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Alastor didn’t know why he allowed himself to get talked into these things, really, he didn’t. He suspected that it was something to do with the fact he was physically incapable of backing down from a challenge. It also probably had something to do with the fact that Vox was in the room because the media demon’s presence was always a sure fire way to bring out his competitive streak.
He hadn’t bargained on Velvet being the one to win, however.
It had been a harmless enough suggestion, the doll demon pulling out a deck of cards after a particularly late night party at the Magne residence and suggesting they wind down with a few drinks and a game or two. Valentino had been the one to suggest a silly British card game called ‘Scabby Queen’ that he’d played as a human that apparently the three of them played quite a lot together. Alastor probably should have been suspicious the second that Velvet and Vox’s faces lit up with twinned, wicked grins at the suggestion.
“What, pray tell, is a scabby queen?” Alastor asked calmly, taking a seat at the card table opposite Vox with Velvet and Valentino on either side of him.
“A shitty drag act,” Val cackled, taking the cards from Velvet and showing off riffle shuffling the deck several times on the felt of the table. The deck itself was unremarkable apart from the fact that the royal suits featured images of Lucifer, Lilith and their daughter Charlotte rather than the typical generic face cards on earth.
“It’s the Queen of Spades,” Vox explained to him, the image flashing up on his screen for a second before dissolving away in a crackle of red pixels. “Scabby Queen is just Old Maid but you play it for raps.” He pulled his pile towards him as Valentino dealt out all of the cards, slipping the other three Queen cards back into the box. “Same rules as Old Maid, the Queen of Spades doesn’t have a queen to pair with so if you end up with her at the end of the game, you lose.”
“And ‘raps’ are?” Alastor enquired patiently, fanning his hand of cards and starting to discard the pairs he had already gained. It was a terrible starting hand with very few pairs to discard leaving him with a sizable hand of eight cards including the unwanted Queen.
“Loser cuts the deck and draws a card,” Velvet took her turn explaining. “Red for soft, black for hard and the number on the card is how many you get.” She mimed rapping her knuckles with the edge of her hand of cards. She, on the other hand, seemed to have discarded most of her cards already, leaving her gleefully fanning out five cards following her little demonstration.
“How childish,” Alastor frowned, wrinkling his nose and placing his hand of singles face down in front of him. “An immature fallout that is best reserved for the playground.”
“Coward,” Val snorted.
“Sensible,” Alastor corrected him. “I have no desire to allow anyone at this table to strike my hand like a disobedient child.”
“Ok, fine,” Velvet sighed before Val or Vox had a chance to interrupt and complain. “Winner gets to ask one favour- within reason-“ she added, catching sight of Valentino’s lewd smirk, “-of the loser. Sound fair? Winner is the first to get rid of their hand. Right, ladies first so I’ll start!”
She leaned to her left and drew a card from Vox’s fan, laughing gleefully as she made a pair straight away and discarded the 7 of Clubs and the 7 of Hearts. The rest of them weren’t as lucky, the round continuing round the table with none of the male participants gaining anything to discard.
“Why is everything apples?” Vox sighed, fingering the edge of the 10 of Hearts he took from Val to pair up with the matching diamond card in his hand. In place of the hearts on those cards the symbol was a bright, shining red apple. “Thanks, by the way, babe.” He place the cards down in the centre and put his hand face down, reaching out for his drink.
“Probably for the exact same reason everything you produce has blue lightning volts on,” Alastor replied, sighing in frustration when he ceased to obtain yet another pair drawing from Velvet’s hand. His hand was growing decidedly full in comparison to everyone else at the table and now the doll demon was grinning ear to ear holding just three cards in her hand.
“Thematic, innit?” Val agreed, lazily fanning himself with his deck, seemingly totally uninterested in the game. Every time he took a card from Alastor he’d take the opportunity to let his fingers linger for just a second too long, stroking his hand with his thumb as he drew the card out. He had nothing to discard by the end of that round but Velvet was still on a roll, dropping a set of pairs every single time she took a card from Vox to her left.
“Why are you so good at this?” Vox asked in wonder as she sat beaming over her two remaining cards.
