EXTRA CHAPTER 10: MERRY CHRISTMAS, FROM CHERWOODS

**Kuro**

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that, my movement was restrained.

“…”

Of course, it was a given, having my arms and legs bounded on the pillars of the bed for some reason. I couldn’t remember engaging in some weird fetish play when I fell asleep yesterday.

“Oh! You’re finally awake!”

Somehow, hearing Maddie’s voice in the room while I was tied to the bed didn’t come as a surprise for me. She finally appeared on my left, staring down as she floated around.

“Hey there! Wazzup?”

“I’m also surprised you’re not surprised with my tying you on the bed.”

“Just my ordinary, fun-filled days with you,” I chuckled.

My fiancée grinned, “I know you’re sincere in saying the ‘fun-filled’ part, but somehow, it still irks me.”

“Well, that ‘crazy girlfriend’ vibe of yours is part of your charms,” I winked at her. “You’re not Maddie if you’re not doing something weird behind my back…but of course, save it for when we’re not dealing with otherworldly horrors.”

Maddie only stuck out her tongue to me as her answer. I continued, “I feel like I’m missing something. What’s the occasion?”

“Given that you’re always immersed in work that you should’ve delegated to someone else, it’s already obvious,” she grabbed a nearby calendar and pointed at the number 25. “I think you’re forgetting that we’re supposed to celebrate Christmas on this date? It’s Christmas, right now.”

“…” Oh, right. I did agree to celebrate Christmas in September. While the idea hadn’t sunk unto me fully, people in this world were already dead serious in taking part in the celebrations, even if they’re not aware of its meaning or its origins. As such, I couldn’t help but feel awkward. I was not ‘into it’.

“You’ll get used to it, eventually,” Maddie reassured me. “And while we’re at the topic, we asked the permission of the celebrant himself, and he just gave us the ‘go’. He was not that serious about it, you know, given that people in your world always get it wrong for thousands of years, anyway.”

“He did not tell you the actual date of his birth?”

“It’s the reason that counts, he said,” she replied. “Besides, he’s worried that if he corrects the date, the ‘bonuses’ and ‘leaves’—whatever those are—for your working people would be affected, so he just lets it be. And that’s only one of the problems if your world adjusts to the correct day.”

I guess that’s pretty understandable. I mean, it’s been established thousands ago that it would be celebrated on that exact date, even older than the standards for salaries, wages, and bonuses of workers and employees. So, accuracy and religious shenanigans (I don’t care if it was derived from a pagan festival) be damned, we’re only celebrating it for its meaning…

“So, now that all the ‘legal impediments’ gone, I assure you we can go ahead with the festivities,” Maddie continued.

“Sure…” I tried to move, but the binds were too strong. “Though, uh, mind if you remove these?”

My fiancée shook her head. “If I did that, you’d surely run off someplace else again,” she pointed out. “Or if you don’t, someone else will grab you from me. I don’t want that; I’ll be selfish just this once. I’d like to spend this first Christmas with you.”

“You can be sure I won’t run off anywhere,” I reasoned. “Read my mind; we’re having the same sentiments.”

“The others won’t agree to that, though…”

“Huh—”

Just before Maddie answered my bewildered question, the door of my room in the tree palace suddenly burst. My fiancée barely got seconds of allowance to chant a magic barrier spell to shield us from the rain of wooden shrapnel. At the doorway, the Demon Saint, Natasha Bellingsen, stood. Her face was red, and she was fuming.

“Wha-What’s going on with you two?”

“Just a petty argument,” my fiancée winked at me. “A ‘girl talk’ between us saints.”

Well, I don’t think I’d want to get caught in between that ‘girl talk’. I should free myself from my binds, “Can you please remove my restraints at least? Before you two sit to chat?”

“There’s no sitting down to negotiate, Sir G!” Natasha called out to me from her spot. “This perverted human’s getting too ahead of herself, she intends to hog you all day today!”

