Chapter 3: Past, Present, Future.
"– "Why did you do that!? You had to stick to the plan!" – she was screaming, she barely raised her voice, but now she was screaming.
- "We won, didn't we? Why does it matter if I stuck to the plan or not?" – he didn't even look at her, too busy with his sword to care about how upset she was at him.
- "That's not important! Stop doing that and look at me, Link!"
He did, and she wished he hadn't.
- "It's you who should stop, Nohansen! Don't you dare to order me, I am your superior! Someone like you who can't even wield a sword properly doesn't have any say in what I do or don't do. Get out of my sight!"
His words opened old wounds, his eyes – hard sapphire stones – said he wasn't going to give her the chance to defend her case. She wasn't needed anymore…
- "As you wish, your Majesty."
She was not going to cry, not in front of him. And if he wanted space, she will give him plenty.
So, she left. With no intentions of coming back."
Her head throbbed at the same pace as her heart. It certainly wasn't the best awaken Zelda had had, but it was better than she had expected it to be, given the circumstances. More so after having such a crude flashback, it wasn't good to remember those things when she was about to go back to Castel Town, but – Zelda admitted ruefully – it may be unavoidable.
Little by little, she relaxed her tense muscles, bit by bit uncurling from her foetal position. It was only when she was completely stretched that she noticed a pair of unusual things: First, she was sleeping on a bed, something she hadn't done since she crossed the boundary to Hyrule; and second, the bed was a bit too small for her.
Then it dawned on her: this was Rusl's home. He had let her sleep on his son's bed because, by the time they arrived, she was more asleep than awake.
Now she felt awful, she hadn't even greeted his wife properly.
And she was still on her traveling clothes to make things worse, she hoped they didn't mind her lack of courtesy. It had been a tiresome night after all.
Before getting out of the small room, Zelda noticed a small cradle near the door. Did they have a baby? She must have been exhausted, she usually was more observant than that. She had to be careful, overviewing details could be fatal in her situation.
Interesting enough, that was not the case. She realized once she opened the door and entered the small living room-dining room.
Sitting by the wooden table was a blonde and heavily pregnant woman. She was looking at a thick book while explaining something in a soft and barely audible voice to her equally blonde son. Or at least she thought so, because they looked too much alike to be strangers.
The boy was the first one to notice her, whatever they were studying seemed to be a little bit boring to his young mind.
- "You're awake! That's great!" – he made as if he was going to run to greet her, but changed his mind at the last moment and looked at his mother nervously.
The woman smiled softly at her and Zelda felt a knot in her chest loose. She hadn't even noticed how tense she was before.
- "You look better now; did you sleep well?" – She got up and slowly walked to where Zelda was.
- "Yes, thank you so much, Mrs…"
- "Uli, just Uli. Don't worry about formalities little Zelda." – That stunned her, Uli noticed and quickly said – "Rusl told us a little about you, as you seemed too tired to make conversation."
- "I apologize."
- "Don't, you helped us a lot."
She took her hand in her own and squeezed. The warm feeling that spread inside of Zelda felt familiar in a strange way. Like something from another life, when things were simple and her mother…
- "Mrs… I mean, Uli. Have I met you before?"
The question sounded silly to her, but it made the woman smile.
- "Yes, we have met before. It was before I married my Rusl, back when I still lived in Kakariko."
Oh! That explained a lot. It was at that moment that Zelda realized, at last, why the warm Uli exhibit felt so solid: She was transferring a little bit of mana to Zelda through her hands, it was an old Healer art, magic users used this technic to help others to recover their energy. Now everything Rusl had done for her made sense. His wife was a magic user, just like her. No wonder he understood how dangerous it was for her to be suspected.
But, if she had met her when she lived in Kakariko… why couldn't she remember?
Looking how confused she was, Uli answered her unspoken question.
- "It's all right if you don't remember, you were barely three at that time. After I came to Ordon, your mother and I keep contact through correspondence. And after what happened to her, Impa warned us about seeking you. It was better for you to remain anonymous and under her care. She is the High Chancellor of Hyrule after all."
Zelda's head spun a little, now Rusl attitude to her made even more sense. Uli must have sensed her bewildered, because she let go of her hands and headed to the kitchen.
- "You must be hungry. Sit down, I will prepare something for you. Rusl is still asleep, but he will wake up soon, we can eat lunch together then."
Zelda did as she was asked and sat down opposite to the blonde boy, he had been quiet during their – shocking – exchange. But Zelda could see how curious he felt about her.
