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Warning: This story contains growth, macro, mega macro, clothes-ripping, building outgrowing, rampaging and both gentle and destructive giantesses.

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Legend of Crescita, by DragonMasterX.

Deep in the mountainous region of the main continent one could find the kingdom of Crescita. In the days of old, Crescita owed its humble beginnings as a small congregation of noble wise men and women providing refuge to the religiously persecuted. It was said the Goddess Dia had shone her blessed light unto the land which assured them bounty and protection, as well as choosing one of the wise women as the queen of that developing land which became her namesake.

With Dia’s worshippers spreading her teachings of compassion and camaraderie, it didn’t take long for many destitute and disempowered to come into the fold. Statues and temples were erected everywhere in the land for Queen Crescita and her husband to worship and show gratitude to the goddess. In return, the goddess would bless everyone to live a full life safe from hardship.

Over a dozen centuries of growth later, several villages had flourished at the base of the mountains, peacefully overlooked by Castle Crescita. The original Queen’s bloodline had been tasked to continue the time honored tradition of worship, but the pilgrimage to places of prayer was becoming more and more perilous as time advanced.

Monsters and outlaws from fallen, godless nations which had no more to pillage had become more and more frequent with every passing year. Although the citizens within the castle walls still enjoyed peace and prosperity away from any real danger, town and city folk in the plains lived in fear of being attacked every day.

The villages at the kingdom’s outskirts were the first one hit. A millennia of expansion had covered the territory with so many cities and towns of varying sizes that the kingdom’s militia was spread thin. For every village they protected from raving beasts or barbaric thugs, another fell and was occupied, necessitating liberation. Some towns could be saved. Others and the land surrounding it were inevitably razed to the ground. And every year things only seemed to be taking a turn for the worse.

The current state of affairs was almost too much to bear for young Crescita princess Julia, who was known for her empathy and kindness. Julia’s mother, the late queen, had passed two years ago and with her physically debilitated father, the traditional pilgrimage, even if half as effective, wasn’t possible anymore.

Although still a young adult, Julia was a courageous and tenacious sort who had managed to convince her bed-ridden father to approve a relief mission Julia insisted she wished to head.

“Out of the question, young lady! Can’t you see how dangerous it is outside of the castle these days?” the voice of paternal concern would ring out, but it only fell on ears deafened by conviction.

“I cannot continue living my life of luxury when I know our subjects are suffering down in the plains. They have our forces attempting to help them, but they’ve still lost and continue losing everything! And with winter fast approaching, a lack of food won’t be what will finish them off!”

No ifs and buts could dissuade Julia, so she went on to load a traveling coach with the essentials for distribution. Things were terrible out there and she knew nobody in the royal guard wished to go down to the plains, and yet, counting her fortunes, Julia also knew wasn’t alone. Moved by her words, her personal bodyguards and maid had decided to assist the princess in her selfless endeavors.

On the day she was about to leave on her quest, young Julia was intercepted by her older sister, heiress apparent to Crescita’s throne, princess Jocelyn. Unlike the shorter and slightly more corpulent Julia, Jocelyn had been blessed with a slender build of statuesque height for a woman. Long, golden haired Jocelyn made many an adult man look up at her inch over six feet. It was almost impossible, then, for a girl a head and a half shorter to not feel intimidated when her older sister came to dissuade her.

But no deterrent was offered, to Julia’s surprise. “I figured you would one day do something stupid like risking your life for those peasants you seem to be so fond of.” Jocelyn was sternly criticizing her instead.

Julia always felt bad when Jocelyn teased her, but this time it stung. She had her father’s permission however, so instead of defending her position she hopped into the coach to help her maid in order to secure their cargo. “I have way too many clothes that I will never wear, and food that will spoil before I get to eat it,” she said with a smile.

Folding her arms, Jocelyn blew her blonde bangs out of the way with a sigh, leaning her back against a wall. “You’ve always been weak, Julia. What is your plan if you get jumped by thugs, or an ogre?”

“If I can’t help defend our people, then I will bring them relief, dear sister.” Julia reaffirmed. “Plus, I’ve plotted our route already! We will take the safest possible roads and visit the north-western villages only.”

“Villages in the northwest, you say?” Jocelyn seemed interested.

“They don’t get hit as much and can help me distribute all of this, I’m sure they’ll be eager to help their fellow compatriots!” Julia said while patting down and tightening the ropes. “As much as I want to help all of the plains, I know I can’t, sister. And I certainly couldn’t bring Silvy and my men to major risk!”

“Of course not,” Jocelyn nodded, closing her eyes and shrugging her shoulders, “It seems like you have put some serious thought into this. Nobody is stopping you from going, are they, little sister?”

Julia popped her head out of the back of the coach, her shoulder-length auburn hair shaking with her head. To her surprise, Jocelyn approached, put a hand on her cheek and stroked it gently.

“What else can I say then?” Jocelyn softly smiled, “Don’t have too much fun in your adventure, Julie.” She finished and left. Julia couldn’t have hoped for a better resolution to that conversation. She was aware of her big sister having a hard time respecting others and Jocelyn could indeed be quite the bully with her, but she had long convinced herself that it was her way of showing her affection.

With Julia’s maid, Silvy, confirming that all of their cargo was safely stashed and secured, they were ready to leave castle Crescita. With Julia’s bodyguards manning the horses, they all bid farewell to the castle town’s citizenry and they were soon on their way.

It was the first time for Julia to venture out of the castle without her family…

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After driving down the usually bumpy road to the foot of the mountains, the princess’ coach had finally made it to firmer ground. High morning humidity had risen a misty curtain that was making it tough to see out into the plains. Julia’s bodyguards’ comment on the eerie silence out in the open convinced her that choosing the beaten path still guarded by craggy old upheavals was their best bet to reach the villages. Morning gave way to the afternoon as they cautiously traversed.

This was the path her family had always used, so Julia remembered it well. What she was ashamed to have forgotten about was one particular structure they drove past on their way to the north-western villages. It was one of many altars dedicated to their patron goddess, Dia. Having fallen to disrepair to the ravages of time, the temple surrounding the altar showed clear signs of defilement: Old stains of blood and muck, pieces of debris strewn about, profanities against the Goddess scribbled for all to see. Julia couldn’t abide this corruption.

“Please halt the coach!” Julia requested out loud, the two horses pulling their vehicle whinnying in protest to the driver’s tugging.

“Princess?” the bodyguard seated to the side of the driver looked back, “Is something wrong?”

“Yes, it is,” Julia was already gathering cleaning supplies in a bag, “Just look at this altar!”

“It looks like it’s been abandoned for a time, your highness.”

“It has been profaned,” Julia said, Silvy readily imitating her by gathering more cleaning supplies to follow her. “Silvy, please help me. We will put this place to rights once more!”

“You didn’t even have to ask, princess! Even if I’m not a believer, I gladly support you,” Silvy’s sincere exuberance was enough to perk Julia up further. Together, they abandoned the coach even through the bodyguards’ protests.

“If you’re that worried, come with us. Bring the coach and horses around. You could all use a little break after hours of driving, yes?” Julia smiled back to her servants while carefully stepping up the staircase to the dilapidated temple. “Get a fire going. We will be here a while!”

The bodyguards exchanged concerned looks, but ultimately agreed. At least the princess wasn’t being completely unreasonable. With the coach and horses parked under a nearby tree for shade, first campfire of their adventure soon burned brightly, giving the party an opportunity to cook a hearty meal.

Julia and Silvy worked through to the night, the latter working up exhaustion significantly faster with her decades of age catching up to her. Julia only took breaks for lunch and dinner, choosing to skip tea time in order to scrub more of that unpleasant muck tarnishing the Dia’s statue. Julia could tell how weary her maid was; she was getting on with the years after all. She had to order her to join the others to rest, promising to finish up before long.

Julia knew this had been a selfish request, an interruption to a journey she had insisted on starting; she would finish up before they woke up and they’d be off first thing in the morning; not just for their sakes but her subjects in the villages. This was an important task to Julia, however.

The young princess had grown up hearing her mother tell her tales about how the goddess offered her protection and boons to their people, and that it was important for the queen and the king to pay their respects to Her everywhere they could at least once every year. But with the number of monsters increasing every season, and the growing unrest of the masses, coming out for processions had become a hazard the crown could no longer abide. As a result, many holy sites like this one had been desecrated.

Now more than ever, Julia thought, their need of the Dia’s blessing was paramount if Crescita’s people was to survive.

It was a little past midnight and the last few embers of the campfire were the only thing casting dim lighting into the ransacked temple, allowing Julia to minimally see. But that was enough for her. She had finished erasing the last of the graffiti running along the altar to their goddess. A bit exhausted, she still found a few minutes to kneel before the altar, closing her eyes and joining her hands in prayer.

“I know I am not queen and I will never be,” Julia whispered into the cold night air, “I know it seems like we’ve forgotten you, our fair heavenly goddess. We are all sorry we have not paid respects, but we have all been too scared to come out to commune with you. I know we… that I have no right to make demands from you, but if I have to speak from my heart my sister is right. I am weak and I am unable to do anything to protect my people from harm. My only wish is to spare them the misery of living in fear and uncertainty every day…”

But young princess, are you not already on a quest to assuage the people’s uncertainty?

Julia’s eyes popped open. For a moment she thought she had heard the wind carry words into her ears, but the deep, feminine echo did not belong to Silvy. She carefully looked around and behind her, not finding any person with whom to attribute the rhetorical question to. “Who’s there…?” the princess decided to raise her voice from its murmuring volume.

Are we not having a conversation, Julia?

With her heart racing, Julia thought it couldn’t have been the actual Dia speaking to her. But she wished with all of her heart to believe otherwise. “Is it truly you, your divinity?” the princess shifted on her knees, looking up through the broken ceiling at the clear late night skies.

Although the heavenly presence of the goddess could not be perceived, Dia’s voice seemed to reverberate within Julia’s soul. “Doubt not, child,” she said, and the words appeared to cradle her being in warmth, “I am here to provide you with an answer to your prayer.”

“Could it be?!” Julia almost jumped, “Will our kingdom finally be free of strife and monsters…?”

“It will be,” Dia said, “But not by my heavenly hand, child.”

Julia felt her heart sink, “Buh-but…” she protested, “I don’t understand. Are you not omnipotent? Have you not the power to deliver us from evil?”

“No God is truly omnipotent, young one,” the reverberating voice said, almost amused. “From the beginning, it has always been human nature to generate and combat evil. To lift yourselves from your own strife. And to use that strength to overcome all obstacles. Dia has merely shown you the path.”

“Strength…?” Julia couldn’t help but pout. Dia’s edict carried reason, but it was something the princess could not relate to. “I… I am not strong, your divinity. I am small and weak, and I wouldn’t be able to fend off the people and monsters threatening my subjects. To me, and many others without strength, those obstacles are insurmountable!”

“You are correct, child,” Dia agreed without hesitation, making Julia’s gaze fall to the ground. “But I can sense it in your anxious heart: You are thinking of strength as that which only the eye can appreciate. In that sense, you will ever be the loser. But if you bother to look past appearances, you will realize there is more to strength than physical force.”

Julia gradually looked up with a puzzled expression. She wasn’t sure how to ask for an explanation, but Dia provided it anyway.

Heed me, child. For it took strength to abandon the comfort of your station to bring succor to those in need. It took strength for you and your comrades to begin braving the unknown. And it will take more of that inner strength for you to save your kingdom.

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“Are you saying we’re strong enough, already…?” Julia asked, still unsure, “I think I see the wisdom in your words, heavenly one. But… I truly wished there was more I could do.”

“If that is indeed true…” Dia continued only to pause. Julia was about to reaffirm her wish only for the light of purity to engulf the altar in front of her. The flinching princess found herself on her rump as she fell back from the spectacle. The almost quiet sound of shifting stone could be perceived in the otherwise silent ruined temple. As something within the altar clicked, a compartment slid out from behind a panel, revealing a piece of jewelry embedded within. “…then take this ring, Julia. As you cannot yet see your true worth by yourself, this bauble will aid you in manifesting your inner strength.”

Julia carefully stood up, dusting her dress off and carefully stepping towards the altar. Reaching for the ring, she was surprised with how easy it was to pluck out of its slot. The golden ring had no gemstone on it, but its rim appeared to be lined with precious jade; a peculiar design. “This will help me protect everyone, my goddess…?” Julia asked. She waited and waited for an answer, but Dia did not speak. The pure light had abandoned the altar as soon as Julia had taken the ring. “Your divinity…?”

It didn’t matter how many times Julia attempted to resume conversation. The goddess didn’t seem to be around to hear her any longer. Looking down at the precious ring on the palm of her hand, the princess found herself clutching it hopefully. “I can do it…” she told herself, “With Dia’s magic ring, I can protect everyone…” she said, extending her left index out to carefully slide the ring on. It was a perfect fit down to the base. Simply wearing it was already making Julia feel more confident.

Julia still couldn’t believe she had spoken with a goddess. Part of her considered that between the mental anguish and physical exhaustion of the day she might have suffered through a hallucination and this was just an old trinket she had happened to find while cleaning. Either way, Dia’s words remained in her mind and her heart. It was up to them to solve their problems; so nothing had changed.

After all of that, Julia felt so tired she just shuffled back to camp, greeting the bodyguard on lookout before deciding to retire for the night. She wasn’t sure if to recount her incredible tale with her companions, as even if they did believe her it would be disheartening to hear that the Goddess would not make danger magically disappear as one would have hoped. Nothing had changed. They would resume their trip on the following morning.

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After spending the next morning traveling down the winding roads, princess Julia’s party had made it to the first northwestern Crescita settlement. It was a small community with four houses, three of which were repurposed sheds. Nowadays it was common for displaced families to find shelter and work for artisans and blacksmiths in the road. Normally there would always be a father or mother qualified for farm work, so between limited commerce and a measure of self-sufficiency, cooperation allowed these settlements not to thrive but survive as community.

These people who did not know luxury were positively shocked when they saw Julia’s travel coach arrive on the side of their road. Curious children wanting to greet the pomp stranger had to be reined in by their suspicious parents, but their collective grip flaked once they saw the royal insignia of Crescita resting on the lapel of Julia’s cyan and aquamarine dress. She stepped down slowly and gracefully, greeting them with a radiant smile and a bow.

“That’s one of the princesses…”

“I haven’t seen ‘em royals for a decade now.”

“What is she doing down here with us common folk?”

“Good day to you all, citizens!” Julia said to the murmurers, “We’ve ridden down from the castle bearing grain and dried meats to bolster your food supplies, as well as clothes and quilts to keep you warm in the coming months!” She had expected a little excitement, but couldn’t blame the wariness in the people’s eyes. Deciding a show would be better than a colorful speech, she walked to the back of the coach where Silvy was finishing to untie some of their cargo and asked for her help in unloading.

Murmurs intensified right until the moment they saw Julia pulling back a heavy-looking large trunk out of the back of the coach. The bodyguards had been finishing up tying the horses down to the settlement’s fence when they noticed their charge and her maid struggling to unload that container.

“Puh-princess, please allow us!” one of the bodyguards called out, rushing back around but it was a bit too late. Without the necessary physical strength, the weight of the sliding down trunk couldn’t be pushed back by Julia’s dainty arms.

“O-oh dear…!” Silvy stumbled forwards when the rope she was holding started to tear.

“Nngh…!” the princess groaned, feeling the weight of the chest falling on top of her without her being able to manipulate it. Just when she was about to get crushed however, a number of hands showed next to hers and held the heavy chest up for her.

“Are you okay, yer highness?” asked one of the burlier villagers who had rushed to her side. Embarrassed and blushing, Julia quickly nodded with a nervous smile, looked at the second villager helping out and started to apologize.

“Suh-sorry, I misjudged the weight of the chest!” Julia admitted, “Silvy, are you okay?” she immediately asked, getting a shaky thumb up from her maid who was propping herself up on the cargo after the damaged rope had slipped out from her grip.

“Princess!” the bodyguards finally added their hands to the chest, making it light for everybody involved now that there were five people on it. “That was reckless! You should allow us to do the heavy lifting. Did you hurt yourself?”

“I-I’m okay, Thomas!” Julia said to her knight on the left. Even with their helmets and masks on she could easily tell them apart. “Thank you Terry,” she said her other knight before directing gratitude to the others. “And thank you too for coming to my aid,” she smiled to the villagers. Part of her felt useless enough to prompt her to remove her hands from the trunk, allowing the bigger, burlier men to handle it since her strength made no difference to the weight. Thomas and Terry were more than enough to unload the chest.

“It’s no trouble, princess. You really brought this huge clothes chest for us, though?” one of the villagers, the blacksmith that owned the sheds, seemed a bit skeptical even after seeing it.

“Yes! As well as an assortment of good food!” Julia said, “I… I guess I could use some help unloading it all for you, sir,” she smiled gently, getting a playful grin from the old, burly gentleman. He turned back to the families that lived in his settlement.

“You heard the princess! What are y’all hanging back for? Come help!” the blacksmith hollered, and as if that had been the command of a military sergeant, feet started marching towards the coach. Thomas and Terry wouldn’t have to make much effort after all.

The sound of happy children filled the settlement as they not only received quilts to stay cozy with, but also old toys which Julia no longer played with. Mothers and older sisters chatted away with Silvy to help them choose clothes they liked and wished to keep while the men ran numbers on how much food they would need to comfortably ride out the coming months until they could begin farming again.

“Highness, I have to admit that after I heard the news concernin’ the queen, I never expected to see the princess of Crescita down here,” the blacksmith said as he showed Julia around their small community, “We’ve been having a harsh time with the crops, and although we managed to hunt the werefox what kept killin’ our sheep and birds, it’s been days since them kids have been able to eat more ‘n once a day. This all will make winter bearable. Ye have my thanks.”

Hearing those words of gratitude, Julia couldn’t help but shake her head. In reviewing the words she had heard the previous night and hearing the tales of the lives of these humble people, she was starting to understand what it meant for humans to get themselves through obstacles without divine intervention. “No thanks necessary, sir. All I ask is that you continue living on as you are, and to look out for each other as you have.”

“It’ll be mighty easier now, that’s fer sure,” the blacksmith laughed a little, although a wistful pause took him when he looked beyond the horizon, further west. Julia frowned as she joined him by the edge of their fence.

“Have you heard what it’s like in the outskirts, sir?” she inquired.

“Aye. Sure to be dealing with things worse than a werefox, highness,” the blacksmith nodded, “Merchants what used to come trade fer food we kinnae-get stopped showin’ them faces a while back. Cities ‘n towns out there got hit by raids first but I hear they started rebuilding after the soldiers cleared it out of monsters. One of the families I accommodated is from Brookstown. Place is supposed to be safe now but after losing everything they chose to move as far away from danger as they could. Smart fellas.”

Taking a deep breath, Julia was looking more resolute than ever. “Brookstown is on our way. I’m sure they can use relief while they work hard on rebuilding.”

“Ye really are going to the outskirts on a coach full of food and clothes?” the blacksmith turned to look at Julia with concern, but his judgmental gaze wavered as soon as he met the princess’ almond-brown eyes. “Heh. Of course ye are. Well, won’t see me stopping ye, highness. But I still would like to help yer lads. Their armor is bulky but that’s all it is, and their blades could use some sharpenin’ too.”

“Oh! You’d be willing to…?” Julia didn’t even get to complete her sentence, the blacksmith bellowing out a hearty laugh.

“Jus’ try ‘n stop me, haw haw!”

After sharing a meal with the families of the settlement while the blacksmith serviced Terry’s and Thomas’ equipment, the clothes that hadn’t been claimed were stashed back in the trunk and this time loaded back into the coach with the help of the settlers. Thankful for each other’s company and services, the royal travel coach set out to continue down the road.

Princess Julia’s journey took her across many such towns and cities. Not all of them were communities like the blacksmith’s, and several offered only eerie silence with unsettling vestiges of the life that used to populate them. But for every respectful tombstone erected and prayer offered to a lost soul, Julia’s heart was warmed anew by the sound of raucous laughter and the sight of relieved expressions in necessitated villages.

A week later, the party of goodwill had reached the outskirts of the plains. One of the biggest settlements which had grown into a full-blown community had acted as a trading outpost for decades until the monsters had arrived. Brookstown was only a shadow of its former self, yet when Terry saw from the driver’s seat all those buildings in the distance, Julia crawled to the front and became amazed with all the people distributed along rooftops, working hard at rebuilding.

Like everywhere they visited, Julia’s travel coach was greeted with initial skepticism. However, as soon as she walked out, she was instantly recognized.

“It’s Princess Julia!”

“The rumors are true, she is traveling the western lands!”

“Does this mean we’re getting toys from the princess, mama? I’ve been good, I promise!”

These people weren’t even murmuring. They were instantly happy to see the princess make an appearance! Once Julia’s group had been announced, Brookstown’s mayor came out to greet them in person.

“I haven’t seen you since you were smaller than I, Your Highness!” Mayor Pete was a stocky yet kind-looking old man. Julia was embarrassed to admit to him that she did not in fact recall him. With a laugh, he explained: “Oh excuse silly old me. You were indeed too young at the time, but you were here when the King recognized us as part of Crescita. We held a banquet for the ages; but ahh, we can certainly not treat you to that level of hospitality nowadays, regrettably…”

“Mr. Mayor, please! We’re not here to take,” Julia waved her hand down at the short old man, “We would love to provide you and your hard-working people some relief. We still have clothes, toys and some food left…”

“You gracious child… Ah,” Mayor Pete seemed moved, looking back at the houses reserved for medical treatment, “If you can spare old clothes, the infirmary could use some. Any toys and clothes for the young ones would be appreciated as well. The city’s seamstresses left with their families a month back, and without merchants procuring proper apparel has been difficult.”

“I see. We can arrange that!” Julia nodded, “And what about food?”

Mayor Pete shook his head, “Please save your food for those in need, princess. Our yields have been more than sufficient to outlast winter twice over. In fact, I can no longer contain myself! Won’t you and your companions stay the night? As luck would have it, our tavern has been recently repaired and refurbished and although I cannot throw you a banquet befitting royalty, I would love to reward your generosity with a small celebration!”

Julia didn’t want to impose, but she considered how hard Silvy and her bodyguards had been working all these days; all for her sake. Adding to that the mayor’s hospitable gaze, she was worn down immediately. She told herself she could also use a little rest. “We would love to stay the night, Mr. Mayor.”

“The Princess and her companions are staying with us, everyone!” Mayor Pete didn’t waste time announcing the news to an instantly cheerful Brookstown. After finding accommodations and proper maintenance for the travel coach and its horses, Julia and the others spent the rest of the afternoon helping distribute clothes, toys and even with preparing dinner.

Night soon fell…

People continued to come and go at Brookstown’s tavern. Julia was instantly enamored with the quaint insides of the large building which doubled as an inn. Outside of the great ballroom in Castle Crescita, the princess had never seen such sprawling area for people to party at. She and Silvy sat at a table observing all the dozens of people gathered at the Mayor’s party while Thomas danced his heart out with the local women. Heavy sleeper that he was, Terry had decided to take the first chance he got at lying down on a real bed.

Music and spirits were high, there was food aplenty and everyone was happy to be there, whether to join in merriment or kick back after a hard day’s work of rebuilding. It was such a good time that more and more people kept showing up, taking up tables, barking out for mead and meat, maybe getting increasingly demanding with the waiting staff.

“’ey, thanks for the chicken, baby,” Silvy heard one of the rowdy, loud men who had taken a seat behind their table holler. “Now how about a sweet kiss to help it go down easy, eh?”

“Ah! S-sorry, sir, I have to help bring everyone food and drinks, you see…” the waitress excused herself, but before she could step away she felt the large flirtatious man’s arm hooking around her waist, pulling her close. Nervous, she attempted to wriggle free but found her strength lacking.

“Well, aren’t you a doll? But I think you’ve earned yourself a break,” the large man insisted while the rest of his seated companions, all on the large side as well as Silvy noted, muttered and laughed amongst themselves. The waitress let out a meek whimper and that was it.

Silvy considered herself old-fashioned, but the way the lecherous newcomers were acting was completely unacceptable to her. Julia was surprised when her maid stood up and rounded their table to stand before the party of four with a disapproving look and her knuckles rested at her hips. She was a short woman similar in height to Major Pete, but if you asked she would tell you she was in her early forties. “Excuse me!” she spoke up at the ruffian holding that poor girl by the waist, “This is a lady you’re strong-arming, sir. Have you no shame?”

