"Once upon a time, there was a tiny kingdom nestled between two mountains, ruled by a powerful god."
Marisa placed the first of her chosen dolls on the makeshift stage of stacked books draped with a piece of pale cloth. Alice's house held a tremendous amount of sewing materials, categorised by colour and use so neatly that thinking about it made Marisa's eyes water, but making use of most of them would have taken far more effort than her goofing off warranted. She had simply taken a piece of red velvet from a box of scrap materials and wrapped it around the doll's shoulders.
"The god had many beautiful, talented daughters," Marisa delighted in clustering several smaller dolls around the first, each clothed in vibrant colours, "but none were as beautiful or as talented as Princess Audra."
With a flourish, she placed down one of the two dolls that had first inspired her to put on a little play as she waited for Alice in the first place. Even amidst the peerless craft of even the most disposable ones of Alice's dolls, this one stood out like a jewel in a magpie's nest. The shimmering veil covering the doll's short glossy hair perfectly complemented the carefully stitched white and blue costume and miniature lace apron.
"However, one day disaster struck." Marisa lowered her voice in her best imitation of Alice's narration when the story in her puppet shows went south. "Another god with a wicked heart challenged the ruler's sovereignty." She hadn't found any suitably ominously-coloured velvet for her villain stand-in, but the swirl of black silk was almost better. "The ruling god could do little but sic her daughters at the intruder, but try as they might, they couldn't stop the wicked god's onslaught." One by one, Marisa upended all the dolls until only the initial one and the newcomer remained. "But then! Just when all hope seemed lost, the manor shook with thunder, and a dashing heroine entered the scene!"
She was pleased with the outfit she had managed to craft onto the heroine with just a couple of minutes and the scrap box. The wide cape sported a gold trimming and a star pattern, and the bigger ribbon she had tied over the standard one on the doll's head had some really fetching lace on it. She kept the doll in her hand as she placed it on the stage and mimed looking around.
"Never fear, O Goddess, the heroine declared, placing her hand on her chest. I shall save your realm out of the goodness of my pure, maidenly heart. But the goddess insisted on rewarding the heroine richly anyway, and so the heroine set out to fight against the wicked god."
There was nothing she could use to play music, and so she settled for humming a suitably momentous tune under her breath as she picked up the villain of the piece.
"Wham! Smash! Bam! Boom! After a day and night of fierce battle, the heroine finally vanquished the wicked god with her signature glitter dust storm!"
Halting for a moment, Marisa popped open a bottle of glitter she had found in the box and let it scatter onto the battlefield. She watched the dust settle, then placed the now sparkly villain gently to the side.
"Three days of feasting and celebration followed. Afterwards, the ruling god gave the heroine all the treasure she could carry and sent her on her merry way. But just as she was about to cross the border and return home..."
It wasn't that easy to mime walking with a doll, and so she had Princess Audra fly as well. "Wait, my heroine! After seeing the beauty of your fighting style, I can never again live without you. Take me with you wherever you go, and—"
"And make note that this isn't what I sound like."
Marisa turned with both dolls in hand. Alice leaned against the door frame, her expression vacillating between amusement and annoyance before settling into a tight smile.
Marisa grinned back without shame. "I did my best."
"I'm sure, but her voice isn't nearly that squeaky. And you know that her name isn't Audra." Alice entered the room. "For how long have you known I was here?"
"Since the start of the battle." Marisa brushed some glitter off Princess Not-Really-Audra's shoulder. "Since when have you really been watchin'?"
"Since you set up." By now Alice's smile was more relaxed, but she still looked at the dolls in Marisa's hand as if half wishing to snatch them away. "I have some issues with your plot and characterisation as well."
"In that case," Marisa cleared a space on the floor and patted at it, "why don't ya come and finish the play how it should be?"
Alice raised an eyebrow, then looked over her shoulder as if expecting to spot a spy. Finally, she knelt down next to Marisa and took the proffered princess doll, only to set it back onto the stage. She flexed her fingers like a concert pianist preparing for a demanding solo.
"Princess... Audra did indeed follow the heroine." After the initial hiccup, Alice transitioned into her rich narration voice as if she never used anything else. "But it wasn't adoration which spurred her on. Rather, she was incensed by the wanton destruction the heroine's fighting had caused, compounded by theft."
The princess doll stirred. If Marisa hadn't known better, she would have believed that it had truly come to life as it turned towards her and held out its hand.
"Give me back the jewel you stole."
Marisa chuckled and rolled onto her stomach, waving the heroine's arm. "I earned it fair and square. I can't let somethin' this precious go without a fight."
"And so they fought," Alice narrated and directed her doll to make menacing swoops at Marisa's. "However, as the battle raged on, the princess came to see that although the heroine was a scoundrel, she had many dazzling qualities that the princess could indeed come to love."
"And they decided that if they lived together, the jewel could belong to them both?" Marisa suggested.
A nod of approval. "And so they did. Happily ever after."
Marisa began to laugh, suddenly aware that she was covered in glitter. Not that she really minded, especially not once Alice joined in on the laughter.
"If you enjoy playing with dolls this much," Alice halted to swallow the remains of her mirth, "we could design one specifically for you."
"Can she have a rocket launcher?"
"Perhaps."
"I love you."