Dolce had been running a bit of a fever the past few days (working at the clinic is conducive to contracting viruses), though this morning the heat has mostly gone. She’s still plagued by the usual cold symptoms, however: stuffy nose, sore throat, itchy eyes, all of which has not been conducive to her handing out Christmas gifts as she had intended.
Barricaded in her room under blankets, she glances out her window while sipping a hot mug of tea. By chance, the second her gaze lands on the street below she sees Frey walking up to the door, holding some sort of box—a present, surely…
Dolce decides she ought to meet the princess halfway, so she pulls on a thick coat, grabs her own neatly wrapped box (Nancy had done the wrapping; Dolce still has no idea how to handle wrapping paper), and heads downstairs.
Opening the door, she greets Frey with a warm smile. “Merry Christmas to you too. And thank you.” She takes the small box from the princess. “I’m sure I’ll be happy with whatever is in here, my style or not. Actually—I know I will.”
Now it’s her turn to hand Frey a present. Inside the box is a knit cross sweater capelet.
"And ah, here. This is yours." She smiles shyly. "This winter has been really cold, colder than any winter I’ve ever known, so…I figured I’d knit you something to keep you warm while you run all those errands you have.
Frey draws a breath, unable to hide her delight as Dolce reveals that she too, had a present to share.
"You shouldn't have." She says, despite taking the box in her arms and hugging it against her chest. "But thank you. So much." Her gloved fingers idly play with a loose flap of the box's wrapping paper, and she looks up to smile at Dolce.
"Frankly, I can't wait to see what's inside. Especially since you made it yourself...~" Her lips purse and the lines around her eyes crinkle impishly. "I've never been very good at knitting -- tried my hand at it once and I swear I would've done a better job teaching Lest some manners. But from what I've seen you make-" Frey's face lights up again; unable to contain it any longer, she lets out a laugh. "Oh, oh, how exciting I'm sure I'll love whatever's in here."
A rush of cold wind interrupts Frey's thanks, and she shivers.
"Ah- but- I guess I shouldn't make you stand out in the cold for too long... I'm no nurse but it can't be helping with your fever." She brushes a bit of snow of her skirt, fixes her many, many stray pieces of hair, sticking to her cheeks and chin, and smiles as she steps away from the doorway.
"Goodbye and get well soon, okay? Oh, and thank you for everything again!"