The Dollmaker

~ Chapter One ~

{A/N: Hi all! So I wanted to write something, and for whatever reason, I decided to write a Donna Beneviento story. Hope you enjoy it!}
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The Village Library is my one place of solace, the one place where the silence is soothing and the world is closed off. Pretty much nobody comes here, leaving it empty and quiet almost all of the time. Old books, giant mahogany shelves crammed with the stories and knowledge of many, soft well-worn armchairs and a crackling fireplace. Home.

As usual, I take a deep breath as I wander around each bookshelf with pure adoration. My fingers gently skim over the leather of each spine — who knows what kind story each of them contain? Maybe horror, maybe love, maybe even heartbreak? The soothing smell of leather bound books, freshly cleaned wood; it surrounds me and fills me with a sense of peace. I've always heard the phrase 'never judge a book by its cover' thrown around, but I've always lived by it. A book can have a blank cover, simple leather with the usual wear and tear of library books, and yet the contents can hold you captivated. Transfixed.

To me, books are far better than people. The way they are so easy to become lost in, the way they soothe the mind better than any friend of mine could've – they're just better.

Pausing halfway through my thoughts, I come to a halt, the feeling of something metallic adorning one of the spines of the many beautiful books. The intricate details on it feel cold against my warm fingertips. My eyes land on it, tilting my head as I gently pluck the book from its place. The front cover of it has a crest of some sort; it looks so vaguely familiar. A sun and moon crest, embedded in a diamond shaped frame on top of the coarse leather. Intricate patterns, like that of a card from a magic deck surround it, giving the book even more of a unique feel. I'd never seen anything like it in this library. I run my fingers over it, a faint bell of recognition ringing in the back of my mind. But where have I seen this crest?

Curiosity gets the better of me, and I take the book over to the plush armchair by the fireplace, placing it in my lap. I gently pry it open, and the first page I lay my eyes on only makes the bells in my head chime louder. 'Book of Beneviento', written in perfect cursive. The name finally clicks, as I realise it means the book on Lady Beneviento – one of the four lords. I've of course heard the rumours of the lords, how Lady Dimitrescu is supposedly a giant woman that eats people, how Lord Heisenberg can lift metal and manipulate it at his will. The only one I've found I truly fear; is Beneviento. There's something about the way she's practically never seen in the village, nor has any maids or butlers going there for her. She's like a ghost.

"Doing some homework are we?"

The scratchy voice of the librarian makes me flinch, and I snap the book shut. I look up to see him standing there, peering at me over the rim of his rather unkempt spectacles. "It would seem so, hah..." My voice trembles, and I give him a small smile. His usually stony face cracks slightly, his attempt to smile more unsettling than kind. I suppose it's not entirely his fault. The librarian, who has never told me his name, always seems to just float around the vast building like a sort of ghost. Some kids of the village call him 'hunchback' as his back is always hunched due to his age, but that's as close to a name as he has. Round cracked glasses perch on his broken looking nose – though they do his eyes no favours. He walks with a limp, a wooden cane forever glued into his hand. Wisps of silvery hair clings to his pale scalp, his eyes sunken and dull. Almost like a phantom.

He laughs, though it sounds more like a dry, stale wheeze than anything. "Sorry for startling you my dear, didn't mean to give you such a fright." I just nod, giving him a weak half-smile. A sigh of relief and slight sympathy leaves me as he hobbles away, back between the endless shelves of the library, disappearing from sight again.