“I know, I know. I’m sorry, babe, but at least I’ll be home for New Years, right?.....I know, I miss you too Jules, but I just can’t make it home in time for tomorrow…..Ok. I’ll see you soon?......Merry Christmas, babe.” With a sigh, Ellie dropped her phone from her ear, ending the call as she slouched onto the banister in front of her. It was Christmas eve, and instead of being home with her family, or cuddled up on the couch with her boyfriend Julian like she wanted, she was stranded. For Ellie, work and travel went hand in hand, and with her job leading her to fly out of New York to the California for a meeting barely a week before Christmas, she knew timing to get home would be tight for the holidays. Despite this, she had it all planned out; catch a flight back home the morning of Christmas Eve, get home by sundown, and spend the night next to the fireplace with the boy she was in love with. Even thinking of how perfect it all could have been, Ellie sighed, but like most of the plans she laid out in front of her, things almost never went as intended. As far as she could tell, too many kids out there had wished for a white Christmas, and now a winter storm had been making its way through most of the East Coast. Virtually every plane headed for that part of the country had been delayed or canceled altogether, with the storm not predicted to subside until after the holiday had passed.
At that, Ellie was stranded, her defeated frame currently propped up against the banister overlooking the atrium of a shopping mall. She had intended to get some last minute Christmas shopping done before flying home, but only an hour before she had been notified that her flight had been canceled. With her black hair draped over her face and a few small bags dangling from her grasp, Ellie was lost in thought, desperately trying to think of what to do. ‘I could rent a car just start a drive home… but even if I drove straight through the night I wouldn’t be home anywhere near in time… I could… no that wouldn’t work either.’ With one more sigh, Ellie rested her chin on her forearms, feeling the plush texture of her sweater prop up her head. “I guess I really am stuck out here,” she mumbled to herself aloud, a distinctive loneliness washing over her. Unsure of what to do next, Ellie’s ear perked up as she heard a voice come from beside her. “Excuse me, miss. Is everything alright?”
Slow to respond, Ellie blinked, responding as she slowly lifted her head from her slumped position. “No, it’s not, but –“ As her gaze turned, Ellie stopped short, surprised by the figure that met her to her right. Beside her was an older, gentle looking man, dressed head to toe in a Santa costume, even with a sack of what she could only assume to be toys at beside his boots. Before she could continue her sentence, the man chimed in, finishing it for her. “But nothing! It’s Christmas Eve, my dear! Why would you be sad this close to Christmas?” Admittedly, the man’s enthusiasm was too much for Ellie not to crack a smile, ‘Santa’ quickly noticing the smirk before continuing. “So tell me, what’s got you brooding around like this?” Hesitating for a second, Ellie was unsure why a stranger would strike up a conversation like this with her, but she didn’t see any harm in going along with it. “Well, I was supposed to fly home for Christmas, but my flight got canceled, so it looks like I’ll be spending the holiday alone in a hotel room.” At that, the man shook his head. “That’s not much of a Christmas at all, now is it? Tell me miss, what is your name?” Confused for a second, Ellie answered the question. “Ellie; Ellie Rockwell.” At that, the man lifted a single finger as if to ask for a moment, pulling a rolled-up list from his pocket as he steadied a pair of half-circle reading glasses on his nose.
Letting the list unravel, Ellie was surprised to see as the end of the paper descended all the way to the floor, the thin sheet of paper improbably long for the small roll of paper that contained it. At that, the main glided one finger along the list, muttering under his breath until he found what he was looking for. “Ah, Ellie Rockwell. Well it seems you’ve been good all year! And it seems that all you asked for Christmas this year is to be with some boy named Justin- no wait, Julian. Is that correct?” The man corrected his glasses as he glanced from the list to Ellie, quick to roll the paper back up. With a look of surprise on her face, Ellie stared at the man intently as she spoke. “Excuse me? Wait, how do you know who I’m dating?” With a slight chuckle, the man dressed as Santa answered the question without thinking much of it. “My list is quite reliable, Ellie. Can’t be giving people the wrong thing each year now can I?” Blinking, Ellie wasn’t sure what to say, looking to the man as he slid his list back into the pocket of his red coat. “Now then,” he continued, “you’ve certainly been on your best behavior all year, but when it comes to gift giving, I’m much better at delivering toys than say, well, delivering people cross-country.” Running a hand across his white beard, Santa put on an inquisitive face as Ellie watched, confused but intrigued by the situation playing out in front of her. After a moment, the man snapped his gloved fingers, looking to her with a new light in his eyes. “You know what Ellie? I think I might just have figured out a way to get you your Christmas gift. You do truly just want to get home to him by Christmas morning, right?” For a second, Ellie was silent, unsure of where he was going with this. With a sigh, she answered honestly. “Yeah, that’s all I really want.” At that Santa didn’t hesitate to toss his sack over his shoulder and motion for Ellie to follow him as he began to walk away. “Well then! Step into my office and I’ll see what I can do!”
