She fell flat on her face as every ounce of her fighting spirit left her body. Once again they had spared. Once again, Lieselotte came out the victor.
Dorothy tried to stand up, but her wounds and her exhaustion made her stumble back on the pavement. As she looked at her opponent, she could clearly make out why people called this girl the Crimson-Eyed Criminal. Underneath the moonlight, her eyes glowed like blood-coated rubies.
Lieselotte showed no joy in beating Dorothy. Placing her doll back into her suitcase, Lieselotte began packing up to leave. This was normal behavior. Dorothy would find her, they would fight, and Lieselotte would escape with Dorothy's family treasure.
But this time, Lieselotte didn't immediately walk away. She inspected the magician for a moment, her expression impossible to read.
"Do you vant me to call one of your friends to pick you up?"
Dorothy scrunched up her nose in confusion. What a strange offer from her enemy. Not only that, but from an enemy that killed people for a living.
Silence stretched out for a long time. Lieselotte began walking toward Dorothy, causing the magician to shrink back.
"S-stay away!"
"You fool," Lieselotte chided softly, "If I vanted to kill you, I vould've done so a long time ago. I'm just seeing if you're okay."
"Why do you care?" Dorothy asked. Instead of answering, Lieselotte touched her shoulder. Dorothy shuddered and tried to back away, but the murderer had a firm grip on her. Lieselotte's shadow, which was actually her arcana, decided to help the German keep Dorothy in place. It placed itself underneath the magician and used it's powers to immobilize her. Dorothy cried out in fear.
"That's enough! The fight is over!" she insisted.
"It's not attacking you. You need to stop viggling around so much. It's hard for me to see you need medical attention. I may have overdone it a bit."
Was that...regret in her voice? Was Lieselotte actually concerned for Dorothy?
Dorothy internally shook her head. No, it couldn't be. She was just trying to trick her. To gain her trust so that she could get away with her jewel. But Dorothy wouldn't let her inside her head.
Lieselotte seemed satisfied with what she saw. She let go of Dorothy, but didn't back away. As a matter of fact, she was threateningly close to her. Dorothy gulped once. Suddenly, she was very afraid. She just remembered that although Lieselotte seemed like a harmless little girl, in reality she was a cold-blooded killer that showed no remorse for her victims.
It didn't matter what Heart said. Dorothy knew that Lieselotte hadn't changed one bit.
"Can you let me go now?"
Lieselotte stared without saying a word, showing no sign that she heard her. Dorothy licked her dry lips nervously and tried again.
"Please call your shadow off. I want to leave."
It seemed that snapped Lieselotte out of her creepy silence.
"I never liked that hat."
"Wha-" before Dorothy could react any further, Lieselotte yanked her top hat right off her head. Her long blond hair fell to her shoulders. "Hey! That's my disguise. I need that."
Lieselotte's face was suddenly inches from Dorothy's. Dorothy tried to say something else, but the words caught in her throat. Lieselotte stroke her chin with her thumb.
Dorothy wanted to leave. Why was the murderer touching her so tenderly? This wasn't anything like their encounters before. What was going on?
"You look a lot more like a doll this way."
Dorothy opened her mouth to ask Lieselotte to let her go. Or to ask Lieselotte what she was doing. Or to demand Lieselotte call of her shadow. But still she couldn't find her voice. Still she remained paralyzed in silence.
"I like dolls, you know."
Finally, finally, Dorothy forced herself to speak.
"Please let me go."
The hand withdrew from her cheek. Dorothy pretended like she didn't already miss the warm touch. Dusting off her tutu, Lieselotte stood up.
"I'll let you go...for now...my doll."
Swift as the wind, the Crimson-Eyed Criminal was gone. Dorothy found herself able to stand, albeit still hurting like crap. The magician put her hat back on.
The last thing Lieselotte said sounded an awful lot like a promise. What the promise was, Dorothy had no idea. She hoped she would never find out.
But she knew that she would.