The game of Succession (Wild TF)

Includes conjoinment, wild TFs, a little bit of mind control, and a lot of height gain. You have been warned.

Day 1 – Let the Games Begin

I stood tall (well, as tall as I could without making the other knights nervous) at the side of Princess Caitlin’s throne-side seat. Her posture was perfect, like always. Calm, regal, a little smug in that "I already figured everything out weeks ago" way. I liked that about her. She didn’t need to say much to make it clear she was ahead of everyone.

The royal throne room felt colder than usual. Probably just nerves. Or the fact that seven heirs to the crown were all gathered in one place, sizing each other up like wolves. Or maybe I was just imagining it. Either way, the King was standing up now. That meant it was time.

“The Transformation Succession Games,” he began, voice booming, “begin today.”

He explained the rules again, not that Princess Caitlin needed to hear them. She’d known this was coming. Heck, she’d been whispering that she had a gameplan to me over tea for the past month like it was gossip. But still, this was the first time I’d heard the whole thing laid out loud and official.

Each royal heir gets one attack per day. No direct violence. No physical harm. Just… curses. Traps. Transformations. If a royal gets transformed into a monster girl, even partially, they’re disqualified. Simple. Brutal. Ridiculous. I love a good brawl, but this? This was going to be a war or resources, connections, and silent hits.

The rest of the rules went by a bit fast for me. Something about sabotage restrictions, privacy wards, and how some heir-only rules wouldn’t be shared with the servants because apparently this whole twisted game is also a leadership test. Or an assassination prevention test. Or both? Honestly, my job’s not to understand all that. My job’s to protect my lady.

And protect her I will.

The ceremony wrapped up with the heirs each stepping forward to announce their servants. There were fancy knights, elegant handmaidens, and a few shifty types that I wouldn’t trust to hold a soup spoon right.

When it came time for Caitlin, she stood without hesitation. “I will be participating with four attendants,” she said. “Three maids and my knight.”

She gestured to me. I straightened up. Someone in the back snickered… I heard it. I didn’t care. Let them laugh. Let them underestimate us.

The moment the King dismissed us, Caitlin spun on her heel and walked off, her pale pink cloak fluttering behind her. I was right behind her, like always. The three maids followed, all whispering nervously and carrying more ribbons than weapons.

We reached her chambers without incident. No traps, no curses, no attacks… yet. The first day is always off-limits for that sort of thing. Gives people time to prepare. But it wouldn't be staying like that for long. When the clock strikes midnight, then all bets are off.

The door closed behind us with a soft click.

“Well,” Caitlin said as she sat down at her writing desk, “now the game actually begins.”

I stood by the door, arms crossed, and even the scar over my eye beneath my eyepatch throbbing in anticipation. “You’ve got me, milady. The rest of them have no idea what they’re in for.”

She smiled faintly. “No, they don’t. But we’ll show them.”

The maids started unpacking little bottles and notes from our supply chests, fluttering around like half-scared pigeons. I watched them for a moment, then looked back to my lady.

“I’ll admit,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, “this sort of battle isn’t what I trained for. But if it comes down to throwing myself in front of you when something explodes, I can handle that part just fine.”

“I know,” Caitlin replied. “That’s why I trust you.”

And just like that, my heart felt lighter, and the heavy weight of the challenge ahead didn’t seem so bad.

We would win this. Even if I didn’t understand half the rules, even if the enemy had curses and tricks and magic bombs… I have one job.

Protect Princess Caitlin.

And I’d do it to the very end.

So after we settled in, I turned to Caitlin, standing by the corner of her desk while she looked over a stack of sealed scrolls.

“So, what’s our plan for tomorrow, Princess?” I asked, trying to sound casual, though my voice may have come out a little too eager. I just wanted to be useful. That’s all.

She didn’t look up. “Nothing.”

“...Nothing?”

“We won’t be attacking on the first possible day,” she said, still calmly scanning a list with her finger. “It’s too early. Let someone else draw attention first.”

I blinked. That… actually made sense. “Ah. Yes. Tactical patience.” I nodded like I understood all along. “Very wise, milady.”

She smiled faintly at that, just the smallest twitch of her lips, and then added, “We act on day three. I already have something in motion.”

I didn’t press her for details. If Caitlin said she had a plan, then she had a plan. She always did. That was what made her so brilliant. While the other heirs were busy puffing their feathers and measuring their magical artifacts, Caitlin played the long game.

“Let’s get some rest,” she said softly, rising from her chair. “We’ll need our focus.”

“Yes, Princess.”

We settled in soon after. She took to her bed, to her lush, velvet sheets, soft pillows, exactly what a royal should have. And me? I had a smaller guest bed at the other end of the room. Still way nicer than what I was used to during patrol rotations, so I wasn’t complaining. Not one bit.

Outside, our three maids began their night duty shifts, stationed just beyond the door in the hallway. They weren’t trained fighters, honestly, one of them got startled by a wind spell last week, but Caitlin had told them exactly what to do. They were to watch the halls, observe, and most importantly, sound the alarm if anything out of the ordinary approached our quarters.

I laid in my bed, arms crossed over my chest, eyes staring up at the dark ceiling.

I couldn’t sleep.

Not right away.

My mind kept spinning in circles, the same thoughts looping again and again.

I have to protect her. But how?

I don’t know what they’ll try. Poison? Cursed flowers? Exploding doors? That one prince has a mage advisor who used to work in cursebreaking, which makes me think maybe they’re hiding something in plain sight…

Should I just assume everything is dangerous? Every object, every plate of food, every single person who gets within ten feet of Caitlin? That’d take incredible focus. Could I even keep that up all day, every day, for a week?

I’m strong. That’s not the issue. But I’ve never fought an enemy I couldn’t punch.

Still…

I know Caitlin. She has connections. Big ones. The kinds of people who don’t show up in public, who run private magical circles and shadowy item networks. She’s got mages who owe her favors, merchants who trust her word more than gold, and I’ve heard whispers about some cursed-artifact broker who calls her “Little Bird.” I don’t ask. I don’t need to.