“A-ah! Silvy!” Julia left her seat after her maid, having sensed trouble the moment she heard the waitress whine, but found herself stunned by the way Silvy had decided to intervene. People continued to come and go in the party. The Mayor was nowhere to be seen.

“And who invited this old rag here?” the brute holding the waitress scoffed at Silvy, who angrily pouting at the insult stepped on his foot. “Nngh! What the heck do you think you’re doing, granny?!” he shouted, standing up and letting go of the waitress to the mocking laughter of his peers.

“Where is the Mayor…?” Julia asked herself as she hurried to Silvy’s side, her eyes looking everywhere for the governor for his aid. Before she could find Mayor Pete however, Julia found herself her maid and the rude party goer. After one quick glance at the offender, she could swear this had been the first time she had seen him and the rest of his friends; had they all come from outside Brookstown to crash the party? Likely attracted by the loud music and smell of alcohol. Julia had heard about these types bringing trouble with them wherever they went. As much as she agreed the brute in front of her deserved what he got, it was up to her to deescalate before Silvy got hurt. “Please, we’re all here to enjoy the night together, aren’t we?”

The man seemed eager to ignore Silvy and Julia, groaning at how the waitress had slipped into the sea of people nearby. However, when he went back to confront Julia, he did a double take. Julia immediately got a bad feeling from his intent stare, like he was trying to work something out. Julia understood she was in trouble when she heard him mutter out a list: “Short brown hair, shiny brown eyes, fancy clothes…” he started grinning and addressed the rest of the guys at the table, “Fellas, think we found her.”

Muttering amongst themselves, they got off their seats, prompting Julia to put her hands behind her to hold Silvy without turning around. Julia found herself backing away from the four men.

“Yo, Mick! C’mere!” one of the four hollered back, “Turns out shorty was lying after all, hahaha!”

Julia’s trembling eyes peered past the group and at the approaching beast of a man called Mick. He was a full head taller than those other men in front of her, men who by themselves could’ve loomed over her big sister! Mick’s arm was looped around a comparatively tiny individual, thick muscles keeping his captive smothered and clinging to his forearm with his stubby legs dangling. The captive’s struggles to escape that solid grip were futile.

“Mr. Mayor…!” Julia cried out in horror at the way the short, nice old man was getting manhandled. It was such a shrill scream the party music abruptly stopped.

“Well, what do you know, shorty?” Mick’s deep voice made him sound even more intimidating than his statuesque height already did. His men stepped away to give way so he could approach the fearful princess and her shaking maid, “Turns out I was right and you were wrong, doesn’t it? Princess Julia is here. Thanks for feeding and entertaining my men, though.” He tightened his grip on Mayor Pete who seemed like he was having a hard time breathing against the towering man’s arm muscles, “Don’t want them cranky as we take our prize back home now, do I?”

Silvy regretted not having kept her cool with the waitress situation, but she regretted even more being unable to hold Julia back when she started marching towards Mick. Her strength failed to pull Julia back by the arm. “Princess, don’t…!”

“Let him go!” Julia raised her voice, reaching up in an attempt to tear Mick’s burly arm off Mayor Pete, “Don’t you see you’re strangling him?!”

“Huuuuh…?” Mick’s jaw hung low for a moment but then he started grinning, and soon booming with laughter followed by the rest of his men. It was almost endearing to him the way the princess kept trying and failing to make him budge. But her struggle seemed to have attracted a bug.

One of the men who had been partying until then rapidly approached while yelling: “Hey! What’s going on here?!” with the authority of a self-proclaimed hero. Making an example of those that thought they could get in his way was what made Mick enjoy his work; and besides, he was already bored of his mark beating on and clawing at his forearm. With his free hand, Mick shoved Julia to the side to clear the way and in one move he pulled his arm back and launched the pint-sized Mayor towards the incoming guy who thought he was being brave.

There was a loud impact and even louder screams from women in the audience as they collided. A stumbling Julia turned around a second later to realize the person who Mick had bowled over using the Mayor as a projectile had been Thomas, who hearing her screams had been trying to help. No matter how good a bodyguard he was, he had never been trained to fight back against this overwhelming strength. “Thomas! Mr. Mayor…!” Julia screamed, darting after them and, despite having to contend with her long skirt, miraculously ducking under one of Mick’s men trying to catch her. She knelt by the unconscious men, sighing in relief after confirming they were still breathing.

Julia glaring back at Mick with his self-pleased smirk plastered on his rugged face, “Why are you doing this? You could have killed them!”

Mick raised a finger, “One of them lied to me when I asked if Princess Julia of Crescita was here,” he raised a second, “The other looked ready to get in my way,” he tapped both fingers together with a cocky smirk, “Don’t need a stone to get two birds if you throw one at another!”

More loud, mocking laughter. The ruckus died down at Mick’s gesturing. He was extending his hand out at Julia, “Now, pretty girl. Come with us. Princesses fetch a nice price, and it’s high time I get to live like a king.”

Julia couldn’t find the words to express her disgust, but her anger turned to fear when she saw her maid walking towards Mick, arms spread out to deny passage. “I-if you think…” Silvy’s trembling voice belayed her bravery, but Mick didn’t seem to be in the mood to entertain her. His huge open hand made her fly with one slap before he held it out again; as if he had just swatted a fly.

“SILVY!” Julia screamed, desperately crawling towards her floored maid. She immediately slid her arm under the older woman’s head to gently hold it up, “Silvy, by Dia, why did you do that?!” she exclaimed through tears; part inconsolable dread and part relief that she was still alive.

Slowly opening her eyes, the bruised maid reached to grab the sleeve on the princess’ dress, tugging it while weakly sobbing: “Julia, listen to me. This is only the start with these types. These brigands will do horrible things to you. You have to go. Run away, child…!”

Julia felt terrible about the Mayor having been punished for her sake. Thomas and Silvy had also paid the price for trying to help her. She was, in a way, relieved that the rest of Brookstown was too paralyzed by fear to jump in and get involved. Silvy had told her to run away, but if she did, there was no guarantee more innocents wouldn’t get hurt.

Mick wasn’t about to give Julia the opportunity to come up with any clever plan, and soon snapped his fingers, causing everyone to flinch. “Get this girl loaded up,” he bellowed, “I’m bored of this drama already.”

Julia didn’t want to move away from Silvy’s side. Even as two brigands came up to her she remained kneeling down, hugging her maid. “All I can do is go with them…” she told herself sadly, not wanting to see any more suffering. “I’m not strong enough to resist them… They’ll just… they’ll just…”

“Oh, and sack the place,” Mick added to his orders, “Take the food and everything of value. And kill anyone who so much as looks you in the eye.” And as he passed by an abandoned table he slammed his fist down on it, cracking the wood in half as a plate with a roasted turkey leg flew into the air. The plate smashed to pieces against the tavern floor and he swiped the piece of turkey in mid-air, taking a beastly chomp out of it before he left the premises.

More of Mick’s men rose from different tables across the tavern and started barking orders at the citizens, using burlap sacks to collect food and the plates it was served on. They forced them to give what little they had and immediately punched and kicked whoever tried to get in the way.

Julia had never seen the cruelty of the plains firsthand. “Is this what it’s really like down here…?” she put a hand to her chest, squeaking when one of the brigands finally had enough of waiting for her to stand up and yanked her up to her feet by the arm.

“Get moving, yer majesty,” the brigand holding Julia impatiently said, “Don’t wanna make Mick wait.”

The princess whimpered as she extended her free hand towards Silvy whose painful bruises had finally taken their toll. To Julia’s relief she saw her maid breathing still, but there was no way an older woman like her should be lying on the floor after such a blow! “Please, she’s been hurt! At least let me take care of her before… Ahh!” Julia insisted, but only got yanked harder for her trouble.

And then she saw the state of the tavern. Whereas only minutes ago the place had been rejoicing with revelry and celebration, it was now a gloomy atmosphere doused in the mocking laughter and demanding shouts of a dozen burly men taking and abusing as they pleased. That effort of reconstruction, the harmony, the camaraderie; all of it made meaningless by a bunch of never-do-wells thinking the world belonged to them.

None of the tales Julia had been told could get close to this grim reality. In fantasy, the dashing knight would kick his way in through the door and save the day all by himself. But there was no such salvation for them. The unfairness of it all made blood pump through Julia’s veins at a scorching rate. It was a mixture of impotence and outrage. “It doesn’t matter…” Julia finally said with a frown.

“Yeah, it don’t matter, now git moving!” the brigand insisted, but this time, when he tried yanking Julia again, she did not budge. “What the…?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m not strong…” the princess told herself, glaring at her two captors, “…I won’t let you!”

Indignant with the defiance in the princess’ almond eyes, her would-be-captor scoffed: “Won’t let us what?”

“What’chu playing at, brother?” the other brigand walked up, “Just grab her and let’s bail. The others are gonna get all the good stuff!”

“I won’t let you do what you want anymore!” Julia shouted. Another shrill scream that made more than one of the stealing blackguards look away from their precious valuables and the women they had been liberally getting handsy with. Unbeknownst to all, the jade lining the princess’ gold ring had begun to emit a soft glow.

Laughter erupted around the tavern. Men mocked the brigands in charge of the princess for being scolded by a puny little girl in a dress. Both were soon red cheeked, but the one having it the roughest was the one who had actually been yelled at.

“You… you little brat!” the brigand raised his hand, forming a fist, “Mick didn’t say anything about yer face needin’ to stay pretty! See how you like this…!”

The large man’s arm came down towards Julia. She was going to get her head bashed in if she didn’t do anything. She had never been in a fight before in her life, so instinct aside she had no other recourse. Julia’s first instinct was to throw her arms up to shield herself and the second she felt pressure she tensed up and pushed back with all of her might.

“Bwah!” the aggressor gasped, cutting the tavern-wide laughter for a moment as he was bounced back.

“What just happened…?” were the many murmurs going around the bustling tavern, spoken by brigands and villagers alike.

Julia opened her eyes to find her crossed arms ahead of her and not a single disturbed hair on her fair self. She was just as surprised as everyone else when she found her attacker repelled a fair distance away from her, but she was even more shocked to find him looking up at her.

“Whu-what…?” the aggressive brigand and his allies found themselves stuttering, stupefied by the sight ahead of them. The short princess they had been manhandling all along no longer looked as short as she had moments before. In fact, she was looking excessively tall!

Naturally, the first thing that had shocked Julia’s the most was the fact she didn’t feel any pain on her arms even after receiving the brunt of that chop. However, that impressive size difference she now lorded over the scary men got a gasp out of her. “Why are you so small…?” she couldn’t help asking.

“I’m not small, I’m six foot two!” the brigand sputtered, “You’re the one like a whole foot taller! What’s going on, are you some sorta witch?!”

“Witch…?” Julia repeated, eyes falling over her gradually sagging arms to confirm that it had indeed been herself whose size had altered. With the effects of adrenaline subsiding, she finally started feeling a tightness on her skin below the neck and started to realize for the first time what wearing undersized garments felt like.

Julia’s typically loose dress was looking incredibly snug on her now. Long sleeves once comfortably fitted on her limbs were now looking painted on to her skin, every one of her fingertips tearing holes through the silk of her gloves. Slightly puffy shoulder sleeves had become displaced, torn away from the top of the dress with Julia’s proportionately wider shoulders.

The skirt of her dress which once was only a couple inches off the floor was now hanging well above her ankles, revealing the start of her silky white tights and the leather pumps she was walking in. Much like her undersized sleeves, the elasticity of Julia’s tights was being tested, the silk showing signs of strain along her slender legs. And the last thing one could notice which Julia could definitely feel was how the top area of her feet overflowing her pumps, their tips visually trembling her as her larger feet’s toes had run out of room to be accommodated into.

That was what people could see. What they couldn’t was the corset which Julia could feel digging into her back with its lacing being pulled apart by her much wider waist. Julia felt like her wardrobe was made of rubber whose tensile strength was getting close to its critical point. She was sure if she made any false move her dress would explode!

But what had caused this transformation? Julia was entirely sure she had not used any incantation. She wasn’t a witch; no one in her family was as far as she was concerned. Before she could give things more thought however, the brigands, significantly less bewildered now, started approaching her again. “No! Stay back!” Julia didn’t want to step away or move her limbs. Even the slightest of twitches made the over 7ft. princess’ clothes emit the foulest of stretching noises. Pricy silk of the highest quality was coming undone like cheap cotton.

Of course, the brigands hardly cared. They were still wary about their target’s sudden growth spurt but their objective remained unchanged. “Whatever you did, it seems to be over. So settle down and come along already!”

Eventually, Julia stepped back. When she did, the short heel of her right pump snapped under her vastly increased weight, causing her balance to become lopsided. As she stumbled with a squeak, her arm flailed and hit the brigand attempting to seize her first. “Ahh! I’m sorry…!” she quickly apologized to the sound of the man groaning to her impromptu smack.

“Okay that’s it!” the brigand’s patience was already spent. He turned to his partner and gestured with his head at Julia, getting a nod back. As the two men surrounded the scared Julia, she could only brace when they rushed her. “You’re gonna come along with us, princess, and that’s…”

Before the brigand could finish his threat, a loud ripping noise broke out over his voice. Julia squealed in surprise as she heard her corset lacing snap one by one. With a rush of energy filling her very being, the princess’ dress further tightened around her swelling body. Sleeves and tights busted into widening holes over their limbs, her dress splitting at the seams as it became unable to continue clinging to her ascending form. Her remaining pump not only lost its stumpy heel, the leather covering both of her feet creaked loudly until it too began splitting apart.

And Julia could only stand still watching as her foes got farther and farther away from her. Now that she was conscious of her growth she could feel a spark, a flame lit within her; and it was only growing in intensity with the size of her body. The tingling sensation running amok from her core to every last inch of her being was empowering her enlargement! By the time the bandits’ arms finally reached her, they were only level with her waist.

“Thu-they don’t look as intimidating anymore…” Julia whispered to herself, still nervous yet humbled by the sight of those men struggling to pull her off her spot, let alone yank her around like before. With her skirt split in half and revealing most of her legs and the shoulder sleeves of her dress falling off, she was having a hard time keeping herself decent. The thought of being left in the nude was honestly starting to feel more terrifying than the half-pints failing at manhandling her! Indeed, at a little under 10ft. tall, Julia had become an amazon! And she had had enough of being pushed around. It was time she started pushing back!

“Shu-shove off, please…!” Julia still wasn’t sounding confident, but confidence was secondary when even an inexperienced shoving of the palm carried enough physical strength to overpower a fully grown man. Julia squeaked again, half in concern for the grunting brigand stumbling back and half in regret when she saw her arm sleeves finally snap off, splitting just like her tights had except they now hung from her gloves at her wrists. “Am I still…?” she frightfully thought while staring at the half-dressed forearm she had just used to defend herself.

“Gah! The strength on this brat!” the shoved-back brigand rubbed his face in frustration, glaring at the massive royal, “Hey, I thought I told you to quit that!”

“I-I can’t help it!” Julia whined, “A-and you guys should quit being jerks! If you…” she paused with a hiccup; still unused to standing her ground, “…if you keep coming at me like this you’ll leave me no choice but to defend myself!” She couldn’t believe what she was saying. It was the first time Julia had ever sternly warned someone. But something about the difference in size was making it easier on her to be assertive; like she was trying to discipline children.

“Whatever magic you’re using, you can’t stop us all! Think Mick’s band is gonna fold back just ‘cause you’re a big girl now?” GET ‘ER, GUYS!” the brigand roared out and soon Julia was being charged down on many fronts at once.

The princess didn’t know what to do. She had addressed two guys, sure that she could dedicate a hand for each to keep them at arm’s length, but a dozen of furious brigands was coming her way now! She would need to be much bigger to hold them all off! Julia resolved to do what she could with what she had.

Huffing at first, she peeled off the forgotten brigand at her waist, realizing he had been nuzzling at her front where her dress had split open to reveal her soft, flat stomach. “Guh-get off me y-you pervert…!” she cried out, yanking him by the collar before letting him go and taking a few steps back to create some distance. Unused to the longer strides of her legs, Julia’s rump impacted with the brigand attempting to get her from behind, bumping him down onto the floor. “Ah! Sorry about that!” she whined with a blush of embarrassment.

The rest of the men yelled as they threw themselves at Julia, unaware that her body was gearing up for another growth spurt. This time, Julia recognized the start of the process marked by her insides warming up and spreading that tingling sensation all over. This time she felt that rush blasting off her very core and energizing her. Electricity running up her spine, Julia tensed, pupils dilating as she started to expand once again.

Men bounced off her growing body as Julia moaned, overstimulated by the unexpectedly pleasant process. For a moment, the tavern grew silent and all anyone could hear was the princess’ cute little squeaks accompanied by the final few efforts of her clothes to remain on their wearer. Alas, with each rapidly accumulating inch of height, Julia’s damaged attire went through its last gasps.

The back of her dress torn down the middle, split in two in a similar fashion to her sleeved gloves which burst off her enlarging arms. Her rear end finally pushed her parted skirt off her lower body once the fitted waist of the dress could no longer fight the expansion of her middle. Multiple holes in Julia’s tights had grown so wide the silk came apart at multiple sections across her now incredibly long legs.

With her corset damaged beyond repair, the rest of her undergarments soon joined her, panties wedged so far up her behind they might as well not be there. The way they grinding against her skin made Julia whimper and involuntarily rub her thighs together, only allowed relief after the waistband had snapped.

Through their last few moments, Julia’s pumps looked like overfilled balloons as her feet grew and grew, running out of space until she had to start curling them in a vain attempt at restoring comfort. Soon it was impossible to stop her curled toes from shredding through splitting leather and with another loud snap the princess’ bare feet were now standing on the remains of her pretty shoes.

And then, as if to finish off the vestigial remains of clothing stubbornly clinging to her, Julia let out one more moan of pleasure as her body swelled to fifteen feet tall, destroying what remained of her royal outfit. “Ahhh… haaaaah…” the mini-giant panted, still feeling overwhelmed even after her latest spurt had ended.

Mick’s bandits didn’t rightly know what to do. Most of them, and the tavern in fact, could only stare at what had become of Julia. She stood there in her statuesque new height, fully naked, arms hanging limp, brow covered in sweat. Julia wasn’t particularly on the busty side, but puberty all those years ago had blessed her with a curvy although slightly stocky build, resulting in wide hips and a sizable rump as well as large breasts which now looked truly immense scaled up to her new size.

When Julia finally cottoned on to the fact how secondary her huge size was in comparison to how naked she was, she let out a scream. “Eeeeek!” her arms quickly flew up in two directions attempting to cover her exposed chest and her privates. “Thu-this is wrong, this is…! My clothes…! My…!” she cried out, looking down at her smooshed-up chest and pausing when she saw something on her hand. Just like with her clothes, every accessorizing piece she had been wearing from bangles to rings had snapped off her person. Every piece except for one.

Amazed and entranced by the glow of Dia’s Ring on her finger, Julia made sure to keep her hand covering as much of her chest as she could while lifting her fingers to confirm what she was seeing. “Dia’s Ring got bigger with me…” she thought, pausing again and shaking her head, “Wait, Dia’s Ring is what made me grow…!”

Everything looked so much smaller now. At her current size she was eye level with the arm rails on the first floor of the two-story tavern. When she looked down at the group of evil men who had been pushed away from her growth spurt, Julia finally could tell just how tiny they all looked next to her now. If before she could shove them away like her strength was on par with them, how pitiful would their attempts at restraining her be now? Feeling blessed and protected by the goddess, Julia became filled with confidence she didn’t know she had.

“I dunno about this man…”

“Never had to deal with a plus- plus -sized broad like this before!”

“Doesn’t she look hot though…?”

Julia’s growing smile wavered at the perversion in the looks of so many of those men, prompting her to hug her curves and cover up even though it was difficult with only her arms and hands being available. “Quit staring and go away already! I’m too big for you to carry, and all you’ll do is get hurt so… so leave and tell your boss to go away too!”

Those who weren’t infatuated to the point of inaction exchanged glances. The mini-giantess had a point, she was too big for them to manhandle. “You’re gonna do what we say, extra-large or not. Or else they’ll get it!” the brigand talking to Julia pointed at the cowering families in the back of the tavern.

“You’re horrible!” Julia shouted, pouting at the fearful villagers who had no idea what was going on anymore, other than being in danger. The princess looked back at the villains with a determined face, “I… I’ll take you on. I’ll take you all on! They… I’ll protect them, myself!”

“What makes you think we’ll listen to you? We’re in charge over here!” the brigand said, pointing up at Julia. And up. And up. His index finger curled down as his lips and eyes began to quiver.

Julia was growing bigger again. At first unaware thanks to her anger distracting her, Julia’s new growth spurt was making her feet slide across the wooden floor, shoving nearby tables and chairs to the side. With the ground getting farther and farther away, Julia should have been able to tell the energies swirling about inside of her had yet to finish making her swell. But it took her banging her head against the tavern ceiling to realize she was not done expanding.

“Ow!” the 20ft. tall princess whined, moving a hand up to hold her head as she inspected her smaller surroundings. “Guh-getting bigger still…?!”

“I really dunno about this, man.”

“At this rate she’ll fill the place up! We’ll get crushed!”

“Screw it. I’m into shortstacks anyway. I’m outta here!”

“Okay you can be in charge, whatever! Juh-just stop freaking growing!”

“I-I don’t think I can!” Julia whimpered to another sudden swelling. It felt so good that the impact of her back against the ceiling even as she bent over to make herself fit didn’t hurt. When the frightened brigands started running away, she immediately turned to look at the inhabitants of Brookstown. “Listen to me, you have to leave! It’s safe now, just take the other exit!”

“Thank you princess!”

“Oh mama, that’s a big lady… ow! I only have eyes for you, baby!”

“But what will you do?!”

“I can feel another spurt coming, so just make sure everyone’s out…! Get Silvy and Thomas too, I beseech you!” Julia begged, already collapsing to her knees because she had completely run out of vertical space to accommodate her standing height. Already past 30ft. tall and growing, the princess could feel the wooden floorboards groaning under her continuously increasing weight. As her knees harmlessly scraped along, she could feel her enlarging feet grow into the bar behind her, the structure collapsing first against her toes before later being buried under her tootsies. Her hands reached up to press against the ceiling, biting her lip as she insecurely looked at Dia’s Ring in hopes of making the process stop, but the process felt way too good for her to make any headway.

All Julia hoped was for all those innocents and even the brigands to have made it outside safely. The last thing she wanted to do was crush anybody! “These poor people are going to lose their tavern because of me…” Julia thought, gritting her teeth as she did her best to curl up even as she grew larger and larger, the insides of the tavern starting to get overwhelmed by her increasing mass as it ran out of space to offer her, “…but at least I’ll be big and strong enough to stop Mick and his goons! I won’t let them rob these people or bother anyone else!” Julia assured herself before finally deciding to stand back up.

“Mick, Mick, Miiiick…!” the brigand that had failed to rein Julia up burst out of the rumbling tavern, running towards his boss who had been inspecting the travel coach stationed nearby. A large flagon of ale in his hand, the statuesque man turned around to face his underling with an unamused expression.

“What the hell is up with all that noise?” Mick raised an eyebrow, casting an intimidating glare at the lesser bandit, “And where’s the princess? I thought I told you…” he stopped talking, squinting past his panting goon to see not only the rest of his bandits but also the townsfolk running out from the tavern, “What the hell happened? Why are you letting people go?!”

“That’s just it, Mick! The client never told us this brat could…” he coughed, almost choking on his words.

“Could… what…?” Mick patiently asked with a whisper at the end, his flagon tilting sideways and wasting the half pint left in it when he looked past his panicked subordinate and saw the top of the tavern start to collapse.

Two dainty-looking yet giant hands emerged from the collapsing tavern rooftop. Shattered wooden beams flew out in pieces alongside a rain of mostly clean hay followed by Julia’s arms which bent at the elbows in order to prop her hands down onto the ground besides the tavern. With a push to help herself out, the almond-eyed princess stretched to a gigantic 40ft. height, coughing and shaking hay off her hair.

With the way she had punched a hole in the ceiling, Julia had managed to wedge herself out without dealing irreparable structural damage. And that was why the moment she had full control of her legs she pulled herself out onto the road one massive leg at a time. The entire village of Brookstown saw that looming beauty cast her interminable shadow over them all.

