Disclaimer: ToL and all names within belong to Namco.

Author's Note: It may be early, but I always get into the Xmas spirit around this time of the year. Enjoy!

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The climate had grown much colder in Werites Beacon. The ground and buildings were covered in a fine layer of snow.

Madame Musette worked feverishly in her home along with Shirley, Norma, Chloe, and Grune. Senel came in to check on them.

"Good morning, Senel," Shirley said.

"How's it going?" Senel asked.

"Oh, we are working through this day, and I certainly do hope we make it," Musette said. "We've never had this many people coming for Christmas dinner before."

"And we never will again," Norma grumbled under her breath.

"How is your turkey coming?" Musette asked.

"It's coming along great," Senel told her.

"Wonderful! That makes 24 lbs. of turkey. Shirley is making a batch of collard green and hamhocks. Will is busy in the basement. And Norma, Chloe, and Grune are busy making their own pie shop. Oh Senel, I'm afraid I must get back to work. It's good to see you."

Senel nodded. "Yeah, I'd better get back myself."

He started to leave the kitchen, but stopped when Moses came in, singing his altered version of Jingle Bells.

"Crashin' through the trees in a one-horse open sleigh, through the fields we go, and laughin' all the way! Hah hah hah!"

"Moses, please stop it," Senel said. "Your singing is giving me a headache."

"Oh, not you too, Senel."

"Huh?"

"Everyone says that my singing hurts their ears."

"But it's true," Shirley said.

"Ouch. That's not the Shirley I know," Moses said. "The Shirley I know would never say somethin' like that."

Shirley shrugged. "I was just telling the truth."

"Oh, come on!"

At that moment, the three Scallop Brothers entered the house, all carrying a plate of a whole turkey, covered in plastic wrap.

"Ors, turkey, ors!" they sang. "Ors, turkey, ors!"

"Here, I'll take care of that for you," Madame Musette said, picking up the turkey.

"Thank you!" the Oresoren said in unison.

Jay stumbled in behind them, carrying a large bowl of salad, also wrapped in plastic sheets. The bowl was so large and heavy that Jay had to arch backwards, carrying the weight on his body rather than in his arms alone. It was also large enough to obstruct Jay's vision as he stepped into the living room, struggling to maintain his balance.

"H...Help!" he cried out.

Moses grinned. "Aw, poor Jay, too tiny to carry that big ol' thing."

"Moses...please shut up..." Jay groaned.

"This way, Jay!" Quppo called.

"Over to the right!" Poppo added.

Jay carried the salad precariously into the kitchen, where he set it down on the countertop. He then let out a sigh of relief as he wiped his forehead.

"Jay," Senel said. "Don't you think you should've put that salad into smaller bowls?"

"It was their idea," Jay told him.

"Look how beautiful it is!" Pippo said.

At that moment, Arnold and Elsa Alcott came into the house. Arnold carried a turkey, while Elsa carried a dish of stuffing.

"Here we are with turkey number..." Arnold paused. "How many turkeys are we having?"

"That's the third one now," Norma said. "So that would be turkey number three."

"And I brought the stuffing," Elsa said, setting the dish on the counter. "By the way, Shirley, that girl is in the city again."

"Hmm? What girl?" Shirley asked.

"The Radiant girl...the one who yelled at you before. Something about being the Merines and killing her sister."

Shirley's eyes widened. "You mean Thyra?"

Everyone paused and glanced at each other.

"Did she come here to bitch again?" Senel growled. "She sure picked the worst time to do it."

"Senel..." Shirley muttered.

"I know what Senel's talkin' about," Moses said. "She ain't about to ruin our holiday!"

"Guys," Shirley said. "I'll go talk to her."

"We'll go with you," Senel said.

"No, that won't be necessary."

"Well, we insist. The last thing we need is another Walter."

"I hear that," Moses agreed.

"Don't worry; we won't say anything," Senel said. "But we'll be there to support you."

"Senel...thank you," Shirley said.

Senel and the rest of the party left the house, leaving Musette with the Oresoren, Arnold, and Elsa.

"Oh dear..." Musette whispered to herself.

Shirley led the group through the city, where they found the Ferines girl, Thyra, waiting in front of Will's house. Knowing exactly what would happen, Shirley cleared her throat.

"Thyra, how are you today?" she asked.

Thyra's face soured. "Don't bother being friendly with me, traitor!"

"Uh-oh, it's the Attack of the Killer Tulip again..." Norma muttered.

"How long has it been now?" Thyra asked. "It's been months since you've been pretending to be the ambassador for the Ferines, and nothing has changed!"

"Now hold up!" Moses protested.

"I've been waiting and waiting, and you've done nothing!" Thyra continued. "The Ferines are still not living in peace, because you're still living with these filthy Orerines! They killed my sister! You killed my sister! I told you before, if Fenimore sacrificed herself to protect you, that's the same as if you killed her yourself!"

"We heard all that already..." Norma grumbled between her teeth.

"I've had enough of you!" Thyra went on, almost screaming. "Nerifes should choose a new Merines! I hope it chooses me! If I were the Merines, I would eradicate these Orerines once and for all! You failed to fulfill your duty by destroying them!"

Shirley only looked down at the ground as Thyra's words seemed to surround her. "But..."

"What!?" Thyra snapped. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Um...excuse me," Jay said as he stepped forward. "If I may, I have something to say."

Thyra closed her eyes and looked away. "Hmph! I don't want to hear anything from you, you wretched Orerines!"

Jay narrowed his eyes slightly. "So that's how you're going to be?"

"What are you babbling about? Are you insulting my intelligence?"

Jay's eyes widened now. "What intelligence? Go ahead. Say something intelligent."

