***
Standing over the grate, it feels like I'm looking through the ground and into the secret crevices of the world. The dusty tunnel leads down into the carpet, then turns the corner almost as soon as it starts, preventing me from seeing all the way down. Only ten more seconds."Ten, nine, eight, seven..." Olaf counts down as the furnace starts to kick in. A deep growling noise rumbles the floor beneath me, a harbinger of what is to come.
"I do wish it would hurry up." I grumbled, rubbing my arms to stop the shivering.
"Four more seconds, Elsa," Olaf reminds me. "Three, two, one."
Fwoosh.
Warm air rises in a stream of wind out of the vent, covering me in heat from my toes up to my shoulders. It's actually quite relaxing, despite not being at all what I expected.
"Ahhh." I breathed. So much early suspense to say that I was standing over the air in She's room. Hey, even the queen of the ice and snow can get cold sometimes. Especially since She's room was always the chillest in the house. Or maybe I was just lead to think that because of her ceiling o' snowflakes.
"Is it safe?" Olaf asked hesitantly.
"Sure it is! It's like taking a nice warm bath."
"What if I melt?"
"You won't melt. Besides, even if I see the tiniest sign that you're melting, I'll save you with a flurry." Of course, Olaf couldn't melt, since he was a plush toy. But anything to convince him to join me so I won't be alone, right?
"Um... okay!" And with that the snowman hopped over to my side. I made room for Olaf so the both of us could relax and sit on the air vent together.
"Ahhh..." the both of us sighed. We closed our eyes, imaging a sunny summer day, and not a rainy winter one.
"What are you two doing?" I heard a voice ask. A voice belonging to the world's grumpiest key-chain. I opened my eyes to see Loki and Magneto staring down at Olaf and I as if we had just sprouted reindeer antlers.
"I'm sensing a pattern here." Olaf whispered to me.
He was right. Things happened like this day after day. Olaf and I got into some hijinks, and someone came over to see what we were doing. Or maybe that was just poor storytelling on my part.
"Care to join us?" I asked. "We're just sitting on top of this air vent to get warm. No hijinks here."
"You're trying to get warm? I thought the cold never bothered you." Loki pointed out.
"Oh, that was just something I said to make my song cooler."
"Haha, I get it! Cooler!" Olaf laughed.
Magneto rolled his eyes. "Don't you think it's a little dangerous to be out of place when the humans are still downstairs?"
"We'll be fine. They're occupied." Olaf explained.
"With what, exactly?" Magneto asked.
"They're watching a Christmas special on TV," I replied. "There's not getting up from that. We should be fine to roam about for a while."
"Indeed, The Polar Express is a true American classic."
At the mention of America, I knew who it was immediately. "Hey, Napoleon. Is Benny with you?"
"I am." The nutcracker replied, the both of them walking up to our group. I've been a little watchful of Benny since my last post. He'd become distant, but today he seemed in a good mood.
"So you're probably all wondering why I gathered you here today." I joked.
Nobody but Olaf laughed. Okay then.
"Actually, I do have something to say, if you don't mind. My brother found something the other day," Napoleon explained. "Only there's words on it, and well, neither of us can actually read."
"Oh, great! Take Loki with you. He's extremely good on reading."
Loki flashed me a murderous look. He clearly did not want to go. Or at least not alone.
"Fine, we'll come with you." I sighed, getting up from the comfort of the air vent.
"We?" Olaf whined, looking up at me desperately.
"Yes, Olaf, all of us." I shot Magneto a look almost as murderous as the one Loki gave me a second before. He was not getting out of this one this time. "You never know, it could be something that will help us find the meaning of Christmas."
***
The next thing you know, Olaf and I were curled up in fleece scarves and sneaking through the house, following Napoleon, Benny, Magneto, and Loki to whatever they wanted to show us. I had chosen a light blue scarf with purple and green snowflakes, and Olaf took a light pink one with a brown triangular pattern. He claimed that, "Pink can be for boys, too." And I wasn't one to judge. Colors are just that, colors. The way your eyes perceive light. But Magneto didn't seem to think so, because it looked like he was always holding back laughter every time he looked over his shoulder and saw Olaf skipping around wearing a girly scarf.
