Perfection Exception

In Love And War

Annabelle

I walked silently as the sun began to rise. I still had Lou's tuxedo jacket draped over my shoulders, having fallen asleep at Moxy's house the night before. I did my best to fix my hair as I headed to Lou's small house that was located as far away from the mansion as possible to isolate him from the other dolls. I decided on pulling my hair back into twin pigtails. I stood at the door of Lou's house, staring at my watch until it hit exactly five in the morning. I tapped my knuckles against the door a few times, and I could hear him jolt awake at the sound. He opened the door a few seconds later, wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers.

"Get dressed. You're cleaning Uglyville today, and they constantly make messes." I stated.

"You look horrible." He whispered.

"So do you. Hurry up. I don't have all morning."

"You can come in if you want to."

"No thanks."

He turned away from me, and my eyes ran over his back and his muscular arms. I looked away as he disappeared into his room, returning a few minutes later wearing ordinary clothing.

"You look stupid in those clothes." I stated. "Let's go."

"Way to be nice to your prisoner, Annabelle." Lou huffed.

"You're not a prisoner if I'm allowing you to stay in your own house. Sure, you're far away from the others, but you still have a house. I could have you chained up in the mansion if I really wanted to, or I could have the dog on you every minute of the day."

Our footsteps echoed as we walked through the pipe instead of taking the open path between the two places. I jumped down onto the raised platform with ease, Lou doing the same but grunting in pain as he hit the ground.

"Why am I the only one being treated like this?" Lou questioned. "You lied to them about your true identity. How can they just accept you but I'm being treated like a criminal?"

"I worked for their respect after you left." I replied, turning to face him and glaring at him. "It's been three months, Lou. Do you really think I was just made co-mayor with Ox after you left?"

"Like you said, it's been three months. I don't know what's been happening with you."

"I started at the bottom of the barrel just like you, only they forced me to cook for them. After that, they humiliated me by forcing me to perform songs when they pressed the button on my back. Once they were satisfied with my humiliation, I was allowed to live normally. It was their choice to choose who they had a co-mayor, and they chose me over Moxy because she wanted to go to the Big World."

I turned my back on him and continued walking. We ended up outside of Moxy's house.

"Get to cleaning. I'll find you when you can have a break." I stated. "The dog's going to watch you today. I have work to do."

I whistled, and the robot dog stepped out from behind Moxy's house. I snapped my finger and pointed to Lou, and the dog excitedly wagged its tail.

"Did you train it to listen to you?" Lou asked.

"No. It decided to listen to me on its own." I replied, walking up the steps to Moxy's house.

I opened the front door after knocking twice, closing the only form of a barrier between me and Lou. I sighed before I walked to the kitchen of the house, quickly making breakfast for the two dolls who lived in the house and for myself. I was busy cooking bacon when Moxy and Mandy walked downstairs.

"Mornin'!" Moxy cheered, yawning.

I draped a towel over my right shoulder. "Morning. Lou is cleaning Uglyville today, so I thought we could get some things done with the dolls who want to go to the Big World."

"That sounds like a plan." Mandy smiled.

~

"This is the last stop to your journey! Behind me is the portal to the Big World! You can come and go as you please, even when you are still with your Perfect child! All you have to do is think of going home, and there will be a way for you to come back! As we always say to every doll who comes here, you don't have to stay here your entire life, and you don't have to go to the Big World if you don't want to."

I stood with Moxy as she explained the portal to the group of Perfect and Ugly dolls that stood before us. She was the one who always spoke to the dolls who were ready to go to the Big World, and I merely stood beside her.

I slipped away from the dolls to go and check on Lou, following the sounds of the barking and clanking metal. I found the dog chasing a ball, and I looked to the side to see that Lou was smiling as he watched the dog run.

"Hello." I said, standing beside him.

"Hi." He muttered, his smile vanishing as he looked at me.

"Time for your break. You get three hours to do whatever you want." I stated. "Once the three hours are up, you're to come back here and continue cleaning."

"And if I don't?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have a robotic dog that follows my command without question. Don't test me, Louis."

He propped his broom up against the closest building, and I kept my eyes on him as he stretched. He groaned when his muscles tensed, and I heard his shoulders pop. He was silent as he made his way toward the pipe that led to the Institute of Perfection. I followed him to see where he would go, and I found that he sat on the stage in front of the mansion with his head in his hands.

He didn't look up at me when I stood in front of him. I gently kicked his foot, but he still refused to look up. I sighed before I crouched down, and I realized that he was silently crying. I laid my hand on his knee, trying to comfort him in some way, but he brushed my hand away within a second.

"What's the matter?" I whispered.

"I don't want to talk to you." He croaked, frantically wiping his tears away.

"Well, I want to talk to you. Tell me what's upsetting you, Lou."

"It doesn't matter. Nothing I say can change anything."

"How would you know that if you don't tell me?"

Lou shook his head, and I slowly reached forward. He jumped at my touch as I brushed my fingers over his cheek, just underneath his eye to wipe away his tears. It was the first time that we had made eye contact without either of us holding anger or sorrow, and I could see just how stressed and alone Lou felt as his body trembled under my touch.

"I know it's hard, and I know you feel like you're alone, but I'm here." I whispered. "I know I'm the one who's making you do everything, and I know I'm being mean, but I don't have a choice. The others want to see you being punished for the things you did."

"I don't blame you." He whispered. "I never have."

I stood up and held my hands out to him, and it took him a few moments to take my hands. I pulled him to his feet and immediately into a hug. His body still smelt of pinewood and honeysuckle, a very faint scent like he had been using the cologne while he was gone, but a new scent of fresh air and sweat filled my nose. It was odd to smell sweat from him, but the smell suited him in a weird way.

"It'll get better." I whispered.

"I'm sure it will." He replied. "I'm sorry for everything I've done. While I was alone, I did nothing but think about all the pain and suffering I've caused. I couldn't stop thinking about how I left you behind to face the consequences of the things I've done."

"I forgive you."

He looked at me in disbelief, and I smiled gently.

"I've never held anything against you. I chose to stay here, and they chose to punish me. It wasn't something I was going to fight. I was too worried about where you had gone and if you were okay to really care about what was being done to me." I stated.

He seemed to break down at my words, and I wasn't surprised when he pressed his lips to mine.