Mick dropped his flagon at the sight. His subordinate finally yelled: “…THAT SHE COULD BECOME A GIAAAAAANT!”

Screams and cheers welcomed Julia’s appearance. Her feet continued sliding across the ground as they continue to grow with the rest of her. She added a whole ten extra feet to her already unbelievable size before the process finally seemed to stop for the moment. When her expansion finally seemed to have taken a break, the bandits and townsfolk weren’t the only ones basking in her size now. She had to be almost as big as a dragon now! Yet she felt like a fish out of water with the breeze hitting her completely nude body like this. Julia could feel everyone’s stares on her new self, showing this much skin.

But it wasn’t the time to be self-conscious. No, she owed it to the people she had endangered to take care of their problem before that terrible Mick and his gang could get away. Already Julia could see movement on the streets: The people of Brookstown knew she was on their side, so although they were wary of her size they had gathered behind her well away from Mick’s group. Julia glared down at Mick who she could single out among all the slightly shorter brigands.

Mick gulped, paralyzed by the sight of the approaching giantess. Each one of Julia’s stomps made the streets quake.

“You’re not going anywhere!” the princess said to those that had decided to flee and abandon their leader, scooping them off the ground into her large hands. Three brigands were squeezed together in her grip. “You’re going to sit up here and think about what you did!” Julia told her groaning captives before gently setting them down on the rooftop of an unfinished three-story building. “And don’t you dare go away before I take care of everybody else!” she sternly warned with a wagging finger, puffing her cheek out with her knuckles rested at her waist. What Julia mistook for obedient nodding was their heads bobbing to the bounce of her breasts. Satisfied, she turned to the brigands’ leader.

“Now, duh-dear princess your majesty,” Mick quickly said, hands joined together in a pleading gesture, “Let’s not do anything drastic, shall we? Heh heh, we were just…”

“Bullying people?” Julia frowned as she turned her attention down to the brigand leader. “’Sacking the place’?” she quoted, and forgetting all about her current nudity put both of her hands at her hips, tapping the ground impatiently with her foot. Each slam made the ground around her and in front of Mick tremble. Bending forwards to really drill her judgmental stare down on the remaining bandits, Julia was looking so mighty and unstoppable a number of Mick’s followers just dropped to their knees.

“Puh-please don’t kill us!”

“We wasn’t really gunna hurt nobody, ma’am! Highness, highness! I got it right there, yeah?!”

“’sall Mick here’s fault, innit?! Punish him instead!”

“Kuh-kill?!” Julia was shocked, her eyes widened while looking flustered, “Don’t mistake me for your lot, brigands! So long as you’ve learned your lesson and promise to never inconvenience Brookstown or anyone else then I… eep!” Julia’s demands were coming along pretty well in spite of her earlier fluster. Her interrupting squeak sounded off when she felt a sharp prick at the back of her right foot, causing her to stand upright from her bent-down position so fast she began to stumble backwards.

Everyone’s attention was now on the one brigand that had decided to remain aggressive with the woman 10 times his size. “Hahaha!” he laughed, holding his short sword overhead in victory, “I’m not afraid! If I slay this monster woman I’ll become a legend! I’ll become…” but before he could continue enumerating his feverish dreams and life goals, the once bold man’s pupils shrank as he saw Julia’s foot rising above him, casting its shadow down on his person before it came down with a great thud; thus silencing him.

There were number of concerned gasps. And Julia, feeling the person trapped under her, immediately lifted her giant foot off him. “What were you trying to do, you buffoon?!” the princess demanded from the man flattened into the shallow foot-shaped crater she had accidentally left. She blushed when she realized the guy wasn’t only alive but also incoherently rambling now that he could see up and between her legs. Julia huffed, knowing she didn’t have the time to entertain that tool; she had to deal with Mick.

When Julia returned her attention to Mick however, she noticed the begging gang had finally started their scrambling retreat, making her gasp. “I can’t let them run away without apologizing and promising to never do this again, that wouldn’t be right!” Julia assured herself.

Although she had to be careful not to step on buildings or other village fixtures, her size gave her the advantage to go after the running bandits. Some of them tried climbing trees to hide amongst their leaves, but Julia could easily peer down at them from her vantage point, allowing her to take them in her hands to be relocated in taller unfinished buildings that would be difficult to escape given their lack of stairs. Others tried using finished houses to hide in, but she blocked their exits using wagons and statues as obstacles. Group by group, Julia managed to trap or neutralize the bandits, but there was still one loose end.

When Julia heard a familiar whinny, she realized Mick had almost slipped through her grasp. “Oh, no you don’t, mister!” she called out after the bandit leader, stomping after him just as he had managed to release one of the horses her bodyguards took turns driving and was about to take off.

“Gah…! Hyah! Hyah! Run you stupid beast…!” Mick commanded, but no matter how hard he kicked and the horse snorted and thrashed, he would not advance longer than a few dozen yards. The ground was soon looking farther and farther away as he, horse and all, were delicately plucked off by Julia’s giant hand.

“Hush, shush shush…” Julia gently said to the panicking horse, pinching Mick off its back with her free hand before softly setting the animal back down. Glaring back at the band’s leader, she huffed at him: “You were going to run away on one of my horses, Mick!”

Mick could only offer his best impression at innocence, laughing a little while shrugging his shoulders. “Puh-please… Heh heh, you wouldn’t drop me, would you, princess…?”

“What am I going to do with you? Are you even sorry for all you’ve done?” Julia asked the guy dangling off her thumb and index fingertips by the back of his shirt. “I think I need to make an example out of you, so that all of your no-good friends understand what you’re doing is wrong.”

That was when Mick began to struggle, “No no. Wait! I… I can change, I’ll make everyone change! We’ll be good, see?!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mick! You don’t get to ‘make’ anyone do anything anymore,” Julia explained quite firmly, turning around and starting to head back into the center of Brookstown.

“Please, please…!” Mick begged, but it was no use. He shut his eyes close as Julia lifted him higher and higher until eventually… nothing seemed to have happened. When his eyes opened next, he still felt the pinch at the back of his shirt, but it wasn’t the giantess holding him up anymore; her arms were folded in front of her bust and she was smiling at him. Looking back, Mick realized he had been hoisted by his shirt on one of the flagpoles sticking out from one of the village watchtowers. “Ahh… ahhh!” Mick yelped, “You… you can’t leave me here!”

“You won’t stay there forever,” Julia assured, “But you still need a timeout just like all your goons do! And when you’re ready to be good, to give back all you took and you promise to help rebuild and not get up to anymore mischief… Well, I better not catch you going back on your word, alright?”

Mick couldn’t argue back. He was sure he’d fall if he continued to struggle, so all he did was slowly and obediently nod.

“Good!” Julia clapped her hands together with satisfaction, the air vibrating a little from the force. Turning around to face the townsfolk, she giggled a little and decreed: “Good people of Brookstown! Mick and his gang will no longer inconvenience you; I’ve made sure of it!”

Embarrassed stares were shared by the majority of the populace down below since amidst all the action Julia seemed to have lost her shame, but it was hard not to be thankful for the princess’s spectacular show of assistance. Claps and cheering followed her short and sweet speech.

All the noise made Silvy and Thomas, who had been under the care of the villagers, finally wake up from their unconscious state. Along with Mayor Pete, the three of them looked up at Mick hanging from the post next to a gigantic Julia and each had their own particular reaction to it. Silvy, convinced she had been dreaming, fell right back asleep. Thomas had to cover his bulging shame. Finally, immediately recognizing the brute who had knocked him around and threatened his guest and all of his townspeople, Mayor Pete sprang up to his feet.

“Princess! By Dia, you’ve grown even more!” the short and stout man shouted, “Do my eyes deceive me?” he asked the shyly waving giantess as he looked all around to see cowering bandits either incarcerated inside buildings or trapped on the rooftops. “You’ve put a stop to the raid! This is wonderful, my child! How did you do it?!”

“I…” Julia began blushing again, rubbing her thighs together and bending over to make it easier for her to cover up. She briefly glanced at Dia’s Ring on her hand. She was still unsure about telling people about her encounter with the goddess. “With a ‘little’ help… from the strength within!” she nervously smiled on admittance.

Finally feeling relieved with the bandit problem resolved, Julia let out a sigh. When she did, she began to deflate as if the air coming out of her lips was also expelling the extra size she had accumulated. Moments later, she was standing on the foot-shaped depressions back to her regular height.

Worried and excited, the Mayor, Thomas and most of the townsfolk rushed over to the Julia to bring her clothes and something warm to drink. Dawn was only starting to break but it was still cold. Clothed and cared for, the little princess was truly happy that no one had gotten seriously hurt in all of this mess; and that even though she had damaged the tavern it had managed to survive her massive growth spurt.

Questions about her well-being and celebratory commendations came from all sides, prompting Julia to thank everyone for their support but also apologize profusely for what Mick had done to them thanks to her being here. Much to her delight no one was mad, as the brigand’s gang had been responsible for numerous raids and general mischief in the past; and not just targeting their community! Julia had saved them and many others with her mysterious new power!

The tale of the amazing growing princess had just begun.

Back in said tavern, one of the many first floor doors swung open before falling off its hinges. Terry, Julia’s second bodyguard, walked out stretching and yawning. With a slow blink of his eyes he surveyed the destroyed tavern floor and the big gaping hole in the ceiling. He had slept through the entirety of the commotion.

“Aw jeez. These people really know how to party…”

---

With Brookstown rescued, a concerned Julia saw to those injured in the attack, helping in the infirmary alongside a promptly recovered Silvy. The latter had convinced herself the princess’ giant form had been nothing but a vision brought on by her advanced age and the blow she had suffered from that lumbering brute; and none would tell her otherwise.

After the resounding defeat they had suffered, Mick and his group had decided to turn over a new leaf. It took them a while to turn their foul language and bad attitudes around but all it took when they stepped over the line was a stern glare from Julia for them to reconsider their positions. In the end, they decided to become a part of the village’s restoration effort and would eventually be recognized as citizens.

A thankful Mayor Pete offered Julia and her party to rest, but she politely declined. With Thomas’ injury having been healed with a good night’s rest and him insisting they go on with their travels and Silvy surprising everyone with her resilience, Julia had been convinced she wished to press on.

The royal relief party’s journey would continue for another five days and five nights, taking them to the last few towns in need as well as the razed remains of some settlements that were too close to the dangerous outskirts to keep traveling through. In the end, Julia and her loyal friends had been left over with three bags of grains, four of the freshly refilled water barrels they had loaded up back in Brookstown and an assortment of clothing, in addition to their own food rations.

The leftovers had been due to more than a quarter of the northwestern villages she had initially plotted to visit having been lost to the raids and monster incursions. During their stay in Brookstown, Mayor Pete’s words had rung out as such: “Sometimes we simply stop hearing from other towns. Nowadays, no news is sometimes the worst news, I’m afraid.”

Indeed, their kingdom was slowly being consumed by perils and lawlessness. But just as she had experienced back during the raid, not everybody was up to the task of facing up against those perils. Dia’s Ring atop her finger so beautifully reflecting the light gave Julia pause: “It’s up to me. I have to help… But how? Even if I get huge, I still won’t be able to be everywhere at once…” she then thought about the power of words; of telling; of how if people knew of her and her power it might detract those attempting to do evil. “I have to get back to the castle. Get all the messengers out there…!”

And so it was that Princess Julia’s journey made a turn. Much to Silvy’s delight, as she assured her old bones would not take much of the travel coach’s racketing much longer.

---

On the way back, Julia decided to stop at another small, nameless settlement. Her party had heard of a mountain side ranch from the good people at the inn in Brookstown. According to their source, following the short trail up along the mountain would lead people to a specialty inn that boasted rejuvenating hot springs. Julia figured her group could use a bit of a rest, especially Silvy, before they resumed their journey back to Crescita.

The travel coach groaned to a stop at an altitude of some hundred feet. The winding mountain trail had indeed taken them to a secluded spot in the mountainside where their horses could finally step on mostly even ground once again. The out-of-place inn waited behind four beautiful ash trees arranged in rows of two, like a welcoming archway.

“What beautiful flowers!” remarked Julia, since she was only used to the artificial flower gardens back at the castle and had never seen proper mountain ash trees before.

“This place looks well-maintained,” Terry muttered from the driver’s seat. “Do they even get that much traffic all the way up here?”

“Princess, must we truly tarry up here?” Silvy asked with worry, “I would take a bath back at the castle without fuss. I know you’re doing this out of concern…”

“You three have been great to me,” Julia asserted, looking only at Silvy. “I couldn’t have gotten as far as I did if just one of you wasn’t here for support. The least I can do… No, the least I want to do is use my left over silver to pay for some extra comfort for everyone. You all deserve it!”

“Aye, your highness, that’s mighty generous of you,” Thomas glanced back, “But we would’ve followed you either way. It was a noble and brave thing you did wanting to help the helpless. Our knights back at the castle could learn a thing or two from you!”

Blushing, Julia nodded and then turned back to Silvy. “See? Even Thomas agrees! Let’s go. I’m sure it will be great! I’ve never been to a mountain hot spring before, so I’m going to indulge, too!”

“I haven’t been to a hot-springs in a long while, myself…” Terry said, already leading the horses to rack them up near the trees before setting their meal and water down. “So, gratitude in advance, highness!”

Finally acceding by popular demand, Silvy got off the coach with Julia. The four walked up to the inn, but before they could announce themselves the tatami sliding doors opened to reveal a group of people.

This new group was comprised of five individuals. A hunched over, kind-looking old lady in a kimono surrounded by four young adults; two of them male and two females. The old lady, who certainly looked a couple decades older than Silvy, introduced herself as Neru. The modestly garbed yet no less kind-looking people at her side were her four grandchildren who were the establishment’s staff and caretakers. The girls were pretty alike and seemed close in age, while it was clear one grandson was the eldest of the bunch and the other had only recently crossed into adulthood. All of them looked happy to see other people!

“Ho ho!” Neru gently laughed after hearing the four travelers’ story. “It’s been quite a spell since we’ve had customers, let alone one of royal blood! It looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us, children. See to it that they receive only our best hospitality, mm? Chop chop!”

Julia was certainly happy her allowance had been sufficient to pay for the innkeeper’s pricy all-inclusive; she truly wished to treat her friends after all. First, the staff led everyone to their rooms. Thomas and Terry had their own chambers, while Silvy and Julia had chosen to share a two-bed room. The bodyguards were relieved to finally have the opportunity to take their heavy armor and equipment off.

It had been the afternoon when they arrived, so they were invited to have tea time with traditional homemade pastries cooked up by Neru’s granddaughters at the inn’s porch which had a beautiful view of the plains down below. While the party rested, one of Neru’s grandsons, the eldest, offered to groom and take care of their horses as a complimentary service.

“You have wonderfully talented grandchildren, Miss Neru,” Silvy complimented while having another sweet, “And you say this confectionary is made out of rice? How novel!”

Nodding while patting the head of the youngest grandson seated beside her, Neru said: “Mochi balls were the specialty of my late husband. Before my son-in-law and daughter, Dia rest their souls, passed, he used to love cooking and somehow he managed to perfect the recipe, which he of course managed to pass down to his children. It’s so funny. I’m the one who taught my husband how to make mochi, and yet…” she took a pause to stab a ball of mochi from her bowl with a pick before popping it in her mouth, letting out a little coo, “…everyone makes them way better than I do! Heehee. They make me so proud.”

“It’s important for the younger generation to attempt betterment and succeed. But that may only happen with a good base, I believe!” Silvy said, and both old ladies laughed together.

As Julia listened and sipped her tea, she looked out into the plains, at the kingdom her family ruled. “So many great people have ruled this kingdom. Am I up to the task to be better than them…?” she thought, soon shaking her head with a hopeful smile, “No, sister will take over. She’s smarter and stronger, already. It’s my job to support her…” Julia patiently looked down at Dia’s Ring on her finger. “With my new power, I will aid everybody in Crescita,” she resolved.

---

Night fell pretty fast at the mountain inn. After an appetite whetting tea time, both Thomas and Terry were eager to dine on Neru’s granddaughters’ cooking. As it had been so long since their last visitors, the household went all out for a feast all nine people could enjoy together. It was an amazing spread consisting of various meats, two soups and three different rice dishes.

“Thu-this has to be way more than we paid for, Miss Neru…” Julia said before a banquet so insanely voluminous.

Neru laughed at such bashfulness. “Oh do relax, dear! We’re partaking, as well! It’s been quite a while since the girls got to make a show of their talent. I’m plenty sure their brothers agree!” she pointed at her grandsons, who despite being so far apart in age seemed to be eating at the same unbridled speed.

Soon with full stomachs, Julia and her companions were led to the promised land. At the back of the mountain inn was a split path leading to two outer bathhouses and behind them were the hot springs. Divided by craggy outcrops and shrubbery, two gender-specific natural baths awaited the tired travelers. While Terry and Thomas were escorted to the bathhouse to the left, Julia and Silvy were urged to change out of their clothes bathhouse to the right.

It was a new experience for Julia. The minerals in those hot waters seemed to seep into her skin, doing away with all of her accumulated fatigue. Finally, she thought, she could lower her guard a little. But she wasn’t the only one who had been putting on a brave face until then. One glance at the way Silvy seemed to melt into the bath told her that her maid had truly been dragging herself through this adventure at her own behest.

“Poor sweet old lady,” Julia thought to herself, happy to see Silvy look so relieved yet wanting to do more for her. “Hmm, didn’t the girls say something about sponges at the bathhouse? I bet Silvy would love a sponge bath…” With the plan in her head, Julia cautiously got out of the hot springs, reaching over for a towel to dry off. “Hehe, she really is so tired she can’t even hear me…” the princess observed the cozy maid resting back against the edge of the hot springs.

Before Julia set off to return to the bathhouse though, she took notice of the bench near the springs. More specifically, she noticed the change of clothes their hosts had left for them. Julia remembered being told those cute, pastel-colored robes were known as yukata. “They’re such pretty clothes. I wonder if I have enough silver to buy one off Miss Neru…” the princess said to herself while holding the traditional robes up.

Julia knew she would be getting back to continue soaking in hot water soon, but she was so eager to try on the yukata she decided to put it on. “And this sash is properly tied… like this, I think…” she tugged on the waist sash of her yukata, sure she had messed something up but content with the results anyway. “It’s so nice and cozy!” she thought while stepping into her slippers as she walked away from the hot springs.

---

If there was one critique she had about the mountain inn, it was that the bathhouse was a bit cramped in Julia’s opinion. There was only one stall for rinsing and the rest was occupied by a bunch of wooden or metal racks holding cleaning implements as well as bath supplies. “At least a sponge shouldn’t be hard to find around here… right?” Julia pouted as she carefully started to rummage through the racks.

After a minute of searching, Julia was ready to give up. “It can’t be that hard to find a sponge, can it…?” she huffed, starting to grow a little frustrated. The nice and cozy feeling of her yukata had faded and she felt the sash tighter around her waist. “Mmmph… I think I tied it a little too tight…” she said, but worried she might make matters worse by fiddling with it so she decided to leave it alone.

“Eeep!” she squeaked. When Julia turned around to look through the next rack, feet knocked into one of the furniture’s legs. “Cuh-clumsy…” she stammered as she caught herself against the rack. “Why does this place feel so claustrophobic?” Julia complained, but no sooner than she lifted her vision up she finally saw the target of her quest. The sponge was resting at the very top of the wooden rack she had banged into, hanging from the rim of a wooden pail. “It must’ve blended in and that’s why I didn’t see it before. Ugh, but it’s so high up, I don’t think I can…” as she thought about it, Julia leaned into the rack and carefully swung her outstretched right arm while standing on the tip of her toes. She was two tiers shy from reaching the pail which was at the very top.

“It doesn’t look very stable to climb on, I might hurt myself…” Julia observed while feeling the wooden rack. “Maybe if I can find something to use as a stool…” she considered, but easily dropped the idea when she thought of how poorly arranged items were in the bath-warehouse. For a moment, she paused to look down at Dia’s Ring. Was she truly going to use her power for something as menial as a small boost? “Juh-just a little…” she negotiated with herself, focusing and closing her eyes. This was also for Silvy after all.

As a familiar tingling sensation spread out from within, Julia felt herself begin to push out. It was working. Her slippers were sliding on the floor as her feet pushed them out. It was only when the top of her head passed the second-to-last rack level that the princess realized she had forgotten something crucial about her plan. The tightness on her waist was starting to become a source of discomfort. Her feet were now stuck inside of slippers whose soles were starting to flatten under steadily stacking weight. And of course, a once breezy yukata was now starting to feel constraining. Julia had completely forgotten to disrobe before activating her power.

“Wuh-wait…” Julia ordered as quietly as she could in spite of her anxiety, eyes reopening only to freeze in place as she realized she was already tall enough for the top of her robe to start stretching over her chest. Her head was already level with the second-to-last space of the rack. “Too much too quick,” she said, clenching her hands in an attempt to repress her growth.

But her growth would not be repressed. In fact, it only seemed to accelerate with haste. Julia could hear the cotton of her yukata yearning for greater strength, for it could only fail against her increasing mass and height. Greatly loose sleeves were starting to look significantly less so, her waist sash starting to look like a rubber band looped multiple times around her waist.

Even when it became clear Julia would lose her clothes before she managed to figure a way to decelerate or outright stop her growth, she simply had no time to strip. Hands moving as fast as they could were stopped in their tracks as jolts of all-too-familiar pleasure coursed through Julia. A tingling growth spurt made the princess moan as she jumped in height. Her knees banged into the shelf, rattling it and knocking over some cleaning supplies. And there was also a loud ripping noise when the poor silky sash at her waist simply could not hold her back any longer.

Feeling brief relief, Julia looked down at the moment her sash was falling down only to see her yukata opening to each side like a pair of curtains, revealing her currently amazonian body.

The traditional bathing robe looked incredibly undersized on Julia now, to the point one might question how she even put it on in the first place. It would take equally unbelievable care to disrobe her without hopelessly tearing it off, so Julia held onto the thought she might be able to reverse her expansion and only have to explain the torn sash to her hosts.

Even though there was no one to see the flashing of her ripe and curvy, slightly chubby figure, Julia still blushed. The events back at Brookstown quickly flashed through her mind for a second before she peered past her chest and down at her destroyed slippers. Big feet had bulged through them, her ludicrous weight having flattened them underneath their soles. Wiggling toes felt free now that they had been liberated from the pressure of their constraints. In some weird way, Julia felt happy she had outgrown them. But she still wished she hadn’t been such an airhead with this power!

Julia sighed.

Like some consolation prize, she realized she was finally level with the top of the shelf, where the bucket and sponge were. “I must be ten- no, twelve feet tall right now…” she quietly thought to herself as she brought a hand up grab the bathing implements begrudgingly; mission complete at the very least! She could still feel herself inching upwards even now. The boarded floor under her feet was growing ever louder in its creaking.

“Maybe if I go back to the springs the hot bath will help me calm down… But how am I going to get out now…?” she asked no one in particular as her hand waved just above her head which was three feet away from the ceiling at the very most. Julia looked down at Dia’s Ring like a disappointed master looks at a disobedient pet, “Why won’t you work the way I want you to…?” she pouted, cheeks puffing out as she glanced between the ring, the ceiling and the two exit doors looking so small to her right now. “Maybe if she crawled out sideways…?”

But before Julia could brainstorm any further, there was a knock at the door. It was one of Neru’s granddaughters, Saia. “Excuse me, dear guest, I heard a strange noise. Do you need any help?” the voice came from the other side.

“Oh, plums…!” Julia’s eyes widened. “I-I can’t let her see me like this; she will panic!” the growing princess’ mind and heart raced. There was nowhere to hide in that little bathhouse, especially not now!

“I’m coming in…” Saia announced herself loud and clear without losing the soft tone she and her sister were known for. She walked in with the door opening, casting her beady eyes forth to look for her guests. The single washing stall in the corner of their small bathhouse was empty, so all she had to do was check the winding path which led to the exit door.

