The Motive of the Maids (Smash Bimbo Shortstacks) (Patreon)

Hey folks!

I hope all is well out there. Writing is happening, shorts are coming together - it's going a little slow, I might need an extra week to get them all done as I get my brain back into gear after my vacation, but get done they shall.

I'm planning on doing the price adjustments towards the end of the month, so no need to worry about any of that for now. More info on that in a few weeks.

For now, please enjoy this tale of mystery and intrigue! Or at least of big boobed maids. This one came out pretty interesting, so I hope folks like it - lemme know if you do!

Have fun, all, and I'll see you next week.

-

“Work hours are from six to four each working day…”

The old oak door creaked open, footsteps scattering echoes and dust. The old halls of the keep carried sound far further than she had ever expected, but right now, everything was a hush. Shadows seemed to scurry around corners down every corridor that they passed. It was eerie. Like she was setting foot somewhere she was not supposed to be.

Outside, the wind was howling, and the windows were rattling in their panes. Occasionally, in the distance, she thought she caught the sound of a door being slammed – or perhaps it was just the old stonework settling. Ancient furniture, practically antique, loomed around her as she followed after her guide down dimly lit halls, taking care not to walk over any of the expensive carpets in her black heels…

“The uniforms are non-negotiable. I won’t be moved on that.”

The outfit was going to take some getting used to, but she was already starting to grow accustomed to it. It was old fashioned. A black blouse and skirt, coupled with a white apron and a lace tiara… Yes, she looked every bit the maid that she’d been hired to be. That was easy enough to work with, and she appreciated the freedom of movement that it offered over her regular attire. The difficult part was getting used to her new workplace.

Honestly, the castle almost felt some kind of ancient labyrinth, but her guide navigated it with confidence, steadily giving her a detailed tour of what felt like the entire building – though they hadn’t visited any of the wings yet. She was no stranger to making her way through such large complexes, but even so, she was impressed.

“You’ll have co-workers to show you the ropes. They may be a little strange, but I’m sure you’ll quickly get along…”

Well that had been a bit of an understatement. Her fellow maids were an unusual group. Take her guide, for instance. A short young woman, less than four feet tall by her estimate, which she felt was unusual by itself, but apparently it wasn’t too uncommon in this region. There was certainly no risk of mistaking them for a child, though – she had a shockingly large bust, one that would have looked big even on a taller person’s frame, and curvy hips to match. With vibrant green hair that hung down to the small of her back, she would have attracted attention from anyone at a glance… Or so the newest arrival would have thought.

The funny thing was, though, that all of the maids in this castle – save herself, of course – looked remarkably similar. Practically identical, in fact. The only difference she’d been able to notice so far – and she’d been looking – was the colour of their hair, and sometimes the colour of their outfits. She’d seen blue haired maids, red haired maids, black haired maids… But all of them had the same features, the same height, and the same, ahem, eye-catching curves, as it were.

Were they all related? Sisters, perhaps? Or perhaps… Well, with her employer’s eccentric tastes in hiring policy, maybe it wasn’t that unusual for such a group to have ended up here…

“This is the main dining room,” her guide – Green was the name she went by - explained as they stepped into a hall so large that the roof was completely obscured by darkness and shadows, the light from below unable to reach. At one end, a grand fireplace, not yet lit, dominated its surroundings, while every other wall was lined with empty suits of armour and hung with gilded pictures. Mahogany tables ran the entire length of the floor, surrounded by uniform lines of fancy chairs. “The spiders like to spin their webs in here during the night, so dusting in here will be your first priority in the mornings. Your room will be the closest, after all.”

“Naturally, your new position comes with provided accommodation, free of charge. The servants quarters are in the east wing – ah, but several of them are being fumigated this week, so I’ve arranged for you to be staying in the central spire, on the floor below mine.”

She nodded, taking it all in and trying to work out the most efficient way of accomplishing the task she was being set. It wasn’t that different from the work she was used to. Hunting through a dark fortress, searching for enemies (stains) and sorting through puzzles (cutlery). Still, though…

This was not definitely what Samus’d had in mind when she’d agreed to come to work for Princess Peach.

