The Finale of Elsa's 12 Days of Christmas (LokiHow?)

Okay, I've got good news and I've got bad news. One, the bad news is that it's the day after Christmas Day, (boooooo!!!) meaning it's the most depressing day of the year. And two, the good news. I've decided to keep my blog the way it is. Yes, I'm going to keep everything one year in the past. Why not? I think it actually sounds a little better if I did so, too. It sounds more like a story, that way, and I won't have to keep adding things in and recording people's words one by one to write a minute later. Plus, I have a great memory, so recalling all the happenings from a year ago should not be that difficult. The only downside to this that I can see is not being able to add in anything completely new and recent in my life, so I will just have different posts here and there, separate cutaways from the past to the present. Does that sound good to everyone? Tell me what you think of my idea. In the meantime, this post is the finale to my twelve days of Christmas. I didn't write much for this one, because after all the presents are opened and the food is eaten on Christmas day, no one really does anything. So I took and saved up a ton of pictures from the past few days to post here. I would say the majority of these pictures are the steps we took to decorate our tiny doll Christmas tree for this year. Yes, as in 2015. But it's only 2015 for a while, so... I'll let you figure that one out on your own. The other pictures, maybe two or three of them at the end, are from last year, with all of us standing by the tiny doll Christmas tree. Ready to go? Who am I kidding, you're only reading. I'm the one who has to begin the actual post. So let's do that, then.

***

LokiHow: How to decorate a tiny doll Christmas tree.

(Get it? Get it? It's like WikiHow. I thought this was hilarious. Loki did not. Plus he didn't even contribute to writing this post. It was just me. But he did take care in planning out and directing as to how to decorate the tree this year, so we do get to keep the name LokiHow.)

Step One: Find the tiny doll Christmas tree. She dug up a this pink box out of the basement after a night of searching for it in vain. It was not in her closet. But no matter. At least we have the tree now. Just look at all of those goodies in there! Christmas tree: Some assembly required. What is this, IKEA?

Step Two: Take out the tree and put the base together. Our tree base consisted of a plastic cylindrical thing and three triangular things that stick out of the cylindrical thing to get the tree to stand up. It sounds complicated, but it was surprisingly easy for us. Except for the size. I had to do most of the big work like this, since I was the tallest out of the group, therefore the most capable.

Step Three: Dress the tree in a tree skirt. The tree skirt, of course, is always optional, but both of the humans' trees have always had a skirt, and it distracts from the ugly tree stand, so we put it on. There's a velcro connection in the back to fasten the two parts of the circle together, but the velcro is so worn out due to its years of usage, so it's pretty much impossible to put together. We had Nessa do this part, since she has the smallest hands.

Step Four: Stretch out those branches! Ha, I'm starting to sound like a yoga instructor for plants. Anyway, there's two conflicting ideas out there about what kind of Christmas tree to buy. One side supports real trees, being natural trees, they smell nice and are most traditional to use since the beginning of the Germanic (or was it Nordic?) tradition of putting stuff on trees for the holidays. But we use fake trees here, because the needles don't make a mess and there won't be any birds hiding in it. To make your fake tree as real as possible, stretch out each branch in a natural pose to make it look like each one is reaching outwards for the sun. All of the dolls took part in this activity.

Step Five: Tinsel! I don't like tinsel. I might even despise it. I might even hate it. Our tinsel is a long, thin strand of fading gold beads on a string. Tinsel, as you will learn or may already learn, always looks messy. I don't mind a good mess every once and a while. Mess can be healthy, actually. But this tinsel... ugh. It just didn't want to fall right anywhere. It looks sloppy and undone, because we tried arranging it three times, all in different places, and it still didn't drape the way we wanted to over the branches. We almost left off the tinsel, but we just went with it. Tinsel, as much pain as it is, is tradition on a Christmas tree. Plus we didn't have any colored lights or popcorn strands, so tinsel had to do.

Step Six: Ornaments next! None of them have to go in any particular order, but we went with the colored glass bulbs first. The colors we had to pick from was red, blue, green, white, and gold.(Or yellow, whatever.) So far this tree may look a bit awkward, but the bulbs really distract from that awful tinsel job.

The next ornaments we put on the tree where the nutcracker-character-things... I really don't know what the purpose for these were. Nessa, Benny, and Napoleon were all hoping that these ornaments could come to life, but they didn't. Nessa because they were one of her kind, ornaments, Benny and Napoleon because lord knows we need more nutcrackers in the house. The nutcrackers made me uncomfortable anyway. I wasn't sure if these little guys had been alive at one point, or if they were always like that, so I just let everyone else put these on the tree.

After the nutcrackers, we had more, possibly dead people with terrible paint jobs to put the tree. We chose a few of the best-looking ones to put on. I helped this time, because there's no way an almost two-dimensional painted clay mouse could have ever possibly been alive at one point. Right? Below is a picture of the line-up of ornaments that didn't make it on the strings due to an unsightful paint job or their strings being much to small to fit on a branch.

Next came the bells. Bell liked these the best. No surprise there. there were only about five to put on the tree, so we gave them all to Bell for her to do. I must say, she did look awfully happy flying around the tree trying to find the perfect spots for the jingling ornaments.

Speaking of this post's title being "finale," we all know what the finale is to decorating a Christmas tree. That's right, the tree topper. We had a pretty nice one, too, a big and bright shiny red star. I don't know where this was from, but it doesn't look like it fits in with our tiny doll Christmas tree set. I was actually given the task of doing to tree topper by the rest of my friends. I was awfully honored to do so, thinking that they all wanted me to do the specialist part because they all loved me, but then I realized a few minutes later that I was the only one whose arms could reach the top of the tree. Oh well.

And that's how you decorate a tiny doll Christmas tree according to LokiHow!

So those were all the pictures from this year. Lovely, yes? Also very vague. But I can't give away any early secrets of the future quite yet. Who will go and who will stay, if we get any new dolls or not, and how She changes as She grows older. Sorry, but that's how it goes. 

The pictures that fit into this post from this year are few, but nice. I noticed that She's family updated their family photo in the living room recently, so I figured we should do the same. Not that dolls can really grow or change appearances like humans can, but no matter. When all the humans were downstairs opening presents on Christmas Day of last year, I rounded up all the dolls I knew and had met since I was found and we gathered by last year's tiny doll Christmas tree for a family photo.

And because of that time, I now know why the humans get updated family pictures so infrequently. They are a pain worse than all of the tinsel on this earth combined. And none of us were even blood related! But I swear, nobody ever wants to get their picture taken and everyone will do everything they can to make your time miserable until the picture is actually taken. Just arranging everyone into a suitable pose by height was difficult enough. Nessa was whiny, Magneto would keep baring his teeth at the camera, Benny had no idea where to stand, and Idina kept fluffing her hair in sight of the camera like a diva. But finally, after probably a half an hour of struggle, we actually got a nice family picture. I still have it saved as one of my favorites. Not because of the memory of when the actual picture was taken, but because of all the memories I had tied to each member of our ragtag family. It was actually really nice. 

Anyways, whew. That was a lot of work. Well, not really. I just put on pictures and typed some text. But I'm tired nonetheless. Maybe I just need a break. I deserve a break, don't I? After writing the 12 Days of Christmas posts all the way through (I actually almost stopped at post six) and then I have all of these pictures for you here to enjoy. You guys wouldn't mind that, right? If a poor little, well, big, Elsa doll took a break from her blog for a while? The humans got off from work and school, so perhaps a week off wouldn't be bad for me. I just hope I can allow myself to rest. But with this new year's thing? I doubt so. Well, that's the end of this post. The happiest of Christmases to you. Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men and women and animals and plants and dolls... all that jazz. Enjoy your holidays, and I will try to take it easy here as well.

Having a Merry Christmas,

Queen Elsa

Elsa's 12 Days of Christmas: Twelve Lonely Hours

Hello, everyone! Merry Christmas! (A day late.)  My present to you is my 12 Days of Christmas, a set of posts I have been writing since December of last year. Last time, we found out that the true meaning of Christmas came from a little baby. And I found Steve. Steve happened. This next post was difficult for me to write. Not become I had trouble remembering, but because I remembered everything. Part of this is not going to be a delightful story. We all went through some struggles during this time. Me, She, and She's family had to face some things that we'd rather not. But everything happens for a reason, and this time in our lives, as difficult as it was, was a learning experience. (What did we learn? No idea. I'm just trying to be positive, okay?) And now here is our grand finale and by far my biggest adventure. So here it is: Twelve Lonely Hours. And now to sing my made-up Christmas time for the last time ever... *sigh* it almost makes all of this work feel sad. But it came to a bittersweet end. Bitter because it's all in the past, sweet because I don't think I've spoken more words than I have written this December. Plus we all had a fun time doing this, I'm sure. I know I did. There's something about getting through all twelve days successfully that just makes my heart swell with pride. But it's not about me, is it? Christmas isn't about yourself, it's about others. So I hope you all have enjoyed my yearlong Christmas series as much as I have. Here we go, for the final time. On the twelfth day of Christmas a human gave to me twelve lonely hours, eleven grand traditions, ten bad ideas, nine short stories, eight paper snowflakes, seven secret santas, six sweet surprises, five gift wishes!  four perfect presents, three new friends, two bah humbugs, and a tiny doll Christmas tree!

***

I fall near a tree and wrap my arms around it, giving it something like a hug. The tree was alive but it was cold, just like everything else in this forest, and not the same as Olaf's warm hugs back home. Home. Dorothy was right. Christmas should be spent at home, with family, and here I was, in the woods, alone. No, I can't think of home or my friends right now. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, expecting to smell the earthy scent of the forest, but instead, my mind tricks my nose into smelling things that aren't there. She's perfume, which She only wore for special occasions, sweet and refreshing. The familiar smell of dust and books that was her room. Napoleon and Benny, who, being nutcrackers, smelled of wood. Dorothy's wicker basket, which was full of lavender sprigs. The imaginary smells also led to metaphysical smells. One of Loki's rare smiles, the look of trust and childlike wonder in Olaf's eyes whenever he was finding out something new. The breeze Bell's wings made when she would fly low above the ground. The rush of heat whenever Steve looked at me. The feeling of soft cloth beneath me as I lay on the verge of slumber. And then... finally all those scents were taken over and the present came into focus. Rotting leaves, dry wood, dank soil and a whole path spread before me, deeper and darker but somehow prettier than all the feelings that were back there if I were to turn around. I couldn't go back... so I would have to start a new life on my own somehow. I wasn't ready, but I had to be. So I took a step forward into my new life as a lost doll, but also the Snow Queen.
How did I end up here? And on Christmas Eve?
It's a long story...
And one I am ready to tell.

***

She was extremely excited today. So naturally, we were happy, too. We sat on the dresser, such a familiar place that it was nice for once to know where you belonged. We were not on a shelf in a Disney store, hoping that it was our day to be found. We were at a house, a lovely one, with a human that loved and cared for us.

Olaf, Loki, and I had done so much in the past eleven days. It was amazing in a way, to know how far we'd come. 

We'd explored parts of the house we didn't even know existed.

We'd learned so many things about Christmas, and how wonderful it could be.

We'd made friends with two nutcrackers named Benny and Napoleon, a key-chain named Magneto, a Marvel action figure named Steve, a music box doll named Dorothy, and a little fashion ornament named Bell. And on this day, the day the humans called Christmas Eve, there was some sort of magic that filled the air and infected everyone exposed to its simple cheer. 

And now our adventure was over. It made me a little sad thinking about it, but that feeling was quickly pushed away by excitement. The humans bustled around, wrapping last-minute gifts and opening Christmas cards and taping them up to wall. The entire house smelled of chocolate fudge and cooking turkey, reminding me of the candles the humans sometimes lit to make the house smell good, but this time it was for real.

We dolls had mostly stayed on the dresser during the morning, too afraid that at any moment a human might come in for some reason. The door had been left wide open, and the sky outside was so white, like the color of snow, that it was as bright as if the sun had been awake since the wee hours.

So our conversations were small. Mostly it was the same thing anyways.

Olaf would say how happy he was, and how he couldn't wait next Chritmas. She had said that Christmas Day was the best day of the year, but now it was over. When Olaf found out that Christmas was every year, he wouldn't stop talking about it.

Loki would grin silently. I knew he was thinking about her. She, that is. I would roll my eyes and laugh whenever he acted all smitten, but really, I couldn't judge him too harshly, because Steve. Need I say more?
Speaking of Steve, he had I had a pleasant walk around the room, talking about simple, shallow matters that meant something more to me. I asked him about Christmas, and he said he was still learning about it like me. He would ask about She, and the house he was to live in, and I filled in with as much as I could. Then I told him about my powers, and we went on that for a while, with Steve acting like a little kid as he demanded I create snowball after snowball. He didn't like ice as much, though, he would get all skittish, so it was mostly snow that I made for him. Then things just serious when I told him about when She wanted an Elsa doll for Christmas. Steve said something like, "Well thank heaven that's over." Somehow everything was okay, because we had each-other's company.

Magneto, who joined us upstairs, would grumble and say "bah humbug" but even that was forced and he was trying his hardest to hide an excited smile. It's hard to stay unhappy when everyone around you isn't. Besides, the visit with Mary and Joseph yesterday really improved his mood.

The nutcracker brothers, Dorothy and Bell were all happy, too, despite the fact that they had been here for many Christmases before us. Benny and Napoleon's job from guarding the tree got retired since all the presents were opened. The two of them used to stand tall and alert, ready to make sure not human went to take a peek at their gifts too early, but now they took a well-deserved nap.

I would nod and smile to each of my friends, trying to contain my own joy. If there was any other day as perfect as this, I didn't know what. I just felt ready for anything. I was confident that no matter what sort of amazing present would come upstairs unwrapped, She would not forget us. 

"Deck the halls with bows of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la!!!" She sang loudly, coming up the stairs to bring the presents to her room.

Loki smiled silently. "I'm glad She's in a better mood today."
"Compared to this past week? Yeah, me too." said Magneto.
"Anything is better than the week we've had." I commented.
Beside me, Steve nodded and rolled his eyes, as if dreading the very thought of what had happened to us. That's right. We have to go back again. Farther back, to December 20th, five days before Christmas. Trust me, It'll all work out in the end.

