"Maddie..." called Annie as she could not believe that Maddie would do something so mean on Christmas.
"That's not fair Maddie" said Matt as he frowned and shook his head.
"That's too much even for you Maddie" said Curtis as he shook his head, even he was disappointed, she had gone too far.
"That was a bit harsh sweetie" said Lisa as she frowned slightly.
"That wasn't funny Maddie" said John as he shook his head but Maddie didn't seem to care about their comments, she kept on laughing, the look on Ollie's face when he saw that the box was empty was nothing but priceless.
"That was not nice love, that was very mean, very, very mean" said Clove in a disapproving tone as she shook her head and Maddie stopped laughing.
"Hey gosh, why is everyone making me the bad guy?" asked Maddie as she frowned.
"Because you did something very mean, how can you give him a present that's nothing but empty?" asked Annie in disbelief as Maddie didn't seem to care.
"Because it's funny, I don't see what the big deal is about, the blondie doesn't seem to care at all" said Maddie as she looked at Ollie who was quiet, he was taking it better than everyone else who decided to be his defenders.
"Guys Maddie is right, it's not a big deal, it's a harmless joke" said Ollie as he smiled, even he should have known better, Maddie's sudden niceness and smiles were too good to be true, she was up to something and yet he knew it and failed to see it.
"No Ollie, don't defend her, what she did was wrong, and extremely mean, how can she give you nothing?" asked Annie.
"It's not even like she outrightly gave you nothing, she led you off by giving you a beautiful looking present" said Matt as he was annoyed on behalf of Ollie if he wasn't already annoyed on his own.
"Oh please, aren't you all telling me that it's not the size or amount of the gift but the thought that counts?" asked Maddie as she scoffed.
"And that's what I did, I gave him something very priceless and important, the gift of nothing" said Maddie.
"It's the best gift you can ever receive" said Maddie as she laughed and Annie facepalmed herself, they all should have known better when she started being nice to Ollie.
"Maddie is right though, it's the thought that counts, and besides, she did get me very good, I will admit that" said Ollie as he chuckled, he was sure that the look on his face when he opened it was a mix of shock and realization.
"See, the blondie gets it, thank you blondie for not being a party pooper about it" said Maddie happily.
"Still regardless of if Ollie doesn't mind or not, what you did was not good Maddie, seriously, playing jokes like that on people is not suitable, you were not supposed to do that, you are better than that love" said Clove as everyone agreed with her and Maddie sighed.
"Gosh, if I had known that you would all call me out like this I would have actually given him nothing" said Maddie as she scoffed, she hated it when everyone ganged up on her, they always did this, especially when it came to Ollie, it was annoying.
"Well actually Maddie, you're wrong, you didn't give me nothing, you gave me a beautifully wrapped box, which I am going to keep, so thank you for your joke and for the box" said Ollie as he smiled sincerely and Maddie scoffed.
"That's very nice of you to forgive her Ollie" said Clove as she smiled at him.
"Why wouldn't I? Besides, I am not offended at all, we are friends and friends play jokes on each other all the time, but just know Maddie, I will get you back soon" said Ollie as he smiled.
"I would love to see you try blondie" replied Maddie as she smiled dangerously at him.
"Honestly Ollie, I don't know how you put up with her" said Annie as she shook her head.
"I know right? Maddie can be too much sometimes" said Matt as he shook his head.
"Hey, I am right here you know!" said Maddie.
"We know" replied Curtis, Matt and Annie in a chorus as Maddie scoffed.
"I'm not going to sit here and listen to you all speak about me like some sort of witch, and you know the kind that I mean" said Maddie as she stood up.
"I will see you all later" said Maddie as she smiled briefly before leaving the room.
"Maddie can be a lot sometimes..." said Annie as she sighed and shook her head.
"Tell me about it" said Matt as he sighed.
"I think you guys are being a bit too harsh, she was only joking, and you know Maddie, that's how she enjoys herself" said Ollie.
"By making people suffer?" asked Matt.
"I'm not suffering, and you had to admit that it was a very good joke" said Ollie as he smiled.
"Oh Ollie, sweet, innocent Ollie, you are too lenient with her, more than you should be" said Annie.
"Come on guys, it's Christmas, everyone deserves to be happy" said Ollie as he smiled and Annie smiled, he was just too nice for his own good.
...
After the questionably mean Christmas morning, the day passed by fairly quickly, and before they knew it, it was already time for dinner.
Everyone was gathered for dinner, Annie, Maddie, Matt, Ollie, Curtis, John, Lisa, Clove, Sapiens and Elora, Captious and even Stella was able to make it for dinner and that made Annie feel very happy that all the people she cared about were here.
The dinner table was filled with laughs and smiles as they all ate and enjoyed having a nice close Christmas dinner together, it was rare for all of them to be present together like this.
