The Doll sat in what she presumed was the most secluded corner of the library. This assumption was backed up by the complete lack of students around her with the exception of the girl who sat in front of her.
A girl with long curly dark hair, umber skin, and a warm smile that contrasted greatly with the sharp look in her eyes adjacent to daggers stabbing into The Doll.
Cecilia.
In the chaos of the crowd dispersing from the scene in the training grounds, Cecilia had grabbed The Doll and dragged her into the library, which was, according to Cecilia, the last place Malina would ever enter. While she didn't explicitly say it, The Doll got the impression that Cecilia had in some way organized the situation so that the crowd would become that large and get separated from Malina.
The Doll opened her mouth to ask Cecilia what she wanted to speak about but was quickly silenced when Cecilia put a finger up to her lips, indicating she should be silent. After doing this, she reached over and grabbed a piece of blank paper that was conveniently on the side of the table they sat at and used the table's quill and ink to begin writing.
While she waited for Cecilia to finish writing, The Doll could only patiently watch with her hands folded on the table. As she watched Cecilia write, she noticed her consistently pausing and bringing the quill up, which would cause ink to fall onto the paper. It was as if she were stopping to think about what she would write, a pattern that The Doll found odd, considering that she should know the topic of the conversation.
After far too much time Cecilia finally passed the paper over to The Doll, revealing what was written on it.
“Do you ever see things?
Things that others don't. Things that don't make sense.”
As soon as The Doll finished reading this simple note, she immediately thought of The Strings. Perhaps she knew what it was or perhaps how to get rid of it.
But for all she knew, it was already gone; there hadn't been any incidents since the one yesterday.
Furthermore, she didn't need a pillar of the crown, thinking that she was crazed; such a thing would ruin the Ashencrofts' image in the crown's eye.
Looking up, she saw that Cecilia was expectantly awaiting a response, so The Doll picked up the quill and decided to give a careful response.
“What things do you speak of?”
Passing the simple question over to Cecila, The Doll saw her eyebrows furl slightly in frustration, a thinly veiled attempt to hide displeasure at her response.
Why was she displeased?
Should The Doll have given a different response?
Maybe she should have simply said no?
No, that wasn't an option; she wanted answers of some form. If The Strings ever did come back, knowing what it was could help handle it. She didn't want to experience that loss of control over her body again.
The sound of a paper sliding back across the table to The Doll broke her from thought as she looked down to see Cecilia had written a reply.
“Anything.
Just something out of place that nobody else can see.”
The Doll hovered over the response for a moment, thinking on how to properly reply in a way that wouldn't affect her image or give away too much. It was clear from the experience last night that Cecilia wasn't above killing The Doll if she deemed it necessary. It was likely best to continue feigning confusion for now.
But that didn't mean she couldn't still fish for information.
Pulling the quill back out of the ink, she deftly wrote another simple response.
“Something living?”
Passing the note back, Cecilia gave no form of visual tell that The Doll could notice upon reading but simply picked up the quill and wrote a response much quicker than her previous ones and passed it back to The Doll.
“Anything.”
Well, The Doll was hoping for more of an explanation, but it was clear that she would have to push more. Fortunately last night's encounter gave The Doll one card to use here. It was something Cecilia said that The Doll couldn't help but remember.
Picking up the quill, she wrote a slightly longer response.
“Does this have to do with you calling me a beast last night?
You also mentioned something about how others typically can't see my kind.”
She passed the paper back to Cecilia, who promptly read it. As she read, she saw Cecilia's hand tremble ever so slightly. It reminded her of the slight tremble The Doll heard in her voice last night.
It was unmistakeable what that indicated. Fear.
Regardless of her feelings, Cecilia quickly recovered and slowly began formulating another response as if she had to think about her next words carefully. Eventually she would finish and pass the paper back to The Doll.
“Yes.”
The Doll frowned at the brief reply. Considering how long Cecilia had hesitated before writing it, she had expected something far more substantial.
The Doll had to consider her next move carefully as she picked the quill up to respond. Cecilia was clearly in fear of whatever she called beasts, and it was possible that The Strings was on these beasts. This meant there was no chance that The Doll could tell Cecilia about The Strings; if The Strings was a beast and that information caused Cecilia to kill her, the Ashencroft line would suffer.
After a moment of thought, The Doll wrote out her response.
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“What is a beast?”
Cecilia took the paper, and The Doll noticed that slight tremble in her hand again that was quickly suppressed. She once again took too long to reply, considering her response carefully.
Eventually she did pass the paper back over, and the words on it sent a slight shiver down The Dolls spine.
“I can't tell you.
It's for your own safety.
Reply yes or no. Can you see something others can't?”
What did she mean not informing her was for her own safety? She was used to information being withheld from her; it was commonplace for Father to keep secrets from her. Keeping things hidden that didn't concern the future that was planned out for her.
She has grown used to accepting that she is not privy to everything over the years.
But this information did pertain to her; at least she assumed it did. The Doll still wasn't sure if The Strings and these beasts were connected, but knowing what a beast was would allow her to figure out if they were. She just needed to ask more about the beasts without revealing the existence of The Strings inside of her.
Picking up the quill, she wrote a simple response adhering to Cecilia's request.
"Yes."
Cecilia read over the The Dolls simple response and then turned around and looked around the room, an act The Doll found strange. Looking back down at the paper, she wrote out her response rather quickly.
“How many do you see in this room?
Answer with a number and only a number.”
The Doll read over the question multiple times. It was a simple question, yet not one she expected.
