Chapter 7 - part six

Liara burned with shame as Tristan led her naked and all fours through the palace to present her to the Queen.

When they arrived in the throne room the Queen regarded her with a smug and arrogant eye from her throne. "Ah, Princess, I trust Tristan has made your purpose here a little clearer."

Liara wanted to scream and cry out in fury but she could only stare passively at the marble floor before her.

"You may stand before me, girl," the Queen ordered. "So that I might see you better."

When Liara did not respond, Tristan pulled her roughly to her feet.

"I trust you weighed her?" the Queen said to Tristan.

"Of course, your Majesty," Tristan bowed. "5'4'' and 120 pounds."

The Queen tsked with mock dismay. "That simply will not do." She produced a highly decorative wooden box and removed the lid to reveal rows Turkish Delights. She picked up one of the sweets and appeared to examine it closely. "Each one of these has a clever little enchantment that will cause you to gain five pounds. Shall we begin with three of them?"

She stood and brought one of the Turkish Delights to Liara's lips. The Princess appeared to accept it, even chewing it and smiling sweetly at the Queen but instead of swallowing she spat it back in her face.

One of the guards took a step forward to protect the Queen but she raised a hand for him to stand down. She barely lost her composure for a second. "Not to your taste, Princess?" She joined her hands together and then opened them like a book, a tiny silver box with the crest of Impiorum magically materialised on her palms. "Perhaps this would be more agreeable."

Liara's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch. The box was identical to one that she had discovered under her pillow after the ball: a special gift from the Queen. She knew the contents of that box intimately without even looking: four exquisite little bonbons.

Liara felt exposed beyond her naked state, as if the Queen could see beyond her flesh to all her thoughts and desires. For four nights Liara had taken a single bonbon in her mouth and savoured its flavours. It was a pleasure unlike anything she had ever experienced and as the sweet syrup melted on her tongue and slid down her throat she felt compelled to explore her body; her hands caressing her breasts and slipping between her legs... As she bit her lower lip and gripped her sheets to stifle her moans so that her sisters, soundly sleeping near by, would not hear she found her thoughts drifting to the Queen.

Somehow Liara found the strength to meet Queen's gaze with defiance. "Your witchcraft will not work on me."

Morgana's blue eyes flashed with cold fury and she placed her palm to Liara's forehead. Liara uttered a scream of agony as her body began to convulse uncontrollably. She felt like she was burning from the inside out. When the Queen withdrew her hand, Liara fell to the floor gasping and choking. She held out her arms before her, surprised to find her pale flesh undamaged.

Though the pain faded almost instantly, Liara felt a strange heaviness, a kind of fatigue and she knew that 15 extra pounds had been added to her body. Her once visible collar bones and rib cage had been swallowed by a soft layer of fat, her breasts felt swollen and tender and her hips flared out wider than before. Her face too had become chubbier, her cheeks more rounded and the beginnings of a double chin.

The Queen stood above her triumphantly. "I can give you the most exquisite pleasure or the most agonising pain but you will do as I command," She turned to Tristan. "Remove the girl from my sight. If she will not eat willingly you will take her to Lady Payne."