Alfred jogged down the brick path as rain fell, looking at the buildings on either side of him as he ran. He scanned the signs hanging from them, looking for one in particular.
The sign, and by extension the shop he was searching for was called the Magnificent Toy Emporium. It was somewhat hidden away, squeezed between the rest of the side-by-side buildings on the street. Alfred never really saw any advertising for it, but it's reputation spoke for itself. The store was famous, but there was only one location.
The Magnificent Toy Emporium resided in the Newcastle of County Down. It had opened there, and it hadn't moved locations since the first day. Though, Alfred felt that surely a store as well known as this could stand its ground in large cities. Or, it could start a chain of toy stores.
But, hey, what did Alfred know about running a business. All he needed to do was grab something for Matthew and head back. He didn't need to worry about keeping the shop's doors open.
The rain was starting to come down harder, so Alfred was thankful when he saw the hanging sign of the toy store rocking back and forth overhead. He took a glance at the building as he went in.
The outside was made of red brick, with a large window in the front that displayed a few toys. It wasn't very colorful, but it had a lot of warm red and brown colors that made it seem very comforting.
Alfred went inside, and a bell rang overhead. He looked around, and his eyes widened. "Oh, wow.." He breathed, looking at the arrangements of toys, and at the shelves that went all the way to the ceiling. Soft, happy music played throughout the store. The lighting was a warm yellow, making everything seem to have it's own glow. It was overwhelming, but it in the best possible way. There were different types of toys in every direction he looked. He wandered down to the arrangements, examining the plush toys. They seemed to smile at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.
Some of the shelves housed wooden dolls, and each one was in its own outfit and had a unique, painted-on face. Alfred was no toy expert, but the dolls seemed expertly crafted.
"Ah! Hello there!" A melodic voice came from behind him, and Alfred turned to face a man about a head shorter than himself.
The man had feathery blond hair, and it looked almost white in the light. He had freckles across the bridge of his nose, and his eyes were big and bright, giving him an almost ethereal appearance.
"Um..hey, do you work here?" Alfred asked, and the presumed employee laughed.
"Well, you could say that. I'm the toymaker, dear." He grinned and rolled his eyes. "Arthur Kirkland, pleased to make your acquaintance." He held out a delicate hand. Alfred took it, giving it a polite shake before stepping back.
"Alfred…nice to meet ya.." He replied, dropping his hand as he looked through the toys around him. He picked up a stuffed bear and looked it over before setting it down and turning to him.
"You made all these?" He asked, furrowing his brow. "Dude, these are way too many toys for one guy to put together, seriously, how much help do you have? You're not the toymaker, you've gotta have, like, employees."
Alfred watched Arthur approach one of the dolls, positioning its arm. "Well, you could say that.." He gave a strange, knowing grin, and for a moment Alfred thought the doll winked.
"Nevertheless," Arthur continued, "I am the shop owner." He rose a slight brow at Alfred, looking him over. Alfred rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh.
"Okay, okay, I got it.. I'm just gonna look around for a while." Alfred shrugged. "It's a gift for my brother, so I only need to pick out something I think he'd like."
Arthur gave a slight nod, and then walked away. At least, Alfred assumed he walked. He'd been looking at Arthur as he spoke, and after the toymaker nodded, Alfred blinked, and when he opened his eyes Arthur was gone. He looked down the neighboring aisles for him, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
Alfred rolled his eyes, shrugging his shoulders as he wandered through the store.
The emporium seemed to go on forever, and every direction Alfred turned seemed to have rows and rows of different toys.
He sifted through a bin of carved toys, ranging from tiny rocking horses to trains. Alfred had come here for Matthew, but that didn't mean he couldn't do some shopping for himself.
But, honestly, he didn't even know what he'd want, much less what Matthew would like. There was so much to choose from, and he wished his brother had been able to come to Northern Ireland to pick something out for himself. But, no, he couldn't get the time off so he'd simply asked for a souvenir.
"Find anything?" a familiar voice hummed, and Alfred jumped in his skin, turning around to find Arthur sitting on top of one of the aisles.
Alfred sighed, and placed a hand over his chest, narrowing his eyes at the toymaker. "Don't do that, man. And, no, I mean, your toys are great and all, but there's a lot to choose from."
"Oh, so picky.." Arthur laughed, resting his head in his hands. He swung his legs. "Children are never so picky, they generally pick whatever they see first. It's always you adults that take so long. Of course, your indecision and fear of missing something better is rather endearing. Your kind is so interesting." He hummed, shaking his head.
"My kind?" Alfred huffed, rolling his eyes. "Might want to cut the insults, or I'll buy something someplace else." He crossed his arms.
Arthur sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it, truly I didn't. I find people like you interesting, that's all. Here, if you're having such a hard time making a decision, how about I show you my personal favorites?" He offered, climbing down from the aisle.
"..Alright.." Alfred agreed, now feeling a bit foolish that he'd lashed out at him. "And, uh, sorry. You didn't..mean anything." He rubbed his arm, biting his lip as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.