(Don't we look lovely? I wonder if She will let me keep this scarf, because I love it.)
"Well, here we are," said Benny, pointing at the thing. It looked to be a note of sorts, but a professional kind. It wasn't handwritten, but printed... how odd. It was also in the room where the humans only visited every once and a while, an immaculate room with red curtains, one that they reserved from things called Guests.
(Don't we look lovely? I wonder if She will let me keep this scarf, because I love it.)
"Loki, will you do the honors?" Napoleon asked.
"Sure," Loki replied, and took a few steps forward to stare down at the note. His eyes skimmed over the black squiggles and shapes that somehow made words (or made sense) and a few minutes later he spoke again. "It says something about a Secret Santa Gift Exchange. I guess this is the note She had from a week or so ago went She went to that White Elephant Gift Exchange. I'm not sure if they are the same thing."
Napoleon straightened his hat. "Actually, the two are quite different. A White Elephant Gift Exchange actually has nothing to do with a white elephant. It is when a group of friends come together to exchange gifts with each-other."
"Then what is a Secret Santa Gift Exchange?" Magneto asked.
"It is when a group of friends come together to exchange gifts with each-other." Napoleon blinked, realizing that he had said the exact same thing before.
"Um..." said Loki.
"In a White Elephant Gift Exchange, one person usually picks a gift for a person in which they do not know who the gift is going to. It is a surprise until the actual exchange when any random person could pick up their gift. In a Secret Santa gift exchange, you are given a slip of paper with a person's name on it, and then you go out to find a gift you think that person will like." Benny explained.
"Oh, I get it," said Olaf, but then he leaned over to whisper to me, "No, I don't."
"I'll explain it to you later." I mouthed back.
"Okay then! Now we know the difference between the two, we should put the note back and return to She's room. In case you haven't noticed, the humans are still downstairs." said Magneto.
"We'll be fine. They're distracted for a while. Let's have some fun with this paper-thingy." I said.
"But I don't know anything about this, Elsa."
"Later." I said again, but it came out in some sort of a hiss. I kind of felt bad after. Olaf may not be the brightest of bulbs, but that was no reason my impatience should result in being mean.
"Alright," Loki decided with a nod. I could see him thinking it over, weighing the pros and cons. "Let's do it."
"Seriously?" Magneto and I said at coincidentally the same exact time. Only my voice was more surprised, and his was more enraged.
"You know what, why not? Maybe I've changed a little since the last few times we've done things around the house. Being in one place for so long can get boring, and besides, I'd like to find out how these human Christmas traditions work," Loki, who had been looking at the paper, found that both Magneto and I were staring at him with out mouths open. "What?" Loki asked.
"Um, nothing," I finally managed to say. "Let's do it! A Secret Santa Gift Exchange... where do you suppose we start?"
"Perhaps we should start with helping Magneto." Napoleon said, pointing with his American flag.
I looked down at my feet, and the key-chain was still frozen in place, with his mouth open in shock and his eyebrows knitted in anger. It would have been funny, but no one had thought to laugh.
"Earth to Magneto." Olaf said in a slowish voice, waving one of his plush-stick arms in front of Magneto's face. "Hello? Hellooooo? Are you okay?"
"He'll be fine," said Benny. "He's just being a... oh, what do the humans call it? A drama queen. But we have to discuss what we're going to do with this Secret Santa thing."
Silence. Everyone in the room looked at everyone else, like we were waiting for someone to take up the responsibility of starting this activity yet nobody actually wanted to.
"Well, first thing's first. We should probably exit the room. The door is open to any humans that want to come by, and besides, if we move to She's room, it would make more sense than being in here if they find us."
"Which they won't." I added, but we tiptoed over to She's room anyway. We felt more comfortable there, back on the dresser and out of the open.
We all settled down in She's room, brought Magneto back to Earth, and Loki came up with the plan for what to do with the Secret Santa note. Napoleon and Benny went back to the library room and read a bit on how these things work, because clearly none of us had a clue. In the end we decided to assign all of us to a person anonymously.
