kiramaru7 | Winter Fest in July 2: Holly's Holiday

Title: Holly’s Holiday
Author: kira
World: City of Madrona and the surrounding countryside
Characters: Holly Mayweather, her driver, her dog Snowy, and her cousins’ family
Prompt: Holly
Word count: 546
Rating: G
Summary: Holly is on her way to spend the New Year with her cousins…
Author’s note: Special thanks to my beta Kat for pinking this. Please also note that this was written for the Madrona Project and allbingo's Winter Fest in July.

Holly Mayweather sat back in the sleigh, the blanket pulled up on her lap, keeping her legs warm. A small, fluffy, white dog sat next to her. Her coachman got in and sat next to them. Gathering the reins, he clucked softly as he urged the horses forward. They took off across the new fallen snow.

She was on her way to visit her cousins in the city, where she would spend the first two weeks of the New Year with them, before returning home to her family. Holly was very excited about this visit as it was the first time she was traveling without her family. Having just turned sixteen, she was now old enough to attend her first ball and have her first taste of champagne. Holly wondered which one of her new ball gowns she should wear first, the green one that was the color of the evergreen that she was named for, or the pale blue and ivory one that reminded her of snow, or the gold one that was her younger sister Ivy’s favorite.

Holly lifted the blanket and patted her thigh. Her little dog Snowy climbed onto her lap and made herself comfortable. Holly covered them both. She giggled when it started snowing, happy to be visiting the city and feeling very grown up about it.

“How much longer is it, until we get there?”

“We’re almost there, Miss.”

“Did you hear that, Snowy? We’re almost there!” In the distance, Holly could just see part of the old wall that had surrounded the City of Madrona. It looks so different in winter than it does during Vine Fest… she thought. I can’t wait to get there!

Her coachman was right; it did not take long, before they were making their way through the streets of the capital city. As it was getting dark, the lamplighters were busy lighting the lamps that lined the streets. Holly remembered one of her teachers telling her that lamp lighting was an old profession during the time of the Ancients. She also recalled him telling her that the street lights during the time of the Ancients used to come on by themselves, something she found hard to believe. Holly knew they were magical, and everyone had a working knowledge of the magic they called “technology,” but lights that lit themselves, machines that could do work of several men, Holly felt they were simply fairy stories. Yes, the Ancients were amazing, but they were people like us and lived their lives as simply as people did nowadays.

Holly was pulled from her thoughts when they stopped in front of one of the townhouses, lining the streets. A couple of girls came running out, and calling her name.

“Holly!!”

“Katrinka! Alisa!!” she cried as the coachman helped her out of the sleigh. Snowy ran after her, barking. Holly hugged her cousins. In the excitement, several servants came out to help the coachman bring in her trunk. Another servant took the coachman to the stable at the end of the block, where he stabled the horses overnight.

Inside the townhouse, Holly was warmly greeted by her Aunt and Uncle. As soon as she was settled they sat down to dinner, where Holly recounted the details of her trip.