A Grim Holiday (Tornians Book 1.5) (2 page)

It had taken five warriors to get it
exactly
where she wanted it. Then, once in place, she’d informed them that in several weeks they would need to remove it so it could be replanted. Lisa had laughed in amusement when the warriors had groaned but when the girls had seen it, their squeals of happiness had made them smile.

Over the next several weeks, the girls had made what they called decorations for the tree, making sure every branch had one. There were tracings of their hands with their name and a date on them, chains made from paper that were wrapped around the tree, while stars made from twigs and string hung off its limbs. Lisa had carefully placed energy crystals from Pontus on different branches so that the tree softly glowed at night. It was… nice, but Grim still didn’t understand why they wanted it.

Lisa silently watched Grim’s eyes travel over the tree and knew it still confused him. Nudging him gently with the goblet, his eyes turned to her and he took it.

“I wish I could explain it better to you.”

“It doesn’t matter Lisa, if it makes you and the girls happy you can have a hundred trees in Luanda.”

“You‘re wrong Grim,” she quickly corrected. “It does matter. I realize that Tornians don’t have what we call ‘the Holidays’ instead you have the Festival of the Goddess.”

“It is an important day for the warriors, my Lisa.”

“Because the warriors hope their efforts will attract the attention of the Goddess.”

“Yes.”

“Earning them her blessing of a female in the coming year.”

“Yes.”

“But it’s a
competition
Grim.” She stressed. “You
compete
against one another, in armed combat, for a
prize
.”

“Of course.” He gave her a confused look. “You said you have competitions on Earth.”

“We do, but…” Lisa frowned searching for the right words. “The Holidays aren’t about
competing
, about beating someone or being better than them. It’s about letting your family and friends know that they
matter
to you, that you care about them. It’s a time to remember those that are important in your life, even if they are no longer with you.” Taking Grim’s hand, she held it against their growing child. “While being thankful for the blessings you have.”

“I am thankful my Lisa.” His fingers spread out protectively over her belly, his heat sinking through the thin material of her gown. “I thank the Goddess every day for bringing you into my life.”

“I do too Grim. Every day. But I want to share that blessing. I want your males to know that they don’t have to win a
competition
to be
blessed
, that just being who they are is enough.”

“And the tree is a part of that?” Grim gave her a confused look.

Lisa smiled softly at his confusion. “No. It is just a symbol. A symbol that that holidays are starting.”

“That is why the girls were so excited when they saw it.”

“Yes, you always start the Holidays by decorating the tree.”

Grim silently looked at the tree as he sipped the wine Lisa had given him. Tornians don’t have anything like what Lisa was talking about. You had to be worthy to be blessed. Be fit. It was the only way to attract the attention of the Goddess, for she only blessed the fittest.

Frowning, he suddenly realized that wasn’t true. The Goddess had blessed
him
, with his Lisa, when others had seen him as unfit and unworthy, she hadn’t. His Lisa had known they were wrong and the Goddess had agreed.

Tomorrow was the Festival of the Goddess; Grim suddenly realized this is why Lisa had chosen now to have her ‘Holidays’. She was combining an important tradition from Earth with one from Tornian, combining their worlds as Abby had done in her Joining ceremony with Ynyr

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Lisa silently waited as Grim pondered everything that she had said. They had been through so much together, in such a short time, that it really was amazing that they hadn’t had more problems. Even on Earth, the melding of families could be difficult, especially when their traditions were so vastly different.

When she had first heard about the Festival, she had been so excited. On Earth, there had always been a Winter Festival in their town. She and Mark had gone every year, even when he was very sick, they would go together as a family. She would push his wheelchair through the stalls and they would buy special treats and gifts.

However, when Grim explained that the Festival was armed combat, that it wasn’t uncommon for warriors to become injured, sometimes severely, she had been horrified. There was no way she could allow the girls to witness that. For them to watch the males they had come to know and love attacking each other. It would terrify them.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

“You put your blessing on the tree for all to see?” Grim asked interrupting her memories.

