Epilogue for a New Queen

Months had passed since the destruction of Terra, Kuja’s defeat, and the dissipation of the deadly mist blanketing Gaia and recovering and repairing the destruction and devastation during the times was still on the minds of everyone.  These memories rested heaviest, however, on the mind of the new queen Garnet Til Alexandros XVII.  

When she first assumed her role as queen she promised Alexandria and its allies that they would make every effort to rebuild and recover from their losses through strong diplomacy and hard work.  Since then her plans had been successfully launched into motion and already showed amazing results, yet such strong leadership by Queen Garnet was not without much personal sacrifice on the part of the new queen.  Every moment she wasn’t asleep she spent in negotiations and conferences with her fellow leaders or addressing the concerns of Alexandria’s citizens through private meetings and large scale speeches.

Another task that demanded much of her free time was the task of caring for the young summoner Eiko Carol who, for the time being, would be living in castle Alexandria until a more proper home could be found for her.  Time which could be used to find her a new home was scarce and Garnet was aware that Eiko would be living with her for quite a time, but Eiko was loving life in the castle so much that she was in no hurry at all to move out.  Until then Garnet acted as caring as possible to her, treating her like a little sister and even, to a degree, spoiling her.  It was the least she felt she could do, seeing as they were the only two summoners remaining, enough to intertwine the two’s lives despite any past disagreements and rivalries.

Regretfully Garnet found her life restricted by her royalty, at times journeying outside into Alexandria, yet never traveling beyond the borders of the kingdom; to be sure that she was always close to her citizens Garnet left diplomacy to her most trusted subordinates, believing that to be away from Alexandria at the time it needed her most could be hazardous.  One of the most active figures in communication between the kingdoms was Zidane Tribal who, along with his fellow members of Tantalus, took on the rougher jobs of rebuilding destroyed architecture and providing assistance to those rendered homeless or wracked by great losses in the recent times.  These frequent periods of separation were devastating to Garnet yet she knew that her life would not settle until the world had settled.

As strong a woman as Garnet was, having the task of revitalizing a land after so many crises was a source of near constant stress, especially since she had little time to sleep and even less time to relax.  She found herself having to cut into her sleeping time to sit down and collect her thoughts.  With sacrifice having grown so common in her new position Garnet looked to any means of relaxing and filling up the emptiness caused by once again being isolated from visiting the outside world.  She tried to find a way to relieve stress and ultimately found her release in the one thing that fit most easily into her hectic life: food.  

Garnet found her retreat in food as a way of dealing with the difficulties of her new position as Queen in a manner she had complete control over.  As soon as Eiko fell asleep Garnet would quietly sneak out of her bed and grab a few boxes of chocolates, quietly eating them before sleeping and relishing in their flavor as a means of escaping the pains of the day.  She began these late night chocolate runs with the intent that they wouldn’t become nightly rituals, but as tensions amounted, reconstruction hit delays, and Zidane’s time away from Alexandria went from the expected days to weeks Garnet found that food was quite comfortable in such a situation.  

Her late night “feasts” didn’t stop at candy an treats at this point; during the day she would secretly request cakes and pastries to be made by Quina and its fellow chefs to be eaten later at night; Garnet knew that Quina wouldn’t ask too many questions, such as why she needed a large, sugary cake in her room at midnight.  It did not take too long for her overeating to bleed over into her regular meals, Garnet eating larger portions and even requesting seconds from Quina.  When her overeating became noticeable so did her weight, manifesting itself in a softer looking body as well as a pot belly, but nothing that couldn’t be hidden with the right dress.  Most of her castle did not pay too much heed to the extra eating or the extra weight, and those who did notice decided not to bring any attention to it.  Drawing attention to her weight problems would only serve to stress her more than needed, and making a woman aware that she was getting fatter was never a wise decision.  Garnet knew that she was gaining weight, and that if she continued she would only gain more weight, but believed that she could deal with any weight put on when Alexandria and all of Terra had returned to the status quo.  

