“Oh my goodness, it looks perfect, simply perfect!” Velvet said, clapping her cyan hooves together excitedly. At her praise, the small army of around one hundred winter sprites all pulled away from Velvet’s magnificent home, some carrying their comrades who had simply fallen out of the sky from working on their strenuous task for over four hours.
Throwing a switch on the side of the house, the last of the sprites backed up just in time: Velvet’s home lit up from top to bottom, cyan lights strung all around the house, along the shrubbery lining it, even her ice skating rink was decorated with the shining lights, making her humble home as bright as the sun which was nearly completely gone.
Velvet admired her work, her eyes twinkling. On the side of her house, made entirely out of the lights, were three different silhouettes of her, each one lighting up from left to right to make it look as if she was in motion, leaping from one end of the house to the other. And to compliment all of that, with the help of some lighting magic, a projection of falling snowflakes bathed the walls of her home.
The intricate display of lights and festive decoration around the entire property was not cheap, and setting it up would take an eternity to do by one’s self, but with Velvet’s connections, she had a team assembled that had it set up in as little as five days. Now she could truly enjoy the month of December! And as a bonus, she would win the Reine City decoration contest… Again. Perhaps a share of the prize money will pacify all of these sprites… Velvet thought.
As nice as the extra salt was, a simple 10,000 was too little for her, hardly enough for a drink from her favorite coffee shop! A prize with a little more zeros would probably fancy her a lot more. Besides, it wasn’t the salt she wanted anyway; it was the trophy that she wanted. Velvet looked toward the horizon, the sun had fallen, and it was getting dark. She wanted a bath and some food, and she had a busy day the next morning. “My my, just look at the time…” Velvet said, getting up from the chair she was sitting on, gulping down the last few drops of hot chocolate from her mug, “I should be going, thank you for all of your help, darlings!”
She could swear she heard them all audibly sigh in relief, but she simply ignored it, “You two.” She said, whipping towards her own sprites, who were carrying away her empty mug back inside of the house, “Clean up here, and draw me a bath and get me some food. You know what I like.” Turning up her head, Velvet walked into her home, ignoring her sprites as they comically flopped to the ground, energy spent.
***
After an uneventful dinner and warm bath leaving her and her floof looking and smelling great, Velvet found herself unable to sleep when she got under the covers that night. Maybe it was just because she had chosen to try and go to sleep an hour earlier than usual, or her worries that one of the reindeer who provided their sprites to her would demand more salt, and she would have to fight with them to change their minds. Whatever the reason, Velvet didn’t feel like laying in bed, so she got up. Turning on the lights of the living room and lighting a scented candle, Velvet tried to entertain herself by watching a movie on her TV, a luxury few reindeer in Reine City could own, but being ze best reindeer in the city, as always, had its benefits, the checks she got from her father also helped. After a brief dilemma between selections, Velvet decided to rewatch one of her favorite movies: ‘A Tale of Hooves and Hearts,’ a romance film following the adventure of a buck who goes on a perilous journey around the world to find a magic spell to bring him and his lover immortality so they could spend eternity together. It was a film that had won many awards from even the toughest of critics and was beloved by every reindeer. It was one of those films where you could always watch it again every couple of months and still enjoy it just as much as you did the first time. Plus, if Velvet, the best reindeer in the city, loved it, one would automatically know it was a good film. An hour and a half passed, and the movie finally came to an end, where the two lovers shared a loving kiss on their 1000th anniversary after a very long time skip. As the screen faded the black and a scrolling list of credits began to roll, Velvet applauded, brushing a hoof below her eye, drying her tears. Such a moving story! Once the credits ended, she got up, hitting a button on the TV to shut it off, and finally, she yawned. Now it was time to go to bed.
