A High Cost
Page wasnt a bad doll. Oh no, she was quite good at serving her Miss. Taking great care in each task, completing it perfectly. Its only (big) issue was ignoring its tasks to write. You see, Page absolutely adored writing. Creating new worlds and beings through its words. It made that one feel powerful. It was always eager to share its stories with its fellow dolls and its Witch.
For the most part, the Witch enjoyed Pages passion and found its writings a delightful diversion. However, she did often have to chastise it for shirking its duties in favor of putting quill to patchment. Truth be told, it was getting more irksome as time went on, but the Witch knew Page to be a capable doll and let it go about its writing as a reward.
That is, until one day Page was given a most important task. You see, the Witch was working on a potion. A very volitile potion. A potion which, if not watched carefully in the brewing process, would have catostrophic consquences. Being the most well learned of her dolls, the Witch entrusted Page to watch the process to make sure nothing went wrong and the concoction remained stable while she went out for a moment to run some errands.
Page dutifully accepted this responsibility and was on its way down to the brewing room as the Witch left. However, inspiration struck it just as it was about to open the downstairs door. It just had to write this down this instant! That ones mind raced with descriptions and story; its quill furiously quivering in its hand.
Its thoughts were interuprted by a house shaking boom. The dolls eyes widened in fear and realization.
"No no nononono" it kept repeating as it ran down the stairs. The room was destroyed, bricks falling from the wall, centries old volumes scorched to naught but ash. The smell of burning wood from the still burning bookcase reaching its nose.
"Oh no oh no oh no. This is-" Page stopped mid sentence. Amongst the rubble there laid a doll. Twisted and mangled. One arm missing, the other shattered, its legs bent and cracked. Its face a spider web of fractures. Its gears werent moving.
"L-lace?" Page gasped, its hand over its mouth, running to the broken dolls side, trying its best to frantically clear the rubble. "Lace! Oh no its so sorry! Nonono please no! Lace! Answer me!" It shouted, a hand on Laces face, fragments of its porcelaine falling from its face.
Page sobbed, tears flowing like a river down its face, backing away and curling up in the corner, knees to its chest. Just then, the Witch came down the stairs. "What the he-" she stopped, dumbstruck. Eyes darting over the scene. Her equipment destroyed, irreplaceable tomes burning, and a shattered doll sprawled on the floor. Her face briefly took an expression of sorrow before her eyes settled on Page. At that moment her look twisted to pure rage. In a flash, she was in front of the sobbing doll, lifting it up by its neck and screaming
"WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?"
"Its so sorry Miss! It didnt- it shouldve-" the doll choked out through sobs.
"YOU WERE WRITING WERENT YOU?! WERENT YOU?!" The Witch shrieked, shaking the doll with every other word.
Bawling and ashamed, all it could do was nod. The Witch howled in rage and tossed the doll across the room and into the opposite wall.
"YOU STUPID LITTLE RAT! I indulged you. For HOW LONG DID I INDULGE YOU?! Look at this mess! Look at what youve done! Centuries of studies DESTROYED! I now need all new equipment! On to top it off LACE IS FUCKING BEYOND REPAIR!" The Witch stormed up to the doll, fury engulfing her eyes.
"MissitssosorryMissitdidntmean-"
"I DONT GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU MEANT!" The Witch took a deep breath, steadying her voice, though it still seethed with rage.
"I do not want to lose two dolls today," she started through clenched teeth "so I will not destroy you." Page looks momentarily relieved. "HOWEVER, much as it pains me to do so, I will be taking your passion." She says grimly.
Pages eyes widen in terror. "N-n-no Miss please-"
"YOU DO NOT GET A SAY! YOU DO NOT GET TO BEG! THIS IS YOUR ATONEMENT FOR YOUR CARELESSNESS!"
The doll glanced quickly over at Laces shattered body and nodded, whimpering in resignation.
The Witch places her hand on the dolls head, a searing white light shining from it. Page screamed in pain as the knowledge of reading and writing were literally burned from her mind. The witch, shedding only a single tear at what she'd just destroyed turned away, still shaking in rage.
"Now clean up this mess and salvage what you can." She said before storming up the stairs, not giving the doll a chance to respond.
Page continued sobbing, its whole body shuddering as it stood, legs weak, head hurting. It started cleaning, sweeping and moving rubble as best it could. It happened upon a book that had not been completely destroyed, half of the title remaining on the cover. That one tried to read it, the symbols now foreign to its mind, it simply looked like gibberish. The doll sobbed with renewed anguish, continuing to clean.
