How to Give Gifts to Chocolatiers

     “Okay, just like he taught you,” the Faerie Blumaroo whispered to herself as she turned the mold over. With her fingers she gently tapped the tray and frowned when the chocolate Slorgs wouldn’t fall out onto the plate. She tapped again – harder, hoping with all her might that she didn’t break any of the Slorgs in the process.

     A Chocolate Slorg with nuts for spots plopped onto the plate, followed by another, and another. Slowly, Star let out a breath when she saw that they were all perfectly molded, without any stray bits of chocolate left in the tray or falling off the Slorgs.

     “Hey, you did it! You got them all out!”

     Star gave the mold another tap and the final Slorg dropped onto the plate. All of them started to wiggle and dance, and the Blumaroo promptly covered the platter with a glass dome cover to keep them from escaping. Once the Chocolate Slorgs were secured, she turned to see the Chocolate Gelert standing beside her, clapping with delight. He had a pair of glasses perched on his nose and wore an apron over his suit and tie. His cream-tipped ears perked up as he smiled at her.

     “Keep up the good work, all right?”

     “Th-thanks, Master Ambrosinno,” said Star, her heart racing as she picked up the platter and placed it on a display on top of the counter, next to color-changing, snowflake-shaped sugar cookies. “I couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t given me that crash course in making chocolate in a mold.”

     “Well, you’ve clearly been working hard. Soon you’ll be ready to make them wiggle all by yourself!” He flicked his wrist, and the Slorgs paused and lay down as though about to take a nap.

     “Mister Ambrosinno, sir, how much for the flying white Chocolate Faeries?”

     “What? Oh!” The Gelert hurried back to the counter where an Elephante was pointing eagerly at the white Chocolate Faeries. “That’s three hundred Neopoints per Faerie, but we’ve got a promo going – buy three flying Chocolate Faeries and get one free!”

     The Elephante’s eyes lit up and she pulled out her purse. “I’ll have three, please!”

     “Excellent choice! Now, let me just get – whoa!”

     As Ambrosinno opened the case, several white Chocolate Faeries zoomed out into the air. “Right. Give me a second to, ah, retrieve them – “

     “I’ve got this!” Clutching a large jar, Star rose into the air and chased the Faeries, narrowly avoiding getting tangled up in the decorative garlands or hitting the lanterns inside the store. In no time at all, she caught the Faeries in her jar and shut the lid quickly before any of them could escape. Then she landed and proffered the jar to Ambrosinno, trying to ignore the stares of the customers and their impressed whispers as her face grew warm – certainly not from her flying stunt. “That was a close call.”

     “I know! I would’ve had to cancel my promo if I ran out of Chocolate Faeries!” He laughed as he turned back to the Elephante. “Right, you said three, plus one for free, and they’ll be flying for about one hour after they leave the shop…”

     Star started for the sink where some dirty glassware and flatware waited to be washed, but she couldn’t help but look back at the Chocolate Gelert happily serving his customers with more moving, magical candy. Children shrieked with delight when they saw the displays of bouncing Chocolate Blumaroos, the Chocolate Dr. Sloth heads that grinned and frowned, and the Chocolate Novas that glittered with sprinkles and danced in circles. A Blumaroo-shaped candy nearly bounced off the counter, but with a daft hand, Ambrosinno rescued it from making an impression in his tiled floors before setting it down into a gingerbread house.

     “There!” he proclaimed in front of a throng of kids. “This Blumaroo’s Day of Giving has been saved!”

     Oh yeah, Star thought, grimacing. It’s almost the Day of Giving. She glanced over her shoulder as she began running the water over the trays and bowls. “Master? Sir?”

     “Give me a sec. That’s five thousand Neopoints in total – thank you for giving me the exact change!” One cash register ding later, Ambrosinno approached her, mopping his brow with a handkerchief. “Yes, what is it?”

     “Well…the Day of Giving is next week, right?”

     “Sure is,” the Chocolate Gelert responded, spreading his arms. “Why? Was the decorating too much? Too little?”

     “No, it’s not that,” Star answered, shaking her head. “It’s just…is there anything you want for the Day of Giving? I mean, for a present?”

     Ambrosinno paused from where he was checking on his display of peppermint chocolate boxes – edible packaging for his sweet treats. “Me?” He frowned in thought, but in no time at all he was smiling again. “Heh, I can’t think of anything I’d like. I’m happy enough, helping others figure out what gifts to give their friends and loved ones.”

     “Huh? Are you sure?”

     “Hi, do you still have those Meridell Castle models that deconstruct and build themselves up again?” A short Yurble reached out and started ringing the bell on the counter.

     “Yeah, I’m sure. Sorry, Star, but can you get the dishwashing done? I’m going to need those trays.”

     * * *

     “I don’t have a gift for Master Ambrosinno!” Star complained, fingering the pendant around her neck that was shaped like a comet, down to the tail. She was still wearing her dark green and gold uniform from The Chocolate Parade under her coat as she walked home. “I know he said he didn’t want anything, but…it doesn’t feel right to not give him anything, you know?”

     “Is he missing any kitchen tools?” a Tyrannian Blumaroo asked, his gloved hands in his trouser pockets.

     “I doubt it, and he could afford the best of them.”

     “What about something that will help him relax after work?”

     Star shook her head. “He’s got a good work-life balance. Goes home to his Faerie Cirrus, and he’s reading that new fantasy novel I recommended. And he plays the violin sometimes.”

