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fanfictwins · 9 months

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SAGAU Mondstadt - Holiday Special 2023

Summary: “When you told the Spark Knight about holidays from your home world, you never expected it to turn into such a big deal. But who are you to argue with having a holly, jolly time?”

Word Count: ~9.8k

“Master Jean! Master Jean!”

The door to the Grand Master’s office was shoved open, almost slamming into the wall, as the Spark Knight burst into the room, excitement radiating off of her form like heat off of flames. She came to a stop in the middle of the office, almost toppling over from the weight of her backpack.

“Can we please have a “Christmas” festival? Pretty please?”

“Klee…!” Jean looked up from her desk, her eyes widened. “You shouldn’t be-”

Her words were cut off at the sight of you appearing in the doorway to the office, your demeanor a lot more calm than Klee’s. You entered the room, an apologetic smile displayed on your lips.

“Oh, Your Grace!”

“Sorry for the intrusion, Jean.” You looked at the Acting Grand Master for only a moment before you shifted your attention down at Klee. “Hey, I know you’re excited, but you shouldn’t just barge into Jean’s office without knocking first, Klee. Remember what I told you about good behavior?”

“Oops. That’s right… sorry, Master Jean.” Klee looked down at her feet for a moment, before a smile returned to her face as she looked up at Jean. “Klee’s just super excited about Christmas!”

Jean furrowed her eyebrows, confusion appearing in her frown. “Christ… mas?”

“Mmm-hmm!” Klee nodded her head. “It’s something Their Grace just told Klee about!”

Your smile shifted into something more sheepish when Jean looked towards you again. “I was just talking to Klee about some… winter festivities from where I’m from, and she seems to have gotten a bit excited about Christmas, in particular. I honestly should’ve expected this, heh…”

“It sounds really, really fun!” Klee began bouncing on the balls of her feet. “There’s a big tree, and lots of presents under it, and this old man named Shanty Cloths who likes eating cookies!”

“His name is Santa Claus, Klee.” You stifled a chuckle at the excitement on Klee’s face, before looking over at Jean again. “But, yeah, she wants to experience the magical joys of it herself.”

The Spark Knight took a step closer to the desk, looking up at Jean with hopeful eyes.

“Oh, can we please have a Christmas festival, Master Jean? It’ll be so amazing, and fun!”

Jean blinked a few times, an unsure frown on her face, before she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Klee, but we can’t just put on a whole new festival that we know nothing about, especially with such short notice. It’d likely be a complete disaster, and I’ve already got a lot on my plate as is.”

The smile on Klee’s face slowly vanished, her form appearing to deflate. “Oh…”

You looked between the Spark Knight and the Acting Grand Master, your own smile fading as you focused on Klee — her crushed enthusiasm didn’t sit well with you — before you spoke.

“...you know, it’s not impossible. You can still experience Christmas, Klee.”

Jean looked at you with confusion. “Your Grace…?”

“Can Klee really?” The Spark Knight perked up as she turned towards you, her eyes widening with hope again. “It sounds so fun! And I want all of my friends to experience Christmas too!”

“Your Grace, I don’t mean to doubt you, but…”

Jean placed a hand on her chest, looking at you with worry in her gaze.

“It really would be near-impossible to put on a festival like this.”

“It’s okay.” You chuckled, and shrugged your shoulders. “Christmas is actually just a one-day holiday. Sure, there’s usually a build-up of festive energy a few weeks before it, but it doesn’t actually last more than a single day. While Klee keeps calling it a festival, it’s not really one.”

“Oh…?”

“So, Klee, do you think this would work for you?” You looked down at the Spark Knight, a smile on your lips. “We take part in a few traditional Christmas activities together over the next couple of weeks, and then finish it all off with a big ol’ Christmas party at the end. What do you think?”

“Yay! That sounds perfect!” Klee smiled brightly. “Klee can’t wait! There’s so much to do!”

You turned your attention over towards Jean. “Would that be okay, Jean?”

“That… should be fine, yes.”

“Great!” You clapped your hands together as you looked at Klee. “Then let’s get started!”

- - - - -

There were crayons littering the table as Klee readied herself, the young girl in red practically vibrating with excitement where she sat, and she held a crayon tightly in one hand with a piece of paper laying in front of her. She looked up at you, her eyes wide and sparkling with pure joy.

“Okay, first things first… I suppose we need to actually figure out what to do.” You looked down at Klee with a smile. “And who to include. As fun as it would be to have the entire city celebrate Christmas this time, it’s not very realistic, so… we’ll need to figure out a smaller list of people.”

“Oh! All of Klee’s friends have to experience Christmas!” Klee began to draw, switching crayons when in need of a different color. “Like Big Brother Albedo, and Master Jean, and Kaeya, and-”

Klee continued to list people as she drew on the paper, before she lifted it up to show it to you.

“Is this okay, Your Grace?”

It was a cluttered drawing, filled with Klee’s artistic interpretations of people you knew well: the playable characters of Mondstadt — your “vessels”, as they often described themselves to be.

You nodded. “That seems good. Those are the people that I’m also closest to in Mondstadt.”

Klee set the drawing aside, before she grabbed another piece of paper and one of the crayons closest to her on the table. She tilted her head to continue looking up at you with a bright smile.

“Okay, but… what do people do for Christmas, Your Grace?”

“People do a lot of things. There’s no one right way to celebrate Christmas, Klee.” You grabbed a piece of paper and a crayon for yourself. “I’m pretty sure that you’re already familiar with some winter activities that align with Christmas, such as playing in the snow and making sweets, eh?”

Klee nodded and turned her attention to her paper, beginning to draw some winter scenes.

You twirled the crayon in your fingers a bit, before you chuckled. “And, since you’re helping to bring the joy of Christmas to everyone, I suppose that would make you Santa’s Helper, Klee.”

“Santa’s… Helper?” Klee blinked, curiosity flooding her widened eyes. “What’s that?”

“Well… it’s a person who helps Santa Claus spread Christmas cheer. Santa’s only one person, and he has the big job of delivering gifts to all the good children of the world, so he relies on his helpers to make sure that everyone is having fun during the weeks leading up to the big day. As this is the first time Christmas is being celebrated in Teyvat, Santa’ll appreciate all of your help.”

