A Very Shin Makoku Krismass
Chapter Three: T'was the Night Before Krismass
There was water up his nose again.
That was all Yuuri could think about for a moment as his head spun idly, before the usual thought occurred to him: Star Tours again. It wasn't quite so exhilarating anymore, but he did wonder if anything urgent was going on in Shin Makoku. It hadn't felt like he'd been back for very long, but surely enough he'd been on his way through the park when a freak accident involving a small child and a puppy had ended with him face-first in the fountain. He wondered if it was Ulrike or that Shin'ou guy who was the one with the odd sense of humor, always making the weirdest things happen to drop him back in Shin Makoku. Before he had time to come to any conclusions, however, he felt the water drain from around him as his nose poked up into the open air. He lifted his head and gasped in a big breath.
"Yuuri!" a familiar voice called out from nearby, and when he blinked Yuuri spotted Wolfram standing just to the side of the fountain he'd wound up in. From the looks of the gardens surrounding them, he was actually in Covenant Castle this time, and not the Temple of Shin'ou. That, at least, was a relief. He never felt comfortable around all the beautiful priestesses who gave him looks that made him feel funny.
Speaking of such looks, Wolfram was still beaming at him from dry land, so he lifted a hand in a lazy wave. "Hey," he grinned foolishly, still half lying in the fountain water.
Wolfram's mouth twitched into what was probably going to be a goofy smile before promptly opening to shout, "What kind of greeting is that for your fiancée after so long!?"
It was a routine they didn't necessarily need to play out in full anymore. Conrad stepped in from the other side of the fountain, a towel draped over one arm. "Welcome back, Your Majesty."
Yuuri was starting to wonder if Shin Makoku was just frozen in time, and that was why his friends always reacted the same way to his arrival. He stumbled up from the shallow water, shaking his head and reaching to accept the towel. "It's Yuuri," he answered dutifully before turning back to Wolfram, "and I wasn't gone for very long."
Wolfram looked stumped for a second before he muttered, "It's been a long month."
"Hm?" Yuuri hummed quizzically, casting a curious glance to Conrad as well. "Did something happen?"
"Well," Conrad answered carefully, just the faintest of smiles on his lips, "I would say that something is happening."
"Oh no!" Yuuri cried, his toweling off taking on a sense of urgency. "What is it this time? Not an invasion on the borderlands? The Kohi staged a coup? Anissina took over and made it illegal to be male?"
"Nothing like that," Conrad chuckled.
Beside him, Wolfram huffed quietly, shaking his head at his fiancée's ridiculous thoughts. "Günter said you were the one who told him about it," he snapped. "It's Krismass." He said the word with no small amount of venom.
"Kris... mass?" Yuuri repeated, his brows furrowed in confusion. The gears turned in his head for a long moment before his eyes opened wide, and he exclaimed, "Oh! Christmas!"
"Yes," Wolfram spat out as he crossed his arms over his chest. "The entire castle has been suffering under all the Krismass cheer."
"It's Christmas," Yuuri piped in.
"That's what I said!" Wolfram retorted with confused ire.
Satisfied with his state of dryness, Yuuri maneuvered the towel to drape over his shoulders. "It does still feel like December temperatures here, I guess. That makes sense. But Christmas is a happy thing! Although I have heard of people who hate it, but then again there are people who hate every holiday."
"I don't know how anyone can like it."
"It's not so bad," Conrad interjected calmly. "The castle has just gotten a bit more hectic than usual."
Wolfram snorted, and promptly turned on his heel to head back inside.
"Ah, Wolfram!" Yuuri called after him, but when he showed no signs of stopping, turned to his godfather with a sigh. "So that's really all that's going on?"
"Primarily," Conrad nodded. "I believe Wolfram's just a bit stressed out. Then again, everyone is. There's been quite the panic over Krismass gifts."
"Christmas," Yuuri repeated. Then, as the implications of Conrad's statement settled in, his face fell. "Wait, no way! Everyone's getting gifts for each other? I don't have anything! Is today Christmas!?"
"Tomorrow," Conrad said with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it. No one expects one from you. You're the King, after all."
Yuuri let out a long sigh. "I guess that's way too soon to find something for everyone," he mourned. "Ah! I'd better go after Wolfram. I've got to tell him that I don't need a present or anything."
Although he politely covered his mouth with a hand, Conrad undeniably outright laughed. "I wouldn't do that," he advised even as Yuuri set off toward the entrance. He dutifully followed a few paces behind, his footsteps light with amusement. Of the three, at least he seemed to be feeling some holiday cheer.
The guards, who had just relaxed slightly after the doors closed behind Wolfram, scrambled to open them again for the King. They saluted nervously as he flashed them smiles before striding in. Yuuri just managed to open his mouth to call after Wolfram when something caught his eye, and then his vision was all silver for a second before he felt a sharp impact dead-on against his face. Next thing he knew, his butt was planted firmly on the carpet of the back entrance hall. And to top it off, his mouth was full of something. Bewildered, he spat some of it out, only to find a poof of silver glitter spreading through the air. He promptly coughed the rest out, sweating nervously.
"What in the..." he spoke once he finally could, and looked up to see the innocuous silver globe swinging above him, right on level with where his head had just been. Scanning the hallway, he spotted several similar balls tracing their paths across the hallways. "A new castle defense system...?" he pondered out loud.
From behind him, Conrad chuckled. "Close," he answered. "Anissina's Krismass decorations."
Although his head was still spinning a bit, Yuuri had to laugh at that. "It's very like her, I guess. So this is why everybody's crazy about Krismass?"
Conrad hesitated before replying, "Some of it."
Yuuri's day had barely even yet begun, and he hardly knew what awaited him for the rest of it.