- "I'm sorry, what time is it?" – She asked to no one in particular.
- "It's half past one" – answered her the young boy. He looked eager to talk to her, Zelda decide to humour him.
- "Thank you, and you are…"
- "Colin, my name is Colin" – he flushed a little when he noticed how rushed he sounded.
- "Colin," – Zelda repeated – "nice to meet you, my name is Zelda."
- "Miss Zelda…"
- "Zelda is fine Colin, don't worry." – She said, smiling.
Colin's face went from pink to red in a second and Zelda had to suppress the impulse to giggle, it wasn't polite to do it, no matter how cute the boy looked.
It was then when she got the opportunity to appreciate the book on the table. It was an old one, written in old hylian, apparently about healing arts. It immediately called her attention.
- "Are you studying old hylian, Colin?" – she decided that if Rusl had told his wife about her, then he must have told her about her being a magic user. She wouldn't have made such an obvious display of magic if he hadn't.
She was right in her assumption as Colin didn't even flinch at her question, he looked even more eager now to talk to her than before. Uli, who was surely listening everything from the kitchen, didn't even bothered to check on them. They trusted her with their secret as she shared the same.
- "My mother is teaching me. She is a healer, you know? She says I have the same potential but I need to learn the language to use it correctly. So far I can read it, but my pronunciation is awful." – He smiled at her, a little sheepish – "Mother said you could already talk in the old tongue when you had my age, so I tried to study a bit before you woke up."
It was true, but Zelda have always been a fast learner. She understood how much others struggled to learn when she started to hang out with Link and the other children in the castle.
She was just about to tell Colin about it when Uli returned, bringing with her a bowl of freshly cut apples.
- "He was trying to impress you. This is the first time we have a user as our guest, so he was very eager to meet you." – She left the bowl between Colin and her, ignoring the pout her son was directing to her.
- "Mom!" – complained Colin.
- "It's the truth, dear."
Zelda couldn't help but chuckle, it felt so natural to see them like this.
- "Thank you for the food" – she said while taking a piece of apple.
Uli smiled at her and took a seat beside her son.
- "I'm sorry for acting this way, but Tetra and Impa told me so much about you in their letters. I hope we're not making you uncomfortable by being over familiar." – She apologized in old hylian, her son looked at her in admiration and Zelda felt a little startled, but she got over it soon.
- "Don't apologize, Uli. It is indeed strange for me, but it isn't unwelcome." – Zelda admitted, using the same language, and feeling endearment for this woman who identified herself as acquaintance of her mother, maybe even a friend – "Impa once told me about a friend of my mother who lived in Ordon, but she never told me her name or if she was a user as well. Was it you, I assume?"
- "Yes, it is so." – Uli nodded, smiling softly, everything about her seemed soft – "I'm not sure why Impa didn't tell you about me, but I'm sure she had her reasons."
Zelda nodded as well, she was about to agree verbally when Colin complained.
- "Mom, I don't understand that well what you're saying!"
- "Well, dear," – answered Uli, mischief shinning a little in her eyes – "that's the reason why you must keep studying."
Zelda chuckle while seeing mother and son playfully argue. It was then when Rusl finally showed up.
- "I see you are getting along, that's good, that's good."
Zelda was relieved to see she hadn't been the only one to fell asleep in her traveling clothes, apparently Rusl had been too tired to change as well. If his dishevelled appearance was anything to go by.
Uli didn't even blink at her husband's lack of propriety.
- "I'll prepare the food" – she announced, getting up from the table.
It made Zelda worry how much she moved around when she looked to be in her seventh moth at least.
- "I will help" – she offered.
- "No, no. You're our guest, don't worry about it" – Uli refused her, softly but without leaving room for arguments.
- "But…" - she tried anyway, but Rusl interrupted her.
- "Don't even try, little lady. Despise her appearance, my wife is a very prideful woman. The only time you can enter her kitchen is when she is too sick to cook herself." – He joked naturedly, sitting at the head of the table.
- "The last time I let you into my kitchen you burned water, dear." – Called Uli from the kitchen.
- "That was a long time ago."
- "I don't repeat the same mistakes, I'm afraid."
Colin snickered and Zelda hid her smile by munching another piece of apple.
It was an enjoyable lunch, Colin was curious and timid at the same time, Zelda liked him immediately, Rusl was the perfect fatherly figure and Uli was a loving mother and wife. It was impossible not to feel comfortable around them. It was also the first time Zelda felt glad of her decision to come back to Hyrule.
