Chapter 1

 Mrs. Elizabeth Swan surveyed the mass of people below her from high up on the First Class deck of the Queen Mary. Arms waved and handkerchiefs wiped tears from eyes as the great ship slowly eased herself away from the quay.

 A young man who was dowdy and English in appearance caught her eye, he was scanning the grey faces of those ashore as if desperate to find someone, but as the faces became lost in the relentless Southampton drizzle, he buried his head in his hands and shrunk away down into the bowels of the ship where the third class cabins were to be found.

 “Mmmm…” Mrs.Swan smiled to herself. “Someone broken your heart have they honey? Well, we’ll have to see what we can do about that now won’t we?”

 She turned and strolled through the crystal glass doors of the First Class smoking room, a dozen or so eyes turning to watch her as she glided over to a chair and sat down. The same eyes then lingered furtively upon her as she took a Viceroy cigarette from a gold case, then sat back and crossed her legs. She was indeed a thing of beauty to gaze at, she was Lauren Bacall, Susan Haywood, Jane Greer, whoever you like, all rolled into one breathtaking vision. She lifted her face veil and placed the cigarette between her lips. A waiter was instantaneously there at her shoulder with a lighter. “Thank you” she purred, arching back her long sensuous neck and directing a thin blue cloud of smoke towards the ceiling.

 Lady Helena Riley was sitting alone a few yards away tightly gripping her Martini. Her face was a study in resentment. She did not want to be here. She resented this damn ship and everyone on board. Most of all she resented her father, who to save their family further embarrassment after a series of ‘unnatural friendships’, was sending her to Lynchburg Virginia to stay with a second aunt, “until things quietened down” was the reason given.  She was expecting to be accompanied by her maid, But as if to add insult to injury, her father had telegrammed that very morning with the news that her maid would not be accompanying her after all.

 Lady Helena’s eyes too fell upon Mrs.Swan, watching in fascination as she gently caressed the cigarette between her voluptuous red lips. “Beautiful bitch” she muttered to herself disdainfully. But her face quickly turned red in sheer embarrassment as Mrs.Swan turned and looked straight at her, blowing smoke in her direction, allowing a wry smile to animate her beautiful face.

The following morning was unusually warm for the time of year in the North Atlantic and Mrs.Swan was sunbathing conspicuously in a corner of the first class recreation deck. Occasionally she would arch her long neck forward so she could see the passengers as they promenaded to and fro on the deck below. Amongst them she saw the man with the broken heart, standing alone and forlorn at the ship’s rail, staring down into the inky nothingness of the sea as it swept by. She watched him whilst finishing her cigarette and then turned away just in time to see Helena walking towards her. Helena was not the first person that morning to have looked in admiration at her body as she stretched out on a sun bed in her scarlet satin swimsuit. She let her gaze remain upon her a second or two more than she would normally have thought polite, and was clearly uncomfortable when Mrs.Swan looked up at her and smiled at her, the same way she’d smiled at her in the saloon the previous afternoon, but this time her smile was brazenly followed by a blown kiss, which was more than enough to make Helena quicken her pace and hurry off, her face blushing red in the warm sunshine.

Chapter 2

 That evening, Helena noticed that Mrs.Swan was not amongst the diners in the first class restaurant. She retired to the smoking room after her meal where she delicately sipped her Martini whilst reading her Ian Fleming, and she was just about to return to her berth for the night when Mrs.Swan swept in through the crystal glass doors at the opposite end of the room. As ever, a dozen or so heads turned and eager eyes looked furtively in her direction. She smiled down at Helena as she coasted by her, her mink stole brushing her arm, leaving the scent of Chanel hanging in the air. She kept walking until she reached the ostentatious glass doors that led out onto the deck and there she turned around and winked provocatively at Helena in view of the whole room, Helena quickly looked down at her book, reeling in embarrassment. As soon as it was safe once more, she looked up to see Mrs.Swan outside, standing by the rail and staring as if into the cold blackness of the night.