~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~
Yuuri's eyes felt heavy, and his vision was too bleary to see much when he forced his lids open just that tiny first bit. Everything was bright. Morning's first few rays were peeking out from behind the curtains, which had been left slightly open. Why was he awake again? The birds wouldn't even be calling for a good hour or so, it looked like. Oh. Someone was shaking his shoulder.
"Yuuri," he heard someone whisper from beside him.
Sleepily, he tossed his head in the direction of the voice. He saw big green eyes blinking at him from under a head of radiant blonde hair. "Not ready," he mumbled, "to go to the angels yet..."
"Will you stop with that!?" the voice sounded angry now, and that was enough to wake Yuuri up to the extent that he realized the person he was looking at was Wolfram.
"Wolf," he sighed, blinking a few extra times. "Did something happen?"
"No," Wolfram smiled and leaned back, satisfied that Yuuri was awake. "I just have something I need to show you."
"It can't wait?" Yuuri whined, flopping an arm over his eyes.
"It can't!" Wolfram snapped.
Yuuri heard the mattress shifting, and that was all the signal that he needed to roll away and get up as soon as possible. After the previous day's tribulations, the last thing he needed were more sores. "Okay, okay!" he cried. "I'm going!"
Wolfram's smile was one of pure victory as he watched Yuuri stumble around in the faint light to find his uniform. When he turned to the mirror, squinting as he attempted to get his bangs in control, Wolfram decided he'd had enough. Striding forward, he grabbed Yuuri's wrist and urged him along. "You didn't forget what day it is today, did you?"
The look of blank confusion on his face gave away the answer. "Oh!" Yuuri started after a moment's contemplation while his brain sprinted to catch up with his sudden awakening. "It's Christmas!"
"Correct," Wolfram nodded, hurrying the both of them along and turning away to hide a small smile.
The guards straightened their backs abruptly when the doors to the King's chamber came flying open, but they relaxed upon seeing Lord von Bielefeld guiding their bewildered sovereign out of the room. The pair were down the hall before long, Yuuri stumbling a little to keep up. He was seriously starting to wonder just where Wolfram was taking him before he started to recognize their turns. They were entering a less frequently traversed area of the castle, but Yuuri thought he remembered it had a side exit to part of the gardens. And, surely enough, Wolfram let go of him right in front of the door. He turned to look back at Yuuri for a second, his lip twisted in what almost looked like an expression of nervousness. Yuuri opened his mouth to say something, but Wolfram turned back to push the door open before he had the chance. He followed outside quizzically.
"Merry Krismass," Wolfram spoke softly, his voice warm with emotion.
He stepped aside from in front of Yuuri, revealing an addition to the garden-a circular patch of low-growing plants sporting black leaves heavy with tiny but plump dark berries. They were adorned in the center by a miniature silver fountain that gleamed in the early morning light, its centerpiece a carefully carved interpretation of the sun itself. Little streams of water jetted out intermittently, making a soft murmuring in the otherwise silent garden. Yuuri stared with his mouth hanging open at the ornate little garden, tucked away in a corner of the larger grounds. He'd never seen a plant like the odd black shrub before, and it looked stunning with the bright silver fountain to offset it. It would have been hard, even with his sleepy head, to miss the symbolism, between the color and the sun. His lip trembled just a tiny bit as he turned to Wolfram, who was shifting nervously by now after so much silence.
All he could manage to do was blink for a second and stare as Wolfram looked increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze. He took a few steps forward. Wolfram moved his arms, which had been crossed over his chest anxiously, to his sides, as if preparing to fight or flee. When he was right in front of Wolfram, Yuuri finally seemed to remember what it was one ought to say upon receiving presents. "Thanks, Wolf," he beamed, with one of his impossibly wide and sincere smiles.
Wolfram coughed awkwardly, his cheeks dusted with red. "There's nothing to thank me for," he mumbled, before annunciating more clearly, "After all, this is the least you should expect as a Krismass present from your dedicated fiancée!"
Yuuri laughed, only because it was such a very typically Wolfram response. Maybe he didn't mind receiving it from one fiancée to another, if it was such a thoughtful present. He imagined Greta would absolutely love it, too. "Yeah, yeah," he answered cheekily, but he reached forward and took Wolfram's hand into his own. It wasn't really an exceptional gesture on its own, considering that as a close friend of his, they wound up touching an awful lot just because of his nature, but something about it seemed just a little different now in a way that Yuuri wasn't quite ready to name. He felt his face heat up a little as he mumbled, "Merry Christmas."
Wolfram's surprised smile quickly melted into one of the most contented looks he'd ever seen on the bratty prince's unfairly handsome face. They just stayed like that for a moment, before Wolfram broke the silence again. "Don't you want to go say that to your daughter, too?"
"Eh?" Yuuri's mouth hung open for what felt like the tenth time just that morning. "Greta? Where is she?" He felt like the worst father in the world for failing to notice that she hadn't been between the two of them anymore when Wolfram had woken him up.
Yuuri was just starting to panic a little when Wolfram's sigh interrupted him. "Come, you'll see."
Again, Wolfram tugged Yuuri by their already linked hands to guide him down the path, carefully circling around the miniature garden. Ahead, there was a rather high wall of carefully pruned bushes with stones edging it off. Wolfram abruptly let go of Yuuri's hand and dropped to his hands and knees. He turned back only to motion for Yuuri to follow before ducking his head and crawling right into the bushes. For a good few seconds, Yuuri only stared in amazement at what he'd just witnessed Wolfram, prim and proper Wolfram, do. Eventually, though, he shook his head and followed suit, squinting his eyes shut as the little green leaves parted to make way for him.