Hesitating for a second more, Ellie gathered her bags and began to follow the man. Sure, he was a stranger dressed like a mall Santa who knew too much about Ellie’s personal life for comfort, but even one look at the old man assured her that he couldn’t hurt a fly. It didn’t help her confusion with the whole situation, but honestly at that point she was just interested what the man intended to apparently get her home for the holidays. After a quick walk through part of the mall, Santa taking a few moments as they walked to wave to kids and even hand one boy a stuffed animal from his sack, the pair reached their supposed destination: ‘The North Pole.’ In reality, it was just a small, fake cottage set-up in the middle of the mall, a wintery scene clearly intended for kids to take pictures with Santa at. For now, the section seemed closed, with Ellie and the old man being the only ones there as the two stepped over the ropes. Walking to the door in front of the cottage, Ellie watched with some surprise as he opened it with ease, stepping inside and holding the door for her. She was always under the impression that the doors on those attractions were painted on, but as she stepped through the doorframe that was evidently not the case.
Inside the small plastic house, there was a surprising attention to detail within the scene, with everything from a fire place to a small desk lined with parchment lining the walls. The building almost felt cozy, with a completely different feeling to it than the expanse of the mall the cottage was built inside of. Looking around for a second, Ellie watched as the man dropped his sack by the fireplace and sat down in a rocking chair towards the middle of the room, pulling a small pipe from his breast pocket before lighting it. “I don’t think you’re allowed to smoke in here,” Ellie remarked, looking to the door and the mall beyond it. “I’m Santa, dear. What are they going to do?” With a small smirk on her face, Ellie watched as the man leaned forward in his chair, lowering his glasses as he looked to her with some seriousness on his face. “Now Ellie, this gift of yours isn’t exactly conventional; I can’t exactly box up a lift home, but I might have an unconventional solution all the same. If you want to get home for the holidays, and that’s really all you want, take a look in my bag dear.” With that, he motioned to the sack by the fire place, Ellie looking to him before eying up the bag on the floor. Cocking her head slightly to the side, she truly didn’t know what he was getting at here. “Don’t suppose you have a plane to fly home in there, do you?” Ellie joked, but in response Santa only shrugged slightly, drawing off of his pipe.
Though reluctant at first, Ellie wasn’t sure what she had to lose by listening to the man once more. She’d seen inside the bag while walking here; as far as she could tell it was loosely filled with toys, essentially what was to be expected from the Saint Nick sitting across from here. With one more sigh, she walked to the bag, glancing to the man once more before kneeling to open it. As she did, Ellie looked into the bag, her head turning slightly as her eyes were met by a strange sight. The sack was seemingly empty, just an open space with the toys from earlier no where to be seen. Looking deeper though, the space within the bag seemingly went much deeper than what should be possible. Blinking, she was fairly certain her eyes were playing tricks on her, but as she reached into the bag with her free hand she felt nothing but air where the bottom of the sack should be. More confused than ever, Ellie began to turn to question Santa about it but as she did, she felt something take her hand within the sack with a sharp tug downwards.
Before she could even question what had just pulled her, Ellie’s confusion gave way to a sharp panic; she was falling, the sensation overtaking her with a pit in her stomach forming as she fell. Frantically reaching outwards in all directions as she fell, her hands met nothing but the air around her. For a split second, she thought she must have fainted, with none of this around her being real, but as she glanced downwards her eyes went wide as she saw something rushing towards her, or rather something she was falling towards. Whether what was happening was real or not, she braced for whatever she was about to hit all the same. Closing her eyes as she did, Ellie heard a soft “Pfwoomp” noise as she impacted with the surface, her body bouncing slightly upon landing. Whatever she had hit was soft, breaking her fall without hurting the girl in the slightest as she now lay still on the object beneath her.