 From where she stood, Mrs.Swan could see the lower deck and standing there forlornly was the broken hearted young man, palely illuminated in the dim light, also apparently staring out into the dark night. She set off down the stairway that separated the two classes of passenger. She walked over to him and took out a cigarette.

 “Light honey?” she purred in his ear. He didn’t look round; his eyes were fixed on the cold blackness beyond the side of the ship. He had a sad but pleasant face; his eyes were filled with pain and resignation. “Before you do what you’re going to do” she said “A light, if you please?” Now he looked round at her, as if summoned from a trance. “Oh, sorry” he mumbled as he clumsily searched his jacket pockets. He pulled out a box of matches with trembling fingers. He lit a match and held it up to her face. She studied him for a couple of seconds, her lips parted slightly in readiness for the cigarette, the warm glow of the flame illuminating the insides of her mouth. Eventually the cigarette was lit, she slowly inhaled before sending a cloud of smoke high up into the night air.

 “You know honey” she said, “I once knew a guy who decided to jump into the East River off East 99th Street. Don’t ask me why, but that’s what he did. Well, the moment he hit the water he went and changed his mind, wanted to get out again. Lucky for him there were people around who could hear him hollering and screaming, so they threw him a lifebelt.” The broken hearted man stared disinterestedly into the night. “He said afterwards that the water was so cold, it was like being stabbed a thousand times by a thousand needles of frozen steel.” She took another drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke out to the sea. “Not a great way to go, huh?” She held out a gloved hand to him. “Elizabeth Swan, I’m pleased to make your aquantence.”

 The man now turned to look at her. “David Small” he said purely out of politeness, in a quiet monotone voice, shaking her hand quite pathetically.

He looked at her face properly for the first time; she was astonishingly beautiful, she wore a veil over her eyes, her auburn hair cascaded like a river over her shoulders. She was wearing a grey fur stole over a red satin dress. Her lips glowed crimson in the pale light, and her neck; it was long almost to the point of deformity. Two diamond earrings hung like lanterns above it.

 “Well you know David; if I’d have wanted to do away with myself I think I’d have chosen somewhere a little warmer than the East River to jump into, wouldn’t you say? She left her lips slightly apart and let him glance down at them. She took a step closer and whispered “Someone break your heart David?”

 “Look, miss.” He turned to face the blackness again. “Yes, I do intend to end my life and it’s very noble of you to want to stop me, but ….”

 She interrupted him with a polite laugh. “David” she said “I’m not trying to stop you; I’m trying to help you!”

 He frowned. “What do you mean?”

 “Let me tell you a little secret, I’m attracted to men with broken hearts. Let’s just say, I’ve developed a taste for them.”

 He looked into her eyes for a clue as to what she meant. She raised a hand up to the back of his head and gently stroked it and then arched her long neck forward and whispered something in his ear.

 Meanwhile, Helena had furtively stepped out onto the upper deck to see where Mrs.Swan had gone to. She looked down from the shadows as Mrs.Swan all but draped herself over the young man below. Bitch she thought. She’s been giving me the eye all this time and now she’s making out with some oik from the lower decks. It’s disgusting!

 She could see the man’s face as Mrs.Swan leant forward and whispered to him. His eyes were opened wide, as if he was hearing of some terrible dark secret. Then curiously, she moved round to face him, took the sides of his head in her hands and slowly opened her mouth right in front of his eyes, making him look inside for what seemed like eternity. He remained motionless, it was as if she’d put him in some kind of hypnotic trance. What on God’s earth is she doing?  Thought Helena. It crossed her mind that maybe he was a dentist or something. Suddenly, Mrs.Swan let him go and turned to walk away. “I’ll leave you to ponder shall I David?” She said, her voice loud enough for Helena to hear, as she marched back towards the stairway that led to the upper deck.

