Gankutsuou Fan Fiction ❯ The Dollmaker ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )
Anime/Manga: Gankutsuou Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 12.05.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 326 | Status: Completed
THE DOLLMAKER
© December 6, 2005 By Rory V. Pascual
CHAPTER FOUR
"Haydee, you must help me. I really don't know what I'm going to do."
Albert was speaking to the pretty princess of Janina over the satellite link connected to his virtual computer.
"I don't know why that should trouble you so much, Albert," Haydee surprisingly commented. "If you only knew how I wish I were in your place… To be reunited with the Count…."
"But I never intended for him to become my servant," Albert argued. "Although I truly appreciate what he's doing for me, it's just not right to have Edmond cleaning my house, doing the laundry, cooking meals. I mean, he's a Count for heaven's sake!"
"It makes him happy to do all those things for you. The Count once revealed to me, and quite proudly I might add, that he did all the housework for his sick father whenever he came home from his travels. Let him care for you." Haydee added meaningfully, "This is probably his way of making amends."
"Friar Mattias told me that Edmond was subconsciously blocking certain memories so that he would not experience the pain of guilt. It also triggered his mind's regression to that of a child. After all, what could be more innocent than a child? It's like wiping the slate totally clean and starting afresh."
"And this new beginning he has chosen to spend with you. My question is do you want to start this new life with him?"
"I took him in, didn't I?"
"Yes, but…" Haydee breathed in deeply. "Albert, even with the Count's mind like this, it still does not change the fact that he was the man who destroyed your life. While you claim that the Count is justified in his revenge, saying it is different from what you truly feel inside your heart."
Those words were like a heavy weight on Albert's conscience. "I care about the Count, Haydee, in spite of the things he had done. I will not lie that there are moments when I feel…resentment. But I trust in the strength of my heart." Reluctantly, he revealed, "What I do not trust is my…body."
Haydee barely heard that last word. "What do you mean? Are you saying that you desire the Count?"
At that question, Albert's face could not get any redder. "That's another problem. He's been sharing my bed, if you can call my tiny sleeping alcove that. Edmond jumps in with me in the middle of the night because, according to him, there are 'space bats' peering at him through his window."
Edmond chose that moment to pass by behind Albert. Hearing the name of that evil creature from his nightmares, he paused behind his guardian and opened the photo album wide for the princess to see.
In all grave seriousness, Edmond pointed to a picture and said, "Haydee, space bat. Beware!"
Haydee found it difficult to contain her giggles. "The Count said that the space bat looked like Baron Danglars."
"It must be because of those hideous red shades the Baron used to wear," Albert remarked, just as amused.
His mirth faded, however, when Edmond started flipping through the album again. "Want to see Albert's baby butt, Haydee?"
"SCRAM, YOU!" Albert cried, throwing a cushion, which Edmond easily dodged as he ran away laughing.
By then, Haydee was reduced to tears from laughter. Wiping her eyes, she admitted, "Well, to tell you the truth, the Count always had a fear of bats. I suppose it must be because those infernal creatures inhabited the Chateau D'If. Lord only knew what terrors he had endured in that terrible place." Haydee leaned back into her chair, a mischievous grin on her lips. "Now what remedy could I recommend for your raging libido? If this kind of…attraction…happened when the Count was still himself, you would not hear any complaints from me. In fact, I would even encourage it. But now that he's like a child, I don't think it's proper."
"That's why I'm begging you to help me out here. Can't you think of something, Haydee?" Albert let out a groan. "I caught Edmond stealing kisses from me, and I just don't have the heart to tell him to stop."
"And it's because you like what he's doing too." Haydee fell silent as she tried to think of a solution to her good friend's dilemma. "The Count needs to be kept busy, and I'm not talking about housework. Something that could stimulate his mind and keep him occupied for hours at a time." A bright smile lit up her beautiful face. "I know! Why hadn't I thought of it earlier?"
"What?" Albert asked impatiently. "Tell me what it is."
Haydee, however, said cryptically, "I prefer that it be a surprise. I shall order everything that the Count needs from here. Expect a delivery at your office later this afternoon."
Albert eyed the princess with suspicion. "Aren't you going to give me a clue?"
"Maybe a little. The Count had a hobby that only Ali, Bertuccio, Baptistin and I knew about, and that's all I'm going to tell you. I must apologize to you in advance, Albert. If he still likes this particular…activity, I'm afraid that the Count will be considerably distracted once you give him my…gift. He shall no longer be a tempting apple for you to pluck."