If there’s one thing I don’t need to worry about, it’s offense. Even if she can’t act directly, Princess Caitlin will have enough magical resources to turn the rest of the royal family into squawking feathered snake-ladies with a single parchment slip. Probably without lifting a finger.

Even those three scaredy-cat maids could probably wipe out an heir each if Caitlin told them where to stand and what to chant. That’s how powerful her reach is. How much people believe in her.

So, all I have to do… is make sure she stays human.

It's hard to say how long it will take. Probably one week. Five to six days of attacks.

I can do that.

I will do that.

With that final thought, I let myself relax. Slowly, gently, sleep wrapped its arms around me. I drifted off with my sword leaning against the nightstand, and my heart set on protecting the one person who mattered most.

Tomorrow, the real game would begin.

Day 2 – The Feast and the First Strike

The second day came quietly.

No screams in the night. No glowing eyes outside our door. No suspicious potions slipped under the sheets. I asked the maids in the morning if they noticed anything strange. They hadn’t. And I have to admit, they did a good job. They deserved a good day's sleep after that nightshift.

So far, so good.

Princess Caitlin was already up by the time I rolled out of bed. She’d been busy all morning. Whispering through scrolls, exchanging sealed letters through magically cloaked couriers, and meeting with figures in dark cloaks who came and went without a word. Half of them I didn’t recognize, and I recognize a lot of shady people.

But I didn’t ask questions. It’s not my job to know everything. It's my job to keep her safe, and that job was only going to get harder today.

Because today was the first mandatory shared meal.

A special rule of the Succession Game: All candidates must dine together at lunch and dinner each day. No exceptions. A rule passed down by the King himself, something about unity and maintaining the illusion of diplomacy. Sure. Fine.

All it really meant was that every heir and their entourage would be packed into the same dining hall twice a day. All seven of the King’s children, and their attendants, squeezed around a grand table big enough to serve a battle map on.

In other words: The perfect place for a well-timed, well-hidden trap.

Too obvious, maybe. But that’s what makes it dangerous. Everyone would be expecting something, but no one would know where it would come from.

I walked at Caitlin’s side down the grand hallway to the dining hall. She was calm as always, like she was attending a garden party. Meanwhile, I was scanning everything, guards, curtains, shadows, candles. If someone blinked weirdly, I noticed.

The moment we entered, the room got tense. All seven heirs were already gathered, all four princes and three princesses. Each had their own little crew behind them, standing stiffly in formation like toy soldiers. Caitlin’s three maids, still very tired from the long nightshift, looked like they were trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone. One of them waved nervously at a rival maid and then pretended to sneeze.

The food was laid out lavishly. There was roasted meats, honeyed fruits, buttered vegetables, all the usual royal stuff. The palace cook was supposedly loyal to the King and neutral in all this. I wanted to believe that meant the food was safe.

But something wasn’t right. I don’t know how to explain it. Maybe it was the stillness of the air. Or the way a few of the other heirs kept glancing at Caitlin. Like they were waiting for something.

I kept my hands near my belt, even if I didn't carry my sword. I watched every movement. Every tray. Every server. Every spoon.

Still. I couldn’t shake the feeling.

When Caitlin’s plate was placed in front of her, I leaned in slightly. It looked normal. Smelled normal.

But no. No, no, no… I didn’t trust it.

So after checking everything one more time, and the signal was given to eat, I just couldn't hold it in anymore. 

“My Princess,” I said, just loud enough to turn a few royal heads, “Would you mind if I taste test your food? Just in case.”

Caitlin blinked at me, surprised. Probably because I don’t usually ask, I just dive in front of danger like a good, overzealous guard dog. But this time… I had to be sure.

The other heirs froze. A few servants stopped mid-step. Everyone watched.

Caitlin gave me a quiet nod, graceful as always. “If it will ease your nerves.”

She pushed the plate slightly toward me. I picked up a fork, speared a small piece of the roast, and popped it into my mouth.

At first? Tasted fine. Seasoned well. Tender.

But not two seconds later, my heart dropped.

Magic. I could feel it.

Sickly. Creeping. Wrong. Curling through my veins like a snake made of oil. I shot upright, eyes wide. My entire body tingled like I’d just been thrown into a freezing lake of arcane fire.

I gripped the edge of the table. “...I knew it,” I hissed through my teeth. “It’s cursed.”

It hit fast.

Even though it was just one bite, just a taste to be sure, it felt like a detonation of cursed magic inside my veins. A small shot, maybe, but aggressive. Hungry. It wasn’t just poisoning me… it was reshaping me.

First… my feet.

I couldn’t see them through my iron boots, but I felt the change. My toes twisted together, stiffened, hardened. My bones ached as something foreign sprouted from them. Like rough, scaled plates were forcing their way through my skin. Cold and sharp. My stance buckled slightly as my feet lengthened, bulked, toes merging, claws budding beneath my armor.

Then it crawled up.

My calves shivered violently, and then they swelled. The muscles rippled like water beneath stone in the most tight, hot and pulsing way possible. My thighs followed suit, stretching longer, thicker, stronger. For a moment I couldn’t balance right. My legs didn’t feel like mine anymore. My armor groaned in protest around the unnatural growth, joints straining as I forced myself to remain upright.

And then it hit two places at once.

A sudden, burning pressure at the base of my spine made me yelp. Something was pushing outward. Fast. I could feel it. A limb, a tail, thick and sinuous, forcing its way from my tailbone and slipping down behind me like a coiled rope made of living scales. I didn’t need to look. I knew.

At the same time, my chest heaved… then surged.

It was like being grabbed and inflated from the inside. My breasts swelled outward in a single, humiliating pulse. My breastplate snapped tighter, squeezing them like overripe fruit about to burst. It was unbearable. The strain alone made me wince harder than any sword blow ever had.

And then… it stopped.

The magic faded, leaving only its damage behind.

I was panting, teeth clenched, fingers shaking.

I was no longer human.

Not fully.

I straightened up, barely keeping my balance with my new proportions. I turned to the table, a growl building in my throat.

“Who was this?! Who dared to—”

Before I could finish, Caitlin raised her hand and gently pressed her palm to my face.

“Shh,” she said, calmly. “A pointless question.”

I froze.

She was right.

