For Profit

AN: Endgame spoilers. Consider yourself warned. Also, the witch of Lorule is called Mapes (probably short for Maple) by the Fortune Teller…yes, that Maple (of aLttP).

That morning, she'd told him they would be going on a walk. With Hilda as princess, there were few requests, just demands and even if it was not shaped like a demand, it indeed was one. This she had demanded with that familiar and subtly angry glint in her red eyes, a warning that this walk in newly restore gardens of Lorule Castle would be anything but pleasant, enjoyable, or fun.

This was why he found himself hiding in the servants' passage, trembling in the darkness as time passed from bright and beautiful morning to lunch and then, afternoon. Ravio sighed, glancing at the little bird fluttering above his shoulder, "If Link could see this, he'd say I'm still the biggest coward in all of Lorule and Hyrule…"

Sheerow chirped in agreement, bouncing in joy at his companion's distress. To which Ravio could only scowl, "Yeah sure, you're so encouraging. But, you have to admit, old bud, when Hilda's angry she's more frightening than Yuga on a bad hair day!"

The bird paused in its dance then, giving him a look, it pointed its beak towards…Hilda. Hilda who had one arm folded with a hand on her waist while the other tightly grasped her staff. Topping this frightening sight was her glare, red-eyed and yes, definitely more frightening than Yuga on a bad hair day.

He was glad he'd brought his brown pants. "Ummm…," he started, quickly bowing, "I didn't know what time it was, honest!"

"You."

He grumbled. It really hadn't been a good idea to hide here. Of course she'd know this place, what had he been thinking? "Forgive my inadequacies and cowardice, Your—"

She slapped him. Crashing his face against the brick wall, the last words he heard before he passed out was 'I'm not as hideous as Yuga!' or something along those lines. Really, why couldn't his reasoning serve him in the times he needed it most?

The next thing Ravio knew he was lying in a soft bed, probably in the healing ward of the castle if the streaming sunlight and large, stained glass windows were any indication. A bandage was wrapped around his head, and the smell of strong herbs filled the ward, making him wrinkle his nose. The woman, Maple, had been hired as the new herbalist and healer, although he wasn't sure a witch was qualified for those particular jobs.

"It seems your loyal vassal has woken up, miss princess," the witch said in her crackling voice then gave an eerie laugh. "If you would excuse me, my pot needs tending. That nice stew won't make itself. Well, perhaps it would if a put a spell on the spoon, but even so I must watch it or it will get overdone. Heh hee hee."

He waited for her slow footsteps to fade and the door to click before he spoke, "Whatever made you think hiring her was a good idea? She's up to no good, Hilda! There has to be some sinister plot she's scheming with those herbs and pots of hers."

The princess - who, he noticed, sat beside his bed on a wooden stool - sighed. She looked weary and tired with dark circles under her eyes and her head resting in one hand. "If every wizard and witch is another Yuga in disguise, we'd never be able to trust any line with the protection of the Triforce. And…"

A moment of silenced passed. He raised his eyebrows in concern. "And?"

"You need to trust my judgment," Hilda said. She did not know how hard that could be, still, especially after all Lorule had been through.

"Maybe if you stopped slapping me silly and got more sleep, Your Highness," he frowned, setting up. "I sincerely apologize for calling you scary. Though, you can be, I mean, no offense, but…"

She glared. "Alright," he said, "Yes, shut up, Ravio."

"Now," she smiled, folding her arms. "We still have something we must talk about today."

"Is it that you need a break? You've been working nonstop, it's great and all but it wouldn't do if the Princess of Lorule keeled over from staying up till four managing the affairs of the kingdom. Not saying those affairs aren't important, but it's not like…"

"Where are the rods, Ravio?"

"Ummm…"

"The sacred treasures of the realm?!" she said, "What did you do with the rods of Fire, Ice, Air, and Earth? They are not in the treasury, what did you do with them?"

Butterflies filled his stomach. If he were sitting up, he might have scratched the back of his head. Instead he just gulped. "I took them when fleeing this world for Hyrule, Your Highness…"

"I knew that," the princess replied, "but why did you not return them Ravio? Certainly he did not need them the whole time he was saving our worlds…"

"Well…," he felt blood rush to his ears and cheeks as he thought of the bag of Rupees in his house setting on his nightstand below the mysterious mask he had taken from Link as a parting 'gift'. "Errr…when I…was…in Hyrule, I disguised myself as a merchant. You know, because I didn't want Link realizing that his counterpart was such a big, fat coward. It's not like he needed such discouragement."

She nodded, folding her hands on her lap. When she did that, she reminded him of Princess Zelda, but he knew that the eerie, tranquil patience she wore now was merely a façade for the impatient anger brewing underneath.

"To keep the disguise up, you could say I had to well…rent him things, at a price. If he got knocked out in battle, Sheerow would go and take them back!" He smiled, thinking of the Rupees he had gained from the enterprise. "It really was a great plan! But…"

Hilda tilted her head.

He looked always from her stinging gaze. "After a few weeks of doing this, Link might have suggested buying them from me at an increased rate, a deal I couldn't refuse! You see, it's not like I could've said no, not with all those Rupees and…well…"

She was now glaring, "You sold the treasures of Lorule!"

"Not all of them, Your Highness! I still have the Magic Cape and Canes of Somaria and Byrna. Even the Medallions are in my bag!" he said, "And, after all, it was to save Lorule from a terrible fate! Surely a few rods aren't worth the price of…"

"You didn't even consider letting him borrow them!"

"Well…"

"You did it for profit!"

"What?!" Then he looked at his hands in shame, his cheeks burning once more. "Perhaps…a little."

"Ravio…"

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"How much did you make?" Her eyes sparkled.

Ravio blinked. He hadn't expected that, but perhaps, yes, that made sense. The poor state of Lorule had left the royal coffers empty, and even now, after the renewal of their land, the kingdom was still in shambles. While the new Triforce was a great and powerful object, it could not completely heal the land overnight nor make it prosper without much work on behalf of Lorule's people and its princess. They had learned that the hard way after making a wish on it and then realizing that, while their wish would come true, it would still takes decades (if not centuries) before Lorule would completely recovered.

"Eight thousand or so…now, would you forgive your loyal servant's misdeed?"

"Only if you agree to give it to me…" she said, "For the sake of the kingdom, of course."

"Like I would ever think of calling Your Highness greedy!" That bought him the glare, though, only for a mere moment. "Then it's one, sparkling bright deal! Ow…maybe yelling wasn't such a good idea…"

She stood, smiling, "You should rest, Ravio."

"Your Highness," he returned her infectious grin with a cheeky one of his own, "that, I think, goes double for you."

~The End~