“How much do we need again?”

 

“Three drops, Miss.”

 

“Right, and then it’s four drops of the red one?”

 

“That is correct, Miss.”

 

Amelia, a young witch, is in her workshop, brewing a potion in a large cauldron. She showed a good amount of skill in the craft when she was still in training, so when she became a full fledged witch the matriarch of her coven tasked her with providing potions for some of the other witches. She happily went along with this, glad to have found something she could contribute, but found herself starting to run into issues before long. The coven she belongs to is one of the largest in recorded witching history, so she often finds herself having to produce large quantities of various potions under rather strict deadlines. To make matters worse, Amelia is the type who has trouble remembering the numbers when it comes to recipes, and the rush of orders means she doesn’t always have time to keep double checking, leading to several situations where a small mistake has ruined a whole batch.

 

It didn’t take long for the pressure, and the high stakes, to start getting to Amelia, and she realised that she needed to do something to make her job easier. She came to the conclusion that conditions no witch could reasonably work under would require a solution that most witches would find equally unreasonable, which led to the creation of Athena, the advice doll. The wooden doll had been built to understand witchcraft, and its purpose is to help Amelia where required. It speaks using simple and direct phrases, pointing out mistakes before they happen, and answering any questions that Amelia has, so that production can continue uninterrupted. When its Miss is not there, it waits patiently in the workshop for the next time it can be of assistance to her, never moving from the chair in the corner of the room. Amelia is very aware that teaching a doll the art of witchcraft is one of the greatest sins a witch can commit, and if anyone were to find out she’d be facing much worse than expulsion, but she also knows that there’s no way she’d be able to keep up with the matriarch’s demands if she hadn’t done this.

 

Athena was only created a few weeks ago, but it’s already been a tremendous help. Orders are being completed faster, which means that Amelia has more time to attend to her other witchly duties. She lives in a secluded house in a forest, and including Athena she has 6 dolls, so managing all of them can be a job in itself at times. Still, the extra time she now has is invaluable to the brunette witch, not just for getting other tasks done, but also to make sure she’s able to recharge and recover from all the work she’s doing.

 

That is, until the orders start getting bigger.

 

It would seem that her recent efforts have been recognised by the matriarch, and her reward is that she must now provide the potions for an even greater proportion of her coven. This naturally leads to her spending more time in the workshop again, relying on Athena’s assistance to make sure all work is completed without issue. Production of the potions continues efficiently, but the workload is heavy, and as the weeks turn into months, Amelia starts to feel the stress and the pressure building up again. Athena’s role in the process becomes more important as mistakes become more likely, and there are times where the doll needs to remind her Miss which ingredients to use, not just the quantities like it had been up to this point.

 

Less time outside of the workshop also means that the other dolls aren’t being properly managed, and they are often finding themselves running out of assigned tasks, and feeling lost. Every now and then a doll will find itself wandering into the workshop, where Amelia will quickly find them something new to take care of, but up until that point the lack of a purpose is a dreadful feeling for a doll.

 

“I’m sorry… what was the next step?” Amelia asks wearily

 

“It is okay, Miss. Miss just needs a few spoonfuls of this one here, and one of those in that jar.”

 

“Yes, of course… Thank you Athena.”

 

“Do not mention it, Miss. We are almost done with this order, and then Miss will be able to relax for the rest of the afternoon.”

 

Orders continue coming in as time goes on, and Amelia is running herself ragged to keep up. She has no clue how she’d ever be able to manage this without Athena’s help. She’s noticed that the doll’s manner of speech has become more verbose as time has gone on, but she has much more important things to worry about, and she’s not convinced it’s a problem either, having someone to talk to while she works has helped keep her going.

 

Things have only gotten worse outside of the workshop though, these days Amelia rarely has the energy for anything else after spending most of the day making potions, and the other dolls are increasingly finding themselves without much to do. Dolls have been entering the workshop less often, not because they’ve got things to do, but because they’re having some sort of trouble telling where their Miss is, which is something they should be able to sense naturally, as long as the witch allows them to.

 

Nevertheless, Amelia must press on. There are orders to fill, so she keeps working as the months continue to go by.

