Christmas morning dawned with a fresh blanket of snow and Sara jumping onto Lena's bed.

"Mamma! Mamma! It's Christmas! Time to wake up!"

Lena groaned and tried to continue sleeping, but Sara crawled under the covers with her. She placed her hands on both sides of Lena's face, squishing her lips together, and leaned in so that their noses were touching.

"Ma-mma," she drew out. "I said, it's Christmas."

Lena mimicked Sara's actions. "Sara, mi amore..." Lena smiled. "What are we still doing in bed then?" Without warning, Lena tickled Sara mercilessly. Sara squirmed and squealed with laughter until they were both out of breath and lying in a rumpled heap on the bed.

"All right, come on. Let's get up," Lena said with only mild reluctance; her covers had been quite warm and she'd had an all-together inappropriate dream about King Edmund.

Ever since she started trying to avoid him and put distance between them again, King Edmund was always on Lena's mind; he wouldn't leave her alone. She thought about him first thing in the morning when she woke up . She thought about him when Sara said or did something funny and she wanted to tell him about it. She thought about him while she drank wine with Lucy. And she thought about him at night when she laid down to sleep and the sheets were cold and the bed suddenly too big.

Not only was he menatally always there, but he was physically there too. Lena caught him lurking outside the music room during Sara's lessons, or around the corner in the training yard. Sometimes she even saw him just standing at the end of the hall as though he were waiting for her to join him. Lena did her best to ignore him. She pushed aside the aching in her heart. She turned a cold shoulder to the longing she felt. And she hid the tears under her sheets at night.

Nalsa and Meri couldn't understand Lena's decision. Both of them had tried to talk her out of it on multiple occasions; King Edmund had nearly caught Lena and Nalsa once, but Lena managed to get away just in time. Lena's mind was made and there was no changing it, no matter how much it hurt her to do so. She and King Edmund simply could not be.

"Oh good, you're up," Meri said, letting herself into the room.

"It's Christmas, Meri! It's Christmas!" Sara squealed.

"Yes, I know. *Buon Natale, sorellina. Buon Natale, Mamma."

"*Buon Natale, tata!"

"Buon Natale, Topa."

Sara scrambled from the bed and danced around the room singing the refrain of Jingle Bells on repeat as Lena got dressed. With all of Sara's uncontained excitement over Christmas morning, Lena was concerned about the fallout that would occur when they made it downstairs and Sara saw that there was not a tree with presents stuffed beneath it. Sara, however, didn't seem to notice the lack of a tree. She greeted everyone with a "Buon Natale," a hug, and a kiss. And when King Edmund arrived for breakfast, she ran straight into his arms; Lena had to look away.

They all sat down for a breakfast of eggs, flapjacks, pancakes, sausages of every kind, and an assortment of fresh fruits. Though there wasn't a tree stuffed with presents, there were still presents to be exchanged after breakfast. Sara got a new dress from Lena and toys from Susan, Lucy, and Peter. King Edmund had given her a play sword that Lena wasn't thrilled about, but Sara was so in love with it, Lena couldn't deny her the bit of happiness it brought.

"A princess needs a proper sword, Mamma, to fight the Pirate King," she said.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure she's properly trained in how to use it," King Edmund said.

"You say not to worry, and yet that worries me more. She's six; she doesn't need to know how to fight properly."

King Edmund grinned. If Lena had let herself, she could have gotten lost in his smile. She quickly looked away from him.

Meri had also received a new dress, a few books on Narnian lore and history, and a new lute.

"You'll have to play for us once you learn how," Peter said. Even as he spoke, Meri was picking out a few chords.

Once all the gifts had been exchanged, Lena had no choice but to look at King Edmund and nod. They had one more gift to give the girls, something which had been a joint effort. The details had been worked out weeks in advance, long before Lena decided to try and distance herself from King Edmund.

"All right," he said. "There is one last gift, but we have to go outside first."

They all put on thick cloaks and made for the nearby terrace. On cue, one of the Narnians who worked in the castle came around the corner, bringing with him a mare as white as the surrounding snow, and a pony with golden hair.

"A pony!" Sara squealed as she clapped her hands in delight and jumped up and down.

"Careful, love, you don't want to frighten him," Susan said, taking Sara's hand and leading her over.

"She's beautiful," Meri said in awe as she walked to her own gift.

"There are conditions," Lena said.

"Conditions?" Meri turned around. "What sort of conditions?"

"You will be responsible for her in every way. You will feed her, groom her, and muck out her stalls at least twice a week—granted it should be done more often than that, but you will personally have to do it at least twice." Lena looked towards King Edmund. That had been something they disagreed on; Lena thought it should be everyday, but King Edmund said some days might be impossible with the daily duties in the way. So, they made a compromise.

"And, you are never to go riding without first telling myself, your mother, or either Susan, Lucy, or Peter," King Edmund added.

"That's...acceptable! What's her name?"

"She's waiting for you to name her."

"Mine's named Sugar," Sara said gleefully. "Because he likes sugar." She squealed as his lips tickled her hand, where Lena assumed she had just fed him a lump of sugar.

