Seventeen-year-old Lucy Heartfilia was feeling deliriously happy – giddy, even – and was unafraid to let people learn of this. If she'd been given the opportunity to cover the perimeters of Magnolia in her joy, she would have. If the townsfolks allowed her to shout and cheer to her heart's content while they blocked their ears, she would have. And if she wanted to knock on their doors every day to let them know how many days were left till Christmas, she probably would have done that, too.

Her mind was like a butterfly: it mattered not whether she slept or sat down and read or ate her dinner or even wrote a line in her manuscript, it kept fluttering back to the remembrance that Christmas was only less than a week or so from today. Then, without warning, she would start feeling nervous again as every fibre of her being vibrated with exhilaration.

It had always been her favourite, most anticipated day of the year. She loved being reminded of the many memories the season brought with it: the inescapable smells of turkey and rosemary-infused potatoes roasting in the oven… mince pies and sugar cookies cooling on kitchen benches… stockings hanging on walls, stuffed with candies and gifts… Christmas carol singers chorusing outside the door… warming by the fireplace mantel and sipping hot cocoa… festively decorated houses, swallowed in the pure whiteness of fresh snow.

But what Lucy remembered most fondly was decorating her beloved Christmas tree with multi-coloured baubles and twinkling stars and diamond drops and gold finials and mini stockings and gingerbread men and rainbow candy canes and the tiny angel with her glowing face that was the tree's crowning glory.

Presently, she sat in her self-designated seat by the bar of Fairy Tail dreamily staring into space, maintaining only a sliver of attention on the silver spoon she twiddled between her pale fingers. She was barely even aware of the guildhall's emptiness. Besides her, there was Levy McGarden sitting alone in a corner studying a tome of ancient dialects, and brooding Kana Alberona, downing her ale a few seats across from Lucy as usual. Mirajane Strauss herself stood behind the counter, busy fulfilling her bartender duties.

It indeed was a peaceful afternoon.

"Christmas…" The word hung off the blonde girl's tongue with a chocolatey lilt and, as always, nostalgia sunk in. She wondered how Fairy Tail celebrated Christmas themselves – do they host parties, or do they take the day off?

Curious, she questioned Mirajane.

"What we do for Christmas?" echoed the guild's head waitress. "Why, of course, we hold our annual Christmas Eve party!"

"You do?" said Lucy, little shocks of electricity running down her spine. "What are they like, Miss Mira?"

The silvery-haired woman shrugged. "The theme changes every year, so it's hard to say –"

"What did you do last year, then?"

"We had a costume party. The Master nicknamed it the Christmas Costume Pub Crawl…"

"More like a Pub BRAWL," Kana snarled from where she sat at the end of the counter.

Lucy looked at her and then looked back at Mirajane. "Why, what happened?" she asked.

"Well, you see, everyone had to find a partner and dress up," explained Levy, coming to sit down next to her best friend. "After all, it was a costume party and the prize for the best dressed couple was half a year's supply of alcohol. Of course, Kana wasn't going to miss that for the world and she came in wearing a costume she'd made herself, with Gray as her partner. She'd warned him not to strip under any circumstances and, well, Gray was obedient all through the night until Natsu deliberately spilt a drink on him. The two engaged in one of their petty brawls that nearly destroyed the entire hall. In the end, no prize was awarded and Kana got so upset that she barely set foot in the guild for a month…"

Levy leaned in to whisper into Lucy's ear, "That's why she doesn't like last year's Christmas party being mentioned – it brings back the disheartening memories."

"What was the theme for the year before?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, that one was pretty fun," said Levy nostalgically. "We had karaoke night: people sung songs they'd written themselves, or did Christmas carols. Everything went on smoothly, until…"

"…until Gray picked a fight with Natsu and the two of them got Café SSA destroyed in the process," put in Kana. She stared down at her cup and took a long swig.

Lucy sighed. "And I bet the year before that wasn't any different."

"You're absolutely right." Levy grinned, and heaved a sigh herself. "Seriously, when are those two ever going to grow up?"

"Probably never," giggled Lucy. "So what are the plans for the Christmas party this year, Miss Mira?"

Mirajane stopped cleaning the plate in her hands. "The Master and I haven't decided yet."

Hearing that, Lucy felt as though her world was crumbling down. "What?!" she gasped in disbelief. "B-But… But there's only five days left until Christmas. You should have an idea, or made plans, at the very least!"

Mirajane turned to face her and Lucy noted the look of wretchedness on the woman's face. "The Master hasn't been feeling very well, lately. He's in grave condition, I'm afraid."

Lucy, Levy and Kana all widened their eyes in shock.

"He… The Master is…!"

"But Porlyusica can save him, can't she?" said Levy, trying to retain some hope. "She saved him in the past many times!"

Mirajane shook her head. "It is true Porlyusica made many attempts to cure him, but the progress in his health has only been minimal. That's why I've decided to cancel this year's Christmas party because, without the Master, it's just… not going to happen.

"That can't be true."

"It is the truth," said Erza Scarlet, coming up from behind.

"But how…?"

"I am not aware of the details but there is only one thing that we can do…"

"And what's that?"

Erza looked at the Celestial Spirit Wizard and smiled sentimentally. "Have hope. That's the best we can all do."

Lucy did her best to believe her.