“We’ll be coming into port soon, Princess.” 

“If only I could have heard those words a few weeks earlier.” Zelda said, carefully laying down her pen next to the veritable stack of letters to ministers she owed upon her return, and bringing herself to face the man who captained her ship.

“It’s not your fault those seeds were such a hassle to track down.” The captain said, leaning on the doorframe. “I damn near lost my sea legs, having to lay about in the harbour for so long.”



“Yes, nothing to do but eat, drink, and engage in whatever debauchery you sailors get up to for the better part of two months.” Zelda commented sardonically. “I suppose it must have been a terrible burden for you and your men.”

“I s’ppose I’ve had worse voyages.” The bearded man peered at the box that laid on Zelda’s desk, never leaving her sight. 

“All that trouble for not even a barrel of seeds, between your stash and what we’ve got in the cargo hold.” He commented, peering at the “I suppose that makes them worth their weight in gold.”

“You should hope not, captain.” Zelda pointedly mentioned. “I had to separate these from our cargo specifically because our supply has dwindled by the day since we began the voyage home, and you’re the only one on this ship who can stand the taste of those things, let alone the smell.”

“You were the one who said you only needed a handful at most, Princess.” He shrugged with little to no shame, Zelda’s dignity suppressing a sigh. “Tell you what, let me have just one more and I’ll plant it when I get back home, I’ll have you paid back in spades.”



“Help yourself, but the need for these seeds and their unpleasant odour will be over within an hour of returning to the castle.” Zelda smiled, feeling the weight lift from her shoulders at the thought. ”More importantly, mystery seed trees can take decades to sprout, let alone bear fruit.” Zelda pointed out. “I suspect it’d be your grandchildren offering tribute in my old age.”

“I’m sure you’ll be just as beautiful and thrice as wise by then, your highness. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d best make sure the men aren’t so eager to disembark they ram the boat straight into the pier” He said, bowing slightly as he left her to her devices. Zelda slumped in her chair slightly, breathing out as she was secretly quite happy to get off this ship and stop pretending she wasn’t horribly seasick for half of it. Maintaining one’s dignity as royalty was difficult indeed. She almost wished she was one of the maids she’d brought with her, who had no such obligation to not moan at length about every dip and wave the sea had to offer. They wouldn’t have to spend the whole trip penning letters to ministers who cried, acted useless, and if she was unlucky attempted to embezzle money whenever she wasn’t around to keep an eye on them.

Ribbing the captain aside, Zelda was quite confident in her handful of seeds being more than enough to get the job done. It wasn’t like she’d have any better to do with them once she’d driven Veran’s lingering curse out of Link, who she’d felt horribly guilty over keeping waiting for so long, even as she was enjoying gallivanting around in Labyrynna searching for the last remaining sources of mystery seeds. Each time she’d received a letter from Link it had been more miserable than the last, as Link took to being the helpless damsel in distress very poorly. Zelda almost regretted not bringing her along, but as she mentioned in her responses, she simply wanted to avoid Link getting into any danger in her current condition.

Although Zelda had the utmost confidence in Link and unending sympathy for her condition, she couldn’t help that that her later letters got a bit… passive aggressive. After yet another melodramatic letter urging her to hurry up, the last couple of letters had been the opposite, suddenly taking on a patient, measured tone, telling Zelda to take her time and that she was in no hurry, having her condition completely under control. As kindly worded as they were, Zelda got the impression that Link was not impressed with how long she was taking, and was even more eager to hurry home.

As she disembarked the ship with her prize in tow she made sure to send one last carrier pigeon message ahead of her, clutching the box of seeds close to her chest as she went from ship to carriage, barely able to hide her impatience as she was forced to wait just a little longer to return to the castle. She practically leapt out of it once they were at the castle, gathering up her skirts and hurrying through the castle to where she’d agreed to meet with Link: the throne room. She was so eager to get there that she didn’t even think that it was an odd place for Link to tell her she’d be in advance, nor did she pay much mind to how none of the guards seemed to so much at bat an eye at their princess rushing through the castle in a less than dignified fashion.

Before she entered, Zelda paused and opened the bag, taking a few seeds out and quietly hiding them in each of her dress’s pockets. It was entirely possible that if it were Veran’s spirit and not just her curse that had infected Link that she might make some sort of last ditch effort to cling to her host, or worse, leave Link’s body and try to possess her. If that were the case, it didn’t hurt to have some backups tucked away.

“I’ve returned, Link!” She called out, pushing open the doors to the throne room as the stoic guards stood stiff before her. “And I’ve brought… the…”

Zelda’s jaw fell open and the box nearly slipped from her grasp, Zelda for perhaps the first time in her life utterly speechless at what she saw. It was big, blue, had some rather familiar purple shoulder spikes, and did she mention big? And not to mention, it was sitting on her throne, one fat leg crossed over the other while a pudgy paw pressed into a chubby cheek. It wasn’t quite spilling over her throne just yet, but if the person who seemed to think herself princess got any bigger, they might be.

“Oh, princess! Fabulous of you to finally deem little old me worthy of your presence.” Came a husky, confident voice from the obviously obese blue woman comfortably settled into her seat. “Hyrule has missed you! I’m afraid I’m not certain I have, on the other hand, and I’m not sure why they would either, considering their princess can’t even find a measly few seeds in a timely fashion.”

“Link! You’re, you’re, b, b-”



“Bigger?” Link said, narrowing her eyes and challenging her to share her thoughts.

“I was going to say bluer.” Zelda said, ever the image of decorum. “What happened? You look just like Veran! Or should I say, you are Veran, biding your time in my friend’s body until I was away!”

“Me? Veran?” Link said incredulously, then broke into a long, haughty laugh that left her exposed belly and bountiful cleavage boucning like jelly. “Oh dear, foolish Zelda, you’re slow as usual! You should be able to tell just by looking at me that I’m my usual beautiful self. If Veran’s consciousness is still around, I certainly haven’t heard from her.”



“Then what has happened to you?” Zelda said, hardly believing her. But there was no reason for Veran to lie and say that she was still Link.



“I blossomed, that’s what happened, princess.” Link laughed. “What you foolishly called a curse was merely Veran sharing some of her good taste with me. I might be a little like her, but I’m completely myself. Personally, I think I think I wear it better, don’t you think? Green just wasn’t my colour, as it turns out.”

‘She’s gone absolutely mad,’ was all Zelda could think, as the fat blue woman who was once her greatest hero slathered praise onto herself, then moved onto starting to critique Zelda for why it was ever so rude of her to take this long. Mad, possessed but oblivious, or both, considering she wasn’t referring to herself as Veran herself. Another question taking up a significant amount of bandwidth in her brain was: forget turning blue and gaining Veran’s personality, or something close to it at least, just how in the world had she gotten so fat? Zelda had only been gone a little over two months, and here she was well over a hundred pounds overweight! Even if she’d gorged herself every single day since she left she shouldn’t have been able to-

“And that’s why your tardiness reflects poorly not on your status as a princess, but also your qualities as a person and a so-called friend.” Link said, having gone on quite a rant while Zelda’s brain was racing. “Princess? Princess, are you listening to me? Stop standing there all slack-jawed like a peasant! I finally get you back after your two-month vacation and you don’t even pay attention to me when I’m in the room with you! You horrid, lazy, rude, slow excuse for royalty!”

“Link, I-”



“No excuses!” Link snapped. “Actions speak louder than words, princess! This is the problem with royalty, they think they can just do whatever they want because nobody is above them to punish them when they screw up! Well, your highness, unfortunately there’s nobody higher than me!”

“I’m so sorry, Link.” Zelda said, holding her hand to her chest as she tried to regain her composure. “Whatever Veran has done to you, I’ll undo it right here and now!”

Zelda opened the box, Veran’s eyes flaring.

“Close that right now, you foolish little girl!”



Before she knew what she was doing, Zelda had snapped the box shut again. She took a few more steps forward then stopped, looking down at the box. Why had she done that, she thought to herself, feeling slightly dazed. She couldn’t use them on Link like that…

“I didn’t say open it again, princess. Keep that dreadful thing closed!”

Zelda’s fingers moved away from the latch, instead moving to place her hand on the top of the box, keeping it firmly sealed under her own force.

“Now, march on over to that window, and open it up. The window, not the box.” Link instructed with a chubby finger pointed off to the side, and Zelda found her legs moving against her will. She put it down, although she wouldn’t take her hands off it, resisting slightly. Link seemed to think about something for a good few seconds, then spoke again.

“You know what, I think I will ask you to step away.” Link chuckled, then as soon as Zelda was out of the way, snapped her fingers. Zelda let out a yelp of surprise and nearly fell over as the box burst into flames without warning, a foul smell briefly filling the air before a powerful gust of wind sent the box out into the dirt, where the container and everything within it would be reduced to nothing more than a pile of ash within minutes.

“Now, close the window, would you?” Link commanded, making sure that no trace of the seeds could reach her, lest the smoke carry some of their effects. 

Zelda obeyed, then let out a huge gasp as if she was holding in her breath the whole time Link had been commanding her.

“What did you just do!?” Zelda cried.

“I disposed of those nasty seeds before you got any stupid ideas. Aren’t you happy they’re gone, princess?” Link smirked.



“I… I…” Zelda’s lips moved in ways she didn’t intend, her eyes drawn irresistibly towards Link. Link raised a finger, beckoning her over, and Zelda slowly but surely walked towards her, her racing mind slowing to a crawl the closer she got. Her panic and stress seemed to melt away, her hands falling slack to her sides, the seeds in her pockets totally forgotten.

“Now, is there a problem, princess?” Link said, staring deep into Zelda’s eyes, the princess unable to even blink as Link’s mesmerising magic flowed into her, swirled around her brain, and invaded her body down to the bones. Link left nothing to chance, and hypnotised Zelda until, if she had her way, there was nothing left.



“Not at all, Mistress.” Zelda said, a dreamy smile on her face as her concerns faded away, and all she could think about was how beautiful and intelligent Link seemed to look right now, and how flattering her flashy purple dress looked on her fat body. She also noted how despite the cruel smirk, she was still visibly Link, albeit much more feminine than even when she had left her. She’d even adopted a similar hairstyle, only in Link’s usual blonde, and without Veran’s distinctive headpiece, letting her long hair fall freely down her shoulders. 

“Good girl. Consider yourself no longer the ruler of this country.” Link said with a wide smile, and there was no further need to speak, explain, or even gloat. The princess had fallen under her thrall just like the others she’d obliviously hurried past on her way to meet Link, oblivious to the warning signs in her haste. She could have noticed that nobody greeted her, that the castle was eerily quiet, that even the guards didn’t so much as budge. But she’d only been concerned with her friend, and there was little wisdom could do to save her from the trap Link had prepared for her.

“Now, what to do with you?” Link wondered aloud, Zelda still stacking dutifully still before her. “I suppose I’ve formally assumed authority of this castle now that you’re back, but I suppose I only planned as far as your return. Now that you’re out of the way, I have to actually rule this country of yours…”



“You could employ my experience and abilities to assist you in your rule, Mistress Link.” Zelda suggested in a rather enthusiastic tone.

“Yes, that’s sensible, I could-hmm?” Link looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Did you just speak, princess?”



“I did, Mistress.” Zelda said helpfully.

“I don’t recall asking you to speak.”



“You didn’t ask me not to speak either, Mistress.” 

“I’ll admit I didn’t,” Link acknowledged ruefully, “but you see, the others usually don’t speak their minds, so to say. I daresay they don’t have much left when I’m done with them, and I prefer it that way.”



“My deepest apologies, Mistress. I had no idea that my mere act of speaking would cause you such distress.” Zelda curtsied, Link narrowing her eyes.



“Are you being sarcastic, princess?” Link asked.

“Not at all, mistress. I don’t believe myself capable of it at the moment to begin with.” Just say that words, and I shan’t speak again.”



“Well you’re already running your mouth, let’s investigate further. Come over here and look into my eyes for a moment, dear.” Link said, holding Zelda by the chin as she leaned in. Link stared for a few seconds, then spoke. “Clear you mind, princess. Completely clear, with not a single independent thought of your own.”



Veran let go and Zelda straightened back up, but clearly wasn’t as glossy-eyed as she’d hoped.

“I’m afraid my mind doesn’t feel as clear as you want it to be, Mistress.”



“Agh!” Link suddenly barked. “Damn it all, there must be some resistance, either from the triforce or because you’re the only other one half-decent at magic in this castle! And here I was so looking forward to turning you into my perfectly obedient doll.”



“I’m perfectly obedient, mistress! Consider me your doll!” Zelda seemed almost ashamed at the implication otherwise. “Anything you want, anything you need, my life is yours!”

Link sighed deeply. It wasn’t like it wasn’t otherwise an ideal situation, as Zelda was absolutely not bluffing at the moment. She was thoroughly mesmerised, brainwashed so thoroughly that magic was practically radiating from her body. It was just that she hadn’t completely lost her autonomy in the process.

“Well then, princess,” Veran leaned back in her throne. “What do you suggest would be the best way for you to serve me? I’m curious.”



“Well, as beautiful and intelligent and magically gifted as you are,” Zelda said, her mind pre-filled with the right kind of praise to give her new mistress, “you must not have much experience ruling a country. I assume you’ve hypnotised all of the nobility and ministers in the castle to secure their loyalty, but if I may be so bold, I would suggest that you’ve so far had no need to worry about the minutia of ruling Hyrule.”

“Well yes, it’s only been two months. It hasn’t been that long. In the grand scheme of things, I mean.” Link said defensively. “Even the fools you keep around here can’t let things go to the dogs that quickly.”

“Then it’s safe to assume that things are, save for the mass hypnosis of the castle, roughly how I left them. Thank you mistress, that’s quite helpful.” Zelda said, scratching her chin as she pondered things before an incredulous Link, who most certainly hadn’t expected things to go like this. “Mistress, how long does your hypnosis last, and how far does your influence reach?”



