fleets: Considering how the title of this chapter is the title of the story, I was super duper impatient to get to this chapter. Lucky for you guys, that means you get fast updates! Don't expect it to keep going at this pace though... because I'm not sure how I've managed it thus far D:

Also I've completely given up trying to write sexy Vaati so I've fully embraced the superdork from WIR. Yeah.

Chapter 4: Forget-Me-Nots and Violets

While Zelda was meeting with Roland, Vaati was waiting outside, sitting on one of the slanted rooftops of the castle towers. He was bored, and seeing Zelda take care of all the responsibilities of a ruler made him even more bored about the prospect of ruling things. With a small huff, he kicked a small chipped piece of the blue shingles off the roof.

What was it about suddenly having something you were wishing for that made it so unappealing? He'd had so many plans for after he'd managed to take over Hyrule, and have people bowing at him everywhere he went. He'd imagined complete and utter freedom to do whatever he wanted, and… well…

Vaati stared at the sky. Okay, so he hadn't really thought that far in terms of specific things he was going to do after he took over Hyrule. He kind of figured it would be fantastic, and that it would be amazing and awesome and he'd be in want of nothing else. Maybe he would have made the people build a gigantic statue of him in the middle of town so they'd have to be reminded of his presence every single day. He'd brought it up to Zelda jokingly (at the same time kind of seriously) one day and instead of refuting it outright she'd brought up all of these boring details that they'd have to consider to actually manage something like that. She'd gone on and on and ON about the people they'd hire, how they'd compensate them, where to contract materials, calculate a budget, and a hundred other things that he'd stopped paying attention to.

So it had been about a year since he'd stuck around with the princess and he'd had no inclination to actually rule. He let Zelda handle it, and although he was slightly disappointed, he was fine with just being a visible presence by her side. Actually he got a kick every now and then whenever he made people uncomfortable by abusing his position as someone very close to the princess.

A year had gone by so fast. They'd hardly noticed the time passing, since both of them had been so busy after his return. Zelda had sent him running around the region on errands while she tried to keep her kingdom together. Most of his work had involved seeing what the monsters were up to, but honestly it wasn't the monsters who were the root of all of Zelda's problems. They ran themselves like they always had, and most of the higher tier boss monsters like the one horned dragon, Aquamentus, had bullied the lower tier monsters to build them worthy shrines (or dungeons, as an alternative term more familiar to the Hylians) to replace the ones that Link had damaged. The most excitement he'd had was when a bunch of idiots had decided to hunt down Gleeok and he'd shown up with the Helmaroc King to ruin their little pitchfork-swinging entertainment. After Zelda had heard about what he'd done she'd been annoyingly upset, and after a long fight he'd ended up agreeing that he'll never do something like that again without telling her what he was going to do.

But wow, he was so bored now. He squinted at the clock that was past the castle gates in the surrounding castle town below, and frowned. It was almost forty five minutes now, since Zelda had gone to meet with the ambassador, and he had the urge to just go and break some windows to interrupt them. Besides, she seemed to dread having the meeting anyway, so wouldn't he be doing her a favor?

It was then he noticed a voice calling out at him from down below, and from the way it was going hoarse the person must have been yelling at him for quite some time now.

"-eason why the princess is having so many problems is all your fault, and now Labrynna is going to forsake us too!"

Vaati arched an eyebrow and he leaned forward, peering down at the ground below him. There was a girl dressed completely in white, shaking her fists angrily while she held out the small chip of rooftop tiling that he'd kicked away earlier, and the sorcerer guessed it had somehow managed to hit her. He grinned at that thought, but then scowled at the noise she was making. He took a better look at her to make sure he would have nothing to do with her ever again, and then he realized that he'd seen the girl around the castle a few times before. It was that priestess who'd been bothering Zelda about religion and monsters and whatnot… what was her name again? Elise? What was she doing at the castle again? Didn't she meet with Zelda already earlier?

