LoZ: Bloated in the Wild Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3: Burning Hot

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Zelda shouted, stamping a hammy leg down upon the hot dessert sand. Her face was flushed with heat, though whether from embarrassment or from the scorching sun wasn’t immediately obvious.

The plush princess dribbled with sweat, breathing heavily as her husky tummy puffed out with each gasp. Her tight black pants dug uncomfortably into her fat hips and around her sagging belly, which rolled over the top of the high waisted garment. Her top was no less tight, gold and blue stretched to their limit to cover Zelda’s newly acquired weight.

Her royal knight stood before her, looking at the princess with those damnable handsome eyes while gently shaking the two-piece outfit of the Gerudo clan. A light blue top that would only just cover her chest with a matching veil along with a fluffy pair of white pants. Zelda wouldn’t be caught dead in the outfit even if she wasn’t the better part of three hundred pounds now.

The Hylian princess whipped the back of her arm across her head, pushing some of the long locks of hair away from her sweat covered face. She was uncomfortably aware of the extreme heat’s effect on her warm body. She had, of course, expected things to be different now that she waddled instead of walked, but the overbearing heat only doubled the sense of exhaustion the increasingly lazy princess was afflicted by. She raised herself upon her tippy toes looked past him, spying the guards to the Gerudo Town just past the sand dune before turning back to Link.

“I said no way!” she crossed her arms, resting them atop of her doughy belly. With puckered lips she pouted at the man. “We couldn’t even get in anyways! Men aren’t allowed in the Gerudo Town, and like Twilight am I going in there by myself!!”

Link smirked, lowering himself to the ground. Even as she was, Zelda couldn’t help but admire the cut of his jaw or the increased muscles in his arms and chest while he placed her sheer and skimpy clothing onto the sand and rifled through his bag. 

She felt herself watching him more closely now. Ever since the… incident that had occurred. She grunted, tucking her chin into her chest as shame brightened her already hot face. 

She couldn’t hide the event, no matter how hard she tried. Sure, she wasn’t literally floating any more, but anyone who saw her now would have no trouble believing that Princess Zelda had really turned into an air-filled blimp, though they might raise questions about the validity of an ancient cookbook’s strange recipe for fruitcake.

A quite delicious fruitcake, honestly. Zelda sometimes found herself thinking about it… about the vibrant taste of those first few bites. How the cake had tasted so fresh, so deliciously moist... before her tummy began to feel funny…

But it was what happened after that Zelda found herself reflecting upon the most. Link’s hands holding hers, tethering her to the ground as her body pulled up into the sky. How he tended to her, cared for her. He’d done so much more than simply protecting her. She kept thinking about his hands as he fed her, or his touch on her gut, rubbing her meat-packed belly while she deflated into the tubby princess she was now.

She couldn’t help it! Something had changed between the pair, some sort of unspoken shift. She found herself leaning on him more, felt her trust in him solidify beyond just simple prophecy. It was different… Link wasn’t just the Hero… he was her Hero.

Not only that, but his responses as well. It was like he was closer to her now, more indulging of her needs than before. The small movements he made, the ease of his touch or the softness to his sometimes playful expression.

Which made Zelda all the more flustered when he withdrew a second pair of the traditional Gerudo vestments and grinned cheekily at her. It took a moment for it to click.

“W-what?!” she covered her face, trying and failing to conceal the blush on her chubby cheeks. “Y-y-you?!”

Link nodded, still grinning.

Zelda plopped her leg onto the sand, again looking to the Gerudo women by the entrance to the town. “A-alight… fine!” she grumbled after a moment. “But only because we’re low on resources!”

Link reached down and took Zelda’s garments, handing them to her. Then, like an honest to goddess maniac, began to strip his shirt off right there in the open desert.

Zelda nearly had a heart attack. “What in the name of the goddesses are you doing?!?!” she shouted.

Link paused, looking up to her with wide and confused eyes. He raised his eyebrow questioningly.

“You can’t change clothes here!!” she gestured. “Anyone can see! You need to, like, find a… a private place!”

Link’s eyebrow was further raised. He looked from Zelda back to the sand dune. He had to raise himself up to see over it to the town entrance. Zelda lifted onto her tip toes again to look along with him.

The guards were both looking over towards their direction.

