Ava slowly starts waking up, feeling more rested than she has in years. She finds herself not wanting to move due to how comfortable she feels as she slowly starts to regain her bearings. It seems like she’s indoors? It’s not nearly bright enough for her to still be in that clearing, and she seems to be resting on a couch of some description.

 

She tries to move a bit, starting to properly wake up, and is met with a soft giggle. She looks upwards, where the sound came from, to see Lori softly smiling at her, and realises that her head is resting on her lap. This is nice, Ava thinks, she’s glad that she isn’t dead, although she’s still too groggy to remember why she was so scared of that happening in the first place.

 

“Lori…” She calls out, now smiling herself.

 

“I told you everything would be okay, didn’t I, Ava?” Lori’s smile continues to warm Ava’s heart, and she hopes the two of them can stay like this for a while.

 

“Yes, we’re both very glad you’ve woken up.” An unfamiliar voice says from the other side of the room.

 

Ava wearily looks over in confusion, there’s a coffee table next to her, and her blade is resting on top, but just past that is another couch. Seated across from the two is an unfamiliar witch, who is also smiling, but something seems off about her. Her hat and dark robes are just about what you’d expect from a witch, but what she can see of her skin looks strange. The colour looks a bit too off to be flesh, and there’s an unusual pattern covering the body. What’s more is that she has an overwhelming aura, there’s usually an upper limit to how powerful a normal witch’s magic can become, but something about her makes it seem like she’s far surpassed that. Ava takes a second for her eyes to adjust, and upon taking a proper look she realises something that shocks her into a fully awake state, the memories of what lead up to this moment coming back to her in an instant.

 

This witch…

 

Is made of wood.

 

She used to be a doll.

 

She must be inside Amelia’s house, and this must be the witch that turned her, and the others, into dolls. The matriarch isn’t going to like this one bit. Fear starts to fill Ava’s body once again as she sits up, grabbing her weapon.

 

“Y-You!”

 

“Ava, wait!” Lori calls out.

 

“Lori, she’s the target! Amelia, and the other witches, she turned them into-”

 

“Dolls, I know.”

 

“What?” Ava looks at her in shock.

 

“I know all of it… Athena told me everything.”

 

“Then why haven’t you taken her out!? As soon as the matriarch finds out she’ll-”

 

“Ava, Please.” Lori says firmly, tears welling up in her eyes. “Please don’t talk about her… I don’t… I can’t…”

 

“It’s okay, Lori.” Athena speaks up. “I can handle things from here.”

 

“O-Okay…”  Lori starts to calm down again, and puts a hand on her partner’s shoulder.

 

“Ava, I know you’re scared, but please, hear her out.”

 

“But-” Ava finds herself being interrupted as Lori suddenly holds her tight.

 

“Please, Ava. I really need you to trust me on this one.” Lori looks up at her without letting go, and it’s clearly written on her face how serious she is about this. Her warm hug brings back just a little bit of that calm feeling Ava felt before, and the thought occurs to her that she may never get to experience that feeling again if she betrays her trust.

 

“...Fine.” She finally says, staring at Athena. “I’ll… I’ll give her a chance…”

 

“Thank you, Ava. I promise this will be worth it.” Lori releases her partner and sits back up. “I’ll be in the next room if you need me, okay?”

 

Ava doesn’t take her eyes off of the witch sitting across from her as Lori gets up and leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Athena takes this chance to properly start the conversation.

 

“Normally I’d put some tea on when there are guests over, but from what she’s told me you wouldn’t trust me enough to drink any.”

 

Ava stays silent, her eyes remain fixed on the target.

 

 “Well, that doesn’t really matter. The two of us have a lot to talk about, and I’m sure you have some questions, so I’m happy to start with whatever topic suits you.”

 

“...What the hell did you do to 01 and 02? Casting that sort of hex on another witch's dolls, and having them betray that witch, should be impossible.” She finally says.

 

“You’re not entirely wrong,” She says somewhat smugly, “it should be impossible, for most witches anyway. Pulling off a feat like that would not only require much more powerful magic than a witch is usually capable of, but also such an intimate knowledge of both witchcraft and the inner workings of dolls that one would need to study for centuries.”

 

That answer, along with her incredibly powerful aura, is all Ava needs to know to get the picture. Former doll or not, there’s clearly something different about this witch. Her first instinct is to call her terrifying, but something deep inside is telling her she shouldn’t use that word.

 

“As for the… ‘betrayal’, as you call it, that was mostly Lori’s work, this entire thing was really, I just offered a little help with the magic. She found those two scouting the area, and they happily agreed to go along with it when she said it was to help you.”

 

“Where are they now?” Ava’s grip on her blade tightens.

 

“They’re both safe, if that’s what you’re asking. They’ve been in the other room since they brought you here.”

 

“And… and Lori? What’s happened to her!?” Ava asks, unintentionally raising her voice.

 

“I take it you think I’ve done something to her then? I’ve cast some sort of spell to take over her mind and bring you here so I can do the same to you?” Ava’s hand starts to shake, but she doesn’t say anything. “To tell you the truth, what I did was something far simpler, but much more powerful than that.”

 

“I gave her hope.”

 

“Shut up.” Ava says after a few seconds of disbelief. “Tell me what you actually did.”

 

“I assure you it’s the truth. I showed her that she, that both of you, didn’t have to continue living the life you have been. That it’s possible for things to change, to improve, to-”

 

“To turn her into a doll, just like all the other witches that have come to this house?” Ava interrupts tersely. “I know what you’re doing here, I saw what happened to Amelia. You really expect me to believe you won't just turn us both the moment I let my guard down?”