Klee let a wide smile appear on her face. “Whoa! So Klee gets to help Santa?”

“Yeah! And I just know you’ll do a great job, Klee!”

“Oh! And Dodoco too, right? She can also be Santa’s Helper?”

“Of course! The more, the merrier!”

“Yay!”

The Spark Knight clapped her hands in delight before she continued drawing, and you found yourself glancing at her pointed ears, your smile softening, before you started to draw as well.

Ah.

How fitting.

- - - - -

It felt crowded, having so many people in one area.

The playable members of the Knights of Favonius — from the Acting Grand Master to the Knights’ maid — lined up before you inside of the Knights’ headquarters; most had a look of curiosity or confusion on their face, and some even had concern painting their facial features.

But Klee was bouncing on the balls of her feet, standing next to you with a big smile on her face.

“Oh, Klee?” Albedo looked at the Spark Knight as he noticed her behavior, the curiosity in his eyes growing just slightly as he did. “You seem to be in rather high spirits about something…”

Klee nodded. “Uh-huh! ‘Cause it’s time for “Secret Santa”!”

The concern present in the audience was fully replaced with confusion and curiosity.

“...”Secret… Santa”?”

“Yeah! It’s gonna be part one for celebrating Christmas!”

Noelle put a finger to her chin. “Oh? I’ve never heard of “Christmas” before…”

“If it’s something to celebrate-” Amber looked up at Eula. “-then it’s gotta be a holiday, right?”

Eula nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yes, it must be some kind of festivity.”

“So…” Mika placed a hand on his chest in relief. “...it’s not an emergency? Thank goodness…”

Lisa let out a hum as she looked over to Jean, who had a lack of surprise on her face unlike almost everyone else present. The librarian let her lips turn up into a subtle smile. “Well, you seem to have an idea of what Klee’s talking about, Jean. Mind enlightening the rest of us?”

Jean looked from the Knights towards Klee, and then looked at you. She looked a little stressed out — which was, unfortunately, normal — so you decided to explain the situation in her stead.

“Amber, Eula, you’re both right!” You smiled as you looked over all the Knights. “Christmas is a holiday from another world. I told Klee about it, she wanted to celebrate it, and so here we are!”

“A holiday from another world…” Kaeya had a look of interest in his eye. “How intriguing.”

Amber raised her hand, bringing attention to herself as you looked at her. “What’s it like, Your Grace? It’s probably different from any of the holidays that we have here in Mondstadt, isn’t it?”

“Eh…” You thought for a moment, putting a finger up to your chin. “...Christmas is mainly just a time to gather with loved ones to give gifts, eat good food, and… well, just spend time with one another. That’s the simplest way I can explain it, at least; does that make sense to everybody?”

Lisa chuckled, the smile on her lips softening. “Sounds like it shares quite a few similarities with some festivities we have. I think everyone here gets the picture that you set up, Your Grace.”

“Good! So, as Klee said earlier, she wanted to do something called “Secret Santa” with you guys.” You looked over the group of Knights, taking in all of their faces. “It’s an activity some workplaces do around Christmas, so having the Knights — well, the Knights that’re vessels — participate in this particular one seemed pretty obvious, especially when I told Klee about it.”

“What kind of activity is it, Your Grace?” Jean still looked a bit frazzled. “As much as I’d like to help Klee and you celebrate Christmas, having so many Knights occupied at once would be…”

“Don’t worry, Jean.” You sent a smile to her, hoping to reassure her worries and sooth her stress even a little. “This activity won’t take long. Basically, everyone participating will have to pull out a name from a hat — all the names of the participants will be written on slips of paper — and have to get them a present before the Christmas party that’ll take place in a couple of weeks. Oh, and you can’t tell anyone else the name that you pulled. That’s the “Secret” part of “Secret Santa”.”

“We…” Mika averted his gaze nervously. “...need to get a present for someone else?”

Sucrose fiddled with her fingers. “Based on a random drawing…?”

Amber smiled, her hands clenched in front of her. “Oh, that sounds like it could be fun!”

“Yes, but it could also be quite a difficult task-” Eula glanced around at the other Knights before looking at Amber. “-if you happen to draw someone that you’re not that well-acquainted with.”

“Well… I know that I just said you can’t tell anyone else who you pulled, but since I won’t be participating in the actual activity, you can come and ask me for gift ideas if you struggle with coming up with your own. I’ll be able to keep the secret.” You scanned the Knights with your eyes, a smile still on your lips. “So… is everybody in? You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, but the more people that do, the more fun it’ll be. Just don’t feel pressured to, okay?”

The Knights glanced around at each other briefly before looking at you and Klee again.

Albedo nodded. “Very well. I see no reason not to, especially if Klee wants us to participate.”

Sucrose glanced at Albedo, before giving a short nod towards you as well. “O-Okay…”

“You can count on Eula and me to join too!” Amber smiled at Eula, the Spindrift Knight giving a slight nod, before she looked at you again. “It sounds like a lot of fun, so we couldn’t miss out!”

Lisa hummed. “...I have no objections either. This doesn’t seem like it’ll be too much work…”

Noelle straightened her posture when your gaze traveled over to her, her hands folded politely in front of her. “If that’s what you desire, then I’ll join as well. It… does sound like fun, I admit.”

“A-Ah…” Mika still looked a bit nervous as he nodded. “Alright, I can do it. I’ll try my best…”

“I suppose that if everyone else is joining, it’d be a downer if I didn’t.” Kaeya had a smile on his lips, a glimmer of amusement in his eye. “So you can include me as a participant, Your Grace.”

Jean let out a sigh. “...okay, I’m in too.”

“Yay!” Klee clapped in delight, smiling brightly. “All of Klee’s friends are joining!”

It took no time at all for the slips of paper bearing all of the Knights’ names to be created, all of which were then dumped into Klee’s hat, the Spark Knight having offered it to you happily. You tossed it like a salad for a few seconds, mixing them together, before handing it back to Klee.

