Chapter 4 – The Truth Be Told

"Okay, I get it. I shouldn't have run off like that…again."

"I'm glad you get now. But it's still rather funny." Peach said to me.

"N-No, it's not! I-I'm just…bad with directions, that's all!" I yelled while making a pouty face and crossing my arms.

"Whatever makes you feel better, Zelda."

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?!"

"*giggle* Wow. Watching you two talk to each other is pretty entertaining." Mio said. "Almost like a comedy trope."

"Thanks, Mio." Peach said. "I'm sure there'll be an encore sometime in the next few minutes."

"Can we please stop with the light jabs at me?" I was starting to feel insulted.

"Alright, alright. Sorry."

Geez. It's only been a couple of hours since we came to Mythgrove and the one thing I've noticed so far is how Peach had let loose a little. It's great, considering how strict and serious she used to be back in the Mushroom Kingdom. But if she keeps throwing these jabs at me, then I'm not afraid to send some back. Even though she's my best friend.

As of right now, the three of us were sharing a room at one of these inns we found around here. It took us a while to actually get a room. Didn't think there would be so many people who use this place to sleep in.

Being a part of the common folk gets really interesting the more I experience it.

"*sigh* Our first day here and we did...practically nothing." I said as I flopped myself onto one of the beds here.

"Well, we did rescue Mio from those thugs earlier. Doesn't that count?" Peach asked.

"Hmm…I guess. But that wasn't exactly planned. No offense, Mio."

"None taken." Mio replied.

"Zelda. If by chance we would've learned our skills today, what could've we possibly do here?"

"W-Well, I…"

To be honest, she did have a point.

"Oh. That does remind me." Mio said. "You two are new to Mythgrove, right? Where did you come from? One of the 5 neighboring kingdoms?"

…

…

"Sh-Should…Should we tell her?" I asked Peach as I turned to her.

"I-It's only fair. She did tell us about herself."

"*sigh* Yeah. I guess."

"Huh? Tell me what?" Mio looked confused.

"L-Listen, Mio. Wh-What we're about to tell you is a secret that we want you to keep to yourself. Can we trust you to do that?"

"Sure. I mean…we are friends, right?"

"Fr-Friends…?" I froze up when I heard that one word.

"W-Well, what I mean is…I-I'm…I'm happy that I met you two. And I was hoping that we could…you know…be friends."

"M-Mio…you are the BEST!" I cheered as I rushed over to her and gave her a huge hug.

"I-I'm glad you think so, Zelda. B-But you really are squishing me…"

"O-Oops. Sorry, Mio." I said as I released my grip from her.

"So, what's this secret you two are hiding?"

"Oh, yeah. Right. Tell her, Peachy."

"B-But this was your…*sigh* fine." Peach was a little angry at first. But then she gave in and faced Mio. "Mio. The truth is…that we were princesses. From two different worlds."

"Pr-Princesses?! Fr-From different worlds?!"

"Shh! Keep it down a little!"

"R-Right. Sorry."

"Yep. It's true." I said. "We were two of the most well-known princesses in our respected universes."

"Wait a sec. Why do you two keep saying "were"?" Mio asked.

"Because. We ran away from our royal titles and came here to start a new normal life."

"We were sick and tired of being princesses. It's not as fun as people make it out to be. Always being kidnapped and such." Peach added.

"Kidnapped?"

"It happens a lot. Trust us."

"So we decided to leave. Leave all of that behind us and run away to this world. Which, by the way, we didn't even know existed. That's why we were kinda lost here." I explained.

"I see. I think I understand now. To think that I would meet other-worlders just by a chance of luck. It really is an unexpected surprise."

"We're...honestly surprised that you're taking this news so well, Mio." Peach said.

"Well. Like I said. The fact that you both are ex-princesses from different worlds is surprising. But something like that isn't going to make me stop being friends with you guys. I'll help you out as much as I can. Promise."

"W-Wow. Mio…YOU REALLY ARE THE BEST!" I shouted in total glee as I tried to hug Mio again.

Like I said. Tried to. Peach held on to my shirt as the last second.

"Down, girl." She said to me.

"So. What should we do tomorrow? Anything you two need?" Mio asked.

"Well, know that you mention it…we should probably check with that guild lady at the pub."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot." I added.

