Twenty-six: Part Two
Servants stalk after her like meek chicks as she makes her way down the snowy hill and across the plain into the park, taking a shortcut towards the castle. As bothersome as the lady's rejection may be, it's a hurdle that can be taken. Link suggested she ask for financial help from across the sea, but Zelda is loath to ask the round-eared for help. Besides, she can scramble. She is just as averse to implementing a new set of taxes, but she has a duty to her people. What they give is for them; she takes but gives back. But Castle Town can't take much more. Lord Zant's measures against the Gerudos have been successful –at relatively little personal cost– but despite the end of gerudo threats, stability in the south is far from achieved.
Her ears pick up a muted thud and sounds of delight. Zelda dismisses the flock of servants and swerves west towards the archery training grounds hidden behind the trees, her Black Hand in tow.
"…the first try!"
"…lucky…"
"Say, you're quite skilled with…" The voices come nearer. Zelda takes a shortcut through a row of thick pines. The Black Hand isn't fast enough to catch the branch Zelda's pushed aside, and it smacks him, spraying snow and making noise. He laughs before she can apologize.
"…don't!" The female voice giggles, just as Zelda and her guard emerge onto the little clearing. Snow tangled in her hair and a snowball in her hand, Lady Ina doesn't even notice them, and neither does Lord Ike, too busy shielding himself from the northern lady's attacks. At the other end of the clearing, Lady Lucia is shooting arrows.
Goddesses, Zelda thinks, admiring the lady's beautiful, clearly custom-made white bow, this is probably the most elegant form of fighting, but it surely is the most elegant form of killing, she adds in thought as Lucia's arrow hits the bull's eye.
Zelda ducks just in time to avoid a snowball in her face; the Black Hand curses. It must have hit him straight in the opened visor.
"Apologies, sir, I did not mean to aim at you!" Ike calls out and lets go of his makeshift shield made of branches.
Ina spins around with big eyes and a flushed face. "Your Grace!"
"Bored of your niece already, my lady?" Zelda asks.
"On the contrary," Ina announces with a sniff of disdain, "I was cast out by the youngsters themselves, a brazen bunch. I can't decide whether I traded children for adults."
"We must be better company than your mother, Ina" Ike says and throws another snowball at the Black Hand. Ina blushes hard.
"Weigh your words carefully, my lady," Zelda says, simply enjoying the lady's expression. "They will insult one or the other."
Her answer earns her a gasp from Ina and laughter from Lucia, who has lowered her bow and walks over in a lively pace. The snow clings to Lucia's skirts after she rises from her curtsy. "Perhaps you should heed your own advice?" she says with a smirk. "The lady says you've been conversing with her mother; if so, that seems to have been a short meeting."
"The Lady of Kokiri is not one for big speeches." And Zelda wonders what the lady would think if she saw her daughter associate with the round-eared. Probably what they all must think of Link, it occurs to her, and suddenly she realizes that her brother isn't here. "Has my brother gone to the lecture without you? Or can I expect a snowball to my face from somewhere in the treetops?"
"Floradix' studies do not need any more bad publicity and disparaging through association with foreigners. I've decided to spare Link a headache," Lucia says, and Zelda studies the Crimean woman's neutral expression. She is proving a surprising amount of sensibility by willingly staying away from an endeavor so crucial and controversial as the presentation of Floradix' studies.
Zelda's first instinct is to utter a veiled insult, but she realizes that for once – she is perplexed. "I… I confess, I cannot gauge Link's reaction," she utters, having trouble gauging her own reaction to what can only be interpreted as an act of love. "Was he thankful for your concerns or did he tell you to shit on other people's opinions?"
"He was thrilled." Lucia shrugs. "We had a disagreement, but it's for the best." A servant comes with a plate full of steaming little apple cakes, and Lucia needs a few moments to choose from the variously shaped delicacies. "He's not much of a talker, but he almost talked his mouth off trying to convince me to accompany him."
"It's good to know he has someone who doesn't always pander to his whims."
