon the crashing waves.

“‘Come, child. Come away. Here, there is no work, no pain, no anger, no grief. Here, you are free to run and to play. Come away, child. Come away.’

“I felt a tugging at my feet. Strands of light pulled through my arms and caught my hands. I could feel the release, the weight of every care lifting. I stepped into the ocean…”

Mioko shut his eyes as the water of the lake lapped at his knees. “Then, nothing.”

Raeya stepped back, disrupting the water. “Nothing?”

Mioko shrugged simply as he opened his eyes. “I don’t remember anything. It’s as if I never existed beyond that…”

“But, you are here now,” she squinted and shook her head. “How?”

“I escaped.”

The Amorfian tilted her head.

Mioko offered her a bittersweet smile. “Three years later, I was found washed up on the beach outside Weiva with this crystal chained around my neck.”

“So, your crystal is from the fae,” she spoke more as a realization than a question.

“It is,” Mioko’s hand found her fingers as it again reached for the glowing stone. “From what I understand–since I have no memory of my time there–crystals like these are only found in U’dien, and the fae have become bound to them as their source of magic–and their source of life.”

“And the children who are called, like you, also become bound,” she again put the pieces together.

“Those that follow the call are never seen again–because if they come to their senses and try to leave U’dien, they die away from the power of the crystals.” He let his hand drop to her shoulder. “Somehow, I figured out that I could survive if I took a crystal with me.”

“And without it,” she frowned, unable to complete her sentence.

“I would die,” he answered solemnly. 

“And I tried to take it from you,” Raeya almost shuddered.

He took her back into his arms and held her close. “You didn’t know,” he dismissed. “Most people think it’s just a totem, like any other magician uses.”

“But if you pay attention, you can see that it is not,” she said, narrowing her eyes as she tilted her neck to meet his eyes, “because your power comes at a price.”

Mioko nodded. “My life will be forever entwined with this crystal. I can use the crystal’s magic, but the crystal’s magic is drawn from my own energy. It’s a perpetual exchange, and it’s how I am able to heal others–by taking their ailments onto myself in an exchange. It’s both a blessing and a curse; a ‘parting gift’ from the fae.”

“But... why?”  Raeya seemed pained. “Why do the fae call children at all?”

“Stories say that they cannot bear their own children, and so they take the children of others to raise as their own. The children become the next generation of fae, and the cycle continues.”

“Does that make you a child of the fae?”

“I’m a runaway, at least,” he tried to smile. “All I know is when they found me on the shore, they called me a miracle. I’m the only one who has ever left U’dien and lived.”

She studied his expression, gently returning her hand to his cheek. “I have never known anyone like you.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Neither have I.”

She parted her lips and turned away sheepishly. “I am much less.”

“You are so much more,” he stressed.

“Ah,” she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, “as the last unmarried daughter of my village–from the last two remaining villages in all of Amorfia? I am the last of a dying people… I am the last of all in The Tallelands.”

“That’s not now I see you,” Mioko pulled her closer. “I see you as brave enough to leave the safety you had always known to help your village. I see you as strong enough to take your life into your own hands when, well, things fell through,” he looked away for a moment. “I see you as thoughtful, caring, and powerful in your own way. I mean, you can literally be anything you want to be!”

She finally broke into a grin.

“And,” Mioko glanced down as he took a breath, “I see you as the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Inside, and out.”

Raeya’s pale cheeks flushed pink, and she could only curl away in embarrassment.

Mioko smiled and gently took her chin in his fingers, redirecting her gaze. “I hope you know how much I care about you,” he said, barely above a whisper.

“I care about you, too,” she, too, had difficulty speaking.

“I hope you know,” he breathed, “how much I love you.”

As her heart fluttered within her chest, her parted lips tugged into a half smile. “And I… love you.”

There was no more room for words as their lips met, drawing them together in a passionate kiss.

The silence remained as they parted, looking deeply into each other’s eyes with appreciation and yearning.

With her arms curled around his back, she laid her head against his chest.

He shut his eyes and rested his chin against her hair. He could feel her settle against him as the water lapped against them, swirling the ever growing number of stars reflected from the night sky overhead.

----

This is the short I referenced in my Mioko Some Story Talk; Mioko's retelling of his call was just so poetic :D

It makes sense, though, because this whole idea came from Loreena McKennit's song Stolen Child which uses a poem by W. B. Yeats about faeries luring in a child to their domain. I instantly thought of Mioko then, even though I had already figured out his backstory. But I learned the truth, I suppose!

One thing that hasn't changed is Mioko almost instantly falls in love with Raeya the moment he sees her in Book 1. She doesn't initially give in, but the contrast between her careless betrothed and this very sweet young Weivan is apparent very quickly. This scene here happens very early on in Book 2, so they don't take long, lol.

