Out With the Old

Woah, sorry about that, guys. I didn't post a thing the entire month of June! Amazing how time flies when your human is on summer break. And speaking of our human, I think you'll find this one to be a very life-changing post. We seem to be getting more and more of those recently. Picture yourself at the beginning of this month, when school had finally let out, and a new thing was about to begin.

***

"Have you got all of the things for Goodwill?"

"Yeah... uh... in a minute. I have the bag right here."

The older female human, She's mother, looked doubtful. She poked her head of the doorway of the Room She Lives In and moved on to check on her other daughter, the one She called Sis. She let go of a breath that was either relief or dread. Sometimes feelings like that are hard to tell apart. She sat there on the floor a second, looking into the mysterious bag of things, then proceeded to pick up more things and shove them in there with the others.

"Spring cleaning?" Idina guessed, whispering soft enough for only us dolls to hear.

Elphaba shrugged. She was leaning far enough off the dresser to get a good look at what She was doing behind the other side of the bed we couldn't see. "Looks that way. Useless junk. Stuff we'd never bother with."

I felt Olaf tug on my cape, and with the other hand he motioned very little towards She. "Um... that's not junk."

I followed Olaf's hand and my heart broke- but only for a second. She was going to give her glittery Elsa canvas print to Goodwill, the one that I remember seeing side by side with Steve's on the wall during our first Christmas together. 

"Do you think maybe She has outgrown Frozen?" Olaf squeaked.

"I wouldn't worry, Olaf," said Steve, patting the snowman's back and taking my hand. "She'll have more space in her room now with that gone. Maybe even room for another doll," Steve then turned to me and whispered, "You're not upset about that going, are you?"

"Well, it is only a silly canvas print of me. She didn't really have to keep it for as long as She did. But I am going to miss seeing you and I side by side."

"What, you don't see that already?" Steve brushes his fingers against my palm as he pulls away from my hand gently, and the beads on our engagement bracelets clink together. I blush silently, reminded happily of what happened between us. Yeah. I could let go of the canvas. What we had was definitely better.

She's mother came back into the room, this time with her arms full of plastic grocery bags which contained all sorts of objects we had never even seen. "Your sister's got four bags here."

"I hadn't realized it was a contest." She said, still hiding behind the bed.

"Let me see what you have."

She sheepishly held up the single bag. The canvas was poking out of the top, but not much else was inside.

The older female human frowned. "Come on. I know you can do better than that. Did you check our closet? I want that to look nice so that your Pap can use it next week."

"I know, mom," She grunted. "The closet looks fine."

"What about the rest of your room?" Said "Mom", and she dropped the other bags and began rooting around in the Room She Lives In herself. "Your bookshelf is untidy. You've got things in here from the first grade."

"I wrote those things." She stated firmly.

"Fine. We can put them somewhere else. We've got that safe in the basement for you girls now."

Even though Loki was some distance from Olaf, Steve, and I, I could tell he had gone tense at the mention of locking She's papers and journals away.

"And what is this? Old jewelry that probably no longer fits you. Your sister could have these rings."

"She doesn't wear jewelry."

"Maybe one day she will."

She sighed. "Mom, I can take care of this myself."

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving," Mom picked up the bags again and started on her way, but not before taking a glance at us. She was probably only staring at the cluttered dresser, but I had the itching feeling that she was about to address us.

"You made bracelets for your dolls?" Mom asked.

"I did?" She set the canvas bag down on her bed and hurdled over it to come see what her mother was mentioning. "I don't remember doing such a thing."

"You must have. These two have matching bracelets here."

Everyone held their breaths and remained as still as possible, something we were used to, but for Steve and I, it was a real struggle. We were being singled out. We could even be found out. Oh, I had always known I would be the one to break The Code of Dolls! But I didn't want it to be this way. Not like this, right after Steve and I had gotten engaged so soon.

"They're awfully cute," She remarked calmly, selecting Steve and I and holding us apart in both hands. "I probably made them when I first got them back in 2014. Maybe I didn't find them until recent."

"Wouldn't you remember doing something like that?"

"Maybe not. They're small."

Mom frowned, looking from her daughter, and then at us dolls, and then at the bracelets Steve and I shared. Then she left into the hallway, apparently giving up. "Just have at least one other bag full before noon, alright? And I mean full."

"Okay," She shouted back, then shut her door and sat down on her bed. I suddenly felt like we were very much in trouble. "Now, what's this about? Matching bracelets for Elsa and Steve? Come to think of it, I don't remember dressing you in your Frozen Fever gown. Have you guys been up to something?" She waggled her pointer finger our way, but I knew it was only a jest when her lips curled up slowly into a grin. "Maybe it was the ghosts again. I always knew this house was haunted. Wish I would have known they liked arts and crafts sooner, though."