***

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" The radio blared cheerfully, as Dean Martin's voice sang the popular winter tune, "Let it Snow" in which the title sounds too similar to "Let it Go."
"I wish it would snow." She grumbled, glaring out the glass back door as if someone out there was responsible for the lack of frozen water falling from the sky.

"Oh, cheer up," said one of the oldest female human, the one She and the smallest human nicknamed 'mom.' "You don't want it to get cold just yet. We've still got to rake the leaves by the driveway before it snows again."

"Snows again?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think it's snowed the whole year."

"It has," the older human replied. "Remember? In late November? It all melted when we were driving to Chicago."

"Ah, yes. Sorry. I'm just crabby. You know, finals week."

"Ah," 'mom' nodded in understanding, but I didn't have the slightest clue as to what finals week meant. "At least you get to leave school early after you take each final."
"Yeah, I guess." She said, taking a sip of her tea.

"Ow! Quit shoving!" Magneto complained.

"Sorry." I said, holding my breath and trying to lean closer to the table, where the humans were playing an old-looking card game with numbers and stacking. The box on the floor had said "Rack-O," but I didn't know what that meant, either.

Magneto, Benny, Napoleon, and I were all hiding under the big tree downstairs, not far from the dining table and trying to eavesdrop on what they were saying. Well, Napoleon and Benny were placed there on purpose by She, Magneto was there just for kicks, and I was desperately trying to find out what She wanted for Christmas. I figured it was only fair of me to get her something nice. When someone gives you hospitality, you would obviously want to return the favor. But no other doll in the house found it fitting to give She a present, so I gave myself the task of getting her something for Christmas. And it had to be big. Because no one else would do it. 

So far, She wasn't giving many hints as to what she wanted. She was mostly just talking about the card game they were playing, finals week (whatever that was) and how it was almost Christmas and the sun was shining at a lovely fifty-six degrees Fahrenheit. I actually didn't mind the weather, but apparently She did. Was it supposed to snow on Christmas?

"Is it supposed to snow on Christmas?" I breathed out loud.
Napoleon nodded. "Traditionally, the merriest time of the year is associated with snowfall."
"It's when humans spend time outside, building snowman or making snow-angels and having snowball fights, things like that," Benny said with a yawn. "However, the predicted forecast for the next week is supposed to be just like today."

"Sunny and warm...ish?" I asked.
"Unfortunately."
I stared back at the table, and then to the glass door where the sun was painting the clouds as it dipped below the trees and houses on the horizon. With such a pretty sunset, it was unlikely that it would ever snow at this rate. I sighed.
"Well, I think I've seen enough." I said, just as soon as 'mom' at the table said, "It's getting late, so you should probably get back upstairs. It's your last day before break tomorrow, so I'll take you to lunch after you're done with finals, okay?"
She's face lit up. "Panera Bread for black bean soup?"
'Mom' took the card pile and stacked them back up in the box. "Whatever you want."
"Then, yeah, I'll take that," She got up from her chair, taking her tea with her, and then bent down to give her mother a hug. "I'll tell you when I've finished getting ready, okay?"
She padded out of the room, wearing her blue and white Nordic slippers and carrying her tea. I heard footsteps go up the stairs, then make a turn.
"Okay, now we leave." Magneto said quickly, shoving my impatiently on the leg.
"Not yet..." I hissed. My eyes flashed to the table, where the oldest female was getting up to put the box of cards back down in the basement. From upstairs, there was the closing of a door. "Now!"
Magneto and I ran out from under the tree, waving goodbye to Napoleon and Benny. The two of them smiled and waved back, but then became like statues again.

Magneto, being smaller, therefore slower, had to be carried up the stairs, much to the both of our unhappiness, but we made it up the stairs and were safely in She's room in record time, and since She was getting dressed for bed in the bathroom one door over, we were safe to talk amongst ourselves for a few minutes. Magneto decided that he wanted to spend the night curled up in the smaller tree's skirt and would depart for the ceramic village where She had placed him last the first thing in the morning, so that left me, Steve, Loki and Olaf just to ourselves.
"I found out what She wants for Christmas." I said, though somewhat breathlessly.
"What is it?" Olaf asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Snow. She wants it to snow on Christmas."
Loki's shoulders shook and he laughed. "Just the very thing we can't give."
I searched in vain for the right words. "Well, you don't know that. There's a possibility."
"A slim possibility." Loki interrupted.
"But any possibility is still as possibility!" I fought back.
"Well, what did Napoleon and Benny say?" Loki asked, crossing his arms.
I brushed the thought away with a wave of my hand. "Oh, who cares what they say? Steve?" I called to Steve, who was on She's dresser polishing the surface of his star shield with one of She's cleaning rags.
"Yeah?" Steve said, looking up for a second.
"Snow. Do you think it'll snow for Christmas?"
Steve look one quick glance out the window, though barely enough time to see everything, and replied, "Yep."
I suppressed a groan in Steve's direction and instead turned back to Loki. "See? Steve thinks it'll snow."
Loki stepped closer and lowered his voice. "In case you've haven't noticed, lovebird, Steve's a newbie. He probably doesn't even know what snow looks like."
"Well, neither do we! Yet!" I argued. Which was sort of a lie. We saw a smidgen of snow when She and her family were driving up to Chicago to visit a train museum. But the blinds in She's room where also closed, so the only chance of seeing the snow was if you were clever enough to lift the blinds and peek out.
"Don't fight, guys." Olaf begged.
"We're not fighting," Loki insisted. "I'm just telling Elsa why she's wrong about the snow this year."
"It'll happen. Just you wait." I muttered, using the drawer handles to climb up onto the dresser before She came back. "It'll snow. Just you wait."

***

The next morning was She's last day of school before the issued "Winter Break," which was just a delicate way of including all religions when it was really called "Christmas Break." At least, that's what I heard the older human male say, or 'dad' to She and the smallest human. Recently I had found out something new: She and the smallest human were really sisters, because I heard one time that 'mom' had said something about blood relation. And why would any two girls live in the same house if they were not sisters? So it was She, her sister, their mother and father. Learn something new every day, right?
She left early for school as usual, as well as She's sister, (though they went to separate schools because of their different ages) and both older humans left an hour later for work. It was pretty lonely in the house, and there wasn't much for a doll to do that we hadn't already done. Plus I was feeling a little uneasy. Perhaps it was just nervousness and excitement, all rolled into one because it was She's last day of school for the year, but it felt like something more. Something bad was going to happen. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
There was nobody I could voice my fears, to, either. Olaf was sweet, but he didn't have the same understanding. Loki was a good listener but he would brush my emotions away, claiming I was being silly. Magneto would probably do the same. Benny, Napoleon, Dorothy and Bell were all downstairs, and I didn't feel like walking. So that left Steve, but I felt like he had heard enough of my burdens already. And he had only been here barely two days. So I had to internalize my fears for a while, until this feeling stopped. And it made me even more afraid to realize that the only way this was going to stop was for the bad thing to happen. So I waited. There was nothing else I could do.
Two or three hours later, She was supposed to be on her way from school to Panera Bread to have celebratory lunch with her mother. She's school had let out early all week, because after they took two finals for two classes, they were free to leave and do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day. It was actually quite nice for She, since She would often come home to study for the next final. But since it was the last day, out to lunch it was. I stared at the alarm clock on She's dresser, counting down the time until it would take her to get home.
Some time earlier than I expected, the door to She's bedroom opened, but in such a fashion that we knew it had to be a doll and not She herself. Benny crept into the room, his wooden face looking pale. Immediately, that horrible feeling from earlier, which had somehow diminished, came back at full force.
"What's wrong, sir?" Steve asked. For some reason, Steve insisted on calling Benny and Napoleon "sirs." Perhaps it was because the nutcrackers were both decked out in military uniform, and one of Steve's nicknames was the 'super soldier' or something like that. I kind of forgot. He has so many.
"I have come with some bad news," Benny said with a gulp. "So just don't shoot the messenger."
"Why would we do that? We don't even have a gun." said Olaf.
"It's just an expression." Loki whispered.
"The humans are home early."
"What? Why?" I asked in a panicked tone.
"Something's happened. I think one of them is badly injured. The youngest is clutching an ice pack to her head."

I didn't even wait for Benny to finish his message. I ran out of the room and peered over the balcony, sticking my head through the banisters. Sure enough, I saw She there, hanging up her coat and someone else's, probably the smaller human's. She didn't show any expression, but somehow that would be even worse if she had.
The mother walked up to She and said in a low voice, "Sorry we couldn't go out for lunch today. I'll make it up to you soon."
"It's okay, family's more important right now." She said, trying to act like She didn't care. But the disappointment, and worry for her sister, was clear to anyone with ears.
"Just lay on the couch for now, and I'll get you some Tylenol. We have a doctor's appointment in one hour to find out if you have a concussion." I heard the mother say as she walked away from She and into the kitchen. I couldn't see the couch, since that was in the living room, but I heard the shifting of a blanket and the rearranging of a pillows as the youngest human settled down for a nap.
I sighed and rested my body against the wooden bars of the balcony. What would become of my humans now? One of them badly injured? And so close to Christmas? I didn't really want to do anything for a while, but unfortunately I didn't really have a choice. Olaf and Steve pulled me away from the balcony and dragged me back inside She's room. I didn't resist them or complain, but I didn't help them, either.
When they were going to the hospital, She chose to stay home alone in her room. Whenever She's home alone, it's almost always a party. Making food in the kitchen, playing with the dogs outside, anything active. But when they left, minimal activity occurred. Instead, She closed the door to her bedroom and rolled up the blinds on the window, each faux wood board slapping against the other. Then She unlocked the window and pushed up the glass part, so only the screen was left. And then She just sat there for the longest time, back to us and chin resting on her arms, as the chilly winter wind filtered through her hair. I hadn't realized how long it was getting. She just sat there, staring at nothing and breathing, for the longest time. She didn't speak or move. It hurt just to watch.
After the humans returned home, however, She shut the window and reorganized the blinds. She pulled up her laptop and pretended to work just as the smallest human, the one that had been hurt, came in the door. It was like her little moping session never even happened.
"I have something for you." the smallest human said, placing a container on She's bed next to her hand. From the looks of it, it was vanilla ice cream and small colored chocolates, M&Ms, blended together like a milkshake.
"For me?" She said, dipping in her plastic spoon and taking a huge, much-needed bite. "Thanks."
"Did you hear? I have a concussion."
"I know," She moved the spoon around in the mixture, searching for the biggest pile of M&Ms. "Mom texted me. That sucks."
"Yeah, my brain got all sloshed around in my head."
"Gross."
"So I just get to relax for a few days until I get better."
"Okay."
"Whatcha doin'?" For being a human with fresh head injury, the smallest one still seemed to talk as much as she usually did.
"Homework for biology." She replied, shoveling another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. It was a lie. She had her last final today, and there was no more school for two weeks.
"That's boring," said the smallest human. "So what do you want for Christmas?"
She sighed. "Well, to be honest, I kind of wish it would snow."
"Ooh, snow would be nice. Then we could go outside and play and get out the sleds and stuff."
"Yep."
Then She's sister turned around and left without closing the door. "Bye."
She didn't return the word, instead getting up and shutting the door, and then putting in her earbuds and pushing her laptop away again. For ten minutes, she listened to music, which I later found out was Beethoven, while eating large amounts of M&M ice cream and reading a book instead of studying. But She had probably already done enough of that already.
Not even an hour later, word got around via a thing called Facebook and people were sending She's sister get well cards and phone calls wishing well. "It's so sad that this had to happen so close to Christmas." I heard a voice on the line say as 'mom' went pacing around the house, listening to the third voice mail about the concussion as of the first day.
"Yeah, but it's got its upsides, too. The girls are off of school for two weeks for the holidays, so now she can heal instead of forcing her brain to work overtime in school.
There was a lot of work to be done for She's sister to ensure that she was going to be healthy and okay by the trip She's family planned to take after Christmas. But life went on as usual, as all things had to. Especially around such a big holiday as Christmas.
She went caroling at an old folks' home for the first time.
She strung purple lights up on the curtain rod in her room.

The humans went to a steakhouse to celebrate the mother's birthday.

They drove out of town to get a certain clock repaired.
Everyone went out shopping... multiple times.
Each day felt as long as a day should be, twelve hours of daylight, despite being mostly overcast, and twelve hours of quiet nights. The days didn't drag on, nor pass too quickly, and Christmas Eve morning came at just the right time.
"Morning, morning morning!" The smallest human cried, coming in at nine o'clock the morning of the biggest day of the year, jumping on She's bed to wake her, as well as the rest of the dolls on her dresser with me.
"Ugh... you're certainly feeling better." She groaned, pulling her pillow over her head.
"Come on, get up! It's Christmas Eve!" She's sister ran out of the room, leaving She unmoving on the bed, reluctant to get up.

I sat up with the rest of the dolls that were struggling awake, and straining my eyes to look out the window, a small "oh no" escaping my mouth. The grass was frosty, the sky was foggy, and the air looked chilled, but still no snow in sight, whether on the ground or falling down. She wouldn't be getting snow for Christmas now. Unless... I didn't have to get her a physical present at all. I knew it was just my imagination, but the switch at my side burned.
"Elsa?" It was Steve's voice.
"Huh?"
He was staring down at me, as I was sitting, his baby-blue eyes tired but concerned.
"What was 'oh no' about?"
"Oh, nothing," I sighed, as Steve took a seat next to me. "It's just that it's not snowing yet."
"Is it supposed to?"
"That's what I was wondering earlier. I asked Benny and Napoleon when I was hiding under the tree downstairs..."
"Eavesdropping?" Steve asked with a smile. "Is that what you were doing that one night after the party?"
"Um, maybe. Just trying to find out what She wants for Christmas and all. She wants snow and that's about it. Except for the new Elsa doll," I held back a scowl. "And yes, it's supposed to snow at Christmas."
"Oh," Steve looked out the window for a second. "Maybe it'll snow later. It's still the morning, and we've got the rest of today and tomorrow for snow," Steve got up and patted my shoulders. "Anyway, we better get into place. She's moving now."
"Okay." I let Steve help me up as we froze into place, with another kind of freezing on my mind.
As soon as She got up and left her bedroom to get ready for the day, I excused myself from the dresser and ran downstairs to the only glass door. Lucky for me, no one was around to witness what I was about to do.
As soon as the back door was in view, I took a deep breath, though it didn't help much, and turned my switch to "on," then stepped forward and placed both bright blue hands firmly on the glass. So far, no snow in sight. The deck was clear and the grass was green. Hopefully not for long.

