A scream of pain from the barn beside the mansion somewhere in the middle of the forest was obscure by the heavy rain. Two maids ran from the barn to the mansion to fetch some towels and warm water.
Dragging their feet to the floor as fast as she could as the woman in question is already in a lot of pain, trying to birth her child on the floor covered with hay.
As she bites on a cloth, spreading her legs wide and half lying, a maid sat beside her and calmly speak to her through the process. Sweats darted her eyebrow and blood was pooling at the opening of her vagina.
"Take a deep breath, miss Ilyria. Take a deep, deep breath and push as hard as you can."
The lady twist her head to face the maid clearly and her tear-stained cheek made the maid sad. Pity to be forced to birth her child in the barn when there was a mansion with the room, large enough to deliver the woman's child.
"I'm scared, Mona... I'm scared. Where's Richard? Please... I need Richard."
Mona cried but she tries to maintain a calm composure rather than bursting into tears there and wiping away the tears and sweat wetting the woman's skin.
"Now, now... the baby should come first. I'm sure Master Richard is on his way. You have to push, child. Push..."
The woman squirm and screamed, her veins popping out of everywhere around her face and neck as she push her child out. Her tired, naked body was sweat-soaked.
"The head is crowning, Ilyria," Mona said. "Give me three more big pushes."
Taking every breath her feeble body could ever give, she scream the loudest for the last time and her loud pants and sobbing were taken over by the sharp wail of a newborn baby.
Though her body was too weak to move and too painful to be touched, Ilyria pushed to sit up and reach out to her baby.
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. Mona wrapped the bloodied baby with a clean cloth and hand the child to her mother.
A beautiful baby girl.
With 10 perfect toes, 10 fingers, 1 nose, a pair of beautiful hazel brown eyes and thick chocolatey brown hair.
She was a beauty despite the wrinkles on her skin - understandable for being a newborn but, Ilyria knows that it was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen.
Her baby. Her beautiful baby...
"So beautiful, Ilyria... what are you going to name here, child?"
Ilyria was losing her consciousness. She tries to shake her blurry eyes but she can feel every part of her body was shutting down. Her hands weaken and Mona quickly supports her hold on the baby and took over.
Ilyria lies down back and Mona let another maid hold the baby.
She turns to Ilyria and brushes back her hair.
"Ilyria? Child? Please wake up. Your daughter needs you. You have to stay awake!"
Ilyria struggles to breathe. Tears made her vision almost impossible to see so she tries to move her hand and stopped when she has a grip on Mona's hand.
"My mother...let her know and.. p..please.. p..protect her, Mona. D..on..t let any..one hu..hurt her."
Mona begins to cry and she nods her head, letting her tears fall on Ilryia's arms.
"I promise, child. I promise."
After a while, Ilyria's chest slows down and her breathing looks almost nonexistent. It was during her last breath that she spoke to Mona, for one last time.
"Lilibeth. She is Lilibeth."
...
"Motherfucker!" Lady cursed through her teeth when a needle prick her wrinkled finger. A strand of her hair hangs down her face and she got up from the sewing machine table and goes to the kitchen.
Tucking her pointy finger in her mouth, she twists open a pipe and places her finger under running water. Wincing at the sharp pain every time and quickly pulls her hand away to suck it in her mouth.
The darn dress she had in mind was almost done and with her current design, Lady knows that the Ringmaster would find the dress appealing and perfect to have his girls sold to the highest bidder. Being a costume and outfit designer for the House of Dolls, her works plays a major part in creating sales for the house.
No rich man wants a girl looking boring and normal. The appeal has to be the innocence in the outfit and their overall looks. The young ones are a great catch and with the short, lolita dress, they would be fought over by patrons from all over town.
Only here in the heart of Centralia, a historical town surrounded by greens, nature, the tallest waterfall in the world and unique businesses that made their town famous, successful and the birthplace of millionaires everywhere with one in particular the most powerful man in the world.
House of Dolls was created as a place where female orphans would be raised and become the perfect Doll for their masters. They would be a wonderful, obedient and dedicated female companion to any buyer with the highest bidder.
Some would find the establishment to be immoral but the House of Dolls denys every prostitution allegation as most Dolls who lived in Centralia either became, a mistress, wife or family and have been proven to be treated well by most buyers.
Of course, abuse is also common and there was nothing can be done once the transaction was made but the Ringleader was clear that the female they provide would be given to the right man since the girl was raised with love, all the skills a woman should know and serve with all the good things in life from quality dressings, meals and pampered to their hearts contain.
All the girls or better known as Dolls under the care of the Ringleader would deserve nothing but the best. Image is everything to The Ringleader and he himself never fails to look good himself. Not that it is important since he, Aryan Mizrahi was young, around his early 30s and have gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes.
One might compare him to a prince if it wants for the left side of his face had a burn mark and made his left eyes partially blind. He would cover the mark with a black masked, designed specifically to hide the scarred part only. To make his overall ringleader persona come to life, he wore a ringmaster hat, a tall red, velvety long head with white gloves and a gold cane which served nothing in particular.
Just a good ol' ringmaster personage was good for business.
