WINTER WARMTH

Written by RosesAndThorns

Story’s rating: PG

FAN FICTION AUTHOR’S NOTE: Writing fan fiction like this came as a surprise to me. I had wanted to draw fan art of the characters (and did). But fan fiction is a lot different from fan art. Fan art depicts the exterior of characters, but fan fiction depicts the interior of characters. And depicting the interior thoughts of characters that were thought up by someone else has its challenges.

This somewhat fluffy story takes place several years after the end of “In the Coils of the Snake” by Clare Dunkle, and thus contains some spoilers for that book. (You probably won’t enjoy this story if you haven’t read the last book in the trilogy.)

Main characters are Nir/Aganir Ash and Miranda/Sika. (The elves now call Nir by his true title, Aganir, and Miranda calls Nir by his true name, Ash. Aganir Ash and the elves call Miranda by the elvish name Ash gave her, which is Sika, and is translated “fox” in the English language.)

Synopsis: Ash gives Miranda a winter surprise.

* * *

As the second snowfall of the year blanketed the ground, Miranda wondered if she would ever get entirely used to the cold.

Not too long ago, her husband Aganir Ash, the elf King, had taken his camp of seventy-five elves to the elf King’s winter camp. When she had first come there three years ago, Miranda had wondered why the elves, who so hated the goblin caves, would live in caves themselves during the winter. She wondered that until she got her first look inside at their splendid natural beauty. It never ceased to amaze her, with the great sparkling dome overhead, and the sparkling sands beneath, and the gentle whisper of the underground spring as it cascaded through various corridors and rooms.

Miranda walked the corridor that led to the elf King’s library, trying not to trip on the slippery passage, and wished she was a little more graceful. Ash sat one side at the hexagonal desk in the middle of the room, busily copying one of the last of the elf spell books of military magic lent to him by the goblin King. He glanced at her briefly, giving her one of his smiles that never failed to stop her dead in her tracks, before turning once again to his work.

With a soft smile now lighting her own face, she surveyed the shelves. They were nearly as full as they had been at the time before the elf harrowing so long ago. And a great deal of it was due to Miranda. Over two years ago, she had convinced Marak Catspaw to give back the elves’ Camp Chronicles and the elvish Kings’ Chronicles to Aganir Ash. Miranda had told Catspaw that keeping the original elvish spell books as spoils of that long ago war should be enough, and that the elves needed their history in the form of the original chronicles. Plus, it would take a lifetime for the few elves who knew written elvish fluently to copy all the books. Within a few months, the first of the ancient scrolls and books began to arrive. Ash was tremendously pleased and wondered how Miranda convinced Catspaw to do such a thing. So Miranda told him that the oldest goblin pages were making copies for the goblins as an elvish writing exercise before sending the originals to the elves. Miranda left out what Seylin had told her in private: that the pages also had to write a short piece stating what they learned about elves from the book they were assigned to copy. Rarely were these writing assignments complimentary.

Miranda glanced up to see Thorn enter the library. As was usual, she didn’t hear the elf’s nearly soundless approach. He spoke quietly in Aganir Ash’s ear for a minute, then turned, smiling at her before heading out the door. Miranda wondered at the odd, joking look she could see in the two men’s eyes. They were certainly typical elf males.

Sable’s stories about Thorn’s cruelty were legendary in the goblin kingdom. But after Tinsel’s goblin revenge on Thorn had been lifted by Ash, Thorn had finally begun to act as a real elf man was supposed to act. Though he was never quite as carefree as the other elves, he worked hard at helping Ash restore the elf way.

One of the ways Thorn worked hard was through his interactions with humans to buy flour. With this task, Ash took advantage of Thorn’s knowledge of English as well as giving him a humbling lesson in treating humans kindly. And so the elf man who used to steal from homes and turn people into white rabbits bought flour from local mills and dealt with local humans.

Thorn, who was training to be one of the elf King’s Scholars, was also learning to read and write elvish, and only Aganir himself, Hunter, Galnar, and Miranda were better. Aganir was teaching all of his elves how to read and write, but the process was slow, as it wasn’t unusual for an elf to decide to break out in song or suddenly begin dancing in the middle of a lesson, and others would soon join the fun, including Aganir himself.

Miranda was jolted out of her musings on Thorn as Ash’s warm hands lifted her high in the air, twirling her around until she was quite dizzy and laughing, before setting her down and kissing her passionately. She knew she would never grow tired of Ash’s playful nature and the way he held her and kissed her.

When they at last broke apart, smiles lit the faces of the two lovers.

Ash spoke first: “Sika, I have a surprise for you.”

Miranda laughed. “I knew you and Thorn were up to something. What is it?”

