Part 3

“Q-questions?” Bethany muttered weakly, furrowing her brow. It felt like the room was spinning softly around her.

“Yes. About all this. You know, the fairy, the house, where you are, that sort of thing.” said Madison, as if it were all the most ordinary thing in the world.

Bethany inhaled sharply. She felt all of the emotions that she had been storing up since she first saw the fairy suddenly pop like a champagne cork. She jumped to her feet and screamed at Madison. “I can't fucking believe you! I've been losing my goddamn mind here, and you could talk normal this whole fucking time!”

Madison sat through her tirade with a faint, somewhat smug smile on her face. “Watch your language, please. I'm very impressionable.”

Bethany snarled to herself and sat down again. Madison poured her another empty cup of tea.

“And in fact, no, I could not.” she continued. “You see, I can speak like a adult right now because I'm 'pretending' (she waggled her fingers to put the word in air-quotes) to be a grown-up. Most of the time, I have to act out the role that the fairy gave me when she brought me here, that of a little girl, and a particularly silly and spoiled one at that, if I do say so myself. I'm sure you've noticed that you are under a similar set of restrictions?”

Bethany could only stare. Madison continued regardless.

“This must all be very disorienting for you, but I'll do my best to explain things to you. You see, we're not in the same world we started out in. This is a place that that fairy creature likes to bring people to who have, in her mind at least, earned a reward of some kind. As for myself, I used to serve as a production engineer for a major toy manufacturer. I became aware that the company had inadvertently purchased a large quantity of plastic that had been contaminated with a known carcinogen. The proposed plan was to use the cheaper plastic for a while, and then switch to a more expensive variety when it ran out. Even if the problem had been noticed, the fines would have amounted to a tiny fraction of the difference in costs. I attempted to persuade my colleagues that we should simply dispose of the contaminated material, but I was told that this would be prohibitively costly.”

“Oh.” said Bethany, feeling utterly at sea. “Would it have been?”

“Oh yes. Very expensive to dispose of that much hazardous material legally. I ran the numbers. The difference in costs would have amounted to several million dollars, while the odds that any contamination would actually give a customer cancer were extremely low. I calculated that the company would reap about $218,000 for each life lost, and it would have been virtually impossible to trace it back to us.”

Bethany's eyes widened. The idea that this was the same woman she had just seen proudly display her dry training pants to her Mommy was not easy to accept.

“I admit, I agonized over it. I had been extremely fortunate to reach such a position in the first place. Revealing what I knew would almost certainly mean the end of my career. But, I eventually decided that I wasn't willing to give children cancer just to please the shareholders. So, I compiled all the evidence I had and e-mailed the whole thing to several government agencies.”

Bethany sighed with relief. “Well, I'm glad you did the right thing.” she swallowed. “Eventually.”

Madison shrugged. “I suppose I actually cleared a fairly low bar, morally speaking. But I was quite fortunate again, because apparently our small, winged associate happened to be watching at the time. She popped up and told me that I would receive a reward for my good deed. The next thing I knew, I was here in this room. I met my Mommy, and we've lived together here ever since.”

“Is she...is she actually your mother?” asked Bethany.

Madison smirked. “Oh, heavens no. My actual mother would be horrified to hear that I threw my career away over something as minor as a moral quandary. No, her actual name is Clara, but the fairy assigned her the role of my Mommy. She used to be a firefighter back in the real world.”

“Wow.”said Bethany, taking another sip of warm, sweet, imaginary tea. “How long have you been here?”

“Over a year now.” said Madison.

“And there's no way to escape?” asked Bethany. She wondered if she had heard a note of optimism in her own voice.

Madison arched an eyebrow. “Escape? From what? This isn't a prison, dear. More like a vacation, or a really long spa treatment. I literally live a charmed life here. No cares, no worries, no responsibilities of any kind. You'll like it here once you get used to it.”

Bethany frowned. Was she really supposed to just accept being treated as a plaything? “And you haven't seen the fairy since you came here?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“No. Whatever she is, she seems to spend far more effort on planning these rewards than in executing them. I've had to piece together what I know of this...realm from people I have met, using some degree of logical inference. Everyone I've met here has had a similar encounter with the fairy. We each performed some noble or charitable act, and this is our reward. We are all compelled to behave in a manner in keeping with our assigned role. The roles appear to have been carefully orchestrated to fulfill our deepest desires, often hidden or subconscious ones.”

