***
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.
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.
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."
"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.
"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.
"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."
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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."
"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.
"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.
"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.
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.
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.
"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!"
"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!
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
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