Chapter 11 - changing seasons: part 1

26.
The tight canopy that made up the vaulted ceiling of the great wooden hall had shifted from hues of bright green to ones of vibrant yellow and red. Soon it would be bare, the earthen floor far beneath covered in the dull, fading remnants of those same now so vibrant hues.

Seated on her oaken throne the tall, imposing woman watched as her troop of slight, slender girls continued through their dance. Their pace having slowed their movements were now more melancholy, more tired and listless than before, yet no less graceful and no less beautiful.

Her brow furrowed ever so slightly the tall, slender woman studied them over and over. Her mood was hard to read, but she seemed somehow puzzled, as if slowly some great realisation was coming to dawn upon her. As if something was gnawing at the back of her mind and she hadn't quite yet figured out what.

For a moment the woman's piercing gaze seemed to fall right on Faye. Though her stare caused the girl to flinch the woman showed upon her face no sign of having seen her. She seemed somehow to be looking through the nowadays somewhat more substantial girl, her sharp eyes failing to notice what was right in front of them. Glancing down towards the fingers of her own left hand Faye noticed a faint light emanating from the pale, white metal of her mysterious ring.

27.
Sluggishly rubbing the sleep out of her eyes Faye curled herself up under her warm blanket. She didn't want to get up, didn't want to step out into the cold, harsh world outside her comfy bed. So she allowed herself instead simply to lie there, hours passing as she listened to the wind rattling her window. Outside the sky was overcast, a field of heavy, ominous gray clouds stretching as far as the eye could see. They looked ready to release at any minute a torrent of cold water down upon the wilting, windswept landscape far beneath.

Once upon a time Faye would, upon waking, simply have sprung out of bed. Now however, with the air around her so cold and the sky above so dark, she found herself still drowsy. She wasn't nearly done waking up yet. And really, why should she be expected to have to get up? It wasn't like she had any particular duties or responsibilities to attend to. Sure, she'd promised the Kendricks to help out around the bakery, but it wasn't like anybody ever complained when she didn't. They didn't really need her. They'd do perfectly well without her. Was there really any reason why she, if she so wanted, couldn't simply stay in bed all day?

She found her question swiftly answered by a rumble from her empty tummy. Her little snack from last night having been digested as she slept her body was now calling for more, her belly crying to be filled with delicious food. Hungry as she was however she still didn't want to get up.

Suddenly faced with this terrible dilemma Faye found herself at a loss for what to do. She wanted to eat. To dig her teeth into a hearty plateful of Maggie Kendrick's flavoursome food, to feel against her tongue the taste of one of Niall's delicious treats. But she also didn't want to leave the warm comfort of her bed. She didn't want to have to push her covers aside, didn't want to have to put her bare feet down on the cold floorboards. Cradling her soft, painfully empty tummy she wracked her brain for what to do. Bringing her hands together upon its spongy flesh she played absently with her ring, the white metal of which it was made strangely warm to the touch.

For a long while she simply laid there, perfectly still, her eyes closed as gluttony and sloth battled for supremacy inside her mind. Faye knew that further or later she'd have to get up, her urge to eat was becoming unbearable. But couldn't she wait just a little while longer? If only her food could just come to her.

Suddenly her muddled train of thought was interrupted by a hollow knock on her wooden door.

"Who is it," she slurred, not quite loud enough for whoever was outside to hear.

"Figured you might like some brunch," answered Niall from the other side of the door.

At that Faye's eyes lit up.

"Come in," she said, pulling herself to a seated position.

28.
Here you go said Niall, placing a heavy tray absolutely bursting with grease and sugar down on Faye's bedside table. The girl's eyes seemed to sparkle, a wide greedy smile spreading across her increasingly fleshy face as she took in the sight of her feast.

Spread out on her wide plate was a cornucopia of greasy pork rinds, meaty sausages, fatty fried eggs, and several slices of sweet French toast, accompanied of course by a tall glass of high fat milk. Wasting no time to dig in Faye hardly bothered to think about just how huge a breakfast Niall had brought her.

Over the last few months the girl's portions had been growing slowly in size, getting just a little bigger every day, a process driven partly by her own increasing appetite and partly by Niall working hard to make sure she was always getting just a little more than she had the day before.

As he watched her eat, happily gobbling her way through her small mountain of food, Niall couldn't help but smile. Deep down in his heart he knew it wasn't, perhaps, a good idea to keep on growing the girl's appetite. But she seemed so happy when she ate, so at peace when shovelling huge forkfuls of fatty food in between her lips. If food could bring Faye such joy then who, thought Niall, was he to deny the girl her pleasure.

With her plate mostly finished Faye leaned back in her bed, one hand on her round, tightly packed tummy. Looking at what was left of her meal Niall found one half eaten egg, a whole sausage, and a third of a slice of French toast.

"Giving up already?" he teased.

Faye answered him only with a drowsy groan.

"There's not much left. Are you sure you don't want this?" he said, picking the sausage up from off her plate and holding it to her lips.

"Go on, you don't want to let it go to waste, do you?"

For a moment Faye sat perfectly still, gazing with blank eyes upwards from the sausage right beneath her nose to Niall, who stood towering over her. Then, at length, she allowed her lips to part.

Having some minutes later had all that had remained on her plate crammed into her tummy Faye let out a most unladylike burp, absently rubbing her domelike midriff as she settled herself back down into bed.

"Thanks," she said to Niall, a sleepy grin on her face as she turned over on her side, creeping once again back down under her warm covers.