"I've got it all sorted out," said Loki. "I wrote everyone's names on these little paper pieces... and now we're going to put them in this box,. Once I'm finished shifting them around everyone will have to pick one out." He took the lid off the box and dropped the paper scraps in and began mixing them around with his hands. Among the movement I saw the names Olaf, Elsa, Loki, Magneto, Napoleon, Benny, and She. I guess Magneto noticing this, too, because he started complaining again.
"She? We can't include She."
For a moment Loki frowned into the box, looking like we wanted to tell Magneto to shut up, but instead he sighed and looked up at me, the corner of his mouth twitching by a millimeter into a smile. "Well, we have to have seven people, you know."
"What? OOOOOooohhhhh." I said, nodding and returning the smile. He meant for my blog. We needed something for the number seven. Clever.
"But She's a human." Magneto argued.
"I know." Loki replied.
"We can't break The Code of Dolls."
"We won't. We'll hide the present in plain sight so She'll think it was always there."
"She's not that stupid."
"Are you suggesting that She is stupid?"
"Well, what are you expecting to happen?" Magneto's voice was raising.
"The present will be something small, somewhat insignificant. It will be put somewhere among other things She has so she doesn't notice it as out of place, but still notices it. That's what I would do..." Did he blush? "I mean, that's what someone should do if they happened to pick She's name out of the box."
"Well, I think-"
"Oh, just give it a break!" Benny interrupted. "You two argue all of the time. If you're really set on winning your word contest, go somewhere else. But the rest of us are going to get an early start on this secret Santa business."
"How very assertive of you, brother!" Napoleon commented. "But I have to agree. Who shall be the first to pick a name from the box?"
"Loki can do it," said Olaf. "He was the one to write the names down, anyways."
A small sort of smile appeared on Loki's face. He confidently shifted his hands around in the box and picked a slightly crumpled paper strip. He unbent it, and I saw his eyes read the name, and he smiled wider and hid the paper behind his back. Suddenly, for whatever reason, this made me extremely curious.
"Who did you get?" Olaf asked, sharing the name curiosity I had.
"You can't tell whose name you receive, that would ruin the surprise for whoever is getting the present you make for them." Benny explained.
"Right," said Loki, nodding. "Who's next?"
We decided to go oldest to youngest from our finding dates. First it was Napoleon, and then Benny, and then Magneto. Or at least it should have been. Because of his attitude, we forced him to go last. He was no longer frozen like before, but quite frankly he did not feel like speaking to any of us and kept to himself throughout the name-drawing session. And that was fine with us.
When Olaf's turn arrived, he skipped happily up to the box and covered his eyes with one hand while the other picked out a slip of paper. He read it secretly, and then looked around at us kind of nervously. The poor snowman knew nothing about what to do. I'm sure whoever received his present would be a good sport and realize that he was trying his best. I gave him a reassuring thumbs up and a smile when he returned to my side looking a little pale. And Olaf is literally snow-white already.
"Your turn next, Elsa." said Napoleon.
"Okay then." I said, and stepped forward. Only two names left. I closed my eyes and dug around, as if somehow my hands would know which one would be the best to pick. But they didn't glow blue or anything, so I wasn't able to know. Somewhat disappointed, I picked up a random paper and flipped it over.
"Perfect." I whispered, smiling. Maybe if I could get Olaf a really great gift he wouldn't be as worried anymore. Hey, maybe my hands really did know to pick the right one. Not that there was a right one, but I was thankful because Olaf would be really easy to get a present for. I could probably give him a rock and he would be thrilled.
Magneto went after me, unhappily, of course, but a problem quickly reared its ugly face. There was still one more paper in the box. I had completely forgotten that Loki had written She's name on one of the papers, and that since She can't join us in our Secret Santa game, there would be one more name left. Before any of us could worry about who wasn't getting a present, Loki snatched it up.
"I'll take care of the last one." he said, and it was all settled.
