-jrockerxreader//one shots-

[Mana] A Doll Maker // 2

A few months had passed and i was really enjoying this job. Everyday i would get some dolls and had to paint them after a reference Mana had made. Since i was still starting out there i wasn't allowed to paint the dolls the way i imagined to. During that time i only made sketches on paper and showed them to Mana, who always acknowledged my skills, but didn't approve of them fully.
I wasn't mad or sad about it at all, because it felt right that he would do so. It needed much more skills for that than i have at this point of time. 

I got used to the silence around the house, but i couldn't get used to not talk. The more days passed and i didn't use my voice, it felt like it was getting harder to talk. Words started to sound weird, because i wasn't sure whether i was pronouncing them right. After all i haven't heard them being pronounced in 6 months.

Today was sunday so i didn't have to work. Usually on sundays i would read and clean with the other maids, but today i really wanted to walk around the forest. I got my permission from Mana and had packed some food with me. I really wanted to ask someone from the house to come with me but i felt like it would bother them.

I went down and saw the butler standing in front of the door. He approached me as i was walking down the stairs and handed me a piece of paper and a map. 
As soon as i took the paper, the butler bowed and walked away. 

I hope you have a nice walk around this beautiful forest.
Please refrain from going too deep into the forest, it might be a little dangerous.
This map will help you to find some amazing locations around the forest.

best regards, 
Mana 

He is quite thoughtful.

I went out to explore the forest. I first only tried to walk around the walls of the house, because i was a little scared to go into the forest, until i found a little path to walk along. It seemed like people take this way to go inside the forest, so it seemed less scary. I could just follow the path back when i had seen enough. 

As i was walking along the way, i saw an older lady walk down the path, right to where i was.
I greeted her and just thought on going my way, since i didn't really know her. She greeted me and then looked me up and down and smiled. "Hello young lady" she said while continuing to smile. 
For the first time in months i had heard a voice again. I was surprised and couldn't bring myself to talk for a second.
"Oh you seem to be a shy young lady" she said and smiled again. 

"Oh i am sorry, Hello. I was just a little surprised" i said. 

"Ah you must be from the city. Strangers don't just talk to each other in the city, right? I was once in the city and i tried to talk-"

As she was talking on i stopped listening for a moment and wondered how she could talk so fast, i almost couldn't follow her story, because she talked to fast and so much. 
I realised she stopped talking and was looking at me again with a smile. I was hoping she hadn't asked me anything so i just answered her first question. 

"Well i am from the city, but i live around here now" 

She looked a little confsued and then looked behind me for a second. 
"Oh you live in mansion down the path?" 
I nodded in surprise, she seemed to know this path very well. 

"That's amazing. I used to work and live there too. Are you a maid?"

"No, i applied as a dollmaker there" 

"Ohh i see, so you must be working a lot with our boss, ah i mean my former boss, i just really got used to saying that. Actually i never said it out loud. There is a no talking rule, right? I really couldn't get used to that, as you can hear i talk a lot" she started to laugh. 
I also laughed a bit as if to agree. 

"How long have you been there, young lady?"

"A few months already, i guess 6? It's a bit hard to keep track of time there" 

"I know exactly what you mean. But i am very surprised, usually the assistants of our boss didn't use to stay there for too long. As you know our boss is a unique person, so it was quite hard for him to find a person for that job. I think the one that lasted the longest was 1 and a half months. You must be a new record." she said and started to laugh again. 

"I didn't know that. It's actually a little difficult for me too, i am not really used to not talk for such a long period of time, so i had to get used to that. I also wanted to get out a bit and explore the surroundings." 

After talking a little more, i walked up the path she came from and she went down. I felt quite happy after talking again. It was nice to hear the voice instead of reading it and imagining their voice. 

After a few hours of walking around the forest, i went back and it was easy at that. I just followed the path back to the mansion. 

After lunch i went straight back to work, there were still a lot of dolls to be painted. This time a very wealthy woman requested about 50 dolls for her daughters birthday. I couldn't imagine being that rich, these dolls cost around 200 dollars each. 

As i went back to the working room, i noticed a very beautiful doll on the table. I went closer to look at it. I haven't seen this one around yet. It was much bigger than the other dolls here. I picked it up to get a even closer look at it. The details in this one were immaculant. 
Suddenly the door swung open and i turned around very scared. In my distress i accidentally let go of the doll. It hit the floor and the face broke immediately. 

It broke. I thought as i looked down. To my surprise when i looked up at Mana and the butler who had just come in, he looked shocked. He actually showed an expression. They both actually. The butler didn't looked very happy either. 

I felt so sorry. It must have been a special doll as his expression showed clearly.
He slowly walked over and got down to pick up some pieces of the doll in disbelief. 

I looked down and couldn't hold myself back. 
"I am so sorry" i whispered.

He looked up. I was looking down still in shock.
He stood up again and was looking down at me now. The shock was gone from his face. 
I didn't realise that i was on the verge of crying. I felt tears running down my cheeks. 
He looked at me for 5 seconds and then grabbed me by the wrist and lightly shoved me to the side. He put the few pieces he had picked up on the table. I didn't notice that the butler had gone out until he came back with a mop and started to clean the  tiny pieces off the floor. 
I didn't know what to do, when suddenly the butler put his hand on my shoulder and showed me the door. I walked out and started to walk towards my room. I grabbed my wrist he had touched and felt something wet. I looked down and there was blood on it. I cleaned it with my other hand put there was no wound, it must be his blood. I guess he cut himself on the pieces. 
I stayed in my room until late at night and then decided to take a shower to somehow clear my thoughts.

When i came back there was a letter on my night table. 

I was quite sad that my favorite doll broke, because of the mistake you made. 
I won't hold any grudge against you, as i know it was all purely accidental. 
But now i need a new one.
I will give you a week to paint me a new doll. I hope you will be able to paint
my new favorite doll, if i won't be pleased with any of the dolls,
i will unfortunately let you go. I hope you understand.

Best regards, 
Mana