Lucia sighs. "If you could call that a whim. So… He used to climb these trees? Please, tell me about that."
"Ah, Link kept that detail to himself. It seems he has a sense of pride after all." Zelda chuckles, playing with her gloves. "We both did. See that treetop… right there?" She points up to the blue skies and the big dark tree whose naked branches loom over the smaller treetops in its proximity. Lucia looks puzzled. "The one that towers above the others. It's among the highest in these gardens. You can see all the way beyond the city walls to Faron Woods from up there if you dare climb it. There are smaller and much more challenging trees here, but that one we only climbed once before our mother had all its lower branches sawed off."
Lucia laughs. "If my kid climbed that thing, I think deforestation would be my answer."
"A sensible reaction. You have to keep in mind that my mother was a Faron native and grew up on a large deku plantation, so I daresay she was partly to blame for our early antics. Link is still somewhat of a tree-hugger."
"He is. On our journey to the city we made a little detour through Faron Woods and your late mother's estate. Such a beautiful spot in Hyrule. Link insisted on taking me on an excursion to look for the Master Sword."
"Isn't that name just the epitome of creativity?" Lord Ike makes his presence known by intruding on the conversation. "Hmm, apple cakes."
"Don't judge a sword by its name, my lord, but by the man who wields it. Legend says that only the Hero of Time has succeeded in pulling the Master Sword from its stony sheath," Zelda reminds him, reaching for the cakes. His hands aren't gloved, and he smells of pines and snow. Their fingers almost touch as he decides to take a small cake as well, but she withdraws hers quickly. She's had too much to eat already.
Lucia, however, stuffs her mouth with the baked goods. "Then why is it still there?" she asks around a mouthful of pie.
"The Hero has to return it after his quest. A loan from the Goddesses, if you would," Zelda explains.
"That way it's always where it's supposed to be. The Goddesses must ensure that the next Hero can find it in time to save Hyrule whenever it will need some more saving. Ashera knows the army isn't worth squat in times of despair," Ike remarks and bites into his apple cake with relish.
Zelda laughs. "I find those words highly entertaining, coming from the lips of a man who is said to have turned the tide in a pancontinental war. A rumor that does not treat your army kindly."
"A false rumor. I fought alongside my friends."
"And can someone who is not you attest to that?" Zelda quips.
Ike points to Lucia, but she shakes her head and turns back to her bow, apparently refusing to be part of the conversation. "Say, where is your husband, Majesty?" he asks. "Attending to the realm? Someone has to do it."
"Believe it or not, I've just been attending to it by trying to get a lady to redistribute her funding."
"And can someone who is not you attest to that?"
No. If you asked Lady Dayan, she would classify it as begging, Zelda admits to herself."My mother-in-law, if you dare speak to her. I doubt she holds your company in higher regards than you do hers."
For just a moment, the sun hides behind a strip of clouds and his hair is of the same royal blue color as his velvety cloth. Wiping snow off his doublet, he blinks. "Funding for what?"
"Suddenly you've developed an interested in Hyrule's finances?" Zelda lifts one brow into a perfectly derisive arch. "And when did you start to care for someone other than yourself?"
"If I am to wither away for the rest of my days in this realm, I might as well try to wither away in a manner as comfortable as possible. Of course," and now he lifts a brow, "that may go against your interests."
"Strangely enough, you share those sentiments with several thousand Twili refugees. While prepared, the rush my council and I anticipated has turned out to be more massive than previously thought. We are actively creating shelter, but supply and demand don't meet anymore."
She watches him silently chew on his apple cake and study something in the distance. At the other end of the clearing, Lucia and Ina have gone back to shooting arrows, apparently not interested in taking part in any political conversations anymore.
"I see," Ike says after a while, rubbing his straight nose, "I could give you enough funds to accommodate every single Twili fleeing the south."
"Could you?" Zelda crosses her arms and tries hard to sound condescending. "I did not ask for your help, my lord, and I do not see how you would benefit from that."
