Half an hour later, Steve and Veronica finished their lunch and were drinking tea at the back of the shop. There was a fairly wide courtyard with a well-kept garden. To the left of the entrance stood a table and chairs where the siblings sat. From this vantage point, the entrance to the shop was perfectly visible. Veronica sipped her tea, glancing at the road to check for any approaching visitors.
The shop building was two stories high. It had once belonged to Steve's grandfather, Dex, but now Steve was the master. However, Steve wanted his beloved sister, Veronica, to become the full rightful owner in the future. The first floor was occupied by a fashion boutique. Veronica had excellent taste and hand-picked all the merchandise herself. Steve understood that she truly needed him here at the shop.
After finishing her studies, Veronica wanted to stay here forever with her brother, but their parents were against it. They wanted to sell the shop because the building attracted too much public attention. For now, the siblings had no intention of giving up the house inherited from Dex. The spirit of the past dwelled here, keeping alive the legend of the love between Dex and the mysterious Gloria. Steve and Veronica were very sentimental and saw things differently than their parents.
A short while later, a truck pulled up to the shop. It was Paul, Steve's friend and assistant. He was delivering goods intended for tourists.
"Steve, it's Paul!" Veronica said, rising from her seat. "I hope he brought some hired workers to unload the crates."
Paul didn't disappoint; four laborers stepped out of the truck with him. They immediately got to work. The second floor of the building was vacant, so the owners had decided to use it for the tourist merchandise. After a while, the goods were unloaded, and Paul left with his men.
"Vicky will work in the lower part of the shop, and on the second floor..." Steve began.
"Brother, what are you saying?" Veronica asked in disbelief. "The lower floor is mine! I've put all my effort into it! Most of the customers there are my friends and their acquaintances. I don't know anything about your tourist goods. Besides, I've brought all my friends here as clients—Steve, you're disappointing me!"
After a few minutes of tense silence, the sound of a car approached.
"Hi everyone!" Vicky arrived in her car. "Look at all the useful things you've done without me! Sorry for the delay, Steve."
"Your constant absences can hardly be called a 'delay.' How many days have you been missing from work now, huh?" Roni answered her loudly.
"Steve, what is this schoolgirl doing in our shop?" Vicky asked, her tone sharp. "Or should I just quit because of her constant nagging? Why are you silent, dear?"
"Oh, so it's 'our' shop now?" Roni marveled. "Interesting, very interesting."
"Don't listen to her, Vicky, just get to your duties," Steve tried to calm her down. "And please, stop using words like 'dear' or 'sweetie.' You aren't my girlfriend, and we aren't related."
"That's right!" Veronica smiled. "Know your place, 'dear'!"
"Steve, tell her to stop mocking me. My life is hard enough as it is."
"Don't lie!" Veronica snapped, truly angry. "Ever since Steve hired you, your life hasn't been bad at all. You've changed a lot lately. I know everything about you; I have many connections. Lately, you've been throwing money to the wind!"
"What are you saying, Roni? Are you serious?" Steve asked.
"Steve, she's slandering me!" Vicky began to cry. "First, look at me and my modest dress, then look at her. She walks around like a princess! Throw her out, Steve, my dear, we would be so happy here just the two of us!"
"What are you talking about, Vicky? Veronica is my sister. How could I throw her out?"
"She's a liar and a cheat, and I'll prove it to you!"
"I don't need your proofs, Vicky. Just do your job."
"You think I can't find another job? You're wrong! There's a long line of people waiting for me," Vicky said, sitting on a chair. "Try to fire me—you'll never find another salesgirl like me!"
"Oh, look how important she thinks she is," Roni crossed her arms. "You are unbearable!"
"Vicky, I didn't hire you as a salesgirl; I hired you as a cleaner! Veronica does all your work for you."
"I'm not a cleaner. I'm much better suited for the role of a salesgirl."
"Keep dreaming," Roni shook her head.
"You haven't done a lick of work since you arrived. Do you understand me, Vicky? I only hired you out of pity. You were in a terrible state. How many times have I given you money? I gave you all our recent profits from the shop," Steve said. "If you want to work, you'll work on the second floor as a salesgirl. Но please, do not quarrel with Veronica."
"Let her work on the second floor," the proud Vicky said, tilting her head high.