With her eyes still shut, Ellie’s body stayed tense for a few seconds despite the feeling of falling having passed. After a moment though, she felt something off underneath her, a soft fur brushing up against her face and under her hand. Slow to open her eyes, Ellie saw was what looked like a plush carpet supporting her frame from beneath her. Holding her head for a second, the girl propped herself up, the soft surface below her shifting as she move her weight. Standing up on wobbly legs, Ellie sighed deeply as she looked around her, not entirely believing her eyes as she did. Underneath her, Ellie was standing on a teddy bear, and a very large one at that.
Despite the toy being considerably bigger than Ellie herself, the bear didn’t seem too different than any other toy, even resembling a teddy bear she had as a kid. The stuffed animal had a pair of floppy arms and legs, spread out around the fairly plush body that she had landed on. Above it, the toy’s head lay still, a wide grin on its face as it looked off into the distance. “What the hell was in that bag…” Ellie asked herself aloud. Her first thought was that she must have been drugged or something, but everything around her felt far too real for that to be the case. As her surprise subsided, Ellie looked up from the bear, the perplexed look that marked her face persisting as she did a slow turn to examine her surroundings.
All around her there were massive toys just like the teddy bear she had landed on, ranging everything from toy robots to an array of stuffed animals to even some dolls that stood as tall as her. These toys were laid out making a sea of playthings around the bear. Glancing to a large wooden toy train beside the bear, Ellie couldn’t help but bite her lip. “At least I landed on one of the soft toys,” she thought to herself, though she quickly shook off the idea, trying to reassure herself. “What am I saying, none of this is real. You’ve really lost your mind this time Ellie…. Just remember none of this is r-“ with a shrill ‘eeek,’ Ellie found her reassurance cut short as she felt a strong force wrap around her body. Struggling against it, she panicked briefly once more as she felt herself moving once more, though this time she was being pulled upwards.
After a second of this unseen force pulling her through the air, Ellie’s eyes were met with a bright light, blinding her for a moment before she felt herself fall still once. This time, instead of the plush surface of a teddy bear beneath her, she felt as she was placed on a smooth wood surface by whatever force had grabbed her. After a moment of letting her eyes adjust, Ellie could see the source of the light was a desk lamp pointing directly at her, though similar to the toys she had just been tossed into, the lamp towered above her in height. Lifting her hand to cover her eyes from the light, Ellie heard a light voice ring out. “Sorry about that, doll. Let me get that for you.” In a second, Ellie watched as the lamp’s head was turned, guided by a similarly sized hand. Following the hand’s arm to its owner, Ellie was met with two bright green eyes of an elf girl looking down at her.
Despite appearing short in stature, the elf was massive compared to Ellie’s current size, Ellie easily being able to fit in the girl’s hand. ‘I guess she’s what just picked me up,’ Ellie thought, looking to her supposed captor that sat overlooking her. The elf was dressed in a simple green dress with a red sash pulled around the girl’s waist. Looking upwards, the girl’s lips were a matching shade of red, pulled into a gentle smile as the elf’s eyes looked over Ellie with the same interest Ellie had as she examined her. With a small drooping hat hanging on the back of the elf’s head, the girl even had two pointed ears poking out from under her red hear. Amazed by the sight of this girl towering above her, Ellie heard the elf speak up once again. “Aww, what an adorable doll you are!”
Still flustered from the series of events she had just been put through, Ellie glanced around quickly before looking up to the elf once more. “Who, me?” At that, the girl giggled slightly, a bit amused at Ellie’s confusion. “Yes you, silly. Do you see any other dolls around here?” Blinking, Ellie slowly got to her feet, looking to her surroundings. As far as she could tell, Ellie had been placed atop a work bench, with a series of paint brushes and hand tools spread out across the space. “Well, no, but I’m not a doll Ms.…” Without missing a beat, the elf answered. “Holly!” The elf began, taking Ellie’s hand between her finger and her thumb and shaking it gently. “And of course you’re a doll! I just pulled you out of Santa’s toy sack, you’re cute enough to be a doll, and you’re definitely small enough to be a doll.” Frustrated, Ellie stamped her foot against the wood of the work bench. “What are you talking about? I’m not small though! It’s just…” Looking up, Holly arched her eyebrow as if to tease Ellie slightly. “It’s just everything is big, right? Coming from an elf who’s barely 4 foot, you’re pretty small hun.”
