fleets: OA has reached the point where I need 100% focus for every chapter, every page, every paragraph, every sentence, because it's where everything gets complicated, so I am giving you guys a kind of double-update present (1 for OA, 1 for this).

I am actually pretty excited about this story now. I have a plot I like for it, like really, really like for it. Whether or not I pull it off is a completely different deal altogether, but I hope I do.


Chapter 3: Free Prisoner

Vaati gave Zelda a smug little smile, enjoying watching the princess squirm as she tried to come up with a response. This infuriated the princess more, and she wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of that grin, but she figured the sorcerer would stop being as civil to her: Vaati was an infamous wind mage for a reason. Zelda's hands rolled into fists. She wasn't going to be left here like some decorative piece, but she also wasn't going to beg the bastard to arrange a wedding. Farore damn it all she definitely wasn't going to be doing that.

Zelda mentally sighed to herself. Vaati had been right in that he brought out the worst in her, especially in matters regarding lady-like conduct. He certainly didn't deserve a lady and to the fiery depths of Death Mountain to it all if she was going to be one for him. Still, she figured she shouldn't get used to this if she was ever planning on going back to being the honorable princess of Hyrule.

"Then why," she asked slowly, "did you promise you'll return for the wedding?"

"Oh did I say that? I don't remember that at all. You women have such specific memories for the most trivial things," Vaati drawled as he walked back and draped himself over the couch.

Zelda's eyes narrowed slightly. Misogynistic pig.

Vaati continued, tapping his chin with a slender finger thoughtfully. "If I did say that, I imagine I said that to get a reaction out of you. It is a dramatic phrase, isn't it? I imagine it was extremely entertaining. Maybe your cheeks blushed up like a cherry, kind of like what it's doing now, actually. Except instead of that ugly scowl you have now I bet you had a bit of fear in your eyes. Fearful with a blush, that's exactly how I like you princess," Vaati chuckled to himself with a savage smirk.

Zelda's voice turned colder with each word. She wasn't exactly an angry type of person, usually, and not many people could really push her to fury. Vaati probably managed to make it on to her very selective and special list of 'people who can make her extremely angry' in an unusually short period of time. "What do you even gain from locking me up here? You might as well have killed me and been done with it, and no one would know the difference."

Vaati whistled, peering at her from under his bangs. "Wooow, princess you have much darker ideas than I do. Kill you? Well I guess I learned something today about how you royals treat guests. Remind me to fix that when Hyrule is completely under my rule: despite popular belief I actually don't enjoy having to clean up a smelly pile of dead bodies."

"You know that's not the point of my question!"

The sorcerer leaned forward and gave her a long stare. "Are you really that dense that I have to spell out for you why claiming you as my wife will benefit me, as well as you, in the long run?"

Zelda crossed her arms over her chest and looked back at him defiantly. She was too upset to be unassertive at the moment. "I understand," she replied venomously, "that your intention was to demonstrate a power play by holding me captive. What I don't understand is why you insist on calling it a marriage when I'm no different than an ordinary captive."

Vaati shrugged. "Heh, well I figured you'd like the preferential treatment since you're a princess and all, your highness," Vaati replied, sarcasm just laced into every word.

"This is your idea of preferential treatment?!"

At this, Vaati stood up abruptly from the couch and strolled over to her in three, heavy steps. Zelda, who had previously been pointing at him accusatorially faltered for a moment when the sorcerer approached her with a menacing intention. She tried to gather up her courage again to stare the sorcerer down, but the way he looked at her now made her afraid that she had taken it too far. She didn't really know what he was capable of if she actually made him snap, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to deal with it yet.

Before she knew it, Vaati had backed her up against the wall, pressing his hands on both sides of her head and effectively pinning her in place. The only sound in the room for a while was the slow ticking of the grandfather clock and their level breathing. The way his expression was cold and severe clearly let her know that she had pushed her luck too far…

Finally, after an uncomfortable and deadly silence, he leaned forward right next to her ear and gave a whisper that sent the hairs along her neck crawling. "I've done a lot for you and I don't appreciate you talking back to me like this," he backed up so that he could gaze into her eyes with that frightening red glare, "do not do that again."

It was completely different from his earlier, somewhat lazy and careless demeanor. It had come out of nowhere, and no one could have predicted his personality switch. This new personality was perhaps the real one that was concealed behind the less threatening one. Zelda held her breath, and although she was ready to endure whatever wrath he may inflict on her she couldn't deny that she was afraid. She didn't know Vaati well enough to know just what he was capable of, and if he really was the insane, power hungry evildoer that the stories painted him out to be, then she doubted she would ever be able to predict his limits.

At the same time, she knew Vaati was getting a kick out of seeing her afraid, and that made her incredibly upset.

