The moment Mia opened her eyes, it hit her. She felt awful. Her powers just kept draining her stamina. How was she going to make it through another day of games with hardly any stamina? Even when she was sleeping, she could lose stamina. Dang, her powers really sucked. Was there a doll in the world who had been given worse powers? Oh well, that was a useless question and Mia knew it. With a groan, Mia sat up and forced herself to climb out of bed. Every inch of her hurt as the child dragged herself through the hall and down the stairs. Maybe she just wasn't used to staying up that late and that was why she felt so tired.
Hopefully she would get used to it sooner rather than later. After all, she would stay up late again tonight. Well, that was if she made it through the games. The thought of seeing Lu again did give Mia a tiny little spark of motivation and she quickened her pace. She needed to make it through today's game. Mia needed to know if she could be a messenger. It made her feel a tiny bit angry that she had to wait through the games before getting an answer.
After all, she could die today and then her idea would totally go to waste. In theory, Mia could remind Ruby. But she didn't want to nag Ruby too much. If Mia came off as too impatient, that would probably just make Ruby even more hesitant. So there really was nothing Mia could do but wait and hope that she would live to see another day. After all, this pretty much was the story of her life.
Ruby was already waiting downstairs. The main hall was very crowded. It looked like a lot of dolls had gotten up early this morning. Was something special supposed to happen today? Mia made her way through the crowd and over to Ruby. Ruby greeted her with a sigh and a tired smile. Ruby also looked like she really wanted to be asleep in bed at the moment.
"Are you alright? You look as if all of your life forces have been sucked out," said Ruby. Mia did feel like her life forces had been sucked out. She opened her mouth to tell Ruby that, but no words came out. Speaking took way too much effort. Luckily, before Ruby could ask her anything else, Mary's voice filled the room.
"Good morning, everyone! I'm excited to tell you that we have finally selected a new leader for your unit!" Mary called out. Well, that was a surprise. But then again, they did really need a new leader. New supplies for the next round of games would probably be arriving any day now. Someone needed to help organize things, even if they would be as good at it as Ivy. A low murmuring spread through the crowd.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Do you have any idea whom she might have chosen?" Ruby whispered to Mia. Mia shook her head. She honestly had no clue whatsoever. It could be anybody in this room. Well, probably not Ruby because she was still so new to this whole thing.
"Jasmine! Model number, 238038392677488! Congratulations! You have been selected as the new leader. We trust you to take good care of this unit. That's it everyone. Thank you for your time!" With that, Mary's voice faded away. Every single doll in the room turned to the doll who had stepped forward. Jasmine had a confused and sleepy look on her face. She stared back at the other dolls. Nobody spoke. Nobody seemed to know what to do. Mia had seen Jasmine many times before. But she had only ever spoken to her once or twice. Jasmine seemed like a somewhat odd choice. She seemed like the kind of person who mostly liked to keep to herself.
But Mia could vaguely remember Ivy saying something about Jasmine having a very useful and powerful spell. Maybe that was why she had been chosen. But Mia couldn't remember what the spell was. It probably wasn't a good idea for Mia to judge Jasmine so early on. But Jasmine would be very different from Ivy. Mia wasn't sure if anyone one in this unit was read for such a change.
"Shouldn't we get going now?" Ruby asked softly. "The games will be beginning pretty soon. We don't want to be late." This was true. But it didn't really look like anyone was going to leave until Jasmine said something. Finally, Jasmine cleared her throat and glanced around the room.
"Um, let's head out. We can't be late," was all that she said. She had thought of something to say. Mia wasn't sure if she would have thought of anything so quickly if she had been in Jasmine's place. But then again, there was no way that Mia could ever be chosen to lead this unit. Next to Ruby, Mia was probably the last person that Mary would have had in mind.
The other dolls didn't press Jasmine with questions. They just obeyed her right away. Ruby took hold of Mia's hand and began to lead her towards the door. Everyone in this unit had learned a very long time ago to do what they were told without asking questions. It didn't matter how ordinary or bizarre the order was. The dolls would always listen to what they were told.
Mia would listen to Jasmine. She had to listen to Jasmine. But that would take some getting used to. After all, she had only ever really listened to Ivy and Ruby, who were her friends. She didn't really know Jasmine. But Mia couldn't help but feel sorry for Jasmine. She had some really big shoes to fill. Mia stepped out into the street.
The bright sunlight made her blink and wince. But Mia could feel her body beginning to wake up. Alright, another day, another game. She could do this. She had to do this. This would all be worth it if Ruby gave her a chance. Mia thought back to Lu and to the rebels and to the tunnels. She had a plan now. Mia needed to keep her eyes on the prize.