Admittedly, Ellie didn’t have anything to say to that. If the elf in front of her really only stood 4 feet tall, Ellie couldn’t be more than a foot head to toe as she was right now. “Well then, we better get you ready then!” Twirling a paintbrush in her fingers, Holly looked down at the supposed doll on the table with a grin. “Get me ready? Ready for what?” With another short laugh, Holly leaned forward on the table, scooping Ellie up and sitting her in her hand. Ellie wasn’t sure how she felt being picked up so easily, but seeing that the elf that was now holding her thought she was a doll, Ellie didn’t think she had a say in the matter. “For Christmas! It’s only a few hours away and its an elf’s job to get you all dolled up and ready to be put under the tree! And you are adorable, buuut I feel like you need a more playful outfit, you know?” Before the supposed doll could protest, Holly smirked and danced the paintbrush up along Ellie’s legs which dangled over the edge of the elf’s palms. While she tried to resist, Ellie couldn’t help but laugh as the brush made contact with her skin, the bristles ticking her as the brush made its way up to the girl’s stomach.
As the brush made its way along Ellie’s body, the girl couldn’t help but feel a strange energy course through her. Starting at her feet where Holly began, her boots shifted into a pair of small black flats as her jeans disappeared all together. Her legs didn’t stay bare for long though, with a pair of green and white stripped knee socks reaching up her legs and to her thighs. There, where she was wearing a simple sweater before, a playful green dress began to form. Reaching down past her waist, the dress stopped just above her knees with a series of small bells marking the bottom trim of the dress. With Holly’s brush moving further up the girl’s body, a cartoonish belt pulled itself around Ellie’s waist, showing off the girl’s figure. Reaching her chest, the remains of Ellie’s sweater disappeared, with the dress leaving most of her chest and shoulders bare. Content with her work, Holly ran the paintbrush along Ellie’s hair, which the hand-held girl winced at. At that, her hair was pulled into two pigtails, with a small green Santa hat being propped on the back of her head.
The changes didn’t stop with her outfit though. Before Ellie could protest how she was now dressed, she felt the same energy move through her once more. This time though, Holly just watched contently as the changes occurred, letting her paintbrush fall to the table below Ellie. Though most of her frame was covered by her new clothes, Ellie felt as her legs began to shift from flesh and blood to a smooth, cool plastic. These changes moved quickly up her body, Ellie surprised to hear gentle pops as the joints at her knees and hips turned into the visible ball joints of a doll. Along her torso, she felt as her waist became articulated as well, breaking into 3 connected pieces that worked up to her chest. There, Ellie felt her frame flesh out slightly, her chest pressing out against her new dress giving her the proportions of a dress up doll. Just above, Ellie put her hands out in front of her and watched as her shoulders, elbows and fingers took on a similarly articulated finish, moving her fingers one by one as the began to resemble the joints of a toy. Finally, at the base of her skull, Ellie heard one more pop, with her head now connected to her body on a ball joint. With that, her face slowly became the same plastic as the rest of her, Ellie blinking as the changes completed.
After only a second after the overwhelming changes that overtook her had passed, Ellie tried to question the elf about what she had done to her, but before she could she saw as Holly’s eyes lit up. Taking the doll around her waist, Holly lifted Ellie up into the air, admiring her craftsmanship as she ran her hands along the doll’s arms and legs, posing her as she did. “See? Just a dolly. I’m sure the kid who gets you is going to play with you for years!” At that, Ellie panicked slightly. Feeling as Holly positioned her with ease, feeling each of her newly formed doll joints holding her in place as she posed her, Ellie knew that despite how absurd it sounded she really was just a plaything now. She tried to protest, but as she felt Holly’s grip around her tighten Ellie melted a little bit internally. Feeling as Holly posed her, played with her, she couldn’t help but find it all feeling deeply satisfying, the warmth of her maker’s hand coursing through her plastic frame and the joy the elf got from toying with her evident in Holly’s eyes. Posing her playfully in a kneeling position, Holly placed Ellie Doll back on the work desk. “Well, that’s one doll done! I think you’re ready to be some lucky kid’s new favorite toy, don’t you agree?”