“Eeep!” Zelda rocked backward on her heels, her flabby body jiggling. “No, see!” she reached forward, taking Link by the arm and leading him further down the dunes. “No! We’re gonna go somewhere private!”

Link trampled along in the wide wake of the indigent princess. Holding him tightly, Zelda plodded further down the dunes. A few Hightail Lizards scurried over the sands, racing away from the pair as they headed towards what looked to be some desert ruins and, thank the goddess, some private shade.

They had probably gone another hundred feet before Zelda felt the intense burning return to the inside of her legs. Her thighs constantly rubbed at one another now, wearing out the fabric of her pants and heating up her legs even further with friction. Not to mention how exhausting just carrying her chunky body around could be. Zelda wasn’t even fit before she became tubby! Now, any prospect of getting in shape had gone right out the window after she’d sampled that delicious, forbidden, fruitcake.

… Well, any shape except round… 

Princess Zelda found herself smiling at her own little joke.

Finally, they reached the pillars and came around to the private side. There wasn’t a sign of any animals, much less any people to see them exposed. Still, Zelda felt apprehensive at the idea of changing into such a revealing outfit… What if somebody in town recognized her? The whole reason they hadn’t gone straight home after her weight had tripled was due to her royal pride, but it would be all for nothing if someone realized the obese lady in the tiny bikini was the Princess of Hyrule.

Still, she’d worry about that in a minute. She just needed to sit for a few breaths.

Sand kicked up as Zelda sagged heavily down onto the open floor. She put her back to the pillar, letting her tummy mush over her lap and between her thighs as she tried to hold onto some air. It was so darn hot.

Link, bless him, seemed to realize they were taking a break. He removed his satchel and sat next to Zelda at the pillar before taking the Sheikah slate from his waist belt and flicking the screen.

The tablet flickered to life. It displayed the map of the surrounding area, as well as some other details. Zelda sighed, resting a hand atop her warm tummy, and leaned to the side, onto Link. He made no noise of protest, instead turning the tablet so she could get a better view.

“It’s over a hundred and twenty degrees?” Zelda asked. She began to fan her face with her free hand. “Goodness, no wonder. I feel like I’m being baked in an oven.”

Next to her, Link’s stomach growled. He didn’t acknowledge it.

“Awe,” Zelda pouted, struggling to rise back to a seated position. She placed a hand on his leg, using him as leverage to right herself before looking at his face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up food.”

He shrugged noncommittally.

She tapped her fingers together, feeling quite a bit guilty. She knew for a fact that she was the reason they were low on supplies… her belly wouldn’t stop quaking when she was hungry, and it was very distracting!!

… But Zelda knew that was just an excuse. 

In reality, she just kept hoping that, maybe if she kept asking Link for snacks, he might… well, feed her again…

Her blush returned, Zelda reached over him, grabbing the satchel. Desperate for something to do, she began to go through what they did have. 

“Alright, so, here’s the clothes,” she withdrew the garments. “And it looks like you’ve got some cookware in here, if you would like to go hunt down some of those lizards.”

She looked up to him, saw the sweat that had formed on his face. In the past, Zelda wouldn’t have seen it. The small way that his eyes tilted towards the side, or the shift in his lips, as if to begrudgingly agree. Eventually he nodded and made to stand.

“No,” she decided firmly, placing an arm onto his chest and leaning on him. He looked surprised but sat back to rest while she turned back to the pack. “We’ll just get something in town.”

He gave her a soft, appreciative smile, nodding again.

She pushed the cookware out of the way, then a couple of canteens, before finding what she sought and withdrawing it. 

The cookbook recovered from the ancient Hylian ruins was honestly one of the most fascinating things the princess had ever laid her eyes upon. Zelda was having quite a time deciphering each passage, needing to reference and cross-reference notations from various scholarly sources. Perhaps one of the most fascinating things about the discovery was not it’s contents, but the way that they were listed. The script was almost random, switching from language to hieroglyphic symbols to what appeared to be actual photographs printed on a slim sheet of sturdy material using polarized light. It was through this unique depiction formatting that Zelda had been able to recognize the fruitcake before deciphering the recipe or the steps to create it.

Each dish seemed to have mystical properties granted to it through the odd combination of various exotic ingredients, but without any actual magic being infused from the baker into the preparation. It seemed that it was because of the exact measurements combined in the exactly correct method that the dish then became magically powered.