“A failed attempt doesn’t require anyone to speak up,” she continued, addressing the room with that same, cold composure that only she could wear so effortlessly. “That is part of the rules.”

The entire dining hall was silent.

Not a clink of silverware. Not a whisper. Even the other heirs looked rattled, not from guilt, necessarily, but from how smoothly Caitlin seized control of the moment.

“But it seems…” she continued, her voice like silk with a blade beneath it, “that someone at this table sees me as the biggest threat.”

She stood, letting her hands rest lightly on the table’s edge. “Which is curious. I am neither the oldest nor the youngest. I have no direct military command. I do not lead the strongest noble house. I have only one knight.” She glanced briefly at me.

Then she leaned slightly forward, and the whole room seemed to lean back.

“So why… me?”

Not a soul answered. Even the prince with the flashy golden collar, the one who couldn’t stop boasting yesterday, was suddenly fascinated by the texture of his napkin.

“In any case,” Caitlin said, drawing back as if nothing had happened, “Chef.”

The royal cook, pale as bone and sweating buckets, snapped to attention.

“Yes, Your Highness?!”

“I’d like a fresh plate of food,” she said sweetly. “And I’d like you to test it for curses, here. At the table. In front of everyone.”

“R-right away, Your Highness.”

The poor man nearly tripped over his own feet rushing to the kitchen, dragging his assistant behind him.

I said nothing. I was still catching my breath, still adjusting to the weight of the tail dragging behind me and the pressure in my chestplate. But if there was any silver lining in this mess… it was that Caitlin looked really cool just now.

Strong. Commanding. Unshaken.

Even as I stood there, part woman, part something else, I knew one thing for sure:

Whoever tried to get her today?

They made a mistake.

—

It was evening now.

Over the nine long hours since I transformed, I’d started to get used to… well, all of this. Walking with finned, scaled feet took practice. My tail had knocked over a chair. Twice. And I’d finally loosened the straps on my armor just enough to breathe again without it feeling like my chest was going to explode.

I still didn’t like the way people looked at me in the halls. But I kept my chin up. My lady hadn’t said a single cruel word about it, not even a teasing jab. Which meant I could tolerate the rest.

Still, the unease hadn’t faded.

So as the sun dipped below the towers and the orange glow crept across our chamber floor, I cleared my throat.

“Do you know who attacked you today, Princess?” I asked, seated on the bench near her vanity.

She was brushing her hair by the window. She paused.

“…No,” she said quietly. Her voice was unusually soft. She didn’t look at me.

For a moment, I thought she sounded… guilty?

“The other one made sense,” she went on. “Rodrik is no more. Turned into some kind of jellyfish girl, I heard. Poor man.”

I blinked. “Wait… Rodrik? The eldest?”

Caitlin nodded, setting down her brush. “He was the one with the most military backing. The strongest political pull. Disqualifying him early makes perfect sense.”

“But why you?” I asked, my tail coiling uneasily beneath me. “Why strike at you first?”

She didn’t answer right away. Just looked out the window at the dying light.

“Whoever it was,” she finally said, “it’s unlikely they’ll strike me again tomorrow. Especially after I called them out like that in front of everyone. Too risky.”

She tried to sound confident, but her voice wavered at the end.

“I guess that makes tomorrow a bit easier?” I laughed, awkwardly, and way too loud.

She didn’t laugh with me.

Because we both knew the truth.

It didn’t make anything easier.

Not for me.

Not now that I knew someone looked at Caitlin, measured her against the other six heirs, and decided she was the threat to eliminate first.

Against Rodrik and Jadiken, the eldest and the most talented prince, Caitlin somehow appeared as a top threat on someone's radar.

“I certainly hope so…” Caitlin murmured as she climbed into bed, drawing the silken blankets over herself. “I certainly hope so.”

She turned on her side, back to the room. The curtains swayed lightly in the breeze.

I sat for a while longer. Watching. Thinking. Making sure nothing moved in the shadows. Eventually, I crawled into my own bed, tail hanging slightly off the side because it wouldn’t fit, and pulled the covers up to my chin.

Even though I was on edge, thankfully sleep came very quickly.

Sadly, so came the next day, and I had a feeling it wouldn’t be gentle.

Day 3 – The Bomb in the Hall

The day started… normally. Almost disappointingly so.

There were duties to attend to. Paperwork. Royal meetings. Etiquette visits. Just because six heirs remained in a deadly game of monster-curse roulette didn’t mean we got to skip the grind of day-to-day politics.

Caitlin handled it all flawlessly, as always.

I stood guard beside her like usual. Watching. Waiting.

Just like she predicted, no one made a move all morning. Maybe her speech yesterday scared them off. Maybe they were planning something worse. Or maybe I was just too jumpy now, seeing monsters behind every pillar and curse glyphs in every candle.

But then it happened.

We were walking through the east corridor after brunch, Caitlin going over her afternoon itinerary out loud when I spotted something just a few steps ahead.

A small, round object with somewhat strange rune patterns pulsing like a heartbeat. Placed just so on the floor, half-hidden by the light from the stained-glass windows.

I recognized it instantly.

Transformation bomb.

“Oh no you don’t,” I growled.

I lunged forward without hesitation, snatched the cursed thing up in both hands and turned on my heel, sprinting down the corridor with it tucked against my chest like a live grenade. My boots slammed against the marble. I just needed a few more seconds. I just needed to get to the window.

Around the corner.

Ten paces more.

But I wasn’t expecting company.

Right as I turned, two familiar figures appeared at the far end of the hall: Princess Fiona and Princess Elspeth. They were chatting about something, likely nothing important, until they saw me charging at them with a glowing magical object that screamed danger.

They froze.

I tried to stop. Skidded. Lost my footing.

And that’s when it went off.

BOOM!

The world exploded in white-hot magic. Not fire. Not force. Just… raw change. My vision blurred as the curse detonated right in my arms.

BOOM! BOOM! Left and right.

Were there more bombs?!

I didn’t even have time to curse. I just felt it. Something rushing into me from both sides. Crawling into my skin like hot mercury. I gasped—twice—as something foreign shoved its way under my shoulders.

I felt… connection.

Like someone was plugging new limbs into my frame.

