Susanna’s sleeping face rested peacefully upon her pillow, her auburn hair cascading around her, forming an angelic halo around her head.  Angelic, indeed, was a fair description of her.  There are some women whose inherent goodness and gentleness pervades their very presence.  It is a light within their hearts that shines forth into their visage and form.  Their outer beauty is magnified and enhanced by their beauty from within.  

Such was Susanna.

Vincent sat next to her upon the pillow, simply admiring her.  He was thinking about their relationship.  They were now much closer than ever before.  What started as a friendship had become a courtship.  Despite their obvious obstacles, they had fallen in love and were together now.  He vowed to be dedicated to her and to be the man that she needed and deserved.  

However, he still had certain insecurities.  It was perhaps a natural feeling for a man dating a woman over thirty times larger than him.  Though he had just proven that he could satisfy her desires and needs, he would always be limited by his size.  Oh, how he longed in this moment to rest his hand upon her cheek; to send his fingers through her hair; to embrace her body fully and to hold her in his arms!  He wanted Susanna to rest her head upon his chest and for them to sleep side by side.

Still more, he continued to be concerned about his ability to defend her, should something happen again.  He had protected her in the past against the threat of the glade--a bitter memory that he did not often desire to revisit in his mind.  His powers were growing in strength, this was true.  His pyrokinesis remained in his convictions to be first and foremost a tool, but it could not be denied that it could be an effective weapon, if need be.  Still, after the events of the glade, he was a little terrified of that power.  Just how strong was he?  And what else could he do?

He had been contemplating this last question.  Theoretically, he could do anything that he could dream of doing.  But was there more to it than that?  Were his abilities limitless?  It frightened him, somewhat, to think of the possibilities.  He did not want to be this way.  It was simply the way that he was.  He would much rather be stripped of all his power than to be tempted to use them for unwise purposes.  It was a heavy responsibility to bear.  In the end, he would try to further his talents, if anything to be a better protector of his beloved Susanna.

Vincent’s body was exhausted, and yet his mind continued going.  Already, his “nap” had relieved any sleepiness that he would normally be feeling; he had slept longer than he did on most nights.  He was just going to have to walk this off.

Leaping from the bed, Vincent landed on the floor and made his way to the slightly open doorway.  The carpeted floors of the room were a very different texture than the ground of the forest.  It added a spring in his step that he had to grow accustomed to.  Of course, he could always fly, but he decided that walking would be better for him in the moment.

The hallway was long and dark in the wee hours of the evening.  Moonlight shone in from a window at the end of the hall, but it’s illumination extended only so far.  Peering into the darkness, he could see the doors on either side; some were open, others were shut.  Directly across from him was Rebecca’s room.  Even from his location, he could hear the constant buzzing of her snoring.  (He was thankful that this was not a habit that Susanna possessed...much.)

Vincent flicked his wrist and a flame appeared within his palm.  He did not have to do it this way, but he found that associating the two actions helped him to conjure the fire without really thinking about it.  It had become second nature to him, much like his flying was simply a lot like regular walking; it required very little thought.

The light from the flame brightened the area surrounding him.  He kept it small, like the lit wick of a candle, lest he accidentally cause some...unwanted damages to the estate.  It was more than enough to guide his way as he explored the vast mansion.  The tour the sisters had given him was all-encompassing, but it was brief.  He had taken mental notes of places that had piqued his curiosity.  Whether or not he could find these places again was up in the air.  The layout of the manor was rather straightforward, but for a man of Vincent’s size and one unaccustomed to human architecture, everything looked very much the same.

The first room that he came upon was the bathroom.  It was a modest enclosure, much smaller than Susanna’s bedroom, though still spacious.  A tall dais rose from the ground, culminating with a wide basin at its top.  It was a sink for washing one’s face and brushing their teeth, among other uses, Vincent had learned.  The ability to have running water and at varying temperatures was a marvelous idea in his opinion.  On the far side of the room, next to the toilet (which Vincent knew instinctively to avoid), was a large claw-foot tub.  Had it been filled, it could have served as a large lake for Vincent, able to bathe over a hundred people his size.  Overall, the room was interesting, but there was no much more to see.  Vincent moved on.

Continuing down the hallway, he passed a few closed doors that likely led to other bedrooms that were not currently being used.  Many people could sleep in this house if need be.  Vincent imagined how overwhelming it could potentially be to have so many people surrounding him.  While he did not prefer loneliness at all, it certainly was what he was accustomed to.

