Ambidextrous - Chapter 6

Ambidextrous -- A Fantasy Weight Gain Story

Chapter 6: Rival Arrival

    Ryote was familiar with the concept of corsets. Generally, they were elegant lacy things worn by high-society types in order to enhance their already svelte physiques. This was something different. It was made of black leather with a series of buckles holding it closed and rawhide laces up the back to pull it tight. It came to just below the line of her bust and though it did a remarkable job of hiding her gut, it didn’t actually make her look much thinner. She had an essential thickness that the corset couldn’t remedy, and on top of that, it was incredibly uncomfortable.

    In order to stay in place it needed to be tightened to a point that it kept her back nearly rigid, and although she could still breathe fairly easily she was restricted to more shallow breaths lest she feel her belly straining the garment’s limits. That said, when worn in combination with her jacket it was a significant improvement. She spun gently in front of the mirror, and for the first time since her meeting with Elder Raina, the movement wasn’t followed by the wild wobbling of her belly.

    There was still the jiggle of her thighs and rear. Even her upper arms and chest joined in, but for now, Ryote’s largest and most spirited repository of fat had been held firmly in place. It was enough for her to make up her mind.

    “I’ll take it.” She said as she got a better view of her profile. This was salvageable. She could work with this, at least for the time being. That was when a low rumble escaped from Ryote’s stomach. She placed both hands on her belly in alarm and looked up to the shopkeep who was putting forth a valiant effort to appear as though she hadn’t noticed.

    “Um… I guess that will be all then.” Ryote started grabbing her bags from the floor. “Thank you again.” She rushed out of the room at a brisk walk which only conveyed how desperately Ryote was attempting to appear casual. How long had it been since she’d last eaten? She hadn’t had anything this morning, and she’d been too tired yesterday to grab dinner before she went to bed. She was nearly to the hydro-lifts when she caught a scent on the air that stopped her in her tracks.

    Two stalls down, a vendor was carrying slabs of meat on a pole. When a customer stopped him he would remove one of the steaks, toss it in the air, and with a burst of sinistral magic flash fry it as it spun above their heads. Ryote felt her tongue lull out of her mouth as she watched the meat go from a bright crimson to a crisp, glossy brown as it sizzled and popped in the fire. It landed on the customer’s outstretched plate with a satisfying slap. Ryote was sold, and she lost any pretense of modesty as she ran over.

    “How much for one of the steaks?” She demanded. The vendor smiled warmly. He was either unconcerned or thrilled to have such an enthusiastic and zaftig customer.

    “It’s a pair of gold pieces for one or three for two.” apparently Ryote’s requisition benefits didn’t extend to food, but that was okay. Even at the steep price for the meats, Ryote had held on to far more of her cash than she’d expected to today. She’d had a tough week. She deserved this. She forked over three coins and the man pulled two steaks from his pike and fried them both in mid-air. The first steak landed on Ryote’s plate with expert aim and the second flopped down on top of the other soon after.

    She thanked the man and hurried away to indulge her poor neglected tummy. It was only after she sat down at a bench that she realized she didn't have any utensils to eat it with. She did, of course, have her knife on her, but she was still self-conscious enough to want to avoid looking like a barbarian. She looked around hoping to see another food vendor she might borrow a fork from. She spotted one in the form of a fresh bread cart rolling past and had a better idea.The man had barely finished handing a loaf to a young woman when Ryote surprised him from behind.

    “Sir?” She asked with a tap on his shoulder. The man spun around to meet Ryote. She was almost a head shorter than him. and he nearly overlooked her, but a young, thick woman with cleavage a man could lose a boat in was hard to miss. “Do you have any smaller loaves?” She asked sheepishly as if the question wasn’t something perfectly natural to ask a baker.

    “Um… yes.” He answered as he tried to reconcile the inherent contradiction of someone being both so small and so big all at once. He shook his head to try to clear his mind. “Do you want regular or cinnamon bread?” The woman’s eyes widened.

    “It comes in cinnamon?” She asked as she dug into her pouch for more coins. “Two regular and cut in half for sandwiches. One cinnamon for later.” he nodded and began preparing the loves for her. For the first time since the tournament Ryote was really enjoying herself. There would be plenty of time to worry about learning sinistral magic later. For now, she would allow herself to indulge, even if just for a moment.

    The baker wasn’t even done preparing her order before she noticed a stall that was selling turkey legs, and by the time he’d handed her the loaves she already knew where she’d be heading after that.

+++

    Giles found Ryote in the cafeteria. She was at a table by herself with a small bowl of greens reading a book. She had a look of frustrated concentration on her face and was wearing new clothes. She looked good all things considered, but that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Ryote had always been the epitome of grace under pressure. Giles had to admit that she had deserved that knight position more than him. Still, she wasn’t without her flaws. He doubted that she’d have gotten herself into this mess if she’d taken his advice before. He sat down across from her. She didn’t look up.

    “What are you reading?” he asked. She raised her fingers in a water sign.