“Alright, everyone. Make sure to choose one slip of paper, and keep the name a secret.”

The sight of Klee going around to each of the Knights, each one reaching a hand into her hat and grabbing a slip of paper, was heartwarming, in a way; the young girl in red was giggling as she received smile after smile from the Knights when she offered her hat to them, and the air in the room felt lighthearted as everyone received their targets for the activity. Some of the Knights were quite good at keeping who they got a secret — looking straight ahead with poker faces or a casual smile — while you noticed some of the others glancing around, likely at their targets.

“Everyone has a slip?” You saw everyone nod in response to you, a piece of paper in one of their hands that they put away safely. “Good. Then you’ve all got until the party to get a gift for whoever you pulled, and don’t be afraid to ask me for help if you need it. You’re all dismissed!”

Your attention was pulled away from Klee putting her hat back on by two figures you noticed approaching in your peripheral vision, and you looked up to see they were Mika and Sucrose.

“...need help, you two?”

Mika and Sucrose looked at each other for a moment before focusing on you.

“Yes, please, if you will.” Sucrose adjusted her glasses as she averted her eyes from you, her ears twitching a bit. “I’m afraid that I’m… not quite sure what to get for who I pulled, s-so…”

“Neither am I.” Mika rubbed the back of his head, also averting his gaze from you. “I’ve never really interacted too much with the person I pulled, and I’m afraid I might make a bad choice…”

“It’s okay.” You smiled and glanced between the both of them. “We’ve got plenty of time before the party, and I’ll make sure to help the both of you pick out good gifts for your respective pulls.”

Sucrose let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks so much, Your Grace. I’m sorry if this is a bother…”

“Yes, thank you very much.” Mika smiled slightly. “I hope that I’m not being a bother, either…”

You let out a chuckle, placing your hands on your hips. “Don’t worry, you two will never be a bother to me, and I offered to help with picking out gifts for a reason. It’s what I’m here for.”

The sensation of someone tugging on your sleeve caught your attention, and you looked down to see Klee looking up at you. You smiled at her before you looked at Mika and Sucrose again.

“I’ll meet up with you guys later to pick out gifts, okay? Just try and give it some thought by yourselves first, and then I’ll go over it individually with each of you in a few days’ time, okay?”

Mika and Sucrose nodded, looking a little relieved, as you let Klee drag you to the next activity.

- - - - -

“J-Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle… all the… way…?”

“It’s okay, Barbara. There’s no need to get so stressed.”

You were both amused yet concerned as you watched Barbara try to memorize the Christmas carols you told her about; you could see how tense her shoulders were, and could hear how her voice shook ever so slightly as she gave the carols a go, the melody enchanting yet unsteady.

“Your singing’s the best, Miss Barbara!” Klee sent a bright smile up towards the shining idol of Mondstadt, her eyes sparkling. “The Christmas carols sound so pretty when you sing them!”

“Ah, do they…? I feel like I’m singing them all wrong…”

“Don’t worry, you only just learned them.” You smiled at Barbara, trying to reassure her, even just a bit. “And caroling is going to be a group activity. You won’t have to sing them alone, ‘kay?”

Barbara blinked a few times, her eyes widened with surprise. “Huh?”

“Yeah! Like me, for example. I’ll be singing with you!”

“...h-huh?!”

That somehow seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as evidenced by how Barbara clasped her hands together, the nervous aura around her only growing instead of lessening. Her form began to tremble a bit where she stood, your smile faltering as her breathing began to quicken as well.

Klee tugged on the deaconess’s frock. “It’ll be okay, Miss Barbara! Klee will be singing too!”

Barbara snapped out of it as she looked down at Klee. “Oh, you’ll be singing as well?”

“Mmm-hmm!” Klee nodded, letting go of Barbara’s frock and instead placing her hands on her hips. “And all of our friends are going to too! So you don’t have to be scared, Miss Barbara!”

“...you make it seem so easy.” Barbara’s eyes flickered towards you for a second, before she closed her eyes and let out a breath. “I can’t help but feel nervous, but I’ll try to get it together.”

Klee giggled before turning towards you. “How many Christmas carols are you gonna teach us, Your Grace? Klee isn’t sure how many everyone’ll be able to learn before we have the party…”

The Spark Knight had a point that you thought about for a moment; there was only so much time before the Christmas party, and everyone had a limit to how many carols they would be able to memorize before then. It would be best for you to just stick to a few of the simpler ones this year, especially since you were the one who had to teach them to all of the party guests.

“About… three or four, I think.” You nodded to yourself, and refocused your gaze down on Klee, who was still smiling up at you. “I’ve taught you guys “Jingle Bells”, so… maybe I can also teach you guys “Deck the Halls”, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, and… also “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. I think that’d be a good selection for Mondstadt’s first official Christmas celebration.”

You looked over at Barbara, who appeared to be a little calmer now as she did a few breathing exercises. “They’re all on the simple and repetitive side, so learning them should be very easy.”

“That sounds fine.” Barbara nodded, determination in her gaze. “I’ll do my best, Your Grace.”

Klee bounced on the balls of her feet happily, her hands raised. “Yeah, we’ll do our best!”

“Ah, keep your voice down, Klee.” You chuckled. “We’re outside, but still near the Church.”

“O-Oh, right, hehe.”

- - - - -

The kitchen smelled like heaven, the countertop covered in several types of Christmas goodies of varying quality; it was like a dessert buffet with all kinds of cookies, cakes, candies, and more.

“Thanks again for helping us, Noelle.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure, Your Grace.”

Klee overlooked the counter from the step-stool that she stood on, an excited glimmer in her eyes. “Wow…! There’s so many treats! Do people really get to have all of this for Christmas?”

“Of course!” You picked up a chocolate chip cookie, which was still warm. “Sweets are a huge part of Christmas, like leaving out milk and cookies for Santa on the night before Christmas.”

“Is that like sharing wine with Barbatos during Weinlesefest?”

You paused for a moment, taking a bite of the cookie in your hand before you shrugged, a smile on your face. “Yeah, I guess it’s similar to that. Santa loves cookies like Barbatos loves wine.”