 Helena quickly scurried back into the lounge, resumed her seat and pretended to read her Ian Fleming. Seconds later Mrs Swan came striding in through the same doors. “A fine evening Lady Helena. Weren’t the stars lovely?” She announced as she breezed past her on her way towards the huge crystal glass doors at the other end of the lounge through which she then disappeared. Helena didn’t dare look up, aware that every eye in the room was looking at her. She hoped the floor would swallow her up.

 Several minutes later, just as she’d decided it would be safe to get up and return to her berth, a waiter appeared next to her and handed her a crisp white envelope with her name written elegantly across it. Inside was a visiting card which read:

 Dear Lady Helena

 Please join me later for refreshments in my suite. I’ll expect you at 11.45.

 Compliments of Mrs. Elizabeth Swan

Berth 7  

 Her heart quickened. She glanced at her watch, it was still only five to ten. Trying to maintain an air of calmness, she got up and returned to her cabin.

Chapter 3                                                                

His hands shaking, David managed to light a cigarette. “Insane…she’s totally insane…” He kept repeating to himself as he gazed out into black nothingness. Eventually he tossed the dog-end over the side and watched its tiny orange glow it as it flew almost horizontally away from him and was eventually consumed by the vast sea. How easy it would be, he thought, to be snuffed out in an instant. He could still smell her breath, feel the warmth of it in his ear, and most of all he could still see the inside of her mouth, soft and warm, tempting him, inviting him in. A cold North wind was getting up and he remembered he wasn’t wearing his coat. “To hell with it!” he said as he turned round and began walking towards the first class accommodation decks.

He stood and stared blankly at the door labelled ‘Berth 7’ for a while, then took a deep breath and knocked. The door opened immediately and there stood Mrs.Swan, now minus her satin dress and wearing only stockings and underwear. He could see the dress draped over a chair in the room behind her, she glanced past him, up and down the corridor, and then without a word she stood aside and let him enter. Her room was as luxurious and opulent as its occupant. She shut the door behind him.

“You know what David?” She said, “I think you’ve made a very good decision. Take all your clothes off and leave them by the bed please.” David though that maybe things were moving a little too fast.

“Er, ok, but first, might we…?”

“No David.” she interrupted. “For this to work properly you must do as I say. Get undressed now please. And anyway, I’m expecting another visitor later.” He self consciously started to undo his tie.

“I know it’s all a little hard to swallow David, but after all it’s me who’s going to be doing the swallowing, not you. Ok?” She smiled almost sympathetically at him. He continued undressing whilst she stood with her hands on her hips and watched him, a wry smile across her lips.

Once undressed, he sheepishly put his folded clothes by the bed as she’d instructed. “Good boy, now kneel down here.” She pointed at the carpet in front of where she stood. Even the carpet was softer than his bed back in his own third class cabin. She stepped forward and stood over him with her feet slightly apart. The ivory flesh of her thighs spilled out over her stocking tops, he could feel her warmth radiating across his face.

She looked down and spoke to him. “So, you’re under no illusions as to what is going to happen to you, right?”

Fifteen minutes ago he was about to throw himself into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, now, here he was being seduced by the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. He wasn’t really sure what was going on anymore. But he still knew what she’d whispered to him out on the deck.

“Well, er yes.” he replied. “I think what you said you were going to do was... er... that you would…erm…”

“Come on David; don’t be so pathetically British. Remind me what I said.”

“Well, I believe what you said was… was that you wanted to make love to me, then shrink me down small, and then, er... well…swallow me.” 

“Good David, very good.” Her voice had become quieter now, yet somehow darker and with a hint of menace. “And tell me David, would you like me to do those things to you?”

 She let her thigh brush gently against his ear. He didn’t reply for a while and then it was as if the words came out of his mouth on their own and without his permission: “Yes” he said slowly “I would.”

