On a sunny summer day, made even sunnier by the high spirits of the people of Hyrule after the fall of Ganondorf’s reign, Princess Ruto of the Zora people leapt from the river beneath the drawbridge to Hyrule Castle Town, landing gracefully on her feet as befitting a lady of her class, and startling the guard keeping watch in the process. Ruto gave a quick wink to the hapless Hylian man, still dripping as she strolled into the bustling town, leaving the guard wondering if he should have offered a towel, or if that were to be considered some sort of social faux pas for the water dwelling folk. It was something he’d probably have to figure out soon, as the town expected to see quite a few more Zora visitors in the near future thanks to the official joining of the Hylian and Zora people, a modest coronation taking place just a couple of weeks before crowning Princess Zelda the queen of the Zora people, intended to strengthen the bonds between the two races.

Princess Zelda in her wisdom had declared that the tragedy Ganondorf had brought upon them could have been avoided with the cooperation of all the races of Hyrule, and so the two races joined hands. As it was enshrined in Zora law to not accept authority from anybody outside their royalty she was made a queen of equal rank with King Zora, a formal member of the Zora royal family, although her hand remained unjoined in marriage with the king. But with Zelda in her castle and Ruto and the king in their Domain, it seemed that for now nothing much had changed, though the sight of Zora strolling around their town square was a strange and unfamiliar once for most ordinary Hylians. Ruto smiled and saunted confidently through, always enjoying the attention, although her elegance was somewhat spoiled when she walked straight into the fountain in the middle of the town, smiling as she doused herself from head to toe before climbing out and leaving wet footprints behind with the dumbstruck townsfolk. If one had asked her why, she would have simply asked them why they even had a fountain there you weren’t supposed to refresh yourself in.

“Thank Nayru for that fountain.” Ruto sighed, heading down the road to Hyrule Castle. “I’m going to dry out in no time in this dreadful heat and ruin my skin. Zelda really should extend the waterway all the way to the castle…”

The haughty princess passed the front gate, feeling like the walk up to the castle would never end, looking down enviously at the moat and wishing she could go for a dip before entering. If only she could have swum all the way up to the moat in the first place! Then again, Hylians had rugs and other things they got mad at you for getting wet, she knew that from her trips to the castle as a child. No sooner had she finally entered was she greeted by an escort of guards who hurried her to Zelda’s throne room, where Zelda awaited her on the throne, looking poised and diplomatic as always. If Ruto had been a commoner she might have even been fooled by her calm exterior, but despite her spoiled appearance Ruto was a trained diplomat, and could tell that Zelda was troubled by something, and couldn’t quite perfectly keep it off her face. She did suppose that Zelda had a seven year gap between her upbringing as a princess and actually performing her duties as one…

“Good day to you, princess.” Ruto smiled, giving a short Zora-style curtsy before crossing her arms. “What in the name of the goddesses is so urgent that our newly crowned queen practically begged me to rush out here in this heat? You aren’t having second thoughts over this Queen of the Zoras business, are you?”

“Most certainly not.” Zelda said without hesitation. “I’m sorry to call you here on such short notice, princess, but there is something I simply must speak to you about, in private. Guards, leave us.” Zelda said formally as she raised a hand, Ruto’s entourage and Zelda’s throne room guards nodding and marching out, sliding the doors shut behind them. The moment they were gone Zelda seemed to slump in her chair, her expression cracking and looking much more dire.

“Well, what is it then? I’ll admit you have my curiosity.” Ruto raised an eyebrow. “That letter had nothing short of panic in it, and I didn’t think a picture-perfect princess like you knew the meaning of the word.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” Zelda smiled ruefully. “There’s something you must see, something strange that’s been happening ever since the coronation ceremony. Of course, I didn’t notice it until a week after, but-”

“Well, go on then!” Ruto approached Zelda, climbing the stairs to the throne. “I didn’t walk all the way here just to be left in anticipation!”

“Very well then.” Zelda took a deep sigh. “You’re to speak none of this to anybody, you understand?”



Ruto nodded, and Zelda began to undo her golden belt, letting out a strange huff of relief as she did so. She pulled up the pink chest of her traditional dress and undid the shirt below it, revealing her abdomen.

“This is what I wanted to show you.” Zelda said, looking deeply worried as Ruto studied her royal belly.

“That you’ve been spending a little too long sitting on that throne lately?” Ruto smirked, poking Zelda’s decidedly flabby pot belly, quite unbefitting of her elegant image. Small enough that she could hide it under her dress, but very noticeable once exposed.



“N-no, not that!” Zelda blushed like a schoolgirl, taking a step back to avoid Ruto’s teasing fingers. “The colour, look at it! It’s not natural at all!”

“Now that you mention it…” Ruto took a closer look, realising that what she thought was pale flesh was tinted a light blue. Ruto reached out and poked it again despite Zelda’s protests, tracing the sensitive flesh.

“I haven’t touched many Hylians, but…” Ruto reached to her own belly, perfectly trim compared to Zelda’s. “That doesn’t feel like Hylian skin. It feels like…”

“A Zora?” Zelda said intently, Ruto hesitating for a moment, then nodding. Zelda reached out and touched Zelda, then her belly, her brow furrowing.

“I knew it.” Zelda pulled her clothes back down, sucking her gut in and redoing her belt. “It started there, but it’s more than just that. It’s going up my chest and to my hips, and who knows when it’ll spread to my face? For now it’s just my skin, but what if the rest of me starts to change as well? I can cover the rest of my body, but I can’t go about in public wearing a mask…”

“Perhaps you should try veils like the Gerudo?” Ruto joked. “Your people might like their princess looking a bit more exotic.”

“This is no joke, Ruto.” Zelda’s face made it clear that she was in no mood for jokes. “I’ve been cursed, and who knows what it’ll do to meet, or worse, relations between our kingdoms?” Zelda wasn’t in the mood for being poked fun of, Ruto sighing.

“I had thought a little levity would help you relax, your highness.” Ruto put her hands on her hips. “Whatever it is, there are worse things that could happen than turning into a Zora.”



“I was expecting you to be a little more surprised.” Zelda said slightly suspiciously.

“I am surprised!” Ruto threw her hands up dramatically. “So surprised I don’t know how to react! Who ever heard of a Hylian turning into a Zora, if that’s even what’s happening! But one of us has to keep a level head, don’t you think? It may as well be me, if the queen herself can’t.”



“You’re, you’re right.” Zelda took a deep breath, slumping again. Now that Ruto looked closer she was hiding dark bags under her eyes with thick makeup, and looked slightly unsteady on her feet. “Look, I called you here to ask for any help you might be able to provide, for our kingdoms’ sakes. Are you sure you’ve never heard of a curse like this?”



“I was never much for books when I was growing up, I’m afraid.” Ruto shrugged. “But I’ll have our finest scholars look into it, I’m sure something will turn up.”



“Just don’t mention me, alright?” Zelda practically pleaded. “Just make it sound like a flight of fancy. I’m sure that somebody like you would, um, have her whims go unquestioned, no matter how vapid they seem- I mean, even if they’re quite spontaneous, or, um….”

“I get it, your highness.” Ruto stopped her there before she started a diplomatic incident. “I promise I’ll look into it as soon as I’m back. For now, there’s no use worrying about it, so get some rest, okay? I’ll scour our records from top to bottom in the meantime.”



“A thousand thanks, Ruto.” Zelda fell back into her chair, looking about ready to pass out. “With any luck, this whole thing won’t be anything to worry about…

–

There was a knock on the door from Zelda’s maidservant

“Princess, the mayor is here to see you…” She called from outside, Zelda pausing from her lavish breakfast mid-bite. She was still dressed in her nightgown, eating her third platter of breakfast on the edge of her bed, and would have needed an hour to make herself sufficiently presentable between finishing breakfast, bathing, dressing, putting her makeup on… In her current state, it all seemed so tiresome.

“My apologies, but could you tell him that he’ll be meeting the minister instead?” Zelda called out in her most dignified tone. “I’m feeling a bit under the weather today…”

“Of course, your highness! Please, focus your energy on getting better soon!” Zelda could practically hear her maid bow despite the solid block of wood between them. “I’m sure you’ll be right as rain in a day or two, based on your appetite!”

“Yes, let’s hope so.” Zelda let out an empty laugh, waiting for her footsteps to fade away. Were it not for her plate of bacon she would have slumped back onto her bed, but instead wolfed it down before carefully putting the plate out of the way, then fell backwards onto her bed, the thin silk of her nightgown falling around her rather prominently stuffed belly.

As of late, the princess' appetite seemed to have only two modes, on and off, with no space in between. The poor girl would switch from drooling and fighting a ravenous hunger to struggling against the discomfort of an overstuffed tummy utterly without warning. Her body wished to be constantly testing its capacity, and so that was what it got. Worryingly, the state of fullness took longer to attain every time, but right now no worry could ruin the satisfaction of having fulfilled her desires. Releasing a quick hiccup, Zelda soothingly rubbed her taut tummy. She was still unused to the sensation of her fingers passing over Zora flesh but it was the only way to ease her digestive pains at the moment. She hoped she would never get used to it.

She knew that this was no state for a princess to be in, particularly after this was the fourth day in a row she had foisted her responsibilities off onto others, and today she felt like she might not even leave her room at all. She felt so tired all of the time, and it was even more exhausting to go out and pretend that everything was fine. Even if she did so, she could hear the whispers of those around her speculating why the princess was behaving so oddly lately…

After moping around on her bed for a while, Zelda decided to take her mind off things with a good soak, drawing herself a bath and magically heating it. She sank into the water with an appreciative sigh, able to relax and let her mind go blank while she was in it, slowly feeling her tension fade away. After twenty minutes she decided to get out before her skin got any wrinklier, wishing she could feel this relaxed all of the time. Plus, she thought as she looked on the bright side, now that she had freshened up a little, perhaps she could do her makeup, and perhaps be ready to step outside to reassure her subjects that nothing was amiss.

