Time's Saga

First Life: Prince of Power

"Move outta the way, Riju! I'm gonna do a cannonball!"

"Wah-wait a minute! Link, hold on a sec-ah!"

"Lllliiiiiinnkkk!"

Chapter 50: Bath Time

"For the last time, I don't need a bath."

Link tried to keep the exasperation out of his voice, but quivers of it still bleed through his whisper. This argument had been going on for several minutes now, but Link was stuck at an impasse. He simply wanted to go inside his room to rest after training, but he found Peatrice just as determined to get her point across. She was thankfully quiet with her arguments, but far more stubborn than he had anticipated when she first spoke to him. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't entirely sure how things had escalated so quickly.


Prince Link's attention was waning while listening to Babi's critique of his workout. Her reputation for diligence wasn't unfounded, but the captian's iterations of the same information was beginning to sound dull. Somehow she had judged and rejudged his reaction speed and landing form for so long that it extended for the entire walk back to his room. And it was not a short walk. Which was why he was a little happy to see Peatrice waiting at the top of the stairs, as she was certainly someone who would break the monotonous drone.

She was waiting primly with her face pinched in boredom. Once she saw him though, Peatrice took a deep breath and straightened her back. Dipping into a quick curtsy, she politely inquired, "Prince Link, I hope that your first day of training had gone well?"

As he walked up the last few steps, he gave her a silent nod as both acknowledgment of her presence and to answer her question. There was less hesitation this time as she fell in step behind him as Babi politely gave her enough space to do so. That was good. For the few times she had shadowed him Peatrice seemed overly worried about her position as lady-in-waiting to a prince, and even more thrown off by his continual lack of verbal response. It seemed she was adjusting adequately.

Just before he reached his door she did something unorthodox though; She stepped in front of him. He rose his eyebrows in surprise, but remained quiet. She seemed nervous as she had pulled out her handkerchief and was twisting it in her hands, a tell he had immediately picked up on. Silently he contemplated what to do. He was certainly curious about what it was that required a small breach of protocol, but coaxing her to speak wouldn't improve her jitters. And there was the added measure of not straining his voice after all that labored breathing from training. If what she had to say was important enough, she would get it out on her own, he decided.

A deep breath and a moment later, she spoke. "Prince Link, please don't think poorly of me, as I'm just doing my job as lady-in-waiting," Her eyes flitted from her hands, up to Link's face, then quickly back down as a blush slowly creeped across her cheeks.

Link narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He opened his mouth to begin a preliminary argument as he had a fairly good idea of what she was going to say, but she beat him to the punch in a rush of hushed words.

"But I must insist that you bathe today."

And there is was, just like he thought.

She had brought it up yesterday, but he had brushed off the absurd request. Bathe? When there wasn't any reason to? Ridiculous. But it seemed the little Hylian lass hadn't given up. In fact, she was being far more forward than he thought she would ever be, to be honest. He might have found it endearing, if he wasn't so sore and tired at the moment.

He was too anxious and eager this morning and had pushed himself a little too hard. His body was just starting it's long road to recovery from starvation, but he was just too excited to be on the move. He was worn out. Happy, but extremely tired. And the last thing he wanted to do was something as special and savory as bathe. Something like that had to be enjoyed to it's fullest, and if he took a bath right now he knew he would fall asleep.

"No." To emphasize his point he leaned back a little and crossed his arms. Be authoritative, like Ganondorf always said.

Peatrice wavered, he saw it. The way her lips trembled and the slight hunch of her shoulders. But then her face wrinkled and she shot her eyes back up to meet his. She plastered on the neutral face of polite dismissal, with her lips in a severe thin line and her voice the light, but orderly tone.

"I must insist, Prince Link. You've been here at the castle for three days, but you haven't bathed at all! Today you are officially starting your classes at the University and it won't do to make a poor impression."

"No."

Link didn't particularly care of his impression at the University. Well, he did, but he didn't. Impressions were of the upmost importance in the castle, and he felt he had make a pretty solid one that first day. Regardless, he didn't see how a bathe fit into the equation at all.

"Why won't yah just listen to me? Yah need a bath, 'specially after morning workouts, else yah get sick! That's what all the handmaids say."

