ANGER MANAGEMENT
Chapter 2: Sneaking Out
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Zelda stared at herself in the mirror, admiring her reflection with satisfaction. She looked… unrecognizable. Though it had taken some work to find appropriate pieces in her wardrobe, she had managed to pull off a reasonable commoner outfit. She wore the only set of cotton petticoats she owned (all of hers were silk), a plain full-length short-sleeved off-white cotton dress—normally the slip under her formal riding gown; a navy blue corset—usually reserved for one of her more elaborate ball gowns, and a pair of simple brown leather boots.
She'd even gone so far as to die her hair. She was well known for both the length and color of it—it would be a dead give-away out in public. With all of the various plant and animal samples she'd collected out on her last field survey, she'd been able to concoct a rudimentary, temporary hair die. Now, instead of light blond, she was a dark brown—almost black. She'd pinned it into a small bun at the base of her skull, allowing a few strands to dangle freely, framing her face between delicate strands. She smiled at her reflection as she fiddled with her hair. Between the outfit and her dark strands, she looked to be a whole different person.
But that felt rather fitting. With what she was about to do, she didn't want to be Zelda, or to even look like Zelda—she wanted to be someone else. This other, darker persona, this simple teenage girl, this was who she wanted to be tonight; not the crown Princess of Hyrule.
Turning from her mirror, she grabbed a simple leather belt she'd left hanging off the back of her chair and buckled it loosely around her waist. She then grabbed a coin purse filled with rupees and tied it to the belt. With a final satisfied glance at the mirror, she grabbed her dark, floor-length wool cloak and made for the spiral staircase.
Sneaking out would be tricky, but if her plotted route worked as she hoped, and so long as she was quiet and cautious, she would be on the outskirts of Castle Town within the hour. As she neared the top of the stairs she lowered herself to her hands and knees, crawling towards the door leading outside so as to avoid the windows. She couldn't afford to have the guards outside in the watch towers notice her late night sojourn to her study, lest they become suspicious. As she reached the door she cracked it open, wriggling through the gap and shutting it behind her.
The air was cool but not cold, and the moon was but a sliver, much to her relief. She remained crouching, slowly making her way along the bridge in the shadow cast by the parapets. As she reached the door to her study she slowly pulled it open only enough for her to crawl through, then darted inside and closed it quickly behind her.
She breathed a quick sigh of relief, standing upright once again as she dusted off her knees. With purposeful strides she crossed the small space to her desk, grabbing a flameless Sheikah lantern and turning it on. Holding it aloft to better light her surroundings, she lifted the corner of the rug and began searching the wooden floorboards carefully for the telltale marker she'd first read about years ago.
There! Three small knots grouped together in a triangular pattern. Pressing her fingers against them, she felt them give, then gripped the indentations and pulled upwards. The trapdoor swung open immediately, gliding far more smoothly on its hinges than she had expected given the loud groaning sound it made. But, she supposed, the Sheikah Guardians and Divine Beasts had functioned flawlessly after thousands of years—it seemed only fitting a trapdoor installed by the ancient Sheikah would also age fairly well.
A small ladder was secured to the walls of the passage, extending downward into darkness. Quickly she lifted the rug and set it against the open trapdoor so that it would fall back into place once she closed the it. With careful steps she turned and lowered herself down the ladder. Grabbing hold of a metal ring on the underside of the panel she pulled, shutting the trap door behind her with a thump.
She grinned as she descended the ladder, finally landing on a stone floor and turning to face the sloping spiral passageway. She'd be out of the castle before the next guard shift, and none would be any the wiser.
Link had a sinking feeling that something was amiss. He didn't know what—or why—but somehow he knew things weren't right, and that his concerns centered on the Princess. He had contemplated speaking with the head of the castle guard, but what would he say? What evidence did he have besides a gut instinct?
She had been distraught all day, despite her good mood earlier in the morning. He knew why—he'd been there to witness her father's harsh rebuke. She had withered under his criticism like a delicate Silent Princess in the Gerudo desert, and her beautiful smile had disappeared, replaced by a pained frown. Part of him had wanted to say something, then, to rise from his knees and defend her, to make her father understand just how hard she was trying despite the lack of results; but he was the KING—and it was not his place.