However, as soon as she looked at herself in the mirror, her smile faded and her spirits fell, a familiar tension rising in her chest as she looked at the blue patches spreading out from her belly, wrapping around her hips while the slope of her breasts was starting to turn pale blue. Even ignoring it, her body was turning flabby, her gut sagging and her waist starting to develop folds, no longer the slim, graceful curves they once were. It wasn’t even just fat, as it had a certain bulging roundness to it from being so well stuffed. And it would only get worse from here…

Feeling anxious and miserable once again, Zelda gave up even fixing her hair, letting her towel fall to the ground as she slipped back into her nightgown…

–

It was only a few weeks later that Ruto received another letter pleading for her to return with any potential good news, the elegant handwriting and diplomatic wording doing little to hide Zelda’s stress over the spread of her transformation and the lack of any solutions found so far. Ruto could have simply sent the messenger back with a return message, but figured it’d be faster and easier for her to swim up-river and see Zelda for herself, although she began to regret the decision once she was out of the water and back on-foot. She wondered if she could use this situation as leverage for that shortcut…

Ruto found Zelda in her inner garden, a much-needed place of respite from what would normally be an exhausting and noisy castle life, where one only had to listen to the gently trickling stream that ringed it. Ruto could tell that Zelda hadn’t expected her to arrive so soon, as she had started hastily cramming food back into a basket as soon as she had seen Ruto coming.

“I didn’t expect to be invited over for a picnic.” Ruto smirked.

“T-They didn’t tell me you were coming straight here.” Zelda did her best to look like she hadn’t been caught off-guard and utterly failed, smoothing off her dress and bringing herself fully upright.

“Because you said that nobody was allowed anywhere near here. The downsides of privacy.” Ruto pointed out, Zelda looking a little embarrassed. Ruto scanned Zelda from head to toe, unable to see any signs of further transformation at first glace, but quickly noticing that she had modified her outfit slightly. The gap between her opera gloves and shoulders had been filled in with sleeves, and her collar was now tightly covered with white fabric. Subtle enough that most wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but unfortunately for Zelda, there was something else that had changed about Zelda’s appearance that couldn’t be missed at any distance.

 “By the way, princess, speaking of picnics…” Ruto said, unable to resist calling her out on it. “don’t you think you’ve been doing a little too much stress-eating lately?”

Zelda went pale, then colour flushed to her cheeks as she glanced down at her now distinctly plush body, no longer limited to a slight pot belly. Zelda had filled out considerably since Ruto saw her last, her golden belt now indented deep into a bulging belly while visible love handles spilled over the side, her dress broader at the hips and bustling at the back. There was no way to suck in this gut, spilling out and sagging down with enough mass to sink one's hands into and have plenty of space to spare. Her skirt spared her the indignity of seeing how chunky her thighs had gotten, but Ruto guessed she would have split any stockings she might have owned before. Her usually elegantly slender arms were looking rather puffy, noticeably thicker even with the compression of the now tight gloves.

Particularly noticeable was her greatly expanded chest, the usually near flat jewellery hanging around her chest now pushed right upwards by an impressive bust that dwarfed her petite proportions before, pulling her pink top tight around it. To top it all off was her distinctly chubby face, her once sharp, beautiful figures softening into round, almost cute cheeks and a burgeoning second chin made puffier by her high-necked collar. Zelda was, to put it plainly, obviously overweight, and nothing short of wearing a tent could cover it up.

“T-T-This has nothing to do with my diet!” Zelda said defensively. “It’s definitely, absolutely part of the curse. I’ve been getting fatter… I mean, slightly less slim far faster than any amount of overeating could cause! It’s obviously unnatural! I don’t know what in the world it has to do with the rest of the curse, but either way, it’s not my fault! Most certainly not!”

“Alright, alright, I get it!” Ruto surrendered the issue.



“So, have you found anything yet?” Zelda asked hopefully, her chubbier face making her look more eager than ever. “Any mentions of this in your spellbooks or ancient texts?”

“I’d have sent word already if I had.” Ruto shook her head apologetically. “I’ll need a little more of your patience, princess, we’re working as hard as we can.”

“I see. My apologies.” Zelda looked deflated. “So then why did you come?”



“You sounded so distressed I figured I’d come check up on you personally. See if you’ve grown any gills lately. The more we know, the more we’ll be able to look for. Your weight alone could be the clue we need.” Ruto said, rubbing her hands together. “Alright, let’s take a look, pull up your shirt, princess!”

“That won’t be necessary! It’s spreading all over me, well beyond what you saw last time..” Zelda insisted, defensively covering her flabby belly with her arms, squashing it and demonstrating just how shameful it would be to let it all hang out. Once she was assured that Ruto wouldn’t take the job into her own hands she slid off one of her gloves, revealing a pale blue arm in almost the same shade as Ruto’s own.

Ruto took Zelda’s hand in hers, the texture indistinguishable.

“There, are you satisfied?” Zelda asked, then looked nervous when Ruto shook her head.

“You say it’s all over your body and then can’t show me more than an arm? How am I supposed to research your curse with such little to go on, princess?” Ruto sighed melodramatically. “I want a full inspection from top to bottom!”

“Is it really necessary?” Zelda asked pleadingly.

“The slightest detail could be the key to your cure, princess. Now take it off, all of it!” Ruto grinned evilly and began to approach Zelda, greatly enjoying seeing Zelda in such a vulnerable state.

“It’s just, a princess can’t be seen in such an undignified state of undress!” Zelda said with an awkward smile, but Ruto was having none of it.

“You’re turning into a Zora, correct?” Ruto asked.

“Yes, and?”

Ruto gestured at herself and pointed out the obvious.

“Zoras don’t wear clothes.”

“You… may have a point.” Zelda considered. “But I’m not a Zora just yet!”

“All the better to start getting used to it sooner rather than later! Have you ever heard of a Zora in a dress? I know I’d look terrible in one.”



“We’re trying to find a cure before I have to think about such things!” Zelda was rather indignant and almost sweating at the idea, her arm unconsciously fishing around in her picnic basket for something to stuff herself to relieve the pressure Ruto was putting her under. If the curse was making her fat, her habits certainly weren’t helping…

“What’s the harm in being prepared?”

“How do you know I wouldn’t look good in a dress as a Zora anyway!? Speak for yourself!”

The two bickered for a while longer before eventually the exhausted Zelda gave in, grumbling and blushing as she removed her jewellery and took off her dress, her face bright red as she stood completely naked in the middle of her garden, desperately hoping that nobody would run in with urgent news.

“Hmm…” Ruto gave her another look over. “It’s worse than I thought.”



“My transformation?” Zelda was alarmed.



“Your weight.”



“Please, no more jokes, princess! Just hurry up so I can put my clothes back on!” Zelda moaned, her body jiggling slightly with indignity.



Ruto circled around Zelda, who pointed out all of the things she had noticed. Other than her skin she appeared to have a normal if overweight human body, but there was some signs of greater changes coming on. Her nipples had turned the same white-blue as her breasts around them, her areolas gone and her nipples on the verge of vanishing entirely, which Ruto hoped would get her over those silly ideas of indecent exposure she seemed to have. Zelda hadn’t noticed that part before Ruto pointed it out, and seemed to have very mixed feelings about it. Her human reproductive organs were also still plainly visible, causing Zelda to say that she would absolutely not go undressed in public for the foreseeable future as long as she lacked the smooth groin Ruto had. There were no signs of fins growing in just yet, but there was webbing around her toes, a sign of things to come.

And of course, Ruto would have been remiss if she hadn’t noted how Zelda’s thighs squished together, her gut sagged, and overall her body was even flabbier than she had expected now that it was uncompressed, with no excuse of mere plumpness or thickness. She was well and truly fat, no two ways about it.

“You’re slouching, princess. As a princess, you must hold yourself with more dignity.” Ruto pointed halfway through in a slightly pompous tone as a princess who always had her chest held high and puffed out, Zelda looking slightly self-conscious as she straightened her back.

“Ah, how terribly unbecoming of me. I’ve just been so tired lately, I assure you I do my best to hold myself to a noble standard during my regular duties…” Princess Zelda sounded slightly ashamed of herself making excuses, but admitting it only made her look more tired than her slouch did. Zelda had been rather low-energy today save for their argument, and her posture wasn’t helping. Despite that, Zelda barely lasted a minute before she slumped back into her most unbecoming slouch, Ruto deciding to not pursue the matter.

With that the inspection was over, but Ruto had noticed one last thing that she mentioned as Zelda sluggishly redressed herself.

“By the way, princess…” Ruto said, just as Zelda had her dress back on and was busy reattaching her jewellery. “There’s one thing you missed.”

“What, something on my back?” Zelda asked as she affixed her golden shoulder plates.

“Not exactly. Could you look me in the eyes for a moment, princess? Ruto requested. Zelda did so, tilting her head downward to do so. “Do you notice anything different?”



“I’m afraid not, princess.”

“You’re looking down awfully far, don’t you think? I don’t think you’re just growing outwards.” Ruto observed, and Zelda’s eyes went wide once again.

“You’re right, you’ve gotten shorter! I mean, I must have gotten taller! We were almost the same height before, if I recall correctly.” Zelda looked even more concerned than before. “First wider, now taller too! Oh Farore, what is this curse? I simply don’t understand…”

“I had been thinking your skirt looked a little shorter, but I didn’t notice just how much you’d grown until just now.” Ruto scratched her chin thoughtfully.” I suppose that’s another keyword for us to look for.”

