Christmas Special: A Colder Time, A Warmer Christmas

It was a cold, frosty Christmas Eve in Lucciola. Prior to the telling of the future Hero Queen's destiny, the resistance, encounters with the Stratus Imperial Army, or anything of the sort - a 17-year-old Alice was running through the forest that surrounded her home. As the top performer of her high school's track team, her work was never truly done - and a Winter's day was the perfect time to train.

The cold meant she had to run faster to stay warm and stay extra alert to avoid slippery surfaces - something she was managing to do with relative ease. The girl dodged hanging tree branches, hopped over frozen puddles, all while sprinting forward at speeds that had won her countless awards. The temperature was so low her breath was consistently visible as it left her lips, but she didn't seem bothered by it at all. Alice continued to run, absorbed within her own world and unfazed by the cold, simply focusing on the sound of her own footsteps as they broke the silence of the empty forest.

Unfortunately, Alice's focus was not unbreakable. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a little white rabbit hopping through the forest, which she couldn't help but turn and stare at for a moment - causing her to slip on a frozen puddle as she continued to run.

This couldn't have come at a worse time, as the girl completely lost her balance, and began tumbling down a small hill. Dirt and leaves clung to her arms and legs as she descended, and she let out a small cry as she felt a rock cut into her leg. This was the least of her worries though - for at the bottom of that hill was a river, it wasn't long until she was plunged into its freezing waters.

"Cold! Cold, too cold! This is bad!" Alice thought, thrashing around wildly, trying to find a way out of her predicament. The sudden rush of cold had sent her body into a panic, causing her chances of survival to plummet. The more she thrashed around, the more she seemed to have trouble keeping her head above water, and the easier the river's current was able to carry her further away from where she had fell.

"Someone... help me..."

The silver haired girl was beginning to run out of air, and was slowly thrashing around less and less. The cold water was making it difficult to feel her arms - or feel anything, for that matter.

Just when Alice was starting to lose hope, she felt someone grab hold of her wrist.

And in one swift motion...

...Naois pulled her out of the river.

Alice gasped for air as the boy held her close with both arms. He quickly carried over to a nearby tree and set her down, taking his leather jacket off and placing it over her shoulders. The girl curled up into a ball, shivering and soaking wet.

"Take off your shirt." Naois commanded.

"W-What?!" responded Alice, her teeth chattering and cheeks flushing red as she spoke.

"N-Not like that!" the boy quickly retorted, embarrassed by the misunderstanding. "I mean, it's wet, isn't it? Take it off and zip the jacket up, obviously."

"O-Oh."

As the girl did as instructed, Naois turned around to give her some privacy. When she was done, he took the shirt from her and hung it over a tree branch to let it dry, before sitting down next to her.

"Here," he muttered, grabbing hold of Alice and again pulling her close. Alice could feel the heat of Naois' body against hers. Neither could hide their blushing faces.

"Y-You're really warm." Alice pointed out.

Naois nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've always been like this. Wonder if it means something."

"So uh... what were you doing out here anyway, Naois? It's been like a couple of weeks since we've seen you, what are you up to?" Alice asked politely.

The boy paused for a moment, considering his answer. "Oh, just... walking. Thinking. And... yeah, I guess it has been a while. I met someone, so I was kinda focused on that for a little bit."

This was news to Alice. "O-Oh, really? How's that going? Wait, what happened to that other girl? Did you break up with her?"

"Oh, she broke up with me. And... it was a guy this time. Who... also just broke up with me. That's why I was out here, by myself." As he finished talking, Naois let out a pained chuckle.

The two had known each other for a long time - they'd always been in the same class, and they'd hung out on a bunch of occasions since starting high school - but Alice had never seen Naois act sensitive like this. He was the type of guy that liked to tease his friends, make jokes, and try to act tough. This was new, and Alice couldn't deny that she was enjoying seeing this other side of her friend.

"No way, he broke up with you on Christmas Eve? What a jerk!" Alice exclaimed.