Immediately Peatrice slapped a hand over her mouth. Her face, which was already a slight pink from passionate ire, turned to a scarlet shade of mortification.

"Forgive me, Prince Link," she sniffled. Her head had dropped to her shoulders and the silk in her hands was wound tighter than a noose. There was an awkward pause as she struggled to speak again. The heavy Faronian accent purposefully disappeared as she struggled to maintain Proper Hylain. "I- I did not mean to offend you. Please forgive my outburst. ...And my... crassness."

Link released a worn-out sigh. It was nothing short of stressful, having to speak with an anxiety-riddled lady-in-waiting. Spying the shortest route to his goal, Link gave her the assurances she needed. "Don't worry about it," he said with the perfect amount of Gerudo lisp slurring his speech.

Smoothly he sidestepped her and managed to put his hand on the door nob this time. He startled when she suddenly placed her hand on top of his. Shooting her another confused glanced, Link was rewarded with a puckered and pouty Peatrice. Her watery eyes only added to the effect.

With short, punchy words, she explained again, "But I do insist on a bath."

His grip on the handle tightened. "For the last time, I don't need a bath."

Her fingers trembled, but they stayed right on top of his. With a sharp intake of breath, she finally admitted, "Yes, you do."

Obviously he was going to argue that, but he hadn't even opened his mouth halfway when she barreled on.

"Prince Link, I understand that in the desert water is a precious commodity. You don't want to waste it. But here in Hyrule you can afford yourself the luxury. So please, take it."

It wasn't just a luxury, Link thought bitterly, it was also a temptation. A trap. And he wasn't about to fall for it. He wasn't going to say that out loud or in as many words, but he was going to hold strong.

Unexpectedly, he felt the handle move and he instantly let go. This action also broke Peatrice's hold, and she returned to twisting the silk. Link took a half-step back and suspiciously watched the door swing inside.

As smooth as Lon-lon cream, the man on the other side took in the two children's faces, then politely bowed. In perfect pitch, the butler intoned, "Good morning, Prince Link. I trust your training went well? As your butler, I have anticipated that you would need a bath, sir, so I have prepared one for you. And Miss Pavo, thank you for your assistance."

Link shifted his stare between the old butler, Steen, and Lady Peatrice. The old man gave nothing away. He stood tall, with his arm at a perfect right angle across his waist and his mud brown eyes dully uninterested. Lady Peatrice on the other hand, was leaning against the door frame for support with the handkerchief brought close to her mouth. There was a light of victory in her grey eyes, and Link put two-and-two together.

A snort of laughter came from behind him. Sagely, Babi suggested in Gerudo, "Plan your battle for another day, Prince Link. Because, for now, you've lost."

Link shot her a grimace. This wasn't fair! He was totally not expecting Peatrice and his butler to gang up on him like this. To make his point to the both of them, he silently brushed past them into his suite. Babi simply chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. As she followed Link, she ruffled the top of Peatrice's head. That caused the perfectly positioned veil to sit sideways, but Peatrice was alright with that. The lady-in-waiting then entered the spacious suite, but not before she shared a victorious smile with Steen.


"I'm not so sure this is a good idea, Groo-er, um, boss. What if someone else walks through the door first? What if the teacher walks in!?"

"It's going to work!" Groose shot back through gritted teeth as his body swayed precariously. He was standing on his toes on a wobbly stool with his arms high above his head. "Hold the door still!"

"Sorry, boss," Stritch mumbled. His head continued with it's odd bobbing motion as he couldn't decide whether to look away from the filthy water sloshing above him or to actually concentrate on his task. Cawlin got the easy job. All he had to do was stand watch.

Somehow, despite having both hands stuck in his mouth in a curious nail-biting habit, Cawlin asked with wide-eyed wonder, "How'd you mana' t'fin a dir-y buc'e' o'wa'e' anyway?"

"Wha-" Groose, confused, looked away for half a second, but that was enough for him to lose his balance.

"Watch it!" Stritch shouted as he ducked away from the falling water.

With a startled gasp, Groose gripped the bucket tighter and forced his legs to still their trembling. When he opened his eyes he saw a very disgruntled looking Stritch. Biting his lip, he gave his friend a lopsided grin, "Ehehe… you look like a drowned cat, Stritch."

