Fantasy Living Doll

[AEONmeteorite]

​

Crickets chirped and owls questioned in the night. There was a full moon. Its light reflected off the icy rivers in the forest. How the water pooled near rocks and logs was simply, breathtaking. One would assume it was filled with crystals.

Besides the animals and water, it was silent. While these woods weren’t far from civilization, humans hadn’t integrated the land in this area. But, as the critters of the dark spoke and played, they too went quiet when a woman floated down the river and off the edge of the waterfall, leaving behind a loud splash.

There she was caught in weeds and debris. Her nape faced the waterfall and twisted the key in her neck. With each twist, a new note was played, causing a gentle tune. It appeared as if creatures stopped entirely to listen until there was a single, ding, and the maiden blinked into a conscious state.

The first thing she did was sit up, grab her arms and shiver. She shivered. A doll was cold. She gazed at her beaten, ruffled dress. It was soaked and the fabric’s color had faded.

“Reid,” she whispered to herself and rocked to her feet. Her knees buckled beneath her weight, but she still pushed herself through the forest. She walked and dragged her body until she reached the side of a cliff. From there, she saw lights, a town, people she could talk to. So, she moved her drenched hair to hide the key and set forth for the town.

Celestiel

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Luella Vree Straffwood
Much of Luella is unknown. I will update her sheet as more is revealed in rp.

∆∆∆

Appearance


The maiden always wears her gloves because the left one has her creators crest on the top of it. On the back of her neck is a lock. Her creator usually was the one who held her key; currently she is keeping it in her neck for safekeeping.
(Drawing done by me)

Info of Creator and Creation
While I want most of this to be revealed in the rp. I think you should have an understanding of certain mechanics, even though your character wouldn’t know it right off the bat.

∆∆∆

As said, her creation and what she can do is unknown. But her creator adored her like his own child and taught her everything he knew, from subtle sorcery to reading books. He always kept her key with him, she’d ask why and he’d always say, “If the owner turns the key to make them live too often, they may go insane.” And she usually brushed it off. Besides that, she would also ask how she was made. Her creator gave her different answers each time.

Even though she is a doll, she needs to eat and sleep. She feels temperature and the need to be cleansed. She bleeds pink blood and feels pain. Her creator told her, “You must feel pain, so you know when you’re wounded. You must have blood, so you know how bad your injury is. Even dolls can stop moving, no matter how much I twist the key.”

Big wound cannot “heal” on their own, indicating that the wound is big enough to interfere with her mechanics. Thus she must be sewn for the healing to happen. How she heals is unknown. (secret.)



​

 

[Celestiel]

Diaval

"Deep into that darkness peering,
long I stood there, wondering, fearing,
doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal
ever dared to dream before."
~ Edgar Allan Poe​

•*°*••*°*•​

Name: Diaval Duchannes
Alias: Corvin
Age: 23 years
Gender: male

•*°*••*°*•​

Hair color: jet black
Eye color: intense gold
Height: 5'10 ft
Build: elegant
Weight: 110 lbs
Other: three distinctive scars on the left side of his face

•*°*••*°*•​

↓ Note:
Diaval is a minor demon and has been the servant of a witch for most his life, until she died when he was sixteen.
He possesses psychic powers; telekinesis and telepathy. His actual appearance is a raven, but he has the ability to take a human shape. Diaval's shift however isn't very stable, since his arcane abilities aren't very strong, causing his human form to occasionally grow feathers out of his skin or even turn back into a Raven when he's exposed to stress. Basically, the more distraction, the more feathers.
His senses are enhanced and he has an instinctive orientation, always finding the way without even ever having actually known the way.
Diaval is very lightweight, since his bones are, like a bird's, hollow; they therefore also break easier.

© Celestiel

 

[Celestiel]

A couple of miles outside the town stood a lonely, small house, half-covered in vines and ivy and forgotten by everyone but its unrightful owner.
It was so close to the woods it was threatening to be swallowed whole by it, and yet, it held the kind of beauty fairy tales told about.
The wooden window frames, painted in flaked off crimson red paint, stood out from the velvet green of the forest and the limestone walls, the only thing that even would have made people to notice the house, minding how well it melted into the scene.