I couldn't believe I was actually trying to do this. I had only ever used my powers for mere parlor tricks, but attempting to trigger enough energy to cause it to snow? Unimaginable. But I had to do this for She, and She's sister, as they both wanted snow for Christmas.
I hummed the beginning of "Let it Go" and watched as my the frost emitting from my hands mixed in with my hot breath. I took a step back as the frosty pattern on the back door grew and expanded the entire glass. I closed my eyes and sent out another pulse of energy, imagining all the windows in the entire house icing up. Sure enough, I heard a promising crackling noise of frost on glass.
By now I was exhausted. I had never used my powers so much before. But I still had work to be done. The frost on the windows was really just for show. Now I had to make snow fall from the sky, the good kind for packing and throwing and building, not wimpy bits of power. Could I alter the weather of an entire town? Somehow I had to try. For She her She's sister. I kept repeating that to myself. If I could make it snow, then maybe the both of them would be okay.
I pressed hard against the glass again, concentrating everything within me on the gray sky outside. Snow, snow, snow. I urged. The glass got a second layer of frost, this time thicker and clearer. I pushed the idea of snow harder, until fake tears sprung to my eyes and my arms hurt with the cold. But it became too much for me to handle. Just as I was about to give way, I noticed a single lonely snowflake, well, more like a giant clump of snowflakes, tumble in front of my face. I almost didn't notice it because of the frost, but thank heavens I did, because as soon as I had seen it, I passed out, falling dead on the rug, drained of everything but also overwhelmingly happy I was able to make it snow. Now She and her sister would get what they wanted for Christmas.

***

When I woke again, I felt two pair of gentle arms struggling to help me up. My half-asleep brain ran through the options. Was it Steve? Unfortunately, no. Loki and Olaf? No, these hands felt different. Napoleon and Benny? I had certainly hoped not. They had an important job to do. Magneto...? I laughed. Despite his mood change this week, I seriously doubted he would ever try to help me up.

"Can you get her legs?" A voice whisper-hissed.

"I'm trying." Another one said back.

Oh. It was Dorothy and Bell. At least some people were kind enough to take care of me.

"What's going on?" I managed to mumble.

"You did it, Elsa," Bell, who was flying behind my head and pulling on my arms, said inside my ear. "You made it snow for Christmas."

"Hooray." Why on earth was I still dizzy? Didn't my little cat-nap help at all?

"But you wore yourself out. So Dorothy and I are trying to get you upstairs."
"How nice, thanks guys, but I can walk." I said, lazily kicking my feet back and forth, but feeling my heart drop as I realized that I wasn't anywhere near the ground.
"Don't move, please," Bell whispered. "You think you can walk right now, but you can't. So I'm flying you upstairs, okay?"
"Right. I forgot you could fly," No wonder I was so dizzy. I don't think I'm afraid of heights, but just the sensation of not being on the ground made my head spin. "Where are you taking me?"
"Up to She's room," Dorothy called. I realized she must have been helping me by staying on the ground... in case I fell. Ugh. No wonder Elsa wasn't given any wings. "The humans are delivering extra cookies from the party to their neighbors, so they should be home soon."
The queasy feeling in my stomach didn't end, so I eventually decided to open my eyes when I felt Bell's wings hovering close to the ground, making the ornaments on what used to be Benny's tree dance in the breeze. I was dropped lightly and somewhat landed in Dorothy's waiting arms, but I was a lot bigger than her, so she just held my hand and knocked on the door to She's room.
It gave way immediately, thanks to Loki's acrobatic skills. The door swayed open and I was greeted by everyone, even Benny and Napoleon, gathered on the shelf that was level to She's window.
"Elsa! Elsa! Come and look!" Olaf cried, the excitement clear in her voice and he bounced towards me.

"Olaf, you need to support Elsa, okay? She can't walk very well right now." Dorothy explained.
"I can walk fine." I lied, stumbling about as Olaf put one of my arms over his shoulder. Steve, noticing I need help as soon as I came in, ran over and grabbed my other arm.
"You did it, Elsa," Steve said gently. "I had no idea... and yet, look outside. It's snowing."
I was bombarded with many other congratulations and the like as my two pals (well, maybe Steve was more than a pal, I wasn't sure yet) helped push me up the shelf towards the window.
"Please, please, no flowers," I joked, still out of it. "I want to be a humble celebrity."
I reached the top of the shelf, more like a nightstand, really, and took an eyeful of the landscape.
"Oh... my... gosh..." I gasped, eyes widening.
The entire yard was coated in thick white snow, and more was still coming down. Big, fast, snowflakes, too. The window in She's room, also, was frosted over. It was everything I had dreamed it would be. Everything I had pictured in my mind's eye when I was trying to create this. And yet... the whole thing was absolutely terrifying.
Because what I didn't imagine was all of this snow. It had worked. She and her sister got snow for Christmas. But this much? Napoleon had said that the forecast didn't include any snow. Period. No snow and now look outside. The stores would be closing. The streets would be blocked up. The humans would be stuck in their driveway for days. It was a Snowpocalypse. And all because of... me?
I looked down at my hands. There was still a faint bluish glow to them. Had I not remembered to turn off my switch before fainting? How foolish of me. A panic attack that had been coming on mellowed away as I realized that's what it had to be. There was more snow than I meant to have because my switch had been turned on. I turn it to the "off" mode, touch the windows again, and reverse the storm I've made. Nothing to it.
I felt for my switch and found where it always was, and I was correct. It had remained "on" this entire time. Right. Now I just had to turn it off. But the switch was being surprisingly stubborn. Maybe it would be easier to work if I lifted my dress?
"I'll be right back." I promised, jumping down the dresser and running towards the door with newfound strength and speed.
"Elsa? Are you okay?" Someone asked, though I'm not sure who it was, because all of the dolls looked like they were worried about something, looking back at me with their sympathetic eyebrows and flat-lipped smiles.
"Yeah. I'll be right back. I just gotta... check something."
Once I was out in the hallway, I stopped by the smaller of the human Christmas trees and lifted the side of my dress, the left side, because that's where my switch was. I figured just a simple flick would fix the problem, but for some reason, it was different this time. My switch had remained in the "on" mode for too long, and now it was stuck on something invisible.
I tugged and pulled at it, but it was no use. The stubborn thing wouldn't budge. If I tried any harder to move my switch, I was going to break off a finger. And a doll with a broken finger? No offense, but a doll with any missing body part, no matter how miniscule, was pretty much useless. I already had a jammed switch. Any more flaws on my part, She would lose interest in me.
But maybe... maybe things were better this way. Back in my fifth Christmas post, I remembered only a few items on She's wish list for Christmas presents, so She was sure to get all of them. That included the Elsa doll. So... yeah. I didn't have a place here anymore of another one of me was coming in tomorrow morning. One without a broken switch and an almost-missing finger. That one would be better for She. I pictured the view I had outside the window just moments ago. Thick snow on the ground, and even more falling.

I looked back at the Room She Lives In. Yes, but what about my friends? What would they think of the new Elsa when she came along? Not if, but when, yes. She was getting that Elsa doll, so what use did She have for me anymore? A broken doll would only rub in so many other bad things right now. The wicked Snowpocalypse, her sister's concussion... and now me. I was only one of She's problems. I didn't want She to be any more upset. I had to go.
I didn't even care what the other dolls thought now. I may have only been thinking of myself, but I was alone right now. I had to go. And as I crept down the stairs, so full of emotions that I did not yet know the name of, I knew that was true. I may not have given anyone else the choice of whether they wanted me to stay or not, but somehow it was the right one for them. I was a broken doll with ice and snow powers. I was dangerous. Leaving became my only option.

***

I waited by the end of the stairs for my opportunity to get out, wrapping my blue hands in the folds of my dress to protect anyone else from more snow. There was already enough of it outside. My eyes darted this way and that, looking out for a human passing by or a doll making their way down the stairs behind me. I seriously had to hope it wasn't the latter. I didn't need any doll to come by right now, because either I would unintentionally hurt them with my powers or get their sympathy. I didn't need either right now. I just needed to leave.

Fortunately, and at last, something came by. It was She, wearing a fuzzy purple coat with a scarf, gloves, and a hat.
"Are you sure you want to take a walk right now?" The oldest female human asked.

"Yeah. The dogs have been begging to go outside all day. Besides, the snow is pretty and I could use the exercise."

I smiled. So She did enjoy the snow! The smile vanished when I realized that it was the thing I would ever give to She now that I was leaving her forever. Forever was an awfully long time, especially for dolls, because we don't die. At the end when our time comes, we just kind of... fade away in spirit. 

But no matter. Now all I had to do was get She's attention. I learned that humans tend to turn your way if you start at the back of their head intentionally for long enough. Must be a defense mechanism or something, but I don't know.
Sure enough, She's head turned towards the stairs where I was, and a smile crossed her face. In a flash, I was off the step and tucked securely into She's warm coat. I kept my hands tucked in the folds of my dress as not to hurt She with a blast of ice.
"I'll probably be back in a half and hour," She promised, halfway out the front door, with both dogs on a leash. "I have my phone if you need to call me."
"Okay. Bye." The mother called back.
She stepped out into the brisk winter morning, pushing her scarf over her mouth, stopping the smokey tendril of hot air from escaping. "So, Elsa," She began. "You're probably wondering why I'm taking you on this walk with me," She laughed. "And I'm wondering how on earth I'm crazy enough to be talking to a doll. But anyways. There's a really pretty slice of a forest down the road in the cul de sac of this neighborhood. It gets really pretty when the snow falls on it just right, like now. Maybe if you cooperate, I can take a few pictures of you down there. Just for kicks."
Already the gears in my head were turning again. She didn't know about the jammed switch. She thought that this was a perfectly normal day, and She was just going to take some pictures of her favorite doll (but was I her favorite?) playing out in the snow. But I still had to leave. Trying not to squirm, I came up with another idea. Have the dogs distract She somehow, then I could slip out of her coat, or at least get out in some way, and run into the forest.
She passed by a neighbor at some point, a man, or so it sounded to be, also walking his dog.
"Merry Christmas Eve!" She said to him cheerfully.
"Yeah, you too." The man laughed. I could imagine his head tilting up towards the sky. "Nice to finally have some snow for once, isn't it?"
"Yep. It's very pretty, isn't it?"
As the humans carried on their conversation, it struck me that today was Christmas Eve. Oh. Suddenly I didn't want to leave. Christmas Eve. Of all the things I had learned about Christmas, all the time I had spent waiting and anticipating, could be for nothing now that I had decided to leave. No. This had to happen. I had to protect She and my friends.
I knew we arrived at the end of the cal-de-sac by the forest because She stopped walking. The dogs, however, were anxious to keep going, so She had to stand on the ends of their leashes as She pulled me out of her coat.
"Alright, here we are. The slice of the forest. Isn't it lovely?"
I saw a tiny little edge of a rather large woods, with tall, straight trees, leaves bare, and the floor a carpet of pine needles, dry leaves, and snow. She was right. It wasn't a bad place, though a little dismal-looking. Still, it was a place that maybe I wouldn't mind spending the rest of eternity in.
She propped me up against a tree and bent my arms into a raising position, then snapped a few photos from different angles. But I couldn't stand it. I couldn't keep this charade, smiling all ladylike when really I just wanted to run. So, remaining in my spot, I parted my lips every so slightly and whistled. It was a pure, high, note, one that no human could hear, but it drove the dogs crazy.

The two of them started to tug on their leashes and growl. "Girls, stop it." She warned, shifting her feet to push down harder on the leashes.
I whistled higher. They barked and, miraculously, did exactly what I wanted. The two of them broke free from She's feet and bolted in the opposite direction away from She and the forest. She immediately pocketed her camera and ran frantically after them, forgetting all about taking me with her, calling "puppies" over and over again. I just hoped the distraction would be enough.
But I wasn't taking any chances. As soon as She had followed her wild pets, I ducked behind the same tree She had leaned me onto. My eyes scanned the open forest. Now where to go? The trees were spaced far apart enough so that I could see right through it a ways, but unfortunately there weren't many spots for hiding. I just went with my instinct, to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking.
There was a dip like a small hill and then a valley if I walked far enough where I could curl up and hide from the world, so that's where I set to go. But the walk there was long, and my legs, though I thought they were long before, seemed short and reluctant to move. Distances are farther for dolls than humans, and maybe I wasn't a very good judge of how far away certain things were.
The first few minutes were okay to deal with. The walk was impatient, but I was making good progress, so focused on what was in front of me that I never actually thought to look back. But I did look back, once. I regretted doing so immediately. I remembered my real home and the humans and all of my doll friends and the smells that each of them held for me. I remembered all that we had done to prepare for Christmas, from making cookies to cheer up Benny or reading Olaf stories at night. I had done so much. Was I really going to give up, that easily, to let go of my past and step into a new life?
I had never actually felt like my movie character one hundred percent until that moment. Sure, we looked and sounded the same, but movie Elsa was too formal and elegant, while I was curious and couldn't stand a day cooped up in She's room. And now here I was, feeling perfectly like my movie character... and it was a plain awful feeling. Looking back didn't accomplish anything, both literally and figuratively. It made things worse. I felt sadness, hopelessness, and the bitter cold around me. But above all, I was lonely. I was out here in a strange place, all by myself, and my human wasn't coming back for me. She had been gone too long already, and now I was too far away.
"The cold...never bothered me...anyways..." I mutter to myself, treading through the snow. My hands glowed a fierce blue at the song. Stupid hands! Causing all of this grief. It wasn't my fault I was made this way, but right then, I really wished I hadn't been given glowy-blue-ice-and-snow-powered hands.
I tried to keep going, but I didn't know where I was. I was sure I hadn't wandered too far into the forest, but dolls are smaller than humans, and distances are larger. Looking back over my shoulder, again, (ugh, why did I do that?) I realized that I couldn't see the road anymore. I've gone too far.
So I keep going. The wind blows and not even the surrounding trees can save me from its bitterness. My cheeks feel like they're on fire. Holding back tears, I finally collapse onto the forest floor, the only spot in the entire forest not occupied by snow, but by dirt just as chilly. The soil wrapped me in a blanket, the cold trying to protect me from a different kind of cold.

