Yuletide Lessons
Chapter 6
December 16th
The streets of Magnolia were packed as Lucy, Rogue and Fro squeezed their way through. The annual Christmas Festival was in full swing and every year hundreds of people flock to the town just to see all the sights. Various stalls littered the streets decked with different wares, clothes, jewelry, foreign food and other magical items not found anywhere else. Lucy's head moved like it was on a swivel as she tried to take in everything around her at once, childlike 'oohs' came from both her and Fro's mouths. Rogue chuckled as he himself took in the sights, sounds and various aromas wafting through the air. Having such enhanced senses sometimes was a burden and for instances like this could be unbearable usually, but he could endure it for as long as Lucy wished to be there.
Fro's tummy rumbled and Lucy's echoed the sound making them both burst out laughing as Rogue's head snapped from the enticing smells hearing the sounds.
"Perhaps we should feed your stomachs before they eat us?" He said dryly steering them towards the food stalls.
Fro settled on his head and giggled in her paws. "Fro's tummy could never eat Rogue, he's much too big."
"And I doubt he'd taste very good," Lucy pointed out, before her eyes lit up and grabbed his arm, dragging him to stand in front of a stall that smelled enticingly sweet.
"Oooh elephant ears and funnel cakes… ooh the yummy deep fried, sugary goodness." She turned to them. "Which do you guys want?"
"Fro doesn't want to eat an elephant's ear." She scrunched her nose.
"Indeed, that doesn't sound very appetizing, but what is a funnel cake?" Rogue inquired stretching to see over the people crowded around the stall.
Lucy laughed. "No no no. It's not an actual elephant ear, its a fried piece of dough stretched out in a big round shape that just looks like one, that's why it's called that. A funnel cake is also fried dough but instead of it being in a flat circle they drizzle it in different squiggles in the oil and they all come out in different shapes. But both have a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on top and they are both so yummy."
Seeing both their faces light up she smiled and stood in line. "I'll get us a few of each so you can try them both."
Fifteen minutes later they strolled back through the stalls munching on their sugary treats as they browsed the various items for sale.
"Ooh look at that armor! Hey, I wonder if Erza has this one?" She sifted through before finding one she'd never seen before and purchased it before continuing on.
Rogue turned to her and smiled. "Find a good one?"
"Yeah, this is one I know she won't have." She frowned. "Say, what do you think Gray and Natsu would like? I always have a problem finding stuff for guys, and those two are hard to shop for."
Rogue turned a thoughtful gaze amongst the stalls. "Hmm, how about for Natsu since he likes food so much, get him a rare sweet. Like say some of those." He pointed and pulled her over to the stall.
"What are they?" Lucy scrunched her nose. They looked like ordinary chocolates but the smell of something spicy permeated the air.
"Err ifero alls." Fro offered, her mouth full of an elephant ear and Lucy laughed as crumbs and sugar tumbled onto Rogues hair making him frown.
"Let's try to keep the food in your mouth up there Frosch, you're getting more in my hair than in your mouth."
Lucy reached up to dust the crumbs away giggling, missing the flush on Rogue's face as he averted his eyes and cleared his throat.
"Was that English?" She chortled.
"What she said was these are called Inferno Balls. While they look like regular chocolates they aren't. The chocolate coating has a mixture of hot spices and the centers have all varying degrees of heat, each one different from the last."
"Oooh, I know he'll love that." She grabbed a box and purchased it adding it to the bag hanging on her arm.
"Ok," She paused looking around. "Now for Gray. What could I get him?"
"I'd say clothes since he's constantly losing his." Rogue retorted dryly.
Lucy giggled. "That's for sure. Oh wait. That's perfect!" She said excitedly and dragged him to a magical clothing stall. "Look this coat has a function that automatically re-adjusts to the wearer's needs and repairs itself. He would never need another coat, ever."
Fro hovered near the clothing and picked up a pair of boxers slipping them over her head making the people around her break out in laughter. "Fro thinks this hat would be good!" She squawked as they disappeared in a puff of white sparkles and reappeared back on the stall.
