Archive of Our Own ^beta

There was a light snow coming down as the Abernant family drove back to Elmville from the reception in Bastion City, Mother at the wheel rather than Father.  Aelwyn was careful to keep herself stiffly still, her dress still unwrinkled and spotless, Mother's eyes drifting over her in the mirror occasionally.  Occasionally that she noticed.  Maybe more often than she saw; she needed to stay well behaved until they were home and she could go into her room and shut the door and let her guard down for just a little bit.

Next to her in the backseat, Adaine was wriggling, almost slipping out under her seatbelt.  She seldom came to these events, but evidently this one had called for entire families to be present; Aelwyn wasn't certain if she realized just how angry Mother and Father were with her at present.  In contrast to Aelwyn, Adaine's dress was rumpled and she couldn't quite seem to stay still; there was a stain on her sleeve where she had wiped her nose on it, even.  She was still so young, but... Adaine was going to be six in a few months and she should have been better by now at reading their parents and meeting their expectations.

Aelwyn tried to ignore that part of her brain that whispered about how much easier it had been to meet those expectations when Adaine was right there failing them so badly.  Small slipups could go overlooked every once in a while when Adaine was such a mess.  She hadn't even managed her first cantrip yet, and that was for now low on the list of problems she had.

"Who's Fantasy Santa and why is he supposed to bring me something?"  Adaine said, beside her, breaking the silence that had filled the last fifteen minutes of the drive.  They still had a long time before they would be back to the house in Elmville that had just started to feel like home now that they had been there for most of a year.

Father and Mother exchanged a look that Aelwyn couldn't read entirely, but Father was clearly angered by the question.  Whether it was at Adaine or not was a little less clear.

"Where did you hear about that, Adaine?"  Father asked, his voice firm in that way that made it very obvious to Aelwyn that he was upset about it and that Adaine was equally clearly oblivious to.

Oh, she had gotten her shoes off too, Aelwyn noticed.  She considered whether to say anything or not; it would just draw attention to another failure for Adaine and she was doing enough of that on her own for now.  She at least managed to sit back up straight now that Father's eyes were more firmly on her; there was a hint of red in his face.

"The old man next to me asked me what he was gonna bring me.  I didn't know what he was talking about."  Adaine said, frowning.  And Aelwyn had to admit that if Adaine was repeating it truthfully, she had no idea who this was and why he would bring Adaine anything.  The old man next to her had been a human from Highcourt, if Aelwyn remembered right (and she did); the father of the current ambassador to Solace from that country.

Father glanced at Mother, who didn't lift her eyes from the road but pointed a finger at him.  A Message cantrip, Aelwyn thought; she had learned that one herself, along with her Mage Hand and the Shield spell she was very proud of.  She could only really manage it once before she needed to rest, still, but Mother had been very approving when she'd demonstrated it.

"How did you respond when he asked that, Adaine?"  Mother said, her voice more even than Father's was.

"Food came out before I could figure out who he meant, but I wanna know."  Adaine said, a bit of a whine to her voice.  She really needed to learn that it wouldn't get her anywhere, Aelwyn thought with a frown, looking over at her sister again.

"Oh, Aelwyn, where's your beautiful smile?"  Mother said, and glancing back forward Mother's eyes were straight on her in the mirror.  Ice froze in Aelwyn's chest for a moment, and...  

"Ah, I was just worrying about Adaine catching cold without her shoes on, Mother."  Aelwyn said, a smile she didn't feel at all coming back to her face.  She couldn't slip; they had to be getting close to home.  Adaine's shoes would have been noticed eventually anyways, though Aelwyn could feel Adaine giving an outraged glare at the side of her neck.

"Oh, Adaine..."  Mother said, shaking her head.  "You must learn to comport yourself better, darling."  There was silence, again, Adaine fuming beside of her, Aelwyn trying to ignore it, but after only another minute or so Father spoke up.

"The father of the ambassador to Highcourt was offering you an insult, Adaine, so it is perhaps good that you did not understand.  Or, rather, directing one at all of us."  A scowl on his face and in his voice; danger, Aelwyn thought.  Sit still, smile, be perfect.  "The figure he referred to - this 'Fantasy Santa' - is a demigod of sorts of the humans of Highcourt and Solace.  One in charge of an annual ritual in which their children are judged regarding their behavior and rewarded or not rewarded as is appropriate for them.  The rite is conducted the night of the Winter Solstice, the day that their primary god Sol takes his longest rest of the year."

"That doesn't sound like an insult?"  Adaine said, kicking her legs a little in the back seat.  Aelwyn couldn't understand how she didn't sense the disapproval radiating off of Father, how she was able to speak back.  Was her obliviousness that powerful?

"The reward that their children are offered are toys, made by elves that have been captured by this demigod over the centuries.  It is one reason we must watch our own children closely; he likes to target the disobedient and unprotected to steal in the dead of night, then bend to his will.  You two will be good girls and help us keep you safe, yes?  I trust you do not desire to carve toys for human children for eons to come."  Father said, folding his arms, and even Adaine seemed to sense that was the end of it.