“It’ll be like a slumber party! Mario and Luigi are always off on some long adventure, and the Toads have started going with them, so… Well, I dare say if Bowser shows up again you’ll be well placed to help repel him! Don’t worry, you will be compensated if that happens. I’ll make a nice cake for both of us~”

“Your duties will mostly be focused in the main wing and here in the central halls,” Green said as the little woman led her through another door into the kitchens. “You won’t be on cooking duty during your first week – you’ll need training for that! But you will be helping to serve the food and to clean up the dishes after mealtimes, along with Red and Blue.”

Hoo, teamwork. The blonde bounty hunter had never been great at that, but she would give it her best shot. “Of course. What time are meals served for non-staff?”

“Breakfast at seven, lunch at eleven, and then dinner at four on the dot.” The green haired maid practically sang her answer. “So make sure dusting in the dining hall is the first thing you do once you get on shift! And I think that should cover everything. Any questions?”

“On the weekends and after hours, you are of course free to use all of the castle’s facilities, or to visit the nearby towns. Unfortunately the roads out are closed for the next few weeks. Plumbing issue, I was told.”

“Actually, I did have one. Peach said we were free to visit the nearby towns after work – do you know much about what any of them have to… offer?”

Samus’s question trailed off into uncertainty as she saw the way Green was looking at her. “Towns? You mean, like, not in the castle? Huh…” Her green head bobbled as she shook it. “No, sorry – I don’t know anything about those. Why would anyone ever want to leave?”

“Oh.” Hm. She must have been a bit of a shut-in, then. “Well what do you do for fun around here then?”

The maid giggled. “Cleaning’s plenty of fun!”

Riiight. “I meant, when you’re not working.”

Another confused blink. “Not… working? Huh…” Green tapped her chin, thinking deep thoughts. “I guess I just work some more!”

Well this wasn’t getting anywhere. Samus gave her a slightly forced smile. “Right. I getcha.”

“Great! Then I guess I can leave you to it!”

“The cafeteria serves food from noon until two, and then from five until eight. But I insist that while you stay here that you join me for tea at teatime…”

“Oh, one last thing.” The maid drew her protégé up short just before she could get to work. Her short, green haired frame was paused at the door, looking back over her shoulder. There was a serious glint in her eye. “Please keep yourself to the central and west wings of the castle. The east wing is off limits to all but senior staff.”

The blonde nodded. “Right, right, yeah. Peach told me about the fumigation. Don’t worry, I’ll stay clear.”

But that was odd. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but Samus could have sworn she saw the maid’s brow furrow in confusion. “Fumigation…? Oh! Oh, yes, of course. Quite right.” Then the look was gone, and the green haired woman was smiling again. “Very good.”

With that, she vanished, the door closing behind her. The blonde was left staring after her, a frown of her own starting to take root. What had that been about…?

-

The galaxy was at peace – and it was a disaster. How was a bounty hunter supposed to get any work if everything was peaceful!? Samus had expected a bit of a drought on the credits side of things, but this was ridiculous. It turned out that when you cultivated a legendary reputation as a saviour of the cosmos (and maybe blew up a few planets along the way) you ended up pricing yourself out of the market for anything short of a galactic threat! There was suffering from success, and then there was this. Ugh, was this any way for them to treat the hero of the universe?

Well, okay. It wasn’t like she really needed the credits that badly, to be fair. She was pretty well off at this point, and as the inheritor of the Chozo, one of the most advanced species in space, she didn’t want for any upgrades or the like. She was perfectly capable of maintaining and improving her gear herself. It was just… Well, like anyone who’d been through as many dark places as she had, she didn’t like being left with nothing to do. The last thing she wanted was being stuck with nothing but her own thoughts for any length of time. They tended to trend back to memories of when her planet had been invaded and she’d seen her family slaughtered before her eyes. Both times it had happened.

Space Pirates were the worst, and few things made her happier than knowing she’d given them just as many nightmares as they’d given her.