Olaf, Loki, and I talked with Napoleon, Benny, and Magneto, and we all decided to go our separate ways to brainstorm and get the presents ready. We were to meet in She's Room at seven, so that gave us a fair three hours to prepare before getting together again for the gift exchange. And if the Guest Room was unreachable for whatever reason, Plan B was the Guest Room, in case the movie ended early and She went back to her room.
So after going over the plan, we split up while Olaf, Loki and I went back to She's room and Napoleon, Magneto, and Benny went over the library. Maybe they could read some books about Christmas presents or Secret Santas. What is a Santa anyway? Is it in another language? Maybe the humans would know, but we're not allowed to ask them. Now that I think harder about it, maybe I should have followed the boys into the library to find some books on this "Santa."
But it was too late for that now. I had myself kept in the farthest corner of She's room, and hidden well behind her bed so no one else could see what I would be making Olaf.
Once I was well out of sight from Loki and Olaf (who were conversing on the dresser) I flipped on my switch and began experimenting with my powers to get the creative juices flowing. I needed some inspiration if I wanted to make Olaf the perfect present. Let's see... Olaf liked snow, right? I formed a snowball in front of me. Well, duh, he thought he was made of snow. Of course he liked it. But what to make? Maybe a snowman friend? I made three balls of snow. Nah. She would definitely know if another snowman appeared on her dresser. Besides, there was no guarantee that my creation could come to life, so it was kind of a waste. What if I made him his own personal flurry? I created an ice cloud above my head and it began snowing. No, that wouldn't work either. The cloud disappeared.
"Come on, Elsa, think." I murmured. This was for Olaf. It had to be special. Maybe I could get some ideas from the room around me.
Almost immediately, a nearby necklace caught my eye. It was She's necklace, of course, since I was in her room. It was a simple black cord, mostly, but on the end, there was a pretty crystal point the color of a The Caprti Sea, or a waterfall, or maybe a misty teal. I took the necklace off the shelf and held the pendant in my hands. There was something here, I knew it. Turning the crystal point over and over, each side caught the light of the fan above. Hmmm... I looked up and was almost blinded, but it was worth it, because then I finally knew what to do.
First, I started with the base. An icy blue cylinder, then two circles coming out from either side. The circle closer to the ceiling flashed and sprouted a chain and then another flat, bigger part to connect it to the ceiling. On the other side, the bottom circle grew five curvy arms. Then came the fun part, decoration! The sculpture floated in midair as I walked around it in a circle, using my glowing hands to create tiny blue flowers and beads made of ice, then connecting those flowers to each of the five arms, and then let them hang off the bottom. Each flower sparkled off the light above, just like the crystal point had. Almost done. I stepped back and bit my lip. There must be some way to make my chandelier glow.
"Um, hi Elsa." said a voice behind me.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was Olaf, and I was making his present. Play, it cool, Elsa. Play it cool. I calmed myself quickly.
"Oh, hey, Olaf," I said casually. "You startled me a bit."
"Whatcha makin'?" he asked.
"Just a present for the Secret Santa Gift Exchange." I tilted my head towards Olaf, but kept my eyes on the chandelier.
"A chandelier? It's very pretty."
"Thank you."
"Well, um, speaking of the Secret Santa Gift Exchange, you said earlier than you could help me come up with something, so uh, could you?" he asked softly.
"Yeah, sure. Just a second," I finished perfecting the minor flaws and creating a little more details, then gave it a shiny coat to prevent the ice chandelier from melting or breaking. "Alright," I turned to Olaf stooped to his height like I was talking to a child. "So, what seems to be the problem? What do you need help on?"
"Uh, everything?" said Olaf.
"Like, what is everything?" Maybe this would prove to be more difficult than I thought.
"Everything," said Olaf seriously. "I don't know how these Secret Santa things work, we're running out of time and I still don't have any idea what to get my person as a present!" he started looking more stressed by the second.
"Okay then, don't panic. We'll get this straitened out. First, who is your person?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Oh, right. Let's make a list, then," I said. I picked She's notepad off her chair, and grabbed a pen off her shelf. "What are some things you think your person would like?"
