***
Twelve days until Christmas. What I strange thought! I titled my head, trying to imagine what Christmas would be like. I hoped I could finish my 12 Days of Christmas posts by then! Well, I knew what it was like upstairs. I wasn't sure what it was like downstairs yet. I hear the humans bustling around a lot down there, but we've never had the time to investigate. She is in her room almost all of the time on her laptop, groaning about schoolwork. I wasn't sure what school was. Dolls don't have schools. We were probably lucky, born knowing all the education we would ever need. But no amount of learning could get us alone in a room for a while, it seemed.
Fortunately, I had time to think aloud and discuss our options to Olaf and Loki when She went downstairs in the morning to leave to wherever humans disappear to. We waited for the door to close behind her, and then her footsteps going down the stairs. When She was finally out of earshot, the three of us let out a breath it felt like we'd been holding in forever.
"Finally!" cried Olaf. "I thought that She'd never leave!"
"Olaf!" I scolded. "That's not polite! She takes good care of us here."
"Right," said Loki. "So what's our plan for today?" He was laying on the blanket She gave him, staring at the ceiling above, the part with the hanging paper snowflakes.
"Well..." I stopped speaking to bite my lip. "I didn't exactly have one."
"Ooh! Ooh! I've got an idea!" the snowman yelled, jumping up and down with a stick-arm in the air.
"Yes, Olaf?" I asked.
"How about we go downstairs? I read the calender She had over there and it said something about a bigger tree being decorated down there."
"You okay, with that, Loki?" I asked, turning to our little elf-man friend.
He only shrugged and picked up his staff, just in case. "Why wouldn't I be?"
I shrugged in return. "I don't know."
"Okay, let's go everyone!" Olaf cried happily. He was the off the dresser and out the door before any of us had the chance. We followed him quickly.
"Okay, let's go everyone!" Olaf cried happily. He was the off the dresser and out the door before any of us had the chance. We followed him quickly.
Benny was there guarding the little human tree as usual. As if it needs to be guarded! From who or what? Oh well. We waved hello, and he asked us where we were going.
I curtsied in his direction, unsure if I still had to be extra polite to him. Better overdo it to be safe. "Good sir, we are going to visit the human tree downstairs." I replied.
"Which one, my dear lady?"
The three of us looked at each-other. There was more than one downstairs as well?
"Whichever one we see first." Loki answered for me. So that was that.
I curtsied in his direction, unsure if I still had to be extra polite to him. Better overdo it to be safe. "Good sir, we are going to visit the human tree downstairs." I replied.
"Which one, my dear lady?"
The three of us looked at each-other. There was more than one downstairs as well?
"Whichever one we see first." Loki answered for me. So that was that.
I find this rather interesting- we all had our separate ways of walking down the stairs. Well, maybe walking only described what I was doing. Olaf and Loki had their own separate style. Olaf acted as one of those human toys- a slinky, by going down each stair bouncing up and down, smiling like a goon the whole way. I think he's beginning to learn that things don't hurt him, but I'm not sure if it's because he thinks he's made of snow or stuffing.
Loki simply teleported. But I had to walk like a queen. Lift my dress slightly, try to not to trip on my cape, step slowly.
"I found one!" Olaf cried once he reached the bottom of the stairs. He was looking into a room with a table and chairs...and not much else. Was this what the humans called a dining room? Well, it was lovely anyways. And Olaf was right. Another tiny tree sat in the middle of the table.
Olaf was the first to check it out. He gave it a good look-over and then moved on. It didn't seem to interest him much. Loki and I took our time. I had to kneel down to see it properly.
It was a tree made out of four panels of green wood all connected at the center. There were multiple circles in the center of the tree. Some of them held ornaments, others did not. It was a pretty tree, but not really as magnificent as we were expecting. I wondered what on earth it was intended for. The tree was sitting on a box, which held smaller, numbered boxes inside of it. Loki opened one to see what was inside. It was another tiny ornament.