Aelwyn didn't really think much about the demigod in question for the next week, in spite of the urging to be grateful towards her parents for protecting her from him.

In fact, she didn't think about him even on the morning where she woke up from her trance and her parents were gone.

This had happened before, though normally there was warning that it would, a reminder to keep out of trouble and, much more difficult, keep Adaine from breaking anything.  Aelwyn couldn't remember a morning where Mother and Father just weren't there, where no Unseen Servants had made anything to eat, where, in truth, she had no idea what she was supposed to do for the day.  Hudol was already on holiday, and while she had studies she could do, she wasn't really supposed to try new spells without one of her parents or a teacher watching.

The door to Mother and Father's room was cracked open slightly.

Aelwyn had just finished looking around to see if there was a note to her or anything somewhere she hadn't noticed, some instructions or explanation of when they would return, when Adaine made her way down the stairs, somehow thudding way more loudly than she had any right to given how small she was.

The lack of a reprimand coming from anywhere towards Adaine as she took that last heavy step down to the ground floor more or less confirmed that Mother and Father weren't there, even as Adaine approached the breakfast nook, rubbing at her eyes.

There was no food set out, of course, and none coming.  "I think Mother and Father are out."  Aelwyn said, hoping it would distract Adaine from the lack of food.

"Really..?"  Adaine said, trying not all that well to hide that she was happy about that.  "When will they get back?"

"They didn't say."  Aelwyn said, firmly because to do anything else would be to invite questions from Adaine and she didn't have any answers.  Best to distract her.  "Do you have work on your cantrips you can do?"

Adaine frowned, shaking her head.  "Left my spellbook at school."  That was standard for students at Hudol who hadn't managed their first cantrips yet, who were still writing out the arcane formulas and learning what needed to be done to form the magic in their minds, but...

Aelwyn had never followed that rule; she'd had all of that done long before they had moved from Fallinel.  Still, she couldn't help but think it was holding Adaine back.

Maybe once she started to command magic, Adaine would learn some self-control and start trying to meet their parents' high expectations.  "I'll try to help you some from mine in a little while, then."  That would be a good distraction, Aelwyn thought.  And would give her an excuse to study further without really trying to learn new spells.

And if they thought it an unwise use of time whenever they got home, a part of Aelwyn's brain that she hated but that was also correct whispered, then Aelwyn could always just say Adaine had needed the help.

It actually was a good distraction, for a little bit, even if she wasn't completely certain that Adaine understood all of her explanations, but as lunchtime came and went Adaine started to get very fidgety and Aelwyn could feel herself growing more cranky as well.

"Can't you make food somehow?"  Adaine finally said, and...  Aelwyn couldn't cook, and couldn't make an Unseen Servant to cook for her, but she did think there was some weybread in one of the cabinets.  She couldn't reach, of course, normally.

"...I guess a little demonstration of Mage Hand is fine, Adaine."  Aelwyn said, because her own stomach was feeling awfully empty.  She flicked a hand up, standing well back so she could actually see.  The weybread was wrapped up in a foil, she knew, and would at least be filling if not exactly exciting.

She managed to come out with it, a few crumbs spilling out, and split a piece of it with Adaine.  More than enough for them, and even if Mother and Father noticed it missing they did have to expect the two of them to eat.  Aelwyn carefully wrapped the rest of it back up, and her mage hand put it back up into the cabinet, even as Adaine nibbled at her piece.

There was a heavy knock at the door, the sound echoing throughout the entire house.

Both of them froze, looking at each other, Adaine with the weybread in her hands.  They absolutely were not supposed to open the door for anyone on those occasions when they were left alone, and there was no telling who it was on the other side - there was a hole to look through, but it stood far above Aelwyn's head and even further above Adaine's.  They stood still, hoping whoever it was would go away, but Adaine was trembling in particular.

Aelwyn gave her a look, and there was another knock that sent more trembles through Adaine.

At least she had the sense to whisper what came next, because whoever was knocking at the door was still there, almost certainly.

"What if that's Fantasy Santa, here to take us away?  I don't want to make toys for centuries, Aelwyn."  Adaine said, the amount she'd clearly been thinking about that showing in the way she was shaking.

Come to think of it, though, Aelwyn didn't really want to do that either.  And Mother and Father weren't there to guard them, either, for whatever reason.  Aelwyn wasn't certain what to say, but Adaine was about to cry, and there was a third knock at the door.  Adaine sobbed, and that would give it away, and it was definitely for that and no other reason that Aelwyn squeezed her in as tight a hug as she could manage, Adaine burying her face in Aelwyn's blouse.

There was a muffled sound of voices, and then footsteps away.

It took a while for Adaine to calm down, still, Aelwyn rather awkwardly standing nearby as she did.  Mother and Father would have just sent Adaine to her room when she got like this, but Aelwyn probably couldn't make her do that, and it probably wouldn't make Adaine feel any LESS like she was about to be stolen by a god, and...