"And for that, I thank you most deeply."
Haydee granted him a rare laugh. "My dear Albert! I don't think you will have anything to thank me for later on."
~~~~~~~~~~
Later that evening, Albert was dragging through the front door a huge crate that he had unloaded from the wheeled cart he had borrowed from the Embassy. Under his breath, he grumbled, "She should've told me it was going to be this big."
Edmond, who had just finished cooking in the kitchen, saw the large wooden box that the younger man was lugging. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "What is that, Albert?"
"It's for you. From Haydee," Albert replied as he leaned against the crate, panting for breath and wiping the sweat from his brow.
"That's for me?" Edmond whispered in awe, finding it difficult to believe that someone would give him such a huge present. His odd-colored eyes twinkled with excitement. "What's inside?"
Albert grabbed the poker near the fireplace and proceeded to pry the top open. "That's what I want to know. Nearly broke my bike AND my back bringing this home."
After much huffing, puffing and grunting, the nails gave way and the crate's cover fell to the floor. The two men quickly looked inside.
With a grimace, Albert exclaimed, "What's all this?"
An expression of sheer delight brightened up Edmond's handsome face at the sight of the rolls of fabric and lace inside. To his even greater joy, he found an old traveler's bag, with the Count's coat of arms emblazoned on the flap, tucked between two rolls of rose-printed silk. Opening the bag, he saw that it contained a complete sewing kit, filled with an assortment of needles, pins, shiny thimbles, and thread. The tray at the bottom of the bag was laden with buttons of all colors, shapes and sizes.
Picking up a roll of royal blue velvet, Edmond pressed it against his cheek. "Pretty cloth. So soft!" There was a glimmer of tears in his eyes as he turned to Albert. "Tell Haydee, Albert. I love them so much!"
Without giving the younger man any explanation as to what he was going to do with all that sewing material, Edmond proceeded to haul the contents of the crate up to the attic.
Scratching his head in utter bewilderment, Albert called after his ward, "What is all this stuff for, Edmond?"
Going down the stairs to get an armful of lace, Edmond gave Albert a playful wink and pressed a finger to his lips. "Secret!"
Dinner proved to be a quick affair. After gobbling up his meal, Edmond begged the younger man earnestly if he could be excused, to which Albert readily gave his permission. Although curiosity rankled him, Albert could only watch as Edmond raced up to the attic. Haydee was right. Whatever it was that Edmond was planning to do upstairs, it has captured his complete attention.
Somehow, Albert was not too happy about that.
Weary from that heavy exertion, Albert decided to turn in early. He looked up briefly at the closed door of the attic. The soft glow of the lamp was visible through the cracks.
"Good night, Edmond," Albert whispered, a ghost of a smile on his face as he went to bed.
It was around eleven o'clock when the attic door squeaked open. A perplexed Dream stood at the bottom of the stairs, as Edmond descended.
"Were you the one who summoned me?" the Dream King inquired. He had been researching in the Dreaming's vast library about the mysterious entity Gankutsuou when he received the call. At first, he thought it was one of his siblings who had summoned him using his sigil, which was his Dream Helm. Only the Endless could summon his or her siblings with ease. Mortals could only do a calling through an elaborate ceremony, and there was still no guarantee that they would choose to appear. So great was his surprise to find himself in Albert's cottage.
"Uh huh!" Edmond replied, beaming. He held out what he was hiding behind his back to the Dream King. "For you."
Dream saw that it was a doll made in his likeness. Its clothes were made from white velvet and fur, the shaggy hair from fine white silk thread. The black button eyes had silver sparkles glued on them. As he took the doll, the Dream King's hands tingled at the magical energies that still emanated from its tiny body. It was this toy that Edmond had used to summon him.
"Thank you for all the nice dreams," the mortal told him sincerely.
"You are most welcome, Edmond, and I will treasure this for all eternity," Dream bowed graciously. He embraced the doll, allowing the man's essence to warm his frigid heart. What is this…feeling? Why do I feel so…complete…when I'm with him?
Stretching his arms out, Edmond yawned as he padded towards the alcove. "Good night, Angel. Still have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow."
"Good night," Dream said in turn, watching as Edmond crept into the alcove and curled up against a blissfully unaware Albert. As was his wont, he gave his young guardian a tender kiss on the lips.
Not wanting the two men to be disturbed, Dream waved his right hand, and the doors of the alcove closed with a soft click.
~~~~~~~~~~
"You look terrible, Albert!"