"Oh, I know what this is!" said Loki. "It's an Advent calender. Each day the humans put one ornament on the tree to count down to Christmas."
"How odd!" I exclaimed. Was that a clue?
"I'm bored. Can we leave and go find the other tree?" Olaf asked.
"Just a minute." I said, lifting all openings on every tiny box I could find. I heard Olaf impatiently humming one of the Christmas songs I had heard a few days ago. It might have been called, "Silver Bells." The singer did that those words a lot.
Once I had almost finished a row of boxes, I heard Olaf grow quiet. A rare thing for him. So something must be wrong. I looked up and saw him worriedly looking over at the cupboard across the room. The cupboard had all sorts of things on top of it. It appeared to be a tiny town, with heaps of cotton as snow, and mirrors posing as ice. It was pretty, but not as pretty as the tree. I guess it didn't help my opinion that the town was too small for me to enjoy.
"What is it, Olaf?" I asked, walking over to him. I had given up on searching all the boxes. It was boring and it took too much time. I don't think the meaning of Christmas is hidden inside a box of any sort.
He looked to me, and then back to the town. To me, and then the town. "I don't think we should be here." he said finally.
I, too, got weird vibes from just looking at the town. But I also felt that we had to stay for some reason. So we stayed.
Loki didn't seem to pick up on it. He wandered around the table. Checking out the Advent calender tree, and the candles, but there wasn't much else to see on our side. It seemed that we had no choice but the explore the town in hopes of finding the meaning of Christmas.
"Ready to check out the town?" I asked a little nervously.
"There's a town?" Loki asked.
"Yeah," I pointed to the town on the cupboard. "Right over there, see?"
"Oh," he said, and drew a blank card in his brain. "I see."
"Want to go check it out?" I asked reluctantly. I wasn't sure if his reaction was a good thing or not.
Loki only nodded. Okay then... I wasn't sure how to react to his reaction, if that made any sense. Olaf, however, dragged behind. There was something he didn't like about this place. And quite honestly, neither did I, but we kept going, all the way to the end of the table where there laid a little covered bridge, obviously the town's entrance.
(above picture is a overhead view of the town)
We were about to pass the covered bridge and leap off the table when we heard this awful growling noise. Well, it sounded like growling to me. It was probably more like angry shouting spoken so fast that it sounded like growling. But no matter. Because the next thing I knew, something was chasing after me and I had to get away. Such as the day in the life of Queen Elsa.
The growling thing was tiny. Smaller than Loki. And She calls him a little elf-man, so you know that it was small. And vicious. It almost grabbed onto my cape had I not ran back to Olaf and hid behind him. I never would have called Olaf smart, but at least he trusted his gut. Or lack thereof.
"WHO GOES THERE?!" The growling thing shouted. He had finally stopped long enough for me to tell what he was saying- and also see what my attacker looked like. Like I said before, he was tiny, but also in probably the most ridiculous costume a doll could wear. If he was a doll. I noticed the metal clasp drilled into his head and found that he was a key-chain. Made sense. The other dolls at Wandering Oaken's had warned me not to speak with key chains.
Once I saw what he was and that I was no longer threatened, I came out from my hiding place. Olaf was too scared to speak, but so far I was the tallest doll I had seen at The House She Lived In, and a key-chain was something I shouldn't be afraid of.
The key-chain man stomped over to the covered bridge and raised his arms in terror. I was vaguely reminded of the human story of an evil, ugly troll living under a bridge that ate helpless billy goats. Loki stayed his ground. In fact, I don't even think he flinched when he saw him. Perhaps Loki recognized the key-chain somewhere, after all, I knew for a fact that Loki was apart of the Marvel universe, and maybe this key-chain was, too. The outfit was certainly ridiculous enough. And I wear a dress supposed to be made of ice.
"WHO GOES THERE?!" The key-chain repeated. I was vaguely reminded of Benny, you know, guarding something for whatever reason. Only less friendly. A lot less friendly.