Noticing some shampoo bottles and scented oil flasks on the floor around the corner, Saia was quick to approach to pick them up, but she dropped them the instant she turned the corner and bumped the tip of her feet someone else’s significantly larger one. “Oh…” she gasped, “Oh my…”

“A-ah!” Julia had pressed herself against the wall facing the springs-bound exit, hoping with all of her heart for Saia to ignore her and turn back, but she had completely forgotten about the things she had scattered by accident. “Huh-hello there, Saia…” the gradually expanding giantess shyly waved down.

Saia of course could not believe her eyes. On top of being half-naked and wearing one of their terribly stretched yukata loans, one of her guests had more than doubled her size in the time they had been away bathing! After an awkward pause, the young girl clapped her hands and looked up with a sparkle in her eyes, “How amazing! Have our fabled hot springs empowered you beyond belief, dear guest?!”

Julia, for a moment terrified into unintelligibly stuttering, felt herself grow steadily quieter at Saia’s conclusion. “Uh- I uhm… Don’t you bathe in them too?”

“You have a point there, yes! I have always wished to be a couple of inches taller than Soie, alas…” Saia seemed to look pretty disappointed. “But if it wasn’t our mythical mochi or the hot springs, how are you this big?”

“The mochi were in question too…?” Julia mumbled to herself, wondering if perhaps the shocking sight of her giant self had maybe knocked a screw loose on poor Saia. “I uhm…” Julia finally thought there was no reason to be dishonest at this point. “Y-you see, Saia, I have this strange power…”

Saia seemed to be interested in the explanation, intently focused on Julia’s tale. However, she was so focused on the recounting that she failed to realize her guest was still growing even now. Absorbed in her own storytelling, Julia was interrupted when her head finally bashed against the bathhouse’s ceiling. “Oh my! Are you alright, Miss Julia?!”

Hissing from pain, Julia finally decided to crouch and braved a smile down at her host. “I-it’s okay. This is like déjà vu at this point. I’m still getting used to getting this big…” she groaned a little, feeling her damaged yukata sleeves which had ridden up past her elbows starting to tear.

“I don’t think I’d be able to live normally being that huge!” Saia remarked, but then, clenching both fists and nodding, she looked up at Julia with admiration, “But you are an inspiration, Miss Julia! Taking down an entire band of miscreants all by yourself and saving a town… I don’t think I’d be able to do that either!”

“You’re a darling, Saia, I…” Julia stopped herself with a hiccup. Her eyes widened as she felt another rush of tingling energy coursing through her. She now recognized these as impending growth spurts. “Saia!” she raised her voice, “Get cuh-cleaaaaaa…!” she was cut off by another moan.

Saia was full of concern for her guest when she started moaning and she was too slow to get out of the way. The last thing she saw before Julia slipped back and fell against the wall was the yukata bursting around the princess’ arms and shredding over her shoulders. Enormous swelling feet sliding towards her, Saia was forced to put her arms up in defense, only managing to get shoved back with their unrelenting advance.

Fighting through the mind-clouding pleasure, Julia tried focusing. To wrest control of her body back, she focused on what she was sensing. Her back sliding up against the exit wall which she had turned to in order to begin having her conversation with Saia. Her ample, naked rump swelling into the floor and cracking it with its weight. Her legs grinding against the floorboards as they advanced down towards the opposite wall of the bathhouse. Finally, the growing Julia opened her feet and, seeing Saia holding for dear life to her right big toe, she gestured for the young girl to jump off.

Fortunately, Saia got the prompt and used her chance to dislodge herself and with one leap ended up landing on Julia’s immense legs. She was whimpering, unsure of what to do now that the limited space of the bathhouse was getting filled up by her guest!

“Ahhh… are you alright, Saia? I’m so sorry, I can’t…” Julia grunted, feeling herself getting bigger by the second, “…I can’t stop it. But I think it’s tapering off, it should finish soon…!”

“I-I’m okay!” Saia assured, though it was getting hard not to stumble atop the giant woman’s enlarging legs, “Thu-this doesn’t hurt you, does it, Miss Julia…?”

Julia couldn’t believe how selfless the young girl was being with her, even in a situation like this. Even for people as hospitable as innkeepers this was a bit too much! Julia knew the bathhouse would not survive, but there was absolutely no way she was going to be responsible for bringing harm to someone as sweet as Saia. “Please let me protect you!” she said, and leaned forwards, hissing again as in curling up, Julia hit her head on the ceiling again and felt it snap against her scalp. Julia didn’t care for the pain, she wanted to put her arms around her legs and Saia, using her upper body to shield her from any harm.

Feet and elbows pressing against the wooden walls made the bathhouse groan in protest, the structure certainly lacking reinforcement. Julia could feel wood snapping all around her, splinters harmlessly bounding off her giant body’s skin as it further pressed and damaged every surface it touched. But Julia didn’t care about the bathhouse any longer; Saia was her sole focus.

The princess was curled up into a ball now, still swelling as she did her best to gently wrap herself around the smaller girl. Saia couldn’t see a thing, but she could feel the moist skin of the incredibly huge woman against her. Squishy, oversized lumps that Saia could tell were Julia’s breasts inevitably collided against her, but the princess’ hands pushed them out of the way while forming a dome with her mitts around the young innkeeper. “It’ll be alright, it’ll be alright…!” Julia told herself hopefully, closing her eyes and trying to ignore the constant pressure all around her body. Unbeknownst to the preoccupied princess, two people were approaching the bathhouse.

“I’m sure Saia is just helping our two dear guests with their bath, that’s all, Soie,” Neru yawned a bit as she was tugged along by her granddaughter who insisted her sister had been gone for quite a long while by now.

“She said she was positive she heard a weird noise coming from the women’s side, grandma. But I said I wanted to bake some more for tomorrow’s breakfast…” Soie pouted, and although she was with great haste she still patiently waited for the old, sweet grandmother to slowly make her way up the steps to their destination.

Something made them stop. “Oh my, what is this…?” Neru exclaimed, “The building is shuddering…!”

“Saia!” Soie called out loud for her sister, but all the aged innkeeper and her granddaughter standing protectively ahead of her got to see were a pair of massive human feet crashing through the wall facing them.

Neru let out a small gasp of shock, her usually half-closed eyes wide open now as she reached into her kimono for a bead chain. “A foot demon?!”

“Guh-grandma, stand back, it’s dangerous…!” Soie cried out as Neru prepared to face off against the advancing growing tootsies. She actually had to put out a lot of strength to get Neru to step back with her, her grandma ready to face off against those imposing soles and toes.

The bathhouse, however, was not for much longer. Completely unaware of what was going on outside, Julia had grown so large that even while in her curled position her back and nape were hitting the now low ceiling. Inexorable pressure caused the already damaged upper surface to snap. Like a boulder shredding through nylon, Julia emerged through the widening hole into the brisk outside.

“I-is that the princess?!” Soie immediately recognized Julia once the rain of splinters revealed the giantess’ head. “Ahh…!” she and her equally shocked grandma could only watch as the lady’s bathhouse collapsed all around Julia’s immense figure.

“Nngh…!” Julia whimpered as she finally felt her elbows bash into the sidewalls, but with such low integrity left the poor building could no longer fall apart in segments. It utterly collapsed before being hopelessly outgrown by Julia’s expanding form. Her bulk had finished taking over that side of the springs trails by the time her growth spurt ended. It was impossible for Soie and Neru to see behind her, Julia’s 30ft. body taking up all the view and hiding the hot springs behind her.

Julia was glad to feel freedom of movement once again. She was careful when stretching and moving her limbs, deciding to simply shift on her butt to attain the smallest amount of comfort before she got her bearings after such a powerful enlargement. She saw both Neru and Soie down below by her feet, but before Julia could address the two newcomers, she directed her attention to her hands. “Saia!” she immediately called out, opening her fingers to find a crouched Saia. “Are you alright?”

Saia was holding her head, relieved that she could finally see again after being stuck in that awkward position between the princess’ legs, abdomen and hands. “I’m okay, Miss Julia! Has it passed…?”

“I-I think so!” Julia nodded, significantly convinced the growth spurts were over with for the time being as evidenced by the sudden lack of that tingling sensation running amok in her body. Finally, she could address the still shocked Neru and Soie down below, and yet the words could not come out. How did one apologize for this?

“She’s become monstrously sized, grandma…” Soie muttered before raising her voice, “And she’s got Saia with her!”

“Hush, dear,” Neru said, finally putting her warding bead chain down as she looked up at her guest and granddaughter. “Are you two alright?”

“Yes!” Saia hollered while hanging from one of Julia’s thumbs, leaning against it to keep her balance on the giantess’ otherwise slippery skin. “I’m alright, grandma, sister! Turns out Miss Julia here has special powers!”

“Special powers, are they?” Neru patiently folded her arms, looking up at Julia in a judgmental way that made the princess feel so self-conscious her cheeks gained color.

After a brief and concise explanation on the events that had transpired in the late women’s bathhouse along with a similar background retelling of Julia’s growing ability, Neru seemed satisfied. Julia wouldn’t stop apologizing about the destruction of the bathhouse and the endangering of Saia at every opportunity during her explanation, and assured Neru she would leave every last silver coin in her travel coach with her to pay her back for repairs.

“What’s important is that neither of you are hurt, dearie,” Neru laughed and waved her hand dismissively, although she never rejected the offer for money. They had been looking to renovate after all! The old lady’s grinning expression said it all: She was already taking this as a blessing in disguise. “But my word. I certainly never expected to see magic again before I departed from this world. And such a powerful effect too!”

“I-I still have a lot of training to do,” Julia admitted, “I can’t control it with ease. I’m just relieved I didn’t squish poor Saia!” she looked to her left and right. During her talk with Neru, both Saia and Soie had climbed Julia’s shoulders and were currently sitting one on each side.

“It must be so cool to be a growing princess who fights evil bandits!” Saia pumped her fist up.

“I’m so sorry I called you a monster, Miss Julia. This is amazing!” Soie said. “I can even see into the guys’ side from here!”

“Wuh…?” Julia’s eyebrows went high. For the first time since she had outgrown the bathhouse she ventured her gaze where Soie was pointing at. There, beyond the tall shrubbery, she could see both Thomas and Terry glancing up at her with immutable, red-faced expressions. That’s when she realized her breasts were pretty much exposed to them at her current height. “You… you pervs!” Julia screeched, putting her arms around her chest before ripping a bunch of leaves and branches from the ground and hurling it at their side of the hot springs. “Just how long have you been staring?!”

“Ahhh, we’re caught…!”

“We’re sorry!”

Soie and Saia laughed and encouraged Julia as her knights scrambled to get out of their springs, rushing out to their bathhouse.

And despite the sudden turn for the raucous on that nice, cool evening, there was one unbothered person in the girls’ hot springs who was so placid she hardly paid attention to all the commotion. “Haaaah… these hot springs sure are the best…” Silvy said to herself, so absorbed in her comfort not even her gigantified princess managed to interrupt her.

For different reasons, this was a journey none of them would forget…

---

Rumors and tales were already spreading from Brookstown even without official messengers. It didn’t take long for the fantastical information to reach Crescita before Princess Julia herself did. Of course, the whimsical tale was met with skepticism, as evidence of magic spells had long since vanished from the kingdom alongside most of the old teachings.

Those that did believe in the claims that not only had the young princess successfully brought succor and aid to many villages but also done so with mystical powers heralded her as a savior; one who had been chosen by Dia herself to lead them to a brighter future in these dark times.

That kind of talk sat wrong only with one person.

Princess Jocelyn had never had to try. An amazing puberty had left her taller and more beautiful than any woman her age, and she had been praised for her aptitude both in academics and armed combat. Rivals disappeared from her sight faster than their pitiful boasts of being able to surpass her, and no contest was too much for Jocelyn to prove her superiority. It was because of that superiority however that empathy had never been her strong suit. She saw things in hierarchical terms: Those below were meant to serve the ones on top; and she had only ever looked down on others.

From an early age, her recently widowed father had tried his best to teach his maturing elder daughter the virtue of humility. During his grieving period however, attention split between her and heavily favoring the much younger Julia.

Contempt and jealousy consumed the elder sister. Poor, small and weak Julia had been born frail and ill like their late mother. Always slower. Always weaker. Always needing help. A bother. An obstacle that stood between her and the attention from her father and everyone else in their Kingdom. Thus Jocelyn took her gifts and used them to ensure she would never be one who would be looked down upon.

Fierce and competitive, Jocelyn quickly became independent but impetuous. Popular yet demanding. Loved and feared.

Crescita owed its existence to a wise woman being chosen by Dia to rule, and all seemed to be in favor of the woman Princess Jocelyn had become the spitting image of the First Queen. And yet she could not ascend the throne without her father’s blessing. However ill he was, the King was still well aware his gifted eldest daughter had not yet the emotional maturity or the compassion necessary to take the crown.

“Why must you stand in the way, father? The kingdom is mine by right!” Jocelyn argued.

“The kingdom is not a toy to be owned, Jocelyn!” his bed-ridden Majesty had lost count of how many times he had raised his voice to the same exact words. “The kingdom goes beyond the land and its riches. It is the people and their well-being you will be responsible for.”

“It is my well-being the people ought to be concerned about,” Jocelyn rebuked, unconcerned by her father’s speech. “There are hundreds of thousands of them, but only one of me.”

“A ruler is nothing without their people! What of their needs? Your sister went down to the plains to aid the same subjects we’ve been too thinly spread to protect. She understands…”

Jocelyn made her father stop with a glare and a sigh. “What she mis understands is that our resources should not go to pity missions. If our numbers are dwindling, it is merely because we are participating in this war of attrition with beasts and men better put to death than arrested. Expansion to the eastern lands…”

“Those lands earned their independence centuries ago, child! We’re not conquerors! We’re not… gak…!” the king coughed himself into a fit, palming his chest and gesturing towards a glass of water which his daughter slowly got for him. After a generous sip, he seemed to have calmed down. “So help me, daughter. As long as you continue to carry on with these ludicrous notions, I will never cede rule to you.”

“Hmph…” Jocelyn folded her arms. Denied once more. But it would not be long; and yet, she couldn’t back down. Throughout her life, ‘No’ was a word Jocelyn had never come to terms with easily. “You know I’m right,” she folded her arms with conviction, “I am the only one suited for the throne. Why wait until you expire to give me control, father? I could show you how wrong you are about these altruistic platitudes.”

Sighing to himself at his headstrong daughter, the king silently blamed himself for how she had turned out. Finally, he took on a stern tone and glared at the cocksure princess. “Julia.”

Even without context or further explanation, Jocelyn seemed to instantly understand, and she certainly did not like what she was hearing. Although her facial expression remained immutable her eyes appeared fixed in place, unblinking. “I am your heir apparent.”

“And I, your King ,” the father laid down. “Surely you must have already heard of her pilgrimage’s success. Loathe as I am to admit it, putting herself through that journey fraught with danger has garnered the support of those in need, those you should have sought to help, Jocelyn.”

“…I heard she was almost captured and her companions nearly slain,” Jocelyn hesitantly said with a frown, casting her eyes elsewhere so that she wouldn’t have to look at the sickening pride in her father’s eyes. Before she could say more, the king raised his voice.

“And she overcame such an ordeal by the grace of the Goddess. A Goddess you have failed to worship as your late mother once did.”

“A Goddess who has permitted rampant chaos and misery to befall our kingdom!” Jocelyn raised her voice back, “A deity like that deserves no worship, only scorn and insult!”

“You spit on a monarch’s duties, you spit on our patron God, is there no limit to your arrogance, child?” the king looked almost pained with each word he spoke. Jocelyn’s glare intensified.

“I am no longer a child, and I can clearly think for myself, unlike those who believe in fairy tales. You would be the greatest of fools to put Julia in charge! She doesn’t know the first thing about ruling!”

“She understands…” the king said once more, “And you do not.”

Before the heated argument could advance any further, one of the attendants walked into the royal chambers. The attendant seemed aware he had come in at a bad time, as the tension in the air could be sliced with a dagger, but the news could not wait.

Princess Julia had finally made her return to the kingdom. Despite his tiredness, the king wished to formally welcome his youngest in the throne room to congratulate her with the rest of the court. And Jocelyn would have no choice but come along, as well.

---

The horses whinnied with such exuberance upon reaching Crescita that everyone understood their relief upon returning home. Julia and her party were well-received, and while Terry and Thomas were given the rest of that day off, the princess and her maid went on to the throne room of the castle without delay after being told His Majesty was waiting for them.

Julia was announced with trumpeters, drums and the release of several doves by the court. It occurred to her she had seen this standard-fare welcoming ceremony for many people in the past, but only from the courtside. It was the first time hearing her name announced so loudly with an abundant of even louder, standing clapping.

It made her self-conscious enough to blush and look down shyly, but upon getting encouragingly nudged by Silvy, her dear companion during that weeks-long quest, Julia had found her courage to break through the attention-paralysis. With a bold step carrying her forth, she made it to the steps leading to the twin thrones overlooking the king and queen’s court. Julia’s father was taking his proper seat, dressed in his traditional kingly garbs while holding the royal staff of Crescita in his right hand. Sitting beside him was her older sister, who unlike his smiling father appeared to be squinting hard at her; as if sizing her up somehow.

“Father- Your Majesty,” Julia tugged on her dress and did a curtsy, announcing: “I have returned from my quest.”

“Julia, my dear girl!” the king was so overjoyed he stretched his arms out, slowly due to tiredness he was trying hard to hide, to welcome his youngest into an embrace. “It pleases me greatly to see you return unharmed. Where are your bodyguards?”

After releasing her father from a gentle hug, Julia told him about her brave knights having been given leave to rest and recuperate before resuming their duties. Before she knew it, Julia was recounting her brief travels for all to hear. The sad state of affairs of the plains, the scary and lonely, oppressive atmosphere that plagued the roads; the desolation and destruction of once thriving communities! But she also told them about their people working together to rebuild where they could. She told them about the nice folk she had encountered, she told them about Mayor Pete and his people… but when Brookstown was mentioned, Jocelyn finally broke her silence.

“Ah, yes,” the older princess’ voice rang out for all to hear, “This is the part of your tale where the rumors become nonsensical. A band of miscreants being placated by a miracle of some sort, as the peasants say,” Jocelyn dismissively waved her hand, resting her cheek on her free palm. “My favorite one is where they say Princess Julia grew many times her size and stepped on a bandit. A miracle, indeed!” she grinned mockingly.

Flustered, Julia defended herself: “Thu-that was an accident, sister! He tried to stab my foot- well, it was more of a prick of a needle at that size and then… I promise I took my foot off him as soon as I could! Miraculously, no one got badly hurt in that raid.”

There were murmurs around court. Not in detraction of the younger princess’ account, but the fact she hadn’t at all denied the fantastical component of it. Jocelyn wasn’t a fan of wasting time entertaining what could constitute as mere fiction, so she decided to play along in an effort to disperse the farce. “You assert you’ve gained the power to grow to sizes that defy the imagination for a human being, sister. I admit I am filled with concern for your mental well-being right now…” she paused to allow the multitude to laugh at the way her sarcasm led her eloquence.

But Julia insisted, although stammering all the while: “I-It’s true, all of it! I truly did grow immense. I picked up and hung the bandit leader Mick high on a watchtower. I-I know it sounds like a lot to believe but…”

Jocelyn intercepted. “But there should be no issue giving us a little demonstration of this power if it is indeed real. What say you, little sister?”

“Jocelyn!” the king finally interrupted, “I think you should stop. Your dear sister is clearly tired from her long journey. It is the first time she’s been outside of the castle walls…”

The ‘little’ part stung. Most people had relegated themselves to being belittled by Princess Jocelyn. Her supporters even seemed to enjoy it when she spoke down to them. But this time, being discredited before the royal court and their father was making Julia frown and pout from the powerlessness of it all. “Buh-but it’s true…”

“Grow, then, Princess Pipsqueak,” Jocelyn taunted, and the court laughed. Of those present, only the king and Silvy seemed to be holding the ever-popular heiress in contempt with their stare.

Goadingly convinced, Julia shook the court when she agreed to show off her power, walking down the steps leading up to the throne and standing before the king and the elder princess. She began to concentrate on drawing power from Dia’s Ring, closing her eyes as she looked inwards in search of the same fire which had burned so brightly back when so many lives were at stake.

At first, people expected smoke and mirrors from some jester hidden among the concurrency. Jocelyn certainly had convinced herself magic had no place anywhere but inside of children’s books. She was too smart to be foiled by any cheap parlor trick and thought to use this opportunity to expose her delirious little sister as mentally frail; certainly not worthy of consideration for the throne.

But then all eyes in court, Silvy’s included, started bulging out in surprise when they saw Julia’s dress tightening around her frame.

Julia understood she had little control of her new power right now; it feeling like a strong river current threatening to wash her away with pleasure. She decided not to fight it and allowed it to take over, using her concentration to merely adjust the pacing. Whereas back in Brookstown Julia had pushed out in violent spurts, this time she was gradually swelling but it was just fast enough for nobles and guards and even her disbelieving elder sister to witness the process.

Just like before, sleeves and waist tightened, skirt lifting off the ground. Longer legs pushed Julia higher and higher, adding inch after inch of height and marveling everybody who did not believe the ‘Pipsqueak Princess’ could magically grow. Even with her eyes closed to avoid losing concentration, Julia could tell nobody was laughing now. She could tell by the solemn silence that all attention was on her and what she was doing.

And what the once little princess was doing pretty well right now was expanding. It took all of Julia’s willpower to wrest the need to moan as her brain was inundated with signals meant to deliver pleasure. Each crease of her dress that rubbed against her stretching skin felt like a minute yet seriously effective massage that further emphasized that tingling she so loved now. Her focus threatened to dissipate each time fabric caught onto one of her enlarging body parts and began to tear; but she told herself it would be okay. “Not going to grow until I’m naked. A little damage is okay. A little damage is okay…” she quietly muttered under her breath.

She was soon over six and a half feet tall already; a good deal taller than Jocelyn who stood up as if to confirm that the only reason she wasn’t looking up at her baby sister was because she was five steps below, still standing on the welcoming red carpet. While Julia did her best to go with the flow of her growth, people commented and reevaluated their standing with the young princess. Those few who had zealously believed in Julia’s appointment by the Goddess were finally remaining silent no longer.

“It’s true, it’s no trick!”

“She’s blessed- by Dia she can use magic!”

“But how big is she going to get…?”

To those watching it truly seemed like an eternity of beholding Julia’s transformation. At seven feet tall, her dress was barely hanging on. Her sleeves and tights looked like they might tear at any moment. Still unused to the pacing, her swelling feet cracked her shoes before she thought to walk out of them. The transparency of her tights was replaced by her fair skin pushing out of the stretched-out holes resulting from her lengthening limbs. At eight feet tall, both of her sleeves and her tights split down the middle, prompting Julia to slowly peel them off like a snake shedding old skin.

More murmurings questioning where the end in that growth would be got Julia nervous. She didn’t dare open her eyes just yet, but she consciously started resisting the slowed-down flow. “This should be enough… cuh-calm down…” she told herself in her mind, and although the process did not stop immediately it certainly slowed down. Instead of growing an inch every second, it was soon every other second, then every three, then slower… and slower… and slower…

By the time Julia finally seemed to have stopped, the court saw her surge over everybody’s height at just over 9ft. tall. Her dress was barely hanging on with its skirt hanging just above her knees. Although Julia’s proportions had remained unchanged, she was simply too large for a dress made for someone much shorter and as such was forced to hold it together with her arms to avoid ending up naked before the entire royal court. She now stood taller than the biggest of men, considerably dwarfing all those present.

Jocelyn, in particular, was hit really hard by this demonstration which she ironically had insisted for. Her sharp eyes could not notice any trick behind this transformation, she could find no conspirators; even her maid seemed just as shocked as everybody else! Before she knew it, the elder princess had left her mother’s throne and walked down the steps to stand before the splendid amazon her younger sister had turned into.

“Sister…?” Julia was still not used to being the focus of attention, especially when she was so close to being indecent due to her torn clothes. However, her big sister’s analytical stare was so off-putting it made Julia press her limbs together against her own body as if to hide herself even though she was yet to be nude. Jocelyn wasn’t saying anything to her; but her eyes were clearly filled with some sort of intent.

Too weak to stand on his own power, the king let out an excited exclamation: “This is magnificent, daughter! You truly wield powerful magic! It is true, then. I could not bring myself to believe it, but you truly subdued all those bandits by yourself, did you not? You truly have been chosen by Dia!”