“I guess that’s what the privileges of the first wife should be!” Maddie countered. “And I summoned Kuro! By rights, he’s mine!”

“I’m the one who wrote that magic circle you used, and he’s my beloved teacher even before your ancestor was born!”

“Finders keepers!”

“Stop!” I pleaded. It’s not rocket science to say that in the course of their ‘girl talk’, they’d destroy this part of the tree palace. I don’t know if the Lady Hinwe would overlook this, but I don’t want to cause her trouble!

Maddie, in an effort to flex her complete control over me, leaned and gave me a kiss on the cheek, further infuriating Natasha. “Relax, Kuro,” she caressed my face. “My barrier is formidable enough to protect us. I’ll just show this impudent student of yours the primacy of being the first wife!”

“You agreed to share him!”

“I don’t remember that part!”

At that point, Natasha and Maddie’s magic clashed, shaking the entire place, and bringing in a colorful display of magic spells countering each other. While the two saints were busy with their catfight, I felt my binds loosening up. I quickly turned to see what’s going on…

“…” Ruro flashed a ‘quiet’ gesture to me, as she cut my legs loose while the two saints were distracted. Then, when she finally freed me, she took hold of my hand, ready to teleport me, when…

“Where are you going, dog?” Maddie and Natasha chorused on that part. They got their hands on her tail, much to the Beastwoman’s chagrin.

“Care…to, uh, share?” she let out a nervous laugh. “My master wants peace and relaxation this Christmas.”

Indeed, I want that! Cease your ‘girl talk’!

“We’d really believe your sincerity, Ruro, if not for your own scheming,” Natasha replied. “Your desires—no, everyone can see that you’re ‘in heat’, you know?”

Oh, wait…Ruro’s face was all red, and she’s breathing heavily, as well…just like before, when she first abducted me. Damn, I dodged a bullet there!

“…”

Besides, I need to get out of this place, and soon!

“Oh! Where are you going, Kuro?” Maddie’s hand grabbed my shoulder in an iron-like grip. “I think I did hear your heart say, ‘I need to get out of this place, and soon’.”

“Y-You must be imagining things…”

The Human Saint started to unbutton her dress, “I don’t care anymore! We’d be doing this here, right now! I’ve been waiting for this for way too long!”

“W-Wait! Calm down, for goodness’ sake!”

Just as the last piece of Maddie’s clothing fell, however, another explosion happened. Her grip on me loosened, as thick smoke filled the room. Then, as I tried to feel my way through the chaos, someone grabbed my hand, and my vision went woozy.

----------

***Somewhere in the Saint’s Tree Palace…***

The Stadtholder of the Chersean League of the Valley Cities, the half-human and half-dwarf Prince Giuseppe Uhrian had just arrived from his journey in the land of the dwarves when his entourage came upon a powerful explosion coming from the private chambers of the tree palace. Of course, he was shocked by it, just like his retinue. However, what made them even more bewildered was the elves’ reaction to that: they just carried on with their business, like usual, after pausing for a moment to see what it was.

“Hey,” the prince called out to one of the sentries nearby. “An enormous explosion just happened. Aren’t you going to check on that?”

“My apologies, Your Highness,” the elf soldier replied. “I’m not allowed to leave my post unless it’s an emergency.”

“That isn’t an emergency to you, laddie?”

The sentry looked towards the billowing smoke, then returned to his spot. “It’s just probably the saints playing tag.”

“Huh?” the Prince Uhrian was shocked by his indifference. “How can you even tell it’s not an enemy attack?”

The elf soldier was about to answer him, when someone else joined their conversation. It was the Chancellor of Calabria, Sir Dane Bellingstein. “What’s going on here, Your Highness?” he asked.

“What’s going on?” the halfling was nearly hysterical. “You just saw that explosion over there, right? You’re not even worried?”

The chancellor shook his head. “With all due respect, Your Highness, I think your worries are unfounded. That explosion is the usual stuff, see? The saints are playing around with the Lord Kuro once again.”