We reluctantly walked towards the troll. Loki was first, the gears in his head probably turning at light speed, and me behind him, practically dragging Olaf along with me.
The key-chain scowled, looking up at Loki. He looked down at him, confused.
"Yes?"
"State your name and business!" the key-chain yelled. He had a surprisingly large voice for someone of that size.
"I am Loki, of The Room She Lives In, upstairs. I have traveled down here with my companions..."
Wait, companions? What did that mean? That he considered us friends?
"...Queen Elsa and Olaf. He is a snowman, yes, and he doesn't like you pointing it out." Loki finished.
Olaf raised his eyebrows. "No, I'm fine with it," then he waddled up to the key-chain, who had his arms crossed, and said, "Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"
The key-chain didn't respond. He just sort of glared at him. Olaf backed away slowly.
"Fine then," the key-chain spat. "I am Magneto. That is all I will say about myself. Now go."
"Please, we just wanted to see the town." Olaf mumbled, shuffling his little snowball feet.
"He is welcome to visit my town," said Magneto nodding at Loki. Then he pointed at Olaf and I as if we were guilty of some crime. "You are not."
Magneto was in a nasty disposition or maybe he was just a nasty person. Discriminating us by our height since we weren't allowed in the town. Or maybe he was just trying to make sure we didn't destroy anything, but any choice was rude nonetheless. Then again, so what? Olaf and I couldn't fit in any part of the town due to our size. Even Loki had to duck to properly see most of the buildings. We were at least able to watch from afar on the table. Magneto didn't seem to care about that.
So while Olaf and I stayed on the table, Magneto and Loki jumped down from it and climbed up onto the cupboard where the town was. Magneto still held his grumpy mood, but at least he agreed to show someone his pride and joy, his home. And Loki had been given the grand tour. Magneto spoke loudly, (I found that it wasn't just the fact that he was shouting, that was his real voice) so I was able to hear most of what he said. Loki had decided to be a respectful tourist today, and he kept quiet throughout most of it.
The tour started with the gazebo in the center of the town. All good towns have something to mark the center, where people are most likely to visit in the weekends, and the gazebo was just that for the tiny town, which I found later it was made of a ceramic-like material, except the piles of snow was made of cotton, and the ice skating rink was mirror glass.
The smaller, less impressive places were next on the tour. There was a barn, a train, a police car, a lighthouse, and a bakery, each held a tiny bright bulb to give out some light, even during the nighttime. It would have been really nice had the lights not been so blinding, it made you shocked rather than warm.
(above picture is Magneto on the snowy bridge. Poor guy seems to be permanently in that pose for all of his pictures. Hey, maybe that's why he's so grumpy!)
The second-to-last was a small wooden bridge, covered in sparkling fake snow and surrounded by fir trees. Or were they pine trees? I could never tell. It's not like I was required to know my tree types anyways. Magneto was very protective of his snowy bridge. He wouldn't let Loki step on it. Now he reminded me even more of a grumpy old troll.
The last, and possibly the best attraction, was the mirror shard posing as an ice skating rink. I could ice skate pretty well, but on a tiny mirror? I stayed where I was on the table. I wasn't allowed in the town anyways. At least Loki really seemed to like it. His favorite was the mirror. Except for in pictures, dolls never really get to see themselves... unless they're standing on the mirror. Loki admired his reflection like any attractive guy would, seeing himself in a mirror for the first time. It was actually kind of funny. I covered my mouth in a queenlike way to hide a giggle. Magneto whipped his head around and shot me daggers. My smile faded quickly until he turned away again, and then Olaf and I chuckled quietly together.
When the tour was finished, I felt that it was time to leave. She was probably going to be home in um, ten minutes at least. We had to get going and get back into the room upstairs and act like nothing at all had happened.