“Just lucky!” Velvet smiled, fluttering her eyelashes. She grinned at Alastor, “Voxxy doesn’t like this game because you can’t strategize it. He counts cards like a bitch when we play blackjack.”
“It’s not cheating it’s just using your brain,” Vox pointed out smugly. He was joining Alastor in his frustration as the rounds continued and he seemed to just be collecting cards like it was going out of fashion whilst Velvet and Val seemed to keep getting pairs. The doll demon clapped her hands merrily at the end of round four when she proudly placed her final two cards on the table.
“I win! I win!” She sang, pumping her fists. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, making a theatrical display of choosing what she wanted as a prize. “Oooh! I know,” she giggled. “Loser has to come for a tea party on Sunday afternoon with me!”
Alastor blinked in confusion as the men beside him both paled.
“I’m…sorry?” He asked, tilting his head. “A tea party?”
“That’s what I said,” Velvet smiled sweetly, taking out her phone and taking a quick victory selfie.
“Hardly seems like a chore,” Alastor frowned, taking his next card as the game continued. He finally got a pair to discard but the Queen of Spades, with Lilith pictured in a clinging black dress, had still been tauntingly in his hand since the deck was first divided out.
“You’ve never had tea with Velvet before,” Vox muttered darkly, letting out a frustrated whine as he took Val’s last card and gave the moth demon second place. Now it was just him and Alastor, conveniently sitting opposite each other. Without prompting both of them slipped their hands under the table to reshuffle, as if somehow the other had a way of knowing what was in their hands. Alastor smirked as he saw Vox glance sideways at a shadow cast on the wall like he was trying to work out if it was one of Alastor’s or not.
“Surely you aren’t scared of a little tea and cake?” Alastor prompted, reaching over for his next card once they both lifted their hands back up.
“Not a chance, I just- shit!” Vox cursed as he took a card from Alastor and saw the black queen smiling up at him. He dropped his hand back under the table to shuffle his hand once again, fanning his hand of three for Alastor to choose from. He sighed in relief when Alastor took his Queen card straight back. Now he just needed to make sure he didn’t get that again and he’d be fine.
He studied Alastor’s hand carefully, trying to pinpoint if there was a crease or a mark on the cards anywhere to help him try to guess which one was the Queen he’d held onto for a few brief, terrifying seconds. His hand hovered over them. He needed to choose the four or the king so he could discard his last pair then Alastor wouldn’t be able to help but take his and end up left with the solo Queen.
“Hurry up, man,” Alastor prompted. “They aren’t going to change suit as you look at them.”
“Give me a break,” Vox snapped. Still, he eventually settled on a card, his eyes screwed shut as he did so. One eye cracked open on his screen. The Four of Clubs. “Oh, thank Satan!” he sighed, putting his pair of fours down and holding up his last, single card for Alastor to take.
The King of Clubs. The radio demon placed down his pair of kings and flipped round the remaining card, Lilith’s image almost seeming to smile triumphantly. He placed it down on top of the discarded deck and held up his hands in mock defeat.
“Oh, how terrible, I have to endure Velvet’s company whilst drinking coffee and eating nice food,” he sighed with a melodramatic hand over his heart.
"Yay!" Velvet cheered whilst Vox took a hefty swig of his drink in relief. She gathered the cards up and reshuffled them, placing them back in the centre of the table in case they wanted to play anything else. “I love having new guests over! You’ll have to tell me all of your favourite sweets and what you like to drink.”
“Quite,” Alastor nodded stiffly. He couldn’t quite see what Valentino and Vox had looked so anxious about. What was so terrifying about a simple afternoon tea party? They dealt out the cards once more, taking Vox’s suggestion that they play something less left to chance that involved a bit more strategy. They played for favours in a game of blackjack and Vox took great delight in taking victory from Valentino.
“It’s getting late, wanna go cash it in now, babe?” Val leered, taking his coat from the back of his chair and slipping it on.
Vox matched his grin and nodded, sweeping the cards back up into his hand and passing them to Velvet. “You going to get home alright, Vel?” He asked her, smoothing down his jacket and neatening up his cuffs.
