Death's Puppeteer

21st July 1909

"What the bloody 'ell is that?"

Enoch's smile vanished immediately and Faith stopped her twirling as both their heads snapped up towards the open bedroom door. In the fun they'd been having, no one had noticed footsteps on the stairs and the floor creaking under shoes that would have announced their father's approach. Now he stood in the doorway, his eyes glued on the dolls that moved like marionettes independent of their strings and his jaw slightly agape at the sight.

Even Faith who couldn't really understand why her father seeing Enoch's tricks could be a bad thing, looked stricken as if she'd been caught doing something naughty. Enoch on the other hand, might have been caught with a rifle in his hand he looked so guilty.

The silence hung heavy in the air for several long moments, broken only by the patter of little clay feet on the wooden floor.

"What..." Owen began again when no one moved or spoke save the toys he was still staring at, "...are they?"

"Puppets?" Enoch attempted, lamely, even while the clay figures were clearly still moving without strings or wires.

"My doll." Faith chimed in and reached out to pick up her toy which squirmed in her small hands and climbed onto her shoulders. Enoch groaned at this and reached out to seize the second one before it could run far away. With a firm press to its chest, the homunculus fell lifeless in his hands again.

If he hadn't been alarmed enough watching what should have been inanimate dolls dancing of their own accord, seeing one climb over his daughter made Owen take a sudden step backwards out of the doorway and stare at his son like he'd never seen Enoch before.
"What 'ave you done? 'Ow did you do that? Put that down, Faith. Now."

"Nofin'...I didn' do nofin'...it's 'armless." Enoch shrank back slightly when his father took a few steps into the room towards them and Faith clung tighter to her doll.

"It's mine..."The girl whimpered, staring up at her father with wide blue eyes as he came closer and burst into tears as he made to grab the doll that was too fast for him and dropped off of Faith's shoulder.

"Don't! I'll stop it..." Enoch snapped out of his frozen position and scrambled to catch the fleeing homunculus before his father could get to it first. His hands closed around the struggling creature and he squeezed hard until the life left the little heart inside and it fell lifeless again.
"Faith...it's okay..."

Slowly, Enoch pushed himself to his feet after handing the now limp doll back to his sister who hugged it to her little body and ran to the side of the room. Tears glistened in her eyes as she stared between her brother and her father suddenly frightened.

"Dad..."

"You will tell me right now 'ow the 'ell you did that...what kinda trick is that?"

Enoch's heart thundered almost painfully in his chest and he shrank back under his father's unusually hard stare. The expression on the thin, stubbled face looking back at him was a frightening combination of fear and anger that he'd never seen on his father before.
"I can't...I dunno."

"Enoch Ambrose O'Connor, I don't wanna ask twice."

"I don't know! It just 'appens!"

"What on earf is goin' on up 'ere?!"

The two men were silenced immediately by Valentine's appearance and both turned to stare at the doorway in unison. She was slightly out of breath after running up the stairs hearing raised voices as soon as she'd entered the house.

"Mama!" Faith whimpered and practically flew into her mother's skirts.
Valentine bent down, picked her up and cradled her close as she stared wide eyed at her husband.
"Owen, what on earf is everyone shoutin' for? What's 'appened? The kids, Owen..."