Now that she was back on the table, Ellie felt as the feeling of being played with subsided slightly, her wits rushing back to her as it did. Hearing the elf’s words, Ellie blinked as the situation came back into focus once more. “No! I’m not going to some kid! I just wanted to get home to Julian!” At that, Ellie fell defeated, balling her hands up at her sides as she kneeled on the wooden desk. She felt like she had lost her mind, but now that she had been reduced to a plaything, it seemed she lost her body too. Confused, Holly looked down to the toy. “Julian? Who’s that, the boy that asked for you for Christmas?” With a certain sadness in her voice, Ellie replied with a sigh. “No, he’s my boyfriend… I just wanted to spend Christmas with him but now,” she continued, looking down at her new body. “Now he’d take one look at me and put me on a shelf.”
Pursing her lips, Holly looked to her toy with a new look of concern, resting her chin in her hand as she thought. “You know what Dolly? I think I need to make another change to you after all.” At that, Ellie looked up to the elf, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “You mean you’re going to change me back?” She asked, lifting her plastic frame to her feet. Rolling her eyes, Holly was quick to continue though. “Turn you back to what? You’re a doll, we’ve been over this.” With her mouth opening in disbelief, Ellie watched as her maker picked up her paintbrush once more, scooping Ellie up in her free hand as she did. “Trust me; this Julian of yours isn’t going to put you on a shelf anytime soon. He’ll be too busy pressing you to his chest.” Ellie wanted to question what she meant by that, but before she could she felt a series of flicks of the paintbrush glide over her skin.
With each flick of Holly’s brush, Ellie felt lighter. At first, all she felt was the rigidness of her new plastic skin give way to something softer, hoping it was her normal body back. After a moment though, Ellie could tell whatever the feeling was, it was too soft to be regular skin. Moving the brush along her bare arms, Ellie watched as a line of stitching formed down each, with the skin around each line quickly turning into a plush cloth. Running down her chest, through her legs, and up past her neck, Ellie felt as her body changed from hollow plastic to that of a stuffed doll. Admittedly, feeling herself become plush was enticing, a warm comfort washing over her as it did, with the feeling only increasing as she felt her cloth frame fill out with cotton stuffing within. As the last of her visible joints disappeared and gave way to simple stitching, the changes washed over her face as well, leaving her lips in a stitched, contented smile with her black hair shifting to a thin yarn.
Feeling Holly’s grip around her tighten once more, her stuffed frame compressed in the elf’s hand. At that, Holly felt herself lost in the feeling of being held once again, her frame going limp in the elf’s grip. With Ellie’s head lolling slightly to the side, the doll tried to keep her thoughts straight, but between the comfort of being held tightly, her owner’s warmth filling her stuffing, and the adorable way Holly was eying up the toy, Ellie felt herself relax with the still expression of a doll on her face. “There we go; that’s a happy doll if I’ve ever seen one.” At that, Holly smiled, taking Santa’s sack from beside the work bench and opening it. With one more look to Ellie, the elf playfully puppeted the doll’s arm for her as if to wave goodbye before dropping her back into the toy sack. At that, Holly threw the bag over her shoulder, hopping off her stool as she did. “Better find the big guy before he leaves, wouldn’t want him to forget these toys,” the elf mused to herself, humming contently as she walked off to find Santa.
