I just really wanted another Angie and Donna scene. So here ya go. Enjoy~

"Uh, yeah. Well, I'mma go ahead and take that stuff over to Donna. I'll be back in a few hours."

Theo walked through the village. A large wooden crate balanced on her right shoulder. She hummed happily to herself as she walked down the dirt path. The sun hung high in the sky, the cool autumn air blowing with the breeze.

A bright yellow ball rolled out onto the street, a young girl chasing it. The child couldn't be any older than six years old. Her long dirty blonde hair sat in a pair of pigtails atop her head. The ball rolled to a stop in front of Theodora's feet. Unlike the ball, the girl didn't stop. She ran straight into Theo and bounced back off her thigh, landing on the ground with a 'thud'. Theo stuck her hand out, offering it to the child. "You okay kid?"

"Yeah, I think so." She said as she took the redhead's hand. Theo gently pulled her to her feet. The girl looked up at the large crate. Her eyes widened slightly as she pointed to it. "That's a big box. Isn't that heavy?"

Theo gave her a smile. Unlike the adults in the village, the kids didn't seem to be scared of her. Granted, she knew that her being part of the Castle played a large role in the villager's fears. She was just glad that not everyone avoided her like the plague. "Nah."

"It looks heavy." Small hands rested on her hips.

"It's light as a feather. See?" With the crate balanced in her left hand, Theo lifted it straight up into the air.

The child looked up at the large wooden box, amazed. "Wow. My father can't lift boxes like that. How can you?"

"You wanna know my secret?" Theo said. Pigtails wiggled as she nodded her head excitedly. She placed the crate on the ground. Leaning down, she wiggled her finger, telling the girl to come closer. The child leaned in. "I drink a lot of milk and eat my vegetables."

A disgusted face stared back at her. "I don't like vegetables."

"Even eating one a day will help." Theo shrugged.

"Just one?"

"Just one." Theo assured. The girl stared at her, thinking over the secret she had been told.

A small group of women walked around the corner, chatting amongst themselves. One of the women tugged on another's dress sleeve. "Oh no. Isn't that your daughter by the Castle's new guard dog?"

"Adaline!" The older woman gasped. She practically shoved her basket into another woman's arms and ran over to the pair. She looked over to Theo, fear evident in her eyes, as she took her daughter's arm in her hand and pulled her behind her. She bowed, hoping to plead her case and spare her daughter from any wrath. "Please ma'am, whatever she's done, she didn't mean it."

Theo held her hands up in surrender, not wanting to panic the mother any more than her presence already had. She offered a friendly smile, hoping it would help. "Oh, no worries. She didn't do anything. We were actually just talking about her eating her vegetables. Isn't that right, kiddo?"

The child nodded excitedly. "Mommy! She says if I eat them, I can be strong like her!"

The woman let out a relieved sigh. When she had seen the newcomer, she had feared the worst. She had heard terrifying stories about the newest addition to the castle. Yet, the woman standing in front of seemed the opposite. "Thank you, ma'am."

She picked up the ball at her feet and handed it to Adaline. Taking Adaline's hand, her mother led her back to the other villagers. The blonde turned around and waved. Theo picked up the crate and waved back continuing on her way.

Theo admired the mansion ahead of her. It was the first time she had been in any of the other Lords' lands. Stepping up onto the large porch, she knocked on the wooden door. Slowly, the door creaked open. Without a second though, she entered the home.

The first thing that caught her eyes were the dolls that were scattered all over the room. Each of the dolls had their own personal features. Even their outfits were different. The large crate of fabrics definitely made more sense.

A small, pale, porcelain doll approached her. Her long brown curls framed her face. She wore a black dress with a matching black bonnet. A small crack sat on her blush painted cheek. She looked up to Theodora. "Who are you?"

"The name's Theo. I've got a gift from Lady Dimitrescu. Is Donna or Angie around?" Theo asked.

With a small 'tink', the doll clapped her hands together. "Oh! You're the one Angie told us about! My name's Sadie. They're down in the basement right now. Baby's been kind of bored as of late. So, one of the villagers was so kind enough to entertain him."

"Baby?"

"Yeah! If you'd like I could show you the way down. Donna says she'll be finished in a moment."

Since she hadn't heard Donna's voice, it was a safe bet that she had a telepathic connection to her dolls. "Sure."

Sadie walked over to a small doorway. She gestured to a button, far out of her reach, which Theo pressed. The doors opened, revealing an elevator. Its size was similar to the one in the castle. The doll stepped aside. Theo shifted, so she and the box could both comfortably fit. Pushing the sole button on the panel, the doors closed as the elevator began its descent below.

The bell dung as the elevator came to a stop. Stepping out, Theo was greeted with a long hallway. Gently, the redhead placed the box down. Theo heard the quiet footsteps behind her before she felt the pressure of something climbing up her back. Angie made herself comfortable, sitting on Theo's shoulder.

"Theo!"

"Hey Angie." A blur of blue caught Theo's eyes. Looking back down the hallway, a panicked middle-aged man stopped at one of the doors. Quickly, he ripped open the door before sprinting into the room. A large bloody blob appeared around the corner and slunk after the man. Its face was eerily close to a child's. Theo pointed her thumb out towards the creature. "Baby?"

Angie nodded throwing her hands in the air excitedly. "Baby!"

Theo nodded as she took in the new information. When Sadie had mentioned Baby, Theo's first thought had been of an overgrown baby doll, definitely not what she had seen. Shrugging it off, she looked back to the doll on her shoulder. "Cool. How's it hanging?"

"We've got one of those suckers from the villages to play with." Angie cackled. "Hey, what's in the box?"

"Those silks that Alcina ordered for Donna."

