It's almost as if she had rehearsed the spit-take beforehand on purpose.
"How unladylike!" Reia teased, shooting a playful glare towards Zelda's direction.
Zelda patted at her chin with her table napkin for any remaining spit lingering on her face, "well, pardon me for reacting in a perfectly normal response to your ridiculous assumption!" she countered back.
Reia nonchalantly responded with a mouthful of food, "look, it's obvious," she hurriedly swallowed her food before continuing, "you gave him permission to call you by your first name a couple of days ago." Zelda shot her a baffled look, impatiently urging her to make her point.
While Zelda sustained giving her a confused look, Reia threw her hands up and sighed dramatically. "What I'm trying to say is, you barely know the guy! I mean... how many times have you actually spoken to him?"
"Twice when he was in wolf form, and the third time was the period when we returned to the castle after Midna's departure."
Reia interrupted, "let me stop you there. Firstly, he couldn't have possibly spoken to you if he was a wolf... And secondly, three times? We've been close friends for as long as I can remember, trust me when I say this. You are the most reserved person I know." She casually stretched her arms over her head, releasing a yawn before glancing back at Zelda, "is this all making sense to you?"
Huffing, Zelda crossed her arms. "Look, it was an act of being polite. He saved us all, can't you see that? The least I could do is let him call me by my first name." Reia flashed her an all too knowing smirk, "oh, I see... I can see that the princess is crushing hard on thi-"
The blush instantaneously raced to her cheeks as Zelda hastily rose to her feet. Before exiting the room completely, Zelda turned around to face Reia one last time, "remember, I wasn't here."
Reia smirked, giving her a thumbs up before the princess shut the door.
"What am I going to do with her..." Zelda whispered, beginning to roam the great halls of the castle. She chuckled softly afterwards, all while shaking her head.
Reia is a close, treasured friend of Zelda's. Perhaps, the only friend she could trust in this vast castle. Reia was a childhood friend of the royal family from years ago, Zelda's parents were friends with Reia's parents. After Zelda's parents had tragically died while both girls were very young, Reia enrolled in a knight program later on that allowed her to stay in the castle. Though she couldn't hang out with Zelda freely, they were able to sneak around here and there for a couple of minutes out of their busy lives. They were each other's security blankets.
Zelda hummed while reminiscing through her many memories, a faint smile lingering at the corner of her lips. While strolling through the hall, Zelda approached a large painted family portrait from many years ago.
'You are the most reserved person I know.'
Zelda frowned upon suddenly remembering Reia's words. Glancing up at the portrait, Zelda sighed. She wasn't always reserved. It was only until the passing of her parents is when Zelda closed herself off to so many people. But before that, she was always known as the loud, playful, positively glowing child. Growing up in the castle as a young girl wasn't easy though. She wasn't able to experience a regular childhood like the rest of the children her age.
So... she had to make the most of it by, of course, playing pranks on the guards. She was absolutely known for it. She would even go as far as pranking her own mother and father during critical meetings that were held in the castle. Thankfully, her parents never punished her for her irrational behavior. In fact, it wasn't irrational at all. She was a child, and proudly taking on that vital role. Deep down inside, Zelda knew her parents were aware of the unfortunate situation their daughter was in. Quite the predicament, thus, leading her to believe that's why she has gotten away with so many things she has done in the past.
Slowly, Zelda began walking passed the great stairs. Not able to let go of Reia's words, Zelda sighed. Despite wanting to counter back, she knew how true those words were. Zelda was more reserved. After her parents passing, Zelda taught herself how to bottle up her feelings. Though she confided in Reia many times, it was still scarce to vent with her friend for more then ten minutes a day. Zelda was not allowed to leave the castle for fresh air during that harsh period in her life. All of her years of living, Zelda was trapped. Not only physically, but internally. Not being able to express her feelings outwardly enough had caused Zelda to keep her emotions locked up inside.
It made sense to why many of the Hylians who resided in Castle Town had viewed her as a cold and heartless ruler. As much as she wanted to deny those false rumors, what good would it do? It wasn't beneficial. It was a waste of her time, she had many other things on her plate to worry about all while growing up with new responsibilities as Hyrule's ruler. It was something she had to deal with.
Zelda pursed her lips when a familiar thought resurfaced, 'I didn't choose this life.' Yes, she felt extremely weak spitting out such horrid words, but at times, the responsibilities became overwhelming. On top of that, she was always lonely. Not by choice, of course. The workload kept the young lady up in the AM hours all by herself, struggling to get through papers in a hastily manner in order to catch up on sleep.
