Extra chapter: Celestial Christmas

“Ugh, I’ve had enough!” I pout. “I want to go shopping and see the Christmas market!”

Liana is watching my childish ruckus with a raised eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Your Majesty, I’m afraid there’s no scenario in which you attending the Christmas market wouldn’t make it to the front page of all newspapers and social media globally.”

“Moreover, you didn’t let me out for two days in a row now,” I keep ranting.

“My Emperor, it’s been snowing almost nonstop,” Liana tries to reason with me. “It’s dangerous to go flying in that kind of weather. Everyone is forbidden to fly, not just you.”

“Gotrid, help!” I beg my partner.

“What am I supposed to do about it, love? Her Excellency is right,” he shrugs, but he stops working and gives me a comforting hug. “Are you having a winter spleen, my Emperor? Days are short and we can’t go flying whenever we want.”

“Maybe a little bit,” I admit.

“The forecast says that snowing should stop around four,” Luviael informs us.

“Great!” I get a motivational boost and sit back behind the table to finish my tasks for the day.

Erik returns to the office at half past three. He smells like gingerbread and brings us a jar of Christmas cookies.

“Elizabeth and Catherine made these,” he explains because he was meeting the Czech Prime Minister and her wife. They used to come only for diplomatic visits, but ever since Erik became Catherine’s friend, they have been stopping by informally as well.

“Oh, sweet, gimme,” I stretch after the jar, but Vermiel stops me.

“All food has to be checked first,” he says uncompromisingly.

“Come on, Elizabeth and Catherine would never try to poison me!” I roll my eyes.

“I sampled them, it’s okay,” Erik vouches for their harmlessness and delivers one right into my mouth.

The cookie is freshly baked, crunchy and full of cinnamon. I sometimes envy Elizabeth and Catherine. They are also prominent political figures, but they get to enjoy a normal life. I bet they can go to the Christmas market if they disguise themselves and their bodyguards walk a few metres behind them in casual clothes.

After the snack, I return to work. Ten minutes before four, snowing really does stop. Yay!

“Won’t you reconsider, hon? It’s still really cold out there,” Erik wants to talk me out of it.

“I’m getting cramps in my wings,” I insist and stand up. “I’ll get warm by exercising, don’t worry.”

We get to our apartment where the maids change me into a sporty robe, a winter model. It’s quite heavy and therefore not as comfy but nicely warm, so I don’t complain. Naturally, Gotrid joins me, but Liana passes this time. I honestly have no idea how my fellow Celestials can pass on the opportunity to fly.

“I’ll be waiting for you with a cup of hot cocoa,” Erik winks at me.

“Enjoy,” I kiss him, spread my wings and I’m off.

Flying during winter isn’t pleasant, but one can get warmer when moving. Also, it’s romantic to see Prague buried under snow. I fly over the square on purpose to admire this year’s decorations at least from a distance. I immediately notice a huge Christmas tree and decide to fly a bit closer.

“Your Majesty, don’t you dare!” I’m stopped by the Imperial Guard. “You’re already causing a ruckus down there, look!”

I look below and I’m indeed causing a ruckus. People are taking pictures of us, especially tourists, because locals are used to regularly seeing us in the air. I sigh and ascend again. I’d love to land, browse those cute stalls and buy something nice.

To distract me, Gotrid takes an enchanted ball out of his robe and we start playing fetch. Twenty minutes into the game, it starts snowing again. At first, we ignore it because it’s just flurries, but it gradually transforms into proper snowing.

“Your Majesty, we should return,” Miruel shouts at me.

“Just a bit longer!” I beg because I still haven’t stretched my wings enough after two days of being confined.

The flock’s formation starts to push me back, but I decide to rebel today. I change my course rapidly, shooting up like a rocket. I wouldn’t dare to lose them because I’d hear endless nagging from Liana afterwards, but I’m not letting them make me go back too early either.

I smirk and try to mould the snowflakes around me into snowballs with telekinesis. It’s quite easy to do and soon I have a dozen of them. Without hesitation, I propel them towards my protectors and I hit successfully more often than not. The guards are confused for a minute or so, not knowing what to do with me because every time they try to get close, I hit them with another salve.

“Try it, it’s easy!” I tease them.