Naois let out a sigh. "Apparently, I'm not the type of guy you want to spend Christmas with."

Alice turned her head to look at Naois face, and she could see the pained look in his eyes. Without realising it, her eyes then wandered over to the boy's arms, and she noticed how muscular he was. She darted her head back to facing forward, hoping Naois wouldn't notice where she'd been staring, and hiding the fact that her entire face was a red as a tomato.

"H-How rude, w-what an idiot. Who wouldn't w-want to spend Christmas with you? H-Hey, have you been working out, by any chance?" Alice instantly regretted changing the subject and asking that question, but Naois didn't seem fazed at all.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Mom sent me money to setup a home gym in our garage. It's too easy, though. I'm moving up the amount of weight I can bench press, like, crazy fast." As he spoke, Naois stretched both his arms and flexed them, and Alice couldn't help but take a nervous gulp as she watched.

"Your mom... isn't she like, an incredibly successful business-lady? Are you spending Christmas with her this year?"

"Yup, she is. And hah, as if. She's always too busy with something or other, attending to some kind of business on some other continent." Naois groaned. He was clearly trying to act like this didn't bother him, but Alice could hear a little pain in his voice.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"I dunno, few years now, maybe."

The two descended into silence as they waited for Alice's running shirt to dry a little, leaving the girl to ponder some of what Naois had said. Some time passed, and eventually they began walking back to the village.

"You know, if you're not doing anything... Apollo, Ciela and I are getting together tonight. We're gonna drink, watch movies and stuff. We had fun the last time you joined us for movie night, didn't we?" Alice asked as they walked.

"Yeah, we did... I dunno. Not really feeling up to it. Tell Apollo I said hi, though. And tell Ciela to stay away from the booze." He paused for a moment. "You should too, actually."

"I will! And... heh." Alice chuckled as she recalled the last time she'd gotten her hands on some alcohol. "It's a standing invitation, you know. If you change your mind, feel free to stop by. Apollo's basement, as usual."

"Sure." Again, the boy paused for a moment. He wanted to ask Alice something, but felt like he'd already talked enough about his problems for one day. However, once he saw the girl turn and smile at him - her usual, beautiful smile - he made up his mind. "Hey... have you thought about... how this is our last Christmas before everything changes?"

"Yeah. Little scary, isn't it? Wondering what the Futureseer is going to say."

"I fear less what she's going to say, just that once she says it... that's it. Our whole life, is just... decided. In an instant, for good. What if it's not what we expect? What if we feel we deserve something better?"

Alice gave him a comforting pat on the back. "Oh, Naois. You'll be fine. You're like, the smartest person in our class. You're great at everything you do, somehow. You're destined for great things! As for me, I'll probably just end up doing something track and field related. Or maybe something like what my Mom and Dad do? Either way, nothing special."

As they arrived back at the village, they went their separate ways. Alice went home to her loving parents in order to get ready for her evening with Apollo and Ciela, while Naois went back to his empty house to spend the evening alone.

After narrowly avoiding being grounded by her parents for being reckless - getting off with just a bit of scolding from her mother - Alice went set off for Apollo's home, which was at the end of a dirt path, away from the village. As she arrived, she saw a familiar red truck, the exact one that would become very significant in her future, and waved to Apollo's Dad.

"Hey Alice..." he called out to her, coming out of the garage (which doubled as his workshop). In a very Apollo-like fashion, he got right up in her face, with a very serious look. "If Apollo lets you get drunk tonight, tell him I won't save him from your mother's wrath."

"I, uh... yes, sir."

"Besides that, have fun, kiddo! They're waiting for you in the basement." And as quickly as he had appeared, the man disappeared back into his workshop.

"I'm not sure how I feel about interactions like that being the usual for this household..." Alice mumbled to herself as she headed inside.

As she headed down the stairs into the basement - revealing a room which was heavily decorated and lit up by Christmas decorations - she was greeted rather dismissively by Apollo, who simply waved at her. A few seconds later, a purple-haired woman who had been attending to some decorations - a woman who was donning a rather revealing red Christmas-themed outfit - finally realised her friend had arrived.