When he came out the other side, he found the walls had segued off a little patch of grass, where someone had set up a high table and three chairs. Greta was perched atop the farthest one, her little legs dangling and kicking alternatively. She smiled down at her fathers as they crawled out. "Merry Krismass!" she exclaimed, hopping up and down in her seat.
Yuuri laughed at her show of enthusiasm as he stood up and brushed some stray twigs off his pant legs. "Merry Christmas, Greta!"
Wolfram frowned beside him, busily brushing tiny leaves from his previously perfectly arranged hair.
"Did you like 'The Maou's Sweet Love'?" Greta asked with an all too wide smile.
Yuuri threw his head back, astonished. "Eh?" he turned to Wolfram in his confusion, and found that he had turned bright red.
"The... the plant," Wolfram choked out, not looking either of them in the eye. "Mother insisted that I let her name the plant, since she helped me breed it... and she chose that name."
"O- oh," Yuuri laughed awkwardly, a hand raised to the back of his head. "Well, I think they're lovely!"
"I thought you would," Greta giggled, swinging her legs back and forth happily.
"Aren't you hungry, Yuuri?" Wolfram interjected before the questioning could go any further, his cheeks still a bit colored.
It was only then that Yuuri noticed that a dainty little breakfast was laid out on the table in front of Greta. Oh, and that he was indeed quite hungry. He smiled widely and ran over to plop down into one of the seats beside her, while Wolfram seated himself more carefully across the table. The little muffins and splotches of jam looked perfect, adorable, and somehow even Christmas-y. Yuuri was amazed that the kitchen staff had been able to capture the Christmas spirit, when he thought there wasn't anything like it in Shin Makoku before. But, the red and green jam (he hoped it was apple flavored or something) decorating the plate looked like something out of a cooking magazine. "Let's eat!" Yuuri nodded before promptly setting in, munching on one of the mini-muffins with enthusiasm.
Perhaps just out of the holiday spirit, Wolfram didn't even chastise him for his lack of manners as they enjoyed their meal as a family.
~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~
Yuuri hardly had time to blink before the tall chair was pushed in behind him. It was a special red, cushiony chair that he could only vaguely recall using before. The whole dining room was dressed up, too, with still versions of Anissina's sparkling globes. It was really quite something. Once he'd made sure the King was properly seated, Günter immediately flew off, his lavender hair streaming behind him, to go see to another aspect of the meal's preparation.
Now that he finally had some time to breathe, Yuuri looked around the table and caught Conrad's eye. He smiled back at his godfather, albeit a bit tiredly. Günter was really going all out for Christmas. Fortunately, the maids looked even more cheerful than usual as they bustled back and forth from the kitchen. He heard Wolfram sigh a little from beside him, and sneaked a look out of the corner of his eye. Yuuri still felt that cheer from the morning, but he was also a little embarrassed over the whole gift thing. They'd managed to spend about an hour as a family, just enjoying playing with their daughter, before Conrad had found them and warned that Günter was on a rampage and he'd find them soon enough. Yuuri didn't bother wondering how Conrad had managed to find them.
Greta giggled from his other side, and Yuuri looked sheepishly to see the she was, indeed, looking between her shy parents with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Trust her to know when something was up. Yuuri pouted at her. A girl her age shouldn't be more in-tune to his feelings than he usually was!
The low chatter tapered off as Günter strode back into the room, clapping his hands a few times to gather everyone's attention. He cleared his throat for extra effect before announcing, "Merry Krismass, everyone! It's now time for our first celebration of the day... the eating of the Krismass cake!"
Yuuri practically fell forward into the table. Suddenly, it clicked where Günter had found out about Christmas. He himself was the culprit! He'd told Günter about Christmas, and Christmas cake in particular, to dally during one of his lessons! But how in the world had he managed to get Christmas cake here?
Yuuri's question was answered as Effe stepped into the room, wheeling a big tray with several cakes on it. They were all perfectly round, topped with shockingly bright red frosting. The tops were decorated with spindly, delicate snowflakes that looked like fancy sugar. Yuuri had to admit it looked delicious, although they were quite different from Japanese Christmas cakes. Günter must have simply guessed as best he could, or made Effe come up with something. The little maid smiled as she plopped one of the cakes down on the table, sliding it forward towards the King. Lasagna poked around from behind him, leaning in between him and Greta to transplant slices to plates. Yuuri smiled reassuringly as she pushed one in front of him.
"And once His Majesty's taken the first bite and given his approval, we'll have the start of our beautiful Krismass tradition," Günter crooned, still standing at the end of the table.
Chuckling awkwardly under everyone's gaze, Yuuri picked up the little fork that was for desserts, as Günter had finally managed to drill into his head after all his time in Shin Makoku. "Thanks for the meal," he grinned as he partitioned off a forkful of the cake, which was green on the inside. He'd have assumed it would be stomach-turningly awful if he hadn't experienced enough of Effe's creations to have total faith in her ability to make anything delicious. And, as he popped the fork into his mouth and chewed experimentally, he found it was, indeed, quite tasty. It didn't exactly taste like a typical cake, since it was heavily fruity, but it was delicious nonetheless. As he swallowed, Yuuri nodded his head enthusiastically, and Günter applauded.
"Then, with His Majesty's blessing, may we all dig in!" he announced dramatically, pulling the final chair aside to seat himself at last.
Everyone chorused in succession before taking their first bites. Greta cried out in delighted approval soon after, and everyone munched away on the colorful cake. Yuuri was finding Christmas in Shin Makoku to be getting better, after all, now that Günter's mouth was too full of cake to chase him around.
"Yuuri, I love Chrismass!" Greta chimed in between bites of cake.
Yuuri had to chuckle, if only because she almost had the word. "Me too."