One on my right. One on my left.

I staggered forward, and my shoulders stretched, burning like fire. My armor creaked. Then ripped. I screamed—not from pain, but from the overwhelming pressure as two fully formed arms emerged from my sides. They flexed before I could even move them.

And that was just the beginning.

Below my waist, my legs snapped wider. Again. My hips groaned under the pressure. Scales ran up my thighs like wildfire. My tail lengthened—again—whipping side to side in panic as the curse kept pushing forward.

Then came the worst part.

Cracks shot through my lower armor, and it shattered as something swelled behind me—again. Just above my tail, two more limb-like masses pulsed outward. Not arms. Not quite legs either. But they had joints. And toes. Stubby now, but unmistakably growing.

I collapsed to one knee, panting, only for my chest to lurch again.

“Oh come on—” I barely had time to say before the pressure built beneath my already far-too-generous bust.

A hot, tight swelling beneath the fabric, and then—

Another pair.

Right underneath.

My chestplate finally gave up. The front straps snapped, and the whole thing split at the seam, barely hanging on by the shoulder bindings.

I knelt there, steaming, twitching, with four limbs and four breasts and way too much tail.

Then… silence.

The magic faded.

My breath slowed.

I opened my eyes and saw Fiona and Elspeth beside me, both wide-eyed, trembling, glowing with leftover magic.

“What in tarnation?!”

—

The throne room was uncomfortably full today again.

Every heir and attendant stood in neat little clusters, all eyes forward, pretending not to stare at me. Or rather, at us.

I stood silently near Princess Caitlin’s side, larger than ever, awkwardly fidgeting with my new extra arms, trying not to wobble on my overly thickened legs. Fiona was pressed against my right shoulder, Elspeth to my left. Their heads, fully attached to our shared body now, turned slightly in sync with mine, blinking awkwardly like they were still getting used to it.

Which they probably were.

Honestly, same.

The King, seated on his high throne, rubbed his temples and sighed like this whole thing gave him a migraine.

“I’ll summarize,” he said at last, loud enough to hush the murmurs across the hall. “Princess Elspeth and Princess Fiona were both carrying Conjoinment Bombs. Intended, I assume, to double their chances of fusing their targets, most likely two of the princes, in an effort to eliminate them in a collaborative effort."

He looked directly at the three of us.

“But when Lady Brigid intercepted a third bomb in an effort to protect Princess Caitlin, all three bombs detonated simultaneously. Resulting in… this.”

His hand waved vaguely in our direction, as if unsure where to point.

“Do I have that right?”

“It does seem that way,” Fiona replied, her voice a little too cheerful considering the circumstances. She was literally talking into my right ear. I resisted the urge to flinch.

I kept quiet. Guard mode. Good soldier. Never interrupt royalty, even when I am technically glued to two of them.

The King nodded. “Very well. Then here is my judgment.”

Everyone straightened up.

“Princess Fiona will count as successfully eliminated by Princess Elspeth’s conjoinment attempt. Princess Elspeth will count as successfully eliminated by Princess Fiona’s.”

Gasps echoed across the room. Political alliances were shifting behind those gasps, I could feel it.

“The attack on Princess Caitlin will count as failed. Therefore, the attacker is not required to reveal themselves.”

I let out a long, slow groan. Not out loud, just… emotionally.

I really would’ve liked to know who keeps coming after my princess. But still. A failed attempt means we’re still in the running. That’s something.

The King continued. “Furthermore, though Lady Brigid is now physically conjoined with two disqualified princesses, I find it wholly unfair to penalize a knight who bravely threw herself on a cursed bomb to protect her liege.”

Thank you.

“Thus, I will allow Princess Fiona and Princess Elspeth to remain in the castle. Not as competitors, but as aides to Lady Brigid in her knightly duties. They may serve until such time as Princess Caitlin is eliminated or declared monarch.”

My eyebrow twitched. Serve? Those two princesses?

“That is my judgment,” the King declared.

“Yes, Your Highness!” the room echoed.

I kept my expression neutral, but inside? Yeah. I was having a time.

Because technically, yeah, Fiona and Elspeth would’ve had to leave the castle entirely if disqualified. Which means, lucky me, they’re now… my passengers.

I looked down at our body. Our… my body. We weren’t stitched together like some magical horror show. We were seamless. Smooth. Fused. Yet I could feel it clearly: I was the one in control. They could speak, move their heads, emote all they wanted, but the legs walked where I chose. The hands moved when I willed them. Even the new pair of arms were my arms now and responded to my commands.

Considering the amount of boobs we were now collectively carrying, it was a mercy that no one else had to try and balance us.

“I suppose this means we’ll be spending a lot of time together,” Elspeth muttered near my left ear.

“Please don’t distract me when I’m trying to look intimidating,” I replied.

Caitlin gave me an amused glance, maybe even proud. She didn’t need to say anything.

We’d survived again.

But gods help me, if anyone else tries to stick another head on me tomorrow, I swear I’m going to turn the next cursed object into a fireball and launch it back where it came from.

Day 4 – The Calm, and the Flash

It was Day 4.

And thank the stars nothing happened.

Well, nothing happened to us.

Prince Jadiken, the youngest and frankly the most promising heir aside from Caitlin, fell today. Some kind of elegant little poison slipped into his lunch wine, courtesy of Prince Henry. It worked beautifully. The kid went down like a stone and flopped back up a few minutes later with fins, scales, and a bewildered look as she gazed upon her new fishy tail.

Mermaid. Disqualified. Done.

And not my problem.

Which was good, because my entire day was already full of enough nonsense. Namely trying to teach two disqualified princesses how to act like proper knights and bodyguards.

And let me tell you…

They. Were. Exhausting.

Not because they didn’t try… actually, that was the problem. They did try. They just had no idea what they were doing. No reflexes. No instinct. Every time a servant passed us carrying a tray, I flinched and scanned it for magical pulses. Meanwhile, Fiona waved and asked for biscuits.

But for all their complaints and occasional whining, I had to admit, it felt good to hear them say things like “How do you keep track of so many things at once?” or “Brigid, your reaction time is kind of insane.” They sounded… impressed. Genuinely.