Of course, there was one person in Alexandria who wasn’t content to not know what was going on in Garnet’s life.  Eiko meant no harm at all in trying to pry into Garnet’s personal life, but she was simply curious as to why she would at times open up her eyes to find the bed empty, or why so many empty boxes of chocolates seemed to be appearing around the castle.  Eiko decided that it was her duty to get to the center of this mystery, having grown so close to Garnet in such a short time.  She tucked away her plan deep into her mind and waited until that night when she and Garnet slipped into bed.  She feigned sleep for an hour, her eyes staying open through the night, waiting for some sign of movement from Garnet.  Her waiting soon proved fruitful when the princess slowly rose from bed, stood around for a moment, and quietly left the room.  Eiko slowly rolled out of bed and silently followed her, being careful enough to stay far behind Garnet so that she wouldn’t notice that she was being followed.  After tailing Garnet for a few minutes she saw her duck into a small empty storage room Eiko had recognized from exploring the castle in her first days occupying it. She raised her ear to the door to listen closely, hearing muffled sounds of boxes hitting the floor and chewing coming from inside of it.  Eiko waited a few more seconds before quickly opening the door to unveil the spectacle inside.  Garnet was clutching a handful of chocolates as she sat in her nightgown, her eyes having shot wide open from the sudden influx of light that Eiko had brought in.  She was slightly relieved that it wasn’t someone else but Eiko, though she was still startled from having been caught so easily.  Eiko glared at Garnet for a few seconds, shaking her head, before she finally spoke.

“And why didn’t you ask me if I wanted any candy?”

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Garnet’s secret remained safe with Eiko, fortunately for the fretting queen, Eiko promising to tell no one of Garnet’s late night snack excursions as long as Garnet would include her as well as provide her with her own ample selection of sweets.  Eiko also took great care not to bring much attention to Garnet’s increasing weight, even as Garnet reached the point in which slightly larger clothes were needed to avoid drawing focus to her changing body.  Over time, however, as the two continued meeting for their nightly binges, Garnet to distract herself from her stresses as queen, Eiko simply due to her childish love for sweets, the influx of calories before sleep hastened their gain, especially for Eiko, who’s tiny frame was affected all the more strongly by the spare calories.  

At the very least Garnet was no longer alone in her gaining, which, given trends in Gaia, wasn’t about to stop.  For every step forward that seemed to happen there were stumbles backwards, be it a weakened building crumbling or farmers requesting help to repair land damaged by monsters that came from the mist.  As the months melded together and rolled by, it seemed that the reconstruction was settling down, but there was no end in sight.  It would take a while to repair the damage that her mother and Kuja had done, and constant diplomacy and teamwork, which meant that as head ambassador Zidane would constantly be out and about while the heads of the kingdoms, Alexandria included, as the nobility still wished to remain close to their kingdoms when they needed them most.

Being separated from Zidane for so frequently as Garnet’s first year as queen remained the largest source of sorrow for Garnet.  She could barely pass a day without having dozens of maids attending to her, and Steiner, Beatrix, and their troops of guards were always clanking through the halls to make sure that no attempt on the new Queen’s life could be made, despite the populous loving her so greatly.  Garnet chuckled at the overprotective actions and overactive imaginations of her well meaning guards, yet as much as she laughed she still felt as if she was floating through life.  Her late night sweet eating sprees with Eiko were her only reminder that she was alive, the sensual sensation of so much chocolate hitting her tongue the best way of shocking her out of her slump, at least for an hour or so until sleep came.  

For this reason Eiko become Garnet’s closest companion while Zidane was away.  Every time Garnet received mail from a Mog she bit her lips, knowing that it probably signified a delay that would keep Zidane separated from her for even longer.  On those nights Garnet drowned her feelings in even more sweets while Eiko, not knowing the anguish her “big sister” was experiencing, enjoyed having sugar to eat than usual.

With the arrival of the first year anniversary of the beginning of the reconstruction efforts Garnet and Eiko’s gain was quite visible.  Garnet could no longer hide her weight behind creative clothing as her extra 70 pounds were very noticeable.  Her plumper, chubby face couldn’t be hidden with any dresses, and at times when she did appear in a low cut dress her soft, round breasts would be pushed together to create wonderfully soft looking cleavage.  Her overly fat bottom was the source of the most embarrassment for her, however, especially since Zidane’s favorite way of making known that he was back from diplomatic work was by sneaking up and giving her ass a quick, affectionate squeeze, enough to warrant a quick yelp out of Garnet and a slap to the face for Zidane.  Garnet was worried that her added weight may strain her relation with Zidane, especially as her paunchy waistline began to develop into a spare tire that would take very adept tailoring to hide.  At times she would clutch her belly and sigh at how out of shape she was becoming, but most of her advisors, maids, and soldiers told her not to worry, that she was simply taking on a figure appropriate for royalty.  Oftentimes she would scold herself for being so vain and focused on her appearance when there were still people out there who were left with no one to turn to but their leaders.  She decided that she could concern herself with physical appearance when Alexandria had finally began to prosper once again.  For now her main concern was her subjects.

