Chapter Text
Estelle was slightly panicking about her first meeting with the northern troll tribe. It was the first time she’d been trusted to go in any sort of official capacity- as the daughter of the Duke she was starting to take on more of his responsibilities now she was of age, and it was thrilling to be allowed to do so, but- also, absolutely terrifying.
Relations between the human Duchy and their troll neighbours was cordial at the moment- but it hadn’t always been. The current era of prosperity and peace had been built on a foundation of war and mistrust between the various peoples of the world, in no small part thanks to her human ancestors. So she was determined that her first official engagement with the northern Troll kingdom would go without a hitch. She had her father’s chief advisor, Gerard, along for the trip too to make sure everything went perfectly.
Except, there was one rather... large problem. Troll hospitality customs dictate that if a guest doesn’t eat all that is served to them, it is a sign of disrespect and that the food was not good- but even the smallest Trollish people were a good foot or so taller than humans, and their portion sizes tended to reflect that... Estelle’s father had assured her that it would be alright if she didn’t finish (and indeed, she didn’t believe it was at all possible for her to eat a ten-course meal all at once) but she wanted to try her best- so when she had heard that there was an eating contest at the summer festival in the castle town, she had slipped out of the castle with her lady-in-waiting in hopes of getting a few tips.
She found herself smiling as she walked through the crowds- the familiar sounds and sights of the festival were so comforting to her and it was tempting to forget her goal and just wander off to look at the dancing, or to try her luck at a game, or to squabble with a food vendor over the prices of sweets.
She got distracted by a man selling beautiful paper lucky charms and nearly didn’t reach the stage where the contest was being held in time at all- it was only thanks to Lucy, her lady-in waiting, who practically dragged her away, that she made it in time to see the final round- only five people were left, three women and two men- and they were all eating steamed pork buns with varying levels of enthusiasm.
The food smelled great, but Estelle’s heart sank when she saw the faces of most of the contestants -three of whom looked practically nauseated as they slogged their way through. One by one, they dropped out- until the only two left were a man and a younger girl- the only two who seemed to be enjoying the whole thing anymore.
Finally, the girl put her food down and shook her head, admitting defeat, and the crowd applauded as a man in a chef’s hat lifted the remaining contestant’s hand in the air and presented him with his prize. The man seemed a little dazed, standing up with some difficulty and a hand on his stomach, but still laughed and jumped down from the stage to join the crowd.
Lucy elbowed her. “You should go ask him for tips.” She pushed her towards the man with a knowing grin, as Estelle squirmed. Lucy knew her too well- the man was exactly her type- tall and broad with kind eyes and an easy smile. He looked to be youngish- mid twenties at the eldest- and had dark skin, long hair in a messy ponytail and tired shadows under his eyes.
He noticed her coming towards him- the townsfolk recognised her and let her through respectfully, and she shyly nodded back, and she sighed. Here goes nothing, she thought.
She made a polite half-bow. “Congratulations on winning the contest.”
“Thanks.” He nodded back- which her advisors would probably say was far too familiar but she liked it, she had precious few friends in her station and wanted to feel close to this man.
“I’m Estelle of Nearvania, the Duke’s daughter.”
“Oh- um-“ he bowed deeper. “I’m Kai Arrefort, from Kingsdown.”
She felt her eyebrows rise. “Kingsdown? What brings you all the way here?”
“I’m walking the sacred circlet.”
“Ah.” She nodded. The sacred circlet was a path linking 40 shrines in the area, and although it was uncommon to draw pilgrims from so far out west, she supposed he must just be particularly religious. “I wish you pleasant travels on your journey, and go with the blessings o the spirits.”
Although he looks as though he doesn’t need the blessings of the spirits at the moment, she thought wryly, trying not to smile at her own inner joke. They often said that people who had good luck must be beloved by the spirits, and that also extended to people who were plainly eating a little too well- although in Kai’s case, she couldn’t tell if the round belly pushing at the front of his tunic had been there before, or if it was because he’d just eaten such a vast quantity of food. She tried not to look at it, but couldn’t help but notice the gentle hand he kept rubbing at the side of it, and the lopsided grin that kept migrating back onto his face as though he were proud of himself as he looked down at his gut.