The tall boy didn't say anything. Only pursed his lips and squeezed his eyes tighter. With a sigh, Groose rolled his eyes to his other friend. "Hurry, Cawlin, go get those towels. We need to clean this up before anyone notices."

"Uh, right!"

Moments later a fresh linen towel was thrown over Stritch's head and gratefully he began rubbing furiously at his face. Cawlin then dropped another towel to the floor and began moping up the rest.

"Hurry up," Groose complained as he shifted on the stool. Instantly everyone froze as he again began to lose his balance. A collective sigh of relief came from all three as he managed to right himself. In a grouchier tone he snapped, "This bucket's getting heavy. We need to finish this."

"Yes, boss," the two snapped into action. Cawlin gathered the towels and stepped back while Stritch begrudgingly went back to bracing the door.

Several tense minutes later, with Stritch toweling his hair at the end again, the three stood back to admire their handiwork.

"It's perfect!" Groose beamed with his arms spread wide. "This will really help that peasant prince clean up real nice. You know, I heard a rumor that Gerudo only wash like, once every ten years. So, see, we're helping him out, right, right?"

Stritch, always silent, brought the towel up to tossel his blond hair one last time. And Cawlin was still biting his nails. Nervously, he asked between the snapping teeth, "Are you sure this is going to work, Groose? I mean, what if the prince gets really mad at us? Or worse, the teacher finds out?"

"Stop worrying!" Groose bellowed. Taking a deep breath he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. He really should cut them soon. "Everything is going to be just fine. Trust me a little, would you? Anyway, you're supposed to call me 'boss', remember?"

There was an awkward silence as the other two fidgeted. Groose crossed his arms and huffed a little. Staring ahead, he again marveled at his perfect revenge. A little smirk crossed his face as he again muttered, "It's perfect."


Link slowly followed Peatrice down the long halls, only half-interested in her rambling chatter. He was still too perturbed by the duo's success. Admittedly the bath was nice, but he was never going to say that out loud. And in an effort to conserve the water, he demanded his three guards take baths as well. Of course, Peatrice put a stop to their communal time with a beat read face and an unlady-like stomp to the floor, so Link was left with a very lonely hour to himself. His guards also had qualms about letting him leave the suite without protection, but he just gave them that steely smile.

"I'll be on my own soon enough," he whispered for their ears only. "It's better to break into this life slowly, then to be thrust into it all at once. You know the route to the classroom. If there really is trouble, I'll whistle."

Link had to give it to his older sisters. They were certainly protective of him, and he appreciated that. And even though his gut roiled in protest, he knew that their time together was going to end soon. He couldn't have Gerudo guards with him at the castle. It would defeat the Council's original purpose in sending him here. Slowly and tenaciously, his arguments won them over. The water was not to be wasted. And his guards would receive a much needed respite from the overbearing Hylians.

Hylians. Link wanted to roll his eyes. Peatrice's never-ending chatter had moved on to the predicted spring fashion trends, and what his ears picked up from the other courtiers' hallway gossip wasn't any better. Only a few days in and Link was already missing Aaroot's stubborn lectures. They might have been boring but they were at least relevant.

"Sea foam green was the highlight color of spring from five years ago, but I really don't think it's going to make a return this early. I mean, it's still used as an accent to- Oh. Here we are. Your classroom for general educational studies. This is where most of your classes will be held. I am informed that your homeroom teacher will be Professor Horwell. He's a well-educated man who's life focus has been the preservation of various fauna in Hyrule. And your classmates are Pages Groose Gallagher, Cawlin Rook, Stritch Kenja, and Fledge Fletcher. I will introduce you to them- Eep!"

It happened in an instant. Link was somewhat grateful for the boring walk because it allowed his mind to pay attention to the little details of his surroundings. Like the small puddle of water that was just in front of the slightly ajar classroom door. It was certainly out of place and it sent his other senses into high alert. When Peatrice's hand gently pushed on the door he heard the rattling of a pail above them. Too late, his mind processed. The bucket was falling and with it the torrent of water. Instincts took over then. In one fluid motion, Link grabbed Peatrice's arm and spun her around, out of the range of the water. But he didn't even have enough time to cover his eyes before the bucket of dirty water landed squarely on his head.