The lighting was bright and cheerful, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming, it was clear to see that everyone who was here was happy to be here, and they were having a wonderful Christmas dinner with a wonderful turkey.
"Can I please get everyone's attention" said Lisa as she tapped on her wine glass with her fork to get everyone's attention, it was time for the Christmas toast.
Lisa smiled as everyone turned their attention to her, waiting for what she wanted to say.
"I just want to thank everyone for being here, it means so much to us to have you all here to enjoy dinner with us, like a family, and I know I speak for all of us when I say that we all consider each other family" said Lisa as Clove agreed with her and smiled.
"I love that we are all here, gathered together, just to spend time with one another, nothing else fills me with joy than to know that we are all friends, we are all family, we can all count on each other in times of good and of bad" said Lisa as Annie smiled as she looked at Maddie who smiled at her.
"I love that we get to share our family traditions with you all, it means a lot that you could take time out of your busy schedules to celebrate a holiday that you don't even have in your realm, it's just nice to have someone to count on" said Lisa as she felt tears coming.
The past two years hadn't been easy at all, their entire family had to get used to the fact that their lives were not normal anymore, she and John had to leave their jobs, fearing for the safety of their daughter.
There were so many times that she felt like this wasn't real, like she wanted to run away from it all, and yet, due to everyone support, they were able to overcome.
"Thank you to Stella, for always being on our side, even though you went against your entire Council" said Lisa as she smiled with tears as Stella smiled.
"Oh don't say that Lisa dear, It is what I should have done a long time ago" said Stella as she smiled, also fighting back tears.
"Thanks to you Uncle Capi, and Professor Sapiens, and to you too Elora, without all your support, I doubt we would be here to celebrate" said Lisa as they all smiled at her.
"And thank you Clove, because without your help, the kind of peace we are all experiencing now, wouldn't be possible" said Lisa as Clove smiled.
"Thank you Ollie, for being such a good friend to us all, and for being on our side, because at the end of the day, unity and love is what matters most, and I am so happy that we have found true friends" said Lisa.
"So a toast, to family, to friends, to love, to peace, to joy, and most importantly, to never giving up, because that's what got us this far, and it's surely will continue to, so Merry Christmas everyone!" said Lisa as they all responded with a Merry Christmas.
There was nothing that could compare to the sense of peace and happiness, and joy they all had together, and Annie would never trade this moment for anything else in the world.
A few weeks later.
The sun was shining brightly outside and the sky was a clear warm blue, adding to the calm feeling of summer, and as on other days, Annie, Maddie and Matt committed themselves to studying in the library.
Annie frowned as she read something that she didn't understand, she looked up at Matt who seemed very busy with what he was doing.
"Hey Matt, what are you up to?" she asked out of curiosity, she was actually a little bit bored, she loved reading yes, but doing it every single day could get a little bit tiring.
"Just reading the book on the old tongue, I'm still trying to learn it" said Matt as he looked up and smiled sheepishly as Maddie let out a cackle.
"How funny, I finished that book ages ago, and I can proudly say that I am perfectly fluent in the old tongue" said Maddie in a bragging tone, she was proud and she was not afraid to show it.
"That's nice Maddie, but don't be mean" said Annie as she smiled at her.
"I'm not being mean, I'm only saying the truth" said Maddie happily.
"Yeah, well you're only ahead of me in that because you were so determined not to be left in the dust once you found out Ollie is fluent in it as well" said Matt as Maddie scoffed.
"That blondie is not better than me in anyway, why did you have to bring him up?" asked Maddie in annoyance as Matt shook his head.
"Just relax Maddie, I'm learning steadily at my own pace, not everyone has such a strong drive as you do" said Matt as he scoffed and Maddie scoffed.
"The two of you just love arguing with each other now don't you?" asked Annie as she shook her head and facepalmed.
"Well Maddie doesn't like being told the truth and I don't care, I tell her the truth anyway, that's why we argue so much" said Matt as he smiled.
"That might be true, but I know you both love and care for each other" said Annie as she laughed.
"Maybe you alone, I don't like Matt at all" said Maddie.
"Right, keep on lying to yourself Maddie" said Matt as he laughed and Annie closed her book and yawned.
"Well I'm bored, you two can continue reading, I'm going to make some waffles or something" said Annie as she stood up.
"Make mine specially with cinnamon" said Maddie.
"Okay, and what about you Matt?" asked Annie as she smiled at him.
"I'm fine with whatever you make for me" said Matt with a smile as Annie smiled.
"Okay, see you both in a bit" said Annie as she left the library and the door closed behind her.
"You are such a suck up Matt" said Maddie as she shook her head and Matt looked at her.