Thyra pondered for a moment, as she found herself suddenly at a loss for words. "Well..."

Norma snickered quietly. "She can't think of anything intelligent to say..."

"Jay..." Shirley shot a glare at him.

Jay shook his head and shrugged. "Moving on. Look, perhaps it's true that the Orerines have killed many Ferines in the past. We have no excuses for that. However, there are questions I have that I cannot answer. Too many questions."

Thyra looked at him now, raising an eye.

"What is the source of your hatred?" Jay asked. "Is it pure hatred towards the Orerines? Or is it only grief from Fenimore's death?"

"I hate the Orerines!" Thyra responded. "And because of this traitor, I'll never see my sister again!"

"I see. You said that Fenimore's sacrifice was the same as Shirley killing her herself," Jay continued. "Tell me, where does that equation add up?"

Thyra's heart skipped a beat. "Well...it's..."

"It doesn't add up..." Norma muttered under her breath.

Jay moved on to the next question. "If Shirley's a Ferines, and the Orerines are as evil as you paint them to be, would Shirley still be alive?"

Thyra's only response was silence this time.

"No..." Moses whispered.

"Is the peace between Orerines and Ferines truly impossible?" Jay asked. "Or are you just too closed-minded to think of the options available?"

Thyra struggled to come up with her answer. "But...I don't want peace with the Orerines!"

"I didn't ask if you wanted to make peace," Jay snapped. "I asked you if it was possible to make peace."

Thyra clenched her fists so hard that they began to tremble. "But..."

"Next question," Jay went on. "What does Nerifes desire? Does it really desire the annihilation of the Orerines? Or does it desire peace between the Orerines and the Ferines?"

Thyra raised her head. "Nerifes desires the destruction of the Orerines!"

"Does it really? Or is that just your own desire?"

Thyra looked down again. Sure enough, it was her own desire to see the Orerines destroyed. She stomped her foot. "Stop it! I've heard enough out of you!"

"Wait until I'm finished," Jay said. "How did Fenimore feel when she sacrificed her life for Shirley?"

Thyra thought about this question as well. If Fenimore chose to give her life for Shirley, then Fenimore must have liked her. But on the other hand...

Jay didn't even wait for an answer before moving on. "And finally, don't you think it's about time to respect your sister's decision to sacrifice her life rather than blame Shirley for her death?"

The last question especially caught Thyra off guard. "Respect...Fenimore's decision?"

"That's right!" Moses threw in. "You're disrespectin' Fenimore by yellin' at Shirley like that!"

Thyra stomped her foot. "No! Don't say that!"

"But it's true," Norma said.

Shirley looked around at each of the party members. "Everyone..."

Jay addressed Thyra once more. "I see you cannot answer my questions either. Take your time and think about it. Find the answers for yourself. When you do, you're welcome to come back and bash us as much as you please. However, until then, we don't want to hear any more of your empty accusations."

He turned around and began walking down the road. Moses quickly followed him. One by one, the others followed Jay as well, until only Shirley and Thyra remained.

"That should keep her quiet for some time," Jay said.

"Jay, you astound me!" Moses said.

"That's a simple task, Moses."

"I'm just glad someone finally put her in her place," Norma said. "You rule, JJ!"

"I've been wondering the same things myself," Will added. "I'm looking forward to hearing Thyra's answers."

"More than that," Jay said. "Once she finds the answers, she should no longer have any reason to hate Shirley."

"All right, let's get back to the party!" Norma skipped down the road with the other party members in tow.

Back at Will's house, Shirley and Thyra were still standing. Shirley was staring in the direction where the rest of the party had walked off. Thyra only stared at the ground in front of her.

"That stupid Orerines..." she said, on the verge of tears. "Accusing me of disrespecting my own sister..."

"I wish that Jay hadn't sounded so harsh," Shirley said. "But I understand what he was saying."

"Of course you would. But...but..."

"I understand what you're feeling, Thyra. Fenimore made the choice to protect me," Shirley continued. "I respect her decision to do so, even though I'm sad that she died."

"Respect Fenimore's...decision?" Thyra was still mumbling to herself.

Shirley sighed. It's not my place to say any more. I understand why Jay said those things. He only wanted to get Thyra to think a little more about what she was saying. It looks like it's working...

"I'm leaving!" Thyra yelled as she began to march down the road towards the city's exit.

"Oh...Thyra, wait!" Shirley ran to catch up with her.

Thyra stopped. "Wh...what is it? I don't want to hear any more from you!"

"I just had a great idea," Shirley said. "How would you like to come over for Christmas dinner?"

Thyra staggered back. "What!? Is this your bad idea of a joke? Why would I want to have dinner with Orerines!?"

"But...I insist!" Shirley said. "Listen, the path to peace can only be opened by understanding each other. If the Orerines and Ferines spend time together, they can come to understand each other."

Thyra pondered for a moment.

"If you don't want to come alone, you can invite Maurits, too," Shirley continued. "You can invite as many Ferines as you like. We'll welcome everyone."

"All of them would welcome us?" Thyra asked. "Or just you?"

"All of us, of course."

Thyra fell silent once again.

"The Orerines and the Ferines once teamed up to fight Vaclav," Shirley said. "So if they can fight in a war together, then I believe we can live in peace together."

"The Orerines and Ferines fought together?" Thyra shot an icy glare at Shirley. "You lie!"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Maurits. Or you can ask Fenimore."

Thyra gasped. Then...it really is true!

"All right..." she said. "I'll talk to the chief."

Shirley smiled. "Great! If you decide to come, we'll be celebrating at Madame Musette's house. I'll see you there. Bye!" She turned and ran down the road.
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Thyra received the title of Killer Tulip
Jay received the title of Quiz Master