Merry Christmas, my darlings! Or Happy Holidays, if you don't celebrate Chrismas!

Writing this chapter has been like pulling teeth. And I've fighting with this since before I wrote the Interlude. Yes, it was annoying like that. But I finally did it still in time to post this on Christmas, so yay me!

This chapter is my gift to all of you who keep on reading this. Even if I believe I have somehow amped the angst a little bit. Just don't let it bring you down!

Chapter 4

Anna and Kol walked down one of the streets of the American magical shopping district, arm in arm. A month had passed since she had broken Klaus' curse and the four of them had decided to split; Elijah had gone with Klaus in his quest to make more hybrids, while Kol had decided to stick with her.

"Is it wise?" He asked her, referring to the Bulgarian vampire that was curiously perusing the window of a quidditch store. On display was the Thunderbolt – currently, the fastest broom out there.

Anna raised an eyebrow, to which Kol just shrugged. He then gave her a pointed look. She sighed. "I do not fear Klaus," she started, drawing a smirk out of him. They knew very few people would dare to make such an affirmation. Ahead of them, Katerina froze, no doubt paying attention to their conversation, knowing, undoubtedly, that this was about her. "As for Elijah... it's true that I respect him a great deal and that I also owe him a lot, but," and now it was her time to shrug, "I don't need his approval for the things I do.

"Besides, as you well know, I have this habit of taking in strays," she threw him a sly glance, and he laughed, something she knew was quite rare – he was all smirks and condescending chuckles, not amused belly deep laughs. Katerina was openly staring now, flabbergasted. Anna winked and grinned, and was rewarded by the vampire turning away, a faint shade of pink colouring her cheeks. Funny, she mused, how everyone is so convinced that the sweet, caring girl is gone. Anna was quite good at drawing her out from beneath the conniving and cruel façade.

"And what are you going to tell them when we reunite?" She threw him a questioning glance, and he rolled his eyes. "You do know that it will happen eventually, right?" She stared at him blankly, and Kol let out an explosive sigh. "I'm sure you haven't missed Nik's controlling tendencies. Sooner or later, they'll come looking for us; Nik because he wants everyone under his thumb, and Elijah, to make sure I haven't done anything... untoward."

Anna pursed her lips in displeasure, both at his brothers' attitude and at the thought of having to explain herself. She had not had to do that in centuries. "I don't owe them any explanations," she raised her chin.

"They'll demand one anyway," he remarked drily.

"Then I'll simply remind them that neither is my husband nor Head of my House. And an attack on anyone under the protection of House Potter will be considered an attack on myself."

They both watched as the tension left the doppelgänger's figure and she resumed her perusal of the shops.

-.-.-

Anna was helping Katerina to stand while, at the same time, ridding the vampire of all the soot that covered her. It was great to know she was not the only one who had problems traveling the floo – though she had to admit that the great distance between her house in Mystic Falls and Grimmauld Place may have something to do with that.

"Welcome back." Someone stated from behind her. Anna turned around and was faced with the grey eyes and aristocratic features of one Sirius Orion Black, who was making the action of leaning against the threshold look elegant. And to think that a few years back he had been this haggard and half-mad thing breaking out of Azkaban to, supposedly, kill her. "I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon."

Anna was about to answer him when he grinned, and his whole face lit up with his joy. He suddenly moved forward, and she found her arms full of him. Not that she cared much. She just relished his presence. Sirius gave great hugs.

Once he started spinning with her in arms, Anna couldn't help it, she laughed. Death, but she had missed the old dog and his antics!

Once he stopped, she looked at her guests from over his shoulders. They appeared to be mystified to see her so relaxed. Not that she could prevent it; it was Sirius.

"There are many things to be done..." she trailed of pensively.

"I see…" he tightened his hold on her before shifting back, hands on her shoulders and silver eyes peering at her, a smile still on his lips. "We can leave the plotting for later. Let's get you and your friends settled first."

-.-.-

Elijah stood on one side of the clearing, facing, but not really seeing, the dozens of corpses lying in the glade. Niklaus was walking around, often enough stopping to inspect the fallen bodies, giddy in his success; this was the third pack the blond had convinced to turn, and he was ecstatic. Hel, he had even refrained from threatening Elijah! And if that was not proof enough of his good mood, Elijah did not know what else could have been. The older Mikaelson now found himself in a state that was a mix of happiness and gratitude that Anna had convinced him to let her help. The dagger threats had become really old really fast, and Elijah relished in the metaphorical peace he now found himself in.