And just like that, our interrogation was over. She collected the bag and started back up on finding things to give away. 

"Dat was a close one." Idina said.

"Too close," Magneto muttered. "I can't believe your engagement almost put us all into danger. You should be hiding those."

"It's too late now, She's already seen them," Steve argued. "Besides, Olaf and Idina have kept theirs on for longer than we have and nobody's noticed a thing."

"Well, all dat matters is dat eet iz over."

"It's far from over." Elphaba spoke.

"What do you mean?"

"She still needs to organize her room for her family's visit next week. Do you think her mother will be satisfied with a couple of bits of forgotten trash and a canvas print?" Elphie shook her head grimly. "I don't think so. Pretty soon She's going to look back towards her dresser, and then..." Elphie held up five fingers on her good arm, and then started putting them down quickly. "Next thing you know, we're gone. On to a different home."

Idina fell into her husband-to-be's arms. "Oh, I couldn't dream of dat! Olav, please tell me eet can't be true!"

Olaf's melting coal-black eyes looked for comfort in me, but I didn't have any to give. I'd almost gotten everyone gone. At least a few of us leaving sounded a little better than Loki's horrific tales of saltings and burnings.

Steve became my hero once again with an answer. "Everybody, relax. None of us are going to leave, I guarantee you this. She loves us all individually. She wouldn't dream of letting go of any of us. Not by her own free will."

Magneto wasn't satisfied. "Give her time. She's human like the rest of them."

"The rest of what?" Idina dared to say.

"Not what, who. My humans. My previous owners. I've had too many to count. Before you know it, I'll be going to another one again. Who did I think I was in believing that this could be my forever home?" When Magneto's bitterness turned to sorrow, we knew to let him alone. For now, there was nothing we could do but stay quiet and watch She.

***

The following day, nobody knew what to think. She had filled two bags with things that weren't dolls, so that was that, but the Mom also wasn't taking them to Goodwill until the day before the relatives came to visit. We still had a small chance of leaving our home.

Everybody did their best to distract themselves. Some dolls spent the day reading, some dolls went outdoors to enjoy the heat wave, some dolls enjoyed one of my famous indoor flurries, and some dolls went to go bring Cogsworth some more yellow roses. She's corsage from prom had been made of those, so petals were easy to find, and so was Cogsworth, thanks to She's little sister's placement of him on the shelf in the parlor. It was a peaceful little spot, well deserving of a peaceful little clock.

She had work in the morning and came home to share lunch with her mother around two. We were able to spy on them from the stairs, and at the beginning it was a pleasant mother-daughter sort of experience exclusive to humans, but then it turned sour when Mom brought up the "C" word. College.

"You know, you're going to college soon. Don't you think it's time to get rid of those dolls in your dresser?"

"I don't think so. It's not like I'm playing with them or anything. I know I'm too old for that. I'm just a a collector. That's all."

"If you're not using them, don't you think it's safe to give some away?"

"I'd rather not," She gripped her mug of tea defensively. "They all mean special things to me. I got three of them from our first Disney trip ever. And those nutcrackers were Christmas presents from Pap. And you know why I got Moana."

Mom appeared to suck in a breath. "Yes, but I'm not trying to say that you should throw out those memories. But you have to admit it. Those dolls are clutter. They're taking up too much space in your room, and I don't think a clean freak like Pap will want to see all of those staring at him whenever he's in your room."

"We could always have him sleep in the guest room."

"You know we can't do that. We don't have enough space as it is with your cousins coming, and my sister, and your dad's parents..." Mom blew a piece of hair from her face. "Why don't we just call this whole graduation party thing off?"

She smiled. "Too late. We already sent them the invitations. And rented a freaking cotton candy machine. And then stole the neighbor's table that was going to go in the trash. That was a fun night."

"Yeah, it was!" The Mom agreed, her sternness vanishing. 

"Do you think they'll be wanting it back? For lemonade stands and such?"

"They had better not. We're using that for your photo reel."

And just like that, the conversation was diverted from dolls to stolen tables. Loki seemed pleased that She was a master of distraction. Maybe the two had more in common than I'd thought, but would it protect him when the time eventually came for some of us to go?

That night She's heart was clearly heavy when She came home. She was in her step and her absence of a smile. I was going to wonder what had happened, but I knew all too quickly what was going on. She opened her laptop and typed up a few words, and from the pictures it was obvious that She was looking at results for Disney dolls. 