"Alice!" Ciela exclaimed, as the woman leapt at the poor girl, tightly embracing her. Because of Alice's height, this basically meant she was being shoved into the woman's large chest, which left her face red as a tomato (similar to earlier) when the woman finally pulled away seconds later.

"Merry Christmas, Alice. I see even your face is getting into the spirit of things." Apollo chuckled, finally greeting the girl proper. In stark contrast to Ciela's full-themed outfit, the only notable difference on Apollo's person was that he was wearing a Santa hat.

"M-M-M-Merry Christmas..." the girl responded, her bashfulness turning her into a stuttering mess.

As for Alice's outfit, instead of her usual black headband, she was now wearing one with large, brown antlers on it, a red dress, and a choker with a bell on it. Truly, each of them were celebrating Christmas their own way.

"Alice, check this out, I have all the worst Christmas movies..." Apollo began, beginning a long-winded explanation of how he'd bought a random movie lot from someone online and the so-called classics he'd found in it.

Meanwhile, of course, there was one member of the future team who was missing from their get-together. Naois, who was currently sat at home celebrating Christmas in his own way - looking at a photo album of a holiday season from long ago. One where both his mother and father had been present. Usually, he wouldn't be into "sappy crap" like revisiting old memories, but something about his conversation with Alice from earlier had prompted him to dig it out of a box.

As he flipped through the pages, Naois' mobile phone began to vibrate in his pocket.

"What do you want?" he said in a snarky tone, answering the call.

"Hey, Merry Christmas, sweetie. Just wondering how you're doing." His mother's voice came through the phone.

"Yeah, and I'm wondering where the hell in the world you are." Naois scoffed.

The woman let a sigh. "Not coming home. But you know that, don't you?"

"Hardly a surprise."

"I'm sorry. If I look away from company affairs for one second, things seem to blow up." There was sadness in her voice.

Naois closed the photo album that rested on his knee. He didn't want to see her face. "Hey, Mom. Double-check my Christmas list, I don't think an apology was on there."

An awkward silence set in for moment, as Naois' mother wasn't sure how to respond. Eventually, she just opted to change the subject.

"Uhm... how's school?" she asked.

"The same. Too easy. Don't have to try. Straight As."

"I'm so proud of you, honey. You've always been so smart."

"...Yep."

"Any love interests? Guy or girl, I'm fine with either! Your mother likes girls too, you know..."

It had been years since he'd seen her, but Naois could just clearly picture the perverted grin on the woman's face and shook his head in disgust. "First of all, gross. And second of all, if you must know, I got dumped today."

A faint gasp came through the phone. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No." Naois stated bluntly.

"Uh... alright. That probably screwed up your Christmas plans, huh? What are you doing instead?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

"Nothing. Alice invited me to a thing but... I said no."

"Oh, right, Alice! She's probably grown into a real cutie now, huh?" the woman said with a chuckle.

"Sure."

Naois' mother knew she would be crossing a line in what she said next, but wanted to say it anyway. "You should go to that thing."

"I'm not taking advice on where I should spend Christmas Eve from someone who couldn't even be bothered to be on the same CONTINTENT as their child."

"Naois... I know. I have little excuse, but... you know, even if I'm not there, doesn't mean I want you to spend it alone. That's the last thing I would ever want. That I hope you can believe."

She sounded sincere, but Naois still felt anger upon hearing her words.

"...I'll think about it."

Yet again, a silence set in.

"I love you, sweetie."

"Later."

The phone call ended, and the red haired boy resisted the urge to throw his phone at the wall. He gritted his teeth as hard as he could, and stared down at the photo album. On the front cover was a picture of a 4-year-old boy holding hands with his mother and father with a Christmas tree in the background.

The mother had long red hair, and wore the biggest grin on her face. The boy's grin was similar. As for the father, he had such a look of pride.

But that family didn't exist anymore.

