Story of a Doll

duchess • 28 January 2012 at 10:51 PM

@pastelfeathers,

Benjamin murmured a quick goodbye to the other dolls and the Doll Maker. A twinge of sadness tugged at his heart, but it was pushed aside by his excitement of a new home.

As Joshua mentioned his instruments, Benjamin flushed a little, but decided to take it as a good sign that he would be given clothes to replace the ones he was leaving behind.

Benjamin was also pleased to hear that Joshua - Master, he quickly reminded himself - was fond of music. He felt like there was more of a connection between them now; although he couldn't help but be a little disquieted that his talents were a product of someone else's will, not his own.

He quickly pushed this thought away as he stumbled down the driveway towards the waiting car.

smilies • 28 January 2012 at 10:51 PM

"Knock myself out?" Cam asked, curious as to what the phrase meant. Obviously it was a human one, because Dolls didn't get "knocked out".

@Celeste X3 Sorry I've been away D:

cqpkytty • 28 January 2012 at 10:53 PM

"Benjamin?" Charlotte called out.

duchess • 28 January 2012 at 10:59 PM

@cqpkytty

Benjamin turned to see Charlotte calling him.

cqpkytty • 28 January 2012 at 11:03 PM

Charlotte ran out to Benjamin and hugged him tightly. "Goodbye," she sniffled.

duchess • 28 January 2012 at 11:13 PM

@cqpkytty,

Benjamin blinked as Charlotte grabbed him in a hug. It was twice that he'd been hugged today. Uncertainly he set down his luggage and patted her on the back. He was going to miss her.

cqpkytty • 28 January 2012 at 11:15 PM

"I - I'll miss you a lot."

celeste • 29 January 2012 at 1:38 AM

@pastelfeathers

Patricia nodded sarcastically at this remark. Yup, this kid was a power-hungry abusive kid. "Ooo... corrupted at such a young age now, are we? Wonderful. We need more corrupted officials so that the world is ruled by greedy pigs. Excellent. And we're inferior to you because we're robots? Pur-lease..." she began to laugh at this comment, as if it were an incredulously amusing joke on her part "God made us all equal, and I don't remember him ever saying that humans are allowed to be bossy, nutty, pigs! Humans are just like the rest of us. Animals."

((Patricia has a stronger will than most Dolls, so I suppose that's where the fighting spirit comes in 😋)

@smilies

Alicia smiled, and patted his head "No, silly," she corrected "Knock yourself out means to just have fun without holding back. So, feel free to do whatever you like! Would you like me to show you some rooms, and you can choose whichever one you like best?"

pastelfeathers • 29 January 2012 at 2:41 AM

@cqpkytty
The Doll Maker sighed wistfully to himself, he felt rather bad for Charlotte, the poor dear lost two of her brothers in one day.

But what could one do except move on?

That thought in mind, he sighed and placed a careful hand on Charlotte's shoulder, "come on dear, let the lad go."

The Doll Maker paused, then chuckled and added on, "before his rash young owner gets mad at us again."

@duchess
@celeste
"Hurry up," Joshua yelled crossly over his shoulder, he refused to take another look at the little villa that housed the renowned Doll Maker.

Just as he was about to get into the softly purring black car, his ears picked up the rather sarcastic remark of the cake decorating Doll. He turned back with a dramatic whirl, biting back his instinctive bark of laughter to send her an amused grin.

"You're right!" he called back loudly, "God did make us equal." He paused for dramatic effect, then smirked, "too bad God didn't make you. The Doll Maker did."

With that last retort, he clambered without another glance into the back of the car, where a curious pair of green eyes observed him carefully.

"Had fun?" his companion questioned.

Joshua made a face then slumped in an undignified manner onto the comfy seat, secure in the knowledge that no one else can see him. He hummed, "you could say that."

"And the doll?"

Joshua sent a contemplative look outside the car, where an awkward Benjamin was being hugged, he watched for a few seconds then looked away.