After, though she probably wished otherwise, when she sent him out to change for prayer he heard her crying beyond the door. He had leaned heavily against it as her sobs echoed in her chamber, his forehead pressed into the wood and his hand hovering just over the handle. Part of him had wanted to go to her, to offer her comfort and assure her of the worth he knew she must be doubting; but she had ordered him out—and it was not his place.
Though he knew prayer probably hadn't helped her mood, their silent walk through the castle garden had seemed to lift her spirits, and briefly he had felt optimistic that the day might turn around for her; but then at dinner she departed early, making a hasty but silent retreat back to her chambers and once again distraught by something. He didn't know what happened during the short time she'd been seated at the long dining table—nothing looked amiss from across the room at least; but he knew something had happened, and it had upset her greatly.
When they arrived at her chamber door, he'd been about to ask her if she wanted to talk about whatever happened when she stiffly dismissed him early for the night and shut the door boor behind her without a backward glance. And so, once more, he had found himself leaning heavily against it as an unnerving silence emanated from her chamber, his forehead pressed into the wood and his hand hovering just over the handle; but she had dismissed him for the night—and it was not his place.
He was getting rather tired of not having a place.
He had returned to his room as ordered, but rather than settle in for the night he found himself pacing the length of his room; and as he paced yet another circuit, he finally came to a decision. Protocol be damned—she wasn't okay and he wasn't going to pretend she was like the rest of the courtiers and councilman and nobles. He couldn't just sit idly by and watch her tear herself to pieces. He reached for his cloak hanging off a chair near the door, forgetting he wore only his undershirt as he departed the room, closing the door behind him softly and heading down the hall.
He arrived at her chambers a little over two hours after he had departed, and though the hours was getting late it was likely she was still up. Glancing down the hall to check for any passing guards and spotting none, he steeled himself, knocking loudly on the door. He wasn't entirely certain what he would say, but he knew he needed to just… see her. He waited—no response. He knocked again, this time calling after her as he did so.
"Princess? It's Link…"
He let his words hang, and they were met only with silence. If she had been asleep, she surely would not have hesitated to throw on a dressing gown and chastise him for interrupting her rest. If she wasn't answering… The sinking feeling in his gut was back, and he raised his hand to knock loudly once more.
"Princess? I'm coming in!"
He waited several seconds on the off chance she was changing (he tried not to picture that too vividly), before slowly opening the door and peering inside. The room was dark, with only the faintest moonlight filtering in through the windows to offer illumination. Yet despite the darkness, he could see a vague lump on the bed. He felt a momentary relief before his eyes narrowed as he struggled to make out the shape, feeling unease grip him. The lump in the bed was far too large to be the Princess. He had spent enough nights camping with her in the wild to know otherwise.
He entered the room silently, shutting the door softly behind him. Something was wrong. He made his way over to the bed, footfalls silent on the massive rug, and as he approached the four poster he realized what it was that was amiss. He'd been right to be suspicious; the Princess wasn't here—it was simply a mass of pillows and clothes stuffed under the sheets. What the hell was going on?
With a rapidly beating heart, he rushed towards the spiral staircase, taking the steps two at a time as quietly as he could, suddenly regretting his choice to leave the Master Sword behind. When he reached the second floor, he noticed nothing out of place or out of the ordinary. Perhaps she was in her study? He moved towards the door, cracking it open and taking a cursory glance out at the bridge. His heard thudded to a halt at what he saw.
The Princess was shrouded in a dark cloak, only her face visible in the dim moonlight as she crouched in the shadows of the parapets near the door to her study. He quickly closed the door until it was open only a sliver, peering out with one eye. He was relieved to know she was unharmed, but what in the world was she doing?