---
This time, as Ellie fell into the sack, she didn’t even notice as she fell and landed on the pile of toys. With her stuffed frame bouncing slightly atop the other toys she landed on, the elf doll’s limbs were sprawled out aimlessly as if she really was just another rag doll in the pile. After laying there for a few moments, all Ellie could care to think about was how nice it was to be played with by Holly, missing the feeling of the girl’s hand wrapped around her stuffed frame. For a good while, she just lay there, still as a doll should be, but after a while Ellie felt as her mind straightened out. Sitting up on the toy pile, Ellie looked around her for a moment if only to gather her bearings. This time around, the teddy bear was nowhere to be seen, Ellie currently sitting atop a few other dolls like herself. ‘Like myself…’ Ellie found herself thinking, taking a few seconds to look over her newly stuffed body. After everything, Ellie couldn’t try to write what had happened off as a dream or delusion any longer, sinking slightly as she accepted her fate once more. “I really am just a doll,” she mumbled to herself aloud. “Well of course you are!”
Jumping slightly at the sound of another voice, Ellie looked behind her where another doll from the pile was standing. The doll, a thin blonde girl, was dressed as a ballerina, with a pair of white tights leading along her long legs to a tutu at her waist and a closely fitting leotard at her torso. At first glance, the girl looked human, but as she looked closer Ellie could tell the dancer was a stuffed doll just like herself. Surprised, Ellie slowly got up, looking to the living doll before speaking. “Wait, did that elf turn you into a doll too?” Laughing at the comment, the ballerina closed the distance between the two of them, gracefully stepping up to the elf doll. “Of course not! I chose to be this way!”
A bit taken a back by what the doll in front of her had just said, Ellie cocked her head to the side, her elf hat swinging through the air as she did. “Wait, wait, can you say that again?” she started, motioning to the girl’s stuffed frame. “You asked for this?” With a coy smile forming on the ballerina’s face, the doll replied. “And you didn’t? I asked Santa if I could be my lover’s gift for Christmas this year and he agreed right away!” Despite all of the things she had seen today, Ellie still couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But…but why?” At that, the doll eagerly continued. “Long story short, I’ve always been a doll… at heart anyway. This lover of mine, he’s always seen that in me too. ‘Doll’ was his pet name for me, always joking around that he wouldn’t mind owning a doll like me, and deep down I think he knew I’d want an owner like him too. Soooo, I asked Santa for that this year, and one thing led to another, something with a magical toy store, yada yada yada, and here we are! I’m sure I don’t need to explain much more, you already feel the same way about being a toy.” At that, Ellie’s confusion gave way to frustration. “No, no I really don’t! I didn’t choose this, I don’t want to be someone’s plaything, I –“ at that, Ellie was cut off as the stranger pulled her into a hug, the elf doll melting slightly at the girl’s touch. “Hey, hey, it’s going to be ok!” Turning Ellie’s gaze to look into her eyes, the ballerina continued. “You might not know it yet, but being a doll is the best thing in the world. To be played with, to be owned, to be loved and cared for as a valued possession, it’s magical. If you give it a chance, you’ll love it, ok?” Before Ellie could answer, she felt the stranger hug her once more. “Besides, you’d look really cute hanging out of the end of a stocking.”
At that, Ellie sighed. She didn’t know why, but she felt a little bit better about everything she’d been through, even smirking a bit at the idea of her in some kid’s stocking. “Thanks I guess,” the elf doll said half-heartedly, relaxing her shoulders in her embrace. After a second though, Ellie felt herself tense up once more as a hand reached down into the bag, swiftly grabbing Ellie and the ballerina doll, pressing them together as it pulled them into the air. Honestly, Ellie would have blushed if she could, the dolls’ bodies compressed against each other and even their faces brushing up against one another. A moment later though, Ellie saw as the pair were lifted from the sack, now in a location she’d never seen before.
There, Ellie saw she was in a small living room, something reminiscent of her apartment from college, though do to her new dollish size the room seemed pretty spacious to her. The room itself was dim, the only lighting being a string of lights and a Christmas tree in the corner. As Ellie felt the hand guiding her slow, she heard a familiar voice speak up in a hushed tone. “There we go, one ballerina doll ready for – oh and what do you know, her elf doll friend. Hello there, Ellie!” At that, she felt the hand turn her and her companion to face the voice. There, the same man she met from the mall was holding her with a cheerful smile on his face. Before Ellie could speak up, the ballerina next to her yelled out “Santa!” Wincing a bit at the surprisingly loud voice coming from such a small doll, the man lifted a single finger to his lips to shush her. “Quiet dear, wouldn’t want to wake your new owner up the night before Christmas, now would we?” The ballerina covered her mouth with an apologetic look, but Santa didn’t seem to mind. Patting the doll on one head, he took Ellie from his hand and slipped her into his coat pocket, the elf doll’s protests going unheard as he attended to the other doll. “Now then, let’s get you ready!”