"I'm not sure. So how about I ask you? What are some things you think they would like, Elsa?"
"Well, since you're not allowed to tell me who you have, I'll just list some things I enjoy."
It was kind of a selfish act, but I wasn't sure what else to do.
"Let's see... I like warm hugs! Those are always nice." I scribbled away on the paper.
"I don't think that counts as a present, Elsa."
"How about a book, then? I like books."
"I don't know where to find a book that doesn't belong to the humans," said Olaf. "Besides..." he looked down at the ground. "Not all of us can read very well."
"Right. Well, my favorite colors are blue and purple... what if you got your person something of their favorite color?"
"Like what?"
"Like what? Well, I don't know. Flowers are always nice. Though maybe a little too romantic. And I'm not sure where you would find flowers when the humans are blocking the way outside. Maybe you could get them some tasty food or ginger soda. I really like ginger soda." I babbled on. "Wait! You know what? It's really cold outside this time of year, being December and all, and with She's room being one of the coldest in the house, some winter clothing would be extremely useful. Maybe a hat, or a pair of mittens, or a scarf or something. Like those ones that we were wearing earlier to keep warm?"
I looked down at Olaf and realized that I'd been rambling on for a longer time than I intended. He started up at me with his big black eyes, unblinking. then took the paper out of my hands and ran away. "Thanks for your help, Elsa!" he called over his shoulder.
"Did you find what you needed?" I yelled back.
Too late. Olaf was already gone.
I laughed and shook my head. Having my present already finished and with and hour and a half left until we were supposed to meet and exchange gifts, I spent my time alone, which mostly consisted of spacing out and dreaming of what my present will be and who I will receive it from, and also spacing out and worrying that my present wasn't good enough for Olaf.
Remembering that my switch was still on, I decided to fashion a silver drawstring bag made of thin sheets of ice to hold the chandelier. I took another section of paper off She's notebook and put it back it place, but not before writing:
To: Olaf
From: Your Secret Santa
on the paper and tying it onto one of the strings.
If I remember Napoleon's words correctly, that was how you were supposed to sign your name. And I still don't know what or who this Santa is.
When I checked She's clock and realized that we only had fifteen minutes left, I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and find out was Loki was doing. He was so quiet the entire time that I had completely forgotten that he was still in the Room She Lived In with Olaf and I. I found him talking and laughing with Magneto on one of She's dresser drawers, using it as some sort of strange wooden throne with gold knobs. It was weird seeing them get along after the fight they had an hour or two earlier, but I was also pleasantly surprised by the situation.
"Hey, guys," I said, creeping up on their group like a creep. "What are you talking about?"
Magneto wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "Marvel jokes, you wouldn't understand."
"It's nice to see you two getting along." I said, carrying on conversation.
"Yeah." said Loki, but it seemed a little defensive. Maybe they didn't want to be bothered. Maybe I should just go back to my quiet corner behind the bed or look for Olaf or...
"Um, yeah, all ready." I replied, breathing a little sigh of relief in my head.
"So are we," said Magneto. "We're just waiting for Benny, Napoleon, and Olaf now."
"Speaking of Olaf, do you know where he is?"
I shook my head, growing confused. "He was talking to me about the Secret Santas... but then he just ran off and I don't know where he went."
"Here I am!" Olaf's voice called, as he burst out of She's closet.
"Um... what were you doing in there?" Magneto chortled.
"Wrapping my person's present for the gift exchange." Olaf replied. He looked much happier since when I last saw him. He must have figured out what to give his person. He also had his red scarf from the last post on. Hmm, maybe he got cold again.
"Where is it, then?" Magneto asked, looking down at Olaf's empty hands.
"You'll see." Olaf said, rocking back and forth on his feet.
There was a soft knock at the door, and the four of our heads snapped its way, expecting it to be She, even though we all kind of knew it wasn't going to be her.
Olaf ran up to the door and pressed his body against it, then whispered to the other side from under the door, "Password?"
"Comrades," Napoleon's voice whispered back. "It's us. Napoleon and Sir Benedict. Please let us in."