The garden in front of it, surrounded by a fence made of rope and wooden poles with a creaking wooden gate, was surprisingly well-kept.
On the right, Vegetable patches were neatly outlined with low stone walls, probably pieced together of slate, and even labelled with small wooden signs, written in an elegant, curvy handwriting.
Zucchini, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes...
The left side was mostly taken up by a beautiful little pond, populated by goldfish that were lazily swimming by while a couple of frogs croaked from their position on the leaves of a couple of water lillies.

Next to the battered entrance door however stood a breathtakingly beautiful rose tree that wound its branches around the bars of a black, obelisk-shaped trellis.
The white roses, each shimmering pale silver in the moonlight, looked straight-out magical.

Inside the cottage, wrapped up in a warm blanket as he sat in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot cocoa with whipped cream, sat the mentioned unrightful owner and smiled satisfiedly as he looked up from his book and through the window on his right, at his beloved roses.
He had found this little house years ago when he had been on the run from a couple of people who had found out what he was and wanted to end him for it.
When he had found this place, the first thing he had noticed was the mess.
The rooms were wrecked, to put it mildly, and in the end he had found out why-
In the last room had been a skeleton, a hole massive hole in the skull.
For whatever reason that poor soul must've been murdered here.

Out of a sense of pity, Diaval had buried the skeleton in the garden before he had started to clean up the place and just a couple of weeks later, the rose tree had started to grow on his grave, and ever since, Diaval cared for the tree with the devotion of a good friend.
While he had been cleaning up, he had even found out the name of the man-

He got up, blanket still around his shoulders, and, despite loathing the cold weather, clipped a couple of wilted roses out of the tree before he watered it, just like every night.
And like every night, he lit the candle standing on the windowsill next to it, smiling wistfully.
"Thank you, Reid", he mumbled, thanking his dead unknown friend for the shelter he had found in his house when he'd had nothing.

Then he headed inside again, picked up his cocoa and book and got lost Robinson Crusoe's adventures again.

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Luella reached her shaking hand behind her. She rested her palm on her head and slowly slid it down to the key. The brass was icy against her fingertips. She felt the rose that he had shaped and the small butterfly wing on the side. She felt with her finger to the end, where a bit of metal poked out. There was usually a chain that would slip through the hole there, her creator would keep the key around his neck at all times. Never letting her touch it. The chain was gone, and, if she wanted to keep walking, she'd need to twist the key.

So she did. And with every twist, memories of her creator telling her about the key returned. "Luella," she remembered her creator saying. "Do you know why I forged your key to look like a rose and a butterfly wing?" She twisted it again. "Usually when you give roses to someone they wilt and die, so I wanted to give you a flower that would live with you." Another twist. "As for the butterfly. You are strong, Luella. Even though you feel pain, even though you bleed, you could keep moving while an injured man couldn't. But, you have emotions, and you could still easily break like a butterfly's wing. Be careful my child."

The maiden bit her bottom lip. She could cry... why would her creator ever do that? She didn't know how humans prevented themselves from crying, but she had to take every ounce of her being to do so. She twisted the key one last time as she prevented her sob. But then, she brought back her hand and gazed at her palm. It didn't feel right. Twisting her key to make herself live. The temptation to take it out and throw it away felt all too real. Yet, if she could no longer find it, if Reid couldn't find it, then she'd never awaken again.

Somehow, though it felt wrong, it was thrilling to have her own life in her hands.

Luella shook her head and continued her trek. She remembered that boulder, that tree, the meadow and then, she saw the gardens. With a heavy sigh of relief, she ventured to the cabin. The wood had taken some wear and tear. She expected no less. She may have been missing for a few months, and if Reid thought she was gone, he may have let the place go.

She limped her way to the cabin and rested her head against the door. She exhaled again as what appeared to be a memory popped into her mind. Something that had happened before she had disappeared, but it was foggy, and Luella didn't make sense of it. So, she attempted to twist the doorknob, only to find that it was locked.