I don't know I long I stayed there. Part of me wanted to keep going, to keep walking into the forest and not make the mistake of looking back again. The other part of me wanted to turn around and run the other way, to find She and go back home and spend my first Christmas the way I had originally wanted to. I didn't know which side to feed. Both were stubborn and strong, both so conflicting and different, that I just gave up and laid on the ground, shivering. I guess I was waiting for a Christmas miracle to decide which path I was going to take. It felt like a full day as I lay there, twelve lonely hours of me in the frozen woods, alone.
As it turns out, I never got to make my choice, because someone was making it for me.
"Elsa!" She whisper-yelled, her voice echoing through the forest. "Elsa, where did you go?"
I sat up, blinking. Had I been asleep?
"Elsa!" She called again. "Where are you?"
There was a warmness growing in my heart. I resisted all that I could to get up and run to She. She really wanted me, a broken doll, with all of my flaws and weird powers. She really wanted to take me back home to spend eternity there, and not here, in some miserable snowy forest.
I heard She's boots tiptoeing around bare shrubs and avoiding holes. I froze into the position She had seen me last, with a confident smile and arms raised, as if I was proud of my powers, and all of this winter mess I had created. The longer I held the pose, the more I really started to believe it. I was an animated doll with freaking ice and snow powers. What did I have to fear? I was actually proud of myself.
"There you are!" She said, picking me up, her finger slipping up and turning off my switch in the process. Maybe I just needed someone with bigger, stronger hands to help out. Nevertheless, I was super thankful that I wouldn't risk hurting anyone anymore. She stuffed me into her coat more roughly than the last time, as punishment for running off, I guess. If this was punishment, however, then no good deed would I do again. The inside of She's coat was warm and inviting since my plastic skin had turned colder than a freezer out here. "Let's get you home," She said, in a less angry and more relieved tone than before.
"I've got someone I'd like you to meet." The soft ruffling noises coming from her sleeves brushing against her coat almost lulled me to sleep. She picked up the pace and almost ran home, anxious to get me to see this supposed new stranger. Only, maybe not so much of a stranger anymore. With a small smile on my lips, I already knew She was talking about Steve, not knowing that we had already met. And hey, if She was still introducing me to other dolls, maybe getting a new Elsa doll wouldn't be so bad.

***

Only minutes later, She sneaked me in the house and dropped me off upstairs, then went down to hang her coat. My friends were so thankful that I was home safe and emotionally stable (wow, this sounds almost repetitive thanks to my tenth Christmas post) that we basically partied the rest of the day away. I didn't even notice that my switch was still jammed, because it had stopped snowing by the end of lunchtime. A 16'' doll that could change the weather of an entire town? It was highly unlikely. Napoleon even told me later that meteorologists where only correct 85% of the time, and the forecast actually showed snow on Christmas Eve. So I hadn't made it snow after all, but She and her sister had both gotten what they wanted. And I could really frost a mean window.

The next morning began Christmas Day. For once in my life here that I remembered, I was actually the first one out of my friends to awake. I almost didn't fall asleep in the first place. I was so nervous and excited. Nexcited? Yes, that was it. I was so nexcited that I had trouble falling asleep.

I first awoke at four o'clock, but then slipped in and out of rest, opening my eyes to check the clock at 5:15, 6:30, and then finally at 7:45. I couldn't wait any longer, and I was tired of my irregular sleep pattern. I shook Olaf awake and found that he was equally nexcited, therefore eager to stay awake. The both of us teamed up and woke up all the other dolls. We were happy to see that Steve and Loki were also anxious to get up and going for Christmas day. But She wasn't, still dozing away in her bed, kicking around in her leopard-print footie pajamas. (Yes, apparently they made adult sizes.)

Fortunately, She was awakened at 7:50, only five minutes later. The her parents opened her door and the dogs jumped on her bed and licked her face until She surrendered and came out of her bed. She's little sister had already been awake and sugared up since five, so the two of them were able to share the present-receiving. 

In She's room on her bedroom floor was a box of salted caramel dark chocolates, which I eyed eagerly. Maybe... just maybe, there was a way to steal one, just to smell, and then, of course, I would return it. 

Outside the bedroom doors was the smaller of the humans' Christmas trees, and under that was a pair of knitted cerulean mittens that resembled Anna's mittens from my movie strikingly. She's sister opened a package that had a do-it-yourself bracelet set. That was it for the upstairs, so the girls and their parents paraded downstairs to check out what was under the big tree. Loki, Olaf, Steve and I hung out by the railing in secret, peering through the bars and getting all psyched whenever one of them opened a present. 

We noticed everyone else hanging out downstairs by the tree, that being Benny, Napoleon, Magneto, Dorothy and Bell. They had been here for more Christmases than the four of us on the stairs (since this was technically our first) so they were more experienced and therefore chose the best seating to view the present-opening. Steve saluted them, while the rest of us newbies waved and mouthed "Merry Christmas" at them.

The stockings came first. (I should have included them in my grand traditions list!) It was mostly the same thing in each for both girls, things that the both of them would enjoy like candy-cane scented hand lotions and miniature chocolate Santas. But as they dug out the goodies in the bottom, things began to differ. She's sister got a fake snow-making science kit. (Haha.) And She reached in and pulled out an itty-bitty plush Elsa doll. 

My eyebrows raised. Was that really it? The Elsa doll She had been wanting all of this time? I suddenly felt a wave of awkwardness. Ever since I found out about She's wish list in post five, it had been nagging me in the back of my mind. But that was what She wanted all of this time? I guessed so, since She seemed rather happy about finding it in her stocking, squealing and giving the little Elsa a hug.
"Wow, okay..." I mumbled.
"What is it?" Steve asked me, sounding amused.
"All this time I've been worried that She was getting another Elsa doll, you know, one exactly like me. You know, sixteen inches tall, able to sing, having ice and snow powers..."
"You have ice and snow powers?" Steve sounded flabbergasted, his eyebrows raising behind his mask.
"Oh, come on. You knew that already. Remember what happened yesterday?"
"Yeah. Magneto told me."
"Magneto told you? Odd."
"Not that odd. But do you really think She would want the same exact doll as you?"
"Well, you know, maybe." I shrugged, turning back to the humans opening gifts in the living room. The mother had just received a red electric hand mixer.
"But now we have this plush Elsa doll to deal with." Steve said, turning back to the Christmas scene in the living room.
"You never know. She could be nice," I replied, but looking at her hair, with it's perfect little fluff on top, the doll was probably the high-maintenance type. "Olaf, what do you think of this new Elsa doll?" I asked, trying to get the snowman's opinion. After all, he helped me through most of post five when I was trying to accept the fact that She was probably getting another Elsa doll for Christmas.
But he was speechless. Olaf was staring right at the little Elsa, eyes half here but half somewhere else.
Loki snickered. "Um... Earth to Olaf?" He started waving a hand in front of Olaf's blank face.
"She's pretty..." Olaf slurred.
"Oh dear." said Loki. The three of us rolled our eyes. Olaf was in love with the new Elsa doll.
Everyone went through a few more presents, but I was mostly paying attention to what She got, since getting another doll might change our lives in the Room She Lives In somehow. We pointed out a lot of other Frozen things, and actually a few Marvel things, which I'm sure Magneto, Loki, and Steve were all excited about, but no other dolls.
That is, until the humans thought that all the presents were gone.
She reached into the back of the tree and pulled out the last presents, an unwrapped one that was a brown cardboard box with equally sheer brown tape. It was for the father, and it was a juicer. He was really psyched about it, explaining to She's family that this juicer would improve all of their lives by turning normally gross foods like celery or grapefruit into refreshing juice smoothies. She's family was a kind that liked to pick on each-other with love, so everyone else pretended to fall asleep as the father read the instructions for assembly of the juicing machine out loud.
"I think that was the last present." said She, trying to change the subject from 'dad's' juicer to the absence of boxes under the tree.
"Aww." She's little sister whined.
"Um, not quite," said the mother, biting her lip to hide a smile. "Look on the tree, girls."
"On the tree?" She's sister asked, but then squealed with delight when her eyes found something new, a yellow blowfish ornament. "A blowfish! Thank you! I just love the ocean."
She searched the tree for her ornament and found it on the lowest possible bow of the tree. And there it was, a smiling 3'' Anna ornament (Anna from Frozen, of course) with her arms folded behind her back in a casual stance.
"I think I will call her Nessarose." She said with a smile, holding the Anna ornament up by its string.
"Why Nessarose?" She's sister asked.

"Nessarose is a character from Wicked. It's the book I'm currently reading. Nessa is Elphaba's sister, and she was born without her arms. Like this Anna ornament here, since you can't see half of her arms."
"Oh." She's sister didn't quite get it, but neither did I, but no matter, because we finally had an Anna to the group! That is, if the ornament could come to life. Most ornaments couldn't. But this Nessarose, or Nessa, looked special to me.
Christmas is about helping others. And I know it's not much of a finale, but that might still be coming. The finale, that is. For now I feel that this is the most important message of Christmas. Christmas is a time that humans give the most, to charities in the country or countries they might not even know about.
The ornaments were truly the final gifts of Christmas, so after the festivities were over, the humans ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast-lunch, (brunch, maybe?) since the present opening had taken an hour and a half out of the morning. We dolls retired upstairs to the Room She Lives In and did our own things, waiting until She brought up a gift bag full of all of the presents She had received.
Steve and I went on a walk around the upstairs hallways, Olaf learned that Christmas happens every year, and Loki was daydreaming about She or whatever. The rest of the dolls were still downstairs.
The four of us worked to push around books, clothes, and boxes of jewelry, trying to find and rescue those two new dolls. We weren't even sure if they were able to come to life yet, but they had faces, so that meant... yes? Right?
The first one we found was the 3'' Anna ornament, Nessarose, or Nessa, as She had named her already. We welcomed her warmly, and fortunately Nessa was equally as warm to us. She was definitely an Anna ornament. Optimistic, fun, and a touch clumsy. I liked her immediately, and Nessa liked the rest of us, too, happy to have a forever home with She as her human. Though Nessa took a liking especially to Loki. I'm not sure if he knows how to feel about that yet.
The plush Elsa doll was found at the bottom of the gift bag, since she was in the stocking and that was the first thing opened. Idina had a small face and a pleasant smile, so I wasn't too concerned that she would be a problem to the rest of us. But when we found the little doll laying flat on the bottom of the bag, we seriously started to doubt that this doll could come to life, much to Olaf's severe disappointment.
But then, like Snow White, the little doll sat up and yawned and stretched her arms, then made a small gasping noise when she saw all of us looking down at her in the bag.
"Oh, good morning," said the doll, in a voice much like Snow White's actually, if Snow White had a tiny French accent. "I suppose you're all my new family?"
The men looked at each-other and exchanged glances, not sure if this doll was real or partially insane.
The Elsa doll stood up and looked around, then frowned. It was the kind of frown that didn't wrinkle her forehead like most frowns do, but just turned her smile upside down. "I certainly hope that this isn't my home."
"Oh, don't worry, it isn't. Your home is out here," Nessa explained. "As in, not inside that bag."
We reached out and instructed the Elsa doll to use the other items in the bag to her advantage to get out of the box. It took some time, since this doll was Baymax or something, and I quote, "I am not fast."
But anyways, the new Elsa doll seemed pleasant, and anything was better than being replaced by the same exact Elsa doll as I. Olaf is definitely in love with the plushie. I wonder how this will turn out. Already there are so many ships going on. (Yes, I do know internet slang, thank you.) But I was sort of right about the doll being high-maintenance. She seems a little vain so far, fluffing her hair and puckering her lips on habit, and the French accent for an Elsa doll is a little unusual. But the doll seems sweet, so I can't judge or complain.
"Wait," Olaf began, acting all bashful. I had never seen or heard of an Olaf being shy before. "We forgot to ask your name."
"Eet is Idina." said the doll, batting her black lashes.
"Oh, I get it. Like Idina Menzel, the actress that voices our characters."
"What?" Olaf asked.
Oops. Kind of forgot that Olaf didn't know he was a doll yet. Better tell the newbies about that later.
"Eet is nothing," Idina said. "But may I ask your names?"
"Well, you can call me Elsa." I said, placing a hand on my lower neck, as if I needed to point to myself. Idina was an Elsa herself, technically. I would be surprised if she did not recognize her own kind.
"Steve. Steve Rogers."
"My name's Nessarose. Or Nessa for short. I'm new here, too."
Loki nodded, as in guy talk for 'hello.' "I'm Loki."
"And I'm Olaf. And I like warm hugs!" Olaf cried, getting his energy back.
Idina looked happy. "You do? Because I could use a good hug."
"Um... okay?" Olaf looked back at me for support, but I shooed him forward. So he hugged Idina, though awkwardly.
"Sank you, Olav," Idina said, wiping a drama tear from her eye. "I needed that. You do not know ze pain, vaiting for hours and hours for humans to find you on Christmas morning."
"Actually, I think I do," Nessa said, stepping forward somewhat timidly. "We all know what it's like to wait to be found. So no offense on your part, Idina. Just to let you know that we share your pain."
"Oh, okay. Zat is good to know."
While everyone else was warming up to the new dolls, Steve and I broke off from the rest of the group to try and sort through She's other presents. Well, I did most of the searching. Steve got kind of distracted.
"Hey, Elsa, look." he said, pointing somewhere on She's wall.
I turned around and my lips formed a perfect 'o' in faint surprise.

"Is that you?" Steve asked, even though it was kind of obvious. She had hung something completely new on her wall, something I swear I didn't notice before, so it must have been a Christmas present from today. It was a painted canvas, of me, er, the movie Elsa, doing her eyebrow thing, which I don't think I've ever done before.
But then I giggled and pointed to the same wall a distance apart from the Elsa print. "Um, is that you?"
It was a tin of Captain America in the foreground, looking like he was ripping through a newspaper article about "The Origin of Captain America!"

"Why, so it is," Steve said with a small laugh. "How funny."
"We both have our own posters in She's room." I said, giggling again, but when the two of us met eyes at the same time, we both ended up in hysterics.
"Why is this totally hilarious?" Steve asked, the first to finish laughing.
"I don't know," I admitted, looking back at our posters. "I think it's just the pure coincidence of the situation."
"Probably," Steve said, and then, for some reason, held out his hand for a handshake. "Merry Christmas, Elsa."
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Steve," I said in turn, still trying not to chuckle. "Merry Christmas indeed."