Suddenly, I’m hit by a snowball right into my right wing. I turn around and see that it’s Gotrid’s doing. We’re trying to hit each other and evade as much as we can. As my brain releases dopamine, I subconsciously let my joy out and it affects my guards who finally join the game as well.

We play and play and I snap out of it only when I realise that I’ve been freezing for a while now. As I lose focus, my telepathic influence weakens and the guards come to their senses. Only now do I notice that my wristband has been vibrating like crazy.

“Where are you?! Why aren’t you back already?” Erik screams at me when I finally pick up his call. “They’ve just announced that there’s a blizzard coming!!!”

“Sorry, we got caught up in a game,” I bite my lip. The gravity of the situation finally gets to me when I feel my protectors panicking. It's getting harder and harder to see and the snow is soaking our feathers.

Everyone, follow my lead! I order.

I stretch my telepathy to its limits, making sure that nobody gets lost on the way. They might be my protectors, but I’m responsible for them. I suddenly feel stupid and I blame myself for acting so irresponsibly. I relax only when I finally see the Draconian skyscraper.

“Ryuu, what the heck…?” Erik is waiting for me on the balcony, furious. “You were supposed to return an hour ago! We’ve been worried sick!”

“S-sorry, I didn’t realise we’ve been away for that long,” I murmur an apology and turn pale when Liana storms in.

“ARE-YOU-FUCKING-KIDDING-ME?” she leashes out. Obviously, she would never dare to use such a rude word towards her Emperor, so her fury is aimed at my protectors.

“Li, it’s my fault this time,” I stand up for them.

My Viceroy ignores me, though. She’s berating the guards for several minutes. Nobody dares to oppose her, not even me.

“Do you have any idea how scared we were?” Erik gives me a lecture of his own and he looks seriously pissed. Well, at least he’s pissed at me and not the poor guards.

“And you made the news today,” Liana goes on. “What were you thinking flying over the Christmas tree?”

I want to apologise more profoundly, but I suddenly sneeze. Only now do I realise how soaked I am and that I’m trembling.

“Not good!” Erik widens his eyes.

“Everyone, go dry yourself immediately, or you’ll catch a cold,” Liana orders and the guards disperse in panic.

I fetch myself a tissue to blow my nose while the maids start undressing us in a hurry. When it comes to Celestial hypothermia, it can get serious pretty quickly. Time is of the essence, especially when our feathers are soaked. They wrap us in blankets and Ayala runs off to prepare a hot bath.

“Love, I think you’re developing a fever,” Gotrid puts a hand on my forehead.

My strength is starting to leave me and I’m happy that Erik doesn’t mind carrying me to the bathroom. When I almost doze off in the hot water, he transports me to the bedroom. I’m glad that Gotrid seems fine. I wouldn’t want him catching a cold because of me.

“Thirty-eight degrees,” Erik sighs after taking my temperature properly with a thermometer when we get to bed. “I thought fools seldom catch a cold, as the old saying goes?”

I want to poke him, but I don’t have any strength left.

“Was it really worth it?” Erik shakes his head.

“Are you kidding me? That snowball battle was epic!” Gotrid laughs, but he gets serious almost immediately when he sees Erik frowning. “But it wasn’t worth getting our Emperor sick afterwards.”

I snuggle up to my partners and fall asleep in their warm embrace.

*****

Celestial hypothermic fever is quick to develop, but once a Celestial is warm again, it goes away just as fast as it came. It’s a clever safety mechanism. With Erik and Gotrid’s gentle care, I’m nursed back to full health in record time.

I’m glad because it’s high time I finally think about Christmas presents. Last year, I gave Erik a helicopter and I honestly don’t think that I can top that. As for Gotrid, it will be our first Christmas together, so I need to give him something special.

Since it’s quite impossible to look for presents for my husbands when we’re enjoying free time in our apartment, I have to find time in the office. An opportunity presents itself two days later when Erik is meeting Catherine again and Gotrid is discussing some issue with Fefnir in another office.

First, I check shops selling brand watches, realising a few minutes later that Erik probably has too many of those already, since collecting them is his hobby. Suddenly, a pop-up window hits me, announcing a new collection of wedding rings. I freeze over the close button. Wait, wedding rings?!