“We’d better redouble our efforts and hurry even more. I can hide my body, but I can only get so tall before they realise I’m not just wearing high heels.” With the excitement and banter over Zelda seemed to lose all of her energy, looking like it was an effort just to stand, and that she’d much rather be sitting back in a comfortable chair snacking to forget her worries.

“If we find anything, you’ll be the first to know.” Ruto promised the tired princess. “By the way, I could send you news even faster if you just dug a little stream from here to Zora’s River…”

–

“The princess is feeling under the weather, and will see you in her bedroom today.” The castle guard stiffly informed Ruto as he led her through the castle. “I apologise that I can only take you as far as the hallway leading up to it, the princess is adamant that nobody sees her.”

“No matter, that’s about what I expected.” Ruto smiled and shrugged it off. “Princesses can be quite delicate, you know.”

“Princess Ruto, I know this is a breach of privacy and above my station, but…” The guard tugged at his collar, unable to help himself. “But just what is going on with the princess? She’s been hiding herself away for weeks, she won’t let anybody but her most trusted retainers see her, the only thing that ever seems to go in or out is her meals, she delegates her duties, and when she does creep out she hides herself from head to toe…”

“A woman must have her secrets. I’m afraid I can’t share.” Ruto shook her head sympathetically.



“We never thought a lady like Zelda would end up in such a state… I suppose she was more delicate than any of us thought.” The guard seemed despondent. “I know it’s beyond what a simple guard like me should ask, but please, tell the princess that no matter what size or shape she might be, her servants, no, the entire kingdom will pay no mind! You’ve been seeing her quite often lately, she must trust you a good deal. And if she still doesn’t listen, then perhaps you could convince her to go on a diet…”

“I believe you said you weren’t allowed to go any closer, sir guard.” Ruto pointed out as Zelda’s bedroom came into sight.

“Ah, forgive me.” He said, darting away as if he would run into some forcefield if he got too close. “Good day then, princess.”



He quickly bowed and scurried away, leaving Ruto to shake her head and call back to him.

“That was a nice speech, but if you ever decide to make that speech to Zelda herself, leave out the part about her weight if you value your life!”

The guard looked embarrassed and retreated, Ruto smirking slightly at how they had misunderstood Zelda’s entire condition. Although perhaps they’d act the same if they knew the truth.

“Goodness, what an understanding bunch. Why even bother hiding yourself away when your servants are like this, princess?” Ruto sighed, wondering if Zelda even noticed just how devoted her men were in her current state. She paused before opening the door, then lightly rapped on it first.

“Is that you, Ruto?” Zelda’s voice called out, luckily unchanged.



“Who else would I be, the chef?” Ruto called back sardonically. “Perhaps you’d be happier to see me if I were-”



“Just come in already!”



Ruto heard a click as the door unlocked, slipping through the door and considerately locking it behind her. She resisted the impulse to gawk at Zelda’s appearance upon entering, not because of her transformation nor her increasingly bloated body, but because of the sheer lengths Zelda had gone to conceal herself, even after isolating. Zelda seemed to have taken Ruto’s suggestion of a veil to heart, as she had hidden the transformation of her head behind a headpiece similar to the one she had worn as a child combined with a nearly opaque Gerudo-style veil that made her look more like a sinister vizier than a princess, slight transparent patches for her to see through on a veil otherwise covered by the crest of the royal family. Her collar had gone from high to downright elongated, stretching up in a ridiculous antiquated fashion that was reminiscent of evil queens from fairy tales, although it did a good job at covering her now blue neck and the sides of her soft cheeks that might otherwise be seen from the side.

On paper the rest of her outfit was her usual dress, only as Zelda had gotten significantly fatter between now and her last meeting with Ruto, tailoring had been absolutely necessary to keep up with her size, only Zelda had steadfastly refused to let her transformed and engorged body be professionally measured, performing the job herself for the first time in her life. As a result the poor tailor had done his best with poor instructions, resulting in a lopsided, blatantly inadequate fit. The skirt was far too small, thanks to Zelda mismeasuring the width and breadth of her hips and failing to provide her new height, Zelda growing taller by the day. Her hips and ass were practically moulding the skirt, the back cleanly divided into two globular cheeks while the skirt was shaped around her flabby hips, and on the front one could see the impression of her chunky thighs proving to each be wider than her slender waist had once been. Her golden belt had been abandoned altogether as her lurching gut tested the limits of the silk, one able to see her belly button through the pink fabric, her belly made to look even larger by how tightly the dress cinched around her waist, shaping her love handles and causing her gut to bulge out even more from the pressure. Her bust looked like it would tear at any moment, although her chest seemed downright petite compared to the rest of her, greatly overwhelmed by her dress as her chest, although over twice its original size, seemed to grow at a much slower rate than the rest of her.

Her veil couldn’t hide the silhouette of her second chin, nor how the only pointy thing on her face was now her long Hylian nose. You could see it wobble slightly through the veil, not helping her evil queen image. The sleeves seemed to fit well enough by some great fortune, but her flabby arms had no elegance to them, bulging at the biceps and squishing with each flex, even her fingers growing thick. The princess was easily over twice as wide as when she had started, and had more hustle in her bustle than she could ever have anticipated. Ruto had a very low opinion of Hylian fashion, but even she could tell that Zelda’s appearance was making more of a scene than her transformation. Thank Farore that very transformation would soon force her out of that hideous dress…

“Good, nobody saw us. Don’t mind the mess, the servant only comes to clean while I’m bathing.” Zelda looked relieved, seemingly oblivious to Ruto’s disgusted reaction to her slovenly appearance, placing herself down with a huff on the end of her bed, Ruto very much unable to help herself from minding the huge number of scattered trays, plates, and bowls that had amassed in her room. Most unprincesslike, if she should say so herself, even as somebody with a historically messy room. Even so, Zelda’s appearance was more distracting than the clutter.

“Princess, is that ridiculous getup really necessary? I daresay it’s more conspicuous than the rest of you put together.”

“Better safe than sorry.” Zelda said stubbornly.

“Take it off when you’re talking to me or I’ll take it off for you.” Ruto insisted, Zelda reluctantly removing the veil to reveal her very unhappy, very Zora features. Now that Ruto had a proper look at her, while Zelda’s nose remained as pointy as ever, it was starting to lose its distinct Hylian shape, the bridge flattening out to merge with her brow, which was becoming flatter and wider, her forehead larger and showing the stages of forming a traditional Zora brow. Her face was otherwise mostly the same save for turning the pale blue of the rest of her, although the brow was a darker blue, forming more of a triangular point heading down her nose that would form part of the image of her head-fin once that started growing in.

Perhaps it already had, but Zelda so far still had her golden hair, to the great relief of her Hylian vanity. It looked quite awkward on the blue woman, but she felt like she’d cry when it finally left. When she removed her headpiece she revealed her long ears, which had changed from pointy Hylian ones to fin-like Zora ears. It would soon be impossible to hide her Zora features, and it was a stretch to say she was hiding them very well now. Ruto also noted that Zelda’s lips were starting to get strangely plump, although it was a good match for her broader features.

Zelda gasped for breath as she took off her dress, almost wheezing as the compression ceased as her body bulged out. She still seemed reluctant to show off her bare body, her nipples having completely vanished but her genitals remaining visible for the time being. Her fins hadn’t grown in quite just yet, but there were very loose flaps of skin on her body that indicated where they would grow in the future, severely interfering with her ability to wear normal Hylian clothes. She couldn’t pass as a full Zora, but she had long, long passed the point of being able to pass as a Hylian in body paint. Her increased height certainly didn’t help, as she was well over a head taller than she was before, even taller than Impa. She had gone beyond the limits of very tall for a girl and was now at a height that would be considered extremely strange for any Hylian, although average for a male Zora. Any taller, and her people would notice that their princess had turned into a giant, and there was no amount of increasing her width that could distract themselves from it.

“What do you think?” Zelda asked nervously. Ruto wasn’t quite sure what to say that Zelda wouldn’t have already thought of herself, and decided to go with the obvious thing that Zelda probably didn’t want to hear, but knew was inevitable.

“I think that you won’t be able to hide this for much longer, even if you continue to make a hermit out of yourself, princess.” Ruto said, deciding to not sugarcoat it. Zelda slumped a little, squashing her gut and causing it to bulge even more. “Your head fin will probably come in soon, and then you won’t be able to hide yourself short of wearing a tent whenever you go outside.

“I suppose it’s just a matter of time, then.” Zelda slumped even further, starting to resemble a big blue marshmallow. “People are suspicious enough already. I suspect they think I’ve turned into a monster by now…”

“Actually, they’re a little distracted by your… never mind.” Ruto figured it probably wouldn’t be a compliment to say that her obesity was a bigger shock to her servants than changing species. “The point is, from what I’ve seen, they don’t suspect your new aquatic nature just yet.”

“If they don’t now, they might soon.” Zelda said grimly. “There’s one other thing that’s changed, I’ve been getting awful indigestion lately. I can’t eat bread, meat, or sweets at all, I just can’t keep it down. It’s simply dreadful, all my favourite foods, gone! To be safe I’ve switched mostly to fish, and while I’m not complaining about seafood, there’s no way they haven’t noticed that I’m only eating it.

“Your insides must be catching up with your outsides, princess.” Ruto stated. “The changes to your body sound like they’ll be complete sooner rather than later.”



“Then it might finally be time.” Zelda said, looking like she was steeling herself, looking up directly into Ruto’s eyes. “Princess, would you allow me refuge in your Domain? I simply cannot hide myself away in this castle any longer without arousing suspicion!”

“No need to word it so diplomatically.” Ruto laughed. “Just say you’re coming over for a sleepover to get to know me a little better. Your servants do believe we’re fast friends by this point, after all. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, I was going to suggest the same thing.”