Then again, they seemed to be a lot of things. Though highly tempted, Zelda hadn’t made a single thing since that first discovery, not wanting to risk that the book may only create cursed dishes.

Cursed… yummy dishes…

Yummy dishes resulted in warm, comfy belly rubs…

Zelda’s tummy released a growl of its own. Given its comparable size to Link’s, it was more of a roar than a grumble, lightly quaking her doughy frame. Zelda could see her knight smirking from the corner of her eye.

“Right!” she said, patting the book shut. “Anywho, we know what we need, and we know our goal. After our stop in town, we will continue to the location you’ve marked on the map for the ‘Pristine Waters’ ingredient that’s used in the fruit salad. If we’re lucky, and I really hope that we are, the salad will work as an artificial diet of sort, helping me lose all of… this,” she gestured to herself.

Link reached over, lightly patting her tummy and causing Zelda to tighten at his touch. She looked at him with curious eyes to see his grin had shifted from a teasing smirk to more of a soft, comforting smile. The same smile he always wore while taking care of her.

Her heartbeat skipped merrily inside of her chest as he met her eyes. They held each other for a little before Zelda swallowed, feeling the dryness of her already dehydrated mouth doubling upon her. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again when she realized she didn’t have anything to say. It occurred to the girl that, so often, Link let his gestures speak rather than his words.

Zelda leaned forward, again resting her head on Link’s shoulder. After a moment she felt him shift beneath her, lifting his arm and placing it around her shoulder. Goosebumps went up her fluffy arms and the hair on her neck stood upon its edges as Link held her to his chest. She raised her outer arm around herself and put it to his chest. Her fingers tightened over the tunic.

She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, resting in the shade of the desert ruins, simply holding onto one another. She knew she could stay like it until night fell, but it was the reminder of Link’s hunger that prompted her to finally break off from the embrace.

“Alright,” she grinned up into his face. “Let’s do it.”

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“There is no way I’m doing this,” Zelda said five minutes later. 

The girl had, after shooing Link away to go stand guard, removed the topmost layer of her outer clothing. She now only wore her white shirt and black pants, standing barefoot upon the warm shaded sands. She was mildly frustrated that she couldn’t see her toes when she bent over, but much more intensely frustrated as she held up the pair of pants and the light blue top.

“Link!” she called.

Her knight came from around the pillar, already dressed in a Gerudo outfit. Zelda quickly lost her train of thought, gazing at the exposed areas of Link’s fit body. The colors of the outfit meshed rather flamboyantly with his eyes, and his long hair and veiled face would likely help his disguise. Zelda’s attention waned as she absorbed his muscular tone.

The part that caused her to turn away was when she realized she would see his exposed hip bone just about the waistband of his very low pants, covering her eyes and letting out a slightly distressed “Eeep! Link!!”

It took her a moment to steel herself and turn back, trying desperately to keep her vision focused solely on his eyes. His handsome, caring, trusting ey- dang it Zelda, focus!

“I-I-I can’t wear these!” Zelda said, holding up the clothes. “They’re too small, they wouldn’t fit me!” To illustrate her point, the princess gripped the waistband of the white pants and tugged. If she were her previous size, they would have assuredly fit. But now, they probably would hardly be able to clasp over one of her round thighs, much less her rotund backside.

Link perked an eyebrow. He pointed to Zelda’s normal clothes.

“It’s no good!” she huffed, dropping the pants. “And this top, it wouldn’t fit either! I know I shouldn’t complain, and it wouldn’t have to cover my stomach but… but my breasts are…” Zelda winged uncomfortably, “I’m too big, okay? You’ll have to go it without me and get the stuff.”

Again, Link pointed at her normal clothing.

“I wish I could go with…” Zelda groaned, dropping the top on the ground. “The only thing that’d fit is the veil. Goddess what did I do to deserve this.”

Link gestured emphatically to her clothes.

“I’ve always wanted to… well, no. I haven’t really ever wanted to go to the Gerudo Town,” she admitted, “but I would certainly not mind trying some of their cuisine and to just rest for a time in an actual chair.” Her voice took on a self-reflective tone as she frowned down into her body, “Though I suspect that the Gerudo women would have quite a of a time with me in this condition…” Laying hand atop of her belly, she tried to laugh, but even to her it felt unnatural and forced.