The Sorcerer of Winds pulled back, seemingly satisfied that he'd seen the hint of fear in Zelda's face, and then strolled back towards the Armos statues who were standing guard by the entrance of the room. He ran a hand over the stone heads and cocked his head towards the princess with an air of superiority. "I believe there's a misunderstanding, princess. Do you realize that these guards are not here to keep you in, but here to keep other things out?" He smirked when Zelda gave him a skeptical frown. "Contrary to what you may believe, you're not a prisoner, princess. It is only reasonable that I protect my own wife from harm, is it not?" He held up a hand when Zelda opened her mouth in protest. "If you still think I'm the bad guy here, feel free to roam the palace. These statues won't hurt you." He snickered as he walked out the room, waving his hand over his shoulder and leaving Zelda standing alone in her room, flabbergasted. "Don't make me say 'I told you so' if you do get hurt wandering the palace, princess."

For some time, Zelda continued to stare after the empty space where Vaati had been. Once she was sure that he was far away, she let herself sit down on the floor and take in everything that had happened. Another eye-bat sentry had reappeared, taking the old one's place and hovering above her head.

What had happened just now, the entire conversation, was not something she had expected at all. First off, Vaati had captured her because he wanted her to be his wife, and yet after two weeks he'd left her alone in her room like a normal prisoner, not once coming by to check up on her. And while it wasn't like she actually wanted him to bother her, the fact that he seemed like he could care less about her really got on her nerves. Like if you were going to go through all the trouble of forcefully marrying someone then you should at least act like you cared!

Second, Vaati had indicated that the Armos statues weren't there to keep her trapped in her room. She hadn't actually tried to see what would happen if she walked out, and she'd always just assumed that the statues would attack her as soon as she took one step out. Assuming that the sorcerer wasn't lying, and ignoring the fact that he probably was lying, the statues wouldn't actually attack her and therefore she was free to walk around the Palace of Winds as she wished. But nooo, that was too good to be true. Vaati would have to be stupid to allow something like that: if she was free to go wherever she wished, she had a chance to maybe find some way off this place and escape. There had to be a catch. She couldn't actually walk out of her room like nothing was wrong.

Could she?

Zelda stared at the pair of Armos Statues by the entrance of her room wonderingly. Her features lit up as she realized she now had a possibility of escape if what Vaati had said had been true. The princess clenched her fists.

Tomorrow, she was going to leave this place.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zelda woke up early the next morning, just when the sun had climbed over the horizon. The air was still cool, and the early morning clouds were still passing through the palace corridors, leaving droplets of moisture on her skin. She quickly dressed herself, finding the least inhibiting wear from the closet. They were all fancy dresses, unfortunately, but she managed to find a lavender one that was loosely fitting instead of puffy dresses or worse, ones with corsets. She took some liberties and tore up the bottom with the edge of a mirror she'd broken, so that she could move her legs more freely. She slipped off her shoes so as to reduce the sound of footsteps, and carefully walked up to the edge of the exit of her room, right by the Armos statues.

She shot a small glance at the bat sentry that still followed her every move. She knew that Vaati could see what she was up to if he really wanted to and there was nothing she could do about it, but she hoped that since it was early in the morning enough he'd have less incentive to wake up just to watch her. The sentry might alert him anyway, but it didn't hurt to try.

Zelda took a small step just past the two statues standing guard, and she watched them carefully, wondering if they'd stir. Neither of them moved an inch. The princess let out a small sigh of relief, only just realizing she'd been holding her breath nervously when she'd taken that first step. Less fearful now, but still expecting Vaati's promise that the statues wouldn't attack her to be a distasteful joke, she took another step past the statues. Still nothing.

So Vaati's claim that the statues weren't there to keep me in was true? Zelda pondered. But then what are they there for?

A small sliver of sunlight hit her cheek, and she looked up sharply towards the sun that had crept through the tall arching pillars. Time was passing quickly, and she had to move quickly before he decided to pay a visit.

Oh how she wished she knew how to warp long distances! She'd seen Vaati do it before, with his wind magic and all, but that was completely different than the Light Magic she was familiar with. Magic was rare among Hylians, and even though she could cast some powerful spells she was nowhere near as capable as the Sorcerer of Winds. Regarding warping, the most she could do was to warp short distances as an evasive maneuver. If she'd been able to warp the way Vaati could, she could have escaped away long ago.

No use wishing for things now, though. Zelda quickly surveyed her surroundings, and decided to make a run to the right, which led her away from the central area of the palace. She hoped that maybe, near the ledges, she could find some way down from the clouds.

She was also afraid she'd run into Vaati if she made her way to the heart of the palace. That just wasn't on her top ten places she wanted to be right now. Or ever.

