You wandered out of the bag and began to stretch your arms and legs as you walked across the cushions of the couch. It felt good to be able to walk around on your own again after being in Wendy's hands or her pocket for most of the last few hours. You hadn't actually walked or had control over your body for some time. You kicked the bag away from you and then ventured towards the other side of the couch.
You stretch, and then lay down, falling flat on your back and spreading your arms and legs out. It feels good to just be down, on a nice, soft surface. True, Wendy was going to come back any minute and you'd be trapped in her hands for probably several hours again, but that was later. You were focusing on the now. Though Wendy really seemed to know absolutely nothing about normal people, she at least knew that you had to sleep from time to time. You imagined how unlucky it would be to end up in the hands of another Abner, who might not have known that about you and exhausted you. Maybe even to death.
You close your eyes and clear your head. You are so relaxed in that spot that you are unable to perceive the sound of someone approaching. Whoever it is, they have somewhat dainty footsteps. You finally hear something and open your eyes, expecting to see Wendy again. You feel shock and horror overtake you as you look up and see the back side of another woman. She's wearing a long, flowing black dress, and is holding a glass of red wine (you hope it's red wine) in one pale, immaculately manicured hand and what appears to be a large book in the other. And she's sitting down.
You can't even process what's about to happen as Maureen sits down on top of you. One moment, you are enjoying yourself. The next, she's pinning you to the couch beneath her entire weight, concentrated almost entirely in her butt.
She shifts, grinding her butt against the seat (and you). You fear she's going to crush you to death. You begin to struggle, knowing full well that if Maureen finds you and prevents you from crushing or suffocating, she might just do something else unpleasant to you. You'd always heard that she was like a witch, and that she turned men who hit on her in front of her husband into dogs. You hoped you wouldn't end up as the family's new dog (or worse) as you began to push and thrash, and tried screaming at the top of your lungs.
You can't and will never know whether your efforts saved you, or if Maureen simply picked that moment to see what she had trapped underneath herself. You felt the pressure release off of you and a thin, iron-like hand reach for you. Strong fingers pinched you between a forefinger and thumb by your arm, just above your elbow, and dragged you out onto the sofa next to the titanic woman. She sat down once you were not lodged underneath her, squinting down at you with some kind of disbelief. She certainly wasn't expecting to see you underneath her.
She then lifted you, still pinging you by your shoulder, rapidly bring you up to her face. She dangled you only inches away from her face as she inspected you, large, pool-like eyes examining you. "Where did you come from?" she asked. She said it quietly, almost like she were talking to herself. You wonder if for Abners whether or not all of their dolls were shrunken people or not. But, she hadn't done anything to indicate that she thought you were alive yet... better play it safe. You smile and stay stiff, looking straight ahead, hoping that she thinks you're nothing more than a lost toy one of her children left on the couch.
That's when her expression sours. Her lower lip pouts, and her brow furrows. Uh-oh.
Her grip seems to tighten. There's a slight pain in your shoulder. She's lowered you down to her waist, dangling you above her open palm which rests in her lap. You hope she doesn't squeeze your arm until it pops off.
That's when Wendy came back. You couldn't see her, but you could hear her address the fuming giantess that held your life in her hands.
"Mother" she said. It was the same calm voice you always heard her speak in. You wondered if she was afraid about what her mother would do to her new "friend"... or if she was worried she was going to lose her new toy.
"Circe Gwendolyn Abner" her mother said in a stern tone. She still spoke quietly, and her voice sounded like a wind chime. But you could tell she was mad. "What is this on the couch?"
"My - my friend" she says. You take this as a sign that Maureen does in fact know that you are alive, and you begin to struggle, trying to free your arm from her fingers. She pinches your other arm with her free hand, and then raises you up to her face, holding you level with her large, pouting lips, covered in bright red lipstick.
"Did you hear that? You have a friend" she says in a low, surly tone to you. She's mocking you. You're afraid, and there's pain in your arm and shoulder, but there's something... mesmerizing about the way her mouth moves, only inches from you.
She lets go of your shoulder, causing you to fall a little. She extends her index finger and pinches a little frill of your dress between two fingers, and then runs the finger up and down the length of your body. "I gave this dress to one of my dolls when it was given to me one hundred and fifty years ago" she says, staring down at you. She turns you around in her fingers, dangling you so you're facing Wendy. "But, daughter, I think you forget yourself. And our family motto. Recite it for me."
Wendy huffs, and then mutters in a low tone "Nos omnes de imperio, et regula non est socios". You can barely make out the syllables, or understand what it means.
"That's correct" Maureen says, icily. "We stand with no one, we rule over all. Our boot must remain firmly on the necks of those lesser than us."
Her other hand suddenly grasps you tightly, keeping your arms and legs from moving. She puts her thumb over your mouth, to prevent you from speaking.
"So, this is not your friend" she says, squeezing you. "This is lesser than us. This is nothing but a plaything. A toy. And, if I recall correctly, you outgrew toys in 1961, when you put your dollhouse in the attic for the last time. Is that correct?"
You can't see Wendy anymore, but you assume she has nodded. "So, then what do we do with this?" she asks, rubbing her cold fingers on you. "Because we can't put it back where it came from, can we? It might tell on us and bring our house undue trouble" she says. You begin to feel nervous. You'd plead to her and promise you wouldn't tell, you'd pretend this never happened, but you can tell that Maureen wouldn't take any apologies or commitments.
The giant woman's grip gets a bit tighter. "So, here is how you will learn discipline and responsibility, and how to be an Abner. You are going to have to keep this. And you'll have to take good care of it, because it's your responsibility now. But you have to remember that it is not your friend. And it's not a toy, because you are too old for toys. It is your subject. Your pet, at most. But you must learn that you are superior to the regular humans who roam this miserable earth. And that they deserve nothing from you."
She lays her palm flat and opens her hand, releasing you from the pressure. She offers you to Wendy.
Wendy dashes over to you and snatches you out of her mother's grip, clutching you tightly, close to her chest. She turns and skitters out of the room after grabbing her bag, which has since rolled on to the floor.
Your heart is beating out of your chest, and you feel like you're about to pass out. You thought you were about to be much worse off... though you don't like the idea of being kept by Wendy permanently. Especially if her mother is making sure she isn't particularly nice to you.
Wendy returns to her room, dropping the bag from the store on the floor. She climbs on to her bed and lays down, and lays you down between her massive arms. She strokes your hair gently with a giant finger. She looks like she is about to say something. You can't tell if she's going to say something reassuring to you, or if she's about to tell you that you're about to belong to her for the rest of your life.
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