Her hero picked up on the motion. He stepped forward, placing a hand on Zelda’s shoulder, tilting his head to the side. His eyes begged the question.

“I’m okay,” she said, raising her hand to rest atop of his. “Really. Just a little tired, I suppose. It’s hardly the end of the world.”

Link, now in full command of her attention, pointed down to the pile of her normal clothing.

“Hmm? Oh,” she replied, “sure. I’ll wait here while you get some stuff. Just some supplies for our journey there and back. But would you mind leaving me my canteen and the Sheikah slate, along with the book? It’s nicer in the shade, but I’m still really thirsty, and I also want to go over the travel plan one more time before working on translations while I wait.”

Something about the way he responded put Zelda off for a moment. She very clearly felt she’d said something wrong by the way he rolled his neck and then shrugged, but he moved to the bag and withdrew her personal canteen and placed it with the book before going around to his clothes on the other side of the pillar and retrieving the tablet.

When he returned, Zelda had her hands clasped nervously in front of her and was swaying awkwardly from side to side. “Ummm…” she opened, grimacing, “I’m sorry if I’m being a bother. I just don’t feel comfortable trying to… to squeeze myself into something like that.” Slowly, Zelda’s gaze turned away from him, looking down at the offending clothing. “Maybe if you had it in a bigger size? But I’ve no idea where you got it in the first place either. And even then, I’d constantly be…” she broke off, wincing and stamping her foot. “I’m rambling again!” she whipped her attention back to him. “I’m sorr-”

Zelda broke off, her voice catching in surprise. Link stood before her with the facial veil unclasped and was bare with her. He was grinning his soft smile, and the princess felt the nervous butterflies in her chest flutter so rapidly she feared for a moment she was refilling with air.

“S-s-sorry,” she finished.

He shook his head, coming forward and placing his hand atop Zelda’s head. He rubbed his hand over her long blonde locks affectionately.

Zelda felt like she was floating. Despite herself, a trickle of worry joined the pool of exertion she’d exuded today. “Nooooo, I’m all sweaty,” she whined.

She heard a very slight noise, one that made her heart bounce inside of her chest. A warm, tiny chuckle escaped Link as a happy hum.

The blush on Zelda’s face was hotter than the sun. Her hand found his atop her head and, not really knowing what she was doing, brought it down to her cheek. She stared into Link’s eyes, his handsome blue eyes, and nuzzled her cheek against his hand.

He rubbed his thumb over her before pulling back and nodding.

Releasing his hand, Zelda spoke, “Okay, be good. Don’t start any international incidents.”

Link nodded, affixing the veil over his face before heading back up the sand dunes and towards the town.

Zelda watched him go for a short bit before gathering up his and her clothing and waddling back to her concealed shade. Only half dressed, Zelda decided not to put her top layer of clothing back on just yet. She could wait till Link returned, and so she tossed her garments along with the Gerudo clothing into a pile before slumping down onto her plump posterior and leaning back against the weather-worn rock. Even only wearing her white top and black pants, the heat was still causing her to sweat.

The princess sighed once more, knowing that she was probably thinking too much about things… not caring that she might be. So what if she was holding onto the feeling of his hand in hers, or the look in his eyes. That itty-bitty chuckle… The butterflies in her tummy put her high in the sky.

This adventure was proving to be far more enlightening than Zelda had originally believed it would be. They’d been away from Hyrule Castle for… was it two weeks now, she wondered? Could it really be such a short time? So many things have changed since then. When they’d left, she felt almost like she was traveling with a stone. He did the things he asked her to, never questioning or commenting on any order, and it had bothered her immensely at first.

But now, she could see the power in his silence. It wasn’t that Link didn’t say anything, it was that he didn’t use words to say it. The subtle movements in his face, the way his eyes seemed to sharpen or relax. How he carried his posture or tightened his hands.

It took Zelda a moment to remember how much she had changed too. She huffed out a laugh, resting her hands on her belly and gently jiggling it in her lap. She could feel her lower tummy slide up and down over her thighs. 