Of course, Eiko had no where near any of the concerns that Garnet had.  She didn’t have a world in need of repair to tend to, nor did she have any real reason to concern herself with her weight.  She did notice that she was getting chubbier and even a somewhat more winded after wandering through the halls of castle Alexandria for hours, her body becoming all around softer, but any minute worries she had would melt away when she and Garnet met for their late night feasts.  Eiko’s added chub tended to work more in her favor, if anything.  Her roly-poly body and her precociousness made it very easy to earn the favor of visiting nobles, easily able to charm them into offering her some candy or cake, offers Eiko would never turn down.  Eiko was still a bit unsure about her fattening, but if she could use it to her advantage and could enjoy all of the rich sweets she could she would see what she could get out of it.

Coincidentally, Gaia’s restoration and the coming of Garnet’s one-hundredth pound came very close, the plump Queen quite popular with her people, her heavy frame not garnering much negative attention aside from a few joking comparisons citizens would make, saying that she was finally taking after her mother after so many years.  Garnet, of course, wore her weight much more in a much more flattering manner than her mother, her body definitely something that could be described as smooth and soft with fair, curving skin.  At the very least her dressmakers were willing to make beautiful clothes that accentuated her hips, belly, and chest.

The next few weeks after her grand speech in which she declared Alexandria ready to move on past the tragedy were a whirlwind of bright lights and late nights as she spent her time attending a long celebration in Treno thrown by a group of rich benefactors who had funded much of Alexandria’s reconstruction.  It was their means of showing their appreciation for Garnet’s diligent efforts to restore glory to Alexandria, as well as a means of earning some publicity after having spent so much money.  Garnet, civil minded as ever, was hesitant to leave her kingdom and spend a week indulging and enjoying herself, but Zidane managed to convince her that after having been so self-sacrificing in the last year that she owed herself some time to relax.  Not attending the party quickly become a non-option once Eiko heard about it; she was not about to let pass any opportunity to charm the nobility into offering her gifts and treats.  After enough hassling from Eiko Garnet agreed to attend the party, hoping that at the very least it would offer her some relief.  She would have preferred to go somewhere much quieter than Treno, but she decided to take what she could get.

The party, like Treno, was loud, bustling, crowded, and active all night.  Eiko, of course, tried to act her cutest and most loveable, putting on her acts so that she could charm rich party goers into spoiling her.  She succeeded throughout the whole week, amassing ridiculous amounts of snacks, toys, and even Gil by playing to her audience.  Old money rich found her chubby face absolutely adorable and were willing to part with a small amount of money to keep it smiling.  Her flabby shape only helped her get more candy from sweet old ladies who accused her of starving away; they would pour pocketfuls of treats into her waiting hands.  As much as she wanted to stay up late like all of the adults she had trouble making it past eleven, at which time Garnet would escort Eiko off to bed so that she could rest her aching, overly full tummy.

Garnet, meanwhile, spent most of her time making small talk with the rich elite, sporadically tugging at Zidane’s tail when he made a comment that could offend their sensitive old ears.  When she wasn’t entertaining her fellow VIP guests she was sure to never wander too far away from the buffet.  It helped to make the time go more quickly when she could shovel some finger foods into her mouth to drown out their droll conversations.  Garnet never expected to be this withdrawn and antisocial, but after being pushed and pulled through the most hectic year ever she just wanted to go somewhere were she could relax with Zidane and be herself rather than the idealized ruler of Alexandria.

