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It had been months since Trini had last adventured out
of their brick Neohome with her mind set on some great mission. In fact, SeaZ0ne
was beginning to worry about her Faellie. Trini had locked herself in her room
and refused to come out until she had finished what she was working on. SeaZ0ne
had offered to help her, but Trini insisted she must do it on her own and wouldn't
even tell SeaZ0ne what it was that she was working on.
In the meantime, SeaZ0ne's pets, Ramoose_ a rainbow
Tonu and Puppy_Trix a baby Gelert, who shared their room with Trini, were now
sharing SeaZ0ne's room. This had proven most inconvenient, as SeaZ0ne's Zen
bed was not big enough for all three of them. Instead, Puppy_Trix had taken
to sleeping in an arm chair in the corner of the room, leaving the bed for SeaZ0ne
and Ramoose_. Sharing a bed with Ramoose_, SeaZ0ne had learned, often led to
sleepless nights, as the Tonu tended to hog the covers. Just this morning, she
had awoken to find herself not in bed at all, but lying on the floor.
Now, it was midafternoon and SeaZ0ne was on a
ladder in front of their Neohome hanging Christmas lights. Time had flown by
so fast, she thought. It seemed like just yesterday that she had begun playing
Neopets. Her very first Christmas on Neopets she hadn't even gotten a tree.
Ramoose_ and Puppy_Trix had helped her decorate a bush instead. Dinner had been
a disaster, the turkey was burned to a crisp and the gravy was more like a stew.
SeaZ0ne still didn't know what the lumps had been. Nonetheless, they had had
a great Christmas, leaving SeaZ0ne thankful for her new found family.
This year SeaZ0ne was going all out. She wasn't
just putting up a few lights. No, she was going to cover their Neohome with
them. She was going to buy the biggest tree she could find and if it didn't
fit inside their Neohome she'd make it. No matter what, this was going to be
a Christmas to remember.
SeaZ0ne finished hanging the string of lights
and stepped down from the ladder to admire her handiwork. The lights shimmered
in the sunlight, red, blues, and greens dancing on the wall. SeaZ0ne had sent
Ramoose_ and Puppy_Trix to the store to get more. In the meantime, she'd hang
the large wreath she had bought for their front door.
SeaZ0ne went to pick the wreath up, but stopped
when she heard a voice from behind her. When she turned to see who it was her
jaw dropped in amazement. Standing before her was none other than Jhudora, the
most famed of all Dark Faeries. Her face was set in a stoney expression and
her purple gown rustled in a soft breeze.
"What?" SeaZ0ne managed to utter.
"I said, is Trini home?" Jhudora asked impatiently.
"Oh, yes, of course," SeaZ0ne said, regaining
her composure. "Let me show you to her room."
Jhudora nodded and followed SeaZ0ne through the
small Neohome and to Trini's closed door.
"Trini?" SeaZ0ne asked, rapping on the door.
"Trini, you have a visitor!"
"Not now, SeaZ0ne! I'm busy!" Trini hollered.
"Trini, I really think you'll want to see who
it is."
"SeaZ0ne," Trini said, swinging the door open,
"for the last time, I'm busy!" Then she noticed Jhudora standing beside SeaZ0ne
and asked stiffly, "What do you want?"
"I'll just leave you two alone," SeaZ0ne said,
sensing the tension and slipping off to continue her decorating. While some
owners may have been surprised if Jhudora came to visit their petpet, SeaZ0ne
was not one of them. True, she hadn't been expecting a visit from one of the
most feared Faeries of all time, but with Trini anything was possible.
"So, what do you want?" Trini repeated.
"What's that?" Jhudora asked, peering into Trini's
room at a large metal contraption faced in front of the window.
"A catapult," Trini said coolly. "I intend to
launch myself to the Virtupets Space Station."
Jhudora nodded, sizing it up. "I doubt it'll
take you farther than your front yard."
"Did you come here to insult me? Because if
you did, you can leave," Trini said, preparing to close the door.
"Wait. I did come here for something," Jhudora
said, holding up her hand. "Please, may I come in?"
