Violet struck the match and lit the nearby candle that was sitting on her desk. The sun had begun to set, signaling the end of another workday. Tomorrow was Saturday, meaning that she had the next two days off to gather needed supplies and do as she pleased. Violet let out a soft sigh as she began her cleanup for the day. A soft smile spread across her face as she looked out the window. She set her chin in her hand and let her mind wander, watching the beautiful sunset. The view from her window was absolutely amazing. Deep grey rainclouds were filling up the sky, and yet the sunset was easily visible. A storm was heading in and would probably be there by nightfall. She had a good view of the street from her shop, and not too far down the street was a small, dimly lit alley. Violet's eyes wandered and looked down this alley. What she saw made her let out a soft gasp. About halfway through, there was a small pile of trash. Next to this pile of trash was what seemed to be a figure, slumped over and laying on top of the trash. She stood up from where she was sitting and walked up to the window. She couldn't get a good view of this person from where she was, but she couldn't help but be concerned. 'A homeless peasant, perhaps?' she pondered to herself. 'No, not on this area of town…'

Violet heard the rumble of thunder not too far off as rain began to fall on the cobblestone. The wind was picking up, so violet closed the window to prevent any rain water from coming in. She walked away from the window and grabbed her candle, still worrying about the person in the alley. "if he's still there and the storm picks up," she thought to herself, "then I'll go bring him an old quilt or something. It's the least I could do..."

The shop she worked in was actually quite large. It was her mother's shop, until she passed on. Knowing that her mother wouldn't want the shop to go to waste, Violet continued the tradition of sewing quilts. Her mother had left her enough money to last her for quite some time, but it was always a good idea to keep the money coming in. She walked into the next room and knelt down to the fireplace. There was a chill in her bones that she couldn't quite get rid of. As she lit the fire, a loud clap of thunder shook the building. Violet let out a startled yelp, and the rain began to immediately pour down relentlessly. Her mind instantly went to the poor man in the alley. She grabbed an old quilt from the nearby chair and a jacket from the hook and headed outside.

The rain was coming down harder than she had thought. It immediately drenched her from head to toe. She dashed down the street and to the man in the alley as fast as she safely could. When she got up to him, he was in the same position and wasn't moving. She couldn't even see if he was breathing.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you alright? I brought you an old quilt of mine, perhaps it might help?" she carefully walked around to see the face of the man. His eyes were closed, and his skin was pale. She unfolded the quilt and draped it over him. Violet gasped and stepped back when she saw his hands.

"A puppet?" she asked out loud. She couldn't help but laugh at herself

"All this fuss over a puppet? I must be going crazy." She wrapped her quilt around its body and picked him up.

"My god, you're heavy! As if you were a real person. You sure look like one. Except for all of the rips and tears, and that hideous rip." She slung him over her shoulders the best she could. "I think I'll take you in and fix you up."

When she got inside, she gingerly placed the doll on a large table. Violet made a mad dash to the fireplace to warm up and dry off. She removed her drenched clothing piece by piece until she was only in her undergarments and hung it over the fireplace to dry. She then ran upstairs to grab a towel and dry off her newly found doll.

Getting a closer look at him, she found him to be quite beautiful. Whoever had made him had obvious talent, although he wasn't made from the finest materials. The doll had bright orange hair, and a midnight blue suit. She figured that if his clothes were washed, they would look even more elegant. Strangely enough, the doll felt warm to her touch.

After working on the doll for a mere half hour, she got the shivers again. Figuring that it'd be more comfortable and that the doll would dry better in the next room, she dragged the table to the fireplace. It was getting quite late, but she kept working on the doll anyways. She wanted to finish mending him that night. Her eyelids were getting heavy and she could barely keep them open. "Maybe…if I just rest my head for a second…I'll feel much better" she reasoned. She smiled and rested her head on the table next to the doll. Within seconds, she had fallen asleep.

Violet groaned softly into her pillow as she rolled over. 'Wait' she thought to herself. 'My pillow?' She shot straight up in bed and looked around the room. "I honestly don't remember going to bed last night. I fell asleep working on that doll…" The doll! She flew out of bed and raced down the stairs. First she checked the fire to make sure that it was safely put out. It was. When she turned around to where the doll should have been, he wasn't there at all. She furrowed her brows and looked around the room. He was nowhere. Violet heard the front door slowly creak open and her heart started to race. "I locked the door. I know I did." She grabbed the poker for the fire and hid behind a large chair and watched who walked in.

