A 'When The Night Falls' Christmas

Festive: having or producing happy or joyous feelings, suitable for a festival or other special occasion.

JASMINE

“Mama, can I have a candy cane?” I asked my Mother, who was already beginning to frown at the small holly-patterned sack I was carrying.

“Where did you get that?” she demanded.

“I got it from school…” I confessed, “The teacher gave one to each kid in our class. All the other kids ate theirs during her lesson, but I knew I had to wait to get home to ask you.”

My Mother shook her head, taking it out of my hand.

“Jasmine, you know you’re not allowed to have things like this. I saw where your bookmark was in your Bible, and you’re very behind on your verses. You need to go and do that, instead of worrying about candy and treats.”

I nodded my head at her, walking back to my room.

Sometimes, I wish I could just have a fun Christmas, like the rest of the kids my age.

***

The warm smell of sweet, spicy gingerbread floated about the air of the palace, and I struggled not to cartoonishly follow it, dancing and smiling.

I’d been doing a lot of reading about Queen Marie Antoinette lately, our first Madame Miele, and was so curious about the events she used to hold here at the palace.

Apparently, she was quite the party-thrower, hosting tons of events and activities for all ages.

She was all about details, and left nothing out of her planning.

Everything was perfect and up to her warranted high standards.

She had impeccable taste, and wanted everyone to enjoy it.

Inspired by my findings, I had decided to host a gingerbread-baking festival for our close friends, their families, and colleagues.

The spirit of Christmas was flowing all throughout my body, even though we were still a few weeks away from Christmas.

Every year, around mid-November, I’d start getting that feeling in my stomach, like a mixture of butterflies and jingle bells.

I could hardly contain my giggles and carol-humming.

As I walked down the corridor to fetch Thea and Emrich, I passed our grand mirror, and took a moment to look at my own reflection.

I wore a silk gown with emeralds and rubies adorning the trim for a festive touch. The garment rested gently around my shoulders.

This was always Theodore’s favorite color to see me in.

My long, auburn hair cascaded around me, with delicate, golden, sparkly stars resting around the crown of my head.

The small ruby earrings on my ears glinted in the warm light emanating from our yummy vanilla-scented candles.

It wasn’t often that I got to dress to a theme, so when the situation presented itself, I took full advantage.

Especially during the holidays.

I put a small dab of berry color to my lips before turning the corner to make sure Thea and Emrich were nearly ready.

As I cracked open the door, a huge smile spread on my face, but quickly fell.

I found them dawdling, playing a board game on the ground.

“Gingerbread, anyone?” I tried to tempt them, in an effort to get them moving faster.

“Can we have five more minutes, Mama?” Emrich pleaded, his big, bright eyes nearly impossible to deny.

But we had a ton of guests on their way, and they were due at the palace’s doorstep any minute now.

“No, babies, I’m sorry. You should have already gotten ready. Please find your Christmas sweaters and come out to the main hall, alright? Be sure to tidy up in here!”

A slight look of defeat crept up on their faces, but they nodded and obeyed, reluctantly climbing to their feet and making their way towards the closet doors.

I knew they’d be thankful to see everything we had prepared, and they would forget all about the game they were playing.

“Thank you, my loves,” I said before turning and walking back out.

***

As the kids walked into the room, my hands flew to my mouth, and I could feel my cheeks turn a color brighter than their adorable sweaters.

I absolutely loved when they matched.

I gave them a big hug, then released them from my embrace so that they could check out everything that was happening in the hall.

I grinned to myself as they took in all of the conversation and music fully surrounding us.

I had really gone all out on this event, and every inch of the area was meticulously designed.

“Come, come!” a chef ushered the kids toward the banquet hall.

Delicate and posh, the hall was filled with kids both Thea and Emrich’s age, who were squealing with delight.

The tables were filled to the brim with decorating options for their gingerbread houses.

Gumdrops, peppermints, lollipops, edible glitter, sparkly sprinkles, candy canes, and piping tubes of every colored icing you could want or imagine, lined them.

I could see their sugar rushes now.

“Thea, come sit by me!” One of the girls my age invited her, to which she skipped over.

I guided Emrich around, weaving through all of the people, until we found a small group of his friends already digging into the supplies.

I found my way to the middle of the long banquet table that must have been forty feet long.

All of my friends surrounded me, each decked out in red and green and winter wonderland colors.

I wished we could dress like this every day.

Everyone was so complimentary of the set-ups and decorations, and my heart warmed.

I loved giving gifts, but I loved giving experiences most, and I wanted to be a great hostess.

I worked so quickly and efficiently on my gingerbread house—truthfully, I had been planning the design for a while, and I was certain of every little piece of it.

It had three floors and four little gingerbread men inside to represent Thea, Theodore, Emrich and I, sitting right next to a fireplace made of licorice bricks and cotton candy flames.

As I put the finishing touches on the second-floor balcony of my creation, a reporter approached me, her eyes sparkling as she took it all in.

“Hello! Would you like to take a seat and make one with us?” I asked her.

Her cheeks blushed a bit as she pulled out a small, wireless recorder from her pocket.

“Thank you, Your Highness. This is absolutely remarkable! May I?” she asked me, holding the recorder toward me, her pen and paper ready at hand.

“Of course,” I replied.

