My New Home and Friends

She put me on her bed in her room, and I was in my box, with my hands tied together. It was the perfect way to say "Welcome Home." I'm sure She was a lovely person, but I felt less than welcome here. Perhaps if I could just get out of my box I'd feel better about all of this.

I struggled against my ropes. But they weren't ropes, were they? They were made of a strange kind of unfamiliar material, and it didn't feel like ropes or chains. I think I overheard someone say it was called a twisty tie. But what did it matter? I was still stuck. Maybe...just maybe, if I tried hard enough, I could break free. I knew what I was capable of. You see, I'm a little special. If you couldn't tell by the picture, I am a doll. A 2014 Queen Elsa of Arendelle doll, from Disney's Frozen. The movie's Elsa and I are alike in many ways, including our powers.

Not only can I create ice and snow at will, I also have magical blue hands that glow when I sing. There, now that I confessed, we can get on with my escape. Now the only problem with all of that was, (if there wasn't already enough) the only way I could get my powers to work is if I sing. And the only way to do that was to turn on my switch. My switch was located on the side of my back, and I knew that if I bumped against my box in just the right way, I could turn it on, and then I could sing, freeze the twisty tie,  and set myself free. So I took a deep breath, a determined look on my face. I was ready.

I thrust back and forth, left and right. Bump-bump, bump-bump. Nothing seemed to help. After a minute or so of useless struggle, I gave up, but not completely. I'm not one for giving up. What had She said before She left? I closed my eyes to try and recall.
"I'll be back soon, okay, Elsa? There's a little elf-man in here so you can socialize with him."
Hm, there was a little elf man in this room. So She had said. I had never seen a little elf-man before, and I didn't know if they were at all helpful, but I guess trying to gain his attention for help was better than nothing.
I cleared my throat. "Um, excuse me! Is anyone in here?"
No reply.
"I am Queen Elsa...of Arendelle! And I'm kind of stuck in this box here! So...if anyone is in here...maybe a little elf-man...it would be greatly appreciated if you were to come and help me out."
I stayed quiet for a moment, and the rest of the room did, too. I don't think She would lie to me, so the little elf-man, wherever he was, must not want to help me. I sighed.
"You require my assistance?" A voice asked out of nowhere. I quickly looked around the room, searching for anyone who might have said it. My eyes wandered over to the dusty dresser. On it stood what I think was the little elf-man. He had a stern face and appeared to be holding what looked to be a scepter or a staff, with a pointed edge on the top. A pointed edge that might be able to cut through my twisty-tie.

"Yes! I would like you to help me get free. You see, I'm new here, and She forgot to cut off my twisty-tie and take me out of this box." I explained quickly.
The little elf-man raised an eyebrow, but he didn't move any closer to me. Perhaps he didn't trust me quite yet. "So you want my help?" he asked.
"Yes. Yes please." I tried to lift my hands to show him my predicament. I could see in his eyes that he noticed.
The little elf-man looked down at his feet and looked like he was reading something off of the card he was standing on. I couldn't read what it said, but it made him sigh. "Alright."
I couldn't help but smile in relief. "Thank you so much."
The little elf-man didn't speak. I watched him walk off the edge of the dresser, then climb down to the floor using the drawer handles.

"Again, thank you so much," I said, trying to fill in the empty silence. "But I should probably introduce myself before you set me free. I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle."
"I know," he said, climbing up on the bed where I was. "And you can stop saying 'thank you.'"
I couldn't help but feel taken back. So far this little elf-man seemed less than thrilled to help me out. Perhaps he was like that one Kristoff doll at the store were I was, refusing to open up and show any compassion until someone would do that for him first. Maybe if I did that, he would, too. But I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just watched him as he came closer to my box.

"How do you think I could help?" he said finally, avoiding my gaze.
"Um..." I looked up. "I think it would be best to start with opening my box, if you please."
He walked over to the top of my box and I heard some rustling noises as he lifted each of the cardboard flaps.
"You're free." I heard him say. I was about to thank him again, but then I realized he didn't want me to. So I bit my tongue and tried to get out of my box, but then I realized that my hands were still tied together, which meant that unless the elf-man could cut me free, it would be nearly impossible to get out of my box. I caught the elf-man before he was about to go.
"One more favor, please?" I asked.
He turned around.
"My hands...they're tied together by this thing. If you wouldn't mind cutting it, then I could get out of my box. That's all I ask of you."
Something in the elf-man's eyes changed when I said that last part. I bit my tongue in order to refrain in saying anything else. I also bit my tongue in hope and worry.
The little elf-man didn't say anything, (no surprise) but at last he walked back over and crawled into my box. I awkwardly moved to the side so he could have some space to do his work. I cringed as he began to saw at my twisty-tie with the sharp side of his staff/scepter thing.