Bethany squinted. “Wait, you think I...I want to be a freaking doll?”

Madison shrugged. “Well, how do you feel about the idea?”

Bethany set down her tea and crossed her arms. “I am not a goddamn toy!”

Madison pursed her lips. “Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. I suppose it's theoretically possible that the fairy made a mistake this time around. If so, I apologize for the ride you've had. It's just that my other dolls have been very much on board with their assigned roles.”

“Wait, other dolls? There have been others?” asked Bethany.

“Sure. Here, let me show you.”

Madison stood and retrieved two framed photographs from her dresser. One showed Madison sitting on a blanket on the floor, with an older woman seated next to her with her hair in pigtails and wearing what looked like a pair of purple footie pajamas. In the other, she was seated in front of a birthday cake covered in burning candles, and the dark-haired woman seated next to her was wearing an outfit identical to the one Bethany herself currently wore. Both women were smiling like maniacs, just like Madison.

“That's Linda.” said Madison, gesturing to the woman in the pajamas. “We had such a lot of fun together. She was also very disoriented when she first arrived here, very upset about being turned into a toy. She had quite a temper! Still, within a week, she had accepted that she was much happier this way. Now, Jaqueline, my second doll, she was thrilled right from the start. Apparently, she had been fantasizing about this sort of thing for years. She wanted to try things I had never even considered!”

Bethany leaned back in her chair and eyed her owner suspiciously. “Uh...where are they...now?” she asked.

“They...left after a while.” said Madison, with a sad look in her eyes. “They each told me that they wouldn't be around much longer. For Linda, it was barely two months after I first found her. Jackie stayed with me nearly six. They each just said one day that they had a feeling it was time to say goodbye. Then, they just vanished. I was inconsolable when Linda left. You should have seen poor Mommy trying to get me to stop crying. Still...nothing lasts forever.”

Bethany considered this. For a moment she had had a horrible suspicion that something sinister was at work here. After all, the idea that anyone would actually want to be a human plaything seemed absurd. Still, the look of sadness in Madison's eyes did seem genuine. That wasn't the expression of a little girl who had lost her favorite toy. Madison looked exactly like a woman who missed her friends.

“Where do you think they went?” she asked finally.

Madison dragged her gloved hand across her puffy eyes. “I'm not sure. My working theory is that the reward the fairy offers is proportionate to the good deed that prompted it. Linda freed a raccoon that had gotten stuck in a fence. Jackie helped a resident in the nursing home she worked at reunite with her estranged children. My guess is that once your reward has been used up, you return to your old life, probably with no memory of this world at all. That would explain how so many people end up here, and yet no one talks about it back in the real world.”

“Huh.” said Bethany thoughtfully. “How long do you think picking up some garbage will last me?”

Madison shrugged. “No idea. I can't imagine that it would carry the same weight as say, saving a life. I would recommend simply enjoying the ride while it lasts. Assuming, of course, that you can tolerate playing the role of my doll.”

Bethany pursed her lips. “Well...what would that actually involve?”

Madison favored Bethany with a Cheshire cat grin. “Well...it can mean pretty much whatever you'd like it to mean. You are here to enjoy yourself, after all. Still...given that the fairy brought you to me in particular...I can make some educated guesses as to what she might have had in mind for you.”

Bethany narrowed her eyes. “Umm...what are you talking about?”

Madison gestured to the two photographs. “Well, why don't you take another look at your two predecessors. Anything...pop out at you?”

Bethany looked again at the two grinning women.

“Well...they're both about my age. And my...build.” she noted carefully.

Madison pretended to sip her tea. “Yes. It's fair to say that I have a type.”

Bethany frowned again. “What do you mean, a 'type'?”

Madison rolled her eyes. “Isn't it a bit obvious?”

“So, when you said we would be sharing the bed...” asked Bethany.

“Obviously, that part is completely optional.” added Madison hastily. “Still, the fairy doesn't just take one person's desires into consideration. She really is quite unmatched when it comes to matchmaking. My Mommy is really ideal for me, but I'm also ideal for her. A perfect spoiled little princess for a perfect indulgent mother. Unless you are correct, and some truly grievous error has been made, it's not unreasonable to expect our situation to be similar.”

Bethany's face reddened again. “So...you are your Mommy...fuck?”