But trauma was a bitch, you know? She had a good handle on it – she’d long come to terms with all she’d lost, and spent her time focusing on what she’d gained – but it wasn’t something that ever truly went away. So she tried to put the energy it gave her to better uses. It came in very handy in life or death struggles fighting through the stars!

And then work dried up. There wasn’t much to keep Samus occupied anymore. The metroids were extinct (ish, but keep that quiet), the X were purged, Phazon had outright ceased to exist, and the space pirates were making their way towards the endangered species lists… Just nothing left for the legendary bounty hunter to handle.

Well, that was… okay. No, no, it was fine, just fine! It was a good thing, really. Things were nice and… peaceful. Yes. She had other things to do! Totally! Haha, there was more to the life of Samus Aran than just cruising about the cosmos hopping from one disaster site to another looking for villains to fight and wrongs to right, absolutely!

… Sooooo…

When was the next Smash Tournament again? It had to be soon, right? It felt like the last one had been aaaages ago. Maybe it was time to give some of the other girls a call. Surely someone would know something…

And that was how she ended up slumped over at the bar in the interdimensional realm that normally hosted the Smash Brothers Invitational, pouting and glaring at her Ylissian whisky (no ice).

“It’s the wooooorssst…”

Next to her, Peach, the only other fighter who returned her calls, gingerly reached out to rub the blonde’s back. The Princess was good at comforting people. “There there, now. Surely it’s not that bad.”

“It is though!” The bounty hunter whined. “There’s nothing to do. No one needs a hero anymore. Even Palutena isn’t returning my messages.”

Her drinking mate chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure there’s some other reason for that. But, my, if you’re really at a dead end, I think I can find some work for you…”

Samus blinked, looking up. “You can?”

Peach smiled. “Oh yes. I know just what to do with you.”

-

As it turned out, maid work wasn’t that difficult. At least, not in comparison to stalking around alien bases and fighting cosmic horrors. Dare she even think it – this was pretty relaxing! It was hard to put into words, but ever since she’d started working here, the blonde space hero had felt a real sense of contentment starting to grow in her chest.

It helped that everything most people would find difficult was the norm for her. Early mornings? Please, some nights she’d only gotten thirty minutes worth of sleep back as a bounty hunter. Difficult stains? Nothing compared to phazon! Dusting the high corners? … Okay, that one was a little tricky. She hadn’t exactly brought her suit, so no spin jumping here. Still, she was practically double the size of the other maids, so she had a much easier time with that stuff than any of them.

And speaking of the other maids…

Well, now they were something of a mystery to Samus. They didn’t speak much, mostly slipping around the castle silently and avoiding being seen by any guests. They seemed to take pride in being almost invisible while they performed their tasks and kept everything neat and tidy. It was pretty impressive, and the blonde found herself making an effort to copy them almost despite herself.

They’d talk to her a little, since they seemed to consider another member of staff. But even then, she got the feeling that they were avoiding her. Every now and then, as she went about her duties, she’d spot them watching her from afar, peeking around corners and from behind doors, then darting away when they realised she’d seen them. It was… weird. Were they shy?

She’d done her best to get to know them, to engage in conversation and learn more about them when she had the chance, but even that was proving to be surprisingly difficult. The pair she worked the most with, Blue and Red – named for their hair colour like Green was, and just as stacked as her too – never started any conversations, save to tell her how to perform her tasks, and while they always answered her queries, their responses weren’t very revealing.

“Where am I from?” Blue repeated, carrying two trays full of dishes on one palm each, balanced over her head. “What do you mean? Why would I be from anywhere else?”

“Friends?” Red was just the same when she was helping fold sheets in the laundry rooms. “All of the maids are my friends! And the Princess is so kind to me~ That’s all I need!”

It was strange. These women were bright and cheery, but they really didn’t seem to know anything about life outside of this castle. Just who were these girls…?

