Chapter 2 - staying with the kendricks: part 1

5.
Thin rays of sunlight peeking through a roof of green leaves, illuminating, between tall pillars of living, growing wood, a great hall where several, seemingly young, women, impossibly, almost inhumanly, slender and slight, were laughing and singing as they danced, hand in hand, a wild and never-ending dance.

On a raised dais at the furthest end of the hall a number of small trees had grown to form the shape of a throne. A throne upon which was seated a woman of imposing, almost impossible, height. Lean and elegant, her appearance offered little clue as to her age.

Somehow Faye seemed to recognise the woman. She, the hall she sat in, and the girls treading lightly across its earthen floor, they were all somehow very familiar to her.

Neither the dancing girls nor the woman upon her throne seemed to have noticed that they were being watched. Faye's presence seemed to have eluded them. This, she knew, was for the best. She did not want them to see her, to find her.

Then, as she stood there, quietly watching the dancing girls and the imposing woman, the hall seemed suddenly to drift further away, to become swiftly less present, less real. Somewhere far off a woman's voice was calling to her. Drawing a deep breath Faye smiled as a wonderful scent filled her nostrils.

6.
"Are you awake dear?"

As, slowly, she opened her eyes Faye found standing beside her bed a round, dumpy, and rather cheerful-looking woman in her early forties. A warm smile on her face she held in her pudgy hands a tray full of wonderfully fragrant foods.

"Yeah," Faye nodded, sitting up in her bed; "I'm awake."

"You must've been very tired, it's nearly midday." The woman said, placing her tray down on a small table beside Faye's bed. "It's Faye, right? Niall told me about you. I'm Mrs. Kendrick, but you can call me Maggie if you like." She winked at Faye. "I know it's a bit late, but I figured you might need some breakfast."

"Thanks," Faye grinned, all but drooling at the mere scent of the meal that Mrs. Kendrick had brought her; "I certainly would."

The food was like nothing Faye had ever tasted before. So rich, so full of flavour, she couldn't help but to blush as a moan of pleasure escaped her lips.

"I see you quite like your bacon and eggs." Mrs. Kendrick grinned.

"Oh yes," Faye nodded, shoving another mouthful in between her lips.

Sitting her round, fleshy body down on a chair beside the bed Mrs. Kendrick made pleasant small talk as Faye ate, asking questions which the girl did her best to answer between bites.

They were mostly simple questions, in the style of: "Where are you from?" and: "What are you doing 'round these parts?" Even so Faye found them surprisingly hard to answer.

She seemed to have little memory of her life before she'd woken up among the stones on Auberlynne Hill. This, she knew, ought probably to bother her, but in truth it did not.

She answered the questions that Mrs. Kendrick put to her in as honest a manner as she could. She told the cheery older woman that she thought she was from a place far away, that she'd left it behind because there was something she was looking for, something she wanted desperately to find.

"Somehow I don't really seem to remember much about it." She said, having just wolfed down another spoonful of greasy strips of bacon. "I'm not quite sure where I came from or where I meant to be going. I just remember waking up, all dizzy and confused, in the middle of that stone circle. I don't know what I'd have done if Niall hadn't happened to be there."

"Sounds like you must've been through quite some ordeal to end up like that." Mrs. Kendrick said, a sympathetic smile on her friendly, fleshy face. "No wonder you've been sleeping for so long. Still, I'm glad to see you've got a proper appetite on you. I can't remember ever seeing a girl as scrawny as you before." She giggled, giving Faye's slender, supple arm a playful little squeeze.

"Well," Faye grinned as she bit into a slice of spicy bread slathered in more than a little too much butter; "I'm sure anybody would grow a healthy appetite if you served them something as delicious as this."

At that Mrs. Kendrick erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Oh come now, you must not be very used to good food." She grinned. "If you think this is delicious then just wait 'til you see what I'm going to be cooking up for dinner."

7.
"I hear you brought a girl home last night?" Annie Kendrick said, an impish smile on her slightly full face.

"Yeah, that's right." Niall said, not looking at the girl as, with hands covered in flour, he kneaded a large lump of soft, white dough.