Now he was scared. Jumping into the sea, though excruciating, was a death he could at least understand. He’d heard of people being shrunk before, but being swallowed and digested alive? He thought about running away, but he somehow knew that he wouldn’t. His desire for to know this woman’s body both inside and out was becoming too overwhelming. Mrs.Swan shamelessly proceeded to slip her fingers down inside her underwear and gently played with herself, inches in front of his eyes.

"Tell me again David. What do you want me to do?”

“I…I want you to…to…..

 Her breathing became deeper. “Tell me” she said.

“I want you to eat me.”

Her fingers began to play more vigorously. “And how David? How shall I eat you?”

 “Shrink me, then...then swallow me.”

 “Alive David? You want me to swallow you alive?”

“Yes, swallow me alive.”

Now she was speaking in short gasps: “And... you’ll be alive!? Digesting in my stomach!?”

“Yes, I’ll be alive. Alive, inside you.”

This unnerving conversation went on for several minutes and eventually she’d worked herself into a kind of dignified state of frenzy. “Devour you, I’m gonna DEVOUR YOU!” she cried out. 

Then she grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face hard up between her legs. He reeled back in surprise and would have fallen onto the carpet if she hadn’t been holding him with both hands. He gasped for breath and as his lungs filled his head started to spin. Then he felt himself being manfully lifted up and thrown onto the bed, managing to catch a glimpse of the fabulous mosaic on the ceiling for a fraction of a second before his field of vision was filled with Mrs.Swan’s face, her eyes full of fire and hunger, her mouth wide open and her tongue coming out to taste him.

He had no idea how long they were making love, it could have been hours or it could have been mere minutes. Unrelenting and at times almost unbearable pleasure consumed him until he finally reached an orgasm of such intensity, his body convulsed violently with electric shocks as it lay pinned beneath her. Then he passed out.

He awoke in total darkness. There was something pushing down on his head, he was upright, he was hot and he was being held as if by giant fingers wrapped tightly around his chest and it was difficult to breathe. He could move his hands freely; he wiped away the thick metallic tasting liquid that covered his face and then reached out in front of him, across something smooth and fleshy, a something that responded as if it were alive when he probed it with his fingers. “Stomach!” He cried out in fear. “She’s actually shrunk and eaten me!” He braced himself – the thought of being digested alive. Suddenly he was blinded by bright light in front of him. It took a while for his eyes to adjust, but when they did he was taken aback when he realised where he was.

He was lodged in her throat, gripped tightly around his chest by powerful muscles, his face forced forward onto the back of her tongue, his legs and feet were hanging freely down her throat, coated in thick warm saliva, his feet already inside the soft rippling confines of her oesophagus. She’s swallowing me, swallowing me right now!  He braced himself again, ready to be projected down into her stomach. Surrounding him were two rows of terrifying brilliant white teeth, each one almost as big as his hand and in front of him lay her tongue, glistening and undulating contentedly, connected to the dome shaped roof of her mouth by thin strands of silver. He looked on in wonder; nostalgic at the memory of how the same tongue had pleasured him earlier. Now he thought it would be the last thing he’d ever see.

Then suddenly, through her parted lips he could see a gigantic eye. It was her eye, staring in at him presumably by way of a mirror. She studied him for a while, then closed her mouth and in the darkness, sucked hard on his tiny torso, making his head feel like it was about to implode. But then relief, her mouth relaxed and cool light flooded back in.

Now he could see her entire face in the mirror. She was wiping away the spoiled mascara from around her eyes and the violent smears of lipstick from her mouth. It came back to him how wildly they had kissed, he ached to be to be doing so again but he knew that he was destined now to remain on this side of her lips forever.

With her face now perfectly clean, David watched as she began reapplying makeup. First she drew a perfect black line across her brow with a soft pencil. Then as she lightly patted her cheeks with powder, He could see the soft flesh inside her mouth smack gently against her molars. Most attention was paid to her lips; first she traced along their shape with a soft red pencil, then she painted a layer of thick red wax onto them with a fine brush before finally drawing a stick of shiny crimson lipstick forcefully over them.

