Yulemas

It had come the time where Aelin wanted to die. Christmas, or how Evangeline has wanted to call it after a story Lys told her, Yulemas, just wasn't her time of the year. And right now, stuck in the middle of this plague of desperate people shopping last minute, she felt like she could start screaming any second.

It wasn't that she didn't like Christmas, she just hated it. That feeling that everyone had about being with the family just didn't work for her. She had never had that perfect family which the films pictured and then Arobynn had found her. The streets weren't a home for children, especially not innocent little girls that could be manipulated.

Arobynn had saved her from the cold and its freezing floor. He had given her the home she had always wanted, at least until she was old enough to start working.

"Look where you're going!" Someone shouted to her right as she was pushed forcedly because of the stranger's shoulder. She turned to see who had pushed her, but the stranger had already disappeared through the crowd. She had only been able to glimpse a bit of silver hair.

Ignore it, she thought, Concentrate. Evangeline wanted the new pet robot that could be found in the new toy shop around the corner. As if she didn't have enough with Fleetfoot already.

Aelin shook her head and started walking again towards that shop. It had nothing out of the ordinary, just rows upon rows of simple colourful toys, but she could understand why Evangeline loved to come here every day. She meant, who wouldn't?

As she entered the shop, she started walking towards the area where she already knew the toy was. At the end of the third corridor, to the left of the huge teddy bear that hung from the ceiling. Lysandra had made her learn it by heart if she was going to come alone. Because she wasn't going to be the one to forget E's present now, would she?

Sold Out.

Aelin swore under her breath not very queenly-like. Some mothers turned to stare at her, covering their children ears. She ignored them all and went to find a shop assistant.

"Excuse me," she started "but I was wondering..."

She got interrupted as the girl wearing the uniform of the shop, stood up. She had to admit the girl was pretty with her hair woven into a side braid that made her hazel eyes pop out.

"Hi, welcome to Morath's Toyland, where all dreams come true. How can I help you?" Her voice was sweet, though Aelin could pick up an undertone of shyness. In her name tag she could read the name Sorscha. Pretty name for a lovely girl.

"I was wondering if you had any My Own Asterion left?" she asked in hope that they secretly did. E had already named hers, even though she didn't own it. Kasida, a beautiful name for a beautiful horse she had said.

"I must say that the last customer just bought the only one we gad" Aelin had already figured that by herself, so with a deep breath she asked if they had anything similar. Her answer was still a No, I'm sorry. She asked another question and another and another after that one, the answer staying the same. Aelin could have chopped her head off, if she hadn't purposed another idea.

"Though there is a local shop just on the other side of the road. They might have one."

And with that Aelin plastered a fake smile on her face and walked out of the shop.

Sold out, she thought, Of course they had to be sold out. Stupid. Rotten. Christmas. Couldn't Evangeline have a normal doll like the rest of her class? She had no idea why she even thought of that question.

By then she was fuming, talking to herself and her feet were starting to hurt from walking around. Because of the dam toyshop that didn't have the toy or the next or the one after that. They fucking toy was nowhere to be seen and with only little time till dinner she didn't have time to go to the shop on the other side of the city. She just hoped E could pardon her sometime next year.

She could remember clearly the day she met Evangeline. Someone had knocked on their door late in the evening. Manon wasn't expecting anyone, nor was she. Another knock and then she opened to Lysandra standing on the other side with a little girl crying in her arms.

Evangeline could have been no older than five. And when the little stranger turned her head, Aelin gasped. Scars adorned her small cheeks, not fatal but deep enough to be able to leave that kind of mark. So she let them in and gave the little girl something to munch on so that she would stop crying. Lysandra told them that Clarisse had found her abandoned on the streets.

The scars had come after when Lysandra refused to let E "work her way into life" as Clarisse like to say.

Aelin looked towards the little girl again only to find she was already staring back with her hands stretched in front of her. She picked her up, placed her on her lap and with the smile that she received, little Evangeline found a place in Aelin's heart.

(Perhaps she exaggerated the story a little bit and perhaps Manon would have told it differently, but Evangeline loved this version more)

Aelin ended up buying the second best toy she could find; a stuffed animal that somehow looked like the Wyvern from the stories Manon often told Evangeline when she thought nobody else was listening. It was grey mottled with black, brown and even green. She had also seen another with a striking blue colour, though it was the eyes of the first that had called Aelin, as strange as that sounded.

(Later, when she had arrived at Lysandra's, she found Manon in the kitchen eating her chocolate truffles that were meant for dessert. As soon as she showed her the present Manon had said "Mine, you're mine" to the toy. No, not strange at all)

A chime sounded across the square from the Tower clock. It was time to go. Lysandra was already going to kill her for not finding the toy and she didn't want to give her as well the excuse of arriving late. And just like that she decided that what she was wearing was perfect enough for a friend's party. She called for a taxi.

"Where to?" the driver asked from the front

"Orynth Street, 19" she answered looking towards the window. It had just started snowing lightly.

The journey to Lysandra's house wasn't very long, though the silence of the taxi had let Aelin think about pretty much anything that dared to cross her mind. She was starting to get dizzy from watching the blurry snow when the driver announced that they had arrived. She paid him, walked the stairs to the door and before she could knock Lysandra was already hugging her.

"You're late" she said as the only welcome

Aelin shook her head in denial "A welcome would have been nice or how about a How are you? How has your day been? Or even better..."

Lysandra interrupted her "Have you got it?"

Aelin just laughed and waved the bag in front of her. She could hear chatter from the living room as her friends were seated around the fire place, with Evangeline in the middle shaking her presents to see if she could guess what was hidden behind the wrapping paper, Fenrys helping her.

She stopped to stare at them. Manon was talking to Asterin about the new training they were going to introduce in their gym called Thirteen. Dorian was trying to coax Manon into turning towards him as he held mistletoe above their heads. Elide and Lorcan were sitting in a corner just happy to be with each other, Elide laughing to something he had said and he had a soft smile on his face. And Aedion.

Aedion was talking to someone she hadn't met. He was good looking, tall and from what she could see from how the sweater hugged him, muscular. But what really called her attention was those pine-green eyes where she could get lost in and the silver hair she recognised from before, from when someone had pushed her aside.

Buzzard, she thought

"Who's that?" She asked Lysandra, as she stopped besides her, pointing towards the male across the room. Lys gave her a wicked smile

"That's Rowan" And with that she left her standing there

Looking towards her friends, her family and the new stranger that met her eyes, she thought, Perhaps Christmas wasn't so bad after all.