"But you need it," he points out. "It doesn't seem like you have the luxury of choosing if you have to ask your mother-in-law. In this country, almost everywhere I go I am met with hostility and prejudice. The Twili people have been the only people in Hyrule to treat me like one of their own. Is it so difficult to believe that I'd like to pay them back for what little kindness I've received?"
"It is not," Zelda says, smiling in amusement, "but what you're saying is you're willing to shell out several hundred thousand rupees without demanding anything in return. Really?"
"Of course it'd be appreciated if, in return for my generosity, you were to offer me ambassador's rights."
"My, I fear you might be getting greedy, my lord. You already have freedom of the city."
"That is right, I do. But every single one of my steps is reported directly to you." He says, shrugging. Zelda already knows what is going to come next. It's always the same with him, she thinks with exasperation. "Several hundred thousand rupees are a small price to pay for true freedom and the safety of a people on the run. You call off every single one of your spies. I want to be able to attend to my needs without one of your knights holding the pot. I want my letters to be private. I want to have the rights of the ambassador Crimea does not have."
Zelda's brow rises higher than before. "Without all the work that comes with it, I assume?"
"Well, the spot is vacant, but I can't fill it," Ike points out.
Indeed he can't. Elincia and the Commonwealth must be burning up to appoint him ambassador, but it would be folly even by their standards, as Lord Ike is an official guest by status and a hostage by rights. A problem that is not Zelda's, a dilemma she does not care to discuss.
For an entire complex of buildings, ambassador's rights for Ike are a small price to pay for Zelda as well, but precisely that is the reason why she is uncomfortable with the idea. He would be essentially giving her the buildings for free, and in exchange he'd be getting too much leverage. "Thank you for the offer, my lord. But you can keep your money to yourself. I do have other options." Enough of this. Zelda turns towards the castle, sighing inwardly. There's so much to do. Ah well, time to go beg someone else for money, she says to herself.
But Ike doesn't seem to want to give up that easy. He must be really desperate for his freedom. "Wait," he exclaims, and Zelda turns back around for some reason, "are you really refusing to accept full funding? A bunch of money I offer you with almost no strings attached?"
"It is precisely that lack of strings that concerns me, my lord."
He laughs. "You cannot be serious. What does that say about you as a queen?"
To Zelda's left, her Black Hand steps closer and puts a hand on his sword, but Zelda gives him a quick sign to retreat out of earshot. "I don't know what game you are playing," she hisses, stepping closer to Ike, "but I can only assume that you are trying to play me with leverage. And if you do that, you play my people, which I will not let you do."
"If I just offered you orphanages, would you not even accept that? Shelter for the children?" He studies her while nodding his head, almost as if to reaffirm his terrible opinion of her.
The alarm bells still ring in Zelda's head, but his words have forced her to at least consider ignoring them. An orphanage in exchange for his demands, that sounds much more reasonable. The refugees most in need of help would be safe. Less money to beg for.
Her stomach tightens. She hates him for forcing her hand. Maybe he's right about her being a terrible person, because who hates someone who builds orphanages? "Let's start with one orphanage," she relents after a brief moment of silent struggle with herself, "and if there'll be more, with each one I'll grant you more rights."
He nods again, even though his expression does noy suggest any happiness over the fact that he just helped children in need. To Zelda, the look in his eyes is a mixture of cockiness and condescension. This seems to conclude their agreement. Her treasurer must hear of the new developments at once, so she makes to leave towards the castle.
"You know what, Majesty?" Ike calls.
Zelda rolls her eyes. "No, I don't, and I really don't want to hear it," she says, turning back yet again nonetheless and sending him an annoyed look.
"No matter the continent, the upper class is always the same. Sworn to the people, but has to be forced to do any good." Ike says, and Zelda holds back her snort.
"My, you've been around. Tell that to someone else, because I've been campaigning, but if you're not satisfied with what I thought we just agreed on– well, nothing's set in stone just yer. Next time you feel the need to break a pot, I suggest you bite your tongue. Besides, you're part of that upper class."
"Why? I have nothing to lose. I'm just an ordinary man at heart," he says with a shrug.
