A Christmas Change of Heart

      "Just a few more hours..." the royal Zafara whispered, mentally counting the gifts with her name on them. Seven - the same as yesterday. She'd been counting each present as it was laid under the tree. One from her Secret Santa - who was one of her siblings - two from her best friends, and then the final four were from her owner. Cordelia allowed her eyes to wander over to the couch, where the girl was helping two of her other pets - a skunk Kougra named Nicky and a speckled Acara named Alisa - string popcorn.

      Nicky, the youngest of the two, munched happily between stringing pieces of the fluffy corn, until Alisa suddenly reached out and snatched some of his treat away. A squabble immediately ensued, causing the Zafara to smirk. She'd been sure to behave for the past month - a struggle that would be well worth it when she opened up her wonderful presents. She'd even given Savannah a detailed list to make sure that only the right presents were purchased.

      Cordelia turned when her owner suddenly spoke, having settled the fight and resumed stringing. "Cordie, do you know when Angel said that she was going to get home? I forgot if she said six or six forty-five." Savannah frowned at the wall clock, sapphire blue eyes worried.

      "Em... Don't know." The Zafara flipped her blonde braid and adjusted her lace-draped hat. "And don't car- I mean, I'm not sure. Do you want me to Neomail her for you?" Cordelia glanced at her presents worriedly as she hurried to correct her mistake.

      "No, that's okay." Savannah's eyes narrowed slightly, then returned to normal as she shook her head. "I'll Neomail her if it starts getting late and she's still not home."

      Cordelia nodded absentmindedly, having already turned her thoughts back to her presents. Almost all of her siblings had chosen to take on a charity job during the Christmas season - except for Cordelia. Despite her "good" act, she preferred to not spend her time off from school dishing out soup or talking to pound pets. That just wasn't her style. Shopping was her style. Fashion. Designing clothes. That type of thing.

      A cream and violet blur suddenly flew past Cordelia, catching her attention. The Zafara gasped as she watched her youngest sister, a baby Xweetok named Misty, crawl over to the tree. The baby cooed excitedly, tail wagging, and reached up to grab one of Cordelia's presents.

      "NO!" The Zafara's paw instinctively shot out and snatched the present away, causing Misty to tumble over. The baby's lower lip quivered slightly, eyes beginning to fill with tears. "No..." Cordelia moaned.

      "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A sharp, ear-piercing wail filled the air, causing everyone to jump.

      "Cordelia_x!" Savannah leaped up from the couch, sending popcorn flying. "Apologize to your sister immediately!"

      "Why? She's just a baby!" All traces of her behavior plan vanished as Cordelia stood, skirts swaying and temper flaring. She hated being yelled at. "She won't understand!"

      The brown-haired girl's face turned pink. "Go. To. Your. Room. Now."

      Cordelia snorted, and then spun on her heel. Stomping up the stairs, a thought suddenly crossed her mind, and she tentatively called down the stairs. "I still get my presents... right?"

     * * *

      The stairs creaked under her every step, causing Cordelia to mentally wince and freeze to make sure that no one heard her. Stupid stairs! She glared at the fluffy steps and shook her head. Who ever heard of clouds creaking?

      It was only two a.m. on Christmas morning, a time when Cordelia normally would have been snuggled up in her bed, dreaming of her presents. But this year she had to see her presents! What if Savannah had gotten mad at her last night and changed them? Cordelia shuddered at the thought. If that was so, she would have to spend the rest of the day being good in an attempt to get the good gifts back.

      With a final, cautious step, Cordelia reached the bottom of the stairs and tiptoed into the living room. Brightly colored Christmas lights decorated the tree, casting a festive glow throughout the room. The smell of fresh pine needles filled the royal Zafara's nose, and she breathed in deeply as she made her way across the room. A quick peek into her hot pink, monogrammed stocking above the fireplace revealed a bag of candy, a pair of mittens with her name on them, a bath fizzy, and a note from Savannah. These were good - the things in the actual presents were probably going to be awesome.

