Lu's face lit up with delight the instant that she opened up the door.
"Oh, thank goodness. I was really worried about you guys when you didn't come last night. Is everything okay? Did something happen?" she asked, leading them inside the apartment.
"Yes, everything is fine. We were followed last night by Mia. She's a younger doll and a friend of mine. So, no harm was done. But we decided to head back just to be safe. But Mia would never tell the overseers,” explained Ivy. At that, Lu's eyes darkened.
"Are you sure of that?" she asked.
"Yes. Mia is a child. She'd never want to hurt us. I've known her for a very long time," said Ivy. The fact that she had to defend Mia made her a little angry. Lu wouldn't be so suspicious if she knew Mia. No one could suspect Mia of anything after meeting her. Mia couldn't hurt a fly even if she tried to. But the concern on Lu's face wasn't fading away. "Trust me. She won't tell a soul. I can promise you that she won't. Besides, she doesn't even know our exact location. She knows that we leave every single night. But as far as I know she hasn't followed us all the way here."
"As far as you know. We need to be certain. Ivy, I can't afford to lose more of my allies. Even if you trust Mia, something could happen. What happens here shouldn't ever be repeated to anyone outside. So, if she ever asks you any questions, either lie or don't tell her. The overseers have their ways of getting information out of people," Lu said.
"Do you mean torture?"
"No, worse. Just make sure she never follows you ever again," whispered Lu.
"U-understood." Worse than torture. What could be worse than torture? Did the overseers have some way of reading the dolls’ minds? The thought of that sent chills racing down Ivy's spine.
"We'll have less and less time to work in the tunnels once the games start up again," Lu went on. "But I think we should still try to do a little bit of work each night. Slow progress is still progress. But... we'll probably lose some members." A twinge of bitterness entered Lu's voice. It was a bitterness that Ivy was used to hearing in Blossom's voice. The more that Ivy thought about it, the more similar Blossom and Lu seemed to be. Even the way they walked was similar.
But Blossom had left the rebels and Lu was leading them. Lu clearly carried a lot of fear with her just like Blossom did. There was a good chance that Lu also felt as if everything she did was pointless. The difference was that Lu was fighting that. Blossom had given in to the despair. Lu still believed in what she was fighting for, even if she didn't think they could win. Ivy needed to be more like that.
"Is there any more news about your discovery?" Ruby asked.
"No, but I'll let you know if we learn anything new. For now, all that we can do is work. Hopefully, we'll be able to make some progress, even when the break comes to an end," said Lu. They only had a little while longer. Soon Ivy's days would be filled with danger and terror once again. There would be no more time for resting and enjoying life. There would be no more time for playing with Mia. It all felt deeply unfair. But Ivy knew that the sooner she accepted that, the better things would be for her. Nothing good could last forever, at least, not in this world. Someday, there would be a better world. All the dolls would have freedom, and they could afford to enjoy life fully.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Lu led the girls down into the tunnels. For once, Ivy was grateful for the hard work that sucked up all her attention. It gave her something to focus on and it took a bit of her mind off of the pain that was filling her soul. But the work could only distract her. It couldn't kill the deep-rooted fear. Nothing could kill it. The other rebels were far quieter than they had been the past couple of nights. They must also be dreading the games. A heaviness seemed to fill the air around Ivy as she worked. Life was returning to normal, and nobody was happy about it. But dwelling on past horrors and worrying about the future didn't fix anything.
"How long does it take for your spell to drain all of your stamina, Ruby?" Ivy asked suddenly. Maybe a cheerful conversation would help take her mind off of the games. Ruby shrugged.
"I don't know exactly. I've never had all of my stamina drained before. Have you? What is that like? Do you die?" she asked.
"Yeah, my spell drains nearly all of my stamina. You don't die but you can't do anything. The last time all of my stamina was drained I had to have a few friends carry me back to the apartment. I literally couldn't even move my legs," Ivy laughed. It was funny to think about now but at the time it had been a terrifying experience for her. Ruby laughed as well.
"I guess I'm lucky," Belle said softly. "My spell drains my stamina very slowly." She was sitting at her usual spot in the middle of the room.
"Yeah, Blossom said that the Lux spell was very easy on her stamina. But I think it depends on each individual doll," said Ivy.
"When I first learned the Lux spell, I remember feeling very disappointed. I thought that the spell would never come in handy. But it's been helpful for this project," added Belle.
"The Lux spell always comes in handy during the midnight games," Ivy pointed out. At that, Ruby frowned.
"Midnight games; what are those?" she asked.
"Oh, right, you have yet to experience them. The midnight games are what happen when the crowd is bored, and Mary can't sleep. So, she wakes us up at midnight and makes us all chase each other around in the dark," explained Ivy.
"Now I'm sorry that I asked," Ruby chuckled.
"Do you have any spells or powers, Lu?" Ivy had been meaning to ask her that for a while.
"Yes, but I have never used them," said Lu.
"What? Not even once to see what it's like. Why not?"
"They just never seem to come in handy," Lu admitted. They? So, she had more than one spell.
"I guess the Lux spell comes in handy during the midnight games. I can also use it here. But really, sometimes I wonder why the overseers even created that spell. It just feels useless," Belle was saying.
"I do wonder how the overseers get their ideas," Ruby whispered.
"I always imagined them writing down random word, then they toss the words into a jar, pull out one and turn it into a spell," said Ivy. That made her laugh again. Soon everyone was laughing. Even Lu looked amused. That was one nice thing about being a doll. She wasn't in this alone. These rebels were friends that Ivy knew she could trust. But how long would they remain alive? Once the games started up, the dolls would begin dropping like flies. How many rebels would end up dead because of a stupid list?
Level
7
XP
57
Strength
30/100
Stamina
100/250
Health
250/250
Skills/Powers
Forti