The Royal Treatment
Accompanying artwork courtesy of OreoCakes.
The room was almost completely silent, save for the rhythmic sloshing and splashing of the bath's fountain. Bright sunlight streamed in from the numerous windows lining the walls. The rays of sun cast a warm glow, filling the space with cheery light and heating the surface of the bath's water. It was an impressive bath - a great pit sunk into the floor of the room, lined with marble and inlaid with intricate patterns of gold. It dominated the space, stretching nearly from wall to wall. More of a pool than anything, the bath needed to be large to properly accommodate its owner.
King Eric was thoroughly enjoying himself. The water swirled around his body's soft fur, cradling him in a blanket of warmth and peace. It was relaxing. It was calming. But most of all, it was freeing. Being submerged in the water provided Eric with an additional freedom of mobility that he was no longer accustomed to on dry land.
It hadn't always been this way. Many many meals ago, Eric had been simply just "fat." Even so, he had managed to transport himself well enough - waddling slowly throughout the halls of his palace, his blubber-laden form swaying ponderously with each heavy step. True, there was typically a great deal of puffing and panting, copious amounts of sweating, and (if the walk was longer than a few dozen feet), frequent rest stops to catch his breath. But at the very least, he had been able to move about as he wished.
But that had been a long time ago. A seemingly endless parade of lavish feasts, coupled with his pampered and sedentary lifestyle, had robbed Eric of most of his remaining mobility. He could still stand and walk if he really needed to, but the effort involved had become tedious, painful, and exhausting - not worth it, in the deer's opinion. Eric was now content to spend almost all of his time sitting on his ever-expanding rump. Of course, the immobility only served to exacerbate his weight gain.
That was why Eric so enjoyed these baths. The time spent in the warm liquid gave him a brief respite from the crushing force of gravity. The water lifted and supported him like nothing else really could. As long as he was here, Eric was transported to a world of several-hundred-pounds lighter.
Shifting his mass, the deer began to carefully walk to the opposite edge of the bath. His hooves thudded heavily on the smooth marble floor as we waded his immensity through the water. The bath was several feet deep and came up at chest-level. His fat moobs floated on the surface, bobbing in time with every slow step he took. His thighs - each one wider around than the average person's entire body - rubbed and chafed against each other as he continued to move. Normally, this sensation would be very uncomfortable (another good reason to avoid attempting this on dry land). But the water thankfully did its job, providing lubrication between his legs and around his groin. Here at least, he could walk; and it was reasonably easy to do so.
Nevertheless, Eric was thoroughly out of breath when he reached the other side. Even with the water helping him, the fact remained that he still had a LOT of weight to haul around. Gripping the rim of the pool, he released the strain from his muscles and just allowed himself to float there. He rested for several more minutes - keeping completely still and letting the water gently caress and buoy him.
Eric would have liked to remain in that position a lot longer. It was so relaxing and there were few things in the world he enjoyed more than lazing about. But he was getting hungry. His belly needed food. And he was nothing if not a slave to the whims of his belly. That meant getting out of the bath, drying off, and getting to the dining room. He was more than happy to do all of that in exchange for a large meal - not that any of his meals were ever anything less than large.
Now was the part where he needed help. Eric clapped twice in quick succession and a half-dozen floating hands materialized immediately in front of him. The hands hovered in the air, ghostly, spectral, and shimmering with an aura of magic. These hands were Eric's most useful companions. Many years ago, the deer's Royal Court Sorcerer had summoned the appendages from some strange ethereal dimension and bound them to the physical world. They now existed solely to serve King Eric's every whim. Each of them was many times stronger and more dexterous than normal, traits that served them well as they assisted and catered to their fat, lazy master throughout his pampered days.
Bracing himself, Eric began to slowly plod his way up the wide marble steps leading out of the pool. It was easy at first. But the more he ascended, the more he felt gravity's influence trying to drag him down. The task would have been impossible if not for the help of his extra hands. Two of them grasped the blubbery buck under the arms, supporting his upper torso and holding him in balance. The other four began pushing on his massive rump, lending the forward momentum he needed to keep climbing. The hands sunk deep into the generous adipose of Eric's ass-cheeks, yet they didn't falter. Little by little, slow step by slow step, the king rose up the stairs and out of the bath.
Once he was fully surfaced, the deer let gravity and the hands do the rest. The enchanted appendages slowly lowered him back down into a seated position. Eric grunted with relief as his huge behind touched the marble floor. Having such a large, soft rear came in handy when you spent most of your waking hours sitting down. He dipped one hoof into the water, lazily swirling it around.
Eric shifted his frame slightly, trying to get into a more comfortable position. As he struggled, the hands drifted away into a corner of the room. There they rummaged through a set of cabinets before returning to their master. Five of them were laden with fluffy towels and the sixth carried a generously-sized bowl filled with juicy, succulent grapes. Eric smiled sheepishly. His hunger was growing rapidly and a pre-dinner snack sounded lovely to him.
A pair of the hands began to feed him. One held the bowl aloft while the other deposited a steady stream of grapes into his eager maw. The rest of them got to work with the towels. They patted and rubbed the buck all over, making sure to adequately dry every square inch of flabby, swollen body - no small undertaking, as there was a lot of area to attend to. They wiped all over the expanse of his vast belly, causing the surface to jiggle like gelatin. They lifted up his heavy, sagging moobs and tended to the crevices underneath. They swabbed the towels across his bloated love handles, around his deep chasm of a belly button, and inside each and every nook and cranny of his gargantuan obese frame.
The hands worked with practiced efficiency, so it wasn't long before the king's fur was fluffed and dried to perfection. The timing was perfect, as Eric had just finished consuming the last of the grapes (an impressive feat considering the size of the bowl). The deer belched richly and patted his stomach. That had been a tasty treat. But now he was really looking forward to supper. The hands must have sensed this, as they quickly sprung back into action. Floating briskly back to the corner, they stored away the now-empty bowl and the now-damp towels. Without a sound, they drifted away out of the room. Eric knew they had gone to fetch his transportation litter. The pillow-lined wooden stretcher was the fastest way for him to be moved throughout the palace. And the faster he could get to the dining room, the better.
While he waited, the doughy deer gazed out over the pool. The water was calm and still. Like a great silver mirror, its surface reflected the ceiling of the room and the crimson sunset light streaming in from the windows. King Eric lazily closed his eyes and grinned. A contented sigh escaped him. He had very much enjoyed his bath today. And there was no doubt that the next one - and the countless more to come - would be just as lovely.