Loki and Magneto climbed back onto the table. Loki rejoined our group, and Magneto stood as best a key-chain like himself was able to by the covered bridge to keep any other, taller, trespassers from sneaking past him to his town. He frowned at us when we waved goodbye, looking unamused.
"Bye, Magneto!" I called back to him as we slowly made out way to the other end of the table closest to the staircase. "Thank you kindly for letting us pay a visit."
Loki raised his staff in some sort of Asgard greeting or goodbye ritual. Heck if I knew.
Olaf just kind of stood there, smiling until we all had finished talking. Then he jumped up and said, "Bye, mean troll guy! Thanks for letting us visit your town, or not really, because I never got to see it. Well, bye, anyways!"
I shot Loki and terrified glance and titled my head towards Olaf, who didn't know he was treading on thin ice. I hoped we would be spared from the key-chain's wrath.
Magneto grunted in reply.
I've never been so happy to hear such a thing.
We turned to leave. Loki expertly dropped off the side of the table and made his way to the staircase. Olaf, who was afraid of heights, wrung his hands in worry at the sight of our distance from the ground until I pushed him off playfully.
I myself swung my legs over the side of the table before remembering the main reason we had come downstairs. I turned my head back to the bridge and said, "Hey, Magneto, do you know the meaning of Christmas?"
The key-chain leaned farther against a ceramic statue of a man in a red coat and a long white beard. Magneto lifted his eyebrows slightly at my question.
"The meaning of Christmas?" he repeated in question.
"Yes- that was our main reason for coming down here to this room. We're trying to find the meaning of Christmas."
Magneto paused and uncrossed his arms to adjust his helmet. I actually preferred Loki's over Magneto's. His looked a lot more revealing face wise. "Christmas," Magneto stated. "Bah humbug."
I wasn't sure what those words meant, but they didn't sound good. "Magneto! How could you?"
"What? Have a sense of what goes on in this season? It's all about greed, Elsa. Selfishness and greed. People wanting this, people wanting that. I've given up on Christmas. You should, too, before it is too late and you realize what this world does to you." Magneto protested.
I needed a while for my brain to chew on this information. I slipped off the edge of the table and walked up the stairs, quietly. What to say to that? I decided that maybe saying nothing was best.
When I got upstairs, Olaf and Loki were already waiting for me on the dresser next to our doll Christmas tree from the first day.
"How did your talk go with Magneto? I heard voices from you two before I came upstairs." said Olaf immediately. Loki seemed to be busying himself with polishing his helmet with the edge of his blanket.
"Oh, you, know, it went fine." I replied, even though it did not go fine at all.
"Good. Now how about you come up on the dresser now?" said Olaf, motioning to my usual spot between Olaf and Loki.
"I think I'll just stay down here for a while." I replied, trying not to sound unnatural in any way as I settled down on a fine piece of carpeted floor, tucking my legs under my dress. Olaf gave me a worried look. He's very sympathetic. I think it may actually be a requirement to be an Olaf plushie.
"You know, you shouldn't listen to Magneto," Loki mumbled, not looking up from his helmet. "He's a bit of a grump."
"A bit?" Olaf butted in.
"Olaf, don't interrupt." I scolded him.
"Sorry."
"Anyways, most Magnetos are. And the fact that he's a key-chain doesn't help much either. Key-chains, I've heard, are not to be trusted." I saw him lift the corner of his blanket to see the card beneath him. The card I knew nothing about, the card that was kept hidden, the card that She or Loki couldn't bear to throw away for whatever reason. Loki sighed, then blew some invisible dust off his helmet.
"But why?" I asked, curious. "Why is he like that?"
"Who knows?" Loki asked. "Maybe he's stuck on his character's story. Maybe he believes he is something that he isn't," Loki side-glanced over at Olaf. "Maybe the world was cruel to him, or maybe someone denied him love." Another sigh. "I just don't know, Elsa. One of the mysteries of life. For humans and dolls."
