fleets: Okay, first I have to give a HUGE apology for people waiting for the update on OA. It was at a point where I'd write a few sentences, erase it, and then start again. It's not exactly writer's block, because I do know what the chapter is going to include, but now that we're in the wrap-up phase I have to keep going back and forth making sure I am tying up all loose ends.

In short, it takes a lot of energy from me to write a chapter for OA right now, and energy is not something I have in abundance at the moment. DON'T WORRY I'LL FINISH OA EVENTUALLY ( I mean, I only have less than five chapters to go?). But in the meanwhile, I just wanted to go back to writing something that I could just produce without using too much brain power. Apologies, but I hope you can enjoy this one while you wait.


Chapter 3: Mind Games

It had been three days then, since that embarrassing incident where she'd been attacked by the palace monsters. The first thought that had popped into Zelda's head after the first few hours of the attack was, "How dare they attack her, Vaati's own princess! Where's the discipline?! Why doesn't he punish them?"

This thought was then immediately followed by a state of self-loathing which had lasted up until now, for the past three days. She could see what he was doing to her, and there was little she could do about it. He was playing on her preconceived notions about his motives (i.e. that he valued her immensely as the grand prize) and was gradually tricking her to see herself as his prize. Whenever he did something that went against her expectations, such as not protecting her (her, the one he went to all the trouble of kidnapping and claiming was his wife for crying out loud), she would become surprised by his lack of inaction and immediately become upset that he was doing something that made no sense to her (why kidnap her if he was just going to leave her alone, or let her get hurt by his minions?). Zelda hated it if something didn't make sense, and whenever something didn't make sense she would argue.

Eventually this turned into her arguing for Vaati to treat her like she was his responsibility, which was exactly what he wanted her to do.

It was psychological warfare, something Zelda of all people should have been good at, and she was getting beaten by him.

Of course she was angry.

Zelda sat on her bed, her long hair thrown messily over her shoulders in an act of defiance that she wasn't going to make an effort to look pretty for him, and stared pointedly past the two Armos statues to freedom. For all the interactions between her and Vaati so far, the sorcerer had ended up making a fool of her. There was no way she was just going to allow that to keep happening, and she needed to find some way to break his confidence.

If I can get him agitated enough… maybe he'll slip up and make a mistake. That would be my chance to escape, or even better, end him somehow.

She crossed her arms over her chest, squinting past the Armos guards and at the monsters wandering about on the far side of the palace. She needed to figure Vaati out if she could have any hope of winning; what did he know about her, what did he think she was like, and what kind of reactions did he expect from her?

Zelda came up with a mental list, and gradually she began to see what she could do to take him completely by surprise. First, he thought she was a sheltered girl who couldn't take care of herself if she were attacked. He(and most of Hyrule, she supposed), expected her to be The Princess, only handling things with silk gloves and having the maids dress her. Not many people knew that the royals of Hyrule were given basic Sheikah training from a young age for self-defense. Second, based off of the first assumption, he would think that even if she did attempt to escape, she would run back to look for help if she were attacked.

Zelda briefly bit her cheek. Okay, so she had run back and his assumption may have been correct. Moving on.

Most importantly, third, based on his first and second assumptions, he would definitely NOT expect her to try the same escape plan again. He would not expect her to hurt herself deliberately, in a clear message of insubordination. She would not let him have his way, and she was sure he didn't think of her as someone strong enough to do what she was now considering.

She was his ace. She was his symbol that he had literally captured and dominated Hyrule. If she took that away from him, he would lose an important part of his victory. His win against the Hylians would never be as complete without her in his possession.

A grin that was menacing enough that even the monsters would have mistaken her as one of their own played on Zelda's lips. What would he do if she went out and let herself get hurt? Her intention wasn't suicide, no, that wasn't it at all. Suicide was never a win, and she damn well deserved a win against that bastard. No, she was going to give him a scare, a threat that he could lose his precious perfect victory if she so desired.

He would be shaken. He would be nervous.

He would make mistakes.

And then he'll know he'd messed with the wrong princess.

Slowly she uncrossed her arms and stood up from where she'd been sitting on the bed. Zelda walked over to her closet, almost gliding, with the terrifying stare of a wraith. She threw open the closet and pulled out the pink dress she had initially been wearing during her capture, and ignored the eye bat sentry that had begun to flit about her almost nervously.

Instead of shyly excusing herself to the washroom to change, she undressed her current garb boldly, tossing it onto the floor and kicking it aside. No longer was she going to be the proper princess he wanted her to be. Vaati wanted her to be the meek, innocent, and sheltered princess whose modesty he could break. She thought she could begin to understand him and his motives now. No more would he be able to watch her change clothes uncomfortably as the sentry followed her every move. Of course she had no proof he'd ever watched her like that, but it seemed like the sort of thing he would do; that guy liked to see people squirm, to see people mentally crumble before his rule. Well she was going to give him none of that now.

Zelda turned sharply to look at the sentry straight in the eye, and she had the small bat creature flitter away backwards against the wall. She dared it to keep looking, with her silent stare. Even though she was only in her undergarments and in the most exposed position a high-status woman could be, it was difficult to describe her as anything remotely desirable.