Zelda looked greatly relieved, her squishy body perking up a little.



“Only, there’s one catch.” Ruto held up a finger first, Zelda freezing. “By the look of it your gills haven’t come in just yet. Now, you can visit Zora’s Domain without gills, but you can’t live there, if you know what I mean, not to mention the journey will be much harder. We’ll have to wait a bit longer first.”



“I’ll admit I’d like to get out of here as soon as possible, but I understand.” Zelda nodded. “I’ll send word as soon as they have.”



“You can use that time to look forward to it. Trust me, it’ll be much better than this musty old castle.” Ruto smiled broadly. If Zelda was going to turn into a Zora with little chance of turning back any time soon, it was high time she learned how much better Zora culture was!

“By the way, have you, um, told your father that I might be coming to stay?” Zelda asked delicately.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it.” Ruto easily brushed her concerns aside with a smile. “Father does like big-boned women, after all, he’ll be more than happy to see you.”

“I see, that’s a relief… Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”

–

“Still nothing…”

There was a mixture of relief and disappointment in Zelda’s voice as she checked her neck in the mirror, unsure which she should be feeling. Relief that she hadn’t fully transformed despite her blue face and flattened brow, disappointed that it wouldn’t just get it over with so she could escape from the room she had imprisoned herself in. Every day she was worried that she would be found out, and every day she solved it the same way, and today was no exception, laying down on her bed with a platter of food next to her, no longer even bothering to put herself upright before shovelling endless amounts of it into her mouth. The only thing that relieved her stress was eating, and it came back no sooner than she had finished, keeping her emotional appetite as voracious as her physical one. Before she had thought that she ate because she was stressed and was stressed because she ate, but as food became her refuge she had changed her mind on the latter. It wasn’t her fault anyway, right? She was clearly getting fat because of the curse, so it didn’t matter if she ate, so she might as well eat, right? It was the easiest thing in the world to justify.

Unfortunately she was all too right, as immediately after she ran out of that platter, she was made aware of her rapidly shrinking bed. Once so large she felt like she could get lost in it, if she got much bigger her feet would start to stick out over the end, and she was talking up a good half or more of a mattress intended for two people to sleep on with ample room left over. Even if she miraculously changed back, the crater she had left in the mattress would live on forever…

Her wallowing in bloated misery was rudely interrupted by a loud knocking on the door, Zelda’s lips curling in distaste at the sound

“Princess, your brunch is ready! Also, I was told to ask you to-”

“Leave it outside and leave me be! I won’t be seeing any visitors today, and they won’t be seeing me!” Zelda shouted back, no longer caring how unbecoming it was of her to lose her cool. How much more dignity did she have to lose after becoming such a recluse? The knocking continued until Zelda grabbed her pillow and pressed it hard over her fin-like ears, drowning out all sound as her stomach rumbled, wishing she would just be left alone…

–

Several weeks later in the dead of night, Zelda’s door squeaked open, an enormous shadow emerging from it, ducking her head under the doorframe and coming uncomfortably close to catching her hips on the sides. She was covered from head to toe in a broad black cloak and hood, forming a silhouette that seemed like an endlessly encompassing black mass in the dark. Confident that she fully was covered, with her usual veil under it just to be safe, Zelda shuffled out as quietly as she could, travelling light with just the clothes on her back, and even those she soon wouldn’t need. She was naked under the cloak, holding it tight so that not a hint of her body would be shown. Confident that the guard patterns hadn’t changed much since she was a child, Zelda managed to move quietly despite her now humongous frame, although her footsteps required her to tread mostly on the carpets to muffle her sound.

Although Zelda had confidence in her years of stealth expertise during Ganondorf’s reign, she would be lying if she said she had any confidence in her body’s ability to perform what was once second nature: silent footsteps, blending in with the shadows, hanging from the roof… Zelda blamed her unfamiliarity with her Zora form and imposing height on her body’s clumsiness, and definitely not any other part of her. When Zelda pressed herself against a wall she didn’t blend in so much as create a dark blob, and her gut hung out well past any corners she tried to peep around. But Hyrule was in peacetime and the routes were relaxed, and she was able to slip by without being caught, although there were a few close shaves that left her heart beating harder and faster than nearly being caught by Ganondorf’s forces had ever been.

Finally, Zelda had made it to the back entrance to the castle, simply taking the door out, as she had no hope of slipping through the hole that a certain young boy had once snuck in through. Zelda drank in the cool night air, letting out a breath she had been holding since she left her room, metaphorically speaking, as scurrying down the hallways left her almost puffing like she had just been on a jog. The hard part was over, she was home-free! She relaxed and started to let down her hood, knowing that ever since she had been a little girl, nobody patrolled back here-

“Who goes there!? Show yourself!”

Zelda nearly jumped as she found out the hard way that the guard routes had changed in over seven years, or perhaps that she had just been lucky whenever she had decided to sneak out as a child. A guard holding a torch approached her cautiously, nervous at the sight of the huge silhouette before him. Zelda stammered for a moment, unsure of what to say. Should she make a run for it? Should she blow her cover?

“Identify yourself, or I’ll…” The guard began, and Zelda immediately lost her nerve.

“It’s me, it’s me! The princess! Zelda! Stand down!” Zelda stammered out, the guard lowering his torch and relaxing at the familiar voice, albeit one he’d only heard at a distance.

“F-Forgive my rudeness, princess!” He bowed quickly. “You gave me quite the fright. Um, if I might ask, what are you doing out here?”



“Oh, you know! Just going for a little nighttime stroll!” Zelda played it cool. “Nothing interesting, I just don’t like to make a big deal out of it!”

“And, um, the cloak?” He couldn’t help but ask. She must have had a very tall hood on, because she seemed quite a bit larger than him…

“It’s a bit chilly out, isn’t it?” Zelda had the most awkward smile on her face under the veil. The guard was impressed at how delicate a princess’s constitution must be, as it was warm enough tonight that he could feel the sweat under his armpits from the patrol.

“Yes, I suppose so.” He ignored the perspiration running down his forehead. “Well, I suppose I’ll leave you to it, just try not to wander off too far out of our patrol routes! But I’m sure you can take care of yourself, princess, sometimes I wonder what you even keep us around for!”

He laughed, Zelda awkwardly giggling along with him. Hurry up and leave already! She begged him.

“Unless of course, you’d like an escort-”

“Oh no, that’s, um, very generous, but very unnecessary! Most unnecessary! I’ll just be in and out before you know it!” Zelda grinned painfully.

“I see. Well, have a good night, princess.” He turned and walked away, Zelda’s face slick with sweat under her stuffy cloak. She felt like she was going to have a heart attack! It was only after he left that it then occurred to her. Oh, that was right. She was the princess, and she was in charge now. Unlike when she was a little girl sneaking out of the castle mostly for the thrill of it, who exactly was going to drag her back to her room when she got caught? It made more sense that most would assume she had a good reason to be out in the middle of the night, anyway…

The rest of the escape was a lot less fun, Zelda successfully avoiding the guards and creeping through Castle Town, causing the few awake at that time to wonder what the huge enigmatic black figure shuffling through the town square was. She had made sure that the drawbridge would be down at this time in advance, hurrying across just a few minutes before it was set to be pulled up by the guard. All in all it wasn’t the stealthiest escape, as she’d practically screamed it in advance with the instructions to the drawbridge guard, and left her duties to several trusted retainers, but she had done it, and felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

“Took you long enough!”

There was a splash, or perhaps the opposite of a splash as Ruto emerged from the moat outside the town, leaping out of the water and landing next to the cloaked Zelda. Ruto had a small bag around her waist with some dried fish inside, predicting Zelda’s appetite on their hopefully short journey.

“I wasn’t late, you were just early.” Zelda said defensively, Ruto shrugging.

“Well princess, are you ready?” Ruto asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose. And don’t call me “princess” while we’re on the road. What if somebody hears us?”

“Isn’t the whole point of your dramatic escape that there’s nobody around to hear or see us?” Ruto pointed out.

“Better to get into the habit now.” Zelda lectured her. “What if we were to arrive at Zora’s Domain and you call me by my title or worse, by my name, as soon as we walk in? Perish the thought!”

“Well then what would you like me to call you, your majesty?” Ruto crossed her arms.

“Let’s see, I can’t be treated like a commoner, obviously…” Zelda put a finger on her bloated lip, twice as plump as before her transformation. “How about your cousin, visiting from outside of Hyrule?”



“Cousin? I don’t think anybody’s going to look at you and buy that.” Ruto scoffed, then lit up with a bright idea. “Ooh, I know, you can be my aunt!”



Zelda looked mortified.



“Well, we shall figure it out whence we arrive.” Zelda turned her head away, knowing Ruto well enough to know that fighting her on an idea she liked would only make her double down. “Let’s get a move on, shall we?”

Zelda waddled up to the side of the moat, peering over nervously. With great reluctance she took off the cloak, discarding it as her fingers traced the newly grown gills on the side of her neck. Save for her fins having yet to grow in, it was only her golden mane that stopped her from looking fully Zora, but even that was on its last legs, as it was plainly visible that her cranium was starting to appear visibly bulbous, too broad and elongated for any normal human, resulting in a lopsided appearance that would likely have startled anybody who saw her. She had once again grown chubbier since Ruto had seen her last, and her height was now at the limits of reasonable human height, towering over the unusually diminutive for a Zora Ruto. Despite her appearance Zelda refused to give up on her hair, praying every day that it wouldn’t finally fall out, the last part of her human vanity now that she was finally giving in to Ruto’s demands and going naked.

“Did we really agree to swim the whole way there?” Zelda asked, going a little weak in the knees at the gentle stream.