Zelda finally arrived to the dining hall, entering an empty room. Dinner was going to be served in a couple of hours, but for an unknown reason, Zelda found herself still taking a seat.
She quietly raised her palm to her chest, covering her heart.
It was aching.
'I guess all of those gossipmongers were right after all.'
Incoherent mumbling was heard outside of the empty dining hall, perhaps it was the two guards on duty she thought.
"...but I fee...for t..princess." His voice was barely inaudible, but it was enough to alert Zelda that people were speaking about her. She rose to her feet and quietly apologized to herself for what she was about to do. Tiptoeing to the exit of the room, Zelda hid behind the large door.
"I feel bad for her too, but at the same time, I don't." One guard spat. Zelda raised her eyebrow in suspicion before leaning closer for better hearing.
The second knight froze up before commencing, "h-hey! You can't blame her for being so cold all the time, she always seems so depressed. Maybe, it's a personal thi-" the other guard interrupted his fellow comrade rather hastily, "The least she could do is smile at us. We bust our asses off all day and night guarding this do..o..r..." The guard cleared his throat in efforts of reestablishing himself by how childish he was sounding, "anyway, my point is a smile wouldn't hurt."
"I guess it wouldn't... but still! She seems so down. Remember when she was a child?" he questioned.
The other guard was heard chuckling, "oh boy. She would always try to play with us while we were on duty."
"Exactly. She was so different, so filled with energy. Growing up, she barely even looks at us anymore. I can't help but wonder... something like a private manner must be going on. I just feel... bad."
His friend scoffed at his last statement.
The two guards continued silently bickering at each other when Zelda decided enough was enough. She pressed on the door handle, the large door leaving an unattractive creaking sound as a result. She saw both guards tense up from behind, rolling her eyes. Once she was in front of them, both men politely bowed, Zelda nodding her head in return before unawarely stomping up to her room.
One guard was looking strain as ever, "...idiot! How long was she in there?"
"Dammit... no idea. She must have entered the dining hall from the back entrance." Silence filled the air before he continued, "...do you think.. she heard us?" he gulped.
His friend sighed, "I sure hope not, for our sakes."
Little did they know, another figure was present during this silent showdown. His back was leaned against the wall and his arms were crossed. Sighing, he silently made his way out of the room without being noticed.
Sunset was approaching, signaling that dinner would be ready any minute now. Zelda decided to prepare herself by changing into an elegant, violent gown. She sat herself down in front of her large mirror and reached for her ears. She gently took both hoops out and replaced them with simpler white earrings. Next, she ran her fingers through her hair and started to detach her ribbons. She then followed with unbraiding her hair in the back, letting her full head of hair fall over her shoulders. There. Now, she felt more comfortable while still managing to carry an appropriate look for dinner.
Walking down the stairs with some of her staff, Zelda was secretly overjoyed that she would be having dinner with Link. Maybe, this was her chance to get to know the young man better and get acquainted with him. She might even bring up the question of his stay. Her shoulders fell as she sighed, she hoped he had come up with a decision by now. It has been a couple of days since their last encounter. Surely, he will give her an appropriate answer tonight.
She entered the dining hall and quickly found herself searching for him. Unfortunately, all her eyes picked up on were stuck-up humans. She rubbed at her temples soothingly before resuming her search once again on foot.
After thirty minutes of looking like a lost puppy, the princess had given up. Many eyes were on her after all, she didn't want to make a fool of herself. Sitting down next to prestigious know-it-alls, Zelda felt defeated. It wasn't until a young man who looked close to her age sat adjacent from the princess and sparked up a conversation. Zelda jumped from the sudden voice and turned her attention to him. He introduced himself as a man in a high rank, of course. It's obvious he was trying get at Zelda, the first thing he mentioned was his wealth. Rolling her eyes subtly, Zelda blocked him out while he had no idea and continued telling her his life story. She continued searching for Link by scoping out the room for what felt like the millionth time.
Where was he?
Out of the blue, the man waved his hand in a up and down manner to catch Zelda's full attention.
Zelda blinked a couple of times before she glanced at him, "huh?"
The young man carried a baffled look, "were you even listening to anything I was saying?"
