chapter 19

I watched as Abigail pushed away her empty dish and the Duchess offered her another glass of the fruit juice. The doctor shook her head, but the Duchess picked up the mask and waved it on the end of the tube. I watched with interest while finishing my own food. There was a strange numbness to the experience as though it were not real. It was like watching a film at the cinema.

I pushed my empty dish away and the Duchess nodded to the servants outside my cage. One of them passed me a glass of the fruit juice through. I took it and drank it quickly, and was excited when the cake was finally pushed into my cage. I took the spoon and cut through the thick buttercream icing, into the soft sponge. Inside, the layers were separated by cream and jam. It was a bizarre experience; I was not hungry and I knew I was not hungry, but I also knew that I wanted to eat that cake. I was aware that the only reason to keep eating was pure greed, but the desire to keep going over-ruled the part of my mind which was telling me to stop.
Looking in the cage next to me, I could see that Abigail was having a similar issue. She too was spooning her own identical cake into her mouth as fast as she could, almost crying as she did so. The Duchess watched us until we had finished, and then smiled at us proudly.

"You've both done so well," she said. "Lay down, relax and I will be back in a few hours."

As she left, I looked at Abigail who was sat against the back of her cage nursing a rounded belly and breathing heavily. I noticed that I was starting to feel sick and my own stomach was beginning to feel uncomfortable. I moved across my own cage and sat next to Abigail. Even though there were bars between us, I wanted to be close to her.

"What just happened?" I asked, rubbing my stomach and not quite believing how full and stretched it felt.
"It's the fruit juice," replied Abigail. "I invented it myself. It is made from the natural fruit and herbs which grow on this island." She looked at me shyly. "I am sure you know what I mean by 'herbs'?" I nodded.
"Anyway, we ferment it so it also has an alcohol content. It slows your metabolism, makes you happy and makes you want to just sit around and eat everything you are given. Basically, if you keep drinking it, you are going to gain weight very quickly." Abigail rubbed her stomach as she said this, subconsciously emphasising her comment.

"Frank gave Carolyn loads of that juice," I said.

"Yes," replied Abigail slowly, realising that I still had not fully grasped the situation. "That is because Carolyn is being fattened! It's all part of the plan: The friendly servant, the doctor who is angry at the weight gain; getting them to the point where they will think gaining a little bit more weight is preferable to some alternative. Then we start phase two and make them over-feed themselves. They think they are achieving some sort of victory by gaining weight, not realising it is exactly what we want." Abigail slammed her fist against the bars. "This is Karma though!"

"We just have to show restraint," I said, yawning.

"Ha!" Scoffed Abigail. "I am afraid it's not that simple. Even if the Duchess doesn't' use the masks and pump the juice directly into our mouths, we will find it increasingly difficult to refuse it." I do not know what else Abigail said because I was suddenly overcome with tiredness and quickly fell asleep.

I have no idea how long it had been, but I awoke feeling irritated. My throat was dry and my stomach was gurgling; I felt hungover. Abigail was sat in the middle of her cage hugging her knees.

"Are you ok?" I called through. The doctor just nodded without looking at me.

"Answer me properly!" I shouted and immediately felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry," I said. "I have no idea why I feel so angry."

"It's a side effect," replied Abigail. "You are suffering from withdrawal and you are craving more of the fruit juice."

I laughed. I had only had a couple of glasses so how could I be addicted? However, I remembered Carolyn's angry response to being woken up a few days previously. I suggested to Abigail that Carolyn had a similar reaction, but the doctor looked at me sadly, her blue eyes full of remorse and sympathy.

"Actually," she said, crawling across her cage and reaching through the bars to take my hand, "I wasn't going to say anything, but considering our current predicament, I don't think it matters now. Carolyn was never interested in being with you; she told me during one of our private conversations. I told her that she should pretend otherwise to make sure you brought her here. Sorry." I looked at her, not knowing what to say; I just felt betrayed. "But I had noticed that you were enjoying watching her gain weight, so I thought you'd appreciate being involved in making her really fat," finished Abigail lamely, as though she knew this would not make up for her part in the plot.

"I should have realised," I muttered, but before we could discuss it further, the door opened and the Duchess came in followed by her servants. She did not even speak to us, she just poured out two large glasses of the juice and put them into our cages. Immediately, I saw that Abigail was right; I did not think twice because of the dry mouth and quickly drained the glass. I could see that the doctor was doing the same, and I could also see the anger on her face; she was so disappointed in herself for her own weakness. Soon, though, I felt a warm glow wash over me and I grinned stupidly at the Duchess.

"I've brought you a little snack, just to keep you going until dinner," she said. "Move away from the cage door."

Obediently, I shunted backwards across the floor, allowing the servants to set out a series of platters. Some contained savouries: pork pies and sausage rolls were stacked high besides pasta and rice filled dishes and several jacket potatoes, swimming in butter and smothered with cheese. Others were filled with cakes and puddings covered in ice-cream, custard or whipped cream. Every dish was full of fat or sugar and a lot had both in abundance, but I did not care. I just wanted the servants to hurry up and get out of the way so I could start eating. Before I began, the Duchess refilled my glass for me, and told me that there was plenty more whenever I wanted it.

I saw Abigail glaring at me through the bars as she took a small bite from a pork pie. She was obviously trying to fight the effect of the fruit juice, and was much stronger than I was. I did not seem to be able to get enough food into my mouth fast enough.

Everything tasted amazing, even the cheese which I would never eat normally. After every few mouthfuls, I would take a large swig of the juice and every time I emptied the glass it was refilled. Unfortunately, the Duchess could see from the speed at which I was eating that Abigail was resisting.

"Doctor Locke! You just don't seem to be making an effort!" said the Duchess. "Why fatten slowly when you can live the life of a greedy and happy pig?"

Abigail ignored her, so the Duchess went into her cage and using the doctor's long, silver blond hair, yanked her head back. Without saying anything else, the Duchess motioned to a servant who began to slide the mask over Abigail's face. Part of my mind was screaming at me to say or do something, but once more it was over-ruled by the warm glow of the fruit juice. Instead, I just munched on a lemon and mandarin sponge pudding while watching the scene play out.

"I don't need the mask!" squeaked Abigail. "I will eat it!"

The Duchess released her hair and stepped back, watching Abigail's every move. I could tell, even in my juice-induced state, that she wanted the doctor to give the slightest hint of rebellion and if that happened, whether real or imagined, Abigail would have the mask fitted and be forcibly stuffed like so many of the women in the other cages.

As I watched Abigail eating, my spoon clinked on the bottom of the bowl in my hand and I realised that I had finished the whole meal. The Duchess must have seen the disappointment on my face as she came across to the bars and asked what was wrong.

"That was the best dessert I have ever eaten!" I said. The Duchess nodded in agreement.

"Would you like some more?" she asked, sweetly.
I knew I was full; I knew I did not want to eat any more, but I found the idea that she would give me more so exciting that I just grinned foolishly and nodded.

The Duchess waved to the servants who gave me another serving, which I quickly began shovelling into my mouth. She watched me with a wide smile.

"Just keep it coming until he refuses," she told them.