Maybe it was just the side effect of being stuck to me, but I could feel them slowly syncing with me. Their thoughts were louder now. Closer. Not just that, they were coming around to my way of seeing things.

Over lunch, Fiona admitted something I didn’t expect.

“If our conjoinment plan worked,” she said, “and Henry and Jadiken had both gone down…”

“We’d have fought each other,” Elspeth finished from the other side. “Then whoever won would face Caitlin.”

I blinked. “You were going to save her for last?”

They both nodded, in sync.

“She’s better than us,” Fiona said without hesitation. “A better queen. We knew it. But both of us still wanted the throne, so that was the best collaboration plan we could come up with.”

That sat with me for a while.

Dinner came and went. No incidents. Just three heirs left now. Caitlin, Henry, and Fabian. The circle was closing.

The two heads beside me were visibly relieved as we walked back to our quarters.

“No explosions today,” Elspeth sighed.

“Let’s please keep it that way,” Fiona added. “I’m still sore from yesterday.”

But me?

I wasn’t convinced. Something felt off.

We entered Caitlin’s room. I scanned it out of habit. Bed, desk, curtains, wardrobe… wait.

Something caught my eye.

On the bed.

Round. Metallic. Reflective. Just sitting there on the sheet, as if it belonged.

But it didn’t.

It was a disco ball.

Small. Maybe fist-sized. But pulsing with light. It shimmered gently, like it was taking a deep breath.

I knew what it was.

“GET DOWN, PRINCESS!!”

I tackled Caitlin without hesitation, wrapping my upper arms around her shoulders and throwing us both to the floor. She grunted in surprise, her hair spilling across my chest as we landed hard.

Then it exploded.

Light.

So much light.

Even with my eyes clamped shut, I could see it. Blinding pulses of every color imaginable. It wasn’t just a flash—it was magic. Meant to overwhelm. Meant to change.

I didn’t know the exact curse type, but I didn’t need to. I just knew one thing:

I HAD TO BLOCK IT.

Every last glimmer.

Even if it breaks me.

The light pulsed.

Even with my eyes shut tight, it pierced through like lightning behind my eyelids. My ears were ringing now. Not from sound, just high-pitched pressure and raw magical energy humming in my skull.

Worse, I could feel it through their eyes.

Fiona. Elspeth.

My passengers. My liabilities.

Their heads, still wide-eyed, and connected, stared directly into the cursed light. They were frozen. I don’t even know if they could hear me. Couldn’t even flinch, couldn’t blink. I screamed their names inside my mind, but I got nothing back.

Then… the curse hit me.

Hard.

I felt my body expand.

At first, just subtly, pressure at my sides, a swell beneath my spine. Then the growth exploded outward. My tail whipped violently as it elongated, again, muscles twisting, bones reforming. My limbs shook under the pressure of the new mass.

The two extra legs that had started forming yesterday? They were in full growth mode now. They grew, thickening with muscle, stretching down and slamming into the floor. I could stand on them now. Then two more legs started to grow even further back, giving me a grand total of six legs, none of which were human and four too many. 

And I kept growing.

Taller. Wider. The room felt smaller by the second. Caitlin, who had once stood nearly my height, now felt like she barely came up to my hip.

The seam where my human body fused into my tail-heavy, reptilian lower half began to burn, then sprout. I gasped as four more things tore forth from me. Not arms. Not legs.

Necks?

Thick, muscular, scaly cords of flesh. Topped with heavy, rounded shapes, heads, I realized. But not like Fiona or Elspeth. These ones didn’t speak. They didn’t think. They just followed my instincts. I could feel them… waiting. Obediently. 

Like they were mine.

I roared without sound as the transformation rolled up my torso. My chest heaved, once again swelling with that all-too-familiar tight pressure. My breasts pushed outward, rounding and growing just enough to ruin my already strained armor. I winced as the front buckled. The plates hadn’t even been a day old. Designed for four huge boobs and already too small again.

Still… I held on.

I held my position. Wrapped around Caitlin. Keeping her under me, behind layers of scales and monstrous mass and cursed magic.

And then—

The light died down.

Bit by bit, the brilliant pulses faded. The room went dark and quiet. Too quiet. My ears still rang, but the pressure was gone. The magic… was done.

I collapsed to my knees, all six of them, with a dull thud. The ground cracked beneath my sheer weight. My new elongated tail which was now massive, heavy and most definitely dinosaurian, flopped beside me like a collapsed bridge. My six new reptilian legs folded awkwardly beneath me. I could barely breathe.

Fiona and Elspeth were unconscious now. I could feel their minds dulled. Quiet.

And me?

I was still awake.

Barely.

My chest heaved. My claws dug into the floor.

I forced my eyes open.

And there, beneath me, staring up with wide, unblinking eyes, was Caitlin.

Perfect and unchanged.

Unharmed.

A shaky smile tugged at my lips. My monstrous head. My many arms. My overloaded chest. My fused companions.

None of it mattered.

“Still… got you,” I whispered hoarsely.

Then everything went black.

—

It was late at night when I came to.

Still on the floor. Exactly where I had slumped down earlier.

Not surprising. I must’ve weighed over ten times what I did before, between the tail, the six legs, the fused body, the four heads snaking off my back, and the rest of my cursed bulk, I probably was the floor now. No one could’ve moved me even if they wanted to.

Fiona and Elspeth were still asleep, heads resting gently on my shoulders. Their breathing was steady, soft. I could feel their presence inside me calm and quiet. They weren’t in pain. Just… tired. Probably their first good rest since getting stuck to me.

The four other heads, the ones from my back, shifted slightly as I stirred. Snake heads. Sleek and dark, no eyes, just smooth skin and wide maws lined with far too many teeth. They weaved in slow, deliberate motions. Watching. Listening.

No… feeling.

They weren’t separate. Not like Fiona and Elspeth.

They were part of me. Like extra limbs. They sensed the room through my senses. Reacted to my thoughts.

They were kind of cute.

Then I heard her voice.

“You’re awake.”

I flinched… only slightly. Didn’t want to jostle the girls.

Caitlin was sitting by the window, bathed in silver moonlight. Her posture perfect as ever, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her tone wasn’t sharp, but it wasn’t warm either.

