I awoke surrounded by soft plush velvety blankets. They were dark forest green, the same ones I had fallen asleep in last Christmas. The same ones that matched the paneled walls, couch, and overall theme of the room. The walls towered above me, seemingly much taller than the last time I was here. Everything looked much more magnificent, perhaps because I was now so changed from who I used to be, that I had a different perspective. The reindeer and Christmas trees that were carved into the white and gold ceiling looked much more detailed and lifelike, almost like they were actually prancing, or the trees softly swaying in a winter breeze. Across the room on top of the mantel was my snowglobe, glowing away.
I heard a small knock at the door, and I went to answer it. I was wearing the same clothes I wore last night, which were surprisingly comfortable to sleep in. I opened the door to see a young woman, maybe a little younger than Bernard, holding a platter in one arm. She had long dark hair that fell far past her waist, a ruby red velvet dress, and a tall purple pointed hat sitting perfectly balanced on her head.
"Hello Angel, I'm Judy. We haven't had the chance to meet yet." She held out her free hand with a friendly smile. "I hope we get to become good friends."
I shook her hand, "I'm An-" I realized I didn't need to reintroduce myself as she had just said my name. "It's nice to meet you." I said instead.
"I'm sure you are hungry, I brought you some cocoa and pancakes." She had a very polite clear voice.
"Oh, thank you." I smiled and opened the door wider so she could step inside. She set the tray down on the end table near the couch and sat in the chair next to it. I sat beside her on the sofa and took a small sip. "Wow, that's the best cocoa I've ever had." There was no exaggeration, it was very good.
"It's my special recipe, I've been working on it for over 1,200 years." She gave me a proud grin. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Is it true that you got our Head Elf Bernard to go to a human amusement park? I didn't believe it when Curtis told me that it was the real reason he took the day off." She had a curious, yet amused look on her face.
"Yes..." We both laughed after a moment of silence passed after my response.
"Wow, that's very unlike him. How hilarious." She squeaked between giggles.
"He did put up a big fight, he didn't want to come at first. He has a big soft spot for my little brother though.." I pushed some of my hair out of my face, tying it back with a hair tie. I just realized how nice it was that I could pull my hair completely back without worrying about my ears anymore.
"Oh yes, most elves do. Children are the reason for everything we do, so most of us have an endearment to them." Judy watched me for a few seconds quietly with a small smile. "You know, Bernard has a fondness for you." Judy poured herself a cup of cocoa while saying this.
I almost choked on my drink. "What?" I answered in bewilderment. I immediately felt my cheeks burn hot. Of course, I knew to some extent yes, we were friends, and like most friends, we would have some sort of "fondness", but the way she said it sounded like it might be something more.
Judy giggled at my reaction, apparently, my choking and becoming flustered is her idea of something funny. "I don't think he did all those things for your brother only, Bernard is very stubborn, he wouldn't sway that easily for a child, even if he does have a soft spot."
"You're saying he did those things for me?" I looked at her, this was something I never considered. I thought Bernard came along because he also wanted to help inform Charlie about things, but I suppose it was always me asking him to.
"All I'm saying is that there isn't a single elf in the whole North Pole that could convince him to wear human clothes for a whole day, but you did. It's quite impressive really." She sipped on her drink. "And none of us have seen him in this good of a mood since... hundreds of years. I can't even remember." She leaned back in her chair and shook her head with a grin, "But you know, he's so painfully oblivious to both his own emotions and to others, that I don't think he will ever realize that himself."
I didn't know how to respond. It didn't mean that Bernard necessarily "like liked" me... but she was implying that he liked me to some extent, right? Maybe he just admired me a lot, thought I was talented or something. What does fondness even mean? This wasn't because he carried me back last night either, was it? I would have asked but I heard the door open, and footsteps walking in. If he did "like me" in that sort of way, he sure didn't show it very well either.
"Are you two gossiping about me?" I turned to see Bernard walk in after knocking on my door. He stared between the two of us intently.
I immediately turned pink and looked away, which Judy started giggling at once again.
"Um, okay?" Bernard looked between the two of us with a confused expression. "Well I was just going to let you know that one of the elf tailors, her name is Shirley, will be ready for you around noon today. I could walk you down if you'd like, it can be hard to navigate at first," Judy gave him a little look to which he mouthed, "What?", his eyebrows knitting together and his face resuming its confused look. "Judy you can bring her if you'd like too, if that's what you are meaning."
"Actually, I was wondering if someone could show me where the bathroom is? I look and smell like I was traveling all day yesterday."
"You were." Bernard answered in an obvious tone.
"I was being sarcastic. I'd just like a shower." I shook my head.
Judy also shook her head, finding his response just as sad as I did. "Bernard why don't you go work on some of your Head Elf duties. I'll show Angie the bathroom and to the tailors later."