Zelda's confidence grew with every step she made it away from her room. If only she'd figured out she could leave before, she would have explored the palace earlier instead of waiting aimlessly in her room for two weeks.

Goddesses she hated that purple twat. He must have found it so hilarious that she'd been sitting in her room obediently all this time, even though she could have strolled out any time.

She made it to one of the balconies overlooking the clouds, and she peered over the edge of the elaborate stone railings. The sun cast its orange rays through the clouds, the light scattering in a beautiful glimmer on the pillars and arches poking through the sky, giving the palace a golden glow. In one of the distant areas of the palace she could make out some kind of garden with ivies and flowering vines. She had to admit this place was… amazing. She would have actually appreciated it if she hadn't been forcefully brought here by a crazy, probably murderous, asshole.

A soft clatter of bones caught Zelda's attention, and she froze, clenching the edge of the railings tightly. She slowly turned around, and noticed a skull floating next to her, a few feet away. It was a Bubble.

"Um…" the princess backed away slowly. Some more Bubbles had gathered around, as well as the full skeleton soldier Stalfoses. Zelda became nervous at the sudden group of monsters who had gathered around.

"GrrAARoaororrrarro!"

"Aaah!"

Zelda jumped back as the Bubble closest to her burst into blue flames without warning, flying towards her with a terrifying wail. The other skulls also burst into flames, either a hot red or icy blue, and began to chase her down with haunting howls. Screaming, Zelda ran back to the palace with the monsters close on her heels. Something struck the back of her left leg, and she cried out in pain as her legs buckled under her and she fell across the marble floor. Something else struck her back before it clattered away: a Stalfos had thrown a heavy bone at her. Zelda winced, trying to ignore her leg that was beginning to bruise, and looked behind her shoulder. Another Bubble was closing in on her, its teeth chattering as it glowed a bright blue from its fire.

Zelda gritted her teeth and she picked herself up, grabbing one of the bones that had hit her off the floor. I am so done with this.

"Yaaah!"

Crash!

Zelda swung the bone as hard as she could towards the Bubble that had charged at her. It connected cleanly with its jaw, and there was a loud crack as it was sent flying into the group of monsters chasing her.

While the monsters were slowed down, she ran back to the last place she thought she'd go; back to her room.

Just as she ran past the Armos statues, they sprang to life, red orbs glowing from within their stone helmets. The ground shook and rumbled as they activated, and right when the first of the skeletal monsters reached the entrance of Zelda's room, a scorching line of burning crimson shot through their ranks. Several of them dropped lifelessly onto the floor after the lasers hit them.

Zelda peeked over one of the statue's shoulders, and saw that the group of monsters, who had moments before been chasing after her, had become hesitant. They were eyeing the Armos statues fearfully, and they huddled together, wondering who among them was brave enough to make a break past them. Eventually, they decided it wasn't worth it and sullenly went back to where they had come from.

The princess allowed her breathing to slow, but not before her breath hitched from seeing a familiar, unwelcome figure staring at her from near the ceiling a little ways away. Her face contorted into a frustrated snarl, and she turned her heel swiftly, her tattered dress swirling behind her with an angry snap. Vaati was lounging against one of the curved supports of the ceiling, dangling his feet lazily over the edge and watching her with an amused sneer. His toothy smile sent her a clear message, "I told you so."

He'd been watching the whole thing, no doubt.

And it upset Zelda even more that he had done nothing except watch and laugh at her failure from a distance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaati strolled through his palace with a cheerful gait. These past few weeks he'd encountered so many frustrations that the eventful, entertaining morning was a pleasant change of pace. He'd been mildly surprised when the princess had sought his attention yesterday in the most violent manner (poor sentry), but at the same time he'd expected her to break soon after he'd left her alone for so long. He'd suspected the latest princess of Hyrule was a feisty one the moment he'd escaped his prison; the instant he'd caught her in his claws she'd snapped her head around, her fiery red-blond hair whipping around her, and she'd given him one of the fiercest looks anyone had ever dared to give him. It was a look that made sure she'd etched every feature of her captor to memory, so that one day she could bring justice to the one who had dared kidnap her.

The fact that she had managed to give him such a terrible glare while he was in his ultimate demon eye form had impressed him as well.

To be perfectly honest, before she'd given him that look he'd been planning on removing her from the picture completely by turning her into a statue, or tossing her off a cliff. He'd even given cliff-tossing a serious thought, since simply cursing her would have the risk of someone managing to break the curse. Throwing her off a cliff to certain death was much better to insure she didn't come back within the next decade to become a nuisance. He'd had a lot of time (a stupid long amount of time) thinking about what he'd do with the next Zelda incarnation he encountered while he'd been stuck in that blasted Four Sword; cliff throwing had been one of his top solutions.

