A/N: My indecision has reached its apex, and, therefore, I have posted a poll on my profile. The poll concerns the future of this story, and the future of my profile. As I told Mazzax Manacry via PM, I am considering splitting "the Wrath of Majora" into 3 parts: a childhood portion, which will end with what is revealed on my poll; a Majora's Mask portion, with my version of the Majora's Mask plot; and an adult era portion, which will pick up after a time jump to complete the events of Ocarina of Time with a happy ending.

As noted in the poll, one option will make the adult era impossible, but that doesn't mean I will be absent. Honestly, idk if I will ever be inspired to write something like this in the future, especially since my senior year of university starts this June, and after that I'll probably be looking for a job in a crime lab as a forensic chemist. Anyway, on to the story!

Disclaimer: all rights to the Legend of Zelda and all related properties belong to the geniuses at Nintendo.

Chapter 10 — Discontent

As it turned out, the meeting that Link had been ordered to was not, in fact, a signing of an ill-advised treaty with the Gerudo, but it was a private conference between the other, already allied, races of Hyrule and the King.

The letter that Impa had received was a notification that the delegations from other races had arrived and wished to speak with the King immediately, and, as Link looked around the King's private meeting room — accessed through a hidden door in the wall behind the throne — he noticed a few familiar faces, one of which surprised him.

Around the broad, circular table in the room sat the King with his back to a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and situated to the King's left were arrayed a royal scribe, followed by Darunia, Chief of the Gorons, lounging on what seemed to be a stool made of pure marble, a few Zora, including the shopkeeper, a Sheikah representative from Kakariko village, Impa, and, to Link's astonishment, Saria sat on a small child's chair placed on a stack of four thick tomes, with her feet resting on a stool and both her fairy and Navi chatting amicably with Princess Zelda, who was on her father's right side.

Link was standing guard inside of the entrance, with his sword on his hip, his shield strapped to his back, and a heavy spear in his left hand pointing towards the ten-foot ceiling. Upon her entry, Link raised his eyebrow at Saria, who just winked at him in response. Once everyone had situated themselves and pleasantries were exchanged, the King met Link's eye and subtly nodded.

Knowing his duties well, Link responded by lifting his spear and tapping its base against the stone floor loudly, catching everyone's attention.

The King cleared his throat and prayed aloud, "May the goddess Nayru pour out her wisdom over this meeting; may the goddess Farore ignite those speaking with the fire of her courage; may the power of Din enforce our decisions; and to the goddess Hylia, we give thanks for the peace that blesses our great nation."

The whole room let out a chorus of "amen"s before the King continued, "I bring this conference to order and ask that all of those who object to the impending treaty of peace between the kingdom of Hyrule and the tribe of the Gerudo to speak now or forever hold their peace, beginning with our newest member, Saria of the forest."

With that the meeting began in earnest, with each race speaking their objections exactly as Link knew them: the Deku tree was killed for not giving Farore's Emerald to Ganondorf; Din's Ruby was stolen after a visit from Ganondorf, who requested it, and placed in Dodongo's cavern, causing the monsters inside to become more aggressive, forcing Darunia to seal his race's favorite food source with a large boulder; and Lord Jabu-Jabu falling ill after a visit from Ganondorf, who demanded Nayru's Sapphire, which caused Princess Ruto to be swallowed up by the giant fish.

After the Zora's conclusion, there was a moment of silence as the King stroked his beard in deep thought.

"I must say that this is truly beyond troubling. The fact that Lord Ganondorf personally visited each of your respective races in order to threatened your very livelihoods speaks of the evil that I am now convinced resides within his heart," began the King. "It also speaks of the courage with which each of you has journeyed here, under his very nose, to counsel my decisions."

Turning to Impa, the King ordered with an even more stern countenance, "quadruple the guard on the princess, and discreetly have all of the exits to the Gerudo guest compound surveilled. If Ganondorf so much as stares out of a window longingly, I want to know about it.

"The rest of you will act as though this meeting went smoothly in confirmation of the details of the treaty," he continued to the assembled nobility. "I will call for Ganondorf's delegation to meet with us at sundown tomorrow, claiming to be ready to sign it, and the full force of the Castle Guard will ambush him in the throne room.

"Finally, as this is a most dangerous and clandestine procedure, we must keep the details discussed here exclusively amongst the people in this room. It is likely that Ganondorf will not take this betrayal lightly, so stay vigilant. Dismissed."

There was a cacophony of scraping as the chairs around the table were pushed back and the delegations exited. The King, however, remained seated, which prompted his daughter and her party to remain as well.

Once the doors were once again shut, the King let out a long sigh that seemed to age him considerably.

"It seems I owe you an apology, my daughter."

"Nonsense," Zelda replied curtly, "you were doing what you thought was best for our kingdom. It is regrettable that our relationship became strained, but all was made right in the end."

This remark was met with a raised eyebrow, "Oh? Who is this young woman and what has she done with my stubborn daughter?"

At this, each occupant of the room showed varying degrees of amusement. Zelda and her father chuckled lightly, which evoked a smirk from Impa, but Link, true to his duty, could not allow his smiling eyes to affect the rest of his face, which remained stoic.

"I still want you to travel to Termina as soon as this mess is through, but it will be more of a vacation than a political visit," the King stated as the chuckles died out. "However, for now, the safest thing for you is to remain under the guard of our best soldiers, including you, young Link."

The directness with which His Highness addressed Link shocked him into stutter out, "t-thank you, Y-your Highness. I endeavor to live up to your expectations."

"Good lad. Now, as much as I would like to allow my daughter to grace Castle Town with her presence once again," at this statement's accompanied stare, Zelda's pointed ears turned a wonderful shade of maroon, "We must keep our personal interactions from indicating our displeasure with the Gerudo."

"I understand. I shall continue to be grounded," Zelda said mournfully.

"For that, I am sorry, my daughter."

Final count: 1,057 words

A/N: once again, I encourage you to review, and please check out my poll!