"Nothing against any of you," She said aloud, as she was apt to doing. "But Mom says that maybe some of you could be worth money online. It will be worth the sacrifice if it'll pay for a single textbook, she says. Well, you know."
Her eyes flicked back and forth from us to the screen, over and over, and the tension was killing us. "Trouble is, I don't know if any of you are worth much," She stuttered and picked up speaking again. "Currency-wise, that is. Still nothing personal."
"This seems very personal!" Magneto hissed.
"Shut up, will you," Elphie pinched him. "We're being analyzed."
Elphie wasn't far from right. One second, she was lounging on her bed in front of the laptop, and the next, she was in front of the dresser, carefully staring at each one of us. I didn't remember her looking so tall, or her shadow being so dark.
She selected Sven first, who was well trained enough by now to be calm and steady around humans, especially in times like these. "I remember getting you. Third day of January. You were seven dollars at a crafting store. I think you're safe, little buddy. If somebody wants you, they can find you easily."
She likely couldn't tell that Sven was happy to be back on the dresser, but he definitely was.
Next, She chose Anna, her fingers gentle on my sister's back and belly, but not on my heart. I had to hold myself back from screaming.

"Now, you were a gift, weren't you, Anna? And then you came from Ebay somewhere. Your hair wasn't in the best shape when I got you, and no offense, but it hasn't gotten any nicer. I'd better keep you here."
Anna was placed back on the side of me where Steve wasn't, and I could see the look on her face that said, "Ugliness saves lives. Can you believe it?"
And I returned her look with one that said, "You're not ugly. Just not perfect. And I sure am glad you're not!"
She skipped over Steve, Loki, Olaf, and I, probably for sentimental reasons. We were the beginning to her first ever real collection of dolls, after all. She picked up Elphaba and Nessa, only to set them down just as quickly. Christmas ornaments weren't in season.
She went to Idina, but when She noticed that she shared a matching bracelet with Olaf, her brow furrowed, and Idina was set back down. She said nothing.
Anelle and Kristoff were the chosen ones.
Anelle was held first, and naturally she went limp like dolls were supposed to, but it wasn't hard to notice that one of her hands were slowly raising upwards to say "stop". I don't think She noticed or cared if She had, but Kristoff's eyes were blazing. "Don't do any more, Anelle. One wrong move and we'll all go out." They said.
She saw Kristoff and picked him up, too, his eyes quickly changing back to normalcy. She considered them, analyzing their paint job, the state of their hair and clothing, and all of their accessories. They were still in excellent shape, all things considered, and probably rare to find in a bundle together. Perhaps they could go for a lot.
Yes, that sounded like a good idea to She. She pursed her lips together and focused her eyes back on the results on her laptop screen.
We didn't know how long it was until She packed Kristoff and Anelle away in the same bag as the canvas, but it felt like forever and yet no time at all. I hated to see the both of them getting disregarded like that. It almost made me hate She again, but it didn't look like She was happy to do it.

Suddenly, She's little sister burst through the door. "Dinner!"
She didn't look up, as this was routine. "Mm." That was her "okay".
"Sis" came in through the doorway, uninvited, and lifted the grocery bag. "What's in here?"
"Will you stop being so nosy all the time?" She groaned.
"Dolls?" Sis was surprised.
"Yeah. Mom says I have to downsize."
Sis looked into the bag with both fear and concern and I got a prickling on the back of my neck. What did she know? "Do you want to get rid of them?"
She sighed, not able to look up from her laptop. "No, not really. But they cost a pretty penny online. And college is expensive."
"But you have a job."
"It isn't enough."
"Scholarships?"
She sighed. "Haven't won any of them yet."
Sis left the room wordlessly and we thought that was that, the conversation was over, but then she returned with a handful of dolls and dumped them softly in front of She. It was the Funky Warriors! All three of them; Blake, Heimdall, and Iron Man.
"What are these?"
"Mom told me to keep these until you finished all of your scholarships."
"Oh," She remembered. "But you see, the goal is to get rid of these dolls. This is the opposite of what I'm trying to do right now."
Sis shrugged. "Not my problem."
"Thanks?"
"Don't get rid of your dolls."
"What?"
"Just don't." Sis said, and before She could respond, Sis was already out of the room and going down to dinner.

***

For the rest of the week, without so much as a word to us dolls, She spent her time on a special project out in the garage. We only assumed that it was something to do with her graduation party. Moana, naturally, had befriended the Funky Warriors as she would any other doll. I would say some of the rest of us could not do the same so quickly. We still hadn't forgotten our war with them, and how it lead up to Cogsworth's death. I thought it would be a good idea to have a sort of welcoming party for them, to shake off everybody's stigmas, but that would have to be at another time when we weren't so nervous. Anelle and Kristoff were still off-kilter, hardly able to leave the dresser after that.

