One elf down...

Ned, the elf, let a heavy sigh and wondered where Anna had gotten to. This was the second night he'd had to work alone. He quickly ran a basting stitch along the hem of the coat, gathering the fullness in. His needle flashed as he worked across the material.

 

Had she found someone else? Another place to work. He jumped as the needle caught his finger, and he moved sharply not wanting to drip blood on to the facing, neatly finished with a cross stitch to prevent fraying.

Not that he really needed her at the minute. The only things left to do on the coat were hand sewing, and even if he couldn't handle the scissors by himself, he was more than capable of nibbling through the thread when needed. He tacked the lining in place, ensuring that there was at least a centimetre of slack in the lining. It was just that he'd gotten used to her. He'd was used to the way she shouted out instructions from the table as she skillfully guided the fabric through the machine.

 True she usually sounded as if she thought he was complete idiot, but she was HIS idiot. With his heart not in it, he hand sewed the sleeves in place. He liked the way Mrs W had used the outer fabric for the inside lining. It made it easy to spot where the armhole was.

What if she were ill? His blue skin paled at the thought, and his hand shook as he sewed the button hole. He forced himself to concentrate. Mrs W deserved better than a wonky button hole.

 

He took a mouthful of cake, and was slightly startled to find that the inside was pink, but he chewed on nevertheless. Anna would have loved this cake. Pink cake with white chocolate drops. It was positively oozing with thick icing still glistening as he bit into it. There were even mininature marshmallows on top. Absentmindedly he picked of the marshmallows to save for later. It wasn't very masculine but he adored hot chocolate with marshmallows on top. Sometimes if the cats were sleeping, he even heated some milk on the stove here, and made Anna one. His shoulders slumped as his thoughts circled back to Anna. Would she be back tomorrow?