As Naois stared at his father's face, his mother's words echoed in his mind, and he felt his jaw tremble a little. Memories from long ago surfaced.

The singing of Christmas carols.

Hot chocolate by the fireplace.

The opening of presents.

Setting the table for Christmas dinner.

Despite no one else being around, despite the room being dark, Naois felt embarrassed. Christmas was hardly the time for rain.

"Fine, I'll go."

A little while later, when the Winter sun had already set, and it was dark in the forest surrounding Lucciola - there was a knock at Apollo's door. Alice ran up the stairs to answer it.

As she opened that door to see Naois' face on the other side, who was clearly out of breath from running all the way from his house, Alice didn't say a thing. She simply smiled - a smile that could have sparked joy in even Ebenezer Scrooge himself - and let him in.

"Merry Christmas, Alice. I forgot to... say that before." said Naois, as they walked downstairs into the basement.

"Merry Christmas, Naois!" she responded enthusiastically, running ahead of him and throwing a spare Santa hat his way.

"Hey! What the hell is he doing here?!" complained Ciela, clearly a little intoxicated, who was sat on a couch situated in the middle of the room. Alice instantly shot her an angry look, which encouraged her to change her tune. "I mean, uh... heeeey, buddy! Merry Christmas."

"Welcome to the party." added Apollo, who was adjusting a CRT television a few feet away from the couch. Displayed on it was the menu for a Christmas movie they were planning on watching.

Naois was hesitant for a moment. He really wasn't in the Christmas mood, even though he had ran all the way here after his emotional trip. However, then he noticed a pack of beer on a table next to the staircase. He smiled, grabbed one, and chugged it as the rest of the group looked on in confusion.

Now all was right.

Naois began laughing hysterically, and made his way over to the couch. "No way, not this one."

"Are you kidding me?" retorted Apollo. "That alcohol sure knocked the sense out of you quick, because, this is the best Christmas movie, buddy."

"No no no..." Naois began, and started rifling through Apollo's movie collection rather aggressively.

"That is NOT a Christmas movie!" yelled Ciela at some point in their conversation. "We're not watching a horror movie on Christmas!"

As for Alice, she simply looked on, smiled, and let them argue. Truthfully, she didn't mind which movie they watched, she was just happy they were altogether. This could be the last peaceful Christmas they had for a while, after all.

Sometime later, after they'd finally picked a movie and watched it all the way through, Alice noticed it had begun snowing outside.

"Hey, look, look, look! It's snowing! We're going to have a White Christmas, maybe!" she exclaimed, running over to the window, tripping over several objects on the way for reasons she hoped her mother would never find out about.

"Hey, I just realised..." began Ciela, deep within a drunken stupor by now. "The snow is like, white, like, your hair..."

"My hair is silver, thank you very much." Alice proudly proclaimed in response.

"It's white like, Santa's beard, haha." Naois chimed in, with a chuckle that lasted a little too long.

At the mention of Santa, Alice let out a gasp. "We can't be awake when Santa gets here! We should sleep eventually!"

Everyone paused for a moment.

"Haha, she still believes in Santa, haha..." thought Naois.

"That's so adorable..." thought Ciela.

"I must protect this child." thought Apollo.

"Hey, do guys think I made the nice list?" asked Alice innocently.

"Sweetie, you make the nice list... every year, believe me..." replied Ciela, slurring her words in the process, and both guys nodded in agreement.

"Yay!"

Alice's mother would later disagree, upon discovering her 17-year-old daughter hungover on Christmas Day. The repercussions of drinking was the furthest thought from any of the friends' minds, however, as they continued their party well into the night.

As for the next day, Alice and her family spent Christmas at Apollo's house, with Naois and Ciela joining them for the opening of presents, Christmas carol karaoke, an extensive turkey dinner, and hot chocolate by the fireplace.

But Alice and Naois were right.

Later the next year, everything would change, forever. And that was the last peaceful, carefree Christmas those families would have together, for a very, very long time.