“What gave you the idea to host something like this? It’s quite creative!” the reporter beamed, as I decided to add some gumdrop dentils on the borders of the facade of my house.

“Well…” I began, “Our family really loves doing Christmas here at Versailles,” and my gaze went to Thea and Emrich, who were already watching.

They smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

“See? They love it!” I gestured toward them, and they gave a bit of an awkward wave to the reporter.

“A gingerbread house represents a lot to me,” I continued, “It felt like the perfect hands-on experience to share with all of our family and friends.

And I am loving how into it everyone is getting! I appreciate your kind words, and you’re more than welcome to join the festivities!” I invited her.

The reporter chuckled, her eyes drifting over all of the decorations and details.

She put her notebook in her back pocket, and the recorder into her purse.

“Thank you for that, Queen Jasmine! Maybe I will take you up on that offer,” she replied, taking a seat at the table.

***

After a long day of hosting, the work was still not done.

Sitting on top of our bed, there were tons of papers and magazines and clipboards scattered about the silk sheets.

I had a lot of Christmas scheduling and planning to do, and thankfully, this was my favorite kind of “work” to do every year.

Between Christmas shopping, charity work, the kids’ school trips, and a handful of other events, it was looking like it was going to be a long night.

About an hour later, my eyes were growing tired, and as if perfectly on cue, the door to our bedroom cracked open.

A smile grew on my face from ear to ear as Theodore popped out from behind it.

“Hello, my love… How is it going in here?” he grinned, setting down his papers and taking off his blazer.

His eyes scanned me from head to toe, clearly enjoying the red, silky white-trimmed lingerie slip I was wearing.

“It’s going fine. I missed you. Welcome home,” I smiled, pushing my red reading glasses back up onto my nose.

“Believe me, I missed you. Someone looks busy,” he chuckled, walking over to the bed, kneeling beside me.

I looked over at him, pushing a curl of my hair away from my eyes.

Something about his flirty voice still made my stomach twirl, and there was desire in his eyes.

“Very busy,” I whispered, pointing to all of the papers around me.

“Hmm… I think you deserve a break, don’t you?” he whispered back, pushing my hair behind my ear and breathing gently beside it.

I broke out into blush.

With a swift motion, he had all of my things on the floor, and he was on top of me, his arm beneath the small of my back.

“That’s better,” he breathed, and pulled my reading glasses off of my face.

He kissed my nose, and then my cheek, then the sides of my neck.

Goosebumps erupted all over my body.

I had been so busy all day, I hadn’t had any time to think about relaxing, and now here we were… the rest of the world already beginning to melt away.

“Much better,” I nodded, my eyes closing.

I pushed my hips up toward him, pulling his hand down to my underwear.

I needed him.

His fingers lightly traced over my matching pink underwear, and I could already feel myself beginning to get wet.

His body hovered over mine, and he leaned down to press his lips to mine.

His tongue swirled into the inside of my mouth, and I nearly moaned at the mere taste of him.

“Let’s get these off,” he breathed, reaching down to slide my panties down my legs.

“And this too,” he added, slipping the top over my head.

My nipples immediately hardened, and little chills spread all over my breasts.

I was already so ready for him to be inside me, and thankful he seemed to be as eager as me.

I pulled his hips toward me, inviting him in, my lips wet with yearning.

He slipped inside me, and my entire body grew warm; this is exactly where I want to be.

He kissed down my body, then his lips touched my nipples as he thrust in and out.

“You are perfect,” he groaned, then locked his eyes into mine, “And so beautiful.”

I let out a moan, tilting my head back in pleasure.

His hand slipped behind my head as he continued to fill my insides before coming all the way out, and diving back in.

He held my entire body beneath him, and I felt like I could melt away.

Waves of warm fluid gushed out of me, and his dick became slippery, moving in and out of me with ease as I wrapped around him.

“I’m going to orgasm,” I whispered, barely getting the words out.

I knew that around the corner was explosive gratification.

“Please do,” he replied, tilting my chin up so that I was looking at him.

At that exact moment, I released, and my vision was like a kaleidoscope of the surrounding warm candle light.

Everything dissolved around us, everything except Theodore, who released his warmth inside of me.

We orgasmed simultaneously before collapsing into one another and pulling each other close.

“Let’s take the rest of the night off from work, hm?” he said.

“That sounds perfect to me,” I replied, nuzzling my chin into his chest.

***

As my eyes flitted open the next morning, I loosened Theodore’s arm around me and slid out of bed.

The palace was unusually quiet, and I wanted to make sure Thea and Emrich were awake.

We had much to do today.

Pulling on my robe, I walked down the hallway, my slippers nearly silent on the marble floor.

As I approached the door, I heard whispering.

“I wish Christmas wasn’t so busy,” I heard Thea say from across the door.

“I wish we could have a normal break like all the other kids…” Emrich agreed.

“Well, you know she is happier when things are big and exciting~.

We’re gonna be scheduled to the teeth, just like every year, Emrich.”

“I know. I just wish we could do something smaller, and that Mama wasn’t running around all the time,” he whispered.

“Yeah. But Mom loves it. And we love her. So let’s do it for her. Okay?” she urged.

“Okay,” Emrich pouted.

I swiftly turned on my heel and scooted back down the hallway; I didn’t want to betray their trust and make them think I was eavesdropping.

Still, my heart dropped as I walked away.

My kids don’t like my Christmas!