After they had lunch, – a rabbit stew so delicious Zelda was unable to refuse seconds – she was having a simple conversation with Colin in the old tongue when Rusl suddenly told her.
- "By the way, Zelda, I mean to ask before but we had more pressing matters." – He cleared his throat – "Could you tell me why did you come here, to Ordon? If there is anything we can help you with, we will gladly do it."
Uli nodded beside him, smiling at her. The gesture warmed her heart.
- "Is nothing big, actually. I'm sure Mayor Bo read it in the letter, but I think the surprise of seeing Link's signature was bigger than my request."
- "Link? You mean the Prince, right?" – intervened Colin – "Are you friends with our Prince, Zelda?"
She hesitated a bit, not sure how to approach the subject, and realising her mistake of calling him by given name.
- "I was, more or less, his assistant for a while." – She answered after moment – "Impa presented us."
Colin looked awestruck and Uli a little impressed, but Rusl stared at her suspiciously, as if he knew something about their situation. But Zelda didn't dare to elaborate, the fact that she has or has had a relation with a member of the royal family was a delicate matter for a pair of reasons, she needed to ask Impa with how much she could trust them about.
But, all too soon, Rusl moved on.
- "So, what was this request about?"
- "About the commission that was supposed to head to Castel Town yesterday." – She continued, feeling relieved. – "I was just hopping I could join you."
Rusl nodded, a little pensive.
- "I don't think there will be any problem with your request. The only problem Bo could had had, would have been to confirm your identity; but I'm sure the letter was more than enough."
Zelda sighed in relief. She hadn't thought they would refuse her request, but it was good to hear it anyway.
- "Any business in Castel Town?" – asked Uli.
- "Yes, I have a promise to fulfil."
She didn't elaborate, and they didn't insist. They seemed to understand that it was a private matter. And for that reason, Zelda silently thanked them both.
Some hours later, Zelda found herself in an unexpected situation.
After that small chat with Rusl, she helped Uli with some chores and Colin with his language pronunciation while Rusl was out, checking on the guards on duty. He said something about passing by the Mayor's home in case he needed something. Zelda never thought the Mayor could cause her problems, at least not intentionally.
Uli was showing her some of her mother's letters as Colin talked her ear off about all the things his mother has told him about her, when suddenly the door opened.
- "Sorry for the intrusion, Uli!" – called the Mayor's daughter from the doorway.
It almost gave Zelda a heart attack, but Uli remined impassive.
- "Good afternoon, Ilia. Would you like some tea?" – she asked as the girl entered the house.
- "No, thanks. Dad sent me here, he said it would be a good idea to give a tour around to the newcomer." – She answered, all smiles, and finally looked at Zelda, who by then had recover her composure – "You're Zelda, right?"
- "I am."
- "I'm Ilia, we saw each other yesterday." – She took seat by her side, it made Zelda nervous – "Would you like to see the village? Dad said you're going with them to Castel Town tomorrow, so I think it'll be a shame if you lose the chance to enjoy the fresh air of the forest."
Zelda was about to tell her that she had plenty of that air since she had travelled through them for 10 days straight, thank you very much. She wanted to see more of the letters her mother had written to Uli and, for some reason she already suspected, Ilia seemed eager to be alone with her which made her wary. But Colin interrupted her refusal.
- "I want to go too!" – he exclaimed, enthusiastic – "I will show you the goats, Zelda! They are pretty cute when they aren't causing problems."
- "Nobody wants to see the goats, don't be silly Colin" – Said Ilia in distaste.
- "You don't know that, Ilia. Ours are bigger than the other villages."
- "Girls like flowers, not goats."
- "You can see flowers everywhere."
- "Colin…"
- "Actually," - Zelda interrupted, taking her chance before they started arguing – "I'd love to see the goats. Will you show them to me, Colin?"
Colin cheered, immediately agreeing, Ilia pouted her defeat and Uli smiled. Zelda could see she was amused by the whole thing, that nearly confirmed her suspicions about Ilia's real intentions.
- "Fine! – Ilia agreed – "But let's go now! We must be back before dinner. You're all invited to my house today, anyway."
Colin cheered again, hurrying to put his boots. Zelda excused herself, asking for a moment to wash herself and change clothes. Uli offered herself to help her with the water for the first.