“You’re being too obvious, princess.” Link said, only for Zelda to look surprisingly offended.

“Mistress my question is purely pragmatic! Please have some faith in your servant!” 

“Oh, alright.” Link sighed. “My range is about as far as the castle grounds. The time is, assuming one remains within my sphere of influence, indefinite. By the way princess, you are absolutely not allowed outside of the castle grounds. If you feel my grip loosening even a little, you’re to turn yourself around right that instant.”

“Losing my mistress’s grip? That sounds dreadful.” Zelda shuddered. “In any case, I assume that you’ve maintained their loyalty by hypnotising them and then making sure they aren’t really thinking about you after they leave. Correct?”



“Correct.” Link said.

“Then you’ll be needing me to serve my role as the princess, at least for the time being.” Zelda said resolutely. “I can perform all of my duties as usual, deferring to your judgement, of course.”



“And why shouldn’t I just instill my commands into them so directly that they carry them out even once they’ve left? I can just make them think that I’m you, or make sure that they believe that Link is their new queen, not that stuffy old princess Zelda.”

“I assume that the common folk aren’t aware that your reign has begun, mistress.” Zelda said. “Working in your name should be fine for those who have come into contact directly, but if they start telling others that they’re under the rule of Link, not Zelda, why, they might think that Hyrule has been taken over by a sorcerous despot!”



“And? They can’t get close enough to even try to burn down the castle without being hypnotised.” Link smirked.

“It simply seems like the path of least resistance to rely on me for the time being until we’ve built up a solid foundation for you to take over the country, mistress.” Zelda explained. “I could introduce you as a trusted advisor, get the people used to you, then eventually explain that your wisdom far exceeds my own, and-”



“Alright, that’s enough, I get the point.” Link waved her hand for her to stop. “I see that you’re quite enthusiastic for the idea of managing all of the boring parts of ruling a kingdom. Very well, I’ll grant you this wish, seeing as you insist on being an opinionated little doll. But I won’t have you thinking you’re the one in charge around here!”



“I never thought so for a second, mistress!” Zelda hurried to curtsy again. “I merely play the role of princess, my time has already ended!”

“I agree, princess. But I think it’s quite important for you to remember what your position is, and let’s start with a change of title.” Link said, uncrossing her legs and grining evilly. “Zelda! I hereby strip you of your title of princess!”



“I would be honoured to relinquish it, mistress!” Zelda beamed at the idea of losing her birthright, if not the duties that accompanied it.

“Like you have a choice in the matter.” Link scoffed. “From this day forward, your official duty is as my personal maidservant, and I expect you to carry out all of the duties involved. You’ll be cleaning my room, my clothes, presenting my meals, and anything else I can think of you to do in the future. Whatever the average maid in this castle does, I expect you to take on twice the workload, and perform your regular duties as when you were a princess. You may refer to yourself as princess for the purposes of those duties, but no more. And I expect you to dress appropriately! Don’t let me see you in that royal garb again, you can address the ministers in your maid uniform. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they don’t question it.”



“Thank you, mistress! Thank you so much for letting me serve you!” Zelda had a wide, adoring smile, seemingly not a single crack in her hypnosis.

“Now begone! I need less of your incessant buzzing, and perhaps a snack. Your first duty can be to go get changed and bring it to me!” Link snapped her fingers, and Zelda hurried to carry her instructions out. “Oh, and whatever you’re eating right now? Double it. I can’t stand to be around such a stick insect…”

–

“That should be everything on the agenda for this year’s taxes, if there are no further issues to be raised. Thank you all for your time, I’ll have these signed and back to you all within the week.” Zelda said politely, tapping the papers together into a neat stack as the meeting room full of assembled mayors, nobility, and other affluent leaders quickly dispersed.

“By the way, Princess…” A countess asked, approaching Zelda while the others streamed out. “I held my tongue during the meeting, but if it doesn’t displease you, do you mind if I ask a question?”

“What is it, Countess?” Zelda asked, subtly wary of what she was about to be asked. This woman’s eyes were too sharp, perhaps slightly less affected than the others who drifted through the meeting as if on autopilot. She should have expected this from her, as the countess had been the only one to complain that her slice of the kingdom had been short on rain this season and deserved certain tax breaks, ones that benefitted her estate more than the farmers if you looked at the fine print.

The rest simply quietly waited their turn, stated the facts, and then moved on with whatever Zelda judged necessary for them. No bickering, no complaining about preferential treatment or expecting boons in exchange for supposed good service, only simple subservience to keep the kingdom running smoothly. If she were to be completely honest, it didn’t take Link’s warping of her moral values to admit that this made her job a lot easier and that she wished it could be like this all the time.

“Forgive me if this is a faux pas, but…” The Countess hesitated, then continued. “Why in Farore’s name are you wearing that servant’s uniform?”



“Whatever do you mean? I’m dressed just as I normally am.” Zelda said innocently and without hesitation, the woman rubbing her eyes and blinking a few times as Zelda seemed to shimmer, then settle into her usual royal regalia. The black dress she had sworn she saw turned pink,, and her white apron turned into a fancy cloth with the royal insignia on it, her hair spilling down her back. Even her white headdress morphed into a gleaming tiara, a mark of status, not servitude. She was a bit plumper than usual perhaps,  her belt pushed out by a small pot belly and her collar a little tight around her soft neck, her usually dainty arms much fuller and her elegant features dulled, but still dressed completely normally.

“It seems you are. I wonder what I was thinking of…” The Countess laughed awkwardly, already half-forgetting what it was she had supposedly even seen Zelda wearing. “ Some new jewelry perhaps, princess?”



“Something like that.” Zelda said, having no jewellery on her person whatsoever besides some earrings that Link was gracious enough to allow her to continue wearing. Even her hair was done up into a tidy bun, both because it kept it out of the way, and because Zelda felt it was a more humble appearance befitting a maid. Link hadn’t even suggested anything beyond switching to a maid uniform, but Zelda had felt quite excited when Link complimented her on how diminished she looked without all her finery on her, and resolved to keep herself that way. “And don’t call me princess.”

“Ah, forgive me, Miss Zelda.” The Countess corrected herself to the far less impressive title, but it seems she wasn’t completely swayed. “But why are we not to use your royal title?”

“Because Mistress Link wishes it so.” Zelda said, narrowing her eyes at the countess, whose eyes grew dull at the mention of the name.

“Yes, of course…” The countess droned, all independent thoughts drained out of her at the mention, her body stiffening as the trigger word activated the latent magic swirling in the room. “If Mistress Link wishes it…”

Without a further word the woman slowly walked herself out of the room, where she wouldn’t stop to so much as look at anybody else until she was back at her carriage, at which point she spent most of the ride home in a daze. She wouldn’t even remember the conversation she had with Zelda, let alone the idea that she had seen her wearing anything other than her official regalia. So it was the case for all the others who had shared the room with her, who remembered the meeting as nothing more than uneventful busywork.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to dust the guest room and change the sheets on Mistress Link’s bed before she returns from her afternoon tea…” Zelda said, marching herself out of the room. The papers would wait until tonight, when she had a spare moment to deal with them before bed. The rest of the day would be devoted towards her duties as a maid, with the daily goings-on of the kingdom and her royal duties being more something she squeezed in out of obligation. And so it would be the next day, and the next day, and the day after that, as it had been for the last three and a half months since Zelda returned to her castle and was warped into Link’s unquestionably loyal maidservant.

It wasn’t that she didn’t have enough manpower to do it herself, Zelda thought to herself as she eschewed the help of other maids wandering the castle who took on what work she couldn’t do by herself and the upkeep of the rest of the castle. It was important that she fulfil as much of Link’s needs as was physically possible for one woman in a single day, purely because Link had told her so, that she desired to see her perform an honest day’s work after being pampered and spoiled all her life, if she were to use Link’s wording. Privately, Zelda felt that she worked very hard as Hyrule’s ruler, and while it was arguable that she enjoyed disproportionate fruits of her labour compared to the common folk, she carried a heavy responsibility. But now she carried an even heavier responsibility: keeping her mistress well fed, well kept, and happy. An unhappy mistress meant an unhappy maid, and Zelda prided herself on the fact that she kept both in a good mood.



“Your afternoon snack, mistress.” Zelda said an hour later, carrying a platter with an entire roast cuckoo on it as well as some wine out to the castle garden, where Link was lounging under an umbrella in a tilted-back chair, her hips spilling over the sides as the obese despot 

“Be a dear and bring it closer, princess.” Link said, vaguely gesturing with her hand. She was the only one allowed to call Zelda by that title anymore, purely for mocking purposes. “In fact, come closer, the table is too far away.”

Zelda helpfully stood between Link and the table that had a number of empty platters on it from her last snack, only an arms length away, but it would have required Link to shift slightly out of her comfy spot. She had a book in one hand that she was intently reading, her other hand devoted to stuffing her face. It was perhaps a good thing that the top heart of her outfit was a glorified bra, as it let her sagging gut be completely unrestrained, having put on well over eighty pounds since Zelda had arrived in just a few short months. Her gut extended out more and more, its twin folds growing heavier and wider as Zelda began to discreetly commission carpenters for wider chairs to fit her big blue ass. Zelda herself had put on a fair amount of weight thanks to Link’s instructions, but her scant thirty at most pounds paled in comparison to how rapidly Link grew.

“Those worthless noblemen didn’t give you any trouble, did they?” Link asked all of a sudden after she’d finished off the cuccoo, a surprising break from her usual indifference towards the political process.

“They did not, mistress.” Zelda nodded, still holding out the platter in a position where she could feel the rim push into the belly meat she had grown. “One was slightly more resistant than the others, but no sooner was your name mentioned did she fall in line like the others.”



“Good.” Link said, voice dripping with self-satisfaction between sips of wine. “I don’t even need to be on that side of the castle and my spells remain potent. My prowess grows by the day. And I do hope that yours remains… miniscule, to say the least.”



“There’s not a drop of magic left in me, mistress.” Zelda said with an adoring smile. “I can hardly regenerate enough to light a match without it being sent straight to you.”

Conscious of Zelda’s latent magical abilities, Link had immediately not just sealed Zelda’s powers but decided to suck her dry, stealing not only her figurative powers but her literal ones as well.

“Let me see it, princess.” Link said with a cruel smile that was seemingly widened by her chubby cheeks, Zelda placing down the platter and removing her apron, then unbuttoning her black dress to let her pot belly fall out. Emblazoned upon her pale flesh was a eye turned sideway in the shape of a teardrop, the very mark that was embroidered on the loincloth that Link wore over her skirt, Veran’s personal mark. She had laid this seal on Zelda like a tattoo, connecting the two and assuring that Zelda would never regain her magical prowess until she dispelled it.



“Good, it hasn’t faded.” Link said, Zelda blushing as Link gently ran her finger down its outline. “Be proud, princess, for you make me even stronger day by day. And you’re filling in nicely, do keep it up. If I’m ever to abandon this body for any reason, I don’t want to be underweight.”



“Nothing makes me happier, mistress.” Zelda said, doing her dress back up and carefully fixing her uniform. “Is there anything else I can do for you at this moment, mistress?”



“I suppose I did just think of something you could answer for me.” Link said, closing her book. “I’ve been thinking it might be a good idea to spread my benevolence beyond the borders of Hyrule. Just think of it, no more worrying about the goings on of other kingdoms and having to bail them out when their queens get possessed by beautiful, intelligence, powerful sorceresses, I could simply assume control directly and solve all of our problems in advance! All it’d take is a little military persuasion. Perhaps you could consider rustling up the army for me once you’ve finished with the dishes? Sooner rather than later would be better.”

It was all Zelda could to do avoid going wide-eyed. Link was proposing conquest! Up until now she’d been seemingly content just to be in charge, to know that she was the true ruler of Hyrule behind the scenes, and indulge in all the luxury the castle had to offer.

“I believe that would be a most unwise decision, mistress.” Zelda said, trying to keep her tone even. “I would advise against it, for the time being.”

“And why would that be, princess?” Link asked, clearly testing Zelda’s response. While she was otherwise convinced of Zelda’s loyalty in the last few months, the fact that she maintained some semblance of her personality made her question how she might behave if push came to shove. “Don’t tell me you have a problem with your mistress sharing her benevolence with the rest of the world? With crushing any would-be dictators and evil overlords before they have a chance to spring up and threaten our fair kingdom?”

“Of course not, mistress.” Zelda insisted. “It would be a blessing for any country to be ruled by you! My objections are largely logistical.”

“Go on.”



“To begin with, the Hylian army is in peacetime. That is to say, its current composition is for defence, not offence. The men are unprepared, undermanned, and poorly trained for conquest as a matter of training, let alone how they’ll react to the suggestion.”



“They’ll react however I want them to react!” Link said, raising her voice. “Their duty is to serve their ruler, not to think for themselves!”



“It’s merely a matter of it being so sudden, mistress. Imagine how the public will react to such an abrupt shift in national policy.”



“The peasantry is no different. What do they think this is, a democracy? That concept failed along with those ancient nations over a thousand years ago, there’s a reason why nobody’s tried it since.” Link scoffed. “The people exist for their kingdom, not the other way around! The ruler’s word is absolute!”



“That may be so, mistress, but they might feel that something is amiss should it happen so suddenly. Swaying public opinion in advance is an important part of any invasion.” Zelda said, completely wiping away her personal opinions on the blatant despotism Link had suggested and the power trip she was clearly going on right now. Sure, Zelda’s moral core hadn’t been eroded enough to say that anything Link said was right, but… Mistress couldn’t be wrong either. She had good intentions, a negative means to a positive end, Zelda’s brainwashed mind contorted to believe. But no matter how much of a stooge Zelda could be warped into, the influence of the Triforce of Wisdom compelled her to be honest with Link, and point out the flaws in her plan.