Velvet’s eyes closed as she sighed in annoyance as a musical chime rang throughout the house. Velvet looked at the clock: 8:32. “Stupid reindeer bothering me vhen I need my beauty rest.” She huffed as her sprites put on her nightgown as she walked to the door, “If it’s zat bovine again I am going to-”
One of her sprites opened the door for her, and Velvet’s previous irritation disappeared in an instant as she sighted the doe in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat and her mouth fell open in surprise, “V-Vixen?” Memories flashed in her head one after the other. Countless dates, nights out together, gifts, sweet nothings, and time spent sleeping together, and the one thing that haunted Velvet the most; The breakup… That night in the snow when Vixen realized that she just didn’t want to love Velver anymore. Velvet growled. NO! She couldn’t be here, she would not allow that doe on her property, let alone in her house. Not after what she did. You can’t just leave someone just because you’re bored of them. Velvet remembered the nights she spent crying, spending outrageous amounts of salt on gifts to win her over, sending letters of apology, and visiting her nightly in the hopes that she could maybe change her mind. Velvet narrowed her eyes angrily, her ears rearing back, she knew why she was here, but she wouldn’t take her apologies, she wouldn’t allow the seemingly innocent doe to hurt her again. Not again. With a flick of her hoof, a sharp spike of ice appeared near the side of Velvet’s head, ready to throw and pierce the reindeer’s floof. “Get out.”
“Hmph. Feisty as always, I see.” Vixen said, summoning a barrier of ice to shield her front in case Velvet got aggressive, “And I see we still have that accent.”
“Vell what do you expect? For it to disappear?” Velvet said with a snarl, throwing the icicle at her ex, penetrating through her ice shield, “Get off of my property!”
“Hm. What a shame. I wonder… Would a present perhaps change your mind?” Vixen said, one of her own tiny winter sprites reaching into her saddlebag and pulling out a wrapped package, “It’s that time of year and I wanted to-”
“I don’t vant it!” Velvet shouted, “Did you expect to just vin me over vith a present? The gull!”
Vixen huffed irritably, “Shall I return it? I am more than happy to.”
Velvet shook her head. “No. I vant to see what was so important that you had to wake me up. Come inside, and please wipe your hooves on the way in.” Velvet flicked her head, motioning for her to walk inside. Vixen did so with grace as if she owned the place, her sprite following, still clutching the small package. While the idea of being given a gift enticed her, Velvet knew that their days of being in a relationship were over and that their love transformed into an intense rivalry. Velvet knew that this ‘gift’ was likely nothing but a gag gift, something to waste her time or foolishly attempt to humiliate her. Whatever it was, Velvet was curious. Vixen hadn’t done anything like this in a long time, it made Velvet wonder…
As Vixen walked into Velvet’s home, one of Velvet’s winter sprites came in, chirping happily at Vixen, carrying a tray with a teapot and some cups atop of it. Velvet’s other sprite greeted Vixen with the same enthusiasm, pouring her some hot tea and giving it to the doe, “Oh, why thank you~,” Vixen said happily, only to gasp as Velvet swatted the cup of tea onto the floor.
“Don’t serve her! Ve don’t like her, remember?!” Velvet shouted, glaring daggers at Vixen to further prove her point.
Vixen picked up the discarded tea cup with a defeated shrug, sitting on her haunches as the winter sprite carrying her offering placed it in front of the two of them. Velvet stared at the colorfully wrapped box apprehensively, willing a sharp piece of ice to tear it open in case it exploded upon her unwrapping it or something. Closing her eyes, she held her breath as she dissected the wrapping. Opening her eyes, she found a box… That was marked with the unmistakable crest of ‘The Golden Antler,’ one of the most popular (and expensive!) jewelry shops in the city. Velvet tilted her head, wondering if there was a slight possibility Vixen had come around and decided to do something nice. No! It is not true! I know it! Velvet said, looking at Vixen suspiciously, It’ll explode into a million pieces or drench my floof in paint the second I open it. Velvet said as she foolishly started to open it without the use of her icicle, I know it, I just know it, I know I-.
And then Velvet stopped because the package didn’t explode into a flurry of colors, it didn’t do anything, it simply stood there like a cardboard box should. And inside of the box; A sparkling diamond tiara. Velvet picked up the crown, squinting at it... It was real. Not cheap plastic or fake diamond, and Velvet would know, her uncle was an appraiser. Velvet was at a loss for words; her former lover had given her such a wonderful and expensive gift probably worth her weight in salt, but why?