     “A trip?”

     “I can’t afford a trip, Abel! I’m just a chocolatier’s assistant!”

     Abel tapped his cheek with a finger. “You could ask his rich friends to pitch in.”

     The Faerie Blumaroo shoved him. “No! I can’t just contact them – and I don’t even know how well they can keep a secret!”

     She and Abel laughed at that, but they suddenly stopped when they heard a distant shattering noise.

     “Abel, did you hear that?”

     “Yeah, it came from – “

     “The Chocolate Parade!”

     While Star took to the air, her coat and scarf rippling in the breeze, Abel ran after her until the two of them arrived at Ambrosinno’s shop. One of the windows had been broken, and they could see a glimpse of movement inside. Abel tugged on Star’s tail and the two of them hid behind a large, bare tree partly obscured by a snowdrift.

     “No one else is around? I know Master returned home before I did…”

     Abel nodded slowly after looking around. “But just in case, what do you want to be this time?”

     Furrowing her brow, Star stroked her chin and touched the comet pendant on her neck, whispering, “I invoke the power of the Bi-Millennium Comet.” Her entire body pulsed with bright light that enveloped her, changing her coat, scarf and shop uniform into a golden dress, leggings, and a mask, all adorned with comet tails. She no longer had her necklace, but instead she was holding an ornate staff decorated with stars.

     “What happened to changing into something else that isn’t a Faerie Blumaroo?”

     “No time, Abel! I gotta go!” Star zipped out from her hiding place and flew straight into the broken window. Shards of broken glass were strewn on the floor, and a trail of wet, dirty footprints led straight to the safe at the back of the kitchen, where a masked cloud Lenny had managed to break it open and was reaching inside with one wing.

     “Hey!” Star pointed her staff at the Lenny. “I know times can be hard, but stealing is a crime!”

     “Miss Bi-Millennium!” the Lenny exclaimed, pulling out his wing and taking up a long knife. “I’d send my regards from the Thieves’ Guild, but…”

     Star gritted her teeth and pointed her staff at the knife, blasting a thin jet of blazing light at the blade, which instantly shattered.

     “I don’t want your regards, I want you to leave!”

     She lunged toward the Lenny, and halfway toward him, she morphed into a Faerie Grarrl. Star tackled him onto the floor, where the two of them wrestled and grappled before the Lenny managed to extricate himself and return to pulling Neopoints from the safe. He grabbed her wrist as she tried to use her staff again and twisted.

     “L-Let me go!”

     Star gasped as she summoned enough power to change again – this time, into a Faerie JubJub. The thief found himself holding no one’s arm, while the JubJub picked up the staff in her mouth and zapped him in the stomach, causing him to stagger against the safe.

     “Comet Snare!” she cried through gritted teeth, and a flurry of golden ribbons burst from the staff toward the dazed Lenny, wrapping themselves around him and flinging him to the floor. As he struggled against his bonds, Star changed back into a Faerie Blumaroo and hurried toward the counter. She reached under the counter for the alarm button that would send the village’s night watch to Ambrosinno’s shop, and the sound of a wailing klaxon filled her ears as she floated back to the Lenny trying to wriggle out from the ribbons.

     “You…you’re…”

     “You’re going to bed. Comet Glare!”

     Star shut her eyes tightly as her staff emitted a dazzling, blinding flash of light so bright that she was sure she could still see it behind her eyelids. When the glare died down, the Lenny was fast asleep, still bound by the ribbons created by her staff. After looking around, she remade the safe with a tap of her staff and another Comet Snare spell, and then sprinted out the back door. She stumbled back behind the tree from where Abel kept watch, and her luminous golden outfit dissipated into the night, leaving only her regular clothes and her comet necklace.

     “We better go before the night watch arrives,” Abel mumbled. Star wasted no time and grabbed the Tyrannian Blumaroo by the wrist as they hurriedly left the area around The Chocolate Parade, putting both the store and its blaring alarm behind them and trying not to slip on the slushy ground.

     When they were a considerable distance away from the shop, Abel turned to Star and asked, “Why didn’t you shapeshift? You could’ve changed into something else, like you always do to throw others off your trail.”

     The Faerie Blumaroo rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and chuckled. “Well…remember when I said I wanted to give Master Ambrosinno a Day of Giving gift?”

     “Yeah?”

     “I thought, maybe…getting to keep his shop safe was the best present I could give him. I did morph a few times while inside, but…yeah.”

     Abel raised an eyebrow. “Too bad you can’t tell him because otherwise you’d be telling him you’re Miss Bi-Millennium. His trusty shop assistant, as it turns out, is also a magical heroine who got her powers from a comet that visits Neopia once every two thousand years.”

     “It’s the thought that counts, at least? And…” Star let out a sigh. “And I already know who’ll be cleaning up after the night watch is done taking that Lenny thief away. Just Star, not Miss Bi-Millennium.”

     “There’s a gift you can give Mister Ambrosinno, as yourself.”

     “Too bad it’s not as impressive as catching a thief in his shop. Besides, cleaning up is part of my job description, not a gift!”

     The Tyrannian Blumaroo patted his friend’s shoulder. “Maybe it is, but that doesn’t mean Mister Ambrosinno won’t appreciate it. Just having you as his assistant is probably the best present you could give him – at least, until you can think of a better one for another Day of Giving.”

     The End.