Vikter & the Dark Spire

CHAPTER THREE: BREAKFAST

Vikter woke to the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. He didn't know if he had been asleep for minutes or hours, but what he did know was that something was very wrong. He sat up, his hand going immediately to his head.

"Gah!" he cried out as his fingers lighted upon his forehead. Pain shot through his body and he pulled his hand away. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he slumped back against the slimy wall behind him. The pain was simply unbearable.

He sat there for what felt like hours, waiting for the pain to subside enough to gather his wits. As he waited, the reality of his situation hit him like a load of bricks. He was still here in the Spire—or, under the Spire, at least—and that thing was still out there. Or worse, maybe it wasn't just out there. What if it had found him? What had it done to him? Panic swelled in his chest and, in a glance, he searched his little room, but it was as empty as it had always been.

Steeling himself, he reached up to his forehead once more, this time ready for the pain. He clenched his teeth as he lightly brushed two fingers across his head. The pain was almost instantly too intense to bear, and he pulled his fingers away. Something was definitely different about the skin on his forehead, but he couldn't tell what it was. He would have to find a mirror. He stood, considering his options. If whatever was out there was responsible for whatever was wrong with his forehead, it had obviously had the opportunity to kill him. But it hadn't. That was something. He went to the door, unlocked it, and stepped out into the hallway. It hadn't changed since the night before.

"Hello?" he called out in a small voice. There was no answer, but he hadn't really expected one in the first place. He certainly hadn't hoped for one.

When only his own voice answered him back in an echo, Vikter went to the stairwell and hurried up, cracking open the door at the top peeking into large central chamber from the night before. Light streamed into it from narrow windows way at the top of the domed ceiling, illuminating the whole place completely. It really was a beautiful room. But Vikter didn't care about that. When he felt confident the coast was clear, he squeeze through the door, hurried across the chamber and into to the treasure room where he began searching desperately for a mirror. After several minutes, he still had nothing to show for it, so he settled for a shiny golden vase.

This was only slightly useful as his reflection came back looking warped and goofy. Still, he could just barely make out a big reddish dot on his forehead. He touched it again daintily, flinching at the pain, and then looked at his fingers when he pulled them away. They weren't bloody at least. Still, something had been done to his forehead, but what? And by whom?

Just then, smells of cinnamon and raspberry wafted into the room, distracting him. He had never smelled anything so delicious and before he realized what he was doing, he had dropped the vase, left the room, and was crossing the big chamber as he following the lovely smells back to the dining room.

There, he found the table set with a feast of breakfast foods. There were eggs of all kinds, sausages, cinnamon rolls, toast, and red, purple, and yellow jams. There were bottles filled with a variety of fresh juices, pitchers of creamy milk, and even several pots of hot coffee and tea. Needless to say, everything looked and smelled so delicious and Vikter was so hungry that he didn't waste any time in going to the head of the table and sitting down. From there, he could keep an eye on the door and warm himself by the fire—all while enjoying a feast of a breakfast.

Never before had Vikter eaten so much food. His family was a poor family in a poor village in a poor kingdom, so a feast like this was something he couldn't possibly pass up. He piled his plate high with food not once, not twice, but three times before he stopped eating, but even then, it wasn't because he no longer craved more of the delicious food but because the unbelievable happened.