Work Text:
Rorona had been working non-stop for weeks. Christmas was only a day away and Arland was bursting with exciting events. Most of which heavily relied on the local alchemist.
Over the past month, requests had been simply keeping piling up on her desk. Everybody wanted to give their loved ones a special gift and, honestly, there was nothing more special than a unique item made with alchemy, so of course Rorona's hands had been full with personal requests. Local shop-owners had also asked for her help: Tiffany had sought her assistance to create a limited set of Christmas goodies to put on sale, while Iksel had been in terrible need of help with the preparations for the Sunrise Café's Christmas Eve party. And then there were her duties to the Castle: a charity event to hand out presents to the kingdom's poorest children was scheduled for Christmas morning and the task of getting those presents ready fell solely on Rorona's shoulders.
Needless to say, she was falling behind her schedule. Big time. At first, she had thought of approaching one request at a time, trying not to feel too overwhelmed by the incredible amount of work that lied in front of her. But, as she had found out, a positive mindset wasn't enough to deal with an excessive workload. And now, as the deadline was quickly approaching, she was starting to panic. She had somehow managed to complete most of the requests but she still had to craft all of the presents for the charity event. And she had merely ten hours left!
«Ugh… I have to do this!» she mumbled to herself, trying to stay energetic. And just when she was about to start synthesizing a new item, somebody knocked on the door.
«Rorona? Are you still there?»
«Oh Cory! Come in!»
Cordelia entered the atelier and looked at her in disbelief.
«I can't believe it – you're still working?! I stopped by this morning and you were already exhausted. I bet you haven't even taken a break to eat something.»
Rorona laughed nervously and tried to brush off her friend's worries, but her grumbling stomach gave her away.
«Okay, time to stop». Cordelia spoke with her most assertive tone. «The party is about to start anyway, so put down that staff and come with me!»
Rorona glanced at the clock, mildly surprised. She hadn't realized it was this late.
«Sorry Cory.» She sighed. «There's no way I can come to Iksy's party. If I can't make it in time, tomorrow's charity event will be a disaster. All those poor kids will cry because of me!»
Cordelia rolled her eyes.
«Rorona, you have to stop overexerting yourself like this! You can't do everything the kingdom needs on your own!»
«I knooow. But if I don't do it, no one will, so there really is no other way.»
Cordelia looked belligerent.
«What about Astrid?» She raised her voice on purpose. «Why isn't that old hag helping you out? I'm sure she's sleeping her ass off as always.»
«I was blissfully resting my genius brain until some irritating brat decided to show up uninvited.»
Astrid came out of her room with an annoyed smirk, her eyes still sleepy.
«Well, now that you're awake you can help Rorona before she collapses!»
The elder alchemist yawned.
«And why exactly should I bother? I'm not responsible for the work she has foolishly accepted. And I couldn't care less about the Castle's assignments.» Noticing Cordelia's furious expression, she pressed on. «Besides, I'm on my way to the party now. I heard from Esty they're finally serving some good stuff. Not that two kids like you would understand.»
«You're unbelievable!» Cordelia blurted. «What you couldn't care less is Rorona's well-being. She could die on her cauldron and you'd still go on just fine with your drinking and sleeping routine.»
«Alright, alright… There's no need to fight when it's almost Christmas!»
Rorona intervened. She was used to their quarrels so she knew it was better to try to quell them from the start. Somehow her words managed to enrage Cordelia even further.
«That's exactly why you shouldn't be here working your ass off! You should be spending time with your friends and family right now. Can't you leave some work to Hom?»
Rorona laughed in an attempt to contain Cordelia's upcoming reaction.
«My parents left for a Christmas trip a couple of days ago and Hom is on a Christmas break on Master's orders.»
And that did it. Upon hearing the news that Astrid had forbidden Hom from helping Rorona with her Christmas requests, Cordelia literally exploded. Used to her outbursts, Astrid exited the atelier ignoring her completely, thus forcing the girl to follow behind to continue her swirl of insults and complaints.
Rorona sighed in relief, happy to have the atelier all to herself again. She rolled up her sleeves, grabbed her staff and got back to work. She had a long night ahead of her.
When Astrid felt like the good wine was over and decided to head back, not completely steady on her feet but still clear headed, it was way after midnight. It was pitch black outside and the only light illuminating the street came from the atelier.
“Is she still up?” she thought to herself.
And yet, it was awfully quiet inside. Rorona usually greeted her aloud as soon as she heard her tinkering with the lock, but there was no “welcome back, Master” this time. Slightly disappointed, Astrid stepped inside and immediately found out the reason behind that underwhelming reception.