“Your Grace, will this be satisfactory?” Noelle’s soft voice guided your attention back over to her, her posture being straightened just slightly when your gaze landed on her form. Her hands were politely folded in front of her, bringing some of your focus to her apron, which was unsurprisingly as clean as it had been at the start of this baking session. “I can continue baking if you’d like.”

“No, no… this’ll be good for now. I just wanted Klee to see what some Christmas goodies were like.” You finished the chocolate chip cookie in your hand, and wiped your hands on your apron, dusting off some of the flour that was on it. “But, since we’ll definitely need these sorts of treats at the Christmas party later this month, would you be up to make more when the time comes?”

“Anything for you, Your Grace.”

Noelle gave a small bow, before she turned her attention to cleaning the kitchen.

“Hey, Klee… do you think we should build gingerbread houses at the party?”

“They make houses out of gingerbread for Christmas?” Klee looked up at you with wide eyes, her mouth open in awe. “Wow, that must take a lot of gingerbread. Do people live in them?”

You held a hand up to your mouth, stifling a laugh and taking a moment to compose yourself before you shook your head. “No, Klee, they don’t. Gingerbread houses are small, kind of like dollhouses, and decorated with icing and candy. Building them is half of the fun, and then eating them afterwards is the other half of the fun. Oh, showing off your house to others is also fun…!”

Klee turned to look at the wide array of handmade candies on the counter, clearly contemplating how she could use them as decorations. Her focus was only broken when you began picking up plates of the goodies you made with Noelle, her gaze moving to the smile you kept on your face.

“Come on, Klee. Let’s clean up. We don’t want to make Noelle do all the work, right?”

“Okay!”

“H-Huh? Ah, Your Grace! That’s not necessary!”

- - - - -

“So, you’re saying that I’m supposed to write a letter to some strange old man that I don’t even know and just… get what I want?” Diona scoffed, placing her hands on her hips and turning her head away. “That sounds totally ridiculous, like some scam that a boozehound would fall for.”

“Aw… no, it’s really true!” Klee clenched her hands in front of her chest. “Their Grace said so!”

Diona looked at you from the corner of her eye for a moment, before she let out a “hmph”, and turned her head to face you and Klee. “Well… I guess that Their Grace wouldn’t lie, so… fine.”

The sounds of cats lazing about and cards being shuffled surrounded you and the two children as your group settled at one of the tables in the Cat’s Tail, though it was considerably less lively than normal due to it being around noon. Klee and Diona both had paper and crayons sitting in front of them, as well as an envelope for each of them to seal their letter when they were done.

“So…” Diona furrowed her eyebrows. “...what exactly are we supposed to do?”

You looked between the two young girls, chuckling with a smile on your lips. “Writing a letter to Santa is easy. All you have to do is write down what you want; just… list it all out on the paper.”

“And this “Santa” guy will make it happen?”

“...eh, try to keep it small-scale, Diona. Santa gives gifts, he doesn’t destroy anything.”

Diona grumbled to herself, her tail thumping against the cushion of her seat in annoyance, but she eventually started to write on the paper in front of her. The Spark Knight also got to work on her own letter, filling her paper with color as she scribbled out what she wanted for Christmas.

And, after they were done, they folded their letters and put them into their envelopes.

“Alright, now you just need to address them to the North Pole.”

Diona and Klee looked at you, curiosity in their eyes, before Diona raised an eyebrow.

“...to where?”

“The North Pole. That’s where Santa Claus lives, and where his workshop is located.”

Klee began to write the address on her envelope — simply “The North Pole”, in big bold letters — while Diona continued to stare at you, an unconvinced frown making its way onto her face.

“How exactly are these gonna get to Santa, anyway? He’s in a completely different world.”

“I’ll deliver them myself.” You carefully took Klee’s letter once she handed it to you, your fingers clasped around the envelope. “No postal service in Teyvat could get there, but I can handle it.”

“...okay.” Diona scribbled on her envelope and handed it to you. “But I still have my doubts.”

You held the two letters carefully, and chuckled again as you looked between the two kids.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Santa will deliver!”

- - - - -

The gloves on your hands did little to keep out the cold, already covered in a layer of snow as you patted the icy substance thoroughly in your quest to form the base of your future snowman.

Dragonspine was a scary place — you would never traverse it alone in your current state — but the scenery at its edges was just the right amount of “winter wonderland” for you, and the sound of the younger Mondstadtian characters in the surrounding area only bettered that atmosphere.

“Your Grace, you should be careful. Sheer cold can be harmful, even to you.”

Albedo was standing by your side, completely unfazed by the cold; this place was pretty much his natural habitat at this point. His voice held slight concern, though his face remained calm.

“Huh? Nonsense, I’m fine. I ate some goulash before coming here; it’ll keep me warm.”

“You’re shivering, Your Grace.”

“...okay, fine.”

You moved over to the small fire that was built nearby, noticing that Bennett and Fischl were already there; the former was completely drenched and shivering as he huddled close to the fire, while the latter and her night raven familiar were completely fine. You reached your hands out to the fire to warm yourself, your fingers feeling a bit better, and looked over at Bennett.

“What happened to you?”

“Ah…” Bennett smiled, a hint of embarrassment laced within it. “Well… I just, uh…”

“He who has been born the most unfortunate suffered a great moment of slither-” Fischl caught your attention, her tone of voice confident. “-and was plunged into the beck of this biting berg.”

You stared at Fischl for a moment before shifting your gaze over to Oz.

“...the unlucky fellow had slipped on the snow and fell into the river.”

“Oh…!” You raised a hand to your mouth, covering the growing smile on your lips as you stifled a laugh. “Yeah… I guess your bad luck would spring up like that. Are you having fun, though?”

“Huh?” The adventurer tilted his head. “I… guess so?”

“Then that’s all that matters!”

Your attention shifted to Klee and Razor when you noticed them approaching the fire, sticks and stones in their arms. You even spotted some pinecones sitting within Razor’s stash of materials.

