Chapter 50 - faye's awakening: part 5

119.
Faye lay curled up under her blanket. As her tummy growled, she wondered how many hours it'd been since Niall had tucked her in. She couldn't seem to think of anything other than food.

Usually, before the fiery-haired girl went to bed, Niall would make her a snack, a little something for her to munch on so that she wouldn't have to sleep on an empty stomach. Most nights, she went to bed with her belly packed and her head in a comfortable haze.

Tonight though, her belly was so dreadfully empty and her head was so terribly clear. No matter how she tried, she just couldn't sleep. She couldn't get her mind to that comfortably dizzy and relaxed state where she would finally be ready to drift off. The empty void inside her stomach kept her awake and alert. The image of that cake was still so clear in her mind. She had hoped that, in sleep, she would be able to escape her all-consuming hunger. But it seemed her appetite was intent on keeping her tethered to the waking world.

As she lay in bed, trying to soothe her empty belly, Faye found her mind drifting to places it hadn't visited in a very long time. Today had been the worst, most painful day in her life. Never, in as long as she could remember, had she been so miserable. If this was what it was like to be on a diet, then she wanted no part of it. The thought of living like this, deprived of all her fatty foods, of all the things that made life worth living, it was just too horrible to contemplate.

But, over the last several months, she'd put on so much weight. If she kept eating like this, she really would just keep on growing. She really would turn into a huge helpless ball of a woman. Obesity was all her future would hold for her.

But, then again, what sort of a future did she really have otherwise? She had no idea where she'd come from. She had no money and no plans. For almost two years now, she'd been living on the hospitality of the Kendrick family. And over that time, she'd just gotten lazier and fatter. Her hosts had always treated her so well. They were so kind to her and took such good care of her. They had made her feel like she was part of the family. But, in truth, she was nothing but a lazy, helpless, dependent freeloader. She would never be able to repay them for all that they'd done for her. She'd never be able to repay Niall for all that he'd done for her.

Without thinking about it, Faye started to fiddle with her old ring. The thing was strangely warm to the touch. She tried to nudge it and spin it around her finger, but it was on far too tight and refused to move so much as an inch. It dug into her skin. As she tried to move it a sting of pain ran through her finger.

It'd been a long time since Faye had last thought about any of these things. Usually, she preferred to avoid them, to distract herself from them. But now, they just wouldn't leave her mind. She needed to sleep. But she was just too hungry. She yearned so bad to eat, to dig her teeth into that cake. The mere thought of it was enough to make her drool.

Perhaps, if she had herself just a little piece, she'd be able to go to sleep. It was late now. Everybody was probably in bed. If she wanted, she could sneak down and grab herself a thin slice. Nobody would ever have to know. And she wouldn't be giving up on her challenge. Not really. She'd just grab one tiny piece to help put her to sleep.

Faye nodded to herself and pushed her covers aside. With a greedy smile, she headed off downstairs. Though she tried to sneak and walk softly, the floorboards creaked and groaned under her weight. From time to time, she would stop, worried that an especially loud noise might've given her away. But she reached the kitchen unseen. Once there she opened the fridge and cut herself a slice of cake.

It was heavenly, even more so than she'd expected. After several months of constant eating, Faye had come to take all her delicious foods for granted. But now after a day of, what by her standards counted as, starvation, the thing was so delicious as to bring a tear to her eye. She devoured it in a matter of seconds and then, without even stopping to think, she grabbed another, far larger, slice, and then another still. As she ate she could feel her body starting to relax. Her head was getting so very heavy. A hazy, comfortable mist overtook her mind.

120.
The strange forest was covered in a thick fog. Its trees were like shadows, as were the young women who danced between them. The dancing girls were light of frame and foot, but other than that Faye couldn't make them out. They were like ghosts. They seemed to have no substance. It was as though they weren't really there, as though the whole forest was a fragile mirage.

Some way away, on a throne woven from living wood, sat the shadowy, spectral silhouette of a tall and imposing woman. She was talking to a group of men, warriors by the looks of them. They were clad all in white armour that glittered in the sun. Beside them stood a herd of deer, all of which were saddled and dressed in armour of that same, strange white metal.

Once the woman had finished talking, she sent the warriors away with a wave of her hand. Immediately, they mounted their deer and set off into the woods. The woman then turned her attention to a raven that had landed on the back of her throne. The two talked a short while before the raven let out a sinister laugh and flew away. The woman seemed disappointed at what the shadowy bird had told her. She leaned against the armrest of her throne, rested her chin in her palm, and stared into the distance. For a moment Faye could see her sharp, green eyes and feel her piercing glare. But the woman didn't seem to have noticed her at all.

As she looked down towards her old ring, Faye saw that a very faint and fragile white light was emanating from it. The fiery-haired girl frowned as she looked at the glittering trinket. She'd all but forgotten that it was even there. As she looked up once again at the ghostly forest, she found the place strangely familiar. Had she been here before?

The sensation soon passed and the fiery-haired girl shook her head. She must be having some kind of a strange dream. This was hardly the sort of place where an unremarkable girl like her was ever likely to have found herself.

121.
The morning sun streamed through the kitchen window, stinging Faye's eyes as, sluggishly, she opened them. Her lips felt sticky, and so did her chin. She raised her fingers to them and found that they were smeared with cream and cake frosting. Her shirt was covered in stains and crumbs left over from last nights feast.

"Been enjoying a little snack, have we?" said a familiar voice.

Niall was standing in the kitchen doorway, smiling as he studied his fat mess of a girlfriend.

Looking around her, Faye saw that Maggie's cake was gone. She'd gobbled up every last crumb of it. But that wasn't all that she'd eaten. Maggie's huge casserole pan had been cleaned out, and so had the leftovers of her potato gratin. And, as if that wasn't enough, a good number of cookies seemed to have vanished. All the food that Faye had worked so hard to resist had ended up in her belly after all.

"Well, um," she said, not quite daring to look up at her boyfriend.

Niall let out a fond chuckle as he knelt beside her.

"Oh sweetie, you just couldn't help yourself, could you?" he teased as he poked her stuffed belly.

Faye said nothing. After a while, Niall helped her to her feet and sat her down at the kitchen table.

"How about I make you a nice, big breakfast?" he asked.

For a moment, Faye looked at the tall, wild-haired man. At his deep blue eyes and his loving, if maybe just a tad condescending, smile. She let her gaze drift across the leftovers from last night's feast. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"Yes please," she said, a greedy grin spreading across her face.

When, an hour or so later, Annie made her way downstairs she found Faye at the kitchen table, clutching her belly as she sat before a pile of empty plates.

"Diet's going well, I see?" she grinned.

The fiery-haired girl responded only with a burp and a pained groan.