"I must admit," Niklaus made his way to him, the light in his eyes something that still gave Elijah pause, "that your little witch did an amazing job, brother."

Elijah knew Niklaus was curious about Anna's identity – her bangs did a wonderful job of covering that dreadful scar, and Anna (he had not called her by her last name in his brother's presence) was a common enough name that, despite her features, no one's first thought was to associate her with the Girl-Who-Lived – and the thought of leaving him in the dark was one that amused the older Original greatly. But his reaction was something Elijah had been anticipating for a while now.

"Well, I wouldn't have expected any less of the Woman-Who-Conquered. Would you, brother?" He gave in.

Niklaus visibly jerked at that, eyes widening and jaws dropping as realization sunk in. Elijah tried to not let himself be filled with smugness, being only slightly successful – it was not every day he got one over his brother. It was a pity that Niklaus' surprised face didn't last (he wondered if Anna would be opposed to lending him her pensive, just so he could admire the hybrid's stupefied face over and over again), being replaced by appreciation. Elijah knew his brother well enough to know he thought it was a brilliant idea to have the support of such a powerful witch. And he also knew that, given the opportunity, the hybrid would try to court her favour for himself.

Elijah was waiting for the day with great anticipation.

Niklaus chuckled. "Well, when you put things this way, the outcome does become quite obvious, doesn't it?

He turned and went to talk with the hybrids he had brought with them to convince the pack to allow themselves to be turned. Elijah ignored them. He was more worried about keeping tabs on the young Salvatore. He had learned through experience to always be on high-alert whenever Elena and her little troop was involved. They were even more prone to backstabbing than his family. And while he could have released that little titbit about Anna once the both of them had procured some privacy – Niklaus' reaction would have been the same – he wanted to know how Stefan would take it. By now, he certainly knew that Anna had been the witch performing the ritual, but would he have realized who she really was?

He watched out of the corner of his eye as the young vampire approached him, a mix of uncertain and cautious. He paused by the Original's side and turned to him. "Woman-Who-Conquered?"

And his theory of the Salvatores being ignorant of the Wizarding World had just been confirmed! Sure, he had had his suspicions when they had – before she had rescued him – acted as if Anna was as normal and ignorant of the supernatural as most of the population, but had wanted to make sure. Anyone who had spent a modicum of time in the enclaves had heard about 'Anna Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived, the Woman-Who-Conquered' and whatever other hyphenated names they had created for her. That Stefan was asking him about her byname clearly showed he had never come in contact with this kind of witch before.

"An epithet," he answered, unbothered by the young man's frown.

"What did she conquer?"

Elijah thought about answering; it certainly would come up sooner or later. But why should he make Stefan's life easier? To be honest, the only reason he was still alive was because of Niklaus – if his brother was bothering someone else, he would not have time to bother him. The young vampire was lucky he was under the hybrid's protection for now, and that Elijah thought keeping tabs on his brother should always be on top of his priority list; he had promised young Elena that he would kill everyone she loved if she double-crossed him, after all.

And yet, here he was… looking after his brother as if he had no better things to do with his time and talking with a vampire he had promised to kill.

So, instead of answering Stefan, Elijah hummed and turned around, intent on returning to the hotel they were staying at for the moment.

He needed to reconsider what his priorities in life should be.

-.-.-

Time went by. Anna saw Teddy off to his second year and made sure to keep an eye on the schemes of the Wizengamot. It would very remiss of her to allow stupid and/or retrograde legislations to be passed unchallenged when she had both the means and the allies to stop them.

Soon enough, rumours of werewolf packs not bound by the rules of the moon started to circulate. Even the Magical Enclaves had heard of them. And like with everything that fell outside of the wizards' control, these packs were becoming feared, and there were many who wished to see them subjugated. And the President of the MACUSA was receiving backlash from all around for 'not being in control of the situation'.

Anna rolled her eyes every time she heard anyone complaining about it. No one cared about werewolves, except for those who had an attachment to them – which was rare! It did not matter that they only transformed once a month, everyone treated them as if they were contagious beasts. Even though they were only capable of spreading their curse when morphed. And now that there were lycanthropes entirely on control of their inner wolves, people were going mad. Was it because now the wizards couldn't use the excuse that they were 'filthy, uncontrollable beasts'?