“You couldn’t ask for better conditions, it’s a gentle flow all the way down to Zora’s River. Trust me, you’ll like it much more than up here. Let’s get moving!” Ruto enthusiastically slapped Zelda on the back, her flab bouncing from the impact as Zelda lost her balance, squeaked, and fell in with a tremendous splash, hearing Ruto’s hearty laughter from above as she floundered, resisting her urge to resurface. Summoning her bravery from when she had tested herself by dunking herself in her bathtub, Zelda went against all of her human urges and breathed in deeply, and instead of getting a mouthful of choking water, found air flowing easily in and out of her gills. She steadied her breathing, filtering the oxygen out from the river water, slowly opening her eyes to find things crystal clear underwater, perhaps even clearer than above it. She heard a much quieter splash near her as Ruto smoothly slid into the water with minimal resistance,

“See? What did I tell you?” Ruto’s surprisingly clear voice cut through the bubbling and trickling of the stream.

“L-Let’s get going then.” Zelda gurgled out, finding that breathing underwater and speaking underwater were two different skills. Without a tenth of the elegance of Ruto’s lifetime of experience swimming, Zelda awkwardly used her familiar human swimming techniques to follow alongside her at a mere fraction of her speed, Ruto slowing herself to a crawl to allow Zelda to keep up.

She knew that Hylians were bad swimmers, but this was something else! Well, it was her first time, so she let it go. It wasn’t like she expected her to do more than flounder with that flabby, bulky body anyway.

However, after twenty or so minutes, Ruto found that even her crawl wasn’t enough. No matter how slowly she went Zelda always managed to lag behind, and when she glanced back she was sometimes outright stopping, pushing herself along and then riding the momentum for a few seconds to rest her arms and legs. Ruto put up with it for the sake of her friend, until Zelda finally gurgled out a bubbly plea:

“Ruto! Can we s-stop for a m-oment?”

“Fine.” Ruto rolled her eyes, Zelda paddling to the side of the river and emerging from the water gasping for air, flopping onto the riverbank like a dead fish. Almost face-down with her gut squished against the dirt and the grass,

“I don’t think… this is going… to work…” Zelda wheezed,

“What do you mean? You were doing…” Ruto paused and considered the honesty of her words. “Well, you were doing, alright.”

“You didn’t tell me it wasn’t going to be this hard!” Zelda moaned.

“It’s not! At least, it’s not supposed to be!” Ruto protested. “I didn’t think you’d be this bad of a swimmer? It’s supposed to be natural for Zoras!

“We’ve barely moved and I’m already exhausted!” Zelda whined. “I knew I couldn’t do it! It’s impossible! I’ll be the first Zora to figure out how to drown!”

“Stop being such a baby, you’ll pick it up as you go!” Ruto almost shouted at her.

“No way! I’m not swimming another step! Or whatever your people call it!” Zelda pouted, the usually childish Ruto in awe of how childish Zelda was being right now.

“You can’t be serious.” Ruto said in frustration. “What are you going to do, walk the rest of the way! Do you have any idea how long that’ll take?”



“It certainly sounds like an easier time than your ridiculous method.” Zelda pulled herself fully out of the water, dripping off onto the grass as she planted her cushiony ass on terra firma. “I might almost be a Zora in body, but I’m a Hylian in heart and soul, and what we Hylians do when we travel is walk!”

“Like a Hylian princess like you goes anywhere without a carriage.” Ruto snorted.

“W-well, you aren’t incorrect…” Zelda foolishly gave herself away. “But that’s besides the point! Besides, some fresh air and sunshine will do a world of good for me after being cooped up in that castle for so long!”

Ruto was silent for a minute, her expressions shifting from annoyed to angry to gnashing her teeth in frustration, to resignation.

“Fine!” She threw her arms up in the air and kicked her way over to the riverbank, climbing out of it as well. “Have it your way! You do outrank me, after all! We can’t have her majesty, the queen of all Zoras, feeling a little too wet around the gills, now can we!?”

Ruto stomped off, Zelda hurrying to follow alongside her. She felt bad for forcing Ruto to give in, but she simply could not abide by such a horrid experience! She was sure she’d laugh and put it behind her one day once she was better at swimming… no, there wouldn’t be a next time! Zelda shook her head, sending droplets of water at a slightly bemused Ruto. By the time she left Zora’s Domain she’d be cured, and take a nice carriage ride home…

Unfortunately for Zelda, after about twenty minutes of walking, she realised that travelling on foot might not have been the best hill to die on either. After twenty minutes she was out of breath, after forty minutes her legs were aching, and after an hour she was red in the face, and after eighty minutes she was face-down on the grass wheezing and begging Ruto for a break. She ended up passing out for the rest of the night, waking up to feel the hot summer sun on her belly, Ruto having turned her upright, looking like a beached whale as she snored and occasionally mumbled something about how delicious the desserts she was eating in her dreams were.

Although Zelda insisted that she was fully rested after that, and her stubbornness and sense of deep embarrassment stopped her from giving Ruto even a little bit of ground over the swimming argument, walking during the day didn’t go any better. Zelda required frequent breaks, rarely lasting thirty minutes without keeling over, citing a lack of exercise from being inside all day, although Ruto severely doubted that she could have gotten this out of shape in that time, wondering if her feebleness came along with her magically enhanced waistline. Zelda was visibly drooping as they travelled, going from pleasantly praising the gentle sun to moaning and complaining about how incessantly hot it was, relenting only on the swimming to take frequent dips into the river they were following in order to stop her skin from drying out too badly. With how many breaks she was taking in the river rather than out of it, Ruto began to suspect that they would move faster if they just sat in the river and let the current take them downstream. Zelda also remained paranoid about being seen, leaping into the water to hide at the bottom every time a fellow traveller appeared on the horizon,refusing to come up until Ruto assured her that nobody was there.

To make things even slower, there was Zelda’s appetite. Zelda got hungry fast and became very uncooperative on an empty stomach, causing every other break they took to be Ruto’s cue to dive into the river and not come back until she had some fish wriggling in her hands to appease her companion. Zelda initially blanched at the idea of eating raw fish, but after hunger got the better of her she soon found that it went quite well with her new biology’s palette, to the point that Ruto began to feel sorry for whatever fish were unlucky enough to cross their path. They had hoped that the journey might be a good chance for her to burn some calories, but Ruto was pretty sure that despite her complaints of exhausting her energy every hour or so, Zelda was putting on more weight even without her curse bloating her up.

All in all, the journey that was expected to take one day took three just to reach the head of Zora’s River, Zelda practically collapsing in relief at the walk finally, finally being over.

“I never want to walk another step in my life!” Zelda moaned, completely oblivious to just how spoiled she sounded. Ruto hardly paid her any mind, filtering out her complaints by this point. Her voice seemed a lot breathier after the trip, sounding almost deeper. Ruto had attributed it simply to her being so out of breath all the time, but she was starting to suspect that it was a more subtle part of her transformation rearing its head, as she sounded distinctly different now to when she had arrived.

“Well, you’ll have to walk a few more to get in, your majesty. Unless you’d rather camp outside…” Ruto gently tapped her on the back, bringing her back to her wobbling webbed feet. “Come on, I’ll show you my private way in so nobody sees you.”

Ruto led Zelda to an inconspicuous corner of the winding river road, Zelda squinting at the bottom to see a small but obviously carved tunnel leading inside.

“And you’re sure nobody will see us coming in this way?” Zelda asked hesitantly. “After all, I might be almost completely Zora at this point, but surely they’ve never seen a Zora with hair before.”

“What hair?” Ruto asked, her tone playful as if Zelda had asked a stupid question. Zelda, still looking down, suddenly became aware of her reflection, the calm, only gently trickling water at this point giving her a crystal clear image of her own chubby face. Her eyes widened as she realised that she couldn’t see a hint of blonde on her head, hands reaching to her scalp to feel nothing but smooth Zora skin. Instead she had a large, bulbous head with a customary Zora tail-like head fin hanging down just past her shoulders, while two fins that resembled thick side-locks dangling down almost as far. The combination gave her the appearance of a hairstyle and stopped her from appearing merely bald, but Zelda was no less distraught at the vanishing of her hair without her even noticing, washed away by the current of one of her many dips.

“Gone! It’s gone!” Zelda moaned, clutching at her dangling fins, tugging on them and receiving the odd sensation of it being a part of her, rather than a hair-like growth. “My beautiful hair, gone!”

“And thank goodness for that, you look so much better, and I don’t mean while you had that horrible hair dangling off a perfectly good tail.” Ruto said smugly to the traumatised princess. “You can mope about it inside, come on! You’re not the only one who wants to kick her feet up in a nice pool…”

–

After squeezing through the passageway and slinking through the back-tunnels of Zora’s Domain to eventually emerge in the royal quarters, Zelda found herself settled in much faster than she’d expected. She met with King Zora who now no longer seemed quite so large thanks to Zelda’s new stature, who greeted her with the utmost politeness and understanding of her strange situation, and was given her own private room, supposedly once the previous queen’s own bedroom. Fitting for the new queen, King Zora had joked, Zelda particularly appreciating the huge circular private pool in the middle of it that dominated most of the room that was otherwise about the size of her one back home, intended to be an all-purpose relaxing area and bed, Zelda taking a couple of nights to get used to the Zora habit of sleeping in pools rather than beds, but soon found it even more comfortable than her own bed back at the castle.

She was introduced to the royal servants as a guest of great importance, although exactly who or what she was supposed to be was kept unclear and told would be revealed to them eventually. The guards were confused but accommodating, and it wasn’t long before the enormously fat yet strangely beautiful new woman with a noble stature to her who had appeared out of nowhere was the talk of the town. At first Zelda’s anxiety was only made worse by Ruto taking her into the greater Domain, but after realising that the whispers about her were commenting on her beauty and nobility, as well as speculating that she was some branch of the royal family such as an aunt, she began to relax.



