A/N: In case some of you reading don't know this - Italics signify thoughts, memories, or sounds in my story. In other stories, they may signify different things
Garry woke up with a start or bolted upright. Or, at least he tried to. Unfortunately, he was strapped down to some sort of hard wooden table and only managed to raise his chest up by an inch or two before slamming his back down. As his memories flooded back, he noticed that the room was extremely dark, almost pitch black. He tugged at his restraints. They had strapped his wrists, ankles, and torso to the table with hard leather straps. Garry lifted his head to look around, but could hardly make out anything in the dark. He wanted desperately to yell Ib's name, but that would probably alert his kidnappers and he didn't want that. He suddenly heard a lock click and somewhere close by, a door creaked open. A thin beam of light trickled through the opening and got wider and brighter as someone entered the room. Garry closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, listening intently while keeping as still as possible. He suddenly got the urge to scratch an itch on his index finger, but refrained himself from moving. He heard the person approach him and stop right beside him. Garry's heart, at this point, was beating very quickly and seemed to be as loud as a staccato of gunfire on a silent night.
"Garry?"
Garry immediately recognized that voice. Although it sounded a bit weird and fuzzy, he knew who it was. It was Ib! But why was she here? How had she gotten here? Then an urge to open his eyes overtook him. He had to see her…make sure she was alright. He opened his eyes.
He opened his eyes. What a fool. He's really dumb isn't he? Aya watched as his eyes dawned upon her face, confusion clouding his eyes. Then his gaze moved towards the recording device in her right hand and it was quickly replaced by realization. Aya spoke in a sweet and innocent voice.
"Good morning Garry…again."
She watched as his mouth opened, then closed, unable to produce any words. She knew why. She had personally made sure to temporarily disable his vocal chords using her new technique. Of course, she has never used this before, so he was the lucky first experiment. If it didn't wear off by the next day, he would be mute forever.
"I got this handy device from your residence, if you were wondering about it. Strange device this is… Anyways, it would be a shame if the potion doesn't wear off and you become mute. I quite like your voice." Aya sighed as Maria walked in the room. "Let's both hope this works perfectly.
"Mistress." Maria bowed her head for a second. "Ib has requested to speak with Garry."
"Very well." Aya turned her back to Garry and proceeded to stroll out. "She won't be speaking with him per say, but she will to speaking to him. Oh, and Maria, would you please open the windows? It's awfully dark in here…not to mention extremely musty and stuffy."
As Aya made her way upstairs, she called for Ib. Ib came running down the stairs and breathed a small "thank you" before flying down the stairs and out of sight. She had the energy of a child. Oh wait, she is a child. Aya giggled at this thought. And children always make such fine dolls…
Ib gasped as she saw Garry's body strapped to a wooden block of wood or something. She ran and flung her arms over him in an awkwardly positioned hug.
"I missed you." She said, and pulled back, waiting for his response. His mouth moved silently, but nothing came out. She started to get worried. What had happened to her Garry? Panic filled her little heart. She hadn't experienced this intense feeling ever since that time when she thought she'd lost Garry to his own word of creepy dolls at the museum. A slap had brought him back and she had been so relieved, she hugged him tightly. That had also been the moment when she realized just how precious Garry was to her and she had vowed to always be there for him from then on out.
"What have you done to Garry!" She yelled.
Garry was shocked. He had never once heard Ib yell out or raise her voice. She was usually very quiet and shy, preferring to listen to others rather than speak herself. They were both startled when they heard Maria speak. She had appeared out of nowhere at the doorway, silent, quick; one moment she wasn't there, and the next, she was.
"He must have screamed until he lost his own voice, calling your name like that last night." Garry knew she was lying, but her stoic expression gave nothing away. "When we brought him here, he was knocked out. I believe there had been two robbers within your residence and we got there in time to fend them off and bring you two here. He's strapped so because he thought we were the assailants, which led his attack on us. We had to confine and subdue him."
Ib nodded slowly. "Thank you." She turned back to Garry and lay on top of him, breathing in his candy-like scent. "What does subdue mean, Garry?"
Maria left them like that. She could tell that Garry wanted tell the truth, but had no means of communicating with Ib. He looked almost comically frustrated and determined to speak. However, by the time he could speak, if he would ever be able to speak, it would already be too late. His precious little girl would become a beautiful and flawless doll for all eternity.
Aya brought Snowball out of her room and went outside to play for a while. Aya was already thinking of how perfect she would make Ib, and started planning on the dress she would have her wear. Would red and white be suitable colours? Her mind wandered to Garry. He was a handsome lad, looked to be her age, and was very interesting. In a way, she wanted him to be hers forever, maybe even marry her like how Mother had married Father. She wondered if he would ever be as understanding as her Mother had been…if they would ever have a child, become a happy family. But first, Aya thought as she shoo-ed Snowball away from the Mandrakes, I have to get rid of Ib.