Chapter 1 (Complete)

There was a Princess. We’re going to call her Princess, at least. She might have been a Burghers daughter that he called Princess. She might have been the child of a Lord (first letter capitalized, a proper genealogical aristocrat) but not a Royal. Or she might have been rightly titled as a Princess. She was expected, for all intents and purposes, to be a Princess; to act like one, appear like one, to be an ornament and a pawn in the polite games of her wealthy and powerful family.

And she hated it. Being a Princess is not an enviable thing to be.

There was also a Witch. We’re going to call her Witch, for that is what everyone expected her to be. She was blind since birth but looked like she navigated house as if she could see. In truth this was just practiced familiarity with her home and showmanship, and the Witch was very good at the showmanship part. She also knew things. She knew all manner of normal things about livestock, the human body, and life in the forest. You can’t get called a Witch if you don’t know about life in the forest, and it helps if that’s where you’re living.

Also she was an actual Witch who knew magic, which also helps.

It was very dangerous to seek out the Witch. She didn’t make finding her easy on people. The Princess had a whole adventure with a foolish talking goose wandering and nearly getting eaten everywhere it went. There was a Dragon (again, first letter capitalized, a proper dangerous old Wyrm) that dreamed of eating a Princess. Fortunately, the Dragon was convinced that she was too skinny. And there were Warnings. Yes, the Princess was Warned. She was Warned about dealing with the Witch. She was Warned that the price would be high for whatever she asked, and that there were almost certainly better ways to escape being a Princess.

The Princess asked the Witch for three things, and the Witch set out a price for each.

First, the Princess asked to be free from all those people who would make her be a Princess. She asked to live a life that she would have been denied otherwise. She asked to learn things that only a Witch could teach her.

The Witch explained that she was a Witch, not a King. She had no army, no castle. She would shelter the Princess, but only if the Princess remained with the Witch at her cottage. She would give an interesting life to the Princess, but only if she obeyed the Witch as her Servant. Last, she would teach the Princess things that only the Witch could teach, but the Princess would only know the price when she’d learned all that the Witch had to teach her.

The Princess learned that living deep in the woods is no easy thing. There was so much to do daily, and no servants, other than herself now. She knew the aches of perfect Princess posture and the hole in her heart of a restrictive Princess life, but now she learned the aches of a long day’s work.

The best thing she learned was the food.

“Eat up, Skinny Thing.” The Witch often said after setting a heaping plate in front of the Princess.

“A Princess must be slim and dainty.” She would reply.

“You’re not living a Princess’ life anymore.” The Witch would say. “So eat up, Skinny Thing.”

Each meal of every day was a special feast.

For breakfast, often there very large, rich eggs fluffed and scrambled. There were fat potatoes with butter. There were sweetbreads with cinnamon and endless frosting.

For lunch there were often savory stews with onion and spice. There were hearty breads with many different cheeses. Often there were jams and jellies.

Dinner was the only time that meats would be served. Often fat little roast birds, venison, or fresh fish from nearby streams would form the centerpiece. The meat would be sauced with the broth from the lunch stew and paired with the potatoes or breads from earlier that day.

Then there would be sweet dessert.
The Witch knew more sweets than she knew about livestock, the human body, or the woods. She knew more sweets than she knew magic. She sometimes said that sweets were her magic. She made ribbons of candy, peppermint sticks, bread pockets with honey, candied ginger, caramels, cakes, pies, on and on.

The sweets weren’t just for dessert, they were on hand throughout the day whenever the Princess’ eager sweet tooth felt the desire.

After a few weeks of feeding the Princess complained to the Witch.

“Why do you still call me ‘Skinny Thing’?” All your cooking is making me a bit plump.” Said the Princess.

“A bit plump? How do you mean?” Asked the Witch.

“I’m softer than I ever was before. I feel like a have a little layer of butter under my skin, all over. I had to let out my dresses more than once since you took me in.” Answered the Princess.

“Are you quite sure?” Asked the Witch.
“I’m quite sure that I’m getting a bit plump.” Replied the Princess.

“If you’re only a bit plumper, then you’re still just a Skinny Thing.” Said the Witch.

“Where does all the food come from?” Asked the Princess.

