V

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

Arc V Chapter 16

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

25th Ignis Solar 753 AAC

Aurora yawned, her arms stretching and tiredness overcoming her. Her tender voice filled the emptiness of her nightly bedroom. It was an eventful day. It was an exhausting day. And it was, first and foremost, a profitable day. Yet now it was time to slumber and enjoy the sleep of the just. After all, it was already late, and little girls and their dolls absolutely needed their beauty sleep. The moon graced the dark sky, and the power of umbra gained in strength under the auspices of the glistering full moon. Just as the moon waxed under the cover of the night, so did her mana oscillate in the darkness.

“...” Aurora moved, crawling under the cosy safety of her warm, comfortable blanket to protect herself against the cold of the night. “Good night, Sister Iris~.”

“Zzz ... good ... night, ... Edelgart ...” Iris mumbled back, half asleep, half awake, half conscious, half unconscious. Her body turned from one side to the other, claiming more of their shared blanket. Aurora, however, stood her ground and was quick to strike back to regain her lost territory. Her hands pulled the blanket back to her side to restore the status quo ante bellum. The war for the blanket was brutal and merciless, a war that never ended, unseen to the eyes of the world. Every evening was a new struggle. Every night was a new battle.

Aurora turned to her sleeping doll. Obviously, her doll also needed a good nigh. Her hands moved her blanket to tuck her in as well. “Good night, Dolly.”

...

...

...

“... ... ...” Silence. Her doll must be still be too shy. Not that it mattered.

Aurora gazed at her doll, a smile adorning her lips. A tender kiss on her forehead was her last parting gift for tonight. “Good night, Dolly. Sleep well and sweet dreams~.”

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

“Aahhhh ...”Aurora mustered a cute, tender yawn, finally awakening from her terrible, terrible dream. Rubbing her tired eyes, her tiny hands dispelled the agonising memories of her nightmare. In the end, it was fortunately just a dream, a mere product of her mind, a figment of her playful imagination.

Could you believe it? Her dream turned her into a doll. A mere doll? What a silly dream. Unbelievable, right? It was true that she was a known connoisseur of dolls, but her imagination definitely went too far when it chose to transform her into a doll. Being turned into a doll ... Such an idea was a cruel joke of fate, right? The mere thought of losing her body, of her soul being forever trapped in a lifeless porcelain vessel scared her.

“...” Aurora sighed in relief. Fortunately, it was over. The terrible nightmare had ended ...

Why, though, were her eyes, so tired ...

Why were her hands so heavy ...

Why was her neck still so stiff ...

Her body was feeling awful ... ... ...

A grim feeling, a very grim feeling, befell little Aurora, a premonition she feared. It couldn't be ... Her hands ceased rubbing her eyes and her gaze slowly and painfully wandered downwards ...

Her hands ... Her arms ... The dreadful sight of porcelain and joints greeted her ...

No ...

No ...

No! No! No, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

“Nooooooooo!!!” Aurora screamed at top of her lungs, her voice stricken with terror, her breathing accelerating, her poor little heart beating ever faster. This was impossible ... It wasn't merely a dream ... It wasn't just a nightmare ... It wasn't the product of her imagination ... It all was reality, she had been turned into a doll, into her doll!

“Aargh! Aargh!!!” Aurora panicked, her tiny doll arms wildly flailing around in desperation. “Aargh!!!” What should she do? She was a doll now ... ... ...

Aurora took a deep breath to soothe her mind. “Breathe in ... Breathe out ... Breathe in ... Breathe out ... Relax, Aurora, relax. Stay calm, stay calm!” What she needed now was to gather her thoughts. Just like before.

“...” Aurora closed her eyes, slowing her breathing, sharpening her mind. The time had come to calmly analyse her situation. This crisis of unprecedented proportions demanded all her intellect, all her attention.

Based on her cursory observations, she had been indeed transformed into a doll. It was unknown as to why, or how, but what was certain was that she now was a doll. Her stiff joints and limbs didn't lie. In a cruel twist of fate, her soul had been transplanted into the body of none other than her very own favourite doll, Aurora!

Furthermore, a girl was slumbering right beside her, soundly asleep. Judging by her appearance, her features, her petite physique, there was no doubt that it was herself. Her fluffy cheeks and cute nose were unmistakable. It was her own body, which led her directly to the next crucial question, how was this possible?

The last thing that she remembered was that she had died. There was little doubt that she had met her end that fateful night. Every fibre of her being remembered the cold steel of the blade, the cold grip of death, and yet her body appeared totally unharmed. There was only one logical conclusion, somehow and against all imaginable odds, she must have survived ... Somehow, the impossible had turned reality ...

But if she survived, why was she a doll? Why was she trapped inside her doll? Why didn't she wake up? Why didn't her body react despite her apparent healthy state? Nothing made sense. There existed no logical reason for her to reside in the body of her doll! None at all. Moreover, the unsolved question remained, how did she survive? Who saved her from the clutches of her assassins? Questions over question, and no answers.

Yet little Aurora knew that there was only one answer to her current predicament, only one way to receive the answers she needed. Her gaze glanced sidewards, her eyes set on her body. Her objective was clear, she needed to wake up.

Aurora gathered her courage and rose to her tiny legs, her fists burning with determination. Last time, her efforts yielded no results, nor was her expedition graced with much success. This time, however, was different. This time, she would succeed, even if more violent measures proved necessary. “Doll punch!”

Her fist struck, clashing against her left cheek. Her punch connected with full force, yet her fluffy cheeks repelled her attack with astonishing ease, much to her surprise and contrary to her expectations. Their extraordinary softness made her punch bounce off, causing her to stumble backwards in the process.

“...” Little Aurora was dismayed. “...” How unfair! Even her cute cheeks betrayed her, conspiring against her! But she wouldn't give up! After all, she was Aurora von Schwarz!

Another punch followed. “Doll punch!” No effect.

And another punch. “Doll punch!!” No effect.

And another punch. “Doll punch!!!” ... still no effect.

“...” Little Aurora despaired, sinking to her knees, weeping. Why? Why did nothing work? Why ...

Two giant purple orbs were staring right at her, their luminescent glow piercing the veil of darkness. It was the moment little Aurora knew that her efforts had finally borne fruit.

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━