 

[Celestiel]

Diaval jerked his golden gaze away from his book and towards the door, where he had just heard something like... Someone trying to enter.
The cup of cocoa, luckily empty by now, clattered to the ground together with the book and the blanket when the demon turned back into a Raven in a flurry of black feathers.
Gone was the black hair, gone the greyish, ashen pale skin and human features.
The raven flew up to the ceiling to perch on the chandelier up there, while the key in the door lock slowly turned on it own.

And then he waited, anxiously, his wings tightly pressed to his body while his shining golden eyes were glued to the door.
What now?
Was it another witch wanting to enslave him?
Another hunter coming to kill him?
He had lived his entire life in captivation and he'd be damned if he'd end up as a slave again.

Slowly, he let the door creak open to see who was there. If necessary he would break a window with his telepathy and flee once again.
It was frustrating to lead a life like his, always on the run and never getting close to anyone because his secret was so easily discovered, but they're honestly was no other way to stay hidden.
And he needed to stay hidden.
Everyone knew what humans could be like.

Diaval just wanted to take off and fly for his life, when he stopped mid-motion.
Through the open door, he saw a girl.
She looked far too ragged and beaten to be a hunter or a witch.
A wanderer, possibly? Someone else on the run?
His mind was still reeling when Diaval took off to land on the cupboard next to the door to get a closer look at her.

A short, questioning caw Rose from his chest, golden eyes carefully looking up at the stranger.
"Caw!", He made once more before he flew over to the fireplace, where he struggled to pick the blanket up and drag it across the room until he dropped a couple of feet away from the girl as an offer for her to take it and warm up at the fire.
He was demon, yes, but he wasn't heartless after all.

 

[AEONmeteorite]

This was strange. He locked his door. He never did that. She attempted to turn it again but it still didn't bunch. So, she pulled back her hand to knock, but then, the door opened. It must have been stuck.

She didn't hesitate to walk in, though it was more of a stumble. The maiden closed the door behind her, as to be sure that the cold air entering would halt. There were still a few orange leaves on the trees when she roamed, that would mean that night would only get chillier.

Luella gazed around the cabin. It appeared to be different than she remembered. It had been a few months, she didn't think Reid would redecorate so quickly. She would have to apologize to him at great length. Sure, there wasn't much she could have done by being asleep, nonetheless, the key was in her neck, and she must have left with it there. Reid wouldn't be too keen with her because of that alone.

And then, Luella inhaled sharply as a loud caw echoed throughout the room. She heard wings flap and watched as a blanket was pulled from the ground, toppling over an empty cup and book. The blanket, at first, appeared to move all on its own, but much to her surprise, she witnessed a crow dragging it across the floor. And then, it dropped it, just a few feet from her, near the blazing fireplace.

"Reid?" Luella belted as she raised a brow toward the bird. There was no answer. Her creator had told her about warlocks being able to befriend animals, perhaps he had done the same. So, she bent over, unlaced her beaten boots, removed them and took up the blanket. She wrapped it around her small frame. Being sure to cover her neck and toes. "Hmm," Luella sighed in elation. "Blankets are like warm, continuous hugs."

The maiden gave another glance at the bird. Even though it had brought her the blanket, something still didn't feel right. She scooted a few more inches away, just incase those claws were used for something else.

 

[Celestiel]

Reid?
Reid?!
Diaval took a couple of seconds to stare at the girl in utter wonder, his head cocked to the side while he hopped to the side of the couch to stare at her with a gaze that was almost comically confused.

He could, of course, talk to her and ask her what she had to do with his unknown friend;
But he didn't like the thought of revealing his true from to her just yet.
His true form was the best disguise he had and he couldn't give that up without knowing who his unexpected guests was.
Distrust was his number one defense, apart from his claws.

Wings flapping loudly, Diaval took off into the kitchen, where he forced himself back into his human form.
Okay, now what?
He hadn't exactly been in the position of having guests- ever- but he did remember what he had to do when Ayana, the witch who had bound him, had told him to do whenever someone would come over to her place.

"Okay Diaval, now, stay. The heck. Calm", he mumbled to himself, while he got another cup to make some hot chocolate for the girl in the living room.
She looked like had been wandering around for quite long... He knew just too well how that felt.
Hungry, scared, lonely...

