(For Part One, Click here - Trip to DDE Part 1 )
I wandered up to the door and moved the business cards out of the way.
I knocked, but no one answered.
So I just walked in.
No sign of anyone on the first floor. But the house had that strange "hush" feeling to it that only a place where someone is hiding can get. I knew someone was here. I was hoping that someone was my sister, Juno.
I got upstairs, and quietly called for Juno and...
There she was!
With all the other "runaways" too! Pixies I hadn't seen in MONTHS! Hiding out in DDE! Who would've thought?
We all settled on the rather comfy little sleeping bags they had, and they filled me in. They had been hiding in Wendy's purse, just one or two at a time, each work day morning and secretly rode to DDE with her. Once they arrived, they climbed out when no one was looking, hid, and then found each other after the store closed.
It had all been Harley's idea, though Juno had been the first one to make the journey to DDE. Harley was surprised I'd found them, and I told them about the strange, dark haired girl who'd lead me to them.
And that was when Juno filled me in about who the little, dark haired girl was.
She told me her name is Fawn. She's a second hand doll from a big doll collection. She'd only had one owner, and the collector had ordered her about 6 years ago, but no longer wanted her.
She stands still, all day, with all the other dolls (some of whom are second hand from the same collection) and hopes someone will buy her and take her home.
But she's a little old for a ball jointed doll, and a bit beat up. Juno said she had once said of herself that she was old and ugly, and thought she would probably stand in the store forever, and that was just how it was to be. She said she didn't complain, but that sometimes she seemed very, very sad.
Fawn had been helping the runaways right from the start.
It was Fawn who had suggested the dollhouse to Juno as a place to hide. From her shelf she could see that no one really moved or messed with it, and knew it would be a safe place for them.
And it was Fawn who, when she realized there would be more runaways coming, showed Juno and Madera where the store owner's kids kept some of their toys, including a bunch of sleeping bags for their toy dolls.
Every morning, Fawn put the business cards back in front of the door, so no one would ever suspect that pixies might be in there, sleeping the day away. It was brilliant camouflage.
And Fawn was the one to find the new arrivals and direct them to Juno and the others at the house, just as she had directed me there.
The other dolls wouldn't talk to Fawn anymore, because she helped Juno and the other "renegades".
But Fawn didn't let it bother her. She put herself back on her stand every morning, and slipped her sales tag back on.
And stood still, waiting for a new life that she feared would never come.
I felt bad for Fawn. Here she'd helped my sister, and my friends, who were all very excited about going home (now that I'd convinced them at Wendy wouldn't sell them), and we were leaving her. And to what? Other dolls that wouldn't speak to her? Lonely nights in a doll store? It wasn't right.
There was really only one thing to do, though I couldn't believe I was doing it.
There are no pictures of me begging Wendy to buy Fawn and bring her home with us. I do have SOME pride. I still can't believe it. I went to DDE to PREVENT Wendy from bringing home a doll and instead I BEGGED her to bring one home.
I had clearly lost my mind.
No one could've been more shocked about the turn of events than Fawn, though. She seemed a bit overwhelmed, maybe disbelieving, and was very quiet the whole way home.
Juno found out later that Fawn had been so silent because she was afraid that if she spoke, she might wake herself out of this dream and find herself back on the shelf, still for sale, and she didn't want to wake up.
Poor thing. Well, time will be what shows her that it's not a dream, I think. I hope she likes the Wylde Kingdom.
So now there are a bunch of pixies back in the Kingdom! I forgot what it was like to have voices around, it's been so quiet here.
I have a lot of catching up to do, and we need to get everyone settled. It may be a bit before I get a chance to post, but I'll try to keep you posted about what's going on. And I'll let you know how Fawn settles in too.
Talk to you soon!
- Miri
