Lannie Doll and the Cheating Fool

Lannie stood at a stranger's doorway on a quiet suburban street while wearing an odd costume on this Halloween night: a pink, puffy baby doll dress and opaque white tights. A white bow topped her brunette hair, and a foot and half long stuffed key stuck out from her back. She completed the ensemble with a large yellow lollipop.

The house was quiet, and Lannie enjoyed breaking the silence with three pounding knocks. Then she stepped back and put upon the sweetest face she could muster while flicking a switch in her back that began her key spinning. Her movements sharpened and she soon was frozen rigid with a blank, happy stare on her face. Somewhere in her mind, Lannie was a little turned on by the charade of it all.

The woman who greeted her was a youthful twenty-something, dressed in a sultry and unoriginal school girl costume. Trussed up with pink bows on her knee high stockings and tiny ribbons in her hair, she tried too hard to act sexy.

But that act was broken when she realized it was Lannie, not her lover, at the door.

"Hi!" Lannie said in a chipper voice. "Marky sent me over to keep you company until he can come!" Lannie Doll began to skip forward in a strange, mechanic way, trying to get into the house. The woman, however, stepped in front of Lannie and blocked her passage.

"Um, who are you?"

"I am Lannie Doll! Who are you?"

"Did – did you say Lannie Doll?"

"Uh-huh!" The doll pipped, turning so the woman could see the winding key in her back. Lannie could control the key just like another arm, and forced it to slow down. "Ohh, noooo," she said, her body locking up as if she really were a mechanical toy. This part was just a bit dangerous, because with her key and switch configured as they were, Lannie really couldn't move until she was wound back up. But the woman looked strangely at Lannie, and seemed just as frozen as the doll.

After a frightening moment, she stepped out of her house and turned Lannie's key twice, which was more than enough for the doll to resume her chipper charade. "Thank you, so much, owner." She grabbed the woman by her hand, "Come, let's go inside to play!" Lannie suddenly skipped forward and yanked her 'owner' behind her.

"Wait, so you're Mark's doll?" The woman said, pulling her hand back and stopping. Lannie turned and nodded quickly.

"Yes, I am his plaything. He told me to come here and keep you company while he plays sex with another woman." Lannie was smiling so much her cheeks were beginning to numb.

"Wait – another woman!?" the woman yelled, rubbing her temples. "Wait," the thought for a moment, "You mean his fiancée?"

"I dunno. I just wanna play." Lannie stretched and let out a squeaking yawn.

"What's his fiancée's name?" The woman thought, snapping her fingers, eyes rolled upward a bit to the ceiling. "Lacy? Leslie? Uhh, Annie? No, it starts with . . . Lannie! That's it. His fiancée is named Lannie." The woman looked to the doll, and she didn't immediately make the connection, even as the doll held her silver key in her own hands. But then her eyes narrowed, and the calculations began to filter into her pretty head.

Lannie smiled sweetly, "I want to play dress-up, Kelly." The woman's eyes broke open wide, and she turned to run from the doll. Running, however, merely exposed her back to Lannie, who was quick to force the key deep into Kelly. The woman fell to the floor, arms and legs suddenly locked up. Lannie turned the key five times, and with each turn Kelly fell more into an emotionless, robotic stance.

"You are such the fool, Kelly, thinking you could take my fiancée from me without a fight." Lannie's eyes twinkled and an idea broke in her mind. She wondered how far she could take the magic gifted her by the wizard. Lannie waved her hand and the key began to turn.

Kelly began to change with each click of the key. Her skirt and top merged together to become a colorful and chaotic tunic of a court jester, with tassled skirt and collar. Her stockings merged into tights before turning solid yellow. Her leather shoes turned into soft red slippers with curled toes. Color drained from Kelly's tan skin until she was porcelain white with pink lips and cheeks. A curled pink dunce cap with colorful stars embroidered on it rose from her head.

It was then the real fun began, as Kelly shrank to a proper toy size. A stand materialized from Kelly's lower back and extended to the ground. Almost a foot and half tall, it soon held the doll entirely in the air. Her arms and legs had fallen limp, but springs appeared inside her shoulders and hips, forcing her arms and legs spread wide, as if she were jumping jacks.

A colorful wooden box materialized from the base of the toy's stand, painted and carved to look like a child's alphabet block. The words 'Kelly Fool' were carved into the front of the block in multi-colored letters. Lastly, a small handle appeared on the side of the block, which was connected to a music box and latch.

Lannie lay down on her stomach to look her toy in the eye. Her toy's mouth mouth was contorted into a crazed smile befitting a jester jack in the box. "That's the spirit, doll." Lannie smiled sweetly, "I think I'll take you home with me. How does that sound?" Kelly Fool didn't reply, she only smiled. Lannie pushed the Jack back into her Box and sealed the lid shut, and smiled again as she thought of the poor toy contorted inside her box, with her legs folded up against her head.

The toy walked outside again, holding the large cube in front of her. She smelled the gorgeous night air, and wondered how many more toys she might cook up with her magic key.