-

“Oh, the maids?” Peach sipped at her tea, holding her teacup with an aura of regal grace that Samus knew she could never come close to duplicating. “Yes, they can be a bit funny, can’t they? I’m afraid they don’t get out very much. The Toads are usually the ones who accompany me on business away from the castle, while the maids remain here and keep my affairs in order. They’re very dutiful – perhaps a little too much? But they’re harmless, really.”

It was teatime, and Peach continued to insist that her friend join her in the tea room, even if she was working for her now. Basic professional etiquette made the blonde feel very uncomfortable agreeing, but it wasn’t like she planned to be a maid for long – just until work started flowing again back home. Besides, it was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t a maid every now and then…

“Are they, like, sisters or something?” She had to ask.

“I suppose, in a sense. But if you mean because they all look like one another, then no, that’s just normal. The Toads are much the same – it takes a skilled eye to pick out the differences, at least for humans. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it before long though.”

“I guess…” Samus sighed, drinking her own tea. It wasn’t a drink she was used to, but it was pleasant enough. Peach, of course, served it sweet. “But I do wish they’d talk to me more. They’re pretty shy around me still.”

The Princess just chuckled. “Just give it a little time. Why, soon, I bet you’ll all be so close you won’t even remember it ever being any different~”

-

Samus scowled up at the spiderwebs up in the top corners of the room. Tch, her duster wasn’t reaching. Was this one smaller than the usual one she used? She could have sworn it was the exact same, but she just couldn’t get it up to the high corners, no matter how much she stretched. In the end, she had to grab one of the small stepladders that the other maids used in order to do the job. It was a little embarrassing, but she was sure they wouldn’t mind.

Other than that, though, she had to say that this job was going much better than she expected. Who knew that cleaning could be so fulfilling? She really felt at peace here – the stress of all those adventures and horrors that she’d seen just melting away. Honestly, she might even miss the place once she got back to bounty hunting. Now there was something she never thought she’d say. How long had she been doing this now? Days? Weeks? It couldn’t be months, right?

But she wasn’t sure. Her stay here had adopted a slow, timeless feel. Wake up, grab a quick breakfast, and then head straight to the dining room to set the tables and put out the food, then spend an hour or so dusting and sweeping until it was time to bring the plates in again, wash them all up, and return to cleaning… Repeat for lunch and dinner, and then after her shift, tea time with Peach to chat and reminisce until she was ready for bed. Her life had taken on the form of a steady, comfortable routine, and it was getting rather difficult to tell one day from another. Heh, some days it was hard to remember she was ever anything but a maid!

Ah, but that was silly. There were plenty of reminders that that wasn’t the case. Like, for example, the other maids, who still kept her at arm’s length. She had honestly started to wonder if most of them knew how to talk at all, but then she’d begun catching them gathering in little groups of blue and green and red and silver, all huddled together and whispering to each other. Though, she still had no idea what they were talking about – they’d always break and scatter as soon as they noticed she was nearby. To tell the truth, it was starting to make her a little paranoid.

But as she was carrying the stepladder back to the storage closet out in the hall, an opportunity arose. As she slid the door closed – silently, of course – she caught the edge of a whisper, drifting up from the servant’s stairwell. Curious, she drew closer, trying to work out who was speaking.

“… The Princess…?”

“… Has no idea…”

Samus paused, blinking. Those voices… Was that the maids? And they were talking about the Princess? Frowning, she crept up to the door, straining to listen. It was muffled, but she could just about make out a few snippets of conversation.

“…ow much longer do we have to wait?”

“Not long now. Soon, we’ll finally…”

“... Almost ready. I don’t think… any chance of stopping it, even if…”

“What if… finds out? We don’t want her to interfere…”

“Keep an eye on her. With any luck, she won’t notice until it’s too late. And then…”

Bonk!

Oops. That was another thing Samus had noticed about maid life. She’d gotten so clumsy lately. It was like all of the pressures she’d been under in her old life had relaxed all at one, and now she was stumbling about like an unwound spring. Which, uh, in this case, translated into her knocking a vase off its stand as she tried to listen closer, accidentally smacking it over with her chest.