Pure and utter silence in the room. Even Olaf, the extrovert, didn't dare speak. It was just the sound of the soft cloth of the blanket rubbing against the plastic of Loki's helmet. Maybe Magneto was lost. He said Christmas was full of greed and selfishness, but that can't be true. I mean, look what we have to prove it! A beautiful doll-sized Christmas tree with all the decorations, the gift She gave us. Maybe Magneto was looking for the same thing we were, the meaning of Christmas. I guess, even for a doll like him, that was possible.
There was a sudden sound of a slamming door from downstairs. The humans were home. I quickly scrambled up the dresser and pretended to look the same I had been before She left.
She was up the stairs in a jiffy, carrying something small enough to fit tightly into her closed fist. I watched her as she walked over to our tree and clasped something- maybe another ornament, onto the topmost branch. She exited quickly and closed the door, giggling slightly.
Suddenly I knew why. Magneto hung from the tree branch, obviously unhappy, and swinging back and forth, trying to get down. "Fiends!" he yelled. "Monsters! Traitors! Fiends!"
"Shh, be quiet, someone will hear you!" I hissed, holding a finger to my lips in silence, but the sight of it was just too funny. I started to laugh. Olaf joined in, and even Loki smiled.
"Excuse me, would you like some help?" he called up to our struggling acquaintance.
"No! I'm going to get down by myself!" Magneto insisted, twisting his body in a desperate attempt to reach his key-chain clasp. But to no avail. It was useless.
"Magneto, we have an offer for you." I began.
"What do you want now?!"
"Nothing. Well, not really. It's sort of a deal. Loki can help you down from your unfortunate position, and then you can help us find the meaning of Christmas."
"I told you before, it's useless! Christmas is a waste of time."
"How can you know? You're hanging from a tree branch!" I laughed.
Magneto paused as if to say, "Good point." Finally, he gave up. "Fine," he groaned. "You get me down from here, and I will help you on your stupid quest for Christmas."
"Good," I replied. "We start as soon as possible." Loki started climbing the tree, and Olaf grinned at the thought of adding a new member to our troupe.
"Think of it as a thanks for sharing your town with us. Since you did that, we'll share with you the meaning of Christmas once we find it."
Loki simply teleported. But I had to walk like a queen. Lift my dress slightly, try to not to trip on my cape, step slowly.
"I found one!" Olaf cried once he reached the bottom of the stairs. He was looking into a room with a table and chairs...and not much else. Was this what the humans called a dining room? Well, it was lovely anyways. And Olaf was right. Another tiny tree sat in the middle of the table.
Olaf was the first to check it out. He gave it a good look-over and then moved on. It didn't seem to interest him much. Loki and I took our time. I had to kneel down to see it properly.
It was a tree made out of four panels of green wood all connected at the center. There were multiple circles in the center of the tree. Some of them held ornaments, others did not. It was a pretty tree, but not really as magnificent as we were expecting. I wondered what on earth it was intended for. The tree was sitting on a box, which held smaller, numbered boxes inside of it. Loki opened one to see what was inside. It was another tiny ornament.
"How odd!" I exclaimed. Was that a clue?
"I'm bored. Can we leave and go find the other tree?" Olaf asked.
"Just a minute." I said, lifting all openings on every tiny box I could find. I heard Olaf impatiently humming one of the Christmas songs I had heard a few days ago. It might have been called, "Silver Bells." The singer did that those words a lot.
Once I had almost finished a row of boxes, I heard Olaf grow quiet. A rare thing for him. So something must be wrong. I looked up and saw him worriedly looking over at the cupboard across the room. The cupboard had all sorts of things on top of it. It appeared to be a tiny town, with heaps of cotton as snow, and mirrors posing as ice. It was pretty, but not as pretty as the tree. I guess it didn't help my opinion that the town was too small for me to enjoy.
"What is it, Olaf?" I asked, walking over to him. I had given up on searching all the boxes. It was boring and it took too much time. I don't think the meaning of Christmas is hidden inside a box of any sort.
