Vesuvia Weekly ; If you're cold, They’re cold, Let them in!
Pairings : The Courtiers x Reader - Platonic
Fandom : The Arcana visual novel
Warnings : Nun. Just fluff.
Summary : Winter is finally here! But it is uncharacteristically cold, so much so beings doing the bidding of the Devil himself come to you for help...
Ah, winter. Some love it, some hate it. Either way, Vesuvia was bustling with life, getting ready to celebrate the winter solstice. Streets, shops and homes were being decorated, restaurants were preparing their most special menus, and the palace was organizing the annual banquet...
You were one of the palace's guests this year. Your heart was thumping with excitement in your chest as you put the little handmade, wooden decorations near your window. Muriel’s work was always your favorite; the little animals all looked so sweet, and there was something beautiful about his large, calloused hands carefully carving something so small. You could almost feel little sparks of magic coming from the wooden bear in your hands as you placed it next to the other animals.
You knew you wouldn’t have time to decorate your guest quarters much more, but it didn’t really matter. Dinner time was coming closer with each minute that passed and so you got down to business: you had to look your absolute best.
Quaestor Valdemar, a frown on their face, pushed the doors of the palace open and were quick to shut them behind them. They let out a shaky breath as they mumbled a little insult under their breath. What was it with this year’s winter? They could almost feel their bones shaking! They hadn’t been out in such a cold weather in at least 500 years... They tried to get themselves together and rubbed their hands, checking their pouch one last time to see if they had everything they needed - they weren’t going to go back outside anyway -. They clutched their cloak tightly as they made their way back to the dungeons and put the ingredients of their pouch onto the shelves of their office, their hands afflicted by a slight shakiness which was uncomfortably out of character. They groaned in frustration once they were done, clutching their cloak a little tighter around them. It’s like the cold air had seeped through their skin, their muscles, their bone marrow even! How was that even possible? Was it really that cold out? It didn’t matter. They’d feel better soon, anyway.
Volta and Vulgora came back from their little stroll in town, baskets of fresh meat and vegetables for the dinner in their arms. The Pontifex had been reluctant to accompany the Procurator, but she had insisted on being the one to pick the food for tonight, arguing she'd know which one would be the best to buy. Once Vulgora had dropped the -numerous- baskets of food in the palace's kitchens, they found Volta in one of the drawing rooms, near the fireplace, in the middle of a fit of sneezing. They were slightly confused but they couldn’t say they were especially worried. They briefly checked up on her but nothing more, since Nadia had come in and decided to handle things herself. Vulgora walked out of the drawing room and back to their quarters, removing their thick cloak with a sigh. They didn’t exactly understand why they had even put it on; they were feeling way too hot with it. They discarded it on the bed before adjusting their usual outfit. They didn’t feel like making efforts for the banquet tonight. They just didn’t see the point. It’s not like they were celebrating a victory or something...
You did the last few buttons of your top and gave yourself one last once-over in the mirror... Perfect. You smiled and adjusted your jewelry one last time before exiting your guest quarters. The clock struck eight and you excitedly went downstairs. You could already hear the chatter from guests in the main hall, see servants walking back and forth, carrying plates of amuse-bouches and various small pastries. You figured the banquet had begun, but the main dishes hadn’t been served yet. You took a deep breath and entered the hall, greeting some guests you recognized, and getting yourself a few snacks and a drink. The cooks had outdone themselves, as always. As you savored your salmon tartare toast, someone called your name at the other end of the hall; and they sounded angry...
"WITCH!! WILL YOU GET THEM OFF OF ME THEY’RE COLD LIKE - ARGH, CAZZO, DON’T SQUEEZE ME LIKE THAT!!"
You turned around, confused, only to see a very frustrated Vulgora trying to squirm out of Valdemar’s grasp. You blinked. That... was unusual. You approached the scene with a certain sense of hurry, and addressed the Quaestor, who was almost holding Vulgora in place.
"What are you doing?" You questioned. They looked up at you, their face deliberately expressionless.
"... They’re warm." They simply stated.
Your confusion only grew as you looked between them both. Vulgora sighed as they gave up trying to escape the demonic doctor’s grip.