“Mm-hm,” Velvet nodded. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Ok, Sugar Plum,” Vox leant over and kissed her forehead, ruffling her hair after and making her growl in annoyance as it messed up her carefully done curls. The media demon just laughed indulgently as she took out a compact to inspect the damage. As she fixed his mess he dipped his head down and whispered to Alastor on the way past.
“She’s harmless, just don’t drink the strawberry tea,” he advised him quietly, patting him smartly on the back and winking. “Have fun!”
o0o
Velvet’s residence was a house just on the borders of the Pridelands where the royal grounds met the rest of Pentagram City. No one questioned why the seemingly sweet and unassuming doll demon had permission to reside so close to Lucifer’s palace and Alastor followed that same rule. Somethings were best not asked about.
Appearing in an ostentatious whirl of shadows Alastor rapped his fist on the door and tapped his foot impatiently. Clasped in his hands was a pristine white box tied with a soft pink bow decorated with delicate strawberry motifs. When Velvet answered the door he held it out to her with a polite smile.
“My mother always told me that one should arrive for tea bearing gifts,” he explained as she took the box and immediately tugged the bow off. Inside were several carefully iced cupcakes all decorated with woodland animals crafted from fondant and chocolate. Velvet squealed in delight and set the box down on a small side table, throwing her arms around Alastor in a fit of excitement.
“They’re beautiful!” She trilled happily, releasing him from her surprisingly vice like grasp and picking the box back up. “Thank you so much. Come on through, the tea room is this way.” Without looking behind to check if Alastor was indeed following she skipped off down the long hallway, her bright coloured curls bouncing in time with her movements. She was clothed in a sweet cream coloured dress with ribbons and flowers adorning the lace trim of the skirt which sat over multiple layers of petticoats. Alastor was reminded of a nursery rhyme book he’d had as a child with a story about a girl having her porridge stolen by a spider, the over the top dress remarkably similar to the picture accompanying the rhyme.
Velvet’s home was a homage to all things chintz and floral. The wallpaper in the ‘tea room’ as she called it was a pale pink and blue pattern of small blossoms surrounded by twisting vines and leaves. Mirrors and picture frames surrounded the walls on all sides, making it seem like a vintage style recreation of Versailles, reflections of the decorations showing in every corner.
In the centre of the room sat a small table covered by a white cloth and laid out neatly with quaint china and cutlery. In the middle of it a cake stand was displayed, finger sandwiches and cakes climbing all the way up it in a mouth-watering display of elegant indulgence. Alastor caught the scent of freshly brewed tea and strawberry jam, his mouth-watering at the sight of all the treats on display.
Four chairs sat around the table, but two of them were already occupied. A sweet porcelain doll was perched on one of them on top of an overstuffed cushion which allowed her to sit at table height and see over the edge, whilst opposite her sat a grinning teddy bear. Lacking the same structure that the doll had the bear was limply lolling forward in its seat and Velvet rushed to correct it, tenderly patting the teddy on the head and placing a kiss on its nose.
“Really, Velvet?” Alastor asked with a small ‘tsk’ of disapproval. “I know you are not nearly as young as you like to make out so is there really any need for such theatrics?”
The doll demon ignored him and started to take the cupcakes he had gifted her out of the box, neatly arranging them around the bottom tier of the cake stand and straightening it just so. She stepped back to admire her work, clapping her hands at the scene and taking out her phone to capture an artistic shot of the set up. Her work complete, she turned to Alastor and wagged her finger teasingly.
“Don’t be rude, Alastor,” she chided with a tinkling laugh. “A good house guest shouldn’t speak ill of their host.”
Alastor let out a huffing sigh. “Very well,” he replied, pulling out one of the vacant seats and making a move to sit down. With a flurry of movement Velvet was at his side, daringly slapping his knuckles and causing him to let go in surprise.