Trini took a step back and let Jhudora enter
the room. Then she closed the door and said, "Well, what is it?"
"I'm surprised you trust me," Jhudora said.
"Please, just because you're a Dark Faerie you
think I'd be afraid of you?" Trini asked. "Not a chance."
"Good to hear, because I need some help," Jhudora
began.
"Where do you get your hair done?" Trini asked.
"Because I was thinking of getting green highlights, too. Very seasonal."
"Did you hear me?" Jhudora asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. What was that? You need help?"
Trini said, feigning forgetfulness.
"Yes, I need your help," Jhudora said again.
"What's the magic word?" Trini asked.
"Please?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Trini said, shaking her head.
"The correct answer was Angelpuss."
Jhudora frowned. "Well, will you help me? Please?"
"That depends," Trini said, dropping her charades.
"What do you need help with?"
"Well, it's almost Christmas…" Jhudora began.
"I hadn't noticed."
"…and I've never really celebrated Christmas
before…" Jhudora said, ignoring Trini. "So I was wondering if you'd help me
get ready for it? Maybe help me decorate my castle… Christmas stuff."
Trini had never really seen Jhudora with her
guard down. Now she was asking Trini for help! Although Trini was secretly pleased,
she just shrugged and said, "I suppose I could do that."
Jhudora nodded with satisfaction. "Then you can
come spend a couple days with me."
"Now wait just a minute," Trini said. "What
about my catapult?"
"Ha!" Jhudora exclaimed. "Leave it as it is,
it won't take you anywhere."
Trini's eyes narrowed on Jhudora. Then, to prove
her wrong, she climbed into the steel seat, grabbed the control lever and turned
it on. The chair began to jerk and slowly rose into the air. Then it threw Trini
forward, through the window in her room and out into the front yard where she
landed beside SeaZ0ne, who was gathering garland.
"Trini, are you okay?" SeaZ0ne asked anxiously,
helping the petpet up. "What happened?"
"I'm fine, SeaZ0ne. It was nothing," Trini said
defensively.
"What did I say?" Jhudora said from behind them.
She had exited the Neohome just in time to see Trini land on the ground. "No
further than the front yard."
"Do you want my help or not?" Trini asked.
"Very well, very well," Jhudora said. "I'll
meet you at the street."
SeaZ0ne watched Jhudora walk to the dirt road
out front and then said, "Trini, what in Neopia is going on?"
"Jhudora and I go way back," Trini said, remembering
the time she and her friend Dart, a Warf, had traveled to Faerieland in hopes
of meeting Jhudora. When they had arrived at her castle they were greeted by
a slamming of the door. Jhudora hadn't been overly welcoming, to say the least.
"Anyway, now she needs me to help her get ready for Christmas. So I'm going
to go stay with her for a couple of days."
"Trini, tomorrow night's Christmas Eve!" SeaZ0ne
exclaimed. "This is your first Christmas and I want everything to be perfect!"
"Don't worry so much," Trini said with a wave
of her paw. "I promise I'll be back by then."
"Fine," SeaZ0ne said heavily. "But be careful."
"Thanks, SeaZ0ne," Trini said as she walked
away.
"And stay out of trouble!" SeaZ0ne called after
her. "That'll be the day," she whispered under her breath.
On her way out, Trini passed by Ramoose_ and
Puppy_Trix, who were back from shopping. Ramoose_'s neck was wrapped with lights
and Puppy_Trix wore a Santa hat.
"Hey, Trini," Ramoose_ said. "There's some weird
Faerie out there."
"I know, Ramoose," Trini said. "She's a friend
of mine."
"A friend?" Ramoose_ repeated as the Faellie
walked away. "But…Hey, Trini! Wait! Where are you going?"
"Puppy_Trix shook her head. "She's quite a Faellie."
Trini met Jhudora at the street and said, "Okay,
let's get started."
"Right. So what do we get first?" Jhudora asked.
"Well, how much are you willing to spend this
Christmas?" Trini asked, trying to calculate how much garland it would take
to decorate Jhudora's spiraling stair case.