With her arms crossed over the edge of Santa’s coat pocket, Ellie watched as he posed the other doll under the tree in a dancer’s pose, using a stand to make sure the stuffed doll held her position just right. Hearing the ballerina thank Santa one last time, the doll’s went still, her face taking on a contented smile as she went back to resembling any other doll. Content, Santa stood up, stretching his back for a moment before being surprised to remember he had another living doll to attend to. Fixing the glove on his hand, he reached into his pocket, pulling Ellie to eye level with him. There, Ellie still had her arms crossed; the man in front of her, despite his pleasant smile, was the cause of the madness she had endured all night, and she wanted some answers. “Well then, ‘Santa,’ did you think I’d just be ok with this?” Though still held up by the man’s grasp, the elf doll waved her hands downward as if to show off her completely changed body from the last time they spoke. Scratching the back of his neck, the man laughed nervously. “Well, I did say your gift would be unconventional, didn’t I?” Unamused, Ellie continued. “And you didn’t say you were really Santa. Who, apparently, could have magically gotten me home without turning me into, well…” “A beautifully made doll?” Santa finished her sentence for her, Ellie huffing in frustration. “Listen little one, I’ll answer all of your questions, but let’s save that for when we get to your place, ok?”
Before she could even answer, Ellie watched as Santa flicked a finger across the end of his nose, and with that she felt everything disappear around her. For a moment, she felt the whooshing of air, seeing the red shimmer of what looked to be a sleigh rushing by, but just as quickly as it began it stopped. Now, instead of a stranger’s living room, a much more familiar setting surrounded them. Looking around in shock, Ellie recognized every inch of the room she was now in. Though she was seeing it all from the perspective of a doll, she was back in her and Julian’s apartment. Looking around, the elf doll’s shock gave way to excitement, though her attention was soon pulled by Santa’s voice. “Come on, doll. Let’s have a talk.”
Taking Ellie, Santa slowly sat down on the couch, sitting Ellie’s small frame on a chair across from him. Sitting against the back of the chair, Ellie’s legs didn’t even reach far enough to dangle at the end, but looking to Santa Ellie found herself growing by the second. Before she knew it, Ellie was back to her normal height and size, the elf becoming life sized but still very much so a doll. “So Ellie, I’m sure you’re wondering why I did all this, or how this was even possible, right?” Santa began, looking to the girl who was just content to not fit in his hand anymore. Looking to him, Ellie nodded her head firmly, trying to hold back a smile due being normal(ish) and home again. “Well, as you might have guessed I have a few magic tricks up my sleeves. Me and my elves, well we’re good at a few specific kinds of magic. Some helpful tools here and there, but mainly we deal with toys. Delivering toys, wrapping toys, making toys,” he continued, looking to the doll that one of his elves had just recently created. “And because of this, I couldn’t just give you a ride home, I’m not a taxi you know. But I couldn’t stand by and watch you be alone on Christmas, so I didn’t ‘give you a ride,’ I ‘delivered a toy,’ ok?”
Though she would have just preferred a way to get her flight uncanceled, she had to agree that what the old man was saying sounded trustworthy. The more she thought about his words, the more her anger and confusion about the whole situation faded. “And after all,” he continued, “that Julian fellow of yours only asked to have you back in his arms for Christmas too, so really I marked two people off my list with this little venture.” With her eyes lighting up, Ellie Doll inched up in her seat. “Did he really just ask for me?” she asked, her heart swooning a bit before. With a chuckle, Santa answered. “Of course he did dear, though in the morning he may remember only asking for a familiar looking new toy to spend the holiday with. Little extra holiday magic to help him manage finding his doll of a girlfriend tomorrow morning. After a second of thinking, Ellie spoke up. “So…that means you’re leaving me like this? As his new doll?” Without skipping a beat, Santa reassured her. “Just for now, just for now. You can turn back after the holiday season if you want, and –“ before he could finish, the doll chimed in. “You know what? I think I’ll be fine regardless. As long as Julian gets his Christmas gift.” Slowly, Santa’s bearded face turned to a grin, happy his doll agreed. “Well then, Ellie Doll, guess I better finish delivering you.”