“Something like that. What we put on the tree reminds us of times gone by, of where we came from, of those that helped us become who we are today.” Lisa looked at him but her eyes were filled with memories.

“When I was Miki’s age there was a blizzard,” She smiled softly at his confused look. “Lots of those white flakes that fell last week.” Grim nodded his understanding.

“Anyway my dad had to stay home from work. He and I sat together at the kitchen table, drinking hot chocolate and making a paper chain just like that one.” She pointed to their tree. “It decorated our tree every year until it finally just fell apart.”

Grim looked from her to the tree and suddenly saw the chain differently. The links in the chain were different colors; they were different sizes and different shapes because different people had made them. He remembered the night the girls had insisted he help them make it, giving up their bedtime story if he would.

He had meant to refuse them for there had been trouble with one of his warriors that day and he needed to see to it but he couldn’t refuse them. They had spent the next two hours making that chain. The girls had laughed and giggled when he managed to get more glue on his fingers than on the paper but their little fingers had immediately helped his much larger ones make those links, had helped him thread his through theirs until they were all one.

Suddenly he understood what Lisa had been trying to explain to him. The chain was about more than the paper and glue it was made of, it was about the links they were forging together, the lives they were building… together.

When he looked back to his Lisa, he found her holding out a wrapped package to him.

“This is for you.” She told him softly.

“Lisa…” Grim looked at her surprised.

“Please Grim.” She whispered, holding it out to him.

Grim looked at Lisa in confusion, he’d never received a ‘gift’ before. A warrior had to earn everything he received; nothing was ever just given, not to a male. Slowly he set his glass aside and took it.

“Open it Grim.” She gently encouraged.

Carefully Grim removed the wrapping. He didn’t remember Lisa wrapping this one. She had shown him every gift she had acquired for the girls before she wrapped them. Making sure he understood it would be from both of them, making sure he approved of them.

She’d done the same for the females from Earth and every male in House Luanda. They would all be receiving gifts tomorrow before the Festival of the Goddess.

He hadn’t realized she would have one for him though. She was his gift. Didn’t she know that?

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Lisa could barely breathe as Grim slowly unwrapped her gift. It surprised her how nervous she was.

What if he didn’t like it?

Maybe she shouldn’t have given it to him.

Would he be insulted?

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Grim’s eyes widened at what was revealed. It was a box. A box made from a type of wood he had never seen before. When he tipped it for a better look, something inside rattled. Looking to Lisa, he was shocked, she looked… nervous as if she wasn’t sure he would like her gift.

“Lisa?”

“It was my father’s.” She whispered looking from him to the box. “When we went to get the girls it was wrapped in my nightgown.” She looked up and saw he remembered. “I didn’t even know I had it until I took the nightgown out that night on the Searcher.” Lisa’s fingers shook slightly as she reached out, slowly running her fingers across the silky surface.

“It was his father’s, manno’s,” she corrected using the Tornian word. “And his manno’s before him. It was always given to the eldest male in the family upon a manno’s death.” The eyes raised to Grim held just a hint of sadness and regret. “Dad never had a son, a male to leave it to.”

“He had you my Lisa, it was more than enough.”

“I know and he never made me feel like he was disappointed, but on Earth, to have a son, a male, to carry on a mannno’s name… well it’s important. Like having a female is for a Tornian.”

Grim didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to ease the pain he saw.

“Open it Grim.” She encouraged softly.

“What?” He looked from her to the box.

“The top slides open.” She showed him where to push.

Grim’s eyes widen as the box’s contents were revealed.

“It’s a memory box.” Lisa told him, leaning forward to look inside. “Every male puts something inside that matters to him. Something that’s important, to him, something he wants future generations to know about.” Carefully she reached into the box and pulled out a round, whitish, somewhat flat disk.

