Come See Santa {EVERYONE who was here before Christmas}

Santa got up from his seat then and went over to the stack of gifts that were not in the bags. He had given out a whole lot of gifts already and was glad to be almost done. "Ho ho ho, we are almost done." He picked up the first gift, it was a box. "To Leo from Venis." {A diamond decanter on a diamond tray with eight diamond shot glasses.} It was delivered as he picked up the next item. "To Princesse from JonLouis." {A bottle of blood wine from 1697.} He handed it to be delivered as he walked over to the next gift. It had to be wheeled over. "To Ange foncé from JonLouis. I think that's you Seleen." {A Beautician's chair.} The next gift wasn't a big one, about eight inches in diameter. "To Epiphany from Manuel." {A decorative tin of divinity candy.} That one made Santa smile.

He moved on to the next gift. "To JonLouis from Belle." {Six monogrammed French lace and silk handkerchiefs.} To the next gift. "To JonLouis from Princesse." {A twelve inch diamond Eiphel Tower.} The next gift was in a bag. "To Sheena from Venis." {A potted long stem purple rose bush.} "To Kyra from Isah." {A diamond butterfly pendant set in yellow gold on a gold chain.} "To Dre from Mom." {A crow shaped black diamond.} "To Shuda from JonLouis." {A new electric guitar.} Santa was getting closer to the end.


He was looking at what was left with a smile. "To Belle from JonLouis." {The French Crown Jewels.} "To Désir from JonLouis." {A pearl jewelry set.} "To Benjamin from Venis." {Hand carved wooden box with four colored glass and pewter jars of tea, a tea ball, with a hidden compartment.} And the last two were envelopes. "To The Marques del Stry from Venis." {Inside the envelope was a note that his gift was outside.} And last but not least. "To The Marques from Casandra." {This envelope also contained a note saying his gift was outside.}


When The Marquise del Stry would go outside he would find a white and blue carriage from Venis and two horses to pull it from Casandra. There was also a gray stallion from Casandra for riding. "Now, I thought for sure there was one more gift. Where did it go?" He looked around on his little stage area. "Could a couple of Christmas elves go see if it got left in the hallway please?" Two of the elves went over to open the doors to the Meeting Hall to see what was in the hallway ...

Venis remained silent and simply closed her eyes in a slow blink of acknowledgment that she heard the Marques words. She was not going to entertain any more discussions of the gifts she and her family and friends being accepted or not. Not today, not right now.

She looked at Casie, Tasha, Seleen, JonLouis, Emilia, and then her employees. Any of them who looked at her would see a look of just leave it alone for now. It could be discussed later. But Venis was insulted.

A soft laugh left ruby red lips, lightly tanned hands brushed through the long curly hair of a young girl and sweetly fixed the red santa hat upon her head. The boy beside her was dressed in a pair of tan slacks and a crystal green shirt, brightening his forest colored eyes. On his head was another santa hat, a bit big for his head but staying in place perfectly, for now. Vannessa smiled beautifully at the girl before her, admiring her ocean blue eyes and the sparkly blue dress she was wearing to compliment them.

Natalie scratched at the fluffy red cap upon her head, not entirely thrilled at the itchy underside but smiling brightly none the less. Her brother, DJ, was lightly bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet, staring at the large woodened door just a few feet away from him and growing more excited by the minute. “Are you excited, DJ?” The words seemed to flow from Vannessa’s mouth, soft and fluttery. She gazed at the two for a moment before pulling both of them into a tight and loving hug, sighing softly she pecked both of them on the cheek and once more picked herself up from the ground.

Vannessa’s lips curled into a loving smile, her dark eyes saddening for a moment, but she wouldn’t let the kids see her. She fixed the waist of her dress, the satiny fabric flowing down to just above her knees and clinging wonderfully to her figure. The soft red color of her sleeveless dress matched the lipstick and the ruby studded choker she wore, and her dark brown hair hung loose, curling down past her shoulders. A white fluffy belt wrapped snuggly around her waist and matched the larger white santa hat she wore on her head; to complete the outfit was a pair of satin red heels.