"No, *you* will work on the second floor, and you will mop the floors on your level yourself."
"Why doesn't Veronica..."
"Vicky, Veronica is the true mistress of this building and this shop. She can fire anyone she wants. You should thank her for giving you shelter and a job. I'll be leaving here soon; what will you do then?"
"Veronica is our true mistress?" Vicky's face transformed instantly. "Roni, my dear friend, you won't let anyone hurt me, will you? This Steve is already tired of me with his attacks."
"Just shut up, 'dear friend,' and let's get to work!" Veronica replied, slightly annoyed.
Vicky followed her obediently to the second floor, smiling, to unpack the new goods.
Evinetta had played her role perfectly!
When everyone had left, the mannequin girl wiped the tears from her face with her hands. She could move now. To temporarily immobilize Elisa, Evinetta had injected her with another drug. It was safe. The shop became empty after the owners went home. Evinetta locked the outer door and approached the mannequin. After the injection, Elisa could not walk. She wanted to run to Steve and tell him everything, but she was temporarily deprived even of the gift of speech. Torsken's strange drug was still affecting her, making her head spin.
Realizing this, Evinetta immediately prepared fragrant tea and helped Elisa sit at the table. They drank tea together and whispered about who knows what. The hot tea quickly eased the "living doll's" headache. They looked very much like humans, but they had certain features that we will mention many more times.
As mentioned before, Elisa's world was called Marionis. Two races of dolls existed there: the "living" and the "non-living." There was constant enmity between them. Currently, the "non-living" ruled that world. They had enslaved the "living." They had tried to kill the King and Queen, but failed—the royals had fled in an unknown direction. Then they searched for their daughter, but fortunately, they couldn't catch her. Elisa managed to hide from them and find refuge in the human world. There had been a similar clash recently, but Elisa had resolved it: she defeated the intruders and destroyed them.
Now, the attack had been repeated. This time, Torsken and his followers had managed to seize the throne of Nomilis. All of Elisa's friends, except herself, had been destroyed. The "living" had always been very powerful, but they trusted the "non-living" too much. This was their fatal mistake. Taking advantage of this, the "non-living" had seized power several times. Elisa, the daughter of the King of Marionis who fled to the human world, was now the villains' only target. By bringing her back and marrying her, the usurper Torsken wanted to finally establish his absolute rule over the doll world.
But Elisa was not one to give up easily. She decided to find those who would help her, no matter what. The princess resolved to fight the villains to the end. Elisa knew where she was going. The human world did not scare her—the subjects of the King of Marionis lived there among the people. One of them owned a plastic factory. In the human world, Elisa met Steve's grandfather, Dex. With his help, she ended up in Steve's shop. But what did she need from Steve himself?
A similar case had happened before: Elisa's grandmother had fled to this very shop. She met Dex, and together they were able to defeat the villains. Now, history was repeating itself. Elisa must find the mysterious diary of Dex and Gloria. The portal to the doll world of Marionis is open, but it cannot exist for long. It is about to close and dissolve into the forest along with everyone inside. To save the doll world, Elisa and Steve must perform a mysterious rite—the "Dissolving of Love." The rite must be performed by a half-human and a doll of royal blood; otherwise, Marionis will vanish forever. The participants of the rite must love each other sincerely and deeply. The instructions for the "Dissolving of Love" are in the "Lovers' Diary." This was the ultimate bliss for both nature and man. "The realization of the lovers' supreme love for nature"—as the ancient inhabitants of Marionis used to say. Only kings knew of this mysterious rite. It has not been preserved in our time.
Alas, now no one knew about it. The mysterious diary of Dex and Gloria is lost at Steve's summer house and has not been found to this day. Will Steve and Elisa find the diary? Will Steve fall in love with Elisa? Meanwhile, a young man from her world named Lengar, who is in love with her, is following Elisa's trail. Steve, however, still wants to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend, Chloe. If Steve and Elisa do not fall in love, then Marionis is doomed. How will this story end? Alas, no one knows yet! No one! Among the "non-living" lived the enslaved "living" dolls. They were very devoted to their heartless masters. One of them was Vicky.
"Enjoyed the story? Please ADD TO LIBRARY and drop some POWER STONES! Let's hit the Top-100 together!"