Madison pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose in distaste. “That is such a needlessly crude and vulgar description of a really beautiful and emotionally fulfilling act. I would prefer to say that we make love.” she leaned forward and whispered: “We make lots...and lots of it.”

Bethany shifted her feet under the plastic table. “And...Linda?”

“And Jackie. Love is not a scarce resource around here.”

Bethany exhaled slowly. What kind of fucked up world was she in?

“Anything else you notice about those pictures?” asked Madison.

Bethany inhaled slowly through her nose. She felt like there was tea kettle somewhere inside of her, and it was beginning to whistle softly on the burner. She stared at the two women whose role she was now apparently expected to fill in this warren of madness. Madison definitely seemed to have something specific in mind that she ought to have noticed, but she couldn't see...

There it was. Bethany's face felt like it might start squirting blood at any second. Her capillaries were certainly getting a workout today. She saw the thin strip of shiny white peeking out from under Jacqueline's skirt, the same skirt she now currently wore. She had initially thought that Linda just had a slightly larger rump than she did, but now that the idea was in her head, she couldn't help but notice the tell-tale bulge around the woman's crotch. She looked up at Madison, wide-eyed. The look of smug satisfaction on her owner's face did not serve to reassure her, nor did the misty feeling in her silky doll's panties.

“Totally optional, I assure you.” said Madison, still with an infuriating smirk. “After all, just because they were...into that sort of thing doesn't mean you have to be.”

Bethany heart pounded in her chest. The room began to spin again. It was as though every part of the emotional spectrum was crowding into her soul at once, all demanding to be expressed at the same time. Rage, fear, disgust, guilt...other things. “I am not wearing a fucking diaper!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. Some birds loudly vacated a nearby tree.

Madison calmly shushed her. “Shhh. Shhh. Of course not.”

She stood and began calmly pulling off her long white gloves. “Not yet, anyway. Well, I think that's enough playtime for now. Unlike you, I can't sustain myself on imaginary food, and I'm really quite late for my breakfast. We'll talk again soon.”

Bethany shouted at Madison's back as she walked calmly into the closet.“What do you mean, 'not yet'? Not ever!” Madison closed the door behind herself with a soft click.

Bethany collapsed into her plastic chair and buried her face in her hands. The emotions she was feeling were simply too much to deal with all at once. She felt exhausted and confused. Her heart rate gradually returned to normal.

When Madison re-emerged, her dainty lady-like persona was gone. She was an excitable little girl in jeans and a pink shirt once again. She grabbed Bethany's hand and pulled her toward the door. Bethany rolled her eyes, but once again, she had no option but to be dragged along. “C'mon Bethany! I'm hungry!”

When they reached the kitchen, a steaming bowl of oatmeal was waiting for Madison on the kitchen table. Her “Mommy”, Clara, was already most of the way through her own breakfast of eggs, bacon, coffee, and hash-browns. Bethany spent a half-second wondering where her breakfast was, but of course there wasn't one. Not even a very indulgent mother would set out a place at the table for her daughter's doll. It wasn't like she was hungry anyway. She was absolutely stuffed with figments of her owner's imagination.

“There's my girl!” said Clara, between bites of hash-browns. “Sit down and eat, sweetie. I had to put your oatmeal in the microwave because you took so long in your bedroom. Did you have fun with your new dolly?”

“Yeahhh!” squealed the former production engineer. “Bethany's the best! I showed her all my other toys, an we played Dress-Up, and had a tea-party, an, an...”

“That's lovely, dear, but you need to eat your breakfast now.” interrupted Clara.

Bethany felt her owner lift her casually off her feet by her waist and set her on the tiled kitchen floor beside her chair. Bethany crossed her arms and huffed. Now that playtime was over, she was back to being essentially just an object, like a backpack or a ball. She considered standing up, but then she remembered that her owner had put her here, so there was no way she could just walk around on her own. She grumbled to herself. That fairy had a really weird sense of humor.

Madison sat down, picked up her spoon...and sat staring at the bowl of steaming mush. Suddenly, her enthusiasm seemed to have evaporated. Bethany watched from the floor, wondering what nonsense her owner was up to now.

“Eat your breakfast, dear.” ordered Clara, a bit more sternly this time.

Madison dropped the spoon, crossed her arms, and turned her head away, in a theatrical gesture of childish defiance. “No!” she said, greatly overemphasizing the “n” sound.