...Oh.  Adaine was her responsibility to keep safe, until Mother and Father got back at least.

Oh, no.

"Look, we can look and see if we can find some things we can use to safeguard the doors and all until Mother and Father get back if they're not here by nightfall.  Father said he came at night, right?"  Night came very early this time of year this far north of Fallinel, but they still had a few hours, anyways.

"R..  right.  Okay."  Adaine said, still seeming subdued but at least a little more clear in her voice.  That was something.

Of course, safeguarding the house against a demigod was easier said than done.  Aelwyn didn't have any sort of spell that could be used to safeguard a location; she'd started to study the theoretical underpinnings of some of them, but she knew she was years away from anything that would actually help.

So, instead, Adaine following her, Aelwyn stepped into their parents' room for the first time.  She could feel herself trembling, now - she wasn't supposed to be in here.  It would be very hard to explain it away.  But she would rather explain that then the alternative, if this Fantasy Santa were real.

There were some signs of chaos, when she pushed the door from its slightly opened position to fully open.  That was maybe exaggerating a little bit, but the closet had been left open, and the dresser had multiple drawers hanging out.  A safe on the wall was hanging open, empty as far as Aelwyn could see.

The closet had gaps of clothes, as though someone had just grabbed sections in a hurry.  To pack.

To leave.

Where were Mother and Father?, Aelwyn didn't say, because she wasn't sure that Adaine could put that all together yet, and worry that had been there since the morning gnawed harder at her mind even as she tried to ignore it.  They would come back; they had to.

By the safe, a stick had fallen to the ground that drew Aelwyn's attention right away.  A wand, of some kind.  Maybe something that Aelwyn could use, or even Adaine potentially, to give her something to protect herself with.

Aelwyn picked it up, waving it and allowing one of the wand's charges to draw through, hoping it wasn't anything too destructive.  A rainbow of lights shot out, a blinding array of colors.  A spell Aelwyn had never cast, but that she at least knew of:  Color spray.

It would be something Adaine should be able to use, at least, and more importantly it couldn't cause any sort of permanent damage if she got it wrong.  "Adaine, this only has a few charges so you should save them until you need them, but if he corners you then you can use this to blind him and run, okay?  Be careful with it."  It would be the closest thing they'd have to offensive magic unless they came up with another wand somewhere, but Aelwyn at least had a Shield.

Their search otherwise didn't come up with anything useful, but the wand would be something that would hopefully soothe Adaine's nerves, and it had probably just been a salesperson or something at the door earlier anyway.

Mother and Father weren't back by the time it got dark.  No other guests had shown up, either.  Aelwyn and Adaine had left the lights off, not needing them to see, not wanting to draw attention to that anyone was home, but Adaine startled at every noise.

And then there was a noise to really startle at:  If the earlier knock had echoed, this Knock boomed through the entire house, the locks on the front door popping, the door flying open and slamming into the doorstopper with a thud that was quiet next to that knock.

A man, dressed in a red suit with white lining, stepped through and spoke.  "Aelwyn and Adaine Abernant, I know you're here.  You must come with us."

Adaine screamed, of course, which rather put the backup plan of trying to hide out of question, the man's head jerking their way.

A sigh, and...  "Adaine, run out the back door, I'll slow him down."  A moment of insanity, to be the one to do this, but she flung her spellbook at the man's head as hard as she could.

It landed at his feet as he stared at her over the long - and, she was pretty certain even at a glance, fake? - beard.  Why did a demigod have a fake beard?

No matter, though, because with long strides he closed the distance, a hand reaching down for Aelwyn.  "Don't be alarmed, I am here to help."  The man said, as though someone who helped would have broken in like this, would drag them off to make toys for the rest of time.

A flash of color broke through the grey of Aelwyn's dark vision, and lights filled her eyes and faded everything out to white.  The wand that she had given to Adaine.

"Aelwyn, come on!"  Adaine's voice cut through, over the sound of the man or god who had been caught in the spray as well; her sister grabbed her by the hand, and Aelwyn was forced to trust her and run after, the cool of the night air hitting her skin as they ran out onto the porch and down the stairs and...

"Oh!"  Adaine said, and Aelwyn's vision started to clear.  Kind of.  Instead of white, a flashing blue started to fill it, and hands grabbed at her, and...

...And it cleared up, more, the world coming back to focus.  There were two police cars in the driveway, and an officer in uniform had her by the shoulder, and another had Adaine, and looking around wildly the man in red was stumbling back out of their home behind them.

She felt herself being ushered into a car, Adaine beside her, and then her entire life changed.

But one exchange would stick with her for years to come, the woman who had led her to the car talking in what Aelwyn might have called a teasing tone to the man in red.

"You always get children to cooperate with you like that, huh, Johnson?"

And the man she had been so afraid of moments before had sounded utterly bewildered, when he'd replied, including a word that would haunt her record and Adaine's for years to come after all.  "They're little troublemakers, aren't they?  I've never seen kids before who would attack Fantasy Santa the week before Solstice."