Inspired by the song "Under the Mistletoe" by Randy Travis. It's a very cute song in my opinion. You don't have to listen to it, but if you feel like hearing a little more Christmas music, please do. Hope you all enjoy this and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
"I'm feelin' like a kid again, waitin' on Santa Claus."
Yes, I finally allowed Father to pull out the Christmas music. And, for the past two weeks, our house has been ringing to the sound of bells. He had surprised me with a beautiful tree about a week ago, and we had been spending that time decorating it in every way possible. I pulled down all the old ornaments from the attic, mostly ones of me when I was younger.
Dazzling balls and spirals made the whole tree glitter with excitement. The lights, though a constant white, caused each ornament to gently glow. The star on top of the tree shined brilliantly with its silver and gold glitter. I rearranged some of the lights in the house so when they shone on the star, the light bounced off and reflected onto the room around it, making the star a tiny disco ball.
The presents underneath were gorgeous as well. Father and I had invited many of our good friends to a Christmas Eve ball, during which gifts would be exchanged at midnight. Fireworks were set to go off, at my command of course, as soon as we all gathered on the terrace.
I was most excited about my surprise for the Pharaoh. The comment I made to him at Thanksgiving stuck in my head, causing me to form a plan. This result, many would say, is never a good thing.
"You're very lucky ma'am. These are the last few arrangements we have." I smiled widely at the young man. He had found exactly what I needed to carry out my plan. I gave him a bit more pay than was necessary, gathered up my supplies, and left before he could stop me. I needed to set this up and I had no time to waste. The party was in a matter of hours (Ok, fine… 10 hours). But, I still had to get ready, I had to get the food ready, heck I had to get the dance hall ready. Time was of the essence.
Seven doors. That was how many I could cover with the supplies I had. I chose to ignore the visions that flashed across my face attempting to tell me which door I should decorate. I shook them all away and went with my gut, another very dangerous thing for me to do. As soon as I was done, I dragged myself away from those doors and began to organize the dance hall.
I waved my hand, causing mops and brooms to come alive. They cleaned every inch of the floor, bringing the mahogany underneath to life. Each light stripe could be seen as it sparkled with the light. After thanking my helpers multiple times, I waved them back to sleep. The lights, at the moment, were on full blast. Eventually, they would dim, creating a softer atmosphere.
"Dria! Are you getting ready? The party is in about an hour and a half," Father said over the intercom. Guests would start arriving in another hour. I dashed back up to my room, after making a quick stop at the kitchen. Everything was running smoothly, so I continued my dash.
I quickly showered and pulled on my evening dress. It was a soft turquoise dress adorned with jewels along the bodice and back. The color was just too pretty to pass up, and today's boys don't understand the past importance of color. Neither the Pharaoh nor Seto would care what color the dress was. Knowing them, no word could pass through their mouths tonight. I giggled at this thought. Oh teenage boys…
Speaking of them, I had a letter to write. After putting on my makeup and fixing my hair, I pulled out my personal stationary and began to write. I smirked at the finished product and almost felt bad for the poor sap who would receive this.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith! It's fantastic to see you both again!" An older couple stepped over the threshold of our Domino home. My father quickly extended his hand to the man and kissed the woman's hand. I politely curtsied at both of them, only to be gathered up into a hug from the woman.
"Oh, Maxamillion! She is simply divine!" I blushed lightly at the compliment and thanked her. Many more exchanges like this one were made before my friends showed up. "Ishizu! Marik! Odion!" I ran into the group, throwing my arms around the three of them. After Ishizu had received my invitation, she had called to tell me that they may not make it, due to expensive airplane tickets. I was thrilled that they had found a way here. I snuck a glance towards Father, who just smiled lightly.
"My Queen, it is an honor to be in your presence once again." Marik and Odion bowed deeply, the former taking my hand and kissing its back. I smiled and lifted his chin with my fingers. "Dria, please. Or Alexandria, if you're feeling formal." He smiled and nodded, though I knew he would never agree to my request.
"What? Are they the only ones who get such a greeting?" Joey huffed from behind me. I laughed and quickly hugged him, appeasing his anger. I released Joey and swept Yugi up in the next hug. He laughed loudly as I twirled around before setting him down. I practically skipped over the Pharaoh when I reached him. All I gave him was the letter, before moving on to Mai and Serenity. He stared at it in confusion and moved to open it. I closed my hand over his, "When no one else is around," I whispered into his ear.
Odds are the whole group will be there when he opens it, but he just couldn't open it now.