The day before She's big graduation party, her mysterious plan was revealed. It was a side shelf with multiple divisions, lacquered in white and glossy clear. 

It took a little help to get it up on the wall, but as soon as it was, the dresser was cleared off and all of us were sorted into a new place to sit. Napoleon, Benny, Dorothy, and Bell were brought up from downstairs and became a part the dolls of the Room She Lives In. Blake, Heimdall, and Iron Man were propped on top of the shelf with Benny and Napoleon. Olaf, Idina, Steve, Moana, and her pets got put into the farthest left corner, with Dorothy, Bell, Toto, Anna and I in the next closest one. Sven, Magneto, Nessa, Elphie, Kristoff, and Anna were beside us, and down on the other side something really big happened. Every single one of the Pocket-Sized Avengers, including one I had never seen, had their very own lineup, complete with all their gear and ready for battle. I seemed like everybody had their place with room to spare! I saw Anelle and Kristoff relax for the first time in days, knowing that now She had heeded Sis's advice. Nobody would be going away anytime soon. 

But would it be enough for the older human?
She invited Mom into the room to see the new setup.

"Is that the old shelf from the basement?"

"Yeah," She folded her arms proudly. "I spruced it up a bit and now all my dolls fit up there."

"Weren't you going to try to sell one of them?"

"Yeah, but look! I can't take any of them away now. They all fit too perfectly."

Mom sighed. "I suppose."

She was able to keep her distracted before anything else was said. "I'm sure I'll get a check or two during the party to go towards the college fund. Now see how clean my dresser is now, mom?"

Well, that worked. I felt assured that Mom would leave She and her dolls alone from now on. But She's sister was a different story. Minutes after Mom left, Sis came in.

"I heard you got a new shelf."

"Can't you knock?" She stressed.

She's sister didn't hear that. "Now I want a shelf."

"What would you put on it?" She asked.

"I don't know. I just want a shelf."

"Mmhm," She laughed, but then recognized something was off. "What, you're not going to pick any of them up and bat them around like you used to?"

"Nah thanks. I don't like they way they look."

"What?"

"You don't think they stare at you? Like, at night, when it's dark and you're alone?"

"No, not really..." She said, getting suspicious.

"Not even a little?"

"Are you okay?"

"You sound confused."
"Because I am! What is going on?"
"You don't know?"
"No!"
Sis rolled her eyes and came back beside She. "Oh my gosh!" Sis stared at the shelf, and we tried our best not to stare back, but it looked like she still got the creeps. Sis cupped her hand over She's ear and whispered something, but of course the whispering did no good because we dolls could hear every word.

"They're alive. All of them. I don't know for how long, but back in March I began spying on them. That's how I found out. And then one of them went silent. I don't know why."
"Them?" She cried out.
"Shhhh! They can hear you! They hear every word you speak! They're like tiny plastic humans. They have their own society and they do stuff when we leave the house. Why do you think four of them have bracelets that you can't remember making, or putting on their wrists? Your dolls did that themselves. Your dolls are alive."
Sis got up, leaving She speechless, and flashed us a cautious look before slipping out through the doorway.
The silence left in the room was the sound that could end worlds.
I couldn't help myself. I envisioned the saltings and burnings, and the goodbyes that were never heard or never said. But how could She? We'd only gotten a brand new shelf a minute ago! Could life really change that fast?
Loki flashed me a grim look from his place on the PSA side of the shelf, and I passed that look onto Olaf. My earliest friends here. One day we knew this would all come to an end. In the beginning, we feared each day would be our last to keep the Code of Dolls intact. I used to have nightmares in which I was the one to break it, and I can't imagine anybody else not sharing that paranoia at least once.
It was an awful fate, but it was one we'd have to accept very soon once She had mulled everything over.
She cleared her throat and shifted her weight into a straighter sitting position. We stiffened and braced for impact. Her eyes darted this way and that for a couple seconds, then stilled to a set place on the floor, and finally looked up and scanned across the shelf with new perspective.
A croaking laugh bubbled its way out of her throat, one that sent shivers down my spine. But when She rolled over onto the bed, clutching her stomach with laughter, we grew more confused then terrified.
She recovered and sat up again, wheezed and wiped away a tear, then said her first words to us now with the four-year secret revealed.
"Well, shit."

***

The next day was She's party. She wore royal blue, with a sunhat and sandals. We watched her applying makeup in the mirror in her room, just as She regularly would have when getting ready. It seemed not much had changed since yesterday's discovery of our little world, but we weren't about to mess with that.

