A/N: CHAPTER FIVEEE!

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Chapter Five:

Looking around, everyone was practically drooling at the sight of the food in front of them. It was as if Gailsman's words had magic hidden within him when he said the words to begin and everyone was unleashed, the spell they were under taking over and began serving themselves immediately.

Wasting no time, my plate was loaded with a helping of food and began to eat. I did not care what I was eating, as long as it was food. A moan rose from my throat from the rich mouthful of vegetables that melted in my mouth. To help swallow it down, I sipped from the fancy, bubbling drink that sat in a glass beside my plate.

Grabbing a piece of bread, I generously spread butter along it and bit into it groaning at the taste of bread that wasn't bland and instead was delighted at the covering of flavour. It was infused with hidden herbs that made my eyes widen with shock. From beside me, Carter shovelled food down his throat, and began to place some pieces of meat onto his plate.

My mouth salivated whilst staring at the meat and the aroma coming off it. Staring intensely at it, I did not notice Carter staring at me until when I looked at him his eyes met mine instantly. 

My cheeks warmed with a faint blush no doubt growing on my cheeks, embarrassment settling in and forced myself to swallow the mouthful of bread.

"Want some?"

Nodding gratefully he stifled a laugh and grabbed another piece of steak before placing it on my plate.

Smiling, I took a deep breath, breathing in its sweet aroma and cut a piece. Bringing it to my mouth, my lungs inflated again, my eyes closing in joy. 

I wanted to enrapture in the moment when suddenly a sickening sweet smell wafted under my nose.

Bringing the fork back with the meat I frowned.

Peering down, the dark piece of meat was perfectly cooked with a slight pink centre. "What's wrong?" Whispered Carter.

Bringing the meat to my nose, I sniffed softly and quickly brought the fork back down cringing at its sweet scent.

It can't be.

Bringing the fork back up, not responding to Carter, I stuck my tongue out slightly and tasted the seasoning of the meat. My fork dropped with a clang on my plate and I pushed it away fighting the desperate feeling to vomit out the food I had eaten.

There was no way I could do that in front of everyone here.

Grabbing a napkin beside my plate, I desperately brought it to my mouth and wiped my mouth and tongue frantically trying to get rid of the herb that was on my tongue.

"Bryce."

Picking up some vegetables I sniffed at them as well and cringed at its sickening sweet aroma and quickly placed it back down after giving it a quick taste. 

It was just like the meat.

"Bryce!" I turned to a confused and concerned Carter who stared at me weirdly. Subconsciously I pushed my plate away. "Don't eat the food."

"What?" Carter's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean, don't eat the food? It's food!"

"I mean..." I whispered in a soft tone, weary of the people around, I leaned closer, staring at the food before drawing my gaze to the official table. They had a table full of food, however none of their plates had been served. Instead, they all stare intensely at everyone eating themselves sick. Looking around, everyone was shovelling food down their throats.

No one would be thinking straight at the moment. Everyone was unnaturally thin, having barely any fat from being starved for years, living off barely any food. Any sight of food like now would send any starved person crazy. 

Even me.

We were the starved people.

"The food has been laced."

He let out a loud booming laugh, scaring a few people around us before scoffing sarcastically, "With what... poison?"

He continued to laugh but when I didn't reply, he turned to me. He took in my deadpan face. A frown formed, his face falling. "You can't be serious."

"Carter," I began. "I have spent my whole life on a farm. I tend to farm animals, and have grown any type of crops you could think of. I could list practically every single type of existing plant on this Earth. And I am telling you, that the food has been laced with Bremeliar."

His brows narrowed in confusion, uncertainty, "What's Bremeliar."

"It's a nasty plant. Very toxic and insanely poisonous. Eating a simple weed of it or part of the plant could make you violently sick, and I literally mean violently. If you think indigestion is bad, it makes you feel as though your stomach is ripping apart from the inside. However, the deadliest part lies in its white petals."

"You know a lot about plants," he muttered and I glared at him. He became silent, gesturing for me to continue.

"The petals are the most toxic part of the plant. If you were to eat a few petals you would be dead within the next few hours. And it is not a quick one. Anyways, early during the Great War, a weapon we used was the most innocent looking one. Breme-"

"Wait, wait, how do you know it was used during the war?" Asked Carter looking confused. He narrowed his eyes at me and had almost an accusatory look on his face.

"Because Redlake was covered with them everywhere. I think one of the main reasons why the soldiers settled at Redlake and not further north was so they could collect Bremeliar. I even caught a few of the soldiers picking the flowers from my farm and in the woods."

He nodded in understanding, "That does make sense, I did wonder why they did not go further north because we were still far from... well here."

I nodded and shook my head before continuing. "Anyways, Bremeliar used to be a major pest, it still is but it's more rare to find, especially in Redlake. But if you were to grind up the petals, it would turn into a powder. And what was so great about it was that it would dissolve and you would not even know it was used as a seasoning. However, it's not exactly common knowledge, but the only thing that gave it away was its sickening sweet scent and its sweet taste."

I gestured to the food in front of us. "The plant has chemical properties that make it so addicting. It is not like the other drugs we have that are so compelling, but it is addicting enough that you can easily confuse your desire to eat more as hunger."

When his frown grew deeper in doubt I glanced towards the plate before him. His confusion dissipated slightly as understanding formed on his face. "Smell the food, taste it."

I watched as he did so, hesitantly tasting the food before placing it back down. "Are you sure it is just not its actual seasoning and not Bremeliar?"

"I've seen it before, even tasted it to know," I replied but he shook his head.

"It's just crazy to think they would poison us on the first night, the tests haven't even started it."

"Don't you remember what he said?" Realisation dawned on me and I gestured to Gailsman, "He said 'The tests will be commencing, so be ready,' he did not say when, but doesn't that kind of sound like he is insinuating it will be commencing now?"

"I don't know," replied Carter, staring down at his food hesitantly and looking back at me. "I don't know!" He said, sounding stressed now.

"Look," I gestured to the officials table. "Look at them watching everyone... they haven't eaten a single thing!"

His green eyes danced on my own for a moment before he glanced over my head towards them. His long brown hair fell into his eyes and he brushed a few strands behind his ears as he stared at them with a frown. His jaw clenched when he looked back to me and enviously at the food before pushing it away.

"Fine, but it better be true."

A small sad smile rose on my face, "I'm never wrong."

He laughed, shaking his head. "We did eat though, are we going to be okay?"

"We ate quite a bit, we will feel its effects," shaking my head, I shrugged before forcing a confident tone. "At least we shouldn't die?"

"You sound confident," he snorted.