A Very Rocky Christmas

A Very Rocky Christmas is the 2020 Christmas special of Mistress of the Rocks. It is supposed to follow the events of Queen For The Day, which is revealed to be fanonically on Christmas Eve.

Part One
Madeline was sitting on the couch when she heard the store-style bell chimes ring. She jumped to her feet and ran to the door. Letting out an excited shriek, she flung herself into Varian’s arms. “Merry Christmas!” he said.

She smiled, briefly pecking him on the lips before saying, “Merry Christmas, Vee!”

He flung some packages into her arms. “Put these under the Christmas tree,” he said.

She looked at the packages in awe, about a dozen in total. “Why do we need all of these?” she asked.

He grabbed her arm, pulling her into the living room, where a modest tree sat. It had candy canes, several glass ornaments, and a few candles. Madeline hadn’t decorated much, she always spent Christmas alone anyway. He started unpacking the gifts, naming them as he did so. “One for you, one for Annika, one for Milo, one for Brylee, one for Kyler, one for Leandra- oh, and here’s yours. And, of course, Ruddiger’s.”

“Wait- the others are coming?” Madeline asked in disbelief.

“Yup,” he said.

“And your father knows about this?” she questioned skeptically.

He looked sheepish. “Well… not really?”

She smiled and hugged him. “Thanks for breaking the rules for me,” she whispered.

The bell rang again, and Madeline’s reaction was much the same as it was the first time. She didn’t know who to hug first, so she settled for all of them at once. ”Group hug!” she cheered, subtly pushing Leandra out of it. The six of them hugged and cheered. Finally, they wished each other a merry Christmas, and Annika proudly held out baking supplies. “Let’s make Christmas cookies!” the teenager suggested, and everyone else cheered. Their spirits were light that Christmas Eve, but they had no idea how dark that night would become...

Part Two
The group happily munched on the Christmas cookies they made, joking with each other. As the day turned into afternoon, they opened their presents. Madeline enjoyed all of her presents, but the one she treasured most was the one from Varian. It was a small jeweler's toolkit, with different hammers, screwdrivers, and other tools.

"I know you like jewelry," he explained sheepishly, "and I thought maybe you could use the tools for your inventions, too....?"

She threw her arms around him. "I love it!" she exclaimed. Leandra watched moodily, but Madeline just ignored her.

Once they had all opened their presents, Madeline said, "I'm sorry I didn't get anybody anything... I didn't know you were coming... wait!" she exclaimed, jumping up. She dashed to her room, where she had a small indoor workbench. She grabbed a few small, detailed projects that she'd been working on. They'd be perfect for her friends! And one of them... well, it had already been intended for someone. But when she returned, she found everyone staring out the window. Varian was talking with his dad, and the Old Coronians looked distressed. They were gathered together, which in itself was enough for worry.

After several long, agonizing minutes where Madeline wondered what could possibly be wrong, Varian returned inside. He grasped her forearms, saying, "The rocks have becoming uncontrollable. Dad and I are going to the palace."

"But- it's Christmas Eve!"

"I'll be back before dark," he said, "I promise."

Madeline had a sense of foreboding, that something would go wrong. Nevertheless, she tried to hide the tears- they were probably just from stress anyway- and convince herself that it would be a merry Christmas. Turns out, she had reason to be afraid...

Part Three
It was six hours later. The night was getting dark, Madeline's friends had left, and Varian had yet to return. It had started to snow. She stood, pacing, before he burst in. He was in a cloak, snow in his hair, and his goggles were protecting his eyes from the storm. He flung his arms around her.

"Madeline," he said, "there's no time to explain. We have to go! My dad... an experiment went wrong-"

"Stop," she said, brushing the snow off his cheek. "Tell me what you need." She could sense that something was wrong, that there was no time to waste.

He took a shaky breath. "Stay with my dad while I get help."

She nodded immediately, rushing out the door and slamming it behind her.

***

She arrived at his cottage next door. Bursting in through the door, she rushed to Varian's workshop. She gasped at the sight. Quirin was being consumed by amber! She tried to pull him out, but he pushed her away.

"No, Madeline," he commanded, "I don't want you to be trapped, too."

She noticed how it was growing from one of the rocks... the rocks she could control... Suddenly, she had an idea. Pressing her hands to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut, she concentrated on the rocks, only the rocks. "The ground," she whispered. "Go into the ground."

They started to move, but they resisted her. "No!" she screamed. "I can control this!"

She dug her fingers into the ground, fighting with all her might. And then the nightmares came. This one was visual, something that never happened before. Varian's eyes, filled with not love, not caring, but hate, all directed at her, filled her mind. But the next part was worse- she started to notice that beneath the mask of uncaring, there was hurt, tears even. Madeline didn't want to see him like this. She started to sob. She screamed once, and then passed out as the rocks were free to move and skyrocketed even higher.

***

"Maddie?" Varian whispered.

She shook her blurred vision, sitting up. She was back at home. "W-what happened?" she asked, shaking.

He shook his head, tears squeezing out. And then, holding on to each other, they began to cry. This wasn't what they thought their Christmas would be like. Madeline tenderly brought her lips to his, trying to give him comfort, solace, anything that would keep those terrible, tormented eyes from her vision away.