Everyone held up eating when they heard what sounded like Gwendal choking. Turning to him, they found that he was indeed looking red in the face, staring down at his plate and trembling slightly.
"Gwendal?" Günter leaned in nearby, peering anxiously at him. "Is something the matter?"
"There..." Gwendal stuttered, his voice quiet. "There's... something... in the cake."
Once Yuuri managed to piece together his meaning, he dropped his fork and cried out, "Poison!?"
"No!" Gwendal looked up and bellowed, his eyes narrowed at Yuuri. Rather than trying to explain himself, he lifted up his fork. Attached to it was a little creature, a delicately sculpted replica of a bearbee. The big black eyes peered out from a tiny round face, and there were even thin wings on its back. The only difference from the real thing was that instead of yellow and black, the little body was striped with green and red.
"Wow," Greta marveled out loud. "How cute!"
His cheeks dusted pink, Gwendal nodded.
"Ah, yes," Effe piped in nervously from her position standing by the table. "Congratulations, Your Excellency! That's the Krismass surprise baked into the cake. Getting the slice with the Krismass Bearbee means you've been blessed for the coming year."
Günter beamed, nodding approvingly at her explanation.
His fork back in hand, Yuuri smiled at the scene Gwendal made, carefully removing the little bearbee from his fork. It somehow seemed right for the little adorable thing to have found its way to Gwendal's plate of all people.
Yuuri made his way through his slice a bit slowly. It was quite rich, after all, between the interesting frosting and fruity interior. He considered bringing a Christmas cake from a store in Japan when it reached Christmas time in his world, but ultimately decided against it as he watched everyone smiling and eating around him. He didn't want to ruin their grand Christmas cake with the rather mundane and overly sugary reality. That and he never really got to plan in advance what he brought with him, after all.
"Now then," Günter spoke up again after swallowing his last bite and making sure everyone else was also wrapping up, "I believe it's time for the main Krismass celebration!"
"Christmas," Yuuri muttered under his breath, although he'd largely given up on that point by then.
Günter stood up, emphatically gesturing with one arm towards the exit. "To the main ballroom, one and all!" he declared before sweeping out of the room.
Lady Cäcilie was the first to spring up, her hands clasped together as she breezed out after him. The rest trickled out, Anissina dropping her tea only after she'd had her share and filing out after Conrad and Gwendal. Yuuri sighed, reluctant to have to deal with whatever Günter had prepared for the main event. He only hoped it didn't involve flying sleighs and Santas swooping down from the ceiling, all mysteriously aimed at his head. Sometimes, he really wondered if Günter's proclamations of love were just a ruse for his secret murderous intent, between all the strangleholds he called embraces and this. Wolfram cleared his throat and stood once it became clear Yuuri wasn't moving on his own, and crossed over to grab Greta by the hand.
"Come on," he turned back to Yuuri, smiling just a little. Wolfram must have been the cake's biggest fan in the room. The fruity sweetness seemed to please him just as much as the usual over-the-top vanilla-y sweetness he loved. Yuuri took note of it somewhere in his brain.
He hopped up eventually, pushing back the heavy chair with great effort and making his way out of the room. The hall was still littered with stragglers. Conrad smiled at the late arrivals from where he was leaned against the wall, and only once he'd made sure the King was following did he enter the double doors into the main ballroom. Yuuri did have to hand it to Günter; the event was rather well planned in that the two locations were right next to one another.
He was not, however, fully prepared for what awaited him in the ballroom. A massive red carpet had been rolled over the marble floor, interspersed with gold thread to create an intricate pattern. Anissina's sparkling globes were dangling from the high ceiling, performing their dangerous dance far above the heads of the spectators this time. There was even a new type mixed into the fray, shaped not like globes but rather like huge snowflakes themselves, twirling and glimmering as they cascaded across the room. The real amazement, however, was the massive tree standing tall in the center. It was truly of impressive stature, a real large pine like Yuuri had never seen. There weren't any Christmas lights on it, to his surprise, but then again, he forgot whether or not he'd even mentioned them to Günter. They probably didn't have anything like them in Shin Makoku, anyways, he figured. Yuuri's mouth hung open as he took the room in.
By the time he was done marveling, everyone else had interspersed through the room, all headed for some bags planted at the base of the tree. Yuuri only moved forward when Wolfram tapped him on the shoulder.
"Eh!" Yuuri exclaimed, seeing that everyone was pulling presents out of the bags. "No way!"
"What?" Wolfram asked as he headed over to his, pulling out a few long, perfectly wrapped boxes. "Isn't this the most important part of Krismass?"
Yuuri's face fell. "No way... everyone really has presents prepared... except for me?"
"Don't be silly," Wolfram countered, shoving one of the boxes into Yuuri's hands. "You're the King."
Yuuri pouted, but it was too late to return the box. "You already got me something, though," he pointed out.
"I know," Wolfram spoke with his head held high. "But this is just the normal Krismass one. The other one was special."
Cäcilie giggled from nearby, and when Yuuri looked around, he noticed everyone looking hawkishly between the two of them. Günter looked positively scandalized.
"What?" he asked, blinking innocently.
No one answered for a second, and Conrad chuckled quietly. Yuuri looked at him with desperate eyes.
"A special present," Cäcilie crooned, her hands clasped over her breasts. "Perhaps some candlelight and rose petals over silk sheets..."
"Mother!" Wolfram shouted, his face bright red.
Yuuri just choked and sputtered a little.
As the one who knew the truth better than the rest, Cäcilie winked at the pair before sashaying closer and presenting Yuuri with her own, similarly shaped box.
Balancing the two boxes, Yuuri's mouth twisted into a frown. "Don't tell me you all have one for me!"