But then she'd given him that look. It piqued his curiosity. This girl, even though she'd been in a completely disadvantageous position, thought she still had the power to threaten him.

He wanted to know more. What would it take for her to finally break down and become someone plain and boring, someone who didn't have that ferocious spark that allowed her to fight back? How terrible would he have to be to completely tame that defiant spirit and have her obey his every word?

And so he decided he'd marry her. It didn't mean he was actually going to have a respectful marriage-like relationship, oh Din no. He didn't have the time nor the patience for that sort of thing. It was more of a… status thing. He'd have Hyrule literally when he'd crushed all opposition in the region, and he'd have Hyrule symbolically when he'd bound its princess with a damning ring on her finger. It was such a fantastic idea he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it sooner.

When he'd paid her a visit yesterday, he was sure he was going to be entertained in the next few days to come. He couldn't praise himself enough for his brilliant idea to let her know she was free to wander the palace as she wished. She didn't fail to amuse him the very next day in her attempt to escape.

As soon as his sentry had alerted him to unusual behavior from Zelda this morning, he'd quietly teleported just outside her room, out of sight, to see what was going on. He hadn't really expected her to wander off so soon; he'd expected a sheltered princess to maybe deliberate her situation for a few days before walking off to something potentially dangerous. She'd proved him wrong, and with determination (but not recklessness), she'd made a swift exit out of her room.

He could have helped her when she'd been attacked, sure, but it was much more satisfying to watch her struggle. The monsters that resided around the palace, although they did answer to him, would not be friendly to the princess of Hyrule. He knew they would attack her on sight, so he'd placed the Armos statues by her room so they wouldn't be able to get to her. Without them, or him, to help, Zelda would have to fight against the horde of the palace residents if she wanted to get anywhere.

And that was exactly what had happened.

This morning was probably the best mornings he'd had in a long time. The princess would have to acknowledge that he wasn't technically keeping her prisoner and that he was (and this was the best part) actually keeping her from harm, but she was effectively still a prisoner because she couldn't leave her room without getting attacked by monsters. The scenario was just so perfect.

"Lord Vaati. The moblin chief has rejected your orders to cease activities in West Hyrule field." A Stalfos caught up to him in the hall to give him the news.

Vaati's smile momentarily dropped as he rolled his eyes tiredly and waved the skeleton away. His past few weeks had been filled with nothing but aggravating political nonsense, along with Link running around and causing trouble everywhere. He deserved a break.

For now, he was going to enjoy remembering the way the great princess of Hyrule had helplessly scurried back to her prison, with the knowledge that her very captor and prison warden was the one who was keeping her 'safe.'


fleets: I've seen a few variations of Vaati in what few VaaZel fics are out there. I've seen the horrendously evil version to the sappy emotional mess who tugs at Zel's heartstrings. I admit I can write neither of those extremes because they require serious guts, balls, and ovaries to write them (of which I am lacking... wait).
I totally respect the people who can pull it off, because whenever I try I just cringe looking at the words on my word processor from the pure garbage I managed to write (I can't do it. Can't). So I know in game canon there's some reason to believe Vaati can be that godawful evil (I mean he's like the only villain who can actually succeed in killing Zelda), but because I can't write him that extremely evil without puking all over my computer I hope I can still maintain the canon illusion and write a believable Vaati.

Also, Zelda. I like the idea of a fiesty, hot-headed strawberry blond/red Zelda who won't take anyone's poop and if I squint hard enough Four Sword Zelda's hair starts looking reddish. So yeah. I'm sticking with that. Also partly inspired by Tetra's huge attitude and she's Zelda too so...
Yeah whatever my logic makes sense let's fly with this alright

Guest: Kisses are welcome, though I warn you I'm kind of a sloppy kisser (I am not sorry)

Mystique Luna Tique: Yup! It's a nice break for me, too. Now that I finally have a solid plot I actually like I'm pretty excited about this one.

DarkSakura2256: I actually really hate romances too, but now that I've given this more thought than "oh hey, let's randomly write a VaaZel!" I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. :)

Guest...2?: I am just going to call you Guest 2. Because there are multiples of you. And each and every one of you are awesome because Guest 2 you just gave me my most favorite snacks ever: COOKIES! Anyhoo, thank you for liking it so far I'm glad some of you enjoy it :D

Guest3(?): Vaati is terrible is all I can say. But that's why I like him so much (don't worry Zelda will have opportunities to knock him down from his pedestal eventually).

Reily96: At first I was so terribly lost. I rarely (i.e. never) start a story without a complete outline, and that's basically what happened here. And it was a genre I have no practice in to top it off D:

But now I've got a story idea, and actual plot besides the 'let's hook these two up yah.' I blame you for getting me into this XD