Zidane did his best to try not to cause too much trouble or drink too much, and for the most part he remained by Garnet’s side, putting on his best for Garnet’s sake.  He accompanied her as she stood by the banquet table, not straying too far off unless he saw one of his old acquaintances from his days as a brigand.  He always found himself surprised, however, with how much Garnet seemed to be eating.  Her hands were always wandering to the side dishes, popping an olive or a block of cheese into her mouth every second, and every couple  minutes or so devouring a small sandwich which were carried around by attendants on small silver platters.  By time the desserts were out Garnet was eating in full force, plucking the tiny pies and chocolates off the banquet and popping them into her mouth and showing no discomfort, despite having eaten enough to sour the stomach of anyone else.  

Zidane watched this spectacle of gluttony with a startled awe, but didn’t dare to make an issue of it.  He knew that it was never wise to make an issue of a woman’s eating, no matter how wild it became, for his own sake.  He was somewhat startled by how much Garnet had been eating through the whole party, yet he figured that with as much as Garnet had been through recently a few bad habits were understandable, though the stress weight she had put on was quite worrisome.  He hoped that once her duties began to become more reasonable that Garnet could cut back on her consumption a bit.  Either way, each night Garnet would wobble off to sleep with an overstuffed belly that rivaled even that of Eiko’s.  

The fifth and final night of the party was the most fattening for the two as it culminated in a dessert banquet which featured a very large and rich custard filled cake.  Garnet and Eiko sat together that night as they feasted, their sweet-loving stomachs sending them into sugar dazes as they gorged with surprisingly little care for all of the watchers they were acquiring during their magnificent binge.  Garnet was far too lost to notice the world around her but Eiko was quite aware of the attention she was getting and was even playing into it.  She did her best to out do Garnet’s eating, at times attempting to down whole slices of cake into her mouth, which often resulted in lips and chin covered in frosting.  By time the two had decimated a fair portion of the cake (amongst other desserts) their bellies were so swollen that they had to retire early to keep their stomachs from aching too much.

Garnet and Eiko returned to Alexandria as much larger girls, necessitating that new outfits be made to fit the swollen queen and her young companion.  Fitting the blobby Eiko was a tough task, as the fat little girl was quite literally becoming round from all of the weight she had gained.   She was so roly poly that at times her chubby legs seemed to straddle her belly as she waddled down the halls of the castle, getting out of breath more easily as she shuffled from side to side.  Her shape was getting much approval from rich noblewomen who stopped by to speak with their queen, they themselves often quite heavy.  They were glad to see a growing girl with such an admirable figure and would eagerly reward her with more candy for her sweetness.  

Garnet, unfortunately, didn’t have the advantages that Eiko’s childlike world view awarded her.  There was far more to her life than candy and toys and her weight at times could be quite troublesome.  She was now very round and soft and found her nightly feasts requiring her to change her bra every three weeks or so, something quite embarrassing now that she had her own tailors.  She also had to deal with her large hips and bottom making the chairs in the dining room very snug.  On occasion she needed to sit around and wait until everyone else had left the dining room so she could dislodge her hips from the tight chairs discretely without anyone knowing; the manner in which her belly brushed against the table as she scooted in to eat was also quite unflattering.  She especially wished that her weight would not effect the populous’s opinion of her and the manner that she ruled, worrying that they would sternly reprimand her for becoming so large during such a tumultuous time for Alexandria.  

Fortunately for Garnet, due to her strong involvement in Alexandria and the world, her own private doings were not an issue and references to her figure and comparisons to her adoptive mother were quite low.  As said, many nobles, some even larger than she, said that she was growing into a figure more appropriate for a woman of her size, and others could see that it was caused due to the stresses of life.  Still, Garnet wanted to reduce her late night feasts now that her biggest concerns as ruler had been swept away.  Eiko, however, was not as willing to leave the late night binges and the past, and every time Garnet would suggest not having them Eiko would pout so sadly with her chubby face that it melted Garnet’s heart.  On those nights she would sneak away an extra cake for the two to eat, just to keep Eiko happy.