(((In the first draft the equivalent scene gets a little steamy...... aka things are implied and Raeya ends up pregnant... but I've scaled that back just a little 😅)))

- III -

Ace poked the wood within the fireplace, sending a flurry of sparks flying up into the chimney. The fire rose and returned to its original crackling roar. “There we go,” he announced.

“Mm,” Athena snuggled tighter in the blanket she was wrapped in.

“Warmer now?” Ace took his place on the rug beside her.

“Yes; thank you.”

Near the front door of the Edwards abode stood a medium-sized fur tree, decorated in strands of tinsel, bows, and baubles. Beneath the tree were four wrapped gifts of varying sizes; one to Athena, one to Ace, and two for Dorian. Gifts from Dorian had not yet been placed, as the young man had not yet returned from town.

Ace looked at the boxes, a nervous excitement filling his thin frame. He was ready for Athena to open her gifts; hopeful to witness a positive reaction.

Athena glanced at him before she, too, turned her attention to the presents beneath the Christmas tree. She tapped her feet beneath the blanket, impatient to watch Ace open his gift.

At last, the door opened. 

“There you are!” Ace quipped when Dorian appeared. “And I thought I did my Christmas shopping at the last minute.”

“Don’t question my motives,” Dorian set a few things down behind the tree–out of Ace and Athena’s sight.

“As long as you got what you needed, right?” Athena grinned.

“Exactly.” The Kalgaran stepped around the tree and sat down on the rug across from Ace and Athena. “So, who’s first?”

“Ace should go first!” Athena raised her hands into the air, causing the blanket to slip off her shoulders.

“Me?” Ace rolled to his knees.

“You’re the youngest, aren’t you?” Dorian jabbed. “You get to open the first present.”

“Oh, is that how this works?” Despite his verbal protest, his actions spoke otherwise. Crawling to the tree on his hands and knees, he snatched up the box with his name on it and scooted back into place.

Raising an eyebrow, he carefully unwrapped the box, then smiled wide as he opened the lid.

Without a single blow, the breath was knocked from his lungs. There, in the box, were two sets of horsehair guitar strings and a woven guitar strap with card suits stitched into it. “Oh!” He said to hide the concern flooding his emotions.

Athena, on the other hand, was beaming. “I know you’ve been needing new strings. And, I thought that strap was too ‘Ace-y’ to pass up.”

“It is fitting, isn't it!” Despite the discomfort in the pit of his stomach, he leaned over and hugged Athena’s side. “Thanks, Teena,” he said, “these are exactly what I needed.” He hated to bluff, but he wasn’t sure how to explain to her that his guitar was not currently present in the house.

“Here you are,” Dorian handed Athena the next gift as Ace resettled, “as the next oldest.”

Athena was still smiling as she unwrapped her gift, though her smile faded as the butcher-paper wrapping gave way to a small, narrow, dark-stained wooden box. “A keepsake box!”

“I thought you could keep your dagger in it,” Ace grinned. “What do you think?”

“Oh, this is perfect for it!” She smiled sadly.

“Yeah?” Ace noticed something was off from her falling expression.

“Dorian’s turn!” She deflected, setting the box in her lap.

The quiet young man turned and took one of the boxes–the contents clinking in the process. With a smirk, he unwrapped it and opened the box to find four small bottles within a small wicker basket. “Oh, yeah; potion bottles,” he said with more excitement than they had expected. “Thanks, Athena,” he followed up with a smile.

Ace smiled through clenched teeth. “Uh… you may want to go ahead and open mine… while you’re at it.”

Athena glanced at him. “Wait, did you…”

Sure enough, Dorian took the second clinking box into his hands, opened it up, and pulled out three more small bottles. “Oh, yeah; potion bottles. Thanks, Ace.”

The two across from him looked at each other, then nervously turned back to Dorian.

“Sorry we got you the same thing; I had no idea,” Athena offered.

“Oh, don’t be sorry; I can always use bottles, and they’re exactly the kind I need. I appreciate you both,” Dorian set the second set of the bottles beside the first. “They’re very utilitarian gifts.” 

Ace blinked. “Utili–what?”

“Useful. Practical.” The Kalgaran got back to his feet. “I did discover something different about the gifts you gave to each other, however.”

Ace and Athena watched as Dorian ducked behind the tree and lifted the large case he had come inside with. With his other hand, he also picked up a small leather object that had been lying beside it. When he came back around the Christmas tree, Ace immediately recognized the shape of the case.

