Xenosaga Fan Fiction ❯ 30 Kisses ❯ Dolls ( Chapter 24 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Niu Shiy-Ue 
# 6 the space between dream and reality
Writer's block, so I borrowed the universe of the new manga I'm reading.
Non Anime: Xenosaga Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.24.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.2K | Visits: 350 | Status: Work In Progress
# 6 the space between dream and reality
Writer's block, so I borrowed the universe of the new manga I'm reading.
Non Anime: Xenosaga Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 02.24.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.2K | Visits: 350 | Status: Work In Progress
It started as one of Albedo's whims.
Albedo, fragile, insecure and unstable. The entire household revolved around his needs, catering to his wants, soothing his nightmares, following his insane demands without a murmur. Nigredo would never trade places with the schizophrenic albino, but sometimes he wished he didn't have the other chaining him down. Or at least that their father would do something about Albedo, rather than simply foisting his unstable son off on the rest of the estate. But Dmitri was never there, always bringing Citrine with him, always leaving Nigredo to deal with the problems.
So when Albedo insisted on dragging him down to the boutique, some shady store tucked in the worst part of the City, Nigredo went with nothing more than a sigh and a roll of his viridian eyes. He let his twin weave his way through incense-filled corridors, peeking into curtained alcoves and ignoring Mary and Shelley's squeals of adoration at the too many, too perfect, identical, sleeping faces that resided there. Finally bored, he threw himself down on a couch in the lobby to drink the white-haired owner's too sweet tea and wait for the others to either find their purchases or become bored and leave.
"Oh how pretty!"
"Isn't it cute, Master Nigredo?"
He composed his face into blank neutrality before opening his eyes. "Very nice," he agreed to pleading blue and violet eyes. The doll they had chosen was nice, and unique among too many blonde, blue-eyed, rose-cheeked models. Although equally youthful, this model had short, curling pink hair and golden eyes. "What's its name?"
They laughed at him. "It doesn't have a name yet, Master Nigredo. But we were thinking of naming it Momo, just like it's hair."
"Ah, yes, the Kirshwasser prototype." The owner, red eyes gleaming avariciously, popped out of nowhere and nearly scared the business man into spilling his tea. "Only one hundred dolls were ever made of this type and it was the last created by Joachim Mizrahi before his death." The eyes dimmed slightly. "A rather durable model, needs very little in the way of accessories and maintenance-"
He tuned the man out. "So this is Albedo's choice?"
"Oh no Master Nigredo." Shelley shook her head. "This is our choice; Master Albedo is still searching in the back."
"Mary . . . Shelley . . . "
"Don't worry about it, Master Nigredo. We'll pay for this one ourselves."
"Speaking of payment, may I say that we do offer low-interest loans-"
He left the Godwin sisters to hammer out the details by themselves. Even if Mary was a little flighty, he had faith in Shelley's ability to get the best of the bargain. Albedo was another story; he worried about what havoc his twin might wreck while unsupervised.
The dark haired man was almost to the very back of the store (which was much larger than it had appeared from outside) before he saw the other. "Look at him, Nigredo. Doesn't he look just like we did?"
Nigredo shifted his gaze down to the doll and started. Albedo was right, it did look like a younger version of the twins, but with luminescent blue eyes and bloody red hair. "I didn't think they made male dolls." he said to cover his surprise.
"There are a few models." Again, the owner appeared from nowhere. "They are not in as high demand as the female types but a few designers do produce them. This for example is the one male Kukai prototype."
"So I take it this is slightly cheaper than the usual models then?" And felt a frisson of satisfaction when he noticed the disappointment in the owner's face.
"Yes, but you are forgetting the accessories. This one comes with-"
The price might have been eye-popping to some, but a mere pittance to the Yurievs. Nigredo came away feeling that between the Godwins and his brother the owner hadn't done quite as well as he usually did in commissions.
Most plant dolls that Nigredo had seen were purely ornamental, good for nothing but sitting in pretty poses and blowing kisses at their owners. He'd come across a few that could do a little more, perfume the air or sing, but they were otherwise useless. The two that they had purchased were remarkably durable and intelligent. They didn't need the finely woven silk sheets or elaborate diets that others did, could participate in simple and complex tasks, and had even come up with a rudimentary sign language (neither could speak) to communicate with the other members of the household.
Nigredo found himself interacting more and more with Rubedo, his brother's purchase. The doll was particularly clever; it could be assigned as a go-for and given a computer could conduct preliminary research for Nigredo. To his surprise, Nigredo found it harder and harder to remember that Rubedo was actually a doll and not a person.
Yet he was often brought up short. The doll was obliging only when Albedo or the Godwin sisters was near, otherwise it would just ignore Nigredo. Or if it was in the middle of a task and one of the others wanted something else, it would drop what it was doing immediately in their favor. The doll was Albedo's guardian and companion; controlling his tantrums, listening to his secrets, and at least on one occasion, protecting him from an assassination attempt.
For the first time in his life, Nigredo found himself jealous of his brother. And over a doll!
"This is ridiculous." he muttered to himself, watching the red-haired plant doll sleep. "I've been second all my life. Second to Citrine for Dmitri, second to Albedo for mother, second to Dmitri for the company. Why should I be jealous because of a doll?"
He stepped towards the bed, then leaned down. He hesitated for a second, then brushed a kiss over the dolls forehead. The shopkeeper's words came back to him.
You must remember, it is the doll that chooses it's owner, not the other way around. I know when this has happened because the doll will wake up when the customer approaches. Otherwise, the doll will continue to sleep and nothing the customer can do will change its mind.