"Should I tell her that She looks wonderful?" Loki asked nervously.

"I wouldn't risk it," said the PSA's Captain America, Chris. "Hold back on your feelings for now."

Thor didn't take too kindly to Chris's advice. "Nobody should have to do that! How dare you say such a thing!" He then knocked Chris's miniature shield from his grip with an equally miniature hammer. It clattered to the floor of the shelf.

She turned around, her brow furrowed. "You guys can talk, you know. In fact, I'd rather you do that than find out my sister's a schizophrenic."

"Say what you feel, brother." Thor encouraged him.

"Um...okay," Loki stammered. "I think you look very pretty!" He called out louder but it sounded more like a cough than a compliment.

"What was that?" She asked, her mascara wand out like weapon.

"I think you look very pretty?"

She giggled and set the mascara down on the now-empty dresser. "Loki?"

He raised a timid hand. "Hi."

"You know, most any girl in the world would die for a real life Loki in her bedroom," She joked. "But you've been here for years and never said a word. Why not?"

"We dolls must live under a code," Loki began, slowly gaining confidence, the blush not leaving his cheeks. "Funnily enough, it is called the Code of Dolls."

"Original name," She remarked. "How many of you can talk?"

A few members of the PSA were bold enough to raise their hands, and Olaf, too, but it still felt too unreal. 

"I don't mean to call anybody out, but we all can," said Loki. "All of us but Cogsworth. But he is downstairs. We don't like to see him because... well... I killed him." Loki hung his head in remorse.

"Surely not intentionally if none of you ever tried to kill me!" She forced a laugh, trying to make light of the situation until she figured out Loki was serious. "Where is he? Cogsworth?"

"Downstairs on that bookshelf with all the pictures on it. Your sister put him there. We're not entirely sure why, but I've got an idea that she had implanted a device in Cogsworth to peek into our world, and then when we tried removing the device, it terminated all of him."

She held out her cupped hands and nodded for Loki to step into them. "Yeah, she did mention something like that. I've got a couple minutes before the party. Could you take me to him?"

Loki smiled a little through the pain. He had probably been waiting all of his time here to address She face-to-face, and his wish was finally coming true.

When She left with Loki, Anna touched my hand. "Do you think She means us harm?"

"With a reaction like that? Never."

"So we'll be fine, here, forever?"

"Let's hope so. Or at least until we expire!"

Nessa broke in to our conversation. "Enough talk about death and despair for today. It's She's party! Don't you just love parties? She won't mind if we spy on it through the window, will She?"

"Definitely not."

"Come on, then! I can hear the people coming into the backyard!"
Nessa led most of the group to the window where they climbed the lowered blinds strings up to the sill, but some stayed behind, feeling both overwhelmed and relieved. I could hear the Funkos above me trying to tap out a message on the shelf while Benny and Napoleon bickered on whether to go meet their new roommates. Hawkeye was grumbling something to the Avengers while Thor sat criss-cross on the ground of the shelf, scratching his head and whistling as he thought about She and his brother. Beside me, Dorothy and Bell sighed happily, and Toto curled up in his owner's lap for a lazy Saturday nap. With Anna gone, there was a place between me and them that could be filled, a space perfect for Steve.
"Elsa? Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I replied. "Why don't you come over?"
"Can I?" Steve asked.
I raised my eyebrows, testing him. "Can you?"
"I can try." Steve shrugged. The divisions of the new shelf were like walls and not easily passed through. But if Steve swung down and used it like one long monkey bar, he could do it.
"What do you think of this new setup?" I asked once he was situated.

"I'm not as close to you as I'd like to be, but it's not a bad shelf at all. For someone with little to no experience in woodworking."
"Oh, you could do better?"
"Maybe. Zayn taught me how to carve while I was in the attic with him."
"And what did you make?"
"A lot of smaller pieces of wood." Steve smiled.
"Impressive," I chuckled, grabbing onto his hand. "You know it's going to get really noisy really soon."
"Because of She's party?"
"Because of all of She's dolls in one place."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"It's not. Just different."
Steve nuzzled my forehead with his, something Moana called a hongi. It was their version of a kiss, a non-romantic one, but still endearing. She said that when two people share a hongi they are really sharing the breath of life. "You'll certainly have a lot of adventures to blog about pretty soon."
I secretly hoped Steve would be right. It was just like those comedic human shows, will too many people of different personalities trying to live in one house together. Thinking about it made me feel claustrophobic, but also excited. "You think so?"
"I know so."

Breaking the Code of Dolls,

Queen Elsa