She isn’t ready for it. How could she be? Yet the night of the moonlit Banquet is already upon her. Despite going to pieces under her crumbling nerves, she had nonetheless been prepared for the affair in excess. It is truly a world beyond her understanding, however, a prestigious gala the likes of which she had never experienced before and likely never will again. The event is even being hosted atop an obsidian tower, the oldest and tallest she has seen in this realm. Overflowing with a lush botanical garden of flora alien to her, its flowers bloom into precise and elaborate patterns, with its roots and bramble incomprehensibly curated into pristine furnishings of its own accord. Each guest is dressed in finery beyond her wildest fantasies, all tailored to complement each of their unique and awe inspiring features. One in particular stood out, with gorgeous silver hair like moonlight, yet bound by iron chains and armed guards. The heart and soul of any banquet, however, is the food, which needless to say, is exquisite here. Every dish is an intricate display of culinary passion without the limitations of reason. At any other meal she had attended, each one would be the highlight. Here, however, they are simply the baseline.
 
 
Such a shame that our poor heroine’s role in the banquet is not that of a guest but rather one of the many desserts available. By this point she has already been lovingly kneaded into dough by a patissier and fashioned into donuts bearing delicate burgundy glaze and adorned with bright velvet sprinkles. She now sits helplessly arranged into the frail visage of a forlorn maiden composed of them, with an abundance more of them lying at her feet. Her posture almost timidly invites guests to casually consume what remains of her at their leisure. Somewhat pretentiously, a plaque rests in front of the piece, titling it simply “Temptation of Persephone”. Is that supposed to be her name? Did she lose it at some point? It’s difficult to recall at the moment, though that would certainly be humiliating, all things considered.
 
 
Persephone isn’t even the only dish of her kind. There are actually quite a few around that she is certain used to be humans, be it due to similar plating or a vague resemblance to people she has encountered before. In fact there is a roast garnering a lot of attention that is definitely a pop star she went to high school with back in the day. They might be washed up now, but back then she had such a massive crush on them. And if Persephone was really being honest, she still thought they were kinda cute. In a rotisserie kind of way. Not that a platter of donuts had a chance with the banquet’s plat du jour. For many reasons. Not just her anxiety or lack of self confidence. Or poor social skills. Or…
 
 
Anyway, looking back, perhaps she should have been more careful with her phrasing when making wagers with the fair folk? Or simply not have entered their realm in the first place? She admittedly was fairly easily swept up in their sweet talk and half baked promises. Now she herself is just plain fried.
 
 
Who is she kidding, though? She would definitely do it all over again in a heartbeat if she could! She would even come out on top this time! True, that is a lot of tough talk for a helpless platter of donuts, but she can’t go back to the way things were before… Even a fate like this is marginally better… At least now she isn’t just a burden… at least now she is wanted at all…
 
 
There is a dense atmosphere of mounting anticipation around her, only holding back due to an unspoken social dynamic. It seems that Persephone has become quite the irresistible snack. Not quite in the way she had hoped, but maybe she could still take a bit of pride in it? At least before the end. Is this the end? She didn’t want to keep her consciousness after being eaten, much less as glob of mush or poop. She tried to shudder but as a donut she could move anymore.
 
 
…All the same, she attempts to wince as an extended hand finally reaches for her. A sickly green humanoid with a floral crown and elongated limbs is the first to grasp one of the many confections that was once her body,
 
 
However, the hand freezes in place before he can bite into his intended snack, the gloom of the night sky descends around him in dagger-like cascades just short of slashing at him from all angles in a brutal display of sublime authority. The journey of his expression tells far more than words could ever convey as he crumples back away from the table.
 
 
Persephone could feel a tinge of pity for the whimpering creature that just a moment ago was to thoughtlessly consume her. Even the others of his kind seem agasp, or even to avoid the sight altogether. “...apologies… …my lady… …I hadn't seen…” Before he can continue he is approached by several knights clad in an armor of ancient stone. Almost petrified into it as they stand between him and the actual offended party, who doesn’t seem at all interested in talking, or even interested in acknowledging the other person’s existence in the slightest. Oh sweet heavens. It’s her.
 
 
She is deathly pale like freshly fallen snow, or like the core of an apple that’s just been sliced. Her ears are long and jagged in ways Persephone has only seen in anime. Fittingly she bares a petite fairytale-esque silhouette complete with nails pointed into sharpened claws painted black. The luminescent silver of her hair is as though moonlight itself is spun into a winding braid, her eyes shimmering with a similar stolen glow, perfectly complimenting the fair and alluring features of her face, yet contrasting with the cold predatory gaze of a tiger poised to strike.
 
 
The cascades of night bleed away from the potential victim, coalescing around her waif-like frame, draping elegantly into a gown unlike any other, adorned by the shimmer of stars twinkling to life within the abyss she wore as finery. A pair of translucent wings trail from her back forming elaborate crystalline patterns, yet they are each cracked, run through with iron spikes. Though she is by far one of the most resplendent creatures Persephone has seen at this banquet, she is bound by manacles, each one seemingly chained to one of the knights in her escort.
 