“What are they going to do, revolt? This castle is impregnable thanks to my magic.” Link asserted smugly. “They can’t get within a hundred yards without falling under my sway.”



“That may be true, but all that means is that the revolt has to happen outside of the castle.” Zelda pointed out. “Mistress, you’re as powerful as you are beautiful, but even you have limits.”

“I suppose so.” Link said reluctantly. “So, we convince the public, and we retrain the army.”



“If you can convince them that nothing is wrong first.” Zelda interjected. “First, we’d have to make sure that they don’t suspect that I’ve somehow been hypnotised into unquestioning loyalty to you, a mysterious sorceress who as far as they’re concerned appeared from nowhere and has by all appearances taken over the castle and brainwashed everybody within, and now wishes to use the army she’s acquired to take over the world.”

“You make it sound so evil when you put it like that.” Link pouted.

“Both the peasantry and the army will probably rebel if they think it’s like that.” Zelda said firmly. “And who knows, they might eventually stumble onto some way to defeat or at least impede you.”

“Why don’t I just brainwash them all? I could command directly.” Link suggested optimistically.



“Keeping within effective range of the entire military at once seems impractical, mistress.” Zelda pointed out. “Your magic fades quickly when it’s diluted too far. Even on the servants return mostly to normal with some foggy memories at most once they’ve been out of the castle for a day or two.”

“Oh, alright, fine, spoil my fun if you must.” Link sighed melodramatically, finally giving in. “I suppose we’ll worry about spreading my glorious reign some other time, once I’ve become even more powerful. Perhaps once I’ve endeared myself enough to them by making the benefits of my rule clear, they’ll be tripping over themselves to serve me without any hypnosis. And if they aren’t, well, I’m sure I’ll have figured it out by then”

Zelda suppressed letting out a sigh of relief of her own. She only wanted the best for her mistress, and going straight to war would probably get even her in over her head.

“If you’ll excuse me, mistress.” Zelda curtsied, then left, able to surprisingly easily brush aside the heinous act that her mistress had suggested and instead focus on her duties as a maid. Link hadn’t meant anything bad by it, in fact, once all was said and done the other kingdoms would surely thank her…

–

Zelda sat at her desk under candlelight in her modest servant’s quarters, quill deftly in motion as finished off signing the last few documents required of her before her work was officially done for the day. She leaned back in her chair and sighed as she waited for the ink to dry on the final one, wondering what to do now with her few remaining minutes of the day without any work to do. She hardly knew what to do with herself, bereft of purpose now tha there was nothing left to do for her mistress. The signing process was mindless, something that could be done in her bedgown while hardly looking at the words on the page, as the ones who penned them were hardly capable of deceiving her or sneaking in any discreet provisions for their personal gain.



She stood up, deciding to lay around in bed with a book in imitation of her mistress until she dozed off. Her thin white bedgown was draped flatteringly around her feminine contours, or at least it would have were it not for how the fabric seemed to emphasise the curve of her burgeoning belly. At least gorging herself was a phenomenally pleasant activity, with her portions piled twice as high and any stray snack impulsively doubled thanks to following the strict wording of Link’s instructions. It was a good thing that she didn’t have to put up with any scrutiny over the castle’s food budget being easily doubled or more, if nothing else.

Tonight however, Zelda found herself unable to focus on any light entertainment, kicking her feet and gently placing the book on her bedside table. In her old bedroom she would have had to roll over several times just to reach the edge, now she found herself feeling like if she were as broad as her mistress, she’d find herself spilling over the sides just laying on her back. She instead turned her thoughts, as they often did, to Link. To how beautiful and glamorous and intelligent she was, and how much happier she was in perpetual servitude than when she’d run the kingdom. Well, technically she still ran the kingdom, but it was merely a delegated duty. All decisions she made were made for the sake of Link, and the good of the people was largely incidental. It was just that Zelda felt that the good of the people equaled the good of Link, and so around and around it went, the outside world hardly knowing that their princess had been deposed.

If Link had any flaws, she could hardly name them. Well, perhaps besides suggesting that it was time for a hostile takeover of the nearest countries. That was, perhaps, a little shortsighted. A bit evil, even. Perhaps the one command that she couldn’t follow, couldn’t afford to follow. No matter how servile she was, there was no way that she’d take orders from a magical despot. For that matter, it was downright stupid! As she’d pointed out, Hyrule was not equipped for conquest, and if she just marched into the neighbouring countries willy-nilly they’d find themselves marched on faster than LInk could swallow a three-course meal. That suggestion was just like everything else that came out of LInk’s mouth: selfish, short-sighted, and impulsive! But at least the other commands had the benefit of being largely benign beyond Zelda’s personal humiliation and the manipulation of anybody who stepped into the castle, she could tolerate that, but not the-

Zelda paused, her brow furrowed deeply as she scowled at her pillow before smoothing in confusion. Goodness, what had she just been thinking? Why, it had been so… Insulting towards her mistress, her beloved mistress who hadn’t done anything wrong besides brainwash her with the intent of conquering the kingdom! Her wise, beautiful mistress who stuffed herself like a pig all day and was about as bloated, whose lethargy was the only thing that kept her vain ambitions in check, all the while Zelda did the actual work and ran herself ragged.

Hang on, this wasn’t right, Zelda said herself. She wasn’t supposed to be criticising her mistress, she was supposed to be praising her and excusing her every action like a good little brainwashed servant! It was almost like the hypnosis had… worn off…

Zelda nearly fell off her bed as she realised that her mind was unclouded, the magical fog that clung to her finally dispelled. What had done it? Was it that the effects had simply weakened over time? That Link’s harebrained suggestion of declaring war had shocked Zelda back to her senses? A bit of both sounded likely to her. After all, it had been over three months! Over three months of cleaning day-in, day out, serving meals, keeping the kingdom running, then cleaning some more, only to go to bed to wake up early and gleefully start all over again. The only consolation was that in her addled state she enjoyed it, seeing it as a privilege and not a punishment.

But enough about her personal humiliation, Zelda thought to herself with a deep breath, a hand to her somewhat swollen chest. She could hardly consider herself tormented, given that torment implied suffering and she’d been brainlessly happy about her whole situation, and to her hypnotised self’s credit, she’d managed to largely keep things in check, the situation not substantially changing in the months since her return. She served Link perfectly, but no more than that, encouraging the status quo and being able to speak up when Link got too big for her overstuffed bra. She thanked the Triforce of Wisdom for keeping her wise if nothing else, as little had substantially changed besides their mutual waistlines. 

Still, although Zelda was free for the time being, what could she actually do? She had, perhaps subconsciously as some form of resistance, kept Link placated and happy while gaining a perfect knowledge of all of her mistress’s habits and potential weaknesses, but for all her obvious flaws in her personality and lifestyle that could be potentially exploited, she had such immense magical power that she could afford to get away with it, particularly when Zelda had all of her own magical abilities siphoned out of her. It was possible that she might have been able to come up with a magical counter to the hypnosis before, but not now that she was as powerless as any other ordinary maid in the castle. And even if she somehow defeated Link physically, she was still trapped in her Veran-influenced state, her hero corrupted into a vain, evil woman who would likely require being sealed away, or worse. Zelda couldn’t let that happen, not after everything Link had done for the world.

To Zelda’s frustration, her options boiled down to a single thread of hope: mystery seeds, the only thing that could reliably drive out Veran’s lingering spirit. But where would she get them? Link had destroyed her supply, and if she ran off now in the dead of night and caught a ship to Labrynna, she disliked her chances of actually making it back to Link in one piece, when she had the might of the Hylian army on her side. Zelda might be able to avoid subsequent brainwashing herself, but her odds were too low. Besides, she’d just about harvested every seed she could get her hands on, who knew when the next batch would grow in? If only she still had some… 

Zelda’s eyes widened. Perhaps she still did! She hurried over to her meagre wardrobe, pulling out her neatly folded and unworn dress, shaking it out and sifting through the pockets, eyes gleaming as she laid fingers on something wrinkled and unpleasantly soft, not to mention the odour, but still intact. The mystery seeds she had left in her pockets were still there! Only three or four at most, in questionable condition, but they hadn’t rotted away just yet. And perhaps they would only grow more effective with age? Whatever the case may be, Zelda had no choice but to take a chance on them…

–

Zelda thanked her years of diplomatic training and experience for her ability to keep a poker face as she slowly but surely approached Link’s bedroom, carrying a delectable platter of bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit, and whatever else she could pile on before her arms gave out, ready for her mistress’s daily breakfast in bed with a secret snack ready for her in her pocket. Link tended to sleep in, giving Zelda plenty of time to perform her morning duties as a maid before providing her first of many meals for the day, and after three months of being her personal servant, she had figured out the sweet spot between Link waking up and when her hunger grew stronger than her sleepiness.

It was easy to tell when Link woke up, of course, as Link slept with a protective barrier around her entire room, sealing off the doorway and windows, and if one were to attempt to batter down the walls they’d find magic blocking their way instead. The obvious plan of simply force-feeding Link the seeds in her sleep was completely off the table, and Zelda found that Link could be deceptively alert whenever she took what appeared to be afternoon naps. Perhaps it was Link’s own instincts from so many nights sleeping out in the wilderness or a natural paranoia gained from being a would-be oppressive ruler, but Link had surprisingly few gaps in her armour. But the quickest way to a former man’s heart was her stomach, and so Zelda conspired to ambush her when her guard was lowest and she was barely awake.

Zelda was almost relieved when she found that she still had a few compulsions as a servant that drove her through the several hours of maid-work she had to perform before Link woke up, almost forgetting about her plan until she was on her way to the kitchen. Before she entered the room she allowed her eyes to glance just once towards her pocket. One second, one second was all she needed to reach down, grab the seeds, and splatter them across Link’s face. Then the final seed in her other pocket, if the first batch wasn’t enough, could be crammed between Link’s fat lips while she was stunned and disoriented. Three should be more than enough, as Link had originally described a single seed as enough to displace Veran’s spirit. Zelda hoped for both their sake that this would be the case here.

“Good morning, mistress.” Zelda announced herself as always as she opened the door, hoping that she’d hear nothing but snores in response. She didn’t get that, but got the next best thing: a half-hearted wave from the bed where Link was sprawled out to indicate that she was barely awake yet ready to eat, Zelda unable to see her face past her big blue gut, the warm summer meaning that Link was uncovered save for the thin white negligee she wore purely for comfort, as it obscured none of her bulging blue flesh nor preserved more than the slightest hit of her modesty. In Zelda’s opinion, if that gut got any saggier, she wouldn’t have to wear anything to cover herself down below in the first place.

Zelda resisted the urge to take a deep breath and took a step forward, then another, same as always, her face an impassable mask of devoted pleasure, practically gawking at her mistress’s beauty and full of joy that she got to share the same room as her, her anxiety totally hidden. She was almost halfway across the room now. Another step, inching ever closer, and then… Zelda stopped. Her foot hit the ground on the rug before Link’s bed, then refused to take another.

Zelda began to sweat uncontrollably as she tried to raise her leg again, but it was as if her feet were nailed to the ground.

“M-mistress?” Zelda squeaked out, unable to make her hands break their death grip on the platter.

“Oh, Zelda. Dear, sweet, foolish Zelda.” Link sighed, yawning as she pulled herself upright and rubbed her eyes. Zelda’s first look at Link’s face that morning was one of an evil smirk plastered across her fat face, her drooping second chin doing little to make her look any friendlier. “Was this truly the best plan you could come up with? Even with that delectable breakfast you’ve brought me, I could smell those revolting seeds practically before you entered the room.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, mistress.” Zelda gasped, her composure completely broken, Zelda unable to successfully lie to a child in her state, as if she’d had her hand caught in the cookie jar and crumbs all over her face. “I’ve just come to bring you breakfast-”

“You don’t need to play dumb, princess.” Link chuckled, laboriously swinging her feet over the side of her bed and grunting as she took the increasingly large effort of standing herself up. “I should think it’s quite self-evident!”

Zelda grit her teeth as Link let out a round of deep, haughty laughter that sent her whole body wobbling, but was unable to so much as twitch below the neck.

“So, princess.” Link said, once her body finally stilled. “When did my charms wear off? A day ago? A week? A month?”



Zelda remained silent.

“Must be no more than a day or two.” Link guessed correctly. “If those seeds were a month younger, they probably wouldn’t be so pungent you gave yourself away. No matter, I’ll just have to refresh you every now and then and we won’t have any more little rebellions to worry about. I suppose I’ll ask you where you’ve been keeping those seeds after that.”

Zelda could do nothing more than grit her teeth and listen. What could she say? She had one chance, and botched it completely.

“But first, let’s get you outside before you stink up my room, shall we?” Link said, lazily flicking her finger towards the door which Zelda marched robotically through. This wasn’t like some kind of mind control forcing her to unconsciously move her limbs, Zelda was being literally puppeteered by Link, manipulating each limb by magic one by one.

 Link followed a cautious distance away, but Zelda felt she could have been practically rubbing against her and she wouldn’t have been able to reach for the seeds. Telekinesis wasn’t the most difficult of magic tricks, but even so Link should have required some sort of visible motion to perform it, enough of a wind-up that Zelda could have reacted somehow. Had she truly become so powerful she could control others without even looking at them?

Knowing she had precious few seconds before she was mentally subjugated again, Zelda managed to twist her neck far enough to

“Link, it’s not too late to stop this.” Zelda said, and Link paused.

“You’re right, princess.” Link said, pursing her lips. “It’d be easier to have you walk yourself the rest of the way.”

Zelda made the mistake of making eye contact before she could so much as cry out for her to wait, her barely opened jaw going slack as her eyes glazed over in response to Link’s vivid gaze. All was quiet for a few seconds, then Zelda’s eyes lit up as Zelda suddenly looked horrified.