With her cold, calculating aura, she was a horrifying witch.

"I'm just," she smiled in a terribly cheerful manner, "going to take a walk."

She slipped into her old royal dress. The pink satin dampened and hid some of her threatening aura, but she still managed to look quite scary in pink. She was glad that Link didn't have to see her like this: people rarely managed to make her angry, like really angry, but when they did she could be a menace. Not many people ever got to see this ticked off side to her normally friendly personality. She tied up her hair in a ponytail and her shoes clicked on the floor as she strode towards the exit, her cute red bow bobbing above her head.

As soon as she had stepped past the Armos statues, a few monsters who had been patrolling the area took notice. They stopped to watch her out of curiosity, but kept a cautious distance from the guardian statues. Zelda returned their gaze, and then began to walk slowly, with the graceful steps only a princess could take, towards the monsters and away from safety. The monsters charged immediately as soon as they saw that she was outside the reach of the Armos statues.

At this point, the small sentry that had been keeping watch of her began to flit around her in alarm. As the growing number of monsters approached her from all directions, she lifted her silk gloved arm gently, quieting the little bat creature. She smiled softly.

"Just taking a walk," she whispered, and her smile twisted into a smirk when she noticed someone else watching out of the corner of her eye.

The princess lifted her head just as the first wave of monsters closed in on her, and her eyes locked onto Vaati's who was sitting perched up by the ceiling with a perplexed expression. The sorcerer wasn't watching in relaxed amusement this time. His brows were furrowed and his eyes wandered hurriedly as he tried to figure out what was going on. This wasn't part of his plan. The princess of Hyrule wasn't supposed to do something like this. Vaati's shoulders were tense as he watched the palace monsters charge towards Zelda.

She smiled even wider. That was such a nice expression on him. Bastard.

"I win," Zelda mouthed, letting him know that she had seen him. She liked to think she saw a bead of sweat roll down the side of his face just before her vision was blotted out by dozens of skeletal creatures.

The next few seconds were a blur of confusion. She couldn't really remember what had happened because so many things were happening at once. A Bubble collided into her shoulder with open jaws, but before it could bite down it was knocked away by a Stalfos that had also been trying to get to her.

Then, a great and powerful gust came out of nowhere, swirling around her savagely. Explosions, shrieks, wails and howls screamed all around her in a chaotic discord, and she brought up her hands involuntarily to shield herself from the onslaught of bones clattering by her as the skeletal monsters were thrown around in the air.

Not a single splinter touched her. It was as though the wind moved everything in such a way that nothing could get to her. She peeked above her arm that hid her face.

Crack!

Zelda yelped in surprise as the monster hoard, which had only moments before been circling helplessly around her in a vicious tornado, suddenly shot in every which way by a powerful sonic boom.

"Nice day for a walk."

Zelda stiffened. Slender fingers slipped around her waist and kept her in a gentle yet firm grip. It wasn't tight enough to signal intended harm, but it was tight enough to tell her she wasn't going to be walking off any time soon. She could feel the other person's controlled breathing just along her neck, shaking somewhat from rage. Slowly, Zelda turned her head towards Vaati, and what she saw made her breath hitch in fear.

He had the most terrifying glare as though he would burn down all of the monsters with just his gaze. His free right hand was contorted, clawlike, with his fingers splayed apart and ready to deal immediate damage to anything that chose to make the wrong decision. Actually, from the way he was looking right now he probably would have destroyed the first thing that dared to move. The air around them rippled uneasily, moving back and forth as though the breeze couldn't decide which way to go.

"No one," he hissed venomously, "lays a finger on her." Even though the sorcerer spoke barely above a whisper, the princess was sure every monster in the palace could hear his voice as loudly as a shout. His voice alone was so frigid that several of the monsters finally backed away slowly, their bones chattering as they shook in fright. The remaining ones ran away after them and they all retreated until none were left near the palace's lord and his princess.

Zelda began to feel uncomfortable, being held so close to someone she despised. Gathering her courage once again, she put up a steel hard expression that was cold enough to match Vaati's, and spoke shortly, "Let go."

The sorcerer said nothing, but the corner of his left eye that was left unhidden by his bangs twitched.

"I said let go."

Without warning, Vaati shot his terrible glare her way and surprisingly, let go of her waist. It was only seconds after, however, that he reached over for her wrist and yanked her towards him, hard.

"Ow!" Zelda cried. Her hands hit his chest as she was pulled in closer, and she pushed away with futile effort. She was immediately hushed when her eyes met his. He wasn't fooling around anymore, like in the beginning. He was dangerously serious.

"I know what you were trying to do," he whispered in that same frightening voice.

Zelda ignored the pain around her wrist from Vaati's iron grip. Even with her current predicament, she couldn't help but smirk from the way she had splintered the sorcerer's flippantly confident attitude from earlier. "Do you?"

His grip tightened and anger flashed across his face. "Isn't it rather irresponsible of a princess to commit suicide when her country is in danger?"