"One day we will banish you from this world and rid the evil you brought with you, you vile sorcerer!"

Vaati stared at Elise from his perch up on the roof. He watched the pitiful thing, waving her hands helplessly from below as though she could hope to make a difference against someone powerful like him. "Are you done now?" he asked, when Elise took a brief pause in her rant.

He almost laughed when the priestess nearly tripped over herself in fright at the sound of his voice, and she took a few steps back as though she were worried he'd cast some nasty spell on her. "N-no," she stammered, but stood her ground bravely, "I won't be done until you go back to the sword from whence you came."

Oh, this was just gold. He was too amused by this ignoramus for him to be angry with any of her words, and suddenly the day was less boring after all. "I didn't come from the sword you stupid girl," he rolled his eyes. He tilted his head slightly, and he grinned like a snake who'd cornered a rat. With a small gust of wind, he vanished from his perch, and suddenly appeared behind Elise, causing her to actually fall on the ground this time. Chuckling nastily, he asked, "Isn't it rude to yell at the king like that?"

"Y-you're no king!" Elise finally managed after she scrambled back onto her feet. Her white dress was a clumsy mess of grass and dirt from her fall. "Zelda isn't in a normal state of mind right now. When she wakes you will be banished," the priestess declared.

Vaati took an intimidating step forward, the wind swirling around his ankles and whipping past the girl. "Mhmm, do you know what happens to people who are rude to their king?" he continued, completely disregarding her claims. He edged closer, his eyes narrowed and his grin toothy and threatening. Elise backed away nervously, and her face was contorted into a disgusted grimace as though a giant spider had cornered her. Vaati surveyed her, walking around her in a slow circle, and then without warning he spread out his arms.

He didn't even cast a spell, but it was enough to send the poor priestess running for her life. Vaati held his sides, laughing at the scene, and he completely lost it when Maribel the poe unluckily floated by, right in front of Elise, making her shriek even more. The confused poe scratched its head, wondering what had just happened, and then gave a quick salute when it noticed Vaati still trying to stop laughing a few feet away.

"I'm here to give a report, Lord Vaati," Maribel announced, her lantern giving a jangle as it swayed. The ghost waited patiently as Vaati caught his breath. When he waved his hand in between holding his sides, the poe continued, "Manhandla is wondering if it is allowed eat trespassers in the swamp. There have been several people who have approached it but only took some water samples and left it alone. The wizzrobes are still asking for assistance in hunting down a renegade who refused to follow their Guild Laws."

Still wheezing slightly from the laughing fit he'd had earlier from seeing Elise running away like a cucco with its head cut off, Vaati answered lazily "Tell them all to stop bothering me with their own problems." Finally breathing normally again, he straightened out his cape which had become a little wrinkled, and he floated back up to his perch on the roof. Just as he reached the top, he heard the main doors to the palace swing open, and Zelda walked out, escorting a red haired noble outside. The sorcerer noticed a crown on the noble's head, and he wondered briefly if that was the "ambassador" that the princess had talked about; the man looked a lot more high-status than a mere ambassador, and that crown suggested he might even be royalty. Who was that man?

Before Vaati could do anything rash, Zelda noticed Maribel still floating in the middle of the path. The royal hesitated in revulsion at the appearance of the ghost, while Zelda appeared panicked and quickly shooed an uneager Maribel away. The poe disappeared into the castle walls unhappily, and Zelda had the job of trying to explain to the visitor why there was a poe floating around Hyrule Castle while the sun was still up.

Given the situation, Vaati judged that it probably wasn't the best time for the princess to have him show up right after the poe, further disturbing the royal, and so he waited for them to leave the castle grounds. After several minutes, Zelda walked back, alone this time having waved the man goodbye. She looked slightly pale, and her steps were small and uncertain as she made her way back to the castle. With a glower, Vaati swooped down from the sky and landed in front of the princess, putting an arm around her somewhat possessively as he stared at the empty spot where the royal had left. "If he said something that upset you…" Vaati began threateningly.