"They're for everyone," Conrad smiled as he passed over his to Yuuri as well, before turning and giving one to a begrudging Wolfram.
"Eh?" Yuuri peered at his collection of boxes curiously, wondering just why they were all the exact same size. "Can I open them?"
"Of course," Cäcilie nodded. "Open mine first, Your Majesty!"
Tucking the other two under one arm, Yuuri carefully ripped into the present. He lifted off the cover, mentally preparing himself for whatever the eccentric former Queen had opted to give him. He still wasn't quite expecting what he saw. His eyes bugged out as he lifted the pair of black silky stockings out of the box, only to grow even wider at the sight of the lacy garter belt resting at the bottom. He looked up at Cäcilie, who was peering at him eagerly. "Um..." he started, "Thank... you?"
"You're welcome!" she cried cheerily, seeming not to notice his apprehension. "I hope I got the right size!"
Yuuri laughed, certain he'd never try them on. "They, um, look fine."
"Great!" Cäcilie swooped in, reaching out her arms and grabbing hold of him to hold him against her chest. Yuuri's face turned bright red as he struggled to breathe. Although he was significantly more used to contact with Lady Cäli's breasts by now, it hardly got easier to survive her embraces each time. To be fair, though, they were quite soft and comfortable.
"Mother," Wolfram complained, tugging at Yuuri's shoulder. "Don't you have stockings for everyone else, too?"
"Oh!" Cäcilie released Yuuri at last, backing away. "You're right, Wolf! I have a special pair just for you, too."
"Thank you, Mother," Wolfram stammered as he pulled the blue and white striped thigh-high stockings from their case. He promptly closed them back in. Cäcilie giggled as she wandered off to present the rest of her boxes.
"Wait..." Yuuri pondered as he looked around him to see others opening boxes to similar results. "All the gifts are stockings?"
"Of course," Wolfram huffed. "Isn't that how Krismass works? You get the person you love a special gift, and everyone else gets stockings?"
Yuuri blinked, opening and closing his mouth a few times. If he thought about it, he could see where Günter had gotten that idea. After all, in other places people got gifts in stockings for Christmas. "Kind of," he laughed.
Before he could think much more about the distortion of Christmas tradition, piles of boxes were being dropped in Yuuri's overwhelmed arms. One thing was for sure: he'd never run out of stockings ever again. Not that he really wore them. But he supposed there'd been the possibility that he'd need them and not have any, before this day.
When he'd gone through the mountains of boxes, opening them all to find for the most part significantly less objectionable stocking than Cäli's gift, he felt a little tug at the back of his shirt end. He turned to find Greta peering up at him nervously, something hidden behind her back.
"Greta!" he beamed at her. "What's up? Did you get lots of nice new stockings?"
"Mm-hmm," she nodded happily. "Lots! I got special ones from Granny Cäli, too!"
At that, Yuuri frowned deeply. "Make sure daddy sees you in them and says they're okay before you wear them out, okay?"
"Okay," Greta conceded. She couldn't wait any longer after that, though, and brought out what she'd been hiding from around her back, exclaiming, "Merry Chrismass, Yuuri!"
Yuuri was positively astonished by what he saw. It was a rather large knitted lion, his fur woolly and white. He had the cutest black button eyes, and a shining emerald peeking out from beneath his mane. What really got him, however, were the two little riders sitting on his back. They were knitted dolls of him and Wolfram, with some details that he thought were pretty exceptional for such a young girl to have made. Then again, his daughter could do no wrong in Yuuri's eyes. "Wow," he breathed as he accepted the lion. "Thank you, Greta! It's amazing."
Her face a pleasant pink, Greta smiled from cheek to cheek. She bounced up and down on her heels joyously. "I made it all myself! Well, Anissina helped me figure out how, and Granny Cäli helped me with the collar, but I did all the knitting."
"That's incredible," her proud parent sniffled. "I'll treasure it."
"Don't cry, Yuuri," she whispered. "That's embarrassing."
They grow up so fast, Yuuri sighed to himself. Regardless, he held the lion against his chest happily.
A larger hand came to rest on Greta's little shoulder, and she looked up happily to see Conrad standing behind her. "I told you he'd love it," he murmured quietly, as if it was a secret just between them.
"You were right!" Greta beamed. She swayed her arms back and forth happily.
"Your Majesty," Conrad nodded as he turned to Yuuri.
"I told you, it's Yuuri," he interrupted with a little frown that was mostly for show.
"Yuuri," Conrad tried again, smiling. "Merry Krismass."
He held out a book of all things to Yuuri. It was a soft leather, firmly and recently bound. Yuuri blinked at it for a second before reaching to accept it. "Thanks, Conrad," he muttered as he opened it, not sure what to think yet. He couldn't exactly read Mazoku script smoothly yet, so he wasn't sure what to expect inside. Much to his surprise, there was actually a picture carefully attached over the first page. It was what looked like a child's rendition of himself, with his messy black hair and big black eyes, waving something vaguely akin to Morgif in an arm. It was certainly cute. Rather in awe, Yuuri turned the page to find a hand-written letter. He stared in vain for a while before giving in to his instinct to run his fingers over the page.
King Yuuri,
My name's Daniel. I'm 17 years old and I live in Shin Makoku. My mommy and daddy both went to a far away place right after I was born. Ever since I remember, I've lived with the Sisters at my orphanage. Just a year ago, we all had to work all day and barely had enough to eat just to live. I didn't know how bad it was though, since things had always been like that. But now, I get to go to school almost every day! School is really fun. I heard that it's thanks to your ruling that we all go to school. I'm really grateful. Now I can even write on my own. Like this letter! I wrote it with only a little help from Mr. Weller. I want to be a writer one day, maybe. Now I feel like I can grow up and become something good, instead of just making it from day to day. Thanks, Your Majesty.