Something to eat might be good, he figured, and quickly made a collection of different sandwiches. Ham, jam, cheese...
With the plate full of sandwiches and the cup of hot chocolate on a tray, the demon made his way back into the living room, where he gently knocked against the door frame.
"Hello Miss", he said, doing his best to keep his voice calming and warm and hide his own anxiety.
"I saw you coming in and figured you might be hungry or thirsty."
He put the tray down on the coffee table before he straightened up again, just to take a slight bow. "Oh eh- Diaval. Duchannes. I heard you calling for Reid? You know knew him?"

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Luella lifted her hands to the fire. Oh it all felt so good, especially after being soaked through and through. The crow eventually flew away into another room. She figured that so long as it didn't poop in the cabin, then it'd be fine to leave the winged creature alone. But then came a knock to her left. She slowly craned her head to look at the figure standing in the doorway, knocking on the frame, speaking words that went through one ear and out the other. Fear enveloped the poor girl.

A series of gasps escaped the doll's lips, as she scooted away until her back ran into a clothed chair. She lifted one foot, kicking it in the air towards him, though she wasn't remotely close to kicking him. "Who are you?" Luella yelped, having never actually heard his name. "Why are you here? Reid doesn't let anyone in here. He made this place to..." she paused for a few heartbeats. "What did you do to him? Where is he!?" She kicked her leg a few more times, before calming down, slightly, and peered past her leg.

A tray, filled with an assortment of sandwiches and...

With the point of her foot and big toe, she gestured to the cup on the tray. "Is that hot cocoa?"

 

[Celestiel]

Diaval had jumped back like the startled bird he was and almost shifted back into his raven form.
A couple of feathers broke through his skin, but luckily only on his arms, which were covered by his black dress jacket.
His bright golden eyes were wide as saucers, mind reeling.

Reid had only been a skeleton when he had found him, he must've been dead for many years.
But this girl seemed to know nothing about all that, seemed to believe that this man still had to be alive despite the latest letter he had found in his office was way over a hundred years old.
But how, just how was he supposed to tell her that?!

"Eh-", Diaval stuttered before he carefully pointed at the calendar on the wall.
"Miss, I think you misunderstood something here...Mister Reid died over a hundred years ago...I am Diaval, I found his skeleton here a couple of years ago and buried him in all honor-"

Surprised by her sudden change of topic, Diaval raised his eyebrows, but then picked the cup up and held it out with both hands for the girl to take it, an innocent, puppy-eyed look on his face that made it more than clear just how insecure he felt right now.
"I thought some hot chocolate would make you feel better..."

 

[AEONmeteorite]

"Sir." She stood up, straightened her back and kept the blanket tucked around her shoulders. She scuttled across the floor and took hold of the drink. "You've just given me heaven." Luella gingerly took it from his hands and scanned the sandwiches on the platter. She took from the jammed ones, for they were always her favorite, and then, she returned to the place she had been sitting. Her dress was still soaked and the fire was needed to make it dry.

"I do not know who you are. But, I guess, perhaps, my creator could have brought someone along due to sheer loneliness," she took a bite of the sandwich, swallowed and then downed some of the hot chocolate. "Immaculate," she breathed due to the flavor of the warm drink. "What kind of child am I for disappearing on him life that? May I ask, where is he now, that is, if you haven't broken into his home?"

(Sorry short post.)

 

[Celestiel]

Diaval scratched his head in utter confusion at the girl's complete ignorance towards him telling her he had found Reid dead- dead for way over a century.
She simply acted like he had never told her about that.
And what was up with her calling him her 'creator'?
This whole situation was a bunch of absolutely confusing turns he didn't understand- at all.

He picked a simple wooden chair up and set it in front of the couch to talk to her face to face.
"Listen, Miss, we need to talk", he said carefully. "Mister Reid died over a hundred years ago... I found his skeleton here a couple of years ago and buried him in all honor-"
He pointed at the white rose bush in the garden. "He's resting in peace under these roses. I found him with a smashed skull, the furniture wrecked beyond repair. Someone killed him. Whoever did that probably was searching for something, I don't know what though."