Zelda could list off many more ordinary things about him, but she decides to let it be. He only wants to get under her skin, and now that he's promised her the money, she wants to just receive it and be done with it. "I'll have a contract drawn up," she says and finally leaves, vowing not to turn back if he says something. And he doesn't.
Only a few turns of the hourglass later, they meet again, this time in her study, a contract on the table between them. Ina is there too, as are Lucia and Argon the Treasurer, as the handling of such significant contracts is always recommended to happen in the presence of witnesses.
For the leverage it promises, the contract is short and simple. Zelda observes Ike as his eyes wander over the lines, his brow knit; he asks to have some things clarified, but does not object to anything in the document. And then he puts it down on the table, dips the quill into the ink and begins signing with his name and titles.
Zelda realizes that she has never seen Ike write. His hand moves rather slowly, as if he learned to write after childhood, but his letters are carefully curved and bold, a feat not every scholar accomplishes. Oddly enough, the only times the man looks graceful are with a sword in hand– and a quill.
After he's done, he offers her the quill, and she pulls it out of his hand by the tip of the feather to quickly put her full name and titles under his. The three witnesses each sign the document, and Argon drips blue wax on the parchment for Ike to solemnly press the seal of the floating city of Toha down. The emblem is simple and intricate all at once, a small flaming circle with a six-pointed sun in its middle. As it dries, a few drops of golden wax are poured down next to it, and Zelda presses the seal of the Harkinians into the sticky puddle– a beheaded loftwing with a triforce between its wings where there should be a head, something that's never failed to make her smirk.
After Zelda's put down the quill, Lord Argon shakes Ike's hand, something she watches in silent approval. As most of her council, Argon harbors a strong dislike for Tellians, but the prospect of money has made him remember his good manners. "It seems you have a heart of gold, my lord," the treasurer says to Ike, a statement that is met with a silent smile. Argon's smile is never fake when the cause is a successful deal, but Zelda knows the man well enough to tell when his smile turns into a forced one, as Ike doesn't seem to want to end their handshake.
Lucia breaks them up by going in for a handshake with Argon herself, and Ina grabs Ike's hand. In fact, the two witnessing ladies look elated, more so than the signing parties themselves. Lucia suggests they drink to this big step forward in the Hylio-Tellian relationship. Probably not entertaining any thoughts of pleasant togetherness, Lord Argon excuses himself.
The winter evening arrives too soon and is blurry, the conversations are seasoned with wine, apples, and freshly baked cakes, the bleakness of Zelda's study has been traded for the couches and the fireplace in Link's drawing room. It is spent listening to the outlandish stories of Lucia, whose speech does not slur yet. Everyone is hanging on to the lady's words as she describes the extent of Link's cultural inaptitude that became apparent during their travels through Crimea. Zelda's good mood is encouraged and steadily maintained by the endless supply of wine, her inability to say something to the flirting Ina tempered with each swallow of the sweet beverage. It's her favorite, blue wine from the Twilight Lands, so every time Ina leans into Ike and Zelda feels the urge to tell her to back off, she drinks instead, and by the time the stars are up, she feels warm, happy, and sick all at once.
"This might be an unusual time to ask, Your Grace," Lucia says, sitting down at Zelda's side, "I know you're very busy, but I'd be delighted if you could spare the time to go with me on a hunting trip in a few days time."
"Considering my current state of sobriety, it is the best time to ask and I'm positive you know it." Leaning back on the plush pillows, Zelda rubs her eyes and drops her head on her hand. "Link chose well."
"Excuse me?"
Zelda sips on her wine and eyes her sister-in-law. "You're very smart. And cunning."
"That is definitely the alcohol talking," the lady says with a laugh and shakes her head.
"I can be nice without alcohol, contrary to popular belief" Zelda says, shrugs, and from behind her chalice, takes in the sight of the woman. Not only smart, but also a fierce and honorable warrior. And beautiful– for a beorc. Zelda's eyes wander to Lucia's ears, round and small. Their weird shape doesn't seem so unusual anymore to her, and her sight flits to Ike on the other couch. She proceeds to ponder whether the size of ears is an indication of low or high birth in the lands of the beorc.