“What are you…”

“Eh, I wish I’m the one in his shoes,” another elf sentry whispered, though the prince and the chancellor heard him. “The holy ladies are beauties, after all.”

“You better keep your mouth shut, long-eared lad,” the prince rebuked him. “Those saints are to be revered, not subjected to your sinful eyes!”

“Stop it, Your Highness,” Sir Dane chuckled. “You’re being too serious. For these elves, lust is the highest form of reverence, see?”

The Prince Uhrian laughed, and gave the sentry a pat on his back. “Ah, my bad then! I may be a part-dwarf, but I have no ill-will towards these fair-haired, long-eared fellows. Any case, lad…who am I to call the shots here? I’m just an old halfling from Chersea.”

The sentry only answered him with an awkward smile.

Seeking to hide his embarrassment, the dwarf prince then turned to Sir Dane, “Milord, would you be so kind as to lead me to the Lord Kuro? I need to tell him something important.”

The sentries and the Chancellor exchanged amused looks, before the latter explained, “I’m afraid I cannot help you on that, Your Highness…”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, you see, whenever that explosion happens…”

Even before the chancellor could explain, the Overseer Saint, Seirna, teleported into their location. With her was the Lord Kuro; his tattered clothes and dazed look were enough for the Prince Uhrian and the Chancellor Bellingstein to understand what just happened.

“Ah, it’s great timing that you are both here, Lord Bellingstein, Lord Uhrian,” the Lady Seirna greeted them with a quick curtsy, before flinging Kuro to them, and pulling out her rapier. “Nothing much to worry about; I’m just controlling some pests. Nevertheless, I’ll explain later; for now, I’ll be casting a spell on your carriage, Your Highness. Please take the otherworlder far from this place as possible.”

“H-Ha?”

“There we go!” the Overseer Saint quipped right after she finished chanting her spell. “I put magic on your carriage so that the other saints won’t track you immediately—especially the doggie-girl. Run far and fast as you can. Do not cross the border to Chersea or any other worlds, just run.”

“Eh?”

“Fly now!” the Lady Seirna, using her magic, threw the halfling prince, Calabrian chancellor, and Kuro inside the carriage. Then, while the stadtholder’s entourage were frozen in shock, she got the horses galloping towards the ancient forests of Cherwoods.

The prince only realized that he should’ve asked the Overseer Saint of her ideas where to go when they were already far from the palace, and was deep inside the forest paths.

----------

***In some forest city in Cherwoods…***

The carriage did stop at some place in the elvish realm, in a small city in the middle of the forest. By then, it was almost lunch, and as the chancellor, the halfling prince and the duke of Maverny haven’t had their breakfast just yet, they dropped by a tavern to buy food and rest as well.

“So, tell me, laddie,” the Prince Uhrian said in-between his drinks, “What’s going on?”

Sir Dane was also interested, so he was silent all the time.

“I think something snapped within the saints…” Kuro chugged the contents of his tankard in one sitting, then ordered another one.

“Snapped?” the prince asked some more, trying to determine the duke’s words. “Come on, lad! We’re all adults here! Don’t speak in riddles.”

The duke of Maverny swallowed the ale he had just ordered before continuing, “They are forceful this time, in sex, that is.”

“Holy…” the dwarf prince spat what he was drinking in his vain effort to keep himself from laughing. When the Prince Uhrian regained his composure, however, he teased, “You got all these holy ladies swooning all over you, lad, and yet, you shy away like a flower! Do you even have desires for them?”

“I’m lying if I say I don’t. I’m a man, and I get horny, too.”

“Aye…that’s good to hear, lad!”

“But, I’m quite uncertain.”

“Don’t be a wuss!” Sir Dane and the Prince Uhrian nearly chorused on that, slamming their tankards on the table. However, it was the halfling prince who continued his rebuke, “You stole the hearts of those beautiful ladies; take responsibility for them!”