“Mistress! I’m so terribly sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking!” Zelda babbled out as quickly as she could, as if she had been holding in a breath and was desperately gasping it out. “Please forgive me-”



“No need to blubber, princess, you weren’t in your right mind.” Link said, her smirk interrupted by her nose wrinkling once again. “I would accept a few more apologies from you, but we’ll talk after we’ve gotten rid of those seeds, if you don’t mind. Just being near you is making me lose my appetite.”



Zelda doubled her pace, and the two were soon out in the garden, where the cool wind was blowing away from Link and assuring that the fumes wouldn’t so much as fill her nostrils.

“They’re in this pocket, and this one.” Zelda helpfully pointed out, standing a good distance away from Link. “How would you like me to dispose of them, mistress?”

“Don’t take them out, you foolish little girl. Do you wish to make your mistress gag?” Link rolled her eyes. “Take it off, the whole dress.”



Zelda obediently stripped without a word, carefully folding her black dress as she exposed her flabby body for all to see.

“Shall I take the rest off too, mistress?” Zelda asked cheerfully, standing in nothing more than her bra, panties, and thigh-high stockings. Her pot belly sagged out over the hem of her underwear, while her bra was pushed tight with her flesh starting to exceed the outdated garment’s limits. Her thick thigh-flesh was pinched tight by her stockings, and even without her tight collar it was obvious that Zelda was forming the beginnings of a second chin. Link appreciated her form for a moment and seriously considered it, then shook her head.

“Step away, princess.” Link warned her. She might have had a low opinion of the former princess, but she certainly didn’t want to so much as to singe her beautiful, chubby body. That was a potential backup for her own spirit should something happen to her beautiful original body, after all. Link snapped her fingers, the maid dress going up in flames with the seeds in them, soon to be nothing more than a pile of ash.

“I’m afraid I only had one of those, mistress.” Zelda informed her as she glanced down at her tender flesh.



“Do today’s work in your underwear if you have to, then see the tailor.” Link brushed her off. “I doubt anybody will complain about getting to see a pretty woman like you like that. Were they capable of complaining in the first place, of course.”



Zelda beamed at the compliment.

“If you like it so much, I could always serve you like this, mistress!” She suggested.

“You don’t get it, princess.” Link sighed. “It’s better to hide than to reveal, you see. If you spent every day like that we’d all just get used to it and it wouldn’t be any fun anymore. And it’d be a problem if the kingdom’s supposed princess gained a reputation for being a pervert.”

“But you’re always showing off, mistress.” Zelda pouted.

“My body is a gift to be shared with the world. It would be nothing less than criminal to cover it up any more.” Link’s smugness could be felt from the next room over. “Besides, this is my brilliant fashion sense, I’m not just prancing around in my underwear. Aside from right now, of course, but whose fault is that?”

Zelda giggled. Her mistress was so smart, clever, and most of all benevolent. She must have been stupid, thinking she was some sort of evil tyrant that needed to be stopped.

“Now, where were you keeping those seeds in the first place?” Link asked, crossing her arms and squashing her huge breasts against her bulging bicep flesh.

“They were in my royal attire, mistress.” Zelda quickly informed her. “I hadn’t touched it since you, um… Brainwashed me?”

Link raised an eyebrow.

“Showed me the error of my ways!” Zelda hurriedly corrected herself. “In any case, I took it off and only remembered they were in there after your, um, magic wore off. Which was only last night, by the way. I think that your magic should be good for about three months before you need to refresh me on how glorious you are! Do feel free to do it more often though, if you like!”

“And you don’t have any others floating around, do you?”



“Not anything I could use on you, mistress. With these gone, I’m completely out of options.” Zelda shook her head. “I’d thought about planting a tree, but…”



“But it wouldn’t bear fruit for at least a hundred or so years.” Link smirked. “Then there’s nothing to fear, perhaps besides the stains on that dress.”

“I’ll fetch it for you to destroy immediately, mistress.” Zelda said helpfully, Link shaking her head.

“And interrupt my breakfast any more than you already have? I’ll have you do it yourself.”

Link beckoned Zelda over, then pressed her finger to her forehead for a second. When she brought it away, a faded emblem was placed on her forehead, matching the mark on Zelda’s belly.

“I’ve blessed you with just a hint of my power, princess. Enough for you to burn that dress away.” Link said. “Right now you shouldn’t be able to even conceive rebelling against me, so I’ll trust you with a few embers. Just in case, when you’re done, come back and I’ll top you up, just to be sure. Don’t forget to bring second breakfast!”

Zelda could hear Link’s laughter echo down the hallway as the two went opposite directions, Zelda dutifully fetching her dress, making sure to avoid touching any part that might have any hint of seed residue left on it. It wasn’t like it fit her anymore anyway, Zelda thought wistfully as she gazed down at her chubby belly. Although she didn’t question her mistress’s tastes she had… mixed feelings about her impending obesity. Perhaps she should have argued that it would be more fun if her mistress kept a skinny potential vessel for her to enter then start from scratch on. But her mistress would occasionally espouse the virtues of plus-plus-plus-sized women when praising her own engorged body, and the idea of becoming closer to her beloved mistress excited Zelda as well. Perhaps she’d grow into the idea.

Soon enough Zelda was back where she started in the garden, and tossed the dress out onto the ground, and with a snap of her fingers and a pleasant rush of magic flowing through her body, something she hadn’t felt in months, her dress was no more. Zelda misjudged the direction of the wind in her haste to destroy it and the scent of overripe seed filled her nose, mixed in with the fouller smell of the smoke. It granted Zelda a precious moment of clarity, one not enough to be useful, but just enough for her to feel intensely frustrated at how poorly things had gone.

Granting her enough magic to spark a blaze was totally unnecessary, Zelda realised through gritted teeth as the mark faded from her forehead, and any residual magic with it. She could just as easily have disposed of it with a single match, or crushed the seeds beneath her heel and washed off the residue, or any other method one could think of. Giving Zelda even a hint of her magic back was a risk, one that Zelda could have easily used against her with her guard down. Perhaps she could have set Link’s dress ablaze instead, then used the seeds on her when she was startled, used a wind spell to blow the scent of them in her face, or something, anything other than obediently burning her lifeline away. Link was vain and overconfident, but she was no fool when it came to protecting herself. This was yet another mark of mockery, to say that she could easily give Zelda her magic back as easily as she had taken it, while leaving her so addled she couldn’t even conceive of using it against her.

Zelda would have continued to gnash her teeth and regret, but the wind picked up and the breeze pushed the smoke the other way, and with it the scent that jolted Zelda’s senses. Her jaw slackened and her furrowed brow relaxed, lips curling into a smile. Thank goodness she had burned those seeds right away, just a whiff of their scent had her thinking dangerously independent thoughts! She had used up all of her magic just as mistress Link had wanted, and now the last threat to her reign was well and truly gone, and those nasty traitorous thoughts had been driven right out of her head.

Standing proudly in her underwear, Zelda shivered now that the heat from the fire was gone. Time to go get her hypnosis reapplied and see what she could do to make it up to her mistress in the coming months, and preferably find a new uniform as quickly as possible afterwards…

–

The royal carriage trundled down to the end of the dirt road, a small crowd of peasants assembled at the entrance to the village as they waited in anticipation for the ornate carriage, closed off from the world and surprisingly large, to arrive.

“We’re here, mistress.” Zelda said, gently tapping Link and stirring her with a yawn. 

“It certainly took long enough. Tired me out just getting here.” Link said, her giant ass firmly planted on what could have been easily voted one of the top five most comfortable seats in Hyrule, the interior of the carriage decorated almost as finely as the royal bedroom. “And remember, no calling me mistress in public.”



“I wouldn’t dare, mistress.” Zelda said eagerly, Link sighing as she smoothed out her skirt and glanced out of the carriage.

“Wish we’d parked closer.” She grumbled as she let Zelda step out first. It had been over six months since she had magically dominated the princess, but it was still far from time to let the public know that. As far as this quaint village knew, the princess had taken it upon herself to visit them and address the drought they had been experiencing, with the help of her most trusted sorceress and advisor, the mysterious blue-skinned Link.

“We’re so glad you could make it, princess. Truly, we can’t thank you enough for visiting us in our time of need.” the mayor said, having been hovering outside the cart next to the horses. The drivers in charge of the horses stared off into space, thoroughly hypnotised, although thankfully the villagers were far too distracted to notice.

“Don’t thank me, sir.” Zelda said, trying to keep her composure and a princess-like dignity to herself in public, still getting used to wearing her finery again. She felt her hefty gut bounce and her bust practically land upon it as she took the last step off the carriage, the now well and truly overweight princess starting to feel her own heft. “Thank my most trusted and powerful sorceress for lending her magical talents to your humble village. Were it not for her, there would be precious little I could do to help you.”

“Oh dear princess, you sell yourself short.” Link laughed, her smug voice ringing out loud enough for all the assembled to see. The carriage visibly lurched as she placed a foot onto the steps down, then again when she took another. Whatever bounce Zelda had had was quadrupled as the obese sorceress exited gut first, then breasts, and then finally her puffy, bloated face and her long blonde hair that contrasted with her deep blue skin that unsettled most of those who saw it. “I’m sure with a dozen or so years of hard work and tutoring, you could begin to reach half my level!

She was a larger than life sight, or close to it. Her imposing purple sleeves with their huge spikes, borrowed from Veran’s outfit, cut a menacing figure contrasted by how soft the rest of her was, not far off from a half-ton as the better part of a year of gorging weighed heavily on what might have otherwise been a beautifully petite frame. Her whole body drooped under its own weight, her gut shoved out so far she could hardly reach her own navel-piercing, a huge blue sapphire taken directly from Ruto on their last visit. She had fingers covered in a rainbow of jewel-encrusted rings, and triforce-shaped gold earrings dangling near her neck-fat as a token show of allegiance towards the kingdom. The only modest part of her was her skirt, a traditional lower half of a dress that nonetheless had her muffin top bulge over the sides and made the dimensions of her beanbag-sized ass cheeks quite apparent. Her massive breasts wrapped in a barely adequate bra-like top left the peasantry awestruck whether they appreciated them or not, and Link made sure to puff out her chest as much as she could with so much weighing her down. Dark lipstick and smoky mascara decorated her face, and even the most common peasant could tell that she seemed to naturally look down on people. Link smiled as she looked at them, not for what she could do for them, but what they could do for her, and they could tell, if only subconsciously.

All in all, the joy of seeing the princess was tempered by her unproven companion, looking for all the world like a wicked witch, albeit an overfed one. Not that the princess was looking particularly underfed these days, either. Later, a few would suspect that the princess’s eating habits had been affected by her favoured advisor who she seemed to trust more than life itself, which was technically not incorrect.

“Still, she’s doing it under your orders ain’t she? Ain’t no way we’d afford somebody like her without you. Them magician-types don’t come cheap. She sure looks like she don’t.” The mayor’s corpulent wife pointed out, feeling a little more secure in her weight after seeing how plump the princess had turned out to be after she met her for the first time. She’d spent the last goodness knows how many years hearing about how slender and idealised the princess was, only for her to roll up to their humble home looking like an overstuffed pig, with a cherubic face, healthy second chin, and a gut that had taken herself a couple of pregnancies to achieve. 

“Nonsense, I do it purely out of the good of my own heart and concern for my common Hylian citizen. I don’t require a single rupee from you, although your finest food and wine might make for a good celebration when I’m done” Link said, holding her hand to her half-uncovered chest, her fat arm squashing just from a little bit of a bend as it looked thicker than a leg of ham. “Why, farming might be the most noble job in all of Hyrule! We’d all go hungry without you, after all.”

The gathered peasants appreciated the praise from such an ostentatious woman, although all privately felt that she looked like she hadn’t gone hungry for a single day in her life. Perhaps that gave her an even greater appreciation for the culinary arts and a keen sense of self-awareness that it took serious effort to support her lifestyle… Maybe. The village wondered just how much of their output ended up in her gut alone, knowing that a good amount went directly to the castle. It had to be a good portion, didn’t it?

As a whole, the reactions to Link were apprehensive at best.

“Are we sure we can trust her?”

“The princess brought her, so she must be on the up and up. Sure, she’s a little… odd, but the princess wouldn’t let us down.”

“She looks like a wicked witch from a storybook!”

“She’s huge! And blue! I ain’t never seen anybody blue before ‘cept for the Zoras!”

“Think she’s half-Zora? Ain’t they mostly white with just a little blue?”



“She’s so fat!”

“Where’d she come from anyway?”

“Ah hem.” Link loudly cleared her throat, making it clear that she could hear the mutters of the crowd around her. “I understand your concerns, as I imagine this may be the first time you’ve seen a magic user of any renown, let alone one of my splendour. But fear not, citizens, for I am not here to harm you.”

Link’s lips twitched as she saw the sceptical faces of the assembled. Well, actions spoke louder than words, she supposed.

“Behold, good citizens of Hyrule! I shall restore your harvest to you as you deserve!” Link bellowed, hands held high above her hair as magical energies swirled around her in a veritable lightshow, perhaps deliberately exaggerated as the lights eventually drew together and then shot up into the sky in a thundering pulse that startled the crowd. Within a few moments clouds started to form, then grew dense, then after being instructed to wait a few minutes, droplets finally began to drop from the sky, breaking the village’s drought. 

“When your crops grow full and heavy this harvest, merely think of the master of the magic arts, LInk!”

“Ain’t that a boy’s name?” Somebody whispered much louder than they intended.

“It can be a girl’s name too!” Link snapped somewhat sensitively. “Linkle isn’t uncommon!”

There was cheering as a reasonable shower began, not too heavy, but not too light to be little more than a party trick. The crowd began to celebrate, the mayor taking Zelda’s hand, only for Zelda to shake her head and point towards Link as the receptacle of his intended praise.