Zelda, who had at first been stiff in surprise at the sorcerer's sudden appearance, relaxed and shook her head and laughed sadly. "It's okay. I'll be fine." She looked up and noticed that he was still glaring at the gates, and she gave him a light tap on the arm. "You are not to threaten Roland. He's the king of Labrynna and we're on good terms." Or was, to put it accurately, she thought to herself, but decided against letting Vaati know that.

"King?" Vaati blinked. It wasn't an ambassador? Then, he growled, "I don't care who he is," Vaati swung her around so that they were facing each other, "You're obviously upset. If he thinks he can get away with pushing you around-"

"Shhh," Zelda put a finger up to his lips, shushing him. "I'm not going to be pushed around so easily. Don't you know that by now?" she added with a tiny smile. While Vaati quieted, he still didn't look convinced that she was fine. Behind that smile he'd seen a hint of weary exhaustion.

He decided not to push it, however. Zelda had one of those looks that clearly said 'No' to whatever misfortune he planned to inflict on Roland. Instead, he changed the topic. "So I saw that White priestess, Elise I think?"

Zelda groaned when she saw that amused grin on Vaati's face, and she began to walk back towards the castle with her arm in his. "Please don't tell me you did anything horrendous to her."

"She ran off screaming right before you showed up."

"Vaati," Zelda began sternly, but there was a faint giggle in her voice that was hard to hide. She felt mean for laughing, especially since Elise wasn't a bad person, but she could just imagine how the encounter had gone.

"I wish you could have seen it."

They laughed about it as they made their way back, and Zelda's tired expression eventually lifted by the time they were at the castle doors. Vaati pulled her aside right before they were about to enter the castle. In a slightly pushy, demanding way, he grabbed her wrist and made her look at him. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Zelda squinted, suspicious of what the sorcerer had in mind. "Well," she bit her lip, "I have to meet with Impa for training, then I have to discuss some matters about organizing the upcoming charity masquerade, and then I have to meet Maribel for –"

Vaati cut her off. "Cancel all of your plans."

Zelda raised her brows incredulously. "What?"

"You're going to cancel your plans," Vaati declared, "because you're coming with me tomorrow."

Zelda gave a tired smile in return, and she turned her head towards the castle town. "I can't just drop my responsibilities like that."

"Oh? You can't?" Vaati leaned forward, "Then let me tell you what I see." He turned his back to her, waving his arms out towards the castle, snapping his cape behind him. "I see someone who holds great power in her kingdom, but is locked away in a prison she built for herself."

"Power doesn't necessarily equate to freedom, Vaati," Zelda looked down at her feet.

Vaati huffed. "And why not?" He watched the princess shuffling her feet on the ground for a few seconds, and just as she was about to answer he cut her off. "You're going to break," he held up his hand, quieting her, "if you keep going like this." He frowned, "You were more alive when I kept you at the Palace of Winds."

Zelda laughed weakly. The so-called evil sorcerer was being so sweet about everything in his own slanted way. He worried over her more than he said he did; she would have hugged him if she weren't so tired. "Thank you for looking out for me," she said appreciatively, "but as long as I am standing I must follow my duties."

Vaati scowled, dissatisfied by her answer and somewhat embarrassed by her sincere gratitude. "That's not all I have to say." He stomped over angrily and put his hand on her chin, making her surprised blue eyes look up at him. "I've been surprisingly patient with you this past year because you've been busy, but my patience is running thin. I never once bothered you whenever you had your meetings, but tomorrow I'm going to take you away for an entire day, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Zelda blinked. He was looking at her with a serious expression on his face, and it wasn't until then that she realized that maybe she'd put their relationship in a forgotten little corner. Despite the fact that she got to see him every day, she couldn't really remember the last time they'd actually done something fun together. And had she really been balancing her life so horribly that she'd actually looked better during the time she'd been kidnapped? Maybe it was true… she did feel pretty awful lately; always stressed and worrying about something. She chuckled again, shaking her head. "Anyone other than you saying that, I would make them cry you know," she said with a playful grin. "Alright, just this once. Where am I being stolen away to this time?"

