O’Neil, aren’t you just the little doll?” Jane said, and laughed.
That’s exactly what Darce was. A little doll, dressed in a baby blue satin dress. The shimmering fairy wings left over from Chelsea’s birthday party poked out from behind her shoulders.
This is just a nightmare, Darce thought. Just a nightmare that seems really real. I’ll wake up any minute.
“How appropriate,” Jane said. “A little blue fairy doll. Who would ever suspect that there was anyone inside?” She rapped her knuckles roughly against the side of Darce’s head. There was no pain; only a light sensation of contact.
“Oh, no, it doesn’t hurt a bit! Isn’t that nice? You won’t feel anything but endless despair, wondering if you’ll ever draw another human breath again. I know. I’ve been in that doll mold for about . . . eh, one hundred forty-eight years, give or take. Hmm.”
Watching Jane’s face in the mirror, Darce saw her eyes lose focus as she drifted into thought; then, just as quickly, Jane seemed to snap back to.
“Oh, so sorry! How remiss of me. I’m sure you would love to know who I am, and how I came to be here, and, more importantly, how you ended up in your current predicament.”
She set Darce down on the bathroom counter and pulled the bonnet from her head, loosing long, thick silver waves that had previously been black.
“I was a powerful woman in my town. People feared me and my special abilities. But they couldn’t kill me. They created a doll Vessel as a prison for me.” She threw her head back and laughed: a low, deep laugh that sounded nothing like a woman. Her teeth were yellow, rotten, some broken. She picked up Darce’s hairbrush from the bathroom counter and started brushing out her hair.
“They used my own power to chain me. Fools! They believed that I could never escape.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “So many years . . . sitting in the dark, in countless closets . . . mildewed basements . . . musty attics . . . but look at me now!” She spun around, smiling. “Ah, they used my own enchantment, one that I knew how to escape . . . difficult, but not impossible. And your daughter has been indispensable in helping me gain my freedom. Unwitting, of course. Oh, the innocent. Now, my worries are over. They have become yours .”
Fear was steadily rising in the well of Darce’s stomach. Chelsea!
Jane tossed the brush on to the bathroom counter and picked Darce up. “Don’t you worry about your little girl, Darce O’Neil,” she said. “She will be well cared for. Especially since she may yet be of use to me. Oh, you didn’t think she was going to stay with you ?” She said, carrying Darce down the hall. “Obviously, you can’t care for her in your current condition. And someone needs to take care of her.”
Darce again attempted to scream, to kick, to struggle, but her efforts yielded no result.
As they passed through the living room, Darce could hear Chelsea’s groggy voice.
“Jane, is that you? Oh, you did it!” She sounded excited as she jumped up and followed them into the kitchen. Over Jane’s shoulder, Darce could see Chelsea’s expression become worried as Jane opened the kitchen door.
“Jane? What are you doing? Is that my mommy?”
“Don’t fret, Chelsea. Your mommy is going to be just fine. You’ll really like being with me, and you’ll love where you’re going. You’ll forget, soon enough.”
Jane pulled her arm back, preparing to toss Darce through the door, but Chelsea ran up and grabbed the doll her mother had become.
“No, Jane! You told me you would change her back! It was just s’posed to be a little while!”
Jane rounded on Chelsea and shook her off, sending her tumbling to the floor.
“I’m sorry, but I lied,” Jane said. “Oh, who am I kidding? I’m not sorry, at all! I’m finally free! But your mommy is going to be okay. Nothing can really hurt her.”
Then she swung her arm and Darce’s world turned upside down, spinning
That’s exactly what Darce was. A little doll, dressed in a baby blue satin dress. The shimmering fairy wings left over from Chelsea’s birthday party poked out from behind her shoulders.
This is just a nightmare, Darce thought. Just a nightmare that seems really real. I’ll wake up any minute.
“How appropriate,” Jane said. “A little blue fairy doll. Who would ever suspect that there was anyone inside?” She rapped her knuckles roughly against the side of Darce’s head. There was no pain; only a light sensation of contact.
“Oh, no, it doesn’t hurt a bit! Isn’t that nice? You won’t feel anything but endless despair, wondering if you’ll ever draw another human breath again. I know. I’ve been in that doll mold for about . . . eh, one hundred forty-eight years, give or take. Hmm.”
Watching Jane’s face in the mirror, Darce saw her eyes lose focus as she drifted into thought; then, just as quickly, Jane seemed to snap back to.
“Oh, so sorry! How remiss of me. I’m sure you would love to know who I am, and how I came to be here, and, more importantly, how you ended up in your current predicament.”
She set Darce down on the bathroom counter and pulled the bonnet from her head, loosing long, thick silver waves that had previously been black.
“I was a powerful woman in my town. People feared me and my special abilities. But they couldn’t kill me. They created a doll Vessel as a prison for me.” She threw her head back and laughed: a low, deep laugh that sounded nothing like a woman. Her teeth were yellow, rotten, some broken. She picked up Darce’s hairbrush from the bathroom counter and started brushing out her hair.
“They used my own power to chain me. Fools! They believed that I could never escape.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “So many years . . . sitting in the dark, in countless closets . . . mildewed basements . . . musty attics . . . but look at me now!” She spun around, smiling. “Ah, they used my own enchantment, one that I knew how to escape . . . difficult, but not impossible. And your daughter has been indispensable in helping me gain my freedom. Unwitting, of course. Oh, the innocent. Now, my worries are over. They have become yours .”
Fear was steadily rising in the well of Darce’s stomach. Chelsea!
Jane tossed the brush on to the bathroom counter and picked Darce up. “Don’t you worry about your little girl, Darce O’Neil,” she said. “She will be well cared for. Especially since she may yet be of use to me. Oh, you didn’t think she was going to stay with you ?” She said, carrying Darce down the hall. “Obviously, you can’t care for her in your current condition. And someone needs to take care of her.”
Darce again attempted to scream, to kick, to struggle, but her efforts yielded no result.
As they passed through the living room, Darce could hear Chelsea’s groggy voice.
“Jane, is that you? Oh, you did it!” She sounded excited as she jumped up and followed them into the kitchen. Over Jane’s shoulder, Darce could see Chelsea’s expression become worried as Jane opened the kitchen door.
“Jane? What are you doing? Is that my mommy?”
“Don’t fret, Chelsea. Your mommy is going to be just fine. You’ll really like being with me, and you’ll love where you’re going. You’ll forget, soon enough.”
Jane pulled her arm back, preparing to toss Darce through the door, but Chelsea ran up and grabbed the doll her mother had become.
“No, Jane! You told me you would change her back! It was just s’posed to be a little while!”
Jane rounded on Chelsea and shook her off, sending her tumbling to the floor.
“I’m sorry, but I lied,” Jane said. “Oh, who am I kidding? I’m not sorry, at all! I’m finally free! But your mommy is going to be okay. Nothing can really hurt her.”
Then she swung her arm and Darce’s world turned upside down, spinning
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