"...uhm... I suppose they are. Is it- why you're clinging to them like that?" You asked Valdemar. They seemed to pause, as if they were carefully choosing their words. They briefly looked around, at the guests, and then back at you. Their voice lowered, to make sure you were the only one to hear them.
"I'm cold. I can’t seem to warm myself up... I tried the fireplace, the coat, all that."
Your eyes widened. They were cold?
"... So you... Decided to try and use Vulgora to warm yourself up?" You wondered aloud, as the Pontifex tried to squirm away from their grasp again.
"I'M NOT YOUR PERSONAL FIREPLACE, LET GO YOU FIGLIO DI PUT-"
You cut them off before things escalated.
"Woah woah, we're going to find a solution, don’t worry... Valdemar, could you just please let go of the Pontifex...?"
Valdemar stared at you for a second, before slowly releasing Vulgora from their grasp. The Pontifex swore some more as they put a good distance between themselves and the doctor, who was now intently looking at you. You could make out a sense of confusion in their eyes, as if they hadn’t been in this situation before and simply didn’t know what to do. You looked at their cloak, and gloves, they even had a scarf... You took their hands in your own and gasped. It was like cupping a handful of snow and ice...
"You're freezing!" You exclaimed, somewhat alarmed. Valdemar’s head tilted slightly, probably confused as to why you were worrying so much. You looked around, before dragging them to one of the unoccupied guest quarters. You hurriedly instructed them to replace their cloak with the thick blankets of the bed, and then asked them to sit by the fireplace, as close as possible. You then quickly lit a fire thanks to a spell and made sure they’d be close enough to the heat.
"There, it should help a little bit... I'll check up on you after the banquet, alright? Don’t move from here."
They looked at you leave the room, secretly dumbfounded and maybe even a little insulted. They weren’t a child! They could look after themselves, thank you very much. When the door closed they looked back at the fire. They had to admit, the warmth was nice... They weren’t sure if the blanket was doing anything though.
You sat at the ridiculously long dinner table, eyeing the guests who were happily chattering amongst themselves. Your mind was elsewhere, however. You had noticed a few times already how the air seemed to get chilly whenever the great doors of the palace opened to welcome in more guests. You were thankful no more people were going to show up, because you had had a hard time warming yourself back up each time the outside air got in. You thought about Valdemar, who, hopefully, was still in the guest room by the fireplace, and your heart squeezed with a hint of worry. You didn't know why, but it did... You took another bite of your salmon tartare and let your mind wander. You had always had an inexplicable soft spot for the courtiers. You always found their antics funny, and somewhat cute as well sometimes.
Your gaze drifted to Vulgora, who was obviously bored. Apparently, no one wanted to entertain their tales of battle and violence… You noticed Volta, a few seats further, who was joyfully devouring her food, plate after plate, and you noticed some of the guests even gave her their leftovers. You resisted the urge to tell her to slow down a bit and chuckled to yourself. Vlastomil was monologuing to one of the guests, probably about his worms, while Valerius – who seemed to be enjoying himself at least a bit – was having a rather in depth conversation with yet another guest. You swirled your drink, took a sip of it and adjusted the shawl Nadia had passed you earlier, when she had noticed you were a bit cold. You still had a hard time warming yourself up, however…
Once the dinner was over – thank the gods –, you hurried upstairs, to the guest room you had left Valdemar in. You entered without knocking, and was surprised to find them exactly as you left them: they were still enveloped in the blanket, sitting in front of the fireplace and looking at the dancing flames in the hearth. You quietly closed the door and sat down beside them.
“Better?” you asked softly. They turned their head towards you, their red eyes gleaming even more strangely than usual because of the dim lighting of the fireplace.
“Better what?” they inquired.
“I meant, do you feel any better? Warmer?”
They paused, as if mulling over the question.
“Slightly. It took a long time, however.” they looked back at the flames. “What puzzles me the most is why. I can’t say I have ever felt a sense of coldness persist this long before.” they paused. You took their hand again.
“You’re right, you’re barely any warmer…” you sighed. “Can I… Try something?”
They looked at you again. “Depends. What’s the protocol of your experiment?”
You blinked. They clarified: “What do you want to try?”
You carefully took one of their hands in your own again, holding it like it might slip away anytime. You focused on trying to warm your hands with a bit of magic, hoping that warmth would help the Quaestor. They tilted their head. “Through physical touch? It could work. I can’t say my body emits any warmth of its own. Maybe it could do the trick.”