Naturally, her reflexes as both a maid and a bounty hunter were far too good to let the thing hit the floor, and she caught it easily – but by the time she’d returned it to its stand, the voices had gone silent, and she could just about hear the sound of running feet and slamming doors. She’d been rumbled.

But she’d heard enough. Something foul was afoot in this castle. Those maids were plotting something, she knew that now. Something focused around the Princess. She had to act fast, before whatever scheme they were working on got underway. She’d take this straight to the woman herself.

-

“Sammy, I think you’re worrying over nothing.”

Well that was the last thing Samus wanted to hear. “But… But I definitely heard them-” she protested, only to fall quiet when Peach raised a hand.

“It’s okay – you’ve lived a very exciting life, and it’s no surprise that you’re finding it difficult to adjust to a quieter pace. You do seem very highly strung.”

“I know what I heard, Princess!” The blonde was pacing back and forth through the tea room, hands clutched tightly behind her back. “They’re plotting something. Something to do with you. If we don’t investigate now, it might be too late!”

But Peach just smiled that same beautiful serene smile she always wore. “Now now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. My maids would never hurt me.”

“They’re up to something,” Samus insisted. “It makes too much sense. They’ve been watching me since I arrived to make sure I don’t catch on, I bet.”

The Princess giggled. “Now you’re just imagining things, Sammy. Really, you just need to learn to relax. Tell you what – why don’t you take a day off? Just sit back and rest. You’ve been working very hard lately.”

“What? No, no, that’s- That’s not…” Again, the blonde’s protests trailed off when Peach raised her hand, still smiling gently.

“Samus. That’s an order. Go to bed and get some sleep. I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning.”

And that was that.

-

That night, the hunter’s dreams were fitful and unsettling. She found herself wandering the halls of the castle, normally so familiar, yet now cast in strange eerie light. In each corridor she saw small shadows moving, at every junction she heard whispered giggles. She could feel eyes watching her wherever she went, could feel

Everything around her loomed as the world seemed to grow bigger and darker, malicious laughter filling the air as cold blue light shone over everything…

Finally, the nightmares were too much. Her eyes snapped open, her body bolting upright in bed as she dragged herself free of them and back into the waking world…

Only to see, in the shadows around her bed, a silent crowd of shadowed, short faces watching her, their eyes glimmering in the moonlit darkness. In their dark outlines, you could just about make out a small sea of maid tiaras…

Samus couldn’t help it. “What the hell?!”

But the maids were even less composed.

“Eek!”

“She woke up!”

“Run!”

“Hey! Get back here!” Without even thinking about it, Samus jumped out of bed, her yellow nightie (a gift from the Princess) swirling around her as she charged after the fleeing maids. They weren’t getting away this time! She was getting answers, damnit!

The chase quickly led through the castle, her prey trying to duck and weave through numerous small doors and secret passages. But Samus had been working in this castle for a long time now, and she knew every route they tried like the back of her hand. There was no evading her tonight – she followed their trail like a hound on the scent. And soon, she’d followed them all the way across to the far end of the castle – to the entrance of to the east wing itself.

The blonde had never set foot here, despite her long service. It had been declared off limits when she’d arrived, and the one door connecting to the entire wing had always been locked. But tonight it hung open, a mysterious blue light leaking around the edges.

The sight caused the hunter to pause. Something about that light was familiar, and it made her feel uneasy. She had a definite feeling that if she pushed forward, there would be no going back here. She didn’t have any of her normal weapons with her. But she needed answers. And how dangerous could these maids really be?

Firming her resolve, the blonde stepped through the door, and found herself at the bottom of a long flight of stairs. They circled around and around, ascending into darkness. Far above, a pale blue light was shining, though she couldn’t make out the source. Taking a breath, she started to climb.

The steps were a challenge, each one feeling steeper than the last. Even for someone with her level of fitness, the ascent was difficult, occasionally requiring her to clamber upwards on her hands and knees. How did those short maids manage this so often when someone twice their size struggled?

By the time she reached the top, she was almost gasping for breath, but her destination was in sight. The blue light was shining out through a very tall door, and without thinking she stepped through, finding herself in…

“A greenhouse?”