He followed the shop owner down several rows of toys, and he tried not to get distracted because Arthur wasn't stopping. After taking just a second to look at little building block set, he had to jog to catch up, and soon they came to the back wall.
There were very few toys back here, but along the wall were two sets of shelves, full of clay ball jointed dolls. They were all unique, and downright beautiful, but the best dolls sat in a glass display case in between the sets of shelves. Alfred walked up to them, and Arthur cleared his throat.
"Um, sorry, Dear, but the dolls in the display case aren't for sale. They're my own personal collection." He clarified.
Alfred turned his head to look at Arthur. "But they're the nicest ones. Why not sell them? What's so special about them?" He asked, bringing his gaze back to the glass case.
"You asked earlier about who helped me make the toys. That would be them. I couldn't even dream of selling my team.." Arthur looked at the case, and his expression softened into a fond gaze.
"No one ever stays with me, so, I modeled the dolls after my favorite customers. That way I'll never forget them, and they'll always be with me, in a way." He explained, gesturing to the case.
Alfred looked at them, but, as he looked, he realized the dolls seemed like they were from different time periods. There was one that looked recent enough, but the rest had styles dating back to the fifteenth century. Not all of them were the common ball jointed doll. The ones that seemed older were made of wood or stuffed cloth, and didn't have as many, if any, joints.
"Stop messing with me, these things look like they're from ages ago." Alfred chuckled.
"Well, I've been making toys for a very long time." Arthur replied, completely serious. For once that ethereal smile had faded into a fond, yet somber expression. Alfred furrowed his brow as he tried to understand.
Arthur was…weird, but it was obvious he was lonely.
Alfred decided to humor him, at least for a second, and pointed to one of the dolls in the case. "Um, okay then, who's this..?"
"Oh, Allen? He served in World War Two. He was American, like yourself, and he was looking for a present for his daughter. I distinctly remember. My shop wasn't very well known, then. It wasn't called the Magnificent Toy Emporium either, and I was actually residing in New York…of course, I went by Oliver during that time. I sold him a model plane, at a discount too. I wonder if he's still alive.." Arthur mused, crossing his arms.
"Wait, so, Arthur isn't your real name? What is?" Alfred furrowed his brow.
"Oh, I can't remember at this point, Alfred. But Arthur is my personal favorite out of all the names I've had, so, I think I'll keep it for as long as I can."
Arthur was strange, but so far he'd been relatively harmless. That didn't stop Alfred from being suspicious, though, and he decided he'd keep an eye on Arthur (Or, whoever he was) until he could just pick a toy and leave. Still.. even though his stories had to be fake, they were interesting, so Alfred asked about another doll.
"Oh, Allistor? God, he was so much fun, I miss him often.." He chuckled, and soon he was talking about the day Allistor had drunkenly wandered into his shop. "He wasn't angry or rude at all, but I did have to stop him from purchasing one of my more expensive toys- he didn't have the money to spare. He came back a few times..I wish he hadn't grown old so fast.."
While Arthur described each of his dolls in detail, Alfred browsed the dolls on the shelves, which were actually for sale. It was hard to not believe Arthur, his stories were so precise and convincing. It was difficult to think that he could simply make stories up like that.
A clock chimed the hour after Arthur had been rambling for a while, and the toymaker looked up, sighing. "Ah..I've kept you here far too long, haven't I?" He asked, rubbing his arm with a sort of guilty smile. He seemed a little disheartened, and he looked at Alfred, and then at his glass case.
"Matthew doesn't want a doll, Alfred." He sighed, shaking his head.
Arthur picked up a large stuffed cat. It was orange, and had uniform yellow stripes on his back. Alfred shook his head. "No, Mattie doesn't like cats, he's allergic." He turned his back for only a moment to look at a price tag on a doll, but when he turned his head again the toy was completely different.
The cat had changed to a bear. Its ears went from pointed to round, and the face grew a snout and a big black nose. The tail was shortened, and the toy was now fluffy and white. A baby blue bow had been tied around the bear's neck, and there was a tag on it that read 'Kumajiro'.
Arthur held it out to him, an almost shy smile on his lips. "I do apologize for not finding this for you sooner, but you were just so interesting to talk to." Alfred took the toy, looking for a price tag, though there was none.
"Arthur, don't tell me this thing is like, super expensive, because it's perfect for him, I-"
"Take it." Arthur cut him off, and turned his head. He walked Alfred to the front of the store, but stopped when he got to the checkout counter. Alfred continued to the door, but before he went out, he turned, smiling at Arthur and giving a friendly wave.
"Hey, seriously, thanks Arthur. He's gonna love this-" He started, but then stopped, staring at the toymaker. Arthur's pupils had turned to slits, and he had pointed ears and teeth. Alfred rubbed his eyes, and when he looked at Arthur again he was normal.
Arthur just smiled at him, and hummed a cheery goodbye. Alfred pushed the door open, and went outside, where it had stopped raining.
He left the shop, and took the toy to Matthew when he went home. A few weeks later, there was a new doll in the glass case. A carefully crafted doll with blue eyes, blond hair, and a wide, friendly smile carved onto his lips.