The Clause

Ideas

My first task was putting Comet back in his stable, then I went to tell Dad that I was back.
"How was the trip?" He asked. "It was good. I totally embarrassed Charlie in front of Danielle. It was so much fun." I laughed. "Why must you torment your brother?" He asked. "Because that's what siblings do!" I replied. He rolled his eyes. "Lucy is dying to come up here, Dad. She asked me about three times." I said. He sighed, "She asks all the time. One of these days we'll get her up here." He said.
"Santa I- Seraphina. You're back!" Bernard said. I nodded and went to hug him, which he tightly returned. "I told you I would be." I said. "What is it, Bernard?" Dad asked. "Oh, Easter Bunny is here for the meeting. We've set him up in a nice place and he's eagerly awaiting a visit from you." Bernard said. Dad nodded and stood from his desk. "I'll go now. I could use a break." Dad said as he stood from his desk. "Sera, you wanna come meet the Easter Bunny?" Dad asked. "Words I never thought I'd hear in my life." I replied. "I actually need to unpack, but I'll catch up." I said. He nodded and walked out. Bernard moved to follow him, but I grabbed his wrist. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Nothing. I just wanted to see if you'd like to get some cocoa or something?" I asked. He nodded and we walked to the kitchens to get some.
"So how was it? Your trip?" He asked. "It was good. Lucy wants to meet you." I said. He chuckled, "You should bring her up here some time." He replied. I nodded, "I plan to. She really wants to see this place." I said, "So how were things here while I was gone?" I asked. "Normal. We had one frozen machine but nothing we couldn't handle." He said. "What is up with all of the machines freezing lately?" I asked. "I have a hunch." He said darkly. "You think Jack Frost is behind it? How is he getting around without us seeing him?" I asked. "One of his abilities. He can turn invisible when he wants to." Bernard said. I sighed, "Well that's just great." I said. Bernard finished his cocoa and nodded. "Yep... and yet he's still coming to the meeting." He said.
"Well, maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe he'll stick with a few frozen machines." I said. "How is a few frozen machines not that bad? We need those to-" I placed my hand on his and cut him off, "Don't get worked up. I just mean that it's not so bad because we know how to quickly and easily remove the ice." I said. "Jack Frost hasn't cared enough to physically show himself by now, I'm sure he's not going to be too big of a nuisance." I said.

"You don't know Frost like I do. The last time he was here, he set off a blizzard in the entire Workshop that set us back by three whole months!" he exclaimed. "Bernard, I'm sure my father will not let Jack Frost set us back like that again," I said, "Now let's get your mind off of Frost and on to something much more fun." I said. "Like what?" Bernard asked. "Well...I saw all of the new toy designs you're all working on. Those look amazing." I said. He nodded, "The elves have been hard at work to make some of the greatest toys we've seen in years." he said, unable to keep the smile off of his face.

Even though it seemed that Bernard was constantly stressed out, he loved his job. He loved the other elves and he loved the Workshop. He was immensely proud of all of them.

"I wish I knew how to show them I really do appreciate them." he said. "Why don't you just tell them?" I asked. He shrugged, "In case you haven't noticed, Phi, I'm not the best conversationalist when I get worked up. With everything going on lately, I don't know how well I'd be able to tell all of them without sounding harsh or... like I don't actually mean it." he said. I nodded, "I think they know that you appreciate their work. They know how much pressure you're under as Head Elf, which is why I think they work so hard. They love you, B, just as much as you do them." I said. "Really?" he asked. I nodded, "Definitely." I replied. He smiled as I poured him another mug of cocoa.

"No time for seconds," Curtis said, appearing next to us. "What is it, Curtis?" Bernard asked. "We need some help finding the decorations for the party. I thought it would help to have some taller pairs of eyes." he said. Bernard and I nodded, and followed him to the storage room. "This place reminds me, I need to see Dad about some renovations." I said. "What do you mean?" Bernard asked. "I just had a few ideas the days that I was doing your job." I said. "I need to put them in motion." I said. "You can do that later. Right now we're looking for a big box that has Christmas lights in it." Bernard said. "Well then wouldn't that be in L?" I asked. "You'd think but the last elves that worked down here weren't very organized." he replied, digging through another box.