Rogue chuckled and reached out to gently ruffle the cats hair under her hood.
"Those aren't a hat Frosch but a good find none the less."
Laughing softly Lucy picked them up and turned them this way and that only for them to vanish and reappear once again. "Like I thought, they reappear back to the owner if separated by a certain distance. These are perfect." She grabbed a snowflake covered one and threw one of the coats on top.
Rogue grabbed her bag from her as it now weighed quite heavily and made their way back into the crowd.
"Ok," Lucy said tapping her chin as she looked around. "I've still got Happy and a few others."
Rogue gazed at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked. 'So she's getting us something, is she. Wonder what it will be.'
"Well," He stated. "If it's Happy, I think anything fish related would be fine."
"Yeah, Happy loves fish!" Fro shouted.
"That he does." Lucy mused. "Ok how about this?" She pulled them over to a fish stall.
"They have this option to buy a years worth of fish for someone and everyday someone will deliver them to that person?"
"Fro thinks Happy will love it!"
Rogue nodded. "I think that will be perfect for him."
Lucy wrote the details down and put down Natsu's address and handed over the jewels, receiving a piece of paper stating the details of the gift. She slipped the paper in the bag and looked around again and Rogue noticed her eyes kept slipping from them to the stalls looking nervous and biting her lip.
He sighed, deciding to make things easier for her and use that time to grab a few things himself. "How about we go off on our own for about an hour and meet back up in the town square? I've got a few things to get myself."
Lucy turned to him with a relieved smile and nodded. "Oh, ok. Try not to get lost you two." She waved as she slipped back into the crowd.
"I'll see you in an hour!"
Fro settled on Rogues shoulder gently. "Is Rogue gonna get Lucy something?"
"Indeed Frosch. Would you like me to help you pick something out for her?"
Fro nodded, her eyes wide as she looked around.
"Alright, let's go then."
An hour later saw Lucy shifting from foot to foot anxiously as she kept peeking in the bag in her arms wondering if he would like what she picked out for him. Fro was the easiest, seeing as how she was so childlike Lucy had gone for various dolls, one of which bared a striking resemblance to Rogue and she knew Fro would absolutely love it. Rogue however was a different story and she had a hard time figuring out just what he would like.
He was still so quiet and shy that he never really opened up and mentioned much about himself, so she'd used what she knew and observed and threw caution to the wind. She'd finally settled on a cape she'd found while browsing. It looked like an ordinary cape until light hit a certain angle and then it shimmered subtly and she gasped seeing the fabric looked much like dragons scales and appeared translucent. The vendor said it was very rare and indeed made of dragons scales.
The wearer would seem to disappear in front of an enemy as the light refracted off the scales and responded to the wearers wishes. Despite being made of scales it was lightweight and extremely hard to tear much like the hides of dragons. Lucy slipped her hand in the bag again and lightly ran a finger over the fabric watching as the scales rippled softly at her touch and smiled.
"Lucy!" A shout made her jump and she looked up with a smile as Fro darted across the heads of several people and latched onto her neck in a hug.
"Fro missed you!" Fro whispered as Lucy laid a palm across the cat's small back and spotted Rogue as he made his way through the crowd, her bag still on his arms along with several others. She raised a brow at him and he grinned in response, clutching the bags harder to keep her from looking.
"Ready to leave?" He asked.
"Yeah, let's go back to my place and wrap some gifts."
He steered them through the crowd and made their way to her apartment only to stop as they ascended her stairs seeing something against her door.
Lucy tilted her head as she peered down at it, Rogue craned his neck to look at it also.
"Looks like you've got another gift from your secret admirer."
"Yeah, looks like it." She whispered, grabbing the box, opened the door and set it on the kitchen table as they shucked their coats.
Even as they set the bags down her eyes kept going back to the box wondering what was in this one, what would the paper say? But she wouldn't open it in front of Rogue, that just wasn't fair to him, she already felt terrible that she'd done so for the first one.
"Are you gonna open it Lucy?" Fro asked.
"I don't think so, maybe later." She smiled weakly.