“You aren’t dressed yet!” She told him with a shake of her head, striped curls flying around in a whip like motion. “You can’t come to tea dressed like that.” She released his hands and stood with her hands on her hips, looking him up and down with a critical eye. Bouncing up on her tip toes she reached up one hand, trying to judge his height with a look. “Hm…” she mused out loud. “You’re a lot shorter than Valentino is, but sort of the same height as Vox.” She looked down at his shoes next, nudging one of her feet alongside his.
“What on earth are you doing?” Alastor demanded, taking a step back to reduce the proximity. He’d already allowed her to get away with her hugging him as a form of greeting but he was certainly not prepared to grant her more opportunities.
“Working out your dress size, silly goose,” Velvet giggled. “I told you that you weren’t dressed properly. You can’t have tea in that smelly old suit.”
It was now as Alastor cared to take a closer look around the room that he realised that one of the mirrored walls was dominated by a huge armoire. As Velvet danced over to it with a flick of her skirts she pulled open the doors to reveal a row of beautiful dresses in all colours and sizes. The one thing that was consistent through all of them, however, was that they all looked as if they were straight out of a doll collector’s magazine.
“Absolutely not,” Alastor said firmly.
“Oh, well,” Velvet shrugged patiently. “If you say so.” She gestured to the table laid out with treats and smiled sweetly, like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. “Take a seat, would you like some tea to start with?”
"Yes, please," Alastor nodded, content that she had given up on his foolish notion. She might be able to wrap Valentino and Vox around her fingers to dress them up following a childish dare but there was no way in Hell he was going to allow himself to be lowered to such immaturity. He sat down at the table and neatly tugged his chair under, selecting a teacup and saucer decorated with red roses from the selection laid out on the table and placing it next to his empty plate.
“I’ll be mother,” Velvet simpered, picking up one of the teapots and starting to pour it carefully into Alastor’s cups. “I heard you liked strawberries so I brewed something extra special for you, it tastes like strawberry cream.” She took the strainer from the top of his cup and checked nothing had filtered through with a quick flick round with the spoon. Satisfied, she gestured for Alastor to take it, placing the pot down next to his plate. “If you want more you can top it up as you wish,” she smiled, taking a seat and pouring herself something different from another pot. Her cup was decorated with pink peonies and the sharp hint of earl grey and lemon drifted across the table as she poured.
“This smells heavenly,” Alastor complimented her, taking the cup and smelling it appreciatively. Pink steam drifted from the cup as he took an experimental sip, humming in approval before taking another. "And it tastes divine,” he added.
“Drink up.” Velvet spooned some sugar into her cup, stirring and watching Alastor intently from across the table. She didn’t have to wait long and as she began to cut a slice of cake for herself she watched Alastor start to struggle to keep the hand holding the cup upright.
“What’s…” His voice slurred a little as his shoulders sagged.
“That’ll be the rocuronium,” Velvet commented, flinching as he fell to the side and hit the floor, smashing the teacup on the carpet and staining the soft cream with a deep red. “Oh, fiddlesticks, most people have the sense to put the cup down first!” She chided, taking a delicate drink of her own before standing up to clear the broken pieces. “This was part of a set, Alastor!”
She placed the broken china on the table and rolled him onto his back, stroking his hair when he whined in frustration. “Ssh, it’s ok. It only lasts for a few hours and once you’re sat up you’ll be fine.” Patting his cheek she straightened up and skipped over to the row of dresses, leafing through them until she eventually settled on a deep burgundy one trimmed with cream lace and a high collar. She held it up against herself and swirled, handing it on the handle of the door for safe keeping as she rummaged through some drawers.
“Do you mind wearing Vox’s underthings?” She asked seriously. “They’re clean, obviously, but if you like I could loan you some of mine- they just might be a bit more of a squeeze.”
There weren’t words invented yet to describe the collection of noises Alastor made at that question and Velvet rolled her eyes in annoyance. “I’ll take that as you don’t mind,” she sighed, taking out a heavily embroidered set of drawers, a chemise and a pink corset. “You’ll be able to move your mouth in a few minutes,” she reassured him, placing the items down on the floor next to him and kneeling down by his side. “I just find it’s easier for this part if you can’t talk.”
