Dancing with the doll of the Prince

Amber’s analytic eyes studied Kelly’s princess-y ensemble, nodding to herself as she walked between the shelves adorning her room’s walls. Miniaturized approximations of courtyards, ballrooms, bedrooms, and balconies sat upon them, scenes of romantic and noble intrigue set up with high quality dolls.

Kelly shuddered when he began to question how many of them were people frozen with magic like him.

“She’s exceptionally pretty. Her dress is so regal and beautiful…” Amber mused. He’d heard she was a bit of a shut in since the untimely passing of Lady Rosenburg so few years ago, as well as she was around his age.

He’d wondered how someone who stayed inside all day would pass the time, and now he was starting to regret that now that he was about to become a part of it.

“Oh…this one is perfect.” Amber turned towards a diorama of a balcony, the sides framed by a cutout of a group of musicians. The back was a flat piece of artwork depicting a large window into a busy ballroom.

Front and center was a doll of a dashing prince in white and gold uniform, one that, while a bit cliche, Kelly desperately wished he was wearing instead.

“A worthy fiancée for the handsome prince at last.” Amber smiled, reaching over to adjust the doll’s arms. It wasn’t until she lifted Kelly towards the diorama that he realized that it was to fit around him.

The doll’s hand pressed into his hip as she made fine-tune adjustments to make the hold gentle, pulling his unresponsive arms until they were daintily draped over the prince’s shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he could blush, but when she pulled up the dress’s skirt to adjust his legs to a feminine stance, the embarrassment was almost more than he could stand.

How could this get any worse?

He immediately regretted thinking that, as Amber took his head, tilting it to the side and nudging it close, as though Kelly and the prince were sharing a romantic kiss.

“Perfect.” Amber smiled, breaking her blank expression at last. While it was sweet to see her finding joy in her hobbies, Kelly could NOT feel more trapped.