I woke up to the delicious smell of scrambled eggs and toast.

I immediately sat up and stretched my arms over my head. I swear the bed I slept on must have belonged to Hyatt or something because it was just too comfy.

Not that I ever had the chance to stay at a Hyatt Hotel in my previous life to compare it to.

When I opened my eyes, Emily was there with a gentle smile on her face, holding a tray full of food.

“Good morning Miss. Would you prefer to eat breakfast on bed or shall I arrange a table for you?”

“Bed!”

This way I can have both the comfort and the food!

Emily arranged the tray atop my legs while I was getting comfortable against the pillows. My eyes opened wide seeing the quantity of food presented to me. There were not only scrambled eggs with ham and toast, my breakfast consisted of scones, sliced fruit, tongue and small cucumber sandwiches. I reached for the jars on the side and upon opening them I found blackberry jam, cream, and butter.

Just when I was assimilating this mountain of food was mine to eat, Emily asked me if I wanted tea, and only then I saw the pot and cup waiting for me on the nightstand. She served me a cup with a bit of milk and sugar and I was officially in heaven.

I didn’t think I could finish it all, and for that reason I made it my first mission of the day not to leave even a single crumb behind. Thinking of escaping could come later. To have a clear head you need sleep and food after all, no? I already had plenty of sleep, now it was time for the food!

And then the door opened and Lucas entered.

Should have expected that.

“Young master” Emily curtsied. I, on the other hand, kept my eyes on the food, lathering a scone with cream and stuffing it in my mouth.

“Good morning Emily. Elaine” he nodded to me, and I just nodded back, taking a bite of a sandwich next. Yesterday I might have lost it with the salmon and all that, but today I was definitely on my five senses. I wasn’t going to commit the same stupidity of spilling my deepest emotions to someone that didn’t care. And just as I was vowing this to myself, Lucas spoke again. “Emily, could you leave us alone for a few minutes? I want to speak privately with Elaine.”

Whatever for?

I eyed Lucas warily as Emily curtsied again and left. He could feel my gaze on him, I knew he could, but he choose to ignore it, occupying himself with gazing around the room, watching everything as if it was the first time he stepped inside.

I was getting tired of waiting for him to finally decide to speak.

“Have you eaten breakfast already?” I asked, interrupting his very detailed observation of the light green and white wallpaper. He blinked, turning to look at me, and tilted his head as if confused.

“I… don’t usually eat breakfast. I feel too queasy in the mornings so I prefer to wait a few hours before eating something.”

“So you haven’t eaten yet, right?”

He shook his head, and I instinctively patted the cover beside me, inviting him to sit with me on the bed. He was taken aback.

“Elaine?”

“Eat with me. This is too much food anyway for a single girl like me” I offered as explanation. Reality was, though, I was curious about his strange behavior. Why visiting me and requesting to talk with me alone? Why helping me at all? If possible, I wanted to understand his motives, so at the very least I knew what he wanted from me and in exchange, I could get something from him in return.

Lucas looked conflicted. He stared for a long moment at the place next to me. I waited patiently. Finally, he took a step forward, and another, and before long he was sitting on the bed, his body turned to mine. I smiled at him.

“A scone?”

“I… yes please” he accepted the scone I passed him as well as the jar with the blackberry jam when I asked him if he wanted to accompany it with something. Like this, we passed a few minutes eating without saying a word. Then, finally, he spoke. “Father received a letter this morning… because of an unexpected problem, the necromancer that was supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon will only be able to come the day after tomorrow.”

I stopped eating.

“Necromancer?” I asked, though my voice sounded weird to my own ears.

Lucas nodded. “The… ritual was supposed to take place tomorrow night, but because of this it will have to be moved to the day after… I thought you would like to know that.”

“So I have another day to live?” a sardonic smirk played on my lips. “How delightful.”

Lucas closed his eyes.

“Elaine…”

“You can have the rest. I have no appetite anymore” I told him, pushing the tray towards him. Most of the food was gone anyway, he can have my scraps if he wants.

“It’s your food” he replied, giving me back the tray. “You need to eat. Look at yourself.”

My blood ran cold in my veins. I froze.

“Look at myself?” I repeated. Lucas winced, surely understanding he made a mistake.

“No, what I meant was… yesterday you…”

Oh.

“I definitely don’t want to eat anymore” I grabbed the tray, stood up, and left it on the table on the vanity mirror. In my reflection I could see my face, sunken cheeks and furious scowl, and I couldn’t stand it. I pulled my eyes away and stared at the wall, refusing to meet Lucas’ eyes or my own. “I don’t need your pity.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you” Lucas said, his voice soft. I snorted.

“Of course you didn’t. You just don’t think before talking” I knew I was being acidic again, but could anyone blame me? To be completely honest, I didn’t know what to make of my situation anymore. I was supposed to be a sacrifice, and yet, Lucas kept treating me as if I was a real guest. Giving me a room, feeding me, talking to me. “If I’m nothing more than a sacrifice, I would be thankful if you stopped acting as if you care. Don’t give me extra food as an act of kindness when you know I’m going to die soon. It’s useless. Stop insulting me.”

I was playing a dangerous game here. On one hand, everything I said was what I really felt. His kindness confused me, especially when one second he was telling me how the ritual in which I was intended to be sacrificed was postponed, and another implying he gave me more food because of what I said yesterday. And on the other hand, I wanted to move him. To put him between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. See how much longer he could keep this dichotomy of being nice to me while still intending to proceed with the sacrifice.

If it resulted, then maybe there was still a chance for him to help me escape.

I heard him sigh, and I waited for his answer. Preferably an offer to compensate me for his actions so far, which then I would use to keep dragging him to my side. However, I obtained something I did not expect.

“I’m sorry” he murmured, before shuffling towards the door, saying absolutely nothing else.

Well, I shouldn’t be so disappointed. What was I expecting? For him to immediately tell me he was on my side now? It couldn’t be that easy.

However, before I could wallow in my own failure, I heard him stop, and I reflexively turned to look at him. He had a hand on the doorknob, and he was looking at me too with a pensive frown on his face. Then, he opened his mouth.

“Elaine, I want you to accompany me somewhere.”