Hungry is the heart

Chapter 14. Wingless creature

That morning, an envelope was shoved underneath Eleanor's door. The paper was stained red, as if it was a threat, but when she folded it open she only found the amber necklace. There was no message, not that she needed one.

She pressed the necklace against her chest as if it still meant something. Tears made their way to her eyes, but she didn't let them go. She needed to remain strong.

She pulled the amulet over her head and hid it under the fabric of her new dress. Then she turned to face the window. In her reflection, she saw the bruises on her skin. Her wings had lost their life. Now they just looked like death branches, growing out of the holes she had cut in the fabric. She looked scary, but not in an imposing manner.

More like she was the sad ghost of a person, forever frozen in time. Only this room was too pretty for a monster like her. She turned her back to her own reflection. Her fingers once again trembling. Eleanor made fists and took a deep breath. She needed to remain strong. What would happen if she broke, was more haunting than her mutilated figure.

She forced herself to leave her room. She could barely walk in a straight line, even though she wasn't hurting. Eleanor just wanted to crawl into a ball and turn invisible, but for as long Soliste still noticed her, the others would do. There was no option but to follow Daveny's advice. Even now facing everyone, was the last thing she wanted.

She made her way down the stairs and through the garden. It wasn't hard to find the dinner room. The sea of voices rising from it, came in her direction far before she entered the room.

The chamber was filled with three long tables with white table cloths. Just like in Soliste's room, all kinds of food were laid out. Only here there were enough creatures to eat all of it. Beings not unlike Eleanor sat on the many chairs. Some colourful, others dark and mysterious. Their arms and legs reminded her of animal claws and plants, still all of them had humanlike features.

Eleanor scanned the chairs. Nox and her shadow were nowhere to be found. The goddess wasn't present either. The silver throne, that only could be hers, was empty. Nobody had taken the seats next to it.

Eleanor didn't either. She walked to the other end of the table and sat down next to a small girl with butterfly wings. She felt a few eyes move into her direction, but most of the beings didn't seem moved by her presence. It was a relief. Hopefully it meant that none of them wanted something from her.

Her eyes moved across the table. Most place were filled with small meat strips. As if none of the others struggled with eating those. Maybe they hadn't seen what she had. Hopefully they hadn't.

Silently, she grabbed a slice of bread, when tiny fingers folded themselves around her wrist.

'You shouldn't eat that, it's unhealthy.'

Eleanor looked at the little girl next to her. The child was surprisingly strong. 'Why?'

'Violet told that bread makes our minds go ill.' She bit her lip.

'Ashi,' a pale woman with golden eyes said from across the table. She had big horns on both sides of her face. 'She can eat whatever she wants.'

Ashi let go of her arm. 'Sorry, I just wanted to help. I didn't want you to have more pain.'

'Thank you, I'll keep it in mind.' Eleanor forced a smile. So there was really something with all the meat? She had known it. Nothing about this place felt right.

Eleanor hadn't taken more than a few bites of her bread, when a loud flapping sound forced the room into silence. A shadow fell over the table as Daveny landed in front of the middle table. Plates and glasses shattered by the force of his wings. His eyes moved through the space, taking in each detail. Something about him felt very off. 'Where is she?' His voice was a low growl.

Was he looking for Nox? Had this anything to do with yesterday evening? Or did something else happen? Eleanor looked around nervously. Next to her, Ashi had made herself little, her wings covering most of her body.

The woman across stared at Eleanor. 'Did you do anything?' she whispered.

Eleanor shook her head.

'You look like you fought.' Violet didn't speak loud, but it was enough to get Daveny's attention. With big strides he moved into their direction.

'What did you say?' Each time his lips moved, a set of pointy teeth was revealed.

Violet looked away. Her already pale skin, turned almost white. 'I-' she swallowed. 'I think you need to speak to her.' She nodded in Eleanor's direction.

'Isss that true?' All his eyes moved in her direction. 'Stand up.'

Slowly she rose from her seat. Sweat dripped across her back. This wasn't the same Daveny that had saved her yesterday. What did he want from her? He knew she hadn't done anything. She wasn't even sure she had been breathing when he found her.
'What isss your name?' He walked around the table.

He already knew. This was some kind of performance. But she wasn't sure if she was in the audience, or a player. 'Eleanor,' she said, putting her chin up like he had taught her.

'Eleanor... Eleanor...' He placed a clawed hand on her shoulder. 'Is there something you need to tell me?'

'No.'

'Are you sssure? I don't do sssecond chancesss. Ssso, just tell me. What happened to Nox and Lori?'

'I don't know.' She stepped back. Did he think she did something? Or was he still acting. She didn't know. She couldn't gauge the gaze in his eyes.

'Then what happened to your wings? Did they just fall off?' He moved his fingers to her wings and yanked it. Pain shot through her body.

He really was playing a game. Did she trust him enough to play along? She could hear her own heart beating in her ears. He had saved her life. If he wanted something bad to happen to her, he had just left her there. Whatever he was trying to do, she owned him to play along. 'I fell,' she lied. 'It was an accident.'

'And they just drowned by themselves in a tragic twissst of fate, isn't it?' He stared at her, as if his eyes could erase her from existence. 'If I am allowed to give you any advice, I would recommend you to fess up. You don't want to feel the wrath of lady Solissste.' He let go of her wing. 'If you are brave enough to kill, you also need to be strong enough to deal with the consequences.'

'They attacked me!' She stepped back further. She saw everyone in the room stare in her direction. Why was he confronting her this publicly? Was this what he had meant with solving it themselves?

Daveny didn't respond. His face softened for a second as he stared straight past her.

'What do we have here?' A female voice echoed through the room.  

Eleanor's heart sank as she saw the pale figure in the doorway. She had a big problem, one that was likely to kill her.