    “Studying.” She corrected. “Sinistral magic. I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.” He cocked his head in confusion, but she still hadn’t looked up so he continued.

    “I thought you’d mastered water signs.” She sighed and closed the book. She rested her chin in her hand and finally met his gaze with a look of tired frustration. “I did too, but this morning I couldn’t even change a puddle of water into steam.” He frowned at this and quickly thought through the different things that she might be doing wrong.

    “Show me your hand.” He said. She must have heard the curiosity in his voice since she offered it to him without complaint. He squinted at the way her fingers were pressed together. “I was afraid of that.” He said bluntly and crossed his arms.

    “What?” She asked. “Am I doing it wrong?” He shook his head.

    “It’s not that. You know how dexteral magic works, right?”

    Ryote nodded. “It’s tied to the liver somehow, right?” According to alchemical principles, the liver was the source of human thought and reason. Dextral magic held powers of manipulation and required a clear head and healthy liver to perform correctly.

    “Sinistral magic is tied to the heart,” Giles explained. Ryote nodded along waiting for him to continue, but the young mage didn’t. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to understand what he was getting at.

    “Oh fuck!” she exclaimed grabbing her head. Giles raised his hands to calm her and looked around the room apologetically. “So I’m too fat to do magic?” She asked, exasperated.

    “I mean, you have to admit that you’ve had a harder time these past couple of days.” Ryote collapsed onto the table with her hands over her head. She was aware that she was making a scene but it was hard not to feel like she had a right to lose her cool.

    “Is everything okay over here?” A woman’s voice asked from above her. Ryote looked up to see one of the younger acolytes standing next to her with her fists on her hips. Ryote didn’t recognize her and figured she must be one of the recent additions to the fourth floor. She was young, pretty and had shoulder length blonde hair which bobbed around her neck in thick, decadent curls. Despite her overly cute appearance, she carried a sword which meant she was likely trying out to become a knight, and based on the look on her face she took that responsibility very seriously. Ryote sat up to meet her gaze while Giles proffered an explanation.

    “She’s just having a rough time. Sorry if we bothered you.” The girl raised an open palm toward Giles without taking her eyes of Ryote.

    “You’re the one from the tournament. You lost.” Ryote cocked an eyebrow.

    “You’re misremembering.”

    “You did want to become a knight, didn’t you?” the younger mage shrugged. “You weren’t chosen; therefore you lost”

    “Was there something you needed?” Ryote asked. It had been a rather emotional day and the last thing she needed was some inexperienced mage with a chip on her shoulder making her life more difficult.

    “You look different.” She said, ignoring the question. Her eyes briefly wandered over the excess of Ryote’s form before snapping back up to meet her gaze. “There are rumors going around that one of the elders didn’t want you in the tournaments anymore so they tried to make you too fat to compete.” Ryote almost protested, but that explanation wasn’t that far off. “Listen.” the other girl continued. She leaned over the table to be at eye level with the chubby mage. “Don’t compete next year. You’ll just embarrass yourself, and you’ll make the other Dextral mages look bad.”

    Ryote blinked a few times. She wasn’t used to being insulted so directly. She’d likely have challenged the girl right there under normal circumstances, but she honestly wasn’t sure she could beat the first-year in her current state. She looked over at Giles who shook his head emphatically and felt her jaw tighten.

    “Anyway. Think it over.” She waved with her right hand as she walked away and a familiar purple trail follow the tips of her fingers. Ryote felt the rawhide laces on the back of her corset start to loosen. She immediately began a countersign and the garment tightened back up again. That was too much. With a few hand signs of her own, the buckles on the blonde mage’s belt and sword-frog suddenly came loose and the whole thing dropped around her ankles. She yelped in alarm at the sound of metal striking metal and she spun to face Ryote, her face burning brighter with frustration as she realized that the larger mage’s corset was still firmly in place.

    Ryote looked over is if she was just noticing the other girl. “Oh!” She started when she saw the belt. “ Looks like your belt wasn’t tight enough. I imagine that that’s a common problem for skinny girls. I’d recommend suspenders.” The blond girl reached down and pulled her belt back up not taking her eyes off Ryote before storming away back to her table.

    “That probably wasn’t necessary,” Giles said quietly once the blonde girl was out of earshot.

    “I didn’t see you sticking up for me. So what’s the plan to get me back into shape then?”

    “Well, the salad is a good start,” Giles admitted, pointing at the untouched bowl next to her. Ryote stiffened and decided not to mention the binge she’d had at the market earlier. “Other than that I’d recommend a good fencing instructor”

    “I already know how to sword fight.”

    “You did two days ago. I’m not sure that’s true anymore. Besides, I think those skills might be put to the test in the near future.” He nodded, indicating something behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see the blonde mage glaring at her from a dozen tables away.

    “You don’t think she’s going to be a problem, do you?” She asked as she experimentally picked at the dry salad leaves in the bowl next to her. Giles shrugged. “Okay then,” she said pushing the bowl away and closing her book. “Let’s get started.”