"Oh, Honey," Emma soothed, reaching out to give his little arm a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure your dad won't mind. He knows that you love him, and that's the very best gift you could possibly give to him."

Ollie didn't seem too convinced but he nodded his head as he buried it against his aunt's leg.

Emma hated feeling like there wasn't anything else she could do to reassure the little boy. She was a Queen, and she had rarely felt helpless in her lifetime. Emma could usually make anything she wanted happen, whenever she wanted it. Which left her wondering if she could somehow make this happen for Ollie.

"Where's his dad stationed?" she asked the other woman, as an idea began to form in the back of her mind. If Ollie's father was based in Europe, she could get the gift to him before the holiday season was over.

"Cyprus."

That was definitely doable. Emma had never been before, but she was pretty sure that it would only take a few hours to get there and back again. She could leave early in the morning and come back to London the same evening. Leroy would be pissed at having to push back all of her appointments, but it wasn't anything that he hadn't done for her before.

"Okay. What would you say if I told you that I could get your gifts to your daddy before the holidays?" she asked.

Ollie's little head shot up to meet her eyes at Emma's words. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm due a visit out that way and I don't have much going on for the rest of the month," she fibbed. "So if you wanted to, we could make some cards and maybe some gifts for your daddy and his friends? Then I can talk to my team and we'll sort out a day to take them all to him before Christmas. I could even ask Leroy to head up to the office and grab a camera so that we can record some video messages to pass along too," she suggested, as the ideas came rushing thick and fast. "How does that sound?"

Ollie didn't offer a verbal response. Instead, he threw himself at the Queen, wrapping his arms tightly around her legs. Emma rocked back on her heels at the impact before enfolding the little boy in her arms for a brief hug.

"Before we do that, I really need to use the bathroom," she stage whispered, and both Ollie and his aunt chuckled a little at it. "Head back to the party and get something to eat. I'll make sure that everyone is briefed on what we're doing next."

"Thank you, Queen Emma. You're the bestest."

Emma had never been called the 'bestest' anything before, but she found she liked the title far more than any other she'd been given in her lifetime.

"But Your Majesty…"

"Let me see the schedule for the rest of this month?" Emma demanded, as she held out her hand expectantly. Leroy had been every bit as annoyed by her proposed change of plans as she'd anticipated. But it was December, and Emma knew they deliberately kept the month light on engagements. If there was ever a time to make an unexpected trip to Europe, this was it.

Leroy fiddled with his tablet for a moment before reluctantly handing it over to his Queen. It didn't take Emma long to find the perfect day to travel.

"Here. I'll go on Thursday."

"But you have a meeting with the Prime Minister and three conference calls scheduled for that day."

"The Prime Minister can wait. Lord knows he's kept me waiting long enough throughout his term in office. And as for the calls, I'm pretty sure the connection will work just as well in Cyprus as it will here in the UK," she replied, handing the device back to him. "Make all of the necessary arrangements, Leroy."

Emma's tone made it clear that she wasn't willing to debate the matter any further, so with a barely-concealed sigh, Leroy offered his usual, "Yes, Your Majesty," before leaving to do just that.

By the time Emma returned to the party the kids were already gathered around three large tables, making cards for their missing parents with finger paints and marker pens. The atmosphere had seemed to change inside of the room. Parents and guardians were now helping their children and those closest to them, instead of standing awkwardly by the walls. While the kids themselves seemed to be buzzing at the thought of having their stuff taken to their parents by an actual Queen, as the noise level in the room had shot up.

Spotting Ollie was easy enough. While the little boy was still not as talkative as his peers, he seemed more relaxed now that his aunt was helping him to spell out the word Christmas, and Emma was rather proud of herself for what she'd managed to achieve with her small gesture.

"How are you doing?" she asked, as she moved to stand just behind the two of them. "That is an excellent Rudolph painting. Your daddy's gonna love that."

"You really think so?" Ollie asked, turning to look up at the Queen who was smiling softly down at him.

"I know so," she promised him.

Emma's attention was briefly distracted by the other children around the table who were holding up their own creations to show her what they had painted for their mothers and fathers. She didn't want to show any blatant favoritism, so she made her way around each of them, complimenting the different festive creations they had drawn or painted. Emma was surprised to see such a large variety amongst the group. She had been sure that they'd all opt for either Santa or a snowman, but instead, there were polar bears and penguins, and Christmas trees and candy canes too. Some had carefully drawn out elves and one had even designed a nutcracker.

But when she finally made it back to Ollie's side, he had the biggest surprise of them all.

"I made one for you too," the little boy announced, as he held up a card with a big silver star on the front, topped with a little golden glitter crown. The words Happy Christmas had been printed along the bottom, slanting upward slightly at the end. And inside, he'd written her a small message.

To Queen Emma,

Thanks for being the bestest queen ever.

Merry Christmas,

Love

Ollie and Elsa.

Every year, Emma received hundreds of Christmas cards from people all over the globe that she'd never even met before. But this was, without a doubt, the 'bestest' holiday card she'd ever received.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.

I'm a little behind on my replies at the moment, but I promise I'll try and get caught up soon.