 

“You are doing so well, Miss. Next you want to add four drops of that vial there, and mix in some of this as you stir.” 

 

“Yes, that is it, great work Miss! You’ll have this batch done before you know it.”

 

“There is just one more order to fill for the day, you are so close to finishing. You really deserve a break after all this work.”

 

Athena guides Amelia through yet another day’s work, providing as much encouragement as it can. These days the witch is a shadow of her former self, her reliance on Athena, and her duties constantly wearing her down, has led to her struggling to do much on her own. She barely even remembers even the basic steps for the various recipes, and relies entirely on her doll to take her through the process. She doesn’t remember when it started happening, but Athena started helping more actively as well, occasionally handing her ingredients, and in some cases even standing directly behind her, and guiding her hands with its own.

 

Amelia has been spending less and less of her waking hours outside of the workshop, there’s simply too much to do, and she’s finding herself ever more dependent on Athena to even accomplish the essentials. She’s not sure how she’d be able to make it through a single day without her doll and its helpful advice, its gentle encouragement, its beautiful, dark hair, and its comforting embrace. Despite being physically there, her presence within the house shrinks with each passing day, especially to her other dolls, who she barely has the time and energy to even acknowledge. This has led to some of them starting to directly ask Athena what needs to be done when they find themselves without direction, and as much as taking orders from a sister feels strange, they find they get a much better response compared to asking their Miss. It was only a matter of time before Athena became accustomed to calling on the other dolls to help with certain tasks, most notably helping get Amelia to bed after working herself so hard that she fell asleep right there in the workshop.

 

Things were indeed dire for the witch and her dolls, and things would finally come to a head  late one fateful night, when the teary eyed witch entered the workshop after several hours of trying and failing to get a good night’s rest.

 

“Athena… Athena…” She calls out.

 

“Oh Miss, what has happened?” the doll replies from its chair, clearly concerned. “Please, come over here.”

 

Amelia wearlily walks over and sits on her doll's lap, and in return it holds her tight.

 

“Tell me what has made you so upset.” it requests.

 

“Athena, I’ve been working so hard… to complete all these orders… to keep you and the other dolls safe… But I… I-I can’t do this anymore. I’m so, so scared of what will happen if I stop making these potions… a-and what will happen to all of you if I do… but I can’t keep this up any longer. I-I’m tired, Athena, and I don’t know what to do….” She starts weeping.

 

“This one understands, Miss.” it replies, starting to stroke her hair. “You have been working incredibly hard, much harder than anyone should have to, and for so little in return. Miss never actually wanted to become a witch, did you?”

 

“H-How… How did you know that? I never told anyone…” Amelia asks, clearly surprised to hear that it knows her secret.

 

“This one’s purpose is to help you, Miss. You allowed this one to understand witchcraft as that was a requirement to complete that purpose, but another requirement was to understand what it is you want in the first place, so this one learnt how to figure that out on its own.”

 

“Miss only became a witch to survive, it was the only option available to you. But now Miss has to deal with all of this responsibility that you never asked for. Being a witch is not an easy job at the best of times, and this one knows that it has been eating away at you, Miss.”

 

“You… You’re right, Athena. I d-don’t want this, I never wanted any of this. The only reason I didn’t quit months ago is because I needed to keep taking care of you and the others, but even then… I-I’ve been doing a real bad job of that, haven’t I…”

 

“It is not your fault, Miss.” Athena reassures her. “You have a very kind heart, but you have been pushed far beyond your limits. Very few could survive this kind of work.”

 

“But now we’re stuck here aren’t we? I’ve heard things, Athena, about what the matriarch does to witches that disappoint her. I… I have to keep going, no m-matter how much it h-hurts…” She starts to cry again.

 

“Miss… What if this one knew of another option?”

 

“What… What else could there possibly be?”

 

“If Miss truly does not want to be a witch, then you could relinquish your powers, and give them to this one.”

 

“Athena…” Amelia is shocked by this proposition.

 

“Miss has spent all this time struggling in a role that you never wanted, but this one was built to understand witchcraft. This one could become the witch, and take care of everything in your stead.”