“Vhy?” Velvet asked, putting it on her head. It fit perfectly like a glove, like it was made for her.
Vixen ran a hoof through her light-pink floof, “Well if you would have let me finish instead of rudely interrupting me.” She said, “You would know that I wanted to do something nice for a change.”
“But ve broke up years ago! And you know that I’m vay out of your league now…” Velvet responded, flicking her head to make her floof majestically rustle, “So vhy bother?”
Vixen chuckled, amused, “This gift alone should show you how I’ve clearly done better than myself, compared to you, an adult doe still accepting checks from her father.” She smirked, “But that is beside the point. I thought I would give you something in the hopes of finding a middle ground, you know?”
Velvet looked at her own winter sprite, who chirped something incomprehensible at her, probably trying to convince her that maybe she should give Vixen another chance. Velvet ignored it. “Vell in ze past years since you decided I was getting boring for you, I’ve done quite better for myself. Much better than you, I must say.”
Velvet was reminded of the past when they used to date. Back when they were on much more friendly terms, the two lovey-dovey does would always have mock arguments on who was better than the other. Velvet wondered if what Vixen was saying was intentional, to try and connect with her and perhaps get them back together. Was that what she wanted? She thought to herself, Is that what I want?
“So declares the one who was defeated in a duel by a child with a piece of string.” Vixen giggled, “Don’t think I didn’t see that.”
“Oh? Zat little one? Oh, she and I are friendly.” Velvet said dismissively, “See? I can make friends even with my enemies, unlike you. Don’t think I forgot about what you did to that buck you used to date.” Velvet said rascally, her accent dropping.
Vixen gasped, stuttering for a moment, trying and failing to come up with a rebuttal, “Well at least I don’t go attacking children.” Vixen hissed.
“It izn’t attacking if she accepted my challenge.” Velvet shrugged, “Face it Vixen: You are here because you are jealous of me. Don’t be ashamed, I’m quite used to others being envious of me. I am, after all, ze ice queen, ze very best of Reine City, elite or not.” She held her head high.
Vixen chuckled again, “Ah, I thought you would never say that again. I admit, I sort of missed hearing it during every one of our dates.” She smiled, leaning a bit closer and dropping her voice, “Especially when we were in bed.”
Velvet’s heart hammered like a drum at her words, “How dare you?” She hissed, “Toying with me like zat, you know how much I enjoyed our nights.”
“So ice queen, show me,” Vixen said, her eyes closing as she inched closer. Velvet knew what was about to happen, and she wanted it. She wanted it bad. She missed the warmth of that doe’s kisses and the feeling of her floof against hers as they hugged, but the memory of that night made Velvet sick to her stomach. Vixen might have finally done something nice, and maybe even made Velvet tonight, but nothing changed the fact that she hurt her like an icicle to her heart. Velvet allowed the doe to get a little closer, but the second before the kiss began, Velvet put her hoof on Vixen’s muzzle, stopping her in her tracks.
“I don’t think so.” She whispered. As Vixen’s eyes opened, Velvet knocked the empty gift box towards the door with her free hoof, “It’s like what you told me vhen you left me: ‘I don’t love you anymore.’ I hope we have an understanding.”
Vixen didn’t say anything. She just looked at the discarded box, and back at Velvet’s cold eyes, as if wondering what there was to do next. “Very well.” Getting on her hooves, she made her way to the door, opened it, and with her winter sprite by her side, she walked back into the city of Reine to return to her own home.
Stepping outside, Velvet took the tiara off of her head… And threw it into the snowbank outside like she was throwing away all of the sadness she once felt about Vixen. “Good riddance.” She said, closing the door behind her. With her mistake of the past finally gone, Velvet could finally go to bed, but little did she know, it would be a long time before she would truly fall asleep…
Oh, the shame! Oh, the despair!
What will happen to these divided lovers?
Is Velvet’s ice-cold heart too frozen to ever love again?
Will Vixen ever lose the guilt that she feels?
I’m not sure! That’s a tale for next time but for now…
Happy Holidays from all of Foenum!