Gryffi's Fairy Tales: Enchanted Gifts

***Enchanted Gifts*** is the sixth chapter of the Library book *Gryffi's Fairy Tales*. It tells the story of how a Possessed Dracodoll and a Non-Magical Enchanted Plushie became best friends.

## Story

The soft egg had been purchased as a birthday gift for the little girl. Even though they were poor--and certainly not in a place to be buying extravagant gifts--the parents thought it cruel not to give the girl at least something for her sixth year alive in the country known as Ostlea. The father had traveled all the way to the well-known Bazaar to find a present for his little girl.
Unsure of what to get her, he spent hours looking around through the various little shops and tents, until he came across a store that seemed to possess living eggs and other creatures inside. He was going to dismiss it--after all, he wasn't sure his six-year-old daughter was ready for a pet yet, much less a potentially dangerous one--until something right inside the door caught his eye.
Someone was in there, playing with what seemed to be small plushie. His curiosity piqued, the father entered the shop to find it filled with a variety of eggs he'd never seen before. Inside there were only a few other customers, one notably... hugging a pinecone to her chest? Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the seemingly alive plushie. After some inquiries, he discovered that the man playing with it was in fact the owner of the store, and the thing he'd been playing with was what was referred to as an "Enchanted Plushie."
Seeing the cute plushie cuddling and playing with the shop owner made the father think that it was the perfect gift for his daughter indeed! And observing how intrigued he was, the shop owner directed the father towards a pedestal that held a soft blue egg adorned in little patches of fabric seemingly sewn onto it. "How much?" the father asked, gently touching the egg. It was warm.

"A very affordable 1,000 silver, sir!"

Reaching into his pockets, he was only able to pull out an awkward pile of silver that amounted to roughly 700 silver. Looking up at the shop owner, the other man shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I cannot let such a lovely egg leave for any less for 1,000 silver." That hung in the air for just a moment, before he continued, "However, follow me. Perhaps you would be interested in something similar."

The father followed the man through a door that led to the back of shop and was then directed towards a wooden crate, filled to the brim with eggs that were almost identical to the one outside. Besides their darker color, they were just as soft and had similar patches "sewn" onto them. When he touched one, however, an odd shiver ran along the length of his spine.
"What's wrong with them?" the father asked, hesitant. Something was definitely...off about these eggs. "Nothing!" the shop keeper exclaimed, almost as though he were offended. "I only sell the finest creatures here, you see. These poor little plushies, why, they just need a good home, really. They are not quite as sweet as the one you saw out there, but with the proper attention and care, they are just as loyal and loving. In the long run, they may even be better than those normal ol' Enchanted Plushies."
The father stared at the eggs for a moment before picking one up. It definitely didn't give off the same cuddly vibe as the little Enchanted Plushie hatchling had, but at the same time, it wasn't entirely unpleasant. He shifted on his feet. Truthfully, he was only supposed to spend around 500 silver on his daughter's birthday present. 700 was pushing it, and he was certain he couldn't get away with 1000. A deep sigh later, he handed over his silver and kept the egg in his hands. The shop keeper tipped his hat at him. "Pleasure doing business with you!

The daughter was ecstatic. She fell in love with the egg from the moment it was given to her, and unlike her father, she did not seem to experience any of the uneasiness he had around it. The little girl nurtured it--via taking it with her everywhere she went--until it hatched almost a month later. She was even more excited about the animated dragon plushie that emerged from the egg.
The parents were very pleased that the little creature seemed to be just as sweet and loving towards their daughter as the white one the father had seen in the shop. It snuggled up with her for bed, followed her around, laid in her lap, and showed an unconditional amount of love towards the girl. And even though they noticed a few disturbing signs, they were minor. Things like a sock disappearing here or there. Nothing worthy of great concern.

