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One of the perks of Elayne’s birthday being only a few days after the start of the new year was that it was close to Starlight. It meant all of her favorite things combined in a two-week period: snow, poinsettias, Starlight trees, horse-drawn sleigh rides, the greatest food known to man, time with her loved ones, and heaps of presents. She had spent most of her life poor, so finding newly made clothes or books under the tree always made her day.
Elayne had always had a strange relationship with her day of birth. Growing up poor, she had never expected much from the day aside from some better food and maybe a couple presents, and she’d forgotten about it at least twice. Since her father’s death, she often celebrated it alone, usually with a cup of hot cider on the sofa and extra sleep. The notion that her birthday wasn’t anything special appalled the Scions, especially the twins, and they made sure she had someone to celebrate it with. Thankfully, between being adopted by Lord Edmont and meeting Erenville, they doubted she would ever have to celebrate it alone again.
The morning of her thirty-first birthday, the first since her return from Ultima Thule, Erenville woke up early, cracking his jaw on a yawn. Nestled in the crook of his arm with her head on his chest was Elayne, dead asleep under a pile of warm blankets, with Jasmine wedged between her legs. He rubbed his knuckles into her spine and traced the scales on her cheek, marveling at the patterns and wondering how someone as sweet and fun and beautiful as her had fallen for someone like him. Carefully dislodging his leg from under Jasmine’s weight, he slipped out of Elayne’s grasp, kissed her forehead, and got out of bed.
He pulled on a loose button shirt to keep his arms warm, leaving his chest exposed, then quietly ventured downstairs to the kitchen to start making breakfast. Elayne’s favorite meal was pumpkin pancakes, so he began mixing up batter, sprinkling in cinnamon when needed. In between mixing pancakes, he also pulled a box of Starlight cookies from Guillame’s out of the ice box to thaw. Elayne couldn’t handle much sugar, so instead of a cake, she got cookies. She usually tried to make her own, but Guillame’s were an acceptable alternative when short on time. He’d run over to the bakery the day before and hidden the cookies from her. They were sugar cookies decorated with red and white sprinkles, sometimes in stockings, others in snowflakes. She especially loved the snowflakes.
Just after he finished pouring the batter out on the pan, he heard tiptaps come down the stairs, and when he looked down and saw Jasmine, sitting pretty and giving him the same puppy-eye stare Elayne gave him whenever she wanted something.
“No,” he told her.
Jasmine whined, stomping a paw.
“You’re not getting any food until your mama comes down,” he scolded, putting a hand on his hip. “And she spent all day on flash sheets yesterday, so you can bet she’ll be asleep until I wake her. So you just wait.”
Jasmine woofed, and she kept begging even as he finished cooking the pancakes and put them on plates. He slathered extra butter on them, then set them at their corner of the table, distracting Jasmine with the phantom treat trick. Once the cookies were warm enough, he put those on another plate and set them by the pancakes, then retrieved a bouquet of poinsettias — her favorite flowers — from the ice box and placed them by the food. He placed cider in her favorite mug by the pancakes, wishing he too could breathe fire, and after distracting Jasmine again, he ran back upstairs to wake up his love.
Without Jasmine to hold her down, Elayne had flipped over in her sleep, now facing the window. Erenville sat on the edge of the bed beside her and slid his hand into her hair, gently twisting the thick black locks around his fingers. He leaned over and pressed his head against hers, nuzzling her hair with his nose. As much as he wanted to get back in bed and hug her sleeping form until he fell back into slumber himself, they had a hot meal waiting for them downstairs.
“Time to get up, snowdrop,” he whispered by her horn.
The vibrations of his voice were enough to rouse her, and her eyes cracked open to see her man beside her. Smiling, she twisted herself to lay on her back, pulled him to her, and kissed him.
“Happy birthday, darling,” he breathed between kisses.
“And many happy returns, my dear,” she whispered back.
He grinned and pulled her up, then retrieved the black fleece robe Tataru had given her on her last birthday and handed it to her. She slipped it on, and he proceeded to push her back onto the bed and kiss the rest of her, starting with her neck. He didn’t get too far, only making it to her chest when Jasmine stood in the doorway and barked.
“She wants treats,” Elayne murmured, biting her lip to stifle her giggles.
Erenville lifted his head and gave Jasmine the stink eye. “Do you mind? I’m trying to get laid here!”
Jasmine barked again indignantly, clearly unwilling to let it go.
He simply sighed and got off of her. “Little shit,” he grumbled, glaring at the goldendoodle, who was now sitting pretty and pleased with herself.
Elayne cackled that glorious witch laugh as she sat up. “Nice try, my grumpy bunbun. But we can absolutely pick up where we left off tonight,” she pointed out. “With the door closed.”
The way his head shot up eagerly and his eyes twinkled made her laugh. He strode over and kissed her again, deep enough to make her head spin. “Your wish is my command, my empress,” he whispered, and he lifted her off the bed with one hand and took her out of the room, her grip strong and steady around his neck.
Downstairs, she spotted the sumptuous meal set out for them and gasped. “Dandelion, you did not,” she said.
