Chapter 26: Surprises and gifts

Irin and Koth spent the following weeks making plans, buying supplies in secret, and poring over maps to find the best route. Before Irin knew it, it was the day before Yule, and she had just woken up. At this time of year, this far north, the sun barely rose above the horizon, making it hard to tell the time of day. Irin’s internal clock told her it was still early, and her subconscious told her she had been woken up by a noise. The only reason she wasn’t panicking was because the alarm systems Koth had installed around the yard hadn’t been triggered, and Koth wasn’t running around being protective. This suggested that whatever had woken her up didn’t constitute an emergency. She stayed in bed, enjoying being half awake, half asleep, when she heard a thud, followed by a couple more. That must be what had woken her, she thought, now curious as to the source of the sound. She got dressed and walked to the stairs, stopping halfway down as she saw Koth wrestling with a tree in the living room. It was clear he had no idea what he was doing, and as he tried to make it stand upright in the corner, it tilted to one side, branches slapping him in the face. The tree landed on the floor with a thump, and Irin couldn’t hold back a giggle. Koth turned around and let out a string of curse words.

“Irin, what are you doing up? I thought you’d be asleep for at least another hour,” he said, scooting over to try and shield the tree, which took up a quarter of the living room.

“I probably would have been if the place wasn’t so noisy. I thought you didn’t have a Yule tree,” she said.

“Well, I usually don’t, but you do. I thought it would be nice to have one, as you have to celebrate the holiday with me,” he said, and Irin saw his face turn a darker shade of green. Was he blushing?

“Don’t make it sound so awful. I’m looking forward to celebrating it with you,” she said honestly, walking down the stairs and up to him. “Thank you for getting a tree for me. It’s very sweet of you,” she told him, and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. His face turned an even darker shade of green, and Irin thought he looked absolutely adorable.

“Well, I mean… It’s not… I needed to get some wood and… So I just thought… and then I tried… but it won’t do what I want it to do… and then you came and… yeah, you know,” he rambled. Irin looked at the tree. It looked a little worse for wear after wrestling with Koth, but it was a nice tree.

“You need to nail two planks at the bottom, like a cross. That’s how you make it stand,” she told him.

“Oh, that makes sense,” he said, walking past her. Irin smiled as she went into the kitchen to make breakfast while Koth sorted out the tree. “Irin! I think I’ve got it,” he called a little later. Irin walked into the living room, and he had indeed made the tree stand up, although it was tilting a little, and two branches had snapped. Irin gave a surprised Koth a hug.

“It’s the best tree ever!” she declared, and had the pleasure of seeing one of Koth’s rare smiles.

“What now?” he asked.

“Now we eat breakfast, and then I’ll show you how to make the decorations for the tree,” she told him. After breakfast, Irin got their cloaks, and they headed out to the nearby forest. She made Koth help her pick pine cones, which was made easier as the trees grew close enough that the snow wasn’t as thick. They walked home, sharing memories of how they had celebrated Yule as children. Koth had been reluctant at first, saying it would only be depressing, but in the end he joined in too. Back home, they made sure the horses had enough to eat, and Irin made a sheaf that Koth helped her put on a sturdy stick and place in the yard for the birds. Inside, Irin took out dried rowan berries, sewing thread, a needle, and red string. She made Koth sit down at the kitchen table and tie the pine cones together with the red string, while she used the thread and needle to make strings of dried rowan berries. When they were done, they decorated their tree, adding red apples hung by their stalks with red twine. Stepping back to look at the tree, they were both smiling.

“It looks nice,” Koth said.

“It’s the best tree ever,” Irin agreed. Decorating the tree had taken most of the morning, and the afternoon was spent looking over the map and checking what supplies they had and what still needed to be gathered.

It was the middle of the night when Irin quietly got out of bed. She had a mission, and moved stealthily to the stairs, stopping outside Koth’s room to listen. It was quiet, so she assumed he was asleep. She continued downstairs, heading for the tree, when a big shadow suddenly loomed up in front of her, and she screamed. A bright light illuminated the living room, and Irin saw that it was Koth who had surprised her.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No, no. Sorry for startling you. I was… making sure the tree was sturdy,” he said.

“In the dark?”

“Yes. I didn’t want to wake you. What are you doing up?” he asked.

“Um, water. Yeah, needed something to drink,” she told him.

“Okay. Well. Good night, Irin. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, and let the sphere of light he had conjured disappear. Irin was left in the dark, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. When they had, and she was sure Koth had gone upstairs, she walked over to the tree and took out the small gift she had made, intending to leave it underneath. To her surprise, there was already a gift there. She smiled as she placed her own gift next to it.

When Irin woke up on Yule morning, she made sure to get ready, and then waited in her room until she heard Koth waking up. They stepped out of their rooms at almost the same time. Irin had made some improvements to one of her dresses to make it look more festive. She noticed that Koth had dressed up too.

“Merry Yule,” she said.

“Merry Yule,” he replied, and she noticed him watching her. He didn’t comment, so Irin had no idea what was going through his mind. They walked downstairs together and stopped in the living room. The two gifts under the tree might have looked sparse, but to Irin they symbolised friendship.

“Two gifts?” Koth asked, sounding surprised. Irin smiled.

“Apparently, we were on the same mission when we met in the night,” she told him.

“I see.”

“Breakfast, and then gifts?” she asked.

“I like that plan,” he agreed. They worked side by side in the kitchen to make the traditional breakfast, and Irin set aside a portion for the house’s spirit caretaker. When they went out to feed the horses, Irin placed the extra portion of food on the loft of the barn. They went inside, and Koth took out the Yule log – a whole log to burn in the fireplace. If it burned all day and was reduced to ashes, it was a sign of a good year. “Will you bless it?” he asked, holding it out towards her. Irin nodded and said a prayer to her goddess. The log glowed for a moment. Koth put it in the fireplace and lit it. They both retrieved the presents from under the tree and sat down in their usual place in front of the fire.

“Merry Yule,” they said at the same time, reaching out to exchange gifts. Smiling, they swapped presents.

“Go ahead, open yours first,” Koth said. Irin untied the string and unravelled the plain fabric wrapped around her gift. Inside, she found a beautiful leather belt. It was broader than the belt she usually wore, and had runes branded into it, as well as small loops along it that could be used to attach things.

“This is amazing, thank you Koth. Did you make it yourself?” she asked.

“Yes, the runes are infused with magic. They will protect against pickpockets and make the leather string used for adding things to the belt impossible to cut. I thought it would be useful for you to have some of your tools and herbs readily available,” he told her.

“It’s perfect. Really, thank you. Now it’s your turn,” she said. Koth opened his gift and stared down at the embroidered pouch in his hands. It was made of a deep red fabric that Irin had spent hours embroidering with gold thread in patterns of flowers and vines.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you, Irin, I will cherish it,” Koth said, looking up. Irin felt a blush heat her cheeks.

“I’m happy you like it. I used a bit of magic as well. Unless you are the one trying to open it, it won’t open, and it can hold more coins, or valuables, than it looks,” she told him.

“A magnificent gift.” They spent some time by the fire, admiring their gifts and enjoying a quiet day.