A Very Freyan Christmas

Chapter 1

Alex

Rubbing her hands together to generate some warmth, Alex hopped from foot to foot in a desperate attempt to get some heat running. She spared a look at Jordan and Dix, who were huddled like parent penguins together in puffy coats and woolen beanies. Alex pulled down on the flaps of her own since her ears were starting to feel like they weren't there anymore and grinned at Kaiden.

His blue eyes glittered - glittered - in the snowy landscape and he smiled back. "Excited?"

"Very," she replied breathlessly. "I haven't seen snow in so long."

"And so much of it too," Kaiden murmured, pulling her close. "We only have snow capped mountains back at...home" He glanced around secretively, but Alex nudged him in reassurance.

Living with high officials in the Medoran government and army, Kaiden was a tight-lipped guy to those he didn't know, and they didn't want anyone finding out about Medora. It was a big secret to carry, but they'd had to hide a lot more before this.

"Geneva is so pretty," Dix sighed. "But m'head is still spinning." The redhead took an experimental step forwards and her knees immediately collapsed. "Whoops."

"Whoops," Jordan smirked, helping her up. "I think that was one drink too many to wash down your pills."

"The train's here," Declan commented, looking very uncomfortable in a massive coat. When they'd packed, the only coats available were either too small or too big, and as tall as he was, the mammoth coat seemed to swallow him into its depths.

The train was taking them from Geneva Airport to Zermatt, a mountain resort which offered skiing, climbing and hiking amongst a range of other activities. One of the most famous things about it was the Matterhorn, a pyramid-shaped mountain that was known for its difficulty in scaling it with it's dangerous shape and conditions.

The bright red of the train's body stood out against the snowy and slightly grim conditions swirling around Geneva at the moment. Alex shivered in excitement, vaguely connecting the cold temperatures to the trial she'd had to complete in Meya. Except that had led to one of the most terrifying experiences of her life, and she was damn well going to enjoy this two week vacation whether she liked it or not.

The train was fairly empty when they boarded, shoving their luggage into the racks and claiming seats for the six of them. Alex released a happy sigh as she gazed out of the window, her gaze captured by the picturesque landscape painted outside. It was like a Bob Ross painting, but all the more enchanting seen with your own eyes in real life.

Jordan and Declan had bought some snacks at the train station, but they were pretty confused when they spilled their stash onto the divider table at the array of Swiss food they'd never had before. Alex herself only recognized Toblerone. There were other tubes of stuff that looked like pate or meat, as well as a box of biscuits. Jordan even looked a bit dubious, but they still had some sandwiches and chips from the plane to nibble on until they warmed up further to the food.

Alex smiled at all of her friends together in one place, excited for an adventure that wouldn't leave them hanging off the face of a cliff, jumping on clouds or spilling secrets. This was exactly what they needed - after war, there was never too much relaxing. Sometimes she felt like a new enemy would spring up out of nowhere, and she really didn't want that.

Even so, wanting something wouldn't change the possibility, and Alex knew that all too well. So she kept training, kept fit, practiced flying with Xira and using A'enera instinctively. With that, Alex was ready for any attacks, and for her whole life she'd have to be. As a Sword in training, she'd be facing all kinds of danger, but she wanted to relax for once in safety.