He bent forwards, elbows resting on his legs as he locked his shining golden eyes to the girl's.
"Miss. Reid- he's dead for over a century."
Then something occured to him-
Pink eyes.
Humans didn't have pink eyes- the last time he checked.
Creator...
He slightly cocked his head to the left.
"You aren't human, aren't you...?"

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Luella stared wide eyed as the man sat right in front of her. She sipped another sip, ate another bite, and carefully listened. Dead? Dead? A hundred years ago, this man was speaking nonsense. But as he spoke, Luella became far more angry. She didn't know why, but every word raked across her mind. All of it bothered her, irked her, so she put down her drink and lifted her hand, preparing to slap him silent.

But then, he leaned forward, and just that made her drop her hand as a blush dusted across her cheeks. Why did he get so close? Miss. Reid? Human? HUMAN?

"I uh," she stuttered and tightened her lips. No one had actually figured it out. Not the people of the town, not the friends Reid had, no one. They never questioned Reid when he announced that he adopted a child, that is... wait, one person did figure it out. That's why they moved way out here, that's why no one was ever allowed in. They lived in a mansion once, and for her sake, he brought her to this shack of a place.

She swallowed as she attempted to fumble words from her mouth. Luella dropped the rest of the sandwich and stood up quite abruptly. "I'm human, I am." She bit her bottom lip. "I should go," she announced, pivoted on her heel and took the first step towards the front door.

 

[Celestiel]

Diaval was still sitting on his chair when he watched the girl stand up and walk away.
"Humans don't have pink eyes", he pointed out, before he got up and focused to only make his Raven wings appear.
Looking like a black-winged angel, he walked over to her and smiled his faint, wistful smile.
"They don't have golden eyes either. Look- being what I am, I know what it is like to keep a secret that might cost your life if someone ever found out; or worse. I can assure you- the last thing I would do is to blow the cover of someone who's in the same situation as me."

He reached out to take a calendar off the wall and showed it to the girl.
With a bit of luck this would be enough proof for her to believe him.
If not, if she'd really run off all alone into the woods, he'd make sure to follow her as a raven until he could be sure she'd be save.
Back when he had been on the run, Diaval had no one at all. He had been alone in a world that didn't want him to exist. He'd never let that happen to someone else.

"Look at the date, Miss. I bet this is at least a hundred years ahead of what year you think it is, isn't it?"
He ran his hand through his jet black hair, his typical motion when he was stressed or thinking hard; a few black feathers fell from his hair.
"If you want to go i won't stop you, of course. I'm not in the position to tell you what you have to do. But as someone who has been alone and lost for...probably too long- Don't go out there all on your own. At least not until you're a better. You are soaked, you look exhausted, hungry, tired, confused... Believe me, I can relate. I too lost the one I relied on."

A bit of the seriousness faded from his face and again made space for his smile, that held so much warmth and sadness at the same time it seemed like a wonder he was even still able to smile.
"I have more hot chocolate, you know? Even with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. Makes everything feel a little less awful, trust me I know what I'm talking about."

 

[AEONmeteorite]

"He's not dead," she clenched her jaw and gazed at the calendar. "You don't understand, I don't care how many years it's been. He isn't dead." Luella was certainly surprised that the calendar said what it did. The last she remembered was the mid 1600's "You don't know him, you weren't his friend." She spinned, stepped forward and shoved her face right near his. "You do not understand the feats that that man has done! He could learn anything, he could do anything, he could live a thousand years, easy!"

It was just then that she looked past his face and spotted his wings. She jumped back, bewildered by what she saw. Sure, she witnessed magical creatures, sorcerers and all things of the sort, but she had never seen a human-like being carry a fantastical element. "How exquisite..." she mumbled and stepped around the man. Luella ran her hand across his left wing and felt the feathers between her fingers. "I could only imagine what it'd be like to soar. It would... " she froze, and returned her hand.

It wasn't often that a doll thought something so beautiful. Well, it also wasn't often that a doll thought anything. Nonetheless, she was created with perfection. Clear skin, bright eyes, luscious hair, and as she dwelled upon these wings, she felt like she was nothing. Did Reid make him? Could it be that he did die, but before then, made one last doll, one that was better than her.

