Snowman
It was as if Christmas brought out the child in everyone, even Aunt Anne seemed unusually childish as Christmas day grew nearer in the calendar. There had been heaps of snow falling, and as nice as it was looking out at this winter wonderland – it was hard to get around. Even with the roads being ploughed as well as might be.
Anne huffed annoyed when she glanced at her pocket-watch, she was slower than usual, and she blamed the blasted snow for it. It was trying to sink her, and she wouldn’t have it. Anne picked up her tempo even further, skipping through the deep snow – looking, if anyone saw her, quite ridiculous. It was because of this that she arrived back home, red, warm and completely drenched in sweat. But, she smiled, she had made it in good time. She would be pleased to report to her journal just that later. Her eyebrows raised though as she gazed across the rooms, they all seemed empty. Anne checked the dining room, the sitting rooms but could find no trace of her sister nor Ann, she did however find her aunt and father in-front of the fire and she greeted them warmly,
“Aunt.” Anne kissed her cheek, and her aunt touched her arm,
“Are you already back?”
“Yes.” Anne smiled pleased, “I made it back in less than twenty-five minutes.”
“Oh, did you really? Now, that’s why, I assume, you are so rosy cheeked.” Aunt Anne reached up to touch her cold cheeks, and Anne nodded,
“Indeed. Now where is madam and Ann?”
“They went outside I believe, an hour or so ago. But do sit down by the fire for a few minutes, Anne.”
Anne took her aunts hand affectionately,
“I fear I am much too warm for that at present, I will go out and have a look – it would be wretched if Marian had gotten them both lost, or, you know, bored Ann to death.”
“Be kind to your sister.”
“I am? She’s still living here, isn’t she?” Anne winked, and her aunt shook her head at her, and Anne left the room to go outside and see if she could find them. Most of all she wanted to find Ann – see so she was alright. Anne stopped right outside the door, rubbing her chin with her hand, trying to discern where they might have gone but then she heard laughter – and she was certain it was her sister and her wife. It must be. Anne followed the sounds around the back of the house and down the lane and she saw them, or rather the back of the two.
“What on earth are you doing?” Anne called as she came closer and both women turned around and looked at her before looking at each other – bursting out in new merry laughter. Anne quirked an eyebrow,
“Do I have something on my face?”
“No!” Ann cried out, tears appearing at the corner of her eyes as she tried hard to stop laughing to speak, but she wasn’t that successful. Marian wheezed laughing, trying to form words but every time she managed a syllable, she would break down again.
“What is so hilarious?” Anne asked, beginning to be a little annoyed with them, or rather more uncomfortable as she had this nagging feeling they were laughing at her – and she didn’t know why. Ann steadied herself on Marian’s arm,
“We made… eh, we made… oh Christ…”
“What did you make, Ann?” Anne pressed, whilst the women in front of her were almost hyperventilating because they were laughing too much. Ann exhaled shakily, trying to compose herself,
“We made a Snowanne.”
“Sorry?” Anne frowned, leaning towards them, “Do you mean a snowman?”
“No, she definitely means a Snowanne…” Marian said, her voice breaking with small heaps of laughter, and Ann began laughing again, her cheeks burning bright red,
“What are you talking about!?” Anne sighed, and the women moved to the side and behind them a Snowman appeared. Anne blinked twice, staring at the snowman. It was wearing her hat, one of her cravats and her cane – which she had been looking for, stood next to it. They had put conkers for eyes and even made a poor attempt at forming hair with the snow. Marian and Ann stood, trying to contain their laughter, eying her carefully, Anne frowned and then looked at them both,
“What the hell?” Anne asked before she couldn’t help herself, she burst out in gay laughter.
“You are insane!”
“Proudly so.” Ann pointed out, and Marian nodded, Anne shook her head at them,
“Why!?”
Ann and Marian shared a look between themselves before turning their eyes towards her,
“Because, sometimes you are… um, a pain and with this Anne we can do this.” Ann said and then without breaking eye-contact with Anne, she punched the head off the snowman.
“You want to behead me?”
“Um…” Ann blushed, but Marian crossed her arms,
“No, we want to pound some sense into you at times– but we are good and respectable ladies – thus the snowanne.”
“Do you like it?” Ann smiled, and Anne looked at her, both eyebrows raised,
“Well, I liked it better with the head on!”
“Oh, sorry!” Ann picked up the head and put it back on – backwards and Anne couldn’t help a chuckle, neither could they,
“Oh look – I guess you were right, she really does have eyes in the back of her head.” Marian commented and Anne threw a snowball in her face.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry, but I don’t have a snow-you to pound.”
“Are you going to pound me too?” Ann asked smirking, as Anne was forming another snowball in her hands, but she stopped, and glanced at the blonde,
“Oh, I will pound you…” Anne threw the snowball hard, at an unsuspecting Marian again, “later.”
With little persuasion on Ann’s part, she managed to get both Marian and Anne to agree to a walk before heading inside. Ann’s fingers were itching but she hadn’t dared suggest it, she merely walked with them in the gardens before casually, without drawing attention to herself, forming a snowball in her hands. She contemplated whether she would dare throw it at first but then she aimed and threw it, getting Anne in the neck. The woman spun around on her heel to see who it was, and her eyes landed on Marian, her eyes narrowing as she glared at her.
“Marian! For goodness sake, you are such a child sometimes!” Anne barked, and Marian looked affronted, opening her arms as if to show that she had nothing to do with it.
“Me? I haven’t –“ Marian wasn’t allowed to finish because Anne had thrown a snowball at her, and Marian gasped before kneeling down to make a snowball of her own, in the meantime Ann had made several and threw another at her wife, who looked confused at first because she had just thrown one at Marian,
“ANN! It was you!?” Anne cried, and Ann laughed before throwing another one right in the face of her infuriated wife. Who then set off after her, whilst Ann tried getting more hits on her at the same time as she was fleeing for her life; Marian made snowballs in the meantime, and then with one look from Ann, they had teamed up – so Marian slowed Anne down by throwing snowballs at her, giving Ann time to make new ones to throw at her as well. But Anne wasn’t undeterrable, soon enough her hands found her wife’s sides, and she tackled her onto the ground – thankfully the snow was softening the fall. Ann screamed of laughter and Marian aimed more snowballs at Anne, but Anne was unmovable. She pinned Ann to the ground, panting heavily in her face,
“Do you surrender?”
“No.” Ann laughed, and Anne pushed a little harder on her arms,
“One last chance to surrender before your suffering starts!”
“No!”
“That’s it.” Anne dropped a heap of snow on her wife’s face, and as she spluttered the snow that had got into her mouth Anne thought she looked magical. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes sparkling with joy – Anne was, she was certain the luckiest woman alive. But in these thoughts, she had absentmindedly let go of her wife’s arms and found herself suddenly pinned down in the snow, staring up at her wife’s normally angelic features which had been replaced with a devilish smirk just before she greeted Anne’s face with a bunch of snow. They kept on fighting for a little while longer, wrestling, until they were both out of breath, panting loudly.
“I surrender!” Anne plead at last, when she realised her wife wouldn’t give up – and she could see that she was soaked to the bone and she didn’t want her wife to catch her death because she was stubborn. Soaking wet, they, all three of them tumbled inside the hall again. Ann and Anne went up to their wing and as soon as the door closed behind Anne, Ann pushed her up the door, kissing her hungrily on the lips – surprising the brunette, but she soon sank into the hot kisses, that some of them trailed down her throat having her gasp in short breaths, and Ann smirked mischievous at her,
“Happy Christmas, Anne!”