“We got the things for the snowman, Your Grace!” Klee bounced with each step, only coming to a stop in front of you. Her feet slid a bit from the snow. “And I found this really cool stick! Look!”

Klee adjusted the items in her arms, before holding up a stick with one hand.

You had to admit: it was a really cool stick.

“This good?” Razor held out his stash of materials to you, allowing you to look over all of it; he had a lot more in his arms than Klee did. “We hunt for what you said, and… this is what we find.”

“Of course!” You nodded, looking up at Razor with a smile. “You both did great!”

“Ah… good.”

Razor looked pleased with your praise; if he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging right now.

With a supply of materials now at your disposal, you began to work with the others to decorate the snowman; the base was all your doing, so you stepped back to let the others take the lead.

“Ore of the darkest night shall make quite a pair of eyes, would it not, my dear companion?”

“Klee’s stick can make a good arm! Oh, it’s hard to reach…”

“Let me, Klee. And this other stick can complete the pair.”

“I… do like this?”

“A pinecone for the nose? Neat! Gah, the rocks for the buttons keep slipping out of my fingers.”

The smile on your face grew as you watched the others work together to form a masterpiece.

“Wow… it looks amazing, everyone!”

It was a jumbled mess, but it was a real product of togetherness; each part was placed on by a different person to make a whole creation — small chunks of iron for the eyes, a pinecone as a nose, sticks for the arms, and rocks for the buttons. It was a shame that you didn’t think to bring any clothes for the snowman to wear, though, but that didn’t hinder the final masterpiece at all.

You and the others took in your combined creation in silent glory for a bit, and then you spoke.

“...so, has everybody had enough snow for today?”

There was a resounding “yes” from the group, and you shifted your gaze over to take note of their current conditions: Bennett had icicles starting to form on his damp clothes, Razor kept his arms close to his body as he shivered like a wolf pup, Fischl denied feeling cold — although Oz pointed out that she had complained earlier about not bringing warmer clothing to this outing — and Klee mentioned that the snow dampened the effect of her bombs. Albedo just appeared to be ready to go whenever everyone else was; he was clearly the one least affected by the cold.

“Then let’s head back to the city for some hot cocoa! Who wants whipped cream and sprinkles?”

“Oh! Oh! Klee does!”

- - - - -

“I’ll take a Gray Valley Sunset, Master Diluc!”

“You… do not need to address me as “Master”, Your Grace…”

“Aw, why not? Everybody else does!”

You planted yourself onto one of the barstools as you watched Diluc get to work behind the counter, the tavern being just as lively as it was most nights; luckily, most of the Angel’s Share patrons were too drunk to pay any attention to you, granting you a rare moment to just relax.

“My, you look rather tired, Your Grace.” Kaeya was sitting on a barstool next to you, leaning on his elbow. “I assume Klee has been dragging you around in her excitement this past week?”

“Yep!” You nodded, immediately grabbing your drink when Diluc placed it in front of you on the counter. “But I don’t regret telling her about Christmas. I’ve been having a lot of fun with all of it.”

The barstool on your other side squeaked as someone sat upon it, and you noticed a bard clad in green leaning into your peripheral vision, a smile set on his lips and a twinkle within his eyes.

“Oh? “Christmas”? What might that be, Your Grace?”

“A holiday from another world. I told Klee about it, and she’s been absolutely obsessed.”

“Ah, so that’s what you’ve been doing these past few days.” Rosaria was sitting on the other side of Kaeya, an alcoholic beverage already securely in her hand. Her expression was set in her usual disinterested frown, though the way she kept her eyes on you showed otherwise. “I heard that Barbara almost passed out when you requested her to sing… “Christmas carols”?”

You let out a short nervous laugh, before starting to drink your juice; it was cold and sweet.

“Oho?” Venti’s interest peaked as he leaned closer to you, the twinkle in his eyes having grown at the mere mention of your musical exploits. “If you need someone to sing for you, Your Grace, you’ve got the three-time winner of the “Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt'” title at your service.”

“If you want to carol with us, you’re totally free to, Venti!” You smiled at the bard before letting out a sigh, and you set your drink on the counter. “But, even though it’s been fun, we’ve still got to tackle the issue of preparing the Christmas party. Klee’s been looking forward to it since day one of our festivities, but I’m not sure where to begin with it. We’d need a place big enough for all of the guests, and we’d need to decorate it. Then there’s the food too. It'll be a lot of work.”

“So you need a place for the party?” Kaeya took a hold of his own drink, bringing the cup up to his mouth. “I’m sure the Knights would let you use their headquarters for the party, no problem.”

“The Knights of Favonius Headquarters…?” You thought for a moment, before you shook your head. “No, that wouldn’t work. Plus, I’d feel like it’d be… distracting to the Knights not invited.”

Rosaria sipped her drink. “Perhaps the Church, then? I doubt the Sisters would refuse you.”

“Absolutely not.” You hardly hesitated as you answered, and shook your head again. “The idea of having a Christmas party in the Favonius Cathedral… doesn’t exactly feel all that right to me.”

“Agreed. The Church is a bit too serious a location for such an occasion.” Venti nodded, placing his empty cup on the counter; if you were keeping count correctly, he had just downed his fourth drink. “I’d say this tavern is home to a much more suitable atmosphere for a joyous celebration!”

“...well, while Angel’s Share would be able to serve as a good space for the party-” You let your gaze wander around the tavern, taking in the sight of the many customers already drunk at their tables. “-it’s not really the type of place for a Christmas party to be held. I mean, maybe it would work if it was an adult-only event, but this party is gonna have people of all ages in attendance.”

The sound of Diluc clearing his throat caught your attention, and you looked towards him.

“Your Grace… if you’d so like, you may use Dawn Winery’s manor for your party.”

You perked up as you listened to Diluc, your lips turning up into a bright smile.

“Oh, that’ll be perfect! I love you, Master Diluc!”

The sound of glass shattering rang out from behind the counter, the remains of a glass on the floor as alcohol seeped into the wood. Diluc stood by the mess, a cleaning rag held in one hand and emptiness in the other; the warm tavern lights made you uncertain of the flush on his face.