Christmas Morning:
With a deep yawn, Julian opened his bedroom door to the sunlight pouring in from his hall. Looking down to his phone, the man already found himself replying to a half dozen ‘Merry Christmas’ texts, making his way to the kitchen before flipping on his coffee maker. For a good while, Julian was somewhere between half asleep and involved in sending out messages to his friends and family to really look around. Grabbing his mug of coffee though and slipping his phone into his pocket, Julian turned around to an interesting sight in his living room. Over against his mantle, a large box was propped up, wrapped in green patterned paper and standing almost as tall as him. With this, his eyes lit up, dropping his coffee on the counter before making his way to the box. “Damn, I guess Santa went all out this year,” he mused, giving the box a slight shake before reading the tag. ‘To Julian, just remember you’re her gift too, -Santa.” With a confused smirk, Julian couldn’t hold back his curiosity much longer. Tearing into the wrapping paper, he opened the front of the box immediately. There, a life-sized elf doll looked to him, her frame perfectly still as she looked to him with a certain happiness in her eyes. Looking her up and down, an infectious smile spread over Julian’s face, slowly walking up and placing his hands on Ellie’s waste. Reading the small tag attached to the doll at her waist, he read aloud. “Ellie the Elf: Property of Julian.” With his smile persisting, Julian pulled her waist to his, easily pulling the doll from the box and spinning her around, taking her with him as he sat on the floor of his living room. Letting the doll fall limply propped up against him, Julian playfully posed the doll and examined every inch of her. “Wow, the guy really out did himself this year,” Julian spoke. Pulling the doll to his chest in a bear hug, he compressed the toy’s stuffing slightly as he continued. “You’re exactly what I wanted dolly, or ‘Ellie the elf,” he said with a laugh, holding her under his arms as he stood up. Biting his lip as he looked over her once more, Julian spoke to the doll in a contented tone. “Beautiful, comfortable as all hell, and all mine. Looks like I’ll be spending the rest of the vacation in bed with you.”
Though that wasn’t entirely true, Julian did make the most of his new doll while he could. All over Christmas day, he carried Ellie around as if she was the favorite toy of a kid. Drinking his morning coffee with her tucked under his arm, Ellie got her first tastes of what it was like to be his doll. It was amazing enough to be home with her lover on Christmas day, but spending it with him as his gift proved to be that much better. Between the warmth she felt when he held her, to the butterflies she got in her stomach when he carried her around with ease or posed her, to the deep satisfaction she felt each time he toyed and played with her, Ellie was quickly falling in love with the idea of staying as his doll. This was only emphasized more as he playfully flirted with her throughout the day. “I’m sure you’d love for me to really play with you, right doll?” In reality, she did, but for now that would have to wait. With dinner obligations with his family looming, Julian got ready to leave as the doll watched patiently from the bed where he had posed her. After a while, Julian made his way for the door, taking Ellie under his arm as he did. Propping her up beside the tree in his living room, Julian posed her invitingly with her legs crossed. Leaning in, he whispered to the doll, half wishing he could skip dinner all together. “I don’t know why, Ellie, but I’ve been having the strangest thoughts: that you love every little thing I do when I play with you, that I love a girl who looks just like you, that you are that girl. I know, sounds crazy, buuut I am talking to a doll, so I’m already there.” Leaning in, Julian kissed the doll deeply, sending Ellie into a state of bliss. “For the record, you’ll be getting that and more when your owner gets home.” At that, he gave her one more kiss before getting up, making his way for the door. Flicking off the lights, the doll was left with the faint glow of the Christmas tree she was posed beside, looking to her owner. “Merry Christmas, Ellie,” he spoke with a smile as he walked out the door, Ellie sighing deeply as he did. Sitting there beside the tree, Ellie couldn’t help but think back to Holly, her brief ballerina friend, and the old man who delivered her to her love. It was a long, strange trip home, but as she waited for her owner to return and pull her into bed with him, she wouldn’t have it any other way.