Winter in Hostia!

As the seasons rolled around it felt like it was time to visit the other castle that wasn’t on Mount Hakobe. To Hostia it was. The lush green plains were covered in fresh leaves and some frosted snow. Her first winter in Hostia after taking it over. The queen looked out the window of the newly built Hostian Castle and watched the streets a bit. The people were starting to get excited for something, and she wasn’t in their presence. Her curiosity was on her face as she frowned. Was it some tradition here that she didn't know about? She glares a little as she looks down at the people once again. She wanted in on this.

Nadaline and Bertrand were in Fiore on Mount Hakobe and taking care of the castle there for her as she wasn't at her first castle. Of course she had a few servants here with her in Hostia. They were reliable… she hoped. With a deep breath she turned on her heel and threw open her door to her room. On the other side were some new servants that she had brought in the castle after it was built that used to live and pledged themselves to Saraphina and her cause. They would see her in a tiered ball gown dress with long sleeves that went down to the back of her hand, puffy shoulders, and a rose shaped ribbon on her neck. Upon her head would be her usual crown, but altered to look pretty different. Upon her right middle finger would be a silver band with a rose engraved on it. Something she had found in the treasury here after taking over Hostia. “What is going on outside?” She pouts. The servants looked to one another before clearing their throats. They quickly curtsied to her. One of the maids had stepped forward. “Y-your majesty, it’s the Christmas Festival. It happens every winter, but with a new ‘theme’ every year. This year is the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ festival.”

The queen tapped her chin as she smiled to herself. Last year she had gone with Birch. That was quite a delight… she wanted to go with him again, but she didn’t know where he was… was he avoiding her? Or was he destroying some government in her name? She sure hoped it was the latter if she was honest. With a clap of her hands she skipped off down the hall and giggled. As she entered the big ball room where some servants were cleaning up and putting up some curtains on the windows, she smiled brightly. “I need Addilyn! Someone find her and tell her she’s coming to the festival with me!” She calls out loudly, swaying from side to side excitedly as she was ready for this festival already. What better way than to take her replacement maid with her? She looks around and taps her chin. “I need another to come with me, maybe two.” Her purplish pink eyes glanced around. Who else could she bring with her to play out today…?

It didn’t take long for a new, and unsuspecting, victim to come into the white queens line of sight. Her eyes seemed to light up in absolute delight as the blonde burst into her ballroom with delight on her face. “You! You shall come with me to the festival with my new maid! As well as… one other person…” She tapped her chin as she thought of whom else to bring. She then paused. “Soup?” She tilted her head. After a moment of contemplation, still tapping her chin, a grin slipped across her face as she clapped her hands together. “Sure! Soup sounds lovely! Make it to travel! I want to go down to the city and see the festival! And you can bring your soup with!” She exclaims happily. This would be perfect. She didn’t have to eat peasant food while out, and have delicious soup made from her castle!

Her attention would be directed towards Addilyn as she approached her. She clapped her hands again and looked between the two women as Addi told her about Tempeste and her cooking. She raised an eyebrow and looked towards Tempeste. “Really? Is this for everyone? Or just for someone like yourself and Kyra?” She had heard about Kyra being one to eat people before. She wasn’t fully aware she had another like her. That was fine, easier to take care of those who bothered her! She then turned her attention back to Addi and grabbed her hands in her own, holding them up and practically pleading with her eyes. “I did call for you! I want you to join me in going to the festival in the city! I wanted Birch… but he’s not in Hostia at the moment. You won’t let me go to the festival all on my own, will you?” Her purplish pink eyes batted at the female before her grip on her hands got tighter. She wouldn’t be able to say no to her.

Of course the smell of the soup that Tempeste brought called the nose of another face into the room. Kyra. A light shone in her eyes as she let go of Addi’s hands and grabbed hold of the wrist of Kyra as the queen grinned to her, showing her sharp teeth. “You’ll come with us to the festival!” She declared happily. No one was given a choice. They were coming whether they wanted to or not. As the maid apologized to her, and asked if she had a choice, the queen only smiled to her. Of course no answer would be given by the white haired queen of Hostia and Errings Rising.

She had turned herself around and she eventually made her way outside. She blinked at all the wintery decorations all over the place, and the various smells there were. She smiles as she walks down one of the isles and sees the various games they had going on in this isle. Some games had the ‘jolly’ version of the man she had fought roughly a couple years ago who gave her her sweet Týr after she broke the polar bear of his raging rampage. He still raged, but he listened to her at the very least! Wasn’t that lovely? She giggles at the thought and started to walk forward till she got to a table of presents. “What is this?” She asks as she tilts her head curiously.

The attendant of the game looked up and saw Saraphina standing before them. “Oh… um… this is a game where one is to guess the gift that is inside the present that you choose! Would you like to play?” He smiles before he noticed the look of another game attendant, then cleared his throat. “Your majesty? Would you like to play, your majesty?” He was starting to sweat a bit as he was hoping he didn’t insult her.