He looked to me, and then back to the town. To me, and then the town. "I don't think we should be here." he said finally.
Loki didn't seem to pick up on it. He wandered around the table. Checking out the Advent calender tree, and the candles, but there wasn't much else to see on our side. It seemed that we had no choice but the explore the town in hopes of finding the meaning of Christmas.
"Ready to check out the town?" I asked a little nervously.
"There's a town?" Loki asked.
"Yeah," I pointed to the town on the cupboard. "Right over there, see?"
"Oh," he said, and drew a blank card in his brain. "I see."
"Want to go check it out?" I asked reluctantly. I wasn't sure if his reaction was a good thing or not.
Loki only nodded. Okay then... I wasn't sure how to react to his reaction, if that made any sense. Olaf, however, dragged behind. There was something he didn't like about this place. And quite honestly, neither did I, but we kept going, all the way to the end of the table where there laid a little covered bridge, obviously the town's entrance.
(above picture is a overhead view of the town)
We were about to pass the covered bridge and leap off the table when we heard this awful growling noise. Well, it sounded like growling to me. It was probably more like angry shouting spoken so fast that it sounded like growling. But no matter. Because the next thing I knew, something was chasing after me and I had to get away. Such as the day in the life of Queen Elsa.
The growling thing was tiny. Smaller than Loki. And She calls him a little elf-man, so you know that it was small. And vicious. It almost grabbed onto my cape had I not ran back to Olaf and hid behind him. I never would have called Olaf smart, but at least he trusted his gut. Or lack thereof.
"WHO GOES THERE?!" The growling thing shouted. He had finally stopped long enough for me to tell what he was saying- and also see what my attacker looked like. Like I said before, he was tiny, but also in probably the most ridiculous costume a doll could wear. If he was a doll. I noticed the metal clasp drilled into his head and found that he was a key-chain. Made sense. The other dolls at Wandering Oaken's had warned me not to speak with key chains.
Once I saw what he was and that I was no longer threatened, I came out from my hiding place. Olaf was too scared to speak, but so far I was the tallest doll I had seen at The House She Lived In, and a key-chain was something I shouldn't be afraid of.
The key-chain man stomped over to the covered bridge and raised his arms in terror. I was vaguely reminded of the human story of an evil, ugly troll living under a bridge that ate helpless billy goats. Loki stayed his ground. In fact, I don't even think he flinched when he saw him. Perhaps Loki recognized the key-chain somewhere, after all, I knew for a fact that Loki was apart of the Marvel universe, and maybe this key-chain was, too. The outfit was certainly ridiculous enough. And I wear a dress supposed to be made of ice.
We reluctantly walked towards the troll. Loki was first, the gears in his head probably turning at light speed, and me behind him, practically dragging Olaf along with me.
The key-chain scowled, looking up at Loki. He looked down at him, confused.
"Yes?"
"State your name and business!" the key-chain yelled. He had a surprisingly large voice for someone of that size.
"I am Loki, of The Room She Lives In, upstairs. I have traveled down here with my companions..."
Wait, companions? What did that mean? That he considered us friends?
"...Queen Elsa and Olaf. He is a snowman, yes, and he doesn't like you pointing it out." Loki finished.
Olaf raised his eyebrows. "No, I'm fine with it," then he waddled up to the key-chain, who had his arms crossed, and said, "Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"
The key-chain didn't respond. He just sort of glared at him. Olaf backed away slowly.
"Fine then," the key-chain spat. "I am Magneto. That is all I will say about myself. Now go."
"Please, we just wanted to see the town." Olaf mumbled, shuffling his little snowball feet.
"He is welcome to visit my town," said Magneto nodding at Loki. Then he pointed at Olaf and I as if we were guilty of some crime. "You are not."