The proud father’s admiration had a different effect on each daughter. For Julia, it made her realize everyone was suddenly clapping and cheering for her after showing off her new power. For Jocelyn, it had dealt the biggest blow to her ego: She came to realize no one was looking at her anymore. For the first time in her life, she suddenly felt like she was one with the approaching crowd as they surrounded Julia to show her their admiration and ask questions about her transformation.

Unwittingly, Jocelyn’s little sister had made her look up at her and experience the loathsome sensation of feeling invisible.

“It was all true after all!”

“She is the chosen one!”

“Princess Julia will save the kingdom!”

“She should be our new queen!”

The words that echoed in the royal court felt like tiny spears embedding themselves one by one on Jocelyn’s heart. “Why her…?” she thought to herself, seething with envy.

Julia’s perception of her sister had been completely washed over by the tidal wave of nobles and other royal subjects. For once in her life, she was starting to feel worthy of her title as princess. And she wished to take advantage of everyone’s attention. Ignoring those who wished her to assume the title of queen, Julia told them, and her father, of her plan to use her power as a way to help their kingdom recover faster. She would use her new abilities to aid in the restoration effort and help bring peace to the lawless lands down below.

Although understandably concerned, the king could not rebuke Julia’s offer. Their forces were spread thin as they were combating monsters in the outskirts and protecting their towns. Villagers could hardly be expected to rebuild while groups of unrepenting bandits raided them for all they had. Princess Julia would be their god-sent protector. All were in favor.

_ _

Why not me? This isn’t right. Why is she being chosen? Why… why…? Whywhywhywhywhy why?!”

_ _

Jocelyn couldn’t help but feel betrayed by her world. A world she had come to be so effortlessly in control of that the realization she might lose her until-now secured inheritance to Julia set something in motion within Jocelyn. Something dark. “She is useless,” the older princess convinced herself, “She’s being chosen because of magic! Magic that doesn’t belong to her…”

Magic that should belong… to me.

_ _

---

The following days were times of wonder and gratitude for the kingdom of Crescita. Their very own princess Julia would spend her time visiting villages and settlements in need, hearing their individual plights and using her fantastic new power to help them.

She began with the village at the foot of their mountains, helping farmers more easily tend to their fields by growing just big and strong enough to help them carry heavy equipment. The settlements to the south had werefoxes that could easily overpower guards and continuously take out cattle, but the beasts would relent upon seeing a human growing 20ft. tall and looming over them.

Just being 15ft. tall was enough for Julia to be a great boon in the reconstruction effort. The southern and southwestern villages greatly appreciated her visitations, as even her gigantic presence alone seemed to detract smaller opportunistic monsters such as goblins and kobolds from hitting those places.

Still embarrassed by clothing limits, every time Julia grew larger she politely asked her subjects to look away. Having come to terms with her dear young Julia’s strange new powers, Silvy had taken it upon herself to reutilize large curtains and sheets to fashion practical outfits meant to conserve the princess’ decency up to a point. For if she grew too big even the reserved custom garbs Silvy had sewn up for the princess would not be enough and she’d have to spend her extra-large time in the nude.

At those much larger sizes like the utterly gigantic 50ft. tall Julia had made use of during her first time growth back in Brookstown, she became excellent at clearing out rubble and debris, as well as chasing orcs off into their dungeons where she would slam her foot down and sternly warn them not to come bother the poor villages ever again. On one occasion, they had upset Julia so much she had to block their village-side den’s entrance with a boulder larger than she was originally tall, carrying it like a child would transport a little rock atop their palm.

At first, it naturally made her feel vulnerable but with every problem she tackled by growing enormous, Julia gradually abandoned her prudishness; treating the downside of her giant forms as necessary in order to reach her goal of being able to set everyone’s heart at ease while combating unfairness and insecurity in the name of her people.

With numerous feats and people’s admiration under her proverbial belt, Julia was coming to be known as Crescita’s savior, celebrated and pampered wherever she went. And although she had never done any of those tasks for her own benefit, this positive reinforcement collaborated towards Julia’s growing confidence.

By now, the idea of a big nasty cyclops or another band of mercenaries hardly counted as a threat for her. When one could simply dwarf any monster and overpower superior numbers with sheer mass, nothing seemed to scare Julia any longer. At least, that remained true until Sconfitt.

Sconfitt was one of the eastern cities that had declared its independence from the kingdom of Crescita a long time ago. A sprawling community three times bigger than a forest-encroached village like Brookstown, Sconfitt had seen a lot of prosperity and even continued to trade with the kingdom which had recognized the city’s own sovereignty. Their individualism unfortunately had not set them apart when it came to being targeted by the hungry, terrible armies of the dragon lord.

Throughout the past two years, Sconfitt had been under continuous siege by kobolds bent on exploiting tactical weaknesses, consuming buildings in nasty explosions and kidnapping women for their disgusting breeding rituals at their master’s keep. The monsters were little in size individual strength but with their numbers they had become a force not even their local guard could reckon. And the beasts never were interested in burning the whole city down either; simply taking what they wanted at the time and leaving the community within an inch of its life so that it would have a chance to rebuild and supply them with more resources and entertainment in the future. The scourge of Sconfitt’s was being led by a sadist, no doubt.

And although initially hesitant about asking for help from Crescita, those tall tales about their growing savior of a princess was something the poor people of Sconfitt had no choice but to beg to see by themselves.

Julia, of course, had no reservations whatsoever about helping anyone in need. And she wrought quite the shocking surprise to the kobolds when, during one of their bimonthly raids, suddenly they had no choice but be outright confronted at the entrance of the city by a sole young girl seemingly climbing out of her clothes.

“Pretty woman, grab!”

“Get for master! Servant for master!”

“I wants her first…!”

Julia could see the disgusting intentions in the creatures’ eyes. They were maybe half her size, yet she counted no less than three dozen with likely more to come. No matter how confident she was in her abilities now, she didn’t wish to underestimate any enemy. So before they could get within effective range, she summoned her power and within moments quadrupled her size.

Dust began to kick up beneath the rushing kobolds’ feet as they collectively grinded to a stop, knocking into one another as Julia’s shadow rapidly advanced towards them. Reptilian eyes widened in disbelief, hisses both exclaiming fear and arousal filling the air. There was uncomfortable silence before a huffing 22ft. tall Julia stomped her foot down in front of the kobolds.

The impact of Julia’s massive foot crashing down ahead of them made the little army bounce into the air alongside the variety of appropriated equipment including short swords, hatchets and spears. While the monsters struggled to recover, Julia put on her meanest face on: She was aiming for a scowl but all the mild-mannered girl managed was a puff of the cheek and a cute frown. Regardless of how adorable her expression might have looked however, when it belonged to the face of a girl 10 times the size of those little creatures, they simultaneously all stood up to attention.

“Your fun is over!” Julia decreed, pointing in the opposite direction to Sconfitt. “Go back from where you came and don’t come back to bother your neighbors again, got it?”

“But the master…”

“Master will punish us!”

“…pretty giant lady…”

“Run away or get stomped!”

Julia quirked an eyebrow at the gibberish spoken by the retreating army. They had seemed hesitant at first, which confused her. However, her usual intimidation strategy seemed to have worked. After the kobolds had vanished from sight behind the hill hiding a black fortress in the distance, she made sure to make a round along the city walls to ensure there weren’t any cheeky monsters trying to get in from anywhere else.

People were happy with Julia and this outcome. For the first time in years their buildings and storages would go undamaged for longer than a couple of weeks. With the threat seemingly taken care of, Julia turned down the reward the townspeople had been offering to every failed mercenary band and was ready to move on. She was alright with accepting a meal for her and her retainers as well as care for her horses, but she didn’t wish to take their money.

The next morning, Julia was eager to move on to the next town even though she felt a little exhausted. Sconfitt had been the ninth in a series of labors spread out along six long days. Choosing to save time by sleeping in the travel coach between destinations, she had accrued both physical and mental tiredness. Ordinarily, her maid Silvy would have put an end to that nonsense but Julia, so worried about her safety and well-being, had ordered her to stay behind at the castle.

That was why on the following morning Julia was caught off guard when the kobolds’ master finally invaded Sconfitt. She was caught off guard because she was hailed right before she was about to leave. Caught off guard because the mastermind behind the scourge had not come with anyone backing him up. Scared witless because the kobolds’ master was not a bigger kobold, not an evil knight nor any of the monsters she had so far been.

It was a giant dragon. Furious red scales and black underbelly, majestic sharp horns that could bore through steel and sharpness of claw and teeth that would rend anything in their way. The red dragon’s immense wings flapped with such intensity it uprooted trees and stripped the shingles off roofs. When it finally landed on Sconfitt, the beast’s shadow covered half the city and even blacked out the morning sun for Julia.

People were running away from it and towards the princess, begging her to save them from the towering monster. Julia didn’t need to run any complicated math to be able to figure out that dragon was over twice the size she had reached back in Brookstown.

Who dares deny the great Calliemex and his loyal servants tribute?!

_ _

The creature’s booming voice shook the very ground Julia stood on. She thought she’d gotten used to facing enormous monsters, but this was so beyond her comfort zone that she hesitated about her ability to face Calliemex. Just looking at his bloody red reptilian eyes and the fire sparking off his maw was making the princess shake.

But Julia quickly found her courage with so many citizens of Sconfitt begging her for her help. “If I were to give up or run away, all these people would get torched alive… or worse! I have to help!” she slapped both of her cheeks to wake herself up from her stupor and finally broke off from the multitude surrounding her, ignoring the calls of ever faithful Terry and Thomas screaming for her to get back. The heels of her pumps broke during her dash to meet the advancing dragon.

Hahaha… How amusing! A puny human faces me on her own? Are you that eager to die, little one?

“I’m not here to die, great dragon!” Julia stood before the bellowing dragon, casting her fears away in favor of reasoning with the powerful being. “I wish for you to leave the people of Sconfitt alone.”

Calliemex leaned down, each of his claws sinking into the ground next to Julia as his gargantuan maw hovered above her. “And who are you to make any demands from me, girl?”

Julia gulped. She could feel the dragon’s hot breath washing her over, tainting the fabric of the plain clothes used to wear nowadays so that she wouldn’t shred her elegant dresses anymore. Joining her hands together and clutching them tightly as a sign of conviction, she talked up to the dragon, “I am Julia of the kingdom of Crescita! I have sworn to protect these people, so I cannot allow you or your underlings do them any more harm than you’ve already done! Please leave and don’t return again!”

“Bwahahaha…!” boomed Calliemex, “And what do you plan to do if I don’t? Will you bring your massive champion to brandish a pitiful blade at me?” the dragon’s maw lit up with all-consuming flames. As if to taunt Julia and further intimidate her, his right claw scratched the ground up on his side. What was a cat-like scratch for the dragon was like watching an entirely new beast of its own raze dirt, roots, grass like it was all grains of sand on the beach. The dragon’s hand was so huge it easily tore through a storage shed in its way, destroying its structure with barely any effort. “Bring them before me, Julia of Crescita!”

Julia could only let out a whimper when she saw the instantaneous destruction Calliemex brought with just a casual motion. She felt like she was going to freeze right there, unable to fathom the sheer difference in strength. The realization he was here to take revenge on the ‘champion’ who had scared off his army made the young princess grimace. “It’s like back in Brookstown…” she remembered, “I can’t let him intimidate me. I have to face him head on, I have to protect everybody…!”

“Feh! Your silence wastes my time, human girl!” Calliemex impatiently growled, finding the impressed princess so be so pathetic he rose his snout to meet the crowd a-ways from him with a hiss, “Where is your champion who presumes to tell my servants what to do?”

Julia had to hurry. She summoned all of the power she had available to her and let it loose from within. The impatient dragon whose attention had turned away from her was surprised and even recoiled from the surging energy spilling out of that little human before him. Only Calliemex quickly realized that she was rapidly becoming not-so-little now.

“What is this magic…?” the dragon, mesmerized by what his reptilian eyes were seeing, decided to intently observe as he saw Julia’s clothes starting to become decimated by her swelling form.

Briefly lamenting the lack of time to properly undress, Julia devoted all of her focus to growing. If she wished to stand equal with her opponent she had to become bigger than she had ever grown before! That was how her shirt and pants nearly-instantly shredded to scraps of clothing from one moment to the next. As she rapidly gained foot after foot of height, her actual feet exploded out of her broken pumps. For an instant the amazonian princess was left in only her terribly-stretched out underwear before it all tore off her expanding body.

The dragon sat upright while patiently staring down at his rapidly enlarging opponent. His kobolds had regaled him with the description of a giant human woman many times their size. After she had crossed the 20ft. tall threshold, it was much easier to match that mental picture they had painted for him. “So it was you all along, wasn’t it? Clever woman…” Calliemex praised with a lit-up smirk. Smoke was already fuming out through his nostrils like a pair of active chimneys.

Julia saw this and could only brace with her naked arms as she continued to push out larger. “No time to dodge, just get bigger, get bigger!” she begged of her swelling body, “Bigger! Bigger!” she pleaded just as Calliemex let loose air-scorching breath.

Loud gasps and horrified screams from the audience filled the air as the amazonian princess was consumed by the towering flames. The dragon’s output was like a raging inferno, with temperature rapidly climbing and soon melting even the fissured dirt streets. Nothing short of a dragon’s fire-immune scales were able to resist the devastating attack.

That was why it was so shocking for Calliemex when the conic shape of his dragon breath began to distort and disperse to the sides. The sight of two crossed arms advancing made the fearsome dragon falter, and he finally relented when he confirmed his target was not only unharmed but surging larger than ever!

Julia elicited gasps and cheers from the crowd as she showed to have survived Calliemex’s powerful fire breath. She had grown so tall that her head was only a short distance to his neck-bent snout. Gigantic feet continually slid across the blackened ground with Julia still holding her arms crossed ahead of her. Even after the fire had completely stopped she still was bracing with her eyes closed and her lips quivering.

Clearly, the girl was still scared out of her mind with the situation. But her desire to shield the citizens of Sconfitt had trumped any and all reservations she might’ve once had. Her body had both moved on its own and she had ceded control over to the magic energies swirling within her. And within moments the shaking girl was swelling so much even the dragon had to start carefully pacing backwards.

“What… what is this magic…?” Calliemex found himself stuttering, mind racing back to all the lively descriptions he had received from his numerous yapping minions. The kobolds had all led him to believe the human girl had grown to a height he could still consider small. Yet Julia of Crescita hadn’t just emerged unscathed from his intense flames; she was expanding well beyond the 80ft. tall mark, very soon meeting him inch for inch even if he were to stretch his long neck upright! “Just what is this power?!” the dragon demanded.

In hearing her opponent’s roar of confusion, Julia’s eyes finally popped open and she felt herself distend. She had expected to have already grown 20, maybe 30ft. tall after she felt the insane heat eat away at what little of her clothes had remained clinging to her person. However, the sudden and insane change in perspective made her gasp and stumble. “Aaaah…!” she screamed with the first two staggering steps. Three-story buildings were only a fraction of her height right now. In the twenty seconds that she had spent cloaked in fires, she had grown to over 80ft. tall.

Calliemex’s wings spread out before he jumped back of Julia’s way as she came stumbling down his way. Both his graceful and Julia’s clunky landings sent violent tremors across the city. As he started at the impossibly enlarged human, the dragon’s claws sank into the ground. He tensed up when realizing Julia had not stopped expanding. “Impossible… the magic power alone one must command to be able to change this fast…!”

“Nuh-nothing…” Julia stammered, hissing after she felt her knees sink into the ground from the impact of her fall. Growing always was a pleasurable process for her now, but right now she was being overwhelmed by the great deal of power surging through her. It took a great deal of concentration just to find purchase with her right foot, enabling her to begin standing up. Before she even managed to stand upright, Julia had already grown 10ft. taller! Practically eye-to-eye with Calliemex now, the princess told him: “Nothing is too much for the safety of my people! Now leave, Calliemex!” she shouted.

Bewildered and enraged by the command of the giantess, the dragon let out an irate roar that shook Sconfitt. “How dare you even think you can command the great Calliemex?!” His tail angrily swung to the side, slamming through one of the two inns, tearing the building down in an instant. His right hand clawed at the ground in front of him, the dragon’s nostrils flaring and fuming with angry smoke. “I will make you regret your arrogance, human!”

Julia’s eyes widened as she saw Calliemex adapt a pose similar to a cat that was moments away from pouncing. Fortunately, her reflexes would allow her to dodge, but Julia knew she couldn’t. After seeing the ease with which the dragon’s monstrous strength could casually demolish buildings, Julia understood that clearing out of the way would only serve for more collateral damage. Much as those sharp claws and fangs terrified her, she glanced at Dia’s Ring on her finger and nodded to herself: “I could’ve burnt but I didn’t… muh-maybe I’ll be able to catch him off guard and then…”

But before Julia could finish strategizing, Calliemex let out a growl and spread his mighty wings, jumping towards her with every intention of clawing her to bits. A whimpering squeak left Julia as she tensed up and threw her arms out, aiming for the dragon’s neck with her left hand and his flanks with the right. Both foes had misjudged distances however, for as soon as Julia reacted to Calliemex’s pounce she hit another growth spurt that made her add 20 whole feet of height.

Recoiling from the sudden change in his foe’s geometry, Calliemex faltered once more, causing him to lose momentum. Julia’s larger mitts missed their mark as well, causing her arms to slide past the side of the dragon’s neck and his torso. Although this had not been what Julia had been intending, she still used the moment to clutch and lock the slightly smaller dragon in her arms like a particularly large breed of dog. “Guhh…! What? Release me at once!” the great fire dragon demanded, feeling the movement of his neck constrained yet using his proximity to snap at his captor.

Julia whimpered again as she found herself weaving and haplessly turning in place to avoid having her face bitten off. “I-I won’t let go!” she stammered, “I… I don’t want to hurt you, but I will…! Give up, dragon!”

“You cannot stop me, I’ll tear you apart, and then I’ll stomp this village to the ground, and then when I find where your precious kingdom is…!” Calliemex was so enraged by being bound for the first time in his life that he was becoming increasingly more enraged, ignoring the fact his opponent had yet to stop growing. He thought being this proximate to Julia would end with a swift victory by chomping the giantess’ head right off, but what he failed to notice amidst their constant bickering and physical struggle was that she was already half again his size and she was well on her way to double it. What he mistook for Julia’s arm strength giving up and lowering him to neck level was actually their constantly growing size difference. And when he did finally attempt to deliver a finishing blow to get to see her neck gushing, the dragon’s fangs were deflected by skin too thick to effectively penetrate.

“Ah! Hee… hehe…! Thu-that tickles!”

Naturally wanting his foe dominated, Calliemex sank his sharp fangs down on Julia as hard as he could muster. A boulder would’ve shattered to million pieces; a steel-reinforced horse would have snapped in two.

But Julia just giggled. And then the dragon noticed why. Slowly his eyes rolled up only to realize the giantess was easily twice his size, holding him up in her arms like a regular human would hold a large pet. Her sheer size had not only increased the strength of her grip, it had made her skin practically impervious to his mighty bite.

Finally coming down from the high of her last growth spurt, she made sure to squeeze a groaning Calliemex in a tight hug to keep him immobilized. One glance downwards filled Julia with both excitement and anxiety when she saw her feet were filling out the streets and they had unwittingly started growing into the roadside buildings. With a solid grip on the dragon, the towering 200ft. tall Julia carefully slid her foot off one warehouse and felt it collapse onto her toes, “Whoops!” she squeaked, quickly glancing down at the gathered crowd of practically ant-sized people, “Suh-sorry, I’ll move away!” she said, starting to walk towards the city’s plaza where she would have less risk of stomping anything more.

But Julia’s stride wasn’t as mindful as she could have hoped. She was now strong enough to hold up Calliemex without worry of him being able to physically hurt her, but he still wasn’t staying still. Like a fussy cat wishing for their freedom from unsolicited attention, the red and black dragon began to struggle with all of his might. “This is an outrage!” the villainous reptile roared, “I am Calliemex, the Scarlet Inferno! Scourge of realms, king slayer! My power knows no bounds…!” he pushed against Julia, clawed at her, bit her repeatedly wherever he could reach, even smacking her with his tail while wings beat with desperation.

“Ahh!” Julia whined as she wobbled in the direction of the plaza, “Quit squirming so much, you’re going to make me fall!”

“Good! Fall, just like all of my enemies!” the irrational Calliemex boomed with laughter, and thinking his strategy was working, that his freedom was imminent, he doubled down. It only took one second of Julia attempting to reposition her arms to avoid him slipping away for his haunches to come free, scratching down a certain area of the giant princess’ exposed bosom that was still invulnerable yet far too sensitive for her to giggle about.

“Ahhnn…!” Julia reluctantly let out a moan when she felt a great deal of stimulation coming from her right breast. Shamefully, she admitted to herself it had not been pain but that overly excited dragon unwittingly electrifying her with momentary bliss. That moment of distraction unfortunately had the opposite effect Calliemex had hoped for and he only ended up further squeezed against her chest, with Julia clumsily stepping on the plaza’s water fountain and slipping on it.

Both Julia and Calliemex let out concomitant grunts as the giantess dropped down on her side, denting the streets of the Sconfitt’s main plaza. In her desperate attempt to cushion her fall with her arms she released the dragon, whose triumphant laughter was promptly silenced when Julia rolled her hips and not only hit him, but buried him under her gargantuan behind.

“Grrrr! This is humiliating!” Calliemex roared, but his struggles only went on to become less and less effective as he had to contend not only with a rump almost as large as his own abdomen, but all of Julia’s sitting weight on top of him. “I order you to lift your ass off me, human!”

Julia was woozy at first. She felt wet underneath herself and Calliemex, no doubt the result of the destroyed water fountain. She could feel all that liquid splashing over her feet with her hands a small distance away from crushing into the library building circling the plaza. She had flattened the space she had sat on but she was fortunate enough to have avoided any more major damage. Ignoring Calliemex’s pleas, she allowed herself a sigh of relief.

Soon came the Sconfitt populace to celebrate their colossal savior, the mayor jumping in place to congratulate Julia and themselves for finally seeing their cruel, monstrous oppressor brought low. “Princess!” the mayor of Sconfitt shouted up at her just as she crossed her legs out of embarrassment when she realized she was flashing everybody, “We’re so grateful! You truly are an envoy of the Goddess. Your power has opened my eyes and it is high time we rejoin Crescita…”

Julia was still panting. The adrenaline of her brief yet risky battle with the dragon hadn’t subsided. The tiny mayor’s words were something she would have greatly appreciated at any other time, especially as he seemed to have turned his celebratory message into a speech for his people, but right now it was all going into one ear and coming out the other for her. The princess could still feel herself warming up even though the defeated Calliemex could only speak muffled words under her royal fanny; certainly unable to breathe any more flames. She could certainly tell what the familiar warmth spreading through her meant.

Julia had exhausted herself. Day after day of laboring, of training and using her powers, of traveling and sleeping so little. “It’s nothing!” she continued to say to those concerned for well-being as she kept taking on more and more requests for assistance and help. And now Dia’s Ring was glowing the brightest.

The mayor’s long-winded speech was interrupted when many pointed out the constant rumbling coming from the sitting giantess. At first they all assumed it was Calliemex’s vain struggles, but as soon as their mayor who was giving his back to Julia was approached by giant sliding feet and her toes were practically looming over him, they all realized what was going on: Julia had not stopped growing yet.

“Uhm… puh-princess…?” Sconfitt’s mayor practically jumped when he saw those titanic toes and soles robbing him of sunlight. “Is it wise to continue… ahem…” he coughed nervously, just as nervously as the rest of his citizenry, “…embiggening…?”

Julia found herself panting. All of her recent journey’s accumulated stress had decided to hit her at once it seemed. She felt anchored to the floor at first, simply trapped feeling herself expanding by the second. “Why doesn’t it stop…?” she asked herself, then said aloud, “Something’s wrong with me! Please move!”

“Princess?”

“What does she mean?”

“Where do we even move…?”

Those murmurs were soon breaking out into gasps and finger-pointing exclamations as Julia swelled and swelled in a seemingly uncontrollable manner. Her size was already beyond 250ft tall and she showed no signs of stopping. Her feet and legs were still sliding across the ground towards the crowd which hastily divided into two groups as they all shoved to one side of the giantess.

