Thanks to TheRobynGrayson for the follow, and on with the chapter. Link has one problem solved, but lands himself in another? Let's hope he can fix it.
- Familiar.
The next morning, Ravio stood in the shadows of the meeting room, watching the proceedings with sharp eyes. He hadn't broken the habit since the first incident with Vilen and he wasn't about to. Old habits die hard, after all, and he had plenty of those.
Watching Link poke Zelda every ten minutes was quite amusing – even if he himself wouldn't particularly like to receive the snappish glares she was giving him. Hilda's were worse though. Someone had to make sure the Hyrulean princess didn't fall asleep, and Link was the only person who was qualified enough to do so. Let alone dared.
Wrapped in his soundproof cocoon, he watched without listening, thoroughly grateful for his ability to lip-read. Ever since his princess had informed him of Vilen's likely presence in Lorule, he'd been on guard, keeping an eye out for any sign of the former ambassador. So far, there hadn't been any sighting, but he was confident Vilen would make his move soon. And then he'd do exactly what he wished he'd done the first time around.
Hilda beckoned him over, and he smiled faintly, dispelling the bubble of silence with a snap of his fingers. He had a feeling she knew what she wanted.
"Yes, Princess?" he queried.
She pressed a folded piece of parchment into his hand. "Will you give this to General Lindak, please? I believe it's the research he requested."
He nodded. "Of course, milday. As you wish." Bingo.
Zelda had frozen where she sat, back straight, eyes seeing nothing. That is, until Link leaned over and whispered something in her ear that had her blushing scarlet, eyes darting sideways. Ravio shook his head at his counterpart, chuckling as he slid the parchment across the table.
Link palmed the note, giving it a quick glance and the Lorulean princess an appreciate grin, before he stuffed the parchment in his pouch. Hilda grinned back at him, throwing a sly wink in Zelda's direction. The blonde princess shivered, glaring at her, and jerked a finger across her throat.
He raised an eyebrow at that, snapping his fingers in warning. Zelda's eyes widened as Link removed his left glove and tapped his Triforce pointedly, exchanging glances with Ravio. They mightn't have understood each other all the time, but when it came to Triforce matters, they were on the same wavelength. Link's meaning was clear, even to those from kingdoms who hadn't even heard of magical artefacts.
"Yes, General Lindak is right," Hilda agreed with a sigh. "It wouldn't be considered a wise move to attack Lorule, considering the power we hold. My Advisor comes from a long line of heroes, and his magic gifts him powerful abilities even without his Triforce piece. With it, however," she shuddered.
"With his Triforce piece, and being the first bearer in a thousand years, Advisor Narbitt is a serious force to be reckoned with. I've yet to see him truly angry," Link added. "But it is not something I have any mind to accomplish."
"I don't get angry very easily. The last person I probably got angry at was the former Ambassador of Reeping – and if I hadn't kept a leash on my temper, I could have melted a crater in the throne room." Ravio confessed.
"Which would be a lot worse than a crack in the wall." Hilda grinned. "Like the one General Lindak has to pay for."
Link cringed. "You still remember that?"
She chuckled. "A bit hard not to, General."
A piercing whistle cut through the discussion, followed by a tune Ravio knew well. He tilted his head to one side, frowning as his princess and the Hyruleans glanced his way. Yes, it was Sheerow, and since Hilda was here with him, it had to be express mail from Hyrule. Curious.
"I'll get it,"
After shutting the door behind him, he hurried over to where Sheerow perched on a ledge, feathers ruffled. With a worried squawk, his pet dropped the letter into his cupped palms. He took enough time to scan the folded parchment to take note of its receiver, before he returned to the meeting room.
They all glanced up as he re-entered the room, a puzzled frown creasing his face. "Link, it's for you,"
His counterpart took the offered letter. "This is from Seres," he muttered in surprise.
Zelda groaned. "Well, it can't be anything good, that's for sure."
Link pushed his chair back. "My apologies, but it would appear something has come up."
