Page 157 of Once Upon a Fable

Backing away, I mumbled, “I’ll...I’ll go find you something to eat. You need to eat. You’ve been asleep for a long time.”

I ran before he could reply.

CHAPTER SEVEN

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MY NEW MASTER PUT food in front of me.

Strange food that Storymaker’s chef would’ve died before letting a guest eat. Raw carrots with honey and a pile of cut strawberries. No sauce. No freshly prepared roasts or cakes.

Where were the decadent meals all guests enjoyed? Where was our one meal of deliciousness after being such good toys to them?

We’d grown accustomed to our reward. The one meal where we were allowed to indulge. A feast for the servants of Fables.

“Please...you have to eat.”

I looked up, catching the eyes of the woman who I now belonged to. I couldn’t understand how this had happened. Where were the guards? Where were the other guests? Where was Storymaker?

My mind was fuzzy, refusing to give me pieces of time.

It flickered with images of Quell as a little girl when we’d first met to her as a young woman on the night we’d said goodbye.

It swirled and blended, tormenting and teasing with reality.

Was this woman Quell?

They looked similar.

Could I have been struck over the head while I rescued them? Could I have died like I’d predicted, and this was some form of hell?

Who is she?

My wrists ached from the rope binding me. Dried blood smeared over my forearms and knuckles from where I’d tried to get free.

Whoever she was, she wasn’t my beloved Quell.

My friend wouldneverimprison me. She knew better than to tie up analready captured soul.

The woman pushed the plate closer to me, careful not to come too close herself.

She was wise in that.

Smart not to put herself in grabbing distance because I honestly didn’t know what I’d do if I got my hands on her. Most of me buckled beneath the habituate programming I’d grown up with, but other parts of me—parts I didn’t recognize or remember—howled with commands to end her.

Sitting on her knees, she didn’t look relaxed. Her muscles stayed locked and ready to leap and flee at any moment. But her hazel eyes were kind. Far kinder than any eyes I’d ever seen.

It made the chaos inside me pause.

Just for a second.

Emptiness filled me.

Confusion. Disorientation. I couldn’t get a grip on this new existence.

“Here.” She rolled a water bottle into my legs, getting tangled in the blanket she’d given me. What sort of master went out of her way to make a bed with all creature comforts I could want? I was warm and clean. My wounds were tended to. Wounds I didn’t remember earning, but then again, I didn’t remember anything it seemed.

Nothing right, at least.