      Dashing back into the kitchen to grab the tape and a pair of scissors, Cordelia plopped down in front of the tree and carefully made an incision in the first box from Savannah. It was small and shaped like a cube. Could it be the golden necklace and bracelet that she had asked for? With a barely suppressed eager squeal, Cordelia peeled off the red and green striped wrapping paper.

      There was a pause as Cordelia lifted a silver necklace out of the box. A pendant dangled from it, formed into the shape of her name. Okay... This definitely wasn't on her list. Oh, well, maybe the other presents would be better.

      Cordelia spent the next five minutes carefully rewrapping the box and then grabbed another one. Instead of the ultra-fashionable dress that she had spotted in Unis Clothing Shop (which happened to cost around 25,000 neopoints), in the box sat a dress that probably wasn't worth even a quarter of that.

      Eyes widening, Cordelia's pace sped up as she ripped open the last two boxes and looked inside of them. What was this? She had received none of the presents that she had wanted. Savannah must have changed the presents! Yes! That's what it was! Her real presents - the ones that she had wanted all year - were probably sitting somewhere in Savannah's closet, waiting for her to come and get them.

      "Cordelia?" The royal Zafara whipped around so fast that her braid smacked her cheek. She winced. Ouch.

      "What are you doing up at this time of morning?" A fire Xweetok stood in the doorway, one eyebrow raised above her amber eyes. The Xweetok's fiery mane flickered around her face, casting shadows around the room. Cordelia glanced down and saw that Angel was still wearing her nightgown - which reminded the Zafara that she hadn't gotten dressed yet.

      "Uh.... I'm just..." Cordelia's mind raced as she tried to come up for an excuse as to why she was sitting under the pine tree when Christmas day had finally begun, surrounded by wrapping paper and looking both guilty and angry. "I... just couldn't wait to get to open my presents!" A fake smile made its way to Cordelia's face, and she grinned at her sister.

      "Yeah, right." Angel glanced at the presents on the floor and smirked. "I guess that you didn't get what you wanted, did you?"

      The royal Zafara frowned, and then groaned. "No! And I've been really good this year!" Angel snorted. "But I think that Savannah just replaced my real presents with these because I got mad at her last night. So, I think that she'll give them to me if I'm goo- What?" The Xweetok was shaking her head.

      "No, she didn't replace them. This is it. Don't you get it, Cordelia? I thought you knew that we aren't exactly the richest of families. All of the things that you wanted cost way more than we could ever afford. Savannah did her best, getting you these things. Besides, what you're getting is pretty expensive compared to a lot of the things others are getting for Christmas." Angel crossed her smoke colored arms. "Ask any pet that's been in the Pound. They'd love to have the kind of stuff that you have."

      Cordelia shook her head, temper flaring. "No! It's not fair! It's not fair that I get all of these cheap things! I was good this year!" Turning around, the royal Zafara raced out of the house and dashed into the cold night.

     * * *

      "It's not fair... It's just not fair..." Cordelia stormed through the streets of Neopia Central, eyes on the ground. Seeing as Faerieland was now on the ground, she hadn't needed to hire an Eyrie Cab to fly her there. The Zafara shivered, wishing that she had grabbed her coat before she came outside. Goodness, it was freezing!

      Her eyes trained on the glowing streetlights ahead of her, Cordelia didn't notice a branch on the ground, and tripped over it.

      "Ugh!"

      Slushy snow drenched the front of Cordelia's dress, sending shivers up her spine. The Zafara stood up, huffing angrily, and then froze. Before her lay the Pound. Although many of her siblings had been adopted from this dreadful looking place, she had never been in it herself.

      Suddenly, a thought crossed the Zafara's brain. Maybe if she couldn't get the right gifts from Savannah, she could put herself in the Pound, and... No! What was she thinking? Some newbie could adopt her. And besides... she would miss her family.