“Do you know what today is?” Ash asked, not answering her question.

Miranda looked blankly back at him. “There’s nothing special about today. It’s not a full moon night.”

“Ah, now you’re thinking like an elf, not a human.” Ash grinned as he took her hand. “Follow me.” The look in his eyes nearly made her tell him that she would follow him anywhere, but she held her silence, though her eyes spoke volumes to Ash. His smile grew bigger.

Miranda followed him down the corridors, past the chamber that was the elf King’s sleeping room and that held their tent, and straight to the first underground bathing chamber. Elves, though they liked colder temperatures, couldn’t swim in frozen water, so they bathed in the underground springs of the winter camp.

As they turned the corner, Miranda gasped with surprise as she saw the last thing she would have expected: a Christmas tree.

Of course, it wasn’t a real tree. Real trees didn’t grow underground in caves, and no elf would cut down a tree. Instead, the tree was made entirely of magic. Its evergreen limbs glistened, and tiny lights, twinkling like tiny stars, adorned its branches.

She stared at the lovely tree, entranced by its beauty. It wasn’t until a few moments later that she saw the presents under the tree. Turning, she noticed more things. A long sofa with inviting cushions and blankets stood near the far wall, flanked by two low tables, with two moon-shaped magical lights set on the wall above each small table. But what really made her day was the larger table nearby set with piping hot dishes and silverware. Her first human meal in years.

Miranda felt her mouth watering in anticipation. She looked at Ash in astonishment.

“Happy Christmas,” he said.

“But how? Why?” Miranda was still astonished.

Ash grinned. “How? I’ve been hunting much more than for our usual share these past two years. Thorn sold the extra deer meat to the human villages, when he went on his usual runs for flour. He also bought this human food, prepared by a local farmer’s wife, and this—” Ash hesitated over the word “—furniture as well. The gifts? Well, I’ll answer that in a moment. As to why I did this. That is a rather more complicated question. You persuaded the goblin King to give back many of our books. Also, I wanted to give you a little bit of your human world back. Your sister recommended this particular holiday, this winter celebration, in a letter she sent me. She also got together with your goblin friends to choose these gifts. Marak said …” The natural distaste of the elf King toward the goblin King showed in the tight set of his mouth. After a moment, Ash continued. “Marak said that the goblins sometimes adopt or adapt various practices or customs of their captives to make them more comfortable in their new lives. My ancestors didn’t really give their human wives much importance and so rarely acknowledged their human side.” He gestured to the tree and the furniture. “So I’ve decided to change this, and I have devoted this room to your human comfort.” He then pointed to the pool at the side of the room. She hadn’t even looked at the original purpose of the room. Miranda’s mouth gaped open at the sight. Heat rose from the underground lake.

“A hot bath! I haven’t had a hot bath in years.” Delighted, Miranda began tugging off her outer dress, leggings, and shoes. She sank into the bath with a contented sigh. Even though the elf King had enchanted her clothing to keep her warmer than usual during the cold winter months, there was nothing else quite like the warmth of a hot bath.

Ash brought her a mug of hot tea before seating himself beside the bath. Miranda swam over and sipped the tea gratefully, feeling the warmth encompass her, both inside and out. Then she turned, and began swimming laps around the lake. Like the other bathing rooms, this pool was big enough for a number of elves to enjoy themselves, splashing each other and generally fooling around. Mischievously, she dove beneath the water, coming up at the edge, and yanked the fully-dressed elf King into the hot water. He sputtered for a bit after he hit the hot water, but he was soon splashing water at her. His splashing was so graceful and controlled that no water hit her eyes. Before long, he was entrancing her with magic water games, causing the water to ripple in fantastic multiple circular formations. He also made what appeared to be water deer prance around her in a circle before they dissolved in a shimmering mist.

Seeing his obvious discomfort in the heated water, Miranda finished her bath, and they both climbed out. The Drying Spell made her clothes warm and dry once more, though her hair remained wet. She wandered over to the table full of human food. Still hot, she mused, though she wasn’t surprised. Elf magic had many uses.

Along with the hot tea, there was a tub of hot, spiced cider. A roast turkey sat steaming in its juices. There was also dressing, gravy, potatoes, and a variety of other dishes. For dessert, she saw several varieties of pie, along with, Miranda was surprised to notice, her favorite apple tarts. She also saw elf food on the table.