“No, I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say,” Kuro insisted. “By ‘uncertain’, I mean that I’m still unprepared. My heart is ready now, but I do have my own plans as well. With them taking the initiative, I’m getting lost in my schemes.”

“What do you…?”

“I have a surprise for them this Christmas,” the duke reiterated. “Of course, as someone who loves them, I want my ladies to have a memorable festivity…even more so that this is the first time they’d celebrate it. If I let them go on the ‘offensive’, I would be caught off-guard and lost at their whims.”

“Oooh…” Sir Dane quipped. “So, you really thought of it this time, huh?”

Kuro nodded, “Well, I did plan to propose to them this special day, but…”

“I apologize for the delay of your rings, lad,” the Prince Uhrian gave him a pat on the back. “I never knew that their problem back at Equality is so severe.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, Your Highness,” the duke reassured him. “I do have my plan ‘B’, but Maddie, Natasha, and Ruro keep on frustrating it. That’s why, I asked the Lady Seirna to help me escape today.”

“And Her Holiness the Overseer Saint cooperated with you?” the Calabrian chancellor couldn’t believe his ears.

“She did; you saw her yourself, right?”

“Laddie, don’t you know that the Overseer Saint is only answerable to the Lord Gaius himself? For her to follow what you asked of her is something…”

“Is her cooperation really that special?” Kuro chuckled. “Any case, let’s set aside that for now and focus on my plan today. Will you help, milords?”

“I don’t think you should even be asking that from us,” Sir Dane pointed out. “Of course, we’ll help! It’s always an honor for me and my house to help the living legend of Chersea.”

“You flatter me, Sire,” the duke brushed off the compliments and took a paper from his clothes. “Look, I’m sure that even before this day ends, the saints have already tracked us. As such, before the clock hits the 24th hour, I’d like to reveal my surprise for them…”

----------

***The same forest city, a couple of hours before the ‘long sleep’…***

The Christmas festivities in all of Cherwoods was well underway throughout the entire land of the elves, with everyone joining the parties organized by every elvish lord and ladies in command of their settlements. It was in accordance to the decree of the Elf Saint, who also saw it as an opportunity to lift the morale of her people that suffered under the terror of the Seductress.

As such, the streets of the city where Kuro and his companions hid were full of people, both elves and the other races (except for the demons), taking part in the celebrations. The tavern where they holed up, however, was closed; not because it was filled with guests, but rather, the duke of Maverny decided to make his ‘last stand’ here.

“…”

After delaying her peers for the entire day, the Overseer Saint, Seirna Stephanie, went past the throng of revelers enjoying the festive air and limped towards the door where Kuro stayed. It was really a random pick, but she could tell why the duke of Maverny picked this place to surprise the ladies who were after him.

“…”

The city lay beside the path the Grand Canal took on its way to the interiors of Cherwoods. While it was still unfinished, the scenery was breathtaking. Trees with red and yellow leaves lined the embankment. Shrubs of various shapes and sizes marked the border between the city and canal itself. The beastmen workers constructed wooden benches at irregular intervals, as well as steel railings, that added to the ‘homely’ atmosphere of the place.

The beauty of the scenery prompted the local city officials to conduct their Christmas bazaars by the canal side. Settlers from Chersea introduced cosplay festivals as well. Seirna would’ve joined the people, if not for…

“So, you really took us here, huh?”

While they resolved not to disrupt the festive air with their antics, the Overseer Saint and her peers waged a silent battle of ‘hide and seek’, from the Saint’s Tree palace complex up to that part of the land. The otherworlder did ask Seirna to lead them in that place, after delaying them for some time, which she agreed to do. However, she didn’t expect Maddie and the others to be this ‘determined’…

Kuh! Whatever did that otherworlder do to you?

In any case, her battle was finally over. By this time, she was aware that Kuro was ready for his part, and she could finally have her rest.

“…” She’d ask for a proper compensation from him later…restraining her idiotic peers was the hardest she dealt with ever since she was acclaimed as a saint.

