I'll Protect You (Original Version)

You can't offer revenge--that's playing dirty!

Logan hissed like a cat and pulled my head up. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, brushing strands of my dark hair out of my face.
       "What time is it?" I asked, not bothering to answer his question. "Is it the day I died yet because eternal sleep sounds incredibly nice right now."

"No. It's nine-thirty and someone sent me to--"

"PARK!" a chirping voice sang. The sound pierced through my ear drums, causing me to go deaf. I shriveled into a ball just as the doors to the kitchen burst open and Minnie Bellamy burst in. She even wore a Santa hat as she charged in, a thousand-watt smile plastered on her face.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, PRINCESS PARK!" she bellowed. Minnie may give off the vibe of the gentle, delicate lady--more worthy of the title of princess sometimes than I am--but truthfully she was a very rough girl. Minnie yanked on my arm and quickly crushed me into a bear hug.

I woke up due to the burst of energy Minnie passed to me. I hugged her back, crushing her tightly against me as well.

"I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Minnie squealed excitedly.
"Minnie, shut up!" a voice screamed through the doorway. Zen strode in, a Santa hat matching his bright red anime hair, looking more annoyed than me. "I can hear you from outside!"

Zen then wrapped Logan's head with a Christmas hat, wishing him a merry Christmas with an inside voice (thank you very much for that, Zen).
Minnie stepped back from me, a big grin on her face before she took another hat out and put it on my head.

"If you can hear me from outside, Zen, then I've met the standards of an enthusiastic scream," Minnie said simply before looping her arm through mine and frog marching me out of the kitchen. The two boys followed suit, with not as much enthusiasm as Minnie.         
               The four entered the main dining hall. The arched glass windows facing our personal winter fairyland streamed in pale light from the opal sky outside. So, the glass chandelier hanging high above us was lit, casting a golden glow into the shadows of the cavernous room.

Everybody was already seated at a seat in front the twenty foot long mahogany table set in the middle of the dining hall except for Archer and Alec. They were conversing suspiciously in the corner, looking a bit too grim for my comfort zone. Figuring they were discussing a future prank on me, I brushed it off.

Minnie's parents, Fleur and Jacques Bellamy, were seated by my parents, beaming happily at me as I walked in. Zen's parents were across from them, Christine and Ace Li.
           Elijah waved from me from next to Jasper's right, winking suggestively at my hand which was placed in Logan's. His parents (my mother's siblings) weren't here, having already promised a Christmas dinner over in the states with another family.

There was already plates of food set out: mashed potatoes and thick gravy in pristine white bowls, sliced him arranged in such a sophisticated manner that I didn't want to ruin the beautiful image it was placed in. There were cookies and cupcakes and slices of cake arranged like it was a fancy tea party. My parents and grandmother had glasses of dark red wine while the underaged children had--

"This better be Dr. Pepper," Archer and I said at the same, eyeing the soda with critical eyes.
             "It is," Jasper replied cheerfully, taking a sip of his Dr. Pepper. Archer and I sighed in relief before sitting down next to each other. Logan took the seat next to me; Alec was across from us, sandwiched between Zen and Minnie.

My grandmother was at the head of the table, with my mother and father on either side of her. She clapped her hands happily. "Merry Christmas to everyone here! This wonderful feast was prepared by my returning grandson and our honored Alexander Darkwood."'