Vaati snorted, and then he looked back brightly. "Hmph. Have you ever been to Holodrum?"

The princess gasped. "I've never been but you can't mean-"

The sorcerer chuckled. "I haven't been there either. It would be a perfect opportunity to gloat over how much better Hyrule is than their inferior kingdom."

"We're not going to taunt Holodrum and they're not inferior to us," Zelda crossed her arms.

"But you have to admit we're the best," Vaati shrugged.

Zelda shook her head exasperatedly. Then she turned back with a smile. "I guess I'll… go and cancel my plans for tomorrow then." And as soon as she said those words, she felt a burden lift off of her shoulders. For the first time in a long while, she was excited about the coming day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the morning of the following day. It was supposed to be a day of excitement, of fun, and of escaping the prison of responsibility. They were supposed to go to Holodrum, a kingdom neither of them had ever been to, and they would have been able to quietly enjoy each other's company in a new land far away from Hyrule.

Instead, it had been the day where the mystery began, and the shadows of conspiracy and ill plotting followed.

Because instead of finding Zelda up and awake, sitting by the edge of the windowsill of her chambers for him to take away, Vaati found her on the floor, collapsed next to a broken vase and a puddle of water around her. The sorcerer froze at the sight, not sure of what to make of it. He'd been expecting those pretty eyes to brighten up at his arrival, but instead they were gently shut and unconscious. She lay on the floor, breathing slowly as though she were sleeping, and her pink dress fanned out around her. Bits of porcelain were scattered around her strawberry hair, along with some violets that she'd kept in the now broken vase. Violets had been one of Zelda's favorite flowers, and she often spoke bashfully that it represented the kind of delicate love that she'd dreamed to have one day.

Vaati swept over to where she was with the suddenness of a powerful gust, and he cradled her head in his arms. He didn't know what to do. He didn't even know what had happened, except that the princess was collapsed onto the floor and apparently unconscious. "Zelda! Can you hear me?!"

Vaati visibly relaxed in relief when the princess groaned at the sound of his voice. Stalks of dainty baby blue forget-me-nots fell from her fingers, the flowers dropping onto the floor as she brought her fingers up to her forehead. "Unghhh," she murmured, and then she squeezed her eyes shut, and curled over from a headache that shot through her skull.

"Tell me what happened," Vaati resisted the temptation to shake her awake, to demand her to tell him what had happened. As much as he wanted to do those things, this was one of those times that speaking loudly and demanding things were not going to help. He couldn't believe how helpless he was; he rarely knew how to make things better, and he really only knew how to break things.

"I don't…" Zelda said groggily, and she tried to push herself up. Her arms buckled under her and Vaati had to catch her as she fell back down.

"Don't move. You're not well."

"What happened…?" Zelda asked. She tried to sit up again, and she finally opened her eyes but they still looked like they were trying to find focus. Her hands touched Vaati's, and then she flinched abruptly. Her head snapped towards the surprised Vaati and she shrunk back away from him. "I sense dark magic from you," she rasped.

Vaati's hands fell against his sides and he stared blankly at the princess who was looking at him with an expression of fright. The nature of her accusation was confusing, and a sinking feeling gripped the sorcerer's gut. She was awake and conscious, but things were far from okay. "I thought you were used to that by now?" he asked slowly.

Who was this person?

The girl's physical appearance was exactly the same as Zelda, but even so Vaati wasn't sure he could recognize her. This girl who pushed herself away, crawling back away from him like he was a snake, was not the princess he knew. Her eyes were cold and closed him off from the warmth of her soul – it was the look she reserved for people she didn't trust. Her eyes wandered around the room, asking a hundred silent questions, and then they finally locked on to his.