It took about a month before the Dracodoll seemed to be at its full size. It was around this time that things began to get a little out of hand in regards to the furnishing in the house. Almost a quarter of the mom's clothing disappeared. At least four pillows disappeared in the span of just a week. A few blankets were suddenly gone as well. This all put a large dent in the family's wallet. It was notable, however, that nothing the daughter owned was touched or eaten. The plushie still treated the girl with an immeasurable amount of love, yet displayed a certain amount of hostility towards everyone else.

The parents had finally had enough when they returned one evening to find half of the couch completely chewed up and destroyed. The mom blew her fuse and demanded the creature be removed from the house. The girl's dad didn't want to resort to that, knowing how much it would hurt her, but saw no other options. They didn't have the money to constantly replace everything, and they were not going to live in a household that was missing half of its furniture and clothing.
So they tried their best to explain to their daughter what and why her precious child was being eradicated from her life. There were many tears shed and small child's heart was broken in two as her parents tossed the creature out the door that night.

~~~

Both parties were shattered. The little girl cried every night, despite her father's promises that she would get something better soon. The plushie lurked around the house, sometimes climbing up where it could see through the windows but never daring to show its face around the humans when they were outside. Every now and then, the little doll would get desperate and scratch at the door, only to receive no response.
As time passed, eventually the little girl moved on. Each day she thought less and less about the plushie, until eventually she barely even thought about it. After about three months, the father made a particularly good sell and had some extra spending cash. Still feeling terrible about what they'd been forced to do to their daughter, he thought was time to make it up to her. He went back to the same store where he'd purchased the dark plushie egg, and bought another egg. This time, he made sure to get the blue one, the one he'd had no ill feelings about.

The little girl, once again, was ecstatic. It was as though the mistake of buying an evil plushie had never even happened. And thus, the same cycle occurred again. The egg hatched, revealing a cute little plushie that was identical to the last one, minus the dark and eerie aura. It was white, and just as cuddly. However, when it grew up into a larger plushie, it did not cause the same amount of destruction as the other one had. Of course, little mishaps occasionally happened, but they were so minor that the parents couldn't find themselves bothered.
All the while, the dracodoll watched from the windows as it was slowly forgotten. It observed from the shadows as it was replaced, and it wasn't long before the poor little thing felt completely useless. At one point it almost considered leaving, and if it weren't for the fact that it had no where else to go, it would have. Unknown to the dracodoll however, the other plushie had seen its sad face looming in the windows on multiple occasions.
One day the plushie was lying outside, motionless and feeling empty inside, when something was suddenly at its side. The forgotten plushie looked over to see... its white identical twin. The one that had replaced it. The dracodoll scooted away, wanting nothing to do with the other plushie. With undying persistence, the dracodoll couldn't seem to escape the other until finally it found itself being tackled.
The darker doll growled--or as much as a plushie could--but the other paid no attention. The friendlier one wrapped its soft little arms around the other in a crushing hug that was inescapable. After writhing for a few moments, the creature finally gave up and went limp, submitting to the embrace. Although loathe to admit, the dracodoll was vaguely reminded it of its times in the house with the little girl.
After that day, the "evil" doll frequently found itself being tacked when it was sulking around outside. It wasn't sure how the other plushie even found its way out of the house each day, but it happened without fail that at some point a hug was unavoidable. Eventually, the dracodoll started looking forward to the daily glomps and cuddles. It made the loss of its home a little less painful.

This little unconventional friendship lasted for a long time. The dracodoll reached a point where it no longer felt sad about being removed from the little girl's life.

As the years passed, the little girl no longer was little, and she steadily lost interest in her white plushie friend. More interested in social interactions and leaving the house, the Enchanted Plushie would have become dusty from lack of cuddling if it weren't for its Dracodoll friend. The darker stuffed creature sympathized with the other, knowing what it was like to be forgotten.

Then one day the enchanted plushie, fed up with being ignored, disappeared from the girl's house entirely, choosing to leave and live with its true best friend. It would have been painful if the plushie knew how the girl and her parents didn't even notice its absence. However, the Plushie was too busy cuddling with the Dracocoll to even notice.

## Links

* Gryffi's Fairy Tales
* Enchanted Gifts