And why were they being so concerned? The only hybrids around, she was sure, were part of the mundane werewolf packs. Wizards had no reason to be butting in when they hadn't given a fuck before.

Sometimes, she wondered why she bothered being a part of such a frivolous, prejudiced and, often-times, disgusting community. More often than not, she had the impression they were becoming worse with the passing years. That's why she spent most of her time in the Mundane World.

One morning, she descended to the kitchen to have her breakfast and was surprised by Remus' presence. It had become rare to see him without Dora nowadays. He was seated at the table and having a discussion with Kol about the differences between their kinds of magic; how they interacted and affected the world around them. Sirius was talking quietly with Katerina.

It was a good thing they were already so used to vampire presence around her. They didn't even bat an eye anymore. Sirius had gone as far as buying the main ingredient for the bloody pops – a concoction that gave origin to the Blood-Replenishing Potion – and having it added to some plates so their guests would not starve themselves.

She took her place at the table and served herself. Kreacher had outdone himself, as always (when she said 'as always', what she meant was 'since they discovered Regulus' tragic tale and destroyed the horcrux he gave his life acquiring'. Sirius redeemed himself in the old house-elf's eyes by making himself sick with grief once he had heard how his brother had really died. From there on, there had not been anymore attempts at poisoning, and Sirius had stopped mistreating the elf). It did not take long before Remus turned to her. "Have you heard the rumours from America?"

Anna mentally sighed. Of course, this was what he wanted to talk about. Remus' aversion to his lycanthropy was almost legendary in their family. She could have understood it if he dreaded the pain of the transformation, like many did, or feared what he could do once transformed. But what he did was to completely repudiate his wolf. She knew that what he did harmed both him and the wolf, but when she tried to speak with him about it, he had brushed her of, stating she did not understand. As if she had to be a werewolf to understand that denying a part of oneself did more harm than good!

Anna's relationship with Remus was somewhat strained. She liked him well enough and thought he had a brilliant mind. Though… while she had forgiven him for abandoning her to the Dursleys (she dreaded to think what would have become of her if Elijah had not found her), she had not forgotten. He had not visited, had not written, nor had done anything to show he had, in any way or form, cared about her. And when she had discovered that he had been friends with her parents and asked him why she had never heard of him, and Remus had responded with "I'm a werewolf, Anna. It wasn't safe. Besides, Dumbledore asked me not too. He wanted you to have a childhood where your fame didn't bear down on you, which would have happened had you come in contact with the Wizarding World", she had exploded. Her fiery temper had demanded nothing less. How many times, when she still lived in Privet Drive, had she been approached by complete strangers (who she later realized were wizards and witches) wanting to shake her hands or thank her, leaving her entirely too confused and Aunt Petunia entirely too angry? She still remembered finishing her rant by calling him a "disgusting and hypocritical coward" before leaving his office. He had not directed another word to her for the rest of her third year.

Then there had been the thing before fifth year. With him and a bunch of people she had never met before appearing in the house Elijah and her were staying at, saying that they were there to escort her to somewhere safe. She remembered Remus' reaction to her refusal to go with them the clearest, him pinching the bridge of his nose and saying in a strained voice for her to "stop being childish when people were only trying to protect her".

To this day, she did not regret answering him with a "Do I look like a dog on a leash to you? Only going where my owner wants or allows me to?". It was the moment where their relationship had changed. Remus had realized that, while it was true of everybody who had come with him, the barb was directed specifically toward him. A complete contradiction to what his answer had been. She had seen the exact moment when realization set in, when he had figured out the extent of Dumbledore's grasp on his person.

And then Elijah had appeared and politely threatened them all. They couldn't leave fast enough.

The next time Anna had met him, he was an entirely new person. He went so far as to formally apologize to her before offering to help her deal with Voldemort and asking her to be the godmother of his child, saying he could think of no better person to ask.

She nodded noncommittally. Honestly, she was more preoccupied with what she would be having for breakfast than about what Klaus could possibly be doing.

"What do you think is happening there?"