I took a step back to observe them all. Tea was in the lovely blue dress I had bought for her that one day, back when we were…friends I guess. Mai was in a fiery red dress that had slits running all the way up her thigh. I winked at her; Joey would have a tough time ignoring her tonight. Serenity was in a soft yet attention-grabbing pink dress. It was modest, but fit her perfectly. I smiled at her as well; Duke and Tristan were already distracted.
The boys looked pretty much the same. They were all wearing black suits with a white shirt underneath. I lightly tapped each of their black ties, changing each color. Joey now had a dark red tie, one that both contrasted and matched Mai's dress perfectly. Tristan and Duke both had pink ties, one darker than the other. Yugi and Pharaoh both had dark blue ties, matching my dress.
"What did you do that for?" I sighed. Color, obviously, meant nothing to Tea. "Color, especially in ancient times, was something everyone recognized. If a woman arrived with a man, both wearing the same color, the two were seen together. In most cases, the woman belonged to the man, but in my case," I winked at the Pharaoh, "he belonged to me. Nowadays, it doesn't mean much. I'm just having fun."
I directed them towards the ballroom, where all the guests were gathering. Pharaoh stopped as he passed me and gently took my hand. "You look beautiful." That was it. He released my hand and followed the group. My cheeks felt as if they were on fire thanks to those three words. "I don't get it…" I mumbled. Father looked at my quizzically.
"It's been over 5,000 years since I met him. I know everything about him, his strategies, sometimes even his thoughts. I can almost predict his every move. But, when he does things like that…" Father only laughed.
"Ah, to be young and in love." I playfully narrowed my eyes and lightly shoved him.
"I'll never go to you for advice again."
Seto and Mokuba arrived shortly after the others. Seto, of course, made sure he would look exactly opposite the other males here. He was wearing a perfectly white suit with a blue tie. He looked incredibly handsome. The girls who passed by me sighed in admiration and jealousy, since I had such an attractive man kissing my hand.
Seto didn't say anything about my outfit; he didn't need to, at least in his opinion. I was thankful for his arrogance this time because it showed how close we really were. I knew he thought I looked pretty and that was all that mattered. He didn't need to point it out.
But, sometimes pointing it out is preferred. Again, teenage males…
I watched as she kindly greeted every person who walked through her doors. Jealousy shot through me every time some male covered her soft hand with his sloppy kiss. She was indescribably beautiful. I was sorely tempted to seal her away in my Puzzle so only I would be able to see her. I chuckled at this thought…
She'd kill me before that happened, no matter how much she loved me.
I growled lowly when Kaiba walked in. He needed to realize that there was only one thing he would never have, no matter how hard or how long he fought for it; he would never have her. She was mine and (more importantly) I was hers. It had been that way 5,000 years ago and it wasn't about to change, not while I was around.
She laughed sweetly at something he said. Her soft, bell-like laughter caused me to smile. My heart pounded at the noise as it remembered who it belonged to. She caught me staring at her and blushed. I winked at her before turning away to pretend to pay attention to what someone said.
"What do you think, Pharaoh?" I shifted my gaze towards my hikari, who was giving me an amused look. I waved towards Dria as I shrugged helplessly. As he would say… I was hopelessly…whipped is it? I liked devoted more, but I suppose whipped works too. "The decorations? She did a great job right?" I stole a quick look around the room, my mouth dropping as my eyes took in the décor. It was fantastic, of course. But the scenery meant little to me. All I saw…all I wanted to see…was her.
Yes, yes….I am whipped.
We all moved into the ballroom, where a troupe of violins, flutes, and guitars were playing. Couples broke off and began to dance. I was proud of myself when I recognized the now familiar steps of the waltz. Dria had wanted to take dance lessons and needed a partner. She tricked me into doing it by saying that Kaiba had offered if no one else wanted to. Evil little vixen…
Suddenly, I saw a flash of blue across my eyes. She was out there…dancing with Kaiba. I clenched my fists instantly. Something crumpled in one hand and I quickly smoothed out the paper. It was the note she had given me. Joey caught sight of it and snatched it out of my hands. He ran through the crowd, taunting me about the letter and laughing manically.
Thank Ra he stopped just outside the ballroom doors. I caught him before anyone else and took the letter back, angrily muttering at him. "Come on Pharaoh! We all want to know what it says. What dirty little secret did she tell you?" He wiggled his eyebrows. I raised my own at the movement, still questioning his sanity. Not even Yugi tried to defend me. I narrowed my eyes at him when I realized he had crossed to the dark side. He shrugged and smiled, "We all want to know." I sighed and slowly opened the letter.