She cupped his cheek and smoothed her thumb over the angle of his lips as if appraising him like a buyer. “I love getting new dollies,” she purred.
With a clinical type of detachment she began to unbutton his jacket, easing it off of him with a practiced tug as she supported under his shoulders and lifted him to half sitting. His shirt joined his jacket on the floor and Velvet’s eyes lit up with concern at all the scars on his skin. Tracing one with her fingertip she pouted sympathetically. “Somebody didn’t take very good care of this doll,” she tutted, following the criss cross of marks that ran all over his chest and arms with her eyes. “Don’t worry, I still think you’re very pretty!”
Picking up the chemise first she placed it over his head and fed his arms through the sleeves, pulling at the drawstrings to flounce the sleeves into perfect puffball shapes. Next she straightened the neckline and adjusted that too, pulling the length of it all down over his hips.
“This way I don’t have to see how anatomically correct you are,” she explained as she worked at taking his trousers and underwear off under the chemise, drawing them down his hips and pausing to unfasten his shoes before taking everything off in one swipe. Now all of his clothes were off she folded them up with great care, setting them to one side on a shelf by the wardrobe- there was no need, after all, to send him home in wrinkled clothes that had been lazily cast aside.
Next followed the drawers, and with the same careful actions she pulled them up over his legs and secured them at the waist, fluffing out the lace that gathered around each calf and smoothing everything out. “Normally these would be split- if we were being accurate,” she told him as she worked. “But I heard you don’t like that sort of thing, so don’t worry you’re perfectly safe and contained.” She giggled softly and pulled him up to sitting once again, wrapping her arms around him and hugging tightly as his body locked into the position like a real doll. She sshed his protests again and stroked his hair until he calmed down, whispering in his ear and planting a soft kiss against the tufted fur.
“We’ll have fun, I promise,” she told him, drawing back and slipping the corset around his waist. “Now you have to trust me,” she instructed, fastening the busk down the front and moving to the laces at the back. “You can breathe just fine in this, but people seem to have this mad notion the first time that they can’t so just relax.” She tittered in amusement, “well, I guess that tea has you as relaxed as you can be but you know what I mean.”
She stood up once she was done tightening the laces, finishing them with a lovely bow tie and brushing them down his back. She looked him up and down in approval. The drawers cling to his legs beautifully, the lace accents at the mid-calf a lovely addition to add that little touch of prettiness that would show under the frills of the dress once she put it on for him. The corset cinched in his waist by several inches, giving the radio demon curves that no one would have thought possible until they saw him like this.
“Now your petticoats and your dress,” Velvet sang happily. The layers of fabric rustled musically as she gathered up the petticoat skirts and slipped them over his head, fanning them out once she got to his waist and finishing it off with the dress. She fastened the buttons with a loving attention, clasping a small strawberry shaped broach at the high lace collar for a final touch.
“Velvet- I must insist you stop!” Alastor protested, the effects finally wearing off his jaw at last. The doll demon simply smiled in reply, hugging her arms around his waist once more and bolding picking him up from the floor with unnatural strength and placing him back on the chair he’d fallen from.
“Nuh-uh,” she teased, wagging her finger in front of his face and tapping him on the nose. “You promised to have tea with me; that was the deal. It isn’t my fault you didn’t understand what that meant and didn’t ask.”
"Why would anyone presume such a thing!” Alastor huffed, watching in horror as she took out a pair of silk stockings and wide heeled Mary Jane shoes. Rolling up the stockings she lifted up one of his feet and began to put them on, stopping at his knees and tying a ribbon garter around them to hold them perfectly in place. She repeated this with the other stocking before clasping on the shoes. They were white with red bows on the buckles, absolutely pristine and clearly never been worn anywhere except inside.
“Just enjoy it,” She advised him, turning his chair so that he was now seated back at the table. It made a lovely scene, her tea set for four with her beautiful new doll sitting neatly in his place ready to enjoy the party. “Usually I’d do your hair and make-up as well,” she admitted. “But if you don’t want to we don’t have to.”