"The guild? What happened there?"

"We were trying to find out our skills and the lady said that the results "need to be discussed" or something like that. We couldn't really do much after that."

"Huh. That's odd. Usually, they tell you what your skill is. No matter what the results are. The fact that they kept it a secret from you guys…something's not right."

"Really now?" Both Peach and I said as we were now getting suspicious of this whole guild thing.

"Now I really want to find out what's going on." I said.

"Yeah. So do I." Peach said.

"You don't mind coming with us do you, Mio?"

"Sure. Not a problem. I'm actually curious myself." Mio said. Agreeing to tag along with us.

"Great! Then let us three solve this conspiracy!" I cheered.

...

...

...

All of a sudden, the room went dead silent.

"U-Uh…Z-Zelda…" Peach said.

"I-I wouldn't exactly call this a "conspiracy"." Mio said.

"Oh. Well, whatever." I said with a shrug.

By the next day, the three of us headed over to the pub to talk with the guild lady about our results that are "supposedly" delayed.

"Geez. This place is more packed as yesterday." Peach said.

"Yeah, no kidding. I never thought this many people can fit inside this place." I added.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about? This much is actually normal." Mio said.

"Huh?! How?!" We both asked her.

"Well, this is one of only 4 restaurants here in Mythgrove. The other three being bigger. But they still get really crowded."

"Sheesh. Only 4?" I asked.

"With a kingdom this big, is that really enough?" Peach asked.

"Well, no. It's for that reason why most people just cook their own food."

"I see. Well, I guess I'll be coming here a lot."

"Hm? Can you not cook, Peach?"

"Well…technically, yes. But the only thing I've ever made was cake."

"Why cake?"

"You know, I've been doing that for 30+ years and even I don't know the answer."

"I-I see…" Mio said with a sweatdrop.

"Well, at least the guild line is free. We won't have to wait long." I said.

"Yeah. I guess." Peach said.

The three of us headed over to the counter and immediately were face-to-face with the brunette-haired lady from before. She looked rather happy to see us. Which was rather odd in my mind.

"Oh. There you two are. I was hoping you'll show up again."

"Huh? Really?" I asked the woman.

"And I see that you met Mio. Good choice, if you ask me." The woman said with a wink.

"C-Come on, Silvia. Don't overexaggerate me." Mio said with a light blush.

"Silvia?" We both asked.

"Oh, right. I never introduced myself. Yes, I am Silvia. Head commander of the guild. It is a pleasure to meet you both…Princesses Peach and Zelda."

"Wh-Wh-What?!"

"Y-Y-You know about us?!"

"*giggle* I had my suspicions when I first saw you two yesterday. And when the orb revealed your identities, all of my questions were answered. In a way."

"In a way?" Peach asked.

"Never mind that. After the orb revealed the results, I decided to play along with the act not knowing anything. That way I could discuss them with the other members."

"H-Hey, Silvia. You didn't tell the whole kingdom that Peach and Zelda are princesses, did you?" Mio asked.

"Don't worry about it. I figured that they would want to keep that a secret. So I told the other ladies to not tell anyone outside the guild. Your secret's safe with us."

"Well, that's a relief." I said. "But that still doesn't explain how that orb figured us out."

"*giggle* That's a secret exclusive to this world, Zelda."

This woman…she's definitely not normal.

"Well, then. I do have your stats. We can go over them in the back, if you so choose."

"*sigh* I can't believe I'm about to say this, but…why not?" Peach said.

"We've come this far. No point turning back just because someone other than Mio found out our identities." I added.

"Ooh. This is getting interesting. Mind if I bring some snacks?" Mio asked.

"M-Mio…"

"Sure, go on ahead. This will be a long one. Much like a biography." Silvia said.

"H-Hey…" Peach said.

"Well, anyway. Just follow me to the back, your highnesses."

"Y-You don't need to call us that…" I wanted to explain to her that we're not princesses anymore, but I eventually gave up. And the three of us followed Silvia to the back of the building.

Where we'll finally know what to do in this new world that we now call home.

Author's Note: Day two of their new normal lives is already proving to be a crazy one. Now the two former princesses are about to find out how strong are they compared to this world's physics.

Thanks for reading. Later.