Around twenty minutes later, Zelda joined Colin and Ilia. Her Hair humid and clad in a simple spring blue dress. Colin timidly took her hand to guide her to the goats, face flushed. Ilia's eyes darkened a little when she saw her, but she soon smiled and went along with them.
Zelda knew the young woman felt uncomfortable around her, and thought she knew the reason for it as well. Mayor Bo seemed like an honest man, he might be unable to hide information from his daughter.
This was new to her, because of her unique circumstances, she hadn't been in position to elicit feelings like this in the women population before. Even when she used to be Link's best friend, and they were almost always together at the beginning of their teenage. Nor when she was the only one who could make him see reason, before their relation deteriorated of course.
She had seen this before, but never experienced herself. what was it called again? Jealousy?
Zelda saw the interrogation coming from a mile away, but it wasn't until Colin went to talk to a the goatherder Fado that it started.
- "So, Zelda." – Ilia fidget a little – "Dad told me that you're friends with Prince Link."
- "I was more like his assistant" – At least officially, so it wasn't a lie.
- "Really?" – Zelda felt bad at her hopeful gaze – "How old were you? You look very young to have been the assistant of the Prince."
- "I'm 18, I'll be 19 in autumn." – That made Ilia's eyes widen.
- "The same age as the Prince."
- "Yeah, more or less."
The two of them observed Colin, who was trying to help with the goats. Both occupied by their own thoughts. Ilia was the first to talk, again.
- "Are you going to Castel Town to see him?"
- "I might have to see him, yes."
- "I see. Don't you want to see the Prince?" – she looked sincerely curious about that question.
- "I… it's a little complicated"
It made Zelda ill at ease, how discourage Ilia appeared. She cursed not being able to explain everything clearly to the girl. She was sure that an enamoured mind as hers will make the wrong assumptions, like thinking of her and Link in a romantic setting – nothing more far from the true –. But, to explain the situation to her will reveal secrets that she couldn't burden others with. It served to their advantage that she believed such a story, no matter how annoying Zelda could find it.
It was a shame, she could have been a good friend. But as long as she considered Zelda a love rival, that possibility would be closed. At least they might be able to be allies in the future.
To escape from the awkward silence, Zelda offered to help Colin and Fado with the goats. It didn't end well, but at least it took their minds off the topic.
They went back to Ilia's house a little before dinner's time, his father didn't know how to cook after all. And while Colin and Ilia – as the kitchen and the dinning-room were in the same room – explained and corrected her about some ordonian customs, the adults joined them.
- "What are you so passionately discussing about?" – Rusl questioned them, pulling a chair for Uli and taking a seat as well.
- "We were telling Zelda about the slingshot competition. She said that, beside the pumpkin week, she doesn't know of any major events." – Colin responded.
- "I see. Have you ever use a slingshot, little miss?"
- "Not really, just bows and arrows, but a friend of mine used to carry one all the time."
Rusl looked at her with a sly gleam in his eyes, as if he knew she was referring to Link.
- "I see, we should invite that friend of yours to the next competition."
For some reason that made her laugh.
- "I'm sure he will be pleased."
They keep telling her about some other competitions and festivals in Ordon, Ilia cooked a vegetable soup that made Zelda understand why the Mayor stomach was so prominent, and Uli brought a sweet apple juice. All in all, it was a memorable diner.
They got down to business once the dishes were clean.
- "Zelda, Rusl and I talked about it and we will depart tomorrow at dawn, I hope that's not an inconvenience for you…" - informed the Mayor.
- "No, it isn't. It's better this way, I'm already in retard."
- "Don't worry about it. We send a message to the palace recently and three nights ago, they should be already informed about our goblin problem and the delay of our commission." – Zelda nodded, feeling better about meeting Impa, the woman was obsessed with punctuality.
- "We also think it will be better for you to stay here tonight." – Uli added – "We'd love to keep you with us, but I'm afraid our house isn't that big. Bo has a guest room where you can sleep and don't worry about your things, I can prepare them for tomorrow and Rusl will bring them to you."
- "No, Uli, it's fine. I will prepare them myself and bring them here. You've already done so much."
Uli was about to protest but Rusl intervened.
- "That will be appreciated Zelda, thank you."
Uli wasn't happy with it but didn't protest any further, Zelda supposed Rusl only intervened when he thought that so much activity could be bad for the baby, so she respected his decisions.
- "We have a request for you as well Zelda, if it's too much trouble for you." – Rusl continued with the conversation.
