Love of a Doll

Prologue

Prologue.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway of the castle as the Queen rushed to her first child's room. News that a certain witch had invaded the castle alerted her, and the latter had an inkling for the reason of her visit.

Upon seeing the witch standing at the foot of her daughter's bed, she quickly ran towards the sleeping toddler, carrying her towards the corner of the room. The toddler jolted in her sleep at the sudden movement and started crying.

"What are you doing here?" The Queen questioned with authority that did not seemed to affect the smiling witch.

"Me? I'm just here to take away something precious from you for taking away something precious of mine!"

Raising both her hands, she chanted, "Your daughter's soul shall be locked in the depths of a peasant's doll. At 18, she shall transform into a girl under the moonlight and turn back into a doll at sunrise. Only the curse can be lifted at a heartfelt confession of a true love."

A scratchy, high-pitched guffaw echoed through the eerie night, in the room of the firstborn crowned princess.

"No!" The Queen screamed, clutching her crying toddler close to her bosom. "Please, I'll give you anything. I'll give you a thousand gold if that's what you want!"

"What I want can't be settled with gold, your dear Highness," the gruff voice of the witch spoke with disrespect and sarcasm.

The Queen cried in anguish, trying to protect her child physically in any way possible. No other help could arrive, for the witch had placed a spell upon the room. She looked down at the crying child, the sound shattering her heart into smithereens.

Caressing her cheek with the back of a finger, she whispered with a strong promise in her words, "My Princess. My baby. My dear daughter, Roselle. I'll protect you whatever way I can. Even if you're taken away, I'll go to the ends of the earth to find you." She gently touched the silver necklace around her neck. "This will always keep you safe. I love you, Roselle ."

A tear fell onto the child's cheek as her mother placed a tender kiss on her head. As if sensing her distraught emotions, the child cried even louder.

The witch's howling laughter interrupted the mother-daughter interaction.

"Exchanging last words, I see?" She mocked.

The Queen glowered. "You shall be punished severely for everything you have caused! Mark my words, you demonic being!"

The witch laughed once more. "I'm a demon, you say? Well, I guess that's not much difference than a witch, I suppose, since I'm going to make you and your child's life a living hell anyways."

With a snap of her fingers and a whisper of a mantra, dark, grey clouds appeared in the room, swirling around.

And in a second, the firstborn Princess Roselle vanished into thin air, leaving behind mere ashes, and a heartbroken mother.

*

In the small four walls of a young boy's bedroom, a faint cry could be heard. The young boy woke up and sat on his bed, searching for the source of the cries.

Hopping down the rundown bed, his tiny feet brought him over to a doll on the windowsill.

"Rosy? Why are you crying?" His small voice asked as he stood on his tiptoes to reach for the doll.

Just as he took hold of the doll, the door to his room opened.

"Alex? Why aren't you in bed? It's late, sweetie," his mother spoke, walking over to her son.

"I heard Rosy crying, Mommy," Alex replied, gesturing towards the doll in his hand. "But she stopped crying when I held her. I think she's lonely. Can Rosy sleep next to me, Mommy?"

His mother gave a warm smile, nodding. "Of course, sweetie. Now, go to bed." She gently picked him up and laid him down on the thin mattress.

Alex smiled up at his mother, hugging the doll tightly. "Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight, my dear Alex. Dream only sweet things." She placed a loving kiss on his forehead as she tucked him underneath his blankets.

She gave Alex one last look before closing the door.

"Goodnight to you, too, Rosy," the little boy whispered, kissing the doll's head. He thought he heard a pleasant laugh coming from it.