Weddings are not a Celestial custom, as we find making vows unnecessary, but Erik is human. He became my Consort, but there was no ceremony to officially ratify that for him. Maybe he would like to have a ring as proof at least?

I carefully browse the ring collection and check only the most expensive ones. I don’t want to save even a Euro on something as important as this. When I finally choose the design I like, the shop asks me automatically if I need two of them. I hesitate as buying one for myself would feel somehow weird. Should I get one only for Gotrid instead? Would he even appreciate it despite being a Celestial?

“Hee, wedding rings, huh?” Luviael says over my shoulder all of a sudden.

Startled, I twitch and accidentally hit Luviael’s chin with my left wing. She cries in pain, but she doesn’t get annoyed. She knows that it was entirely her fault for sneaking up on me. I want to close the laptop quickly, but it’s too late.

“Wedding… what?” Liana frowns.

“S-so what!” I murmur. “I wanted to give my husbands something nice.”

“It’s not a Celestial custom, Your Majesty,” Luviael reminds me. “We have no use for marriage vows, especially when it comes to the Emperor. Lord Erik and Lord Gotrid are totally devoted to you as the Royal Consorts should.”

“On the other hand, it’s just a nice accessory,” Liana shrugs. “Still, I’d strongly advise you to choose a ring with a precious stone, Your Majesty, so that you can enchant it.”

“Oh!” I slap my forehead. “I can imbue it with a protection spell. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?”

I might have found the perfect Christmas present after all.

*****

“There’s no snowstorm forecasted for today, but it’s still very cold, so we implore Your Majesty to return in an hour,” Luviael begs me.

“I promise,” I nod. Erik and Liana are taking care of something at the Earthborn embassy, so it’s no use waiting for him. I spread my wings and take off.

I want to head up immediately, but I notice a strange emotional uproar. I stop my ascent and hover for a while, straining my eyes to focus hundreds of metres below me. It’s always empty around the Draconian skyscraper because unauthorised people aren’t allowed in the vicinity, so I’m twice as confused when I see a huge crowd.

“Gotrid, what’s that?” I ask, but Gotrid is just as clueless as me. It’s even weirder that our guards aren’t panicking.

“Love, look over there,” Gotrid points. “Isn’t that… a Christmas tree? And wooden stalls?”

And then I realise that I can feel both Erik and Liana in that crowd. I position my wings to descend and because the guards aren’t stopping me, I can go all the way down. The people down there make space so that we can land on a small square between office buildings.

“Surprise!” Liana and Erik run to us, grinning.

“Li, what is all this?” I look around in a haze.

“What does it look like?” she laughs. “We couldn’t let you attend the Christmas market in the city, so I figured we could make our own.”

“Li, that’s the best present ever!” I cry and hug her. “Erik, did you know about this?”

“Liana told me just two hours ago when we went to the embassy. She was afraid that if we knew, you could read it in our minds,” Erik explains and takes my hand. “Let’s go explore!”

It’s only Draconians from the skyscraper here, so my Guards don’t have such a hard job. Besides, we’re still within the shield.

“Oh, hi, Tateena,” I notice my personal chef standing at one of the stalls that sells fried potato pancakes, a traditional Czech street dish. “Can I have one?”

“Make it two!” Gotrid demands.

“Three!” Erik adds quickly.

“I was hoping you would,” Tateena smiles at me, revealing her spiky Dragonkin teeth.

I watch as she prepares three pancakes right in front of us. I really appreciate that while the Christmas market is full of Draconians, everybody is giving us space. Liana must have made it a condition for them to attend. Knowing that they are forbidden to bother us, Draconians are shopping and merrily chatting with each other, creating a pleasant ambience.

“Oooooh, please, can I have a cup?” I rush to the stall that sells mullet wine when we finish eating. “It’s not here only for non-Celestials, right?”

“One cup,” Liana allows hesitantly. It’s not like Celestials can’t drink at all, but we have very low alcohol tolerance and get drunk easily.

“So hot,” I warm my hands against the cup and sip slowly. The wine is sweet and strongly spiced.

“Your Majesty, we have a short cultural event prepared for you,” Luviael announces and our eyes turn towards a small podium in the middle.

The maids bring us chairs and a small table so that we can sit comfortably and the concert starts. I’m pleasantly surprised to see that the choir consists of all races.