"I'm just sincerely happy with whatever she makes for me" said Matt as Maddie shook her head.
"At this rate, you're never going to get her to love you" said Maddie in disappointment.
"I know she already loves me, and I'm happy with that" said Matt.
"Only you would be happy being in the friendzone, seriously" said Maddie as she scoffed.
"Open your eyes Matt, or else that blondie or whoever else will swoop in" said Maddie.
"Ollie doesn't like Annie like that" said Matt.
"Well have you talked about that with him?" asked Maddie.
"Well no, we don't talk about things like that, but I know he doesn't like her in that way" said Matt as Maddie cackled yet again, laughing at how trusting and stupid he was.
"Really, you would believe that? Did you forget how close he was trying to get to here when they first met?" asked Maddie,
"That was only because he was trying to be friends with us" said Matt.
"Right, and can you forget how angry you got when they were spending too much time together?" asked Maddie.
"That was then, and it was childish for me to get angry over something little like that, we are all friends" said Matt as Maddie scoffed.
"So what if the blondie actually likes Annie, and instead of being a coward like you, he goes for it and she likes him back?" asked Maddie as she really wanted to push Matt to the edge, he was being too peaceful with this, if he liked Annie, he should have told her by now already.
"Ollie is my friend... and Annie is my friend too, if she likes him, then I will be totally happy for them, as long as they are happy together" said Matt sincerely.
"Oh Matt Sundew, you are a fool, a big fool I tell you" said Maddie.
"And you don't understand Maddie, when you like someone a lot... I don't think you would ever want to make them unhappy or uncomfortable" said Matt.
"Matt, there's a very thin line between being considerate and being a coward, and you are being a coward right now" said Maddie.
"You have been putting off telling her how you feel for too long now and Annie is oblivious, you both are perfect for each other, I'm tired of watching the whole thing remain stagnant before my eyes" said Maddie.
"Well deal with it Maddie, I'm not going to do anything to ruin the friendship that we have" said Matt.
"Oh Matt, you're so sweet, but I'm telling you, you are going to have to say something sooner or later" said Maddie as she shook her head and Matt didn't say anything else, he had said more than enough.
...
Annie was busy making waffles in the kitchen when her father walked into the kitchen all smiles.
"What are you doing sweetie?" asked John as he smiled and gave Annie a kiss on the forehead.
"Oh Hi Dad, I'm making some waffles, you want some?" asked Annie happily as she looked at him.
"Oooh don't mind if I do" said John as he took one from the plate and ate it as Annie chuckled.
"Ooh this one has a cinnamon taste to it" said John.
"Oh that's for Maddie, she asked for cinnamon" said Annie as she smiled.
"Interesting, it takes good" said John as he smiled.
"Thanks dad" said Annie as she finished stirring the next batter.
"So what are you doing here dad? I thought you would be going to Sunset Village?" asked Annie.
"Oh I was supposed to, with Curtis, but Uncle Captious said that he needed my help over at his house, so I cancelled my plans" said John as he was eating the waffles Annie made.
"He does?" asked Annie as he nodded.
"Help with what?" asked Annie.
"He didn't say exactly, I think he needs me to move some things, but between you and me, I'm sure he just wants to spend more time with me" said John as he laughed and Annie laughed.
"I don't mind that, but the problem is I have a meeting at Sunset Village with the new principal of the school, and I can't cancel, I guess I have to miss it and reschedule it for another day" said John with a sigh.
"You want to meet the new principal of the school?" asked Annie as John nodded.
"Why?" asked Annie.
"Well when we left we left in a bit of a rush, there are some things that need to be ironed out, your mother and I did not really hand in our resignation letters, so we need to sort that out" said John.
"That sounds very important dad" said Annie.
"It is" said John.
"Then how about you go for your meeting and Matt, Maddie and I can go help Uncle Capi instead?" asked Annie.
"You would do that?" asked John.
"Oh course, we would love to go over there and help him with whatever he needs, after all, it would be easier for us since we have magic" said Annie happily as John laughed.
"That is true, but are you sure about that?" asked John.
"Yes I am very sure dad" said Annie as she nodded.
"But I don't want to bother you" said John.
"You aren't bothering me dad, if anything, I don't have anything better I'm doing here, I'm actually bored right now, and besides, I've never been to Uncle Capi's house, I would love to go out of the Palace for a change, and I am sure that Maddie and Matt would agree with me" said Annie as she smiled.
"Well alright then sweetie, I will tell Uncle Captious, thank you for helping me out" said John as he smiled.
"You don't need to thank me dad, I want to do it" said Annie happily as John smiled, he was grateful that he had a considerate daughter like her.
"Yes but still, it was nice of you to offer, and I am sure your great uncle would love spending time with you" said John as he smiled and Annie smiled.