Bernard opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"You can meet us there later if you like," I added quickly, "At the tailors, not the bathroom." I coughed awkwardly as if that was something that really needed clarification.
"Yes, I assumed so," Bernard gave a small chuckle. "So, I'll be seeing you later then." He said to me with a nod. "I'll be on my way."
"Bernard," I called after him as he turned to walk off.
He paused and looked back at me.
"Thank you for yesterday. For bringing me the rest of the way back, I appreciate it."
"It's no problem." He smiled politely, then disappeared down the hall.
"So, you are in the residential area of the Santa house," Judy told me once he left. "It's a place just reserved for Santa and his family. No elves live here, making you an exception since you are a family member of the new Santa." She walked to the corner of my room and pulled down on a large golden wall-mounted piece of mistletoe. The wall folded up outwards like an accordion creating a white scalloped arch, and a new room opened up from inside. "That's how you access your bathroom. You just need to pull down on that lever there and it should open right up." She lead me inside and showed me around.
The first thing I noticed was that everything was the perfect size for me. I had been using a stool to style my hair in the mirror for the last few months, but I could easily see myself in the reflection.
The bathroom matched the theme of my room, it was still green, but a slightly lighter shade. There were red towels hanging from a golden wall mount, along with paintings of different Christmassy plants on the walls. There was a small circular window along the outside wall, where a dainty curtain the shape of a snowflake was hung, providing privacy. The sink had deep jade cupboards with intricately carved details, and on the far edge of the, rather large bathroom, was a beautiful claw foot tub.
"Wow, this makes me feel like royalty." I gasped.
"Well, elves are very good craftsmen and women." Judy smiled. "Your bath will chose products specially for you, depending on the day and how you are feeling or thinking about, it might change. Oh, and anything you put into your basket here will be washed and returned in the morning for you too, so you don't have to worry about hauling your laundry all around. "
The idea of never needing to do laundry again was an amazing thought, although it made me think of who was doing my laundry and I felt sort of strange... Judy seemed to read my thoughts.
"All elves here have jobs, and we get paid very fairly. Laundry comes in from all over the North Pole, not just here. Most of those things can be done with magic, so don't feel bad!" She gave me a reassuring smile. "Here, I'll leave you to get cleaned up. Bernard left your backpack in your room with all your clothes. Unfortunately for now that's all you'll have, but you'll have a closet full in no time." We walked back out into my room together, and she also disappeared down the hall.
I locked my door before pulling out the only other outfit that I brought. It was a pair of medium-wash jeans overalls, a clean green knitted sweater, and another pair of socks. I took them with me to the bathroom. I tried to figure out how to close the "wall door'' until I found there were two privacy curtains on either side of the archway. I pulled them down so they covered the open space, even if I knew nobody else was going to walk in.
Built into the wall hands-reach above the tub was a shelf. It was filled with every type of soap or possible shower-related hygiene item I could think of. There was a small button next to the shelf, and instinctually, I pressed my thumb against it. It flashed green, then the shelf was rearranged to have only a few things on it. I picked up the bottle of shampoo and read the bottle.
"Cookies and Peppermint." I said aloud to myself, "Wow, thanks shower. Maybe a little too on the head." I shook my head, placed the bottle back, and pressed the button again. "Cinnamon roll..." I sniffed the bottle. It did smell exactly like a cinnamon roll, fresh out of an oven and still warm. There was also a large bottle of bubble bath, sugar scrubs, and face masks, all in a similar soft vanilla or cinnamon scent.
"Well I guess I don't need to go to Bath and Body Works anymore..." I whispered to myself, eyes wide at all the options in front of me.
By the time I was done, the whole room smelled like the inside of a Cinnabon bakery. You would expect it to be overpowering, but it was surprisingly pleasant, even if it was strong.
I got dressed and allowed my hair to airdry over the next few hours. I slipped on my extra pair of clean shoes and decided to explore around, knowing very well I might get lost, but my curiosity was too strong to sit in my room.
Turns out that "The Santa House" is connected by a hallway to many more rooms. There was a large living room, on one wall was two large Christmas trees, decorated with popcorn strings, ruby red ornaments, dried orange slices, and twinkling white lights. In between the two ornamental decorated trees was a large fireplace. A large red plush couch with many pillows sat in front of the fireplace, small circular pillows that looked like candy mints and snowflakes. Giant windows as tall as the ceiling were on the far wall, with sparkling garlands wrapped around the tops of the burgundy curtains.
I continued looking around, finding many more rooms along the way. There was a study with a large desk, a closet with extra towels and blankets, a small kitchen filled with all sorts of sugary snacks and candy, and a few more bedrooms. I came to the end of one hallway, where a large engraved door labeled "Workshop" stood in front of me. That was useful to know.