"I think..." Meri gently brushed her hand over the mare's white coat. "Bianca." the horse whinnied and turned its head towards Meri. "You like that, do you?"

A distant jingle of bells rang through the air and Lucy gasped.

"Peter! Susan! Do you think it's him?"

"Who?" Meri asked. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Lena said softly. She hadn't been informed of another visitor arriving.

"Come on!" Lucy said excitedly as she led the way out of the terrace and through the adjoining garden, looking very much like a little girl on Christmas morning herself rather than the Queen she was.

"What?"

"Come on; we best follow her. If she's right about this, and she usually is, you're going to have to see for yourself," King Edmund said.

Susan had already led Sara along the path after Lucy. Meri and Peter followed them, leaving Lena and King Edmund to bring up the rear together. They wound their way through the gardens following the sound of bells and laughter until they came out onto the castle grounds. Sitting in the snow was a large wooden sled being led by no less than eight reindeer. A man in thick winter robes with long gray hair stood by the sled; Lucy was hugging him.

"Queen Lucy, it's great to see you as well," the man said with a jolly laugh.

Sara squealed. "Babbo Natale? Is it really you?"

"Indeed it is, Princess." The man gave a little bow. Sara ran forward to hug him just as Lucy had done.

"Buon Natale, Sir," Meri greeted, stepping forward slowly.

"Buon Natale, Princess Meri." He bowed again.

Lena leaned in towards the nearest person and whispered, "This is a bit much, isn't it? Who is this man?"

"It's Father Christmas, of course," King Edmund replied with a grin.

Lena jumped and looked at him skeptically. Of course she would be standing next to him. "I appreciate the gesture, but you didn't have to do this."

"Do what? I had nothing to do with this."

"Well, it doesn't seem like something Susan would do."

He laughed. "She didn't. None of us did. We didn't ask him to come; we never know when he's going to stop by for a visit. He just does. I think he's here for the three of you this time."

"Mamma! Mamma! Look! It's Babbo Natale!" Sara shouted as she took Lena's hand and pulled her to the front with Meri. Lena smiled at the old man politely,

"Merry Christmas, sir," she said.

"Buon Natale, Signora Ileana." The man took Lena's hand and kissed the back of it.

Lena had to admit, the man was good at his job. He certainly looked the part of Babbo Natale, from his round belly to his beard. He even had an overstuffed bag in the back of the sled. Whoever had put this together, Lena would have to thank them for it later; Sara was ecstatic.

"Now, I think a few gifts are in order, don't you agree, Princess Sara?"

"If you think so, Babbo Natale. I tried to be really really really good this year and not bother mommy when she's napping. I know my ABC's and I can count to fifty all by myself. Do you wanna hear? One, two, three..."

The old man chuckled.

"Sara," Meri stopped her at five. "I'm sure Babbo Natale would love to hear you count and recite your ABC's, but he has other people to visit as well. We don't want to keep him too long and prevent other little girls from seeing him, do we?"

"Oh. No. Sorry I make you late, Babbo Natale."

The man chuckled again. "That is quite all right, Princess. Now, let's see, what do we have for you today?"

He lifted the large bag from the sled and placed it in the snow before him. Lena saw a wide assortment of gifts and toys tucked inside; he must have been really dedicated to this role. He rummaged through the sack a bit before bringing out a pony-sized saddle. He set the saddle in front of Sara.

"This is for you and Sugar," he said.

Wait. How did he know the pony's name? Lena wondered.

"This saddle will not let you fall; something I'm sure your Mamma will be pleased to hear." He glanced up at Lena with a knowing smile. "And because no little Princess can ever have enough of these..." He pulled out a doll and toy horse, who strangely looked a good deal like Sara and Sugar.

Sara gasped. "Thank you, Babbo Natale. Thank you!" She hugged the doll and horse to her chest.

He turned his attention to Meri next. "And for you, Princess Meri, I give you riding leathers crafted by the finest Narnian leather makers. Comfortable and impenetrable, no blade can pierce them."

"Blade? Why would she need to worry about a blade?" Lena said. Then the man pulled out a short thin sword. "Unbelievable," she muttered disapprovingly.

"I leave you with the same warning I left the High King," he continued. Meri and Lena both looked over at Peter. "This is a weapon, not a toy. May it serve you well."

"I understand, Babbo Natale," Meri said in a very solemn voice. Lena noticed something different about her daughter then, a maturity that hadn't been there only seconds before. It was like she had grown in the blink of an eye. Lena didn't like it.

"Look, Sir, this is all very generous of you and I'm sure you mean well. I don't know what you think my daughter is going to be doing exactly, but I assure you she will not need a sword like that."

The man had the gall to take her hands again. He, at least, looked sympathetic. "My Dear Ileana, you who lost your childhood too soon now desperately crave that your daughters retain theirs. And I pray that they may." Then he embraced her and whispered in her ear.