“Please stop!” Julia thought, eyes fearfully looking at the steadily minimizing inhabitants of the dwindling city. But she was growing far too quick for them to keep up at any reasonable speed. With every passing moment she seemed to put on another dozen feet of height, her body intent on stretching in all directions! Julia could soon barely feel the dragon underneath her rump, especially because of how it kept sliding closer and closer to the main plaza library facing her back. “They won’t be able to escape my growing body. I don’t want to crush anybody…!” she told herself, and finally resolved to fight through her exhaustion to stand up.

300ft. tall already, Julia’s shadow cast over the city more menacing and humbling than even Calliemex’s. The now puny sized dragon had been left in a crater shaped like buttocks on the plaza streets, immediately losing consciousness after one glance at the shockingly huge princess’ unstoppable ascension. Julia’s desire was to get as far away from Sconfitt as possible, but her feet were rapidly running out of space in the flattened plaza. The way buildings were laid about she could have certainly gotten around at 100ft. tall, but at her current height there was no way she wouldn’t step on buildings if she tried walking around!

Paralyzed by the lack any good choice to make, the swelling Julia said to all the tiny humans: “Please clear out, I can’t stop myself from growing!” with a small flail of her forearms and closed fists, indicating her own frustration. All she could do was stand still hoping she would stop growing! “How do I turn this off?” she asked herself, squeaking and turning to look back at the massive plaza library collapsing as her feet grew into the building. “I’m already like six times bigger than I was when I first lost control, how big am I going to get?!”

“Princess Julia, you must stop!” the mayor hollered out on his way out alongside the rest of his people. Both groups of people were slipping away from the plaza into various alleys. From there they were forced to watch the destruction unfold around the giantess’ feet.

Even as Julia reached 350ft. tall and showed no sign of slowing down, no part of her body above the ankles provided any threat. Despite Julia avoiding to take even a single step from her current position, her ever climbing weight was causing the plaza to fissure under so much pressure. Bricks and building debris harmlessly avalanched over her immobile steppers as they outgrew the plaza, finally crushing past the library and quickly invading the surrounding space.

People couldn’t fathom just how big the princess was getting and how fast she was achieving the size. They were caught off-guard when the towering, monstrously sized girl who had just saved them began to flatten their city just by standing there. They had been proven wrong when they all had collectively thought: “It’s over now, she can’t get any bigger than that, right?”

And thus it finally hit them all together: “She’s going to crush us all! Run for your lives…!”

“Nuh-no!” the terrified princess held out a hand down at the panicked populace, “I’m not going to- I don’t want to harm any of you, I promise! I just… I can’t control it, I… nnnghh...!” Julia was interrupted by a moan she had to stifle by biting her lip, her right eye closing as she almost lost it when another growth spurt hit, pushing her close to 400ft. tall all at once. She was easily covering the entire plaza under her soles now! Her toes had become buried in the remains of every building they had crashed through in their implacable advance.

The population of Sconfitt was scattered now. Their groups had broken off during the chaos, splintering and scattering like ants whose anthill had just begun to collapse. As a result, Julia could only whimper and shake as she did her best to stand perfectly still, now more than ever as she could feel the smallest of movements pass by her toes and the balls of her feet; civilians doing their best to outrun her massive feet to avoid being buried underneath them.

“Run ruuuuun!”

“She’s going to destroy the whole city at this rate!

“Oh Goddess, why did we call upon this monster?!”

Julia, with her head literally in the clouds, wished she couldn’t hear their screams and shouts. They were right, of course: As unintentional as it was, she was destroying Sconfitt. “I have to walk out of the city, I have to get away before I ruin everything…!” she assured herself, but no matter where she looked, Julia could detect movement in all cardinal directions. No matter where she looked, it was bad. No matter what she did, she was going to stomp it all underfoot if her feet didn’t grow into it first!

And then there was a moment. Her moment. Julia felt the tingling subsiding. Even though she had reached an outstanding size of 500ft. tall, she could finally detect her expansion petering off. Before she even gave herself a chance to calm her breathing, she decided to quit thinking it through any longer. Sconfitt’s screams had been eloquent enough: She had to go away. Emotionally charged, the giantess only waited until she could be a hundred percent sure she picked out a route with no people scurrying about before setting off.

“I’m sorry,” she said as her foot crushed a house underneath, “So sorry!” she apologized as even when walking with the tip of her toes she could hear the crunch of wood and bursting of glass down below. Every lift of her foot was hasty and the fall measured. Her heart raced as Julia peered away at the edge of Sconfitt. Four, maybe five steps left. Hopelessly destructive as it was the advantage of her size made traveling a cinch for her. “Almost out…!”

But before the worried princess could make her escape, the smallest obstacle got in her way. Julia thanked every star above for her good eye-sight letting her see a distraught mother finally getting her unruly child out of their house after an evidently slow evacuation. Julia’s foot was about to fall on their house, the impact of which would no doubt crush the family.

However, she twisted her foot mid-fall and even through the pain of miss-stepping, she managed to crush a different and empty neighborhood abode instead. Counting the outcome as a victory, the tripping Julia could only pray the buildings she was about to land on had been likewise emptied out of people before she closed her eyes.

Thoom.

_ _

The biggest building in Sconfitt was city hall. Surrounded by four categorically smaller buildings, this made up one of the city’s busiest districts. Expert masonry enduring one and a half centuries were put to the test as the world’s hugest pair of tits landed on them like a pair of squishy comets falling from the sky. Julia’s landing impact not only took out city hall, but every last house surrounding it, thus executing the biggest spontaneous demolition job in history. The fall hit her hard enough to knock her out for a couple of minutes.

When Julia’s eyes reopened, she could see the people of Sconfitt gathered atop a hill overlooking their wrecked town. She could hear them. Despite being a hundred times bigger than each and every one of them, Julia heard them loud and clear.

“What have you done?!”

“Our houses, our city…! Our lives!”

“You’ve destroyed everything, you monster!”

“I would rather the dragon have set my house on fire!”

“Boo! Go away! Go away you mean scary lady!”

Sconfitt’s word was unanimous and Julia simply couldn’t find her voice to even begin defending herself. How could she defend something like this? The princess hadn’t just failed her mission; she had done way more damage to the city than any real monster would have done. No, their screams were full of anger but also truth: Julia had become that which she had sworn to protect them from.

And still she couldn’t dispel her power. It made her feel beyond useless. Cursed, even! Go away, they said. Obeying these people’s will was all she could muster the emotional strength for. With one more shudder, Sconfitt trembled as Julia pushed herself off the ground, carefully climbing to her feet. With tears the size of a whale streaming off her face, the saddened giantess finished the final couple steps and crossed her near-endless legs over the city walls, leaving behind only the giant human-like impression of her body in Sconfitt: A reminder of her unfortunate visit.

With each great footfall making people and animals run away from her, Julia disappeared into misty murkiness of the foggy plains. “How could I have been so irresponsible…?” she recriminated herself, rubbing the tears from under her eyes only for her porcelain skin to moisten once more.

And so Julia’s sobs carried her far far away to a remote place where she, completely exhausted, sat down, hugging her legs to finish crying. She felt every single one of those hateful and hurtful words in her heart, yet continued to tell herself she had no claim for sympathy for she had carelessly worsened people’s lives. When she finally managed to look over her crossed forearms, the princess saw Dia’s Ring, the only accessory that always grew with her, still hanging at her finger. Doubt and anxiety spiraled inside of her mind.

It’s all my fault.

What if I lose control again?

All my powers’ fault.

Crescita will be way safer if I don’t exit the castle again.

No more growing.

_ _

Never again.

---

It was days after the fiasco in Sconfitt that princess Julia finally returned to Castle Crescita.

Her loyal bodyguards had found her deep in the plains, already shrunk down to her normal height by the time they had encountered her. Roaming beasts such as werefoxes and werepigs were among the most numerous threats in the emptier segments of the foggy plains yet they seemed to be avoiding the large crater Julia had been found sitting at; no doubt created during her time as a giantess.

Back in the castle, the king and Silvy were informed the princess was significantly quiet and gloomy when Thomas and Terry found her. She was certainly responsive and docile but depressed about her failure. It was such an alarming contrast to her family and friends to see the usually energetic Julia sulking on benches on her own and avoiding social interaction. She had taken Sconfitt really hard, perhaps excessively so in her father’s opinion.

But there was no talking to her. As much as he spoke to Julia about accepting failure, making amends and moving on, Julia assured him she no longer wished to go outside, for she would only make matters worse. Sympathetic with the guilt his righteous but young daughter was feeling, the king judged it too early for her to assimilate and learn from her mistake, and thus decided to give her time and space until she would be ready to mature.

It took Julia a week to come out of the castle walls and into the castle town. She had been insisting to remain inside so she wouldn’t get in anyone’s way. But Silvy, who blamed herself for the princess hitting her breaking point and not being there for her at the time, made sure to stick by her side and gently talk her into going out for a walk at least.

Sullen and watching every step she took on the paved streets as if she was still causing destruction with every step, Julia still made sure to steer clear from anybody, be they commoners or nobles. Her methodical, slow stride took her far away into the castle town’s park where she sat down at the bench farthest from their water fountain, farthest from any tree or flower bed, farthest from anybody.

“Despite my blunder everyone’s still so kind to me…” Julia observed after having counted at least seven people she had quietly nodded to during her walk. “They still think of me as Dia’s envoy and a savior…” she clenched her fists atop her lap, lips quivering. “I don’t deserve it that recognition anymore…”

And just how long are you going to sit and mope about it?

Julia’s hanging head lifted along with her eyes moving from her lap to the tall person looming over her from above. It was her beautiful older sister, Jocelyn who she hadn’t seen in weeks. “Sister…” Julia said without much enthusiasm, “I would like to be alone.”

“And I would like to sit beside you, Julie,” the voluptuous blonde countered, gracefully pulling on her own dress skirt before softly seating herself next to Julia. “What are you going to do about it?”

Julia sighed. There was no use to arguing with her older sister; she didn’t have the energy. “Nothing, I guess…”

“Hmm,” Jocelyn fixed her gaze upon her shorter sister before casting it out into the blue skies above, crossing her legs and extending her arm over the bench and behind Julia. “It must be amazing to be able to literally have your head in the clouds whenever you want.”

Julia couldn’t help but feel choked up. The casual way in which Jocelyn addressed her cursed power wasn’t making things easier on her. “It’s not ‘amazing’, sister. It’s terrible for everybody else.”

“Are you talking about those people in Sconfitt?” Jocelyn raised an eyebrow, only sparing a sideway glance at her moping sister, “Those people aren’t even part of our kingdom. They should have been thankful you even showed up at all. Begged to become a part of our ruled land once more.”

“…I destroyed their city, Jocelyn. You weren’t there; you didn’t see their tiny faces or heard their loud, piercing screams!” Julia inadvertently found herself raising her voice as her memories forced her to relive her downfall.

“You destroyed part of their city,” Jocelyn corrected, “And that same part would have been slowly taken apart by kobolds in the years to come. Without the leader you took out, those kobolds will scatter away and be devoured by roaming beasts in the plain. Those ingrates should be bowing down to you, to us. Judging those who fight while they do nothing is how naïve cowards behave. Battles where you’re victorious will always include sacrifice.”

“Sconfitt didn’t feel like a victory…” Julia’s head hung low. Her thumbs fiddled as she pouted, “If only I hadn’t lost control of the ring’s power…”

Jocelyn seemed hung on Julia’s words this time, looking down at her hands with interest. Scanning over her little sister’s hands for accessories it didn’t take long for her to notice a golden bangle on each forearm but no ring on her fingers. “A ring, Julie?” Jocelyn finally asked.

Julia looked up at her big sister. There was no point in keeping her story a secret now that she didn’t think herself worthy of being an inspiring icon to the people. “Back when I was traveling the Northwestern lands with Silvy, Thomas and Terry, we happened upon a defiled temple,” she said while reaching down for her purse, fishing out Dia’s Ring from within, “I know it will make me sound crazy, but I believe I held an audience with the Goddess herself, dear sister. And then I found this gorgeous ring which gave me magic powers.”

Eyes mesmerized by the golden sheen accompanied by that jade rim, Jocelyn seemed to have taken leave of the conversation for a couple of seconds. Her gaze became firm once more however. “And that is how you became able to grow to massive sizes, isn’t that right, Julie?”

Julia nodded, rolling the ring down onto her palm, looking at the accessory with equal parts sorrow and regret. “If only I hadn’t taken it…” she sighed, “I don’t have the right to use its power anymore. But I can’t get rid of it. If it were to fall on truly evil hands then…” the young princess sighed, pushing Dia’s Ring back into her purse. “All I can do is make sure nobody ever wears it again, Jocelyn.”

The blonde let out a sigh through her nose as the ring disappeared from sight before admitting out loud: “…perhaps it is for the best that you never wear it again, Julie.”

Julia slowly nodded in agreement. “Nobody should ever have to suffer again because of this power. It’s just too much. Plus if I stay here in Crescita where it’s always safe, I will never again be tempted to use it. Never again lose control and turn from good and helpful into a threatening monster…”

“Good and evil are only a matter of perspective, little sister.” Jocelyn finally said as she stood up from the bench with a quiet smile. Julia was left wondering about those words, which resonated with her father’s. A good person would apologize for their mistakes and make amends. But the people of Sconfitt didn’t want her around and they certainly wouldn’t listen to her apologies.

Julia stood up and walked after her sister who was headed back to the castle. She would do it. She would find a way to make amends and be useful without the use of Dia’s Ring.

---

Days later, Julia had started to regain her energy. Although she couldn’t go out into the eastern plains to show her face in Sconfitt, she decided to personally see to as many emergency care packages as she was allowed to prepare with Silvy’s help. Each and every one accompanied by a heartfelt letter of apology penned by herself.

Even though Julia had no hopes those letters would be read or even survive being immediately crushed, her conviction endured and she poured herself into every word she wrote. Food, medicine, clothes, toys; just as she had done during her first pilgrimage. It was her way to atone.

“You are certainly soaking up the castle’s ink reserves, princess!” Silvy chirped as she held up another empty container, “It looks like we’re empty again. I will be back in just…”

“No no, allow me, please!” Julia sprang to her feet, easing Silvy back to her seat. The maid had been helping put the letters Julia wrote in their envelopes.

“But princess,” Silvy smiled, “I meant what I said. We’ll have to fetch some for our reserves from one of the general stores in town.”

“Then I’ll go!” Julia insisted, “You stay resting here, Silvy. I’ll be back soon!”

Silvy couldn’t help but giggle, finally giving in. Although she was responsible for the princess’ errands, it was such a good feeling to see Julia steadily going back to her old self that she didn’t have it in her heart to stop her.

The steps down to the castle town were light on Julia. She greeted the castle gate with a wave and a smile on her way down. It was a perfectly sunny, warm day and she finally was starting to feel liberated. The guilt hadn’t gone away and she didn’t think it would ever go. But that same guilt would have to settle for watching her take care of what she could with whatever tools she had available. She wouldn’t let doubt stop her from being a good person.

Uncommonly empty streets welcomed Julia. “Where is everyone on such a pretty day?” she asked herself while walking towards the commercial district, spinning to look for any pair of eyes to meet hers. She finally took notice of a girl playing with her dolls outside of her house and decided to approach her, “Hello!” she said to the young girl, crouching next to her, “You have such pretty friends!”

The young girl looking up at Julia flinched, letting go of one of her dolls. Thinking her sudden intrusion had scared the girl, Julia immediately apologized for being rude and picked up the dropped doll, offering it back.

“Puh-Princess…!” came the stammering voice of the young girl’s father. The commoner stepped out to scoop his little girl off the street, taking a few steps back inside and bowing. “Your great young majesty. I’m so sorry, she won’t bother you again.”

Julia blinked several times in fast succession as she slowly stood back upright. Before she could say a thing, the door was closing with more apologies hastily spoken by the excessively worried parent. Confused by the townie’s behavior, Julia quietly looked at the girl’s doll in her hand and decided to gently place it by the house’s open window. What an odd fellow to think his child would be bothering anyone by just playing with her toys right outside their house!

The rest of the trip towards the general store was just as odd, with the scare few commoners she met responding to her greetings and waves by bowing and sometimes even dropping to their knees in prostration. Julia remembered seeing those poses of elevated respect being used for her father on special occasions but he had long since abolished the need for royal prostrations as he found them more self-demeaning than worthy. Julia agreed and tried to convince these townsfolk debasing themselves to rise up, but only got dodgy stares and excessive gratitude in return before they ran away.

“It’s like they’re scared of me…” Julia murmured to herself with a frown. Anxiety gnawed at her heart as she rubbed the side of her arm with an uncertain feeling of unease. Without being able to hold a conversation that wasn’t her subjects doing their best not to stare her in the eye at best or them speaking unwarranted flattery and words of respect towards her, Julia made a mental note to ask Silvy if she knew of any rumors affecting the townsfolk when she got back from shopping.

Finally arriving at the general store, the two people in line before Julia immediately cleared out after she crossed the door into the shop. “I-it’s okay, I can wait, I can…” she tried, but the two ladies bowed out while apologizing for their unsightly garbs, not wishing to inconvenience the crown any further.

“Oh dear, what’s got them so afflicted…? Am I glaring at them without realizing it…?” Julia rubbed a palm over her cheek and tried to put on her gentlest smile as she approached the counter. The shop owner was ducked behind it, apparently rummaging through some stuff clanking metallically and out of view. Julia assumed it was the merchant’s coin. “Ah, excuse me...” she held a hand out to get the shopkeeper’s attention, her eyes widening as she saw a huge money pouch being deposited atop the counter. It was a huge bag that could hold possibly five to six hundred coins of various denominations but it only could have been a quarter of the way full.

“Thu-this is all I could make since this morning, highness…” the shopkeeper said, looking more tired than usual. “Please don’t take anymore, I will barely be able to afford the food for my family.”

“Wuh-wait, sir!” Julia held both of her hands up in confusion, “I just came here to buy some ink from you, that is all. Plus, tax collection day isn’t for another two weeks so you have plenty of…” she paused, mind rewinding to a couple of words that had struck out as odd to her. “You were collected this morning; you say?”

The shopkeeper kept uneasily patting his money pouch with his digits, clearly showing he did not wish to let go of his hard-earned cash. Slowly, he nodded his head.

Julia was instantly outraged. Tax collection ahead of schedule and intimidation; no doubt the work of a wrongdoing crook using the name of the royal family for extortion! The princess could not have this injustice go on, and immediately demanded names: “By whom?”

But Julia wasn’t prepared for the shopkeeper’s answer. With bulging eyes she took a step back as if the honest worker’s lips had shot a cannonball into her chest instead of words. Forgetting about the ink, forgetting about apologies and the outside, she put down the small pouch of gold coins she had brought with her on the counter and without saying anything more she stormed out of the shop.

Julia was headed back up the steps of castle Crescita.

---

Before Julia could reach the staircase leading up to the castle however, she was stopped by the rolling sound of familiar feminine laughter coming from the direction of the castle town plaza. Something unspeakable had risen up from Julia’s gut, catching at the back of her throat once she had recognized that noise. An ominous sensation that made her feel ill made the princess pull her skirt up and break into a dash.

Julia gasped in disbelief as she finally realized where all the commoners had left. The plaza was packed with people right now, making a circle to surround bags and trunks overflowing with coins and valuables in the center. Almost every cobbler, lumberjack, blacksmith and jeweler was present, stepping off the queue they had formed as they dropped their valuables at the feet of that growing shiny hoard. And in the middle of the hoard was one the royal blacksmith’s well-sculpted son, shirtless and on all fours, serving as a seat for the biggest and most beautiful woman in the kingdom. Jocelyn Crescita.

“Oh-ho-ho…! Very good, peasants!” Jocelyn seemed to be inebriated, cup constantly on the refill thanks to another hunk-turned-manservant standing by her side. She seemed to be joyfully enjoying the tribute she was receiving while being fanned by a third stud. “Bring me more. And make sure to grovel at my feet! Show your appreciation at briefly holding my attention!”

Julia had never seen her older sister partake of such debauchery before. Her voice cracked as she tried to call out at her from the crowd, but not only was she far behind at least five people, she was too short to be noticed. Now it all made sense! The people in the business district had not been scared of her: They were scared of the royal family because of something Jocelyn had done! And Julia was determined to find out what, taking a deep breath before waddling through the multitudes.

“What are you looking at, peon? Are you looking for my favor, perhaps?” Jocelyn briefly handed her cup back to her attendant, leaning in and making the blacksmith son’s underneath her grunt. Starting to chuckle at the merchant, Jocelyn said: “Ah, yes. I remember you from my dear sister’s homecoming. You’re one of the few fools who still believes bygone Gods are who choose their rulers…” she paused, laughed again and then as the merchant looked up he suddenly found himself looking sideways after a strike from the elder princess’ backhand, “…what dribble!”

“Jocelyn!” Julia’s voice cried out loud and clear as she emerged from the crowd, rushing to the side of the struck merchant, “Sir, are you alright…?” she crouched, helping the merchant up who gave her a quiet nod, thanked her and finally slipped away from her tending grip.

“Hmph…” Jocelyn puffed out air that rocked one of her beautiful golden bangs as she rested back on her chair-hunk. “Don’t you have a hundred or so more letters to pen, Julie?” she smiled, taking her wine cup back in hand for another hearty gulp.

“You’re drunk!” Julia raised her voice, ignoring the muttering crowd and walking up to confront her sister. “Jocelyn what are you doing?! Raising your hand against your people… Speaking like that about the Gods…!”

Jocelyn let out a giggle far too dignified for someone in her state; she truly didn’t have to make an effort to look her best at all given times. “The Gods? What have the ‘Gods’ done for us lately, little sister? Plunged us into an era of weakness by enabling an addling king the right to rule,” she paused to take another swig of wine, “Bah! One of many obstacles to true greatness!”

“That’s our father you’re talking of, Jocelyn,” Julia sternly glared, taking another step forth, her hands shaking, “Quit drinking that wine, you’re not yourself…!”

“Oh, you amuse me so, dear sister,” Jocelyn giggled again, “As if a bottle or two could impede my superior mind. I now have more clarity than ever before in my life,” she said, opening her arms in a demonstrative fashion, “Don’t you see? Respect, admiration, obedience. I’ve always had all a ruler needs to have to be able to lead the ignorant masses. And now I’m just taking care of my kingdom the way it deserves to be cared for.”

Julia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Yuh-your kingd… What you have is their fear, Jocelyn!” Julia argued with impatience, “Can’t you see how terrified they all are of us now?”

“Us?” Jocelyn’s expression soured all of a sudden, “You think they’re revering you right now? It is I and only I who occupies their minds and hearts now, you silly little girl. Your time in the sun is long past, just like the irrelevant customs of old.”

“What are you talking about right now?!” Julia demanded.

“Democracy, Julia,” Jocelyn beautifully smiled, shooting her sister a coquettish little wink. “These people have given me all of what they value the most for the sake of my rightful ascension to the throne. Soon, the entire kingdom will come to know their elected new Queen.”

“You’re going to make everyone elect you Queen?” Julia repeated in disbelief, “But what about father?”

“He will see my way,” Jocelyn shook her head with a shrug, “There is no other way, after all. My rule was all but inevitable until he got the silly idea in his head that you should rule instead. Now I am left with no choice but be aggressively convincing, you see.”

“Buh-but I don’t want to rule!” Julia shook her head, “Stop mistreating these poor people, I can speak with father and we…”

“He will no longer listen to reason, Julia!” Jocelyn shouted, making Julia back away in fear as she could swear her sister was looking bigger than ever in that instant. “I have tried being patient, I have tried being reasonable…”

“Reasonable?! You’re using a person as a chair right now!” Julia finally shouted back, making Jocelyn pout before quickly resuming with her cocky smirk.

“It is only natural for me to give those underneath my greatness a role, Julie,” Jocelyn seemed calm again as she reached down to stroke the cheek of the blacksmith’s son, purring while delivering that bit of affection. “The only difference between then and now is that I simply no longer care to pointlessly protect the feelings of others,” she sang out.

“That’s wrong!” Julia yelled again, getting red in the head. She couldn’t believe how selfish her older sister was being. “You’re wrong, Jocelyn!”

“Am I?” Jocelyn finished her last sip, but before she could get her attendant to pour more wine she brutally smashed the goblet against the floor, scattering crystal everywhere. Her manservants gasped as glass impacted them, but they were fortunate to barely get cut.