Although the living area was large and spaced out, it didn't take very long to walk from the doors to the workshop all the way back to the far hall where Dad's room was. I peeked inside, and almost regretted it. Beyond the high pitched "tink tink tink" noises were elves in the middle of carving out my Dad's marble face into the fireplace. They turned and smiled, giving me a little wave before resuming their work. I'm glad I got a regular fireplace and not one that was modeled after my face... I couldn't imagine sleeping next to that. I waved back, a little bewildered and stepped back out of the room.
I began opening the workshop doors, but I was met by Judy coming in the opposite way. She nearly fell back, scared by my sudden surprise.
"Oh, you scared me," She put a hand to her heart breathing heavily with a big grin. I was beginning to realize that Judy was a very smiley elf. "I was coming back up to walk you over to the tailors. It's across the workshop, that way," She pointed leading the way.
I followed her across the workshop and down a few more halls. Here, there were rooms labeled "Wrapping Department", "Cotton Stuffing", "Sleigh Inspections", and so on. Finally, we rounded another corner, where the door was labeled "Tailoring and Fabrics".
When we stepped inside, Bernard and another elf, who I assumed to be Shirley were already standing there.
"Well hello! You must be Angie, my name is Shirley! I've heard so much about you!"
Shirley looked older than Judy and Bernard by at least several hundred years, or even thousands of years. She was shorter than the two of them, a bit chubby, with short dark blonde hair and lovely rosey cheeks. She seemed to be a very friendly type of elf that you would imagine as a kid thinking of the North Pole. She had a familiar look too, but I couldn't place it until I saw Curtis sitting on a spinning desk chair at the side of the room. He was twisting it side to side with a bored expression until he looked up and saw me.
"It's nice to meet you." I smiled at her.
"Angie, Shirley is Curtis's mom." Bernard explained.
"Hi Angie," Curtis said quickly, sitting up and smiling.
I could definitely see the similarities now. They both had the same dark blonde hair, and light green eyes, and even wore little golden glasses that looked very similar.
"Curtis went on and on about you when he met you last Christmas, you seem like such a nice gal." She beamed and started rustling around for supplies.
"Mom!" Curtis glared at his mom, a bit embarrassed. Bernard looked at him with an amused grin.
She pretended not to notice her son, waving her hand at him dismissively, and then turned back to her things. "Go ahead and step up on that little round platform there hun, I'll be right over." She walked back to me, sticking the pen she was holding in her mouth and chewing on the end.
"Hm. I'm going to have you put on this slip dress here. I won't be able to measure you accurately over all this denim." She looked at Bernard and Curtis. "You boys, out of the room now." and shooed them out before closing the door behind them. They seemed reluctant to go, but obviously I wasn't going to allow them to stay in here while I changed either. "You can get changed back here." She pointed at a folding room divider in the corner of the room. I quickly changed into it and came back. It was a light blue silk slip, falling right above my knees, with spaghetti straps over my shoulders. It reminded me of one of my grandma's lavish nightgowns, just, a little shorter and a bit more risqué in my opinion.
"I'll call them back when it comes to choosing fabrics, they don't care about the measuring part anyway." Shirley began wrapping measuring tape all around me, writing down the measurements, then continuing. I don't know how many she wrote down, but at some point, she measured my feet for shoes. I've never had my feet measured before.
Along the way she told me all about Curtis, and how she thought he was going to follow in her footsteps becoming a tailor, but how proud she was of him for becoming second elf, or "assistant head elf" as he liked to call it, so young. She talked about meeting her husband when she was only 200, and they had been dating ever since then. Judy told us about how she met her boyfriend Theo in wrapping, then both went on to ask me all about myself and my life.
After she finished with the crazy tape measuring, had me change back into my old clothes, and called the guys back into the room.
"Okay, now comes the fun part, go ahead and pick out some fabrics Angie." Shirley ushered me to a large walk-in closet, filled miles high with different types of fabrics, ranging from colorful to plain, to patterned, to shiny.
Judy and Curtis stayed out with Shirley, picking out different clothing patterns. Bernard stood out there awkwardly for a moment, before walking in, which was good, since I was completely overwhelmed by options.
"Is this something you guys do often?" I looked at Bernard, "How do you choose?"
"It depends. Shirley is one of the best seamstresses in the Pole so she works here, but there are many shops in the village too. They look more like stores you'd be used to, but Shirley's stuff is special." Bernard pulled a lever and a tall row of red fabrics rotated toward us. "What do you think of these? And you like green, right?"
With Bernards's help, we were able to pick out a few different fabrics. He helped me carry them out the table. Shirley showed me the patterns she was going to be sewing from and there was a whole lot. Shirts, pants, jumpsuits, sweaters, pajamas, and coats. They were very elf-like interesting designs, with swoopy swishes and pointy toes, but I really liked them.
"How much will they be?" I asked after looking through them. I didn't have any elvish money, so I crossed my fingers behind my back.
"Oh, no charge for you hon. This one is on me." Shirley smiled at me.
A/N:
Merry Christmas Eve!