"He's interesting."

smilies • 29 January 2012 at 2:58 AM

Cam shook his head, stunned by her genorosity. "Any will be fine. But I'd love to see the rest of your house," he looked up hopefully.

celeste • 29 January 2012 at 3:05 AM

@pastelfeathers

Patricia yelled after the car "Yeah! As if YOU know what it feels like!" and to punctuate this statement, she yelled out a couple of the worst swears she had known. As the car drove off into the distance, she ran past all the others, which had gathered around to say goodbye to Benjamin, locked herself in the kitchen, and cried. Now she did it. Her nasty tempter could put the Dollmaker in danger! And what about everyone else? It would be good luck to find ALL of the dolls sent away, but what about the ones living in the house? It was true she was one of the least favorites of the Dollmaker, but she belonged, right? Right? As she began to bake another cake, the tears which rolled down from her eyes tainted the taste. Not that she minded, or noticed the fact that she had form tears.


--


"Of course!" Alicia smiled "We might not cover the whole house in a day, but we could see the important places... Like where to get the food, the best places to hide, stuff like that! Should somebody accompany us, or would you rather us go alone?"

pastelfeathers • 29 January 2012 at 3:17 AM

@celeste
The Doll Maker shook his head in bemusement, that Joshua boy really had a gift with the ladies...

He puttered slowly towards the kitchen, hoping that at least one of his daughters would not be in need of comfort. The old man entered the room with a curious peek and immediately frowned.

"Oh dear," he murmured, "Patricia? What's causing your occular wirings to secrete liquid like this?"

For a moment, he worried that perhaps her internal system was crashing, but she had been perfectly fine during her check up a month ago...

The Doll Maker padded quickly to her side, wincing when it strained his old limbs.

"Patricia?" he questioned softly.

celeste • 29 January 2012 at 3:24 AM

@pastelfeathers

"My fault.... My fault..." was all she could manage to choke out, her vocal chords felt like they had been twisted against each other, and she had trouble forming proper statements "My fault... Going to kill... That boy... Corrupted... Abuse of power...." As these words were uttered, her emotions got the better of her, and she collapsed onto the floor.

((I'm going to change her age to 16; 12 years old doesn't do justice to her feisty nature))

smilies • 29 January 2012 at 3:33 AM

"Okay!" Cam nodded happily. "Let's go alone!" He thought it would feel just that much more exciting with just the two of them. Exciting...? He frowned. That wasn't a Doll thing.

celeste • 29 January 2012 at 3:36 AM

"O- wait... is there something wrong?" Alicia looked sympathetically towards Cam "Is there something that needs to be taken care of? I can call the mechanical doctor; I'm sure I have his phone number..."

smilies • 29 January 2012 at 4:28 AM

"Oh! No," Cam shook his head. "I'm fine," he half said it to convince himself. "Let's go!"

cqpkytty • 29 January 2012 at 11:23 AM

@pastelfeathers

After Benjamin left, Charlotte - still crying - went inside. She saw Diem inspecting Alicia, because she was crying as well. She walked up to Diem. "She's not broken. She's crying. And so am I," she said, blinking away tears. "We aren't just robots...When we were made, we were, but when we were completed...we were people. We aren't just what you made in the lab. Not anymore."

duchess • 29 January 2012 at 5:04 PM

@pastelfeathers,

After he'd finished hugging Charlotte, Benjamin hurriedly deposited his luggage into the car, before taking a seat next to Joshua.

The car seat was luxurious and soft, and it made sitting up straight a real task. Benjamin was still on edge about politeness and manners - especially after this morning's 'Master' incident - so he struggled against the car's comfort to sit up straight, which he knew was the more dignified thing to do.

As he sat stiffly on the edge of his seat, he glanced quickly at his owner, and couldn't help but notice that he seemed a little more relaxed out of sight of everybody else.

The second thing that Benjamin noticed was a pair of green eyes watching him intently. Unsure of how to react, Benjamin simply stared back.

pastelfeathers • 29 January 2012 at 10:43 PM

@celeste
(( absolutely 😊 ))
@cqpkytty
The Doll Maker gave a sharp intake of breath when Patricia inexplicably collapsed, feeling panic spread throughout his system.

His unease was not helped by the rather mad mutterings she choked out before her dramatic collapse, if anything, the old man was beside himself with fear.

He looked up briefly when Charlotte entered the kitchen and listened half-heartedly as she explained, seemingly trying to convey an impossible idea.

The Doll Maker gently propped Patricia up against the side of the cupboard, then, after thoroughly checking her various vitals and systems, he turned his attention back to Charlotte.

"My dear," he began haltingly, "you know that I consider every one of you my children, and I could not love any of you more than I do."