Zelda who was now flustered, shook her head rapidly, "m-my apologies!" She flashed a small smile in his direction, "please, continue." The man appeared to be confused, but nonetheless, resumed talking about himself. Silently groaning, Zelda remained intact for her search.
Finally for what seemed like hours, she had spotted Link arriving on such late notice. He entered the room with another man who looked slightly older. Zelda didn't notice she was smiling like an idiot until her jaw started aching. She rubbed at her chin slightly.
"Why are you smiling? Was it something I said?" the bothersome man was still pestering her.
Zelda acted as if she didn't hear him, hoping he would leave her alone once and for all. Still, she didn't let him get in the way of pestering her. Link had finally made it to the table and politely bowed to the man that escorted him. He took a seat diagonal from Zelda across the table and flashed her a small smile. Zelda couldn't help but return his smile, maybe even a bigger one than his.
"Good evening, princess." He greeted her with such proper etiquette.
"Good evening indeed, Link."
For some unspoken reason, Zelda was able to eat regularly again. It seems as if Link's absence made her feel uneasy, but why? Reia spoke the truth, Zelda barely knew this guy! It definitely had something to do with his charming looks. Every time she glanced towards his direction and made eye contact with him, she found herself swiftly looking away. She internally cursed at herself for not being able to carry herself tonight. Normally, Zelda was able to avoid distractions as such, but something about Link chose to think otherwise. Everyone around them were talking in high-spirits, while both Zelda and Link struggled to keep one conversation going. Zelda blamed herself, she always felt so fidgety around him.
"Princess, have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?" There he goes again. What was his name again...? Joe..Jo-Joan. That's right. Prince Joan, claims to be included in royal ties far, far away. Whether he's telling the truth or not, Zelda took no interest in any of his words. He was the kind of person that was only there to gloat and make others feel worthless about themselves.
Link looked as if he was suppressing back a laugh. He looked up in pure curiosity of what the princess would respond with.
Zelda was taken aback by "Prince" Joan's words. She accidentally let out a scoff, thankfully it was barely above a whisper.
"Hm, thank yo-" It was no surprise that Joan would interrupt. "Have I told you the story about the time when I fought a whole mob of monsters? All by myself?" he spoke with false triumph. Now you can definitely see Link holding back a laugh. Zelda quickly peered towards Link's direction at how obvious he was being. Link realized how evident his actions were and cleared his throat numerous times, with his smile not leaving his lips.
Zelda smirked at Link's behavior and instead turned her attention back at Joan's.
"Is that so? Well, you might want to turn your attention to the man sitting next to you." With those words being spoken so bluntly, Link jumped in his seat and stared at Zelda wide-eyed. Zelda continued, "Link has slaughtered many Bokoblin's during his journey as well." Zelda smirked and took this chance to leave before either one of the two men would hold her back, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm quite full. Enjoy your dinner." Zelda casually shot up from her seat. Before she left, Zelda spun around and looked at Link, "I hope to see you tonight in the library room for that talk I've been meaning to have with you." With that, she began heading to the door.
Link was startled by how clever the princess surprisingly was. His eyes were still wide as he watched her leave the room with such authority, like it was nobody's business. He looked over at Joan to capture his reaction. Joan appeared to have the same reaction Link was experiencing.
Just how clever was the princess?
Link chuckled and shook his head.
'This will be interesting,' he thought.
A/N: What do you guys think of me starting a new story that takes place in Skyward Sword? I've always loved the dynamic between ZeLink in that world! Plus, I'm more of a fluff writer :)
reviews
55: Yes :) I'm actually aware that he is the hero of twilight! It was an honest mistake, I was up late at night typing it up :) But thanks for pointing that out, I'll edit the first chapter soon. And to answer your second question, it's actually apart of the story. You'll see it later on with the chapters, but Zelda is quite a troubled soul in this version. She is anxious to get on Link's good side (I can't spoil everything, so I'll just leave it at that), so she offers him this promotion in hopes that he will stay at the castle. Like I said, all apart of the story :)!
Andrew227: Thank you!
ScarlettAlexandra: Will do :D
godtiergrammarian: This is the best thing I've read all night. Thank you so much for the kind words, really. I'm trying my absolute best at keeping Link true to his character, it's sort of hard though :') As for Zelda, she's super hard to work with! She's more on the serious side in TP, so I know I'm failing at portraying her correctly haha. And yes! Another person brought this up too, it was an honest mistake. I was up late at night and accidentally called him the Hero of Time. Hope you understand!
Guests: Thank you all :D