Leaning down, I placed my finger under her chin, which I nudged up, commanding her to look at me. Her eyes were lowered, submissive to my touch. I shook my head. Dolly waited, patiently waited for me to speak, hooked on my every move.
“A queen bows to no one,” I said, and Dolly’s face transformed. It lit with light and color.
Dolly always belonged in color.
Bending down, level with her eyes, I said, “Especially to her king.”
Dolly gasped and jumped into my arms. Her mouth smothered mine as she kissed me. She kissed me and kissed me, throwing her arms around my head. She held on as she took from me what she needed.
My doll queen dressed in blue.
I held her back until she pulled away. Her eyes were dilated and her breath came fast. She let go of me and got to her feet. Dolly walked, silently, to the slain Jabberwock, spread-eagled on the floor. Taking the tie he wore around his neck, she dipped the fabric into the blood pooling around him and began writing on the wall behind. “SICK FUX,” this time written in crimson, written in his blood. His blood in payment for the crimes he had committed over the years. Dolly moved to his shoulder and pulled out my blade. She pulled a sodden playing card from her corset. She placed the card on his forehead.
The Ace of Hearts.
Dolly stared down at his face, now his death mask. She stood there for many minutes. Then she turned back to face me. “For you,” she said and handed me my blade. I sheathed it in my cane, not bothering to clean it.
I wanted to keep the Jabberwock’s blood on my steel for a while longer.
“I’m tired,” Dolly announced suddenly, a new kind of sadness edging into her sweet voice. She took my hand in hers. Her fingers were still freezing cold. “Let’s go, Rabbit. I no longer wish to be here.”
Dolly pulled me through the doorway, but I guided her through the house. We showered quickly in a bathroom we found, ridding our skin of the Jabberwock’s tainted blood. We washed our clothes, not caring that they were wet afterward. It was hot outside. We would quickly dry.
Once finished, I led her to the car. No music played as we pulled away. Dolly curled up on the backseat, wrapped in my jacket. Only minutes passed before her exhausted body succumbed to sleep.
I looked more at her than the road as I drove. She had asked to go straight to a motel. But we were going somewhere else. Dolly had deserved what I was going to do for her anyway. But after tonight, I would make sure she adored it.
She would never adore it as much as I adored her.
My gut twisted as I saw her shift in her sleep, delicate hands clinging to my jacket for dear life. She brought my jacket to her nose and inhaled. My heart completely crumbled when her lips formed a small smile.
As she breathed deeply in her sleep, all I could think about was tonight. How I had nearly lost her. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if she died, I would surely follow.
There was no Rabbit without Dolly.
There was no Dolly without Rabbit.
As I drove to our destination, my eyes barely strayed from her. My little doll, broken, but not so much that she couldn’t be repaired.
And I was the only doll master sufficiently skilled to perform those repairs.
I stood back and surveyed the scene before me. I drew in a deep breath and ran my hands through my hair. Straightened my fresh suit and cravat that I’d taken from my case in the trunk. I shook my head, laughing a quick laugh at what the fuck I was doing.
Then I glanced at the Mustang. My eyes fell on the sleeping blonde in the backseat. And I knew.
Her.
This was all for her.
My brave little champion.
I opened the trunk. The boombox was at the front. I pressed play, knowing the songs would be perfect for this moment. Slow music filled the air. I paused, hidden by the trunk’s open lid. I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt and tipped my head back. I took in the sky above . . . and I smiled.
She would get exactly what she wanted.
Moving to the backseat, I leaned in and stroked Dolly’s cheek. She shifted with a soft moan, but did not wake. Smiling at her stubbornness, I stroked her cheek again, this time whispering, “Dolly?”
She pulled my jacket higher over her shoulders. So I tried again. “Little Dolly darlin’,” I said, louder this time. Dolly’s eyes blinked open. She stretched out her arms. I watched her, mesmerized, and then she turned to look at me.
A small smile pulled on her lips. “Rabbit . . .” she said, her voice still weak from the experience of hours before. Her hair had dried on the journey, and her clothes were no longer soaked. “I’m tired,” she said and curled back in to go back to sleep.