Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I don't care if you have to hunt down the fat man himself and deliver the letter personally, I will not accept failure in the least," Sena scolded, reclining on her chaise lounge and drinking her eggnog with an air of indifference as she lectured the henchmen crowded around her dainty feet. "There is no reason a girl as lovely and refined as Noelia should suffer the heartache of being unable to send a letter to de Fabra." The room was lavishly decorated, over flowing with Christmas cheer in celebration of the holiday and Noelia's welcome to the family. With a fire roaring in the fireplace and the room glowing with candlelight, the young woman's harsh commands of her servants clearly seemed a bit outside the realm of the holiday spirit. She sipped her eggnog precociously, daring any one of her father's "assistants" to challenge her holiday demands.

"Sena, I finished it! I really finished it!" Noelia beamed holding up the fruit of her painstaking labor. The card was nothing short of a dizzying, carnival of colors and a menagerie of holiday pictures. Even from a distance, Sena felt a twitch developing in her eye. Trying to conceal her dismay, Sena made a mental note to educate the young child upon adequate decoration of stationery for effective holiday communication. With time running short, forcing the little one to crank out a second, more suitable copy would simply be cruel at this delicate time of year.

"Let me give it a quick look over, to make sure you didn't forget anything important. Better yet, let's give your powers of persuasion a test drive," Sena said feigning matronly concern for you young charge. Quickly, her attendants discretely took out their cleverly and hidden notepads in preparation-- a clear indication the debutante trained her servants well. Despite her doting and adoration for the little girl, Sena still balked at the idea of being a mother figure, especially when there were so many fabulous parties left to attend. Noelia jumped up from her low writing desk, and plopped herself beside Sena.

Close up, the card was unbearably festive complete with lots of metallic markers and cut outs fastened with accordion springs. Sena's eyes reeled at the sight, but remembered that Noelia was merely a child, a festively, holiday fragrant one. With that in mind, she gave the card a slow look-over, examining all the embellishments and accents with scrutiny. It wasn't much concern as the child was young and could certainly be taught to exercise some restraint. Perhaps when she's older, Sena mused, leaning her head atop the child's as she drew the little one into a sideways hug. Noelia coughed daintily to clear her throat in preparation of her proclamation to the king of retail.

"Dearest Saint Nikolas de Fabra: My name is Noelia Felice Tsubokura. I have been what Sena describes to be 'a lovely and refined girl' this year. I think that means, I've been really, really good, right? The only coal I would accept in my stocking would be diamonds, and I don't think you have those in your magic bag, do you? Though, I really should not lower my standards, I think for your sake, I should select items more in your realm of exp-p-pertice," Noelia read, holding the paper close to her face and stumbling over the longer words scribbled in marker and crayon. Pausing momentarily to receive an appreciative nod, the child beamed when Sena bestowed a genuinely interested and proud smile upon her. Clearly, all her long nights of eavesdropping at her guardian's door as she entertain guests, refused suitors, and lectured the household help had paid off.

"I request the following entertainments: a Kamikaze Girls Special Edition doll set of Ichigo and Momoko, complete with Yankee Girl Scooter for Two and the Baby the Stars Shine Bright Lolita Dresses. Also, I would like a hedgehog. NOT a blue Sonic monstros-s-sity, but a little roly-poly, spiky one. I will name him Bonafacio, and he will be good luck and have a good destiny. That is all. I appreciate your compliance," she continued, following the sentences with her finger and reading in a dignified tone. Pointing to the pristinely colored picture of a table with milk and cookies, she wrinkled her nose with pride and nudged Sena. The debutante nodded with approval, impressed that the child had already negotiation skills that would make even the most harded underworld mob boss blush. "Your efforts will not go unpaid. I am prepared to make you an offer you can't refuse: home-baked cookies from scratch and a pitcher of milk with your name on it. Merry Christmas, de Fabra. I'll be waiting. Love, N.F. Tsubokura."

Finishing off her eggnog, she set the glass on the table, mulling over the last bit of holiday sweetness and the child's letter. Engrossed in her reading, Noelia didn't notice the men furiously scribbling down notes as she read the letter to Sena.

"It's perfect, Darling," Sena said, snapping her fingers at the man closest to the child's writing desk. He hurried over with the necessities to get the letter into the post: glue, an addressed envelope, and a handful of holiday stickers. "You can go with Shigeru to the post office to make sure it gets there safely."

"Wahoo!" Noelia exclaimed, lightly pecking Sena on the cheek and giving her a tight, full on hug. Hurrying over to Shigeru, she saddled up beside the young retainer and allowed him to help her gingerly put the letter into the envelope and seal it for safe keeping. Using every last sticker on the sheet, she nearly covered ever last centimeter of the envelope. Jumping onto Shigeru's back, she kissed him lightly on the cheer and latched onto his neck protectively. Clearly, the youngest assistant was the child's favorite bodyguard. "Shigedeer, Let's go! Mush! Mush!"

"I want everything prepared tonight. Use any means necessary. There are eight of you, so this shouldn't be a problem," Sena said in a low tone, trying not to burst into laughter at Shigeru's new namesake and the irony that Noelia confused the commands for horses and sled dogs. Lazily tracing the lip of her glass with her finger, she picked up her glass again and took a long drink.

"It'll be taken care of, Lady Sena," an older attendant said, looking over his task list with confidence. "Ryou and Nobuo will take care of the dolls, Keiji and Jun are on the hedgehog, and Arata and Daiki are communicating Lady Noelia's requests to the chef as we speak."

"And I want the diamond tennis bracelet, Yutaka. You can take care of that one personally," Sena smiled smugly, looking at her petite, naked wrist. "Noelia can have it... when she's older."