"Okay!" said Olaf, then struggled to jump up and reach the doorknob. Thankfully Loki's acrobatic skills saved the day and he was able to swing over the dresser with a swish of his green cape and open the door for our friends.
"We're ready." Napoleon whispered.
"Great," I replied. "We're all ready in here, too. Come on in."
Benny and Napoleon entered She's room and Loki closed the door behind them, just in case. Then the Secret Santa Gift Exchange was a go for launch. We sat around in a circle in the middle of She's floor and did a head count. Everyone was here.
"So, who would like to go first?" asked Olaf. I guess he was the leader of the party now.
"Well, technically, I already did. I set my present for She out on her dresser." Loki pointed towards She's dresser, where a square of chocolate laid. He was right. She's present was small enough so that She wouldn't think it was out of place, but also different enough to be noticed.
"Aw, how sweet!" I cooed.
"How on earth did you manage to get a piece of chocolate while the humans are downstairs?" Napoleon asked with a worried expression on his painted face.
"I have my ways." Loki said.
"Wasn't that a bit dangerous?" Benny asked, shifting around.
He only shrugged. "Elsa's done worse."
"Hey!" I fought back.
"I also have this. For Benny." Loki pulled out the second present from under his cape. A small square box with thick red paper.
"Now where did you find the wrapping paper?" Magneto asked.
Loki didn't answer.
I noticed that he had taped his slip of paper with the person's name on it to the wrapped package. In fact, looking around the room, I realized that everyone had done the same thing. Except for me. I guess I'm just a rebel. Or maybe it was because I was the only female in the group. Or maybe it was that I wanted to be a little more creative with my gift. Then I thought for another second and decided, nah, I'm just a rebel.
Benny took the package out of Loki's hands gratefully and asked if there was anything fragile insides so he could shake the box.
"Why would you shake the box?" Olaf asked, as if this were a foreign concept for him.
"If someone gives you a present, and it happens to be a box and nothing breakable is inside, you are given permission to shake it. Once you shake it and you listen to the noise, you are supposed to guess what is inside. Some strange thing humans like to do. Especially human children" Napoleon explained. He held the box up to his ear and began shaking it. It didn't sound like anything was contained in the box at all. After a few good shakes, he took it away from his ear to inspect it.
"Huh." Benny said, staring at his present. Clearly he was confused.
I glanced over at Loki and I saw him give a smug like smile, knowing that Benny would never be able to guess what was inside.
"Do you need help tearing off the wrapping paper?" Magneto joked, but I could tell he was getting impatient, yet still trying to be in decent mood around us. I know a lot about other people. I'm an observer. It's what I do.
At that, Benny gave up and ripped off the red paper to reveal a lovely small black box. It looked to be new. I had certainly never seen it around here before. Maybe Loki got it from somewhere...? I wouldn't know. He already somehow found a way to get chocolate, wrapping paper, and now a box. At this point it probably wasn't even worth asking.
"Oh!" Benny exclaimed. "What a lovely little box. I can use this for storing things."
"I didn't know Benny was a packrat." Magneto muttered. I couldn't help but laugh, which made everyone else stare at me. Fortunately not for long.
There was nothing inside the box, Loki noted, so we continued on. We decided it was Loki's turn get a present since he had already given two away. Ironically, Benny was the one to give it to him. His present was wrapped in a tissue, clean, thankfully. Loki peeled off the tissue and found that it was a tiny glass ball attached to a paper clip that was bent into a hook. An ornament for a Christmas tree.
"When She was setting up the Christmas tree in the hallway, I noticed that She was going to throw away a small box of ornaments that looked like those. But being the guardian of the Christmas tree, I had kind of a soft spot for those ornaments since I thought they were very pretty. I saved the best one for a time like this."
Loki looked impressed. "I shall hang it on our Christmas tree on the dresser."
Olaf decided to have some fun and hung the ornament clip from Loki's helmet horns. He actually didn't seem to mind. Maybe because it was Christmas and everyone was in a good mood. We were all together in one place and getting along, for the first time in, well, forever.