Yuuri blinked away the tears that rose to his eyes as he finished reading the page. Experimentally, he flipped the pages, only to find similar drawings and letters from people of various ages. His mouth hanging open, he looked up at Conrad, who was smiling benevolently as he watched. "No way," he breathed.
"The townspeople were happy to contribute when I came to them with the idea of making a scrapbook for you," Conrad explained. "You've really changed their lives."
Greta worked her way over to grab at Yuuri's pant leg and peer up at the book. Her mouth opened into a little 'o' as she admired the drawings. When she saw that Yuuri's eyes were just swimming with tears again, though, she grabbed for his hand with her smaller ones.
"Thanks, Conrad," Yuuri sniffed a little, but generally held himself together. "I'll read them all carefully later. M- merry Christmas."
Conrad just smiled peacefully. From the crowd milling about behind them, Wolfram approached with Gwendal in toe. His cheeks were lightly pink and he was wearing the tiniest of smiles. Clutched in his arms was a little wooden box with a glass cover over it. Yuuri could just barely make out dabs of color poking out into view. It took him a second, but eventually he realized they were most likely paints, knowing what someone would give Wolfram. Gwendal's vaguely embarrassed demeanor gave him away, too. Yuuri had to smile at that. Despite his usual stony expressions, Gwendal was really sweet to his baby brother.
Wolfram coughed uncomfortably at Yuuri's knowing gaze after inspecting the book in his arms curiously. Between the book and the lion, Yuuri had opted to abandon the stocking boxes on a nearby table. "I think Günter's got something planned for pretty soon," Wolfram stated, causing Gwendal to grumble quietly behind him.
"Seems about right," Yuuri laughed.
"Gisela was looking all over for him," Conrad said as he scanned the room with his eyes. Lady Cäcilie and Anissina were sharing drinks and stories near the tree already, laughing heartily. Gisela seemed to have given up looking for her flighty father, and was instead chatting with Josak, who must have snuck in at some point during the commotion. Surprisingly, he was dressed in his usual attire. Conrad would have expected a holiday gown from him. Castle staff were still weaving through the room transporting trays and bags, looking frenzied but pleased. Perhaps they were star struck by all the nobility crammed into one room.
As if on cue, bells started chiming. The sound was muffled, coming from a ways off. Nearly everyone in the room perked up curiously, turning their heads this way and that to try and see where the noise was coming from. Only Josak seemed to have a knowing smirk on his face, while Gwendal simply looked on as impassively as ever. The chiming was soon followed by a sound everyone present could not possibly fail to recognize-hooves clattering. It was, however familiar, not one they were used to hearing from within the castle walls. Both noises got increasingly louder as the room fell into a greater frenzy. A murmur carried from one person to another as they all wondered at the approaching oddity.
Fortunately, they didn't have to worry for long. The main doors sprung open emphatically, crashing back against the walls from the force. Through the gateway, what Yuuri at first would have described as nothing other than a reindeer galloped in, right on the red carpet. As another one filed in after, tethered to the former by a harness, however, he got a closer look at the animal. It wasn't a reindeer, but a... horse? Wait, it looked far more familiar than just any horse-it was his own Ao! There was a complicated mechanism attached to his head that created the effect of a majestic pair of spindly antlers, and what looked like a clown's nose placed above his actual nostrils. Yuuri stared in dumb amazement. One more horse followed after, pulling at its back a bright red sleigh with golden trimming painted on. And, sitting in the driver's seat was none other than Lord Günter von Kleist, dressed in one of the most extravagant red robes Yuuri had yet to see (and he'd seen his fair share of ridiculously dressed royalty since his arrival in Shin Makoku). His caplet was adorned with pristine white fur, and a forest green cravat poked out at his collar. Yuuri had to admit that, somehow or other, he was actually a fairly good approximation of what this world's version of Santa Claus should have been.
"Merry Krismass!" Günter trilled as the horses slowed to a stop, shaking their heads and sending their manes flying and faux-antlers trembling. He let down the reigns and dismounted gracefully, landing one foot at a time on the carpet. His descent revealed a large sack resting in the back of the sleigh. With a swooping gesture, he untied the string holding it shut. "I, Saint Kleist, have arrived to bestow upon all true Krismass cheer!"
Everyone stared in awed silence for a long while as the self-proclaimed Saint Kleist stood smiling at them triumphantly. His eyes caught the King's wide ones, who promptly panicked and, in his nervousness, did the first thing that came to mind. He put his hands together in applause. No one else really knew what to do, either, so they hesitantly took up one after another applauding Saint Kleist's grand entrance. With the room filled with laudations for him, Günter positively glowed.
"Presents for all!" he declared. "May this first Krismass be remembered for time immemorial!"
If anyone noticed the elegant contradiction, they declined to comment. The applause became more hearty as Günter removed one box after another from his bag, distributing them seemingly at random between noble and castle staff both.
Yuuri's mouth twitched with awkward laughter as he hesitantly continued to put his hands together, although at this point only a pathetic little 'swoosh' sound was coming out. The noise level did eventually depreciate as the clapping faded and people's hands were full of presents. Yuuri exchanged looks with Conrad and Wolfram, who looked almost as stunned as he felt. Of all the ridiculous stunts Günter had pulled before, this one easily took the proverbial Christmas cake.
Before he could make any emergency escape plans, Günter twirled into Yuuri's line of view. "This," he announced as he stopped to face the King, "is my Krismass gift to you, Your Majesty."
Wincing a little in anticipation, Yuuri looked to Günter's hands, but found them empty. "Eh? What is?"
