The room seemed to spin around Ruby. Everywhere she looked, she saw strange faces with hostile expressions. She hadn’t been prepared for this. Nothing could have prepared her for this. Only now did Ruby realize how helpless she was. Robert had always sheltered and protected her. Ruby had never needed to fight, and she hadn’t wanted to. Now there was no choice but to fight. This time Robert wouldn’t be able to save her. But what could she do? The figures were getting closer and closer to her now. There was nothing Ruby could do but close her eyes and try to block everything out.
“Calm down! Calm down, everyone!” a voice called out suddenly. Ruby opened her eyes. Some of the hostility had faded from the faces. “It’s okay, she’s not human. Look at the cracks on her skin,” said the voice. Surprise and then relief crossed over the other dolls’ faces. Was everything okay after all? She got to her feet as the figures backed away from her. “She’s one of us.” Ruby turned to face the doll that had just spoken.
Ruby noticed that there wasn’t a single chip or crack on the faces of any of the girls. Robert had told Ruby that the overseers often used magic to fix the dolls, which got rid of any cracks or imperfections they might have. Since Robert had lived in the North, he couldn’t really use magic.
Ruby had gotten very used to being chipped and cracked all the time. But that was something these dolls hadn’t experienced. They had all lived very different lives from Ruby. As much as Ruby wanted to believe that everyone here would accept her without hesitation, she knew that these people were very different from her.
“We thought that you were one of the overseers,” said the girl in the blue dress. “I haven’t seen you here before. But we didn’t mean to scare you. I hope you understand. There is no such thing as too careful. Did they remove you from your old place in the city? I’m Ivy. What is your name?” Ivy gave Ruby a bright smile. Ruby felt herself relax a little bit.
“My name is Ruby,” was all Ruby could think to say. Shock exploded across Ivy’s face.
“Ruby? Are you…” she trailed off. Ivy’s eyes landed on the red crystal around Ruby’s neck. “Y-you’re the one who escaped.” Ivy took a couple of steps back. The hostility had returned. So, did everyone in this city know who she was, or was it just this part of the city? Ruby took a deep breath. She needed to stay focused. These people were frightened and Ruby needed to make it clear to them that she wasn’t a threat of any kind.
“Yes. I don’t remember how. I don’t remember this place or anything here,” Ruby whispered. Ivy frowned. Now Ruby could hear people whispering behind her.
“Blossom was right,” Ivy muttered. “They can wipe memories!”
“You really don’t remember anything?” asked another doll.
“Not a thing,” said Ruby. “But I do remember the world outside of here.” At that, a dozen eyes lit up.
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“Does the sun that we have here really look real?” asked one of the younger dolls. “Is the sky actually blue or is that just a lie?” This doll was dressed in purple and looked much younger than any of the other dolls. Ruby was surprised by that. She knew that most of the dolls were designed to look very similar in age. When The City of Glass was originally built, most of the dolls were meant to appear between the ages of 14 and 20. This doll looked much more like an actual little girl. Ruby smiled at her.
“Yes! The sun here does look very realistic. The sky is also blue,” Ruby said. The little doll gasped.
“That’s amazing! What is the outside world like? Are you really the only doll who escaped? Have you ever seen the dead dolls? What was your name again? Did you live in a city? Did you break a lot? Your name was Ruby, right? Did I tell you my name? How long have you been here, Ruby?” The little girl went on. Ruby couldn’t help but laugh at the child’s enthusiasm. There was no trace of hostility or fear on her little face.
“Alright, Mia, that’s enough questions. Don’t overwhelm her,” Ivy said firmly. She reached out and took hold of Mia’s hand. “You’ll need a room, right? The games will begin tomorrow in the afternoon. I’ll give you your supplies tomorrow. But rest is the most important thing. If I were you, Ruby, I would put all your focus on sleeping well,” Ivy said. “That goes for all of you,” Ivy added, glancing around the room at the other dolls. They nodded. It was quite clear who was in charge here. Ivy was the person Ruby would go to with her questions.
“Thank you,” Ruby said.
“If you’ll follow me this way, please, Ruby.” Ivy gestured to the hall. “There are several free rooms here.”
“I want to come too!” Mia said, skipping alongside Ivy.
“Are you getting sleepy, Mia?” asked Ivy.
“Nope! I’m not!”
“That’s a lie. You’re jumping around again. I think you’re more than ready for bed,” Ivy chuckled. Mia glared up at Ivy. But Ruby noticed the child tighten her grip on Ivy’s hand. She looked up at Ivy with such awe and admiration in her huge brown eyes.
“Alright, but you have to come tuck me in!” Mia added.
“I will. Let me know if you get tired of her questions,” Ivy said to Ruby. “I know her chitter-chatter can be a pain sometimes.”
“Hey!” Mia burst out. Ruby tried not to laugh. How many rounds had Ivy and Mia been through? Ruby couldn’t help but wonder. No new dolls had been made since the games had first begun. But most dolls were relocated to a new place in the city after the end of each game. In theory this should be Ivy and Mia’s first round together. However, the two appeared to know each other very well. How strange.
“Alright, here we are,” Ivy paused in front of a red door. “Does this look okay?” She swung it open. Ruby saw a small but cozy-looking room.
“Yes, this is great. Thank you,” she said.
“We’ll all meet up to gather supplies after breakfast so don’t sleep in too long,” Ivy called to Ruby as she turned to leave.
“Bye, Ruby!” Mia called, waving happily to her as Ivy dragged the child back down the hall. Ruby smiled and waved at her till they were out of sight. What a strange place this was. There was no telling what tomorrow would be like. Ruby hadn’t realized just how sleepy she was. It had been a very long day for her. Rest sounded like her best bet. Closing her eyes and slipping into bed, Ruby could almost forget where she was. It was so easy to pretend that no time had passed by. She could imagine that Robert was still alive and that she was at home with him. These lies brought some warmth and comfort to Ruby’s scared glass heart.