A/N: Okay next two chapters are up. I know the story has a bit of a slow build up but it gets better I swear. I hope some of you are enjoying this. If anyone has any questions, comments, or constructive help let me know. The only way to get better is to know what you've done wrong. Last, then I swear I'll shut up, thank you to all who have read it and a shout out to Gabrielus Prime my first follower. Thanks and Later
No matter how much we wish otherwise mornings always come
The sun saw two stable hands leaving the horse stable for the morning after they had taken care of not only the royal steeds but those of the guests as well. One of the two boys could be heard laughing and talking around his chortles.
"Did ya see all those horses? I think their trying to make a good impression but their horses ain't nuthin compared to the King's."
"Well course their not you idiot; only the best for the King, so everyone else has to take what's left. Least they took care of their own and didn't bribe us to do it for them" said his companion
"True" the other laughed "but I don't mind a few extra rupees in my pocket when the likes of them come along." Soon the boys' voices carried off too far to be heard within the confines of the stable. Neither of the boys had felt or even seen a trace of another presence in there but the boy was still there. He had once again hidden himself in the small equipment room when he had woken that morning since he was well aware that the stable hands would be coming for morning chores.
It had proved a long wait since the two boys hadn't appeared until almost an hour after sunrise. This confused the boy somewhat didn't they have to get their chores done early to make time to get the rest done? Maybe they had had other chores to do first before the horses he considered. Still he could not understand their lite hearted conversations and jovial manners. Wouldn't those kinds of antics get them in trouble and earn them punishments?
They seemed to talk quite freely about anyone including the Royal Family though most of it had been good some things had come out especially towards the Princess that the boy knew would have earned him at least one hundred lashes, if he was lucky. Still it wasn't his place to question such things and he quietly made his way back to the stall that he had spent the night in, carefully minding he didn't drop any blood this time since it had almost given him away yesterday.
As he sat on his haunches to wait for his Master's summons he thought of how pleasant last night had been. He hadn't minded the smell and the stable was warm and comfortable making it easy to rest; since his Masters had forbid him from leaving until called for once he had nothing to do that night or in the morning so he got quite a few hours of rest a very rare luxury for him.
Still he'd awoken early just in case and run each of his Master's horses over with the brush again to make sure their coats gleamed in the early light and to double check for any injury he may have missed. All in all it had been one of the best mornings in his life. He was content with that and knew he would be able to look back at this day as a good one no matter what followed the morning.
Princess Zelda was not having as good of a morning as the boy in the stables, though she had no knowledge of said boy. She had awoken to a stomach full of knots and a head filled with apprehension. Zelda was so distraught over the day to come that she had barely been able to eat any of her breakfast that morning, a fact her parents had not only noticed but commented on.
"Zelda dear" her mother Saraid Queen of Hyrule said, "You have scarcely touched your breakfast this morning, are you well?"
"Yes mother" she replied giving as sincere a smile as she could. "I just do not have much appetite this morning."
"You should eat hearty my little Princess" boomed her ever jovial father. "We have quite the busy day today and you do not want to be distracted by hunger pains later on."
Again Zelda smiled at her parents but her father's words had vanquished any further desires to eat. After what seemed an eternity to Zelda, though she would have gladly taken the slightly awkward conversation with her parents if she could have avoided the rest of the day, breakfast was over and it was time for the dreaded day to begin.
Princess Zelda found herself in the throne room shortly after breakfast sitting next to her parents in her smaller less ornate throne. Impa was stationed just behind her; there were several guards nearby but they were the only ones allowed in the room at this moment, the normal group of court nobles having been ushered out earlier. Soon enough the entrance of the two men was announced to the almost vacant room.
"My Majesties may I present to you Lord Lorcán Tierney and his son Master Donovan Tierney of Ceylon." As the herald finished his announcement the two men entered the throne room and bowed at the waist to the three members of Hyrule's Royal Family.
Zelda carefully scrutinized the two men before her and her parents. Lord Lorcán was a robust man with broad shoulders and a large chest. His red wavy hair was carefully combed and hanging to his chin. His beard was also red but carefully trimmed so it did not seem too wild. He had hazel eyes that held no affection for those they fell upon. They were eyes that seemed to only see the weaknesses in others and sought to exploit that vulnerability. Overall the man gave off the air of one who controls every detail of not only his own being and life but those around him as well no matter the willingness of those others to comply.
His son was similar in build to his father but that seemed the only similarity. Donovan Tierney had long black hair that he kept carefully tied back with coal black eyes. He seemed to have been chiseled out of stone with strong chin and toned physic. However, this stone like appearance was only on the outside his personality was more closely attributed to the slime one might find on a snail. In reality a snail did seem to be the perfect comparison for the man, strong misleading exterior with a slimy interior with no true back bone to speak of.
All of these thoughts were passing through the Princess' head as her father and the men exchanged pleasantries. Soon, however, the discussion turned to why the men had come in the first place.
"We were deeply honored by your invitation, Your Majesty," said Lord Lorcán.