I hadn’t woken her.

She’d been awake.

“I am,” I replied, voice low, careful not to wake the others. “I take it you’re unharmed?”

“Miraculously,” Caitlin said, exhaling slowly. She didn’t turn to look at me.

Good. That’s all I cared about.

I shifted slightly, tail coiling around one of the support beams. The snake heads rested against the floor, like tired guard dogs.

“…So it’s Fabian?” I asked.

Caitlin blinked. That actually caught her off guard.

“Huh?”

I narrowed my eyes, gently adjusting my weight. “I mean… Prince Henry poisoned Jadiken today. Everyone’s only allowed one attempt per day. That means Fabian is the only other candidate left.”

Silence.

She looked away.

“I guess so…” she said, but something in her voice caught me. Too flat. Too dismissive. Like she was agreeing because she thought she should, not because she believed it.

She stood up abruptly, brushing her skirt off. “We should get some sleep. This whole game’s just one unpredictable disaster after another. It’s exhausting.”

I studied her face as she crossed the room toward the bed. The moonlight cast long shadows under her eyes.

She wasn’t tired.

She was thinking.

“It seems so, my princess,” I murmured.

I started toward the bed as well, then stopped. One look told me it wasn’t even worth trying.

That bed was built for a royal. Not for a 12-foot-tall half-dinosaur, half-snake, six legged knight carrying four breasts and two princesses.

So instead, I turned, curled up once more on the carpet at the foot of her bed, and let my massive tail wrap around the room like a serpent curling through ivy.

Caitlin climbed into bed slowly.

I could feel her watching me for just a moment too long.

Then she turned away.

The room fell quiet.

I drifted off again. My body aching and my mind heavy.

For the first time… I wasn’t entirely sure who I needed to protect her from.

Day 5 – The Perpetrator Revealed

It was getting harder just to walk through the castle.

I mean, that’s fair. I was huge now. Everyone knew it. Everyone stared. I couldn’t really blame them, not every day you see a six-legged knight-beast with four snake heads and a tail thick enough to knock down a door just by sneezing too hard.

The marble floors weren’t made for someone like me. Neither were the ceilings. I had to duck through every archway, lower my snake heads to avoid chandeliers, and make awkward little pivots just to avoid crushing statues.

But I was getting the hang of it.

The legs moved in sequence now. Smooth and natural. The snakes curled when I willed it, looked when I wanted. Even Fiona and Elspeth had started accepting their situation a little bit more, though I could still feel them keeping their heads down when we passed other royals.

They were quiet today. Thoughtful.

Halfway to the dining hall, Fiona finally spoke.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely a whisper beside my ear.

Elspeth chimed in a moment later. “We both are. Yesterday… we didn’t react fast enough. You wouldn’t have been hit so badly if we hadn’t just… stared.”

I stopped walking for a moment, letting the words settle.

“It’s true,” I said softly. “Your eyes are part of my body now. The curse got through you.”

They didn’t say anything.

“But,” I added, “even if you had closed them, it might not have mattered. That light was so strong, I felt it through my eyelid. And given the fact that I only have one eye to blind, and had closed it, yet still felt the curse that hard… I hardly believe it would have mattered if you closed them.”

That quieted them.

“I am sorry I pretty much let my body get hit with the full brunt. I am sure I could have gotten away, but I needed to protect my princess.” I said simply. “I simply can't budge on that. Give me that situation a second time, and I would’ve done the same thing again, so don’t dwell on it.”

We reached the dining hall a few minutes later. The great feast table was already set, glittering under the candlelight. Massive silver trays, tall glasses, delicately folded napkins. Everything picture-perfect.

There were only three royal seats left now.

Caitlin.

Prince Fabian.

And Prince Henry.

Caitlin took her seat calmly, her expression unreadable as ever. She gave me a small glance as I took my usual place behind her, not that I had much choice.

I couldn’t sit anymore. Just look at me. Even the oversized banquet chairs couldn’t dream of holding me. So I stood. Towering. Watching.

The food was served. One by one, each dish was tested for curses right there at the table, in full view. Caitlin had demanded it. No tricks. No guesses. Just clean food.

The servants bowed and left.

The room fell into a tense, quiet meal. Forks clinking. Glasses touched. No one dared to speak.

And then—

Click.

I froze.

That was not a fork.

It came from above.

I looked up, just as one of my snake heads hissed instinctively. My eyes locked onto a small black device tucked into the chandelier above us.

Another trap.

“PRINCESS!!”

I moved instantly.

No time to think. I grabbed Caitlin’s chair with two arms and yanked her backward, slamming my body between her and the thing above. My massive frame blocked the blast radius.

Click.

Not an explosion.

A light.

A blinding white light, sharp and sudden, like a flashbang spell with a single target in mind.

I didn’t close my eyes in time.

Not this time.

My vision went white.

And I felt it begin again.

Not just another transformation. No… this one was different. This was deeper.

The curse didn’t just claw at my body, it bored into my mind. Like a hot drill spinning through my thoughts, trying to melt them into something soft, mindless, obedient. Something that forgot who it served. Who it loved. Who it protected.

It tried to unravel me.

I felt it digging for my name, scraping at the edges of my loyalty, trying to pry free the name of the one I served.

But I held firm.

Princess Caitlin.

Only her.

Only ever her.

My mind burned like fire, but I clenched my fists and pushed back. It wanted me to forget how to stand tall, how to fight, how to think. It tried to peel away my training, dull my edge, turn me into some loyal, empty shell for a new master.

But I laughed. Actually laughed, through gritted teeth and snarling lips.

“You want my sword?” I thought savagely. “My sword belongs to her! You’ll have to break me in half to take it.”

Still the light pushed harder. Stronger. Trying to crush me.

But it couldn’t.

Because I’m Lady Brigid. Knight of Princess Caitlin. The wall between her and every coward with a cursed toy and a bruised ego.

You don’t melt me. You burn yourself trying.

Just like that, it stopped.

The pressure broke. The light faded.

Whatever that trap had been trying to do… it had failed.

Didn’t matter if it was meant for me or my lady. Either way, it didn’t work.

