❝There is a fine line between love and lust. So tell me, Theodore, on which side is it you stand?❞
- in which Judith Almeida falls helplessly for the one she proclaims to hate most
(Fem oc x Theodore Laurence)
(Little Women)
𝐂hristmas was always such a wonderous holiday for Jude. It was the one day in the dark season that the dastardly cold of winter never affected the warmth of homes. Living in France, Christmas went quite differently than in the United States. She remembered long nights centered around réveillon, stuffing herself with food until her stomach physically couldn't handle it anymore. Her mother used to always scold her for eating too fast, insisting she had a night full of festivities to finish. But Jude had been stubborn even then and the food always looked so good. Christmas always proved to be her happiest of memories. It was the one time a year when both her mother and father could focus their full attention on her for longer than a few hours. The warmth of that joy always managed to keep her free of the harsh winter winds.
Though, she would be lying if she said the holiday was the same now. Of course it still held a great significance to a young Judith but it didn't hold the strength of warmth it once had. Aunt March tried her best to accommodate the holiday in her home. She wasn't great with handling change so the decorations that were set up for the holiday were minimum. She insisted on gifting Jude with presents each year despite her insisting she never needed any. Presents always did make her feel special, but she found the one present she wished to truly have was one never obtained; her parents.
"Joyeux Noël, Aunt March!" Jude greeted the elder woman as she skipped into the kitchen. The sun shined in the big house through the windows, casting a golden glow across her smiling cheeks. Her hair was wild and untamed from the previous night's sleep and her nightgown remained all over from her lack of fixing herself before running downstairs.
A soft smile slowly spread its way up Aunt March's cheeks as Jude kissed them before taking her seat at the table. "Merry Christmas, Judith." She returned. The breakfast feast before them was one that sent Jude's stomach into a grumble. She was nearly half-starved last night just thinking about it. The bread rolls have always been her favorite with a small layer of butter spread across. "You look a mess sweet child, were you up all night again?" Aunt March asked, her face holding a soft questioning look.
Jude hid her nervous smirk at having been caught by biting into her bread. "I was only rehearsing my lines." She said bashfully. "The play tonight holds much significance to the little girls in town. I cannot disappoint."
"A play?" Aunt March asked, the topic seems to surprise her.
Jude's face beamed in joy. "Why yes, our annual Christmas play. Jo said she'd incorporate a song for me this time as she knows my love for singing. She even claims the little girls would see it as capital!" The stern look from Aunt March had Jude covering her mouth with a soft. "Sorry." She knew better than to use words such as that. The time she'd spent with Jo appeared to be rubbing off on her.