It was the doll. Violet let out a gasp and dropped the poker, making a loud clanging noise. The doll turned his head and looked directly at the chair she was hiding behind.

"And then I thought to myself, the young lady must be frightened." The doll spoke as he walked over to the chair. Violet was frozen in fear. He was a doll! She knew he was a doll, she worked on him last night! The doll knelt down next to Violet. She yelped and toppled over, falling on her butt. She scooted away from him until her back hit the wall and she couldn't retreat any farther. The doll tilted his head and she heard it creak. As he got closer, she threw up her arms in defense and squeezed her eyes shut. Nothing happened. When she opened her eyes the doll grabbed her hand and put it to his lips.

"Thank you, my fair lady, for fixing me." Violet blinked. Then blinked again.

"Uh..yeah sure?" the doll stood up. He grabbed her around the waist and stood her up also. She stood there, staring at him, with her mouth wide open.

"But…you're just a doll!" He tilted his head to the side with a creak

"Yes. I found out not too long ago myself. Came to a surprise to me too." Violet shook her head and rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her thoughts. She knew nothing of this strange doll, who she willingly invited into her home.

"Do you at least have a name?" she questioned

"Drocell. Drocell Kainz." He said, bowing to her. She couldn't help but smile.

"And I'm Violet. Its um, nice to meet you I guess." Drocell straightened up and fixed his jacket. His muddy, filthy jacket.

"My god Drocell, you're filthy!" Violet shouted, and Drocell frowned.

"Come now, lets get you cleaned up…" She grabbed his hand and let him upstairs to the bath.

Violet poured bucket after bucket of hot water into the tub, and got out various soaps. She knew it was going to take forever to clean all of the dirt and grime out of not only his clothing, but his orange hair too.

"And I thought to myself, I have never needed a bath before…" Drocell quietly said to himself. Violet gasped.

"Never?"

"Never"

"Then I suppose I'll have to help, wont I?" Violet felt her face heat up, but instantly shook it off. "You're simply a doll anyways." Drocell's eyes filled with sadness and he looked at his feet.

"Yes, simply a doll." He said. Violet felt her heart sink. Should she have not said that? It must be a tender subject for him. She finished filling up the tub with warm water and turned to Drocell

"Can you at least undress yourself?" She said, smiling. He shook his head no and she couldn't help but laugh.

"You're so helpless, it's kind of cute"

"Cute?" He asked, confused. He tilted his head with a creak Violet reached up and pulled on his bow tie.

"Yeah….Anyways Drocell, what happened to your master? Did you have someone who made you? Anyone who you worked for perhaps?" She worked on the buttons of his jacket next. He watched her slender fingers as they worked.

"My master has died. Those who found me, disposed of me. They did not approve of my service to my master." Violet looked up into his stunning purple eyes. If he could cry, he probably would be right now. She slid his jacket off of his shoulders and threw it in the hamper. His body looked so entirely real, that he was nearly human. She reached out her hand and softly placed it against his chest. It was warm, and soft. It genuinely felt like skin. She jerked her hand backwards as if she was burned by the touch.

"You're…warm…" if she hadn't felt him for herself she would never believe it.

"And I thought to myself, isn't everything that is alive warm?" Drocell reached out and touched her face.

"Although, you are very, very warm. Are you ill?" Violets face lit up a bright red.

"Of course not! No, I'm fine, it's ok really!" She stammered out. She walked him over to the tub.

"Now, get in before it cools down, you don't want to freeze yourself." Drocell stood in the tub with a serious face and Violet laughed. She pushed down on his shoulders

"Sit, silly!" he did as he was told.

"Alright, ready? Close your eyes ok?" Again, he did as told. She smiled and dumped a bucket of water over him

"And I wondered to myself, why do you live here all by yourself?"

Violet froze, almost dropping the rag she was using to wash his hair. Sighing, she sat it down on the counter and turned to Drocell.

"My father got very ill when I was a young girl. My mother stayed strong and raised me the best she could. This is her quilt shop. It was what kept her strong, and her mind focused on other things than my ill father. That is, until he died. It was completely unexpected. He was recovering so well, too." She paused and wiped her hands on her night gown.

"A week after the funeral mother became sick as well. Probably with the same thing that father had. She knew what was coming for her, and" Violets eyes glazed over as she stared blankly out the window.

"She threw herself over the bridge. I was only thirteen. It's been five years since then and I'm still terrified of bridges."

Violet tossed a towel at Drocell.

"Dry yourself off while I go wash your clothes." And with that she snatched up his clothes and rushed out of the room.