Her entire body was so soft now, and while she knew it was certainly supposed to be negative… if it took what it had for her and Link to be closer, then she didn’t mind, not really. As a princess, she knew that she had to do something about it. That’s why they were still out in the field, trying to cure her condition before returning home.

But as Link’s traveling companion… was it really so bad?

So, being covered with a few layers of pudge meant that the desert was hot. It’s always hot, right? And sure, she felt awkward at how her thighs were constantly fighting for space, and maybe she was getting tired quicker and needed to rest more often, but she’d never really liked walking around everywhere anyways.

A flash played through Zelda’s mind. A familiar image, one she had pictured countless times ever since she understood the responsibility of royalty. Realized the weight of the past that sat upon her shoulders and felt the tension of the blade that hung over her head.

In the visage, she imagined herself dressed in her royal fineries. Her long Hylian blue dress, inlayed with plenty of gold, covered her body. Her hair was cut short, more adult. Like her mother’s had been. Finely combed and neatly cared for, with a golden tiara tying it back around her head. Precious stones adorned her fingers, and a fine necklace tied around her throat. She was a princess, destined to be queen, standing with a regally dour expression on the highest step to the throne of her kingdom.

At the foot of the steps bowed a Hylian knight, covered in bright royal armor. He was as he always had been in her mind’s eye. Face covered, the knight was bent before her exactly as he was dictated by protocol, just like every other knight she had ever known… It was the fate that Zelda had pictured for herself. Standing alone.

Yet now, Zelda found herself picking apart the image. Her knight wouldn’t be wearing a helmet, he’d have his head uncovered, where she could see his caring blue eyes and his fluffy long hair. And bowing? He wouldn’t be bowing, nor would he be wearing any armor. No, her knight was Link, and he wouldn’t be standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Before her, the picture shifted. Link rose to his feet, now dressed in his bright blue tunic and his light-colored pants. He smiled up at her, with that pleasant grin and those sharp eyes, before ascending the stairs. 

As her knight drew closer, the princess changed too. The glimmering gold faded, along with her tight royal dress. She wore a looser outfit, more comfortable and relaxed. Her tiara was replaced by her usual tight braids, her hair lengthening down her back. And Zelda watched herself as she swelled, her tummy and hips filling out rapidly as he drew near, passing curvy and pudgy until she was flagrantly fat. 

Yet the grin on their faces as Link took her in his arms, as he held her by her cheek while his other hand squished her softness… The royal princes giggled, without a care in the world, before leaning into him, puckering her lips, and…

She shook her head, feeling her wavy hair pulling against beneath her, trapped against the pillar. The twinges of pain summoned her focus. “Come on,” she grunted at herself, “Quit daydreaming. There’s work to be done.”

She rubbed her eyes clean of the image, forcing herself back to the desert. Heat billowed from her, coupled with her overweight exhaustion. She realized the strength of her thirst. Unstopping the top of her colored canteen, Zelda drank deeply of the stored water.

Once she finished, she brought it down from her lips. Her eyes had glazed over once more as her mind returning to the picture. She rearranged things to be as she was sure that they would be, with her all alone at the top near her throne. “It’s just a fantasy…” she whispered to herself.

She drank again from the canteen before placing it on the sand. She sat for a while, feeling the familiar apprehension that so often came when she thought about the future. She was the reincarnation of a goddess given shape, part of a cycle of players as old as the world itself. Her hero… Zelda felt a hole in her stomach while she shook her head in denial. The hero, she corrected her thought, had conquered a great evil once again. Yet Zelda had little faith that would be the end.

No, evil would one day rise again. It always did. And, eventually, she would be powerless to stop it. One day, it would win. Perhaps she wouldn’t teach her daughters well enough, or they wouldn’t help theirs, but the cycle would go on and on and on until Zelda failed.

Two weeks away wouldn’t change anything. Nothing could. Each of them were doomed from the beginning, so what was the point of the struggle?

She didn’t deserve to feel happy. She’d fail, and all things would end.

She sniffed sadly, inhaling the warm air of the desert musk, forcing herself back to the present. She had thought that, with the great evil defeated, with the calamity struck down, it would mean the end to her sadness. But it was just a delay. So, again, what was the point?

Something then struck out at Zelda. An unconsidered thought.

Was she the first reincarnation to ask herself that question?