I tried not to look at how close he was cutting towards my wrists while also trying to think of something to say. I cursed myself for being bad at forced social interactions. So we both remained awkwardly quiet, except for the sound of a blade sawing through a twisty-tie.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, I heard a snapping noise. The twisty tie lay a defeated strand of metallic plastic on the floor of my box. I stretched out my fingers and wrists as the little elf-man walked out of my box. I climbed of after him, forgetting not to thank him.
"Thank you, little elf-man."
He gave me a strange look.
"What? What's wrong?" I looked at my hands and made sure I had everything. Well, I wasn't bleeding anywhere, and all ten fingers were accounted for. I hoped he hadn't yet noticed the strange blue glow coming from them.
"I am not a little elf-man." he replied simply.
"Oh? Then what are you? She said that you were."
The not little elf-man looked down at the blue and green striped bedsheets. "She gave me that nickname." He didn't exactly sound proud of that.
"What is your real name, then?"
He didn't answer for a while. I watched him as I left the bed and made his way back up to his spot on the dresser. It was kind of sad to watch him leave.

"I am Loki. Of Jotunheim."
"Oh," I replied, suddenly noticing the gold helmet on his head. Maybe that was the kind of crown they head where he came from. "Are you royalty, too?"
"Sort of." he shrugged.
I felt my eyebrows furrow. I wasn't sure how I felt about all of this yet. In fact, I was kind of unsure about mostly everything here. What was She like? Who else lived in this room? Would Loki ever say more than four words at a time? Life, I realized, was full of mystery. I stared down at my hands, glowing blue with confusion. At least there was one thing I was sure of. I bumped up against my box and felt my switch turn on.
"Hey," I said in an invitation. "Can I show you something?" 'Something that might possibly help to make you feel more welcome?' I wanted to add.
Loki didn't say anything, no surprise there, but for some reason I felt accepted of my plight.
"Okay," I replied, my voice shaking. I titled my head towards the ceiling. She had decorated her bedroom in such in a way so that it reminded me of winter. Blue walls and a whit ceiling with a number of multiple unique handmade paper snowflakes hung from aqua-colored thread. I bit my lip and held my hand up to the snowflakes as if I could fly up and touch them. I actually kind of wished I could. My hands glowed blue, and I started to sing.

"It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through! No right, no wrong, no rules for me! I'm free!!"
I glanced over at Loki to see what he thought. He was staring at me, and my freakishly blue glowing hands, as if I was crazy. He looked sort of... amused. I couldn't help but smile in embarrassment as he came back over to stand with me on the bed.

"Let it go! Let it go! I am one with the wind and sky! Let it go! Let it go! You'll never see me cry!"
I decided to stop there, for the sake of my sanity and Loki's. And I didn't want to lie to anyone quite yet, since tears do often threaten at my eyes and you never know what could happen here.
I took a deep breath to try to cool down my face, choosing to look at the ceiling instead of Loki, but out of the corner of my eye, and I saw him nod, and do something else so rare, I just had to savor it. He smiled.
I sat on my box taking breath after breath of air, hoping that I had done what was right in that moment, when we both heard something.  A laugh. Not a laugh of mock or amusement, but of just simple, pure happiness. It was so familiar, I couldn't help but look towards the area in which I heard it. And that area was right next to us on the bed, a pile of pillows heaped upon a cushy-looking white chair. (See picture above.)
"Did I hear my favorite song?" the voice that had laughed said.
"Olaf?" I squeaked, swallowing a lump in my throat.'
"Elsa?" a familiar-looking snowman peeked out behind a pillow on the chair.
"You know this person?" Loki asked, looking up at me in question.
I laughed slightly. "Not a person, really," When Olaf saw me, he laughed and jumped over to the bed. "He's kind of a snowman."
A look of surprise came over Loki's face.
It was a happy reunion. I hadn't seen anyone from my movie since the Disney store where I had come from. And all of the Olaf plushies was on the opposite side from me and all the other Elsa's.

The both of us couldn't stop smiling. Mine was a little bit more forced. Even though I was happy to see Olaf, I wasn't sure what kind of personality this one had. He seemed to like to smile a lot, at least. It was like a giant happy grin was permanently sewn onto his face. Well, it actually was, but you know what I mean.
"How are you, Olaf?" I held out my hand for a friendly shake. A handshake, and nothing more.
Olaf must have taken it as something else.