But that didn’t mean I was unchanged.

No, no. Of course not.

My body had grown again. I could feel the stretch in my bones, the heat under my skin. Taller than ever. Far taller than two Caitlins now, approaching three Caitlins more and more. My breasts had swelled once again, massive and heavy, wobbling against the thick metal plates of my already-expanded armor. The weight alone felt absurd.

The snakes on my back had thickened, their necks now as broad as my arms once were, hissing and writhing with silent awareness. My six legs had bulked out even more, pillars of sheer strength, moving with frightening ease now.

And my back?

Oh, gods.

From my shoulders all the way down the full, ridiculous length of my tail, a massive, ridged dinosaur fin now ran in a majestic, terrifying arc. Sharp, patterned, and glowing faintly with magical residue. I could feel the damn thing through my spine.

It was… a lot.

And then I looked left.

Fiona.

Eyes wide. Mouth slightly open.

Then right.

Elspeth.

Same expression.

Both stunned. Glassy-eyed. Unmoving.

I felt a pang of guilt under the pride. They hadn’t resisted. Not like I had. They’d been caught in the mind-blast too, and it had left them completely dazed.

Damn.

They weren’t hurt. I could feel that. But they weren’t with me either. Not yet.

Still, one thing mattered more.

I turned to check on Caitlin.

She stood up.

Dusted herself off.

Looked not dazed, not relieved, but annoyed.

“I am going back to my room,” she said flatly. “Unbelievable.”

Not a flicker of fear.

Not even a glance back.

Just calm, composed, furious.

I moved after her immediately, dragging my hulking form behind her like a living fortress. The snake heads coiled, watchful. Fiona and Elspeth slumped against my shoulders like forgotten dolls.

As I walked, I let my glare burn straight across the room.

Toward Fabian.

He didn’t look back at first.

But I saw his jaw tighten.

I knew, and he knew that he’d just made a very big mistake.

—

Back in Caitlin’s room, I gently closed the door behind me.

The lock clicked.

The silence shattered.

“WHY DO YOU KEEP GETTING IN MY WAY?!”

Caitlin’s voice cut through the air like a blade. She spun toward me, her entire body trembling. Not from fear. From fury. From something deeper.

I froze.

“Huh…?” was all I managed to get out.

She marched toward me, fists clenched at her sides, eyes gleaming, not with her usual icy composure, but something raw. Uncontrolled.

“I don’t want to be part of this damn war!” she screamed. “I didn’t want to curse my brothers! I didn’t want to transform my sisters! I just—” her voice cracked, “—just let me transform myself, damn it! Let me opt out of this stupid game with dignity!”

I blinked. “You… don’t want to be queen?”

“Of course I want to be queen!” she snapped, pacing in a tight circle, hands tugging at her sleeves like they were choking her. “I studied my whole life for it! I did everything right! The etiquette, the diplomacy, the charities, the public appearances, the letters, the alliances… everything!”

She stopped, facing away from me. Her shoulders slumped.

“I even succeeded, partly,” she said softly. “Most commoners love me. Half the nobles back me. On paper, I might be the best damn candidate in the castle.”

“Then why—?” I started.

“Because I can’t, Brigid!” she cut in, turning to me again. Her voice cracked again, this time not from anger.

But from pain.

“I can’t curse my brothers. I can’t trap my sisters. I can’t do this to them. Even if it’s the game. Even if it’s the rules. My heart—” she pressed her palm to her chest, “—it’s not built for that. I’ve tried to act like it is. But it’s not.”

She stepped toward me.

“And you—” she whispered, looking up at me, “—you’re so strong. So loyal. So damn good at what you do… you took every single trap I laid for myself. Every one of them, Brigid.”

I stared at her.

My heart twisted.

“I never… I never intended for this to happen,” she said, her voice shaking. “I should’ve told you. I should’ve told you I was going to take myself out. Quietly. On my own terms.”

She looked away.

“But you believed in me,” she whispered. “You believed in me so much. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. You were the only one who looked at me like I could win. Like I should win. Like I was already worthy.”

She was crying now.

Not sobbing. Just tears… silent, steady.

“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” she choked. “It felt like you wanted to watch me succeed more than I did…”

I didn’t say anything.

Not yet.

I just looked at her, the girl in the fine robes and tired eyes. Not the perfect princess. Not the cold tactician. Just a girl. Honest and broken and still so, so brave.

And I realized something.

Even knowing what I knew now…

Even knowing that she never planned to win…

Even after the scales and the snake heads and the tail and the ridiculous number of boobs and the fact that I now need a room the size of a ballroom just to stretch my legs—

I would still serve her.

More than ever.

Because it wasn’t power that made her worthy.

It was her heart.

“Princess…” I said softly.

She looked up at me with damp eyes, her arms still wrapped around as much of me as she could manage. I held her with all four of mine. No armor. No posture. Just a girl and her knight.

“I might be the only one not surprised by this,” Fiona said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Both of us blinked. Caitlin turned her head toward her fused sister.

“I thought I saw you put something into your own food on the second day,” Fiona continued, voice calm. “But I wasn’t entirely sure I saw it correctly.”

Caitlin’s expression froze for half a heartbeat. Then she exhaled through her nose, smiling bitterly. “…I guess I wasn’t as subtle as I thought.”

Elspeth spoke up next, gently. “You didn’t have to be. Not to us.”

Fiona nodded. “We’ve seen the way you work. The way you listen. The way you study the room without looking like you’re doing anything at all.”

“You work harder than anyone I’ve ever known,” Elspeth said. “Not because you want glory. But because you actually care. You’re thoughtful. Strategic. You understand people. And people respond to that.”

“You’ve always been someone who’d make a good queen,” Fiona added, more softly. “We knew that.”

Caitlin’s breath hitched.

“We weren’t lying,” Elspeth said. “Back before everything went sideways… if we took down Jadiken and Henry, we wanted you to be the final obstacle.”

“Because you deserved that chance,” Fiona added. “Because even if we beat you, you would’ve been the one most worthy to challenge.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then they both said it at once:

“That’s why we swore our loyalty to you.”

Caitlin and I blinked.

“…What?”