The next bidding would be tomorrow and with 15 dresses completed, Lady finally have a chance to rest when a knock on the door made her twist her head in exasperation with the hope that whoever that is would leave soon.
She walks to the door, limping and yelling as she tries to twist the knob.
"It's 2 o'clock in the morning! What the fuck do you waaa..."
Her loud voice slowly depleted when she see a familiar face behind the door she had roughly yanked open.
"Mona?" A woman older than Lady, whom she had known since her daughter...
She shook the thought away and was about to scold her until a cooing sound erupts in between the silence in which both women frown and look down at the bundle of clothes in Mona's arm.
"There, there, child..." Mona gentle rock the bundle and Lady has no doubt what Mona was rocking in her arms. Her eyes widen in disbelief and she looks up and down between Mona and the baby.
"Mona? This yours? I didn't think you'll be.."
"Damn it, Ruth! How can you think I'll be young enough to have a baby? I know you're old yourself but not this old." Mona rolled her eyes.
Lady or her real name is Ruth
which only a few people know
was an older woman. Not too old being 43 and her hair was a mix between dark brown and grey hair that she has left untouched by any dyes to fit in like the high society ladies in town. She just lets herself age and finds peace with her looks. Letting her hair braided and wearing a simple blue dress with long sleeves.
" You must be drunk to think I'm as old as you. Now, tell me, why the hell are you bringing a wee baby in the middle of the night and alone."
Her questions made Mona pale and tears wet her cheeks.
"I..uh...I'm so sorry, Ruth..."
Lady was puzzled. Her eyes furrowed down and she tilt her head in confusion.
"Sorry for what.."
Mona's tears begin to fall and in an instant, she pushes the baby towards Lady which made her take a step back. Her hand automatically opens to catch the child for fear he or she might fall.
"Lilibeth... this baby name is Lilibeth."
The name struck her core. She cup her stomach and paled. She remembers the name clearly as it was the name of the doll her daughter once...
"Ilyria... is this Ilyria's...?"
Mona nodded.
"Then why is she not here and you are? Where's my daughter?" She has yet to know the answer but from Mona's expression, Lady can feel something was not right.
Mona sobbed and she pulled the baby to her chest. The child raised her hand, cooing and tri to touch Mona's face which made her cry harder.
"She's gone, Ruth. She died when..."
"Mona gasped loudly but still cried when Lady hold her shoulder and shook her hard.
"Shut up! Shut. up. Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare!"
Angry tears fall off Lady's eyes and she shook her head.
"Do not jinx my only daughter with that lips of yours! Where is my daughter? Where?"
"The lady of the house... she wouldn't help her... Ilryia... bleeds and there was nothing... nothing.."
Mona looks up to Lady and pants. " This child is the only thing left of her. She loves this child, her precious daughter... if the lady of the house knows of her.. she will not have mercy."
Ruth felt her feet just shut down. Not just her feet, everything in her body just drop dead when she hears what Mona had said.
She struggled backwards, deaf to Mona's plea when she almost fell but a nearby chair helped her to sit and cry. Thank Goodness for the heavy rain and thunderstorm outside as her cry of pain would be masked by it.
She can feel the crushing of her chest, her windpipe shutting and tears falling like a river. Shock took over her whole body and she felt half of her body shattered to pieces.
Her precious daughter.
Her beautiful child whom she raised for years. The one that made her life meaningful. She had believed the man who had bought her would give her a better life than the Dollhouse could ever have.
How stupid was she?
Her daughter is home now and all she left was a child who look exactly like her on the day she was born.
Unlike her daughter, this baby has thick locks of chocolatey brown hair. The exact hair colour she has while her daughter had followed her husband's blonde hair.
"She can't stay there, Ruth. You know what that woman will do to her? She wouldn't even allow a doctor to help your daughter."
"You can't possibly think of giving her to me? How can she live here? You know that any girl raised here belongs to the House!"
"Not if you put a stick in the ground and protect her. Make sure she is not to be put in an Auction and belongs to you. You know this is the only place safe from that witch. if she figures your granddaughter lives, she will do anything in her path to kill this baby. She is the only heir. At least this House can protect her. It's also a sanctuary, no?"
"A sanctuary with a price!"
Mona sighed. " Look, I can just put her in a regular orphanage but you know what fate will await her, right? You are also not getting younger yourself. At least with this child, you will have someone to care for you when you are no longer able to provide dress for Aryan. You can even teach her that too. She doesn't even have to be a doll. Please, Ruth.."
Easy for her to say. Mona didn't know Aryan as she does. Hiding the baby from him was almost impossible. Nothing in this house remains a secret. Not even a newborn baby that would probably cry 90% of the time.
She took another glance at the cooing baby and her eyes... the same light hazel brown eyes with gold flecks made her gasp internally.
Her Ilyria has the same eyes.
She was Ilyria twins and she knows that no child of hers would be raised in a lowly orphanage or abandoned. Lilibeth is her granddaughter and it didn't take long for her to already love the child.
Walking up to Mona, she gently takes the baby from her and rocks her in her arms, making the baby coo and making a grabby hand motion at her.
Truth to be told, there was no need for Mona to even beg. She was hers the moment Mona stepped into the House.