"All of this," Günter explained with total gravity. "I knew that I would be fulfilling your heart's true desire by giving joy to one and all."
Yuuri sighed in relief. He had been afraid of whatever magnificent token his advisor might have prepared to show his affection and appreciation. "Thanks, Günter," he smiled. "Merry Christmas!"
Günter appeared to be positively in heaven, basking in the light of his sovereign's smile, before Wolfram's foot mysteriously happened to cross paths with his. He scowled at him, his benevolent saintly look suddenly a world away. Fortunately, a distressed guard ran up to him and demanded his attention before he could yell at anyone. Wolfram watched triumphantly as he sprinted off, the confused guard in tow. Some part of Christmas was probably falling apart back stage. Yuuri only hoped that it wasn't the decorations on the ceiling, because they could very well be doomed. He was considering guiding his family to safety when he noticed a hand waving in his face. He blinked, only to find himself looking right at a very irritated Wolfram. "Eh?" he squeaked.
"Finally!" Wolfram huffed. "I've been trying to tell you that I need to step out for a bit."
"Oh," Yuuri nodded. "Okay, I'll see you later, then. Don't get hit by any stray decorations!"
Wolfram snorted. "I wouldn't. That's just you."
Yuuri pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out at his friend as he walked away, before giving in and laughing as he waved. Greta giggled beside him.
"I can kind of see why you guys were all so stressed about Christmas," Yuuri grinned at Conrad, who had faithfully remained nearby throughout Günter's whole display. "Between Günter and Anissina, it's a lot crazier than Christmas back on Earth. Well, in Japan at least."
Conrad chuckled quietly, but didn't respond. Yuuri found out why a second later when he heard Anissina's high tones from behind him call out, "What's this I hear about crazy?"
Jolting to stand up straight, Yuuri turned to face her. When he saw Gisela standing at her side, his hand subconsciously moved up into a salute, even though she was smiling warmly. "A- Anissina! Gisela!" he called out stiffly. "I was just saying that Christmas is a crazy amount of fun. Even more than it is on Earth!"
"Right," Gisela chortled. "Father really went all out to make it special."
"And I do believe these decorations are some of my best work yet," Anissina smirked with her eyes on the continuing dance of snowflakes and globes on the ceiling.
Yuuri nodded with passion. "Certainly! They really made... quite an impression."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Anissina ducked into a perfect curtsy, her high ponytail swishing behind her. "You should see the final act of what we have planned."
Yuuri's stomach dropped with dread at the idea that Anissina had helped out with more of the Christmas event. Actually, now that he thought of it, she was probably responsible for the antler contraptions on the horses. He glanced over to check on where Saint Kleist's entourage had paraded in, only to find the sleigh left there abandoned. Ah, that was probably the incident Günter ran off to go fix, he figured. They'd had to escort out the 'reindeer.'
"Were you able to give Günter your gift?" Conrad inclined his head toward Gisela.
"Yes!" she nodded, looking satisfied. "He was still hurrying everywhere, but it looked like he appreciated it. He'll certainly need it after all the festivities have died down."
Yuuri looked between them with interest. He started to ask, "What did..."
Before he could finish, the lights flickered out in quick succession, each flame snuffed. The room was filled with a collective gasp. There was one crash, but otherwise no one outright panicked. They were all fairly used to over the top dramatics by this point.
"It is now time," Günter's voice boomed from somewhere in the darkness, "for the lighting of the Krismass tree!"
"Lighting!?" Yuuri exclaimed, feeling a bit excited despite himself. "But I didn't see any light bulbs on it or anything."
The rest of the room was filled with an awed murmur. No one else had heard of such a thing as trees lighting outside of forest fires.
A single light burst into existence with a slight hiss, right up near the ceiling. Yuuri assumed it was from the chandelier, but when he craned his head to look, he found that it was actually from the top of the massive pine. And what he could see in that first bit of flame, although it was far up, was unmistakably Wolfram's face, with those golden curls and bright green eyes lit up by his element. Before he'd even considered how in the world Wolfram had gotten up there, Yuuri started to panic. "W- Wolf!" he called, flailing his arms.
He must have been loud enough for Wolfram to hear, because in the light of the flame he saw a familiar chastising look as he raised one finger to his lips to shush him. Yuuri let out a strangled cry of frustration and looked to Conrad desperately. Conrad looked just a bit surprised, which was quite exceptional for him.
"I present to you," Günter declared again, his voice resounding even in the wide space, "the Krismass angel!"
The flame billowed out around Wolfram's figure, revealing the rest of him and casting more light on the rest of the ballroom again. He'd changed into a flowing white robe that Yuuri, personally, blamed whatever tailor was responsible for Günter's regular attire for. Not that there was anything wrong with it; it was just very distinctive. Yuuri did have to admit that he looked like the traditional depiction of an angel, minus the wings. He didn't have time to go back to panicking about how Wolfram was up there before the fire was spreading again. Much to his horror, it continued down the tree in a burning spiral. The smell of pine in his nostrils was now incredibly strong, and it did look quite stunning as the entire tree slowly glowed with interspersed tethers of flame. There was a murmur of appreciation and amazement throughout the room, and Yuuri looked around in distress, wondering why no one else was fearing for Wolfram's-and all of their-lives. He turned to Conrad again, whose shoulders were now shaking in silent laughter. Yuuri gestured in bewilderment towards the tree, and then back at them, his mouth moving as if to form words, but nothing more than sputtering coming out.
"Relax," Conrad spoke at last. "It's magical fire. It's completely under Wolfram's control, so it won't spread beyond those areas of the tree."
