Case Of The Living Doll ❦ Undertaker

1 | The Doll Named (y/n)

On the outskirts of London, there stood an abandoned building. It had been closed down for several years and was now desolate. The whole place screamed haunted and take caution when stepping through here. Not that anyone in their right minds would even dream of coming close to the place.

Even though I say that at this very moment, two people were exploring the very place that other people wouldn't dare to enter and, honestly, they were far from being sane. They were, of course, the young Earl Ciel and his demon butler Sebastian.

There had been several reports about strange things happening in the building, and none of them were very pleasant. Countless people had said that screams could be heard coming from within the building, resonating throughout the nearby streets, and other horrific noises sounded from there as well. Squelching, sawing, and even footsteps.

The thing was, no one had been seen entering or leaving the building in what seemed to be years. The place was completely abandoned.

The building had once been a factory, one that manufactured dolls of all shapes and sizes.

More tales surrounded the place, and they were that the dolls, who appeared lifeless at first, had more life to them when you took a closer look; they were almost human. It wasn't only that. There had also been sightings of the dolls coming alive at night and were seen wandering about the house like it was the most normal thing in the world.

And now, at this place, Ciel and Sebastian were in this very building under direct orders from the queen. They were supposed to investigate the place and see if there was some truth to what was being said. At the moment, everything seemed quite normal about the place - at first glance, anyway.

Once Ciel's uncovered eye had adjusted to the darkness, he inspected the room, and he came to a stop at the lone table in the middle of the seemingly empty room. On top of the table sat a single doll. The doll had porcelain skin that felt real to the touch, flowing (h/c) hair and half-closed (e/c) eyes.

"That's strange." Ciel strolled over to the doll and peered closer at her face. "It seems almost lifelike."

"Yes, it's like she'll start speaking at any moment." Sebastian also looked at the doll and ran a gloved finger down her face. He drew his finger back, and he glanced back at her perfect features.

Weird, it had appeared the doll had flinched when he touched her, but that couldn't be possible. Was it true that these dolls were once human?

Several years ago, there had been talk of girls who were on the brink of death going missing, or beautiful girls disappearing from their homes in the middle of the night. Perhaps this doll was one of those missing girls? Anything was possible.

"Should we take her with us? Maybe someone could tell us if she was once alive?" Ciel half-asked Sebastian; he was mostly talking to himself, though.

"I know who would be the perfect person to ask, young master." Sebastian smirked and held the girl/doll in his arms.

"You're not talking about him, are you?" groaned Ciel.

"Indeed, I am," chuckled the demon butler.

☽

"Undertaker, are you here?" Ciel knocked on the door of the Undertaker's funeral home, and without waiting for a reply, waltzed into the room.

Coffins filled up the vacant space and specimen jars were lined up against the walls. The young earl shivered at the sight and ordered Sebastian to place the doll on top of one of the many coffins. It's not like the girl/doll would mind, right?

Ciel jumped slightly when he heard someone stumble behind him. Spinning on his heel, he saw a certain grey-haired male slumped across his desk, as though he had just fallen over and landed on top of it. Undertaker was indisputably a weird one and Ciel had seen plenty of eerie things in his short lifetime.

"Oh, if it isn't the earl and his butler." Undertaker grinned an amused grin and pulled out a jar of what looked like dog bones. "And what would you like from me today? A coffin? Do you need me to measure you for one?" He chuckled maniacally to himself.

He abruptly stopped when he glimpsed the doll sitting atop one of his coffins. Then he bounced over to her and inspected every inch of her body. "And what is this precious thing?" He grinned while still inspecting her. "She's simply marvellous."

"We encountered the doll in the abandoned building outside of town," Ciel reluctantly answered. "Have you heard the rumours about the old wax doll factory?"

"I have indeed." Undertaker wrapped an arm around the doll's waist and spun her around on the spot. He twirled a strand of hair around his finger and snuggled his cheek against her supple skin. "She certainly seems human, doesn't she? It's almost as if she's alive. Or perhaps, formerly was." He felt the doll shiver at his touch and he smirked.

"We would like for you to preserve her here for a few days and examine her. Perhaps you'll discover something from her." Ciel picked up his cane and made for the door. "I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out."

"Just trust it to me." Undertaker grinned once again and placed the doll back atop the coffin.

After the earl and his butler had left, Undertaker turned back to the doll and sat next to her. "You can hear me, right?" Undertaker took a strand of her hair and bought it up to his lips. He pecked it lightly and let it rest against her shoulder once more.

Anybody who was looking closely at the doll might have been able to witness the slight blush that was now dusting her cheeks. That wouldn't be plausible if she was genuinely a doll, now would it?

Undertaker might be seen as someone who only knows how to play around and is a little insane - or maybe he was a lot of insane - but he wasn't foolish. He knew from just one look at the doll that she wasn't just that; she was human or part human, and she was very much alive.

It was now up to him to find out exactly how such a thing had happened, and how to undo whatever this doll-like state was.