Alibaba+Morgianna
"He's still at it huh?"
"Yup." Pisti shrugged.
"Men. Well, you two have fun on your little crusade. I'm going to go and find Spartos." Morgianna waved goodbye to Pisti as she skipped out of the room. With a impassive stare she turned back to her friend.
"Alibaba, I think you need to look outside." Alibaba shook his head, focusing on the papers he was reading.
"We can go outside in a bit Morgianna. I want to finish reading these!" Morgianna was concerned, seeing Alibaba so absorbed by the papers that bored her to no end. It had been almost an hour since Miss Hakuei had given him that present, and he was still trying to research to find more. Hakuryuu had already given up and left, going to find Spartos again and see if he could give him his gift. But being so loyal to him, not to mention having a LOT of patience, Morgianna waited in silence for her friend to finish reading his papers.
Sighing, she hung her head to stare at her hands. In her hands she held a small box. In the box was Alibaba's present from her. She had been trying to gather together the courage to give it to him all day, but hadn't managed to find it. It hadn't helped when Hakuei had given him the gift he hadn't even known he wanted. Of course she wasn't mad at her. Morgianna was thrilled that he was so happy, and grateful to her for working so hard to get that. She knew it couldn't have been easy. But at the same time…she still had to give him her gift. She wasn't going to have it forever, and Christmas was more than halfway over. It was one of the first years that she was being allowed to really celebrate the day, and she wanted to use it to thank everyone for all that they had done for her. Especially Alibaba. And he was the only one she hadn't given a gift to.
Alibaba didn't even notice Morgianna's distress. "Hey Mor, can you pass me the scroll that has the…uh, I think it has the lion on it. Or maybe the bull." Pulling herself out of her stupor she walked over to the table and took the next paper. She handed it to him without a word. "Thanks!" he said with a smile, than quickly returning to the papers. Morgianna glanced out the window again, impatiently.
"Alibaba, are you almost done?" he shook his head, not giving her an official answer. Trying not to sound annoyed she asked again, "Don't you think we should go and get ready for the party? You like parties."
"We can later! I really want to find all of these connections, I can't believe the ones I found already! Did you know that my great grandfather met a magi? I think it was the one before Judal, or maybe Yunan!"
Most likely Yunan. Morgianna found out quickly just how often the magician liked to dance throughout other people's stories.
Just when she was about to give up and leave, there was a knock at the door. "Can you answer that please?" he asked her, not impolitely, but only partly paying attention. Morgianna nodded, walked over and walked the door. But when she opened it, there was no one there. "Who is it?"
"No one's here," she called back to him, closing the door. As she walked away, there was another knock on the door. Confused she went back and opened it again. Yet again, there was no one there. Closing it again she walked away.
"What's going on?" turning she found Alibaba had walked up behind her. Apparently the missing guest was enough to bring him out of his concentration.
"I don't know. It sounds like someone's knocking on the door but whenever I go over I can't see," in the middle of her explanation there was knocking. Both confused, Alibaba went to the door this time. Just like her though, when she opened it there was no one there.
But he did see something different. "Is that snow?" Morgianna peeked around him to see. On the ground, there was a little line of snow, leading from the library door out into the hallway. They both turned to each other.
"…Should we follow it Alibaba?" He shrugged.
"Don't see why not." After carefully folding up his papers the two of them ran to follow the snow. Morgianna was much quicker than him, so she had to slow down so he could keep up.
As they ran, Alibaba's smile began to grow. "Which way next? Where is it leading us?" his childlike curiosity began to get the better of him. He almost completely forgot the scrolls, now focused on trying to unravel the newest mystery. Morgianna was didn't show her excitement as easily as he did, but inside she was starting to feel like a kid herself. She really wanted to know what was going to happen.
Christmas really does bring out the children in all of us, she mused to herself.
They continued running until the snow trial led them outside. And when they got outside, it completely disappeared. They both screeched to a halt, Morgianna's happiness draining away. Where was it? Where was the answer to the mystery that they were trying to find? "Morgianna…"
"It has to be somewhere,"
"Morgianna!" the joy in his voice made her look toward him. Pointing out in front of her with a big smile he ordered, "Look!" Morgianna turned and her mouth dropped open.