***

And that finishes the story of my Christmas adventure for last year. It's been a wonderful experience, as well as a wonderful Christmas, and I hope it's been the same for you. Oh, what? I'm supposed to come up with a meaning of Christmas here for my final 12 days of Christmas post series? Okay, um, well I could come up with a much of things. Acceptance of the new dolls into the family. That's one thing. But not good enough. I could say maybe 'learning from your mistakes' but I kind of already did that in post ten. Yikes. This one's a toughie. It's a little hard to beat Jesus' birth in my last post, so I won't, but I'll come as close as I can.

Christmas is about helping others. Think about it. Christmas is the time of year when people tend to give the most to those in need, whether going on  mission trips through churches or bringing homeless people off the street for a good meal or even putting a penny in the bell ringer's bucket. Anything can help. In this post, and all of the other Christmas posts, we were all helped at least once or twice. Olaf helped me throughout my plan in post five to get She to notice me. We helped Benny cheer up with some homemade cookies in post six. Loki and I helped Olaf to fall asleep soundly in post nine. Even in the last post, eleven, we lost Benny and Steve and Napoleon and I had to help each-other go look for them. And now today. My friends had helped me through my emotional ups and downs of supposedly making the snow, and then we helped Nessarose and Idina by being welcoming and inviting towards them.
Oh, and one more thing. You all have helped me. By taking time out of your days to read this blog and this series, it's really special. It means a lot to me. Thanks for all of your patience with the delays in some posts.
So that's it. We're done. Elsa's 12 Days of Christmas are officially... over. Wow. But don't worry, the finale's not here yet. I'm actually working on it right now as we speak. See you again in about five minutes. And a Merry Christmas to you as well!

Preparing the finale and having a merry Christmas,

Queen Elsa

Elsa's 12 Days of Christmas: Eleven Grand Traditions

Fa la la la la, la la la-lazy. Yep, that's me right now. Actually, no, I think I did good on the time difference between the last post and this one. But regardless, welcome to officially the next year in Christmastime. But don't worry. We're almost done. A year later, maybe, but hey, I'm on post eleven out of twelve. I consider that pretty good for a procrastinator like me. This post, just like the last one, is going to be a little different, but funner. Somehow. You'll just have to trust me on that one. This time, I purposely went out into the world searching for a very specific thing. Eleven things, to go along with my blog, but also some traditions performed at Christmastime.  Last post, a bunch of complicated stuff happened. I'm actually surprised you guys are still continuing to read my blog after that ordeal. (But thanks anyways!) The story was that I was dollnapped by fellow blogger MyLittleMegara (why don't you check her out sometime?) and taken to her house for a few hours, since she thought that I was her Elsa doll. Luckily, of course, I was returned to my rightful owner, She, and here I am, blogging and all that again. Speaking of so, today was also a very eventful. Yesterday, the day before that, today, a girl just can't catch a decent break, can she? Oh well. My life, is, at the very least, exciting, and I enjoy that. As I may have mentioned in my previous post, She was going to have a few friends over for a Christmas cookie party. We dolls wanted to know what that was about, so this post is mainly about all the happenings that went on when spying on the humans, as well as patterns and traditions of Christmas we noticed along the way. Plus, maybe some romance? I don't really know. But it made for a very interesting day. Maybe after this, I'll get some rest. Though I doubt so. Because it's time to sing now! (You may to take a deep breath for this one.) On the eleventh day of Christmas a human gave to me eleven grand traditions, ten bad ideas, nine short stories, eight paper snowflakes, seven secret santas, six sweet surprises, five gift wishes! Four perfect presents, three new friends, two bah humbugs, and a tiny doll Christmas tree!

***

I woke up. Not that I wanted to. It's just that someone appeared to be tapping morse code on my back, over and over and over again, in the sensitive area right between my shoulderblades, where the batteries that powered my voice and blue hands lie. The code went dot, dot dash dot dot, dot dot dot, dot dash. My name. E-L-S-A. The reason I actually know morse code is that when I was back on the shelf in Wandering Oaken's, that's how the dolls would communicate, through tapping on the inside of their boxes. I learned it pretty quickly, and I didn't think it would actually come in handy until now. I had only ever really used it to talk with Molly during those late nights from across the room. The code kept repeating. E-L-S-A. Either this person was trained well, or it was just pure, strange coincidence. But then it was W, B, 4, 7, Q, I... what the heck?
"Elsa...Elsa. Wakey wakey." It was Olaf. I guess it made sense that he knew morse code now. He had the other Olafs probably did the same thing.
"Mmm, no. Goway." I replied, covering my face with my arms.
"Are you dead?"
I made a sound like a snort mixed with a chuckle. "No."
"Are you tired?"
"Yes."
Olaf stopped talking for a moment. "Yeah, well, I can't let you sleep today. Something big is happening."
"Oh, when is it not?" I muttered, rubbing my eyes with a closed blue fist, still tight from last night's deep sleep. The light of the room shocked me as my pupils strained to dilate. My heart fluttered, pleased to find itself in She's room once more, surrounded by the dolls I knew, and well, loved. Except for the few occasional times when I felt like I didn't. "What day is it?"
"Approximately 10:43am on December 19th, 2014," said Loki. "We let you sleep in again."
"Thanks, Mr. Calender." I joked. Apparently I was awake enough to crack a joke.
Still, no one laughed. Their loss. "So, do you know what day it is, Elsa?" Napoleon asked. I guess he was here, too.
"Um, just barely. I only know what happened yesterday. That was when I ended up at MyLittleMegara's house, right?" I cleared my throat, my voice still groggy from sleep. I sat up and swung my feet over the side of the dresser and stretched them out.
"Well, I didn't know who took you, but yes, you were at another house for a while yesterday. So that means today is-."
"Ah," I said, with sudden understanding. "She's Christmas party."
"That's right." said Benny.
"And we're going to get involved with it somehow?"
"Well, we're at least going to spy on them a little. Just to see what it's like, that's all. Now come on. Magneto, Dorothy and Bell are downstairs waiting."
"But, but..." I protested, scrambling to get up. There was no doubt that I wanted to see what Christmas around here was all about. Compared to all the stuff that I could see today to all the stuff I had already seen, this could be a huge learning experience, and something I could write in the blog later. But people would be here, people other than She and her family. I couldn't risk getting dollnapped again. Not like it was intentional or anything, or even that it was a bad experience. But it wasn't like I was signing up to get shipped away again. And it only happened yesterday. Merely hours ago. I was still kind of scarred. And scared.
Not like I had a say in anything, of course. The very time where I did not want to do anything was the right time where everyone else wanted to. They filed out the door without giving me a backwards glance to make sure I was following them. I wasn't. Except for Olaf. He was the last to leave, fixing me with a worried look. I remembered that he was the one who had watched me unwillingly leave the house yesterday.
I made a waving motion with my hands. "You go right ahead, Olaf. I'll catch up with you guys in a minute."
"Are you sure?"
"Oh yeah. Go on! Have fun with your friends."

Olaf seemed convinced that I was fine, and he waddled out the door. I heard him calling for them to wait up once he was in the hall. Once Olaf was out of earshot, I took a deep breath and let it out again. I was so not ready to get out and explore yet. I still needed time to adjust to my surroundings. And then I might be okay.
Today was Sunday, so the humans would all be out at church for an hour or two, with no other signs of life on the inside of the house unless from the dogs and the other dolls that were wandering around. We still had some time on our hands to kill.
I remembered checking She's calendar yesterday (It was a Frozen calendar, and December was Sven's picture) and it said that her cookie decorating party today (that is, if I read it correctly) was to be from one o'clock to four. Three hours with new humans in the house. I wasn't sure what to think, but figured that hiding in She's room all day wouldn't be a fun time for me. Better get out and about now and then just hide later when the new humans arrive.
With a plan in mind, I crept out the door and down the hallway, but without any sort of direction of where I was going. Right? Left? Upstairs? Downstairs? Could I creep by any place not occupied by a human? The only thing I could thing I could think of to do was follow She. She would know exactly what to do to prepare for a Christmas party. Maybe I could learn some things from her about Christmas, and just by watching.
But She wasn't here right now. And I didn't have anything to do, so I decided to run out and try to locate where all of my friends were. Maybe they were doing something fun.
My first target was Dorothy and/or Bell. I hadn't seen them yet this morning, because according to Benny, they were already downstairs waiting for all the fun to happen. But the first person I saw wasn't any one of them. It was actually Loki.
He was standing by a corner in the dining room, back to the wall and looking over his shoulder towards the direction of the garage door, where the humans always entered through when coming back from church. What did he think he was, a super spy? Eh, whatever. I approached them with caution.
"Hi, Loki. What's up?" I asked, trying to seem casual.
"The sky." He muttered, though he didn't laugh at his own joke.
"Well, what are you doing then?"
"Waiting for She."
"Anything else besides the obvious?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
Geez, this guy was boring today. With a short farewell, I left him and pursued another person. This time, it was actually Dorothy and Bell, who were actually sitting on the branches of the human's living room Christmas tree. Bell was wearing a new outfit, one that was white and read with a little hat to celebrate Christmas. Benny and Napoleon were standing underneath, were a few wrapped presents lay already. Each group seemed to be having their own conversation. My ears picked up the females, who were commenting on how the new color-changing lights the humans put on the tree look so much prettier than last years, and the males were looking serious and talking in hushed voices. But as soon as I was in earshot, Napoleon broke off and waved his flag at me.
"Morning, Elsa! It's good to see you up and early!" He seemed extremely cheerful as always, strange to see after what I had seen him look like seconds ago. Tired and depressed, versus lively and energetic. I wondered what he was hiding. Did it have something to do with his amnesia? Or even further back, whatever he and Benny had been talking about weeks ago that had made Benny so down in the dumps that we made him cookies? I wasn't sure. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out, either.
Benny gave me a nod. He didn't mask his emotions as well as Napoleon could. He looked upset about something, with a quiet look in his eyes and a mouth that didn't bother to force it's way into a smile.
"So um," I wasn't sure where to begin. "Anything new?"
"The humans are due home within a quarter-hour." said Napoleon.
"Just say it like it is, fifteen minutes, not a quarter-hour. That doesn't make any sense." Benny grumbled.
Napoleon scoffed. "It is perfectly normal to say quarter-hour! Why, I've known many a person that uses that term!"
Benny raised his eyebrows in a challenge. "Oh really? Why don't you name five?"

The brothers started an argument. I took a worried look up at Dorothy and Bell. They shrugged at me, but nothing more. I guess they didn't completely know what was going on, either.
I couldn't help but feel guilty for having an indirect influence on the nutcracker brothers' foul mood, so I trudged around some more, planning to do a short circle around the house's ground floor and then head upstairs today. I had only been awake for a few minutes, but already the day had been a real bust. I hadn't found any traditions for my blog, and on top of that, no one seemed to be in a good mood. Why did I even allow myself to get up today?
I found myself in the center of the stairs towards the Room She Lives In, my steps soft and slow as my mind tried desperately to turn the situation around. Maybe things would be better later, who She returned home. There would be new people in the house, and then everyone's emotions would be positive and not all distant and stuff.
When I opened the door to She's Room, I was surprised to see Olaf. He was sitting on the nightstand my the window, humming a mixture of various Christmas tunes and swinging his legs back and forth over the ledge.
"Olaf? Why are you back here?"
"Oh, you know, just sitting around and waiting for She to come home."
"Anything wrong?" I asked, stepping inside and closing the door behind me.
"Nope. There's just nothing to do. So I thought that I'd come back here."
I thought for a moment. Clearly Olaf and I were stuck in the same rut. Nothing to do, no one that wants to talk. As an idea crossed my mind, a small smile crossed my lips.
"Hey, I've got an idea."
Olaf jumped down from the nightstand and ran over to me.
"Really? That's great 'cause I'm really bored right now."
"She has a set of speakers in her room," I began, pointing to the purple box-shaped thing on her dresser. "I figure if we can find her phone, we can connect it to the speakers and listen to some Christmas music."
Olaf beamed, then began to jump up and down. "Really? Because that would be great. I'm just, really, really, bored."
"Me, too, Olaf. But first we have to find She's phone. And then we can play some Christmas music, okay?"
"Okay!"
Luckily the snowman was quick to agree to anything fun, and he was also extremely good at finding things. After a minute of struggle, we got the phone to stand on the speaker as I selected She's music app and browsed our choices. In no time at all, Olaf and I had the dresser cleared off and we were dancing and singing the songs that had been scarred into our heads since the start of this month. We belted out "Deck the Halls" and "The 12 Days of Christmas" and then hummed along to songs we didn't yet know the meaning of, such as "Angels We Have Heard" and "O Holy Night."
But Olaf didn't like Carol of the Bells. That one seemed to scare him a little, so we just skipped over it. I don't know why, exactly, but it might have been the giant choir of swelling, haunting voices. Fortunately, the next song was "Frosty the Snowman" no doubt Olaf's favorite, so that's when we found out that we're really bad at kick lines.
While listening to the last few words of "Baby, it's Cold Outside," Loki barged in the room and somehow was able to get up onto the dresser in under three seconds. He gave me a look and said, "She's home."
"Wow," I said, tugging the phone off the speaker. "You made it up here in good time."
"Well, I was right by the door when it opened. The humans are still getting settled into the house, so we might have a few seconds before She gets here."
Once the phone was disconnected from the speaker, "Here Comes Santa Claus" cut off, and Olaf said "Aww..." and had to stop his little Christmas jig and get into place with the rest of us.
Loki was right. It wasn't long before She entered her room, a little frazzled, picked a recent shopping bag off her floor, and ran out again, the door close to latching behind her, but it didn't.
"Um..." said Olaf. "What just happened?"
It wasn't long until we found out answer. "The guests are here!" The older female human called. The door was opened and "hellos" were exchanged before the humans outside even had a chance to knock. There was a stomping of feet, and a loosening of shoes, and then warm welcomes into the kitchen. The kitchen, was apparently, a happening place. I guess it was the best place to make cookies.
"I didn't think that much time had passed already." Loki muttered, staring at the door impatiently.
"Why don't we go investigate?" I offered. "It's been more than five minutes. If She was coming back, She would have done it a while ago. Besides, the party guests are here. That should leave us an hour or more to look around."
"Wait a minute..." Olaf said, and all of us were quiet immediately. "Yeah, let's go." Leave it to the doll without ears to hear for any suspicious movement outside, right?
"Are you sure?" Loki asked. It wasn't a question directed to Olaf, asking him if he was sure it was safe to leave. It was more for the both of us, asking if we really wanted to go out.
"Of course. Let's go. I'm curious."
Olaf nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Okay then." Loki said, opening the door. He had kind of a "don't blame me if you get hurt" tone to his voice. We followed Loki downstairs. Olaf was right, everyone was in the kitchen, so the front two rooms, as well as the stairs, were safe. On the way down the stairs, I noticed something that  I could put in my blog as Christmas traditions. The decorated Christmas trees. Why hadn't I thought of that before? She's house wasn't the only one that trimmed fir trees for the holidays. I knew this now that I had been to MyLittleMegara's house.
The party was definitely occurring downstairs. The scent of a cinnamon Christmas candle still lingered in the air, but now replaced with the smell of freshly baked cookies: gingerbread and sugar cookie doughs. There was the prattle of voices of people who hadn't seen each-other in a while, and the clatter of baking materials like cookie cutter shapes and rolling pins.
The three of us chose a nice-looking corner and settled in to view the party from a distance. I viewed three girls, two of them I recognized as She and MyLittleMegara, but also someone new, with long, blonde hair. I didn't know her name, and I never found out, so in this post I will just be referring to her as Blondie.
"Ew, what the...?" Loki sputtlered.
"What? What is it?" I whispered, straining my neck to see what was wrong. It wasn't hard to find. She was wearing something new, or maybe a thousand years old. It was a horribly ugly button-up sweater that was much too big on her. It was a mix of all the colors that didn't work, and the material was probably knitted, but in a way I had never seen before. I knew at once that this had to be the ugly Australian vomit sweater She was telling MyLittleMegara about in my tenth day of Christmas.
"I think it's She's ugly sweater?" I guessed out loud.
"Eyesore sweater is more like it." Loki grumbled.
Olaf giggled, and then asked, "Who's that?"
"The one in the Santa sweater?" I asked. (Shortly after we read The Night Before Christmas in post nine, Napoleon and Benny had to explain to us who Santa Claus/Saint Nicolas was. I find the idea a little creepy, to be honest.) "That's MyLittleMegara. I was taken to her house by mistake yesterday."
"Oh yeah, I recognize her now. But who's the blonde girl?"
"I don't know."
A minute of waiting, and not much had happened. The girls were rolling out dough and using the metal stencils to cut them into shapes like angels, stars and bells, and talking about things that didn't pertain to us. I might have zoned out once or twice.
"I'm bored,"Olaf sighed, breaking the silence. "I'm going to go walk around for a bit. Are you guys just gonna stay here?"