They start singing acapella and their voices elegantly complement each other. Celestials aren’t able to produce deep sounds, while it’s super easy for the Dragonkin and vice versa. I keep sipping my wine until the cup is empty.

I sigh because I would gladly go for more. Erik is holding his cup, but I notice that Gotrid barely touched his and placed the cup on the table. Everyone seems to be focusing on the show, so I decide to be a bit naughty. I slowly push Gotrid’s cup towards me with telekinesis and then I craftily exchange it for my empty one.

I’m usually allowed just half a cup at formal dinners and I don’t really miss it. However, the sweetness and spiciness of mullet wine is something special to me, maybe because I’ve never properly celebrated Christmas before I met Erik.

Surely one more cup won’t do any harm, right? It’s not like this is hard alcohol; it’s more like a candy. Gotrid is watching the carols so intently that he has completely forgotten about his drink. Thanks to that, I’m able to empty his cup whole.

I laugh when the choir performs a variety of famous classical pop carols and they slightly adjust the lyrics to reflect the existence of Draconians.

“Oh? Where did my wine go?” Gotrid notices that his cup is empty only when the concert ends.

“Maybe you drank it absent-mindedly,” I giggle. Everything suddenly seems funny. “Let’s ring that Christmas bell over there!”

I get up energetically, but my head spins and I wobble. Fortunately, I land safely on Erik’s lap which makes me laugh even harder. I hug my partner around his neck and kiss him.

“Love, did you drink Gotrid’s cup when he wasn’t looking?” Erik gets suspicious.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” I giggle and start kissing his face all over.

“Yep, he’s drunk,” Erik pushes me back.

“Puff, you’re no fun,” I retort. “Come on, don’t be so strict for once!”

“Seriously?” Liana sighs and performs an exemplary face palm. “We’re returning immediately before other Draconians notice what’s going on. Gotrid, Luvi, cover His Majesty with your wings and make sure that nobody will see him in this disgraceful state.”

I let myself be escorted back without protests. I don’t want to leave the Christmas market just yet, but I suddenly feel super drowsy.

“Your Excellency, there’s no point in scolding our Emperor until he sobers,” Gotrid assesses when they put me on the bed and I start piling up blankets and pillows to make a hideout like a small child.

“I’ll save it for morning then,” Liana rolls her eyes and wants to leave, but I catch her sleeve.

“Li, I love you sooo much,” I chuckle. “I feel like I’m not saying it often enough.”

“Y-Your Majesty…,” Liana turns completely red. “Don’t you think that it will save you from scolding!”

“Liii, maii viceroyyy,” I mumble into her robe and Erik with Gotrid have to tear me away from her, or I would never let go.

“I’m so glad that our beloved isn’t bisexual,” Gotrid comments, shaking his head, but I gladly exchange Liana for him in the end.

“Yeah, being polyamorous is a handful already,” Erik agrees and pinches me between my feathers as a tiny punishment. “Oh, love, you will feel so embarrassed tomorrow.”

*****

Erik and Gotrid suspect that I’m preparing something special as their Christmas present, so they let me off the hook when I tell them that I need some alone time. I reserve a workshop that belongs to the Enchanting Division for that purpose.

“It’s much easier to make than my gift to Liana last year,” I say happily when I finish both rings in just one afternoon. I’m relieved that I didn’t break the gems this time because I bought real diamonds.

“Naturally, we know about enchanting much more than we did back then,” Taranah, who offered to assist me because he’s the Head of Magic Research after all, recalls.

“I hope Gotrid is going to like it,” I worry a bit. “He’s as Celestial as it gets and these are indeed wedding rings. I even engraved them according to the human custom.”

“There’s no way he wouldn’t,” Taranah assures me. “Besides, we love jewellery in general,” he rolls up his sleeve and proudly shows me a beautiful bracelet. “My newest enchanted piece.”

“Oh, you imbued it with a shield spell, but differently from me,” I recognise right away. “How exactly does it work? Putting shield spells into gems is handy, but there’s not enough juice for more than one charge at a time.”

“This configuration shortens the time one needs for casting shields by 70% instead of casting it on its own,” he explains eagerly because he knows that I’m just as fanatical about discovering new applications of magic as he is.