When he leaned back, Rubedo was still asleep. The dark-haired man knew that if it was Albedo in his position, the doll would have woken up when he first entered the room, woken up and smiled with the glowing eyes filled with emotion.
He turned away and laughed. His hopes had never been more than a dream.
Albedo, fragile, insecure and unstable. The entire household revolved around his needs, catering to his wants, soothing his nightmares, following his insane demands without a murmur. Nigredo would never trade places with the schizophrenic albino, but sometimes he wished he didn't have the other chaining him down. Or at least that their father would do something about Albedo, rather than simply foisting his unstable son off on the rest of the estate. But Dmitri was never there, always bringing Citrine with him, always leaving Nigredo to deal with the problems.
So when Albedo insisted on dragging him down to the boutique, some shady store tucked in the worst part of the City, Nigredo went with nothing more than a sigh and a roll of his viridian eyes. He let his twin weave his way through incense-filled corridors, peeking into curtained alcoves and ignoring Mary and Shelley's squeals of adoration at the too many, too perfect, identical, sleeping faces that resided there. Finally bored, he threw himself down on a couch in the lobby to drink the white-haired owner's too sweet tea and wait for the others to either find their purchases or become bored and leave.
"Oh how pretty!"
"Isn't it cute, Master Nigredo?"
He composed his face into blank neutrality before opening his eyes. "Very nice," he agreed to pleading blue and violet eyes. The doll they had chosen was nice, and unique among too many blonde, blue-eyed, rose-cheeked models. Although equally youthful, this model had short, curling pink hair and golden eyes. "What's its name?"
They laughed at him. "It doesn't have a name yet, Master Nigredo. But we were thinking of naming it Momo, just like it's hair."
"Ah, yes, the Kirshwasser prototype." The owner, red eyes gleaming avariciously, popped out of nowhere and nearly scared the business man into spilling his tea. "Only one hundred dolls were ever made of this type and it was the last created by Joachim Mizrahi before his death." The eyes dimmed slightly. "A rather durable model, needs very little in the way of accessories and maintenance-"
He tuned the man out. "So this is Albedo's choice?"
"Oh no Master Nigredo." Shelley shook her head. "This is our choice; Master Albedo is still searching in the back."
"Mary . . . Shelley . . . "
"Don't worry about it, Master Nigredo. We'll pay for this one ourselves."
"Speaking of payment, may I say that we do offer low-interest loans-"
He left the Godwin sisters to hammer out the details by themselves. Even if Mary was a little flighty, he had faith in Shelley's ability to get the best of the bargain. Albedo was another story; he worried about what havoc his twin might wreck while unsupervised.
The dark haired man was almost to the very back of the store (which was much larger than it had appeared from outside) before he saw the other. "Look at him, Nigredo. Doesn't he look just like we did?"
Nigredo shifted his gaze down to the doll and started. Albedo was right, it did look like a younger version of the twins, but with luminescent blue eyes and bloody red hair. "I didn't think they made male dolls." he said to cover his surprise.
"There are a few models." Again, the owner appeared from nowhere. "They are not in as high demand as the female types but a few designers do produce them. This for example is the one male Kukai prototype."
"So I take it this is slightly cheaper than the usual models then?" And felt a frisson of satisfaction when he noticed the disappointment in the owner's face.
"Yes, but you are forgetting the accessories. This one comes with-"
The price might have been eye-popping to some, but a mere pittance to the Yurievs. Nigredo came away feeling that between the Godwins and his brother the owner hadn't done quite as well as he usually did in commissions.
Most plant dolls that Nigredo had seen were purely ornamental, good for nothing but sitting in pretty poses and blowing kisses at their owners. He'd come across a few that could do a little more, perfume the air or sing, but they were otherwise useless. The two that they had purchased were remarkably durable and intelligent. They didn't need the finely woven silk sheets or elaborate diets that others did, could participate in simple and complex tasks, and had even come up with a rudimentary sign language (neither could speak) to communicate with the other members of the household.
Nigredo found himself interacting more and more with Rubedo, his brother's purchase. The doll was particularly clever; it could be assigned as a go-for and given a computer could conduct preliminary research for Nigredo. To his surprise, Nigredo found it harder and harder to remember that Rubedo was actually a doll and not a person.
Yet he was often brought up short. The doll was obliging only when Albedo or the Godwin sisters was near, otherwise it would just ignore Nigredo. Or if it was in the middle of a task and one of the others wanted something else, it would drop what it was doing immediately in their favor. The doll was Albedo's guardian and companion; controlling his tantrums, listening to his secrets, and at least on one occasion, protecting him from an assassination attempt.
For the first time in his life, Nigredo found himself jealous of his brother. And over a doll!
"This is ridiculous." he muttered to himself, watching the red-haired plant doll sleep. "I've been second all my life. Second to Citrine for Dmitri, second to Albedo for mother, second to Dmitri for the company. Why should I be jealous because of a doll?"
He stepped towards the bed, then leaned down. He hesitated for a second, then brushed a kiss over the dolls forehead. The shopkeeper's words came back to him.
You must remember, it is the doll that chooses it's owner, not the other way around. I know when this has happened because the doll will wake up when the customer approaches. Otherwise, the doll will continue to sleep and nothing the customer can do will change its mind.
When he leaned back, Rubedo was still asleep. The dark-haired man knew that if it was Albedo in his position, the doll would have woken up when he first entered the room, woken up and smiled with the glowing eyes filled with emotion.
He turned away and laughed. His hopes had never been more than a dream.