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“That doesn’t look like hot chocolate.”
Shelby did a little squeak and almost spilled what she was pouring into a thermos all over the counter, before she turned her head and saw it was Katherine, a wide smile lighting up her face. “Oh! You’re awake! I was about to come get you.”
Katherine leaned against the doorway to the bedroom in their little cabin with a fond little huff. “That wasn’t an answer.”
“Well I was worried we wouldn’t have enough food, or, well, enough hot food and you’d get cold, so…” Shelby finished pouring and wiped up a little bit that had dribbled down the side of the thermos, twisting on the lid with a little flourish. “I warmed up yesterday’s beef stew!” She slid it into a filled basket that was set up the counter next to two other thermos, worrying her lips between her teeth. “I hope it’s not too much food now though.”
“You worry too much.” Katherine slid up behind her and rested her head on top of Shelby’s.
Shelby tried to tilt her head up for a kiss, pouting when Katherine stepped away playfully out of reach. “It’s our six month anniversary! I want it to be perfect.”
If you had asked a commoner when the princess of Glimmer Grove had gotten married, they would’ve said in the first week of July. It was hard to miss after all, a full seven days of feasting and celebrations leading up to the wedding day. If you had asked any of the other emperors, however, it was on the summer solstice, a small private ceremony composed of only their friends and followed by hours of merriment in The Drip Tavern. Someone had even managed to drag the ever elusive Grand Architect of Cogsmeade out of her projects, though False had slipped away sometime after the second round of drinks. Now, exactly six months later on the winter solstice, they had taken a trip to the far north of the kingdom and a little winter cabin owned by Katherine’s parents.
“Anything you do is perfect,” Katherine replied fondly.
“I messed up a spell, like, yesterday.”
“That’s not important.” Katherine hid a yawn behind her hand as she ducked back towards the bedroom. “Let me get dressed real quick and then I’ll be ready.”
About five minutes and a lot of last minute fussing by Shelby later– (“are you sure you’re not gonna be cold you can have my gloves oh god did I remember to grab a knife for the cheese”)– they were finally out the door. The forest was dark as pitch with not even the light of the moon slipping through the trees to guide them, and puffs of fog from their breaths immediately formed despite the scarves securely around their noses. Between the freezing cold and the protection spells woven securely around the entire area no mobs bothered them however. Shelby scrambled around in the basket for a moment before pulling out a large potion bottle full of shimmery golden light. She pulled her scarf down just enough to uncork it with her teeth and poured a pile of it into her cupped hands. Shelby blew on the pile and sent scattering tiny specks of light smaller than a firefly, settling on the path before them and a few landing in her white hair.
Katherine raised a curious eyebrow. “That’s a new one.”
Shelby grinned as she rubbed her hands together to get the last of the light off. “It’s a new recipe I’ve been cooking up. They’re like… artificially made will-o-wisps. Cool huh?”
They made their way down the path chatting about everything and nothing, Shelby occasionally sending out more sparks out into the air like millions of tiny stars fallen to the earth to light their way. By the time they reached the lake at the end of the path Shelby’s hair, hands, and the front of her jacket were covered in the things, and the end of Katherine’s dress and the tip of her tail glittered from ones picked up from the path, and they laughed and poked fun at each other for it.
“I think you should stick to weather magic more,” Katherine laughed as she watched Shelby try to wipe a spot off her nose and instead just smeared more across her cheeks.
Shelby stuck her tongue out at her. “It’s important for a witch to be well-rounded in all aspects of magic. It worked, didn’t it?”
“Maybe a bit too well.” Katherine flicked the end of her tail in emphasis. “You gave me a glow butt.”
“I did not give you a glow butt! You should’ve just lifted your tail higher!” Shelby elbowed Katherine with no real malice, giggling wildly. “You look like if a sheep and a lightning bug had a baby.”
Katherine pouted and wiped at a fake tear. “This is never gonna get out of my wool.”
“Cmon, I want to get to the middle of the lake and get set up before it starts.”
The lake was not immediately visible; a lack of wind had meant a thin layer of snow had settled on it and blended the surface with the banks. Shelby muttered a spell under her breath and flicked her wrist, a wisp of wind sending the snow scattering and clearing a path towards the middle. She gave the ice two good stomps with her boot before nodding. “It’s nice and frozen solid. Would’ve been awkward if we came all the way out here only for the ice to be too weak to sit on.”
They carefully made their way out to the center of the lake, shuffling along slowly so they didn’t slip and fall. Shelby cleared a bit more of the snow from the center that the first spell hadn’t reached and removed a blanket from the top of the basket. She fussed over it to lay it flat and then flopped down on it happily, sitting criss crossed on it. Katherine didn’t join her immediately, watching with a fond little smile as Shelby unpacked the contents of the basket, humming and drumming a little song with her fingers.
Shelby noticed belatedly and glanced back at her. “Are you sitting or what?”
Katherine was suddenly grateful her scarf hid the blush across her cheeks as she glanced away at the trees across the way. “I’m just. Admiring the view.”
“Am I the view?” Shelby asked cheekily.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
The second Katherine sat down Shelby slid closer so they could bump shoulders, waggling her eyebrows. “You likeee me.”