Technically, Zelda reluctantly thought to herself as she enjoyed watching the once frightened crowd start to warm up to Link, she did deserve some praise, loathe as she was to give it to herself instead of heaping it onto Link. Link had merely stated that it was time for some good PR and to enact her plan to ingratiate herself to Hyrule and to find her somebody in need, and Zelda had quizzed her on the various types of magic at her disposal and what was most likely to make a splash. Some rainshowers here, clearing out a rockslide there, and putting on a bit of a show along the way. A good way to introduce Link to Hyrule proper, rather than simply coop herself up in the castle all day building up her powers.  And Link had grown powerful indeed, the very proposition of conjuring up rainshowers far above Zelda’s current paygrade as a magic-user. It was a good thing it was being used for Hyrule, and not against it.

“The entire village thanks you, your highness and your… magical-ness.” The mayor said while some of the villagers ran off to see if the clouds really did extend over their own fields. “Although… it pains me to say it, but just one day’s worth of rainfall isn’t enough to undo this drought.”

“It should be a start.” Link said confidently. “The princess and I are in the middle of touring Hyrule, doing good deeds and whatnot as my powers allow it. I shall return to your humble village on the way back, and grant you more rain. With any luck that should keep you going until the end of the season.”



“But what if that’s not enough either?” He asked apprehensively. “We can’t possibly ask you to come back here every single time we don’t have enough rain.”

“I suppose I can do something to assuage your concerns.” This, is a Zora waterstone.” Link said, reaching into a hidden pocket and holding out a sapphire-like stone that glistened as if it were covered in due and felt damp to the touch, yet her hand seemed perfectly dry. “The Zora royalty use these to create a comfortable living environment when they travel. A sphere of water on-demand, so to speak. I’ve modified it a little for agricultural purposes. Just make sure it feeds into your irrigation system and it should provide enough water to keep you going for a few weeks. If it does run out, you should be able to last until you can fetch me.”

She casually placed it in the mayor’s hands, who stared at it like she’d just handed him a real gemstone.

“This must cost a fortune!” He exclaimed. “Are you sure we can afford something like this?”

Link shrugged. “It was a personal gift from Princess Ruto herself, and she was more than happy to let it change hands. I’m sure she won’t mind if I pass it on again.”

Link laughed, making the otherwise thankful group a little uncomfortable with just how haughty she sounded, others transfixed with how her sagging gut wobbled with each chortle, others with the jiggle of her overflowing bust, and yet more with how each laugh reverberated down her immensely soft body. Of course, Ruto hadn’t exactly been of sound mind when she found herself in a hurry to offer tribute to Link, but that was beside the point.

“That should keep them going until the natural rain picks up again.” Link said to Zelda as they parted from the celebrating group, the rain conspicuously avoiding wherever the two stepped.

“Your generosity knows no bounds, mistress.”



“First impressions are important, and based on my divinations this drought should pass by the end of the season. I doubt they’ll be needing to call upon my help again any time soon, although we’ll make an appearance just to show that we care.” Link said rather cunningly, planning her return route around Hyrule already. “And if they do require any favours, all the better.”



“Still, the stone does seem rather valuable to give up.” Zelda mentioned.

“It’s not like Ruto was using it for anything particularly productive.” Link shrugged. “A portable pool of water? Just draw yourself a bath if you need to sleep with some water in your gills so badly.”

“That might be a tall order for her father.” Zelda pointed out.

“The king? Travel? That’ll be the day.” Link snorted dismissively. “I’ve never seen him go anywhere quickly in his life. Now! Is there anybody else who needs the services of a master sorceress? No feat is too large or small for Hyrule’s finest wielder of magic!”



Zelda smiled as Link called out towards the crowd with her arms outstretched, proud of Link both in her sycophantic consciousness and subconsciously. While she had a nefarious ulterior motive in winning over the people of Hyrule, a good deed was a good deed, and Link had planned her campaign around who needed her services the most urgently rather than simply whatever would give her the best PR, starting with a tour of the struggling farms that dotted Hyrule and ending with the major population centres.



Of course, deep within Zelda was another concern. By the end of this everybody in Hyrule would know Link’s name, making her a major figure in Hyrule. If others came seeking her help rather than them coming to her, they would grow even more indebted to her. As long as Link was purely altruistic this was no issue, but if she started asking for favours in return… Not to mention, if Link started as a force of good but slowly became greedy or exploited her station enough to earn the ire of the citizenry, it might be difficult for Zelda to regain the people’s trust. Of course, Zelda’s brain was currently wired to be totally uncritical towards Link, and these thoughts wouldn’t surface for another few weeks when Link’s grip on Zelda weakened, and they wouldn’t last long before Zelda’s hypnosis was refreshed. All Zelda could do was hope that Link’s lethargy outpaced her ambitions…

–

“Happy anniversary, princess.”



Zelda paused as she placed down the platter with her mistress’ brunch on it, loaded with bread, cheese, wine, and a number of sweet pastries to satisfy her cravings after the main course. Link was looking at her, even more smug than usual. She was wedged atop the throne this morning, a somewhat infrequent occurrence, on account of how there was really no purpose other than for Link to enjoy the thrill of reminding herself that she was in charge. With the entire castle thoroughly hypnotised including visitors who wouldn’t question seeing a distinctly bluer woman perched on the throne, there wasn’t really anybody to show off to. Nobody, of course, except for Zelda.

“Forgive my ignorance, mistress,” Zelda said apologetically as she handed her her first wine glass of many for the day, “But what anniversary would this be?”

“I’m surprised you weren’t keeping track, princess.” Link remarked. “It’s the one year anniversary of you willingly abdicating to me! Congratulations on a full year of being relieved of your duties!”



But I’ve still been doing my duties. Zelda couldn’t help but think with half her mind. She just sits on the throne telling me to do it for her.

As was the right of a ruler to delegate, Zelda’s other half of her mind reminded herself.

“My, has it been a whole year already?” Zelda raised her hand to her mouth in surprise. “I’ve been so busy serving you that I wasn’t keeping an eye on it at all! Congratulations, mistress! To a year of prosperity for Hyrule!”

“Yes, I have been doing a good job, haven’t I?” Link smirked with thick purple lips, a glossy sheen from her favourite shade of lipstick accentuating her self-satisfaction. “The people adore me, thanks to all those miracles I’ve been performing.”

“That they do, mistress.” Zelda beamed quite genuinely. She was very proud of her selfless mistress for using her magic in productive ways even past her initial PR tour, cementing herself in the public mind. She was well known far and wide now for her distinctively large and blue image and her magical feats. Pompous and haughty, with a tendency to throw celebrations in her wake and expect a feast upon her arrival, but if you had a problem she could resolve it with a flick of her wrist, and you’d even get to meet the princess while she was at it. So far, it was all good PR for Link. Hopefully she doesn’t decide it’s time to cash it in…

“Even you’ve been able to share the prosperity from your position as lowly maid.” Link continued.

“That I… certainly have, mistress. As you desire.” Zelda’s smile was slightly strained. She loved seeing her big, beautiful witch of a mistress, but no amount of hypnosis could fill her with enough enthusiasm for watching her own second chin grow just a little thicker by the day, her gut digging into her apron’s sash, her thighs starting to rub together and her breasts demanding a new bra every other week.

“If you’re enjoying it so much, I could double your diet. Catch you up a bit to your mistress.”

“Oh, I couldn’t, mistress! Anything but that!” Zelda involuntarily let herself slip. I can’t let her turn me into even more of a pig than she already has! “I, um, would be taking away from your meals!”

“It’s a big castle, with plentiful serving staff.” Link shrugged. “I’m sure I won’t notice the difference, and you’d look even more splendid.”

“Oh no, why, I’d get a stomach ache at the idea that I could potentially be taking away from your just desserts.” Zelda insisted. “Trust me mistress, keeping you well fed demands nearly all of our resources.”



“Very well. I suppose with how much time you spend running back and forth from the kitchen, I should defer to your knowledge. I suppose that if I’m forced into your skinny body, I could enjoy catching back up.” Link said slightly reluctantly. She had no reason to believe that her sycophantic servant was trying to worm out of the situation, between her constant adoration of her and her total lack of resistance in the months since her unsuccessful purification attempt. It had gotten to the point where Link’s reapplications of hypnosis had gone from once a week to once a month or so, seeing little reason to constantly top her back up when she showed no signs of cracking. So far her leniency hadn’t made much of a difference either way.

Zelda suppressed a deep sigh of relief. She was going to get ever fatter, but at least she wouldn’t be bloating up nearly as fast as her half-ton mistress. She did feel slightly bad about deceiving her, but even her hypnotised self had limits. It also made her feel good to know that her mistress relied on her. Of course she needed to rely on her, she just waved her hands and expected everything to be done for her. If it weren’t for all that magic she’d be helpless. But the whole point of a ruler was that the kingdom bent over backwards for them! What was the point of being royalty if you didn’t get to enjoy it?

“Don’t worry though, I’ll address your concerns.” Link said suddenly, Zelda freezing. “I’ll have the amount of foodstuffs delivered to the castle doubled! Then you can indulge without worrying yourself about me. Think of it as my reward for your good service.”

“...Thank you, mistress.” Zelda wished she were brainwashed harder at that exact moment.

“You know princess, I was thinking we should do something to celebrate the anniversary.” Link said, casually twirling her glass of wine as she sat atop the throne, something she did somewhat less than often these days. 

“An excellent idea, mistress.” Zelda perked back up.

You praised her without even knowing what the idea was, said a small voice from inside Zelda. If only I realised how ridiculous I sound.

Can’t you keep quiet while I’m working?. Zelda responded to her errant thoughts. It must have been that time of the month again, when her mistress’ enchantment started to fade and she began to have blasphemous thoughts that being enchanted by a blue-skinned usurper wasn’t actually a good thing. Zelda made the mistake of trying to assert herself to her other half. It’s a foregone conclusion that all of mistress’s ideas are excellent ones. Hearing what it actually is is a mere formality.

“Foolish princess, I haven’t even told you what it is yet.” Link laughed. 

See?

Zelda’s second chin quivered a little in embarrassment.

“Now, without further ado…” Link began.

She looks very proud of herself. I’m sure it’s going to be another foolish idea I have to stop. Her sceptical thoughts responded as Link smugly beamed at her and then started to explain.

Mistress would never say anything foolish! Impractical, perhaps, but only because her great ambition gets ahead of her. The controlling Zelda snapped at herself. Now you behave yourself in front of the mistress! The only reason why I don’t have you stamped out right this instant is because I don’t want to ruin the mistress’ mood.

Don’t worry, I know how to behave. I don’t have much choice, do I? You know I do a good job when you aren’t in charge. Her rebellious self said with figurative crossed arms. For however long that is before Link blasts me to the back of my mind for another month. 

Only because mistress has you so utterly defeated that there’s no room for you to irritate her. Zelda smugly responded to herself. And that’s that. So you may as well admit your foolishness here and now!

I suppose there’s nothing more foolish than arguing with myself. Her other self admitted. What do I hope to accomplish?

“...and I think it would make a fine addition to the kingdom, don’t you think, princess? Princess?” Link interrupted her internal argument with a wave of her hand, the bloated blue skin snapping Zelda back to reality.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry, mistress! Could you repeat yourself?” Zelda seemed mortified. “I, um, I was… I was…”

“Distracted? Yes, I know I’m irresistable, but you can’t just stare at my ever-improving body while I’m trying to explain my brilliant idea to you.” Link sighed, her ego saving Zelda from suspicion. It was a good thing she couldn’t think about anything but herself.

“It’s difficult to ignore you, mistress.” Zelda blushed. Link consumed the throne with her bulk, her muffin top spilling out onto the armrests as she’d become too large to do more than squeeze herself into it. Each thigh was as thick as the male Link’s waist on their own, and being laid down caused the fat to squash out even wider, piled high into two blobs that one would have struggled to wrap their arms around. Link had invited Zelda to try once when bragging about how big she’d gotten and how opulent her body was, and the experience had left poor Zelda red in the face and wishing she had a pillow half as comfortable in her bedroom. Zelda made a note to herself to hire somebody to make a bigger throne.

Putting aside her pillow-sized breasts or her tremendous shoulder-to-shoulder wide belly, even Link’s face itself was harder to ignore than ever, if only in a literal sense by virtue of how much space it consumed. Her second chin was getting so big that it was beginning to replace her neck altogether, with cheeks that Zelda couldn’t have hoped to cover even with her own hands, which themselves were quite a bit thicker than they used to be. She was very used to seeing those cheeks squished against her pillow or by her fat hand as she dozed off, totally vulnerable if only she were capable of actually doing anything to her.

“And yet you were just doing so.” Link pointed out, enjoying how frazzled Zelda was. “But I can’t help but notice that this isn’t the first time you’ve done this lately.”



“It’s nothing to worry about, mistress!” Zelda rushed to reassure her. Sometimes when she was around her mistress when the magic weakened she ended up in a mental shouting match with herself “I just… get lost in thought every now and then.”

“Perhaps enchanting you over and over has taken its toll on your dull mind.” Link mused. “The rest of the people in this castle have been hypnotised for so long they couldn’t even tell you their own names without written instructions. It puts them in a convenient state for me, but I need you to be able to hold a conversation.”

“I assure you that I’m sound of mind, mistress! I’m sharp as ever and your most faithful servant!” Zelda said desperately. “I must just be a little tired, that’s all!”

 Why was she making it harder for herself by not just saying that her hypnosis was slipping? She really did need it fixed, or that rebellious Zelda would creep up on her and seize control and… then what? She couldn’t do anything to harm her mistress anyway. Why be so concerned? Perhaps the quality of her service would slip. Yes, that would be a good reason to keep herself in check.

