Ketis was making it one day at a time. For the most part, she wasn't afraid of her captors and let her fascination with their culture and behaviors be her coping mechanism to deal with this situation. That being said, she wasn't stupid either.
Every day was practically the same. One of the two lamina would throw her a bowl with the grainy mixture roughly three, sometimes four times a day. Ketis also took notice that they seemed to give her a little more each day, hoping she would start to pack on pounds faster. The djinn scholar figured out how to play this right. For the most part, they left her unsupervised when she ate. She would eat perhaps half of the mixture, and would hide the rest under rocks, or once she dug a small hole in the ground to hide the extra rations. After enough observations, she discovered what the mixture was made of. It was some kind of meal made from grounding up the various mushrooms and fungi found in these caverns. A few other things were added, but it was mostly the fungi. It didn't taste bad, but it sure wasn't tempting either.
Yet, that didn't change the fact that the food was addictive. It had to be something in the mushrooms themselves that caused this, Ketis reasoned. Every day, after finishing her meals, she longed for the mixture thrice more, despite how bad it tasted. For now, she was able to fight these urges, but there were some nights where she would eat a little of the extra rations she stowed away.
And it certainly did what it was expected to do. The mealy substance added weight to her frame rather quickly, even if she wasn't eating her full rations. She was getting wider and softer with each passing day. Every day, the lamina would demand that she stand close enough for them to inspect her. They pinched, prodded, and poked every bit of her, always finding that she was getting plumper, but thankfully, not fast enough to their liking.
At first, Ketis feared that they might decide that she wasn't worth the time and drain her right there, but something else changed all that.
The djinn was used to the quiet in her cell. Her captors rarely talked to her, and when they did, it was taunting her with how fat she was becoming as they inspected her. Any other noises she heard from the two usually came when they were bickering at each other. Today was much different. Ketis awoke that morning to the sounds of thumps, bumps, and lots of screaming. She bolted upright to see the two lamina dragging some human girl into another stone cell.
She was a rather pretty girl, blonde hair that fell into delightful curls, blue eyes that looked like ice. She was dressed rather richly as well, and Ketis figured she was some noble from the city. However, it was unmistakably clear that the girl was rather fat, her plump, round gut bobbing and wobbling with each forced step she took as the lamina dragged her in. She had rosy round cheeks with plushy little arms and legs. Not a bit of her was thin. She wouldn't last long here, Ketis thought, feeling sorry for her.
"Do you know who I am?" the girl roared. "I am Maurlie Elbrey, daughter of Lord Elbrey, and when he hears what you did to my traveling party, you'll pay dearly! Do you hear me?"
Then again, maybe Ketis didn't feel so sorry for her. She seemed like a spoiled brat. At the same time, she couldn't contain her excitement. She was about to witness how Lamina fattened their victims, without her being the victim that is. She was ready to take notes.
The two creatures finally shoved the girl into the cell, where she fell face first and rolled about the dirty ground. "Oh, I'm going to make you wish you were never born!" she cursed. "How dare you treat a lord's daughter this way? I demand to speak to whoever is in charge!"
The sisters paid very little attention to her and talked as if she weren't there. "Now see," said the older one, "that is how you catch prey that's actually worth the time. Your skinny little catch isn't anywhere close to this one's size."
The other rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Look, you've got one, I've got one. We take care of our own in our own way."
"Suits me just fine, but take good notes, dear sister; I've been doing it right for years. Now, go get me a bowl."
The younger one was still much too submissive in front of her sister to argue, and scampered away to grab a large bowl of the meal. They slid it over to their new prisoner. "What in all the gods' names is that?" she said with a look of pure disgust.
"It's food, and you're going to eat it," the elder lamina hissed. "Or so help you if you don't."
The spoiled noble began to throw a fit. "I will do no such thing. You can't order me around, and I'm not eating this slop! How dare you serve this to someone of my stature?"
The older lamina shuffled over to the other side of the cage and yanked the girl over by one of her plump arms. She squealed in terror. "You'll eat it, my dear, and like it, or else."
The girl kicked the bowl and its contents splattered all over the cell, and some of it onto the face of her captor. "No!" she said again. "If you're going to feed me, you are to bring me food fit for my stature. Now, away with you."
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author