He was soaked.

His ears were ringing and he knew there would be a bump forming on his head later that day. Raucous laughter echoed inside the bucket as Link felt a gust of wind when the door was swung open.

"Hahahaha! See! I told you it would work! See! Didn't I? Didn't I?"

Almost immediately Link heard Peatrice's shrill and cracking voice. "Oh! Prince Link! Are- are you… Oh. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. Wha… Oohhh!"

Slowly, Link raised the smelly pail off his head and ever so slowly blinked. He was still slightly disoriented and the cacophony of sounds so close to his sensitive ears didn't help.

"WHAT has happened here!?"

It wasn't a bellowing voice. In fact, it was far quieter than the giddy, childish giggles that had surrounded the prince. But it was far from being a gentle or mellow sound. It had the rotund vibrations of a full-grown adult, mixed with the strains of a person holding back their ire.

Immediately, the young boys' cheering halted and Link could hear the pattering of their footsteps as they backed away.

"Um, ah…"

"There was.."

"We we're..."

Link furiously wiped the water out of his eyes, but it didn't do much because his hands were just as wet. But the world blurred somewhat into focus and Link saw the trio of boys cowering before him.

"Speak up! You are not to stutter!"

"Yes, sir!" Yelped three unanimous voices and that was the end of their sputtering.

Tilting his head, Link looked behind him to see a slim and tall Hylain. He had smoothed back dark hair and long, pointed ears. His lips were thinned into a frown and his eyes were so squinted in anger that Link couldn't tell what color they were. Over his long, white robe was a deep red scarf that was fashionably pressed and perfectly straight. The attire marked him as a professor. And considering the timing of it all, Link could only assume this was his general education professor.

Quickly, Link tipped his head forward and his soaking braid flopped over his shoulder. Embarrassed, but knowing there was nothing else to do, Link felt a fat droplet slide off his pointy nose and drip to the floor. Forcing his voice back to what should be his normal tone, he sputtered out, "Professor Horwell? It's a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to learning much in these class."

Because of his formal bow, Link missed the softness in Professor Horwell's eyes. But the greeting, still the stiff formality of Hyrule Castle, had it's own warmth to it. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Prince Link. Though this is quite the unfortunate disaster that has occurred. You there, m'lady. Go fetch some dry towels for the prince."

"Yes, right away." Lady Peatrice dipped into a light curtsy before dashing off.

Link could hear the notes of relief in her voice, and secretly he agreed with her. He could feel the rage bubbling within him, and he was having to tightly clamp down on his magic. He couldn't lose control. Not here. Not now. Scenarios like this were predicted, though he hadn't guessed it would be so soon. Once King Ganondorf had left with the envoy, certainly tricks like this were to become common place. But this was bold to the point of stupid. It was insulting in every way, and Link wanted nothing more than to retaliate instantaneously.

But there was an adult here and he had to reign his magic.

"Now, you three," Horwell rounded on the troublemakers. "Would you care to explain your actions? I dearly hope you have a good reason."

The three shuffled about, each one trying to hide behind the other. If anything, they looked more chagrined now then they were at morning's practice. Their furtive glances and hushed complaints to each other seemed to only anger their teacher all the more.

Finally, Gallagher spit out, "That Gerudo Prince was with us at morning practice! We realized something was… off. So we… we thought to help him out. Everyone knows the Gerudo don't have any water, so we hoped to… help him understand the castle's higher main-maintenance re-require-ments."

Link would have been quite satisfied if he could just kick that bratty snot-nosed noble right into a well. Higher maintenance requirements? Honestly, would these Hylians ever stop beating around the bush and just say it?

Professor Horwell wasn't saying anything. He still had his eyes squinted close and his hands folded behind his back. So no help there, Link determined. He had thought the man was kind, just by his intonations of his greeting, but perhaps some water got into his ear. He was in Hyrule, on his own. And on his own, he would find a way out.