Everything. Absolutely everything was covered in white, clear, beautiful snow. The ground, the trees, the sky, it was beautiful! She was so surprised at it she didn't even notice the cold! The snowflakes were falling, all clear and easily identified. "Beautiful," she mumbled to herself. She had been so certain she wouldn't see any snow that year.
Alibaba looked absolutely delighted. "Wahoo!" running past her he jumped into the snow, headfirst. "BRR!" also, forgetting about the cold.
"Alibaba, you should go get a coat!" Morgianna turned, about to go and get him one, but stumbled forward when a blast of cold his her back. It didn't hurt, but it was very cold. Shivering a bit, she turned back confused.
Alibaba threw up another snowball in his hands, a big smile on his face. "Come on Morgianna, let's play!" Morgianna tilted her head to the side, confused. "What, have you never had a snowball fight before?" snowball fight? Sounded violent.
"Shouldn't we get something warm to wear?" Alibaba shrugged, getting out of the snow.
"Fine. I guess it couldn't," but he stopped himself when he looked behind her again. "Whoa. Morgianna, check it out!"
Turning again, she saw another surprise. Two large coats, in both their sizes, were hanging from a tree. They looked very similar to the cloths that Hinahoho would wear, but in pink and yellow. Along with them was gloves and warm boots. Morgianna was confused, wondering where the cloths had come from. Alibaba was too happy to notice.
"Awesome! Come on Morgianna, let's have a snowball fight!" sprinting over he grabbed the jacket in his size and pulled it on, Morgianna following suit.
"How does a snowball fight work?" simple. Good.
"Oh it's fun! All you do is throw snow at each other."
"…how do you win?"
"You don't really win in a snowball fight. You just continue throwing the snow at each other." She waited. "…until someone says to stop playing."
"Alright. Then let's begin." Alibaba frowned. Turning he was about to ask her, but then found her carrying the biggest snowball he had ever seen. There was an evil twinkle in her eyes.
"Uh…"
"I just throw this at you, right?"
"W-wait wait! I haven't even got my gloves on yet!"
He didn't get to continue. All he had to do was blink, and then the next thing he knew he was completely covered in snow. "YIKES!" he shivered, digging his way out. "That's cold!"
"Is that now how the game it played?" Alibaba blinked at her. She blinked back. They stared at each other in silence.
Than Alibaba threw one that hit her right in the face.
"Hey!" she complained, and he jumped out of the snow and ran away.
"Ha! You can't catch me!"
She didn't know how long the two of them played for. They threw so much snow at each other that they were soaking wet, and then some more. Alibaba was laughing more than she had ever heard him laugh before. He had on that big, bright smile that she loved so much. Slowly, she felt one come on her face that matched his.
After a long time the two of them fell on the snow next to each other, him laugh loudly and a big smile on her face. He spread his arms out in the snow, making a snowman and staring at the snow that fell from above. "Oh man. I can't remember the last time I had that much fun!" Morgianna just continued smiling, watching him make a snow angel in the ground.
When she saw that he was trying to make a snow angel, she wondered if she could mimic the action. Reaching up she started to wave her arms around, but it didn't work right. As she reached up, the present in her pocket fell out. Alibaba turned and saw it.
"Hey, what's that?" at first she began to panic. Was that really the right time to give it to him? After that, she wanted to hold onto it until later…
Or maybe that was the perfect time to give him the gift. Reaching down she picked it up and slid it over to him. "It's ah…It's a Christmas present." He took it from her hands and started undoing the ribbon. "It's really not that much…You probably don't need it anymore."
"My knife." In his hand he held his first knife, the one that had been broken in Balabaad. The pieces had been put back together, and cleaned like it was brand new. The only proof that it had even been used was Alibaba's name that he etched into the side when he first got it.
"Yes, your knife." Morgianna told him with her usual emotionless voice, but the worry was hidden underneath. "I know that you can't use it with your djinn anymore but…I thought that it might be nice to have it around."
"It….it is…" he looked absolutely stunned. "Wow…thank you Morgianna. This is amazing." Getting his bearings together, he looked over to her with an even bigger smile than he had before. "Thank you so much. This is the best Christmas present I have ever gotten." His words brought an even bigger smile to her face. Pleased with herself, she nodded and then turned back to the sky, watching the snow fall down.