He wasn't sure he'd heard her clearly the first time.

At the same time, he didn't know if he could stand hearing the same words again. This couldn't be happening.

"Who are you?" Zelda whispered.

fleets: And so it begins for real!
I'm not sure if it's more appropriate to label this story Adventure/Romance or Mystery/Romance...? I have no idea. Maribel mentions the Manhandla and a certain renegade wizzrobe, two characters I've kind of rambled about in my deviantart account, and yeah it should be fun writing them. And Elise... argh all I can do is shakehead-headdesk-facewall at poor Elise.
I am so excited to get this story going now that it's actually started I don't know if my little heart can take it

Dia Newman: Hahaaaa if only it worked that way x_x People are stupid snobs sometimes, I completely agree, and it makes me sad... good plot fodder though hehe

Reily96: Elise is... ugh don't get me started on Elise. She's the embodiment of all the well-meaning, good people, whose existence are nonetheless like nails on a chalkboard. I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry or just shake my head and feel sorry for myself whenever I write her. Surprisingly Roland hasn't been (according to Zelda wiki) a character name that has been used in the series (unless he's like a super duper random character that even the wiki page failed to find). I based his name off of the Borderlands 2 soldier guy (gosh I love that game)

eureka93: I'm not really sure... most of them I come up with when I'm taking a shower, or in weird hours at night... hardly ever when i'm actually working on the story itself though haha. Yup, I do not envy Zelda right now, nope

Twinbell101: Thanks! I'm really excited about writing this story :)

LovelyKiridia: Ahh thank you! Actually the basis of this story was when I was thinking about all of the problems Vaati and Zelda would have if they actually ended up together, so it was only natural to write about it :D I'm glad the OCs are good so far, and I'll keep working on the fluff! (I admit I'm still trying to figure out fluff myself since I'm so easily embarrassed)

thebeautifulvaati: One thing after the other, and it's not going to end anytime soon! I take my role as Vaati-torturer seriously XD

salmaawesome: Glad you liked it! There's a reason why I included it, which hopefully I'll reveal soon ;)

CutieCat: Ahhh thank you for the review! I'm still trying to figure out the level of fluff, since I get embarrassed super easily, and I'm still trying to figure out what Vaati and Zelda's take would be, so I'm glad you think it's realistic so far! Still trying to find that line of "realistic" and seeing how far I can push the level of fluff. It's tricky for me :O Thank you again for the review! It's comments like yours that let me gauge how I'm doing and what kind of tone I should take for the next chapter :D

Sweetest Chick: Thank you! The tone of this story is going to be different from WIR, but I hope I can deliver! :)

Flufux: They're very unpopular, unfortunately. Princess life is hard! Well... only if you actually care about your people. Vaati's approach would probably be pretty simple, but would involve a lot of unhappy people lol

Hawkmask: Hi again! Haha that's alright! I'm happy that I even get reviewers as is, and I'm always pleasantly surprised when people message me :)
People are just... stupid. That's all I can say. This story is about the stupidity of people -_-
OMG that's true! I probably should have titled WIR that, since it was all about trusting. Trust is a big thing for me in relationships, so it probably bled through a lot in the stories (to be honest I don't really like WIR's title all that much, but it was hard to change after I started it with a one shot... If I do change it, that title would totally fit!)
I was actually really surprised by the reception of the piano scene! It was just a small random piece I threw in, and I initially didn't think it was as great a scene as some of the other scenes I'd been excited to write about until I saw the reviews for it.

hilzel: Heyo! I still love your messages regardless ;) hahaha I thought you'd like poes, and Maribel since I based her off of the poe sisters in Ocarina of Time. The Zelda universe needs more sassy ghostly monsters. She's going to play a decent role in this story, so you'll see more of her.