She looked up from the delicious pastry she was munching on and looked around. Sirius had cocked his head, clearly curious about it all; Katerina was alternating between biting her food and biting her lip, any mention of Klaus making her understandably nervous; Kol was focusing on his food now that his conversation partner was talking with someone else, though she could feel the amusement he was practically projecting; and Remus was looking straight at her with intense tawny eyes.

She swallowed and cleaned her mouth before answering. "Nothing that you want to be a part of."

He narrowed his eyes, but it Sirius who eventually asked. "Why not?"

"Because I doubt he would want to become a vampire, given his current aversion to his one curse. Do you really think he will want to add to that?" She responded without averting her eyes from Remus', raising an eyebrow in challenge. She felt no joy when he flinched and looked away.

"I thought it was impossible for werewolves to transition. Either you were one or the other."

She turned to Sirius, who was frowning pensively. But it was Kol who answered. "Under normal circumstances, that would be true. But they are being turned by my brother."

"Your brother?"

Kol nodded. "The Original hybrid."

Sirius spit the coffee he was imbibing. "A hybrid? As in half-vampire, half-werewolf?"

"Vampwolf, lycanpire, vaewolf, hybrid. Pick one," Anna waved her hand neglectfully, this talk was not one that entertained her. So, she returned to her breakfast.

But Sirius and Remus disagreed with her, if their many questions were anything to go by. And if she shared a commiserating look with Katerina, well, the boys looked too preoccupied to notice it. At least Kol was a great storyteller.

-.-.-

One morning, after Niklaus judged he had enough hybrids for his little army, he decided it was time for him to build a home for their family, so he told Elijah they would be returning to Mystic Falls, where their new house would be built. Elijah wanted to roll his eyes at his brother's penchant for drama because couldn't he pick anywhere else for them to go? Why not return to New Orleans, the city they had founded? He was certain their manor was still standing. But no, Niklaus wanted them to return to where it all began.

And that was how Elijah found himself supervising his brother's minions while they built the manor. At least, he was not bored; Anna had sent him a marvellous book about the Egyptian pharaohs, the curses they had put in their tombs and their effects on the unsuspecting thieves for his birthday. It was a fascinating, if quite gruesome at times, read. From Kol, he received a crate of firewhisky with a card: "Happy birthday, asshole". He did not know if he ought to be grateful or offended, and settled on exasperated. To his greatest surprise, he had also received a gift from Katerina, a pair of silver cufflinks with his initials engraved on them. His exasperation went up a notch when he realized Anna had taken in another stray.

And now Elijah had been left to explain to his brother that Katerina was to be removed from his hitlist. Joy!

It could not have happened at a worst time. Niklaus had just discovered that Stefan wasn't as much in their corner as he had been pretending to be. As had been proven by Elena's alive status, something he had clearly known about, but hadn't cared to share. Not that Elijah was going to interfere. Stefan was Niklaus' to deal with. He was just going to sit back and enjoy his birthday presents.

Plotting Elena and her friends' demise could be left for another day.

He had read almost a quarter of his book when Niklaus stormed in. A very cautious Stefan following after him. Elijah ignored them, not willing to let go of his good mood quite yet. Fortunately, his brother seemed unwilling to annoy him today, and he was grateful for small mercies. No, Niklaus simply grabbed a stool and brought it close to where he was and sat down.

Elijah kept on reading.

"Is this firewhisky?"

He looked up and saw his brother was sniffing the shot he had poured for himself. "Blishen's," he nodded, and Niklaus hummed appreciatively.

"Do you mind?"

"Knock yourself out." Kol had certainly gifted him enough to last for a while, so he didn't feel the need to keep this one bottle to himself.

"Firewhisky?" A leery, but clearly curious Stefan inquired. A gasp left him when, after downing it, his brother exhaled smoke as he let out a contented sigh.

"Do you think it would take much to get in Kol's good grace?"

Elijah snorted. Of all the things Niklaus could possibly want from Kol – all the knowledge and witch contacts his brother had acquired throughout the years… – he had not expected it to simply be booze. Mind, a very high-quality brand of magical booze, but booze nonetheless.

"And what makes you think that I am in his good graces?" Because Elijah most certainly wasn't. He was almost certain that the only reason his youngest brother had sent him something was because Anna had probably convinced him.

"Well, you're sharing a witch. And we both know how Kol zealously guards the ones he favours."