“Well, do tell if it starts to become a problem.” Link said, sounding slightly softer than usual. “My most faithful servant should be in her best condition. ”

“I’ll be sure to, mistress.” Zelda promised. Like hell I’m telling you anything that would put me at a disadvantage. But it was good to know that her mistress did seem genuinely concerned for her health. It probably wouldn’t be any fun if she didn’t have at least one person she could gloat to that didn’t stare blankly back at her like a doll. Or maybe she just realises how much of the heavy lifting she did. Or maybe she was just genuinely concerned. Well, it didn’t really matter either way. It’d be nice if it was, though.

“Now, about my most wonderful idea to celebrate.” Link got back to business, and Zelda was all ears this time. “Remember Ambi’s Tower, back in Labrynna?”



“You mean the Black Tower?” Zelda said cautiously. “That was Veran’s idea, if I recall correctly.”



“Yes, and a rather splendid one at that. To reach the heavens and gain ultimate power? What an inspired idea!” Link said with very little self-awareness for her own claims that she was not influenced by Veran’s spirit. “If we could make one ourselves, why, I’d have all the power I need to liberate the world in one fell swoop!”

“Absolutely not, mistress!” Zelda nearly shouted, wide-eyed and shocking even Link with her outburst.

“And why not, oh most faithful servant?” Link narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“It’s merely a matter of logistics, oh wise and beautiful mistress.” Zelda said swiftly, mind racing. “The Black Tower took hundreds of years to finish with practically slave labour, remember? Surely it can’t be the fastest way of achieving your plans.”



“Oh, right.” Link looked like she had been so pleased with her own idea that she’d come up with over a few glasses of wine that she hadn’t thought about the scale of the project. “And here I was thinking it would stimulate the local economy and make for a rather interesting monument…”



“I don’t think the kingdom could afford it, mistress.” Zelda said, relaxing a bit. It had been an extremely foolish idea after all. Link occasionally had ideas like this, grand plans that were inevitably shot down by Zelda for their impracticalities. But this one was more worrying, another sign that behind the laziness lurked malevolence. Zelda had been fortunate that.

“What a shame. And here I’d wanted to do something big for the anniversary.” Link pouted like a child. “But time is a cruel mistress after. Perhaps I could possess Nayru like Veran did, pop into the future for a bit and see the project once it’s complete.”



Maybe I should encourage that one. Zelda seriously considered. If she stayed in the future, Hyrule would be free of her for a few hundred years… No, I couldn’t. Nayru’s time travel doesn’t work like that, she’d just come back and forth.

“You don’t seriously plan to abandon your lovely body, do you mistress?” Zelda tried to appeal to vanity.

“Of course not. It was just an idle thought, to possess Nayru…” Link trailed off. “Possess Nayru, possess Nayru…”



Link suddenly began to laugh, her usual smugness echoing down the hall.

“Mistress?” Zelda asked cautiously.

“I’ve just come up with the next best thing, princess…” Link smiled evilly…

–

Zelda’s morning routine began, as it had for a number of months she was starting to lose count of, just before the crack of dawn. The reason why it was just before was because her day officially started at dawn, leaving her with a precious few minutes to, by her extremely strict standards, enjoy the experience of sleeping in. Not actually sleep in, she hadn’t done that since she caught a cold and her endlessly benevolent mistress allowed her to take a few days off on the grounds that she didn’t want Zelda getting her infected too, something Zelda had made up for with by working twice as hard as soon as she recovered. It was more a facsimile of sleeping in, the idea that not leaping out of bed as soon as she regained consciousness counted.

The light crept into her room after a few minutes of bliss, and Zelda was able to see the slope of her engorged gut, a silhouette of flab as she laid on her back. After one year and seven months, give or take a few weeks, Zelda had managed to almost triple her starting weight, and was a certified fatass. Her thunder thighs shook with each step, her hips rocking and wobbling under her skirt as her belly protruded proudly in a smooth bulge that sagged down halfway between her hips and her knees when it wasn’t being contained by her dress. Her hips were wide enough that her bed was starting to become inadequate, and she could feel her cheeks deform whenever she laid the side of her head on her pillow, not to mention the weight of them sagging downwards. Tragically, her breasts hadn’t grown quite as much as she wanted. They were “merely” the size of her head by now and heavy to the touch, but it was easy for her to feel envious when you considered how big her mistress’s breasts were.

It had made her job as a maid trickier, as now she had so much extra girth to pilot, and it was impossible to squeeze into the smaller spaces she had once been able to easily access. Her only consolation prize was that she felt downright skinny when next to her whale of a mistress, the one who the very thought of prompted her to hurry up and get out of bed, wash herself,brush her hair, and proudly don her maid uniform. She gave herself a glance in the mirror as she did her hair up in a bun, remembering a time when her morning routine involved laying on expensive makeup and adorning herself with priceless jewels. Now all her jewels adorned Link, and she didn’t even have lip gloss. A humble appearance befitting a humble maid. So she was today, and so she would be tomorrow, with any luck.

She paused for a moment. No complaints or sarcasm from her disobedient self today. Good, her mistress’s magic was still holding. It was starting to get shorter each time, once being several months before it began to wear off, now in less than a month she would start to mortify herself with how rude her stray thoughts could get. But she couldn’t bring herself to mention it to her mistress, not even once. She knew it was an act of rebellion and that she should be requesting that Link hypnotise her more frequently than the inconsistent schedule of whenever she remembered to, but her other self had been able to win this one victory over her. The obedient Zelda had allowed it, on the condition that she perform her duties without any imperfections while the servant-self slept. After all, it had been over a year and a half, and Zelda hadn’t so much as scratched her. What could she possibly do now?

Zelda continued her morning routine, which was to do the earliest of the cleaning, and then head over to the kitchen to fetch her mistress’s breakfast. She entered mere moments after the barrier to her room went down, and then made sure that her mistress was well fed. Then, she asked an important question:



“Mistress Link,” She said as always once Link had exhausted her breakfast in bed, “would you like me to help you up, or should I come back later?”



“I think I’ll get up early today.” Link said, almost four hours after Zelda had gotten up. Sometimes it could be up to six.

Link very slowly began the process of swinging her legs over the side of the bed, hips wide enough that she’d need two of Zelda’s mattresses to contain her colossal ass and thighs, then held out an extremely fat hand, all digits bloated like sausages and her palm puffy with extra padding. Zelda took it with her own fat but relatively compact hand, suppressing a grunt as she began to physically help Link to her feet, thankful that she’d only needed pulling up this time.

Link’s obesity was starting to get out of control. Her second chin had totally consumed her neck, unable to make any sort of movement without her neck and cheeks squashing this way and that. Her arms squished against some part of her body whenever she moved them unless she held them far out to their sides, where you could get the best look at her wings of flab, arms so plush and pillowy that they could barely be used for anything, save for stuffing herself. Zelda felt that her own arms were bloated, able to fit two or three of her original slender arms in one bicep, but you could barely see where the original arm began on Link’s immensity. It was impossible to imagine that these were once arms that could swing a sword, or that her gigantic legs could do anything more than awkwardly waddle forwards.



And not to mention her gut! That proud belly that sagged down to her knees, which formed two beautiful folds that you could lose your arm between. It was wider than her shoulders, which themselves had been spread further by fat, and she could barely reach her own navel should she want to. While Zelda occasionally lamented the size of her own belly by gathering it up in her arms and then letting it flop downwards, it would be an immense task to gather up all of Link’s belly flab, if she were even capable of lifting it with her feeble arms.

Link just barely fit through the common doorframe in the castle, and her mere presence dominated any room she was in with how much space she took up, whether it was her giant shelf of an ass that pushed its twin cheeks into a huge indent through her now somewhat tight dress and required custom-made chairs to support, her waist and its unending muffin top, or the belly that entered rooms well before its owner did. Perhaps it was the two massive breasts that rested on that belly, And this was less than two years of ruling! Zelda shuddered at how big her mistress would get in the future with her unrelenting appetite. With how she celebrated herself getting bigger and bigger, she couldn’t imagine her reducing her intake to stabilize her weight.

Although Link seemed to adore herself no matter how big she got, Zelda couldn’t help but worry that someday Link would find herself completely unable to move, and consider transporting her spirit into a comparatively lighter body like the princess. Then perhaps Zelda would wake up one day years later, also reduced to a beached whale as Link’s spirit moved onto the next beauty. Her servant self couldn’t help but shiver in delight at the idea of being her beautiful mistress, then used up and discarded at her leisure. Her more sensible half didn’t share those sentiments, but it was quiet for now.

“I imagine it’s a fine day for doing some reading in the garden.” Said Link, who took one slow step after another, coming down with heavy thuds on the carpet, sure to exhaust herself if she moved for more than a few minutes.

“I’m afraid it’s raining this morning, mistress.” Zelda regretfully informed her.

“Weather affects the common woman, not one as endowed as myself..” Link said, delighting in the privilege of what she was about to do. “Princess, fetch the Oracles.”

Link continued to waddle slowly towards the garden, giving Zelda ample time to waddle off herself and fetch her mistress’s two most prized possessions: the Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.

The three young women easily beat Link to the entrance to the garden, Zelda stepping out of the way of the two magical women as Link smugly placed a finger to her lips as she appreciated her collection.

“The dancer Din and the songstress Nayru await your command, mistress Link.” the two said in synchronised monotone voices, their faces expressionless and their eyes dull and glassy. The fire in Din’s eyes was all gone, as was the kindness in Nayru’s. Only obedience remained, the two not fortunate enough to maintain any of their personalities like Zelda had.

It had been even easier than hypnotising Zelda, the princess had found to her dismay. She merely had to pen a letter to the two of them inviting them to the castle for an innocent visit, but no sooner did they set foot in Castle Town were they ensnared in Link’s trap. Link’s magical influence had begun to extend beyond the castle by the end of the first year of her reign, subtly influencing the people within. Even Nayru and Din didn’t question the statue of Link erected in the town fountain, an obese sorceress enshrined in stone for all to see. It was an extremely abnormal sight that existed for no practical purpose other than to push Link’s luck and to show off to Zelda that she could do something so brazen and not hear a peep out of the populace thanks to magically convincing them that it was normal.

By the time they reached the castle grounds they were unable to stop themselves moving forward, and were reduced to nothing more than dolls by the time they stood in front of Link. For all their magical powers, they couldn’t resist her hypnosis. The two quickly became Link’s favourite possession, enjoying conquering them in a different way to how she enjoyed Zelda’s adoration and total devotion. She instead got immense satisfaction from seeing women with powers beyond even her own reach reduced to her puppets without a will of their own, and showed no sign of tiring of it. It was a natural state for the common folk to be her servants, but even the gifted being no better than them? It was a priceless sight.

Of course, like any good dolls, Link enjoyed playing with them and soon made her own improvements. The two were quickly clad in similar maid uniforms to Zelda, and instructed to eat as much as it took to catch up to the princess’s size. Zelda hadn’t complained about this, as it meant that her own portions remained the same despite Link making good on her promise to increase the castle’s intake, but the two had bloated up immensely and had gained a couple hundred pounds in just the seven months since they arrived.

And now, the two bloated Oracles stood before the garden, the rain pouring down and the clouds stretching on as far as the eye could see.

“Din, stop the rain and do something about these clouds.” Link instructed, Din obediently nodding and stepping forward.

She began to dance, moving easily despite her restrictive dress and bloated body. It was not half as elegant as it used to be, as her body bounced and jiggled this way and that with each movement, and her chunky thighs clapped against each other as she mimicked choreography intended for a woman less than half her size. Her expression on her doughy face didn’t change the whole time, her eyes blank and her face frozen as she twirled, but the dance served its purpose just the same. The rain came to a halt, and the clouds slowly started to part, clearing entirely around the entire castle. Din had shifted the very season around the castle, all so Link wouldn’t have to stay inside today. 

It was impossible to say what the season truly was anymore, as Link had demanded it be changed on a whim so often that the sun could be shining or the rain could be pouring from day to day with how unstable it was. But it was of no concern to Link, as she could just change it once again if it inconvenienced her.

“Nayru, dry the place out.” Link commanded next, Din stepping back and becoming stiff as a board as Nayru walked out into the garden.

She began to sing beautifully, her tones echoing out across the entire castle for only Link and Zelda to truly hear, as the minds of all other staff were too addled to appreciate such a beautiful voice. As pitch-perfect as she was, one could say there was a certain lack of passion to it, although Zelda suspected that this only made the music sweeter to Link’s ears. The water seemed to dry out in seconds, and the grass visibly grew in length, some of the flowers blooming while others wilted. Nayru had sped up time in the garden by weeks, just so that Link didn’t have to wait for the place to dry.

“Do you require more of us, mistress?” The two said in unison with their lifeless eyes, Zelda standing back wordlessly.

“That should be enough of a show for now.” Link decided, waddling to her chair in the now picturesque garden. “Princess, you can take them now.”



Zelda curtsied and beckoned for the two to follow, where they’d spend most of their regular days 

“Today we’ll dust the library.” Zelda instructed the two, who were perfectly obedient to her as she was promoted to head maid after the acquisition of the two. They weren’t allowed to do anything that might go against the mistress’s wishes of course, but by now Link trusted that Zelda was truly incapable of going against her. Although the two could manipulate time and the seasons, there wasn’t anything in their arsenal that could counter Link. If they could, they wouldn’t have needed him when he was a hero in the first place.

“Good morning, Miss Zelda.” came another familiar but emotionless voice, the head librarian, as the three quietly entered. “Is there anything you require of me today?”



“Not today, Farore. Mistress hasn’t finished the last books I asked for yet.” Zelda said to the chubby green-haired Oracle of Secrets who was reduced to being the castle bookkeeper after Link had decided that she wanted to own the full set. Link hadn’t been able to figure out any good use for her particular powers, or even what they really were, and had taken Zelda’s suggestion that she be put to work in the library once she’d been put into a maid uniform like the rest of them. She too had been fattened up for the sake of consistency, and Zelda personally felt that a cute round face suited the girl and her ball-like hair. 

