The ball room was decorated from floor to ceiling. Ornaments of all sizes hung from the ceiling. A gigantic Christmas tree sat in the corner of the room. The room smelled like cinnamon and pine trees. The room looked like something straight out of a magazine. The ball room was already beautiful but now it was stunning. I was afraid that by just being inside would dim the richness. In America we mostly decorated with green and red. In this room there were burgundy, emerald green, pearl white and gold. The King and Queen were drinking tea.
"She really went all out this year." I could barley hear Hayes over the sound of my heart beating. I haven't been this overwhelmingly in love with Christmas since I was a kid. I felt like a kid right now.
"Does she not normally?"
"No." The King and Queen towards us. Our voices must have traveled.
"William, Autumn, welcome."
"Queen Rachel it's like a picture from a magic book in here." Her face lit up.
"Oh I'm so glad you like it darling." They both glanced at the knot of Hayes and I's arms. I had forgotten we were still linked together. Slowly I slid my arm out and started for the tree.
"Look at this tree!" I almost squealed. "It's the biggest tree I have ever seen." Queen Rachel was walking with me. Suddenly it hit me that I hadn't curtsied when I walked in. Do I do it now? She didn't seem to notice and if she did, she didn't seem to mind. I pretended to not remember.
"That was always Williams favorite part of Christmas, the tree. Followed quickly by presents." I laughed.
"I'm sorry you don't get to exchange gifts today." The Queen grabbed my hand in hers.
"You, my dear, are a gift." The love from her words and her touch raced through me like lightning. I wanted to hug her but I knew better.
"There's no where I'd rather be for Christmas, and I'm not just saying that because I'm stuck here." A gentle smile adorned her face.
"I know."

We sat around the tree and told stories. I hadn't laughed this much in so long. Hayes and I sat out the floor while the King and Queen sat in chairs. Why Prince Hayes offered to sit in the ground was beyond me but I'm glad he joined me.
"William, are you alright?" The King looked concerned at his son.
"Yes, just feeling a little lost, that's all."
"My mother always said to have faith and if you don't to find it, it will lead you to where you need to be." The Christmas lights sparkled in Hayes eyes when he looked at me.
"Your mother sounds like a smart lady." My attention turned to the Queen, she smiled.
"I heard she was."
"I'm sorry for you loss."
"She died 2 days after I was born. That's just a blip of my life time."
"2 days is still 2 days, she was alive as your mother for 2 days. Now she's an angel and your mother, forever." Goosebumps raced over my eyes.
"Yes, yes she is." I was in a trance with Queen Rachel.
"What do you do for Christmas, Autumn?" The King asked. I drew in a long breath.
"Well, my dad and I normally decorate the tree together while my step mom makes cookies. She always makes molasses cookies and I hate molasses cookies. They're my dad's favorite. I pretend to take a box home but give them to my friend Savannah. They're her favorite too."
"Really?" Hayes chuckled a little.
"Yeah, I decorate a tree and take home a box a cookies I will give away." He smiled.
"Special meal?" The Queen asked.
"Not normally, although Jenny has been making spaghetti for the past couple of years for Christmas, but she puts sugar in the sauce."
"Sugar?" Everyone's face was filled with horror.
"Yeah, sugar." I laughed. "Spaghetti should not be sweet." I shivered just thinking about it. Everyone laughed.
"My mother used to make meat pie bites but she'd put all sorts of fruits inside." The Queen told us. I scrunched my nose. "No matter what fruit she put in there it was always awful." I laughed.
"People say women are good cooks but I disagree. My dad's the cook in that house, Jenny tries. I'm not a good cook either. From the cooking channel, a lot of the really good cooks are guys. I think they just pretend to be bad to get out of doing it." We all giggled.
"I have never cooked in my life." Hayes added in.
"So you're guaranteed worse cook than Jenny, but I'm not sure by how much." Hayes and I laughed.
"Do you always call your step mother by her name?" Asked the King. I nodded.
"I always knew she wasn't my real mom even though they've been together, officially, since I was about 2. My dad had so many pictures of him and my mom in a box that I just sort of knew. Plus I look nothing like Jenny. She's got tight curls and rich red hair. Sort of like Shirley Temple." Everyone smiled at me. "Jennys short too." I think I secretly resent Jenny a little because she filled my moms shoes. She took me on as her own child, she took on the role of being my dad's wife. Maybe I never knew my mom but that doesn't make her any less my mother. Queen Rachel helped me see that.

The lights hung low and the night was settling in. Our conversations just died down to listen to the music and relaxing. My eyes started to feel heavy. I think I could easily fall asleep right now. This felt warm and loving. I never wanted Christmas to end.
"Well I am exhausted, I think I'll go to bed." Queen Rachel stood up from her chair.
"Goodnight." I said softly.
"Goodnight dear. William, don't stay up too late. You're not as young as you once were." Hayes and I looked at the King.  He just shook his head back and forth.
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you and Prince William were brother." The King beamed at me. Hayes bursted with laughed.
"Buying their affections with flattery, I see."
"Well I think your dad likes me more than you right now, so." Hayes licked his lips.
"William, walk with me to my room." Hayes looked back at me. I waved my hand in dismissal.
"I should call my dad anyways. Emma will help me find my way back." He nodded and joined his father.