He pushed open a door that brought him into the library.  Vincent could not read, but found the concept absolutely fascinating.  One could communicate with others, regardless of time or space.  In reading a book, it was entirely possible to access the thoughts and knowledge of a person living centuries earlier in a land far away!  Vincent leapt into the air and perused the bookshelves, being careful to keep his flame away from the books.  They came in different sizes and colors; some were faded, others looked new.  They exuded the unique smell of mustiness.

In the corner of the library was a large sphere resting on a wooden base that supported it at two ends.  It was painted with different shapes and forms.  Vincent examined it closely, but as he stood upon the orb, it started to spin around its tilted axis, revealing even more of the sphere.  He was a clever young man and it didn’t take him long to realize that it was a map of the world.  He did not know where on the globe Cairnbridge resided.  Perhaps Susanna would show him some day.  He could not see the forest or the mountains or his island in the lake on this map.  It all must have been too small...

Vincent was coming to realize just how large the world is...and just how small he was in comparison.  Were he to be represented on this sphere, a speck of dust would have been a mountain to him.  This humbling feeling was overwhelming him.  He needed to sit down and shake it off.  

“I wonder if there’s any of that wine left...”

~+~+~

Vincent had made his way to the kitchen, where he found the bottle of wine from earlier.  There was still some left and he was determined to have a little more.  He, of course, had learned a lesson from earlier.  He was not going to drink nearly as much or as fast.  He just wanted a little to help him get his mind off his troubles.

The kitchen was dark.  With his flame, he could see that Rebecca had not put in much effort to cleaning up after dinner.  A few dishes were upon the countertops, waiting to be washed.  The leftover food was just sitting on a table.  In the middle was the bottle of wine.  The cork was in place, but loosely, and he was able to pop it off without much effort.  Again, it seemed like Rebecca had been more eager to get up to bed than to clean.

Lowering himself head first, Vincent entered into the depths of the dark green bottle.  The smell of the alcohol and fermentation filled the chamber and wafted from the pool below.  Very carefully, he placed his lips to the surface and drew in a mouthful of the dry red wine.  It was cool as it entered, but warm on the way down.  It was just what he needed.  Already, he could feel the calming sensation relaxing his mind.

“Now that’s the stuff!” he said as he sat cross-legged in the air halfway up the bottle.  He was pacing himself to avoid another incident.  

The view of the kitchen was very strange from within, distorting the room and giving it a greenish hue.  Vincent giggled as he spun himself around in a circle, staring out as he went around and around.

“Just a few sips more...” he said, being adamant that he was stopping after that.  Significantly buzzed, he was thinking about having another sample of that marvelous cheese after this.

As he was about to levitate up and out, however, something in the room caught Vincent’s attention.  It entered into his field of vision--actually, it took up his entire field of vision.  A massive figure stood just outside the bottle, looming over it very still.  It was a woman, judging by the size and shapely form.  And she was wearing a nightgown...

“By the oak!  Susanna!” he said in a panicked whisper.

Ashamed of where he was, he immediately considered his options.  He was afraid that she would be very disappointed--or worse--angry at him for returning to the wine.  Fortunately, it did not appear that she had seen him.  What was she doing down here?  Had she followed him?  The first thought was that he could quickly fly out and hope to remain unseen.  In this tipsy state, though, he would likely attract more attention, especially if he had to fly right by her face.

Looking around, there was only one alternative: taking a deep breath, he plunged himself beneath the surface of the crimson pool.  Down into the remained of the wine he went, and just in time, too.  Under the surface, it was difficult for Vincent to see, but he could make out Susanna peering down into the bottle.  Luckily, she was still unaware of his presence.

However, Vincent did not anticipate what happened next.  

Without warning, a great jolt shook the entire bottle.  The resulting waves propelled Vincent through the wine, sloshing him back and forth.  He could feel the momentum of everything moving upwards and knew that he was being lifted.  He surfaced, gasping for air, trying to figure out what was happening.  He stared upwards at the mouth of the bottle, looking through the small hole above.  He could not see much, but what he did see was very shocking: several locks of curly red hair!

The woman was Rebecca!  

Suddenly, the bottle started to tip over onto its side.  As it did, he was able to see more and more of Rebecca’s face.  Her eyes were just barely fluttering open.  She appeared to be more asleep than awake.  At first, Vincent was concerned that Rebecca was emptying the bottle into the sink.  Perhaps she had seen him and was trying to find him.  Or, maybe she was cleaning up, finishing her chores from before.  However, these all seemed unlikely.  It was then that Vincent realized what was actually happening.

“Oh...oh sweet forest, no!” He started shouting frantically, desperately trying to get Rebecca’s attention.  “Rebecca!  Look down here!  I’m in the bottle!”