Hilda nodded in understanding. "Ravio and I will come with you,"
Ravio sighed. "Until further notice, this meeting is on hold. We'll back after a short break."
The four of them filed out of the meeting room, and Zelda turned to Link impatiently when they were some distance away. He was frowning, a scowl on his face as he read the contents of the message.
"It would appear Irene has been her usual self, and she's been threatening to tell Osfala something of extreme confidentially. Seres says here that it was 'either Greenie tells her what he did, or I tell Osfala.'"
Zelda shrugged. "Well, clearly I don't know anything about it. Any ideas, Link?"
He shook his head. "No, not a clue."
Ravio gulped. "Um, Link? I'd check the letter again – there's two pieces of parchment."
Link flipped to the second page, and his face went white. He started breathing irregularly and his eyes widened. Ravio, recognising a panic attack when he saw one, grabbed Link by the arm and pulled a short distance away from the two princesses. Link's hands shook as he clutched the parchment, knuckles pale from holding on too tight.
"Easy, Mr. Hero," he muttered. "Easy. Take a deep breath, and tell me what happened."
"Irene – blackmail ," Link managed through clenched teeth. "Zel's going to be furious."
"Don't be ridiculous. What do you mean, blackmail? Did she find something she wasn't supposed to?"
Link laughed grimly. "Find? Farore, no. She caught me. If it'd been Osfala, he would have been too busy staring to notice me doing the same."
Ravio groaned. "Link, what did you do? It's got something to do with Zelda, right?"
"Yeah. I, well, I've been abusing my magic." he admitted. "Using it for things I really shouldn't use it for."
This was just getting worse and worse. Ravio wasn't if he wanted to hit Link or fall over laughing at his counterpart's stupidity. He was an idiot. A really big, stupid, crazy, moronic fool of an idiot.
"Like sneaking into places you shouldn't go. You'd gotten so used that you didn't even you'd get caught. Nice one, genius." he growled. "Irene's right – you have to tell Zelda. As soon as possible."
"What?" Link panicked. "I can't! I can't – she's going to freak!"
Oh for the love of – Ravio snarled internally. "Get a grip!" he snapped. "You have the Triforce of Courage, for Farore's sake, Link! Anyone would think you're scared of her!"
He recoiled. "I'm not scared of her – I'm scared of failing her. There's a difference,"
"Tell. Her."
Link shoved the parchment at him, causing him to react on instinct and activate his magic. He watched in horror as the letters burned to ash, oblivious to Link steering Zelda in the direction of her temporary chambers, promising to explain when they got there. His princess sighed as she turned to him.
"Are we following them?" she asked.
He nodded. "I'm going to soundproof Zelda's chambers just in case."
She blinked. "You're going to soundproof them?" she repeated.
"It's Link and Zelda."
She chuckled. "You have a point."
When they reached their destination, Ravio pressed his ear to the door, as much he didn't want to. He heard Link finish explaining, and nearly choked on his surprise. That wasn't what he'd thought had happened but… this was Link. Nothing much else needed saying.
Zelda's response made him pull back from the door and immediately soundproof the surrounding area. 'You could have just asked.' Good Goddesses, there was something wrong that pair. Hilda took one look at him, and sighed. They had expected something like this to happen.
"I'll go call the meeting off until tomorrow. We could all use a break."
He just nodded mutely. Ugh, he swore he needed brain bleach. Good thing he had Hilda, then. She was certainly distracting. Mmm, yes, he didn't mind that idea at all. She wouldn't either. No, she would enjoy it just as much as he would. And since he'd figured out how to draw oxygen out his magic, they could keep going for as long as they wanted.
When Hilda returned, she saw the gleam in his eyes and grinned in wicked delight. "Ooh, someone feels like trouble. Shall we?"
"Only if you ask nice enough,"
And thus this results in long hours of kissing. ;) Link and Zelda, however... *shudders* no. No, they took it a little further than that. What would you expect from them? Any less? I certainly don't. They get themselves in all sorts of situations anyway.
See ya!