“We’re literally married. And I haven’t forgiven you yet for giving me a glow butt.”
“I did not give you a glow butt, that was entirely your own doing.”
Shelby emptied the last of the basket and handed Katherine one of the thermos. Opening it revealed thick warm hot chocolate, little white specks on the surface betraying long ago melted mini marshmallows. She took a small test sip to gauge the temperature and let the richness coat her tongue. It bordered on just a little too hot but still cool enough to take tiny baby sips without burning your tongue beyond recognition. Shelby took one of the hot chocolates for herself and then opened the stew, producing two long spoons like you might eat ice cream with, to account for the depth of the container, along with a small loaf of bread. She tore off a piece, dipped it in the stew, and then offered it to Katherine.
“You get first dibs since you made it.”
Katherine rolled her eyes fondly but took it in hand. It tasted even better having sat a day to let the flavors meld together and she gave a happy little hum. “When is the meteor shower supposed to start?”
Shelby sat up a little straighter and pulled a complicated timepiece out of her pocket, the kind that showed all sorts of things that Katherine only half understood. She had had Shelby explain it to her once and it apparently let her see all kinds of things like the weather and the stars and all that, but she still didn’t understand how it did all those things. Witch things, she guessed.
“Any second now.” Shelby glanced nervously between the sky and the watch, lip worried between her teeth. “I’m like, 90% sure I did all the calculations right.”
Katherine elbowed her gently. “Well, you were right on the weather, no? So you did at least part of it right.”
“I sure hope a storm witch can predict the weather,” she giggled, trying to dodge Katherine’s elbow. She settled after a moment and took a piece of bread for herself but fiddled with it a second as she glanced at the sky again.
Katherine elbowed her again. “Stop getting lost in your thoughts. Even if the meteors don’t show up it’s still nice to look at the stars.”
Shelby pouted dramatically but stopped playing with her food, finding the cheese and knife to cut a piece for her bread instead. She chewed on it a moment before sighing. “I just wanted this to be perfect.”
“I said stop it.” Katherine leaned heavily on Shelby’s shoulder. “I’ll knock you over if you don’t stop.”
Shelby laughed and tried to push Katherine away, which just made her lean more on Shelby. “What kind of method is this?”
“One that’s working because it made you laugh,” Katherine replied cheekily.
“You’re so annoying.”
It sounded like Shelby was about to say something else but then she spotted something in the distance and she shot to her feet, Kathrine nearly falling over at the sudden lack of support. She quickly grabbed the lid of the thermoses and put them all on– she was not cleaning beef stew and hot chocolate out of her clothes, thank you very much– before standing up and making her way over to where Shelby was. She was staring wide-eyed at the sky with an awestruck expression. Katherine squinted in the same direction as her but didn’t immediately identify what had caught her attention at first.
Until she did.
A thin strip of green light weaved among the stars on the northern horizon just barely above the tops of the trees, so pale it was hardly visible, but bright enough it was undeniable. Shelby’s mouth curled into a slow smile, small at first, until she was grinning so hard Katherine thought her cheeks must be beginning to hurt. “Holy shit,” she breathed out.
Katherine blinked in disbelief. “Are those the northern lights? I thought we were too far south for those.”
“So did I,” Shelby laughed incredulously. “Explains why they’re so low in the sky. We got to be on like, the very edge of them.” She wiped a hand across her eyes like she was worried she was just seeing things, but the ribbon remained. “Holy shit. This is even better than a meteor shower.”
Shelby perked up suddenly and started slapping around in her pockets looking for something. “Wait wait wait. I was gonna do this under the meteors but this is an even better backdrop.” She made a victorious little noise, pulling something out of her pocket that was securely hidden in her fist. “Here, tilt your head down.”
Katherine complied as Shelby stepped closer, gently grasping one of Katherine’s horns in her free hand. There was the slight not-quite-but-yes-actually feeling of metal scraping lightly over the surface until Shelby deemed it far enough up and stepped back so Katherine could see. Something dangled in her peripheral vision and after a near miss she caught it the second time. Attached to presumably a metal ring now snugly fitted over her horn was a long golden chain, small star-shaped bits of amethyst dotting the length, and then one of the moon at the end.
She turned back to Shelby and nearly bumped noses, they were so close together. They just stood for a long second, breaths mixing, before Shelby’s lips curled into a slow smile.
“Hi you.” She giggled and pressed a butterfly light kiss to the tip of Katherine’s nose. “Do you like it?”
In lieu of an answer Katherine caught Shelby’s chin and pulled her in for a proper kiss. Shelby melted in her grasp instantly, eyes fluttering shut and arms sliding around Katherine’s neck. They broke apart after a moment, foreheads pressed together.
“I think it almost makes up for the glow butt. Haven’t decided yet,” Katherine replied with a cheeky grin.
“Mmm. Still not my fault,” Shelby hummed. She suddenly stiffened in Katherine’s arms and narrowed her eyes in a glare at something over her shoulder. “Motherfu- the meteor shower started while we were busy kissing!”
If Katherine ended up laughing so hard she was left with a side sticker for the next ten minutes, well, it was for no one other than the stars to know.