“From the Farmers, Millers, Herders, and Hunters. From Merchants, Travelers, and Guildmasters.” Answered the Witch. “It is their Tithe exchanged for my help.”

“But you said you’re a Witch, not a King. How can you collect a Tithe?” Asked the Princess.

“Oh but I am a Witch. I make the crops grow, the grain keep fresh in the silos, the game in the forest plentiful. I bless success in business, safety upon the roads, and mastery over ones’ lessers. In return I ask for only so much as I need to live here comfortably.” Answered the Witch. “A King takes far more than I do and gives much less back in return.”

When weeks turned into months the Princess complained to the Witch again.

“Why do you keep me so much better fed than you feed yourself?” Asked the Princess.

“It pleases me to have a young Skinny Thing like you to enjoy my cooking.” Answered the Witch.

“You’re not much older than I am, and your cooking is making me a bit fat.” Asserted the Princess.

“A bit fat? How do you mean?” Asked the Witch.

“I find myself bumping things with my hips and bottom. For the first time in my life I have a belly. Your pastry rolls have given me rolls around my waist and down my back. My bosom has become a pair of proper pillows.” Claimed the Princess.

“If you’re only a bit fatter, then you still need all the feeding you can get.” Said the Witch.

The next day the Witch led the Princess from the cottage a ways further into the forest. There was clear, clean spring in a small clearing. The Witch tapped her cane on the stones around the spring and the water bubbled with refreshing warmth.

“How did you manage that?” Asked the Princess.

“You met the Dragon of the forest on your way to my cottage, didn’t you?” Answered the Witch. “Everything in the forest pays me a Tithe for my help.”

The Witch bade the Princess bathe and enjoy herself in the spring. It was a reward for being such a good servant, she claimed. The Princess undressed sheepishly even though she knew the Witch couldn’t see her, naked or otherwise. The water soothed and mended, eased and brought tenderness back into the Princess’ body. Though she’d grown much heavier, she had many aches from all the work.

“If your service continues to please me, next time I’ll bathe you myself.” Said the Witch to the Princess’ blushing bewilderment.

When months turned into seasons the Witch served a special feast to the Princess. The main course was an especially fat goose, roasted to perfection and decadently sauced. The Witch went further than usual, feeding bite after bite to the Princess herself. The round girl didn’t lift her hands from the armrests of her chair as she savored one succulent mouthful after another. She made no effort except to smile when the Witch fed her samples of each of her favorite sweets for dessert.

“After feeding you for a few seasons, have you grown nice and fat?” Asked the Witch, when the Princess was reclining and rubbing her full belly.

“Quite nice and fat, I should think.” Answered the Princess, giving herself a squeeze.

“Quite nice? How do you mean?” Asked the Witch, slinking up beside her.

“I don’t just have a belly, I have two. I don’t just bump into things with my big bottom and wide hips, I make even your sturdy furniture creak beneath me. My everywhere is pillowy and plush.” Answered the Princess.

“You’re quite sure?” Asked the Witch.

“I’m quite sure that I’m quite nice and fat.” Asserted the Princess, proud and content.

“I’m not quite sure I quite believe you.” Said the Witch. “May I feel for myself?”

The Princess guided the blind Witch’s hands with her own. She enjoyed the tenderness of such a chaste thing for a moment, the Witch rubbing and squeezing her hands alone. Then she led those hands up her arm, which was itself as fat as a small chicken. The Witch massaged there and the Princess had to admit the touching was getting anything but chaste. She guided her hands next to her face, where the Witch tickled the Princess’ extra chin and round cheeks. She led her hands down to her chest, ripe and soft. Then down to the rolls of her middle where the Witch lingered, pinching, teasing, and jiggling. Then down to the Princess’ hips and ham-thighs.

The Witch led the blushing, panting Princess out of the cottage and into the forest. She led the girl to the spring, where she undressed the girl and bathed her in the waters that warmed at the Witch’s command. Then she taught the Princess all the things she knew about the human body.

As the Princess rested, her body alive and sated in ways that she never knew before, the Witch rose from the spring. Amongst the trees a vast and terrible form slithered, rising up to loom over the frightened Princess, naked and exposed in the water.

“I have paid my Tithe to you for a long time, Witch.” Growled the Dragon. “And this Princess is finally fat enough for my liking.”

The End?