“This is a sand dollar.” She told him. “You can find them on the beaches of Earth.” Carefully she placed the small disk in Grim’s large hand. “My great grandfather found this the day he met my great grandmother. And this…”

Grim frowned at the brown, brittle looking strip.

“This used to be a blade of grass. Do you see that mark?” She asked, pointing to a barely discernable indentation.

“Yes.”

“It marks the size of my grandmother’s finger. Grandpa wrapped this around it so he would know what size of ring to buy her when he asked her to be his wife.” She carefully set the fragile blade back inside the box.

“And this,” She reverently pulled out a faded blue ribbon, threading it threw her fingers. “My mother wore this in her hair the day she married dad.”

“And these?” Grim carefully set the sand dollar back in the box and lifted out several remnants of discolored paper then looked to Lisa. He was shocked by the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her fingers trembled as she carefully touched the paper.

“Lisa?” He asked concerned.

“This is all that remains of the chain dad and I made.” She whispered looking at the paper. “I never knew he saved part of it, that he kept it in with mom’s ribbon. He only showed me the box once, when he told me what each item meant, these weren’t in it then. It was only after he died that I opened it again and found them.”

Grim looked from the fragile pieces in his hand to the tree that held the chain he and the girls had made and suddenly it all made sense to him. Lisa was linking him to her past, to her family, making him a part of it, a link. With this gift, she was giving him a piece of her past, a piece of something that mattered greatly to her. She was giving him her family.

“Lisa….” Grim didn’t know what to say.

“Dad would have wanted you to have it Grim.” She looked at him her eyes full of conviction as she caressed his cheek. “He would have liked you.”

“You think your manno would have approved of me?” Grim asked roughly his eyes full of doubt. A doubt she knew came from being declared unworthy and unfit, by his own people.

“Oh yes.” Lisa’s voice contained no doubt. “You love and protect me Grim. You love and protect the girls. You make us happy. That’s all that would have mattered to him. It’s all that will matter to
you
, when it’s the girl’s time.”

“
That
won’t be happening for many, many years!” Grim frowned darkly at the thought. Carly and Miki were
his
daughters and no male would ever be good enough.

“We’ll see.” Lisa carefully puts her mother’s ribbon back in the box. “And one day, you will show this to
your
son. You will tell him about his ancestors from Earth, along with his Tornian ones and one day this will be his.”

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Lisa watched Grim carefully put her gift in the secret compartment of the cabinet. He had shown it to her so she could take out the Raptor’s Claw and Heart whenever she wished. That he would store her father’s box in the place reserved for Luda’s treasures touched her deeply. When he didn’t return to her but instead stood looking at the tree, she frowned.

“Grim, what’s wrong?”

“I have no gift for you my Lisa.” He finally looked at her, tears filling his gray eyes. How could he not have realized she would have something for him? He should have had something. “I did not realize….”

“Of course you didn’t.” When she moved to rise Grim was immediately there, pulling her into his arms. “Grim, it doesn’t matter. The Holidays are about
giving
, not receiving and you give to me every day.” Using her thumbs, she wiped away her warrior’s tears.

“I don’t my Lisa.” Grim denied his voice deep with barely restrained emotion.

“You just did.” She smiled softly at him. “I am
your
Lisa. Every time you call me that, you give me a gift Grim. I am
yours
. I don’t need anything else, just you.”

Grim saw the truth shining in her eyes. She thought
he
was a gift. When the truth was,
she
was the gift.

“I love you my Lisa.” He whispered gently kissing her lips.

“And I love you Grim.” Lisa dug her fingers into Grim’s shirt when he would have pulled away.

Grim’s response was immediate. Lifting her against him, he captured her lips deepening the kiss.

Lisa sunk into Grim’s kiss, her arms encircling his neck, her pulse started to race and her world spin. God she loved it when he kissed her like this, as if he would absorb her into his body. Suddenly she realized she really was spinning because Grim had spun around and dropped down onto the couch.