She offered her hands to the two children before her and let out a soft sigh before leading them to the doorway. The door seemed to open by itself and the three of them started, almost soundlessly, down the hallway. Vannessa could feel the excitement in the twins and found herself smiling and laughing softly as they tried to race before her. But she held them back and scrunched her nose as she told them to quiet down. “We want to surprise your mother.” She bent down to their level just a few feet from the door and whispered softly, sharing their joy and possibly more anxious to see Casandra then they were.

A soft whisper of cloth sounded at the end of the hallway as the three of them tiptoed down to the doors leading them to the rest of the party. They all could hear the laughter of children and the excited murmur of the partiers, but most importantly they could just imagine the look on Casandra’s face when the twins came through the door. Vannessa stopped them just outside the door, leaning forwards a bit to have a listen inside. She squeezed both of their hands as the soft sound of footsteps came closer to them, and bright smile fell upon the woman’s lips as her excited nerves coursed through her.

The door slowly opened, lighting the hallway around them even more and sending a warm breeze over them for a moment. Natalie and DJ stared wide eyed, in wonder and curiousity, at the large decorated room before them. Their bright eyes gazed everywhere, starting from the ceiling and slowly lowering to the different people standing in the room. Vannessa squeezed their hands once more before letting them go and pressing her hands softly into their backs, urging them forwards. DJ spotted his mother first, “Mom!” His voice seemed to flow over the crowd and instantly he headed through everyone to get to Casandra, a giggling Natalie hot on his heels. They both wrapped their arms around her and Vannessa laughed softly before walking slowly after them and smiling beautifully at the three, her dark eyes sparkling in the light.

Natalie was right behind her brother hugging her mother.

“Mommy I missed you.”

When she saw her mother crying she started crying too.

“What’s wrong mommy?”

Venis rose from her seat and walked over to Vannessa. She gave her a hug, one of those where you hug the shoulders. She had a large smile upon her face. "Thank you for doing this Vannessa. I'm sorry if we pulled you away from anything. Excuse me for a moment please sweety?" Venis was overjoyed at seeing Casie so happy.

She walked over behind Casie then, she nodded to the Marques as she knelt down and leaned over Casie's shoulder. "Merry Christmas little sister, I love you." She put one arm over Casie's shoulder for a bit of a hug and she kissed her tear stained cheek.

Vannessa returned both Venis and JonLouis's hugs, her ruby lips never lessening in her smile. She waved her hand dismissively at Venis's comment, there was nothing she would rather be doing on this joyous occassion. As JonLouis stepped away she laughed softly, nodding her head and softly promising to stay for awhile longer. She wasn't that adamant about returning to the council when there was so much going on here.

She watched the twins for a moment before stepping forwards and hugging Casandra warmly. "You are so very welcome," Vannessa pulled away soflty and smiled at Casandra before looking down at her little santas. "I would be thrilled to come and visit you." She turned from Casandra and let her dark chocolate eyes gaze down at DJ, Natalie and their furry friend, murmuring softly. "Merry Christmas, guys."

Santa Clause stood at the edge of the stage and laughed. His belly shook and his eyes sparkled. "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas everyone. Let's all go out and enjoy the snow. I think the lake might be frozen, maybe we could try out those new ice skates, huh kids?" He came down and motioned for everyone to follow him outside. Several people followed him outside as well as two of the Christmas elves. Ice skates were provided for those who chose to partake of the festivities and did not have their own.

While so many were out enjoying themselves Venis, Tasha, Seleen, and the rest of the Christmas elves were inside setting out Christmas dinner. There was turkey, ham, duck, masked potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, dinner rolls, black eyes peas, greens, cornbread, and stuffing. For dessert there was chocolate cake, pumpkin pie, cherry Bavarian pie, Jello with fruit cocktail in it, and a fruit cake.

When everyone came back inside, dinner was served. It was a lovely ending to a nice holiday. Once the children were done eating and ready to go home to the orphanage they were once again loaded into the hay trailers. Their gifts were put in boxes, one per child. The extra food from the dinner was loaded into Venis' carriage, as well as the gifts for the children who were not in attendance. Santa joined them and they returned to the orphanage while everyone at the Inn dispersed back to their lives.

(( I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Next year, it's someone else's turn. ))