Fall Into Me

.XIX.

A/N: according to my word counter, this is over 20k words, which I believe is the biggest one I've done yet. As promised:

Content Warning: Medieval Torture applied. Implied rape and human trafficking.

Every year, the village hosted a Christmas market. Every year since she was a child, Minerva attended. The local brewery would have mulled wine to taste, the dairy farmers would have cheeses infused with fruits and brandy infused creams. Fresh pies and pastries would sit on stalls, steaming away in the frosty air. Handmade ornaments and figurines, jewellery and pottery, all things Minerva would look at.

It was her favourite time of year, when the loch was frozen enough to skate on and snow lay in fresh blankets all around. Winter was when Minerva thrived, and whenever she could she went for long walks during these months. There was something very calming about fields full of untouched snow in the early morning, when the sunrise sparkled off the fine crystals.

This year, she didn't have to attend the market alone, and it filled her with such joy that she could share this with someone. Elodie hated winter, especially in Scotland because it was so cold. She would tell Minerva how dangerous it was for her to drive in the snow and black ice, as if Minerva hadn't grown up with it. She would tell her horror stories of people who had gotten lost in the snow, who froze to death. It sucked all the joy out of Minerva's season, and for those years with Elodie, she'd been miserable In winter, unable to share her favourite things with the woman she loved.

Avery didn't care either way. She preferred to be warm, so for the one Christmas they'd been together, Minerva had paid for her to go on holiday. She couldn't go, not with all the things she had to do at the castle. Not that she would have anyway.

But Mona?

When it had finally snowed, Mona had woken Minerva at an ungodly time with a squeal of delight, jumping onto the bed and poking her repeatedly, saying her name over and over. Minerva came very close to knocking her out, but Mona had grabbed her hand and pulled her to the huge bay windows, jumping up and down with excitement. Minerva's irritation had bled away immediately, feeling her own childlike glee at the snow covering her moorlands. That was when she knew she could share the Christmas market with Mona, and that she would enjoy it just as much, if not more, than Minerva did.

When Minerva had mentioned it, Mona vibrated with excitement, instantly agreeing to go, because she'd never ever been to one before.

Which led them to now.

Minerva watched Mona talk to the man from the animal shelter, which Minerva had already made a sizeable donation to. Unfortunately, a lot of cats and dogs were dumped on her lands from the other villages, and so the shelter took them in. When she was a teenager, Minerva tried to stop it but she quickly learned that they were just being dumped elsewhere. At least on her land they would be picked up and cared for. In this weather, it was important they were found before nightfall, because the freezing temperatures would kill them. Mona saw her watching and hurried over, breath fogging in front of her, nose and cheeks pink with the cold.

"This is so cool," she said, smile etched onto her face, blue eyes bright and darting around. "Have you seen the photo frames made out of forks?"

"I have."

"It's so clever! Oh! Or the little butterflies that spin above a tea light? And the hats and gloves and scarves that the lady crotchets?"

"Yes, pet," Minerva chuckled at her excitement. "Have you tried the food?"

"Not yet," Mona dimmed ever so slightly, becoming nervous. Minerva wanted to share her love of food with Mona, but knew they had a long way to go.

"I bought a selection of things. They keep well, so you've got a few days to try some."