The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 14: Dawn of the Festival

His heart almost stopped. The moment he mentioned the doll she held, she stared at him. And for a split second, Leaf could have sworn up and down that he almost saw something else entirely. It wasn't murderous. It wasn't angry. It just creeped him the hell out, like what Jack did. She stared at him for an agonizingly long three seconds before giving a small nod.

"... Of course, Your Excellency. I will wait in the carriage."

Leaf watched as she walked past him, climbing into the carriage. Leaf turned back to Jack. He knew he shouldn't have let Ruby be anywhere near him. He stepped close, lowering his voice. "Gulden... Just what th' fuck did you do?"

Jack's smile widened. "... I told you, mon ami. I gave her the Blood. And more recently, she has taken an interest in making the prettiest dolls... In just a week, she's gotten to be quite skilled..."

"Those dolls are creepy as fuck," Leaf hissed. "She ain't right in the head, I'll tell you that. What the hell did that Blood do?"

A small, calm laugh from Jack. "... It made her loyal," he cooed into Leaf's ear. "Is that not what you wanted, monsieur?"

"Not like that," he growled back. "She ain't Ruby anymore... She's... I don't even fuckin' know..."

Jack tilted his head, and eventually shrugged his shoulders. Turning around he waved to Leaf. "... Au revoir, monsieur..."

Leaf still wanted to press him for more information, but he was out of time. With a grunt, he climbed into the carriage, the horses beginning their march. Rojo was staring at Ruby's doll, his eyebrows raised in interest. "... You're bringin' toys? How fuckin' old are you?"

"... Good morning, Cardinal," Ruby spoke distantly. "I am a sixteen year old girl."

"... The fuck is in those cigarettes?"

"Nicotine and tobacco," Leaf answered gruffly. "Jack's been..."

He paused to close the tent flap, lowering his voice so the driver couldn't hear him over the rickety carriage as it bumped over stones in the road. "Jack's been givin' her that Blood shit."

"What?" Iris hissed. "I said that was only to be used on Yin and Vao!"

"... Jack never listens," Rojo muttered. He was staring at the doll that Ruby held. "And that thing... Gives me the creeps..."

Ruby looked up at the Cardinal, her eyes dull. "... Her name is Sara."

The three looked at her in silence. Ruby turned back to her doll, a small brush sifting through the well-woven hair. "... I met Sara when I was walking with Jack to his home. She was an awful woman. She yelled at me to get out of her way, saying I couldn't afford to even glimpse at her... An ugly personality. She then called Jack a horrible 'babysitter'."

"The hell kinda story is this?" Leaf muttered. Ruby continued, brushing the doll's hair gently, almost with affection.

"... I followed Sara to her home. I wanted to make her beautiful, so she wouldn't be so... Ugly and imperfect."

They stared at her in silence. And finally they looked down at the doll she seemed to adore. Rojo pointed a finger at his, his arm shaking ever so slightly. "I-is that... R-real...?"

Ruby looked up, her eyes flickering with confusion. "Of course she's real. Sara was such an ugly person. I only made her beautiful. I fixed her."

Leaf didn't feel good. He couldn't tell what the doll was made of at first. But the more he stared at it, the more he could see through the makeup. Ruby had skinned and shaved the woman, and turned her into a doll. A part of him wanted to say he was proud she finally grew a pair, and another part of him was grossed out. He was trying to get her to grow comfortable with having to kill, not turn her into some loon with a twisted perception of murder. She was like a little Jack, just more... Forward with her mental illness. At least with Jack you couldn't tell he was crazy unless you looked at his face. But with Ruby, he could hear the disdain she held for the world around her, her view on the world crippled by the effects of the Blood.