There was a knock at the door, her mouth shut and he was in total darkness again. He held his breath and waited to be jettisoned downwards, but nothing happened.

Chapter 4                                                                 

Lady Helena had also stood in front of Mrs.Swan’s door for some time before gaining enough courage to knock. The door opened and before her stood Mrs.Swan. She was a little taller taller than Helena, her sinewy neck was much longer than seemed natural. She seemed to be wearing little more than a loose silk dressing gown and Helena made an effort not to let her eyes wander down, for that might give the impression of sluttish ness and she didn’t want Mrs.Swan to assume she was easy, but there was something about her neck that caught her eye, something not quite right. Apart from the fact that her neck was unusually long, it looked swollen, as if there was some kind of growth just beneath the skin and what’s more, the growth seemed to quiver, ripple, and in fact move about

independently. It looked like she must surely be in pain, but Mrs.Swan was smiling broadly at her, her eyes full of elation and mischief.

“Good evening Mrs.Swan, thank you for your invitation” said Helena formally, trying not to sound like a schoolgirl visiting a lady dowager for tea and cake. Mrs.Swan didn’t answer; instead she reached out and took Helena’s hand, pulling her into the room. There was something about the situation that made Helena feel uncomfortable, she was aware that the door had swung shut behind her. She calculated just where the door handle was in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

Still silent, Mrs.Swan reached past her and turned the key in the lock, then took her hand and lifted it up to her neck. She pulled away in horror; it was as if something was alive and moving about inside. “Your neck! What’s wrong with your neck?! She demanded with slight panic in her voice. “Is that why you’re not talking? What’s that thing?” Mrs.Swan’s smile broadened, she moved closer to Helena and opened her mouth.

David was now presented with the pretty but frowning face of a young woman, her eyes narrowing as she peered into the darkness. There was indeed something there and Helena’s instinct was to turn away in disgust, but she was intrigued. Mrs.Swan moved her tongue slightly and David reached out to grasp at backmost molars to steady himself.

Helena jumped back in horror, letting out a short sharp shriek. “Oh my God! There’s a man! A tiny man stuck in your throat! Mrs.Swan opened her mouth even wider and turned to face the lamp. Helena had her hand on the door handle behind her, but she couldn’t stop herself from peering in to take another look; she could see his tiny arms, now gripping the sides of her tongue, there was his head, glistening wet and there were his eyes looking directly into hers. “He looks real! Dear God, he can’t be real!” She couldn’t pull herself away, staring in shock and fascination with her hand over her own mouth. “The poor man, how did he get like that!?” There was a note of desperation in her voice. “What are you doing to him?” In reply, Mrs.Swan pointed at her stomach.

Helena wanted to scream but no sound would come out. She straightened, readying herself to run out of the room, but something from the darkest depths of her mind made her want to look at the helpless little man again. Mrs.Swan again moved closer, her mouth still wide open as if locked in a mighty yawn. Why wasn’t he struggling, trying to get out? She didn’t resist as Mrs.Swan took her index finger and placed it into her mouth. Like a spectator at road accident, Helena wanted to know more.

“Can I touch him?” she said in barely a whisper, as if ashamed of asking such a perverse question. She gently ran her finger along Mrs.Swan’s tongue. His head was about the size of a grape, it recoiled slightly as her fingertip came into contact with his face. She could see fear in his eyes, but all her pity had now been overtaken by wonderment and fascination. She began to stroke the top of his scalp, but suddenly and without warning, Mrs.Swan clamped her mouth shut, biting and sucking on her finger. Helena pulled her hand away and jumped back, the thought of running away once more crossed her mind.

Mrs.Swan smiled broadly at her again. The bulge in her neck moved vigorously as David instinctively braced himself again. She turned away from Helena and walked silently over to the bed and let her gown slip from her body and onto the floor. She looked back at Helena, her mouth hanging open and her long neck motionless once more. She beckoned for the young woman to join her.

