The first thing I noticed was that it was warm, really warm and I wondered if maybe Toby had carried me to my bed.
But when I opened my eyes I wasn’t greeted with the white tiled ceiling of my house, the walls that surrounded me weren’t red and I was pretty sure the knot in my back wasn’t from my bed.
Above me laid the sky and a canopy of green trees, the walls which were once red were a now a glorious bundling of trunks and that knot in my lower back was from a grouping of stones embedded in the green ground.
“Toby?” I sat up, “Toby!”
When there was no reply, I began to panic. I felt my head spin and my breathing grew faster until the odd world around me start spinning.
“Toby!” I was upon my bare feet, the cool grass slipping through my toes as I pushed off the ground, rushing forward in a terrified run, “Toby!”
As my body ran, I felt my foot catch and I stumbled forward, flying down the grassy hill. My build landed upon the earth with a loud clunk while I released a whimper into the air.
Where in the world was I?
“My, my what do we have here,” spoke a deep voice, a smooth one and I pushed myself up, peering around for the male.
“H-Hello?” I called, slipping from my knees and back upon my bare feet. The right one hurt from the fall, ached as I put pressure on it. “Is someone there?”
“What a peculiar girl,” breathed the voice. I heard a twig crack and I whipped around, “I haven’t seen you before.”
“N-No, I...”
“Hey! Get away from her!”
Hurrying to peer over my shoulder, I saw Toby rushing down the hill I had stumbled over. He looked angry, looked determined as he reached me and pushed my already sore body behind his.
I let out a groan but the doll didn’t hear me. He was furiously looking around, trying to find where the voice was coming from
“Show yourself!” Toby demanded.
“Hmm, you must be someone of importance if you have such a ferocious bodyguard,” the voice said with a chuckle.
“Coward!” and Toby lurched forward where we were certain we had heard the male, “Stop hiding!”
“Who said I was,” and I felt a thick arm wrap around my waist.
“T-Toby...”
I was turned rapidly, roughly and I came face to face with a rather handsome man. He was gorgeous with a rugged feel and a very mischievous look upon his thick lips.
“You are a pretty girl, aren’t you?” His hand grasped my chin, lifting it up and turning it from side to side. He stopped when he noticed my ears, “Peculiar ears...”
“Let go you damned fox!” and I was pulled into Toby’s arms.
Fox?
My eyes widened. Sitting neatly upon his head were two cute little ears and as my eyes drifted lower I found a matching tail swishing behind his legs.
“You’re kidding me,” I breathed but neither male seemed to listen, “Toby, where are -”
“Get out of here,” Toby snarled, “We want nothing to do with the likes of you.”
The fox man sneered, “The likes of me, eh? Well I think it would displease you to know you’re in my territory and I will do what I wish too here.”
The man stepped forward and Toby stepped back.
“In fact if I wanted to, say, play with your little princess, I just may.”
In a blinding instant, the man disappeared and I felt my back press against this chest.
“Hey!” I yelped but his hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer, “Let go!”
He chuckled and one of those hands dropped to my bare thigh, “Such a short skirt...”
“Don’t touch!” I whined and slapped at the hand that was traveling under my dress. I tried hard to pull myself away from him but the odd man's hands gripped at my hips with a painful strength.
Toby stepped towards us, “Let her go or pay the consequences.”
The fox smirked, “Consequences, boy? You talk big for a walking pile of kindling.”
“W-Wait,” I breathed, “You know he’s a doll...”
“Of course, love, living dolls aren’t anything special for the wealthy. Why? Did you think you had the only one?”
“I...”
He grinned, “You don’t get out much, do you?”
“Release Olivia -”
“Olivia,” He murmured as I pushed against him, trying to release my build. I barely budged so with a loud huff I fell still against the fox boy, “Tell me Woody, why are her ears rounded?”
Toby fell silent, “It is a deformity -”
“Excuse me?” I snarled, “I’m pretty sure my ears are perfectly fine thank you very much.”
And Toby’s eyes closed, his falling down in sorrow like what I had just said completely sealed my fate.
“Huh,” the fox turned me around, peering down at my face with a cheeky grin, “Than you could only be three things, love.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re obviously not a vampire or a witch or I’m pretty sure I would’ve already been jested by now. So what else is there?”