"Yeah, I think so," Loki replied. "Be careful." He sneaked around the corner to the other side to get a better look at the festivities, leaving me alone on my side. I thought about moving as well, but didn't. I already had a decent view since I was taller, and there were more things to take note of here. Like the way the humans taped their Christmas cards up on the banister, right next to a red and green chain made of paper with six links to spare. It reminded me of the wooden ornament tree in the dining room from my second Christmas post, so the chain was probably a countdown to Christmas day as well.
"Have fun," I added, more optimistically, but after watching Olaf leave, I decided to run after him anyway.
Olaf smiled up at me when I appeared at his side. "Thanks for not leaving me alone."
"No one should be alone on Christmas." I said, linking arms with him.
"Even for a few minutes?"
"You will never escape me." I said in a spooky voice.
"Want to go back upstairs to listen to Christmas music?"
"Sure."
I didn't tell Olaf that the only reason I had joined him was because the making of the cookies were almost finished and ready to bake, so that meant the humans would want to come upstairs to She's room, and I wanted to be there when they were to hear them talk and such.
Minutes later, I was proved correct. She and her friends came back, and the music and dancing had to end again. The two of us posed on the dresser, trying to cover up the fact that Loki was missing from the picture for now. They stayed up there for an hour, talking and watching videos and catching each-other up on what was going on in their lives. I definitely zoned out more than once.
After the hour was up, She snatched me up, which I was not expecting.
"Oh! It's Elsa!" MyLittleMegara exclaimed. "She was visiting me yesterday."
"Not on purpose, I hope?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You know I wouldn't mix our dolls up on purpose." MyLittleMegara said.
"I was only kidding."
"Wait, what? Elsa was at your house yesterday? Why? And, most importantly, how?"
MyLittleMegara laughed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go downstairs. If you really want to know our giant mix-up yesterday, then we'll explain it to you downstairs."
"Okay."
The girls left the room, but She didn't put me down. Were they taking me with them? It certainly looked like it. Olaf gave me a strange look as I was taken out of the room in She's hand. I only tried to shrug at him in reply, but while caught in She's had, it wasn't an easy feat. But, seriously? Downstairs again? I guess the humans didn't know that I had been down here at least two or three different times today. At least I didn't have to walk myself down the steps this time. Yeah, I'm lazy like that.
She placed me in a sitting position on the counter so I had a better view of the table where they were decorating. I couldn't really pick out one thing from the next. The whole table was just mess. Cookie cutters, flour, colored icing and scattered sprinkles... ugh. I pitied the person who had to clean this up after the party. Probably She and the older female human. However, after a few minutes, I was moved by someone else from the counter to the bottom of the stairs, where I ran to rejoin Loki by the same corner. I guess they needed to use the space where I was sitting for other things.
But I still had an equally good view from the corner. The girls used icing containers and tubes, as well as colored sugars and sprinkles to decorate their cookies, which had baked and cooled since the hour upstairs.I took note of my surroundings, for once that I remembered. I realized two other Christmas traditions, baking cookies (a common thing around this time of year, I guessed, at least with She's party and all) and eating good food, since more cookies seemed to be eaten than decorated. But the job was done quickly, either because they were bored or fast at decorating, and She announced the next activity.
"Present time!" She cried, plopping down on one end of the couch. "Who wants to go first?"
"How about we go in a line?" said MyLittleMegara, sitting down next to She. "We give each-other our presents, but we have to open them one at a time, going in order."
"Okay," said Blondie. "I'll go first, the gift bag she had been clutching was traded for the other gift bags from MyLittleMegara and She.
They exchanged presents and went down the line, starting with Blondie, then MyLittleMegara, and finally, She. Blondie got a cute drinking container with colorful owls from She and a puppy calendar for next year from MyLittleMegara. MyLittleMegara got friendship jewelry and makeup from Blondie, plus a book on pirates from She. She was the last to go. It was the same makeup and friendship jewelry from Blondie, only in green instead of pink, and from MyLittleMegara, the first present was a giant plastic bag of silver soda pop tabs.
"Are you kidding?" Loki muttered. "Soda pop tabs?"
"This is the joke gift," MyLittleMegara explained sheepishly. "I've been saving these for two years and I've been meaning to give you them before, but I kept forgetting. So you have them now."
"Thanks!" She cried, much too enthusiastically for a bag of soda pop tabs. "I'll add these to my collection upstairs. These will be handy for using as currency in the future."
"What?" I asked, but Loki only laughed, like he knew something I didn't. Whatever.
The next present in MyLittleMegara's bag to She was in a square shape, and the kind of box I recognized immediately, because it was just the right size of box to hold a twelve inch doll of sorts. If I had a real heart, it would be beating in anticipation.
The wrapping was torn off with great gusto and Steve held up the box, but her arms were moving too quickly, so all I could see was the box as a blur.
"Ohmygosh it's Steeeeeve!" She squealed, looking super excited. I might have been, too, if I had known who this Steve person was. I got a glimpse of the side of his box, but it was only a drawing and not the real thing. The drawing was of a heroic looking man, decked out in red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag, and gripping a star shield in his hand. I tried to move closer, squint, or send telepathic waves to She, anything to get her to turn the box my way.
Behind me, I heard Loki gasp. "It's the Captain!"
"You know him?"
Loki nodded. "Yes. The movie my real-life counterpart was in was in the same movie that his real-life counterpart was in. Well, humans and actors, is what I mean by real-life, at least. In one movie, I actually pretended to be him, once."
"Would you like to explain that to me?"
"Um, no. Not really." Loki replied.
I held back a laugh. "Okay, whatever." What little I knew about the Marvel universe was getting even more and more confusing.
"Thanks guys," said She, setting the box aside. Great. Now I'd never get to see him. "I've always wanted a Captain America. Too bad I just don't have the guts to go out and get one myself."
"You're welcome," said MyLittleMegara. "Now who would like to go next?"
The presents continued and finished faster than I thought. There was equal giving and receiving on all three sides, mostly exchanging girly things that didn't have much interest to us. Compared to the mysterious box, lip glosses and necklaces seemed less significant. At least I had two traditions to write in my blog, gift giving and receiving. Maybe something meaningful would be accomplished today. My eyes were still focused on the shimmery snowflake bag that laid by She's feet.

Ding-Dong. Someone had pressed the doorbell outside. The dogs' claws skidded on the hardwood floors as they ran to the door and barked in warning. Loki and I got the message. We were smart enough to stay out of way and duck behind the couch in the front room. The two of us breathed uneasily, not because of the mild exercise, but because we were almost caught.
We heard She walk over to the door as it squeaked open. She and the human on the other side exchanged friendly hellos.
"Can you see who it is?" I asked Loki. He was smaller, therefore less noticeable.
"No one I know," Loki replied, peeking out from his crevice behind the couch, and then tilting his head towards the German cuckoo clock on the wall. "It's four o'clock. The party's over."
Was it bad to say that I was kind of relieved? I wasn't sure. Even though I would miss not learning more about Christmas, I just just had to see who or what was in the box She received from MyLittleMegara, the one She called Steve.
We waited a few minutes more, the both of us not talking or moving. Finally, Loki spoke, which made me jump a little. "They're gone."
"Is the coast clear?"
"I think so."
On the count of three, we dashed out from behind the couch and made our way quietly upstairs. Once there, we saw Napoleon hiding not-too expertly behind a corner near the Guest Room. "Loki. Pssst." He whispered.
"Just a minute." he replied, and then left my side without saying goodbye to see what the nutcracker wanted.
"Bye, then." I replied to the two of them, but no response. They were already on some other topic. Oh well. I knew that three of the humans were in the kitchen, and the other in the computer room/office, so She's room was free to explore. I crossed my fingers that the box with the doll inside would be there.
And, what a coincidence, it was, standing upright, with the doll inside still frozen in place, stiff and staring at some unidentified point in the distance. And, what a rarity, the doll was a male. A male I didn't mind looking at for longer than I should.
Most single females wish to unwrap the attractive guy of their dreams on Christmas morning, or at least find him sitting and smiling under their Christmas tree. (Wait, that isn't what you other girls fantasize about? Awkward...) But She had already unwrapped the box that I was so curious about, and now the doll was just laying on She's bed, still in the box, still tied down, probably wondering who would help him out. And that person, I guess, would be me. I mean, it made sense. I was in the same situation but a month ago. It was only fair that I return the favor to the universe and help out this unsuspecting doll.
I approached She's bed and used a cleverly placed stool so my head was just poking out the top of the bed's horizon. "Excuse me?" I figured that was the most polite way to get somebody's attention, especially someone who wasn't expecting it.
The doll in the box's head snapped to the side, fixing me with a steely gaze that I wasn't expecting. His eyes were black, which wasn't unusual for dolls, but his looked so cold. I was a little intimidated. Maybe helping a stranger out wasn't such a good idea.
But as soon as his strange eyes scanned my face, (I guess checking to see if I was a threat) his expression softened. "Um, hi." He said, trying to move one of his hands in a wave. His voice was surprisingly friendly, but still commanded something. I wasn't sure what yet.
I lifted myself completely onto the bed. "Hi... um...do you need any help there? You know, with getting out of your box and all that?"
"I think I can manage on my own." The man said, but not rudely. However, it only took him a second to change his mind, after he even attempting moving in his box, almost toppling his box, which was sitting vertically on She's bed. Then, when nothing worked, he laughed. It was nice laugh. "Nevermind. I actually might need some help getting out of here."
"No problem," I replied, searching for the opening in his box. "I've actually been in the same spot as you, once."
"Really?" Although the man was wearing a blue mask that covered most of the first half of his face, but I could tell his eyebrows raised at my words.
"Oh, yeah. On my finding day, I was delivered into the house with nothing. This same spot actually, on the bed. Just me, and my box, and the twisty ties around my wrists." I found the flap on his box and tugged it open, careful not to rip anything. She had kept my original box, so maybe she could keep this new doll's box as well if it was kept in a good shape.

