Knowing that Rhiannon had in the past gone looking for her christmas gifts, Gabriella had kit hide a box containing several smaller gifts that wouldn’t be hurt by the cold in the run down shed near the barn that was being remodeled. She had doubted the girl would think to look there. Naturally, christmas eve was the perfect time to retrieve them, and Kit had the box ready for her after dinner. The three had gone their separate ways, presumably all doing the exact same thing. Although if Rhiannon had finished wrapping her gifts, she was more then likely to be curled up with the book Gabriella had gotten her. It was a simple little tradition she’d started about two years after she moved in, writing a letter to grandmother Costello with the title of the book she wanted in early December, before giving it to her at dinner, so she could read herself to sleep and calm the overwhelming excitement for the following morning. This time however, Gabriella had been able to buy the book herself, for which she was proud.
But after wrapping all the gifts, she’d realized something was missing. She’d gotten the girl a charm bracelet, and it wasn’t where it was supposed to be. There was a cute little R with her birthstone in the center, a rose, a book, and a slytherin house crest on it. Gabriella loved the idea, because it meant every christmas and birthday she could get her another charm for it. But now it wasn’t there, and kit’s helpless Gesturing was no good. It must have fallen out of the box. And with Kit’s poor eyesight, the elf probably hadn’t even noticed. It would have been foolish to send Kit back out now, with the darkness and his vision, there was no way he’d find it.so grabbing her winter coat, and a thick, warm hat, gabriella had headed out herself, the tip of her wand aglow as she searched for the glittering silver jewelry amongst the dew. Why kit hadn’t just popped back, Gabriella didn’t know. But apparently her elf liked the cold, so she suspected he’d walked back with the intention of enjoying it. But that meant re-tracing the path he’d taken from the shed to the house.
Fortunately the little footsteps were easily seen, and even the impressions of the cloth wrapped around his feet were visible in the frost. It was easy to see that the bracelet was not along the path to the now dormant rose garden, but where Kit had taken a shortcut through the underbrush, Gabriella let out a sigh. It was a good thirty or forty feet, and his prints were gone, the frost settling on the brush rather then the ground. With a sigh, the welsh witch circled around to the other side. Finding where Kit’s feet re-emerged, Gabriella had a good guess where the elf had gone, and began her search, methodically shaking bushes to see if it had snagged, and listening for the clinking of metal and crystal together, hoping she’d hear it, or see it fall from a branch. She was also searching the ground, very carefully looking for the expensive bracelet.
It wasn’t until the sound of a throat clearing that Gabriella realized she wasn’t alone, and lept to her feet with a startled squeak, wand outstretched in front of her and lighting her face in a pleasant glow, eyes wide before she realized who it was. Of course she should have realized it would be her husband, wondering what the hell she was doing outside. Again. But he was smiling, and she also smiled sheepishly. “You know if you-- our daughter didn’t have a bad habit of looking for her gifts prematurely, i wouldn’t have to hide them in my garden shed...” of course Rhiannon had been good lately, but gabriella wasn’t taking any risks. Her best gifts were always hidden. A sad look crossed her face, and she sighed. “His eyes are getting worse...” she reluctantly admitted.