"Neopoints are no issue," Jhudora said. "I've
never really gotten into the holiday spirit before so I want to make up for
lost time."
Trini smiled. "In that case…"
**********
"I've never seen this place before," Jhudora said as she stood with Trini outside
a large store called 'Christmas Clutter'.
"The store changes for every holiday. At Easter
it's packed full of neggs and sugar bunnies, at Halloween they've got every
costume imaginable, even one of you, and at Christmas…Well, you'll see. Come
on, let's get shopping," Trini said, pushing the store's door open and entering
with Jhudora close behind.
The shop was decorated with hundreds of lights
and Christmas tunes rang throughout the shop. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling
and cast dazzling reflections on the walls.
"Why don't we start with lights," Trini suggested,
leading Jhudora over to a large aisle. "What colors do you like?"
Jhudora stood gazing up and down the aisle, unable
to answer. There were strings of blue and white, strings of white, and strings
of the rainbow. Not only that, but they came in varying sizes and lengths. Finally,
Jhudora chose a rainbow strand and handed it to Trini.
Trini nodded in approval and then grabbed a tall
stack of boxes of the same kind. "Your castle's huge," she said. "We're going
to need a lot of lights. Why don't you get us a basket?"
Jhudora vanished and returned with one seconds
later.
"Good," Trini said, dropping the stack of boxes
into the basket. Then she flew down the aisle in search of ornaments.
**********
"One-hundred thousand Neopoints on decorations and you don't even blink,"
Trini said in amazement as she and Jhudora crossed the street in front of 'Christmas
Clutter'.
"I told you Neopoints weren't an issue," said
Jhudora, who carried five shopping bags in each hand.
"Well, this is the last stop," Trini said, halting
in front of a large lot full of Christmas trees.
The day was growing dark and Trini would soon
return with Jhudora to her castle for the night. They would leave decorating
off for the next day.
"May I help you?" a Scorchio asked them.
"Yes, I'd like the biggest tree available,"
Trini told him.
"Okay, right this way," the Scorchio said, leading
Trini and Jhudora through the maze of trees. "This one's a beauty, isn't she?"
he said, stopping in front of a small, snow-frosted tree. Then he turned to
a large one beside it, "But I think this one should be just what you're looking
for."
The tree itself was at least ten feet tall, its
thick branches reaching outward. It was a deep green and smelled strongly of
pine. There was a great beauty about it, capturing the eye of every Neopet that
walked by.
"I'll just give you two a minute to think it
over," the Kacheek said, turning to leave.
He had only taken a few steps before Trini and
Jhudora called in unison, "We'll take it!"
**********
Trini slept soundly that night, worn out by their fevered shopping. Although
she was just a small Faellie, Jhudora had given her a spacious room to spend
the night in. The bedding was a deep purple and Trini estimated that it was
big enough for one-hundred other Faellies to join her. A fire roared in the
fire place, giving the room a very seasonal touch.
When Trini made her way down Jhudora's great
spiraling staircase, she found the Faerie had already begun decorating. Jhudora
held a tangled string of lights and was winding her way around the large tree
in the living room, struggling to hang them. Despite her best efforts, the tree
looked like a disaster. Its branches were caught and wrapped in bunches by the
lights, which appeared to be knotted in various places. Trini couldn't help
but laugh.
Jhudora put a hand on her hip and glared at Trini.
"What are you laughing at? At least I didn't sleep until noon."
Trini shrugged. "That may be so, but it looks
like you could use my help," she said as she flew over to the Christmas tree
and began straightening the lights out.
It was Jhudora's turn to shrug. "I was doing
fine by myself, thank you very much."
**********
"I'll put the star on top of the tree," Jhudora said, picking the golden ornament
up from a pile of decorations.
"No, I'll do it," Trini said, taking hold of
one end. "I can just fly to the top."
"Really, I insist," Jhudora said, tightening
her grip on the star and giving it a jerk. "I'll do it."
"No, please, allow me," Trini said, pulling
it toward her.