"Go ahead and open it Lucy. I can tell you're dying to know what's in it." Rogue smiled and gently pushed her towards it.
"B-but..."
He nudged her again. "Go ahead."
She bit her lip but nodded as she used a letter opener to cut the tape and opened the lid. Her brows furrowed as a sea of red met her eyes and began pulling the items out.
"They're candles, red ones, that smell like peppermint, all different shapes and sizes." She murmured.
Fro settled on the table and counted them as Lucy brought them out. "Wow, you've got 15 red candles Lucy, but look there's one left in the box."
Lucy frowned seeing the cat was right and brought out a golden candle. The size and shape differed from all the other ones and this was had intricate carvings all around it. It was truly beautiful, but what did it mean. She pondered that as she sat it amongst the other ones and noticed the paper on the bottom of the box, lifted it out and read the words.
"What does it say Lucy?" Fro whispered as Rogue looked on, a blank expression on his face as he nodded at her.
"It says: Like a brilliant golden candle amongst a sea of endless red, you stand out above all others."
A lump settled in her throat at such simple yet endearing words. Who could this mystery person be and how did they know just what to write to touch her heart? Her gaze went back to Rogues as Fro gently touched the gold candle and noticed his eyes seemed closed off. She wondered if all of this was upsetting him and she felt bad for opening it in front of him. Setting the candles back in the box she put it away in her room and shut the door firmly. It didn't matter what this person wrote to her or gave her, she would not waver from the one her heart was set on.
She carefully placed the bag full of their gifts in her closet and went back out to the living room arms full of wrapping paper, scissors, tape, ribbons and various other things.
"Ok you two," She beamed, hoping to get his mind off the gift. "Time to wrap these gifts."
"But Fro doesn't know how." She whined.
Lucy smiled gently. "Don't worry everyone starts out a beginner, but I've done hundreds and will show you how first and then you can try for yourself." She lugged the wrapping paper out and demonstrated the proper way to wrap, as they watched her fingers move quick and sure.
"There!" She held out the small box containing Natsu's chocolates.
"Now let's see you guys do the same."
Admittedly their first attempts were rather clumsy but they tried their hardest.
"Is Fro doing this right?"
"Not quite. The tape goes on the paper not on your fur sweety." Lucy laughed pulling the sticky stuff from the cat.
"How should I wrap this one?" Rogue asked holding up and oddly shaped package.
Lucy tilted her head. "Well, we could just wrap it with the wrapping paper or we can find a box to put it in."
"Can Fro put some pretty ribbons on mine like yours?"
"Of course! And don't forget the bows as well."
A couple of hours later they had a sizable pile of gifts and Lucy pulled out one more thing. "Now for the last part."
"What are those?" Fro asked.
"These," She fluttered the papers. "Are tags for the gifts. See you write who the gift goes to here, and then who it's from down here, and stick them on the packages."
Fro frowned slightly. "Fro doesn't know how to write." She said softly.
"Don't worry Fro, Rogue and I can help you, ok?" Lucy said soothingly.
"Ok." She nodded with a small smile.
Tags in place, they shoved the gifts under her tree and stepped back to admire the scene. Lucy noticed the extra bags by the kitchen door and idly wondered what was in those and why Rogue hadn't wrapped them but before she could ask he picked them up and turned to her with a smile.
"Alright, time for us to head back to the hotel. We had a wonderful time today Lucy, thank you."
"Fro thanks Lucy!" She shouted as she wrapped her paws around her neck and zipped over to Rogue as he nodded to her and opened the door.
Lucy rushed to the door and watched them walk down the stairs. "Have a good night Frosch, Rogue and I hope you had fun." She whispered surprised when he paused to turn around and grinned back in the dim light.
"We had a blast Lucy, Goodnight Lucy. Sleep well." And then he was gone, leaving a warm feeling blooming in her chest and a sense of loss. She sighed and closed the door, her eyes settling on the warm glow of the tree through the doorway with a fond smile. Maybe this year her Christmas wish would come true. She could only hope so.
(¯`¥´¯`·.¸.:¨NIchiki ¨:.¸.·´¯`¥´¯)