"Did someone come along to help you?" he asked.
"Oh, not for a while. But I was okay. Just to lay there and think, you know? But yes, I was eventually found and helped out."
I pulled the cardboard holding the man out of his box and began working on freeing him from the ties around his limbs. Unlike with what I was given, twisty ties, he had plastic bends preventing movements that were harder to break.
"So, uh, I feel it only polite to ask the name of the person rescuing me." he chuckled nervously.
"Elsa," I said, with more confidence then I felt. "But it's not really a rescue."
"Oh, Elsa, really? That's a nice name. It's an old one, too."
"Yep," I replied, snapping the first plastic cuff, the one on his right wrist. He twisted it around and flexed his hand. "You?"
"Oh, my name? Uh..." the man used his free hand to hold his hand as if his own named had slipped his mind. "Steve. Steve Rogers."
"That seems very fitting."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
"Um, uh..." My face grew hot as I began to panic, but then as I looked up at Steve's face, he was smiling. "Oh, compliment."
"I knew what you meant," Steve grinned. "Thanks."
I freed his other hand, so he was able to sit up and direct and help me with his other ties around his feet. We continued to talk about our names, for some odd reason. I guess that was the only thing that we really had to say without one of us just nervously laughing the whole time. It would probably have been me, as I suddenly found the reason why I got up this morning.
"Do you have a title?" Steve asked me.
I looked up at him. "Huh?" His eyes, the ones that looked so dark and foreign to me before, seemed a handsome blue color now. Maybe he was just in the shadows earlier, or I was looking at him from a different perspective.
"You know, something that other people call you, or you call yourself."
"Oh, no, I don't have any," I said, not even trying to catch the lie before it fell out of my mouth. I didn't want Steve to think that I was all high-and-mighty queen. Not yet, at least. "What about you?"
Steve shook his head. "I've been called many things." We got both of the ties around his feet snapped so he was able to stand up and grab his shield. He was a rightie like me. But on a totally different note, sadly a little shorter than I had wished.  Fortunately it's what's on the inside that counts, so his personality made up for his height. Besides, I'm pretty much a giantess. I didn't know what else I was expecting.
"Good things, I hope?" I added.
"Oh yeah, mostly. Super Soldier, The First Avenger, Captain America, Cap..."
"Cap?" I asked. "Cool."
You know when you find a word, doesn't matter what word it is, but you just like the way it sounds to you? It could be pineapple, or crunch, or tweed, or maybe spritely. For me, that word was Cap. I just hoped I wasn't biased to that word.
"Yep, though it's mostly Cap."
"Can I still call you Steve?"
"Sure, whatever you want. If you're the one calling me, I'll probably answer."
I guessed I gave him a weird look, because then he started coughing into his glove, a small redness creeping out of the sides of his mask. "Um... well, I have a few questions."
I stood up and straightened out the wrinkles in my dress skirt. "Well, hopefully I can answer them?"
"Who is the ringmaster of this house?"
I held back a giggle. "Oh, that's our owner. We call her She. But we don't know her real name. You'll like her immediately, I'm sure."
"And where am I?"
"The Room She Lives In. It's where we dolls spend most of our time. There's not much to do here, but it's comfortable living. I'm sure we can arrange you some living space in here once She comes back upstairs."
"And one more thing. What am I supposed to do?"
I let out a puff of breath. "Like, do you mean right now, or... whenever?"
"Either is fine."
"Well, right now, things are pretty casual. We have other dolls, and they're probably scattered around the house by now, spying on the humans, hanging out, maybe stealing some gingerbread from the kitchen..." I giggled. "You know, the usual," Of course he didn't know, he was new here. But I also didn't know what else to say. "She's pretty cool. Whenever She's not around, we're allowed to move around freely, but then we have plenty of times to return to our spots if She ever decides to come back."
"That's the now." said Steve with a nod.
"And the whenever? Um... I think we're all still trying to find our whenever."
That's when I made the sort-of mistake of looking up. Due to his height, it wasn't far. But our eyes connected. Both blue as the shadows under a snowbank, or the crystalline glare to snowflake when it's just fallen. Suddenly, the connection wasn't just that the both of us had arrived the same way.
Steve was the first to look away, coughing again. "Um, anyways, I'd better go."
"Wait," my mind frantically searched for the right words to say. "Can I introduce you to the other dolls? I'm sure they'd like to meet you. We have other guys, from Marvel. Like you, right?"
Steve shook his head sadly. "Maybe later, Elsa. I have to go."
"Can you at least tell me where you are going?" I asked. I was getting desperate. My voice was getting all high-pitched, and near to the point of cracking. All my incessant chatter and annoying questions were probably leading him away, anyhow. I just didn't know what else to do.
Steve shrugged. He was standing in the center of She's doorway. He actually kind of a soldier more so now that he was out of his box. He was brandishing his star shield by his side, where his legs were set apart in a military stance. "I'm guess I'm off to find my whenever."

I'm not gonna lie. When Steve ran out the door, I was crushed. He had just been found today, merely hours ago, and he was already set off to find the rest of his life. I had even lie to him about not having a title. And now there was no taking those moments back.
Loki, Olaf, and the other dolls were great friends. Even wonderfully fantastic. I loved them all, but there was something different about Steve. Maybe I was just delusional from yesterday. After a minute of moment, that's what I passed it off as and decided to leave and find someone else to latch onto for a while. It would probably be Olaf, but I didn't mind. He was a good person to talk to. And now I could tell him about Steve.
But surprisingly, the first doll that I ran into, almost quite literally, was Napoleon.
"El-sa!" He whisper-shouted almost immediately. Even after the amnesia, he still pronounced my name incorrectly. "Have you seen my brother??"
"Actually, no, not recently. I was in She's room with Steve."
Napoleon's eyebrows wrinkled. "Steve?" He started walking in one direction, so I had no choice but to follow alongside him.
"Yes, Steve. She got him as a gift from a friend... MyLittleMegara, actually, and-"
"MyLittleMegara? Is that whose house you ended up at yesterday?"
"Um, yes, actually and Steve-"
"Steve, yes? What a very respectable name. Like a soldier."
I sighed a little out my nostrils, but Napoleon didn't seem to notice. He just kept talking.
"So this Steve... where did he go off to in such a hurry?"
"He went off to find his whenever," I replied, trying to keep the sadness out of my voice. "Where did you see him last?"
"Who, Steve? I didn't see him at all."
"No, I mean Benny."
"On the verge of approaching the kitchen, with the others."
"Okay, then we'll start there," I decided, as soon as I got another idea. "So, um, if you don't mind me asking, what were you and Benny talking about earlier? You know, under the tree, and Dorothy and Bell was there, and then you started arguing? I'm a little worried."
Napoleon's shoulders slumped. "I'm not supposed to tell you."
"Oh, well, that's okay. You don't have to-"
"No, but I want to. I trust you. You have passion, I like that." said Napoleon.
"Um, okay? Thank you?"
"Yes. So if Benny asks as to why I have told you this, then we will just lie and tell him that the amnesia made the secret slip my mind. Okay?"
I wasn't so sure if it was okay to lie to Benny, but I had to agree if Napoleon was to tell me what was going on. "Okay."
Somehow we had found our way to the stairs. "Benny is not going to be with us much longer." said Napoleon sadly.
"What? Is She putting him in a yard sale or something? Giving him away?" I was overwhelmed with emotions already. I didn't think I needed any more.
"Oh, heaven forbid," said Napoleon. "I don't She is cruel enough to do such a thing."
"Cruel enough?"
"What? Yes, sure. Each year, at the end of Christmas, Benny and I get put away into separate places. Benny gets boxed up with the ornaments from the smaller tree up here, I get stood up in the highest shelf in She's closet. For eleven months. With no social interaction. Without seeing your brother. Not even a good history book to keep us company," Napoleon looked determined not to cry. "That's what we were talking about that one day when you made us those microwave cookies. That's what he was reminding me of before you came to see us talking at the downstairs tree earlier."
I stumbled over words in my mind, trying carefully to choose the right ones. "Well, you don't know that. Things can be different this year. You two made up after all of those years apart when you got amnesia. Maybe there is some way to convince She-"
"Convince She of what?" I had never heard Napoleon angry before. "It's the same thing every year. If there's only one thing I remember after my amnesia incident, it's watching Benny getting taken out of his box. And then, at the end of Christmas season, which is coming soon, lest I remind you, he gets put back in. In the box, out of the box. We both eleven months to see each-other again. It's an endless cycle. In, out. Eleven months more. It's the way it's always been, and always will be. If you want to try to convince She not to separate us this year, fine by me. Try and see if you can. But She's a human. And I doubt very much that you want to break the Code of Dolls. It's our fate, El-sa. And that's not about to change." Napoleon wouldn't look at me.
I felt a pang of empathy and my tone softened. "Listen, okay? We'll find some way to fix this. And if you won't, then I will. When, no, if, the time ever comes that the humans are cleaning up after Christmas and they box up all the ornaments on the lower tree, Olaf, Loki, and I will personally hide him in She's room for as long as it takes until all of the stuff is secure in the attic. They never go up there after they're done, I'm sure. Then, Benny can be free to live down here with the rest of us. If you end up in She's closet, at least you're still here. We'll just find a way to get you down safely without falling on your head again." It was impressed with all that I had said, surprised that it sounded good both inside my head and out.

We found ourselves at the bottom of the stairs. Napoleon was able to look at me again, fixing me with a gaze that partially wanted to trust my words, but also doubted that I would be able to carry through. Just one more thing, and I would be able to push him over.
"I promise. You won't lose your brother again." I placed my hands on his shoulders for balance of some sort, something my autopilot took over and did for me, because I don't think I don't think I would have done so otherwise.
Much to my surprise, I received a hug. I didn't hug back, but I didn't think Napoleon cared. He pulled away from me after a few seconds, wiping his eyes from the tears that weren't there. "Thanks, El-sa. That really means a lot to me."
"I'm here to help." I replied, not sure what else I could have said.
"But you seemed discouraged, too. Anything on your mind?"
Wow, he changes subjects quickly. I bit my tongue, unsure if I should tell Napoleon what I really felt or just pass it all off as stuff I didn't need to say aloud.
"Well, there is, but... it's silly. It's just little ol' me being all dramatic again."
Napoleon nodded and started walking again. "Females. Not that there's anything against you being female, of course, I didn't mean it as an offense."
I laughed halfheartedly. "Oh, no, of course not. You're absolutely right. Females, most of the time, tend to be a little more dramatic."
"Alright, what is it then? We'll talk and walk."
I sighed, probably for the fiftieth time that day. "It's about Steve."
"What about Steve? The new doll, you mean?" Napoleon sounded genuinely interested, so I kept going.
I nodded. "He was sitting on She's bed in a box, the same way I had come to live here. I helped him to escape from his box, but left it on the floor of She's bedroom just in case She wanted it in mint condition for whatever reason. We talked and stuff, you know normal things," Or as normal as most things come. I thought. "Then he got up and left. Just like that, out the door. He said he was going to find his whenever."
"And?"
"And, well... ugh!" I was getting frustrated with myself. "It's hard to explain. You shouldn't go prancing off to find your whole future the first day you're found."
"Oh, why not?" said Napoleon. "I think finding yourself is one of the most important things a person can do. Give Steve some time. He was just found hours ago, so he'll come around. If he is like you are making him to be, this Steve is a young man. And young men often must go off into the world to find themselves the very exact second they are born. And then, once they do, and see how the world really is, they will come back to where they belong."
"What if Steve doesn't belong here?" I asked, worried.
"Well, then, maybe he was never supposed to. He'll find his way out in the big wide world. If he doesn't he'll come back home."
I wasn't sure if Napoleon's words exactly helped me. But maybe he was right, as much as I didn't want to believe it was true. Steve needed some time on his own, to find himself and all that. If he didn't find himself out there, he'd come back here.
"You certainly are a knowledgeable person." I commented.
"I read a lot. And I've been here longer than anyone else."
My eyes widened, though I wasn't sure why. Napoleon was in good condition, deceiving of his age and time here. "Really?"
"Oh, yes. I think She's grandfather gave me to her when She was only six or seven years old."
"Six or seven?"
"Indeed. Times were a lot different back then. That's why I enjoy history. It's a study, really, of the past and progress of humans."
"Okay...?"
"But I'm probably boring you. Let's go find your Steve."
"Benny first." I said, but something in me stopped. "My" Steve? That was certainly different from "regular Steve", or "just Steve." I didn't own him or anything, She technically did. So what was Napoleon trying to imply?
The nutcracker stopped suddenly, in the middle of the living room. No doll was here anymore, and I began to wonder where the group had gone. "I've got an idea," he said.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
"Why don't you go upstairs and search for Steve, and I'll stay downstairs and look for Benny? If he just left She's room, he can't be far. He probably doesn't even know where the staircase is yet. Sound like a plan?"
"Um, sure." I retraced my steps and grabbed onto the railing of the staircase, swinging back and forth with one arm. I wasn't sure about it, however. If the two of us separated, we could lose each-other in the house, and then the missing doll count would go up from two to four. Or maybe a lot more than that, since Dorothy, Bell, Magneto, Loki and Olaf were all gone. But I obeyed Napoleon's orders.
Once upstairs again, I began calling for Steve, walking into all of the rooms. The Guest Room as empty, as well as the office and the bedrooms. Where could Steve be? I thought to myself, if I was a doll of a Marvel hero looking to find my whenever, where would I be? But brainstorming didn't help. Steve was nowhere to be found.
A second later, I decided on giving up. Steve was gone. Defeated, I stepped down the staircase one at a time, preparing to give Napoleon a long and miserable excuse as to why I couldn't find Steve. That's when I heard a familiar voice. Wait, was that Steve?
That's when I saw him again. Steve. In fact, all of the dolls were there. Benny, Napoleon, Dorothy, Bell, Magneto, Olaf, and Loki, all gathered around in the frontmost room of the house. I hadn't even thought to check in there, mostly because nothing was in there, except for a bookshelf more for decoration than for pleasure reading, because the only thing on the shelves were framed pictures of relatives and different issues of the National Geographic magazine. But it wasn't the bookshelf that they were gathered around. The dolls were standing in a circle and staring at something in the middle.
I broke into a run, not even bothering to hold up my dress, but my feet were too fast to trip on it. "Steve!" I called out, thankful that I got to see him again. "Steve!"
No one else in the group looked up but him. His eyes locked with mine, and he put a finger to his lips in a polite shushing motion. Wondering why everyone was being so quiet, I crept closer. For once, I was thankful for my height, because I got to peer over the entire group just to see what was going on.

