Chapter Text
The entire world had been covered overnight in a blanket of snow and Holly was excited. The arrival of the first snow meant going to her favorite place in her Uncle Ezran's kingdom: the Banther Lodge. Holly loved the Banther Lodge. It was the place where she was born. Her parents had told her the story many times and how she was "the best Christmas present" they ever had. Her siblings (the twins Lian and Tiadrin and triplets Dameon, Sarai, and Harrow) had been born at the palace five and six years later. All six lived a privileged life as the nieces and nephews of King Ezran.
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"Are you almost packed, Holly?" Rayla asked coming into her eldest's room four-year-old Sarai at her side.
"All done, Mum," Holly said. "Sarai, no. Stay out of my stuff."
Sarai picked up a figurine on Holly's dresser. She and Tiadrin loved getting into Holly's things.
"Sarai, sweetheart," Rayla said taking the figurine from her youngest daughter, "that's not yours."
Holly put the figurine back on her dresser.
"Uncle Ez gave it to me for my fifth birthday so I'd rather you didn't play with it," she said.
The glass dragon looked back at her. Ezran had it specially made for Holly and it looked just like Queen Zuiba. It had been the first in Holly's collection of glass animals. Also in her collection were a twin-tailed inferno tiger, a shadowpaw, a moonstrider, and a glowtoad that looked like Bait. Holly loved them. So did Tiadrin and Sarai. They were constantly coming into her room and playing with them. Callum already had to use his sun magic to fix them several times.
"Maybe when we get back, you should move those to your shelf," Rayla said.
Or maybe they could just stay out of my room, Holly thought.
Sometimes it was annoying having younger siblings.
“Are we ready?” Callum asked when his wife and daughter joined him and his sons.
“I think so,” Rayla said.
“Then let’s be on our way.”
Callum lifted Dameon into the carriage followed by Harrow. Rayla lifted Sarai in and she and Callum helped Tiadrin and Lian in. Holly got in by herself.
"Who's ready for some fun at the Banther Lodge?" Callum asked.
"Me!" the twins and triplets said in unison.
Holly didn't say anything; not because she wasn't excited but because she knew how to contain herself a little better than her siblings. The Banther Lodge was always fun with sledding, ice skating, building snowmen and snow elves, having snowball fights, and nights by the fire with hot chocolate. Their trips to the Banther Lodge were always fun and Holly had no doubt that this year would be any different.