 

Athena sighs. “I’d like you to consider something, Ava. You’ve gotten a taste of what I’m capable of, and I know that you can sense my magic, so you should have at least some inkling of what I’m capable of.” She allows her aura to grow more intense to prove her point as she stands up and takes a few steps around the coffee table to get closer to Ava. “With that in mind, you should realise that if I really planned to force you to become my doll, I could have done so why you were asleep. Even without Lori’s help, I could have captured you the moment you started spying on this house if I wanted, it would have been quite easy, in fact.”

 

Ava is sweating, she’s confident her sword could take Athena down once she enchants it, but it’s clear that this witch could do an unspeakable number of things to her before she ever got the chance.

 

“So you’re very lucky I have no interest in forcing anything of the sort on you.” Athena returns to her seat, and her aura dies down again, allowing Ava to calm down just a little bit. “I’ve invited you here because you have the same look in your eyes that every witch that has been sent here had, the same look that my darling Amelia had. The look of someone who was being forced to do something they didn’t want to do, someone who was barely holding themselves together.” Ava’s grip tightens again, her knuckles now starting to go white.

 

“It truly breaks my heart every time I see it, it’s the reason that Amelia and I became who we are now. I realise that the safest option would have been to take her and the other dolls, and find somewhere far away to live in peace, but it pains me to think that something, or more accurately, someone, is causing harm to so many witches. Every time I see another witch suffering like that I can’t help but bring them in and help them, protect them from her.” Ava knows exactly who she’s talking about, the pain where her missing arm should be flaring up at the mere implication of that person.

 

“And how does turning them into dolls achieve that?” Ava asks apprehensively.

 

“I need you to understand that I didn’t turn them because I wanted to. I saw first hand just how much Amelia was suffering, and there was truly no other option for her, but all of the other witches were offered a choice, there were other things I could do after I… woke up, as it were, other ways I could help. It’s just an unfortunate fact that they were all so… broken… that they chose to give up their humanity and enjoy a simple life instead, and to be completely honest I can’t blame them.” She says with a sad smile.

 

“...What did you offer to Lori?”

 

“The exact same as I’m about to offer you, Ava. If you think you still have it in you to stay as you are, we can help take care of everyone together. I can even show you new ways to use your abilities, things you wouldn’t have even dreamed of. But if you believe you can’t go on any further, then you’re more than welcome to join the other little ones. I’ll use your magic to keep everyone safe on my own, and you’ll never have to worry about anything ever again.”

 

“There truly is no shame in choosing the second option, if that’s what you need to do.” She adds after a short pause.

 

“What did she decide? She’s clearly not a doll yet, but that could have just been so she could get me here.” Ava needs to know before things go any further.

 

“She hasn’t chosen yet. It seems she didn’t want to make that sort of decision without you. She’s… a good witch, that one.” Athena stands up and holds out her hand with a warm smile.

 

“You don’t need to make a decision now, but know that whatever you choose, I will do all I can to take care of you, just like the others.”

 

Ava looks at her in deep thought, her one hand still holding her sword. Maybe this really is a chance for things to be better. She could finally live peacefully with Lori like they always wanted to, they could finally be happy, and if the matriarch tries something then-

 

No…

 

No, this won’t work. This could never work.

 

If Lori and her don’t come back, the matriarch will just send even more witches after them, especially once she learns what’s going on here. A doll becoming a witch, witches turning into dolls, everyone in this house will be dead before long. There’s nothing they can do, the matriarch is too strong, too uncompromising, if they fail this mission she’ll do much more than just take Ava’s other arm. But there’s still a way that the two of them can survive this, Ava just needs to kill the witch that caused the problem in the first place. Lori may never forgive her for this, but it’s better than both of them getting killed.

 

In an instant, Ava leaps onto the coffee table and swings her blade towards Athena’s neck…

 

But she stops mere centimetres short, her hand shaking.

 

There were two things to note about what just happened, the first was that Athena made no attempt to defend herself, or evade the attack, she barely even reacted at all. The other, much more notable detail, is that Ava never even used her power to enchant her blade before striking, even if the blade did hit, it wouldn’t have had much effect on the wooden witch.

 

“Why…” She says, tears starting to pour from her eyes. “Why can’t I do it?”

 

“My poor Ava…” Athena starts, her voice showing genuine concern for the girl who almost tried to kill her. “I think there are a few things stopping you. I don’t think you could forgive yourself if you disappointed Lori like that, I think you care too much to do such a thing to her. But that’s not the only reason.”

 

Athena softly grasps Ava’s hand, the gentle touch making her shake even more.

 

“I don’t think you can bring yourself to kill one more witch in another’s name, not when you finally have a chance to be free.”

 

Ava drops her sword, which harmlessly hits Athena’s shoulder on the way down, and she falls into her wooden arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

 

“Shhhhh, it’s okay, I’m here, Ava.” Athena says, comforting her. “You must be so tired after all you’ve been through. She made you hurt so many people, but that’s not your fault, you never had a choice. I swear I will do everything in my power to make sure she never lays her hands on you again. You and Lori will both be okay, I promise.”

 

The door to the room slowly creaks open. Lori has had time to calm down, but she heard the noise from the other room and wanted to make sure everything was okay. Athena turns slightly to look at her, and gives a small nod, making sure she could see her smile. Lori starts tearing up again, only this time from a combination of joy and relief, and runs over to join the hug.

“I’m so glad I could save both of you.” Athena knows there will be more trials before any of them can truly be safe, but she will do everything she can for everyone under her care. Helping people is what she was built to do, after all.