So while Olaf and I stayed on the table, Magneto and Loki jumped down from it and climbed up onto the cupboard where the town was. Magneto still held his grumpy mood, but at least he agreed to show someone his pride and joy, his home. And Loki had been given the grand tour. Magneto spoke loudly, (I found that it wasn't just the fact that he was shouting, that was his real voice) so I was able to hear most of what he said. Loki had decided to be a respectful tourist today, and he kept quiet throughout most of it.
The smaller, less impressive places were next on the tour. There was a barn, a train, a police car, a lighthouse, and a bakery, each held a tiny bright bulb to give out some light, even during the nighttime. It would have been really nice had the lights not been so blinding, it made you shocked rather than warm.
The second-to-last was a small wooden bridge, covered in sparkling fake snow and surrounded by fir trees. Or were they pine trees? I could never tell. It's not like I was required to know my tree types anyways. Magneto was very protective of his snowy bridge. He wouldn't let Loki step on it. Now he reminded me even more of a grumpy old troll.
When the tour was finished, I felt that it was time to leave. She was probably going to be home in um, ten minutes at least. We had to get going and get back into the room upstairs and act like nothing at all had happened.
Loki and Magneto climbed back onto the table. Loki rejoined our group, and Magneto stood as best a key-chain like himself was able to by the covered bridge to keep any other, taller, trespassers from sneaking past him to his town. He frowned at us when we waved goodbye, looking unamused.
Loki raised his staff in some sort of Asgard greeting or goodbye ritual. Heck if I knew.
Olaf just kind of stood there, smiling until we all had finished talking. Then he jumped up and said, "Bye, mean troll guy! Thanks for letting us visit your town, or not really, because I never got to see it. Well, bye, anyways!"
I shot Loki and terrified glance and titled my head towards Olaf, who didn't know he was treading on thin ice. I hoped we would be spared from the key-chain's wrath.
Magneto grunted in reply.
I've never been so happy to hear such a thing.
We turned to leave. Loki expertly dropped off the side of the table and made his way to the staircase. Olaf, who was afraid of heights, wrung his hands in worry at the sight of our distance from the ground until I pushed him off playfully.
I myself swung my legs over the side of the table before remembering the main reason we had come downstairs. I turned my head back to the bridge and said, "Hey, Magneto, do you know the meaning of Christmas?"
The key-chain leaned farther against a ceramic statue of a man in a red coat and a long white beard. Magneto lifted his eyebrows slightly at my question.
"The meaning of Christmas?" he repeated in question.
"Yes- that was our main reason for coming down here to this room. We're trying to find the meaning of Christmas."
Magneto paused and uncrossed his arms to adjust his helmet. I actually preferred Loki's over Magneto's. His looked a lot more revealing face wise. "Christmas," Magneto stated. "Bah humbug."
I wasn't sure what those words meant, but they didn't sound good. "Magneto! How could you?"
"What? Have a sense of what goes on in this season? It's all about greed, Elsa. Selfishness and greed. People wanting this, people wanting that. I've given up on Christmas. You should, too, before it is too late and you realize what this world does to you." Magneto protested.
I needed a while for my brain to chew on this information. I slipped off the edge of the table and walked up the stairs, quietly. What to say to that? I decided that maybe saying nothing was best.
When I got upstairs, Olaf and Loki were already waiting for me on the dresser next to our doll Christmas tree from the first day.
"How did your talk go with Magneto? I heard voices from you two before I came upstairs." said Olaf immediately. Loki seemed to be busying himself with polishing his helmet with the edge of his blanket.
"Oh, you, know, it went fine." I replied, even though it did not go fine at all.
"Good. Now how about you come up on the dresser now?" said Olaf, motioning to my usual spot between Olaf and Loki.
"I think I'll just stay down here for a while." I replied, trying not to sound unnatural in any way as I settled down on a fine piece of carpeted floor, tucking my legs under my dress. Olaf gave me a worried look. He's very sympathetic. I think it may actually be a requirement to be an Olaf plushie.
"You know, you shouldn't listen to Magneto," Loki mumbled, not looking up from his helmet. "He's a bit of a grump."
