Night time. Lily and Cyril are in their hammocks.
"Lily? Lily, can you sleep? Lily!"
"Shut up."
"What do you think that present is? We could just sneak down and have a look."
"Go to sleep" Lily replies, he does. Madge is lying awake clutching the telegram when Lily sneaks out of the room. She hears noises and sees lights from the Doctor and {Y/N}'s wing of the house and goes to investigate. Then Cyril comes out of the room with a torch. In the attic the TARDIS fits neatly under the eaves. Moonlight is coming in through a heart-shaped hole in the roof and the Doctor is working on a gizmo, {Y/N} beside him "you were lying about the panthers" the Doctor and {Y/N} look at Lily.
"Famous last words" {Y/N} says.
"Why have you two got a phone box in your room?"
"It's not a phone box, it's our wardrobe. We've just painted it to look like a phone box" {Y/N} smiles.
"Well, what are you doing?"
"Rewiring" the Doctor says.
"Why would you rewire a wardrobe?"
"Have you seen the way we dress?"
"Who are you two? Really, who are you?" a small alarm beeps.
"Your brother, where is he?" {Y/N} asks, Cyril is downstairs, untying the big present. He opens the box and light streams out, along with some snowflakes. He crawls inside and looks out on a snow-covered forest. The box is suspended off the ground. He backs out into the main sitting room as Lily looks into their room.
"Still in bed, asleep" Lily replies.
"Ok. Faulty, then" {Y/N} mutters" Cyril summons up his courage and goes back inside, a nearby tree grows some big glass baubles. He picks one, and it gets bigger in his hand. He drops it and it grows again, then begins to crack. Cyril runs back through the box. The alarm beeps again, {Y/N} furrows her eyebrows "you're sure he's still in bed?" Cyril once again goes back into the box. Whatever was in the bauble has hatched and gone, leaving tracks.
"See?" Lily says.
"Shush" the Doctor whips the cover off Cyril's hammock.
"Oh, he's good. The old bear and duvet, eh? Classic" {Y/N} says. They arrive just in time to see Cyril's hand grab his torch and disappear inside the box.
"Cyril!" the Doctor whisper shouts.
"What's happening? I don't" the Doctor and {Y/N} dive into the box "what is that?"
"With us. Quickly, come on" {Y/N} says sticking her hand out, Lily grabs it and {Y/N} helps her out the other side "that's it. In you come. Brr, bit cold. Never mind."
"Cyril! Cyril!" the finds the hatched bauble.
"Where are we?" Lily asks.
"In a forest, in a box, in a sitting room. Pay attention. He's about twenty minutes ahead" the Doctor says.
"But we just saw him."
"Time moves differently across the dimensional planes. What do they teach you in schools these days?" {Y/N} asks.
"But I don't understand where we are."
"We've gone through a dimensional portal thingy" {Y/N} says.
"Well, what's that supposed to be? Where did it come from?"
"It was a present, and it wasn't supposed to be opened till Christmas Day. Honestly, who opens their Christmas presents early? Ok. Shut up. Everyone" the Doctor says, the forest whispers.
"I don't understand. Is this place real, or is it fairyland?"
"Fairyland? Oh, grow up, Lily. Fairyland looks completely different. Now, these are Cyril's footprints, and these are the ones he was following. Notice anything?" {Y/N} says.
"The other footprints are getting bigger."
"Yes. Whatever your brother's following, it's growing" the Doctor says.
"Well, we have to get after him" Lily runs forward, brushing against a tree and knocking some of its snow off. It grows baubles.
"It's ok, you're fine. Don't worry" {Y/N} says, looking at Lily.
"Is that tree alive?"
"Of course, it's alive. It's a tree."
"But is it dangerous?"
"Every rose has its thorns."
"They're like Christmas tree decorations."
"Yeah. Naturally occurring Christmas trees. How cool is that?" the Doctor asks.
"I don't understand."
"It's a big universe. Everything happens somewhere. Call it a coincidence. Call it an idea echoing among the stars. Personally, I call it a brilliant idea for a Christmas trip. Or it should've been. Do you know the difference between wind and trees talking to each other?" {Y/N} asks.
"What?"
"No wind. We've been here many times, but we've never heard the trees so active. Something's wrong. What are you doing? What are you up to?" the Doctor asks, looking at a bauble and his reflection turns into the image of a wooden man "we're sorry, Lily, we really are, but there is something very wrong in this forest, and your brother's right in the middle of it."
*Time skip*
"Why would you two bring us to this place?" Lily asks.
"It was supposed to be a treat. This is one of the safest planets we know. There's never anything dangerous here, the ground shakes "there are sentences I should just keep away from" the Doctor mutters.
"It's just irresponsible. How can you two do this to my brother?"
"It was meant to be a supervised trip" {Y/N} says.
"To the future?"
"Future, yes."
"The future on a different planet."
"Oh yes, very different."
"Where Christmas trees happen."
"Well, sort of Christmas trees. They're not really Christmas trees" the Doctor says, they soon arrive at the tower.
"Oh, look at that!" {Y/N} says.
"What, are we going in?"
"Cyril did."
*Time skip*
"Interesting" the Doctor mutters.
"What's that? Is that a statue? What is it? It's like a King" Lily says.
"A King, possibly, but not a statue. Look at the floor. This is what Cyril was following. The growing thing. Hatched from a bauble on a tree. Grew to this size in less than an hour, I'd say. Impressive. And so is this building. Yes. It's grown, see. This building, it isn't a building. It's a group of trees grown in the shape of a building. Disguised as a building. Ooo, clever. We love. Clever, clever old forest. So, a forest grows a building. Why would it do that, Lily?" {Y/N} asks.
"I don't know."
"Why is there honey in a honey trap?"
"Because it's a trap?"
"Exactly! Thing about people, we can never resist a door" {Y/N} says.
"So, this is a trap. What, we've just walked straight into a trap?"
"A people trap. Question is, why does a forest need people?" the Doctor asks,
"We should go. We have to get out of here."
"Except?"
"Except Cyril was here" Lily takes {Y/N}'s outstretched hand.
"So, let's find Cyril" {Y/N} says nodding.
---
~Bread 🍞