Recoiling from the horrible noise of glass shattering, Julia’s eyes widened when Jocelyn rose to her feet, her long legs pushing her up to a staggering height of seven and a half feet tall. Every word in the English language suddenly felt unattainable to Julia as her jaw dropped. Jocelyn’s cocktail dress was barely hanging on to her frame, her cleavage looking so deep someone’s head could be lost between her naturally immense breasts. The closer Jocelyn approached, the more insignificant Julia felt until her big sister’s bust was practically smothering her face.

What are you going to do about it, Julie?

_ _

Julia backed away from her amazon of a sister again, heart racing at the possibility she didn’t wish to admit to herself. But to avoid her prolonged suffering, she reached into her purse, rummaging through her belongings in a hurry. “No. No no… Nonononono…! Where is it?!” she desperately screamed in her head.

Looking for this?

_ _

Julia gradually looked up at Jocelyn’s outstretched arm and her upside-down hand. The unmistakable golden and jade glint confirmed Julia’s worst fear. “Jocelyn, what have you done…?” she finally asked, unable to say more.

“Honestly, little sister,” Jocelyn let out an almost bored yawn which she dignifiedly covered with the hand wearing Dia’s Ring. “If anything eludes me about you is why you would be so foolish as to give up the awesome power of this bauble, mhmhmhmh!” she softly laughed, and as she did, her beautiful dress shuddered and clung to her expanding form.

“Juh-Jocelyn…” Julia waved her hands alongside shaking her head, “You don’t understand. This power…”

But Jocelyn understood. “This power is what I need to ensure there are no other petty obstacles in my way!” She intercepted before Julia could continue, growing a full foot taller which caused her immense bust to burst out of the dress’ top, revealing her enormous royal jugs to the concurrence. “It’s only been two days since I took this wonderful little thing from your purse and I’ve already grown used to it. It’s so simple to use. Whatever were you whining about when you said you lost control of it, you little shrimp? Hahaha!” she laughed down at Julia, clearly unconcerned with the way her clothes were falling apart, getting torn by her growth.

The crowd collectively took a step back as they watched their immense princess swell taller and taller, larger and larger until her bodacious figure was finally free of its clothing confines! Despite how intimidating she was, her beauty was mesmerizing, with proportions that made every other woman feel invisible now magnified to the size of a miniature giantess! Already past 10ft. tall, it clearly looked as though Jocelyn had no intention to miss her chance experimenting just how far she could push her new powers.

“Nnnghhaaaah…!” moaned the power hungry Jocelyn as she allowed all those mystical energies feed into her being, pushing her to greater and greater heights. 11ft. tall, 12ft. tall, 13, 14, 15… She was sticking so high above the crowds she couldn’t help but want to look for a way to rapidly compare herself. “Looking a little tiny there, handsome!” she smirked down at the terrified blacksmith’s son she had been using as a chair earlier, stomping back to him as the remains of her destroyed dress slid off her voluptuous body. “Who told you you were relieved from your chair duties…?”

“Ruh-right away, my princess…!” the burly young man took it to understand she wished for him to readapt his earlier position, so he immediately went down to his hands and knees, giving her a shy and nervous look. But Jocelyn’s eyelids fell and her brow furrowed in clear disappointment.

With her hands at her imposingly wide hips, Jocelyn stepped forth, naked foot falling on the blacksmith son’s nude back. The poor boy began to grunt as Jocelyn not only put pressure on his back, but her weight continued to increase as she grew closer and closer to 20ft. tall. “What’s the matter, am I too much woman for you right now, footstool?”

Julia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Was this the ring’s doing? Had its fearsome power corrupted his sister into becoming this sadistic, worship-hungry bitch? Or had she always been this way and her love had blinded her to the truth? Whichever the case, Julia couldn’t abide this abuse any longer. “Stop! Stop it, Jocelyn! Stop this right now!”

“Hunh…?” Jocelyn’s voluminous mane of flawless blonde hair billowed along the turning of her head. She looked down at Julia with a scoff. “You’re still here, little sister? Why don’t you run along and fetch your maid for another pity party? I have a kingdom to subjugate to my will.”

Julia shook her head, doing her best to ignore the big bully’s taunts. “You’re hurting him- you’re going to crush him! Get your foot off that poor man!”

“Hah!” Jocelyn haughtily laughed, only pressing her foot harder until she felt the hunk below her soles give up and end up smothered underneath her. She then knocked his sweaty body away and said: “You still don’t get it. None of you yet do!” the hourglass-curvy giantess clenched her teeth, stifling a less-than-lady-like moan into a grunt as she suddenly pushed a whole five feet taller in an instant, her feet growing into the treasure mound the townsfolk had painstakingly built just for her. “And I will take this opportunity, this wonderful gift that has been given to me, Future Queen Jocelyn Crescita, to impart upon you the old law of this kingdom- no, the world at large seems to have allowed to fade into obscurity until today. Those who are stronger, better, more beautiful, bigger , are always going to be on top, while those who are not should count themselves blessed for the opportunity to serve them!”

“No… No!” Julia protested, but Jocelyn was riling her fear-indoctrinated followers up with her speech which was getting further crowned by the way she kept ascending larger and larger with seemingly every passing second! “Why is this happening?! She’s gone mad with power…!” Julia held her head, eyes losing focus as her mind felt it was going to shatter. Her big sister had stolen the power given to her by the goddess and was using it to turn herself into the monster she had been trying to protect the world from! How could she have made a mistake this big, how could she not have seen it?!

Jocelyn continued, already 50ft. tall. Her feet slid across all those treasures, toes wiggling with excitement and grinding gold underneath. The swells of her immense tits hid her face but her voice still rang out for all of the plaza and beyond to hear: “That peasant was one among many who deserve being trampled by me. Now that this power of mine is letting you all see just how truly insignificant you are next to my splendor, I hope your puny brains will be able to comprehend: I will pop every last gnat who fails to know their place before me! Hehehe… oh-ho-hohohoh…!”

With the giantess’ booming laughter her height only further magnified, soon making Jocelyn’s decree come true as her growing feet naturally trampled everything in its way. Julia was among the few who dove out of the way before they were bumped aside or worse, buried under her toes and soles, running away from the rapidly enlarging princess.

But many were not so lucky. Although it was hard to call them unlucky when so many of them seemed to be welcoming of their fates, even going so far as to beg for the abuse.

“Is this how things look when I get bigger…?” Julia questioned herself as she ran away with so many people. She felt sick to her stomach, wishing there was a way for her to stop Jocelyn who had turned so unthinkingly evil by taking the power she had taken for granted.

“Mmmmnnghh… yes, yes!” Jocelyn moaned, grinding her soles on the plaza. Treasure, offerings, benches, people- she could feel it all under her rapidly increasing weight. But it wasn’t enough. Now that she was this enormous, she couldn’t wait to make a show of how powerful she was getting. Not just for the kingdom, but for her own sake. She never had had to try being the tallest, smartest and most able; and now, without any effort she was constantly improving, enhancing, evolving! “I’ll be the biggest monarch in the history of this world! Behold!” she shouted and started stomping down towards the business district.

While some horrified villagers screamed and dashed away in their attempt to escape, many of Jocelyn’s sycophants continued to cheer their future queen on. Julia’s mind couldn’t wrap around the fact some people truly wished to be ruled by an abusive tyrant like her big sister. What hope did the proud kingdom of Crescita have now?!

“Rrrraaaaah!” the 70ft. tall and growing Jocelyn happily roared as she punted through one of the various shopping buildings in the district, heavily stomping another just to feel the crunch of metal, brick and wood under her. The busty giantess crouched and dug her hands into the street, pulling a house up which ended higher and higher as she grew 10ft. taller, then 20, then 30… Her grip was so strong at that point that foundations and everything the structure collapsed and crumbled apart between her fingers. “Witness me, peasants! Witness your new QUEEN!” she laughed, causing the castle town to shudder.

Julia considered herself fortunate enough to have been able to dodge an incoming piece of debris that slammed next to her while trying to escape. “She’s really going to destroy the district! She doesn’t care who she hurts- and she won’t stop getting bigger! What am I going to do? I can’t face her like this…!” the young princess stopped running after her lungs demanded she take a break. But by the time she stopped she found she was only a small distance away from her constantly expanding big sister. Already closing in to 200ft. tall, Jocelyn was quickly becoming inescapable! “How big does she plan to get?! She’s going to destroy the whole castle town at this rate…!”

Oh, Julie…?

_ _

A shiver went up Julia’s spine and she realized she couldn’t stop trembling all of a sudden. Her panting was loud and since she wasn’t the athletic type she wasn’t used to running, so her legs were slowly carrying her along an alley wall. Looking up between the buildings however, she was able to see a gigantic blue eye peering down at her.

Where do you think you’re going on your dear sister’s big day?

Julia screamed as the buildings parted, pulled aside by Jocelyn’s gigantic hands. The right one scooped the very ground Julia had been standing and she lost her balance as Jocelyn pulled her up to face-level. Julia couldn’t stop shaking, her voice cracked and all she could do was emit impotent sobs while Jocelyn laughed at her.

“You’ve always been a little emotional, haven’t you, Julie?” Jocelyn pouted down at her miniature sister, “Always so small, so weak. Now even more so,” the blonde grinned, “I could squish you like a bug right now. Put you between my breasts and have you suffocate. Between my toes and pop you like a tiny grape. But no, you’re my beloved little sister, princess of the proud kingdom of Crescita. I’m so glad that ruffian I hired failed to kill you. Now I get to show you who the better queen will be.”

“Ruh-ruffian… you hired…?” Julia’s eyes had been ready to spill tears, but they became frozen as she slowly craned her head up to meet Jocelyn’s cruel gaze and sadistic smile.

“I’m no fool, dear Julie, mmmm…!” Jocelyn purred as she turned to continue walking while carrying Julia and the chunk of street she had removed from the ground. Even now she continued to grow taller and taller, traveling from one corner of the castle city to another, soon starting make the steps leading up to the castle look like a two-step trip. “But I knew I couldn’t trust father with naming me his successor even though the throne is mine by right. Which I confirmed after your little upstaging of me two weeks ago. I knew you had to be out of the picture, and after you told me you’d be going through your safe route in the northwestern lands, well… I arranged a little accident for you. Imagine my surprise when you not only survived but brought me the means to conquer this realm! It’s almost too much, isn’t it?”

“Yuh-you…” Julia couldn’t stop sobbing, “It was you. You sent those bandits, you put all those people in danger… And all just to have me killed?! You’re my sister!” she screamed at the 300ft. princess.

Jocelyn’s expression hardened and she spoke breathily all of a sudden: “You are a nuisance, Julie. Always in the way. Always holding me back from greatness. You, and our father. But no longer. I will take what is rightfully mine. Crescita has always been ruled by a queen who inspires its people. The time for kings is past!”

“Look at what you’re doing, Jocelyn, think!” Julia tried, needing only to look past her sister’s gigantic hand at the destruction she was causing just by walking around. “You will only rule through fear!”

Jocelyn put a hand on her own cheek and smiled at Julia. It was a sincere smile. A cute smile that could melt anyone’s heart. The smile of someone experiencing unfiltered joy. And that was why that smile was so terrifying to the young princess.

I know.

_ _

That was when Julia’s mind could no longer keep up. Revelation after revelation, cruelty after cruelty, hundreds of feet of height stacking onto hundreds more. Jocelyn’s ascension brought her as high as Julia’s sanity had been brought low. With the blonde finally becoming large enough to start scaling the mountains Castle Crescita was lodged into, the gargantuan 600ft. tall beauty laid her back over the side of the mountain which overlooked the half-destroyed castle town.

Casually decimating the forests at the base of the mountain by swirling her feet, Jocelyn held her near-invisibly small sister atop the tiny mound of dirt on her palm and whispered: “Don’t worry, Julie. I will take good care of you. With this new power, I will take good care of everybody.”

“Dia, help us…” was the last coherent thought running through Julia’s mind as the stress finally heaped and caused her consciousness to fade in order to prevent a total breakdown.

But no divine intervention occurred. No God or Goddess descended to smite the arrogant, excessively powerful woman who wished to enslave and abuse for her own amusement. Crescita could now be taken without resistance, and soon, the rest of the land would learn of their new ruler.

The reign of Queen Jocelyn had just begun.

---

It was months following the sudden coronation of Jocelyn. After having made Julia’s power her own, no one had been able to stop her. The first thing the giantess did was put her younger sibling down, ordering her to be collected and incarcerated as Jocelyn went out into the plains to convince every settlement and city who the one in charge of the kingdom now was.

Able to easily decimate entire armies, monster or human, Jocelyn’s argument was concise and clear to every ant living in her lands: Submit or be crushed. With her long stride it had only taken her one and a half days to visit everyone in the plains, leaving gargantuan footprints in her wake as if she had been marking her territory. Giant Jocelyn had turned herself into an implacable, cleansing new authority.

Beasts of all shapes and sizes had been immediately treated like pests which the all-powerful giantess hadn’t wasted any time disposing of. Those who had chosen to submit had been spared after their worship and dedication had been secured; the rest had been made into examples by having their lairs smashed or flooded, and everything they cared about mercilessly destroyed. Human beings hadn’t been treated any differently with the exception of being demanded from an exorbitant tribute to their new queen. If they failed to comply, Jocelyn would flatten the land their houses were on and turn it into fresh estate for those more deserving in her eyes.

From that point, Jocelyn’s return to the mountains was met with both excitement and fear as she stood over the castle town again. Looming her beautiful figure over Castle Crescita, she blocked out all sunlight from ever reaching it. And there, in the highest balcony which overlooked the kingdom, the king finally got the chance to come out and voice his objection to his humongous firstborn’s insanity. Regardless of his bold bravery, those loyal to the current monarchy had remained few and far between. Soft apologies were spoken after the king’s loyal guard had been taken out and their ex-ruler taken away.

The new Queen had ordered her father and his comforts to be relocated to the dungeon beneath the castle inside of a cell far, far away from the one his broken younger daughter had been left to spend her days. Even with the small consideration of Jocelyn taking care of her father in his final days, his sheer disappointment in her brutal ways and a lack of hope for the future had become too much for his heart to bear. It was said that the day the king passed, he breathed his last with his young daughter’s name on his lips, to which Jocelyn merely scoffed. The time for a new era could finally begin.

Only when every sympathizer of the old regime had been dealt with appropriately, Jocelyn made the decision to resize herself in order to fit inside of the castle. But she was no longer content with merely being an extraordinarily tall woman.

In Jocelyn’s opinion, Mother Nature had done a passable job with her, but perfection was something only the Queen could attain, as she had convinced herself. That was why she never went back to her regular height again, choosing to maintain a statuesque height of 9ft. tall which wardrobes, dietary needs and furniture were all adjusted around. Even when she wasn’t slaying beasts and crushing rebellions under her giant feet, Jocelyn was convinced everybody needed to be constantly reminded of how puny they would always be when compared to her.

Forsaken and forgotten in the dark and damp corner of the castle dungeon, Julia spent her days in her lonely cell, yearning for more sunlight than the pitiful amount the tall barred windows would allow inside. For the first couple weeks of Jocelyn’s reign, the disheartened Julia could barely muster the energy to eat the gruel she was being fed every day.

Being a hundred feet below the castle, the sprawling dungeons were in a hollowed-out chunk of the mountain Castle Crescita had been built on. The hollowing meant even a single droplet of built-up humidity splashing on the ground echoed all across. Reverberation was how she kept hearing about her evil older sister’s exploits from the guards chatting.

Sometimes, Julia wished for a way to deafen herself, for if the tales were not being exaggerated, her sister had truly abandoned her humanity. One time, she heard about Jocelyn forcibly taking an eastern city by stomping on its militias, going so far as devouring their soldiers while they were still alive.

Another time, Jocelyn had been cited as having become a dragon slaying queen, taking it upon herself to outgrow, outwit and hunt down every creature and their minions until Crescita had been freed of their presence. At all costs, no matter the collateral damage. Dragon meat was now freely available across the realm as a result, and they had become the only economy in the continent dealing in the delicacy.

Indeed, Julia’s sister had become an efficient murderess with an appetite for violence and the flesh of her enemies, but also a conqueror. Her gluttony apparently knew no bounds, for soon she was spending a fortnight across the kingdom’s borders on alleged diplomatic missions that were nothing more than covers for conquests.

Crescita clearly had not been enough for Queen Jocelyn. After having conquered all of its land and wrested independence from those who had once separated themselves from the kingdom, the insatiable monarch set her sights on those territories beyond the mountains. And without any hope of resistance, Crescita steadily began to encroach upon the rest of the continent, absorbing kingdom after kingdom into its fold…

Even now, Julia could hear her sister’s ringing laughter coming from above in the throne room. It was once every Sunday that the incipient Empress would summon her court and entertain the requests from commoners lucky enough to be summoned for audience. Jocelyn’s sickening new form of entertainment.

Only one seat remained at the spacious throne room. Empress Jocelyn’s throne would make even the largest of men look like a toddler thanks to her prominent proportions. Donned in the finest alabaster silks plundered from the southern kingdom, their near-transparency gave her audience a peek of her spectacularly feminine, sinuous shape and what lay beneath. Her people now revered her as nothing short of a goddess, especially after she had systematically dismantled churches and ordered every statue of Dia destroyed.

Lying across her massive throne, being fed juicy watermelon halves by her handsome manservants, the beautiful Empress casually extended the hand daintily exposing her ring, symbol of her power, at the line of people who had been forced to wait in queue watching her eat and be fawned upon for the past half hour. “What will you waste my time with, peasant?” she curtly said without looking at the approaching farmer.

The humble old man clutched uneasily at his worn hat, letting out a pained groan after having waited all morning outside the castle gates and an additional thirty minutes for his Empress to ready herself for audience. “Your excellency…”

“Ugh, you’re boring,” Jocelyn interrupted, waving a hand dismissively, “Next!”

“Buh-but…!” the farmer only got one bit of protesting out before towering armored guards approached to escort him out. “I haven’t even…!”

“Let me give you a hint, number two, three and so on,” Jocelyn’s eyes rolled away from the stud fanning her and down at the next commoner in line, ignoring the first commoner so abruptly removed. “He didn’t start with a compliment. ‘Excellency’ is just a title. Hopefully you’ll do better, mm?” she said and smiled as the second farmer stood perfectly still until she beckoned, “Good. I favor those who know their place before their betters.”

Finally allowing themselves to breathe, the second farmer didn’t waste time and walked up the steps just to the permitted distance, immediately bowing at her. His voice rang out: “O divine Empress, you enrichen our lives with your beauty and wisdom… Muh-might I make a humble request of your highness, if it pleases…?”

“You may have a minute of my time, peon. Not a second more,” Jocelyn decreed with her chin snootily held high.

The peasant didn’t waste a moment and began to talk: “My family is poor and we work very hard to meet your quotas, your excellency. Most of my children are of working age, but half of them are little and between what we’re making to sell to pay your taxes we just don’t have enough to feed all the mouths at the household and we…”

“Hmph,” Jocelyn huffed, “If I lowered taxes for every peasant who couldn’t keep it in his pants, we’d be more populated than the disgusting sewers in the western kingdoms.”

“Nuh-no, majesty, please! It’s not a tax relief that I seek, but a boon of food, perhaps, that I may feed my family and ease the burden on my wife who looks after the little ones…?” the farmer tried, but that only put a scowl on Jocelyn’s face. “Our coops provide us with eggs but we can hardly afford fruit and grain thanks to their high prices… In fact, few people can afford our prices as it is!”

“You’re a farmer who comes before his Empress to beg for food? Now that is good comedy!” Jocelyn began to laugh, finally turning in her seat to place her sandals on the floor. “Prices are fair, you peon. Don’t you see? You simply are not working hard enough, none of you are.”

“Eh-excuse me, muh-majesty…?” the farmer was having a hard time passing saliva down his throat when he saw Jocelyn start to stand up, towering over her huge throne, her studly manservants and even her burly guards.

“You and those like you need an incentive, little man,” the empress smiled to herself, stretching her arms up above her head as she continued talking: “And that incentive is me. You should need no more than that!” Jocelyn smirked, eliciting woos and gasps from the crowd surrounding her as she waved her hands rousingly.

Worried, the farmer turned to dozens of nobles, merchants and knights standing up and clapping for their Empress. Sensing imminent punishment and wishing to avoid humiliation, he took to imitating the rest, clapping for their enormous Empress until he realized she was starting to becoming even more enormous than before. Where her huge, heaving bust used to be eye-level with him and most men, what he could now see directly ahead was Jocelyn’s navel past her near-transparent prime silks. She had just grown another two foot taller. But before he could take a cautionary step backwards, he realized two of the Empress’ guardsmen had stood directly behind him to prevent him from leaving.

Jocelyn was already purring from the pleasant tingling causing her to grow taller and causing her fancy, terribly expensive clothes stretch over her expanding form. “Haaaah…!” the Empress breathed out a satisfied sigh as she heard the straps of her sandals snapping around her bulging feet. And then she took a lumbering step closer to the shivering peasant, addressing him again: “Because of me, this empire grows, lives and breathes,” she enumerated, growing ever bigger even faster as she did. “Should it then not grow, live and breathe for me, peasant?”

The silky skirt once reaching Jocelyn’s ankles was now starting to hang just above the lower area of her plump, juicy thighs. Her areolae were now plainly visible against the dress straps hanging down from her neck; breasts having grown so relatively large they were pulling the fabric apart until her cleavage wasn’t the only thing it was revealing. “Mmm. Because of me, each one of you all have a goal, which is to keep me happy by toiling until I say you’re done,” Jocelyn explained as she burst another few sizes taller, her flimsy dress getting torn as she easily surpassed fifteen feet tall and continued to rise above the multitudes of people gathered at the royal court. “Have I said you’re done, toiler?”

Thoroughly intimidated already, the farmer quickly shook his head as he saw his Empress’ icy gaze bear down on him from so high above; and for good measure, every commoner behind him did the same. He, in particular, wished to scream for her to quit growing, for she was about to burst out of her dress. But words failed him as Jocelyn let out another shamelessly loud moan of bliss, her skin caressed by silk flowing off her body in tatters as she finally outgrew her dress.

“Ahhhn… mmmm, yes, you will understand…” Jocelyn hotly breathed out, stroking her dainty fingers over her flawless skin as she enjoyed another good growth spurt that made her break 20ft. tall. As she continued to take up more and more space not only vertically but also around herself, the crowds of people immediately started backing away from their Empress’ swelling form, afraid they might get crushed if they weren’t careful. This was certainly not their first time looking at their indulging ruler after all.

“I-I do, my Empress,” the farmer said, taking care not to look at her exposed privates even though with the way her breasts being larger than even her own head each there was no way the giantess could see him or the guards at his back. “I understand. I was wrong, you’re the only incentive I need to work harder…”

“No. What you need to understand is that my time here is spent recuperating from long, exhausting skirmishes for the development of my empire,” Jocelyn said, palming her enormous breasts and making them wobble, simply amusing herself before royal court when she noticed she wasn’t looking down at her requestor. At 30ft. tall, the throne room’s ceiling was starting to get closer and closer to her head, so Jocelyn finally began leaning over, making her gigantic, shapely rump moon those standing behind her. Casting her judgmental glare down on the ever dwindling people beneath her rack, Jocelyn let out another annoyed huff. “I do not come back to my castle to be bored, little bug.”

With that, Jocelyn began to bend her interminably long legs, slamming her gigantic ass down and making the castle quake. With hundreds of people losing their balance or outright falling from the impact, Jocelyn slid her still growing feet and legs over the floor, knocking away parts of the crowd that hadn’t been expecting the empress to spread her limbs in such a fashion before circling and them around the whimpering farmer and the guards whose expressions remained a mystery behind their masked helmets.

“Please stop…” a meek request came from below, making the 50ft. tall Jocelyn perk up with the sadistic grin so many kingdoms had come to know.

Please stop!

Stop, we surrender!

Don’t… don’t do this, please!

We’ve given you everything, stop this, please!

The feeble cries of the weak had become Jocelyn’s favorite dessert of all time in her short time as a ruler. Those who couldn’t fathom her, those that thought she would forgive the smallest antagonism, the most reasonable of resistances. Jocelyn was a creature of very little mercy and she made sure to show everybody the pleasure she derived by reminding them they were all germs before an uncaring goddess.