Had Reid forgotten about her?

Luella winced and gulped down a sob before stomping away, bare footed and drenched, and left through the front door. She didn't go far, she simply went around the back and sat against the cabin.

 

[Celestiel]

Diaval let out a silent, half frustrated and half pityful sigh at the girl's desperate denial.
He knew how she felt, knew how she simply couldn't, let alone wanted to accept the unchangeable.
When Ayana had died, Diaval had felt just the same. Sure, the witch and him had never been as close as Reid and his creation, but she had been the only one he had ever relied on.
The witch had always been there, always told him what to do. It was frightening when he suddenly had to take his life in his own hands.

He fully changed into his raven form and flew out the open window to check up on the girl.
Relief settled upon his weary heart when he realized she was sitting just there behind the cottage.
He felt helpless, watching her while he was soaring through the sky.
What was he supposed to do now?
Talk to her?
Leave her alone?

The demon decided for the latter and landed in front of the rose tree, where he turned human again and sat down on the ground beside it, carefully running his fingers over a few petals.
"And you, friend?", He muttered sorrowfully. "Can you tell me what I should do? She seems so lost but how am I supposed to help her? Everything I do just seems to make it worse..."

A short breeze ruffled the leaves of the tree and sent a single petal falling off a rose. It tumbled through the air for a moment, touching his forehead as is fell to the ground.
Out of nowhere, Diaval remembered; while cleaning up he had found a letter!
He hurried back into The basement, where he still kept some old stuff from Reid and stuff through the stacks of papers over papers.
"Hah!", He said silently as he found the one he had been seeking.
Old paper, worn and yellowed from centuries of lying around and stained with a few obscure brown specks.
'To my dearest Loella'.

He hurried back upstairs, the letter in his hands.
"Loella-?", He asked carefully. "I'd that your name? He had this letter in his hand when I found him...I think he wrote it the day he was-... I'll just... Put it over here and leave you alone. If you need anything, I'm inside..."
He put the letter on the ground, a stone on top of it to make sure it wouldn't be blown away by a breeze, and went back into the cottage to brood over the recent events in front of the fireplace.

 

[AEONmeteorite]

She didn't look at the man as he spoke and placed the paper near her. She waited and waited, surprisingly, she waited for 3 hours. Luella reached behind her and twisted the key a few rounds. She knew she had plenty of time left, but she couldn't help it. The doll wanted to make sure she was alive, turning that key felt like an addiction. No wonder Reid never wanted her to touch it, it wasn't right, but she simply needed to.

With a sigh, she reached and grabbed the paper. Luella absorbed its contents. A sting formed in her heart as it became far more apparent what happened. Though, she still didn't remember.

""Do you remember that hike we once trekked?"" it read. ""We went high in the mountains and I showed you the valley. But, it wasn't until night came that you were enthralled by the stars. I decided that if I ever had to leave you, it would be right there. The world is after you, you'll move again. Just remember the spot in the cabin we ran to.""

Luella got up, the blanket still on her shoulders as she stomped right back to the front door. She put her hand on the doorknob, but hesitated for moment before swinging it open. The first thing she went for was a beaten up mirror resting on the wall. The man hadn't moved it. The reflective surface was decorated in brass roses and thorns. This was the spot Reid would bring her every morning to show her that she was alive.

The doll ran her fingers across the roses before grabbing the mirror, and gingerly lifted it from the wall. She place it on the ground, but where the mirror had been was a lock slot in the wall. Shaped perfectly for her key. Luella's shoulders shook in excitement as she flicked her hand back to grab the key, yet, she stopped.

She rolled her fingers into a fist and gently hit the wall. Luella wouldn't stop working if she pulled it out. She had wound herself up quite a bit, and she'd continue to be alive. Nonetheless, she just, couldn't. "Ah, father and mentor, this is why you did this, isn't it? To make me remove it. He still doesn't want me to turn it." Luella knitted her brow, attempting to change herself. She couldn't do it though, she truly was never meant to twist the key. "I need to know what's in there," she muttered to herself.

