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  Lilli walked on the soft, warm moss and sat down on his lap. Leaning against his chest, and playing with his hair, she told him about her parents, her brothers and sister, the aunts, uncles and cousins that she had agreed to never see again.

  “If you could do it over, would you stay on Earth?”

  She nestled more comfortably against him. “No. I have done more with my life since taking that leap than I could ever imagine. I can miss them, they are part of my past, and I knowing that they are out there living their lives gives me hope and a sense of peace.”

  He didn’t say another word. He took her back to their quarters and slipped her robe from her shoulders, holding her close as they nodded off.

  It wasn’t visions of sugarplums, but there was definitely one elf in her dreams that night.

  Lilli was wearing her uniform once again. “Are you sure about this?”

  “You will need it. Come here.” He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a cloak and a wicked grin. “Close your eyes.”

  She closed her eyes, and when the icy wind caressed her cheek, she looked up and around.

  The air was thinner, but the crunch under her boots was familiar. “Snow!”

  Before he could say anything, she darted out, wadded up a loose snowball and pelted him in his ridiculously handsome face.

  His astonishment was apparent as he wiped the melting crystals from his cheek.

  By the time he got rid of the first one, she hit him with the second one. Giggling madly, she made snowball after snowball, striking him in all her favourite places before he finally exhaled in frustration and grabbed her hands.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Haven’t you ever had a snowball fight?” It was amazing to her snow-dizzy senses.

  “No.”

  “How about snow angels?”

  “What is a snow Enjel?”

  She got him to release her hands, and she flopped on her back. She swept her arms and legs before carefully getting up. “See? Snow angel. Angels were winged messengers of the deity in several cultures.”

  He was amused and amazed by her enthusiasm until her hands turned blue during her second snowman.

  “That is enough, Lilli. Time to go home.”

  She looked around at her winter wonderland, the low slope of a mountain that she couldn’t stand leaving. She could barely move her hands, so she had to nod. “Yes, please.”

  He cuddled her against him and took them home. He stripped her out of her wet uniform and hustled her into the shower, setting it to barely warm.

  When she was warm, swathed in a towel and curled in his lap in the comfortable chair in her room, she smiled. “Thank you. It was a great day.”

  He caressed her hip through the towel. “I hope that my formal treaty with the Alliance will please you as well. For my lifetime, you will be allowed to run the base and all its systems.”

  Lilli kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I will show you the weapons systems tomorrow.”

  He perked up. “We have weapons?”

  “Oh, yeah. Happy holidays.”

  He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Merry Christmas.”

  She licked his lower lip. “Peace on Earth and good will toward men.”

  “And women and Ikanni.”

  She laughed and gave him a kiss. “You were paying attention.”

  Orriko threaded his hand through her damp hair and kissed her, leading her into a far less than silent night.

  Epilogue

  Lilli held the reincarnation of Alvar. “I kept telling you, but no one would believe me.”

  Her baby had midnight skin and bright blue eyes, her head topped with a white fluff of hair.

  Orriko grinned. “It figures that you would do this your own way as well. So, Alva?”

  “Alvi, I think. Is that acceptable? Alvi Lerock.”

  He blinked. “You would give her my name?”

  He slid into bed beside her and took the baby in his arms. “Alvi Lerock, you have a lot to live up to. My father was a great man.”

  Lilli struggled to her feet. Orriko was at her side. “What are you doing?”

  “Give me the baby. She is going to get her Heshi. Do you want to come along?” She smiled. It had been a tiring day, but she was ready for this.

  He cradled the infant and held onto Lilli tightly. She took the image of the Heshi chamber from her mind and transported them there.

  Lilli walked to the edge of the cliff, and her Heshi sent a signal. She returned to her family and was glad Orriko was able to support her.

  “It takes them a minute.”

  The glow came up in under a minute.

  They walked together as a family, and Orriko lifted the baby up to the flames. A bright spark separated, zipped around and hovered in front of Alvi. She reached up to grab it, giggling as the light darted and weaved.

  A second later, the light was inside her, and Alvi was glowing like the eastern star.

  Lilli inclined her head to the ball of spirits, and with a swift thought, she returned them all to the base.

  Back to resting in her own bed with the baby in her arms, she sighed happily. “There. I didn’t want Orvar doing that.”

  Orvar had been respectful and had not seduced any of the women at the base, but Lilli didn’t trust what he was doing when he was out of her scope of command.

  “Neither did I. Are you willing to do this service for others here on base?”

  “Of course. The moment I have my strength back.” She smiled down at the baby. “She is beautiful, perfect.”

  “I would have to agree. She has my skin and your features.” He stroked the downy hair on Alvi’s head. “She will be the most beautiful woman on Ikanni when she grows up. I will have my hands full.”

  Lillibeth smiled at his obvious affection for his daughter. She was unexpected by Ikanni standards, but he was adapting quickly to his first child being a girl.

  “So, my first child is a girl. Is there a possibility of a second child?”

  Lilli raised her eyebrows. “Maybe, once I have come to grips with the little matter of an eleven and a half month pregnancy.”

  He pressed a soft kiss to her neck. “I will start working on it right now.”

  As his kiss continued beyond her neck, she had an unsettling thought, “You mean the coming to grips with right? Not the trying to get me pregnant right away again? Right?”

  He looked up at her and curved his lips in a slow and deliberate smile.

  She would have felt so much better if he would have answered her.

  Author’s Note

  This story isn’t strictly Christmas. Rather, it celebrates (in my little mind) the feelings around it. We have a strange star (Ikanni), the ghosts of events past, present and future (the Heshi), an elf (Orriko), an old man with long white hair (Alvar), a tree, a home and a baby.

  When you add the snowball fight, it seems like a pretty good Christmas to me.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  [email protected]

  http://www.violagrace.com

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