I don't own the slayers .

1 The Doll Maker



Young Valteria walked down the street. He had to find a hatchday present for his foster mother. So far the ten year old (hundred in human years) dragon had had no luck whatsoever. He was running out of time and out of places to look. Valteria saw a store to his right, a store that he hadn't tried yet. "What have I got to lose?" He asked himself as he walked into the store.

As Valteria opened the door a small silver bell rang and a woman's voice called out. "Hello may I help you?" Valteria looked up and saw a young woman standing behind a stone counter. The woman had hazel eyes and short brown hair that only went a little down her shoulders. The woman was wearing a traditional kimono (which is red with purple flowers) complete with a purple obi sash.

"Umm yes please." He was caught off guard to see any one wearing a traditional kimono in this day and age. "I need to find my foster mother a…" He paused what did humans call hatchday? Ah yes. "A birthday present. Do you have anything she might like?" He asked her.

The woman smiled at him. "I think if you look around the store you might be able to find something that she would like." The woman told him. "Is there any type of doll that you think she would like?"

Valteria looked around the store it was indeed full of dolls. All the dolls were different, none looked exactly the same as any other. "Umm I'm not really sure."

"Would you like to look around for a few minuets?" The lady asked.

"You would let me do that?" Valteria was taken aback, most shopkeepers would have tossed him out. "Even among all these breakable things?"

"Of course I would. Your not going to break anything are you?" She asked her hazel eyes twinkling.

"No ma'am!"

"Then why shouldn't I let you look around for a few minuets?" She asked. "I'll be in the back room, finishing up a doll." She told him. "If you find something you think you foster mother would like let me know alright?"

"Sure." Valteria said still a little shocked at the woman's attitude, he thought that she was only joking. But she true to her word left the front of the store and went (as far as he could tell) in back. Valteria looked around at the dolls. The dolls were very pretty but he wasn't sure they would do for his foster mother. He sighed who would have thought shopping for his foster mother would be so hard. He looked around and saw a beautiful doll with long blue black hair, wearing a dark blue pants suit. "Wow!"

"Did you find something you like?" The woman asked as she came back into the front of the store. The woman is carrying something in her hands.

Valteria turned to her. "Maybe but I don't think so."

"Oh that's to bad." She frowned and put the doll down on the stone counter.

Valteria looks at the table and sees the doll. He saw a small porcelain doll. The doll had long blond hair and blue eyes she was wearing a white cloak with pink trim and a pink dress with white trim. She had a large blue gem as a cloak clasp, the gem also held on a cassock. The doll had gloves matching her cape and wore a circlet to match her cloak clasp but the most unusual thing about the doll was the strange pointed white hat with to ball like things hanging off it. It was the most remarkable thing but the doll reminded him of his foster mother. "What about that doll?" He asked the woman.

"This doll?" She asked as she pointed to the one she had just set down on the counter. "Well of coarse you may have this doll." She smiled.

"How much do I owe you?" He asked.

"Four gold coins." She told him.

Only four gold coins what luck, he had set aside ten gold coins for his foster mothers hatchday so this was a great deal. He got the money out and put it on the stone counter. "Thank you." He said.

"That's not a problem. Would you like the doll gift wrapped?" She asked him.

"Wrapped please." He said as she took the doll and placed her in a small wooden box. Then she wrapped the box in pink cloth covered in white tea cups. She neatly tied a bow around it with a white ribbon and handed the box back to him. "Thank you." Was all he could say as he walked out the door.

"Thank you come back soon." She called before he shut the door.