The Scales of Time: Chapter 5

Originally, I was going to entitle this section something like "Vivian's Interlude" since it centers entirely on her whereas the rest of the main story is so centered around Julie. But then I came to the conclusion that this part of the story feels too crucial to understanding the events that are going to happen to call it anything other than Chapter 5. It's also about a thousand words longer than I honestly thought it was going to be.

Enjoy!

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“Look at the pig shoveling slop. Oink. Oink, Piggy.”

Vivian laughed as she glared at Eloise with a wide grin pasted on her face. Eloise tried to look down to avoid any further abuse, but Vivian was having none of it.

“That was a command, Porker. Let’s hear you oink.”

Eloise, eager for this interaction to end, just did as she was told.

“Oink. Oink.”

“Good job, fatty. Now give me a moo for good measure.”

Eloise let out a heavy, defeated sigh before-

“Mooooooo.”

“Louder!”

“MOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Well done, Fatso. I think I’m done with you for now.”

“Powerless people are pathetic,” thought Vivian as she walked away.

And so are fat people. And powerless fat people- well that just takes the cake, cake that those pathetic fatties would love to eat.

It was a joy but also a duty to Vivian to keep those beneath her in their place. That was her right, as the top witch in her class, and she enjoyed every minute of it. All around her, all she could see was weakness, weakness meant to be dominated, controlled, crushed under her heel.

As she neared the doors of the dining hall, Vivian spotted another perfect victim, that cow Julie’s fat ass aunt, Cassiopeia.

“Hey, Fat Ass Cass!”

Cassy was just trying to go about her janitorial duties, and had long given up the idea of bothering to respond to people like Vivian, but Vivian put her foot down on the front of Cassy’s cart which left her with nowhere to go and nothing to do but put up with another one of her bullying barrages.

“How you doing, Cass the Cow? My sister’s doing great, by the way. You look like you’ve seen better days and that those days are long behind you. Hahaha. Bet you can’t even see them over your fat ass!”

Vivian gave Cassy’s big blubber butt and spank. Cassy tried to use this as an opportunity to get away, but Vivian was far more spry and able to get her foot right back to the front of the cart with little effort.

“Where you off to? I’m not done with your big butt yet. It must be so humiliating, knowing you’re the biggest loser in your family, what a crushing disappointment you are. At least the incredible hambeast that is Julie still has powers… for now.”

She put one hand on Cassy’s meaty shoulder.

“If it’s any consolation to you, you won’t be the biggest loser in your family for much longer. Julie’s already fatter than you so once I take her powers… well just imagine how immense she will be. And then you’ll have another fatty for your work crew. Won’t that be something? Family fatty work time. I don’t know how much Julie will be able to do given how fat she’s going to end up. But hey, maybe she’ll be the cart. She can hold open the garbage bag while she scooters herself around campus. That sounds pretty good to me.”

That would have been enough. Even the thought of Julie ending up in a position like this was enough to make Cassiopeia cry. But Vivian had to twist that knife one step further.

“You know, she wouldn’t have been in this position in the first place if you hadn’t failed, if you could have been there to train her properly like you were supposed to. Not that she would have beaten me of course, but with your training she might not be in the position to have to fight me in the first place. So in a very real way, this is all your fault.”

She tweaked Cassy’s chubby cheek.

“And I hope that keeps you up at night as I get ready to mop the floor with your fat niece.”

Cassy could do nothing but take Vivian’s harsh words and turn them into tears. She collapsed against her cart and was a big blubbering mess. Vivian responded with one final whack to the rump and a hearty laugh before sauntering off and going about her day.

That day led her back to the mall as she felt in the mood for a stroll and some light window shopping. There were several high end jewelry boutiques that Vivian was particularly interested in visiting so she could scout potential victory presents for her mother and sister to buy her once she joined their ranks as a full coven member and completed their rise to ultimate power. Nothing says ultimate power like a diamond necklace with a matching set of earrings.

Vivian’s wandering through the mall took her past a certain antique shop that she would not have noticed were it not for the shop’s owner personally taking an interest in the raven haired beauty just as she was passing by.

“Hello, Vivian.”

Vivian immediately spun on a dime and whipped her head around with the speed and grace of a well trained ballerina so she could quickly size up the person whose voice was unfamiliar and yet somehow knew her name. And the size of that person was absolutely enormous.

