Eternia ran back and forth several times until the table in the garden groaned under the weight of the food. When she brought out the last plate of cookies the first guests arrived.
"Whoo! Hello, Sackboy and Sackgirl! Glad you could make it!" she said smiling. "Merry Christmas!"

Sackboy nodded with a big grin and grabbed some cookies.

Out of breath from running up and down the stairs, Eternia sank down on a big wooden box. She had no clue where it came from, but it served well as a seat. Maybe Libra had brought it after she heard Eternia worrying about not having enough chairs the other day.

She had barely sat down when the next guest showed up: it was a younger girl in an eskimo outfit. She looked like she was in highschool, so Eternia recognized her as Nareen's friend.
"Hello!" She greeted the newcomer. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas! Thank you for inviting me to your party!" The girl waved her arms in excitement.
"Ha ha! I'm Eternia. You must be Nahh-Ati, right?"
"Yeah!"
Eternia eyed her carefully. If Nahh-Ati had any resemblance to her sister, it might be a tough job to make Wati fall for her instead.

"I brought Sol too! Wati is on his way but he walks too slow for me so we went ahead." Nahh-Ati grinned.
"Hello there! Merry Christmas!" Sol greeted with a wide smile. The soldier seemed happy to escape his duties for a while.
"Hi there!" Eternia replied, a bit sulky that she had to wait for Wati.
"Where is Nareen?" asked Nahh-Ati. "I want to say hi!"

"She was still getting dressed a little while ago. Try the livingroom; she should be somewhere around there by now."
"Okay, thanks! See you later!" Nahh-Ati rushed through the snow, skipping a little with every other step.
"Be careful, princess!" Sol called after her, still grinning. "I don't want to face Wati if you fall!"
"Okaaaay!"

Eternia giggled. "Is she always this lively?"
"Indeed." Sol grinned. It was a boyish, mischievous grin that fit him well. "She was confined to the palace for a very long time and didn't know anyone besides her sister, the guards, her tutors and servants to talk to. The princess gained permission to attend high school just recently, so I think she's excited about all the new people. She's very sociable."
"So she's trying to catch up on everything she's missed out on for the last ten years."
"Yeah, you could say that. It can be a bit... taxing from time to time." Sol lowered his voice. "But don't tell Wati I said that."

In the meantime Wati had arrived at the scene. His brow furrowed when he noticed Sol without Nahh-Ati. "Who's that he's talking to?"
He looked closer. "Oh, it's Eternia." All of a sudden he wasn't angry at his soldier anymore. "He can talk to her all evening if he wants to. Maybe that way I'll finally get a break from her attention."

He took a deep breath. "Seems I can actually have some intelligent conversation in this garden this time!"
Wati sat down on the wooden box and two bouncing heads with button eyes turned towards him.
"Oh... hello Sackgirl." Wati sighed and hoped that those weren't the only other guests.

Dolltopia Archive 40 <-- # --> Dolltopia Archive 42