"Welcome, my dear," the master of the house greeted warmly. "Have a seat next to my daughter, Gabrielle."

Addie's heart was racing and felt like she was going to faint from nervousness. What was she supposed to say? Her hazel eyes darted around at the faces in the room. She put a smile on, trying to mask the gut wrenching fear of entering the unknown. Walking to the table felt like it took forever and her legs wobbled.

"Please don't trip," she whispered to herself. "Please don't trip."

"Thank you, sir," she managed to squeak after what felt like years of awkward silence. Addie

quietly took her seat next to Gabrielle. She tried to smile at the platinum blonde haired girl, but she only got a cold stare in response. Feeling uncomfortable, Addie turned away and looked down at the things in front of her. Why were there so many utensils? Why was the plate so big? Addie folded her hands in her lap and sat quietly, waiting for someone to help her out.

"How are you enjoying your stay so far?" the lady across Addie asked.

"It's good," Addie replied simply.

"You don't have to be shy. We're all nice people here."

"Oh, um, okay."

"I heard you come from the village of Dyan."

"Yes, ma'am."

"What's it like there?"

"Nice."

"How so?"

"It's pretty. There's trees to climb and stuff."

"Oh, that's nice. Anything else?"

"Well, there's the village and the market. And a lot of open space to run around. And it doesn't have weird stones that cover the ground and hurt your feet when you walk on it."

"Do you mean roads?"

"Roads?"

"The stones that you walk on."

"Uh...I guess so."

The blond haired girl gave a snort of annoyance. Her mother and Addie both turned to look at her. Addie pursed her lips together.

"Gabrielle, be polite," her mother chastised. The girl just rolled her eyes.

"Who doesn't know what roads are?" she asked in a condescending manner.

"I-I'm sorry," Addie stuttered.

Gabrielle sighed. "What an idiot."

"Gabrielle!"

"What? It's true!"

"You don't say that to people!"

"I say what I want!"

"It's okay, ma'am," Addie said timidly. "I don't mind."

The lady of the house shot her daughter a stern look before giving Addie a half hearted smile. "Thank you, dear. Why don't you eat with us?"

Addie's eyes fell on the food laid out before her. The people around her had already taken heaping helpings of roast goose, fresh vegetables, and boiled potatoes. Her plate remained empty. She looked back up at the lady in from of her.

"Is it for me?" she asked.

"Of course, dear. Who else would it be there for?"

"All of you."

The lady laughed. "And you included. Go on, take some."

"How?"

Gabrielle laughed dryly, but her mother shushed her. "I'll help you," she said to Addie with a smile.

Addie sat quietly as the lady filled her plate up with food. The smell of the warm food filled Addie's nose and she grinned. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled with hunger. She small fingers gripped on the skirt of her dress in anticipation.

"Is that enough for you?" the lady asked, showing her the plate.

Addie stared wide eyed at it. "Ma'am!"

"Yes, dear?"

"I can't take that much. The others need it too."

"Don't worry. There's enough for everyone."

"Sure?"

"Yes. It's okay."

"Okay."

Trying to mimic the people around her, Addie took a fork and scooped up some of the mashed potatoes. As neatly as she could, lifted it and put it in her mouth. The flavor instantly spread across her tongue and ignited all of her senses. Starting at that moment, all attempts of looking civilized vanished and she indulged in the food. Ignoring the confused and disgusted stares of the people around her, Addie scarfed down the food on her plate all the way down to the last crumb. Forgetting her place, she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her dress. She was about to reach for more, when she suddenly saw everyone looking at her. She turned as red as a tomato and hid her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she stuttered.

Gabrielle gave Addie a smug smirk while the other ladies and men at the table tried to stifle a laugh. Addie kept her hands on her face, feeling incredibly embarrassed and out of place. After a few moments, she peeked between her fingers, hoping that all the people would vanish if she wished hard enough. Unfortunately she was met by fifty pairs of eyes staring straight at her. The lady of the house (whose name she still didn't know) smiled at her kindly.

"It's alright. Would you like some more?"

"N-no, it's okay," Addie managed to mumble. "That's enough for me."

"Are you sure? There's plenty."

"Yes, ma'am. I'm okay."

The rest of dinner felt like it dragged on forever. Addie did her best to remain positive, but she couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed to be watching her as if she was an animal in the zoo. Everything she did seemed to interest them and she couldn't just eat in peace. They seemed to scrutinize every feature on her. Addie sat quietly and waited for it to all be over. Dessert followed shortly after. The lady called it "chocolate cake" and it was the best thing Addie had ever tasted. Gabrielle had pushed her slice aside and just sat there, stilling looking moody. Addie was tempted to ask for her slice, but decided against it. Gabrielle kind of scared her.

When the meal was finished, everyone rose to go. Addie reached to take her plate off the table, but stopped when she saw no one else was doing it. She looked hesitantly at the lady.

"Where do I put my plate?"

"Don't worry about it. The maids will take care of it."

"But what about Gabrielle's cake?"

"What about it?"

"Are they gonna eat it?"

"No, of course not. They'll just dispose it."

"Why would they throw it out?

"Because no one wants it."

"But it's still good food."

The lady of the house let out a sigh, clearly getting a little annoyed at the girl.

"If you want it, you can take it." she said curtly before turning to leave.

Addie ran to the table and scooped the little plate up. She was about to eat the dessert when she suddenly had an idea. Maybe Lucia would want to have some. Taking the cake, Addie exited the dining room through the doors she entered. She immediately looked around for Lucia, but the maid was nowhere to be found.

"Lucia?" she called.

Addie wandered through the halls, looking for the maid. She had forgotten the way to her room, but she figured Lucia would help her once she found her. While walking around, she picked up on the sound of voices inside a room. She recognized the voice of the bearded Healer and the master of the house. Curious, she crept closer to find out more.

"She's perfect." Addie heard the master of the house say. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint."

"I told you she'd do the job. You can't imagine how hard it was to get her, Richard. I'll need twice the payment you promised. It's only fair." the Healer spoke. Addie's blood ran cold. She silently crouched by the closed door, and listened some more.

"Yes, yes, Davian. I'll make sure to pay you double. When are you extracting it?"

"I've decided to wait a bit. Maybe time in this big house with all the food and stuff will be enough to increase her joy and make her forget about her family. Or I could take it now if you want."

"No, no. Let's wait a bit. But if she shows any sign of sadness, you take her joy right away, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

The door began to open. Addie, reacting quickly, leapt to her feet and ran away as quickly as possible before she could be spotted. Her heart raced in her chest as she stumbled down the halls, somehow managing to keep the cake balanced on the plate as she rushed through the house. She turned a corner and almost ran smack into Lucia.

"Whoa, Addie," the maid laughed. "Slow down."

Addie nodded rapidly and handed Lucia the cake, her hand trembling slightly. "I got this for you."

Lucia smiled warmly. "Aw, you're so sweet."

"You're welcome." Addie replied.

Lucia was about to eat when she stopped and looked down on Addie for a few moments.

"So why were you running? We're you just excited to give me some cake?"

Addie hesitated. She considered telling Lucia the truth. After all, she seemed nice enough. But a strange feeling in her gut told her to keep quiet. Instead, she faked a smile and shrugged.

"I was just looking for you." Addie replied simply. "Nothing more."