He paused, then sighed and rubbed a weary hand across his face, "but the truth is the truth, you have been beside me when I created many of your brothers and sisters."

"There is nothing besides wires and metals," he said sadly, "I wish I could give life to you, but it is blasphemous to even imagine."

He looked away briefly, regret in his voice, "I wish everyday that I can bring life into this world..."

squeakers • 29 January 2012 at 11:04 PM

@duchess
Joshua suppressed a small smile at the sight of Benjamin's obvious effort and sprawled even messier onto his seat, hoping his gesture would set the poor Doll at ease.

He hummed softly to himself and looked out the window, seemingly uncaring of anything beyond the blurred passing of scenic cliff side landscape and the wild expanses of open ocean skies.

"Brat," muttered a voice.

Joshua turned sharply and gave the speaker an indignant look, "shut up Damien, I'm more mature than you."

Damien rolled his eyes, "right, that's why you're choosing not to introduce me. You're worried he'll like me more than you."

There was a moment of guilty silence, then Joshua sighed loudly and magnanimously waved a hand in Damien's direction. He turned partially to Benjamin so he could watch the Doll's expression.

"Benjamin, meet Damien Gentry, sole heir to Lord Gentry's enormous wealth and the biggest prat you will ever meet."

He then turned back to Damien, "Damien, meet Benjamin, my new Doll." He paused, then added to the amusement of Damien, "and he definitely likes me more than you."

That done, Joshua turned back to the Doll with an intent look. "Actually," he murmured seriously, "come over here."

(( Bloop. Damien's just a random character I threw in, you can feel free to write him if you need to. I imagined him as laid back and friendly, pretty much a social butterfly. Huh, it's a wonder he sticks around Joshua...
Oh, and don't worry, Joshua doesn't bite. 😉 ))

duchess • 30 January 2012 at 12:13 AM

@pastelfeathers/ @squeakers, lol okay 😊 By the way, what happened to the butler? Or is he driving?

Benjamin watched as Joshua sprawled back into his seat, and took it as a cue that he could relax too. He leaned back into the seat (not nearly as messily as Joshua) and allowed the comfort of car to take over.

Joshua then turned to introduce him to his friend. Benjamin wasn't very good with introductions, so once again, all he found himself able to say was, "Oh,"

Benjamin blinked as Joshua asked him to come over to him. Uncertainly, he shuffled so that he was closer to him, and waited to hear what he had to say.

pastelfeathers • 30 January 2012 at 12:29 AM

@duchess
(( opps! Sorry I didn't clarify ☹️
But you're right, the butler is driving. ))

Joshua allowed a small pleased smile to escape at Benjamin's rather lackluster 'oh' at hearing Damien's rather considerable qualifications.

Then, simply because he could, he sent Damien a smug look, that in plain terms said 'I told you so.'

To which Damien rolled his eyes before muttering a soft "pompous prat" before taking out his cellphone as a distraction from Joshua's ridiculous antics.

Joshua ignored his friend in favour of studying Benjamin with critical eyes. He studied the Doll like a scientist might study an experiment, clinical and detached, with a hint of superiority he could never truly shake off.

Then, with all the seriousness of an artist completing an art critique, Joshua murmured, "you look like a girl with all that hair hanging over your eyes."

There was a barely suppressed snicker from Damien's side of the car, but Joshua chose to ignore it in lieu of observing the Doll's reaction.

He needed to know that this Doll was everything the Doll Maker's reputation promised he would be, loyal and obedient to a fault.

Otherwise, there was no point in taking the Doll home.

hay7199 • 30 January 2012 at 12:39 AM

Lilly:"Are we there yet?"I complained

duchess • 30 January 2012 at 1:07 AM

@pastelfeathers, okay 😃

Benjamin considered the familiarity and joking companionship tha seemed to be between Joshua and Damien, they both appeared to be good friends.

Benjamin felt slightly uncomfortable as he was studied intently by Joshua, but he quickly shook the feeling off - it was probably just something wrong in his circuitry.

As Joshua mentioned his hair, all Benjamin did was blink up at him. His hair was the way Joshua has asked for it - at least, Benjamin assumed it was, as he had been commissioned by him. Benjamin wasn't sure how to react, there was no question or order in Joshua's statement; so he simply waited to hear what else he had to say.

pastelfeathers • 30 January 2012 at 1:18 AM

@duchess
Joshua frowned slightly when Benjamin failed to object, or really, react at all in response to his rather insulting words.