Only a little time later did Morgianna glance over at the snow next to her. It took her a moment to read the words since they were written in the snow, but when she did a pleasant smile came to her.
Merry Christmas Mor!
Aladdin.
Spartos+Pisti
"Mm! Sharkkon, you have to try some of this Christmas pudding!" Sharrkon glanced over at the bowl in front of Pisti. When he saw the food he made a face.
"Ugh. Pudding. I hate pudding. I'd rather just have more sake," he said as he reached over her and grabbed the bottle next to her. Taking a quick swig he smiled at her with a big grin. "Now that's my Christmas present." Pisti smiled at him, but also shook her head.
"You really want to get drunk on Christmas? Christmas day? Sure a few drinks are good, but now yet!" Sharkkon just shrugged. Turning his attention to Spartos at his other side he offered him a drink. The younger male just shook his head.
"No thank you. I'll just stick with cranberry juice if you don't mind." Sharkkon shrugged and took another swig. Pisti, who normally would have smiled and thanked him for taking her side, just looked away as if he had never talked. Spartos didn't think he had ever been as confused as he was that Christmas. Pisti seemed annoyed at him. He didn't know why. As far as he knew he hadn't accidentally hurt any of her animals that day. She had liked the present that he got her, a new hair piece. There was no reason why she would be annoyed with him. All he could think to explain it was the conversation he had with her yesterday in the library. It had seemed like a normal conversation to him, but Hakuryuu had said he had missed something. Maybe he had nodded to something he was supposed to shake his head to. Good grief, women were so much more confusing than everyone told him. Especially Pisti, it seemed like he never knew what she meant.
Taking another swig of his drink, Sharkkon glanced out at the dance floor. Than his eyes lit up. "Hey, Spartos! Aren't you supposed to give Pisti a dance before the day's over?" oh. Spartos had forgotten about that. Glancing over at her though, he doubted he would be able to do that. Pisti looked really aloof to the conversation, visibly trying to ignore the conversation they were having. But a promise was a promise, as his father always told him.
"I suppose so. Um, Pisti?" very slowly, she turned her head. He could FEEL her hating him.
"Hm?" both he and Sharkkon shivered.
"Um…do you want to dance? They are starting a new song now." Pisti, slowly, turned back to look at the dance floor. Then, just as deliberately slow, she turned back to look at him. Her smile was like ice.
"Sure. Let's dance." Spartos shuddered, and it wasn't from the cold. Pisti casually jumped down from where she sat and skipped over to his seat. Grabbing his hand she yanked him out of the chair and pulled him with her to the dance floor. Her grip was like iron, and he struggled to follow behind. Glancing back he saw Sharkkon mouthing at him good luck!
He had the feeling he needed more than luck.
The two of them went to the edge of the dance floor, no closer. The song that played was a classical one, Hark the Herald, but he wasn't sure. All he was focused on was hoping that Pisti didn't kill him.
At the dance floor, Pisti held her hands out to him. Pisti didn't like traditional style of dancing. It made her look to short compared to her partner. So instead the two of them held hands and swayed to the music like that, arm length apart. Normally when they danced they would either talk or joke around, or they would just enjoy the music and become completely absorbed in the dance. Spartos always liked that. The comfortable silence he would get with her, just two people being around each other.
He wasn't getting that then. It was an awkward silence, her specifically trying not to look in his eyes. He fidgeted a bit, trying to smile, but she wouldn't even look at him. Perhaps it would help his case if he tried to say something.
"You…you look nice?" it was more of a question than anything else. She was wearing high heels so she looked much taller now, and a pretty red dress that looked perfect on her. In her hair she wore the clip that he had given her, a silver flower that matched perfectly. Honestly, she looked absolutely beautiful. But Spartos wasn't going to tell her that. He was raised to not tell her that when they weren't…never mind.
Pisti glanced down at her dress and gave a quick smile. "Thanks. I really liked this one," but her words trailed off as soon as she had spoken, and she quickly turned back to the emotionless attitude that really didn't fit her. Spartos groaned.
"Pisti, did I do something? You're acting like miss grumpy-pants, and it's Christmas day! You're usually the one that we all rely on for the Christmas cheer!" Pisti didn't look up, focused instead on her shoes. It took longer than he had ever waited for Pisti to give a response.
