Holiday Short Stories

A Valiant Christmas 2016

This is the Short Story my husband and I worked on together last year, for Christmas of 2016. Enjoy :) 

Akari stared out the window and shivered from the cold seeping in through the sill. Outside, snow fell from the sky like cherry petals, reminding Akari of this warm and special time with her friends.

Friends that had now become her family.

Meanwhile, Jace was doing everything in his power to avoid looking outside. For many years, winter had always been a time of sorrow; frigid cold, taking life after life, forcing people to starve. How many times had he been trapped somewhere, held down by the winter, with little food, while everyone died around him? Jace shivered.

Sensing his unease, Sakura sat down on the couch beside him, placing a hand on his thigh. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. The air stirred his hair, which had started to grow back out. "It's over, Jace."

He nodded. "I know." His eyes stared at the flickering flames as he had so many times before, desperately trying to keep himself in the current era.

Lynessa sat to the right of the fireplace, as close to it as she could get. There was no way she was going outside with all the fluffy water. Frankly, she'd seen enough of it back on Ithon's homeworld. Her right foot rocked the cradle that little Ryson slept in, while her hands were busy knitting a scarf. "Still have no idea why I'm knitting this for..." Lynessa muttered to herself. "Take up the hobby, Lynessa. You need a good hobby besides fighting..."

Lynia laughed, where she placed a plate full of cookies on the table in front of the couch. "You do need a good hobby, Lyn!"

Lynessa shook her head, smacking her cheeks with her frizzy hair. Just another reason to hate the cold, she thought. Even my hair turns frizzy...

In the large, bar-like kitchen, Nahnnie shuffled around inside the freezer. "Where did you say the boys put the ham? Are you sure it was in here, Tyjen?"

Tyjen hovered just behind Dari, while she stirred mashed potatoes boiling on the stove. "Stop hovering, Tyjen! There's nothing you can do to help me, so shoo!" Dari glared at him, but Nahnnie could tell it was lighthearted.

Tyjen rolled his eyes. It was always the same with her. Though he actually knew just as much about cooking as Dari did, she was always so independent. "Fine, Fine. I'll stay out of your way, sweetheart." His gaze shifted to Nahnnie as he flicked his tail in the freezer, grabbing the ham. "Here it is."

Nahnnie sighed in frustration. "How did you see that, and not me?"

Tyjen shrugged. "Good eyesight?"

"Nyko!"

Tyjen turned away from the two women cooking, toward the living room corner where Ravyn, Shade, Peyrce and Neline were trying to decorate the Christmas tree.

"Nyko, stop eating the popcorn!" Ravyn scolded.

Nyko chirped and snatched the rest of it from her hand, while Shade stared at them both and laughed.

Ravyn growled, reaching down into the bowl to string more popcorn. "Seriously? You're encouraging him!"

Shade smirked and patted Nyko on the head. "Can't you tell he's just starving to death?"

Ravyn rolled her eyes but they met Neline's gaze as she was desperately trying to untangle Peyrce and his pistols and swords from the lights.

"How is it possible that a drunken pirate could get himself so tangled up in Christmas decorations?" Neline pulled one end of the lights through a hole, only to find out the back of it was still wrapped in and through his sword hilt. Both of them.