It was a cold wintery night, and all of Runswick was dressed in a holiday glow of twinkly lights and Christmas cheer. Raydir had wanted to surprise me with something special today, so after being told to dress in my warmest clothes and to meet him at the end of the drive to the palace, I hurried outside where Raydir stood waiting for me. His blonde hair was slicked back. The scarf around his throat brought out the gold in his green eyes, which twinkled with excitement as he greeted me with a kiss.

"Where are you taking us?" I asked.

Raydir wiggled his eyebrows at me. "You'll see." He'd called for a carriage which took us into town then promptly instructed me to close my eyes.

"Ray, you know this is dangerous to not know where I'm walking!" I said, giggling.

"Don't worry," he replied. "I'm here to catch you if you fall." He grabbed my hand to help us narrowly avoid a slushy spot.

After what seemed like ages, we stopped.

"Okay, open your eyes."

I opened them. Raydir had taken me to the foot of the biggest hill in Runswick. Children—and some adults—squeaked with joy (or terror, it was hard to tell) as their toboggans sped down the snowy hill.

"The first of three surprises," Raydir said. "Sledding. You remember how much we used to love racing as kids."

I squeezed his hand. "This is amazing. I love it."

He grinned. "Let's do it."

We walked up the hill and paid the vendor.

"Unlimited sledding rides for as long as we want." Raydir glanced at me. "You ready for this?"

I nodded. We each grabbed a sled then counted down from three before pushing off.

A shriek of excitement escaped my throat. The wind whipped my hair around my face, the cold nipping at my nose. The sled slid to a stop. Raydir stood up and brushed himself off before helping me to my feet.

"Fun, right?" He winked.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Absolutely. Let's go again."

We raced back up the hill before settling onto one of the two-person sleds. I cling to Raydir's waist as we zipped down the hill. After a few more sled races, Raydir took me over for the next of his Christmas surprises.

Snowmen.

"Help me with the bottom layer," Raydir said.

With our gloved hands, we carefully rolled out the bottom layer of our snowman. We had a little trouble and it ended up looking a little funky.

"Wow. That's a, um, pretty big snow-butt," I commented.

Raydir laughed. "Don't worry, it'll take shape with the rest of the layers. But we'll make him curvy and proportional." He tackled the next layer while I created the head.

Once we were done, we stepped back to admire our handiwork."

"What do you think?" Ray asked.

I grinned. "Perfect.Now he just needs arms." I went to retrieve some sticks and poked them into each side of the middle layer of our snowman. "How's that?"

"Wonderful. I love it." Raydir kissed me. "On to the next adventure." He led me down the snowy path where there was a carriage waiting dressed up as a sleigh waiting for us.

"Oh Raydir!" I gushed. "This is amazing!"

He helped me into the carriage and we snuggled under the blanket together.

I hummed happily as the carriage bumped along the road, listening to Ray talk about the landmarks we passed. He pointed out several of our favorite meeting places and recited back special moments in our relationship that had occurred in many places here in Runswick. The sound of the horse's hooves clomping over the cobblestones was almost like a lullaby.

The carriage circled around the now-frozen fountain in the middle of the square before taking us back.

It was so peaceful, I didn't want it to end.

Raydir looked over at me and raised my hand to his lips. "Up for one more surprise?" he asked.

"I thought it was only three?"

Ray laughed. "Well, that's what makes it a surprise!"

Without any prompting, the carriage started off again. Within a few minutes we were back at the field where we'd left our snowman. Raydir helped me down out of the carriage. To my surprise, the snowman was now dressed in a hat and tie. Between his stick hands was a sign that read:

Marry me?

Tears sprung to my eyes as Raydir got down on one knee and pulled out a ring box.

"Being with you is the best part of my day and I love having you in my life," he began, "sp will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

I nodded my head vigorously. "Yes. Absolutely a thousand times yes!" I jumped into his arms and he hooked his arms around my waist. "I love you."

Raydir grinned and kissed me. "I love you more. And I can't wait to go on this next adventure with you."

Dedicated to: SayWatt74