Ash joined her, but he avoided the human food and drink. Noting the slightly sad look in his eyes as he watched her wolf down generous portions of the human meal, Miranda took a few bites of the elf food and reminded herself to act a little more enthusiastic when he brought her an elf meal in the future. To distract him, Miranda asked what he had been writing earlier that night. He told her that he had written a small entry in both the King’s Wife Chronicles and the elvish Kings’ Chronicles he had begun, before moving on to copying the magic books and practicing the spells. Miranda had also started her own chronicles, and was already on her second volume. The spines of the volumes were inscribed with her elvish name, Sika, and her human name, Miranda, written in both elvish and English, along with her title as human wife to Aganir Ash, the elf King named “Alone.” Inside, Miranda wrote the entries in English on the left side of the page, and translated into elvish on the right. Many years from now, when her son become elf King in place of his father and married his own human wife, Miranda hoped this young woman would be comforted by her tale.

A son. Miranda wondered when she would finally become pregnant with Ash’s son. Ash was just past forty now, and Miranda remembered that both the elf King and the goblin King can’t have a child until they reach magical maturity at around forty years. Not that she minded having to wait. But she knew a child would provide even more hope to the elves, more hope than they had had in years, and even more hope than the revelation of Ash’s kingly legacy had given them.

Their meal finished, Ash led her to the tree. A pile of colorful, paper-wrapped packages were scattered beneath. Miranda looked at the cards attached to each one. Quite a number were from her sister Charlotte and Charlotte’s husband, Dentwood, and Miranda also noted one each from Marak Catspaw, Kate, Irina, Seylin and Emily, and Sable. She was a little surprised at the number of gifts. Usually about once a month, she and her sister sent letters to each other; and occasionally they included small gifts. She had also exchanged gifts with her other friends in the goblin kingdom. But never had she received so many gifts at once. Miranda made a note to herself to return this kindness the next time the elves and goblins exchanged packages with each other, and to thank Charlotte for remembering the holiday.

Charlotte and Dentwood’s gifts were a variety of human books, and included one of the books she had read during her short stay in the goblins’ elf prison, which made her smile, along with newer books she had never read. A rather big package they gave her turned out to be a wood bookshelf, though Miranda noticed that whoever made it had added a rather interesting carved motif of trees and leaves on the brown wood.

Seylin and Emily gave her copies of several goblin history books, as well as a green rug as soft as summer grass. Sable’s gift was a wood jewelry box, with a geometric motif of silver stars that Sable had designed herself using elvish mathematics. Irina had also designed her own gift, and Miranda gazed in wonder at a tapestry that showed outdoor night scenes of the four seasons. Kate gave her a copy of her own first volume of her tales on her life with Marak Sixfinger, a touching gift because of the love Miranda had for the old goblin King. But this was outdone when Miranda opened Catspaw’s gift. It was the butterfly bracelet his father had given her when she was a child. She had accidentally broken it years before, and she now watched in wonder as the blue enameled butterfly changed into a real butterfly and looped about her head several times before settling on the gold bracelet and becoming metal once again. Knowing Ash’s dislike of metal, which was shared by the elves, Miranda put the bracelet away in Sable’s box. She would take it out again when she wanted to remember her beloved childhood guardian.

Miranda looked up to see that Ash had already placed the bookshelf and books near the circular wall opposite the sofa. The rug was spread on the floor in front of the sofa, and the tapestry was now pinned on the wall above it. She noted that Ash had even already changed the discarded wrapping paper into a small paper scroll that now lay on one of the low tables next to the sofa. Miranda grinned. Ash was too neat for his own good. She quickly placed Sable’s box on the other low table.

“And my Christmas gift to you is this room and the other furnishings. It will be set specifically apart for you, and for all the future human wives of the future elf Kings,” said Ash. “I wasn’t able to … what is that word? ‘Wrap’ it.”

“Thank you,” Miranda said. The room reminded her in equal parts of the best of life in the three worlds she had lived in: human, goblin, and elven. Tears began to flow down her cheeks.

Ash was immediately at her side. “Did I do something wrong? Was this not the right thing to do?”

“Sometimes humans cry when they are happy, Ash.” She wiped the tears away. “And I am very happy, Ash. But … I have nothing to give to you.”

“Then give me this.” And he swept her into his arms and kissed her. And she held him close, never wanting to let go of the warmth of his arms and the warmth of his heart.

The End

(Fanfiction author’s note: About nine months after the events of this one-shot story, in the early hours of a late September evening, Ash got his gift from Miranda: his son and heir, the future Aganir Usan.)

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction, done in homage to the characters and the fantasy world created by author Clare B. Dunkle, and written about in one or more of the books of her “The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy”: The Hollow Kingdom, Close Kin, and In the Coils of the Snake, or in one of the short stories or deleted scenes featured on her Web site. The writer of this fan fiction wrote this story for fun, and owns nothing related to it.