The rest of the day was spent building snow castles, toppling said castles with snow balls, warming hands with hot chocolate and bodies by the fire, and then going back outside to do it all over again. Meri and Sara, of course, both wanted to ride Bianca and Sugar. Peter put Sara up on her new saddle and walked around with her. Lena was worried about Sara spending too much time in the cold air, but she never displayed any signs of a cough or labored breathing. That night, Sara fell asleep on Peter's lap. So instead of potentially waking her by passing her off, he and Meri offered to take her to bed.

"Are you sure?" Lena whispered. "Perhaps I should go as well."

"No, Mamma. We can handle this. Besides, Uncle Peter could use the practice."

"Practice? Really? Am I that bad at it?" Peter asked.

"No. But my little cousin is very demanding."

"Oh. Ok." Peter nodded his head. "Oh, you mean..." his voice faded as they walked out of the room.

"Hey, Lu, remember you said you were going to help me with that thing?" Susan asked a moment later.

"What thing?"

"That very important thing we needed to discuss." Susan's eyes flickered briefly towards Lena and King Edmund. Lucy's gaze followed.

"Oh! Oh, right! Yeah, I'm coming. So sorry I forgot about that. How could I forget about that?"

Susan had the grace not to roll her eyes as she and Lucy left.

"Why do I get the feeling we're being set up?" Lena asked aloud.

"Because my sisters are rubbish at covert operations," King Edmund replied. "I assure you, I had nothing to do with this."

Lena looked around the parlor as she nursed her glass of wine. She and King Edmund were alone; even Nalsa stood at a greater distance than usual, and she was blocking the only exit. Lena was most definitely being set up. She finished off her glass in haste.

"Well, Buon Natale, King Edmund. And...good night." Lena turned to leave in a hurry.

"Ileana, wait, please," he called after her.

Lena eyed Nalsa and silently willed her to move, but the Wolf remained resolute in her position.

"I...I'm sorry," King Edmund said.

"Sorry, for what?" Lena turned around.

"For...whatever it is that I did. For falling asleep the night Sara was ill. For not conferring with you before giving her the cordial. For..."

"Stop, please." Lena had heard enough. "You...You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why have you been avoiding me? I thought something was happening between us. I thought we were feeling the same thing. But then you...you shut down and you shut me out. Why?"

"I..." Lena could feel the prick of tears forming; she tried to push them back. "It's..."

"Complicated?" He offered. Lena nodded. "I know the feeling, but...something tells me that you and I will always be complicated."

Lena would have to agree, but she didn't say as much.

"But I...I don't think we can help that. And sometimes...a little complication makes life exciting. I'm willing to try if you are."

Lena remained silent.

"And if you're not...well...I think that's a shame, but I'll respect your wishes. I'll let you think about it, and I'll take my cues from you. In any case though..." He pulled out a small box wrapped in paper and placed it on the table between them. "Buon Natale, Ileana." He walked past her towards the door.

"What's that?" Lena asked, pointing to the box.

"It's a Christmas gift."

"We...we all agreed not to do a gift exchange. We were only going to give to the girls."

"This isn't a gift exchange. I'm giving you a gift. I don't expect anything in exchange."

Lena looked at him a long while before asking, "What is it?"

He smiled faintly. "You'll have to open it and find out."

She slowly reached for the box. King Edmund waited by the door as she slid the string off of one corner before peeling the paper off slowly. Inside the wooden box sat a pair of earrings, woven in gold with two pearls at their center; a white glow emanated from each of them.

"I thought they matched well with the bracelet you always wear."

Lena twisted her wrist to look at the bracelet herself. It was several years old now, but the pearl on it still shined. King Edmund was right; the bracelet and the earrings were a perfect match.

"Did you know," King Edmund began. "That pearls are made when an irritant or a parasite gets inside the shell of a sea mollusc. The mollusc will then secrete materials that surround the irritant creating this hard gem in order to protect itself. That irritant then becomes something strong and beautiful, a precious gemstone."

"I see the pearl and I think of you," Little King continued in her head.

"A Mermaid told me that once," King Edmund explained.

Lena couldn't stifle the sob that came from deep within.

"Ileana? Ileana, are you all right?"

Lena did not see King Edmund walking towards her. Instead she saw Little King outside Le Caveau, a confident smile on his face. She saw him grin as he handed her a wooden knife and they began their training. She felt him huddled next to her beneath a thin blanket as they sat in a frozen airport lobby. She saw him bare-chested in a questionable motel room with bloody rags all around him. She felt his fingers lace with hers as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Don't give up on me, Ileana. Please, not yet. God willing, we will find our way through this battle too."

"*Sono un idiota," she whispered.

"What? You are not an idiot, Ileana. Why would you say that?"

Lena looked up to find Edmund standing before her. The whispered words of Babbo Natale echoed in her head. "I cannot give you a gift greater than the one Aslan has already given you. Time. Try not to waste what little remains."

Instead of answering King Edmund, Lena closed the distance between them and kissed him.

Buon Natale, sorellina/tata: Merry Christmas little sister/big sister

Sono un idiota: I'm an idiot