Entry tags:

dermail, prequel, romefeller

Our Own Christmas
Title: Our Own Christmas
Rating: FRC
Characters: Dermail, Talaitha
Time: AC 162
Disclaimers: Words and music of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" are by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin.

Our Own Christmas
by Arabian Princess

Talaitha was not sure if she really did remember the events of that night or if she simply heard the story so often that she thought she remembered. She had no real memory of her father, and her mother rarely spoke of him. She only spoke of the night she left him.

It had been close to Christmas, but they had not gotten any gifts or decorated that year. Talaitha had asked why many times; however, her mother had only told her that they had to be prepared..."just in case." No one would tell her what she meant by that, but apparently it had meant that "just in case her mother woke up one morning and decided to leave the only life Talaitha had ever known."
     One day, her mother had bundled Talaitha up in extra-warm clothes. She had packed their bags with little of what they owned and left the rest to servants. Talaitha's grandmother and aunt had done the same, and they had been happier than she had ever seen them—even happier than when they made fun of Vati. Talaitha had been quite unhappy, though. She had wanted to have Christmas, and she had wanted to see Vati. Mama had said that they were leaving, though, and that there was nothing else to be done.
     Mama had insisted that it would never work out between her and Vati. They were too different. She had seen it all the time in girls back in her youthful days (Mama had only been nineteen). They would be together for a bit, but then they would grow apart. She and Vati had gone longer than most, and now with this new pregnant wife of his, she would be no more. She was just leaving before he could throw her out.
     Her grandmother and aunt had helped her mother put everything in their little carriage. Then Mama, Grandmother, and she had climbed into the carriage while Talaitha's aunt had taken the reins. They had been going back to their old ways, and Talaitha had spared her first home one last glance as they had ridden off into the unknown.

They had gone from town to town selling their wares. After four years, there had been no way, of course, to find their own people. They had joined a few bands throughout the years, but they never stayed for too long. For the most part, it had been the four of them, making their ways in the world. Her aunt and mother later did have other children, and her grandmother even had one more child. Their number grew over the years, so they ended up founding their own "caravan" so to speak.
     Talaitha was now old enough to make it in the world on her own if she wanted, and after many disagreements with her aunt, she decided she could take no more. She left her family and moved in with her new family: her boyfriend's family. She refused to heed the warnings of her elders. She knew her parents could have made it worked out, and she knew she and Giovanni would have a wonderful life together. She knew it. She did. Before she got married, though, she wanted to see her father—at least once more. She had to see him to answer her own questions, and she wanted to see him now that she was her own woman.
     She had made her way across Europe, back to Austria, to see him. She knew he had his own family now. He had a boy and two girls, and his wife was expecting yet another. She would most definitely not be welcomed by the wife or children, especially now that it was Christmastime. She knew she would have to sneak in to see him, and it was then that she had come up with a wonderful plan.

It was the day of the annual Dermail Christmas Party. Security was tightened around ballroom and the areas of the party. It was lax around the future duke's home office. Talaitha took the opportunity to sneak into said office. She had checked out the office earlier in the week and knew he did not have it decorated for the holiday season at all. She prepared throughout the week, and on the day of the party, she brought everything she needed.
     She set up a little tree in the corner of the office and decorated it. Then she set up the rest of the decorations in his office. It was close to her home in the French château as she could remember. Hopefully he would appreciate her effort.
     Hopefully he would remember her.
     A few hours into the party, she had arranged for a message to be delivered to her father when he was well away from his wife. She simply had to do wait for him to come up there. She watched the clock anxiously for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes in reality. Finally, the door opened, and her father entered.
     "Who the hell are you?" he asked in gruff voice. He had changed, of course, in the twelve years since she had seen him. Even then, she had been seeing him with child eyes that made him into a god. Still, he was unmistakably her father, and she felt like crying just looking at him.
     "I said: who the hell are you?"
     "Vati! Vati, it's me! Talaitha," she exclaimed.
     His eyes widened, and his expression softened. "Talaitha?"
     "Yes, Vati." She waited a moment for him to decide that it really was her and not some trick on his eyes or by an opponent. Then she flung herself into his arms. "I missed you so much! I was afraid you wouldn't remember me, and I wanted to see you so badly at least one last time."
     "I could never forget about my little girl," he soothed. He patted her back and stroked her hair, but he was not as loving as she remembered. She decided to take what she could get, for she had no idea how the years had treated him. "'One last time'? Why is this the only time you can see me?"
     "I'm getting married, Vati," she told him. "Mama wouldn't let me come see you, and I don't know how often I could get to see you after I marry Giovanni. I...wasn't sure if you'd even want to see me after this either."
     He gave her a warm smile then turned his attention to his office. "What happened here?"
     "Well," she said with impish delight, "I knew I could never spend any real time with you for Christmas, so I brought it here for a few minutes. I wanted it to be just like it was—to have the Christmas we should have had when I was four—so I hope I remembered everything correctly."
     "Talaitha," he whispered thickly. She gave him another hug and smiled widely. "If you had told me, I would have.... I don't have anything.... You're getting married? You can't be more than sixteen."
     She shrugged. "I love him, and it's better than living with Mama, Aunt, and Grandmother and all those babies. I was going crazy slowly!"
     Vati laughed then really hugged her, kissing her cheek. "That's my girl."
     "I'll...I could send you an invitation to the wedding if you want."
     "I do. For now, let's focus on our own little Christmas."
     "I'd like that, Vati."

In her little cot later that night, Talaitha was warmed more by the thoughts and memories of what happened earlier in the evening than by her thick blanket. Vati had tried to get her to stay with him in his house some way, but she knew that if she stayed the night, she would never want to leave. She could never really be part of his family, and that would kill her. Besides, she needed to get back to Giovanni.
     "I didn't have anything for you, but I do have this," her father had said.
     "Oh! Vati, you don't have to. I'm afraid I don't have anything for you either. I spent what I had on these decorations. Getting to see you is more than enough," she had protested.
     "Nonsense. That sort of thing is for me to see. Ah! Here it is. Try it on. I want to see it on you."
     "I couldn't take this, Vati. Shouldn't you give it to one of your...legitimate daughters?"
     "Julia and Eleanor will have plenty of family heirlooms. They won't need any more, nor will they notice this. You deserve your own, my little girl. I won't here anymore. Let me put it on you. ... There! That looks very lovely."
     "It's so pretty. Thank you! Thank you so much, Vati!"
     "It's a brilliant diamond that's been in my mother's family for too many generations to name. Your mother was right: we have different paths for our lives, but if you wear this, you'll have me and the protection of my family with you, shining down on you, always."
     "Oh...oh, Vati. I-I don't know what to say."
     She fiddled with it now and wondered how she would keep it from Giovanni's family. She would let her husband see it, but she had to think of a way to keep him from telling his family...perhaps she would wait. She certainly would not let her own family see it if she were to see them again.
     I'll think of something, she told herself. I have a while to think of what to do.
     For now, she pushed her concerns far away and let herself drift to sleep thinking of what she would do if she were able to have a lifetime of Christmases with her father.
     Not as good as our own Christmas....