She swallowed. “Uh, forgive me if I’m being a little- well- “ she sighed and started again. “You see, I have a meeting with the trollish Matriarch coming up, and, you know, it’s rude to leave food but they serve so very much, but I’d hate to give the wrong impression...” she tailed off. “I was wondering if you had any advice.”
“Oh.” He made a face. “Be slightly short of food for 10 years?”
“Sorry- I didn’t mean to be rude-“
He laughed. “No, I’m sorry, I just don’t really have any tips.” He shrugged and patted his stomach. “Didn’t get the chance to eat until I was full that often, so now I don’t know when to stop. Got some giant’s blood in me too and that helps. But mostly I’m just greedy.”
“Ah, I see.” She tried not to seem too disappointed, and he frowned, trying to think.
“I guess make sure to keep drinking water, and chew everything properly. And take it as slow as you can.” He shrugged. “And wear loose clothes?”
She sighed. “It’s ten full courses.”
He whistled. “That’s a lot.”
“I know I won’t be able to finish, but I’d hoped to eat as much as I can so as not to upset them...”
“And you’re so tiny.” He said.
“What if-“ Lucy piped up from beside her, looking devious. “What if you took Kai with you.”
Estelle blushed. “What?”
Her companion shrugged and winked at her. “Take him along instead of me as your other guest. I bet he’d be able to eat it all- and enjoy it, too, which is why they don’t want you to leave food after all. Then at least one person in your party would finish.”
“That... isn’t such a bad idea.” She turned back to Kai. “Would you like to come with me to the banquet?”
He blinked, and then cracked a smile. “Uh, what’s the catch?”
“It might be very boring- but I promise you the trollish cuisine is to die for.”
“When is it?”
“Four days from now.”
He shrugged. “I can’t say no to free food.”
—-
Estelle was actually glad of Kai’s presence far earlier than she’d expected- he seemed relaxed and headed into the troll’s cave and through the carved out tunnels to the banqueting hall as though it were any other event- he was polite, but had a smile that looked genuine, even when he was talking to a troll that could rip him to pieces without breaking a sweat. It was a welcome relief from the dissaproval she could feel radiating from Gerard, her father’s advisor - even though her bringing an unexpected guest was the cause of some of it.
They were seated with the trolls Matriarch, several of her close friends and advisors, and a few other trolls she didn’t recognise - and thanks to them following the usual seating plan alternating men and women, she was sat on the other side of the Matriarch from her advisor, between Gerard and another troll. Gerard promptly turned his back to her and monopolised the matriarch’s conversation - at least that took some of the pressure off. Gerard was good at what he did. Kai was roughly opposite and shot her a reassuring smile as they sat down and the first course was brought out.
Troll food itself was never the problem with the dinner customs, she thought, as the first dish was passed over her shoulder onto her placemat, a delicious smelling starter of thinly sliced smoked meats and various tiny pots of sauces to pair them with- it was just the sheer amount of it. She tried to eat slowly as she cleared her plate and hoped that Kai actually had as big an appetite as he claimed to.
The next course arrived - thankfully, less filling- soup made from the potato like root vegetables that grew down into the caves - and she was only feeling a little full as she put her cutlery down and tried to keep her mind off it and on the conversation she was having with a troll named sigmund who was telling her about cave formations.
Unfortunately, the next course was bigger- little steamed buns filled with meat and sliced vegetables and dressing- and although it was delicious it was filling- and her stomach was starting to hurt.
Her heart sank as Gerard put his cutlery down and announced that he was finished, to a few murmured comments and pointed looks from the rest of the table.
He had said beforehand that he wasn’t going to make a glutton out of himself just for some trolls- but- surely he could make a bit more of an effort for his hosts’ customs-
He didn’t want this to go well, she realised. He didn’t think she should be trusted with things like this, so he wanted it to go badly so he could have someone else sent next time and send her back to doing unimportant things.