- "If it in my capabilities…"
- "I'm sure it won't be difficult for you. We just need some expert who can ready use the bow in case we get another surprise attack from the goblins" – he requested, a smile on his face but a serious look in his eyes.
Zelda understood immediately what he was really asking, he wanted her to be their lookout and use her magic to watch the perimeter.
- "That's not a problem, I'd do it even if you don't ask me to" – she smiled, nodding emphatically.
Rusl smiled gratefully and Bo outright laughed.
- "I'm still surprised that you could traverse the forest on your own, and at night!" – the Mayor said, smiling broadly at her - Not many people are brave enough to do so.
- Thank you? – She wasn't sure how to take the comment.
The three adults laughed merrily at her reaction, Colin joined them because their laughter was contagious; but Ilia reminded quiet, looking at her as if she was still evaluating her.
Later, when the family retired for the night, Zelda went with them to retrieve her luggage and equipment. She travelled light, so by the time she came back to the Mayor's Ilia was still preparing her room.
How did she get herself in such an awkward situation, again?
- "I apologize for the trouble." – Zelda said to dissipate the heavy silence around the girl.
- "It's no trouble at all, don't worry." – A pause, a bit hesitation – "Could… could you do me a favour once you're in Castel Town?"
- "Aren't you going too?"
- "No," - she shook her head in disappointment – "father asked me to stay and help Uli in everything I can, she is in the last stage of her pregnancy so she needs to take care of herself, but as you can see she is also quite stubborn. Colin can do only so much for her since he is still small, so I need to stay to make sure she doesn't overwork herself."
Zelda nodded, it made sense that Ilia stayed if it was that way. Rusl and Mayor Bo seemed like old friends, so it was normal that they worried about each other's family. But Zelda wondered, as Rusl avoided the mention of magic around Ilia and his father, why didn't they knew about Uli's gift?
Whatever it was, she hoped it didn't cause them problems in the future.
- "And what is this favour about?" – she asked returning to the topic.
- "I just… could you send my regards to the Prince?" – She fidgeted a little but took out a letter from a punch she carry on her leg – "I was planning to give it to my father, but he'll surely to read it even if I tell him not to. And you seem trustworthy enough so I… well…"
Zelda smiled, not sure if the girl was testing her real feelings for the boy she had a crush on, and not caring either way. Even if she felt that way for Link – and she didn't anyway – she wouldn't be as petty as to reject such an honest wish. This was Link's problem not hers.
- "If I see him, I will" – She assured her, walking forward, and taking the letter – "If not I will give it to someone who can."
Ilia looked at her hopefully.
- "Will you?"
- "I promise."
The girl smiled broadly and, to Zelda's surprise, even hugged her.
- "Thank you so much! I- well, I will leave you so you can rest. If… if you need something my room is at the end of the corridor."
Zelda thanked her, but she wasn't sure if Ilia heard her or not, the girl seemed too excited to process anything at the moment. So, Zelda closed the door after she was gone, feeling slightly amused at her state.
Just before falling asleep, she wondered about infatuations. Only once Zelda had felt that way about someone, it was when she was still in Labrynna. She, in resume, felt attracted to a man called Raven, he helped her a lot in different circumstances. She had liked him a lot back then.
But she wasn't like Ilia, she had never acted upon her feelings for him. What was the point? She wasn't going to stay in Labrynna, furthermore he appeared to be in love with a woman whose name – if Zelda remembered correctly – was Farore. Things weren't bound to work, trying would have been more painful for her; which brought her back to Ilia's situation. Maybe the girl had a chance to become Link's fiancée, she was the daughter of the Mayor, the title could be important enough for the council to accept her. And that without counting Link's feelings. Before she walked away from Hyrule he had had a crush on the Lon Lon's owner second daughter, Malon. She wasn't sure if he still has it.
She sighed, looking at the blankets under the dim light of the stars. Malon was only one of the factors that contributed to the deterioration of their friendship. Impa told her in her letters that Link had matured and wasn't as reckless now, and Zelda hoped she was right. It was unbecoming of a Prince to go around trying to impress a girl.
Zelda shook her head, squashing the worry she felt resurfacing. They weren't kids anymore, Link wasn't her responsibility either. She didn't need to worry about those things now.
So, Zelda thought while letting the sleep pull her in, let's deal with whatever problems may come one at time.
Third chapter! That's all I have to say. ;)
See you next time!
