At least thirty pairs of eyes spun to face her, examining her curiously as she strode towards the buffet table. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked, her hands shaking ever so slightly before her usual calm and composed demeanour settled over her once more. Icen had never liked crowds. More people meant there was a greater chance someone would touch her and end up as an ice sculpture. She was there for an unavoidable reason, though, which her stomach soon reminded her of, growling loudly all of a sudden, causing her feet to move more quickly towards the large table of food as the snickers of the she-wolves nearby reached her ears. There were still some eyes locked on her, silently looking her up and down before going back to doing whatever they had been before, whilst others continued watching as the small girl piled up a mountain of food onto her plate.

"Ah, ah." Her plate was snatched away in an instant, brown eyes staring intently into her own as the Dollmaker handed her a much smaller portion of food. "You're Fae, so you don't need as much."

"I'm not Fae." She scowled, on the verge of snarling, jerking her head away as he reached for her ears, which were safely hidden away in her hair. "Now, gimmi the plate back! I'm hungry, mongrel."

"Must you insult me with every breath?"

"Yes, pig, as a matter of fact I have to." She said, swiftly consuming her small plateful, eyeing up her original mountain of food. "Now, give me the plate, swine. I'm still starving."

"No."

Icen hissed.

"We really need to work on your table manners, doll." He sighed, shoulders slumping ever so slightly. "They're appalling."

"Give me the plate back right this instant, dog, unless you want me to use your arm as a chew toy." She smiled coldly, her hands twitching in agitation right up until the moment she yanked the plate back, storming off to sit at the nearest table. Much to her surprise, the Dollmaker let her, simply arching one eyebrow as he watched her eat her way through the large stack of food.

"You should be more careful." The brunette sitting next to her said, oddly worried grey eyes peering at her. "Otherwise you'll be sent to the Dollbreaker with that attitude."

"Dollbreaker...?"

"Trust me. You don't want to be sent to his workshop..." She said, sparing a glance at the blonde sitting opposite.

"She's right." The blonde sighed, adjusting her lilac dress. "You should hear the horror stories from the girls who have their rooms right next to his wing of the Dollhouse."

"But, anyway, let's get off that topic." She smiled. "I'm Eliza, but you can call me Liz if you'd like."

"Eliza." Icen nodded.

"I'm Violet. Nice to meet you." The blonde said, her lavender coloured eyes peering curiously into her electric blue ones. "Are we allowed to ask whose doll you are?"

"No."

"I see..." Eliza mumbled. "I guess some people like the icy personality, I suppose..."

"What's it matter to you?"

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Violet asked, staring at her curiously, swiftly casting a meaningful glance in her friend's direction.

"Icen."

Violet smiled. "The name suits you."

A wry smile pulled at her lips. "I suppose it does."

"When did you get here?"

"Last night, I think." She shrugged, finding herself oddly at ease with the two. But Icen didn't like that. It scared her. The only person she could trust was miles away doing god knows what as she sat inside the hall, trapped in the glass prison.

"Oh. I suppose I should've guessed that you were brought here unconscious..." Eliza said, staring thoughtfully at her half-eaten breakfast. "I'm guessing you still have no desire to become an Alpha's Doll, but let me give you some advice – don't bother trying to escape. This place is on lockdown."

"I gathered that, fool."

"What dorm are you assigned to?" Eliza asked, ignoring the jibe. "Who's your dollmaker?"

"Dorm?"

"The place you're sleeping," she said, raising an eyebrow at her cluelessness, "duh."

"She's trying to figure out whose doll you are." Violet explained helpfully, rising from her chair, picking up her skirts as she did so. "Come on. We can go and talk about this in the lounge... It'll be more relaxing there."

Icen, for once, stayed quiet, simply following after the girl until they reached the classy lounge swamped with silvery furniture. The three of them soon found some seats free, Icen sitting opposite the two others, a coffee table separating them. "So... Whose brides are you?"

"One of the higher caste Alphas... The ones who work just below the Alpha Lords." Violet smiled, shrugging. "It's why most girls here tend to distance themselves from us... We're currently the only two here in that position."

"We've got Raul and Sid as our dollmakers, and they're the ones who were the original Dollmaker's first protegees." Eliza added, her expression neutral. "We can only really talk to the new dolls, and even then, they normally get stolen away by Cassie and her lot eventually."

"Cassie?"

"She's set to become the doll of a rather famous Alpha." Violet scowled. "But he's a rank below our Alphas."

"And?" A brunette appeared, plonking herself down on the sofa next to Icen, seemingly oblivious to the way the silverette stiffened. "I'm Cassie, in case you hadn't guessed. Nice to meet you."

"Icen."

"Do you want to come and join us over there?" She asked, smiling sweetly, which immediately had her on edge. Sweet smiles normally hide something malicious – something Icen had learnt the hard way. "There's probably more girls of your rank..."

Icen fought the urge to laugh. She highly doubted any of them were set to become an Alpha Lord's Doll. "I'm fine here." She gritted her teeth. "Go back to your horde already. If I wanted to speak with any of you I would've come over and started a conversation."

Cassie tutted. "I can see why you didn't." She scoffed. "You fit better in with these two... such a shame they could be leaving any day soon... leaving you all on your own."

"Wow. I'm so scared."

"Tch."

One silver brow twitched. "Don't you 'tch' at me, swine."

"Swine?!"

"Go back to your gaggling groupies, pig, and leave me alone. I've had enough of seeing your ugly face for one day." She said, glaring at the girl who couldn't have been more than a year or two older than her.

Cassie raised a hand, probably to slap her, but Icen moved first, grabbing her face in her gloved hand. "You-"

"Leave, mongrel."

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" A horribly familiar voice sounded, one hand closing around the collar of her dress, yanking her away from the other girl and into a set of arms. "Oh, doll... What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Dollmaker." The three girls stood, staring at the black-haired man holding a sullen Icen.

"Violet, doll." He spoke, smiling softly at her. "I believe your future mate is waiting for you in the meeting room."

A blonde stepped forward, offering his arm to the purple-eyed girl. "Shall we?"

"Thank you, Sid." Violet said, gently clasping his forearm as they strode out of the room, not bothering to watch as Icen latched onto the closest thing to her.

"Come on." The Dollmaker sighed, sounding rather exasperated as he watched her cling to the back of the sofa for dear life. "Doll, your own future mate is waiting for you in the meeting room too."

"Is that supposed to make me want to go, pig?!" She hissed, baring her teeth at him. "Like hell! I'd rather stay here!"

Brown eyes blinked. "Wow... You managed to refrain from insulting me for an entire sentence..."

"I've done that before, maggot!"

"Maggot, huh?" He grabbed her by the ankles, pulling rather forcefully, but her grip didn't loosen. Not even slightly. "That's a new one."

"Let go!"

"You sure you want me to?" The Dollmaker smiled, dropping her legs, merely watching in glee as Icen's grip on the sofa slipped as she collided rather harshly with the ground. "Let's go, doll." He said, dragging her away with him as he left the room.

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