Was she attempting to see if The Doll was lying, or was there a difference in the number of beasts that people could see? Perhaps it was best to be honest; if Cecilia was asking for an exact number, it was likely that beasts were either rare or that there was a difference in the number that people could see.
Adding onto this, it was unlikely that Ceclia would have them congregate in a place that had beasts in it. If she was right about this, Cecilia looking around the room was merely a way to trick The Doll into claiming to see something that wasn't there.
Being honest seemed to be the right option here.
Looking back down at the paper, The Doll picked up the quill and wrote the answer.
“None.”
Cecilia read over the response, and The Doll noticed the slightest hint of a smile begin to appear on her face as she quickly wrote back.
“Do you know what they are?
Only answer yes or no.”
Reading the question, the response seemed simple; she should just say no. It would reasonably make sense that she wouldn't know what they were. But that smile Cecilia put on was off-putting to The Doll. Perhaps she had somehow given the wrong answer, and Cecilia was pleased? But what if she gave the right answer and Cecilia was merely happy that The Doll wasn't lying to her?
She had to think there had to be a right answer with only two possibilities.
As she thought and spent more and more time thinking of the right response, she could feel Cecilia's gaze linger on her. That's when it suddenly clicked for her. What if there wasn't a right answer?
Cecilia brought The Doll here to have this conversation for a reason. Perhaps that reason wasn't simply to question The Doll but to gain knowledge on what beasts were.
According to the very limited knowledge The Doll had on these beasts; there were beings that only certain people could see. If the ability to perceive beasts was uncommon, it seemed unlikely that those capable of seeing them would be completely ignorant of what they were. Otherwise, Cecilia's first question would have revealed almost nothing.
However, if the ability to see beasts was one only a certain few possessed, it would make sense that it's not widely known what exactly they are. That's likely why the term for them is so general; they are simply called "beasts." For all The Doll knows, they come in various different shapes and sizes. The Strings could even be a beast for all The Doll knows.
Furthermore based off the confrontation last night, Cecilia believed that The Doll was a beast, yet The Doll could still be seen by others. This assumption by Cecila seemed to indicate that she believes it possible that a beast could exist while being seen by others. That assumption alone indicates that not much is known about these beasts. All of this seemed to indicate that despite seeing what beasts are, Cecilia doesn't know herself what exactly they are.
Nobody knows exactly what they are, but if you can see them, you know something about them.
This meant that if The Doll answered "yes," Cecilia would be suspicious of her and likely go back to hostilities. Meanwhile, answering "no" would imply complete ignorance. Something that wouldn't be possible if The Doll were correct; the ability to perceive beasts alone suggested at least some understanding of them.
The Doll moved to write down her answer when Cecilia suddenly whispered something that caused her to stop, “I figured as much.” The Doll looked up from the paper and saw Cecilia smiling at her as she spoke again, “You don't know anything, do you? You can't even see them.”
The Dolls narrowed her eyes, refusing to give up ground when she was so close to getting answers. "No, I can see them.” She spoke in a low and confident voice, hoping to convince Cecilia of the lie.
Cecilia's smile didn't stop as she put a finger to her lips, indicating The Doll should be quieter. She then leaned in over the table and whispered, “If you could see them, the answer would be obvious.” Is that why she only phrased the questions in a yes or no way? So they were simple enough for quick answers.
No The Doll still had deniability; she whispered a response back, not dropping the confidence in her voice, “I just don't know if I can trust you with everythi-.” Cecilia brought her finger this time to The Dolls lips, indicating she should be completely silent.
The Doll wanted to open her mouth and continue speaking, but she wasn't sure what the right response was. She needed to think Cecilia had thrown her off guard. As she thought, Cecilia began speaking again, staring The Doll dead in the eyes. “If you knew what they were and you're still alive, you would know the correct answer.” The Doll had lost control of the conversation.
She needed to regain it in some semblance if she were to learn anything more.
As The Doll opened her mouth to attempt a reply, Cecilia leaned in even closer and said, “Deny.” What did she mean by deny?
Cecilia leaned in slightly closer and whispered, “Deny.”
Then she once again got even closer to the point. The Doll felt her shockingly cold breath on her face: “Deny.” As she said this final deny, she sat back into her seat, keeping direct eye contact with The Doll throughout the act.
The Doll opened her mouth to reply, yet no words came out.
She wasn't sure what the right answer was.
She had no information to gauge the right answer.
Seeing that The Doll wouldn't answer, Cecilia decided to quietly fill the silence. “Now I'm even more certain than I was before that you're not one of them. You bleed red like a human and don't know what they are.” She then paused and narrowed her eyes. “But I don't know what you are.” It was almost unnoticeable, but The Doll heard it again—that slight tremble in her voice.
Just what made Cecilia think The Doll wasn't truly human?
She was a human.
A doll of a human but still a human nonetheless.
Whatever it was, The Doll was almost certain it had to do with The Strings; it had been silent all throughout today. But The Doll could only hope that this silence continued.
Suddenly, as if the timing were planned, Malina's high-pitched voice echoed throughout the entire library, “DOLLIEEEEEE!” She shouted far louder than was appropriate for the library.
Cecilia got out of the chair and whispered, “I have to do some research; we will continue this conversation later.” She then began to walk off before pausing and adding on without turning around, "Also, it goes without saying, don't tell Malina about our meeting.” She then walked out of sight, melding into the rows of books.
The Doll was left sitting in her chair as Malina continued to yell her name, much to the protest of the residents in the library.
She would eventually stand up and head towards the source of this voice.
As she walked, various thoughts rolled throughout her head.
Yet as she approached Malina, she felt them quiet down.
At least a little bit.