Sabrina leaned heavily on the door frame of her shop which was easy for her to do because her body took up so much of it.

“Won’t you come inside, dear? I’d love a visitor.”

Vivian took one look at the size of Sabrina’s gargantuan gut, and it took all of her considerable power to not throw up in her mouth. She had never imagined seeing a woman this incredibly fat, someone who could actually dwarf Julie in size.

“No. Gah-eww-no. I have no desire to visit whatever dump of a shop you have, you overripe blueberry, especially since you decided to open with your little ‘Surprise, I know your name,’ stranger danger power play.”

Sabrina let out an annoyed grunt that caused her thick double chin to bounce in disapproval.

“You are a very rude girl, a spoiled, stuck up, just extremely rude girl, not just because of your pathetic insults but because you have refused a formal invitation from someone like me.”

The frosted windows cleared themselves enough for Vivian to see into the antique shop and spot the full length mirror covered by a dropcloth.

“A mirror witch? Well now I’m extra glad I said no to your fat cow ass.”

Sabrina’s fat face suddenly grew very stern.

“I am a full witch, head of my own coven, and I have graciously offered you a seat at my table. And you refuse me?”

“Fuck yeah I do, you fat bitch.”

“Arrogant girl. You think you're untouchable.”

“Cause I fucking am.”

Sabrina let out a deep belly wobbling laugh that sent a shiver up Vivian’s spine.

“You have your challenge coming up. Are you sure you’re truly ready for the contest?”

Now it was Vivian’s turn to cackle. The question posed to her practically had her doubling over in laughter.

“Are you serious? Against Julie? Lady, you haven’t seen my competition, but trust me. She is no competition.”

“I wouldn’t be so full of yourself girl, lest you end up becoming very full indeed.”

Vivian’s hands instinctively flew to her rock hard abs and assured her that they were still as firm as ever. She stood up even straighter to overcorrect for the puncture that remark had done to her confidence and pride.

“Are- are you kidding me right now? Fuck you, Fatso.”

Sabrina responded with a soft, curt laugh and a shake of her head.

“I know you, girl. I see you better than you see yourself. And I just don’t think you have the drive to overcome a real challenge. You’ve just heard yes your whole life. Believe me, at the first sign of adversity, you will crumble. And once you crumble, you will-”

A flash filled Vivian’s mind and for a moment everything went white.

When she looked down she saw her entire body was inflating like a balloon. She could see her hands held out in front of her as they bloated into chubby mitts with sausage fingers. She could feel her skin stretching as it filled with lard. Her toned arms became weak, fat limbs with wobbling bingo wings. Her legs grew thick with flab. They became flabby thunder thighs covered in cellulite.

She felt her ass balloon outward and sage downward like a broken shelf of fat. She soon possessed two heavy sacks of fat, each flabby butt cheek tremendously fat and heavy and wobbling with a mind of its own.

Her abs were gone in the same flashed, replaced by a paunch the ballooned into a full spare tired sagging forward and over the waistband of her pants, doubling up and over and filled with lard. It was a horrible sight as it raced past her sagging breasts and obscured the sight of her fat feet. She cradled the sack of fat in her chubby hands and shook it furiously.

As she shook her head in unison, she could feel her facial muscles loosening, her jaw going slack and growing a thick double chin. She saw her reflection in the shop window and looked positively piggish!

Flash.

She was back to herself again with nothing more to show of her vision than a cold sheen of sweat that coated her forehead. Vivian dusted herself off as if she had fallen.

“You’re indeed powerful, mirror bitch. But when I win my challenge, which I will, my family and I will be coming back here to finish things with you.”

Vivian’s threat bounced off of Sabrina’s thick skin with all the impact of a broken feather.

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t see that happening.”

Sabrina’s massive form slinked back from the door and disappeared into the shadows of her store.

Hours later, the vision that the fat mirror witch had cursed her with was still swimming around Vivian’s head as she clutched the armrests of one of the high back chairs in the parlor of her family’s mansion. She found herself sitting near and staring into a magically lit fire that was completely cool and served no purpose other than to add to the drama of the room.

And the background to Vivian’s brooding was brimming with business that Vivian was only half listening to.