There was a small sheltered barn, a stable, really. Inside where tiny people, dolls, made of faded
porcelain, and somewhere between the heights of Loki and Magneto. There was a tiny sheep, and a donkey, and a quaint gathering of people. I counted three bearded men with crowns, one other man carrying small sheep in one hand and a shepherd's crook that looked like a candy cane in the other, and two people who looked important, kneeling in a praying pose around an animal's feeding box. A woman in pink and blue, looking tired but joyful, and a man wearing yellow carrying a lantern.
I saw Steve point a red-gloved hand at the straw-filled feeding box in the center. I almost gasped in surprise. A sleeping baby was resting inside, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. I don't think I had noticed him before.
"The baby's sleeping." Steve explained, more like Captain Obvious than Captain America.
I stared with fascination at this baby in the manager, the small child the rest of the porcelain dolls idolized. What was the meaning of all of this?
The kneeling woman in blue stood up and turned to look up at all of us gathered around the stable, and then her eyes met Magneto, the corners of her tired eyes lifting into a motherly smile.
"Good to see you again." she said, in a gentle voice.
"I hope you don't mind, Mary, but I brought a few more people than usual to come see you this year." said Magneto.
The woman, Mary, looked up at us again and laughed. "I can see that! And I don't mind extra visitors a bit. So, what brings all of you here?"
Magneto took the liberty of answering for us. "I told them that they were coming to see something very important."
"Oh, well..." Mary looked back at the baby in the manger and then to the man in yellow, whose head was now bowed in prayer. I made an inference that the man was Mary's husband, and the baby was meant to be her own. "I would have brought him out to show you, but I just put him to sleep."
"That's okay. We came on short notice. If you don't mind, could you just tell us a little bit about what's going on? About why this thing is so important?"
Mary smiled. "I would have no idea where to start."
"What about the beginning?" Olaf piped up. He got a few sour looks from the others, but Mary didn't seem to mind.
"Oh, sure, the beginning's a fine place to start," Mary turned to the stable, getting some small and respectful nods from the shepherds and the kings. "Joseph? Why don't you join me?"
"Well, alright," Joseph, I suppose that was his name, tucked the baby's blanket back under the corners and stepped forward to join his wife at the front. "But I'm not much of a storyteller."
"You can just fill in with the parts I missed," said Mary. "Now, the beginning."
Magneto made a sort of gesture with his hands that signaled us to sit down, so we did. I didn't know how long the story would be, and though part of me was already bored, the other part fought back with curiosity. Who was this mysterious, lionized infant, the one that was asleep in a trough of hay?
"To begin this story, my name is Mary," said Mary. "And this is my husband, Joseph."
"Mary? As in, Mary Christmas?" Olaf asked excitedly. There were a few snickers among the crowd.
"Oh, no. My name is just Mary. But good try." said Mary kindly, but she looked amused.
"Oh. Okay then. Continue."
Mary took a breath and began for real this time. "This story is not exactly ours. It is everyone's. Everyone in the world. It goes by many times. The Nativity Story, The Birth of Jesus Christ, but mostly it is known as The First Christmas or The Christmas Story. And the story goes like this. One night, I, Mary, woke up to see a bright in my room, and I realized that it was an angel. He told me not to be afraid, and also that his name was Gabriel. Gabriel told me that God was pleased with my faith and he decided to bless me with a holy baby. I agreed to God's will, and the angel Gabriel said that once the baby was born, I was call him Emmanuel. But he is also known as Jesus." Mary paused her story long enough to gesture to the baby behind her.

 Joseph, who lied about not being a storyteller, continued. "The same angel, Gabriel, came to me in a dream and told me that Mary's child was going to be special. Around the time the baby had to be born, the king of the land wanted to take a census, so Mary and I had to move to Bethlehem while the census was being taken. We went to each inn and home, but it was a busy time of year for the business owners, and there wasn't any room anywhere. So we were guided to a barn to spend the night, where Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus."
"Some time later, nearby shepherds were visited by angels. They were afraid at first, but the angels told them the good news, that a savoir had been born. They came to visit Joseph and I and to see the baby. Our God wanted the shepherds to be the first one to visit his son, Jesus, because the shepherds were lowly and unwanted people, and he wanted to prove that this savior was for everyone, from poor to rich. No offense, shepherds." Mary said. The one shepherd boy only shrugged, unfazed.
"The night of Jesus's birth, a big, bright star appeared in the sky over our stable. It was a message from God to all of the people around the world that a savoir had been born. Foreign kings from all around this country noticed the star and wanted to visit the baby. They arrived during the holiday of Epiphany, bringing us gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. That's why we give Christmas presents to each-other today, because the kings, or wise men, brought gifts to the baby Jesus. There had been someone, a jealous king Herod, who wanted Jesus dead, but after he died, we were able to return to our home. So Jesus got to live, and because of him, so did we." Joseph explained.
"And that's the real Christmas story." Mary finished.
Joseph bent over the baby and stroked the tufts of his hair. "People today are celebrating Christmas for all different reasons. That's how it's always been, and probably always will be. But people today have also forgotten one important thing; that we need to keep 'Christ' in 'Christmas.'"
Mary nodded.
"That's beautiful." I said sincerely, and meaning it.
"It seems like all of us forgot the real meaning of Christmas today." Benny admitted.
"We make it about ourselves rather than keeping the 'Christ' in 'Christmas.'" Napoleon added.
"Or we make it about others," said Olaf. "So close, yet so far from what Christmas really means."
Dorothy nodded somberly. "Should we all go around the circle and share?"
Dorothy didn't even need to explain what we were sharing. It was like instinct. With the whole group standing around this little baby, somehow we all instinctively knew what to say. Bell went first.
"When Elsa asked me what Christmas is like, I didn't know how to reply. I guess I just really thought about it much. To me, it was like any other time of year. Maybe I'd wear different clothing,." Bell tugged at her red and white hat, jingling a tiny bell on the end. "Maybe I'd get put on the tree, or maybe I'd wait wherever else I was put for next year's opportunity to act as an ornament. Nothing was ever definite, just maybes. So I didn't know what to tell her at all. Because when you are looking for answers, you don't want to hear 'maybe.' But now I think I found one thing that will last."
Bell took a step back and Dorothy went next.
"I understand I was made as the youngest one here," Dorothy began. "And also that the Christmas season was a time for children. Children of all ages, shapes, sizes, places or races. But perhaps the most important child at Christmas time is baby Jesus himself."
I was surprised to see Benny and Napoleon step forward at the same time. "Earlier, Benny and I were discussing something very serious, " said Napoleon. "Each year, at Christmastime, we get brought out to guard our trees. It's a happy time for us because we get to see each-other. But then, in January, when the noise and celebration of Christmas is over, Benny gets put in a box and sent up to the attic until next year the same time."
"And Napoleon gets stuck on the top shelf of She's closet, among old clothing and mothballs," Benny added. "For us, Christmas was the only time we got to live. But now I think we have a plan so that Christmas never has to end for us."
My eye widened. "You told him?" I mouthed to Napoleon. He mouthed a "yes" back.
"And so Benny and I will be staying with us, down here this Christmas, as long as our plan works. Along with this wonderful story about a little baby that saves everyone, these are all the presents I need."
"Aww..." I said. I wasn't the only one in the audience with a pile of melted mush for a heart.
"My turn next?" Loki asked with a nod. "Um, alright. I don't have much to say that will inspire you all, but I do have to say Merry Christmas. To humans, dolls, and this little baby Jesus. Without him, we wouldn't have any Christmas. Magneto?"
The key-chain looked shaken out of a daze. "Okay. Well, everyone, now you know the real meaning of Christmas. My only regret was that I had not told any of you sooner. Especially Elsa." Magneto looked over at me.
"Me? Why me?" I asked, taken aback.
"Because all of this time, ever since the beginning of December, you were asking me what Christmas meant, and I was too moody to say, or show you what it really was. I guess that's another regret I have. I've been horrible to all of you, just overall in a nasty mood since we've met. I don't have any excuse as to why I acted this way, but I guess it's just part of who I am to be a little rough around the edges. Can any of you forgive me?" Magneto's voice was genuine and judging by how it sounded, he was near tears.
"Of course." I replied.
He sniffled and looked up at me. "Thanks, Elsa. Oh, by the way, you're next."
"Oh! Well, then, I'll go. By the way this is Steve," I said, patting him awkwardly on the shoulder. "He's new here. But what I have to say about Christmas... gosh, I could say so much. For those of you that don't know, I've been keeping up a blog of sorts about happenings with me and my friends, and I'm currently doing a Christmas series called Elsa's 12 Days of Christmas."
"Cute." said Mary.
"All this time, like Magneto said, I've been searching for the true meaning of Christmas, asking around and thinking to myself what it could be. I guessed it was about peace, or giving, or family, and those are still all very true. It's been an incredible journey, but the big day is right around the corner, and besides, I think I've already found the true meaning of Christmas, today. I made an obvious glance towards Jesus laying in the cradle, and then to Steve.
"Steve? You're last." I said, giving him a little nudge on the arm.
"Oh! Um..." he cleared his throat. "Uh, hi everybody. My name's Steve. But Elsa already kind of introduced me. I'm a Captain America action figure. Uh... I just got here today, a few hours ago, actually. I was given to She as a present. I guess I was originally found on the thirteenth by that other human, but I'm getting off topic. I don't know much about Christmas. You've all been here longer than I have, and I don't know any of your names. But I'm excited to meet each and every one of you and all find out more about what Christmas is." Steve looked over at me as he finished. I looked at him, too.

As sloppy as the speech was, the room erupted into applause. I heard a few dolls say, "Welcome, Steve." It was like we were a workforce that just accepted a new employee. Steve was blushing.
"An hour or so earlier, I was running around looking for my future. For my whenever. But now I think I'm perfectly content to wait it out and go with the flow. Just see what happens." I sensed Steve inching closer to me.
I giggled. "You're going to let it go?"
Steve returned my smile. "Something like that."
Magneto said that the humans were due to come by at any moment, and Mary said a short prayer over us before we left in our separate directions. Mary's prayer was one I had never heard before, one more like song, and I think it might have been made up on the spot. I love a good improv, but Mary seemed an expert at it if she could come up with her own words and tune in a matter of seconds. From what I could understand, it was about a special baby being born and people coming to visit the child. It was a good fit the situation.
Benny and Napoleon went back under the big tree, Benny choosing to stay with his brother instead of his smaller tree now. Dorothy returned to the coffee table, and Bell flew back to one of topmost bows on the tree, while Magneto decided to stay with the ceramic people in the barn instead of the small ceramic town he usually went to. Dolls are weird. A house and a person can be made of the same thing, but only one of them is alive? Maybe I'll never understand my own species, but oh well.
Which left the rest of us, being Olaf, Loki, Steve and I, to go back up to She's room. Steve and I, being the taller ones, raced up the stairs together while Loki and Olaf tugged behind. He won, but I came in very close second. Besides, I let him win, being a newbie and all that. The two of us had bonded so quickly, it gave me a sinking feeling that I had to strap Steve back in his box for She to open for real later on. Hopefully later was sooner for Steve's sake.
He probably didn't feel too great about this, either, because the two of us hesitated at She's doorway.
"You sure you want to get back in that box?" I asked him, one hand ready to push against the door.
Steve sighed. "It's not that I have much of a choice."
"No, I guess not. But She's kind enough, you'll learn that quickly enough. She won't leave you cooped up in that box forever."
"I certainly hope not." said Steve, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I promise." I said.
"Alright. Let's go in."
The two of us were quiet as I tied him back into the cardboard and sliding him back in the box. I started when Steve tapped on the box just I was folding the flaps to his box in place.
"So, um..."
"Yes?"
"See you later, then?"
"Without a doubt."
Steve looked down sadly. "Yep."
"Come on," I packed the rest of it in the box and set him upright. He was surprisingly light. "When She lets you out, which will probably be tonight, we'll go out and find your whenever, okay?"
"Yeah, but, I think I'm pretty content to find my whenever right here."
"Okay." I replied, lightly touching the spot on the box where his hand lay, our hands distanced only by a thin sheet of clear plastic. Had it not separated them, we could have been holding hands.
"Elsa!" Loki hissed from the dresser. I could hear She's footsteps on the stairs.
"I have to go." I whispered.
"Be safe."
"Oh, like I'm going to get into any trouble?" I joked.
"I don't know. I just met you. You could be a trickster of some sort."
I laughed. "Oh, that's Loki. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
"See you whenever She opens my box?"
"As soon as you're free."
I slid Steve's box into the shimmery snowflake bag he was in and ran away, hopping up onto the dresser, Steve disappearing from view, since his box was leaning against She's bed on the other side. A second later, She returned, no longer wearing her Australian vomit sweater, but a slim white tank top.
"Elsa? Oh. You're here. I thought I left you on the counter. Did someone bring you up here for me?" She pressed a stray hair flat against my head and folded one of my legs over the other in a casual pose, then left as soon as She had come.
"She's not wearing her ugly sweater anymore. I saw her give it to the blonde girl before the guests all left." Olaf pointed out.
"Oh, thank God!" Loki cried. "That thing was an eyesore."
"What? It distracted you from her beautiful face?" I joked.
"Shut up. What about Steve, huh?"
I felt myself turn red. "What about Steve?"
"You two have something going on, I know it." Loki wagged his finger at me like a scolding parent.
"Oh, shut up yourself. He may be back in his box, but he can still hear you."
"So it's true, then? You like him?" Loki asked, getting a mischievous smile on his face. "You didn't deny what I said."
"She-lover." I spat.
"Steve-lover." He mocked.
"Truce?" I asked hopefully.
"Truce. Whatever." Loki replied.
The two of us shook hands on it.
"Oh, wait, I forgot something," She said, barging in her room again, as Loki and I popped back into position. She went over to the other side of her bed and lifted Steve's box up onto her bed. "I'll open you up later, Steve, okay? I just have to clean up after the party first."
She ran out of her room, the speed of the air nearly shutting the door behind her. From his spot on the bed, Steve sent me a wink, and I giggled and made a small wave in his direction.
"Oh, here we go again." Loki groaned.
"Who's that?" Olaf asked, pointing at Steve with one hand while the other grabbing my arms, jumping it up and down. "Is that Steve? Can you introduce me to him in person?"
"Why not?" I asked, the two of us hopping down from the bed.
Now I am finishing this post, at night as She is asleep, therefore not using her laptop,  (as you can see, it took a while to recall) but half of it was written when She was downstairs, cleaning up from the party and having dinner. Meanwhile, I was telling Steve about my blog and all of that, and from what he could see of the laptop screen while still being in the box, he was pretty impressed. Then he asked how I was so good at reading and writing, and I told him that besides a few catches here and there, it came naturally. I asked him if he knew how to read or write (well, more or less just typing buttons on a keyboard) and he said that sadly, he did not. So guess who's getting English lessons now? I spent some time writing this out, obviously, since it's coming out now, but I tried to compose my thoughts about the day with help from Steve, Olaf, and Loki, to make a list of eleven things to put here. After some time for reflection, I wrote up a list of my eleven grand Christmas traditions here.
1- Getting presents (When she received Steve.)
2- Giving presents (When She gave her friends their presents.)
3- Cookie decorating (When She had her cookie and ugly sweater party.)
4- Trimming the tree (When I noticed the decked-out tree in the living room.)
5- Eating good food (When the humans consumed hot chocolate and cookies.)
6- Celebrating the birth of Jesus (When Magneto introduced us to the first Christmas story.)
7- Returning home (When Steve decided to stay with us instead of finding his whenever.)
8- Christmas cards (When I saw that She's family tapes their Christmas cards on the wall.)
9- All the songs (When Olaf and I were dancing to Christmas songs upstairs.)
10- Dressing up (When Bell changed her outfit and She wore her ugly sweater.)
11- Counting down to Christmas (When I saw the paper chain and ornament tree.)

Keeping Christ in Christmas,

Queen Elsa