Strings Not Attached

.... --- -- .

Home. Elsa wanted to go home. And so she was. Standing at the front door, she unlocked the old German lock with her old German key and allowed herself inside. The fire was roaring, and her husband was sitting in his chair with their son and daughter in his arms. He was reading some sort of Christmas story to them, laughing and holding them close. The night was cold, as it always was. Elsa moved from the front door to the kitchen. Cookies, tarts, cakes. The whole works were sitting on the table, all set out and ready to be devoured. Tears were in her eyes now. But why? She was finally home, with her husband and children. Just like it should have been from the beginning. Her head began to split, and she groaned in pain. It was so cold. She couldn't feel the warmth anymore, nothing was warm in her world. Elsa felt her head spin as she entered the living room again, seeing her happy little family. They could feel the warmth, but her heart was as cold as ice. The world began to melt, and Elsa saw the thing she could have had start to leave her grasp. Panicking, she grasped for any of them. It was Enrich first, she was always thinking of Enrich. As he faded, she tried to cling to her husband and lost daughter, but they were gone too. The world went from warm and lovely to dark and cold. Elsa sobbed, but nothing came out. Puppets aren't allowed to cry. Puppets only move and entertain. But Elsa wasn't made to entertain. She was made to kill; to exact revenge on those who had killed her. 

Sometimes she wished Andre would've just let her die in peace. Living in this eternal Hell made her suffer. 

My loves, take care... My loves, don't forget me...

....

Leech Woman was laying under about two feet of snow. When she came to, she slowly climbed out of her snowy blanket and looked around. Her hair was soaked from the snow, and her joints were mostly frozen solid. Getting to her feet, she tried to warm them up, feeling the pain. What she needed was to find somewhere warm to stay, if not for the night than for the week. Trudging through the snow, she tried to find any sorts of civilization. As she came into a clearing, she saw she was next to a highway. A truck with a mattress in the back sped past, and she could have swore she saw something standing in the back. Shaking her head, she began to walk towards a home in the distance. A car was parked in the driveway, and there was an older gentleman sitting on the porch. As she approached, a small dog spotted her and began to bark. It ran towards her, and the poor thing had no time or energy to react before it grabbed her up. Running back to the man, it spit her at his feet.

"Heavens, me! That's creepy." he picked her up and looked her over. His hands were gentle, and he put on his glasses to examine her better. "Poor thing. Some kid must've thrown her out the window. Good eye, Binky." The old man headed inside and went up the stairs into an art studio of sorts. Sitting Leech Woman down on the table, he examined her chipped body and ragged hair. 

"What is it, Grandpa?" another voice came from behind him, and the old man looked back. 

"Binky found a doll in the yard. She's pretty banged up, so I'm gonna do my best to repair her." 

"Oh, can I watch?" the boy moved into the room more. He was tall, had green eyes and fluffy hair. He pulled over a chair and sat down, watching as his grandfather began to patch up Leech Woman. The warmth from his hands made her feel safe, so she finally calmed down. 

Hours later, the man had removed her clothing and washed them: sewing, removing the stains and even hemming them so they could fit better. The boy had brushed her hair out and gave her a fresh coat of paint on her eyes. Leech Woman had never felt better, in fact she felt new. 

"I'll be back, son, I need to grab something from the basement." The old man left the room, and the boy was left to tend to the poor puppet. 

"I wonder where you came from... You're too big to be, like, a doll... A puppet? Yeah, I bet that's it!"

Unfortunately.

"Huh? Grandma, did you say something?" The boy looked confused, almost as if he had heard Leech Woman's inner thoughts. He turned around and yelled this out the open door.

"No, I'm just folding laundry."

"Ah, okay. I thought I heard you talk." he looked back at her and shrugged. "My grandma... she's a little crazy. I still love her though. You are really pretty... I wish I knew your name."

Elsa... My name is Elsa Toulon. Leech Woman thought idly. The puppets had been used to talking in their minds, she did it practically on impulse. The boys eyes opened wide, and he sat straight up. 

"You... are you talking to me?" he leaned forward, and Leech Woman tensed up again. Could this boy actually hear her...? 

Can you hear me? My God, the first person I've actually spoken to in such a long time... How is this possible?

"Are you alive? Wait, wait, can you move?" The boy asked, and watched in wonder as Leech Woman slowly sat up, moving her arms and legs. "No... no way. This is incredible! Elsa... Elsa Toulon, huh? That's... so weird. Elsa... That name sounds familiar..." 

My husband was quite famous for all the wrong reasons. You might have read about him. The old 'Puppet Master'. 

"Oh, I do remember reading about that. That was your... husband? He married a puppet?"

No, no dear. Let me... let me explain it all.