“A-Ah! I’m sorry, Master Diluc!”

You continued to apologize to Diluc as he bent down to clean up the broken glass, his face now hidden by his bangs as he kept his head tilted down. Kaeya was trying — and failing — to hold back a chuckle, and Rosaria just silently sipped on her drink, her gaze averted from everything.

Venti let out a whine, his hand tightly gripping your sleeve as he tugged it. “Oh, that’s just not fair, Your Grace. You can’t say something like that without blessing me with such words too…”

“I-I just got excited by what Diluc said!” You glanced at Venti briefly, your eyes widened, before you looked at Diluc again, your face warm. “It’s just… thanks for letting me use the manor…?”

“It’s fine, Your Grace.”

Diluc stood up after he finished cleaning, his head turned away from you as if to allow him to continue hiding his face; even so, it was still obvious to you that he must still be embarrassed.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, but just be more careful next time.”

You let out a relieved sigh and nodded, smiling at him.

“Will do, Master Diluc!”

- - - - -

You couldn’t help but take in a deep breath as the pine tree was set up in the manor, your hands on your hips as your chest expanded. You took a moment before you finally released the breath.

“Ah, the sweet smell of nature…”

It was a few days before the Christmas party was scheduled to take place, and you were doing some early decorating — namely, the big stuff that couldn’t wait until just before the big event.

And that included the tree.

“So…” You looked over at Diluc, who stood beside you. “I’m assuming that there aren’t already ornaments available to decorate with, but we can make do. Oh! Maybe we could have everyone make ornaments at the party and then decorate the tree together? That’d be super festive! But, in the meantime, we could at least put some popcorn on it right now to start, so it isn’t just bare.”

You were met with nothing but silence as Diluc looked from the tree to you.

“People put… popcorn… on trees for Christmas?”

“Wow! It’s so tall!”

Klee ran up to the tree, her head tilted all the way back as she looked up at it.

“Of course! The bigger, the better!” You walked up to Klee and gently nudged the Spark Knight away from the tree. “We’ll have to keep any and all fire hazards away from it, though. Okay?”

“Okay! Klee will be super careful!”

You looked back at Diluc. “Thanks again for letting us have the party here. It’s really so perfect!”

“It’s no problem, Your Grace. Just let me know if you need anything else.”

You felt as if you were a kid again as you ran around with Klee and got things set up, sharing the experience of choosing what should go where and what looked best with the young girl in red. You even decorated some of the exterior of the manor, not just the interior, though, due to the size of the building, you and Klee could only really work with the entrance outside the door.

In lieu of strings of Christmas lights, lanterns and Crystalflies were used to light up the desired area. The lanterns hung up on the wall, blending into the natural look of the manor — when the daylight faded, they would definitely stand out more — and the Crystalflies were caught in the vineyard, just to be gently guided to rest on the poles near the front door, their wings fluttering.

“...we’ll probably need to guide these little guys back here just before the party.” You watched as the Crystalflies fluttered their wings again, unable to stay still for long where you placed them. “I don’t think they’ll just… stay here for the next few days. They’re itching to fly again, that’s clear.”

There was a Crystalfly resting on Klee’s cap, only flying away as she tilted her head up.

“Do you think we’ll be able to find them again?”

You nodded. “Of course we will! These Crystalflies like Dawn Winery as much as the people of Mondstadt do. You can always find them around here somewhere, fluttering about the grapes.”

The Crystalflies resting on the wooden poles flew off into the vineyard, one by one, as you and Klee continued decorating. You wrapped ribbons of different colors — red, green, and white — around the poles, and draped some down from the balcony above, trying to make it coherent.

“...this place definitely says, “there’s a party here”, at least.”

“It looks great! And it’s so pretty!” Klee bounced on the balls of her feet as she looked up at the ribbons, before she looked at you. “Is there anything else to do before the party, Your Grace?”

You thought for a moment.

“Well… I think we’ve done everything we can right now. The tree’s main decorations can wait until the party, and the popcorn will be prepared tomorrow, but, besides that, everything else is ready. The manor’s staff are helping to take care of the food — and being compensated for their time by Diluc, of course — and Noelle will take care of the desserts for the party later. We’ll help her with that when the time comes, but, for now, we’re done. Why, still want to decorate more?”

Klee put a finger to her chin, before she began walking around to inspect the work you and her had done. The Spark Knight took in the sight of all the decorations you had put up, everything in the interior and the exterior of the manor, and her eyes sparkled as her gaze scanned over all of it. The decorations were a bit generic to be honest, only the presence of the — currently bare — pine tree making it clear that Christmas was what was being celebrated, but it was a good effort.

You worked with what you had, and during the party, it was sure to come together fully.

“Klee thinks it’s perfect, Your Grace! …but, um… maybe we could hang up more ribbons?”

Yeah.

This would all come together nicely.

- - - - -

“I’m so sorry I’m late! I had some trouble getting here…”

Bennett had an embarrassed look on his face, his form slumped over as he stood in front of you. His hair was ruffled up, some sticks and leaves poking out, and his clothes were slightly burnt, which made the water dripping off of him to form a puddle under him more noteworthy.

You smiled slightly at him. “I can see that… but, don’t worry, you’re not late at all.”

“H-Huh?”

“Ah, the man cursed with misfortune has arrived before the Prinzessin?”

You and Bennett turned to look at Fischl as she approached, Oz and Mona accompanying her.

“Hmph, this is truly a most unexpected eventuality, though not one unwelcome.”

Mona looked at Bennett with interest, her gaze scanning everything from his singed clothing to the water at his feet. “I must admit, it’s very unusual. I’d say you had a rare stroke of luck, but…”

“...what?”

Bennett looked between them and you, before rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

“I’m so confused… my invitation said that the party started an hour ago.”

The adventurer dug through his pockets until he eventually pulled out his invitation; the paper was completely drenched, though the ink was just legible enough to still be able to be read.

“But our invitations say the party will start soon.” Mona pulled out her own invitation, and took Bennett’s to compare the times. “See? Your invitation shows it starting a whole hour early.”

