chapter 2

Travis tried to make as little noise as possible as he crept through the courtyard. He just wanted to sleep. He walked past the stables and opened the back door to the kitchens as quietly as he could. His heart stopped when he turned a corner. Maria was standing near the pantry door, worry etched onto her face.

“Travis!” she cried and hurried towards him. “I was so worried. You were gone for so long!”

Travis wanted very much to disappear in that moment. He was sweaty and red faced, his tunic was still tight around his middle and he couldn't think of a worse person to see him in that state.

“Travis? Is everything okay?” Maria asked.

“I found the witch,” Travis replied quietly. “She's dead.”

Maria's face lit up and she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. Jolted by the shock and sudden movement, Travis couldn't stop a burp from slipping out of him. Maria pulled back and stared at him quizzically. As her eyes darted down to his belly, Travis prayed for the witch to come back from the dead so she could kill him. Not only did he look a mess but... he'd just burped... on the princess.

“Are you okay?” Maria asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Travis said. “I just ate is all.”

“Ate what?” Maria asked with a chuckle. “A watermelon?”

Travis felt his face flush crimson. He was mortified. Why couldn't he have died in that cabin? Or in the forest on the way back? There were so many chances...

“Hey, hey,” Maria said softly. “I was kidding. There's no need to look so sad, you know. You're a hero!”

“Not really...” Travis said.

He didn't feel like a hero. The witch hadn't even put up a fight. If it hadn't been for her bizarre, inaudible words before her death, he'd be sure he'd gotten the wrong person. Even later, standing there in the kitchen, Travis was sure she'd been speaking loud enough to hear. Her words had been both whispered and bellowed but he hadn't been able to make out her meaning.

“You look tired,” Maria said. “Come with me.”

Maria led him through the door to the rest of the castle. Travis would have argued if he weren't so dreadfully tired; the servant's quarters were in the other direction. He followed her up the stairs, through corridors he didn't recognise until they came to a heavy wooden door.

“Go ahead,” Maria said, gesturing to the door. “Get some rest and meet me in the library in the morning. It's just down that way, you can't miss it.”

Travis thought distantly that he must have known where he was; he'd passed the library many times with Maria but had never been inside. As kitchen staff, the library was never somewhere he'd needed to be.

He opened the door and it swung open with a loud creak. Inside was the largest bed he'd ever seen, with lavish, soft pillows. Every inch of the room was decorated with the finest things gold could buy. Travis wondered how many visiting lords and ladies had used this room before him as he slipped into the soft bed.

He slept strangely that night. Dreams overtook him quickly but the visions he saw were troubling. When they begun, Travis was back in the forest, just outside the cabin. He could see himself at the window and he watched himself walk inside. He saw the dagger plunge into the witch's back and he kept his distance. Then the witch began to speak. What had previously been intelligible mutterings were now clear as day, even from outside. Her voice rang in his ears and Travis could feel the resonance in his bones.

“Young warrior,” she said. “You know not what destruction you bring.”

Travis walked closer. He couldn't stop himself. He peered through the door and his blood turned to ice in his veins when the witch stared back at him.

“I am not who you seek, yet you ask no questions. You strike me down, yet you know not my name. Time will tell your punishment. Your greatest sin will rule you.”

Travis slowly stepped back and the plants around the cabin began to grow rapidly. Flowers bloomed and vines shot towards the roof until vegetation was all Travis could see. He was swallowed up by greenery and when he opened his eyes, he was in a dark room made of stone.

To his side sat Maria, her golden hair flowing over her shoulders. Her smile was the only light in the room.

Travis reached out to her but Maria turned her head and looked right through him. It was like she could see him but refused to acknowledge his existence. The time Travis had always expected had come. There had to be a time when their friendship would wither. He had nothing to offer her. She'd given him more than enough.

Travis was shaken awake roughly. He expected to see the angry face of the chef peering down at him. Instead, it was Maria. She did look a little annoyed.

“...morning...” he said quietly with a yawn.

“Barely,” she said. “I've been waiting in the library for you for hours.”

“Huh? Oh... sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

Maria's face softened, tight lips replaced with a smile.

“Yes, of course,” she said quickly. “Yesterday must have taken a lot out of you. Are
you hungry? I have breakfast on its way.”

Travis nodded eagerly. He was famished. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought he'd skipped a few meals the day before. He hadn't though, had he? He'd eaten so much in the cabin that he shouldn't be hungry. Maria shouldn't be in charge of his breakfast, either. He was already sure to get a scolding for not starting the ovens early. Still, he was hungry. He barely had the energy to move.

“I must go speak with my brother,” she said. “Food should be here shortly. I didn't know what you would like so just eat what you like and leave the rest.”

Minutes later, when a tray was brought in by a wordless chambermaid, Travis' mouth watered as soon as he saw it. He was so captivated by the sights and smells that he barely noticed the raised eyebrow and scowl of the chambermaid.

It was too much for any one person but Maria was royalty. They were prone to wastefulness, weren't they? Travis idly wondered how much he was expected to eat as he reached out for a hunk of toasted bread. It was still warm as he spread freshly churned butter and layered it with cheese and sausage. The four eggs he went for after made him ever fuller, but Travis didn't stop there. Fresh milk helped him to wash everything down before he started on the still steaming porridge. Sweet berries were scattered over it and Travis gulped it down eagerly.

His stomach began to ache and he knew he'd overdone it. He let one hand trail down beneath the sheets to rub gently at his flesh. It was taut and swollen, close to how it had been the night before. Travis felt shame rise in him but he still reached for more food. He wouldn't stop. He couldn't.

Fruit followed, then more bread, until the only thing left was the milk. It was rich and creamy. Nearly half of the jug was already gone but Travis was going to finish it. He didn't even both to pour it into the cup provided; Travis drank straight from the jug itself.

His belly throbbed with every gulp and he knew he should stop. He couldn't fight a groan as he felt his stomach swell under his fingertips.

Finally, the last of the milk trickled down his throat. As soon as it was empty, it was like he came back to his senses instantly. He took shallow breaths as he sat back into the pillows. Shallow breaths were all he could manage. Somehow, he felt even more bloated than the night before. He awkwardly moved the tray next to the table next to the bed, taking care not to jostle his overstuffed stomach.

A wet burp escaped his lips as he fell back into the soft pillows. He was a mess. He needed to have more control. Twice in less than twenty four hours... A warm haze began to slip over him as he slowly rubbed his swollen stomach under the blankets. He let his eyes close, just for a moment. It would only be a moment.