“Oh, how lovely, I get an opinion in this farce now, do I?” Alastor hissed. He felt utterly helpless in the chair, unable to move even a finger to summon his eldritch shadows to his aid. He could simply speak and blink, nothing else. He could see his reflection from all angles in the multiple mirrors that decorated the tearoom, displaying on all sides just how much of a doll he really looked dressed up in a beautiful tea dress and adorned with lace and ribbons.
“Would you like some cake?” Velvet ploughed on, cutting a second slice and lifting it onto his plate. “It’s Victoria sponge, very nice with tea. Then afterwards we can try your cupcakes, won’t that be simply lovely?”
"Velvet, please, this is utterly ridiculous,” Alastor told her, a low, irritated buzz of static under his words. His body felt knotted up with the stress of being so powerless, the usual feeling of strength immediately at his fingertips that he had taken for granted ever since he fell here was totally gone and he was starting to become acutely aware of how much he’d gotten used to it. This paralysis, this helplessness, was totally alien. He bared his fangs as Velvet swapped seats with the ridiculous over-stuffed teddy bear so that she was now sitting next to him and able to reach him quite comfortably. His reply to her cutting off a small piece of the cake slice and offering it up to his mouth on a dainty dessert fork was a venomous growl.
“Open wide,” she ordered, placing one finger on his lip and, totally mindless of the fact he could bite her at any second, pressed down to encourage him to open. She pushed the fork between his parted lips with lightning speed, grinning happily as he chewed and swallowed with a face that looked ready for murder. “Smile, dolly.”
“I’m not your dolly,” he muttered through gritted teeth, fighting the urge to flick his tongue out and catch the smear of icing that Velvet had left on the corner of his mouth. She picked up a napkin and dabbed at it, frowning when he succeeded in jerking his head slightly to move away.
“Oh, rats, it’s wearing off a lot faster on you,” she sighed, cutting off another bit of cake to feed him. “I do hope you calm down soon, it’s a lot more fun if you just play along.”
“How, pray tell, am I supposed to ‘calm down’ as you put it when a demented little child insists on indulging her perverted desires with me against my will?” Alastor demanded, spluttering as Velvet forced the fork back into his mouth with a lot less delicacy than before. She stood up, holding it there and towering over his seated form before jerking it out and throwing it onto the table. The china rattled at the impact and Alastor actually felt himself involuntary flinch through the strength of the drugs in his system.
“Perverted?” Velvet spat. “You think this is all about sex? Satan be damned, you sound just like Valentino. He doesn’t get it either!” She stamped her foot angrily. She would have looked like a child throwing a tantrum over not getting a new toy if her presence wasn’t so overbearingly threatening right now. Her eyes glowed a rabid pink and the curls of her hair lengthened to whip like tendrils, her nails slowly splitting into razor sharp claws. “Men! Honestly! Dollies are about so much more than just boring old in and out sex. It’s got nothing to do with that. It’s about control, it’s about looking pretty. It’s about enjoying something simple together.”
“I don’t-“
“Shut up!” Velvet cut him off. “You’ve been rude and dismissive ever since you walked through the door and it’s not nice at all! I wanted a nice tea party, that you promised we could have together and now- and now you’re ruining it!” She balled up her fists, trying to control her demon form on top of her erratic emotions.
Alastor felt shamed. Not because of the clothing, or the shoes or even the fact he was apparently wearing something that his rival supposedly also had worn in the past. No, he felt ashamed because everything the doll demon standing so upset next to him was saying was true.
“Velvet, my dear…” he said quietly. “You have my sincerest apologies. I… behaved very abhorrently.” He bit his lower lip, at a loss for words for the first time in his death. “I was… caught off guard by your requests,” he continued, trying to keep his voice level and stop the tremor in it that threatened. “Please, explain it to me some more and I will endeavour to understand.”
“Thank you,” Velvet murmured, the claws retracting and her eyes and hair returning to something akin to normal. She bobbed down and kissed his cheek, picking up the plate of cake again and resuming feeding him as she began to explain. To her absolute delight Alastor didn’t protest as she fed him and she even saw the beginnings of a smile start to form on his lips.