"Oh, is that what I was doing?" She retorted. In three quick movements, she twisted free from Vaati's grasp, her Sheikah training invaluable in this situation. She laughed inwardly when she noticed Vaati's brief look of surprise at her swift, easy escape. "Is it still suicide if one knows they won't die?" Zelda gave him a sly grin, making it clear she wasn't just his helpless captive.

"Are you crazy?!" Vaati finally snapped. "If I hadn't been there you definitely would have died! I saw that look on your face: you were prepared to let them do anything to you. You hadn't intended to fight!"

"Then perhaps I knew someone would be there to save me."

Vaati's fists were clenched, and from the way they trembled it seemed he was using all of his effort not to hit her. "Link isn't anywhere near this palace, prin – "

"Maybe I knew my husband would save me," Zelda grinned wider. She could see the confusion on his face. She was turning his game against him, and nothing made her happier.

"You don't honestly think that," Vaati guffawed, waving his hands at her once he'd gotten over his initial mental pause from what she'd said. "You wouldn't admit that out loud."

"Why, because I'm too good for you? That is true. I am too good for you." The princess turned her heel, her pink shoes clicking on the white tiles, and brushed her hair over her shoulder dismissively. She began walking to the palace balcony, but not before Vaati appeared in her way, stopping her in her tracks.

"I don't have time for your nonsense right now, princess," Vaati seethed. "We can play all you want later, but for now just stay out of my way."

"Then maybe you can move out of my way," Zelda scoffed, indicating with her hands the sorcerer who was literally in her way.

Vaati took a few steps towards her, and they were so close that if either of them took another step they would have bumped heads. "You'd better not do something like that again," he reached up and ran the backside of his hand along her cheek. It would have been a sweet gesture coming from anyone besides him; Vaati's had an undertone of a threat. Zelda simply continued to glare back defiantly, determined not to be perturbed. Vaati continued, "I've been nothing if not hospitable to you so far, and I could have put you in some disgusting dungeon if I wanted to, but I didn't. I could have taken you already, but having you begging for me is more appealing so I haven't." His hands finally stopped at her chin. He seemed to take a moment to admire her, and the dangerous, somewhat hungry look would have rattled anyone. It took Zelda everything not to flinch away from him. "However, my patience isn't infinite and if you keep trying me this way, I will stop being so nice to you, dear."

"I'm not afraid of you," Zelda whispered, her eyes narrowing.

Vaati smirked, and leaned forward then, while tilting her chin up so that her lips would be forced to meet his. The princess, who had been completely still under Vaati's threats up until now, lashed out with a vicious slap. Vaati saw it coming and warped a few feet away, giggling again, and back to his casually confident attitude.

"No, you're not. And I expect no less from my wife. We will definitely have fun later," the sorcerer grinned devilishly, and grinned even wider when the princess wrinkled her nose disdainfully. Vaati shrugged, and shook his head. "But right now, I can't have you distracting me. I'm the only one stopping Hyrule from being destroyed by monsters, and you're ruining my efforts to keep the castle intact."

Zelda's head snapped towards Vaati, her eyes widening questioningly at his comment. What did he mean by that? What was going on in Hyrule right now?

The wind mage snickered, leaving her with that enigmatic comment for her to torture herself over. "So if you care about your precious Hyrule you'll stop being a nuisance to me." And with that, he vanished, leaving behind a few scattered bones and a troubled princess in the middle of it all.


fleets: First, I need to start with an important disclaimer. I do not believe in suicide. It's NEVER the right option: hell it shouldn't even be an option. If it looked like suicide was a viable option to get back at someone, get a reaction, etc., then I have failed. Zelda's measures were really extreme, but she knew Vaati wouldn't let her be hurt like that. She knew there was no way she could die - she's still well aware of her responsibilities as a princess and she herself can't risk dying for the sake of Hyrule.

Given the premise of this story, I might have to go into a few mature topics (maybe, maybe not - I haven't decided on this yet), and there's a chance I'll skirt some controversial topics. I probably won't have to... but just to be safe I'm throwing that out there.

I'm still trying to feel comfortable writing Zelda. I'm trying to go for a Tetra-esque variant mixed with some TP/SS personality-wise, since FS Zelda didn't have enough quotes to make a good judgment. I'm tired of all the damsel in distresses, so let's have one savage captive instead :D

Anyways, we're done with introductions. Ready for the plot? Oh... wait you wanted the romance didn't you. We'll get there. It doesn't look like much of anything right now, but I'm a slow mover ;)

Guest: And here's some more! Thank you for your support :)

Light Seeker 001: Haha well considering the first chapter was pretty much near the end of the plot progress, you can kind of guess how it'll go. And no, because this is Four Sword (not Four Sword Adventures), Shadow Link won't be making an appearance :(

Guest: XOXOXO XD

DarkSakura2256: Same! There are very few romance stories I will read without starting to feel uncomfortable and awkward. I *was* inspired by a few very well written ones, though, and now I think I can give it a shot without giggling at the garbage I wrote. Thanks for your continued support! You are such a loyal reader ;askdjfksf