"Is- is that so?" Link rasped. He had put a genial smile on and straightened his posture. With a slight tilt of his head, which he hoped was convincing enough, he continued on innocently, "Is this a form of greeting? Because water was truly refreshing. I could not never imagine using water in such a way in the desert. This truly is a land of plenty, and I'm so grateful for classmates that thought of this… welcome."

With his speech over, Prince Link again gave a small bow to the three boys. When his head was lowered, he bit his bottom lip and swallowed back the thickness in his throat. His heart squeezed a little at the blow his pride was forced to take. Like always, the mantras appeared in his head and images of his sisters flew across his vision.

"Well, then. If everything is settled..." Horwell broke the silence. Silently, his unspoken threat snapped the trio into action.

"Yeah, uh..."

Link rose from the bow and had to severely bite his cheek to keep from smirking. The stunned, stupid looks on their faces made him feel a little bit better. So they weren't expecting a come-back like that? Link filed that bit of happy news away.

"Sure, whatever..." Groose grumbled lowly. In a more formal tone, he replied, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance… I am Groose Gallagher."

"I am-am-am Cawlin Rook."

"I'm Stritch Kenja."

All three gave a bow, but it was quick and sloppy.

"Prince Link!" The breathless shout came from behind and Link immediately turned around. Peatrice was running toward him with a stack of towels in hand. Her face was flushed and her bonnet was coming undone. He side-stepped out into the hall with Horwell politely making room for him.

Peatrice skidded to a halt and gasped out, "I... finally found… some… towels."

"Thank you," Link spoke quietly as he reached for the top one.

"No prob- Er. Ah. Of course, Prince Link." Lady Peatrice brought a hand to her mouth as she bit her own tongue. She had again slipped into her native accent, which seemed to happened whenever she was flustered.

After giving his braid a few final squeezes, Link handed back the towel. The clothes would have to dry on their own. Thankfully, his attire was black silk, so not the worst thing to move around in when wet.

Peatrice was still fidgeting though, and she kept glaring daggers at the boys who had settled into their desks in the room behind them. Eventually, she stuttered out quietly, "I am so, so sorry, Prince Link. I had no idea this was going to happen."

Link had to keep himself from laughing. Giving her a dry smile, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "No worries," he wanted to say. "It was going to happen sooner or later," he wanted to assure her. "I'm lucky it was just a bit of water," he wanted to admit. But the shrug was all he gave with the hope she would understand some of it's intentions.

The girl opened her mouth but closed it immediately. She looked down for a moment, but then snapped her head back up. With tears shining in her eyes, she said in that honest-to-goodness country bumpkin way, "Thank you. Thanks for pushing me out'a the way. You got completely soaked, but I didn't get a single drop on me. I know I'm late in say'n it, but thanks."

Link's own blue eyes flickered for a moment in uncertainty. A sad, forlorn look crossed his face again, but he managed to fight it off.

"Thank you for the towel, Lady Peatrice," he said genteelly. She immediately reacted to his praise by practically glowing. The words were just loud enough to carry across to the gathered gossipers and set both their minds at ease. "And thank you for showing me to the classroom. I probably won't need you for a few more hours."

"As you wish," she gathered the towels back in her arms and curtsied. And with sure footsteps, walked away.

Link couldn't help but smile at her courage. Even though she pushed past a number of jeering socialites, she kept her head tall and face composed. If only he could have courage like that. Instead, he struggled to keep that carefully crafted mask in place as he turned around to face the classroom.


A/N: Well, here's my attempt at something light-hearted and fluffy after the past several tense chapters. But somehow it still took a depressing turn.

Anyway, here's another plug for my second, related series Time's Saga Shorts. I've only uploaded one chapter there, but I'm open for suggestions on short stories. Taking a page out of Lyxie's writing, I'll be happy to produce some short, fun-filled chapters for your entertainment during this world-wide shutdown. Of course, it's got quite a few more limitations than Lyxie's, where it takes place in the Time's Saga Universe, but if you want to see more of baby Link, or the relationship between Ganondorf and Ruvano, or more shenanigans of Link's first trip to Hyrule, by all means, send me your ideas, or better yet, comment on this chapter or T.S.S. I still maintain full right to produce what I will, but having input from reader's is always fun.

As always, Thanks for reading! Stay safe and healthy, my friends. And stay nerdy, too~!

-TFC