I riffled through my bag and found my laptop. After I connected to the WiFi, I waited for my dad to pickup my Facetime  call.
"Hey Autumn!" My dad looked so happy to see me. I immediately smiled. I missed him a lot. "How have you been kiddo?"
"Good! I miss you though."
"I miss you too pumpkin." I whipped away a tear that rolled down my face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I assured him. "Baltaver is incredible but I miss home. It's just not the same."
"Is it beautiful?"
"Stunning!" I indulged. "If California wasn't so far away, I'd love to live here." My dad smiled. "I'd have to get used to tea though." I scrunched my nose a little. Now he laughed. I missed our father/daughter moments, especially at Christmas. "So what have you been doing?"
"Mostly missing you but I've done some cleaning. Jenny and I went through all our clothing and got a few bags to the thrift store as a Christmas donation."
"Well that's nice. I should probably do that too when I get home." I glanced towards the door. I saw a figure in the door way, I did a double take. "Hey, what can I do for you?" Hayes stood in the door way with his hands behind his back.
"Hello, my apologies. I didn't mean to interrupt, I was coming to see if you wanted to go for a walk, but-"
"Give my 10 minutes." A small smile spread on his face.
"Take all the time in the world." I'm smiled at him.
"Thank you." He nodded and turned to leave. "Hey Hayes." He looked over his shoulder at me. "Can we have some coffee?"
"Of course, Autumn." Hayes nodded his head and left. A smile flickered on my face.
"Who was that?" My dad asked. He snapped me out of my day dream. I looked back to my laptop.
"The Prince of Baltaver, William."
"Prince William!" Jenny appeared on the screen. I laughed a little. "I'm sorry, I know this call is between you and your father, I shouldn't interrupt." I waved my hand.
"It's fine Jenny." She dried her hands off on the towel. "Yes it was Prince William."
"You called him Hayes?" I nodded.
"Yeah, he insisted I call him Hayes. I feel like I'm disrespecting his title but he likes that I treat him normal or whatever." I rolled my eyes a little.
"How did you two meet?" My dad stepped back a little and let Jenny have the attention. I sighed to myself. I loved Jenny but she always stole the attention.
"Well, we accidentally met at a tea shop."
"Accidentally?" My dad laughed in the back. I smiled for a moment.
"Tell us more!" Jenny gushed. She always wanted more details and tried to be my mom and best friend; she was neither of those things. She was my stepmom. That's different.
"I can't keep the Prince waiting, I'll tell you everything when I get home. If I get home." I joked.
"Of course Pumpkin, Merry Christmas." My dad came more into focus.
"Merry Christmas, love you both."
"Love you too." My dad waved and ended the call. I slowly closed my laptop. I tapped the outside of my of its case. Seeing my dad made me miss him like crazy but I loves being here too. Quickly, I texted the girls 'Merry Christmas' in our group chat. I grabbed my coat and gloves.

I found Prince Hayes in the kitchen. He has already made the coffee but was innocently snooping around.
"What are you doing?" He quickly spun on his heals towards me. "I hope I didn't scare you."
"Just for a moment." A smile spread on his face. "Are you ready?" I nodded. Hayes handed me a beautiful blue mug. I own plenty of mugs but nothing as beautiful as this one. It was definitely bigger than the cups we drank teas out of every morning.
"I like this mug." I cupped it in my hands.
"It was my grandmothers."
"Really?" We headed out the back door.
"Yes. She too was a coffee drinker, not a fan of tea." I smiled.
"Some people are just like."
"I guess so."
"Your mother or fathers side?"
"My grandmother?" I nodded. "My mothers side." He smiled a little.
"Tell me about her."
"She was very strong minded and opinionated. It drove my father mad. She used to tell him that if her husband could get used to it, so could he." We laughed a little. "My mother got her strong mind from her mother. They used to read together."
"Your mom likes to read?"
"Yes. They both do."
"I love to read."
"Really?" Hayes looked at me.
"Yeah." I nodded thoughtfully. "I brought three books with me on this vaccination but I've finished them all already." Hayes stopped just before the door. "What?"
"Can we post pone our walk?" I nodded in confusion. "Great, I want to show you something."

We walked into a grad room that was filled with books.
"Oh my god." I said just above a whisper.
"Do you like it?" He asked. I unzipped my coat and took it off.
"Would you mind if we canceled the walk?" Hayes laughed.
"Absolutely. I'll leave you to it." He was almost to the door.
"Will you stay?" I said quickly. Hayes looked back at me.
"I don't really read much."
"There is always a time to start?" We exchanged looks.
"Oh, alright." He set his coffee down on a coaster and his jacket on the back of a chair. I threw mine in the opposing one. The coffee was still clutched tightly in my hands. I looked at all the books on the shelf. Prince Hayes hovered close by. We had sideway glances and small smiles shared between us. Moments.