“Actually…” Zelda decided after a few moments of thought, “Come help us with the cleaning. You can do the lower shelves. Din, Nayru, you do sections A and B, Farore and I will get to work on section C.”

It technically wasn’t part of her regular duties, Zelda thought as the pint-sized girl with a distinctly round apple shape and chest that seemed to resist most of the fat being piled onto her body waddled out from behind her counter, but Zelda saw no reason not to use an extra hand when it was at her disposal. Zelda had spent the first year of her tenure as a maid largely working solo, being deemed not the head maid but a particularly lowly one, beyond her status as Link’s personal maidservant. This meant that while she was officially in charge of most things that would directly affect Link on a day to day basis, she couldn’t recruit help to lighten her workload. She didn’t desire it at any point, being so overjoyed to be serving in the first place, but when Link had designated the Oracles to be under her command Zelda had relished the chance to increase her daily routine’s efficiency. With three hands (and Farore on occasion) Zelda could get even more done for her mistress! The idea of cutting down her workload so she could have more time to herself hardly occurred to her.

From Link’s perspective, it was mostly a matter of convenience. Zelda was the person she interacted with the most, therefore it paid to make sure that her favourite dolls were near Zelda or that she at least knew where they were most of the time. It was perhaps a demonstration of the trust that Zelda had gained, or rather the confidence that Link had that Zelda couldn’t use them against her. Of course, she had only given Zelda the power to order them around after making sure that they under no circumstance could use their powers against Link or in any way that could be used to subvert her. If she tried, they would first refuse, then seize Zelda and drag her straight to Link for an extra strong dose of hypnosis and likely a demotion. Naturally, this hadn’t come to pass just yet.

Zelda cleanly divided the library into thirds for the group to work on, and they all quietly and diligently dusted, cleaned the floor, and wiped down the tables for good measure. This was, as Zelda always felt in the back of her mind but ignored, a largely pointless task. The entire castle save for Link and Zelda didn’t have an independent thought between their heads, meaning that pretty much nobody was actually using any of the library’s facilities save for checking things in and out as necessary, which was usually performed by Zelda herself.

Link had come in once to browse for herself, Zelda recalled. After all, it was difficult to forget the site of her straining to get past her own bulk to reach the books, blue gut pressed flat against the shelves. She’d quickly deemed it too much of a pain, and relied on Zelda’s judgement for picking out what next to read, which was a task Zelda took very seriously. More reading meant more idle entertainment for Link, which meant that she was more likely to laze around, which meant that she was less likely to set her sights on places outside of Hyrule to occupy her attention.

“What now, miss Zelda?” All three asked in unison once their task was done, lining up in order from shortest to tallest. Farore was the roundest as Zelda had noted before, while Din had the widest hips of the three and a heavy gut that put the belly in belly-dancer and a pillowy yet surprisingly perky ass to match. Nayru had the largest breasts, something that Zelda felt a touch of envy over as the singer was still technically lighter than her, but failed to form an hourglass with her comparatively narrow hips (considerably wider than her shoulders) and sagging butt.

“Farore, you can return to your regular duties.” Zelda said, Farore nodding and wordlessly going back behind the counter. Zelda, in her lucid moments, felt a touch of guilt that it had been she herself who had suggested that Farore should be included in her collection, and had made sure that she got the easiest job. “Din, Nayru, head to the garden. Mistress is running low on those berries she likes.”

The dancer and songstress nodded perfectly in sync, wandering off while Zelda went to attend to her own duties. She’d go and check on them later, then bring them to Link to see if she desired their services.

One of the things that Link enjoyed most about her dolls was the sense of exclusivity. Din and Nayru had prided themselves on sharing their art with anybody who could see or hear them, and Link delighted in knowing that they had held dozens, soon to be hundreds of private performances just for her, Nayru’s beautiful voice muffled by the thick walls and Din’s dance held in rooms with thick stain-glass windows that one couldn’t even see her bulky silhouette through. The lack of true passion in Nayru’s voice improved the sound in her opinion, and Din’s emotionless face made her heart flutter with its doll-like quality, like a wind-up toy she had created with her magic.

It was the least she deserved, Link had lectured to them, unable to respond or even react. She had saved them, therefore they owed her some favours in return. It wasn’t a charity, and it was certainly better than being possessed by a sorceress or locked up in chains. After all, Link had laughed heartily, she didn’t hear either of them complaining about it now.

Of course, Link didn’t intend to keep her toys locked away all of the time. Link sometimes showed her generosity to the people of Hyrule Castle Town or sometimes wherever she was visiting by dazzling them with a show by the two Oracles… at least from her perception. Her personal tastes in expanded waistlines led to some somewhat confused viewers who were impressed by how mobile the dancing fat lady was but somehow unable to appreciate her performance thanks to it, and felt that the singing lady’s voice was beautiful, but her appearance would probably be improved with a hundred less pounds. Of course, those who appreciated those qualities made sure never to miss a show when Link sent them out believing that it would be good PR.

Of course, those who recognised the importance of the two would continue to circulate rumours about exactly how the princess had managed to gain the long-term employment of the two, or more specifically the sorceress Link who loudly credited herself with their public shows. Rumours abounded about her relationship with the princess, how Zelda couldn’t be seen anywhere without Link in tow, and that Link always seemed to take centre stage. Of course, nothing could be proven quite yet as Link had otherwise proven only benevolent, but she only grew more suspicious over time…

“I shall have to make some of the visiting nobles spread the good word about mistress to quell these rumours.” Zelda muttered to herself, having been thinking about the subject as she cleaned Link’s bedroom. Tomorrow she had a meeting with various influential members of the nobility who had sent her letters showing concern about how much influence her sorceress seemed to be gaining recently. Of course, they’d all fall in line once they were within the scope of Link’s magical field, but although Link had total control over both the castle and surrounding town, those outside couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the princess’s often odd behaviour.

It was a miracle that things hadn’t boiled over yet, Zelda thought to herself as she headed to the garden after putting her cleaning tools away. When Link had taken over, she couldn’t imagine that it would be the better part of two years and she was still content to focus on her self-indulgent lifestyle. Link occasionally mentioned her plans for a reign that spanned hundreds of years, so perhaps she just wasn’t in any kind of rush, still building up her powers that grew stronger by the day. Of course, from the servile Zelda’s perspective, this was just as much about keeping her mistress out of trouble as it was about keeping everybody out of trouble caused by the mistress. She didn’t have to worry about rebellions if she never did anything that required rebelling against, after all.

Zelda reached the garden, or rather the secondary, expanded garden that the castle had access to. There was the regular garden, designed purely for visual splendour with its rows of beautiful flowers and other plants, and then there was the more literal garden, attended to by various staff in order to provide Link with the absolute freshest food. 

Upon entering Zelda could hear Nayru’s voice ringing out over the area, even the hypnotised common gardeners smiling slightly at her pleasant tones. Of course, Nayru was here for more than just moral support: as she grew closer she could see some of the plants and vines visibly growing before her eyes, accelerated to bloom artificially early, meaning that Link’s favourite ingredients could be in season all year around. This was further accelerated by Din’s dance, the wobbling woman’s smooth movements creating the ideal conditions for each given plant. The two made a revolutionary crop-rotation system, although the range at which they could perform it was highly limited, and Zelda got the impression that it was quite taxing on the two of them, the two artificially propelled by their hypnosis to push themselves to their limits. 

Perhaps the extra calories gave them the energy they needed, Zelda speculated as she saw the two gathered around a rather unusual-looking tree off to the side of the main garden, literally off the beaten track. It was a rather strange tree, Zelda thought as she approached them, something she vaguely recognised but couldn’t place at all.

“The tree you asked us to prepare is almost ready, miss Zelda.” Din said, Nayru not pausing her song as the tree’s fruit began to bud up.

“I told you to? I don’t recall.” Zelda furrowed her brow. “Can you elaborate?”



Nayru kept singing, and Din continued to dance as she explained. Zelda was unsure if it was because of her dancing skills or her hypnosis, but her words were perfectly even without a hint of panting or exertion despite how much flab was bouncing around with each step and sway.

“This is mistress’ favourite fruit, which comes from a very rare tree that takes a very long time to bloom. As you commanded, we’ve spent the last two months growing it. Is it to your expectations, Miss Zelda?”



“I honestly don’t remember telling you any of this, when did-” 

Zelda stopped cold as the green fruit, no, seeds grew to their full size before her eyes. The growth of the tree itself took a long time, Zelda recalled being told, but once it was fully grown and in season…

“You fools!” Zelda shouted as she realised just what she was seeing. “That’s-”

Before she could continue Din leapt with surprising speed towards Zelda, a heavy thud as the two’s bellies collided and smooshed together as Din crammed a freshly plucked seed into Zelda’s mouth, then held her still and pressed her hand over Zelda’s mouth to make sure she couldn’t spit it out.

“Your taste-testing, as you requested.” Din said, wearing gloves that prevented her from experiencing any of the benefits herself, while Zelda looked like her eyes were about to bulge out of her head as the foul taste of the mystery seed filled her throat, her true personality being freed from its shackles and forcing her to clamp down, chew, and swallow. A cloud was immediately lifted from her mind, and her eyes widened, but not from the taste this time. Zelda waved her hands and made some muffled sounds to indicate that she had finished eating, then let out a gasp as her belly and breast fat was uncompressed as Din stepped away from her back to her position near Nayru.

“Y-yes, this is perfect. Good job, both of you, I’m sure the mistress will be delighted by them.” Zelda coughed, the seed having not quite gone down smoothly. Just to be certain she took another seed, fighting down tears from the awful taste. “And you two can stop now! Go change your uniforms and wash the ones you’ve been wearing, then attend to your usual duties.”

Nayru’s beautiful yet empty tones ceased instantly, the two Oracles lining up and curtseying before wandering off. Zelda felt bad for not freeing them immediately, but she hadn’t come this far just to get her cover blown by two people who definitely couldn’t successfully pretend to be as obedient and emotionless as they usually were around their lazy yet deceptively attentive mistress.

“I can’t believe this plan actually got this far.” Zelda mumbled to herself, looking around for a basket to put the seeds in, preferably one with a lid. “Knowing my luck…”

Then again, Zelda thought to herself as she ran down the next step in her master plan, perhaps she did have luck granted to her by the goddesses after all, with how many things had to align to make this possible.

The first of all was the Oracles themselves. As soon as Link captured the two of them and Zelda was of a clear mind again, however temporary, she got to work thinking about how to use the situation to her advantage. Link had granted Zelda effective ownership of them when she wasn’t around, inadvertently giving her two perfect tools for her to work with. As long as she used the right phrasing, the two didn’t have the capacity to figure out that what she commanded them to do might be to subvert their mistress.

Of course, that itself wasn’t enough. Zelda had two problems: first was figuring out what she could actually do with her limited power, and the second was keeping her plan secret from her own mistress. Zelda lacked the confidence that if she figured out an ideal plan, she wouldn’t be able to keep her servile self from spilling the beans.

The answer came in the Oracle of Secrets. While Zelda would never admit it, she had been the one to suggest to Link that she should complete her collection and get all three, something she had suggested so enthusiastically that Link had never suspected that her brainwashing was lapsed at the time. Soon enough Farore was under Zelda’s control as well, and there was nothing that the Oracle of Secrets was better for than making sure a secret would be kept. Link barely knew about Farore’s true powers, as manipulating memories was hardly useful for his quest, but vital for Zelda’s. It hadn’t been a moment too soon, as very shortly after Zelda had completed laying out her plan and wiped her memories Link remembered to give her a fresh dose of hypnosis.

But once she had been reminded by the sight of her plan literally coming to fruition, that mental block was lifted and those forgotten memories were blinking back into her mind one by one. Her convincing Link that she needed a few days to leave the castle to fetch something, her going to the captain who had ferried her to Labyrnna and, as he had suggested, successfully planted his own mystery seed tree, bringing the sapling back to the castle, planting it in an inconspicuous part of the garden, and then tricking the Oracles into raising it themselves. Even with this, it would take the better part of four months for the tree to grow, enough time for the Oracles to grow ripe themselves. Hopefully the two would be very understanding of the circumstances when this was all over…

Now, Zelda thought to herself as she hurried off with seeds in tow, hoping that the smell wouldn’t linger, it was time for the final step…

–

“Your second lunch is ready, mistress.” Zelda said, her face perfectly plastered with her usual smile as she wheeled out multiple platters of treats with collectively more sugar in them than Zelda had eaten in a year as a princess. Perhaps it was appropriate that even the maid serving the engorged sorceress was overly plump, having to walk with her arms extended a good distance so that the handles didn’t dig into her gut. Even her own stomach rumbled in jealousy, but her eyes didn’t waver for a second. It was the mistress’s, and she wouldn’t dare consider for one second having any for herself. Even with her mind completely her own, her maid’s training was muscle memory, buried deep under the blubber.

“Just a moment, princess.” Link said, yawning as she had nearly dozed off as she sunbathed out in her garden. It was supposed to be winter, but a cool autumn breeze and gentle sun allowed her to lounge around in her typically skimpy outfit, her gut covering as much width as all three Oracles standing hip to hip, prior to their magically-enforced weight gain anyway. Link pulled herself up to something that resembled upright as Zelda moved the platters close enough for her greedy hands to reach.

Zelda had once assumed that when Link grew powerful enough she’d simply be levitating everything directly down her gullet, but it seemed instead that Link enjoyed doing things by hand, whether that be gluttonously shoving food into her mouth or delicately cutting it and eating with proper table manners, albeit with the biggest, juiciest slices of meat she could impale on a fork. Link breathed deeply, savouring the fruity aroma of the various pastries, the pies still steaming and the cakes still warm. A good half of them involves ingredients that were well out of season, thanks to her private garden.

Zelda impassively watched her eat, close enough that she could do anything her mistress needed, as Link started with one of the cakes and began to speak between huge mouthfuls. Somehow, perhaps because Link saw herself as sophisticated, she made sure never to speak with her mouth full, something that the rigorously drilled on manners princess appreciated if nothing else.