Napoleon volunteered himself to go next. His present was for Magneto, and I'm pretty sure all of us were curious as to what we got him. Magneto was, too, looking more excited and anxious than I'd ever seen him.
Once Napoleon gave him his present (which was also wrapped in a tissue) Magneto tore it off only to reveal something I don't think any of us were expecting. It was shiny and metal and blue. It was the perfect size for Magneto. It was...
"A flashlight?" Magneto was astonished.
"It used to be mine," said Napoleon awkwardly. "But if you don't like it-"
"Are you kidding? I've actually always wanted one of these, but the human ones were too big for me to use. I do a lot of traveling at night, actually, when I go downstairs to the ceramic town."
Napoleon was surprised. "Okay then. I'm glad it will be useful to you."
"And look," Magneto said. He held up both the flashlight's key-ring and his key-chain clasp at the same time. "It's a key-chain just like me! I haven't seen any others around here. And I don't even care if it can't come to life. Maybe it's better that way since it can't talk my ear off."
Magneto was so excited, he almost forgot that he had a present to give away. (Was this even the real Magneto anymore?) Even more ironically, his person was Napoleon. (I'm sensing a pattern here.) And once Magneto finally remembered that he had to keep his side of the deal, he tossed a smallish gray rock to the center of the circle before running off and playing with his flashlight, mainly shining Loki and Benny in the eyes.
I repeat. Magneto's Secret Santa present to Napoleon was a smallish gray rock. With his paper taped haphazardly on. Now this was more of something Magneto would do.
I guess I was kind of wrong to judge him for being a constant grump. He just gets moody at times, and we all do, don't we? Besides, he's really just a child at heart... who really happens to like flashlights.
"Ah!" Napoleon said. "Interesting!"
"What is so interesting about a rock?" I asked, only a little amused, and trying not to be. Napoleon could find anything interesting and somehow relate it back to history. Or at least give it a meaning it didn't have."This rock I am currently holding..."
"Yes?"
"Is a perfect analogy for how Magneto feels about the holiday season."
"So you're saying that a rock is what Magneto feels like during Christmas?" Olaf asked.
"Yeah, basically," said Napoleon. He gave the rock a good final look before tucking it away in his pants pocket. "What a thoughtful gift!"
At least Napoleon was happy with it. But then I realized that the only two dolls left in the room who haven't exchanged presents were Olaf and I. Well, that gave away the surprise of who would give me my gift. Also quite ironically. Are Secret Santa Gift Exchanges supposed to work this way? I'm not sure. But we were all having fun anyways.
"You can go first Elsa." Olaf said.
"Best for last?" I asked with a smile.
"Well, maybe not the best, but we'll see."
"Okay," I held out my silver snowflake bag, and Olaf took it. It was heavier than expected for him. "Merry Christmas!"
"Is this the chandelier you made?" Olaf opened the drawstrings and pulled out the icy blue chandelier. It attracted everyone else's attention, probably because it was the only thing in the room besides me that could literally glow. I'll admit, just making the chandelier itself, and all of the minutes it took me, where worth it just to hear Olaf gasp.
"This is... wonderful!" he exclaimed. "I love it! I actually kind of secretly hoped this would be for me when I saw you making it earlier. This is really nice."
"Indeed, the craftsmanship is quite astonishing." Napoleon commented.
"Beautiful." said Magneto, stopping Benny's torment for a second to watch Olaf take his present out of the bag.
"Looks lovely, Elsa... you know, if I could see it." Benny tried shooting a glare in Magneto's direction, but he was really glaring at the walls just past him.
"Did you build this, Elsa?" Loki asked, looking over at me.
"Um... yes, kind of. And the bag, too." I said shyly, trying to be humble. All the praise was making me turn red.
But it was actually kind of nice. Not the praise, I mean. Of course that was nice. But at that moment I felt something all around me that I hadn't really felt before. The Olaf took the bright red scarf off his neck (the one he wore in the last post, I realized) and put it around my neck, telling me that it was my present. A pin held it together, a glittering bronze star of Corona.
