The Christmas Ball (Tag) [FDoC]

Ella and Virgil twirled gracefully around the ballroom. Jeff sat with Alan and Gordon at a table and watched his children move with precision and grace around the floor, he smiled at the sight. Alan grinned at the sight of Ella and Virgil, he knew his sister loved dance she made it look easy no matter how complex the routine or move.

"She really knows what she's doing," Alan said to Gordon as he glanced at his fellow blonde brother munch on various hors d'oeuvres. He rolled his eyes at Gordon's lack of manners.

"Yes, she does," Jeff agreed with a nod at Alan's words. "But dance has always been Ella's passion."

The music came to an end, Ella, Virgil, John and Penelope, along with the rest of the guests on the floor clap for the orchestra. The three Tracy children moved back to the table, where the rest of family, sans Scott, sat.

Ella plopped down into the chair and sighed. She gently kicked off the high heels her long dress hid. A sigh of relief fell from the twenty year old female, she sank a little into her chair.

"Are you alright, Ella?" Alan asked as he looked at his sister with a worried frown.

"I'm fine Alan, my feet just hurt. High heels and I are not friends," she answered with a grin. "Where's Scott?" she asked as she looked around the table.

Jeff sighed but didn't say a word.

John and Virgil both sighed and sent annoyed glances in Scott's direction. Gordon was the one to answer the question, "Sulking more than likely."

Ella rolled her eyes, while the other three Tracy boys groaned at Gordon's words. She chose not to comment on Gordon's words, instead she grabbed a glass of champagne and took a sip. Her thoughts dwelt briefly on Scott's behavior, before she glanced around the room in silent search of him.

Sadly, she couldn't find him, instead she sank into her seat and watched the dance floor. Her grandparents were on the dance floor and they looked lovely. 'I wonder if my parents looked like that when they attended the Christmas balls,' she thought with a wistful sigh.

John got up from his seat and made his way to where Scott was hidden. "Are you going to ask her for a dance or stare at her all night?" he asked as he joined his brother's side.

Scott frowned at John, "What is that supposed to mean?"

John rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean, Scott. At least have a dance with her," he suggested as he looked over at his sister who wore a sad smile on her face.

Scott sighed but he approached the table, without a word he held his out for Ella to see.

Golden brown eyes looked up at Scott, she placed her hand in his as he helped up to her feet. Together they made their way to the dance floor, where the music was soft. Ella had a hand in Scott's while the other rested on his shoulder. Their height difference was more noticeable to the family members but no one commented on Ella's lack to proper footwear.

Grins broke out the four Tracy sons' faces as they saw their oldest brother with their sister. They hoped it would work out for them, if Scott would finally make a move and ask her out.

-fin

Thanks for reading Five Days of Christmas and Beyond. I'll be back tomorrow with my resolutions for 2019. See you then!

The Christmas Ball (TAG) [FDoC]

Ella giggled as she shared a dance with her dad on the dance floor. Her five brothers watched with various expressions of happiness and jealousy in the case of one Scott Tracy. John nudged Virgil to get his attention before he jerked his head in the direction of Scott, who stood against a wall with a glass of champagne in his hand as he watched Ella change partners.

"Man, Scott's taking this kinda hard," Virgil muttered to John as they looked between Scott and Ella.

John nodded, "He is, that's his third flute of champagne tonight. And something tells me, he's going to go through a couple more before the night is over."

Virgil's brown gold eyes widened as he heard John's words. "He does know that she's not coming back to the island with us for Christmas, right?" Virgil asked as he frowned at the guy who was dancing with his sister. His eyes on the drifting hands down Ella's back.

A smirk grew on his face, as he watched Ella step purposefully on the guy's feet before she took a step back to give some distance between them.

John sighed as he watched his sister handle herself. He worried about her, but he knew she could take care of herself. "Honestly, I have no clue. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't know, since Ella isn't speaking with him and dad doesn't always tell Scott everything in regard to Ella. She tried for years after Scott left to keep in touch but he wouldn't give. Now, she's given up because he spent all that time ignoring her and trying to figure out his feelings for her," John remarked with a shake of his head and annoyed sigh at his older brother's stupidity.

Virgil frowned but didn't disagree with John. Instead, he kept an eye on Ella as the song came to end. "I'll be back," he told John as he moved forward to step up behind his sister.

Ella stepped away from Lucas Chamberlain, she quickly dismissed his offer of another dance. The last dance had been uncomfortable. Shudders ran down her spine as she recalled his wandering hands. "No thank you, Lord Chamberlain, I'm sure I'll find another partner for the next dance," she told him  through slightly gritted teeth and too wide smile, that warned off the suitor.

Virgil chuckled as he moved to stand next to his sister. "May I have this dance?" he asked as he offered his sister his hand.

