Roy didn't know he'd stood up until he heard his chair scrape against the floor. He looked back at Zelda, who looked like she was about to melt into a puddle on the floor, and glared up at Ganondorf.
"Are we going to have a problem?" he asked.
Ganondorf laughed. Roy had only fought the man a few dozen times before, and while he had almost always come out on top, that did not make his laugh any less intimidating.
"Oh, no, don't you worry about that," he replied, and he peeled back his lips into a grin. Roy had to assume that was his attempt to appear disarming, but it felt like the man was sneering down on him. "I'm just here to tell Zelda that Master Hand is calling her for her shift at the store."
"Oh." Roy deflated instantly. He sent a quick look to Zelda, and she nodded back at him as she picked herself from her seat.
"Thank you," she said, in a voice so small he had to crane to hear it. "I enjoyed our time together. I hope you'll be fine if we speak about this further next time."
"Next time?" Ganondorf laughed again, the noise so loud and sudden that Roy nearly jumped out of his skin. His orange eyes leveled with Roy's, and he sneered; somehow, Roy found it more unappealing than his grin.
"Oh, don't tell me you believe yourself friends with this woman?" he said, and he crossed his arms.
"And what if I am?" Roy shot back. He took a step forward. Something brushed against his shoulder, and when he glanced back, he was surprised to find Zelda holding onto him, her fingers digging into his clothes.
"You are? Hah." Ganondorf's sneer widened. "I'm simply surprised she has any friends left. Then again, you Fire Emblem lot always did love yourself a nice Sunday slaughter."
"No we don't!" Roy paused. "Well, I can't say Robin for sure but–where are you coming from? That has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, but it has everything to do with this. Don't you know?"
"Roy, you should leave" Zelda muttered tightly. He practically hear the strain in her voice, something barely restrained beyond the paper-thin veil of her words, but what it was, he couldn't quite place. Was it anger? For this villain who had ravaged her people?
"Perish the thought. I'd never slaughter so many for such a baseless reason." Upon Roy's confused glare, Ganondorf laughed for the third time. "Oh! So he doesn't know?"
"Please," Zelda said again. Roy wanted to, he really did; he could feel his legs beginning to cary him away, but Ganondorf planted a hand on his other shoulder and planted his feet into the ground.
"Why should he? If he's your friend, he deserves to know, shouldn't he? Unless, you wish to tell him?"
Zelda looked away. That seemed to be all the response Ganondorf needed.
"Tell me what?" Roy hissed, glaring at Ganondorf even as he could feel his heart clench in his chest.
Part of his didn't want to hear whatever he wanted to say; if it was Zelda's secret to keep, he should have ripped himself away from Ganondorf's grasp.
But like a fish to a lure, he could not tear his grasp away as the man parted his mouth.
"Just last year, I kidnapped the King of Hyrule, ferried him away to a distant city and threatened his life for the Triforce; and what does this woman do, but wipe that city off the map!" Ganondorf shrugged. "Can you imagine? An entire city for a king. What would the Triforce of Wisdom have to say about such an atrocity?"
"It was the only way to find him," Zelda said, slowly.
"But not," Ganondorf replied, pressing a finger against her head, "the only way to resolve it, no? You could have just let me slit the bastard's throat, let him bleed out onto the ground. You know we reincarnate every hundred years anyway. A hundred years, you'll find yourself a new father; what made this one any different?" When Zelda didn't reply, he shook his head. "A choice you made in a sudden fit of emotion. No one could not blame you for it–not unless you deliberately twisted the Triforce of Wisdom to justify your own selfish means. Oh wait, that is exactly what you did! All those families, children, reduced to ash because you knew that, when the dust settled, the only place still standing would be the one with my protection. A brilliant tactical move; cold and careless. If I were your father, I would be proud–truly, I would–but that's not for me to decide, is it?"
Wide-eyed, Roy turned to look at Zelda. What he was looking for, he wasn't sure. She had all but confirmed it the truth from the way she replied.
Was it guilt? Remorse? One look, and he found her face completely drenched in it. Somehow, that didn't make him feel any better.
Feeling like a worm in his own skin, crawling with something uncomfortable beneath his clothes, Roy finally wrenched himself free from Ganondorf's grasp–for all the good that was now–and clasped Zelda's hand. "You're right. We should probably leave," he said, and he led her back out into the mall.