The thought came out of the darkness of her mind, carrying itself upon the edge of Twilight. She felt her hand on her cheek, wondering back to her ancestors.

Even if they had… the world still stood, didn’t it?

Evil hadn’t won the day, not yet. And she felt some strength in her spirit as she knew it wouldn’t fall during her time.

But there was something more to it than just simply surviving. Than ensuring that tomorrow would come and the darkness wouldn’t swallow them all. Each version of her, every ancestor lived. They must have found some purpose, some reason to do so.

She leaned back, looking up into the empty sky, and she wondered. The heat suddenly came to her senses, causing her to again gulp thirstily from her canteen. 

Focus, she told herself. You can worry about things later. Right now, you have to figure out how to fix yourself. Again, the image of her throne returned to her, but she pushed it aside. She felt almost sick, bitter with herself about her lacking sense of duty. 

Zelda took the tablet from her side, holding it atop of her tummy while she flicked it on. It made for a surprisingly comfortable resting position as her pudgy fingers flicked the screen on.

The screen glowed with a faint blue as it came to life. The display quickly showed the map of the area with her position marked clearly near the icon displaying ‘Gerudo Town.’ She directed her eyes to the custom marker, moving the cursor to examine it. A labeled popped up. ‘Gerudo Great Skeleton.’

Instantly, Zelda pictured one of the massive Gerudo woman, but as a skeleton. Laying out bare in the open desert, covered with dust and coarse sand. It made her stomach churn uncomfortably. How in the world was this the location that Link believed they could retrieve Pristine Water?

Zelda’s attention then went to how far away it was from anything else. The time gauge showed was nearly 4 in the afternoon, yet the temperature still burned as if the sun was directly above. She drank again from her flask, hoping Link would hurry. She didn’t want to get stuck so far out in the desert.

She placed the tablet to the side, atop of the discarded clothing. The sight of her usual blue shirt and her belt passed a thought through her brain.

If the Gerudo Town only accepted women to enter, so why didn’t she just wear her normal…?

“You know, for a Goddess of Wisdom, you can be pretty stupid…” she grumbled down at herself.

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Some time passed while Zelda poured over the book, using the Sheikah slate to help with translations. She’d found a rather appetizing recipe for a sweet tasting dessert.

The more she read, the hungrier Zelda felt, and her tummy had begun to whine for nourishment. She was honestly considering going after Link and trying to find him in town when a nose caught her attention. 

A sharp honking broke the silence. Zelda glanced around, looking for the source, but didn’t see anything. 

Another noise came, and the honk followed again. Closer now, coming from behind.

Zelda tried to get to her feet. Her tummy flopped outward over her legs, making her unable to simply sit up. She had to twist awkwardly, using the stone and the sand to put her knee into the sand before finally coming to her feet, breathing a bit too heavily form the effort.

She plodded to the corner as the honk came again, leaning past to look.

A fountain of sand swooshed toward her and caught her in the thighs. With a startled shout, Zelda toppled backward and onto her rump as an orange creature rushed past, followed quickly by Link who was attached by a rope to its back.

The sand seal honked cheerfully, coming about and heading back toward her, slowing down. She blinked in wonder as the creature hopped up from the sand, revealing its face and a cheery tusked grin.

“Aup aup!” it honked at her breaking into a heavy panting. Link pulled taunt the rope, sliding forward upon his shield before flicking it backward and it clamped solidly to his back.

Zelda felt the need to say something, tried even to be angry, but she couldn’t help watch his confident movements in admiring awe. He advanced to the seal, patting it on the back and ruffling it’s furry mohawk.

“Aup aup aup!” it squeaked appreciatively. 

“W-what was that?” Zelda breathed.

Link looked over to her wearing a daredevil grin. He held up the rope and tapped on his shield.

“I saw that… I mean… I didn’t think you could do that!”

She made to stand but faced a similar difficulty as before. Before she could roll over, Link was in front of her, offering his hand. She looked up at it, then up into his eyes. His handsome blue eyes.

‘It’s only a fantasy,’ a voice whispered in her mind, and the lonely image returned to her thoughts.

Zelda puckered her lips and shifted her weight, getting to her feet all by herself. “I can get up,” she said aloud. Then, she placed her hands on her hips and loudly chided, “You scared me!”

Link’s eyebrows tucked downward, his chin to the side.