"Do you not care what I say?" he asked, a hint of genuine confusion in his tone, "because I can, and will, make you get a haircut."

It was less of a threat than a provocation, oddly enough, Joshua was kind of curious about what made Benjamin tick.

He paused to gauge Benjamin's reaction, then deciding the Doll might need a little more encouragement to speak, Joshua looked away with an exaggerated huff. "Have no idea why she wanted you," he murmured loudly, hoping to draw the quiet Doll into a conversation.



@hay7199
Roselynn nodded with a smile, "yes, we're just reaching the pier."

The limo puttered to a slow stop and she gathered herself daintily before holding out a hand for the small Doll beside her, "shall we go board my private yacht?"

duchess • 30 January 2012 at 1:27 AM

@pastelfeathers,

Benjamin stared at Joshua, "I will get a haircut if you want me too," he assured him.
He couldn't help but be slightly upset that Joshua was displeased by his appearance, after all, Joshua had asked for him to be this way. He supposed this answered Joshua's first question, he did care what Joshua said - but Benjamin decided to keep this to himself. It seemed too late in the conversation to mention it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Joshua spoke again.

She? What she? Benjamin thought in a panicked way; surely Joshua was his owner, not some unknown female. Schooling his features into what he thought calm, he turned to Joshua and queried, "She?" As calm as his expression was, Benjamin couldn't help but hear the edge to his voice as he asked.

celeste • 30 January 2012 at 1:32 AM

@pastelfeathers

Patricia stirred slightly, her head still spinning. What had happened? She was baking a cake... then started crying... and then... then... She couldn't put her finger on it...

pastelfeathers • 30 January 2012 at 2:18 AM

@duchess
Joshua simply stared for a moment at the Doll, then he allowed a small genuine smile to escape. He took in a deep breath and chuckled, a low pleased tremor vibrating through the happy sound.

"You really are something," he said fondly, "are all Dolls as frank as you?"

Joshua paused when Benjamin replied, it seems that the matter of ownership had finally piqued the Doll's interest enough to speak.

He flashed Benjamin a disarmingly sweet grin, "yeah, my step-sister Lena. She's going to love you."

Realizing that he probably should elaborate, Joshua continued on truthfully, "I just wanted to make sure you are musically inclined so all the other specifications are according to her desires."

Joshua sighed and stretched a bit, "you should probably enjoy yourself for now, once we reach home, it's back to B.P.J. we go."

@celeste
The Doll Maker shuffled quickly to Patricia's side, worry etched into the wrinkles of his face, "my dear? How do you feel? Are your systems all running alright?"

He hovered uncertainly in front of the Doll, fearing for the worst but unwilling to encroach upon the Doll's personal space.

duchess • 30 January 2012 at 3:10 AM

@pastelfeathers:

Benjamin considered Joshua's question, "I suppose they are," he murmured happily. He was glad to hear Joshua laugh.

He was even more happy to see him smile, as he did when he spoke again.
Curiously, Benjamin asked, "Why did your step-sister determine my specifications? Aren't you my owner?"

Almost instantly, he bit his tongue; he wasn't used to questioning people so openly, but Joshua's sudden cheerful demeanour had put him a little off balance.

Awkwardly, Benjamin glanced out of the window to look at the spectacular scenery whizzing past; he hoped that Joshua wouldn't take the question the wrong way.

pastelfeathers • 30 January 2012 at 3:28 AM

@duchess
Joshua snickered without any malice and asked in amusement, "you don't seem too sure, didn't you live with a whole bunch of other dolls?"

He was slightly taken a back by Benjamin's question, figuring the Doll would be more curious about his step-sister rather than the reason for her being in charge of the Doll's looks.

Joshua shrugged.

"One of my status wouldn't be able to purchase a female Doll without rumours spreading," he paused darkly to recall some of ridiculous theories he's heard in the past, "and since I have no sense for male beauty, Lena took over."

Detecting a hint of worry in the Doll's tone, Joshua smiled, "I am your Owner." He patted the Doll gently on the arm in hopes of reassuring the other, "you don't have to be polite when we're not in public."

He paused uncertainly, "it's only when there are other people around that I would require you to act subservient."