Chapter 4 - The Stable

The next morning Anna woke late. The house was eerily silent and Rebecca was not in the room. Anna got the sense that something was very wrong; it gave her a queasy feeling in her stomach as she slowly made her way downstairs for breakfast still in her night dress. The table was completely bare; a stark contrast to the sumptuous food that had been laid out the previous night. Anna opened the small pantry at the back of the kitchen, but all she could find to eat was stale bread and hard cheese. There was still no sign of Rebecca, her mother or Bill.

Anna cut herself a slice of cheese and ripped off a chunk of bread, which she ate without much enthusiasm. It required far too much chewing to be an enjoyable meal. There was not even anything good to drink; only water from the pump which had been drawn the previous day and had that strange taste of water left overnight.

Fed up of trying to eat the bread and cheese, Anna pushed away her plate with half of the food untouched.

"I would eat that if I were you. We don't like wasted food around here!"

Anna gasped, surprised to see the woman from the night before leaning against the sink and still wearing her green hooded cloak. Anna had not seen or heard her come into the kitchen, even though she had been facing the only door.

"Who are you? Why are you still here? How did you get in?"

"Oh, the curiosity of youth," replied the woman, lowering her green hood and allowing her long red hair to flow freely across her shoulders.

"What do you mean about..." began Anna, but the woman put her finger on Anna's lips and they closed tight. She could not open them to speak, although she wanted to.

"My name is Miranda, and I like to dabble in what you would call 'Dark Arts.' Some people would call me a witch, but... well, some people will say anything." Miranda grinned, but it was not a comforting smile. She clicked her fingers and Anna found she could open her mouth again. Her surprise was only momentary and she paused only to take a breath before she began demanding to see her family.

"Where is my mother?" she shouted. "Where is Rebecca?"

"All in good time," replied Miranda dismissively. "Stand up, so I can get a better look at you."

Anna found that she was unable to resist the witch's commands; she felt that she was outside of her own body watching as she slowly pushed back her chair and walked around the table. Miranda grunted to herself and approached Anna who stood there, suddenly was unable to move.

With a swift flick of her wrist, Miranda untied Anna's belt and her night dress fell to the floor, exposing her naked form. Anna felt the warm glow of embarrassment creeping up her face, but was not able to even lift her arms to cover her breasts, or cup her hands to hide her feminine flower. Miranda walked around the naked girl slowly, in silence, and Anna could almost feel the witch's eyes boring into her body.
After what seemed like an age, Miranda sighed and sharply pinched Anna's upper arm. Anna squeaked with pain and surprise, but was still unable to move, even as Miranda's cold hands felt around her breasts, squeezing tightly. The leathery, rough feel of Miranda's fingers was a stark contrast to their soft and pale appearance, but Anna could not concentrate on that thought for long; she was distracted by the painful stab of thumbs in her ribs.

"You are nothing but skin and bone, girl!" said Miranda angrily as she dug her nails into Anna's bottom. Finally, Anna found she could move again and leapt forward, away from the pain. Quickly, she grabbed her night dress and pulled it over her body almost crying with a mixture of pain and embarrassment.

"The effort of feeding you and the amount you need to eat will not be worth the result," continued Miranda thoughtfully, almost as though talking to herself. "That does not mean we can't make use of you though." She gave Anna a wide smile, but once again, it was neither friendly nor comforting.

Anna stood there, twisting her belt between her hands, not knowing what to say. She felt violated and abused in her own home by this strange woman. Her mother and sister were nowhere to be seen; even Bill would be a welcome visitor now. Anna just wanted to see somebody, anybody, who would be there to defend her from this woman. She had never felt so alone.

Miranda watched her for a few seconds, her face morphing from amusement to an annoyed sneer.

"Don't just stand there, girl!" she shouted. "You have a lot of work to do!"

"But I..." began Anna. Miranda silenced her with a wave of her hand.

"Your old life is over," said Miranda. "You work for me now and I am a very demanding boss! So get your scrawny body up those stairs and get dressed. If you are not back down in fifteen minutes, I will drag you down by your hair." Anna wanted to argue, but something in Miranda's eyes made it clear she was not making empty threats. Anna whimpered and ran up the stairs to her room.

Within ten minutes, Anna was back in the kitchen nervously chewing her lip. Miranda was sat at the table examining her finger nails.

"Get a pan of milk and cream on the stove," said Miranda without looking up. "Heat it up, but don't let it boil. Then throw in some butter and sugar and mix it all together." When Anna did not move, Miranda looked up in surprise. "You are making porridge girl!" she shouted. "Once it is all mixed in, you will add oats. It will be very nice!"

"We don't have any food in the pantry," whispered Anna, looking at her feet and avoiding Miranda's angry gaze.

"Ahhh! Well, we had a delivery while you were upstairs. Have a look."

Anna opened the pantry door, and there was plenty of food in there. Her mouth began to water and her stomach rumbled, but before she could think of eating Miranda grabbed her shoulder roughly and dug her nails in while viciously spinning Anna on the spot.

"It's not for you," hissed Miranda, her face only inches from Anna, who could feel her warm breath and tried to pull away from the putrid stench. Miranda released her and stepped back. "Now, get the pan and start the porridge."


Defeated, Anna lit the stove and placed a large pan on it. Following Miranda's instructions she poured in milk and cream. If Miranda thought she was moving too slowly or imagined even the slightest sign of disobedience, she thought nothing of giving Anna a slap with a wooden spoon.

Finally, the pan was filled with a thick, sweet porridge and Miranda nodded in satisfaction. She took a large bowl, ordered it to be filled and then taken out to the stable. Anna was puzzled, but had already learned not to question. However, she was not prepared for what she saw next.

It was now clear that Bill had been securing the windows and turning the stable into a prison. The stalls had been removed and replaced with a cage. Rebecca was the other side of the bars, sat in the corner, hugging her knees and rocking.

"What happened?" gasped Anna, horrified. Rebecca did not respond,

"Just give her the porridge and get back into the kitchen!" commanded Miranda, dropping a spoon into the bowl.

Slowly, Anna opened the door to the cage and slid the bowl in. Without looking up, Rebecca scuttled across the room and began shovelling the food into her mouth as though she had not eaten for weeks.

"Rebecca..." began Anna, and now her sister did look up, big tears rolling down her face, but she did not stop eating the thick porridge; she did not even slow down. Miranda grabbed Anna's hair and began to pull her out of the stable.

"You need to get back to the kitchen and start cooking your sister's next meal. You will only have enough food to keep the breath in your body, but I want her constantly over-fed so she gets nice and plump."

Anna managed to pull free. "What? Why?"

"Because once she is fat, I will eat her."

Anna began backing away and suddenly stepped into Bill. She had never felt so happy to see him!

"Oh, thank God," she gasped. "You have to help me get Rebecca out of the stable and then find my mother!"

Bill looked puzzled. "But I only just locked Rebecca in there," he said. "And as for your mother..." He pulled back a sheet of tarpaulin in the stable yard, uncovering her mother's lifeless body.