When she did, her voice was small. "Yeah. I know, I'm sorry. I was just…for some reason I was hoping that this Christmas would be different than the rest. That, I don't know, everything would just fit right into place. That it would be the perfect day, and that everyone would be happy! We would dance under the stars like we do every Christmas and you would finally-" She cut herself with a start. She hadn't meant to give that much away.
"I would what?" Pisti shook her head in what looked like defeat.
"Nothing." She looked up at him, trying to give him the biggest smile she could manage. "Let's just keep dancing, okay?" She wasn't going to leave it at that!
"What do you want me to do?" Spartos persisted, even when she refused to give him an answer. She was someone he cared about, of course he wanted her to be happy on Christmas! What should he do?
Then there was a very bright light. Both of them winced, and Pisti let go so she could cover her eyes. "What just happened?" Spartos shook his head, just as confused as she was. Narrowing his eyes he tried to look around the light, and noticed that it was aimed directly at them. Everyone watched as the two of them were circled in a big ball of light, illuminating them from everyone. Pisti squealed when she realized it and started turning red. Spartos reacted more calmly, trying to look around and find out what was going on.
Next, at their feet, the ground started to glow. It became like ice, easy to move on and much easier to slide on. It made Pisti giggle as she slipped forward, falling into him a bit. He blushed when he realized just how close the two of them where now.
Lastly, the musicians changed their song. The next song that they put on seemed to float in the air, loud and soft at the same time. At the sound of it Pisti jumped up and down happily. "Oh, this is my favourite song! It's one from my homeland, I haven't heard it in years!" Spartos couldn't help but to smile at it. The song was very beautiful. And she looked happier than she had been that whole day.
Spartos had no idea what was going on. But if it if made her happy, he wanted to take advantage of the situation.
Taking a step back, he let go of her hands. Pisti looked up at him, very confused. "You know…I didn't properly ask you to dance, did I?" she still looked confused. Then, slowly it dawned on her what he was doing.
"Aw! Spartos!" he gave her his regular smile, much more charming than he ever thought it was. At that moment he was really grateful to Sinbad for flirting with women so much. It was the only example he really had, but a good one for that moment.
Reaching out his hand towards her, he lowered his voice so that only she could hear him. "Care to dance?" Pisti giggled and tried to cover her face with her hands.
Nodding, she reached out and took his hand, and the two of them began. It was comfortable, happy. This time, she allowed him to pull her close to him, ignoring how much shorter she was. He put his hands on her waist, and she had to go on her tip-toes to put hers on his shoulders. But she giggled, happily, sometimes blushing and unable to look up. Spartos wasn't really sure what was happening. He was confused at why this made her so happy, and even more, why it made him so happy. But whatever the reason, it did. Very happy.
As he was dancing with her, a paper appeared in his hand. How had a paper appear in his hands then? She hadn't put it there. Confused he held up the paper. What was written on it made his eyes widen.
Tell her what you think of her.
Tell her what? He had already called her pretty. Wasn't that what…oh. He realized quickly what he was supposed to say. He wasn't sure he should say it. He was always told not to be so…open with his opinions. But it was the truth. And it was Christmas anyway. Leaning over, he whispered in her ear.
"You're beautiful."
Pisti's heart stopped. She looked up at him with wide eyes, staring at his now blushing face. He looked away, anywhere but in her eyes. If he had, he would have seen the absolute and complete joy in hers. He had said it. Just what she had wanted him to say every year. Her smile was so big she could feel it hurting her cheeks.
Then, a paper appeared in her hand. Glancing down, she read what it wrote. And her cheeks turned red. Oh gosh, Aladdin! That little…oh gosh! Glancing up at Spartos, she saw that he had noticed the paper. "What's on it?" she glanced down at it, indecision on her face. Then, looking up at him again, she made her decision.
And gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
Spartos froze, absolutely stunned. She smiled at him, joyful and happy. "Merry Christmas Spartos!" he just nodded, to surprise to know what to say. Pisti giggled, leaning her head against his chest to relax. Silently she dropped the paper and it fluttered to the ground.
On it Aladdin had written, aren't you going to thank him? SMOOCH!
Oh, and merry Christmas!
Aladdin.
There should be more stuff on Pisti and Spartos. They are really cute. Anyway, happy Christmas Eve! Last chapter will be posted tomorrow, the one about Yamu and Sharkkon.