I shifted slightly, two of my snake heads curling forward in sync with my confusion. “But… you’re princesses too, right?”

There was a pause.

Then Elspeth tilted her head, thoughtful. “Ah. I almost completely forgot.”

“Right…” Fiona muttered. “I guess I am. But it just feels… untrue, you know?”

Elspeth nodded. “Yeah. It’s like we’ve been knights our entire lives. Serving. Protecting. And now it just feels natural. Like our whole purpose was to see you, dearest sister, take the throne.”

Caitlin looked at them, stunned. Her mouth opened once. Closed. Then she slowly sat on the edge of her bed, processing everything.

“…I guess that last trap hit a little differently than expected,” she finally murmured.

“I guess so,” I said. “Did my unshakable will rub off on them?”

Caitlin gave me a look that was halfway between amusement and disbelief. “That… might actually be it.”

“I am a very powerful knight,” I added proudly.

We all laughed.

Loudly.

Genuinely.

I couldn’t remember the last time the room felt so full of life.

Then I asked, still smiling, “So… what now?”

Caitlin wiped at her eyes and gave a short, bright laugh. “Funnily enough… I still have a shot at the throne.”

We all tilted our heads at the same time, very synchronized, and stared.

“I’m not going to attack either of my brothers,” Caitlin said plainly. “Forget that. If either of them is still standing by tomorrow, I’ll yield to them.”

“But,” she added with a coy smile, “there’s a chance… neither will be standing by the end of today.”

She winked.

I blinked. “Wait. What…?”

Fiona leaned forward. “Caitlin. Did you—?”

“It’s a gamble,” Caitlin said, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “But maybe, just maybe... I’ll become queen~”

There was a long pause.

Then I slammed one massive fist into my other hand. “Then let’s bet on it!”

“Yeah!” Elspeth and Fiona echoed, in perfect sync.

We all laughed again. Even Caitlin.

And as the candles dimmed and the sky darkened, I knew something had changed between all of us.

Not just in body. Not just in curse.

But in truth.

I knew now what my princess truly felt.

And that only made me want to serve her even more.

Day 6 – War’s End

Morning came. And with it, the summons.

We were all called into the throne room, every last one of us. And for once, everyone looked… strange.

All six royal siblings stood in attendance, but none of them were quite themselves anymore. The six transformed heirs, all princesses now, each bearing the monstrous beauty of their defeat. Fin-tailed. Feathered. Horned. Fused. Bewitched. Every variation of monster girl the royal family’s curse masters could conjure.

Then there was her.

Standing tall in the center of it all, as perfectly human as ever, Princess Caitlin.

I couldn’t believe it. I blinked twice, just to be sure.

She was right.

She won.

“Well played, sister. Well played,” said the girl who used to be Henry, arms crossed over her gleaming insectile carapace. “I really thought it was Fabian who attacked you. I was so sure.”

“How did I not connect the dots?” muttered the former Fabian, her hands now ending in crystalline claws. “I feel so stupid…”

Caitlin only smiled. Calm and warm, quietly victorious.

“Sacrificing your own knight for that gambit… what a play,” Henry said, before bowing low with sincere admiration. “What. A. Play. I bow my head to you.”

Then the king stood.

His voice echoed across the throne room like thunder over calm waters.

“Yesterday, the game was decided!” he declared. “By a move both brilliant and reckless. A gambit that shook the very bones of this kingdom.”

The room fell silent.

“Princess Caitlin, our newly crowned victor, attacked herself at the dinner table. And she did it in full view of the remaining two contestants. A dazzling move, designed to make the princes believe that the other one had already shot their shot.”

I glanced at Caitlin. She kept her expression cool. But I could feel it, her heart was beating fast. Not with nerves. With clarity. With pride.

“Believing their other male contestant was defenseless, having just shot their shot and being unable to attack a second time," the king continued, “both of them made their move on their "defenseless" opponent, only to meet a nasty surprise."

He gestured toward Henry and Fabian, now both standing tall in defeat, transformed but graceful in their acceptance.

“And thus, both disqualified themselves. Playing perfectly into our strategist princess’ hands. Or rather…”

He turned, smiling proudly at her.

“…into the hands of our new Crown Princess.”

Applause thundered through the hall. Cheering erupted from nobles and servants alike.

Caitlin didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward with a calm, queenly grace that made even the transformed heirs instinctively bow their heads.

She ascended the steps to her father’s side, where the throne waited, massive, golden, crowned with symbols of Lrigrest’s history.

“A few words, if you will,” the king said.

Caitlin turned.

But not to him.

To me.

“You had one thing wrong, brother,” she said, her voice clear and proud. “There was no involuntary sacrifice.”

She held the silence for a moment, then looked directly at me, her eyes shining.

“My knight didn’t know the plan. I didn’t tell her. I chose not to. Because I wanted to prove something.”

She looked out across the room now.

“That I trust her. Just like I trust the people of this kingdom. And now, see where that trust has brought us.”

A pause.

Then, she lifted a goblet of ceremonial wine, handed to her by an attendant.

“So before I formally accept the title of Crown Princess… a toast.”

She turned fully to face me.

“To the best knight in the kingdom. The woman I trust with my life. The one who carried me through this mad, cursed war…”

Her smile softened.

“A toast to Lady Brigid.”

I froze.

My breath hitched.

The room erupted.

“A TOAST TO LADY BRIGID!!”

“LONG LIVE CROWN PRINCESS CAITLIN!!!”

The cheering was deafening.

I, this towering, scaled, overgrown amalgamation of limbs and loyalty, couldn’t help but puff out my chest, stand tall, and let my monstrous tail sweep across the floor like a proud banner.

The festivities began not long after.

Food. Wine. Music. Even Henry and Fabian joined in, dancing awkwardly in their new forms and laughing with the rest of us. The court was alive like I’d never seen it. The victory was real. And it was earned.

The celebration lasted deep into the night.

And honestly?

After everything?

After so many traps, curses, transformations, betrayals, and one hell of a dino-knight body?

I think we deserved it.

I did it.

I got my princess to the top.

Hehehe…

—

In this game of succession, the last one to stay human wins. And I’ll protect my princess, even if I end up as a monster!