An Expected Betrayal |TBATE

Not Chapter 48- Christmas Special Part 1

(A.N This takes place during the school arc. In the 1 year time skip between when they were 13 and 14)

ARTHUR LEYWIN

I cheerfully walked down the halls. Outside, it was the first snowfall. And now, I had one advantage. I could celebrate Christmas this year. If I were back in Dicathen, I would be seen as crazy trying to start a new holiday, but here I can just say it's normal there.

I missed it, really. Christmas' at the orphanage was so much fun. There was always a large amount of food, mainly because the rich would donate in order to look good. It wasn't perfect though., We were meant to share all the presents because we couldn't afford even one per two people.

It was weird how similar this world is to mine. Even the months have the same name. Makes me wonder if there are any more connections between our worlds.

I made my way to the 'lab'. I say lab, but after some modifications, it's been turned into more of a hangout room. We even weatherproofed it, so even in the winter we could hang out without it being cold.

Valen installed couches, Caera added a fancy table, and Mayla created bean bags after I described it to her. I think the weird part was that Mayla figured out that she could rent out the room to other students. Thankfully it didn't happen often enough for it to be a problem.

I opened the door, making sure to brush off the snow. Fortunately, no one was inside. I kinda was upset that I couldn't use plant magic, because then I could get a tree much easier. But I took advantage of living in the Denoir household and being a friend of the principal's grandson/ friend/ technically a teacher to get a tree in here.

It was already in the corner of the room, right where I asked for it. I also had Sevren make me some Christmas lights. He was confused, understandably. But I brushed him off. I could explain it later.

I even made some ornaments. Ok, I may have tricked some art students but that's not what mattered. After a while, the tree was completely decorated. Lights wrapped around it, ornaments of all sorts were hanging off of it, and a wreath was hanging on the door.

It was a long shot of the fancy stuff the nobles had. But it was minimal and reminded me of the nice times between Nico, Cecilia and I back in the orphanage. I think we only had one Christmas where all three of us celebrated together. Most of them were just with Nico.

"Care to explain what you're doing?"

I spun around, and Caera was just coming in, decked out in the whole winter suit. She wore a long scarf around her neck, earmuffs, gloves made from some mana beast and a wooly hat. Caera made her envy of my assimilated body very clear once it started getting cold. I was a bit curious how her horns fit under that hat but I didn't ask.

Her cheeks were flush red, constantly puffing into her hands to keep them warm. A scene I've never seen on earth. Global warming kinda ruined Christmas. Snow wasn't even a thing. Though I've grown used to it.

"Ummmm. Celebrating Christmas." I answered truthfully.

After brushing off the snow and undressing Caera finally sent me a questioning glare. "Assuming that's some sort of Dicathen holiday. When were you going to tell us?" She walked over to the makeshift kitchen and began making hot tea for herself. I could see her hands were still cold.

"It was meant to be a surprise. And it's only Christmas Eve today." I sat down on a couch, letting myself fully melt into it. "It certainly adds a homely feel to the place. Just wait for nightfall, turn on one of the smaller nights and you have the perfect cozy room." Caera noted, sitting down next to me. She pulled out a blanket from a dresser and laid it out over the couch. I grabbed my own as well.