The other people in the spacious parlor included Vivian’s mother and sister as well as Ms. Gulch and her daughter Darla, and Mrs. Aguilar with her daughter Reyna. Darla and Reyna were, technically speaking, Vivian’s friends but, more accurately speaking, her stooges. And their parents shared a similar relationship with Vivian’s mother.

Mrs. Hargrove was there as well. Although, of course the elephantine Eloise was no longer welcome at these kinds of meetings. Vivian was just happy that Mrs. Hargrove hadn’t brought along her other, chubby, daughter, Sadie- or something.

Currently, Mrs. Hargrove and Mrs. Aguilar were taking up the room’s time rehashing what Mrs. Hargrove always wanted to fret about, what happened to her fat failure of a daughter.

“It’s just not right. It wasn’t supposed to happen. The plan-”

“The plan. The plan,” parroted Mrs. Aguilar.

“Listen. It’s not my fault. I trained my girl the worst that I could without giving up the ghost. Blame your daughter for her failure.”

“Now, I-”

“She’s right Vanessa,” chimed in Mrs. Gulch though, as usual, nobody had asked for her opinion.

“We all know Bernila scheduled the girl’s training sessions for after her usual three martini lunches, so she couldn’t have gotten any worthwhile training. It’s not her fault if the girl is gifted.”

“And with a needle a thread too. Just look at the cut of this magnificent dress,” replied Mrs. Aguilar, gesturing to the slit in her black cocktail dress and deflecting Ms. Gulch’s jab about her cocktail consumption.

“Besides, I’ve set my girl to work for you, and she’s already found the thing you need.”

“Yes?” inquired Mrs. Hargrove with a pitched tenor of hope in her voice.

“A mirror witch in the mall.”

“A mirror witch in the mall without us knowing about her? Impossible. She’d have to be incredibly powerful to escape our collective notice.”

“Well, she didn’t escape the notice of my girl, so she can’t be that powerful.”

“You’re a liar.”

“No she’s not,” interjected Vivian from her seat with her back still to the rest of the room and her eyes still reflecting the fire.

She had had enough of this whole damn conversation, the same trite, repeating thing. “It’s not fair. Poor Eloise. Poor fat, useless Eloise.” “My girl this. My girl that.” Ms. Gulch and the others were constantly calling her trainee girl in one form or another. She was some waifish, willowy blonde chick with glasses, a girl so mousy and extraordinarily ordinary that Vivian- and seemingly everyone else- couldn’t be bothered to remember her name. It was the same kind of useless conversation that these petty women were always having, but at least this time Vivian had information that could move it in a useful direction and away from her ears.

“She’s real. I’ve met her.”

Mrs. Aguilar and the rest of the room looked shocked at the calmness of Vivian’s declaration- not that Vivian was looking at any of them to notice.

“You’ve met with a mir-”

“Enough.” Vivian’s mother finally rose from her seat with one hand raised to cut Mrs. Aguilar off.

“This is done. Vanessa, you and your husband can go and see this mirror witch. Tonya’s girl will make the arrangements. But you’ll do it after tomorrow. I want no distractions and everyone on hand for Vivian’s challenge.”

“No.”

Now it was Vivian’s turn to rise and meet her mother.

“I don’t like this mirror witch. She insulted me. Let her get this done with tomorrow so that as soon as my challenge is won we can deal with the mirror witch.”

Vivian’s mother walked over and wrapped her hand around the back of her neck.

“Child, you would do well to listen. We are on the precipice of the biggest power shift in our coven’s history. It is the culmination of a plan seven years in the making, and if we miss our shot by even a little bit, it would be a coven civil war.”

Vivian raised her hand up and gave her mother a gentle pat on the cheek.

“Mamah, trust me. I will win my challenge tomorrow and make you, me, and Lizzy an intra covina. Then, with the Hargroves bringing Eloise back into the fold, we’ll have them in reserve. No one will see things coming. And we’ll finish everything and everyone by tomorrow.”

Vivian’s mother smiled back at her daughter in turn and grasped her firmly by both shoulders.

“That’s my girl, my perfect girl, brilliant and confident like her mother and sister. Wonderful.”

Without letting go of Vivian, she turned her head tilted her head toward the others.

“You heard her, Tanya. Have your girl make the arrangements tonight.”

She pulled Vivian into a warm embrace as the fire roared behind them.

“Tomorrow, we settle things once and for all.”