Yes, he hugged me.
It was more than just awkward. It was uncomfortable. Loki was standing on the sidelines, watching us. Olaf wouldn't let go of me, and I didn't know what else to do. I was kind of taken by surprise.
"Elsa, is it really you." I heard him say.
I will admit, my eyes got kind of wet, but I knew I had to pull away.
"Yes, it's me. So, how are you, Olaf?" I forced myself to say, repeating myself from before.
"You made me."
Okay, but that didn't exactly answer my question. I bit my tongue. What to say? I didn't make Olaf, he was made in a factory, probably in China. "Um, you're right! I did."
I heard Loki snort behind me. I would have appreciated his laughter if it hadn't been such a weird moment between me and Olaf.
"So, uh...Olaf, this is Loki. Of Jotunheim." I looked behind me for reassurance. He nodded. Olaf looked at Loki, his face unchanging. I wasn't sure if he knew what to make of him yet. In fact, I think the same went for both.
"And Loki, this is Olaf. I built him." I said, trying to hide the lie in the my eyes.
The both of them nodded. I felt worry surge within me. I couldn't keep this up much longer.
Luckily, I didn't have to. She suddenly burst into the room without warning, and we all dropped dead like flies. I could feel my heart pounding as I desperately tried to hide my glowing hands. I was out of my box. What would She think of that?
But She didn't say anything. She looked at me, smiled, and then picked me up with a hand. I tried not to fidget, but Olaf and Loki stood still as statues, just like they should. Maybe I just wasn't used to the attention yet. Though something in Loki's eyes had changed. I decided not to take notice.

She didn't say anything about me being out of my box, what a relief. She completely looked over Loki and Olaf and made a beeline for me. She picked me up and took me away somewhere. I felt somewhat nervous as I heard Loki and Olaf whisper what my possible fate as we left the room.
"I wonder where She is taking Elsa?" Olaf asked, talking from the side of his mouth,
Loki shook his head. So I wasn't alone, he wasn't quite comfortable around Olaf yet, either. He peeked behind the giant snowman to watch us leave. But he wasn't really watching me.
"Maybe She's taking her back to the store?" Olaf wondered.

I gulped and hoped it wasn't true, although I kind of knew it wasn't. The store I came from was in Florida, and if I recall, there was a long flight on some sort of airplane to her house. A little shred of hope appeared when She made a right turn into the bathroom, which was right by her bedroom. Hm, perhaps she was going to wash my hair? No, that didn't seem right. My hair was French braided all the way down, and so full of hairspray it would be nearly impossible to wash.
But then She started touching my braid, and I began to worry again. Maybe she would try to wash it. However, She instead set me down on the floor, on top of a white rug, So far, so good. She took these pin things from her cupped hand and told me they were "snowflake earrings" and also that she was going to put them in my braid for a little extra decoration.

I beamed happily. She was not so bad after all. And now I was getting a new look. She began laying them into looser parts of my braid, then closing them in the back. They were big silver snowflakes, so two of them would be enough. She pinned the both of them in, and then finished with a white hairband on the end of my braid to cover up the plainer, clear one.

(Above is a picture of me with my new look!)

When her back was turned, I admired my braid. I decided I kind of liked it, And She wasn't all that bad, either. I couldn't wait to show Loki and Olaf how I looked now. She picked me up again and took me back to the room. I know most humans think that I have a smile permanently on my face, (though when you leave us in a room for a while, you'll see that we can do more as dolls than you think) but this time I could feel a real, actual smile. It was kind of nice to smile genuinely.
She tossed me onto her bed and left the room once again to eat lunch.

"Hi." I whispered, aware how close She was to the room.
Now, I remember turning certain boy doll's heads at the Disney Store when I was still there, but one of the Anna's and I had laughed them off and ignored them. That Anna was with one of the Kristoff's, and I wasn't interested. But when Olaf and Loki's heads turned towards me and their mouths dropped open slightly, I felt myself blush a deep shade of crimson.
"Um..." I mumbled, feeling my braid and trying to find my voice. "She gave my hair a makeover."

"Wow." Olaf gasped.
Should I take that as a compliment? "Um...yeah. Thanks."
"She must really like you." said Loki somewhat sadly, looking over at the pillows on the bed instead of me.
"Yeah. You must be her favorite." said Olaf, only less sad and more amazed.
"Oh, don't feel too bad. She isn't trying to pick favorites. She just saw these snowflake earrings and thought that I could use them in my hair." I crossed my fingers behind my back, hoping to cheer them up, because I knew for a fact who her favorite was.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Loki sighed. "But we had better get back to our spots. I think I hear someone coming."
"Right," I replied. "Olaf, you should probably go back to the chair." I said quickly, as I felt the snowman hug me again. Loki climbed off the bed and onto the dresser. and I lay limp where She had put me before, a warm smile on my face. Sure, I was still getting used to things around here, but so far it seemed as if my new home (and friends) would be good to me.

Surprisingly Hopeful,

Queen Elsa