Seirna sheathed her sword and lowered her guard. “You idiots run after that indecisive fool just because he saved our asses several times before,” she chuckled as she stepped aside. “Very well, then, you may have him now; I have done my part. He’s inside this tavern behind me. Merry Christmas, ladies.”

However, Maddie, Ruro, and Natasha never budged. They remained at their spot, even when the Lady Seirna gave them the permission to go past her.

“What are you waiting for? Kuro’s waiting for you inside!”

The three other saints exchanged amused looks and laughed. Then, Ruro dropped the revelation, “Oh, we do know my master’s cooking something. It’s just that, it is fun running to trouble with you, Lady Seirna.”

“What—”

“Come on! You really did think we’d turn against each other because of Kuro?” Natasha grinned. “Maddie may do that—”

“Hey!” Maddie called out to her, but Natasha ignored the Human Saint.

“Maddie may do that, but we’re not so dependent on Sir G as you think…we still love him, though.”

“Did you have fun running around at Christmas, Seirna?” the Beastwoman teased her.

“You call that ‘running around’? We almost destroyed every place we fought!”

“No one’s injured, so everything’s fine. Don’t you know that Christmas in the old days of Kuro’s world included mischief and other shenanigans?” Maddie countered. “And the Lady Hinwe’s fixing things now as we speak, not to mention, I cast a preservation spell so the damage should be minimal.” (1)

“You idiots…” the Overseer Saint said under her breath, though she was smiling a bit as her tired legs gave way and buckled down. “You really got me there, though please let’s not repeat the trouble you had me do today.”

“Ah, yes…before we forgot!” At that moment, the saints disappeared for a short while, and when they returned, they brought in everyone of their friends from the human, beastfolk and demon (though under the disguise) races; maids and paladins from the Holy Palatial Gardens, the beastfolk from Cherwoods’ every tribe, and their demon friends from all the clans. By that time, the Lady Hinwe—together with her servant, the Lady Meanor—had also appeared by the tavern’s door.

“Is it time already?” the Queen of Cherwind, Ursura, asked the moment she realized she was in another place.

“Yep,” the Lady Noir replied, her horns detached to disguise herself. “We did have an agreement with the saints to teleport us when it’s time for the Christmas dinner.”

“Oh…so Kuro’s inside this tavern?” the King of Nerfes, Simon, touched the wooden door. “Someone told me he’s got a surprise for us?”

“We’ll be surprising him, too,” Lily answered. “I’m sure he’ll be shocked white with our appearance.

Seirna couldn’t help but be impressed. All of these races finally united under the friendship of the otherworlder, Kuro…not even the legendary Cassandra David could do that. And surely, not her former master and lord, Gaius…

“…”

The Overseer Saint heaved a sigh.

“Alright everyone!” Maddie raised her voice as they prepared to breach the tavern door; her mischievous smile was enough to give away what she intended to do. “I’ll pay for the damage, so let’s surprise our favorite human in his most cherished festival! On three! One, two, three!”

“!!!” the explosion that tore the tavern door apart was loud enough to turn everyone else’s attention to the huge royal crowd that gathered before the tavern. Nevertheless, as everyone was in celebratory mood, they were slow to realize that nearly all the sovereigns of the four races were storming the lowly place in an effort to surprise the legendary living hero of their time.

“Damn it, Maddie! Don’t destroy the place!” was Kuro’s scream from inside the tavern.

Author's Notes:  1)  Contrary to the traditional depiction of a warm, homely Christmas sitting by a fireplace and eating delicious food, medieval Christmas--especially in Northern Europe, and particularly in England--were infamous for mischief-making and rowdy, drunk crowds.  It was so chaotic that the English Puritans tried banning the festival when they came to power after temporarily winning the English Civil War in the 17th Century.  

The imagery of Christmas with family, loved ones, and sitting by the dining table filled with festive food was said to have come from Charles Dickens and Thomas Nast's 19th Century novels and caricatures of the holiday.

And yes, Maddie was talking about it from Kuro's memory.