Of course, Eiko and Garnet continued to grow fatter while Garnet’s duties as queen surprisingly remained quite hectic and time consuming, albeit with duties no were near as drastic as reconstruction to worry about.  What more concerned Garnet was that her days were now very sedentary, especially with the many surges in paperwork and petitions from villagers including those who wished for permits so that they could open a Chocobo racetrack outside of Alexandria, one to have a monster hunting tournament hosted in the nearby forests, and one of the odder ones, to create mail service for those who are allergic to the hair of the mail carrying Moogles.  Of course, these permits were simply the tip of the iceberg and Garnet went through every pile of paperwork with a snack at her side.  She had little time to concern herself with keeping in shape, and for that her group of noblewomen acquaintances, themselves rather plump, told her she shouldn’t concern herself with such matters.  Garnet could easily understand where they were coming from and was skirting with the notion of concentrating fully on her duties as queen, though she was still concerned that her late night gorges were anything but healthy, especially since her stress was winding down.

As her second year of queen was months away stress began to wind down, and while her life still remained hectic she had began to settle into the pattern of petitions, speeches, and the occasional party, in which she was the star of the buffet table.  She was now approaching a round three hundred pounds, her infamously soft behind jutting well behind her as her silken dresses hung off of it, one of her more recognizable features and a favored talking point of drunken bar-goers in the outskirts of Alexandira.  Eiko had reached her own milestone of 200 pounds which, for her size, was incredibly fat, enough to even hinder her movement some.  She, unlike Garnet, had no intents to stop no matter how large she became or how fat she would be in the future.  She was loving the positive attention she got so much as well as the praise and food elders and villagers showered upon her.  Perhaps this was why she was devastated when Garnet suggested that they curtail their midnight meals.  She was quite startled with the way Eiko wobbled around the castle and how she was starting to get out of breath just after going down a hall, her young age making this all the more startling.

Eiko was not at all willing to give up sweets at all, which was why Garnet was willing to make a bargain with her.  She would be simply reducing their midnight snacks which, for Garnet, had outlived her purpose as she finally finished adapting to her new job.  She wouldn’t be eliminating them entirely, but rather reducing them to much more reasonable portions.  She admitted that it would be hypocritical for her to deny Eiko all things delicious considering that she would be making no plans to diet herself; she had no time to diet.  Garnet would simply be restricting her overeating to the day time and only going overboard at parties so that she wouldn’t end up tripling her own weight before turning 30.  She would avoid restricting Eiko’s efforts to obtain candy too much, though she wasn’t sure that Eiko’s using her cuteness to charm the well meaning adults out of their money was a good show of morals; she knew that Zidane must have had something to do with this idea.  Garnet simply wished to reign in their weight gain so that the two wouldn’t look as if they were letting their new positions go to their waistline.  Garnet only wished to keep her and Eiko’s bodies under their own respective control.  Garnet simply felt that this middle ground would allow her to devote the most attention to being an affective ruler while helping Eiko become a respected member of the family in Castle Alexandria.

By time Garnet finished her deal with Eiko the young girl was already eager to rush out of the castle to go play outside.  Garnet was surprised to see Eiko so eager to go outside to play instead of wandering out of the castle looking for guests who could give her candy.  She suspected she might do some healthy playing with the neighborhood children, however Eiko was really running out to take on a bet proposed by some local boys that she couldn’t eat three pounds of candy, a large deluxe chocolate bar her prize for winning.  Garnet, on the other hand, was ready to return to more paperwork, feeling satisfied that she had made a breakthrough with Eiko.  She stood up and began to waddle out of the room, a bit more uplifted than usual, quite pleased with her progress as the queen of Alexandria and as the new caretaker of Eiko.  As she left her room and turned around she let out a loud shriek as she could feel familiar fingers digging into her expansive behind.  With amazing velocity for her mass she turned around and grabbed Zidane by the shoulder, her large body contrasting greatly with Zidane’s small frame.

“This is just my way of telling you dinner is ready!” He said, grinning sheepishly as he was gripped by Garnet.  Garnet chuckled some, quite happy to see Zidane.

“Okay...” She swept her hair aside, her fat face smiling.  “I’ll go look for Eiko, she just left...” She smiled as she waddled out, remembering there would be a wonderful dinner (and fortunately quiet, as only Garnet’s most trusted companions knew of it)  prepared to celebrate her second year as queen, wishing that she could be as great a queen over the next two, four, forty years as she was in the past two years.  To do this was her true duty, beyond filling out petitions, attending parties, and making sure Eiko didn’t spoil her stomach before dinner.