Ch.5: Sock Monkeys Voice

Almost everyone knows the toys cannot speak nor move on their own. Well, everyone except for one young witch. Alyssa has learned something disturbing making her rethink the possibility that not all toys were indeed actual toys. How many young witch's favored toy uses to be something or someone else?

"Sock monkey you've been with her for a very long time." Gracefully moving him from his position on the bed to the center of the table, Cheshire smiled wide. "Hopefully you have a good personality, all on your own."

"Really, what are you on about now?" Thought sock monkey looking past Cheshire at Alyssa who was looking at a large book. Only for her to swiftly fetch something off of a herb shelf. "It's almost like you want something from me, but you can't even hear me. Well, you might but she doesn't."

For some unexplainable reason, Alyssa felt the need to talk, and for some company particularly one that couldn't currently talk with a stitched mouth. 

Upon waking from her strange dream Alyssa found the room shimmering and empty. Though Cheshire witch was currently wearing a cloaking spell rendering her invisible, she was watching the little witch. Alyssa's curiosity got the better of her, she began looking about Cheshire's bookshelves, the herb shelves, even darting in and out of the water closet. Somehow from the outside, all one could see was a toilet and a sink. Yet when you're walking through the door, there was so much more.

While Alyssa messed about the room Cheshire witch removed a largely hidden tomb from a hole in the wall placing it on a pedestal. Alyssa didn't even notice the movement of the book, not even when it opened with the pages fluttering.

Clearing her throat, yet still invisible to Alyssas eyes, Cheshire got the girl's attention.

'O'wow a spellbook and it's huge." Alyssa darted across the room towards the book, giving sock monkey a small glance. "A spell to hear the unspoken words. Recite these words while placing your sigel, ensure that what you wish to hear is situated within the center of the sigel or the spell will not work as intended. Well, I suppose it's worth a try."

"Five points within the circle, five elements to bind, five laws to follow, five truth to tell, all the things witches must abide by." Muttered Alyssa while drawing a pentagram and ruins on the floor. She placed sock monkey within the pentagram while muttering a few more unintelligible words.

"Oh, you're casting a spell on me. How nice." Thought sock monkey while Alyssa muttered a few more lines. "If the spell of your works I'll be amazed." Most spells Alyssa cast would either go awry or simply didn't work at all. With a smile and a clap of the hands, the results of the spell were obvious.

"Yay! I did it, it worked!" Alyssa jumped about merrily.

"What do you mean, it work?" Asked sock monkey shocked to find he had an actual voice though it wasn't quite like his own. "You can hear me?"

"I could always hear you." Said Alyssa while picking the sock monkey up off the floor. "I made it so your mouth would move because it never did before. I thought I was just imagining your voice."

Opening and closing his mouth sock monkey discovered something new about himself. "I have a tongue. I wonder if I can eat things now?

"I have a dead fly." Said Alyssa holding the thing by its wings while dangling it over sock monkeys mouth.

"No thank you." Said sock monkey not wanting his first meal to be a dead bug. "I'm not hungry. I don't think I have a stomach. Thanks for the offer though... wait you could always hear me?"

With a smile on her face, Alyssa put sock monkey back onto the table. "Yes always. Well since I was able to walk... so basically always."

"Why didn't you ever listen to my suggestions?" Asked sock monkey with a mousie voice.

"Where's the fun in that!" She sat down in the empty chair. "Though on occasion you have been right, and do have good ideas"

"Of course!" Cried sock monkey. "I may be made out of wool and lose fibers. Probably feathers too, but I know things.... at least more than you."

"Do you know what mother and grandmother have planned for me during the solar eclipse?" Asked Alyssa picking up several books that appeared at the table's edge. She merely glanced at the titles before placing them back on the table.

"No. I didn't even know that there was a magical marketplace." Said Sock monkey from within the tiny book fort Alyssa was erecting around him. "By the way thank you for not putting any holes in me, or setting me on fire. Anyway, where are we?"

"An old druids home, I think." Said Alyssa picking up another book. "I believe that this Cheshire witch is an ancient druid, you know a good witch. In other words completely different from my family and their coven."

"Well best we are going off then." Said sock monkey calmly. "We've portability overstayed our welcome already."

"Not a problem." Cheshire appeared out of nowhere with a book in hand, she thumbed through it quickly. " I brought you here for a reason, I wish to teach you little witch, the proper ways to use magic."

"No thank you!" Said Alyssa putting a book down completing a tiny book house. "Though, I probably do need to learn more things about this magical world we're living in. I'd rather like to do it on my own."

"As expected, of a young witch from that dark line." Cheshire was once again pouring tea. "Though there are two or three things you must know how to do before leaving here. After all, you do have a long journey ahead of you."

"I know not what you mean." Alyssa began sipping at the tea, she'd already decided to stay and learn these two or three things. She would never admit it though.

"Don't worry about that Miss Cheshire, Alyssa will stay and learn." Sock monkey felt his mouth open spewing out the words.

"Did your grandmother or mother teach you how to absorb information from a book?" Cheshire placed a small tin full of cookies down on the table.

"Yes, is that important?" Alyssa took a cookie, shoving part of it into sock monkeys mouth.

Cheshire's smile widened. "It makes all the difference, as I don't have to teach you. You'll absorb the information while learning on your own."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cookie crumbs continuously fell from sock monkeys mouth.

"It means dear dock monkey..." Cheshire swiftly cleaned up the crumbs. "Alyssa's mind will retain the information but she will only be able to access the information as it's needed."

"Sounds like fun, doesn't it!?" Alyssa shoved a cookie in her mouth smiling. "When can we start?"

"Just turn around." Cheshire had placed a stack of almost one hundred books in a pile on the floor. "Absorb all the information in those books, and do it in one go!"

With eyes slightly bulging Alyssa got up to stare at the mound of books. She had only successfully absorbed a book once, her mother told her the book wasn't for her eyes. That book was about the sun, sky, stars, and alignments. Alyssa slept for several days after that book flooded into her head. She cast the spell, muttering the words so low that even Cheshire couldn't hear. Upon placing her hands on the top open book the inked words began crawling up her hands, only to disappear in her skin. "Phew, that was alo..." Alyssa passed out.

"What just happened?" Cheshire strode over to Alyssas unconscious form, laying face down on her carpeted floor.

"The same thing happened last time she absorbed a book." sock monkeys tongue flicked out of his mouth trying to get a bit of chocolate off of his soft lips. "She'll wake up sooner or later. Oh, that's new." Alyssa transformed into a small little black furball.

"She must have triggered the spell in her sleep, very interesting." Cheshire gently picked up the now sleeping little cat Alyssa placing her gently in the bed. "She truly is a powerful little witch."

"Are you sure, this was the right thing to do?" Mumbled sock monkey, watching Cheshire putting books back on the shelves. "Though We should probably leave soon, don't want her family finding us. Who knows what they have planned for her and her powers."

"After a short nap, of course." Cheshire moved sock monkey to Alyssa's side. "You should nap too, you're going to have an important role to play in her future."

"Really!" Sock monkey was shocked to hear this, yet also wary of what his role was going to be. "Fine, but if you insist it's best to be gone by the time she wakes."

"I was already thinking about that." Cheshire smiled wickedly while shifting into her cat form. She then jumped to the closest tabletop before launching herself up to the top of the tallest shelf. She found a rather nice basket with a fuzzy blanket tucked within. She curled up into a ball, only to disappear from sock monkeys eyes as if she was never there. 

"Sweet dreams, Alyssa." Whispered sock monkey closing his eyes for a good long nap.