Resting her head on the edge of the cauldron, Rorona was fast asleep. Her hands were still gripping the staff and her lips kept mumbling «swirl… swirl…»: it was clear that she had fallen on her knees in the middle of a synthesis.
Astrid rolled her eyes.
«You're unbelievable. Come on, Rorona, get up!»
She moved closer to her pupil, who didn't show any sign of awakening. It was plain to see that she was completely drained.
«You idiot.» Astrid mumbled, lifting her up. Her proximity to the cauldron made her grimace in disgust. «Tch, you're so going to botch this synthesis…»
Letting the sleeping Rorona lean on her shoulder, she carried her to the nearby sofa. The girl's body quickly adjusted to the new surface: a delighted sound escaped her mouth as she curled up like a baby against the cushion. Unaware of her surroundings, the young alchemist kept sleeping like a log.
Astrid knelt beside her and poked her cheek.
«You know, that brat is not wrong.» She sighed. «You really need to learn how to say no, Rorona. Otherwise, one day you'll end up just like her…»
She furrowed her brow, trying to fend off a wave of unwanted memories. There were times when Rorona's kindness reminded her so much of her teacher that her heart ached.
«I've been trying to teach you a lesson here, but you're as dense as ever.»
She knuckled Rorona's head.«Knock knock, is anyone here?»
The girl squirmed in response, an expression of dismay coloring her face. She briefly lifted her eyelids and blinked.
«Master…?» She called.
Astrid cleared her throat and did her best to give her one of her stern looks.
«I'm here, you idiot. You dozed off in the middle of a synthesis. It'll take days to get rid of this stench!»
Normally, Rorona would have jumped on her feet at the prospect of a failed synthesis; this time, though, she didn't flinch, likely still half-asleep and too exhausted to be worried. But it looked like something was on her mind anyway. Something important. She tugged at the hem of Astrid's mantle and asked: «Is it past midnight already?»
«It sure is.»
A sweet smile formed on the young alchemist's lips, whose eyes were once again closed.
«Then… Merry Christmas, Master.» She muttered. «There's a present under the tree… Hope you'll like...»
Her last words were almost inaudible and she dozed off again before completing the sentence. Astrid stood up and glanced at the tiny Christmas tree Rorona had insisted to set up on her desk: there was a package wrapped in green gift paper underneath. The wrapping itself was kinda sloppy, she inspected – typical of Rorona. Without showing any sign of excitement, Astrid opened the present.
It was a big, soft blanket. And, by the look of it, it hadn't been conveniently made with alchemy, but carefully, and painfully, hand-knitted. It was rather unpolished, as expected from someone who wasn't particularly skilled as Rorona.
“It must have taken weeks to finish...” Astrid considered to herself. “On top of all the work she had to do...”
She returned to Rorona's side still holding the presents in her hands and spread it out on her body, which looked more frail than ever.
«You silly girl, always putting others before yourself. Even when they don't deserve it.» She stroked her hair lightly, just once. «This selflessness will be the end of you, I swear...»
Astrid let out a tired sigh and walked away. Since the day she had taken Rorona in, she had been set on teaching her things the hard way: there was no better lesson than the one people found out by themselves, as she had always believed. But not even overworking herself to the point of exhaustion seemed to be enough to make Rorona understand that she couldn't possibly fulfill everybody's request at the expense of her own health and happiness. Maybe it was a lost cause?
For the time being, Astrid decided to give in and make an exception to her own personal ethics. Standing by the cauldron, she held her nose and picked up Rorona's abandoned staff.
On Christmas morning, Rorona woke up when the sun was already high. Rubbing her eyes, she thought that the weather was really fine that day and that the children would be delighted. And then, it all came back to her.
She jumped down the sofa in disarray and sprinted towards her cauldron, where she was sure to find some stinking puddle of dirt. Panicking, she checked outside of the window, fearing to spot an even grumpier than usual Sterk ready to scold her for how she had neglected her official duties.
And yet, nothing of the sort was waiting for her. Much to her dismay, the cauldron was crystal clear – gosh, it even smelt good! – and outside there was no one threatening to close her atelier.
She looked around the room, confused. Master didn't seem to be home, either. The thought of Astrid vaguely brought back some splintered memories of the previous night and Rorona felt compelled to inspect the Christmas Tree on her desk. The package she had so carefully prepared for Master was no longer there, but there was a small Christmas card in its place. Rorona smiled and turned it, instantly recognizing the handwriting. It read:
Just this once. Even I feel benevolent at Christmas… once in a blue moon. Consider it my present for you – yours wasn't too shabby, after all.
Holding the card to her chest, Rorona giggled.
«Merry Christmas, Master.»