Ina seems to have a similar train of thoughts, giggling and touching the lord's ears. She should keep away from him, lest she wants him to kill her. And if he does, Zelda thinks, her mother will kill me.
Ike's ears are almost angular, Zelda concludes. She never noticed before. Ina is really not handling the alcohol well, red-faced and caressing the man's face, poking her fingers at his bruise. Zelda's bruise.
"I think… my stomach aches," Zelda says.
"You think? The wine is very deceitful indeed. Its taste seduces one to drink it like water."
Surely Lucia doesn't really care about Zelda's stomach, she just wants to make conversation, and Zelda obliges her.
"It's not really painful. It's just warm and uncomfortable and I prooobably should stop drinking." Enough wine for today. She puts down her chalice, deciding to consent to a brief hunting trip on the morrow. Might as well please her sister-in-law and see who the better archer is.
"Ah… Interesting. Your Grace, this is most likely inappropriate, but whenever-"
Lucia does not get to finish her sentence, something Zelda in retrospect grateful for. In the very moment in which Ina tugs on Ike's headband and accidentally pulls it off, Link and Lady Dayan burst into the chamber. Link's face brightens upon spotting the alcohol, as he must be exhausted after attending an hours-long lecture, but Lady Dayan, probably in search of her daughter, seems less thrilled at the sight of Ina clinging inebriated to a lowborn Crimean.
Startled by the sound of the door flying open, Ina has dropped her chalice, and Zelda and Lucia proceed to watch in amazement as a scene straight out of a classical comedy unfolds around them.
The blue wine has spilled all over Ike's breeches, the couch and the rug. Lucia takes a sharp breath and swiftly jumps to summon servants, Ike is shaking with laughter and attempts to push away Ina, whose sense of shame entirely drowned in the wine as she wants to right her wrongs by drying the lord off using the seam of her dress. Her mother does not hesitate to grab her arm and pull her away with a hissed "You should be ashamed of yourself, young lady!" all the while Link stands in the door with wide eyes, probably wishing himself back to the lecture, obliviously blocking the servants' way in and out of the chamber, who have to awkwardly squeeze past him.
Zelda is struggling keep a straight face, but she can't keep her shoulders from shaking with repressed laughter. "Let us meet for a ride in the morning," she says to Lucia and rises from the couch, only to almost double over and reach for the next best thing to steady herself. "Oh, that wine was wicked."
At this point, Ina is almost crying as her mother yells at both her and the servants.
"We can all agree on that," says Lucia and leads the queen towards the door. "If you'd prefer, we could also meet in the afternoon?"
"Oooh, you're smart. Let's do that. Wake up and move, brother, for hard-working people need to pass through this door!" Zelda shakes off Lucia's hands and makes to move her baffled brother out of the way, but Ike stumbles past them and pushes Link aside.
"Yourself included, Your Grace?" the lord calls out, slaloming backwards past two servants.
"Why of course, but yourself excluded, my lord," Zelda retorts, following him through the narrow hall, hoping to be much more graceful in her movements than the round-eared fool in front of her who keeps running into servants. "Tell your new lady friend not to drink if she can't hold her liquor."
The lord disappears in the staircase to the left, Zelda turns right to climb the stairs to her chambers. She grips the wall and stops to give her stomach a moment to calm itself. The world is spinning in front of her eyes.
Fuuuck, she thinks, vowing to cut down on the alcohol. She looks back, half expecting a man with wet clothes and a green bruise on his cheek to stand there, but her Back Hand is the only person in sight. "Good. Your armor must be very hard to take off."
"Excuse me?" the knight mumbles from under the metal.
"Neeever mind," Zelda says and continues up the stairs.
A/N: I'm so glad to finally have churned out this chapter, I had to entirely rewrite parts of it several times to be satisfied, but this is the end result. I hope you like it too, let me know what you think. Special thanks again to darkaccalia520 & MissScorp for all of the input!