Samus looked around. Overhead, she could just about make out a glass roof, and the black night sky beyond it, but it was mostly obscured by a thick red canopy. Mushrooms – just what you’d expect in the mushroom kingdom – grew thick and tall here, their white stalks towering over everything. For a moment, she was reminded of… something? Of some… old adventure or other in a mushroom-like place. But that was odd – it was just a fleeting feeling. All of her old adventures felt so distant and vague now; she couldn’t quite recall any details…

And she had other things to worry about anyway. She wasn’t alone in here. She could hear movement up ahead. Answers weren’t far now. Cautiously, she moved in, creeping through the dark forest of stalks and shrooms, looking for any sign of her quarry…

But what actually caught her eye as she crept around a wall of foliage was the mushroom patch in the middle of the path, positioned right in the centre of the greenhouse. They were unlike any that she’d seen before, their caps glowing with bright blue light – the source of the eerie glow that she’d been following since reaching the east wing. Something about them made her feel warm just by looking at them, and she knew, somehow, that she’d found something important.

“What are these…?” She muttered to herself, drawing closer without even thinking about it.

“Maidshrooms.”

The sudden voice behind her made Samus jump, and she spun around to find none other than Princess Peach standing in the doorway, flanked by a small, nervous looking army of maids. The small women were peeking out from behind their employer – she saw all of the colours that she recognised. Green, Blue, Red, Silver… Were they all here?

Peach smiled as she stepped forward – even now, surrounded by shadows and lit by the eerie light of the maidshroom patch, she was the picture of royal grace. “You weren’t supposed to see these yet, but since you’re here, I may as well explain. These are a specific breed of mushroom cultivated by the royal family for their special effects. You see, they have the oddest effect on the people who eat them. A lot of mushrooms in our world do. But these ones are particularly potent – their effects are practically permanent.”

The hunter’s eyes narrowed, and she found herself stepping back as the Princess advanced. She knew something was definitely wrong here, but she found it hard to wrap her head around. This was Peach – Peach! There was no way such a gentle woman could be up to anything nefarious… right? Something in her heart rejected the notion entirely.

So instead of retreating, she tried questioning. “What do they do?”

Peach nodded, happy to explain as she walked over to the fence lining the maidshroom patch, inspecting her specimens from afar. “As one might suppose from the name, they turn the women who eat them into maids. Dedicated, loyal, devoted little maids. Small, so they can get around the castle without being seen by visitors – and, of course, incredibly curvy to satisfy their employers~” She raised a hand to her mouth to hide a slightly deviant smirk. “I suspect my thing for short partners runs in the family~”

Well that would explain her relationship with Mario…

“My family has bred them to respond exclusively to members of the royal line,” the Princess continued. “No maid is able to resist an order that comes from my mouth. They make for very useful servants – and an excellent way to get rid of any competition.”

“Wait. So you mean…” Samus was turning the idea over in her head, her eyes widening as she looked to the crowd of maids silently watching them. “These women used to be…?”

Peach giggled. “I was wondering if you’d ever recognise them. The fact that you didn’t means that the transformation is just that effective, I suppose. Yes, my adorable maids were once all women who came to me to confide about their problems – and then found blessed relief as my sexy little servants, free of their pasts and woes.”

The hunter swallowed, looking out into the sea of aprons and lace. Now that she thought about it, some of those hair colours did look familiar…

But she didn’t need to guess. By now, the Princess was on a roll, happy to explain everything. Peach walked back over to her maids and reached out, stroking Green’s cheek fondly. “Why, Palutena was an awfully lonely goddess. Most of the people around her weren’t very bright, so she had no one to really talk with. Of course, now Green here doesn’t have either problem, isn’t that right?”

The bright eyed maid nodded, not even seeming to register she was being insulted. “That’s right Princess! I’m not lonely or bright!”

“Exactly.” Peach giggled, before moving on to the next maid and petting her head. “As for Red over here, well, let’s face it, Pyra was practically created to be a homemaker. It was what she was good at and what she enjoyed. So I just made sure that she would always be able to live her domestic dreams in my service.”