“My favourite part about playing with dollies is making them look pretty,” she told him, dabbing at his lips again as a bit of frosting caught on his lip. “There’s something so special about a person letting you dress them up and do what you want with them and patiently sit there whilst you make them look so nice.”
“I imagine it’s rather relaxing for the person- sorry, the doll- as well?” Alastor asked curiously.
“Mm-hm,” Velvet nodded, placing the now empty plate back on the table and starting to pour him a cup of tea from the pot she’d served herself from, the one that did not contain stealth drugs. She put the new cup to his lips and lovingly helped him tilt his head back, guiding him so that he didn’t spill or choke. “They like not having to make any decisions either. When you’re a dolly you just go where your owner wants you to. See?” She demonstrated by lifting one of his arms and bending it at the elbow, the paralyser in his system making his joints rigid and set wherever she chose to put them. Like a doll. She carefully curled his fingers around the saucer and placed the cup in his other hand, extending his pinkie with a little giggle. “You just trust them that they won’t hurt you or do anything bad. Unless you want to of course. Valentino likes being a naughty dolly and so does Angel.”
“You do this with a lot of the other demons and Overlords?” Alastor asked in surprise. “I would never have guessed.”
“Because I’m discrete, silly!” Velvet laughed, observantly tilting his hand a little when she saw the cup was in danger of spilling onto his dress. “You know, Vox offered me three grand to leave the door unlocked today so that he could ‘accidentally’ walk in and see you.”
“And you said?”
“No, of course,” Velvet said simply. “I’m not in the business of humiliating my dollies. Some people like that but for me it’s not about embarrassing a person, it’s about freeing them.”
“Show me.”
“Would you like me to do your hair like I suggested?” She asked, her grin widening when Alastor murmured in agreement. “Wonderful!” She went back over to the dresser and took out a small vanity case and a basket full of ribbons and hair clips adorned with different charms and colours. She also brought a small mirror which she placed on the table so Alastor could watch. “Watching is sometimes the best part,” she told him.
“But for now, just close your eyes and relax.” Alastor’s nose twitched at the tickly feel of a brush sweeping over his cheeks, opening his eye a fraction to try and see what she was doing and being rewarded with a sting of powder in his eye for his troubles. After that he obediently kept them shut as Velvet applied the base layer, then felt something skimming over his brushed eyelids as well. He dearly wanted to know what Velvet was doing to him but something inside of him reminded him that his ‘owner’ had told him to keep his eyes closed. A wave of calm washed over him as Velvet worked, making him feel utterly at peace as various different brushes and pads were worked over his skin.
“Ok, open them!” Velvet instructed, holding up the tiny mirror so he could see.
His eyes were lined with a soft, powdery shadow blending out in natural shades against his greyish skin. He had expected it to look almost pantomime given the fact he had never indulged in make up before but he found he rather appreciated the look Velvet had given him. It wasn’t overblown or crude, rather it accentuated his eyes and made them look bright and wide. There was something applied over his lashes that lengthened them and a line of subtle eyeliner in a cat’s eye shape that made him look coy and feminine.
“What about my lips?” He heard himself saying, startled by his own forwardness.
“Of course, silly me,” Velvet giggled. She took the cup and saucer out of his hands at last, flexing his fingers out once more and resting them daintily on his lap. She held out a selection of colours for him from the vanity case. “Which do you like?”
“I’m your doll,” he said softly, his voice was barely a whisper, a subtle haze over his eyes as he leant into the role with vigor. “You choose what you like best, Miss Velvet.”
"Queen of Hearts it is!" She trilled. “Seems fitting considering a card game is why you ended up here.” She cupped his chin with one hand and mimed stretching her lips, encouraging him to copy her before applying a swipe of the vivid red colour. “There, very beautiful. Now, shall we finish our tea party?”
“Yes, Miss Velvet.”
And so Velvet resumed feeding him, taking great care to ensure not a single drop of tea was spilled or that a crumb or icing landed on his dress. When she came to the animal cupcakes Alastor had brought she gestured to the stand and tilted his head for him to see them all. “I think the cute little bambi one is best for you,” she decided, peeling off the casing and guiding it into his mouth. Carefully helping keep his head steady as he ate she smiled softly, watching him drift away to a happy place with his eyes half closed.