Bennett took his invitation back. “That doesn’t make any sense, I…”

You gained a slight sense of pressure as everyone turned to look at you. “Oh… I put an earlier time on Bennett’s invitation to account for his bad luck. You know… so he’d get here on time.”

There was a slight pause, everyone staring at you as you stared back at them.

And then Bennett let out a groan.

“Ugh, that’s so embarrassing…!”

“But it’s also quite smart.” Mona smiled at the unlucky adventurer. “You’d likely be suffering out in the wilderness right now if Their Grace kept the correct time on your invitation, wouldn’t you?”

“...y-yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Hey, I’m just glad you’re here on time, Benny.” You smiled and gestured towards the manor’s entrance. “Why don’t you all head on inside? There’s some refreshments set out already, and it seems like everyone else will be arriving soon enough. I’ll be out here greeting them, of course.”

Fischl looked at Bennett, whose embarrassment was still cooling off. “Let us continue forward, accursed companion. It would be wise to preen thyself before the rest of the due guests arrive.”

“Right.”

The two members of the Adventurer’s Guild headed inside the manor with Oz following behind them closely, the familiar taking care when he flew past the ribbons that adorned the entrance.

“Um, Your Grace?” Mona caught your attention, a hesitant look in her eyes. “If there… happens to be any… leftovers at the end of the party, will the guests be permitted to take some home?”

“You can take as much as you can carry.”

“Oh, thank you ever so much, Your Grace!”

- - - - -

“A party held at Dawn Winery… with no alcohol? You’re so cruel, Your Grace.”

Venti had slight disbelief on his face, even with his lips turned up into a smile, while Diona had hers turned up into a smug grin, her hands on her hips in triumph as she stood next to the bard.

“Well, I think Their Grace is only showing how great They are by keeping that stuff away. Why do you boozehounds always need alcohol to have a good time, anyway? It’s funner without it!”

“Diona’s right. At least, when it comes to this occasion.”

The bartender let out a chuckle at your approval, her smug grin growing towards the bard.

“Besides, this’ll be the first Christmas you’ll experience. You should experience it sober.”

“...not even a drop, Your Grace?”

“You’re gonna have to go dry tonight, Venti.”

Diona walked into the manor with a proud gait, her tail and head held up to the sky, as Venti let out a whine, his shoulders dropping. He only lasted like that for a second before he perked up.

“Alright, Your Grace. I suppose going through a party without wine won’t be so bad…”

“Oh, is this a “no alcohol” kind of festivity?”

You turned to see Kaeya making his way up the path leading to the manor, a trio of his fellow knights — Albedo, Klee, and Sucrose — walking right behind him until they stopped near you.

“Yep. There’s non-alcoholic apple cider and grape juice instead.” Your gaze wandered down to the wrapped gifts in each of the Knights’ arms. “You can go and put the presents under the tree for later. The gift-giving will happen after everyone arrives and gets settled into the jolly vibes.”

Venti eyed the gifts. “Oh-ho? I wasn’t aware that there’d be presents at this party.”

“It’s for “Secret Santa”!” Klee held her gift up for Venti to see. “All the Knights are doing it!”

“And, don’t worry, all the non-Knights will also be getting gifts too-” You put a hand to your chest and smiled. “-courtesy of me. It wouldn’t be fair for some to get presents here and others to not.”

Sucrose adjusted the wrapped box in her arms. “W-Wow…”

Albedo hummed. “A gift from the Divine Creator would be quite an honor. I’m almost jealous…”

“Oh, there’s no reason to feel that way.” You shook your head slightly at him, the smile on your lips softening. “All the gifts you’ll find under the tree are labeled from “Santa”, not me, so nobody is really getting a gift from the “Divine Creator”, okay? Now get on inside and enjoy yourselves.”

- - - - -

There were a few more greetings you got through — Barbara and Rosaria who arrived together, and Razor who arrived alone — before the last guests arrived: the other invited members of the Knights of Favonius — sans Noelle, who arrived hours before the party began to help prepare.

“I hope you’re all feeling merry!” You greeted them at the entrance to the manor, a smile still on your lips. “Because with all of you here, the party can finally start! Oh, it’s gonna be so fun…!”

“Apologies for taking so long, Your Grace.” Jean shifted the presents she carried in her arms, putting a hand to her chest. “I had some last minute duties that I had to attend to before being able to leave for the evening, due to so many of the Knights having to attend this party tonight.”

“It’s fine, no biggie.” You waved Jean’s concerns off. “I’m just glad you’re all here at all!”

Amber held up the wrapped gift she was holding to bring attention to it. “And we brought our “Secret Santa” gifts with us. Is there someplace that we should put them for now, Your Grace?”

“Under the tree.”

“Under the…” Eula raised an eyebrow in question. “...tree?”

You nodded. “There’s a pine tree set up inside; it’s called a “Christmas tree”. You put gifts under it until it’s time to hand them out and open them. It’s a classic Christmas tradition, a real staple.”

“Oh my, how quaint.” Lisa didn’t have a gift in her hand, which explained why Jean was carrying two in her arms. “Everything you say about Christmas just makes it more and more interesting.”

“I’m glad!”

Jean, Lisa, Amber, and Eula went inside at your gesture, with Mika tailing them.

Mika looked at you with a bashful smile, his present held carefully in his arms, and he glanced between you and it before his gaze settled on it. “T-Thanks again, for helping me, Your Grace.”

“Of course.” You lightly patted Mika on the back. “Now, come on. Let’s join the others.”

- - - - -

‘Twas the night of the party And all through the manor, The atmosphere was hearty And it was quite banner.

…and that was enough rhyming for now.

Though it took everyone a quick moment to familiarize themselves with what a Christmas party was like, it didn’t take long for the party to really start. Klee’s enthusiasm was a driving force for everyone else’s, especially anyone who might still have been hesitant about the whole thing.

The tree was finally decorated aside from strings of popcorn, the ornaments the product of a group activity where you helped everyone make their own; the branches were filled to the brim with unique creations that would last to the next time that a tree would need to be decorated.