The redheaded maid practically swooned under her touch. “Thank you Princess!”

“You’re welcome, love. And of course, dear Lucina…” She continued on over to Blue, kneeling down and kissing the busty maid on the lips. “She was so lost after she erased the future that she came from. She needed a new calling, and I was happy to provide. You’ve never felt lost and aimless, have you Blue?”

“Never once, Princess!” The blue haired maid was blushing – and then blinked. “But who’s Lucina?”

Peach just giggled and kissed her again. “No one you ever have to trouble your empty little head about, Dear.” Then she stood back up and turned to Samus once more.

“So you see, it’s win win. They get happy, comfortable lives as my servants, never to be troubled by worries or thoughts ever again – while I get a new servant, and less competition in the Smash invitational.” That came with a sly grin. “And oh my, placing well in the tournament brings in so much tourism money, you’ve no idea.”

Samus stared. Hearing all of this coming from a woman like Peach… It was dizzying. Had she always had such a fiendish streak in her? Well she was royalty, after all…

She shook her head. Not the time to dwell on that. Right now, she needed to get out of here. She needed time to think. “What, so now you try to feed me one of these mushrooms as well? You know I’m not going to let you do that, right?”

She expected anger, or insistence, or maybe a polite giggle. She didn’t expect an outright laugh.

“Oh Sammy. Dearest. Please.” Peach wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “I’ve been slipping them into your tea for weeks now. Haven’t you noticed yet? Look at yourself, Sammy. When you first arrived here, weren’t you taller than me?”

Wh- What? Slowly, the hunter looked down – and she couldn’t stop herself from gasping. When… When had the floor gotten so close? And- and yes, Peach was right. It was hazy, but she was sure she could remember the Princess being shorter than her. By quite a large margin, in fact. But now… No, this couldn’t be right. The Princess was definitely the taller of the two of them. In fact, didn’t everything seem kind of… taller… these days?

Peach grinned. “I think you’ve lost nearly a third of your height over the course of your stay – and most of that mass is going straight to your curves, oh my. How did you not notice those?”

Samus looked down again, blushing. It was true that, ah, she was used to being able to see the floor past her chest, which she certainly couldn’t at the moment. H-how had she not noticed? How much had she already changed?!

Before she could recover, Peach was behind her, wrapping her up in her arms and giving her suddenly huge breasts a squeeze. Samus couldn’t help but moan at her touch – something about it made her feel so warm and delightful inside.

“I wanted to try to ease you into it, you see.” Peach’s finger tapped against her captive’s cheek. “Small doses, bit by bit helping you slide into existence as another mindless maid. It was a little experiment. I thought it might get better results than just force feeding you a whole maidshroom at once. And I must say, it seemed to be working nicely. I dare say that another few teatimes and you would have forgotten your past entirely, content to be my cute little helper forever and ever…”

Then she giggled and spun in a circle, twirling her shrunken space heroine around to face the eager swarm of maids that were circling around them – a small tide of aprons, tiaras, multi-coloured hair, and vapid, smiling faces.

“But alas,” the Princess sighed, “my girls just couldn’t help but jump the gun a little. I told them not to engage with you until you were fully converted, but they were so excited to meet their new sister properly. They’ve been counting the days until they get a nice little Yellow to even out their palette.” Her hand stroked Samus’ blonde hair. “So they got a bit too eager, and spooked you a bit too much. Now you’re here…”

Samus grunted, forcing her way out of Peach’s arms, glaring at the woman and her horde of minions. “And now I’ll be leaving,” she growled, already backing away towards the exit.

Peach shot her a bemused look. “Sammy, please. Remember what I said about maids being unable to resist my orders? You’re far enough along that you can’t either. I tested it at teatime, remember? I ordered you to go to bed, and off you marched."

The hunter froze. That… That couldn’t be right, could it? She remembered Peach saying that, but she hadn’t just obeyed like that, had she? She’d… She’d just been really tired all of a sudden, and gone straight to bed of her own accord. That was all it was, right?