"And I feel awful too." Albert yawned deeply, rubbing his knuckles over his dark-ringed, bloodshot eyes. "It didn't work, Haydee. He's still crawling into my bed at night. That evening I brought home all that sewing stuff, Edmond sneaked into my alcove without my noticing. Scared the hell out of me when I woke up the next morning because he was nuzzling my neck. Then again, I frightened him just as badly. I had to go to work late that day because he wouldn't stop crying." With a sheepish grimace, he revealed, "I said something that I didn't mean to."
"Oh? And this was?"
" 'Get thee back, Lord Ruthven, Spawn of Satan!', or something like it."
Haydee nearly dropped the books she was carrying in her arms. The princess was speaking to Albert on her computer while she was researching in her library. Clearing her throat to hold back her laughter, she said, "So the Count was nuzzling at your throat, huh? How sweet!" That last remark still caused a soft 'tee hee' to bubble up from her lips.
Behind Haydee, Bertuccio snickered as he held the stepladder in place for Baptistin who was, in turn, roaring with laughter.
"Are you sure he didn't drink your blood, Albert?" Baptistin called out, as he searched for a book on the shelf for the princess.
"Very funny! Edmond was really offended when I mistook him for a vampire."
"Where's the Count now?" Haydee inquired.
"In the attic. Where else? He won't let me see what he's doing. Would you mind telling me what he's doing up there?"
At that very moment as they were talking, Edmond was losing his tenuous grip on his patience. For the past ten minutes, Delirium had been badgering him incessantly that he could not get any work done.
"I saw the dolly that you made for Dream," Delirium pointed out to him for the umpteenth time. "Hey, hey! Make one for me too!"
Edmond pouted, already annoyed. "Go away!"
"Stop being a nuisance, little sister," Dream advised, he himself exasperated by her antics. The doll that the mortal made for him was peeking out of his coat pocket. "He makes those dolls for those he loves and those who need his aid." The Lord of the Dreaming tilted his head at the industrious man. "Am I correct, Edmond?"
"Absolutely!" Edmond glared at Delirium and repeated more insistently, "GO AWAY!"
Delirium was not used to being treated as though she were a pest, which she was most of the time. Exploding into a full tantrum, she snatched the two dolls that Edmond had just finished sewing and, to the mortal's horror, threw them out the attic door.
Albert whirled at the sound of Edmond's cry. Then there were soft thuds going down the stairs. Distracted by that sound, he did not notice that much louder noises were coming from his monitor, which were in time with the soft bouncing sounds at the stairs. Something hit his right foot, and Albert blinked down.
Lying beside his foot were two dolls made in the image of Bertuccio and Baptistin. The Baptistin doll had fallen right on top of the other. Its arms were stretched out over the Bertuccio doll's neck and upper body.
"Oh, Bertuccio! Are you all right?"
Haydee's frantic cries at last caught Albert's attention. "Haydee, what's wrong?" He looked into the virtual monitor nervously, trying to catch a glimpse of his three friends who had disappeared from view. "What happened there?"
"Baptistin…he…slipped and fell down the ladder! He landed right on top of Bertuccio! He's not moving, Albert! I think his neck is broken!" was the princess' panicky reply.
Baptistin let out an audible moan. "I feel as if someone threw me down the ladder. Are you still alive down there, brother?"
When still no answer came from Bertuccio, dread filled Albert's heart. He feared that Haydee had assessed correctly, that the Count's right hand man had suffered a serious injury.
A sweet baritone voice suddenly asked worriedly, "Bertuccio? Wake up, Bertuccio! Please!"
Turning, Albert saw Edmond standing behind him with tears in his eyes. In his arms, he was carrying the dolls of Baptistin, Bertuccio and Haydee, which he had finally completed. Edmond was gently massaging the back of the Bertuccio doll's head and neck.
His hands… Albert stared hard at the older man. Are they…glowing?
Albert's attention, however, was again diverted to his monitor at the sound of Haydee's relieved sigh.
Then, Bertuccio himself spoke up. "Next time, watch where you land, fool! Damned near broke my neck!"
"Would you mind showing yourself, Bertuccio?" demanded Albert, rather impatiently. "Someone here is crying over you."
Haydee and Baptistin stood up, supporting Bertuccio who was rubbing his neck, jerking his head this way and that. All three were surprised when Edmond plopped down beside Albert, a smile of pure relief on his face.
"Are you all right, Bertuccio?" the Count inquired.
"I'm fine, Count," Bertuccio said in reassurance. "It's nothing that a good liniment and rest won't cure."
