Tuesday...

Vicky awoke feeling thin and wrung out, but noted with relief that she at least was not drenched in sweat or had torn open her sleepwear again.

In the dining hall, she took a second coffee with a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausages, hoping that calories and caffeine could mitigate the terrible quality of sleep.

Brandon noticed it too and gave her a worried look.

“Do you want to ask for another room? It might be the air getting to you or something.”

“No,” said Vicky, rubbing her eyes. “It’s something, it’s these dreams I’m having.”

“Oh? What about?”

Vicky opened her mouth to reply, then blushed, remembering the sensation of being caressed by another woman.

“It’s… it’s like I can’t breathe. Like, I’m so tired that my whole body is just a lump of wet sand and I can’t move.”

Brandon frowned, but nodded as though something had been bugging him but was now clear.

“Well, we can try sleeping without the sheets, if you’re feeling claustrophobic. Or,” he said with a wink, “without anything at all. I’ll keep you warm.”

Vicky could only manage a weak smile, but nodded. If it fixed feeling as though she were suffocating at night, she’d try anything.

“Alright, those of you who were rostered to help out in the greenhouse, please follow me,” said Helena to the gathered family members.

Vicky and Brandon gave their plates to a relative collecting them and followed Helena up several flights of stairs to a rooftop exit, who opened it with a key.

“While there are certainly some crops that we grow out on the grounds proper, Leon has established a protected area on which we can perfectly control the cultivation of fresh produce all year round.”

What had seemed from the outside to be an angled glass ceiling was actually an enormous indoor farm, with potted plants arranged in row after row. The gathered family gasped in astonishment, examining the lush greenery, much of which was almost sagging beneath the weight of ripe fruit.

“I’ve got a list here for everyone detailing which section they should go to and what to harvest. Garnet’s parents aren’t in attendance, so I’ll have to take care of their end myself.”

Vicky saw Helena’s expression darken as she muttered under her breath, “again.”

Vicky herself was the furthest from Helena in the crowd and saw Brandon taking a list for each of them.