Yuuri still didn't feel quite comfortable with the prospect of the massive tree burning in front of him, but his arms fell to his sides again with a sigh. He turned back to look worriedly at Wolfram, who looked to be in deep concentration. After the flames had been dancing in their places for a good few minutes, he smiled and closed his eyes, dismissing them all at once with a gesture. There wasn't time for Yuuri to feel at ease thanks to the lack of an imminent fire hazard, however, before Wolfram did the unthinkable and simply hopped off of his perch at the pinnacle of the tree. This time, Yuuri's panicked instincts did kick in and his feet were in motion right away, propelling him forward through the crowd and towards the tree. From that height, he didn't know how much it would help, but he needed to at least try and catch his poor and suddenly insane fiancée (and more importantly, friend).
Much to his surprise, though, Wolfram landed neatly on his feet right in front of him. In his panic, he somehow had failed to notice the wires strapped onto him from the back of his robes that had guided his descent. He shrugged the straps off, sending the wires snapping back towards the ceiling where they joined the other mechanisms busily sending the decorations gliding around. Wolfram then turned back to the crowd as the candles slowly flickered back to life, lighting the room again. He smiled, pleasantly surprised to see Yuuri right up front.
Yuuri blinked at him, eyes impossibly wide and arms still extended, ready to catch him as he had been.
"What's the matter?" Wolfram asked as he tilted his head quizzically.
All the adrenaline fell out of Yuuri's body with a 'whoosh' as he practically deflated, his arms falling as he slouched forward against Wolfram. "I thought you were gonna die," he whined.
"Of course not," Wolfram snorted, although his face was a cherry pink as his arm rose to wrap around Yuuri's shoulder to support him. "Mazoku sacrifice isn't a part of Krismass, is it?"
"No!" Yuuri cried. "You were just up so high. And the flames... the tree..."
Wolfram grabbed hold of both Yuuri's shoulders this time, pushing him back to look him in the eye. "Calm down," he smiled. "Everything's fine. It was just the lighting of the Krismass tree. Günter and Anissina put it together, and they just wanted me to play the angel... since I can use fire, and all. We practiced the wire system to make sure it was safe."
"Oh," Yuuri breathed. Another few breaths and he smiled back at Wolfram, feeling more than a little silly. "Well, um... It was a nice show."
His cheeks flushed with pleasure, Wolfram lifted his head to a proud angle. "Naturally!"
Before, Yuuri might have narrowed his eyes at him and commented about his attitude, but he decided to let it go this time. He felt a little tug at the back of his shirt again. When he attempted to turn back, he realized that his shoulders were still Wolfram's captives, so he opted for merely twisting his neck back as far as he could comfortably. He saw no one until he remembered to look down to child level, when he spotted Greta beaming up at the two of them.
"You're such a pretty angel, Wolfram!" she chimed. "Don't you think, Yuuri?"
Wolfram let go of Yuuri and stepped back slightly, giving Greta a strained smile. Yuuri looked at him in confusion for a second before realizing that it was an expression of resigned disappointment. It was like he thought he knew Yuuri's answer before he'd given it! Yuuri didn't like that, not one bit. So, one can be assured it was only to be contrary when he answered, "Definitely!" with his eyes trained on his feet and cheeks bright red. He snuck a glance at Wolfram's reaction, and promptly resumed looking away after seeing the surprised look of joy mixed with embarrassment. Yuuri grabbed Greta's hand. "Why don't we all go see about getting something to eat? I'm starving after all that action!" he said quickly.
Greta looked more disappointed than anyone to see the topic changing, but she nodded. "Okay! I want some more Chrismass cake."
Wolfram's smile widened at that. "I do too," he stated as he took up her other hand.
The three of them made their way quietly through the milling crowd of excited Christmas spectators widely unnoticed. Yuuri's heart was still beating a little too fast, but he was hoping for the rest of the evening to be much more peaceful.
~*~*Merry Krismass*~*~
"...And that's when Santa Claus goes back up the chimney, to rejoin his reindeer and move on to the next household," Yuuri murmured softly. He'd been busy half-making up his version of Earth's Christmas story from bits and pieces he remembered hearing once, and failed to notice that Greta had drifted away a good minute or two before the conclusion, her head resting against the big pile of pillows. Her light snore caught his attention, and he smiled, running a hand over her little curls. "She falls asleep so quickly. I know who she gets that from," he whispered as he looked up to Wolfram where he lay on his stomach on the other side of Greta, his chin in his hands as he peered back at Yuuri.
Wolfram laughed quietly. "She gets plenty else from you."
"True enough," Yuuri conceded with a proud smile.
"I didn't only mean good things," Wolfram snorted, but the fondness in his eyes betrayed him.
Yuuri huffed and stretched his arms above his head, his jaw opening wide into a yawn. "Today was a long day," he mumbled as he crawled up to the head of the bed, sliding the covers back and slipping his legs in.
"Well," Wolfram chewed his lip, rolling over onto his back. "It was, but... I think I ended up liking Krismass."
Yuuri smiled widely as he snuggled into the warmth of the bed. "Yeah," he murmured, equally sleepy and happy. "It was a really special day."
Greta made a succession of soft noises in her sleep as she turned over, which Yuuri took to be her subconscious agreeing with them. He ruffled her hair one last time for the night, while he could. She'd be punching him as she dreamt soon enough.
"Goodnight, Yuuri," Wolfram yawned, his hand reaching over to Greta and meeting Yuuri's there.
Instead of withdrawing his hand, in his drowsiness Yuuri had no objection to gently squeezing Wolfram's. "Night, Wolf," he whispered as he drifted off.
If one thing was for sure about Krismass in Wolfram's mind, which was now wide awake and racing, it was that it warranted a very long entry in his diary.
~*~*~*Merry Krismass to all, and to all a good night!*~*~*~