“I think we should do your hair next,” She decided once all the food was done. Once again showing a lot of power for her small frame she picked Alastor up and sat him down on the floor, straightening out his legs and fanning his frilly skirt out around him, mimicking the pose of the porcelain doll sitting at the table with them. Kneeling down behind him she started to methodically brush his hair out with the soft brush she had brought, taking care not to tug or pull at a single strand.
She could feel Alastor relaxing more under her ministrations, his shoulders dropping a little as the drug started to wear off but he didn’t appear to notice it. Tenderly, she brushed out the last of his hair and started to divide the longer parts that hung down his neck into two small pigtails. She fastened them with a red ribbon each and set to work fluffing the tufts of his ears. The radio demon let out a contented hum as she worked and eventually she put the brush down and started to gently massage the base of his ears with her hands, letting him drop back against her a little and supporting his back against her chest.
“See?” She whispered, resting her chin on his head as he slumped against her. “I told you it was good if you relaxed.”
“Yes, Miss Velvet,” he hummed quietly, resting heavier against her and not protesting as Velvet gently lowered him to lay on his side on the plush carpet. Quietly she got up from the floor and took the teddy bear from its chair. Creeping back over to her now dozing doll she lifted one of his arms up and slipped it against his chest. Instinctively he hugged the toy close.
“Good dolly,” she murmured, sitting back down on the floor next to him and coaxing his head onto her lap. Lovingly she stroked his hair as he drifted away, smiling affectionately as he nuzzled closer in his sleep and clutched at the teddy bear. “Thank you for letting me play with you.”
o0o
A an hour or two later Alastor groggily woke up to find himself still curled up on Velvet’s lap and some sort of stuffed animal clutched between his arms. With a rush of static he sat bolt upright and dropped the toy to the floor, his hands flying up to his face in a panic.
“What happened?” He asked.
“Ssh, calm down, nothing bad,” Velvet told him. “You’re just a bit disorientated, it happens.” She reached out with her hand and squeezed his shoulder, fluffing the sleeve of his dress back out. “Come here.”
Tentatively he shuffled back closer to her, allowing her to put her arms around him and soothingly stroke his shoulders. “You were an excellent dolly,” she praised him. “Would you like to come over and play again sometime?”
“Yes please,” he nodded quietly. “…Miss Velvet.”
“Good dolly,” She grinned. “But you only need to call me that when we’re playing, ok?”
“I understand,” Alastor replied, toying with the hem of his dress. “I… think I enjoyed that?”
“You seemed to,” Velvet reassured him. “I’ll call round to your place tomorrow to check up on you, though, just to make sure. I don’t want you getting upset or anything.”
Alastor snorted at that, bristling with a flicker of radio static. “I shan’t get upset, Velvet. I am made of far sterner stuff than that.”
“Of course you are, dolly,” she teased, kissing his cheek. She continued to pet the soft fur of his ears, letting his fingers trail down to his pigtails and the back of his neck as he relaxed in her hold once more. He was far more alert now, and she caught sight of a small frown forming on his face. “What is it, dear?”
“How did you win the card game?” Alastor asked. “It wasn’t just chance was it?”
“Of course not,” Velvet giggled. “I always sit next to Vox in that game. His face is like one big mirror. Getting the starting hand I did might be chance but as the game goes on Vox quite literally has the worst poker face. If it’s serious he angles his hand better, but when we’re just being casual sometimes he doesn’t even notice it’s happening.”
“I suppose I can’t be too upset at that,” Alastor confessed with a laugh. It really was quite clever. “Could we do this again, please?”
“How about next time I make you your own dress? Maybe with some deer prints along the hem?”
“I’d like that,” Alastor actually blushed under the make-up. “Perhaps the corset could be red too? And can the petticoats be black?”
“Such a demanding little doll!” Velvet tittered. “Of course they can, darling. Anything for my new favourite toy.”