And relax she did, with little else to do while the Zora scholars kept searching and searching for any possible lead. Zelda found her stresses melting away as she floated in her pool, sleeping in in the mornings and being served breakfast-in-pool by the servants, without a hint of responsibility to be attended to or guiltily avoided. She was also getting along quite splendidly for King Zora, who was quite the gentleman, always willing to treat her with the respect a monarch like her deserved, although he perhaps flattered her a bit too much with her constant mentions of how he hadn’t seen such a beauty since his dearly departed wife and how she was growing to be the very image of a Zora queen, Zelda still feeling awkward in her own body, although the more she was praised, the less it bothered her and the more she took it to heart.

As the days turned into weeks and Zelda began to treat it as a big vacation, where the most strenuous activity involved going out for a short swim in Lake Hylia or down to one of the local restaurants before heading back to her room and pool, Zelda’s body continued to change despite her initial beliefs that she was complete, although in terms of magically redesigning her body she was mostly right. Her fins were really starting to grow now, her head fin falling  with symmetrical fins on her upper arms that fell down and resembled billowing sleeves from a certain angle, while other fins began to grow from her hips, encompassing her thighs and almost resembling a skirt, although it had yet to grow in past the slight suggestion of one. Zelda became bigger and bigger, now taller than the male Zora who she had been roughly equal in height to when she arrived. And then of course, there was her weight, which was increasing even faster than her height…

One day, Zelda was in the middle of a lovely second breakfast before brunch, sliding a Hylian Bass the size of her head down her greedy gullet in less time than it had put to put it on her plate, when she was paid a visit by princess Ruto, who stood over Zelda who was currently leaning over the edge of her pool. Zelda was so preoccupied with her food she didn’t notice her shadow approaching until she was close enough for Ruto’s toes to enter her peripheral vision.

“If I might have a moment of the queen’s time?” She asked with a poorly hidden giggle, quite amused at the sight of Zelda stuffing herself as usual, one hand daintily covering her mouth as she stood over said queen.

“Mmph m’ mpmph.” Zelda said, her mouth full as she still had a tail sticking out between her bloated lips. She swallowed and petted her belly happily, climbing out of the pool and standing up straight, Ruto standing back both to avoid being bounced off of Zelda’s belly and to avoid craning her neck too badly. Zelda was over eight feet tall now and positively towered over her, Ruto finding herself staring directly into her billowing blue boobs, sagging down onto her gut. They were rather small proportionate to how big the rest of her was, which Ruto had joked about once and Zelda proved remarkably sensitive over, saying that size wasn’t everything. She was really starting to remind her of her father, both in size and roundness, although King Zora edged her out in both for the time being.

Actually, now that she thought of it, Zelda was less like her father and more like her mother, what little she remembered of her anyway.

Since she had arrived Zelda had become morbidly obese, so wide she would have gotten stuck in doorways back at her castle. Her belly stuck out loud and proud, smooth and round, her hands settling over her navel which required considerable outstretching to reach. Even a fully grown man would struggle to grasp her love handles in one go, able to fit three or more Rutos within her width, perhaps two per thigh now that Ruto had a closer look at them. Her arms were wider than the Hylian Zelda’s hips, her hands blobby and her wrists ringed with fat. There was no way she could swim properly with that kind of bulk, her legs letting her waddle clumsily towards her next meal before plunging back into her pool to be rested. Her second chin had replaced her neck entirely, suiting her lazy, spoiled expression that unconsciously pouted if she wasn’t fed as quickly as she wanted, her eyes half-lidded with a perpetual sloth. Her ass was partially concealed by her growing skirt-fins, but each wobbling cheek was like a bean-bag cushion into itself, offering her supreme comfort wherever she sat herself down. Zelda was stress-free alright, maybe a little too stress-free.

Still, Ruto internally shrugged. If Zelda wanted to fatten herself like a sea cow, who was she to complain? It was her problem if she ever successfully changed back, as Ruto severely doubted that uncursing her would undo all of the weight she had put on through her own voracious habits. And even if it did, she’d probably stuff herself back into obesity in no time. The hard-working, devoted Zelda Ruto had once known seemed to be long-gone, parked in the back while Zelda devoted her energies to expending as little energy as possible, and amassing as much of it into her body as possible until it overflowed in every direction.

Definitely like Ruto’s mother.

However, that was all the more reason why Ruto felt it was time to give her a little burden in her Zora life for once.

“Yes, whatever might it be, princess?” Zelda said pompously, licking her puffy lips. “Be quick, I was rather busy when you interrupted me.”

“With queenly duties?” Ruto asked sweetly.

“...yes, I suppose you could say that.” Zelda said, her lips widening into a self-satisfied smirk. “Your father informs me that this isn’t far off from.”

“So you do see yourself as our queen, yes?” Ruto seemed to be going somewhere with this, and even Zelda began to feel cautious under her suggestive tone.

“Well… yes, of course. Regardless of my living conditions I am your queen, and I suppose I should start asserting myself as such.” Zelda straightened her back a little, puffing up her chest.

“That’s wonderful to hear, your majesty!” Ruto beamed from ear to ear, which was never a good sign. She held up her hand and waved, signalling a servant to enter and hand Ruto a hefty pile of documents in typical waterproof Zora paper, as well as a traditional Zora pen and a jar of Octorok ink. Ruto dropped them with a thud onto the desk in Zelda’s room.

“W-w-what’s that supposed to be?” Zelda asked, looking ready to dive back into her pool to escape the trap Ruto had sprung on her.

“Queenly duties. I need all of these inspected and signed by the end of the day, then you’ll need to discuss this year’s mould-removal programme with the minister of construction. Tomorrow you have three more meetings to discuss our tourism policy, but I’ll make sure you get you an assistant so that you don’t miss them.” Ruto had the sweetest tone and sweetest smile, causing Zelda to wince. “Normally this’d fall under the duties of the princess, but you do outrank me, and don’t you think it’s a good opportunity to pay my father back for this kindness?”



“Now hold on just a moment, let’s talk about this rationally.” Zelda bubbled out, looking weak in the knees at the possibility of real work. “Certainly, I’m the queen of this kingdom, but really your father and I agreed that it would be easiest to separate our duties!

“Because you were living so far apart, I recall.” Ruto placed a finger on her chin as she made a show out of thinking about it. “After all, it would be silly to consult you for such trivial matters when you aren’t living there. As I’m sure you can see, that’s changed.”

“Hang on, hang on!” Zelda saw a potential way out, and grabbed onto it for dear life. “If this is usually the princess’s duties, then there’s no reason why you, who is far more experienced in Zora matters than myself, aren’t the right woman for the job! What excuse do you have to foist your responsibilities off onto me?”

“You’re right, and you’re wrong, your majesty.” Ruto seemed to have an answer ready to go right away, her words growing more melodramatic by the second. “Normally, you would be correct, and I’d be happy to continue to treat you as just our honoured guest. However, I’ve been so busy looking for a cure to your condition, just so swamped with work that I can hardly juggle the two! Every minute I spend in a meeting is a minute I could be studying ways to change you back! I’m working so hard, and you won’t even help ease my burden?”



Ruto theatrically fluttered her eyes at Zelda, who gulped loudly.

“W-well, I suppose when you put it like that…” The last ounce of Zelda’s sense of responsibility won out over her impulse to make a break for it. She hung her head in defeat, Ruto placing the pen in her hand and closing her sausage-like fingers around it.

“Don’t worry, most of our government is aware of your condition, and I’ve been told they don’t mind.” Ruto said cheerfully. “In fact, they’re quite eager to get to know you a little better! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve some studying to do, for your sake, of course.”

Ruto sauntered away humming, having no intention of going straight to that stuffy old library to pour over the same books for the twentieth time just to keep up the appearance that they hadn’t scraped their library clean a month ago. After all, she had just greatly freed up her schedule thanks to Zelda, and she was going to enjoy it…

–

“What is it, Ruto?” Zelda asked, turning over in her pool as Ruto intruded upon her again. She looked unhappy to see her, likely due to the last few weeks having Ruto find more and more of her responsibilities as a princess to shift onto Zelda, causing the queen to eye her warily. “Come to find more duties to pin on me again? I won’t have you interrupting my naptime today, I need my beauty sleep to keep my skin in queenly condition.”

“Oh no, your majesty, I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear this.” Ruto smiled, and Zelda opened one eye cautiously.

“Well, go on.” She raised her wrist and gently waved her plump hand, now adorned with several golden rings adorned with sapphires. More sapphires hung from a necklace resting on her chest, while bangles hung above her arm fins. All gifts from the king that Zelda had been more than happy to receive, who Zelda was starting to grow rather fond of. He really knew how to treat a woman, and thanks to her duties as a queen they were starting to get to know each other a little better and see eye to eye. Quite literally so, given that Zelda was only a head or so off of matching him in height.

“We believe we’ve found a way for you to undo your curse.” Ruto said, Zelda’s eyes snapping wide open, floundering and submerging herself for a moment as she brought herself upright.

“Really!?” Zelda asked, although after the initial shock wore off, she didn’t find herself quite as exhilarated as she thought. “What is it? What do we need to do?”



“We haven’t found a concrete source on this, so much as it’s our speculation based on what we could find,” Ruto explained, “but we believe that the curse is tied to the title of the queen itself.”



“The title? Go on.” Zelda said.

“We’ve found many sources saying that the Zoras may only be ruled over by a Zora themselves, even if somebody who was not a Zora were to “conquer them”, as the texts put it, and based on your condition we believe that this is quite literal. When you were crowned queen, it likely activated this curse.”