Behind him, he could feel Ganondorf's eyes burning holes in the back of his head. "Don't you feel much better? The more secrets out, the closer you may become, as I say. You'll thank me for this later!"
Roy would have argued, but the words rattled around the inside of his skull, drowning any thoughts he could form with the pounding of his head. A quick glance at Zelda told him she was faring no better, her hair plastered to her skin, practically a sheet drifting behind him.
He didn't know where her store was, but a glance at a nearby information stand told him all he needed to know. He dragged her through the crowds, the silence from her almost enough to drown out the busy bustling of Christmas shoppers, were it not for all the stares they were getting.
It was the first time Roy had noticed them, but now that he thought about it, perhaps it had been like this before too; he'd simply been too dazzled by her to notice.
The roses had wilted now, leaving him with a clairvoyance that seemed almost too sharp to be real; people parted around them like bats to a torch, and the looks they sent her, full of distrust, were so close to the looks of fear they sent to the likes of Ridley or Ganondorf, as ashamed as he was to admit, he checked to see if she was still with him.
"I didn't want this." Roy nearly missed the words, so quiet that he would not have heard them, were he not so close to her.
But... that wasn't completely true, was it? From the way Ganondorf had spoken, the Triforce of Wisdom only provided the best course of action to achieve what the user had wanted. She couldn't have done it if she hadn't wanted it.
Roy shook his head. No, that changes nothing. She is still my friend.
But all those people, real people, who were dead because of a choice she made; it almost felt like spitting on their graves and everything he stood for just to move on and ignore everything.
But what could he do?
"We're here."
Before he could think of anything else, Zelda's soft voice pulled him back. He glanced to their right, and sure enough, he could see the matress store just beyond the glass pane. Thanking him, Zelda removed herself from his side. As he watched, she lingered by the door, giving him a look that he wasn't quite sure what it meant. Maybe she wanted him to leave?
Sighing, Roy turned to leave. He had taken three steps before something pricked his shoulder; nothing tangible, just a feeling that she had called out to him. He stopped, frowning, and picked at his shoulder.
"Wait," she said again, louder this time; so she had called out to him, he just hadn't heard it.
Roy turned around, but Zelda would not meet his gaze. Biting her lip, she said, "Next time..."
"Next time?"
"Tomorrow?" Zelda frowned, and she cleared her throat. It was the first time he had seen her stumble over her words; there was something that felt strange about it–a dryness in his throat–but he kept the thought to himself.
"I mean, you are free–ah, are you free tomorrow?" Picking at her sleeves, Zelda said, "The 5-8 Pub is hosting another comic night. If you would like, I could accompany you there."
"I'd love to," Roy said.
If he hadn't been watching, he might have missed how her shoulders slumped just a tiny bit. Perhaps she hadn't even realized it herself, nor how the folds in her dress disappeared as her fingers let go of them. She raised her gaze to meet his at last, smiling.
"That's wonderful to hear," she said. "Would you like to meet me here at dusk? Perhaps at 5?"
Roy shrugged. "I don't see why not."
"I shall look forward to it."
Zelda made to slip inside; as her fingertips gripped against the edge of the glass door, her eyes flit back to him. She smiled again, turned around, and let the door close behind her.
Roy watched her for a bit longer, her dress dragging on floor behind her, hiding her feet as if she was gliding across the carpet. As soon as she disappeared into a back room, he turned around and left.
He strolled past a few stores, ducked around a corner, and slumped against a wall. Clutching his forehead, a long sigh that dragged itself out of his lips.
Tomorrow? On Christmas? He did not have any prior arrangements, that was true. Chrom would more than urge him to go, too.
But did he really want to? After hearing all that? With the last half hour replaying over and over in his head, he wasn't sure if he could say.
Shorter chapter this week; I was going to stretch it on, but then I realized that the scene I had in mind would make for a better beginning for the next chapter.
I can't quite tell if this is too soon to bring it up, but I don't think I could've put off the reveal for any longer. It's just a sort of feeling you get after writing for a bit, of how soon is too soon, or how much is dragging it out; best I can explain it is that thinking of making it any longer just sort of annoys you. It's not always 100% on point–hell, I'd be willing to bet that people reading would disagree–but it's not as if I'll be able to go through a second draft, with the way I write my stories.
I think the Wednesday chapters are going to have to stay. Expect the next chapter in two weeks. Until then, remember to take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe.