"Oooo. Donna's going to be so excited."

"I figured. That's why I brought them over right away."

"Theo. It's nice to see you." Donna's voice called as she stepped out of the room the man had entered. She opened her arms out and Angie jumped off of Theo's shoulder and into Donna's waiting arms. "Would you like some tea?"

"Sure!"

Donna led them back upstairs and into the kitchen. By the time they sat down, the teapot had just started to whistle. Theo assumed that one of the other dolls must have started it. The trio took their seats opposite each other.

"How have things been going with Big Sis?" Angie questioned as Donna stirred the sugar in her tea.

"Fine, why do you ask?"

"No reason. You know, she really likes you."

"I mean she keeps me around so I'd hope so."

"I mean she really, really likes you."

Donna nearly choked on her tea. Alcina had called her a few days prior. During their call, the redhead had become the topic of conversation. Alcina had mentioned her new found interest Theodora, but had decided against bringing it up just yet. An infatuation, she had called it. Donna didn't know who the vampire was trying to convince. Either way, if her beloved doll spilt the information... Donna shuddered to think of the rage they'd face. "Angie, would you please go check on Baby and our guest?"

Angie huffed from her seat, crossing her wooden arms. She had wanted to get more information about her sister's apparent crush. Donna lifted her from her lap, placing her on the ground beside her. "Fiiiine."

Donna watched her leave before turning back to her guest. "My apologies. Angie can be a little excitable at times."

"It's okay. She's no worse than the girls." Theo chuckled.

"Ah yes." Donna said. Over the years she had heard plenty of stories of her nieces. "I've heard that they can be quite a handful at time."

Theo shrugged. "Yeah, but they mean well."

Her comment surprised the dollmaker. All of the people that managed to get to know her sister and her nieces never gave them any sort of praise. They called them monsters, demons, even devils. Yet this woman sat across from her, not a hint of malice or sarcasm in her words. "You are a strange woman." Not wanting her guest to be offended by her comment, Donna quickly continued. "What I mean to say is, you're an outsider. Yet you've accepted everything that we do."

"Yeah, I don't like to judge."

"Most people would."

"I'm not most people."

"Clearly." The two continued to chat amongst themselves. Theo shared stories of her travels before she had come to the village. Donna, in turn, shared stories of her past experiences with her siblings. Neither paying attention to how much time passed, both just content to be having a pleasant conversation.

"Baby's got the stupid villager cornered. The idiot ran into the dead end." Angie laughed as she reappeared into the room, taking her seat in Donna's lap.

Theo finished the last of her tea. Looking out the kitchen window, she could see the sun had already started to set. "Thank you for the tea. I had fun! It's getting late though, so I should be heading back."

Donna nodded and rose from her seat. Seeing your guests out is common courtesy, Donna. Her mother had told her. Donna came to a stop as the door opened. Theo stepped past her and onto the porch. Angie waved from the doorway of their home. "Come back and visit us!"

Theo turned around and waved back. "I will! Thanks again!"

Angie looked up to Donna as she closed the door. "I hope Big Sis keeps her around."

Donna lifted her veil, a small smile on her face. The short time spent with the redhead was more than enough for her to understand what her older sister seen in the woman. "As do I."

"Theooo." She hadn't even made it through the door before Cassandra's voice echoed through the entrance hall. The brunette stood at the top of the stairs, waiting impatiently. Which only meant one thing, she wanted something. "Will you go out hunting with us?"

"I don't know, Cas. I have some stuff to do." It wasn't a complete lie. She still had to check up on the casks that were due to be sent out over the next few days. After that she planned on calling it a night and trying to get some sleep. Her chat with Alcina earlier in the day had immensely calmed her nerves. She hoped it was enough to finally catch up on the sleep that she'd missed.

"You've been gone all daaaay." Dani's voice whined.

"What about your mother?" Theo asked as walked up the staircase. Reaching the top, she looked around. Cassandra stood beside her, leaning against the wall. The other two occupied the couch closest to the entrance. Daniela lay with her feet over the back of the couch, so her head dangled over the edge, and Bela sat with a closed book on her lap.

Their mother had been their first choice when it came to hunting, seeing how they all knew Theo wouldn't actually participate. They hadn't even gotten the chance to ask her before she snatched up one of the maids and made her way into the basement, telling them she'd be busy for the rest of the night. That only left them one option for a hunting partner. Cassandra groaned. "She took one of those stupid little maids down into the dungeon hours ago."

"The blonde one?"

"Yeah."

"Welp."

"Please! It's already late into October. We won't stay out long!" the redheaded daughter begged as she flipped herself around. Her legs found their way to her sister's lap.

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Don't forget Dani, she hasn't been around for winter months. So, she probably doesn't know." Bela said as she knocked her sister feet off of her. She turned back to Theo. "As you know, we're mostly made up of insects. Because of that, our bodies can't be out in certain temperatures. If we're exposed to anything below freezing, there's a good chance we'll die."

"In other words, we only have a few more days of good weather left. Will you pleeeease go with us?"

Theo processed the information. She had known that the girls' bodies had been converted into a form of flies, but she hadn't known about the temperatures. Now that Bela had explained it, it made sense. She looked over the girls, each one had a hopeful look in their eyes.

What's one more night without sleep?

"Yeah, okay."

"We should tell Mother." A faint scream of pain echoed throughout the castle. The siblings all shared an unsure look. "Or, maybe just leave a note."

Theo nodded. They all knew very well that the Lady of the castle didn't like being disturbed. Especially when she was in a foul mood. "Good idea."

Quickly Cassandra scribbled a note and sat it on the table in the center of the room. The girls flew out of the castle, dragging Theo behind them.