Amber's Gifting Extravaganza
Summary: In order to give back to the community, Amber declares ten days before Wassailia "Gifting Day," during which all volunteers must wrap gifts for the village of Dunwitty. All goes well…until her brother gets involved.
Disclaimer: I don't own "Sofia the First" or, unfortunately, a gifting extravaganza. Lol. Sounds like fun though!
A/N: Well, hi, there! :) I write this story as a recently graduated . (Master of Education) candidate. ;) Hehe. Feels great to be done, and now I can focus a bit more on my writing. Thanks for being patient with me. So this is the second "Wassailia" related story in the bunch. Next one is called "Mount Xeo," which will be released on December 22. Why that day? Personal meaning, but it can't be released on December 24, because that's reserved for my surprise. :D Anyway! Hope you like this.
"All right, everyone!" Amber announced to the gathered servants and volunteers, including her little sister Sofia. "Today is hereby declared Gifting Day, thanks to our father King Roland, and our goal is to see that everyone in the village of Dunwitty receives a good number of gifts this year for Wassailia. Make sure you choose the best wrapping, the best gifts, and the best members of a team to help you. Understand?"
"Yes, Princess Amber," replied the chorus of voices as everyone dispersed to do as they needed.
"What about this fabric, Amber?" Sofia asked as she held up a roll of glistening silver material. "Do you like it for gift wrapping?"
Amber squealed as she ran over to her sister, grasping the beautiful fabric and even draping it over her shoulders like a cape. "Yes, this is perfect," she gushed. "Wonderful color, soft feeling…"
The younger princess laughed uncertainly. "Um, Amber? Aren't we supposed to be using it for wrapping these gifts?"
"What?" The older girl blinked and grinned, stepping back with a sheepish look. "Right, of course. But make sure to leave enough to make a coat for me later. That's such a nice fabric."
Sofia giggled. "All right, Amber." She smiled happily as she saw a familiar figure enter the room. "Hi, James. Did you finally come to help?"
"Oh, no," Amber declared, holding out one hand to her brother as he approached with a now baffled look etched on his face. "James, no offense, but we don't need your help with this."
The blonde boy pouted. "But Sofia invited me!" he argued lightly, catching the glance of his younger sister. "Right, Sof?"
"Right. I think he could be a big help, Amber." She frowned in confusion when the oldest royal sibling shook her head. "Well, why not?"
"Ugh, Sofia, you are apparently unaware of James's wrapping skills…or lack thereof." She glanced at him pointedly. "When we were six, he wrapped a cat instead of he presents. The cat scratched through all of the beautifully-wrapped gifts, and the servants had to start all over."
"He looked cold!" the prince defended, smiling sheepishly. "I thought maybe he could use some warmth."
Amber gave him a pointed stare. "And most cats have this stuff called fur… But that wasn't the worst. Remember when we were eight? The pinecone incident?"
James's mouth dropped. "You said you wouldn't bring that up again."
Sofia blinked. "What pinecone incident?"
The boy moved to speak, but he found his mouth had been covered by Amber as she began to talk. He huffed and folded his arms defiantly.
"Well, James thought it would be a grand idea to give Baileywick a pinecone for Christmas. Why? I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out."
Sofia giggled as James rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, this particular pinecone was extremely sharp. How James managed to wrap it without hurting himself is a mystery. Anyway, the day of Wassailia comes, and Baileywick excitedly begins opening his gift…and stares horrified at the suddenly very…red wrapping fabric."
The auburn-haired girl winced as she caught on to what Amber was saying. "Ouch…"
"Yes, that's one word for it." Amber removed her hand from James's mouth. "Baileywick was in such a state of shock that he passed out. Come to find out, he doesn't do so well with blood…"
James grinned. "I'd hate to see the man get a paper cut." He then reached down and grabbed a roll of abandoned fabric. "Just let me help, Amber, please?"
"Come on, Amber," Sofia pleaded with her brother, attempting to get the girl on their side. "Think of this as…a family thing."
The blonde girl gave her sister a rather dubious look before sighing at the pouting face she received. As it turned out, no one could say no to Sofia when she gave them that look. "Fine. But James, if you mess up so much as one gift…"
James grinned and picked up some of the wrapping fabric from the floor. "Relax, Amber. I've got this." He hurried over to Violet, who'd just arrived with more supplies. "Hey, Violet, do we have any sharp knives?"
