Yay! More stuff is happening! As per usual, enjoy this chapter and review and let me and COL232 what you think :D Love ya~!

~SXS

Once Gilbert had rediscovered the use of his legs, he rejoined the group out in the corridor. Only to find Usagi wrapped up in Ivan's protective arms.

The Russian, who was returning to the group after his stay in his room, had heard her sobs on the way and scooped her up without hesitation. His large hand was curled into her hair tenderly and he murmured into her ear in his native tongue.

Gilbert felt as though he hadn't done something right because the queen and so suddenly resumed crying. But he and all the others realized that no matter how you rolled the dice or how kindly you put the words, she would still need time to recover from her hellish past life and being tricked for so very long by a man she thought she loved.

At last Ivan spoke up in English for everyone's benefit. "Little bunny rabbit, I ran into Pluto on the way here. She told me to tell you that you should begin to work upon the party invitations. Apparently there is some party that you are going to be holding for the other nations as well as us, da?"

At those words her heart shaped face lit up in a happy sort of glow. "Oh yes that's right, I wanted to do the invitations by hand. And they have to go out soon. Plus I wanted to try my hand in designing the gift basket favors. Oh, there's so much to do!" She clapped her hands in joy.

"We're having a party! SWEET!" Alfred cried fist pumping in excitement.

"Ohohon~, perhaps there shall be some lovely ladies to meet," Francis said.

Soon all the nations were chatting animatedly about the party and Serenity couldn't help but smile genuinely.

"Ok, ok you silly boys. Why don't you all hang out in your rooms while I go down to the main foyer and work on the invites. We shall meet again at dinner time."

"Are you sure you don't want some help, Queen Serenity?" Antonio asked.

"No, no. I'll be alright." A small frown formed on her face. "Hey…In private, when we're away from prying ears, could you all do me a favor and call me Usagi? I love the name Serenity but it seems so...formal. I would like for us to have a casual friendship."

Francis smiled pushing one hand tenderly trough her lush free flowing locks. Many of the nations rolled their eyes at this. "But of course, mon petit beauté, we can indeed call you by your informal name."

"Wonderful!" Serenity exclaimed. "Ok, then I will see you all later."

The nations went back the way they had come to return to their rooms and better explore them. Meanwhile, the young Queen made her way back down into the main entrance area where she had greeted all her new friends just that morning.

She settled down on the couch and from the side table drawer she pulled out a lap desk with brightly colored paper in dozens of shades. "I think I will meet with them either one or two at a time. That way I get to know them better." She brought a piece of pink paper to the top of her pile, then from the drawer she retrieved special scissors that would give the pages a scalloped edge.

As she cut she thought out loud, "I believe the first should go to Liechtenstein-san and Switzerland-san." Pulling out a sheet of stickers, she slid a tulip onto each corner. She let out a soft giggle, enjoying the personal touches she was adding, loving the thought of the recipient's face as she opened it.

"It's the little details that make people feel welcome." She selected a baby blue-inked pen and began to write the message. "To The Principality of Liechtenstein…" She carefully used her best writing to spell out:

I hope this letter will find you in good health. My name is Serenity and I write to you from Japan. In case you hadn't heard yet, I'm your new queen. But I'd like to be much more than that. I am holding a gala for all the nations of the world in two weeks time. I would love it if you and your brother Switzerland could attend so I can get a chance to get to know you. I'm sure we're going to get along great. If you would please arrive a day or two early, that would be fantastic. We have plenty of accommodations for you here at the palace. Please bring semi-formal attire for the party but you may wear casual clothing on the rest of your visit! I hope to see you soon!

She added a doodle of herself with bunny ears at the bottom and sealed it up neatly with wax and the royal crest. She gave it a little kiss and spritzed cotton candy perfume on it lightly before writing the address and putting it on the table to start the pile.

Next she wrote one for Switzerland. The paper she chose for him was sky blue with little guns as a border. "I must remember to make a note for him to NOT bring his guns. Fixing crystal walls takes is just too difficult."

She wrote his and all the other letters in a similar fashion to the first one, adding little personal touches to the paper or writing special extra things that she thought would make them smile. By the end, she had an extremely large pile of invitations which toppled onto the floor from the tiny side table.

When all of them were finished, Serenity headed out to the post office. She felt like Santa Claus because she had to put them all into a sack which she slung onto her back.

"Well, I hope they bring just as much joy as Santa-san," she giggled to herself.

Vash hadn't let Lilli out of the house since the day the crystal came off. He carried his guns everywhere with him just in case. He would go to the store and get food and come back to guard the house. Despite the fact that things were seemingly normal besides the fact that everything was pure and clean, he was not about to risk his little sister's safety. Thus she was stuck in their house for a good few weeks before a fateful letter arrived.

"Brother, did you miss this one?" Lilli asked, noticing that it was left in the pile with the junk mail even though it was handwritten in a beautiful script.

"No, I don't recognize the address. It could be dangerous-Hey! Don't touch it!" He tried to grab the envelope out of her small hands but she turned away. When she looked again she saw that there was actually one for each of them.

"They're not dangerous, Brother. I can just feel it. I'm going to open it." And with that, she carefully ran her finger through to open the top. Vash read over her shoulder until she handed him his own. "This one is for you. Open it!"

He was leery at first but complied and unfolded the paper with the gun border. He had to admit, that made him almost smile. Upon reading the note he felt a little less threatened but still wanted to stay cautious.

"Oh, Brother, can't we please go to the ball? Please?" Lilli batted her eyelashes and stared into Vash's face. He felt himself breaking down as he always did when his precious sister asked for something.

"W-Well…You'll have to stick right by me the whole time. No talking to strange people or anything. Things in Japan are already different enough as it is, but if that's where the center of all this weird 'New World' stuff is, then we need to be extra careful."

"Oh thank you! This will be so much fun! I'm going to pack right away and wear that new dress you bought me!" She smiled and her excitement was greater than anything Vash had seen on her before. He supposed that was a good thing. If Lilli was happy, he was happy.

Similar instances occurred with the rest of the nations receiving an invitation to the party. They were skeptical at first, wondering what kind of person this so-called queen was or why she was suddenly holding a gala for the entire world, but nevertheless they felt that they couldn't turn her down. Thus, hundreds of nations packed their things and made plans to travel to Japan.

Within a week, the palace was filled the brim! Serenity was constantly greeting someone new and trying to find a little piece of time here and there to talk individually with each of the arrivals. The Guardian Senshi escorted everyone to rooms and bustled around trying to provide food and accommodations for the huge group of guests.

The nations who were already at the crystal palace were having fun reconnecting with their colleagues and getting to know the senshi by helping them out. By the night before the ball, the energy was almost sparking off of everyone and the anticipation of the party was causing time to seemingly slow down.

Serenity was very happy when it was finally time to go to bed, but she could hardly sleep. "Ooh, I wish it were just tomorrow already! I feel like it's Christmas!" She sighed. "At least we'll be so busy preparing tomorrow that it'll come up fast." Finally by some miracle, she managed to fall asleep and the new day dawned with promises of a fantastic night.