“I absolutely did,” he confirmed cheerfully, setting her down on her feet. “Do you like it? It was your first birthday without some world-ending threat on the horizon, so I wasn’t too sure what to do.”
“Eren, it’s perfect just looking at it,” she told him, standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek. She picked up the poinsettias and inhaled their scent deeply. “This is wonderful already, thank you so much.”
Before he could reply, Jasmine barked loudly behind them, making them laugh and sit down to finally eat. After she put the flowers in a vase, Elayne started on her pancakes, moaning as she savored every buttery bite.
“Did I do okay on Temujin’s recipe?” he asked.
She nodded vigorously as she gulped down another bite. He smiled and got to working over his meal too, finally slipping Jasmine a piece when she began to beg.
They ate until there wasn’t a bite left, and then snacked on some of the cookies as well. Once they had eaten their fill, Erenville took her hand and led her out of the kitchen to the living room, where she saw a small bundle of gifts under their tree.
“Oh my — did Starlight come again?” she teased, chuckling.
“Maybe. Or perhaps the Saint of Nymeia found out there was a birthday girl and decided to make another trip,” he replied, kissing her temple. “I hope it makes your day.”
“It does. Thank you, sweetheart.”
“Don’t thank me yet — let’s see what you got first.”
Elayne pulled the presents out, flopped down in her favorite chair, and started opening them. The first was Tataru’s, a beautiful black trench coat lined with soft fleece and black-and-white flat soled boots with laces and buckles to replace her old ones.
“Oh good, Tataru is a blessing. Now you won’t be tripping and busting your ass whenever you try to run down the street. And you don’t have to wear your mother’s Horde-issued coat anymore,” Erenville commented, almost scolding.
“You got to love Tataru. She knows her stuff, and she gives a shit about all of us…” She set the coat aside for later, got some socks, and slipped on the shoes. They fit perfectly, and she could just imagine all the work Tataru would have her do to pay her back. It was fine, though; it was worth it.
After she set the shoes aside, she worked on the rest of the presents. The Scions, as per usual, had all sent books on various mythological subjects, with Urianger apparently having commissioned a custom volume of fairy tales from the First and Alphinaud putting together a postcard collection of all the places they had been to. Edmont had commissioned a new notebook, while Artoirel gifted a small book of pressed Hingan flowers from the trip he had taken Veronique and Sisi on earlier that year. Estinien had sent a hand-woven fleece blanket, and Aymeric a sketchbook for new flash sheets. Elayne scratched her shoulder when she saw it, thinking about the dragon design she was working on for herself.
At last but not least, it was time for Erenville’s gift to her. He told her to close her eyes and hold out her hands, and when she opened them, she discovered a small plush of Jasmine.
“Eren? You actually got a plush goldendoodle?” she asked in smiling disbelief.
“I did. You like dogs, you like soft things, what’s there not to like? Don’t worry, that’s not all I have for you,” he promised.
“Not just the usual?”
“No…but if you want more, I’m happy to oblige…” he murmured, kissing her neck softly.
Elayne laughed and smacked his chest. She hugged the plush tightly and snuggled into him, nuzzling his shoulder. Erenville chuckled, pulled the new blanket over them, leaned the chair back, and opened one of her new books to start reading aloud.
It didn’t take long for Elayne to fall asleep with her plush in her arms; his voice always had that effect on her. Once she was out, he set the book aside, hugged her to him, and drifted off into slumber as well, Jasmine snoozing at the foot of the chair. They slept for a few hours until daylight had gone, and Erenville woke up and checked his watch to see that it was time for his biggest surprise. He woke Elayne and ran to get into more suitable winter wear, while she slipped on her new coat and a warmer dress.
Once they were ready, they got mittens and scarves and left the house. They dropped Jasmine off at Fortemps Manor, where Edmont and Aymeric wished Elayne a happy birthday and hugged her, then got some dinner from their favorite stand, eating it on the way out of the city. It may have been cold in Coerthas, but it was nothing when you had good food and good company to share it with. Erenville picked her up halfway across the bridge and made her cover her eyes, making her laugh. When they made it wherever he intended to go, he put her down and let her open them, and when she saw it, she gasped.
Just at the gates, there stood a horse-drawn sleigh lined with thistle and poinsettias, with two beautiful Shires at the reins. And even better, this particular breed had wings.
Elayne stared at the horses in disbelief. “Eren…how…”
“Aymeric may have helped me with this one,” Erenville admitted, patting one of the horses’ heads. “You always talk about how much you love sleigh rides, and how they remind you of home, so I thought maybe it would make this birthday a day to remember.”
“Eren, you…you are the sweetest man I have ever met, and I can scarcely think of anyone or anything who can surpass that,” she whispered, bringing her arms up around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.
“You don’t need to thank me. You just need to sit back and enjoy the show,” he told her, kissing her forehead. “Happy birthday, darling.”
He helped her into the sleigh, hopped in himself, and urged the horses forward. They began to walk, then canter, then gallop across the snowy plains, and before long they were in the cool wintry air, snowflakes falling all around them as Elayne yelled in joy. They flew through the starry night sky and into the rising moon under the auroras, intent on drinking the dregs of celebration to the last.