“I see.” Zelda got the logic. Even if they lost their independence, their conqueror would end up as a Zora anyway. A good way to either foil said conquerors or ensure preferential treatment from the victim and perhaps deter future attempts… Nobody had tried to usurp the Zora royalty in hundreds of years, so it made sense that this was long forgotten.

“Your figure is certainly the image of a Zora queen, after all.” Ruto repeated something that Zelda had heard from King Zora over and over. Finally, she had a little context for why she was so huge and fat…

“And? What’s the solution?” Zelda asked less than enthusiastically for some reason.

“It’s self-explanatory, isn’t it? Step down as queen, and the curse won’t make you a queen! Isn’t that good for you? No more of those royal duties you’ve been complaining so much about.” Ruto said proudly. “Now don’t say I don’t do anything for you ever again. Shall we get the king to arrange your abdication?”



“Now hold on, let’s not rush into things.” Zelda said abruptly, holding up her hands. “We don’t know for sure that this’ll work, do we?”



“Technically not, but our scholars are pretty confident in it. Myself included.” Ruto raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, your majesty? I thought you’d be happier.”

“I would be, if you had told me that you had a sure-fire one hundred percent proven cure.” Zelda coughed, sounding slightly awkward. “But what if I were to abdicate and it didn’t work? What then?”



“We’d just start over? There isn’t much to lose by trying.”

“Nothing to lose? Nothing to lose?” Zelda raised her voice  in dramatic indignity. Her voice had gotten much deeper since they had arrived, and it seemed to fit how little Zelda sounded like her old self. “What if we caused our citizens to lose confidence in us with such flip-flopping behaviour? The whole point of this expedition was to avoid harming the relationship between our kingdoms! Why, I’d just integrated myself into your political system and now you tell me to leave as quickly as I came? Heavens no!”

Ruto was silent, Zelda clearing her throat again and continuing.

“I do believe that there’s much to lose by engaging in such a hasty, ill thought out plan.” Zelda declared. “Much to lose indeed!”



She paused as a servant entered, offering her lunch. Once her platter of five kinds of fish was placed next to her pool and the servant had left, Zelda continued.

“You never know what might happen.” She said, munching on a Hylian Pike. “It would be terribly irresponsible of me. If this is the best you can do, we’ll have to start making long-term plans for my presence here!”

Ruto said nothing for a while as Zelda slightly uncomfortably stewed in her grand statement, then slowly nodded.

“As you wish, your majesty.” Ruto slowly left the room. “I’ll be certain to take our conversation here into account…”

–

“So the matter is settled.” Zelda said, rising from her shell at the meeting she was attending, and making herself ready to leave. “It certainly took long enough.”

“But Queen Zelda!” The minister protested. “That doesn’t address the problems with-”

“That’s none of my concern.” Zelda arrogantly brushed it aside. Her voice was deep and husky, befitting her queenly image and giving her a regal presence despite her attitude, a far cry from the soft-spoken, high-pitched princess she had once been. “Surely you have somebody who can figure it out for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in my pool, and I’m not to be disturbed. Good day!”

The poor minister was about to raise his voice in protest, but found it dying in his throat as the queen towered over him, almost twice his height and wider than he was long, her footsteps pounding the smooth stone ground and wobbling vigorously with each waddling step. She seemed to have reached the peak of her growth, almost a head taller than King Zora and even wider than the round king himself. Her fins had grown out into a royal gown that brushed against the floor, although it did little to obscure how huge her behind was, and moving forward exposed her log-like legs squishing against each other. She was covered in expensive jewellery, always finding more space to fit them on, her head-tail reaching down to her waist, which would have looked majestic had she not looked like a whale that had figured out how to walk on land. It was a figure too imposing to argue with, and he let her lumber away, slumping and wondering what he was going to do.

“The queen giving you trouble again?”



The minister turned to see Ruto leaning on the doorway to the meeting room, her now familiar understanding smile easing his heart.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here, princess.” He sighed. “I was just explaining to the Queen how we need to adjust our quotas on our exports to the Hylians, and I didn’t make it halfway through before she told me it was boring and to not bother her with trivial details. I tried to explain the rest, but I don’t think she listened to a word of it.”

“Well, nothing’s too boring or trivial for me, if you’d like me to take over.” Ruto smiled warmly and patiently, the minister’s heart having a weight lifted at the sight of it.

“You’re as reliable as ever, princess.” He said, wiping sweat from his forehead and missing Ruto’s smug smirk flash across her face before turning back into an easygoing smile. “I’m sure the queen means well, but she’s just so…”



“Inattentive?” Ruto helpfully offered.

“I suppose that’s the best way to put it. My impression of Zelda when I met her during the coronation was that of a respectable, responsible young lady, one I could trust to manage two kingdoms single-handedly, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.” He said with a slight chuckle. “You aren’t old enough to remember it, but your mother was much the same way. She much preferred pampering to governing…”

“Well there’s no reason to worry, I’m sure with the two of us we can figure it out in no time.” Ruto said with much more enthusiasm than she’d ever seemed to show before the queen’s arrival. “In fact, you already know what to do, don’t you? The queen just left before you could propose it.”

“Right you are, princess!” He said happily.



“Well, if you’re ever in a bind, I’m more than happy to get you out of it.” Ruto said sweetly.

“I can’t thank you enough, princess.” He said, Ruto looking particularly sweet with her slim figure and youthful looks compared to Zelda’s bloated body and perpetually snooty expression as if nobody was important enough to demand her time or attention unless they were the chef.

“There’s no need, I’m simply doing my duty.” She reiterated.

“You know, princess, I’m a little ashamed to admit it…” He added, hanging his head a little. “I always thought of you as spoiled and irresponsible, but I can see now I was quite mistaken.

“Oh, don’t worry, “ Ruto hid her smug look once again as she turned to leave. “I get that a lot.”

Ruto might have been slim and trim on the outside, but right now her ego was more engorged than Zelda’s stomach, ever since Zelda had taken on a more active role as queen, at least on paper. With no solution to her curse in sight and her only option firmly rejected, Zelda had finally decided to go public with her transformation, appearing before the Zora people to announce that she was a transformed Zelda, and that despite her strange appearance, she would do her best to fairly rule both kingdoms with respect and empathy for both races, having experienced life as both. Although the populations were understandably surprised, they accepted the explanation that it was a strange curse that Zelda herself held the current royalty no bad blood over, and the citizens soon grew used to it, Zelda dispelling the last of her anxieties now that it had turned out that it wasn’t the disastrous reception she had expected.

Unfortunately, despite the speech she had made, that was about as much ruling of both kingdoms as she actually intended to do. Zelda was every bit as lazy as her morbidly obese body suggested, delegating the ruling of Hyrule to the nobility and government in Hyrule Castle, while doing the bare minimum in Zora’s Domain and letting the king and princess do all the heavy lifting, while the only thing she lifted was dinner into her mouth, and even then sometimes she asked somebody else to do it for her. Zelda quickly became notorious for her sloppy, impatient approach to ruling, doing whatever it took to get whatever had been brought to her away from her as quickly as possible so she could go back to relaxing and being pampered.

Naturally, this left Ruto with a number of messes to clean up, usually ones that were easily solved and already had half the work done for her by the people Zelda had left groaning at her wilful incompetence. It was less work to fix the problem than to be involved in the process to begin with, really. As a result Ruto completely turned her reputation around, her popularity rapidly rising for reasons beyond her glamorous status and beauty.The queen had at least been considered beautiful to begin with, but now her extreme size and weight obscured her beauty to many, and made her a larger than life figure for others

It was a fact that Zelda wasn’t particularly happy about, grumbling as she stuffed herself with carp. She was the queen of two kingdoms and you were telling her a measly princess of one was more popular than her? When she was so stunningly beautiful? Perhaps the Zora people simply had no taste. Or perhaps Ruto had figured the only way to tease her when she was so grand and mature was to be opportunistic and sneaky like this. One of these days she’d have to teach that cheeky little brat where her place was! It was truly a testament to Zelda at how poor her reputation had gotten that even she, between isolating herself in her own pampered bubble and the refusal of her ego to accept bad news, had picked up on it. It wasn’t helped by the seemingly antagonistic relationship the two had, the two always trying to get one over each other, Ruto constantly having the upper hand in teasing her despite Zelda’s best efforts. It was all in good sport, the two would have agreed, but from the outside it looked like Ruto was Zelda’s disobedient daughter, and Zelda an egotistical step-mother. The way the two spoke to each other these days, one would have never guessed that Zelda was only marginally older than Ruto.

Zelda harumphed, wondering what Ruto had that she didn’t. Zelda had youth, beauty, size, and status. What was the only difference between her and Ruto in the eyes of the kingdom? After mulling it over a three course lunch, Zelda had a sudden idea. Zelda was the queen of both kingdoms, but she wasn’t really part of the royal family. She wasn’t a born Zora, and she hadn’t married into it even if she had been crowned. She was equal, yet separate, and it seemed that the Zora people didn’t understand the appeal of a foreign lady. As a result, Ruto had a home-field advantage that even a woman as beautiful and important as her couldn’t seem to overcome. No, Zelda didn’t blame herself for this gap, it only made sense that if she was losing over something, it was because the deck was stacked against her. Luckily, she was more than intelligent and wise enough to know just how to close the gap…

–

“She’s awfully late…” King Zora said, glancing at the nearest water-clock. “Ruto, do you think you could go and fetch your mother for me? She’s usually quite timely over these things, it being her idea after all.”



“We’re calling her that already?” Ruto raised an eyebrow over her formally dressed father’s choice of words, wearing his finest cape that day. “Father, you and Zelda aren’t even married yet.”