Ella looked up at Virgil and gave him a warm smile, "Gladly," she answered as she placed her hand in his. Together they walked away from Lord Chamberlain and moved closer to Ella's cousin Penelope who had somehow convinced John to her for the dance.

A smile and delightful laughter fell from Ella's lips as she noticed poor John fumbling. Virgil's chuckles joined her laughter as they took first position and waited for the orchestra to start the music. Sure enough, a few moments later the music started. Ella fell into step with Virgil effortlessly, together they moved around the floor.

Many people complimented the two Creighton-Warrd ladies as they danced with their partners in an elegant and seemingly effortless fashion. It was clear to the various guests the two females had taken lessons in dance as moved around the room, skirts billowed out and trailed after the dancing pairs.

"He still brooding in the corner?" Ella asked as she stared just over Virigil's ear. The large amount of eyes on her petite form created a slight tremor in her movements, only obvious to John and Virgil.

"Yup," Virgil answered as he sent his older brother a frown.

Ella sighed and rolled her eyes, but didn't say a word. Instead she followed Virgil as he led her into a spin then dip before he lifted her back to her feet. Together they moved through a complicated set of footsteps as they listened to the song. Many audience members gasped as they realized the talent in dance Virgil and Ella had.

'Thank you mom for making all of the boys take those dance lessons with me,' she thought as she briefly looked skyward as if she would see her mom. But all Ella's golden eyes saw was the high ceiling that had had some sort of fancy design on it.

-TBC

Merry Belated Christmas everyone. I started this on Christmas Day but between napping, eating, gifts, and family I wasn't able to finish it until now. I'll be adding to my Five Days of Christmas since I did miss a few days. See you for tomorrow's piece or maybe another one later today. Not sure yet.

-ADF

Muérdago (Zorro) [FDoC]

Artemia Noche smiled as she watched her gavalan play on the piano. He along with the music of Navidad, her cheeks flushed as she met the don's dark gaze. But she didn't dare look away as he sang to her Noche de Paz.

The don finished he son with a flourish. Happily the young senorita clapped, "Bravo, bravo," she cheered as she rose to her feet.

Diego grinned as he stood from the bench and approached the petite female. "Gracias, Artemia," he thanked as he leaned to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Diego," she sighed as she pulled away briefly to meet his gaze once more. Chocolate met gold as the pair looked at one another for a brief moment.

The don stepped back and offered the female his arm. Artemia slipped her arm through Diego's and together they wandered through the gardens that were on the de la Vega property.

Artemia and Diego spoke of their plans for the upcoming year. Surprise and shock filled Artemia, when she learned of Diego's desire to attend la universidad in Espana, after el ano nuevo. Sadness filled her as she realized Diego would be leaving her and their pueblo behind. She wore a false grin as they continued to navigate through the  jardin.

A pitter-patter of footsteps on the adobe path caught the couple's attencion. Artemia and Diego turned around to see Osita approaching.

"Osita," Artemia sighed as she knelt down to get a better look at her lamb. "Que estas haciendo?" she asked with a shake of her head.

She gently removed the item in Osita's mouth and giggled as she looked at the sprig in front of her. "Y ahdonde encontraste esto?" she wondered with giggles in between her words.

"What is it?" Diego asked as he bent down to one knee beside, Artemia and in front of Osita.

Artemia lifted the little plant and presented it to her amado. beloved "Muérdago," she answered with a laugh. Mistletoe

Diego chuckled as he saw the plant in her hand. He leaned over and gave her another kiss on the lips. He would never tire of sharing kisses with Artemia, his amor was strong and unrelenting for the young Noche dona.
-fin

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it was a busy day for me and the family. But this means you'll get a Christmas piece! See you all tomorrow.
-ADF

Winter Kisses (PR) [FDoC]

Ava smiled as she looked up at the snowflakes falling out of the sky. "Wow," she sighed in disbelief.

Troy watched the petite white ranger with a smile on his face. He reached out and grasped her hand in his own.

Ava's head moved from the sky to meet Troy's blue-gray eyes, "Merry Christmas, Troy," she said as she leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his cheek.

As she pulled away her cheeks flushed a bright pink color.

A wide grin grew on the red ranger's face, he leaned down and placed a kiss of his own to her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Ava," he replied as he tugged her in the direction of the park.

Ava's laughter ran like bells behind them as they moved through the park.
-fin

Ava and Troy, despite the fact that they are a failed OTP I still love them together. This is set sometime around their first Christmas together in Power Rangers Megaforce. See you all tomorrow.
-ADF

A Christmas Dance (TEC) [FDoC]

Ella grinned as she watched Jason on the dance floor. He held Cordelia in his arms and gracefully moved her around the ballroom. The lights from the chandelier and the sconces around the room made Cordelia's lilac colored dress glowed against her brother's navy blue suit.

"They look like lovely together," a voice commented from just over Ella's shoulder.

