Chapter 3: Zelda learns about being a queen
Dawn had barely stretched across the sky, but a particular young girl was already awake and hyper. Dressed in white shorts and a pink t-shirt, Zelda grinned, looking over the balcony and seeing everything in view. Suddenly, she ran back into the castle and went to her parents' bedroom.
"Dad, Dad! Come on Dad, we gotta go! Wake up!"
In her haste, she accidently stepped on a sleeping guard. "Oomph!"
"Sorry..." Zelda said, sheepishly. She got to the bedroom door and went on, pouncing on her parents. "Daaad! Daaaaad..."
Impa turned her head slightly, but her eyes were still closed. Zelda continued to chant "Dad Dad Dad Dad," over and over.
"Your daughter...is awake..." Impa said to her husband.
"Before sunrise, she's YOUR daughter," Daphnes retorted, not even opening his eyes.
"Daad! Come on, Dad!" Zelda began tugging on his arm. She lost grip, however, and fell back into a night table, causing a few knick knacks to crash. Ignoring the scratches, Zelda rammed into her father's side, causing him to wake up. "You PROMISED," she pouted.
Daphnes saw his daughter's impatience, and gave in. "Okay okay...I'm up, I'm up..."
"Yeah!" Zelda cheered, running out. Daphnes yawned loudly, and Impa opened her eyes as well. The small family walked to the top tower of the castle and Zelda hugged her mother with love. Impa hugged back and nudged her daughter to follow her father. She looked after both of them with great love and went back inside.
Up on the top of the tower, Daphnes and Zelda were watching the sun come up. By now, it's much lighter outside, and the warm rays of sun touched their faces and warmed them.
Daphnes and Zelda stood side by side, and Daphnes began talking.
"Look, Zelda...everything the green flourish touches...is our kingdom."
"Wow..." Zelda breathed.
"A king's time as ruler...rises and falls like the sun. One day, Zelda...the sun will set on my time here...and will rise with you as the new queen," Daphnes continued.
"And this will all be mine...?" Zelda asked.
"Everything," Daphnes replied.
"Everything the green flourish touches..." Zelda said, looking around at the ground below. Something caught her eye. "What about that sandy place?"
Daphnes' face turned hard. "That's beyond our borders...you must never go there."
"But I thought a queen can do whatever she wants!" Zelda protested.
Daphnes chuckled. "There's more to being queen then getting your way all the time," he countered.
Zelda's jaw dropped. "There's more?"
"Haha, Zelda..." Daphnes laughed. They left the tower and exited the town. Zelda was amazed at the 'green flourish' her father mentioned. It was all grass. So everywhere grass grew would be hers someday.
"Everything you see exists together, in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures-- from the crawling ant to the grazing Lon Lon cows," Daphnes continued his speech, while walking on Hyrule Field.
"But Dad, don't we eat the cows?" Zelda asked, confused.
"Yes, Zelda, but let me explain...when we die, our bodies become the grass. And the cows eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Triforce of Life..." Daphnes finished his speech.
"Good morning, sire!!" Potho called, riding a small horse.
"Good morning, Potho!" Daphnes cheerily called back.
Potho halted his pony in front of the king and the princess. "Checking in with the morning report!"
"Fire away," Daphnes instructed.
"Well..." Potho began, reading off a bunch of papers. "The buzz from town is that the markets are in a bit of a spot..."
"Oh really?" Daphnes asked.
Potho continued to ramble away, but Zelda was uninterested. She began jumping and chasing butterflies instead. Daphnes noticed his daughter playing around. "Hey, what are you doing, Zelda?"
Zelda opened her hands and looked disappointed at the lack of a butterfly. "Tackling."
Daphnes smiled. "Let an old pro show you how it's done," he said, chuckling softly.
"...the bomb flower harvest is absolutely booming, but no one wants to buy bomb flowers. I've told the Gorons to forget it...but they can't..." Potho said, emphasizing 'can't'.
"Potho, would you turn around?" Daphnes called.
"Yes, sire!" Potho said, immediately turning around. "The Zoras are hard up..." he continued talking, without noticing Daphnes wasn't paying attention.
"Stay very hidden in the grass..." Daphnes whispered.
"Zoras never prosper..." Potho said loudly.
"Okay, stay hidden in the grass, right, yeah," Zelda whispered back, eyeing Potho with a mischevious look.
Potho paused, realizing something was amiss. "What's going on?"
"A tackling lesson," Daphnes simply replied.
"Oh very good. Tackling," Potho smiled and turned around again. Suddenly, he realized what WAS going to happen to him. "TACKLING?! Oh no, sire, you can't be serious..." Potho whined. Daphnes only smiled and twirled a finger in a motion that told him to turn around. "This is SO humiliating..."
"Try not to make a sound..." Daphnes whispered again.
"What are you telling him, Daphnes??" Potho asked. He tried looking back, but didn't see anyone. "Daphnes? Zelda?"
Suddenly, Zelda popped up and tackled Potho full to the ground, leaving the small man stunned. Daphnes began laughing.
"That's very good! Ha ha ha ha!"
A soldier suddenly interrupted Potho's dizzy spell. "Potho!"
"Yes?!" Potho reacted immediately.
"Sir! Notes from the under guards!" The guard said.
Daphnes never noticed and was pulling Zelda into another lesson. "This time..."
"Sire!" Potho interrupted. "Sorcerers! In Hyrule!"
Daphnes suddenly looked very serious. He pulled out his sword and rushed forward. "Potho, take Zelda home."
"Aw, Dad, can't I come?" Zelda asked.
"No, Zelda," Daphnes replied quickly, and teleported away.
Zelda sighed unhappily. She began the long walk back to the castle. "I never get to go anywhere."
"Oh, young mistress, one day you will be queen. Then you can chase those slobbery mangy stupid poachers from dawn until dusk!" Potho remarked, mounting his pony and slowly walking beside the princess.
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Hmm...I think I'll cut it here. The next chapter will definately have Zelda singing that oh so spunky song, with her best friend.
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