With careful movements, she cracked the door to her study and slipped inside, closing it quickly behind her. Link didn't wait to see if she re-emerged. Whatever she was doing, she clearly wanted it remain a secret, and that set off alarm bells in his head. He slipped out onto the bridge, shutting the door behind him as he snuck his way across to her study door, shrouded in the shadows. Once there, he pressed his ear against the wood, straining to hear any noise beyond. He heard nothing for several seconds, then suddenly he heard a loud groaning sound. Hinges? But there were no other doors in the room, and the windows were up far too high for her to reach…
Deciding to risk exposure, he quietly opened the study door a crack and peered in with one eye. That eye widened quickly with shock. The Princess held aloft a Sheikah lantern, her dark hood fallen back to reveal… black hair? And she was leaning, staring down into a hole in the floor. A trap door! There, in the center of her study, beneath the carpet was a dark passage, a wooden panel on hinges pulled open at an angle to the floor.
There was a trap door in her study?! Since when! When he'd been appointed her personal guard, he'd been given a thorough review of all secret passageway in and out of the castle by the head of the castle guard—standard procedure for those assigned to the safety of a member of the royal family. There had been no records of a secret passage in the Princess' own study! He knew—he reviewed every blueprint the castle guard had! Hadn't he?
The Princess turned her back to him, rearranging the rug before climbing down a ladder on the wall of the passageway's interior, balancing the lantern in one hand. Once she was half-submerged in the darkness, she grabbed a metal ring on the underside of the trap door and yanked, pulling it and the rug back to the floor, sealing the passageway as though it were never there.
Link stared, dumbfounded, into the room. What the hell was going on?
Snapping out of his stupor, Link quickly entered the study and shut the door behind him. Whatever she was doing, he was about to find out. Lifting the rug back, he ran both hands over the floor, searching for some evidence of the passageway door. He vaguely felt what could be the edges of the trapdoor, but it was several more moments before he found what he was looking for. As his fingers grazed over a cluster of knots in the wood, he felt one of give way to the pressure of his fingertips. Pausing, he pushed on it again, then the ones around it, feeling all three give under the pressure of his hands. Sticking a finger on each, he pushed down, pressing his fingers against the wood and pulling up. That did the trick.
The panel swung up and he pulled it open slowly so as to avoid the squeaking of the hinges. He wouldn't take a lantern—it wouldn't do to alert the Princess to his presence before he'd discovered her intentions. Quickly he clambered down the ladder, not wanting to lose her, and pulled the trap door slowly and carefully closed behind him. He landed lightly on a stone floor, extending his arms to feel stone walls on either side. He was in a narrow passage, and judging by the angle of his feet, is sloped downwards.
With slow, silent footsteps he made his way down the passage, following the faint light emanating from the Princess' lantern much farther ahead. Wherever she was headed, he would follow; and whatever she was up to, he would find out.
A/N: There it is, chapter 2! I actually plotted out a whole path that Zelda was going to take but ended cutting it out since it felt kind of dragging and unnecessary; but in short, I imagined there was a spiraling secret passage through the bottom of her tower down to where the tower meets the lockup, then she'd take that crack in the wall you can blow up to the East passage, along the rail, then through another crack in the wall passage you can blow up to that bank along the moat. Then she'd cut across the shallow point in the moat and wander on in to Castle Town. If you're curious.
I'll be posting another chapter with this one. As I was going through things I realized this chapter and the next are, combined, about the length as one of my usual chapters (usually about 3k words), so I decided to post them together; also because thematically they went well together and kind of conclude the plot set-up. So yay you!
AndrewInevitable: Not annoying at all! I love reviews, it always helps to get a diversity of perspectives. I've found sometimes people's thoughts on where things could go or how they interpret a character give me ideas for other stories or help me solve plot problems in ongoing ones. I'm glad you like my writing! Unfortunately the smut chapters will be cut from this work in accordance with FFnet's guidelines. I known in recent years they've cracked down on that quite a bit, so I'm just playing it safe and keeping the good stuff on my AO3 account. But I will mention when/where there are pieces missing. I'm debating writing a milder version for FFnet rather than just cutting it out like I usually do, but I'm not sure. Either way I'll mention where this posting deviates from the full text.
midnaisbae: Lol, your review cracked me up. There won't really be any resolution on that in this story since it's ZeLink focused (unfortunately) though I do plan for some race-relations drama and resolution in my main story Love in a Time of Calamity. For the record though I'm with you, Urbosa FTW. Hands down my favorite champion.