It was no use.  She was about to drink the rest of the wine straight from the bottle...and Vincent with it!

The bottle tilted more and more until it was horizontal.  Through the hole, he could see a pair of lips forming an “o,” ready to take in the delicious wine and its endangered occupant.  Vincent immediately started swimming towards the opposite end of the bottle, seeking to escape the current of wine that was about to make its way through the bottle’s neck.  As it tilted to an even greater angle, gallons of wine began to flow out of the container like a mighty river flowing into Rebecca’s waiting mouth below.  Vincent could hear the sound of the wine rushing out and pooling in her mouth, followed by the ominous, loud gulping sound that accompanied her swallowing.  He greatly hoped that she would stop with one swig, but it became clear that she was planning on chugging all of the wine in one go.

There was only so much Vincent could do to fight the current.  In a matter of seconds, half of the wine was gone, having been emptied into Rebecca’s maw.  The bottle tilted more and more, to the point where it was at nearly 45 degrees and Vincent could no longer swim against gravity.  Bracing himself, he rode the last of the wine down towards the neck of the bottle, which his body was rushing towards at great speed.  The smooth glass did not slow him down at all and he quickly slipped over the edge of the bottle, over the lips, and into the mouth of Rebecca.

Once again, his body was submerged in a pool of wine, this one much shallower than the inside of the wine bottle.  Rebecca’s head was tilted upwards, and so Vincent took advantage of this opportunity for air.  He was treated to a unique vista of the bottle from whence he came, framed by Rebecca’s teeth and lips.  The last few drops of wine trickled down from above and join him in her mouth.  He took one last breath.  Then her lips closed shut, enclosing him into watery darkness.  

Rebecca’s head tilted back down and Vincent found himself sinking to the bottom of the mouthful of wine and resting on her tongue, which was twice as long as his body.  There he rested for about a second, knowing that he would not stay in her mouth for long...

Many thoughts entered into Vincent’s head during that enduring second, which thanks to the adrenaline and alcohol coursing through his body appeared to drag on for much longer  Could she actually swallow him?  Surely, it had been a fear of his in the past.  Still, as he considered it, he was not so small as to be easily swallowed, was he?  Surely she would have difficulty doing so.  But then, Vincent also recalled how voraciously Rebecca had consumed her food at the dinner table.  She had down morsels much bigger than him easily.  With the aid of the wine, she could probably manage swallowing him whole like a pill.

Then again, he hopefully considered the possibility that she would feel him in her mouth.  She had to have felt the weight of his body against her tongue and would have noticed him, spewing him out of her mouth.  And yet...Susanna had not felt him earlier that evening when he had been caught in the cream puff.  He weighed almost nothing in her hands.  On one of their scales, he would have weighed in at a fraction of an ounce.  It was doubtful especially that a sleepy Rebecca would have noticed him, even if he were to kick and flail.  Though she was as beautiful as her sister and very friendly and good natured, she was not the most perceptive or observant of people.

Was this it, then?  Was he actually about to be swallowed down with a bottle of wine, forced down into the depths of his beloved Susanna’s sister, a young woman completely oblivious to the peril her midnight snack was causing?  What a fate!  Here he had hoped this venture to the kitchen would have helped him with his existential crisis, but it only served to further demonstrate just how insignificant he was.  

The truth was that Vincent would not have to wonder such questions and thoughts for long.  The one second in Rebecca’s mouth was elapsing.  By this time, Vincent had come to terms with what was about to happen.  After all, he was quite intoxicated from his earlier consumption, as well as from having been swimming in wine for the past few minutes.  He would have most definitely been in a panicked frenzy had be been sober.  As it was, he was remarkably unaffected.

“Welp, here we go...” Vincent said, taking a deep breath as he felt the movement of Rebecca’s mouth preparing to send him and the last of the wine down into her throat.  

Rebecca’s tongue lifted and pushed backwards and her throat opened up, greeting the contents of her mouth.  For Vincent, it was as if a trap door had opened up underneath him.  The wine surrounding him suddenly started flowing again as it was forced through into the awaiting abyss.  He watched helplessly as Rebecca’s uvula slid right across his body.  He considered grabbing onto it, or perhaps onto her tonsils or back molars, but it would have been futile.  He was going down whether he liked it or not.

The wine had already plunged down Rebecca’s esophagus by the time Vincent was making his way through the narrow tube of muscles.  The muscles slowed and controlled his descent rather than allowing him plummet into the stomach in a freefall.  It was something to be thankful for, at least, as well as for not being underwater anymore.  

