Royally Falling

~ 19 ~

"I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you"
All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

oOoOo

Per our tradition, Blair, Maeve, and I exchange our gifts on the 23rd. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, almost all of the palace staff go home for a few days to celebrate the holiday.

As much as I wish Blair could celebrate Christmas with our family, she has her own family to celebrate with. So, we exchange gifts the day before she goes to her parent's house.

This year, Maeve and I have decided to get her a joint gift of a trip to the Amalfi Coast with us. We are surprising Blair with three days off from work for a girls trip to Italy. It'll be three days of relaxing, partying, and spending time under the sun.

"Is everything ready for Blair's present?" Maeve asks as she barges into my bedroom. I forgot how annoying it was to have people barging into my room until I came back home. It's definitely one of the things I do not miss about living at home.

"Thanks for knocking," I say dryly.

"So is everything all set?" She sits down on the edge of my bed.

I shut my computer and get up to show her.

"Here are the presents. I wrapped them this morning and wrote the note." I hold up the wrapped boxes and envelope.

"Great! And is the trip all planned out?"

"Yes, no thanks to you."

"Hey! I helped. This was my idea, after all."

It most definitely was not her idea.

"Okay," I drawl. "Get your lazy ass out of my room. I have work to finish."

I throw a pillow at her to get her to go away.

After striking her in the face, she leaves me. I can finally finish sending emails in peace.

oOoOo

Later that afternoon, Blair, Maeve, and I are gathered in my room on my sofa.

We have plans to watch Home Alone and Elf after opening gifts and gorging ourselves on candy and cookies.

The kitchen staff make these delicious cookies every Christmas. They're essentially sugar cookie logs with dark chocolate and raspberry jelly inside rolled in cinnamon sugar. I must gain at least five pounds just from those cookies every year. I have an unhealthy obsession.

"Who wants to go first?" Blair asks.

"Kate and I have a joint present for you," Maeve says. "We can go first."

I hand Blair the envelope and set the three decorated boxes down on the coffee table in front of her.

She opens the envelope and starts reading aloud, "Merry Christmas! This year we're going on a three-day getaway, beginning on the 27th. Where are we going? That's a secret for now. Open the boxes and guess what the destination is."

"Aw, thanks guys." She gets up to give Maeve and I quick hugs before ripping into the first box.

The first box has sunglasses and a towel in it.

"Are we going somewhere tropical?" She guesses.

"Not exactly. Open the next one."

She opens the next box. It has a bottle of Italian wine inside.