The Princess of Nightshade glanced to her right to meet Prince Henry's eyes blue eyes. "Yes, they do," she agreed as she turned her attention back to her older brother.

Henry looked at the young Princess with wide eyes. "May I have this dance, Ella?" as he offered her a hand.

Ella huffed as she gently placed her hand in his. "Yes, you may," she said as they made their way to the dance floor.

Together the Prince of Stardune and Princess of Nightshade moved around the dance floor in front of the large crowd gathered to celebrate Yule in Nightshade. Eyes were on the heir and the princess, to many of the visiting royals it was clear just how much they care for each other. Whispers gathered in the crowd as they eyed the couple.

Jason watched his best friend with his only sister and smiled.

"They make quite the sight," Cordy observed as she glanced at the heir of Nightshade.

"Yes they do, Cordy, yes they do," he nodded in agreement.

-fin

Welcome to the Five Days of Christmas, for the next five days I will be writing a little piece of Christmas. Today we ventured back into The Eleanor Chronicles, I have been wanting to go back for a while and couldn't think of anything. Stay tuned for tomorrows piece. Merry Christmas!

-ADF

Bubble Lights (Journal)

Hello everyone, today I'm writing to tell you about something I've heard about but I had never seen until this year. Bubble lights. My dad has mentioned these lights to me before, he's always nostalgic about them around Christmas, since they use to adorn his childhood Christmas tree. I had heard of them, but I had never seen them.

My dad described them as lights with glass containers that made bubbles. Me, being me, I thought he meant that they blew bubbles out while hanging on a tree. Total misconception and misunderstanding on my part. My sister had mentioned that she had sold a pair earlier at work this month and my dad became somewhat desperate to find them.

Earlier this month, last weekend, I think, we were at Shopko. We've been taking weekly weekend trips to various stores in our area to get a look at their Christmas decorations. Well, at Shopko we found the bubble lights. I saw that they were glass tubes with different colored liquid, still confused, I thought they made colored bubbles but I didn't say anything. Anyway, my sister bought my dad a strand of them. He was absolutely giddy, for a man in his 50's missing two toes and having just recovered from surgery it was hilarious to see the spring in his step and happiness in his gait and face. He was excited, super excited, I can't help but wonder if maybe he was taken back to a time when he was a kid with his siblings and parents.

My dad isn't one to open up about his feelings, but I do wonder from time to time. Anyway, my sister got him a set as a Christmas gift. We got home and began to finish decorating the tree. We had put it up the weekend before but we realized that a few of our lights were out and needed to be replaced, so it wasn't until last weekend that we were finally able to decorate. I opened the box of bubble lights and my sister and I placed them on the tree.

It was beautiful to see the lights, especially the bubble lights but I was disappointed that they didn't blow bubbles. My dad and sister got a kick when I told them that I had thought they blew bubbles. But they are beautiful and add a certain look to our tree. While the top is bent a little, because it's just a tad too tall, it's still our tree with the garland, lights, mulicolored and white, and the various ornaments that we've collected over the years. Even mine and my sister's personal collection are proudly displayed. The three snow globes that typically adorn the bottom of the tree, were joined by two newcomers this year. A set of penguins and white owls, my first snow globe.

The tree looks lovely with it's mismatched eclectic style but it's ours all the same. And my sister plans to get a bubble machine next year for the tree. I can't wait to see my family enjoy their gifts on Christmas, while I know the gifts that I've gotten I'm still happy to be able to spend the day with my sister and parents.

Hopefully, I'll have another journal or short story to share for you guys later this week. I kinda want to post little pieces throughout the next few weeks to make up for lack of posting this month.

-ADF

P.S. To those who don't know what bubble lights look like, here's a picture.

Wrap Up of NaNo

Hi everyone, so before I dive back into blog posts, I figured I would give you all the final run down of my NaNoWriMo story the stats.

Week Three Total Word Count: 45,061
Expected Word Count: 37,400

Week Four Total Word Count: 53,313
Expected Word Count: 49,300

50,000 Word Badge: Day 25 with 50,146

November 30th (Last Day of NaNo)
Expected Word Count: 52,700
Total Word Count: 55,509
Hand Written Words: 1,160

As you may or may not know, this was my fifth attempt at NaNo. My fourth consecutive attempt, and the first one that I 'Won'. I'm still not done with my story, I am still working on it, but I'm not pushing myself as I did last month.

This NaNo was the best one for me and I think it was because I actually attended write-ins within my Home Region. I met people, who like me are trying to cram a 50k book out. I made some new friends and I'm excited for next years NaNo. I hopefully will be going back to my first and second NaNo stories.

I did still keep up with my nightly journals, and I didn't count words towards the final word count. Maybe one day I'll count my journal words and tell you what my actual end of the month word total was. But for now I am leisurely working on my story.

See you all later in the month with some Christmas themed pieces.
-ADF