“I thought it might be nice to get into the habit.” He blushed like a schoolgirl, Ruto shrugging at the sight of him. How was she supposed to say no to that face? Her father had been infatuated with Zelda the moment she had shown up to the Domain weighing over five hundred pounds,and had been making unsubtle moves on her ever since. As a result, when Zelda had ever so casually suggested over dinner that it might be time for the two of them to get married, he had run out of the room for the first time in years and begged Ruto to lend him the Zora engagement ring, before running all the way back. Ruto wasn’t sure why Zelda was suddenly so keen on the idea of marriage, seeing as there was no way she could possibly get even more spoiled than she currently was and Zelda typically only put effort into something if it meant she had to put less effort into something else later, but she seemed strangely smug over it, so she must have thought it was a very good idea indeed.

Zelda, of course, was in a good mood after her proposal, looking forward to the assured popularity boost she’d receive from becoming a true queen, a formal Zora bride. She didn’t mind becoming his wife, finding the huge fish-man quite handsome once she had spent enough time with him. Zelda was, of course, greatly attracted to any man who knew how to really spoil a woman. Naturally, she hadn’t considered the political implications of her marriage for a single second. The shock from the Hylian side, the mutterings of a significant shift in political power from the side of the Zoras, the fact that the nobles she had left minding her kingdom would practically assume complete control of it, things like that couldn’t be further from Zelda’s mind. All she was thinking about was how extravagant her wedding would be, not to mention the catering. It was quite fortunate for her that after this marriage she would be seen largely just as the Zora queen, rather than the monarch of two kingdoms. She was right to think that it would improve people’s opinions of her, as nobody expected much of a Zora queen, traditionally more of a ceremonial figure who wasn’t expected to do much but get pampered. Perfect for the new Zelda.

“I’ll go see what she’s up to.” Ruto headed out, not minding the extra walk. Ruto had never been one to obsess over her weight, but she had been quite conscious of getting enough exercise each day ever since Zelda had come to town, even if she hadn’t put on so much as a pound since then. Something she had discovered she had Zelda to thank for, in the long run…

Ruto smiled and waved to the adoring citizens she passed on her way to Zelda’s chambers, calling out as she entered, seeing Zelda crammed into her increasingly inadequate pool as usual. She was upright but slumped over slightly, having managed to fall asleep almost standing, having not even moved over to her deeper, larger main pool. Ruto suspected she had been eating dinner and gone into a food coma afterwards, servants discreetly removing the mess while she slept. She doubted they could have woken her up if they had tried.

“You’re late for your wedding rehearsal, oh dearest mother of mine.” Ruto said in a sing-song voice, watching Zelda mumble. She did enjoy calling Zelda that, delighting in the fact that most Zora citizens by now believed that Zelda was in her mid thirties. Zelda mumbled incoherently as her naturally sleepy eyes fluttered open, leaning back and yawning as she stretched, her gut so long it barely moved from its rolled out position in front of her even as she moved backwards.

“Mmm… whuzzat dear? I was having the most wonderful dream…” Zelda yawned again.

“Your wedding rehearsal. Father is quite eager for you to join him.”

“Ah, yes, of course.” Zelda stirred slightly. “I can’t miss that, I must be prepared for the big day. And you too, Ruto, you should be doing your best to make me look… hmm?”

Zelda paused, grunting as she pushed against the carved stone that lined the rim of her pool. She pushed again, not bunching an inch. Her love handles spilled over the side of the pool, almost like she was…

“Ruto! Perfect timing, something terrible has happened overnight.” Zelda gasped. “My favourite pool has shrunk! I can’t get out!”

Ruto stared at her as if she had just suggested that water wasn’t wet. She peered down at where the edge of the pool met Zelda’s gut, the gargantuan woman’s hips wedged firmly against the edge of what should have had more than enough room for somebody like Ruto to lay flat head to toe and had more than enough room to move. In fact, Ruto was pretty sure that it had been quite spacious when she had arrived. Then again, Zelda was so enormously obese that even as her face got even fatter and her features increasingly squashed and tiny compared to the ocean of fat they floated in, or her arms became fattier than the most overfed trout, or her gut spilled out like ocean waves crashing upon the shore, and her hips tested the capacity of any hallway she passed through, that it was almost difficult to notice that she had gotten fatter in the first place.

It almost reminded her of an old story her father had told her. One about her dear mother, and how he had built her the most extravagant and spacious pool when they had gotten married, and how one day he had walked in to find her quite stuck in it. Just like Zelda…

And stuck Zelda was, no matter how hard she tried. She wriggled to try to loosen herself, sending her whole body wobbling like jelly. Her belly squished in as she tried to lean forward, but couldn’t get her colossal ass to overflow even a little less, the lower part stuck underwater and causing her fat to make her look like a big blue muffin. Her feeble arms pushed as hard as she could down in an effort to lift herself out, but her arms were so weak and unused for anything but feeding herself that they had not even the slightest hope of lifting her immensely heavy body. She went pale in the face from exertion, sweat pouring down her face from a single minute’s effort. She gasped, wheezed, heaved, but couldn’t do more than make her body shake before she collapsed, giving in and panting heavily having done little more than squirm a bit and try fruitlessly to lift her bulk.

“I just can’t seem to get myself unstuck. Perhaps you could come over here, and just, pull for a moment…” Zelda wheezed pathetically, and Ruto, in a moment of kindness, merely crossed her arms and looked at her, pity in her eyes. Zelda was unrecognisable these days, and Ruto couldn’t help, even knowing what she knew, but offer her one last chance to bail out.

“Don’t you think you’ve gone a little too far this time, dearest mother?” She asked. “You do know that it isn’t too late, right? You can still fix this. You know what you have to do.”

Ruto waited for Zelda’s answer. She was quite sure that abdicating would undo at least some of her weight, and pull her out of the spiral of sloth she had dived into. Surely even Zelda had kept this option on the table…



“Yes, you’re quite right, dear.” Zelda said, straightening herself a little. “I should have seen this coming a long time ago, and I’ve let this get quite out of hand, even though I should have anticipated it. Even a woman like me makes mistakes, after all. But no more!”

“Then, you’re really going to…” Ruto started, Zelda brandishing a commanding hand.

“I’ll have the stonemasons increase the size of this pool posthaste!” Zelda declared proudly, Ruto hanging her head. Well, she really shouldn't have expected anything else. Self-awareness wasn’t really Zelda’s strong suit these days… Not to mention, if she returned to being just the princess of the Hylians, she’d have to actually work, and she knew that the current Zelda was deathly allergic to that.

There was one other big reason why Ruto had never pushed the issue. Out of concern for her as a fellow princess and a friend she had always presented Zelda with the option, but as Zelda had settled in and gotten herself spoiled rotten, Ruto had felt very little need to stick her neck out for Zelda by trying to convince her to change back, even knowing what she knew. It had turned out that it was quite advantageous for Zelda to be the queen, and not just so that Ruto could live her glamorous bachelorette lifestyle unmolested by tedious royal duties. That was a big part of it, but that had been more just shameless opportunism on her part.

The real important part was the true secret of Zora queens, a secret in plain sight. As Ruto had joined in the effort to find a cure for Zelda, she had looked into as many of the previous Zora queens as she could find records on. Quickly, she had found one thing in common: the queens were physically enormous like the kings traditionally were, and were described as considerably rotund. Her mother had been no exception, Ruto’s few memories of her involving a colossal, incredibly soft figure. Her father had always told her that she’d take after her mother: small and slim in her youth, then eventually she would grow into a royal stature. All these years Ruto had resigned herself to the knowledge that someday her beautiful figure would fade, and she’d end up like her mother and father, probably around the age when she got married and settled down to have children of her own. Until then she’d enjoy herself as much as possible and deal with it when it came… until she investigated Zelda’s curse.

While it wasn’t officially confirmed, all of the evidence lined up to tell Ruto that her mid-life transformation wasn’t inherited from the royal family, at least not biologically. She had reason to believe that ending up a huge, portly figure like the current Zelda’s was instead tied to the title of queen, and when she took over her father’s duties, she would suddenly and coincidentally began to swell. But now, Zelda had taken over that duty! No older than Ruto herself, Ruto could go her whole life without ever becoming anything more than a princess. She could be thin and beautiful forever! Her worst fear in life, the destruction of her vanity, had been averted, as long as Zelda remained queen. And if she was enjoying herself so much being one, who was she to tell her otherwise? She silently dropped the issue, resolving to never mention the matter again. As far as she was concerned, Zelda had willingly sealed her fate, destined to remain a spoiled Zora queen forever. With her father’s hand in marriage, she could only become happier and more spoiled from now on. Of course, she would never tell Zelda this fact. No reason to ruin a good thing she had going for her, after all.

“Um, Ruto, sweetie? Aren’t you going to help your poor mother out?” Zelda asked nervously as she watched her turn and walk away, satisfied with her and Zelda’s chosen lot in life. “You’ve always been my favourite daughter, after all. Come on, I’m sure I’ll slide right out with a little tug-.”

“I think it’ll be faster to tell Father that you’re going to be late.” Ruto couldn’t hide her giggle as she sauntered lazily away, her hips rocking as she flaunted her svelte body..

“Ruto, you angler-fish! You’re quite pleased by this state of affairs after all, aren’t you!? You’re just relishing seeing me like this, I should imagine!?” Zelda called out indignantly, grunting loudly as she tried once more and failed to extricate herself. “I knew it, you’ve always been my least favourite daughter!”

Ruto giggled again and waved goodbye, hearing her protests fade away behind her.

“And someone get me something to eat!” was the last thing she heard before she was completely out of earshot.

One thing is for sure, things certainly wouldn’t be boring with Zelda around…