 

[Celestiel]

It was more than clear to the demon by now that Luella for some reason had a problem with him, despite him really doing his best to make her feel as good as possible.
But he had never been good at dealing with people acting this harshly, so he decided to just leave her alone.
She apparently didn't want to be helped or even... Talked to, apparently, so he wouldn't.
Hell he had enough problems of his own.

He had stayed awake till he heard Luella coming back inside, just to be sure she was safe, and now that she was, he could finally sleep.
he shifted back into his true, Raven form and flew up onto the small window sill in front of the round Gable window, where he watched the night sky for a long time before he tucked his beak under his wing and finally drifted off into a light, uneasy slumber.

In case Luella would need help with anything or would change her mind about apparently hating him for no reason, he had left her a note on the coffee table.

Luella,
I don't know why you seem to hate me so much, but I'm used to being treated badly, so, no bad blood.
I know you probably don't care, and I could as well talk to the wall, but I know how you feel. I lost my family when I was a child, and the one I served just a few years ago. Back then, I had no one to turn to and I don't want you to feel as lonely as I did... Or, still do, I guess.
So If there's anything you need help with, or just need someone to talk, I'm there.
~ Diaval

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Luella tapped her chin as she thought diligently of what she could do. Nothing came to mind, no ideas at all. Then, she put her hand on her head. Did she, a doll, have a mind?

The maiden let out probably the billionth sigh and took a step back from the wall. She tried one more time to remove the key, but she just ended up twisting it again. "Perhaps I should wait on it." She gazed to the side and spotted a paper on the coffee table. She wouldn't had made much of it if her name wasn't at the top.

The doll snatched up the note, because at first she though it was another from Reid. And though she was wrong, she wasn't disappointed, at least not at the note, but in her self. "Diaval, that's his name," she breathed. Had he told her before? Luella didn't pay much attention to anything he had said, and now she was holding this.

This!

Luella lifted her hand to her forehead and sat back into a the clothed chair. The blanket was still wrapped around her shoulders and it gave her comfort. "What happened before I fell asleep?" she muttered to herself. "We went to the mountains for some reason..." Luella rubbed beneath her eyes. This must be what humans feel like when they feel sore. "Diaval?" she called. "If you're still here, I'm sorry..."

 

[Celestiel]

One side effect of having been on the run, chased by people who wanted to kill him and hunted by animals that thoughts a raven would be a nice dinner, living out there in the wilderness for years and years, was that Diaval was barely able to sleep. And when he did, it was that kind of light slumber that was disturbed by every ever so silent sound.
And so he of course woke up again when Luella called his name.
His name?
So she did finally at least aknowledge his existence?

He was even more surprised to hear her apologize.
For a moment he was inclined to just tuck his beak back under his wing and sleep on, he'd really had too little sleep lately, but he just couldn't bring himself to ignore her.
He just wasn't that kind of person.
Raven.
Demon.
Oh whatever.

He scrambled into a more upright position, spread his wings and flew down into the living room, where he turned into his human form and almost lost his balance.
"Of course I'm still here, this is my home", he mumbled dryly, his voice however still kind.
"And don't worry, it's fine, I'm used to it. You aren't treated very well as a slave. I mean, it sucked, but..." He sighed softly, slightly shaking his head. "... It was all I had..."

He exhaled tiredly while he scuffled around the couch to take a seat next to Luella and ended up just watching her thoughtfully for a moment.
"Look, I see you're confused. And I bet you're scared as well. Waking up more than a century after you have fallen asleep, that's nothing to deal with in just one night. You're trying to remember what happened, but from personal experience, let me tell you- chasing memories is like chasing a bird. As long as you run after it, the bird will only fly farther away. But settle down with some birdseeds and it will come to you on it's own."

Diaval stared into the dying flames in the fireplace, an unusually grim expression on his face.
"...And sometimes, we don't remember because the memories would shatter us to pieces...", He whispered with a telltale glassyness in his tired eyes.

He turned to look at Luella again, sleeping a faint smile into his face.
"Try to relax a bit. Grant yourself some time. Thinking is easier with a calm mind, trust me."