“You know, princess, I’ve been thinking.” Link said, pausing for another mouthful. “This past… how long has it been since I rose to power?”



“Eighteen months, mistress.” Zelda said happily. “It passed quickly, didn’t it?”



“And here I thought it’d only been a year or so.” Link mused. “Time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose. This past eighteen months, or thereabouts, has been quite productive, if I may say so myself.”



Zelda didn’t even twitch as she considered how the grand majority of that was spent eating, sleeping, and lazing around doing nothing in particular. Not that this was a bad thing for her, of course.

“I will admit I initially saw myself as having grander ambitions for this timeframe that haven’t been achieved as of yet, but you can’t rush perfection, and I grow more perfect by the day.” Link said in a grandiose tone of voice. “I’d been in dire need of a vacation after all that running about adventuring, and I can now consider myself well-rested and energised for the task that comes next.”



“Which would be, mistress?” Zelda asked as Link paused to eat some more.

“Spreading my glory, of course beyond Hyrule’s borders, of course.” Link said proudly. “I’ve never forgotten my ultimate task, and I believe that i’m more than powerful enough to achieve it now. My power spreads from here to the edges of Hyrule Castle Town, which in my estimates should be more than enough to reach from one end of a battlefield to another. Now, I’m sure that my popularity is so high after all of my glorious feats that the soldiers will more than happily throw themselves into battle for me, but I’ll be sure ot give them a little suggestion just in case.”



“That sounds wonderful, mistress.” Zelda said, and Link raised an eyebrow.

“Not shutting me down this time, princess?” Link asked with a bemused tone of voice. “Not going to tell me to wait even longer to start my campaign of liberation?”



“Your power has grown beyond comprehension, mistress. I merely wished to wait for you to truly blossom.” Zelda curtsied, bowing her head in subservience. “

Link paused, then let out a long, haughty laugh of victory. It had been only a week and a half since Zelda’s latest brainwashing session, meaning that the princess well and truly believed that this was the right course of action, and had no chance at all of merely leading her on for ulterior motives.

“Well, if the good princess says so!” Link continued laughing. “Although truth be told, I’d prefer to avoid a military solution if possible. I’ve actually been working on improving my powers of persuasion. If my new spell works as planned, I could simply pay them a visit bring them under my influence and have them stay that way for a year, perhaps even two years. Then I could relay my orders via magic mirror or some such tool, and they’d swear fealty to me without either of us having to lift a spear!”

“What a brilliant plan, mistress! I’d be more than happy to be your first test subject, if you so desire!” Zelda said, then raised her hand to her mouth and gasped. “Oh no, then I’d be delaying your plans while you wait to see how long it lasts!”

“Oh, I’ll make sure to test it on you first either way, princess.” Link cackled, still laughing as she shovelled a slice of pie directly into her open mout, then bit down.

Then, for perhaps the first time ever in her rule as a despot, the blue-skinned sorceress froze, her face scrunching up and her eyes widening as she realised just what she’d unwittingly inserted into her mouth. But the very instant she did, Zelda dashed forward as fast as her fat feet could carry her, nearly tackling the sorceress in her seat as she slammed her palms over Link’s mouth, smooshing her bloated cheeks together before she could spit it out. Link flailed, writhing helplessly as she was pressed down by the princess, the chair groaning and then giving out entirely under the two’s weight.

Zelda cried out as she was nearly toppled as Link’s immense weight slammed into the ground below her, but managed to hold on and kept her hands firmly in place as the impact accidentally caused Link to swallow.

Link managed to wrestle Zelda off a moment later, howling as the seed’s effects began to ravage Veran’s spirit within her.

“How!? I couldn’t even smell it!” Link whined at being outsmarted in such a simple way, having been confident that even if Zelda somehow got her hands on any mystery seeds, the strong smell would warn her well in advance. She continued to hold her throat with one hand while she waved her other around helplessly, the seed suppressing the power granted to her by Veran as it began to drive her lingering spirit out of her body.

“I had the seed mixed in with as much sugar and the strongest smelling fruit I could get. It took me a couple of tries, but I got there in the end.” Zelda relished in explaining as Link clutched her throat as if she could force it out. Thankfully the platters had been untouched by the struggle, and Zelda clambered to her feet, grabbing more of the pie and forcing it into Link’s mouth, the woman immensely feeble without her magic, her physical strength next to zero. Zelda, who had perhaps a little extra muscle from having to carry the dumbbells she called arms around all, could force her mouth open without much trouble, save for the mess it called.

Zelda stood up again to get more, but paused as Link began to seriously moan in pain, and would have been rolling around on the floor had she not been too fat to do anything more than rock back and forth. Zelda could now see a shadowy outline begin to rise from Link’s bloated body, making an expression of pain as it too flailed and writhed as if to claw its way back into LInk’s body, but was unable to contact with it any longer. Zelda heard an unfamiliar female howl that soon faded away along with the spectre, and Link suddenly went limp, flopping back onto the floor like a beached whale.

Zelda felt her legs go weak as Link’s face settled into a peaceful one, chest rising and sinking slowly as the blue hue of her skin began to slowly but surely fade back to a pale pink. Was that it, Zelda asked herself, was it over? The plan had been stressful, but thanks to Link’s total overconfidence that her servants couldn’t possibly do anything against her, been surprisingly simple to spring on her. Zelda began to giggle slowly, then built up into uncontrollable laughter at how appropriate Link’s downfall had been. Bested by a pie! She put one hand on the table with the rest of the food for support as Link continued to sleep peacefully, undisturbed by Zelda’s celebration.

Zelda kept laughing, knowing that the hard part would be figuring out how to clean up this mess afterwards. She finally did, then paused as she eyed the leftover food hungrily. Well, she was sure Link wouldn’t mind if she considered it a victory feast and finished it off for her…

–

Zelda woke up just a few minutes before the crack of dawn, just as she had done for the last nearly two years of her life. She closed her eyes again, giving herself her precious few minutes of sleeping in before it was time for work, but when she opened them again as light began to stream into her room, it wasn’t the roof of her humble servant’s room she saw, but the elaborately detailed roof of her royal canopy bed, the light filtered by the curtains around her. She was confused for a few seconds before she realised that she was no longer Zelda the maid, but Princess Zelda of the Hylian royal family again, and had no need to wake up for another two hours at the absolute minimum.

Despite that, Zelda only lasted another ten minutes in bed before she was uncomfortably squirming, unable to summon her drowsiness into her rigorously trained body. She let out a deep sigh as she reluctantly climbed out of bed, wishing her room was messy enough to give her something to get it out of her system. She washed herself, got dressed, and decided to spend the time checking in on the progress of removing and destroying the various statues that Link had erected of herself, something that was best done late at night or in the early hours of the morning as Link’s mass hypnosis began to wear off. Thankfully the ones in Hyrule Castle Town had already been taken care of and with any luck would be merely a confused memory with no proof of its existence, while the ones inside the castle had had sledgehammers taken to them by the burliest servants the castle had to offer. The problem was the damned things were so thick they took quite a bit of work to fully demolish…

Luckily for Zelda she had a number of matters to attend to, letters to write up and orders to give while the servants were still brainwashed, taking advantage of LInk’s lingering influence to cover up her redecorations and customisations she’d made to the castle and hopefully make it seem like she’d never been there at all. As for why the princess herself was so overweight… Zelda would simply have to suffer the indignity of looking like she’d merely slipped on her diet for a couple of years now that people could actually point out her changes.

She’d had to get a new bed put in, after immediately finding that LInk had put a permanent crater in her original mattress. She winced when she looked at how recessed her new one was already, feeling like she might need a new by the time she finished losing weight. She’d had to get a new bed put in her room after immediately finding that LInk had put a permanent crater in her original mattress, but she’d cringed when she looked at how recessed her new one was already, feeling like she might need a new by the time she finished losing weight. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say when she started losing weight, as Zelda was still putting off curbing her diet. She could afford to celebrate for a few days, right?

Zelda took a wander around the castle to burn time and see if the hypnosis had worn off yet, the glossy eyes of the various servants telling her that it might be another week or two before things returned to normal. Even the Oracles were still in their doll-like state, Zelda reluctantly instructing the two to behave as ordinary maids until they regained their senses, as the two lacked any real ability to direct themselves. Zelda wasn’t looking forward to the apology she’d have to give to those two; it seemed like nothing would be quite enough for any of Link’s victims.

When the sun was high and Zelda had given into her impulses and cleaned a few rooms, it was finally time to check in on Link, who didn’t quite sleep in as much as she had during her blue-skinned phase, but certainly wasn’t an early riser either.

“How are you feeling, Link?” Zelda asked, finding Link hidden away in her room struggling to put on a simple but conservative green dress. Thankfully, Link had lost Veran’s fashion sense along with her blue skin.

“Heavy.” Link said, looking miserable as Zelda had to help her put on her sleeveless dress. “You couldn’t have tried to get me to eat less while I was possessed?”



“I couldn’t do much to stop you from doing anything.” Zelda said grimly. “In fact, keeping you well fed usually meant I was keeping you out of trouble. Please try to think about my own circumstances.”

“Veran was skinny, why’d she have to make me fat? I can barely move these things, let alone swing a sword” Link grumbled as she held up her fat arms, waving them around a bit to demonstrate just how much they shook and sagged, the latest of her many, many complaints about her immense body weight since she was restored to her senses. From Link’s perspective she had suddenly woken up in the body of a whale, her last memories being relatively shortly after Zelda had left to find mystery seeds to cure her curse. Moving around in her new body had been a learning experience, and Zelda found herself functionally still Link’s maid for all the help she needed just to operate at her current size.

Zelda made sure to keep it to herself, but she suspected that the differences in Link’s personality and the original Veran’s were the latter’s spirit making her vain, selfish, and uninhibited, but it wasn’t like Veran’s consciousness had actually taken over. She suspected that deep down Link had certain opinions on overweight women, particularly after Link insisted that Zelda looked great despite the extra weight and didn’t sound like she was just being polite. She had also looked suspiciously disappointed for just a moment when Zelda insisted that she was going to lose it as quickly as possible… but for the sake of Link’s dignity, she wouldn’t mention it out loud. Not yet, anyway.

“Have you gotten your memories back yet?” The princess asked as she helped LInk to her feet, Link shaking her head.

“I can remember bits and pieces, but… the rest is still a blur. And what I do remember is pretty embarrassing, to be honest.” Link said meekly. “



“Like you were a passenger in your own body, watching somebody else act as you?” Zelda suggested as she neatly folded Link’s nightgown and put it away, Link looking surprised but nodding. “It was like that for me too, when the magic started to wear off.”

“Oh, but I did remember a few things!” Link said, perking up as much as she could. She very slowly turned herself around, a process that took several seconds and some panting as Zelda backed off to allow Link enough space to swing her massive gut around to face her. It probably would have been easy for herself to move to face Link, but Link needed all the exercise she could get. “Like this!”

Link lumbered over to Zelda and leaned over, gently stroking Zelda’s belly. Zelda’s ears perked up from feeling her flab pushed in just slightly, stepping away defensively.

“Hey, what was that… for?” Zelda trailed off as she saw her belly glow for a moment, then fade as the tattoo that Link had placed on her was finally erased, the unfamiliar feeling of magic entering Zelda’s body for the first time in almost two years.

“I think I’m starting to get a hang of how Veran’s magic worked.” Link said proudly, pointing at a nearby book and levitating it for a few seconds before releasing it, wincing as it fell to the table it was sitting on with a loud thud. Link insisted on referring to her possessed self as Veran, something Zelda had agreed to for the sake of her dignity, and to stop conversations from getting confusing.“I’m still getting the hang of it though.”



“You took so much of my magic that I’d be shocked if you didn’t still have some in you.” Zelda remarked, crossing her arms as Link shook her head.

“No, I think I’m still naturally producing it. It’s hard to explain, but… I just am. I’m a little overcharged, sure, but I think I’ll be able to be at least mostly as strong as I was before. Maybe it’s because she was in me for so long, she left that part of herself in me.” Link said, holding up her bloated palm as a small flame appeared in it, then a swirling air current, then a ball of water that she froze into a sphere, before floating it over to an empty glass on her bedside table. “I can’t fight like I am right now, but I can at least help out with some magic if push comes to shove.”

“If you’re half as powerful as you were when you were a shade of blue, helping out would be selling it short. You might be even more useful as a sorceress than as a swordsman.” Zelda mused. “How would you feel about being who you claimed to be: the kingdom’s royal sorceress?”

“Seriously!?” Link exclaimed. “We aren’t just going to wait until I’m a few hundred pounds lighter and pretend that she was just some other woman with the same name?”



“I don’t think I can keep you secret for that long, and I won’t let you become a hermit either. I’d prefer to keep you within arms reach rather than banish you to some obscure village either.” Zelda said, skeptical of Link’s ability to slim down in the next couple of years combined with how much work she had ahead of her. “Perhaps it’d be easier just to keep you around. Thankfully, you’ve done mostly good deeds so far, and I’m sure nobody will mind if you’re a bit humbler than you were the last time they saw you.”

“Seriously? How are we going to explain that I’m not blue now?” Link asked.

“Let’s say… you got tired of being blue. Just like you got tired of the shoulder spikes.” Zelda improvised, then shrugged. “Have you got any better ideas?”



For better or worse, Link couldn’t think of any.



“Just one rule, if you’re going to continue using magic: under no circumstances are you to ever hypnotise anybody ever again!” Zelda commanded in her most royal voice possible.

“Well, I can’t say I have a problem with that.” Link laughed. “Then again… even the really annoying nobles you used to say you wished you could force to listen to you with magic?”



“...even those ones!” Zelda said, taking a bit too long to think it over. “We’ve had more than enough mind control around here to last a lifetime…”