You could hardly compliment Noelle and the manor’s staff enough for all their work on the food, and neither could anyone else. You swore Noelle would faint from how red her face had gotten from the praise, the Knights’ maid continuing to be modest about all the effort she had put in.

The various gingerbread houses were fun to see; everyone had varying ideas on what it meant to build a gingerbread house — some went with a more “normal” appearance with their designs, while others took more creative liberties with their edible materials. Diona had even based her’s on her own house, with little gingerbread people of herself and her dad put on the frosting lawn.

And then caroling was an experience.

Barbara and Klee helped you teach everyone else the carols you had picked out. Venti picked them up quickly — which you expected — and Rosaria opted out of caroling altogether — which you also expected. Diluc also preferred not to sing, as did Mika and Sucrose, but everyone else laughed their way through the carols, the sound of their voices together being not too shabby.

The most anticipated event of the party, the gift exchange, happened when everyone was finally settled in, and the Knights went around to give each other their gifts. The anonymous part of the identities of the givers fell apart during that part, the receivers gaining surprise at learning about who had served as their Secret Santa alongside the gifts themselves, though the biggest of the surprises had to be Mika’s and Sucrose’s when they realized that they were each other’s Santa.

The remaining party guests got a gift handpicked by you.

You kept your mouth shut as they all tried to figure out who had actually gotten them the gift — Kaeya, Albedo, Klee, Sucrose, and Venti also keeping quiet about it for you — and just let them question each other. The joy among the confusion was what really made it feel special to you.

When the gift-giving came to a close, you surprised the younger Mondstadtians with stockings to hang over the fireplace. Klee, Diona, Razor, and Fischl each got to put up their own stocking, but you helped Bennett with his, as having it accidentally get caught on fire would be a downer.

You still had extras, though… just in case.

And when the sun began to set in the distance, the party soon came to a quiet end… kind of.

“We gotta leave milk and cookies out for Santa.” Klee guided the other younger characters to the table that had been set up near the fireplace, where they set down a plate of cookies and a glass of milk upon the wooden surface. “It’s sorta like sharing wine with the Anemo Archon.”

“And then our hosiery hung above the embers shall be filled with his largesse on the morrow?”

“Yep!” Klee nodded towards Fischl, a smile on her face. “That’s what Their Grace told Klee.”

“But it won’t happen unless you’re all asleep.” You looked between the five youngsters. “Santa doesn’t come when you’re awake. He only comes to leave presents in the middle of the night.”

Diona’s tail flicked behind her. “That sounds kind of fishy, but if that’s what you say, then okay.”

“So…” Razor thought for a moment. “...Razor and friends go to sleep now?”

“That should be easy.” Bennett rubbed the back of his head before he stretched his arms out above his head, a smile on his face. “It’s been pretty exciting all day, so I’m a bit tuckered out.”

“Diluc’s been kind enough to have prepared rooms for you guys tonight.” You gestured towards the staircase and towards the second floor of the manor. “So feel free to get settled in, okay?”

“Yay!” Klee clapped her hands together. “Let’s go to sleep so Santa will come!”

You watched as the younger characters headed upstairs, disappearing from your sight, before you turned your attention to the other guests. The adults were all getting ready to leave, either gathering up the presents that they had gotten or grabbing leftovers to take home with them.

“I’d say have a safe trip, but I’m sure your group is the safest it could possibly be.”

The characters not staying at the manor — meaning everyone but the youngsters who were staying the night, Diluc who lived here, and Noelle who was staying to help clean up — were going to be heading back to the city, the majority of the group being comprised of vessels that were members of the Knights of Favonius. You knew anybody would feel safe with all of them.

Jean looked at you, her eyes tired despite her smile. “Apologies for not staying for longer.”

“It’s okay. I know you guys can’t just all be away from the city for long at the same time.”

“But we should definitely do this again sometime!” Amber had a smile on her face, still full of energy despite how late it was. “It was so much fun, Your Grace! This holiday was a blast!”

“I agree.” Eula held both her and Amber’s gifts in her arms. “It was quite the get-together.”

You waved to the group as you watched them leave the manor and start their journey towards the city, the Knights forming the edges of the group. Barbara was within the protective circle of the group with Mona right by her side, the astrologist carrying much more than she arrived with in terms of food. The only one not in the group was Rosaria, who left a bit earlier on her own.

The group soon vanished into the dark of night, the manor now much quieter than before.

You let out a small sigh as Venti approached you, and briefly glanced at Noelle and Diluc as they — and the manor’s staff — got busy cleaning up the party before focusing on the bard.

“Well, Your Grace, I’d say this party of yours was a huge success!”

“I’m glad it was!” You gestured for Venti to follow you. “Now, mind helping me fill the stockings?”

“Oh?” Venti raised an eyebrow as he followed you over to the fireplace, an interested glimmer in his eyes. “I thought Santa was supposed to be the one to fill those once everyone was asleep?”

“Spoiler alert: Santa is more of an… idea, rather than a real person. Don’t tell the kids, though.”

“So, that’s how it is, huh…?”

Noelle handed you the bag of prepared goodies as she passed by, the action of it exchanging hands seeming like more of an instinct as she focused on gathering discarded wrapping paper.

The bag was like a smaller version of Santa’s bags in your eyes, and you sifted through it to begin sorting the items into each stocking, taking great care to divide everything in it equally.

“Of course. The magic of Christmas is all about children’s hopes and beliefs… oh!”

You grabbed a cookie from the plate near the fireplace and stuffed it into Venti’s mouth.

“Here, eat a few. It’s “proof” that Santa visited.”

Venti grabbed the cookie out of his mouth, coughing a bit before he chuckled. “Thank you for this honor, Your Grace. Though you could be a bit more gentle when feeding me, you know.”

“Less talking, more eating, Venti.”

It didn’t take you too long to fill the stockings with treats and items tailored to each youngster’s interests, and along with the Christmas tree, the stuffed stockings hung over the fireplace made the perfect little holiday scene, something that felt so foreign in this world yet so familiar to you.

So the party was done, with the kids into bed, And the Creator’s smile was on their face, spread. For a spoken last joy, with the bard to their right— “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

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