Clara sighed. “Sweetie...Mommy made you a nice breakfast. Be a good girl and eat up.”

“No! Don't wanna!” said Madison, eyes closed and nose in the air. Bethany watched her silly pose from the floor, and wondered whether this was Madison's actual desire, or another example of the fairy's magical interference.

“Madison...” warned Clara slowly. Bethany could tell that Clara was one of those moms who reserved using your actual name for when she was angry. “...you can't tell me you're not hungry. Just try some. It's yummy, I promise.”

“No! If it's so great, you can eat it!” whined Madison.

Bethany couldn't see her from where she sat, but she could hear the long exasperated breath that Clara drew in.

“Madison...I'm gonna count to three...” said Clara.

“No!”

“One...”

“No!”

“Two...”

“Don't wanna!”

“That's it. Stand up young lady!” ordered Clara.

Bethany adjusted herself on the kitchen floor. As much as she was uncomfortable to be watching these two women go through their little shtick, part of her was hoping to see Madison face some consequences for her bratty behavior. After the roller-coaster of weird experiences she had been subjected to today, it would be satisfying to see Madison on the receiving end for a change.

Clara stood and came around the table. Bethany felt each heavy footfall in her butt. Clara grabbed Madison by the upper arm and pulled her up from her chair. She seated herself where Madison had been.

Instead of pulling her chair away from the table, as Bethany had anticipated, she instead pulled herself up to it. Bethany's jaw dropped as she watched Clara pick up the spoon and dig into Madison's breakfast. She angrily swallowed spoonful after spoonful of the rapidly cooling oatmeal. Bethany felt her pulse pick up at the sight. Clearly, the power relationship between these two was not as clear-cut as she had at first assumed. Madison watched Clara devour her breakfast with obvious eagerness. With a clang, the spoon clattered into the empty bowl.

“Breakfast time, Madison!” declared Clara angrily. Bethany goggled at her as she slid her chair back and began undoing the buttons on her blouse. Clara apparently shared Madison's aversion to bras, no matter how clearly necessary. Once freed, her impressive cleavage bobbed and jiggled in front of her. They were much more firm and perky than would be expected of a woman her age. Madison lost no time in laying back on her Mommy's lap and wrapping her lips around the left nipple. Clara supported Madison's head and gently patted at her back as she began to suckle.

Bethany could not look away. She knew that a show was being put on for her benefit, but that didn't make it possible not to watch. A rich, buttery smell wafted through the air, as Madison's cheeks filled and emptied in a gentle rhythm. Clara sighed and rolled her head back. She was clearly enjoying this as much or more than Madison. Bethany felt her own mouth water involuntarily. Soon, the loud suckling sound slowed to a crawl, and Clara passed Madison to the other breast, where the intense scene repeated itself. Bethany lipped her lips as she watched a lonely white droplet form on the newly-vacated nipple.

“Good girl. Good, good girl...” whispered Clara dreamily as Madison finished. She finally detached herself, and lay for a while on her Mommy's lap, breathing heavily in a haze of contentment. Clara brushed a strand of hair way from her face and petted her head affectionately.

“Thank you, Mommy! I love you! ” whispered Madison.

“You're welcome, dear. I love you, too!”

“Can we have a party tonight, Mommy? I wanna show all my friends my new dolly.” asked Madison, all trace of her earlier defiance gone from her voice. Bethany rolled her eyes.

“It is a school day tomorrow, sweetie...”

“Pllleeeeeeaaase, Mommy? Pretty please with chocolate and sprinkles? I promise I'll be good!” begged Madison, folding her hands in supplication. If she could have stood to look, Bethany was sure that she would see little sparkles in her eyes.

“Oh, very well, sweetie. How can I say no to that sweet face?” she asked. She tickled Madison affectionately on the belly, just above the waistband of her training pants. She giggled, clearly basking in her Mommy's attention.

Bethany groaned inwardly, but she could certainly understand now why Madison was somewhat less than eager to leave this insane place. She was obviously enjoying the opportunity to live like a spoiled brat, being constantly catered to and indulged, without a trace of adult responsibility. Never having to work, or suffer any consequences for her choices. Bethany insisted that what she was feeling now was disgust and disapproval of the woman's selfish hedonism. It certainly wasn't jealousy.