"Must be because you have a propensity to kill them when they don't cater to your every whim," he commented distractedly and turned a page from his book. He was not worried about Anna; she was a millennium their senior, after all (and wasn't it weird that the girl that he had raised was now older than him?). He had no doubt she could hand them their asses if the situation called for it. And if Niklaus proved to be more of a problem than previously anticipated, he was sure Kol would be more than willing to team up in order to protect her.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the agreeable mood that had prevailed disappeared. He held back a sigh. So much for not annoying him!

"Kol should know better than to plot against me."

At Niklaus' icy tone, Elijah turned his eyes from ancient pages and watched as his brother glared at the glass in his hand. If it were anyone else, he would say they were sulking. "Every one of us has plotted against you at least once," he stated, completely unimpressed with the blond's attitude; as if each of them did not have at least three reasons as to why they wanted the hybrid out of their hair.

He was even less impressed with the way Stefan perked up at his declaration. It was ridiculously obvious that the boy wanted to off his brother. It left Elijah wondering who would kill the Salvatores first, him or Niklaus. "Your controlling tendencies leave a lot to be desired."

"Pot, kettle."

"I don't lock our siblings up for decades on end just because they don't follow my rules."

The instant he saw his brother stiffening, he knew he would not like what the other had to say. The malicious glint that entered his eyes was more than enough of a hint.

"No, you hold them down so I can dagger and lock them up."

His mood instantly soured at this statement. Because the hybrid was not even lying, no matter how much he wished otherwise. Noble Stag, my ass. While his crimes against his family weren't as extensive as Niklaus', they still existed, much to his chagrin.

His good mood completely vanished, he closed his book with a snap and stood up. He then collected his half-empty bottle and made to leave. Seeing as Niklaus was here, he could overlook the construction of his new manor (his, not theirs) on his own. Elijah had better things to do with his time than to, once again, soothe his brother's bruised ego.

-.-.-

It did not take long for the house to be completed. Ah, the wonders of supernatural strength and speed! … To his greatest surprise, Niklaus undaggered both Rebekah and Finn of his own volition.

One day, Elijah had gone to Anna's house in Mystic Falls to get away from his brother (and to think they had, once, shared space for centuries) and to ponder. How much longer should he play his brother's keeper? How much longer would his devotion demand he stand by Klaus' side? He had spent centuries by his brother, supporting him, cleaning up his messes and suffering the younger's tantrums. Then he went and made it possible for him to not only break his curse, but to also fulfil his wish for a hybrid family (Elijah curled his lips at the thought). He had surely redeemed himself by now, right? Redeemed himself from the guilt he carried for helping his father tie Niklaus down as their mother cursed the blond (even if he knew that if he had not done so, Niklaus would have died then and there by Mikael's hand).

So why? Why did he keep on doing it to himself?

He still had not find any answers by the time he went back to Niklaus' mansion, a couple of days later. And he was still mentally and emotionally exhausted. Which was just exacerbated by Niklaus annoyed glare. The blond, of course, appeared as unruffled and full of himself as when he had left, but Elijah knew him well enough to divine his mood.

"Hello, brother. You've been gone a while," the hybrid asked as soon as Elijah set a foot inside the house. "Care to share?"

"Here and there," he ran a hand through his hair, wondering if it would be worth it to just turn back and disappear for a few more days. Before he could really entertain the idea, a golden blur launched itself at him.

"Elijah!" The familiar voice of his sister sounded in his year and he felt himself relaxing. Dear Rebekah, a sight for sore eyes!

"Dear sister, I missed you," he told her and enveloped her in his arms, an act so familiar it hurt. He had missed this so much!

The sound of footsteps coming from the same direction Rebekah had come from startled him. Surely Niklaus wouldn't…? He raised his head and, sure enough, his eyes met the hazel-green of his older brother. "Finn."

"Elias," Finn nodded. "Good of you to join us."

His brother had reverted to speaking Old Norse. Most probably in response to the three of them talking in a language he could not understand. Elijah mentally sighed. While it would be easy to catch Rebekah up – relatively as easy as it had been to catch Kol up – it would be a hassle to update Finn. Though he wouldn't complain too much. He finally had all of his siblings awake, he could spare the time it would take to make sure they could thrive.

"It's good to see you too, bror," he told his brother – and he meant it. He felt a pang in his chest when he perceived how startled Finn was by his words. He would make sure his family would become whole again or he would die trying.