"A bit?" Olaf butted in.
"Olaf, don't interrupt." I scolded him.
"Sorry."
"Anyways, most Magnetos are. And the fact that he's a key-chain doesn't help much either. Key-chains, I've heard, are not to be trusted." I saw him lift the corner of his blanket to see the card beneath him. The card I knew nothing about, the card that was kept hidden, the card that She or Loki couldn't bear to throw away for whatever reason. Loki sighed, then blew some invisible dust off his helmet.
"But why?" I asked, curious. "Why is he like that?"
"Who knows?" Loki asked. "Maybe he's stuck on his character's story. Maybe he believes he is something that he isn't," Loki side-glanced over at Olaf. "Maybe the world was cruel to him, or maybe someone denied him love." Another sigh. "I just don't know, Elsa. One of the mysteries of life. For humans and dolls."
Pure and utter silence in the room. Even Olaf, the extrovert, didn't dare speak. It was just the sound of the soft cloth of the blanket rubbing against the plastic of Loki's helmet. Maybe Magneto was lost. He said Christmas was full of greed and selfishness, but that can't be true. I mean, look what we have to prove it! A beautiful doll-sized Christmas tree with all the decorations, the gift She gave us. Maybe Magneto was looking for the same thing we were, the meaning of Christmas. I guess, even for a doll like him, that was possible.
There was a sudden sound of a slamming door from downstairs. The humans were home. I quickly scrambled up the dresser and pretended to look the same I had been before She left.
She was up the stairs in a jiffy, carrying something small enough to fit tightly into her closed fist. I watched her as she walked over to our tree and clasped something- maybe another ornament, onto the topmost branch. She exited quickly and closed the door, giggling slightly.
Suddenly I knew why. Magneto hung from the tree branch, obviously unhappy, and swinging back and forth, trying to get down. "Fiends!" he yelled. "Monsters! Traitors! Fiends!"
"Shh, be quiet, someone will hear you!" I hissed, holding a finger to my lips in silence, but the sight of it was just too funny. I started to laugh. Olaf joined in, and even Loki smiled.
"Excuse me, would you like some help?" he called up to our struggling acquaintance.
"No! I'm going to get down by myself!" Magneto insisted, twisting his body in a desperate attempt to reach his key-chain clasp. But to no avail. It was useless.
"Magneto, we have an offer for you." I began.
"What do you want now?!"
"Nothing. Well, not really. It's sort of a deal. Loki can help you down from your unfortunate position, and then you can help us find the meaning of Christmas."
"I told you before, it's useless! Christmas is a waste of time."
"How can you know? You're hanging from a tree branch!" I laughed.
Magneto paused as if to say, "Good point." Finally, he gave up. "Fine," he groaned. "You get me down from here, and I will help you on your stupid quest for Christmas."
"Good," I replied. "We start as soon as possible." Loki started climbing the tree, and Olaf grinned at the thought of adding a new member to our troupe.
"Think of it as a thanks for sharing your town with us. Since you did that, we'll share with you the meaning of Christmas once we find it."
"IF you find it," said Magneto, dropping from the branch to the dresser once Loki lifted his clasp. "It's not going to be easy."
I smiled at him. "Who ever said I liked easy?"
Magneto glared up at me, only I didn't feel threatened this time. He started brushing off arms and legs. "Bah humbug." he replied.
Well whatever Magneto thought right now didn't matter, because as soon as we found the meaning of Christmas that he'd change his mind. And at that moment I discovered our second clue; Christmas is meant to be shared.
Well whatever Magneto thought right now didn't matter, because as soon as we found the meaning of Christmas that he'd change his mind. And at that moment I discovered our second clue; Christmas is meant to be shared.
Sharing Christmas,
Queen Elsa
Oooh, good thoughts! I'm sorry Magneto's such a pain... She used to show him to me at lunch sometimes and he was never very kind to me, either.
ReplyDeleteHey, Elsa!! We miss you!
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