Since I’m done here, I carefully place my creations into two little boxes and hide them in my robe.

*****

“You know, hon, it’s actually very hard for me and Erik to buy you presents,” Gotrid admits wearily one evening after dinner.

“Huh?” I don’t understand what he means. “Didn’t I give you access to my wishlist?”

“Sure, but those are all games, books and merchandise. Regular stuff anyone can buy,” Erik clarifies. “We even had to coordinate with Liana, Luvi and the others to decide on who’s going to give you what.”

I purse my lips. I told everyone a thousand times that they don’t have to give me anything since I don’t have the time and capacity to meaningfully reciprocate it.

“I guess I can give them my blessing at the very least,” I shrug resignedly.

“And that’s what I was talking about,” Gotrid sighs. “Hon, don’t you realise that granting your blessing is a huge deal and much more precious than some material present? That no matter what we give you, it will never be enough?”

“And don’t you realise that what I really appreciate is this?” I start pointing all around me. “You spending time decorating our apartment, trying to bake homemade cookies and creating a cosy atmosphere in our home?”

“We know,” Erik gently caresses my left wing. “Yet, you’re preparing something fabulous for us, I bet, whereas we’re out of inventive ideas.”

“Ehm…,” I lower my head because I can’t deny it, but it seems that they need a reminder of what’s truly important to me: “You forgot my number one wish, though.”

“Huh?” they are taken aback.

“Simply being with you,” I poke their foreheads. “How can you be so dumb?”

Erik and Gotrid look at each other and chuckle in relief. Their momentary insecurity disperses completely.

“We never doubt your love for us, but somehow we sometimes tend to doubt whether we’re enough for you,” they admit.

“Dumb,” I hug them with my wings. “You’re such dummies.”

*****

“I know that we wanted matching outfits, but I feel ridiculous,” I cry when the maids finish styling us for the Christmas party and we stand next to each other.

“Why? I think we look great,” Erik smirks, checking himself in the mirror. He’s wearing a light-blue three-piece suit.

“You look great and even Gotrid’s evening robe is reasonable,” I frown and pull the impossibly long back of my robe. “What the hell am I wearing?”

“It’s a train, Your Majesty,” Ayame explains patiently, evidently prepared for my complaints. “Since it’s impractical to wear for work, we’re happy that there’s finally the right occasion for it.”

“And how am I going to eat with these?” I wave my sleeves angrily. They reach almost all the way down. Celestial fashion does like wide and long sleeves, but this is totally over the board.

“Carefully,” Gotrid giggles.

“And this?” I inspect the fabric of my unnecessary second over-robe. It’s glossy and see-through. “I look like something between a princess and a fairy.”

“We wanted to go for an ethereal look,” Ayame is getting rather desperate that I don’t get the appeal of my newest robe. “Royal Consorts, say something.”

“Well, it looks like a fantasy version of Celestial robes,” Gotrid can’t stop giggling.

“As if normal Celestial robes weren’t fantasy clothes,” Erik coughs. “You do look fabulous, though, hon. Only someone as beautiful and androgynous as you can pull off such an outfit.”

I puff, still unconvinced, so they have to drag me to the party venue in the end. I’m allowed to mingle among the guests almost immediately after a short welcoming ceremony and since nobody comments on my unusual dress, I finally manage to relax.

As the evening slowly reaches the time for exchanging presents, I suddenly get very nervous. I was pretty confident about the choice of my gift, but now I feel my resolve wavering. I have hope that Erik will be thrilled, but I’m concerned about Gotrid. What if he won’t like a human-inspired present?

“Love, start unwrapping. Everybody wants to see your reaction,” Erik pushes the first present into my arms. Just like last year, I got a ton of things which I had on my geeky wishlist.

“Thank you and I’m sorry that I don’t have any material presents for you,” I say to my closest subjects when I’m done unwrapping their gifts. “Instead, I would like to give you my blessing.”

Luviael, Taranah, Miruel, Vermiel and Celestial Ministers widen their eyes. They certainly haven’t expected that. I approach them one by one, taking my time and giving them my most heartfelt blessing. On purpose, I leave Liana and Soren for last.

“Let’s do it here,” I catch Liana’s sleeve and drag her under the mistletoe with Soren following us. I have something a bit more personal and naughty prepared for them.