Strangely, Vincent was rather comfortable as he descended.  Having already accepted his situation, he tried to enjoy the eight second ride.  There was a small amount of air in Rebecca’s gullet.  The flesh was smooth and slippery and warm and it surrounded him snugly, pressing him further downward.  The inside of her body was dark and he was lulled by the rhythmic beat of her heart that resonated all around him.  Thump-thump.  Thump-thump.  Thump-thump.  The heartbeat was nearly deafening as he traveled through the part of the tunnel that was adjacent to the organ and he could physically feel it pulsing.  It was a wonder to behold, actually.

At that point, though, he was coming near to the end of the slide.  The chute curved slightly to the right and Vincent was pushed through one last ring of muscles.  He was squeezed through the valve, which closed right behind him.  In that moment, he was no longer surrounded in the comfort of the esophagus, but it had less-than-gracefully kicked him out into the air.

“Well, thanks for that!” he shouted a little indignantly with slurred speech as he found himself falling more quickly.

He was aware that he had entered into Rebecca’s stomach now.  From where her gullet had deposited him near the top of the chamber, he plunged for about a second until he landed with a degrading plop.  It was not a very pleasant experience.  Vincent himself up to his chest in a warm stew composed of Merlot wine and mushed up cheese, meat, bread, and the other contents of their evening dinner.  The acid of her stomach had been at work for a few hours now and it was all very soupy.  It also smelled rather rank and putrid.

“Eck!” Vincent exclaimed as he made his way through the muck.  It was pitch black and he could not see where he was going.  When he walked, at first he found the pool was getting deeper, so he turned back around until he found the edge of her stomach.  He placed his hand against the wrinkled flesh.  The acid lining it was not immediately painful, but it was certainly not pleasant, so he quickly removed it.  

Vincent’s life was not immediately in danger; all in all, he could probably survive for about a half hour or longer thanks to the good amount of wine that was watering down the acid and slowing down the digestive process.  However, this was not something that was known to him, nor was it something that he wanted to discover firsthand.  He wanted out of this hellhole!

The first thing that he did was to levitate himself out of the digesting food.  The alcohol in his system was still hazing his mind, but he was determined and able to focus enough to do at least that.  Sitting in the air, he flicked his hand very subtly, creating the smallest of sparks.  He did not want to risk endangering Rebecca and he imagined she would not appreciate him starting a fire in her belly, but he needed just a little light.

The spark illuminated the chamber enough for him to finally see what he had gotten himself into.  The stomach was like a large gourd-like sack shaped that was slumped over on its side, forming a “j.”  The room was small, but not tight.  In fact, Vincent could have fit in five or six times over, especially considering that her stomach was full and expanded right now.  He was a few feet from the walls, which were bright pink and wrinkly and glistened with a film of saliva and digestive fluids.  Above him, the chamber curved upwards.  Near the top, on the side of on the upper walls, he could see the sphincter through which he had entered, leading back up into the esophagus: his only “desirable” exit to this place.

As he was about to try forcing himself through the hole, though, something shot out of it and came hurtling towards him!  He dodged the projectile, but it landed with a splash in the stomach contents below.  Taking a closer look, he saw what appeared to be cheese...

“Good heavens, Rebecca, there’s plenty of food in here already!  Are you honestly still eating?”

She was.  More and more of her midnight snack joined Vincent in her belly.  He was simply astonished at just how much this young woman could eat.

“How is she still so thin?” he marveled.

Finally, it appeared that she was satiated, but by then, the “water” level had risen a good several inches, forcing Vincent to fly further upwards.  He was closer to the sphincter now.  He watched it open slightly as some of the air was pushed up through it.  A moment later, Vincent could hear the resulting sound from above: a burp.  Rebecca had burped!  Deep within her, a tiny man sighed.  The situation had long ceased to be amusing to Vincent and he was more than determined to get himself out of it as soon as possible.

However, his escape attempts were once more delayed when the entire environment began to shake and shift.  Rebecca was moving!  Her body rose and fell with each footstep.  Every footfall sent ripples through the stomach-swamp.  The act of her climbing the stairs doubled this effect.  It was very jarring for Vincent and he was relieved when it appeared that she had finally returned to her bedroom.  After a brief pause, though, the entire chamber flipped on its side, sending Vincent head over heels.  The contents of Rebecca’s stomach sloshed back and forth in waves until it finally came at rest in the now horizontal room.  