 
Before Persephone had even noticed, the donut had changed hands. She now felt herself being gingerly spun around this girl’s fingertip. A playful toothy grin flashing across her face for just a moment and no more. But oh sweet heavens those teeth looked sharp.
 
 
With the same air of malicious charm as she arrived, the woman waves the other fey off without sparing him another glance. “What are you waiting for? Leave.” The tension at the banquet drops as she allows him to simply squirm away. Who exactly was she and what was she capable-
 
 
Just like that, Persephone feels a sharp piercing sensation, the moonlit faerie biting into her without another word. Right. She is food, afterall… It isn’t quite the blinding pain she would have expected, yet deep and invasive all the same. It’s overwhelming, you know? Having bits and pieces of herself being torn away and chewed up before sliding down into the abyssal chasm of this fairy’s gullet and melting away into nothing.
 
 
Despite the mounting existential terror of her own experience, Persephone is delightful. Her fluffy character chocolate dough mixes with the creamy pomegranate of her glaze and filling to bring another smile to the moonlit fairy’s face. And after just a few more bites, that part of Persephone is simply “gone” now. She mercifully can’t feel it anymore.
 
 
On the bright side, no one else is willing to risk eating more of Persephone, on the other hand, the moonlit fairy is already grabbing another donut, seeming intent on eating every single one herself. “So this is how it ends…” Persephone can’t help but think.
 
 
The moonlit fairy holds Persephone up to her eyes, fixing her with an icy stare. “If you must despair while I eat, I would have you not indulge in such cliches.” The poor donut freezes in stunned silence while another chunk is bitten free of her. Unable to fully process her thoughts until the next donut is already half finished, Persephone finally works up the courage to respond. “You can hear me?” Before she can get a response, however, that donut too is gone.
 
 
The moonlit fairy turns her gaze to the face of the donut sculpture, signaling Persephone to focus her sense of self there. “Of course, I can. Do you take me for a lowly sprite or spriggan?” All the same, she begins to casually devour another part of Persephone.
 
 
Unable to help it, Persephone lets loose a deluge of questions now that she knew someone could hear her. “Is it just me? Am I special somehow? Is this telepathy? If you could hear me, why would you want to eat-” Cold as ever, the moonlit fairy authoritatively cuts her off. “So dull it would be for a fervent meal to be without expression. And yet I tire of meaningless prattle~!”
 
 
Whatever answer Persephone had considered possible quickly fades into nothingness. And more pressing, her dining companion shows no apprehension in making a meal of her. If nothing changes she will at best be a few crumbs and leftovers by morning. Her mind races to consider possible avenues of talking her way into freedom, or at least survival. But were that in the cards, would she really be here right now?
 
 
All of her distress only seems to entice the Moonlit fairy more, licking the frosting off of the next donut to toy with Persephone before taking a bite. “Squirm as you might, curse your fate if you must, but is this not all the result of your own hubris and reckless bargaining~?”
 
 
As much as Persephone wishes to object, she fumbles over her words, unable to really say that her captor is wholly incorrect. “That’s kind of… oversimplifying it…? I didn’t… exactly-” Naturally, the moonlit fairy cuts the poor donut off once more, freezing her nonexistent spine with but a single glance. “What did I say about prattling? Should you bore me, I’m certain the rabble would enjoy making short work of such a paltry snack.” Her fickle nature shines through her cat-like eyes as they drift over to the roasted idol at the center of the rooftop garden.
 
 
Unsure of what to say but having nothing more to lose, Persephone swallows her anxiety for just a moment, opting in this moment to shout out (as much as any donut can). “I didn’t lose!” She immediately feels the heat of her captor’s gaze again, as well as stares from a number of others at the Banquet. This is quickly becoming an even greater nightmare, yet she just can’t seem to stop talking, now. “It was a tie! And ending up like this isn’t even a compromise, it's just a bad joke! I can’t play games! I can’t watch anime! I can’t even move around or appreciate my body at all! This isn’t even a real body, a cruel monkey’s paw twist, tacked on by someone that couldn’t even beat me in a trading card game! Now I’m just supposed to lie down and let myself be a midnight snack for some moonlight monster girl’s coming out party???? Who even are you?!” She pants in and out for a moment at the end of her rant, before remembering she is a donut and is not actually breathing at all.
 
 
Oh great. There’s murmuring now. And here comes the laughter. Her outburst has made her the center of attention. That’s it. Persephone is dead. Even if she weren’t already being eaten, now she is just dying outright. End of the story, RIP. You can all just close the tab and go back to what you were doing before, now. Were she capable of it anymore, she would be trembling. She can barely even focus on the words at all, but she knows that people are saying things about her. Part of her just wants the guests to hurry up and finish eating her so that it can be over with. So she doesn’t have to feel like this again. It’s just too much.
 