They are both so full of anticipation that they don’t notice what’s hanging above them. They expect me to give them a blessing separately as I did with the others, so they are surprised when I spread my wings and hug them both at the same time.

I was being gentle with the others, but I won’t give Liana and Soren the same luxury. I squeeze them together and give them my strongest blessing. When I let go, they wobble and crash into each other. Plus points to Soren who tries to balance Liana while they both fall to their knees in an avalanche of feathers.

“They’re fine, leave them like that,” I order the confused guards who want to help them up.

I smirk when I notice Soren spreading his wings and protectively shielding Liana from nosy onlookers. My mission is done; it’s up to them now. I can’t force them to finally confess their feelings, but I can nudge them in the right direction.

“Love?” Gotrid clutches my hand in panic when I return to the Christmas tree. “Our presents from you aren’t under the tree; we double-checked when you were giving out blessings. Did the maids forget to bring them?”

“I have them on me,” I reveal, my voice tense. “Miruel, can we go to the balcony to have some privacy, please?”

“It’s really cold there, Your Majesty,” Miruel doesn’t like it at all.

“Just for a few minutes, I’ll heat the air around us,” I promise.

Miruel sighs, but she indulges me in the end. Erik and Gotrid, suspecting that I have something truly special for them, follow me like a second shadow. I shiver when the guards open the door, but I conjure a bubble of heated air around us immediately and the temperature stabilises.

“Erik, Gotrid, show me your hands and close your eyes,” I tell them, chewing my lip nervously.

They trust me unconditionally, so they do so without any questions. I carefully place two small boxes in their palms.

“Love, i-is t-that…,” Erik loses his voice while Gotrid freezes.

“Yes,” I whisper. “Come up, open it.”

They open the tiny boxes at the same time and stare at the rings for a while, long enough for me to get even more nervous. Then, finally, I feel a beam of pure happiness. It’s so strong that I’m momentarily overwhelmed.

“These are wedding rings, right? Right?!” Erik has to make sure.

“Y-yeah,” I nod shyly. “I enchanted them with a shield spell.”

“And engraved them,” Gotrid notices right away and squints his eyes to read the message. “Eternal love?! Aaah!”

“It sounds stupid when you say it out loud,” I blush.

“So what, romantic cliché is our forte,” Erik giggles, beside himself with joy. “Love, this is the best present you could have possibly given us!”

I kiss them deeply and hug them with my wings. We stay in a feathery cocoon until it starts snowing again and the guards insist we return inside.

“Look,” Erik points towards one of the sofas in the corner.

Liana and Soren are sitting there, still dazed from my blessing. Soren is hugging Liana with his wing and Liana doesn’t seem to protest.

“Any chance we might disappear early?” I ask my adjutant Luviael because I suddenly feel like cuddling with my husbands when seeing those two love birds.

“No chance, all these guests came just for you,” she has to disappoint me. “However, Her Excellency gave you two days off starting tomorrow as her Christmas present.”

“Really?” I’m shocked. I was hoping for one day; getting two is a miracle. It turns out Liana also gave me the best Christmas gift I could have possibly hoped for.

*****

I’m snuggled under the blanket on the sofa and I’m as cosy as I could possibly be. Erik and Gotrid somehow sneaked in fluffy Christmas socks which I’m wearing right now (despite the maids’ vehement protests in the morning), I’m holding a cup of hot cocoa and watching as my husbands are taking care of preparing snacks and choosing a movie.

“I think we have enough food for now,” Gotrid says, placing three plates of canapés, two plates of sandwiches and a huge bowl of Christmas cookies on the table in front of me. “The plan to fatten up our beloved is underway.”

“Finally found it!” Erik says victoriously. “Three Wishes for Cinderella! You can’t go wrong with this movie if you want an absolute Czech Christmas classic.”

“Isn’t it more than one hundred and fifty years old?” Gotrid raises his eyebrows.

“Exactly, a classic of classics!” Erik sings.

“Hon, you’re taking all the space again. This sofa is supposed to hold three Celestials, not just one,” Gotrid pokes me. “Move a bit, will you?”

“Make me,” I smirk and playfully wrestle with them before we manage to get seated comfortably.

For moments like these, I’m prepared to endure anything life might throw at us.