Now that things had at last settled down, Vincent could make his escape.  With Rebecca lying down, it would be easier, he thought.  He wanted to do this as subtly as possible, without Rebecca knowing what had transpired.  First off, he knew that she would have absolutely freaked if she felt him climbing up out of her throat...and she would have been overwhelmed with guilt and would have broken down sobbing...which would have woken up Susanna...and basically, it was a whole series of events that he would rather not go through tonight.  Though he was certainly not happy that Rebecca had drank him, he knew that it was an accident, one that he was foolish enough to cause.  

But more than that, he would have been very content is no one knew that this had happened to him.  The whole experience had greatly affected his self-esteem, which had already sunken low from the events of that night.  He was a handsome young man, capable of great power and able to do great things that no human could ever do!  And yet, in the world he lived in, he was an ant.

This was no time to commiserate or feel sorry for himself.  Taking one last breath of the foul air, Vincent pushed himself through the valve until he was back in Rebecca’s gullet.  Though the esophagus much preferred to be one directional, Vincent found that it was not impossible to make his way back up the tube.  Every once in awhile, the peristalsis would kick in and the wave of muscles would force him back down a few feet, but he was able to make progress.  The tunnel was dark, as he had extinguished his flame before leaving Rebecca’s stomach.  He pressed on.

Vincent knew that he was getting closer to Rebecca’s throat because the sound of her snoring was growing louder and louder, to the point where it had overpowered the sound of her heartbeat.  Though it was not pleasing to his ears, it did mean one thing: Rebecca was sleeping with her mouth open.  It would make his exit that much easier.  Sure enough, he could see a small amount of light pouring into her throat at the upper end of her gullet.  He had to slip himself passed her epiglottis, but before long, he was back at the back of her mouth!

It was strange seeing her uvula vibrating, even more so knowing that such a small piece of flesh was causing such a deafening noise.  At this juncture, Vincent had to be very careful not to block Rebecca’s airway (though it would have stopped that horrendous snoring!)  He did not want her to wake up because she was choking on him, and he would rather not be choked on.  It was challenging, though, as gale force winds were constantly blowing in from her nasal passage, then out through her mouth.  He had to time his movements right.  If he did this correctly, he could possible use her exhaling breath to help propel him out of her mouth.

Maneuvering into the best position, Vincent caught the next gust of air exiting Rebecca’s lungs.  It was not quite powerful enough to launch him out, but it helped guide and power his flying.  He avoided contact with her tongue.  It would have slowed him down, or worse, it might have accidentally trigger her swallowing reflex and he did not want to repeat this process over again.  Her lips were just barely parted, but they were open enough.  When the next breath of air passed by, Vincent shot out of Rebecca’s mouth.  At long last, he was no longer a prisoner of her body!  He was free!

Completely exhausted, he just followed the trajectory and fell where he lay.  As it were, ironically he landed on Rebecca’s belly.  He didn’t care, as long as he was on the outside of it now.  He lay down and stretched out, catching his breath and letting his body calm down.  Below him, her stomach rumbled and growled, continuing its digestion, but Vincent was not going to be a part of it!  He considered doing a tap dance on her abdomen, but chose against it.  Rebecca was still sleeping, still completely oblivious to all that had happened.  He wanted to keep it that way.

Not wanting to linger too long (and so he could get away from that dreadful snoring), Vincent leapt to the floor and made his way back to Susanna’s room.  The dawn was only a few hours away, but he did not mind the thought of just resting until then.  Flying up to the nightstand, he plopped down to his bed of handkerchiefs and let out a big, deep sigh of relief.

“Vincent?” Susanna called out sleepily.  She must have heard him coming in.

“Um, yes Susanna?”

“Are you okay?  Did you go off on a walk?”

“Yes.  Yes, I did.  I went off on a little adventure,” he said.  “But I’m back now.  No more exploring for me tonight.”

“Oh, okay.  I’m glad you got to see a little more of the manor.  Have a good night.”

“You too, my love.”

Before laying back down, though, Susanna got a whiff of something pungent in the air.

“Ugh.  Vincent, is that you?”  Her nose wrinkled up in disgust.

“Is what me?”

“That smell!  It smells like...vomit!”

Vincent realized that his misadventure had left a rather rank odor upon her person.  Of course, he wasn’t about to tell Susanna that he got it from swimming around in her sister’s gut.

“Oh yes.  That’s me.  I...got a little sick from the wine, I think,” he said, feigning apology.  “I just came back from the bathroom, but I think I might have gotten a little of it on my clothes.”

“Just a little?  Your clothes are covered with it!”

“My goodness, you’re right!” Vincent said, again pretending to be shocked.  “I guess I really must have missed the sink.”