      A squeal suddenly cut through the night air, and the Zafara screamed in surprise. Ducking into the shadows that surrounded the Pound, Cordelia glanced back and forth in worry. Her eyes fell on a window a few feet above the ground, and through the window was a little Aisha.

      "Really? For me?" Cordelia watched silently as she saw a Flotsam approach the Aisha, holding a cardboard box in its fins.

      "Yup! I was planning on giving this to you in the morning, but... well, I couldn't wait! So... here you go!" the green Flotsam delicately placed the box in the Aisha's eager paws, and then waddled back a few steps to watch.

      A string was the only thing that held the box closed, so opening the box only took a second. When the lid of the box came off, the yellow Aisha's eyes widened in silent awe. "You... you got this for me?"

      "Yeah." The Flotsam nodded, looking embarrassed. "It isn't much... in fact, it was all that I could get before Rose caught up with me during the field trip."

      "You mean the time that you ended up getting double dishes duty?" The Flotsam nodded. "Oh, Elle! Why did you do so much for me?" The Aisha's eyes filled with happy tears.

      Elle grinned and wrapped her flippers around the Aisha. "Because I love you, and you're worth it."

      The two pets embraced, and Cordelia could hear the Aisha whispering. "I will treasure it forever."

      Cordelia stood up from her hiding place and snuck a little closer to the window. What? She'll keep what forever? Was it shoes? A friendship bracelet or something? What?

      The box suddenly tipped over, spilling its contents onto the floor. Cordelia dashed to the window and stood onto her tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of what the mystery present was. Her eyes greedily took in the contents for half a second - and then she gasped. Wait - what?

      Lying on the floor was... a blue Ixi plushie. Cordelia's mind raced as she remembered that those things were cheap - a dime a dozen. All owners got one in their newbie packs. What was so special about it?

      The Zafara continued to look around the room, and she saw that the room was practically empty. Two straw mattresses lay on the floor, and a small box sat in the corner, containing the pets' clothes.

      The Zafara gazed at her feet, brow wrinkled in confusion. That one plushie is all she got... Why doesn't she wish for something bigger? Like a home or something? This doesn't make any sense! I don't understand... Cordelia paused.

      That pet doesn't have much... so she is thankful for what little she has.

      "I... I can't believe that I've been so selfish. All of those gifts that I got... I don't deserve to be so spoiled and picky!"

      The Zafara tore herself away from the window and ran towards Faerieland, leaving two pets screaming in fear at the sight of the disappearing shadow.

     * * *

      Cordelia burst into her family's living room just as everyone was entering. Her family paused to stare at the Zafara curiously.

      "Cordelia!" Savannah pulled away from the sixteen other pets and approached Cordelia, eyes wide. "Why are your pjs wet?" She glanced at the floor. "You already opened your presents?" The teenager placed her hands on her hip. "What did you -"

      Before she could finish, Cordelia flung her arms around the girl and began to sob.

      "Oh, Savannah," she cried. "I'm so sorry about how I've acted! I was selfish and stupid and..." The Zafara dashed over to Chan, who held Misty in his paws. "Misty, I'm sorry that I was mean to you! Please forgive me!"

      The baby gazed at her older sister for a moment in confusion, and then a grin began to spread across her face.

      "Ga-goo!" The baby reached tiny paws out to Cordelia, who picked her up and twirled around the living room.

      "Savannah, your presents are wonderful! I love them, and I love all of you! Please forgive me for my selfishness!"

      Savannah stared at her pet, astonished at the change that had happened in just a few hours. She had expected for the Zafara to be angry about the lack of expensive gifts. But this... this definitely wasn't what she had expected!

      With a smile on her face, Savannah embraced her pet. "Of course I forgive you!" The girl lifted her Zafara and Xweetok off of the ground, causing them to erupt into giggles. "And I love you." She smiled at her Neofamily, eyes overflowing with happiness. "I love you all! Merry Christmas!"

The End