Zelda shook her head, refusing the question. “Anyway, it took you long enough. Did you get the supplies?”

Link said nothing. His movements, his eyes, his body… they all said nothing. He simply stood there looking at the princess. The ache in her chest tightened. What was she doing? She was mad at herself, not at him. She was the problem. 

Zelda deflated, rocking back onto her heels. “I am… sorry…” she said shaking her head. Her eyes went to the sands. “I do not know what has come over me.”

Link moved closer. Then closer.

Her instincts pushed at her, she felt the desire to throw herself again into his arms. To just hold him and to be held. She wanted to run away, wanted to leave everything behind, to just be with him.

Instead, Zelda took a step back. She took a deep breath and steeled herself before motioning towards the seal.

“So, is he… um… what is he doing here?” she asked.

She couldn’t look at Link, not yet, so she didn’t get much for an answer. That was until the seal hopped forward on his girthy belly and honked at her pleasantly.

“Yes, hello,” she nodded toward the creature. “I am still unsure of…”

The seal twisted around, raising its flipper before lifting Link’s rope in its mouth. It held it out for the Princess to take.

“Oh… oh, no. I-I couldn’t,” she held up her hands and made to step back.

A pair of hands appeared on her shoulders. Her body went tense, though she couldn’t bear to pull away from their touch. Her breath shuddered slightly as Link’s fingers gripped her on the exposed skin of her shoulder before he came around the front.

He placed a flat wooden disk on the sands before her, which Zelda recognized by the leather to be some sort of shield. She briefly wondered where he’d been carrying it before the pudgy seal barked at her again, still holding the rope.

Guided by his hand, she moved forward until she stood on top of the shield. It was entirely obscured from sight beneath her flabby tummy. “O-okay,” she uncomfortably muttered. She took the rope for the seal.

It merrily barked twice before leaping upward and diving into the sand. Powder flowed up on either side of the beast as he began to move.

The rope was suddenly taut, and her arms were tugged straight. Zelda felt the awkward shift in her weight, reflexively leaning back and digging her heels into the wooden shield to keep her balance. Yet despite the strong tug, Zelda and her platform moved only a couple of inches.

Zelda glared at the rope and then at her belly. “Oh, you must be joking!!”

From behind her came a hearty laugh. It was enough to startle Zelda into letting go of the rope, causing her to yelp as her gravity suddenly toppled backward. She stumbled, arms going wide, and struck a solid object that immediately crumpled as she fell atop it with her massive rear.

It took her a quick moment to realize what happened. She simply laid on top of him with no idea what to say. His arms were beneath hers, holding her in an awkward hug from his royally failed attempt to catch her. She could feel his legs spread out on either side of her thighs, though his groin was directly beneath her rotund butt. With a detached annoyance Zelda realized that her shirt had come up over her belly, exposing her gut to the world, and watched as Link’s hands slowly moved and he began to poke at it.

Annoyance, anger, and internal disgust all bubbled inside of the girl, but each were nothing compared to the emotion that came out on top.

Filled with joy, Zelda began laughing heartily, straight from her belly, and leaned even more weight onto her butt. The sand sunk around either side of her while she uncontrollably giggled. “That’s what you deserve!” she called as Link gasped beneath her. “You shoulda caught me!”

The princess shifted her weight from hip to hip, grinding against him. He reacted with another sharp breath before gripping Zelda’s tummy and shaking it rapidly.

It only made her laugh harder, putting her hand over his and feeling him playing with her. The blush came again, though now a bright pink, and she lifted her other hand over her head.

She found Link’s face, taking it by the side and petting his cheek. His grip had loosened, though he still pressed into her tummy. She held his hand there gently stroking her softness and smiling brightly.

After a few moments like that she asked, “Is this hurting you?”

She felt his other hand come over hers and lifted it. He moved it to his nose, which he quietly dragged from side to side as he shook his head.

Zelda giggled brightly. She lowered her touch and felt the grin on his mouth. “Good,” she sighed. Then, she twisted her head and rest her ear on his chest.

The seal flopped over towards them and curiously barked. Zelda grinned at the beast before finally rolling from her seat. She rested on her arms, looking up at Link. He was smiling plainly to her.

“I think you might need a stronger seal,” she tittered.