This feeling... at first I couldn't place it, but when I had a good look around the room, it hit me. Everyone was gathered in one place at the same time and we were all getting along. A rare sight to see, and a rare thing to feel.
The humans have it, have always had it, I wished I had it, and finally I think I understood what the word "family" meant. So that's what we were. A family. A giant snow queen, a comical snowman, a Norse god, two nutcrackers, and a super villain with a grumpy disposition. Even the humans (who were apparently blind to almost everything we did) knew what a family was sooner than we had. It was quite a colorful cast of characters, but that just makes everything a lot more interesting.
I saw Olaf hugging his chandelier, Napoleon chasing Magneto who was chasing Benny, and Loki sighing from the sidelines and then looking up at me, then elbowing Olaf.
"Um, is Elsa okay? She looks like she's spacing out." he murmured.
"Oh, she'll be fine," Olaf said. "Whatcha thinking about, Elsa?"
"I think I just realized something."
I explained to them the concept of family, and how a simple Secret Santa gift exchange had brought us all together. Olaf got excited at the thought, and Loki said it was too mushy, but I actually got him to agree.
The three of us looked over to the weirdest game of light tag we had ever seen. Olaf was smiling like an idiot, I was spacing out again, and Loki sighed.
"Someone should probably interfere."
"Oh, let Magneto have his fun. He's just like a child at Christmas." I said. In a way, he was. Didn't every normally unhappy person deserve to have a bit of fun?
"This usually wouldn't bother me if he didn't act like a child at Christmas whenever he is terrorizing other people." Loki replied.
"Yeah, you're probably right."
But it was too late. A stunned Benny ran headfirst into She's closet and fell to the ground, creating a nutcracker/keychain dogpile.
"You hesitated." said Olaf.
"We better go help them." said Loki.
Then we ran over to make sure everyone was okay, which they all were. We decided that enough was enough, so we went back to our posts. Benny went to his tree in the hallway, Napoleon returned to the library room where we was placed, Olaf, Loki and I ambled back to the dresser where we belonged, and Magneto sneaked downstairs to the ceramic town, since that was where She had put him last.
And we were just in time. The movie had ended and we heard footsteps on the stairs, then She came into her room just as we froze in place. She took out her earrings and placed them on the dresser, very close to where Loki had put her Secret Santa present, the square of chocolate, wrapping in shiny bronze-colored foil.
At first I didn't think She was going to see it, but then her eyes wandered over to the chocolate, and a confused expression came over her face. I really hoped that She wouldn't think it was too out of place. She picked up the chocolate, turning it around in her fingers and muttering to herself, "I don't remember having chocolate up here."
But much to my surprise, she peeled off the wrapper and popped it into her mouth, then unfolded the wrapper some more and read the text on it. I had completely forgotten that some chocolate contained writing, like a sweet motivational message or good luck like in a fortune cookie, but I had only ever heard of fortune cookies.
She smiled warmly and placed the wrapper on her dresser where the chocolate had been, then grabbed a pair of pajamas from her drawer and left the room.
"Elsa, read it. What's it say, what's it say?" Olaf whisper-shouted, shaking my arm and jumping up and down.
I leaned towards the wrapper and tried to make out each word before reading it out loud.
"Family... getting deja vu for some weird reason..." I joked. "Family is like music. There are some high notes, there are some low notes, but always a bea-beaut-beautiful song. Ugh, that last word was hard. I really like that quote though."
"Huh," said Loki. "I thought it would be something like, 'someone special is thinking of you' then it would be even more ironic."
"And who is this someone special?" I asked, fixing Loki with a smug gaze.
"Uhh, well, how would I know?" he asked, turning red. Olaf and I laughed, and we returned to our positions before She could come back into the room.
But today was a success for numerous reasons. We had done a Secret Santa Gift Exchange, had a 'box shaking" lesson from Napoleon, brought out the child in Magneto, and learned something for our seventh day of Christmas.
Christmas is meant to be spent, together, with your family.
Spending Christmas together,
Queen Elsa
