"Well we just came to give you some Christmas gifts." Serenity said.
"Oh, um yeah and Master Mokuba and Mistress Maura too." Joey said.
Yami nodded and walked over and pulled the assistance rope.
A maid walked in and over to them. "Yes, Master Atemu?"
"You are…?" Yami asked.
"Melissa, I was assigned to Princess Jasmine and Queen Diana. I was going off shift when I heard the assistance bell. What can I do for you?"
"Mai and Isis are in one of the rooms in the southeast wing with the kids. Ask Mai and Isis to bring the kids to the living room."
Melissa bowed, "Yes, Master Atemu."
"Follow us into the living room." Yami said.
Joey was surprised. He thought they'd wait there at the door and do it there. But he didn't argue. He and Serenity followed them into the living room.
x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x
Melissa searched several rooms till she heard laughing. She pressed her ear to the door and then knocked.
Mai answered the door. "Oh, yes can I help you?"
"Yes ma'am, Master Atemu wanted the kids in the living room."
"Did he say why?" Mai asked.
"No ma'am, he only said that he wanted them there."
"Oh all right. You may leave."
Melissa bowed and left. Mai went back inside and gathered up the kids and they all went to the living room.
x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x
Mokuba and Maura along with Mai and Isis walked into the living room.
"You wanted to see us, Big brother?" Maura asked Yami.
"Yes, you guys know Joey. This is his sister Serenity." Yami said. Then turned to Serenity. "Serenity, this is our brother Prince Mokuba and Princess Maura."
Serenity smiled, "It's nice to meet you. Joey's told me all about you. Thank you Princess Maura for helping my no-talent brother with his Christmas presents."
Maura giggled and said, "Sure it was no problem. He helped me find the perfect presents to get for my family. So we're even."
"Well I'd still like to thank you and you my king for finally giving my brother a chance by making him a guard. I'd like to show my gratitude." Serenity gave them each a present. "I couldn't very well just give you and Princess Maura a present, my king. I just wouldn't have felt right about not giving everyone a present."
'That's my sister for ya, soft hearted.' Joey thought.
"Since Yugi gave me my sight back I've been able to do so many things. I started taking pottery classes. I made those for each of you plus I have one for Yugi. I bought little charms to put under each."
Everyone opened theirs to find a small heart with wings. Just below the heart each one was a different symbol. Yami had the sun, Seto had the moon and Mokuba had a star. Maura's had a flower.
"Yugi's symbol is a horse. I made one for Joey here too. His as you can see is a small soldier. I made one for myself and it's got a little bird on it." Serenity said.
"I love it, thank you so much!" Maura said, putting it on.
"This is very nice of you." Seto said.
"It was kind of you, thank you." Yami said. He felt she deserved thanks even though Seto wasn't going to say it.
Serenity smiled, "It was my pleasure. You wouldn't happen to know where Yugi is so I can give him his would you?"
"I think he's downstairs in his new office." Yami said. Telling them how to get there.
"If you'll wait a minute sis, I'll go with ya. But since you insisted I get gifts too and bring them I might as well give them now." Joey said.
"Oh, I'm sorry big brother. I completely forgot!"
'Why doesn't that surprise me!' Joey wondered.
"Well I don't know if you'll accept this as a present my king, but Serenity and I both agreed on it." Joey said.
'I also know that once the king sees this I'll never live it down!'
Seto and Yami were surprised. They wondered what he was talking about.
Joey then handed a sack to Maura. "Here ya go kid. I hope ya like it."
Maura opened the sack and gasped and pulled out a puppy. "Oh, he's so cute!"
"He's been getting into everything! Joey started calling him Scamp." Serenity said.
'Yeah, that and a lot of other things.' Joey thought. But as he looked over at Seto he could just tell he was dying to say something but the only thing holding him back was Serenity. He didn't want to taunt him in front of her. He was grateful for that. But he could just tell what he was thinking. He was thinking how amusing it was that a dog was giving a dog as a gift. He never understood what it was the king saw in him to start calling him a dog but it didn't make a difference. He knew he would never live it down!
"Then that's what I'll call you. Scamp! I can keep him, can't I big brother?" Maura asked.
"I don't know Maura. I mean I'm not too sure how Mokuba's kitten will react to having a lively puppy running everywhere."
"It's your decision on allowing her to keep the dog or not. But seeing as how you were going to create a magic playland why not build a small opening to the back or side or whichever direction the outside ends up at. We could fence in a small sized area and let the dog have that much on the real outside.
"That's an idea. Mokuba's kitten would stay in the main play area, while Maura's puppy stays in the other room with the outdoor area across the hall. As long as you kids are careful and make absolutely certain that you shut the doors to the rooms then everything will be fine." Yami said.
"I think you should just get them some collars and put a spell on both the collars and the room so that each animal stays in their room. Not just if the kids forget but what if a maid or someone opens one of the doors and looks in for whatever the reason and the animal gets out. Example it's time to eat and a maid opens the door to tell the kids this and the animal slips past her and we spend the rest of the night trying to hunt them down."
"Hmm…you've got a point. I think I'll do one better and put the spell on the animals instead. This way even if they lose their collars unless Mokuba or Maura specifically hold them and take them out of the room they won't be able to leave the room."
Joey then handed Mokuba his present.
He opened it to find a hat much like what the knights wear with a feather. It was a cheap knock off of the real feather but he couldn't find the real thing that was in his price range.
"Well I'm not too sure how often he'll wear it. Just try not to leave it on the ground in the playroom, your kitten will tear it up." Seto said.
"Okay, b-big brother." Mokuba said then turned to Joey and Serenity. "T-thank you f-for my g-gifts."
Serenity smiled. "You're welcome."
"Anytime kid." Joey said. "Well we've disturbed you long enough my king. Come on sis, let's go give Yugi his present then get out of here."
"All right." Serenity said. Then she stood up as did Seto and Yami. Serenity curtsied and said, "Thank you for agreeing to see us and taking the time to talk with us."
Seto and Yami bowed.
"Not at all. It was our pleasure." Yami said.
At that Serenity and Joey left, just as Serenity started to drag him down the stairs Joey could have sworn he saw Honda coming towards the room. He wasn't sure if that was going to be a good thing or a bad thing.