“But you know what doesn’t bore me, you squealing little ant?” Jocelyn finally asked as she continued to fill out the throne room, her very own chair disappearing under her swelling behind as the rest of the people started cautiously abandoning the royal court, worried by their Empress overindulging. “It’s growing bigger, of course.” She giggled and swelled to 60ft. tall. “Getting bigger and stronger,” she enlarged to 70ft., the ceiling once again getting closer and closer, “Until you all disappear from my sight like the boredom-inducing weaklings you all are! Haaaaaaa…!”

Jocelyn shut her eyes as she was overwhelmed by a wave of pleasure. Her body swelling to 80ft. tall put her head against the spacious, tall ceiling of the throne room. Had most of court not evacuated already, her giant hands resting on the floor would’ve hopelessly crushed them all. She could feel the farmer and two more people she had not paid attention to squirming under the bottom of her thighs, threatening to disappear under the creeping mass of her bountiful rump. Her feet had slid up against the far walls when her legs surged during her growth, lucky enough to capture a number of stragglers now caught between her soles and the wall.

“I love it when they squirm,” Jocelyn puffed with a cruel grin as she palmed her large breasts again, fondling herself and admiring the way in which she had completely filled out the castle’s throne room with her massive self. “But I love it even more when they know when it’s me time. Good, pathetic slugs…” she purred to herself.

Audience with the Empress had abruptly come to an end. Her whims, undeniable as ever…

---

Julia had been forced to listen to every single humiliation, every hopeless scream, even the times her sadistic sister-turned-empress would moan in delight as she grew and executed dissidents and traitors by crushing or outright eating them before the eyes of her innumerable sycophants. And she heard them all cheering each time.

Every day, Julia wished for a miracle. Every night, she prayed to Dia, long having mourned the passing of her father, long having made peace with the fact she was being punished for her irresponsibility of months past.

But she had finally come to terms with the fact none of this was about her or her family any longer. It was all about the monster sitting at Crescita’s throne. The monster that was making everyone’s lives miserable by toying with them, relentlessly bullying them, terrorizing them!

Julia wished there was something she could do, but all she ended doing was crying herself to sleep night after night after night… Until one night, a solemn voice resonated within her dungeon cell.

Is there truly nothing you can do, young one?

_ _

Lifting her head off her grounded arms, Julia slowly got up to her feet, desperately looking for anyone else’s company. “Hello…?” she called out, but strangely her voice was no longer echoing across the spacious dungeon. “Who’s there?”

Have you indeed forgotten my voice, child?

_ _

That heavenly tone pulled memories from months ago out in the open for Julia. The imprisoned princess joined her hands together as she fell to her knees to pray with her eyes wide open. Looking up at the obscured ceiling, Julia imagined what appeared to be a large orb of light hovering above her, raining golden sparkles onto her. “Dia… it’s you! Where have you been?”

“Faith dwindles every passing moment. Divine constructs once meant to communicate your people’s thoughts and prayers to my realm have been destroyed by you Empress. My power weakens even now, dear Julia,” Dia explained, “I have been trying to reach you for a time, but your heart, until now, had been closed to me.”

Julia felt awash with guilt all of a sudden. All that moping, all that self-pitying! “I could’ve… no,” she stopped the intrusive thoughts, “No, it’s not about having been able to or not. I did not. But that doesn’t matter now!” she looked up at the manifestation of the goddess of light and said: “Forgive me, Dia! It is my fault the cruel Empress now rules Crescita! I wish to stop her. I wish to undo my mistake and save everyone from their fate! Please, if only I could have another one of your magic rings. I need its power…!”

“A ring, Julia?” the goddess seemed to giggle, “Do you truly believe a piece of metal and rock will save your kingdom?”

“I don’t understand, your divinity…” Julia wasn’t in the mood for riddles, but the question merited thinking about. Dia herself was the one to walk her through the reasoning, however.

“Was it a ring that saved all those people and villages months ago? A piece of jewelry helped and protected your kingdom, fought monstrous beasts and assisted in dozens of labors one after another?”

Julia could feel a bit of warmth rising in her bosom, prompting her to hold a hand against her chest. Even the cold, ragged and dirty clothes she had been thrown into prison with could not stop her from feeling the heat emanating from within.

“I am certain it was not a ring that destroyed and decimated, either. A ring does not overwork itself. It does not need to rest. It does not lose control.”

A heavy weight appeared in Julia’s stomach, making her put her free hand atop her belly. Comfort and discomfort were happening at once inside of her. Yet Julia felt strangely serene. For the memories of her failure were being tempered by dozens of accomplishments.

“One may place great weight and significance to any item, Julia, but they may not be attributed one’s virtues and failings,” Dia declared, “An item possesses not the ability for introspection nor self-actualization. It cannot be held responsible for your strength, for the same has always come from within.”

“Are you saying…?” Julia gasped, slowly rising from her knees while looking up at Dia. Then Julia looked down at her open palms rising, “…the power has always been inside of me all along?”

It is time, Julia Crescita. Cast away your doubt, for you never needed anything but your own conviction and bravery to fuel your true strength. We will meet again.

_ _

As the glitter and glow above vanished from sight, the last few sparkles landed on Julia’s shoulders before disappearing. The princess then took a deep breath, the finger she used to wear Dia’s Ring on twitching for a moment before she balled both hands into fists. “It’s me. It’s all me now,” she told herself, closing her eyes before summoning all of her courage, all of her desire to save and protect her people. And then, she felt it.

That familiar tingle came back like a treasured childhood memory, spreading through Julia with the electrifying energy of a thunderbolt. In an instant she was rumbling all over, her toes curling in anticipation as her naked feet started sliding across the damp cell floor, growing with the rest of her. She felt those flimsy dirty clothes at her back stretching against her swelling form, bad-quality threads coming undone as they snapped against her swelling limbs and torso.

With a deep breath, Julia felt as if she had somehow become able to filter the unpleasant stale prison air she had come to loathe in the past few months. Crisp freshness cleansed her lungs and energized her limbs which spread out perpendicular to her shoulders, followed by her fingers stretching out as far as they could. Julia felt like she had just woken up from a bad dream and was doing her morning stretching for the first time in an eternity.

“Haaaaaa…” the growing princess sighed with relief, re-experiencing the strange but wonderful sensation of expanding as she slowly crept into the low realm of 7ft. tall, sensing the fabric around her waist starting to snap and tear while her bosom weighed down the garb’s top. She had forgotten just how sensitive everything about her became when she was growing; a feeling she realized she had taken for granted.

Relieved and empowered, Julia knew she was back to normal, only now she had a much deeper appreciation for the ability she had discovered was innate to herself. Growing up to 10ft. tall, she finally heard her clothes split apart around her curves. Her nude form was currently exuding so much magic energy that the cuts and bruises she had acquired from months of spending her days in the rocky cells disappeared from her skin, which briefly glowed with power. Soil and dirt stains stubbornly clinging to Julia fell off, as if repelled, her dry hair temporarily aglow as it regained its usual luster.

The cleansing and rejuvenating effect was due to the way Julia now thought of her power. It wasn’t her fighting against or allowing herself to be carried by a current. Her very own being was the river, and she was choosing to flow unimpeded for now.

Shuddering with pleasure, Julia opened her eyes widely and stared directly at the tall ceiling of her cell and then at the stack of cells across from her own. She only briefly remembered when Jocelyn’s guardsmen were carrying her to leave her at the bottom level, also remembering them descending multiple levels into the dungeon. The dungeon was directly underneath the castle’s throne room, and that was where she was headed.

First, Julia pushed herself up to 15ft. tall, leaving only a little distance between herself and the tall cell ceiling. Walked over to the bars holding her prisoner, she clutched them before starting to bend them apart, pulling harder and harder until steel stopped bending and turned to cracking, getting split off the rest of the bars with a loud snap.

Dropping the prison bars on the floor, Julia wedged herself out into the dungeon’s halls, looking around and counting five levels of prison cells connected by numerous bridges. She quickly realized the enormous dungeon had no other prisoners, at least on her wing. Glaring at the top side of the prison, Julia thought back to all the confirmed rumors of her sister eating people whole like a hungry monster. Prisoners simply weren’t going to exist in an empire where punishment was death. That was one of the things Julia aimed to stop.

With her goal clearer than ever, the mini-giantess reactivated her growth and this time cranked it up to the max. “Nnnghhaaaah…!” Julia’s moans echoed out as she rumbled ever larger, doubling her size almost instantly. Passing into the second level of the dungeon, she pushed summoned even more power to induce another growth spurt. And another, and another…!

Her hips smashed into the empty cells as she grew too wide for the now narrow hallways of the dungeon. And for the first time she felt right at home destroying the place of her incarceration. Julia used her hands to tear every prison in her way as she clawed her way closer and closer to the surface of the mountain. Nothing would stop her from her fateful meeting with Empress Crescita!

---

It was another fine evening of debauchery for Jocelyn. Another party in her name where food and drink was freely available to all of her sympathizers who had sworn their very lives to her empire. Peasants and nobles at random were picked by her to serve as entertainment, as all were fair game to the whimsical ruler. Even when she was cruel beyond measure, those present had no choice but celebrate their Empress, bringer of unity and prosperity, for all her empire needed she got by absorbing more and more kingdoms.

It was just another party for Jocelyn. One of hundreds. And all these people were already boring her, their entertainment value diminished when they weren’t humiliating themselves for her sake. However, the smile growing on her face as she thought to crank up the party’s intensity disappeared an echoing moan coming from below surged into the audience, followed by the floor rumbling.

“No…” the golden, ruby-incrusted wine goblet fell off Jocelyn’s hand as she leaned out of her throne, eyes burning a hole in the shaking floor. Before she could stand up to confirm her fears however, they were confirmed for her when a fist the size of a travel coach punched its way into the royal court.

The crowd collectively gasped, watching as the massive hand flailed for a moment before carefully lowering down to the floor to feel for empty space before pushing down. The floor of the throne room began to shudder and fissure everywhere around the invading forearm before a second fist punched its way in, repeating the same motions the right hand had. Like a mound of dirt being pushed out, the rest of the central floor crumbled with the giant head of forgotten princess Julia crashing through.

The young princess’ name was spoken by all at various levels of volume. Some of them whispered it in disbelief while others screamed in a mixture of relief and fear. With debris rolling off her hair and bouncing off her shoulders as they grew into the royal court, Julia’s ascension made her loom over the concurrence until the light of the chandeliers high above were getting blocked by her. And then the rumbling stopped, and the gigantic princess’ almond-colored eyes finally opened.

Julia immediately recognized Jocelyn, larger than everyone else, dressed even more pretentiously than she recalled, but she scanned the rest of the room by spinning herself. Most of the people there she did not recognize. Some wore colors of kingdoms she had learned of, no doubt victims of her sister’s insatiable need to conquer. The rest were her terrified sycophants, gathered to celebrate her with anything she did whether good or bad. All of them a collectively coerced; she had no quarrel with them.

“All of you,” Julia addressed those present, and those present seemed to understand the sovereignty of her words. “ OUT. NOW.”

No sooner than the command had been spoken, hurried feet took the whole party outside of the throne room and even outside of the castle. Even the royal guard seemed to have understood they were no match for either of the daughters of Crescita, choosing to abandon their pasts lest they endanger their own lives in what was going to assuredly be a clash between two goddesses.

How?

_ _

Jocelyn’s inquiry was spoken with such venom she might as well have become a viper for a full second. Julia turned to face her with a contemptuous frown.

“I have the ring, not you!” Jocelyn shouted, not angry about her supporters leaving her, she didn’t care about them. She was so enraged about being looked down upon by her little sister that after the first step she took off her throne she kicked it back with the force of a frightened mule, snapping it in half.

“It’s over, sis- Jocelyn!” Julia hardened her expression, “You’ve toyed with this world long enough. You have to give people their freedom, their dignity, back!”

“How dare you?” Jocelyn narrowed her eyes, her gorgeous complexion shining through even while exuding pure ire and bile. “You are addressing Empress Jocelyn Crescita, First of her Name, the Grand Unifier, soon to be Ruler of the Continent! Who are you to give me orders, you covetous upstart of a princess?!”

Julia narrowed her eyes right back at Jocelyn, showing her she was no longer afraid of her. And Jocelyn hated that defiance. She knew even if they had been at their traditional sizes that Julia would be looking up at her with that same gaze; the flames of rebellion burning in her brown irises! Oh how the Empress loathed that!

“I don’t care about being a princess anymore, Jocelyn,” Julia said and started rumbling all over again. Her body swelled into the ceiling, prompting her to bend over as her nape and back pushed up against its surface. Her growing arms pushed up against the ceiling and Julia grunted, exerting her monstrous physical strength to tear the castle’s roof off.

As Julia outgrew the castle, Jocelyn took step after step backwards, growling at her sister, especially when she saw one of her legs climbing out of the dungeon and landing her right foot right in front of her. The foot pressed down to give Julia purchase as she hurled the castle rooftop’s debris away into the distance. Clearly, the giantess wished to make a show of her appearance for the rest of the kingdom to see her return.

After dusting her hands and resting them at the side of her hips, Julia peered down at the hole she had made in the castle, unable to see Jocelyn. But knowing her older sister could hear her, she cheekily told her: “I’m just a concerned citizen now, that’s all.”

It was at that point that Julia was able to feel the entire castle rumbling around her. The part of it directly in front of her that had been badly damaged by her ascension quickly started crumbling apart as Jocelyn began to shoot out through, growing after her.

“This is the last time, Julie…” Jocelyn said, blowing chunks of debris off her bangs as she rapidly expanded to catch up to Julia. No, this wasn’t going to be enough. Jocelyn pushed the power of the ring so that she would be at least fifty feet taller than the 300ft. tall dungeon prisoner. With her breasts looming over her little sister, Jocelyn stood imposingly and flexed her arms with authority. “The last time anybody make me look up at them!”

Julia made no comment and grew after Jocelyn, both of her feet finally stepping out of the dungeon and into the front of the mountain castle, which she hoped had been properly evacuated by now. Once she was 350ft. tall, the sisters’ proximity had become such their chests pressed against each other’s. “I’m sorry, Jocelyn. I can’t let you do what you want anymore.”

Furious at her sister catching up to her in size, Jocelyn flexed her finger which she could feel pressing against Dia’s Ring, and made herself taller still. 400ft. tall, 500ft. 600… Soon the entire kingdom could see her standing on top of the mountain! “My will is law, you shrimp. Ever since I took your ring, no one has been able to stop me. What makes you think you now can?!”

Steely as ever, Julia insistently swelled after Jocelyn, making sure her feet sliding off the castle and down towards the castle town shuffled to the side to avoid stepping on it. This was the first time in her whole life that Julia was standing up to Jocelyn, eye-to-eye, bust-to-bust, neither of them willing to relent to the other. “The difference between you and me is that I don’t need the ring anymore. I will stop you!”

But the difference between them was even more clear-cut than them. While Julia was happy to match her sister as they straddled the mountain together, Jocelyn’s rage was peaking beyond imagination. There was no way the Empress could stand for any other human being her equal, no way, no how. And with Julia constantly growing after her, Jocelyn kept pushing herself, the ring glowing intently as she added another 200ft. of height to herself, properly looming over Julia. “No, little sister,” she said, the blonde deciding to intercept Julia before she grew after her this time. “I will stop you!” and tackled her.

Taken by surprise, but glad she had decided to side-step, Julia was shoved back into the mountainside, rolling down to the plains together with Jocelyn. The whole kingdom was shaken when the two giant sisters finally landed. Settlements and towns from all over could clearly see the 800ft. tall Jocelyn straddling the smaller but no less giant 600ft. tall Julia.

“I should have disposed of you instead of letting you live!” Jocelyn lamented aloud as she reached down to strangle Julia, but Julia brought her hands up in defense, taking the larger woman’s wrists with a tight grip, giving herself the time she needed to grow and match her size and strength.

“People aren’t disposable, you horrible monster!” Julia screamed at the grunting blonde who kept rumbling and swelling, prompting her to grow after her. They were getting closer and closer to a thousand feet tall, each. No creature in the planet could compare to their staggering mass! Their physical struggle was causing the ground to fissure, the land to shudder, the lakes to stir!

“I’m a monster, am I?” Jocelyn laughed mid-exertion, “Aren’t you the one who single-handedly destroyed an entire city and thought she could fix it back up by writing letters?! You self-righteous hypocrite!”

Clenching her teeth, Julia’s anger got the better of her and she pushed back against her beautiful sister, finally overpowering her in their struggle before shoving her to the side. “I never thought I’d be able to fix things by writing letters,” she said in a calm manner, slowly standing up to her feet. “I’ve long since learned that what happened was entirely my fault and it will always remain my responsibility to make things right. There are consequences to this power, Jocelyn! And our people do not deserve to pay for our oversight. The only way now, is forwards…”

“I agree!” Jocelyn fixed her hair after her tumble, quickly getting back up to face her infuriatingly equal giant. “And the only way forwards is for there to be one of us. One empress with almighty power to unite the whole continent- no, one goddess to rule over the entire world!”

“No, this power isn’t to subjugate and rule, it is for the benefit of everybody who wishes to live in harmony and peace!” Julia argued earnestly, but her principled words could not find audience in her evil sister. “Rulers serve the people, not the other way around, Jocelyn!”

“Ahaha… oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh…!” haughty laughter filled the lands. Jocelyn stomped the ground with such weight it sent a ripple in all directions, upheaving the soil for miles around them.

“Stop right now!” Julia yelled, sliding in front of one of the ripples to stop its advance with her feet by pressing them down in front of the mountain base where Crescita was. “Do you want to destroy our kingdom?!”

“My kingdom, do you mean?” Jocelyn smirked, “One of many in an empire. They’re all toys to me, you see. Just as the ‘people’ you wish to serve. People are tools, Julie, you incompetent, dreaming, immature little brat. They are given their fates and goal by those above them, and their lives are enriched by being given such direction. Being disposable is just one of their many properties by design. This whole world if my playground and it’s high time you came to understand it’s not big enough for the two of us.”

“How could you be my sister, my father and mother’s daughter, a princess of Crescita…?” Julia lamented with a grimace of emotional pain.

Jocelyn roared and charged at Julia, their hands meeting in a power struggle. “I will teach you respect, you little whore. I am a princess no longer. I am God-Empress Jocelyn Crescita! And I am…”

“…looking pretty small there,” Julia huffed, looking down at the surprised Jocelyn who couldn’t believe she was once again looking up at her younger sister.

“Mmnghh…! Nnnghh…!” Jocelyn grunted, further enraged by the fact Julia had surpassed her by 100ft., now 200. With her strength quickly faltering against Julia’s rapidly increasing advantage, she turned to look at Dia’s Ring, panting at it, “Come on, you stupid thing, work! Why aren’t you making me grow?!”

As she further swelled to 1,300ft. tall, Julia felt encouraged by the lack of physical exertion she needed to make. However, she didn’t falter for a moment and kept a firm grip on the smaller giantess’ hands to prevent her from escaping. At first, Julia wasn’t sure if Jocelyn was trying to trick her or not, but she quickly came to realize the ring at Jocelyn’s finger wasn’t glowing as bright as it once was. “Of course…!” Julia hit upon a realization, “Dia told me the ring never gave me the power, it must’ve helped me channel it while I was learning to wield it, which means Jocelyn is just ‘borrowing’ the power I must’ve imprinted into it…”

“Stop getting bigger!” Jocelyn cried out at Julia as she crossed into 1,500ft. tall, making the blonde look like a toddler before the supreme titaness. “I command you! I’m your elder, I’m your God-Empress! I’m… eeek!”

Using her overwhelming physical power, Julia had no issues lifting Jocelyn off the ground, holding her comparatively dwindling form up in her arms in a tight, inescapable embrace. To prevent further endangerment, Julia turned to the mountains and started scaling it from the side, the trip getting increasingly easier the larger she got. Soon she was twice Jocelyn’s size, then three times, then four…

“Whu-why, stop…!” Jocelyn could only sob now that she found herself truly powerless in her leviathanic sister who was becoming big enough to tower over a mountain many times over. “Don’t get any bigger, please…! Please stop getting bigger, Julie…!”

But Julia only stopped at a mile tall, her foot resting at the top of the mountain with her nude body able to be witnessed by the entire kingdom and all those neighboring kingdoms that had been absorbed into the empire. It was there that Julia made an announcement: “The new Empire of Crescita is hereby dissolved!” she shouted into the winds. “Empress Jocelyn is your ruler no more!”

“What are you doing?!” Jocelyn screeched like a child during a temper tantrum, clawing desperately at Julia’s cradling forearm for little to no effect. “It’s my Empire! My world! You have no right- no right, Julia! It’s all mine, mine by right, do you hear me?! Gaaaahhh!” she screamed at her own hand, “Why won’t you work now? Make me bigger than her, bigger than a mountain, bigger than an ocean- the world!” she ordered, but her commands were fruitless. “Why…? I have the ring…! I have the power…!” she sobbed sadly.

“No, dear sister,” Julia sighed, looking down upon the sweating, wailing Jocelyn with pity. Half her face was hidden beneath wet locks of blonde hair, her eyes red from sobbing. “You might have stolen Dia’s Ring, but the power was mine all along.” She explained, and in doing so reached down, pinching her thumb and index fingertips around Jocelyn’s right hand.

Jocelyn cried out again as she saw Dia’s Ring shatter around her finger. It broke off harmlessly, the potency of Julia’s magic disintegrating the bauble forever. “No… NOOOOOO!” Jocelyn screamed, clinging to Julia’s fingertip before biting into it like a tick wishing to draw blood. “Mine. Mine! MINE! MINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMMMPPHH…!”

Julia’s expression continued to sour. Tears built up at her eyes, starting to stream down as she saw her once proud and arrogant sister reduced to a state of mindless, misdirected anger. Her bite was hurtful at first, but it rapidly lost effectivity as, without the ring to maintain Jocelyn’s size, the ex-empress started to go back to her regular size. To avoid crushing her, Julia brought Jocelyn down to the top of the mountain and left her screaming there, where she wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore; and where no one would be able to get to her to exact any gruesome revenge.

“Sit there, sister,” Julia softly said, “I will come back for you later when you’ve had time to reflect and you’re ready to atone for your crimes.”

“Usurper, traitor to the crown…! Bitch! Whore!” the shrinking Jocelyn yelled at the top of her lungs, so weakened by the lack of Julia’s magic that she couldn’t pull herself up from her lying back position.

And just like that, the battle for an Empire that would be no more had ended. Without the need for her extraordinary size anymore, Julia found a place in the plains next to Crescita where she could shrink back to normal and check on the townspeople. Dispelling all of the accumulated power was taking her time so before she could reach below 200ft. tall, Julia already had multitudes gathered around her feet.

It was time to face the people and take responsibility.

---

To Julia’s surprise, the destruction caused by Jocelyn and her fight was not met with scorn by the common people, but a cleansing of the kingdom’s corruption. Buildings could be rebuilt, but freedom was something the Empress had taken from all. Now liberated from their shackles, Jocelyn was denounced as the monster she really was and Julia celebrated as a continental hero.

One by one, all of those who had exiled themselves or been imprisoned for sympathizing with the old regime started to reemerge, joining Julia as she went back to her normal size, clothed herself and addressed the masses.

Just as she had decreed on top of the mountain, the Empire would be dissolved, with sovereignty returned to their respective kingdoms. Crescita went back to being its own kingdom, and due to popular demand, and encouraged by her loved ones, Julia was asked to assume the mantle of Queen.

At first, Julia was scared to take on this responsibility, but with her father’s passing, she was the only able person of royal blood able to take on the challenge of rebuilding and leading their people into a brighter future.

With full control over her ability, rebuilding took only a fraction of the time and monsters weren’t an issue for their lands any longer, as they had all moved away after the titanic sisterly clash. Dia’s churches and temples as well as her statues were rebuilt and the religion of the shining one reinstated. Human strife and human progression would forever be their individual responsibility, but when one couldn’t find their inner strength, looking into the light for assistance would always be welcome.

As for her powers, it took a while but both the people and Julia came to understand that although having a ruler capable of growing gigantic could sometimes be scary, her intentions would always be pure and in the service of her people. Whatever came their way and whoever decided to threaten them would have to answer to Queen Julia.

The Kingdom of Crescita would continue to grow, but this time by the power of hope.

The End.