Jolly to the Core

O' Christmas Tree

-I do not own the video above nor do I take any credit for the words written in bold- 

*** 

Trudging through the five feet of snow were black boots with purple laces. Shivering from the blustery wind that blew snow into her face, Mal followed Ben around the tree farm—make that Jingle Bell Jim's Christmas Tree Farm.

Against her will, Ben had dragged his girlfriend along to the tree farm to choose Beast Castle's holiday tree. Since Mal was officially joining the family, Belle and Beast thought it would be a good idea to expose Mal the tradition. In the cold, snowy, windy weather. The forecast had predicted clear skies, but what do forecasters really know? Instead, Mother Nature dropped five feet of snow on Auradon on December first. Like they really needed the reminder that winter is officially here.

They were dressed in attire that would make them incognito, disguising their identities. Hopefully, the bodyguards following them closely, but with distance didn't create too much suspicious activity.

Surrounded by trees that in Mal's eyes looked identical, each time Ben picked one out, she would shrug. Or maybe she was just shivering.

Besides the point, Mal was not finding any type of joy that Ben had promised in searching for a pine tree. Plus, the entire lot had trees lined up, only differing by size, or so she thought...

"Ben?" Mal called as she lagged slightly behind her fiancé. "Can't you just pick one, already?"

Ben turned around, a smile on his face. "Hey, someone's not in a jolly spirit. And no. A tree has to be special. My parents always took me to choose the tree that'll sit in the entryway of the Castle, and it was never just any tree. It was magically ordained," Ben said, his voice serious. Mal raised a brow and chuckled.

"Magically ordained, huh? What is that even supposed to mean? You know, Auradon has some weird traditions," Mal replied, continuing to follow her boyfriend. He slowed down to take her hand. Immediately feeling a warmth through her glove, she felt just a little happier.

Boy, did Ben turn her soft.

"Well, it just has to be right. The pine needles shouldn't be too dull or too sharp. The tree should be full, not narrow. Lastly, it has to seem to be just right. You'll know when you see it" Ben informed. Mal nodded her head and attempted to keep her eyes peeled for the description Ben had said.

With no luck as they walked through the seemingly endless rows, she groaned. "Maybe we should just get an artificial one"

Just as Mal spoke, Ben turned to her in shock. "A-artificial? No way, Fairyberry. The Beast Castle tree is always live"

Mal chuckled and shook her head in response to Ben's horror. Poisoned apples, traditions are really strong here, she thought.

"Okay, okay. Live, it is" Mal said throwing her head back in exasperation. "We've looked nearly in every row, Ben. Are we sure we shouldn't just—"

Mal didn't finish her sentence when she happened to glance to the right, noticing a group of men attempt to tip a Christmas tree on its side, cutting the trunk. She frowned, intently staring at the tree. It had a full body, perfect needles and even had a little snow on it.

Indeed, Mal had found it.

"Ben," Mal tapped his arm, getting his attention as he poked a pine needle in attempt to test the sharpness of it. The poke drew a little dot of blood and he turned to his girlfriend. "That's the one"

She pointed across the way, and looked up to Ben to see what he thought. He scratched his head and smiled.

"Really? I think that one is already sold. Or dead. Sometimes they cut down the bad apples of the bunch because they won't sell" Ben explained. Mal shook her head in disagreement.