"Sacre bleu!" cried Miss Celeste, her voice high and shrill as she blinked her glassy, but now organic eyes and stared up at Anna’s gigantic face. She looked
around the room. Its once familiar contents were now so large, so alien. Her arms and legs twisted and writhed as she tried to break the giant girl’s grip.
"Shhh!" said Anna. "Don’t be afraid."
Miss Celeste began to shriek hysterically as she felt the giant hands’ grip tighten around her. "What have you done to me, you little monster!"
Anna tried to comfort her governess by running a finger through the lush black silk that was still Miss Celeste’s hair. "I turned you into a little doll. You still are a
doll, only now you can talk and move."
"You are a wicked, wicked, little girl," said the governess.
Anna began to cry. "Oh, Miss Celeste, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just doing what the voice in Father’s ring told me to do. Please don’t be cross. I
love you … but Circe … scares me…"
"Circe? She’s an evil witch." Anna looked quizzically at her miniature governess.
"Circe isn’t evil," declared Anna.
"That’s what she wants you to think." Miss Celeste pointed a tiny porcelain index finger at Anna. "But she is evil. You must trick her somehow into turning me
back. And then you must get rid of this accursed ring. Forever."
"I don’t have to trick her into changing you back. She said she’d do it whenever I want her to.
"Then have her change me, now!"
The ersatz Miss Celeste handed Anna a toy cup and saucer. "One lump or two, Miss?" said the former doll.
"Who is that! squeaked Miss Celeste.
"Oh, that’s just my birthday doll. I had Circe turn her into you to fool Mother while you were still just a doll.
Anna let Miss Celeste struggle to her feet. "This is an outrage!" she cried as she stood on Anna’s lap, the large girl’s hands still holding her firmly in place. "I
demand you end this madness now!" she added with a stamp of a tiny porcelain foot.
"No. I like the way things are now. We can play and have fun all day long, and go on adventures, and my doll can do all your old work." Anna bent her head and
touched her nose to her miniaturized governess’ porcelain face. "She does everything I tell her to do."
"If you don’t end this, I will go to your Mother and tell her everything."
Anna began to cry again. "Oh, Miss Celeste, please don’t. I love you so much. I want to share my powers with you. If you tell Mother, I’d have to throw you in
the furnace, or let William shoot at your little porcelain head with his slingshot."
"Oh, Anna, you wouldn’t do that."
"No, but I’d have Circe turn you into something else. Something that didn’t talk or move or have any fun at all." Anna lifted the doll to her face. "Something that
might get forgotten one day, and get thrown out with the rubbish."
"Well," said Miss Celeste.