When their feet were too sore to continue dancing, the friends retreated from the party and Sora showed them around what he knew of the castle. As friends of the hosts, he was certain they wouldn't mind a bit of exploration. Everything had changed since he'd last been there. The armor didn't look like it came from a medieval torture chamber. Everything was shiny and polished. The creepy animal statues and carvings had been replaced with mighty lions, smiling people or giggling cherubs. Garlands of holly and ribbons were all over the place. Wreaths with rippling ribbons and jeweled berries were hung in the most decorative of places. Beautiful sparkling ornaments were hung from the garlands and basically anywhere that looked festive. Looked like Angelique took her job very seriously.
After the tour the friends retreated to the study off to the right of the main entrance hall. The heart of the party was now in the ballroom so the main hall was empty. It looked just as he remembered it too, except there were now two chairs instead of one. The fire wasn't lit but that was an easy fix. Kairi and Rachel adjusted their skirts and sat on the rug by the fire. Sora and Riku sat close to them.
This certainly had a Christmas feel. Closeness and togetherness with the friends you love. Good thing Sora suggested their destination on this day, otherwise they would have missed the party. After a while of enjoying the moment Rachel made an observation.
"Where's Bryan?"
The four of them looked around but her brother was gone. They just assumed he was behind them or something. With that being the main thought in all their minds, no one could recall just how long he'd been gone.
"Maybe he went back to the party." Sora suggested. "I mean, it's not like he has a girl to cuddle with."
"Shame really, this is great." Rachel muttered only loud enough for Riku to hear. He smiled and cuddled her closer.
"And subject himself to the claws of all interested and relentless bachelorettes?" Kairi said. "I don't think so."
"Tell me about it." Right on cue Bryan came back to join them with a stack of presents. Getting checked out or flirted with is flattering but nobody likes getting swarmed upon.
"Cool!" Sora said. "Are these from Belle and the prince?"
"No, these are ours from Christmas town." Bryan answered as he passed them out. "Santa told us not to open them until Christmas. He never said on what world."
Sora laughed out loud at his reasoning and wondered aloud how he hadn't thought of that too. Riku mumbled an answer that Sora dared him to repeat. He only grinned and said nothing.
So the friends partook in their own tiny Christmas before the gossiping fire. Kairi's small package had a dozen sets of jeweled barrettes and hairpins of all sizes. Some looked like flowers, others, butterflies, shells or stars. Riku's heavy box contained a thick hard cover book entitled "The Quest for the Ice Bell". For Riku, reading had always been a hit and miss. He enjoyed it when he got around to it but never went terribly out of his way to curl up with a good book. However, this was from Santa Claus. The big guy must have known whatever the book was about he'd like.
Sora laughed out loud when he opened his present. Inside were many pairs of warm, cozy socks each themed for every world he, Donald and Goofy had ever visited. One had roses and playing cards on a black and white checkered background. Another had a tangle of vines, bananas and blue butterflies and so on. Yet another was blue with tangles of seaweed, bubbles and cartoon crabs. Bryan had been given a set of ornaments that looked like tiny drum sets and other assorted percussion instruments. If it had any moving parts they actually worked. The symbols tinked together and the pedal of the bass made a quiet thump when pushed.
Finally Rachel's gift was a hard-cover book-bound journal with two nuzzling doves in a nest of lilies embossed on the cover with little wee butterflies in the corners. Her eyes lit up as she stroked the smooth cover then opened it to run her fingers over the texture of the pages. Riku cataloged that as an idea for a future present.
"Why did you feel the pages?" Kairi asked.
"Different paper textures are better for certain things. I'll tell you all about paper weights later to anyone who's interested. This one is heavy enough not to bleed ink for writing but textured enough to be great for drawing with pencil." She clutched the book to her chest like a gift destined to be given to a king.
"What do you find so special about a journal or sketchbook?" Riku asked casually.
"It's potential." Rachel answered. "These pages could contain wonderful things someday. And with it I have the privilege to set them free."
WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO BE SO POETICALLY CUTE! Riku screamed in his head.
"Ah! There you are!" Lumiere exclaimed as he came into the room. "It's almost midnight! Soon it will be Christmas day! Come, come!"
He ushered them into the ballroom. They left their gifts in a pile in the room to collect later and followed Lumiere.
Butlers and other servants were bustling around with large platters, making sure each guest got a fancy glass of champagne to toast the arrival of Christmas day. Mrs. Potts served Sora and his friends personally. They'd never had anything as fancy as champagne before. Belle and the prince lead the toast as a clock somewhere began to chime midnight. They thanked everyone for coming, thanked everyone for making their first annual Christmas party a success and welcomed them all back the following year. At the final stroke of midnight a joyful "Merry Christmas!" chorused throughout the ballroom. Everyone rose their glasses to toast the new day.
And thus the fourth day was brought to another happy end.