Come along, little light, you are so small yet. (That's what they seem to tell her, what their sweet voices seem to say to her.)
Come along, little glow, you have so much yet to accomplish. (That's how they keep her going, how they make her return again and again.)
Come along, little star, you are not quite yet who you are. (No one says that... She has to... She has...
She has to figure that out on her own.
Annabell's mind is a small place given only this world in which to grow in, so it knows so little. But she is a small girl, there is plenty of room in her own head for wandering around her thoughts. So that is what she does before the final task. That is what she occupies her time with.
Fighting monsters only fulfills a small portion of her longing, and the people who tend to dull the ache of it seem to be missing for the moment. So the girl finds a small, broken crevice to slide into and curls herself in on her own body. That makes her feel a little safer since being wrapped up, even by cracked walls, is better than not being wrapped up at all. And isn't that such a funny thing? That after all this time here, after the Goddesses have kept her safe through each task, she still feels in danger.
But that makes sense too. The first task she steals a heart and is chased down. She is hunted and almost drowned and must fight. The Goddess knew this would happen or else she would not have granted the safety of those metal shears. Those had been her protection at work... Hadn't it?
The second task is much worse, for the now heartless person chases her down. But she escapes, she gets out of the building and across the bridge and then just doesn't move fast enough. The protection of the Goddess is revoked. Another Goddess has passed judgement:
Prey.
How does one rise above that? How does one fight against that assessment?
And then completely free of scissors or stolen hearts is the last task, where there is tea served. It is delicious tea and Annabell drinks as many cups as she possibly can. After having her heart stolen, then given tea, she feels just a little confused.
But we must believe the Goddesses, she tells herself. Everyone else does. We must all trust in their judgement.
Somehow she knows this is dangerous. Somehow she knows this kind of thinking can get her killed. But she has already had her heart cut out, what worse can happen? The Goddesses returned her heart. They gave it back and gave her another chance to make them happy. That is why she has to press on. That is why she is not upset.
Annabell sighs in her little cracked place of safety, rests her head against the wall just as another call from the Goddesses stirs within her bruised heart. Yes, she believes them. Yes, she wants to make them proud and wants their blessing. But more than that... She wants to help. She wants to keep others from her pain. That is why she works her hardest to join their ranks.
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