"No, no, no," Jhudora argued.
"Yes, yes, yes," Trini countered.
The Faerie and Faellie continued to pull the
star back and forth until it finally buckled under the strain. The ornament
slipped from both of their grips and shattered on the floor below.
"Now look what you've done," Trini said.
"Look what I've done? Look what you've
done," Jhudora said.
**********
After hours of hard work, Jhudora and Trini collapsed on the floor.
"Who knew decorating took so much out of you,"
Jhudora said. "How do you do it every year?"
"I don't know," Trini said. "This is my first
Christmas."
"You mean I came to you for help and you've
never done this before!?" Jhudora exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's right. But it didn't turn out
too bad, did it?" Trini said, gazing at the elaborately decorated room in which
they sat.
It was true and Jhudora knew it. Not only did
the castle look fantastic, adorned with hundreds of twinkling lights and multiple
vines of garland, but Jhudora had actually enjoyed herself and that was something
that didn't happen too often.
"Well," said Trini, standing up. "I had better
get going."
"What do you mean?" Jhudora asked, springing
up from her seat. "We haven't even eaten yet!"
"I promised SeaZ0ne I'd be back in time for
dinner," Trini explained. "This is my first Christmas, remember? She's determined
to make it perfect. Well, it was good seeing you," and with that she headed
to the door.
"Fine. Leave. What do I care?" Jhudora said,
bristling.
Trini turned. "I can't very well stay here. SeaZ0ne
would worry." Granted that hadn't stopped her in the past, but since this was
Christmas Eve she figured she had better be on time. "You could come with me
if you want," Trini suggested.
"I don't want to be a nuisance…"
"SeaZ0ne wouldn't mind," Trini said. "But suit
yourself."
"Well-," Jhudora started. "If she wouldn't mind…"
**********
"Trini! You're home!" SeaZ0ne exclaimed with relief. "I was starting to get
worried."
"No need. She's been with me," Jhudora said.
SeaZ0ne looked at Jhudora in surprise. "Uh…Trini?"
"Oh, yeah. SeaZ0ne, Jhudora. Jhudora, SeaZ0ne.
Jhudora's going to spend Christmas with us. I told her you wouldn't mind."
"Oh, no, of course I don't mind!" SeaZ0ne said,
ushering them inside. "Dinner's almost ready."
Trini stifled a cough. "I think it's done."
**********
"Oh, thank you, Ramoose_. It's perfect!" Puppy_Trix exclaimed, unwrapping a
Babaa Bobble Hat. "You know how my ears get cold on our way to Neoschool."
Jhudora and Trini sat with Ramoose_, Puppy_Trix,
and SeaZ0ne beneath the tree that SeaZ0ne and her family had carefully selected
and decorated. Where there had been stacks of unopened presents under the tree,
there was now an assortment of torn wrapping paper. Only one present remained
yet to be opened.
"Trini, it's for you," SeaZ0ne said, reading
the label on the package.
"Funny, I thought I had opened all of mine,"
Trini said as she took the package from her owner.
"This one's from me," Jhudora said.
Trini tore off the wrapping paper.
"Your old one looked a bit ragged, so I figured
you could use a new one," Jhudora said as Trini pulled a Dark Faerie Back Pack
from the box.
Trini grinned in admiration. "Thank you!"
**********
That Christmas Eve, Jhudora finally felt like part of a family. It was a nice
change. And SeaZ0ne, who had so longed to make Christmas perfect, was not upset
by the fact that her turkey had burned again and her gravy had turned out like
stew. Looking at her pets laughing and playing, she felt like she had gotten
exactly what she wanted.
With a content sigh, Trini looked around and
saw everything she loved most in Neopia, right there in their family room.
THE END
Author's Note: Christmas is my favorite holiday. Not because of presents,
but because of the feeling. I don't know quite how to describe it, it's just
very seasonal and big. It's like how you know that millions of people everywhere
are celebrating and looking forward to this one day. This Christmas I am glad
that I can share the season with you, the reader. Thank you all for support.
Happy holidays and have a very merry Christmas!
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