You resisted the urge to make any comments. Valdemar had never been one for touch or things like that… They must be desperate for a solution to their problem, you thought.
“Can I hold you, then?” you asked, scooting closer. The Quaestor blinked at your request, and scrutinized your face for a while. You couldn’t tell what they were thinking even if you tried – with or without spells – and so you just anxiously waited for a response. After what felt like an eternity, they extended one arm towards you, wrapping it awkwardly around your shoulders as you brought yourself closer to them. You resisted the urge to chuckle; they obviously weren’t used to snuggling close to someone, and their movements felt very calculated and at the same time improvised. You scooted close to them, wrapping your arms around them securely after re-adjusting the blanket around you both. Oh, they were cold as a river of ice…
“You poor thing…” You mumbled, holding them a bit closer.
“Excuse me?”
“No, Nothing.” You quickly stammered.
You two stayed like this for a long while, and you half expected Valdemar to just push you away at some point, but they didn’t. You allowed yourself to relax… You could feel the warmth of the fire, and you swore you felt Valdemar’s body finally warm up. You let out a little sigh, your eyes threatening to close… But a harsh knock on the door drew your attention.
“Magician, you in there?” Vulgora’s angry voice rung behind the door.
“Yeah? What is it?” You asked, curious.
The door opened to reveal a very much annoyed Pontifex, to whom clung a shivering Volta, a shaky Vlastomil and a snob but obviously cold Valerius. You blinked and your jaw dropped slightly.
“...What-”
“As I said before, I am not anyone’s personal fireplace. There’s an actual fireplace here, I see. So-” They stepped in, dragging the three others with them, and one by one put them by the fire. “-I’m leaving them here.” You were… A bit surprised they were so effortlessly holding the other courtiers.
“Uhm, well, sure, I mean-” You didn’t have time to finish your sentence, as Vulgora walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them. You could swear you heard Valdemar let out an annoyed little ‘tsk’ as they looked at the others, who had sat a bit closer to you both. The silence settled, occasionally broken by a quiet sneeze from Volta. You were… A bit confused on what to do, honestly. You hadn’t planned on helping more than one cold courtier…
“…” You looked behind you, back at the bed. It would be big enough for all of you, no…?
“… Alright, uhm…” You spoke up, and looked at the courtiers around you. “We can- settle on the bed, that’ll be more comfortable than the floor and well… You three can… There should be some extra blankets in the closet, just… Make yourselves at ease, I suppose.
As the night rolled in for good, Vulgora found themselves pacing around in their quarters. They were bored, and they had no idea why. But there was something else poking at their chest, an emotion they didn’t like, but couldn’t name. Their thoughts drifted back to you, and how you were snuggled up to Valdemar by the fireplace. They frowned and gritted their teeth. What was it they felt? Envy? Jealousy? Hurt? They simply couldn’t place it… But they had to fix it. They stomped out of their quarters and back to the guest room, where they unceremoniously invited themselves, closing the door firmly behind them. They crossed their arms and contemplated the scene before them… You were still snuggled up to Valdemar, and Volta was snuggled up to you, while Vlastomil was snuggled up to Volta, and Valerius was snuggled up to Vlastomil – strangely enough –. It seems only Valdemar was still awake, as they looked up from the… Pile? Whatever. Their eyes scrutinized the Pontifex, and after a while they quietly sighed and gestured for them to join. Vulgora huffed quietly, before pushing their way through the line of snuggles, so they could take Volta’s place beside you. The small courtier protested, but realizing it was Vulgora, she snuggled up to them, as did the others, realizing they were just… Radiating an unreasonable amount of warmth. They laid there, wordlessly holding onto you while they stared back at Valdemar – who had no one but you clinging to them –.
“… Shut up.” They mumbled.
“I didn’t say anything.” Valdemar responded smugly.
“You thought it! And you thought it too loud! I could hear it!” They argued in a whisper, making the Quaestor chuckle to themselves.
And that is how you spent the winter solstice night…
Author's note : I'm so sorry it's a bit wacky,, but I'm a little tired :')) I still hope you enjoyed !
green+ moon dividers by @saradika-graphics (THEY'RE SO CUTE)