Seconds later they were rolling around together on the wide bed, the silk bed spread completely submissive beneath them. Helena clamped her mouth against Mrs.Swan’s neck, her tongue pressing against the human shape inside which writhed and struggled, not sure what to make of this new attack. Then David’s gravity shifted as Mrs.Swan rolled on top of Helena, his head and arms fell forward and he was staring down through her mouth and towards the open mouth of the other woman. He felt a rush of her cool breath against his face for a split second before the other woman’s tongue forced itself up towards him and everything went dark as Mrs.Swan’s lips closed around it. The two tongues danced and played violently together in front of him, Mrs.Swan’s mouth filled with saliva and David was again fighting for every breath.

Helena’s tongue smashed his hand against Mrs.Swan’s giant molars making him cry out in pain, at which Helena withdrew her tongue and looked in at him for a second before resuming their kiss with even yet more vigour. This time the tip of her tongue reached all the way back and slapped him rudely on the face. He turned his head sideways as her tongue pressed against his ear, forcing his head back against Mrs.Swan’s uvula.

Helena could feel the little man’s head. Her tongue ached yet she tried to push it deeper into her lover’s mouth to taste more of him. Soft moans of pleasure were coming from deep inside Helena, but to David they were deafening roars, even though his ears filled with saliva. Around his feet came a throbbing vibration as Mrs.Swan responded in kind, but the sounds of her ecstasy were easily stifled by the presence of his body in her throat. His chest began to pound, he thought his heart was failing but then realised it was Mrs.Swan’s heart that had quickened, her blood that was pulsing in rapid shock waves through arteries that pressed around his torso.

Mrs.Swan seemed to make love to this young woman for far longer than she had made love to him and David felt like his head had been pulverised. Eventually Helena’s tongue ceased its attack and retreated slowly back into her mouth, connected for a moment by a single string of saliva that ran back to the tip of Mrs.Swan’s tongue. She licked her lips, wiped them with her hand and then collapsed back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. Mrs.Swan closed her mouth. David could hear her quick eager breath somewhere above him. When she opened her mouth again he was looking directly down onto Helena’s breasts.

Then without warning, Mrs.Swan’s throat muscles loosened and with a guttural explosion of sound he found himself being projected out of her mouth. He crash landed head first onto one of Helena’s breasts, bounced off and landed on her stomach. Dazed, he sat up and looked up at Mrs.Swan, who was wiping her lips clean with a cloth. “It was getting a little hard to breath.” She said with a note of irony. “Anyhow, I figured it was about time you and our little friend were properly introduced.”

He looked up at Helena, who in turn was staring down at him, her eyes wide open. She was trying to stay calm. “Just get it….him….off me, please!” She cried. Mrs.Swan, still straddling her, smiled and ignored her plea.

“David, allow me to introduce Lady Helena Riley.” She said in a mocking English accent. “Lady Helena, I’d like you to meet David. These are his final moments of in this world.” Helena looked like she was about to throw up. “Not to your taste?” She asked, as she gently lifted up David’s tiny glistening body. “Well that’s a shame, because I was going to give you the honour of finishing him off.” Helena tried to wriggle out from under Mrs.Swan but couldn’t. “Dinner was hours ago. I’m sure you could find room for just a little more dessert, couldn’t you?” She held him in front of Helena’s mouth. “C’mon honey, just pop him in and let him slide down. Don’t you think he looks delicious?”

Helena pushed her arm away.”What the hell are you talking about?” She demanded. “That’s murder, what do you take me for? It’s too horrible! You’ve got to make him big again and let him go.”

Mrs.Swan laughed. “But you see David and I have a little arrangement, don’t we David?” She looked at him, her fingers wrapped securely around his middle.

David didn’t know what to think anymore, he was getting tired of games, he wasn’t even sure he still wanted to die like this. She squeezed him and he let out a faint cry of pain.