My Pharaoh,
The pagans believed that if a girl was caught under a certain parasitic plant and was not kissed, she would not marry the following year. While I may not believe the legend to that extent, I do have a problem with being caught under this plant alone. There are seven locations where I might be at exactly 11:59PM. If you wish to one day marry me, come and prevent the legend from coming true. Good luck, King of Games.
All my love
Seven locations? Parasitic plant? I turned towards Yugi in confusion. He took a breath before beginning, "Mistletoe. It resembles a green weed usually with white berries and yellow flowers. People hang them above doorframes during this season. If a couple is caught underneath it, tradition is that they share a kiss."
I nodded, though still a little confused. I had told her before; I didn't need some weed to have a reason to kiss her. I smiled as I silently agreed to the challenge. If it was a game she wanted, it was a game she would get.
I looked at the clock behind me. It was only 9PM, so we had plenty of time to find the seven spots. I would then wait at the one I felt was the most likely, and then pray I was right. If I knew her as well as I thought I did, I would hopefully choose correctly.
"Man…how many stinkin doors can you have in one house?" Joey panted as he sat in a nearby chair. We had been searching for at least two and a half hours and hadn't found even one plant. I sighed…maybe she was wrong…maybe we weren't…I fiercely shook my head. I was the King of Games. I had defeated countless enemies, including Darkness itself (technically). Though I loved this girl dearly, I was not about to lose a game to her.
I sighed once more. Then an idea struck me…and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before. I pulled the group together (yes, even Tea was helping), "Here's the plan."
I sighed as I leaned over the balcony. It was 11:57PM and there was no sign of Pharaoh…or any of my friends for that matter. Seto, Mokuba, and Father had all vanished about half an hour ago and the rest of the gang had been gone for nearly three hours. Maybe they went home…tears welled up in my eyes. Had I done something wrong by playing this little game? Pharaoh knows how much I love this…
I quickly wiped away the tears before they could be seen. This was a party, where I was supposed to be having fun. If he didn't show, then he didn't show. I straightened up and spun around to head back inside. My breath caught in my throat when I saw who was waiting for me.
Pharaoh was leaning up against the doorframe with that stupid, sexy smirk on his face. His sunset eyes danced with amusement when I cocked my head. This hadn't been one of the doors…
"So, this is where you've been hiding…" He slowly stepped towards me, like a predator stalking its prey. I stood frozen, still confused about his appearance. I heard one final tune beginning from the guitars. I felt one strong hand encasing my waist as the other took my hand. Robotically, I closed my hand around his and rested my other on his shoulder.
We slowly waltzed around the terrace. I can't honestly think of a moment where our eyes disconnected. The love I saw in his eyes bubbled through me, once again warming my entire self, body and soul. His gentle smile never left his face. I rested my head against his chest as we slowed to a delicate sway, his heart beating almost in time with his steps. The song ended.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Only one more minute until Christmas! So, grab a girl and give her a good first Christmas present!"
The Pharaoh smiled widely at this announcement. I heard a short whistle and raised my eyebrow in confusion. He only shook his head, that stupid grin still on his face, and pulled me back towards the door. I narrowed my eyes. If he thinks he's going to get a kiss…
TEN
He pointed up, bringing my attention to the top of the door frame.
NINE
I laughed at the sight. There, right above me, was the mistletoe. The whole gang, including my Father, Seto, and Mokuba, was standing on the second floor balcony, which overlooked both the ballroom and the terrace. And every single one of them was smiling mischievously, even Tea (much to my surprise).
EIGHT
"I found one and immediately came back to find you. I was going to win no matter what."
SEVEN
"Technically, Pharaoh, that would be called cheating."
SIX
He shrugged, "You never said it had to be a door of your choosing. You just said under the plant."
FIVE
I smiled and rolled my eyes. He would find a loophole when he knew he would lose otherwise. Then again, I'd lose too if he lost.
FOUR
He wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling me closer to him. His arms went around my waist, trapping me in his embrace.
THREE
He slowly began to lean down towards me. We weren't that different in height, but it was a big enough difference.
TWO
He rested his forehead against mine. I closed my eyes, losing myself in the moment. Time seemed to slow down. All my senses were on overload. His spicy scent filled my nose. . This would be my favorite gift, I could tell. My mind exploded when his lips lovingly brushed mine. The fireworks began shooting off, lighting the sky with color.
ONE
"Merry Christmas," He whispered.