Ryan broke out of the toy room and ran hastily down the hall, without any real clue where to go. He knew there were toy soldiers around, but couldn't fathom where they were (or, for that matter, where they had come from). He took a flying leap down the stairs, and felt he came down to the landing unusually softly. But he didn't take the time to think about this peculiarity. He heard a raucous coming from the basement. The soldiers had systematically turning on lights throughout the house to make hiding much more difficult.
He felt a breeze run across his body and looked to see a window strangely open. The banging of tin boots got louder, and he heard Emily shouting. With little time, Ryan jumped through the window, flying out into the outside night . . . and landed softly on plush green carpeting. He jumped up without a pause and looked around. His mouth dropped open when he realized he was back in the toy room, in a darkened corner he had not seen.
Still trying to understand what happened, he was shocked again to see the red Rosalitta and purple Esmerelda come out of the dressing room. They looked like giants.
Parker looked out into the hallway, now completely lit up, but currently empty. She had no clue where Emily or Ryan had gone, which would make her task all the more difficult.
"OK, no one's around. We need to move." Parker turned around, dismayed to see Coppelia was sitting lifeless on the bed. The blue dressed doll stared at herself in the mirror, not even a smile on her face. Something was wrong; she had started to regress and stop moving again. "No no no no, you have to stay awake. That's the only way this plan will work." Parker rushed back, leaving the door wide open, and shook her beautiful companion. The doll's eyes fluttered open.
"What happened?"
"You fell asleep. C'mon, we need to get your friends." Parker pulled Coppelia back onto her pointe slippers and led her out of the room, without looking first, and she ran right into a distraught Esmeralda.
"Oh, Swanhilda!" She cried, "we've found you again!" She jumped up and wrapped herself around Parker's body, and the two tumbled over. Esmeralda continued to giggle. "Oh, what great fun will have now that you are here to stay!"
Coppelia, without the other doll to guide her, fell back into a sitting position on the bed, her gold slippers en pointe.
Parker pushed the wooden doll off of her, "We're not staying, Esmeralda."
The purple dressed doll looked at the pink ballerina with a tilted head and questioning eyes. "But . . . you can't leave. You're the only one who can bring Coppelia to life. And I so want to play!"
"I'm sorry." Parker said, "But we have to leave."
Esmeralda started to back away, shaking her head. "We? You mean . . . you can't leave with Coppelia! How could you do that to our owner!" The ballerina's started to hear the rhythmic marching of wooden soldiers.
"Esmeralda, please," Parker pleaded, could you distract the soi--"
"Guards!" The gypsy cried, "Guards, I've found Swanhilda and Coppelia!" Parker grabbed Coppelia, but the soldier steps were coming from everywhere now.
Ryan quickly ducked down and hugged a large pink wall next to him and hid behind a green cotton ball tree. Esmeralda had run from the room, trying to look for him, while Rosalita inspected the playroom. She flicked on the light switch, banishing the night's shadows. Ryan was blinded for a moment, and when he regained his composure, realized he was standing next to a giant pink dollhouse.
Feeling very exposed, Ryan double checked to make sure the flamenco wasn't watching, and darted for the back of the house, which had no wall and looked into the playset. Everything looked so normal, even though it was all fake. He climbed inside and walked around, hunched down just in case someone took a more careful look at the house.
He crossed into the living room and nearly jumped through the roof when he stumble across a doll inside. She wasn't like any doll Ryan had yet seen. Rather than the common wood or cloth build, this doll seemed to be made of metal. Her arms and legs were covered in a shiny tight fitting suit that was a rich copper color. She had a corset and short tutu, both fitting the copper theme, and big clunky boots. Her hair looked like it had been molded into an intricately detailed bob cut. Her face was dead of emotion, and her legs scissored outward at sharp angles.
Ryan noticed a round button, right above where her belly button would be. He pressed it, and the doll turned to Ryan with stuttering movements, and brought her hand up to his cheek. Something dinged inside her. "Push . . . it. . . again. . ." Ryan did as he was told, and all at once, the doll inhaled deeply. She stood up quickly and stretched out on her toes, bringing her molded hands almost to the baseboards above.
"Thank you, new friend." She pecked him on the cheek, then ran off with scuffling clog steps. Ryan followed right behind her, hoping she didn't alarm anyone outside. They made it to the dining room, which was adjacent to the wall and had easy access to a battery recharger. She picked up a AAA battery and handed it to Ryan.
"Would you help me?"
"Are these for you?" He asked.
"God no. These are for my boyfriend."
"Look, this is all just a misunderstanding," Jewel said, her light stuffed body being carried by the blue soldierette. Calliope followed the red soldier with a glum step, not opening her mouth. "I'm not a toy. Well, not really."
"You're made of cloth, ma'am." The soldierette replied calmly.
"See . . . well . . . I'm not sure how that happened." Jewel put her hand up in front of the soldierette's face. "Just watch. My hand will turn into normal flesh. . . soon. . . anytime now. . . well, maybe not now." The group of toys reached the string that Calliope had once been strung to, and the tin soldiers tied both jesters to thick black cords.
"There has to be a wa . . ."
"Be quiet." The soldierette told Jewel, and the cloth doll shut her mouth. Calliope sat on top of an alphabet block, her sad body betraying her happy costume. Why was she sad, Jewel wondered. The red jester tried to stand up next to her friend, but her cloth knees began to wobble and buckle. She fell, a little less than gracefully, into Calliope's lap. Why had she been arguing before? The doll honestly couldn't recall.
"This wasn't supposed to happen like this, Jewel. I'm so sorry." Calliope, the pink jester pulled her younger, softer sister into her body.
"Why?" Jewel whispered excitedly, reaching her mitten hand out to her owner to play with her wooden nose. "I'm perfectly happy just they way I am."
Calliope smiled and kissed the blue jesters hand. "Because my owner is preparing a special ink, and he'll use it to mark his name on you. Then he'll be your owner, and you will be a toy forever."
Jewel pulled herself up, sitting Indian style across from her twin. "You say that like it's a bad thing." Calliope sighed and brushed her wooden hands through Jewel's yarn hair.
"That's the problem, Emily." She said, for the first time using Jewel's human name, "We were playing, and when the night was over, you were supposed to go back to who you were. Do you even remember your life, Emily?"
"Why would I want to? It's all . . . blah! But now I'm a toy! I get to have fun and wear costumes and play all day!"
"Emily, this isn't you talking; it's the spell." For the first time a hurtful frown crossed Jewel's face. "You're a person, not a doll, Emily." The blue jester shook her head slowly, her frown deepening.
"But . . . I want to be a doll."
Soft slippers fell next to the jesters, and they looked up to see the old man. "Ohh, you are a doll, dear Jewel." He cooed in a reassuring, fatherly voice. He pulled her up with a strong pair of weathered hands, and unhooked her from the string tied to her back. "You are my beautiful doll, and I have a very dear present for you." He led her away to the big red chair where no doll was allowed sit. A vial of ink and quill pen sat on a small round table next to it.
Calliope pulled herself into a ball and buried her head into her knees. It wasn't supposed to happen like this.