A/N: The author wishes the esteemed Marchioness of Ostia, Lady Florina a very Merry Christmas. This is a present from her ex-spymaster cum henchman of her Lord, who wishes to express the sincerest apologies for not having been able to spend the jolly occasion in Singapore, I mean, Castle Ostia, and is instead enjoying, no, working in China, I mean the vast plains of Sacae.

Okay, enough of that. So, another very short piece I've churned out during my stay in China. Took me about half an hour? I'm leaving Beijing for Singapore tomorrow, at any rate. Merry Christmas everyone!

Warning: Plot? What plot?

It was a wreath of strange green leaves, decorated with brightly coloured baubles and bells.

Normally, Marisa would not have bothered to notice such insignificant details, but after having seen this contraption hung all over Castle Rausten, she began to wonder if it was supposed to mean something. She could always ask L'Arachel, but she was sure that she was going to receive another long lecture for that.

Indeed, the princess had invited everyone in the army over to Rausten for some event called "Christmas". L'Arachel had been horrified when she discovered that Marisa had no idea what Christmas was, and had made the poor swordmaster sit down for a full hour listening to her rants, before Marisa managed to find an excuse to slip away. From what she had gathered before she had escaped, though, Christmas entailed a lot of present-giving, feasting and other such festivities—which she hated.

And why was L'Arachel so surprised at the fact that she did not know about Christmas, anyway? She was from Jehanna, after all, a place where there was no winter to speak of. L'Arachel probably didn't know about the Sun Deity or the Rain Goddess, so why would she know about Christmas?

She examined the thing hanging from the roof of the hallway again. Curiosity got the better of her. Perhaps if she jumped and reached high enough, she would just be able to unhook the wreath and get a better look at it.

She braced herself. One…two…three…jump!

"Ow!" she fell back, clutching her left thumb. A prick of blood appeared on it. The spot of red snapped her back to her senses. How could she be so daft? What if the plant was poisonous? She sucked at the wound, drawing a bitter, salty taste into her mouth.

"Marisa?"

She quickly abandoned her thumb and turned around. Joshua was striding towards her, looking at her curiously. "What were you doing?"

"N-Nothing." She quickly hid her hand behind her back. If Joshua ever found out that she had pricked her thumb just because she was trying to reach a stupid wreath, she would never hear the end of his teasing.

Joshua looked at her suspiciously and retrieved her hand from behind her (after much struggling on her part). "You pricked your hand? What for?"

Marisa could feel the heat rising in her face. "Uh…I was trying to…uh…"

"Come on, I won't laugh at you."

"I was trying to reach…that." She pointed at the wreath hanging above where they stood, feeling extremely stupid. "I was just trying to get a closer look at it. I've been seeing a lot of them around the castle. Is that thing poisonous, by the way?"

Joshua followed her finger, looked upwards, and a very peculiar expression crossed his face. His eyebrows arched, and Marisa thought she could see the beginnings of a smirk form at the corner of his lips. What was so funny about it? "So is it poisonous or not? Do I need to go and get an antidote? What is that thing anyway?"

"No, it's not poisonous," Joshua said slowly, still looking at the wreath. "For your information, that is a mistletoe wreath, and it's a Christmas decoration." He lowered his gaze, looking intently at her.

"Oh. Thanks." Marisa, relieved, turned to leave, then noticed Joshua's strange expression. "What?" she said, annoyed. "What's so funny?" Hadn't he promised not to laugh at her?

The smirk on Joshua's face broadended. "Well, nothing. It's just that…there's a Christmas tradition that when two people stand under a mistletoe wreath, well…"

"Well what?" Marisa crossed her arms, glaring crossly at him.

"They're supposed to…kiss."

Marisa unfolded her arms abruptly. Her face was reddening again. Now what? She thought to herself. She lowered her gaze, staring defiantly at their feet. Well, if he really wants to kiss me…it can't be all that bad, can it—no, Marisa, what ARE you thinking?

The silence between them lasted for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, Joshua sighed. "Alright, I guess it doesn't count, since you don't know about the custom. Well then. Merry Christmas, Marisa." He turned to take his leave.

"Wait!"

Marisa did not know what had possessed her, but suddenly she found herself blocking his way, and then she was leaning forward and throwing her arms around him and giving him a quick peck on the corner of his lips.

And then the magic of the moment was over, and she came to her senses and broke away. Her face was burning hot now, as though Joshua had been the Sun Deity and she had been scalded by the contact. Her only desire now was to run, to run as far as she could, before she died of embarrassment. And so she turned away and ran, letting the chill wind descending from the windows take the heat away from her face. Just a few more steps, and she would reach the end of the hallway.

"Marisa."

Her legs abruptly turned to lead, refusing to let her go on. Some invisible force seemed to turn her around, and once again she was facing him, he and his crimson hair and fiery eyes and that irritating, persistent smirk. "I'm going to catch you under the mistletoe again someday," was all he said.

Marisa stared at him, stunned, then gradually she felt a smile creeping up her face. The sun's rays now filtered through the windows, casting a pale golden glow about him. He looked just like a Sun Deity now, she thought to herself.

Her Sun Deity.

A/N: So, how was it? It's more or less my first posted plotless fluff, so forgive me for the quality. Forgive me for Joshua and Marisa's OOC-ness, I just can't seem to get the two of them right.

The Sun Deity and Rain Goddess, of course, are my creation. But it does make sense, doesn't it? A desert country like Jehanna would do well to worship the sun and the rain. Apparently, I've abandoned politics this time, for...a very slight mention of...religion? LOL. Well, I always thought Etruria and the amount of control the Eliminean religion has over the country was astounding, but when I came to know about Rausten...a THEOCRACY, seriously?

I hope you guys enjoyed the fluff (or lack thereof due to my inadequate skills), anywayXD