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Every single holiday that Rapunzel had spent since her days in the tower had always been memorable, to say the very least. Each one had been different in its own way, and for that she was eternally grateful. Her first holiday season since turning eighteen had been rather quiet and dull compared to the crazy hubbub of her life as she dealt with her hair, figuring out princess-y things, and how things were done in general. The next holidays had felt somewhat lonely and empty, her beloved kingdom overshadowed by the threat posed by a certain friend of hers. And the year after that, still lonely but now hopeful, Cassandra's absence having been a good thing as she was now out discovering both the world and herself, and then her engagement to Eugene. On and on the years went, things constantly changing around the young woman... And she was always grateful for that.
This year, though... This year would be different. She knew that much. Her oldest child was five years old now, and her youngest was one. They were still young, yes, but nobody was ever too young to experience the magic of each holiday, and to grow excited as they learned more and more about traditions within their kingdom. And Rapunzel was more than excited to share everything she knew with them.
Rapunzel woke up bright and early that fine Christmas morning, for the first time in awhile not due to one of her children being wide-awake and vying for her attention. No, this came from the absolute excitement that she got every single year at around this time. Christmas. A time of joy and beauty, family and friends. All that she loved and held dear, right at her fingertips.
The young queen sat up, smiling to herself as she went to pull out her festive gown before getting to work putting it on, making sure to be quiet as she did so. She didn't want to wake Eugene in her excitement; she knew the past month or so especially had been rough on him. Once she had finished getting changed, she went to leave the room to go to her children. She knew for a fact that at least one, if not two or all three of them, would be wide-awake. Reuben knew what Christmas was, and was just as excited as she tended to be about the holiday; Eris was more than likely deep in sleep (being a three-year-old was hard, apparently), and Amiere was honestly a wild card at this point, not knowing much as to why he should be excited today of all days but also being young enough where his waking up was always a possibility.
She went down the hallway to the nursery and quietly opened the door, peeking in on her children. Sure enough, Reuben was sitting up near the lantern that was kept on to provide the children with light, pencil and notepad in hand. Amiere was sitting up in his enclosed bed, watching his big brother intently with his wide brown eyes. Rapunzel smiled softly, watching her boys-- neither of whom seemed to realize that she was there-- before stepping into the room. She stopped briefly to run her hand over her daughter's dark hair before moving to scoop her youngest into her arms.
"Ma!" he exclaimed loudly, and she shushed him quietly.
"Morning, love," she murmured softly, kissing his forehead before looking to Reuben, "and good morning, my little artist."
He groaned a little but offered his mother a smile.
Rapunzel went over to him, wrapping her free arm around him from behind. "How about we go finish that puzzle we were working on yesterday, mmm?"
Reuben nodded, setting down his stuff and going to follow his mother. It was still hours before everyone else awoke, so perhaps it was easiest to merely spend some time with his mom and brother until then.
A little bit of time passed, and the castle slowly but surely woke up each minute. Finally, Eugene and Eris had woken up and it was time for them all to spend their Christmas morning together. Rapunzel and Eugene had a small tree set up in their room with gifts underneath, stockings hung from the wall. Rapunzel smiled softly when she saw the excitement on both Reuben and Eris's faces, and began handing out the presents. Then she sat down next to Amiere so she could help him if he needed it, but sat back a little so that she could watch all three of the kids.
She looked up and met Eugene's gaze, smiling warmly. Christmas. Her favorite time of year, spent with her favorite people. Always.