Happily Ever Christmas

~Twenty-Three~

We formed teams naturally, girls against the boys.

Olivia and I won and cheered excessively in victory, though I had a feeling that Steve might have let us win. The man could throw snowballs like Babe Ruth could throw baseballs.

He also had extraordinary abilities when it came to forming the snow using magic. He could build an entire igloo in seconds and could form beautiful ice structures to amaze us with. It was certainly enough to keep the kids entertained for hours, but I was starting to get cold, even in the sun.

"How big is Winter's Glen, Mr. Santa?" Olivia asked him as we all flopped down on a snowbank to make snow angels together.

"About a hundred miles in diameter. And you can just call me Steve, honey."

I slowly sat up to stare upwards at the mansion. I hadn't fully appreciated it until now; now that we had gotten far enough from the base to actually see the whole structure for what it was.

Like a real fairy-tale castle it was; made from big, gray stone blocks. There was no moat, but there was a thick, solid foundation line and then the walls reached up into the sky to form towers, turrets, and spires with pretty golden banners that rippled in the breeze.

"Wow." I breathed, standing up and dusting myself of snow. "This place is amazing. I've never seen a real castle before." I was muttering to myself mostly and I jumped a little when I realized that Steve was standing next to me.

"It's a good day for a sleigh ride, do you think, my lady?"

I laughed lightly. "You have a sleigh? Of course you do! Is it pulled by a team of snow white horses?"

"Horses?" Olivia leapt up immediately. "You have horses? Can we pet them? Can we feed them? Can we kiss their fuzzy noses?!"

Steve and I both laughed.

"Someone likes horses, I take it. A sleigh ride it is! We can see more of the grounds this way."

                                                                             *~*~*~*

It was without a doubt the most romantic thing I have ever experienced.

Mazie brought me out a beautiful blue cloak trimmed in white fur like Steve's.

The horses were indeed magnificent; he had a full stable full of the big, woolly beasts and it smelled heavenly inside, like fresh hay, alfalfa, and warm horses.

"No reindeer?" I teased Steve, and he grinned back at me.

"Reindeer are boring." Was his easy reply.

The two horses that got hitched to the big red sleigh were Clydesdales, as it turned out, and their hooves were bigger than my head. They had beautiful black coats with big, furry white stockings like furry boots, and long white manes and tails. They had white blazes running down their faces to the tips of their velvety soft noses.

Once my kids were done petting them and had calmed down slightly, Steve lifted Olivia up into the sleigh, while Bradley scrambled up on his own.

He turned back for me and I couldn't resist the temptation so I let him lift me up into the sleigh by my waist.

Mazie had even brought out a cup-holding tray with thermoses full of thick, hot cocoa to keep us warm on the ride.

"This is so fabulous!" I couldn't restrain my own enthusiasm and was starting to feel like a little kid myself. I picked up a big bundle of white that I found beside me on the red velvet seat. "Is this one of those things; a muffler?"