She grit her teeth and managed one and a half more courses- a plate of deep fried crispy things she half suspected was some sort of insect but didn’t want to know - and a whole small bird like a partridge or something that proved to be her undoing.
“Its all so delicious, but I’m afraid I simply can’t eat anymore.” She said, as politely as she could, and her conversation partner made some sympathetic noises about how small humans were.
She shot a worried look over to Kai- he seemed to be alright, despite being five plates of food in- he looked relaxed and not like he was in any pain yet- he even seemed to be really enjoying the food- That was a relief.
The next course was brought out- a thick steak and some sort of crunchy leaves- and Kai looked over at her and shook his head after the first bite. “It’s such a shame you have to miss out on this one- this meat is perfect.”
Do we need to worry about you yet? Said the troll next to him- Hildegard? Helgard? Something like that, she thought.
He laughed. “And miss out on all this? Never!”
He seemed to keep up just fine over the seventh and eight courses- he made such a lot of noise as he ate , she noticed- not loudly, but every time he tried something new he shut his eyes and sighed like it was the best thing he’d ever eaten, and he kept up a steady stream of compliments to the chef as he ate.
During the ninth course he sat back a bit, and his breathing got a bit heavier- but by this time the trolls themselves were slowing down too and Estelle breathed a sigh of relief and tried to gesture to Kai that he could stop now - she thought the trolls were happy that at least one of their guests had properly enjoyed the food.
Either he didn’t get it, though, or he wanted to carry on, because although his hand kept migrating back to his stomach and he looked a bit uncomfortable, he didn’t stop eating.
She felt a jolt of - something- go through her when she followed his hand down- it was really obvious where all the food was- his belly was pushing against his shirt and looked several inches larger than it had been- and it hadn’t been small to start with, she thought.
He was still smiling though- his eyelids drooping a little and he seemed a bit dazed- but it didn’t stop him from eating his way through two more courses of dessert before he leaned back with a sigh, arching his back and rubbing his taught stomach as he shook his head at the server with the next course. “I can’t. I’m so full.”
He sank down with an even deeper sigh. “Aaah, that was fantastic. I haven’t eaten like that in ages.”
The matriarch laughed at him- his eyes were sliding shut and he looked absolutely wrecked. “Are you sure? This is the last course.” She popped one of the chocolates she’d just been given into her mouth and he looked torn.
“Oh, I’ll try.” He said, accepting the plate and rubbing the bottom of his stomach with one hand as he chose one of the chocolates with another.
Estelle felt a little bolder and leant over to grab a chocolate from his plate.
“Hey!” He said weakly
“I’m helping!” She said, savouring the rich smooth taste of the dark chocolate. “I didn’t make it to dessert!”
The matriarch laughed and suddenly Estelle was back in her sphere of conversation- she was asked about her father’s health, and then things progressed to more serious matters, like the situation in the neighbouring duchy and the latest trade deals with the merfolk- as the other trolls made small talk and Kai mostly sat back rubbing his stomach with a dreamy smile on his face.
And then the banquet ended. The trolls thanked them for coming, and they were shown back through the tunnels to their horses. The Matriarch- Agata- saw them off personally, shaking Estelle’s hand and remarking on how nice it was that her father had sent his daughter this time- and then they were on their way.
It was rather slow going at first- Kai was a bit more coherent than he was earlier but still very out of breath and cradling his stomach, walking along beside his horse and meaning everyone else (Gerard, Estelle, and their guard) had to slow their horses so as not to leave him behind, much to Gerard’s annoyance.
Even when he did finally mount his horse and they could ride at a faster pace, he looked like he was in no small amount of pain.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m doing great. Just- so much food...” he gasped, but flashed her a grin.
“Thanks for coming. You were a big help.”
Gerard pointedly sniffed and rode his horse in between the two, effectively cutting off any further conversation for the rest of the ride home, but Estelle still invited Kai back to the next meeting in a fortnight’s time, trying not to blush too hard when he accepted.