 
Oh course ‘she’ easily cuts through the mounting chatter. The rhythmic chime of uncontrollable laughter piercing through it all, the moonlit fairy still grasping half a donut. It even takes her a moment to compose herself, having nearly doubled over in a fit. “Such- such a minor complaint. Did you not think it in the nature of the fair folk to twist your words against you? To make a mockery of your wishes even on a tie? What bargain do you hold so sacred as to demand it as you lie helpless on a platter?”
 
 
“...” Still unable to process words, much less articulate them, Persephone falls silent.
 
 
The Moonlit fairy, however, simply looks her up and down, taking note of the ornamental nature of her snack’s presentation. “It matters not.” A mischievous grin rolls across her face, revealing yet again her inhumanly long and sharp teeth before consuming the other half remaining of her donut.
 
 
The full moon is already well within view, far closer than Persephone had ever seen, yet in this moment it feels so much closer. Close enough to touch, even. The statuesque knights reflexively draw weapons in response to the night sky once more cascading down from its resting place. Everything goes dark as Persephone’s platter is engulfed almost entirely by the uniquely supernatural phenomenon. She could also sense the moonlit fairy growing closer, her hands gently weaving through the stars and kneading at every bite of Persephone’s form.
 
 
A word comes out of the fairy’s toothy grin, whispered like a secret, gently into where Persephone’s ear would be. “You may call me Farina.” Beyond words for entirely new reasons, all Persephone can seem to muster are awkward squeaks and moans, a reaction her captor seems to take no short of delight in. “I have many names but this one you are free to call me.” She adds on in a surprisingly sweet tone.
 
 
Once Persephone can finally manage to open her eyes, she is face to face with the moonlit fairy, Farina. And oh my she is close. Farina has climbed onto the table, wading through loose donuts and is now lingering just above Persephone’s prone body, the fairy’s pristine silver hair flowing onto her face. Their faces might have gotten close enough to touch, were the knights not hard at work, tugging at Farina’s chains. Wait. Eyes? Face? Body? Persephone takes a moment to feel herself over before glancing down at the platter she rests upon to use as a mirror.
 
 
Looking back at her is a girl of bizarrely enticing and mouth watering appeal, inhuman, yet with an undeniably stunning charm. The flesh of her former self had still been traded for the fluffy texture of freshly made chocolate donuts, complete with the aesthetic choice of a hole for a midriff. Her smooth and symmetrical, freckled with bright red sprinkles. Her hair is another mystery as it has shaped into doughy spheres with the same consistency as the rest of her, wrapped in a burgundy glaze of pomegranate frosting. All the same, what she sees gives her nothing short of elation, a sense of euphoria she had never been able to experience until now. This is significantly better than being glorified hors d'oeuvres, and much more comfortable than her old body.
 
 
From captor to savior, who really is Farina? Persephone finds herself wondering, snapping her out of her trance. Of course Farina is already being lifted from the table by the stone knights. In the blink of an eye, Persephone slides to the edge and clasps the girl’s hands. “Thank you so much!” Farina’s face grows blank as she is caught off guard, the knights in turn moving between the two.
 
 
“Oh, worry not, these trivialities are the least I can do before devouring you~”
 
 
“Wha- I thought you were-” Before Persephone can get in another word, her so called savior wraps her arms around her in a gentle embrace and bites deep into her newly acquired shoulder.
 
 
Farina tilts up Persephone’s chin with a finger and smiles innocently as she licks her lips. “Now now, my delectable treat, just because I favor you, does not mean you are not food…” The image of her smile burns itself into Persephone’s mind as the world around her fades away. “…It just means I want you for myself.”
 
 
Persephone stirs from the glare of an overstimulating sunrise, waking with a start. She looks around for signs of the nightmare she had experienced. However, the tower, the garden, the guests, and all of the ‘dishes’ are nowhere to be seen. In their place is simply a roadside through a forest pass.
 
 
All the same, she feels a slight pain in her shoulder, glancing over to see a bright pink pomegranate cream oozing out of it. Likewise a donut hole remains in her core, and the rest of her still hot and flakey. “It was all real?”
 
 
Another mercy she finds is that she has her clothes back. Although “artistic liberties” seem to have been taken with what she had worn before.
 
 
Her once modest hoodie is now cropped and shoulderless, exposing her new “features” among other things. Her cozy sweatpants have been replaced entirely by a nice striped skirt garnished with chains, and a pair of fishnet stockings underneath. Lastly a pair of open toe ankle boots showing off a layer of black nail polish.
 
 
A number of questions pass through Persephone’s mind. Had she escaped? Did they let her go? Was this Farina still planning to eat her? As if to answer, she feels a familiar piercing sensation outside of her body. Somewhere Farina is taking a bite of one of the spare donuts.
 
 
But more pressly, This is not home. Nor anywhere near it. Is this even still Earth? With nothing else to go on, Persephone simply picks a direction and starts following the road. Walking all the way home is going to suck. She always hated walking.