I frowned, “I don’t understand.”
“Exactly,” The man pulled me tight against him, “You must a mortal.”
Confusion littered my face, “Well, yeah. What else am I supposed to be?”
He laughed, he full out burst into a roar of laughter that caused Toby to sigh and I to peer at the weird man with bewildered eyes.
“Yes,” Toby breathed, stoic and emotionless, “Olivia is a mortal. There was a situation and I am to care for her. So, please, we have a long journey ahead of us -”
“You want me to release her?”
“If you’d be so kind.”
“Well,” laughed the man, “I am sorry to disappoint you, Woody, but I think I know of a few people who’d pay a hefty price to get their hands on a mortal. I can’t just pass something like that up.”
My eyes widened and I felt my jaw drop. The fox seemed pleased by the reaction as I tried to stutter, to argue while my mind swirled with the terrifying and foreign thought he had just stated.
“Oh, love, don’t look at me like that.”
“You can’t be serious... just – just let me go and -”
“And what? What can you offer me, girl?”
I couldn’t offer him anything. I hardly knew where I was, what he was or how Toby planned to get us home. Even if I did get home, I was pretty sure nothing I owned there would be of any worth to this mysterious man.
“Too late, princess!” and I was lifted high into the man’s arms.
I was pretty sure Toby had screamed my name, pretty sure the wooden boy had tried to reach for me but we both had seen how fast this fox was and my protector was gone before I could even blink.
“Let go!” I cried, “Let me down!”
But my captor would hear nothing of the sort. He continued to run while I continued to scream. The trees blurred by and a cool wind whipped at my skin.
I couldn’t believe I was actually being kidnapped and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I released a gasp as the man pushed off the ground and leapt a rather impossible distance over a rushing river below.
“Stop! Stop!”
He did. My body lurched at the sudden halt and I felt my head begin to spin. He placed me upon my feet with a chuckle.
“A little too fast for you, love?”
“Where – Where’s Toby?”
The man shrugged, “I’d say in the same place we left him. A living doll may be strong but they sure are the slowest species out there.”
“W-What are you?” I gasped out.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“A f-fox?”’
He chuckled and despite the situation I couldn’t help but think how attractive it was, “Close enough.”
“Well why don’t you go make yourself at home, love, you’re going to be here for a least a little while.”
I peered over my shoulder. Where exactly was I suppose to – Oh.
Standing behind me was a pretty little cottage, a simple wooden place that I knew my mother would’ve loved to own. I was surprised, quite surprised actually.
“You live here?”
“Where else would you suspect me to live, Olivia? A den?”
“Well... you are a fox.”
“Part fox,” He corrected, “Now get going, girl, and get in there. I have a few errands to run.”
I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest, “You can’t be serious. I’m not just going to cooperate with you! You kidnapped me!”
“Kidnapped? You should be happy I took you away from your silly little doll. I can’t say I know any other who’d treat you so kindly.”
“Kindly? You haven’t even told me your name!”
“Felix,” and he smiled that cheeky little smile that made me want to bite my lip, “If it means so much to you, it’s Felix.”
“That’s... a normal name.”
Huh, I was expecting something odd, something different to mimic the strange man.
“Is it? I wouldn’t know,” Felix laughed, “Now get going.”
“No,” I snarled, “I don’t want to be sold! Just because you told me your name doesn’t mean I’m going to go along with it!”
Felix ran a dirty hand through his hair. He looked frustrated but not so much I was too worry. He just seemed tired the more I looked at him.
“Are all humans so difficult?”
“When we’re trying to be sold off, yes.”
“Love, I won’t be able to sell you for a few days anyway. The certain clients I had in mind are overseas at the moment so just get on inside and make yourself at home,” He beamed, “You can even try to escape if you want! It’ll be fun tracking you down.”
I gave him a look, a glare and turned on my heel. The door was yanked open and I slammed it behind me without a second thought.
Even through the wood I could hear the fox laughing. It was like this was all a game to him and regardless of my anger, he still seemed pleased. My back fell against the wood and I slid down to the cold floor.
“Welcome to Avalon, love, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay,” yelled Felix.
I didn’t reply.
I just let my head drop forward and I fell into a silent sob.
To be continued...