"I'm glad." Edmond then added in sorrow, "I'm sorry. It was this really nasty girl who did it. She threw these dolls of you that I was making down the stairs." At these words, he lifted the three toys for his close friends to see. "Aren't they cute? They're good luck dolls. I put my heart into them so you'll always be happy. I'll take good care of them from now on until I can give them to you."
Baptistin wiped away the moisture that was filling his eyes. "You made that cute doll for me, Count? Not even my late mother gave me a toy when I was a child. I can't wait to get it."
"Thank you so much, Count," said Bertuccio, touched by his former lord's thoughtfulness. "While you have given me so many things I never dreamed of, that doll will hold a special place in my heart because it was specially made by you."
Haydee touched the monitor, as though caressing the image of her plush toy. "Count, it shall be my treasure forever."
Edmond continued massaging the neck of the Bertuccio doll as he smiled. "I am so happy that you like them." He then became grim. "Excuse me, okay? There's someone that I have to take care of."
When the child man has finally returned to his attic room, Albert turned to Bertuccio. "Are you sure you're fine, my friend?"
"Yes, I think so. But it hurt like hell earlier, and I distinctly remember hearing a crack when Baptistin fell on me," Bertuccio replied, as he gingerly touched the back of his head. "I'm amazed. I shouldn't be able to move my head like this. It was a bad fall."
"You keep saying that I fell, but I hadn't," Baptistin insisted. "Something…threw me from the ladder."
Haydee had to nod in agreement. "Baptistin was securely positioned on the ladder. If he had slipped from the ladder, he would've fallen straight down. But I saw his body suddenly arch back, and he flew from the ladder as though he was grabbed and tossed away."
"And then those two dolls fell from the attic," Albert mused, frowning, as he pinched his chin between his fingertips. "Very strange." He then said quietly, "So that's what he's been doing in the attic. I never figured him to be a doll lover. But it is really strange…Baptistin's fall, those dolls…."
"It's probably just coincidence," Haydee suggested, knowing what her friend had on his mind. "I'm sure it's nothing. They're just harmless toys. Dollmaking was the Count's favorite hobby."
Still, Albert found himself looking up at the closed door of the attic. He thought he had distinctly heard a terrified scream coming from within.
~~~~~~~~~~
Delirium cowered back from the angry mortal, more so from the angry pink marks and glaring eyes that appeared on his forehead.
"You hurt my friends!" Edmond growled in fury. "I won't forgive you for that!"
"All I wanted was a dolly!" Delirium defended herself. "Why won't you give me one? In return, I could give you anything you like!"
"I don't need anything from you because I don't like you!" As he said this, shiny needles floated into the air, pointing directly at the youngest of the Endless. Edmond's eyes blazed with fire as he shouted, "GO AWAY!"
The needles were then hurled her way. With a shriek, Delirium vanished in a cloud of red and orange.
Through it all, Dream had merely stood and watched. "That was a dangerous thing you did, Edmond. You should not make enemies of my sisters."
Edmond willed the needles to return to his traveling bag. "I'm not afraid of them! Let them hurt Albert or my friends, and I will make sure that I hurt them twice as bad!"
The Dream King shook his head. "If you earn the wrath of the Endless, I don't think that even I could protect you."
A reassuring smile went up the corners of the mortal's lips. "Don't worry, Angel. I can take care of myself."
~~~~~~~~~~
"I hate him! I HATE HIM SO MUCH I WISH HE WAS DEAD! He's yours, Desire! I don't want him anymore!"
Delirium was stomping her feet in a fit of bad temper. Small storm clouds were zipping around her head, flashing lightning.
"I was going to say that you could keep him." Desire pointed to the bandage at its forehead. "Do you see what he did to me?"
Despair let out a raspy cackle. "So embarrassing, isn't it, to be thwarted by a mere mortal."
"Well, you can forget about the game," Desire clenched its fist in rage. "I want revenge!"
"Me too! Me too!" Delirium put in. "He refused to make me a dolly! No one has ever denied me before! He is soooo stingy! He even threw sharp needles at me!"
"I do not like the fact that he is slowly pulling Albert Herrera out of my realm, and I cannot let that happen." Despair looked at her two siblings. "I shall help you get your revenge on Edmond Dantes. But for now, we must wait."
"Wait?" Delirium exclaimed in dismay. "Why must we wait? Can't we whoop his ass now?"
"Are we not the Endless? Waiting comes naturally for us. Besides…" An evil grin formed on Despair's face, which only made her more hideous. "I am sure that the opportunity will present itself to us very soon."
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