“See? He agrees with me. Besides, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how to make him big again anyway.” She looked down at Helena and shrugged her shoulders. “Well, if you don’t have the stomach for it….”

She held him head first in front of her mouth. “So long David, have fun down there.” She opened wide; the flesh at the back of her mouth looked slightly red, as if sore after holding him prisoner there for so long.

Horrified and unable to look away, Helena started to cry as the little man disappeared from sight again.

Mrs.Swan lifted her head, her long sinewy neck stretched back in an arc. A lump appeared just beneath her chin as his head slipped effortlessly into her throat, she put her finger and thumb into her mouth and gripped his feet, pushing them all the way to the back of her mouth, forcing his torso into her gullet, which stretched almost painfully to receive it. Her eyes shut in a grimace as she swallowed hard, and Helena could see the tiny man slowly sliding down the length of her neck, his arms and legs thrashing frantically as he was trying to swim backwards against the irresistible current. Then he was gone forever, disappearing behind her breasts and on to his final resting place. She lowered her head and gave Helena a broad satisfied smile.

Helena pressed her hands over her mouth in horror. “No! No! You can’t! He’ll die.” She whimpered. She was complicit in the murder of this man and she was starting to feel guilty herself and most of her guilt was because she’d been so very aroused by it.

“Quite something huh?” said Mrs.Swan, nonchalantly, as if she’d merely been downing a good cocktail. “You don’t know what you’re missing honey… he’s going down real easy… just like butter……there he goes, happy landings.” and then with a feigned a look of surprise: “Whoa David honey, cool it down there. I never said it would be painless did I? “

Still unable to move beneath Mrs.Swan, Helena could just make out the man’s muffled cries of pain. “I dare say he’s trying to make himself a little more comfortable.” Said Mrs.Swan as she gently rubbed her belly as if trying to sooth its troubled occupant. “Try taking a few deep breathes David, if you’re lucky the gas will make you pass out” Then she made to grab one of Helena’s hands and tried to press it against her, “C’mon honey, have a feel, he’s kicking and squirming like he’s possessed!”

Helena pulled her hand away in horror, Mrs.Swan finally lifted herself up and allowed her to escape. Helena sprang up, tried to gather most of her clothes and ran to the door, fumbling to open it.

“You know something honey?” Said Mrs.Swan nonchalantly. “I may not look all that big to you, but believe me, this stomach of mine could easily accommodate two whole little people, if you get my drift, so it probably wouldn’t be a great idea to go around telling no one what happened here tonight, do I make myself clear?.” Helena was still tying to open the door. Still sitting on the bed, Mrs.Swan, held up the key. “Looking for this Lady Helena?” She opened her mouth and slowly placed it on her tongue, leaving her mouth wide open.

Helena didn’t know what to do next, she was scared and she knew couldn’t get out without it. “Give me the key….please.” Mrs.Swan stood up and with her mouth still open walked over to where Helena stood trembling by the door. She seemed to tower over her now, as if she’d somehow grown taller since Helena had first entered her room little more than an hour ago.

Helena could still hear the cries of the little man, far less desperate than before, as he slowly expired inside her stomach,. She tentatively lifted her hand up to Mrs.Swan’s mouth, gathered up all her courage and grabbed the key. It was covered in saliva and she almost dropped it as she spun round. Panicking, she fumbled with it in the lock, managed to turn it in and then open the door. She thought she could hear a mocking laugh behind her as she ran half naked down the corridor, but she didn’t look back, she just kept running until she was back in the safety of her own berth.

Mrs.Swan spent the remaining few days of the voyage showing off her body up on deck during the last of the warm September afternoons and sipping cocktails and smoking Viceroy Cigarettes through her impractically long cigarette holder in the First Class Lounge.

Lady Helena locked herself inside her berth and didn’t come out again until the great ship had docked in New York and every last passenger but she had departed.