The older twin's eyes widened. "James, no knives! No sharp anything!" She sighed. "You see, Sofia? See what we're going to have to deal with now?"
Sofia giggled and put a hand on the other princess's shoulder. "It will be fine, Amber. Give him a chance." She winced when the previously-mentioned boy crashed into a suit of armor, dropping all of his materials.
"I'm okay!" the boy called, smiling sheepishly as he stood up. "I got it! We're good!"
Amber's pointed look returned. "Sure, Sofia."
Sofia sighed as Amber ambled off to continue her section of wrapping. "Well, at least James will make things interesting." She giggled to herself and followed her sister to help out.
About an hour later…
"Hey, Amber, Sofia! Check it out!"
Amber groaned as she turned and saw her brother tossing bunches of wrapping fabric onto the Wassailia tree. She frowned and stood up quickly. "James! What are you doing?"
"Decorating!" he called happily as he stopped and turned to face her fully. "Wanna help?"
The older twin marched up and snatched the roll of fabric from his hand. "No, James, I don't want to help—nor do I want your help. You're ruining everything."
James blinked at this statement, and his face fell slightly, though he tried not to show it. "O-Oh… I'm sorry, Amber. I didn't mean—"
"You never do, do you, James?" She sighed. "Just… Never mind. I'm sure you'll find something more exciting to do." She turned around and returned to her spot on the floor, gathering a gift and beginning to wrap it.
The younger boy sighed, tucking his hands behind his back as he slowly walked away from the scene.
Sofia glanced at Amber. "I think you may have been a little harsh with him, Amber… He was just trying to help."
"By wasting our wrapping fabric like that?" the other princess returned with a huff.
"He was decorating the tree. I personally think it looks great. Just look at it!" She smiled as Amber begrudgingly eyed the newly-covered tree, her face neutralizing a bit. "He means well."
"I know…" She sighed. "I guess I just want everything to go perfectly. I just…want things to go my way this one time—and it's not even for me this time. It's for the villagers."
"I understand, Amber." Sofia tied a bow around her newly-wrapped gift. "But don't forget what you guys told me: family is forever. They're the most important people to you, so you've got to be patient with us sometimes. James would do anything for you, to make you happy, and I can pretty much guess that he feels like he's let you down right now."
Amber frowned lightly at this mentioning before feeling her energy deflate. "You're right, Sofia…" She passed her gift to the younger girl and smiled. "Think you can handle this for me?"
"You got it." She grinned as the other girl hurried off to find her twin.
James sat on his throne in the throne room, his legs dangling over the edge and his head resting against the arm. In his hands he held some excess fabric he'd managed to escape with. He glanced down as his sister approached him, but he didn't say anything.
Amber folded her arms and exhaled, looking at him apologetically. "James, I'm sorry."
He pouted and turned over, turning his back to her.
The girl rolled her eyes and sighed. "Really, I am. I know it wasn't fair to snap at you like that, and I apologize. This…just has me a little anxious, I guess. You know I want it to be perfect."
"I know," he responded, finally turning to face her. "But I didn't mean to make you mad, Amber. I just wanted to help. You and Sofia do so much stuff together now, that sometimes I feel like you don't want me around or need my help anymore."
She blinked in surprise. "Are you serious?"
"Well, yeah! Every time I turn around, you girls have gone off on some 'adventure' with the Buttercups or had a sleepover or something. I just feel…left out sometimes."
Amber took in his words and smiled gently, holding out her hands and pulling him to his feet. "James, you're always welcome to come with us. I didn't mean to make you feel left out. I'll try to be better about that."
He gave her a knowing smile. "I know you will."
"Hmm. And hey, if you're interested, I could put in a good word for you so you can be a Buttercup."
James blanched. "No, thanks. I'm not sure I'd look good in a dress."
Amber giggled and took her brother's hand leading him back to the gift wrapping session. "Just a thought."
The end
A/N: So a short and sweet story… "Mount Xeo" is in the works right now. It WILL be longer than this, and I'm so excited about the content it holds. I've really been working to make it cohesive, so I hope you'll like it. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this. I just wanted to put out something silly and still sweet. :D Enjoy the rest of your week! I'm giving midterms the next few days, and I am currently taking a break from grading so I can get this posted for you all. ;) Till next time (December 22nd, to be exact)! ~AquaTurquoise