Saraphina put a finger on the tip of her chin as she glanced down at the game and looked over the presents. “I just pick one and I can guess the gift, right?” The attendant smiled and nodded their head rather fast to her, motioning for her to pick her gift and start guessing. She eagerly grabbed a gift and started shaking happily. What could be inside the gift?! She had to know! Was it shiny?!

“My dear child… you’ve fallen so far… you can’t have all the things that aren’t yours…” A rather ominous male voice came to her mind.

“W-what?! Who are you?!” She asks as she dropped the gift, hearing it shatter in the box. The attendant seemed to pale at that her actions, as if he didn’t hear anything.

“I am Father Christmas. How are you Saraphina Zima? You have been rather naughty… harming people and thinking about stealing the ‘shiny’ gift there.”

“Y-You shut up! They deserved it! They were oppressing people! And why shouldn’t I have a shiny thing for myself?! I-I deserve it!” She was starting to pout much like a child while she was looking up at the sky. She was trying to see if this ‘Father Christmas’ was somewhere nearby. He just had to be! No way could he just be in her head! She’d beat him up for telling her no! It was bad to tell her no! No!

“I’m afraid I am in your head… you’ve been pretty naughty, so I can’t let this slide. You’ll be getting plenty of coal for Christmas this year, my dear! Oh how is my polar bear anyways? Týr, i believe you named him?” A hearty chuckle was heard by the young woman and she seemed to freeze while looking down at the giftbox on the ground. “It’s a shame that the glass horse statue was broken because of my frightening you though… it didn’t deserve such a death.”

Slowly, Saraphina looked up to the attendant and frowns. “It was a glass horse statue…” The attendant nervously went around the table nad opened the box before pulling out the head of the statue, showing that it was a glass horse at one point. The young queen friends even more as she looked at how cute the statue was. She wanted it… “Someone get it fixed and make sure it doesn’t look like it’s been broken! I want it in my room.” She demands as the attendant gives Sara three peppermints. She wasn’t in the mood to eat them right then, so she hung them on the edge of her dress over her breasts.

“This isn’t the way to get on the nice list…” She wanted to cry a bit now. This man ruined a great little statue that she could have… it was his fault. Not hers. She’d end him the next time she saw the old, fat man. “Really bad choice if you’re wanting to be on the nice list, Miss Zima. You won’t be able to see me for quite some time.”

She let out a growl and turned on her heels. “Lets go!” She cries out to whomever may be following her. She wasn’t caring anymore about if Addi, Tempeste, or Kyra were following her. She just wanted a body with her that wasn’t her own! She continued stalking down the isle of games and yummy smelling food till she spotted one that seemed rather peculiar to her. There were sweaters laying down on the table and various crafts. “What is this?” She questions as she looked up to the attendants.

“It’s an ugly sweater contest, your highness.” One told her. She peered down at the cloth a bit, then glanced up towards them once again.

“It doesn’t have any spells on it that’ll make you hear voices like Father Christmas on it, right?”

The two attendants there blinked at that and instantly shook their heads. “N-no ma’am! You have to just make an ugly sweater that fits the theme of Christmas! No catch! No magic from us! All your creativity! No pranks!” The other attendant says quickly with a rather nervous blush on her cheeks.

Saraphina peered at them quizzically before she nodded and picked up a green sweater. This one would be the base of her sweater. Make it ugly for Christmas? The white haired queen thought hard about it for a moment. Surely she had seen a few when she came to Fiore! One of the things she had seen was a sweater being made to look like the wearer was a gift! That was pretty horrendous! That was what she was going to go with!

She laid the sweater down and grabbed a red sweater, cutting the sleeves off of both of them before she put the sleeves of the red one to the green one and used this ‘fabric glue’ to glue the sleeves together. She was going to do this all on her own. Next came the other fabrics. She got a gold and red striped fabric and cut it in half. She stuck them on two opposite corners of the front of the shirt before putting a fabric ribbon in the middle vertical and horizontal to cover the messy cuts of the striped fabric before she put on a nice big bow in the front. Now she needed a model… She looked around, then at the attendant before she handed the sweater to her. “Please wear this for me? It’ll look bad with my dress, and I can’t have that~!” She giggles ever so sweetly to the person, showing her sharp teeth.

While the remaining people in the country of Hostia accepted her as queen, and Errings Rising as partial rulers with her, they were nervous of her with how she looked and acted sometimes. The attendant nervously grabbed the sweater and slipped it on, smiling just as nervously as they were uncomfortable. “I think I won~! It looks pretty ugly~!” She giggles as she clapped her hands together. The other attendant of the little activity handed the white queen two peppermints, and she hooked them on her dress with the other two. With a deep sigh, the queen turns around.

“This is rather boring now.”

“That’s a bit rude…”

“If you feel like continuing the festival, you can stay here and enjoy it. I’m going to go back to the castle now.” She sighs as she walks away. She didn’t care. This Father Christmas was annoying her and she needed to alleviate this new headache! She never had one before. It was painful… She was a good girl, he couldn’t tell her she wasn’t. She was doing good for the people. Only killing the corrupted and the lawmakers! He didn’t know better, that was all!

“But it’s still not good…” He insisted. Who the hel cared about what he said anyways!