DollMaker

Envious- Chapter 2

Envious

Faces crowded around Hero as she propped herself up. Scoffs and snickers surrounded her in a faint presence. It seemed far from her, as if it was reaching out to grab something. Sets of strings still covered her crippled shoulder. She let out a mournful sigh, but dropped it as soon as her arm began to move on its own.

"I see you've awakened. Did you get a goodnight's sleep?", Owen asked brushing his thumb over Hero's cheek. Hero pushed his finger away and nodded. She had a calm rest last night; not once did she wake up. Hero rubbed her eyes, slowly waking up mentally. The dream she dreamt the night before had struck her as odd. She dreamt of her husband as a puppet, one much like Teresa.

Nothing made sense here.

Hero ignored Owen, trying her best to get up using only one arm. It was difficult, but not impossible. Owen smiled, amused at her stumbling about. He brought over Teresa, getting her to haul Hero up. Other puppets watched, amazed at the fact that Owen hadn't turn her immortal yet. Hero was a mortal human, and could die at any time.

"Owen, how come you haven't revealed her strings yet?", asked Max, the incredulous look fading from his dark eyes. It was all too confusing for Max, and most certainly strange, but something didn't feel right.

"I thought she was a controller at first; I couldn't see her strings. Unfourtanetly, she wasn't. ", he said with a saddened tone in his voice. Hero grimaced, the regret slowly swallowing her up. She was a complete imbecile for thinking that she could stay here any longer. Hero stretched an arm, hoping she'd be able to leave soon and abolish her memory of this place.

Nothing made sense here.

Max dubiously sharpened his teeth with his dagger. Owen was most likely interested in the girl, whose name was Hero. Max pretended he wasn't bothered by that little fact. Why is Owen interested? It sickened him the slightest bit, he did not know why. Perhaps, he envied Hero. She wasn't even that beautiful. She was average, nothing special.

Hero wondered why they watched her in such a manner, especially, a boy that seemed a little on the side insanity, or perhaps on the line. He filed his teeth with a dagger to make them sharp and frightening. Hero took hold of the dagger from the boy's mouth, shooting him a look that mixed terrified and fearless. Max just stared into her eyes, his dark eyes completely lifeless.

"You'll hurt yourself.", Hero whispered, snatching the knife away from him. Max grinned, showing all of his teeth. He could bite her at any minute or second and she would never notice. He kept himself from doing anything to make Owen unhappy.

"Fine, I'll stop.", Max said sarcastically. He didn't care what the girl had to say, he could do whatever he wanted. Hero turned to Owen, who sat glumly in a corner.

"You alright, Master?", asked Max, completely concerned. Owen smiled, crinkling his fingers to bring over Max.

"Are you fond of her?", Owen questioned, wanting to know the truth. Max shook his head, smirking at his question. "She's interesting, but I'm not going any farther.", Max answered sighing. Owen nodded following Max completely.

"She is interesting.", Owen uttered, as he let Max strode to Teresa.

Hero tried her best to creep out of the room, but was immediately stopped by Owen. Her arm was being wrapped around her back, and she turned around. She bit her lip, trying to ignore the small pain. Owen snapped and his puppets crowded around him.

"I have a dress for you to change in.", Owen announced. Hero's shoulders twitched, not wanting Owen to control her at all. "I don't want to change.", Hero said softly. Owen raised an eyebrow, "Your dress is filthy, and my puppets spent a lot of time making the dress the previous night. Please accept it." His comment only made it harder to decline. She was fine in the dress she had now. Honestly, she didn't care that the dress was still covered with a blanket of mud and grass. It seemed fine to her. The corset still choked her, bringing back terrible memories. She longed for it to be gone.

"Alright, I'll change.", said Hero gingerly. Owen closed the door and knelt down behind it, moving the strings from the small crack under it.

The puppets held a tight grip on Hero, their smiled still glued to their faces. Teresa attempted to unwind the corset tie in the back. Her nails dug into the string, each little thin line popping. Hero restrained herself from running away. She wanted to pound her way out, and bury herself in her husband's grave. The corset slipped off and the rest flew by.

***

The dress was finally on, and Hero spun around in a mirror to see how she looked like. The dress was long, longer than the other. A beautiful navy color that brought out her saturnine eyes, and covered her figure. It had a low rise neck and no corset. Hero knew for a fact she looked wonderful, but she hid it. She wished for her husband to be here, to see how beautiful she looked, and to tell her how beautiful she looked.

He was gone, and could never come back.

Hero didn't cry, but let the tears well up in her eyes. As she stepped carefully towards the small stack of hay, the dress sauntered, flowing beautifully. Her feet were still bare, feeling the prick of hay needles on her feet. It didn't hurt at all but she still felt it.

Hero swung her legs back and forth watching her fiancé work on the field. She couldn't help but stare at the way his hair glistened in the sun, and how hard he worked to keep his wife, Hero, safe and full. Hero's hair was straight, almost carrying her face. It looked odd to others, but to her husband, there was nothing wrong with her. As soon as he finished, he dashed to Hero, a small dandelion in his hand.

"Here, take this.", he said, putting it in her hair. Hero smiled, brushing her hair with her fingers. "Even though you come from a poor family and can't afford a fancy dress, I still think you're the most beautiful. And when I put this flower in your hair, you become someone impossible to be.", her husband said hugging her.

"Thank you."

Hero's eyes flickered open, her dream so vividly true. She shivered feeling like someone was there. Was there? She slipped out from under the blanket, and turned her head to a dark silhouette. Hero jumped back, and struggled against a tightening grip.

Teresa.

Teresa pinched Hero's cheek, digging her razor sharp fingernail through her skin. Hero shocked, did not utter a word, or could not manage to say anything. In a blur, Teresa was gone and Hero fell back on to the floor, crying herself to sleep.