Chapter 2: Work

                                    

                                          



Lex bolted upright, panting and drenched in sweat. Her chest heaving with each breath and her heart hammering painfully in her rib cage. She clutched at her chest, trying to calm herself. After a few deep breaths, she managed to calm herself down, pressing her palm against her forehead. She had had this dream multiple times, and each time was just as terrifying as the last. Or, at least she thought so. No matter how hard she tried, she could never recall the details of the dream. And something inside her suggested that she shouldn't wish to know.
She tossed the blankets off of herself and stood, her bare feet tapping against the floorboards as she approached the window. She could hear the muffled sounds of the waterfall behind the house as her gaze settled on the village that never loved her as a child. She brought her arms up to hug herself, feeling the indents on her skin from the scars littering her body from the brutal beatings she had received from the things that held the title ''parent''.
She shook her head, pushing those memories away as she went to her closet to dress for the day. She didn't have many clothes but she was able to make do. She picked out a black shirt, the sleeves going down to her elbows, black dress pants to match and a pair of comfortable socks. Once she was dressed, she reached over for her neatly folded bandana and tied it around her eyes. She tightened it, making sure it couldn't slip down her face but made sure it sat comfortably.
She turned to her door, wrapping her fingers around the knob and opening it. What she saw made her eyes widen under the blindfold and nearly made her heart stop. Standing just beyond the door, was a little girl with matted, wiry white hair and intelligent blue eyes. Her skin was ash gray and her lips were a light shade of blue. A large bruise around her thin neck. The little girl look at Lex and smiled with a cough, water slipping out of her mouth and splattering against the ground. The freezing liquid even got on Lex's foot.
Lex quickly shut the door, nearly slamming it. Her arms shook violently, causing the door knob to quiver and rattle as she tried to steady herself. Her once calm breathing soon turned into rapid and unsteady inhales and exhales. Sweat prickled her forehead as she squeezed her eyes shut. 
It's not real. There's no way it can be real. It's impossible. She thought frantically, trying to calm herself once more. She counted down from five slowly to steady her breathing. Once she reached zero, her arms had stopped shaking and the rattling door knob had gone quiet. Her heart palpitations weren't as fast paced as before.
She took in one more deep breath and slowly turned the door knob, swinging the door wide open. There was nothing there. No dead little girl. No water. No evidence she had even been there. But the freezing water that had made contact with her foot felt so real. Too real. It could have been her imagination.
But what if it wasn't? Lex asked herself as she walked down the hallway and into the front foyer. She took a right when she got downstairs and tried to remember where the elevator to the basement was. She found herself recalling the tour Lady Beneviento had given her yesterday.
***
Lex could have sworn she heard something coming from beyond the locked door that had the Well Angie mentioned. She wanted to inquire about the noises but felt as if it wasn't her place to ask. They stopped back in the doll workshop, a place that Lady Beneviento seemed to spend a vast majority of her time in.
''Your first day is tomorrow, if that's alright with you.'' The Dollmaker spoke quietly, turning to the blindfolded woman behind her.
''Thank you, Lady Beneviento.'' 
''Do you have any questions?''