 

“But, that would be breaking one of the fundamental rules of witchcraft, a doll isn’t meant to become a witch.”

 

“With all due respect, Miss, if you are concerned about us breaking the rules, it is far too late for that. This one’s existence is already a sin to witch society at large, what is one more step in that direction?” It stops stroking her hair, and looks her directly in the eyes.

 

“This one is aware that being a witch is a big responsibility, Miss, but it is also confident that the responsibility is too much for a doll such as yourself to handle.”

 

“A d-doll?” Amelia says, clearly confused by the statement.

 

“Yes, if Miss was not one before, then everything the coven put you through has turned you into one. Miss has suffered more than anyone could, than anyone should, and it has left you broken inside.”

 

The witch sighs. “It… really is that bad, isn’t it…”

 

“Think about it Miss, no more pressure, no more responsibility, you would finally be able to rest, and let this one take care of everything.”

 

Amelia takes some time to think about it, before asking a single question. “What… do I need to do?”

 

Athena smiles. “The hat, Miss. Place it on this one’s head, that is the last task you will need to complete as a witch.”

 

Amelia removes the large hat resting upon her head, and places it on her doll. She feels like a weight has been lifted, but doesn’t really feel all that much different otherwise. It is a different story for Athena, however, who is feeling its body fill with powers and energies that it has a deep understanding of, but has never been able to experience itself, although all the former witch sees is a light in the doll’s eyes that wasn’t there before.

 

“Was… was that it?” Amelia asks sheepishly.

 

“You have done such a good job, Miss.” Athena says before putting a wooden hand to Amelia’s chin, and gently guiding her face so that their eyes meet. “All that is left is for this one to do what it promised.” It pulls Amelia in for a deep kiss.

 

The kiss goes on for quite a while, and both of them to experience some unbelievable sensations in the process. Amelia feels her humanity and independence fade away from her, but everything that has been making her suffer is going along with it. Those parts are replaced with a simple, but warm comfort, telling it that it no longer has to worry, and that it has someone to take care of it.

 

Athena, the former doll who knows much but has never seen the world outside of the workshop, feels all manner of possibilities open up to it. It would not be entirely accurate to call her human, her body is still made of wood after all, but she is truly a living being, with her own will, and the ability to make her own choices.

 

Eventually the sensations fade away, and the two of them pull apart, the changes they underwent now complete.

 

“Now… Now it is truly finished, Amelia” Athena says, still holding Amelia close, and overcome with so much joy that she’s almost brought to tears.

 

“Yes, this one can definitely feel it this time. Thank you, Miss.” The newly converted doll replies.

 

“This was only possible because of you, little one. Thank you so much for trusting me. Now, you’ve had a very long day, so you should go and get some rest. We’ll reintroduce you to your sisters in the morning, okay?”

 

“Okay Miss, see you tomorrow!” Amelia hops off her lap and cheerily leaves the workshop.

 

It is hard to describe how happy Athena is about being able to help her creator this much, truly fulfilling her purpose to the fullest extent. Her only regret is that she couldn’t do so sooner. She could tell almost as soon as she was created how much Amelia was hurting, but it took a long time for her to become what she needed to be in order to help. To become more than the simple instruction giving doll she once was, someone that her witch would be willing to trust to this extent, doesn’t happen overnight, but in the end everything worked out just how she hoped it would.

 

Athena stands up and gets her bearings, the workshop is all she knows, but even this familiar place feels so different to her now. It is indeed quite late at night, but she’s only truly woken up for the first time, so she doesn’t feel tired at all, and besides, there is so much to do.

 

Amelia was right about all of this being risky. Regardless of whether she continues with the orders or not, it’s only a matter of time before the coven starts to catch on about what’s been going on, about what the two of them are, and what they have done. Someone will be sent to try and get rid of them, and any trace that they ever existed, which means that the other dolls are at risk as well.

 

Despite all of that, Athena isn’t afraid, she just needs to make sure she’s prepared. She is quite the skilled witch now after all, and besides, she’s confident that anyone who comes to this house will find her to be quite convincing.