One More Ornament
A RobertxPrincess Christmas short story
Well, here it is! A couple days after Christmas, but shhhhh… Warning: Extremely cheesy story with a high possibility of subpar writing lolÂ
The evergreen tree sparkled and glowed with candlelight. Amidst the colorful baubles and trinkets of ornaments scattered around the tree, Robert could see eight ornaments in particular that stood out among the reds and greens. While they may have seemed out of place, they were special to the men who had hung them. Alyn’s metallic sword, Byron’s glowing star, Sid’s ridiculous black turkey, Leo’s golden book along with the rest made up of a conglomeration of each man’s personalities. The thought made Robert smile, for he knew exactly who had come up with the idea for all nine of the men to bring their favorite ornaments to hang on the tree.
As he looked up at the pleasant sight, he heard the familiar sound of heels upon the tile floor approaching him. It made his smile widen.
“There you are! I was hoping you hadn’t joined the party yet.”
Robert turned to see none other than the Princess walking up to his side.
“Well, you did ask all of us to bring an ornament for the tree, after all. I had no intention of being the odd one out,” he replied brightly.
A pleased smile bloomed over her features. “And Amber is here too, I see!” She turned her gentle gaze to the little brown ball of prickles that Robert held in the palm of his hand.
He sighed, a chagrined smiled upon his lips. “I’m afraid she’s still shy, even after all this time.”
“Not to worry. May I?” She held her hand out, palm facing upward. Robert acquiesced to her request and placed the little spiky ball in her hand. To his relief, the hedgehog slowly began to reveal herself, her cute little snout poking out to sniff the Princess’s skin.
The lady giggled. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, girl. See?” She gently stroked the little face with her fingertip. “The loud bird and dogs are gone.”
After a little bit of coaxing, they could both see the hedgehog fully. Her beady little eyes looked around curiously and her little nose wiggled as she sniffed the air.
“You’re so cute!” The Princess happily remarked. “And look! I have a present for you!” She reached with her free hand into the pocket of her dress and produced a little wreath twined with red ribbon.
“How adorable,” Robert heard himself mutter. He couldn’t help himself. It really was a cute sight, seeing the wreath sitting on Amber’s little quills. “When did you have time to make everything?” He asked, remembering the different hats and wreaths she made for the pets of the other men.
“Oh, you know, at different gatherings,” she shrugged, “such as various salons or knitting socials. Events like that.”
He blinked. “Is that so? I never noticed any of your handiwork.”
A teasing smile came over her face. “Well, hiding them was quite easy with you. I just hid them while you were painting.”
The gleam in her eye made him smile sheepishly. It was true that he could be quite oblivious when focusing on his work.
“I see. Well, you did a fantastic job! And now you know I will just have to paint a picture of Amber wearing this.” He smiled down at his pet and rubbed her head.
That excited the Princess. “Oh, yes! Please do! I would love to see it! I can only imagine how adorable it will be!”
He laughed. How sweet she was just then, nearly bouncing on her toes. He was tempted to tell her that she was being even cuter than Amber at that moment, but he held his tongue. There would be time to tell her that later, after all. Instead, he took a deep breath and looked back at the tree.
“Well, I suppose I can place my ornament on the tree now?”
“Most definitely!” She brightly answered.
With a nod, he reached into his coat pocket and produced something golden and oval-shaped, hung with a thick, golden ribbon. It looked like a moderately-shaped pendant, large enough to fit in the palm of his hand.
“What a lovely gold!” She exclaimed.
Robert chuckled. “That’s not even the best part. Look!”
He turned the ornament around to reveal that the gold was simply a frame. At the center was a lovely painting of a snowy forest. In the midst was a large pine tree - its branches covered in snow. Scattered all around those branches were tiny lights and ornaments, very like the tree in the ballroom. The painting was overlaid with thin glass, and though it was obvious by the slight scuff marks on the back that the ornament was old, the painting was carefully preserved.
He heard the Princess gasp. “Oh, Robert! How beautiful…”
“You like it?” His smile turned contemplative. “My mother painted it…”
Her eyes went wide. “Your mother? You mean..?”
“Yes. The former queen of what was once the kingdom of Bergenia,” he nodded.
The Princess was awestruck. “You must have inherited your love of painting from her,” she whispered.
“Oh yes,” he agreed. “It was my mother who first taught me.” He paused and looked down at the ornament. “This is one of the only objects of her that still remains.” He spoke in a hushed voice.
“Was it a present for you?” She guessed.
He nodded. “She gave this to me one Christmas when I was a boy. It was her favorite holiday. I’ve kept it this whole time, even after I tried to forget that part of myself.”
“You just couldn’t let it go,” she stated.
“Exactly. Even when I threw away my old belongings and traveled the world like a restless animal, this stayed with me. It’s only now that I’ve decided to hang it on a tree again.”
“Oh, Robert,” the young woman beside him grasped his hand with her free one. Their fingers entwined and he rubbed her soft skin with his thumb.
“My mother would want this to hang on a Christmas tree again. I know it,” he murmured. “And she would also want me to move on from the past and be happy…”
“I’d say you’re doing a good job so far!” The princess encouraged. “You’ve opened up to me, told me about your past - you even accepted my offer of Prince Consort!” She beamed.
Robert felt his cheeks grow warm and he smiled tenderly at her. “It’s all thanks to you, my dearest. You’ve inspired me, encouraged me and you didn’t judge me for my past mistakes. I wanted to show you this ornament and tell you more about myself. It’s all for you.”
He lifted her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. A lovely blush came over her cheeks and she moved closer to him.
“I want to do everything I can to support you, Robert,” she whispered, “as you have always supported me.”
His brown eyes shone with adoration for his beloved. He hadn’t felt so cherished, so needed, in such a long time.
“Then will you help me hang this ornament?” He asked softly.
She nodded, a loving smile on her face, and together they approached the tree. As she held Amber, she pointed out a spot for him and he hung his ornament on a branch that was situated higher up on the tree. It was placed near one of the candles, which gave the golden frame a soft glow.
Once he was certain that the ornament wasn’t going to fall or that the branch would droop, Robert stood back to get a good look at their handiwork. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he sighed happily and kissed her cheek.
“Perfect.”
“Yes,” the Princess agreed. “Simply perfect.”
She leaned back into his embrace and they stood there for a couple of minutes, just cherishing the quiet moment together before joining the others for the festive Christmas Eve party. It was a time to admire the tree and reflect on what had occurred this past year; on everything they had undergone that led up to this. Without a doubt, they both thought, they were going to enjoy their first Christmas together as lovers and as the future rulers of Wysteria.