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Asleep, huh? Luella lifted her legs and propped her head onto her knees. At this point, would it be considered being asleep? She was gone for over a century, that is, from what Diaval had said and showed. That was basically death. If that waterfall hadn't twisted her key, she would have never opened her eyes again.

Luella hadn't felt so much fear at once. This is what that felt like? That feeling of near death experience. Humans said that their life flashed before their eyes when these moments happened, but such was not true for her. And, perhaps she should listen to his advice. Take a step back.

The doll turned her head to look at the man and witnessed his eyes again. Gold, glassy, one would presume him to be a doll as well.

She turned on the couch and reached out both her hands, cupping either side of his face. Luella sat like that for what seemed like minutes before saying, "They're breathtaking, and I can't even breathe." She removed one hand and touched her own face, right below her eye. "You're right, I'm not human," she gave a quiet laugh, "of course you're right." Luella twisted away from him, lifted her hair out of the way and showed the key in her neck. "I'm not even alive, not like you. I'm a windup doll created by my beloved father, Reid."

 

[Celestiel]

Diaval froze, sitting completely motionless when Luella cupped his face, his bright, golden eyes searching hers for the unspoken question what the hell was going on.

However his confused expression soon made space for a sorrowful and the demon gently stroked her hair back into place.
"So you think that just because you don't have a beating heart you aren't alive?", He asked silently.
Smiling wistfully, Diaval leaned back against the couch and looked at their ceiling for a long while.

"Let me tell you about my little brother", he missed softly. "Well, not my actual little brother, mind you. My adoptive little brother.
Scotland. Winter 2001. It was the coldest winter ever. It was so cold, even the birds fell from the sky because they froze to ice alive. Ayana, the witch I grew up with and served, was just renewing the spell that bound me to her when I heard a silent thud outside. Although I was a servant, Ayana knew she could trust me, so we went outside to look what was going on.
A couple of feet away from our cottage we found a pregnant woman lying unconsciously in the snow. Her skin was frozen blue, even ice crystals had formed on it.
We dragged her inside and Ayana examined her. She noticed she was so cold that she was frozen even from the inside and the unborn baby was in danger too, so Ayana performed a C-section.
The woman was already dead, but the baby, she names him Jack, was alive.
He didn't move though, he barely breathed. Ayana found out that his heart had been frozen solid and so, in a complicated surgery, she replaced his heart with the clockwork of a cuckoo-clock.
He had no beating heart and he needed to be wound up to live, just like you, Loella."

He smiled warmly at the doll, his shining golden eyes gentle and understanding.
"Jack was like a little brother for me, and I never doubted that he was a living being, no matter if he had a heart or a clockwork. Just as I don't doubt that you're alive. Okay? You may never forget that you are a person, not a thing. And if it helps you anything: I'm a minor demon. We aren't born either; we are created with a spell that binds the restless soul of a deceased to a new vessel. In my case, a raven. I died over seven hundred years ago as a plague victim. I can relate."

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Luella frowned and traced the crevices in the wooden floor with her eyes. "Forgive me," she said. "I'll try to take what you said into account, but it'll take time. I felt alive when Reid was here," she paused and grabbed at her dress near her heart. "Whenever he left home and I did not go with him, that's when it always dawned on me that I wasn't... you know. But, I'll continue to think of what you said, until it makes sense in my mind."

That's when the doll noticed her hand was shaking. She felt antsy and wanted to move. So, Luella reached behind herself and twisted the key a few more times again. It somehow relaxed her. "You see," she continued and pulled her hand away. "The mirror that was on the wall, Reid would bring me in front of it it every day. He'd twist the key for me, saying that I was never allowed to touch it. He'd keep it on a chain around his neck to be sure I wouldn't. He told me I'd go insane if I was in charge of twisting my key to live. Nonsense, right?" she swallowed. "Right?" Then, Luella shook her head. "Due to his letter, I figured out why he always brought me here. There's something on the other side of that wall," she pointed. "That lock matches my own. All I need to do... " The doll furrowed her brow. "It's nonsense, right?"