But first, he just had to ask his favourite witch to do him a few favours.

Katerina looked on as an angry and poisoned Damon left Elena's stepfather's apartment. Though slightly upset that he would condemn her for something he would have done if it were his life on the line, she was genuinely sad that his days were numbered.

She waited anxiously for Klaus' return. He would, no doubt, have a triumphant expression on his face – for there was no chance that the Woman-Who-Conquered would fail in this endeavour, especially after she went out of her way to ensure she would be the one doing the ritual.

But he never returned. Not until three days had passed, at least. And to Katerina's surprise, none other than Elijah was accompanying him. They were discussing the hybrid's plans of searching for werewolf packs across the country. At least, until Stefan appeared, searching for a cure for his brother.

"Is this necessary?" Elijah asked, lips pursed, as Klaus forced Stefan back into his ripper persona.

If the hybrid answered him with anything other than a smirk, Katerina could not say, for she left as soon as she was ordered to give Damon the cure, the phantom sensation produced by Klaus' venom when he bit her accompanying her all the way.

-.-.-

Because the more things changed, the more they remained the same.

-.-.-

Finding the British witch's house was not that difficult, she only had had to find Jenna and ask her. Though the blonde had given her a strange look, clearly surprised that Elena was asking for Anna.

She made the way to the witch's house, heart in her mouth. Surely Anna Potter would listen to her?

She stopped in front of the door and gathered her courage. Even though she wanted to draw on her Katherine Pierce persona – the one that kept her alive all this time – she knew that Potter would be less than impressed with her act. And that was without mentioning the youngest Original, who was as wild a card as they came, and who seemed to be important enough that his opinion would certainly be taken in consideration.

Katerina decided that enough was enough and, before she could talk herself out of it, raised her hand and knocked on the door. She tried to listen for anything that was going on inside – some kind of complaint for the late hour or anything – but there was no sound to be heard. Hence her surprise when the door was suddenly opened.

She stared. Kol Mikaelson's appearance was exactly like how she imagined Elijah to have looked like when he was younger. His cockiness, though, was all Klaus.

He perused her from head to toe, eyes narrowed. "Yes?"

"Is Lady Potter in?" She tried to reign in her nervousness when faced with his inscrutable gaze (which had narrowed when she addressed the witch by her title, implying she knew exactly who she was); her relationship with his siblings was not the best. There was no reason for her to hope this time would be any different.

Kol looked over his shoulder for a few seconds, then shifted his body just enough so she could see Anna approaching from behind him, a glint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Can I help you?"

Katerina stared into those eyes – for the first time she had seen, not hidden behind spectacles. They were chartreuse green (so different from the emerald green she had seen earlier) and glowed with power. For some reason, she felt like she was staring Death itself in the eyes.

She mentally shook herself. Now was not the time to lose herself in reverie. It was now or never. "Give me sanctuary, please," she begged in the most desperate voice she could muster.

There was silence as Anna thought about her request. She chanced a glance in the Original's direction, but he was focusing on the witch's pensive mien, simply waiting for her decision. She mentally sighed in relief when she realized he would not interfere.

"You do realize," Katerina refocused on green, "that, if I do this, you won't be able to leave my properties unless you wish to face your pursuers again, don't you?"

Of course, she did! But what choice did she have? It was better to be restricted to magically moving around a few houses than to always look over her shoulder, waiting for the day Klaus would finally catch up to her.

She nodded tersely.

"And if I could offer you a better solution?" Katerina's breath caught in her throat. A better...? She did not dare to hope. "What if I were to offer you my House's protection?"

Kol's eyebrow raised at the proposal, clearly surprised. But, seeing as he did not say anything, she ignored him, too preoccupied with her racing thoughts. She had caught the implications – what hadn't been said. The witch was of old blood, after all – the Lady of her House.

Fealty in exchange for protection.

Katerina thought it through. Would she be able to bow down to someone after being independent for so long? To swear to be loyal and truthful when lies and deceit were what had enabled her to survive all this time? She mentally snorted; of course, she would. She was Katerina Petrova, and she would do anything to survive. If the price was to swear herself to someone, then she would swallow her pride and genuflect with a smile on her face.

And that was exactly what she did.

That's it, my dears. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!