"Well we could hardly have a ball celebrating the engagement of my daughter without her betrothed and his family now could we," chuckled her father.
"Yes, Your Majesty but you have been truly gracious to us in allowing us to stay for such an extended time period," simpered Lord Lorcán. The King merely waved his hand in response as if to say it was nothing.
"It is a shame Lady Tierney could not join us on this most auspicious occasion," came the Queen's soft voice.
"Yes" Your Majesty said Lord Tierney. "Lady Tierney did so want to join us but alas her health would not allow for the trip, at this time. We are hoping she will be in better spirits at the time of the nuptials, though" replied Lord Lorcán.
"I should hope so," boomed the King once again. "It would be a most grievous thing not to see one's own child being wed."
"Agreed, Your Majesty" came the quick reply. "Now Your Majesties, if you would allow, my son would like to address her Highness the Princess Zelda directly," asked Lord Lorcán.
"Of course, my boy, you may speak with the Princess," said the King heartily as the Queen nodded her consent as well. At this Donovan Tierney stepped forward and again bowed to the Princess as he began to speak.
"My fair Princess Zelda, I cannot describe the immense pleasure it gives me knowing that soon you and I will be officially engaged bringing us but a mere step from a long and blissful marriage. Since I knew this blessed event was forthcoming I decided to seek out a very special gift for Her Highness. I thought of many of the traditional gifts such as priceless jewels, rare trinkets, or exquisite delicacies but none seemed right since you have access to some of the finest things life has to offer. I was still undecided when my father and I happened upon the very thing that I thought would be perfect for you and is not so easily acquired, even by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Furthermore it is not something that would just look pretty and sit on a shelf the rest of its days; I have found it is something that could actually be of use to you my fair lady."
"Really Master Tierney, you should not have gotten me anything I assure you it was quite unnecessary," sighed Princess Zelda.
Donovan Tierney simply smiled as he replied. "My fair Princess when it comes to making you happy nothing is unnecessary." He then turned to two of his father's soldiers and said curtly, "bring him in and quickly." The soldiers nodded and left hurriedly.
Zelda's interest peaked at the word 'him' was it an animal of some sort that he had gotten her? She hoped not. While she enjoyed her horses she was not an animal lover on the whole and did not want to have some beast destroying her chambers. Before she could speculate further on his words the soldiers returned to the throne room.
One was in the lead holding a rope in his hands that was connected to a cloaked figure. The other walked beside the figure roughly pulling it along by what seemed to be an arm. The lead man suddenly yanked harshly on the rope he was holding while at the same time the other pushed the figure hard in the back.
The end result was the cloaked figure landing on all fours on the floor. A soft chuckle reverberated throughout the room drawing the eyes of the three royals to Donovan Tierney silently demanding an explanation for the shrouded figure before them. A smile crossed Donovan Tierney's lips, though it looked quite sickening and seemed to detract from, rather than lend to, his handsome features. Lord Tierney was smirking with a glint in his eyes as he gazed at the cloaked figure on the floor. The look on his face seemed to indicate that he was thoroughly enjoying the degrading sight before him.
As Lord Tierney silently watched his son strode over to the kneeling figure while giving forth an explanation, though with the first sentence it proved to be a long winded elucidation. "Your Highnesses, one thing we are all well acquainted with are servants. Both our families have several, though the number my family has pales in comparison to your own," he said nodding toward the three seated figures.
"The biggest problem with many servants no matter which household they serve is their utter lack of fidelity, proper training, and inadequate discipline. Every servant tends to question their master's directions at some point and will often times hold their own well-being above their master's. Not only that but often times things that should be done for their master's without the master having to ask are often neglected unless specifically ordered.
As if this were not atrocious enough, servants will talk and gossip about things they ought not to. Speaking about things they know little about to others who are just as ignorant and uneducated as they are. A master should be able to have a servant in a room during the most delicate of meetings, and be able to trust that not even an innuendo of that meeting will escape the servant's lips. This is likely not the servant's fault for as I said many of them lack the proper training and discipline.
While I was searching for the right gift for my fair bride-to-be my father and I happened upon this," his hand gestured to the figure still kneeling on the floor before them while delivering a kick into the figure's ribcage knocking the air out of it though somehow the figure remained in the same position.
"What we discovered is a servant who has undergone not only the best training available but also the most rigorous. That was almost three weeks ago and my family and myself have been watching this servant in our home ever since. Not only is this servant the best we have ever seen it also inspires the others to live up to the example set before them. Never before has our household run so smoothly and efficiently as it has in those few weeks.
Once we realized the truth of what we had been told about this particular servant it was decided that we should pass this extraordinary gift on to her Highness, the Princess Zelda. So without further ado may I present to Your Majesties, my gift to Princess Zelda, the best servant in all the land," as he said this last statement Donovan Tierney's hand came down dramatically and whipped off the cloak of the kneeling figure. A stunned silence followed this action, no one even dared draw a breath.