“Kneel.”

Samus dropped to her knees. It was so fast that it took her a moment to realise it had happened.

“And now… open wide, Sammy.” Princess Peach stepped in front of her, holding up a blue glowing mushroom about the size of a clenched fist. “It’s time to forget all of that stress, and become the sexy shortstack you were born to be! I’m pleased to extend your employment contract indefinitely~”

She tried to resist. She really did. The iron willed hunter who had quested across the universe and saved the galaxy put her all into refusing that simple command. To keep her mouth closed, and her will her own.

She was so busy stubbornly trying to fight that she almost missed the familiar taste of tingly sweetness across her tongue as she swallowed the mushroom down.

-

“Thank you again for this, Peach.” Zelda sighed, brushing her blonde hair back over her shoulder. “It’s been so long since I last had a vacation. I was starting to forget what relaxing felt like!”

Her host just giggled. “Oh, don’t worry, I know exactly what you mean. People think all the kidnappings are the worst part of the job, but it’s really all the paperwork, right?”

The two were seated in Peach’s tea room, a quiet little hideaway in the Princess’s castle where she and her closest friends could relax. It was a pleasant little sanctuary, and Zelda was quickly finding herself looking forward to teatime every day for the chance to unwind with her friend. She hadn’t been too sure about taking time away from her duties to visit, but she was glad that Peach had insisted. She’d really needed this.

“To be honest,” the Princess of Wisdom sighed, staring at the triangular mark on the back of her hand. “I’ve always found the worst part to be the expectations. I’ve got such a long legacy to live up to, you know? The blood of the smartest women in history runs through my veins, and people expect me to live up to that.”

Peach nodded with understanding. “That’s a heavy burden to carry.”

“It is…” Zelda nodded, gazing forlornly at her tea.  “Sometimes I wish that I didn’t have to, you know? That I could just… Ah. This is just me whining. Never mind, I’m being silly.”

“Nonsense!” Peach leaned forward and patted her friend on the shoulder. “It’s perfectly valid to have all these concerns. There’s nothing silly about it.” She smiled. “Now, drink you tea, Zelda. You don’t want it getting cold~”

Her fellow Princess giggled and nodded, taking another sip. Ah, that taste. Peach sure did like to make her tea sweet, didn’t she? Well, that was fine – she just liked having company she could actually talk to. It was nice that they could have this little private time to chat where they couldn’t be overheard, just the two of them. She’d put up with a little sweet tea for that~

Little did Zelda know, however, that she and Peach weren’t the only people in the room. There was one other with them, her presence so quiet that she was practically undetectable. That was the creed of the maid, after all – to serve without being seen. A good servant met their Mistress’s needs while being invisible to anyone not explicitly looking for them.

She was so good at her job, in fact, that she was currently hiding beneath Peach’s long pink dress, her face buried between the Princess’s thighs, and she wasn’t making a sound despite her lascivious tongue. The newest of Peach’s maid service, she’d never the less spent her short time serving with distinction. She cleaned, she cooked, she cuddled, she came, she did everything impeccably, the very model of a magnificent maid.

Peach didn’t have favourites, but if she did, Yellow was making sure she’d be a top contender. And the fact that she had the biggest boobs in the service helped a lot. The other maids would have been jealous if they didn’t get to play with them just as much as she did~

She was certainly very good at pleasing her Mistress – Peach had climaxed three times during this teatime alone! Thank goodness for that royal grace of hers – people never noticed. And they all thought she was so prim and proper~

And as for Yellow? Oh, she couldn’t be happier. An easy job to fulfil her days, a crowd of curvy sisters to snuggle up with at night, a wonderful Mistress to love and adore… Truly, this was the kind of retirement a hero should be able to look forward to after a lifetime of heroic work. Not that she had any idea about that, of course. Even by maid standards, she was kind of a dunce.

But really, that was perfect for her. After all, Samus hadn’t wanted to be left alone with her own thoughts – and now that problem was solved. Peach would handle all the thinking for her from now on – and Yellow, the yellow haired maid, wouldn’t have it any other way.