Abducted By Styles [IN RE-EDITING]

• S I X T Y - T H R E E •

Five chapters left...oh no (Niall)...

SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER: ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU by MARIAH CAREY

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C A R O L I N E

December rolls in even before we could completely process and accept the events of the past few months. With December comes the white sheets of snow on the ground, the frigid weather, the festive season and of course,

Christmas.

Back at the castle, we would host an immense December gala for all the townspeople in honor of Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukah and just the winter season in general. Unlike most galas, this one lasted for five days- where the people would meet and celebrate in the grand hall. It was simply a great feeling to witness all the smiles on their faces and to hear the sounds of the joyous laughter.

No one was ever disappointed.

"Okay lads, move a little left- no, no I mean right- no straight I mean and oh-" I instruct Louis and Niall, who are weighting the freshly cut evergreen tree into Lucy's living room. It almost touches the ceiling.

"Oh fuck, Caroline. Make up your mind already." Louis grumbles under his breath, his face turning red as he holds onto the bottom of the tree while Niall is at the top.

"Good thing Lucy and Darcy are in the kitchen. They didn't hear you utter such a taboo word." I say, putting my hands on my hips. Niall's face is beet red as he struggles to hold the other end of the tree. "Okay, place it here." I point to a spot in the corner of the room which is next to the fireplace. The boys heave a deep sigh as they plant the tree down.

I can't help but feel a bit worried about Zayn because I haven't heard from him in so long. Neither is he in contact with any of the boys, but I assume it's because the Courageous kingdom is
still in lockdown mode. Lucy has also permitted Niall and Louis to stay ever since and Liam and Lucille visit occasionally. Speaking of which, I sense a bit of chemistry between them two.

Sadly, Louis' and Eleanor's wedding got pushed off as well due to the circumstances of the kingdom. Though, Louis- being the positive guy he is- saw the bright side of the situation and told us a wedding in the wintertime would have been awful. We're still sure of the fact that deep down, he is disappointed.

"Okay, now the only thing left to do is decorate the tree." Louis states as he brings over a large cardboard box to where we are standing. Sifting through the different ornaments, I find beautiful red and silver teardrop shaped ones. We started adorning the tree with the cute ornaments, including a popsicle stick snowman Darcy had made. We enjoy ourselves during this time.

The heavenly smell of freshly baked sugar cookies floats in the air. We continue to decorate the tree even though Niall complains about not being the one who makes the Christmas baked goods. Lucy arrives into the living room with a silver platter spread with cookies. Darcy trails behind her, holding onto the ends of her ankle-length skirt.

"Wow, the Christmas tree looks great guys!" Lucy exclaims with a white glimmer in her eyes due to the lights on the tree. She holds out the platter to us. "Here, I'm no Niall but I think these are good enough." We all take one, chuckling and stuff our mouths with the goodness.

"Needs more nutmeg." Niall comments and Lucy shoots him a look as if she was saying "Shut up and eat the damn cookie."

"Oh and Louis- Darcy made you a special one." Lucy says to him, smiling, and Darcy hides behind her mother shyly. "Give him the cookie, honey." Darcy's hands outstretch a large sugar cookie- decorated with colourful sprinkles and a scribbly face made from icing.