“That’s a guitar case,” he spoke aloud, the sinking feeling again filling his stomach.

“Ironically, when I went over to the leather shop looking for a gift for Athena,” he knelt down and laid the case on the ground. “I happened upon a very familiar guitar.”

Ace watched with wide eyes as Dorian flipped open the latches of the guitar case and opened  the lid. His guitar was then revealed within the soft plush fabric that lined the inside of the case.

Athena had turned up her chin to look inside the case; and almost immediately, she whipped her head towards him. “Ace–you gave them your guitar??”

He shrunk back. “It was just until I could pay back the rest!”

She paled. “The rest of what?”

“Hold on,” Dorian reached between the guitar case and his lap. “Because, when I went to the music store to find a gift for Ace, I found a very well-crafted dagger.”

He lifted the small object and revealed Athena’s dagger, nestled within the pocket of the simple leather sheath. 

Athena swallowed and sat back on her heels as Ace’s eyes returned to her.

“Did you sell your dagger to buy my guitar strings?” He asked her directly.

“Did you sell your guitar to buy my dagger box?” She replied similarly.

The answer came in the silence of realization that settled between them.

Dorian studied each of their faces. “To me, that just shows the depth of the relationship you have; you didn’t just want something useful for each other, you wanted something special.” He looked down at the gifts between them. “And, both of you decided it was worth giving up something you treasured in order to give the other something they would treasure.”

Eyes locked, Ace and Athena now appeared somewhat in awe of each other. They were grateful, warm, and both shared some amount of tingling within their stomachs or fluttering within their chests when they considered the lengths they were willing to go to to give a worthy gift for one another.

Athena, at last, curled away sheepishly and balled her hands into the blanket in her lap.

Ace shook his head and turned back to his guitar. Slowly, however, he cocked an eyebrow and raised a gloved finger. “My guitar wasn’t in a case when I left it.”

“It wasn’t,” Dorian casually flipped the case closed and pushed it towards Ace. “That’s my present to you.”

Ace froze. “What??”

Athena gasped as the sheathed dagger was presented to her. “Oh, Dorian, you shouldn’t have,” she protested. “Just getting it back would have been enough!”

Ace looked between the sheath, the dagger, the box, the guitar, the strings, and the case, ending with an exasperated shake of his head. “How much did you have to spend to get all this??”

“Don’t worry about it.” He dismissed, despite Ace’s persistent concerned expression.

Athena held the leather in her hands, laid it gently into her box, then squeezed all three against her chest. “Thank you,” she offered simply.

“You’re very welcome,” the Kalgaran nodded.

“Both of you,” she added with an almost coy glance in Ace’s direction.

Ace simply looked down at his lap and shrugged. “Of course. I… I care about you–and Dorian, too,” he shot him a glance before returning to his lap. “You’re the best friends I’ve ever had. And seeing this,” he held open his hands over their bounty now spread across the rug, “I feel cared about too. Thank you, both, too. Although,” his narrowed and slid back to the man at his side. “you didn’t wrap it.”

At last, Dorian’s stoic exterior cracked into a wide smile. “Sorry about that.”

Athena set aside her gifts and got to her feet. She scooted behind Ace and slipped in between the two young men. With a hand on either of their shoulders, she got back to her knees and pulled them both together in a hug. “Merry Christmas Dorian.” She squeezed his shoulder.

Dorian turned his head away shyly. “Merry Christmas, Athena.”

“And, Merry Christmas, Ace.” She hesitated for only a moment before placing a small kiss on his cheek.

The ex-gambler lit up brighter than the flames of the fireplace across the room, turning almost as red as the hearts and diamonds stitched into his new guitar strap.

“Yeah, Merry Christmas, Ace,” Dorian offered a playful sneer when he noticed Ace’s reaction.

His heart still pounding within his chest, Ace elbowed Dorian before he slipped his arm around Athena to accept a cozier hug.

“Merry Christmas, everyone!”

---

WELL WASN'T THIS JUST THE CUTEST.

I finally got the idea to convert this story to the Tale of Ace Gallagher gang; I inserted this sometime after Book 2, so the trio is very close friendship-wise (and 2 are beginning to realize it's a bit more than that... ahem), and they've officially moved in with the Edwards -  but I wanted to keep the cast small... so the others are off traveling to visit family. Problem solved, lol.

I allowed Dorian to be the 'narrator' in the finakl scene, so he could put into words the point of all this; being willing to give up something you treasure to give someone else a treasure - for such were the gifts the magi brought the baby Jesus. Aww.

I feel like I had more commentary but it's very late when I am scheduling these since we leave tomorrow... so yeah. 

Thank you for reading and hope you have a Merry Christmas!!!