Behind him Annie was leaning against a table, absently playing with her chestnut hair. Dressed in a simple blue gown that flattered her curvy, voluptuous figure the daughter of the house was, by any standard, a very beautiful young woman.

"So," she said, her smile turning into a mischievous grin; "was she pretty?"

"Oh come off it." Niall smiled, rolling his eyes at the girl.

"What, I'm just asking." She giggled. "Hey, are you alright? I can swear your face is looking a little more red than usual? She was pretty wasn't she?"

"You'll see for yourself soon enough." Niall said, his smile turning into a slight smirk. "Happen to run into Harry Miller lately by the way?"

This time it was Annie's turn to blush.

"That's none of your business." She snapped.

"If you say so..." Niall shrugged. "Anyways, don't you have anything better to do than to pester me? Aren't you supposed to be manning the counter?"

"Oh please," Annie let out a groan; "I've got it under control. There aren't usually that many customers 'round this time of day anyways."

"Well, if you've got nothing better to do why don't you try one of these?" Niall said, gesturing to a plate of freshly baked cupcakes. "They're fresh out of the oven."

Looking at the delicious treats Annie licked her lips. Then, swiftly getting a hold of herself, she shook her head.

"No way, that's the last thing I need right now."

"Suit yourself." Niall shrugged. "You've got no idea what you're missing."

Not turning his head Niall waited for Annie to respond with some sharp little comment. Instead, to his surprise, a completely different voice answered him.

"I'll try one if you don't mind."

Turning his head he saw, in the doorway behind him, the slender, delicate form of Faye.

No longer clad in her thin, flowing, green gown the girl was wearing a simple, ordinary dress, a floral print borrowed, as far as Niall could tell, out of Annie's closet.

Made, as it was, to flatter a fuller figure the gown did not sit well on her. The excess fabric hung around her slight frame, subsuming it and hiding from view any hint of her lean, subtle curves.

Casting a glance towards Annie Niall couldn't help but smile as he saw a hint of a disgruntled frown on her face. She seemed not at all pleased to find her dress so loose on this strange girl.

Whilst Annie was not, as such, fat it was hard, when comparing her with the shapely Faye, to ignore the layer of soft flesh filling out her overly generous curves. When stood next to the lean stranger Annie's plump arms, ample hips, and thick thighs were hard to miss.

"So, who have we here then?" The full-figured girl asked, her face settling into a friendly smile as she took a step towards Faye.

"Annie, this is Faye, our guest." Mrs. Kendrick, who'd entered the room just behind the slender girl, said. "Faye, this is Annie, my daughter. Niall, of course, you already know."

"A pleasure to meet you," Annie said, extending a hand. "I see mom's let you borrow one of my old dresses?"

"You too," Faye smiled, taking the girl's hand in her own. "Yeah," She continued, a sweet, innocent look on her face. "I'm not really sure it suits me, but it's nice and roomy."

At that Annie's smile seemed, for a moment, to fade. Quick to regain her composure she glanced over at Niall, a smug little grin on her face.

"Looks like I was right." She said in a sing-song voice.

Niall did not answer her. Ignoring the impish girl he turned instead towards Faye.

"Morning," he said; "did you sleep well?"

"Like a log." Faye nodded. "I can't remember ever sleeping so soundly. Though I'm not sure that really says much."

"No strange dreams then?"

"I don't think so." She shrugged. "Now what were those things you were talking about that were fresh out of the oven?"

"After a cupcake, are you?" Niall grinned.

"Yes please." Faye said, responding with an eager nod of her head.

"Well then," Niall said, taking one off the plate and holding it up towards her; "go ahead."

8.
Faye couldn't help but to let out a soft moan as the flavour of the frosted treat spread across her tongue. So sweet, so rich, so filling, she'd never tasted anything like it. As she bit into the sugary confection all thoughts seemed to vacate her mind, for one short, blissful moment she found herself focused on nothing but the act of eating.

"Looks like it turned out well?" Niall said, smiling at the stunned, starry look in the Faye's eyes.

"Yeah," Faye nodded; "it was pretty good, I think. I might have to have another though, just to be sure."